Resource Monotype SM Viability Rankings

[iLlama]

Vikavolt C->B (electric) - Vikavolt is reliable for electric not just for levitate but also for its high special attack. Its movepool grants it access to energy ball which can be extremely useful against annoying walls on ground teams such as Gastrodon and Hippowdon, coupled with its base 90 defense making it useful to sponge several hits, also by giving it an assault vest it can sponge hits from special attackers making it helpful for switching in.

A big issue with Vikavolt is its terrible speed tier kills offensive Electric's momentum, which is by far the most viable play-style for the type. Xurkitree also has access to Energy Ball and can abuse a much stronger Special attack stat, better speed tier, and variety of spread options, whether it be Z-Hypnosis, Choiced sets, etc. Rotom-W can also fill the role of taking physical hits much better thanks to its incredibly useful typing as well as the combination of Pain Split and Will-o-Wisp. In addition, Vikavolt's Bug STAB isn't something that Electric teams need thanks to Tapu Koko's Electric Surge boosting your entire team's main STAB. Because of this, Vikavolt can't feasibly be higher than C Rank.

 

[juleocesar]

More Grass changes!

I would like to suggest several changes regarding the VRs. These are certainly impactful and I believe they deserve change, especially considering their controversies behind them. That being said, I recommend reading those nominations carefully.

Tapu Bulu (Grass) A=>B

I had a lot of testing on this, and finally came into a conclusion that Tapu Bulu has a hard time fitting into most Grass teams, and I acknowledge it as the main reason on why it should be dropped. Sure, it sports a great attack stat and can put a massive dent with its Grassy Terrain ability, making it one of the few good wallbreakers on Grass teams. However, Tapu Bulu struggles in a wide variety of matchups (especially the disadvantage ones like Fire, Bug, Poison, and so on), thanks to its subpar coverage (it doesn't even get a Fairy-type physical move) and speed. Its typing also doesn't help too much either, granting it 5 weakness (only Bug is covered from Grass standard weakness), meaning its vulnerable to most coverage moves and strong offensive threats like Charizard, Salazzle, Mega-Venusaur, Kyurem-Black, Volcarona, Scizor....anyway the list is so huge you certainly got the idea here, and as if it wasn't enough, nearly all of your teammates also struggle handling most of these threats, making it a bit of a fodder Pokemon on harder matchups in overall. And lastly, Grassy Terrain doesn't provide as much benefits for Grass teams as it seems to give in paper, due to the lack of reliable abusers (the best one was Kartana, since it could help grab the boosts with its raw power, without the expense of a good teamslot or utility, and its currently banned). Most of them are either sub-optimal (meaning they don't offer much to your team in handling other matchups) or are really too slow to make use of Grassy Terrain effectively, and even still Grass is somewhat poor type to be used offensively, thanks to the amount of types resistant to it. (There's also the heal which affects the opposing side too, and in specific cases it can be really frustrating when it saves your opponent's butt from a 2HKO or residual damage like Life Orb or Toxic, and sometimes thats not a really good tradeoff).

Also, it is important to note that this change HAS NOTHING TO DO with Whimsicott being A rank. They have the same typing but the roles are entirely different and I understand that, and it should be clear that there's no redundancy on having both mons on your team (besides sacrificing defensive coverage of course). The main difference between them that explains why Bulu drops and Whimsi stays lies in their overall utility they can bring in as many matchups as possible.

I do recognize it is a great wallbreaker still, but due to the reasons stated above (low coverage, poor matchup improvement, grassy terrain not being able to support its teammates as expected), I would rather have it B rank, especially considering it can barely compete with the options listed in A rank (as they offer way more utility . Personally, Tapu Bulu can still be useful under specific scenarios or teams which Grassy Terrain and strong wallbreakers are REALLY needed (in other words, offensive approach teams with Serperior + bunch of other attackers), which's not the case for teams prioritizing reliability most of the time.


Serperior (Grass) A=>B

This is more of a complementary post since Tyke brought it up to the thread a while ago (perharps they didn't read it carefully since it was clustered with loads of his other nominations), and I could say he did a pretty good job summing up the points on why its rank should drop. In addition to what he said (poor coverage, subpar special attack, awful improvement on matchups), it is important to note that its job has got so much harder this generation due to loads of new threats (Salazzle, Charizard-X, Celesteela, Greninja) being introduced this time, and even its teammates have a really hard time bringing most of them down (ofc this still applies to gen 6 existing threats, in fact, there are LOTS of them). Given its struggle to find good opportunities to setup and sweep, especially with the new mentioned Pokemon, Serperior is clearly not as viable as the other A ranked options since it cannot do its job really well despite having a ''good'' speed tier (still outsped by most scarfers in the tier, most of which can force its switch or KO it before it can do anything). That being said, it should drop to B rank. Maybe it wasn't the time to have it go down last generation, but I certainly believe its nearly impossible to fit on good Grass teams in Gen 7, for the reasons stated above.

(Before people ask about this and/or it becomes a problem: Tapu Bulu's Grassy Surge IS NOT a good reason to have Serperior ranked A by ANY means. Grass STAB is still a poor option given the number of resistant Pokemon and having both Bulu and Serperior in the same team heavily restricts Grass teams in teambuilding).

Sorry if that didn't look as detailed as I wanted it to be. Made this post late at night, if any more detail is needed feel free to reply it here.

 

[Destros09]

Galvantula is a staple on electric and deserves at least B+ (not A because golem a is sitting there and we don't need two A hazard setters) galvantula gives valuable stab, sticky web, and 93% thunder accuracy through compound eyes.

