Monotype Viability Rankings

[Eien]

Landorus-T to S Rank on Flying

I think that Lando-t does so many roles so well on flying that it can't be ignored and left in A rank. Its defensive typing allows for neutrality to rock and an immunity to electric helping a lot vs Victini's bolt strikes and Terrakion's Stone Edges. Intimidate and access to u-turn makes it the perfect pivot. Lando usually is scarfed or defensive, but a double dance set is also somewhat popular. Intimidate helps wall mons like terrakion, even on the less bulky sets.

Landorus-Therian @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Rock Slide/Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Knock Off/Superpower

-1 252 Atk Terrakion Stone Edge vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Landorus-T: 118-141 (36.9 - 44.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
Also, this:
-1 252 Atk Victini V-create vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Landorus-T: 178-211 (55.7 - 66.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Scarf landorus still lives a -1 V-Create, and either outspeeds and ohkos next turn or forces a switch.

Landorus-Therian @ Rocky Helmet/Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Stone Edge/Rock Slide/Knock Off
- Stealth Rock

Running rocks on a bulky lando allows skarmory to run spikes instead of stealth rocks, and it's neutral to fire, the only skarm weakness that isn't covered by the electric immunity. Skarmory in turn provides a neutrality to water and ice, landorus's only weaknesses.

Landorus-Therian (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Rock Polish
- Swords Dance

+2 Speed with adamant allows it to outspeed scarf base 120s which you'll never see and dishes out more damage. This set helps tremendously against rock, which gives flying a hard time otherwise. Cradily is basically setup bait because it hardly touches lando, and after both dances it can solo rock.

+2 252+ Atk Landorus-T Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Cradily: 399-469 (106.1 - 124.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Double Dance Landorus-T can also set up a Rock Polish on Mega Diancie, and sweep from there.
Refer to the scarf Victini calc, it can also set up on it after Lando Intimidates it, then can solo fire. It can also obviously set up on a Kyurem-Black locked into Fusion Bolt, either SD or RP depending on what you think they'll switch into, and sweep from there. This set helps particularly well with these two types.

In conclusion, I think that the options Landorus-Therian offers to flying are too much to pass up and it should be moved to S rank.

Part of the issue with Landorus-T is that you can't run Landorus-I.

There isn't much the Choice Scarf set particularly does for Flying. It fails to outspeed the key Choice Scarf users Victini and Kyurem-B (Like all other notable Choice Scarf users on Flying). And it's not like Flying doesn't have many good physical attackers, with Dragonite and of coures Mega Gyarados being very popular to combat Psychic. Without Mega Charizard Y, Flying doesn't have any strong special attackers (yes Nasty Plot Togekiss and Thundurus exist, but both need to set up to be powerful and both also give up using other sets that might benefit the team more), which is why Landorus-I is so important. Certainly on a Mega Charizard Y team, it'd be easier to justify using Landorus-T, but given the current usage of Mega Gyarados, I find Landorus-I is simply superior for its special wallbreaking.

Personally my favorite Landorus-T set is the defensive rocks user, although I use Leftovers for recovery. Even then, the one niche I find this set to have is to allow the Skarmdos core to both run Defog, and to more reliably put up rocks vs Fire. That being said, Landorus-I can also run Stealth Rock, and because it forces many switches with how threatening it is, it will have surprisingly many opportunities to use it (Victini's V-create cannot OHKO Landorus-I, on a side note for the Fire matchup). I don't find this to be a very compelling reason to use it. Having the extra physical wall is nice in some circumstances in corner cases, but isn't enough to justify its usage over Landorus-I on Mega Gyarados teams.

The final set is the Double Dance set. I'm not that sure this set is even useful, especially with your given examples. It seems like a "win more" set in the few cases it even works. Against Psychic teams with Victini (one of your examples), Slowbro walls this out completely, so it's not even a real threat. For the Kyurem-B example, it should be noted that any good Kyurem-B user will be clicking Ice Beam instead of Fusion Bolt almost every single time, so the scenario presented is rather rare. Nevertheless, on Ice teams, Avalugg just comes in and walls Landorus-T forever. And even against Dragon teams, unless Landorus-T somehow gets both a SD and a RP, Kyurem-B can come back in to live a Stone Edge/outspeed Landorus-T and OHKO with Ice Beam. Against Rock, Iron Head Skarmory sort of already just wins anyway? And even if something went wrong, you still have Mega Gyarados too which just wins too. So this is the prime example of a "win more" case.

For me personally, at least, I have to think of a reason to not use Landorus-I in order to use Landorus-T. I just don't see it being S rank as a result; maybe in a metagame where Mega Charizard Y is more desirable than Mega Gyarados, it could be.

 

[Dece1t]

Landorus-T to S Rank on Flying

I think that Lando-t does so many roles so well on flying that it can't be ignored and left in A rank. Its defensive typing allows for neutrality to rock and an immunity to electric helping a lot vs Victini's bolt strikes and Terrakion's Stone Edges. Intimidate and access to u-turn makes it the perfect pivot. Lando usually is scarfed or defensive, but a double dance set is also somewhat popular. Intimidate helps wall mons like terrakion, even on the less bulky sets.

Landorus-Therian @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Rock Slide/Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Knock Off/Superpower

-1 252 Atk Terrakion Stone Edge vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Landorus-T: 118-141 (36.9 - 44.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
Also, this:
-1 252 Atk Victini V-create vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Landorus-T: 178-211 (55.7 - 66.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Scarf landorus still lives a -1 V-Create, and either outspeeds and ohkos next turn or forces a switch.

Landorus-Therian @ Rocky Helmet/Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Stone Edge/Rock Slide/Knock Off
- Stealth Rock

Running rocks on a bulky lando allows skarmory to run spikes instead of stealth rocks, and it's neutral to fire, the only skarm weakness that isn't covered by the electric immunity. Skarmory in turn provides a neutrality to water and ice, landorus's only weaknesses.

Landorus-Therian (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Rock Polish
- Swords Dance

+2 Speed with adamant allows it to outspeed scarf base 120s which you'll never see and dishes out more damage. This set helps tremendously against rock, which gives flying a hard time otherwise. Cradily is basically setup bait because it hardly touches lando, and after both dances it can solo rock.

+2 252+ Atk Landorus-T Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Cradily: 399-469 (106.1 - 124.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Double Dance Landorus-T can also set up a Rock Polish on Mega Diancie, and sweep from there.
Refer to the scarf Victini calc, it can also set up on it after Lando Intimidates it, then can solo fire. It can also obviously set up on a Kyurem-Black locked into Fusion Bolt, either SD or RP depending on what you think they'll switch into, and sweep from there. This set helps particularly well with these two types.

In conclusion, I think that the options Landorus-Therian offers to flying are too much to pass up and it should be moved to S rank.

Its a nice thought, but I'm gonna have to disagree. Lando t is an outstanding asset, but if you look at the S ranked Flying mons, there's a reason why they are ranked that high. Skarmory is one of the best leads and physical walls you could have, Zapdos is a great defogger and special wall, Mega Gyarados provides that nice resistance to ice, as well as being a fantastic sweeper (that's relatively easy to boost thanks to intimidate), and Lando I is a phenomenal wallbreaker that's incredibly hard to wall (especially mixed sets). Lando T can run very useful roles, but I feel they aren't as of up most importance as the ones above, it does not define Flying as a whole. I feel it should stay A rank, but, good write up. :)

...Oh what do you know, it's my 500th post. :P

 

[Vid]

As part of the Major Changes that happened recently Anttya and I decided to add another list of major changes to the VR.

Changes

Arcanine (Fire) B -> C
Accelgor (Bug) Unranked -> D
Crustle (Bug) Unranked ->D
Rotom (Ghost) Unranked -> C
Nidoking (Ground) B -> C
Diancie (Rock) C -> B
Magneton (Steel) C -> D
Virizion (Fighting) Unranked -> D
Pangoro (Fighting) D -> C
Volcanion (Water) B -> A
Mantine (Water) Unranked -> D
Seismitoad (Water) Unranked -> D
Gastrodon (Water) Unranked -> D
Heliolisk (Electric) Unranked -> D
Thundurus-T (Electric) B -> C
Delphox (Psychic) Unranked -> D
Regice (Ice) Unranked -> D
Aurorus (Ice) Unranked -> D
Honchkrow (Dark) B -> C
Aromatisse (Fairy) Unranked -> D
Feraligatr (Water) A -> B
Carbink (Fairy) Unranked -> D
Lucario (Fighting) C -> B

If you have any questions on Why some of these changes occurred Please PM Anttya or Myself for an in depth explanation.

