The Chinese Zodiac and the Ubers Metagame

Introduction

With Chinese New Year just having passed, here's a fun little brainstorming project—sort as many Pokémon into groups that resemble the Chinese Zodiac as possible. For those who don't know, the Chinese Zodiac is a group of 12 animals that run in a cycle over a period of 12 years, with each year being represented by one of these animals. These twelve animals are (in order): rat/mouse, ox/cow, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, chicken, dog, and pig. 2014 is going to be the year of the horse. So, for this article, we're going to sort as many Pokémon as we can into the animal groups, try and find the ones that are viable in the Ubers metagame, and then rank the animals as a whole on their Ubers viability. Keep in mind, I'm pretty lax when I'm sorting some of these Pokémon. Also, the same Pokémon can represent more than one animal because some are ambiguous. Also, I'm only putting one Pokémon from each evolutionary chain.

In order of viability:

12) Pig

Mamoswine, Primeape, Grumpig, Walrein, Emboar
Viable pigs: Mamoswine

Kickstarting our list at the least viable in Ubers is coincidentally the last animal on the list, the pig. Mamoswine has the word "swine" in its name, Primeape is a PIG monkey, and Walrein's nose is kind of pig-like, in my opinion. Unfortunately for the pigs, they really don't have a long list of potential candidates, let alone viable Pokémon to use in the Ubers metagame. The best Pokémon on the list is easily Mamoswine; while it's a pretty cool Pokémon, being actually hard to switch into, and easily the best Electric Arceus counter in the game, it is still quite niche. I guess Primeape can still claim "HI I CAN'T BE PUT TO SLEEP," but it's not like it can take Dark Pulse or anything from Darkrai very well anyway. Walrein could potentially be cool, but it's mostly outclassed by the other bulky Water-types.

11) Cow/Ox/Bull

Terrakion, Miltank, Tauros, Bouffalant
Viable bovines: Terrakion

Like the pigs, there aren't many bovines, let alone good ones. What ranks them over the pigs is that the one viable bovine is better than the one viable pig. Terrakion can at least check Exteme Killer Arceus, as well as revenge kill a bunch of other threats. Even though Terrakion's usefulness has fallen due to the Generation shift, it still holds a significantly better niche than Mamoswine does. In terms of the other cows/bulls, they're not terrible, just outclassed, unlike something like Emboar. Miltank is at least fast and has some decent support moves, Tauros at least has some historical glory of being RBY's king of OU, while Bouffalant can destroy Grass Arceus.

10) Dog

Mega Lucario, Granbull, Mega Absol, Mega Manectric, Furfrou, Mega Houndoom, Entei, Zoroark, Raikou, Arcanine, Suicune, Stoutland
Viable dogs: Mega Lucario, Granbull, Mega Absol, Mega Manectric

Lucario is a jackal, which has canine qualities, I guess. Entei, Raikou, and Suicune are sometimes known as the legendary DOGS. The best dog is obviously Mega Lucario, although after Arceus began running max Speed and a Jolly nature, it kind of fell away as a decent Arceus check. However, an Adaptability-boosted Close Combat is still incredibly strong, while Bullet Punch can revenge kill weakened Xerneas. Other than Lucario, Granbull is another interesting dog. The mighty bulldog got a type change in Gen 6, which gave it a lot more resistances as a Fairy bulldog. With Intimidate, it is now one of the best Mega Mewtwo X counters in the metagame, while being a pretty good cleric with Heal Bell. Mega Absol is an interesting dog. It remains the only Magic Bounce user that is not weak to Pursuit, while decent offenses actually along it to threaten a lot of entry hazard setters. This is not to mention that it still enjoys that ridiculously powered STAB Sucker Punch, and with its Special Attack buff, it can actually make use of its huge special movepool. Mega Manectric is a bit iffy, but high Speed, Intimidate, and Volt Absorb make it quite a cool little dog.

