Project Top 10 Titans of SS 1v1

[luser]

Top 10 Titans of Gen 8 1v1
approved by smely socks
OP largely taken from the OU thread here​

Sword & Shield 1v1 has been a change of pace from previous generations of 1v1. The removal of Mega Evolutions and Z-Moves wildly changed common strategies and meta threats, and freed up itemslots for most of the metagame. In addition, a generational mechanic banned for the first time, and 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 1v1 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.

With the unique nature of Gen 8 1v1 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 July 31st to August 13th, 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 this 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 1v1 as well if they weren't removed.

How was this Pokemon used?

Explain what sets the Pokemon ran frequently, and how it differentiated itself from its competition. Additionally, feel free to elaborate on how it broke past its traditional answers with unique sets.

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 1v1?

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

Format Example

What effect did this Pokemon have on the metagame?

Aron proved itself as a menace in almost all eras of SS 1v1, and is well deserving of its slot in the Top Ten Titans. It heavily warped the meta, forcing the usage of Mold Breaker Haxorus, Urshifu-Rapid-Strike, or a Ghost-type on any remotely competitive team, and single-handedly ruining the viability of opponents which could not take it down, like Darmanitan-Galar.

How was this Pokemon used?

Aron frequently lowered its level, and then equipped Endeavor, Spiky Shield, Sandstorm, and Toxic with a Berry Juice. This enabled it to lower the opponents HP to the single digits with Endeavor, heal back to full, and chip down its opponent with one of the other three moves. Its incredible ability in Sturdy guaranteed that it would survive two turns, giving it plenty of time to take out the opponent. Additionally, Choice Band overwhelmed opponents who weren't ready to take physical attacks, like Blissey.

What caused it to have a significant impact?

An incredible combination of movepool, typing, and ability blessed Aron. Sturdy and Endeavor let it lower opponents HP easily and safely, while three different options to chip down opponents in Spiky Shield, Sandstorm, and Toxic let it finish off a variety of opponents. Additionally, its Rock / Steel typing gave it an immunity to Sandstorm and Toxic, letting it pull off its strategy on opponents like Tyranitar.

How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in 1v1?

Many opponents relied on multihit moves, such as Surging Strikes, to break through Aron. Additionally, Ghost-types, which could not be damaged by Endeavor, served as a fairly consistent counter. Finally, other methods of breaking through Sturdy such as Necrozma's Photon Geyser and Mold Breaker Haxorus were adopted to deal with Aron.

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.

 

[luser]

Voting results:
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10.

 

[clerica]

What effect did this Pokemon have on the metagame?

Since its debut when home dropped Prim has always been a staple of SS 1v1. It was the first water fairy this meta had to offer and was originally seen as a solid option, but generally outclassed by Mimi and struggled vs Rachi. Once those 2 mons got banned however, Prim quickly rose up the ranks. It peaked at S on the VR rankings in May of 2020 and was considered by many to be the best mon in the meta until the release of cinderace (god mode). This was due to its incredible typing, solid bulk and offensive capabilities, and its insane movepool that made it super versatile and capable of beating many archetypes of mons, as well as fire types which were widely used to check fairies in a meta with very few steel types at the time. Prim has failed to climb back to its former glory since then due to the addition of new competition like Zone, Zapdos, Fini, and more but has continued to be a popular pick throughout both the dlc 1 and dlc 2 metas due to its versatility.

How was this Pokemon used?

When Prim first dropped people tried to use it similar to how it was used in SM, as a torrent hydro cannon user. While Prim is still used as a bulky offensive mon today, people quickly expanded to trying other sets with encore, icy wind, mystic water, and more. During dlc 1 AV and chilan sets were widely used. These both provided better PZ matchups while AV also had a good matchup vs opposing Prims while Chilan was good for Darm-g. When dlc 2 dropped custap berry was also released which opened up more options for Prim. It moved away from AV sets and began to focus more on custap or sitrus berry sets. Custap allowed it to almost always guarantee a torrent boosted hydro cannon while sitrus sets usually ran both calm mind and encore to have better matchups vs many stall mons like Registeel. As time went on Prim began to diversify more and function as a toolbox of options that you pick and choose from including icy wind encore sets, wacan sets, chilan sets, and even more recently some mental herb shenanigans.

What caused it to have a significant impact?

What makes Prim so good is a variety of things. It has one of the best typings in the game in water fairy which allows it to handle many things most fairy types struggle against like most fire types. It also has good stats and a solid ability that synergize well on a bulky offensive mon. It also has access to an incredible movepool including encore, icy wind, sparkling aria, aqua jet, hydro cannon, energy ball, ice beam, and more. All of this comes together to make it incredibly versatile with what is basically a free item slot and 3 empty move slots allowing it to try and tech whatever it wants.

How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in 1v1?

The most reliable Prim answers are those with a type advantage. Electric and grass types like Rilla, Zera, Bulu, and Zone are all considered super reliable. What makes dealing with Prim tricky is having to play around both custap and encore at the same time. Many mons are capable of ohkoing Prim, but if Prim endures it can usually ko back with a torrent boosted hydro cannon. If people try to avoid custap by not attacking they can be encored by Prim and handled from there. This makes many Prim checks like Zolt a painful guessing game that can go either way.

 

[Elo Bandit]

What effect did this Pokemon have on the metagame?

Mew defined the era of SS 1v1 between November 2019 and February 2020. It ran the pre-DLC metagame alongside Sableye, Mimikyu, and Cinderace, all of which are now banned. Mew was unique because it could beat any of the other top Pokemon it chose to, alongside a massive chunk of the general meta. Mew was checked by Liechi Cinderace, Mental Herb Crustle, Substitute Dragapult, Bulldoze Excadrill, Shadow Sneak Aegislash, and Taunt users.

How was this Pokemon used?

Movesets

Imprison Transform

Mew @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 216 HP / 40 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Imprison
- Transform
- Substitute
- Taunt / Encore / Magic Room

Max Speed Mew covers a ridiculous number of Pokemon in early SS, defeating anything slower and unable to OHKO it. Mew also coinflips faster threats by Transforming immediately and winning speed ties. Though Mental Herb is sometimes used to prevent Taunt, Sitrus Berry is preferred to avoid getting 2HKOd by faster Pokemon or dying to high powered Struggles. Instead of Taunt as a fourth move (great versus slower Taunts), Mew can Encore or Magic Room to beat Scarf Trick users like Sableye.

Bulky Imprison

Mew @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 248 HP / 108 Def / 44 SpA / 52 SpD / 56 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Imprison
- Transform
- Shadow Ball
- Dark Pulse

Rather than outspeeding as much as possible, bulky Imprison Mew chooses to tank a Shadow Ball or Dark Pulse and prevent its further use, turning the tables on Ghost- and Dark-types trying to beat it with a super-effective move.

