What Did Gen 6 Bring to Monotype?

By Agous and Goddess Briyella. Art by Bummer.

Introduction

Monotype, the tier where each team has to have each Pokémon on the team sharing a type. Having its own ladder on Pokémon Showdown! and being its own metagame, Monotype has taken twists and turns throughout the generations, with new types being introduced and nerfs and grants being given out. Monotype would only be able to be played seriously beginning in Generation III, when there were enough Pokémon of each type to form a 6 Pokémon team! In Generation V however, the rise of Drizzle Politoed and Drought Ninetales allowed Monotype to be a heavily weather-dominated tier. This would be when Monotype hit its peak in popularity, and it would always be a luck of the draw tier when matching up types!

In this generation, Game Freak decided to indirectly affect the Monotype metagame heavily, with many nerfs and boons. After getting rid of permanent weather, changing type effectiveness, and even adding a brand new type, there is a lot in store for Monotype, and teams will be incredibly different this time around.

Lack of Perma-Weather

The biggest nerf, in my opinion, was the edit to the abilities Drought, Drizzle, Snow Warning and Sand Stream. In Generation 5, these abilities allowed Water, Fire, Ground, Rock, and Ice to have permanent weather that benefited them, and would negate weaknesses, power up STAB moves, and grant them extra stat buffs.

In Generation 6 however, these types now lack their gift that they had had every generation before. Water's nerf fell heavily on the lack of rain-based abilities, with Hydration and Rain Dish only lasting 5-7 turns. Not to mention the loss of the beloved Water STAB boost. This had previously allowed Pokémon such as Keldeo to be a sight to fear, but now drops the type down to the depths of Limbo, or most likely UU.

Fire-types had previously relied on the half damage from Water-type attacks to lose a weakness. Now, Mono-Water teams have the utmost advantage over Mono-Fire. They also lost a favored STAB boost that allowed them to hit hard with Flamethrower and Fire Blast.

Rock and Ground both lost permanent sandstorm that Hippowdon and Tyranitar brought to them. For Mono-Rock, it lost one of the main reasons to even use Rock-types; a 1.5 times boost to their Special Defense. Bulky Rock-types, like Tyranitar itself and Regirock, had huge defenses after this boost, allowing Tyranitar to set up Stealth Rock and KO threats like Alakazam that could not KO it in return.

Types

Fairy:

Prologue: We advise against the use of Fairy Monotype for the sake of your ladder ranking. Thank you.

The new Fairy-type has been introduced, and it hits the ground at a jogger's pace. Fairy has a wide variety of neat and diverse Pokémon such as Clefable, Togekiss, Florges, Azumarill, Klefki, Mega Mawile, and Mega Gardevoir. These Pokémon all have a great niche and have their own skill, and can make a pretty strong team. However, when it comes to viable Fairy-types, you'll find your options pretty stale. Regular Gardevoir is a strong offensive artillery in the Fairy ranks, but can only serve a more defensive role with unique access to moves such as Will-O-Wisp and STAB Psychic, which knock out frail Poison Pokémon in no time. Other Pokémon such as Granbull can take advantage of Intimidate and strong moves like Earthquake to counter Steel and Poison, and hit hard without having to set up a Swords Dance like Mawile. Beyond this, you are only left with the bottom of the barrel Pokémon like Mr. Mime and Dedenne.

Fairy's typing also leaves them with great resistances to Dark and Fighting, both of which heavily utilize the widely used Knock Off. With a resistance to Knock Off and the ability to quickly knock out the user, Fairies yield a great ability in a specific defensive department. Not only this, Fairies are completely immune to Dragon-type moves. This renders most Dragon-types helpless as the Fairy troops can Wish away or knock them out.

In all, Fairy Pokémon have strong points and low points. The stale options for a mono-Fairy team can be a bit unnerving, but past that, these Pokémon have a diverse team layout, and fit every role a well-built team needs.

Steel:

Steel got boosts and nerfs this generation to play around with. For starters, the Fairy-type was introduced, and luckily for Steel, it is strong against it. This allows Pokémon like Scizor and Excadrill to rip apart Mono-Fairy teams that lack Mawile or Klefki (or Dedenne for that matter). However, not all is great news for Steel. They lost two resistances: Ghost and Dark. To begin with, this gives Pokémon like Metagross and Jirachi two more weaknesses. Moreover, with the additional boost to Knock Off and Sucker Punch's viability, this new Dark neutrality is not handy for any Steel-type.

