-
Welcome to Smogon! Take a moment to read the Introduction to Smogon for a run-down on everything Smogon, and make sure you take some time to read the global rules.
OU RBY OU Viability Rankings
- Thread starter emma
- Start date
Wanted to post mine for fun. Cut-off is between B and C
I only ranked pokemon I would bring into a tournament game. Some thoughts
I just can't see this being lower than 3rd. Yes eggy is stupid good but nothing blocks special attackers and spreads para as well as chansey. Passivity isn't that much of an issue once you've parad opposing lax and you can then beat it with your own/special attackers.
weird spot for alakazam rn. Most of the time when I'm using it I'd rather have it be a starmie instead. But even then it's speed tier and the amount of favorable 1v1s are too good to just ignore it's viability.
Hot take? But I'm not too fond of rhydon lately. It feels like you have to use it sometimes just so your opps hesistate of spamming zapdos too much, but it's inability to punish tauros with para or significant damage (1 rhydon eq doesn't even put bull into bull hyper beam range lol) alongside its slow speed is kinda bleh to me. Zapdos is faster and actually forces tauros out with the threat of paralysis, so I rank it significantly higher.
I started using it as a meme and got fond of it. Underrated late game threat.
I started using it as a meme and got fond of it and then realized it's actually pretty horrible. Still usable vs not-too-good people with para spam support but it's much harder to get an actual chance to SD without getting significantly crippled.
Last edited:
Just want to preface this by saying my rankings will probably reflect two things:
1 – I’m a firm believer in Chanseyless (I know I’ve spent way too much time with Kaz). They’re a great way to create unbalanced matchups and help avoid rock-paper-scissors teamloading and mirror matches
2 – I’m not sold yet on the Laxless teams swarm we’ve seen in RBY WC, because they’re slow. Your mons are constantly resting, and while they’re great at punishing the overreliance on Reflect Lax, they just don’t have enough instant violence buttons for my liking.
I’m not a fan of overly detailed subranks (A+ A- B+ B- bruh we're ranking 15 Pokémon not listing blood types just stick to the format of the actual VR) so I’ll keep it simple :
S -
There’s a parallel universe where this Pokemon is banned, because nothing that happens before Tauros hits the field really matters. Do some of you really think this thing actually isn’t busted lol? I think everyone’s just used to it and too lazy to change the tier. That's fine, but know that I'd vote ban if I had the chance. Just imagine a world where you don’t have to wait for the Tauros ditto to unfold to figure out who’s gonna come out on top, what a concept.
The early and midgame basically revolve around him and are shaped by its sets. Even with the rising popularity of Laxless teams, I don’t think you can realistically rank Snorlax below #2. There’s simply no Pokémon in RBY that’s intrinsically better than a 4 Attack Lax.
A -
Literally does everything you could want and is the perfect tool to unlock early-game Reflect Snorlax mirrors. When I drop Chansey, I’m thinking about all the opportunities it opens up, but when I drop Exeggutor, I’m just dreading all the compromises I’ll need to make. Going Eggless feels like a toll because you’re basically forced to play dumbass Sing Chansey. Plus, it is an absolute must in chanseyless. I'm never leaving home without it.
Can check half the tier, acts as a defensive plan B against Normals, speed checks key threats with Thunder Wave, and can casually take down Tauros 1v1 in the endgame like it’s just another day at the office… Starmie just feels like it does so much more for you in a game than Chansey, which is why I rank it higher. Also are we ever going to talk about how, despite having to drop two of its four attacking moves, it never really feels like it suffers from 4MSS? What an incredible Pokémon.
Everyone knows how to exploit this thing. It’s passive and slow as balls. Its main strengths are being Starmie’s premium check (that’s no small thing for sure) and being a solid early-game status-spreader, but that’s about it, and it’s one of the big reasons people are sleepsacking it over their lead these days IMO. You can’t make comebacks with it, and it’s often a massive tempo killer when everyone’s just double-switching around it like it’s a traffic cone. And let’s be honest, desperately trying to land Sing through paralysis just feels downright pathetic.
All things considered, I think these three are all around the same power level, so any ranking for them is fine.
B1 -
Best lead in chanseyless. Anyone ranking this at like #8 or #10 is probably just a new school zoomer trying to be edgy. You’ve all gotten way too comfy with your gentleman’s agreements where you politely let your Chanseys sing your Starmie leads to sleep. Don’t worry though, the Zam lead fanatics are still out here, ready to remind you what true violence feels like: getting hit with a hard T-Wave on turn 1, then trembling as you eat Psychics and Body Slams. Real man don’t need any other status. Alakazam is also an amazing glue in the back. Great Pokémon in such an offensive metagame.
Zapdos has that Tauros vibe of "nothing that happened before I hit the field even matters." It’s insanely dangerous and it keeps you sweating bullets even when you’ve managed to set up a good position. Zapdos dittos can be just as game-breaking as Tauros dittos, especially with Agility shenanigans. It’d probably be way higher on the list if Rhydon didn’t exist. Also an amazing lead in Chanseyless and I think it has fully joined the lead game now.
Please stop having a 0% Rock Slide usage. The offensive powerhouse this can become once key targets are crippled plus the impact it has on teambuilding easily lands it in my top 8 despite how few teams it fits in. Unfortunately, it’s forever stuck under the I lose to Tauros glass ceiling, and you're gonna face that ceiling every game.
B2 -
Can actually answer Snorlax. A fantastic Pokemon with versatile tools both for offensive and defensive purposes, and you’ve gotta love having another fast Thunderbolt user to keep its grace Starmie on its toes.
