NU Viability Ranking

[Magcargo]

Nominating Kingler for C-Rank
Kingler may have many flaws, but he has many strong points that makes him deserve C-Rank​

Pros
-can outspeed base 70s which include samurwott and ludicolo
-has a MASSIVE base 130 attack, which can further be increased with swords dance.
-can suprise tangela with a sheer force life orb ice beam, which 2HKOs it
-gets good coverage with return and Crabhammer
-good base 115 defense allows it to tank resisted physical attacks like samurwotts waterfall​

With these pros in mind, kngler has the potential to become Low C-Rank.​

Also, I completely agree with moving cradily up to B-Rank.​

I would like to demote hypno to D-Rank. Hypno is honestly, one of the worst psychic types in the tier. It has a low base 73 special attack and a pathetic base 67 speed, meaning it usually won't sweep, even with nasty plot and trick room; not to mention that Beeheeyem is a better nasty plot sweeper because of its usable base 125 special attack. Lickylicky is a better wishpasser because of his higher HP and access to Dragon tail. Hypno is basically the jack of all trades, master of none and does not deserve anything higher than D-Rank.

Also, I suggest adding roselia to B-rank and demoting garbodor to B-Rank. Both are good spike users, but their low speeds and weakness to psychic hinder thier effectiveness.

Hypno REALLY needs to drop.

 

[Celever]

Lolkomori, arbok is pretty bad in this meta. After a coil gunk shot becomes powerful? Oh look, a 4x resist in pede. And a 2x resist in jynx that can immediately OHKO back.

The drops only made things worse for arbok and I stand by arbok for C rank.

KFC, saying curse makes up for low speed isn't worded correctly, to say something makes up for low speed it would have to be using rock polish or something. Either way though, Cradily for B I can agree with.

Hypno stays in C, it is the only specially defensive psychic type we've got. Correct, not a sweeper, a special wall.

 

[Punchshroom]

Uh dude, Pede only 2x resists Gunk Shot and Jynx doesn't resist at all, meaning Jynx gets obliterated by it. Arbok has Sucker Punch for Jynx as well. Grumpig also competes with Hypno.

Arbok can still work in this metagame, as it finds opportunities to set up Coils in EQ-less Scolipedes and Primeapes, Intimidate weakening their attacks further, while also being annoying for physical sweepers too. On the other hand, Shed Skin allows Arbok to set up on Misdreavus or Scald Alomomola and Rest off the damage, permitting a bulkier spread. Shed Skin also helps against Jynx's Lovely Kiss should she try to predict Sucker Punch. While that base 80 speed isn't that great anymore, Arbok can still adapt by shifting some speed onto HP, granting Arbok better bulk to net more Coil boosts.
Arbok's ability to keep up, as well as its handy abilities, keep the snake in B-Rank imo.

Cradily suffers from being unable to support and attack effectively at the same time. In fact, putting Stealth Rock on Cradily automatically dashes any hopes Cradily has of trying to go offensive, as it really needs the 4 moveslots to perform well. Cradily can run a variety of sets such as support, Curse, RestTalk, SD..., but it usually boils down to full support (which can turn into setup fodder) or a boosting set that forgoes supporting duties (meaning someone else would have to carry SR, which usually clashes with Cradily itself). Those setbacks aren't so bad, but Cradily has an unfortunate resistance-weakness ratio: It resists Normal, Electric and is Water-immune, which makes it a fantastic check to Tauros, Eelektross and most Water-types, but is weak to Steel (less relevant), Bug, Fighting and Ice. Did those last 3 types seem familiar? Yes, those are the arrivals in Scolipede, Primeape and Jynx who have made a name for themselves, and each of them hits Cradily very hard, greatly reducing Cradily's walling potential. I might've opted B-Rank for Cradily before, but now Cradily walls too little and is weak to too much to be worth that rank. C-Rank it shall stay.

Kingler I'm not too sure, its power, boosting moves and great coverage certainly make him seem C-Rank material, but his extremely poor special bulk which clashes heavily with the resistances he has really set him back. Jynx being in the tier does him no favors because unlike Samurott, he has very little chance of surviving Psychic to retaliate with his Bug move. Thoughts on this?

