Resource SV OU Indigo Disk Viability Ranking Thread - (update on post #1002))

[malomyotismon]

Amoonguss don’t need Spore to be sussy!

Ye unlike broom it's not reliant on spore to pull it's weight on a team. More spo it's fantastic defensive typing, decent defences and the godly ability that is regenerator. However spore did help separate it from similar monster like the slowkings which is were it's biggest issue lies, competition.

 

[SpZ]

Why did Zapdos end up rising to B+? IMO i think its still a good Pokemon in the tier despite bolt existing, but i generally wonder what cause for Zapdos to rise in this vr slate. Is it due to it being an amazing check to Zama and appreciating Volc being banned, or is it much more ontop of those 2 factors?

It's primarily due to the matchup into zama and as a replacement contact punisher yeah. It's an annoying defensive pivot as always but it appreciates less competition and a big target in one of the best mons in the current meta.

Was ogerpon-teal voted on? I feel like its strength on balance could warrant a rise.

Tealpon wasn't part of the vote. I could personally see it rising a rank but that will probably be more of a discussion on the next full vote.

 

[Saadhak]

dragapult has been top of usage for almost 6 years

 

[Saadhak]

impressive

 

[AquiIo]

Opened up VR to check something and was kind of appalled to not see this guy listed at all. Guess it's nom time!

=> D/C

Zapdos-Galar @ Choice Band/Choice Scarf
Ability: Defiant
Tera Type: Fighting/Flying/Dark
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat/Thunderous Kick
- Brave Bird
- Knock Off
- U-turn

This guy is a somewhat niche, but all around excellent wallbreaker, pivot, and knocker all in one, that excels on offense and balanced builds. Its excellent typing lets it ignore spikes and be neutral to rocks, which is excellent for a pivot (see Lando-T and Gliscor), while also being really scary offensively. The only mons that see use in the tier that resist its dual stabs are (ironically) and , and Dhengo gets hammered by Knock Off. Lando isn't even a safe switch-in, as Gapdos's excellent ability in Defiant just means it gets an attack boost rather than an attack drop from Intimidate. Its excellent 125 attack and 120 base power stabs let it hit incredibly hard, and its respectable speed tier of 100 lets it outspeed key targets, such as , , and , and pivot out of potential defensive checks with U-Turn. It's surprisingly solid 90/90/90 bulk lets it live key hits as well. I think Band is the better set simply because it cranks this guy's firepower to insane levels, but Scarf is probably also usable to give your team some speed control. Close Combat is also preferable to Thunderous Kick in my experience, but the latter has more pp, no defense drops to you, and makes it harder to switch into at the cost of initial damage.

Some calcs:
Offensive:
252 Atk Choice Band Zapdos-Galar Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Great Tusk: 452-534 (104.1 - 123%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 Atk Choice Band Zapdos-Galar Close Combat vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Kyurem in Snow: 416-492 (106.3 - 125.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 Atk Choice Band Zapdos-Galar Brave Bird vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Tera Fairy Kyurem: 313-369 (80 - 94.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
252 Atk Choice Band Zapdos-Galar Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Gholdengo: 322-380 (102.2 - 120.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 Atk Choice Band Zapdos-Galar Brave Bird vs. 80 HP / 0 Def Primarina: 366-432 (114 - 134.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+1 252 Atk Choice Band Zapdos-Galar Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 220+ Def Landorus-Therian: 339-400 (88.7 - 104.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
252 Atk Choice Band Zapdos-Galar Close Combat vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Ogerpon-Wellspring: 331-390 (109.9 - 129.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 Atk Choice Band Zapdos-Galar Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 52 Def Garganacl: 438-516 (108.4 - 127.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 Atk Choice Band Zapdos-Galar Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 160+ Def Skarmory: 172-204 (51.4 - 61%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

With Tera:
252 Atk Choice Band Tera Fighting Zapdos-Galar Close Combat vs. 64 HP / 28 Def Raging Bolt: 400-472 (98.2 - 115.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
252 Atk Choice Band Tera Fighting Zapdos-Galar Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Corviknight: 266-314 (66.5 - 78.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

Defensive:
252 Atk Great Tusk Ice Spinner vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Zapdos-Galar: 192-226 (59.8 - 70.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Gholdengo Make It Rain vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Zapdos-Galar: 219-258 (68.2 - 80.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Wellspring Mask Tera Water Ogerpon-Wellspring-Tera Ivy Cudgel vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Zapdos-Galar: 270-318 (84.1 - 99%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+2 252+ Atk Black Glasses Supreme Overlord 5 allies fainted Kingambit Sucker Punch vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Zapdos-Galar: 252-297 (78.5 - 92.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

 

[Eeveeto]

Seconding the above guy. Kanto Zapdos being not an OU Mon anymore opens some space for Galarian one, even though its not a perfect Mon by any means and dies faster than you would like. It also abuses Great Tusk, Ting Lu, Lando (especially Lando) and Clodsire being the common Grounds to freely (well, careful with Tusk) switch into. Gliscor is a pain, but Gapdos can use a Substitute set to abuse it instead of the other Grounds.

