Monotype Viability Rankings

[The Wykkyd]

Dragons!
Flygon for C Tier

Real Pikachu (Flygon) @ Choice Scarf/Choice Band/Life Orb
Ability:Levitate
EVs: 252 Atk/252 Spe/4 HP
Jolly Nature
-Earthquake
-Outrage/Dragon Claw
-Stone Edge/Fire Punch
-U-Turn
Explanation: Flygon is like the worse version of Garchomp. It's slower,not nearly as powerful,and lacks a good ability.What makes this up however,is it that fact it has U-Turn,so not only can it hit dark and psychic types,it can also lead to see what pokemon is leading,good for teams whose walls can only take their main defense such as Goodra. Alternatively you could run a banded or life orb set, if you value damage more than speed,but be warned it isn't extremely fast,and is fairly frail at 80/80/80. Flygon is however very flexible and can also run moves not normally seen such as Superpower,Power-Up Punch,and Steel Wing for coverage. All in all a good pokemon,but it's outclassed by a lot,namely Garchomp.

Kingdra for B Tier

Kingdra @ Scope Lens
Ability: Sniper
EVs: 252 Atk/252 Spe/4 HP
Jolly/Timid Nature
-Draco Meteor/Outrage
-Hydro Pump/Waterfall
-Focus Energy
-Dragon Dance/Flash Cannon/Iron Head
Explanation: Kingdra is the only Water/Dragon pokemon in the game,excluding Palkia whom is Ubers. Because of this,it is neutral to ice, one of dragons main weaknesses. The set revolves around using Focus Energy + Scope Lens to get a 100% Crit chance,then using Sniper to do double damage with crits. The set is fairly unpredictable,as it can be Special,Physical,or even mixed. Because of crits negating stat changes,Draco Meteor's power will never drop. Because of this it can very easily sweep an entire team if the team is slow enough and has no fairy or steel types. Alternatively,it has Flash Cannon or Iron head for dealing with Fairies,but it is often replaced with Dragon Dance. Assuming the opposing team is fairly weakened, Kingdra can come in easily and sweep making it a nice member for any dragon team.
Second Set

Kingdra @ Damp Rock
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Rain Dance
- Dragon Pulse
- Surf
- Ice Beam
While less common with Dragon monotypes,this set is very viable for it,allowing Kingdra to outspeed most things in all mono,and help Hydration Goodra. That being said,Kingdra is also quite boosted in the rain,which can help break walls.

 

[Anttya]

All for Grass Mono:

Venusaur for S Rank

Venusaur-Mega @ Venusaurite
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
- Leech Seed
- Synthesis
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb

Venusaur is one of the premier physical walls of OU, which is carried over to Mono in Spades. With Leech Seed and Synthesis, this b***h has all the sustain any poke needs. It even has the option to use Sleep Powder if you aren't using Amoongus or Breloom for some reason. On top of that, it has the option to run an offensive set with its 123 base Sp Atk and reliable recovery in the already mentioned synthesis. Giga Drain offers even MORE sustain (as if it needed it) and then Sludge Bomb not only helps with the mirror match, but helps you deal with Fairy types.


Breloom for A Rank

Breloom @ Focus Sash
Ability: Technician
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Spore
- Swords Dance/Rock Tomb
- Mach Punch
- Bullet Seed

Breloom here has a few of the qualities you'd need for an S Rank pokemon, namely not needing support to do its job. However, it is fairly frail and can be dead in the poison match up or the grass mirror (especially the set I've shown above). Spore may be a guaranteed sleep against most pokes, but overcoat pokes and grass types are immune. It's worth mentioning that Breloom can use technician Rock Tomb fairy effectively and that the speed drop often allows you to go first for the second attack (unless opponent is scarfed) as this gives you perfect coverage with the exceptions of Aegislash (prevalent on Ghost mono, which Breloom isn't a help aganst anyway) and Toxicroak (a staple on Poison mono). Poison mono itself resists both your STABs. Do not let this put you off using Breloom however as he can wreck unprepared teams with sheer power and the guaranteed sleep against any poke that is not Grass type or Overcoat (or safety goggles, but that's only used on Shedinja and you can't deal with that anyway).


Ferrothorn for S Rank

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Leech Seed/Stealth Rock
- Spikes/Stealth Rock
- Thunder Wave/Protect
- Gyro Ball

Lets be straight here. Ferro resists Mega Venu's Psychic weakness and is neutral to its flying weakness, while Mega Venu resists Ferro's fighting weakness and is neutral to that blazing fire weakness (yes I said it) due to Thick Fat. Not only that, but Ferro provides hazard support, slows the opponents down with TWave or just hits them pretty damn hard with Gyro Ball.


Cradily for B Rank

Cradily @ Leftovers
Ability: Storm Drain
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Rock Slide
- Toxic
- Recover
- Stealth Rock

Cradily has two sets it can run, which can be hard to decipher between before it's too late. Whichever set you run, you have a reliable stealth rocker with reliable recovery in Recover. That's a lot of Rs. Are you ready for more? Being rock type with STAB Rock Slide that can hit the flying types it resists and wrecking Mega Pinsir with it, which it can be a hard counter to if you run the physically defensive set (assuming they aren;t using Close Combat). The specially defensive set that I prefer to run still has the capability of taking Mega Charizard Y's Fire Blast in the sun and OHKOing back with that Rock Slide. A very good addition to a grass team, but it is not indispensable and can be easily replaced with other pokemon for its other functions.


