Monotype Viability Rankings

[saquibalmamun1997]

Nominating Toxicroak(Fighting) B or C-Rank

-Toxicroak is blessed with an unique typing that gives it super effective STAB against the bane of Fighting Types-Fairies.
-109 attack backed up by 85 Speed and Sword Dance will allow this Frog to sweep.
-Priority in the form of sucker punch helps make up for its poor speed.
-Dry Skin gives it water immunity and more chances to switch in.
-Unfortunately with out Sword Dance Toxicroak will not be hitting to hard and its mediocre speed leads it to being often out speed.
-Common weakness such as X4 weakness to psychic and X2 weakness to Flying and Ground all of which are common typings.
-It is quite frail.

Sword Dancing Frog

Toxicroak @ Black Sludge/Life Orb
Ability: Dry Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly/Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Gunk Shot
- Drain Punch
- Sucker Punch

-Drain Punch and Gunk Shot are obligatory STAB which give it good coverage.
-Sword Dance boosts its Attack.
-Sucker Punch is for priority and picking off weakened Pokemon and Psychic types.
-Black Sludge is for healing,while Life Orb can be used to hit harder.
-Adamant is recommend with Black Sludge ,while jolly for Life Orb.
-Gunk Shot is used over Poison Jab due to the high damage output.

Other Sets

Nasty Plot Frog

Toxicroak @ Life Orb
Ability: Dry Skin
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid/Modest Nature
- Nasty Plot
- Vacuum Wave
- Sludge Bomb
- Dark Pulse

Sub-Punch

Toxicroak @ Black Sludge
Ability: Dry Skin
EVs: 244 HP / 252 Atk / 12 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Substitute
- Focus Punch
- Knock Off/Sucker Punch
- Poison Jab/Ice Punch

 

[ChildOfDisorder]

As Promised:

Nominating Smogon Bird Jr. (Fletchinder) For C Rank (Fire)

As the majority of Monotypers know, long gone of are they days of Smogon Bird (Talonflame)'s tyranny. Talonflame was a monster on the field, despite its rather pathetic stats, besides speed, it gained an ability specific to its family, which allowed it to murder Grass, Bug, Fighting, and the occasional badly built steel team.

Gale Wings.

Which brings us to Fletchinder, A.K.A. Smogon Bird Jr.

While it is true that Fletchinder does not have the base 126 Speed that Talonflame had, it is only a small 8 Base Attack Stat away from its adult form, and, while losing Brave Bird and Flare Blitz, still has an, albeit small, niche.

Set 1:
Fletchinder @ Focus Sash
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 252 Atk / 4SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Acrobatics
- Flail
- Roost / Flame Charge

Set 2 (Props to Arifeen):
Fletchinder @ Itemless
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 252Atk/4SpD/252Spe
Adamant nature
-Swords Dance
-Roost
-Acrobatics
-Will-O-Wisp

Smogon Bird Jr. has the ability to set up a Swords Dance while sash is activated due to its frailty, and then Sweep on turn two with a 110 Power (STAB: 165) Acrobatics, or a 200 Power Flail, which will dent if not OHKO quite a few pokemon.

I can sense your doubt, so, Here are some Calcs done by yours truly. These are some Pokemon that Fire tends to have trouble against:

+2 252+ Atk Fletchinder Acrobatics (110 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Ludicolo: 722-852 (239.8 - 283%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252+ Atk Fletchinder Acrobatics (110 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Keldeo: 590-696 (182.6 - 215.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252+ Atk Fletchinder Acrobatics (110 BP) vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Greninja: 373-441 (130.4 - 154.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252+ Atk Fletchinder Flail (200 BP) vs. 240 HP / 244+ Def Tentacruel: 309-364 (85.5 - 100.8%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO
+2 252+ Atk Fletchinder Acrobatics (110 BP) vs. 240 HP / 252+ Def Swampert: 208-246 (51.8 - 61.3%) -- 95.3% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery


Now, of course, Fletchinder is not the perfect pokemon, and it still is an NFE. Fletchinder is easily destroyed by Stealth Rocks, Extremespeed, multi-hit moves, and anything just plain faster than it. Roost can only do so much, and it still has sub par stats, leaving it to rely on Swords Dance and Acrobatics or Flail, which isn't amazing coverage. Which is why I nominate it for:

C Rank: Reserved for Pokemon that are only used to check a threat once or twice (Both Offensive and Defensive). These Pokemon often run unorthodox sets since other Pokemon outclass their primary niches. Using these unorthodox sets may put you in danger of set up mons. These Pokemon need a lot of support (which may be hard to give) for them to function. These Pokemon have a hard time adapting to the metagame.

I'm going to bump this post since only ACast ever actually noticed it. I still want to Nominate Fletchinder for C Rank with the set used above, and I also have a Replay prepared this time (Props to Arifeen since I embarrassingly forgot to Bookmark my replay.):

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/frost-oumonotype-1013323

 

[Hutyro]

I nominate Krookodile (dark) for B rank

The cleaner

Krookodile @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Moxie
4 HP / 252 Attk / 252 Speed
Jolly Nature
Earthquake
Crunch
Dragon Claw/ Aqua tail / Stone Edge / Super Power / Brick Break
Dragon Claw/ Aqua tail / Stone Edge / Super Power / Brick Break

With his good coverage in his moveset, decent attack stat and access to the almighty late game sweeping tool, Moxie, Krookodile can be a force to be reckoned with with the right set up. Having EQ and Crunch for his stabs and two moves for coverage makes him a pretty decent choice to clean the enemy team's leftovers once your other pokemon did their job.


Bulky Support

Krookodile @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spdef
Careful or Impish Nature
Earthquake
Dragon Tail
Stealth Rock
Block / Knock Off / Foul Play

Base 95/80/70 defenses are nothing special, but with Intimidate and some pretty okay moves, Krookodile can become and unexpected support in your team, Earthquake so you don't turn into a set up fodder, Dragon Tail for the same reason as above and you can make an already set up pokemon leave the field, Stealth Rock because it's Stealth Rock and another move that can annoy your enemy team, and you get a pretty ok support, still, it's lack of U-turn keeps it from being any more viable, as you can't switch in without losing some of your momentum gained.

Summary: Krookodile can do some work, but the lack of some moves on the support set, his stats being average and the help he needs from his team for the sweeper set makes him only land on the B rank at most.

Nominating Lucario (fighting) for A rank

Physical sweeper

Lucario @ Leftovers / Life Orb / Focus Sash
Ability: Steadfast / Justified
252 Attk / 4 Spd / 252 Speed
Jolly Nature
Close Combat
Extremespeed
Swords Dance / Bulk up / Power-up Punch
Zen Headbutt / Iron Tail / Stone Edge / Ice Punch / Drain Punch

With some of the best physical set up moves like SD, Bulk Up and P-up Punch (The ability Justified is a nice little bonus), and a physical movepool that covers a lot of threats, Lucario can be one of the best pokemon in fighting teams, use lefties, LO, of sash depending on your preferences. Also Close Combat and Extremespeed are probably the most important moves in this set, so make sure to have them, and then for your 4th slot grab something for coverage or drain punch for sustain.

Hadouken Lord

Lucario @ Focus Sash / Life Orb
Ability: Steadfast
4 HP / 252 SpAttk / 252 Speed
Timid Nature
Aura Sphere
Flash Cannon
Nasty Plot
Vacuum Wave / Psychic / Dark Pulse

Considering the lack of Spa sweepers, this set is not a surprise, Nasty Plot to set up, your stabs can cover a decent amount of types, especially those pesky fairies, and Vacuum wave for the priority or Psychic / Dark Pulse for some other types your team might be walled by.
If you wanna make sure you survive the first turn of set up, use your Focus Sash, otherwise Life Orb will add a nice punch to your attacks.

Summary: Great coverage, great opportunities to set up, and requires almost no help from his team, but unfortunately, the key word here is almost, there are still threats to Lucario running around that can hinder his capabilities, but even then, he can still leave his mark in every game, therefore landing in A rank.

