XY UU Viability Ranking Thread

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Sage

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Blastoise still has a niche albeit a small one, enough to keep it out of D, but while I agree with Chimpact on the fact that phasing and guaranteed spinning are great, it is still outclassed by Mega Blastoise especially along with Tentacruel and Starmie. If you use Foresight on Sableye, you get your spin, and now Sableye had either Knocked Off your Leftovers, and or Statused you. Mega Blastoise literally STEAMROLLS any Ghost Type that stands in its way. The only thing I can think of that has a chance is Specially Defensive Spiritomb, and that is incredibly uncommon. I don't have access to a damage Calc right now so I'm not even sure if it handles it well, just an idea. Every other ghost type is getting destroyed on the switch in unless they come in on aura sphere. Additionally most of them can't even KO Mega Blasty, while he 1 shots a lot of them with Dark Pulse or Hydro Pump/Scald (I believe most common ghosts in UU are Chandelure and Trevenant, not sure so don't quote me on this) Basically, Blastoise has enough to keep it at C-, but it's Mega forms has way more benefits. The ability to spin on ghosts is much less worth it than to be able to flat KO the Ghost instead, and get your spin afterwards.

EDIT: So it's Chandy, Sableye, Trevenant, Froslass in terms of usage. The only thing Blasty has to worry about is Specs Chandy who can't safely switchin. Trev is 2hkoed and Outsped, Sable can't do shit to Toise, and Froslass can Destiny Bond so be careful, but otherwise Mega Blasty demolishes them.
 
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Blastoise still has a niche albeit a small one, enough to keep it out of D, but while I agree with Chimpact on the fact that phasing and guaranteed spinning are great, it is still outclassed by Mega Blastoise especially along with Tentacruel and Starmie. If you use Foresight on Sableye, you get your spin, and now Sableye had either Knocked Off your Leftovers, and or Statused you. Mega Blastoise literally STEAMROLLS any Ghost Type that stands in its way. The only thing I can think of that has a chance is Specially Defensive Spiritomb, and that is incredibly uncommon. I don't have access to a damage Calc right now so I'm not even sure if it handles it well, just an idea. Every other ghost type is getting destroyed on the switch in unless they come in on aura sphere. Additionally most of them can't even KO Mega Blasty, while he 1 shots a lot of them with Dark Pulse or Hydro Pump/Scald (I believe most common ghosts in UU are Chandelure and Trevenant, not sure so don't quote me on this) Basically, Blastoise has enough to keep it at C-, but it's Mega forms has way more benefits. The ability to spin on ghosts is much less worth it than to be able to flat KO the Ghost instead, and get your spin afterwards.

EDIT: So it's Chandy, Sableye, Trevenant, Froslass in terms of usage. The only thing Blasty has to worry about is Specs Chandy who can't safely switchin. Trev is 2hkoed and Outsped, Sable can't do shit to Toise, and Froslass can Destiny Bond so be careful, but otherwise Mega Blasty demolishes them.
Mega Blastoise 3HKOs 252/252+ Spiritomb 252+ SpA Mega Launcher Mega Blastoise Water Pulse vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Spiritomb: 114-135 (37.5 - 44.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery while it does jack shit with all of its attacks and its best bet is to RestTalk so you can burn stall.
 

Sage

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Mega Blastoise 3HKOs 252/252+ Spiritomb 252+ SpA Mega Launcher Mega Blastoise Water Pulse vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Spiritomb: 114-135 (37.5 - 44.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery while it does jack shit with all of its attacks and its best bet is to RestTalk so you can burn stall.
Thanks for the Calc, it basically proves my point that Mega Blastoise crushes most ghost types that stands in its way.
Also if Blasty runs Hydro Pump it can beat Spiritomb when rocks are up barring a miss or really low rolls. 252+ Mega Blastoise Hydro Pump vs 252 HP / 252+ SpD Spiritomb: 139-165 (45.7 - 54.2%) -- 94.9% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery. So if Spiri switches in on Hydro Pump Blast it can be bad. And most Spiritombs run Physically defensive in their Calm Mind sets.
 

Limitless

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Blastoise is moving down to C rank, while Amoonguss is staying at B rank.