Edit: Still waiting either Breloom and the ugly duck being unranked or (this is preferable) the much better Fight Mon in Slither Wing being ranked.

 

[AquiIo]

Gliscor is a pain, but Gapdos can use a Substitute set to abuse it instead of the other Grounds.

I think a set like this could also be workable for sure, if gliscor is a problem.

Zapdos-Galar @ Leftovers
Ability: Defiant
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Thunderous Kick
- Brave Bird
- Bulk Up
- Taunt/Substitute

Probably even more niche than the banded set, but a stallbreaker that easily comes in repeatedly due to its typing is neat and it also adds variation to the standard set that while strong could be somewhat predictable moveset-wise.

 

[Eeveeto]

I think a set like this could also be workable for sure, if gliscor is a problem.

Zapdos-Galar @ Leftovers
Ability: Defiant
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Thunderous Kick
- Brave Bird
- Bulk Up
- Taunt/Substitute

Probably even more niche than the banded set, but a stallbreaker that easily comes in repeatedly due to its typing is neat and it also adds variation to the standard set that while strong could be somewhat predictable moveset-wise.

I in fact used something very similar in Wcop, but can,t reveal for now the exact moves and Tera, though they are not hard to guess.

 

[BolTingBlazie]

Seconding the above guy. Kanto Zapdos being not an OU Mon anymore opens some space for Galarian one, even though its not a perfect Mon by any means and dies faster than you would like. It also abuses Great Tusk, Ting Lu, Lando (especially Lando) and Clodsire being the common Grounds to freely (well, careful with Tusk) switch into. Gliscor is a pain, but Gapdos can use a Substitute set to abuse it instead of the other Grounds.

Edit: Still waiting either Breloom and the ugly duck being unranked or (this is preferable) the much better Fight Mon in Slither Wing being ranked.

Quaq is probably not going to be unranked simply because it's an actual offensive spinner that can rarely threaten sweeps, sure it's not good really but it's definitely just good enough to be ranked somewhere on the VR as it can sometimes do something

 

[AquiIo]

Zapdos-Galar @ Choice Band/Choice Scarf
Ability: Defiant
Tera Type: Fighting/Flying/Dark
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat/Thunderous Kick
- Brave Bird
- Knock Off
- U-turn

Just wanted to elaborate on another aspect I didn’t fully cover in my original post: Tera Types.

I think Gapdos can reliably run a variety of possible Teras, and I’ll go through them all here. All of these help turn the tables on certain counterplay and/or let it break things it normally couldn't, and there are quite a few I believe to be useful, so often which one you choose will be unpredictable, adding to the difficulty of switching in or revenge killing this (extremely underrated!!) mon.


Fighting/Flying: Boosts STAB to blistering levels. Of the two, I like Fighting more because you don’t obliterate yourself with recoil but Flying works too. Calcs are listed in the original post, but tera Fighting lets you ohko with CC while losing weakness to thunderclap if rocks are up and cleanly 2hkos lefties physdef .

Dark: Gives you Stab on Knock, letting you OHKO , and OHKO and bulky after rocks. It also provides a Psychic immunity, letting you turn the tables on 's attempts to revenge you.

Electric: Immune to Para and gives you an Electric and Flying resistance, letting you CC into safely and turn the tables on , as you gain immunity to static and resist both its stabs after Tera.

Fire: Burn immunity and Fairy resist, letting you beat and , while also becoming immune to Wisp and beating hex more cleanly.

 

[Finchinator]

B- Rank

Sinistcha

Should clearly rise. While it still has some self-sabotage match-ups, Sinistcha compresses roles nicely against specific offensive combinations. Zamazenta, Ogerpon-Wellspring, Great Tusk, and others being kept in at least temporary check is huge. Strength Sap is a superb move, but it does have drawback potential later in games or against specific opponents. I’m not arguing for it to go up to A rank given inconsistency, but a bump to B+ seems appropriate.

A Rank

Alomomola

Dragonite

Garganacl

These Pokemon cannot all be the same sub-rank anymore. In fact, I’d argue Garganacl A+, Dragonite A (higher end), and Alomomola A-.

Garganacl has been peaking again lately with Covert Cloak sets around the tier being on a downward spiral and it being superb into offense with both SR Protect or Curse variants. It honestly had a field day during WCoP R1 in some games and deserves to be seen as closer to a top 10 option in the tier than most of A.