 

[scpinion]

ok since All Falls Down is lazy he's gonna make me do this. Nerd Alert
There needs to be some serious changes in this viability thing for real though. So many things should be demoted to lower ranks and so many things should be promoted. Here's a list devised by me and All Falls Down.
Crobat (Poison) S to B rank - What is the use for Crobat, really. The one thing I think Crobat can do is knock out Fighting types but that is really it. Poison already destroys Grass types and Crobat really does not help at all VS. ground.
Cincinno (Normal) A - C rank - Let's be completely honest. Cincinno is garbage even with Life Orb or Choice Band. "Oh it has good coverage and skill link though!" The problem is it can't OHKO many of the threats normal faces and isn't useful VS. Steel or Fighting, normal's biggest threats.
Zapdods (Flying) A - S - Just gonna say this one quickly. What team doesn't have Zapdos, it's a decent wall and has Defog.
Slurpuff (Fairy) B - D - Looooooool it's so bad.
Slowbro (Psychic) A - S - Slowbro is the real MVP! It's literally on every single Psychic team and the main wall. It's good HP and base DEF stats make it a very good physical wall. Pretty much the only Psychic pokemon to carry out the DEF wall position.
Staraptor (Normal) A - S - Staraptor is so helpful for Normal against Fighting. Whether it's the Choice Scarf Variant or the BulkRaptor one, it still makes people that use Normal's lives much easier against fighting.

More will come from AFD the fnerd

I'm going to agree w/ promoting Zapdos and Slowbro. Slowbro is A on Water, but pretty much every Psychic team revolves around its physical bulk and regenerator. Zapdos b/c generic flying is generic for a reason. :D

Crobat, Cincinno and Slurpuff all need to drop, although I don't necessarily agree w/ how far AFD/Laxuy suggest.

Staraptor is A rank on Normal imo.

Edit: After a bit more thought, I changed my mind on Staraptor. See this post for my reasoning on why Staraptor should be S rank

 

[feen]

I nominate Salamence for flying (C-Rank)

Salamence@Choice Scarf
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252Atk/252Spe/4Def
Jolly Nature
-Outrage/Dragon Claw
-Earthquake
-Rock Slide/Stone Edge
-Fire Fang/Thunder Fang/Zen Headbutt/Flamethrower/Fire Blast

This set tells for itself, scarf it, hit hard with a high attack stat of 135, get the moxie boost, sweep more. Having outrage or Dragon claw as the main STAB hits many mons hard, earthquake for the coverage flying needs, since it hits hard. Rock Slide/Stone Edge for more coverage. And the last spot can be kept for the fangs for coverage or zen headbutt to destroy fighting teams, or pull a gimmick and run flamethrower/fire blast for walls such as Ferrothorn, Skarmory.

That being set, here's another gimmick set of Salamence

Salamence@ Life orb/Choice specs
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252SpA/252Spe/4Def
Timid Nature
-Draco Meteor
-Fire Blast/Flamethrower
-Hydro Pump
-Dragon Pulse

This set makes the opponent switch to their physical walls and then you can one-shot them. Draco Meteor hits hard coming from a BST of 110 SpA. Fire Blast/Flamethrower can destroy the usual salamence checks. Hydro Pump is a rare move in mono flying which can be useful at times and Dragon Pulse for a less risky kill.

Overall, although Salamence is deadly, it is very prone to ice attacks, especially ice shard, but nevertheless, it is a deadly late game sweeper and should not be overlooked upon.

Therefore, I nominate Salamence for flying as Rank-C

 

[saquibalmamun1997]

Reserving Ampibom

 

[DoW]

I nominate Salamence for flying (B-Rank)

Salamence@Choice Scarf
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252Atk/252Spe/4Def
Jolly Nature
-Outrage/Dragon Claw
-Earthquake
-Rock Slide/Stone Edge
-Fire Fang/Thunder Fang/Zen Headbutt/Flamethrower/Fire Blast

This set tells for itself, scarf it, hit hard with a high attack stat of 135, get the moxie boost, sweep more. Having outrage or Dragon claw as the main STAB hits many mons hard, earthquake for the coverage flying needs, since it hits hard. Rock Slide/Stone Edge for more coverage. And the last spot can be kept for the fangs for coverage or zen headbutt to destroy fighting teams, or pull a gimmick and run flamethrower/fire blast for walls such as Ferrothorn, Skarmory.

