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Wanna throw in my VR thoughts for once, since there's quite a few things that I wanna talk about after The Theft Of Hippowdown
B+ -> B
Gatr really just kinda ain't that good enough to belong in B+. Still just kinda too slow, and without enough breaking power to justify in a vast majority of cases. It's only really good at breaking through teams without quagsire that are also all slower than feraligatr. Aqua Jet is nice, especially in a PZ tier, but like if you want a mon that can use aqua jet, crawdaunt is right there to do about double the damage of feraligatr with the same move. Good coverage, and theoretically threatening, but just gets worn down too easily without doing enough damage to justify being brought in a majority of cases. (also can't even beat quagsire without prior chip too lmao)
B -> B+
Speaking of the big sire, I agree with Heatranator on this one. Grounds are more scarce and valuable now, able to be splashed on multiple teams, very flexible movesets with Counter, Spikes, Whirlpool, hell even Encore. Not the bulkiest guy sadly, but Unaware more than makes up for it for stopping all sorts of setup sweepers, and generally just being a very stable mon in an unstable tier. Not A- tier, but definitely deserves B+ for being such a staple of stall and a good mon in general for BO / Balance.
B -> B-
On the topic of the waters... This guy has use i guess, but i just feel like he's never brought to games, and kinda just doesn't have anything majorly useful to do in most games. It sets stealth rocks and flip turns, that's it. Theoretical mon, not a practical one. Maybe it still has a niche on offense teams, but it's just not appearing in the meta enough to justify being B rank.
A- -> A
Entei has been carrying me HARD recently, it's just so good. Just a solid mon, with a good speed tier nowadays that's notably very anti-talonflame; a boon in a tier where talon's the top one mon. Sacred Fire is an amazing stab move as always, and massively supports teammates while nuking any mons that don't resist it, and Extreme Speed is always a great tool to have to stabilize games and revenge kill guys. I think the two major sets atm that I would say should be ran would be HDB Tera Normal and HDB Tera Grass. Choice Band i feel has kinda fallen off lately, especially with our generally weak removal options and the prevalence of webs teams and HO teams in general on ladder, means that although you get big damage, it's taking too much damage over time to really be a major player in most games. Meanwhile HDB sets can always switch in and get something done, especially vs. webs teams like the LBN sample infesting ladder atm (where Entei's good speed tier puts it above most of the slower guys on that team). Tera Normal sets lean into the Extreme Speed idea and are generally pretty reliable and good at revenge killing, potentially either running Double-Edge for a nuke or Crunch to hit Slowbro, and Tera Blast Grass Sets instead lure and OHKO / 2HKO all of the bulky waters in the tier that would otherwise want to switch into Entei and force it out, allowing Entei to go ham in matchups where it would otherwise be stifled. Overall a great mon that should be ran more, definitely deserving of a rise.
S -> S
This is kinda just in response to the discussion that's been happening about maybe dropping Slowbro down a tier, and tbh I think it has every right to stay in S tier. Super splashable, plenty of sets it can run, amazing regen bot just in general, can get away with not popping tera, and has plenty of tech to do better into its less favorable matchups. It can't do EVERYTHING, but it does so much so well that I think it should stay in S tier.
A- -> B+
This guy i have less opinions on, but I think rhyp just isn't really deserving of an A- spot. It's just not as seen and as good as the other mons in that tier, and although Rhpy is certainly a GOOD mon, with solid attributes and breaking power, it's just not a good ENOUGH mon to be in A-.
-> C
I won't extol the virtues and wonders of Meloetta, I'll just say that Meloetta's made at least enough of an appearance, tournament and ladder wise, to at least be on the VR. LBN's been using AV Melo quite a bit lately, and I myself have made numerous attempts to say that Meloetta is at least usable and has niches that cannot be filled by other mons. Thank you for my restrained TED talk.
-> hell
who the fuck is using toxicroak in the big 2026, this guy fell out of usage a year ago get him outta here, ZERO rain teams are using this guy
Wanna throw in my VR thoughts for once, since there's quite a few things that I wanna talk about after The Theft Of Hippowdown
B+ -> B
Gatr really just kinda ain't that good enough to belong in B+. Still just kinda too slow, and without enough breaking power to justify in a vast majority of cases. It's only really good at breaking through teams without quagsire that are also all slower than feraligatr. Aqua Jet is nice, especially in a PZ tier, but like if you want a mon that can use aqua jet, crawdaunt is right there to do about double the damage of feraligatr with the same move. Good coverage, and theoretically threatening, but just gets worn down too easily without doing enough damage to justify being brought in a majority of cases. (also can't even beat quagsire without prior chip too lmao)
B -> B+
Speaking of the big sire, I agree with Heatranator on this one. Grounds are more scarce and valuable now, able to be splashed on multiple teams, very flexible movesets with Counter, Spikes, Whirlpool, hell even Encore. Not the bulkiest guy sadly, but Unaware more than makes up for it for stopping all sorts of setup sweepers, and generally just being a very stable mon in an unstable tier. Not A- tier, but definitely deserves B+ for being such a staple of stall and a good mon in general for BO / Balance.
B -> B-
On the topic of the waters... This guy has use i guess, but i just feel like he's never brought to games, and kinda just doesn't have anything majorly useful to do in most games. It sets stealth rocks and flip turns, that's it. Theoretical mon, not a practical one. Maybe it still has a niche on offense teams, but it's just not appearing in the meta enough to justify being B rank.
A- -> A
Entei has been carrying me HARD recently, it's just so good. Just a solid mon, with a good speed tier nowadays that's notably very anti-talonflame; a boon in a tier where talon's the top one mon. Sacred Fire is an amazing stab move as always, and massively supports teammates while nuking any mons that don't resist it, and Extreme Speed is always a great tool to have to stabilize games and revenge kill guys. I think the two major sets atm that I would say should be ran would be HDB Tera Normal and HDB Tera Grass. Choice Band i feel has kinda fallen off lately, especially with our generally weak removal options and the prevalence of webs teams and HO teams in general on ladder, means that although you get big damage, it's taking too much damage over time to really be a major player in most games. Meanwhile HDB sets can always switch in and get something done, especially vs. webs teams like the LBN sample infesting ladder atm (where Entei's good speed tier puts it above most of the slower guys on that team). Tera Normal sets lean into the Extreme Speed idea and are generally pretty reliable and good at revenge killing, potentially either running Double-Edge for a nuke or Crunch to hit Slowbro, and Tera Blast Grass Sets instead lure and OHKO / 2HKO all of the bulky waters in the tier that would otherwise want to switch into Entei and force it out, allowing Entei to go ham in matchups where it would otherwise be stifled. Overall a great mon that should be ran more, definitely deserving of a rise.
