Just gonna post here to say that i definitely agree with megacham rising to A+. Its literally retarded how good this thing is. The boltbeam set 100% invalidates defensive teams lacking mega sableye, physdef mew, cresselia, or cofagrigus (edit: whoops reuniclus too). Of those four only two are even marginally good and one takes up the mega slot while the other is not very splashable. Even then both these mons are susceptible to being frozen by ice punch, meaning they can be haxed by with enough persistence on the part of megacham. Unlike other wallbreakers in A and A-, mega medi isnt slow nor is it weak to hazards nor easily walled by common mons. In additon, this is a wallbreaker with incredible leverage against the best the best playstyle as well. Dut to medi synergyzing incredibly well with the metagame's best momentum generators like rotom-w and tornadus-t, it is able to come in safely on switchins into the given pivot by bulky offense staples like rotom-w and amoonguss, then giving medi the chance to severely dent whatever tries to switch into it. Every time medi comes in youre basically forced into this "oh shit, what can i fodder to this" mind game. Medi is also unlike most other wallbreakers in the tier in that you very rarely have to play mind games choosing which move to pick. You can simply click high jump kick and know youre going to dent anything that comes in assuming your opponent isnt packing a ghost type (which is rare in ou). It does appreciate prediction when being used, but the amount of work medi can put in just by spamming fake out and high jump kick is absolutely absurd. Medicham is also very versatile in what it runs. While in my opinion adamant boltbeam is the best set overall, bullet punch and zenbutt both have their uses in picking off weakened faster foes and preventing diancie from revenge killing you, as well as improving medicham's matchups against things like amoonguss and clefable. It may not have as much defensive utility or splashablility as the other mons in A+, but the way it absolutely devistates nearly everything besides hyper offense is really why I cant see it in A anymore. Its an incredible threat, and very hard to properly prepare for. The way it takes advantage of certain mons (bulky offense pivots like defensive lando, ferrothorn, and rotom-w for clarification) that are especially common in the present metagame and uses this to essentially consistently turn your opponent's defensive cores into a liability is what i see as the reason mega medicham should be in A+ along with the metagame's two other best megas.
(apologies if the wording is confusing lol i hope this makes sense though)
This is long. There is a tl;dr if you get bored.
I reckon that Medicham is sitting in A because
it looks ridiculous its overall ability isn't overwhelming enough.
Ir is not durable at all, requiring backup from pivots if it wishes to avoid a pounding switching in. While it does benefit from this backup, the same can be said for combatants residing in the A+ tier (e.g. Diancie, Keldeo, Latios), who are able to switch in on their own in some scenarios (e.g. on Flyers or Fire-types).
That said, once it does enter the fray in good health, anything slower will be in a world of hurt, no questions asked (well, except cancer mons like Cresselia). However, Medicham's Speed is a bit of an issue - 100 Speed helps it outrun common walls, but this won't save it from the faster enemies Medicham will be facing (Diancie notwithstanding), and they are scattered all over the tier. This normally isn't an issue, as Medicham is primarily a wallsmasher, but it does make it falter versus enemy Balance, which, along with Stall, currently stand as the two dominant playsyles. Medicham's forms of priority are Bullet Punch and Fake Out, which offer limited coverage, have a mere 40 power, and hit only specific targets. (Fun fact: If Diancie is at full health and nabs a +1 Def boost, it can survive a non-crit Bullet Punch. It saved my life once.)
And while we're on the subject of playstyle, Medicham does have some problems versus the three playstyles - Balance, HO, and Stall. HO doesn't overly care, as they can outrun Medicham without too many issues. Stall has their Mega Sableye / Slowbro / Altaria to withstand Medicham's might, and Mega Sableye is infesting OU everywhere - not to mention that Skarmory can revenge slay Medicham if situations are dire. Balance also have mons that outrun Medicham (usually).
All of those are its cons, but its pros are not easily disregarded. Or rather, it has only one pro: Its immense strength. This one pro is a big deal, as it is much more difficult to deal with if its checks are out of the way.
However, this begs the question: is raw power alone enough to merit a rise? Factoring abilities, Medicham has the second highest attack stat in existence. However, sometimes you don't need all that power. Sometimes you can get by with lesser Attack. I can do a number on Stall with a Stallbreaker - I don't need Medicham for that. I can do a number on Balance or HO with an anti-offense mon or something similar - I don't need Medicham for that.
Other Megas have enough power to get by - lesser, yes, but still enough -, but have other utility going for them - Scizor has fatness, for example, in addition to Technician Bullet Punch.
If we are to give Medicham a rise, we should ask ourselves: does Medicham contribute greatly to the team it is on? All Medicham does is rip faces, and while that is excellent, it has some very real flaws that keep it in check. Mons in A+ tend to bring a lot to the table - Latios, for example, has the ability to check specific enemies, Defog, and smack enemies real hard, in addition to having coverage to get past its checks, plus decent Speed. Medicham in comparison has good coverage, unrivaled power...and that's really about it. Which is nice until you ask yourself: is all this power really needed?
Some teams do need all that power. In which case Medicham makes a great addition to the team. Other teams, however, don't, and instead demand utility. Considering that the majority of teams fit the latter case, I don't agree with rising Medicham.
And this is isn't considering the usual stuff like opportunity cost, splashibility, or defensive typing.
I am aware you said
"It may not have as much defensive utility or splashablility as the other mons in A+, but the way it absolutely devistates nearly everything besides hyper offense is really why I cant see it in A anymore. Its an incredible threat, and very hard to properly prepare for."
I feel this is an overstatement, as it is manageable to the point where I don't even need to try - something as simple as Keldeo ot Latios can revenge it, for example. If you're unprepared, then that's bad teambuilding. Plus, you can't simply shrug off the fact that it isn't splashable or defensive - those MUST be considered if you're serious about getting Medicham into A+.
It is a frightening enemy, don't get me wrong, but it's one that has more bark than bite IMO. A is extremely generous, I think - A+, I disagree with.
Tl;dr:
- Immense power warrants an A rank
- Lack of utility outside of raw power is worthy of debate, especially considering that not all teams benefit from such high power - they can get by with lower power.
- Lacking defenses and 100 Speed hinder its matchups, can't really switch in on its own
- More or less unable to get past checks (e.g. Mega Slowbro/Sableye), but that's normal; Mega Sableye infesting the OU tier doesn't help at all
- Splashability and stuff is an issue
And this is a bit off topic, but why is Diancie sitting in A+? Its movepool is as barren as the desert, it has crap pre-Mega Speed, it has to use Protect, and it has to go mixed, not to mention fragility and its Speed in Mega form - 110 is decent, but it's easy to get past, which isn't good news for a fragile Pokemon. Plus its typing leaves it with mediocre-at-best defensive value and a dual STAB that any fat Steel, Water, or Grass can take. Its offensive stats may seem high, but kinda underwhelming, especially when you need to go mixed and only OHKOs on exceptionally frail enemies or if it's super effective. Why is it in A+?
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