ORAS Doubles Viability Rankings [Nominations]

[Arcticblast]

Blaziken to rise to B+: No
Mega Blaziken to rise to B: No
Escavalier* to rise to B+: Abstain
Mega Sceptile to drop to B: Yes
Salamence to drop to B-: No
Mega Charizard X to rise to B: Abstain
Mega Venusaur to rise to B: Yes
Mega Sableye to rise to B-: No
Raikou to rise to B: Yes
Mew to rise to B+: Yes

 

[Haruno]

C -> B+

C -> B
Blaziken is seriously underrated at the moment, and I believe that it needs more justice. Whenever I use it on the ladder, the response is either "ur using an UBER????????? in SMOGON doubles?????????????" or "you're using blaziken? lol". The mega forme is rather lackluster (life orb blaziken does slightly more damage if i'm not mistaken), but it shouldn't be C-rank or unranked. If you use Jolly, you're able to outspeed and still 2HKO scarfed Lando-T after an Intimidate drop. However, if you want to do as much damage as possible and use Adamant, Blaziken is still able to outspeed pretty much the entire tier (unless im missing something) after just two turns of Speed Boost.

-1 252 Atk Life Orb Blaziken Flare Blitz vs. 44 HP / 0 Def Landorus-T: 175-208 (53 - 63%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Lando cannot switchin to Blaziken; it will get 2HKO'd. After the turn of switching, Blaziken will be able to outspeed from speed boost if it's max speed.

edit: now nominating it for B+ rather than B, nominating the mega forme for B

Let me sum up your points for nomming blaziken
1: underrated
2. OMG ITS A SINGLES UBERS!! BROKEN!!! BAN BAN BAN!!!
3. mega form sucks
4. shouldn't be ranked so low
5. outspeeds and 2hko's lando-t after intimidate
6. ONLY NEEDS 2 turns of speed bost to outspeed the tier
7. some random calc

let me rebute every point since this is the nom that makes literally zero sense and you have people bandwagoning the nom (and voting hence why the voting aspect in this whole thread is mostly pointless even more so than suspect voting lol)
1. k explain why
2, worthless
3, k explain why (didnt even list shit like opportunity cost or anything remotely relevant)
4. worthless
5. blatantly false and you've overselling the shit out of blaziken. You're not talking about deoxys-speed here who naturally outspeeds fucking everything, blaziken does not outspeed everything and rather has a fuciking terrible speed tier and is forced to win some 50-50 to not be terrible. THis is further exemplified by its lack of bulk and the fact that your opp having two mons it naturally outspeeds out at once is never going to happen. So you're forced to either A. protect or B. pray to god your opp doesn't attack blaziken. Both options are horrendous for the blaziken and if anything should be a point against a raise. Also you listed flare blitz which just further reduces blaziken's nonexistent bulk. Overall your point 5 is relatively worthless and doesn't actually address what blaziken can even do in the meta (hint 2hko'ing a mon and then getting ohko'd in return isn't a good thing)
6. if your opp gives you two free turns there are so many better mons to use so i don't even get why this was brought up.
7. standard cherry picked calc that doesn't show reality in the slightest.

Overall you failed to list a single proper reasoning for why blaziken should go up, is it possibly worthy of being B or higher? maybe, but your points do anything but prove that.

The fact that a nom like this managed to get by, and worse yet get bandwagoned is a cause for a huge concern since it just shows further that this thread as a whole is worthless since it's possible to nominate literally anything without giving proper reasoning as long as you have some "credibility" in the doubles room on ps or whatnot. Honestly at this point I wouldn't even consider having a viability ranking thread since voting as a whole is pointless and lets a huge amount of uninformed players just vote for whatever and things will get by (similar to suspect threads aye). At this point it's better to just toss the viability rankings since it doesn't fulfill it's original purpose (and B ranks and under are pretty much the whole never used tier for players that might need this). The fact that a nom like this slipped by helps prove this.