That being set, here's another gimmick set of Salamence

Salamence@ Life orb/Choice specs
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252SpA/252Spe/4Def
Timid Nature
-Draco Meteor
-Fire Blast/Flamethrower
-Hydro Pump
-Dragon Pulse

This set makes the opponent switch to their physical walls and then you can one-shot them. Draco Meteor hits hard coming from a BST of 110 SpA. Fire Blast/Flamethrower can destroy the usual salamence checks. Hydro Pump is a rare move in mono flying which can be useful at times and Dragon Pulse for a less risky kill.

Overall, although Salamence is deadly, it is very prone to ice attacks, especially ice shard, but nevertheless, it is a deadly late game sweeper and should not be overlooked upon.

Therefore, I nominate Salamence for flying as Rank-B

I've got to say that while on paper Salamence looks good, it's not B rank flying material. I used it a lot earlier in gen 6 and the problem is that there are a massive amount of great flying pokemon, and there's a reason Mence is BL rather than OU. While the scarf set is usable, its weakness to ice shard is very nasty given flying's dislike of ice, and it simply doesn't have the hitting power. Moreover, Bandnite and Scarf Thundy-t, and Scarf Gyara and Scarf Lando-t to some extent generally make for better revenge killers while Scarf Staraptor is powerful and can bluff a band set. Its main set last gen, the dd set, is massively outclassed by Megazard X, not to mention Gyara and mega Gyara, and dnite. As a special attacker it has nothing on Landorus or Thundurus. For these reasons I recommend Salamence for flying as C rank.

 

[Hutyro]

Calling Xatu for flying and Cloyster for Ice
Also I do believe that DoW is correct, Salamence has lost it's use and deserves to be C rank.
It can't do it's job as well as other pokemon in flying teams, and the fact that it loses pretty hard to ice shard, wich is a danger to mono flying in general, makes it more of a burden really. But it can still do something, so its not completely useless.

 

[feen]

I've got to say that while on paper Salamence looks good, it's not B rank flying material. I used it a lot earlier in gen 6 and the problem is that there are a massive amount of great flying pokemon, and there's a reason Mence is BL rather than OU. While the scarf set is usable, its weakness to ice shard is very nasty given flying's dislike of ice, and it simply doesn't have the hitting power. Moreover, Bandnite and Scarf Thundy-t, and Scarf Gyara and Scarf Lando-t to some extent generally make for better revenge killers while Scarf Staraptor is powerful and can bluff a band set. Its main set last gen, the dd set, is massively outclassed by Megazard X, not to mention Gyara and mega Gyara, and dnite. As a special attacker it has nothing on Landorus or Thundurus. For these reasons I recommend Salamence for flying as C rank.

It's true that Salamence is weak to ice shards, but if a player is good, he won't start the outrage spam and would switch to Skarmory to prevent being KO-ed. Also, I know the special attacker set doesn't hit hard, but, it can decimate some good physical walls due to the bluff. But yeah, you've convinced me. I'll edit it thanks.

 

[scpinion]

Azumarill (Water) for S Rank

Water teams have many options when it comes to choosing special attackers, however the options become limited when searching for a powerful physical counterpart. Luckily, the type is blessed with two excellent options: Azumarill and (mega-)Gyarados (will link to Omega's post when it comes up). Azumarill has the 2nd highest attack stat among water types after Huge Power doubles it to a whopping 436 w/ max investment. While base 50 speed leaves something to be desired, 100/80/80 bulk and access to STAB priority make for a fearsome bulky attacker and revenge killer. If one is willing to forego the monstrous attack boost afforded by Huge Power, Azumarill can provide the much coveted grass-immunity for a water team by utilizing Sap Sipper. Azumarill does not have the deepest movepool; but, instead gets exactly what it needs to succeed, with powerful STABs, an excellent boosting option, STAB priority and a few powerful coverage attacks. Finally, a dual Water/Fairy typing provides excellent STAB attacking coverage, and the ever-useful immunity to dragon-type attacks.