Dragonite is peaking as well out of sheer convenience. The Espeed simulator gets better as the metagame becomes more offensive and fragile. Priority in general does and Dragonite identifies with it more than anything else arguably. It saw crazy high usage in WCoP due to ESpeed and great utility compression. I’d argue low A+ if I saw a bit more, but for now A is fine so long as it’s above Alomomola.

Alomomola is not bad and it has exceeded expectations this generation, but it is still existing in a tier where Ogerpon-Wellspring, Kyurem, Raging Bolt, etc exist where it’s unable to do much into status + Hex Pult and desperately needs to cling on to Boots in order to not be vulnerable to Spikes. Basically it’s utility thrived in a more balance centric tier where it paired amazingly with hitters like Ursaluna, but it has less room right now.

 

[Finchinator]

A- Rank

Cinderace

Torkoal

Walking Wake

Cinderace should likely go back to A rank while Sun should go down a subrank to B+.

Cinderace is beginning to thrive again thanks to speed tier and Libero options, functioning as a great glue option on bulky-offense. It enables things like Specs Kyurem really well and can dictate counterplay to a degree with Wisp/Low Kick/Gunk Shot options, forcing predictable safe pivots into chippable Pokemon like LandoT, Ting Lu, Great Tusk, etc., which teammates always feast on off a U-Turn. Court Change is really peaking in particular now, too, which goes a long way.

On the flip side, Sun still has fits with Dragonite on offense or Slowking-G + Tera Water cores on balance. Obviously some cool combinations surface to make Sun a disaster for many builds, but it’s just less consistent than before and teams naturally handle it at a greater rate than a month or two back. Still very viable basically, but a step or two behind its peak.

A Rank

Iron Valiant

Ting-Lu

Weavile

Another grouping to discuss. Obviously very different Pokemon, but Weavile is by far the worst of the three. In a fragile balance centered tier where Boots reigned supreme, it’s fast Knock and Shard for offense amazed, but now its utility, while still fine, isn’t at its early 2024 peak. I think A- fits it really well actually.

On the flip side, Lu and Valiant are arguably metagame defining. Lu is a Ruination machine into offense and a role compressor in general, providing defensive bandwidth alongside damage or hazard forcing sequences. Valiant is doing exceptionally well post-Volcarona, being able to make the most of booster speed and a varied slate of offensive options while being a surprisingly rare fast Fairy type (not other is Enamorus, which isn’t the absolute best now). I’d like to see both considered for A+ and at least a sub tier above Weavile

 

[Finchinator]

C Rank

Grimmsnarl

Pecharunt

In a sub-tier filled with fringe, mostly bottom-dwelling options that are outclassed far more than not, we have two Pokemon that at least can very clearly identify their own niche and see usage at a high level.

Grimmsbarl faces competition from Veil Tales and Screens Pult I admit, but it has a typing and overall profile that distinguishes it enough to be C+ just to fit the offensive tone of the metagame. It partners well with so many offensive behemoths in the tier, giving them a new ceiling with extra turns to abuse their offensive presence thanks to screens. Maybe it stays in C and we shuffle others down to D I dunno, it is underwhelming overall…just standout in its current context, so raise a sub tier is probably fine.

Pecha is tough right because around release we had high hopes, but then it turned out to be super mid. But it still checks Zamazenta and shrugs off so many physical attacks from Ogerpon or other HO Pokemon. It just wishes it could do more than be a Parting Shot bot with cute status interactions. Being unable to hit things like Gambit without dedicating Tera (Blast) can sting, too. Overall though we have seen a handful of high ladder teams make it fit just due to ability to soft check a handful while not being passive, so I think C+ or B- fits its degree of mid rather than being a fully fledged bottom dweller in C.

 

[LOOR]

Agree with peach rise, has some very notable relevant counterplay in some high usage mons but it’s good mus it can feel almost impossible to get through if played right. There’s also the hax factor built into its kit. Obivously, not the most consistent mon as it faces some stiff competition in such a congested meta but has some qualities that I feel can be pretty strong right now and are more valuable than other current c ranks

 

[Dreadfury]

Should clearly rise. While it still has some self-sabotage match-ups, Sinistcha compresses roles nicely against specific offensive combinations. Zamazenta, Ogerpon-Wellspring, Great Tusk, and others being kept in at least temporary check is huge. Strength Sap is a superb move, but it does have drawback potential later in games or against specific opponents. I’m not arguing for it to go up to A rank given inconsistency, but a bump to B+ seems appropriate.

YES! Thank you so much for putting a spotlight on Sinistcha!

It's not perfect in the slightest, but being a good, sturdy answer to many Tusk/Zama/Oger-W variants and being infuriatingly hard to switch in against thanks to its STABs and particularly Matcha Gotcha being an incredibly overloaded move thanks to that burn chance (which makes even stuff like Gambit think twice about coming in on it) makes it one of the best anti-meta threats in the tier and I wholeheartedly agree with a rise to B+.