 

[blinkie]

Blaziken rise to B+: Yes

abstain from everything else

 

[Idyll]

Blaziken to rise to B+: no, too high. it'd be better in just B
Mega Blaziken to rise to B: lol no
Escalavier to rise to B+: yes
Mega Sceptile to drop to B: yes
Salamence to drop to B-: no
Mega Charizard X to rise to B: abstain
Mega Venusaur to rise to B: yes
Mega Sableye to rise to B-: never
Raikou to rise to B: yes
Mew to rise to B+: yes

 

[Roxer]

Blaziken to rise to B+: no, too high. it'd be better in just B
Mega Blaziken to rise to B: lol no
Escalavier to rise to B+: yes
Mega Sceptile to drop to B: yes
Salamence to drop to B-: no
Mega Charizard X to rise to B: yes
Mega Venusaur to rise to B: yes
Mega Sableye to rise to B-: never
Raikou to rise to B: yes
Mew to rise to B+: yes

c/p from memoric since I agree with him on everything besides Char-X since I've actually used Char-X before.

 

[Stratos]

blaziken to b+: lol no
mega blaziken to b: lol no
escavalier to b+: lol no
mega sceptile to b: or further
salamence to b-: lol no
mega zard x to b: lol no
mega venusaur to b: or further
mega sableye to b-: lol no
raikou to b: b- imo
mew to b+: lol no

 

[Haruno]

blaziken to b+: lol no
mega blaziken to b: lol no
escavalier to b+: lol no
mega sceptile to b: or further
salamence to b-: lol no
mega zard x to b: lol no
mega venusaur to b: or further
mega sableye to b-: lol no
raikou to b: b- imo
mew to b+: yes
p much everything pwne said but mew to A+ lol

 

[Victorious B.I.G.]

blaziken to b+: lol no
mega blaziken to b: lol no
escavalier to b+: lol no
mega sceptile to b: or further
salamence to b-: yes
mega zard x to b: lol no
mega venusaur to b: or further
mega sableye to b-: lol no
raikou to b: b- imo
mew to b+: yes
p much everything haruno said but imo mence sucks ass

 

[Elegyy]

Blaziken to rise to B+: Nah, way too high, too niche.
Mega Blaziken to rise to B: Lol no
Escalavier to rise to B+: Yes
Mega Sceptile to drop to B: Yes
Salamence to drop to B-: Yes
Mega Charizard X to rise to B: Yes
Mega Venusaur to rise to B: Yes
Mega Sableye to rise to B-: Abstain
Raikou to rise to B: Abstain
Mew to rise to B+: No

 

[Stratos]

after this round make the thread open to whatever noms people want, the rank-specific ones were only supposed to be at the very start to get it organized

 

[Pastelle]

Blaziken to rise to B+: Abstain; I've never used it and I would have to see it in practice in order to be convinced, but it seems too niche on the surface
Mega Blaziken to rise to B: No; Waste of a Mega slot
Escavalier to rise to B+: Yes; I nommed this
Mega Sceptile to drop to B: Yes; I also nommed this
Salamence to drop to B-: No; It has a fantastic movepool, Intimidate, and can fulfill multiple roles on a team very well
Mega Charizard X to rise to B: Yes; Great set-up sweeper, and I could see it being successful since 99% of users are expecting Char-Y
Mega Venusaur to rise to B: Yes; Fantastic wall and win condition, and severely underrated imo
Mega Sableye to rise to B-: No; I think it's fine where it is, plus using Mega Sableye is really tricky to use effectively due to it requiring set-up and having meh Defenses. It also needs to be cautious of mega evolving since Prankster is such a valuable ability
Raikou to rise to B: Yes; Fantastic on rain teams, and a cool alternative to Thundurus (cause face it we're all sick of using that thing)
Mew to rise to B+: Abstain; I would need to see a replay of this thing being used effectively WITHOUT Transform in order to be convinced

(side note: xzern, Mega Sceptile is already in B and is moving down to B-, just a little error that everyone is making. Also you spelled Escavalier wrong lol)

 

[Zeldamon Master519]

Blaziken to rise to B+: no
Mega Blaziken to rise to B: no
Escalavier to rise to B+: abstain
Mega Sceptile to drop to B: or further
Salamence to drop to B-: yes
Mega Charizard X to rise to B: yes
Mega Venusaur to rise to B: yes
Mega Sableye to rise to B-: abstain
Raikou to rise to B: abstain
Mew to rise to B+:yes

 

[13ulbasaur]

Blaziken to rise to B+: No
Mega Blaziken to rise to B: No
Escavalier to rise to B+: Yes
Mega Sceptile to drop to B: Yes
Salamence to drop to B-: Yes
Mega Charizard X to rise to B: Yes
Mega Venusaur to rise to B: Yes
Mega Sableye to rise to B-: No
Raikou to rise to B: Yes
Mew to rise to B+: Yes

 

[Haunted Diamond]

