Pokemon Black and White In-Game Tier List Discussion (MkII)

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irl got me busy, but here's an update on my run:

I purposelly avoided overleveling to have more accurate results. Most of my mons weren't even level 39.

Vs Brycen:

Litwick - OHKOes Vanillish with Fire Blast. Most of the time, it goes with Acid Armor, Astonish doesn't deal much and my Litwick had Flame Body anyways. Beartic is 2HKOed by Fire Blast. Troubling here is Swagger, though my Litwick had BrightPowder to abuse its rather iffy accuracy and succeeded into making it miss once. Brine is most of the time an 3HKO, but with high rolls, it can become a 2HKO. Cryogonal is 3HKOed by Flame Burst (ran out of FB PP, I assume a 2HKO), though Cryogonal only used Aurora Beam on it and it didn't deal much.

Litwick was level 39, leveled up to 40 after beating Vanillish.

It required little bit item support, but not excessively.

I made an experimental fight by giving Litwick 2 Rare Candies and making it into a Lampent. Here are the results:

Vanillish: It's OHKOed just by Flame Burst, which is an upgrade, I guess. Beartic is yet again 2HKOed by FBlast, though it puts it at the red zone. Mine burned it so it kind of finished it off, but no doubt that Lampent would have done better than Litwick. Cryogonal is 2HKOed just by Flame Burst.

Thus --> Litwick's matchup: okay. Lampent's: positive.

Cinccino (level 39): Rock Blast OHKOes Vanillish with 3 hits. If it uses Acid Armor, you can Encore it and make it useless. Beartic is 50/50, depending on whenever it hits Swagger/you get confused/it decides to go with something. I needed in total 5 hits to KO it unboosted. Cryogonal was OHKOed by 1 hit, since I had a +2 boost from Swagger. However, it likely was OHKOed by 2 hits anyways, considering its paper-thin Defense.

I have not tried out this strategy (so it's theorymoning, so please excuse me for that), but it is possible to lure Beartic into using Brine, while switching into Cinccino and Encoring it. However, it's rather vulnerable to unexpected behavior, which is why I haven't considered it much.

If you want me to try it out, I have a saved state so I can try to perform it.

Matchup: Positive.

Sawk (level 38, 39 after KOing Beartic and Vanillish): Outspeeds and OHKOes Vanillish with Brick Break. Outspeeds and 2HKOes Beartic with Brick Break (this one didn't try to Swagger it, directly Icicle Crashed it). -1 Brick Break OHKOes Cryogonal, funnily.

Matchup: Positive.

Gothorita (38): By boosting with Charge Beam, you 2HKO Vanillish, though mine got outsped and bit flinched with Astonish. Leveled up to Level 39 and learnt Psychic !!! Sadly, +1 Psychic is a 3HKO on Beartic, and it's hit hard by Icicle Crash, so I do not see any way of winning this matchup.

I did a more experimental run where I gave it Rare Candy so it can have Psychic. Unboosted Psychic 2HKOes Vanillish. Psyshock is 2HKO on Cryogonal.

Matchup: okay.

Gigalith(39): I set up SR. Rock Slide is 2HKO on +2 and +3 Vani. If you do not hit yourself with confusion, Rock Slide OHKOes Beartic. 1 hit from +2 Rock Blast OHKOes Cryogonal after SR
Matchup: Between OK and Positive, because it was kind of luck reliant.

I will try to get to Drayden as soon as possible. Not exceeding level 43 as well.
 
irl got me busy, but here's an update on my run:

I purposelly avoided overleveling to have more accurate results. Most of my mons weren't even level 39.

Vs Brycen:

Litwick - OHKOes Vanillish with Fire Blast. Most of the time, it goes with Acid Armor, Astonish doesn't deal much and my Litwick had Flame Body anyways. Beartic is 2HKOed by Fire Blast. Troubling here is Swagger, though my Litwick had BrightPowder to abuse its rather iffy accuracy and succeeded into making it miss once. Brine is most of the time an 3HKO, but with high rolls, it can become a 2HKO. Cryogonal is 3HKOed by Flame Burst (ran out of FB PP, I assume a 2HKO), though Cryogonal only used Aurora Beam on it and it didn't deal much.

Litwick was level 39, leveled up to 40 after beating Vanillish.

It required little bit item support, but not excessively.

I made an experimental fight by giving Litwick 2 Rare Candies and making it into a Lampent. Here are the results:

Vanillish: It's OHKOed just by Flame Burst, which is an upgrade, I guess. Beartic is yet again 2HKOed by FBlast, though it puts it at the red zone. Mine burned it so it kind of finished it off, but no doubt that Lampent would have done better than Litwick. Cryogonal is 2HKOed just by Flame Burst.

Thus --> Litwick's matchup: okay. Lampent's: positive.

Cinccino (level 39): Rock Blast OHKOes Vanillish with 3 hits. If it uses Acid Armor, you can Encore it and make it useless. Beartic is 50/50, depending on whenever it hits Swagger/you get confused/it decides to go with something. I needed in total 5 hits to KO it unboosted. Cryogonal was OHKOed by 1 hit, since I had a +2 boost from Swagger. However, it likely was OHKOed by 2 hits anyways, considering its paper-thin Defense.

I have not tried out this strategy (so it's theorymoning, so please excuse me for that), but it is possible to lure Beartic into using Brine, while switching into Cinccino and Encoring it. However, it's rather vulnerable to unexpected behavior, which is why I haven't considered it much.

If you want me to try it out, I have a saved state so I can try to perform it.

Matchup: Positive.

Sawk (level 38, 39 after KOing Beartic and Vanillish): Outspeeds and OHKOes Vanillish with Brick Break. Outspeeds and 2HKOes Beartic with Brick Break (this one didn't try to Swagger it, directly Icicle Crashed it). -1 Brick Break OHKOes Cryogonal, funnily.

Matchup: Positive.

Gothorita (38): By boosting with Charge Beam, you 2HKO Vanillish, though mine got outsped and bit flinched with Astonish. Leveled up to Level 39 and learnt Psychic !!! Sadly, +1 Psychic is a 3HKO on Beartic, and it's hit hard by Icicle Crash, so I do not see any way of winning this matchup.

I did a more experimental run where I gave it Rare Candy so it can have Psychic. Unboosted Psychic 2HKOes Vanillish. Psyshock is 2HKO on Cryogonal.

Matchup: okay.

Gigalith(39): I set up SR. Rock Slide is 2HKO on +2 and +3 Vani. If you do not hit yourself with confusion, Rock Slide OHKOes Beartic. 1 hit from +2 Rock Blast OHKOes Cryogonal after SR
Matchup: Between OK and Positive, because it was kind of luck reliant.

I will try to get to Drayden as soon as possible. Not exceeding level 43 as well.
No pressure on progress buddy. IRL always comes first.

You're testing Cincinno? How's it working for you? I know most would say C due to unreliability but I could see B being possible. It's worth noting that Cincinno does get some decent other options like Work Up, Thunder Wave and Light Screen. A buff from special attacks on a mon faster than Serperior is nothing to sneeze at either. Wake-Up Slap is also boosted by Technican, which allows it to get around mons like Bisharp.
I could honestly see it sweeping Shauntal assuming Jellicent doesn't troll you with Cursed Body. Cofagrigus might be tricky to setup on, but unSTAB Psychic off only 95 Special Attack can be exploited, and you can Full Restore burns off. It slightly suffers from 4MSS, but only in the E4, and even with multi-hit moves and filler I could still see it doing well. It's worth noting that if my calculations are correct, X Accuracy gives Sing 73% accuracy and makes it so Rock Blast and Tail Slap always hit.

Do you still think Gigalith is worthy of A? It has some movepool issues, but those major battle matchups are rather unparalleled.

Litwick seems okay. Make sure to get Dusk Stone pre-Drayden on Route 10.

Gothita seems worthy of C to me. It just doesn't really have much to make it stand out other than being slightly faster and having Thunderbolt access (at least it's better than Elgyem who also gets it but even Elgyem gets Calm Mind). Bulk wise it's outshined by Solosis, who also hits harder.

Sawk I'm sure is still working for you. You could probably sweep Drayden with Bulk Up.

Should finish my former run tonight after re-testing E4 with rest of team. Moving Roggenrola (trade) up to A due to general consensus. Moving Conkeldurr there too, someone needs to test that again so the rank is reliable. Moved Deering up to B.

Ranking numbers so far:
S: 4
A: 11
B: 13
C: 13
D: 18
E: 17
Untiered: 10
Z: 1

Discussion slate: Litwick, monkeys, Tirtouga, Axew, Cubchoo (might use this next run as my sixth, I think it might be salvageable).
 
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No pressure on progress buddy. IRL always comes first.

You're testing Cincinno? How's it working for you? I know most would say C due to unreliability but I could see B being possible. It's worth noting that Cincinno does get some decent other options like Work Up, Thunder Wave and Light Screen. A buff from special attacks on a mon faster than Serperior is nothing to sneeze at either. Wake-Up Slap is also boosted by Technican, which allows it to get around mons like Bisharp.
I could honestly see it sweeping Shauntal assuming Jellicent doesn't troll you with Cursed Body. Cofagrigus might be tricky to setup on, but unSTAB Psychic off only 95 Special Attack can be exploited, and you can Full Restore burns off. It slightly suffers from 4MSS, but only in the E4, and even with multi-hit moves and filler I could still see it doing well. It's worth noting that if my calculations are correct, X Accuracy gives Sing 73% accuracy and makes it so Rock Blast and Tail Slap always hit.

Do you think Gigalith is worthy of A? It has some movepool issues, but those major battle matchups are rather unparalleled.

Litwick seems okay. Make sure to get Dusk Stone pre-Drayden on Route 10.

Gothita seems worthy of C to me. It just doesn't really have much to make it stand out other than being slightly faster and having Thunderbolt access (at least it's better than Elgyem who also gets it but even Elgyem gets Calm Mind). Bulk wise it's outshined by Solosis, who also hits harder.

Sawk I'm sure is still working for you. You could probably sweep Drayden with Bulk Up.

Should finish my former run tonight after re-testing E4 with rest of team.

Discussion slate: Litwick, monkeys, Tirtouga, Axew, Cubchoo (might use this next run as my sixth, I think it might be salvageable).

Cinccino is great when you get more than 2 hits, since, from what I have experienced, you only need 3 hits at most. Its utility in Encore isn't any bad either, as you can lock mons into some status or really weak move and guarantee their fainting

My moveset is more offensive, having Tail Slap/Bullet Seed/Rblast and Encore. It has been doing good against every gym, bar Elesa because lol it's a Minccino and only had problems with Clay's Excadrill (unless you make it use Hone Claws, in that case you can lock it with Encore but in my run, it directly killed it instead of setting). I also have a planned strategy for Drayden for Cinccino, so I will see if it's gonna work out.

Regarding Gigalith, I could see it as an A mon potentially. It is at least B for sure, considering if you get one for Burgh, you pretty much sweep and can set up Iron Defense for Leavanny anyways. Stomps Elesa's Gym as well. You could theoritically beat Clay's Krokorok with Iron Defense + Headbutt combo, but I never performed it. Stomps Skyla's Gym and, with enough luck, stomps Brycen as well.
 
Update 3(DAMN SON) Warning; Long and Salty

Getting through the forest was piece of cake thanks to Pidove, who managed to evolve into Tranquill at the end of the road. I decided to not teach Grass Knot to Boss Cass the Dewott because looking at the matchups to Elesa, there isn't anything Shell/Smash doesn't hit that Grass Knot hits better. I picked up 2 items before getting Scraggy: an Amulet Coin for Boss Cass and an Eviolite for Solosis.

It took a couple of tries, but I got a Lvl 16 female Scraggy named Kya with Moxie and an amazing nature with Impish. I took on the Battle Factory to catch her up to Lvl 20 and Brick Break. After an annoying sidequest with no impact on the plotline whatsoever, I finally got to Burgh with a Lvl 24 Tranquil and everyone else at Lvl 22.

Burgh(without help): I 2HKO Whirlpede and take a Poison Tail... and this is where I rage because FUCKING...
G O D DAMN IT! I swear as soon ad Dwebble got on the field I got on the track for a 3HKO. Easy right, WRONG! SMACK DOWN WHY hits me for a 2HKO and i had to constantly use Roost until Sand Attack hit. Sand Attack. FUCKING. SAND. ATTACK. THEN I MISSED 7 TIMES IN A FUCKING ROW! THEN I GOT CRIT. I LIVED AND HAD TO USE A FUCKING LEMONADE

then i killed it and ohko'd leavanny.
Burgh with help: 2HKO Whirlpede and take a Pursuit. Boss Cass comes in and OHKO's with a crit shell. Then again I OHKO.
(goddamn i need better luck in this game)

Part 2. Post-Burgh
After casually slitting the throat of Burgh and his Dwebble, I go to do the next 2 rival fights
Bianca: Kya knocks out Herdier with a crit BB, taking a crit Take Down in the process. Dewott quickly finishes Pignite with RazorShell and Panpour gets 2HKO'd with Mega Drain. And Munna decides to spam MOONLIGHT to constantly dodge a 2HKO with FaintSMACK.
Cheren: Forgetting that he leads with Pidove instead of Liepard, i left Callie in the lead. Switching to Boss Cass, I take it out with ! Razor Shell. Servine dies to some Air Cutter spam, Liepard can't deal with Callie the STALL LORD and Pansear somehow KILLS TRANQUIL WITH A CRIT
I N CI I N E R A T E! then it dies

After grinding my team to Lvl 25, I go to Nimbasa and get my Sun Stone for Callie. I got her to Lvl 26 and decided to not get Cotton Guard and evolve it into Whimsicott. And then my luck took a massive turn because I got a Solosis first try with
A. A Modest nature
B. Magic Guard
and C. HIDDEN. POWER. FIGHTING.
D A M N S O N
Image result for celebration gif funny


Part 3. Nerd3 and Elesa
After grinding up Mitosis the Solosis to Lvl 25 and Psyshock for Elesa, I went to deal with everyone's favorite fight.
N3: Moxie Katarami Damacy lol
Elesa's gym trainer's were mainly dealt with Mitosis and Kya with little to no trouble, so gettiing to Elesa was no problem
Elesa: Mitosis with the Eviolite lead off to set up Light Screen while eating a Switch. Emolga#2 comes in and Mitosis amazingly EATS Aerial Ace+Pursuit to 2HKO with Psyshock. Zebstrika comes in and i heal up to eat a hit and hit it with Psyshock. Realizing I can't set up another screen, I take this opportunity to switch into Callie to eat a Spark+Charge to kill it with Giga Drain. Thinking that Emolga#1 was already hit, I swiched in Tranquil only to instantly die after throwing a Return at it. Boss Cass comes in to finish it off.

So now with almost the entire team made, here's an overview of all the team members i have:

161963

Boss Cass the Dewott(Bashful, Lvl26) Torrent@ Amulet Coin
Moves: Razor Shell, Water Pulse, Tail Whip, Rock Smash
Rocking a stupidly good STAB and being able to eat any hit it needs, Boss Cass has been nothing but fire for most of the early game. With access to good coverage in Rock Smash and Grass Knot, he can hit a lot of targets for buckets of damage. Now in Nimbasa, Dig and Return are available and will be considered for coverage.
Definitely A Tier for sure.

161964

Tranquil(Hastly, Lvl 27)SUPERBULLSHIT@SHIT LENS
Moves: Air Cutter, Return, Roost, Detect
FUCK THIS GAME. Ignoring Super Bullshit, it's... kinda been eh for the most part. It can put in work when it needs to, but honestly it takes way too long for me to do anything with Quick Attack or AirneverCritevenwithscopelens. Honestly, unless Return takes it into god territory, I am going to say D Tier for this guy. Get good fucking luck, they said.
161965

Callie(Modest, Lvl28)Prankster@Miracle Seed
Moves:Growth, Leech Seed, Stun Spore, Giga Dran
Honestly, for having 37 SpA it's been amazing for what time i've had it. It takes hits like a champ, can stall out anything with Leech Seed, and does enough damage with Mega Drain to have an offensive presence. Now that it's a Whimsicott with Giga Drain, I now have a strong attack to use and more bulk than anything on the team barring Eviolite Scraggy. Not having Cotton Guard may matter, but I definetly want to see it rise to B Tier, it's far better than any Grass-type barring Lilypants.
161967

Kya(Impish, Lvl 27)Moxie(also bonus points if you get the refrence for this and Dewott)@Quick Claw
Moves: Brick Break, Faint Attack, Work Up, Dig
This girl is so damn bulky, even without Eviolite. It can take hits all day and just gets stonger with it's high BP moves and Moxie to become a Katamari Damacy with no end to the ball. Helping it even further is the fact that it's STABS are soooo good that it doesn't need much other than maybe Work Up if you need immediate power. S TIER because yes.
161969

Mitosis(Modest, Lvl28)Magic Guard@Eviolite
Moves: Psyshock, HP FIghting, Light Screen, Charm
DAMN SON I AM A LUCKY CUNT. Serioulsy though, this thing is great even as a Solosis. Hits like a DUMPSTER TRUCK with Psyshock and HP FIghting, tanks every hit with Eviolite for a 3HKO, meaning you can kill anything without healing much or easily support the team. This mon is easily making a case for A Tier, but Duosion may make a case against it.

Sorry if this is post is long, but there's a lot to do in these 2 badges. I hope you enjoy my opinion, and see you soon on the next update.
 
Alright, so I completed another run, this time using all the "S-Rank" Pokémon to see if they really are S-Rank. Here's a bunch of testing I did for pretty much every major fight. For reference:

Archeops was Neutral and had great Attack and Speed IV's
Darmanitan was Rash and had great Attack and good Speed IV's
Excadrill was Lax and had above average Attack and Speed IV's
Scrafty was Neutral with a great Attack IV and a 31 Speed IV

