So with all the changes in the stats this month I had a couple ways I could do this: continue with the raw stats, since that dictates the actual change in usage; or the change from unweighted to weighted, which is new and exciting and might reflect viability more. However, I decided to go with the net change, since it effectively incorporates both. The numbers in the parentheses are the raw change for the month, then the difference between weighted and unweighted.
Top 5 risers in January
Hitmonlee +3.852% (+3.135, +0.717)
Slowking +3.809% (+2.058, +1.751)
Uxie +3.545% (+1.857, +1.688)
Cinccino +2.963 (+3.082, -0.119)
Sceptile +2.873% (+1.811, +1.062)
Top 5 Fallers in January
Escavalier -2.337% (-2.398, +0.061)
Snover -1.876% (-2.394, +0.518)
Sandslash -1.797% (-2.058, +0.261)
Scolipede -1.737% (-1.549, -0.188)
Hariyama -1.647% (-0.935, -0.712)
Thoughts/Ramblings
- The interesting thing here was that not many of these Pokes lost a lot by the new weighting system directly. It appears the majority of people using these guys are actually decent players.
- Escavalier confuses me, but there's always one entry like that. It seems SubSD declined quite a bit, but there were more Leftovers used, interesting indeed.
- It appears Hail was the new toy and people got bored with it. Pity, because I sure enjoy using it.
- People are always complaining about low-tier Pokes still comfortably in RU range, but seem to ignore the fact that some of them are indeed falling. Sandslash happens to be this month's example. Hopefully in the future people will wait to see if their subject of complaint is moving in the undesired direction before complaining. It's a slow process, and the "RU Label" doesn't help speed things up. I would be ecstatic if this kept up through the tier change, even though Sandslash wouldn't drop.
- Scolipede is interesting in that he was on the spammer's team, yet fell in usage this month. Most likely having to do with him already owning the "RU Label", so the boost in usage didn't help him much for this month. There's always a couple Pokemon who hover near the border, but don't seem to drop unless it's painfully obvious. I will be interested to watch this month's subjects, Hariyama and Scolipede, to see if they drop further next month. I think they'll need to for NU to get them by the next tier change.
Fortunes Rising: Druddigon
I'll admit, it was harder finding "clean" data to post for this (all other candidates were either already mentioned, re-released, or artificially inflated), Druddigon's future is looking bright. Recently rising into both S-Rank on the Viability Rankings and over 10% usage for the first time ever (I think), Druddigon has quickly gained steam over recent months.
Fortunes Falling: Smeargle
Hard to pinpoint why, but this guy has been steadily falling down in usage over the past three months (from 8.6% in October to 5.2% now). While he is by no means a bad choice in this tier, he finds himself in that "danger zone" with things like Poliwrath, whose natural fluctuations bring them awfully close to the RU/NU border. He'll need to be consciously used more if he's going to regain the ground he's lost.
Bold Prediction of the Month: Durant will finish above Hitmonlee
Wow, my first prediction not involving comparison to the RU cutoff. My reasoning for this is that there are two ways it could occur. First, Hitmonlee falls, not impossible since Hitmonlee has fallen from 13% to 10% before (from October to November actually). Second, Durant rises. This is what makes the prediction bold, imo. Durant has appeared to slow down, but I don't think it's impossible for his rise to continue another month. He still hasn't dropped usage since he was re-released.