Resource XY RU Tier List (RU Viability Ranking itt)

[Molk]

XY RU TIER LIST​

• This thread will now be used to archive the XY RU metagame.

• Note that even during this time, the metagame was still underdeveloped, so several placements on the VR list may not be accurate.

• This metagame occurred prior to the release of ORAS and its various releases/changes that impacted the metagame then, such as the ORAS RU megas in Glalie, Camerupt, and Audino, move tutors, hidden abilities for various Pokemon, and Custap Berry. In addition to several tiering policy changes that impacted RU in ORAS, such as the mega/base split policy change that included the likes of Venusaur, Aerodactyl, Diancie, and Blastoise descending to RU and the Baton Pass Caluse applied to all usage-based tiers in mid-ORAS. Pokemon whose viability was especially impacted by any of these changes will be noted in the VR list for the sake of clarity. This metagame also includes several Pokemon that were banned in ORAS, but not in XY.

XY RU:
(Pokemon that are no longer available in ORAS will be noted)​

RU:

Abomasnow (mega) (No Longer Legal)

Accelgor

Alomomola

Ambipom

Amoonguss (No Longer Legal)

Aromatisse

Banette (mega)

Braviary

Bronzong

Cinccino

Clawitzer

Claydol

Cobalion (No Longer Legal)

Cofagrigus

Cresselia (No Longer Legal)

Delphox

Doublade (No Longer Legal)

Drapion

Druddigon

Dugtrio

Durant (No Longer Legal)

Eelektross

Emboar

Escavalier

Exploud

Fletchinder

Gallade

Gastrodon

Gligar (No Longer Legal)

Golbat

Heliolisk (No Longer Legal)

Hitmonchan

Hitmonlee

Hitmontop

Jolteon

Kabutops

Magneton

Meloetta

Moltres (No Longer Legal)

Omastar

Qwilfish

Registeel

Reuniclus (No Longer Legal)

Rhyperior

Rotom-Mow

Sharpedo (No Longer Legal)

Skuntank

Slowking

Spiritomb

Tangrowth (No Longer Legal)

Tyrantrum (No Longer Legal)

Virizion

Whimsicott (No Longer Legal)

Notable XY NU/BL3 Pokemon:
(Pokemon that are no longer available in ORAS or are now different due to new tiering policies will be noted)​

Combusken (Changed By BP Complex Ban)

Dragalge (No Longer Legal)

Feraligatr (No Longer Legal)

Gorebyss (Changed By BP Complex Ban)

Pangoro (No Longer Legal)

Sigilyph

Slurpuff (No Longer Legal)

RU VR art

Art Made by Miniarchitect and updated by galbia

XY RU Viability Rankings {outdated}

S Rank:
Reserved for Pokemon who can sweep or wall significant portions of the metagame with little support, and Pokemon who can support other Pokemon with very little opportunity cost ("free turns"). Also the home of Pokemon who can easily perform multiple roles effectively, increasing their versatility and unpredictability. If the Pokemon in this rank have any flaws, those flaws are thoroughly mitigated by their substantial strengths.

Abomasnow (mega)

Moltres (Pre-Flame Body)

Meloetta

A Rank:
Reserved for Pokemon who can sweep or wall significant portions of the metagame, but require some support or have some flaws that prevents them from doing this consistently. Supporting Pokemon in this rank may give opponents free turns or cannot create free turns easily themselves, but can still do their job most of the time.

A+ Rank

Cobalion

Cresselia

Doublade

Gligar

Reuniclus

Sharpedo

Slowking

A Rank

Alomomola

Aromatisse

Drapion

Druddigon

Fletchinder

Hitmonlee

Rhyperior

Spiritomb

Virizion

A- Rank

Clawitzer

Delphox

Dugtrio

Durant

Escavalier

Exploud

Jolteon

Magneton

Registeel

Shiftry

B Rank:
Reserved for Pokemon who cannot sweep through or wall significant portions of the metagame, but can properly fulfill a given offensive/defensive niche. Support Pokemon in this category have flaws that prevent them from doing their job or are setup bait for dangerous sweepers. Pokemon who are partially outperformed by a Pokemon in A or S Rank, but are otherwise very dangerous, may also fall into this category.