S -> S
This is kinda just in response to the discussion that's been happening about maybe dropping Slowbro down a tier, and tbh I think it has every right to stay in S tier. Super splashable, plenty of sets it can run, amazing regen bot just in general, can get away with not popping tera, and has plenty of tech to do better into its less favorable matchups. It can't do EVERYTHING, but it does so much so well that I think it should stay in S tier.
A- -> B+
This guy i have less opinions on, but I think rhyp just isn't really deserving of an A- spot. It's just not as seen and as good as the other mons in that tier, and although Rhpy is certainly a GOOD mon, with solid attributes and breaking power, it's just not a good ENOUGH mon to be in A-.
-> C
I won't extol the virtues and wonders of Meloetta, I'll just say that Meloetta's made at least enough of an appearance, tournament and ladder wise, to at least be on the VR. LBN's been using AV Melo quite a bit lately, and I myself have made numerous attempts to say that Meloetta is at least usable and has niches that cannot be filled by other mons. Thank you for my restrained TED talk.
-> hell
who the fuck is using toxicroak in the big 2026, this guy fell out of usage a year ago get him outta here, ZERO rain teams are using this guy
I just want to add on the Gatr discussion and want to say that running an adamant nature actually makes quag risk a 2hko
252+ Atk Life Orb Sheer Force Feraligatr Liquidation vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Quagsire: 179-212 (45.4 - 53.8%) -- 41.8% chance to 2HKO
and it's not like quag can just spam recover with just 8 recover pp, but gatr can't switch as freely because of toxic. And me personally, I really don't see the point in running jolly when he gets outsped by every scarfer in the tier so using him as a dd sweeper seems like the best way to use him while differentiating him from crawdaunt. I would say the big thing that makes him unique from daunt is that ice punch scares breloom and chesnaught while crawdaunt gets walled badly. Yeah he has horrible issues like hazards and status crippling him badly but if you can somehow find a good moment to set up like a noivern draco spattack drop or a chipped wall that's forced to heal or switch he can just destroy certain teams. Staying at B+ seems good for now imo.
New scheduled VR update! Please remember that we have our slates ready for the 13th-20th or so, your noms will be added to the next slate ahem Elec-ant1234 ahem.
Additionally, C- will come into existence on the NEXT VR update. We held a vote this month to approve its existence, and next month we'll add Pokemon in there. So, if you have any specific suggestions for who goes there, please post them.
B+ -> A-
This mon is so much better than B+. I remember dunking on this thing back in GWeez / Gapdos meta and while I was 200% correct to do so, the guy has gotten alot better overall, I must admit. Post hippowdon especially, and various fun sets have been seen for this guy. Sub Salac got used in RUPL W1, and I've messed w Choice Band, SR Dice, and there's definitely other sets out there. Mon is definitely nice and unlike other HO mainstay Torterra, who is mostly locked to HO, Terrakion can be used on just about anything. In fact I kinda wanna say A- is a low ball, but I'll save that for future noms. For now, A- is fair as hell.
C -> C+
LBN nomming Infernape higher who could've seen this coming? Yeah, C is just disrespectful Imma be honest that was an overshot. It's all fun and games calling it potential man and while it's certainly awkward at times and its Talon MU isn't great, there's alot of games where it just goes on a tear. After getting it to put in work in 2 ssnl replays vs good players, I think i can comfortably say that Ape is still not bad, and I think it fits surprisingly well on fatter builds. It's not like specs is all it can do though, I've gravitated to CB as like, a Mienshao that doesn't care about spamming contact moves vs Talon. It's pretty good, honestly.
UR -> C-
Thing is nice. I've gotten good success w this on bulkier/more offensive builds, and while it does somewhat step on Tentacruel's toes for its job, Sp def bruiser who pivots and has strong dracos and tspike absorbing utility is hard to call shit, and a lot of times you can pressure steels and that's when you really see this guy shine. I have replays somewhere but honestly i lost em, and the one i didnt was last winter ssnl when I dogged GK in finals so like.. take that how you will. But its good though just take my word for it. It's more proven than fckin scyther.
A- -> A
I think all three of these are significantly above the other A- crop, and are more in line with the A ranks. Entei has been a pain in the ass for awhile, and TB-Grass sets can 1v1 a vast swath of the tier, with immense facetank value and bolsters the HO mu to boot. Very good and annoying mon to deal with, and the natural bulk is just amazing for it. Blissey is the resident cleric and enables probably the 2nd most braindead combo in the tier, or is a bonus piece to the most braindead core in the tier. ShaoBliss or PZ&Shao are easily the stupidest duo the tier has, and cleric support for shao in general is just plain stupid. Obviously, the defensive value is incredible and allows for some more liberties to be taken in the builder on your other slots, since you can sometimes just write some mons off completely when u have blissey. Gardevoir is a more.. underappreciated mon despite how consistent its been, and I'd say its really good now as well. Fits like a charm on PZ&Shao builds, and has amazing anti-bullshit utility vs weather with trace, or can do what cielau did to heatranator and just.. sat on vaporeon the entire game and got like 4 kills lmao. She's always been very good for awhile, but I'd say pressuring steels is easier than ever right now, and Gardevoir finds itself fitting like glue on the best brainless comps the tier has. She's better than A-, imo.
hej --> C-/C
I like this guy a lot, Dark+Flying isn't easy to switch into with no Hippo since common Knock Off absorbers like Chesnaught explode to Brave Bird. Sucker Punch is also super nice anti-weather and and anti-offense in general and Tera Dark Sucker can pick up some nasty kills. Has a decent speed tier and is overall a really solid progress maker with a strong matchup vs offenses. The last can also be legit anything. If you wanna try and be a Krook with prio you can run Rocks. If you wanna snipe Talon you can run Rocky Payload and Stone Edge. If you want recovery so you can wear down teams longer you can run Roost. If you wanna pivot, you can go U-turn. The movepool is super nice on this guy and I've also enjoyed using bulky rocks sets in the past. I hit like #4 or #3 on ladder with him and he puts in the work so he definitely has a niche imo.
Alright, VR Update for the month of March! C- is fully implemented.. though I had to calculate all these C- relevant ones manually so please give me likes to appreciate how much shit I had to do ._.
