Shedinja: E Tier
Availability: Caught on Route 6 as a L11-L12 Nincada. Must have an open slot and a Poke Ball when Nincada reaches L20.
Stats: 1 HP obviously, Attack is high, you'll want to shoot for a Speed boosting nature because lord this thing is slow, rest are literally irrelevant.
Typing: Bug/Ghost has five weaknesses, including major ones like Dark and Rock. Immune to every other direct attack that's not a weakness because of Wonder Guard.
Movepool: Doesn't learn much as a Nincada, and once you get Shedinja your next direct offensive move is Shadow Sneak... at L38. Thank Goddish Shadow Claw is an early TM in this game. Can cover most types with a Dig/Aerial Ace/X-Scissor/Shadow Claw combo, but 3/4 of those are out of the way.
Major Battles:
Grant - Both of his Pokemon will kill if given the opportunity. And since we're talking molasses, they'll have an opportunity.
Korrina - Can't touch this. Literally.
Ramos - Gogoat is no problem, but Jumpluff's Acrobatics and the AI playing roulette with Gastro Acid is not a good place to be. X-Scissor is near this gym.
Clemont - Just avoid Emolgs and you'll win eventually.
Valerie - Avoid Mawile, but you can sweep the rest.
Olympia - Every one of her Pokemon have a move that beats Wonder Guard, so it's either KO or be KOed.
Wulfric - If it does KO Abomasnow, it dies to Hail immediately after. No point.
Rival: Meowstic shouldn't be a problem, but Absol will be and 2/3 of the time, so is the starter.
Team Flare: Heavy concentration of Dark types, Pokemon with Dark moves, and Golbat will cause problems.
Malva: lol
Siebold: Walls Gyarados and Starmie, loses to Clawitzer/Barbaracle.
Drasna: Walls all but Noivern.
Wikstrom: Can take out Klefki but will probably let it set up Spikes, loses to everything else.
Diantha: Walls Hawlucha and Aurorus, loses to the other 4.
Additional Comments: Among the things that pierced its Wonder Guard: Snorlax, Struggle from Smeargle, confusion (repeatedly), poison. Also, because of Nincada's experience group, it takes longer to grow than anybody.
Drifloon: C Tier
Availability: Caught on Route 8, common on that route.
Stats: Immense HP, SpAtk higher than Atk but not overwhelmingly so. Surprisingly quick (at least in comparison to other Ghosts).
Typing: Ghost/Flying allows for three major immunities and a couple of potent STABs as well.
Movepool: Relies on Gust for a bit, but learns Hex before it evolves and has the usual Ghost TM variety.
Major Battles:
Grant - I don't think so.
Korrina - Cakewalk.
Ramos - Wipes the floor with the gym - can tank Acrobatics with high HP and will have the opportnity to start Flying if necessary.
Clemont - nope.gif
Valerie - Mawile might cause some trouble on the defensive end, and he hasn't had a chance to learn much on the physical Ghost end so they can tank your hits pretty well.
Olympia - Lunch time! Only potential problems: Shadow Ball, and Slowking's Power Gem.
Wulfric - Not recommended.
Rival: Beats Meowstic around quite handily and Delphox if you chose Chespin.
Team Flare: Quite handy against the multitude of Scrafty and can do some damage to the others with Flying STAB.
Malva: Average, but you don't want to get in a Shadow Ball race with Chandelure. Hilarity may ensue against Talonflame.
Siebold: Beats Starmie but should avoid the rest.
Drasna: Don't let it come within a mile of Dragalgae and you should be all right.
Wikstrom: Not well suited to this fight, Steel walls it quite heavily.
Diantha: Will fare well against Hawlucha and Gourgeist, should stay away from the rest.
Additional Comments: It's actually pretty easy to catch it up to the rest of the team if you train it on Route 8, especially in Horde fights with Zangoose/Seviper.
Golett: D Tier
Availability: Caught on Route 10, somewhat rarely.
Stats: Very high Attack and HP as a Golurk, less impressive as a Golett. Very slow in both forms, though once you get to Golurk its innate EVs will let you outspeed things.