9) Tiger

Landorus(-T), Thundurus(-T), Liepard, Entei, Cinccino, Raikou, Pyroar, Luxray, Persian, Purugly, Meowtastic
Viable tigers: Landorus(-T), Thundurus(-T), Liepard

For tigers, I've included all the Pokémon that belongs to the cat family as well, as tigers are the cat representatives in the Chinese Zodiac. Landorus-T is easily the best tiger in the Ubers metagame, with its excellent typing, Intimidate, decent bulk, good movepool, and amazing power. Landorus is not as strong as it is in OU. On the flip side, it is Thundurus that is more viable than its Therian counterpart in Ubers due to its ability to paralyze things with Prankster Thunder Wave. Liepard is also an annoying cat that makes people pull their hair out with its Substitute / Foul Play / Thunder Wave / Swagger set, and in Generation V, its Assist set was just as annoying. As for the other tigers/cats/lions/leopards, Cinccino is surprisingly strong, being able to 2HKO Groudon with Choice Band Bullet Seed, while Choice Band Tail Slap dents a lot of things that don't resist it. Sacred Fire propelled Entei from "outclassed by Arcanine" to a genuine threat in OU, but it is still largely outclassed by Ho-Oh.

8) Goat

Arceus, Cobalion, Virizion, Mega Ampharos, Gogoat
Viable goats: Arceus, Cobalion, Virizion

You will notice that I put Arceus into a lot of lists. This is mainly due to Arceus being able to use multiple Plates, and it sort of looks like a horse and a sort of like a goat. So, Arceus is allowed in goats as well. Although there is a very small list of goats, they are more viable than the previous animals for the sole reason that they have access to Arceus, which can run an Extreme Killer set, support its team with Defog, or be a Calm Mind sweeper (for example, Electric Arceus). Cobalion and Virizion aren't the best Pokémon, but they have a couple of uses—Cobalion's a nice, fast Stealth Rock user with Taunt with decent resistances), while Virizion, with a specially defensive set, can switch into Kyogre at least once to save an Arceus slot, as well as use Taunt to good effect. Otherwise, the other goats are relatively mediocre for Ubers, although they aren't terrible Pokémon either. Mega Ampharos is largely outclassed by Zekrom, and Gogoat is good in lower tiers.

7) Mouse/Rat/Rodent

Shaymin(-S), Excadrill, Victini, Espeon, Dugtrio, Umbreon, Sylveon, Jolteon, Vaporeon, Leafeon, Flareon, Pikachu, Azumarill, Sandslash, Dedenne, Bibarel, Raticate, Furret, Pachurisu, Plusle, Minun
Viable rodents: Shaymin-S, Excadrill, Victini, Sylveon, Bibarel (w/o Moody Clause)

Anything that had any rat-like or rodent-like features were classified as mice for this exercise. There are a number of strong rats in Ubers, but Shaymin-S is probably the best. Its Speed and hax ability are incredibly annoying for anyone facing it. Excadrill is usable as a strong spinner, as well as just a bulky and very powerful Steel-type. It is also a very good check to Zekrom. Victini is a cute and powerful rat, although its ability to check Blaziken and Mewtwo like it did in Generation V has diminished due to Blaziken getting an insanely buffed Knock Off and Mewtwo getting two Mega Evolutions. Still, Victini is a very, very strong rat. Sylveon has gotten the attention of a number of high-profile Ubers battlers lately, having good Special Defense and a very good support movepool. Finally, because Moody was allowed for a time in Ubers, Bibarel deserves a mention due to how awesome Moody made it.

