Punchshroom
FISHIOUS REND MEGA SHARPEDO
Put Liepard in B already :I , I'm just gonna rip my old post straight out of the old Rankings:
Liepard can easily turn the tables on stat boosters and switch in safely against recovery to steal momentum, then proceed to harass the opponent's team with Swagger-boosted Foul Plays or Nasty Plot Dark Pulses. A highly underrated threat for sure.
Ampharos has always baffled me when concerning its usability: it's pretty bulky for an Electric-type and has nifty options in Heal Bell or Dual Screens + slow Volt Switch, but has no recovery which really hurts it. It is the strongest special Electric-type (bar Pikachu lol) in NU, meaning its powerful Thunderbolts, backed with solid coverage moves in Focus Blast, Hidden Power Ice or Signal Beam, make it tricky to switch into. Unfortunately, its speed means the opponent usually only has to do so once before Amphy is forced out or risks irreparable damage. Ampharos even has cool boosting options in Agility, Cotton Guard and possesses the bulk to use Charge Beam, but Ampharos suffers 4MSS as a result, meaning it gets crippled by status or lack of coverage, and has no recovery for defensive Ampharos to be good (RestTalk isn't good because of Ampharos can't afford to go mono-Electric). I like Ampharos, and a glance at its stats would lead you to believe it is fairly balanced, but its that very trait that causes it to fall short when it tries to accomplish something. Low speed holds it back from Agility sets or offensive sets in general; lack of reliable recovery means Amphy cannot take advantage of its good bulk. Really heavy-hearted with this decision, but Ampharos for C-Rank.
Articuno has always been troubled by its SR weakness, but could handle the then bulkier, slower and less hard-hitting metagame to stay alive. Now, its 85 base speed that was considered above average is now considered just below average, and this is important because Articuno has more difficulty Roosting before opponents could knock it out. Defensive sets are less viable now because it faces competition with Regice who has better coverage, has difficulty walling common threats, especially the dropdowns. With the introduction of Jynx and Scolipede, Rock and Fire moves have become more common, as evidenced by CM Serperior, Garbodor and Weezing, making life harder for Articuno. Its STAB combo is interesting and Articuno can opt for an offensive set that terrorized the bulkier era of NU....but now that Jynx has stepped in Articuno hardly seemed like a threat, the former being faster, stronger, and has a less severe SR weakness. All Articuno has for it is greater bulk, Roost and STAB Hurricane (which doesn't hit much of anything Jynx doesn't already). Aside from that, Articuno is also handily walled by anything that walls (in the loosest sense of the word) Jynx also, while not having Lovely Kiss, Focus Blast, Trick, and any boosting move prevents Articuno from bypassing any of the special walls Jynx at least has some hope overcoming. Articuno can't seem to perform any of its roles as well as it could without being outclassed or just outright being inefficient. C-Rank from me.
While I don't give two shits about skill-less Parafusion Liepards, Encore Liepard is truly what makes him better deserving of B-Rank. The ability to force out almost every set-up pokemon in NU to proceed with the vicious Swagger-Foul Play cycle means that every pokemon needs to be cautious about when they go for the boost (the only exceptions I can think of are Drum-Espeed Linoone or Jolly SSmash Aqua Jet Carra). Other than that, feel free to switch in on Shell Smashes (except Jolly Carra), Swords Dances, weather moves, Calm Minds, Quiver Dances, Growths, Bulk Ups (if you're feeling that ballsy), Agilitys (most don't carry priority), Shift Gears, Substitutes, hazards (preferably Stealth Rock), Sucker Punches, Protects, Rest and Sleep Talk, Fake Out (inadvised :P) and healing moves, etc. While parafuse Liepard can lose to Signal Beam Psychics, Encore Liepard can easily force them out by locking them into Psychic. Pokemon that aim to status Liepard will also get force out in a similiar fashion with Sub and Encore.
However, a single move isn't really enough to warrant the boost in rank. No, unlike other Prankster pokemon, Liepard actually has offensive presence, though that is dependant on the type of targets he faces. Liepard's high speed and Dark STAB means he can revenge kill Braviary, Jynx, Golurk (clean OHKO on CB variants), Zangoose, Sawsbuck, Kangaskhan, non-Scarf Sawk (preferably CB Sawk locked into CC) and Pinsir, physical Eelektross, Haunter, Kadabra, the Simis....the list goes on. While most of these are 2HKOs, not many can claim to do this with ZERO offensive investment (with a negative nature to boot!). This means Liepard can gear itself for handling Ghosts and Psychics better. It is not outclassed by Skuntank in this role because while the Skunk has neutrality to most of the Psychic's coverage, better bulk and a stronger Pursuit; Liepard is all but unaffected by any of the Psychic pokemon's disruption moves: Will-o-Wisp, Destiny Bond, Trick, Disable, even Miracle Eye can all be combated easily by Sub + Encore, giving Liepard an upper hand which Skunk fails to achieve. The higher speed helps too.
