Resource 1v1 Sword and Shield Viability Rankings

So, I have been playing a lot of sudowoodo, and I think he could be a pretty solid pokemon, worth at least C+.

Sudowoodo @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Counter
- Fire Punch
- Stone Edge
- Sucker Punch

With his reasonably high attack for the metagame, and very nice bulk combined with sturdy, he can check a large portion of the metagames physical attackers effortlessly. Counter is fairly obvious, as it takes down Golisopod, Dracovish, Haxorus, Tyranitar, sturdy Sawk and Darmanitan, to name a few. Fire punch allows you to deal with pesky steel types who don't attack as often, such as Ferrothorn, or Ghost Steel types, notably Aegislash. Stone Edge, coupled with his high attack, can be used to take down a fair chunk of the special attackers of this metagame, such as Dragapult, Togekiss, and Chandelure. Sucker Punch is also pretty self explanatory, allowing him to take down most threats he couldn't kill first, such as other sturdies, or high bulk pokemon. All of this is further boosted by my item of choice, Weakness Policy. The sheer number of pokemon in this metagame who run moves that are super effective against sudowoodo is extremely high, and coupled with sturdy, allows him to reliably counter attack against a large number of common threats.

On the other hand, he does have a few weaknesses. Sylveon will always win against sudo, and most stall pokemon can also deal with him fairly easily. Luckily however, Sudowoodo does have a few options. Against bulky water types like Milotic, Wood Hammer is a great move to have, as it allows you to reliably kill pokemon you otherwise would not be able to, and with access to Taunt, he can even be used to bait out stall pokemon. Sudowoodo even has access to Iron Defense and Body Press, so if you go for a bulky build, you can do a very large amount of damage with it.

Overall, with his diverse movepool, access to Counter and Sucker Punch, and Sturdy, Sudowoodo is a very strong pokemon who can be used reliably against an extremely large subset of the current metagame.
 

Nalei

strong, wild garbage
is a Tiering Contributor Alumnus
After making the SWSH sets compendium, I have a lot better understanding of the meta. There's a few Pokemon that I'm either constantly or never preparing for and I think that's a very important factor in viability. I also know what relatively untested lower tier mons are capable of now. Here's a long chain of justifications:

:sylveon: A -> S-
Sylveon is an incredibly powerful Pokemon in the current meta that can play as a brutal breaker, potent stallbreaker, or customizable Yawn user. The fear of Hyper Beam or Yawn forces so many to run Sub which is easily exploited by Hyper Voice and the prevalence of our 600 BST Dragons makes it a very good check to them, especially when running its physically defensive set. Besides the few Band users who can brute through it, almost every Pokemon either loses to or is forced to prepare especially for Sylveon making it extremely influential and splashable.
:crustle: A- -> A
Crustle is a benchmark I was constantly prepping for in sets. It's another Pokemon of huge influence and depending on its item or plays, it can beat tons of Pokemon that would like to beat it such as getting through Taunt Mew with Mental Herb, outspeeding a Dragapult with Endure+Salac, and cheesing out KOs with Hard Stone.
:whimsicott: A- -> B
Whimsicott has fallen off and relies on its berries and last slot to beat the things it wants to. The prevalence of Poison coverage from random mons like Mew and Sawk, multi-hit from Crustle and Rhyperior, and sound from Sylveon give this thing a brutally hard time and meanwhile Whimsicott is struggling to beat Grass-types and either Dark-types or anything with sustain.
:hydreigon: B+ -> A
Hydreigon is blessed with a speed tier of 98, outspeeding Haxorus by 1, and SpA for 125, giving it the hardest hitting Draco around. Most Pokemon simply can't afford the EVs to tank a Modest Specs Draco from Hydreigon and it's also the best Haban user in the tier imo being capable of beating every other Dragon type but Band Dragapult, Scarf Unnerve Haxorus, and Specs Goodra. It also packs some utility with Taunt, Nasty Plot, and Snarl, can make mons like Tyranitar drop dead to Focus Blast, or run Scarf. Hydreigon is massively undervalued right now.
:togekiss: B+ -> A-
From how I've spoken about this mon, Mega Gengar, and Jirachi last gen, you should know very well how much I dislike these kinds of strategies but the power of Togekiss is undeniable right now. Flinches aside, Togekiss has access to Trick (for Scarf) and Encore (for Life Orb), giving it great matchups against stall. Its high stats and Fairy typing let it take on all of the Dragon spam going on but it's not completely helpless against Steel types thanks to Fire Blast. And yes, Air Slash; Togekiss can and will win matchups it has no business winning with this move making it a very splashable pick.
:tyranitar: B+ -> A-
Expert Belt Tyranitar is an insanely anti-meta Pokemon capable of taking on 5/7 of the highest ranked Pokemon and maintaining reasonable matchups throughout the rest of the VR thanks to its raw stats, STAB speed control, and Taunt access. There's not much to say about this mon other than the fact that it does work.
:arcanine: B -> B+
Arcanine is often seen from an offensive perspective and while Band and Life Orb are good, this Pokemon thrives as a defensive tank thanks to Intimidate, Will-O-Wisp, Snarl, great stats, and even the ability to void its typing when necessary with Burn Up. Another Pokemon that simply does work.
:duraludon: B -> B-
Duraludon as an incredibly awkward Pokemon to use in my experience. Its speed isn't bad but falls just below the point of usefulness, its SpD is trash to the point that it needs Assault Vest to check opposing Dragons despite its amazing typing. It has an incredibly shallow movepool and while tech like Rock Tomb and Metal Burst sound cool on paper, they fall victim to Substitute as do Draco Meteor and the less good Steel Beam.
:rhyperior: B -> B-
Rhyperior isn't a bad Pokemon on paper but simply faces great competition from Crustle and Tyranitar. While there's a few Pokemon it can take care of like Excadrill which they can't, it's abysmally slow and forced to invest extremely heavily in defenses.
:snorlax: B -> B+
Band Snorlax is a bulky Pokemon with awesome coverage. It can fall victim to certain techs and doesn't do well against things it can't hit super-effectively but it nonetheless does a great job taking down FDS cores with Heavy Slam, Outrage, and Heat Crash.
:aromatisse: B- -> B+
Aromatisse works in strange ways but gets the job done nonetheless. It threatens every Choice user with a sneaky Disable and easily beats up on Pokemon that can't 2 shot it Encore+Disable. Aroma Veil is an awesome boon against Pokemon like Corviknight, Mandibuzz, and non-Mental Herb Mew and I think that we can expect this Pokemon to see an increase in usage in the future as people better learn its ins and outs.
:grimmsnarl: B- -> B
Grimmsnarl's Bulk Up set functions as a blanket check to physical attacks beating Band Dracovish and having a chance vs Band Darmanitan while having excellent stallbreaking capabilities in the form of Prankster Taunt and not autolosing to special attackers. I was bordering on B+ for this but I think we'll see where things go in the meantime.
:rotom-heat: :rotom-wash: B-/C+ -> B
Both of the main Rotoms perform excellently as defensive Pokemon and Choice Scarf users. Their Ground immunity and unique typings give them distinctive niches and they can pack a very surprising amount of utility. They're not without issues but can be very difficult to play against and are definitely under-prepared for.
:rillaboom: C+ -> B
Rillaboom is imo the best Leech Seed user in the tier, at least until Mew is banned. Unlike Ferrothorn and Eldegoss it has reliable Mimikyu and Aromatisse matchups and a beats every Imprison Mew but Taunt+Sitrus+Substitute. While you'd think it has no business taking on Golisopod and Weezing, it can and will beat them and if you're willing to drop Protect and its matchups, you can abuse Drum Beating+Taunt to shut down any non-Grass stall Pokemon.
:silvally: C -> C-
As someone who's actually used it, Silvally is not a good Pokemon. The only good thing about this Pokemon is set ambiguity and besides taking top-tier teambuilding to take advantage of, the schrodinger's Silvally tactic is unreliable at the best of times and hugely matchup-dependent. Borderline D rank for just how gimmicky it is.
:copperajah: C -> B-
Copperajah hits like a truck and is a great blanket check to FDS much like Snorlax. It ironically has some issues that arise from the type matchups of being a Steel-type and needs to invest too much in defenses like Rhyperior but still manages to be anti-meta and can even edge around Haban by opting for Sheer Force Play Rough instead of Outrage.
:steelix: C+ -> B-
Steelix is very similar to Copperajah in theory and in practice. While it loses out on some raw power and great coverage options, Sturdy eliminates any rolls vs Fire-type attacks and its STAB EQ gives it a better matchup vs certain Steel-types.
:gardevoir: C -> C-
Meh. That's all there is to Gardevoir. It has okay coverage, an okay typing, okay damage output, okay speed, okay utility... need I go on? It has a hard time doing much as a physically-frail Pokemon in a physically-oriented meta dominated by bulky offense.
:indeedee:
C -> UR, C -> D
Indeedee is a really bad Pokemon, especially its male form. It doesn't get half the kills you'd expect, its speed tier is irrelevant, and it requires way too much bulk to survive anything. Male is 100% outclassed by female and female is very close to being outclassed by Togekiss, having only 1 matchup over it and beating about 10 Pokemon total.
:obstagoon: C -> C-
Obstagooon has decent bulk, decent damage, decent utility, and decent speed, putting it a similar but slightly better position than Gardevoir. What holds it back however is its rigidity. This Pokemon would kill for some move options like Sucker Punch, Rock Tomb, or even Quick Attack.
:reuniclus: C -> D
Psychic just isn't a good typing. Prevalent Pokemon Mimikyu, Dragapult, Hydreigon, and Golisopod immediately shut Reuniclus down and contrary to what its stats might suggest, Reuniclus doesn't get much use out of Calm Mind. Acid Armor isn't the worst but there's better physical walls out there.
:umbreon: C -> D
Umbreon is pretty heavily outclassed by Mandibuzz but finds a niche in its pure Dark typing, allowing it to beat just a couple Pokemon like Darmanitan and lose several others ignoring the issue of its speed tier. This should be reflected in its ranking as using it has a huge opportunity cost.
:vaporeon: C -> C+
Vaporeon is pretty neat. Its neutral typing, great bulk, and access to Yawn let Vaporeon beat most of the tiers bulky offense blow for blow and even crack a couple stall Pokemon. Has some issues with Substitute users and Yawn RNG but not as outclassed by Sylveon as people tend to say it.
:wishiwashi-school: C -> B-
Wishiwashi is the real Pokemon that Vaporeon sees competition from. Wishiwashi has outstanding bulk and damage output and while it's utterly inflexible and loses a few matchups that Yawn grants, its raw damage and superior reliability make it a great tank.
:appletun: C- -> C+
Appletun is a really cool Pokemon that deserves better. Ripen+Sitrus+Iron Defense/Amnesia allows it to wall almost any Pokemon that can't OHKO it and Apple Acid provides great stallbreaking capabilities. Haban is also very cool and it manages to differentiate itself from other Dragons with access to Sucker Punch and Recover.
:eldegoss: C- -> D
Eldegoss can do a couple things that Rillaboom can't like beat Band Haxorus/Sawk thanks to Cotton Guard but is otherwise outclassed. Very similarly to Umbreon, while it's not a bad Pokemon, it faces huge opportunity cost.
:centiskorch: D -> C+
In addition to a slightly gimmicky stall set, Centriskorch is a really effective Choice Band user capable of beating Mew, Darm, Dragapult, Corsola, Sylveon, and more. Check it out!
:tsareena: D -> C
Tsareena may seem outclassed by most other defensive Grass-types but the combination of Taunt and Rapid Spin allows it to break Pokemon like Corviknight and Mandibuzz giving it a unique niche. It also has very surprising natural bulk.
:quagsire: :sirfetch :orbeetle: :trevenant: C-/D -> UR
Quagsire is outclassed by just about every other bulky water in the tier, Sirfetch'd is outclassed by Conkeldurr, and Orbeetle and Trevenant are just plain bad. Let me know if you find a reason to use any of these mons.
 