B+ Rank

Accelgor

Audino

Amoonguss

Braviary

Eelektross

Gurdurr

Kabutops

Omastar

Rotom-Mow

Qwilfish

Skuntank

B Rank

Bronzong

Combusken (Pre-BP Complex Ban)

Emboar (Pre-Reckless)

Golbat

Heliolisk (Pre-Hyper Voice)

Lanturn

Mesprit

Sigilyph

Tangrowth

Weezing

Whimsicott

Togetic

B- Rank

Archeops

Banette (mega)

Cinccino

Gallade

Gastrodon

Gorebyss (Pre-BP Complex Ban)

Granbull

Hitmontop

Kricketune

Mismagius

Sawk

Seismitoad

Slurpuff (Pre-Drain Punch)

Xatu

Zangoose

C Rank:
Reserved for Pokemon who can be effective given the right support, but either have crippling flaws that prevent them from consistently executing their strategy or are completely eclipsed by a Pokemon in the above ranks.

C+ Rank

Cofagrigus

Cradily

Dragalge (Pre-Adaptability)

Gourgeist Small

Gourgeist XL

Liepard

Piloswine

Regirock

Roselia

Rotom-F

Sandslash

Sneasel

Torterra

Tyrantrum (Pre-Rock Head and Tutor Moves, Superpower etc)

Uxie

Vivillon

C Rank

Bouffalant

Chatot (Pre-Heat Wave + Boomburst)

Feraligatr (Pre-Sheer Force)

Ferroseed

Jynx

Meowstic-Male

Miltank

Pangoro (Pre-Tutor Moves, Knock Off, Gunk Shot, Superpower, Drain Punch, etc)

Pelipper

Rotom

Sceptile

Steelix

Tauros

C- Rank

Abomasnow

Arbok

Barbaracle

ROCK WITH EYES

Ditto

Lickilicky

Jellicent

Ludicolo

Pyroar

Rotom-S

Swellow

D Rank:
Reserved for Pokemon who have a small niche in the current metagame, but have very noticeable flaws that make them more trouble than they're worth the majority of the time.

Ambipom

Cacturne

Exeggutor

Hippopotas

Mr. Mime

Lilligant

Linoone

Mightyena

Pawniard

Poliwrath

Scyther

Stoutland

Stunfisk

Victreebel

Zweilous

E Rank:
bad pkmn (RU Pokemon by usage that are bad will be listed here. Everything not listed also falls in here.)

Claydol

Hitmonchan

GOD rank: Reserved for Pokemon who are so strong that they cannot be used effectively by mortals (jk, never use non shadow tag wobb)

Magnemite (the user)

Pawniard

Wobbuffet

New Pkmn Rank:

These Pokemon are new to the RU tier and need discussion to find a proper placement for them

 

[Molk]

reserved

 

[Molk]

reserved+

 

[Molk]

you may now post! If you're curious as to why some changes were made, don't be afraid to ask, we'll try to explain as best we can :)

 

[skies]

Hey Molk , not necessarily disagreeing, but could you explain the reasoning behind Delphox dropping?

 

[atomicllamas]

Hey Molk , not necessarily disagreeing, but could you explain the reasoning behind Delphox dropping?

I can answer this. While Delphox is an amazing pokemon in the tier, it does have some really unfortunate flaws. Its biggest problem imo is that it is a Fire-type that loses to Doublade (after Stealth Rock), and while it does WERK vs defensive and stall teams, it isn't all that hard for an offensive team to check. 104 Speed is good but not amazing, Slowking is also a great pokemon that has no problem dealing with Delphox, and AV Slowking has only become more common. Also Meloetta has risen to prominence in the new meta which is both competition for a team slot and the increase in usage of a pretty good counter / check depending on the sets being used.

 

[migzoo]

Note that the overall tier list is in no particular order.

questionable wording, maybe "the Pokémon in each tier are in no particular order" instead?
In other news, where did Leavanny go? I think it merits C+, because although some people argue that it is outclassed by Kricketune, I think its speed makes it quite viable as well. While Kricketune has access to Taunt to beat some common defoggers, Leavanny has the speed and power to beat some common spinners with Leaf Blade: Kabutops, Sandlash, (god forbid) Claydol, and Hitmonlee. Also, consider the situation where Kricketune is hit down to its sash. There is little to no reason for you to switch it out to save it, as when it comes back in it will likely die without doing anything. On the other hand, say Leavanny is hit down to its sash, it switches out, and its Webs are later spun/defogged. It can often be brought back in against something slower and set up Webs again.

