The “Nifty Or Thrifty” article series takes a comprehensive look at the meta for PvP Cup formats. This time it’s The Crypt Meta, the first monthly Cup of the second season from The Devon Corporation, a grassroots movement formed by several veteran players of The Silph Arena, one that hopes to take over not only the monthly PvP formats it supported, but also to have formal, ranked play building towards season champions. They’ve already done it once, with a full season under their belts now. I am in full support of grassroots like this and hope to do more of these in the future! But for now, let’s look at what makes up The Crypt:
- Great League, 1500 CP Limit.
- Pick 6, play 3 format, just like Play!Pokémon tournament play. Unlike GBL, this means that you will enter with a team of six Pokémon, but can use only 3 from that team each game.
- Fairy, Ghost, Ground, and Bug types are allowed, though Flying, Normal, Steel, Water, and Fire types are banned. That means that, for example, Clefable is allowed as a mono-Fairy type, but Wigglytuff is NOT since it is a Fairy but ALSO has one of the banned subtypings (Normal).
- The fast move Charm is banned. Species that have Charm in their movepool ARE allowed provided they meet other eligible criteria and obviously use a different fast move.
- Additionally, the following Pokémon are all specifically banned: Clodsire, Carbink, Alolan Ninetales, and Whimsicott.
- On the flipside, the following Pokémon are specifically allowed, despite having typings that are otherwise not permitted: Amoonguss, Cacturne, Jellicent, Lapras, Magmar, Magmortar, Alolan Marowak, Vespiquen, Ninjask, and Yanma.
- Lastly, there are eight Pokémon that are restricted, called “Premium Slots”. You can use only two Pokémon from this group: Lokix, Sableye, Runerigus, Alolan Marowak, Galarian Weezing, Jellicent, Lapras, and Vespiquen.
Or for a quick summary, here is the graphical version from Devon:
As I try to usually do, I will start with those with the cheapest second move unlock cost and steam ahead until we finally arrive at those with the most expensive second moves. But before we do that, let’s look at the Premium picks (still in “thriftiness” order) and see what they bring to the equation.
PREMIUM SLOTS
LOKIX
Sucker Punch | X-Scissor & Dark Pulse/Trailblaze
Well who would have EVER thought we’d ever have a meta where Lokix was ranked #1? Here we have it! That’s exactly where Lokix is ranked at the time of this writing, and you can quickly see why. Beyond Fairies and a couple things that crush Bugs (Crustle’s Rock Slides and Hippowdon’s Rocky Weather Balls… that didn’t come out right 🤭), there isn’t much Lokix has to worry about too much. As a Bug, it resists Ground damage found throughout the meta. As a Dark, its recently buffed Sucker Punch knocks out nearly all the format’s Ghosts… only A-Wak and Annihilape turn the tables in even matchups (and even they don’t always win). X-Scissor is pretty much always preferred, and while my recommendation for the second move is Dark Pulse, there are cases to be made for Trailblaze (mostly to have something to throw at Fairies) and even Bug Buzz depending in your team’s makeup and needs. However you trick yours out, THIS is the time to build one if you haven’t already. I would absolutely consider Lokix with one of your two Premiums.
VESPIQUEN
Poison Sting/Air Slash | X-Scissor & Power Gem
I am decidedly iffier here. I get why Vesper is a Premium pick, as it’s a very rare Flyer in this format (obvious advantages verses Grounds and opposing Bugs) that has a newly buffed Rock move (Power Gem) to hate on Bugs and provide very good neutral coverage. But Vespiquen has always been better in theory than in practice, and I think that trend continues here. It’s fine, I suppose, but worth one of your precious Premium slots? I dunno about that. You can do much better with Ninjask, and it’s not Premium!