 

[Zmeeed]

So, here is my suggestion:

Haxorus for at least C Rank on Dragon.

Placing the Axe Jaw Pokemon in the lowest rank seems too harsh for me. Yes, it is certainly not the best Dragon, but it is not THAT outclassed to be there alongside with something like Flygon (no offense, I like Flygon as well, but I can't think of sets it's not completely outshined at (in Monotype UU it is somewhat substitute for Hydreigon, though)). Here are the unique traits that make Haxorus fairly usable:

+ One of three Monotype-allowed Dragon-types with access to Mold Breaker. While Black Kyurem can really use that only to bypass Levitate with Earth Power, and Druddigon is just not that good of a choice, Haxorus makes almost ideal use of this ability: stronger Earthquake can now bypass Levitate, Unaware will not nullify your Dragon/Swords Dance boosts and Taunt pierces Magic Bounce (I'm looking at you, Mega Sableye!).

+ Only Dragon-type in Metagame with access to the true fabled Double Dance strategy. No explanation needed, I guess?

But still, there are reasons why it's so underlooked:

- Stats. 147 Attack is surely brutal, but it sits at cursed 90-100 Speed tier which turns Haxorus into breakfast for others Dragons and sadly - Psychic's Megas. Its Lucario-and-Hydreigon-cross-breed bulk is suffering, getting almost 2HKOed by scarfed Victini's V-create and even dying to average secondary Draco Meteors.

- Typing. Pure Dragon. This and 76/90/70 defenses give an axe dragon little to no switch-in opportunities outside of very weak attacks from defensive Pokemon.

After using various Haxorus sets for a long time, I can give brief descriptions of all sets I've tried so far (from IMHO worst to IMHO best):

Choice Scarf. The worst way of using it, being taken down with even less effort than unboosted scarfed Salamence. Of course, it's outclassed by almost anything else.

Pure Dragon Dance (DD + 3 Attacks). Should only be attempted if you are going with two Dragon Dance sweepers in a team, since some others Dragons' dual typings might stack too many 4x Ice Shard weaknesses.

Choice Band. Kind of niche and somewhat outshined by Dragonite, but the main advantage is having enough power to OHKO selected number of Sturdy leads and Dual Chop to deal with some annoying Focus Sash leads and Substitute spammers in one shot... I mean, in two chops :D. And hey, it has even stronger Superpower than Dragonite's!

Double Dance (DD + 2 Attacks). This set is possibly the best Haxorus can run and deserves the special mention:

Haxorus @ Lum Berry
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Dragon Dance
- Swords Dance

Alternative spreads: Adamant.
Provided you have Dual Screens and/or Tailwind support.

Alternative moves: Poison Jab over Dragon Dance, Taunt over Swords Dance (these options make it no longer "double", but still effective), Dual Chop or Dragon Claw over Outrage for Life Orb sets (read further).
Make sure last two slots come in pair of either Dragon Dance + Swords Dance, Poison Jab + Swords Dance or Dragon Dance + Taunt.
- The first combo requires a Lum Berry and is simple: give Haxorus a safe switch-in against a wall, Swords Dance turn 1 as they Will-O-Wisp (or stuff like that) you, and you are set. If your Lum Berry is stlll not consumed, go for Dragon Dance: +3 Attack and +1 Speed Haxorus is never a joke.
- The second combo is if you want to Haxorus to crush Fairy teams.
- The third variation makes fun of defensive Pokemon's attempts to phaze or Will-O-Wisp/Thunder Wave our Axe Jaw buddy. Its special perk lies in ability to anti-lead versus slower hazard setters, sleepers and turn 1 boosters.

Alternative items: Life Orb, Dragon Fang/Draco Plate, Roseli Berry.
Life Orb and Dragon Fang/Draco Plate are solely for Taunt sets, while Roseli Berry suits Poison Jab ones more, as otherwise Haxorus has no chance of setting up against Fairy teams unless you have Dual Screens guarding.

So... what do you think?

P.S. fixed that Haxorus gets almost 2HKO'ed by exactly Victini's V-create, added Dragon Fang/Draco Plate to the list of Double Dance set's alternative items and polished some stuff because this post was originally written at night x)

 

[Zap]

Feraligatr on water
A rank -> B/C rank

I'm not sure what feraligatr offers to the type aside from its ability to dragon dance and have a good ability with sheer force + life orb. And even with that, there does not seem to be a good enough reason to run it when you can have setup sweepers like DD gyarados, and SS cloyster that would do a better job.

Manaphy on water
S rank -> A rank

although manaphy does great in OU, i feel like manaphy does not offer as much on water monos, especially with how the meta is shifting to more offensive builds on teams. And manaphy requires a tailglow to be of value, but because of its lacking speed, it gets checked by a vast majority of choice scarfed pokemon that are common on teams. It also suffers from only being able to choose 4 moves, well actually 3 since tailglow is a must. So the other three are left for ice beam, scald, surf, psychic* (needed for mega venu), energy ball, rain dance and rest. Extrasensory being sort of needed for mega venu, and rain dance if no poli, and rest if you wanna have any plan of recovery. So it can be limiting, but still threatening no doubt. Still doesnt deserve a place in S imo.

Kingdra on water
B rank -> A rank

I know i already made a post about this before, but I still feel it deserves to sit above pokemon like kabutops, quagsire, and tentacruel. It offers an amazing typing and decent wallbreaking potential. Again, i know this has already been argued so take this suggestion lightly.

Lapras & Walrein on ice
B rank -> A rank

With all the mons listed A and above on ice, they all auto lose to scizor. Lapras and Walrein both act as similar checks to scizor, providing bulk, typing that takes a neutral bullet punch, and a decent special attack to hit it hard with hp fire. They also are checks to CM clefable and sableye, (both of which can destroy an ice team), because they get access to frost breath. And I personally prefer Lapras over Walrein because of it's access to water absorb and freeze dry, giving you a chance to win against water teams.

Ditto on normal
B rank -> A rank

not as picky about this, but I do feel that ditto offers a lot to the type. Normal with its defensive core can be a very passive type at times, and that can sometimes be bait for setup sweepers. Ditto being able to copy the foe as well as it's stat changes really changes things because it stops the ooponent from setting up, knowing that ditto can come in, outspeed with the scarf, and get revenge. It can counter mons and threaten the entire opponent team by copying mons like mega pinsir, mega gardevoir, kyurem, mega medicham/mega gallade,mega lopunny, excadrill and more. It also acts as a soft check to choiced Dragon outrage/draco spam, a soft check to Bisharp and Scizor, and as well as heatran (absorbing fire attacks and threatening it out with earth power). Also i feel like ditto deserves to sit above mons such as mega audino, miltank, and snorlax.

 

[Vid]

Feraligatr on water
A rank -> B/C rank

I'm not sure what feraligatr offers to the type aside from its ability to dragon dance and have a good ability with sheer force + life orb. And even with that, there does not seem to be a good enough reason to run it when you can have setup sweepers like DD gyarados, and SS cloyster that would do a better job.

Manaphy on water
S rank -> A/B rank

although manaphy does great in OU, i feel like manaphy does not offer as much on water monos, especially with how the meta is shifting to more offensive builds on teams. And manaphy requires a tailglow to be of value, but because of its lacking speed, it gets checked by a vast majority of choice scarfed pokemon that are common on teams. It also suffers from only being able to choose 4 moves, well actually 3 since tailglow is a must. So the other three are left for ice beam, scald, surf, extrasensory (needed for mega venu), energy ball, rain dance and rest. Extrasensory being sort of needed for mega venu, and rain dance if no poli, and rest if you wanna have any plan of recovery. So it can be limiting, but still threatening no doubt. Still doesnt deserve a place in S imo.

Kingdra on water
B rank -> A rank

I know i already made a post about this before, but I still feel it deserves to sit above pokemon like kabutops, quagsire, and tentacruel. It offers an amazing typing and decent wallbreaking potential. Again, i know this has already been argued so take this suggestion lightly.

Lapras & Walrein on ice
B rank -> A rank

With all the mons listed A and above on ice, they all auto lose to scizor. Lapras and Walrein both act as similar checks to scizor, providing bulk, typing that takes a neutral bullet punch, and a decent special attack to hit it hard with hp fire. They also are checks to CM clefable and sableye, (both of which can destroy an ice team), because they get access to frost breath. And I personally prefer Lapras over Walrein because of it's access to water absorb and freeze dry, giving you a chance to win against water teams.

