Resource ORAS OU Viability Ranking Thread V4

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HailFall

my cancer is sun and my leo is moon
D to Unranked
Going off what I said in the above noms, Fighting-types are incredible right now, but Pangoro does not lie in that criteria. With competition such as Terrakion, Mega Medicham, and Mega Lopunny there's very little reason to even consider Pangoro with so many better options that are despite it's relatively obscure niche, simply put, so much better than it.
I've heard that pangoro's niche is in its ability to basically 6-0 standard sableye/skarm/chans/quag/2 filler stall with a sub sd set with mold breaker. It sets up on or ohkos pretty much any team member and kinda autowins. dont quote me on this but im fairly certain the set is sub/sd/knock/gunk shot. in the current system its fine in D rank but after it gets overhauled yeah its probably gonna go unranked
 
I'll be making a few nominations I have been wanting to make for quite a while now. I'm expecting to catch some shit for a few of these, but I'm simply posting these to get some insight on how everyone else feels.

EDIT: I kept this to A+ and A because I feel S is good exactly how it is, and A- is a bit of a mess I'll approach later.


Drops:


A+ -> A

This is the one I'm imagining is going to be only minorly controversial. Now, I want to express that A is still a very good ranking, especially for such a defensive Pokemon, but I have a very hard time believing it is as metagame forming a Pokemon as a vast majority of A+. Again, it's still an amazing Pokemon, and A is still a very good placement for it. However, I just don't think A+ is where it should sit. In a sub rank where Garchomp, Heatran, and Tyranitar sit valiantly, I can't say Ferrothorn is on par with those three. Yes, it's annoying as shit to take out, but so is Jirachi, Skarmory, and even more so Slowbro. They're capable of staying alive for much longer thanks to Wish, Roost, and Regenerator respectively. This is not a nomination for Jirachi, Skarmory, and Slowbro. However, A is very fitting for those three and I feel Ferrothorn should be right along side them. Hell, Jirachi is capable of doing multiple things, Skarmory can set spikes, set rocks, remove hazards, and check a large amount of Pokemon, and Slowbro is. . . Slowbro. Again, Ferrothorn is still great, which is why A is more fitting. I just don't see it fitting in A+ with a lot of far more influential Pokemon.




A+ -> A

This one people are going to disagree with, and I expect that. I just feel that Mega Lopunny is not as amazing as it was a couple months ago. With shit as fat as they are, and such a status heavy (mainly TWave) meta I can't say it's as amazing as it once was. It also has so many common hard checks that Lopunny just hates having to deal with. Perhaps it's just me, but I just don't feel it's as dominant a force as it used to be. It's still great vs Offense, but that's about it. Yes, it can run PuP to get past the fatter 'mons but with RH Chomp and Clefable being easily two of the most common Pokémon you'll see on any given day, you're not going to get too many sweeps under your belt vs Balance, unless you want to get your Lopunny down to a good 40% or take a TWave to the face. And don't use the "well you have 5 other team members" bull because although you're right, no player worth their salt is going to let their Chomp or Clefable go down while Lopunny is still sitting pretty. This pains me to say, trust me, I was a STONG Lopunny user at the beginning of ORAS OU, and it is still an awesome Pokemon that can come through in a lot of matches. The Meta has just shifted in a direction Lopunny doesn't find the most appealing. It's still an awesome Pokemon, but let's be honest, when someone asks who the best 5 Mega Pokemon are in OU right now Lopunny is not one of them. . . Which leads me to my next 2 nominations. . .




A+ -> A

Alright, the other two I guess I could see why they are sitting in A+, but what the hell is this thing doing here? I feel like this is a Pokemon people just forget is sitting in A+. I feel like it's a lot like Mega Altaria where early on in ORAS it was a behemoth, hell we suspected it. But since then the metagame just conformed to its existence, and it is absolutely no where near as dominant as it used to be. It is still decent at punching holes in things, but as I said, the meta conformed to it and became really fat. There's honestly absolutely no way this is A+ anymore. It's still a damn good Pokemon, its pursuit set is fun for taking out the Latis, and it still hits pretty damn hard, but the checks to Megagross are just so damn common and it has such a hard time being the prominent threat it used to be. Who knows where the meta would be now had we upped our reqs before this suspect. Anyways, I honestly can't see this thing in A+ anymore. I remember getting hot headed when we were going about dropping it to A+ but since then Megagross has just fallen from grace.