Trevenant for B Rank

Trevenant @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Harvest
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Shadow Claw/Horn Leech
- Will-O-Wisp
- Leech Seed
- Substitute

Trevenant has a nice niche in that it's one of Grass Mono's only two spinblockers. On top of this, it has Harvest+Sitrus for mass Health sustain or Lum+Harvest for status evasion as well as free insta-recoveries from rests (should you choose to use lum over sitrus). With sitrus however, you essentially get free substitutes and quick recovery off of curses in a turn (essentially forcing the opponent to switch, which can be amazing for stall teams). It also gets Horn Leech for additional recovery and being one of the only two users of WoW in the mono.


Gourgeist for E Rank

Gourgeist @ Leftovers
Ability: Frisk
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Phantom Force
- Will-O-Wisp
- Leech Seed
- Substitute

If you are considering using Gourgeist, just use Trevenant. Gourgeist may take less from each physical attack, but it does not have as rapid recovery due to the lack of Sitrus+Harvest, so it still takes fewer hits to KO Gourgeist than Trev. Some may argue that its superor defense offers use of an Physical Ass Vest set, but Tangrowth has more defense, more HP and fewwer weaknesses, along with better coverage.


Shaymin for B Rank

Shaymin @ Life Orb
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Seed Flare
- Earth Power
- Air Slash
- Rest

This poke can be a handy sweeper, with STAB Seed Flare coming off of LOrb. Earth Power and Air Slash then give it nigh perfect coverage (the only relevant ones being Skarm, Zapdos and Thundurus). It can however repetitively switch in due to its capability to Rest off any status or health lost (by atks or LOrb) and switch out - as natural cure heals it of its sleep. However, its 100/100/100 bulk doesn't do much for you uninvested and its 100 sp atk mean you don't do much damage unless you are using Seed Flare. 100 Speed is good, but each mono has good pokes that outspeed, such as Garchomp, Thundurus, Greninja, Keldeo, Cobalion, etc that will hit too hard for Shaymin to deal with. Shaymin doesn't need MUCH support, but sticky web is amazing, allowing you to go modest and hit harder. That would, however, force you to use Leavanny - taking up one of your five other slots. Shaymin could be in the A Rank, but with Skymin available on top of needing some support, I'm keeping in in B.


Leavanny for D Rank

Leavanny @ Focus Sash
Ability: Swarm
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- X-Scissor
- Knock Off
- Sticky Web
- Poison Jab/Leaf Blade

Not much to say for this poke. It's a supporter, being the only user of Sticky Webs for Grass Mono. However, unlike most pokes used purely for their niche, this has some use after it sets up webs. Swarm + STAB puts X-Scissor up to 180 base damage, which is nice when you notice that Leavanny has over 100 base attack. It also gets Knock off - which is good in itself - and then Poison Jab to hit the fairies that resist your other two attacks. Leaf Blade is also an option. However, these do not make up for the fact that you have only one reason to consider using Leavanny - Sticky Webs.

Swadloon for D Rank

Swadloon @ Eviolite
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 252 HP / 124 Def / 132 SpD
Bold Nature
- Sticky Web
- Giga Drain
- Toxic
- Magic Coat

Yes, you read that right. I want to put Swadloon in the same rank as its evolved form. This may seem bizarre, but when you think about Dusclops/Dusknoir and Porygon2/Z it doesn't seem so Farfetch'd. Swadloon has a higher defence stat than Leavanny and the same special defence. You put in these EVs and you have a pokemon that can set up sticky webs repeatedly, spread status and even bounce back the opponent's hazards and taunt (which they will not see coming). I have tried this a few times myself and although I was expecting essentially nothing, I was quite suprised. I would put this up to C Rank, but the weakness to Stealth rocks, the lack of recovery outside Giga Drain + Rest (which you cant use in sun if you were to use Leaf Guard) and the SIX weaknesses leave me saying this. "It's better than Leavanny, but don't use it unless you NEED sticky webs."

Actually, sorry but I'm being a little pickier with S / A ranked mons. Be sure to mention Thick Fat on Venusaur (Best part about Venusaur) and slash HP Fire and Earthquake for Heatran and Scizor. Can you also slash Toxic next to Leech Seed because some people prefer to Toxic stall with Venusaur.
You did great with the Ferrothorn writeup, but mention a Curse set somewhere in there since it's pretty easy to set it up with Ferrothorn's unique typing. Good job with those write ups and feel free to reserve more if you want to ^^

Landorus-Incarnate for S Rank

Landorus @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Earth Power
- Focus Blast
- Sludge Wave
- Gravity / Psychic

Explanation: A great ability in tandem with good Special Attack and a fantastic movepool for it's role on Ground pushes Landorus into S Rank imo, as it Ground a lot of insurance against things that would otherwise trouble it. Access to a bone-shattering earth power breaks so many of the physical walls that tend to give Ground problems, and it's coverage and utility help in other difficult matchups, whether it be Sludge Wave and Psychic for tearing through Grass monotypes or Gravity for removing Flying types and Levitate users natural immunity to Ground and allowing Landorus and others to tear them apart with their powerful STAB moves mean that there is rarely a matchup in which Landorus doesn't make a telling contribution. It's only drawback is the 4x weakness to Ice, a natural weakness for Ground, however it's powerful Focus Blast helps to remedy this.

Excadrill for A Rank

Excadrill (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
IVs: 29 HP
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide
- X-Scissor / Swords Dance

Explanation: One of the deadliest late-game sweepers available in Monotype, Excadrill can be simply impossible to handle thanks to it's great power coming off base 135 Attack and STAB Earthquake, and it's incredible speed under Sand. Even Choice Scarf users are powerless to stop it's rampage unless they have base 115+ Speed, an uncommon sight outside of Greninja. You might be wondering why I've put this in A rather than S, this is due to it's need for Smooth Rock Hippowdon for the sand it loves to sweep in, and the fact that it's checks and counters are common on a lot of teams, necessitating their removal so it can sweep. This support makes it A rather than S imo.