ALOLAN MAROWAK
Fire Spin | Bone Club & Shadow Boneᴸ/Shadow Ball
Not much Fire in this format, and a Fire fast move like Fire Spin is rarer still. With so many flammable Bugs around (and not much in the meta that resists Fire), it’s the obvious way to go for the fast move. The buffed Bone Club is also a no-brainer. After that the decision is Shadow Bone for a bit more speed and flexibility (outracing things like Spiritomb, Shiinotic, and Palossand, and Dragapult and Dusknoir with shields down) or Shadow Ball for more closing power to turn the tables on things like Jellicent, Decidueye, and the mirror in certain shielding scenarios. A-Wak is held somewhat in check by the abundance of Ground, Ghost, and less common but likely popular Dark and Water damage around, but there is a LOT of good it can do in this meta. It’s worth consideration for a Premium slot.
RUNERIGUS
Astonish | Brutal Swing & Shadow Ball
With Brutal Swing now in the mix, yeah, Runie is ready to take off. There are a couple Sucker Punchers and Ghosts and/or Grass types that are problematic, but very little else that Runerigus cannot just overpower. No Ground damage necessary… a steady diet of Ghost and Dark damage does in much of the meta. Not even Dark-deflecting Fairies escape! Runie could be a solid contributor on just about any team I can think of.
GALARIAN WEEZING
Fairy Wind | Brutal Swing & Overheat
Speaking of Brutal Swing… daaaaaaaang. Turns out combining that with a big Fire boomstick and a Fairy fast move makes for a true monster in The Crypt. Things that can slap it with heavy Ground damage or just outrace it (looking at you, Dusknoir) are problematic, but at least with shields in play… not too much else! This thing pulls an 80% winrate versus the whole format, better than anything else on the Premium list besides Runie (who pushes 90%). It’s a strong and flexible contender for one of your Premium slots.
JELLICENT
Hex | Shadow Ball & Surf/Bubble Beam
JelliBelli has definitely suffered since the Surf nerf, to the point that it MAY even want to turn back to the dark days of Bubble Beam again, which opens up more potential wins like Froslass, Cofagrigus, and the mirror match. But that’s a tough way to live, of course. as it can all fall apart depending on bait calls. Surf is more consistent, but also has a lower ceiling in The Crypt. I like Jellicent in concept, but the reality? Not sure if this one will work out all that well or not.
LAPRAS
Water Gun/Ice Shardᴸ | Surf & Skull Bash/Ice Beamᴸ
The only other Water type in the meta, I am pleased to announce that Lappie represents the typing well, despite also suffering the Surf nerf. It carries itself pretty well versus Ground types (actually even moreso if you run Water Gun, which also can beat things like Froslass, A-Wak, Golurk and Clefable too), as well as stuff like Cacturne, Trevenant, Gengar, Dragon type Dragapult and others. It’s not necessarily one of the two strongest picks among the Premiums, but in my opinion it is well worth grabbing in one of those two slots anyway just based on its unique role in the meta.
SABLEYE
Shadow Claw | Foul Play & Power Gem/Returnᴸ
I mean, it’s Sableye. Do you really need my analysis here? It’s worth mentioning that you do have legit options now with the big buffs to Power Gem… it’s actually a viable move in PvP now! That’s good news not just for Shadow Sableye, but potentially also regular Sable by giving it a nice Bug smasher. Return variants are still good too (and should absolutely NOT be TMed away) and can finish off bulky stuff like Amoonguss, but of course it’s resisted by the Ghosts. Which closer suits YOUR team better, Trainer?
10,000 Dust/25 Candy
CLEFABLE
Fairy Wind | Swift & Meteor Mash/Moonblast
No Charm, no problem! Clefable is way better with Fairy Wind these days anyway. It’s also had Swift added and greatly buffed, to the point that you almost certainly want it. So then the question becomes: Moonblast or Meteor Mash? I personally lean the latter for the excellent anti-Fairy role it plays and very wide neutral coverage, and its unique wins show that with Florges, Galarian Weezing, enemy Clefable, Poisonous Gengar and Amoonguss, and Shadow Golurk for good measure. Moonblast, however, comes with the knockout power to instead overwhelm non-Shadow Golurk, Dusknoir, Donphan, Trevenant, and Origin Giratina. Your choice, dear readers, but either way, know that Clefable is well deserving of its #2 ranking in The Crypt.
