Playstyle Viability Rankings

[scpinion]

Monotype Playstyle Viability Rankings
This post was originally copied from this thread by Anttya. Original idea by Enoch.​

Welcome to the Monotype Playstyle Viability Rankings. Hopefully, this will serve as resource for both new and old players alike. Ranks will be given on how easy a playstyle is to use, and how it fares in the general metagame. Other factors such mon diversity will play a role as well. Like other Viability Rankings, Playstyles will be placed in either S, A, B, C, or D rank. S ranked playstyles will have a positive matchup a majority of the time, while D ranked playstyles will be more difficult.

Rules:

• Flaming will not be tolerated.
• Post smartly.
• When asking for a rank change, provide a small explanation.
• When asking to add a new playstyle, provide a team if possible.
• Only do playstyles you are familiar with
• When submitting a team (There can be multiple teams per playstyle), put it into a pastebin (no explanation needed, but recommended). Be sure to tell what type of playstyle it’s for. Feel free to make it generic!

Note: Please do not let these ranks discourage you from using a specific playstyle. They are only meant to help people choose depending on their skill level. If you’re not sure, try out a team, and if you enjoy it, use it :)

An example of a post:

Hide

Balanced / Bulky Flying for S Rank

With access to a ton of good Pokemon, Balanced Flying is a threat to prepare for. Flying is also has access to many support moves such as Spikes and Heal Bell, and a lot of viable Pokemon get Defog. When you put these together, I think it deserves S rank.

Many teams and playstyles from the old thread were outdated. If you had something in the old thread feel free to copy it over and update it to reflect the current metagame!

Play styles that need ranking

putting my thoughts on where each style belongs in parentheses. Feel free to disagree and explain why it belongs elsewhere!

Balanced Flying (S rank)
Balanced Psychic (S rank)
Balanced Water (S rank)

Balanced Dark (A+ rank)
Hyper Offensive Fighting (A+ rank)
Stall Water (A+ rank)

Offensive Flying (A rank)
Bulky Offense Ground (A rank)
Bulky Normal (A rank)
Balanced Stell (A rank)

SS Water (B+ rank)
HO Steel (B+ rank)
TR Fairy (B+ rank)
Offensive Bug (B+ rank)
Stall Dark (B+ rank)

Offensive Dragon (B rank)
Offensive Psychic (B rank)
Offensive Fire (B rank)
Balanced Ghost (B rank)
Stall Flying (B rank)
Bulky Offense Poison (B rank)

"Standard" Grass (C rank)
"Standard" Rock (C rank)
"Standard" Electric (C rank)

D rank: Ineffective playstyles (e.g. Defensive Fighting)

Note: A 2-Tier ranking system was added to allow more differentiation among the top tier playstlyes. In addition to the standard ranks, the play styles in the plus ranks (+) fit the definition of whichever rank they're currently in, but fit more so with the play styles in the rank above and are generally more dangerous/effective than the ones ranked directly below.

The plus ranks may also be used to track metagame shifts. For instance, stall Water was moved to A+ because of how common it is on the ladder at the time of writing.

S Rank
Reserved for playstyles that have a positive matchup against a majority of other playstyles meaning that no match will ever be one sided. The Pokemon that are generally used in these playstyles are generally above average in general, and are able to hold their own with little support. In addition to that, they all have their own cores which are hard to beat for some types. These playstyles define the metagame and all viable Monotype teams should be prepared to face them. (Little risk, high reward)

Balanced Flying
Balanced Psychic

A Rank
Reserved for playstyles that have a positive matchup against a lot of other playstyles but they may be very weak to 1-2 playstyles. However, they can find a way to beat them or they are a solid playstyle but they struggle when vsing a majority of S Rank playstyles. The Pokemon used in these playstyles highly depend on each other and require a lot of support. These playstyles influence the metagame and you should expect to face them on a regular basis. (Some risk, high reward)

A+
Balanced Dark
Hyper Offense Fighting
Stall Water
A
Bulky Offense Ground
Bulky Normal
Balanced Steel
Offensive Bug
Offensive Dragon

B Rank
Reserved for playstyles that have occasionally have a positive matchup, but they often have a hard time against many others. They have just enough Pokemon to get by, and they’re often quite predictable. These playstyles are adaptable to the metagame. (Some risk, medium reward)
B+
Offensive Fire
Balanced Electric

B
Bulky Offense Poison

C Rank

Reserved for playstyles that are situational, and depending on the matchup you may have already lost. These playstyles are hard to use, and require a more experienced player. It gets what it needs to be successful, but at the end it’s still gimmicky. These playstyles have a hard time adapting to the metagame. (High risk, medium reward)

Balanced Rock
Offensive Rock
Offensive Ice

D Rank

Reserved for playstyles that are very gimmicky or difficult to use. These playstyles are generally created because of that one Pokemon’s ability or move. However, it’s still effective enough to have a rank. These playstyles rarely adapt to the metagame and do not need to be prepared for. (High risk, little reward)

Defensive Fighting

 

[TheAce22]

Defensive Fighting for D rank:

Defensive Fighting-Type just doesn't work. Fighting is a HO type at heart, using its strong Offensive Pokemon to apply a ton of offensive pressure as its strategy. Defensive Fighting-type is easily outclassed by HO Fighting-type and what are the options anyways? Chesnaught, Will-O-Wisp Gallade, Hitmontop, or Eviolite Gurdurr? None of these even being very viable options, the only one I see as viable is Chesnaught on Hyper offensive Fighting. None of these Pokemon even have the defensive stats to stall out an opponets team for very long, there is no types it is going to work very well against except for maybe Ice. Overall I think it deserves D rank

Team: http://pastebin.com/VZURve1X This was the team i tried out on the ladder and in tournaments but I just could not get it to work.

 

[Dece1t]

Bulky Offensive Ground for A Rank

This isn't your Balanced Generic Ground core consisting of Mega Garchomp, Lando-I, and Hippo/Gastro/Seismi, ect. This type of playstyle is great because it consists of mons that take a variety of attacks very well, so less of a reliance on walls, and dish out a lot of damage in return. Typically you'd rely on Exca as your sweeper/scarfer. You have Hippo typically for sand, sometimes not. Seismi is usually the preferred choice of a water absorber since it dishes a fair amount of damage back, not to mention grass knot. People can run garchomp, but this playstyle lets you also take advantage of lesser used mega's like Camerupt and Steelix. Overall, pretty versatile and fun to play, great for people who like offense, and nothing too stally, with the ability for most of the mons to take hits all around, maybe it's just me being biased, but you can't go wrong! (Just an FYI, I've peaked #6 on the ladder with a bulky offensive team, and made top 10 on a few other occasions, it's great for the current meta. Woot :x)

Here's a rly nice sample team showing off how the playstyle works (nicknames included):
​

Hide

Gloria Extrasand (Hippowdon) (F) @ Leftovers / Eject Button
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 248 HP / 148 Def / 112 SpD
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Whirlwind
- Slack Off

Billy Bob (Seismitoad) (M) @ Choice Specs / Assault Vest
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 Spe
Modest Nature
- Scald
- Earth Power
- Grass Knot
- Sludge Wave

Heavy Mama (Mamoswine) (F) @ Choice Band / Assault Vest / Life Orb
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature / Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Icicle Spear / Icicle Crash
- Ice Shard
- Superpower

Muffin Top (Camerupt-Mega) (M) @ Cameruptite
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 168 HP / 252 SpA / 88 Spe
Rash Nature
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
- Rock Slide / Ancient Power
- Will-O-Wisp / Substitute

Max (Excadrill) (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide
- X-Scissor / Rapid Spin

Mucho Gusto (Landorus-Therian) @ Leftovers / Earth Plate
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 192 HP / 228 Atk / 88 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Rock Polish
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge / Rock Slide

