Monotype Viability Rankings

[Anttya]

Durant (Steel) for B rank

Durant @ Life Orb / Lum Berry
Ability: Hustle
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Hone Claws
- Iron Head
- Superpower / Rock Slide / Baton Pass
- X-Scissor / Rock Slide / Superpower

Explanation: Durant has always been pretty underrated. People say that Hustle is a curse, because the accuracy drop is too unreliable, even if you get a nice band boost. Although it's solved by Hone Claws, people still say its 4x weakness + horrible Sp Def makes it bad. Luckily for Durant, it has the best support available in Monotype. With Heatran and Ferrothorn to tank Fire moves and Special Hits respectively, Durant can actually do some damage. Durant also has the perfect speed (109) since it can outspeed the likes of Keldeo, Charizard-Y, Landorus, Infernape, and Terrakion before hitting them with a Superpower / Iron Head / Rock Slide. Although it faces competition with Scizor it has plenty of unique niches that'll make you want to put it in your team.

Lum is for Lum berry purposes :P
Hone Claws is obvious, since it removes your accuracy debuffs and boosts your already sky-high attack by 1. Iron Head is for reliable STAB, it's mandatory because it hits Landorus-I and Nidoking for a lot of damage.
Superpower is for hitting Keldeo, Cobalion, and Infernape (They'd wall / check it otherwise) Rock Slide is for Fire Types + Birds (Fire would wall it otherwise)
X-Scissor is for STAB and hitting Slowbro (Who'd wall it otherwise ): )
Baton Pass is bad, and should not be used unless if you love Baton Pass

4 move syndrome unite ;-;

Calcs:

Hail Duranttya!

252 Atk Life Orb Hustle Durant Iron Head vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Landorus: 246-290 (77.1 - 90.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Life Orb Hustle Durant Iron Head vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Nidoking: 281-331 (92.4 - 108.8%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO
252 Atk Life Orb Hustle Durant Superpower vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Keldeo: 246-290 (76.1 - 89.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Life Orb Hustle Durant Superpower vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Infernape: 298-351 (101.7 - 119.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 Atk Life Orb Hustle Durant Iron Head vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Terrakion: 491-580 (152 - 179.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO < Overkill
252 Atk Life Orb Hustle Durant Rock Slide vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Mega Charizard Y: 691-816 (232.6 - 274.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO < lololol
252 Atk Life Orb Hustle Durant X-Scissor vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowbro: 307-361 (77.9 - 91.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Life Orb Hustle Durant Superpower vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Cobalion: 273-322 (70.7 - 83.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Want to imagine this monster at +1? Just set up on some poor physical attacker

 

[Acast]

Actually I think that Mega Manectric can go even lower, down to B rank maybe. Mega Manectric gets walled/countered by many things(Lanturn, Gastrodon, Swampert, Heatran, Chansey, Tyranitar, Mega Venusaur, Rotom-H, etc.) and its movepool isn't very large(electric stab, fire moves, and signal beam). In addition, Mega-Ampharos outclasses it in most electric monotypes due to its extra bulk, Heal Bell, and extra power.

The role of Manectric is not to sweep or even do serious damage, although it is good at doing that if necessary (doing damage, not so much sweeping). Its role is being a super scouter, which it excels at. Yes, it is not the best option against Ground types or Volt Absorb pokemon because then it can't use Volt Switch, but it doesn't matter if it doesn't do much damage to Heatran, Chansey, Tyranitar, Mega Venusaur, or Rotom. Its role is to build momentum by switching into another pokemon on your team that can handle the current threat that your opponent has sent out without having to predict a switch and while doing a bit of damage at the same time. It is solidly A rank and I strongly disagree that Mega Ampharos outclasses it. They play different roles. You can use one or the other depending on what kind of team you are trying to build.

 

[Freeroamer]

Garchomp for (ground) A rank and (dragon) S rank

Garchomp@ leftovers/brightpowder/salac berry
Ability: Sand Veil
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Atk / 252 spD
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Substitute
- Dragon Claw
- Swords Dance

The DPP King, but without the permasand< Usually Feints as a scarf or revenge kill on actual slow pokemon and pulls out a ballsy sub, then It smacks people around. It can be used as a wallbreaker in some situations. Strangely enough the prominence of Sucker punch in X/Y makes him work better in OU and Ubers than he did in B/W.

Garchomp @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Fireblast
- Stone Edge

Standard mix scarf, Fire Blast is huge when you find a scizor or ferrothorn to use it on. Some people like to replace one of stoneedge/fireblast with dragon claw, but outrage is mandatory- there are many KO thresholds you will miss without it. Chases out many pokemon, kills things that dare stay in, and very cabable of cleaning up weakened teams, which you're likely to find with the support and stall options available to ground teams. Using fireblast on normal 2x weakness will only do 29-35% on medium bulk pokes, so keep in mind the limitations of using it liberally... dragon attacks are usually better.

This can be one of the most important pokemon for dragon monos, as fast pokemon with ice beam (scarf genesect comes to mind) need a dedicated counter, as well guest star dragons on flying and other monos (mence, gyara,charizard etc).

Garchomp@Garchompite
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naughty Nature
- Earthquake
- Draco Meteor
- Fire Blast
- Stone Edge

I've never used this, but it is basically the best use for mega garchomp's extra stats (unless you have a baton pass gliscor). 170 Base Atk makes the lack of investment unimportant for most of your targets, but as a 92 speed pokemon, you lose against jolly and timid base 100s that you used to beat. This is still a very powerful set against many walls, and it does manage to absorb a single hit before going down if you really need some early game poke dead. The 120 Special Atk will let you down in places, but as a mix attacker, you can expect to make them cry afterwards.