N 2
-Drilbur (15): Beats Pidove (Three Round), needs good Fury Swipes RNG (and near full HP) to beat Tympole (Needs good RNG full stop), Beats Timburr (Three Round)
Lenora
-Drilbur (19): Before Lv19 it can beat Herdier if its speed is good with Rock Smash and some death fodder for Intimidate and Take Down (Not consistent), Watchog can only be dealt with if Crunch misses out on a 2HKO (Retaliate two shots without the boost but can be PP stalled) and you are generally outsped. Getting Dig at Lv19 does not change much other than Crunch being less likely to two shot barring a stat drop. You can only really reliably solo this with an X-Speed and with Dig (Which means using X-Items). Considering this matchup mediocre/average.
Burgh
-Darumaka (21): One shots both Whirlipede and Leavanny, but Dwebble can troll it, living attacks and can do things like Smack Down and Sand-Attack to make things very rough. Overall good matchup, but Dwebble is an issue. And Hustle luck as you are going to need a 40.96% chance without X-Accuracies to land all your hits (Assuming Fire Punch which you get at Lv22).
-Drilbur (21): Beats Whirlipede and Dwebble in a one on one fight, but gets demolished by Leavanny's Razor Leaf.
-Scraggy (22): Bad matchup. Loses to Leavanny due to being outdamaged by Razor Leaf, and really struggles against Whirlipede as it cannot deal much damage and is likely to force potions. Does very well with Dwebble however.
Bianca 3
-Darumaka (22): One shots whole party after using death fodder to clear Intimidate. Being overleveled helps, 40.96% chance to hit everything. Only Herdier and Panpour have decent retaliation, though Servine Leaf Tornado accuracy drops can be an issue.
-Drilbur (21): Beats Herdier, one shots Panpour with Intimidate cleared, loses to Servine, Munna is an inconsistent matchup as it can live unboosted, especially if Psybeam confuses.
-Scraggy (22): First good matchup, can solo with no items. Herdier and Servine may pose some issues, but nothing serious. Using death fodder for Herdier can make the fight a little more efficient.
Cheren 4
-Darumaka (23): It depends on your speed as to whether or not it can take care of Dewott, but it needs to get 2/3 Work Up boosts to get past it. Pidove and Liepard are one shot, while Pansear is a damage range with Headbutt (depending on your Attack, mine is neutral with a good Attack IV) though Sandstorm finishes the job. Needs good speed and setup (and obligatory good RNG) to solo.
-Drilbur (22): Either ability works since Drilbur outspeeds Dewott (Assuming Tepig Starter) as it only has 33 Speed. Sand Force is a little more efficient as it allows you to get away with 1-2 Hone Claws (as opposed to 2-3 depending on its Attack). Whether or not you need items mostly depends on what Pidove does (and Liepard if you have Sand Force).
-Scraggy (22): Can solo this fight without items, but it mostly depends on what Dewott does, Scraggy's speed (Mine speedtied with Neutral 31 and w/e EV's), and what RNG you get (Razor Shell Defence drops can be lethal). Also noteworthy that you need a Moxie Boost to two shot Dewott. Everything will get an action in from either outspeeding (Pansear, Liepard) or living a hit (Pidove, Dewott).
N 3
-Archen (25): Whether or not it solos mostly depends on Sandile/Sigilyph. Sandile is a damage range with Pluck (pretty sure it's in favour of Sandile winning assuming neutral with high Attack IV) while Sigilyph outspeeds. If Sigilyph goes for Tailwind and Sandile used Embargo, it's a win. Otherwise, Defeatist can come into play and end Archen (Psybeam misses the two shot but Ancient Power with average Sp. Attack is barely a two shot). Scraggy and Darumaka are clean one shot when Defeatist isn't in effect.
-Darumaka (24): Can beat Sandile/Darumaka/Scraggy one on one (Only Sandile is one shot), but Sigilyph outspeeds and two shots (Though Fire Punch is a clean two shot unboosted). Being outsped by Sandile is also pretty bad as it can Embargo (which really hurts if a miss happens) or Sand Tomb for decent damage (not enough that Darumaka can KO it though). Eviolite can definitely help.
-Drilbur (23): Handles Sandile and Darumaka without a problem, though Scraggy can tank Dig comfortably (can live at +2) and deal a lot back. Sigilyph is basically a loss unless you set up a ton as it clean two shots (Not sure if Eviolite helps there) and does not take much in return.
-Scraggy (24): Clean solos the matchup with Moxie. Everything is one shot in the order they come out, the only variable being Sigilyph's Air Cutter (which only KOes if it crits) as Sandile won't do much regardless. Worth noting that Payback doesn't even need Moxie boosts to one shot (Scraggy on the other hand is a range with Brick Break).
Elesa
-Archen (25): If you are lucky and Emolga goes for Pursuit, you can use Ancient Power to drain Elesa's Hyper Potions (and KO both Emolga if you get the stat boost proc). Otherwise they can one shot with Volt Switch (Mine was a damage range). Zebstrika outspeeds and one shots with Spark even if you get the stat boost.
-Darumaka (25): With an Eviolite it can comfortably take two Volt Switches and deal a ton of damage (Two shots everything unboosted, one shots at +1). Without Eviolite it depends on bulk as to whether or not it can live two Volt Switches (mine couldn't), though Zebstrika clean two shots with Spark. Optimal solo would be: Work Up, KO, Heal, KO, Heal, KO. Cannot really call this a reliable matchup mostly because of Eviolite reliance, however (RNG aside, of course).
-Drilbur (25): Drilbur cannot do anything meaningful to the Emolga (Unless you are Lv26 when you get Slash access), but beats Zebstrika one on one (Flame Charge three shots, Dig two shots).
-Scraggy (25): The Emolga beat it one on one by using Aerial Ace (unless using Eviolite in which case it only three shots) and Scraggy only two shots in return with Payback. Zebstrika is fairly even as it can survive two hits. Work Up doesn't really save much unless your Attack is really bad, but it's there if you need it.
Cheren 5
-Archen (25): Can beat Liepard, Pansear, and Tranquill one on one. Outright loses to Dewott, but can eat its Sitrus Berry in a pinch. Liepard is also annoying and can potentially trigger Defeatist (as well as living a hit).
-Darumaka (27): Beats up Liepard and Tranquill easily, gets past Pansear with a clean two shot. Dewott is only one shot at +2 with Thrash/Strength (you could get away with Headbutt if your Attack is great) and you generally get one shot in return (Eviolite doesn't really help). At least you outspeed average case. Also worth noting that Liepard isn't a good setup target mostly due to Torment shenanigans.
-Drilbur (25): Needs to set up to +3 Atk on anything not Dewott to get past Dewott (unless Attack is amazing or you have Soft Sand). Liepard isn't easy to set up on thanks to Torment, while the other two are not so bad. It does beat Liepard and Pansear one on one, but Tranquill is sketchier (unboosted) mostly due to Roost and potential Air Cutter crits.
-Scraggy (25): Can solo the fight with a minimum of 2-3 healing items (No Eviolite), slower than everything else. Liepard falls in one hit but can Torment which is annoying, Tranquill only three shots with Air Cutter, Dewott deals a lot with Water Pulse/Razor Shell which is a range to two shot at Lv25 but appears to be a three-shot at Lv26? Either way, Moxie boosts allow you to potentially take it out in a hit (Dewott with no boosts is not a good matchup), and Pansear is easy.
Clay
-Archen (28): It begins... If Krokorok goes for Swagger (Crunch is worst case scenario as it activates Defeatist), no self hits allow Archen to one shot both Krokorok (Gets one shot unboosted anyway with no Defeatist) and Palpitoad with Acrobatics (Worth noting that the boost matters as Palpitoad lives unboosted and one shots in return). If Excadrill misses Rock Slide (one shot if it hits), Archen can deal half with the +2 boost.
-Darumaka (28): This one was actually interesting, with the varying point being whether or not it has Eviolite equipped. With or without Eviolite Darumaka gets past Krokorok (especially after Swagger). Palpitoad and Excadrill depend on whether or not you have it though. Without, Darumaka just gets nuked into orbit with no chance of response. With Eviolite however, and with no prior damage however, Palpitoad seems to go for Aqua Ring first (because Muddy does not one shot anymore), and Excadrill goes for Hone Claws (because nothing it can do can one shot besides maybe Bulldoze but Excadrill seems to not use it). You can exploit this to actually solo Clay without healing items as you one shot both at +2, but as always you are relying on luck for obvious reasons.
-Drilbur (27): If Krokorok uses Swagger turn one AND Drilbur doesn't hit itself, Drilbur can take down Krokorok (if it doesn't Swagger, you aren't likely to get past it as Crunch clean two shots without Eviolite). Dig does avoid Bulldoze so you can just spam it. Palpitoad and Krokorok are damage ranges at +2 (Unless you have the Soft Sand) with Palpitoad one shotting in return, and Excadrill only two shots with an unboosted Bulldoze (so it uses Hone Claws on the first turn) so you can deal half with Dig (or one shot if you somehow kept the Swagger boost).
-Scraggy (28): Swagger or not, Scraggy does solo this fight with Brick Break and Payback. If you don't get Swagger however, Palpitoad does live +1 Payback. You also need to hope that Palpitoad uses Aqua Ring to maximise the chances that Excadrill goes for Hone Claws (presumably because it cannot KO). Lot more reliable than Drilbur and Darumaka though.
Bianca 4
DEATH FODDER
-Archen (28): One shots Herdier (Damage Range), Panpour, Servine. Musharna only takes half but is manageable (If it uses Hypnosis, Chesto Berry and then Ancient Power if it starts using Defence Curl). If it does go for Psybeam, Defeatist can come into play. Servine outspeeds but does not put it into Defeatist. Again, needs something to take Intimidate, otherwise Herdier gives it issues.
-Darumaka (28): Another very inconsistent solo. Darumaka can do this unboosted (needs an item minimum) and at +1, but a lot of it is dependent on Herdier using Work Up to +2 which does not always happen (as that's the point where Take Down one shots without Eviolite). Panpour survives unboosted Normal-type coverage and outspeeds, but only two shots with Scald. Servine is easy, and Musharna lives even at +1 but seems more likely to just Hypnosis/Defence Curl than Psybeam.
-Drilbur (28): Needs to get to +2 to get past Herdier (+1 with Prior Damage, Soft Sand can make a damage range at +1) though Herdier using Work Up to get to +2 in order for it to KO helps, gets past Panpour with little issues. Only gets past Servine at +2 if it misses Leaf Tornado (KOes if hits), and Musharna only takes half at +2 and can deal a lot with Psybeam but with good luck and no Leech Seed (Not likely as Servine does go for Leech Seed) it can win. Essentially it needs boosts to get past anything not named Panpour.
-Scraggy (29): Solos this matchup even without the help of death fodder. Herdier again is a little gate depending on what it does but Brick Break is a clean two shot, Panpour is a one shot (though again what it does can change things, general case is Water Sport), Servine is one shot with Black Glasses (two shot or damage range without unless you use death fodder), and Musharna is outsped and taken out with Faint Attack (Without boosts Musharna lives hits, but Musharna cannot do anything back at all except stall for time).
N 4
-Archen (30): Two shots Boldore with Ancient Power (As it uses Iron Defence), two shots Ferroseed with Acrobatics, and one shots Joltik with Acrobatics. Klink nukes it with Gear Grind and Archen cannot do much back however.
-Darumaka (30): Loses to Boldore unless you decide to get some SE coverage or you get a lucky Burn or something (Sturdy, Iron Defence, Smack Down is a two shot), but one shots the rest of N's Pokémon. Only Pokémon that gets a response is Joltik and best case scenario is Gastro Acid since removes Hustle (Boost doesn't matter and removes RNG aspect) and deals no damage.
-Drilbur (30): Easily Drilbur's best fight before Excadrill. Takes advantage of Boldore's Iron Defence to set up to +3 with Hone Claws, and three shots with Dig (Power Gem does nothing special), and then outspeeds and one shots the rest with Dig (Ferroseed lives if it uses Iron Defence). Unboosted vs. the rest of the party, Drilbur one shots Joltik and Klink with Rock Slide and Dig, but Ferroseed walls it with help of Iron Defence.
-Scraggy (30): Another itemless solo. Three shots Boldore with Brick Break factoring Iron Defence, and one shots the rest of his party. Joltik does get an action in but Payback deals with it. Unboosted doesn't matter too much (Ferroseed lives a hit but does nothing much with it).
Skyla
-Archen (33): Beats Swoobat and Unfezant one on one, but loses to Swanna. Not really much else to explain here.
-Darumaka (32): Beats Swoobat one on one, loses outright to Swanna. Unfezant is a range to two shot unboosted (guaranteed with Charcoal or a higher level), but only has one real shot as Leer turns Quick Attack into a two shot. Eviolite only really improves the Unfezant matchup (It allows you to take a hit from Swanna but Darumaka cannot really do much with the one turn).
-Excadrill (33): Solos the matchup with or without boosts, with no item help. Mostly depends on how many Heart Stamp flinches Swoobat gets, but average case says you'll get the solo. Using Hone Claws once is more efficient as it turns two shots on Swanna and Unfezant into one shots (Swoobat is one shot anyway) and it eliminates the miss chance. Swanna only kills if Swoobat deals enough damage (boosted) or if it goes for double Bubblebeam (unboosted, generally it goes for Aqua Ring), and Unfezant cannot even KO with two Quick Attacks if Excadrill's prior damage is one Bubblebeam (unless you get a really high roll on Bubblebeam).
-Scraggy (32): Basically dead on arrival with no Eviolite. Swoobat and Swanna one shot, Unfezant two shots and High Jump Kick only deals nearly half. With Eviolite it can tank one hit from Swoobat and Swanna and two from Unfezant. It one shots Swoobat and needs boosts to reliably deal with Unfezant (and still needs items). It cannot do much to Swanna.
Cheren 6
RAIN WEATHER
-Archen (33): Beats Unfezant, Simisear, and Liepard (without prior damage), gets destroyed by Dewott (Even Aqua Jet one shots in rain, if it does get a move, Acrobatics only two shots). Does not one shot anything unfortunately, but Unfezant and Simisear cannot do much with their extra turn(s).
-Darumaka (33): Loses to Unfezant unless it Taunts or something (Flare Blitz two shots in clear, but Air Slash two shots, Eviolite makes it a double KO with Flare Blitz), non-starter for Dewott, Beats Simisear one on one, Can unreliably beat Liepard one on one.
-Excadrill (34): Set up to +1 and then Excadrill rips Cheren to pieces. Worth noting that +1 is necessary to one shot Dewott with Dig (Damage Range at Lv35 without Soft Sand, Water Pulse is a one shot in rain). Unfezant is also a range. Only Liepard outspeeds and it doesn't do much.
-Scraggy (34): Beats Simisear and Liepard. Only beats Dewott reliably out of rain with Eviolite (High Jump Kick two shots and you only get +1 max without Work Up as it's Cheren's default answer), loses to Unfezant barring really good luck.
Brycen
-Archeops (37): One shots Vanillish and Cryogonal with Acrobatics, Beartic lives a hit and one shots in return. Rock Slide does not change much other than Brycen using a Potion on Beartic and potential flinch, Ancient Power does not KO things. Archen on the other hand can potentially one shot Vanillish with Acrobatics (Damage Range) and that's about it.
-Darmanitan (36): One shots the whole party with Fire Punch (Beartic is a range without Charcoal). Cryogonal gets a hit in, but doesn't do anything noticeable.
-Excadrill (36): One shots Vanillish and Crygonal (tanking Aurora Beam) with whatever move, Beartic is a damage range to two shot unboosted (Soft Sand Earthquake is guaranteed to two shot, range becomes irrelevant if Beartic uses Swagger), but it lives Brine with more than 50% HP.
-Scraggy (37): KOes Vanillish with a combination of High Jump Kick and Brick Break (assuming Acid Armour), needs the Moxie boost to one shot Beartic with High Jump Kick, one shots Cryogonal with Brick Break. Doesn't fear much from Vanillish or Cryogonal, outspeeds Beartic. Does need to rely on High Jump Kick however...
Bianca 5
RAIN WEATHER, DEATH FODDER
-Archeops (39): Needs death fodder to do well in this matchup (needs it to solo). Stoutland is a clean two shot (Does nothing dangerous in return), Simipour is a damage range (Scald one shots if you miss the range), Serperior is one shot, Musharna is two shot (Also does nothing much). This is with +0 Acrobatics, Intimidate turns Stoutland and Musharna into three shots, and Simipour always lives.
-Darmanitan (39): Beats Stoutland one on one (Brick Break is better if using death fodder as it two shots like Hammer Arm, doesn't trigger item usage, and doesn't lower your speed), can get a hit on Simipour (Brick Break 3HKO, Hammer Arm 2HKO) but gets one shot in return, one shots Serperior out of rain (clean two shot in rain, move doesn't matter unless it uses Coil), Musharna is a range to two shot in rain with Flare Blitz (guaranteed with Charcoal, two shot becomes one shot out of rain). Belly Drum helps this matchup as long as you are fast enough to outspeed Simipour due to how Stoutland's AI works.
-Excadrill (40): Clean two shots Stoutland with Earthquake (three shot with no death fodder), outsped and one shot by Simipour in the rain, Serperior beats it in a straight fight (Leaf Blade three shots so you could item spam, but the Excadrill can do is like 3-4 shot with Metal Claw), Musharna is two shot by Earthquake and does nothing much (if it uses Defence Curl, Metal Claw then Earthquake to avoid Full Restore).
-Scrafty (39): Beats Stoutland one on one (High Jump Kick two shots without death fodder, either move two shots with death fodder), Serperior is a damage range to two shot with High Jump Kick (Assuming turn one Coil and with death fodder, have fun without). Can take out Simipour in rain with boosts IF Scald does not burn (If it does, Simipour is very likely going to win), beats Musharna without boosts (Two shot with Crunch even after Defence Curl, Musharna does nothing back other than stall for time).
Drayden/Iris
-Archeops (41): Acrobatics is a damage range on Fraxure (Normally goes for Dragon Dance), KOes Druddigon with a combination of Crunch then Acrobatics (Avoids Hyper Potion, Night Slash crit triggers Defeatist), Acrobatics is a clean two shot on Haxorus (goes for Dragon Dance, then generally Dragon Tail unless Archeops has taken enough prior damage).
-Darmanitan (41): Fraxure is a two shot with Flare Blitz, Druddigon is a range to two shot (maybe?) (guaranteed with Charcoal, next best alternative in Rock Slide only three shots), Haxorus is three shot. In reply, Fraxure normally just DD's, Druddigon deals not too much damage, and Haxorus will typically DD up to twice and then go for the KO, using either Slash (Darmanitan starting at full) or Dragon Tails early for a KO. I did test Work Up strats, you can only get up to +2 as Fraxure will DD up to +2 and then one shot with Dragon Tail afterwards, you one shot Fraxure, Druddigon one shot is only reliable with Charcoal, and Haxorus is a range with Charcoal (and takes you out with Dragon Tail) assuming Flare Blitz spam. Rock Slide has been tested but it doesn't change too much outside of safety for the Work Up strats as it KOes Fraxure at +2. If you have Belly Drum, the solo is a little more consistent here.
-Excadrill (41): Solos the matchup without boosts. Metal Claw > Earthquake KOes Fraxure, while Druddigon and Haxorus fall to two Earthquakes (Haxorus is likely a range but Soft Sand fixes that). Little more efficient to set up to +2 (With Hone Claws/Swords Dance) since Fraxure does DD twice and Haxorus will go for D-Tail turn one.
-Scrafty (42): Solos the matchup. Crunch > Payback deals with Fraxure (Dragon Dance spam), Crunch > High Jump Kick deals with Druddigon (Generally just attacks, not necessarily Dragon Tail). Haxorus does live a +2 High Jump Kick, but tends to go for Dragon Tail which doesn't deal much and whatever gets sent in can deal with it.
Cheren 7
-Archeops (42): Rock Slide doesn't change much here, the only major difference being that it's an unfavourable damage range on Unfezant (Acrobatics only two shots). Liepard and Simisear are damage ranges with Acrobatics (Rock Slide one shots at least), and the best it can do is half health on Samurott with Acrobatics before getting taken to the cleaners.
-Darmanitan (43): Flare Blitz is only a one shot with Charcoal on Unfezant, one shots Liepard with Flare Blitz. If you get Rock Slide, it's a one shot on Simisear (Flare Blitz two shots), Samurott beats Darmanitan but it can get a Flare Blitz in (which would three shot). You can solo this fight with Belly Drum because of how Unfezant's AI works.
-Excadrill (42): Can abuse a Detect turn on Unfezant to get Swords Dance off (If it doesn't Detect, it outspeeds and uses Taunt), allowing it to one shot Unfezant (Rock Slide) and Samurott (Earthquake, gets one shot in return if you don't KO). Simisear outspeeds and one shots with Flame Burst (probably because mine has horrible SpD), and Liepard is a textbook two shot.
-Scrafty (42): Unfezant beats Scrafty one on one, Samurott you can go toe to toe with, but it mostly depends on a turn one Encore and not rolling high with Aqua Tails (You three shot with two HJK's and a Payback). Liepard is one shot, and Simisear is two shot by High Jump Kick (with no boosts, it deals like 40ish back with Flame Burst).
FOR ELITE FOUR I AM ASSUMING EACH CAN BE THE FIRST OPPONENT AS IT IS THE MOST OBJECTIVE WAY TO TEST THE MATCHUPS DUE TO NON-LINEARITY. ALSO USEFUL FOR WORST CASE SCENARIOS.
Shauntal
-Archeops (46): Cofagrigus is a range to two shot with Acrobatics and removes Defeatist (!), which Shadow Ball only two shots, Jellicent is a two shot but one shots back with Surf, Golurk is a two shot and will either maul you or put you in Curse, and Chendelure is a two shot and if you are at full, it can use Payback if you are lucky which can deal less than 50%. Rock Slide only really helps on Chandelure at higher levels as it becomes a damage range (In my case, I calculated Rock Slide to be a 1/16 chance to one shot at Lv46), and it also avoids Flame Body burn chances.
-Darmanitan (46): Two shots Cofagrigus with Fire-type moves (Shadow Ball two shots unless you have good SpD), Golurk is a damage range to one shot with Flare Blitz WITH Sheer Force (Charcoal guarantees) and Golurk one shots with Earthquake in return, Jellicent always beats unboosted Darmanitan, and Chandelure can only be beaten one on one with Rock Slide. Belly Drum can work here, but only if your special bulk is good enough to take two hits from Cofagrigus.
-Excadrill (46): Can beat Cofagrigus one on one without being burned with Earthquake being a damage range to two shot (guaranteed with Soft Sand), Chandelure is only beaten if you have at least 107 speed or Fire Blast misses (one shots), Golurk and Jellicent are two shots but they one shot in return. You can solo this matchup using Swords Dance if you have at least 107 speed.
-Scrafty (46): Cofagrigus is a damage range to two shot (guaranteed with BlackGlasses), Clean two shots Golurk and Jellicent without boosts, but needs a Moxie boost to beat Chandelure (Chandelure outspeeds and two shots with Fire Blast, Payback with no boosts puts Chandelure into Full Restore range with BlackGlasses). Only Golurk out of the other three poses any real threat though it can also just take itself out to use Curse.
Grimsley
-Archeops (46): One shots Scrafty and Liepard (Damage Range if your Attack is bad, also can outspeed if your speed is bad) with Acrobatics, puts Krookodile into Full Restore Range (and lives Foul Play from full) at +0 so it can win one on one, Bisharp mauls it.
-Darmanitan (46): Beats Scrafty one on one if it doesn't miss (Scrafty uses Sand-Attack) as it two shots with Flare Blitz > Fire Punch (Fire Punch itself is a range to two shot), needs at least 116 Speed to do anything to Krookodile (outsped and one shot, Krookodile has a +Speed Nature), beats Liepard and Bisharp one on one (one shots both with Flare Blitz). This is the only E4 and beyond matchup where Belly Drum can be useful, but you need at least 116 speed, and there's also RNG to contend with thanks to Sand-Attack.
-Excadrill (46): Scrafty is only a win if you get turn one Sand Attack and you don't miss with Earthquake > Metal Claw > Earthquake (Scrafty two shots with Brick Break), Krookodile is a loss (outsped and one shot). Liepard and Bisharp are wins (Since they cannot do too much back), though Earthquake is a range to one shot without Soft Sand.
-Scrafty (46): Two shots its opposite number and outspeeds thanks to EV's (unless it has super bad speed), one shots Liepard and Bisharp, but Krookodile outspeeds can two shot with Earthquake (Scrafty can one shot unboosted, but you would need X-Defend or death fodder to get past if you start at < 50% HP).
Caitlin
-Archeops (46): Archeops two shots everything with Acrobatics, but everything Caitilin has either one shots in return (Reuniclus) or puts it into Defeatist (Sigilyph, Gothitelle, Musharna, which Sigilyph aside, Archeops cannot two shot afterwards). Rock Slide actually helps on this fight as it allows Archeops to one shot Sigilyph.
-Darmanitan (46): Basically one of those matchups where it can beat things one on one, but cannot string a solo together. It can two shot everything with Fire Punch (and one shot Sigilyph with Flare Blitz), but everything deals enough damage (Everyone can two shot) where it is liable to need healing items or revives (Particularly Sigilyph where a slower Darmanitan going for the one shot can potentially die to recoil after taking a Psychic depending on special bulk).
-Excadrill (46): Two shots Reuniclus, but gets one shot in return by Focus Blast. With decent Special bulk, it takes two Ice Beams from Sigilyph (Mine had bad special bulk so it was a damage range to two shot) and two shots in return with Rock Slide. Earthquake three shots Musharna and Gothitelle but they cannot do much back. Optimally if you are tearing through Caitlin once Reuniclus is down, it's best to Swords Dance once on Sigilyph and then again on Musharna.
-Scrafty (46): Can solo the matchup with a couple of potions. It can tank a Focus Blast from Reuniclus and an Air Slash from Sigilyph. Outspeeds Reuniclus and Musharna, Scrafty two shots Reuniclus with Crunch and one shots the rest (Outside of Reuniclus, Sigilyph is the only major issue as my Scrafty only barely survived Ice Beam + Air Slash from full starting at critical and using a potion). As for without boosts, Musharna and Gothitelle are clean two shots, while Sigilyph is a damage range to one shot (Guaranteed with BlackGlasses).
Marshall
-Archeops (46): One shots Mienshao, needs Sturdy to be broken to take out Sawk, Throh and Conkeldurr are both (favourable) damage ranges (both can KO in return though if you are lucky, Throh can use Payback and maybe not put you in Defeatist range).
-Darmanitan (46): Can beat Throh one on one with Flare Blitz into Fire Punch as it outspeeds after Bulldoze, Sawk and Conkeldurr are two shots, but they one shot in return with Stone Edge, Mienshao two shots with Rock Slide while Flare Blitz is a one shot.
-Excadrill (46): Rubbish matchup. Sawk, Conkeldurr, and Mienshao all one shot, Throh two shots, Earthquake does not two shot Throh or Conkeldurr.
-Scrafty (46): Overall rubbish matchup. Can get an attack in on Throh and Conkeldurr but everything just takes it out in one or two shots.
I DIDN'T EXHAUSTIVELY TEST THESE LAST TWO MOSTLY BECAUSE RESETTING IS A PAIN AND I DIDN'T REALLY WANT TO DEATH ABUSE THESE, SO THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF ESTIMATION GOING ON.
Final N
-Archeops (47): It HAS the potential to beat Reshiram having a clean 2HKO with Rock Slide without Defeatist, but it relies on not getting Defeatist off the bat (which is possible for Fusion Flare), getting Agility off, a healing item, and Reshiram not hitting damage ranges to two shot (Extrasensory makes that tough). Otherwise it's not too great a matchup. It can live Zoroark but Defeatist is a thing and it only two shots at lower ends with Acrobatics, Klinklang and Carracosta stop it in its tracks, Vanilluxe it can beat with a flinch (Rock Slide only two shots), and it can one shot N's Archeops but it realistically needs Agility to outspeed and that's not going to really happen.
-Darmanitan (48): Reshiram is a damage range to two shot with Rock Slide, but it can potentially two shot in return with Extrasensory. It beats Zoroark, Klinklang, and Vanilluxe in a straight fight (Charcoal Flare Blitz one shots at least, but the recoil...) Should keep away from Carracosta and Archeops.
-Excadrill (48): Klinklang and Archeops are Excadrill's only gimme matchups. Everything else either one shots or simply does not lose to it one on one.
-Scrafty (48): Reshiram beats it one on one but they both two shot each other, it beats Zoroark one on one (one shots vs. Zoroark's two shot with Focus Blast) but doesn't want prior damage. Klinklang falls after a Moxie boost, Carracosta is two shot with High Jump Kick, Vanilluxe is one shot by High Jump Kick, and Archeops one shots Scrafty with Acrobatics.
Ghetsis
-Archeops (48): Bad matchup. Cofagrigus lives two hits (Damage range at higher levels) and can two shot in return with Shadow Ball when it doesn't feel like trying to Toxic stall (At least you can get rid of Defeatist). Hydreigon needs a prior Agility to outspeed but you only two shot (while Hydreigon one shots), Eelektross and Bisharp are bad matchups in general (best you can do is pray for Rock Slide flinches if you have it... Good luck if you didn't get it). It can get a hit on Seismitoad but falls in one hit, and Bouffalant takes a hit and deals a lot of damage in return.
-Darmanitan (48): Beats Cofagrigus and Bisharp one on one without many issues. Loses to Hydreigon (Surf one shots and is a damage range with better special bulk) and Seismitoad (Earthquake is a range with good bulk and it takes a hit). Eelektross is winnable one on one, but Bouffalant has a chance to one shot with Head Charge, which is exacerbated by relying on either Superpower, Flare Blitz, or Hammer Arm.
-Excadrill (48): Excadrill beats Cofagrigus one on one and can set up Swords Dance... but can't do anything useful with it without X-Items as Hydreigon outspeeds and one shots. Bisharp is a winning matchup, but Bouffalant (Earthquake), Seismitoad (Earthquake), and Eelektross (Flamethrower) take a hit and beat Excadrill.
-Scrafty (50): Sweeps Ghetsis team mostly thanks to Moxie. Beware that Cofagrigus has Mummy though it can beat it one on one anyways. Hydreigon is a two shot with High Jump Kick (Brick Break is a range to two shot) though it two shots in return with Focus Blast but given it's Focus Blast, it will probably miss and give you the start. Bouffalant is one shot, Eelektross is a range to one shot at +2 with High Jump Kick, Seismitoad is one shot though it outspeeds you (so have a potion ready), and Bisharp easily falls and does nothing special back.