Ditto on normal
B rank -> A rank

not as picky about this, but I do feel that ditto offers a lot to the type. Normal with its defensive core can be a very passive type at times, and that can sometimes be bait for setup sweepers. Ditto being able to copy the foe as well as it's stat changes really changes things because it stops the ooponent from setting up, knowing that ditto can come in, outspeed with the scarf, and get revenge. It can counter mons and threaten the entire opponent team by copying mons like mega pinsir, mega gardevoir, kyurem, mega medicham/mega gallade,mega lopunny, excadrill and more. It also acts as a soft check to choiced Dragon outrage/draco spam, a soft check to Bisharp and Scizor, and as well as heatran (absorbing fire attacks and threatening it out with earth power). Also i feel like ditto deserves to sit above mons such as mega audino, miltank, and snorlax.

Since I am very busy this is going to be very short

Hide

Was already a change Anttya hasn't updated it.

(Before you post on VR please make sure your information is accurate) On Manaphy Psyshic>Extrasensory. But anyways Manaphy does not need rain from Politoed or Rain Dance to function correctly unlike swift swimmers do (Manaphy is rarely seen on rain teams). Tail Glow plus 3 Attacks works fine outside of rain. The reason why Manaphy is S Rank is because it breaks the balanced Cores that are common in Monotype by setting up Tail Glows and having the good 100 bulk all around. I would not go far to suggest it as A/B Rank though it definitely S/A more towards S because of how many common cores it breaks in Monotype.

Kingdra is very good being able to fire Specs Dracos in rain which is nice. But Kingdra needs Rain support to function from Politoed or Rain Dance users allowing it to have 4 turns Max to wreck havoc. Also if you want to have Kingdra do its job for longer you are forced to run eject button Politoed to make it work to its fullest potential once. The physical sets are not good because they are outclassed by the better Dragon Dancer in Gyrados and other physical swift swimmers like Kabutops. It is definitely B Rank and shouldn't be moved up because it needs a decent amount of support to function properly.

For this change to occur, Rotom-Frost would have to be moved if you are bringing up all Scizor checks on Ice because all of them have different niches besides checking Scizor. Other than that agree

Ditto is very situational sometimes its the best Pokemon sometimes it's the worst Pokemon on your team Ditto is a big gamble on a normal team and most good players play around it just fine. Just for it being a gamble it should be B Rank.

 

[Zap]

Since I am very busy this is going to be very short

Hide

Was already a change Anttya hasn't updated it.

(Before you post on VR please make sure your information is accurate) On Manaphy Psyshic>Extrasensory. But anyways Manaphy does not need rain from Politoed or Rain Dance to function correctly unlike swift swimmers do (Manaphy is rarely seen on rain teams). Tail Glow plus 3 Attacks works fine outside of rain. The reason why Manaphy is S Rank is because it breaks the balanced Cores that are common in Monotype by setting up Tail Glows and having the good 100 bulk all around. I would not go far to suggest it as A/B Rank though it definitely S/A more towards S because of how many common cores it breaks in Monotype.

Kingdra is very good being able to fire Specs Dracos in rain which is nice. But Kingdra needs Rain support to function from Politoed or Rain Dance users allowing it to have 4 turns Max to wreck havoc. Also if you want to have Kingdra do its job for longer you are forced to run eject button Politoed to make it work to its fullest potential once. The physical sets are not good because they are outclassed by the better Dragon Dancer in Gyrados and other physical swift swimmers like Kabutops. It is definitely B Rank and shouldn't be moved up because it needs a decent amount of support to function properly.

For this change to occur, Rotom-Frost would have to be moved if you are bringing up all Scizor checks on Ice because all of them have different niches besides checking Scizor. Other than that agree

Ditto is very situational sometimes its the best Pokemon sometimes it's the worst Pokemon on your team Ditto is a big gamble on a normal team and most good players play around it just fine. Just for it being a gamble it should be B Rank.

Gotcha for the first three,

as for lapras and walrein, the reason im saying those two specifically should be A rank is because of their access to Frost breath on top of checking scizor, which Rotom-F doesnt have. Also ice/electric typing is not as desirable as water/ice. And these two run a choice specs item better than frost. They can also take attacks better, namely special attacks, from their natural bulk. Specific instances would be taking a flash cannon, and as well as fire blast. These two also help the matchup vs fire.

And for what you said on ditto, im having trouble understanding. I cant imagine an instance where it would be the worst pokemon on your team? And I dont see it as a gamble whatsoever. If you are going to bring in a good player argument, then a good player can play ditto just as well.

 

[6ti]

What he means by ditto can be the worst on the team is that there are some instances when ditto is utterly useless due to it being checked/countered by the mon it copied, or is completely walled by something else on your opponent's team

 

[Zap]

What he means by ditto can be the worst on the team is that there are some instances when ditto is utterly useless due to it being checked/countered by the mon it copied, or is completely walled by something else on your opponent's team

Agreed, but there are also many instances where it isnt completely walled, and isnt this an argument for almost every mon? There are a ton of mons that can be walled by something else, its what the player chooses to do with it. A double switch can be appropriate. Besides, Ditto also lets you know the opponents moveset, giving a potential advantage to your team (by you possibly fearing a move and it turns out the opponent doesnt have it). It also can come into choice scarfed mons that want to use trick on your chansey/porygon. (Usually these are psychic mons so your mega would be a risky switchin). Well either way, i was never really picky about this ranking, just trying to understand the given argument better.

 

[Eien]

tl;dr at bottom btw 'cause this is long as fuck.
Hawlucha (Fighting) A rank down to C rank. (If it seriously cannot be C, then B is acceptable I guess)

Two main sets used

Hawlucha @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 12 HP / 244 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Substitute
- Swords Dance
- Acrobatics
- High Jump Kick

Hawlucha @ Power Herb
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Sky Attack
- Acrobatics
- High Jump Kick

---
The Tailwind set is INCREDIBLY niche, to the extent that it's seriously a drawback and a hindrance to the team, instead of a benefit. It would be incredibly difficult to justify the Tailwind set as being even C rank, as I see it as useful as Hitmontop.

Okay, I don't see this being A rank for a couple reasons.
First: what does Hawlucha even do for Fighting? Every single type has a very reliable check, and almost all of them have at least one counter even for +2 activated Hawlucha.

Type Matchups

Vs. Flying: Skarmory, Landorus-T, Zapdos, Thundurus, Dragonite, all can easily beat it even if Hawlucha gets +2. Every Flying team will have at least 2 if not 3 or even 4 of these Pokemon. Actually, just toss on Mega Charizard Y onto that team, and you've got a decent Flying team that has 5 Pokemon to counter Hawlucha.

Vs. Psychic: Slowbro counters Hawlucha. Victini can even take a +2 Acrobatics. Mega Gardevoir can Hyper Voice straight through Hawlucha's Substitute, so it can't even set up at all or activate Acrobatics.

Vs. Fairy: Klefki, Bulky Togekiss, and Clefable both beat Hawlucha at +2. I'm not even sure how Hawlucha gets Swords Dance boosts against Fairy in the first place, as every Fairy Pokemon OHKOs it anyway.

Vs. Dark: Mandibuzz stops the Hawlucha sweep completely with Foul Play/Whirlwind. Mega Sableye also can with Will-o-Wisp or Foul Play. And further, Scarf Hoopa-U can Hyperspace Hole through the sub, preventing Hawlucha from activating in the first place. It's not like any other Fighting Pokemon wouldn't do great here anyway though.

Vs. Steel: Doublade and Skarmory both counter Hawlucha. Doublade literally can't even be 2HKOed by an activated +6 Acrobatics. And it dodges HJK. Mega Scizor is phenomenal with Bullet Punch and being able to survive even +2 HJK most of the time.

Vs. Dragon: Garchomp with Rocky Helmet probably kills Hawlucha with recoil before Hawlucha kills it, if Hawlucha isn't +2. Mega Latias easily walls it. Gooey Goodra + Scarf Latios beats it. Arguably, Hawlucha is decent in this matchup. On a random note, Kyurem-B is highly favored to live a +0 HJK.

Vs. Bug: Mega Scizor/Mega Pinsir both handle Hawlucha perfectly well. Bug teams with Forretress can even tank a +2 hit and then Volt Switch out. And even if they don't have Forretress, any free switch into the Megas is a dead Hawlucha. There's literally nothing Hawlucha can do to stop the priority from killing it.

Vs. Water: Rotom-W and Swampert don't care about Hawlucha at all. For HO teams without Rotom-W and Swampert, Banded Azumarill in rain always OHKOs activated Hawlucha. Stall teams of course will laugh away Hawlucha completely with Quagsire.

Vs. Ghost: Doublade, Mega Sableye. You know these two already. These two are already difficult for Fighting to take out too, so Hawlucha being completely walled really isn't so good.