Raises:


A -> A+

This one I feel should sort of be a no brainer. Mega Medicham is just such an insane threat right now it's borderline comical. For the same reason Lopunny should drop, I feel Mega Medicham should rise. There is literally nothing, not named Sableye, that can avoid the 2hko from this monster. Even its resists tend to be 2hko'd by a High Jump Kick after rocks. That's flat out nonsense. Not only that, it also has some pretty key priority moves allowing it to push past many of its checks. Unlike Lopunny, it doesn't need to drop coverage in order to cover it's checks. Fake Out, High Jump Kick, Boltbeam is enough to cover everything it needs to. Sableye being the only thing it can't break past. Yes, it has checks, but even those checks can be taken care of easily by its coverage options and the opportunity. I will be honest and say, I have no idea how this thing isn't A+. It is easily among the best Mega Pokemon in the tier right now. Perhaps its my bias, and a little bit of hype behind the insane wallbreaking ability it has, but I definitely feel as though it is A+ material.


Shit shall be thrown!
 
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I don't understand the Sylveon hate, it's very niche I'll admit, but God is the specs set so good. I swear in the right players hands Sylveon can destroy teams on its own seriously.
 

Sun

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Is not a question of "power of Pokemon", Sylveon is a pokemon that in this metagame (where there are the steel in virtually every team) fails to take a position in the tier, I think therefore I deserve a drop, the outside is strategic plan to do the best, if you want to compare, Mega Gardevoir, is faster than Sylveon, has a movepool broader and also carries a better job against stall.
 

Eclipse

Like a chimp with a machine gun
is a Contributor Alumnus
Seconding the Medicham nom to A+. With the meta becoming far bulkier with mons like Volcanion running around, Medicham finds it insanely easy to come in and simply decimate a load of teams. Sure, Sableye is still a huge cockblock, but Sab has always been a problem for Medi and given the popularity of the BoltBeam set as of late with its amazing coverage, Medicham is pretty much guaranteed to be getting kills consistently due to its downright stupid damage output. I definitely consider it to be one of the top three mega's currently, along with Diancie and Scizor, and a rise to A+ rank is certainly fitting for it.
 
i specifically said meloetta p which is outclassed by mega lopunny. i thought i made that very clear? Melo-p is in general a shitmon with how awful it is to have to get off a relic song from low speed each time you come in. youre already taking damage from lo recoil, entry hazards, and rocky helm as it is, and then you need to take a hit to get relic song up.
but meloetta p and a are inseparable, if you're going to be using meloetta p at all? you are going to have to be melo-a at one point or another, meaning that you are going to be able to take that sort of hit. that is the way in which the set differentiates itself from lopunny (and knock and no hjk miss and not taking up a mega)

Your arrogance isn't helping your case at all lol. You should invest in getting the right calcs before you pop off at the mouth.
252 SpA Life Orb Latios Draco Meteor vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Meloetta-P: 230-270 (67.4 - 79.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

That's still a shit ton of damage, it's not checking Latios of all things. You should use a calc that aids in your cause my friend.
please tell me exactly what was wrong with my calc lol

you are assuming, for whatever reason, that latios, which dies p much all the time to knock after rocks and can't beat meloetta-p directly if it uses draco, is the revenge killer. i'm assuming that melo-a (which it always will have to be at at least one point of the game) is switching into latios, taking the hit (as my actually 100% accurate and correct calc shows), then doing w/e whether it be doubling or singing of ccing or knocking or whatever ur play could possibly be!

i think the second scenario is more likely, and more rational
 
please tell me exactly what was wrong with my calc lol

you are assuming, for whatever reason, that latios, which dies p much all the time to knock after rocks and can't beat meloetta-p directly if it uses draco, is the revenge killer. i'm assuming that melo-a (which it always will have to be at at least one point of the game) is switching into latios, taking the hit (as my actually 100% accurate and correct calc shows), then doing w/e whether it be doubling or singing of ccing or knocking or whatever ur play could possibly be!

i think the second scenario is more likely, and more rational
What's wrong with your calc is, that Latios is literally never going to come in on either of those. You should be using relevant calcs if you're going to try and make a point. I can show you how X 'mon lives Y 'mon's attack better than Z, but if that scenario will literally never happen, then it's a moot point, and it starts to seem like you're stretching.