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Cantius

I COULD BE BANNED!
:sm/hippowdon:
C- Tier

After discussion in the 1v1 Discord, I am re-nominating this. It faces stiff competition from Rhyperior except in the following matchups:
  • Sawk: Sand Stream finishes after an Earthquake.
  • Rhyperior: More consistent than your own Rhyperior.
  • Gyarados: with Thunder Fang. It can survive a non-Choice Band-boosted Waterfall.
  • Hydro Pump Choice Specs Dragapult: Band Hippo beats Hydro Pump Dragapult, while Band Rhyp can't (although AV Rhyp beats Hydro Pump Specs Pult). It needs Crunch to do this.
  • Choice Scarf Chandelure: Tanks Energy Ball, which Band Rhyperior doesn't, though AV Rhyp can do the same.
  • Choice Band Power Whip Grimmsnarl: Hippowdon's lack of a 4x weakness to Grass lends it a hand, although super bulky Rhyperior can still tank the Power Whip from Grimmsnarl.
If you want to get super super niche you can use AV Hippowdon to beat Specs Chandelure and Vikavolt.

Here's what is loses against that Rhyperior beats (S to B-):
  • Galarian Darmanitan
  • Mew
  • Haxorus
  • Whimsicott
  • Golisopod (Rhyp beats if outspeeds)
  • Mandibuzz (Rhyp beats if not running Iron Defense)
  • Aromatisse
  • Rotom-H
Note that many of the lost matchups are very common while three of the won matchups are situational. Overall I think Hippowdon has too small a reason to use over Rhyperior to justify anything higher but is better than Tsareena or Vikavolt.
 
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Morgan

Morgius Sweep
is a Pre-Contributor
Usage Stats Analysis: January 2020

This is the second edition of usage stats analysis, and this time, my co-writers are pqs Squirtell 1v1 and Alakazam

1. Mew and Mimikyu are both over 25% usage. This is important due to the current mew suspect, and lots of speculation about Mimikyu’s place in the meta.

2. Cinderace has reached number 5 in usage (10.3%) due to the prevalence of Mew and Mimikyu, both of which it has great matchups against.

3. Arcanine is the new Serperior. It’s risen meteorically to #6 with a usage of 9.88%. This is due to Metachang’s use of Air Balloon Stall Arcanine. It’s ability to check so many physical attackers is incredible.

4. Rip Darmanitan. Dropped from number 2 to number 9. It currently relies to heavily on scarf (70%) when it really needs Band (24%) to deal with the current meta threats such as Corviknight, Snorlax, and Sylveon. In addition, it struggles with Mimikyu and Mew, as both have started to run Choice Scarf sets which can easily dispatch Darmanitan. In addition, the prevalence of Arcanine (6), Crustle (22), and Sawk (13) severely hurts Darmanitan.

5. Choice Band vs Choice Specs. Once again, the meta trends severely more physical than special. Top 20 usage Band users include Mew, Mimikyu, Dracovish, Dragapult, Cinderace, Arcanine, Darmanitan, Sawk, Excadrill, Rhyperior, Haxorus, Snorlax also known as 55% of the top 20. Specs users include Mew, Dragapult, Hydreigon, Sylveon, or 4/20 (20%). The pokemon who don’t use these items such as Golisopod, Corviknight, Aromatisse, Aegislash, Togekiss, and Rotom Wash trend slightly more special, however this just shows a trend towards passive Pokemon utilizing more special moves. This trend has led to the prominence of Physical walls such as Arcanine, Rhyperior, And Corviknight. Once again, dedicated special walls make no high ranked appearances.

Nominations

Mimikyu -> S

With mew getting suspected banned, it’s clear that Mimikyu will become the best Pokemon in the meta. With access to Life Orb, Salac Curse, Choice Scarf, and Choice Band, there’s very little that Mimikyu can’t do.

Dragapult -> A

Loses to Scarf Darmanitan, all Mimikyu, all Sylveon, Arcanine, there’s so much this guy can’t do. It hasn’t adapted to the current meta in the slightest. It doesn’t deserve S- and it doesn’t deserve A+.

Darmanitan -> A+

Darmanitan has fallen from grace. Too much has become too prevalent for it to be considered S-, as it has so many definite weaknesses. Sawk, Arcanine, Sylveon, Mimikyu, Crustle, Band Dracovish, scarf haxorus all destroy it. It’s not as good as it was.

Sylveon -> A+

Sylveon on the other hand has benefitted from the current meta, and will benefit greatly from a Mew ban. Crustle, Sawk, Scarf Dracovish, Scarf Darmanitan, Dragapult, Scarf Haxorus all fall to it.