I also don't feel like it's that bad into many matchups. It's never gonna be insane in its worst matchups, but I feel like it's never dead weight either since it can always take a hit in a pinch and fire off an attack.

 

[AquiIo]

Absolutely support a rise to B+ for Sini. Being a rare blanket Waterpon check and the most reliable spinblocker in the tier is HUGE.

It's never gonna be insane in its worst matchups, but I feel like it's never dead weight either since it can always take a hit in a pinch and fire off an attack.

Also this!! It definitely has bulk and sustain and honestly firepower to perform even a little in poor matchups, whether it be chipping with matcha, maybe even fishing for a burn, or weakening with Strength Sap (which as Finch touched on is an absolutely incredible move).

 

[sims796]

Should clearly rise. While it still has some self-sabotage match-ups, Sinistcha compresses roles nicely against specific offensive combinations. Zamazenta, Ogerpon-Wellspring, Great Tusk, and others being kept in at least temporary check is huge. Strength Sap is a superb move, but it does have drawback potential later in games or against specific opponents. I’m not arguing for it to go up to A rank given inconsistency, but a bump to B+ seems appropriate.

These Pokemon cannot all be the same sub-rank anymore. In fact, I’d argue Garganacl A+, Dragonite A (higher end), and Alomomola A-.

Garganacl has been peaking again lately with Covert Cloak sets around the tier being on a downward spiral and it being superb into offense with both SR Protect or Curse variants. It honestly had a field day during WCoP R1 in some games and deserves to be seen as closer to a top 10 option in the tier than most of A.

Dragonite is peaking as well out of sheer convenience. The Espeed simulator gets better as the metagame becomes more offensive and fragile. Priority in general does and Dragonite identifies with it more than anything else arguably. It saw crazy high usage in WCoP due to ESpeed and great utility compression. I’d argue low A+ if I saw a bit more, but for now A is fine so long as it’s above Alomomola.

Alomomola is not bad and it has exceeded expectations this generation, but it is still existing in a tier where Ogerpon-Wellspring, Kyurem, Raging Bolt, etc exist where it’s unable to do much into status + Hex Pult and desperately needs to cling on to Boots in order to not be vulnerable to Spikes. Basically it’s utility thrived in a more balance centric tier where it paired amazingly with hitters like Ursaluna, but it has less room right now.

What do you mean by "self sabotage matchups"?

 

[Finchinator]

What do you mean by "self sabotage matchups"?

Games where you cannot reliably click Strength Sap or you are stonewalled to the point that you end up playing close to 5v6.

 

[Finchinator]

B Rank

Lilligant-Hisui

It had some good showings earlier this year on Sun teams, but I see more Sun structures without it than with it by a good margin nowadays. I actually think Venusaur is a more common Grass on Sun right now despite being ranked lower. I could see a drop to C+ being appropriate here as Lilligant-H is still strong with superb coverage options, boosting potential, etc., but it is hard to justify using at the moment.

 

[Drifting]

I want to add on to Finch's wave of posts by bringing up the list of Pokemon with (so far) more than one usage in the World Cup of Pokemon that are currently D-tier or Unranked on the VR. I'm not going to give my own opinions, just rather I want to start a discussion on these Pokemon to see if there's a consensus on if they should be added/moved up.

Milotic (D) - 2 Uses (0% Winrate)



Pincurchin (D) - 2 Uses (50% Winrate)



Ninetales (UR )- 2 Uses (100% Winrate)



Hippowdon (D) - 3 Uses (0% Winrate)



Okidogi (UR) - 3 Uses (67% Winrate)



Deoxys-Defense (UR) - 3 uses (67% Winrate)



***

Additionally, here are the Pokemon on the VR that have received 0 usage so far in WCoP. I also want to open up discussion on if any of these Pokemon may need to be dropped or delisted altogether.

Zarude (D)



Wo-Chien (D)



Thundurus-Therian (D)



Talonflame (D)



Muk (D)



Lokix (D)



Kommo-o (D)



Hydreigon (D)



Breloom (D)



Arcanine-Hisui (D)



Reuniclus (C)



Polteageist (C)



Necrozma (C)



Moltres-Galar (C)



Indeedee (C)



Grimmsnarl (C)



Comfey (C)



Azumarill (C)



Mandibuzz (C+)



Blaziken (B)

 

[Heatranator]

Firstly I will say I agree with all of Finch's proposed changes (except for Weavile, I think it is a really good mon in the meta that can potentially clean up teams really easily and is deserving of its A rank).

I'll also go over the mons Drifting mentioned.