Hippowdon for A Rank

Hippowdon (M) @ Smooth Rock
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 25 Spe
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Slack Off
- Whirlwind / Toxic / Rock Slide

Explanation: One of the Sturdiest Physical walls in the game with a great ability to boot, Hippowdon is a common sight on Ground Monotype teams, walling lots of deadly physical sweepers and providing Stealth Rock for the deadly sweepers of Ground. It does well in most matchups, but really struggles in Grass, Water and Ice matchups which could lead it to being tiered lower down, but I feel that it's utility and the immense support it provides to it's team, in particular Excadrill, means that Hippowdon is A Rank.

Anttyaz done the first three, will do the others tonight or later this week

Awesome writeup for all of them. But can you slash Knock Off in there somewhere since Chansey's a total bitch to it. Also, you can mention Rock Slide as an option to hit Togekiss and Zapdos (It gets the Sheer Force Boost). Can you also slash in Rapid Spin along with Swords Dance / X-Scissor since Excadrill's the only way Ground can get rid of hazards. Hippowdon's writeup's perfect. :]

Honchkrow and Bisharp (Dark) Coming Soon. (I might edit mandibuzz explanation since i was tired while writing it)

(Don't mind the names ._.)

Mandibuzz in Dark for S Rank.

Three Walls Four Walls (Mandibuzz) (F) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Foul Play
- Roost
- Defog
- Brave Bird/Toxic/Taunt

Explanation: Mandibuzz is essential in dark mono. It has a great typing dark/flying and great 105 base Defense followed up with a base 95 Spdef and 110 base HP. Mandibuzz can be run as a physical or as special wall. Foul play helps taking setup sweepers while brave bird is mainly used for coverage and specially against Breloom cause it can alone sweep Dark with mach punch without the intervention of sash. Or instead of brave bird u can run toxic to create a hole in stall pokemon; taunt can also be used.

Great write up, but can you mention an Anmesia set since that lets it become a scary Toxic Stalling wall. Also, can you slash in Whirlwind next to Taunt since phazing is always an option. (I'm being pickier with S ranked stuff)

View attachment 26524 Clefable (Fairy) for A-Rank

Clefable @ Life Orb/Lefties
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Calm Mind
- Moonblast
- Flamethrower

This set is a good lead set, and setup sweeper, Its job is to set up rocks and it has the bulk to take a hit set up rocks then sub out, if the enemy wants to status you clefable doesn't care, its got magic guard, but Clefable is very versatile like

Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 SpD
Calm Nature
- Rest
- Charge Beam
- Stored Power
- Cosmic Power

Yes thats the Infamous set I run this set looks pretty bad when looking at it from here, but when clefable gets paired with dual screens Klefki, it can take hits, then can set up cosmic power, and charge beam boosts, it can take hits from MegaMawile

252+ Atk Huge Power Mega Mawile Play Rough vs. 252 HP / 240 Def Clefable through Reflect: 135-159 (34.2 - 40.3%) -- 48.7% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
It is just a monster at taking hits. You could also run setup CM sweeper, Support, it also has just an amazing support move pool with moves like
Heal bell, Wish, SR, Gravity, Magic Coat, Twave, Toxic, Trick. Another option is it gets Belly drum and you feel you want another physical attacker it gets a ton of moves, such as MetorMash, Ice Punch, Fire Punch, Knock off, Zen Headbutt, Drain punch. I dont think its a good idea, because its not that strong but its an option no less. I Feel that its only A rank because it can wall majority of things, but not everything it does its job I feel it does it better the a lot of other fairy types

View attachment 26527Azumarill (Fairy) For A-Rank

Azumarill @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Belly Drum
- Aqua Jet
- Play Rough
- Superpower/Knock off

Its supposed to set up and sweep and does its job amazingly well this set is more often then not a better idea for fairy over the CB set below but it breaks walls and does it very well

Azumarill @ Choice Band
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Play Rough
- Knock Off
- Superpower
- Aqua Jet

Other alternatives, is to run sap sipper, overall sap sipper is better on water, not as much need on fairy.

View attachment 26532Whimsicott (Fairy) For B-Rank

Whimsicott @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Substitute
- Leech Seed
- Stun Spore
- Giga Drain/Taunt/Encore

Whimsicott is like a worse Sableye it annoys your enemy with priority in the form of taunt, Para, Seeds, Sub, Etc overall meant to be a sortta troll you play around with its pretty good but there isn't any other set unless you wanna try infiltrator specs

Whimsicott @ Choice Specs
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Moonblast
- Psychic
- Giga Drain
- Switcheroo/Hidden power/Hurricane

Overall good pokemon but is walled by to many things.

Also Anttyaz Im gonna still do a write up of Genesect, Shaymin-Sky, and Kyurem-White. Ill request them and write them up, but I will also request, Mega Mawile, Togekiss, for Fairy, and Ill do Excadrill for Steel, and Ill finish vivi tonight

I'd slash in Waterfall along with Superpower and Knock Off because that's the only wall you'll 1HKO Skarmory. Also, I'd actually put Return as well since it hits Mega Venusaur the hardest (Return's mandatory if you're running Mawile cause Mawile can't 1HKO Venusaur at +2 Bold Variants*) Also, I'd give more details on Azumarill such as it sweeping Fire Teams, supporting Mawile by taking Flamethrowers etc. The Band set's fine, just add a little more detail there as well. I'm being a little pickier with S / A ranked mons since they're OP and stuff.