Arcanine -> A

Arcanine is fantastic right now. Holy cow. Stall is so powerful. “It’s a fire type that beats rock types” - TDA. We’ve talked a lot about it already, beating Darm, Dragapult, some Mimikyus, Sawk, Crustle, everything under the sun ... it’s just so good. It deserves absolutely nothing less than A tier. Burn up + Willo + intimidate makes it an absolute beast with Morning Sun. The option between Snarl and Flamethrower is pretty noncommittal because both win about 90% of its MUs.

Crustle -> A

TDA told me to so alrighty-o. Crustle is debatably the strongest Sturdy User in the meta at the moment. The trend away from Shadow Sneak Mimikyu is incredibly helpful for it. Dragapult falling is helpful for it, as is the low amount of Quick attack sylveon. Dracovish and Cinderace usage make Crustle a big threat to the meta. Mental Herb will remain strong to deal with Mandibuzz. Also Snorlax is strong so that’s helpful.
 
Now with Mew gone I say it’s time to obliterate S-. Move Kyu to S, and Darm-G and Dragapult to A+. Probably A for Dragapult. Very overhyped mon it has glaring weaknesses not a contender for S. Nothing is really on the level of Kyu or even substantially close so S- serves no purpose.
 
Hard agree with Mimikyu to S. Being able to speed trap almost any unboosted mon and even some slower scarfers like Dracovish and Darm-G is crazy. Besides the main Curse + Phantom Force set, it also has viable Band/Life Orb attacking sets, and some people are even running Scarf. Basically, Mimikyu is a fantastic mon that is imo worthy of a suspect.
 
turtonator.gif
Turtonator case study: Viability.

Turtonator @ Haban Berry
Ability: Shell Armor
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Overheat
- Shell Smash
- Taunt

S- Rank
:Darmanitan-Galar: W unless Band
:Dragapult: W unless substitute (but who tf runs that)
:Mimikyu: L if Curse, W if other (I think, I should look more into the matchup)

A+ Rank
:Dracovish: W unless Band
:Sylveon: L

A Rank
:Corsola-Galar: W

A- Rank
:Aegislash: W? Need to look into it
:Corviknight: W
:Crustle: L
:Haxorus: W unless Band
:Sawk: L
:Whimsicott: W, it's a couple 50/50s if the whimsi has taunt

B+ Rank
:Arcanine: W
:Excadrill: L
:Hydreigon: W unless Substitute
:Togekiss: L to Scarf
:Tyranitar: L

B Rank
:Bewear: I think this dude runs Band so L. W if he's scarf
:Chandelure: W unless Scarf
:Cinderace: L to Band, W to anything else
:Dracozolt: W
:Duraludon: W
:Ferrothorn: W
:Golisopod: W
:Mandibuzz: W?
:Rhyperior: L
:Snorlax: L
:Weezing-Galar: W

B- Rank
:Aromatisse: idk if it runs SpD, but it does beat 252 HP. W unless SpD, or like Modest CM
:Conkeldurr: I.. dont know
:Durant: L to Banded Dig, W otherwise or if it misses
:Gastrodon: L
:Goodra: L to Specs
:Grimmsnarl: W? I think?
:Milotic: L
:Rotom-Heat: W

C+ Rank
:Bisharp: W
:Diggersby: L
:Dubwool: W
:Gengar: L
:Rillaboom: W unless Band
:Rotom-Wash: L to Specs
:Silvally: ???
:Steelix: L
:Type: Null: W

C Rank
:Alcremie: idk, probs W
:Appletun: W unless specs
:Cloyster: W unless Band
not even gonna bother lower than this
Haban Turtonator actually wins more matchups than I would've expected it to. The biggest thing is that most of these can just run a different non-committal set and just beat it.
Considering this, I would nominate it for C+/B-, waiting on further metagame development.
idk if taunt is a good 4th move but turt really doesn't have good coverage/support moves. it does do better against whimsi but idk idk.

EDIT: LittleRunnerXC just hit me up with
SKURT TURT (Turtonator) @ Haban Berry
Ability: Shell Armor
EVs: 252 HP / 44 Def / 28 SpA / 144 SpD / 40 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shell Smash
- Draco Meteor
- Fire Blast
- Taunt

Beats Rotom-Heat, Choice Band Dracozolt, Choice Specs Duraludon and speed creeps Golisopod.
 
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Cantius

I COULD BE BANNED!
:sm/crawdaunt:
Crawdaunt @ Choice Band
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Crabhammer
- Knock Off
- Aqua Jet
- Switcheroo

Crawdaunt is a very simple Pokemon; the choice of a move is pretty obvious. Matchups won in S through B tiers:
  • Curse Mimikyu
  • Choice Scarf Dracovish
  • Sylveon
  • Galarian Corsola
  • Aegislash
  • Corviknight
  • Whimsicott (no Moonblast)
  • Arcanine (defensive)
  • Excadrill
  • Tyranitar (that's slower)
  • Chandelure
  • Cinderace
  • Mandibuzz (that's slower (always) or any non-Taunt)
  • Rhyperior
  • Gastrodon (non-Counter)
  • Grimmsnarl
  • Milotic
  • Rotom-H (Choice variants)
Total Pokemon in S through B tiers:
Matchups won: 10
Matchups lost: 36
Set-dependent matchups: 8

Winning a third of relevant matchups isn't bad for a D/C- tier Pokemon I guess
 

IBM

Banned deucer.
:sm/crawdaunt:
Crawdaunt @ Choice Band
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Crabhammer
- Knock Off
- Aqua Jet
- Switcheroo