Milotic (D) - 2 Uses (0% Winrate)

Some people have stated why this should still be ranked, but imo, its not enough of a niche. Beating primarina and having some role compression is nice, but not nearly enough to get it ranked. It's just another generic bulky water type, which while not bad, doesn't really set it apart. If manaphy picks up in viability, sure, but for now, UR.

Pincurchin (D) - 2 Uses (50% Winrate)

I mean, yeah it has something really unique, but idk man, it feels really bad. As a suicide lead for iron valiant to sweep, you kinda are being beat by every other suicide lead. I could see this being ranked, but if there was a D- tier, this would be going straight there.

Ninetales (UR )- 2 Uses (100% Winrate)

Yeah, this def should be ranked. As somebody who has used this, it has useful qualities over torkoal in encore and healing wish, along with faster speed allowing it to get the jump on stuff like kyurem, which isn't really too much but can be useful. Torkoal does have it beat due to packing rapid spin, stealth rocks and being better at countering physical mons, but this should be in C rank.

Hippowdon (D) - 3 Uses (0% Winrate)

I can see why this is ranked, but imo, it shouldn't really be. While sand is decent (this mon is not good enough standalone), ttar is SO much better, and you are actively making yourself worse by using hippowdon. Sure, having recovery is nice, but ttar's massive utility movepool and power beat it by a counter mile. The main reason it was ranked in the first place was it did well into archaludon, which is long gone. UR it should go. Also didn't help one of the replays it came out it literally died immediately lmao.

Okidogi (UR) - 3 Uses (67% Winrate)

Yeah, this should be ranked on the VR. Okidogi has risen as the single best zama counter ever conceived as unless the opposing player severly misplays, they will beat zama 100% of the time. It also is a dangerous setup mon in its own right, able to take on many common structures. C+ I think it should go, as that is a good starting point though it being higher is not something I would be oppposed to.

Deoxys-Defense (UR) - 3 uses (67% Winrate)

I geniunelly didn't know this was used, so I had to watch the WCOP replays again. And uhh, it didn't really do much in the replay I saw (I am NOT going through every single replay for pete's sake, only some of the most recent round, cause my attention span is not long enough to go through every replay). It didn't do much in that match and it felt like any other bulky mon would better fill that role. I'm not necessarily opposed to ranking it, and if somebody can show me a replay that shows otherwise, I will happily be wrong. For now though, UR.

Zarude (D)

I remember when I first nominated this for UR, a few people said how it could "beat stall teams", but not only were the teams it was on limited (spike stacking sun teams), but they also had to be against very specific stall teams. Hell, stall experts literally said that it was not good. If we rank zarude, we rank toxicroak too, cause that at least can beat a larger array on stall teams, and nobody is going to be ranking toxicroak. Slam dunking it to UR.

Wo-Chien (D)

I still think this should be ranked. Great on stall teams and can be decent on other non stall teams (though unspectacular). Is probably the best waterpon counter (besides u-turn, which is kinda unpopular? Idk on how popular u-turn is) in the tier, as it doesn't fear +2 play rough to OHKO at all and knock variants are not threatening it like sinistcha can sometimes fall prey to. It can also spread a lot of chip damage, but is quite passive and has a really bad defensive typing. Keep D rank.

Thundurus-Therian (D)

On one hand, this is a devestating mon to face and can really clean up unprepared teams (which most are). On the other hand, it kinda is outclassed by a lot of things (primarily zapdos and raging bolt as electric types) and can feel underwhelming with its speed and fraility. I think this is a D rank mon, as it can work well, but has major limiting factors.

Talonflame (D)

Talonflame is a mon that has really picked up in viability recently, as it has some really amazing traits. It's of course, a defogger that can beat ghold, which is pretty big in this meta, and a flame body user, which while it does have competition in this role in moltres, they have enough distinguishing factors in order to differeniate each other. Talonflames high speed (outspeeding darkrai and such at max speed) is really good in order to revenge kill threats with bb (an option which I think is really good on it as flame body procs are usually enough to get it by in that department) such as chipped darkrai, waterpon and serperior. Just a good mon on some teams, so I think a rise to C is fair.

Muk (D)

I'll keep this short, muk is almost exclusive to stall teams (I saw someone use it in 1600s to decent success on a Balance team) and its decent there. It acts as a knock absorber that can deal with mixed valiant, an otherwise annoying matchup for stall, while spreading its own knocks and poisons. A stall expert can explain this more, but D rank is where muk should be.

Lokix (D)

The newest addition to the VR, Lokix is a mon that I think is pretty good in D rank. It has some nice qualities, with tinted lens first impression hurting most things that don't quad resist it and every other move it uses also having this property is nice. It can revenge kill a lot of threats with dual priority (the way to go I believe) as many fast mons simply cannot take its hits. It can struggle with really bulky mons that don't care for its admittidly weak hits, but it can go ballistic against some teams. D rank is fair.

