ORAS UU Viability Ranking Thread

[Meru]

credits to Kitten Milk for the previous Viability Ranking OP
credits to Fluze for the artwork :]

Welcome to the UnderUsed Viability Thread! The preliminary rankings for each metagame (every three months, or any other important release) will be decided on by a handpicked group of people who have shown a deep and relevant understanding of the metagame and contributed to the last UU Viability thread. This group, though, is obviously subject to change.

So where do you come in? Well, after the preliminary rankings have been worked out by us, it's the entire community's job to refine those rankings to more accurately reflect the true viability of all relevant Pokemon in the UU metagame. Because our guesses will come before much meaningful experience using Pokemon will have occured, we can't be accurate enough without your help. Post about the Pokemon that you're experienced using, but try not to let your personal bias oversell any Pokemon.

Another key change is in the definition and variety of ranks available. While the S and A tiers still mostly reflect the best of the best Pokemon in the metagame, the B tier is now slightly more expansive, with the B+ tier representing Pokemon that are fairly common and threatening, and the B- tier representing Pokemon who fill minor, but relevant niches. Below this B tier, we have a new generic C tier that displays all Pokemon that are usable in UU, but don't have a niche that is appreciated by most teams in UU. There will now be a D-rank, however this will function like the E-rank of other viability threads, and will only include Pokemon that are currently in the UU tier. The broad-based lower tier serves as a measure to counteract the extreme subjectivity that occurs historically when discussing Pokemon that people have very little experience using.

credits to alexwolf for the base definitions

S Rank: Reserved for Pokemon that are almost flawless in the UnderUsed metagame. These Pokemon are usually able to perform a variety of roles effectively, or can just do one extremely well. Their use has low risk involved and almost always brings a high reward. Pokemon in this rank have very few flaws that are more than made up for by numerous positive traits.

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Mega Aerodactyl

Salamence

Suicune

A Rank: Reserved for Pokemon that are fantastic in the UnderUsed metagame, and can sweep, support, or wall significant portions of the metagame. These Pokemon require less support than most others to be used effectively and have few flaws that can easily be compensated for when compared to their positive traits.

A+ Rank

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Crobat

Entei

Heracross

Hydreigon

Mienshao

A Rank

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Mega Aggron

Alakazam

Mega Beedrill

Mega Blastoise

Krookodile

Lucario

Nidoqueen

Mega Pidgeot

Shaymin

Swampert

Mega Swampert

Tentacruel

A- Rank

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Mega Ampharos

Azelf

Chandelure

Chesnaught

Cobalion

Cresselia

Empoleon

Florges

Forretress

Gligar

Infernape

Reuniclus

Rotom-C

Mega Sharpedo

Slowking

Umbreon

Vaporeon

Whimsicott

Yanmega

B Rank: Reserved for Pokemon that are good in the UnderUsed metagame. These Pokemon have more notable flaws than those above them that affect how they function in the tier. They can all still function very well given the right team support, but they have numerous flaws that minimize their impact on the tier.

B+ Rank

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Mega Abomasnow

Mega Absol

Arcanine

Aromatisse

Blissey

Darmanitan

Donphan

Froslass

Granbull

Hippowdon

Kyurem

Machamp

Nidoking

Roserade

Rotom-H

Mega Sceptile

Snorlax

Toxicroak

B Rank

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Alomomola

Amoonguss

Bronzong

Doublade

Dragalge

Escavalier

Fletchinder

Haxorus

Heliolisk

Honchkrow

Jellicent

Magneton

Noivern

Porygon-Z

Rhyperior

Sharpedo

Shuckle

Slurpuff

Stoutland

Tornadus

B- Rank

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Braviary

Drapion

Dugtrio

Feraligatr

Galvantula

Mega Glalie

Goodra

Kingdra

Meloetta

Moltres

Pangoro

Porygon-2

Qwilfish

Seismitoad

Spiritomb

Togetic

Virizion

Weezing

Zoroark

C Rank: Reserved for Pokemon that have small niches in the UnderUsed metagame, but have numerous notable flaws that prevent them from being effective the majority of the time. Pokemon in the C tier require extensive support to be effective. Pokemon from this rank tend to face a lot of competition with the more commonly used Pokemon, or their niches aren't all too useful for the current metagame.