Crawdaunt is a very simple Pokemon; the choice of a move is pretty obvious. Matchups won in S through B tiers:
  • Curse Mimikyu
  • Choice Scarf Dracovish
  • Sylveon
  • Galarian Corsola
  • Aegislash
  • Corviknight
  • Whimsicott (no Moonblast)
  • Arcanine (defensive)
  • Excadrill
  • Tyranitar (that's slower)
  • Chandelure
  • Cinderace
  • Mandibuzz (that's slower (always) or any non-Taunt)
  • Rhyperior
  • Gastrodon (non-Counter)
  • Grimmsnarl
  • Milotic
  • Rotom-H (Choice variants)
Total Pokemon in S through B tiers:
Matchups won: 10
Matchups lost: 36
Set-dependent matchups: 8

Winning a third of relevant matchups isn't bad for a D/C- tier Pokemon I guess
-You have to predict which mimi/vish set it is
-252+ Atk Choice Band Adaptability Crawdaunt Crabhammer vs. 252 HP / 200 Def Sylveon: 372-438 (94.4 - 111.1%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO
- Whimsicott - Moonblast 54.340%
- Top used ttar set - Adamant:16/240/0/0/0/252 16.551%
- Chandelures with bulk - 252+ Atk Choice Band Adaptability Crawdaunt Aqua Jet vs. 248 HP / 4 Def Chandelure: 296-352 (91.6 - 108.9%) -- 50% chance to OHKO
- Gastrodon - Counter 27.478%
- Rotom H - 252+ Atk Choice Band Adaptability Crawdaunt Aqua Jet vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Rotom-Heat: 256-304 (84.4 - 100.3%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO


Overall very inconsistent matchups that require you to know your opponents set or depend on a roll. Not worth a spot on VR in my opinion.

Also dracovish is better in almost every way.
 

Cantius

I COULD BE BANNED!
-You have to predict which mimi/vish set it is
-252+ Atk Choice Band Adaptability Crawdaunt Crabhammer vs. 252 HP / 200 Def Sylveon: 372-438 (94.4 - 111.1%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO
- Whimsicott - Moonblast 54.340%
- Top used ttar set - Adamant:16/240/0/0/0/252 16.551%
- Chandelures with bulk - 252+ Atk Choice Band Adaptability Crawdaunt Aqua Jet vs. 248 HP / 4 Def Chandelure: 296-352 (91.6 - 108.9%) -- 50% chance to OHKO
- Gastrodon - Counter 27.478%
- Rotom H - 252+ Atk Choice Band Adaptability Crawdaunt Aqua Jet vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Rotom-Heat: 256-304 (84.4 - 100.3%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO


Overall very inconsistent matchups that require you to know your opponents set or depend on a roll. Not worth a spot on VR in my opinion.
Tyranitar is very varied. If you look at top sets it's more like a 50/50, you can see it without looking at all the sets in the first place because it's only 16.55%.
Code:
 | Spreads                                | 
 | Adamant:16/240/0/0/0/252 16.551%       | 
 | Adamant:252/252/0/0/4/0 12.541%        | 
 | Adamant:168/252/0/0/0/88 12.470%       | 
 | Adamant:4/252/0/0/0/252  6.550%        | 
 | Jolly:0/252/84/0/0/172  4.510%         | 
 | Adamant:236/100/160/0/0/0  4.285%      | 
 | Other 43.094%                          |
Most Chandelure do not run this much bulk. This is obvious as shown by the top used set.
Code:
| Timid:0/0/0/252/4/252 68.160%          | 
| Modest:240/0/0/252/4/12  4.974%        | 
| Modest:0/0/0/252/4/252  3.821%         | 
| Modest:248/0/44/196/20/0  2.670%       | 
| Modest:0/0/0/252/0/252  2.522%         | 
| Modest:4/0/0/252/0/252  2.398%         | 
| Other 15.455%                          |
Chandelure with no Speed is 196, my Crawdaunt is 209 Speed. You actually outspeed then and kill with Knock Off. Therefore Crawdaunt beats all of the EV spreads recorded in usage stats.

Counter Gastrodon is about one fourth of all Gastrodon, not a 50/50. Acid Armor (65.611%) is much more common since it has more favorable chances against Mimikyu.

I recognized before Crawdaunt beats only offensive Rotom-H, but Choice item Rotoms make up about 50% of the total share:
Code:
 | Items                                  | 
 | Choice Specs 31.460%                   | 
 | Choice Scarf 25.610%                   | 
 | Kee Berry 17.590%                      | 
 | Life Orb  8.396%                       | 
 | Leftovers  7.329%                      | 
 | Petaya Berry  4.237%                   | 
 | Assault Vest  1.331%                   | 
 | Other  4.047%                          |
 

IBM

Banned deucer.
Tyranitar is very varied. If you look at top sets it's more like a 50/50, you can see it without looking at all the sets in the first place because it's only 16.55%.
Code:
| Spreads                                |
| Adamant:16/240/0/0/0/252 16.551%       |
| Adamant:252/252/0/0/4/0 12.541%        |
| Adamant:168/252/0/0/0/88 12.470%       |
| Adamant:4/252/0/0/0/252  6.550%        |
| Jolly:0/252/84/0/0/172  4.510%         |
| Adamant:236/100/160/0/0/0  4.285%      |
| Other 43.094%                          |
Most Chandelure do not run this much bulk. This is obvious as shown by the top used set.
Code:
| Timid:0/0/0/252/4/252 68.160%          |
| Modest:240/0/0/252/4/12  4.974%        |
| Modest:0/0/0/252/4/252  3.821%         |
| Modest:248/0/44/196/20/0  2.670%       |
| Modest:0/0/0/252/0/252  2.522%         |
| Modest:4/0/0/252/0/252  2.398%         |
| Other 15.455%                          |
Chandelure with no Speed is 196, my Crawdaunt is 209 Speed. You actually outspeed then and kill with Knock Off. Therefore Crawdaunt beats all of the EV spreads recorded in usage stats.