That said, any further UR mons need to have their replays accompanying them from here on. We've been too lax with this ruling as of late, so we are gonna start enforcing it.
A- -> A
Somehow chesnaught keeps getting better and better. This is prob like, the sole reason torterra runs tblast flying since it can otherwise brute force through every other one of its checks with rock coverage or raw power. But anyways, chesnaught is just such an incredible mon since it can not only put on pressure with spikes+knock off, but also wall a lot of dangerous pokemon such as bisharp, krookodile, rhyperior, terrakion, breloom, crawdaunt etc. Its also quite a flexible mon tbh, as while the standard set is good, people have used stuff like wood hammer, rock slide and even iron defense which can all catch unprepared teams off guard. It feels such an integral part of the metagame that should be shown as such.
UR -> C+
After araquanid was UR'd, I had a long ass discussion in RUcord about why it was unfair, but not a lot of people agreed with me. But I'm here to write out a detailed post on why it should be ranked. This is not me saying araq is a better setter then bee, but rather its unique attributes give it a defined niche that bee is not able to replicate.
Firstly, araq is a lot better into talon. While bee can get up webs and maybe stun spore talon (taunt talon not included, that just completely fucks it), it will be trading itself for talon. Thats fine and all, but I think thats a bit of a waste of a mon. Araq meanwhile, absolutely fucks talonflame. With just max hp invest (which you probably already are doing lol), it easily lives brave bird and clicks liquidation into talon, effectively trading with it. And araq is still around to setup webs later on. Now, what about cyclizar/noivern? Well, it does 'worse' into them, but not really by too much. Liquidation 3HKO's cyclizar while bike can't really do much in return to it, eventually switching and araq getting up webs successfully. Now what about noivern? Thats pretty bad for araq? Wrong. Araq isn't half bad into vern, and thats with the simple addition of ice beam. With just 16 special attack evs, it 2hkos bulky vern, forcing a roost. Since draco doesn't do enough after a single super fang, noivern will be left in a tricky situation. If it wants to prevent webs, it can, but its most likely at its own expense, since if the araq is custap berry, it will KO noivern once its procced, forcing it out. But if araq isn't currently affected by taunt, it can sneakily get up webs, which is big for the webs team. This forces vern to expend A LOT of roosts, leaving it unable to answer araq's teammates, which is massive. And if its not taunt, then araq is just getting up webs regardless lol. Hurrican vern can technically beat it, but that is very inconsistent and means verns only attack is very unreliable. So that is probably already a win for the araq user.
For the second point, araq is FAR more customisable then bee can ever dream of. Bee has maybe like, scarf and e-ball it can tech, which like, the first is fine but if you face a talon you just get up webs, nothing more, and the second is trying to catch people who try to setup hazards on bee with gastro/quag (bad play regardless when every team has a steel or fire, or even both). Compared to bee, araq literally has immense diversity. After webs and liquidation, it can freely choose its two last moves and item. Ice Beam is good in 80% of scenarios and is prob my go to pick for the third move. Endeavor can bring down a target to low hp, mirror coat can surprise special attackers thinking they can chunk it, endure can proc custap easily, leech life can make sure slowbro doesn't just setup on it (technically can use lunge, skitter smack and pounce too, but giving bisharp +3 potentially doesn't sound great), poison jab can fish for poison against bulky waters too, infestation can lock in opponents and deal decent chip. And for items, custap berry is usually the best to get off priority endeavor or liquidation, but mental herb can stop taunt users, rocky helmet can gain good chip and help answer maushold for the team, red card can potentially claim a KO while also guarenteeing webs and resist berries can help into even super effective stab moves in a pinch.
Finally, due to its bulk, araquanid can come in multiple times to setup webs. It lives basically any non choice/+2 stab super effective hit, with plenty of evs to spare for its offenses. This means if webs come off, you can actually attempt to get up them again, even moreso considering it can switch into tier staples such as slowbro, chesnaught, empo, gastrodon, registeel etc. I don't think I have to explain how amazing this is, as that second time you can get them up might just win the game.
In general, araq is just such a customisable mon that can not only deal with an MU bee struggles into, but also can come in again to set up webs over the course of a game. I even brought it to RUPL where while it did get lucky, it still claimed two KO's and got webs up. https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen9ru-916764
C- -> UR
The more I've been thinking about it, the more I've been realising "man what DOES espeon do". Nobody really runs it on weather, as they either use alolaslash, maushold, some other offensive removal or just go without it. So that entire niche is just gone so what about it standalone? Well uh, yeah just feels mid. All of the rockers have some way to rock you and you really want more moves then you can fit. Really only quag can you reliably switch into if you pack air balloon, every other one can either just face tank and brawl with espeon or just beat it. For the 4mss, you have psychic stab and morning sun as neccesities, but then you want g-knot, t-wave, shadow ball and alluring voice that you wanna fit to not just kinda be ruined by something important. Gknot to actually threaten the grounds, t-wave to not just to fuck all into steels, shadow ball for the similar purpose and deal damage to the psychic types like jirachi and reun, alluring voice to dissuade setup attempts and hit cyclizar for something (gl fitting psyshock on it since psynoise is such an integral move to make your progress stick). Its just incredibly awkward to fit, and until hippo drops back in (which then I will say to use stedge hippo since its the good set), I don't see a reason to keep this ranked.
C -> UR
Oh boy, heatran shitting on scovillain again? Yeah I'm back to say why this thing is not worthwhile using on any semi serious team. People point to the damage of doing like, 70% to defensive vern under sun with tera and say thats why its good, but realistically, that huge damage output is why its so bad. Why? Because thats really all it does. On a playstyle that already has to at minimum fit one other rock weak mon due to the setter, having to utilise such a mon that is such a defensive liability is no beuno. The only mediocrum of defensive utility it provides is that it can switch into garde once. On a playstyle that also fits two fairy resists (setter+venu) already. And if you say "drop venu" then you are going to get fucked by tspikes so hard and are just using a worse team because why not.
To illustrate my point, lemme show what three other chlorophyll abusers provide to sun, those being venusaur, shiftry and lilligant. Venusaur absorbs toxic spikes (which are incredibly difficult for most offensive teams to deal with if they don't have a gengar), has great bulk to stomach most attacks in a pinch and has the option to go mixed to break down stall teams. Shiftry provides a lot of utility to sun with defog, wisp, toxic spikes and knock off, has the ability to go either physical or special and resists bisharps sucker punch, which can be a major annoyance for sun teams. Lilligant has the ability to try and sweep outside of sun with quiver dance, alluring voice coverage to smack pesky dragon types like cyclizar for big damage, and has great utility options in encore and healing wish to further help its teammates. These all provide tangiable benefits that sun teams heavily appreciate.
