Other OU Type Analysis Project: Week 9 - Normal-type

[trc]

APPROVED BY HAUNTER AND SUBJECT 18

Hey guys, this is OU's Type Analysis Project! The aim of this project is to discuss and evaluate information regarding metagame trends, categorised into 18 weeks for the corresponding 18 types. After 18 weeks are over, we'll look back at the previous week of the upcoming type and compare the Pokemon of that type in terms of how they play in the metagame, what new trends have arisen, and what new sets they're commonly seen running.

Things I'd like people to discuss (and I'd like to see at least one, preferably more of these ideas featured in each post) are:

• What are the most popular Pokemon of this type seen in OU?
• What other Pokemon of this type also claim some sort of viability in OU?
• What Pokemon of this type fill a niche in OU which is sometimes worth considering in a team?
• What sorts of Pokemon does this type collectively threaten?
• What sorts of Pokemon threaten many of the members of this type?
• What sorts of metagame trends have occurred to the many Pokemon in this type?
• What Pokemon of this type are very potent offensive threats?
• What Pokemon of this type are very sturdy defensive threats?
• How do these Pokemon compare to each other in their respective roles?
• How strong do you feel this type is as a whole?

Note that I prefer for emphasis to be put on comparisons, not only between Pokemon but also between the stages of a metagame in which a Pokemon was used. How is it used now? What changed?

Week 9's type is the Normal-type:

(Note that discussion isn't limited to the above Pokemon).

There isn't too much but yeah go nuts n_n.

 

[X5Dragon]

• What are the most popular Pokemon of this type seen in OU?

Chansey is a regular feature in stall teams, being one of the best special walls in the meta game, while Staraptor also plays its part in many Berd spam teams as his reckless ways tends to soften the checks and counters of Talonflame and MPinsir.

• What other Pokemon of this type also claim some sort of viability in OU?

Diggersby has an amazing ability and can be a capable attacker with SD and Ditto can put enough scare to prevent opponents from setting up early in game..

• What Pokemon of this type fill a niche in OU which is sometimes worth considering in a team?

Boomburst Exploud is a scary threat provided you give him the support he needs, trick room for example which can be used by the viable Porgyon2 who also functions as a mixed wall. Smeargle although finding himself outclassed in many cases and being an obvious suicide lead has a few tricks upon his sleave, if you want all around hazard moveset and the ability to put at least on mon to sleep then this is your dawg.

• What sorts of Pokemon does this type collectively threaten?

As it is known, Normal isn't SE against any type so the threatening part usually comes from the individual roles these different mons play, for example their stats and abilities but Normal does complete coverage for a lot of pokemons especially if they can get STAB on it, for example Staraptor. The immunity to Ghost types, considered the best neutral coverage type in the game can come in handy but as usual these Ghost folks carry coverage moves and secondary STABs in preparation so the Normal type at best can provide a safe switch in.

• What sorts of Pokemon threaten many of the members of this type?

Fighting types are always menacing, having both a common priority and raw power to rip through Normal types with ease. Steel types also give these mons trouble as they cannot be toxicated in case of support/stall Normal types and resist Normal attacks if you are using a Normal attacker.

• What sorts of metagame trends have occurred to the many Pokemon in this type?

Normal type started XY with a bang with normal Mega Khangaskhan making mostly everything else inferior and making good use of his STAB and typing to sweep most teams. Afterwards the rise of Berd Spam and Stall teams gave Chansey (who now replaced Blissey due to weather nerf and being an excellent mixed wall) a permanent place in most stall teams and Staraptor a good reputation for opening holes in the opponents defense. The addition of Boomburst gave trick room some added offensive niche to use and the rise of many set up sweepers has given an opportunity for Ditto to be effective.

• What Pokemon of this type are very potent offensive threats?

Staraptor and Diggersby are both potent physical attackers, one having off the bat raw power and Reckless ability to hit mostly everything with huge damage, and Diggersby with a great STAB combo and SD/Quick attack to sweep capably with proper team support. On the special side we got BoomBurst Exploud, who will not disappoint you provided you give him the necessary support he needs.