Versatility and effectiveness are what separate the S ranked 'mons from their lower-ranked companions and Azumarill fits the bill. It is capable of running four different sets, each equally viable depending upon how one would like to construct their team.

Choice Band

Azumarill @ Choice Band
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Atk / 16 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Aqua Jet
- Waterfall
- Play Rough
- Knock Off/Superpower/Ice Punch/Return

164 speed EV's is another option as it allows Azu move before min speed Skarmory. If you opt for this route move an additional 4 EV's out of HP to minimize hazard damage. Return can 2HKO mega-venu on the switch, assuming it doesn't get you w/ a sludge bomb first....

Assault Vest

Azumarill @ Assault Vest
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Atk / 16 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Aqua Jet
- Waterfall
- Play Rough
- Knock Off/Superpower/Ice Punch

Belly Drum Sweeper

Azumarill @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 236 HP / 252 Atk / 20 Spe or 244 HP / 252 Atk / 12 Spe (make sure to have an even HP number)
Adamant Nature
- Aqua Jet
- Waterfall/Knock Off/Superpower/Ice Punch
- Play Rough
- Belly Drum

Sap Sipper

Azumarill @ Choice Band
Ability: Sap Sipper
EVs: 228 HP / 252 Atk / 28 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Aqua Jet
- Waterfall
- Knock Off/Superpower
- Play Rough

For a discussion of using Sap Sipper Azu on a water team, see this post from Aquas0und/Floe.

 

[saquibalmamun1997]

Nominating Ambipom---->A-Rank(Normal)

-Ambipom is probably one of the most annoying anti-leads in the metagame.
-The combination of priority STAB fake out boosted by Technician coupled with high speed and usable attack stat you really find out whats it really about.
-It has some good coverage moves in the form of Knock Off,U-Turn and Low Kick
-Outside of it being faster and Technician boosted fake out as an all out attacker it faces competition and most likely outclassed by Cinccino who has 125 BP Bullet Seed,Rock Blast and Tail Slap;with the same speed.
-Really frail almost all neutral attacks will 1HKO it.
-Sometimes its attack will feel underwhelming.
-Walled by most physical walls.

All Out Attacker

Ambipom @ Life Orb
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- Return
- Low Kick
- Knock Off

Set Details:
-Fake Out is the main reason to use Ambipom,it has priority+STAB+Technician Boost+Guaranteed Flinch;it can also be used to revenge kill weakened Pokemon and break Sash.
-Return is Mandatory high powered STAB,which lets it hit tons of Pokemon Hard.
-Low Kick to handle Tyranitar and hit Terrakion on the switch.
-Knock Off hits ghost and psychic types really hard.
-U-Turn and Double Hit are viable options over Return.
-U-Turn can be used to grab momentum and as it is a normal mono alot of other members carry Return so no big loss.
-Double Hit whilst inaccurate can break Substitutes and Hit slightly harder.

Really Gimmicky Last Resort Set

Ambipom @ Life Orb/Silk Scarf
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- Last Resort

-It really does not get easier then this.
-Turn 1 use Fake Out and Turn 2 Last Resort which is a 140 BP STAB move.
-Anymore moves would have Last Resort harder to use.
-Choice between Life Orb or Silk Scarf is Power VS Durability.
-Walled hard by Ghost,Rock and Steel Types.