DECIDUEYE
Astonish | Spirit Shackle & Frenzy Plantᴸ/Brave Bird
I mean, with the buff to Astonish, Deci is just a better Trevenant in general now, but perhaps especially in this meta where Ghost damage is more important than Grass damage, and Decidueye’s Spirit Shackle gives it big advantages in that department… Deci does most of its work with just its Ghost moves. In fact, one could argue it doesn’t need Grass damage from Frenzy Plant at all and may be better off running Brave Bird for a great closer in general and a great Bug killer in particular, such as how it can add on Ariados in most shielding scenarios.
SHADOW TORTERRA
Bite | Sand Tomb & Stone Edge/Frenzy Plantᴸ
Yep… Bite rather than Razor Leaf. Yes, the latter can rip through some things like Jellicent and Donphan, but Bite is just a more powerful tool in this meta for all the Ghosts (Decidueye, Dragapult, Dusknoir, Gengar, Cofagrigus) and general mayhem. Sand Tomb is nice for making the fast moves all the more deadly, and then (mostly because a second move is dirt cheap… see what I did there? 😜) you can roll with Frenzy Plant for affordable beats, or reach for Stone Edge and the nice coverage it brings (particularly against Bugs and the limited but very troublesome Ice and Fire types).
ARIADOS
Poison Sting | Lunge & Trailblaze
Speaking of troublesome Bugs, Ariados is one of the best… and cheapest! Avoid the temptation of Shadow Sneak, as it doesn’t help much against the Ghosts anyway, and just stick with the new hotness of Lunge and Trailblaze. It’s not perfect, but provides enough pressure to keep most of the meta on its toes, from Fairies to Grasses to Grounds to other Bugs and even the rare Waters (read as: Lapras). There are far worse ways to round out your team of six tban this versatile little spooder.
There are actually a lot of 10k Bugs you’ll see in other metas that just don’t do all that great here. These include CHARJABUG (X-Scissor and Crunch are an alright combo here, but Volt Switch just doesn’t do enough for you in this Water-and-Flying-light meta), CRUSTLE (similarly doesn’t have a ton of great targets, and had both Rock Slide and Smack Down nerfed out from under it this season… it doesn’t even prefer Smack Down here and wants Fury Cutter if you use Crustie at all), and past mainstay BEEDRILL. Maybe a maxed out DUSTOX, if you have one? 🤷
GOLEM & GRAVELER
Rock Throw/Mud Slap | Rock Blast & Stone Edge
Generally, if you’re going to run them at all, I think it’s for their unique-in-this-meta all-Rock movesets, which just wears a ton of things down the longer the battle goes (and is unresisted by Grass types), but [Mud Slap]() bears some consideration for its obvious applications against Poison and better energy generation to outrace stuff like Florges, and far better performance with shields down. (Seriously, it’s NO comparison there between Mud and Rock.) Not sure you want these Rocky Boys at all, but at least now you kinda know what makes them tick, and in what scenarios.
50,000 Dust/50 Candy
DUSKNOIR
Astonish | Shadow Punch & Shadow Ballᴸ
This one is pretty simple to explain: avoid Darks and the big-name Fairies. Dominate most of the rest, particularly as a Shadow (gaining G-Weeze, Clefable, Florges, Sableye, Piloswine, Sandslash, but dropping Marowak, Runerigus, Palossand, Rhydon/Rhyperior, Amoonguss). While there are exceptions I listed that can fend it off, keep in mind that with no Normal types in the meta, ONLY the few Darks resist Ghost damage… and even the Dark/Ghosts take neutral. An all-Ghost moveset can be a liability in many metas, but The Crypt is NOT one of them. Duskie can — and almost certainly will — go ham here as a hard-hitting generalist.
Dusknoir pretty much pushes COFAGRIGUS, tanky DUSCLOPS and fellow glassy speedsters HAUNTER and GENGAR to the back of the line. You will likely still see them here and there — and the latter two can be especially nice on teams that are otherwise weak to Fairies, thanks to their Poison side — but they’re mostly just worse Dusknoir in this meta. Not the last Ghosts we’ll be covering though….
