Seriously when will people stop riding on Mega Beedrill's dick? We get it it's a Pokemon that can function but oh my God stop giving it so much gas.
Let's talk about a real Pokemon for once:
I think Thundurus-I right now is pretty solid. It's definitely a Pokemon that needs support and doesn't always manpower through teams, but to be frank it's really damn good. This Pokemon has made it onto some Sticky Webs teams with 4 Attacks (Thunderbolt / HP Ice / Incinerate / Sludge Wave) and there's also some that will opt for Taunt or Nasty Plot with Focus Blast. Even though hazard removal being difficult to use works against Thundurus to some points and some things like Tapu Koko simply being more splashable, it literally can run a train through some of the slower teams at the moment with the right support. Sticky Webs or Spikes support can really help Thundurus secure KOes, though honestly you probably could get away without Spikes on this mon just because it murders almost everything after a Nasty Plot with 3 attacks. A lot of people threw it under the bus for Thundurus-T, which I admit has a cool niche with Volt Absorb and simply being stronger, but the 111 Speed is really damn useful because it overcomes Mega Metagross, Gengar, and non-Scarf Latios. It's also faster than Swords Dance Garchomp - which is becoming the more popular set over Choice Scarf.
To almost no one's surprise Mega Medicham has definitely made a large impact in SM OU. It's given Mega Metagross a little more competition for the Mega slot and it has shown with its immediate threat presence and being able to dismantle the majority of non-Mega Sableye teams without any issues. Being that it can pair with Tapu Koko or Tapu Lele for shits and giggles makes it even more monstrous. Fake Out / HJK / Ice Punch / Zen Headbutt or Thunder Punch has been the go-to, though you could argue if you're pairing with Lele and want to specifically use it with Lele that you can drop Fake Out for Thunder Punch. Honestly, though, Fake Out is so good it's hard to pass up even with Psychic Terrain as a factor.
Honestly the rise for Zapdos should have come as no surprise. It's a damn good Pokemon and the 3 Attack Zapdos used around was something I even considered in the background before it got popular (though, unlike others like Obii, I didn't have the balls to use it). 3 Attack Zapdos is just really nice with how the meta wants a solid Electric-type with recovery at times to counteract some things. It soft checks a lot of Pokemon and it's hard to switch into thanks to its coverage. Some people Speed creep pretty hard with it for good reasons too just to make sure it soft checks a little extra at the cost of some bulk - but Zapdos's good typing and access to Roost help it out a lot. I'm really glad this Pokemon is being recognized more because I always feel it is a Pokemon
often underrated in the later generations. Just what this mon can offer to teams is really fucking good and I love that its just a Pokemon with a good balance of offensive and defensive prowess. Pressure is legit for an ability too even outside of the Defog bluff.
Ye I honestly feel ya with mbee. In fact it was blacklisted from the vr just because people can't stop theorymonning with it instead of using the 0 experience they have with it to back up their claims.
Thundurus is definitely a solid mon and can definitely can fill a couple of niches that koko cannot. I also feel it's definitely more useful than it's therian counterpart just because it's speed tier is more valuable in this meta. As for Medicham it's definitely a huge threat to any archetype and could go good on webs teams to threaten HO teams that simply outspeed it. Although I feel like tpunch is really not that good even with tapu koko support simply because tpunch under terrain only hits like msab, while zen just hits all kinds of things like mvenu, alowak, or even clef. Not to mention neutral zen does more damage than neutral tpunch under terrain. And I also feel psy terrain boosted zen would do massive damage regardless of Fake Out not working as you said.
Zapdos is also good as it's probably the best defog user atm since mosa is gone. It's coverage is perfect actually, it hits grounds, steels, and also bulky waters like fini and pex. And it having roost is a boon as it gets recovery unlike the only other relevant defogger in the tier (Fini,which I feel is lacking in a meta without mosa) and can also do stuff like playing mindgames with stone edge mons and such.
Now just so this post isn't an echo of someone else's, I'd like to bring up some discussions around certain mons:
Mew:
Seems pretty anti-meta atm. Of course I haven't used it yet, but the defensive set from oras could be good on some bulkier teams to check stuff like the newly released mmedi.It can tank hits from physical attackers and wisps them.
252+ Atk Pure Power Medicham-Mega High Jump Kick vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Mew: 140-165 (34.7 - 40.9%) -- 59.3% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Pure Power Medicham-Mega Thunder Punch vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Mew in Electric Terrain: 163-192 (40.4 - 47.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery Not even eterrain punch 2hkoes it.
252 Atk Tough Claws Metagross-Mega Meteor Mash vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Mew: 150-177 (37.2 - 43.9%) -- 99.8% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery Metagross's most powerful move can't 2hko it.
+2 252+ Atk Landorus-Therian Continental Crush (180 BP) vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Mew: 335-395 (83.1 - 98%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery It can even live +2 continental crush from lando.
252+ Atk Huge Power Mawile-Mega Play Rough vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Mew: 201-237 (49.8 - 58.8%) -- 69.5% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery however mmaws play rough has a chance to 2hko it so be careful around it.
Of course this is with max def, obviously you can run some speed on it but max max does so good in this meta.
And starmie:
I know that this has been brought up earlier, but I feel it does relatively good without pheromosa in the tier. Besides from exca, which loses to the most common rocker and most common mon in general in the tier, it is the only viable option for a spinner atm. It has great coverage and hits hard with analytic boosted stab, so it can actually fulfill more roles than just a spinner. I feel it's really underestimated in this meta with stuff like lando, gross,etc. Also it doesn't lose against gren (most common spiker in the tier) and takes a hit from mgross provided it doesn't have tpunch.
0 Atk Life Orb Protean Greninja Gunk Shot vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Starmie: 185-218 (70.8 - 83.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock As you can see it can even come in on stealth rocks and either remove gren or get rid of hazards. Although it can't switch in, you can still double into it on the expected gren, or go into it after a mon has been fainted by gren. Also, some people say it loses to the other spiker, ferro, however, hp fire, while niche, can remedy that problem.
252 SpA Life Orb Starmie Hidden Power Fire vs. 252 HP / 168 SpD Ferrothorn: 218-260 (61.9 - 73.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery and it with analytic boost it has a chance to ohko with spikes up.
252 SpA Life Orb Analytic Starmie Hidden Power Fire vs. 252 HP / 168 SpD Ferrothorn: 286-338 (81.2 - 96%) -- 50% chance to OHKO after 1 layer of Spikes
252 Atk Metagross-Mega Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Starmie: 135-159 (51.7 - 60.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO mgross's most powerful move against starmie besides tpunch lets it live which lets it do this:
252 SpA Life Orb Starmie Hydro Pump vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Metagross-Mega: 179-212 (59.4 - 70.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO it gets heavy chip against the best mega in the tier which is valuable regardless of if starmie dies. Also it 1v1s gross as long as you don't switch it in on the attack and it doesn't have tpunch. Hopefully this will spark some discussion :]