Kommo-o (D)

Kommo-o is a mon I have experimented with a bit and I can say its weird. On paper, it can deal with both ghold and gambit in one slot with id+bp and flamethrower while being a very varied mon for offensive teams. In practice, uhhhhh, it doesn't perform so well. Those stats, while good, are not really spectacular in any specific area and make it come up short in some areas. I feel with experimentation it can be good, but for now, its D rank, I'm sorry :(

Hydreigon (D)

Hydreigon is a mon that does have really good traits. That special attack stat, while not as impressive now, is still REALLY good. It also has a wide movepool and levitate, which is great for avoiding the hazard game. It does have decent 4mss, as it kinda needs np, stabs, sub, flash cannon, earth power and maybe u-turn or some other coverage to REALLY be destructive. However, its base traits are still good enough, so I think D rank is fair (I'm sorry Mimikyu Stardust)

Breloom (D)

Breloom has had a real downfall this gen after the sleep nerf, which was one of its standout tools. It's powerful, but this gen has shown that power isn't everything. So what does breloom have? Well, the main thing is mach punch and LOTS of power. However, I don't think this is enough for it to be ranked. This gen's power is so extremely high and other wallbreakers have lots of power while having better bulk, as even waterpon ivy cudgel at neutral is doing 50%. A mon with extreme power that has priority are abundant in the tier, and I don't think breloom overcomes it with its other traits. UR for sure.

Arcanine-Hisui (D)

Arcanine Hisui is a mon that does have devestating damage output. Fire+Rock is unresisted by anything in OU (in fact, not much resists that in general) and with a powerful e-speed, it can clean up games quite well. Rock head and recoiless flare blitz/head smash make it almost impossible to switch. I say almost, as defensive tusk stonewalls it quite well, and is able to fire back with a powerful e-quake. Just as difficult it is to switch into harcanine, its difficult to switch harcanine in, as fire/rock is HORRIBLE defensively, as 4x weaknesses to water and ground are not good in this meta, and while a 4x fire resistance and fairy/ice resistance is nice, they are not enough to overcome its weaknesses. However, harcanine can work well on specific teams and thus should stay D rank.

Reuniclus (C)

Funnily enough, this post coincides with the Reun Suspect Test in BW but oh how the mighty have fallen. Reun has a lot of good traits. Magic Guard or Regen for fantastic abilities to choose from while it has quite the diverse movepool with cool options and pretty great bulk. However, its a psychic type. Do I need to explain more? Yeah, psychic this gen is a typing which really hurts any mon that doesn't have extraordinary traits and reuniclus sadly doesn't have enough of that. However, magic guard is something quite unique and it can work well on some teams, so C rank is fair I think.

Polteageist (C)

Polteageist is the highest ranked shell smash user in the game (torkoal does NOT count, if you use shell smash torkoal you are a freak) and for good reason. It has a 134 base special attack and passable enough speed at base 70. Furthermore, it has weak armour to outspeed anything else that may hit it on the physical side by giving it a speed boost. It can then fire off powerful stored powers and tera blast fightings. However, its still ranked RUBL for a reason, it really needs that smash boost and tera to truly sweep and even at +2 its outsped by speed booster valiant, so most fast scarfers too will be able to revenge kill it. It's also kinda specific, as its best on psychic terrain teams which negate its priority weakness quite well. However, it can be very dangerous after a boost and sweep a team that is even slightly weakened, so C rank is fair.

Necrozma (C)

Necrozma is quite the enigma, as on first glance it looks underwhelming. It has the psychic typing, which as said on reuniclus, is a bad typing. But it has some respectable traits. Prism armour is frankly, a busted ability, reducing super effective damage to do 3/4 their normal damage, and with its great bulk, it can take many hits. Furthermore, its movepool is quite wide and with good attacking stats on either side it can be quite expressive. However, that psychic typing holds it back too much and its speed is too slow in this meta, so I think it should go to D rank (though I am rn testing it out, so maybe it will change).

Moltres-Galar (C)

From three dark weaknesses to a dark type, moltres galar is not very unique in what it does. It's another setup sweeper that aims to end a game as quickly as possible. With a dual dance set with either stabs or fiery wrath+tera blast fairy, moltres galar can be quite a threatening sweeper. It can also use two items for this, with a sitrus berry set being more reliable by trying to get multiple procs of berserk, or a faster paced but unreliable weakness policy set that tries to take advantage of goltres' great 90/90/125 bulk. So, what's the issue? Well, it is just a really standard setup sweeper that doesn't set itself too far from the crowd, and its forced into this dual dance role as any defensive role it might want is cut in the butt by it not learning roost (which is shocking really). I would say C rank is fair, as it is threatening, but not really noteworthy.