The next two Pokemon up for discussion are Galvantula and Fletchinder.
 

Sage

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Galvantula stays at B. Being one of the only viable Sticky Web users is enough to keep him out of the C ranks, but he also isn't dead weight on a team. Even with the rise of Shuckle (That felt great to say) He has a great speed tier, outspeeding Mienshao and tying with Infernape. Smarter players can avoid leading with him if there's an unfavorable matchup like Froslass in team preview, and he can even run Life Orb if you ant the extra power. So because he's not the strongest pokemon outside of Sticky Web, I give him B. With access to Volt Switch or U-turn (plz Game Freak) I would rate him higher, but right now B seems fine. So if you want a Sticky user that's not total taunt bait and can put pressure on your opponents team, Galv's your guy.

EDIT: Haven't used Fletch much, heard positive things from a couple people idk.
 

TPO3

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I've been using Fletchinder recently, and I think it should stay where it is. It's got a lot of positive things going for it: Priority Acrobatics is great for cleaning if you manage to get a Swords Dance up, and it's also great for revenge KOing things like Shaymin, Mienshao, or Infernape. I wouldn't say it can Swords Dance extremely reliably, but it does have a couple of notable opportunities (ie: Florges) that make it worthwhile. Fletchinder also trolls a lot of its switch-ins with Will-o-Wisp (see: Aerodactyl, Hippowdon, Swampert). However, anything with Scald just kind of shits on you, and even at +2, the bird only has base 73 attack, so there's VERY few things you outright OHKO. You need a lot of residual damage before you can ACTUALLY begin to sweep a team. It's also got the unfortunate double weakness to Stealth Rock, which basically forces you to run it alongside a spinner. (or a defogger, but Spikes are really nice to try and get some extra damage into play, especially on things like Suicune or Swampert.)

So I would say B rank. I don't feel it lives up to other sweepers like Sharpedo or Cloyster in B+ due to its SR Weakness and its lack of raw power, but I think its X4 resists to Grass and Fairy, its unique Ability, and its ability to keep things like Heracross or Mienshao at bay is enough to keep it out of the lower ranks.
 
I feel like Shuckle is the better mon for Sticky Web in this tier (and overall :/) just because its webs are guaranteed bar Magic Bouce and even tho Galvantula "wins" that matchup (taking a shitton from Sucker Punch and killing with Bug Buzz) some faster Mon can simply come in and force it out. Shuckle is just more reliable with its bulk to take advantage of Mental Herb and the ability to stop Defog through Encore+Infestation to an extent not to mention the fact that it can act as a solid pivot switch against a lot of stuff to set up Sticky Web (and Stealth Rock) and Knock Off mons. I guess Galvantula can hit fairly hard and has more offensive presence but I don't think I can justify its use too much when 9/10 it is used only for Sticky Web anyway. Below (or at least SAME) rank as Shuckle for me so B-/C+.
 

Sage

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I feel like Shuckle is the better mon for Sticky Web in this tier (and overall :/) just because its webs are guaranteed bar Magic Bouce and even tho Galvantula "wins" that matchup (taking a shitton from Sucker Punch and killing with Bug Buzz) some faster Mon can simply come in and force it out. Shuckle is just more reliable with its bulk to take advantage of Mental Herb and the ability to stop Defog through Encore+Infestation to an extent not to mention the fact that it can act as a solid pivot switch against a lot of stuff to set up Sticky Web (and Stealth Rock) and Knock Off mons. I guess Galvantula can hit fairly hard and has more offensive presence but I don't think I can justify its use too much when 9/10 it is used only for Sticky Web anyway. Below (or at least SAME) rank as Shuckle for me so B-/C+.
The thing with calling Shuckle or Galvantula better is they are based on the team they are out in. Shuckle is also not officially ranked yet and I see him rising as well probably to where Galv ends up. The only question is do you want an offensive or defensive web setter. If you see an Absol in team preview, then you can lead with a fast u-turner or scarfer to scare it out. IE Mienshao Heracross etc, and save Galv for later. The Absol player is very inclined to lead with it as they want webs of their side. Use this knowledge to your advantage and it can easily be played around. I support Shuckle moving to B as well since they occupy the same main niche, it's just Galv is fast enough to threaten things with a strong thunder and Bug Buzz, while Shuckle can also set up rocks and trap sometimes, (though most players are wary of this as it's shuckle's gimmick) so I think an equal ranking is fair. Neither should go higher than Low B rank or High B- rank since Sticky Web ain't a dominating playstyle.
 