But what about fire type attackers? Well lets look at entei, armarouge and chandelure. Entei has the ability to go physical or special with sacred fire or eruption, enough bulk to face tank most attacks in a pinch and extreme speed as priority to pick off opposing sweepers. Armarouge has decent natural bulk, the ability to turn garde into offensive pressure no matter what (which IDT I have to say how amazing that is) and snowball potential due to weak armour. Chandelure not only has the ability to softcheck opposing entei due to flash fire+espeed immunity (which for sun is annoying af to switch into) but can also use trick to cripple switchins such as blissey or cyclizar that it might otherwise struggle with, potentially enabling teammates as well.
To add further insult to injury, all of these mons are great breakers in their own right, none of these exactly struggle to break down defensive teams in the slightest.
Now, it did win a few RUPL games right!!! yeah it took down a 50% garde then ko'd a bisharp that tera'd in one game then cleaned up a team in which there were a wisped and knocked umbreon and two fire weaks left (still died in that last one cause tera regi killed it LOL). Scovillain is a pokemon that realistically can be replaced with any other pokemon who will provide better defensively to a team. Sun is not lacking in wallbreakers, so there is no reason to keep scovillain ranked.
To round out my arguement, let me look at a few of the games it lost: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen9ru-921821 Scovillain switches in on jirachi, prob expecting rocks to be setup. However, it gets tricked a choice scarf. This means talonflame is able to easily come in and roost off the damage since it won't be doing enough under sun. It does claim talonflame later on with tera, but by the time it comes in again it cannot deal with umbreon at all and fails to clean out the game. https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen9ru-919842 It does 80% to talonflame on the first time, KO's it from full the next time due to tera'ing and while then it is able to claim the regi's life, it fails to KO the goodra who OHKO's it with eq. https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen9ru-916930 Comes in on talonflame, can't OHKO without tera and thus dies instantly to BB.
And because I'm too lazy, here are my other noms for the C/C- rank.
C -> C- C -> C+ C -> C- C -> B- C -> C- C- -> C C -> C+ C -> C+ C -> C-
If we didn't change C+ rank at all (though vapo should be like, 3 ranks higher or something, it being C+ rank is fucking horrible) it would be something like this:
Indeedee and Vikavolt should be ranked. (Note: I only use this version in one replay)
Indeedee's main attractions are a powerful Expanding Force and Psychic Terrain, and its higher speed tier than Krookodile is also critical. RU is filled with powerful priority users like Entei, Bisharp, Crawdaunt, and Breloom and Psychic Terrain stuffs all of their priority attacks. Its speed tier is greater than Krookodile's allowing it to outpace and KO it with Dazzling Gleam. Stuffing priority is nice with hyper offense teams and a strong Expanding Force and Trick are good against defensive teams. The main appeal over Gardevoir is the strength and Psychic Terrain, but it also naturally outspeeds Krookodile and soft checks Gengar which is useful. Indeedee has flexibility with its item depending on your time. It could be Choice Scarf, Choice Specs, Terrain Extender, Twisted Spoon, there are options. Indeedee could run Psychic Noise to prevent opposing Pokemon from healing.
Vikavolt I like as a Webs user the most. Unlike the other Webs users it is genuinely a threat in of itself. If you look at the ranks from S to A-, the only switch ins are really Goodra-H, Blissey, and sort of Entei. In real terms, it may not end up actually achieving much, but relative to the other Webs users, it is a good choice. In terms of its matchups against other leads, if you specialize Vikavolt, it can do pretty well. This EV spread below is for Kleavor's Stone Axe, but it also survives two Accelerocks and a non-choiced Sacred Fire. The SpD ensures that Vikavolt is not 2HKOd by Ribombee's Moonblast. Mental Herb is obviously for Taunts. Now, being OHKOd by CB Entei is not ideal but you can lead with something like Terrakion and switch accordingly, and if it's not CB, it will not KO Vikavolt. I decided to run Charge Beam last in order to punish passive play as much as possible but it's a flexible moveslot. It could be Thunder Wave, Volt Switch, Charge, Energy Ball, and such. Personally, I like it better than Ribombee and think it deserves to be ranked similarly as Ribombee. Ribombee is purely better in terms of Webs but Vikavolt can be more generally useful. Other items are definitely possible too if you're willing to not dedicate it as a lead necessarily, like Boots or Helmet for Maushold, and it's probably even possible to pull off Agility stuff.
Vikavolt @ Mental Herb
Ability: Levitate
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 224 HP / 176 Def / 48 SpA / 52 SpD / 8 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Bug Buzz
- Thunderbolt
- Sticky Web
- Charge Beam
I also find that Regidrago and Toxtricity are ranked way too lowly. Lum Berry Dragon Dance is very good and threatening and Shift Gear is difficult to handle. I mean, Toxtricity is better than... Heatom and Basculegion-M. Chesnaught should be A the council members need to learn to play. It's also exaggerated how bad Forretress is. It can check some things and provide utility; it is still low tier but people exaggerate how bad it really is. It is still able to check Bisharp, Krookodile, Mimikyu and such whilst providing utility even if it is a weak and exploitable Pokemon.
Monthly LBN VR nominations time! After a post Talonflame world (and now Mienshao) I can start gettin some juice nominated. I'm going to mostly focus on the lower dregs of the VR since C rank is a mess in my eyes and there's alot to change. Not a ton of noms I'm gonna make tbh, just some simple ones.
-> C+
I think everybody can contest right now that Sun is doing quite well lately. Multiple tournament showings and good results at that. It's honestly quite difficult to stop the pain strain sometimes, as the resists that you need to handle some of sun's (varied) sweepers is underrated. I've seen some scovillain slander above and I can with assurance that that just isn't true. "DPS is all it does" so what lmfao its faster than close to everything and drops whatever you want on its neck. If you want a supplementary chlorophyll guy who provides something else, then go for that. Venusaur provides natural bulk, Leafeon provides very good natural bulk on the phyiscal side, and Shiftry provides the typing and mixed attacking route. There's no reason why you can't double stack and slap Scovillain on, and it's immediate power is unmatched for Sun teams. The others need boosts for the most part, and besides guys like Scarf Armarouge who's been seeing usage, special fires are a noticeable luxury. He's good, and I think Sun as a whole is very clearly better than a C tier style.