 

[czim]

Just a few nominations :)

Electric

A->B - This new metagame has not been kind with Magnezone. Even though it's still a great Pokemon on paper, it struggles to find a notable niche on Electric Teams. And here's why
1) Magnezone's main selling point back in ORAS was arguably its great Steel typing, that helped Electric gain notable unique resistances to Normal, Psychic, Dragon, Fairy, Rock and Poison. Now, with the introduction of new mons like Tapu Koko (with Dragon immunity), Alola-Golem (with Poison and Normal resists) and Alola-Raichu (with Psychic resist), Magnezone's plethora of unique resists isnt as big as it used to be, leaving only Rock and Fairy as notable ones that can't be filled by other (viable) teammates.
2) Electric's new more offensivelly inclined archetype and the introduction of new special attackers like Xurkitree, Tapu Koko and Alola-Raichu leave Magnezone in a tough spot for a team slot, especially if you look at its underwhelming Speed stat and its lack of coverage outside of Hidden Power to hit Electric immune mons, with its moveset being extremely predictable.
3) Magnezone used to run, in ORAS, 2 common types of sets. One was a revenge killer Scarf set, with HP Ice, to pick on Landorus, Garchomp and other threats like Dragonite or a Specs set with HP Grass, trying to lure and dispose of the Water/Grounds and other Electric immunities so teammates like Mega-Manectric or Thundurus could sweep. Looking at the SUMO metagame, both of those sets are extremely outclassed by the new additions like Xurkitree and Alola-Raichu, both sporting much better coverage and being more unpredictable than Magnezone, while having a much better speed tier.
4) Flash Cannon is not as great as it used to be in ORAS. With the introduction of Electric Surge and the new mons with Fairy coverage (like Xurkitree and Tapu Koko), its ability to hit Fairy types (especially Calm Mind Clefable, which used to be a pain for Electric monos), Rock types (like Cradily) and most Dragon types neutrally is not as beneficial as it used to be, considering Electric teams have now better ways to break those types with either coverage or insanely powered Electric STABs
Don't get me wrong though, I still think Magnezone is a great mon, but it's extremely hard to fit on most Electric builds, qualifying it for B rank
Since we're at it, I'd suggest everyone try Magnet Pull Magnezone on Electric. It's imo the best set this gen (where it still only has a notable niche), disposing of threats like Ferrothorn and Excadrill (locked in Rock Slide), making sweeping types like Steel extremely easier for mons like Xurkitree, while also being able to remove Ground's main wincon.
Conclusion: Despite still being a great pokemon for electric monos, Magnezone struggles to fit in the more offensive Electric teams, due to it's poor speed stat and extremely predictable movepool. B rank

B -> C - Raikou's B rank is imo completely undeserved, because this mon really struggles to find a real niche in any Electric team, especially after the introduction of Alola-Raichu. Raikou's main uses in ORAS were its good coverage moves in Extrasensory and Aura Sphere, adding some diversity to the table of Electric teams' bland coverage moves, easing some matchups like Poison, Grass and Rock (hitting notable troublesome mons like Mega Venusaur, Ferrothorn, Cradily and so on...), and its above average natural bulk, while sporting some good offenses.
Thing is, with the introduction of Alola-Raichu, most of those threats can already be taken care of with the newcomer's great movepool, including Psychic, Focus Blast, Surf and Grass Knot. Raichu also has an amazing ability in Surge Surfer, being able to speed control, and a good Psychic typing, giving it a resistance to Fighting and Psychic moves, while giving Psychic a much appreciated STAB bonus, helping break defensive threats like Mega Venusaur much easier.
So, what's left for Raikou? A sub-calm mind set is a good option, but it's extremely hard to fit on Electric's new builds, when the type relies on offensive pressure and a lot of switching/pivoting to gain momentum.
Conclusion: Raikou is a very niche Pokemon that is outclassed and extremely hard to fit in monotype SUMO. C rank

Fairy

S -> A - I already brought this before, but I think Clefable's rank is still reminescent from its ORAS roles in Fairy teams, although with the increase of Babiri Clefable's usage, it gained another solid niche that I did not see before. Even then, it's still not enough for a S ranked mon imo. I'll just quote my other post:

With the introduction of all new fairies and the harsh team slot competition, Clefable isn't as good as it used to be in Fairy monos. It's definitely not as vital for the type as other S-ranks like Klefki, Azumarill, Koko and Magearna, especially because of its single typing that dont benefit the type with more resistances. Don't get me wrong though, Clefable is still great, it just faces fierce competition from the likes of Magearna, Tapu Fini and Koko and other fairies as a Calm Mind (or just setup in general) sweeper. It also faces competition from Tapu Fini as a status absorber. It only has a few niches right now from what I've seen, setting up Stealth Rock and being a bulky CM sweeper.

 

[readyletsgo]

Just a few nominations :)

Electric

A->B - This new metagame has not been kind with Magnezone. Even though it's still a great Pokemon on paper, it struggles to find a notable niche on Electric Teams. And here's why
1) Magnezone's main selling point back in ORAS was arguably its great Steel typing, that helped Electric gain notable unique resistances to Normal, Psychic, Dragon, Fairy, Rock and Poison. Now, with the introduction of new mons like Tapu Koko (with Dragon immunity), Alola-Golem (with Poison and Normal resists) and Alola-Raichu (with Psychic resist), Magnezone's plethora of unique resists isnt as big as it used to be, leaving only Rock and Fairy as notable ones that can't be filled by other (viable) teammates.
2) Electric's new more offensivelly inclined archetype and the introduction of new special attackers like Xurkitree, Tapu Koko and Alola-Raichu leave Magnezone in a tough spot for a team slot, especially if you look at its underwhelming Speed stat and its lack of coverage outside of Hidden Power to hit Electric immune mons, with its moveset being extremely predictable.
3) Magnezone used to run, in ORAS, 2 common types of sets. One was a revenge killer Scarf set, with HP Ice, to pick on Landorus, Garchomp and other threats like Dragonite or a Specs set with HP Grass, trying to lure and dispose of the Water/Grounds and other Electric immunities so teammates like Mega-Manectric or Thundurus could sweep. Looking at the SUMO metagame, both of those sets are extremely outclassed by the new additions like Xurkitree and Alola-Raichu, both sporting much better coverage and being more unpredictable than Magnezone, while having a much better speed tier.
4) Flash Cannon is not as great as it used to be in ORAS. With the introduction of Electric Surge and the new mons with Fairy coverage (like Xurkitree and Tapu Koko), its ability to hit Fairy types (especially Calm Mind Clefable, which used to be a pain for Electric monos), Rock types (like Cradily) and most Dragon types neutrally is not as beneficial as it used to be, considering Electric teams have now better ways to break those types.
Don't get me wrong though, I still think Magnezone is a great mon, but it's extremely hard to fit on most Electric builds, qualifying it for B rank
Since we're at it, I'd suggest everyone try Magnet Pull Magnezone on Electric. It's imo the best set this gen (where it still only has a notable niche), disposing of threats like Ferrothorn and Excadrill (locked in Rock Slide), making sweeping types like Steel extremely easier for mons like Xurkitree, while also being able to remove Ground's main wincon.
Conclusion: Despite still being a great pokemon for electric monos, Magnezone struggles to fit in the more offensivelly Electric teams, due to it's poor speed stat and extremely predictable movepool. B rank