Some Damage Calculations

252 Atk Life Orb Technician Ambipom Fake Out vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Landorus: 117-138 (36.6 - 43.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252 Atk Life Orb Ambipom Low Kick (120 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Mega Tyranitar: 400-473 (99 - 117%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO
252 Atk Life Orb Ambipom Low Kick (120 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Terrakion: 309-367 (95.6 - 113.6%) -- 75% chance to OHKO
252 Atk Life Orb Technician Ambipom Fake Out vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Mega Charizard Y: 133-156 (44.7 - 52.5%) -- 17.2% chance to 2HKO
252 Atk Life Orb Technician Ambipom Fake Out vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Greninja: 148-175 (51.7 - 61.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Life Orb Technician Ambipom Fake Out vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Mega Medicham: 121-144 (46.3 - 55.1%) -- 64.5% chance to 2HKO
252 Atk Life Orb Technician Ambipom Fake Out vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Latios: 129-152 (42.7 - 50.3%) -- 0.4% chance to 2HKO

 

[Anttya]

Does anyone want to write new writeups for Clefable (s), Mega Garchomp (a), and Avalugg (s)? First come first serve

Preferably someone who voted.

 

[Hutyro]

I think Ambipom should be B rank, he is good yes, but he feels lackluster considering the amount of checks for him in the current meta.
Also, even though you already mentioned it, you could slash U-turn and Double hit next to return.
Another thing, is there still any point in using the Last Resort set? It's way too unreliable these days.

 

[saquibalmamun1997]

There isn't that is why I mentioned it as gimmicky
and its a fun set at most
I feel as though it deserves to be in the same rank as Cinccino at least ;solely based on the utility it can provide as an anit-lead.

But B-Rank is not a bad place for it as well

 

[Acast]

My issue with Murkrow, especially that set, is while you're setting up mean look, things can easily taunt you into struggle. It's more likely for people to shutdown Murkrow than it is for them to suspect you have like Pursuit or something, assuming Murkrow ever rarely carry one attack move.

That being said, I don't think it's worthy of D Rank.

D Rank: Reserved for Pokemon that are outclassed in almost every single way. These Pokemon are only used for one of their moves, or for their typing / ability. Even so, they are generally second rate Pokemon meaning that they can be only brought in once or twice to perform their role. These Pokemon rarely adapt to the metagame.

I feel like the definition of C Rank fits Trollburd better:

C Rank: Reserved for Pokemon that are only used to check a threat once or twice. These Pokemon often run unorthodox sets since their primary niches are outclassed by other Pokemon. Since they run unorthodox sets, some Pokemon can set up on them without fear. These Pokemon need a lot of support (which may be hard to give) for them to function. These Pokemon have a hard time adapting to the metagame.

Sableye most definately outclasses Murkrow on Dark with prankster recover and WoW Spamming, and people know they can't 100% of the time get away with taunting it since it carries a damaging move often, usually Knock Off.

And while it doesn't have Prankster, Eviolite Staravia, or even just BulkyRaptor are fairly better featherdancers than Murkrow, since on switch in they already get that -1 Attack from intimidate.

So since both types have an arguably better, (Though not completely viable) option, it's hard for me to suggest Murkrow any higher. Therefore I say C Rank.

I believe Murkrow has some use, but C rank is overshooting it. D rank is the perfect definition for Murkrow.

D Rank: Reserved for Pokemon that are outclassed in almost every single way. These Pokemon are only used for one of their moves, or for their typing / ability. Even so, they are generally second rate Pokemon meaning that they can be only brought in once or twice to perform their role. These Pokemon rarely adapt to the metagame.

The only reason to use Murkrow is for the combination of its ability and Mean Look/Perish Song. It doesn't have the overall utility or great typing of Klefki or Thundurus's great stats. Speaking of Thundurus, it's actually a better Prankster than Murkrow on Flying teams, so Murkrow is outclassed as the Flying type Prankster. Yes, Murkrow has a use, but no one can deny that it's just a gimmick and there is no guaranteed KO like there is with Mega Gengar. If we were discussing a type with fewer decent options, like Ghost, then I would fully support C rank, but Flying has a ridiculous array of very powerful and very useful options that will almost always beat out Murkrow for a spot on a Flying team. That's why I think D rank is much more appropriate.