FROSLASS
Powder Snow | Avalanche & Shadow Ball
There will be some who disagree — and that’s okay! — but I still say that good old Avalanche/Shadow Ball remains the best way to go. The extra knockout power of Avalanche can take down things like Ariados and Florges that Triple Axel just won’t, though of course Axel does pull a little ahead in 2v2 shielding, wearing down Donphan and Rhydon. I’m also old school in preferring non-Shadow Lass rather than Shadow, which can overpower Sableye but otherwise kinda flops compared to non-Shadow, losing stuff like Lapras, Jellicent, Shiinotic, Marowak, and Rhydon/Rhyperior. Again, there’s no “wrong” way to go here, and players will certainly find ways to make Axel and/or Shadow work for them, and that’s great! I’m just here to try and point out some key differences as a good analyst should!
PALOSSAND
Astonish | Sand Tomb & Scorching Sands/Shadow Ball
Okay, here me out, because I know the moveset recommendation probably seems a little funky. Yes, Astonish for the fast move, despite two pretty nice Ground alternatives, and it frees up Palossand’s top (simulated) moveset: Astonish with TWO Ground charge moves, those being Scorching Sands and, yes, Sand Tomb. Sand Tomb in particular obviously makes Paulo a little bait-reliant, but it’s wicked with high damage Astonish, to the degree that it performs well even without other charge moves, beating basically everything that Scorching Sands brings in but Marowak, Sandslash, and Amoonguss, leaving a winlist that still includes the likes of Runerigus, Decidueye, Dragapult, Vespiquen, Ninjask, Ariados, Froslass, Alolan Marowak, Golurk, Rhydon, Rhyperior, Golem, and the list goes on. And with high rank IVs, that list can add on Florges and Clefable too. With just a “bait” move! Do with that information what you will, but trust me when I say many opponents (who miss this article 😅) will absoluely not expect it or know how to handle it once Paulo gets a Sand Tomb debuff or two, and likely a shield along the way.
MAROWAK
Mud Slap | Bone Club & Rock Slide/Dig
If ever there was a sign of how big this season’s Mud Slap buff has been, here it is. Over half of K-Wak’s meta losses are to things that resist Ground damage and/or deal continual super effective damage to Ground types. And if you think that some of its more eye-raising wins come only because it can throw Rock Slide at them, think again… Marowak beats Rock-weak things like Crustle, Froslass, Piloswine, Ariados and others with now-buffed Bone Club alone. Now of course, a second move does help, with Rock Slide taking down additional Bugs like Vespiquen, Ninjask, and Lokix, and the surprisingly useful Dig able to bury Jellicent, Amoonguss, and the mirror. And yes, I keep simming with ShadoWak because, frankly, it’s just better than non-Shadow, which has the bulk to better overcome stuff like Dragapult, Golurk, and sometimes Clefable, but lacks the knockout power to take down others like Dusknoir, Froslass, Piloswine, Palossand, Vespiquen, and Donphan like Shadow can.
SANDSLASH
Sand Attack | Night Slashᴸ & Earthquake
Opposite here, where I think I recommend non-Shadow over ShadowSlash. I also recommend not Dig this time, or even Scorching Sands, but Earthquake, which is just flat out better by adding on wins like Marowak, Sableye, Giratina, Cacturne, Ariados, and the mirror match (versus Night Slash/Scorching Sandslash). If I had to pick one, it would definitely still be Marowak, but hey… you CAN run both.
DONPHAN
Mud Slap | Body Slam & Trailblaze
A Mud Slapper with Trailblaze to shred other Ground types? Sign me up! Um… I uh… don’t actually have a whole lot else to say here, other than to point out that Body Slam, despite being nerfed and resisted by the Ghosts in the meta, remains a big part of the equation. Without it and Trailblaze working in tandem, you lose a ton of things like Runerigus, A-Wak, Sableye, Spiritomb, Cacturne, Froslass, Piloswine, Florges, and of course, the mirror match. Yeah, high ceiling, but the baits really have to go your way a bit or things could turn a bit sour. But Donnie has perhaps its greatest potential yet in this meta, so if you like watching its move animations (and I mean, who doesn’t?), here you can actually do something with it!