6) Rabbit

(Mega) Mewtwo (X/Y), Mega Kangaskhan, Manaphy, Mew, Celebi, Azelf, Uxie, Mesprit, Diggersby, Azumarill, Weavile, Lopunny, Exploud, Watchog
Viable rabbits: (Mega) Mewtwo (X/Y), Mega Kangaskhan, Manaphy

Anything that had long ears was deemed to be a rabbit. Rabbits are known to be very fast, and Mewtwo proves this right. Mewtwo has quite a number of options in Ubers. It can run a standard set with just Life Orb if you want to save your Mega Stone. You can also run a fun stall set with regular Mewtwo. However, using your Mega Stone on Mewtwo gives you some pretty amazing results. Mega Mewtwo Y has an awesome base 140 Speed, allowing it to outspeed Mega Gengar, while its ridiculous base 194 Special Attack means it hits almost as hard as Life Orb Mewtwo but doesn't have to take recoil. Mega Mewtwo X flips a lot of Mewtwo Y's checks on their face. For example, someone expecting a special Mewtwo might bring in Ho-Oh, only for it to get wrecked by Stone Edge from Mega Mewtwo X. Mega Kangaskhan was recently banned from OU and is quite strong in Ubers. It can run a number of sets, ranging from a Power-Up Punch sweeper to a support set that abuses 200 HP-a-pop Seismic Tosses. Manaphy got knocked down quite hard due to the nerf to rain and free Hydration recovery, but still remains one of the best counters to Mega Blaziken that use Low Kick (which are most of them), as Manaphy takes a pittance from it. Although the Ubers-viable rabbits are limited to these, a few others, namely Celebi, Mew, Diggersby, and Azumarill, are all relatively decent Pokémon in their own right and can have some uses in Ubers. Celebi is a decent Grass-type to switch into ScarfOgre with if you don't want to use Grass Arceus. Mew still has its massive movepool, although its Baton Pass has all but lost the luster that it had during DPP. Diggersby is absurdly strong, and can be used as a decent Choice Scarf user, while Azumarill can counter Mega Blaziken, but not much else can be done by these two.

5) Snake

Rayquaza, Giratina-O, Forretress, (Mega) Gyarados, Zygarde, Heliolisk, Steelix, Elecktross, Serperior, Arbok, Milotic, Dunsparce
Viable snakes: Giratina-O, Rayquaza, Forretress, (Mega) Gyarados, Zygarde, Heliolisk, Steelix

Snakes are a cool bunch. The Chinese have a saying that snakes are dragons of the land. Any Pokémon that is long and has a snake-like appearance could be classified as a snake. Forretress is a bagWORM, and worms are snakelike in shape. Heliolisk is more of a lizard, but apparently it's a "basilisk," and we know basilisks are the kings of serpents. That aside, Giratina-O is probably the most viable snake in Ubers, being an excellent defensive Pokémon as well as being a good Defog user, allowing your Arceus forme to do something more flashy. Rapid Spin may be less in demand this Generation, but as the number of spinblockers dropped in response to this, getting a Rapid Spin off these days is not difficult, still making Forretress a viable Pokémon, not to mention that it can potentially check a slightly weakened Xerneas with Gyro Ball. Heliolisk can switch into Kyogre if it decides to start spamming Water-type moves, which is always useful, and Steelix is possibly the best Zekrom counter in the game, while also being a nuisance to Electric Arceus.

4) Monkey

Darkrai, Deoxys formes, Jirachi, Smeargle, Jynx, Froslass, Mega Gardevoir, Blissey, Infernape, (Mega) Alakazam, Meloetta, Gothitelle, Primeape, Darmanitan, Snorlax, Lilligant, Roserade, Mega Medicham, Mienshao, Machamp, Gallade, Hariyama, Throh/Sawk, Simi trio, Ambipom, Slaking, Hitmons, Chesnaught, Mr Mime, Magmar, Electivire, Golurk, Bisharp, Spinda
Viable monkeys: Darkrai, Deoxys formes, Jirachi, Smeargle, Jynx, Froslass, Mega Gardevoir, Blissey, Snorlax

Every human-like Pokémon can be counted as a monkey, as Homo sapiens are evolutionarily close to apes, which in turn are close to monkeys. Darkrai is obviously the most threatening with its ability to put to sleep its counters, coupled with the Speed that allows it to pull this off. Pretty much all of the Deoxys formes, apart from the normal forme, which is outclassed by the others, are excellent Pokémon. Jirachi has lost some of its defensive prowess, now being unable to check Darkrai and Ghost Arceus, even though the latter is significantly worse off this Generation. Smeargle is now significantly better in XY due to being one of the only viable users of Sticky Web (as if there were many Sticky Web users in the first place). Sticky Web makes opponents drop their Speed upon switching in if they are grounded. It can also surprise people expecting Sticky Web by being a SmashPass variant. Jynx is probably still a very good switch-in to Kyogre, although she takes a decent chunk from Thunder. With Lovely Kiss and Taunt, Jynx can mess up a lot of defensive Pokémon. Froslass is still a decent Spiker, although with Defog, her job gets harder. She still gets Taunt to prevent Defog from slower Defoggers, though. Mega Gardevoir is an interesting new addition. Although she gets competition for her Mega Stone, Pixilate-boosted Hyper Voice is very strong, while base 100 Speed and access to Taunt is always cool. Finally, we get to the two classic special sponges. Blissey is still usable, being able to wall Geomancy Xerneas, although she is huge Mega Gengar bait. Snorlax can use Assault Vest to tank special attacks, and although it lacks recovery, it isn't as badly destroyed by Mega Gengar (Destiny Bond still takes it out, though).

3) Horse

Kyogre, Xerneas, Arceus, Dialga, Hippowdon, Keldeo, Zebstrika, Kingdra, Sawsbuck, Rapidash, Stantler, Girafarig
Viable horses: Kyogre, Xerneas, Arceus, Dialga, Hippowdon, Keldeo

Being the year of the Horse, Team Horse packs quite an amazing line-up. You may be wondering why Kyogre is a horse. This picture shows you why. In all seriousness, though, whales are evolutionarily close to hippos, which are also known as "river horses". That kind of explains why Hippowdon is also a horse. Packing the best Pokémon in the entire metagame (Kyogre, Xerneas, Arceus, and Dialga), the only reason why horses aren't higher up the list is because the number of amazing horses (while truly amazing) is relatively small compared to the top 2. Horses really have something for everyone though. Kyogre is still the undisputed king of Ubers, drowning everything with its incredibly power Water Spout and tanking many special attacks due to its enormous Special Defense. Xerneas is the rising new star of Ubers, and even though ladder noobs spam the shit out of the Geomancy set, it is incredibly versatile, being able to sweep with Geomancy, revenge kill with Choice Scarf, be a cleric with Aromatherapy, or break walls with its mixed attacker set. Arceus looks like a horse as well as a goat. Dialga has giant hooves and its cry sounds sort of like a neigh. While it isn't as good as it was in DPP and BW(2), Dialga is still amazing, being very difficult to take down, as well as packing incredible power. Its lead set is still very effective, while offensive sets are very difficult to switch into. Hippowdon is still a decent physical wall with access to reliable recovery. Keldeo is a bit of an unknown at the moment, but with Giratina formes falling slightly out of favour and Latias being non-existent due to the absence Soul Dew, it could have SOME hope to shine. Having access to Taunt and good STABs is always cool.

2) Chicken

Ho-Oh, (Mega) Blaziken, Yveltal, Tornadus-T, Lugia, Shaymin-S, Latias, Latios, Cresselia, Skarmory, Gliscor, Talonflame, Flying Arceus, (Mega) Aerodactyl, Zapdos, Moltres, Hawlucha, Noivern, Xatu, Togekiss, Mandibuzz, Honchkrow, Archeops, Staraptor, Empoleon, Articuno, Noctowl, Swellow, Altaria, Swanna, Pidgeot, Fearow, Farfetch'd, Delibird, Pelipper, Unfezant
Ho-Oh, (Mega) Blaziken, Yveltal, Lugia, Shaymin-S, Tornadus(-T), Skarmory, Gliscor, Latias, Latios, Cresselia, Flying Arceus, Xatu, Mandibuzz, Talonflame

Coming in second place are the chickens. While there aren't that many chickens in Pokémon, the fact that they are the only representatives of all birds in the Chinese Zodiac means that every bird can be counted as a chicken... and there are a crapload of good birds. There are so many good birds that trickroom made a Birds team back in Deneration V and with Defog and addition of a few new birds, the chicken team is better than ever. Although Yveltal puts up some huge competition, Ho-Oh takes the throne of king of all birds. While being amazing last Generation, with Defog around, apart from Kyogre and Xerneas, Ho-Oh is probably THE Pokémon to counter this Generation. Why do you think Rock Arceus is so popular now? Blaziken is also a chicken that got a massive buff in XY, due to it getting a Mega Evolution, as well as a buffed Knock Off. Those Giratina can kiss their chances of walling this chicken goodbye, and only a handful of Pokémon, including Ho-Oh, Landorus-T, and Gyarados can really stop it from massacring entire teams. Oh, did I mention it can now Baton Pass those Speed boosts too? Yveltal is the other mascot brought into XY, and it's probably just as versatile as Xerneas; while it can't sweep, it is a hell of a lot harder to switch into that Xerneas. Lugia is still a mixed bag, being an amazing wall but horrible offensively, leading to it being Taunt fodder in a lot of cases. Defog did improve Multiscale, but XY also introduced Mega Gengar, which makes Lugia helpless a lot of the time. Tornadus and its Therian forme copped a bit of a nerf due to rain not being permanent any more, but their key advantages remain intact (Prankster for the Incarnate forme, Regenerator and 121 base Speed for the Therian forme). Skarmory also copped a nerf due to Spikes being able to be removed much more easily, although it can pressure Defog Arceus with Toxic, as well as being a decent Defog user itself. It is still an amazing Extreme Killer Arceus counter. Gliscor finds itself competing with Landorus-T. Although it cannot check Mega Blaziken very well, it still has access to Taunt to stop slower Defog users as well as harass stall teams.

The other birds/chickens are a lot more situational this Generation. Latias and Latios have their classic case of "early Generation blues" again, as Soul Dew is not available. Latias can still invest heavily in bulk to tank Kyogre's Water Spouts, but is rather weak. Latios has a distinct niche as a Choice Scarf user that is unaffected by Sticky Web. Cresselia can check Mega Mewtwo X and other physical attackers such as Groudon. Flying Arceus is the only Arceus forme allowed for chickens, but Flying is a good attacking STAB, allowing it to be a good mono-attacker with Substitute. Xatu is still a viable Magic Bounce user, but is rather ordinary. Mandibuzz used to be a great Ghost Arceus check, although her position has largely usurped by Yveltal. Finally, Talonflame has a cool niche of having priority Brave Bird, but is rather weak. Some special mentions go to Honchkrow for being a very manly bird that has been overshadowed by both Ho-oh and Yveltal and Archeops for being the first bird that ever flew with its powerful Head Smashes. Altaria, according to trickroom, have "wings (that) are made of cotton; they are durable enough to withstand an Ice Beam from Grass Arceus living below in that smelly forest."

1) Dragon

Dialga, Palkia, Groudon, Reshiram, Zekrom, Rayquaza, Kyurem(-B/W), Salamence, Garchomp, Giratina(-O), (Mega) Tyranitar, Mega Charizard (X/Y), Dragon Arceus, (Mega) Gyarados, Zygarde, Mega Venusaur, Latias, Latios, Dragonite, Noivern, Flygon, Haxorus, Hydreigon, Kingdra, (Mega) Aerodactyl, Mega Aggron, Tyrantrum, Aurorus, Rhyperior, Krookodile, Nidoking, Nidoqueen, Altaria, Druddigon, Dragalge, Feraligatr, Lapras, Rampardos, Bastiodon, Meganium
Viable dragons: Dialga, Palkia, Groudon, Reshiram, Zekrom, Rayquaza, Kyurem-B/W, (Mega) Garchomp, Giratina(-O), (Mega) Tyranitar, Mega Charizard (X/Y), Dragon Arceus, (Mega) Gyarados, Zygarde, Mega Venusaur, Latias, Latios, Salamence

Was there any doubt that Dragons are the strongest animals in Pokémon? Ever since DPP, Dragon has been the most powerful attacking type in the game, although Dragons were balanced in XY due to the introduction of Fairy-type. Regardless, they are still an incredibly powerful group. Out of the 18 standard Pokémon games made (not counting remakes), 10 of them have one of the above as their mascot. For this list, dinosaurs are also included, as the Chinese and Japanese word for "dinosaur" literally means "terror dragon". The best dragons are probably the Diamond and Pearl mascots, Dialga and Palkia. Dialga's amazing bulk, typing, and fantastic power allow it be a great support Pokémon that sets up Stealth Rock (while defeating most Defog users), or run sets ranging from an all-out special or mixed attacker to a Bulk Up set that is either a mono-attacking bulky set or a mixed lure. Palkia is slightly less bulky, but its typing allows it to switch into Kyogre's powerful Water attacks, while having the Speed and power to break down many Pokémon with its fantastic STABs and coverage. Groudon is technically not a Dragon, but it is a dinosaur, and a very powerful one at that. Like Dialga, it is a fantastic tank, although it's clearly better physically. It can not only run a support set with Stealth Rock, but also sweeping and wallbreaking sets like Rock Polish and Swords Dance, respectively. Zekrom is still one of the premier Choice Scarf users in the tier, and is now better as Dragon Dance Rayquaza is rarer. Reshiram got a bit better due to the Defog buff, but is still rather average. Rayquaza took a big hit from Fairies as well, although the Swords Dance set can still wallbreak with V-Create. The Kyurem formes are still about the same in viability. Kyurem-W got a tiny nerf with its STAB moves being weaker, and Kyurem-B still sucks. The Giratina formes were also nerfed by Fairy-type, and Giratina due to the now prevalent levels of Taunt. They are still decent Defog users, though. Dragon Arceus was pretty cool in Generation V as a mono-attacker, but with Fairy-types around, it is much less viable than it was.

Out of the non-Ubers, the Dragon that improved the most in Generation VI is probably Charizard. Although Charizard was the most fantastic Pokémon ever in Generation V, it was pretty much only relegated to either 1) new players or 2) troll teams. Now, Mega Charizard X is incredibly strong and Mega Charizard Y can serve as a secondary Drought inducer. Gyarados is the other major winner of the Generation shift in the Dragon team. In Generation V, Gyarados was like the Egyptian Chariots in a way that it was a psychological weapon more than anything. It wasn't really that good per se, but seeing the sight of one made you quake in your boots because practically the only one using it most of the time was trickroom, and you were about to get your ass wrecked. This time, however, Gyarados has a much better niche, which is checking Mega Blaziken. It can also Mega-Evolve to check Yveltal and Mega Mewtwo Y when Blaziken has either been disposed of or is not present. Mega Gyarados's bulk is nothing to sneeze at, either; it can run an effective Dragon Dance set with no bulk investment and still kick a lot of ass. Zygarde is an interesting specimen. While a lot of people were disappointed that the third Pokémon of the trio was once again nowhere near as good as the other two, it still has quite a few tricks up its disposal. Its ability, Aura Break, allows it to do some incredible things; most notably survive a +2 Moonblast from Xerneas, amazing considering that the latter receives STAB and super effective bonuses. It can also tank attacks from Yveltal with ease. Its massive physical bulk and support movepool mean it's not just limited to handling the X and Y mascots either. Venusaur was also usable in Generation V (barely) as a Chlorophyll sweeper, but in X and Y, its Mega Evolution allows it to tank some serious shit, ranging from ScarfOgre's Water Spout to anything Geomancy Xerneas throws at it except for Psyshock. Finally, Salamence is no longer a good Choice Scarf user in Ubers due to Xerneas's prevalence, but like Gyarados, it can run a defensive set to check Mega Blaziken. While Gyarados has Taunt, a Mega Evolution and arguably a better typing on its side, Salamence has reliable recovery.

Conclusion

So these are all the Pokémon for the Chinese Zodiac. Have a go at making your own mono-(Zodiac)-animal teams!

« Previous Article

Home