Explanation: This is meant for you to take advantage of the fact that you don't need a defensive core for this to work. Most of the pokemon here are very bulky whether it be their stats naturally, their tying, ect. Hippo is your only true wall, and it's there to get you ready and set for the battle, while supporting Exca at the same time. Seismi Can take water and most othr neutral/not very effective attacks (ex Fire, Ice, ect). Camerupt if your special wallbreaker boasting outstanding bulk, fantastic special attack, and sheer force as the icing on top. Mamo is your physical wallbreaker if you have band, and takes special ice attacks extremely well, making switching it in fairly easy. Lando T basically takes anything Camel and Exca are weak to, and overall you have good defensive coverage for usually safe switch ins all the time, and with all that happening, Lando/Exca make it fairly easy to sweep, and everyone else packs a lot of offensive pressure. This is only an example team (which is my team with some evs I changed to keep for msyelf), bulky offense has so many other options, sandless is something, running Mega Steelix can be rewarding, ect. It's just a ton of fun, and usually bulky offensive teams look different from 1 another. So when you make one, usually you cna call it your own! :)

 

[Wish9]

Balanced Dark for A Rank

Dark is very interesting as it has all the mons it needs to make a solid balanced team. Very good matchups across the board barring a few such as Fairies and it also has a nearly unlosable matchup vs. Ghost. It requires some prediction to use but has an otherwise low learning curve. That being said however, it is not flawless. The aforementioned Fairy type can easily set up on Dark teams or outright destroy them. While Bisharp will almost always be on every Dark team, if it dies, you are basically screwed against Fairy (be wary that Clefable can run Flamethrower to lure in Bisharp). Bug teams, to a lesser extent, can also find multiple oppurtunities to set up on Dark, though Tyranitar, Bisharp and Mandibuzz can keep Bugs at bay. Nevertheless, Dark is very good as the pros outshine the cons overall. Mandibuzz and Mega Sableye cover Fighting while Bisharp covers Fairies. You have either Tyranitar or Krookodile to set up SR. I'd personally use SD Crawdaunt as my wallbreaker but there are other options including Hoopa-Unbound. You have a large variety of options for either a backup sweeper or scarf such as Mega Sharpedo (assuming you don't use Mega Sableye), Hydreigon, Weavile, Honchkrow, Zoroark, and Hoopa-Unbound.

Here's Kaiser's Dark team because I'm not giving anybody my Dark team: http://monotypeps.weebly.com/pk-kaisers-balanced-dark.html​

 

[SubMindRaikou]

Not sure if this is where this goes but here are a few pokemon

Mpinsir & base 105, Excadrill, Garchomp

Mega Pinsir w/ the other base 105
508 / Mega Sharpedo / 105 / +Spe / 252 / +1
463 / Mega Sharpedo / 105 / Neutral / 252 / +1
339 / Mega Pinsir, Mega Sharpedo, Manectric, Lopunny, Zoroark / 105 / +Spe / 252 / 0
309 / Mega Pinsir, Mega Sharpedo, Manectric, Lopunny, Zoroark / 105 / Neutral / 252 / 0
Excadrill
604 / Excadrill / 88 / +Spe / 252 / +2
550 / Excadrill / 88 / Neutral / 252 / +2
453 / Excadrill / 88 / +Spe / 252 / +1
412 / Excadrill / 88 / Neutral / 252 / +1
302 / Excadrill / 88 / +Spe / 252 / 0
275 / Excadrill / 88 / Neutral / 252 / 0
Garchomp
499 / Garchomp / 102 / +Spe / 252 / +1
454 / Garchomp / 102 / Neutral / 252 / +1
333 / Garchomp / 102 / +Spe / 252 / 0
303 / Garchomp / 102 / Neutral / 252 / 0
263 / Garchomp / 102 / Neutral / 16 / 0
244 / Garchomp / 102 / Neutral / 92 / 0

And a playstyle ranking.

Balanced Steel for A

Spikes user / Stealth rocks user / Hazard removal / Hazard preserver / Wincon / Filler
Balance Steel pretty much has everything. With many viable users of stealth rocks and Ferrothorn and Skarmory both being good users of spikes, combined with Bisharp and Doublade to stop hazard removal Steel has some of the best hazard controlling pokemon available in the metagame, with even the niche forretress getting toxic spikes making sticky webs the only unavailable hazard for Steel. It can even cover every single weakness with Heatran for fire, Skarmory for ground, and Doublade for fighting, not to mention it also gets extremely good priority in Scizor's Bullet Punch and Bisharp's sucker punch, and perhaps the best current trapper Magnezone. Steel is also home to pokemon with all around amazing attributes such as Lucario and Jirachi who can perform a vairity of roles, and Mega Aggron with the bulky offense crew, and scarf pokemon like Excadrill. However even though Steel has a pokemon for mostly everything it still has bad matchups to common types such as Fighting and the lesser used Fire, and single pokemon like Landorus Incarnate and Mega Charizard Y, and the lack of an insane special wall like Skarmory for physical defenses can be a big letdown. In return you get amazing matchups against Ice, Grass, and Fairy with a fair matchup against a majority of the metagame. Add to that the fact that those threats can be played around, and Steel's great amount of different pokemon let it accomplish what you need it to, and you have one of the better types in the metagame. PK-Kaiser's team and Alliance-Contort's team are prime examples of excellent balanced steel monotypes.

 

[TheAce22]

Hyper Offense Fighting For A Rank​

Hyper Offensive Fighting is a very strong playstyle with using all of its insane power to constantly apply strong offensive pressure although it is weak to some of the more common types. Fighting has most of the Pokemon it needs excluding a good hazard removal and one more strong special attacker other than Keldeo would be amazing. Figting-type has Breloom that can be used as a strong lead with Spore, a fast rocker and Thunder-Waver in Cobalion, a special attacker in Keldeo, and others like Terrakion, Medicham/Gallade, and Hawlucha. You should always be trying to go for an array of strong moves to apply more and more offensive pressure to put your opponet in a bad position. The problems with Fighting are its lack of good hazard removal as I mentioned above, being weak to Psychic and Flying-type, which are very popular. All and All I think Fighting deserves A rank, although I am a bit torn between A and B, feel free to comment what rank you think.

Here is my team that I peaked ladder with: http://pastebin.com/5RzB5t67

 

[all falls down]

I think that defining each specific playstyle and which playstyles you're looking for in the OP is worth mentioning (like Enoch's first thread), because new players may not be able to differentiate between 'bulky offense' and 'balanced' and having one of both can be confusing, and there are some teams that can be called both bulky offense and balanced. Having obscure sub-playstyles like 'balanced hazard stack steel' might also not be a good idea because they are just variants of the core playstyles and only a few very lucky types have the luxury of even having access to that playstyle (literally only Steel and perhaps Flying). Things like that belong in other places, like the team spotlight on the monotype site.

