If you’re a more casual Pokémon fan, chances are the competitive scene doesn’t really appeal to you. As is, the Pokémon games already have plenty of single player content to wade through. You’ve got the main story, a post game, and hundreds upon hundreds of unique Pokémon to collect. For many, that’s all the fill they need to feel satisfied with Pokémon. For others, the single player isn’t nearly enough. The more extreme fans look towards the competitive scene to quench their thirst, abiding by all the newfound rules suddenly thrust upon them. Professional play isn’t perfect, however, with some noticeably strong Pokémon slipping through the cracks.

Using the Over Used tier as a base, especially since most Pokémon in the Uber category are basically already banned as far as most people are concerned, we’re going to take a look at some absurdly strong Pokémon who have managed to find a place in professional play despite being far too powerful for their own good. Maybe their base stats are too high, or their move pool simply gives them way too much to counter with. Either way, they all live up to their tier’s namesake far too much to be viable at this point.

25 Mega Charizard Y

Charizard? Great! Mega Charizard X? Even better! Mega Charizard Y? Slow your roll there, kid, you’re going to poke your eye out. While Mega Charizard X undoubtedly looks far cooler, and even has his fair share of quirks- most notably ditching his secondary Flying type for Dragon- Mega Charizard Y actually plays to Charizard’s natural strengths.

The only bad thing about Mega Charizard Y is that he’s uglier than Mega Charizard X. 

With an incredibly high Special Attack base stat paired with Mega Charizard Y’s natural Drought ability, Charizard quickly goes from being an already solid Pokémon to an absolute monster. Realistically, Mega Charizard Y should be able to handle most obstacles thrown at him. Mega Charizard X’s boost brings with it disadvantages whereas Mega Charizard Y simply gives you a better version of an already fantastic Pokémon.

24 Ash Greninja

Greninja, just like Charizard, is an already great Pokémon who’s made even better by a brand new transformation that serves only to augment its Pokémon’s already natural talents. A canon foreigner from the anime, Ash Greninja is the Mega Charizard Y of Greninjas. Not only does Ash-Greninja completely eclipse base Greninja, he may very well eclipse most Pokémon in the series.

With ferociously high Attack, Special Attack, and Speed stars, Ash Greninja is nigh unbeatable. So long as you actually EV trained your Greninja properly, you should have no trouble running a team based around Ash Greninja. This is a Pokémon designed around sweeping and a sweeping it’ll do. It’s almost unfair just how reliably Ash Greninja can take out the competition. This is one Pokémon you don’t want to be on the receiving end of.

23 Excadrill

Just looking at Excadrill’s stats, it’s hard to believe he could be a Pokémon worth banning. As far as Defense, Special Attack, and Special Defense are concerned, Excadrill is really nothing to write home about. So what pushes him over? Honestly, it all comes down to typing and a little thing called “Stealth Rock.”Being a Ground/Steel hybrid, there’s not much that can actually do serious damage to Excadrill despite his poor defensive stats.

Never judge a Pokemon by their base stats. 

With Steal Rock as his side, any Pokémon tossed in via the opposition will take immediate damage, allowing Excadrill to play an active role in every battle even when out of the picture. Sure, you can swap him out for any other Pokémon with Stealth Rock, but that Ground/Steel typing does go quite a long way in keeping him in play.

22 Chancey

Like Excadrill, Chancey may not be all too hot at first glance, but she’s one Pokémon you don’t want to underestimate. Even though she has some of the lowest Attack, Defense, Special Attack, and Speed stats in the entire franchise, Chancey is bolstered by her astronomically high base health and more than serviceable Special Defense.

Chancey is an absolute tank when it comes down to it. She can tank more damage than any other Pokémon in the series. To make her even better, she has access to Stealth Rock and her move pool allows her to be an incredible supportive player. Built into the right team, Chancey can take any trainer to victory. Perhaps too many.

21 Mega Garchomp

In general, any Pokémon with a Mega Evolution is going to end up significantly better in their Mega form compared to their base form. Garchomp is no exception to this rule. While his Mega Evolution does lower his base Speed stat by a bit, every other stat of his, save for HP, is buffed considerably, taking an already threatening Pokémon and making him all the more dangerous.

Because regular Garchomp apparently wasn’t good enough. 

To make matters worse for any trainers facing off against Mega Garchomp, picking up Swords Dance from his move pool increases his already stellar offense, allowing him to virtually one shot just about any Pokémon. He’s by no means perfect, of course, and can be countered, but chances are most people repping Mega Garchomp will never see it faint so long as they play smart.

20 Jirachi

Unlike other Pokémon who walk a thin line between usable and bannable, Jirachi’s fate shouldn’t be decided by its stats. On paper, Jirachi is decent at best with 100s across the board. Now, that’s by no means bad, but it’s not amazing either. Rather, it’s the supportive role Jirachi can play that makes it perhaps too good for its own good, especially when compared to the meta game’s more rigid rules.

