The Post-Aegislash Metagame
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Introduction
The banning of Aegislash has had an enormous effect on the OU tier. As the center of the tier, it limited the viability and effectiveness of many Pokémon that could otherwise be enormous threats. This article details some of these improved Pokémon that you can capitalize on in the post-Aegislash OU metagame.
Pokémon
Mega Medicham
Pre-Aegislash Ban: B+
Post-Aegislash Ban: A
How it Benefited
With Aegislash gone, Mega Medicham lost one of its biggest checks, and thus has much more freedom to run house through teams with its ridiculously powerful attacks. Only a select group of Pokémon, basically consisting of bulky Psychic-types, such as Slowbro, physically defensive Mew, Starmie, Victini, and Cresselia; and a handful of niche Pokémon that includes Sableye, Doublade, Granbull, and defensive Cofagrigus can actually be called counters or solid checks to it. While this list might actually seem pretty large, many of these Pokémon can only fit onto specific teams and require specific support or are generally not the best of Pokémon. With the plethora of teams that cannot fit these Pokémon, the entire game around Mega Medicham is basically a series of mindgames, sacrifices, and revenge kills. Furthermore, with Aegislash gone, it is free to forgo Fire Punch for Ice Punch, Bullet Punch, Baton Pass, or even more niche options like Thunder Punch. Ice Punch hammers Landorus-T, the Lati twins, and Gliscor, in addition to OHKOing Dragonite through Multiscale and 2HKOing defensive Celebi. Bullet Punch lets Mega Medicham pick off faster threats that are weakened or barely survived a hit, and combined with Fake Out, can allow it to revenge kill various threats. Baton Pass allows Mega Medicham to keep up momentum in the face of its checks and counters, eases prediction, and combined with Substitute, can allow another other Pokémon to get a free switch-in. Thunder Punch 2HKOes Slowbro, which is otherwise a perfect counter; OHKOes bulky Starmie, a great check; and allows it to run Drain Punch to keep healthy and avoid High Jump Kick misses while retaining the ability to blow past Skarmory. While not necessary, the ability to run these moves in lieu of Fire Punch makes Mega Medicham just that much more of a threat. As a result, the banning of Aegislash has caused Mega Medicham's viability and usage to skyrocket. It has been transformed from a rather niche stall killer to a top-tier threat.
Sample Set
Medicham @ Medichamite
Ability: Pure Power
EVs: 16 HP / 252 Atk / 240 Spe
Adamant Nature
- High Jump Kick
- Zen Headbutt
- Fake Out
- Ice Punch / Bullet Punch / Thunder Punch
Mega Heracross
Pre-Aegislash Ban: B+
Post-Aegislash Ban: A+
How it Benefited
With Aegislash gone, Mega Heracross has lost its primary check that was holding it back from being as devastating as it can truly be. Like Mega Medicham, it was transformed from a niche stall killer to a top-tier hole puncher with Aegislash's banishment. What it lacks in Speed is made it up for in sheer wallbreaking capability; Mega Heracross's counter list consists of four Pokémon: physically defensive Clefable, Doublade, Granbull, and defensive Cofagrigus. Out of these, only physically defensive Clefable can be considered very viable, but it must run Unaware, as otherwise, it will be 2HKOed by a +2 Rock Blast whilst being unable to OHKO in return. This leaves it susceptible to being worn down by status and Stealth Rock. Stealth Rock is especially troublesome, as it is forced to use Protect in order to avoid the Rock Blast 2HKO after taking damage from it, allowing for an easy switch to another Pokémon. Besides that, Clefable has to worry about the 31.3% chance of Rock Blast getting a critical hit once. The others are very niche Pokémon, with Doublade being the best among them, and not even an especially stellar Pokémon in general. Thus, most teams are forced to rely on checks and revenge killers, which can even be punished by the use of Substitute. With Aegislash gone, Mega Heracross has the option to forgo Earthquake for Swords Dance, Substitute, or even both. The Substitute set is especially dangerous for offensive teams, adding a new layer to the mindgames that Mega Heracross causes between its powerful coverage, as a Mega Heracross behind a Substitute is practically guaranteed to get at least one KO. SubSD variants can actually set up on various defensive Pokémon and prevent faster Will-O-Wisp users from checking it, easily obliterating defensive teams while maintaining similar levels of effectiveness against offensive teams as Substitute + 3 attacks variants. Whatever it runs, Mega Heracross is a fearsome threat in the post-Aegislash metagame, with very little standing in the way of its goal of ripping apart the opposition with its powerful attacks.
Sample Set
Heracross @ Heracronite
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 24 HP / 252 Atk / 232 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Pin Missile
- Close Combat
- Rock Blast
- Substitute / Swords Dance
Mega Gardevoir
Pre-Aegislash Ban: B+
Post-Aegislash Ban: A
How it Benefited
Mega Gardevoir was probably the most hurt by Aegislash of the three wallbreaking Megas, as unlike Mega Heracross and Mega Medicham, it had no real way to bypass it. With the removal of Aegislash, Mega Gardevoir had lost its biggest counter and became much better on the whole. Its Hyper Voice is very difficult to tank on its own, and combined with the threat of Focus Blast and STAB Psyshock, not much can switch into Mega Gardevoir reliably. It can run a variety of moves to bypass its counters, whether Taunt or Calm Mind to break through Chansey or Will-O-Wisp to cripple the likes of Mega Scizor and Jirachi, among various other switch-ins that it doesn't want to rely on Focus Blast for or have to predict around. Trace allows it to revenge kill various weather sweepers as an extra bonus. Overall, Mega Gardevoir is an enormous threat in the post-Aegislash metagame with very few counters.