With that being said, I'll have nominate one:

Stall Water for A (could be S)

With the removal of an enormous threat in Mega Altaria, stall Water teams became insanely better as they no longer auto-lose to something that sets up on every Pokemon. Normal Water teams already have good match-ups, but Stall Water excels in this department as it can easily beat Electric and can sometimes beat Grass if played properly. As Water is one of the only types with an immunity core, it is quite easy to build a stall team as you just need Pokemon to support the immunity core of Sap Sipper Azumarill and Lanturn/Ground type. The addition of an unaware Pokemon in Quagsire, 3 great hazard removers in Empoleon, Starmie and Tentacruel and two clerics in Lanturn and Alomomola all make Stall Water unquestionably the best variant of stall that any type can perform in monotype. Few types have access to wall-breakers that break this core and Pokemon like Mega Gardevoir and Hoopa can seriously dent the core but can be dealt with.

my stall team

Lanturn @ Leftovers
Ability: Volt Absorb
EVs: 40 HP / 252 Def / 216 SpD
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Volt Switch
- Thunder Wave
- Heal Bell

Quagsire @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Scald
- Earthquake
- Toxic
- Recover

Azumarill @ Leftovers
Ability: Sap Sipper
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Protect
- Toxic
- Encore
- Scald

Empoleon @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Scald
- Toxic
- Defog
- Protect

Swampert @ Swampertite
Ability: Damp
EVs: 252 HP / 108 Def / 148 SpD
Impish Nature
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Roar

Alomomola @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 36 HP / 220 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Wish
- Protect
- Scald
- Mirror Coat

Thimo's stall team

http://monotypeps.weebly.com/thimos-stall-water.html

 

[Vid]

Bulky Normal A
Normal has one of best cores in monotype P2+Chansey. Has not many bad match ups only bad matchup is fighting which is extremely hard to win. Has access to very good megas Mega Lopunny/ Mega Pidgeot which are very good on normal. Then Melo (Specs) and Digga (Band) as choice users. Then to top it off you have a great physical wall Staraptor or a great Scarfer depending on the set. Overall Normal having a good chance vs all types besides (Mega Medicham Psychic, Fighting) and having a decent pool of Pokemon to choose from but not a big pool of Pokemon to choose from. Overall bulky Normal is the best playstyle for normal because of being able to have good offense while being able to have good defense. A good nice generic normal team is Vid's Normal Team you can change sets and Pokes which I have seen Vid do many times the team can be found here

 

[Arash]

While we're at it, nominating Bulky Offense Poison for B-rank

Poison is a great defensive typing (it has the 3rd most resists behind steel/fire; notable resists include fighting, bug and fairy) and its selection of pokemon are a great showcase of the defensive prowess that poison is capable of. With access to pokemon such as Mega-Venusaur (a nightmare for water, electric, grass and other poisons to face off against, among others), Nidoqueen, Tentacruel, and others that can take hits like a champ, Bulky Offense is IMO the best way to run poison, as it specializes in taking hits and dishing out damage (either directly with its coverage moves, or indirectly with poison status / leech seed, etc.)

This outclasses Hyper Offense Poison (which is generally way too frail and doesn't have powerhouses on the same level as Kyu-B / Hoopa / Mega-Gallade) and Stall Poison (which has the opposite problem of having difficulty damaging opponents, especially those that have steel or poison types immune to toxic).

sample team

Tentacruel @ Black Sludge
Ability: Liquid Ooze
EVs: 220 HP / 252 SpD / 36 Spe
Calm Nature
- Scald
- Acid Spray
- Rest
- Sleep Talk

Skuntank @ Black Sludge
Ability: Aftermath
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Pursuit
- Poison Jab
- Sucker Punch
- Defog

Venusaur @ Venusaurite
Ability: Overgrow
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpA
Bold Nature
- Leech Seed
- Synthesis
- Sludge Bomb
- Hidden Power [Fire]

Nidoqueen @ Focus Sash
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 250 HP / 196 Def / 8 SpA / 56 Spe
Bold Nature
- Taunt
- Stealth Rock
- Ice Beam
- Earth Power

Gengar @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Wave
- Psychic
- Focus Blast

Scolipede @ Choice Band
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Superpower
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Megahorn

In this team, Mega-Venusaur / Skuntank / Nidoqueen / Tentacruel form a defensive core that is designed to take hits while wearing down the opponent, laying stealth rock, and preventing opposing hazards with defog. Gengar and Scolipede form the direct offense / win conditions, and can help force out and revenge anything that gives the defensive core any trouble.

However, there are definitely flaws with this sort of team; the biggest one being that it is very prediction-heavy (one wrong predict usually costs you a pokemon, if not the entire match). It is also easy to overwhelm the team with strong ground and psychic moves (provided the psychic can get around Skuntank somehow) and if this poison team doesn't neutralize threats to its defensive core quickly, it is very easy to lose to a stat-boosting mon that realizes it can keep boosting against the right pokemon.

All in all, while certainly an effective team style, it has its shortcomings and has a very difficult time vs. certain types (most notably steel). For these reasons, I would say B-rank is suitable.

 

[Physical Tyranitar]

Balanced Flying for S Rank

Example Team

Tornadus-Therian @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 20 Atk / 216 SpA / 52 SpD / 220 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hurricane
- Heat Wave
- Knock Off
- U-turn

Gyarados @ Gyaradosite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 16 HP / 252 Atk / 240 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Crunch
- Earthquake

Dragonite @ Choice Band
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Outrage
- Fire Punch
- Extreme Speed
- Earthquake

Landorus-Therian @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 240 HP / 4 Atk / 240 Def / 8 SpD / 16 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Knock Off
- Stone Edge

Skarmory @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 248 HP / 236 Def / 24 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Brave Bird
- Roost
- Defog

Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP / 64 Def / 180 SpD / 16 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Thunderbolt
- Heat Wave
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Roost

Flying is generally known for being a diverse type and a Pokemon of every type, meaning that most weaknesses are easily covered. Flying has several viable options, meaning that it can effectively run an offensive, defensive, or balanced team. This type also is blessed with Mega Gyarados, who can be used in Monotype Flying because normal Gyarados is a Flying Type, allowing you to shore up your weakness to Ice and Rock Monotypes. With access to all forms of entry hazards, support and utility Pokemon, and offensive powerhouses such as Mega Gyarados, Dragonite, Mega Charizard Y, and others mean that it can also keep offensive momentum. Since there is no major weakness for Flying, a Balanced Flying team means that you can take on most of the metagame easily, and have the tools to deal with almost any Pokemon in almost any situation. I think that Flying is easily one of the most viable types and this is why I believe that Balanced Flying should be S Rank.

 

[Vid]

Balanced Flying for S Rank

Example Team

Tornadus-Therian @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 20 Atk / 216 SpA / 52 SpD / 220 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hurricane
- Heat Wave
- Knock Off
- U-turn

Gyarados @ Gyaradosite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 16 HP / 252 Atk / 240 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Crunch
- Earthquake

Dragonite @ Choice Band
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Outrage
- Fire Punch
- Extreme Speed
- Earthquake

Landorus-Therian @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 240 HP / 4 Atk / 240 Def / 8 SpD / 16 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Knock Off
- Stone Edge

Skarmory @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 248 HP / 236 Def / 24 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Brave Bird
- Roost
- Defog

Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP / 64 Def / 180 SpD / 16 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Thunderbolt
- Heat Wave
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Roost

Flying is generally known for being a diverse type and a Pokemon of every type, meaning that most weaknesses are easily covered. Flying has several viable options, meaning that it can effectively run an offensive, defensive, or balanced team. This type also is blessed with Mega Gyarados, who can be used in Monotype Flying because normal Gyarados is a Flying Type, allowing you to shore up your weakness to Ice and Rock Monotypes. With access to all forms of entry hazards, support and utility Pokemon, and offensive powerhouses such as Mega Gyarados, Dragonite, Mega Charizard Y, and others mean that it can also keep offensive momentum. Since there is no major weakness for Flying, a Balanced Flying team means that you can take on most of the metagame easily, and have the tools to deal with almost any Pokemon in almost any situation. I think that Flying is easily one of the most viable types and this is why I believe that Balanced Flying should be S Rank.

