OU ADV OU Viability Ranking and Metagame Discussion

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First VR post, I'm mostly a ladder player so if things are better in tourney they will probably be lower here.

:skarmory:
Spikes are the most powerful strategy, even if I personally prefer spikesless teams I can't deny their usefulness, and Skarmory is the best spiker. IMO the best sets are either Peck or Toxic Protect, I feel like Peck is more consistent but man if your team doesnt have an easy way to deal with skarm toxic protect is brutal. Thief is ok but if you bring skarm in on something that uses an attacking move then its very obvious what you want. If you do bring it in vs other skarms it is fantastic of course.

:tyranitar:
Tar is great, but I dont think it gets rank 1 for two major reasons.
1) Sand is great and useful for many teams, so much so that I would argue a majority of teams want sand up. This leads to it being less useful in practice, as it is often a neutral effect. And many teams that truly hate sand can remove tar and clear sand later, and since tar is used as a defensive piece in many teams you often won't know you need to preserve him until it's too late, or they use dug and you are just screwed.

2) There are just too many ways to deal with tar. Other than CB tar and Pursuit (brought in on gar), no Tar set is immediately seriously threatening. Even turn 1 against zapdos they can swap to their rock resist or bulky water and unless you guess right and have the right coverage you dont do much, and from there they can play around it usually. This is why I think the top 3 tar sets are Pursuit, Sub Punch, And CB in no particular order. DD still has it's uses (try out bulky rest DD btw), but there are just too many ways to shut it down.

:jirachi:
Yes I'm serious, Jirachi is rank 3 and in the same tier as Skarm and Tar. There are two sets that got it this ranking.

The main one being defensive wish fire tox. This thing can solo teams without dug, it's actually disgusting. Wish is such a great move, the utility of being able to top off somewhat bulky mons that take a lot of chip over a game is incredible. There are only a few things that really shut this set down. Dug can assassinate it, but will take a toxic in the process and be pretty worthless for the rest of the game. Blissey sits on this set and will likely para it but will have to swap out at some point to stop dying to toxic, and bliss itself cannot force out rachi so you will have that chance to toxic or fire punch something else, or just give a wish to something at any time, Blissey is an extremely abusable switch in as well. CM pass Celebi is definitely something that farms this set, but it's not too hard to stop. Any CM subber absolutely farms this as well, but they arent too common.
Steel Psychic is a crazy type for a tanky mon, both fire and ground moves are obvious, and non super effective moves barely scratch this thing. You can run slam as well on paraspam teams but imo outside those toxic is better. 20% burn chance on fire punch is also not fun for the enemy.

The other set that I think is very good (but admittedly not as good) is CM sub ice punch tbolt. This thing is so lame to play against, it sets up on blissey of all things and again has the 20% status chance, this time with freeze which completely ruins any mon not named blissey. (Celebi does not like taking boosted ice punches and starmie is getting tbolted). Not much else to say about this set besides farming low risk high reward rng interactions is very powerful.

:blissey:
We all know what blissey does, and she is a literal required teammate on most defensive teams. The only drawback is she is very passive which is abusable. You can use counter as a fun tech into most switchins but 4mss is a real thing on blissey and with only a bit of chip CB meta annihilates it anyways, which is typically the most dangerous blissey abuser. She is still a great mon, and completely chokes special mons.

:metagross:
CB meta is that guy. He comes in and something is going to die almost every time. Even his best switch in swampert cant take too many EQs. Nothing else in the game can make progress like CB meta, only issues are the same issue as other banders, no healing and abusable once you're locked, especially bad if you bring it in vs something that has protect that you didnt expect.

Both of those issues are why I have actually been using a lot of defensive meta recently. It thuds badly into skarm and swampert but both of those can be beat easily, I myself use zap on most of my defensive meta teams which covers both. I like this set for many of the same reasons I like defensive rachi (shocking I know given they are the same typing). But man, healing under sand with protect to double it is so brutal to try and get through.

Mixed meta also is a fun set, but I have less experience with it. Agiligross is ok too I guess, I like that most super effective hits bring him down to liechi range.

:suicune:
The reverse sweep king, he's far from a one trick pony (dog?) though. Suicune is a great lead, other than zap none of the other common leads want to face it. And with just one CM boost it can start doing serious damage to a team. Roar sets can set up on other calm minders and then instantly win the game with roar. My personal favorite set is sleep talk since it is one of the few things that owns skarm bliss while also actually being a great mon in other regards. People bringing in their skarm to roar me out after I set up 3 CMs on blissey only to get evaporated by sleep talk surf always brings a smile to my face, and unless they swap on the rest turn you have 2 chances to do it. Other things that beat skarm and bliss kinda suck outside of that. (mixed meta, blaziken) The other good mon that can beat both is dd or cb tar, but most sets dont want to get parad and even after a boost get forced out by the swampert that almost every skarm bliss team also has. Cune eats all 3 for breakfast. This set even usually beats zap 1v1 if it comes in on ur calm mind, but it risks sleep talk rng. The only real weakness is that celebi walls it and can leech you ruining everything you worked for.

:zapdos:
Speaking of electric moves, it feels like people have a lower opinion of zap as of late, but I still think he's great. Yes, blissey chokes it out, but again blissey is really easy to swap in to. Especially if you run subpass on zap, which I personally think is the best and most consistent set. I also like mixed zap to deal with those pesky celebi's running around as I dont like hp ice. If your team really does not care about swampert then go ahead ig, but a large part of zap's appeal to me is dealing with skarm and swampert. Twave and toxic are both good options as well. Other than blissey, lax, and celebi nothing wants to come in on toxic zap, so bring something to abuse them and you're golden.

:swampert:
The only all in 1 physical wall. Great if you only can afford one slot to making sure you dont instantly lose to DD tar, but personally I am not the biggest fan. The prevalence of anti swampert tech makes him tough to keep alive, and losing to mixed attackers kinda sucks. I prefer cune as my water, but there's no denying his usefulness if you need both a water type and rock resist. Also endeavor pert is an evil set, though it can struggle into teams that have something that doesnt care about his one attacking move. (typically surf)

:gengar:
Gengar is one of those mons that I feel is a bit better in theory, but even still he is great. wisp is a broken move as is explosion. Gengar will be useful in literally every matchup, and on any team. I personally think he's a bit underrated in spikesless offense, but of course he shines best on spikes teams. Worst thing about him is wisp accuracy. I also think hypnosis gar needs exploration, there are many times gar forces things out and teams without blissey usually have a really hard time playing around it. (plus blissey is abusable, you get it by now) Breloom is decent just for the sleep and he kinda sucks after spore is used, so now imagine a good mon with sleep.

:dugtrio:
Lots of people really underrate dug, sure you can't slap it on any team, but imo we should rate mons mostly on their best sets/teams with versatility not being considered much outside of if it forces the opponent to waste time figuring out the set. Dug does one thing, but that thing is very hard to play around. Losing key parts of your team seemingly out of nowhere can often end a game on the spot. And a good dug team can deal with setup mons coming in afterwards.

:salamence:
Salamence is great, and one of the biggest benefactors of versatility on account of it's sets requiring different counterplay. Other than bulky waters nothing can come in on both mixed and dd mence 100% safely, and even those can be smacked hard by the rare CB mence. I think a really underrated salamence set is mixed sub mence forgoing hp grass. Water types choke it but even still dclaw does ok damage and then you can swap, but the main draw is that other than water types nothing can take the other moves well.

:celebi:
The onion is stronger now that speedpass is banned. CM pass had a terrible matchup into speedpass teams, and now that they are gone phazer stocks are down a bit. Celebi is not tied to any sort of passing strats though, leech seed is almost guaranteed progress, it has heal bell, and the humble offensive celebi can actually be quite a menace. Much like mence it is a mon that forces the enemy to figure out the set in order to properly stop it, but it's harder to tell than mence cause leech seed can be used by any set, and even CM may or may not be pass. SD is ok too but I don't like it.

:snorlax:
Yo mama so fat, she can wall special attackers almost as well as blissey while not losing nearly as much momentum. She has a lot in common with snorlax in that regard. Lax can run a ton of different moves on it's utility sets, counter and yawn are two that I think are heavily underrated. Curselax can still do it's thing like always. I have been enjoying running HP bug to smack celebi while also doing decent damage to tar and not letting gengar literally 100% choke you. I think it's better than shadow ball. In all, snorlax is a great check to much of the metagame and can be a decent wincon with the right team.

:starmie:
Offensive and defensive starmie are both solid sets. I prefer modest for offensive. Sidenote you could not pay me to run hydro pump ever.

:magneton:
Fact: Nobody knows how magnets work in real life. (Source: Albert Einstein(Not the one you're thinking of))
Fact: In gen 3 ou magnets work by removing skarmory for physical offense teams. (Source: Stephen Hawking(The one you're thinking of))

:forretress:
Spikes AND rapid spin?!? Building teams with this always make me happy, there is just something about the all in one nature of forretress that appeals to me. You even have a lot of great options for the last two slots. HP Bug, EQ, Explosion, Toxic, Zap Cannon, and even HP Fire sometimes.

:milotic:
I never use it personally due to my addiction to suicune, but it's quite solid in it's own right. Still doing what it always has, stopping anything that isnt electric or boosted in it's tracks. Most typically seen on that one team, you know the one.

:heracross:
Hera️Boss might be higher than one might expect, but what can I say I love the guy. Banded is a solid lead, and blows holes in teams much like our friend CB metagross. Hera has a better stab in megahorn, and personally i like to put focus punch on it as well for some real fun. I also run guts on CB which makes blissey's twave a massive boon, you can just straight up kill salamence with guts and CB boosted rock slide after intimidate. Salac is also good, one of the best robbery mons if you can clear weather. Sand being so prevalent make it considerably worse, so consider weatherclear unless you run leftovers heracross which is decent.

:claydol:
The defensive player's spinner of choice. Pairs very well with bulky waters. Explosion is always a boon for a mon even though it doesnt have too much attack. Also a decent check to tar, but it cant stop it too often if it has hp bug.

:slaking:
Controversial placement #3. Slacking requires tons of support, but DAMN this thing is a nuclear bomb every time it hits the field. Always run as a lead since it forces literally everything not named skarmory out, then click focus punch to do 80% to their skarm coming in and you're makin money. I run rest instead of shadow ball since I run slacking with umbreon who owns gar, and I also run heal bell support. Loves weather clear as well, I prefer the magless team variants with forre instead but if skarm is causing you lots of trouble mag is a great partner. If you are good at prediction this is the mon for you. He is actually surprisingly easy to get in, and is way more physically tanky than people think. The biggest weakness of slaking is that teams featuring it rely heavily on it for progress, and if the enemy has dug then as soon as you kill anything they can just revenge you for free.

:gyarados:
Gyara isn't bad, in fact as a DDer I like it more than salamence on most teams. However, it does suffer greatly from being forced to choose which hidden power to run. It can get value via twave as most things that switch in to it dont like getting para'd, but blissey is just so annoying for it no matter what set it runs, which is quite the shame for a physical attacker. With rest it can set up on non tbolt blisseys but gyara can typically be dealt with in some form or another while it's sleeping. Don't run 3 attacks with this thing though, unless you are a lunatic like me who enjoys the rare CB gyarados.

:aerodactyl:
I do not care much for aero. Always just not quite strong enough, and teams with multiple rock resists or just swampert and skarm are sooo hard for it to make progress in. It isn't bad, but just meh a lot of the time. Best SD pass recipient though so I guess it has that going for it.

:regirock:
Honestly I think regi is a damn good lead. Physical mons with twave are always tough to deal with. The biggest downside is that it is extremely telegraphed that you are mag phys offense with this lead. I don't use it much myself though so no insight from me.

:medicham:
It's alright, fighting stab is always great and it hits almost as hard as slaking but without the world's coolest ability truant which is why it's lower.
Seriously though, it has a lot of trouble entering and there are a lot of things that can switch in on it's attacks and outspeed, which is pretty tough to deal with. It's great against slower teams though.

:jolteon:
Jolt can be quite the nuisance for a lot of teams, typically by spreading para and passing subs to threats. I prefer zap to it since jolt gets worn down by spikes and has a considerably weaker tbolt, but it certainly has it's place on offensive spikes teams.

:charizard:
Everybody's favorite dragon is pretty fun to use. I love special attackers that can deal with blissey on their own, I also love mons that use sub well. Fire is really tough to switch in on, you basically have the bulky waters, who do completely stop zard, gyarados who hates burn, as well as blissey,(hates focus punch and beat up), and Mence, (hates burn and zard can run dclaw). One of the scariest mons to hit the field if you have something that cant risk being fire blasted on your side.

