Magmortar

Magmortar has long been considered slightly underwhelming; in fact, it was left floundering in NU for the entirety of DPP and the majority of BW. However, Magmortar has found its time to shine in RU. Its excellent base 125 Special Attack and expansive movepool, including Fire Blast, Thunderbolt, Focus Blast, and a variety of Hidden Powers, are but a few of the primary reasons for its rise to stardom. Magmortar also boasts a solid base 95 Attack stat that, in conjunction with access to Cross Chop and Earthquake, enables it to blow straight past special walls, such as Clefable and Lanturn. Although Magmortar might not be particularly fast, that odd base 83 Speed grants it the opportunity to outspeed the myriad of Pokemon sitting at and around base 80 Speed, such as Medicham, Gallade, and Hitmonchan. On top of this, Magmortar appears to be perfectly suited to the RU metagame. The tier's premier special wall, Slowking, would usually be a full stop to any special attacking Fire-type, but Magmortar has no problem disposing of it with repeated Thunderbolt and entry hazard damage. The icing on the cake is that Magmortar can bypass one of the most common status conditions to be inflicted in RU: sleep. Tangrowth and Lilligant are extremely popular Pokemon that Magmortar can switch into and eliminate with impunity thanks to Vital Spirit; Magmortar can also deal with the odd Smeargle lead by absorbing Spore and limiting the number of layers it gets up to a maximum of two.

By now you're probably wondering why on earth Magmortar isn't used on every single RU team. Well, unfortunately for our fiery friend there are a couple of things halting its climb to number 1 on the usage ladder. A couple of sharp, pointy things. Yes, Magmortar despises entry hazards as it is susceptible to all three. To compound this weakness, due to its decidedly average defenses, Magmortar has trouble finding good opportunities where it can switch in. The metaphorical nail in the coffin comes from Magmortar's mediocre defensive typing, which leaves it with weaknesses to Ground-, Rock-, and Water-type attacks, as well as its below average Speed. However, don't let these downsides put you off. Magmortar's merits far outweigh its flaws and it is one of RU's premier Fire-types.