Lol that team gets 6-0ed by lo Kyurem-B which very common on both ice and dragon. You don't even have a check or revenge killer for to it why should balanced flying be S rank when auto lose to 1 poke in 2 matchups with that team

 

[thesecondbest]

(physical ttar i kind of reserved it and yes im still alive so awks)
Balanced Flying for S
What does it do?
Balanced Flying uses many good mons that are commonly seen in OU as well, such as Torn-T, Lando-I (it even got banned from OU), Zapdos (which has returned form the banished land), Skarmory, Mandibuzz, and more. But its probably best known for its killer cores, especially skarmdos, and ability to cover its weaknesses while still having effective mons. It can have both defensive and offensive cores that beat common types.
What does it use?
Mega: zard and gyara, aero is on HO most of the time.
Defensive: zapdos, lando-t, skarm, av torn, mandi, and sometimes others.
Offensive: lando-i, lo torn, thundurus, zard, and sometimes others
Sample Team

Hide

Charizard-Mega-Y @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 148 HP / 144 SpA / 216 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fire Blast
- Solar Beam
- Roost
- Dragon Pulse

Landorus @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 8 Atk / 252 SpA / 248 Spe
Naive Nature
- Earth Power
- Rock Polish
- Psychic
- Knock Off

Skarmory @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Iron Head
- Roost
- Stealth Rock
- Whirlwind

Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP / 216 Def / 44 SpD
Bold Nature
- Roost
- Defog
- Discharge
- Heat Wave

Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 184 SpD / 72 Spe
Careful Nature
- Swords Dance
- Knock Off
- Earthquake
- Roost

Staraptor @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Reckless
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Close Combat
- Brave Bird
- Double-Edge

This one is more of an aggressive variant with SD gliscor and Zard-y to break slower builds and rp lando and scarf raptor to hit more offensive ones. Skarm Dos is there as a nice backbone to provide great support. The Team therefore has ways to combat most other playstyles.
Here's a more reactive/defensive build of balanced flying:

Hide

Gyarados-Mega @ Gyaradosite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 120 Def / 136 SpD
Careful Nature
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Dragon Dance
- Crunch

Mandibuzz @ Leftovers
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 252 HP / 216 Def / 40 SpD
Impish Nature
- Taunt
- Roost
- U-turn
- Foul Play

Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP / 216 Def / 44 SpD
Bold Nature
- Roost
- Discharge
- Heat Wave
- Defog

Landorus-Therian @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 216 Def / 40 SpD
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- U-turn
- Knock Off

Tornadus-Therian @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 204 HP / 96 SpA / 208 Spe
Timid Nature
- Knock Off
- U-turn
- Heat Wave
- Hurricane

Togekiss @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 40 Def / 216 SpD
Calm Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Heal Bell
- Roost
- Air Slash

You can change Lando-T to Skarm if you want. This team is pretty simple in that it tries to have a counter to every sweeper you could possibly be scared of. For example, any fighting team will get obliterated by this. Lando counters terrak. Pre mega gyara and torn-t counter keldeo. Zapdos laughs at hawlucha. mandibuzz is also nice to have and rest talk gyara is a fantastic wincon, http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/monotype-272233063 if you dont believe me. The EVs may scare you at first but I just hit the last available jump number (where adding 4 EVs increases the stat by 4 because of a plus nature) and put the rest in the other defense.
But here's a similar version by Anttya that's peaked #2:

Hide

Tornadus-Therian @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 132 HP / 160 SpA / 216 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hurricane
- Heat Wave
- Knock Off
- U-turn

Togekiss @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpD / 8 Spe
Calm Nature
- Air Slash
- Thunder Wave
- Roost
- Heal Bell

Gyarados @ Gyaradosite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Dragon Dance
- Crunch
- Taunt

Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 244 HP / 8 Def / 200 SpD / 56 Spe
Careful Nature
- Taunt
- Toxic
- Roost
- Earthquake

Skarmory @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Iron Head
- Roost
- Whirlwind

Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Discharge
- Toxic
- Roost
- Defog

It has Skarmory over Lando-T, as I mentioned, Gliscor over Mandibuzz, and a slight difference in the sets.
Why S?
Because Balanced Flying has access to so many viable mons that synergize well. You have great cores, many defoggers, a heal beller, rocks and spikes if you want, (even webs if you use masquerain) and can take on basically any threat. Ice can be a bad matchup but your mega rectifys that. The fact that flying has such high usage shows just how effective it is right now, and it certainly warrants S.

HO Psychic for S
What does it do?
It's a typical hyper offense style in that it can stack hazards and send out threats, both physical and special. Psychic has access to all sorts of threats that pressure other teams, especially with hazard support, and can eventually break through walls. If you dislike walls, many things have access to trick or taunt.
What does it use?
Hazards: Deoxys-D/S, Mew, perhaps others.
Choiced Mons: Gardevoir, Medicham (those 2 arent that good but I might as well add them), Hoopa-U, Victini, Meloetta, and im probably missing some
Megas: Gallade, Gardevoir (I prefer this one but Gallade is best according to some), Medicham
Setup Sweepers: Hoopa-U, Gallade
Sample Team

Hide

Gardevoir-Mega @ Gardevoirite
Ability: Trace
EVs: 96 HP / 216 SpA / 196 Spe
Modest Nature
- Hyper Voice
- Psyshock
- Focus Blast
- Taunt

Hoopa-Unbound @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magician
EVs: 188 Atk / 68 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Drain Punch
- Gunk Shot
- Ice Punch

Alakazam @ Focus Sash
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Focus Blast
- Psychic
- Dazzling Gleam
- Shadow Ball

Victini @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Victory Star
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- V-create
- U-turn
- Bolt Strike
- Trick

Deoxys-Defense @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 40 Atk / 28 SpD / 188 Spe
Careful Nature
- Knock Off
- Superpower
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes

Starmie @ Life Orb
Ability: Analytic
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Rapid Spin
- Ice Beam
- Psyshock

This uses the infamous Victini + Hoopa dual scarfer core as wll as superpower deo-d b/c screw bisharp. Starmie provides spin support, Zam can clean up weakened teams even though it's the sash set, and Gardevoir is power + taunr to stop more defensive builds. This team has given me much success in the past and I think it got even better with the gensect ban and all that stuff. Enjoy!
Why S?
Because with so many different viable attackers, no team is really safe, and it can set up hazards or even tailwind to pressure you.

 

[Dece1t]

Balanced Flying for S Rank

Example Team

Tornadus-Therian @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 20 Atk / 216 SpA / 52 SpD / 220 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hurricane
- Heat Wave
- Knock Off
- U-turn

Gyarados @ Gyaradosite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 16 HP / 252 Atk / 240 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Crunch
- Earthquake

Dragonite @ Choice Band
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Outrage
- Fire Punch
- Extreme Speed
- Earthquake

Landorus-Therian @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 240 HP / 4 Atk / 240 Def / 8 SpD / 16 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- U-turn
- Knock Off
- Stone Edge

Skarmory @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 248 HP / 236 Def / 24 Spe
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Brave Bird
- Roost
- Defog

Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP / 64 Def / 180 SpD / 16 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Thunderbolt
- Heat Wave
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Roost

Flying is generally known for being a diverse type and a Pokemon of every type, meaning that most weaknesses are easily covered. Flying has several viable options, meaning that it can effectively run an offensive, defensive, or balanced team. This type also is blessed with Mega Gyarados, who can be used in Monotype Flying because normal Gyarados is a Flying Type, allowing you to shore up your weakness to Ice and Rock Monotypes. With access to all forms of entry hazards, support and utility Pokemon, and offensive powerhouses such as Mega Gyarados, Dragonite, Mega Charizard Y, and others mean that it can also keep offensive momentum. Since there is no major weakness for Flying, a Balanced Flying team means that you can take on most of the metagame easily, and have the tools to deal with almost any Pokemon in almost any situation. I think that Flying is easily one of the most viable types and this is why I believe that Balanced Flying should be S Rank.

Fix the team up, otherwise I agree with your reasoning. Or I can give you a team to put instead that's much better.