:moltres:
Basically zard but with more damage and wisp access, but no focus punch or beat up so gets walled by blissey. Choose based on how much your team hates bliss.

:Umbreon:
Super underrated mon, has access to pursuit and wish. It's ability being synchronize is hilarious into gar, which is great cause the main reason to use this is that you need something to deal with gar without putting sand on the field. Slaking's best friend.

:raikou:
Only outsped by three mons, abuses sub, and has calm mind. Everyone knows it's biggest drawback is that it gets whooped by dug, which is why lots of people run porygon 2 with it. In matchups that dont involve dug this thing is a real bastard.

:Kingdra:
I love kingdra, it only has one super effective weakness, and that weakness will only ever be hit by some salamences and very rarely by zard. Neither of which can actually stay in vs a fairly healthy kingdra even if rain is down. Since you dont need to invest in much speed at all, it gets surprisingly bulky. Clearing weather also makes sand chip not do much to it, and tar has to run even if it comes in after a kill to reset sand so it's very easy to keep it off. The actual biggest issues with kingdra are the normal blobs and bulky waters. The only way you are beating waters is by cm passing to kingdra and having hp grass or electric as your 4th move, snorlax can sometimes be beat with a cm pass into rain as it switches in, blissey hard walls unless you are somehow able to get like 4 cms or run toxic which is a decent option. Personally I prefer to have different ways to deal with the waters and blobs and use sub since lots of people try to play around rain by swapping around their water and ice weak mons, and sub shuts that down.

:ludicolo:
Kingdra but with the ability to deal with bulky waters via leech or giga drain. Leech is my preferred since it forces lax and blissey out as well, but you need to be mindful of blissey twave. Giga also struggles into cune cause of calm mind unless you start with a cm pass boost. That said giga is really nice to have since outside of blissey and lax it will heal you a lot more than leech, and ludi at high hp is tanky enough to take most hits. Like kingdra, Ludi basically only has one weakness as poison isnt used by pretty much anything, but flying is harder to play around than dragon. Ludi also has less bulk since you need to invest in speed. This is especially noticeable on the physical side, where kingdra can often take two hits and live, wheras ludi can only take one.

:regice:
The coolest special wall, regice can be really tough to deal with for special spam teams. It laughs at zapdos and stab ice beam is very nice, plus again being able to freeze fish is a powerful trait. Also has explosion and twave so no matter what it can get value.

:weezing:
Not a rock resist, but forms an excellent defensive core with swampert. Resists fighting, which is an underrated trait and has access to wisp. (best move in the game after spikes) Also has haze and pain split which are great moves, and one of the only poison stab users which actually is surprisingly nice a lot of the time. Something I need to explore more is registeel instead of swampert as it's rock/steel resist teammate.

:flygon:
Sadly as much as I love flygon's design he doesn't do it for me at all in this tier. He has traits that seem incredible on paper, a rock resist immune to spikes?!? And then you use it and get spikes set up on you by skarm. Which is why he really only gets used on superman teams where that massive flaw doesnt matter. Not terrible by any means but like, just use swampert man.

:smeargle:
Smeargle the war crime beagle just played a massive part in getting speedpass banned, and for that he gets the congressional medal of honor. I know many of his detractors say he shouldn't be rewarded for abusing poor children on the ladder with spore taunt dd pass, but he did it for us so that ninjask would be terrible forever. He on the other hand still has access to spore and spikes, as well as sub and belly drum whenever the sadistic voices in his head get too loud again. When he's feeling more lighthearted he runs transform to empathize better with his fellow mon.

:breloom:
100% accurate sleep is great, as is stab focus punch afterwards. Stun spore is a decent move option as well as leech. Please don't sack breloom right after using spore, I see people do this way too much when they don't need to. Obviously there are times where it calls for it but just don't be lazy about it, this also applies to mag.

:porygon2:
P2 is for the refined gentlemen who has a deep hatred for dugtrio. Outside of revenging dug it is a decent check to dders not named tar, and even tar doesnt really want to risk 2 twaves. Also porygon 2 is cute as hell, don't tell me you don't want to pet him.

:hariyama:
I think knock off is overrated, its super obvious every time and other than tar every other common lead can hit him back pretty hard, or worse yet sub. Yama overall is ok, he's bulky, doesnt care much about tar, and had guts which is my favorite ability. 4mss is really rough on him though, I always feel like I really want just one more move.

:vaporeon:
Rip salac pass you were the only exception to speedpass that I thought was ok. Still a bulky water with access to wish, sub, and bp. Hits fairly hard too, and hard walls suicune. Sidenote vaporeon is my favorite eeveelution. (don't say it)

:registeel:
Certainly not just metagross at home, this is a mon that always gets something done. Twave, counter, explosion, and stoss is just a great set. Curse sets are kind of interesting as well, honestly a really scary last mon if your team doesnt have leech seed. Number one mon that might rise up if I do another VR.

:jynx:
I hate this thing in all capacities, but that aside I feel like it rarely does what it wants to. You have a 25% chance to just get killed trying to sleep something, and then you calm mind as they send in their ice resist and then what? Not to mention if you are against a lum lead you just do absolutely nothing, and 25% of the time you don't even find out they are lum LOL. I still think it's better than everything below it cause sleep is still great but I almost wanted to make a tier just for this thing since I don't really think it's nearly as good as anything above it either. Just glad this thing sucks cause I hate the design, it's so ugly mannn. The OG humanoid mon.

:blaziken:
King of inconsistency, sometimes this thing runs a game, other times they have a bulky water and you are worthless forever. HP ice is best imo cause salamences love switching in on this. 4mss is a real bitch here though.

:miltank:
The prevalence of gengar and skarm keeps this thing a low tier mon. Curse, body slam, milk drink, heal bell is the one true set. Really cool for paraspam and mag offense teams. Also very funny to curse up when they bring a dder or curselax in and watch your opponent slowly realize they are about to get udderly annihilated by a cow. Thick fat is a super underrated ability too.

:venusaur:
Another inaccurate sleep mon, but can be faster than breloom and is considerably tankier. I don't use this much but I think it's not bad since it has synthesis.

:cloyster:
Another mon I don't use much. I am pretty low on cloyster myself but I have heard talks of boomspam teams with dug that really like this as a lead. Maybe this is too low but I rarely see it do much against me in my games.

:armaldo:
Yet another mon I don't use. I rarely see this thing but unlike cloyster I feel like teams that utilize this are really fucking hard to beat. Pretty much only used on hard stall as far as I know, has access to knock which even though I said knock is overrated, it is still undoubtably a good move. I will also say teams that feature armaldo seem to get more out of knock than yama teams. #1 mon I suspect is better in tourneys.

:marowak:
Ex speedpass abuser numero uno, unlike it's main partner jask however it has some cool uses outside of those now illegal social experiments. Paraspam teams can use wak to whack the slowed threats. And there truly is something satisfying about watching it one shot tanks.

:camerupt:
Mr. Fuck your zapdos (and blissey). Easy to get onto the field into those mons and skarmory, tough outside of that. The ability to threaten skarm bliss is always fun as hell to use. But often struggles to get past their other defensive mons. HP grass takes out swampert but bulky mono waters are really bad for it. A mon I want to build with more in the future.

:steelix:
"Mr. Fuck your zapdos 2, fuck you as well jolteon and raikou" Now showing in theaters near you. Not as immediately threatening as the camel, but has much more longevity. For slower teams that really do not want zap to be able to do a damn thing all game. Also steelix has one of the best designs in all of pokemon.

:houndoom:
Speaking of great pokemon designs, houndoom is a decent anti gengar mon that has access to wisp, but unlike umbreon this thing is really squishy. I value wisp a lot but most teams have ways to play around it, and wish support from umbreon is more useful to teams that hate gengar. Not to mention gar usually just booms on houndoom, which is much less impactful on the tankier umbreon especially since gar will usually be burned by synchronize. Also pursuit tar is more useful for teams that hate gar and like sand, so I almost never get to use this thing.

:donphan:
This is the mon you run if you have one team slot left and you just realized you have a crippling rock weakness. Neither dd tar nor aero will ever get through this thing I assure you that. Also has rapid spin which is great, but can't do anything to gar so will need help on that front if you need to keep spikes away.

:sceptile:
One of the top most annoying pokemon to face, if your team doesnt have celebi you are in for many leech seeds over the course of the game. Also has endeavor to go along with its very high speed, overgrow boosted leaf blade is pretty chunky as well.

:misdreavus:
This thing is awful outside of that one team, you know the one. It's ok there though so here it is.

:glalie:
I think this thing sucks, but it has spikes and explosion. A possible choice for offensive spikes teams. Salac berry makes it not worthless.

:ninjask:
I'll see you in hell. If you ran this thing on ladder I would like you to take the time to imagine me blowing cigar smoke in your face. Thank you.
 

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Made a usage/wr-based VR post a bit ago; this one is going to be the opinion piece.
Usage doesn’t always hold water; you have to vary your brings for tours or you will get punished.


:blissey: has the perfect traits to be hyper-consistent. Pokémon is a game of variance due to secondary effects and critical hits. Blissey can shrug off both. Wish/roma allows you to do the same for your team. TWave prints you tempo.


:skarmory: 1 spike is all you need. Sand immune, Spike immune. Skarm is good at maintaining that 1 layer throughout the game.


:tyranitar: Initially I had this at #4 below Metagross. But Crunch Tar (either slow with Pursuit or fast with Grass/Fire coverage) has impressed me. DD is hot garbage as a breaker/sweeper; too many things can go wrong. Max HP Tars have a lot of defensive utility. Sand is good for pushing progress. Tar’s biggest issue is that it restricts your own team as well.


:metagross: King of offense. The value floor is essentially 1 for 1. Boom is a great way to trade down when ahead. Agility is a good wincon. Meteor Mash is a blessing and a curse. Raises can win you the game instantly, while misses can do the opposite.


:gengar: Best on spikes or Dug teams. Wisp Taunt is one of the best fat breakers (when you hit Wisp). Boom + spikes is great Blissey pressure. The mon is good if Wisp isn’t your only way of pressuring fat.


:swampert: Probably should put this guy lower. OffPert needs Pump for damage rolls, which is a big downside. MonoPert wants sand for its damage to stick. Surf/Tect/Roar/Toxic is amazing role compression and stops people from cheesing it with Sub/Refresh. Curse 3A/2A is good.


:claydol: The Swiss army knife of ADV. Consistency often means using spikes. Prediction/reads can only get you so far. Claydol is the one spinner you can rely on to get rid of multiple layers in a reasonable timeframe. Sand immunity + Spike immunity + Boom means the value floor is high. Needs help pressuring Skarmory.


:starmie: The other good spinner. Matches up better into Skarmory but worse into Gengar. Offensive Starmie demands Blissey or you will be trading down into it. DefMie prints you tempo and cripples switch-ins via TWave. Modest with Recover is good.


:dugtrio: Pairs nicely with spikes. Most Dug-weak mons EV to live from full or very close to full. Bulky Dug is meh. Huge amount of skill expression when optimizing this guy.


:suicune: Suicune is best when it can play the pressure game. Needs a lot of support, but it is one of the best mons to support. A lot of teams rely on spikes + sand to deal with it. If Cune fat stabilizes, get out your tackle box and start fishing.


:salamence: Not a fan of DD, mainly because MixOff isn’t a good archetype. Mence is the mon you bring to be safe against fighters. Mixed Mence can fall short if it’s your Celebi check, while CB can be awkward to use under sand.


:jirachi: On paper, FearRachi solos physical offense. Your opponent will have to fish for status/crits if you get a good MU. SpDef Jira can thud if it doesn’t get the Body Slam paras. CM variants also need some luck for you to get value.


:celebi: Leech Recover is amazing at beating bulky setup mons. Not big on the HP Fire sets; I would rather lean into Bi’s strengths and use a different method of dealing with Skarm. Incentivizing Ice Beam when switching into waters is painful.


:zapdos: imo Zap is best with some defensive investment. Being a fast bulky pivot with strong damage output is a powerful combination. Modest w/ HP investment >> SpDef Rest >> Timid.


:forretress: Good as an offensive spiker or with double spin. Skarm balance teams have adapted ways of pressuring mono-spin Forre.


:snorlax: I used to be a Lax hater. Think I was influenced too much by all of the ladders using Blue offenses. Those teams are not good. Lax is better when supported by a slower gameplan.