Your go-to if you don’t feel like dealing with Starmie lead drama. A solid pick in a meta full of Sing Chansey (oh no I can’t Twave it, oh no I'm mono Ice Beam, oh no I’m missing every Sing attempt). The matchup vs. Egg teams is always funny: either Egg doesn’t have a Normal move and Jynx becomes a pain to take down, or it does and you’re in for a rough time. Back Jynx is still quite underexplored IMO.
It’s hard to hate on Cloyster in a tier where you’re constantly looking for ways to handle Snorlax. I like to think of it as either a late-game sweeper or a ticking time bomb that can switch into Lax when needed (not just some rest-looping passive piece of garb). The main reason I rank it here is that it doesn’t mesh well with Egg and I generally think Egg builds are quite stronger than Cloy builds. That said, you can't afford to be weak to it.
C1 -
A pretty sweet, aggressive lead in Chanseyless teams that has more tools to pressure early-game targets than other leads. The issue is that it’s hard to get value out of it once it’s paralysed. It’s quite underwhelming in the back because the truth is that it’s not as good as a Zapdos check as people sometimes think it is (because it doesn’t rest well and is frail as fuck). I’d only use it in the back if I’m already running Zapdos, and if I do, Agility is definitely my go-to 4th move.
I’m high on Articuno, and I honestly think it’s underrated. Mie Egg Don is super popular right now, and let me just say this: Articuno is your best 6th slot if you're expecting that team. Why? 1) It’s harder to get it completely trolled by Tauros like Starmie does, 2) If your opponent loads Zapdos, it handles it better than your average Water-type thanks to Agility, and 3) It’s more deadly than Cloyster (damage to Snorlax, Tauros, and Rhydon—and let’s not forget Ice Beam’s accuracy). Its two biggest problems are Starmie and Chansey. One of them is usually getting put to sleep anyway, and as for the other, you can muscle through it with aggressive play from Exeggutor, Snorlax, or even Tauros. So, setting up a favorable position isn’t as tricky as it seems. The real obstacle is Cloyster, and if your opponent’s a fan, you just don’t bring Articuno. Love this thing.
On paper, Victreebel should be rampant in a meta dominated by MieEggDon and JynxMieDon. In reality? You want it to have six moves, and all of them are inaccurate. It’s not ranked higher because it’s unreliable and Gengar/Zapdos are everywhere, but it’s not ranked lower because, in the right situation, Victreebel can be an absolute nightmare to deal with. Just hope it’s not one of those "miss all your Sleep Powders" kind of days.
You can theorize all day about Dragonite’s potential (stats, movepool, yada yada), but in practice, it really boils down to one of things: either sacrificing itself to land a clutch Thunder Wave on Starmie or Tauros, or going full retard on the AgiWrap chipping down your opponent’s team to set up your real hitters. Those two roles? Solid. But I’m not sold on Dragonite as a SurfMie check or an endgame sweeper.
I wrote a whole post about Persian last year, so I’m not about to rewrite a novel here. But in short, anything that can force out a resting Snorlax is a win in my book, and Persian’s probably the best at it. Slash is just too good, and switching into it is a nightmare compared to special moves. Plus, the Growl tech makes Tauros second-guess its life choices. You don’t even have to run it every time, just the threat is enough. That said, Persian’s got some serious flaws (Gengar, 4MSS, and it literally can’t switch into anything), so it’ll never break higher IMO.
C2 -
Slowbro used to give you some free wins, but these days, the metagame is just too hostile for it. With Exeggutor, Zapdos, and Starmie everywhere, it can’t find the tempo it needs to set up. You’re left resorting to gimmicky moves like Blizzard or Substitute, and at that point, it’s just not worth the effort. The recent Laxless (or even Taurosless) teams we've recently seen have yet to convince me otherwise.
Me and the boys loaded this in RBY WC, so we’ve earned the right to rank it. It works in funky builds where you need to boom on specific targets. There’s no point in comparing it to Rhydon anymore, they fill entirely different roles at this point. I mean, this thing actually pairs well with Jolteon, lol.
Not interested. People who rank it higher than this are seriously overhyping it. Its one real advantage over Cloyster is Agility and some damage (otherwise it has the partial trapping move and the good normal match-up), but that comes at the cost of accuracy, Rhydon pain, and Explosion, which is a massive downside. There's nothing more tragic than setting up a winning position only to lose because you missed two moves in a row. Also, comparing birds, Moltres doesn’t hold a candle to Articuno: it’s worse against Zapdos, worse against Rhydon, and only better against Cloyster and Jynx. And let's not even get started on burning instead of freezing. Overall, a pretty bad Pokemon that you can't justify loading because, honestly, who’s weak to it?
My boy, how low you have fallen. Lapras is just too much of a jack-of-all-trades in an era where we’re looking for violence and not versatility. If you're not up against someone trading Thunder Waves on Turn 1, Lapras just doesn’t cut it, and the teams that are still doing that all have a Zapdos anyway.
Porygon can actually get under your skin in the wrong circumstances. And when it does catch you off guard, you just end up feeling like an idiot. Also I somehow manage to get swept by that Sharpen Agility degenerate set every time I comeback from a break because I forget it exists, so there it is.
Anything below this is pretty much unviable. Stuff like Hypno, Sandslash, Poliwrath, or Venusaur are nonexistent (unless you’re Kaz on your third straight night of two-hour sleep) even though they technically have niches .
Also: if you don’t actually load something below this point, you don’t get to rank it. Please stop claiming that that shitmons like Raichu, Dodrio, or Golduck have a niche when we all know you’re never gonna use them. Only Eeveeto and Ortheore have that right because they actually went through the tunnel of garbage.