Counter Gastrodon is about one fourth of all Gastrodon, not a 50/50. Acid Armor (65.611%) is much more common since it has more favorable chances against Mimikyu.

I recognized before Crawdaunt beats only offensive Rotom-H, but Choice item Rotoms make up about 50% of the total share:
Code:
| Items                                  |
| Choice Specs 31.460%                   |
| Choice Scarf 25.610%                   |
| Kee Berry 17.590%                      |
| Life Orb  8.396%                       |
| Leftovers  7.329%                      |
| Petaya Berry  4.237%                   |
| Assault Vest  1.331%                   |
| Other  4.047%                          |
The point is that dracovish beats everything crawdaunt does and more but without needing to worry about rolls or sets.
 

Cantius

I COULD BE BANNED!
The point is that dracovish beats everything crawdaunt does and more but without needing to worry about rolls or sets.
Codes: * Scarf Vish beats this ^ Band Vish beats this
  • Curse Mimikyu
  • Choice Scarf Dracovish *?
  • Galarian Corsola
  • Aegislash ^
  • Corviknight ^
  • Arcanine (defensive) *^
  • Excadrill *^
  • Tyranitar (that's slower) *^
  • Chandelure *^
  • Cinderace *^
  • Mandibuzz (that's slower (always) or any non-Taunt) ^
  • Rhyperior *^
  • Gastrodon (non-Counter) *^
  • Grimmsnarl *^
  • Milotic
  • Rotom-H (Choice variants) *^
Crawdaunt beats Curse Mimikyu, Galarian Corsola, Milotic, which Dracovish can't. Consistently against opposing Scarf Dracovish without having to sacrifice the Aegislash, Corviknight, and Mandibuzz matchups.
 

Morgan

Morgius Sweep
is a Pre-Contributor
Melmetal -ny> S Tier (this thing isn’t fair)
252+ Atk tChoice Band Mold Breaker Sawk Close Combat vs. 184 HP / 252 Def Melmetal: 386-456 (84.4 - 99.7%) -- guarantee 2HKO

0+ Atk Choice Band Iron Fist Melmetal Double Iron Bash (2 hits) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Sawk: 440-522 (151.2 - 179.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Yikes

Also AV can live Specs Pult,

In addition: +1 252 Atk Choice Band Darmanitan-Galar Flare Blitz vs. 184 HP / 252 Def Melmetal: 382-450 (83.5 - 98.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

It lives Banded Blitz

Mimikyu and Sylveon evaporate.

Crustle, Haxorus, Whimsicott, all gone

It underspeeds and OHKOs aegislash

+1 252+ Atk Mold Breaker Excadrill Earthquake vs. 184 HP / 252 Def Melmetal: 338-402 (73.9 - 87.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

AV beats hydreigon

Togekiss -> nope

Tyranitar lol

Dural, golisopod, Scarf Zolt. This thing is absurd and only really loses to stall. Band + AV Duality is incredibly strong and versatile. This pokemon absolutely deserves S rank.
 

This thing is a monster NR --> S
Not sure I need to explain why this thing is silly good. Insane bulk and strength in addition to great typing and unique STAB. Melmetal is probably the best tank 1v1 has ever had. Double Iron Bash+Iron Fist insures it needs minimal investment to kill everything in its path, it also ignores sub cheese and Kyu. It also has opportunity for some pretty solid variety as its movepool is good and DIB is gonna murder everything. AV looks scary, CB insures a lot of kills, and I came up with an Air Ballon set.
I wanna talk about the Air Ballon set in particular as it may shove this thing over the edge. I've seen Rotom-Wash lose as it can just rest off everything and wait until the opponent runs out of PP or Melmetal wakes early and clicks boosted Body Press. It can also run Toxic w/ Occa expediting the process and allowing it to beat stuff like Necrozoma, Darm-Galar, physical Arcanine(if that exists.)
This thing is borderline banworthy, just play ladder you'll see how silly this thing is.

Dragapult S- --> A/A-
Really not a great choice and seems only worse with home. A bunch of mons just got Knock Off back and it now has to deal with Primarina. Never a fan of this mon and my opinion of it decreases every day.

Primarina NR --> B+/B
It is early on but I'm quite happy w/ Primarina. It has a useful typing and solid stats making quite a good mon. It has a fair amount of utility checking slower things and various walls like Arcanine and most Mandibuzz. It makes an excellent partner for Melmetal as well.

Aromatisse B- --> C+/C
With Melmetal running around everywhere and new home drops like Jirachi this thing kinda blows. Teams that for some reason aren't running Melmetal still have ways of dealing with this thing. Consider this nom null if Melmetal is banned.

Some brief thoughts on some mons after home. The new meta looks pretty cool but something would make it even cooler.
Mimikyu S- --> Banned
Edit: Forgot to credit Rosa for evs
 
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pqs

Banned deucer.
:necrozma: UR --> A or higher

Necrozma, mainly its Choice Specs set, is very good in the current Home metagame. Access to its signature Photon Geyser and Prismatic Laser can 2HKO or OHKO most Pokemon on ladder, and I'm betting that it's gonna see a lot of usage in PL too. Heat Wave and Earth Power are also good damage moves to cover Steel-types. Necrozma also has decent HP and Defense being around 100, and not to mention it's great ability in Prism Armor which makes it take less damage from super effective attacks from powerful Pokemon like Choice Band Durant.

