I have a lot of opinions on this list, like many others. While I feel some mons are overrated, and others are criminally underrated, I agree with a very large chunk of this list. I appreciate the effort put into this, good work AJA. Narrowing my suggestions down was hard, but here are the most notable movements I personally feel we should consider.
With all due respect, I have not seen a single player utilize MegaZam to any sort of potential. It has even worse opportunity cost than MegaPidge, who can at least burn Pokemon to support the team. MegaZam is deathly afraid of priority, and Trace does not do much to stop that. MegaZam cannot find the opportunities to set up, and struggles to outperform other Special wallbreakers like Porygon-Z and Serperior vying for its job (and not using a Mega slot in the process). Trace may be decent for a few matchups (Intimidating physical attackers, and walling 95% of Heatran sets), but they are matchups that MegaZam likely isn't wanting to be part of in the first place. Calm Mind does nothing to patch up MegaZam's ghastly defense and HP, and running a better setup move deprives him of needed coverage. Mega Alakazam is not a bad Pokemon, or even a bad Mega Pokemon, but it has awful opportunity cost, and loses to too many common Pokemon to be considered anywhere close to viable. AllJokesAside, I don't understand why you think dropping something that far means one shouldn't be taken seriously. Mega Alakazam should have never been above B, let alone A.
Regular Alakazam, however? That is a different story. It still struggles with priority, but the ability to run a Focus Sash or Life Orb in conjunction with Magic Guard gives it much more utility. Sash Heart Swap can stop almost any non-Curse setup sweeper whose name isn't Cloyster, and an LO set does damage comparable to MegaZam, with a usually-better ability. MegaZam only really outclasses it in Speed, which is somewhat irrelevant in a tier full of setup mons and priority. Regular Alakazam faces a lot of competition for its spot on a team, but it can justify this spot with Magic Guard, which can guarantee it to take a hit with Sash, or switch in and out of hazards freely.
Regular Alakazam, however? That is a different story. It still struggles with priority, but the ability to run a Focus Sash or Life Orb in conjunction with Magic Guard gives it much more utility. Sash Heart Swap can stop almost any non-Curse setup sweeper whose name isn't Cloyster, and an LO set does damage comparable to MegaZam, with a usually-better ability. MegaZam only really outclasses it in Speed, which is somewhat irrelevant in a tier full of setup mons and priority. Regular Alakazam faces a lot of competition for its spot on a team, but it can justify this spot with Magic Guard, which can guarantee it to take a hit with Sash, or switch in and out of hazards freely.
Serperior may have its checks, but that means nothing when it can 6-0 even prepared teams. You don't know what Serp will be using to set up until its staring you in the face, with multiple boosted stats. V-Create, Overheat, even Psycho Boost have their niches, and Serp can break all of them. Outside of Unaware mons, pink blobs, and specially-defensive Heatran, almost nothing can switch into a Leaf Storm/Overheat, then take an appropriate +2 hit to the face. Mega Pinsir being banned was the best thing possible for Serp's useage as well. Thundurus has risen to the top of Sketchmons, and Serp utilizes its secondary role as a Spore-absorbing pivot even better now. Between its ability to sweep many teams, as well as spreading paralysis to ground-types, and absorbing Spores, Serperior is a premier mon in Sketchmons, and its rank should reflect that.
I initially wanted to place Cloyster much lower (like C+ lol), but testing it out, I've found that this oyster can actually pull its weight. Sash Shell Smash is something that not many teams can stop without sacking off multiple priority users, or using multi-hit moves of their own. A +2 Water Shuriken hits surprisingly hard, and all of its commonly-used Skill Link moves avoid contact, making Ferrothorn a check rather than a counter. With correct prediction, you can OHKO most Ferrothorns with ~10% prior damage, something not many physical sweepers can claim. It doesn't fear priority, due to having strong priority of its own, but it has trouble getting in. You either have to sack off a mon, which is almost always suboptimal, or pair Cloyster with a slow U-Turn/Volt Switch/Parting Shot. Cloyster also does NOT appreciate bulky Water or Steel types, and will need them removed or heavily weakened before attempting to clean. It requires a good bit of support to be utilized to its full potential, which is why I feel the rankings overrate it, but that potential is very high.