Resist Berries

Mew @ Kasib Berry
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 80 HP / 176 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Imprison
- Transform
- Thunder Wave
- Taunt / Shadow Ball

Kasib Mew lures Ghosts like Dragapult, Aegislash, and Polteageist.


Mew @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 240 HP / 16 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 30 Atk
- Imprison
- Transform
- Substitute
- Taunt / Crunch / Knock Off / Throat Chop

Colbur Mew lures Darks like Tyranitar, Hydreigon, and Weavile.


Mew @ Tanga Berry
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 72 HP / 184 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
IVs: 1 Atk
- Imprison
- Transform
- Substitute
- Taunt / Leech Life

Tanga Mew lures Bugs like Golisopod, Centiskorch, and CB Crustle.

Choice Scarf

Mew @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 16 HP / 164 SpA / 96 SpD / 232 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Dark Pulse
- Overheat
- Trick

Special Scarf Mew (popularized by Alakazam) takes opponents by surprise, finding a wide range of 2HKOs and winning a good number of matchups with Trick when an opponent is trying to play around Imprison.


Mew @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 236 Atk / 32 Def / 240 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Trick

Same idea with Physical Scarf Mew. Fire move for Bugs, Outrage for Dragons, find 2HKOs and abuse Trick whenever possible.

Choice Band

Mew @ Choice Band
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP / 64 Atk / 108 Def / 52 SpD / 32 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Outrage
- Close Combat
- Flare Blitz
- Gunk Shot / Psychic Fangs / Trick

Band Mew is an interesting lure set that sacrifices speed and a good number of winning matchups to turn the tables on Dark-Types like Tyranitar with an immediate +1 Close Combat.

Choice Specs

Mew @ Choice Specs
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 124 SpA / 132 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Overheat
- Dark Pulse
- Ice Beam / Dazzling Gleam

Specs Mew performs well in the mirror and does everything you'd expect a special Psychic type attacker to do.

Blunder Policy

Mew @ Blunder Policy
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 152 HP / 252 Def / 104 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 SpA
- Hydro Pump
- Substitute
- Imprison
- Transform

Ending on a bit of a meme, I used this set primarily on the "problem children" team of Mew / Sableye / Mimikyu which loses to Cinderace. Though Cinderace typically beats Mew with Substitute Liechi Berry Pyro Ball, Mew can use a very silly item to win regardless of landing Hydro Pump. Just don't miss 2 in a row!

What caused it to have a significant impact?

Mew's impact was so huge in SS 1v1 due to the power of a single dominant set (max speed Imprison Transform) defeating a majority of the metagame, while its alternate sets lured every check, practically without exception.

Mubs wrote a relevant Suspect Coverage piece going over Mew's prevalence in SS 1v1, including pro- and anti-ban arguments.
https://www.smogon.com/articles/1v1-suspect-mew

How did you deal with this Pokemon in 1v1?

There are very few ways to deal with every SS Mew set considering Sitrus, Resist Berries, and Choice items. Cinderace is able to defeat Mew unless it has Hydro Pump. Substitute Dragapult can overcome most Mew sets. Sylveon and Crustle can blow Mew away with their high base-power neutral hits. Aegislash and Bulldoze Excadrill can 2HKO Mew before it traps them. Fast Taunt users like Whimsicott will win if Mew doesn't have a Mental Herb to block them.

Turns out, the best way to deal with this Pokemon in 1v1 was to simply ban it from the metagame!
https://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/1v1-suspect-mew.3659304/

 

[Vrji]

What effect did this Pokemon have on the metagame?

After having lain dormant since receiving the banhammer mid SM, players were excited to give Mimikyu an honest try as it had received two nerfs in the generational shift: the lack of z-moves, and disguise taking chip damage upon breaking. Nevertheless, actually countering Mimikyu still proved incredibly obnoxious and after Melmetal was removed from the tier Mimikyu proceeded to absolutely terrorize it for the following two months. With more and more sets popping up that reliably beat almost everything not named Excadrill, it eventually got to the point where teams centered around Mimikyu + Excadrill + ground/water took over. Mimikyu was subsequently suspected and banned, marking its second generation of being banned in 1v1 while not even being OU.

How was this Pokemon used?

Mimikyu's ability Disguise means it gets to absorb one hit in exchange for 1/8 of its max HP before actually being susceptible to damage. It can abuse this in two different ways: either by doing as much damage as possible with Choice Band of Life Orb + Swords Dance and a combination of Play Rough, Shadow Claw, Wood Hammer, Shadow Sneak and Drain Punch, or by using Curse and stalling the opponent with Substitute, Protect, Phantom Force and/or Shadow Sneak. Pokemon that could outspeed and OHKO Mimikyu after Disguise could beat the usual Sitrus / Mental Herb variants but lost to the incredibly devious Salac set (Disguise gets broken -> Sub once -> Sub gets broken -> Curse (activates Salac) -> Protect -> Phantom Force), or the various other subtle variations of these sets that were used at one point or another.
Charm and/or Confide were sometimes used as well, either to mix-and-match on other sets or on full stall sets with Rest and Kee/Maranga berries (which synergize incredibly well with Disguise) that were equally frustrating to deal with, and of course there was no lack of less serious sets as well (Endure WP Drain Punch is almost useless but it theoretically beats Choice Band Excadrill, frequently cited as an absolute Mimikyu counter, so it was sometimes thrown around to make a point).

What caused it to have a significant impact?

The ability to take a hit for (almost-)free is inherently extremely powerful in 1v1, but it in itself does not make a pokemon broken (Eiscue is a funny little counterexample). What pushed Mimikyu over the edge was its variety of offensive and stall sets. Despite not having a high attack stat, its coverage when combined with Choice Band or Swords Dance means it does just enough damage to, when taking Disguise into account, out-damage almost everything. Its Curse sets meanwhile are inherently game-breaking as slower pokemon just immediately fold to Curse -> Sub + Protect, letting Mimikyu be an unreasonably effective speed trap due to its relatively good speed tier, while faster ones can still just lose to the Salac set; further stall options in Charm and Confide only serve to make things worse. Taunt, in addition to running the risk of eating a Choice Banded attack for free, also gets nullified by the looming option of Mental Herb Curse, so it is not an effective countermeasure either. The only remaining options to deal with Mimikyu are Mold Breaker mons, but a quick look into /ds shows that outside of Excadrill they are all either weak to fairy, or Basculin/Pinsir. This variety of individually insanely good sets backed by one of the best abilities in the format ultimately proved far too much for the tier, even despite the faint "but we have Excadrill" chants that can still be heard in the distance on a clear day.

How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in 1v1?