 

[ryan]

Just a few mons I wanted to post on:

Primeape for A-Rank
Primeape is a fantastic Pokemon. Its currently popular Choice Scarf set has great speed, and it allows Primeape to serve as a scout and a revenge killer. If you feel adventurous, Primeape also has a lot of really cool support options at its disposal as well. Access to Taunt and Encore along with U-Turn make it a really effective lead annoying with Expert Belt, and it has to speed to do these things viably. What holds back Primeape for me is its middling attack stat. While 105 base attack is good, with only Fighting STAB to back it up, it's not really good enough. Its Close Combat tends to be disappointing in power. On top of that, it's really frail, so most of the things that can take a hit from it can OHKO or 2HKO in return--especially if it is using Close Combat.

I think it's a nice A-Rank mon, and it's probably top to mid A-Rank at that. I don't, however, feel that it should be S-Rank. S-Rank mons tend to define the tier and have few counters. Counters for Primeape are much easier to come by.


Weezing for B-Rank
I feel like this will be more easy to support than my other noms. Weezing has undoubtedly found its place in B-Rank to me. Its physical bulk is immense, and its typing really lends itself to being a great wall in this meta. Thanks to Levitate, the only relevant physical mons who can hit it super-effectively are Sawk and Fraxure. And with the rise of Scolipede and U-Turn Primeape, its other weakness, Psychic, has a lot fewer relevant types right now. It has access to Will-o-wisp to cripple physical attackers, and it's an overall good mon. Definitely better than a lot of B-Rank right now and most, if not all, of C-Rank.


Throh for B-Rank
My last nom may seem strange, but Throh is a really good mon. It has incredible bulk, and partners alongside something that can handle Ghosts and Dark types, it has the potential to sweep entire teams with its Bulk Up/Circle Throw/Resttalk set. With Guts, while it is sleeping and using Sleep Talk, it gets a 1.5x boost to its attack, making its Circle Throws hurt without boosts. In that same regard, Guts makes it an effective status absorber. It's definitely not something to brush aside when you see it in the team preview; however, it does require team support in the form of hazards (which doesn't really reduce the quality of Throh since 99% of teams carry some form of hazard) and in the form of removing Ghost-types from the opposition. Even still, I would definitely support Throh for B-Rank.

 

[Farobi]

Throh is definitely a B-Rank nom imo. It has great defensive stats(120/85/85), as well as having access to Circle Throw, Bulk Up, Sleep Talk, Taunt, and Payback in its arsenal. The omnipresent Jynx may make it somewhat less usable in this meta, but having the ability to survive a Psychic from full health without Special Defense EVs is nothing to scoff at, especially when Throh can simply knock it out with Payback. Scolipede and Throh are partners in crime, as the former provides valuable hazard support for the latter, though they are not good at all if you are talking about defensive synergy so having something like Regirock or Skuntank can come in handy.

For proof of calc:

252SpAtk Life Orb Jynx (Neutral) Psychic vs 252HP/0SpDef Leftovers Throh (+SpDef): 82% - 97% (368 - 434 HP). Guaranteed 2HKO.

 

[Lolk]

I meant that not very pokemon can find comfort with a +1 STAB with 120 Base Power and no drawbacks. Regardless of Scolipede, Gunk Shot has pretty great coverage in NU.

 

[Leafshield]

Arbok

I feel like I should state my argument for Arbok in a different manner, as to better compare it to current threats in the meta:

Arbok's Defensive stats (60/69/79) aren't exactly impressive, but that's exactly what makes it different than any of the other popular Poison-Types in the tier: it's meant to go on the offensive.

Arbok's solid 85 Attack and 80 Speed (the latter being pretty good for NU), accompanied by its faithful boosting move in Coil, as well as amazing coverage moves, makes him a huge threat in the meta. He has two amazing abilities in Intimidate and Shed Skin, giving him at least two viable sets: One being his Offensive Coil set, and another being his Bulky Coil set.

