What's NU in XY

Introduction

The end of BW brought with it the end of three of our tiers—UU, RU, and NU—which won't make their return in XY for months to come. While we're waiting for OU to stabilize so that UU can be created, a lot of NU players are left wondering what they'll get to use in their beloved NU tier. Some Pokémon are obvious candidates for NU, including this generation's Pikachu clone, Dedenne, and the new bulky-yet-useless Carbink, nearly a carbon copy (hehehe) of Shuckle. Others have potential to make it to higher tiers, but will likely debut in NU alongside many of our old favorites. On top of all of the new Pokémon we'll probably find in the lowest of the tiers, many old NU standouts have received significant buffs with stat boosts, Mega Evolutions, and new abilities that will likely propel them far beyond our lowest tier. While we won't know for sure what XY NU will look like, some speculation and theorymon can give us a decent picture of what to expect.

The Gains

Pyroar

Pyroar
Type: Normal / Fire
Abilities: Rivalry / Unnerve / Moxie
Stats: 86 HP / 68 Atk / 72 Def / 109 SpA / 66 SpD / 106 Spe

One of the best new Pokémon that is very likely to find itself in NU is the Normal- / Fire-type, Pyroar. With good offensive typing that is mainly only walled by Rock-types, along with a few other Pokémon such as Chandelure, Pyroar seemed like it had a lot of potential to be a breakout star in the competitive scene. On top of its good typing, the new Normal-type special attack, Boomburst, was revealed, and many Pyroar fans had their hopes set high that our lion friend would receive the attack. Unfortunately, not only did it not receive Boomburst, but Pyroar also missed out on a lot of potential stats. Between its pretty awful bulk and only decent Special Attack, it quickly became clear that Pyroar wasn't going to be very viable in standard OU. Still, with stats aside, Pyroar still could have made it, even if only as a niche Pokémon, had it have gotten a good ability or even decent coverage moves. However, in terms of usable coverage moves, Pyroar received Dark Pulse, which doesn't help it break the bulky Water-types that will assuredly trouble it or the Rock-types that wall its STABs, and Solar Beam, a weather-reliant move in the generation of weather nerfs. It did receive a fantastic ability, Moxie, but it can't even utilize the ability properly with its awful base 68 Attack.

While it will probably fall short of OU—and even UU and RU—Pyroar has a lot of potential down in NU, where not only is its Special Attack not half bad, but its Speed is actually considered really good. This can give Pyroar a decent niche as a fast special attacking Fire-type, and if we can trust the trends from BW, it will be one of the only Fire-types that will make it to NU. Even cooler, its Normal typing can be advantageous in NU, which has been known for its lack of solid Normal-type checks. Plus, with Taunt and an immunity to both Will-O-Wisp and Shadow Ball, Pyroar can serve as a complete stop to Misdreavus, one of the best defensive Pokémon in the tier. As though Taunt wasn't enough, with Substitute and Endeavor, Pyroar can be used to break down problematic walls in order to open up sweeps for teammates later on in the match. Pyroar might not be gamebreaking, but it appears that it can be a solid force in NU, where its middling stats don't hold it back so much and its Normal typing can be more of a benefit than a burden.

Aromatisse

Aromatisse
Type: Fairy
Abilities: Healer / Aroma Veil
Stats: 101 HP / 72 Atk / 72 Def / 99 SpA / 89 SpD / 29 Spe

With all the new Fairy-type Pokémon introduced in XY, many of us were astonished at just how low quality so many of them were. Most of the best Fairy-types in the game are previously introduced Pokémon that were retyped, including Mawile and its Mega Evolution, Gardevoir and its Mega Evolution, Togekiss, and Azumarill. Aromatisse is one of the new Fairies to be introduced, and it seems as though it was crafted specifically for doubles. Both of its abilities are usable only in doubles; its movepool includes moves such as Heal Pulse, Dazzling Gleam, Trick Room, Light Screen and Reflect, Aromatherapy, Aromatic Mist (which raises the user's and its partner's Special Defense by one stage), Sunny Day, and Rain Dance. While some of these moves are usable outside of doubles, all of them are great in, or at least made for, a doubles environment. With abilities and a movepool crafted for doubles, it's hard for a drag flamingo to succeed in standard battling.