Sample Set
Gardevoir @ Gardevoirite
Ability: Trace
EVs: 24 Def / 232 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hyper Voice
- Psyshock
- Focus Blast
- Will-O-Wisp / Taunt
Terrakion
Pre-Aegislash Ban: A
Post-Aegislash Ban: A+
How it Benefited
If there was ever a Pokémon that utterly despised Aegislash, it would have to be Terrakion. Terrakion is a seemingly excellent Pokémon. It has a crazy STAB combo that covers almost everything, allowing it to fill its other moveslots with basically whatever it wants, whether it be Swords Dance, Stealth Rock, Taunt, Rock Polish, Substitute, Rock Slide, X-Scissor, Quick Attack... it simply has no need to run anything specific besides its two STAB moves, creating a versatile and powerful threat. Then there's Aegislash, a top-tier Pokémon that resists both of its STAB moves. Now it has to slot in Earthquake to cover that, restricting it to only one changeable moveslot, and its Choice sets have become almost unviable. This one major annoyance, Aegislash, reduced Terrakion's versatility and forces it to run a move that can easily be taken advantage of by any of the numerous Ground-immune threats in OU. Take Aegislash out of picture and you get exactly what was described above: a versatile and powerful threat, which is exactly what Terrakion is in the post-Aegislash metagame. With few solid answers left, and many of them not highly viable, Terrakion has taken the metagame by storm. It is a reliable Stealth Rock lead with a Focus Sash, Stealth Rock, and Taunt that can deal some serious damage right off the bat and is fast enough to prevent hazards from almost any common user right off the bat. SubSD Terrakion with a Life Orb is incredibly threatening, basically getting a KO every time it switches in and ramming through defensive cores with ease. And with a Choice Scarf, it can revenge kill all of the tier's boosting sweepers. Thanks to the banning of Aegislash, Terrakion is able to pull off deadly sets that it could not before and has established itself as a top-tier wallbreaker without the major shortcoming of Speed that plagues many slower wallbreakers and makes them easy to revenge kill.
Sample Sets
Terrakion @ Focus Sash
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Taunt
Terrakion @ Life Orb
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Swords Dance
- Substitute / Rock Polish
Jirachi
Pre-Aegislash Ban: Unranked
Post-Aegislash Ban: B
How it Benefited
The banning of Aegislash was a godsend for Jirachi, allowing it to rise from being an obscure, nigh unviable Pokémon to a solid choice in the OU metagame. First of all, Aegislash could come in on Jirachi basically every time for free and be able to fire off a STAB Shadow Ball; being stopped by the best Pokémon in the tier was a huge detriment. Aegislash also took Jirachi's defensive niche, as it handled many of the same threats and was a better Pokémon in so many ways that there was almost no reason to use Jirachi as a result. With Aegislash gone, Jirachi has come into its own with its specially defensive set as the best answer in existence to the improved Mega Gardevoir, as well as a counter to Latios, Latias, Clefable, Greninja, Kyurem-B, and Mega Venusaur; not to mention a check to many others. It can pass Wishes to heal itself and its teammates as well as provide different types of support such as Stealth Rock, Healing Wish, and paralysis spreading, depending on what the team requires. SubToxic is superb at crippling and annoying many top threats, while sets like Expert Belt and Choice Scarf can provide enormous amounts of utility for offensive teams in Stealth Rock, Healing Wish, a Latios and Latias check, and the ability to lure various defensive threats with its wide array of coverage moves.
Sample Sets
Jirachi @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 224 SpD / 32 Spe
Careful Nature
- Iron Head
- Toxic / Body Slam
- Wish
- Protect
Jirachi @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 96 Atk / 160 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Substitute
- Toxic
- Iron Head
- Fire Punch
Starmie
Pre-Aegislash Ban: C
Post-Aegislash Ban: B+
How it Benefited
Starmie's issue in the Aegislash metagame was pretty simple: Aegislash, the premier spinblocker, stopped it from spinning. With Starmie unable to bypass Aegislash, its role as a spinner was basically moot and its viability was questionable at best. With Aegislash gone, there are no spinblockers standing in the way of Starmie, making it much more viable. While Starmie might seem best-suited for an offensive set, it is actually a similar version of the BW defensive set with Reflect Type that has been its claim-to-fame. Reflect Type Starmie is the best hazard remover in the OU tier. It beats most Stealth Rock users outside of Clefable, even winning against Ferrothorn, as Reflect Type lets it freely spam Scald and eventually burn Ferrothorn without repercussions, and it isn't even vulnerable to Pursuit users. In addition to its spinning role, Starmie is a solid counter to Keldeo and check to Mega Medicham, non-Hidden Power Grass Greninja, Heatran, Landorus-T, and Terrakion. Offensive Analytic variants are not shabby either, performing as an excellent spinner for offensive teams and hitting switch-ins insanely hard. All in all, Starmie has returned with the banning of Aegislash as a solid Rapid Spin user in the OU tier.