Vs. Electric: Zapdos, Thundurus, Rotom-W, Mega Ampharos, Sturdy Magnezone all beat +2 activated Hawlucha. Raikou can tank +0, and that's a full team of checks and counters.

That's 10 types. I could list more, but that's already a majority of the types. I don't like relying on Usage Stats much, but if you summed the probability of hitting just these types, Hawlucha is useless in 2 of 3 games. Is this A Rank material? I disagree completely.

But let us ignore temporarily the complete deadweight Hawlucha is in over half the matchups. What is Hawlucha's main purpose? It's a fast, strong (?) SD sweeper. Does Fighting lack for fast, strong SD sweepers? I'd argue certainly not. (The following are assumed to be SD variants) Mega Gallade fits that role completely. Breloom and Lucario both patch their speeds with very powerful priority. Mega Heracross can break almost every wall with phenomenal coverage. In fact, even the D ranked Toxicroak is more useful, with access to Sucker Punch, anti-Fairy STAB, and Dry Skin. (I think Toxicroak should be C btw)

Comparison to A rank

Breloom: Breloom is invaluable to Fighting. Excadrill is handled easily and Kingdra can't sweep while the sash is in tact. It also serves as a wonderful answer to Slowbro, a Pokemon that walls most of Fighting. And even in matchups it doesn't perform very well in, it still has Spore, which allows it to cripple any one Pokemon, meaning Breloom is never a useless Pokemon. Against even Grass, priority Mach Punch is great for emergency checking Serperior. Hawlucha is useless in MANY matchups, and can do quite literally nothing in those matchups.

Cobalion: The best defensive Pokemon Fighting has to offer. Stealth Rock support, Volt Switch momentum, Taunt, Thunder Wave, Iron Head for Fairies, the list goes on. It also punishes Outrage and Draco Meteor spam. It supports the Fairy matchup greatly. What's there not to like about this Pokemon? The right EVs can also live Mega Diancie's Earth Power and Mega Gardevoir's Hyper Voice, by the way. Cobalion fills a niche only it can fill: a defensive backbone. Hawlucha couldn't support the team if it tried with these sets. It has a MILD niche with Tailwind, but honestly that's a wasted turn, which Fighting can't afford often times.

Infernape: The premier suicide lead for Fighting. The only other Stealth Rock user other than Cobalion, Infernape is the best offensive lead thanks to Taunt and the sort of rare Endeavor. Infernape is also amazing for the Steel matchup which is surprisingly frustrating to defeat without it thanks to Skarmory/Mega Scizor/Doublade. Hawlucha doesn't really do anything like Infernape, so it's hard to compare them.

Heracross: The best offensive Guts user, which Fighting desperately needs to soak up burns from especially Mega Sableye. With a Choice Scarf, outspeeds a nice portion of the metagame that threatens Fighting, and with Megahorn can take on Psychic teams with great ease. It's a great revenge killer too, with respectable damage coming off of both of its 120 base power STAB moves. Hawlucha is a horrible revenge killer, unable to do so without starting its sweep, and it seriously lacks power anyway with only base 92 Attack.

All the other A rank Pokemon have very important niches that only they can fill. Hawlucha does not have this at all, as we note from the earlier discussion of other SD sweepers.

Comparison to B rank

Conkeldurr: With AV and Guts, Conkeldurr is an attempt of a compression of Heracross and Cobalion. Unfortunately, Conkeldurr lacks Heracross's power to break walls even with Guts, and it lacks all of the support options Cobalion has. It's still a decent option on some teams, though. At worst, its Knock Off support can be useful and it also carries welcome priority in Mach Punch. Usually, the A rankers will be better suited for this slot though. Hawlucha does none of this, lacking priority, support, and actually makes teambuilding even harder as it covers none of Fighting's weaknesses.

Lucario: Great SD sweeper, unlike Hawlucha. Carries +2 priority, protecting it from the likes of Breloom's Mach Punch. It also resists Ice Shard, (neutral to Aerilate) Quick Attack, and Extreme Speed, making priority all but useless against it, unlike Hawlucha. It also has Iron Tail, which notably OHKOs every Fairy Pokemon other than Klefki even at +0, while Hawlucha gets walled completely by multiple Fairy types. Unlike Hawlucha, Lucario is a phenomenal wallbreaker, capable of breaking Unaware Quagsire, and almost every wall at +2. Hawlucha is simply outclassed in every way, except for its speed, which Extreme Speed helps Lucario patch up easily.

B rank is a bit less important, where Conkeldurr is really a subpar compression of Heracross and Cobalion, while Lucario is a replacement/support for Mega Gallade. (Mega Medicham teams enjoy its SD sweeping potential, and Mega Gallade teams enjoy the offensive redundancy)

Hawlucha really doesn't seem to even fit here either, as it's outclassed (in my opinion) by Lucario, and doesn't fill any niche of its own like Conkeldurr does.

As a result, I believe Hawlucha is C rank. I don't use the other C rank Pokemon enough to make an informed comparison, but at least Scrafty has a few niches, such as beating Mega Sableye and threatening Psychic kind of, Chesnaught has a Salac-BD set, and Mega Heracross is a premier wallbreaker that crushes Flying and Psychic. At least they have particular niches that no other Fighting Pokemon can do as well as they can, Hawlucha can't say the same.

tl;dr
Hawlucha sucks in almost every matchup. Like, REALLY sucks.
Hawlucha is way worse than every A rank.
Hawlucha is outclassed by the B rank SD sweeper, and doesn't fill any specific niches like Conkeldurr.
Hawlucha is hard to even compare to C rank Mega Heracross and D rank Toxicroak.
Therefore, Hawlucha should be C rank.

edit: yeah sorry this was so long. I wanted to seriously justify an A rank dropping not one but two ranks.

 

[Bitana]

Rhyperior (Rock)
B Rank -> A Rank

Personally, I've always been of the opinion that Rhyperior is almost ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY on Rock. For one, this pokemon is one of the few rock types that can actually check a Mega Scizor, a scarf Excadrill, a Mega Medicham and other incredibly powerful wallbreakers/sweepers that Rock just cannot handle otherwise.
The main argument for Rhyperior not being A rank has always been "But, you can just use Mega Aggron, it's 100% better".

To this, all I can say is that you are completely limiting yourself to running Mega Aggron and ultimately just accepting a loss against the Water type, and just giving yourself a horrible time against Fighting. Basically, while some think it's possible to beat Water by just slapping Cradily into a team, without the offensive pressure provided by Mega Diancie, Rock will NEVER be able to break through the multiple defensive cores Water has, from Swampert to Empoleon, it just won't be able to win.

As for Fighting, I personally believe that a Mega Aggron without a Rhyperior backing it up will never be able to stand the constant offensive pressure a Fighting team has, from scarf hera to CC Mega Gallade, it will be worn down and the Rock team will be swept.

Because of this, I'd like to recommend Rhyperior for A rank, since even IF your team IS using Mega Aggron, it will provide a powerful defensive backbone for Mega Aggron, and be able to give Rock the best possible chance it has for beating Steel and Fighting with the same team. (It should be obvious to note that, in my opinion, Rhyperior is impossible to not use in Mega Diancie teams, since otherwise Mega Scizor will always sweep you, unless you're using defensive carracosta memes.)

The Sets:

Rhyperior @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Solid Rock
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Ice Punch
- Fire Punch

My own favorite, this set is able to OHKO Mega Gallade, Mega Scizor and Mega Medicham after they have activated the WP. Now, I know that some people also know about this set and like to abuse the fact that they can bypass the WP by, for example, having Mega Scizor click Bug Bite. However, I'd argue that afterwards, Mega Scizor is going to have to take a 4x Fire Punch, which does right around the 75-90%. Because of this, the Mega Scizor is left in a position to be revenged by, for example, Omastar OR a Mega Aggron.

(I run absolute max defense and HP because it gives Rhyp the best chance to live Mega Medicham's HJK.)
252+ Atk Pure Power Mega Medicham High Jump Kick vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Solid Rock Rhyperior: 348-411 (80.1 - 94.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Rhyperior @ Leftovers
Ability: Solid Rock
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Protect
- Counter

This set has been designed to attempt to fix the problems with the one I posted above. What it does is attempt to Counter your opponents when Mega Scizor clicks Bug Bite, effectively OHKOing it. Alongside this, it carries Protect, allowing a easier time against Pokemon like Hawlucha and Mega Medicham. However, the drop in power is REALLY noticeable, and alongside this, if you mispredict and Mega Scizor goes for SD on your Counter, you lose. If Mega Gallade does the same, you lose. However, I will give credit to whoever made this set in that it does provide a very effective check to Mega Medicham, something very hard for Rock to do.