When faced with Mimikyu, there are two options: either you use Excadrill, or you play the guessing game that is always stacked against you. Even though it was fun experimenting with funny options like Choice Band Hawlucha whose Mold Breaker Brave Bird could dispose of unsuspecting Mimikyus surprisingly effectively, the only reliable option was ultimately to just pick the Excadrill and hope they don't pick the Primarina or other water/ground type found on every Mimikyu team. Many a game also turned into a Mimikyu mirror match, a horribly layered matchup that sometimes led to strange Mimikyu sets meant to have optimal odds at beating other Mimikyus. In the end, the way we dealt with Mimikyu was by simply nuking it from the tier entirely.

 

[ThatOneSpork]

What effect did this Pokemon have on the metagame?
This pokemon was very hard to 100% counter, being able to deal large damage while also being able to fit on essentially any team due to how varied it could be. This lead it to be a very dominating presence for a while before it was eventually banned.

How was this Pokemon used?
It used a variety of sets, having had 8 different sets on the last compendium it was on before it was banned. Most of these were variations of mixed, with the main exceptions being the choiced sets, of course. This variety allowed it to be put on many different teams, as it could fulfill quite a few roles on the team. Along with this high versatility, it had the ability to run occa over an attack boosting item to counter a couple of the major threats to it, with a prime example being Naganadel.

What caused it to have a significant impact?
This pokemon was a very major threat due to a multitude of reasons. It has a stellar typing, with it only having a quad weakness of fire. It has 120 in both attack stats combined with defenses high enough to survive a hit. It has great coverage on both the physical and special side. With the combination of great coverage, high attack stats, and Download it could hit most other threats with heavy super-effective damage. Some of the most important things it could hit were all the main fairies, being able to hit them with STAB boosted Iron Head or Steel Beam/Flash Cannon. It could also hit the water fairies with Gunk Shot, a heavy hitting poison move. Along with this, it could hit every currently popular dragon (Naganadel, Zygarde, Dragapult) with the often-ran Ice Beam.

How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in 1v1?
I myself dealt with it through some stupid sets, with the best one being the true best steel bug type, Escavalier. To this day the only mon I have completely ev'd. However, some more common answers were just pure fire types, as Genesect couldn't really touch them. Good answers were Heatran, Volcanion, and Arcanine, but as a general rule of thumb fire types normally worked.

I think I did this right

 

[luser]

What effect did this Pokemon have on the metagame?
Togekiss has been a menacing Pokemon in almost every SS 1v1 meta. Nearly every non-resist slower than Scarf has to worry about being flinched to death. Nearly every non-Electric fears Thunder Wave + Air Slash breaking it down slowly, and even options like Substitute have to be worries about Scarf Trick and Encore. In addition, setup against Togekiss is almost always a guaranteed loss, as TWave + Encore and Trick are both great ways for Togekiss to take advantage of nearly any setup move used by opponents. These threatening aspects encourage the use of offensive bulky Steels, Electrics, and fast Ice-types like Scarf GDarm, yet also enable Togekiss to show off its scariest aspect - its crazy versatility. Counter with a resist berry puts a stop to many common Togekiss answers like Zeraora, GDarm, some Metagross, and can even have decent odds against Crustle. Kee + Charm is great for Aggron, Glastrier, and Avalugg, and Mental Herb takes advantage of fast Taunt users like Spectrier. Overall, Togekiss forced the use of a few specific super-reliable Togekiss answers like AV Registeel or forced builders to accept the possibility of niche sets counterteaming them.

How was this Pokemon used?
Togekiss always had a variety of sets it could viably run throughout almost all metas of SS 1v1. Resist berries were very popular, often used with some combination of Encore, Thunder Wave, Roost, Counter, Air Slash, and potentially even nicher options like Charm or Amnesia. Additionally, Kee and Maranga Berry have both been great options, especially with moves like Mystical Fire. Choice Scarf is great because of Togekiss's access to Trick, and enabled Togekiss to break down faster opponents like Volcanion.

current sets examples:

Hide

twave

TWave Maranga (Togekiss) @ Maranga Berry
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 28 Def / 104 SpD / 124 Spe
Calm Nature
- Air Slash
- Thunder Wave
- Roost
- Encore

mfire

Fast Maranga (Togekiss) @ Maranga Berry
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 96 HP / 140 SpA / 20 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Air Slash
- Mystical Fire
- Roost
- Encore
better vs fini/zone

scarf

Scarf (Togekiss) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Air Slash
- Trick
- Fire Blast / Dazzling Gleam
- Roost / Dazzling Gleam

mherb

Mental Herb (Togekiss) @ Mental Herb
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 248 HP / 16 Def / 56 SpA / 180 SpD / 8 Spe
Calm Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Air Slash
- Encore
- Roost
beats spect entei

kee

Kee Stall (Togekiss) @ Kee Berry
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Def / 16 Spe
Bold Nature
- Air Slash
- Roost
- Charm
- Counter
pretty good aggron avalugg glastrier odds

nicher sets:

amnesia sitrus

find your wings (Togekiss) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 8 SpA / 152 SpD / 96 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Encore
- Amnesia
- Roost
- Air Slash
beats lando-i and probably other slow mons like the rotoms

babiri

Counter Babiri (Togekiss) @ Babiri Berry
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 232 HP / 180 Def / 96 Spe
Bold Nature
- Counter
- Encore
- Mystical Fire
- Air Slash / Roost
ok into some metagrosses

What caused it to have a significant impact?
Togekiss has always had incredible core mus, but its real viability came from its versatility. Being able to cover most grasses, darks, fightings, and dragons without much effort is incredibly useful, and then being able to hand pick additional matchups gives Togekiss incredible variety and creativity in its sets. This, in combination with other incredibly versatile fairies like Primarina, make "blanket fairy checks" extremely hard to come by, and frequently not truly consistent. In the current meta, electrics like Zeraora and Koko are very popular to cover Togekiss, as not many other mons can beat all of Togekiss's sets, in addition to the presence of other versatile threats like Primarina, Celesteela, Tapu Fini, etc.

How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in 1v1?
Bulky offensive steels like Aggron and Metagross, as well as faster Electrics or Ices like Zeroara or GDarm are great answers for Togekiss, although they have to be wary of counter sets like Babiri / Wacan / Yache + Counter, Mystical Fire + Maranga Berry, Kee + Charm, etc. In addition, non-Scarf sets are usually vulnerable to faster Taunt users like Spectrier, but this issue is solved with sets like Mental Herb. SpD Aromatisse has pretty good odds to beat Togekiss, but can be flinched down, or taken advantage of with Mental Herb. Finally, extremely strong neutral attackers like specs pz can bulk 3 air slashes to get decent odds into Togekiss.

 

[XSTATIC COLD]

reserving seaking

 

[ihbst]

sableye has to be the greatest titan because its encore disable instantly invalidated so many mons as the only way to beat it is to 2hko it before it can do struggle shenanigans. BUT if you use choice item you need to one shot otherwise it will disable and force you to struggle. This set had a strangle on the metagame, but it wasn't the only viable set. It could do so much with prankster and status moves to beat its checks, and it also had a lot of pressure in teambuilding and team preview. It had an enormous impact on the metagmae before it was inevitably banned.