HIPPOWDON
Sand Attack/Ice Fang | Weather Ball (Rock) & Earthquake/Scorching Sands
For a more classic Ground, actually rather similar to Sandslash, allow me to present Hungry Hungry Hippo, also looking MUCH better than ever. Like Sandslash, it works best running Sand Attack and not Scorching Sands, but instead the knockout power of Earthquake, with which it can beat basically everything Sandslash can except Giratina (thanks to Night Slash), and adds on a ton of stuff like Runerigus, Galarian Weezing, Ninjask, Florges, Golurk and more. OR you can turn to ShadowDon running Ice Fang for a decidedly different flavor that gives up many Ghosts (Runie, A-Wak, Sable, Spiritomb, Golurk, Gengar, Dusknoir) and others like Florges and G-Weeze, but now instead surprises Grasses (Decidueye, Amoonguss, Trevenant) and others weak to Ice (Donphan, Dragapult, Giratina). How spicy are you feeling, my friend?
PILOSWINE
Powder Snow | Avalanche & High Horsepower/Stone Edge
Probably no huge surprise that Swine’s heavy dose of Ice damage deals with (most of) the format’s Ground, Grass, Flying, and Dragon types. What may be more surprising is all the mostly neutral-on-neutral matchups in which Piloswine can come out on top, like Lokix, Dusknoir, Sableye, Spiritomb, Marowak, Ariados, Galarian Weezing and more. As for coverage, I lean High Horsepower for how it’s needed in the mirror and situationally (mostly with shields down) can overpower G-Weeze and A-Wak, but there are good cases for Stone Edge too, such as Bugs like Crustle and opposing Ice (Froslass)… again, mostly with shields down. Either way, I am less inclined to recommend ShadowSwine in this particular meta.
RHYPERIOR & RHYDON
Mud Slap | Breaking Swipe & Surf/Rock Wreckerᴸ
I don’t know why, but I always get a little giddy when the Rhyguys are viable in PvP, and this is one of their better formats to shine out bright. Rhydon basically always wants to run Surf alongside the highly recommended Breaking Swipe, but Rhyperior at least has the option of Rock Wrecker, which is a viable alternative for Shadow Rhyperior especially, beating things like Lapras, Shiinotic, Amoonguss, Vespiquen, and surprisingly Sandslash, whereas Surf is better for taking down Runerigus, Rhydon, Crustle, Golem and such. Which one suits YOUR team better, dear reader?
SHADOW DUGTRIO
Mud Slap | Mud Bomb & Stone Edge
Hey, I’m not going to stand up here and push you to use Duggie, but there are people that have been dying for the chance for literally years now, so I would be remiss to not at least point out that, while a clear step behind several other Ground types we have already covered, that yes, Dugtrio appears to be viable! Do with that information what you will.
CACTURNE
Sucker Punch | Trailblaze & Dark Pulse/Dynamic Punch
Well it’s ranked very well, and on paper puts up the numbers to match (particularly as a Shadow). And it makes sense… a Grass/Dark type obviously represents a great counter to much of the meta (Grounds AND Ghosts). But it has no good answer to Fairies, Ices, or especially Bugs (being double weak to Bug damage). The hugely buffed Sucker Punch and good charge moves allow it to still beat up nearly everything even in losing battles, but there ARE battles where it will get farmed down pretty badly and just sit and cry. You take the bad with the very, very good.
AMOONGUSS
Astonish | Foul Play & Grass Knot
I’m just gonna drop this right here. It’s amazing what a different a fast move buff can make, eh? Guss has always had great potential, with a nice array of charge moves and good bulk, but Astonish always held it back… until this season, of course. Its Ghost and Dark damage give it obvious advantages versus Ghosts. Its Grass side gives it big advantages against Grounds (and Waters). And being half-Poison allows it to also handle Fairies. What’s not to like? Guss is a fantastic wild card in this meta… it’s hard to imagine a meta where it can push its ceiling this high.
