MY THOUGHTS ON EACH POKE (threat level is out of five)
MANAPHY
Threat level: ***** (in the rain) or ** (outside of rain)
Manaphy is truly a menace in the rain. With the ability to get +3 in a single turn, to completely heal itself, be immune to all status, get a STAB boost, and be incredibly bulky, this thing is extremely broken. The only problem is the rain. There are discussions for banning Politoed/Drizzle, so rain may not be such an issue. If one of these is banned, Manaphy becomes much less of a threat. Outside of the rain, Manaphy is a bulky, powerful, special sweeper, but it isn't too difficult because it can't heal itself and it's very prone to status
VERDICT: Politoed and Manaphy cannot be together in the same metagame. If Politoed is banned, keep Manaphy. If not, ban it. Definitely leaning towards banning Manaphy and not Politoed though.
DARKRAI
Threat level: ***
Isn't it a bitch when Darkrai puts one of your pokemon to sleep, and then just uses Nasty Plot on the switch? Darkrai is certainly a powerful pokemon with plenty of set up oppurtunities and is capable of 6-0'ing unprepared teams. The problem is that most teams are prepared. With Dory running around,
every single team needs some kind of strong priority. In most cases, it's a mach punch, which will undoubtedly OHKO Darkrai, but even less powerful moves will probably take care of Darkrai. If your team has huge problems with Darkrai, you're really not prepared for this metagame.
VERDICT: Don't ban it, the current metagame weakens it a lot.
DOEXYS-A
Threat level: *****
Okay, this thing is really a problem. This needs to go. Not only is Deoxys-A faster than most Choice Scarf users, but it's really powerful too. After subbing once, it will pretty much destroy you. It's true that it's ridiculously frail, but if it outspeeds and OHKO's most pokemon on your team, then it really doesn't matter.
VERDICT: Ban it now.
DEOXYS-D
Threat level: *
Seriously, Deoxys-D really isn't too bad. There are many powerful wall breakers that can completely destroy it. Its defensive stats are pretty good, but its low HP lets it down. It's a great supporter with Spikes and all, but it just doesn't cut it. I don't see any reason why Deoxys-D can't stay in OU. Hell, even Registeel is bulkier than it and has better typing, yet that was in UU last gen.
VERDICT: Keep it in OU.
DEOXYS-S
Threat level: ***
Suicide leads really aren't as good as they were last gen. Deoxys-S fails to take care of some of the bulkier leads like Politoed and Hippowdon. Deoxys-S is destroyed by priority Taunt, which is a common anti-lead strategy. Furthermore, Espeon renders Deoxys-S useless. Don't get me wrong, Deoxy-S is a great lead, especially if your team needs spikes, but it's nowhere near as broken as it was last gen.
VERDICT: Keep it in OU.
MEW
Threat level: ***
Mew is a very well-rounded pokemon that really didn't change much in the generation shift. Mew was pretty good last gen, and still is this gen. The only thing is, there is really nothing too great about it anymore. It's nice that it can learn all the TMs and be a great baton passers, but other baton passers like Shell Smash Smeargle or Speed Boost Blaziken are just simply better. Mew can be a great support pokemon with TWave, SR and Taunt, but it doesn't stand out too much this generation and rounds out the OU tier nicely.
VERDICT: Keep it in OU.
LATIAS
Threat level: ***
Latias is a dangerous pokemon that can wreak havoc on the opponent's team. Aside from that, I still believe that it isn't too broken and can remain in OU for now. There are many pokemon capable of checking and countering it, and it really deosnt' pose as much of a threat now with powerful walls like Nattorei and Burungeru. Latias may still be a good pokemon, but it's not the monster it was in OU last Gen.
VERDICT: Let's keep it in OU for now.
LATIOS
Threat level: ****
Um, this guy's a different story. Latios is essentially everything Latias is, just amplified. Latias is a much scarier sweeper, and although it isn't nearly as bulky, it makes up for this by being better able to eliminate many of its counters. TrickSpecs or TrickScarf sets are particularly annoying and dangerous. Nevertheless, Latios hasn't really turned the OU tier upside-down as one might expect. The metagame seems to be doing fine with Latios, and I don't believe it's broken enough to warrant a ban.
VERDICT: On the fence a little, but leaning towards OU.
SKYMIN
Threat level: ****
There's a huge debate over Skymin, and it is true that Skymin is a ridiculous sweeper. Nothing can safely switch in due to Seed Flare's 80% special defense drop rate, allowing Skymin to choose the attack of its choice to finish you off. Its fast Air Slashes are tough to deal with and are guaranteed to cause a ragequit or two. Alternitively, it can run a SubSeed set that stalls out the opponent. There are two reasons why I believe that Skymin should not be banned, however. The first is Jarooda. Jarooda's Leaf Storm is very similar to Skymin's Seed Flare. Jarooda's Leaf Storm allows it to raise its special attack, making it easier to finish off the switch in just like Skymin's Seed Flare. Yet, we do not consider Jarooda anything near broken. Now, I understand that Perversity Jarooda hasn't been released yet, and that Skymin and Jarooda have very different stats, but they are still comparable. The second reason is outclassment as a subseeder. Erufuun is
the subseeder of this generation, hands down. There are no other pokemon who do it better, including Skymin. With Erufuun running around, there is really no reason to use Skymin as a subseeder anymore. I understand that Skymin's offensive set is still incredibly dangerous, but i don't believe it's enough to warrant a ban.
VERDICT: Fairly undecided, but currently OU.
WOBBUFFET
Threat level: **
Wobbuffet is an odd pokemon in the sense that its performance is based entirely on those around it. Wobbuffet is used to counter/mirror coat pokemon it's against, encore non-damaging moves and to give that free turn to its teamate. Yet I feel like the brokeness of Wobbuffet is determined by the brokeness of its teamate. For example, if Wobby is being used to help set up a CM Spinda, then that's one story. If it's being used to set up a Kingdra in the rain, that's another. Wobbuffet really shouldn't have a tier in my mind, as its performance is the same in all tiers.
VERDICT: Definitely keep in OU for now, but I'd like to see Wobby in UU or even NU.
POLITOED
Threat level: *****
I think rain is the most dangerous of the weathers as it is capable of being bulky and deadly at the same time. Politoed is therefore the ultimate supporter for this playstyle. There are some saying that we need to ban Kingdra and some of the other sweepers, but there really is no way to cut down on rain's current brokeness except to ban Politoed or Drizzle. Sure, there are counters, but there are only a few and rain teams know how to seek them out and to eliminate them. I'd say that rain is an extremely broken playstyle and something needs to be done about it.
VERDICT: Politoed can be a bitch, but I believe it's only because of Manaphy. Let's see how things go with Manaphy banned and if rain is still overpowered, we'll ban Drizzle as well.
NINETALES
Threat level: ***
Sun teams are strong, don't get me wrong, but they pale in comparison to sand and rain. Sun teams aren't as broken as rain, and they really aren't too much of a problem. Chlorophyl can be just as much of a bitch as Swift Swim or Sand Throw, but it's really not the same thing. Sun can be handled easily, and there's really no reason for Ninetales to go to Ubers.
VERDICT: Keep it in OU.
INCONSISTENT
Threat level: *****
Inconsistent is by far the cheapest way to win a battle. It has no strategy, no counters, and no skill. There is no way I'm going to play with Inconsistent on the filed.
VERDICT: Ban the ability, because none of these pokemon are anywhere near broken besides their ability.
Now everyone pick apart and argue every single piece of this, because I know you will.