Physical Tank

Garchomp @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Dragon Tail
- Stealth Rock
- Fire Blast

Rest is not valuable for the tank garchomp, unless you are a dragon team going out of your way with heal bell. The combination of the helmet and rough skin does huge damage to physical attackers, especailly if you consider entry hazards and the possibility of them losing another set percantage from sandstorm support. It even frees you up to run the hippo with an extra attack or - if your really ballsy- Special defense hippo!! Again, this will prove a decent team member, although suprise kills from fire blast won't happen as often as much as with the other versions, the slower pace of TANK chomp leads to them treating their pokes with kiddy gloves.

Suicide Lead

Garchomp @ Focus Sash
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Dragon Claw
- Fire Blast

Like mamoswine, you get the rocks up or kill them if they dare try to stop you. Most of the time you will get the rocks. When they switch to super tank on turn one, you can even save him as a very useful glue pokemon for later. His kills are nearly identical to mega IMO, It's very rare to see this boy let you down.

I disagree with Garchomp being ranked above it's Mega forme purely because of the niche that the Mega fills compared to the base forme on Ground. The base forme struggles to really find a spot on Ground due to there being preferred pokes that do the roles better. A physical all out attacker set is done better by Mamoswine thanks to it's Ice Shard and better STAB for Ground teams. A physically bulky set is outclassed by Hippowdon due to it's superior bulk and recovery, and Hippowdon can also provide the Stealth Rock that the lead set aims to get up. So the only 2 sets left are the SubSD set and the Choice Scarf set. I will admit the Choice Scarf set does have value, being able to revenge kill threats such as Greninja and Shaymin-S (Providing they're not running scarfs of their own) and the subSD set has value in it's surprise factor. However both of these sets fall into the same trap in that they are beaten by common physical walls such as Slowbro and Mandibuzz which are already a massive pain for Ground teams to handle due to the rarity of special attackers outside of Landorus. This is the niche that Mega Garchomp fills, being able to beat both of these, as well as deal with Skarmory and Ferrothorn more reliably as it isn't locked into a Fire move like the Choice Scarf set would be, allowing Heatran to switch in freely. Overall I believe that at the very least, Garchomp should move down to B Rank while maybe Mega Garchomp could move up to A Rank? Would appreciate other's thoughts on this.

+2 252 Atk Garchomp Stone Edge vs. 248 HP / 136+ Def Mandibuzz: 334-394 (78.9 - 93.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

+2 0- Atk Mandibuzz Foul Play vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Garchomp: 324-382 (90.5 - 106.7%) -- 43.8% chance to OHKO

This +2 is obviously referring to the SD set.

 

[Nani Man]

By the way guys, i know some people are bothered by the ranks given to some pokemon, but once the initial flood of nominating Pokemon to their respective types has calmed down, we will nominate 2-3 Pokemon to be discussed for a few days and modify their rank if necessary.

 

[Anttya]

By the way guys, i know some people are bothered by the ranks given to some pokemon, but once the initial flood of nominating Pokemon to their respective types has calmed down, we will nominate 2-3 Pokemon to be discussed for a few days and modify their rank if necessary.

Check Post #2 for those Pokemon ^^

 

[Beta.]

By the way guys, i know some people are bothered by the ranks given to some pokemon, but once the initial flood of nominating Pokemon to their respective types has calmed down, we will nominate 2-3 Pokemon to be discussed for a few days and modify their rank if necessary.

Currently, this is basically the theorymonning status. We are trying to get the boundaries set, and get the metagame stated. We can question others' rankings, as many have, but after this status, once we get a clear statement of what the metagame is, that's when we will truly get down to business. We may be at that stage in about 2 weeks, we may be there in 2 days, but we will get there surely in time.

Keep in mind, this is a community project, everyone's voice matters here. So if there is something that someone wrote that you don't agree with, say something (educatedly) chances are there is someone agreeing with you. This has gone pretty good so far. Me, Sae Dirpz discussed this on skype, and we agree with most of the listings so far. There are odd ones out that we can address, but this has been really good so far.

 

[Dirpz]

Ill be reserving Hydreigon (Dark), Azumarill (Water), Uxie (Psychic).

I do have to agree there is some weird ones in here, and hope that we can work them out so for now I would suggest just reserving pokemon, and writing them up I know im guilty of doing it but it I shall say stop please.

 

[Freeroamer]

Mega Tyranitar (Dark) for A Rank
Tyranitar @ Tyranitarite
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Stone Edge
- Ice Punch / Crunch
- Earthquake / Crunch

Set Details: A fearsome Dragon Dance set, boasting impressive power and coverage. Dragon Dance is obviously the set-up move of choice, boosting Speed and Attack to +1 and making Mega Tyranitar more dangerous than it already is. Stone Edge is mandatory for it's enormous power after a DD, easily KOing neutral targets unless they are very physically bulky. Earthquake forms the famous EdgeQuake combination and gives great coverage alongside Stone Edge. Ice Punch rounds out the set, allowing you to hit Landorus-T and Gliscor, two of your biggest counters. Crunch can be used over either Earthquake or Ice Punch as a second, perfectly accurate STAB, but gives up certain coverage. An Adamant nature may seem tempting, but if used you will fail to outspeed Greninja at +1 among other threats in that range, so Jolly is the best choice.

Explanation: Already a fearsome pokemon, Tyranitar got a powerful new Mega Evolution this gen which gave it even more versatility than it possessed before. The new mega most importantly gave it a small 10 BST increase in Speed which doesn't seem that important but gave it that vital extra to be able to outspeed certain threats at +1. Add this to it's huge Attack stat and great bulk allowing it to set up on almost anything not carrying fighting type moves or strong supereffective STAB and it's easy to see why Mega Tyranitar is such a threatening Dragon Dancer. It can also use it's new extra bulk to run a bulky set focused on getting Stealth Rock up and hitting the opponent with it's powerful attacks, whether it be on the physical or special side thanks to it's great stat distribution and movepool. However this set may be outclassed by regular Tyranitar as it has the ability to hold an item such as Leftovers or Chople Berry, both increasing it's longevity. Running such a set with Mega Tyranitar also comes with the drawback of not being able to run Mega Absol, as it takes up your Mega slot.

