Time for some noms.
Rises:
Tier 1.5 to Tier 1
Thundurus is good, never dead weight with Twave/Swagger/Tbolt/HP Ice/Flash Cannon, you just choose what your team needs and go from there. Also can use loads of items like Life Orb, Zap Plate, Safety Goggles, and Sash on the fast set. Huge presence in SPL shows that the tippity top of the playerbase all agrees that this thing is a force.
Tier 2 to Tier 1.5
Gengar really is a great pick. Single handedly dismantles THALK squads and pretty much any balanced/defensively oriented team with a fairly flexible move pool. Great showing in SPL, I personally brought regular Gengar twice to SPL and never regretted it and I know I'm not the only one. I've also seen and used less standard sets like Substitute and Rain Dance to good effect. If you don't believe me give Gengar a try. I expect Gengar to get super popular regardless of if it moves on the VR or not so don't fall behind the curve!
Tier 2 to Tier 1.5
Next best intimidate user after Landorus-T. Quick Guard Scrafty is a recent set to catch on that has raised the viability of Trick Room teams (and Scrafty on it's own obviously) by a ton. You can run a ton of items and sets including Lum Berry, Life Orb, or even the hated Assault Vest. Saw a bit of attention in SPL and I personally used it twice, winning both times. Another underrated mon that I expect to pick up a lot of usage soon.
Tier 2 to Tier 1.5
Bunnies is annoying but it's also a super easy way to win games against any caliber of player. You also don't need to use it on a completely gimmick squad or brainless HO to make it work.
Tier 2 to Tier 1.5
This one is harder to justify using SPL stats than my other nominations, but it's probably the one I feel the most confident about (ok maybe Azu is most). Hoopa-U may be the best Trick Room setter no one is using fsr but if it catches on it will change the way people prepare for trick room. No more relying on Substitute Heatran or Aegislash as your Trick Room checks because Hoopa will flatten them. Oh you lead Amoonguss? Ok Hoopa will just set up Trick Room after it KOs you. Even with a pitiful Def stat you can run this with Scrafty and you no longer have a problem (40 def EVs lets Hoopa-U survive a -1 Kangakshan Return). Even though it has a bad SPL record I think that the Trick Room set alone boosts it's viability. Hoopa is Soopa.
Tier 3 to Tier 2
Mew is wonderful on the classic Bunnies teams but it is by no means restricted to those squads. I personally like using it with Kangaskhan to take some of the defensive pressure off of Kang and allowing for more PuP stomping. Mew is the most flexible support mon in the game. There really isn't much to say here, everyone knows it can use Fake Out, Wisp, Icy Wind, Tailwind, Transform, Ally Switch, and pretty much everything else. Mews SPL record speaks for it.
Drops:
Tier 1 to Tier 1.5
Keldeo is a good Pokemon. No one is saying it isn't, but Keld just is not in the same league as it's fellow Tier 1 mons, most of whom have almost no drawbacks to using unlike Keldeo. When I try to build with Keldeo I always feel like it creates more problems than it solves. It's a water type that loses to Diancie, a water that loses to 2/3 of the most common fires (Char and Talon, though it has quick guard to help against Talon tbf), a fighting that can't switch into Kangaskhan, and a Landorus-T check that can't switch into it's STAB move. If your opponent even has Azumarill + Redirection on their team then it can be almost impossible to even bring Keldeo onto the field without giving a free BD. A much more limiting Pokemon than the other Tier 1 Pokemon who I can use nearly anything alongside, Keldeo is just too restricting. It has the same # of uses in SPL as Azumarill as I write this post and has a much weaker record than the other water type.
Tier 1.5 -> 2'
I like Bisharp a lot, but Defiant alone isn't enough to justify Bisharp being in the same tier as Latios, Thundy, and Jirachi. Especially given that Bisharp cannot KO Landorus-T 100% of the time even with a Life Orb and gets owned by Scrafty. Why use a mon to block intimidate or take advantage of it, when the 2 most viable Intimidate Pokemon beat it? I think a move to 2 would more accurately represent its viability.
Tier 2 -> Tier 3
Completely useless. I think this has been nommed already and a few times in the past, but much like my nomination for Thundurus I won't give up. I'm not even sure what kind of team this would fit on. Talonflame sets with Wisp work better alongside Metagross the majority of the time, and is a much better sun check overall. On more balanced team Heatran is the dominant fire type. Rotom-Heat is unique in that it moves slower and doesn't actually take a hit from both Charizard + Venusaur but is still considered a sun check fsr. Does Rotom-H really belong in the same tier as Sylveon, Mega Gardevoir, and Mega Gengar?
Tier 2' to Tier 3
Much like my Salamence nomination I make this one grudgingly, but the results don't lie. Cresselia is just too big of a momentum suck and even Offensive Cresselia sets just aren't offensive enough to turn the tide of a game. As much as CM cresselia isn't that good I do think that it happens to be Cresselia's most viable set, Cress just isn't all that viable to begin with.
Tier 2 to Tier 3
Just use Talonflame and a better fighting type. No one is surprised when Blaziken clicks HP Ice so you can't catch Landorus-T. Blaziken teams just look like the creator of the team was more motivated by wanting to use Blaziken than they were by winning. Currently 0-3 in SPL, but I don't think that Blaziken is a bad mon, just not as viable as the other Tier 2 mons.