I disagree here. At least in the current state of things, Magnezone's typing and Magnet pull ability are extremely helpful for electric teams in disposing of HUGE threats/walls that electric has a hard time with, either via air balloon or specs with HP fire. Trapping something like choice scarf or choice band exca in either Rock Slide, or in Earthquake if Magnezone has a balloon, and removing one of the biggest threats to your team is very beneficial, and trapping something like Ferrothorn removes one of the biggest obstacles to victory for Electric teams. Plus, STAB flash cannon is great against tough match-ups like Grass and Ice. Being able to hit something like Cradily super effectively is a huge plus.

In addition, you have to think about how it compliments the rest of the the electric staples. Magnezone walls threats to Tapu Koko and Zapdos such as Scarf Nihilego, and its resistances are quite useful, as switching in Koko or Raichu into a predicted attack is extremely risky given their fragility, and is not something you want to be doing very often. Just my thoughts, but I wouldn't agree with dropping Magnezone.

 

[Zap]

Mega Sableye | Dark | S -> A
With the meta taking an offensive approach, mega sableye is having a very hard time keeping up. There are a lot more fairy type pokemon on various teams and many strong wallbreakers that rip through mega sableye with ease. Right now the better build on dark is with offense containing mons such as greninja, mega sharpedo, hydreigon, etc. Mega sableye also got a nerf with it's pre mega ability prankster, which does not work on the turn it megas and fails to work on dark type pokemon. Haze has also been getting popular on walls such as toxapex and mantine, making sableye worth even less. Overall, mega sabelye is unable to wall things like it did before, and is a momentum drain for dark teams.

Tapu Bulu | Fairy | A -> S
I was hesitant on this nomination at first, but then I realized how amazing tapu bulu's ability is for fairy teams. As we all know, fairy teams usually have a hard time against ground teams because of excadrill's and landorus' strong moves, and an immunity to thunderwave. However, with grassy terrain, ground type attacks have their damage cut by half, which is huge for fairy teams because the rest of the team is able to switch in into these ground type attacks aimed for klefki and magearna. The pseudo-leftovers gained from grassy terrain also helps mons like clefable and klefki set-up and still be relatively healthy. With togekiss finding it harder to fit into fairy teams now, there is no immunity to ground type attacks, so tapu bulu acts as a good check to soften the damage. This is especially helpful vs mons like landorus that have both poison and ground coverage that can obliterate fairy teams. So a good prediction can bring in magearna on a sludge wave and then scare the mon off because it wont be able to KO with the ground move. Also tapu bulu is absurdly strong, and has the ability to tear holes in teams with banded woodhammer in grassy terrain. It rips apart grass, ground, and various other teams and is just in general a huge help. I do believe it deserves S rank.

Mimikyu | Ghost | A -> S
Ghost is a very passive type, and to re-iterate, the meta is gearing towards offensive builds. With the popularity of dark types, greninja, mega sharpedo, and just overall strong wallbreakers, ghost needs a way to stand up to these mons. Here comes mimikyu, which is the glue mon to ghost balance builds because they are generally passive and very susceptible to dark type attacks. Mimikyu also boasts a good attack stat and speed tier, and access to a great movepool, is able to go for late game sweeps. It gets SD, shadow sneak, shadow claw, play rough, wood hammer and WoW. It can hold a variety of items including LO, ghostium-z, fairium-z, red card, and lefties. It can be unpredictable, and be a wallbreaker to certain threats. Mimikyu almost always is able to get off a SD due to Disguise, and then proceed to be a threat to teams. It is even able to stop sweeps by revenge killing them, crippling them, or switching them out with red card. I talked to Jahkem who plays ghost a lot more than me, and he agreed that mimikyu is an invaluable member for ghost. Overall, I think mimikyu finds a place on almost all ghost teams for its typing and role, which should warrant it as S rank.

Clefable | S -> A
Agree with what czim said completely. For the same reasons I am nominating mega sableye to go to A, clefable is similar in where it cannot set-up as well as it used to because of the strong walbreakers, and popularity of haze. It's used mostly for setting up rocks, and being a check to steel type mons with babiri berry and access to fire type moves. It also has unaware meaning it is able to stop fast threats that setup with SD like garchomp, landorus-t, and more. I still think its great, but not S rank great.

 

[QY_CS]

I just want to give some calculations to show that Clefable is not really reliable as it was.
0 Atk Celesteela Heavy Slam (120 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Clefable: 230-272 (58.3 - 69%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
Defensive Celesteela is arguably the most annoying pokemon for Fairy. As a Magic Guard user, Clefable cannot avoid a 2hko from it. Compared to how bulky Clefable is in Gen 6, it indeed suffers some new problems.

252+ Atk Thick Club Marowak-Alola Shadow Bone vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Clefable: 193-228 (49.1 - 58%) -- 57.8% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Thick Club Marowak-Alola Shadow Bone vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tapu Fini: 144-171 (41.8 - 49.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
This calculation shows the advantage of Tapu Fini being a status absorber and a physical wall. However, Tapu Fini suffers the issue of not having a healing method.

252 Atk Victini V-create vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Clefable: 216-255 (54.9 - 64.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Victini Bolt Strike vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tapu Fini: 156-184 (45.3 - 53.4%) -- 1.2% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
Pretty self explanatory. With the increase usage of fire as well as the high usage of Psychic, Victini is a huge threat to Fairy teams. However, Tapu Fini manages to softly check Victini.