Why A Rank? An excellent win condition for Dark teams and a powerhouse in every sense of the word, Mega Tyranitar is held back by the fact that it's set is usually the same and the opportunity cost of using it as your Mega Evolution.

Quick replay showing the power of the DD set, ignore that I'm getting outplayed hard for the whole match xD http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/oumonotype-155007434

 

[Salemance]

Post on Quagsire of Ground

Quagsire for B Ranking.

Example Sets

Hide

Yeah!!! (Quagsire) @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Scald
- Recover
- Toxic
- Stockpile

Yeah!!! (Quagsire) @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Earthquake
- Recover
- Waterfall
- Curse

Yeah!!! (Quagsire) @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Sp Def / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature
- Scald
- Recover
- Toxic
- Earthquake

Explanation:
Ah the mighty Quagsire. One of my flagship mons since I started mono sometime last year, he fulfills a number of roles on Ground monos that are often filled by others but not quite like how he does it. He is capable of being an excellent Curse user, lifting his own attack and being able to ignore the silly fools trying to burst through him. He can be a frightening mix wall capable of 6-0ing entire teams if they lack the dread toxic or a STABed Grass Attack. He can be the single best fail safe for fighting against BD Azumarill for Ground. He can fish for burns all day long against the enemy team making it possible for one of the other mons to be able to take one hit more than they would have been before. He also offers great utility on Ground teams as a reliably water and ice attack absorber while working with some excellent resists in Fire that is usually lacking in Ground Monos. He is really a great team mon who does an exceptional amount of support, but even he is with his flaws.

Frankly Quagsire has a lot of great tools......but its let down by a lot of things. It has neutralities to two of Ground's weaknesses.....in exchange for a x4 weakness to the sole remaining one and has only decent bulk. Sure it is capable of not being 2HKO'd by a lot of threats, but it needs to be at max health to even come close to do so in some cases where as it is unable to wall a lot of the more powerful attackers even if it gets some defensive boosts in there, and is one of the biggest toxic baits in the world. Then it has to compete for a team slot with Gastrodon who supports same typing, overall better bulk, the ability to remove stat boosts as well, and has immunity to Water! I'd say it would be outclassed if it weren't for the fact Quagsire was capable of bypassing stats completely without giving up one moveslot to do it and has slightly more diversity in its sets. Yet the capability of being a safe check to most set up sweepers, being able to spread status around, and the fact it is able to have an excellent amount of impact in battles can not be overstated, thus making it deserving of B ranking in my eyes for Ground alongside Gastrodon.

 

[Gnief Fiar]

Armaldo(Bug) for B Rank

Lord Claw(Armaldo)(M)@Leftovers
Ability: Battle Armor
EVs: 252 HP, 252 Def, 4 SpDef
Impish Nature
-Stealth Rock
-Rapid Spin
-Stone Edge
-X-Scissor

OR you could try this...

Lord Claw(Armaldo)(M)@Assault Vest
Ability: Battle Armor
EVs: 252 HP, 252 Atk, 4 Def OR 252 HP, 4 Atk, 252 Def
Adamant Nature
-Stone Edge
-Rapid Spin
-Earthquake/Aqua Jet
-Knock Off

Armaldo is a very good defensive Pokemon. It's quite slow to compensate for being so bulky. It's one of four viable Stealth Rockers on Bug you can choose from(Pinsir not included). Others being Forretress, Shuckle, and Crustle. I'd say that Armaldo's main job is Spinning. It can take a hit from Bug's main predators. It faces competition from Forretress though. Forretress is a lot better at setting rocks, but Armaldo can at least deal some decent damage.
Armaldo is a very middle of the road Pokemon. Defensive, but also has some offensive power. That's why Armaldo gets the middle rank: B Rank.

 

[Gnief Fiar]

By the way, Anttyaz, you put Terrakion into the Rock category even though the post was for Fighting.

 

[Anttya]

By the way, Anttyaz, you put Terrakion into the Rock category even though the post was for Fighting.

Derp, fixing it now.

Currently, this is basically the theorymonning status. We are trying to get the boundaries set, and get the metagame stated. We can question others' rankings, as many have, but after this status, once we get a clear statement of what the metagame is, that's when we will truly get down to business. We may be at that stage in about 2 weeks, we may be there in 2 days, but we will get there surely in time.

Keep in mind, this is a community project, everyone's voice matters here. So if there is something that someone wrote that you don't agree with, say something (educatedly) chances are there is someone agreeing with you. This has gone pretty good so far. Me, Sae Dirpz discussed this on skype, and we agree with most of the listings so far. There are odd ones out that we can address, but this has been really good so far.

Hmm, so should I post those Pokemon now and add an extension in the debating period or no? I'd personally post them now and let some of the people who don't feel like writing stuff something to do.
Edit: I'll post them, but if it's interfering with the writeup part I'll stop it. At least people will see how it'll work :]

 

[inscribe]

reserving mesprit bc its my waifu

 

[Mareep Sweep]

Zapdos (Electric) for S rank.

Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252HP 252SPDEF/252DEF 4SPATK
Calm/Bold (Depending on the set you're running.)
-Roost
-Thunderbolt/Heat Wave
-Toxic
-Substitute/Defog

Basically a great staller and/or defogger that has the great ground immunity that electric needs, amazing typing, and great stats, id say its a special version of gliscor with a few differences. Toxic + Sub + Roost is a really annoying combination to stall, while the last slot could be filled by its main STAB move or Heat Wave to take care of pesky grass types that resist electric,ice types that inflict super effective damage on it, or steel types that are immune to toxi stalling, be aware of heatran and excadrill though, depening on the set you're running.