 

[phantom]

Keeping the opponent from using Defog as you lay Sticky Web is very important and Leavanny is quite frankly outclassed, here's why:

The fact that you can't run SR + SW on the same team anymore limits your teambuilding. You need to find a Pokemon that sets up Stealth Rock, and while the list of those Pokemon are by no means scarce, the selected pool prevents you from running a Pokemon that would have otherwise been more useful in "blocking" Defog (such as Braviary) or Pokemon that can patch up various weak points in order to prevent you from being 6-0ed by Scarf Moltres for instance. Now obviously, more web teams would rather dedicate an offensive slot to Pokemon that can check Moltres and prevent it from steamrolling their whole team rather then spend the slot on a wallbreaker whose sole purpose is to discourage the use of Defog, especially when they would rather take their chance and just simply apply enough offensive pressure later on in the match to the point that it makes it very onerous for the opposing team to use the move. Between packing enough fire power to break stall and as packing a dedicated spinblocking slot, these teams become quickly limited in how they can take on the rest of the meta. You need a Sticky Web user, a SR user, and Ghost-type to spinblock. That's already three Pokemon. Between the remaining three, you need them to do all of: a dedicated stall breaker, Pokemon that can help you with the likes of Sharpedo and Moltres or fast Electric-types like Jolteon/Rotom-C while helping soften up stall themselves, and your own Rapid Spin user (Hitmonlee) so you can do better against opposing web offense and not be overwhelmed by Qwilfish/Accelgor Spikes offense. Do you really believe that webs offense should really bother with a Pokemon that can't even stop Defog from being used as it sets up Webs when taking this into account? It isn't as simple as slapping Braviary on your team and you're good to go because Braviary really only fits in one of these roles and isn't even the most effective at that. This is why having a Sticky Web setter that can stop Defog (Kricketune) as opposed to one that's pure bait for it (Leavanny) is so crucial: you're either in a huge disadvantage if your team runs into the likes of Golbat/Gligar or your team has a serious weak spot to a very potent offensive threat that can't be covered as a result of having to include Braviary on your team.

Now Defog wouldn't be a problem or that big of an issue with Leavanny should it be a bulky Pokemon that can come in at least more than once throughout the match and set up Sticky Web again, but this just isn't the case. Leavanny is frail, has a terrible defensive typing, and to make matters worse, it has no way to stop certain Pokemon from setting up alongside it. Kricketune can at least use a well-timed Endeavor/Taunt and allow a teammate to finish off/stop a boosting Cobalion/Durant/Drapion/Combusken/Togetic or what have you. What can Leavanny do to these Pokemon? Tickle them with X-Scissor? Admittedly, Kricketune doesn't have the best offensive presence either, but at least it doesn't drag its team down and force them to do more work than they shouldn't have to do in order to compensate for a subpar Pokemon. Leavanny's job is designated as support, doesn't it seem just a little off to anyone or even counterproductive that you have to take extensive lengths to support a support Pokemon against very common and dangerous threats? I don't know about the rest of you, but it seems more trouble than it's worth to me.

As for Leavanny's advantages over Kricketune, they barely mean anything, in fact, Kricketune still has more advantages over it. Every Sticky Web teams should be using a spinblocker, so it doesn't matter if Leavanny does a bit better against Spinners when all you need to do is keep them from using Rapid Spin once and apply offensive pressure to keep those Pokemon and their team's backs against the wall. Sticky Web teams need and should have this level of fire power. Second, I don't think very many Pokemon are that useful for their team when they're at 1%, unless they're a Ghost-type (or a sac) designated to block Rapid Spin, because no good offensive team will give them any sort of breathing room to do anything in such a state. At best, that argument is pretty trivial and isn't worth entertaining. As for switching out to preserve Leavanny, I really don't think that's worth it in most cases, especially against offense where the Pokemon you're switching out of (say Cobalion) can heavily damage your given switch-in. Even against defensive teams Leavanny isn't worth preserving, Leavanny also happens to less useful against such teams for one reason: no Knock Off. This segues into my next point: Leavanny is practically useless against a defensive team whereas Kricketune can remove Leftovers, thus making the defensive Pokemon easier to pressure, as well as not be forced in a 50/50 like Leavanny is with Magic Coat, and can instead go straight for the Taunt in order to stop opposing entry hazard setters. Keep Leavanny unranked. Simply put, the tremendous opportunity cost that comes with using it far outweighs the minute advantages it has over Kricketune.