I hardly think Latios is the "token special attacker" right now anyways, so you're showing me a calc that does me no good.

Now perhaps, you're trying to show how well she can take specific special attacks, but that alone is nowhere near enough of a reason to use it over Mega Lopunny. The only reason to ever use it over Mega Lopunny, and I do mean ONLY, is when you already have the mega slot filled and you need something to perform a somewhat similar role.

I've already said Meloetta should remain D simply because of its over reliance on Relic Song, which is not strong, at all if it's 3 physical attacks Melo, AKA, nothing is switching out on your very obvious Relic song. Meaning you're taking a decent chunk of damage, getting statused of some kind, or whatever it may be. I'm sure you get my point.
 
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MANNAT

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A+--->A+
Teams getting fatter towards the bulky offense/balance part of the spectrum, where the metagame is now, is actually just fine for megagross since it is so strong. Like seriously, I'm pretty sure that a lot of people forget how good this thing is at wallbreaking. Meta has more than enough coverage options to deal with most of its common answers on bulky balance. If you look at the makeup of current balance builds, the most common answers for meta are fat grounds, fat waters, and skarmory. Thunder Punch is an excellent option that has been gaining popularity lately for metagross that can stop skarmory as well as most waters from walling meta that otherwise would. Grass Knot is excellent for hitting both hippo and physically inclined bulky waters like slowbro that normally wall gross. Also, the "common checks" in landot and chomp (which i assume you're talking about) are bodied by ice punch, which is one of the best and most common moves on metagross rn.

Yeah sand offense being common hurts metagross, but sand's been common for quite some time now, so I don't really see what has changed in the metagame to make metagross worse. If anything, meta being pressured to switch into lop, azu, etc. is harder for meta than switching into the passive mons on balance and fire off attacks and wear away at its checks until it can just blast through them.

Some teams that wall meta a bit easier, but it's easier to wear down mons on balanced teams since you get more switch in oppurtunities in the long run, and this fact coupled with the fact that metagross has a multitude of ways to wear down and lure a ton of its checks and counters is more than enough to keep it where it is.

Also, just as a side note, Keldeo is in S rank, so having common answers (lati@s/starmie for keldeo) shouldn't be keeping a Pokemon out of a high rank, especially a mon like metagross that has the tools to muscle past most of its counters.

Don't drop MMeta, Keep it in A+
 
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bludz just blacklist Sylveon from discussion tbh lol

Anyway, taking a look at D-rank, most of the pokemon there seem to be crappy gimmicks that you actually choose to build a team around and not so much mons that could potentially have a few useful qualities on specific teams. If this resource is trying to point people in the right direction, tighter rules on ranking should be placed.

Just because a mon is shown to have success, doesn't mean it should be ranked. Take that Ninjask team I saw in RMT which actually performed decently against the ladder. An unranked Pokemon that managed to put in work. Does that necessarily mean Ninjask should be ranked? No, of course not. Anyway.

For example, a good D-rank pokemon is Xatu. It's obviously not very good itself, but there are times when I would actually consider using this Pokemon on some teams. It's the only decent non-mega Magic Bouncer (Espeon sucks) with some useful utility moves like twave and can provide a nice slow u-turn. Teams that already have their mega slot occupied can potentially consider Xatu as a decent choice.

Another good one is Shuckle. Sticky Web teams are legit (not good, but legit) and the only viable user of this move is Shuckle. There are times when teams might appreciate the Sticky Web support and consider Shuckle for said niche.

An example of a bad D-rank Pokemon that should be unranked is Umbreon. There is no way I would ever use this, even on stall teams. as a special wall, umbreon will always live in the shadow of Chansey/Blissey. As a cleric, it's just way too outclassed by Clefable. Even Curse set up sweeper on stall teams is better done by Quagsire due to its unaware ability. Umbreon sucks even more now because Hoopa-U left the tier.