:aerodactyl: Pretty low on my VR. Its win rate in tours is always low. You often need to get a correct prediction/flinch to secure the game; this doesn’t always happen. Aero spikes can thud more often than you would think: getting statused on the switch, not being able to establish spikes, Rock Slide missing, etc.


If people are interested I can keep going, but going to stop there for now.
 
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Made a usage/wr-based VR post a bit ago; this one is going to be the opinion piece.
Usage doesn’t always hold water; you have to vary your brings for tours or you will get punished.


:blissey: has the perfect traits to be hyper-consistent. Pokémon is a game of variance due to secondary effects and critical hits. Blissey can shrug off both. Wish/roma allows you to do the same for your team. TWave prints you tempo.


:skarmory: 1 spike is all you need. Sand immune, Spike immune. Skarm is good at maintaining that 1 layer throughout the game.


:tyranitar: Initially I had this at #4 below Metagross. But Crunch Tar (either slow with Pursuit or fast with Grass/Fire coverage) has impressed me. DD is hot garbage as a breaker/sweeper; too many things can go wrong. Max HP Tars have a lot of defensive utility. Sand is good for pushing progress. Tar’s biggest issue is that it restricts your own team as well.


:metagross: King of offense. The value floor is essentially 1 for 1. Boom is a great way to trade down when ahead. Agility is a good wincon. Meteor Mash is a blessing and a curse. Raises can win you the game instantly, while misses can do the opposite.


:gengar: Best on spikes or Dug teams. Wisp Taunt is one of the best fat breakers (when you hit Wisp). Boom + spikes is great Blissey pressure. The mon is good if Wisp isn’t your only way of pressuring fat.


:swampert: Probably should put this guy lower. OffPert needs Pump for damage rolls, which is a big downside. MonoPert wants sand for its damage to stick. Surf/Tect/Roar/Toxic is amazing role compression and stops people from cheesing it with Sub/Refresh. Curse 3A/2A is good.


:claydol: The Swiss army knife of ADV. Consistency often means using spikes. Prediction/reads can only get you so far. Claydol is the one spinner you can rely on to get rid of multiple layers in a reasonable timeframe. Sand immunity + Spike immunity + Boom means the value floor is high. Needs help pressuring Skarmory.


:starmie: The other good spinner. Matches up better into Skarmory but worse into Gengar. Offensive Starmie demands Blissey or you will be trading down into it. DefMie prints you tempo and cripples switch-ins via TWave. Modest with Recover is good.


:dugtrio: Pairs nicely with spikes. Most Dug-weak mons EV to live from full or very close to full. Bulky Dug is meh. Huge amount of skill expression when optimizing this guy.


:suicune: Suicune is best when it can play the pressure game. Needs a lot of support, but it is one of the best mons to support. A lot of teams rely on spikes + sand to deal with it. If Cune fat stabilizes, get out your tackle box and start fishing.


:salamence: Not a fan of DD, mainly because MixOff isn’t a good archetype. Mence is the mon you bring to be safe against fighters. Mixed Mence can fall short if it’s your Celebi check, while CB can be awkward to use under sand.


:jirachi: On paper, FearRachi solos physical offense. Your opponent will have to fish for status/crits if you get a good MU. SpDef Jira can thud if it doesn’t get the Body Slam paras. CM variants also need some luck for you to get value.


:celebi: Leech Recover is amazing at beating bulky setup mons. Not big on the HP Fire sets; I would rather lean into Bi’s strengths and use a different method of dealing with Skarm. Incentivizing Ice Beam when switching into waters is painful.


:zapdos: imo Zap is best with some defensive investment. Being a fast bulky pivot with strong damage output is a powerful combination. Modest w/ HP investment >> SpDef Rest >> Timid.


:forretress: Good as an offensive spiker or with double spin. Skarm balance teams have adapted ways of pressuring mono-spin Forre.


:snorlax: I used to be a Lax hater. Think I was influenced too much by all of the ladders using Blue offenses. Those teams are not good. Lax is better when supported by a slower gameplan.


:aerodactyl: Pretty low on my VR. Its win rate in tours is always low. You often need to get a correct prediction/flinch to secure the game; this doesn’t always happen. Aero spikes can thud more often than you would think: getting statused on the switch, not being able to establish spikes, Rock Slide missing, etc.


If people are interested I can keep going, but going to stop there for now.
Specifically curious about the kingler guest appearance lol
 
1757020924424.png


Some comments on the ranked S, A+ and A mons:

tyranitar.png.m.1753797560

Tyranitar is the king of ADV and will probably always be just because of how good sand is, to the point where some teams main goal is removing sand to work. And not only that, Tyranitar can do a lot of things: pressure Bliss while hitting hard, being one of the best late game set up sweepers, trapping, etc.

skarmory.png.m.1753797560

Skarmory is the best spiker by far, and spikes are very good. Incredible bulk and utility, even the existance of Magneton doesn't stop it from being one of the best mons in the tier.

zapdos.png.m.1753797560

Zapdos is an incredible mon, both defensively and offensively, especially when paired with things to remove or pressure special walls like Blissey. It can hit very hard with Thunderbolt, it can status with TWave or Toxic, it can BP to easily keep the offensive tempo of the game. Defensive Rest Zapdos can wall a big number of mixed and special threats in the game, especially if there is no sand. Speedpass ban hasn't really affected it imo, because it had much better sets already.

metagross.png.m.1753797560

Metagross used Meteor Mash! Metagross attack raised! and Metagross user auto won the game. That has happened to everybody. Metagross is an offensive rock resist that can easily pressure other teams, but the threat of Explosion is what makes this mon very dangerous: it can remove a key mon of the other team, even standard Skarmory is OHKOd by Explosion if Metagross has CB.

suicune.png.m.1753797560

Suicune is one of my "signature" ADV mons. Pressure, CM, huge bulk, Roar... it can be defensive, offensive, and all those sets can work. In fact, a big number of common teams are weak to a well used Suicune. Substitute, Roar, Sleep Talk and Ice Beam (especially modest) are 4 moves that can change what Pokemon can counter Suicune. Counters to defensive Suicune (like Zapdos or Celebi) can lose to more offensive sets, and the opposite is also true. I have used Suicune a lot in my SPL + classic runs last year and I won most of the games where I used it.

blissey.png.m.1753797560

Blissey can stop complete playstyles with its incredible special bulk, with a lot of support options for the team, like Wish or Aromatherapy, as well as being able to spread status so it is not a set up fodder. It can even beat physical attackers with Counter, or making them much less dangerous with Thunder Wave.

swampert.png.m.1753797560

Swampert the bulky water and bulky ground at the same time, the best counter to the 3 "titans" of ADV: Tyranitar, Metagross and Salamence (unless they run HP Grass). Recently I have been using Refresh Pert in some balanced teams, or even in more offensive teams like my 4x CB team, sometimes paired with Dug to remove Celebi or Starmie, and it has been working very well. Offensive variations of Swampert can also be very effective, with HP + IB + EQ + FPunch.

gengar.png.m.1753797560

Gengar is a very versatile Pokemon with very unique roles, and a big number of resistances and immunities, including Rapid Spin. Its speed, power, coverage and support options make it a very dangerous mon. WoW is a very annoying move for physical mons that could try to pressure it, Taunt allows it to block defensive mon attempts to recover or to status it, Dbond allows it to remove a dangerous threat or a spinner, Hypnosis can temporaly disable a threat, and Explosion can remove special walls from the game to support other special threats.

salamence.png.m.1753797560

Salamence is the third ADV titan, amazing mon both offensively and defensively, with a big movepool and a lot of options in both sides of the spectrum, it could use a mixed set with Dragon Claw, Fire Blast, HP Grass with physical options like Brick Break or even Rock Slide to hit special walls. Or it could be a physical threat with its huge attack stat and the option of DD. Intimidate is one of the best defensive abilities in the game.

aerodactyl.png.m.1753797560

Aerodactyl, one of the faces of offensive TSS teams, and especially Superman teams, the fastest viable mon in OU (tied with Jolteon), with the power of Rock Slide on its side. Every ADV player has lost many games to a well timed Rock Slide flinch from Aerodactyl. And thanks to its ability, it takes no recoil from D-E to hit bulky grounds very hard. With spikes and sand immunity, even a 1% Aerodactyl is always a threat and can easily win games.

dugtrio.png.m.1753797560

Dugtrio the hunter, being able to remove some key mons from the game at the cost of giving a free turn to the opponent. Dug is very frail and only has 1 role, but its an unique role and it does it very well. Like 10 years ago I created a bulkier set of Dugtrio that always survived Blissey Ice Beam, which allowed special oriented teams to be more effective. Adamant Dugtrio doesnt outspeed some mons like Starmie, but the extra damage is huge against some mons. Jolly Dugtrio is probably still the most consistent version overall.

jirachi.png.m.1753797560

Jirachi is another one of those mons that are really good offensive and defensively. Defensive variations can wall a big number of threats, while spreading status (Body Slam 60% para or Toxic) and healing the team with Wish. Offensive variations with Calm Mind can sweep teams and have a lot of options: 101 HP Substitutes to block status and give it free turns, or coverage with Fire Punch, Ice Punch, Thunder(bolt), Psychic or Hp Grass. Serene Grace makes it extra dangerous with the 20% freeze chance and the more likely paras or sp def drops.

flygon.png.m.1753797560

And finally, honorable mention to Flygon, another of my "signature" ADV mons. It is one of the 2 mons that can resist eq + rs, it is immune to both sand and spikes, it is a bulky ground not weak to grass (the most common coverage option for electrics and some mixed threats because of how good Swampert it), and it has as a very good speed tier. A lot of teams are unprepared for Flygon and have a lot of problems dealing with it. It is a Pokemon that works better when its usage is lower. I have always liked CB Flygon archetypes, especially when paired with Magneton, it is very good against CMers and balanced teams.




On another note, one of the most influential teams in pokemon history: Superman, is already 20 years old.

tyranitar.png.m.1753797560
skarmory.png.m.1753797560
zapdos.png.m.1753797560
swampert.png.m.1753797560
aerodactyl.png.m.1753797560
flygon.png.m.1753797560


In a game dominated by defensive teams (nearly always with skarmbliss), this new kind of TSS took the meta by storm, with a more agressive variation of TSS (Toxic + Spikes + Sandstorm) that instead of trying to win slowly like the TSS teams at the time, could beat both defensive and offensive teams with solid defensive cores, a big number of spikes immunes (the biggest source of damage of classic defensive TSS) and constant pressure with Spikes + Sand + heavy hitters like modest restalk Zapdos or CB Aerodactyl, taking advantage as well of a Netbattle bug at that time, where Substitute blocked Rapid Spin from removing Spikes.

20 years after the creation of this team, variations of Superman are still very popular and is still one of the best and most consistent playstyles in ADV OU. A lot of modern variations have pokemons such as Gengar to block Spin, but the idea is still the same: sand, spikes, spikes immunity and constant pressure.
 