 

[Dirpz]

Anttyaz, I have been semi Afk I can rewrite up Clefable again, because clefable is bae

 

[ChickensBtasty]

Since by the looks of the main page no one has reserved this, and it isn't yet posted in any ranking I figured I'd just toss this out here. Sorry if I'm breaking any rules by not reserving this beforehand. XD

Bisharp (Steel) for A Rank

Bisharp @ Life Orb
Ability: Defiant
252 HP/252 Atk/4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Sucker Punch
- Knock Off
- Iron Head
- Swords Dance

With a very strong base 125 Attack and the ever powerful Dark offensive typing, Bisharp looks to destroy Offensive threats and Walls alike. While it can already hit high numbers on most Pokes that take it's attacks neutrally, after setting up SD or getting a Defiant boost, Bisharp can get key OHKO's with Sucker Punch on powerful threats that would otherwise annihilate it, such as the Mega Zards, Landorus-I, Garchomp, Mega Medicham and Thundurus-I.

Knock Off is also an excellent part of it's movepool, allowing it to remove important items such as Eviolites and Leftovers from Pokemon that rely on them, and dealing massive damage on predicted switch-ins, generally OHKOing them after Bisharp gets a boost. Iron Head does it's job well, with a boost it eliminates Fairies such as Azumarill and Mega Mawile via OHKO.

Speaking of boosting, Bisharp can find several prominent Pokemon in the metagame to set up on, with the exception of Whirlwinders such as Skarmory. Bisharp laughs in the face of S-rankers Chansey, Ferrothorn, and Clefable, and can set up on Slowbro granted that it does not respond with a burn via Scald. Additionally, thanks to the blessing that is Defiant, the opponent must be ever wary of using Defog for fear of giving Bisharp a free +2.

Bisharp is not without flaws, as it's double weakness to Fighting ruins it (though none can safely switch in on a boosted Bisharp, barring coming in on Sucker Punch.) Burns completely obliterate it's Attack, though it can still use Knock Off on slower threats to remove items. Bisharp can be predictable, as it generally doesn't have a way to deal with faster Pokemon aside from with Sucker Punch and hits with other moves on the switch-in (Which requires prediction in of itself.)

With these points in mind, I nominate Bisharp for A Rank.

 

[Hutyro]

I'm not 100% sure about Bisharp being A rank in steel teams, sure it's Attack stat is great and it has a good set, but it has a big weakness to fight, wich is already a huge problem for steel mono, and to fire (but heatran is there for that).
Also it really hinders him the fact that it mostly poses a threat to pokemons and teams that already lose to steel, so bisharp really isn't adding as much as other pokemons to the type, he's more to give you a bigger advantage against teams you already win.
With that said, I'd like to know what people think of Bisharp being B rank.

 

[ChickensBtasty]

I'm not 100% sure about Bisharp being A rank in steel teams, sure it's Attack stat is great and it has a good set, but it has a big weakness to fight, wich is already a huge problem for steel mono, and to fire (but heatran is there for that).
Also it really hinders him the fact that it mostly poses a threat to pokemons and teams that already lose to steel, so bisharp really isn't adding as much as other pokemons to the type, he's more to give you a bigger advantage against teams you already win.
With that said, I'd like to know what people think of Bisharp being B rank.

You have to remember that Steel has Skarmory, who either Brave Birds the Fighting types down, or simply doesn't care and Whirlwinds them out of the way. Not to mention Steel appreciates Priority from a Pokemon that doesn't take up the Mega Slot, even if it is from a move that can fail.

 

[saquibalmamun1997]

I will reserve mega Garchomp but is it for dragon or ground

 

[Anttya]

I will reserve mega Garchomp but is it for dragon or ground

Both Mega and non mega Garchomp has been written already

 

[saquibalmamun1997]

ohh then miss read a previous post sorry :p

 

[Anttya]

ohh then miss read a previous post sorry :p

All good ^^

 

[Freeroamer]

While I would agree that Zapdos should go to S thanks to it's fantastic typing and BST distribution which lets it wall a helluva lot of stuff while maintaining good offensive presence, I'm slightly opposed to the fact that if it does get bumped up, Flying would then have 6 mons considered S Rank in viability. Going from nani's post that is quoted in the OP:

Another good thing to keep in mind when ranking Pokemon is to think "if I was a new player and saw the rankings, those are the pókemon I should consider putting in my team" . Example, if I was looking at steel, I should be able to draw that heatran and skarmory are essential due to being S rank and are necessities/extremely important to have in my team.