Shuckle's niche is that it can set up Sticky Web multiple times, so it's better suited for bulky offense Web teams. Galvantula, with its accurate Thunder and good coverage, is better suited for Hyper Offense Web teams that rely on additional offensive pressure to prevent a spin or Defog, in addition to the fact that it's so damn frail that it's likely only getting up Web once. Galvantula needs to be looked at as a support Pokemon, and rank him accordingly. I realize this isn't easy as Shuckle isn't officially ranked yet and is the only real other comparison since it's the only other UU Sticky Web user, but it's better than using it (and ranking it) as an inferior Raikou with slightly better coverage.
 

Sage

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Shuckle's niche is that it can set up Sticky Web multiple times, so it's better suited for bulky offense Web teams. Galvantula, with its accurate Thunder and good coverage, is better suited for Hyper Offense Web teams that rely on additional offensive pressure to prevent a spin or Defog, in addition to the fact that it's so damn frail that it's likely only getting up Web once. Galvantula needs to be looked at as a support Pokemon, and rank him accordingly. I realize this isn't easy as Shuckle isn't officially ranked yet and is the only real other comparison since it's the only other UU Sticky Web user, but it's better than using it (and ranking it) as an inferior Raikou with slightly better coverage.
While I agree that Galv is an offensive support Pokemon, I don't think that he is an inferior Raikou. Raikou is definitely much more viable as a general offensive Pokemon, but Galvantula's STAB Bug moves give him a niche albeit a small one. There are some walls like SpD Mew and Umbreon that Raikou can't hope to break while Galv does this without a choice item. I totally agree that Railou is a MUCH better offensive threat, but Galv's support COMBINED with his offensive capabilities give him usefulness.
 

chimpact

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Just because shuckle is bulkier than galvantula doesnt mean its better suited for bulky offense web teams. Shuckle gets both web and sr so you dont have to use up a slot for rocks on a mon that could be running a coverage mon or be forced to use a mon because it learns rock when a different pokemon would be a better fit. [using aero with rocks 3 attacks over something like heracross for example]

I've never used galvantula, but when ive faced up against it, it hasnt been too threatening. Some of the best and common pokemon in the tier are unaffected by the webs and crobat just gets to defog them away. At least crobat takes 25% from rocks. I think galvantula is one of those pokemon that truly gets better with team matchup more than your average pokemon. Because of that I think its a solid B.

Fletchinder I've never used or went up against, but Ive seen Lord FLCL destroy a soul with it before. From that replay I think its a pretty solid mon. Decent hera switch in as you have a 20% chance to live Stone Edge and it can't do much back if its not packing edge.
 
Galvantula stays at B. Being one of the only viable Sticky Web users is enough to keep him out of the C ranks, but he also isn't dead weight on a team. Even with the rise of Shuckle (That felt great to say) He has a great speed tier, outspeeding Mienshao and tying with Infernape. Smarter players can avoid leading with him if there's an unfavorable matchup like Froslass in team preview, and he can even run Life Orb if you ant the extra power. So because he's not the strongest pokemon outside of Sticky Web, I give him B. With access to Volt Switch or U-turn (plz Game Freak) I would rate him higher, but right now B seems fine. So if you want a Sticky user that's not total taunt bait and can put pressure on your opponents team, Galv's your guy.

EDIT: Haven't used Fletch much, heard positive things from a couple people idk.
Just a minor nitpick: Galvantula can in fact learn Volt Switch. But I agree with your assessment of his utility.
 
Fletchinder --> Stay at B

I used it for my Dark Horse team and it's ability to spam 110 BP Acrobatics is pretty ease to use and to check rampaging pokes like Hera, Shao. Access to WoW to cripple pokes like Mega Aggron, Donphan, etc..It's immune to WoW and itemless sets don't have to fear utility Knock Off. If it's able to get a SD off, then you start to see some of the tier's most prominent threats almost cleanly OHKO by a +2 Acrobatics.

