Other ORAS OU Viability Ranking Thread V2 - Check Post #2500 PG. 100

[SilverForUbers]

To bring back an earlier nomination that got no feedback, I'd like to repost it. :P

to B+ rank

Cresselia isn't very bad right now. Being able to check MegaGross, Mega Altaria, some Keldeo, Azumarill, Lati twins, and others is pretty good when the metagame revolves around them. She also has access to TWave and Toxic to cripple things like Slowbro, Keldeo, Latis, MegaGross, and the aforementioned threats above. And that bulk is just amazing. 120/120/130 is amazing solid, being able to tank hits on both sides of the spectrum. She also has access to Ice Beam to take out or scare out things like Landorus-T locked into EQ, Landorus-I lacking Knock Off(even then it doesn't 2HKO), etc. Levitate isn't a bad ability, being able to beat Garchomp, Landorus-T, Excadrill, etc is nothing to sneeze at. And of course, she has a Knock Off weakness which hurts a lot. And her recovery isn't very reliable, but she can wall a lot of things if done properly.

Some Calcs

-0 Atk Life Orb Landorus Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Cresselia: 140-166 (31.5 - 37.3%) -- 85.8% chance to 3HKO

0 SpA Cresselia Ice Beam vs. 0 HP / 0- SpD Landorus: 272-324 (85.2 - 101.5%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO

+1 252+ Atk Pixilate Mega Altaria Return vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Cresselia: 202-238 (45.4 - 53.6%) -- 1.2% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

252 Atk Tough Claws Mega Metagross Meteor Mash vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Cresselia: 135-160 (30.4 - 36%) -- guaranteed 4HKO after Leftovers recovery

252 SpA Life Orb Latios Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Cresselia: 220-259 (49.5 - 58.3%) -- 64.5% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

252 SpA Choice Specs Keldeo Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Cresselia: 213-252 (47.9 - 56.7%) -- 35.9% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

252+ Atk Choice Band Huge Power Azumarill Play Rough vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Cresselia: 169-201 (38 - 45.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

+2 252 Atk Garchomp Outrage vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Cresselia: 249-294 (56 - 66.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

252+ Atk Life Orb Excadrill Iron Head vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Cresselia: 122-146 (27.4 - 32.8%) -- 81.3% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery

 

[firehusky]

cold bacon

Since people have been talking about a Weavile nomination, I think it's time for Mamoswine to move up to A.

Mamoswine is a very powerful Pokemon in OU that is often overlooked. Ice / Ground STAB is very good neutral coverage, allowing it to demolish common balanced cores such as Celebi + Heatran, Gliscor + Clefable, Jirachi + Hippowdon, etc. Having access to priority Ice Shard is also great for Mamoswine, as it allows it to revenge kill the ever so common Rock Polish Landorus-I, while also being able to revenge kill Swords Dance Garchomp. Mamoswine makes for a very effective check to Double Genie Offense, a very dominant playstyle commonly seen on HO teams. Mamoswine separates itself from Weavile by being much harder to counter. Many common counters to Weavile exist, such as Keldeo, Azumarill, and Mega Scizor, whereas nothing really enjoys taking Mamoswine's hits. Of the Pokemon that can comfortably take Mamoswine's hits, many of them are bopped by Freeze Dry. Pokemon such as Rotom-W, Slowbro, and Gyarados would have been perfectly fine switch ins if not for Freeze Dry. With only a little Special Attack investment, Mamoswine can easily lure them in and defeat them.

16 SpA Life Orb Mamoswine Freeze-Dry vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Rotom-W: 143-172 (47.1 - 56.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
16 SpA Life Orb Mamoswine Freeze-Dry vs. 248 HP / 252+ SpD Gyarados: 218-265 (55.4 - 67.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
16 SpA Life Orb Mamoswine Freeze-Dry vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Slowbro: 182-218 (46.1 - 55.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock

Mamoswine puts tremendous pressure on offensive teams, being able to destroy Thundurus-I and Landorus-I easily thanks to priority Ice Shard, as well as having few safe switch ins on HO teams, as well as being able to defeat common balanced cores.

Mamoswine is also a decent suicide lead. LO + Stealth Rock Mamoswine is a very effective Stealth Rock setter, forcing out many common Pokemon, giving it opportunities to set up Stealth Rock. Mega Sableye also isn't a safe switch in, as with a little bit of prior damage, it is 2HKOed by Earthquake:

252 Atk Life Orb Mamoswine Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Mega Sableye: 133-156 (43.7 - 51.3%) -- 5.9% chance to 2HKO

Another reason why Mamoswine is effective as a suicide Stealth Rock setter is because of it's ability, Oblivious. This makes it immune to Taunt, allowing it to set up Stealth Rock even against suicide leads such as Azelf, that are intended to stop opposing suicide leads from setting up entry hazards. Endeavor combined with a Focus Sash and Ice Shard is also a nice way of weakening a wall or severely crippling a Pokemon. After Mamoswine has done it's job and is now at 1%, it can go Endeavor, leaving the target at 1%, which can be finished off with Ice Shard or a teammate.

Mamoswine is definitely a force to be reckoned with. It has powerful dual STABs with near perfect neutral coverage, Freeze Dry, and Ice Shard enabling it to be a solid revenge killer to both genies. However, it's defensive typing is rather lackluster, as well as it's defensive stats. It's typing gives it weaknesses to common priority moves such as Bullet Punch, Mach Punch, and Aqua Jet. However, once Mamoswine gets in safely, it can easily wreck havoc. I think these are enough reasons for Mamoswine to move up to A.

 

[Guidorealmsmc]

cold bacon

Since people have been talking about a Weavile nomination, I think it's time for Mamoswine to move up to A.