Molk EDIT: Also Kricketune is cool to keep alive against defensive teams because of a last ditch one hp endeavor on a tough defensive Pokemon, it can really come in handy tbh and that's something leavanny can't do afaik.

 

[termi]

Whaddup w/ big fish dropping (afaik it used to be a+)?

 

[x MAD AXES x]

Molk do you mind posting the discussion you had to make pokemon drop or rise?

 

[Durant]

This has nothing to do with the rankings but Scyther and Tauros still have the gen 5 mini sprite while all other Pokemon have the generation 6 mini sprites. Scyther his sprite is also moving while all other ones aren't.

 

[Molk]

Molk do you mind posting the discussion you had to make pokemon drop or rise?

Late but, i'm not sure if i have all the discussion, some of the people who took part in it (Spirit, EonX) might have some of it though, i'll ask them.

As for Alomomola Robert Alfons, i know Spirit was the one who decided to drop it, so i think he'd probably explain best what his reasoning was.

Also, i've fixed up Scyther and Tauros i think

 

[x MAD AXES x]

Late but, i'm not sure if i have all the discussion, some of the people who took part in it (Spirit, EonX) might have some of it though, i'll ask them.

As for Alomomola Robert Alfons, i know Spirit was the one who decided to drop it, so i think he'd probably explain best what his reasoning was.

Also, i've fixed up Scyther and Tauros i think

Ok thanks, looking forward to hearing them all.

 

[Kawaii Kyouko]

Whaddup w/ big fish dropping (afaik it used to be a+)?

I think it's because it faces competition from Slowking as a bulky water and Aromatisse as a wishpasser/cleric and it's passive issues.

 

[New Breed]

Going to nom Exploud from B+ to A-

Since Zoroark and Yanmega left the metagame has really taken a shift in favor of Exploud, with Bulky Offense and Balance rising in usage significantly and along with Stall are really dominating the tier currently, all of which are playstyles that Choice Specs Exploud has an extremely easy time exploiting. Yanmega leaving also really helped out Exploud alot due to that naturally decreasing the usage of a Pokemon that also is a solid Exploud answer: Registeel. Just in general the rise of teams that consist of things like Gligar / Slowking / Amoonguss just have a difficult time in dealing with Exploud and even though it's Bulk and Typing don't offer it alot of room to come in I have found that once it does get on the field more often than not the opponent will lack a reliable answer to it.

I also just think that Exploud is definitely on par in terms of effectiveness with other things in A- such as Rotom-C, Jolteon and Abomasnow. If anyone disagrees feel free to post away, might as well promote a good discussion in here.

 

[Molk]

oh for the record, this pastebin has some, but not all of the logs :).

http://pastebin.com/rFbwqF4M

 

[Omfuga]

I disagree with Exploud rising to A-.

Exploud has a lot of perks going for it that allow it to flourish in the metagame, but it also has set-backs that prevent it from being viable as an A-rank pokemon. Exploud's power is nothing to scoff at, and the ability to throw off its 140 base power STAB with no immunity in the game is fantastic. With only 2 resistances to scrappy boomburst, there are very few pokemon that can wall Exploud. That being said, there are only a few checks and soft counters to exploud common in RU. Slowking is probably the main offensive check, as it takes an average of 50% from boomburst, can pivot out to gain 2/3 of that damage back in HP, and can switch to an appropriate boomburst counter (Escavalier, Registeel, Bronzong). Unfortunately, even though Slowking is a decent check, these steel-types will still be taking a good chunk from even a resisted boomburst. Exploud's power and wall-breaking capabilities are easily as threatening as top-tier pokemon such as Meloetta or Hitmonlee, however, Exploud has drawbacks that make it less efficient at dismantling teams.