Typing: Ghost/Ground is two potent offensive STABs, but the weaknesses are quite common.
Movepool: Solid TM compatibility where it's needed, can also learn Strength and (as Golurk only) Fly. Note that although it learns Earthquake by level before you can obtain the TM, for most of the time it's stuck with the randomness of Magnitude or the Bulldoze TM.
Major Battles:
Grant - You'd think Ground would be good here, but Refrigerated Take Down still hurts and Tyrunt can OHKO at the same level thanks to Bite+Storng Jaw.
Korrina - It's a Ghost. 'nuff said.
Ramos - Best to avoid, as the trademark move is Grass Knot that is the equivalent of a STAB Discharge on a normal Pokemon.
Clemont - Depending on your level, this is either Golett's time to shine or humiliation as you get 2HKOed by Emolga. You'll need Rock Tomb to finish, and low SpDef may cause problems with Magnezone's Flash Cannon and (especially) Heliolisk's Grass Knot.
Valerie - You've got your Ground moves against Mawile but watch for Intimidate, can probably beat Mr Mime, watch out for Sylveon.
Olympia - Meowstic is faster and Shadow Ball will hurt, but you should be OK otherwise.
Wulfric - No chance in hell.
Rival: Meowstic, Jolteon and Delphox (take note, Chespin starters) go down quickly.
Team Flare: If it can survive a hit, the Ground move should be good for a KO coming back.
Malva: Chandelure beats you flat out, and Talonflame may cause trouble if you didn't put a Rock move on. Pyroar has Dark Pulse, but you should be able to take that.
Siebold: No business being in this fight unless you want to pick off a weakened Barbaracle or something.
Drasna: You'll have Earthquake for Dragalgae, but Druddigon could be trouble and the other two depend on whether a Rock move is there or not.
Wikstrom: Only stay away from Scizor, it *will* Night Slash you to death.
Diantha: Resists everything Hawlucha can throw, but that could lead to SD opportunities. Others should be avoided.
Additional Comments: In the battle of Magnitude v Bulldoze, Bulldoze wins. You will rely on the Speed drops a LOT.
Sableye: E Tier
Availability: 1% chance of finding in Reflection Cave.
Stats: Attack and Defense starts good but falls behind rapidly. Also slow, and half the time it will have an ability that ensures going last. Just about everything 2HKOs late game.
Typing: Ghost/Dark now has a Fairy weak, and there's not a lot of resistances there (Poison, yay).
Movepool: Has a lot of natural Ghost and Dark moves, but the strongest is Foul Play (which you can't control the power of) or Knock Off and Shadow Claw. TM compatibility is pretty good.
Major Battles:
Korrina - Can get some free experience, but watch out for stray Foresight because then you get whacked (Korrina's Machoke).
Ramos - Can potentially do some damage if you gave it Aerial Ace by TM but you should have something better.
Clemont - This is the part where you start to get overwhelmed by high-SA Pokemon.
Valerie - Bad part of town for Sableye.
Olympia - The last time he's of any use. Nobody can really touch him and all three Pokemon are more physically weak, which you can abuse.
Wulfric - Might be able to do something if you gave it Brick Break for Cryogonal or something, but that's out of the way.
Rival: Might need to stay away from Meowstic because it's packing Disarming Voice, but doesn't fare well against anything in general. Even Delphox can probably take it out with Mystic Fire/Flamethrower.
Team Flare: Not an efficient way to deal with anything.
Malva: Could potentially do something against Pyroar if you gave it Brick Break, and Chandelure, but you'll lose damage races to both of them.
Siebold: Can't even deal with Starmie thanks to Dazzling Gleam.
Drasna: Not able to overpower much of anything, even coming out against Altaria just lets it set up Cotton Guard.
Wikstrom: Klefki super-effects, everything else overwhelms.
Diantha: Could theoretically beat Gourgeist but you've got something better.
Additional Comments: None that are printable. This thing is bad AND annoying to get.
Haunter/Gengar: B Tier
Availability: Rarely on Route 14, more common in Frost Cavern and Victory Road.
Stats: Very high SA, high Speed, has defensive issues. Going Mega can mitigate this.