Zapdos @ Choice Specs/Scarf
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252SPATK 252SPEED 4HP
Modest/Timid, depending on what you prefer
-Thunderbolt
-Heat Wave/Signal Beam
-Volt Switch
-Hidden Power Ice

This is a really underrated set that isn't very common but is pretty good, in my opinion specs is better as it boosts Zapdos's already blazing special attack and can be a bit better than scarf because it helps identify scarfers more, but scarf is really good for revenge killing pokemon like greninja and shaymin-s.

252 SpA Choice Specs Zapdos Heat Wave vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Aegislash-Shield: 214-252 (66 - 77.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Choice Specs Zapdos Thunderbolt vs. 248 HP / 108 SpD Mandibuzz: 440-518 (104 - 122.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Zapdos Heat Wave vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Cryogonal: 194-230 (56.3 - 66.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Zapdos Hidden Power Ice vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Shaymin-S: 356-420 (104.3 - 123.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Why should it be S rank? Because of its great stats,ground immunity, amazing typing,great defogger,great staller,limited but is still a nice movepool and the ability of walling stuff like Landorus-I, until pokemon like mega pinsir and scizor.

Btw, id like to unreserve aerodactyl and mega aerodactyl (rock)

 

[SirSkit]

Nominating Diancie (Rock) for B rank.

Movesets

Trick Room Sweeper

Diancie @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpA
Quiet Nature
IVs: 30 Atk / 30 SpA / 2 Spe
- Trick Room
- Moonblast
- Diamond Storm
- Hidden Power [Fire]/Explosion/Calm Mind

Although Diancie may not have the best Special Attack stat, it definitely can tear apart the opponent's team at +2. Often surviving at least one hit, Diancie can proceed to trick room on the same turn and attempt a sweep. Moonblast destroys Fighting types not named Cobalion, one of the main reasons to use Diancie. Diamond Storm has that nice 50% chance to boost defense, and, although it is physical, it still does more than Ancient Power. For the last slot, HP fire is a nice option to hit steel types, such as Skarmory, Mawile, Scizor (On the switch), and Ferrothorn. However, Explosion could be a nice option if you wish to use a Full Trick room team, since it allows you to get more dangerous sweepers in safely while packing a punch. Lastly, Calm Mind could be used to compliment Trick room. Not much can stop a +3 Diancie under trick room (what's bullet punch?).

All Out Attacker

Diancie @ Life Orb/Assault Vest
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpA
Rash Nature
- Moonblast
- Psychic/Psyshock
- Diamond Storm
- Hidden Power [Fire]

For more immediate power, one could opt for this set. Life Orb helps to boost Diancie's somewhat mediocre 100 Special stat, but Assault vest could be used to capitalize on Diancie's raw bulk. with 252/0 EV's, Diancie with a Vest can survive a SPECS Keldeo hydro pump. The rest of the set is fairly self-explanatory. Moonblast is your reliable STAB for fighting types, Diamond Storm is just more STAB, and HP fire for steel types. Psychic is primarily used for filler, but it does hit some Poison types and Fighting types, although Moonblast hits most fighting types harder.

Support

Diancie @ Light Clay
Diancie @ Light Clay
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 196 Def / 4 SpA / 56 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Light Screen
- Reflect
- Moonblast/Diamond Storm/Explosion (adjust EV accordingly)
- Heal Bell/Trick Room

This set is a more bulky approach to using Diancie, taking advantage of its neutrality to Fighting type attacks as well. Being one of the few Rock types that can viably run dual screens, Diancie takes advantage of its bulk to set screens on tons of physical threats. Moonblast prevents Diancie from being total taunt bait while still hitting fighting types. Diamond Storm could be used to get the defense boost, but it prevents Diancie from hitting fighting types hard, somewhat defeating the purpose of using it in the first place. Explosion can be used as well to get other teammates in while the screens are up and still packs a punch. For the final slot, Stealth rock can be used, but if you already have a reliable stealth rocker, Trick room could be used if you have a Trick room Rock team. Explosion or more coverage are still decent options if your team doesn't need either trick room or stealth rock.

Some Awesome Calcs \o/

252 SpA Choice Specs Keldeo Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Diancie: 254-300 (83.5 - 98.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Life Orb Terrakion Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Diancie: 179-212 (58.8 - 69.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Landorus Earth Power vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Diancie: 218-257 (71.7 - 84.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Pure Power Mega Medicham High Jump Kick vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Diancie: 249-294 (81.9 - 96.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
96 Atk Cobalion Iron Head vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Diancie: 252-300 (82.8 - 98.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO Only commonish Steel STAB that i found that it could survive :x

252+ SpA Diancie Moonblast vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Keldeo: 308-366 (95.3 - 113.3%) -- 75% chance to OHKO
252+ SpA Diancie Moonblast vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Terrakion: 312-368 (96.5 - 113.9%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO
252+ SpA Diancie Moonblast vs. 0 HP / 0- SpD Landorus: 190-225 (59.5 - 70.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Diancie Moonblast vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Mega Medicham: 326-386 (124.9 - 147.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Diancie, although it still has common weaknesses in Water, Ground, and Steel (Grass too, but not too common), still has a few unique qualities that make it viable on Mono Rock. First, its Fairy typing is extremely useful for fighting back against Fighting Monotypes. Usually avoiding an OHKO allows it to fire back with a STAB Moonblast which not many Rock types can pull off. Diancie also is one of the few viable special attackers for Rock which is nice when most of your team is prone to burns. Diancie is also arguably the best rock type switch in for Sableye, one of the most annoying Pokemon for rock to face (right next to Will-O-Mew).