 

[pqs]

reserving jirachi

 

[pqs]

wsg

 

[Larry]

I nominate Charizard-Mega-X and myself.

 

[RTM]

Reserig gdarm

Enter your nominee's sprite here.


What effect did this Pokemon have on the metagame?

Darmg has been crazy since day 1, seeming impossible to bulk. An early example of how dominant darmg was was the early ss set of scarf fire blast dragapult. It has remained relevant, still creating 50/50s to this day and has become the most common physical benchmark which just shows how massive its impact is.

How was this Pokemon used?

Band, Scarf, Salac zen, Bulky band, Bulky scarf, Liechi Zen

What caused it to have a significant impact?

Darmanitan-Galar has the ability gorilla tactics which effectively gives it a choice band on top of being able to run a boosting item. It had a significant impact because of its ability to but teams under massive pressure in builder, beat fairy, steels and dragons at the same time. Ice type with flare blitz was a interesting and effective combination.

How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in 1v1?

Things started to bulk. Sturdies became more popular. Mons ran resist berries to beat it

 

[martinvtran]

What effect did this Pokemon have on the metagame?
Sylveon has been one of the best and easiest Pokemon to throw on any team for years. From an S-ranked Fairy-type pre-DLC to an A-ranked staple now, Sylveon has dominated the SS metagame. Sylveon was very difficult to OHKO before it uses Yawn pre-DLC due to a lack of good Steel-types. This was to the extent of people running Silvally-Steel to threaten Sylveon. The introduction of the Crown Tundra saw a rise of Magnezone, Celesteela, Metagross, Entei, Ferrothorn, Volcarona, Heatran, Steelix, Avalugg and Kartana. Yet, Sylveon still comfortably resides in A-tier thanks to its decent bulk, offensive presence and set unpredictability.

In response to Endure + Custap attackers like Sylveon, Assault Vest users such as Zeraora and Entei became better options. All-out attackers such as Landorus began to compromise the 4th attack for Protect to dodge the Custap Berry. Knock Off became an increasing move-choice, such as on Zeraora, to prevent Sylveon from benefitting from the Speed increase following Endure. Steel-type coverage became a popular option to deal with Sylveon, such as Iron Tail on Landorus-Therian. Additionally, common Pokemon adapted to Sylveon by using Trick, Substitute or Encore as Sylveon’s strategy takes at least two turns to execute. However, this often forces uncomfortable mind games as Sylveon can attack turn one, and knock out the foe in the subsequent turns. Finally, Sylveon created mind games with recharge-move attackers such as Crustle and Porygon-Z with the threat of Endure.

How was this Pokemon used?

custap

Custap (Sylveon) @ Custap Berry
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 232 Def / 252 SpA / 24 Spe
Modest Nature
- Endure
- Hyper Beam
- Hyper Voice
- Fake Tears

Sylveon’s primary Custap set promises it will survive any single-hit move from strong attackers and retaliate with a STAB Hyper Voice that OHKOs most glass cannons. Sylveon uses Fake Tears in turn one. Then, it follows with Hyper Beam if its health is in Custap activation range. If not, Sylveon proceeds to use Endure, then Hyper Beam the following turn. If Sylveon can ensure it can knock out the opponent with Hyper Voice or predicts a Substitute or Endure, it then does not have to risk the accuracy/recharge of Hyper Beam. However, if Sylveon is at risk of being OHKOed by strong attackers such as Kartana, it can Endure turn one.

yawn

Yawn (Sylveon) @ Mental Herb
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 204 HP / 224 Def / 80 SpA
Modest Nature
- Yawn
- Protect
- Hyper Voice / Fake Tears
- Hyper Beam / Fake Tears

Sylveon’s disruptive Yawn set imperils any opponents who cannot OHKO Sylveon, as it will comfortably Yawn turn one, followed by Protect. When the opponent is vulnerable, Sylveon proceeds to spam Fake Tears + Hyper Beam/Voice. Though, it is better to straight-up attack a Substitute/Taunt/Trick/Encore user, such as Tapu Fini, Spectrier and Aromatisse. Sylveon’s sleep strategy adds an element of RNG, giving it a chance to beat opponents it should not beat, such as many Steel/Fire types.

specs

Specs (Sylveon) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 72 HP / 72 Def / 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 108 Spe
Modest Nature
- Hyper Beam
- Hyper Voice
- Echoed Voice
- Mystical Fire

The Choice Specs set is used more as a surprise. Specs Hyper Beam is used to destroy Pokemon that could otherwise counter it. This is pertinent for Roseli Berry attackers who click into Sylveon expecting to survive its attacks. Mystical Fire punishes Steel-types such as Ferrothorn or Magnezone who comfortable expect to knock out Sylveon.

pixie plate

Sylveon @ Pixie Plate
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 96 HP / 208 Def / 68 SpA / 136 Spe
Bold Nature
- Hyper Voice
- Hyper Beam
- Fake Tears
- Quick Attack

The Pixie Plate set is designed to speed creep Sylveon's threats over time, such as Primarina and opposing Sylveon. Sylveon initially uses Fake Tears or Hyper Voiec/Beam to attempt to knock out the opponent, then finish off with priority Quick Attack when necessary. This set is effective for Sturdy + set-up opponents like Shell Smash Crustle, which is otherwise very threatening.

pre-dlc

Sylveon @ Pixie Plate
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hyper Voice
- Yawn
- Protect
- Fake Tears

Sylveon @ Pixie Plate
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 112 HP / 204 Def / 192 SpA
Quiet Nature
- Hyper Voice
- Hyper Beam
- Fake Tears
- Quick Attack

Sylveon @ Pixie Plate
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 112 HP / 204 Def / 192 SpA
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hyper Voice
- Yawn
- Protect
- Hyper Beam

Prior to the Custap Berry's introduction in the Crown Tundra metagame, Sylveon resorted to running Pixie Plate as a common supplement. The Pixie Plate gifted Sylveon additional attacking power to break through opponents, or at least put them into Quick Attack range. However, the idea of the sets remains similar to the sets mentioned above.

What caused it to have a significant impact?
Sylveon’s ability to force uncomfortable mind games with its set variation, and whether or not to expect an Endure, Yawn or Hyper Beam/Voice, made Sylveon a dominant contender in the SS metagame. In addition, its capacity to endure any attack and the usefulness of Sleep-inducing moves differentiates it from more potentially desirable Fairy-types such as Primarina and Togekiss. It also boasts adequate Defense stats and an impressive Special Attack stat.