Mamoswine is a very powerful Pokemon in OU that is often overlooked. Ice / Ground STAB is very good neutral coverage, allowing it to demolish common balanced cores such as Celebi + Heatran, Gliscor + Clefable, Jirachi + Hippowdon, etc. Having access to priority Ice Shard is also great for Mamoswine, as it allows it to revenge kill the ever so common Rock Polish Landorus-I, while also being able to revenge kill Swords Dance Garchomp. Mamoswine makes for a very effective check to Double Genie Offense, a very dominant playstyle commonly seen on HO teams. Mamoswine separates itself from Weavile by being much harder to counter. Many common counters to Weavile exist, such as Keldeo, Azumarill, and Mega Scizor, whereas nothing really enjoys taking Mamoswine's hits. Of the Pokemon that can comfortably take Mamoswine's hits, many of them are bopped by Freeze Dry. Pokemon such as Rotom-W, Slowbro, and Gyarados would have been perfectly fine switch ins if not for Freeze Dry. With only a little Special Attack investment, Mamoswine can easily lure them in and defeat them.

16 SpA Life Orb Mamoswine Freeze-Dry vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Rotom-W: 143-172 (47.1 - 56.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
16 SpA Life Orb Mamoswine Freeze-Dry vs. 248 HP / 252+ SpD Gyarados: 218-265 (55.4 - 67.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
16 SpA Life Orb Mamoswine Freeze-Dry vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Slowbro: 182-218 (46.1 - 55.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock

Mamoswine puts tremendous pressure on offensive teams, being able to destroy Thundurus-I and Landorus-I easily thanks to priority Ice Shard, as well as having few safe switch ins on HO teams, as well as being able to defeat common balanced cores.

Mamoswine is also a decent suicide lead. LO + Stealth Rock Mamoswine is a very effective Stealth Rock setter, forcing out many common Pokemon, giving it opportunities to set up Stealth Rock. Mega Sableye also isn't a safe switch in, as with a little bit of prior damage, it is 2HKOed by Earthquake:

252 Atk Life Orb Mamoswine Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Mega Sableye: 133-156 (43.7 - 51.3%) -- 5.9% chance to 2HKO

Another reason why Mamoswine is effective as a suicide Stealth Rock setter is because of it's ability, Oblivious. This makes it immune to Taunt, allowing it to set up Stealth Rock even against suicide leads such as Azelf, that are intended to stop opposing suicide leads from setting up entry hazards. Endeavor combined with a Focus Sash and Ice Shard is also a nice way of weakening a wall or severely crippling a Pokemon. After Mamoswine has done it's job and is now at 1%, it can go Endeavor, leaving the target at 1%, which can be finished off with Ice Shard or a teammate.

Mamoswine is definitely a force to be reckoned with. It has powerful dual STABs with near perfect neutral coverage, Freeze Dry, and Ice Shard enabling it to be a solid revenge killer to both genies. However, it's defensive typing is rather lackluster, as well as it's defensive stats. It's typing gives it weaknesses to common priority moves such as Bullet Punch, Mach Punch, and Aqua Jet. However, once Mamoswine gets in safely, it can easily wreck havoc. I think these are enough reasons for Mamoswine to move up to A.

I second this but about where you mentioned ice/ground has good neutral coverage you forgot to mention it has amazing super effective coverage as ice/ground hits a lot of relevant things super effectively.

 

[Magcargo]

Alakazam should be moved up to C+ Rank. It suffers from numerous flaws in the OU metagame, but it has a few key traits that put it above many of the Pokemon in C- Rank. It sits at an solid Speed tier outspeeding not only Choice Scarf Tyranitar, but many notable offensive Pokemon such as Keldeo and Gengar. It also has an exceptional ability in Magic Guard, allowing it to avoid residual damage from LO, Spikes, SR and Toxic. Thanks to these traits, I find Alakazam to function well against many playstyles; it has enough Speed and power to threaten offense, Magic Guard and stallbreaking options enable it to fair well against Stall, and its solid coverage allows it to defeat many Balanced cores.

While these traits are all very good and make Alakazam a C+ mon in my eyes, it suffers from numerous issues that prevent it from going any higher in my opinion. It has abysmal bulk, meaning that its switch in opportunities are limited at best and that it is extremely vulnerable to priority. Its Speed tier, while good, is simply not enough to outspeed important mons like Tornadus-t and Mega loppunny. Perhaps its biggest flaw, however, is that it faces a large amount of competitions with its Mega Evolution, which is much faster and can gain some switch-in opportunities due to trace. Alakazam does have the benefit of not having any opportunity cost, however, allowing it to be a weaker substitute to Mega Alakazam on teams that already have a Mega evolution.

Despite its faults, i believe that Alakazam's positive traits are enough for it to rise up to C+ Rank.

 

[Mr. Hothead]

Seconding a rise for Victini, but I can't just say i want it for B+.

Let me start off with its great offensive and defensive typing. Being able to check non EQ MMeta, Scizor/Scizor Mega, and MGarde, with U-turn utility and a very hard hitting STAB, things fear this. Albeit not having that great of a movepool, it really doesnt need a better one. While being mainly an offensive mon, it can also run SubPuP (I dont know if its viable rn honestly) and other stallbreaking sets. However, the recent buzz is for its amazing Band set. This destroys Balance and Stall, having a low amount of counters to help it. Let's look at some calcs:

252 Atk Choice Band Victini V-create vs. 244 HP / 0 Def Gliscor: 303-357 (86 - 101.4%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

252 Atk Choice Band Victini V-create vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Mega Sableye: 226-267 (74.3 - 87.8%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

4 SpA Mega Sableye Shadow Ball vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Victini: 152-180 (44.5 - 52.7%) -- 18.8% chance to 2HKO

252 Atk Choice Band Victini V-create vs. 252 HP / 104+ Def Mew: 301-355 (74.5 - 87.8%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

252 Atk Choice Band Victini V-create vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Clefable: 322-379 (81.7 - 96.1%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

-1 252 Atk Choice Band Victini V-create vs. 0 HP / 24 Def Landorus-T: 259-306 (81.1 - 95.9%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

252 Atk Choice Band Victini Bolt Strike vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowbro: 238-282 (60.4 - 71.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock

(I dont even think people run that Slowbro Spread anyways)

Its power can cripple or OHKO many bulky threats. With 100/100/100 bulk, it can take a few hits, too.

Although i may be overestimating how powerful it is, there is one thing that's clear: It hits hard. Putting it in B rank makes it look like a little nothing. It has what it takes to be B+, no doubt. Sadly, it really cant do shit to the likes of Latios or any dragon in that matter, thats something to note. But the positives heavily outweigh the negatives. B+ seems good.

