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Resource LC Viability Rankings
- Thread starter Corporal Levi
- Start date
- Status
It's been like two weeks since the last update so I'm going to make some changes
Anorith -> C-
Cacnea -> C-
Drifloon -> B-
Bellsprout -> B-
Shellder -> B
Abra -> A+
Ponyta -> A+
I didn't see any disagreements with these movements but if anybody has any objections, feel free to say so.
It looks to me as if the general consensus leans toward Chinchou in S, but I'm going to wait a bit before moving it, so there's still time if anybody has any further points for or against this change. Pawniard and Timburr are staying where they are for the time being.
Just for the record, I would prefer it if you guys give your support for the kinds of nominations like Ponyta's if you agree with them in a post, even if just a one-liner below your main argument for another debate, so I can be sure that it's a popular nomination.
Anorith -> C-
Cacnea -> C-
Drifloon -> B-
Bellsprout -> B-
Shellder -> B
Abra -> A+
Ponyta -> A+
I didn't see any disagreements with these movements but if anybody has any objections, feel free to say so.
It looks to me as if the general consensus leans toward Chinchou in S, but I'm going to wait a bit before moving it, so there's still time if anybody has any further points for or against this change. Pawniard and Timburr are staying where they are for the time being.
Just for the record, I would prefer it if you guys give your support for the kinds of nominations like Ponyta's if you agree with them in a post, even if just a one-liner below your main argument for another debate, so I can be sure that it's a popular nomination.
Someone has to do it, the whole community isn't fine with this Pokémon's rank so I'll just go ahead:
Oddish C-> D: Seriously this thing is not even worth using neither in a sun team (unless you want a second Chlorophyll Pokémon but still you won't be needing another one other that Bellsprout trust me) or in a non-sun team, Bellsprout totally outclasses it as it has access to Weather Ball, Growth and Sucker Punch and Oddish' only niche is that it has access to Dazzling Gleam which is totally useless.
I support that. Dazzling Gleam is really useless.Someone has to do it, the whole community isn't fine with this Pokémon's rank so I'll just go ahead:
Oddish C-> D: Seriously this thing is not even worth using neither in a sun team (unless you want a second Chlorophyll Pokémon but still you won't be needing another one other that Bellsprout trust me) or in a non-sun team, Bellsprout totally outclasses it as it has access to Weather Ball, Growth and Sucker Punch and Oddish' only niche is that it has access to Dazzling Gleam which is totally useless.
240 SpA Life Orb Oddish Solar Beam vs. 0 HP / 36 SpD Eviolite Mienfoo: 17-21 (80.9 - 100%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO
240 SpA Life Orb Oddish Dazzling Gleam vs. 0 HP / 36 SpD Eviolite Mienfoo: 16-21 (76.1 - 100%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO
240 SpA Life Orb Oddish Solar Beam vs. 76 HP / 156 SpD Eviolite Timburr: 17-21 (68 - 84%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
240 SpA Life Orb Oddish Dazzling Gleam vs. 76 HP / 156 SpD Eviolite Timburr: 16-21 (64 - 84%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
First off, Elekid is B-, not B. Also, Elekid doesn't actually OHKO Chinchou:Elekid B- -> B+: I've seen the usage of this guy go up, for good reason. Elekid can be quite the Life Orb sweeper, boasting both Special and Physical move pools making him viable as either, or a mix. He gets access to 20 speed, and his move pool provides excellent coverage. If running the special set, HP grass/ground can ohko Chinchou after stealth rocks. Overall Elekid has some sweeping potential with his excellent movepool and speed, and i could see Elekid moving up nicely in the ranks to fit in with the B+.
240 SpA Life Orb Elekid Hidden Power Ground vs. 76 HP / 0 SpD Chinchou: 16-21 (64 - 84%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
Meanwhile...
152 SpA Chinchou Hydro Pump vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Elekid: 15-18 (78.9 - 94.7%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
(15, 15, 15, 15, 15, 15, 15, 16, 16, 16, 16, 16, 16, 16, 16, 18)
Elekid's not taking that Hydro Pump very well after Rocks and recoil, and Chinchou will be at full HP because of Berry Juice.
Elekid is one of my favourite revenge killers, and I wouldn't mind seeing it go to B, although I personally would need to build a stronger argument for it. Because of his Life Orb recoil on top of already low defenses, he really doesn't wanna take an unresisted hit. He also can't deal with priority very well. Even Fletch's acro can 2HKO it, which means he can't be worn down when fighting it.