Conclusion: Liepard for B-Rank. Actually, I might even go for A-Rank possible withdrawal due to Scolipede being everywhere and Encore being bad against Spikes, after all Haunter has shown that frailty doesn't hold you back from being A-Rank, the difference between the two is that Liepard has a harder time switching in (if you consider the aforementioned moves Liepard can come in on uncommon, especially Substituters who think they are safe from Liepard), but Liepard is not as vulnerable to Scarfers or priority thanks to its own.
However, a single move isn't really enough to warrant the boost in rank. No, unlike other Prankster pokemon, Liepard actually has offensive presence, though that is dependant on the type of targets he faces. Liepard's high speed and Dark STAB means he can revenge kill Braviary, Jynx, Golurk (clean OHKO on CB variants), Zangoose, Sawsbuck, Kangaskhan, non-Scarf Sawk (preferably CB Sawk locked into CC) and Pinsir, physical Eelektross, Haunter, Kadabra, the Simis....the list goes on. While most of these are 2HKOs, not many can claim to do this with ZERO offensive investment (with a negative nature to boot!). This means Liepard can gear itself for handling Ghosts and Psychics better. It is not outclassed by Skuntank in this role because while the Skunk has neutrality to most of the Psychic's coverage, better bulk and a stronger Pursuit; Liepard is all but unaffected by any of the Psychic pokemon's disruption moves: Will-o-Wisp, Destiny Bond, Trick, Disable, even Miracle Eye can all be combated easily by Sub + Encore, giving Liepard an upper hand which Skunk fails to achieve. The higher speed helps too.
Conclusion: Liepard for B-Rank. Actually, I might even go for A-Rank possible withdrawal due to Scolipede being everywhere and Encore being bad against Spikes, after all Haunter has shown that frailty doesn't hold you back from being A-Rank, the difference between the two is that Liepard has a harder time switching in (if you consider the aforementioned moves Liepard can come in on uncommon, especially Substituters who think they are safe from Liepard), but Liepard is not as vulnerable to Scarfers or priority thanks to its own.
Liepard can easily turn the tables on stat boosters and switch in safely against recovery to steal momentum, then proceed to harass the opponent's team with Swagger-boosted Foul Plays or Nasty Plot Dark Pulses. A highly underrated threat for sure.
Ampharos has always baffled me when concerning its usability: it's pretty bulky for an Electric-type and has nifty options in Heal Bell or Dual Screens + slow Volt Switch, but has no recovery which really hurts it. It is the strongest special Electric-type (bar Pikachu lol) in NU, meaning its powerful Thunderbolts, backed with solid coverage moves in Focus Blast, Hidden Power Ice or Signal Beam, make it tricky to switch into. Unfortunately, its speed means the opponent usually only has to do so once before Amphy is forced out or risks irreparable damage. Ampharos even has cool boosting options in Agility, Cotton Guard and possesses the bulk to use Charge Beam, but Ampharos suffers 4MSS as a result, meaning it gets crippled by status or lack of coverage, and has no recovery for defensive Ampharos to be good (RestTalk isn't good because of Ampharos can't afford to go mono-Electric). I like Ampharos, and a glance at its stats would lead you to believe it is fairly balanced, but its that very trait that causes it to fall short when it tries to accomplish something. Low speed holds it back from Agility sets or offensive sets in general; lack of reliable recovery means Amphy cannot take advantage of its good bulk. Really heavy-hearted with this decision, but Ampharos for C-Rank.
Articuno has always been troubled by its SR weakness, but could handle the then bulkier, slower and less hard-hitting metagame to stay alive. Now, its 85 base speed that was considered above average is now considered just below average, and this is important because Articuno has more difficulty Roosting before opponents could knock it out. Defensive sets are less viable now because it faces competition with Regice who has better coverage, has difficulty walling common threats, especially the dropdowns. With the introduction of Jynx and Scolipede, Rock and Fire moves have become more common, as evidenced by CM Serperior, Garbodor and Weezing, making life harder for Articuno. Its STAB combo is interesting and Articuno can opt for an offensive set that terrorized the bulkier era of NU....but now that Jynx has stepped in Articuno hardly seemed like a threat, the former being faster, stronger, and has a less severe SR weakness. All Articuno has for it is greater bulk, Roost and STAB Hurricane (which doesn't hit much of anything Jynx doesn't already). Aside from that, Articuno is also handily walled by anything that walls (in the loosest sense of the word) Jynx also, while not having Lovely Kiss, Focus Blast, Trick, and any boosting move prevents Articuno from bypassing any of the special walls Jynx at least has some hope overcoming. Articuno can't seem to perform any of its roles as well as it could without being outclassed or just outright being inefficient. C-Rank from me.