 

[Srn]

Seconding a rise for Victini, but I can't just say i want it for B+.

Let me start off with its great offensive and defensive typing. Being able to check non EQ MMeta, Scizor/Scizor Mega, and MGarde, with U-turn utility and a very hard hitting STAB, things fear this. Albeit not having that great of a movepool, it really doesnt need a better one. While being mainly an offensive mon, it can also run SubPuP (I dont know if its viable rn honestly) and other stallbreaking sets. However, the recent buzz is for its amazing Band set. This destroys Balance and Stall, having a low amount of counters to help it. Let's look at some calcs:

252 Atk Choice Band Victini V-create vs. 244 HP / 0 Def Gliscor: 303-357 (86 - 101.4%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

252 Atk Choice Band Victini V-create vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Mega Sableye: 226-267 (74.3 - 87.8%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

4 SpA Mega Sableye Shadow Ball vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Victini: 152-180 (44.5 - 52.7%) -- 18.8% chance to 2HKO

252 Atk Choice Band Victini V-create vs. 252 HP / 104+ Def Mew: 301-355 (74.5 - 87.8%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

252 Atk Choice Band Victini V-create vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Clefable: 322-379 (81.7 - 96.1%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

-1 252 Atk Choice Band Victini V-create vs. 0 HP / 24 Def Landorus-T: 259-306 (81.1 - 95.9%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

252 Atk Choice Band Victini Bolt Strike vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowbro: 238-282 (60.4 - 71.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock

(I dont even think people run that Slowbro Spread anyways)

Its power can cripple or OHKO many bulky threats. With 100/100/100 bulk, it can take a few hits, too.

Although i may be overestimating how powerful it is, there is one thing that's clear: It hits hard. Putting it in B rank makes it look like a little nothing. It has what it takes to be B+, no doubt. Sadly, it really cant do shit to the likes of Latios or any dragon in that matter, thats something to note. But the positives heavily outweigh the negatives. B+ seems good.

Albeit not having that great of a movepool

Now hold up sarge. While victini's physical movepool may not be the deepest thing (it still has enough to work with, stabs, bolt strike, u-turn, brick break), its special movepool is friggin insane.
to name a relevant few:

Hide

Blue flare
Glaciate
Focus Blast
Thunder
Energy Ball (better than gknot cuz it hits rotom-w+alomomola and still 2hko's slowbro/hippo)
Dazzling Gleam
Psychic/Psyshock
Shadow Ball

Along with some cool utility moves (obv not gonna be used on choice sets (bar trick))

Hide

Trick
Magic Coat
Taunt
Will-o-wisp
T-wave
Toxic
Trick Room

Its ability, boosting the accuracy of all moves by 10%, should also not be ignored, bringing the unbearable 70 accuracy focus blast up to the still unbearable 77 accuracy. Yeah, it hits hard, but a special lure set i've been screwing with seriously uses its special movepool and puts it to work.

calcs

252+ SpA Expert Belt Victini Glaciate vs. 252 HP / 8 SpD Landorus-T: 374-442 (97.9 - 115.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
252+ SpA Expert Belt Victini Energy Ball vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Rotom-W: 204-242 (67.3 - 79.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Expert Belt Victini Energy Ball vs. 232 HP / 24 SpD Alomomola: 384-454 (72.5 - 85.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Expert Belt Victini Energy Ball vs. 252 HP / 112 SpD Hippowdon: 245-290 (58.3 - 69%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Expert Belt Victini Glaciate vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Latios: 144-170 (47.8 - 56.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
252+ SpA Expert Belt Victini Energy Ball vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Slowbro: 259-307 (65.7 - 77.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
252+ SpA Expert Belt Victini Focus Blast vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Tyranitar in Sand: 379-451 (94 - 111.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
252+ SpA Expert Belt Victini Glaciate vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Gliscor: 398-470 (112.4 - 132.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ SpA Expert Belt Victini Energy Ball vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Quagsire: 610-720 (154.8 - 182.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ SpA Expert Belt Victini Energy Ball vs. 240 HP / 16 SpD Assault Vest Azumarill: 170-202 (42.3 - 50.3%) -- 92.2% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock
252+ SpA Victini Blue Flare vs. 248 HP / 108 SpD Mandibuzz: 181-214 (42.7 - 50.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Expert Belt Victini Glaciate vs. 64 HP / 0 SpD Altaria: 144-170 (46.9 - 55.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock (changed defense+typing, calc isn't registering megas for some reason)
252+ SpA Expert Belt Victini Focus Blast vs. 248 HP / 192+ SpD Heatran: 209-247 (54.2 - 64.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

Sry for the wall of text, tried to stuff everything relevant in there.
blue flare ofc is just to actually beat stuf like fero and check megazor/mmeta.

This set is fairly easy to fit onto teams thanks to its ability to check such important stuff and the raw amount of mons its luring on its own is amazing, but being pursuit trapped and requiring hazard support sucks, and its also pretty slow, but that's why it should be B+, not A+.

SO, not only does victini have the raw power of CB behind it to tear gigantic holes (i've paired it with char-y once it was hilarious-keldeo died from full health on the switch-in o_o), it has the versatility to screw every one of its common checks (its only counter is char-x i think) or just pivot out with u-turn. It has the utility options to cripple shit with trick and taunt and the typing to check mega gardevoir, char-y, mmeta, and mega scizor all in one pokemon, which is ridiculous.
It is more than deserving of B+

(I'd give my spread but wouldn't want ppl speedcreepin me ;])

 

[jbtc10]

Sadly, it really cant do shit to the likes of Latios or any dragon in that matter, thats something to note. But the positives heavily outweigh the negatives. B+ seems good.

Latios? He doesn't even stop you from spamming your STAB since he dies to a V-Create after rocks more than half the time. You've also got U-turn which destroys him and ensures that other dragons don't counter you (although Rocky Chomp is an issue, but if you want to resolve that, Glaciate can be run for him).

252+ Atk Choice Band Victini V-create vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Latios: 242-285 (80.9 - 95.3%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

252+ Atk Choice Band Victini U-turn vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Latios: 252-298 (84.2 - 99.6%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

0 SpA Victini Glaciate vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Garchomp: 216-256 (51.4 - 60.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Victini has great versatility. It can make balance and stall shudder with a CB/LO set, it can terrorize offense with a Scarf set and it has a bunch of other miscellaneous sets that it can run effectively too owing to its amazing move pool. It's really an A- mon.