A pokemon that I think is a bit questionable in D-rank is Shedinja. Yes, I'm fully aware of the Togekiss/Sableye/Talon/Seismitoed/Dugtrio/Shedinja team. But to a new player looking at the rankings, they won't instantly know about said team. And again, this mon just looks like one of those gimmick mons that you pick out of a hat then build a team around, then have some success with it. Dunno if that necessarily means that Shedinja should be ranked. With the right team support (and a competent player), almost any mon can be somewhat successful in OU (as seen with Ninjask, Espeon, Abomasnow, and whatever else people like using when bored).

People might not agree with me on several of these. But in the end, it all depends on how people want to perceive D-rank. A rank that has mons that can work. Or a rank that has mons that have really small, specific niches.
 
What's wrong with your calc is, that Latios is literally never going to come in on either of those.
so why the fuck did you reply with a calc with melo-p in the first place? seriously, man, how many times do i have to spell it out: LATIOS IS NOT THE ONE SWITCHING IN IN THIS SITUATION ("i'm assuming that melo-a... is switching into latios"). i really seriously wanna know your beef with my calc, without you moving the goalposts or just plain and simple getting confused. if that isn't possible, let's just drop it.

tbh if keldeo/latios/torn/clef/mega diancie/mega alakazam aren't all token special attackers right now in ou then idk what is. the original calc wasn't to exclusively and explicitly say that meloetta beats latios, though that was a reason, i guess, as it is true. wanna know why it wasn't for that sole purpose? because you're right, what's the point of that? it's arbitrary, right? YES! CORRECTAMUNDO! it is arbitrary, though not completely. it is to show the fat bulk that melo has in comparison to not only lopunny (but primarily lopunny), but the majority of the offensive shit in the tier (i am assuming you can extrapolate from the one calc but hey ho i guess i might be on shaky ground there). the thing with vest is that it isn't to beat super specific stuff (ok there probs are exceptions to this but cmon), it allows pokemon that utilise it well (torn, tangrowth etc.) to act as a blanket check for special attackers.
 

Sun

Who cares if one more light goes out? Well I do...
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Speaking of Schuckle: I think it's a pokemon terrible, it does not deserve to receive an increase in the VR, because Sableye mega, mega Diancie are everywhere, the metagame now also has a water-type in more, so this factor makes schukle not viable in ou; Shuckle is also very passive as if setter, weak stealth rock, despite the high defenses is devastated by the common specs Keldeo, who is omnipresent, not to mention the taunt users, such as Garde-Mega, Gengar, which lock Readily, forcing him to out of the field, because it has no relevance offensive, I propose to drop it to Unranked.

About Shedinja: I think Shedinja is a pokemon mediocre, used only and exclusively in stall built, put together a mega Sableye, in itself has no potential, but to be immune to more than half of the game attacks, however, dies from the rocks, by poison, or any status condition or sand and hail, so I think for his little use in stall can stay D-rank.
 

Martin

A monoid in the category of endofunctors
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Speaking of Schuckle: I think it's a pokemon terrible, it does not deserve to receive an increase in the VR, because Sableye mega, mega Diancie are everywhere, the metagame now also has a water-type in more, so this factor makes schukle not viable in ou; Shuckle is also very passive as if setter, weak stealth rock, despite the high defenses is devastated by the common specs Keldeo, who is omnipresent, not to mention the taunt users, such as Garde-Mega, Gengar, which lock Readily, forcing him to out of the field, because it has no relevance offensive, I propose to drop it to Unranked.
252+ Atk Shuckle Gyro Ball (150 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mega Diancie: 220-260 (91.2 - 107.8%) -- 43.8% chance to OHKO

Bitches be hating

In all seriousness though I agree with this, although not for the reasoning he's provided. I agree entirely on the basis that Sticky Web is garbage in the current meta—being abusable for things like Serperior and Bisharp, being generally very limited with regards to good builds that can be run. Shuckle wasn't so much ranked on its own merit as on Sticky Web's merit, but with stuff like Mega Camel not being ranked on the basis of their meritable sets being entirely reliant on highly-niche playstyles then it feels really out of place for Shuckle to be ranked by merit of Sticky Web, which I'd argue is worse than TR in the current metagame.
 