 

[Wanka]

I can definitely see lucha dropping a bit yeah. C rank might be a bit harsh because it does do OK in the current meta with it shifting to a slightly more offensive side. Lucha in general is a mon that performs well vs offense which gives it a niche but like u said a niche at best. You really wont be sweeping any balance build ever with it and the only way a sub set can beat you is if u leave something like a heracross or something that gets set up on in on a double down for no reason. It for sure does not keep up with the rest of the A mons either.

I definitely like B rank for it. It has its moments in a slightly offensive oriented meta but it can be deadweight vs balance builds a lot of the time. Similar description to ditto on normal.

 

[Nefertum]

Ditto on normal
B rank -> A rank

not as picky about this, but I do feel that ditto offers a lot to the type. Normal with its defensive core can be a very passive type at times, and that can sometimes be bait for setup sweepers. Ditto being able to copy the foe as well as it's stat changes really changes things because it stops the ooponent from setting up, knowing that ditto can come in, outspeed with the scarf, and get revenge. It can counter mons and threaten the entire opponent team by copying mons like mega pinsir, mega gardevoir, kyurem, mega medicham/mega gallade,mega lopunny, excadrill and more. It also acts as a soft check to choiced Dragon outrage/draco spam, a soft check to Bisharp and Scizor, and as well as heatran (absorbing fire attacks and threatening it out with earth power). Also i feel like ditto deserves to sit above mons such as mega audino, miltank, and snorlax.

Just wanted to say as someone who uses normal constantly I could not agree more with Waszap here, ditto is not only helpful but sometimes vital to beating certain types. I could go more into detail here if requested but I think Zap did an excellent job explaining himself here. His last statement rings especially true that it does not belong in a tier with Pokemon such as Miltank and Snorlax which likely do not even belong that high. Ditto should definitely be A rank due to its utility and offensive capabilities, it fits a niche unlike any other Pokemon in the metagame and it does its job well.

 

[Dece1t]

Just wanted to say as someone who uses normal constantly I could not agree more with Waszap here, ditto is not only helpful but sometimes vital to beating certain types. I could go more into detail here if requested but I think Zap did an excellent job explaining himself here. His last statement rings especially true that it does not belong in a tier with Pokemon such as Miltank and Snorlax which likely do not even belong that high. Ditto should definitely be A rank due to its utility and offensive capabilities, it fits a niche unlike any other Pokemon in the metagame and it does its job well.

iVid had a good point that it's very situational, and in some matched it can often be useless. I agree with it staying in B rank for that reason.

 

[scpinion]

I think ditto is immensely valuable for the standard, fat normal teams but I think B rank is a nice place for it.

It is true ditto does pressure players into finding other ways around/through Chansey + pory2 + bulkraptor. Personally, I rely heavily on ditto in many matches because I feature it on almost every normal team I have.

However, when I look at the other mons in A rank ditto doesn't compare. It can't wall break like diggersby and Melo. It doesn't threaten a large chunk of the meta like the two megas. It is a glue mon that holds together one particular style of team. PoryZ and m-audino, 2 B rank mons, are very similar to this in the sense that they enable HO and stall Normal, respectively, but don't define the type.

Sorry for any typos, on mobile.

 

[6ti]

Ditto sits nicely at B, but offers a lot more to Normal than Miltank or snorlax. Should they be moved down?

 

[Dece1t]

Ditto sits nicely at B, but offers a lot more to Normal than Miltank or snorlax. Should they be moved down?

Snorlax is actually very good, and dangerous to stop once boosted. I can admit from experience it's a pretty fun b rank mon, and be a nice Ice switchin for Sraraptor/Pidgeot.

 

[6ti]

After looking more into it, Miltank seems to just be an inferior Chansey.
It has similar moves (Heal Bell, Milk Drink, Stealth Rock), and has more of an offensive presence. But chansey is still bulkier, completely outclassing miltank. I really don't see any reason for it to be used.

 

[Anttya]

So, here is my suggestion:

Haxorus for at least C Rank on Dragon.

Placing the Axe Jaw Pokemon in the lowest rank seems too harsh for me. Yes, it is certainly not the best Dragon, but it is not THAT outclassed to be there alongside with something like Flygon (no offense, I like Flygon as well, but I can't think of sets it's not completely outshined at (in Monotype UU it is somewhat substitute for Hydreigon, though)). Here are the unique traits that make Haxorus fairly usable:

+ One of two Monotype-allowed Dragon-types with access to Mold Breaker. While Black Kyurem can really use that only to bypass Levitate with Earth Power, Haxorus makes almost ideal use of this ability: stronger Earthquake can now bypass Levitate, Unaware will not nullify your Dragon/Swords Dance boosts and Taunt pierces Magic Bounce (I'm looking at you, Mega Sableye!).

+ Only Dragon-type in Metagame with access to the true fabled Double Dance strategy. No explanation needed, I guess?

But still, there are reasons why it's so underlooked:

- Stats. 147 Attack is surely brutal, but it sits at cursed 90-100 Speed tier which turns Haxorus into breakfast for others Dragons and sadly - Psychic's Megas. Its Lucario-and-Hydreigon-cross-breed bulk is suffering, getting almost 2HKOed by scarfed Victini's V-create and even dying to average secondary Draco Meteors.

- Typing. Pure Dragon. This and 76/90/70 defenses give an axe dragon little to no switch-in opportunities outside of very weak attacks from defensive Pokemon.

After using various Haxorus sets for a long time, I can give brief descriptions of all sets I've tried so far (from IMHO worst to IMHO best):

Choice Scarf. The worst way of using it, being taken down with even less effort than unboosted scarfed Salamence. Of course, it's outclassed by almost anything else.

Pure Dragon Dance (DD + 3 Attacks). Should only be attempted if you are going with two Dragon Dance sweepers in a team, since some others Dragons' dual typings might stack too many 4x Ice Shard weaknesses.

Choice Band. Kind of niche and somewhat outshined by Dragonite, but the main advantage is having enough power to OHKO selected number of Sturdy leads and Dual Chop to deal with some annoying Focus Sash leads and Substitute spammers in one shot... I mean, in two chops :D. And hey, it has even stronger Superpower than Dragonite's!

Double Dance (DD + 2 Attacks). This set is possibly the best Haxorus can run and deserves the special mention:

Haxorus @ Lum Berry
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Dragon Dance
- Swords Dance

Alternative spreads: Adamant.
Provided you have Dual Screens and/or Tailwind support.

Alternative moves: Poison Jab over Dragon Dance, Taunt over Swords Dance (these options make it no longer "double", but still effective), Dual Chop or Dragon Claw over Outrage for Life Orb sets (read further).
Make sure last two slots come in pair of either Dragon Dance + Swords Dance, Poison Jab + Swords Dance or Dragon Dance + Taunt.
- The first combo requires a Lum Berry and is simple: give Haxorus a safe switch-in against a wall, Swords Dance turn 1 as they Will-O-Wisp (or stuff like that) you, and you are set. If your Lum Berry is stlll not consumed, go for Dragon Dance: +3 Attack and +1 Speed Haxorus is never a joke.
- The second combo is if you want to Haxorus to crush Fairy teams.
- The third variation makes fun of defensive Pokemon's attempts to phaze or Will-O-Wisp/Thunder Wave our Axe Jaw buddy. Its special perk lies in ability to anti-lead versus slower hazard setters, sleepers and turn 1 boosters.

Alternative items: Life Orb, Dragon Fang/Draco Plate, Roseli Berry.
Life Orb and Dragon Fang/Draco Plate are solely for Taunt sets, while Roseli Berry suits Poison Jab ones more, as otherwise Haxorus has no chance of setting up against Fairy teams unless you have Dual Screens guarding.

So... what do you think?

Feraligatr on water
A rank -> B/C rank

I'm not sure what feraligatr offers to the type aside from its ability to dragon dance and have a good ability with sheer force + life orb. And even with that, there does not seem to be a good enough reason to run it when you can have setup sweepers like DD gyarados, and SS cloyster that would do a better job.

Manaphy on water
S rank -> A rank

although manaphy does great in OU, i feel like manaphy does not offer as much on water monos, especially with how the meta is shifting to more offensive builds on teams. And manaphy requires a tailglow to be of value, but because of its lacking speed, it gets checked by a vast majority of choice scarfed pokemon that are common on teams. It also suffers from only being able to choose 4 moves, well actually 3 since tailglow is a must. So the other three are left for ice beam, scald, surf, psychic* (needed for mega venu), energy ball, rain dance and rest. Extrasensory being sort of needed for mega venu, and rain dance if no poli, and rest if you wanna have any plan of recovery. So it can be limiting, but still threatening no doubt. Still doesnt deserve a place in S imo.