(physical ttar i kind of reserved it and yes im still alive so awks)
Balanced Flying for S
What does it do?
Balanced Flying uses many good mons that are commonly seen in OU as well, such as Torn-T, Lando-I (it even got banned from OU), Zapdos (which has returned form the banished land), Skarmory, Mandibuzz, and more. But its probably best known for its killer cores, especially skarmdos, and ability to cover its weaknesses while still having effective mons. It can have both defensive and offensive cores that beat common types.
What does it use?
Mega: zard and gyara, aero is on HO most of the time.
Defensive: zapdos, lando-t, skarm, av torn, mandi, and sometimes others.
Offensive: lando-i, lo torn, thundurus, zard, and sometimes others
Sample Team

Hide

Charizard-Mega-Y @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 148 HP / 144 SpA / 216 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fire Blast
- Solar Beam
- Roost
- Dragon Pulse

Landorus @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 8 Atk / 252 SpA / 248 Spe
Naive Nature
- Earth Power
- Rock Polish
- Psychic
- Knock Off

Skarmory @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Iron Head
- Roost
- Stealth Rock
- Whirlwind

Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP / 216 Def / 44 SpD
Bold Nature
- Roost
- Defog
- Discharge
- Heat Wave

Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 184 SpD / 72 Spe
Careful Nature
- Swords Dance
- Knock Off
- Earthquake
- Roost

Staraptor @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Reckless
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Close Combat
- Brave Bird
- Double-Edge

This one is more of an aggressive variant with SD gliscor and Zard-y to break slower builds and rp lando and scarf raptor to hit more offensive ones. Skarm Dos is there as a nice backbone to provide great support. The Team therefore has ways to combat most other playstyles.
Here's a more reactive/defensive build of balanced flying:

Hide

Gyarados-Mega @ Gyaradosite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 120 Def / 136 SpD
Careful Nature
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Dragon Dance
- Crunch

Mandibuzz @ Leftovers
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 252 HP / 216 Def / 40 SpD
Impish Nature
- Taunt
- Roost
- U-turn
- Foul Play

Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP / 216 Def / 44 SpD
Bold Nature
- Roost
- Discharge
- Heat Wave
- Defog

Landorus-Therian @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 216 Def / 40 SpD
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- U-turn
- Knock Off

Tornadus-Therian @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 204 HP / 96 SpA / 208 Spe
Timid Nature
- Knock Off
- U-turn
- Heat Wave
- Hurricane

Togekiss @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 40 Def / 216 SpD
Calm Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Heal Bell
- Roost
- Air Slash

You can change Lando-T to Skarm if you want. This team is pretty simple in that it tries to have a counter to every sweeper you could possibly be scared of. For example, any fighting team will get obliterated by this. Lando counters terrak. Pre mega gyara and torn-t counter keldeo. Zapdos laughs at hawlucha. mandibuzz is also nice to have. and rest talk gyara is a fantastic wincon, http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/monotype-272233063 if you dont believe me.
Why S?
Because Balanced Flying has access to so many viable mons that synergize well. You have great cores, many defoggers, a heal beller, rocks and spikes if you want, (even webs if you use masquerain) and can take on basically any threat. Ice can be a bad matchup but your mega rectifys that. The fact that flying has such high usage shows just how effective it is right now, and it certainly warrants S.
(yes zuk kyu-b is a problem but you cant really stop that because that thing is just so versatile and powerful)

HO Psychic for S
What does it do?
It's a typical hyper offense style in that it can stack hazards and send out threats, both physical and special. Psychic has access to all sorts of threats that pressure other teams, especially with hazard support, and can eventually break through walls. If you dislike walls, many things have access to trick or taunt.
What does it use?
Hazards: Deoxys-D/S, Mew, perhaps others.
Choiced Mons: Gardevoir, Medicham (those 2 arent that good but I might as well add them), Hoopa-U, Victini, Meloetta, and im probably missing some
Megas: Gallade, Gardevoir (I prefer this one but Gallade is best according to some), Medicham
Setup Sweepers: Hoopa-U, Gallade
Sample Team

Hide

Mew @ Normal Gem
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Skill Swap
- Stealth Rock
- Tailwind
- Explosion

Gardevoir-Mega @ Gardevoirite
Ability: Trace
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hyper Voice
- Psyshock
- Focus Blast
- Taunt

Latias @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 220 HP / 252 SpA / 36 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Healing Wish
- Defog
- Tailwind

Hoopa-Unbound @ Life Orb
Ability: Magician
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Dark Pulse
- Focus Blast
- Psychic
- Nasty Plot

Deoxys-Speed @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 44 Atk / 252 SpA / 212 Spe
Naive Nature
- Psycho Boost
- Ice Beam
- Superpower
- Energy Ball

Victini @ Assault Vest
Ability: Victory Star
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 SpA
Quiet Nature
- Glaciate
- Bolt Strike
- Blue Flare
- Focus Blast

This one is a little on the heatah fajita side so probably dont use it. But it uses tailwind + Gardevoir and hoopa-U. (btw in any of my teams you can change the evs if you arent as crazy as me) It has something to pressure every type/ Hoopa likes to break stall while bulktini is a pretty weird spot. It also has Deo-S to clean up if two tailwind users isn't enough. But probably use the other sample team first.

Hide

Gardevoir-Mega @ Gardevoirite
Ability: Trace
EVs: 96 HP / 216 SpA / 196 Spe
Modest Nature
- Hyper Voice
- Psyshock
- Focus Blast
- Taunt

Hoopa-Unbound @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magician
EVs: 188 Atk / 68 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Drain Punch
- Gunk Shot
- Ice Punch

Alakazam @ Focus Sash
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Focus Blast
- Psychic
- Dazzling Gleam
- Shadow Ball

Victini @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Victory Star
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- V-create
- U-turn
- Bolt Strike
- Trick

Deoxys-Defense @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 40 Atk / 28 SpD / 188 Spe
Careful Nature
- Knock Off
- Superpower
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes

Starmie @ Life Orb
Ability: Analytic
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Rapid Spin
- Ice Beam
- Psyshock

This uses the infamous Victini + Hoopa dual scarfer core as wll as superpower deo-d b/c screw bisharp. Starmie provides spin support, Zam can clean up weakened teams even though it's the sash set, and Gardevoir is power + taunr to stop more defensive builds. This team has given me much success in the past and I think it got even better with the gensect ban and all that stuff. Enjoy!
Why S?
Because with so many different viable attackers, no team is really safe, and it can set up hazards or even tailwind to pressure you.

Just make some basic teams. Your doing some weird and complex sets that aren't needed/make no sense viably, and, you only need 1 sample team lol. Like Physical ttar though, I agree with your reasoning, just provide better examples.

EDIT: HO Psychic<Balanced Psychic. I didin't take much notice. HO Psychic should be A or B rank tbh

 

[Physical Tyranitar]

BTW guys, it isn't my team, but I can take it off the post though.

EDIT: HO Psychic<Balanced Psychic. I didin't take much notice. HO Psychic should be A or B rank tbh

Not sure why everybody hates my team, but that's straying away from the point. Hyper Offensive Psychic is good because it has the natural offensive capabilities as a whole to run a genuinely decent team, but Balanced Psychic is also good because Psychic has great defensive options. Hyper Offensive Psychic stands little chance against Psychic and Dark once their respective counters for that type are dead, but in general, Balanced Psychic can do so many more things than HO Psychic and has a higher chance of combating it's weaknesses.