For Clefable mention that Heatran hardwalls both sets and that HP Ground "could" be an idea since it hits every Steel type neutrally bar Skarmory. Otherwise, it looks all good :]

Also, reserving Volcarona (Bug) ^^

 

[all falls down]

reserving kyurem black for dragon, mega gyara for water

 

[Freeroamer]

Mega Charizard Y(Fire) for S Rank
Charizard @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Fire Blast
- Solar Beam
- Focus Blast / Earthquake / Roost
- Dragon Pulse / Roost / Defog

Note: There are many viable spreads for Charizard, the one shown above is the most common, but others include 248 HP / 252 SpA with Roost, or even a Specially Defensive set to check certain mons such as Genesect. Just note that bulkier spreads should always have Roost, and can carry Defog to act as a secondary form of hazard control after Torkoal. Also remember you should never run an even HP number, as it will only be able to switch in to Stealth Rock once as opposed to twice.

Explanation: Pre-Gen 6, all the hype was about Mega Charizard X with it's cool new colour scheme and finally getting access to the Dragon typing that fans had always craved. However Mega Charizard Y quickly established itself as a dominant force in the Monotype metagame, becoming a regular sight on Fire monos thanks to the Sun it brought to these teams, and it's nuclear Fire attacks under said sun. It very quickly became a metagame defining threat, and something every team had to prepare for. As mentioned above it is capable of running many different sets, each of which are equally effective at what they do whether it be tearing the team apart with it's awesome firepower or supporting the team with a bulkier set that checks various threats while still providing a powerful offensive threat. Stand alone this would be a great mon, but through it's ability Drought it provides awesome support for it's team, nullifying Water attacks and ramping up the power of their STAB attacks, so the likes of Scarf Darmanitan can go mad with their attacks. It isn't an overexaggeration to say had it come a gen earlier in a time of permanent weather effects, it probably would've been banned. This should serve to demonstrate the power it has brought to Fire teams. Literally one of the only costs to using it is the heavy Stealth Rock weakness, and even that can be played around with offensive pressure to prevent the Rocks being put up and clever use of Torkoal. Why S rank? As I've said numerous times, it is literally a metagame defining threat that has breathed new life into Fire monos. While the Stealth Rocks weakness might ordinarily push it down a rank, I believe that this is a good enough mon that it can overcome that and be S Rank.

 

[scpinion]

Keldeo (Water) for S Rank

Clearly a Keldeo (Keldeo) @ Choice Specs/Leftovers/Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Secret Sword
- Hidden Power/Substitute/Scald
- Icy Wind/Calm Mind/Hidden Power

Explanation: Keldeo is the premier wall-breaker for water monotype teams with incredibly powerful STABs that allow it to hit both specially and physically for massive damage. It also out-speeds a large portion of the un-boosted meta at base 108 speed, further increasing its usefulness. The water/fighting typing pairs well with this high base speed as it only takes SE damage from priority in the form of mega-Pinsir's quick attack, while resisting Sucker Punch. Most Keldeo run the Specs, wall-breaking set, but other sets such as Choice Scarf, Life Orb or Sub-CM are certainly viable and will be encountered in the meta-game. In addition to it's attacking prowess, Keldeo has above average defenses when compared with other fast, powerful attackers--meaning it can often take unboosted attacks from faster 'mons before OHKO'ing. Most importantly, Keldeo is capable of performing the role set forth by the user's choice of item with minimal support from it's team (an exception being a hazard setter to break sashes for a scarf set). As such, Keldeo epitomizes the versatility and effectiveness required to achieve an S Rank.

Set Details/Usage: Hydro Pump and Secret Sword form the core moves that make Keldeo so threatening--a must on most sets. Depending on the role for Keldeo the last two slots will vary. Move choices for Sub-CM are obvious :D, but a bulkier EV spread may be beneficial. For a scarf set, Scald+Hidden Power is often preferred over Icy Wind as the speed drop is not nearly as beneficial. Scald also has the advantage of spreading status in the early game, before cleaning late-game with Hydro Pump. On a purely attacking set, the choice of Hidden Power should be tailored to fit your team build. Common choices are:

• HP Grass for Quagsire, Gastro or Slowbro. Quag in particular, as it can cause problems for water mono w/ Unaware and all the water resists behind it preventing Hydro Pump from being reliable.
• HP Rock (be aware you lose a speed IV) for CharY. Specs HP Rock is a OHKO on CharY and severely damages most fire mons that might switch into it. Most fire teams lead CharY vs water to negate the water weakness and boost their STAB to neutral. Most also don't predict HP Rock so you almost always net the kill.
• HP Fire for Ferro, Scizor, etc. However, the combo of Hydro Pump and Secret Sword often net a KO on all the 4x fire weak 'mons.
• HP Electric for Slowbro and Gyarados (non-mega).
• use icy wind over HP Ice because of the speed drop

Finally, an important point to remember: a Hidden Power only deals more damage than un-resisted Hydro Pump if it is 4x.

Sae also has a great Keldeo set you should check out.

edit: updated the Hidden Power section.

 

[Anttya]

reserving kyurem black for dragon, mega gyara for water

Mega Gyarados was already taken by Omega x.x Sowwy Bae
Can you do Flying?