For starters, Jirachi is a Legendary Pokémon which puts it at a higher level inherently than other Pokémon. Its move pool is also incredibly generous for a supporting role, allowing Jirachi to heal the party while also protecting itself. In a competitive match, Jirachi can turn into a nuisance quicker than you can switch out. That alone should be enough to consider tucking him away with the other Ubers.

19 Alolan Ninetails

Alolan Pokémon, in general, are pretty great, but no Alolan Pokémon is better than Alolan Ninetails. Base Ninetails’ Ice type sister, Alolan Ninetails may not be all that impressive stats wise, but more than makes up for it with a surprisingly solid move pool paired with one of the better Ice centric abilities in the series.

Fire doesn’t always beat Ice. 

Alolan Ninetails is the only Pokémon in the series with access to both Aurora Veil and Snow Warning. The latter is an ability that creates hail for the entirety of a match while the former halves all damage for five turns so long as there’s hail on the field. With this in mind, it’s not hard to see what makes Alolan Ninetails so powerful. It’s a Pokémon who, on the best of days, will take half damage of whatever you throw at them.

18 Mega Pinsir

On his own, Pinsir isn’t all that impressive. Despite having a relatively solid Attack and Defense stat, his type leaves quite a lot to be desired. As a mono Bug Type, there’s really not that much Pinsir can reliably resist and fight off. Mega Pinsir is a different story altogether, however. In taking a secondary Flying type and boosting all his stats, Pinsir goes from being rarely used to a genuine power house.

What makes Mepowerhouseo impressive is how easy it is to take advantage of Quick Attack on him. Not only does he naturally hit quite hard, Quick Attack guarantees he’ll hit first. Theoretically, you could use Mega Pinsir to demolish an already weakened opposition. On top of that, his ability, Aerilate, makes Quick Attack a STAB move, making the damage all the more imposing.

17 Volcarona

Despite having a severe weakness to Stealth Rock, one that’s just about guaranteed to take it out of commission almost immediately, Volcarona is easily one of the best sweepers in the entire series. With Quiver Dance to buff its stats, and an already high Special Attack, Volcarona can cause some serious damage. The only thing that can reasonably counter it is another Pokemon with higher speed. The problem is, that all comes down to luck. Should Volcarona survive its first turn and use Quiver Dance, the damage will already be done.

16 Mega Swampert

In his base form, Swampert is honestly just fine. He was great in his heyday, but time hasn’t been as kind to him. While his Type advantage is generally quite solid, there are better Water types out there to substitute him with. Like Mega Swampert! With a little bit of rain on his side, Mega Swampert can go on to decimate just about any Pokemon in his path.

Be careful who you make fun of in Gen III. 

With rain on his side, Mega Swampert’s natural ability, Swift Swim, doubles his speed, giving him the perfect opportunity to sweep. In a rain setting, Mega Swampert’s STAB moves will absolutely take out any Pokemon in one hit. The only downside, and perhaps the only thing keeping him from not being banned, is the fact he can’t induce rain on himself. That’s an easy enough workaround, however, ensuring Mega Swampert stays dangerous.

15 Kyurem Black

Considering how vulnerable Kyurem Black is to Stealth Rock, and the fact its secondary Ice Type does very little to actually help out, Kyurem Black still manages to be one of the most imposing Pokemon available in the Over Used meta game. Thanks to a genuinely monstrous base Attack stat, Kyurem Black can eat through just about anything thrown at him.

Should you EV train Kyurem Black’s Attack specifically, you’ll likely find yourself with a Pokemon who can decimate even the tankiest of tanks. Simply toss on whatever Ice based moves Kyurem Black has access to, and revel in those STABs. Or don’t since using a Legendary is a seriously cheap move. Train some Pokemon that need to be trained, guy.

14 Mega Lopunny

In theory, Mega Evolutions are a cool idea. Game Freak saw the opportunity to buff relatively weak Pokemon and offer them a chance at new life. The problem is: most Mega Evolutions were given to already popular, powerful Pokemon. Not Lopunny, though. Lopunny is a Pokemon who truly deserved her Mega Evolution. As expected, though, Game Freak perhaps went too far.

So long as Mega Lopunny isn’t the first Pokemon in your party, you’ve got a serious comeback kid on your hands. With one of the best Speed stats in her tier, and a move pool that really plays to her STAB, Lopunny is the sweep up your sleeve you never knew you had access to. Whether this is a fair strategy or not is up for debate, though.

13 Mega Scizor

Scyther’s Gen II evolution, Scizor has always been a favorite among fans. It’s really no surprise he ended up getting his own Mega Evolution when you think about it. What is surprising, however, is just how generous Game Freak ended up being with his boost. With more Defense than he’ll ever need, Mega Scizor is quite the durable tank.