• What Pokemon of this type are very sturdy defensive threats?

Chansey is probably is the best wall in the metagame, it's sheer bulk with the addition of Eviolite not only means the most prominent special attackers in the game cannot get pass it (with a few handful exceptions), but even physical attackers such as +1 Adamant Nite Outrage cannot OHKO it. If anything represents Normal typing in the meta this is it. Porgyon2 also deserves a good mention, it survives most hits as a wall (also eviolite) to Thunderwave it's poor opponents and uses its respectable SpA to abuse a boltbeam combo and recover to keep on going. Energizer Bunny, meet Recover duck.

• How strong do you feel this type is as a whole?

I would say average tbqh, I mean when most people choose normal pokemon they do so because they fulfill certain roles excellently but at the very least the Normal typing does not get in the way most of the time defensively (1 weakness, 1 type immune to it) and offensively it completes coverage in a nice way.

 

[Lil YoshiXD]

Normal type imo is a pretty bad type.
Its mon are really only used for
insane bulk
nice utility
insane power

Also besides support moves normal moves really only used when changed to other type via pixilate or aerialite

 

[Lolme]

Normal type comes to show that Super-effective Damage/Resistances > Neutral hit coverage.

Normal type has only one weakness defensively but without any resistance, albeit ghost, it is not a useful defensive type as neutral hits will wear it down fast anyway. Offensively, it is resisted by less types than Fire and Ice, furthermore Normal+Fighting+Scrappy has un-resisted coverage; but without hitting anything for super-effective damage, Normal will always be a lesser type unless it is used by a god-like pokemon. Adding into account that Normal type pokemons usually have mediocre stats or poor coverage to abuse their stabs only makes this type worse.

Yet, there are some very interesting moves in normal type arsenal which both offensive and defensive pokemons find usefull. extreme-speed and fake out are useful attacks while Return, Body slam, Explosion and Boomburst have their niches. Normal support moves are so wide that it's difficult to find a defensive pokemon without a normal type move.

 

[Anduril]

Porygon2 is ridiculously bulky with eviolite and is a decent offensive threat with 105 base SpA. Can act as an incredible tank and has two good abilities, trace allows him to steal a Gliscor's poison heal or a Lati's levitate. Download allows him to get a spA boost on switching in, but has to be played carefully to get it. He is wrecked by the Big 3 however, but he is a good setter of Trick room, and that gives him a good niche

 

[Prinz]

•What are the most popular Pokemon of this type seen in OU?

Chansey and Diggersby probably. Then things like Staraptor and Ditto, and finally almost never seen mon like Exploud and Smeargle. The latter had some niches when BP chains wasnt banned, but now that it's, it has some usage just in some smash pass teams, which arent rly common. It can be used as a hazards setter but its rly slow and frail and even as a Sticky Web setter, Shuckle is probably better thanks to its natural bulk and Sturdy + Mental Herb combo.

•What other Pokemon of this type also claim some sort of viability in OU?

I think there arent other somewhat good Normal-type mons in the tier bar the ones I have mentioned (not that things like Exploud and Smeargle are good in OU but thats it), however Diggersby is a rly good stall-breaker with huge power and Chansey is stall's one of its best pokèmon. It counters almost any special hitter and can tank some physical hits thanks to the good bulkyness all around it has.

•What Pokemon of this type fill a niche in OU which is sometimes worth considering in a team?

Ive seen Exploud used in a Trick Room and with Boomburst + Choice Specs it hits rly hard but thats it, I don't think it's a solid mon to use in OU. The most solid all around Normal-type mons remains Diggersby and Chansey.

•What sorts of Pokemon does this type collectively threaten?

Ghost-type mon are immune to Normal-type attacks so yeah. Also the most used Ghost-type mon in OU, Gengar can check both Digger and Chansey (Taunt destroys Chansey, and it completely walls Diggersby if it hasnt Wild Charge, which isnt rly common) so it deserves a mention I guess

•What sorts of Pokemon threaten many of the members of this type?