View attachment 769085

Some comments on the ranked S, A+ and A mons:

tyranitar.png.m.1753797560

Tyranitar is the king of ADV and will probably always be just because of how good sand is, to the point where some teams main goal is removing sand to work. And not only that, Tyranitar can do a lot of things: pressure Bliss while hitting hard, being one of the best late game set up sweepers, trapping, etc.

skarmory.png.m.1753797560

Skarmory is the best spiker by far, and spikes are very good. Incredible bulk and utility, even the existance of Magneton doesn't stop it from being one of the best mons in the tier.

zapdos.png.m.1753797560

Zapdos is an incredible mon, both defensively and offensively, especially when paired with things to remove or pressure special walls like Blissey. It can hit very hard with Thunderbolt, it can status with TWave or Toxic, it can BP to easily keep the offensive tempo of the game. Defensive Rest Zapdos can wall a big number of mixed and special threats in the game, especially if there is no sand. Speedpass ban hasn't really affected it imo, because it had much better sets already.

metagross.png.m.1753797560

Metagross used Meteor Mash! Metagross attack raised! and Metagross user auto won the game. That has happened to everybody. Metagross is an offensive rock resist that can easily pressure other teams, but the threat of Explosion is what makes this mon very dangerous: it can remove a key mon of the other team, even standard Skarmory is OHKOd by Explosion if Metagross has CB.

suicune.png.m.1753797560

Suicune is one of my "signature" ADV mons. Pressure, CM, huge bulk, Roar... it can be defensive, offensive, and all those sets can work. In fact, a big number of common teams are weak to a well used Suicune. Substitute, Roar, Sleep Talk and Ice Beam (especially modest) are 4 moves that can change what Pokemon can counter Suicune. Counters to defensive Suicune (like Zapdos or Celebi) can lose to more offensive sets, and the opposite is also true. I have used Suicune a lot in my SPL + classic runs last year and I won most of the games where I used it.

blissey.png.m.1753797560

Blissey can stop complete playstyles with its incredible special bulk, with a lot of support options for the team, like Wish or Aromatherapy, as well as being able to spread status so it is not a set up fodder. It can even beat physical attackers with Counter, or making them much less dangerous with Thunder Wave.

swampert.png.m.1753797560

Swampert the bulky water and bulky ground at the same time, the best counter to the 3 "titans" of ADV: Tyranitar, Metagross and Salamence (unless they run HP Grass). Recently I have been using Refresh Pert in some balanced teams, or even in more offensive teams like my 4x CB team, sometimes paired with Dug to remove Celebi or Starmie, and it has been working very well. Offensive variations of Swampert can also be very effective, with HP + IB + EQ + FPunch.

gengar.png.m.1753797560

Gengar is a very versatile Pokemon with very unique roles, and a big number of resistances and immunities, including Rapid Spin. Its speed, power, coverage and support options make it a very dangerous mon. WoW is a very annoying move for physical mons that could try to pressure it, Taunt allows it to block defensive mon attempts to recover or to status it, Dbond allows it to remove a dangerous threat or a spinner, Hypnosis can temporaly disable a threat, and Explosion can remove special walls from the game to support other special threats.

salamence.png.m.1753797560

Salamence is the third ADV titan, amazing mon both offensively and defensively, with a big movepool and a lot of options in both sides of the spectrum, it could use a mixed set with Dragon Claw, Fire Blast, HP Grass with physical options like Brick Break or even Rock Slide to hit special walls. Or it could be a physical threat with its huge attack stat and the option of DD. Intimidate is one of the best defensive abilities in the game.

aerodactyl.png.m.1753797560

Aerodactyl, one of the faces of offensive TSS teams, and especially Superman teams, the fastest viable mon in OU (tied with Jolteon), with the power of Rock Slide on its side. Every ADV player has lost many games to a well timed Rock Slide flinch from Aerodactyl. And thanks to its ability, it takes no recoil from D-E to hit bulky grounds very hard. With spikes and sand immunity, even a 1% Aerodactyl is always a threat and can easily win games.

dugtrio.png.m.1753797560

Dugtrio the hunter, being able to remove some key mons from the game at the cost of giving a free turn to the opponent. Dug is very frail and only has 1 role, but its an unique role and it does it very well. Like 10 years ago I created a bulkier set of Dugtrio that always survived Blissey Ice Beam, which allowed special oriented teams to be more effective. Adamant Dugtrio doesnt outspeed some mons like Starmie, but the extra damage is huge against some mons. Jolly Dugtrio is probably still the most consistent version overall.

jirachi.png.m.1753797560

Jirachi is another one of those mons that are really good offensive and defensively. Defensive variations can wall a big number of threats, while spreading status (Body Slam 60% para or Toxic) and healing the team with Wish. Offensive variations with Calm Mind can sweep teams and have a lot of options: 101 HP Substitutes to block status and give it free turns, or coverage with Fire Punch, Ice Punch, Thunder(bolt), Psychic or Hp Grass. Serene Grace makes it extra dangerous with the 20% freeze chance and the more likely paras or sp def drops.

flygon.png.m.1753797560

And finally, honorable mention to Flygon, another of my "signature" ADV mons. It is one of the 2 mons that can resist eq + rs, it is immune to both sand and spikes, it is a bulky ground not weak to grass (the most common coverage option for electrics and some mixed threats because of how good Swampert it), and it has as a very good speed tier. A lot of teams are unprepared for Flygon and have a lot of problems dealing with it. It is a Pokemon that works better when its usage is lower. I have always liked CB Flygon archetypes, especially when paired with Magneton, it is very good against CMers and balanced teams.




On another note, one of the most influential teams in pokemon history: Superman, is already 20 years old.

tyranitar.png.m.1753797560
skarmory.png.m.1753797560
zapdos.png.m.1753797560
swampert.png.m.1753797560
aerodactyl.png.m.1753797560
flygon.png.m.1753797560


In a game dominated by defensive teams (nearly always with skarmbliss), this new kind of TSS took the meta by storm, with a more agressive variation of TSS (Toxic + Spikes + Sandstorm) that instead of trying to win slowly like the TSS teams at the time, could beat both defensive and offensive teams with solid defensive cores, a big number of spikes immunes (the biggest source of damage of classic defensive TSS) and constant pressure with Spikes + Sand + heavy hitters like modest restalk Zapdos or CB Aerodactyl, taking advantage as well of a Netbattle bug at that time, where Substitute blocked Rapid Spin from removing Spikes.

20 years after the creation of this team, variations of Superman are still very popular and is still one of the best and most consistent playstyles in ADV OU. A lot of modern variations have pokemons such as Gengar to block Spin, but the idea is still the same: sand, spikes, spikes immunity and constant pressure.
The cool part of using lead zapdos on every team is that you don’t telegraph jack shit about your team. Also finally, a good player puts zapdos in top 5. He’s the GOAT for a reason
 
It's an honorable mention. I hit rank 1 with kingler a few months back
Honestly was humbled by the "Kingler + 3 Other UUBL Mons" Team on the ladder when the 4BL Mons Challenge was ongoing at the time and I was quite impressed that the elo goal within' the range of 1800s was achieved; could have gone either way, although the favors seemed to be leaning towards you winning overall at the time.

(I'm also glad that SpeedPass was voted to be banned; as someone who personally doesn't like dealing with JaskPass or whatever SpeedPass-related type of 'cheese' in a sense of laddering ADV OU, before stopping my 'personal' elo goal of reaching the range within' the 1800s at most and await for some possible suspect test in a retrospect of sorts; I did consider the side that are opposed to the idea of banning SpeedPass btw.)
 
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I’ve been playing on Smogon since 2015.
My highest ranking was 8th on Gen 3 OU, like a week ago.

I just found out Smeargle dragon dance baton pass is banned.

I didn’t say anything when sand attack was banned, or when past gen ubers and anything goes were removed from competitive play.

But banning Ninjask baton pass, just destroys the entire concept of the pokemon.

And never do the changes come to ban Tyranitar or Skarmory, not a single thing to limit the most propped up pokemon. Tyranitar and Skarmory are garbage in Ubers. And OU has done every thing possible to keep them active. And its not that they aren’t beatable, they not beatable quickly. And everything that speeds up the game has been removed.

Respectfully, its beyond the pale. I’ve proven to myself that I can be in the top 10 in this broken Gen 3 OU, and with some luck, I can be #1.

But for me, the extreme limitations on the Gen are ruining the fun. Lots of 100+ turn battles, just chipping away at a Skarmory in a sandstorm, always.

I can keep using the exact same team, and depending on 10% outcomes like CRIT, FRZ, Thunderbolt PAR, I’ll either be in the top 100 or the top 10. And to that effect, the game has become a slot machine. There’s no more designing teams. The gen has becoming limited to a point that its not even a meta game. Its a Mega Meta Pokemon game called beat the Tyranitar & Skarmory while not using 95% of the possible strategies.

I don’t understand why you people are so fixated on ruining online competitive Pokemon.

Alright, no minimize, or double team,
But sand attack is one of the first moves to use in Pokémon history.

Alright, only one Pokemon can be put to sleep at a time,
But that Breloom that just put me to sleep is weak to Ninjask, which means at minimum I’ll get to baton pass a speed boost to a pokemon that matches up with whomever was switched in for the breloom,

Including a Pokémon with suction cups.

But now I can’t, which also eliminates Cradlily and Octilerally from competitive play.

WHY. Why keep propping up Skarmory and Tyranitar.
Why allow Celebi and Jirachi but not Mew.
They’re all 600.

Why am I completely un represented. How is it that this entire community disagrees with me. I’m in the minority because I want to use sand attack? No. I’m the silent majority, that just keeps playing, and in the in game chat will agree with the others that Smogon sucks now.
 
Sand attack isn't banned. And if you're capable of laddering to the top 10 you could've participated in the suspect test and voted against a speedpass ban, like I did. If you aren't good enough to do that, which I suspect is the case, at least recognize that the players making the decision are better than you.

Also, you can still play ubers or anything goes. Nobody is stopping you. There's just no ladder because nobody else wants to play it.
 
Sand attack isn't banned. And if you're capable of laddering to the top 10 you could've participated in the suspect test and voted against a speedpass ban, like I did. If you aren't good enough to do that, which I suspect is the case, at least recognize that the players making the decision are better than you.

Also, you can still play ubers or anything goes. Nobody is stopping you. There's just no ladder because nobody else wants to play it.
99% sure it's just a joke
 
I’ve been playing on Smogon since 2015.
My highest ranking was 8th on Gen 3 OU, like a week ago.

I just found out Smeargle dragon dance baton pass is banned.

I didn’t say anything when sand attack was banned, or when past gen ubers and anything goes were removed from competitive play.

But banning Ninjask baton pass, just destroys the entire concept of the pokemon.

And never do the changes come to ban Tyranitar or Skarmory, not a single thing to limit the most propped up pokemon. Tyranitar and Skarmory are garbage in Ubers. And OU has done every thing possible to keep them active. And its not that they aren’t beatable, they not beatable quickly. And everything that speeds up the game has been removed.

Respectfully, its beyond the pale. I’ve proven to myself that I can be in the top 10 in this broken Gen 3 OU, and with some luck, I can be #1.

But for me, the extreme limitations on the Gen are ruining the fun. Lots of 100+ turn battles, just chipping away at a Skarmory in a sandstorm, always.

I can keep using the exact same team, and depending on 10% outcomes like CRIT, FRZ, Thunderbolt PAR, I’ll either be in the top 100 or the top 10. And to that effect, the game has become a slot machine. There’s no more designing teams. The gen has becoming limited to a point that its not even a meta game. Its a Mega Meta Pokemon game called beat the Tyranitar & Skarmory while not using 95% of the possible strategies.

I don’t understand why you people are so fixated on ruining online competitive Pokemon.

Alright, no minimize, or double team,
But sand attack is one of the first moves to use in Pokémon history.

Alright, only one Pokemon can be put to sleep at a time,
But that Breloom that just put me to sleep is weak to Ninjask, which means at minimum I’ll get to baton pass a speed boost to a pokemon that matches up with whomever was switched in for the breloom,

Including a Pokémon with suction cups.

But now I can’t, which also eliminates Cradlily and Octilerally from competitive play.

WHY. Why keep propping up Skarmory and Tyranitar.
Why allow Celebi and Jirachi but not Mew.
They’re all 600.

Why am I completely un represented. How is it that this entire community disagrees with me. I’m in the minority because I want to use sand attack? No. I’m the silent majority, that just keeps playing, and in the in game chat will agree with the others that Smogon sucks now.
>been playing since 2015
>joined today at 1:38 AM
1757530388271.png


rest in piss ninjask if this happened a year ago I would have unironically launched fireworks
 
Approved by me

Hello folks! ADV Cup is nearly over, so we're going to open submissions for the ADV OU VR for 2025!

Here is a clear list of criteria for the VR submission, you must meet at least one of them to be part of the VR update:
  • Made Top 8 of ADV Cup.
  • Played in the most recent Jimvitational (play-ins not included).
  • Made Top 4 in the last Seasonal or Championship.
  • Reached 1800 on the ladder in the last 6 months (February 28th).
Of course, feel free to post your VR on the forums in this thread, regardless of if you appear in the list or not.

If you wish to submit a VR, follow the instructions below to create a sheet. Afterwards, you must send me a PM (Smogon or Discord (goldmason)) with your qualification from the list above, as well as your completed sheet. Any ladder screenshot must in some way include the date or be dated for the last six months. If you wish to verify your reqs with me first, you may.

If you qualify, we are using a different method to submit VRs this year! And anyone not qualified can use this sheet as well, if you'd like.

Princess Autumn's fantastic VR Sheet
  • Click on the link above. Click yes to make a copy of the sheet.
  • You can either submit your list as text or as a tier maker-esque format:
    • List: Input a Pokémon's name in column E and their rank (S-E) in column B. The list will be assumed to be sorted by ranking order so order them accordingly,
    • Tier Maker: Select the Pokémon's name from the dropdowns in column H-U, the sprite will populate above the name. You are limited to 15 Pokémon in tiers S-D and 45 in E, if you need more, use the text format.
  • To be very clear, as vapi also reiterated below, only your rankings matter for the VR. Tiers are purely for aesthetic/to match the tiermaker image generator.