SHIINOTIC
Astonish | Seed Bomb & Sludge Bomb/Moonblast
Similar story here, really: Astonish combined with Seed Bomb (spammier than the Grass Knot of Guss) and either Sludge Bomb (my preferance just to slap down other Fairies, beating Clefable and the mirror this way specifically) or Moonblast (better with shields down, trading away Shii and Guss to instead beat down Lokix, Giratina, Sableye, Spiritomb, and Crustle) for a flexible option that isn’t best at any one thing, but does a lot of things well.
FLORGES
Fairy Wind | Disarming Voice & Moonblast/Petal Blizzard
Nothing at all fancy here… just steady, unrelating Fairy damage. Turns out that goes a long way! Obviously Darks and Dragons hate it, but interestingly so do most Ghosts, Bugs, and some of the bigger names among Ground types. If you want to really shore up Ground wins, you can run Petal Blizzard as your closer, picking up Marowak (and Lapras!) and scaring the pants off other Grounds. The downside is giving up ties with Clefable and the mirror and now losing to Grass-resistant Shiinotic and Trevenant. Pick your pleasure, bu Florges is a fantastic generalist here no mater which way you choose to slap with it.
I like some things about SLURPUFF too in a similar role, but it just doesn’t hold up as well. Viable, though? Absolutely.
SHADOW GRANBULL
Snarl | Close Combat & Crunch
Well you’re not allowed to run it with Charm, but there’s nothing preventing you from unleashing Snarl Granbull on this unsuspecting meta. Ghosts despite it (unsurprisingly), and being a Fairy means that unlike most Dark damage dealers, Granbull resists Dark and Bug damage coming back its way, giving it other fun wins like Lokix, Ninjask, and Cacturne, thanks also in part to the same Close Combat that also smashes through Lapras, Piloswine, Rhydon/Rhyperior, and Golem/Graveler. Granbull is so associated with Charm that you’re likely to catch at least a few opponents completely off guard, at least for a few moments.
YANMA
Wing Attack | Aerial Ace & Ancient Power
As one of only three Flyers in the meta, it’s well worth pointing out that Yanma is at least arguably more threatening than Vespiquen. Vespi can more reliably smash Lokix and Marowak, but Shadow Yanma and its spammy Aerial Ace and Ancient Power instead outraces stuff like Trevenant, Spiritomb, Palossand, Piloswine, and Froslass, those last two especially being nice wins for a Flying type!
If you want the ultimate Flyer in this meta, however, we need to jump to the 75k category….
75,000 Dust/75 Candy
NINJASK
Fury Cutter | Aerial Ace & Shadow Ball
HERE is the Flying Bug you want most in The Crypt! Aerial Ace like Yanma. A high energy fast move (Fury Cutter, in this case) like Vespiquen. And then a widely effective Shadow Ball to KO a ton of things the other Flyers cannot dream of like Giratina, Jellicent, Runerigus, Sableye, Golem and others, and also outracing Lokix (due not to Shadow Ball, in this case, but instead super effective Fury Cutter and Aerial Ace) like Vespiquen can but Yanma cannot. Ninjask is by far the glassiest of the three Flying Bugs in this meta and therefore does fall to things the others can beat like Ariados and Amoonguss, but overall this is very clearly the best of the bunch, by far. And it’s completely unrestricted! Go nuts, folks.
GOLURK
Astonish/Mud Slap | Shadow Punch & Dynamic Punch/Earth Power
It’s not the best at anything in particular, but I love Golurk’s versatility. It’s actually even a touch better shedding Ground damage and running with Astonish instead, gaining stuff like Ninjask and sometimes Decidueye and Dragapult too. If you really want to keep Ground damage, you CAN do that with Earth Power, but I like how Dynamic Punch gives unique coverage versus Darks (beating Sableye, as one example). Golurk is still a little more slow and plodding than other flashier Ghosts, but it most certainly gets the job done — and done well* — these days.