1 – I’m a firm believer in Chanseyless (I know I’ve spent way too much time with Kaz). They’re a great way to create unbalanced matchups and help avoid rock-paper-scissors teamloading and mirror matches
2 – I’m not sold yet on the Laxless teams swarm we’ve seen in RBY WC, because they’re slow. Your mons are constantly resting, and while they’re great at punishing the overreliance on Reflect Lax, they just don’t have enough instant violence buttons for my liking.
I’m not a fan of overly detailed subranks (A+ A- B+ B- bruh we're ranking 15 Pokémon not listing blood types just stick to the format of the actual VR) so I’ll keep it simple :
S -
A -
B1 -
B2 -
C1 -
C2 -
Slowbro used to give you some free wins, but these days, the metagame is just too hostile for it. With Exeggutor, Zapdos, and Starmie everywhere, it can’t find the tempo it needs to set up. You’re left resorting to gimmicky moves like Blizzard or Substitute, and at that point, it’s just not worth the effort. The recent Laxless (or even Taurosless) teams we've recently seen have yet to convince me otherwise. Me and the boys loaded this in RBY WC, so we’ve earned the right to rank it. It works in funky builds where you need to boom on specific targets. There’s no point in comparing it to Rhydon anymore, they fill entirely different roles at this point. I mean, this thing actually pairs well with Jolteon, lol. Not interested. People who rank it higher than this are seriously overhyping it. Its one real advantage over Cloyster is Agility and some damage (otherwise it has the partial trapping move and the good normal match-up), but that comes at the cost of accuracy, Rhydon pain, and Explosion, which is a massive downside. There's nothing more tragic than setting up a winning position only to lose because you missed two moves in a row. Also, comparing birds, Moltres doesn’t hold a candle to Articuno: it’s worse against Zapdos, worse against Rhydon, and only better against Cloyster and Jynx. And let's not even get started on burning instead of freezing. Overall, a pretty bad Pokemon that you can't justify loading because, honestly, who’s weak to it? My boy, how low you have fallen. Lapras is just too much of a jack-of-all-trades in an era where we’re looking for violence and not versatility. If you're not up against someone trading Thunder Waves on Turn 1, Lapras just doesn’t cut it, and the teams that are still doing that all have a Zapdos anyway. Porygon can actually get under your skin in the wrong circumstances. And when it does catch you off guard, you just end up feeling like an idiot. Also I somehow manage to get swept by that Sharpen Agility degenerate set every time I comeback from a break because I forget it exists, so there it is.Anything below this is pretty much unviable. Stuff like Hypno, Sandslash, Poliwrath, or Venusaur are nonexistent (unless you’re Kaz on your third straight night of two-hour sleep) even though they technically have niches .
Also: if you don’t actually load something below this point, you don’t get to rank it. Please stop claiming that that shitmons like Raichu, Dodrio, or Golduck have a niche when we all know you’re never gonna use them. Only Eeveeto and Ortheore have that right because they actually went through the tunnel of garbage.
my vr remains basically identical to the one i posted after rby cup
i dont want to bother with a full post but peasounay told me he wanted to see my list
1 tauros
2 snorlax
3 chansey
4 exeggutor
5 starmie
6 alakazam
7 zapdos
8 cloyster
9 rhydon
10 jynx
11 gengar
12 jolteon
13 slowbro
14 lapras
15 victreebel
16 articuno
17 dragonite
18 golem
19 moltres
20 persian
21 hypno
22 porygon
23 weepinbell
24 dragonair
25 sandslash
26 kingler
27 venusaur
28 poliwrath
29 raichu
30 aerodactyl
2 snorlax
3 chansey
4 exeggutor
5 starmie
6 alakazam
7 zapdos
8 cloyster
9 rhydon
10 jynx
11 gengar
12 jolteon
13 slowbro
14 lapras
15 victreebel
16 articuno
17 dragonite
18 golem
19 moltres
20 persian
21 hypno
22 porygon
23 weepinbell
24 dragonair
25 sandslash
26 kingler
27 venusaur
28 poliwrath
29 raichu
30 aerodactyl
Already did this in September (see last page), but gonna do again.
S
1. Tauros: 99% mandatory. Good lead if you like to gamble but know what you are doing.
2. Chansey: 85-90% mandatory.
A
3. Snorlax. Close to 4, but still probably should be 3.
4. Exeggutor. Better than Star.
5. Starmie. Only reason to not lead Jynx every game.
6. Zam. My opinion improved a lot since September, but it doesn,t change ranking.
7. Rhydon. Yeah, reason why Zapdos is mediocre, but good even when the bird is not present.
B
8. Jynx. Best lead.
9. Cloyster. Grew higher on this one since September.
10. Gengar. Still the unviable Mons punisher. Way more dangerous in the back than in the lead slot.
11. Jolteon. The good electric. Worse than before, cause Cloyster climbed higher.
12. Zapdos. Ok, I have more respect for it now than before, but its still the worst OU Mon.
C
13. Victreebel. Best wrapper.
14. Persian. Good as long as there is not Gengar.
15. Slowbro. Had some games this year in which it actually swept instead of getting crit, so its not only a para spreader and boom baiter.