 

[Vid]

(physical ttar i kind of reserved it and yes im still alive so awks)
Balanced Flying for S
What does it do?
Balanced Flying uses many good mons that are commonly seen in OU as well, such as Torn-T, Lando-I (it even got banned from OU), Zapdos (which has returned form the banished land), Skarmory, Mandibuzz, and more. But its probably best known for its killer cores, especially skarmdos, and ability to cover its weaknesses while still having effective mons. It can have both defensive and offensive cores that beat common types.
What does it use?
Mega: zard and gyara, aero is on HO most of the time.
Defensive: zapdos, lando-t, skarm, av torn, mandi, and sometimes others.
Offensive: lando-i, lo torn, thundurus, zard, and sometimes others
Sample Team

Hide

Charizard-Mega-Y @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 148 HP / 144 SpA / 216 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fire Blast
- Solar Beam
- Roost
- Dragon Pulse

Landorus @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 8 Atk / 252 SpA / 248 Spe
Naive Nature
- Earth Power
- Rock Polish
- Psychic
- Knock Off

Skarmory @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Iron Head
- Roost
- Stealth Rock
- Whirlwind

Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP / 216 Def / 44 SpD
Bold Nature
- Roost
- Defog
- Discharge
- Heat Wave

Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 184 SpD / 72 Spe
Careful Nature
- Swords Dance
- Knock Off
- Earthquake
- Roost

Staraptor @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Reckless
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Close Combat
- Brave Bird
- Double-Edge

This one is more of an aggressive variant with SD gliscor and Zard-y to break slower builds and rp lando and scarf raptor to hit more offensive ones. Skarm Dos is there as a nice backbone to provide great support. The Team therefore has ways to combat most other playstyles.
Here's a more reactive/defensive build of balanced flying:

Hide

Gyarados-Mega @ Gyaradosite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 120 Def / 136 SpD
Careful Nature
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Dragon Dance
- Crunch

Mandibuzz @ Leftovers
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 252 HP / 216 Def / 40 SpD
Impish Nature
- Taunt
- Roost
- U-turn
- Foul Play

Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP / 216 Def / 44 SpD
Bold Nature
- Roost
- Discharge
- Heat Wave
- Defog

Landorus-Therian @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 216 Def / 40 SpD
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- U-turn
- Knock Off

Tornadus-Therian @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 204 HP / 96 SpA / 208 Spe
Timid Nature
- Knock Off
- U-turn
- Heat Wave
- Hurricane

Togekiss @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 40 Def / 216 SpD
Calm Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Heal Bell
- Roost
- Air Slash

You can change Lando-T to Skarm if you want. This team is pretty simple in that it tries to have a counter to every sweeper you could possibly be scared of. For example, any fighting team will get obliterated by this. Lando counters terrak. Pre mega gyara and torn-t counter keldeo. Zapdos laughs at hawlucha. mandibuzz is also nice to have. and rest talk gyara is a fantastic wincon, http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/monotype-272233063 if you dont believe me.
Why S?
Because Balanced Flying has access to so many viable mons that synergize well. You have great cores, many defoggers, a heal beller, rocks and spikes if you want, (even webs if you use masquerain) and can take on basically any threat. Ice can be a bad matchup but your mega rectifys that. The fact that flying has such high usage shows just how effective it is right now, and it certainly warrants S.
(yes zuk kyu-b is a problem but you cant really stop that because that thing is just so versatile and powerful)

HO Psychic for S
What does it do?
It's a typical hyper offense style in that it can stack hazards and send out threats, both physical and special. Psychic has access to all sorts of threats that pressure other teams, especially with hazard support, and can eventually break through walls. If you dislike walls, many things have access to trick or taunt.
What does it use?
Hazards: Deoxys-D/S, Mew, perhaps others.
Choiced Mons: Gardevoir, Medicham (those 2 arent that good but I might as well add them), Hoopa-U, Victini, Meloetta, and im probably missing some
Megas: Gallade, Gardevoir (I prefer this one but Gallade is best according to some), Medicham
Setup Sweepers: Hoopa-U, Gallade
Sample Team

Hide

Gardevoir-Mega @ Gardevoirite
Ability: Trace
EVs: 96 HP / 216 SpA / 196 Spe
Modest Nature
- Hyper Voice
- Psyshock
- Focus Blast
- Taunt

Hoopa-Unbound @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magician
EVs: 188 Atk / 68 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Drain Punch
- Gunk Shot
- Ice Punch

Alakazam @ Focus Sash
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Focus Blast
- Psychic
- Dazzling Gleam
- Shadow Ball

Victini @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Victory Star
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- V-create
- U-turn
- Bolt Strike
- Trick

Deoxys-Defense @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 40 Atk / 28 SpD / 188 Spe
Careful Nature
- Knock Off
- Superpower
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes

Starmie @ Life Orb
Ability: Analytic
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Rapid Spin
- Ice Beam
- Psyshock

This uses the infamous Victini + Hoopa dual scarfer core as wll as superpower deo-d b/c screw bisharp. Starmie provides spin support, Zam can clean up weakened teams even though it's the sash set, and Gardevoir is power + taunr to stop more defensive builds. This team has given me much success in the past and I think it got even better with the gensect ban and all that stuff. Enjoy!
Why S?
Because with so many different viable attackers, no team is really safe, and it can set up hazards or even tailwind to pressure you.
Edit: deleted the tailwind psychic team becuase it is probably too complex.

Overall i feel as if you don't get the definition of HO. HO does involve hazard stack or screens which you have, but you don't have a set up sweeper which makes your team HO using the presence of hazards to get easy set up sweeps. Your team is Offense for Psychic not HO because it does not consist of a set up sweeper. This is more like hazard stack offense than HO. A guide for HO is here (although it is a BW guide same concepts apply). Although that team is not HO I would put HO Psychic for B Rank not even close to S Rank. Overall I feel as if you have the definition of HO wrong and need to change some pokes to make the team HO.

Ok the flying teams you put are gimmicky and a new player would not pick up on those flying teams easily. I would rather you put a "generic team" than a team that has very gimmicky pokes. For any new players viewing this thread two very good flying team made by my very good friends Pk-Kaiser and Balto. (Click Me for Balto's Team) you should probably replace Mandi for Zapdos but still a good team (Click me for Pk-Kaiser's Team) can replace Mandi for Zapdos also since these teams were made without Zapdos in the metagame but still work.

 

[thesecondbest]

Overall i feel as if you don't get the definition of HO. HO does involve hazard stack or screens which you have, but you don't have a set up sweeper which makes your team HO using the presence of hazards to get easy set up sweeps. Your team is Offense for Psychic not HO because it does not consist of a set up sweeper. This is more like hazard stack offense than HO. A guide for HO is here (although it is a BW guide same concepts apply). Although that team is not HO I would put HO Psychic for B Rank not even close to S Rank. Overall I feel as if you have the definition of HO wrong and need to change some pokes to make the team HO.

Ok the flying teams you put are gimmicky and a new player would not pick up on those flying teams easily. I would rather you put a "generic team" than a team that has very gimmicky pokes. For any new players viewing this thread two very good flying team made by my very good friends Pk-Kaiser and Balto. (Click Me for Balto's Team) you should probably replace Mandi for Zapdos but still a good team (Click me for Pk-Kaiser's Team) can replace Mandi for Zapdos also since these teams were made without Zapdos in the metagame but still work.

Actually, the smogon dictionary writes:
"HO stands for hyper offense and sometimes for heavy offense, which is the same thing. It's typically used to describe a very offensively oriented team, with only minimal type synergy for defense. Teams usually consist of Pokemon with high Speed and Attack and/or Special Attacks stats and only moderate defenses. Oftentimes, these teams are supplemented with dual screens leads that allow the sweepers to set up multiple times before rampaging through the opposition."
It uses the phrase often times, so it's still HO despite the fact that it has no setup sweepers. Instead I decided to use double scarfer to increase the teams effectiveness vs offense and then a nuke in gardevoir. So yes it is HO. If you want a setup sweeper on the team then change starmie to sd pass celebi which will work alongside the double physical scarfer core. I can make that change if it will fit your random semantical concerns. And tell me why you think HO Psychic isn't S worthy, because it is the playstyle I have had the most success with post Zard-X ban and it sees pretty high usage. (Hoopa-U already basically implies HO so half of psychic teams out there are HO)

The flying teams are not gimmicky at all. The gyarados one was actually based off kaiser's team, but I changed lando form, changed torn-t set, and swapped around the walls in order to have zapdos. I don't get what's gimmicky about it; everything is A or S rank on my teams besides Gliscor and Mandibuzz, which PK used as well. So I really don't get where you're coming from with these accusations.
The Balto team I've never seen but I have Zapdos over Thundy, a different lando form but still an offensive one, a scarf raptor instead of espeed dnite, and a gliscor over the mandibuzz. So once again it has no gimmicks at all. If you're saying it's a bad team because it has bad synergy or something, say that plainly and I will refute that. But calling the teams gimmicky is complete bullshit.