-> C+ / B-
Even ignoring Mienshao's ban, Flamigo was never a C rank mon ngl. The bulk is a letdown to be sure, and being slower than Krookodile and Torterra naturally is miserable, but it's most certainly not on the level of C rank man. It's got solid results, good power and its a nice anchor when our flying types right now are frankly fucking abysmal. Noivern Flamigo and Tornadus. Das about it unless you want to start arguing for Staraptor.
-> C+
Now with Talonflame gone, Offensive Tsareena sets feel way less worthless and beholden to Protective Pads, allowing it for Covert Cloak and being a reliable Scald switchin. Whip/Axel/Spin/Knock is old reliable from SS, you all know how it plays. Pretty dangerous when it wants to be and has the power to break some teams apart if it gets the chance while providing removal. It's definitely better post shifts and definitely I think a better pick than Tentacruel right now (not that Tentacruel is bad)
-> B+
Now that Talonflame is gone, not only are sticky webs better, but QD TB-Ground sets have a reason to wake up in the morning. Fairly easy rise to B+ imo
Quick note but some people have used Grassy Terrain strategies with Grassy Glide Chesnaught and Thwackey so Thwackey should probably be ranked. Canard played against this in RUPL I believe and I have seen it on the ladder too.
Shifts have changed alot, so it's time for an LBN VR Post. We didn't do an update last month so hey, I think it's time we discuss some guys. Mostly gonna target guys with worse results than their rankings suggest and immediately impacted by Tera Blast guys. C rank in general needs a ton of work, so I'll also be focusing there, and some mons I'm not 100% sure my thoughts on like PZ or Comfey but nobody said I had to cover every nom in one post right?
New -> A- / A
Specs. Tinted. Lens.
Strictly speaking, I think this thing is just better Gallade. Sure it requires a tera invest to get the most breaking done, but that isn't much different than guys like Toxtricity or others. Naw, what Yanmega brings thats most unique to the power game is its speed. 317 on a mon that hits this hard is amazing, and that speed grants it some extra utility in the fuck krookodile department. Bug Buzzing a Suicune through sub? Oh I love that. Whether its Specs or Boots, Tera Bug Tinted Lens can just devour balances apart and it does so spectacularly well, and has already been done frequently in tours this week. Gallade is currently B+, so A- is my starting line for this guy. Defensive utility actually exists, as well. Entry points on Chesnaught, Quagsire, and even Krookodile if you have big enough balls. Specs Tinted Lens can straight up OHKO noivern w tera btw. Speaking of Noivern..
-> A+
Back to A+ you go. Talonflame gone means Noivern is the default again, and it was honestly never bad. Guy has the juice for sure, and the steel overloading with Yanmega approach couples with this guy nicely. Not much to say I mean it's Noivern.
-> C
Let me ask you all something. When was the last time you guys saw Raikou do anything impressive that wasn't with Sub CM Fairy Blast? Ok. Now you know why this shit is dropping off a cliff. Look, with Chesnaught stocks through the roof, Gastrodon just hit 18 haymakers and Quagsire currently picking its nose in the exact same comfy B+ position on the VR tell me why I load this guy up for games. It's not nicheless, and maybe you can strike gold and do some Extrasensory memes but like is this worth using when I can load Kilowattrel instead and get a better speed tier and volt immunity and other fun utility options like Endeavor. And Kilowattrel can U-turn on ground types. Just use Kilowattrel.
-> C+
See above. Why the hell is this guy C rank. He ain't that bad come on. Throwing The Migo in here too because this thing has results way better than whatever the hell sewage we let into C rank. Ya'll think Flamigo is as bad as RAIN!? Heracross is actually a very serviceable nuke breaker, and Tera Normal facade stuffs can farm kills very easily. I've loaded it up in some tour games and like, this guy performs better than what you'd put for a C ranker.
-> UR
Sableye was used on stall once upon a time for its value in encoring some broken guys like PZ. Now that doesn't need to happen, and its value has plummeted.
Mienshao is gone so just use Amoonguss. I've been high on Plume for its value in fishing on Shao, but without shao like naw im sorry.
Scyther I genuinely don't understand how this got ranked whatsoever. It has no results in any capacity, and especially now that Yanmega is back why would I ever queue up with Scyther.
Lucario and Azelf are Pokemon I've mentioned extensively for like an entire year now and I've yet to see and hear any proper justifications to why they've been ranked this long despite just never getting used. I've seen defense for Azelf as playing as a bargain bin Mew with fat evs Tera NP Dkiss, but honestly the juice isn't worth the squeeze. OHKOd by Twave unless you run Lum, can't stop Hoodra or Empoleon at all, and no Psychic noise just makes it awkward to consider using even in an HO context. You have to WANT to use it to justify it, and that's possibly the biggest indictment I can make. Please, lay these two to rest.
Half of the stuff I liked with Chandelure involved Tera blast fairy. Without it? Yeah goodbye.
Drednaw was put up here to replace Cloyster for its on-paper value for being an admittedly decent shell smasher. But, between Chesnaught better and better, the Water slot on HO being a highly competitive spot with Legion, Suicune, Crawdaunt, and Gatr, Drednaw just doesn't get use at all. It's just outclassed, and I don't really rate it much.
New -> A- / A
Specs. Tinted. Lens.
