Beastcoast held its Safari Zone Tournament this weekend with Pok\u00e9mon Scarlet<\/em> and Violet<\/em>\u2019s new Regulation E ruleset, and one of the most surprising shifts in the VGC meta involves signs of weakness from Gen IX\u2019s most dominant Pok\u00e9mon\u2014Flutter Mane.<\/p>
Prior to Regulation E<\/a>, Flutter Mane had been winning tournament after tournament, consistently being the most-used Pok\u00e9mon in the format. As a Paradox Pok\u00e9mon, the Ghost\/Fairy \u2018mon was blessed with naturally high stats. Combined with a strong typing and a great move pool, Flutter Mane had practically become a necessity on VGC teams, reaching as high as 79-percent usage at the Europe International Championships<\/a> last season.<\/p>
Flutter Mane was still the most-used overall at the Beastcoast Safari Zone Tournament<\/a>, but when you take a closer look at the stats, you can see cracks starting to form in its performance. The most obvious sign was neither of the finalists had Flutter Mane.<\/p>
In fact, most Pok\u00e9mon from Grant Laird and James Evans\u2019 teams were hard-hitting physical attackers like Urshifu, Landorus, Iron Hands, and The Teal Mask<\/em>\u2019s beloved new Legendary<\/a>, Ogerpon.<\/p>
In addition to that, Flutter Mane was finally dethroned from the top of the usage chart<\/a> once top cut came around, falling below Landorus and tying with fellow Paradox Pok\u00e9mon Iron Hands. <\/p>
Flutter Mane wasn\u2019t the only Pok\u00e9mon losing momentum in this new meta either. These powerful Grass-type Pok\u00e9mon are also overshadowing everyone\u2019s favorite mushroom, Amoonguss. Like Flutter Mane, Amoonguss had been a staple on many winning VGC teams<\/a> last season, but it wasn\u2019t even in the top 10 most-used Pok\u00e9mon at this tournament. Right now, there are just too many strong Grass \u2018mons to compete with, and it\u2019s honestly refreshing to see.<\/p>
