Project VGC 2016 Viability Rankings v2 - WORLDS EDITION

[13Random37]

I really like the updates the rankings have received post worlds, good job Jibaku for that!
I think at the top it looks mostly fine now.

Two pokemon I want to bring up for discussion are Arcanine and Jumpluff. While I would agree that they are not top tier (A rank) pokemon at all, I think that they'd deserve to be a little higher on the rankings.

Jumpluff's combination of Chlorophyll + Sleep Powder + Encore makes it a very disruptive tool against Xerneas / Groudon based teams. It has more support options like Rage Powder and Helping Hand too.
I know that results do not necessarily mean that something is great, but to prove the point about it being better than where it is ranked at the moment: Jumpluff won German Nationals, Japan Nationals in Seniors and 2015 World Champion Shoma used it at worlds this year (though he didn't do very well with it).

Another pokemon I think would deserve a higher ranking is Arcanine. Unlike Jumpluff which can be used in both GX and GY teams, Arcanine is only really seen on XRay. It offers support with Intimidate, Safeguard and Roar, but can also do some damage with Flare Blitz and Extremespeed. Red Card, Life Orb and Lum Berry are all fine items that help Arcanine do its job against Xerneas. While Red Card is not very reliable, Xerneas has no way of bypassing the combination of Red Card + Roar. Safeguard helps against Smeargle obviously and Flare Blitz can do some surprising damage. Close Combat and Hidden Power water are move that can be used to some success on fully offensive sets as well, but I wouldn't recommend it.

I think both could definitely move up one rank, maybe even two. What do you think?

 

[Jibaku]

@ Arcanine:
I can see this going higher, given as it appears to become more and more of a staple Pokemon on XRay for its very specific set of qualities. Probably to the bottom of B.

@ Jumpluff:
I think Jumpluff is neat, but I think it's not as disruptive to Groudon/Xern teams as it was back when Arash won Italy, in part due to Crafty Shield becoming more and more standard after that event. I think Arash himself said that Jumpluff sucks and he only ever really brought it into that matchup, and I'm generally hesitant on moving something up when its purpose is just for a single matchup. It's also quite a shaky check, being walled by Crafty Shield and relying on 75% accuracy Sleep Powder. Reliance on sun is also a bit of an issue because from italy national onwards, XRay became a thing, reducing Jumpluff's effectiveness as a general xerneas check (it really helped that Xerneas was pretty much just only used with Groudon before that point in time). Worlds meta came around and brought about more Kyogres and Safeguards, further hampering Jumpluff's effectiveness.

I'm also not putting a lot of stock on Japan nationals results. No offense to the Japanese, but their Nationals structure is pretty much a glorified premier challenge with a really shaky qualification system.

 

[megagen10]

@ Arcanine:

Ditto, Jibaku, also Arcanine has access to E-Speed,so it can pop many red cards, and finish many KOs

 

[Ansem1013]

What does Slowbro bring to the table?

I think Tornadus deserves a mention. It's more niche than its cloud peers, but I think it functions well as a partner to Kyogre. Thundurus exists, yes, but Tornadus has a few exclusive tricks that someone may find worthwhile. Tailwind is a nice move to have (arguably less disruptive than Thunder Wave, but still), and so is Icy Wind. Tornadus can also threaten grass types annoying Kyogre with accurate Hurricanes (in rain) and possibly Heat Waves (outside heavy rain).

That's all I've got.

 

[Jibaku]

Slowbro brings TR, the ability to underspeed Bronzong, and the ability to OHKO both Groudon and Salamence (the former if you can remove sun somehow. Say hi, Rayquaza), and offers additional team support through Heal Pulse. You also have the option to block Taunts with Oblivious if you wish to drop Regen. Now I mentioned those 3 specifically because they form one of the deadliest combinations in the game (Salamence/Smeargle/Bronzong/Groudon), most commonly seen on BigB. Give Slowbro a Chesto or Lum Berry and it can temporarily protect itself from Smeargle or Zong's sleep moves. The ability to give BigB's primary set up mode trouble is a powerful niche to have as BigB is one of the strongest teams in the game.

Tornadus was something that saw some use at the start of the format and disappeared entirely, so I'm very hesitant to add it onto the viability list. As a priority Tailwinder, it competes heavily with Talonflame (who has prio BB and a better defensive typing; is generally a better support), and Whimsicott (better typing in general, more encore abuse options). Tornadus does however have Role Play so it gets superior weather control over the other two (well, Whimsicott can worry seed the enemy Desolate Land away), but honestly this mon's difficult to make a meta call for.

 

[Zelda]

yveltal a-!?!?

 

[Jibaku]

could be higher if you did better than top16 smh (or if there were more yveltals)

That said there has been a rise in yveltal lately...

 

[HibikiVGC]

I can see Yveltal rising in the post-world's meta as a counter-measure for all the M-Gengar teams running around, so it'll probably rise to A by the end of the season. I wouldn't put it higher than that ever though, because it will always have the problem of being very unreliable in the Xernas MU.

 

[megagen10]

Slowbro brings TR, the ability to underspeed Bronzong, and the ability to OHKO both Groudon and Salamence (the former if you can remove sun somehow. Say hi, Rayquaza), and offers additional team support through Heal Pulse. You also have the option to block Taunts with Oblivious if you wish to drop Regen. Now I mentioned those 3 specifically because they form one of the deadliest combinations in the game (Salamence/Smeargle/Bronzong/Groudon), most commonly seen on BigB. Give Slowbro a Chesto or Lum Berry and it can temporarily protect itself from Smeargle or Zong's sleep moves. The ability to give BigB's primary set up mode trouble is a powerful niche to have as BigB is one of the strongest teams in the game.

Tornadus was something that saw some use at the start of the format and disappeared entirely, so I'm very hesitant to add it onto the viability list. As a priority Tailwinder, it competes heavily with Talonflame (who has prio BB and a better defensive typing; is generally a better support), and Whimsicott (better typing in general, more encore abuse options). Tornadus does however have Role Play so it gets superior weather control over the other two (well, Whimsicott can worry seed the enemy Desolate Land away), but honestly this mon's difficult to make a meta call for.

dont forget Slowbro on X-ray ;)