16. Lapras. Confuse Ray, if I used Sing with this, it would be like 45 or something.
17. Articuno. Birb.
18. Dragonite. TW>Agility.
D
19. Golem. Boom.
20. Venusaur. Wrapless Vic.
21. Sandslash. Takes skill to use, but decent. Used to have it lower.
22. Dodrio. Worse Zapdos, but at least can damage incoming Zapdos and Jolt a lot. Up from E.
23. Kangaskhan. That Special sucks.
24. Hypno. Sleep spreader and absorber.
25. Poliwrath. Jack of all trades, master of none.
26. Lickitung. Yes, D. I am serious. Up from E.
27. Arbok. Same here, experience have been overall positive with these 2 Mons. Up from E.
28. Porygon. Negative with this one, however. Snorlax is not mandatory, but its still very recomendable, therefore this is still D.
E (Unordered)
Gyarados. Surprisingly good if you use Blizzard instead of Tbolt. Paralyzed Starmie is easier to get by than unparalyzed Egg.
Flareon. Best Fire.
Electrode. Best Electric outside the 2 OU ones.
Pinsir. Decent SD sweeper walled by Gengar.
Kingler. Decent SD sweeper that can hit Gengar but has it harder to actually set-up.
Machamp. Its currently on the rank and I respect it.
Hitmonlee. Faster Machamp with a better Fight move... but can,t hit Gengar.
Dugtrio. Fast Ground. Egg being so good makes it way worse than it could have been.
Omastar. Needs to have Starmie removed to be good. Is actually good after that happens.
Nidoking. Decent Ground.
Nidoqueen. Decent Ground too. I don,t know which is better, in other Gens I usually favour Queen.
Golduck. Amnesia
Moltres. Worse Fire than Flareon, but has some nice tools over it... as long as it doesn,t miss. Note: it will miss.
Raichu. The other somewhat viable Electric. Like Dugtrio, dislikes Egg a lot.
Aerodactyl. Goated Lax switch-in. Struggles with Rhydon, but can burn.
Kabutops. The other fossil.
Tentacruel. The final viable wrapper.
Parasect. Final E Mon due to being a non terrible lead that can also switch into Rest (and therefore non-Rock Slide) Rhydon.
S
1. Tauros: 99% mandatory. Good lead if you like to gamble but know what you are doing.
2. Chansey: 85-90% mandatory.
A
3. Snorlax. Close to 4, but still probably should be 3.
4. Exeggutor. Better than Star.
5. Starmie. Only reason to not lead Jynx every game.
6. Zam. My opinion improved a lot since September, but it doesn,t change ranking.
7. Rhydon. Yeah, reason why Zapdos is mediocre, but good even when the bird is not present.
B
8. Jynx. Best lead.
9. Cloyster. Grew higher on this one since September.
10. Gengar. Still the unviable Mons punisher. Way more dangerous in the back than in the lead slot.
11. Jolteon. The good electric. Worse than before, cause Cloyster climbed higher.
12. Zapdos. Ok, I have more respect for it now than before, but its still the worst OU Mon.
C
13. Victreebel. Best wrapper.
14. Persian. Good as long as there is not Gengar.
15. Slowbro. Had some games this year in which it actually swept instead of getting crit, so its not only a para spreader and boom baiter.
16. Lapras. Confuse Ray, if I used Sing with this, it would be like 45 or something.
17. Articuno. Birb.
18. Dragonite. TW>Agility.
D
19. Golem. Boom.
20. Venusaur. Wrapless Vic.
21. Sandslash. Takes skill to use, but decent. Used to have it lower.
22. Dodrio. Worse Zapdos, but at least can damage incoming Zapdos and Jolt a lot. Up from E.
23. Kangaskhan. That Special sucks.
24. Hypno. Sleep spreader and absorber.
25. Poliwrath. Jack of all trades, master of none.
26. Lickitung. Yes, D. I am serious. Up from E.
27. Arbok. Same here, experience have been overall positive with these 2 Mons. Up from E.
28. Porygon. Negative with this one, however. Snorlax is not mandatory, but its still very recomendable, therefore this is still D.
E (Unordered)
Gyarados. Surprisingly good if you use Blizzard instead of Tbolt. Paralyzed Starmie is easier to get by than unparalyzed Egg.
Flareon. Best Fire.
Electrode. Best Electric outside the 2 OU ones.
Pinsir. Decent SD sweeper walled by Gengar.
Kingler. Decent SD sweeper that can hit Gengar but has it harder to actually set-up.
Machamp. Its currently on the rank and I respect it.
Hitmonlee. Faster Machamp with a better Fight move... but can,t hit Gengar.
Dugtrio. Fast Ground. Egg being so good makes it way worse than it could have been.
Omastar. Needs to have Starmie removed to be good. Is actually good after that happens.
Nidoking. Decent Ground.
Nidoqueen. Decent Ground too. I don,t know which is better, in other Gens I usually favour Queen.
Golduck. Amnesia
Moltres. Worse Fire than Flareon, but has some nice tools over it... as long as it doesn,t miss. Note: it will miss.
Raichu. The other somewhat viable Electric. Like Dugtrio, dislikes Egg a lot.
Aerodactyl. Goated Lax switch-in. Struggles with Rhydon, but can burn.
Kabutops. The other fossil.
Tentacruel. The final viable wrapper.
Parasect. Final E Mon due to being a non terrible lead that can also switch into Rest (and therefore non-Rock Slide) Rhydon.
I love that Jolteon is finally getting the flowers it deserves by some of you. But man... I can't believe some of the Golem placements :'( . I've won many games with Golem where if I would have had Rhydon in his place instead, I would have lost. Too many to agree putting him below pokemon like sandslash.