Indeedee (C)

Indeedee is of course, used to set up psychic terrain in order to let expanding force users, shell smash users and other frail but fast threats thrive. It also has quite the damage output and utility movepool with healing wish and encore. However, it oftentimes struggles against rilla replacing its terrain and the fact that it can sometimes be destroyed by common mons. It leads a legitimate playstyle and thus C rank is fair for it.

Grimmsnarl (C)

As stated above by Finchinator, grimmsnarl has quite a good defensive typing and overall profile in order to support other mons in order to really abuse the tools they have. However, it does have competition in the suicide lead role, especially from ninetales who sets up both screens at once. I agree with Finch that it should rise to C+, as it has shown itself to be quite a good lead.

Comfey (C)

Comfey caused quite the hype early on in this meta, but its died down quite a bit. It's bread and butter is being used on g-terrain teams as a sweeper with calm mind and grassy seed making it quite bulky while using draining kiss to keep itself healthy by using its triage ability to move first with draining moves. It can also use tera blast fire or ground in order to hit opposing steel types in its way to truely destroy an opposing team. However, comfey can only really fit on these teams (and a few other offensive teams) and is forced to tera in order to try to sweep, which can be stopped early on by doing enough damage with a mon that is bulky, such as gholdengo. It can be a threat, but does struggle in notabel areas, so C rank is fair.

Azumarill (C)

I was one of the ones who nominated Azumarill to C rank, and I have to say Azumarill has quite a lot of good traits. With huge power, it can hit quite hard with boosted liquidations or play rough's, while having aqua jet to pick off weakened foes. It also has some good defenses, allowing it to take hits quite well. It's coverage is also good, with ice spinner and knock off hitting targets for big damage that may wall it. However, azumarill does have its downsides. Besides from aqua jet, its quite slow, and its bulk isn't the absolute best thing in the world. It also faces stiff competition from primarina in the water/fairy role. However, both cb and AV sets (Belly drum is niche and is not too good) can put in a lot of work and I ultimately think that azumarill should rise to C+ rank.

Mandibuzz (C+)

Mandibuzz is a weird mon due to beating things it shouldn't beat and losing to things it shouldn't lose to. Mandibuzz has quite the good defensive profile, with 110/105/95 being amazing defensively. It also has a lot of utility moves, with knock, toxic, defog, id, foul play and u-turn to fill its kit. It can stonewall lots of mons pretty well and can fit nicely into stall teams. However, mandibuzz has flaws that are noticeable. Despite being a dark type, it does not beat gholdengo, which is big since it's primary niche is defogging. Knock does decent damage the first time, but ghold recovers off the damage and then precedes to set up. It also has nasty 4mss, as every utility move listed before and roost are wanted in its kit, and not having one of them is crippling in common scenarios. However, mandibuzz can do well if supported, so I think C+ is fair.

Blaziken (B)

Blaziken has had quite the fanfare this gen, with alongside serperior, it was theorised to be 'broken' with tera. And as the DLC2 dropped, Blaziken came and, let's just say it was the opposite of broken. Now, blaziken does have good traits. Fire+fighting is quite good offensively, and blaziken does have good coverage in knock off, bb, rock slide, thunder punch and poison jab to deal with resists. It's most known for speed boost shenanigans, as it can boost up its offenses and speed at the same time with sd or just by protecting for a turn to get the speed boost for free. However, blaziken has lots of shortcomings. It is extremely frail, due to its poor defenses and the recoil/dropped defenses from its stab moves meaning it can sometimes kill itself/get picked off by priority before it can truely sweep. It also typically needs two speed boosts in order to outspeed everything, aa the speed level in SV has gone up immensly. However, blaziken can work in scenarios, but it doesn't seem like a B rank mon to me, comparing it with other B rank mons. It feels more like iron boulder, in that both can be devestating sweepers if everything goes right, but oftentimes not everything does and they can be stopped before they truely get started. So B- rank alongside Iron Boulder.

So, just to recap.

-> D/UR
-> D/UR, though this is a difficult choice
-> UR/C
-> D/UR
-> UR/C+
-> Keep UR (subject to change)
-> D/UR
-> Keep D
-> Keep D
-> D/C
-> Keep D
-> Keep D
-> D/UR
-> Keep D
-> D/UR
-> Keep D
-> Keep C
-> Keep C
-> C/D
-> Keep C
-> Keep C
-> C/C+
-> Keep C
-> C/C+
-> Keep C+ tier
-> B/B-

 

[Eeveeto]

^Hippowdon and Pincurchin should definitely be ranked over Breloom and Comfey at least. Hippo is one of the best Gouging Fire checks by removing the Sun. It also removes Booster Energy and Dauntless Shield earlier than their users would like by using Whirlwind. Ting Lu does this too, but doesn't have Slack Off.

