Skeledirge - Substitute

Moves: Torch Song is Skeledirge’s signature move, boosting Skeledirge’s special attack with each use. Shadow Ball is Skeledirge’s strongest ghost stab and mostly rounds out Skeldirge’s coverage. Substitute helps Skeledirge fire off several Torch Songs against bulkier teams and steamroll through them. Slack Off then provides longevity, helping Skeledirge check common threats and shake off the cost of Substitute.

Spread: We run 248 HP EVs so that Skeledirge’s HP isn’t divisible by 4, allowing us to make 4 Substitutes. We then run 20 Defense EVs so that Garganacl can’t break our sub with a Salt Cure. The 44 Speed EVs help Skeledirge outspeed Corviknight and slower Kingambit sets. We then throw the rest into Special Defense with a Calm nature to help Skeledirge take on a variety of special attackers. Given its typing and already solid Defense, a specially defensive Skeledirge has a better chance at setting up Substitutes, but a more physically defensive spread can be run.

Unaware is the ability we’re going with, which lets Skeledirge ignore the many set-up sweepers in this generation. Heavy Duty Boots helps Skeledirge avoid the otherwise crippling weakness to Stealth Rocks. And lastly, you can run either Fairy or Water for the tera type. Both are excellent defensive types and will help Skeledirge set up Torch Songs.

Usage/Team Support: Skeledirge can be a powerful asset for many bulky teams, providing both defensive utility and a win condition. It can take advantage of the more passive teams that may otherwise outlast a balance or bulky offense team, while also checking big threats on offense like Iron Valiant. Crucially, Skeledirge cleanly checks Garganacl, one of the biggest threats in OU. Having Pokemon that lure in Garganacl will provide Skeledirge many opportunities to set-up and then run through the opposing team.

Meowscarada - Choice Band

Moves: Flower Trick is Meowscarada’s signature move, boasting a 70 bp and a guaranteed crit. Between that crit and a Choice Band, Meowscarada can pick up KOs on many bulky threats and easily breaks down teams. Knock Off not only boasts impressive power, but also has fantastic utility by removing items. This is the move Meowscarada will be going for most of the time. U-Turn is always fantastic on a fast Protean user, helping Meowscarada pivot around the opponent’s team and chip away at its checks. The last move can either be Play Rough or Trick. I personally prefer Play Rough for the coverage against powerful threats like Baxcalibur, but Trick can also be used to cripple walls like Clodsire.

Spread: Real simple spread here! We’re just maxing out on attack and speed, trying to get as much out of Meowscarada’s strengths as we can. Choice Band accentuates this by providing that extra power Meowscarada may need to control the game. You can then run tera grass for the extra power on Flower Trick, or you can run tera fairy to dodge a Mach Punch and get more out of Play Rough. Protean compliments this all by providing stab to whichever move Meowscarada goes for. Even with the nerf, this is still a terrifying ability!

Team Support/Usage: Meowscarada is able to provide a lot of utility to its team. Having access to both Knock Off and U-Turn, it’s able to chip away at the opposing team while pivoting around them. It then brings some wallbreaking potential with the power of Flower Trick. This all makes Meowscarada a great fit for offensive teams that appreciate the utility and role compression this Pokemon provides. Specifically, Meowscarada excels on hazard based teams due to its ability to force switches and remove the opponent’s Heavy Duty Boots.

Genesect and Naganadel have been quick banned from ou!

Galarian Zapdos

Moves: Thunderous Kick is Galarian Zapdos’ signature move. It has a decent base power and lowers the opponent’s defense by one stage. To be honest, Close Combat is probably better on this set, but I think Thunderous Kick is really cool. Brave Bird is the best flying-stab option. Stomping Tantrum hits Pokemon like Toxapex and Aegislash fairly hard. You can also run Blaze Kick in this slot to take care of Genesect. U-Turn is a powerful pivot move that any choice scarf user should run. 

Spread: For this set we want to maximize Galarian Zapdos’ speed, and so we’ll max out speed investment, run a Jolly nature, and use a Choice Scarf. Then we’ll invest the rest of the EVs into maxing out attack. The only ability G-Zapdos has access to is Defiant, and its a pretty decent ability in a metagame with Landorust-T.  

Team Support/Usage: Galarian Zapdos is a pretty decent scarf user. It’s got a nice speed tier and its dual stab is amazing. As such, its great in the late game as a sweeper and can also revenge kill when needed. You can also use it in the early game as a pivot, if you need to. As for teammates, the most important thing for G-Zapdos is a wallbreaker. You can’t really sweep a team if that team hasn’t been weakened. In the current metagame, I’ve been enjoying Melmetal and Zygarde as teammates for G-Zapdos just because of how ridiculous they are. Hazard setters are also nice to have, but hazards are far weaker this generation than previous ones. 

-PSDex

Who needs banned?

Of the new and returning Pokemon to OU, here is who I think should be banned or kept in OU with a bit of reasoning for each. I’m obviously not going to talk about something like Altaria, that’s kind of obvious. I’m just going to cover the Pokemon who were unbanned and the returning Pokemon who were once Uber. since this is a pretty long post, I’m just going to put the names here and then put a read more with my reasoning for each.

Needs Banned Immediately:

Will Need to be Banned:

Can Stay in OU: