Alrighty! I spent the majority of the past two days playing around on the ladder with Fairy after taking a huge break from Monotype in Gen 9 due to the new mons killing a lot of the fun for me. Really glad to see things have mellowed out. Here are my thoughts on the meta having used any Fairy I could reasonably slot. Made it to 1500 on my main using some of these, will post my team as a sample soon.
A -> A+ / S
Honestly, I've yet to come across a Fairy team without this guy, and for good reason. I use him on every one of mine. Fairy tailors highly to HO which means Klefki is a must-have with a combo of Prankster screens and Spikes. You're almost guaranteed to get off both screens since very few things OHKO an HP+Def Klefki through the relevant screen, and Prankster allows you to set that screen before you get hit. Prankster Thunder Wave can be used to cripple a lot of the meta as well, and is valuable speed control. Defog and Foul Play are great utility as well.
What holds Klefki back is a combo of Taunt and 4MSS. You want both screens, you want Thunder Wave, and there are three moves that all fight for that last spot. I've found Spikes can be a bit tough to pull off for Fairy, but Foul Play is amazing and although I usually run Defog, I often run into "I would be winning if I had Foul Play" situations since Klefki is easy to set up on for Electric types. The issue of Electric is partially solved by pairing with
though, since when the opponent sets their terrain they're risking a sweep from it the second
goes down.
That being said, I still consider him to be one of the most integral parts of a Fairy team. He pairs amazingly with the fast powerful threats of the type, and Thunder Wave lets you very easily run
without
while still being near guaranteed the speed advantage.
becomes a near-unbreakable wall for 6 turns depending on the type matchup, and especially against a special attacker can set up Calm Mind with very little danger since even a crit typically can't kill.
can also worry less about the loss of bulk after Mega Evolving, and is usually a pretty easy switch directly out of Klefki.
can capitalize on its deceivingly solid bulk behind the safety of the screens, and live hits from Pokemon like
and kill, even after Disguise breaks.
C -> D / UR
Contrasting
, I've yet to come across a Fairy team WITH this guy. I toyed around with him on the ladder and he was very consistently deadweight, and is really hard to justify slotting over the mons that do Tinkaton's job but way more effectively. The cuteness factor can't save it from being sub-mediocre. I'm actually unsure why it's ranked to begin with. If somebody could give me information I might be missing I'd appreciate it, but as far as I'm concerned it's basically impossible to run him above like 1300 ELO without coping with your wasted team slot.
D -> C
This is probably the weak link on this list since it's pretty inconsequential in general, but if you have a personal disdain for Klefki he's a great alternative with Parting Shot for great pivoting, and can be better than Klefki in
very specific circumstances. I wouldn't run him, but I understand why someone would and I think he's lower than he should be here. He also packs a punch and can catch an unprepared team off guard as such.
C -> UR
Stick to Ice, Ninetales-A, because you're nearly unusable on Fairy. With so few variation on Fairy teams it can be really hard to use Ninetales, even given its speed and Aurora Veil, since every team that's making it anywhere has Diancie-Mega and more than one quad-weakness to Steel is pushing it on the ladder. Especially since as a lead it's pretty hit or miss, with the main lead for half of the types directly countering it.
especially underspeeds even at max Speed investment to set Sand and sends you into either a forced switch or desperado under the threat of Stone Edge, and since a lot of Fairies really can't handle that without the screens that Ninetales is supposed to set that becomes a problem really quickly. I'd suggest D-tier if it weren't for DLC2 bringing in even more reasons to avoid this mon with
and
all posing a threat.
UR -> D
A decently potent wallbreaker and can even be a sorta
2.0 with the buff of Calm Mind it got in Gen 9. Recovery being limited to Wish + Protect unfortunately holds Sylveon back a lot though, and basically means it has to choose between having Mystical Fire or Calm Mind (both of which are very necessary) so I think D-tier is more appropriate. Either way I think untiered isn't really fair when STAB Pixilate Hyper Voice can tear through teams that don't resist it, and it can even double as a wish passer in some situations.
UR -> C
With
parading around as a Dragon check to Fairy, I think it's time we re-establish who's boss here. It also has the fun side-job of walling
, though that's less valuable here since a few Fairies have that covered. Specs boosted Moonblast and Surf are very helpful, and Psychic Noise completely shuts down
as well as being a 2HKO. The reliance on Specs to hit its targets hard enough can be an issue, along with the subpar Speed tier, but it comes in use a lot in the current meta in my experience. Very likely gonna hold a spot on my main ladder team for now. A world where Primarina gets a good ability is one I dream of frequently, but even without one, it's a great tool in Fairy's arsenal.
B -> A-
Everyone meet
Junior! A staple of both of its types since release, and with good reason. One of the best mons for cleanup in the type and ends up being a powerhouse in nearly every game it plays. Valiant has outclassed it a bit, but STAB Shadow Sneak at +2 is gonna hit hard in any situation, and with Fairy starving for good physical attackers (that aren't
too good,
) it's still a mainstay despite Valiant.