The primary problem Exploud faces is its poor speed. Although base 68 speed isn't terrible, it's far from good. With base 68 speed and only decent defensive capabilities (bad defenses with nice HP) leave exploud vulnerable to many of the offensive pokemon in the tier. Meloetta, Hitmonlee, Sharpedo, Delphox, Moltres, Rotom-Mow, and Magneton are just a few of the offensive pokemon who can outspeed and do massive damage to Exploud. Although Exploud has massive power and stall-breaking prowess, it'll have trouble switching into or outspeeding most pokemon on standard offensive teams. As for stall and bulky offense, although Exploud will always be problematic, it's not impossibly hard to keep it in check, and Exploud will be worn-down risidually due to a susceptibility to every form of entry hazards.

Overall, I think Exploud is a great pokemon and that it works well in RU, however I don't think it's deserving of A rank.

 

[Leer]

I disagree with Exploud rising to A-.

Exploud has a lot of perks going for it that allow it to flourish in the metagame, but it also has set-backs that prevent it from being viable as an A-rank pokemon. Exploud's power is nothing to scoff at, and the ability to throw off its 140 base power STAB with no immunity in the game is fantastic. With only 2 resistances to scrappy boomburst, there are very few pokemon that can wall Exploud. That being said, there are only a few checks and soft counters to exploud common in RU. Slowking is probably the main offensive check, as it takes an average of 50% from boomburst, can pivot out to gain 2/3 of that damage back in HP, and can switch to an appropriate boomburst counter (Escavalier, Registeel, Bronzong). Unfortunately, even though Slowking is a decent check, these steel-types will still be taking a good chunk from even a resisted boomburst. Exploud's power and wall-breaking capabilities are easily as threatening as top-tier pokemon such as Meloetta or Hitmonlee, however, Exploud has drawbacks that make it less efficient at dismantling teams.

The primary problem Exploud faces is its poor speed. Although base 68 speed isn't terrible, it's far from good. With base 68 speed and only decent defensive capabilities (bad defenses with nice HP) leave exploud vulnerable to many of the offensive pokemon in the tier. Meloetta, Hitmonlee, Sharpedo, Delphox, Moltres, Rotom-Mow, and Magneton are just a few of the offensive pokemon who can outspeed and do massive damage to Exploud. Although Exploud has massive power and stall-breaking prowess, it'll have trouble switching into or outspeeding most pokemon on standard offensive teams. As for stall and bulky offense, although Exploud will always be problematic, it's not impossibly hard to keep it in check, and Exploud will be worn-down risidually due to a susceptibility to every form of entry hazards.

Overall, I think Exploud is a great pokemon and that it works well in RU, however I don't think it's deserving of A rank.

I don't have too much of a stance on the matter, but I would just like to point out that even though Exploud has less than optimal speed, Kricketune webs teams are on the rise. While it's no Shuckle Webs and the lack of SR hurts, it does give Exploud a good boost in Speed that can let it sweep.

I'm very very tired b/c of days of little sleep and may make some nominations tomorrow but for now that's all I'm going to say.

 

[The Quasar]

My little cent about Exploud, about his possible rising. I really appreciate what are telling about and I agree with us. But you have to think about how much Tricks Room team are used in RU, more than others tier. That's because in RU are many the strong/slow pokemon you could use, Exploud is one on them.So its poor speed could be a great advantage, increasing his usage. That seems strange but I think could be a real scenario.

 

[Afro Smash]

You thought I wouldn't see that you dropped Heliolisk huh Molk.

You better gimme the logs with an explanation.

 

[Kawaii Kyouko]

My little cent about Exploud, about his possible rising. I really appreciate what are telling about and I agree with us. But you have to think about how much Tricks Room team are used in RU, more than others tier. That's because in RU are many the strong/slow pokemon you could use, Exploud is one on them.So its poor speed could be a great advantage, increasing his usage. That seems strange but I think could be a real scenario.

Problem with trick room is that its absolute trash against stall and bulky offense, and to a degree against balance. Trick Room is good in a meta filled with offense/hyper offense, but the xurrent RU meta is simply too slow for trick room to be effective.

Exploud fits best on webs offense, semistall and balance IMO.

Nd ill agree with Omfuga, i dont think ploud is that much of an a- mon. Iunno, i just feel that while he is a great mon against balance and bulky offense (and stall to an extent), his poor effort against offensive teams really holds him back. Iunno.