252 Atk Tough Claws Charizard-Mega-X Flare Blitz vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Clefable: 223-264 (56.7 - 67.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
+1 252 Atk Charizard-Mega-X Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tapu Fini: 107-127 (31.1 - 36.9%) -- 75.9% chance to 3HKO
As charizard x is unbanned, it instantly becomes a top tier threat. Clefable cannot properly wall Charizard due to its average bulk, however Tapu Fini has the type advantage against Charizard as well as the move Haze that lets it somehow check that beast.

As the gen7 monotype gets even more offensive and fast paced, Clefable isnt really as powerful as before. Although it still has a reliable healing method as well as wonderful abilities, it is not one of the pokemon Fairy definitely need anymore.
I therefore suggest: Clefable S -> A

 

[StarBlim]

I just want to give some calculations to show that Clefable is not really reliable as it was.
0 Atk Celesteela Heavy Slam (120 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Clefable: 230-272 (58.3 - 69%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
Defensive Celesteela is arguably the most annoying pokemon for Fairy. As a Magic Guard user, Clefable cannot avoid a 2hko from it. Compared to how bulky Clefable is in Gen 6, it indeed suffers some new problems.

252+ Atk Thick Club Marowak-Alola Shadow Bone vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Clefable: 193-228 (49.1 - 58%) -- 57.8% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Thick Club Marowak-Alola Shadow Bone vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tapu Fini: 144-171 (41.8 - 49.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
This calculation shows the advantage of Tapu Fini being a status absorber and a physical wall. However, Tapu Fini suffers the issue of not having a healing method.

252 Atk Victini V-create vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Clefable: 216-255 (54.9 - 64.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Victini Bolt Strike vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tapu Fini: 156-184 (45.3 - 53.4%) -- 1.2% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
Pretty self explanatory. With the increase usage of fire as well as the high usage of Psychic, Victini is a huge threat to Fairy teams. However, Tapu Fini manages to softly check Victini.

252 Atk Tough Claws Charizard-Mega-X Flare Blitz vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Clefable: 223-264 (56.7 - 67.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
+1 252 Atk Charizard-Mega-X Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tapu Fini: 107-127 (31.1 - 36.9%) -- 75.9% chance to 3HKO
As charizard x is unbanned, it instantly becomes a top tier threat. Clefable cannot properly wall Charizard due to its average bulk, however Tapu Fini has the type advantage against Charizard as well as the move Haze that lets it somehow check that beast.

As the gen7 monotype gets even more offensive and fast paced, Clefable isnt really as powerful as before. Although it still has a reliable healing method as well as wonderful abilities, it is not one of the pokemon Fairy definitely need anymore.
I therefore suggest: Clefable S -> A

Clefable is mostly used as a rock setter that spreads status, also you're not taking into account that Clefable has recovery. There roles are different there for not comparable imo

 

[Tyke]

Galvantula is a staple on electric and deserves at least B+ (not A because golem a is sitting there and we don't need two A hazard setters) galvantula gives valuable stab, sticky web, and 93% thunder accuracy through compound eyes.

Galvantula isn't a staple for electric, because Electric does not require the speed control offered by sticky webs to function effectively (like Bug or Rock).

Koko outspeeds almost the entire unboosted metagame with blitzing 130 Speed and Alola Raichu outspeeds almost the entire boosted metagame while in Electric Terrain. Yes, webs can benefit slower threats like Xurkitree and Alolan Golem, but it's inconsistent for a type that relies on defog for hazard control. That's not to say they aren't helpful, but the benefits webs (and by extension, Galvantula) provide are outweighed by those of other pokemon.

Outside webs, Galvantula is frail and weak and a pseudo-accurate Thunder attack isn't enough to change that. Bug isn't "valuable STAB" for electric: it doesn't help break any threat or type that raw Electric spam didn't do already. Psychic's only durable electric resists are Latias and Celebi: which are handled by coverage and Dark's only electric resists are Hydreigon and Krookadile, both of which, again, are susceptible to common coverage moves on electric anyways.

Because of that, I don't feel Galvantula is worth any more than a C-ranking for Electric.


Edit: Forgot Hawlucha, Scolipede, Lycanroc, and Minior existed.

 

[Vid]

Update Time

• Wanka has stepped down, so Eien will be replacing him. Eien is on the council and Co-Leads Monotype C&C, which uses VR for high priority analyses
• Removed Mega Metagross and Hoopa-U because they were banned
• Now discussion on everything is allowed, so D--->C, Unranked--->D, and C--->D nominations are fine.
• Try to focus on Pokemon that have increased in viability with the Hoopa-U and Mega Metagross bans.

***Please note some nominations were not done because they were posted before Hoopa-U and Mega Metagross were banned.(The Pokemon's viablity could have changed)

Changes #4

Fairy

Clefable S--->A

Gardevoir A--->B

Tapu Bulu A--->S
Normal

Drampa C---->B

Porygon-Z A--->S
Electric

Eelektross B--->C

Galvantula D--->C

Thundurus A--->B

Luxray B--->C
Fighting

Buzzwole B--->A
Ghost

Mimikyu A--->S

Shedinja D---->Unranked
Dragon

Flygon B---->C
Rock

Minior B---->C
Flying

Minior B--->C

Gyarados C--->B
Water

Gyarados B---->A

Pyukumuku D---->Unranked
Bug

Golisopod B--->C
Grass

Serperior A--->B

Leavanny C--->D
Steel

Celesteela S--->A

Doublade A--->B
Psychic

Meloetta B---->A

 

[Rabzzz]

Alolan Ninetales C--B (fairy)
Alolan Ninetales is a really good pokemon for fairy right now as it has a really good move in aurora veil which allows good set up pokemon on fairy suck as shift gear magearna and belly drum azumarill to have a much easier time to set up. Secondly, Alolan Ninetales ice typing has great coverage especially hitting ground types which I have been seeing a lot more of lately. Alolan Ninetales is one of the only checks fairy gets to lando I which is huge in the ground and flying matchup. Also, Alolan Ninetales has a really good speed tier which fairy lacks many pokemon that get above the 100 base speed tier. Finally, I think that Ninetales fits in B because I believe it has the same value as pokemon like sylveon and gardevoir for fairy. In conclusion, I think Alolan Ninetales deserves to rise to B rank because it has great utility, speed coverage, and fits well within the B rank.