The deadline for submitting your VR is <t:1759118340:F>. You may ladder until then to try and get reqs for the VR.

Old Tiermaker image generator

PS: There is a speedpass suspect going on. If you think your rankings will change depending on the outcome of the suspect, make sure to update your sheet.
Just an update to this: I have been busy as fuck the last 2 weeks; my discord archived my DMs from before the 8th and I want to make sure I didn't miss any submissions. I have:

OOF_MAXIMA
Zpanther
Spreek
Johnald
Rambode
Endill
McMeghan
Kollin7
Mintyfresh756
HeyYa!_Forte
softshellcrabcakes
SpamOn

If you're not on this list I didn't receive your VR, please poke me again. Thanks!
 
So I incorporated a simple rule while constructing this VR:
I decided to place no more than 8 Mons per tier, without + or -
D-class however, has 14 for the inclusion of some noteworthy Mons.
Yeah not too important although it clearly nominates Mons for a tier but the cut-offs aren't strict.
Despite any +/- indications anyone at the front of B-class may still be considered B+ (or even A-) and vice versa

1092839b029704n.png


a few notes
[S to A is positioned with intent so thats Top10, B-tier has rough placement esp btwn Mie, Aero, Dol
[I chose 8 Mons per tier (A-C) I guess to accentuate how they compare against each other, even Yama in D would be the cut-off for Shitmonsville
[I could have included Machamp, Colo, Maldo, P2, Sableye
[Cloyster should go to the end because it sucks

:Jynx: (D/C-)
I have to put Jynx at the top of D because she just might be the premier, #1 shitmon of all time. She lies on the cusp abnormality & viability (definitely leaning towards "wtf are they cooking") with very distinguished traits:
-Lovely Kiss
-95 base Spe, which isn't phenomenal but will certainly punish any 100 Speeder who lacks the faster Nature
-A toolbox of criminal tactics:
Thief on her is soooo good, do you know how many Blissey's lefties I've stolen?! Add Milotic and Metagross to the list, 9/10 this will neuter your oppo's Special tank, just try not to steal a choice band.
Taunt is good against slower CMers, Perish Song can force out the switch-in, Hp Fire can work, lmao why does she get Screens, I feel like you can pull off the most despicable shit if your mind is open. Her appeal comes in the form of opening up opportunities for physical attackers after Kiss. She often lures Milo, Ttar, Gross, Bliss and Forre.

:Raikou: (B-)
Yes that is Raikou in B; if Medi deserves to dragged into OU then this guy may as well too.
I know VRs do not imply definitive OU status but, if you look at most the Mons in B and up are OU
But yeah this guy really gets to work man, operating as a special offensive threat and defensive pivot. Get a nice boost and let those +1 Tbolts drizzle! Coverage is straightforward, often the prominent choice is Sub vs Roar. The latter is supposed to counter Suicune but tread carefully with offensive variants (esp if your Kou is). He really shuffles well with Roar becus his offensive attributes are comparable to Zap, awesome speed control + CM, so with Spikes it gets dicey. Apprehends Zap quite handily and beats Jolteon in a similar fashion (esp if it lacks Roar). Can beat so many Mons because it's so easy to CM with him. Then he really just hard forces Pert or Flygon, Metagross :worrywhirl:....Aero, RoarJolt and we hoping this not for the revenge kill lmao. Sub is reeeally good on a forced switch, cancels status from Blissey (and she loses without Stoss). In the right situation it can beat Bliss, she's often chipped anyways. Or with the right support it can use Rest to effectively stall out. To go further, people have been experimenting with more defensive Kou spreads to alleviate some of it's issues and create auspicious outcomes (like there should be some new sauce).

:Registeel: (C-)
In actuality he should be in front of Regice but I'm biased, I can't re-position my goat. Anyways, Registeel has proven to be the most useful of the 3 with it's auspicious typing and stellar mixed defenses. Its certainly not bad for all the things it can attempt to do. EVs can be tailored for a wide range of interactions. Spreads T-Wave ez, Counter works like a charm, has no problem going Boom. I even had a friend running Quiet w/ Ice Punch + Hp Grass to kill Mence and a well chipped Pert (don't worry it wasn't max Spa lmao). Should also note that non-TW Magnetons lose pretty easily to TW Registeel with Stoss

:Smeargle: (D)
A superbly versatile shitmon whom I'm afraid will lose some viability becus of SpeedPass proceedings. I mean it can still Spore, toss Spikes on anyone slower or a specific threat. Salac has been used to pull off something annoying, passing that +1 was nice sometimes. DDance Smeargle was somewhat popular right before the decision. Every nerf to Baton Pass diminished those kind of antics Smeargle could segue, as before all these restrictions it can take devious to higher levels.

:Medicham: (C)
It's okaaay, yall gassin it up. Don't get me wrong-- it's sorta easy to use Foc Pun because of the immense dmg ranges it threatens with any move.
-1 252 Atk Pure Power Medicham Focus Punch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Salamence: 119-141 (35.9 - 42.5%)
I gave you one, now go do your own calcs. As you can see it puts a dent on standard Mence, mind you this is w/out CB. It can really diminish someone's presence if they take too hard of a hit, so the receiver may have to play a guessing game or stomach the dmg. You can also hit it back, bro needs more protein. (Ideally you'd rather strike 1st) Send out the beefy tank or don't play scared, and if you hit it during Foc Pun that's like a 3 pointer, all net.

:Zapdos: (A+)
What's the word with the bird? It's time to be honest folks, Zap is applying big pressure. Top 5!!
I understand many sentiments regarding Zap with SpeedPassing, this just further postulates it's danger level. Not knowing what the Zap in front of you has is problematic, beyond the chosen hidden power. This uncertainty is often where Zap garners momentum and can make great use of support moves (T-Wave, Sub, Toxic, Roar). There literally is not one bad Zapdos set; with intentionality Zap will always leverage it's (possible) assets. For fear of high dmg ranges or getting T-Waved few are compelled to switch into a healthy Zap besides Bliss ofc (but meh). Even then some may run Peck or the rare Hp Fighting to snipe Ttar or outlast oppos with RestTalk (Roar!!) investing in a defense to become a premier switch-in, truly a force to be reckoned with. Goodbye AgilZap </3

:Aerodactyl: (B+)
Its good but sort of overrated due to it's primary usage.
|| a D-edge here, a D-edge there
hidden pwr Bug to keep Celebi away
a D-edge is near, can feel it in the air
This rock slide flinch might ruin your day ||
Its not all that good without CB but liechi can more or less (definitely less) give you the same outcome
Regardless, when the janitor is around yk what he does
Pressure Aero is worth exploration but is obnoxious

:Blissey: (A)
Honestly I won't even say much. She's #6, has a lot of tools at her disposal, supports the team well by targeting specific threats, is often over-relied on, easily exploitable, vastly obese lmao aigh
Bliss has been doing what she always does & then some but I think the Mons around her are just getting better
Counter is very good, choose your last two wisely. Sing is good & she picks great essential oils.
Oh wait, you thought to come in with 50% on my Skarm, you wanted to Softboil? I have Taunt dear & I'll leave an extra layer for you mkay <3

:Starmie: (B+)
Like I really want to place my guy in A, but lately he been coming up short. Ngl, ModestMie > any other Mie
It reaches these beautifully ideal ranges against Zap, Celebi, Cune where that +SpA nature makes the difference btwn a clean 2hko or contemplating the switch. Oh but one time I Hpumped a lead Ttar and that shit did 90% (I guess it had a lot of HP) then I died to Crunch, like wtf man. I think ModestMie would love spikes (even sand) to secure those possible 2hkos. From what I've heard, ppl are spinning with Mie less and running 3atks, Recov type sets. Claydol is the best spinner imo, Mie can actually force out those Spikers with Tbolt or repeated STAB. Honestly, Im not sure on the consensus of bulkier variants. I hear mixed reviews on BoldMie.
I can say more but if you really be using Starmie you should know it's limitations.

:Suicune: (A)
Okay so for me Cune is tied with Bliss for #6 and funny shit they really do have a relationship in Calm Mind. In fact, CM Bliss is the only reliable one that beats all Suicune if you think about it. If their last Mon (or 2) is Cune using Rest you're not gonna send out Stoss Blissey and expect to win, right? In the 2v2? You need someone that can 3hko Cune to level the field or use Roar ofc, really depends. Some ppl are running SpDef Cune to contest Zapdos better, I haven't tried that but I imagine it can provide some staying power. Max HP is pretty swell, being fast is also neat. Max Spe & HP on Modest is actually great, being faster than many bulky variants of whoever is great works to position yourself with Sub or keep your boosts with Roar. Having Cune on your team you might ask yourself "How can I support it to open up potential win-cons & what can I run to strengthen certain MUs or dismantle particular cores" Using Suicune requires some good planning to really open the floodgates. Everyone knows when you teambuild ADV you have to be ready for it.

Mag & Dug
They don't feel so delicately placed in a tier to me, they deserve more of a category
maybe they aren't even worth ranking, these MFs are gatekeepers
Mad people giving them A-rank on the VR. I don't respect these two, call me a hater
Neither of them really feel low B-tier, just shitmons with polarizing abilities, when I placed them I noticed something interesante
Dugtrio practically gatekeeps everyone C-tier (to some extent, bar Jolt) limiting their overall potential in the meta, while Mag is after Spikers
(this is not balderdash, its meant to bother anyone and C-Mons feel it the most)
Dug is the equivalent of some guy running up to a person (full speed) saying "Yo run your pockets" then decks the shit out of them
terrible source of income, so much can go wrong
Mag has more going for it but can feel worse, he's built like a flimsy souvenir magnet from 2009 lmao
Takes like ~40% from Zap's Tbolts and I know yo ass don't got lefties
It just has so many bad MUs against big threats & Dug be like "if you not a Flying type -bitch- scrub tha ground" (its a Migos song)

:Marowak:
Let us all take a moment of silence for Cubone's mum.
Hit the dance floor once and was suddenly the life of the party
Had real fun with that, I did AgilZap with RoarCune, Hera & Psong Bi
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Interactions with Dug
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White are ez pickings
Yellow doesn't benefit enough/as much from Dug antics
Moltres could benefit a lot from Dug maybe reliant at times
Jolt: boy if you don't get out my face
(needs at least 1 spike to OHKO bulkless Dug, so tread carefully)

please spare me the technicalities lmao this is rather general
 
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So I incorporated a simple rule while constructing this VR:
I decided to place no more than 8 Mons per tier, without + or -
D-class however, has 14 for the inclusion of some noteworthy Mons.
Yeah not too important although it clearly nominates Mons for a tier but the cut-offs aren't strict.
Despite any +/- indications anyone at the front of B-class may still be considered B+ (or even A-) and vice versa

View attachment 770463

a few notes
[S to A is positioned with intent so thats Top10, B-tier has rough placement esp btwn Mie, Aero, Dol
[I chose 8 Mons per tier (A-C) I guess to accentuate how they compare against each other, even Yama in D would be the cut-off for Shitmonsville
[I could have included Machamp, Colo, Maldo, P2, Sableye
[Cloyster should go to the end because it sucks

:Jynx: (D/C-)
I have to put Jynx at the top of D because she just might be the premier, #1 shitmon of all time. She lies on the cusp abnormality & viability (definitely leaning towards "wtf are they cooking") with very distinguished traits:
-Lovely Kiss
-95 base Spe, which isn't phenomenal but will certainly punish any 100 Speeder who lacks the faster Nature
-A toolbox of criminal tactics:
Thief on her is soooo good, do you know how many Blissey's lefties I've stolen?! Add Milotic and Metagross to the list, 9/10 this will neuter your oppo's Special tank, just try not to steal a choice band.
Taunt is good against slower CMers, Perish Song can force out the switch-in, Hp Fire can work, lmao why does she get Screens, I feel like you can pull off the most despicable shit if your mind is open. Her appeal comes in the form of opening up opportunities for physical attackers after Kiss. She often lures Milo, Ttar, Gross, Bliss and Forre.