 

[Acast]

DM35 http://www.serebii.net/pokedex-xy/icon/006-my.png Just add a "-m" to the end of the dex number for megas ^_^ (y or x should be right after the m in Charizard's case)

 

[Freeroamer]

Implemented the changes

 

[all falls down]

I'm rather confused on how these Pokemon are being ranked. I was told that they should be ranked based on how viable they are in the monotype that they belong to and how necessary they are, for example a Pokemon like Torkoal would be placed in A rank because rapid spin is essential for fire monotypes. However going off of your definitions on each rank, you are looking through each Pokemon through a metagame standpoint and how they fare vs other monotypes, where Torkoal would certainly not be in A rank, Anttyaz halp ;~;

 

[ScraftyIsTheBest]

Hey here for Ghosts, I use Mono Ghost a lot so I can speak up for Ghosts.

Aegislash for S Rank

Sets

Aegislash @ Life Orb
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Shadow Sneak
- Iron Head
- Sacred Sword

Aegislash @ Leftovers
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpA
Quiet Nature
- King's Shield
- Shadow Ball
- Sacred Sword
- Shadow Sneak

Aegislash is basically the king of the Ghost-types. It is very versatile, and has impressive overall stats for what it does. It can function as a Swords Dance sweeper, and is quite good at the job. I use a Life Orb set with Swords Dance, which makes Aegislash a monstrous sweeper with Shadow Sneak, Iron Head, and Sacred Sword. It can also run King's Shield+Swords Dance with two attacks to be a more bulky sweeper, but that's not as good of a set imo. The Crumbler set that was the classic set in OU back then is still a nice set, and does well at being a bulky attacker, having relatively strong Shadow Balls and Sacred Swords, and being able to use King's Shield effectively to be bulky, strong, and enforce mindgames. Its defensive typing is also excellent, and makes Aegislash a top notch Ghost that any good Ghost-type team should use. Alternatively, an all out LO set and a SubToxic set are both cool too, but I haven't used those so yeah.

Gengar for A Rank

Set

Gengar @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Bomb
- Focus Blast
- Destiny Bond

Gengar is great. It is a fast and powerful Ghost-type that hits hard with Shadow Ball, Sludge Bomb, and Focus Blast. It is a strong LO attacker that can sweep with its good power and Speed, and is basically the Ghost-type sweeper in Monotype. It does its job excellently, and is a very good sweeper. With Destiny Bond, it can go out with a bang once it's about to go down, and score another free kill. It can also run SubWisp+Taunt stallbreaker, Sub+Dazzling Gleam, Scarf, and SubSplit, among many cool sets. Like Aegislash, Gengar is very versatile.

Chandelure for A Rank

Set

Chandelure @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Fire Blast
- Shadow Ball
- Energy Ball
- Trick

Chandelure is very good. It has a lot of power behind its attacks and has amazing coverage with Fire Blast, Shadow Ball, and Energy Ball. It can run a Scarf set, which is quite powerful, and has a strong Fire Blast and Shadow Ball to be an excellent revenge killer. Energy Ball also nails Kabutops, Greninja, and Azumarill. Trick is also a useful move, and allows Chandelure to cripple Mandibuzz and Chansey, both of which are pains for Ghost teams to handle. Flash Fire is also an awesome ability to switch into Fire-type moves and spam extra crispy Fire Blasts. It can also run a Specs set, using its Reshiram level Special Attack to nuke everything, or it could run a SubSplit set to dodge Sucker Punch and play mindgames. SubWisp is also very cool, among a defensive set. Infiltrator is also a nice alternative ability to bypass Subs and Screens. It's very versatile, and that's the amazing thing about Ghost-types: they're very versatile.

Trevenant for B Rank

Set

Trevenant @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Harvest
EVs: 252 HP / 180 Def / 76 Spe
Impish Nature
- Substitute
- Leech Seed
- Will-O-Wisp
- Phantom Force

Trevenant is an awesome defensive Ghost-type for such Mono Ghost teams. It can stall teams very effectively with SubSeed+Will-O-Wisp+Sitrus Berry (that gets regenerated through Harvest), so it's a hard to break Pokemon that will never die while it sits there whittling down its opponent's HP. Phantom Force is also very good, and hits decently hard while allowing Trevenant to dodge an attack and gain more Leech Seed recovery and stall out even more. A Water resistance is awesome, and Trevenant has a nice defensive typing to give it opportunities. ChestoRest with Natural Cure and Horn Leech is also nice, and Trevenant has a nice movepool to use too! Only problem is it's weak to Knock Off, but eh, Mono Ghost is already at a severe disadvantage against Mono Dark teams anyways lol.

Dusknoir for C Rank

Set

Dusknoir @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 248 Def / 8 SpD
Impish Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split
- Shadow Punch
- Earthquake

Dusknoir is a decent bulky Ghost for such teams. It doesn't kill anything immediately like Aegislash, Chandelure, or Gengar do, but it can make it hard for the opponent to kill it. Dusknoir is a nice bulky Pokemon that can endure hits from many Pokemon, and Will-O-Wisp gives it opportunities. Pain Split is nice too for recovery and it can hang around for quite a lot of time while being hard to kill. It has okay offensive presence and a wide offensive movepool, with Shadow Punch as okay STAB, but Earthquake is really nice to allow Dusknoir to hit Fire-types and Bisharp hard, while it could run Fire Punch to hit Scizor and other Bug-types, among other niche options. It has problems, like Knock Off weakness, being rather weak, and easy to wear down, but it's a very workable mon on Mono Ghost nonetheless.

Just a few here lol.

 

[scpinion]

reserving Meloetta, Victini and Celebi for Psychic

 

[Anttya]

Volcarona (Bug) for B Rank!