Haven't posted here in a awhile but here are a few immeadite thoughts

As much as I like umbreon I agree it should drop to Unranked. As bulky as it is (It can absorb some super effective moves for crying out loud) Fairies and fighting types are thriving right now which is bad for it, Its movepool is limited (Has literally 1 set) and there nothing broken to check. The only time Umbreon see's real play is when broken crap like hoopa, Aegis, Lando I or greninja Centralise the tier and make type resistance's irrelevent forcing users to rely on sheer bulk if they want switch ins. With Hoopa Gone and the other's still rotting What reason is there to use the Poor guy? As a cleric Clefable, chansey and Even Celebi Outclass it. Stab Foul Play? Mandibuzz exists. Bulky Status absorber. Clefable and Reuniclus are far better choice's. The only thing it has over all the others is role compression but I doubt thats enough to linger in D. Umbreon to Unranked

Keep Lopunny in A+
- I honestly dont think the meta has changed enough for her to drop. Yes it is steadily getting bulkier now and Clefable is as always ever present but people forget she has ways past stall/Balance such as Sub, Encore and Pup as well as utility in healing wish and thunderwave (T-wave lop is trollish). She can also Troll T-wave users such as klefki and Thundo by staying in Base form. And She can do all this while still breaking Offence which is huge easily beating popular darks like weavile and Bisharp as well as outpacing many scarfers. Keep her in A+ for now.

Metagross From A+ to A -
This thing has well and truely lost its luster. Hippo, Garchomp and Slowbro are now commonplace. It Cant switch into pokemon it should beat easily Due to fear of status (Clefable and Garde specifically) and it has very little flexability in move's. While yes it hits like a Truck metagross just cant beat everything due to 4mss and unlike Lopunny and other megas who have spare moves for dealing with a changing meta metagross does not. If metagross changes coverage it loses to different mons. If it changes set to say Rock polish set it becomes alot worse at wall breaking or if it takes honeclaws its easily revenged. Lop can still beat offence if it takes Sub-pup. Metagross becomes significantly worse at its wallbreaking job if it changes sets. Because of the changing Meta and lack of flexability in sets Move Mega Metagross to A.
 
so why the fuck did you reply with a calc with melo-p in the first place? seriously, man, how many times do i have to spell it out: LATIOS IS NOT THE ONE SWITCHING IN IN THIS SITUATION ("i'm assuming that melo-a... is switching into latios"). i really seriously wanna know your beef with my calc, without you moving the goalposts or just plain and simple getting confused. if that isn't possible, let's just drop it.
Lol. . .
Considering you didn't say it the first time, once.

Anyways, I'll move past the blatant elitist attitude you've got bursting from your seams. My "beef" with your Calc is the fact that your Calc is not showing how Lopunny doesn't do AV Meloetta's job better. Let's say it does come in on the draco, it just lost 50% + rocks, you're more than likely going to Relic Song, which means Latios can Draco again, costing you another 25% or so. Next turn Latios switches and guess what, you're at just about the same amount of HP Mega Lopunny would be at. Another problem with your Calc is, Mega Lopunny would never, ever hard switch into Latios. I could show you how Sylveon takes a Shadow Ball from Gengar better than Clefable, does that mean Clefable doesn't outclass it as a cleric? Of course not. You're trying to tell me why I should use it over Lopunny right now, and showing me how it takes a hit better than Mega Lopunny isn't really pushing your point. The only reason to use it is if you already have a mega, in which case AV Meloetta has a nice role to cover. Its over reliance on Relic Song and the fact that you will only be choosing it if you already have a mega is why it should remain D.
 
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I don't really think that Gardevoir should drop. Basically only must-have moves are voice and blast so 2 slots are still free and there is a lot to put in there. Wisp, taunt, encore, sub, calm mind, hp fire, t-wave or even thunderbolt if your team is very weak to skarmory. You have many ways of putting pressure on common switch ins. Mon shouldn't be dropped down only because most ladder players don't realise that this thing can learn other moves than hyper voice.
 

Bluwing

icequeen
is a Tutor Alumnus
i think theres one pokemon that should be talked about, clefable is just the god off ou right now and im actually thinking it might be a bit much for the ou metagame. ill give my thoughts on it later when i got time, but i would like to see others opinion on clefable.
 