Kingdra on water
B rank -> A rank

I know i already made a post about this before, but I still feel it deserves to sit above pokemon like kabutops, quagsire, and tentacruel. It offers an amazing typing and decent wallbreaking potential. Again, i know this has already been argued so take this suggestion lightly.

Lapras & Walrein on ice
B rank -> A rank

With all the mons listed A and above on ice, they all auto lose to scizor. Lapras and Walrein both act as similar checks to scizor, providing bulk, typing that takes a neutral bullet punch, and a decent special attack to hit it hard with hp fire. They also are checks to CM clefable and sableye, (both of which can destroy an ice team), because they get access to frost breath. And I personally prefer Lapras over Walrein because of it's access to water absorb and freeze dry, giving you a chance to win against water teams.

Ditto on normal
B rank -> A rank

not as picky about this, but I do feel that ditto offers a lot to the type. Normal with its defensive core can be a very passive type at times, and that can sometimes be bait for setup sweepers. Ditto being able to copy the foe as well as it's stat changes really changes things because it stops the ooponent from setting up, knowing that ditto can come in, outspeed with the scarf, and get revenge. It can counter mons and threaten the entire opponent team by copying mons like mega pinsir, mega gardevoir, kyurem, mega medicham/mega gallade,mega lopunny, excadrill and more. It also acts as a soft check to choiced Dragon outrage/draco spam, a soft check to Bisharp and Scizor, and as well as heatran (absorbing fire attacks and threatening it out with earth power). Also i feel like ditto deserves to sit above mons such as mega audino, miltank, and snorlax.

P.S. fixed that Haxorus gets almost 2HKO'ed by exactly Victini's V-create, added Dragon Fang/Draco Plate to the list of Double Dance set's alternative items and polished some stuff because this post was originally written at night x)

Moved to C because it's not as good as Dragalge and Mega Chomp (which are B ranked mons)
Agree w/ what Vid has said

tl;dr at bottom btw 'cause this is long as fuck.
Hawlucha (Fighting) A rank down to C rank. (If it seriously cannot be C, then B is acceptable I guess)

Two main sets used

Hawlucha @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 12 HP / 244 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Substitute
- Swords Dance
- Acrobatics
- High Jump Kick

Hawlucha @ Power Herb
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Sky Attack
- Acrobatics
- High Jump Kick

---
The Tailwind set is INCREDIBLY niche, to the extent that it's seriously a drawback and a hindrance to the team, instead of a benefit. It would be incredibly difficult to justify the Tailwind set as being even C rank, as I see it as useful as Hitmontop.

Okay, I don't see this being A rank for a couple reasons.
First: what does Hawlucha even do for Fighting? Every single type has a very reliable check, and almost all of them have at least one counter even for +2 activated Hawlucha.

Type Matchups

Vs. Flying: Skarmory, Landorus-T, Zapdos, Thundurus, Dragonite, all can easily beat it even if Hawlucha gets +2. Every Flying team will have at least 2 if not 3 or even 4 of these Pokemon. Actually, just toss on Mega Charizard Y onto that team, and you've got a decent Flying team that has 5 Pokemon to counter Hawlucha.

Vs. Psychic: Slowbro counters Hawlucha. Victini can even take a +2 Acrobatics. Mega Gardevoir can Hyper Voice straight through Hawlucha's Substitute, so it can't even set up at all or activate Acrobatics.

Vs. Fairy: Klefki, Bulky Togekiss, and Clefable both beat Hawlucha at +2. I'm not even sure how Hawlucha gets Swords Dance boosts against Fairy in the first place, as every Fairy Pokemon OHKOs it anyway.

Vs. Dark: Mandibuzz stops the Hawlucha sweep completely with Foul Play/Whirlwind. Mega Sableye also can with Will-o-Wisp or Foul Play. And further, Scarf Hoopa-U can Hyperspace Hole through the sub, preventing Hawlucha from activating in the first place. It's not like any other Fighting Pokemon wouldn't do great here anyway though.

Vs. Steel: Doublade and Skarmory both counter Hawlucha. Doublade literally can't even be 2HKOed by an activated +6 Acrobatics. And it dodges HJK. Mega Scizor is phenomenal with Bullet Punch and being able to survive even +2 HJK most of the time.

Vs. Dragon: Garchomp with Rocky Helmet probably kills Hawlucha with recoil before Hawlucha kills it, if Hawlucha isn't +2. Mega Latias easily walls it. Gooey Goodra + Scarf Latios beats it. Arguably, Hawlucha is decent in this matchup. On a random note, Kyurem-B is highly favored to live a +0 HJK.

Vs. Bug: Mega Scizor/Mega Pinsir both handle Hawlucha perfectly well. Bug teams with Forretress can even tank a +2 hit and then Volt Switch out. And even if they don't have Forretress, any free switch into the Megas is a dead Hawlucha. There's literally nothing Hawlucha can do to stop the priority from killing it.

Vs. Water: Rotom-W and Swampert don't care about Hawlucha at all. For HO teams without Rotom-W and Swampert, Banded Azumarill in rain always OHKOs activated Hawlucha. Stall teams of course will laugh away Hawlucha completely with Quagsire.

Vs. Ghost: Doublade, Mega Sableye. You know these two already. These two are already difficult for Fighting to take out too, so Hawlucha being completely walled really isn't so good.

Vs. Electric: Zapdos, Thundurus, Rotom-W, Mega Ampharos, Sturdy Magnezone all beat +2 activated Hawlucha. Raikou can tank +0, and that's a full team of checks and counters.

That's 10 types. I could list more, but that's already a majority of the types. I don't like relying on Usage Stats much, but if you summed the probability of hitting just these types, Hawlucha is useless in 2 of 3 games. Is this A Rank material? I disagree completely.

But let us ignore temporarily the complete deadweight Hawlucha is in over half the matchups. What is Hawlucha's main purpose? It's a fast, strong (?) SD sweeper. Does Fighting lack for fast, strong SD sweepers? I'd argue certainly not. (The following are assumed to be SD variants) Mega Gallade fits that role completely. Breloom and Lucario both patch their speeds with very powerful priority. Mega Heracross can break almost every wall with phenomenal coverage. In fact, even the D ranked Toxicroak is more useful, with access to Sucker Punch, anti-Fairy STAB, and Dry Skin. (I think Toxicroak should be C btw)

Comparison to A rank

Breloom: Breloom is invaluable to Fighting. Excadrill is handled easily and Kingdra can't sweep while the sash is in tact. It also serves as a wonderful answer to Slowbro, a Pokemon that walls most of Fighting. And even in matchups it doesn't perform very well in, it still has Spore, which allows it to cripple any one Pokemon, meaning Breloom is never a useless Pokemon. Against even Grass, priority Mach Punch is great for emergency checking Serperior. Hawlucha is useless in MANY matchups, and can do quite literally nothing in those matchups.

Cobalion: The best defensive Pokemon Fighting has to offer. Stealth Rock support, Volt Switch momentum, Taunt, Thunder Wave, Iron Head for Fairies, the list goes on. It also punishes Outrage and Draco Meteor spam. It supports the Fairy matchup greatly. What's there not to like about this Pokemon? The right EVs can also live Mega Diancie's Earth Power and Mega Gardevoir's Hyper Voice, by the way. Cobalion fills a niche only it can fill: a defensive backbone. Hawlucha couldn't support the team if it tried with these sets. It has a MILD niche with Tailwind, but honestly that's a wasted turn, which Fighting can't afford often times.

Infernape: The premier suicide lead for Fighting. The only other Stealth Rock user other than Cobalion, Infernape is the best offensive lead thanks to Taunt and the sort of rare Endeavor. Infernape is also amazing for the Steel matchup which is surprisingly frustrating to defeat without it thanks to Skarmory/Mega Scizor/Doublade. Hawlucha doesn't really do anything like Infernape, so it's hard to compare them.

Heracross: The best offensive Guts user, which Fighting desperately needs to soak up burns from especially Mega Sableye. With a Choice Scarf, outspeeds a nice portion of the metagame that threatens Fighting, and with Megahorn can take on Psychic teams with great ease. It's a great revenge killer too, with respectable damage coming off of both of its 120 base power STAB moves. Hawlucha is a horrible revenge killer, unable to do so without starting its sweep, and it seriously lacks power anyway with only base 92 Attack.

All the other A rank Pokemon have very important niches that only they can fill. Hawlucha does not have this at all, as we note from the earlier discussion of other SD sweepers.