:Raikou: (B-)
Yes that is Raikou in B; if Medi deserves to dragged into OU then this guy may as well too.
I know VRs do not imply definitive OU status but, if you look at most the Mons in B and up are OU
But yeah this guy really gets to work man, operating as a special offensive threat and defensive pivot. Get a nice boost and let those +1 Tbolts drizzle! Coverage is straightforward, often the prominent choice is Sub vs Roar. The latter is supposed to counter Suicune but tread carefully with offensive variants (esp if your Kou is). He really shuffles well with Roar becus his offensive attributes are comparable to Zap, awesome speed control + CM, so with Spikes it gets dicey. Apprehends Zap quite handily and beats Jolteon in a similar fashion (esp if it lacks Roar). Can beat so many Mons because it's so easy to CM with him. Then he really just hard forces Pert or Flygon, Metagross :worrywhirl:....Aero, RoarJolt and we hoping this not for the revenge kill lmao. Sub is reeeally good on a forced switch, cancels status from Blissey (and she loses without Stoss). In the right situation it can beat Bliss, she's often chipped anyways. Or with the right support it can use Rest to effectively stall out. To go further, people have been experimenting with more defensive Kou spreads to alleviate some of it's issues and create auspicious outcomes (like there should be some new sauce).

:Registeel: (C-)
In actuality he should be in front of Regice but I'm biased, I can't re-position my goat. Anyways, Registeel has proven to be the most useful of the 3 with it's auspicious typing and stellar mixed defenses. It certainly isn't bad for all the things it can attempt to do. EVs can be tailored for a wide range of interactions. Spreads T-Wave ez, Counter works like a charm, has no problem going Boom. I even had a friend running Quiet w/ Ice Punch + Hp Grass to kill Mence and a well chipped Pert (don't worry it wasn't max Spa lmao).

:Smeargle: (D)
A superbly versatile shitmon whom I'm afraid will lose some viability becus of SpeedPass proceedings. I mean it can still Spore, toss Spikes on anyone slower or a specific threat. Salac has been used to pull off something annoying, passing that +1 was nice sometimes. DDance Smeargle was somewhat popular right before the decision. Every nerf to Baton Pass diminished those kind of antics Smeargle could segue, as before all these restrictions it can take devious to higher levels.

:Medicham: (C)
It's okaaay, yall gassin it up. Don't get me wrong-- it's sorta easy to use Foc Pun because of the immense dmg ranges it threatens with any move.
-1 252 Atk Pure Power Medicham Focus Punch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Salamence: 119-141 (35.9 - 42.5%)
I gave you one, now go do your own calcs. As you can see it puts a dent on standard Mence, mind you this is w/out CB. It can really diminish someone's presence if they take too hard of a hit, so the receiver may have to play a guessing game or stomach the dmg. You can also hit it back, bro needs more protein. (Ideally you'd rather strike 1st) Send out the beefy tank or don't play scared, and if you hit it during Foc Pun that's like a 3 pointer, all net.

:Zapdos: (A+)
What's the word with the bird? It's time to be honest folks, Zap is applying big pressure. Top 5!!
I understand many sentiments regarding Zap with SpeedPassing, this just further postulates it's danger level. Not knowing what the Zap in front of you has is problematic, beyond the chosen hidden power. This uncertainty is often where Zap garners momentum and can make great use of support moves (T-Wave, Sub, Toxic, Roar). There literally is not one bad Zapdos set; with intentionality Zap will always leverage it's (possible) assets. For fear of high dmg ranges or getting T-Waved few are compelled to switch into a healthy Zap besides Bliss ofc (but meh). Even then some may run Peck or the rare Hp Fighting to snipe Ttar or outlast oppos with RestTalk (Roar!!) investing in a defense to become a premier switch-in, truly a force to be reckoned with. Goodbye AgilZap </3

:Aerodactyl: (B+)
Its good but sort of overrated due to it's primary usage.
|| a D-edge here, a D-edge there
hidden pwr Bug to keep Celebi away
a D-edge is near, can feel it in the air
This rock slide flinch might ruin your day ||
Its not all that good without CB but liechi can more or less (definitely less) give you the same outcome
Regardless, when the janitor is around yk what he does
Pressure Aero is worth exploration but is obnoxious

:Blissey: (A)
Honestly I won't even say much. She's #6, has a lot of tools at her disposal, supports the team well by targeting specific threats, is often over-relied on, easily exploitable, vastly obese lmao aigh
Bliss has been doing what she always does & then some but I think the Mons around her are just getting better
Counter is very good, choose your last two wisely. Sing is good & she picks great essential oils.
Oh wait, you thought to come in with 50% on my Skarm, you wanted to Softboil? I have Taunt dear & I'll leave an extra layer for you mkay <3

:Starmie: (B+)
Like I really want to place my guy in A, but lately he been coming up short. Ngl, ModestMie > any other Mie
It reaches these beautifully ideal ranges against Zap, Celebi, Cune where that +SpA nature makes the difference btwn a clean 2hko or contemplating the switch. Oh but one time I Hpumped a lead Ttar and that shit did 90% (I guess it had a lot of HP) then I died to Crunch, like wtf man. I think ModestMie would love spikes (even sand) to secure those possible 2hkos. From what I've heard, ppl are spinning with Mie less and running 3atks, Recov type sets. Claydol is the best spinner imo, Mie can actually force out those Spikers with Tbolt or repeated STAB. Honestly, Im not sure on the consensus of bulkier Starmie. I hear mixed reviews on BoldMie.
I can say more but if you really be using Starmie you should know it's limitations.

:Suicune: (A)
Okay so for me Cune is tied with Bliss for #6 and funny shit they really do have a relationship in Calm Mind. In fact, CM Bliss is the only reliable one that beats all Suicune if you think about it. If their last Mon (or 2) is Cune using Rest you're not gonna send out Stoss Blissey and expect to win, right? In the 2v2? You need someone that can 3hko Cune to level the field or use Roar ofc, really depends. Some ppl are running SpDef Cune to contest Zapdos better, I haven't tried that but I imagine it can provide some staying power. Max HP is pretty swell, being fast is also neat. Max Spe & HP on Modest is actually great, being faster than many bulky variants of whoever is great works to position yourself with Sub or keep your boosts with Roar. Having Cune on your team you might ask yourself "How can I support it to maximize potential win-cons & what can I run to strengthen certain MUs or dismantle particular cores" Using Suicune requires some good planning to really open the floodgates. Everyone knows when you teambuild ADV you have to be ready for it.

Mag & Dug
They don't feel so delicately placed in a tier to me, they deserve more of a category
maybe they aren't even worth ranking, these MFs are gatekeepers
Mad people giving them A-rank on the VR. I don't respect these two, call me a hater
Neither of them really feel low B-tier, just shitmons with polarizing abilities, when I placed them I noticed something interesante
Dugtrio practically gatekeeps everyone C-tier (to some extent, bar Jolt) limiting their overall potential in the meta, while Mag is after Spikers
(this is not balderdash, its meant to bother anyone and C-Mons feel it the most)
Dug is the equivalent of some guy running up to a person (full speed) saying "Yo run your pockets" then decks the shit out of them
terrible source of income, so much can go wrong
Mag has more going for it but can feel worse, once his job is complete (if there was one) its crippling lmao
Bro takes like ~40% from Zap's Tbolts and I know yo ass don't got lefties
It just has so many bad MUs against big threats & Dug be like "if you not a Flying type -bitch- scrub tha ground" (its a Migos song)

:Marowak:
Let us all take a moment of silence for Cubone's mum.
Hit the dance floor once and was suddenly the life of the party
Had real fun with that, I did AgilZap with RoarCune, Hera & Psong Bi
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________--
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Interactions with Dug
View attachment 770496
White are ez pickings
Yellow doesn't benefit enough/as much from Dug antics
Moltres could benefit a lot from Dug maybe reliant
Jolt: boy if you don't get out my face

please spare me the technicalities lmao this is rather general
all I'm gonna say is t wave counter registeel is better than everything in c tier except heracross
 
VR Submitted:
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Pretty Similar to what I wrote a few months back so I won't elaborate on much. A few takes I will give based on what I have been thinking about recently:
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Still number 1 for me. Maybe this comes from the perspective of a ladder play, but sand limits so much random cheese. Also, provided you want Sand, you can pretty much always find 4 moves that you want on a Tyranitar for any team. I really recommend people try using less "standard" sets. Sub-Punch can be an absolute nightmare to play around given this things basically learns every coverage move in the game. I also love just using things like bulky MixTar with Pursuit. Pursuit is just an amazing move and at a high level you can get very creative about how you use it and help enable loads of other stuff - Pursuit + Grass for Pert, Pursuit + IB for Mence, Pursuit + Slide for loads of Flyers.
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- Doesn't fit onto a wide breadth of styles, but the teams it does fit onto are amazing. I think uber-bulky Wisp+Taunt Gar should be used more. I see so many fat teams that are fundamentally weak to this and often rely on Dol killing it when it tries to SpinBlock. If you resist the temptation and just spam Wisp+Taunt you can wreak havoc. If not using this, good ol' 3 atks+boom is great.
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Bit of a Marmite-Mon for a lot of people at the moment it seems. I don't rate it that highly. I really struggle to fit offensive sets onto teams due its lack of a clear defensive niche compared to other flyers. It also thuds into a lot of special walls and so requires support from something like Dug (Special offence) or Gar+Spikes (El Classico) to help remove them. Registeel is also throwing a bit of a spanner in the works here. I am still rating it A out of respect to those teams since it is obviously one of the most powerful mons when the right defensive piece has been removed.
Using it as an enabler of physical attackers like fighters on MixOff or Spikeless balance is valid, but these teams often struggle with natural speed and are weak to fast revenge killers (Aero/Dug/Offmie) and this is where the Agil-Pass ban is hurting it. It is also increasingly competing with Raikou here it seems as an electric type attacker.
One thing I will say is that I think Bolt, Ice, Tox, Protect/Roar is the best set in most cases and the one I try to fit onto teams. At least I don't like Grass + T-Wave in a lot of situations. Blanking into Dol, Bi, Gon isn't worth being able to hit RefPert, and Grass Zap being used as a Pert switch in is often massively awkward anyways.
DefZap isn't really my thing so I won't say too much about it. Definitely valid and strong in the right circumstances, but I think you need to invest in something like weather clear or Aroma to make it reliable at its job which leads to a pretty specific kind of team.
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God tier ladder mon. If you want to make a climb, this thing + Spikes is often the way to go. It is great against random cheese, provides paths to win a lot of games and rewards good players who are able to get an advantage in the early/middle game via getting up Spikes and chipping the relevant walls. Not higher just cause it and its team style, though strong, are often highly telegraphed and prepped for by good players.
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Not a very odd placement, but I think Molt is interesting. It taught me more about teambuilding than any other mon: embrace the inconsistency.
Molt near auto wins some MUs but is hard walled by Blissey (and basically only Blissey). Trying to stack spikes and Roar Bliss multiple times to break through it is not reliable (plus Molt+Gar is too hard to support IMO). Accepting that it won't achieve much offensively in some games and finding other ways to punish Blissey is the best way. This might seem obvious now but I remember struggling with it for so long expecting it to do more than it could. Molt + SubCM Jirachi is good and I am big fan of Molt+CB Tar. With Molt's defensive issues and the time it needs to break through some structures, these teams always seem to have more of a "peaky" MU spread, but I think that is okay sometimes for the upside this mon provides.
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Hera is still the best fighter IMHO. Has a unique defensive profile to allow it to get into the field and is one of the few physical attacks that matches up well into Pert. Megahorn is a crazy move. Sub-Punch is my preferred set and I think it's amazing - consistently gets value and fits well on balance teams with Para and/or Wish support. Not a fan of SD+3atks - it feels like it doesn't have the consistency of Sub-Punch or the immediate power of CB which you would like on a mon which wants to be an early/mid game breaker. Salac sets are ridiculous at times but obviously aren't that consistent.

I probably shouldn't have rated Medi this high, but you will just lose to it in 5 turns once in a while so you have to respect that. Still feel it's a bit over-hyped cause it basically needs to get good value as a lead/on its first entry. A common sequence is Medi vs Bliss/Tar → pivot directly/indirectly to Skarm → Skarm takes a Medi hit make a Spike and gets Mag trapped →Medi never does anything again. It's just so frail and isn't that fast.

I find Breloom to be very inconsistent. A lot of teams will have a way to either blank it or something like a Mence which makes it into a momentum sink after Sporing something. Obviously Spore is a crazy move, but it lacks the targeted progress making that I would like - it is often hard to predict what your opponent will sleep sack and thus hard to offensively gameplan around having Loom vs a lot of other breakers it is competing with. Also, this thing is kinda hurt by the Speed-Pass ban as I think it was one the best/most underrated receivers. Maybe just not one for me.