In terms of judgement, if you are going to be setting a high bar for S-Rank, then I think it is best to just delete S-Rank altogether and just have a bunch of Pokémon in A-Rank irrespective of power gulfs. I mean, yeah, nobody's perfect (and neither is my testing), but every Pokémon in S-Rank was flawed to the bone, enough to the point that I don't feel that any one of them are S-Rank (might just be that I have high standards, but I digress). Allow me to elaborate:

Archen on one hand has really strong neutral power in Acrobatics to the point where any sort of extra coverage ends up being redundant as even stuff like Super Effective Crunch deals less than Neutral Acrobatics. On the other hand, there was a ton of damage ranges (one shot or two shot) that I had to contend with (When even Liepard and Simis can be ranges...). While this isn't necessarily a bad thing, the main issue is it's Archen, which means in most cases, either Defeatist activates or it straight up dies if it doesn't KO. This isn't helped by the fact that it needs Acrobatics to deal real damage and as such, it cannot hold items lest it wants to lose power. And as you see, its matchup record is rather spotty. Quite a bit of good, but a fair bit of bad. Not too bad at all but for something that is hyped as "oh it destroys the entire game with one move" on paper, it honestly doesn't in practice. Also have fun when something outspeeds it. A-Rank.

I've harped on about this ITT and in Discord already, but Darumaka is A-Rank and this test reinforced the idea. The big issue with Darumaka itself is outside of miss RNG which can and will play a part, it is very reliant on items while it is Darumaka. Yes X-Accuracies exist for the missing part, but I would argue that it is a damning point against it being in S-Rank. This is because you are spending money on a $950 consumable item and spending one turn a fight on something that needs Eviolite to have actual bulk and could take a lot of damage, just so you can make a fight more consistent. And not just X-Accuracies either, sometimes it needed a Charcoal to guarantee what is normally a damage range. And sometimes, it needed Eviolite in order to actually do something. The big example is Clay. Without Eviolite, it can do something to Krokorok because of his AI, but it straight up dies to Palpitoad and Excadrill. WITH Eviolite however, it has a small chance to solo the fight, but only because Clay's AI is stupid and goes for shit like Swagger, Hone Claws, and Aqua Ring instead of attacking (because it cannot one shot). Compare and contrast to something like Scraggy, who can solo the fight without needing such help, and is more reliable at it. And even once it becomes Darmanitan it isn't some amazing, all beating, S-Rank quality Pokémon (in BW1). Belly Drum is a thing that helps I guess, but it's only guaranteed to help solo one fight (Final Cheren) and make one fight more consistent (Drayden/Iris), and only due to AI (It could help with three others but it depends on stats). It solos a couple of fights outside of drum, but even then, one of those is expected (Brycen) and the other (Drayden/Iris) is something that even Serperior could solo simply because of Dragon Tail's priority and a penchant for DD. Its endgame in general isn't anything spectacular as there's lots of things that live a hit and one or two shot back and some that outright beat it, though it has a few matchups it can beat I guess. The point is, it's not really consistent enough to consider S-Rank, largely because Darumaka sucks and is reliant on too much, but also because Darmanitan does not really make up for it. A-Rank.

Drilbur is easily the weakest link of the "S-Rank" Pokémon. Really bad earlygame, nearly every matchup as Drilbur, it is reliant on something going right or Soft Sand/Eviolite, or it outright cannot solo. Maybe contribute parts but that's about it. Its best part is definitely just after becoming Excadrill as it gets the "Oh I'm a lot better now" phase, but that is short lived and its issues become prevalent. Offensively it struggles to KO things without Swords Dance and overall feels underwhelming, and defensively its bulk is quite rubbish (probably because I had bad bulk, but I digress). It has a good defensive typing, but that doesn't help much. It uses it as a crutch, and the moment somethng hits it even neutrally, it ends up taking a lot of damage. Hell, even resisted hits can deal quite a bit of damage. Its endgame in general is also pretty bad and inconsistent. It is absolutely the most A-Rank of the S-Ranks I have ever seen. This isn't BW2. A-Rank.

Scraggy I feel is the most borderline of the S-Ranks to actually being S-Rank, but even then, it has issues. On one hand, there's a lot to like about it. There's a fair few fights in the early-midgame that it does really well in or outright solos. Moxie definitely helps it out a lot as I have elaborated in the exhaustive list. Having good STAB coverage helps. There are some fights where it wants an item, but compared to Drilbur and Darumaka, it's a lot less. High Jump Kick is really good despite RNG issues. Finally, its endgame is excellent and by far the best of the S-Ranks with only one rubbish matchup and probably the biggest thing that makes it borderline. Its biggest issue is definitely speed. Even with 31 IV's in speed there was a lot of things that outrun it and have the potential to deal real damage to it. At least Scrafty has some bulk which can definitely matter, but then there are times when even that isn't enough. Also it has a lot of reliance on Moxie to deal real damage. On one hand this isn't a bad thing because it allows it to solo things it otherwise couldn't. On the other hand, its exactly that. There can be times where it can just be forced out for matchup or other reasons which means the boosts go away. Definitely the most shakiest of arguments I can admit and I can be fine with it with S-Rank, but I don't really think that if all this goes through that a one mon S-Rank is appropriate... I don't know. I just feel more comfortable with a large A-Rank with no S-Rank like the old tier lists.

I don't have any more time to say much more, but the tl;dr is that I don't feel like these S-Ranks are S-Rank (according to my high standards) and that a large A-Rank feels more appropriate since there's a lot of strong stuff but no real cream of the crop since everything has noticeable flaws holding them back.
 
Update 3(DAMN SON) Warning; Long and Salty

Getting through the forest was piece of cake thanks to Pidove, who managed to evolve into Tranquill at the end of the road. I decided to not teach Grass Knot to Boss Cass the Dewott because looking at the matchups to Elesa, there isn't anything Shell/Smash doesn't hit that Grass Knot hits better. I picked up 2 items before getting Scraggy: an Amulet Coin for Boss Cass and an Eviolite for Solosis.

It took a couple of tries, but I got a Lvl 16 female Scraggy named Kya with Moxie and an amazing nature with Impish. I took on the Battle Factory to catch her up to Lvl 20 and Brick Break. After an annoying sidequest with no impact on the plotline whatsoever, I finally got to Burgh with a Lvl 24 Tranquil and everyone else at Lvl 22.

Burgh(without help): I 2HKO Whirlpede and take a Poison Tail... and this is where I rage because FUCKING...
G O D DAMN IT! I swear as soon ad Dwebble got on the field I got on the track for a 3HKO. Easy right, WRONG! SMACK DOWN WHY hits me for a 2HKO and i had to constantly use Roost until Sand Attack hit. Sand Attack. FUCKING. SAND. ATTACK. THEN I MISSED 7 TIMES IN A FUCKING ROW! THEN I GOT CRIT. I LIVED AND HAD TO USE A FUCKING LEMONADE

then i killed it and ohko'd leavanny.
Burgh with help: 2HKO Whirlpede and take a Pursuit. Boss Cass comes in and OHKO's with a crit shell. Then again I OHKO.
(goddamn i need better luck in this game)

Part 2. Post-Burgh
After casually slitting the throat of Burgh and his Dwebble, I go to do the next 2 rival fights
Bianca: Kya knocks out Herdier with a crit BB, taking a crit Take Down in the process. Dewott quickly finishes Pignite with RazorShell and Panpour gets 2HKO'd with Mega Drain. And Munna decides to spam MOONLIGHT to constantly dodge a 2HKO with FaintSMACK.
Cheren: Forgetting that he leads with Pidove instead of Liepard, i left Callie in the lead. Switching to Boss Cass, I take it out with ! Razor Shell. Servine dies to some Air Cutter spam, Liepard can't deal with Callie the STALL LORD and Pansear somehow KILLS TRANQUIL WITH A CRIT
I N CI I N E R A T E! then it dies

After grinding my team to Lvl 25, I go to Nimbasa and get my Sun Stone for Callie. I got her to Lvl 26 and decided to not get Cotton Guard and evolve it into Whimsicott. And then my luck took a massive turn because I got a Solosis first try with
A. A Modest nature
B. Magic Guard
and C. HIDDEN. POWER. FIGHTING.
D A M N S O N
Image result for celebration gif funny


Part 3. Nerd3 and Elesa
After grinding up Mitosis the Solosis to Lvl 25 and Psyshock for Elesa, I went to deal with everyone's favorite fight.
N3: Moxie Katarami Damacy lol
Elesa's gym trainer's were mainly dealt with Mitosis and Kya with little to no trouble, so gettiing to Elesa was no problem
Elesa: Mitosis with the Eviolite lead off to set up Light Screen while eating a Switch. Emolga#2 comes in and Mitosis amazingly EATS Aerial Ace+Pursuit to 2HKO with Psyshock. Zebstrika comes in and i heal up to eat a hit and hit it with Psyshock. Realizing I can't set up another screen, I take this opportunity to switch into Callie to eat a Spark+Charge to kill it with Giga Drain. Thinking that Emolga#1 was already hit, I swiched in Tranquil only to instantly die after throwing a Return at it. Boss Cass comes in to finish it off.

So now with almost the entire team made, here's an overview of all the team members i have:

View attachment 161963
Boss Cass the Dewott(Bashful, Lvl26) Torrent@ Amulet Coin
Moves: Razor Shell, Water Pulse, Tail Whip, Rock Smash
Rocking a stupidly good STAB and being able to eat any hit it needs, Boss Cass has been nothing but fire for most of the early game. With access to good coverage in Rock Smash and Grass Knot, he can hit a lot of targets for buckets of damage. Now in Nimbasa, Dig and Return are available and will be considered for coverage.
Definitely A Tier for sure.

View attachment 161964
Tranquil(Hastly, Lvl 27)SUPERBULLSHIT@SHIT LENS
Moves: Air Cutter, Return, Roost, Detect
FUCK THIS GAME. Ignoring Super Bullshit, it's... kinda been eh for the most part. It can put in work when it needs to, but honestly it takes way too long for me to do anything with Quick Attack or AirneverCritevenwithscopelens. Honestly, unless Return takes it into god territory, I am going to say D Tier for this guy. Get good fucking luck, they said.
View attachment 161965
Callie(Modest, Lvl28)Prankster@Miracle Seed
Moves:Growth, Leech Seed, Stun Spore, Giga Dran
Honestly, for having 37 SpA it's been amazing for what time i've had it. It takes hits like a champ, can stall out anything with Leech Seed, and does enough damage with Mega Drain to have an offensive presence. Now that it's a Whimsicott with Giga Drain, I now have a strong attack to use and more bulk than anything on the team barring Eviolite Scraggy. Not having Cotton Guard may matter, but I definetly want to see it rise to B Tier, it's far better than any Grass-type barring Lilypants.
View attachment 161967
Kya(Impish, Lvl 27)Moxie(also bonus points if you get the refrence for this and Dewott)@Quick Claw
Moves: Brick Break, Faint Attack, Work Up, Dig
This girl is so damn bulky, even without Eviolite. It can take hits all day and just gets stonger with it's high BP moves and Moxie to become a Katamari Damacy with no end to the ball. Helping it even further is the fact that it's STABS are soooo good that it doesn't need much other than maybe Work Up if you need immediate power. S TIER because yes.
View attachment 161969
Mitosis(Modest, Lvl28)Magic Guard@Eviolite
Moves: Psyshock, HP FIghting, Light Screen, Charm
DAMN SON I AM A LUCKY CUNT. Serioulsy though, this thing is great even as a Solosis. Hits like a DUMPSTER TRUCK with Psyshock and HP FIghting, tanks every hit with Eviolite for a 3HKO, meaning you can kill anything without healing much or easily support the team. This mon is easily making a case for A Tier, but Duosion may make a case against it.