Pincurchin is trash, but does have hazards, recovery, status (Discharge + Scald) and the terrain. It offers more than Indeedee offers to Psychic Terrain teams (outside Healing Wish) and Electric Terrain abusers are better than Psychic Terrain ones. If Indeedee is still ranked, Pincurchin also should be.

 

[serperiorr]

reun deserves C+ at least, https://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/peaked-8-1991-elo-reuniclus.3743268/#post-10115396

TR is great anti offense counterplay, ignores hazards, great progress maker/breaker, also loves garg's rise in popularity. One of gambit's best partners since gambit under TR is basically unstoppable

 

[TerraShade]

^Hippowdon and Pincurchin should definitely be ranked over Breloom and Comfey at least. Hippo is one of the best Gouging Fire checks by removing the Sun. It also removes Booster Energy and Dauntless Shield earlier than their users would like by using Whirlwind. Ting Lu does this too, but doesn't have Slack Off.

Pincurchin is trash, but does have hazards, recovery, status (Discharge + Scald) and the terrain. It offers more than Indeedee offers to Psychic Terrain teams (outside Healing Wish) and Electric Terrain abusers are better than Psychic Terrain ones. If Indeedee is still ranked, Pincurchin also should be.

Definitely agree on Pincurchin- I don't think it's that hard of a choice to keep it ranked. Electric Terrain teams although comically frail and inconsistent do exist and can be legitimately dangerous to go up against if you can't work your way through the five glass cannons they're running. Terrain is just barely playable in SV and I don't think that kicking Pin off of the VR would be reflective of that.

 

[Moyashi]

Hot takes incoming (courtesy of late night musings and dealing with an annoying cold)

S- -> A+
It’s no big deal if it stays where it is but I do still want to at least pose the suggestion, since while it’s of course an incredibly important piece of the tier, it’s also undeniable that it does struggle with some modern trends. Were notably in an era of special offense which Great Tusk is generally poorer into as it gets fewer opportunities to come in and do things. It also isn’t big on the rush of HO which also limits the chances it gets to spin, and several of those structures pressure it hard. It’s still great but I think right now it’s a little less than S-. LandoT also gives it competition as a physical check since its intimidate is more proactive in slowing down certain Pokémon and it’s able to use options like taunt for Glimmora leads.

A+ -> S-
A tad hasty maybe but it’s hard to deny the enormous presence it’s had in the tier as of late with its many dangerous sets that players have continued to innovate. It’s incredibly dominant and one of the best Pokémon flat out.

A -> A+
both of these should rise as they continue to perform very well and are important defensive pieces. Garg in particular shot up in usage during WCOP and has had a great time and it’s excellent into many of the offensive teams that are around and soft checks so much.

A -> A+
All the frail offense present atm makes Dragonite a terrific way of answering them, while being strong itself of course. Not much to say other than it’s REALLY well positioned in the meta right now and is very good.

B+ -> A-
I know it just recently rose but Moltres has been performing very well as of late with how well it checks multiple high profile threats, offering an important stopgap to them and letting its teammates breathe. I’d say it’s arguably deserving of another small bump up.

B > B+
Good pick on HO that combines a rare ice and fairy resist while being strong and

A -> A-/B+
On the flipside. rilla has been fairing rather poorly as of late. Despite the ban of one of its best offensive checks, it still has been falling off compared to earlier. The resurgence of Moltres does it no favors and the slowly resulting Zapdos, but also the continued persistence of Dragonite which has been better than ever lately. Beyond this, the nerf of its Grassy Glide is really beginning to be felt as it struggles to be useful va many relevant offensive threats from Gouging Fire, Raging Bolt to Iron Moth and more. And its very limited defensive presence makes it difficult to switch into battle which is further compounded by its rather pronounced hazard vulnerability. Think a drop to A- minimum is justified but I think there’s an argument for even B+

A -> A-
Taken a bit of a hit lately as it’s not quite able to handle the breakneck pace of certain offensive teams, and is rather prone to being overwhelmed at times especially in conjunction with hazards.

A- -> B+
Difficult to use right now with the prevalence of offensive structures that just take advantage of it as it’s unable to do too much back to them.

B+ -> B
Just feels inconsistent. Scarf can kinda help in some offense match ups but its attacks lack oomph which makes it a bit difficult to revenge kill Pokémon without notable chip. While Band isn’t fast enough over its dark type competition and struggles with prediction.

B -> B-/C+
Rarely gets used anymore and even when it is used it struggles to be consistent. Questionable typing, poor speed and bad longevity just make it not a particularly good pick.