Lower ranks needed a rework so myself and a few others discussed the criteria for C / D ranked mons as well as the current Pokemon in those ranks. I understand that some of you might disagree with these changes, but for the good of the community and for the sake of cleaning up I had to make these. Note that there are obviously other changes as well, but the main focus is on C / D.
Scolipede: A- ---> B+
Mega Heracross: B ---> B+
Azelf: Unranked ---> C+
Sharpedo: C+ ---> C-
Haxorus: C+ ---> C-
Blissey: C ---> D
Tangrowth: C ---> C-
Thundurus-T: C- ---> C+
Snorlax: D ---> Unranked
Toxicroak: D ---> Unranked
Meloetta: D ---> Unranked
Weezing: Unranked ---> D rank
Alakazam: C+ --> C
Krookodile: C+ --> C
Omastar: C+ --> C
Seismitoad: C+ ---> C
Zygarde: C+ --> C
Banette (Mega): C --> D
Escavalier: C --> Unranked
Magnezone: C ---> C+
Salamence: C ---> C-
Tornadus: C --> C-
Gardevoir: C- ---> Unranked
Kyurem: C- ---> Unranked
Mantine: C- ---> D
Moltres: C- ---> D
Roserade: C- ---> D
Cloyster --> unranked
Cofagrigus --> unranked
Jirachi: D ---> unranked
Reuniclus: D ---> unranked
Scolipede - it was honestly only moved up for its irreplaceable slot on BP, but that is now dead. Its LO set is still great and quick pass is as well so it will be pushed down to B+.
Mega Heracross - this thing literally bends Stall over backwards. Threats that hit hard and have a decently large amount of coverage generally trouble stall and Mega Heracross is no different. It is also insanely great against HO teams if paired with Sticky Web given that most Pokemon commonly found on this archetype are frail.
Azelf - a very solid replacement to Deoxys on HO teams as it can perform as a hazards suicide lead as well as a weather setting lead. It's at a convenient speed tier as weel, out speeding most opposing leads outside of Prankster or priority users.
Sharpedo - doesn't even come close to sweeping (which is the only things it's supposed to do) given that many things resist it's STAB or out speed it. Priority is also everywhere so Speed Boost doesn't help out as much as it would seem.
Haxorus - I feel for this poke, it's horribly outclassed in anything it tries to do and has a very, very time finding a slot on a competitive team.
Blissey - fat fuck...outclassed by Chansey in almost every way, but can still have a chance against Knock Off Landorus so it has enough of a niche to remain listed.
Tangrowth - pretty outclassed but does have a small niche in that it can wall some key threats. Excadrill, Garchomp and with AV it fairs quite well against Lati@s. Plus Regenerator is a perk to a defensive mon without many forms of recovery.
Thundurus-Therian - much better than people give it credit for, it provides an electric immunity for rain teams and given the right support can sweep with a DD set.
Weezing - might come as a bit of a shock to some of you, but it provides a solid check to all of Mega Mawile's common sets. If you can check an S rated threat as well as other top tier mons, you can have a rank of D.
Alakazam - getting less and less relevant as time goes on unfortunately. Sash set is the only thing it has over its mega evolution (much like Banded Scizor to its mega).
Krookadile - Intimidate and a fast Taunt on a wall is useful just as Foul Play and Dark typing. These attributes are good enough for C rank, but nothing higher.
Omastar - it sees more play on Pokebattle than on smogon and it's almost never used there...it has a cool sash hazards lead and can be a nice rain abuser if you prefer to run a mon with less coverage and a less than ideal secondary STAB over Kabutops and Kingdra.
Seismitoad - in the same boat as Omastar tbh in that it's a weaker Swift Swim user than others. It provides SR and an Electric immunity in Ground typing, but hits a bit too soft to be considered a C+ threat.
Zygarde - just outclassed a bit by dragons, it has Coil which is chill but it will more often than not sit the bench while the other dragons play (fit in the sports reference hehe bwoi).
Mega Banette - lost a bit of its viability when Deoxys got banned, but still can be a nice utility Pokemon with Knock Off and Prankster Destiny Bond.
Magnezone - receives a ton more usage on the high end of the ladder and in tours for its ability to trap Steel types and can loosely check bird spam.
Salamence - more outclassed pokes :/ refer to Zygarde and Haxorus for reasoning as they pretty much sum it up. Has Moxie + DD which can sweep given the right team, but is generally too heavy for his teammates to carry (like user
Halcyon.).
Tornadus - still effective on rain teams and might even see more usage now that Deoxys is gone, but for now we have to go based off of its current state which is "getting less relavant".
Mantine - still performs amazingly for me, but that might be based on player skill level and not the Pokemon itself. This poke has been discussed in length a couple pages back so users may scroll back to find reasoning.
Moltres - has nice reliable recovery and Will-o-Wisp for a defensive set and STAB Hurricane and Fire Blast for offensive sets. It can hit hard against some teams, but too many are prepared. On top of that having a wall x4 weak to rocks? No thanks.
Roserade - Spikes lead is cool as well as offensive Rest / Natural Cure, providing a good Rotom-Wash counter. In practice it plays out much worse than it seems it would on paper. It loses to a great deal of Defog users and faces competition from Mega Venusaur and Amoonguss in its typing or as a Rotom-Wash check / counter.
Snorlax,
Toxicroak,
Meloetta,
Escavalier,
Gardevoir,
Kyurem,
Cloyster,
Jirachi,
Reuniclus - not to be used on serious teams, too small of a niche to be considered, outclassed at everything, etc.
- OUTL