How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in 1v1?
With Sylveon’s lower Defense, Sylveon is primarily countered by strong attackers who can outright OHKO it before it sets up Yawn or Fake Tears, such as Choice Banded Azumarill and Diggersby. Otherwise, any Pokemon who can survive a Hyper Beam even with a -2 Special Defense drop can somewhat comfortably be picked into Sylveon. Assault Vest Zeraora, Celesteela, Metagross, Volcanion, Entei, Ferrothorn, Volcarona, Arcanine, Heatran, Ninetales, Registeel, Steelix, Aggron, Rotom-Heat and Corviknight are able to tank Sylveon’s Hyper Beam under a -2 Special Defense drop and retaliate with strong attacks, or even OHKO it. However, every Pokemon is susceptible to being asleep for such an extended period, that Sylveon proceeds to knock it out.

Hence, Taunt, Substitute, Encore and Trick are common ways to exploit Sylveon as it requires multiple turns to execute its Yawn strategy, and will lock inexperienced players’ Sylveon into a Status move. Sleep-inducing move users such as Roserade and Venusaur were more commonly used at the beginning of the generation, where they put Sylveon to sleep first to follow with multiple Sludge Bombs. Sturdy users that carry Mirror Coat, such as Magnezone and Avalugg also make it more difficult for Sylveon to attack without receiving a lot of damage in return.

Strong attacking Pokemon that carry Protect or a priority attack, such as Roseli Berry Urshifu-Rapid-Strike and Landorus are able to negate the speed boost of Sylveon’s Custap Berry. Additionally, typically Fairy-weak Pokemon who carry a Roseli Berry can lure Sylveon into Enduring turn one, followed by a Hyper Beam, which it can live. For instance, Roseli Berry Haxorus can bait Sylveon to knock it out with a Poison Jab.

Calm Mind Necrozma produced a positive matchup against Sylveon’s three sets, as it did with most of the metagame. Sylveon cannot survive a +1 Prismatic Laser, and three sleep turns were required to break a +1 Special Defense Necrozma.

 

[zo]

What effect did this Pokemon have on the metagame?

Tapu Fini has historically been at the forefront of the Dragon-type beaters whenever dragons begin to get out of hand. It has the ability to adapt, whether it be slotting Ice Beam and using Choice Specs in response to Zygarde's explosion in usage or Iron Defense to consistently beat almost every Dragon-type in the tier.

However, its strengths don't stop there. It's consistently been able to cover for its own weaknesses, forcing players to use reliable counters instead of attempting to use half-counters, such as the development of the Stored Power set to beat Volcanion or the option of Ice Beam on Scarf to beat Landorus.

In addition, its ability to tech a multitude of moves such as the ones listed above as well as Shadow Ball and Water Pulse (for Cresselia and Entei, respectively) further solidify its standing as a reliable Pokemon.

How was this Pokemon used?

Leftovers/ID

Leftovers (Tapu Fini) @ Leftovers
Ability: Misty Surge
EVs: 236 HP / 96 Def / 176 Spe
Bold Nature
- Calm Mind
- Iron Defense
- Draining Kiss
- Taunt / Surf

Sitrus

Sitrus (Tapu Fini) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Misty Surge
EVs: 248 HP / 176 SpA / 84 Spe
Bold Nature
- Moonblast
- Surf
- Calm Mind / Icy Wind
- Taunt / Icy Wind

Specs

Tapu Fini @ Choice Specs
Ability: Misty Surge
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Moonblast
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Trick / Water Pulse / Shadow Ball

Scarf

Tapu Fini @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Telepathy
EVs: 80 HP / 20 Def / 156 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Surf
- Moonblast
- Trick
- Rest

WP/Stored Power

Tapu Fini @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Misty Surge
EVs: 252 HP / 104 Def / 84 SpA / 12 SpD / 56 Spe
Calm Nature
- Hydro Pump / Surf
- Moonblast
- Stored Power
- Calm Mind

What caused it to have a significant impact?

Tapu Fini's success can be attributed to several factors. It has very solid natural bulk, allowing it to live many neutral hits without investing in defenses at all; therefore, its list of Pokemon it can hit back is greatly expanded compared to the likes of Sylveon and Primarina, who must in comparison be somewhat wary of hits from very strong attackers. The opportunities Tapu Fini's bulk give it are what allow it to stay relevant in a metagame of slow and fast hitters alike, being able to deal with threats like Aggron and Landorus-T which some of its fellow fairies could only dream of.

In addition, it has a decent speed tier, which is worth investing into as it gains so much from the ability to become a very strong yet fast setup Pokemon, most especially given its access to a fast Taunt.

Another one of its boons is its great typing. Water-Fairy may have weaknesses in Electric, Grass and Poison, but the neutrality to Steel and the ability to beat Fire-types benefit it greatly. Tapu Fini's access to strong water STAB can let it win games vs Steel-types that other Pokemon would normally struggle with, such as beating Metagross by using Choice Scarf (barring AV). In addition, because of its good bulk, it can quite often live non-STAB boosted supereffective attacks, which lets it combat Pokemon like Sawk and Garchomp with an Iron Defense set.

How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in 1v1?
Tapu Fini is quite easy to deal with, but the issue arises when one tries to beat it with an unreliable counter. Generally speaking, Pokemon that launch STAB supereffective attacks will beat it, such as Zeraora, Rillaboom, Venusaur, Naganadel, Regieleki, Tapu Koko, Zapdos and more.

 

[LeCehlou]

What effect did this Pokemon have on the metagame?
Zygarde in base form already has a good bulk but when it transformed in its Complete Form its stats get on another level, having a much better physical bulk than Regirock and a slighty better special bulk than Regice.Its tremendous stats forced a Fairy / Ice type on every serious team, and even in some case multiple ones. Ice moves usage was automatically inflacted to deal with this monster, and Pokémon weak to Ice moves like Landorus and Garchomp had difficulties since the tier was unintentionally prepared for them.
How was this Pokemon used?
For this part i'm going to use the sets and the explanations from this article written by Itchy : https://www.smogon.com/articles/1v1-suspect-power-construct

WP Skitter Smack

WP Skitter Smack (Zygarde) @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Power Construct
EVs: 144 HP / 28 Atk / 16 Def / 144 SpD / 176 Spe
Impish Nature
- Coil
- Thousand Arrows
- Skitter Smack
- Rest

Rocky Helmet

Rocky Helmet (Zygarde) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Power Construct
EVs: 172 HP / 160 Def / 176 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Coil
- Thousand Arrows
- Extreme Speed
- Rest / Breaking Swipe

Assault Vest

AV (Zygarde) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Power Construct
EVs: 240 HP / 20 Atk / 248 SpD
Careful Nature
- Thousand Arrows
- Skitter Smack
- Extreme Speed
- Iron Tail / Sludge Wave

Haban Berry

DDance Haban (Zygarde) @ Haban Berry
Ability: Power Construct
EVs: 252 HP / 124 Atk / 40 Def / 20 SpD / 72 Spe
Impish Nature
- Outrage
- Thousand Arrows
- Dragon Dance
- Substitute

SubToxic

SubToxic (Zygarde) @ Leftovers
Ability: Power Construct
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Toxic
- Protect
- Substitute
- Thousand Arrows

What caused it to have a significant impact?
The fact that the base form of Zygarde has 600 BST gives him a decent bulk, allowing him to get in Power Construct range. With the Complete form it can almost any attack that's not X4 effective, even some Fairy Attacks could be bulked with its natural bulk in combinaison of Assault Vest and the Bug-type move Skitter Smack. Skitter Smack + Rest was used on some sets to lower the special attack of the opponent (like Primarina) and stall it. But in fact, it had a significant impact on the meta thanks to the plethora of sets it could run. Only a few Pokémon could beat all sets, even Darmanitan-Galar could lose to some Reversal sets used in tours.