KROOKODILE
Mud Slap | Brick Break & Crunch/Outrage
Even I couldn’t remember when Krook got Brick Break (apparently it was back in March?), but here we are. It does good work, setting Krookodile up for the best chance at success I think it’s ever had. The applications versus the format’s Ghosts is obvious, it’s surprising success versus things like Lapras, Piloswine, Sandslash, Cacturne, and Shiinotic far less so! Crunch brings in wins versus Dusknoir, Decidueye, and that surprising Lapras victory, but it’s worth noting that it CAN run the widely unresisted Outrage instead for beating things like Hippowdon instead.
FLYGON
Dragon Tail | Dragon Claw & Scorching Sands
Speaking of Ground types with Dragon-type damage, Flygon CAN actually work here if the Fairies don’t worry you. It’s a rare Ground type that takes only neutral damage from Grass and Water, which is nice. I wouldn’t call Flygon a strong recommendation, per se, but there are players that swear by it, so they’ll be running it for sure. As for GARCHOMP fans… sorry, but no.
DRAGAPULT
Astonish | Breaking Swipe & Shadow Ball
Nothing at all fancy here… just beatdowns with Ghost damage and spammy Dragon damage. Works out pretty well!… if you’ve managed to build one yet. It’s better than Origin Giratina, at least!
TREVENANT
Shadow Claw | Seed Bomb & Shadow Ball
I said it much earlier, but Decidueye is just better than Trevenant in this meta, with Trevor having unique wins versus Ariados, Shiinotic, and Vespiquen, but Deci instead overcoming Dusknoir, Dragapult, Golurk, Florges, Lapras… and Trevenant in the head-to-head. Trevenant is NOT bad and you CAN use it, but it’s not the force you may be used to from PvP past. This is a new battlefield this season, friends, and this right here is an example of why.
SPIRITOMB
Sucker Punch | Ominous Wind & Shadow Ball
Well, we have finally reached the point where Spiritomb is not just the laughable, pitiable shadow of better Dark/Ghost Sableye, but more of an equal. Sable is better at clawing through Alolan Marowak, Runerigus, Ninjask, Sandslash, and Golem, while Spiritomb instead punches out Golurk, Dragapult, Lapras, and Rhydon/Rhyperior, and beats Sableye now in the head to head, which is pretty awesome. THIS is your chance to deploy it at last, dear readers! And one other advantage: remember that Sableye occupies a Premium slot… and that Spiritomb does not.
MAGMORTAR
Fire Spin | Fire Punch & Brick Break
MAGMAR is specifically whitelisted in the meta too, but in multiple configurations, it just doesn’t work all that well. If you want to run one of these fiery duckbilled… uh… things, I believe it’s Magmortar you want, with the specific moveset of Fire Spin, Fire Punch, and Brick Break. That last move doesn’t do a whole lot with Fighting damage to help, but it DOES bait out shields and reduce the opponent’s Defense to set up wins like Runerigus (and Cofagrigus) and Clefable that Mortar struggles to achieve otherwise. ShadowMortar is a viable sidegrade, dropping Runie and Spiritomb but gaining Lapras and Gengar in return.
100,000 Dust/100 Candy
There actually aren’t any I really recommend, other than the ORIGIN GIRATINA I mentioned earlier a substandard Dragapult. And so…
…we’re done! As always, I hope this helps you balance the cost of where to save yourself some hard-earned dust (and candy!) and put together a competitive and FUN team. If I was successful in that, then it was all worth it.
Until next time, you can always find me on Twitter for regular GO analysis nuggets, or Patreon. And please, feel free to comment here with your own thoughts or questions and I’ll try to get back to you!
Thanks to the always awesome PvPoke for full rankings and simulation support, and of course to The Devon Corp and Flash4Everyone and Dracoviz for hosting support for these tournaments. And thank YOU for reading… I hope this shows how fun the new and growing grassroots PvP scene can be! I sincerely hope this helps you master The Crypt Meta, and affordably. Best of luck, and catch you next time, Pokéfriends!