However, you may have noticed how I've mentioned Fighting types a ton for the movesets :x Diancie is a nice answer to Fighting types, yes, but most of the time Diancie is just dead weight against certain monotype teams. Offensively, 100 SpA is very mediocre. Also, it just has... such a bland movepool. Outside of Moonblast, its main special choices are Ancient Power, Psychic, and Hidden Power. Unless your attack is SE, you'll find Diancie coming up short in terms of power. Defensively, Diancie is also somewhat mediocre too. It can't take advantage of its 150/150 defenses because of its pitiful 50 hp. It lacks reliable recovery, and it also compounds many of the weaknesses that Rock has. We don't need any more things weak to bullet punch. Overall, while it is a decent answer to Fighting and Bulky Dark, it just won't pull its weight on the team unless you are faced with those two teams.

 

[Anttya]

Week 1:

The first week of debate will be 5 days long so we'll have plenty of time to get used to it.

This will end on September 23rd 2014

Things to think about while ranking:
​

-Does this Pokemon need to stay, move up, or down?
-How does this Pokemon fare in the metagame?
-What is this Pokemon walled by? Can your teammates successfully check / counter it?
-What is this Pokemon's role. Is it outclassed by other Pokemon? Is this role useful for its type?
-Is its ability beneficial? Do other Pokemon outclass it?

This Week's Victims!

(Fire) Charizard Y (Currently S Tier)

(Fairy) Clefable (Currently A Tier)

Previous Weekly Victims
​

Archive

Week 1: Nothing Yet!

Clefable -> S Tier

I personally think that Clefable should move up to S tier. Its Cosmic Power sets are absolutely cancerous and extremely hard to take down if you let it set up long enough. Also, the fact that it's only weak to Poison and Steel moves makes it even harder to kill it. Clefable also gets a choice between Unaware and Magic Guard, which are both extremely good abilities meaning that it can be both a set up sweeper, and a Wish Passer with Unaware. Together, I think Clefable deserves to be S tier.

 

[Dirpz]

Azumarill For S Rank (Water)

Set

Belly Drum

Azumarill @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Sap Sipper/Huge Power
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Belly Drum
- Aqua Jet
- Play Rough
- Knock Off

Choice Band

Azumarill @ Choice Band
Ability: Huge Power/Sap Sipper
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Play Rough
- Aqua Jet
- Superpower
- Knock Off

Azumarill is a great physical sweeper it getting blessed with the fairy type. It has everyhing it needs to be an amazing sweeper. Nice Attack, nice ability, and nice move pool. Azumarill gives water a huge boost this gen, it gives water another great niche which is sap sipper, which helps all the ground water types, and most water types a huge boost.

Azumarill is a pokemon that defines water teams in my opionion, it has nice attack stats, nice move pool, gives water a grass imunity. Its just a great pokemon. Also gonna reserve Smeargle (Normal)

 

[all falls down]

Nominating Medicham for S rank [Psychic]

Medicham @ Medichamite
Ability: Pure Power
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- High Jump Kick
- Fake Out
- Zen Headbutt / Bullet Punch
- Ice Punch / Fire Punch / Thunder Punch

Medicham is an AMAZING contribution to psychic mono-teams, as it is the only (viable) physical Psychic type, and the only viable user of priority, (Metagross a shit) which is a very important factor on any offensive team. Medicham also has the ability to get past Dark types with the strongest single hit attack in the game(HJK). It also has many viable moves, all of which can work on any set. Lastly, it can safely get past Heatran, Heracross, and Bisharp; three very common pokemon and huge threats to psychic monos.

I agree on Medicham being S - ranked, but not due to the reasons that you stated. The only viable physical Psychic type? Come on, Gallade, Victini, Metagross, Jirachi, Azelf are all amazing physical Pokemon and are fully viable on Psychic, and even bring things that Medicham don't: bulk, typing, and coverage. The reason Medicham should be S - ranked is due to its overwhelming wall breaking power that many monotypes can not deal with. Some of Medicham's few counters in Monotype are Aegislash (only on Ghost), Sableye (Can't switch into elemental punch without max defense), Slowbro (chance of being 2HKOd with ThunderPunch), and that is pretty much it. Because of the lack of Pokemon that can take Medicham's attacks, the only way to get past it is to outspeed and OHKO it. Rock, Steel, Dark without Sableye, Flying, and Ice are the main types that are massively hindered by Medicham, and are forced to run a particular scarfed Pokemon that can revenge kill Medicham. Medicham for S - Rank

 

[all falls down]

Week 1:
The first week of debate will be 5 days long so we'll have plenty of time to get used to it.

This will end on September 23rd 2014

Things to think about while ranking:
-Does this Pokemon need to stay, move up, or down?
-How does this Pokemon fare in the metagame?
-What is this Pokemon walled by? Can your teammates successfully check / counter it?
-What is this Pokemon's role. Is it outclassed by other Pokemon? Is this role useful for its type?
-Is its ability beneficial? Do other Pokemon outclass it?

This Week's Victims!

Previous Weekly Victims

il do charizard later

Clefable -> S tier

Clefable can function as a late game sweeper, cleric, and wall, with calm mind/cosmic power, heal bell and wish, and softboiled, respectively. The most threatening of these sets are the calm mind and cosmic power ones, as with Magic Guard and superb typing, Clefable, commonly referred to as cancer, will never die. I agree with Clefable going to S tier as with screens and paralysis support in Klefki and Whimsicott, Clefable finds itself a plethora of opportunities to boost, and whether it is the Cosmic Power set or the Calm Mind set, it will be very tough to take down. Methods used to take down Clefable include Trick, Power, Phazing, and Taunt, which all have their flaws and can potentially fail to deal with Clefable.