 

[Dece1t]

Actually, the smogon dictionary writes:
"HO stands for hyper offense and sometimes for heavy offense, which is the same thing. It's typically used to describe a very offensively oriented team, with only minimal type synergy for defense. Teams usually consist of Pokemon with high Speed and Attack and/or Special Attacks stats and only moderate defenses. Oftentimes, these teams are supplemented with dual screens leads that allow the sweepers to set up multiple times before rampaging through the opposition."
It uses the phrase often times, so it's still HO despite the fact that it has no setup sweepers. Instead I decided to use double scarfer to increase the teams effectiveness vs offense and then a nuke in gardevoir. So yes it is HO. If you want a setup sweeper on the team then change starmie to sd pass celebi which will work alongside the double physical scarfer core. I can make that change if it will fit your random semantical concerns. And tell me why you think HO Psychic isn't S worthy, because it is the playstyle I have had the most success with post Zard-X ban and it sees pretty high usage. (Hoopa-U already basically implies HO so half of psychic teams out there are HO)

The flying teams are not gimmicky at all. The gyarados one was actually based off kaiser's team, but I changed lando form, changed torn-t set, and swapped around the walls in order to have zapdos. I don't get what's gimmicky about it; everything is A or S rank on my teams besides Gliscor and Mandibuzz, which PK used as well. So I really don't get where you're coming from with these accusations.
The Balto team I've never seen but I have Zapdos over Thundy, a different lando form but still an offensive one, a scarf raptor instead of espeed dnite, and a gliscor over the mandibuzz. So once again it has no gimmicks at all. If you're saying it's a bad team because it has bad synergy or something, say that plainly and I will refute that. But calling the teams gimmicky is complete bullshit.

1, you can be a lot nicer bc Zulkaz was actually giving you advice. 2, I agree with him, your team you showcased was not hyper offensive, and it was a bit gimmicky in sets. A lot of them weren't very competitively good, it was sorta outright weird. Look at some replays of good flying users, and compare that to your team you made.

 

[scpinion]

(physical ttar i kind of reserved it and yes im still alive so awks)
Balanced Flying for S
What does it do?
Balanced Flying uses many good mons that are commonly seen in OU as well, such as Torn-T, Lando-I (it even got banned from OU), Zapdos (which has returned form the banished land), Skarmory, Mandibuzz, and more. But its probably best known for its killer cores, especially skarmdos, and ability to cover its weaknesses while still having effective mons. It can have both defensive and offensive cores that beat common types.
What does it use?
Mega: zard and gyara, aero is on HO most of the time.
Defensive: zapdos, lando-t, skarm, av torn, mandi, and sometimes others.
Offensive: lando-i, lo torn, thundurus, zard, and sometimes others
Sample Team

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Charizard-Mega-Y @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 148 HP / 144 SpA / 216 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fire Blast
- Solar Beam
- Roost
- Dragon Pulse

Landorus @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 8 Atk / 252 SpA / 248 Spe
Naive Nature
- Earth Power
- Rock Polish
- Psychic
- Knock Off

Skarmory @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Iron Head
- Roost
- Stealth Rock
- Whirlwind

Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP / 216 Def / 44 SpD
Bold Nature
- Roost
- Defog
- Discharge
- Heat Wave

Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 184 SpD / 72 Spe
Careful Nature
- Swords Dance
- Knock Off
- Earthquake
- Roost

Staraptor @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Reckless
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Close Combat
- Brave Bird
- Double-Edge

This one is more of an aggressive variant with SD gliscor and Zard-y to break slower builds and rp lando and scarf raptor to hit more offensive ones. Skarm Dos is there as a nice backbone to provide great support. The Team therefore has ways to combat most other playstyles.
Here's a more reactive/defensive build of balanced flying:

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Gyarados-Mega @ Gyaradosite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 120 Def / 136 SpD
Careful Nature
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Dragon Dance
- Crunch

Mandibuzz @ Leftovers
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 252 HP / 216 Def / 40 SpD
Impish Nature
- Taunt
- Roost
- U-turn
- Foul Play

Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP / 216 Def / 44 SpD
Bold Nature
- Roost
- Discharge
- Heat Wave
- Defog

Landorus-Therian @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 216 Def / 40 SpD
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- U-turn
- Knock Off

Tornadus-Therian @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 204 HP / 96 SpA / 208 Spe
Timid Nature
- Knock Off
- U-turn
- Heat Wave
- Hurricane

Togekiss @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 40 Def / 216 SpD
Calm Nature
- Thunder Wave
- Heal Bell
- Roost
- Air Slash

You can change Lando-T to Skarm if you want. This team is pretty simple in that it tries to have a counter to every sweeper you could possibly be scared of. For example, any fighting team will get obliterated by this. Lando counters terrak. Pre mega gyara and torn-t counter keldeo. Zapdos laughs at hawlucha. mandibuzz is also nice to have. and rest talk gyara is a fantastic wincon, http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/monotype-272233063 if you dont believe me.
Why S?
Because Balanced Flying has access to so many viable mons that synergize well. You have great cores, many defoggers, a heal beller, rocks and spikes if you want, (even webs if you use masquerain) and can take on basically any threat. Ice can be a bad matchup but your mega rectifys that. The fact that flying has such high usage shows just how effective it is right now, and it certainly warrants S.
(yes zuk kyu-b is a problem but you cant really stop that because that thing is just so versatile and powerful)

HO Psychic for S
What does it do?
It's a typical hyper offense style in that it can stack hazards and send out threats, both physical and special. Psychic has access to all sorts of threats that pressure other teams, especially with hazard support, and can eventually break through walls. If you dislike walls, many things have access to trick or taunt.
What does it use?
Hazards: Deoxys-D/S, Mew, perhaps others.
Choiced Mons: Gardevoir, Medicham (those 2 arent that good but I might as well add them), Hoopa-U, Victini, Meloetta, and im probably missing some
Megas: Gallade, Gardevoir (I prefer this one but Gallade is best according to some), Medicham
Setup Sweepers: Hoopa-U, Gallade
Sample Team

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Gardevoir-Mega @ Gardevoirite
Ability: Trace
EVs: 96 HP / 216 SpA / 196 Spe
Modest Nature
- Hyper Voice
- Psyshock
- Focus Blast
- Taunt

Hoopa-Unbound @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magician
EVs: 188 Atk / 68 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Drain Punch
- Gunk Shot
- Ice Punch

Alakazam @ Focus Sash
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Focus Blast
- Psychic
- Dazzling Gleam
- Shadow Ball

Victini @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Victory Star
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- V-create
- U-turn
- Bolt Strike
- Trick

Deoxys-Defense @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 40 Atk / 28 SpD / 188 Spe
Careful Nature
- Knock Off
- Superpower
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes

Starmie @ Life Orb
Ability: Analytic
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Rapid Spin
- Ice Beam
- Psyshock

This uses the infamous Victini + Hoopa dual scarfer core as wll as superpower deo-d b/c screw bisharp. Starmie provides spin support, Zam can clean up weakened teams even though it's the sash set, and Gardevoir is power + taunr to stop more defensive builds. This team has given me much success in the past and I think it got even better with the gensect ban and all that stuff. Enjoy!
Why S?
Because with so many different viable attackers, no team is really safe, and it can set up hazards or even tailwind to pressure you.
Edit: deleted the tailwind psychic team becuase it is probably too complex.