EDIT: p.s. I understand Peasounay's opinion on banning Tauros, but Tauros fills a very interesting and important role in gen 1 that I think is necessary that many miss: he is the master of undoing bullshit bad luck. Bs happens a little too often in this tier, and without Tauros, the hope of coming back from bad luck greatly diminishes. You may say, "Well Tauros is the reason for some of these bs situations in the first place." To an extent. But in the final analysis, I think he undoes more unfair situations than he creates.
EDIT: p.s. I understand Peasounay's opinion on banning Tauros, but Tauros fills a very interesting and important role in gen 1 that I think is necessary that many miss: he is the master of undoing bullshit bad luck. Bs happens a little too often in this tier, and without Tauros, the hope of coming back from bad luck greatly diminishes. You may say, "Well Tauros is the reason for some of these bs situations in the first place." To an extent. But in the final analysis, I think he undoes more unfair situations than he creates.
Last edited:
S: Not much explanation needed, I mostly ranked these three in order of how droppable they are. The rise of hyper offense and momentum offense this year has made Chansey more expendable as it is a bit of a momentum sink. Monoice Chansey has also become borderline unviable. Snorlax is as versatile as ever.
A+: Eggy is still the best psychic for me, its movepool is just unquestionably useful and players have been exploring new sets that are adding a surprise factor to this mon which had never been present before. It has undeniably gotten better since the last ranking cycle. The resurgence of Rhydon has made it more integral defensively in this metagame as well.
Starmie has not gotten worse, and is still often tough to drop, but it was so splashable recently that the meta has begun to focus on exploiting it.
A: Alakazam is a tangible step below Starmie for me. I think it is a better lead than Starmie still, but can only really be argued to be a better backmon on certain structures and against certain players (often with a lead Starmie to go with it).
A-: Rhydon is a very exploitable Pokemon if overused and is the first mon on this list that can definitely end up doing nothing in a game. I think the Rest fad has been interesting, but ultimately will not stick. This is a mon that I think will drop in viability by next year, but at the moment keeps Zapdos at bay. It is not difficult to build a Zapdos team that can lure Rhydon without sacrificing defensive cohesiveness.
Gengar remains a good anti-lead, but can also punish Monolax users hard. Icelax is becoming extinct but boomlax has certainly replaced it. Even a sleep sacked Gengar can still pressure Monolax heavily. You even see games where Gengar can trick a quakelax or Tauros into letting it wake for free or get pivots on weak Earthquakes. The ghost typing is underrated in RBY.
Zapdos is such a good Pokemon and I think everyone knows this, but it restricts your early game quite heavily. I am still not sold on the viability of lead Zapdos, but its creation within the past year has created some unique new interactions with this mon that show how threatening it can be.
B+: Jynx is a bad Pokemon with a couple really broken moves. It will always have viability as a lead but the shifts in this metagame towards Gengar have not been kind. Any attempt at making this a backmon is either admitting early defeat or paying homage to GGyarados.
Cloyster is a good Pokemon but unreliable and very weak. It gets a lot of potshots off but it can play games where it exhausts all Blizzards and half its clamps and only land a net 20% HP against a team. Players who use it aggressively early and never Rest only boom are playing this Poke correctly. Of course it can totally shut down passive Restdon Reflectlax builds so it has grown in antimeta viability, but always has its merits regardless.
B: Jolteon is so defensively weak and its typing is not the best, but it is the fastest relevant Pokemon, and has lead viability and late game viability as well. Is much more inconsistent than anything else on this list, save for maybe Jynx, but its stats and ability to check Zapdos while not being a ground make it eternally more viable than anything below it could wish to be.
B-: Persian is underrated, this Pokemon just needs to be played aggressively and it can completely overwhelm unprepared players. Its movepool is also almost perfect, being a sitting duck against Gengar when at least two of your other members are at least a little annoyed by it, along with speed tying with Starmie prevent this from ever being a top tier threat. But it has looped back to its form circa 2016-2018 as a rarely prepped for Pokemon who does not rely on much fortune to do its job. If an opponent plays passively and is too sucked into not getting slept to realize they have had paralysis spread, Persian can become an MVP.
Slowbro is always going to be a terrific antimeta pick vs. certain players, but meta shifts have just not been kind to it. Resting Eggs and the rise of Mega Drain, the rise of Tboltmie, Boomlax, Zapdos, Jolteon, Boltbeamchans. It is tough to get this thing set up, and it is so haxable. It can win games out of nowhere sometimes though.
I am Lapras' biggest fan, but realistically Zapdos and 4-attack Laxes are too prevalent right now to making this super viable. Still a good antimeta pick against certain players.
C+: Victreebel can make quick work of Miedon builds, particularly the Jynxmiedon build that is used a lot still. But it is truly not a great Pokemon, just has some unique tools.
Articuno is very powerful but has a terrible movepool. As most teams are packing both Chansey and Starmie, this guy has a hard time doing just about anything. Certain very optimized builds make good use of this thing and its speed and bulk can make it better than Lapras with certain teammates. But 60% of the time you get nothing out of it.
C: We get into the territory of Pokemon I would likely never use but have some OU viability now. Dragonite can make endgames difficult for some teams but is incredibly inconsistent and if the early game does not go well for you, it is a wasted slot.
Moltres is very powerful but suffers from the same problems as Articuno save for it not beating Rhydon reliably, so it is generally worse. Fire types can have some viability as a counterpick, but its marginal.
D: These are very niche Pokemon I would almost never use. Hypno is a sleeper that has some bulk, but its only real niche is as an Eggy clone that is not as annoyed by Blizzard mie or Chansey. Of course that comes with the drawback of not having Boom and a less accurate sleep move.