Sorry if this is post is long, but there's a lot to do in these 2 badges. I hope you enjoy my opinion, and see you soon on the next update.
Alright, so I completed another run, this time using all the "S-Rank" Pokémon to see if they really are S-Rank. Here's a bunch of testing I did for pretty much every major fight. For reference:

Archeops was Neutral and had great Attack and Speed IV's
Darmanitan was Rash and had great Attack and good Speed IV's
Excadrill was Lax and had above average Attack and Speed IV's
Scrafty was Neutral with a great Attack IV and a 31 Speed IV

N 2
-Drilbur (15): Beats Pidove (Three Round), needs good Fury Swipes RNG (and near full HP) to beat Tympole (Needs good RNG full stop), Beats Timburr (Three Round)
Lenora
-Drilbur (19): Before Lv19 it can beat Herdier if its speed is good with Rock Smash and some death fodder for Intimidate and Take Down (Not consistent), Watchog can only be dealt with if Crunch misses out on a 2HKO (Retaliate two shots without the boost but can be PP stalled) and you are generally outsped. Getting Dig at Lv19 does not change much other than Crunch being less likely to two shot barring a stat drop. You can only really reliably solo this with an X-Speed and with Dig (Which means using X-Items). Considering this matchup mediocre/average.
Burgh
-Darumaka (21): One shots both Whirlipede and Leavanny, but Dwebble can troll it, living attacks and can do things like Smack Down and Sand-Attack to make things very rough. Overall good matchup, but Dwebble is an issue. And Hustle luck as you are going to need a 40.96% chance without X-Accuracies to land all your hits (Assuming Fire Punch which you get at Lv22).
-Drilbur (21): Beats Whirlipede and Dwebble in a one on one fight, but gets demolished by Leavanny's Razor Leaf.
-Scraggy (22): Bad matchup. Loses to Leavanny due to being outdamaged by Razor Leaf, and really struggles against Whirlipede as it cannot deal much damage and is likely to force potions. Does very well with Dwebble however.
Bianca 3
-Darumaka (22): One shots whole party after using death fodder to clear Intimidate. Being overleveled helps, 40.96% chance to hit everything. Only Herdier and Panpour have decent retaliation, though Servine Leaf Tornado accuracy drops can be an issue.
-Drilbur (21): Beats Herdier, one shots Panpour with Intimidate cleared, loses to Servine, Munna is an inconsistent matchup as it can live unboosted, especially if Psybeam confuses.
-Scraggy (22): First good matchup, can solo with no items. Herdier and Servine may pose some issues, but nothing serious. Using death fodder for Herdier can make the fight a little more efficient.
Cheren 4
-Darumaka (23): It depends on your speed as to whether or not it can take care of Dewott, but it needs to get 2/3 Work Up boosts to get past it. Pidove and Liepard are one shot, while Pansear is a damage range with Headbutt (depending on your Attack, mine is neutral with a good Attack IV) though Sandstorm finishes the job. Needs good speed and setup (and obligatory good RNG) to solo.
-Drilbur (22): Either ability works since Drilbur outspeeds Dewott (Assuming Tepig Starter) as it only has 33 Speed. Sand Force is a little more efficient as it allows you to get away with 1-2 Hone Claws (as opposed to 2-3 depending on its Attack). Whether or not you need items mostly depends on what Pidove does (and Liepard if you have Sand Force).
-Scraggy (22): Can solo this fight without items, but it mostly depends on what Dewott does, Scraggy's speed (Mine speedtied with Neutral 31 and w/e EV's), and what RNG you get (Razor Shell Defence drops can be lethal). Also noteworthy that you need a Moxie Boost to two shot Dewott. Everything will get an action in from either outspeeding (Pansear, Liepard) or living a hit (Pidove, Dewott).
N 3
-Archen (25): Whether or not it solos mostly depends on Sandile/Sigilyph. Sandile is a damage range with Pluck (pretty sure it's in favour of Sandile winning assuming neutral with high Attack IV) while Sigilyph outspeeds. If Sigilyph goes for Tailwind and Sandile used Embargo, it's a win. Otherwise, Defeatist can come into play and end Archen (Psybeam misses the two shot but Ancient Power with average Sp. Attack is barely a two shot). Scraggy and Darumaka are clean one shot when Defeatist isn't in effect.
-Darumaka (24): Can beat Sandile/Darumaka/Scraggy one on one (Only Sandile is one shot), but Sigilyph outspeeds and two shots (Though Fire Punch is a clean two shot unboosted). Being outsped by Sandile is also pretty bad as it can Embargo (which really hurts if a miss happens) or Sand Tomb for decent damage (not enough that Darumaka can KO it though). Eviolite can definitely help.
-Drilbur (23): Handles Sandile and Darumaka without a problem, though Scraggy can tank Dig comfortably (can live at +2) and deal a lot back. Sigilyph is basically a loss unless you set up a ton as it clean two shots (Not sure if Eviolite helps there) and does not take much in return.
-Scraggy (24): Clean solos the matchup with Moxie. Everything is one shot in the order they come out, the only variable being Sigilyph's Air Cutter (which only KOes if it crits) as Sandile won't do much regardless. Worth noting that Payback doesn't even need Moxie boosts to one shot (Scraggy on the other hand is a range with Brick Break).
Elesa
-Archen (25): If you are lucky and Emolga goes for Pursuit, you can use Ancient Power to drain Elesa's Hyper Potions (and KO both Emolga if you get the stat boost proc). Otherwise they can one shot with Volt Switch (Mine was a damage range). Zebstrika outspeeds and one shots with Spark even if you get the stat boost.
-Darumaka (25): With an Eviolite it can comfortably take two Volt Switches and deal a ton of damage (Two shots everything unboosted, one shots at +1). Without Eviolite it depends on bulk as to whether or not it can live two Volt Switches (mine couldn't), though Zebstrika clean two shots with Spark. Optimal solo would be: Work Up, KO, Heal, KO, Heal, KO. Cannot really call this a reliable matchup mostly because of Eviolite reliance, however (RNG aside, of course).
-Drilbur (25): Drilbur cannot do anything meaningful to the Emolga (Unless you are Lv26 when you get Slash access), but beats Zebstrika one on one (Flame Charge three shots, Dig two shots).
-Scraggy (25): The Emolga beat it one on one by using Aerial Ace (unless using Eviolite in which case it only three shots) and Scraggy only two shots in return with Payback. Zebstrika is fairly even as it can survive two hits. Work Up doesn't really save much unless your Attack is really bad, but it's there if you need it.
Cheren 5
-Archen (25): Can beat Liepard, Pansear, and Tranquill one on one. Outright loses to Dewott, but can eat its Sitrus Berry in a pinch. Liepard is also annoying and can potentially trigger Defeatist (as well as living a hit).
-Darumaka (27): Beats up Liepard and Tranquill easily, gets past Pansear with a clean two shot. Dewott is only one shot at +2 with Thrash/Strength (you could get away with Headbutt if your Attack is great) and you generally get one shot in return (Eviolite doesn't really help). At least you outspeed average case. Also worth noting that Liepard isn't a good setup target mostly due to Torment shenanigans.
-Drilbur (25): Needs to set up to +3 Atk on anything not Dewott to get past Dewott (unless Attack is amazing or you have Soft Sand). Liepard isn't easy to set up on thanks to Torment, while the other two are not so bad. It does beat Liepard and Pansear one on one, but Tranquill is sketchier (unboosted) mostly due to Roost and potential Air Cutter crits.
-Scraggy (25): Can solo the fight with a minimum of 2-3 healing items (No Eviolite), slower than everything else. Liepard falls in one hit but can Torment which is annoying, Tranquill only three shots with Air Cutter, Dewott deals a lot with Water Pulse/Razor Shell which is a range to two shot at Lv25 but appears to be a three-shot at Lv26? Either way, Moxie boosts allow you to potentially take it out in a hit (Dewott with no boosts is not a good matchup), and Pansear is easy.
Clay
-Archen (28): It begins... If Krokorok goes for Swagger (Crunch is worst case scenario as it activates Defeatist), no self hits allow Archen to one shot both Krokorok (Gets one shot unboosted anyway with no Defeatist) and Palpitoad with Acrobatics (Worth noting that the boost matters as Palpitoad lives unboosted and one shots in return). If Excadrill misses Rock Slide (one shot if it hits), Archen can deal half with the +2 boost.
-Darumaka (28): This one was actually interesting, with the varying point being whether or not it has Eviolite equipped. With or without Eviolite Darumaka gets past Krokorok (especially after Swagger). Palpitoad and Excadrill depend on whether or not you have it though. Without, Darumaka just gets nuked into orbit with no chance of response. With Eviolite however, and with no prior damage however, Palpitoad seems to go for Aqua Ring first (because Muddy does not one shot anymore), and Excadrill goes for Hone Claws (because nothing it can do can one shot besides maybe Bulldoze but Excadrill seems to not use it). You can exploit this to actually solo Clay without healing items as you one shot both at +2, but as always you are relying on luck for obvious reasons.
-Drilbur (27): If Krokorok uses Swagger turn one AND Drilbur doesn't hit itself, Drilbur can take down Krokorok (if it doesn't Swagger, you aren't likely to get past it as Crunch clean two shots without Eviolite). Dig does avoid Bulldoze so you can just spam it. Palpitoad and Krokorok are damage ranges at +2 (Unless you have the Soft Sand) with Palpitoad one shotting in return, and Excadrill only two shots with an unboosted Bulldoze (so it uses Hone Claws on the first turn) so you can deal half with Dig (or one shot if you somehow kept the Swagger boost).
-Scraggy (28): Swagger or not, Scraggy does solo this fight with Brick Break and Payback. If you don't get Swagger however, Palpitoad does live +1 Payback. You also need to hope that Palpitoad uses Aqua Ring to maximise the chances that Excadrill goes for Hone Claws (presumably because it cannot KO). Lot more reliable than Drilbur and Darumaka though.
Bianca 4
DEATH FODDER
-Archen (28): One shots Herdier (Damage Range), Panpour, Servine. Musharna only takes half but is manageable (If it uses Hypnosis, Chesto Berry and then Ancient Power if it starts using Defence Curl). If it does go for Psybeam, Defeatist can come into play. Servine outspeeds but does not put it into Defeatist. Again, needs something to take Intimidate, otherwise Herdier gives it issues.
-Darumaka (28): Another very inconsistent solo. Darumaka can do this unboosted (needs an item minimum) and at +1, but a lot of it is dependent on Herdier using Work Up to +2 which does not always happen (as that's the point where Take Down one shots without Eviolite). Panpour survives unboosted Normal-type coverage and outspeeds, but only two shots with Scald. Servine is easy, and Musharna lives even at +1 but seems more likely to just Hypnosis/Defence Curl than Psybeam.
-Drilbur (28): Needs to get to +2 to get past Herdier (+1 with Prior Damage, Soft Sand can make a damage range at +1) though Herdier using Work Up to get to +2 in order for it to KO helps, gets past Panpour with little issues. Only gets past Servine at +2 if it misses Leaf Tornado (KOes if hits), and Musharna only takes half at +2 and can deal a lot with Psybeam but with good luck and no Leech Seed (Not likely as Servine does go for Leech Seed) it can win. Essentially it needs boosts to get past anything not named Panpour.
-Scraggy (29): Solos this matchup even without the help of death fodder. Herdier again is a little gate depending on what it does but Brick Break is a clean two shot, Panpour is a one shot (though again what it does can change things, general case is Water Sport), Servine is one shot with Black Glasses (two shot or damage range without unless you use death fodder), and Musharna is outsped and taken out with Faint Attack (Without boosts Musharna lives hits, but Musharna cannot do anything back at all except stall for time).
N 4
-Archen (30): Two shots Boldore with Ancient Power (As it uses Iron Defence), two shots Ferroseed with Acrobatics, and one shots Joltik with Acrobatics. Klink nukes it with Gear Grind and Archen cannot do much back however.
-Darumaka (30): Loses to Boldore unless you decide to get some SE coverage or you get a lucky Burn or something (Sturdy, Iron Defence, Smack Down is a two shot), but one shots the rest of N's Pokémon. Only Pokémon that gets a response is Joltik and best case scenario is Gastro Acid since removes Hustle (Boost doesn't matter and removes RNG aspect) and deals no damage.
-Drilbur (30): Easily Drilbur's best fight before Excadrill. Takes advantage of Boldore's Iron Defence to set up to +3 with Hone Claws, and three shots with Dig (Power Gem does nothing special), and then outspeeds and one shots the rest with Dig (Ferroseed lives if it uses Iron Defence). Unboosted vs. the rest of the party, Drilbur one shots Joltik and Klink with Rock Slide and Dig, but Ferroseed walls it with help of Iron Defence.
-Scraggy (30): Another itemless solo. Three shots Boldore with Brick Break factoring Iron Defence, and one shots the rest of his party. Joltik does get an action in but Payback deals with it. Unboosted doesn't matter too much (Ferroseed lives a hit but does nothing much with it).
Skyla
-Archen (33): Beats Swoobat and Unfezant one on one, but loses to Swanna. Not really much else to explain here.
-Darumaka (32): Beats Swoobat one on one, loses outright to Swanna. Unfezant is a range to two shot unboosted (guaranteed with Charcoal or a higher level), but only has one real shot as Leer turns Quick Attack into a two shot. Eviolite only really improves the Unfezant matchup (It allows you to take a hit from Swanna but Darumaka cannot really do much with the one turn).
-Excadrill (33): Solos the matchup with or without boosts, with no item help. Mostly depends on how many Heart Stamp flinches Swoobat gets, but average case says you'll get the solo. Using Hone Claws once is more efficient as it turns two shots on Swanna and Unfezant into one shots (Swoobat is one shot anyway) and it eliminates the miss chance. Swanna only kills if Swoobat deals enough damage (boosted) or if it goes for double Bubblebeam (unboosted, generally it goes for Aqua Ring), and Unfezant cannot even KO with two Quick Attacks if Excadrill's prior damage is one Bubblebeam (unless you get a really high roll on Bubblebeam).
-Scraggy (32): Basically dead on arrival with no Eviolite. Swoobat and Swanna one shot, Unfezant two shots and High Jump Kick only deals nearly half. With Eviolite it can tank one hit from Swoobat and Swanna and two from Unfezant. It one shots Swoobat and needs boosts to reliably deal with Unfezant (and still needs items). It cannot do much to Swanna.
Cheren 6
RAIN WEATHER
-Archen (33): Beats Unfezant, Simisear, and Liepard (without prior damage), gets destroyed by Dewott (Even Aqua Jet one shots in rain, if it does get a move, Acrobatics only two shots). Does not one shot anything unfortunately, but Unfezant and Simisear cannot do much with their extra turn(s).
-Darumaka (33): Loses to Unfezant unless it Taunts or something (Flare Blitz two shots in clear, but Air Slash two shots, Eviolite makes it a double KO with Flare Blitz), non-starter for Dewott, Beats Simisear one on one, Can unreliably beat Liepard one on one.
-Excadrill (34): Set up to +1 and then Excadrill rips Cheren to pieces. Worth noting that +1 is necessary to one shot Dewott with Dig (Damage Range at Lv35 without Soft Sand, Water Pulse is a one shot in rain). Unfezant is also a range. Only Liepard outspeeds and it doesn't do much.
-Scraggy (34): Beats Simisear and Liepard. Only beats Dewott reliably out of rain with Eviolite (High Jump Kick two shots and you only get +1 max without Work Up as it's Cheren's default answer), loses to Unfezant barring really good luck.
Brycen
-Archeops (37): One shots Vanillish and Cryogonal with Acrobatics, Beartic lives a hit and one shots in return. Rock Slide does not change much other than Brycen using a Potion on Beartic and potential flinch, Ancient Power does not KO things. Archen on the other hand can potentially one shot Vanillish with Acrobatics (Damage Range) and that's about it.
-Darmanitan (36): One shots the whole party with Fire Punch (Beartic is a range without Charcoal). Cryogonal gets a hit in, but doesn't do anything noticeable.
-Excadrill (36): One shots Vanillish and Crygonal (tanking Aurora Beam) with whatever move, Beartic is a damage range to two shot unboosted (Soft Sand Earthquake is guaranteed to two shot, range becomes irrelevant if Beartic uses Swagger), but it lives Brine with more than 50% HP.
-Scraggy (37): KOes Vanillish with a combination of High Jump Kick and Brick Break (assuming Acid Armour), needs the Moxie boost to one shot Beartic with High Jump Kick, one shots Cryogonal with Brick Break. Doesn't fear much from Vanillish or Cryogonal, outspeeds Beartic. Does need to rely on High Jump Kick however...
Bianca 5
RAIN WEATHER, DEATH FODDER
-Archeops (39): Needs death fodder to do well in this matchup (needs it to solo). Stoutland is a clean two shot (Does nothing dangerous in return), Simipour is a damage range (Scald one shots if you miss the range), Serperior is one shot, Musharna is two shot (Also does nothing much). This is with +0 Acrobatics, Intimidate turns Stoutland and Musharna into three shots, and Simipour always lives.
-Darmanitan (39): Beats Stoutland one on one (Brick Break is better if using death fodder as it two shots like Hammer Arm, doesn't trigger item usage, and doesn't lower your speed), can get a hit on Simipour (Brick Break 3HKO, Hammer Arm 2HKO) but gets one shot in return, one shots Serperior out of rain (clean two shot in rain, move doesn't matter unless it uses Coil), Musharna is a range to two shot in rain with Flare Blitz (guaranteed with Charcoal, two shot becomes one shot out of rain). Belly Drum helps this matchup as long as you are fast enough to outspeed Simipour due to how Stoutland's AI works.
-Excadrill (40): Clean two shots Stoutland with Earthquake (three shot with no death fodder), outsped and one shot by Simipour in the rain, Serperior beats it in a straight fight (Leaf Blade three shots so you could item spam, but the Excadrill can do is like 3-4 shot with Metal Claw), Musharna is two shot by Earthquake and does nothing much (if it uses Defence Curl, Metal Claw then Earthquake to avoid Full Restore).
-Scrafty (39): Beats Stoutland one on one (High Jump Kick two shots without death fodder, either move two shots with death fodder), Serperior is a damage range to two shot with High Jump Kick (Assuming turn one Coil and with death fodder, have fun without). Can take out Simipour in rain with boosts IF Scald does not burn (If it does, Simipour is very likely going to win), beats Musharna without boosts (Two shot with Crunch even after Defence Curl, Musharna does nothing back other than stall for time).
Drayden/Iris
-Archeops (41): Acrobatics is a damage range on Fraxure (Normally goes for Dragon Dance), KOes Druddigon with a combination of Crunch then Acrobatics (Avoids Hyper Potion, Night Slash crit triggers Defeatist), Acrobatics is a clean two shot on Haxorus (goes for Dragon Dance, then generally Dragon Tail unless Archeops has taken enough prior damage).
-Darmanitan (41): Fraxure is a two shot with Flare Blitz, Druddigon is a range to two shot (maybe?) (guaranteed with Charcoal, next best alternative in Rock Slide only three shots), Haxorus is three shot. In reply, Fraxure normally just DD's, Druddigon deals not too much damage, and Haxorus will typically DD up to twice and then go for the KO, using either Slash (Darmanitan starting at full) or Dragon Tails early for a KO. I did test Work Up strats, you can only get up to +2 as Fraxure will DD up to +2 and then one shot with Dragon Tail afterwards, you one shot Fraxure, Druddigon one shot is only reliable with Charcoal, and Haxorus is a range with Charcoal (and takes you out with Dragon Tail) assuming Flare Blitz spam. Rock Slide has been tested but it doesn't change too much outside of safety for the Work Up strats as it KOes Fraxure at +2. If you have Belly Drum, the solo is a little more consistent here.
-Excadrill (41): Solos the matchup without boosts. Metal Claw > Earthquake KOes Fraxure, while Druddigon and Haxorus fall to two Earthquakes (Haxorus is likely a range but Soft Sand fixes that). Little more efficient to set up to +2 (With Hone Claws/Swords Dance) since Fraxure does DD twice and Haxorus will go for D-Tail turn one.
-Scrafty (42): Solos the matchup. Crunch > Payback deals with Fraxure (Dragon Dance spam), Crunch > High Jump Kick deals with Druddigon (Generally just attacks, not necessarily Dragon Tail). Haxorus does live a +2 High Jump Kick, but tends to go for Dragon Tail which doesn't deal much and whatever gets sent in can deal with it.
Cheren 7
-Archeops (42): Rock Slide doesn't change much here, the only major difference being that it's an unfavourable damage range on Unfezant (Acrobatics only two shots). Liepard and Simisear are damage ranges with Acrobatics (Rock Slide one shots at least), and the best it can do is half health on Samurott with Acrobatics before getting taken to the cleaners.
-Darmanitan (43): Flare Blitz is only a one shot with Charcoal on Unfezant, one shots Liepard with Flare Blitz. If you get Rock Slide, it's a one shot on Simisear (Flare Blitz two shots), Samurott beats Darmanitan but it can get a Flare Blitz in (which would three shot). You can solo this fight with Belly Drum because of how Unfezant's AI works.
-Excadrill (42): Can abuse a Detect turn on Unfezant to get Swords Dance off (If it doesn't Detect, it outspeeds and uses Taunt), allowing it to one shot Unfezant (Rock Slide) and Samurott (Earthquake, gets one shot in return if you don't KO). Simisear outspeeds and one shots with Flame Burst (probably because mine has horrible SpD), and Liepard is a textbook two shot.
-Scrafty (42): Unfezant beats Scrafty one on one, Samurott you can go toe to toe with, but it mostly depends on a turn one Encore and not rolling high with Aqua Tails (You three shot with two HJK's and a Payback). Liepard is one shot, and Simisear is two shot by High Jump Kick (with no boosts, it deals like 40ish back with Flame Burst).
FOR ELITE FOUR I AM ASSUMING EACH CAN BE THE FIRST OPPONENT AS IT IS THE MOST OBJECTIVE WAY TO TEST THE MATCHUPS DUE TO NON-LINEARITY. ALSO USEFUL FOR WORST CASE SCENARIOS.
Shauntal
-Archeops (46): Cofagrigus is a range to two shot with Acrobatics and removes Defeatist (!), which Shadow Ball only two shots, Jellicent is a two shot but one shots back with Surf, Golurk is a two shot and will either maul you or put you in Curse, and Chendelure is a two shot and if you are at full, it can use Payback if you are lucky which can deal less than 50%. Rock Slide only really helps on Chandelure at higher levels as it becomes a damage range (In my case, I calculated Rock Slide to be a 1/16 chance to one shot at Lv46), and it also avoids Flame Body burn chances.
-Darmanitan (46): Two shots Cofagrigus with Fire-type moves (Shadow Ball two shots unless you have good SpD), Golurk is a damage range to one shot with Flare Blitz WITH Sheer Force (Charcoal guarantees) and Golurk one shots with Earthquake in return, Jellicent always beats unboosted Darmanitan, and Chandelure can only be beaten one on one with Rock Slide. Belly Drum can work here, but only if your special bulk is good enough to take two hits from Cofagrigus.
-Excadrill (46): Can beat Cofagrigus one on one without being burned with Earthquake being a damage range to two shot (guaranteed with Soft Sand), Chandelure is only beaten if you have at least 107 speed or Fire Blast misses (one shots), Golurk and Jellicent are two shots but they one shot in return. You can solo this matchup using Swords Dance if you have at least 107 speed.
-Scrafty (46): Cofagrigus is a damage range to two shot (guaranteed with BlackGlasses), Clean two shots Golurk and Jellicent without boosts, but needs a Moxie boost to beat Chandelure (Chandelure outspeeds and two shots with Fire Blast, Payback with no boosts puts Chandelure into Full Restore range with BlackGlasses). Only Golurk out of the other three poses any real threat though it can also just take itself out to use Curse.
Grimsley
-Archeops (46): One shots Scrafty and Liepard (Damage Range if your Attack is bad, also can outspeed if your speed is bad) with Acrobatics, puts Krookodile into Full Restore Range (and lives Foul Play from full) at +0 so it can win one on one, Bisharp mauls it.
-Darmanitan (46): Beats Scrafty one on one if it doesn't miss (Scrafty uses Sand-Attack) as it two shots with Flare Blitz > Fire Punch (Fire Punch itself is a range to two shot), needs at least 116 Speed to do anything to Krookodile (outsped and one shot, Krookodile has a +Speed Nature), beats Liepard and Bisharp one on one (one shots both with Flare Blitz). This is the only E4 and beyond matchup where Belly Drum can be useful, but you need at least 116 speed, and there's also RNG to contend with thanks to Sand-Attack.
-Excadrill (46): Scrafty is only a win if you get turn one Sand Attack and you don't miss with Earthquake > Metal Claw > Earthquake (Scrafty two shots with Brick Break), Krookodile is a loss (outsped and one shot). Liepard and Bisharp are wins (Since they cannot do too much back), though Earthquake is a range to one shot without Soft Sand.
-Scrafty (46): Two shots its opposite number and outspeeds thanks to EV's (unless it has super bad speed), one shots Liepard and Bisharp, but Krookodile outspeeds can two shot with Earthquake (Scrafty can one shot unboosted, but you would need X-Defend or death fodder to get past if you start at < 50% HP).
Caitlin
-Archeops (46): Archeops two shots everything with Acrobatics, but everything Caitilin has either one shots in return (Reuniclus) or puts it into Defeatist (Sigilyph, Gothitelle, Musharna, which Sigilyph aside, Archeops cannot two shot afterwards). Rock Slide actually helps on this fight as it allows Archeops to one shot Sigilyph.
-Darmanitan (46): Basically one of those matchups where it can beat things one on one, but cannot string a solo together. It can two shot everything with Fire Punch (and one shot Sigilyph with Flare Blitz), but everything deals enough damage (Everyone can two shot) where it is liable to need healing items or revives (Particularly Sigilyph where a slower Darmanitan going for the one shot can potentially die to recoil after taking a Psychic depending on special bulk).
-Excadrill (46): Two shots Reuniclus, but gets one shot in return by Focus Blast. With decent Special bulk, it takes two Ice Beams from Sigilyph (Mine had bad special bulk so it was a damage range to two shot) and two shots in return with Rock Slide. Earthquake three shots Musharna and Gothitelle but they cannot do much back. Optimally if you are tearing through Caitlin once Reuniclus is down, it's best to Swords Dance once on Sigilyph and then again on Musharna.
-Scrafty (46): Can solo the matchup with a couple of potions. It can tank a Focus Blast from Reuniclus and an Air Slash from Sigilyph. Outspeeds Reuniclus and Musharna, Scrafty two shots Reuniclus with Crunch and one shots the rest (Outside of Reuniclus, Sigilyph is the only major issue as my Scrafty only barely survived Ice Beam + Air Slash from full starting at critical and using a potion). As for without boosts, Musharna and Gothitelle are clean two shots, while Sigilyph is a damage range to one shot (Guaranteed with BlackGlasses).
Marshall
-Archeops (46): One shots Mienshao, needs Sturdy to be broken to take out Sawk, Throh and Conkeldurr are both (favourable) damage ranges (both can KO in return though if you are lucky, Throh can use Payback and maybe not put you in Defeatist range).
-Darmanitan (46): Can beat Throh one on one with Flare Blitz into Fire Punch as it outspeeds after Bulldoze, Sawk and Conkeldurr are two shots, but they one shot in return with Stone Edge, Mienshao two shots with Rock Slide while Flare Blitz is a one shot.
-Excadrill (46): Rubbish matchup. Sawk, Conkeldurr, and Mienshao all one shot, Throh two shots, Earthquake does not two shot Throh or Conkeldurr.
-Scrafty (46): Overall rubbish matchup. Can get an attack in on Throh and Conkeldurr but everything just takes it out in one or two shots.
I DIDN'T EXHAUSTIVELY TEST THESE LAST TWO MOSTLY BECAUSE RESETTING IS A PAIN AND I DIDN'T REALLY WANT TO DEATH ABUSE THESE, SO THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF ESTIMATION GOING ON.
Final N
-Archeops (47): It HAS the potential to beat Reshiram having a clean 2HKO with Rock Slide without Defeatist, but it relies on not getting Defeatist off the bat (which is possible for Fusion Flare), getting Agility off, a healing item, and Reshiram not hitting damage ranges to two shot (Extrasensory makes that tough). Otherwise it's not too great a matchup. It can live Zoroark but Defeatist is a thing and it only two shots at lower ends with Acrobatics, Klinklang and Carracosta stop it in its tracks, Vanilluxe it can beat with a flinch (Rock Slide only two shots), and it can one shot N's Archeops but it realistically needs Agility to outspeed and that's not going to really happen.
-Darmanitan (48): Reshiram is a damage range to two shot with Rock Slide, but it can potentially two shot in return with Extrasensory. It beats Zoroark, Klinklang, and Vanilluxe in a straight fight (Charcoal Flare Blitz one shots at least, but the recoil...) Should keep away from Carracosta and Archeops.
-Excadrill (48): Klinklang and Archeops are Excadrill's only gimme matchups. Everything else either one shots or simply does not lose to it one on one.
-Scrafty (48): Reshiram beats it one on one but they both two shot each other, it beats Zoroark one on one (one shots vs. Zoroark's two shot with Focus Blast) but doesn't want prior damage. Klinklang falls after a Moxie boost, Carracosta is two shot with High Jump Kick, Vanilluxe is one shot by High Jump Kick, and Archeops one shots Scrafty with Acrobatics.
Ghetsis
-Archeops (48): Bad matchup. Cofagrigus lives two hits (Damage range at higher levels) and can two shot in return with Shadow Ball when it doesn't feel like trying to Toxic stall (At least you can get rid of Defeatist). Hydreigon needs a prior Agility to outspeed but you only two shot (while Hydreigon one shots), Eelektross and Bisharp are bad matchups in general (best you can do is pray for Rock Slide flinches if you have it... Good luck if you didn't get it). It can get a hit on Seismitoad but falls in one hit, and Bouffalant takes a hit and deals a lot of damage in return.
-Darmanitan (48): Beats Cofagrigus and Bisharp one on one without many issues. Loses to Hydreigon (Surf one shots and is a damage range with better special bulk) and Seismitoad (Earthquake is a range with good bulk and it takes a hit). Eelektross is winnable one on one, but Bouffalant has a chance to one shot with Head Charge, which is exacerbated by relying on either Superpower, Flare Blitz, or Hammer Arm.
-Excadrill (48): Excadrill beats Cofagrigus one on one and can set up Swords Dance... but can't do anything useful with it without X-Items as Hydreigon outspeeds and one shots. Bisharp is a winning matchup, but Bouffalant (Earthquake), Seismitoad (Earthquake), and Eelektross (Flamethrower) take a hit and beat Excadrill.
-Scrafty (50): Sweeps Ghetsis team mostly thanks to Moxie. Beware that Cofagrigus has Mummy though it can beat it one on one anyways. Hydreigon is a two shot with High Jump Kick (Brick Break is a range to two shot) though it two shots in return with Focus Blast but given it's Focus Blast, it will probably miss and give you the start. Bouffalant is one shot, Eelektross is a range to one shot at +2 with High Jump Kick, Seismitoad is one shot though it outspeeds you (so have a potion ready), and Bisharp easily falls and does nothing special back.