Saying Clefable is too much for OU reminds me when people though Mega Sableye should be banned for OU when it lacked Shadow Tag support. Its a better pokemon that M-Sableye no doubt but like the mega, I don't see it hit any of the actual points (overcentralizing, uncompetitive, broken) that make people say "it's too much to handle".
 
Saying Clefable is too much for OU reminds me when people though Mega Sableye should be banned for OU when it lacked Shadow Tag support. Its a better pokemon that M-Sableye no doubt but like the mega, I don't see it hit any of the actual points (overcentralizing, uncompetitive, broken) that make people say "it's too much to handle".
It could be seen as overcentralizing. Not that I intend to continue this discussion as I likely wouldn't agree with it. Clefable is a strong staple Pokemon in OU. That's all I will say on the matter.
 
If there is anything remotely broken about clefable its twave. Clef probably wouldn't even be S rank without the power of yellow magic, i mean that move alone invalidates like 90% of clefs natural counters and the only things immune to it aka ground and electrics happen to be set up bait for clef. Before you start arguing about whether Clef is to much for OU you should talk about twave first.
 
i think theres one pokemon that should be talked about, clefable is just the god off ou right now and im actually thinking it might be a bit much for the ou metagame. ill give my thoughts on it later when i got time, but i would like to see others opinion on clefable.
I'm typing on my phone, so I won't say too much. However, I want to say that I do not believe that Clefable is too much for the OU tier. As much as I despise thunder wave clef, and trust me I hate it with a passion, I havent ever felt like it was overwhelming. The only issue I have ever had with clef or any other t-wave dependent Pokemon is that they take the game out of the hands of the players.
 
So I've only skimread through this, but I think it seems at first glance to be a sensible course of action to drop a bunch of pokemon.

Just in terms of looking at what needs to drop, I'd say Ferrothorn. Spikes support is nice, but it doesn't really give it an edge over Skarmory. In fact, by comparison, sp def Skarmory can stomach surprise hp fires from stuff like Latios, and has actually good recovery in roost.

252 SpA Life Orb Latios Hidden Power Fire vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Skarmory: 156-185 (46.7 - 55.3%) -- 15.2% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

252 SpA Life Orb Latios Hidden Power Fire vs. 252 HP / 168 SpD Ferrothorn: 265-312 (75.2 - 88.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

My other gripe is that Ferrothorn can sort of be overwhelmed, and it doesn't fill a lot of the functions that you want it to. So, for example, it lacks a phasing move, so if it tries to switch in on Excadrill, then Exca can potentially SD up then hit it with an EQ. In terms of stuff you'd want it to resist, it isn't actually a very good Azumarill switch in, due to getting wrecked by Band Superpower, or BD + Knock Off. It isn't actually a great water resist due to it hating being burned by scald. T wave is a cool tech option no doubt, but that means it can only run one attacking move which makes it even more easily exploitable, due to either Gyro ball's low pp, or grass being resisted pretty easily. Last point, big breakers in Heracross, Volcanion, and Magma Storm Heatran can switch in on it, which are all more common than they used to be.

I'm not saying it's a bad pokemon, it is still usable, but it shouldn't be ranked above Skarmory.

I still hold fast in my belief that Lando-T and Sableye are deserving of S rank, and that the latter is banworthy, but clearly not very many people agree with me.
 

Six Trails

formerly Analytic_
Ferrothorn also has the ability to spread status with Thunder Wave and annoy electric Pokémon with Leech Seed. It also punishes physical attackers without having to hold a Rocky Helmet.

Skarmory has Roost and Defog, but I don't think that necessarily makes it more viable than Ferrothorn. I'm not really good at debating these things, but I was just pointing out what I think makes Ferro better/more useful.
 