Dark:

Dark got one significant boost, one that will be a metagame definer: Knock Off. At a now 65 Base Power, which turns into 97.5 when the opponent holds an item, you now have a strong move, even without factoring in STAB! Dark-types also are no longer resisted by Steel, which is a plus, meaning Sucker Punch and Knock Off will hit with great effect! The new weakness to Fairy isn't ideal, though, and it adds pressure on Mono-Dark teams to conserve Bisharp or a variant to deal with the pixies.

Flying:

Flying-types got a boost from Game Freak that has eliminated the necessity to have Xatu or...Delibird...on your team to clear entry hazards. This perk is called Defog, the useless HM from the DPP era. As well as the somewhat useful evasion drop, Defog clears hazards from both sides of the field. No more Stealth Rock. It does make it unpredictable or even redundant to have a Pokémon like Skarmory use Spikes or Stealth Rock to only be Defogged away after. Talonflame has been introduced this generation, and Gale Wings will certainly come in handy. With there being no priority Flying moves, Talonflame's access to priority Brave Bird and sonic fast Flare Blitz helps clear the way from Ice-types and cleans up the battle if facing Bug- or Grass-types.

Dragon:

Dragon-types were once the pride and joy of the Monotype metagame, despite it being "noobish" or "immature" to use them. Well, now, prepare to look even "noobier" if you think Dragon-types are still "amazing." The Fairy-type was introduced, and came in with a crushing blow. Now, that Outrage is not doing a single bit of damage, and no, you cannot switch either. So. That leaves Mega Mawile to set up or Mega Gardevoir to throw up a Substitute, and then, good game. So now, what do Dragons have to play with to actually win a single battle? Well, your choices rest in Poison Jab, Iron Head, and Dragalge. Even now, you still do not really stand a chance against a Mono-Fairy team. The era of Dragon-types has finally come to a close.

Poison:

Mono-Poison got the benefit from Game Freak this generation through the new Fairy-type. Having an advantage over another type other than Grass, the most unused Monotype of all, Poison can actually have some fair battles, and has STAB that can be put to the real test. Pokémon like Nidoking and Nidoqueen are in a great position due to their diversity, and can single-handedly rip apart Mono-Fairy teams except specially bulky Pokémon like Togekiss and Florges, which can more or less hold their own.

Fire:

With the new Defog mechanics, Fire-types actually aren't completely forgotten. With Mega Charizard and Ninetales, Mono-Fire can have more or less permanent Sunny Day. Last generation, the only Rapid Spinner was Torkoal. So with Defog, Fire-types can clear away Stealth Rock and continue to send out Volcarona and Charizard. This indirectly puts more pressure on types that have a weakness to Fire, like Steel, Grass, and Ice, because Fire will now be used frequently.

Ghost:

Ghost were in the same boat as Dark when pitted against Steel, but their Monotype role took a wrong turn when Knock Off was made actually viable. Now Ghost has to contend with not only being extremely frail, but is now extra weak to anything with Knock Off. Not to mention they still cannot hit bulky Dark-types like Mandibuzz. Ghost has only a role of hyper offense, and this role can be partnered with diverse team members to form a tight squad. However, Ghosts will always be at a disadvantage, with many frail team members and vulnerable to many types.

Fighting:

The Fighting-type, like Dragon and Dark, have fallen to the Fairy-type curse, and is not only weak to Fairy-type attacks, but Fairy resists Fighting as well. Not to mention that with new Overcoat mechanics, Defog, and Sticky Web, Fighting-types lose many of their great contenders, whether they can Spore like Breloom, or set up Stealth Rock like Infernape, or need Speed to finish a sweep like Sawk. The savior of the type last generation, Scrafty, is now 4x weak to Fairy. This type hasn't had a single boon this generation, and for now, would not be recommended to use.

Mega Pokémon

Mega Pokémon have already heavily influenced this generation, with some Mega Stones already being banned into Ubers. What makes Mega Stones so effective in Monotype, however, is the fact that some Pokémon have the ability to change typing, at a gain or loss. Some may even have the actual abilities that allow them to completely change their position in the metagame.

Viable Pokémon

Aggron

Aggron is one of those Pokémon that looks amazing and then turns out to only be good in one thing, but can never pull off that one thing, because they utterly suck at everything else. Well, Aggron was also one of those Pokémon that were blessed with a Mega Evolution this generation. When becoming Mega Aggron, it loses its weakness to Water, and knocks down its 4x weaknesses to Fighting and Ground. Now, as a pure Steel-type, Mega Aggron has no gigantic weaknesses, and all super effective moves fired at Mega Aggron are lowered to 75% thanks to Game Freak granting it with Filter! Not to mention that Mega Aggron also has base 230 Defense. So now its physically bulkier than even Shuckle, being only 4HKOed by Choice Scarf Garchomp's Earthquake. That's some serious bulk.