Machamp has a unique place among the ADV fighters as the Bulk Up set can 1v1 a lot of the typical Fighter checks like MixMence and Skarm and is far less Dug Weak. The main issue is Cross Chop's inaccuracy and PP, which means it is a bit of a lottery mon to ladder with. Champ is also pretty slow, slower than a lot of the things it would like to break through, and so it doesn't feel like it gets many entries before it dies.

As I said in my previous VR, I don't think Yama is that good. A lot of teams with it are too all in and using Yama to break fat, inflexible or have some major defensive hole. There are times it gets quite a few Knock Offs and carries it must be said. Probably best on very fat teams, but there it has serious completion from Armaldo (and Kingler!?).

Unfortunately, Blaziken is very bad. It's a Fire type that is weak to Psychic and so struggles against Bi and Rachi. It's a Fighting type that is weak to some of the tiers common physically defensive Water's. Don't use.
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Very legit and annoying to fight. Perhaps I should have rated it higher but it's hard to say how much of a fad it is. Could definitely be OU in the future.
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Venu is very underrated. There are so many cool synergies here to exploit given its unique set of tools. Pairs really well with Sub-Liechi Aero, OffGon, SuitTar and is just generally a pest to deal with. Sleep + better defensive typing means I seriously consider it over Leech + 3atks Celebi when I don't think I need Bi's ability to switch into Gengar/Para or am more worried about Dug.
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I think this deserves more exploration on both Special and Mixed Offence. Probably the most consistent dedicated weather clearer. I prefer it to Kingdra as it has more mid-game value due to Leech seed and its typing. I feel this is particularly valuable to Special Offence as Leech farms Blissey in some games it helps really enable stuff like SubCM Raikou/Suicune (when building these teams I am always thinking about how to make them more resilient against not getting the correct dug traps). On MixOff, as well as there being things like Bulky DD Mence which really appreciate weather clear, it counter-sweeps against a lot of Aero teams which can otherwise be very threatening.
There is probably also a place for stall Ludicolo as well which I should look into.
 
At the end of their VR posts, everybody says that they don't want to take the time to rank shitmons, so I thought giving them a serious look would be amusing. Since I invested a lot of time into the 4BL challenge this year and seriously considered almost every mon available, I feel uniquely qualified to do a VR including them all, so here it is. I've been playing a lot of ladder and zero tours, so my experiences are based on that. I've also included my OU takes obviously.

General Principles for ranking BLs:
  • I rank mons with niches; the Johto starters are all probably better than a lot of mons here but I believe they're completely outclassed so they don't make the cut
  • :kingdra: :politoed: Water type with ice beam and usable special attack = good
  • :sableye: Ghost types are really good fits on spikes
  • :solrock: Levitate/flying type - arguably the best trait a gen3 mon can have, so you think these mons would be ranked higher, but OU takes all the good ones. Most of the BL floaters are actually just awful
  • :weezing: :camerupt: :wailord: Explosion + good typing makes just about anything viable
  • :alakazam: :sceptile: :jumpluff: Speed > base 100 + some other usable trait (encore, endeavor, cm, cb + good stab/coverage, boom)
  • :roselia: :donphan: :hariyama: :dragonite: Low distribution utility moves (spikes, spin, knock off, heal bell, perish song) will get you a spot here
  • :mantine: Because of crocune, water absorb automatically makes just about any mon usable
  • :ursaring: :aggron: :rhydon: if you can beat blissey 1v1 without without booming, you're probably viable
Hope you enjoy the read!

1. :tyranitar: - Sand chip etc. Definitely my favorite mon to use. Really versatile in the builder and in the game. Elevates a ton of strategies. All sets are really good for breaking or trading in most games. DD is the single best set for controlling the board. Ttar is so strong and bulky that nothing outside of a select few checks reliably beats it or prevents its setup. This enables offense to design repeatable lines, making it one of the best offense enablers. My favorite set, bulky lefties DD, isn’t as good right now because bliss is running status moves more, but it’s still the most flexible DD set overall because it gets to play the long game and choose when/whether to DD. Also the best dd set against dug stall. I feel like I’m always finding new ways to use tar. I used to hate mixtar, but I’ve come around, especially on lum focus punch variants. Bkc and suit are going strong. I have a moderate cb-dedge addiction.
2. :Swampert: - I had Skarm here for a while. Really hard for me to pick between the two. The main argument for pert is that revenge killing is really powerful, the best revenge killers (zap, gar, aero, zard, mixmence to a lesser degree) are tar/aero/dd mence/meta weak, and pert is the only reliable check to them that outputs decent offense itself. If you want to drop pert, you need a really good reason, because doing so usually requires decompressing its role into two mons. Pert works on mixed offense and trapper teams, but it’s at home on spikes. This could be an argument for skarm above pert, but I also value forre, cloy, and smeargle teams, and pert is easily the best water on those. What really pushes pert above skarm for me is the recent upswing of end pert. Extremely good at gaining value and very frustrating to play against.

3. :Skarmory: - every adv’ers most powerful weapon and most feared foe. I sometimes find it frustrating to use, though. It’s held back hard by 4MSS. I often feel pigeonholed into running peck + tox so that I can play against all spinners, but that set doesn’t abuse skarm’s broken defensive traits. Peck tect might be the best overall set but it’s weak. Tox tect has the highest upside but the worst downside. Spikes are broken, yes, but skarm (outside of maybe tox+tect or taunt+tox in the right mu’s) doesn’t really generate momentum itself. This is what makes cloy, forre, smeargle, and spikeless strats viable imo. If no other spikers existed, Skarm would easily be ranked #2 or #1.

4. :Blissey: - ranked her #3 last time. She’s still going strong. Really the only thing keeping her in check is the fact that using her means you have to switch in to focus punch.
5. :Metagross: - Too weak to too many high BST moves. Unlike pert it draws fire blast which is a lot harder to switch into. Gets 2hko’ed by dd tar, doesn’t ko it back from full. That said, if you believe in adv offense (I do) you can’t rank metagross outside of the top 5. I think cb sucks if it doesn’t get raises, but agility is amazing team support as are all boom + 3a sets. Tox and tect are nice too.

6. :Salamence: - this is the highest I’ve ever ranked mence. Mixmence spikes balance is a classic team style that I don’t think will ever go away. Works well on spikes offense, too - we’ve seen some good jolt mixmence’s. I realized recently that mixmence is extremely good against most aero teams because they often use pert, they rarely use mons like milotic, suicune and snorlax, and they often come with sand which hurts interim checks like zap, gar and blissey. For this reason I think mixmence might be one of the ways to save spikeless offense post-speedpass ban. Cb and wish tect have obvious issues but they feel unexplored. The recent dd mence explorations are what brings it this high, though. It’s a lot harder to play around mence when it’s making full use of its coverage options. Fly-brick-fire is probably my favorite alternative set, but I used and liked rock-brick-eq (on dragonite lulz but same concept applies) and I think the sub/refresh sets have genuinely useful applications as well. Dd mence is just good enough against dug stall and aero spikes to make spikeless offense worthwhile.

7. :Dugtrio: - not splashable, but I think dug stall is the single strongest team archetype ADV has to offer. IMO it only consistently sweats against lax, gengar, fighters, and maybe rest zap, but these teams can tech and adapt to any of these matchups. This is why I’m ranking dug so highly, but of course it does more than make blissey and suicune unkillable. Weak boom + dug + special spam offenses seem really promising even if I haven’t used them much, and spikeless aero-dug feels legit as well. Trapping is really powerful. I can’t really put my finger on why, but I feel dug is the single OU with the highest untapped potential.

8. :Claydol: - the older I get, the more I find that I don’t want to play adv without spin. Dol is a really important enabler of defense and offense alike. Can we really say Cune is better than dol if Cune needs dol 90% of the time? Also, if dug stall is the strongest archetype in adv, shouldn’t its anchor be in the top 10? I used to look at claydol solely as a reliable spinner, and that it is, but lately I’ve had claydol’s offensive traits on my mind more. It’s great at trading with tar, gar, celebi, zapdos, and waters. Along with meta, lax, and the regis, it’s also part of the “get out of jail free” club of explosion users that live just about every hit.

9. :gengar: - I used to be much, much lower on gar. I still don’t use it much, but my opinion on it has completely flipped. Completely unique in what it does. One of the few viable ways to drop spin/spikes control. Great with spikes or dug, but I think spikeless trapless might be able to use it well too.

10. :Zapdos: - my favorite bird has dropped in my rankings a bit. Bliss stone walls most sets, and it’s not the ohko machine you want it to be vs offense. Registeel’s newfound place on offense hurts it, but zap is probably the main reason registeel rose to prominence in the first place. Zap dug offense is slowly dying, and rest zap while great isn’t bulky enough to take on molt, off cune, cm jira, blaze zard etc. Sometimes it feels like zap needs a ghost to handle bliss + claydol. It’s still the most flexible spikes-immune that has great offensive & defensive qualities and is useful at all points of a game. DDtar-like in how it matches up so well against so much of the tier 1v1. Because of this amazing mu spread, I think zap can still work on spikeless even without agility pass even though it’s more specific. I’ve been liking sub-tox without bp. Sub pass, tox, twave, dry pass, drill peck, and agility all have their place. I also haven't built rest zap in a while - I wanna give that a whirl again. One of my favorite adv sets.
11. :StarMie: - the second best spinner. Water typing is great, recovery is great, speed is even better. Modest recover mie is really good. Don’t love how mie takes spikes and sand chip, but it has tools to make up for that. I have starmie ahead of a lot of amazing sweepers and breakers because I value spin extremely highly. I still think the dedicated cleaner offensive sets suck but I can probably be convinced otherwise. Offensive waters are crazy strong in the right matchups, and the new mystic water set has 6-0ed me from lead enough times to convince me that there’s something real to STAB water off of base 115 speed.

12. :Aerodactyl: - speed, power, longevity. He’s got it all. I expect to see more spikeless aero in the future.

13. :snorLax: - I cannot get myself to stop playing lax. He’s heavily flawed, yes, but the upside is a mon that’s impossible to wall long-term and honestly short-term as well. Like it or not, dual trap rest lax is legit. Pursuit opens lax up to run much more dangerous sets, but shadow ball sets are still really good. I tend to prefer lax + spin to lax + mag, but I still think the latter is legit. I actually think blue offense is an all-time great team. Of course it has exploitable flaws, but what team doesn’t? I think collectively we associate the team too much with the sample team warriors who are drawn to it and cloud the ladder.

14. :jirachi: - sometimes jira feels like #1, but here it is at 14. I don’t even think it’s inconsistent or anything. I’m just ranking it this low because I find it hard to fit on teams. It lacks concrete defensive utility outside of annoying cb mons and blocking all of skarm’s utility moves. It’s a rock resist that doesn’t check tyranitar. It’s a special check that loses to twave and sub zapdos and cm’ers. Cm sets are great, but they don’t boost your speed past dug snd aero, and they still have the issue of occupying awkward defensive space. Jira took a small hit with the speed pass ban.

15. :suiCune: - consistently inconsistent. Every set has auto-win matchups and other games where it simply fails to do anything. That said, the upside is definitely there. Usually if you’re dropping pert it’s so that you can fit cune. Cune is one of the few mons that makes spikeless teams worth it. I also think bold cune dug bliss dol spikes has a solid argument for the best team of all time. Cune spike off feels untapped.

16. :Celebi: - also consistently inconsistent. I like all sets, but I hate all sets. Combos I like recently are leech cm recover + dug, leech cm 2a + mag + lax, leech giga fire + aero, cm psy fire bp + dug, cm 3a + wish blissey, and leech perish song + blissey.
17. :Forretress: - the top 16 are the mons I consider foundational to OU. Viability takes a huge drop off from A- to B+. As for forre, it offers semi-reliable spiking, spinning, spinner-pressuring, and booming. B+ material.

18. :Jolteon: - I like it on spikes and spikeless. Jumpy posted a sub pass set fully bulked out to live hidden powers from opposing electrics which I thought was really cool. Long live Kerts.

19. :Magneton: - acceptable spikes control. I like mag teams, but they all have the same core issue. They use mag.

20. :Cloyster: - gotta thank Vapicuno for teaching everyone how to Cloy. It’s the only spiker that actually does damage which is so so so so good.
21. :Registeel: - solidly OU. Amazing typing and bulk. Hard stop to basically anything offensive, and defense isn’t too comfortable against it either. Lots of exploration happening with this guy too. I’m interested in curse + focus punch and curse rest. Luckily, gengar is still around to keep the zoomers in check.

22. :Milotic: - insanely oppressive, but only on one team. I don’t really buy the hypnosis stuff, and cele + milo stuff honestly feels fringe and likely outdone by cune.