Arbok @ Black Sludge
Trait: Intimidate/Shed Skin
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Coil
- Gunk Shot
- Aqua Tail / Earthquake
- Sucker Punch

This set is more powerful than you would think: the EVs max out Arbok's best stats: his Attack and Speed, while allowing him (I believe?) a Lefties (or in this case, Black Sludge) number. The Jolly Nature is to give him that extra speed; this isn't uncommon on setup sweepers, as they are planning to boost regardless and appreciate the extra speed. Coil is the crux of the set: it's an amazing setup move for Arbok and allows him to tank hits as he boosts his attack and accuracy, creating a very scary Gunk Shot once he reaches +2 or +3 (neither of which are uncommon if played right.) Gunk Shot is an amazing STAB after a few coils, giving it near perfect accuracy. With it's 30% poison chance, it even has the ability to cripple a stubborn wall that you're setting up on, such as Alomomola (who basically does nothing to you if you have Shed Skin.) or Choice-Locked attackers like Primeape, who undoubtedly hates being poisoned. Aqua Tail and Sucker Punch are the preferred coverage moves, allowing Arbok to hit Golurk extremely hard if it decides not to attack, as well as Fire-Types like Charizard, who have a slightly tougher time getting through Arbok without a SE attack (so basically Charizard's Special set doesn't do very well against Arbok without sun up, but he can manage, imo.) Earthquake can be used to no be completely walled by Lairon and other Steel-Types, but they are uncommon and can be covered easily. It can also potentially help you with Scolipede, but that can also be covered by partners. Sucker Punch is an amazing move in this meta as it allows Arbok to OHKO Jynx, an invaluable asset to any team. Overall, this set is really good with hazards up and can benefit from some Screen support, though uncommon, as Arbok then becomes a formidable boosting wall. A downside to this is that Arbok really has no answer to Weezing (though he also walls Scolipede, so no surprises there.), so he's best partnered with a strong Psychic type like Jynx.

Arbok @ Black Sludge
Trait: Shed Skin
EVs: 192 HP / 252 Atk / 64 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Coil
-Rest
- Gunk Shot
- Aqua Tail / Sucker Punch

This set is more focused on boosting until you need to Rest, Rest up, and wake up using Arbok's secondary ability, Shed Skin. The EVs listed are a little odd, but they have a reason: the 64 Speed EVs let Arbok outspeed base 56 mons such as Exeggutor and Torterra, both of which are hit heavily by +1 or +2 Gunk Shot (*I'm pretty sure it has a chance to OHKO Exeggutor with no boosts, but don't quote me. I'm in school and don't have a calc available. Besides, it's irrelevant since you should boost anyways for accuracy purposes.) The rest are dumped into HP and Attack to maximize Arbok's wallbreaking capabilities. Adamant nature goes in hand with the previous statement.

Coil, again, is the crux of the set. Arbok can set up in the face of some of the most formidable walls in the tier, such as Alomomola and Vileplume, all the while boosting it's already decent attack and lackluster Defenses, as well as boosting his accuracy, making his STAB 120 BP Gunk Shot without risks or drawbacks. Rest is an amazing move for this set, as it lets Arbok get completely healthy while keeping his boosts. Shed Skin makes sure this isn't as risky, as Arbok has a 1/3 chance of waking up every turn. As he is already decently hard to take down by +3, it can be rather easy to stay healthy. Gunk Shot is standard, as it lets Arbok hit anything hard with a few boosts. Aqua Tail is the ideal coverage move, letting Arbok hit everything that walls him, basically, for some sort of neutral damage. Sucker Punch can be used if you don't have Paralysis support, but it doesn't hit as much that Aqua Tail does.

In short, Arbok is a great mon who can set up on the tier's Fighting-Types and walls with ease and do serious damage to the opposition. I nominate for him to stay in B-Rank.

 

[Dell]

Going to agree that Primeape should be A-rank. To be quite honest, I don't really understand the hype about it going into S-rank so much. Sure it's one of our premier Choice Scarf users with some of the best scouting capabilities with U-turn, but three main drawbacks that prevents it from doing its job consistently enough by S-rank standards (revenge killing and late game cleaning) is that it's too weak, frail, and has to get around the myriad of Fighting resists a lot more often than Mold Breaker Sawk does. As a Choice Scarf user, it tends to be forced into using U-turn a lot since it's often not at Close Combat range with most offensive threats unless they have been notably weakened or has Fighting weakness (and even then, Close Combat is only dealing about 69.2% - 81.66% to Carracosta and 46.15% - 55.22% (2-3 hits to KO) to Regirock), meaning that if it utilizes its STAB move on the same turn, chances are that it's losing to various Pokemon that can strike back and OHKO in return (such as Samurott, Serperior, Braviary, Eelektross, Fraxure, etc.). Its mediocre bulk also means that it has a hard time revenge killing threats that carry priority or faster Choice Scarf user like Charizard and Zebstrika.