Golem is getting some usage again, and on some very specific builds is a better option than Rhydon.
Sandslash can be a better ground than Rhydon with a very specific set of teammates. Really relies on the surprise factor.
Kangaskhan has some similar use cases to Persian but has more bulk and a more powerful Counter.
A+: Eggy is still the best psychic for me, its movepool is just unquestionably useful and players have been exploring new sets that are adding a surprise factor to this mon which had never been present before. It has undeniably gotten better since the last ranking cycle. The resurgence of Rhydon has made it more integral defensively in this metagame as well.
Starmie has not gotten worse, and is still often tough to drop, but it was so splashable recently that the meta has begun to focus on exploiting it.
A: Alakazam is a tangible step below Starmie for me. I think it is a better lead than Starmie still, but can only really be argued to be a better backmon on certain structures and against certain players (often with a lead Starmie to go with it).
A-: Rhydon is a very exploitable Pokemon if overused and is the first mon on this list that can definitely end up doing nothing in a game. I think the Rest fad has been interesting, but ultimately will not stick. This is a mon that I think will drop in viability by next year, but at the moment keeps Zapdos at bay. It is not difficult to build a Zapdos team that can lure Rhydon without sacrificing defensive cohesiveness.
Gengar remains a good anti-lead, but can also punish Monolax users hard. Icelax is becoming extinct but boomlax has certainly replaced it. Even a sleep sacked Gengar can still pressure Monolax heavily. You even see games where Gengar can trick a quakelax or Tauros into letting it wake for free or get pivots on weak Earthquakes. The ghost typing is underrated in RBY.
Zapdos is such a good Pokemon and I think everyone knows this, but it restricts your early game quite heavily. I am still not sold on the viability of lead Zapdos, but its creation within the past year has created some unique new interactions with this mon that show how threatening it can be.
B+: Jynx is a bad Pokemon with a couple really broken moves. It will always have viability as a lead but the shifts in this metagame towards Gengar have not been kind. Any attempt at making this a backmon is either admitting early defeat or paying homage to GGyarados.
Cloyster is a good Pokemon but unreliable and very weak. It gets a lot of potshots off but it can play games where it exhausts all Blizzards and half its clamps and only land a net 20% HP against a team. Players who use it aggressively early and never Rest only boom are playing this Poke correctly. Of course it can totally shut down passive Restdon Reflectlax builds so it has grown in antimeta viability, but always has its merits regardless.
B: Jolteon is so defensively weak and its typing is not the best, but it is the fastest relevant Pokemon, and has lead viability and late game viability as well. Is much more inconsistent than anything else on this list, save for maybe Jynx, but its stats and ability to check Zapdos while not being a ground make it eternally more viable than anything below it could wish to be.
B-: Persian is underrated, this Pokemon just needs to be played aggressively and it can completely overwhelm unprepared players. Its movepool is also almost perfect, being a sitting duck against Gengar when at least two of your other members are at least a little annoyed by it, along with speed tying with Starmie prevent this from ever being a top tier threat. But it has looped back to its form circa 2016-2018 as a rarely prepped for Pokemon who does not rely on much fortune to do its job. If an opponent plays passively and is too sucked into not getting slept to realize they have had paralysis spread, Persian can become an MVP.
Slowbro is always going to be a terrific antimeta pick vs. certain players, but meta shifts have just not been kind to it. Resting Eggs and the rise of Mega Drain, the rise of Tboltmie, Boomlax, Zapdos, Jolteon, Boltbeamchans. It is tough to get this thing set up, and it is so haxable. It can win games out of nowhere sometimes though.
I am Lapras' biggest fan, but realistically Zapdos and 4-attack Laxes are too prevalent right now to making this super viable. Still a good antimeta pick against certain players.
C+: Victreebel can make quick work of Miedon builds, particularly the Jynxmiedon build that is used a lot still. But it is truly not a great Pokemon, just has some unique tools.
Articuno is very powerful but has a terrible movepool. As most teams are packing both Chansey and Starmie, this guy has a hard time doing just about anything. Certain very optimized builds make good use of this thing and its speed and bulk can make it better than Lapras with certain teammates. But 60% of the time you get nothing out of it.
C: We get into the territory of Pokemon I would likely never use but have some OU viability now. Dragonite can make endgames difficult for some teams but is incredibly inconsistent and if the early game does not go well for you, it is a wasted slot.
Moltres is very powerful but suffers from the same problems as Articuno save for it not beating Rhydon reliably, so it is generally worse. Fire types can have some viability as a counterpick, but its marginal.
D: These are very niche Pokemon I would almost never use. Hypno is a sleeper that has some bulk, but its only real niche is as an Eggy clone that is not as annoyed by Blizzard mie or Chansey. Of course that comes with the drawback of not having Boom and a less accurate sleep move.
Golem is getting some usage again, and on some very specific builds is a better option than Rhydon.
Sandslash can be a better ground than Rhydon with a very specific set of teammates. Really relies on the surprise factor.
Kangaskhan has some similar use cases to Persian but has more bulk and a more powerful Counter.
S
Only mon that is not dropped even a single time in my current builder. I feel that's worthy of a tier of its own.A+
I was told a couple years ago that most people want to run offlax, but need to run reflax. And I think one of the biggest boons of my preferred teamstyles these days is just how much offlax I'm getting to run, because goddamn is that thing a monster.