I did put Elekid as B- but the "->" must of confused you, no worries. I'm not sure where i messed up on the calc, but i had a 6% of ohko, my bad. But anyways, i guess i can agree with you on the B rank. Elekid has been pretty solid for me but as you say it doesn't take a hit very well and the life orb slowly brings him down. He almost can't take priority at all, with Fletch 2HKOing it and pawns sucker punches can OHKO aswell. But even with that Elekid can come in and cause some serious damage, or volt switch to maintain pressure.
Houndour -> C+ or B-
Scraggy -> B+
Dwebble -> B
Snubbull -> A-
Wynaut -> C+
Torchic -> C+
Koffing -> C+
Riolu -> B
Chespin -> C+ or B-
Chinchou remains A+
I am also going to fully support Elekid's rise to mid B due to it being an amazing momentum grabber, while also being a great revenge killer due to hitting the best Speed tier in LC, before boosts and Choice Scarf are applied. It can 2HKO many Normal-type special walls like Lickitung, Mucnhlax and Porygon with LO Cross Chop with just 1 pt investment in Atk, which is very cool for a special attacker. As well as Elekid's rise, I agree with Oddish finally dropping due to Bellsprout completely outclassing it as a Chlorphyll sweeper, and Ponyta definitely deserves to be high A at this point. Ponyta is one of the hardest mons to answer completely; however, ons like Timburr and Chinchou continue to give it trouble. Ponyta is definitely deserving of rising even further, though. It is such an amazing mon this meta.
Also, just saying how laughable it is to suggest something as crazy as Pawniard dropping down to A+/ Pawniard is easily the best offensive Stealth Rock setter in the tier, and it can run a variety of different sets and is not just limited to using offensive sets as it is currently being made out to seem like right now.
Also, a remainder of my MInccino nom up to mid C. Great mon with a great movepool. Very cool wall breaker due to Skill Link Tail Slap rolls, please give it the rise it deserves!
Scraggy -> B+
Dwebble -> B
Snubbull -> A-
Wynaut -> C+
Torchic -> C+
Koffing -> C+
Riolu -> B
Chespin -> C+ or B-
Chinchou remains A+
- Houndour lost a huge part of its niche in checking Misdreavus, and now that Misdreavus is gone, it is struggling to remain viable. I honestly can't think of a single thing Houndour can do better than Stunky or Pawniard, both are better Pursuit Trappers, both are better Dark-types in general.... There are so many reasons why Houndour doesn't deserve being here in B anymore.
- Scraggy is kind of the noob sweeper. People who are unfamiliar with the tier love using Scraggy, and people who are unfamiliar with the tier also lose to Scraggy. Scraggy is not a mon you use and expect to beat high quality tiers with, Scraggy is something you use if you want to coast by during your time in low ladder. It is so easy to take advantage of with Fletchling and Timburr, there's really no point in Scraggy staying A anymore.
- Dwebble has been losing viability continuously. Ever since people began to not use Dwebble offense, which is Dwebble lead with 5 Hyper Offensive mons, people began to stop looking for suicide leads. And even then, if they were to use a suicide lead, Onix has much more utility in Taunt and even Dragon Tail.
- Snubbull is a mon I've been using a lot recently, and I find the support it provides is unlike any other. It TWaves things with so much ease it's hilarious, it is also a great offensive Cleric, and easily keeps momentum on your side with Intimidate. I'd even go as far as saying it is the best offensive fighting-type check in the tier at this point, due to the fact that Spritzee can easily make you lose your momentum.
- Wynaut is not really too good at all. It is easily manipulated by with the use of Volt Switch and U-turn, and it has trouble trapping many things.
- Torchic Pass is a play style that is nowhere to be seen as of late. And, with close inspection, it is very easy to see why. Torchic Pass is so easy to take advantage of, and with the high amount of priority flying around in the tier, the pass recipients are very limited. Fletchling easily takes advantage of any recipient not resistant to the Flying-type, whereas Timburr can easily manage those that do resist the Flying-type. Without also passing a Swords Dance boost, some of these recipients, like Cranidos and Corphish, even lack enough power to take full advantage of these passed speed boosts.