The point I'm trying to put across is that it's not like Keldeo in OU in which it has the bulk and resistances to switch into a variety threats with a Choice Scarf set that has the power to revenge kill virtually every offensive threat due to a much higher SpA stat and the ability to gain Rain boosts off of its most used STAB move. It's just that Primeape simply requires more complicated support than that to accomplish the same merit of a Choice Scarf user.

Regarding non-Scarf sets, I know that there has been some decent contributions about it like Taunt, U-turn, and Encore, but even then from there it still faces a lot of competition with Mold Breaker Sawk, as it doesn't really accomplish anything that Sawk does already aside from a superior Speed stat. Sawk just simply has much better wall-breaking capabilities otherwise, with its superior power, bulk, and ability.

 

[vibrafoen]

Primeape for A-Rank
Primeape is a fantastic Pokemon. Its currently popular Choice Scarf set has great speed, and it allows Primeape to serve as a scout and a revenge killer. If you feel adventurous, Primeape also has a lot of really cool support options at its disposal as well. Access to Taunt and Encore along with U-Turn make it a really effective lead annoying with Expert Belt, and it has to speed to do these things viably. What holds back Primeape for me is its middling attack stat. While 105 base attack is good, with only Fighting STAB to back it up, it's not really good enough. Its Close Combat tends to be disappointing in power. On top of that, it's really frail, so most of the things that can take a hit from it can OHKO or 2HKO in return--especially if it is using Close Combat.

I'd like to support this, but on a greater degree. As soon as people realized how good Primeape was, he basically made the #1 most used set in ALL OF NU (according to March 2013 usage stats) irrelevant: Scarfed Sawk. Sawk is S-rank, and since Primeape pulls off his job even more effectively, Primeape should rank that high at least.

Primeape has the opportunity of sitting at the now-necessary base 95 speed tier, which allows him to distinguish himself from Sawk by outspeeding a few key threats such as Scarf Rotom-A. Scarf Sawk, while it does have a higher attack stat, does not really accomplish many important KOs that Primeape does not. Secondly, Primeape has the golden prize move of all Choice Scarfers: U-turn. U-turn is invaluable for any Scarf user, as many pro players can attest. Lastly, Primeape's ability, Vital Spirit, while appearing to have less value than Sturdy, allows Primeape to get a free switch-in on predicted Jynx's Lovely Kiss or Exeggutor/Vileplume's Sleep Powder.

With these factors in mind, it's obvious that Primeape is an S-rank pokemon.

 

[tennisace]

Honestly the fact that the base 95 speed tier is so prominent now with the drops of Primeape and Jynx should be a hint as to Primeape's dominance. It's almost totally unseated Sawk as the premier Fighting-type in the tier, as it's not only faster (which allows it to do cool things like outspeed Rotom-S and Braviary, things Sawk couldn't do), but has many more options than Sawk does. Punishment allows it to beat up on Psychic-types that like to boost their stats, U-turn allows it to scout, heck even moves like Encore are useful to harass slower teams.

However the thing that makes Primeape S-rank is that no matter what you do, it can always just U-turn out of your counter, preserving momentum like no other Pokemon in NU. It's not Stealth Rock weak, unlike previously used scarfers like Braviary and Rotom-S/F. It's got about as much effective power as Sawk (i.e. it doesn't miss very many KOs that Scarf Sawk used to get, CB is a totally different story as Mold Breaker is so much better for that purpose). I disagree with Agent Dell when he says that Scarf Primeape is "forced" into using U-turn often, because that is the entire point of using Scarf Primeape! Choice Scarf Sawk always had the problem of getting locked into one move and having to give up momentum when switching out. Scarf Primeape can threaten the Pokemon in the early games, with the added bonus of not having to lock itself into Close Combat until the opponent's team is properly softened up. Then, Primeape can use that excellent speed tier later in the game to clean up.