Hit him as hard as you can. It won’t do much. 

It doesn’t hurt that he packs a nasty punch, too, with a fairly high base Attack stat. Mega Scizor’s only real downside is his vulnerability to Fire, but there’s a good chance he can brush his weaknesses off if trained properly. A feat not many Pokemon can take credit for. For obvious balancing reasons.

12 Tyranitar

As is, Tyranitar is a great Pokemon with an impressive Attack stat who can make use of his move pool to spam STABs like nobody’s business. The only thing holding Tyranitar back is his relatively low Speed stat, but even that can be remedied with a Dragon Dance strategy, a move that buffs both Attack and Speed, taking an already sturdy Pokemon and making him all the sturdier. Tyranitar is the kind of Pokemon who’s so good, giving him a Mega Evolution would basically be pointless. That didn’t stop Game Freak, though.

11 Mega Tyranitar

Mega Tyranitar is base Tyranitar’s superior in every single way possible, and base Tyranitar is really nothing to scoff at either. With an increased Speed stat, one use of Dragon Dance can turn Mega Tyranitar into a tried and true sweeper. His STABs, now combined with a significantly higher Speed stat, absolutely break how he’s balanced. Before, his Speed was the only thing holding him back, but the Mega Evolution and Dragon Dance completely trivialize what was his only discernible weakness. It’s one thing to allow Tyranitar into Over Used. It’s another entirely to leave Mega Tyranitar in considering just how all powerful he really is.

10 Zapdos

The strongest of Kanto’s three Legendary Birds, Zapdos is also one of the best Pokemon available for use in any Over Used team. Thanks to all around solid base stats and one of the better Type advantages in the game- Zapdos being an Elec/Flying hybrid, after all- Zapdos ends up one of the most balanced Pokemon available within the tier. Which ends up being a problem.

Articuno and Moltres have nothing on Zapdos. 

Outside of his Type based weaknesses, Zapdos has no real weakness. He’s an incredibly difficult Pokemon to take out thanks to how balanced his stats are and a move pool that offers him quite a bit of recovery options. There’s a good chance you’ll find yourself wasting most of your time going up against a Zapdos since taking him out requires far more effort than most Pokemon are capable of.

9 Magearna

Magearna may not have the Speed stat necessitated by most Pokémon to actually sweep, but it sure does have the move pool to pull it off. With a truly phenomenal Move Pool that spans across several Types- including the likes of Fire, Electricity, and Ice- Magearna is almost like six Pokémon in one. To sweeten the deal, Magearna’s stats outside of Speed are actually kind of incredible with Defense, Special Attack, and Special Defense stats that blow the competition out of the water. Even if you can’t make Magearna sweep, you can at least make her tank.

8 Mega Latios

Should Legendary Pokémon have Mega Evolutions? Probably not, but Game Freak keeps Mega Evolving them anyways so this is the world we live in. Mega Latios is just another Mega Evolution who probably shouldn’t have a role in competitive place, in large part due to the advantages Legendary Pokémon already have. If you toss a Mega Evolution onto that, you’re just tipping the scales even further in their favor.

Latias and Latios belong together. 

What makes the situation with Mega Latios all the stranger is that Mega Latios actually is banned in her tier. For Mega Latios to outlast Mega Latias is genuinely quite strange. They have the same general advantages and both have fairly impressive stats already. Not banning Latios outright is already towing a line. Leaving Mega Latio as is is honestly just too much.

7 Hoopa Unbound

A Psychic/Dark hybrid who can steal an enemy Pokemon’s item with any given technique, Hoopa Unbound is a literal monster when adequately trained. With a mix of incredibly high Attack, Special Attack, and Special Defense stats, Hoopa Unbound is only held back by its lackluster Speed and Defense, but the benefits in using Hoopa are far too good to ignore.

It’s worth keeping in mind that Hoopa Unbound is fragile due to its Defense, but it will tank most Special Attacks with ease. With STAB at its side, Hoopa Unbound is also going to dish out some extreme damage. Potentially too extreme given its move pool. If Pokémon were a series that actually nerfed outside Generation shifts, Hoopa Unbound would be bound for some changes.

6 Tapu Lele

For all intents and purpose, a Tapu Lele with Psychic Surge might as well be an uber. With Psychic Surge, Tapu Lele creates a Psychic terrain where all Psychic type moves are boosted without so much as wasting a turn. Since Tapu Lele is a Psychic/Fairy hybrid with an incredibly high Special Attack stat, Tapu Lele gains insane STAB from any Psychic type moves. Pretty much even the tankiest tank will fall in Tapu Lele’s warpath. OverUsed is an incredibly generous tier when considering just how much damage Tapu Lele is capable of.