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Aerodactyl

Mega Audino

Mega Camerupt

Cloyster

Cofagrigus

Ditto

Durant

Emboar

Espeon

Exploud

Ferroseed

Flygon

Gastrodon

Golbat

Gourgeist (Super)

Mega Houndoom

Jolteon

Kabutops

Medicham

Mesprit

Mismagius

Omastar

Quagsire

Shedinja

Mega Steelix

Tangrowth

Xatu

D rank: Reserved for Pokemon that are still in the UnderUsed tier, but are, simply put, ineffective in this meta.

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Milotic

Scrafty

Trevenant

 

[Meru]

As a follow up to posting the thread, I made some of the more obvious and conservative changes. These are listing below with reasoning:

Cobalion: B+ to A-

Cobalion has become the premier offensive Steel-type, and its also one of the few offensive mons that don't straight up die to Mega Aerodactyl. Access to Stealth Rock and Volt Switch let it fill some of Jirachi's shoes, but it's hardly going past some of the more bulkier things in the meta.

Reuniclus: B+ to A-

Also become a lot better since Jirachi left. Felt it should be the same rank as Cresselia, as they have trade offs but are very similar, and somewhat competing for the same slot. A little hesitant on moving it up any further with Heracross and Krookodile being two wallbreakers that snack on it, especially the former.

Rotom-C: B+ to A-

Very unique mon, and it fits well into this meta. It can take on Water-types, Ground-types, Steel-types, and still check Mega Aerodactyl to boot, which is huge. WoW and Pain Split let it be a nuisance to slower teams. Not really strong, fast, or amazing typing to move it up much further, but it's definitely better in this meta than any before.

Whimsicott: B+ to A-

Always ends up doing something every match, and this is one of offense's sturdiest answers to a Moxie sweep by Scarf Salamence. Its amazing and unique typing is back in action to do well in this meta, and still able to boast surprise value with its Prankster-boosted support moves.

Mega Absol: A- to B+

While it did get Play Rough, this meta is bulky enough to take it on with ease, and when you account for it taking up the Mega slot, and still being outsped by a lot of threats and revenge killed even at +2, it's slightly underwhelming. Also has issues getting the Mega Evolution off let alone a Swords Dance boost.

Mega Sceptile: A- to B+

Lacks good switch in ability, immediate firepower, and its coverage could be better. Mega Aerodactyl being as good as it is also doesn't help, and Scarf Dragons and Whimsicott being very omnipresent in the meta don't help either.

Bronzong: B- to B

While hardly taking the metagame by storm, Bronzong has the typing and ability that puts it right on the map in this metagame, and it's definitely possible to build defensive cores around it, as it does well vs. some of the more top tier threats, especially AA+Edgequake MAero, who gets completely walled.

Magneton: B- to B

With Jirachi gone, this is now able to trap and outspeed every common Steel-type except Cobalion and Lucario, and it forms an amazing Volt Turn duo with Mega Beedrill.

Moltres: C to B-

While its Speed tier is hardly amazing, it does have a good typing to match it. Mega Aerodactyl and Water-types being prominent is still a huge concern, but it definitely deserves to be moved out of C rank at this point.

Braviary: B- to C

Never saw this do much. Some of its sets seem like decent theorymon fodder but it was the worst thing in B-

Now that that's settled, hoping to break the curse of people who quit after managing the viability ranking thread. Feel free to post your nominations with good reasonings to back it up. Let's generate some discussion and get this thread much more up to date

 

[Schpoonman]

Aw yeah, time to pop this thing's cherry wide open. I'm sorry, that wasn't as awful in my head.

Tyrantrum for A-
The undeniable trend I've noticed with Tyrantrum is that he wallbreaks even when he's not trying to wallbreak. Recoilless Head Smash is near the level of Contrary Leaf Storm: It's taken a pretty average/mediocre Pokemon and turned them into one of the most difficult switch-ins in the tier. Jolly Life Orb Head Smash 2HKOs fully defensive Alomomola with Rocks. You need Cresselia's bulk or a resist to even come close to tanking multiple Head Smashes. Add a really neat defensive typing, letting you come in on some of the tier's more threatening physical Fire types (fuck you, Entei) with just a little bit of scouting, some serious physical bulk, and a great boosting move in Rock Polish and you have a top set-up sweeper. It also eats Crobat for days, making it a great partner for Heracross.

I promise I will some day actually try using Choice Band or Hone Claws, but right now I'm too enamored with Rock Polish and it hasn't disappointed yet.

 

[Christo]

I nominate Nidoqueen from A--> A+
.