Here are its Choice Specs variant matchups spanning from S- to B-.
Key: W = Win, L = Loss, U = Unreliable, (text) is used to explain matchups.
The sets I'm using to calc versus Necrozma are from Nalei's set compendium.
S- Rank
:Darmanitan-Galar: Darmanitan-Galar W (Can EV for even CB Giga Impact)
:Dragapult: Dragapult W / L (Can EV for Specs but will lose versus Substitute)
:Mimikyu: Mimikyu W

A+ Rank
:Dracovish: Dracovish U (Depends on the set)
:Sylveon: Sylveon L

A Rank
:Corsola-Galar: Corsola-Galar L

A- Rank
:Aegislash: Aegislash L
:Corviknight: Corviknight W
:Crustle: Crustle W
:Haxorus: Haxorus W
:Sawk: Sawk W
:Whimsicott: Whimsicott U (Occa Berry, Prismatic Laser, Photon Geyser, all vary the matchup)

B+ Rank
:Arcanine: Arcanine U (Cannot win versus Snarl variants)
:Excadrill: Excadrill W
:Hydreigon: Hydreigon L
:Togekiss: Togekiss U (air slash etc etc)
:Tyranitar: Tyranitar L

B Rank
:Bewear: Bewear W
:Chandelure: Chandelure W / U (Wins versus all non-Specs variants, 50/50s specs)
:Cinderace: Cinderace W
:Dracozolt: Dracozolt U (Wins vs scarf, loses to Life Orb)
:Duraludon: Duraludon L
:Ferrothorn: Ferrothorn W
:Golisopod:Golisopod W
:Mandibuzz: Mandibuzz L
:Rhyperior: Rhyperior U
:Snorlax: Snorlax W
:Weezing-Galar: Weezing-Galar W

B- Rank
:Aromatisse: Aromatisse U (depends on how aromatisse invests their evs)
:Conkeldurr: Conkeldurr W
:Durant: Durant W
:Gastrodon: Gastrodon W
:Goodra: Goodra L
:Grimmsnarl: Grimmsnarl L
:Milotic: Milotic L
:Rotom-Heat: Rotom-Heat U
Though Necrozma isn't perfect, it's way too good on ladder right now to pass up, and with more shifts in the metagame plus optimization it'll probably get even better.
pls dont laugh at me if i made a mistake ;w;
Edit: Changed nomination from B+ to A. Seriously, this is way too good.
 
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Going to go over quite a few things including all relevant home drops and some various things from the current vr so I’m going to be brief.

Haxorous was moved to B+ and this is odd to me. It still has all its great traits and even as checks for it are being run more it gets the job done. Very strong at a good speed tier in addition to useful movepool and ability makes Haxorous a great pick. Scarf sees the most usage but Haban and Band expand its usefulness. Various other techs such as Unnerve for Haban/Babiri make Hax not only strong but also diverse. Suggesting this thing moves back up to A-.

Also it may be just a filler until decisons are made but I still think S- should be nuked, with Kyu to S and Darm to S/A+.

Moving onto home drops.
Celebi deserves a spot in C. Not sure where specifically but Celebi doesn’t seem to do much. It’s worth experimenting but its awful typing and limiting movepool hold it back.

Necrozoma is an A mon. Specs, WP, and CM have already proven good sets. It has great bulk and movepool w/ an excellent ability. It is a massive pain for offense and has potential as a wallbreaker.

What does Keldo do. Water/Fighting isn’t a particularly useful typing and its movepool doesn’t help. 129 is not even that strong and its lackluster bulk makes it easily dispatched. Taunt sets seem to be decent but I really don’t see why you would run this over a better Water or Fighting type. B/B+

Cobalion seems alright. It has a good speed tier with pretty solid bulk and in addition to strong stab options it looks neat. Scarf looks cool for beating Togekiss and Jirachi. This is all sidelined by its abysmal 90 attacking stats but I feel it has a solid niche. B-/B

Terrakion. Strong and fast. Not enough of either to be notable. B-/C+

Virizion has the same problems as the other swords but with an awful typing. C/C-

Decidueye doesn’t really have anything great and in addition to mediocre typing it falls short of having a solid niche. Outclassed by Rillaboom. C-/D

Tiger thing, not spelling it. Seems like an Arcanine w/ better typing and Taunt giving it a niche. It’s relatively strong as well. Faces competion from Arcanine but I think it is just as good if not better. B+ or higher if you’re feeling adventurous.

Primarina is nice. Solid spatk and bulk leads to it being quite a solid mon. Good typing w/ a good movepool as well. Solid mon specs and Petaya looks promising. B+/A-

Kyurem has a great Noble Roar set in addition to solid offense. It can beat a lot with Pressure stall and with the potential to run Haban or Chople it is even scarier. It isn’t unbeatable it can be killed by faster things w/ super effective moves but it is quite good. B+ at the very least.

If I forgot something it didn’t leave an impression on me. Thanks for reading the post.
 

pqs

Banned deucer.
Home VR noms:

1582254965508.png
-> A- sorry lrxc but you took too long to post the nom plus reservations aren't a thing
Seriously, this 'mon is way too good in the current metagame. Beating all current S- to A ranked Pokemon with the right movepool / EV spread is nothing to scoff at, and it can also run different spreads and sets to beat certain threats. Its most viable sets in the current meta are Choice Band and Iron Defense + Body Press.

