I have found as I have gotten older that I am not who I once was, and have to adjust accordingly. As a Pokemon GO player, my early years in the game of heavy grinding and hitting every community event have morphed into making it when I can as my schedule now centers around my three high schoolers and their activities. As an older fellow on the wrong side of my 40s and diagnosed nearly two years ago now with diabetes (WELL under control now, don’t worry!), I can’t quite keep up that same pace anyway. 🥵 One other consequence of being older and having far less free time as a dad of teenagers than the dad of little kids I was when this game started? Having to scale back on my writing time. I imagine you all have noticed that I’ve gone from my machine-like pace of 4-5 LONG articles a week to more like 1-2 per week (if even that!) for most of the last year or so. It’s just plain old simple reality: 10 hours of work/commute each day + family time and after-school/weekend activities + actual sleep at some point doesn’t leave me as much time as I’d like to devote to this hobby I’ve been able to enjoy for so many years now. Playing time is being sacrificed more than ever just to have time to write!
And so, sadly we have less full-blown meta overviews — the “Nifty Or Thrifty” series that used to be my bread and butter — and more pared-down analyses. But in metas we’ve seen many times over, like Fantasy Cup, at least that’s easier. Despite moveset shakeups and new releases, not THAT much has changed since we last visited this meta just two seasons ago. So let’s focus on “What’s Up?” in Fantasy Cup… impactful new arrivals or new move shakeups that are most likely to warp this familiar meta. Could this be the start of another new series, like the truncated “Quick Bites” analyses I started a few months back? Who knows! At least for this week, I think it works.
So let’s dive in, Pokéfriends!
MIMIKYU
Shadow Claw | Shadow Sneak & Thunder/Play Rough
Mimikyu was in the game during our last visit to Great League Fantasy Cup, but of course, it wasn’t eligible in that or any other GBL format at the time, so this is its first actual appearance here. And oh my Arceus, it’s gonna be big. Heck, this thing has a 93% win percentage across the entire format! Not only can it cut through all the Dragons, but also all Fairies but Wigglytuff, leaving only a handful of Steels standing between it and total domination. Including the next Pokemon on our list….
(So overpowered is Mimikyu here that I pushed out an article on Mimikyu in Fantasy Cup. Check that out if you haven’t already.)
MELMETAL
Thunder Shock | Double Iron Bashᴸ & Dynamic Punch
I think there is no other Pokémon in Fantasy Cup more clearly improved since the last time in this meta than Melmetal. Back then, it had a much more humble Double Iron Bash and Superpower as its only Fighting move. Now, D.I.B. deals 15 more damage and Dynamic Punch shoves Superpower (and its self-debuffing) to the sideline. Now it sits as the #1 Pokemon in the format, and adds on wins like Togekiss, Corviknight, Forretress, Bronzong, and Shadow Magnezone (and others like Altaria, Jirachi, and Galarian Weezing across other even shield matchups). Obviously a mono-Steel like Melmetal still has its limitations — it needs to still stay far away from Ground and Fire types — but it’s worthy of its high ranking, and this season’s Fantasy Cup may be its best performance in PvP to date. Expect it to be everywhere… and if you don’t have one, there’s never been a better time to try and fix that. Double Iron Bash is WELL worth an Elite TM if you need it, with an impact that goes far beyond just this Limited meta.
ORTHWORM
Mud Slap | Rock Tomb & Iron Head
Orthworm now finds itself ranked at #15, and part of the reason is that it’s also #16… in stat product (AKA bulk). That allows it to deal a lot of damage over the course of battle with Mud Slap (even though it lacks STAB) in a meta where very little resists Ground (and opposing Steels are obviously terrified of it), and unlike most Steels, allows it to beat dangerous Turtonator. And Orthworm’s charge moves are very scary to even the things that resist Mud Slap, especially Flyers that have to be wary of Rock Tomb. Yet it is the newly buffed Iron Head that is the real reason for the mention this season, as its 15 damage increase this season brings in a win over Togekiss in 1shield and Togetic in 2shield.