- Riolu is such an amusing mon. It is a hilarious revenge killer with Copycat, and it is hilarious when Fletchling comes in on it and tries to revenge kill you, but then dies because you out speed it and hit it with a High Jump Kick straight to the face. Riolu is one of my fav mons this meta, as well. It is just really cool with a very fun niche.
- Koffing is another mon that is easy to take advantage of. It is almost reminiscent to Trubbish in the sense that it makes you lose so much momentum just by switching in. However, unlike Trubbish, Koffing cannot help you gain momentum by setting down Spikes. Koffing has remained hidden under the radar for far too long, and it is time this floating ball finally gets the drop it deserves.
- Chespin is probably my favorite mon to use this meta. It is so easy to set up Spikes with: all you have to do is switch it in on the best spinner in the tier, Drilbur, and click Spikes all day. As well as Drilbur, it is also a great answer to the only good Chlorophyll sweeper in the tier of Bellsprout, and, in my opinion, the best check to Gastly in the tier. Chespin has been getting a lot of hate lately, and I really have no idea why: it beats common threats, it sets up Spikes and Bulk Ups with ease, it is a great Fletchling lure with Rock Slide. It has so many advantages.
- Now, on to my lost nom of Chinchou staying in A+. Being the controversial case that it is, I feel like people are over-exaggerating its advantages, and not necessarily taking the disadvantages it has as seriously as they should. Being amon that wants to switch in on almost the entire tier, it is easy to see why it is the most Knock Off-prone pokemon in the tier. And, if Chinchou does give in and lose its item from this move that is, literally, everywhere, you basically lost your pivot for the remainder of the battle. Chinchou may have many advantages in using it, however, in my experience, it is these numerous advantages that puts Chinchou in a disadvantage, a sI highlighted just previously. The Choice Scarf set of Chinchou's is one set I feel like supporters of Chinchou moving up are over-exaggerating to the full extent of the term: sure, it can revenge kill, sure it can beat FletchDig; however, it can also very much lose to FletchDig. ANother disadvantage Chinchou has while holding a Choice Scarf is, it lost it' ability to pivot around and soft check many mons people use it for. This same story holds true after Berry Juice Chinchou consumes its Berry Juice, only much more so due to it lacking the advantage in the Choice Scarf. Chinchou in my eyes is the very definition of an A+ mon: it has very few flaws and many advantages; however, it is those very advantages that highlight Chinchou's numerous flaws.
I am also going to fully support Elekid's rise to mid B due to it being an amazing momentum grabber, while also being a great revenge killer due to hitting the best Speed tier in LC, before boosts and Choice Scarf are applied. It can 2HKO many Normal-type special walls like Lickitung, Mucnhlax and Porygon with LO Cross Chop with just 1 pt investment in Atk, which is very cool for a special attacker. As well as Elekid's rise, I agree with Oddish finally dropping due to Bellsprout completely outclassing it as a Chlorphyll sweeper, and Ponyta definitely deserves to be high A at this point. Ponyta is one of the hardest mons to answer completely; however, ons like Timburr and Chinchou continue to give it trouble. Ponyta is definitely deserving of rising even further, though. It is such an amazing mon this meta.
Also, just saying how laughable it is to suggest something as crazy as Pawniard dropping down to A+/ Pawniard is easily the best offensive Stealth Rock setter in the tier, and it can run a variety of different sets and is not just limited to using offensive sets as it is currently being made out to seem like right now.
Also, a remainder of my MInccino nom up to mid C. Great mon with a great movepool. Very cool wall breaker due to Skill Link Tail Slap rolls, please give it the rise it deserves!
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Nodly would like Rattata to be raised to D but he's not old enough to create a Smogon account without getting banned by Macle so he would like me to post on his behalf.
Other than that, a lot of solid nominations have been made and I agree with most of them; in particular, I have no idea what Oddish is doing in C- and feel as if Dwebble is frankly terrible when some of the top Pokemon can clear away all of its hard work with a single move. I'll just go over a few things I don't quite agree with -
I think B+ is far too high for Elekid. Its damage output is somewhat unimpressive for a frail offensive Pokemon; it often lacks the raw firepower to OHKO threats, which is quite problematic for something that can be so easily OHKOed in return. Being a decent revenge-killer that gains momentum is great, but Elekid doesn't really offer anything else because it can't come in on very much at all and can still be played around once it does come in; its only decent Special Attack and lack of special boosting moves (the base powers of its physical moves are honestly atrocious) means that a sweep anything before extremely late in the game is quite unlikely. Middle B is more reasonable, but I feel as if a sweeper that needs prediction to actually sweep is probably better off in B-, keeping in mind that B- is for Pokemon that are good but not phenomenal, which I do not think Elekid is better than.