Trick is a good counter to Clefable as with a choiced item, Clefable will be locked into one of its moves without leftovers recovery, effectively crippling it for the rest of the game. The most obvious flaw to this, however, is the fact that fairies have two megas, Mawile and Gardevoir, that can easily switch in on trick as trick fails when used on mega stones. You might say that Mawile has poor defenses and cannot switch into many moves, but when the opposing player finds himself or herself against a +3 Clefable, they will have no other choice than to try to trick it, and the Fairy player can capitalize on that. Adding to this fact, both of these megas can outright sweep a team if given the opportunity to boost, and if they are given a free switch on trick and the opposing Pokemon is forced to switch, the game is heavily skewed toward the Fairy user's favor.

The other method of dealing with Clefable in taunt is much sketchier. The only viable taunt users that can successfully tank any of Clefables hits are Heatran and Mew, and Mew often lacks an attacking move, meaning that you will only get one turn of Taunt when you switch into Mew, taunt it, and switch back out. This leaves only Heatran, and obviously only two types have this Pokemon. Taunt is usually no problem for Clefable, because it will just kill your taunter.

The third way of dealing with Clefable is power. Clefable is only weak to two types, poison and steel, but obviously its bulk is not the greatest, and when hit with a super -effective move, it will likely go down. Things like Magnezone, Excadrill, Bisharp, Gengar, Mawile, and Landorus all have the power to break through Clefable, given that it does not have many boosts. Despite this, with screens up and a Cosmic power or Calm mind boost, Clefable can still tank even the strongest of super effective attacks and often respond with a super - effective move of itself (flamethrower for steel types) or a strong boosted STAB move (calm mind boosted moonblast). Because of this, the regular Pokemon that try to kill Clefable will often find themselves in a tough spot as once they go down, Clefable will be almost impossible to break. *COUGH* 252+ Atk Adaptability Mega Lucario Iron Tail vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Clefable through Reflect: 228-270 (57.8 - 68.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO *COUGH* 4 SpA Life Orb Clefable Fire Blast vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Mega Lucario: 265-315 (94.3 - 112%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO

Phazing (roar, whirlwind, etc) is barely a counter to Clefable, as obviously it just getting rid of it so that you can deal with it later. Often times you will find that a player will continuously phaze Clefable away with Pokemon like Empoleon, Skarmory and Heatran [funny, these are all steel types] until their phazer is weakened and cannot phaze anymore, leaving themselves susceptible to being swept by Clefable. With Magic Guard, Clefable also does not care about hazards when being phazed.

Because all 4 of these methods to deal with Clefable are not surefire guaranteed, and can only work for some monotypes, Clefable is an S-rank contender with its ability to boost under light screen, reflect, and paralysis support, effectively being able to function as an amazing late game sweeper and cleaner.


Example Replay
Generic steel killing off everything but Clefable, leading 5-1, but Clefable pulls through and sweeps http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/monotype-161865016

[[[bobo is me and the other guy is Auburn ._.]]]

 

[feen]

I

BASED TOGEKISS IS HERE
FEAR TEH FAIRY BURD

Anyway. First up, is Togekiss. I nominate Togekiss for A Rank in Flying.

loser set imo (Togekiss) @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
252 HP/ 252 SpDef/ 4 Def
Calm Nature
-Thunder Wave
-Air Slash
-Heal Bell
-Roost

Explanation: OK, I was really debating whether to put this into A rank or B rank for Flying. Decided to put it into A Rank after Sae mentioned that it has a lot of versatility and utility, making it not a very dominant threat, but a solid threat that needs coverage. Anyway, onto the set. This is the common Paraflinch set that has invoked fear in many Monotype players around the internet. Item, Ability, and EV's are simple: Most bulk as possible to tank as much hits, and more flinch chance with Serene Grace. This set can tank pretty much any special attack, and TWave right back, subjecting it to the terror of Paraflinch. Heal Bell is for curing the status of mons on your team, such as a Para'd Char X (which is really helpful v Thundy-I's para'ing your sweeper, so you get a second shot), burned Landorus-T, or toxic'ed Zapdos. It's a great utility mon for flying teams, and can even manage to live an Ice Beam and cripple the famous Greninja, the terror of all Flying teams. However, it's good to note that it can't switch in. This set is commonly used in a Toge/Zap/Skarm core, with Skarm setting Rocks and tanking physical hits, Zapdos Defogging and breaking walls with Toxic/Heat Wave, and Togekiss alleviating pressure on them with Heal Bell and paralysis support.

And if you really wanna be real (cough Arifeen cough), use this set to utterly destroy Fighting (who actually has an even matchup v Flying), Bug, Grass, and even Dark, who I've found is a pain to beat with Flying:

smogon burd? Anttyaz burd (Togekiss) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Serene Grace
252 SpAtk/ 252 Spe/ 4 SpDef
Timid Nature
-Air Slash
-Dazzling Gleam
-Flamethrower/Fire Blast
-Trick/Aura Sphere

Explanation: K, this set is the death of all teams weak to Toge's STAB's, especially Flying. Not too much of an explanation needed here, just bring it in, spam Air Slash, hope for flinch. If against a team like Dark, weaken the team, bring in Toge, spam DG, win. Flamethrower v Fire Blast is for Scizor/Ferrothorn, and the choice is up to you for power or accuracy.
252 SpA Togekiss Flamethrower vs. 252 HP / 168 SpD Ferrothorn: 284-336 (80.6 - 95.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Togekiss Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 168 SpD Ferrothorn: 348-412 (98.8 - 117%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO
Fire Blast can net the KO, but can get you killed by Gyro Ball if you miss. Your choice. Trick is a great option to cripple walls such as Chansey and Clefable, both of which pose some problems to Flying mono. Aura Sphere is mostly for Heatrans (who you won't be doing much to anyway), and Ttars. Overall the best option is Trick, but if you have Clef and Chansey, and other walls considerably covered, and Rock is tearing you a new one, might as well just use Aura Sphere. Anyway, not too much else to say here, just get rid of Rocks to increase longevity.