Strictly speaking, I think this thing is just better Gallade. Sure it requires a tera invest to get the most breaking done, but that isn't much different than guys like Toxtricity or others. Naw, what Yanmega brings thats most unique to the power game is its speed. 317 on a mon that hits this hard is amazing, and that speed grants it some extra utility in the fuck krookodile department. Bug Buzzing a Suicune through sub? Oh I love that. Whether its Specs or Boots, Tera Bug Tinted Lens can just devour balances apart and it does so spectacularly well, and has already been done frequently in tours this week. Gallade is currently B+, so A- is my starting line for this guy. Defensive utility actually exists, as well. Entry points on Chesnaught, Quagsire, and even Krookodile if you have big enough balls. Specs Tinted Lens can straight up OHKO noivern w tera btw. Speaking of Noivern..
words have lost all meanings and now we are comparing a mon quad weak to rocks that can't setup and needs tera and targetting a different offensive side and with a different type and moves to gallade and calling it a straight upgrade, alright bro, gallade don't need a choice lock to break nor heavy hazard support and ain't no one arguing for that shit in A tier
on that note i wouldn't say so, x4 rock weakness is a bitch on webs which lets rocks get placed for free, you're getting a tera hog that 2 shots everything but ends up trading with 1 mon and dying, on the other hand, gallade isn't tera reliant, also threatens every single wall in the game and got buffed massively by armarouge leaving, its tools fit webs better cause it can actually set up, doesn't need tera and doesn't get obliterated by rocks
words have lost all meanings and now we are comparing a mon quad weak to rocks that can't setup and needs tera and targetting a different offensive side and with a different type and moves to gallade and calling it a straight upgrade, alright bro, gallade don't need a choice lock to break nor heavy hazard support and ain't no one arguing for that shit in A tier
I responded to this on discord because not dunking on you in thread was a matter of courtesy. But then i remembered its you and you proceeded to disregard and ignore the entire argument so frankly I don't know why I chose to extend the olive branch to begin with.
1: The rocks weakness isn't as bad as people think. As far as setters go, you switch hard into Gastrodon, Quagsire, Gligar, Swampert, Registeel without Twave, and Krookodile when you're balling (It only takes like 56% average from Knock, and you said it basically explodes in discord LMFAOOO). Blissey, Rhyperior, Jirachi, Empoleon and obviously Kleavor are noticeable duds. This is around a 50% odds, and this lines you up to around Xatu levels, who is historically considered solid at its job of blocking rocks. Sure you aren't blocking, but you are forcing heavy progress.
This also ignores the fact that the option of just taking from old gens and just balling through the rocks and winning first isn't a historically viable option. Is specs Noivern suddenly shit cuz it takes 25% on entry before it teras and really wants to Tera alot? Fuck no lmfao. Same shit applies.
Another thing you mentioned on discord as a shit argument was "Being choiced locked sucks". Sure, normally. But there's cases where being choice locked barely matters. And that's when a click is so spammable that the risk/reward is skewed to reward. CB Zydog Thousand Arrows comes to mind, and Specs Tinted Lens Bug Buzz (which has no immunities besides a fucking Bastiodon), is also among this list.
Also this tera hog argument needs to be put to bed immediately, and should have been put to bed ages ago. Was Torterra shit cuz it was a Tera hogger? Was PZ a fraud because you wanted Tera? Was fucking Gyarados shit?? No. We've had countless cases where a mon who wants to Tera all the time was amazing if not broken as shit because who cares if you have to invest tera if investing tera wins the fucking game for you.
As for Gallade comparison, I speak objectively when I say special attackers have it better on average. As much as A-Muk, Blissey and Hoodra may tilt the balance, Rocky Helmet and Intimidate spam is another monster, and when Gallade's natural speed is just alright and its bulk is only acceptable when its at a solid health range (1 round of helmet + SR is Krook EQ range), that's a problem. Gallade can run Agility Lum and its good at the job. But generally speaking you get less out of Gallade. Gallade is a 50/50 machine, and Yanmega has no 50/50s because you just click bug buzz and watch the funny numbers show up. You don't need setup when everything falls over in front of you. And the best part is that
You can just run fucking boots too.
For reference, I'm not responding to you because I think its worth my time. Basically anytime I post its for educational purposes for other readers, because having factually poor statements thrown around should be met with corrections lest people actually believe it. And for said chronicling, it's worth noting this guy aptly refuses to interact with the playstyle I'm basing my argument on (literally any playstyle that isnt HO), and as such that opinion is objectively uneducated.
-> C
So this isn't just arguing, here's a nom I made my mind on. Its got some nice traits, but being real here it just doesn't do enough damage and the bulk just isn't there. Even against GSeed variants, I've just 2 tapped it with CB Infernape Blitz in test games. And this includes the Dkiss recovery. And that's another wrinkle to its game, its longevity hinges on doing actual damage, and with Comfey that just isn't coming anywhere near consistently enough to make any waves with enough frequency. KnockTurn has some nice utility, and Encore is always welcomed. But its clunky and awkward, and is as such very very specific. Again not hopeless, but really it can only be described as exceeding fringe.
words have lost all meanings and now we are comparing a mon quad weak to rocks that can't setup and needs tera and targetting a different offensive side and with a different type and moves to gallade and calling it a straight upgrade, alright bro, gallade don't need a choice lock to break nor heavy hazard support and ain't no one arguing for that shit in A tier
on that note i wouldn't say so, x4 rock weakness is a bitch on webs which lets rocks get placed for free, you're getting a tera hog that 2 shots everything but ends up trading with 1 mon and dying, on the other hand, gallade isn't tera reliant, also threatens every single wall in the game and got buffed massively by armarouge leaving, its tools fit webs better cause it can actually set up, doesn't need tera and doesn't get obliterated by rocks
i fail to see how an example of the wallbreaker breaking walls against the team with the least possible resistance with nothing threatening it nor spotting bike from spinning proves anything, its a tailor made matchup, gallade did that too with less team support
"i fail to see how an example of the wallbreaker breaking walls against the team with the least possible resistance with nothing threatening it nor spotting bike from spinning proves anything, its a tailor made matchup, gallade did that too with less team support"-Canard
stop hating on yanmega(could nuke amoonguss of all mons, amoonguss!. sure it had chip but as you can see later yanmega can do better against certain mons than gallade).252 Atk Choice Band Sharpness Tera Fighting Gallade Sacred Sword vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Quagsire: 344-406 (87.3 - 103%) -- 18.8% chance to OHKO/252+ Atk Choice Band Sharpness Tera Fighting Gallade Sacred Sword vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Quagsire: 376-444 (95.4 - 112.6%) -- 75% chance to OHKO. bug buzz wasn't amped by anything but specs(an item that could have been knocked off, wheras sharpness is an entire ability that's consistent), wasn't resisted, and yet it still one shot immediately, when quagsire was at full hp. 252+ Atk Choice Band Sharpness Tera Psychic Gallade Leaf Blade vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Quagsire: 752-888 (190.8 - 225.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO. quad super effective move, just 225% damage max. 252+ Atk Choice Band Sharpness Tera Psychic Gallade Leaf Blade vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowbro: 316-374 (80.2 - 94.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO. 252 SpA Choice Specs Yanmega Bug Buzz vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Slowbro: 488-576 (123.8 - 146.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO(more damage despite not having a plus nature or an ability that boosts moves of that kind, both were super effective.)252+ Atk Choice Band Sharpness Tera Grass Gallade Leaf Blade vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowbro: 474-560 (120.3 - 142.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO(Needs a plus nature and tera into a poor defensive type just for this matchup.). don't get me wrong, gallade has excellent coverage, like aqua Cutter and night Slash along with the typical sacred sword leaf blade and psycho cut you see on choice sets, not to mention knock off!. but alas, ruffles does have a valid point. and yanmega is faster than gallade! i'll say this again:stop hating on yanmega. and what Pokemon is truly independent from team support?.