Aromatisse probably won't survive in the higher tiers; however, this gives NU players a solid Fairy-type with good mixed bulk and decent Special Attack. Aromatisse can serve as a cleric or dual screens setter, and it can even run a defensive RestTalk set with Calm Mind or Aromatherapy alongside Draining Kiss or Moonblast. Just like Pyroar, odds are against Aromatisse becoming a top player in NU, but it definitely has a lot going for it in a tier where Fighting-types roam freely. If you're feeling especially daring, Aromatisse can even run an offensive Calm Mind set with Moonblast, Psychic to take out Poison-types, and either Thunderbolt or Energy Ball to take on bulky Water-types.

Mr. Mime

Mr. Mime
Type: Psychic / Fairy
Abilities: Soundproof / Filter / Technician
Stats: 40 HP / 45 Atk / 65 Def / 100 SpA / 120 SpD / 90 Spe

Mr. Mime has always been a forgotten relic of RBY, where it was pretty much just a joke Pokémon named MARCEL that was always outshined by Alakazam, which was faster, stronger, and had Recover on its side. Since then, Mr. Mime has shed some pounds. On top of hitting the gym, Mr. Mime has come out of his box as a Fairy-type! Obvious implications aside, this means great things for it competitively. On the defensive side, even with its mediocre physical bulk, Mr. Mime can switch into some Fighting-type attacks and strike back with either of its super effective STABs. Offensively, Fairy STAB is actually pretty phenomenal, especially alongside its Psychic STAB. Between the two, only Steel-types and Victini, which has no shot at dropping to NU, resist both, giving Mr. Mime a lot of potential as a fast special attacker. On top of all of this, Mr. Mime has two good abilities to work with. Soundproof can be used to take on the new Boomburst users, Chatot and Exploud, should they prove to be problematic in NU, while Filter, a Solid Rock clone, decreases the damage that Mr. Mime takes from super effective hits by 25%. This is especially helpful in allowing Mr. Mime to combat special Ghost-type attackers, particularly Haunter, which it can take out after surviving an attack. While neither ability is phenomenal, they can both help Mr. Mime pull through in some tough situations.

The Losses

Kangaskhan

In BW NU, Kangaskhan has always been a potent physical attacker. With its fantastic ability, Scrappy, the only Pokémon that can consistently switch in against it are bulky Rock- and Steel-types, including Regirock and Metang, as well as Tangela and Alomomola, two of the sturdiest physical tanks in the tier. Aside from being able to dismantle many defensive Pokémon, Kangaskan's access to two different priority moves, Fake Out and Sucker Punch, gave offensive teams a check to opposing offensive threats, particularly rain teams that rely on fast, frail sweepers. The best part about this was that running Kangaskhan usually meant that you didn't have to run a Choice Scarf user in order to revenge kill faster threats. Kangaskhan also provided a nice check against Riolu-based teams that tried to rack up entry hazard damage against the opponent with priority shuffling, as well as Liepard-based teams that did the same with Prankster Assist and Whirlwind prior to the banning of the strategy. All in all, Kangaskhan served as a nice utility glue that could check a large variety of offensive Pokémon.

However, Pokémon X and Y introduced us to Mega Evolutions and Kangaskhanite, which turns Kangaskhan from a top-tier NU Pokémon into a fearsome OU sweeper. In XY OU, it maintains the ability to smack things around with its priority Sucker Punch, and it also gets the new ability, Parental Bond, which allows it to hit everything twice, once with its base form and again with its baby for half the damage. What this means for Kangaskhan is that it has a virtual Choice Band boost without being forced to lock itself into one attack. It also means that Kangaskhan can break any potential Focus Sash and Sturdy users with its first hit and then take out the foe with its second. Even better, Parental Bond, in combination with the new attack, Power-Up Punch, allows Kangaskhan to attain a +2 Attack boost in one turn while also hitting the opponent with a 40 Base Power Fighting-type attack. This huge change skyrockets Kangaskhan from BW NU likely all the way up to XY OU.