Thanks to Sae Sae for reminding me of Trick and letting me put my birdie in A rank :]

*cough* nick for hax *cough*

K, next we have....Skarmory! I nominate Skarmory for S Rank in Flying mono.

Skarmory @ Rocky Helmet/Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
252 HP/ 252 Def/ 4 Spe
Impish Nature
-Roost
-Stealth Rock/Spikes
-Brave Bird/Counter
-Whirlwind/Defog

Explanation: Again, not too sure of the rank. I think S, because it pretty much has defined Flying mono; I see no viable Flying team, besides Omega-Xis14's, that does not run Skarmory. That could be my genericness coming out, but it's sorta true. Skarmory just has too much utility to give up. Stealth Rock v Spikes is if you already have a Rocks setter, such as Lando-T. If not, Rocks it is. Brave Bird is pretty much mandatory on it, I used to run no attack Skarm w/ Defog and WW, but I lost too many matches to say it has a good reason to use over the other sets. BB v Counter really shouldn't be too much of a question, Brave Bird has far more uses, but Counter has some neat utility if you want to use it. Whirlwind is what I believe is the better option, racking up hazard damage while also avoiding it from being setup bait (unless Taunt). Defog can be used if you lack trust in your ability to bring in your other Defogger in safely (which I did and still do ;_;). Pretty basic set overall, just stops Rock monos from crushing you, stops Mamoswine, and a lot of other things that threaten to ruin your bird's day.

Ok, next up is Landorus-T. I nominate Lando-T for S Rank in Flying.

Landorus-T @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
252 HP/ 252 Def/ 4 Atk
-Stealth Rock
-U-Turn/Knock Off
-Earthquake
-Stone Edge/Rock Slide

Explanation: Lando-T is one of those pokes that you really can't predict what set it is. LO attacker, Scarf Rkiller, Lefties pivot, Band wallbreaker, etc. So many x.x Thanks to Acast and Anttyaz for proving this to me. Anyway, onto the set. This is the tanky offensive pivot Lando-T, which works great in OU, and works great in Monotype as well. It can switch in on pretty much any physical attacker, set up Sneaky Pebbles, then U-Turn out or threaten with a 145 base Atk STAB Earthquake. This set isn't really what makes Landorus A rank, as it isn't 'influencing' the meta, per se, but it still is a decent threat that most teams should think of when building a team. Stone Edge vs. Rock Slide is again, power or accuracy. I think SE OHKO'es M-Pinsir, while Rock Slide needs some additional damage to pull that off. U-Turn v Knock Off is another 50/50. Offensive momentum, or the ability to cripple your opponent's team? It's a throw-up between the two.

Landorus-T @ Choice Scarf/Band
Ability: Intimidate
252 Atk/ 252 Spe/ 4 Def
Jolly/Adamant Nature
-U-Turn
-Knock Off/Superpower
-Earthquake
-Stone Edge

Explanation: Here's the more threatening Lando-T set. While I realize that Band and Scarf play somewhat differently, I was really lazy, thought that they were similar enough to allow one explanation for each. Scarf takes on more of a revenge-killing aspect, able to outspeed many threats and KO them with powerful EQ's or Stone Edge's. It can also capitalize on the switches it forces by using U-Turn. Knock Off or Superpower is tilted more towards Knock Off, but if your team struggles v Ferro or Chansey, then the immediate killing power is better to ensure KO's on those two. Band is somewhat similar, but lends itself to a more wallbreaking aspect. You do NOT want to stare a 145 base Atk, Choice Banded Landorus-T straight in the face. The power is way too real. U-Turn, even when unSTAB, can still do some serious damage to an opposing team, especially when combined with a Volt Switcher and Stealth Rocks. Same scenario with Knock Off or Superpower, it's really up to the user. Scarf is usually better when paired with another Banded or Specs mon, such as Staraptor, while Band is just the opposite. That's just my preference though, you can run HO with dual Scarfers, or just deal damage with dual Band. The set that you want to use is up to what your team needs.

Additional comments: A LO Rock Polish set is worth mentioning, Rock Polish lets him outspeed even Scarfed Latios, unless I'm wrong, and LO boosts his already incredible attack to insane levels. However, sweeping can be better accomplished by Char X or M-Gyara, but this set is great for Hyper Offensive teams and for the surprise factor.

Thanks to Acast and Anttyaz (lol double A) for telling me to put this beast in S Rank. Apparently A + A = S <.<


Finally, one of the staple VoltTurners on Flying. Thundurus-T, who I nominate for A Rank in Flying.

Thundurus-T @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Volt Absorb
252 SpAtk/ 252 Spe/ 4 SpDef
Timid Nature
-Volt Switch
-Thunderbolt/Grass Knot
-HP Ice
-Focus Blast/Grass Knot

Explanation: The only one I am actually certain is an A-Rank. Not meta defining, but if you lose to it, you should change your team immediately. Thundurus-T has Volt Absorb, a great Electric immunity needed on Flying, that deters Electric attacks and with right prediction, can get its health back up by a quarter. Volt Switch is obvious; its provided momentum is just way too good to pass up. Tbolt is actually debatable; I rarely find myself clicking it, unless I'm facing Water. Volt Switch is what I normally use. HP Ice is obvious, for Landorus, Garchomp, and other annoying Grounds. Focus Blast is really helpful vs. Ice and Steel, especially with the Aegi ban. Grass Knot can be used for Ground, who arguably has a very good matchup vs Flying, and Water, who is pretty much even with it, in my opinion. This is one of the best pokes to use in a Flying mono, imo, for its offensive capabilities, decent coverage, elec immunity, and great momentum booster with Volt Switch. You really can't go wrong using this thing.