I responded to this on discord because not dunking on you in thread was a matter of courtesy. But then i remembered its you and you proceeded to disregard and ignore the entire argument so frankly I don't know why I chose to extend the olive branch to begin with.
1: The rocks weakness isn't as bad as people think. As far as setters go, you switch hard into Gastrodon, Quagsire, Gligar, Swampert, Registeel without Twave, and Krookodile when you're balling (It only takes like 56% average from Knock, and you said it basically explodes in discord LMFAOOO). Blissey, Rhyperior, Jirachi, Empoleon and obviously Kleavor are noticeable duds. This is around a 50% odds, and this lines you up to around Xatu levels, who is historically considered solid at its job of blocking rocks. Sure you aren't blocking, but you are forcing heavy progress.
This also ignores the fact that the option of just taking from old gens and just balling through the rocks and winning first isn't a historically viable option. Is specs Noivern suddenly shit cuz it takes 25% on entry before it teras and really wants to Tera alot? Fuck no lmfao. Same shit applies.
Another thing you mentioned on discord as a shit argument was "Being choiced locked sucks". Sure, normally. But there's cases where being choice locked barely matters. And that's when a click is so spammable that the risk/reward is skewed to reward. CB Zydog Thousand Arrows comes to mind, and Specs Tinted Lens Bug Buzz (which has no immunities besides a fucking Bastiodon), is also among this list.
Also this tera hog argument needs to be put to bed immediately, and should have been put to bed ages ago. Was Torterra shit cuz it was a Tera hogger? Was PZ a fraud because you wanted Tera? Was fucking Gyarados shit?? No. We've had countless cases where a mon who wants to Tera all the time was amazing if not broken as heck because who cares if you have to invest tera if investing tera wins the fucking game for you.
As for Gallade comparison, I speak objectively when I say special attackers have it better on average(no intimidate to deal with, better moves.). As much as A-Muk, Blissey and Hoodra may tilt the balance, Rocky Helmet and Intimidate spam is another monster, and when Gallade's natural speed is just alright and its bulk is only acceptable when its at a solid health range (1 round of helmet + SR is Krook EQ range), that's a problem. Gallade can run Agility Lum and its good at the job. But generally speaking you get less out of Gallade. Gallade is a 50/50 machine, and Yanmega has no 50/50s because you just click bug buzz and watch the funny numbers show up. You don't need setup when everything falls over in front of you. And the best part is that
You can just run boots too.
For reference, I'm not responding to you because I think its worth my time. Basically anytime I post its for educational purposes for other readers, because having factually poor statements thrown around should be met with corrections lest people actually believe it. And for said chronicling, it's worth noting this guy aptly refuses to interact with the playstyle I'm basing my argument on (literally any playstyle that isnt HO), and as such that opinion is objectively uneducated.
-> C
So this isn't just arguing, here's a nom I made my mind on. Its got some nice traits, but being real here it just doesn't do enough damage and the bulk just isn't there. Even against GSeed variants, I've just 2 tapped it with CB Infernape Blitz in test games. And this includes the Dkiss recovery. And that's another wrinkle to its game, its longevity hinges on doing actual damage, and with Comfey that just isn't coming anywhere near consistently enough to make any waves with enough frequency. KnockTurn has some nice utility, and Encore is always welcomed. But its clunky and awkward, and is as such very very specific. Again not hopeless, but really it can only be described as exceeding fringe.
my only real issue related to the rankings themselves is no replay to back the comfey ranking(just keep comfey unranked if you think it's so bad), otherwise facts. I agree with what they're saying, even if I had to delete the f word and replacing the s word with heck because I think that was a bit blunt for an educational response to someone trash talking a mon. plus yanmega has psychic noise to block out recovery https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ru-2601569654
one more replay
rank toxicorak bro, it put in hefty work against lucario, got off a poison on mimikyu and used dry skin for recovery in the rain,a prominent weather at the moment. and the well timed protect. and drain punching blissey twice, and more stalling on mimikyu, and poisoning blissey. the sub was a valid prediction of expanding force that didn't actually come, w!. https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ru-2601554261
another replay
>b-
it's not as good as It was in nu but boy, it put in work in this replay! wood Hammer on Snorlax that did 54% before it got ko'd, setting up terrain for grafaiai to proc it's grassy seed. and thwackey be pivoting with u turn. and also giving chesnaught reliable recovery. and landing them grassy glides
>rank it please. it could swords dance and tera flying and do, Acrobatics(pun).it could function just fine outside of terrain, getting off prankster shenanigans with encore and priority swords dance as such.
A- ->A
grassy terrain such as thwackey being around made it genuinely better to a degree. consistent healing, enables grassy glides, etcetera(and boosts grass moves in general, allowing more offensive chesnaughts to take form)
c+>b
it also played a crucial role in the replays it was in, clearing for our steed glastrier(more on him later) and getting off power herb meteor beams.
This might be a bit much for comprehension and if it is i'm sorry, but i'm speaking my mind.
rank Glastrier somewhere, anywhere! preferably b due to it's dependence on trick room and other teammates but also it tanked a super effective body press from torterra like it was nothing and did major damage! and also boots and tera dark saved it. and chilling neigh helped snowball it's attack over time without the need for swords dance(there was dancing still). and it's coverage in close combat and crunch. it hits really hard into common threats and I think it should be ranked on the vr. it took a boomburst from noivern of all mons, noivern!. and again, it was cleaning pretty easily in trick room(even if notmontay lost twice to punksaitama). it's also a priority move victim.
I forgot:https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ru-2600342602
>rank it in at least c+. it could get off a thunder Wave thanks to sash and was the last mon standing before the forfeit. and in more replays(like this:https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ru-2601071426?p2), it can taunt to mess the opponent up, and it has u turn. and Alolan ninetales as a teammate to set up aurora veil
>rank it. agility helps it's speed and running weakness policy is great for boosting stats. and also, snow enables it. 50% boost to physical defense on top of it's special defense means it's very bulky. and it has roost for reliable recovery. despite being in a winning position, ares jojo forfeit, problems in real life are complicated.