Sample Set
Starmie @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 248 HP / 20 Def / 16 SpD / 224 Spe
Timid Nature
- Scald
- Rapid Spin
- Recover
- Reflect Type
Honorable Mentions
Besides the ones given detailed entries above, various other Pokémon received minor buffs or some shot at viability with the banning of Aegislash.
Mega Alakazam had its biggest counter in Aegislash removed, allowing it to shine as a speedy offensive threat with excellent coverage and power. Trace lets it revenge kill various weather sweepers and it outspeeds many +1 threats with its incredible Speed to boot, even if it opts for a Modest nature to amplify its power greatly. Bronzong was pretty much in the same boat as Jirachi, being countered by Aegislash and losing its defensive niche. The same typing as Jirachi lets it deal with various similar threats, including Kyurem-B, Latias, Latios, and Mega Gardevoir. However, it has the added bonus of Levitate to handle Sand Rush Excadrill, Landorus, Landorus-T barring Knock Off, Garchomp, Dragonite barring Fire Punch, and Mamoswine, giving it a solid defensive niche over Jirachi. Its main problem is its lack of recovery and versatility; its recovery is basically limited to Protect and its options are very limited. As a result, it is often difficult to justify using it except on very specific teams. Celebi was pretty much a liability against teams with Aegislash, so its ban has allowed it to rise into the limelight a bit. Celebi is extremely versatile and a solid answer to various top-tier threats, including Keldeo, Landorus, and Azumarill, in addition to Sand Rush Excadrill and Mega Medicham with its physically defensive set. All kinds of options such as Stealth Rock, Thunder Wave, Heal Bell, Healing Wish, Perish Song, and Nasty Plot combined with reliable recovery and pretty good coverage with its STAB moves plus Earth Power and/or Hidden Power Fire allow it to fill many roles for a team. Defensive sets aren't even a momentum sink, as Baton Pass allows it to retain momentum and evade Pursuit, in addition to passing teammates Nasty Plot, Swords Dance, or Substitute.
For obvious reasons, Doublade was not used at all when Aegislash was in the tier. However, with Aegislash's ban, Doublade has carved out a decent little niche for itself on defensive teams, where it can be used to counter Mega Medicham, Mega Heracross, Mega Gardevoir, Mega Pinsir, and Terrakion. Hawlucha lost its biggest counter with the Aegislash ban, not to mention a bit of a decrease in Thundurus's usage, which has made it catapult in viability. SubSD with Unburden is a terrifying sweeper at +2, as it is difficult to revenge kill and hits extremely hard with stellar Flying + Fighting STAB coverage. Latias and Latios lucked out from the Aegislash ban in losing their biggest roadblock, and with the banning of Mega Mawile afterwards, the offensive metagame is only shifting in favor of them. They are the only offensive Defog users and can handle a myriad of major threats, including Keldeo, Mega Charizard Y, and Landorus. Their improvement is evidenced by a whopping ~36.5% combined usage in the August OU 1825 usage statistics. This dominance has resulted in recent rises in Jirachi, Bisharp, and Clefable.
With the banning of Aegislash, Mega Pinsir no longer has to run Earthquake to hit it, and can instead use Close Combat. While Flying + Ground coverage is great, Flying + Fighting coverage is simply superb. Close Combat batters weakened Rotom-W, dishing out a solid 69.4 - 81.9%. Furthermore, it renders non-Counter or Brave Bird Skarmory a one-time answer as Close Combat easily does over half of its health, OHKOes Tyranitar and Ferrothorn, and hits Air Balloon Excadrill and Heatran. The ability to use Close Combat just amplifies the power of an already incredible threat. Magnezone has improved tremendously by proxy of many metagame changes with the Aegislash ban. Top-tier threats such as Azumarill (which is now the best Pokémon in the tier), normal and Mega Gyarados, and Clefable in addition to improved threats such as Latias, Latios, Mega Alakazam, Starmie, and Mega Gardevoir heavily appreciate its support. Its Choice Scarf set in particular is renowned as one of the best bird checks around. The final Pokémon of note is Staraptor, which is a crazy Flying-type nuke with incredible coverage. Pretty much its only good counter is Skarmory, which can easily be trapped by Magnezone or hit by Final Gambit to allow for a Mega Pinsir sweep. STAB Double-Edge annihilates Electric-types, and U-turn ensures that Staraptor can keep up offensive momentum. The banning of Aegislash, its best answer, has made it significantly better.
Conclusion
The banning of Aegislash has shaken up the OU metagame tremendously. Many previously shunned Pokémon have risen into the limelight and become dominant. This speaks of the centralization of Aegislash and how much it polarized the OU metagame. As a result of its ban, the metagame has become much more diverse, and, to many, much more enjoyable. Get out there and take advantage of some of these great Pokémon!
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