Typing: Ghost/Poison, which actually works out as a decent offensive typing and Levitate takes care of the Ground weakness.
Movepool: Decent enough as a Haunter - strong special STABs on both types and learning the gym TMs that surround its arrival actually makes a good moveset.
Major Battles:
Valerie - STAB Venoshock at minimum means Haunter enjoys this gym quite a bit.
Olympia - It's either kill or be killed against everything - you might have some trouble with Slowking's high SpDef.
Wulfric - Poison STAB beats Abomasnow but probably not well suited to the rest.
Rival: Dazzling Gleam OHKOs all rival Absol, and you'll probably be able to super-effect the starter somehow.
Team Flare: Overpowers the grunts and if you can go Mega, takes out half of the Lysandre fight.
Malva: You'll win a damage race with Chandelure, Torkoal and Talonflame. Bring something else for Pyroar.
Siebold: You'll probably outrun everything as a similar level and OHKO it.
Drasna: Get Dragalgae out of the way, and Dazzling Gleam OHKOs everything.
Wikstrom: No real good matchups. Stay away from Aegislash especially.
Diantha: Can get rid of Tyrantrum, Gourgeist, and Gardevoir and will win a damage race with Goodra.
Additional Comments: Since the Mega Stone is available ingame, Gengar is a B and Haunter I'd slot in at a D. It makes that much of a difference.
Phantump/Trevenant: D Tier
Availability: Route 16, rare in most areas but there's one area where it can be easier. Trade evolution.
Stats: High Attack, usable Speed, has some Defense problems.
Typing: Grass/Ghost gives you some common weaknesses but a couple of good STABs.
Movepool: Natural moveset is kind of bleh, but Phantom Force a few levels after is nice and you can either grind for Wood Hammer or Heart Scale Horn Leech back. On the TM side, surprisingly versatile.
Major Battles:
Olympia - Phantom Force will tear this gym apart once you get Sigilyph out of the way.
Wulfric - Let him chill on the sidelines.
Rival: Can beat Meowstic, potentially wreck some starters but will have trouble with the Absol.
Team Flare: Performance depends on TMs, but he'll win a damage race with Lysandre's Gyarados.
Malva: No way in hell.
Siebold: Depending on your Grass move, you may be able to get everything bar Gyarados.
Drasna: Another no-hoper fight.
Wikstrom: Probably not worth trying.
Diantha: Will beat Gourgeist if it's slower but should avoid the rest.
Additional Comments: Trevenant's largely a D because of late availability and TM reliance, which means Phantump solo is an E or flat out unusable. In terms of abilities, Natural Cure wins.
Litwick: D Tier
Availability: Common as a Litwick in Lost Hotel, north of Route 15. Only evolves to final by way of a Dusk Stone, available post badge 7.
Stats: Ultra-high SA and Speed, survives more attacks than you'd think.
Typing: Fire/Ghost is two powerful offensive STABs that are needed late.
Movepool: Has access to a Hex/WoW combo out of the box, and Flamethrower/Shadow Ball as TMs should be enough though Psychic and Energy Ball are good filler.
Major Battles:
Olympia - Lampent should be able to roll everything but might have some trouble with Slowking.
Wulfric - Clean KOs on 2/3 of the team, and possibly can get Cryogonal if your SA is high enough.
Rival: No trouble with Meowstic, can beat all forms of the Rival and at least potentially slow down Absol with burns.
Team Flare: Although it can do some damage, it really needs the Chandelure boost which is only normally available after Team Flare's gone.
Malva: You should be able to beat her Chandelure and Torkoal is a 2HKO.
Siebold: No, unless you're packing Energy Ball and switching it in to get experience on something weakened.
Drasna: Should probably avoid this one.
Wikstrom: Ooooooh yeah, lunchtime. Maybe get it out for Probopass, but a decently leveled Chandelure that isn't -Def can actually survive Aegislash's Shadow Claw.
Diantha: Gets Hawlucha, Gourgeist, and Gardevoir.
Additional Comments: A D largely because of availability - both the late game presence and the rarity of the stone needed to reach full potential.