Regarding Chinchou, I wouldn't consider not being able to deal with everything at once a weakness; not even Mienfoo can do that. It's just able to do so many different things that you would probably have to go out of your way to make a team that gets worse with its inclusion. Being able to switch into the majority of the tier should be counted as a plus; it demonstrates how strong Chinchou's match-ups are, and how versatile it is, and it's not really reasonable to say that Chinchou isn't good enough for S-rank because it doesn't single-handedly wall entire teams, because that would be a bit broken.
So, what do you guys think about Rattata moving to D? Its main advantages over Bunnelby are a slightly higher speed stat and access to Flame Wheel and Sucker Punch. I don't think its necessary to list its weaknesses because D-rank Pokemon usually aren't all that impressive lol
Other than that, a lot of solid nominations have been made and I agree with most of them; in particular, I have no idea what Oddish is doing in C- and feel as if Dwebble is frankly terrible when some of the top Pokemon can clear away all of its hard work with a single move. I'll just go over a few things I don't quite agree with -
I think B+ is far too high for Elekid. Its damage output is somewhat unimpressive for a frail offensive Pokemon; it often lacks the raw firepower to OHKO threats, which is quite problematic for something that can be so easily OHKOed in return. Being a decent revenge-killer that gains momentum is great, but Elekid doesn't really offer anything else because it can't come in on very much at all and can still be played around once it does come in; its only decent Special Attack and lack of special boosting moves (the base powers of its physical moves are honestly atrocious) means that a sweep anything before extremely late in the game is quite unlikely. Middle B is more reasonable, but I feel as if a sweeper that needs prediction to actually sweep is probably better off in B-, keeping in mind that B- is for Pokemon that are good but not phenomenal, which I do not think Elekid is better than.
Regarding Chinchou, I wouldn't consider not being able to deal with everything at once a weakness; not even Mienfoo can do that. It's just able to do so many different things that you would probably have to go out of your way to make a team that gets worse with its inclusion. Being able to switch into the majority of the tier should be counted as a plus; it demonstrates how strong Chinchou's match-ups are, and how versatile it is, and it's not really reasonable to say that Chinchou isn't good enough for S-rank because it doesn't single-handedly wall entire teams, because that would be a bit broken.
I think Scraggy should go to B+. It simply isn't the threat it once was, and while the meta hasn't changed all that much, setting up Dragon Dance is often fruitless if your opponent is carrying Spritzee or Fletchling. It's still strong, and it just needs a chance to set up Dragon Dance to do some real damage, but it won't be sweeping too many teams, unless you're a flinch-fishing asshole who runs Rock Slide.
Scraggy should definitely drop a rank if not more...DD requires way too much support to be worth it 90% of the time. Scarf Moxie is cool, but has some of the same issues and is sometimes hard to justify using over other scarfers such as Mienfoo. Anyways so this post isn't worthless, I'll make the nomination of Staryu to B rank. 19 speed with good coverage and rapid spin, as well as being one of the best offensive checks to Drilbur/Archen/Ponyta among other things, its just a good mon (can even go more defensive with recover and scald.) it has issues with chou but its ranking is really just a remnant of the Missy era imo.
I agree with the Scraggy drop. Fletch just drops him, and the support to make DD work at all isn't worth it imo. Also i agree with zeriloa on a raise of rank to B for staryu. Staryu's 19 speed is a great touch to it's offensive spinning. It's just LO spinning starmie from past gens, nothing different. It has always been a solid mon and the rise in rank wouldn't bother me.
agree with scraggy drop it takes loads of support
Also Starmaster Chinchou isn't just the best momentum gainer because of voltswitch. it's the best momentum gainer because of its unique typing/ability which makes it probably the easiest Pokemon to switch in and pivot to regain momentum. There's pretty much 100% gonna be something on the opponents team which would be extremely threatening, but chou just switches in and stops it (electric types, water types, flying types). and yeah, ground types can't take scald/hydro. I do get it makes 50/50s, but the only real chinchou walls are grass-types which hate volt switch/soak, and chinchou itself.