 

[iLlama]

Alolan Ninetales C--B (fairy)
Alolan Ninetales is a really good pokemon for fairy right now as it has a really good move in aurora veil which allows good set up pokemon on fairy suck as shift gear magearna and belly drum azumarill to have a much easier time to set up. Secondly, Alolan Ninetales ice typing has great coverage especially hitting ground types which I have been seeing a lot more of lately. Alolan Ninetales is one of the only checks fairy gets to lando I which is huge in the ground and flying matchup. Also, Alolan Ninetales has a really good speed tier which fairy lacks many pokemon that get above the 100 base speed tier. Finally, I think that Ninetales fits in B because I believe it has the same value as pokemon like sylveon and gardevoir for fairy. In conclusion, I think Alolan Ninetales deserves to rise to B rank because it has great utility, speed coverage, and fits well within the B rank.

You're right, Alolan Ninetales is a good Pokemon right now, but for Ice, not Fairy. Ice STAB isn't that useful for Fairy in general, mainly because it's not a coverage that the type needs, let alone wants. Aurora Veil is a great move, no doubt about that, but the downside to using it is your own hail damages your team as well, making your set-up Pokemon take damage behind your protection. Plus, the move itself is weather dependent, and Klefki can fill the screens role whiel working as a great utility Pokemon with the best defensive typing in the game. I won't disagree that Landorus is extremely dangerous against Fairy, but Azumarill, Tapu Fini, Tapu Koko, and Togekiss can all manage this threat sufficiently without needing to dedicate a single Pokemon to it. It's speed tier is nice, but it also adds a Pokemon x4 weak to Steel, with additional weaknesses to Fire, Poison, and Rock. The only new resistance Fairy teams would get is Ice, but you already have Klefki and Magearna to take that into account. Alolan Ninetales most defining characteristic, to me, is how weak it is paired with its terrible coverage options for both of its types. Sure, it has Nasty Plot for set-up and Psyshock for hitting Poison, but its worthless against types like Steel and Water. Is it worth taking up a slot with a Pokemon that only shines in very specific matchups, especially when its roles can be filled by much better Pokemon? I would have to say no. Stays C.

E: Probably pretty bad in the Psychic matchup as well, so its just lowering the viability of your overall team. Sure it can get rid of opposing weather, but again, is this more important than a generally better mon?

 

[Dharma]

Alolan Muk (Poison) A -> S

I've been playing around with Poison quite a lot recently, and I find that the support that Alolan Muk offers is irreplaceable on Poison. It does a much better job against Psychic than the other Dark types do, and isn't limited to just that. It has become a staple on almost every good Poison team, and for these reasons, I feel like S rank would be fitting for it.

Mega Gyarados B -> A

I can't really understand how this could be considered B rank. The ease with which it can set up is really good, considering Intimidate usually forcing an opponent to either switch or risk giving up free turns to set up. Its ability to check Prankster users is nothing to be taken lightly either. It becomes ridiculously strong after just 1 Dragon Dance, and although it can't hit Mega Venusaur like Gyarados can, I still think it is deserving of A rank.

e: sorry for the short post, was lagging hard af so decided to keep it short and to the point

 

[IceInhuman]

Amoonguss (Poison) Unranked -> C

Amoonguss being outclassed by m-venusaur doesnt put it as high priority on poison teams but does have a very nice niche that it can fill well, that being a regenerator core with the already absurdly obnoxious toxapex. Amoongus does the same thing m-venusaur does for toxapex by soaking up most electric and some ground moves intended to wipe out the little barnacle. It also sports decent bulk, preventing or punishing setup sweepers via clear smog and foul play respectively and even gives poison spore access which is almost always useful.

 

[Arash]

^I agree that Amoonguss probably deserves a rank on Poison, but D imo is more suitable for the following reasons:

- Amoonguss's bulk on paper looks comparbale to Mega-Venusaur's (114/70/80 vs. 80/123/120) but Mega-Venusaur's Thick Fat eliminates Fire/Ice weaknesses. This in conjunction with Leech Seed (which Amoonguss does not get) and higher attack stats allow it to actually beat Mamoswine 1v1 and go toe-to-toe with Heatran (even without EQ). Amoonguss is beaten easily by both.
- As of now Mega-Venusaur has no opportunity cost vs other Megas, and even when Mega-Beedrill is released, Roserade (currently D rank) will probably be the preferred Grass/Poison, able to utilize Z-Sunny Day and Weather Ball.

Amoonguss is still viable on Mega-Beedrill teams, but unless you really need Spore or a bulky grass type not named Mega-Venusaur, it is not worth using.

 

[IceInhuman]

^I agree that Amoonguss probably deserves a rank on Poison, but D imo is more suitable for the following reasons:

- Amoonguss's bulk on paper looks comparbale to Mega-Venusaur's (114/70/80 vs. 80/123/120) but Mega-Venusaur's Thick Fat eliminates Fire/Ice weaknesses. This in conjunction with Leech Seed (which Amoonguss does not get) and higher attack stats allow it to actually beat Mamoswine 1v1 and go toe-to-toe with Heatran (even without EQ). Amoonguss is beaten easily by both.
- As of now Mega-Venusaur has no opportunity cost vs other Megas, and even when Mega-Beedrill is released, Roserade (currently D rank) will probably be the preferred Grass/Poison, able to utilize Z-Sunny Day and Weather Ball.

Amoonguss is still viable on Mega-Beedrill teams, but unless you really need Spore or a bulky grass type not named Mega-Venusaur, it is not worth using.

The only reason I still say C over D ranking for amoonguss on poison is for the fact that the current holders of D ranking are roserade (might make a post on it later, ive been seeing some decent success with scarf roserade) and qwilfish, which i love to death but i agree is D rank for poison teams.