How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in 1v1?
Since a single set couldn't beat all its counter, Ice types like Darmanitan-Galar, Kyurem were pretty good at checking it. Fairies type also had a good chance to win, even if they could be beaten by Assault Vest sets and WP Skitter Smack. Because Zygarde was so good and was always in top 10 of the usage rate, some Pokémon like Talonflame or even Cursola started to be used to specifically beat Zygarde. Furthermore, more and more Pokémon started to run Ice moves like Tapu Fini choice sets, and Aggron with the attack Avalanche.

 

[ihbst]

What effect did this Pokemon have on the metagame?

sableye has to be the greatest titan because it had a lot of pressure in teambuilding and team preview. It had an enormous impact on the metagame before it was inevitably banned.

How was this Pokemon used?

Sableye usually tried to make the opponent struggle, using disable with encore or trick+choice. It is complemented by its prankster ability, making its status moves priority and made it much harder to beat.

What caused it to have a significant impact?

It was really restricting and hard to stop, so most pokemon couldn't beat it. Teams needed to go out of their way to have ways to beat sableye.

How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in 1v1?

the best way to beat sableye is to prevent its status moves with dark types. Overwealming it with power was also good.

 

[torterraxx]

What effect did this Pokemon have on the metagame?

Regidrago was a center piece to the Dragon-Fairy-Steel (DFS) team archetype that was popular during certain periods of the metagame. Regidrago often competed with Zygarde on these teams, with Regidrago being able to beat Avalugg and Rillaboom, and Zygarde having better matchups versus Steel types and some fairy types. While very good on their own, Fairy types became even more essential on teams to deal with Regidrago. Steel types such as Celesteela and Metagross soared in popularity as they could take on Regidrago and fairy types in one slot. While not very flexible and having limited tech potential, Regidrago is phenomenal at doing its job of winning neutral matchups. This results in Regidrago often creating significant team preview pressure.

How was this Pokemon used?

Despite being a rather straightforward pokemon, Regidrago has several sets it can use. Assault Vest, Haban Berry, Custap Berry, and Choice Band were the main sets Regidrago used.

Assault Vest

Regidrago @ Assault Vest
Ability: Dragon's Maw
EVs: 48 HP / 248 Def / 4 SpA / 200 SpD / 8 Spe
Modest Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Outrage
- Scale Shot
- Dragon Energy

Haban Berry

Regidrago @ Haban Berry
Ability: Dragon's Maw
EVs: 244 Def / 168 SpD / 96 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Breaking Swipe
- Outrage
- Scale Shot
- Draco Meteor

Custap Berry

Regidrago @ Custap Berry
Ability: Dragon's Maw
EVs: 252 Def / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
- Dragon Energy
- Draco Meteor
- Scale Shot / Breaking Swipe / Outrage
- Endure

Choice Band

Band (Regidrago) @ Choice Band
Ability: Dragon's Maw
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Outrage
- Scale Shot
- Hammer Arm
- Fire Fang

Weakness Policy

WP (Regidrago) @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Dragon's Maw
EVs: 12 HP / 132 Atk / 204 Def / 48 SpD / 112 Spe
Impish Nature
- Breaking Swipe
- Outrage
- Draco Meteor
- Dragon Dance / Scale Shot

What caused it to have a significant impact?

Regidrago's ability to dominate many neutral matchups as well as beat opposing dragon types made it a prominent threat in 1v1. It is extremely powerful due to its ability Dragon's Maw and can be very bulky if invested. Regidrago often does not need a lot of offensive investment due to how strong it is, so it's easy to invest in it defensively. While having some unwinnable matchups, Regidrago can get around some of its counters including Daramanitan-G, Avalugg, Ferrothorn, and Glastrier depending on the set it runs.

How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in 1v1?

Every prominent fairy type can beat Regidrago and many steel types can as well, although Regidrago is able to finesse past steels like Ferrothorn, Magnezone, and Aggron at times. Ice types such as Darmanitan-Galar and Glastrier beat the majority of Regidrago sets. Scarf Unnerve Haxorus is a notable pokemon that beats every prominent Regidrago, with Regidrago needing max bulk to survive a hit.

 

[Elo Bandit]

What effect did this Pokemon have on the metagame?

Cinderace helped define the early stages of SS 1v1 as the frontrunner starter evolution. It functioned as an excellent check to the broken new toys of the meta: Mimikyu, Mew, Sableye, Darmanitan-G, Rillaboom, and Corviknight, plus everything else a good Fire-type should beat. Cinderace was held in check by Primarina, Dragapult, Rotom-Wash, and some Sturdy Pokemon like Choice Band Steelix.

When the Hidden Abilities (Libero, Grassy Surge, and Sniper) dropped with Pokemon Home in early June 2020, Cinderace really took off. Getting STAB on every move with enormous physical coverage (Gunk Shot, Sucker Punch, Giga Impact, High Jump Kick, Bounce, Iron Head, Zen Headbutt, etc.) launched Cinderace directly into the broken zone. With a new top tier ability, Cinderace could now easily respond to its previous checks with the right coverage move. Gunk Shot dealt with Primarina and Fairies, Sucker Punch could be used against Dragapult, High Jump Kick alleviated Cinderace's Ground weakness and let it find 2HKOs on Sturdies. STAB Giga Impact with 225 effective base power is an incredibly strong neutral hit against would-be resists: 252+ Atk Choice Band Libero Cinderace Giga Impact vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Garchomp: 388-457 (108.6 - 128%) -- guaranteed OHKO

The only Pokemon to properly counter Libero Cinderace were Urshifu-Rapid-Strike, Slowbro, a handful of Kebia Berry Fairies, and a couple niche Water-types with speed control. Cinderace could finesse nearly any other matchup including Intelleon with its Sucker Punch or Scarf Giga Impact.

How was this Pokemon used?

Pre-DLC (Blaze)

Sub Liechi

Cinderace @ Liechi Berry
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Substitute
- Pyro Ball
- Reversal
- Taunt

People quickly found the optimal moveset for Blaze Cinderace. Taunt handled the ever-popular Mew while Substitute let Cinderace easily get into Blaze range to blow opponents up with +1 Pyro Ball or 200 BP Reversal.