Volcarona @ Leftovers / Lum Berry
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest / Timid Nature
- Quiver Dance
- Fiery Dance
- Bug Buzz / Roost
- Hidden Power [Ground]

Volcarona can run 2 different EV spreads. One is a bulky Quiver Dancer with a spread of 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 Spe with a Modest nature. Since Volcarona can set up on a lot of Special Attackers it can almost always get 2 Quiver Dances up. You can also run Modest + 252 Speed to outspeed more stuff faster but keep in mind that you will always be slower than base 100 scarves which is why Timid works better if you decide to run 252 speed.

Explanation: Bug often struggles against Fire and Steel Monotypes and Volcarona is the answer to that. Although it has a nasty 4x weakness to Stealth Rocks and a horrid Physical defense its other niches can make it up. First, it takes Neutral damage from Fire moves meaning that it's an excellent switch in to Heatrans that don't carry Ancient Power. HP Ground on Volcarona is almost mandatory because it's the only way to hit Heatran and Fire Pokemon reliably. Fiery Dance is to make Volcarona harder to take down as time goes by and Bug Buzz's STAB. Volcarona is best used as a late game sweeper because it isn't really "powerful" until it gets at least 2 Quiver Dances up.

How to use: Volcarona is a pretty hard Pokemon to use since it's often an one chance Pokemon. Since Volcarona's an anti-type Pokemon I'll write what it's meant to counter:

Steel: Best times to bring it in are: Scizor, Ferrothorn, Genesect, Jirachi, Mawile, Magnezone, Forretress and Cobalion since they have the least chance of hurting / crippling you. (Not Skarm since it gets Brave Bird)
Bring it in and take the predicted move, and start to Quiver Dance as your opponent brings in Heatran. HP Ground should KO it or come close to. Your opponent will most likely use Stealth Rocks (Expecting you to switch), or Toxic you (Lum Berry). From there, you can chose to either set up another Quiver Dance (to outspeed Excadrill, or you can speed creep it by adding 160 speed EVs) or just kill it. You pretty much sweep if it's late game after that.

Fire: This is harder since a lot of things threaten it (Thank god no Talonflame.) The best times to bring it in are against: Infernape, Screens Rotom-H, Torkoal, and -1 Victini (After V-Create). Bring it in and Quiver Dance while making little damage or a status from these Pokemon. Keep in mind that you're going to need a lot more Quiver Dances to sweep but it gets easier to set up as you rack up those boosts. Just spam HP Ground and Fire Dance after that. Having Rock support always helps.

 

[all falls down]

Keldeo (Water) for S Rank

Clearly a Keldeo (Keldeo) @ Choice Specs/Leftovers/Choice Scarf
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Secret Sword
- Hidden Power/Substitute/Scald
- Icy Wind/Calm Mind/Hidden Power

Explanation: Keldeo is the premier wall-breaker for water monotype teams with incredibly powerful STABs that allow it to hit both specially and physically for massive damage. It also out-speeds a large portion of the un-boosted meta at base 108 speed, further increasing its usefulness. The water/fighting typing pairs well with this high base speed as it only takes SE damage from priority in the form of mega-Pinsir's quick attack, while resisting Sucker Punch. Most Keldeo run the Specs, wall-breaking set, but other sets such as Choice Scarf, Life Orb or Sub-CM are certainly viable and will be encountered in the meta-game. In addition to it's attacking prowess, Keldeo has above average defenses when compared with other fast, powerful attackers--meaning it can often take unboosted attacks from faster 'mons before OHKO'ing. Most importantly, Keldeo is capable of performing the role set forth by the user's choice of item with minimal support from it's team (an exception being a hazard setter to break sashes for a scarf set). As such, Keldeo epitomizes the versatility and effectiveness required to achieve an S Rank.

Set Details/Usage: Hydro Pump and Secret Sword form the core moves that make Keldeo so threatening--a must on most sets. Depending on the role for Keldeo the last two slots will vary. Move choices for Sub-CM are obvious :D, but a bulkier EV spread may be beneficial. For a scarf set, Scald+Hidden Power is often preferred over Icy Wind as the speed drop is not nearly as beneficial. Scald also has the advantage of spreading status in the early game, before cleaning late-game with Hydro Pump. On a purely attacking set, the choice of Hidden Power should be tailored to fit your team build. Common choices are:
HP Grass for Quagsire, Gastro or Slowbro (Quag in particular, as it can cause problems for water mono w/ Unaware)
HP Rock for CharY and Bug teams (be aware you lose a speed IV);
HP Flying for Mega-Venusaur (I find this underwhelming though);
HP Fire for Ferro, Scizor, etc. However, the combo of Hydro Pump and Secret Sword often net a KO on all the 4x fire weak 'mons.

Finally, an important point to remember: a Hidden Power only deals more damage than un-resisted Hydro Pump if it is 4x.

Just a note, Quagsire is usually physically defensive and is absolutely smashed by hydro pump, specs or not, and even if it is specially defensive it is 2hkod by specs or life orb and nearly 2hkod by non-specs while it cant do anything back besides do pathetic damage with earthquake or toxic it. On a similar note, Gastrodon is almost always specially defensive and is smashed by secret sword. I also don't think hp fire deserves a mention because nothing 4x weak to fire has a chance vs Keldeo. Hp flying is pitifully weak and Hp Rock is questionable as the only thing it will hit harder is Charizard - Y and Volcarona, who will both be taking massive amounts from hydro pump anyways. In my opinion the only viable hidden power for Keldeo is ice for obvious reasons, or electric for Slowbro and Gyarados.