I believe Nidoqueen has everything to offer for a A+ mon in UU. Nidoqueen can fit on every team and do its job effectively. Nidoqueen is used as reliable Stealth Rocks setter and is a wall-breaker along with very decent bulk. Not many mons can do that. Also, if you look at all of the pokemon in the UU tier, Nidoqueen can beat more than 70% of them 1v1. There has never been a team I have played against that does not have at least half of there team demolished by queen. So many of the common cores are torn apart by Nidoqueen. Example: Florges+any Def mon, Tentacruel+any def mon, Empoleon+ any def mon. The list goes on.

 

[dingbat]

i'm not quitting lol smh

anyways, a few noms

-Flygon for D rank --> I don't see why I would use Flygon over a huge threat like Salamence in this metagame. U turn/ground typing imo is not enough of a niche to keep it in C rank.

-Snorlax is pretty fucking dangerous in this metagame atm (even with heracross here). I'd move that up to A-/A rank

-Alomomola for B+ rank --> imo, Alomomola is better at passing wishes than Vaporeon is (granted sunfish still has atrocious offensive presence) and barring all the Serperior rape in this meta, it's generally been as reliable as the other B+ 'mons here.

 

[DiscoDucky]

Infernape to B+

1) As a set-up sweeper (NP or SD), Infernape has the same problems as Mega-Absol as stated by Meruu.
2) Salamence shits in his breakfast.

 

[Tymano]

I am supporting Tyrantrum for A-: A 150 power stab move that does no recoil from a 121 base attack stat hits like a truck, even against resists and bulky waters, plus the fact that ORAS gave it Outrage makes it a very strong wallbreaker, but it is quite a bit on the slow side and has a rather small SpDf stat.
Supporting Flygon to D: Flygon has pretty much no niche in this meta with Salamence, and now Tyrantrum competing for a physical attacking Dragon Type, since Tyrantrum has a much better attack stat, and Salamence is a better bulky mon, with better abilities in Moxie or Intimidate, as Tyrantrum has a nice ability in Rock Head. Besides being faster, having U-Turn, and having a stab EQ, there is nothing nice about Flygon, and the band set is underwhelming powerwise.

 

[eren]

I'll bite- Here are a plethora of nominations I have:

Forretress (A-) -> A

Reasoning:
With the release of Custap Berry, this secures Forretress as one of UU's, or if not ,the tier's top stealth rocker. Able to surely get up stealth rocks and a layer of spikes (or use explosion to prevent a spin). Yet, The Pinecone isn't really limited to the Berry. He can be used as a stealth rocker with the item leftovers that can be used a defensive pivot with volt switch for later in a game. And with access to rapid spin (even though if you have boom this as your spinner really isn't that productive), Forretress is one of the best support mons, Raise to A.

Machamp (B+) -> A-

Reasoning:
Machamp has a lot of versatility. He can run Choice Band, Assault Vest, or Life Orb effectively. His access to the elemental punches (obv he has 4 arms), Dynamic Punch, Bullet Punch, Ice Punch, Knock Off, and Stone Edge make him a force to be reckoned with. Also, his two very powerful abilities, No Guard and Guts allow him to be a status aborted to hit even harder or Hit all his dynamic punches for free confusions and stone edges. Although it is slightly outclassed by Heracross on HO, I feel it's ability to function better on bulky offense warrants A-.

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Calcs:
-1 252+ Atk Choice Band Machamp Stone Edge vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Salamence: 288-340 (87 - 102.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
252+ Atk Choice Band Machamp Dynamic Punch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Suicune: 177-208 (43.8 - 51.4%) -- 64.5% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Choice Band Machamp Stone Edge vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Crobat: 432-510 (115.8 - 136.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Tyrantrum (Unlisted?) -> A-

Reasoning:
I'm pretty adamant on this. Seconding Tyrantrum's rise to at least A- or maybe even higher, due to its tremendous power and access to very powerful STABs: Head Smash and Outrage. Scarf, Rock Polish, Choice Band, Hone Claws, and Dragon Dance are some of the many sets it can run, with Rock Polish allowing for late game sweeping and Band for cleaning, allowing teammates to clean the game. Tyrantrum can 2HKO the most prominent defensive Pokemon in the tier: including Suicune, Max Def Cresselia, Cobalion, Swampert, Donphan, and Forretress. The Calcs don't lie- A-.