Anyway, that's it for now. I realized that I haven't used Thundy-I enough to actually give a rating to it, so I'll give that up for someone x.x Other bad not generic pokes coming soon, since some of them are actually pretty good and have some niches in the meta. Thanks to all who read this fat wall of text <.<

I use scarfkiss with air slash, heal bell, dazzling gleam and trick

 

[Freeroamer]

Trying not to be biased here because I wrote it xD

I believe Mega Charizard Y (Fire) should stay S Rank.

The team support Mega Charizayd Y brings to Fire is simply irreplaceable, giving Fire a huge boost in strengthening their STAB and reducing their Water weakness. You could argue Ninetales provides the same support and allows you to run the X Mega instead, but this is simply not true. Part of the support Mega Charizard Y provides comes from it's massive offensive presence and reliable recovery in Roost. You could also argue that a 4x Stealth Rock weakness hinders it from doing it's job too much for it to be S Rank as Fire only has Torkoal as a means of removing hazards. This is a fair point, however this is a common weakness among Fire types and with offensive pressure, it can be difficult to set rocks against these teams. Also Torkoal, if utilised well can usually get at least one spin off a game. Finally the main reason I believe it should stay S is in the rankings definitions. S Rank if for pokemon that define the metagame. I believe charizard y does this for Fire, and is something every single team, whether they have an advantage or not must account for and make sure they can beat it.

 

[XatuAppraisal]

You did it for Grass only so Ghost's still free

Reserving Nidoking for Poison :]

Yea, I only just noticed he said Ghost, not grass. It's still entirely outclassed by Trevenant though

 

[n64lord]

Trying not to be biased here because I wrote it xD

I believe Mega Charizard Y (Fire) should stay S Rank.

The team support Mega Charizayd Y brings to Fire is simply irreplaceable, giving Fire a huge boost in strengthening their STAB and reducing their Water weakness. You could argue Ninetales provides the same support and allows you to run the X Mega instead, but this is simply not true. Part of the support Mega Charizard Y provides comes from it's massive offensive presence and reliable recovery in Roost. You could also argue that a 4x Stealth Rock weakness hinders it from doing it's job too much for it to be S Rank as Fire only has Torkoal as a means of removing hazards. This is a fair point, however this is a common weakness among Fire types and with offensive pressure, it can be difficult to set rocks against these teams. Also Torkoal, if utilised well can usually get at least one spin off a game. Finally the main reason I believe it should stay S is in the rankings definitions. S Rank if for pokemon that define the metagame. I believe charizard y does this for Fire, and is something every single team, whether they have an advantage or not must account for and make sure they can beat it.

I disagree and think mega zard Y should be A Rank for fire teams.
This version of charizard will be forced out by the likes of keldeo, latios, and thundrus-I which are all on everyteam's watch list, therefore most prepared team will have something for it. Worse for charizard, if they use something lando-t a volturn or terrakion, for this job... then you put your already overworked defensive pokemon at risk, especially if an expected stone edge or volt turn turns into a stealth rock or substitute. Enhancing its own and your team's ability to hammer walls is difficult to capitalize on when their first response to a KO threatens to force you to chose between the core of your offense or defense.

 

[Swede]

I'll reserve Rhyperior for Ground.

 

[scpinion]

Meloetta (Psychic) for A Rank

Meloetta is one of the most most versatile and effective pokemon one can chose for a psychic team. It is capable of running a variety of sets, and excelling at each role with proper support. 100/77/128 bulk allows it to absorb multiple specially-based hits, before retaliating with a broad range of coverage attacks that really hurt coming off its base 128 SpA (as a point of reference, Keldeo has 129 SpA). Similar to most other pokemon on a psychic mono, Meloetta requires support to function effectively; but, said support is an integral part of any top tier team. Meloetta's Normal/Psychic typing provides an immunity to Ghost attacks and is an important part of the resistance/immunity core psychic teams often build around. This is all placed on top of an amazing ability: Serene Grace (T-wave+Rest+Snore if you want to abuse it :D). Finally, Meloetta is unique in that it can to change to a pirouette-form by using the move Relic Song--trading it's 128/128 special stats for 128 Atk and 128 Speed in the process. Although rare on psychic teams because of powerful physical attackers such as mega-Medicham or Metagross, when the pirouette form shows up it is always a threat.

Meloetta seems to fit the definition of A rank perfectly. Many S rank qualities (versatility, unique typing, ability), but has a screaming weakness to physical attackers, especially the ever-present U-turn.

A Rank: Reserved for Pokemon that have S rank qualities, but need support (which can be easily given) in order for them to be successful. Defensive Pokemon of this tier can fulfill its role really well most of the time. They may get moves/abilities that are rare in their Type and they're still decent Pokemon overall. These Pokemon can play a role against most type matchups, but they may be hard walled by 1-2 types. However, these Pokemon are mostly used for one or two of their sets meaning that they can be predictable. These Pokemon influence the metagame.

AV/Special Wall

Meloetta @ Assault Vest
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Psyshock
- Thunderbolt
- Focus Blast
- Shadow Ball/Energy Ball/Dazzling Gleam/Hyper Voice

Specs Wall-Breaker

Meloetta @ Choice Specs
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
- Psyshock
- Thunderbolt
- Focus Blast
- Shadow Ball/Energy Ball/Dazzling Gleam/Hyper Voice/Trick

Sub-CM

Meloetta @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Substitute
- Calm Mind
- Psyshock
- Shadow Ball

Support

Meloetta @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD (consider investing in speed if using relic song)
Careful Nature
- Heal Bell
- Perish Song/Relic Song
- Knock Off/U-turn
- Thunder Wave/Toxic

All-Out Attacker (credit to Mareep Sweep for this set)

Meloetta @ Life Orb
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat/Drain Punch
- Quick Attack/Return
- Knock Off/Stone Edge/Ice Punch/U-Turn
- Relic Song