Comparison to B rank

Conkeldurr: With AV and Guts, Conkeldurr is an attempt of a compression of Heracross and Cobalion. Unfortunately, Conkeldurr lacks Heracross's power to break walls even with Guts, and it lacks all of the support options Cobalion has. It's still a decent option on some teams, though. At worst, its Knock Off support can be useful and it also carries welcome priority in Mach Punch. Usually, the A rankers will be better suited for this slot though. Hawlucha does none of this, lacking priority, support, and actually makes teambuilding even harder as it covers none of Fighting's weaknesses.

Lucario: Great SD sweeper, unlike Hawlucha. Carries +2 priority, protecting it from the likes of Breloom's Mach Punch. It also resists Ice Shard, (neutral to Aerilate) Quick Attack, and Extreme Speed, making priority all but useless against it, unlike Hawlucha. It also has Iron Tail, which notably OHKOs every Fairy Pokemon other than Klefki even at +0, while Hawlucha gets walled completely by multiple Fairy types. Unlike Hawlucha, Lucario is a phenomenal wallbreaker, capable of breaking Unaware Quagsire, and almost every wall at +2. Hawlucha is simply outclassed in every way, except for its speed, which Extreme Speed helps Lucario patch up easily.

B rank is a bit less important, where Conkeldurr is really a subpar compression of Heracross and Cobalion, while Lucario is a replacement/support for Mega Gallade. (Mega Medicham teams enjoy its SD sweeping potential, and Mega Gallade teams enjoy the offensive redundancy)

Hawlucha really doesn't seem to even fit here either, as it's outclassed (in my opinion) by Lucario, and doesn't fill any niche of its own like Conkeldurr does.

As a result, I believe Hawlucha is C rank. I don't use the other C rank Pokemon enough to make an informed comparison, but at least Scrafty has a few niches, such as beating Mega Sableye and threatening Psychic kind of, Chesnaught has a Salac-BD set, and Mega Heracross is a premier wallbreaker that crushes Flying and Psychic. At least they have particular niches that no other Fighting Pokemon can do as well as they can, Hawlucha can't say the same.

tl;dr
Hawlucha sucks in almost every matchup. Like, REALLY sucks.
Hawlucha is way worse than every A rank.
Hawlucha is outclassed by the B rank SD sweeper, and doesn't fill any specific niches like Conkeldurr.
Hawlucha is hard to even compare to C rank Mega Heracross and D rank Toxicroak.
Therefore, Hawlucha should be C rank.

edit: yeah sorry this was so long. I wanted to seriously justify an A rank dropping not one but two ranks.

Moved to B, but it's still a great mon since it can set up on threats like Mew w/ Sub

Rhyperior (Rock)
B Rank -> A Rank

Personally, I've always been of the opinion that Rhyperior is almost ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY on Rock. For one, this pokemon is one of the few rock types that can actually check a Mega Scizor, a scarf Excadrill, a Mega Medicham and other incredibly powerful wallbreakers/sweepers that Rock just cannot handle otherwise.
The main argument for Rhyperior not being A rank has always been "But, you can just use Mega Aggron, it's 100% better".

To this, all I can say is that you are completely limiting yourself to running Mega Aggron and ultimately just accepting a loss against the Water type, and just giving yourself a horrible time against Fighting. Basically, while some think it's possible to beat Water by just slapping Cradily into a team, without the offensive pressure provided by Mega Diancie, Rock will NEVER be able to break through the multiple defensive cores Water has, from Swampert to Empoleon, it just won't be able to win.

As for Fighting, I personally believe that a Mega Aggron without a Rhyperior backing it up will never be able to stand the constant offensive pressure a Fighting team has, from scarf hera to CC Mega Gallade, it will be worn down and the Rock team will be swept.

Because of this, I'd like to recommend Rhyperior for A rank, since even IF your team IS using Mega Aggron, it will provide a powerful defensive backbone for Mega Aggron, and be able to give Rock the best possible chance it has for beating Steel and Fighting with the same team. (It should be obvious to note that, in my opinion, Rhyperior is impossible to not use in Mega Diancie teams, since otherwise Mega Scizor will always sweep you, unless you're using defensive carracosta memes.)

The Sets:

Rhyperior @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Solid Rock
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Ice Punch
- Fire Punch

My own favorite, this set is able to OHKO Mega Gallade, Mega Scizor and Mega Medicham after they have activated the WP. Now, I know that some people also know about this set and like to abuse the fact that they can bypass the WP by, for example, having Mega Scizor click Bug Bite. However, I'd argue that afterwards, Mega Scizor is going to have to take a 4x Fire Punch, which does right around the 75-90%. Because of this, the Mega Scizor is left in a position to be revenged by, for example, Omastar OR a Mega Aggron.

(I run absolute max defense and HP because it gives Rhyp the best chance to live Mega Medicham's HJK.)
252+ Atk Pure Power Mega Medicham High Jump Kick vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Solid Rock Rhyperior: 348-411 (80.1 - 94.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Rhyperior @ Leftovers
Ability: Solid Rock
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Protect
- Counter

This set has been designed to attempt to fix the problems with the one I posted above. What it does is attempt to Counter your opponents when Mega Scizor clicks Bug Bite, effectively OHKOing it. Alongside this, it carries Protect, allowing a easier time against Pokemon like Hawlucha and Mega Medicham. However, the drop in power is REALLY noticeable, and alongside this, if you mispredict and Mega Scizor goes for SD on your Counter, you lose. If Mega Gallade does the same, you lose. However, I will give credit to whoever made this set in that it does provide a very effective check to Mega Medicham, something very hard for Rock to do.

I'm a bit iffy on this, I want iVid 's opinion on this. I'm not too sure at what you mean by "If you run Mega Aggron you're accepting a loss against Water" since Mega Aero, T-tar, and Diancie still lose vs water regardless.

After looking more into it, Miltank seems to just be an inferior Chansey.
It has similar moves (Heal Bell, Milk Drink, Stealth Rock), and has more of an offensive presence. But chansey is still bulkier, completely outclassing miltank. I really don't see any reason for it to be used.

Tbh it's main niche was to check Zard-X with Thick Fat, but it's still a good mon. I want Vid's opinion on this as well.

Oh and updated the VR :)

 

[Bitana]

I thought it was pretty obvious. All three of the megas you said (Tyranitar, Aerodactyl, Diancie) all actually give rock SOMETHING in the water matchup. T-tar can get surprise sand when it megas, Aero revenges Keldeo, and Mega Diancie hits Swampert and revenges Keldeo. Aggron cannot do any of these things in it's mega form, and generally only uses Heavy Slam + Fire punch for attacking moves. Because of this, what I'm saying is Aggron is entirely useless in the water matchup save for walling the rare Azumarill, unlike the other three potential megas. (Diancie is easily still the best out of those three though)

 

[average fella]

hey as long as we're hopping mad about one thing or another lets suggest a shitmon that literally only i have used well

Abomasnow (Ice) for C rank

I considered putting this in D rank, but at least it fucking does things unlike Cryogonal (if you want freeze-dry on your hazard removal use cuno its easy). It's a downright crime to put Abomasnow below the worst spinner on Ice.

Designated Breloom Check
Abomasnow @ Icy Rock
Ability: Snow Warning
EVs: 212 HP / 44 Def / 252 SpA
Quiet Nature
- Blizzard
- Giga Drain
- Earthquake
- Ice Shard

This is a general water check (especially Swift Swim variants, although it can't switch into Volcanion), as well as a Breloom check (switches into Spore, breaks sash with Hail, and takes a Mach Punch after SR guaranteed) and hail layer, all while not taking the mega slot that Mega Abomasnow uses and laying hail for three more turns. It's also a fun ol' way to stop Ground teams from stomping your entire team with Excadrill, as well as a switchin to Rotom-W on Electric, and usually netting a kill or serious damage with Blizzarding whatever they Volt Switch to.

special scarf is bad because it doesnt outspeed many of the threats that ice needs removed (at best it 2hkos specs keldeo with scarf giga drain i guess) and basically every bulky set is outclassed as hell by mega or even pilo. physical scarf seems somewhat promising as a surprise option (it gets wood hammer!), but it still gets fucked up by almost every opposing scarfer as well as any vaguely bulky mon or priority not named aqua jet. feel free to debate this i'll try to elaborate on some things if needed

 

[DoW]

Sorry I'm (very) late to the discussion, but I would say that ditto is vital to stall normal. The only matchup I've had where it didn't do well was against Trick Room Psychic (when scarf couldn't help), outside of that I've never seen it not be highly useful. Stall normal has no other methods of beating setup sweepers, while a scarfed wallbreaker is scary for anything to face and against stall, its ability to become a heal beller or wisher helps immensely in pp stall while it can also put in a lot of work transforming into a mon with hazard control moves. As for it being risky in any way, the only possible risk I can think of would be whether to run 0 or 255 happiness.
I'd argue it's vastly better than the other current B-ranks given that I can't imagine Stall normal working without it, and it's not exactly useless on more offensive teams either. A rank would suit it fine.