In terms of judgement, if you are going to be setting a high bar for S-Rank, then I think it is best to just delete S-Rank altogether and just have a bunch of Pokémon in A-Rank irrespective of power gulfs. I mean, yeah, nobody's perfect (and neither is my testing), but every Pokémon in S-Rank was flawed to the bone, enough to the point that I don't feel that any one of them are S-Rank (might just be that I have high standards, but I digress). Allow me to elaborate:

Archen on one hand has really strong neutral power in Acrobatics to the point where any sort of extra coverage ends up being redundant as even stuff like Super Effective Crunch deals less than Neutral Acrobatics. On the other hand, there was a ton of damage ranges (one shot or two shot) that I had to contend with (When even Liepard and Simis can be ranges...). While this isn't necessarily a bad thing, the main issue is it's Archen, which means in most cases, either Defeatist activates or it straight up dies if it doesn't KO. This isn't helped by the fact that it needs Acrobatics to deal real damage and as such, it cannot hold items lest it wants to lose power. And as you see, its matchup record is rather spotty. Quite a bit of good, but a fair bit of bad. Not too bad at all but for something that is hyped as "oh it destroys the entire game with one move" on paper, it honestly doesn't in practice. Also have fun when something outspeeds it. A-Rank.

I've harped on about this ITT and in Discord already, but Darumaka is A-Rank and this test reinforced the idea. The big issue with Darumaka itself is outside of miss RNG which can and will play a part, it is very reliant on items while it is Darumaka. Yes X-Accuracies exist for the missing part, but I would argue that it is a damning point against it being in S-Rank. This is because you are spending money on a $950 consumable item and spending one turn a fight on something that needs Eviolite to have actual bulk and could take a lot of damage, just so you can make a fight more consistent. And not just X-Accuracies either, sometimes it needed a Charcoal to guarantee what is normally a damage range. And sometimes, it needed Eviolite in order to actually do something. The big example is Clay. Without Eviolite, it can do something to Krokorok because of his AI, but it straight up dies to Palpitoad and Excadrill. WITH Eviolite however, it has a small chance to solo the fight, but only because Clay's AI is stupid and goes for shit like Swagger, Hone Claws, and Aqua Ring instead of attacking (because it cannot one shot). Compare and contrast to something like Scraggy, who can solo the fight without needing such help, and is more reliable at it. And even once it becomes Darmanitan it isn't some amazing, all beating, S-Rank quality Pokémon (in BW1). Belly Drum is a thing that helps I guess, but it's only guaranteed to help solo one fight (Final Cheren) and make one fight more consistent (Drayden/Iris), and only due to AI (It could help with three others but it depends on stats). It solos a couple of fights outside of drum, but even then, one of those is expected (Brycen) and the other (Drayden/Iris) is something that even Serperior could solo simply because of Dragon Tail's priority and a penchant for DD. Its endgame in general isn't anything spectacular as there's lots of things that live a hit and one or two shot back and some that outright beat it, though it has a few matchups it can beat I guess. The point is, it's not really consistent enough to consider S-Rank, largely because Darumaka sucks and is reliant on too much, but also because Darmanitan does not really make up for it. A-Rank.

Drilbur is easily the weakest link of the "S-Rank" Pokémon. Really bad earlygame, nearly every matchup as Drilbur, it is reliant on something going right or Soft Sand/Eviolite, or it outright cannot solo. Maybe contribute parts but that's about it. Its best part is definitely just after becoming Excadrill as it gets the "Oh I'm a lot better now" phase, but that is short lived and its issues become prevalent. Offensively it struggles to KO things without Swords Dance and overall feels underwhelming, and defensively its bulk is quite rubbish (probably because I had bad bulk, but I digress). It has a good defensive typing, but that doesn't help much. It uses it as a crutch, and the moment somethng hits it even neutrally, it ends up taking a lot of damage. Hell, even resisted hits can deal quite a bit of damage. Its endgame in general is also pretty bad and inconsistent. It is absolutely the most A-Rank of the S-Ranks I have ever seen. This isn't BW2. A-Rank.

Scraggy I feel is the most borderline of the S-Ranks to actually being S-Rank, but even then, it has issues. On one hand, there's a lot to like about it. There's a fair few fights in the early-midgame that it does really well in or outright solos. Moxie definitely helps it out a lot as I have elaborated in the exhaustive list. Having good STAB coverage helps. There are some fights where it wants an item, but compared to Drilbur and Darumaka, it's a lot less. High Jump Kick is really good despite RNG issues. Finally, its endgame is excellent and by far the best of the S-Ranks with only one rubbish matchup and probably the biggest thing that makes it borderline. Its biggest issue is definitely speed. Even with 31 IV's in speed there was a lot of things that outrun it and have the potential to deal real damage to it. At least Scrafty has some bulk which can definitely matter, but then there are times when even that isn't enough. Also it has a lot of reliance on Moxie to deal real damage. On one hand this isn't a bad thing because it allows it to solo things it otherwise couldn't. On the other hand, its exactly that. There can be times where it can just be forced out for matchup or other reasons which means the boosts go away. Definitely the most shakiest of arguments I can admit and I can be fine with it with S-Rank, but I don't really think that if all this goes through that a one mon S-Rank is appropriate... I don't know. I just feel more comfortable with a large A-Rank with no S-Rank like the old tier lists.

I don't have any more time to say much more, but the tl;dr is that I don't feel like these S-Ranks are S-Rank (according to my high standards) and that a large A-Rank feels more appropriate since there's a lot of strong stuff but no real cream of the crop since everything has noticeable flaws holding them back.
I want to say these are some fantastic posts with great reasoning. While I didn't read all of the S-tier matchups because holy moly it was long, I did read the rest, and it makes great arguments for all of them. Infernape2018's post was hysterical and if I was tiering humor it would be S, haha.

I think Infernape2018's post speaks for itself and is pretty good and in-depth. Whimsicott potentially being B surprises me a bit. I might have to retest it some, but I think it's one of the weaker Grass types simply due to fairly low raw stats outside of Speed (mostly irrelevant due to Prankster). I think while it certainly has a niche, it doesn't exactly favor efficient play, though it is good at what is does. Everything else checks out.

Irrelevant, but I've been working on a drawing of the A tiers, will reveal once complete. It's only monochrome but I think it's coming along nicely.

I'll try and finish that Serperior run soon, if not tonight. Will edit this post if it is the latter.

Now for the S tiers...yes, all of them have issues.

Darumaka has been well documented by me before. I wouldn't say Darmanitan is super bad in the E4 though. You can nuke at least one threat with Flare Blitz per match. The only thing stopping me from dropping is at least three different posts and I have supported it staying in S as opposed to two of it dropping (albeit with both having very valid reasons for doing so). As for Burgh, you literally get a free X Accuracy in the desert, so that's not an issue (though you might get scared out by Dwebble).

Drilbur is...weird. I think I might have been overhyping it a bit on paper. Aside from that starting rut, a lot of the leads in the E4 stop it pretty well. On the other hand, it can sweep N final in Black as well as Ghetsis in both, so that's nice. It's also annoying to find.

Archen I might have to retest. It apparently has surprising issues we need to account for. That being said, 112 base Attack when most things aren't evolved yet is outstanding, as is Acrobatics. It might stay in S because nobody else has decried it and Acrobatics will smash heads in, though I'm gonna hold off on a firm S ranking for life until I test it, though it will stay for now.

Scraggy is the mon I think should stay in S; literally nobody else has debated this (or Archen for that matter). Late evo level doesn't matter when you get amazing moves, and Brick Break is pretty sufficent outside of a Moxie. I think I've even gone a playthrough with it missing once, though I may be misrembering. The matchups speak for themselves, it ROFLstomps Ghetsis with Substitute, and is just overall super solid with no real dead period. While it may not be super diverse, nothing really resists Fighting/Dark so that's not a problem.

I think at least one S rank should be allowed, simply because it's like that in other tier lists with Top/S. At worst, the lowest amount is two S ranks in Colosseum, with USUM taking second with three. On average, most games have four S ranks, obviously similar to this list. If we have to cut the list down, Scraggy should stay there for sure. It demolishes everything, and its lacking Attack is made up for with HJK/Moxie. You only need like two team members to cover its bad matchups, though I will admit nothing 100% counters Marshall, but if your team is well-built you should be okay.

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Abra
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Articuno
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Clefairy
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Diglett
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Nidoran F
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Nidoran M
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Squirtle (RB)
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Zapdos
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Abra (Trade)
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Spearow
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Totodile
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Abra (Trade)
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Mudkip
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Torchic
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Croconaw
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Espeon
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Eevee (Espeon)
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Eevee (Jolteon)
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Houndour
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Teddiursa
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Abra (Trade)
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Bidoof
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Chimchar
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Starly
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Braviary
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Darumaka

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Drilbur
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Heracross
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Magnemite
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Mincinno (Hidden Grotto)
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Aerodactyl

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Charmander [X]
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Abra (Alakazam)
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Oricorio
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Kabuto
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Zapdos
Onto E4 matchups revised!
Shauntal: Reuniclus 2HKOs Cofagrigus before being 2HKOed itself with Shadow Ball. Simipour outsped and Surf OHKOs Chandelure. Emolga 2HKOs Jellicent with Tbolt, though Cursed Body forced me to Electro Ball after a lucky paralysis. Vanilluxe outspeeds and OHKOs Golurk with Ice Beam.
Grimsley: Emolga crit Acrobatics to OHKO Scrafty; likely a 2HKO otherwise.
Krookodile's EQ knocks Vanilluxe to half, but it counters with an OHKO with Ice Beam.
Made the mistake of using Work Up with Simipour on Bisharp. I OHKOed it with Brick Break but fell to Liepard. Vanilluxe lived Night Slash in red and OHKOed with Ice Beam.
Caitlin: Holy heck this is hard. I actually had to reset because my team was dropping like flies and her mons are so bulky.
I swear her Reuniclus has No Guard, it hit five Focus Blasts in a row followed by a crit Thunder. Reuniclus mirror match goes well, I outsped her and 2HKO with Shadow Ball, while she 3HKOs with Thunder.
Vanilluxe lived a Focus Blast on two seprate occasions and can Mirror Coat Reuniclus for the OHKO, though it was OHKOed on other occasions. Alternatively, Ice Beam 2HKOs (impressive for something as bulky as Reuniclus) or you can setup Light Screen. Vanilluxe took care of Musharna, though Mirror Coat + Ice Beam did miss the KO once.
Reuniclus can take a +1 Shadow Ball from Caitlin's Gothitelle and fire back with Shadow Ball for a 4HKO. Emolga misses the OHKO on Sigilyph without Magnet and is OHKOed by Ice Beam. Vanilluxe OHKOs Sigilyph.
Marshall: Throh lived a Psychic and crit Reuniclus to death. Emolga 2HKOed Throh while it was being healed. Vanilluxe became a ninja and dodged two consecutive Stone misses from Sawk to 2HKO with Ice Beam, making up for Caitlin.
Simpour knocked Conkeldurr to 25% health, which Emolga finished off. Emolga barely missed the OHKO on Mienshao and died to Rock Slide. Vanilluxe came in because idk why not and hit it with Ice Beam. Cue it missing Jump Kick to hand me the win.

Yeah I didn't use Throh but he would only really get action against Grimsley and Marshall. He did live I believe a plus 1 Psychic from Musharna in a Caitlin attempt though. He'll likely get some action in the final fights.

I didn't use Serperior because I got all the info I needed from the solos.

Onto the final battles! Used my 3 Rare Candies to raise Throh and Serperior to 49, and Reuniclus to 50. Emolga and Simipour are level 49, while Vanilluxe is 50.

N's not gonna be a Serperior sweep because he has Reshiram. So time for a team effort!

Reuniclus is 2HKOed by Fusion Flare, but it did a slight chunk with Psychic.

Crit OHKO Hyper Beam to kill Simipour. Really?

Emolga died. Throh died to a crit Extrasensory. I reset, because luck was not on my side. I've NEVER struggled with N's dragon THIS much.

This time I taught Reuniclus Light Screen. After it fell, I sent it Vanilluxe to take about half from Fusion Flare to Mirror Coat for the kill. Zany I know, but this thing was steamrolling my team otherwise.

After a Bulk Up and a Focus Miss, Throh killed Zoroark and Klingklang, now in high yellow. Dodged a Blizzard to knock Vanilluxe into low health. Emolga killed it and replace Agility (which I never used) with Discharge. Serperior beat Carracosta.
Hoo boy was Archeops tough. I had to PP stall out Stone Edge and wasted two Max Revives. Emolga couldn't kill with Thunderbolt which was demoralizing...I ended up killing with Vanilluxe.

Dennis. I set up Light Screen with Reunicus and 2HKOed with Shadow Ball. It got two special defense drops, but that wasn't enough to stop my embryo.

Bisharp time. Weird, this usually comes out last. Brick Break from Simipour knocked it into red, and Ghetsis healed, which I exploited by using Work Up. Mystic Water boosted Surf did a number on Bouffalant (which I used due to Mystic Water making Surf stronger than Brick Break. Vanilluxe outsped and finished the bull off.
Time for Hydreigon. I save stated here out of curiosity. Vanilluxe lived both Fire Blast and Focus Blast at 1 HP FOUR TIMES. After a derp with Mirror Coat, Vanilluxe seemed to always crit the hydra to kill. Other times it seemed to OHKO. Mine had 141 HP and 116 Special Defense at this point for reference. Throh Revenge doesn't kill Hydra (knocks it to red) while Dragon Pulse is a 2HKO. Serperior revenged it with a Return after a missed Fire Blast. Vanilluxe won by hitting the eel with Ice Beam, then critting next turn, though Mirror Coat works just as well.