 

[Pearl]

The current rankings are pretty much a perfect representation of the current RU metagame (unless you consider Hitmonchan, Claydol and Ambipom part of it), but I'm going to make an unorthodox nomination of a Pokemon I've been using a lot the past couple of days and feel that has a lot of unexplored potential:

from C- to C

I've probably hyped this one up on IRC more than once, but I'll still try to make my thought process as clear as possible, since this nomination is pretty irrelevant in a way, since if it gets rejected it won't matter that much, although I'd still like to see it moving up. So, it's a Defog user, which means it competes with the likes of Shiftry, Gligar and Golbat for a slot, usually the later two, since Shiftry is a more offensively oriented option. So, why would you use Pelipper over either Gligar or Golbat? First, there's typing, which isn't really a reason to use something, just a thing that differentiates it from the others, since Mantine and Swanna are both much weaker options. The obvious flaw of Water/Flying is that it overlaps with other Water-type Pokemon, mostly Slowking, which is the main Moltres check in RU. However, it also means that Pelipper is the only Flying-type Defog user that can go toe to toe with Omastar, which is sort of good against HO teams. Second, it's a better to soak up Knock Offs, since it isn't reliant on Eviolite for bulk (although Gligar is still decently bulky without Eviolite), and if Pelipper doesn't get Knocked Off, it has Leftovers' passive recovery. These attributes mean Pelipper is a good check to a decent amount of common offensive Pokemon, such as Hitmonlee, Durant (!), Cobalion, Escavalier and Physical Sharpedo. Finally, it's not really set up bait, which is a plus, since base 85 Special Attack and STAB on Scald mean it's risky to try and get boosts in front of Pelipper. It can also run Air Slash to check Virizion, U-turn to grab momentum or Toxic to cripple some switch ins (and win against Omastar without having to pray for a Scald burn). All in all, I think it has more perks than some of the other Pokemon currently ranked at C- (arguably) and could potentially move up.

EDIT: np: Lilly Wood & The Prick and Robin Schulz - Pelipper in C

 

[g]

Exploud
Just because slow balance and stall are so viable/common in this metagame this Pokemon has gained a lot in viability.
The fact that it 2hkos literally anything without a resistance (bar the based sdef meloetta and cress n_n) and that it can easily donk switch ins with Fire/Focus Blast and that it pairs so well with a lot of good Pokemon such as Fletchinder and Meloetta severely weakening the counters they share makes it worth of A- in my opinion.

No noms b/c lazy

 

[Pearl]

Time for another...

Hide

IRRELEVANT NOMINATION!

from Unranked to D

I know there are already two ranked Prankster users, but one of them (Whimsicott), is better off running a more offensive set, and well...

★galbiaaaaa~: meowstics ugly
★galbiaaaaa~: use volbeat

Well, aside from the fact of being way cooler than Meowstic, Volbeat has some perks over its fellow Prankster abuser, starting with its typing, which gives it better synergy with Rain (and possibly Sun) teams, allowing it to be a better Weather Support. Volbeat also has an easier time grabbing momentum, through either U-turn or a Dry Baton Pass. And speaking of Baton Pass: It can use it with Tail Glow, although it has some competition from Togetic as a dedicated Baton Pass Pokemon. All in all, I think its niche makes it worth ranking, even if it's in the lowest rank available for viable Pokemon (that is, excluding GOD RANK)

EDIT: Forgot this:

17:42 Pearl !learn meowstic, encore
17:42 TIBot Meowstic can't learn Encore.

Also forgot to mention Liepard, but CBA right now

 

[aVocado]

★galbiaaaaa~: meowstics ugly

you're fucking ugly. meowstic literally has one of the best designs ever.

as for Volbeat, I agree. I used Volbeat quite a bit, both the TailPass set (used with both yanmega before it was banned and Jolteon, with Jolteon having baton pass too for emergencies, but fucking OU and they're stupid as fuck baton pass restriction and shit brought that thing down, ugh) and a weather support set, and it's definitely a fine pokemon worthy of being ranked tbh.

also clutch prankster t-wave is good

and meowstic is superior as a dual screener :] (does volbeat even get dual screens ?_? idk tbh)