Added Balanced Flying to S rank. There are many ways to build those flying teams and have success (that is why it is S-rank). In addition to your teams, will you also add the links to the sample teams Zulkaz listed?

I'm not a fan of (Hyper) Offensive Psychic in S rank. Balanced Psychic is better and "defines the meta". I'm not saying the team is bad (it looks fun to play with), but there is definitely some risk in running a team that relies on Superpower Deoxys-Defense or Trick to handle Bisharp. I'd personally go w/ Zulkaz and call it B rank, but if you have some replays vs. good opponents that demonstrate the merits of the team I'd gladly reconsider.

SCP, would you mind filling up the ranks with some playstyles for now? People can make nominations for unranked things, promotions or demotions but it's just nice to have something to work off of. I'm sure you can find people to help if you don't have the time.

Ok, I filled out the rankings with my own opinions in a hide tag. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO DISAGREE WITH ME! The point of this thread is for the community to rank these things, not me.

I also added a 2-tier ranking system (A+/A) for A and B ranks because of how crowded they are going to be. S, C, and D ranks will likely not be getting the + ranks. S b/c a type either defines the metagame or it doesn't. C and D ranks solely b/c I don't want to argue over semantics when it comes to play styles that aren't very good to start with.

 

[Dece1t]

Ok, I filled out the rankings with my own opinions in a hide tag. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO DISAGREE WITH ME! The point of this thread is for the community to rank these things, not me.

I also added a 2-tier ranking system (A+/A) for A and B ranks because of how crowded they are going to be. S, C, and D ranks will likely not be getting the + ranks. S b/c a type either defines the metagame or it doesn't. C and D ranks solely b/c I don't want to argue over semantics when it comes to play styles that aren't very good to start with.

I'd make Hazard Stack Steel A+ Rank. That's probably the most common form of steel in the meta, and atm it's very prominent on ladder, especially HO Steel (I think I may reserve for that unless scp says otherwise :P). Also, I think someone else should make a post for Balanced Flying being S, unless thesecondbest edits his post. The team he included with it isn't very "typical" for say, and especially for newer players looking at the resources here, and seeing that, they may be discouraged/confused. Plus, not to be mean, this is just me being honest, a lot of the sets aren't very viable at all. Yea, either he edit's his post with a much more straightforward team, or have someone else do it.

 

[scpinion]

I'd make Hazard Stack Steel A+ Rank. That's probably the most common form of steel in the meta, and atm it's very prominent on ladder, especially HO Steel (I think I may reserve for that unless scp says otherwise :P). Also, I think someone else should make a post for Balanced Flying being S, unless thesecondbest edits his post. The team he included with it isn't very "typical" for say, and especially for newer players looking at the resources here, and seeing that, they may be discouraged/confused. Plus, not to be mean, this is just me being honest, a lot of the sets aren't very viable at all. Yea, either he edit's his post with a much more straightforward team, or have someone else do it.

I'd like to differentiate between the HO Steel that is everywhere right now and the conventional balanced build that was more common in the past (and is still really good). Both take a hazard stacking approach, but they play quite differently. Which one are you nominating for A+ rank? Also, feel free to reserve it if you're wanting to write it up.

 

[Dece1t]

I'd like to differentiate between the HO Steel that is everywhere right now and the conventional balanced build that was more common in the past (and is still really good). Both take a hazard stacking approach, but they play quite differently. Which one are you nominating for A+ rank? Also, feel free to reserve it if you're wanting to write it up.

Tbh scp I'd say both, if not make balanced Steel A+. and HO Steel A. It's your call there, I said if you said anything otherwise bc that was sorta your creation, and i didn't know if you wanted to make the post about it xD

Tbh scp I'd say both, if not make balanced Steel A+. and HO Steel A. It's your call there, I said if you said anything otherwise bc that was sorta your creation, and i didn't know if you wanted to make the post about it xD

EDIT: Bulky Offensive Ground, if there's an A- rank, I'd move it there over A. Bc someone will probs say something about generic balanced ground, and why when it's posted it's at the same rank, when in a lot of cases it is very slightly better. Idk, your call on that 1.

 

[Anttya]

I heard the words Balanced Flying, and Scp wanted teams so here I am!

I recently peaked #2 on the ladder under the alt Lakaris, and I had a fairly good W/L (Didn't screen that but it was around 75/15 at the time, now it's 90/21). After the Zard-X ban, and Zapdos unban I tried to build a balanced that was both successful, and easy to use. This is what I came up with, enjoy and have fun :)

Proof of peak

Sorry if I pissed you off on the ladder!

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Tornadus-Therian @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 132 HP / 160 SpA / 216 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hurricane
- Heat Wave
- Knock Off
- U-turn

Togekiss @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpD / 8 Spe
Calm Nature
- Air Slash
- Thunder Wave
- Roost
- Heal Bell

Gyarados @ Gyaradosite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Waterfall
- Dragon Dance
- Crunch
- Taunt

Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 244 HP / 8 Def / 200 SpD / 56 Spe
Careful Nature
- Taunt
- Toxic
- Roost
- Earthquake

Skarmory @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Iron Head
- Roost
- Whirlwind

Zapdos @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Discharge
- Toxic
- Roost
- Defog

Mega Dos is my Mega because of its Ice resist, Mold Breaker Taunts, and how strong it is after 1 DD. Taunt lets me deal with Skarm, and Sab after it Megas.
Skarm's my Rocker, and sponge against Ice types.
Zappy's my Defogger and a Toxic spammer
Torn's a pivot, and switches in to a ton of Special moves, and it even wins vs LO Nidoking. Knock Off spam removes Lefties, U-turn for scouting and threatening out Starmie
Toge's my Heal Beller, and my T-wave spreader, immensely helpful vs Psychic and a lot of other types. Its bulk lets it live moves from Scarf Kyu and Para it.
Gliscor's the real MVP, walling and outstalling a ton of things such as Hoopa-U while stallbreaking annoying stuff such as Stall Normal.

So yeah, I hope you enjoy it and have some success with it.

 

[Vid]

Ok me and Anttya are putting out a joint rmt of 2 very good flying teams one being more offensive and the other one is more defensive. If you want more information on Anttya's team and a more depth analysis on the team she posted on in the post before me (should be there soon).I also have my team i made which is a more offensive team that has an in-depth analysis. The link to the Teams can be found here and both have peaked on the ladder and are very good teams for people wanting to get into monotype and veteran players.

 

[scpinion]

I mean my team is basically hers but she changed lando for skarm and mandibuzz for gliscor... also gyarados is slightly difference. I really don't see what is gimmicky about my team at all. Maybe I should get glasses but I don't think that's the issue. If you think the EVs are weird I just hit the last jump number and put the rest in the other defense. Anyways I guess my help isn't needed so I'll probably just never post here again :/

Your post is still linked in the OP mate and we asked that you link some other teams in addition to yours. In my opinion, each of those teams will play differently. I'd like for all of them to be posted so new players will have multiple options to chose from. Flying is a diverse type and there are multiple ways to be successful with it.

Most importantly, your contributions are welcome and valued, but please be willing to accept criticism and make changes if multiple people are disagreeing with you. If you decide not to update the post on Balanced Flying and HO Psychic please send me a pm so I can link another post describing the play styles.

 

[Physical Tyranitar]

Stall Dark For D Rank
Okay I'm not gonna provide a team example because my teams are unviable and apparently I'm not very popular on Smogon but let's use for Jo Z's Stall Dark team for example. Dark has some decent defensive stall options, including Umbreon, Mega Sableye, and Mandibuzz, and Mega Sableye is arguably the best staller in the game, so Dark has some decent defensive options. Stall Dark cannot work in most situations, as Stall Dark leaves incredible weaknesses to Fairy and Fighting (once Mega Sableye is out), but in the right scenario, Stall Dark can be a good team. Monotype room, what are your thoughts on this?