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Moar Calcs:
252 Atk Choice Band Tyrantrum Head Smash vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Cresselia: 222-262 (50 - 59%) -- 77.3% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Choice Band Tyrantrum Outrage vs. 240 HP / 252+ Def Swampert: 237-280 (59.1 - 69.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Choice Band Tyrantrum Head Smash vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Suicune: 252-297 (62.3 - 73.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Choice Band Tyrantrum Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Cobalion: 226-268 (58.5 - 69.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery (I know no Cobalion is Max/Max just for example purposes)
252+ Atk Choice Band Tyrantrum Head Smash vs. 248 HP / 252 Def Forretress: 238-282 (67.4 - 79.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Choice Band Tyrantrum Outrage vs. 172 HP / 252 Def Donphan: 214-253 (58.7 - 69.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

Shuckle (B) -> B-

Reasoning:
With the rise of many new megas, such as Mega Pidgeot and mega salamence and the rising of old megas: such as Mega Aerodactyl and Mega Blastoise, the cost of using Shuckle has increased dramatically from X/Y UU. Now since flying spam now roams UU and with the testing for the possible reintroduction of Serperior- I feel sticky web's viability has decreased due to the presence of defoggers such as Crobat. Drop it.

Mega Sharpedo (A-) -> A

Reasoning:
Seconding Darkerones nomination. With access to the powerful ability Speed Boost, Sharpedo can get a speed boost against an advantageous matchup and proceed to sweep a team. After getting its speed boost, one can just mega evolve and get a tremendous boost with its Mega Evolved ability, Strong Jaw, with crunch doing massive amounts to all Pokemon in the tier. The only obvious downside to Mega Sharpedo is its lackluster defenses but Mega Sharpedo's job is to be a cleaner is almost non-paralleled. Raise it :].

Heliolisk (B) -> A-

Reasoning:
Seconding Kreme nomination for a raise to Heliolisk. It's versatility with access to grass knot, surf, volt switch, thunderbolt, hidden power ice, and hyper voice doesn't even allow ground type to switch in safely to it. A- imo.

Flygon (C) -> D

Reasoning:
Seconding Flygon's drop to D Rank as Salemance and Tyrantrum both completely outclass it and it's niche isn't one to be kept in C rank. Smh, it's so cute :<.

And now a slightly controversial one:

Mega Swampert (A) -> A-

Reasoning:
Simply put, the metagame has changed. The need for manual rain has completely hurt mega Swampert and raised its opportunity cost a bunch more when you can use megas such as Aerodactyl, Beedrill, Aggron, Blastoise, and Pidgeot instead of Swampert. In fact, non-mega Swampert is a better support mon than its mega, I feel. One part of this is the lack of recovery that it's non mega has (leftovers) and using non-mega pert allows you to use a mega. Furthermore, Band Regular Pert hits loads harder than offensive mega pert, so indeed, Mega Pert is outclassed by its deemed inferior non-mega counterpart. I say: Drop Mega Pert and Keep Regular Pert at A.

My reasoning for these probably suck so tell me what I said wrong :[

As a follow up to posting the thread, I made some of the more obvious and conservative changes. These are listing below with reasoning:
Braviary: B- to C

Never saw this do much. Some of its sets seem like decent theorymon fodder but it was the worst thing in B-

Now that that's settled, hoping to break the curse of people who quit after managing the viability ranking thread. Feel free to post your nominations with good reasonings to back it up. Let's generate some discussion and get this thread much more up to date

Why is Braviary still listed as B- still then?
Edits:
got sniped in my seconding skills smh
hoho, I can use plethora now Christo The Gr8 :]

 

[Christo]

Here are some noms I have:

Forretress -> A

With the release of Custap Berry, this secures Forretress as one of UU's, or if not ,the tier's top stealth rocker. Able to surely get up stealth rocks and a layer of spikes (or use explosion to prevent a spin). Yet, The Pinecone isn't really limited to the Berry. He can be used as a stealth rocker with the item leftovers that can be used a defensive pivot with volt switch for later in a game.

Machamp-> A-
Machamp has a lot of versatility. He can run Choice Band, Assault Vest, or Life Orb effectively. His access to the elemental punches (obv he has 4 arms), Dynamic Punch, Bullet Punch, Ice Punch, Knock Off, and Stone Edge make him a force to be reckoned with. Also, his two very powerful abilities, No Guard and Guts allow him to be a status aborted to hit even harder or Hit all his dynamic punches for free confusions and stone edges.