Game in game out, so reliable. Status, boom, damage, pressure, defense, eggy does it all. It's such a glue mon and it works with almost anything. Seems I'm not the only one this year who thinks Chansey has been surpassed by Eggy. Peasounay put Chansey even lower at 5. I've definitely dropped Chansey a lot in 2025. I'm not sure I've played a full set this year where I've brought Chansey every game. I don't think I've ever gone so far as to triple drop it, but I've dropped it twice plenty of times. Still very good, but the days of normal 3 dominance are over.A
Alright, Zap 5, here's the fun one. A few weeks ago, I ran a 2025 self scout that had my Zap usage at 60% with an 89% winrate. I've taken my foot off the Zap gas pedal a little bit in recent weeks, but I have no right to put it any lower than this with how good it's been to me. Fast, strong, respectably capable of brute forcing through Chansey if needed, really reliable lead and endgame cleaner. Just another really solid game in game out kind of mon.A-
The other fun one. On the same self scout I mentioned in the Zapdos blurb, Starmie had 33% usage and 40% winrate. Shortly after I was convinced to bring it to games 1 and 3 of a set, and the only game I won was game 2. Of the big 3 psychics, it's by far the worst at trying to fight Chansey. Obviously none of them really want to short of possibly Hyper Beam Egg, but Starmie is the one that's most up a creek unless a paralyzed Chansey is coming in at around half and Starmie is feeling particularly hax happy with Psychic that day. For me, it's bulky, but I wish it was a little bulkier. It's fast and strong, but Zam is a little faster and a little stronger. And the more I play with them, the less I feel like Starmie's coverage makes up for that.
I've used Cloyster significantly more than Starmie in 2025, and I've been impressed by it. Enough that I seriously considered Cloy at 7 and Mie at 8. But I realized that usage wasn't because Cloyster was actually better than Starmie, it was a result of Cloyster being a better fit on these normal dropping teams that I've been using. Cloy > Mie in my personal crack den meta? Sure. But not for RBY OU as a whole.
I use to think Jynx was so ass, but it's been really good to me back since mid/late 2024. I remember getting told off for wanting to pair Jynx with a second sleeper, and Jynx Egg was a rare niche pick. But lo and behold, it's 2025, and Egg has unlocked the consistency that Jynx had been missing to become an OU threat that I respect.
Gengar has definitely dropped a few ranks since last year for me. Not because I think it's gotten worse, but because I've come around so highly on Jynx and Cloyster. I still think Gengar is amazing, but more stuff is also amazing now too. You had to figure Rhydon was probably taking a hit if Zapdos and Cloyster are as high as they are. I'd say the Chanseyless movement has also been bad for Rhydon, because it's opening teams up to more options that are bad for it. Zapdos teams have never been more capable of beating Rhydon teams than they are now. I believe it was towards the end of last year's invitational that Amaranth said the best answer to a Zapdos team was now a better Zapdos team, which is a sentiment that I am very on board with.B+
I think the first time I ever seriously used Vic was when I brought it against Serpi in 2024 Summer Seasonal Grand Finals after he cteamed the ever loving fuck out of my usual brings in Set 1. I used to not take it seriously, but now I think it's very good. Not something I bring too often, but surprisingly reliable when i do.B
Believe it or not this is actually a step up for Jolt. Last year I had it below the cutoff. I came around on it a couple months ago when I first was convinced to use Jolt Egg Zap Vic. I've used a couple different teams with it since, and have now been convinced that it deserves it's OU spot. I will fight for Slowbro to stay as an OU mon for as long as i play this game. Call it inconsistent and unreliable, call it a hax magnet, call it something that barely ever gets brought. But when you're actually in the game, and Bro gets revealed by a player who knows what they're doing and has played it well, it makes you feel a fear that a non-OU mon can't make you feel, because it can do things to you that only an OU mon can.
The only currently non-OU mon that I'm placing above the OU cutoff. Great backup for Zapdos, and can even cook a little on its own. Definitely needs a Snorlax packing the big boy buttons backing it up to work with any reliability though. Thankfully Cuno and OffLax both fit well on Chanseyless.Anything below here is sub-OU in my opinion, and subsequently I put less time/thought into all these tiers combined than any one tier above the cutoff
B-
For as much as you'd think my Chanseyless loving ass would be all over Persian, I've just never clicked with it like that. Worked the one time I brought it this year, but I'd rather just use Cloyster or Starmie. Something something worse Rhydon, fuck you Bee for cucking me with Don + Golem in ALTPL.Below here is stuff I've never actually used and am going off of from the experiences of having these mons used against me/theorymonning.
C+
Both of these are mostly ineffective PT merchants, but Molt has stolen a couple games from me off ladder, so I give it the nod over Dnite.
I don't think any of the SD sweepers are good, but Pinsir having access to PT to somewhat help facilitate itself makes me give it the bump over the others.C
Sandslash coverage gives it the edge over Kingler for me.
Lmao
Speed ties Zam, Ground type, QuakeSlide, Slash, okay power, can work as a para-fisher with sub. But it's too frail, and usually is too dependent on critting to get the damage that it needs. Fuck the dude who runs sub sand-attack on ladder tho. This ain't ADV Ninjask.D
I meme-shitted with this thing on ladder awhile ago and it slightly underwhelmed my expectations. Still probably a better fighting type than Machamp tho.
rock slide only hits zapdos for marginally more damage than slash but some kind of real damage to exeggutor and is generally just a better midground click (yes it can crit but also misses more).
i think sand attack + sub is one of the few things dug has going for it, being a fast physical attacker isn't enough to make it in ou.
fast+twave immune+sand+sub is something unique to dugtrio that can work even here with the right luck.
