Hello trainers and welcome to this month’s meta, the Nettle Cup.. The starting idea behind this meta was to give the typings that were not used in the LAIC some love. Metas right after move updates are always a little extra challenging to produce a balanced meta soon after all the updates are public.
We considered making a meta with only banned types and banned species, but allowing a few select steel Pokemon gave us a better balance than allowing the whole typing. With bugs and grass being dominant in the meta and fire being banned, trainers might opt to look for some Pokemon who learn moves outside their typing.
Galarian Weezing has good pacing with resistances to grass moves. Access to quality charge moves like overheat will make grass and bug Pokémon fear G Weezing’s attacks.
Skuntank is a different option that has some firepower. It isn’t as bulky as Galarian Weezing, but it has fewer type weaknesses. With some good energy management, if a trainer can get to a trailblaze to boost that flamethrower it could prove tough for a lot of Pokémon to beat.
Another Pokémon with fire charge moves is Roserade. Neutral to other grass types, it’s a glass cannon without much defense so alignment will be very important. With fast attacks that charge energy quickly, super effective fire weather ball charged attacks are still worth considering.
Some trainers might want to take a look at Clefable. With the charge move meteor mash, Clefable can hit the fairy types that are in the meta. Meteor mash would then give you options to run either Swift or Moonblast. What would you pick? The spammy swift? Or the longer charging STAB Moonblast nuke?
The mighty bee Pokémon Beedrill is another choice to consider. It isn’t very good with defense, but makes up for that with fierce attacks. A lot of the top meta pokemon are vulnerable to its drill run charged attack. You can also go for the shadow version for a 20% increase in attack, but you’ll also have 20% less defense. Which will you choose?
The last Pokémon we’d like to highlight is Grimer, Coming in at rank 9, with access to both mud slap and mud bomb, it’s worth checking your storage to see if you have one. The fast move pressure can be intense, and mud bomb charges quickly to provide a lot of pressure.
Will you have the glory of tasting nettle soup? Or will you be a victim of the stinging hairs? Set out, and evaluate your strength with your team through Devon’s Nettle Cup on your way to becoming the very best.