Scolipede

Scolipede wasn't around BW NU for its entirety, but while it was there, it made a huge splash in the metagame with its fast Spikes and strong offensive presence. Scolipede started out in Stage 0 of NU and left soon after, seemingly never to return again. However, when Stage 9 came around, Scolipede dropped once again to the shock of many players and immediately began stacking its Spikes on NU battlefields everywhere. Alongside its access to Spikes combined with its high Speed, Scolipede's strong STAB Megahorn allowed it to destroy many of the Psychic-types that were previously dominating the tier. Our giant centipede revolutionized Spikes-stacking offense in NU, and no NU player will deny its enormous impact and influence in the tier.

Unfortunately, despite its great influence in NU, Scolipede is certainly leaving us in XY. In the new generation, Scolipede didn't receive many buffs—only three, to be precise. One of these buffs was the new Fairy-type, which is both weak to and resisted by Poison. This indirectly improves Scolipede, even if it rarely carries a Poison STAB. Aside from this, Scolipede received a 10 base Attack boost, bumping it up from a modest 90 to a respectable base 100 Attack overall. But the most significant buff Scolipede received in XY and the one that undoubtedly pushes it out of NU is the new ability it received—Speed Boost. With Speed Boost, Scolipede can serve as a fantastic late-game cleaner or use Baton Pass to give its boosts to a teammate in order for it to sweep. Speed Boost Scolipede with Baton Pass is basically Ninjask but good; it has usable bulk with a much better defensive typing as well as more Attack with higher Base Power STAB moves to keep itself from becoming setup fodder. In the end, it's not clear as to where Scolipede will end up, but what we can be sure of is that NU is not in its future.

Charizard

Charizard didn't really hit the spotlight in BW NU until later on in its life, but once it did, it came out guns blazing. With only base 109 Special Attack, Charizard doesn't seem all that threatening, but what it lacks in raw power, it more than makes up for with its great base 100 Speed and its high Base Power attacks. With all of Fire Blast, Focus Blast, and Flamethrower in its repertoire, there are few Pokémon in the tier that can either outspeed and revenge kill Charizard or tank a hit from it. Its Choice Specs set brings the pain right from the start, while a Choice Scarf set can be used to clean up late-game. As though walling it wasn't hard enough, Charizard can even go physical with a Swords Dance set that gets walled by totally different Pokémon from its special sets. Truly a top threat in BW NU; only Stealth Rock really keeps Charizard in check, ensuring that it can switch in only twice most of the time.

Much like Kangaskhan, odds are against Charizard's return to NU in XY because of its new Mega Evolution, but unlike Kangaskhan, Charizard received two Mega Evolutions—Mega Charizard X and Mega Charizard Y. Mega Charizard X is a powerful physical attacker with the ability Tough Claws, which increases the power of contact moves by 33%. This makes Mega Charizard X an incredibly fearsome attacker, as it more than makes up for its lack of item with its ability, and it can boost its Attack with Swords Dance or its Attack and Speed with Dragon Dance. What's more is that this Mega Evolution forfeits its Flying typing in exchange for Dragon typing, making it even more difficult to wall thanks to its fantastic new STAB combination. Mega Charizard Y, on the other hand, is a fearsome special attacker with Drought for its ability. Summoning the sun gives Mega Charizard Y an extra boost to its Fire-type attacks and allows it to use Solar Beam to plow through any bulky Water-types that try to stand in its way. Whether or not these Mega Evolutions will push Charizard all the way up to OU or not is yet to be seen, but one thing is for sure: Charizard has broken out of NU and will likely stay out of it for the entirety of this generation.

Conclusion

Remember until XY NU is actually formed that all of this is simply speculation of what we'll see based on trends from previous generations. Still, the odds are in favor of many of our new Pokémon plummeting to NU and many of our old NU favorites leaving us behind. In the meantime, form your own opinion by trying out these Pokémon yourself in XY OU! Maybe you can pioneer a new set that will save one of these Pokémon from dropping into the abyss of NU.

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