>b tier. it's weakness policy boosts and it's bulk allowing it to take weak super effective moves and wish passing make a difference in this meta, even if ares did forfeit(likely due to something in real life). https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ru-2601038191?p2
>rank it. it's +1 outrage could one shot a 100% tropius and even caused ares jojo to forfeit!. it don't really need rain to hit hard(it has dragon stab and can run life orb) and it can be good as a physical attacker too. at least dragon dance boosts speed. you know what plus one can do, imagine what plus two or three could do.
+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Kingdra Outrage vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Empoleon: 250-294 (67.2 - 79%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
>c+. it pretty much enables future paradox pokemon and Alolan raichu and sets up hazards like toxic Spikes. and it could take a body press from registeel of all mons! and did 32% chip on it with supercell slam. and it knows sucker punch
>c+. it hits hard with stab rock Slide(catches flying types off guard if it hits, and nukes vikavolt), especially when quark Drive is on(thanks to the pincurchin). and it has earthquake to deal with steels like hisuian goodra!. and it has double edge when all else fails. and supercell slam is a demonic click, especially in the electric terrain.
ur>b-. psyshock goobed terrakion good and is good for more specially defensive mons in general and the speed boost from electric terrain(via pincurchin). electro ball hit harder than ever with this guy thanks to not only the speed boost but the terrain itself boosting the power of electric moves. and post tera, it could take a +2 shadow sneak from mimikyu, did more than two thirds but hey, it lived to clap back with electro ball. and it can pivot with volt switch, behold:
ur>c+. all it really did was get some kos with air Slash on overqwil and wo chien and flinch kingdra once and ko it and recover with strength sap and 1v1 registeel and win with thunderbolt(okay, that's actually a lot),but that seed did help it's bulk a lot and triggered unburden. and calm mind boosts it's special stats. and also, in another replay it strength sapped gallade before going down.
and again, kingdra can pivot with flip turn, another point for it being ranked.
ur>c+(that final flare blitz was clutch and one shot jirachi). and it can set up dragon dances and use earthquake in case the recoil from blitz isn't worth it. sure, it lost to armarouge but armarouge is banned now!. even then, flare blitz is insane into eviolite mons(like say, bisharp) and chips down gallade to the point where Snorlax can ko it in one slam of it's body.
ur>c+(believe it or not, it did something. magic bounced on empoleon's rocks and psychic chipped it down before roosting again). and choice specs alluring voice post tera fairy was actually an insane click. and it's coverage in power gem.
>c+. did you see how it did in trick room? getting off kos, sweeping, taking hits outside of tr, what a champ. it even eq'd iron thorns for the one shot and body slammed gallade. and it took a +2 tri attack from porygon-z, porygon-Z!(terastalizing only changes defensive typing and adds the tera type as stab) then heat crashed which broke the sash and brought it down to said sash! man, snorlax hits pretty darn hard https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ru-2596411101 https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ru-2589168441
>ur>c+(ice spinner is an insane click on grass types, even bulkier ones like the og grass type, more on it later). and also, wave crash in the rain baby! swift swim for life! tera water is power!(not constant) band is power!(is constant),RAIN is power, behold, tsar pluvia(rain in latin)!. jokes about it's power aside, wave crash in the rain can do 71% to politoed despite a resist and likely bulk investment in the toed. https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ru-2595352627?p2
ur>c+.
speaking of which, venusaur's weather ball is a good click for chip damage in sun and sludge bomb helps clean mons that are already low. and leech seeds drain hp of the enemy. and it can earth power away fire types to extinguish them(unless they're part flying or have levitate or any ground immunity granting ability)
ur>c+. drill run hit hard and ice shard was priority to counter the sucker Punch of bisharp, a popular meta threat. and so far this is all I have to say.
ur>c+(weather ball isan insane click, especially in sun). and alluring voice helps clap dragon types like noivern. this is really all I have to say, sorry. if you have anything else to add, add it to help my case.
lbn, you showed no footage of it. you described it, so I guess it's close-ish enough, but thanks for defending yanmega from the hater. https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ru-2601643021 View attachment 830048>rank it in at least c+. it could get off a thunder Wave thanks to sash and was the last mon standing before the forfeit. and in more replays(like this:https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ru-2601071426?p2), it can taunt to mess the opponent up, and it has u turn. and Alolan ninetales as a teammate to set up aurora veil View attachment 830051>rank It too. it be webbin' for reals. what people don't think about is arguing multiple mons should be ranked in one post. and compound eyes means thunder hits more often. https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ru-2601071426?p2 https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ru-2601068186 View attachment 830054>rank it. agility helps it's speed and running weakness policy is great for boosting stats. and also, snow enables it. 50% boost to physical defense on top of it's special defense means it's very bulky. and it has roost for reliable recovery. despite being in a winning position, ares jojo forfeit, problems in real life are complicated.
just a mon existing is not enough to justify a rank, persian doesn't do much except being fast, it doesn't bring much of anything to a team except getting one move off and dying, there are better twave mons, with uturn that bring more to a team, like jirachi, persian's speed is not enough to warrant a role
similarly galvantula struggles to do anything ribombee doesn't, ribombee has a much better matchup into noivern and cyclizar, the removal options, which galvantula doesn't beat, it thus fails to carve itself a niche
articuno is a poor snow abuser, its slow to setup, not threatening to the special walls of the tier and recquires to use another mediocre mon to enable it, while doubling down on common snow weaknesses and bringing nothing notable to it, it gets one of the most threatening win conditions in the tier with cetitan and would rather use non ice type special attackers for the bulk
B+ -> B
B -> B+
B -> B-
A- -> A
S -> S
A- -> B+
-> C
-> hell
--> C-/C
A- -> A
UR -> C+
C- -> UR
C -> UR
C -> C-
C -> C+
C -> C-
C -> B-
C -> C-
C- -> C
C -> C+
C -> C+
C -> C-
Bellibolt
Deoxys Defense
Diancie
Ditto
Grimmsnarl
Regidrago
Scrafty
Vaporeon
Cinccino
Flamigo
Forretress
Heracross
Munkidori
Politoed
Sableye
Sandslash-Alola
Tentacruel
Torkoal
Vileplume
Brambleghast
Meloetta
Tsareena