Blaziken to rise to B+: no
Mega Blaziken to rise to B: no
Escavalier to rise to B+: yes, a good sleep absorber and a good check to the ever underrated cm cress.
Mega Sceptile to drop to B: yes
Salamence to drop to B-: no
Mega Charizard X to rise to B: abstain
Mega Venusaur to rise to B: Yes
Mega Sableye to rise to B-: yes
Raikou to rise to B: yes
Mew to rise to B+: no

 

[Darkmalice]

Blaziken to rise to B+: No

Mega Blaziken to rise to B: Definitely no

Escavalier to rise to B+: No. The hardest choice on this list; I ultimately decided no. It's good on rain teams, can hold its weight agaisnt common megas (diancie, kang, gross), amoonguss is being more common. Ultimately the big reason against it is its speed; still good outside it, but sometimes it really sucks being always attacking last and it's too slow for speed support; even gets outsped when stuff is paralysed.

Mega Sceptile to drop to B-: Yes

Salamence to drop to B-: No. Sometimes it's useful to have a Pokemon that does as many things as Mence - Intimidate, decent Special attacking Dragon, Tailwind, coverage with its attacks, even sometimes its defensive typing. It depends on the team. It's definitely better than a lot of the stuff currently residing in B.

Mega Charizard X to rise to B: Yes; I think B- but I rather see it there than unranked

Mega Venusaur to rise to B: Yes, should be at least B+. Great choice as a bulky Grass-type to coverage many different Pokemon at once and won't be a sitting duck (has offence + sleep). Easy to fit into a team too.

Mega Sableye to rise to B-: Dear god no. Magic Bounce isn't that good in Doubles - look where Espeon is ranked. For reference 50/125/125 bulk is pretty bad to warrant your Mega slot too and when you have few resistances. Especially when other Ghost-types have better bulk who are also bad like Dusclops and hell Mental Herb Dusknoir if you really want Taunt immunity which is faster, does not need Mega slot and also garbage. I much rather just use Sableye with a different item.

Raikou to rise to B: I agree with Stratos and Haruno that this is B- but not B. No

Mew to rise to B+: Abstain. Not really sure how to rate something that is reliant on teammates that can be Transformed into. No. I think B but not B+. Sometimes I feel people don't understand that B rank is a good rank. However, Mew's success is dependent on the team itself, the opposing team, and how the momentum goes. It does has its fair share of not doing much in matches.

 

[Audiosurfer]

Blaziken to rise to B+: no
Mega Blaziken to rise to B: no
Escalavier to rise to B+: no
Mega Sceptile to drop to B: yes
Salamence to drop to B-: yes
Mega Charizard X to rise to B: yes
Mega Venusaur to rise to B: yes
Mega Sableye to rise to B-: no
Raikou to rise to B: no
Mew to rise to B+: yes

 

[thebagman]

Blaziken to rise to B+: no
Mega Blaziken to rise to B: no
Escalavier to rise to B+: no
Mega Sceptile to drop to B: yes
Salamence to drop to B-: yes
Mega Charizard X to rise to B: yes
Mega Venusaur to rise to B: yes
Mega Sableye to rise to B-: no
Raikou to rise to B: no
Mew to rise to B+: yes

How could anyone disagree with this?

 

[Nido-Rus]

Blaziken to rise to B+: Yes
Mega Blaziken to rise to B: no
Escalavier to rise to B+: Yes
Mega Sceptile to drop to B: yes
Salamence to drop to B-: yes
Mega Charizard X to rise to B: yes
Mega Venusaur to rise to B: yes (personally think it should be at B+ or A-, but that's for later)
Mega Sableye to rise to B-: Yes
Raikou to rise to B: Yes
Mew to rise to B+: yes
Typing from my phone so it may be complete utter garbage but I'll fix it later. >_>

 

[Elegyy]

Blaziken to rise to B+: Yes
Mega Blaziken to rise to B: no
Escalavier to rise to B+: Yes
Mega Sceptile to drop to B: yes
Salamence to drop to B-: yes
Mega Charizard X to rise to B: yes
Mega Venusaur to rise to B: yes (personally think it should be at B+ or A-, but that's for later)
Mega Sableye to rise to B-: Yes
Raikou to rise to B: Yes
Mew to rise to B+: yes
Typing from my phone so it may be complete utter garbage but I'll fix it later. >_>

I really wish there was a dislike button smh

 

[Lohgock]