 

[ボーイ]

This may seem controversial, but I'm going for it.

Mew B+ ---> A-

When i wrap my head around it, I can't really see why this is B+. I don't think its on the same level as Breloom and others.

It's supportive capabilities are amazing, with WoW, Roost, TWave, Knock Off, Stealth Rock, Baton Pass, Taunt, etc. and it poses as a decent threat to all playstyles with respective moveslots. Also, it has very little 4MSS.

Speaking of moveslots: its moveslot is probably one of the best in the meta. Learning every TM+ a few other moves is amazing.

Most Pursuit Trappers cant even reliably kill it. Bisharp, for example, cant Sucker Punch because of WoW, Knock Off is its best option, but at the risk of halving its Attack?

MMeta also has trouble against Defensive Mew. It just spams Roosts after it WoW's, and can occasionally Knock Off for extra damage.

Instead of talking about every mon it takes on, lets look at what it can cripple/kill.

S:

MMeta

A+:

Azu (Non BD)
Bisharp
Lando T (Shaky at best)
MLop
MZor (Switch out to magnezone or something)

A:

Non SD Excadrill
Garchomp
TTar
MDos (If running TWave, but Crunch does a lot, risk the DDance/Crunch.)

A-:

MAero
MGallade
Gyarados
MSir (Pre mega can be hit by wow)
Mamoswine

Thats a lot of mons.

And its not supposed to kill them either, its supposed to cripple them. IMO this is an easy A- supportive threat that can handle all playstyles with respective movesets.

I'm ready to be bombarded with quotes.

edit: i have this eerie feeling that someone is taking a long ass time to make a reply

I support this also. Mew has an entire thread of movesets that allow it to be whatever it's team demands. Transform(4daTrolls) Status, heal bell, knock off, baton pass, foul play, trickroom, skill swap, defog, taunt ,etc. It's movepool is so wide that if you can't seem to figure out it's team's composition, Mew becomes unpredictable which is a huge advantage! And yes I am aware that most of you discourage the element of surprise, but I believe Mew is truly an exception.
Example:
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-219725982

 

[Dragongroudon9]

I would like to nominate Thundurus-T C+ ---> B-.

Thundurus-T is becoming harder and harder to wall it seems. And with people starting to run the Doubles sets more than the OU Nasty Plot set, even some of its checks/counters are having trouble with it now. The choice specs set is able to muscle through a lot of its switch ins, and with the Hidden Power Thundy is using being able to take out ground switch ins or the STAB HP Flying being able to eliminate some electric-absorbing switch ins, the "knowing the set" factor is becoming more important. The choice scarf set can also make Thundy a late game cleaner with a high base 145 special attack and the ability to outspeed threats. Grass Knot can also be run to hit incoming Hippos. Thundurus can of course build momentum off of a hard hitting Volt Switch making switch ins more likely to die to incoming counters.

Calcs:

Hide

252 SpA Thundurus-T Grass Knot (120 BP) vs. 252 HP / 112 SpD Hippowdon: 322-380 (76.6 - 90.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

252 SpA Thundurus-T Hidden Power Flying vs. 232 HP / 4 SpD Mega Venusaur: 182-216 (50.6 - 60.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 SpA Thundurus-T Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Mega Sableye: 142-168 (46.7 - 55.2%) -- 69.1% chance to 2HKO

252 SpA Choice Specs Thundurus-T Thunderbolt vs. 248 HP / 192+ SpD Heatran: 174-205 (45.1 - 53.2%) -- 89.1% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

252 SpA Choice Specs Thundurus-T Focus Blast vs. 248 HP / 148+ SpD Mega Charizard X: 187-221 (52 - 61.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 SpA Choice Specs Thundurus-T Hidden Power Flying vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Mega Altaria: 153-181 (43.2 - 51.1%) -- 98.8% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock

252 SpA Choice Specs Thundurus-T Thunderbolt vs. 248 HP / 176 SpD Mega Scizor: 202-238 (58.8 - 69.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 SpA Choice Specs Thundurus-T Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 96+ SpD Clefable: 213-252 (54 - 63.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

252 SpA Choice Specs Thundurus-T Hidden Power Ice vs. 72 HP / 0 SpD Latias: 170-202 (53.2 - 63.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 SpA Choice Specs Thundurus-T Focus Blast vs. 0 HP / 32 SpD Assault Vest Raikou: 137-162 (42.6 - 50.4%) -- 95.7% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock

 

[SketchUp]

C+ -> B: I really enjoy using Slowking because its special bulk makes him a very good switch in to popular pokemon like (non-knock off) Landorus, Keldeo and special Mega Altaria. AV Future Sight is a very effective set because you can switch in against a Keldeo or Heatran for free, click Future Sight and either pivot out and put very big pressure on the incoming pokemon or stay in and stall it with Scald (burns) until Future Sight hits. Despite it is pretty obvious it holds an AV most of the time, it is still pretty unpredictable because it can run moves such as Power Gem or Dragon Tail to surprise opponents.

Other stuff I agree with:

B+ -> A-: Mega Latias typing + ability is very nice in this metagame. The reason I like to use this over regular Latias is because it is a better switch in to threats like Landorus and Zard-Y and that it has a bigger chance to get around pursuit trapper with a set of Thunder Wave (+ Roar) or Reflect Type which are both very effective sets in this metagame. CM Stored Power and CM 2 Atks are also 2 good sets but these aren't necessarily the sets that pushes Mega Latias to A- rank.

Unranked -> D

C -> C+ / B-

Things I disagree with:

A -> A-: I think Latias deserves to stay A rank. I can't really see why it deserves to be 2 subranks below Latios, especially because many problems Latias has, also apply to Latios. Latias has quiet a few problems in a metagame where Mega Metagross, Tyranitar, Clefable and Jirachi are everywhere, but it is still a very solid switchin to pokemon like Zard-Y, Keldeo and Landorus and Latias uses a bulkier set with Roost + a support move (HW, Defog, Reflect Type) better than Latios and I think this is the point where Latias > Latios

B+ -> A-: Mega Sableye's uses decreased but Mew still has problems against pokemon like SpD Gliscor and Zard-Y who have so many usage at the moment. With the current usage of Mega Sableye I can see why Mew deserves to go to A-, but the popularity of other mentioned pokemon still prevent Mew from doing its job as good as in XY.