Hide

Calcs:
-1 252+ Atk Choice Band Machamp Stone Edge vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Salamence: 288-340 (87 - 102.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
252+ Atk Choice Band Machamp Dynamic Punch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Suicune: 177-208 (43.8 - 51.4%) -- 64.5% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Choice Band Machamp Stone Edge vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Crobat: 432-510 (115.8 - 136.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Tyrantrum-> A- I'm pretty adamant on this. Seconding Tyrantrum's rise to at least A- or maybe even higher, due to its tremendous power and access to very powerful STABs: Head Smash and Outrage. Scarf, Rock Polish, Choice Band, Hone Claws, and Dragon Dance are some of the many sets it can run, with Rock Polish allowing for late game sweeping and Band for cleaning, allowing teammates to clean the game. Tyrantrum can 2HKO the most prominent defensive Pokemon in the tier: including Suicune, Max Def Cresselia, Cobalion, Swampert, Donphan, and Forretress.

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Moar Calcs:
252 Atk Choice Band Tyrantrum Head Smash vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Cresselia: 222-262 (50 - 59%) -- 77.3% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Choice Band Tyrantrum Outrage vs. 240 HP / 252+ Def Swampert: 237-280 (59.1 - 69.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Choice Band Tyrantrum Head Smash vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Suicune: 252-297 (62.3 - 73.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Choice Band Tyrantrum Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Cobalion: 226-268 (58.5 - 69.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery (I know no Cobalion is Max/Max just for example purposes)
252+ Atk Choice Band Tyrantrum Head Smash vs. 248 HP / 252 Def Forretress: 238-282 (67.4 - 79.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Choice Band Tyrantrum Outrage vs. 172 HP / 252 Def Donphan: 214-253 (58.7 - 69.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

Seconding Flygon's Drop to D Rank as Salemance completely outclasses it and it's niche isn't one to be kept in C rank.

Why is Braviary still listed as B- still then?
E: got sniped in my seconding skills

Regarding Machamp, the only viable set is Assault Vest(Which is very,very good). Band and LO are both 100% outclassed by Heracross. With that being said, I think Machamp is fine where he is.

 

[sickweare]

Can someone tell me why Mega Houndoom is C rank? It doesn't seem to fit there with mediocre mons and it's still a potent Nasty Plot sweeper and wallbreaker with its Sunny Day set. Sure you're not using Pidgeot or Aero when using doom but I would say it's much less niche than Shedinja and Quagsire, and even more viable than things in B- like Weezing. Not dismissing their values as Pokemon, they each have a niche, but Houndoom's ability to beat special walls like Blissey and Florges thanks to Taunt+NP is a really valuable thing a lot of other special sweepers can't do. It also is a decent check to Serperior taking Leaf Storm and OHKOing with Fire Blast thanks to its awesome speed tier putting it above that. Doomer also carries some other cool options like Flame Charge+NP, which is pretty deadly in this meta, and Will-O-wisp which cripples Salamence and Aero who think they are capable of switching in. It does struggle with common Pokemon like Hydreigon and Suicune, but so does Zoroark (less Hydreigon and more with fighting types tho) who is rated at B-. I'd say Mega Doom deserves a boost to at least B-.

 

[ShatteredSummers]

Just me, but I think the problems with Mega Houndoom are:
-Stealth Rock weakness
-Hard to set up NP/Sunny Day without getting killed / revenge kill'd back.
-Loses most of the time to bulky waters - namely Suicune, Mega Blastoise, and Empoleon
-Most teams usually have outs to this in the form of revenge killers - scarfed Fighting types, the faster Mega Aerodactyl/Pidgeot/Beedrill/, Alakazam, etc. all can revenge kill it.

Long story short, Mega Doom is not bad, it's just not as easy to utilize correctly. Its SR weakness and inability to set up on bulky waters hinder it from accomplishing its goal of sweeping. And it's outsped by four other Megas (Beedril, Aerodactyl, Sceptile, Pidgeot).

So most people won't give up their mega slot for a Pokemon that takes that much additional effort to sweep effectively, and cannot grab a setup opportunity easily. You get more out of Megas like Blastoise and Aerodactyl then you do using Houndoom.

 

[MrCookiepants]

O, I don't see Serperior on this list. I remember being ridiculed for suggesting it should move up from B or wherever it was. Just wanna say I told you so and bye.

