VGC 2014 Viability Rankings v2

[NOVED]

Nominating Mega Mawile for S Rank.

Nukes way over half the format.
Amazing typing with many useful resistances.
Access to intimidate before mega evolving.
Fantastic matchup against the best mega.
Makes up for slow speed with powerful priority.
Great in and against trick room.

As the meta has grown, Mega Mawile has shown how dominant it is more and more. Anything that isn't named Rotom-H has to be careful when it's on the field. Worlds is great example of how M-Mawile is such a great pick for a Mega, dominating top cut. With Mega Kan as popular as it is, Mega Mawile has an incredibly fun time in this metagame. And it's not even just Kan that Mawile takes a giant shit on, nearly everything in the format is at least 2HKO'd.

 

[Chipndip]

Nominating Mega Mawile for S Rank.

Nukes way over half the format.
Amazing typing with many useful resistances.
Access to intimidate before mega evolving.
Fantastic matchup against the best mega.
Makes up for slow speed with powerful priority.
Great in and against trick room.

As the meta has grown, Mega Mawile has shown how dominant it is more and more. Anything that isn't named Rotom-H has to be careful when it's on the field. Worlds is great example of how M-Mawile is such a great pick for a Mega, dominating top cut. With Mega Kan as popular as it is, Mega Mawile has an incredibly fun time in this metagame. And it's not even just Kan that Mawile takes a giant shit on, nearly everything in the format is at least 2HKO'd.

Not sure on that. It has a much harder time with burns, and it can't get too comfortable when Garchomp is around. It does work, but it can be taken care of very simply if you out-speed it. A is fine in my book.

 

[NOVED]

Not sure on that. It has a much harder time with burns, and it can't get too comfortable when Garchomp is around. It does work, but it can be taken care of very simply if you out-speed it. A is fine in my book.

Burns are definitely Mawile's biggest fear but even Garchomp isn't too much of an issue imo. As EQ doesn't KO Mawile and Play Rough always knocks out chomp even at -1. Granted you'd have to take a good chunk of damage for that but i think it's a worthy trade off.

But there's a lot of things that outspeed Mawile and fail to put a big enough dent in it, and mawile will sure as hell put a dent back. It also has sucker punch to help its speed issue to an extent.

 

[WhiteShadow052]

I'm not sure what to think of this. It's good, but I want to move Mega Lucario up because in my situation, I Close Combated like 3 of his pokemon and he was still ignoring it, so I got confused and OHKOed myself with one hit myself in confusion because of the defence drops. Hehe, wierd.

 

[Chipndip]

Burns are definitely Mawile's biggest fear but even Garchomp isn't too much of an issue imo. As EQ doesn't KO Mawile and Play Rough always knocks out chomp even at -1. Granted you'd have to take a good chunk of damage for that but i think it's a worthy trade off.

But there's a lot of things that outspeed Mawile and fail to put a big enough dent in it, and mawile will sure as hell put a dent back. It also has sucker punch to help its speed issue to an extent.

Well, remember: Mega Mawile may become more popular, but that's similar to Mega T-Tar and Mega Char-Y. When there's more targets around that Mawile appreciates beating up, more people use Mawile. When there's less, there's less Mawile. With that said, With all the Mega Kanga and Mega T-Tar, Mawile was used more. Doesn't necessarily mean that this is a permanent shift in usability, because if Charizard forms become more popular due to this, it's gonna get bumped back down again anyway.

A really seems fine.

 

[TJ Crimson]

Hariyama deserves a slot on there, but I am not quite sure where I would rate him. Reliant on Trick Room, but can dish out good damage against mons while taking a few good physical hits. Good partner with Gothitelle to trap leads and potentially KO both mons.

That's my opinion on it, not sure how others feel about him. D is a good starting point for the mon, I think.

EDIT: Forgot to mention Knock Off/Shadow Tag is nice for getting rid of choice items and berries.

 

[Chipndip]

Hariyama deserves a slot on there, but I am not quite sure where I would rate him. Reliant on Trick Room, but can dish out good damage against mons while taking a few good physical hits. Good partner with Gothitelle to trap leads and potentially KO both mons.

That's my opinion on it, not sure how others feel about him. D is a good starting point for the mon, I think.

EDIT: Forgot to mention Knock Off/Shadow Tag is nice for getting rid of choice items and berries.

D seems nice enough.

 

[lucariomaster2]

Nominating Zapdos for A Rank.

The loss of Heat Wave and Tailwind is pretty disappointing in this format but it's still an incredibly useful mon. Zapdos is a great offensive and defensive pokemon. It has a nice typing. It has respectable 90/85/90 bulk,great special attack and nice speed, tieing with Kan and Zard. Zapdos is one of the few pokemon in the format that can make use out of a reliable recovery move, which can make it difficult to take down. Thanks to roost, Zapdos doesn't need to rely on Sitrus Berry and has a lot more options for what item it can run.

Zapdos is really great support for a team, with Thunder Wave. Speed Control is hardly prevalent this year so most people aren't prepared for it. Slowing down the other team puts you at a huge advantage and with Zapdos' naturally good speed it gives you a great matchup. There are very few things that come close to OHKOing Zapdos so it's easy for it to get in a position where it can start spreading Twaves.