I only save stated because I wanted to test my mons against Hydra and I really didn't wanna redo N/walk back up to Ghetsis.

Anyway, team thoughts!

Reuniclus: A tier. Slowness is an issue, but not when you 2HKO pretty much everything save Reshiram. This mon is never fully deadweight and can 1v1 a lot. The best Psychic.

Vanilluxe: C tier. It has some power issues pre-Vanilluxe, but it makes up for it with a solid E4.

Emolga: Probably a D tier, sadly. It really misses the KOs you need it to make lategame. Maybe someone can test it and see if it is a C tier or D to have another opinion. Not the worst option, but worse than I expected. Also it dies to everything.

Serperior: Yeah, I was stubborn on this one for like forever. While I can still see it as a C because Caitlin and Shauntal kinda kill its sweep along with that atrocious midgame and crits silencing it, its early availability and good endgame save it enough for a B, albeit a really low one. It is never going to be A tier ever though. It's not even close to Tepig or Oshawott in overall performance, who do okay against everything save the E4 (which isn't that bad for Samurott anyway).

Throh: A tier. It loses its luster a little come the E4 but can still contribute decently, it's just that my other mons were handling Grimsley. Not OHKOing Hydriegon is demoralizing, sadly, though that might be due to being slightly underleveled. A tier, but I wouldn't be opposed to B due to minor parts of mediocrity, having 4MMS and being slow by nature of its moves and stats. Like chuggaaconroy said, it's kinda a poor man's Timburr in the end, really.

Simipour: A fantastic Water type, arguably just as good if not better than Samurott due to higher Speed and slightly better move diversity. Scald and Surf from this thing hurt, and only towards the endgame is the only time the game truly catches up to it. A tier.

Discussion Slate: Who should stay in the S tiers, if at all?
 
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Are we allowed to post stuff other then about the discussion slate? I'm doing a run right now and have some opinions I want to share.
Yes, as noted in the OP: "Note that if you have other thoughts, even about the top tiers, feel free to post them; it still promotes discussion even though they aren't the main focus."
Despite this I do want opinions on the S tiers from many users. I don't want it to just be a mod/tier list organizer thing.
People haven't really been following the slate too closely anyway.
 
Okay then, thanks for the replies. I'm just past Burgh
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Atlas (Gigalith)
Ability: Sturdy
Level: 25
Adamant Nature
- Rock Blast
- Smack Down
- Headbutt
- Iron Defense
Gigalith, even as a Roggenrola, is a monster. I got him after the Wellspring Cave Plasma fight and he quickly became the MVP of my team, ripping through almost everything with Rock Blast. Rock Smash and a Chesto Berry allowed him to easily take care of Lenora's Watchog, Servine having taken out Herdier to avoid the Intimidate, and would have steamrolled through Pinwheel Forest if not for me using it to catch Servine, Panpour and Liepard up. In Castelia he hammered through Burgh's gym before needing quite a bit of healing support to take on Leavanny, but it was still a Roggenrola then.

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William (Servine) @ Miracle Seed
Ability: Overgrow
Level: 21
Hasty Nature
- Tackle
- Growth
- Leaf Tornado
- Leech Seed
He's been okay for me so far, hasn't exactly been a destroyer but hasn't exactly been dead weight either. He started to lack power right around Nacrene just before his evolution hit, but it didn't help too much. He really helped in Pinwheel but it wasn't exactly something I would have struggled with without him. Hoopefully the fact that there'll be a lot of ground types in the near future will help him a bit.

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Blake (Liepard)
Ability: Unburden
Hardy Nature
- Pursuit
- Fury Swipes
- Growl
- Sand Attack
Honestly, at first I just decided to use this thing for a laugh but it's actually not as shit as I thought it'd be. It's nowhere near the best thing I've ever used, but it's not even the worst on the team. Before evolving it hit nearly as hard as Snivy, though Servine really widened the gap, and for a brief moment after evolving just before Lenora (literally the last trainer) it was statistically the strongest attacker on the team, though the difference in power between Pursuit and Rock Blast meant that it was still Roggenrola in practice. It's nevergoing to be a high tier mon, but I don't think it's bad enough to deserve it's own tier.

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Posedion (Panpour)
Ability: Gluttony
Level: 20
Timid Nature
- Rock Smash
- Bite
- Fury Swipes
- Water Gun
I was expecting to get a powerful, useful pokemon that was about on par with Roggenrola, hence the nickname. Instead what I got was a frail as fuck Piece of Shit that hits about as hard as Purrloin at -2. Maybe I just had the bad luck to get one with shit IV's, but Panpour's time with me is at an end. I'm going to get Tirtouga from the Desert Resort, there's no way he can be as shit as this thing.
 
Quick thoughts on the S tiers

Drilbur: never used one but always been skeptical, would support further testing
Archen: No. S tier. Period.
Scraggy: I like it less than most people because the slow speed annoys me but yeah still probably S tier.
Darumaka: I can see the argument for A. The sheer power output likely still justifies S. Probably on the borderline depending on how high the bar is being set. I just have such distinct memories of Darumaka fuckin murdering things it had no right to fight from the moment of acquisition
 
panpour.gif


Posedion (Panpour)
Ability: Gluttony
Level: 20
Timid Nature
- Rock Smash
- Bite
- Fury Swipes
- Water Gun
I was expecting to get a powerful, useful pokemon that was about on par with Roggenrola, hence the nickname. Instead what I got was a frail as fuck Piece of Shit that hits about as hard as Purrloin at -2. Maybe I just had the bad luck to get one with shit IV's, but Panpour's time with me is at an end. I'm going to get Tirtouga from the Desert Resort, there's no way he can be as shit as this thing.
what
you dropped it before it evolves. before it gets Scald at 22 and eats everything alive.
I mean yeah, it's not great in the beginning, but that's why you stick with it. In this tier list we do not drop things. period. the end. This is to ensure accurate testing.
Even in its weak period, it's better than the other two monkeys by having a 40 BP move compared to Vine Whip's 35 and Incinerate's (o h g o d) 30.
I respect your opinion, but give it like two more seconds. It is not weak after it evolves with Scald, trust me. Its usefulness practically triples. Not one person has objected to its ranking in A among the big boys before you.

Sorry if I'm being a bit adamant here, but Panpour is easily the best Water type besides Oshawott. It's not like the other Waters blow everything away out of the box either; Tirtouga lacks good STAB until Surf which lets you get Waterfall and Rock Slide. Ducklett has good moves but lol offensive stats; Frillish is too late to be helpful, and Basculin is pretty good out of the box but also comes late so same problem as Frillish. Tympole despite having Bubblebeam other users and I have stated is super weak pre-evo. Evolved, nothing comes close to the Speed and Special Attack combo of Simipour save maybe Swanna (which is slower and weaker albeit not by much), which is a pain to get to despite good moves as Ducklett.

Every Water save Oshawott has this problem sans the late ones, it's not just a Panpour thing.

It could be so much worse, just look at how bad Pansear was for Turdterra.

Do note I agree with all of your other opinions for what it is worth.

Quick thoughts on the S tiers

Drilbur: never used one but always been skeptical, would support further testing
Archen: No. S tier. Period.
Scraggy: I like it less than most people because the slow speed annoys me but yeah still probably S tier.
Darumaka: I can see the argument for A. The sheer power output likely still justifies S. Probably on the borderline depending on how high the bar is being set. I just have such distinct memories of Darumaka fuckin murdering things it had no right to fight from the moment of acquisition
Mostly the same feelings as this, see above for more in-depth thoughts.
Discussion Slate: Who should stay in the S tiers, if at all?
 
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Next run I will be likely testing Tepig/Audino/Drilbur/Archen/Ferroseed/Elgyem.

Any questions or recommendations? Elgyem is probably the one most subject to change and I'm aware this team has a ton of weaknesses. Might exchange Ferroseed for Cottonee. I can see this team struggling endgame.

Discussion Slate: Who should stay in the S tiers, if at all? (All of the links and quotes are in the folders for conciseness.)
(See this post by Its_A_Random for their opinion the state of the S-tiers, this other post for my response to the former).
My response to Its_A_Random's thoughts/general S tier thoughts.
-It's_A_Random's initial Darumaka thoughts, followed by my response to those thoughts
-Darumaka S tier support by Dargad here
-Ryota Mitarai and other S tier discussion here
Detective Barricade's thoughts on Archen here.
-Yoshi's thoughts on Darumaka dropping to A, followed by my less than graceful response, Yoshi's reply to my response, Magnus0's reply to Yoshi, as well as Yoshi's reply to Magnus0.
-Infernape2018's opinions on the S tiers here.
-Texas Cloverleaf's opinions on the S tiers here and there.
In regard to Archen, quite a few people say it was one of the strongest Pokemon ever in-game:
Detective Barricade's thoughts on Archen here.
Onto the linked thread (Strongest & Weakest In-Game Pokémon Ever):
Spr_5b_566.png

Archen
Archen's downsides are that it involves backtracking to obtain (Relic Castle -> Nacrene City, which isn't terrible as you will have the bike by this point) and its ability which cuts its offenses in half when it's at half HP. As you will have both plenty of healing items and money by this stage this is another trivial downside (especially as Archen OHKOs damn near everything anyway so it probably won't get hit). Archen also has a good movepool.
Anything that Archen didn't OHKO before, Archeops will. It is amazingly powerful (base 140 Attack, 112 Sp. Atk and 110 Speed) and the worst thing that can be said about it is that it looks really stupid in 3D.
Pokemon that jump out at me as each game's best contenders:
BW: Archen, Darumaka
I'm definitely going to vouch for BW Archen because it is simply insanity. Its definitely worth the backtrack to get, comes level appropriate with insane power. It carried me easily through the rest of the game against other power houses in BW. Never felt weak at any point after Elesa.

IMO it only comes down to GSC Abra and BW Archen. Those two are so far ahead of anything else the games gives you in terms of matchups and ease of use that they should be at the top of any listing like this.
As for each individual game, there are plenty to choose from, although most don't really compare to Abra and Archen in the grand scheme of things. These are also debatable since these are my personal thoughts on the best mons from each game.

-BW: Archen definitely. The detour to pick up the fossil isn't bad, and Archen's insane stats and movepool (including a high-powered Acrobatics) allow it to solo pretty much every trainer in the game. Defeatist seems bad on paper, but its actually pretty trivial in-game with healing items available and whatnot. Hell, you can even temporarily scratch off the ability during the battle with Shauntal.
Things that jump out to me:
BW: Darumaka, Archen, Drilbur
Same guy ranked Archen as seventh strongest of all time.
Now for some thoughts on Darumaka.
-It's_A_Random's initial Darumaka thoughts, followed by my response to those thoughts
-Darumaka S tier support by Dargad here
-Ryota Mitarai and other S tier discussion here
-Yoshi's thoughts on Darumaka dropping to A, followed by my less than graceful response, Yoshi's reply to my response, Magnus0's reply to Yoshi, as well as Yoshi's reply to Magnus0.

Back to the previously linked thread (Strongest & Weakest In-Game Pokémon Ever):
BW Darmanitan stands out as another absolutely bonkers Pokemon. You have to stomach hustle accuracy as a Darumaka, but its knocking out just about whatever it touches with Fire Punch. Once you get a Flare Blitzing Darmanitan, it's just outright insanity. I've only played through B2W2 once and skipped out on Darmanitan there, so I can't comment on how it stacks up in that game (I'd assume slightly worse).
BW - It's a hard toss between Darumaka and Archen, but ultimately I go for the Fire mon, on the sole basis that, against important battles, it's much more useful. The only downside of Darumaka is Hustle but once you hit the opponent, holy balls. As Darmanitan it goes even better with dat spicy Sheer Force-boosted Flare Blitz. Archen is still amazing, but it's useless against Gyms before Skyla and MAAAAAYBE Clay's Krokorok, and you can't really equip it with Lucky Egg or else Acro will suck.

Honorable mentions: There are so many lol. Excadrill, Sawk, I'd argue Klinklang but Klink is not good, Throh, Lilligant...
One post from the above thread also mentioned BW Sawk, relevant as some have expressed interest in it going to S.
Sawk in B/W comes early in the game and comes right before the Normal gym to help it grind up. It's amazing in the first part of the game and doesn't have to be sacked at the end. It's level-up movepool is lacking but it doesn't really matter in this case. Fighting STAB is useful in B/W and since TM's are reusable, you could slap things like Rock Tomb and Bulldoze on it without wasting the TM. Because Sawk comes early and has no evolution, it starts off with ridiculously good stats. It's not Archen levels of good but it's a good Pokemon to slap onto any team.
Hope this list of links is a helpful resource in formulating opinions.

Started with Tepig. Gentle nature at level 6.
Possible IVs:
HP: 0-3
Attack: 24-31
Defense: 0-26
Sp. Attack: 10-26
Sp. Def: 10-26
Speed: 0-9
I'll take it.

After some careful research, Cubchoo might not actually be horrible. On Route 7, you can find ones in the dark grass as high as 30 and 32 in winter (the latter of which is higher leveled than the ones at Twist Mountain in WInter, though it is level 28 in all other seasons). If you catch a level 32 one, you only have five levels of awful pre-Beartic. This isn't so bad when you realize how many Rare Candies you can have by now (4 barring the one at Anvile Town for seven Subway matches):
Route 2: Southwest from boulder at start of the route by using Strength.
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Pinwheel Forest: East of the bridge, on the river margin (hidden).
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Desert Resort: South of Psychic Gaven (hidden)
162355

Chargestone Cave: B2F, in the east, downstairs (near the end of the Plasma gauntlet, to the right of the spinning Ace Trainer Stella with Gothita, Ducklett and Lilligant that you can see items nearby.)
162356


I figured I might as well post all the Rare Candies you can get outside of the postgame or obscure things (Anville Town for winning seven Subway battles, Passerby Analytics HQ for completing all surveys).
Route 3: Northwest of the bridge (requires Surf) (hidden)
162373

Bulbapedia actually got something wrong. There is supposed to be another one in the dark grass patch (hidden) in BW1 but I think that's BW2 only. Found this out thanks to Serebii.
Twist Mountain: Main floor, in the east (hidden) (in Winter)
162359


Iccirus City: West of Pokémon Center (Winter)
162360

Victory Road: 1F, back corner of eastern cavern (requires Surf)
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N's Castle: 4F, inside N's room
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Thus, in total without significant backtracking or work it is possible to have 9 Rare Candies before beating the game.
The others are below:
Mistralton Cave: 3F, north of Strength rocks
162378

Lostlorn Forest: In the higher part (requires Surf and Waterfall)
162379

Counting all areas, it is possible to have 11 Rare Candies before beating the game accounting for full backtracking if I am not mistaken. Since the Rock Slide TM is valuable for a few mons (the fossils, the monkeys, Ground types and others as coverage), could we safely assume a player has 10 Rare Candies before beating the game?
But back to Cubchoo. At this point, with four Rare Candies and one level of pain you can get Beartic with Icicle Crash. In Celestial Tower you pick up Shadow Claw. You can reteach Superpower as Beartic via Heart Scale. Note you can teach Cubchoo Rock Tomb, Dig and Grass Knot (only 60 Sp. Atk compared to 70 Atk) to make it fight pre-evo (it can also learn Shadow Claw too). You can also give Beartic the Waterfall HM and the Rock Slide TM if you go out of your way some post-Surf, as well as HM Strength or TM Return on immediately.

While Beartic might not be a good Ice type (it's the worst if we discount Cryogonal's horrid availability)....I dunno, it sounds like it could be viable with these prospects. I know the E4 reams it with coverage, but maybe these developments (and potential testing by me) could maybe make it rise to C tier because you can almost make a diverse Beartic from the start while going a little out of your way, and that's hard to say for the other Ice types that have a rough-ish start (Vanillite) or are
hard to find (Cryogonal).
 
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UPDATE 3.5 HD Final Mix(cuz im lazy that way)


After dealing with the idiots down in Cold Storage with my new IceDream cone, I went over to the Ground Gym to finish up what I had started. Everyone on the team participated in cleaning up the trainers, but it would only be Callie that pulled off a Clay Solo. Yes, that's right a CLAY. SOLO.

Vs. Clay
Turn 1- Giga SUCKED THE LIFE OUT OF KROOKROK, Excadrill comes out
Turn 2- Stun Spore, Excadrill can't move
Turn 3- Leech Seed, Excadrill still can't move
Turn 4- Giga SUCKED for 1/2 of it's health, Excadrill is still dying and can't move
Turn 5- Callie puts the thing out of it's misery, Palpitoad comes out
Turn 6- Palpitoad gets R E K T.

So as you can see from this clearly labeled thing, a Lvl 31 Whimsicott can murder a croocodile, cripple a mole for life and absolutley CRUSH anything 4x weak to STAB! And they said Clay was hard...

Part Deux. Deathfodder Cave
Bianca was a clean Moxie sweep helpt by our new evolution member, UNFEZANT-f. After dealing with all the ruckus about that, we casually strolled(aka CRUSH ALL WHO OPPOSE OUR WAY OF THINKING) our way to Chargestone Cave, where I immediately forgive this game for how forgettable all the characters beside N and Ghetsis, because the professor gave me the HOLY EGG.
Image result for win gif


Crossing our way through Archen Dude, Klinks and random team#4/5, we come to one paticular trainer, that i just need a moment to talk about...

She had a Watchog. I had a Vanilite at Lv 34 and ready to get a level.
All he had to do was get through this battle and Hypnosis lands.
Chesto Berry. Confuse Ray.
Icy wind for 1/3. Hypnosis Lands.
Chesto Berry. Super Fang
Icy wind. HYPNOSIS LAND 3 FUCKING TIMES IN A ROW.
Chesto Berry Super Fang.
Im at 10 HP and ready to win. It's slower than me, it can't live another hit, it can't kill me with Super Fang. All I have to do is hit. ALL STRAWBERRY HAS TO DO IS HIT IT, SO GET OUT THERE AND BECOME A CHAMPION.
(Hoenn Trumpets Intensifies)

She hit herself and died to a Watchog.
Fuck Rng.
Fuck Team Plasma
and fuck this Cave

After that, I went to heal and just killed an Ace Trainers Whimsicott to get to Lvl 35 for ICE MEME and Vanilish
(oh yeah and N4 happened)
N4- moxie is a friend

So now at Misaltron City, it's time for a team UPdatE.

162375

Boss Cass(Bashful,Lvl 32)@Amulet Coin
Moves: Revenge, Razor Shell, Water Pulse, Return
Man this thing kinda hit a high and has just been falling down ever since. Razor Shell is still good and so is Revenge and Return, but now he's more consistent with what he kills rather than just kills everything. Still an A Tier, but the endgame might just change that
162376

Unfezant(Hasty, Lvl 32)@ScopeShit
Moves; Fly, Return
You might notice that there are only 2 moves here, as opposed to the four the other members have. This is because that's all it will ever use. EVER. It is a bland mon that doesn't have any cute coverage moves to boast like Stoutland or Sawsbuck, amazing stats like Archeops or even utility like Swanna since all it learns is Fly. Just a Return/Fly stick, and not a very good one at that, so D Tier for me.
162377

Callie THE MOLE DESTROYER(Modest, Lvl 33)@Shell Bell
Moves: Leech Seed, Stun Spore, Giga Drain, Growth
If soloing Clay isn't a case for 2nd best Grass-Type in the game, then I don't know what is. This thing isn't very weak as it 1-2HKO's a lot of things that don't resist Grass, and can support it's team very well even if the type disatvantage is there. This is a clear B Tier and might even be A if the endgame is any good.
162380

Kya(Impish, Lvl 32)@Quick CLaw
Moves: HJK, Brick Break, Faint Attack, Work Up
Moxie is a friend. Moxie is a god. Moxie is the greatest thing that could come from this. S Tier.
162381

Mitosis(Modest, Lvl 32)@Eviolite
Moves, Psyshock, HP Fighting, Light Screen, Charm
HOLY Batman is this thing tanky or WHAT. This thing never dies and just kills so, soo many thing with Psyshock it's ridiculous. This thing is easily making up for the fact that it evolves late, and is clearly A Tier in my eyes: Siglyph can go eat it's heart out.

162384

Strawberry(Hardy, Lvl 35)@Rocky Helmet
Moves: Ice Beam, Avalanche, Mirror Shot, Acid Armor
Wow this thing isn't very good without Eviolite. Sure, it can hit pretty hard, but it doesn't hit much outside STAB and is frail without any resists to back up it's bulk. I won't knock it down too much because i don't have Eviolite, but this is a clear C Tier for me.