+2 252+ Atk Fletchinder Acrobatics (110 BP) vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Nidoking: 334-394 (109.8 - 129.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252+ Atk Fletchinder Acrobatics (110 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Darmanitan: 435-513 (123.9 - 146.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252+ Atk Fletchinder Acrobatics (110 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Victini: 270-318 (79.1 - 93.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
+2 252+ Atk Fletchinder Acrobatics (110 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Hydreigon: 295-348 (90.7 - 107%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock

But, weakness to SR and it's pretty helpless against bulky Waters like Suicune and Slowbro, similar to Entei (also B ranked). Actually, they have pretty similar damage outputs with a CB Sacred Fire to a +2 Acrobatics.

252+ Atk Choice Band Entei Sacred Fire vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Nidoking: 306-361 (100.6 - 118.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO

I haven't used galvantula too much to comment...
 

Sage

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Just a minor nitpick: Galvantula can in fact learn Volt Switch. But I agree with your assessment of his utility.
Thanks for the info I'm not a big Sticky Web Player, but I stand by my original statement. Odd, I haven't seen any Galv run it, or maybe they just haven't used it.
 
Galvantula : Between all the flying types/levitate users roaming the tier like M-Aero, Crobat and Hydreigon, Sticky web isn't the most effective in the current meta. It's relatively easy to spin/defog to how harder it is to set web but between STAB Electric ( Compoundeye Thunder or Volt Switch ), STAB Bug Buzz and HP Ice Almost all of them are 2hko'd. ( Bar Forretress and Donphan which Galvantula can run Energy Ball for ). Volt Switch imo is the superior option, as it allows it to fit right in Volturn momentum gaining, allows it to hit Crobat/Aero and switch into appropriate scarfer to further put pressure and frees the ability to run Swarm to buff LO/Sash Bug Buzz. Between LO, it's general frailness and SR weakness, the idea is to keep it healthy as much and utilize it's high speed while laying the web on an obvious switch mid-late game. It's quite hard to pull but Galvantula can pull it's own weight and should stay in B rank.
 

Limitless

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Galvantula is moving down to B- rank, while Fletchinder is staying at B rank. I could see Fletchinder at B+ rank, but it will stay there for now.

The next two Pokemon up for discussion are Gligar and Kingdra.
 
I think gligar --> b or b-

Its very one dimensional, evilite, sr, earthquakr, roost. It can wall the fighting types to some extent, but it can be worn down. Its pretty weak too so it can be setup ony a few potent threats. I think its similar to chesnaught, in that it sets hazards, reliable hp recovery and walling potential. Actually, if fire spam were not so prevalent id say chesnaught is a better wall than gligar thanks to bulletproof.

As for kingdra, it has so much potential in DD sets. Rqin dance. Critdra too! Agility lets jt outspeed every dragon in the tier and promptly ohko with dm. But, setting up is hard with 75/95/95 defenses and weaknesses to dragon and fairy, which isnt helping with hydre and hax in the tier. I think kingdra has a small niche of rain dance abuser and critdra, but i think its hopelessly outclassed by hax. I think B is pretty sufficient for the time being...
 
Gligar is a reliable Defog user and one of the best switch ins for Heracross and Fighting types in general in the tier. It can also act as a decent defensive pivot with U-turn and its nice set of resistances and immunities and as a Stealth Rock setter (not recommended at all because Defog is its main niche). However, it only has Defog and the Flying typing over Hippowdon as a bulky Ground-type and its reliance on Eviolite and worse special bulk makes me think it should be a rank lower. B
 
Kingdra- Move up to B+. It's ability to be completely unpredictable when played right. It needs to differiante itself from Hydra and Haxor. It's an amazing Stand Alone Mixed Rain Sweeper with the power to destroy offensive teams when their defenses are worn down a little. Also with defenses better than Haxor it has a much easier time setting up a DD or 2. The ChestoRest combo I havent experimented with because I think that it's outdated, but it might still be viable. Also being one of the best BP recipients. Whatever boost your teammate wants to pass to kingdra you can make the appriopriate set to compliment the boost. Shell Smash boost+ Focus Energy, Quiver Dance Boost+rain/Focus Energy, Swords Dance Boost+Agility/Rain, Agility + Focus Energy. It's also one of the very few dragon's in UU that doesnt care about fairies thanks to it's secondary STAB.