Choice Band

Cinderace @ Choice Band
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 Atk / 32 Def / 224 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Pyro Ball
- Flare Blitz
- High Jump Kick
- Counter

Some players preferred Choice Band over Liechi Berry for the immediate power and perfect-accuracy Flare Blitz option when a Pyro Ball miss would cost Cinderace the match. Fighting coverage is incredibly effective on this set even without STAB.

Choice Scarf

Cinderace @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 192 Atk / 64 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Pyro Ball
- High Jump Kick
- Gunk Shot
- Flare Blitz / Giga Impact

Choice Scarf was sometimes chosen for the mirror matchup and to surprise the few things that naturally outspeed Cinderace.

Post-DLC (Libero)

Choice Band

Cinderace @ Choice Band
Ability: Libero
EVs: 108 Atk / 148 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Pyro Ball
- Gunk Shot
- Giga Impact
- High Jump Kick / Sucker Punch

Jolly Choice Band Cinderace speed ties the mirror and KOs everything relevant while increasing SpDef against the special attackers of DLC1.
108 Atk Choice Band Libero Cinderace High Jump Kick vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Cinderace: 331-391 (109.9 - 129.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO
108 Atk Choice Band Libero Cinderace Gunk Shot vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Primarina: 422-498 (115.9 - 136.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
108 Atk Choice Band Libero Cinderace Sucker Punch vs. 144 HP / 0 Def Dragapult: 356-422 (100.8 - 119.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Magnezone Thunderbolt vs. 0 HP / 148 SpD Cinderace: 256-303 (85 - 100.6%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO

Choice Scarf

Cinderace @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Libero
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- High Jump Kick
- Pyro Ball
- Giga Impact
- Gunk Shot

Scarf Cinderace recieved a huge buff with Libero, gaining STAB on HJK, Giga Impact, and Gunk Shot. Though extremely cheesy, a special attacking set with Blast Burn and Electro Ball can beat Togekiss and one-shot 4x weaknesses.
252 SpA Libero Cinderace Electro Ball (80 BP) vs. 88 HP / 0 SpD Gyarados: 336-400 (100 - 119%) -- guaranteed OHKO
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen81v1-1136155617

Salac Berry

Cinderace @ Salac Berry
Ability: Libero
EVs: 220 Atk / 36 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Bulk Up
- Pyro Ball
- Endure
- Reversal

Speed is key in the mirror matchup, and Salac Bulk Up Cinderace aims to be the fastest. Though it lacks the outright power of Choice Band, Salac Cinderace could surprise the quickest Pokemon of the tier without sacrificing much else.


Cinderace @ Salac Berry
Ability: Libero
EVs: 136 Atk / 196 Def / 176 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Bulk Up
- Gunk Shot
- Endure
- Giga Impact

Credit to Downcoming3 for this set. Cinderace takes advantage of its coverage options to blow through checks at +1 speed / +1 attack without even utilizing a fire move. STAB Giga Impact is just too powerful.

Life Orb

Cinderace @ Life Orb
Ability: Libero
EVs: 220 Atk / 36 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Bulk Up
- Pyro Ball
- Gunk Shot
- Sucker Punch

The idea is to Bulk Up and hit back at +1 while maximizing coverage and keeping Sucker Punch without locking yourself into it. Chilan Berry is also a viable item on this type of set to absorb an opposing Scarf Hyper Beam or Giga Impact.

Sub Liechi

Cinderace @ Liechi Berry
Ability: Libero
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Substitute
- Pyro Ball
- Reversal
- Bulk Up / Sucker Punch

Cinderace trades out Taunt for Bulk Up on the classic Sub Reversal set since Mew is no longer a concern. Though Pyro Ball no longer hits with Blaze boost, that power is diverted into its Fighting coverage instead. Libero and Substitute boost Reversal up to a +1 200BP STAB, Libero Cinderace's strongest possible attack.

What caused it to have a significant impact?

Fantastic speed, great typing (plus Libero), and a wide movepool made Cinderace into a devastating threat that totally warped SS 1v1 for a short time. Its primary sets naturally took out a huge chunk of the top threats and general meta, and its alternates once Libero was released could work around nearly any supposed counter. Common partners for Cinderace included Primarina, Venusaur, Magnezone, and Dragapult, though it could fit well onto basically any team with its preposterous coverage.

How did you deal with this Pokemon in 1v1?

Urshifu-Rapid-Strike, Slowbro, Kebia Berry Primarina, and Salac Berry Intelleon will all beat Cinderace. True counters are few and far between since Cinderace has such a plethora of options to help it through any given scenario with relatively low opportunity cost. Finally, Cinderace was unanimously quickbanned by the 1v1 Council on June 18th, 2020.
https://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/the-bunnies-are-gone-cinderace-magearna-quickbanned.3666206/

 

[Joker 1v1]

reserving seaking

that's my thing :d

 

[XSTATIC COLD]

that's my thing :d

ok, reserving surfing dugtrio aka Waylaid in Malibu.

 

[Elo Bandit]

What effect did this Pokemon have on the metagame?

sableye has to be the greatest titan because it had a lot of pressure in teambuilding and team preview. It had an enormous impact on the metagame before it was inevitably banned.

How was this Pokemon used?

Sableye usually tried to make the opponent struggle, using disable with encore or trick+choice. It is complemented by its prankster ability, making its status moves priority and made it much harder to beat.

What caused it to have a significant impact?

It was really restricting and hard to stop, so most pokemon couldn't beat it. Teams needed to go out of their way to have ways to beat sableye.

How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in 1v1?

the best way to beat sableye is to prevent its status moves with dark types. Overwealming it with power was also good.

Movesets

Sableye @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 248 HP / 164 Def / 96 SpD
Bold Nature
- Protect
- Encore
- Disable
- Night Shade

Protect is used first to scout the opponent's move, then Sableye locks them in with Encore. If the opponent can't one-shot Sableye, they get Disabled the next turn and quickly drop to Struggle recoil plus Night Shade damage. The best counters to this strategy are Dark types immune to Prankster and Aromatisse or other Fairies capable of finding the one-hit KO.


Sableye @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
- Trick
- Disable
- Recover
- Fling

Trick locks an opponent into their move, then Disable prevents its use and forces Struggle for the next four turns. Recover is required to stay alive for the subsequent attack when Disable ends. Fling can get rid of any unwanted choice items Sableye picks up with Trick. Notably, this set checks Imprison Mew unless it's running Encore or Magic Room.

Sableye was banned on January 3rd, 2020.
https://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/sableye-has-been-banned-from-ss-1v1.3658590/

More information-

 

[RTM]

What effect did this Pokemon have on the metagame?

sableye has to be the greatest titan because it had a lot of pressure in teambuilding and team preview. It had an enormous impact on the metagame before it was inevitably banned.

How was this Pokemon used?