Any questions. Leave me a reply down below, and i'll see you for BIRD FIGHTS(VS. Skyla)
 
UPDATE 3.5 HD Final Mix(cuz im lazy that way)


After dealing with the idiots down in Cold Storage with my new IceDream cone, I went over to the Ground Gym to finish up what I had started. Everyone on the team participated in cleaning up the trainers, but it would only be Callie that pulled off a Clay Solo. Yes, that's right a CLAY. SOLO.

Vs. Clay
Turn 1- Giga SUCKED THE LIFE OUT OF KROOKROK, Excadrill comes out
Turn 2- Stun Spore, Excadrill can't move
Turn 3- Leech Seed, Excadrill still can't move
Turn 4- Giga SUCKED for 1/2 of it's health, Excadrill is still dying and can't move
Turn 5- Callie puts the thing out of it's misery, Palpitoad comes out
Turn 6- Palpitoad gets R E K T.

So as you can see from this clearly labeled thing, a Lvl 31 Whimsicott can murder a croocodile, cripple a mole for life and absolutley CRUSH anything 4x weak to STAB! And they said Clay was hard...

Part Deux. Deathfodder Cave
Bianca was a clean Moxie sweep helpt by our new evolution member, UNFEZANT-f. After dealing with all the ruckus about that, we casually strolled(aka CRUSH ALL WHO OPPOSE OUR WAY OF THINKING) our way to Chargestone Cave, where I immediately forgive this game for how forgettable all the characters beside N and Ghetsis, because the professor gave me the HOLY EGG.
Image result for win gif


Crossing our way through Archen Dude, Klinks and random team#4/5, we come to one paticular trainer, that i just need a moment to talk about...

She had a Watchog. I had a Vanilite at Lv 34 and ready to get a level.
All he had to do was get through this battle and Hypnosis lands.
Chesto Berry. Confuse Ray.
Icy wind for 1/3. Hypnosis Lands.
Chesto Berry. Super Fang
Icy wind. HYPNOSIS LAND 3 FUCKING TIMES IN A ROW.
Chesto Berry Super Fang.
Im at 10 HP and ready to win. It's slower than me, it can't live another hit, it can't kill me with Super Fang. All I have to do is hit. ALL STRAWBERRY HAS TO DO IS HIT IT, SO GET OUT THERE AND BECOME A CHAMPION.
(Hoenn Trumpets Intensifies)

She hit herself and died to a Watchog.
Fuck Rng.
Fuck Team Plasma
and fuck this Cave

After that, I went to heal and just killed an Ace Trainers Whimsicott to get to Lvl 35 for ICE MEME and Vanilish
(oh yeah and N4 happened)
N4- moxie is a friend

So now at Misaltron City, it's time for a team UPdatE.

View attachment 162375
Boss Cass(Bashful,Lvl 32)@Amulet Coin
Moves: Revenge, Razor Shell, Water Pulse, Return
Man this thing kinda hit a high and has just been falling down ever since. Razor Shell is still good and so is Revenge and Return, but now he's more consistent with what he kills rather than just kills everything. Still an A Tier, but the endgame might just change that
View attachment 162376
Unfezant(Hasty, Lvl 32)@ScopeShit
Moves; Fly, Return
You might notice that there are only 2 moves here, as opposed to the four the other members have. This is because that's all it will ever use. EVER. It is a bland mon that doesn't have any cute coverage moves to boast like Stoutland or Sawsbuck, amazing stats like Archeops or even utility like Swanna since all it learns is Fly. Just a Return/Fly stick, and not a very good one at that, so D Tier for me.
View attachment 162377
Callie THE MOLE DESTROYER(Modest, Lvl 33)@Shell Bell
Moves: Leech Seed, Stun Spore, Giga Drain, Growth
If soloing Clay isn't a case for 2nd best Grass-Type in the game, then I don't know what is. This thing isn't very weak as it 1-2HKO's a lot of things that don't resist Grass, and can support it's team very well even if the type disatvantage is there. This is a clear B Tier and might even be A if the endgame is any good.
View attachment 162380
Kya(Impish, Lvl 32)@Quick CLaw
Moves: HJK, Brick Break, Faint Attack, Work Up
Moxie is a friend. Moxie is a god. Moxie is the greatest thing that could come from this. S Tier.
View attachment 162381
Mitosis(Modest, Lvl 32)@Eviolite
Moves, Psyshock, HP Fighting, Light Screen, Charm
HOLY Batman is this thing tanky or WHAT. This thing never dies and just kills so, soo many thing with Psyshock it's ridiculous. This thing is easily making up for the fact that it evolves late, and is clearly A Tier in my eyes: Siglyph can go eat it's heart out.

View attachment 162384
Strawberry(Hardy, Lvl 35)@Rocky Helmet
Moves: Ice Beam, Avalanche, Mirror Shot, Acid Armor
Wow this thing isn't very good without Eviolite. Sure, it can hit pretty hard, but it doesn't hit much outside STAB and is frail without any resists to back up it's bulk. I won't knock it down too much because i don't have Eviolite, but this is a clear C Tier for me.

Any questions. Leave me a reply down below, and i'll see you for BIRD FIGHTS(VS. Skyla)
Everything checks out. Now gonna use Cottonee in Black over Ferroseed to judge it. I think A tier is pushing it, honestly, 77 Special Attack is less than awesome compared to other Grass types offenses. It's hard to see it sweeping E4 efficently even with optimal setup (Light Screen, Cotton Guard, Giga Drain, Shadow Ball).
Discussion Slate: S tiers, Cottonee, Cubchoo
 
I just used Cubchoo in a run I finished literally yesterday, so I am confident that I can contribute here.

First, I’d like to premise that I lucked out with Cubby. Not only did I score a Brave one (+Atk/-Spd), but I also didn’t wrestle with his low encounter rate as I found him on literally my first step in Twist Mountain.

Cubchoo starts in a somewhat unfortunate position; almost every trainer in Twist Mountain has a type advantage over Cubchoo in some advantage or simply outdoes it due to a low starting level. This combined with a low starting rate gives it a very rough start. However, I pushed through and with Lucky Egg usage evolved Cubchoo into Beartic towards the end of Twist Mountain, upon which Beartic’s prospects immediately open up; it learns Icicle Crash immediately on evolution, and has strong coverage. But does this rough start warrant usage given strong match-ups? Let’s find out.

For important match-ups:

* Brycen fares reasonably well against Brycen. Not only does Beartic resist Brycen’s Ice STAB, but you also have three options for effective damage: Brick Break, Rock Slide, and Superpower. I personally used Brick Break, as Superpower’s Atk and Def debuffs weren’t worth dealing with. For some context, Beartic was roughly 38 prior to starting this fight, and was on a 6-man team. To give a brief rundown of the fight:

Turns 1-2: Beartic scores a 2HKO against Vanillish with Brick Break. This part was something of a struggle, however, as Vanillish’s Mirror Shot does hurt; however, Superpower would have easily scored a OHKO.

Turns 3-4: Brycen sends out his own Beartic. Despite its nature, my Beartic outsped Brycen’s and 2HKOd with a Superpower and then a Brick Break respectively, taking only Brycen’s Slash in return. Beartic’s only coverage against you is a weak Brine (which may be problematic if your Beartic reached 50% from Vanillish) and Slash. The primary concern here is Swagger, which can ruin your day.

Turn 5: Even with an Atk debuff from Superpower, Beartic OHKOs Cryogonal.

Now, as for Drayden: this match-up was, frankly, disappointing. Again for context, I was running a 6-man team and Beartic was Level 42.

Turn 1: Fraxure outspeeds. Fraxure has one relevant move here: Dragon Claw. Beartic loses if Fraxure uses Dragon Claw, as will be seen next turn. Regardless, Beartic OHKOs with Icicle Crash. Nice.

Turn 2: Beartic outspeeds and uses Icicle Crash on Druddigon, which he 2HKOs with. Here is where the fight becomes problematic: Druddigon KOs with Revenge provided that Fraxure uses Dragon Claw, and even if it doesn’t, Druddigon comes close. If Beartic survives the initial revenge, it reliably 2HKOs with Icicle Crash.

Turn 3: You’re not winning here, unless Beartic enters this fight with full HP and Drayden’s AI decides not to use Dragon Tail. Not only is Dragon Tail a minor nuisance given it switches out (although another ‘mon can easily KO Haxorus afterwards), but Haxorus outspeeds and 1HKOs Beartic after a Revenge.

As you can see, Beartic puts in solid work for Drayden, but is not able to achieve a full sweep. It simply lacks the powers to ORKO, the durability to take more than a few hits, and is just so slow that it will literally always be hit by the Elite 4. As such, it’s a damn shame that Brycen and Drayden are Beartic’s strongest match-ups; it just fails to sweep any major match-up from this point onwards.

For the Elite 4: Keep in mind that Beartic is Level 50 at this point.

Marshal: No point in a turn-by-turn, seeing as Beartic is 2RKOd by everything and is outsped by literally everything except Throh.

Shauntal: Beartic narrowly outsped Cofagrigus, but is hindered by Will-O-Wisp entirely and simply lacks the power with Shadow Claw to do more than 3RKO Cofagrigus, taking Shadow Ball damage all the while. Beartic simply cannot fight Chandelure, is outsped by Jellicent and will likely be burnt by Scald, but 2RKOs Golurk (albeit Golurk has super-effective Brick Break).

Grimsley: Perhaps Beartic’s strongest match-up among the Elite 4. Beartic does not ORKO Scrafty even with Superpower and is 2HKOd by Brick Break, which is problematic; additionally, Krookodile’s Intimidate halts your sweep short. However, he doesn’t face much opposition otherwise; he OHKOs Bisharp with even a Brick Break (but is outsped), Icicle Crash OHKOs Krookodile if not faced with Intimidate, and Liepard is OHKOd by Superpower.

Caitlin: Bad. Beartic is always either 2RKOd or OHKOd, and in each match-up he is either outsped or unable to 2RKO.

Now, for the final two match-ups: N and Ghetsis. Spoiler: They’re bad. Genuinely awful. Beartic was Level 53 in the fights both against N and Ghetsis.

N: If playing Black, Beartic 2RKOs Zekrom with Icicle Crash, which is potent, but is outsped by Zekrom and 2HKOd by Fusion Bolt in return. Vanilluxe outspeeds and 2RKOs with Flash Cannon, but provided Beartic has no Atk debuffs he is able to safely OHKO with Superpower. Every other Pokemon N has is a horrible match-up: Zoroark OHKOs with Flamethrower, Klinklang outspeeds and 2HKOs with Gear Grind and is 2RKOd by Superpower (though the first hit is almost lethal) in return, Archeops OHKOs with Stone Edge, Carracosta 2RKOs with Stone Edge, and while Beartic outspeeds, he is unable to 3RKO even without Atk debuffs from Superpower.I have never played White with Beartic, but the match-up becomes even worse in this scenario seeing as Beartic is likely OHKOd by Fusion Flare and does not have super-effective Icicle Crash.

Ghetsis: Ever so slightly better than N. The one safe fight here is Bisharp, who Beartic safely OHKOs with Superpower (but not without taking a Stone Edge first). Once again, Cofagrigus hard-walls Beartic, and Beartic is simply not able to keep up with Toxic damage without heavy item support. Hydreigon OHKOs Beartic with Fire Blast, although Beartic does 2RKO with Icicle Crash if you paralyze Hydreigon with another ‘mon. Seismitoad outspeeds and 2HKOs with Muddy Water, although Beartic would 2HKO with Icicle Crash if Beartic somehow does outspeed. Eleketross 1HKOs with Flamethrower, and Bouffalant outspeeds and 2HKOs with Head Charge, although if Beartic is not faced with any Atk debuffs and hits with Superpower, Bouffalant died from the second Head Charge due to recoil.

Now obviously, my experiences all face some level of subjectivity, but after my previous post about Seismitoad where I was too vague, I was careful to experiment with each match-up 3 times, and reached the same general outcome all 3 times, so I speak with reasonable certainity. With all of this in mind, Cubchoo should absolutely remain in E tier.

Pokémon in this tier are generally only able to OHKO or 2HKO specific opponents and suffer from being matchup-based, generally relying on items to assist in sweeping several opponents.

Beartic is only able to even *fight* specific opponents and is heavily match-up based. When there is even a slight disadvantage, Beartic crumbles due to his low Speed, and is not consistently able to OHKO enough without Attack boosts.

These Pokémon either have flaws that outshine its strengths or are otherwise decent Pokémon that come too late to be of any major use.

Beartic faces both problems, with none of the benefits of the latter. Beartic has its strengths; it has strong base attack, and it has solid, relevant coverage with Icicle Crash and Superpower alone, in addition to its other slots. In theory it can run Snow Cloak + Hail, as inconsistent as that strategy may be. However, it is simply too slow and not bulky enough to put it any real work in the majority of match-ups; this is even true in the brief, but rough Cubchoo period, whereit simply is not effective. Additionally, it has very middling availability that is only compounded by its annoyingly low encounter rate. Had it joined just before Elesa, it would have see more positive match-ups and have more overall use, but as is it sadly struggles.
 
I just used Cubchoo in a run I finished literally yesterday, so I am confident that I can contribute here.

First, I’d like to premise that I lucked out with Cubby. Not only did I score a Brave one (+Atk/-Spd), but I also didn’t wrestle with his low encounter rate as I found him on literally my first step in Twist Mountain.

Cubchoo starts in a somewhat unfortunate position; almost every trainer in Twist Mountain has a type advantage over Cubchoo in some advantage or simply outdoes it due to a low starting level. This combined with a low starting rate gives it a very rough start. However, I pushed through and with Lucky Egg usage evolved Cubchoo into Beartic towards the end of Twist Mountain, upon which Beartic’s prospects immediately open up; it learns Icicle Crash immediately on evolution, and has strong coverage. But does this rough start warrant usage given strong match-ups? Let’s find out.

For important match-ups:

* Brycen fares reasonably well against Brycen. Not only does Beartic resist Brycen’s Ice STAB, but you also have three options for effective damage: Brick Break, Rock Slide, and Superpower. I personally used Brick Break, as Superpower’s Atk and Def debuffs weren’t worth dealing with. For some context, Beartic was roughly 38 prior to starting this fight, and was on a 6-man team. To give a brief rundown of the fight:

Turns 1-2: Beartic scores a 2HKO against Vanillish with Brick Break. This part was something of a struggle, however, as Vanillish’s Mirror Shot does hurt; however, Superpower would have easily scored a OHKO.

Turns 3-4: Brycen sends out his own Beartic. Despite its nature, my Beartic outsped Brycen’s and 2HKOd with a Superpower and then a Brick Break respectively, taking only Brycen’s Slash in return. Beartic’s only coverage against you is a weak Brine (which may be problematic if your Beartic reached 50% from Vanillish) and Slash. The primary concern here is Swagger, which can ruin your day.

Turn 5: Even with an Atk debuff from Superpower, Beartic OHKOs Cryogonal.

Now, as for Drayden: this match-up was, frankly, disappointing. Again for context, I was running a 6-man team and Beartic was Level 42.

Turn 1: Fraxure outspeeds. Fraxure has one relevant move here: Dragon Claw. Beartic loses if Fraxure uses Dragon Claw, as will be seen next turn. Regardless, Beartic OHKOs with Icicle Crash. Nice.

Turn 2: Beartic outspeeds and uses Icicle Crash on Druddigon, which he 2HKOs with. Here is where the fight becomes problematic: Druddigon KOs with Revenge provided that Fraxure uses Dragon Claw, and even if it doesn’t, Druddigon comes close. If Beartic survives the initial revenge, it reliably 2HKOs with Icicle Crash.

Turn 3: You’re not winning here, unless Beartic enters this fight with full HP and Drayden’s AI decides not to use Dragon Tail. Not only is Dragon Tail a minor nuisance given it switches out (although another ‘mon can easily KO Haxorus afterwards), but Haxorus outspeeds and 1HKOs Beartic after a Revenge.

As you can see, Beartic puts in solid work for Drayden, but is not able to achieve a full sweep. It simply lacks the powers to ORKO, the durability to take more than a few hits, and is just so slow that it will literally always be hit by the Elite 4. As such, it’s a damn shame that Brycen and Drayden are Beartic’s strongest match-ups; it just fails to sweep any major match-up from this point onwards.

For the Elite 4: Keep in mind that Beartic is Level 50 at this point.

Marshal: No point in a turn-by-turn, seeing as Beartic is 2RKOd by everything and is outsped by literally everything except Throh.

Shauntal: Beartic narrowly outsped Cofagrigus, but is hindered by Will-O-Wisp entirely and simply lacks the power with Shadow Claw to do more than 3RKO Cofagrigus, taking Shadow Ball damage all the while. Beartic simply cannot fight Chandelure, is outsped by Jellicent and will likely be burnt by Scald, but 2RKOs Golurk (albeit Golurk has super-effective Brick Break).

Grimsley: Perhaps Beartic’s strongest match-up among the Elite 4. Beartic does not ORKO Scrafty even with Superpower and is 2HKOd by Brick Break, which is problematic; additionally, Krookodile’s Intimidate halts your sweep short. However, he doesn’t face much opposition otherwise; he OHKOs Bisharp with even a Brick Break (but is outsped), Icicle Crash OHKOs Krookodile if not faced with Intimidate, and Liepard is OHKOd by Superpower.

Caitlin: Bad. Beartic is always either 2RKOd or OHKOd, and in each match-up he is either outsped or unable to 2RKO.

Now, for the final two match-ups: N and Ghetsis. Spoiler: They’re bad. Genuinely awful. Beartic was Level 53 in the fights both against N and Ghetsis.

N: If playing Black, Beartic 2RKOs Zekrom with Icicle Crash, which is potent, but is outsped by Zekrom and 2HKOd by Fusion Bolt in return. Vanilluxe outspeeds and 2RKOs with Flash Cannon, but provided Beartic has no Atk debuffs he is able to safely OHKO with Superpower. Every other Pokemon N has is a horrible match-up: Zoroark OHKOs with Flamethrower, Klinklang outspeeds and 2HKOs with Gear Grind and is 2RKOd by Superpower (though the first hit is almost lethal) in return, Archeops OHKOs with Stone Edge, Carracosta 2RKOs with Stone Edge, and while Beartic outspeeds, he is unable to 3RKO even without Atk debuffs from Superpower.I have never played White with Beartic, but the match-up becomes even worse in this scenario seeing as Beartic is likely OHKOd by Fusion Flare and does not have super-effective Icicle Crash.

Ghetsis: Ever so slightly better than N. The one safe fight here is Bisharp, who Beartic safely OHKOs with Superpower (but not without taking a Stone Edge first). Once again, Cofagrigus hard-walls Beartic, and Beartic is simply not able to keep up with Toxic damage without heavy item support. Hydreigon OHKOs Beartic with Fire Blast, although Beartic does 2RKO with Icicle Crash if you paralyze Hydreigon with another ‘mon. Seismitoad outspeeds and 2HKOs with Muddy Water, although Beartic would 2HKO with Icicle Crash if Beartic somehow does outspeed. Eleketross 1HKOs with Flamethrower, and Bouffalant outspeeds and 2HKOs with Head Charge, although if Beartic is not faced with any Atk debuffs and hits with Superpower, Bouffalant died from the second Head Charge due to recoil.

Now obviously, my experiences all face some level of subjectivity, but after my previous post about Seismitoad where I was too vague, I was careful to experiment with each match-up 3 times, and reached the same general outcome all 3 times, so I speak with reasonable certainity. With all of this in mind, Cubchoo should absolutely remain in E tier.



Beartic is only able to even *fight* specific opponents and is heavily match-up based. When there is even a slight disadvantage, Beartic crumbles due to his low Speed, and is not consistently able to OHKO enough without Attack boosts.



Beartic faces both problems, with none of the benefits of the latter. Beartic has its strengths; it has strong base attack, and it has solid, relevant coverage with Icicle Crash and Superpower alone, in addition to its other slots. In theory it can run Snow Cloak + Hail, as inconsistent as that strategy may be. However, it is simply too slow and not bulky enough to put it any real work in the majority of match-ups; this is even true in the brief, but rough Cubchoo period, whereit simply is not effective. Additionally, it has very middling availability that is only compounded by its annoyingly low encounter rate. Had it joined just before Elesa, it would have see more positive match-ups and have more overall use, but as is it sadly struggles.
Great post!

Your post on Sesmitoad wasn't horrible - at least you were aware of Tympole's limitations and weren't nomming it to something like A. I just thought Swift Swim sweeping off 83 Sp. Atk wasn't exactly reliable is all. I want to say I'm not super proud of my rather frank attitude back then - I think I had unrealistic expectations on like all my party save Conkeldurr. I'm proud you experimented with each matchup to get reliable results; this is the type of testing I like to see!

Is Beartic horrible enough for E? I don't know, perhaps - it's hard to say if it's Pawniard terrible. I definitely won't be using it now - your experiences scared me off haha. Might use Druddigon instead-sure Gyms aren't great, but I can see it putting in work in the E4 with Brick Break and Sheer Force Boosted Crunch.

What is your opinions on the S ranks VagueKatti?
 