 

[Celticpride]

---> B+
Non-Mega Scizor deserves a rise to B+. From a teambuilding standpoint, the revenge killing ability combined with its good defensive typing makes it a very useful supporting piece. Metagross staying certainly helped keep the Fairy spam down, but Metagross and Mega Scizor can't fit on every team due to the op cost of being a Mega. That leaves the next best offensive Steel as... Scizor. Heatran is nice sure, but it can't check Diancie that carry Earth Power or Altaria that carry Earthquake without a Scarf, and even then speed boosting moves can negate that advantage. Scizor can also eat any Fairy type attack without worrying about proper coverage once it is in, unlike most other Steels.

 

[firehusky]

B ---> B-

To be honest, I think Mega Sharpedo should drop. It has really common checks (and counters), such as Mega Altaria, Keldeo, Azumarill, Mega Gyarados, and Mega Venusaur. Pretty much any Pokemon that can take one hit and KO back is a good check, because of how frail Sharpedo is. I'll agree that Strong Jaw Crunch hits really hard, but it's extremely frail, so if it can't KO the opposing Pokemon, it's usually going to get KOed. Mega Sharpedo also requires lots of team support. Pretty much every faster scarfer such as scarf Keldeo needs to be removed before attempting a sweep, and other priority users such as Talonflame and Breloom. As mentioned before, if it can't KO the opposing Pokemon, it's usually dead. Spikes and SR support is almost always needed to break sashes / sturdy, and obtain some crucial OHKOs. Having only one chance to sweep also really sucks. Sharpedo is also rather predictable. Whenever it switches in, it'll almost always go Protect, allowing you to switch in a priority user, or make a play accordingly to stop a Sharpedo switch. It's definitely a threat to offensive teams, but even then, most offensive teams carry Pokemon such as Thundurus to stop a sweep, or scarf Keldeo to revenge kill it.

Sharpedo has really common checks and counters, is very frail, is very predictable, it only has once chance to sweep, and requires excessive team support to function properly. The playstyle it does best against, offense, usually carries Pokemon such as scarf Keldeo and Thundurus which can easily mess up a sweep, so I think Mega Sharpedo should drop.

edit: Another thing I forgot to mention was that Mega Sharpedo has a large opportunity cost, as it uses up the crucial mega slot. Just another reason why it should drop.

 

[SaberSeven]

Looking some stats over, I'd actually like to agree with Dragongroudon9 and second a rise for Thundurus-T from C+ to B-. Electric types are quite abundant in this metagame (namely Raikou, Mega Manectric, Rotom-W & Thundurus-I) and with Thundurus-T's Volt Absorb ability, it gets an extra immunity to their moves...which would actually make him a somewhat solid partner for Talonflame, Mega Pinsir, or Azumarill believe it or not.

Thundurus-T has a very strong base 145 SpA which is 20 points stronger than its Incarnate form.

252 SpA Thundurus-T Focus Blast vs. 248 HP / 192+ SpD Heatran: 206-244 (53.5 - 63.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

252 SpA Thundurus Focus Blast vs. 248 HP / 192+ SpD Heatran: 186-220 (48.3 - 57.1%) -- 39.5% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery (This is provided that Thundurus-I is not running Life Orb which describes roughly 27% of Thundurus in the OU 1825 stats.)

Let it boost with Nasty Plot and there are mons out there that can and will get SMACKED.

+2 252 SpA Thundurus-T Focus Blast vs. 4 HP / 252 SpD Eviolite Chansey: 288-340 (44.8 - 52.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after 1 layer of Spikes

+2 252 SpA Thundurus-T Hidden Power Flying vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Venusaur: 362-428 (99.4 - 117.5%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO (HP Ice does significantly less to Mega Venusaur, but it can be run if you're running Thundurus-T alongside Talonflame to ensure heavy hits on regular Thundurus, both Landorus forms, Gliscor, etc. If you're running it alongside Azumarill, then the standard HP Flying is recommended)

+2 252 SpA Thundurus-T Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 112 SpD Hippowdon: 321-378 (76.4 - 90%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

All that said, Thundurus-T isn't without its flaws. Thundurus-T sits at a slower 101 speed. Yes; it's as fast as Landorus-Incarnate who has excellent coverage and is an S-Ranked threat, but the problem with this is that it is outsped and either heavily damaged or OHKO'd by Garchomp (Unless it's the RockyChomp set that's getting more popular) & Keldeo. Both of which its Incarnate form would normally outspeed. The loss of Prankster Thunder Wave also hurts its utility. The biggest blow to Thundurus-T is the fact that Species Clause is a thing and people would rather run the faster and more useful Thundurus-I over the stronger Thundurus-T.

Thundurus-T shares Thundurus-I's movepool which means with the right move, Thundurus-T has the ability to smack the A list threats for heavy damage whether the hit is super effective or not. For these reasons, I think Thundurus-T should be boosted to B-.

 

[RichieTheGarchomp]

B+ -> A-: Mega Sableye's uses decreased but Mew still has problems against pokemon like SpD Gliscor and Zard-Y who have so many usage at the moment. With the current usage of Mega Sableye I can see why Mew deserves to go to A-, but the popularity of other mentioned pokemon still prevent Mew from doing its job as good as in XY.

Now, honestly, just because a support mon has trouble against other mons isnt a surprise to me. In fact, what makes Mew so much different than other support mons is that it can actually do shit back. The most Ferro can do is TWave/Knock Off, and Mew can run Taunt/WoW/TWave/Knock Off/ etc. to cripple other mons. Put this into perspective; Knock Off can cripple Gliscor unless it revenge kills, and you can TWave Zard Y. Also, Mew can set up rocks, so Zard isn't coming into Mew by any chance (if mew is running rocks, ofc.)

Still, that isnt my point. What I'm saying is that a support mon will be threatened by other mons, but that will not stop them from what they are doing. We can come to a consensus that support mons arent known for what they hit, but what they set up.