In conclusion:

Sure, Primeape may be frail, and it might be a bit weaker than Sawk. But the fact that it is one of the top 3 momentum gaining Pokemon in the tier right now (in a tier that's wildly shifted towards offense) should be more than enough for S-rank.

 

[Infernis]

I don't know about S-rank, either. I think Primeape got a lot of usage because of some intense hype, but it's a bit overrated. You now need something on your team fast enough to outrun the Scarf set, but you already needed something to beat Swellow, sun sweepers, scarf Sawk, Combusken, Swoobat... and any good scarfer that beats those can beat Primeape. I was seeing dozens of Primeape a few days ago, but now that I'm in the 1800-2000 range on the ladder with a couple teams, they're rather rare. The thing is frail as they come. CB Golurk can OHKO with practically anything it wants, and Primeape doesn't even have the KO power to reliably get the 2HKO with the (rare) super effective Ice Punch. It can't break Torkoal without Stone Edge, a 4HKO. It can only 4HKO Misdreavus with Punishment. Its best move against Weezing is the pitifully weak Hidden Power Psychic. Against Musharna, the best thing to do is flee to an actual counter with U-turn before it slays you with Psychic. (Seriously, if it goes straight to offense, Punishment is only a shaky 5HKO, and you die from Psychic immediately.)

Being able to beat Swellow and Braviary is nice, but Zebstrika does the same while not ditching its STAB. Anything that Close Combat is super effective against is already outrun by Scarf Sawk. (Except Scarf Tauros, Sawsbuck, and Chlorophyll Shiftry.) Anything with a modicum of defense that is only hit neutrally isn't taking stellar damage. Anything that walls Sawk walls Primeape harder.

Reserved for Pokemon that are outstanding in the NU metagame and can sweep, wall, or support the majority of the tier. These Pokemon require less support than other Pokemon to be used effectively and have few flaws that can be overlooked when compared to their outstanding traits.

Primeape can't sweep without a lot of support. He walls nothing. If anything, he plays a good support role.

Reserved for Pokemon that are amazing in the NU metagame. These Pokemon are usually able to perform a variety of roles effectively, or can just do one extremely well. Their use has low risk involved and high reward exerted. Pokemon in this tier have very few flaws that are patched up by numerous positive traits.

Which is why he should be here. He's good, but not Scolipede, Jynx, or even Sawk good on his own. Sawk has only a few clear-cut counters. Primeape has many. He can clean up late-game with a lot of support, but so can Haunter, Tauros, and Zebstrika. He's a good scout with U-turn, but so are Swellow, Eelektross, Zebstrika (volt switch), and Swoobat. He's not bad by any means, but I've never seen a Primeape do as much against any of my Stage 9 teams as any of the S-rankers.

I support Primeape for A-Rank.

 

[Sweet Jesus]

I support AgentDell on getting primeape A-rank rather than S. I've played over 60 games with my current team that uses scarf primeape and very frankly, it's the least useful of all 6 pokemon. Primeape is one of those mons like zangoose who is so frail, he can't switch in on barely any attack without taking significant damage meaning he brings very few defensive synergy in a team if any. The scarf set really just u-turns all the time until the very end of the game when things that could abuse him being choice locked (like scolipede) are dead, unfortunately, u-turn alone is not enough to get there very fast. All this time, he will also probably take minor hazards damage leaving him an easy prey for priority users who will also abuse it's pathetic defences, which are hindered even more after a close combat.

Now combine that frailness with the lack of power and you certanly don't have an S tier pokemon. Primeape threatens to ohko very few mons that are not weak to it's stab and even then, certan rock types will take them well enough to land a hit (or a twave !). If it's not cleaning late game, primeape is often just pussying around with u-turn because if it doesn't ohko the opposing mon, it'll probably die or get crippled by status. This means primeape doesn't even bring that much momentum because if the opposing player is capable of evaluating risk/reward properly, he'll realize the chances primeape u-turns are huge and that even if he doesn't u-turn, if he can live it, he can probably kill kill it after.

Maybe non-scarf suffer less from these aspects, but very franlky, I don't believe the additional 10 speed and access to u-turn are really worth using it over sawk except maybe to fake scarf which is a dangerous game. I won't debate too much on this aspects because even those who want primeape S rank seem to agree that for wallbreaking, sawk is best.