Slurpuff for B Rank

Slurpuff @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 76 HP / 252 SpA / 180 Spe
Timid Nature
- Calm Mind
- Dazzling Gleam / Draining Kiss
- Flamethrower / Cotton Guard
- Surf / Cotton Guard

or

Slurpuff @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Substitute
- Belly Drum
- Play Rough
- Return

Explanation: Slurpuff's a monster if you let it set up. It can choose between a bulkier Calm Mind set, or a fast Belly Drummer which are both good in their own way. The Special set is lacking the power meaning that you'd need 2+ CMs to sweep whereas the physical set is lacking the coverage so you have to kill all of the Steel Types before bringing it in (It's pretty much useless in a Fairy vs Steel matchup.) Hazard removal is also necessary since Slurpuff might not always live after Spikes / Rocks damage (Mandatory for physical set.) Screens are also mandatory since it'll be near impossible to set up with its average bulk. Priority is also a problem since it ignores speed boosts so you have to keep Slurpuff at a good amount of HP or take them all out before sending it in.

Set Explanation:

CM Set: 180 Speed is to outspeed scarfed Base 100s while maintaining some bulk. However, if you want to go full out bulk, then remove the speed and put it into HP and change Dazzling Gleam & Flamethrower / Surf to to Draining Kiss & Cotton Guard respectively. Flamethrower means that you'll be walled by Heatran, and Surf means that you'll be walled by Ferrothorn.

Belly Drum Set: Max Speed to outspeed most a majority of stuff (Including scarves.) Play Rough and Return are the only "usable" physical attacks that Slurpuff gets (Thief is also an option. It provides no useful coverage outside of Slowbro.) Substitute may seem stupid, but Slurpuff's sub can take a hit from most things behind screens. It also baits in stuff like Porygon2 who'd want to status it.

I disagree with this as Slurpuff is a very mediocre Pokemon in Monotype no different as it is mediocre in the other tiers. The belly drum set is cursed to have absolutely atrocious coverage, so much that it has to run unstabbed return to hit Pokemon neutrally. Because of this it is easily walled by many,many Pokemon and it will find very few opportunities to belly drum due to its terrible bulk. The calm mind set is similar in that Slurpuff's bulk is mediocre at best and it has pitiful offensive stats so even after a few boosts it will not hit very hard and will be very easy to kill in response, not to mention it is outclassed by the plethora of calm mind users that Fairy has to offer. Slurpuff also fits the description of D rank very nicely. Slurpuff --> D Rank

 

[Anttya]

A request for those of you posting many mons together!
Please make separate posts so we may like each description we agree with separately; while quoting and explaining what we disagree with.

Wouldn't that mean double posting on steroids? You can always quote the whole thing and say what part you want to talk about

 

[n64lord]

Piloswine (GROUND and ICE) for B rank

Piloswine@ Eviloite
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Curse
- Rest
- Ice Shard
- Earthquake

This can take a surprising amount of punishment from the special side, as most timid pokemon, whether they are hetran throwing out a Life orb fire blast or latios' draco meteor, will simply fail to dent him. This is nice for either of his types. Additionally he can set up safely on most walls, as non supereffective and non stab special moves will never pressure him. He has enough physical defense with eviolite to "revenge" frail, speedy pokemon, although you must fodder him shortly after if you choose to do so.

His sweep can be challenged pretty easily in some situations, since he can't power through bulky walls with phasing abilities. However, ice shard is a great deterrent on many users of taunt so he can remove one of His main drawbacks. Sadly you can't use him for both his potential roles unless you carry healbell, which implies jynx, or worse articuno.

He can be powered through by special attackers using focus blast, or if they predict you won't earthquake immediately. Fairly good at winning setup wars, although X/Y dosen't make that happen very often.

At the end of the day, the best thing about him is his gravy- People expect him to fill mamoswine's role, and you'll earn free turns as they react improperly.

Stealh Rock Pivot

Piloswine @ Eviloite
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock
- Ice Shard
- Endeavor /Earthquake

Soaks special attacks as much as the curse set, but then puts his rocks up. Does get worn down after a while, but can trade with traditional DD dragons in a pinch and slaughter the likes of hetran and Charizard Y who underestimate its bulk. Best used if you want to run a full offense version of Mamoswine, avoid mamo all together, or want something that can back up a delicate lead like frosslasss or support cloyster that won't get another layer if the opponet pulls off a defog mid game. It's so fat that endeavor will usually be used at 20 or even 40%, however, ice teams in particular will have the likes of weaville, kyurem, and mamoswine to pick off anyone weakened that much.

 

[Anttya]

Piloswine (GROUND and ICE) for B rank

Piloswine@ Eviloite
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD / 4 Atk
Careful Nature
- Curse
- Rest
- Ice Shard
- Earthquake

This can take a surprising amount of punishment from the special side, as most timid pokemon, whether they are hetran throwing out a Life orb fire blast or latios' draco meteor, will simply fail to dent him. This is nice for either of his types. Additionally he can set up safely on most walls, as non supereffective and non stab special moves will never pressure him. He has enough physical defense with eviolite to "revenge" frail, speedy pokemon, although you must fodder him shortly after if you choose to do so. His sweep can be challenged pretty easily in some situations, since he can't power through bulky walls with phasing attack. However, ice shard is a great deterrent on many users of taunt. Sadly you can't use him for both his potential roles unless you carry healbell, which implies jynx or worse articuno. He can be powered through by special attackers using focus blast, or if they predict you won't earthquake immediately. Fairly good at winning setup wars, although X/Y dosen't make that happen very often.

At the end of the day, the best thing about him is his gravy- People expect him to fill mamoswine's role, and you'll earn free turns as they react improperly.