IMO Mew will be a great example of a supportive A- threat. Although it faces the likes of Zard Y and SpDef Glisc, the point is that it has a wide arsenal of supportive weapons, and a great speed tier (for a support mon) with a good 100/100/100 bulk spread.

Besides, I dont think two mons will prevent this guy from going up.

Still, heavily agree with you on everything else.

(I shouldn't be posting, but i dont wanna reveal my alt. it should be semi obvious at what the alt is, but no hints.)

 

[DeeJ]

---> B-

I know, there were a ton of these already, so I'll try and make this short. I really reel like Medicham should rise. Yes, Medicham does have less bulk, and a lower speed tier than Gallade, but generally speaking, why would they attempt to take hits? Lol. STABs+Dual prio (which is Cham's best set in this meta atm) kind of remedies this poor Speed tier, although I dont feel like this is a very good comparison as Cham's job is to simply wallbreak and pick off weakened threats, which it does really well.

Fake Out is a very useful tool, as it lets Cham:

1) Stall that last Sand / Rain turn
2) Pick off anything that may be worn down
3) Anti-lead mons such as Loom / Swine / Custap Skarm

BP is also great in a meta with threatening Fairies such as Altaria & Diancie, which also makes Medicham inherently more useful vs teams with these mons. As firehusky said, Sableye has been decreasing in usage due to the aforementioned becoming more common, as well as Lando-I

Being able to Mega safely is just really valuable as well, which Gallade finds hard to do with a crappy Speed tier

I dont think "Gallade gets SD" is a good argument either, as its pretty dam hard to find a set up oppurtunity in a fairly fast-paced meta. Gallade will only usually kill one mon after an SD and get Revenge killed right after or just get straight up checked by a defensive mon like Unaware Clef, which isnt the case with Mega Cham

Here are some nice replays showcasing some Dhalsim destruction, hehe bwoii

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-216149733

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-216336305

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-216338263

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-216401717

 

[trc]

some nominations of my own:

manaphy from a to a+: manaphy is one of the best pokemon at the moment, its tail glow sets often do a lot of work against most balanced teams especially with a number of options for the coverage (hpfire/eball/ice beam/psy), can scald burn things early game and takes advantage of a number of things that can't ko it, is also a fast booster to counteract other slower boosters and is almost impossible to ohko. heaps of offenses are running it at the moment with metagross as opposed to the original standard water for that archetype, keldeo. it's prevalence in tour games support this.

mew from b+ to a-: still a very troubling pokemon to a lot of offensive teams due to its ability to spread burns and knock off shit. it was moved down since it was walled by mega sableye but it still does very well against a lot of the team types common at the moment and its ranking should reflect that.

mega latias b+ to a-: similar situation except mega latias is faster and doesn't burn things but is still an incredibly frustrating pokemon for a lot of teams to handle and is one of the most reliable answers to landorus, see the teams kratosmana and daftmau5 have been using for examples of where it puts in a lot of work.

reuniclus c to b-: yet another psychic, but one that sets up instead. can be annoyingly difficult to ko without a crit after it sets up and does a number to a lot of the common teams at the moment, a lot of these changes are brought on by current metagame trends.

mega ampharos c- to c or c+: underrated pkmn. a great check to electrics, bisharp, talonflame etc with a set of volt/dpulse/rest/heal bell and offers one of the greatest assets on balance teams, heal bell, which is great as pokemon that it works well with like mew and defensive landorus-t are often prone to status which is one of the reasons why mega altaria is so good on balance if it is running heal bell, but mega ampharos has a few advantages such as checking the pokemon i mentioned as well as forming a sick voltturn core with landoge, being incredibly specially bulky, and also being strong at the same time. it may have competition with altaria but the typing gives it an edge. replay just to show what it does: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-220255937

 

[jzplr]

He was using the VGC Zard Y at level 50. In order to not post one liners, I'll also add that I think Slowking should stay put, most things bout it have already been said, I just think it's not better than some of the C+ Pokemon atm like Mega Pidgeot and Mega Medicham. It's very predictable in that they almost exclusively run AV and get basically stopped in their tracks by Knock Off.

Well, I think that he might've been testing out some calcs against Slowking and used the wrong Charizard. Also, he might've changed his mind when he realized his mistake.

But, what I wanted to say was -- what about Toxicroak? It's B- rank, and when I click it to see the analysis, it links me to Sylveon. So... hm?

Also,

Serperior should be b plus IMO
grass typing is extremely underrated in this metagame and with contrary its now a offense force that teams have to worry about

its primary set
leaf storm
dragon pulse
synthesis
hp ground/fire
provides good coverage recovery and a prediction game with which hp it has.... it covers most of the metagame and its very fast on the right team it can do wonders

Can't say I agree on B+. I think that it's fine where it is. Serperior gets walled by a lot of things, even with HP Ground, Sp.Def Heatran (read: Quad Weak to Ground) has a chance to not kill at +2.
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Serperior Hidden Power Ground vs. 248 HP / 192+ SpD Heatran: 348-411 (90.3 - 106.7%) -- 43.8% chance to OHKO
Definitely not if it isn't packing LO. Not sure about the Serperior sets yet.
+2 252 SpA Serperior Hidden Power Ground vs. 248 HP / 192+ SpD Heatran: 268-316 (69.6 - 82%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

I might be underselling it a little, but even with boosts I don't think that Serperior has the stats to apparently outclass things like Mega Beedrill, Conkeldurr, even Mega Sceptile and he's fallen from grace now that Greninja's gone.

I could go into more detail; but B is fine.

 

[jzplr]

Things I disagree with:

A -> A-: I think Latias deserves to stay A rank. I can't really see why it deserves to be 2 subranks below Latios, especially because many problems Latias has, also apply to Latios. Latias has quiet a few problems in a metagame where Mega Metagross, Tyranitar, Clefable and Jirachi are everywhere, but it is still a very solid switchin to pokemon like Zard-Y, Keldeo and Landorus and Latias uses a bulkier set with Roost + a support move (HW, Defog, Reflect Type) better than Latios and I think this is the point where Latias > Latios

I gotta second this. Personally, I think that either Latios should drop to A or Latias should rise to A+, but that's just my personal experience. I don't use Latios that often, but Latias is awesome. It's easily one of the best offensive hazard controllers in the tier, its good typing give it good resistances to common offensive typings, something that things like Excadrill can't accomplish with weaknesses to the common Ground and Fire. Anything that isn't a bulky Steel or a Fairy doesn't like Draco Meteor, and once Latias's done its job, it can fully heal teammates like Diggersby who happen to get weakened or burned.