Also Starmaster Chinchou isn't just the best momentum gainer because of voltswitch. it's the best momentum gainer because of its unique typing/ability which makes it probably the easiest Pokemon to switch in and pivot to regain momentum. There's pretty much 100% gonna be something on the opponents team which would be extremely threatening, but chou just switches in and stops it (electric types, water types, flying types). and yeah, ground types can't take scald/hydro. I do get it makes 50/50s, but the only real chinchou walls are grass-types which hate volt switch/soak, and chinchou itself.
Nincada is not mentioned anywhere on the viability rankings, not even in the below-D Pokemon. It's really not entirely bad, sporting a solid base 90 Defense stat and a unique typing that allows it switch into Ground- and Poison-types easily and fire off Giga Drain or HP Ground to hit them, respectively. Granted it doesn't have much above that and usually doesn't merit a spot on any serious team, but it should at least be D-ranked. Plus, it's fucking adorable.
GlassGlaceon
My heart has now been set on love
cotton down to B
reasons:
reasons:
- weak
- predictable with encore
- v ugly mon
- easy to wear down becos susceptible to all hazards
- no reliable recovery because giga drain is
- weak
- Rise of a bunch of counters like pony, larv, foongus, ferroseed, fletchling, and literally everything else
- wow what an ugly mon
- weak
- hp poison chinchou
- fall of mons like scraggy, smashers, etc.
Want to know another special nuke that has Destiny Bond, is faster, has a better typing, is not weakt to Stealth Rocks, and also has Sucker Punch? Gastly. Houndour definitely is very undeserving of its current rank, and I'd even go as far to argue thatHoundour is undeserving of being in the same rank as things like Riolu (which is where it should be [Mid B]), Shellder, Taillow, Corhpish, Cranidos, Bellsprout, Dwebble.... I'd compromise with moving Houndour down to Low B; however, staying in Mid B? No.
I completely agree with Cottonee dropping. However, I'd much rather see it in High B for now due to it being such a big drop for a mon that is still very useable, reliable, versatile, and viable. Thought, that's not saying that, if we as a community feel like Cottonee is still undeserving of High B, then we can easily just move it down to Mid B no problem. But, again, I completely support Cottonee's fall. Scraggy falling out of vaibility, Smashers nowhere insight, even moreso Smasher not-named Omanyte (Cottonee is not a reliable Omanyte answer), Ponyta being such an amazing mon.... So many reasons was to why Cottonee should fall.
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Gastly sucker punch is pretty (very) weak; Houndour can actually hit something. Gastly has 4MSS (it cant run Shadow ball, sludge bomb, dazzling gleam, hp fight, destiny bond, and sucker punch at once) while Houndour has one set and that set is badass. Houndour is better than Tailow of course, it also sorta checks Gastly as well as threatening stall (beats ferro and the like). B is fineAdam Lambert said:
I'd easily argue the opposite in regards of Taillow. Also, just posting to say that sayingGastly has 4MSS because it wants to use Dazzling Gleam, which it honestly doesn't, is very absurd. Furthermore, Gastly can easily forego Sucker Punch + Destiny Bond over Hidden Power Fighting, if you so wanted to. Especially when considering the only thing you're using Hidden Power Fighting for is to nail Pawniards on the switch ins... Saying Gastly has 4MSS is one of the most absurd things I've read in this forums aside from the suggestion that Pawniard should be anything but S rank right now.
Now that my little aside is done, Houndour is easily one of the biggest mons falling out of viability. It's literally right up there with Cottonee in this boat. It's weak to Stealth Rocks, faces competition as being a fire-type with Ponyta, which is currently one of the best mons right now, is checked by common things like Timburr, is not very good against stall unless it has Taunt. Honestly, I can easily argue Houndour has much more 4MSS than Gastly due to the fact that Houndour really wants Taunt, Fire Blast, Dark Pulse, Sucker Punch, and Destiny Bond all at the same time, actually (which is not the case for Gastly at all).