i genuinely think sand attack is dugtrio's best set and really only set worthy to be used in ou and not just a troll set (although bringing dugtrio at all is kinda trolling regardless of set)
if you wanna fit in eq, sand attack, and sub, i think slash is preferable so egg can be hit for more than 15% and is a fine midground to hit everything decently. you dont want to fight egg with dug but neither do you really wanna fight zap with dug. worse into the other birds if you think they're worthy of respecting with a dugtrio moveslot instead of just a mie/chans/cloy(cuno only)
I think Tarvold as well. Wholeheartedly agree with this though. Tbh I wouldn't post every pokemon since there's a lot still for me to test, but I'd feel very weird ranking stuff like Farfetch'd and not something like Kingler lmao
is the implication that kangaskhan>dragonite
Cutoff after A-
i would only really consider not using it on full wrap but even then it fits on many wrap teams mainly droppable to fit rhydon and some other niche things, but easier to drop than tauros 100%, i also still hate boomless sets where the somewhat hot takes begin, but imo better than chansey. explosion and (more accurate) sleep are just way too good, while also being really useful at positioning early games in a way that other mons are. even jynx and gar, as sleepers, often appreciate having egg in the back for added flexibility spectacular obviously but it feels like chansey-less teams are trending upwards pretty consistently for the past couple years, so for now this rank feels fair not much to say, good mon more splashable than those below it but not quite to the point of passing chansey everyone's a hater until it crits and psydrops their chansey, but realistically it is just so strong and fast and recover makes it more durable than zapdon, even if its matchups are less swingy rhydon can be built around and outplayed, when it hits it hits hard and will always be a threat on people's minds good vs zap, monochans, and many lax sets but the teams with it suck and are weak to well played tauros. i use rhydon without lax more than i use rhydon with lax to counteract this the best option vs jynx, amazing to pivot on body slams and has boom, but hypnosis is kind of shit so timeless element of the sleep metagame and can cause major swings but can also feel incredibly bad vs like normal move egg or gar solid, ib is better than blizz, but more starmies being saved rather than sacked to sleep makes it slightly worse ou, great at lead and in the back, as long as ur not using mie cloy jolt full passivity, the speed tier + critrate are just incredible~
the wrappers are what they are, can completely win games but vic has the benefit of having more non-wrap use (sleep, strong stab). cuno is fast, strong, and hard to switch into in the late game, persian is an amazing cleaner if gar is baited early
molt is just really fishy but i've seen it win, bro is usually mid if restlooping but can be a good para facilitator, golem is viable and should be explored more because boom is sick, and dragonair is honestly very real on wrap teams with twave and no 4x ice weakness
slash can straight up sweep battered teams and is solid 1v1 vs zap/don both, porys good in the lax 1v1 but can get overwhelmed by everything else, lap is honestly often worse than cloy or cuno but has some neat tools (slam, cray, sing)
Eggy/Mie/Chansey order depends on perspective, but imo Eggy and Mie are more centralizing forces rn due to the roles they take on, and so I ranked them higher. The Chanseyless style applies a great variety of aggressive earlygame strategies, which crucially almost always involve Eggy, in order to skip towards a gamestate where having your own Chansey would only slow you down anyway. This approach has been getting more effective as people developed the lead game, with the latest development being Zap lead. At that point, Starmie's role as one of wincon/best lead in the game/central midgame piece also seems more impressive since Chansey becomes that central midgame piece less often nowadays as it gets run over too easily.
Of course there are exceptions to this, as RefToss Chansey can stand its ground vs aggressive teams (still, it usually also just gets traded on with booms), and those classic Chansey vs Chansey midgames still exist when both players bring more conservative builds.
Zam is still a good mon, but doesn't require the same respect as Zap and Don. Even disregarding Zam in the builder, you'll always be fine with just a Twave and some physicals to throw at it. Zap and Don just have more impact in that way, and it's something that can be seen clearly when new builds emerge. Laxless CloyDon and Zap lead came up, and everyone had to reconsider the way they build in RBY and come up with a plan.
C1 are a bunch of interesting mons with some pretty clear strengths and reference points, but also with clear weaknesses. At the end of the day they have a hard time making a case for themselves over more standard brings. Do I really want to rely on a gameplan that relies on removing key roadblocks for a Bro or a Cuno if I could just use some standard, less conditional mons with a back Mie for security?
For D and E, there are some mons that do better in the current, more chaotic environment and some mons that can abuse the laxless CloyDon trend, especially if it would keep extending with more passive builds emerging. I didn't rank Arbok because I think that 5 wrappers is a bad team that is improved significantly by including a Tauros over it.
I'm really curious what everyone's thoughts are on Persian. We're seeing a huge spread in terms of where people are ranking it with some people putting it on the fringes of b and others putting it towards the bottom of D and now Serpi putting it in E, below stuff like Golem.
I haven't used it in quite a while though, so I'm not the best to say how recent meta trends have impacted it
I haven't used it in quite a while though, so I'm not the best to say how recent meta trends have impacted it
a mon whose best quality is preying on Snorlax in a meta where Snorlax is lower than ever.
a mon that works super well with gar+egg offense structures in a meta where psyblizz mie is at an all-time high
particularly unusable when you also like using good moves as opposed to bad moves on your snorlax, which will make your scout induce people to spam gengar (and especially backgar)
i like the cat and i've not been able to load him like at all in a long while.
(also golem rules. golem is powerful. being below golem is not a terrible thing)
Something notable that does happen to benefit persian in current meta though is the strength of slash + bubble beam + thunderbolt against CloyDon, which is enjoying pretty strong popularity currently. I would say this still gives it good reason for use occasionally.