Fight-type mons of course. Mons like Terrakion, Breloom, Keldeo and Medicham can all beat Normal-type mons quite easily. Also, now that Aegi is out of OU, they are all riseing in usage, which means that normal types are going to have bad days.

•What sorts of metagame trends have occurred to the many Pokemon in this type?

As X5Dragon already said, Mega Kanga at the beginning of XY was one of the best pokèmon in that metagame and it was Normal-type. Parental Bond + good statistics overall was definitely too huge for the OU metagame, so it deserved the ban.

•What Pokemon of this type are very potent offensive threats?

Diggersby is Normal-type's #1 offensive threat. Huge Power is a rly good trait, one of the best of the entire game and that with STAB EQ + Sword Dance + having a reliable priority in Quick Attack makes it a rly troublesome pokèmon for certain teams. It's also an incredible stall-breaker and even Skarmory, the game's probably best physical wall can't avoid the 2HKO from +2 Adamant Return after Life Orb. That bunny is rly rly strong.

•What Pokemon of this type are very sturdy defensive threats?

Chansey. As i already said it can just full stop almost any special hitter like Greninja, Thundurus and M Venu to make some examples while having the bulk to actually tank some physical hits as well.

•How strong do you feel this type is as a whole?

Normal-type as a type itself isnt bad. I mean, as offensive is great because it can hit lot of pokèmon neutrally which is a very good thing. Otherwise as a defensive type it isnt that great because it has 0 resistances, but its true that it has no weakness bar fighting types as well, so it isnt bad either. The real problem are the pokèmons that belong to the Normal-type which are all bad except things like Diggersby, Chansey and Staraptor, the pokèmon that are bad and normal-type aren't bad because they have normal-type but because they are bad themselves (poor moverpool, poor statistics, practically zero niches overall etc), so being normal-type for these pokèmons dont rly matter.

 

[Karxrida]

What are the most popular Pokemon of this type seen in OU?
Chansey is the most common as it holds Stall together and is the best Special Wall in the game.

What other Pokemon of this type also claim some sort of viability in OU?
Less commonly seen (but still very dangerous) are Staraptor and Diggersby. Staraptor is a very dangerous partner to Flyspam while Diggersby makes a pretty good Scarf user with U-turn or can run SD to wreck house.

What Pokemon of this type fill a niche in OU which is sometimes worth considering in a team?
Ditto is a good revenge killer when holding a Choice Scarf but struggles against certain Mons and more defensive teams.
Smeargle can act as a lead with Spore and whatever hazards you want or even Smash/Quiver Passing. Its biggest problem is that it is shoehorned into being a lead with a Sash due to its pitiful bulk and the Spore nerf makes it very easy to take advantage of.
Specs Exploud can murder everything Boomburst if given Web or TR support.

What sorts of Pokemon does this type collectively threaten?
Technically everything due to lack of resistances, but Fighting-types are the most threatening due to being the only type that's super effective against them.

What sorts of Pokemon threaten many of the members of this type?
There's nothing that universally threatens them outside of Fighting-types, which can't switch in a lot of the time. Skarmory can deal with Diggersby and Staraptor to an extent but only deals with Chansey if it has Taunt, which it doesn't really run anymore.

What sorts of metagame trends have occurred to the many Pokemon in this type?
Chansey carries Stall while Staraptor supports Birdspam by taking care of Talonflame's and Mega Pinsir's checks and counters.

What Pokemon of this type are very potent offensive threats?
Staraptor with a Choice Band is very difficult to switch into and can even cripple Skarmory with Final Gambit.
Diggersby hit hard with a Scarf and harder with a Band or SD boost and has a priority attack in Quick Attack to get past faster threats.

What Pokemon of this type are very sturdy defensive threats?
Chansey. It's the best special wall period.

How do these Pokemon compare to each other in their respective roles?
Not at all since they all do something different. The only comparable ones are Diggersby and Staraptor since they both hit hard as fuck, though Diggersby can clean late-game with Agility, Scarf, or +2 Quick Attack.