Sableye usually tried to make the opponent struggle, using disable with encore or trick+choice. It is complemented by its prankster ability, making its status moves priority and made it much harder to beat.

What caused it to have a significant impact?

It was really restricting and hard to stop, so most pokemon couldn't beat it. Teams needed to go out of their way to have ways to beat sableye.

How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in 1v1?

the best way to beat sableye is to prevent its status moves with dark types. Overwealming it with power was also good.

just a little extra info for the effect. It is the initial reason for high fairy usage, which was still seen after sab was banned, even before regidrago. It being banned led to things such as encore disable aromatisse being discovered and used. Also for the impact, it pretty much mandated a fairy or dark type on every team

 

[Elo Bandit]

How was this Pokemon used?

Mimikyu's ability Disguise means it gets to absorb one hit in exchange for 1/8 of its max HP before actually being susceptible to damage. It can abuse this in two different ways: either by doing as much damage as possible with Choice Band of Life Orb + Swords Dance and a combination of Play Rough, Shadow Claw, Wood Hammer, Shadow Sneak and Drain Punch, or by using Curse and stalling the opponent with Substitute, Protect, Phantom Force and/or Shadow Sneak. Pokemon that could outspeed and OHKO Mimikyu after Disguise could beat the usual Sitrus / Mental Herb variants but lost to the incredibly devious Salac set (Disguise gets broken -> Sub once -> Sub gets broken -> Curse (activates Salac) -> Protect -> Phantom Force), or the various other subtle variations of these sets that were used at one point or another.
Charm and/or Confide were sometimes used as well, either to mix-and-match on other sets or on full stall sets with Rest and Kee/Maranga berries (which synergize incredibly well with Disguise) that were equally frustrating to deal with, and of course there was no lack of less serious sets as well (Endure WP Drain Punch is almost useless but it theoretically beats Choice Band Excadrill, frequently cited as an absolute Mimikyu counter, so it was sometimes thrown around to make a point).

Movesets

Choice Band

Mimikyu @ Choice Band
Ability: Disguise
EVs: 188 Atk / 128 Def / 192 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Play Rough
- Phantom Force
- Drain Punch
- Trick / Shadow Sneak

Life Orb

Mimikyu @ Life Orb
Ability: Disguise
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Shadow Sneak
- Play Rough
- Phantom Force
- Wood Hammer / Swords Dance

Choice Scarf!

Mimikyu @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Disguise
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Trick
- Play Rough
- Phantom Force
- Wood Hammer

Offensive Curse

Mimikyu @ Salac Berry
Ability: Disguise
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
IVs: 29 HP
- Substitute
- Protect
- Curse
- Phantom Force

Bulky Curse

Mimikyu @ Salac Berry
Ability: Disguise
EVs: 244 HP / 12 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Curse
- Protect
- Substitute
- Phantom Force

Charm Kee

Mimikyu @ Kee Berry
Ability: Disguise
EVs: 104 HP / 212 Def / 192 Spe
Impish Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Charm
- Pain Split
- Drain Punch

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ou-1629718608-w8jm7n1s5ymgdhdf8d54jaz58ulqo3upw

Confide Maranga

Mimikyu @ Maranga Berry
Ability: Disguise
EVs: 184 HP / 96 Atk / 48 SpD / 180 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Confide
- Play Rough
- Shadow Sneak / Swords Dance
- Rest / Pain Split

Endure WP

Mimikyu @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Disguise
EVs: 64 HP / 252 Atk / 192 Spe
Adamant / Jolly Nature
- Endure
- Drain Punch
- Shadow Sneak
- Play Rough

+2 252+ Atk Mimikyu Drain Punch vs. 244 HP / 0 Def Excadrill: 422-498 (100 - 118%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252 Atk Mimikyu Drain Punch vs. 244 HP / 0 Def Excadrill: 384-454 (90.9 - 107.5%) -- 50% chance to OHKO
+2 252 Atk Mimikyu Drain Punch vs. 92 HP / 0 Def Excadrill: 384-454 (100 - 118.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO

+2 252+ Atk Mimikyu Drain Punch vs. 0 HP / 240 Def Excadrill: 306-360 (84.7 - 99.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

But We Have

Excadrill @ Choice Band
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 128 Atk / 164 Def / 216 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Iron Head

+2 252 Atk Mimikyu Drain Punch vs. 0 HP / 164 Def Excadrill: 306-360 (84.7 - 99.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
128 Atk Choice Band Excadrill Iron Head vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Mimikyu: 306-362 (97.4 - 115.2%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO

 

[recti]

What effect did this Pokemon have on the metagame?
this mon rised on the low ladder of 1v1 I have already mentioned how this mon was busted but I'll tell it again THERE IS LIKE 1 VIABLE DARK TYPE IN THE TIER it utilizes its powerful STAB prismatic lazer and specs was dominant in low ladder unless the oppo was av but still only some avs won it the rest lost to it because of its bulk and its unpredictable sets were main reason for its usage the effect of it was its brute power,its unpredictability
How was this Pokemon used?

specs

Necrozma @ Choice Specs
Ability: Prism Armor
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
- Prismatic Laser
- Photon Geyser
- Earth Power
- Heat Wave

rest ill edit later

stall

Necrozma @ Leftovers
Ability: Prism Armor
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stored Power
- Moonlight
- Iron Defense

lorb

- Calm Mind
Necrozma @ Life Orb
Ability: Prism Armor
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Blast
- Photon Geyser
- Dragon Dance

[/SPOILER]="weakness policy"
Necrozma @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Prism Armor
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Heat Wave
- Moonlight
- Calm Mind
- Prismatic Laser[/SPOILER]
[/SPOILER]
What caused it to have a significant impact?
the ban of power cunstruct its 2nd counter toxic stall zygarde got its well the ability that was the reason to use that got BANNED and the general policy of 1v1 that dark types are not used that much.and yeah then its powerful spatk decent atk ,wide movepool and its sets diversity caused it to have a significant impact wait I forgot to say this if saybleye was not banned im pretty sure this mon would be balanced,
How do/did you deal with this Pokemon in 1v1?
rly depends on its various sets but here it is

all sets counter

banded (Urshifu) @ Choice Band
Ability: Unseen Fist
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Bulk Up
- Wicked Blow
- Fling
- Close Combat

every set exept rock blast

Volcarona @ Leftovers
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 252 HP / 204 Def / 52 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fiery Dance
- Quiver Dance
- Bug Buzz
- Roost

stall counter

Morning dew (Tapu Fini) @ Leftovers
Ability: Misty Surge
EVs: 244 HP / 56 Def / 208 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Iron Defense
- Taunt
- Draining Kiss

lorb counter

Dragapult (M) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 HP / 16 SpD / 240 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Disable
- Will-O-Wisp
- Hex

specs counter

Primarina @ Custap Berry
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Endure
- Hydro Cannon
- Moonblast
- Encore