Martin

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OK so I've said this before (although idt I've said it in here yet) and I'll say it again now. Ferrothorn is better than Skarmory. While the added vulnerability to fire and fighting suck, the fact is that the role compression it provides really sets it apart, and much like Heatran does with Leftovers I often watch it as it heals back to full with Leftovers and seeds just from coming in to check stuff. Unlike Skarmory, it has a good amount of field presence between its access to Power Whip, Gyro Ball and Leech Seed--which the highly-passive Skarmory can't lay claim to, being entirely reliant on Toxic, spikes-shuffling and weak attacks or the unreliable Counter to deal damage to things--the passive support that Iron Barbs provides without coming at the cost of its item slot, and with T-Wave+Iron Head variants being very consistent for their ability to check stuff, paralyze them and proceed to very easily cheese past them between Leech Seed and paraflinch (although admittedly Iron Head is less there for its paraflinching ability and more for its consistent damage after T-waving something). As a spiker, it is much more consistent due to the aforementioned field presence and the fact that it is just that bit more splashable as a result due to fitting onto offensively-inclined balance and BO teams in addition to the balanced and defensively-inclined balanced builds that Skarmory fits onto for the much better support that it provides to said teams and due to not being a passive piece of crap.
 
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450.png
Hippowdon A- --> B+
Honestly, since Volcanion was released Hippo has gotten less and less viability. Ground types like Lando and Chomp outclass Hippo as a ground type in almost every way but the ability to lay down sand. And TTar is better at doing that in the end anyways as it has a better niche in the OU tier and its ability to Pursuit trap the Lati twins. Hippo's popularity is dying down now and Hippo honestly would fit better in B+ for the time being.

334-m.png
M-Altaria A- --> A
Well this one will probably stir up debate. M-Altaria is probably one of the better mega in OU in my opinion. This is like the slower, bulkier M-Gardevoir in a way. M-Altaria's typing is very unique and great for some team synergy. This Pokemon also has great physical, special and defensive rolls in the meta. Once M-Altaria sets up you better hope you have a Scizor to BP because this thing can sweep a team. This Pokemon has reliable recovery, good coverage, and a great typing. This is like the bulkier M-Gardevoir. And that speed is patched by DD. I honestly think M-Altaria should in no way be in M-Gardevoir's shadow as it is at the time being.
 
So I've only skimread through this, but I think it seems at first glance to be a sensible course of action to drop a bunch of pokemon.

Just in terms of looking at what needs to drop, I'd say Ferrothorn. Spikes support is nice, but it doesn't really give it an edge over Skarmory. In fact, by comparison, sp def Skarmory can stomach surprise hp fires from stuff like Latios, and has actually good recovery in roost.

252 SpA Life Orb Latios Hidden Power Fire vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Skarmory: 156-185 (46.7 - 55.3%) -- 15.2% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

252 SpA Life Orb Latios Hidden Power Fire vs. 252 HP / 168 SpD Ferrothorn: 265-312 (75.2 - 88.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

My other gripe is that Ferrothorn can sort of be overwhelmed, and it doesn't fill a lot of the functions that you want it to. So, for example, it lacks a phasing move, so if it tries to switch in on Excadrill, then Exca can potentially SD up then hit it with an EQ. In terms of stuff you'd want it to resist, it isn't actually a very good Azumarill switch in, due to getting wrecked by Band Superpower, or BD + Knock Off. It isn't actually a great water resist due to it hating being burned by scald. T wave is a cool tech option no doubt, but that means it can only run one attacking move which makes it even more easily exploitable, due to either Gyro ball's low pp, or grass being resisted pretty easily. Last point, big breakers in Heracross, Volcanion, and Magma Storm Heatran can switch in on it, which are all more common than they used to be.

I'm not saying it's a bad pokemon, it is still usable, but it shouldn't be ranked above Skarmory.

I still hold fast in my belief that Lando-T and Sableye are deserving of S rank, and that the latter is banworthy, but clearly not very many people agree with me.
The biggest problem with Skarmory and why it should always be ranked at least one sub rank below Ferro is that it just sits there and does nothing after it has got it's hazards down.
It kinda even shows in the Latios matchup you posted. What is Skarm gonna do after it tanks that HP fire? Tickle Latios with Iron head? Ferrothorns tanks the HP Fire and immediately threatens to KO Latios with Gyro Ball. Ferrothorn is a good bit worse than Skarmory purely as a physical wall, but it's much greater mixed bulked, high powered stabs and make it an overall more consistent and flexible pokemon.
 
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