What's really great about Zapdos imo is that it can be run a handful of different options while still being viable. Bold Defensive sets can be good, Rock Helmet Zapdos has been seeing some popularity in Japan. It can be a bulky attacker with great longevity thanks to roost. It can go all out offensive with a timid nature and lo, and can even make use of substitute. It does have a pretty limited offensive movepool with Tbolt/Volt Switch and HP Ice being it's only really viable moves but that's not exactly bad coverage in this format.

I think Zapdos handles the meta really well right now and fits the definition of A-rank.

I would like to back up Zapdos being A-rank. One set not mentioned here is one that uses Discharge in conjunction with Garchomp's EQ; Zapdos is immune to EQ and Garchomp is immune to Discharge, so the two work very well together.

 

[Chipndip]

I would like to back up Zapdos being A-rank. One set not mentioned here is one that uses Discharge in conjunction with Garchomp's EQ; Zapdos is immune to EQ and Garchomp is immune to Discharge, so the two work very well together.

That's an extremely basic combo, one that most people bypass because it doesn't help when things out-speed the combo, which isn't the hardest feat. Also very Mamoswine weak.

 

[lucariomaster2]

That's an extremely basic combo, one that most people bypass because it doesn't help when things out-speed the combo, which isn't the hardest feat. Also very Mamoswine weak.

As basic as it may be, I still find it strange that Zapdos isn't tiered at all.

 

[Chipndip]

As basic as it may be, I still find it strange that Zapdos isn't tiered at all.

Now THAT is weird...

 

[Rocxidi]

Looking through this right now, have a few issues...

Greninja for C Rank: With access to Mat Block, Taunt, and other gimmicks like Fling, plus the fact that it can abuse any immunity in the game makes Greninja a great mon. Add to that the fact that LO Greninja OHKO's so many things, including half of the S Tier, you've got yourself a powerhouse. Also, Mat Block can be used after turn 1, and blocks friendly Earthquake/Surf.

Meowstic-F to D Rank: Despite not being the best, and rather gimmicky, LO Meowstic 2HKO's alot of things without a boost, while outspeeding Garchy and several others. Add to that access to Fake Out and the fact that there's Intimidate in the top three ranks, Meowstic can become a nice support/offensive mon, or at least lure away Intimidate.

Vivillon for E Rank: Seriously, seeing Greninja and Vivillon in the same rank made me worry. All bias aside, Vivillon is so easy to get rid of, it's main role, putting things to sleep, can be shut down with Taunt, Safety Gogs, and KOing it with priority. And even when it does it's job, sleep nerf ends up screwing you over big time. I'm literally the only person who uses this mon on the ladder seriously lol

 

[NOVED]

Vivillon for E Rank: Seriously, seeing Greninja and Vivillon in the same rank made me worry. All bias aside, Vivillon is so easy to get rid of, it's main role, putting things to sleep, can be shut down with Taunt, Safety Gogs, and KOing it with priority. And even when it does it's job, sleep nerf ends up screwing you over big time. I'm literally the only person who uses this mon on the ladder seriously lol

Vivillon obviously isn't the best pokemon out there but E rank is definitely way too low. A mon with a fairly accurate sleep powder, rage powder and STAB hurricane that's also fairly accurate should definitely not be under E, especially considering vivillon has usable speed for a support mon as well.

D is fine, it's not as if that's a very high rank anyway.

 

[P3DS]

I'd suggest moving raichu from C->B.

With access to fast fake out, encore and lightning rod, it is a huge asset to any team that uses it.
V. Fast. 2nd fastest fake out in the metagame.
Electric is a good offensive typing, and hurts stuff like gyarados and talonflame badly
Makes the Rotom's have to use their worse accuracy STAB attack, which can be annoying if they miss.
Encore and lightning rod is a huge annoyance to any electric type.
Discourages protect and status moves, especially thunder wave

 

[DaAwesomeDude1]

Hydreigon for A. Although not as fast as Salamence or Garchomp, Hydreigon has A LOT more power. Specs dark pulse hits Aegislash, Gothitelle, and Gardevoir hard and will nost likely OHKO it unless it is EVed specifically to survive it. Fire blast will also do a lot of damage to Mawile and Amoonguss and obviously OHKOs Ferrothorn out of rain. Specs Draco Meteor also takes a chunk out of bulky mons such as Rotom Wash/Heat, Bulky Zapdos, bulky Politoed, AV Ludicolo, and Goodra. It's Dark/Dragon typing along with levitate is also really nice being immune to psychic and ground moves while also resisting ghost moves and not being 4X weak to ice. Its typing along with its insane fire power are reasons why I think Hydreigon should be moved to A.

 

[P3DS]

Gothitelle need to be pushed up to A/B. Trapping is incredible strong. Think about forcing unfavourable match ups, like Scarf gardevoir VS double dragons. Not a pretty sight, and if played correct, is painful. As it is non mega, it makes it good to slip on any team. And GothMaw is just hell to play, as goth has access to heal pulse, tr, thunder wave, swagger, tickle, charm and more.