How strong do you feel this type is as a whole?
The type itself is pretty "meh", while the OU viable Mons with it are pretty good at what they do due to their stats and abilities.

 

[dadoux]

• What are the most popular Pokemon of this type seen in OU?

Diggersby / Chansey are the only non-gimmicky mons i can think of.

• What other Pokemon of this type also claim some sort of viability in OU

Exploud with scrappy boomburst is pretty fun in a trick room team i guess, it's not a really viable type in itself, Staraptor is rising a bit without Aegislash but they are both pretty hard to put in a non-gimmickly-funny team.

• What sorts of Pokemon does this type collectively threaten?

The normal-types who are high-ranked shines with stellar offensive or defensive stats, not by their typing, for example anything physical in this metagame will damage chansey a lot, and diggersby is pretty much weak to everything that's not electric/ghost.

• What sorts of metagame trends have occurred to the many Pokemon in this type?

The ban of aegislash is not that good for diggersby (explained in the last answer), chansey is not a type-affected mon like i said already so he just doesn't care and keeps walling stuff. Since the ban of Aegislash, i've seen quite a number of Terrakion, it's one of the best diggersby's revenge killer since it doesn't care about quick attack and yeah...chansey doesn't like it...at all.

• What Pokemon of this type are very potent offensive threats?

Diggersby can pretty much kill everything slower than him at +2, (bar skarmory which is 2HKO by return iirc lol, if you can SD on the counter and it's already weakened you can pretty much kill it how cool is that) and you have to tank a @LO Quick attack before revenge killing it.

• What Pokemon of this type are very sturdy defensive threats?

Chansey walls pretty much every special things that doesn't pack knock off / taunt, it's pretty weak to pursuit bisharp though.

• How do these Pokemon compare to each other in their respective roles?

Diggersby destroys stuff, Chansey walls them...they're symmetrically opposite actually.

• How strong do you feel this type is as a whole?

The normal-typed mons, like i said before, must do a crazy good job at what they should do, like diggersby is one of the most threatening mons in OU with sd / huge power / priority quick attack / earthquake, but that's not because he is a normal type, he can't set-up on anything, he had the ability to "check" (by checking i mean "not being killed by shadow ball') aegislash, which was pretty awesome in offensive teams. Nowadays it just reks without being able to come that easily, Sash diggersby is becoming more popular for that reason.
I don't really like the Normal type since i'm an offensive player, and i live by the rule of "Anything that can let skarmory/ferrothorn set-up spikes is not worth playing in OU", Diggersby is the only normal mon i'm playing, and i enjoy it a lot.

 

[Jin White]

• What other Pokemon of this type also claim some sort of viability in OU?

"forgot i'm a normal type? yh, so did literally everyone else"​

Meleotta is not even bad.

Meloetta @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
- Psyshock
- Substitute
- Calm Mind
- Focus Blast / Shadow Ball

You know it has OU viability because of that one guy who skewed all the 1825+ Meloetta stats into this one set. Sets up on and 2HKOs Chansey at +3; comes in for free on sub-wisp-taunt Gengar; wins the CM war vs. Crocune et al. Niche af but viable and overlooked.

- x -

Normal attack coverage also deserves some credit for its niche use in OU. The high base power moves Explosion and Double-Edge can lure and weaken problematic walls. CB Azumarill (generally replaced w/ AV now) can lure and 2HKO defensive M-Venu w/ some prior damage (or get the guaranteed 2HKO on offensive M-Venu) w/ Double-Edge; base-forme Gyarados can do the same thing against Rotom-W.

Azelf has always been a great Explosion lead for HO, and increasingly, Lando-T is carrying it as a hugely powerful way to grab momentum on offensive teams. I'm a huge proponent of LO Explosion Lando-T w/ SR (because it's hilarious & stronk) but Scarf Explosion Lando-T is more common and makes an emergency check to +1 speed Gyarados, among other things.