On a Mono-Rock team, Mega Aggron is awesome! It is a great physical wall that doesn't die to one Surf or an Energy Ball. It can also switch out to its Rock companions to help with its Fire weakness. More importantly, it can check Fairy-, Poison-, and Dragon-types that most Rock-types cannot deal with. If you really need a physical attacker on a Mono-Rock team, which is would be odd considering you have Tyranitar, you can slap 252 Attack EVs, Adamant, and Heavy Slam onto Mega Aggron, and then 2HKO almost every Pokémon.

On a Mono-Steel-type team, Mega Aggron is a bit more redundant, as high-defensive Pokémon and strong physical attacking Pokémon are quite abundant. Not to mention you are competing with Mega Mawile for the slot of Steel Mega Evolution, one that can practically OHKO Pokémon like Chansey and Ferrothorn after a boost. Running Thunder Wave, Mega Aggron can somewhat compete with a Pokémon like Skarmory if you're looking for a wall, but because Skarmory is used for entry hazards, you most likely won't be finding space for Mega Aggron on your Mono-Steel team.

Venusaur

Last generation, Venusaur had already climbed out of the depths in standard play and risen to a high usage because of permanent weather being available. However, this generation, permanent weather is gone, so why use Venusaur? Well, the answer lies in Mega Venusaur's stats and its ability. With defensive stats of 82 / 123 / 120, Mega Venusaur is a defensive threat to watch out for. But it also has 100 Attack and 122 Special Attack, meaning you're only going to be able to defeat it if it doesn't take you down first. But what really makes Venusaur stand out is its new access to Thick Fat. Neutralizing two of its prominent weaknesses has given him weakness to only Flying and Psychic.

If you carry Earthquake, your Mono-Grass team now has no problem with Heatran. If you carry Sludge Bomb, you have now taken care of pesky Fairy-types. Venusaur is also the only viable Mega Pokémon in the Grass-type range, so you won't be having conflicting problems when picking a Mega Pokémon. What's more, Venusaur can rid the team of Toxic Spikes if you're using it on a Mono-Grass team!

When picking for a Mono-Poison team, Venusaur is the only available Mega Pokémon. With Mega Venusaur reducing the team's Ice- and Fire-type weakness, Pokémon such as Nidoking have the ability to switch out and wait their turn untill Venusaur has knocked the opponent out. With Venusaur having so much bulk, dealing with diverse Fairy-types is not a problem, and you have an almost guaranteed win if you have a proper team!

Mawile

There is a reason why Mawile has shot up to the top tiers this generation. This is because its Mega forme has Huge Power, and Mega Mawile already has a base Attack of 105. With a grand maxed out total of 678, this two-jawed beast has ability to shred through teams. Oh wait, it also has access to Swords Dance, thereby doubling its already incredible Attack stat. To illustrate Mawile's strengths, after a Swords Dance, Mawile has a extremely high chance to OHKO Choice Scarf Garchomp with Sucker Punch. Or after using Intimidate as regular Mawile, this Fairy-type can survive a Landorus-T's Earthquake, then OHKO at +1 with Play Rough! After Stealth Rock and Spikes, Mawile has the capability to almost 2HKO the entire OU tier, with STAB Play Rough and Iron Head being enough to knock out any stragglers. If coverage is something you're looking for with a decent power, look no more. With access to Fire Fang, Ice Fang, and Thunder Fang, Mawile can fit a large number of roles, whether it be taking down Skarmory, Landorus, or even Gyarados!

On your Mono-Steel team, Mega Mawile competes with Pokémon such as Bisharp and Metagross when it comes to full-throttle physical attacker. However, Mawile is better than both of these Pokémon unboosted, and hits just as hard as Bisharp can with Sucker Punch! Not only this, Mega Mawile has a free setup against a Pokémon using Outrage, and it doesn't take any damage. Even Bisharp will lose a nice chunk of HP from a Choice Band Garchomp's Outrage.

On your Mono-Fairy team, that is, if you run the risk of using a Fairy team, you have probably the best physical attacker in the type, if not the best. I guess you can actually counter other Fairies with Mawile, something that is hard for a Mono-Fairy team.

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