1582259105539.png
-> B-
This is probably the most annoying Pokemon on the VR with the combination of Nuzzle, Zing Zap, and Iron Head, but it gets what it needs done and Sturdy is released now so it's easier to set up on opposing Pokemon.

1582259440690.png
-> B
Steelix was already pretty decent with just its Sturdy + Choice Band set, but Home's release gave it more versatility, being able to use the combination of Body Press + Iron Defense along with its whopping base 200 Defense to overpower foes.
 
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Morgan

Morgius Sweep
is a Pre-Contributor
Incineroar UR -> A- / A
Incineroar is a very potent pokemon in the meta at the moment. With the strength of Necrozma, Mimikyu, and Jirachi, it has a lot of room to work. Weakness Policy and Flame Charge are incredibly potent, and its super bulky sets that invest for a variety of opponents such as Choice Specs Necrozma, Choice Band Excadrill, and Choice Band Terrakion are notably strong.

Primarina UR -> A-
Primarina is another of the Alola starters that came out with Pokemon Home (rip decidueye). It has a lot of variety with sets, such as Petaya Berry and Choice Specs. Even within this, it has wiggle room, such as physically defensive Petaya and Specially defensive Petaya. Specially Defensive Petaya Berry seems to be its most effective set in the metagame, due to its strong duality between Moonblast and Icy Wind + Encore sets. Moonblast allows Primarina to run 2-3 attacks and beat Choice Band Dracovish (which beats non scarf Necrozma) and other Dragons. Icy Wind + Encore allows Primarina to counter all Necrozma sets besides Fast Choice Specs. Primarina's versatility and high power in each of its sets allow it to be a solid fit in the A- tier.

Venusaur UR -> B- / B
It's a pretty versatile Pokemon with Sleep Powder, Leech Seed, and Overgrow + Frenzy Plant. It's good against Mimikyu, Primarina, Blastoise, and Choice Specs / Weakness Policy Necrozma. It's definitely slept on right now.

Drapion UR -> B- / B
Drapion is very strong at the moment. It's got great matchups against Primarina, Necrozma, Venusaur, and Sylveon. Air Balloon is quite good, and it can run items such as Life Orb to give it more versatility. It has a good matchup spread against a number of the new Pokemon added in Pokemon Home.

Blastoise UR -> B - / B
Blastoise is pretty strong due to Shell Smash + Petaya Berry + Torrent + Hydro Cannon, which can give you a massive boost to damage very quickly. It can bulk quite a bit and then set up as well. Stuff like Counter is also pretty neat.

Decidueye UR -> Extra UR
This man is very sad, please remove him from the game to stop the embarrassment.
 
I don't know why this isn't anywhere on the VR:
Zeraora UR->C+/C
This guy isn't exactly a top threat or anything, but CB zera hits pretty darn hard with plasma fists/play rough/cc/knock off. This thing beats all the water and flying types you would expect it to, and also beats Jirachi 64% of the time, Dragapult always, Dracovish, Kyurem, some Necrozma sets (I think only like specs and some niche ones) and non-scarf Excadrill and Darmanitan. Definitely not as strong as it was last gen with charge+electrium z, but imo it's a really solid physical attacker and deserves a spot on the VR.

Edit: also 4th highest usage in PL week 1 so what's up with that. Good mon, rank-worthy for sure
 
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Ok so now that it's morning and I'm on a computer here's a quick matchup sheet for CB zera. On the Darm MU I was thinking about a bulkier spread with air balloon so it can't ohko you with scarf eq but it seems excessive to me to run all that to win two matchups (darm and driller) and lose a bunch more. Jirachi loses to CB zera 63.9% of the time because it has to hit and flinch with zen and then hit another. Slightly better (0.1%) than your odds of two iron head flinches. Also while making this I thought of a sub/toxic set that should win against non-rest necrozma, give it a 50/50 vs whimsicott, and win against a lot of the bulkier mons it struggled against, but IMO that gives up too many matchups and still doesn't let it beat stuff like sylveon. Maybe could use some testing, maybe somebody else already came up with it, who knows.

There are probably some inaccuracies here but I think this is mostly correct:
 

Attachments

Morgan

Morgius Sweep
is a Pre-Contributor
Ok so now that it's morning and I'm on a computer here's a quick matchup sheet for CB zera. On the Darm MU I was thinking about a bulkier spread with air balloon so it can't ohko you with scarf eq but it seems excessive to me to run all that to win two matchups (darm and driller) and lose a bunch more. Jirachi loses to CB zera 63.9% of the time because it has to hit and flinch with zen and then hit another. Slightly better (0.1%) than your odds of two iron head flinches. Also while making this I thought of a sub/toxic set that should win against non-rest necrozma, give it a 50/50 vs whimsicott, and win against a lot of the bulkier mons it struggled against, but IMO that gives up too many matchups and still doesn't let it beat stuff like sylveon. Maybe could use some testing, maybe somebody else already came up with it, who knows.

There are probably some inaccuracies here but I think this is mostly correct:
Zera is being voted on, it just doesn’t have all the votes yet, so it’s unranked
 
Proposing big boi rise.

Arcanine B -> A

Really great Pokémon rn. Good matchup against every S/S-/A+ mon besides Dracovish.

Here's a good set.

Arcanine @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 132 Def / 128 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Burn Up
- Snarl
- Will-O-Wisp
- Morning Sun
Tanks Jolly Band Darm-G's EQ. Rest is in SpD.

A is feeling lonely. A is still feeling kinda lonely ngl.
 
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