Your first reason only stated why amoonguss is outclassed by m-venusaur, which i already said it was off the bat. Thick fat doesn't mean a whole lot when toxapex, the core that amoonguss forms with, takes both fire and ice moves like its nothing anyhow, the only reasonable threat being mamoswine due to stab ground moves that even nidoqueen cant freely switch into without it being a 2HKO.

your second point is referring to something that is unreleased, which im not going to bother rating until its actually out.

The third thing is that comparing amoonguss as a wall with qwilfish doesn't make a whole ton of sense. Qwilfish sets up spikes, tspikes, intimidates something, then drops dbond and dies, sometimes not even able to get the dbond off due to its low speed tier. Amoonguss actually forms an (albeit weaker) defensive core with one of the best mons on the type and has decent bulk both defensively and specially defensively (depending on EV spread) to be a solid wall.

 

[S. Court]

Very well, I want to make a nomination too! Well, mostly I want to bring back and old post in previous gen monotype discusion, as you can see there

Solrock (Rock) Unranked -> D

Solrock has some interesting niches for mono-rock, the main one is Levitate and a secondary Psychic type, that allows him to help this monotype in match ups against mono-fighting and mono-rock. Secondly, Solrock has access to Will-o-wisp, which can allow it to cripple some important threats. The post I mentioned also mention a screen suicidal lead, but I think Solrock main function shold be acting as a pivot against physical ground and fighting attacks.

As a sidenote, Solrock received a small HP buff, which could help to increase its role's efficience (very sligthy, but it could...) but it's still held back by its bad stats overall

 

[Omega-Xis]

Very well, I want to make a nomination too! Well, mostly I want to bring back and old post in previous gen monotype discusion, as you can see there

Solrock (Rock) Unranked -> D

Solrock has some interesting niches for mono-rock, the main one is Levitate and a secondary Psychic type, that allows him to help this monotype in match ups against mono-fighting and mono-rock. Secondly, Solrock has access to Will-o-wisp, which can allow it to cripple some important threats. The post I mentioned also mention a screen suicidal lead, but I think Solrock main function shold be acting as a pivot against physical ground and fighting attacks.

As a sidenote, Solrock received a small HP buff, which could help to increase its role's efficience (very sligthy, but it could...) but it's still held back by its bad stats overall

Long of the short, it should stay unranked. It's slow as shit and Coba/Luc smash it, hell any fighting move probably does. Doubt it's ever switching in to something like Terrak etc. since it probably just gets 2HKO'd by any respectable fighting STAB. Wouldn't help against ground either as there's Mix MegaChomp, Exca, Gastro/Seismi etc.

Shuckle is also a better lead than Solrock ever could be. Aero would be better as a suicide lead to taunt an opposing lead.

 

[S. Court]

Long of the short, it should stay unranked. It's slow as shit and Coba/Luc smash it, hell any fighting move probably does. Doubt it's ever switching in to something like Terrak etc. since it probably just gets 2HKO'd by any respectable fighting STAB. Wouldn't help against ground either as there's Mix MegaChomp, Exca, Gastro/Seismi etc.

Shuckle is also a better lead than Solrock ever could be. Aero would be better as a suicide lead to taunt an opposing lead.

Even when I agree with most thing you're saying (specially lead set observations, I definitely won't deny that), I want to point at a very specific case you mentioned: Cobalion

252 Atk Cobalion Iron Head vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Solrock: 164-194 (42.7 - 50.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery (and let's not forget the set is mentioned in the post I linked mentions Babiry berry) and in response, Solrock can burn it

Checked Sword Dance Lucario (Not sure which is Luc standard set), 2HKO of LO Close Combat even withouth a SD buff

And about Gastrodon/Seismitoad... Well, you have Cradily for those threats (Excadrill and Mix MegaChomp are a different story)

It doesn't change that much about your point

 

[Omega-Xis]

Even when I agree with most thing you're saying (specially lead set observations, I definitely won't deny that), I want to point at a very specific case you mentioned: Cobalion

252 Atk Cobalion Iron Head vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Solrock: 164-194 (42.7 - 50.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery (and let's not forget the set is mentioned in the post I linked mentions Babiry berry) and in response, Solrock can burn it

Checked Sword Dance Lucario (Not sure which is Luc standard set), 2HKO of LO Close Combat even withouth a SD buff

And about Gastrodon/Seismitoad... Well, you have Cradily for those threats (Excadrill and Mix MegaChomp are a different story)

It doesn't change that much about your point

You're more likely to see Taunt on Fighting and I'd prefer Flash Cannon on Steel as my coverage (plethora of other physical attackers and I think mixed/special Coba offers the type more versatility).

I'd rather check what 2 LO CCs do than 1 +2. When are you SDing when you either flat out KO mons with Luc (TTar for example) or are switching to Skarm for the likes of Terrak.

Calcs are useful but not in a vacuum as your last part mentioning Cradily acknowledged. Just something to keep in mind.

 

[Arash]

The only reason I still say C over D ranking for amoonguss on poison is for the fact that the current holders of D ranking are roserade (might make a post on it later, ive been seeing some decent success with scarf roserade) and qwilfish, which i love to death but i agree is D rank for poison teams.

Your first reason only stated why amoonguss is outclassed by m-venusaur, which i already said it was off the bat. Thick fat doesn't mean a whole lot when toxapex, the core that amoonguss forms with, takes both fire and ice moves like its nothing anyhow, the only reasonable threat being mamoswine due to stab ground moves that even nidoqueen cant freely switch into without it being a 2HKO.

your second point is referring to something that is unreleased, which im not going to bother rating until its actually out.

The third thing is that comparing amoonguss as a wall with qwilfish doesn't make a whole ton of sense. Qwilfish sets up spikes, tspikes, intimidates something, then drops dbond and dies, sometimes not even able to get the dbond off due to its low speed tier. Amoonguss actually forms an (albeit weaker) defensive core with one of the best mons on the type and has decent bulk both defensively and specially defensively (depending on EV spread) to be a solid wall.