What is your opinions on the S ranks VagueKatti?


I feel that I’d need to test all of these ‘mons again myself (been years since I last used any of them), but from my experience I’m largely inclined to agree with Its_A_Random on his opinions from my recollection.

The one thing that I do strongly disagree with is getting rid of S tier all together, as all of the Pokemon currently in S are far and away above its peers in A. Perhaps we could reword the S criteria to make it more suitable for them, or change the tier to A+ so as for the tier to be more accurate to their performance.
 
I feel that I’d need to test all of these ‘mons again myself (been years since I last used any of them), but from my experience I’m largely inclined to agree with Its_A_Random on his opinions from my recollection.

The one thing that I do strongly disagree with is getting rid of S tier all together, as all of the Pokemon currently in S are far and away above its peers in A. Perhaps we could reword the S criteria to make it more suitable for them, or change the tier to A+ so as for the tier to be more accurate to their performance.
I think getting rid of S is also a really bad idea. S tier exists in pretty much every tier list. If anything shouldn't have an S tier it's Firered and Leafgreen; nothing is really broken in those games save maybe Jynx, and she comes midgame. A few of the trade evos, Sawk, and Reuniclus are pretty top of A though.

If we were to reword S tier, it would likely be something similar to this:

S tier: Reserved for Pokémon who possess the highest levels of efficiency of the available options in the Pokémon Black & White versions. Pokémon in this tier are able to OHKO or 2HKO a majority of opponents, limiting the amount of attacks used against them, and possess minimal reliance on items to help assist them defeat opponents at like levels. While they may have flaws such as a rut pre-evolution, accuracy issues, or needing ranges to kill things these Pokémon typically show up before the late-game and any flaws they have are made up by their advantages for the most part. These Pokemon are clearly in a league of their own, boasting great stats/Abilities, useful setup moves or types with sweeping potential matched by almost no other Pokemon in the game.

There is no way Scraggy should drop. Even in Scraggy's worst matches it can always do something (Brick Break Burgh's Dwebble, slow down Elesa's Emolga, kill Skyla's Swoobat, and HJK Marshall's Throh hard-not Conkeldurr because it seems to have Speed EVs from my experience with it). In exchange, you get a mon that literally counters the rest of the game, has pretty much no movepool issues or is never hard walled, and can live a hit and keep on ticking. Slow Speed may suck, but you couldn't ask for many other positive qualities. With Eviolite, Scraggy has 50/105/105 bulk, which is pretty great - the only real things the other Fighting types have are outclassed by both Scraggy's type and Moxie ability, though being weak to Fighting is kinda annoying given the litany of Black Belts and Battle Girls. Discounting stats, Scraggy has the strongest move of all the S tiers-HJK outdamages Archen's Acrobatics BP wise by technicality, and they are probably hitting for the same amount after a Moxie.

Both Texas and I believe Archen should stay S as well, and if you read my post above, so many said it was one of the absolute best mons for in-game. Darumaka is contested for good reason, but has just as many users backing up how bonkers it is.

All S tiers are not without their flaws of course though. If anything is gonna drop it may be Drilbur, followed by Darumaka, followed by Archen, then by Scraggy (doubt the last one will happen). Even with Drilbur, it has a good niche of countering Elesa (one of the hardest fights in the game) if you are level 29 with Rock Slide - feasible as you have tons of training spots around Nimbasa.
 
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Your post on Sesmitoad wasn't horrible - at least you were aware of Tympole's limitations and weren't nomming it to something like A. I just thought Swift Swim sweeping off 83 Sp. Atk wasn't exactly reliable is all. I want to say I'm not super proud of my rather frank attitude back then - I think I had unrealistic expectations on like all my party save Conkeldurr. I'm proud you experimented with each matchup to get reliable results; this is the type of testing I like to see!

Comments like this need to stop outright. No post here is considered "horrible" if it has support/good reasoning regardless of your personal opinion on a Pokemon. Seismitoad is pretty damned good if I remember rightly. Other people have it as B tier and I would absolutely agree with them. It has decent matchups across the board, and has some good moves as well as getting the godly Scald before fighting Clay.

Your job is to ascertain the intelligent community consensus outside of your own feelings.

I think getting rid of S is also a really bad idea. S tier exists in pretty much every tier list. If anything shouldn't have an S tier it's Firered and Leafgreen; nothing is really broken in those games save maybe Jynx, and she comes midgame. A few of the trade evos, Sawk, and Reuniclus are pretty top of A though.

Again, if we decide no Pokemon is "worthy" of S tier, then S tier would not be an applicable tier for this game. There is nothing wrong with that in its totality either. You don't have to have a rank if no Pokemon fit in to it. Would anyone bemoan if every Pokemon were good enough for B and above? Meaning D/E/F no longer existed?

After reading a significant portion of this thread and my own plays, I expected Scraggy to be the weak link in the S tier ranks. However, after reading through Its_A_Random 's post though I can definitely see Darumaka dropping to A. While it would remain S in BW2 (because you feel the effects of Darmanitan for longer), you do have to feel that the portion of time spent messing around with Hustle is the antithesis of efficiency. While Darmanitan exists to pull it back to relevancy, the 10+ levels spent as Darumaka harm it. I can also potentially see Sawk going up to S as well judging by what some other people have said.

One other thing I would like to bring up here is the levels at which people are finishing/leveling too while playing the game. A few posts here are claiming reaching "even" levels (or in some cases outright outleveling) with a Gym Leader seem to be a bit... Interesting to me. I have never been at that sort of level outside of XY onwards with the XP share without significant grinding. My "latest" play of White 2 (which has dates going back to 2012 since I finished it a few days ago), ended up at the Elite 4 with Level 45-47 mons and came out with 2 49's. Even IAR in his S Mon run barely cracked 50 with a 4 mon team. A post earlier went against Clay using a level 31 (I am sure I also saw a level 32, but can't find the post now). That's at the same level as his Ace. I understand that having a smaller team means higher levels, but some of the levels described here seem rather... Outlandish. I know this because on my last game I had to Audino grind several times (most significantly getting everyone to 45 before heading into Victory Road). I am going to transfer/wipe my game probably later in the week and play again, because I am honestly unsure how people are ending up so highly leveled. Lucky Egg only gets you so far and people probably shouldn't be abusing Audino that heavily. Being overleveled makes Pokemon look better than they are. Grain of salt and all that.

Speaking of that run; Accelgor, Garbodor, Gothitelle, Maractus and Basculin (as well as a traded Granbull) was the team. Basculin was pretty potent with Adaptability (the easier to obtain ability), barely missing out on a tonne of OHKOs/2HKOs with Waterfall, but was able to follow up with Aqua Jet with no threat to itself (mine probably has an awful attack IV). It has a shot at B imo. I could see Garbodor maybe going up a rank, it has defensive merit, but it has almost no coverage in a game with no Fairy to prey on. Mine was Weak Armour, so YMMV on it. Accelgor can stay wherever it is in the depths of the list. It has a nice movepool and good speed, but it lacks any real fire power in a game where everything has decent or better bulk. One small bonus is that mine outsped Hydreigon in the endgame and hit it with Bug Buzz before being mauled by Fire Blast. This left it to be followed up and KO'd by Basculin with Ice Beam. Gothitelle is just an off brand/worse version of Reuniclus with a better movepool (It gets Tbolt over Thunder). Has all the speed issues Reun has, with none of the bulk/power to claw it back. C is fine. Maractus the biggest surprise of the team. I didn't expect anything out of the dancing Cactus, but it surprised me even with a Grass attacking movepool. D rank however is acceptable.
 
Speaking of that run; Accelgor, Garbodor, Gothitelle, Maractus and Basculin (as well as a traded Granbull) was the team. Basculin was pretty potent with Adaptability (the easier to obtain ability), barely missing out on a tonne of OHKOs/2HKOs with Waterfall, but was able to follow up with Aqua Jet with no threat to itself (mine probably has an awful attack IV). It has a shot at B imo. I could see Garbodor maybe going up a rank, it has defensive merit, but it has almost no coverage in a game with no Fairy to prey on. Mine was Weak Armour, so YMMV on it. Accelgor can stay wherever it is in the depths of the list. It has a nice movepool and good speed, but it lacks any real fire power in a game where everything has decent or better bulk. One small bonus is that mine outsped Hydreigon in the endgame and hit it with Bug Buzz before being mauled by Fire Blast. This left it to be followed up and KO'd by Basculin with Ice Beam. Gothitelle is just an off brand/worse version of Reuniclus with a better movepool (It gets Tbolt over Thunder). Has all the speed issues Reun has, with none of the bulk/power to claw it back. C is fine. Maractus the biggest surprise of the team. I didn't expect anything out of the dancing Cactus, but it surprised me even with a Grass attacking movepool. D rank however is acceptable

Just a quick question, if you can't get the TM for Ice Beam until post-game and Basculin can't get it via level-up, then how does it know Ice Beam. Or did you mean to say Blizzard?
Edit; oh wait it can't get Blizzard via TM, so now that raises even more questions. Although I don't like to call anyone a liar until there is clear proof, this information concerns me.
EDIT 2: OH GODDAMIT OF COURSE IT'S WHITE 2. Sorry DHR-107 for the rash decision.
 
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Just a quick question, if you can't get the TM for Ice Beam until post-game and Basculin can't get it via level-up, then how does it know Ice Beam. Or did you mean to say Blizzard?
Edit; oh wait it can't get Blizzard via TM, so now that raises even more questions. Although I don't like to call anyone a liar until there is clear proof, this information concerns me.
EDIT 2: OH GODDAMIT OF COURSE IT'S WHITE 2. Sorry DHR-107 for the rash decision.

Nah, its still White, I probably just bred Basculin with Ice Beam. Or traded it to get Ice Beam. One or the other. Either way, I rarely used Ice Beam during the last 6 principle trainers as it doesn't help vs any of the matchups. Only vs Hydreigon. Adaptability Waterfall + Aqua Jet muscles its way through most opponents without issue.
 
I just used Cubchoo in a run I finished literally yesterday, so I am confident that I can contribute here.

First, I’d like to premise that I lucked out with Cubby. Not only did I score a Brave one (+Atk/-Spd), but I also didn’t wrestle with his low encounter rate as I found him on literally my first step in Twist Mountain.

Cubchoo starts in a somewhat unfortunate position; almost every trainer in Twist Mountain has a type advantage over Cubchoo in some advantage or simply outdoes it due to a low starting level. This combined with a low starting rate gives it a very rough start. However, I pushed through and with Lucky Egg usage evolved Cubchoo into Beartic towards the end of Twist Mountain, upon which Beartic’s prospects immediately open up; it learns Icicle Crash immediately on evolution, and has strong coverage. But does this rough start warrant usage given strong match-ups? Let’s find out.

For important match-ups:

* Brycen fares reasonably well against Brycen. Not only does Beartic resist Brycen’s Ice STAB, but you also have three options for effective damage: Brick Break, Rock Slide, and Superpower. I personally used Brick Break, as Superpower’s Atk and Def debuffs weren’t worth dealing with. For some context, Beartic was roughly 38 prior to starting this fight, and was on a 6-man team. To give a brief rundown of the fight:

Turns 1-2: Beartic scores a 2HKO against Vanillish with Brick Break. This part was something of a struggle, however, as Vanillish’s Mirror Shot does hurt; however, Superpower would have easily scored a OHKO.

Turns 3-4: Brycen sends out his own Beartic. Despite its nature, my Beartic outsped Brycen’s and 2HKOd with a Superpower and then a Brick Break respectively, taking only Brycen’s Slash in return. Beartic’s only coverage against you is a weak Brine (which may be problematic if your Beartic reached 50% from Vanillish) and Slash. The primary concern here is Swagger, which can ruin your day.

Turn 5: Even with an Atk debuff from Superpower, Beartic OHKOs Cryogonal.

Now, as for Drayden: this match-up was, frankly, disappointing. Again for context, I was running a 6-man team and Beartic was Level 42.

Turn 1: Fraxure outspeeds. Fraxure has one relevant move here: Dragon Claw. Beartic loses if Fraxure uses Dragon Claw, as will be seen next turn. Regardless, Beartic OHKOs with Icicle Crash. Nice.

Turn 2: Beartic outspeeds and uses Icicle Crash on Druddigon, which he 2HKOs with. Here is where the fight becomes problematic: Druddigon KOs with Revenge provided that Fraxure uses Dragon Claw, and even if it doesn’t, Druddigon comes close. If Beartic survives the initial revenge, it reliably 2HKOs with Icicle Crash.

Turn 3: You’re not winning here, unless Beartic enters this fight with full HP and Drayden’s AI decides not to use Dragon Tail. Not only is Dragon Tail a minor nuisance given it switches out (although another ‘mon can easily KO Haxorus afterwards), but Haxorus outspeeds and 1HKOs Beartic after a Revenge.

As you can see, Beartic puts in solid work for Drayden, but is not able to achieve a full sweep. It simply lacks the powers to ORKO, the durability to take more than a few hits, and is just so slow that it will literally always be hit by the Elite 4. As such, it’s a damn shame that Brycen and Drayden are Beartic’s strongest match-ups; it just fails to sweep any major match-up from this point onwards.

For the Elite 4: Keep in mind that Beartic is Level 50 at this point.

Marshal: No point in a turn-by-turn, seeing as Beartic is 2RKOd by everything and is outsped by literally everything except Throh.

Shauntal: Beartic narrowly outsped Cofagrigus, but is hindered by Will-O-Wisp entirely and simply lacks the power with Shadow Claw to do more than 3RKO Cofagrigus, taking Shadow Ball damage all the while. Beartic simply cannot fight Chandelure, is outsped by Jellicent and will likely be burnt by Scald, but 2RKOs Golurk (albeit Golurk has super-effective Brick Break).

Grimsley: Perhaps Beartic’s strongest match-up among the Elite 4. Beartic does not ORKO Scrafty even with Superpower and is 2HKOd by Brick Break, which is problematic; additionally, Krookodile’s Intimidate halts your sweep short. However, he doesn’t face much opposition otherwise; he OHKOs Bisharp with even a Brick Break (but is outsped), Icicle Crash OHKOs Krookodile if not faced with Intimidate, and Liepard is OHKOd by Superpower.

Caitlin: Bad. Beartic is always either 2RKOd or OHKOd, and in each match-up he is either outsped or unable to 2RKO.

Now, for the final two match-ups: N and Ghetsis. Spoiler: They’re bad. Genuinely awful. Beartic was Level 53 in the fights both against N and Ghetsis.

N: If playing Black, Beartic 2RKOs Zekrom with Icicle Crash, which is potent, but is outsped by Zekrom and 2HKOd by Fusion Bolt in return. Vanilluxe outspeeds and 2RKOs with Flash Cannon, but provided Beartic has no Atk debuffs he is able to safely OHKO with Superpower. Every other Pokemon N has is a horrible match-up: Zoroark OHKOs with Flamethrower, Klinklang outspeeds and 2HKOs with Gear Grind and is 2RKOd by Superpower (though the first hit is almost lethal) in return, Archeops OHKOs with Stone Edge, Carracosta 2RKOs with Stone Edge, and while Beartic outspeeds, he is unable to 3RKO even without Atk debuffs from Superpower.I have never played White with Beartic, but the match-up becomes even worse in this scenario seeing as Beartic is likely OHKOd by Fusion Flare and does not have super-effective Icicle Crash.

Ghetsis: Ever so slightly better than N. The one safe fight here is Bisharp, who Beartic safely OHKOs with Superpower (but not without taking a Stone Edge first). Once again, Cofagrigus hard-walls Beartic, and Beartic is simply not able to keep up with Toxic damage without heavy item support. Hydreigon OHKOs Beartic with Fire Blast, although Beartic does 2RKO with Icicle Crash if you paralyze Hydreigon with another ‘mon. Seismitoad outspeeds and 2HKOs with Muddy Water, although Beartic would 2HKO with Icicle Crash if Beartic somehow does outspeed. Eleketross 1HKOs with Flamethrower, and Bouffalant outspeeds and 2HKOs with Head Charge, although if Beartic is not faced with any Atk debuffs and hits with Superpower, Bouffalant died from the second Head Charge due to recoil.

Now obviously, my experiences all face some level of subjectivity, but after my previous post about Seismitoad where I was too vague, I was careful to experiment with each match-up 3 times, and reached the same general outcome all 3 times, so I speak with reasonable certainity. With all of this in mind, Cubchoo should absolutely remain in E tier.



Beartic is only able to even *fight* specific opponents and is heavily match-up based. When there is even a slight disadvantage, Beartic crumbles due to his low Speed, and is not consistently able to OHKO enough without Attack boosts.



Beartic faces both problems, with none of the benefits of the latter. Beartic has its strengths; it has strong base attack, and it has solid, relevant coverage with Icicle Crash and Superpower alone, in addition to its other slots. In theory it can run Snow Cloak + Hail, as inconsistent as that strategy may be. However, it is simply too slow and not bulky enough to put it any real work in the majority of match-ups; this is even true in the brief, but rough Cubchoo period, whereit simply is not effective. Additionally, it has very middling availability that is only compounded by its annoyingly low encounter rate. Had it joined just before Elesa, it would have see more positive match-ups and have more overall use, but as is it sadly struggles.

Regarding the comment about Fraxure using Dragon Claw, Drayden's mons only know Dragon Tail as STAB. None of them know Dragon Claw, which is probably what makes Drayden not op. Are you sure you are not confusing it with Dragon Rage or Dragon Tail, for Fraxure specifically?
 
Comments like this need to stop outright. No post here is considered "horrible" if it has support/good reasoning regardless of your personal opinion on a Pokemon. Seismitoad is pretty damned good if I remember rightly. Other people have it as B tier and I would absolutely agree with them. It has decent matchups across the board, and has some good moves as well as getting the godly Scald before fighting Clay.

Your job is to ascertain the intelligent community consensus outside of your own feelings.
I was complimenting them when I said that. I'm saying it was a good test. I should have used clearer wording.
I was not trying to be a jerk, I promise you. I'm sorry if I offended you VagueKatti, or anyone else for that matter. Seismitoad is in B right now, and it will probably stay there. I will keep my feelings out of future posts.

what
you dropped it before it evolves. before it gets Scald at 22 and eats everything alive.
I mean yeah, it's not great in the beginning, but that's why you stick with it. In this tier list we do not drop things. period. the end. This is to ensure accurate testing.
Even in its weak period, it's better than the other two monkeys by having a 40 BP move compared to Vine Whip's 35 and Incinerate's (o h g o d) 30.
I respect your opinion, but give it like two more seconds. It is not weak after it evolves with Scald, trust me. Its usefulness practically triples. Not one person has objected to its ranking in A among the big boys before you.

Sorry if I'm being a bit adamant here, but Panpour is easily the best Water type besides Oshawott. It's not like the other Waters blow everything away out of the box either; Tirtouga lacks good STAB until Surf which lets you get Waterfall and Rock Slide. Ducklett has good moves but lol offensive stats; Frillish is too late to be helpful, and Basculin is pretty good out of the box but also comes late so same problem as Frillish. Tympole despite having Bubblebeam other users and I have stated is super weak pre-evo. Evolved, nothing comes close to the Speed and Special Attack combo of Simipour save maybe Swanna (which is slower and weaker albeit not by much), which is a pain to get to despite good moves as Ducklett.

Every Water save Oshawott has this problem sans the late ones, it's not just a Panpour thing.

It could be so much worse, just look at how bad Pansear was for Turdterra.

Do note I agree with all of your other opinions for what it is worth.

I don't think I was being any ruder to VagueKatti than I was to MoonlightRose. I was surprised no one called me out there.

If you want to replace me with someone else to run this tier list, let me know. I'm sorry if I'm not doing a good job (not a backhanded compliment). I really don't mean to be a jerk. If anything, I want the best for this tier list - I make long posts with a bunch of research to be informative to others. I check on this thread a ton every day, and do my best to respond to users. I am not perfect, far from it. This is not to be bitter, but to say I love working on this tier list. If I'm not the best fit, then I will leave. It would not be out of spite, but to make this tier list prosper.

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After reading a significant portion of this thread and my own plays, I expected Scraggy to be the weak link in the S tier ranks. However, after reading through Its_A_Random 's post though I can definitely see Darumaka dropping to A. While it would remain S in BW2 (because you feel the effects of Darmanitan for longer), you do have to feel that the portion of time spent messing around with Hustle is the antithesis of efficiency. While Darmanitan exists to pull it back to relevancy, the 10+ levels spent as Darumaka harm it. I can also potentially see Sawk going up to S as well judging by what some other people have said.
So should Darumaka drop to S then?
So far, DHR, Yoshi, and Its_A_Random have said drop it.
Dargad, Ryota Mitara and Texas have said leave it.
I'm on the fence for obvious reasons, though I could say A. I will drop it for now.
Drilbur only like two people have commented on, so it's staying (and I will be testing it soon). Want more opinions before I drop.
Sawk could rise to S, but I want to see some detailed arguments on it after those two playthroughs are over first.

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