CORVIKNIGHT
Sand Attack | Iron Headᴸ/Air Cutterᴸ & Payback
Corvi is also a direct beneficiary of the Iron Head buff, and I think this is a rare meta where Air Cutter is a move you don’t really want… all the Steel types around resist it anyway. Instead, I think the set of choice is Iron Head/Payback, which picks up wins it couldn’t get in the past (pre-Iron Head buff) against Azumarill, Togekiss, and Galarian Stunfisk, and flexes wins that Air Cutter cannot get (even when Cutter is paired with Payback) over Togekiss and G-Fisk again, as well as Galarian Weezing. It IS worth noting that Corviknight can potentially overcome Mimikyu more consistently with the relative speed of Air Cutter (40 energy instead of Iron Head’s 50 energy) setting up Payback, but is that one tradeoff worth the number of wins you give up? That’s your call, dear reader… I’m just here to make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into one way or the other.
BRONZONG
Metal Sound | Bulldoze & Psyshock/Weather Ball (Water)
The big rework of Bulldoze this season makes it a legit closing option in a format with a LOT of Ground-weak Steel types. That means new potential Fantasy Cup wins like Registeel, Empoleon, Alolan Sandslash, and the big one: Melmetal. (It helps that Bronzong is a Steel that takes only neutral damage from Dynamic Punch.) Now, the overall record isn’t exactly eye-popping, and Zong gets shredded by Mimikyu’s super effective Ghost damage, but there’s plenty to like here as a wild card pick, especially since you can mix things up with other moves like Weather Ball (which is handy coverage versus the Fire and Ground types in the meta).
TINKATON
Fairy Wind | Bulldoze & Gigaton Hammerᴸ
Speaking of unimpressive records that make you question the ranking, we have Tinkaton with the reworked Bulldoze as well. It’s been a bit worse this season without old-school, bait-worthy Bulldoze, and it’s slightly worse now here too, dropping potential wins it used to enjoy against Empoleon, Jirachi, and most unfortunately of all, Mimikyu. The gains over Excadrill and Aegislash hardly seem worth it, and I gotta be honest: I’m having a lot of trouble justifying Tinkaton as the Fairy rep on your Fantasy Cup team. But it’s well-liked and I am sure you WILL see it anyway, and GoBattleLog certainly lends some data to that belief.
SKARMORY
Air Slash | Drill Run & Brave Bird
It’s still no Corviknight, but the addition of Drill Run at least makes the OG Steely Bird interesting again in Fantasy Cup. Steel Wing is a critical part of the package for the wins it adds against Mimikyu (a win that Corviknight struggles to consistently get), Togekiss, Tinkaton, Altaria, Aegislash, Doublade, and Jirachi. But come on, Scopely. Unleash our Steely Boi again! There are literally multiple ways you could do so. Grrrrrr.
AGGRON & KINGAMBIT
Aggron
SteelRock
Kingambit
SteelDark
Just some quick shout-outs to AGGRON and KINGAMBIT, as neither emerge from mere spice territory, but both of them are definitely better with their new Fighting moves (Brick Break and Low Kick, respectively), bringing in new wins for Aggron against Shadow Steelix, Alolan Sandslash, and even Azumarill, and for Kingambit versus Bronzong, Corviknight, Empoleon (with Waterfall), Jirachi, A-Slash, and S-Steelix as well.
IN CONCLUSION
So no traditional “Nifty Or Thrifty” meta analysis this time around, but hopefully this was still a help to you! Until next time, you can usually find me on Twitter with PoGO analysis nuggets or Patreon.
Good luck out there, Pokéfriends, and may your own time allow you many battles this week! ⚔️ Catch you next time… hopefully a Minior analysis once PvPoke is updated with its unique form change mechanic. ☄️ Cheers!