I wanted to clear up a couple things regarding this response:

- Comparing Amoonguss to Qwlifish is ridiculous, which is why I didn't do it. Pokemon are grouped by rank not because they do similar things, but because they have a similar level of effectiveness on a mono-team.
- The comparison between Amoonguss and Mega-Venusaur is important because Mega-Venusaur is among the best pokemon in the entire metagame, and to not run it on a type that has literally zero competition for the mega slot is to actively make your team worse. The current C ranks all do something that is at least useful and unique to them (great bulk + ground immunity for Golbat/Weezing, water immunity and STAB fighting for Toxicroak, or STAB dragon for Dragalge).
- Amoonguss has literally one or two things over Mega-Venu, which are Spore (Mega-Venu gets Sleep Powder which is accurate enough given how bulky this thing is) and Regenerator, which activates when you switch out. However, one of the things about monotype is that you will often only have one response to certain threats, and for how passive and slow Amoonguss is, having to switch out of something like Heatran, Nidoking, Excadrill, Garchomp or Mamoswine (which are all pokemon Toxapex doesn't enjoy switching into) will almost definitely result in the loss of a teammate. Additionally, sleep clause means that you can only Spore one thing that's threatening, and oftentimes Amoonguss doesn't pose enough of a threat to prevent the pokemon from just staying in until it's awake.
- I brought up Mega-Beedrill even though it is currently unreleased, because not only does it have a definite release date toward the end of this month, but also because we already know what it does and the type of synergy it has on Poison (it was available to use for the second half of gen6). The only reason anyone would ever consider Amoonguss over Mega-Venusaur is if they would rather use their mega slot on Mega-Beedrill, so I believe it is an important thing to bring up.

 

[SubMindRaikou]

Bibarel (Normal) Unranked -> D

So SuMo has brought this DPP regional rat to a new importance, granting it Swords Dance and Aqua Jet. This lets Bibarel boost a below average 85 base attack to a whopping 885 or 807 after a single Swords Dance, depending on the nature. For comparison, Choice Band Diggersby hits 756 attack, but Bibarel can further boost its damage output by holding a Life Orb.

Bibarel @ Life Orb
Ability: Simple
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Aqua Jet
- Frustration / Quick Attack
- Waterfall

Bibarel's moveset is fairly simple: the only niche that it has is a strong SD sweeper that can clean teams after a Sticky Web. After this Aqua Jet is used as priority in order to make up for its speed stat, with Quick Attack as an option in order to get a secondary STAB that hits Dragon-, Grass-, and Water-types for neutral damage. Frustration and Waterfall are used when Bibarel can outspeed something, and they allow Bibarel to 2HKO even the bulkiest of walls after a boost.

+4 252+ Atk Life Orb Bibarel Waterfall vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Skarmory: 238-281 (71.2 - 84.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery (After Rocks and a Staraptor Close Combat, Bibarel will OHKO Skarmory with a boost)
+4 252+ Atk Life Orb Bibarel Frustration vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Mandibuzz: 372-438 (87.9 - 103.5%) -- 25% chance to OHKO
+4 252+ Atk Life Orb Bibarel Waterfall vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Sableye-Mega: 259-305 (85.1 - 100.3%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
+4 252+ Atk Life Orb Bibarel Frustration vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Venusaur-Mega: 333-394 (91.7 - 108.5%) -- 50% chance to OHKO

However, as you already might know, Bibarel has quite a few glaring flaws. Firstly, while its Water-typing gives it a few setup opportunities, its paper thin 79 / 60 / 60 bulk leaves it unable to set up a majority of the time unless it finds the perfect opponent. This leaves it as a useless slot in matchups like Fighting and Dragon, where it only finds use as an Aqua Jet or Quick Attack revenge killer. Its below average speed means that Sticky Webs is required for Bibarel to function effectively, and because Porygon Z is a must have on HO Normal teams Bibarel is forced to use a Life Orb that leaves it just short of KOs on some of the metagames bulkiest walls.

Replays:
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7monotype-527380621 Lowish ladder (1300s) vs Flying, Bibarel gets a bit of hax and causes a forfeit
(more coming soon its 12 am so expect them tomorrow lol)


tl;dr hit REALLY REALLY hard but you get hit even harder sometimes

 

[Zmeeed]

Alright, it's time to start cleaning one hell of a mess which Dragon rankings is.

Turtonator (Dragon): D -> C at least.

Turtonator @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Shell Armor
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Relaxed Nature
- Flamethrower
- Earthquake
- Dragon Tail
- Will-O-Wisp​

This is the Turtonator set I was using most of the time on Dragon. Fire/Dragon typing is pretty valued on bulkier Dragon teams for being able to eat Ice Punches, Play Roughs (as long as it's not coming from something like Banded Azumarill) and Iron Heads with Bullet Punches - something Dragon-type teams appreciate. However, while it doesn't resist Water and is weak to Ground and Rock (Stealth Rock is troubling, yes), Dragon-type teams have no shortage on switch-ins and answers to the users of these attacks. Other good and Monotype Dragon-unique move it does learn is Will-O-Wisp. Outside of obviously crippling physical attackers, fully HP + Defense invested Turtonator is capable of surviving Outrage even from scarfed Kyurem-Black most of the time (252 Atk Teravolt Kyurem-Black Outrage vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Turtonator: 282-332 (87 - 102.4%) -- 18.8% chance to OHKO) and can burn scarfed Outrage abusers to make them less devastating for your Dragon team if you don't opt for a scarfed Latios. Having Turtonator as your physical tank also lets you run the devastating Mega Garchomp more freely, or just any sort of an offensive set. Other interesting thing about defensive Turtonator is being the only Pokemon on Monotype Dragon who can survive a boosted assault from the terror of Dragons called Cloyster.

+2 4 SpA Cloyster Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Turtonator: 237-280 (73.1 - 86.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+2 252 Atk Cloyster Rock Blast (5 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Turtonator: 260-310 (80.2 - 95.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Keep in mind Shell Armor blocks random critical hits. Kyurem-Black can achieve the same effort, but it totally has no business running such defensive spread, not to mention it's still prone to the high-crit nature of Rock Blast. It was nice realising I'm not forced to run Scarfed Latios or Banded Dragonite at last.

Other people had some success with specially defensive and Shell Smash sets (Czim and 6ti respetively if I remember corretly), so I would like to hear their opinions on them as my experience with these sets is kind of short.

