while i enjoy not being a part of the viability rankings any longer, i'm pretty disappointed on how it's all turned out. don't mind me posting here, i probably won't do it again unless i feel the need to do so. shoutouts to whoever's left holding up the fort, miss you all, but don't miss you that much kek.
amoonguss
A- -> B+ no idea why this rose in the first place, but if i had to guess it's probably because of the prevalence of ladder stall. however i wouldn't rate amoonguss' utility along the likes of starmie or hippo or anything else in A- for that matter. and it most definitely is not better or worse than anything in b+. people only use this mon bcs they already have a mega and can't use venusaur. not only that, it faces competition with other popular grass types in the tier and is passive af after it's put something to sleep.
alakazam
A- -> B+ alright i think we can all come to terms with how regular zam performs in this meta. sure lo zam is a threatening mon against balance and bo, but megazam does its job a lot better. there is very little justification in running regular zam on your team at all and more often than not, another mon would more than likely do better for your team. lozam is basically a slightly stronger megazam with paper-thin defenses and minus the sweet speed boost which makes a world of difference. sashzam is an extremely niche rkiller in which a scarfer or priority is usually more ideal. also i know this isn't the most accurate of comparisons, but think of what mega scizor is to regular scizor and what megazam is to regular zam. regular scizor is in B but i even think that has more utility than regularzam by virtue of its defensive typing and the minimal differences between its regular and mega counterpart. finally, everything in A- outclasses it by a landslide .__.
heracross (mega)
B+ -> A- glad to see this thing is making a comeback. most definitely one of the most underrated megas and is long overdue in a rise. bulk is insane, strong as hell, requires very little support, 6-0's most stall and you get the idea.
latias
B+ -> A- i understand why everyone wants to hop on the bandwagon of thinking latios is ultimately superior and latias is hopelessly outclassed which is true, but a drop all the way to B+ is somewhat of an illogical stretch. i mean, it isn't even that much outclassed by latias. what it trades in a bit of power it gains in bulk which is just ridiculous for it to drop an entire subrank. the bulk is actually a blessing for some teams since you can actually switchin into specsvolcanion, lo thund, avtorn, specskeld icywind, manectric, etc. without getting 2hkod unlike latios. hwish is just icing on the cake, and if your so adamant on defining latias for this one 'niche' it has over latios then i'd say your loss. i'd recommend building a team with dual hwish mons+scary set up mons/breakers, just might change your perspective on how you see it for what it is. not to mention that latias is better than the entirety of B+(except maybe overlord pinkblob supreme) so there's that.
gallade (mega)
B -> B+ ok i get that adacham is probably the most op mega at this current junction in the meta, but that shouldn't mean gallade has to fall into obscurity. they aren't even the same in how they are supposed to function. i would also argue to great effect that a +2 gallade is much more threatening than megacham, albeit requiring support and an opportunity to set up; which shouldn't be much of a problem considering it's above average bulk and recovery in drain punch (cc is terrible and ur better off using cham if ur thinking of using cc lmao). in my humble opinion, i think adamant sd drain punch zen headbutt and shadow sneak is the best overall set it can run, but it definitely is unexplored and has a ton of other options like bulk up, stallbreaking, coverage, etc. seeing it in the ranks of the likes of mega beedrill is appalling to say the least and since most fighters like cham terrak and hera have risen, i don't see why not this.
nidoking
B -> B+ nice to see that this thing rose to B, but honestly i think it deserves B+. this thing 2hkos the entire meta and is only stopped by extremely spdef walls like chansey, mew slowking, and friends. nice defensive typing lets it softcheck diancie, clef, terrak, loom and you can even run sub>flame to mitigate prediction or on a sack. why you guys put it below mamoswine and diggersby is beyond me.
sceptile (mega)
B- -> B sure scept is for the most part outclassed by serp and occupies a mega slot, but i don't get why this had to drop from B to B- when serp rose all the way to A. Just because serp is good doesn't necessarily make sceptile itself more worse than it was before. fast af, exceptional coverage and decent power should be why its used in the first place. and godamnit pls don't make me bring up fking beedrill again...
omastar
B- -> B ORAS OU Viability Ranking Thread V4 (See post #1254 - Page 51) sweep summed it up pretty well, but omastar is definitely the most dangerous ss abuser there is. aside from a specs set which just obliterates almost every switchin, if you let this get a free shell smash its essentially game. this isn't impossible since oma forces so many switches and if they can't afford you to set up knowing that u are smash, then they're going to have to sack regardless. apart from ohkoing even water resists at +2 in rain, ss is especially helpful since it bypasses it's speed problem, allowing it to outspeed scarf lando and up. life orb or mystic water are viable items for it and you can run ep or ancient pwr if volcanion is a problem for you.
infernape
C+ -> B- i'm kind of surprised to see this so low. offensive wise it is pretty mediocre, but infernape is a mon that shines through its defensive utility. sr taunt low kick slack wisp encore fire punch, a fire type that is neutral to rocks with reliable recovery and is able to switch into scizor, weavile and bisharp and neuter would be counters with burn? now that is indispensable. relegating this down in the ranks of C+ underscores its capabilities as it deserves better.
rhyperior
C+ -> C this doesn't really wall or check much prominent threats in the meta as it used to and faces severe competition with literally every other ground type in ou. it has some cool techs to it up its sleeve but the novelty has worn off unfortunately.
tyrantrum
C+ -> C same with rhyp, though it's outclassed entirely by tyranitar and really only has a niche in recoiless headsmash. though for real i'd just use cbterrak or ttar lol. it can't even function that well as a dd'r for lack of things to actually set up on.
cofagrigus
C -> C+ now this is definitely a mon that deserves more usage. it goes without saying how effective its defensive utility is in the tier as well as its unique ability im mummy. defensive tspikes is a pretty sick set especially since it spinblocks, but nastyroom has to take the cake for me. albeit an unconventional win con, it is extremely deadly if given the opportunity to set up. it still is able to function as a teamplayer by spreading burns and checking a ton of physical attackers, go figure.
jellicent
C- -> C+ i would say this is especially underrated right now considering volcanion+pursuit is being spammed a ton right now. but even then, jelli is still able to pull its own weight. with a simple stallbreaking set in recover wisp scald/hex taunt, jellicent is able to beat threats such as sciz azu gross keld star bro volc etc. having a colbur berry is definitely advised as it allows it to beat those pesky dark types trying to trap it, thereby eliminating their premier answer to this.
shedinja
D -> C- i think this has solidified its presence in the ou meta enough for it to warrant a rise. goes without saying that it walls a lot in ou, but definitely needs hazard support and a countermeasure to the elements.
think i've covered all the important stuff for now. i was going to write about medicham -> A+, gengar -> A-, and slowking -> B+, but those 3 seem a tad controversial. i'll let you all decide amongst yourselves about those pce.