Now downsides to it. Power! It does have a reliance on teammates to break through/weaken it's counters to be succesful. While it's bulk is great, faster pokemon(scarfers) can revenge kill him if he wasnt able to pull of at least 2 DD boosts. Consistency. While it may be unpredictable it only gets one shot to do what it needs to do. (unless it's the spec set) While I would love to say A rank for this pokemon, the only thing keeping him from the big shots is being outclassed in every set it runs. Being versitile to fit onto any role is still what makes this pokemon a threat to watch out for.
 
I'm curious about Levanny's position in D rank. I figure it made the list because of Sticky Web. But it's pretty inferior to Glavantula for this. Galv is faster with a less restrictive list of weaknesses and STAB moves that are just all around better (damageier, more paralysis, hits through substitutes, and better coverage that at least hits every mono-type neutrally)

So my question is, aside form liking it, in what circumstance would you even put Levanny on a team at all? What's its competitive niche that warrants it even getting a D rank listing? It seems like if you want Sticky Web you should use Galvantula and if that compounds a team issue like too many Special attackers then your better off adjusting the team then trying to put Levanny on it.

I'm moderately new to UU so I'm expecting I'm just missing something.
 
I'm curious about Levanny's position in D rank. I figure it made the list because of Sticky Web. But it's pretty inferior to Glavantula for this. Galv is faster with a less restrictive list of weaknesses and STAB moves that are just all around better (damageier, more paralysis, hits through substitutes, and better coverage that at least hits every mono-type neutrally)

So my question is, aside form liking it, in what circumstance would you even put Levanny on a team at all? What's its competitive niche that warrants it even getting a D rank listing? It seems like if you want Sticky Web you should use Galvantula and if that compounds a team issue like too many Special attackers then your better off adjusting the team then trying to put Levanny on it.

I'm moderately new to UU so I'm expecting I'm just missing something.
I'm guessing it's because of magic coat so it can't be taunted which gives it a little niche.
 
I don't post here much but I've wanted Kingdra to rise for awhile. It's just too good for B. It's just better than everything in B and more comparable to stuff in B+, minimum.

"Hopelessly outclassed by Haxorus" just is not true in any way. Kingdra can go mixed or full special, and with Swift Swim it can boost its speed by +2 and Water STAB by +1 in one turn of set-up or have some other team-mate set up for it (Pranskter Tornadus-I, Rain Dance Azelf) Also, unlike Haxorus, Kingdra has Scald which is the best move ever.

It has tons of sets. Specs, Band, and mixed LO Rain sweeper; Rain Dance sweeper; ChestoRest/Sub/Draco Meteor/LO/Lum/Iron Head Dragon Dance, and CritDra. Some sets are better than others but all can put in work. No it can't run all of them at once but it's really good at screwing some defensive cores if they can't predict what set it is or you're able to lure in something it can set-up on.

Swift Swim sets wreck offensive teams. It's faster than every scarfer, it can take most priority moves easily, Sash Alakazam only does like 70%ish with Dazzling Gleam (do they even carry that?) and very, very few offensive pokemon can take rain-boosted Specs/LO/Banded water STABs. Swift Swim is really what sets it apart from other pokemon; DD sets do have pretty harsh competition from Haxorus, who usually can pull it off better and Kingdra has only barely enough to not be completely eclipsed by it. However, Kingdra is the single best Swift Swimmer in UU.

Oh and there's critdra, which I don't particularly like, but Sniper crit meteors hit like a nuke and even 2HKO Blissey.
 

dingbat

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Kingdra should be B- rank. I definitely agree that Haxorus doesn't "hopelessly outclass Kingdra" or however you guys put it, however it gives extreme competition to Kingdra on the physical end (I thought Kingdra's DD set was one of its best ones), something that imo limits Kingdra enough to drop it just a bit. Nevertheless, Kingdra is still a danger to be considered in this metagame, and it should not go anywhere below where I'd put it.
 
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