I'm not sure that having 6 mons, a whole team, classified in this way is what we're aiming to get from these rankings. It seems to me that splitting ranks could be useful here, and maybe moving 2 down to A+ would give a better indicative of what is classed as essential / extremely important.

On Slowbro, I would again agree that this should go to S. It literally fills a niche on Psychic that pretty much nothing else can, or at least it outclasses them. Your options for Physical wall on Psychic go: Mew, Slowbro, Cresselia, Jirachi and Deo-D. Out of these, Mew is better suited to Special walling and support roles, Cresselia is absolute set up bait to anything with taunt or substitute, Jirachi prefers special walling or offensive sets, and any role deo-d could use is generally outclassed by Mew, leaving Slowbro as the only true candidate. It's for this reason that it's so common on Psychic teams, as well as it's excellent movepool and stats, meaning it can be tailored to wall or remove certain threats. Overall a very deserving S Rank.

I'm fine with Pinsir where it is to be totally honest, I believe that it's too frail and dependent on team support at times to go to S Rank. Remember it also comes with the cost of not being able to use Mega Heracross or Scizor. Haven't used Staraptor enough to give it fair reasoning.

 

[all falls down]

While I would agree that Zapdos should go to S thanks to it's fantastic typing and BST distribution which lets it wall a helluva lot of stuff while maintaining good offensive presence, I'm slightly opposed to the fact that if it does get bumped up, Flying would then have 6 mons considered S Rank in viability. Going from nani's post that is quoted in the OP:


I'm not sure that having 6 mons, a whole team, classified in this way is what we're aiming to get from these rankings. It seems to me that splitting ranks could be useful here, and maybe moving 2 down to A+ would give a better indicative of what is classed as essential / extremely important.

On Slowbro, I would again agree that this should go to S. It literally fills a niche on Psychic that pretty much nothing else can, or at least it outclasses them. Your options for Physical wall on Psychic go: Mew, Slowbro, Cresselia, Jirachi and Deo-D. Out of these, Mew is better suited to Special walling and support roles, Cresselia is absolute set up bait to anything with taunt or substitute, Jirachi prefers special walling or offensive sets, and any role deo-d could use is generally outclassed by Mew, leaving Slowbro as the only true candidate. It's for this reason that it's so common on Psychic teams, as well as it's excellent movepool and stats, meaning it can be tailored to wall or remove certain threats. Overall a very deserving S Rank.

I'm fine with Pinsir where it is to be totally honest, I believe that it's too frail and dependent on team support at times to go to S Rank. Remember it also comes with the cost of not being able to use Mega Heracross or Scizor. Haven't used Staraptor enough to give it fair reasoning.

I understand what you are saying but I would argue that Flying is the exception here. Flying is the most diverse type along with Water, and is considered the most consistent to win with by many people. Flying really has the largest number of good and neutral matchups, and often beat its 'weaknesses' just because of the amazing Pokemon that it has to offer (e.g Skarmory will wall Rock and Ground to death, Charizard will sweep Ice, etc). In monotype, this is an extremely unique trait; some monotypes are plagued with near-impossible match ups like Fire vs Dragon and Ghost vs Dark, while Flying has a fighting chance in every single matchup.

With this clear advantage that Flying has, it should be looked at different in terms of ranking in my opinion. There is nothing that is truly essential to a Flying monotype, and we should rather look at Pokemon that preform amazingly in their prospective roles on a Flying team. Having many Pokemon S Ranked for Flying shows its advantage over the meta-game, and will show new players that they can choose between a large variety of Pokemon for their Flying team and will still have a top-tier team. A monotype with limited variety like Steel will naturally have less S - Ranked Pokemon as there is not much to choose from, and will get torn apart without an immunity core.