Tl;dr Latias is good. No drop.

 

[daftmau5]

some nominations of my own:

mega latias b+ to a-: similar situation except mega latias is faster and doesn't burn things but is still an incredibly frustrating pokemon for a lot of teams to handle and is one of the most reliable answers to landorus, see the teams kratosmana and daftmau5 have been using for examples of where it puts in a lot of work.

I don't post in this thread often but I have to second this.

Mega Latias is possibly the single best answer to the big trio of Landorus-i, Keldeo and Mega Charizard Y by simply investing 248 HP. If rocks are off field, LO Torn-t also can't 2hko with Hurricane.

It also isn't completely passive and the CM roost stabs set (with SP) is an incredibly underrated win condition. Base 140 SPA really takes off after a couple of boosts despite being uninvested and it's so damn bulky that after 1 Cm, LO Gengar and Timid Mega Altaria will have a hard time 2HKOing +1 248 HP Mega Latias with Shadow Ball and Hyper Voice respectively.

 

[Flarowak]

Imo Latias is just better to use than Latios in general, I run it way more. The only thing I see latios having over latias is power, aside from that Latias can, defog, still hit pretty damn hard, give hazard and healing wish support as well as having a great bulky set up sweeper set. I think it would be more accurate to move it up than down.

 

[AM]

Heal Block, Offensive presence (this is actually way more important than people are giving it credit for right now), Memento, a stand alone CM set that can put a huge dent into balance builds and no regular Latias doesn't do this as well because it lacks that noticeable power difference you want to put holes into a team when firing off Psyshocks and Draco Meteors. Also Latias in a lot of cases is even more Pursuit food than Latios is because a majority of the pursuit trappers don't have the luxury of switching into a Draco Meteor from Life Orb coming from Latios in comparison to Latias on top of its increased offenses to have a better match-up against a lot of the general Lati hindrances. As far as the whole regular Lati debate goes they're both fine where they're at.

 

[jzplr]

I don't think that Mega Medicham is completely outclassed by Mega Gallade. Yeah, they both share a typing and are generally offensive, but Gallade is more of a sweeper and Medicham seems more like a wallbreaker. Kinda like Mega Charizard X to Y. One's a late-game cleaner, one's a wallbreaker. Mega 'Cham gets access to Fake Out and a ridiculously powerful High Jump Miss thanks to Pure Power, while Mega Gallade tends to prefer Swords Dance. Whenever I use the unreliable bReakMyTeam, I tend to see Mega Medicham popping up as something that breaks teams, and there was a very short list of things that wall MegaCham, the most prominent being Doublade, Cresselia, Slowbro, Mew, and Wobbuffet, whereas Mega Gallade has trouble with things like Clefable, Gyarados, Quagsire, Tangrowth, Sableye, and Sylveon.

Mega Gallade is probably the more viable choice, but I don't think the addition of Mega Gallade completely erases all possible use for Mega Medicham -- at least not enough to drop him to something like D. I think C+ or B- seems about right, just my 2 cents. :P

 

[firehusky]

Spring break is in a few days and I don't have too much homework, so I'll share my thoughts on some recent nominations:

Mega Medicham to B-
Agree. Mega Medicham has fake out which is nice priority allowing it to break sashes / sturdy, and revenge kill weakened pokemon with fake out + bullet punch. Balance teams don't have many switch ins to this monster, and it's probably one of the best physical wallbreakers out there. It has really limited switch ins (slowbro, slowbro mega, celebi, mew, doublade), whereas Mega Gallade is easier to check due to it's worse immediate power. Not saying that Mega Gallade doesn't hit hard, Close Combat coming off of 165 base attack hits like a truck, but it's just not comparable to Mega Medicham's power. Mega Gallade does have a better speed tier and knock off, allowing it to break past bulky psychics, but immediate power and priority are still things mega medicham has over mega gallade. Definitely deserves a raise imo.

Slowking to B- / B
Slowking has been rising in popularity, with really good players such as tesung and ox the fox using it, and for good reason. It's very bulky on the special side with an assault vest equipped, and can handle some really popular threats such as landorus-i lacking knock off, kelde, mega metagross. Regenerator is also a very nice ability, especially for an AV user as it can't use recovery moves. Scald is also very nice for a more specially oriented wall like slowking (compared to slowking), as it patches up it's worse physical bulk and overall bulk if it gets a burn.

Fetus Bear to C+ / B-
I recently started using Reuniclus, and it's actually not that bad. It's a monster against stall and slower balanced teams, as after it sets up 1 or 2 calm minds, it's very hard to break past, being immune to status, and having access to recover. On stall teams, this is also a monster, as stall teams usually have to have some way of beating other stall teams, be it stallbreakers or pokemon like Reuniclus. It can set up on a bunch of common defensive mons such as Ferrothorn and Rotom-W, and just steamroll opposing stall teams. This thing faces a bunch of competition from clefable as a CM magic guard user, but it sets up on different things and does have a access to Psyshock, which is actually very important, as it allows it to break past mons such as Chansey and Heatran without resorting to PP stall wars. Supporting this to move up.

Magneton to C+ / C
Magnezone is getting dropped, so Magneton should obviously drop too. Steel trapping isn't as good as it used to be, and the only real benefit magneton has over magnezone is outspeeding talonflame and tornadus-t, and it's not like that's such a huge advantage over magnezone, considering that magnezone is bulkier, hits harder, and can effectively run two sets, choice scarf and choice specs. Yeah just drop this thing, it really sucks.

Alakazam to C / C+
I agree with this. It can effectively run a sash set, and combined with magic guard, it's a great stop to set up sweepers as long as its sash isn't broken, thanks to focus sash + thunder wave. Sash sets are pretty much guaranteed to get two hits off, and against offense, this thing is usually taking down at least 2 mons thanks to it's solid speed tier and focus sash. Life Orb sets are also pretty cool. Great speed tier and solid special attack stat makes for a decent wallbreaker / cleaner, while also not taking recoil damage from life orb thanks to magic guard. This thing is really frail on the physical side, especially with all the priority running around, but I still feel its pros outweigh its cons so this should move up to C or C+, imo.