23. :chariZard: - been trying Zard spikeless again recently and it feels really mid compared to mence and even gyara builds. I don’t think he’s mixoff’s answer to the speed pass ban. Zard spikes feels stronger. Still a great phys ttar partner for how they mu divide pert vs mono waters.

24. :flyGon: - really good on exactly one team, just like milo, but the one team isn’t as good. As a trade off, gon has a little bit more splashability. I like cb, and mixed/speedy phys lefties sets don’t seem that hard to solve with a little bit of effort. I have yet to put in that effort, though.
25. :Heracross: - the combination of speed, bulk, and spammable/powerful stab make Hera my pick for the strongest fighter. I hate how it has to run from skarm, but there are ways around that. Fighters generally have a lot of problems though.

26. :Vaporeon: - I rate offensive waters highly, and this one has a way around blissey to boot. I don’t think the speed pass ban really hurt it much tbh - you can still switch out against lead zapdos or elect to trade damage onto it. Wish tect sets do cool things on fatter teams as well. Water absorb really elevates any mon that gets it.

27. :Gyarados: - the gyara slander has gone a bit too far. It’s perfectly usable even if it requires mag most of the time.

28. :raiKou: - I’m not buying into kou yet, and it’s entirely because of one mon. Or rather, three digletts. That said, I think kou offers real value both to mixed and spikes offenses and the ABR kou + bliss spikes fats are very good as well. Glad to see more experimentation with this guy because his natural traits are so good.
29. :MaChamp: - that’s right, I’m ranking champ above medicham and breloom. I love fitting as much defense as possible onto my offenses without losing offensive integrity, and champ does this much better than them. Misses notwithstanding, bulk up machamp has the power and bulk to basically guarantee value every single game, which to me makes it better at doing medicham’s job. I don’t mind focus punch 4a either.

30. :Regirock: - great cune partner, glad to see it being used more. Was my best friend during the 4BL challenge. Its main problem is power issues. I think cb and lefties focus punch + spikes are two ways rock has to address this. I think toxic is worth trying on it, too.

31. :Moltres: - meh

32. :Venusaur: - I love venu. It has the best defensive utility out of all the sleepers other than blissey, but blissey obviously doesn’t fit on all the teams that want to use sleep. I like spikes and spikeless versions. I recommend prioritizing doing damage over sleep if you can afford to.

33. :Smeargle: - don’t use it myself, but I’ve found smear spikes off to be pretty consistently hard to play against.

34. :Jynx: - pretty busted ngl

35. :Medicham: - the lottery mon. Will it be lum, cb or salac? Will it spam focus punch and die to two tar crits? Will it stay in on lead mixmence and 2hko it, or will it die in one to cb or dd? Will it crit? What about reversal medicham with weather clear, is it sub or endure? Higher upside than any other fighter for sure, but the frailty turns me off. As far as fishy leads go, I think starmie is more effective.

36. :Breloom: - really bothers me that this fighter gets ohko’ed by blissey. That said, I respect its potential and have definitely gotten messed up by it before.

D+ tier: these are all legit mons I’d use on high ladder without a second thought
37. :Houndoom: - one of the best snorlax partners, and it also happens to hard wall a non-negligible portion of the tier. Not OU material, but absolutely worth using.

38. :arMaldo: - the best knock off mon imo. SD is great because it both helps against lax and gives you a way to break knock off absorbers faster. A lot of knock off fats really need extra help versus celebi, and maldo provides that.

39. :Regice: - haven’t figured out how to make regice not feel terrible to play, but I respect it. I’m interested in psych up sets

40. :Sceptile: - I’m probably the biggest sceptile advocate. I think endeavor petaya is fantastic. It’s like end pert but it switches in to different targets. I never bother with sub seed or sd sets or anything

41. :Umbreon: - really cool combination of traits. Anything that traps gar effectively is always going to have a niche. Being free entry for meta, jira, cm pass cele, meta, and phys mons if it lacks charm is a huge problem for it which is why I don’t think it can ever be OU.

42. :Kingdra: - not as good as its ladder popularity would have you think, but I still think it’s legit. Off waters are really good.

43. :Ludicolo: - worse Kingdra with a little bit more splashability thanks to its typing and access to leech seed. Off waters are really good.

44. :Miltank: - I feel like no game is ever free against this thing. Never used it myself but heal bell is really fun.

45. :Quagsire: - if it’s enough for fruhdazi it’s enough for me.

46. :Weezing: - this mon looks like it should be 8-12 places higher since it has levitate, wisp, high defense, toxic immunity and explosion off a solid base attack. I find its boom really hard to click, though. The non-boom versions are probably just asking for focus punch crits and body slam paras.

47. :maroWak: - I’m entertaining the lead wak offense trend for now. We’ll see what becomes of it. Wak as a breaker on balance is probably outdone by mons like ttar and snorlax.

48. :Golduck: - I ran protect sets for 4BL and it was honestly not a bad cune/pert hybrid. Not sure that sort of thing is generally viable over one of those two mons, but since off waters are so good, it worked for me. I think the Salac versions are easily the best still.

49. :dusClops: - never really used it myself, but spinblocking and beating lax in one slot is few and far between

50. :Sableye: - probably a slightly more consistent clops with lower upside

51. :Dragonite: - imo heal bell and focus punch set it just enough apart from mence to have a small niche. It can compress fighter check and crocune answer onto stalls which is completely unique. I’m interested in dd + focus punch + hp rock + eq. If you can get drum pass to work, hp ghost + focus punch + eq is great for getting that sweet OHKO on roar cune and skarm.

52. :Lanturn: - insanely good matchup vs jolt-special-wall teams which earns it a real niche

53. :hariYama: - sorry BKC

D- tier: it isn’t hard for me to imagine teams where these mons are the optimal choices. Would be happy building with these mons
54. :Glalie: - ain’t no cloy but it does things

55. :Wailord: - offensive waters are good

56. :SteeLix: - makes zapdos teams hate their life at the cost of being genuinely terrible

57. :Donphan: - adamant donphan with paralysis support might be him. The ABR forre phan idea is really cool too. Wishes he was claydol but still might be worth it

58. :alakaZam: - I was pleasantly surprised by the number of sweeps I got with this thing during 4BL. I only bothered with CM 3a, but I’m sure encore/knock/recover sets can do things. The big issues are spikes, aero/jolt, ttar (suit or not) and bliss. Worth trying to optimize imo

59. :Slaking: - feels legit, just not in my hands

60. :Misdreavus: - evil mon. Kinda prone to getting crit by starmie

61. :Articuno: - does cool things on superman. I feel like offensive sets with ice beam + a hidden power + two of bell/tox/roar have potential on spikes because of how well they check pert & cune

62. :Roselia: - has just enough in its toolkit to be useful

63. :Lapras: - off waters are good, remember?

64. :Ursaring: - snorlax/machamp fusion can’t be that bad. I have some great replays with this thing

65. :Mantine: - cool pick on superman, can’t see it anywhere else

66. :Camerupt: - this mon is so bad, but it is THE correct pick on a few teams

67. :Arcanine: - thief + intimidate + fire blast are enough for viability

68. :Gligar: - really solid defensive typing with barely usable stats. Owns all fighters

69. :Sharpedo: - honestly hydro + crunch + taunt + dedge or ib is a good partner for gengar on spikes offenses. Switches in on claydol psychic & suit tar and forces them out, damages mono waters and prevents them from healing. I think it’s usable.

E tier: these mons technically have irreplaceable niches, but I think optimizing these niches onto workable 6’s is probably not worth it for anything other than bragging rights and boredom
70. :Porygon2: - I really think p2 is this bad and that every mon above it has more legitimate use cases. Stonewalling dd birds doesn’t matter when you give free entry to half of the scary mons on the other team that break your other counters. Hax magnet if used as a special wall, no resistances to speak of, can’t really handle status. Magneton and dugtrio have similar defensive limitations as trappers, but they both have far better traits that allow them to be used more generally, including the ability to generate offense. I know 70 is low for p2, but I don’t even remember the last p2 replay I saw. I think most players will rank p2 higher because of legacy reasons and because they haven’t bothered to work this low on the viability chart.

71. :Jumpluff: - does real things, but it’s probably too reliant on mu and rng

72. :Tauros: - I’ve always wanted to give cb a shot. Intimidate on that speed tier is cool

73. :Lunatone: - I know good players have used it, but it’s a niche choice on a decidedly mediocre team style.

74. :Espeon: - niche choice on a decidedly mediocre team style

75. :Blaziken: - I don't see why you would ever use any of this mon's sets over one of charizard, camerupt, machamp, heracross or medicham

76. :Swellow: - speed tier + endeavor + liechi/petaya pass makes it conceptually usable

77. :Kabutops: - flail + aero speed tier + sand immunity means he can maybe do things

78. :Exeggutor: - I have no idea what eggy can do, but its innate traits are good enough to imagine a world where he does things

79. :Aggron: - kudos to hclat for figuring this one out. I tried it extensively for 4BL and it was really, really bad as a standalone breaker lol. Decent supplement to aero and tar though

80. :Pinsir: - fastest (?) sd user with rock slide and earthquake/brick break? Hyper cutter too? I could see it

81. :Flareon: - would be a full tier higher if dug didn’t exist

82. :Politoed: - off waters are good. This one gets thief and hypnosis, but are you really going to use it over suicune or vaporeon?

83. :Hitmontop: - don't really know what to make of this mon as I've never used it myself, but I think the few mag lax teams I've seen it on might very well be onto something.

84. :Walrein: - off water with yawn and encore? Is blues onto something…

85. :Kangaskhan: - I actually think early bird kanga has real potential as the only physical attacker/bliss punish that can self-heal and shrug off status without much difficulty. Base 90 attack is pretty rough for it, though

86. :Banette: - sorry Kollin7

87. :Omastar: - Off. Waters. Are. Good. But this one sucks let’s be real

88. :Gardevoir: - memento cheese

89. :Poliwrath: - water absorb + fighting stab is technically a niche even without speed pass

F tier: same description as E tier but somehow even worse. As for anything left off this list, I either forgot it or I truly believe it is 100% outclassed by something else in all scenarios
90. :Scizor: - scizor was probably D-tier before hclat showed the world what it does

91. :Nosepass: - mag that mimic’s spikes

92. :Gorebyss: - maybe 1/50 games you prefer this over kingdra

93. :Blastoise: - MVP of a few of my 4BL teams. Has great natural qualities, but it's this low because you really cannot justify it over starmie outside of extremely specific scenarios. It is technically true that starmie doesn’t learn roar or refresh, though, so blastoise at least gets ranked.

94. :Slowking: - achieves calm cune bulk with higher power, access to twave, and a fighting resistance for mix mon checking. These traits are pretty good, but suicune is just straight up better anyway most of the time. Crunch/bug weaknesses and much lower phys bulk are unwelcome

95. :Rhydon: - do not fall into the Rhydon trap. It is 26 places lower than sharpedo.

96. :Solrock: - somehow even worse than Rhydon.

97. :Altaria: - perish song + rest nat cure + fighting resist is something that you don’t run into every day

98. :Kingler: - shoutout Johnald

99. :Nidoqueen: - what does this

100. :Nidoking: - mon even do

101. :Linoone: - honestly this mon should probably be 40 places higher than this but I choose to ignore its cheese potential

102. :Dodrio: - I think using this would actually be fun, but there's no serious argument for its viability

103. :Tentacruel: - I was thinking Sd + hydro + ice + sludge bomb might barely be usable as a mono pert & milo punish & mixmence/zard answer

104. :Electabuzz: - speed + cross chop is a thing that this can do

105. :Zangoose: - probably a worse linoone/tauros?

106. :Electrode: - probably outspeeds a lot of dd mence which is hilarious

107. :Pelipper: - pursuits claydol and has good typing and decent stats

108. :Spinda: - gets cm pass and disruption moves. I've seen Nal pull miracles with this thing

109. :Piloswine: - cool typing

110-112. :Volbeat: :Furret: :Kecleon: - anything with trick + cb can probably do something

113. :Haunter: - conceivably the most optimal choice for double ghost spikes offense

114. :Pupitar: - dragon dance + stab earthquake + somehow usable speed tier

115. :Murkrow: - it does indeed pursuit trap claydol

116. :Scyther: - doesn’t have the coverage or power for good SD or CB sets, but you can try anyway

117. :Tropius: - leech seed + flying stab for grass types is actually cool

118. :Crobat: - can cb revenge kill things while resisting fighting?? Maybe mean look + screech + confuse ray + fly? Why did they make crobat so bad????
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