I'm going to agree that Houndour doesn't deserve to drop because it's actually a solid Pokemon. Houndour hits 17 Speed, has great offensive stats and a unique typing that gives it a fantastic set of dual STAB moves. This set by itself puts Houndour at B. However, you guys are only bringing up the Life Orb set. A bulkier build with an Eviolite is still quite viable, checking the likes of Gastly and Abra quite well. It can also run Will-O-Wisp to hit the incoming Fighting- or Ground-types about to switch in. Here:
Houndour @ Eviolite
Ability: Flash Fire
Level: 5
EVs: 160 HP / 36 Def / 116 SpA / 196 SpD
Calm Nature
- Sucker Punch
- Fire Blast
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pursuit
It's actually a rather versatile Pokemon and it doesn't deserve to go any lower than it is.
I kinda feel like poking some holes in your logic. Cottonee isn't all that predictable to be entirely honest. Encore is a staple move, yes, but Cottonee has a wide variety of other support and attacking options that it can abuse, making it a sometimes unpredictable Pokemon. Susceptible to hazards implies that it's taking "super effective" damage from hazards, but it's hit neutrally by all of them and it's not taking nearly enough damage to render it useless. Plus, that's what teammates are for, to get rid of stuff like that. Giga Drain isnt the only option for recovery; Leech Seed seems like a rather reliable recovery option and in tandem with Prankster, it's probably one of the more annoying things to face. HP Poison Chinchou doesn't exist, and is probably worse than running Nincada considering how reliant it is on actually facing a Cottonee and not being Encored into some resisted move. Scraggy is still a threatening Pokemon and Shell Smashers haven't died in usage lol. Omanyte and Tirtouga are still huge threats. Also, with the gradual rise of stall, Cottonee has an even better reason to be abusing Encore and Taunt.
You listed weak and ugly twice, I'm assuming either to put across some dumb point that's irrelevant to its viability (being weak doesn't mean useless i.e. Prankster) or simply because you were in a rush.
GlassGlaceon
My heart has now been set on love
Champion Fizz, you've known me long enough to know that "ugly" was just a way of me putting across humor becos I know no one just likes reading a boring list. HP Poison chinchou was another joke. Dang for a guy who uses joke mons all the time you sure don't like jokes :I. I'll try to address your counterpoints in a more serious matter I guess.
Susceptible to hazards and weak to hazards are two completely different things entirely (redundancy is redundant). Cottonee is hit by every type of hazard known to man for at least neutral damage/ for a speed drop, and with it's lack of reliable recovery (leech seed is honestly terrible imo and is a waste of a moveslot because cotton has a bunch more useful moves to abuse with prankster or trying to make it slightly easier to wear down checks with knock off.)
Now I have no idea what you meant when you said weak was irrelevant to it's viability. Offensive Cotton runs 3 attack+encore/memento but it's still really weak and is easily worn down by LO/repeated layers of hazards. The main thing about cottonee's weakness isn't just of itself, it's mainly the fact that most of it's checks and counters are very hard to wear down, (foongus) break, (ferroseed) or even touch (ponyta, larvesta) because of cottonee's base 37 Special Attack :/. No other viable wall in the tier is that weak and normally has at least a bit of offensive pressure.
Now as someone who recently started using stall, you should know above all else that cottonee literally means jack all to most stall teams, as most stall teams run spritzee as their cleric. Spritzee has a nice little ability known as aroma veil that helps it become immune to all of that and essentially leaves cotton worthless. It can knock off spritzee you might say? Yes, but so do all the fighters it usually switches into, it isn't a big deal. Stall also has ferroseed, foongus, and a bunch more stuff to handle the likes of cotton offensively.
also tirt dropped a couple of places from last month to this month in both the 1630 and 1760 stats, and omanyte is somewhere down around the 30s, and scraggy dropped a good 7 or so places, so yes, they are starting to fall in usage...
My main problem with cottonee is that any variant with encore (which is most of them) only really works in the midst of bad plays. I and many other people have just begun to forgo setting up on cotton and just smack it with an (ice beam for oma, stone edge for tirt, knock off/iron head/pjab for scraggy) so it won't really have anything to encore into a move to grab momentum off of. Now Cotton isn't a bad pokemon per se, but it's hugely overrated imo and needs to drop because of this. Can cottonee stop sweeps? Sure. Does Cottonee counter things? Sure. But why have cottonee occasionally stop a sweep and come in about 3 times to counter something when you could use a much bulkier ferroseed, or a much more survivable foongus that counters mostly the same things and either has the merit of more bulk or more staying power.
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