EDIT: Cloyster's natural bulk allows it to always take a Fake Out and an Espeed from a Jolly Mega-Lopunny, even when -1 from Shell Smash.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/sketchmons-269387023
EDIT: Cloyster's natural bulk allows it to always take a Fake Out and an Espeed from a Jolly Mega-Lopunny, even when -1 from Shell Smash.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/sketchmons-269387023
Porygon-Z is a fearsome mon, and needs to be remembered when teambuilding any serious team. However, it relies on its item to be useful, and does not appreciate Knock Off. When it runs Scarf, Adapt-Boomburst misses out on some important kills, even when Modest. When Specs or LO, it gets outsped by much of the tier, and many popular Choice Scarf users. Any boosting set faces the same problem, and Tail Glow/Quiver Dance/Shell Smash sets all lose their nuking option, which is the main reason to even use PZ in the first place. All this is not a death wish for P-Z, however. It may have a single role, but it does that role admirably. Not much wants to switch in on a Adapt-boosted Boomburst, and strategic use of Trick can utterly cripple annoying mons like Thundurus, Clefable, and Chansey. It severely dents many mons, and can cripple one mon that it cannot. I wouldn't drop him below A, but PZ is a step behind the other deserving A+ mons imo.
The issue with running MegaPidge isn't even a MegaPidge problem. Getting a 100% burn or paralysis move that can also dent checks is a godsend, and Hurricane's 30% confusion rate is a bigger deal than some would expect. It sits at a good speed tier, outpacing most of the unboosted metagame. It can live surprisingly long with Defog and Roost, and STAB moves from it, even when Timid, will hurt. The only real problem with MegaPidge is the opportunity cost. If it were its own mon, it'd be A+, no question, but using it takes up a coveted Mega slot. Altaria, Metagross, and both Zards, among others, can fill more niches and make better use of that slot, and that opportunity cost is enough to keep it out of A, for now. But even considering that, what MegaPidge does cannot be underestimated, and getting a quick burn on multiple opponent mons is worthy of B+ in itself. Hurricane is just gravy.
One of the best tanks in the entire meta. Spiky Shield, Spore, and recovery move sets all have their own unique niches, adding on to its old one of spreading entry hazards and Leech Seeds. Rocky Helmet sets mean that anything has to think twice about throwing out non-Fire contact moves, lest they lose ~30% off a single attack. If you're using multi-hit moves, you're likely going to lose the mon. It can utilize a surprisingly large number of possible sets, for such a defensive pokemon, making accounting for all of it's possibilities a hassle during teambuilding. Gyro Balls can hit a lot of Pokemon harder than you would think, since almost every offensive mon will be running 252 Speed, and likely +Speed as well. It can heal, stall, phaze, and set up hazards better than many other Pokemon in the tier who can only accomplish one of these roles. Fire coverage on many Pokemon, as well as Magnezone becoming more and more popular, may keep it out of A+, but Ferrothorn is a top-3 Grass-type in the tier, and does not lose many 1v1 matchups.
My thoughts on Megachomp are summed up (if you can call it that) already in this post.
Short version is basically "Megachomp requires a team built with it in mind to succeed, but in these sorts of teams, it can 6-0 a majority of teams." It was already B-, but Mega Pinsir being banned made it even better. A great sweeper under sand, whose surprise factor and nuke of an Earthquake can tear holes in an opposing squad. B at the lowest, has potential to rise even farther.
Short version is basically "Megachomp requires a team built with it in mind to succeed, but in these sorts of teams, it can 6-0 a majority of teams." It was already B-, but Mega Pinsir being banned made it even better. A great sweeper under sand, whose surprise factor and nuke of an Earthquake can tear holes in an opposing squad. B at the lowest, has potential to rise even farther.
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