Of all games I've used or faced primeape (must be around 80 times), it only made an incredible performance 2 or 3 times, one of those because I was weak to the volt switch that came with it.

 

[Anty]

I think primeape should be s-rank. It may not be as strong as Dawkins but it does speed tie with jynx and out speed rotoms. It also has a very nice expert belt set as it is usually scarfed and has taunt and encore, also u-turn is very usefull.

I would like to put forward glaceon to c-rank. It has an amazing 130 special attack stat and a decent 110 defence. It is not out classed by jynx as it can take physical hits. You can use it defensively (bad typing but oh well) as it gets wish protect and heal bell. Even without sp. attack investments it hits like a truck. It is really powerful and I have had great success with it.

 

[Magcargo]

Lolkomori, arbok is pretty bad in this meta. After a coil gunk shot becomes powerful? Oh look, a 4x resist in pede. And a 2x resist in jynx that can immediately OHKO back.

The drops only made things worse for arbok and I stand by arbok for C rank.

KFC, saying curse makes up for low speed isn't worded correctly, to say something makes up for low speed it would have to be using rock polish or something. Either way though, Cradily for B I can agree with.

Hypno stays in C, it is the only specially defensive psychic type we've got. Correct, not a sweeper, a special wall.

Hypno is not the only psychic special wall since gardevoir and grumpig exist. Unlike Gardevoir, hypno packs absolutely no offensive presence and is thus less versitile. Grumpig has extra resistences to ice and fire: two common attacking types in NU. Hypno is also outclassed by lickylicky, who can pass bigger wishes and can wall more special attackers.

 

[Nicolaibalu]

I also support Primeape for A-Rank. It is a very solid pokemon and sits in a very good speed tier for NU which makes him an excellent scout in combination with a Choice Scarf and U-turn. He has very bad defense stats tough which makes encore and taunt sets rather risky most of the time. It also means that priority moves are a big problem for Primeape because he will take a lot of damage from them. Primeape also doesnt quite hit as hard as Sawk.

 

[Farobi]

I am going to support placing Primeape to A-Rank, even though I stated it to be in S on page 29. I was hyping it a bit too much. It's vulnerable to most priority users, Spikes, it's not as strong as I thought it was, and, as SJ said, it was the most useless Pokemon (it still has its merit though) in my team.

But I do have to say that scarfers aren't supposed to spam Close Combats or Thunderbolts early in the match as they usually will get heavily damaged or get killed and become unable to perform their certain task, they usually just go for Volt Switch or U-Turn to gain momentum, and that is why most prominent scarfers aren't in the S-Rank due to them usually being forced into one move most of the time until their checks / counters are off the field.

@anty208 Glaceon is already C-Rank, and I expect it not to go any higher though because of its lack of coverage moves, speed, and its mediocre defensive typing.

 

[jake]

I'm too lazy to update the OP, so Annoyer better do it soon before I have to. >:|

I'm also supporting Primeape for A-Rank, for reasons stated by multiple people.

Also going to suggest that Cacturne drops to C-Rank. All the major metagame shifts were not favorable for it; Scolipede is a significantly better Spiker, it has to play the prediction game to even touch Jynx, Primeape outright owns it, and some of its less popular counters like Weezing have become viable once again. Cacturne simply doesn't have the ability to set up and be effective in any capacity this meta, and you're really pushing it if you try to fit Cacturne into your team. It was really really underrated last metagame but basically everything has gone against it with these shifts. Poor Cacturne. :(

 

[saucemonkey1]

I read a few posts a page or two back about Persian being an E ranked Pokemon, which really doesn't make much sense to me at all. I wouldn't put it up in B, or even C for that matter, but it at least deserves a D ranking for its various positives that it can bring to a team. For example, 115 speed is a great asset alone, allowing Persian to be a fast taunter and item swapper with Switcheroo. It can also run many different sets that allow for it to have surprise factor, and with its excellent speed, it can really take advantage of some of those sets, such as the Nasty Plot set or the scouting set. Despite its terrible base physical attack, resting at a measly 70, it can somewhat patch it up with the technician boost plus U-Turn, which ensures that it stays alive if it's up against something that can kill it easily. It isn't meant for attacking, it's meant more for supporting, which is what Persian does the best.