Nice writeup, and that set looks scary x.x But can you put a Stealth Rock set in there as well?

Piloswine @ Eviloite
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock
- Ice Shard
- Earthquake

This is what I would put but feel free to change it a little bit :]

 

[Freeroamer]

In my opinion the only viable hidden power for Keldeo is ice for obvious reasons

But why wouldn't you just run Icy Wind to free up another Hidden Power on choice sets, also a lot of threats 4x weak to Ice absolutely don't want to be taking a Hydro Pump (See Landorus, Gliscor). I think Bug deserves a mention, as otherwise SpDef Celebi walls you hard. Rest of your points are spot on though.

Also as a general point, could more people actually reserve Pokemon so it's clear to Antt and everyone else who's doing what? It doesn't make much difference at the moment as we literally have every mon to do, but as we get more and more done, we'll start to get multiple write-ups for the same mon, which wastes people's time when they could be discussing sets and correct rankings. ^_^

 

[n64lord]

Reserving Garchomp, qwillfish, and crobat.

 

[Anttya]

I'm rather confused on how these Pokemon are being ranked. I was told that they should be ranked based on how viable they are in the monotype that they belong to and how necessary they are, for example a Pokemon like Torkoal would be placed in A rank because rapid spin is essential for fire monotypes. However going off of your definitions on each rank, you are looking through each Pokemon through a metagame standpoint and how they fare vs other monotypes, where Torkoal would certainly not be in A rank, Anttyaz halp ;~;

How they fare vs other monotypes are for Offensive Pokemon whereas defensive / support Pokemon would be how well they fill a certain role. Torkoal would still be A rank since it's the only Rapid Spinner Fire gets and its bulk lets it live a lot of moves. It gets Yawn too :]

I'll edit the ranking stuff to make it clearer tho ^^

 

[all falls down]

But why wouldn't you just run Icy Wind to free up another Hidden Power on choice sets, also a lot of threats 4x weak to Ice absolutely don't want to be taking a Hydro Pump (See Landorus, Gliscor). I think Bug deserves a mention, as otherwise SpDef Celebi walls you hard. Rest of your points are spot on though.

Also as a general point, could more people actually reserve Pokemon so it's clear to Antt and everyone else who's doing what? It doesn't make much difference at the moment as we literally have every mon to do, but as we get more and more done, we'll start to get multiple write-ups for the same mon, which wastes people's time when they could be discussing sets and correct rankings. ^_^

The only moveset where Keldeo would use icy wind in my opinion would be a choice scarf or choice specs set, where hydro pump scald and secret sword are almost essential, as hydro pump is the wall-breaking move it will usually be spamming and scald being the safer, more accurate move that can cripple walls switching in. This leaves only 1 spot on Keldeo, and in this regard hidden power ice will be better than icy wind the majority of the time as it is perfectly accurate and it is stronger. To your point on Landorus and Gliscor being weak to water, Hidden power ice is more useful on Keldeo to hit dragon threats such as netting the OHKO on Garchomp, Dragonite after multiscale is broken, Latios, Latias, etc. I suppose bug can be mentioned as it also hits Slowbro, but Celebi is not a common Pokemon in monotype.

How they fare vs other monotypes are for Offensive Pokemon whereas defensive / support Pokemon would be how well they fill a certain role. Torkoal would still be A rank since it's the only Rapid Spinner Fire gets and its bulk lets it live a lot of moves. It gets Yawn too :]

I'll edit the ranking stuff to make it clearer tho ^^

alright that makes more sense thanks :]]

 

[n64lord]

Nice writeup, and that set looks scary x.x But can you put a Stealth Rock set in there as well?

Piloswine @ Eviloite
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock
- Ice Shard
- Earthquake

This is what I would put but feel free to change it a little bit :]

I don't use piloswine for hazards because froslass and mamoswine do it so much better. Even a taunt proof mental herb cloyster would float my boat better.

 

[z0mOG]

Klefki Fairy for A Rank

Klefki @ Light Clay
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Spikes / Foul Play
- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Thunder Wave / Foul Play

Klefki is a great physical wall and is the only fairy type with the ability to stack spikes. The only other fairies that can even set hazards are Carbink/Diancie (lol) and Clefable, which is usually better off as a sweeper. Klefki also takes neutral damage from steel and has an immunity to poison, the two types strong against fairy (disregarding fire). Lastly, fairy has many good sweepers such as BD Azumarill, Nasty Plot togekiss, Calm Mind Clefable/Gardevoir etc. and Klefki can reliably set up screens to allow these pokemon to set up more easily. The main factor keeping it out of S-Rank is its' fire weakness, which fairy teams already struggle against.

 

[Sae]

Reserving #LuckyLanturn and Suicune water. I'm pretty sure you guys would dump Suicune on me anyway.

 

[Beta.]

Here's a little tip for all of you monotypers coming to smogon for the first time to use this thread! I posted this in forme freaks, yet I'm going to post this here aswell, since it isthe exact same premise.

Do this to see if anyone has already reserved the mon you are talking about. If you see the mon/the type you want to do it for, then it is already in use. Then use anntya's 5 day rule in case you really want to do the analysis.

on that note, I will reserve Thundurus-I (not therian fuck therian) and articuno for flying.

 

[Mast3rM1nd]

Well, i want tangrowth and shaymin to move from rank B to C
Why: Tangrowth sure is tanky, but the last time i saw it being used was like 3 months ago, also besides being a Talonflame check, it does nothing.
Also, Shaymin and Shaymin-S have the same dex number, so they can't be used in the same team. That makes Shaymin useless because Shaymin-S is a staple in grass mono now.