 

[Kreme]

I'm going to nominate Heliolisk to A-. Heliolisk is such a good Poke in this meta since it can hard check pretty much all defensively oriented bulky waters and grabbing nice momentum with its amazing coverage. It can also run a scarf set that just outruns every other scarfer and put in work against offense. It only just falls out against stall but even then it can beat all the ground types that are immune to volt switch with coverage on the LO set, so it's never really useless against any playstyle. I feel it should be A- because simply put it's much better than the likes of Haxorus and Donphan in terms of being able to fit into teams. Also going to agree with dingbat in his nominations of Flygon to D and Snorlax to A-/A. I don't think Flygon's access to U-turn as well as STAB EQ and resistance or immunity to every hazard in the game is enough of a niche to use him over the likes of Salamence in any of his roles, not to mention Flygon's damage output being pitiful at best and his Speed tier isn't too amazing either. Snorlax is just such an amazing Poke as it's best checks in Fighting types get hit hard by Body Slam (Mienshao gets 2HKO'd and Heracross is 3HKO'd) and cant usually risk getting paralyzed.

 

[Lord Wallace]

Nominating Doublade to B+

It certainly faces competition from Cobalion as an offensive Steel tank, but it has several perks over it and I feel like it's currently experiencing a peak in it's viability, and can work on a variety of teams, but it's most effectively used on balanced offense.
It's all but a full stop to some of UU's most potent physical attackers, a lot of which are also experiencing a peak in viability recently (those will be in bold) with very minimal defensive investment, including but not limited to, Aerodactyl, Salamence, Crobat, Tyrantrum, Beedrill, Snorlax, Abomasnow, Haxorus, Slurpuff, and just about every Fighting type not named Infernape. And unlike fellow defensive steel type Forretress it can actually pose a threat offensively, 110 Base Attack with an often high BP Gyro Ball, SD, STAB priority plus Sacred Sword for perfect coverage to top it off can be pretty scary. On stall Doublade makes for a pretty decent spinblocker and RestTalk or Wish support allow it to be one of the most consistent checks to physical wallbreakers like Heracross that can give stall a hard time. Hell this thing can revenge kill Mega Sharpedo if it's healthier than 80% with the SD set (which means just HP investment). Think about that for a second.

And speaking of Mega Shark, I'm going to nominate it for A.

This thing just eats heavy offense.
Having to go for obvious Protects to get Speed Boost and then losing it upon Mega Evolving and all of that kind of sucks, but the fact is this thing hits incredibly hard and fast with great coverage between it's STABs and Ice Fang (DBond is also a fun option over Ice Fang, but generally I'd run Ice Fang in the current meta, too much Whimsicott, Hydra, and Mence), Crunch alone hitting most of the tier for incredibly hard neutral damage thanks to Strong Jaw. Here's some calcs to show some perspective on just how hard Crunch hits and why I think Mega Sharpedo is comparable to Mega Beedrill both in their roles and viability and deserve to share the same rank.
Sharpedo trades being able to pivot out while attacking for much better STABs than Beedrill to work with for a late game sweep and can get past a few specific, but common, threats on balanced offense that Beedrill has issues getting by, namely:
252+ Atk Strong Jaw Mega Sharpedo Crunch vs. 240 HP / 252+ Def Swampert: 177-208 (44.1 - 51.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after 1 layer of Spikes
That kind of power is terrifying to face in the late game, the phase of the game in which Sharpedo is most likely to see the field for the first time in the entire battle.
252+ Atk Strong Jaw Mega Sharpedo Crunch vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Crobat: 273-322 (73.1 - 86.3%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
Another somewhat bulky utility Pokemon commonly seen on balance or offense that just gets shredded after Rocks.
252+ Atk Strong Jaw Mega Sharpedo Crunch vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Forretress: 129-153 (36.5 - 43.3%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
This is a lot better than anything Beedrill can do to this thing, and Forretress can't actually do much back, Gyro Ball is a 4HKO even after Speed Boost, also consider it doesnt have reliable recovery and suddenly the most physically sturdy thing on hazard stack teams is hardly a stop to this monster. Custap versions also can't just boom freely on you since Protect is mandatory on Shark.
Add to that the ability to outspeed and OHKO Mega Aerodactyl after Speed Boost and you've got yourself one pain in the neck for conventional balance and offense.

 

[ShatteredSummers]

Seconding Mega Sharpedo to A.

 

[Imperator Romanum]

I keep hearing that Crobat is the face of UU, so why isn't it S rank? I can't really see a glaring flaw to it. Anybody care to fill me in?