Blaziken to rise to B+: Yes
Mega Blaziken to rise to B: no
Escalavier to rise to B+: Yes
Mega Sceptile to drop to B: yes
Salamence to drop to B-: no
Mega Charizard X to rise to B: yes
Mega Venusaur to rise to B: yes, even higher imo
Mega Sableye to rise to B-: no
Raikou to rise to B: Yes

 

[qsns]

Blaziken to rise to B+: yes
Mega Blaziken to rise to B: no
Escavalier to rise to B+: yes
Mega Sceptile to drop to B: yes
Salamence to drop to B-: yes
Mega Charizard X to rise to B: yes
Mega Venusaur to rise to B: yes
Mega Sableye to rise to B-: no
Raikou to rise to B: Yes

 

[Taliheim]

Blaziken to rise to B+: yes, in addition to everything said it's also a major pain in the ass for speed control teams bar Trick room
Mega Blaziken to rise to B: No
Escavalier to rise to B+: Yes
Mega Sceptile to drop to B: Yes
Salamence to drop to B-: Yes
Mega Charizard X to rise to B: Yes, this thing does work
Mega Venusaur to rise to B: Yes
Mega Sableye to rise to B-: No
Raikou to rise to B: Yes

 

[xzern]

• 
  Blaziken stays in C
• 
  Mega Blaziken stays in C
• 
  fsdjndfgbnjsdf rises to B+
• 
  Mega Sceptile drops to B-
• 
  Salamence drops to B-
• 
  Mega Charizard X rises to B
• 
  Mega Venusaur rises to B
• 
  Mega Sableye stays in E
• 
  Raikou rises to B
• 
  Mew rises to B+

after this round make the thread open to whatever noms people want, the rank-specific ones were only supposed to be at the very start to get it organized

i guess we're doing this now
nominate anything for whatever, and at the end of the week, we'll move to voting.

 

[Darkmalice]

The nomination Mega Sceptile was nominated to drop to B-, not B. Then it got changed when we started listing our rises and stays.

Anyways renominating it for C+ rank, as even B- is too high.

I've got pastel's original nomination below.

Mega Sceptile: B -> B-
Mega Grass lizard is strong, but overall is niche and difficult to use since its OHKO'd by almost anything.

• Lightningrod is a supporting ability, but it doesn't have the Defenses to support. (70/75/85 is medicore at best)
• It's typing makes it very circumstantial to actually use effectively, since its weak to so many common Doubles offensive types
• Discharge spam is a bad gimmick
• Mega Grass lizard is best suited on a rain team, and there are so man better Megas to use on that type of team (Mega Manectric, Mega Swampert, etc.)

In general; its too frail and a waste of a Mega slot, and I don't see worth for it in the current metagame. If you want a Lightningrod user, you're better off using Rhyperior

To add to this

• Ability to support with Lightning Rod is hindered not just by its defence, but also by the fact that you must Mega Evolve first in order to provide it. This means you have to Mega Evo before being able to switch in for that clutch Lightning Rod support. Rhydon and Rhyperior carry out the Lightning Rod role better due to having it immediately, superior bulk, and not requiring the Mega slot. It's also been said many times that you don't want to dedicate your Mega slot for support purposes
• Walled too easily by Steel-types, as it can't touch them outside of Hidden Power and Focus Miss. Keep in mind that many of the commonly used Steel-types are not weak to Focus Miss.
• Competition from Skymin as a fast Grass-type. LO Skymin hits harder than Mega Sceptile whilst boosting an amazing Grass-type STAB attack, a move to actually hit Steel-types with, Air Slash hax sheningans, doesn't require the Mega slot, and is much more threatening to Amoonguss and Breloom (aka better at abusing its immunity to powders). Without LO it actually has superior bulk to Mega Sceptile (100/75/75), and it can actually take an Ice-type attack with Focus Sash, the other commonly used item on Skymin.

 

[Arcticblast]

Landorus to A- rank

It might mean you can't use Landorus-T but holy hell does this thing hurt. 65% minimum on standard Kangaskhan with Earth Power, OHKO on all but the bulkiest Aegislash (!), good Speed tier, a neat pool of coverage moves to choose from, and just generally stupid powerful. Electric immunity gives it an edge over other Special sweepers in that it can't be slowed down by Thundurus-I (watch out for HP Ice). Fairly flexible. Great Pokemon. Problems: gets flinched by Skymin, threatened hard by most bulky Waters, 4x Ice weak, and most of the other problems Lando-T has really.