Empoleon [QC 0/3]

Jukain

!_!
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How can something be C rank in the viability list, and yet not deserve a ranking Jukain?
The viability rankings have way too many issues, that's why we started over in Victory Road. Trust me, being on the viability rankings is not indicative of viability. Do you think Honchkrow is viable?
 

Aragorn the King

Literally a duck
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The viability rankings have way too many issues, that's why we started over in Victory Road. Trust me, being on the viability rankings is not indicative of viability. Do you think Honchkrow is viable?
D Rank: Reserved for Pokemon who have a small niche in the current OU metagame, but have very noticeable flaws that make them more trouble then their worth the majority of the time.
Honchkrow has a niche and does it decently. It's viable, in that sense, but it won't make any huge splashes in OU.

But that's Honchkrow, this is Empoleon. Empoleon has good defenses, a solid special attack, great typing, knock off, roar, stealth rock, scald, and defog. It has niches, such as easily beating Manaphy and being one of the only defoggers to resist stealth rocks, while also being able to set them back up after defogging the enemy's away. I certainly feel like it's viable, and that you're underselling it. But at the end of the day, you're more experienced and therefore, justly, have a bigger say.

PS: Can you explain, (maybe not here), the meaning of the Victory Road viability list. You're probably right that they're more indicative of a pokemon's "worth," but what do they mean? How viable they are, according to good players? If so, what's the point of the normal viability rankings, if they don't accurately delineate any viability?
 

horyzhnz

[10:02:17 AM] flcl: its hory xD
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Well thanks anyway guys, I suppose ill just wait for the last rejection. At least I did a decent analysis :)
Imo, I still think Emp has its niche of bulky defog+sr in OU. Its main selling point is in its bulk that allows it to come in relatively well, defog and reset sr.
 
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While I do agree that Empoleon does carry the niche of being a bulky Defog + Stealth Rock user, I don't think that niche is enough for it to justify use. Empoleon outside of that is just bad. Between a lack of recovery and lost resistances to Ghost and Dark, I honestly think it has a hard time making a splash (hurrr) in the metagame. What kind of threats would it even be able to check or counter right now? Not very much in my opinion. It's weaknesses to common Ground, Fighting, and Electric attacks really don't help it either. From a defensive standpoint, it's just outclassed by the likes of Rotom-W and Suicune as bulky Waters, even though they don't carry SR/Defog. Offensively speaking, I wouldn't use it over Keldeo and Manaphy.

So, I mean, I get that Empoleon can do something that most others can't, but I don't think it's worth it. I would rather use a separate SR setter and Defog user or even just Defog/SR Skarmory. With that said, I think I'm going to reject this too on the basis of viability. Your skeleton is nicely presented, though, so good job with that.

QC REJECTED 3/3
 

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