 

[Nightingales]

Personally, I rarely do see Flygon in the first place. It's just as fast as Mence, with less power and defenses. It does carry a useful immunity to hazards, and I'm quite sure it carries defog for hazards. Essentially, it's a more versatile mon with much less power.

That being said, I don't think it should go to D-Rank just for being outclassed in terms of power. It's a widely diverse Dragon with resistance to rocks, a pretty varied movepool, both special and physical that I can remember.

That being said, it doesn't have a true niche. It's a jack of all trades, master of none, and it reflects in the lack of options it has to actually cause problems. The biggest thing it has going for it is a banded set with outrage, eq, or stone edge.

If it had some redeeming option, like a hazard setter, I'd be all for it. It used to be my favorite competitive mon to use, and still is one of my personal favorite dragons. But for all the versatility, it can't do jack shit in the current meta aside from some sort of insane tailwind set on bulky offense, and freaking Suicune does that better.

I'll agree with D-Rank because for all of its flaws, there is nothing redeeming about it that is useful in the competitive scene, especially with threats like Scarf Hydreigon, fatmence, and even bulky Haxorus running around. Too many checks and counters, nothing it can do back reliably, it just isn't useful anymore.

 

[acam333]

I just recently got into the UU metagame and I have really been enjoying it so far:) But I'd like to nominate Kyurem for at least A-, I know there was some talk of this in the old thread as well. The only set I have used is the specs set but that is just so powerful. Specs Kyurem is a devastating wallbreaker that can easily break holes through teams to help Pokemon like Lucario have an easier time sweeping late game. If your opponent is lacking a dedicated special wall it basically gets a free kill every time it comes in plus it can pretty much break through all special walls with either coverage moves or a little prior damage or hazard support.
Umbreon - 252 SpA Choice Specs Kyurem Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Umbreon: 236-278 (59.8 - 70.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

Snorlax - 252 SpA Choice Specs Kyurem Focus Blast vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Assault Vest Snorlax: 240-284 (52 - 61.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Blissey - 252 SpA Choice Specs Kyurem Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Blissey: 302-356 (42.2 - 49.8%) -- 30.5% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

Florges - 252 SpA Choice Specs Kyurem Flash Cannon vs. 252 HP / 24+ SpD Florges: 160-190 (44.4 - 52.7%) -- 82.4% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery (although I personally would run focus blast over flash cannon and just deal with florges with team support)

Here are some replays -
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uususpecttest-213999357
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/uususpecttest-214084961

 

[Christo]

I would like to discuss another plethora :]of nominations:

Shuckle (B) -> B-
Reasoning:
With the rise of many new megas, such as Mega Pidgeot and mega salamence and the rising of old megas: such as Mega Aerodactyl and Mega Blastoise, the cost of using Shuckle has increased dramatically from X/Y UU. Now since flying spam now roams UU and with the testing for the possible reintroduction of Serperior- I feel sticky web"s viability has decreased due to the presence of defoggers such as Crobat. Drop it.

Mega Sharpedo (A-) -> A
Reasoning:
Seconding Darkerones nomination. With access to the powerful ability Speed Boost, Sharpedo can get a speed boost against an advantageous matchup and proceed to sweep a team. After getting its speed boost, one can just mega evolve and get a tremendous boost to all their moves, with crunch doing massive amounts to all Pokemon in the tier. The only obvious downside to Mega Sharpedo is its lackluster defenses but Mega Sharpedo's job is to be a cleaner for your late game sweepers. Raise it :].

Seconing Kreme nomination for a raise to Heliosk. It's versatility with access to grass knot, surf, volt switch, thunderbolt, and hyper voice doesn't even allow ground type to switch in safely to it. A- imo.

E: my reasoning probably sucks so tell me what I said wrong :[

I wouldn't really call this a plethora of nominations, but the word is tempting to use, haha. I disagree with the dropping of shuckle due to it outclassing Galvantula(B- Rank) and deserves to be slightly above Galvantula in viability. Although, i do agree that the use of Sticky Web has decreased in viability.

As for, sharpedo, i think A- is a perfect placement for it. Sharp is mainly only effective against opposing hyper offensive teams(tears apart HO to be fair) and is a tad lackluster against a more Balanced and Stally playstyle. Sharp is still a good mon but does not deserve an A rank in my opinion.

I completely agree with Heliolisk to A-. That mon is really, really good in UU!