Scizor to B+
Scizor is great right now. CB sets are great revenge killers with bullet punch, and this makes it a effective check against fairy-types such as RP mega diancie and dd mega altaria. It's defensive typing is also pretty neat, leaving it with resistances to many types, and only one 4x weakness to fire-type moves. It's pretty slow, but this can also be a good thing as it allows it to get off a nice n slow u-turn, allowing it to bring in a frailer sweeper that doesn't want to take a hit. Fully support this.

Shaymin to D / C- / C
So after getting broken in half by a shaymin the other day, I decided to try this thing out, and it's actually pretty cool. Seed Flare is kinda comparable to contrary serperior and specs keldeo, as it can turn many checks / counters into checks thanks to it's I believe 50% chance (?) to drop special defense. Obviously, seed flare isn't as spammable as scald due to worse PP and less accuracy, but the secondary effect is still really scary. Earth Power is also nice as it has more base power than hidden power ground and it allows it to get past steels such as heatran and ferrothorn. If ferrothorn suffers a special defense drop on the switch, it's cleanly 2HKOed by modest LO earth power, which is nice. Granted, serperior can run hidden power to get past steels, but it kind of has to pick its poison. Run HP fire and be walled by Heatran, or run HP ground and get walled by ferrothorn. Shaymin also has a much better special attack than serperior, and seed flare is the reason why it's such a dangerous wallbreaker, as it allows it to muscle past many of it's would be checks and counters. Healing Wish and Rest are also two cool support options it can run. Rest combined with natural cure basically heals it back up to full health and it can cure it's status, as well as not being neutered completely by toxic and paralysis. Healing Wish is another thing to be considered, giving a sweeper another shot at sweeping, while also getting some momentum.

Metagross to D
Metagross should probably be ranked. Excellent check to fairies thanks to it's better special bulk than mega metagross when factoring in assault vest. It can comfortably take a draco meteor whereas other pursuit trappers such as bisharp and scarf ttar lose nearly half of their HP. Vanilla metagross is still a decent pursuit trapper and answer to fairies, so I think it should be ranked.

So yeah if you're more of a visual person and you didn't feel like reading that wall of text this is basically what I support:

---> B-

---> B- / B

---> C+ / B-

---> C+ / C

---> C / C+

---> B+

---> D / C- / C

---> D

 

[blinkie]

So going to make a nomination:
Mega Sceptile to B-

Ok I'll admit that with its great speed tier and Lightningrod, Mega Sceptile can put in a lot of work against HO. However, it is extremely weak to priority users such as Talonflame and Weavile, and Weavile(and Mamoswine I guess) have gotten a lot better in this meta recently. Also it is not like it can come in for free vs Mega Mane or Thundurus, as it fears HP Ice. The real reason I think Mega Sceptile should drop is how vulnerable it is to Mega Altaria, a top threat in the OU metagame right now. It literally can't do anything to Altaria. Also Mega Metagross staying OU contributed to the rise of Mega Scizor, which also walls Mega Sceptile not carrying HP Fire, and even then, it can do heavy damage with Bullet Punch. Finally, AV Tornadus-T has became much more common, and it can safely switch into all of Sceptile's moves, same with Celebi. The lack of a strong Dragon type STAB really hurts it in this regard. While Leaf Storm is strong, it is a gaping hole for a setup sweeper like RP Lando-I to set up on, meaning against HO which stacks many sweepers, Mega Sceptile still has to play carefully as it will be deadweight for preventing mons faster than it from sweeping. If you want an anti HO mega, Mega Alakazam is a great choice over Mega Sceptile, with the better speed tier after going mega and the advantages of trace for utility vs random stuff like rain. While Mega Alakazam does not have a TWave immunity, it fares better vs bulkier builds than Mega Sceptile, and it also has better coverage in general. Mega Sceptile isn't really that good anymore as the meta isn't too kind to it, but it still holds a decent niche so should not be moved down to the C ranks.

 

[Celticpride]

So going to make a nomination:
Mega Sceptile to B-

Ok I'll admit that with its great speed tier and Lightningrod, Mega Sceptile can put in a lot of work against HO. However, it is extremely weak to priority users such as Talonflame and Weavile, and Weavile(and Mamoswine I guess) have gotten a lot better in this meta recently. Also it is not like it can come in for free vs Mega Mane or Thundurus, as it fears HP Ice. The real reason I think Mega Sceptile should drop is how vulnerable it is to Mega Altaria, a top threat in the OU metagame right now. It literally can't do anything to Altaria. Also Mega Metagross staying OU contributed to the rise of Mega Scizor, which also walls Mega Sceptile not carrying HP Fire, and even then, it can do heavy damage with Bullet Punch. Finally, AV Tornadus-T has became much more common, and it can safely switch into all of Sceptile's moves, same with Celebi. The lack of a strong Dragon type STAB really hurts it in this regard. While Leaf Storm is strong, it is a gaping hole for a setup sweeper like RP Lando-I to set up on, meaning against HO which stacks many sweepers, Mega Sceptile still has to play carefully as it will be deadweight for preventing mons faster than it from sweeping. If you want an anti HO mega, Mega Alakazam is a great choice over Mega Sceptile, with the better speed tier after going mega and the advantages of trace for utility vs random stuff like rain. While Mega Alakazam does not have a TWave immunity, it fares better vs bulkier builds than Mega Sceptile, and it also has better coverage in general. Mega Sceptile isn't really that good anymore as the meta isn't too kind to it, but it still holds a decent niche so should not be moved down to the C ranks.

Mega Sceptile is fine where it is. It's pretty hard to revenge kill, and has the coverage and mixed ability to really pressure balanced and bulky offense builds. It is also really customizable to fill gaps to compliment another sweeper. It does have advantages over Zam in that it can stop Volt Switch momentum, and even then has more entry oppertunities due to having more resists. It can also go mixed due to a decent physical movepool, allowing it to hit targets like Tran reliably.