 

[Seo.]

Hawlucha (Fighting) B -> A

The reason i think Hawlucha should be A rank is because its basically, really good. With its 2 main sets SitrusSub and PowerHerb+Sky Attack, Hawlucha has the ability to sweep Poison, Grass, Dark, Fairy, other Fighting Teams, and so on. It's used a lot this meta, and it honestly demolishes so many teams after unaware boost. It also doesnt get bothered by sticky webs, toxic spikes, and spikes, which fighting teams usually get weakened by. Of course theres some checks like Hyper Space Hold Hoopa-U and Slowbro, but u have other team members for those, and its the reason its not "s rank", but in all honesty, i really do think it deserves A Rank.

Sets

Hawlucha @ Power Herb
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Sky Attack
- High Jump Kick
- Acrobatics
- Swords Dance

or

Hawlucha @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Substitute
- High Jump Kick
- Acrobatics

 

[Fírnen]

Slowking (Water) Unranked → B Rank
​

When I watched the Water Viability, I've been surprised to not see Slowking in any rank.
Ok, Slowking isn't used a lot (only 5.3%) but it doesn't mean it's bad.

Why do I think it deserve to be B rank?
Slowking is a very nice pivot (as Slowbro) and a good offensive presence.
Able to counter M-Zard Y (Wich is a good thing for Water type if you don't run Politoed).
Moves coverage is very good (Especially with Power Gem who made it totally different from it's half brother).

Set

Smarter Scpinion (Slowking) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 228 SpA / 32 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Power Gem
- Scald
- Psyshock
- Ice Beam

→ You can't be 2HKO by Solar Beam M-Zard Y.
→ You live easily to Electric/Grass special move (Good against matchup as Vs Electric and Grass types (or Even Thundurus in Flying type)
→ You're able to deal with Volcarona too.

Others sets are Support (T-Wave), Trick Room offense,...


Well, I don't know what I can add more for Slowking but this Pokemon is totally underestimated.
Move coverage is very good (I deleted Fire Blast for Scald as Volcanion has been released).

 

[Eien]

Hawlucha (Fighting) B -> A

The reason i think Hawlucha should be A rank is because its basically, really good. With its 2 main sets SitrusSub and PowerHerb+Sky Attack, Hawlucha has the ability to sweep Poison, Grass, Dark, Fairy, other Fighting Teams, and so on. It's used a lot this meta, and it honestly demolishes so many teams after unaware boost. It also doesnt get bothered by sticky webs, toxic spikes, and spikes, which fighting teams usually get weakened by. Of course theres some checks like Hyper Space Hold Hoopa-U and Slowbro, but u have other team members for those, and its the reason its not "s rank", but in all honesty, i really do think it deserves A Rank.

Sets

Hawlucha @ Power Herb
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Sky Attack
- High Jump Kick
- Acrobatics
- Swords Dance

or

Hawlucha @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Substitute
- High Jump Kick
- Acrobatics

I had a pretty long post about why Hawlucha isn't A rank. Simply put, it's way too inconsistent at sweeping and its role can easily be filled by a more well-rounded teammate. For your specific type matchups:

Matchups

Grass already loses to Fighting in the general matchup unless they run something like Gourgeist+Whimsicott+Celebi, in which case that's just cteaming anyway. Combinations of the other Fighting SD sweepers along with wallbreakers work just as effectively as Hawlucha does.
Against Poison, Fighting doesn't have a bad time unless there's a Crobat, which has Infiltrator to beat Hawlucha anyway. Mega Gallade teams in particular do very well, while Mega Medicham does have to be somewhat careful of Gengar.
Dark teams absolutely dominate Hawlucha in every way, I don't see Hawlucha ever getting a meaningful sweep off. This would only be possible once Hoopa-U, Mega Sableye, and Mandibuzz are both dead, in which case Fighting has already won the game anyway.
Fairy teams couldn't lose to Hawlucha if they tried. Klefki Prankster Thunder Waves, Mega Gardevoir/Sylveon pierce the Substitute, Whimsicott Prankster Encores/Stun Spores, Bulky Togekiss beats it 1v1 every time, and so does Clefable.
Fighting teams experienced with Hawlucha will rarely allow it set up a Swords Dance, allowing Conkeldur and properly EVed Cobalion to live an Acrobatics. Further, Fighting teams will almost always have a Focus Sash user, which stops Hawlucha if intact. Other common ways to stop it are priority spam, which Fighting will run a lot of.

I had about 10 types that Hawlucha completely fails to be anything but a sacrifice in.

Hawlucha has a seriously difficult time setting up Swords Dance against almost every single type matchup. The very few it can easily set up against are already defeated by Fighting handily (Grass). Oh, I shouldn't have said "easily" because Whimsicott can just Prankster Encore/Thunder Wave it and the sweep is a goner. Even types that Fighting traditionally beats, such as Ice and Normal, have very easy ways of stopping Hawlucha. Ice has Ice Shards everywhere along with Avalugg. Normal has access to Staraptor, which laughs off even +2 HJK to OHKO with Brave Bird, and Hyper Voice Meloetta that pierces the Substitute. Hawlucha becomes a liability in almost every matchup. I actually made a mistake saying Hawlucha sets up easily against "very few", which implied more than just one matchup.

Hawlucha's base 92 Attack makes non-Swords Dance sweeps an essential impossibility. Not a single type can be swept by a +0 Hawlucha. Every single type can beat a +0 Hawucha, if not a +2 Hawlucha. The only times it can "sweep" are after Fighting has already secured a win, and you want to style on your opponent.

If you aren't using Substitute Hawlucha, you really have no chance, because many types that might have had trouble with inflicting status now are free to do so, and you can pretty much never set up a Swords Dance, without the help of Substitute.

Comparing to the other sub-A rank SD Sweepers: Lucario does not need a Swords Dance to still be a formidable wallbreaker, and has access to Extreme Speed. Mega Heracross with an SD completely dominates every defensive Pokemon in existence. Toxicroak at least gets Sucker Punch, and has the niche of beating Fairy teams. Hawlucha doesn't compare at all in any way to the B rank SD sweeper, the potential C rank SD sweeper, or even the D rank SD sweeper.

Against Stall, Hawlucha quite literally doesn't do anything, as they will have an answer to even better SD sweepers already (i.e. Quagsire). Against Balance, as noted Hawlucha can't even touch walls, so there's really no question that Hawlucha is useless.

Now against Offense which Wanka pointed out, does Hawlucha actually succeed? I really can't see it at all. What Offense teams does Hawlucha win against? Not SS HO Water (Politoed/Mega Swampert), not Dragon (Goodra, Garchomp, Mega Latias), definitely not HO Steel (Doublade), Fighting has to really mess up to let you win, definitely not Bug (Mega Pinsir/Mega Scizor), not Fire (Torkoal/Victini), even HO Dark laughs it off (Weavile, Prankster WoW), not Ground (Hippowdon/Gastrodon/Landorus-T), not Ice (Weavile/Mega Glalie/Mega Abomasnow/Cloyster/Avalugg/Mamoswine), I mean the list goes on.

I'm more interested in finding matchups Hawlucha CAN do things in. As I've pretty much gone over almost all 18 types one way or another and Hawlucha cannot set up with any amount of ease in any of them, and fails to sweep most of them even with a SD.

In the VR main post: "while D has Pokemon that are solely used for their moves or abilities." Is this not Hawlucha in a nutshell? It is solely used for Unburden. I'm not claiming Hawlucha should be D rank at all as I originally argued for C ranking, but I would say that it's somewhat important to note that a B rank Pokemon can be described by the D rank definition.

I am mildly disappointed Hawlucha is still as high as B seeing as it absolutely MUST have a Swords Dance to do anything meaningful in any game versus any type at all, but it is nevertheless an improvement over A rank. Can iVid or Anttya give a more in depth explanation?

P.S. Setting up on Mew with Substitute is meaningless for two very important reasons: Mew can Taunt through the Substitute, making Hawlucha do absolutely nothing, sitting around with 75% HP, a Sitrus Berry, and no way to use Swords Dance. Also, Slowbro utterly walls Hawlucha anyway.