 

[ManOfMany]

i'm not quitting lol smh

anyways, a few noms

-Flygon for D rank --> I don't see why I would use Flygon over a huge threat like Salamence in this metagame. U turn/ground typing imo is not enough of a niche to keep it in C rank.

-Snorlax is pretty fucking dangerous in this metagame atm (even with heracross here). I'd move that up to A-/A rank

-Alomomola for B+ rank --> imo, Alomomola is better at passing wishes than Vaporeon is (granted sunfish still has atrocious offensive presence) and barring all the Serperior rape in this meta, it's generally been as reliable as the other B+ 'mons here.

I agree with Snorlax, the only real way to defeat the curse set is to send your fighting type out as soon as possible, and then you get bopped by a Choice Band Return.

I have to disagree with Alomomola, the mon is just ridiculously easy set-up bait. One can't pass wishes safely, when staying in or protecting vs anything exposes you to losing the match to something running substitute.

 

[eren]

I wouldn't really call this a plethora of nominations, but the word is tempting to use, haha. I disagree with the dropping of shuckle due to it outclassing Galvantula(B- Rank) and deserves to be slightly above Galvantula in viability. Although, i do agree that the use of Sticky Web has decreased in viability.

As for, sharpedo, i think A- is a perfect placement for it. Sharp is mainly only effective against opposing hyper offensive teams(tears apart HO to be fair) and is a tad lackluster against a more Balanced and Stally playstyle. Sharp is still a good mon but does not deserve an A rank in my opinion.

I completely agree with Heliolisk to A-. That mon is really, really good in UU!

Plethora is really tempting haha :]!
But, the reason I nommed Shuckle to the same rank as his bug companion is because Galvantula has some offensive presence, while Shuckle has none. It can revenge kill the flying mons if it has sash intact and can run hp ice for salamence, or use Thunder for a chance of paralysis.

 

[Kreme]

Braviary: B- to C

It still shows Braviary as B- for me. Anyways onto my nominations, Mega Audino to Unranked, I don't see why you would use Mega Audino over other Wish passers, as Florges and Aromatisse hit harder, not to mention Florges has access to Synthesis making it a better CM user. Audino also takes up a mega slot so there's that. It does have a lot of bulk, given, but it doesn't have much of an offensive presence but it doesn't have the consistent damage like Blissey and Seismic Toss for example. Also going to agree with Slurmz for Shuckle to B-. Reason being that webs aren't as good in this meta, and as a suicide lead Shuckle can get spun and defogged on easily with only having to fear Encore, which isn't too bad as other suicide leads have offensive presence such as Explosion which could really dent spinners and defoggers alike. Also going to nominate Donphan to B/B- as Donphan can't defensively check a lot of the current meta threats and the offensive spinner set being worn down fairly easily as well as the banded set only being able to work once effectively vs offense and easily scouted when against stall, only being useful against balance. Donphan is also easy set up bait a lot of the time.

 

[eren]

Still shows the same for me Kreme. I would also like to agree with Kreme's post:

Mega Audino (C) -> Unranked

Reasoning:
Same reasoning as Kreme, why waste your mega slot on a poke that is clearly outclassed by pokes that perform the same role such as Florges and Aroma Tissue (Rip spelling attempt).

Donphan (B+) -> B or B-

Reasoning:
It no longer checks the things it is said to check and there are better spinners and rock setters like Forretress (look at my other post imo) :] Mega Aero is now starting to run Aqua Tail just to 2HKO Donphan on the switch.

E: no post is complete without sprites :]

 

[Kurona]

Still shows the same for me Kreme. I would also like to agree with Kreme's post:

Mega Audino (C) -> D or Unranked
Reasoning:
Same reasoning as Kreme, why waste your mega slot on a poke that is clearly outclassed by pokes that perform the same role such as Florged and Aroma Tissue (Rip spelling attempt).

Donphan (B+) -> B or B-
Reasoning:
It no longer checks the things it is said to check and there are better spinners and rock setters like Forretress. :] Mega Aero is now starting to run Aqua Tail just to 2HKO Donphan on the switch.

E: no post is complete without sprites :]

Nice and powerful view of Donphan's ass.
Also D is reserved for things that are in UU by usage but aren't viable there; hence Mega Audino would either stay in C or go unranked.

 

[eren]

Nice and powerful view of Donphan's ass.
Also D is reserved for things that are in UU by usage but aren't viable there; hence Mega Audino would either stay in C or go unranked.

Regarding D Rank, that was a typo on my part, I deleted C- instead of D. And I love Don Fanning his ass :]