====================

Guzzlord (Dragon): C -> D

I don't like admitting this, but Guzzlord is hopeless, and I don't know how did it get there among C ranks in the first place. Eveything I could think of was heavily outperformed by Hydreigon because Guzzlord's offensive movepool hardly has advantages over Hydreigon's (extremely strong Heavy Slam is the only real example, but have fun not getting OHKOed by a Fairy-type first). Guzzlord also totally loses to Hydreigon in every stat except HP, where Speed is its biggest downfall. Z-Stockpile Guzzlord set was interesting at first, but it just felt like painfully slow and recovery-deprived Calm Mind Latias, with Beast Boost (increases Attack or Sp. Attack per kill) hardly even helping Guzzlord do any meaningful damage back. Don't even get bothered by Assault Vest set, which still has no advantages over Hydreigon and is outclassed by Goodra and Dragalge for having more weaknesses and less offensive presence.

====================

P.S. (a.k.a. will be discussed later): what made Kingdra recieve C rank and why even Alolan Exeggutor is ranked but Drampa and Dragon Silvally aren't in D at least??? These two can definitely do more than the derpy tree.

 

[6ti]

Alright, it's time to start cleaning one hell of a mess which Dragon rankings is.

Turtonator (Dragon): D -> C at least.

Turtonator @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Shell Armor
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Relaxed Nature
- Flamethrower
- Earthquake
- Dragon Tail
- Will-O-Wisp​

This is the Turtonator set I was using most of the time on Dragon. Fire/Dragon typing is pretty valued on bulkier Dragon teams for being able to eat Ice Punches, Play Roughs (as long as it's not coming from something like Banded Azumarill) and Iron Heads with Bullet Punches - something Dragon-type teams appreciate. However, while it doesn't resist Water and is weak to Ground and Rock (Stealth Rock is troubling, yes), Dragon-type teams have no shortage on switch-ins and answers to the users of these attacks. Other good and Monotype Dragon-unique move it does learn is Will-O-Wisp. Outside of obviously crippling physical attackers, fully HP + Defense invested Turtonator is capable of surviving Outrage even from scarfed Kyurem-Black most of the time (252 Atk Teravolt Kyurem-Black Outrage vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Turtonator: 282-332 (87 - 102.4%) -- 18.8% chance to OHKO) and can burn scarfed Outrage abusers to make them less devastating for your Dragon team if you don't opt for a scarfed Latios. Having Turtonator as your physical tank also lets you run the devastating Mega Garchomp more freely, or just any sort of an offensive set. Other interesting thing about defensive Turtonator is being the only Pokemon on Monotype Dragon who can survive a boosted assault from the terror of Dragons called Cloyster.

+2 4 SpA Cloyster Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Turtonator: 237-280 (73.1 - 86.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+2 252 Atk Cloyster Rock Blast (5 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Turtonator: 260-310 (80.2 - 95.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Keep in mind Shell Armor blocks random critical hits. Kyurem-Black can achieve the same effort, but it totally has no business running such defensive spread, not to mention it's still prone to the high-crit nature of Rock Blast. It was nice realising I'm not forced to run Scarfed Latios or Banded Dragonite at last.

Other people had some success with specially defensive and Shell Smash sets (Czim and 6ti respetively if I remember corretly), so I would like to hear their opinions on them as my experience with these sets is kind of short.

====================

Guzzlord (Dragon): C -> D

I don't like admitting this, but Guzzlord is hopeless, and I don't know how did it get there among C ranks in the first place. Eveything I could think of was heavily outperformed by Hydreigon because Guzzlord's offensive movepool hardly has advantages over Hydreigon's (extremely strong Heavy Slam is the only real example, but have fun not getting OHKOed by a Fairy-type first). Guzzlord also totally loses to Hydreigon in every stat except HP, where Speed is its biggest downfall. Z-Stockpile Guzzlord set was interesting at first, but it just felt like painfully slow and recovery-deprived Calm Mind Latias, with Beast Boost (increases Attack or Sp. Attack per kill) hardly even helping Guzzlord do any meaningful damage back. Don't even get bothered by Assault Vest set, which still has no advantages over Hydreigon and is outclassed by Goodra and Dragalge for having more weaknesses and less offensive presence.

====================

P.S. (a.k.a. will be discussed later): what made Kingdra recieve C rank and why even Alolan Exeggutor is ranked but Drampa and Dragon Silvally aren't in D at least??? These two can definitely do more than the derpy tree.

If you want my opinion i think D rank is perfectly fine. It's a waste of a teammate, I used it as a joke that was only "successful" because steel was infesting the ladder and my set (ss draco fire blast earthquake) did pretty well against people who had no clue what it did. However, steel was really the only matchup that it really did anything in.

That said, I haven't tried defensive, but on paper it sounds bad. As far as (good) defensive options for dragon go, there's just tankchomp and i guess av goodra which is p bad but that's beside the point. The opportunity cost of using turtonator over any of dragon's other options (hydreigon, dragalge, even mence) is simply not worth it for a subpar defensive wall that kills momentum and doesn't fit on offense.

guzzlord > unranked tbh, it's a shitmon that gets outclassed by the majority of the rest of the vr barring shit like alolan exeggutor

 

[The-Vale]

I'd like to nominate a pokemon I have been using since the start of the meta which is
Crawdaunt (Dark) C -> B

I've found crawdaunt to be one of the more useful wallbreakers I've used in this meta with one of its major bonuses being its ability to 2 shot many of the bulkier pokemon in the tier such as Skarmory, Mandibuzz and Phys def Rotom-W to name a few. It is also one of the few pokemon dark has besides hoopa (who is now banned) that can effectively remove toxapex, one shotting most variants after an SD with venusaur also being unable to switch in should daunt have set up. It does have its issues however, it does require set up and its low speed tier means it requires heavy investment to threaten certain things. In terms of disrupting balance and stall teams M-Sab does do it better however crawdaunt provides a more offensive means of battling those types of builds for those who don't wish to run M-Sab. This is why I believe Crawdaunt should be a B rank pokemon over C.