One thing that most people don't realize, however, is one of Persians best and most usable niches with Technician Covet. Covet's 60 BP is brought up to 90 with the Technician boost, further bringing it to 135 with STAB AND it allows Persian to steal an opponents item. This alone is an excellent option that Persian can run, taunting a known Spiker or Stealth Rocker and then damaging the switch in with a 135 BP move while stealing their item in the process. Although you have to give up an item slot for the move, it's worth it every time.

According to the OP:

Reserved for Pokemon that are mediocre in the NU metagame, but are decent enough to justify their use on some teams. These Pokemon are either usable but have no real niche, or are only capable of doing their specific task and fail at doing anything more than that.

Persian has a very specific niche of being a fast annoyer that can stop entry hazard setters in their tracks and can wreak havoc on unprepared teams by screwing up their items. Therefor, I nominate Persian for D rank.

EDIT: I totally forgot about Normal Gem to be honest, but that only increases Persians usefulness. You can either Normal Gem Fake Out or you could go for the Normal Gem Covet, and since the Normal Gem activates before the move, you essentially have a 202 power move that steals an item right after you use it.

 

[Nicolaibalu]

That Covet Persian set actually sounds kinda cute :D
So basicly you could normal-gem fake-out your opponent and then take their item away? Haha kinda cool tbh :)
I would have nothing against Persian in D rank since it has at least a little usefulness to it.
However I would totally understand if it stayed E rank

 

[Leafshield]

Ooh Normal Gem Fake Out into Covet. So gimmicky, but kind of interesting.

I don't know if that's enough to keep Persian out of E Rank though. Her offensive stats are lacking in everything but speed, and as a Normal type priority abuser it's outclassed by Kangaskhan. Though, the idea of stealing an opponent's Eviolite or their ever valuable choice items is an awesome niche, and would be nice to have in a lot of situations.

 

[Annoyer]

INCOMING CHANGES

• Primeape to A-rank - a lot was said about it in recent posts
• Wormadam-S (steel) moves up to D - it's great typing and ability to wall stuff is good enough for D easily
• Zebstrika moves up to B - is fast
• Weezing moves up to B - walls a lot, but Missy is generally better than it for the most part due to typing
• Braviary drops to A - big bird aint so big no more its speed tier isnt that great anymore (if people want to bring it up to S later, i'll allow it)
• Munchlax to B - tanks like every special attack and can phaze and use an offensive set to trap Jynx
• Serperior moves up to A - subcoil and cm are great with its high speed
• Cacturne drops to C - all drops suck for it, and scolipede is generally a better spiker
• Arbok stays in B - the snake can still find good opportunities to set up and sweep

More discussion mons needed is:

• Charizard
• Kingler
• Hypno

 

[Sweet Jesus]

Can we place roselia, we're kind of late on that one

EDIT: I agree with dell about B rank, talked about it in an earlier post

 

[Dell]

Yeah I agree, it was generally talked about by a few people, and they opted for B-rank in the current metagame, which is fine by me.

 

[jake]

I added Roselia to B-Rank. You guys can debate on that further, if necessary.

 

[Nicolaibalu]

More discussion mons needed is:

• Charizard
• Kingler
• Hypno

I think Charizard is fine where he is.

+ He has great offensive stats and the movepool to use both special and physical attacks. While his physical attack stat is lower he can boost that with SD.

+ With weather support his damage output is very hard to deal with.

- Unfortunatelly Charizard has a 4x weakness to Stealth Rocks. I feel this is really bad in the current metagame due to the lack of good rapid spinners and very good ghost types in the tier. Missy and Golurk are used very often these days and can hardly be beaten by any rapid spinner.
Rapid spinning sucks anyways because it kills momentum like no other move does, but thats just me :P

This is why i think Charizard is fine in B Rank.

If I had to move Hypno I would probably drop him down to D Rank. I just dont see the point in using him, he seems outclassed in everything he does. You might argue that the Jynx drop to NU added to his usefulness because he happens to be a good check to it with Insomnia, but the drop of Primeape and Scolipede really puts him further down imo.
So maybe Hypno to D Rank?

I havent used Kingler yet and dont see him to often so I dont really have an opinion of him. I guess Kingler is fine where he is.