:sm/zapdos: A+>A
Zapdos's current place on the slate does not reflect at all the benefits it offers a team or its usage. Zapdos demands a dedicated answer in Nidoroyalty, Alolan Dugtrio, or a conjunction of softer checks like Rhydon and Alolan Muk. Tbolt is otherwise very scary to switch into, and the response it forces makes zapdos one of the best users of U turn in the game. This is combined with how long it stays in the game with roost, and the stressful priority that people feel to land a toxic on zap. It matches up very favorably with melmetal, especially reflect zapdos sets, it can pivot in on any of melmetal's moves barring ice punch and threaten large chunks of damage with tbolt. Zapdos is easily the 3rd best non mega and it should not take much to at least consider it for A+.
:sm/alakazam-mega: A>A-
Alakazam was something I initially thought was a very weak pokemon, but I have since come around. Mega zam's performance is certainly a lot more inconsistent or match up dependent, but it can be brutally hard to deal with. I've seen it utilized in a very powerful way when combined with other special attackers like Cloyster and Starmie. When other pokemon wear down your special answers like Muk or Mew or Melmetal or Snorlax, it can set up a CM pretty easily and run through a team. The main selling point of mega alakazam is that it's not very common to be able to check it offensively, as the only pokemon that can even speed tie it is obviously mega aerodactyl, where adamant is the preferred nature and you only get a 50% chance to kill the zam in the first place. While not as domineering at the pokemon in A+, mega alakazam clearly outshines the pokemon in A-.
:sm/sandslash: A-/B+>B
Sandslash has been seen on a number of successful teams in the spotlight tour and on the ladder, which does not mean that it deserves a higher spot just because of its usage, but it means it has had a lot of exposure to what it is capable of, and I think it could be as viable as the pokemon found in A-, or the best B+ pokemon at the very least. I will be making many comparisons to rhydon as they are very similar pokemon. Sandslash is a much more reliable stealth rocker than alolan dugtrio and rhydon, by virtue of its better bulk and defensive typing respectively.
rocker rhydon cons
Rhydon is easily denied rocks by the very popular and viable scald mew set, as well as almost any other pokemon with a grass or water move. Rhydon is also unable to switch into dugtrio, nidoqueen, nideoking, sandslash, or mega aero, as being weak to EQ heavily weakens its switch in opportunities. It also is usually OHKOd by double iron bash, meaning in a melmeltal lead situation, Rhyhorn will have to sacrificed for rocks. Dugtrio faces a similar dilemma, it is so damn frail that it is very rare that it can get up rocks without risking its life or almost all of its health. Dugtrio is still a fine rocker, but as the offensive threat that it is, it really does not like having the responsibility of being a sole rocker, it will greatly hinder its ability to preform other roles in the game.
Sandslash does not have these issues, it is very hard to deny Sandslash rocks. The only pokemon in the S, A, or B viability ranks that can OHKO sandslash are Mega Charizard Y, Starmie, and for the sake of accuracy, Hydro Pump Mega Gyrados. Sandslash also can easily switch into and avoid the 2HKO from Mega Aerodactyl, Dugtrio, and Rhydon, which lets it get up rocks on these pokemon without prediction or momentum. Unlike Rhydon, Sandslash can also go hard into any attack from Melmetal, with adamant double iron bash being a max roll of 70%. This improves the lead matchup with Melmetal greatly and lets sandslash get up rocks even when you're in a bad situation(like switching into a melmetal). Sandslash living any hit from melmetal is also relevant to Counter. Counter is a cool option for Sandslash that lets it potentially OHKO or 1v1 a pokemon that is about to do heavy damage, like OHKOing mega gyrados, or Poliwrath, or outspeeding melmetal and killing it the next turn. It also lets Sandslash abuse Mega Beedrill, dealing heavy damage to an opposing team using their own U-turn. Example:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7letsgoou-1175265943-633oijvkudmf00us4tvi7n0qk0fpg31pw
A- might seem like a stretch and maybe it is, but I've seen it consistently outperform the pokemon in B+, and it certainly is more viable than the pokemon in B.
:sm/cloyster: B+>UC
three subranks :o. In writing the analysis for Cloyster I ended up using it quite a bit on ladder, and I've seen it used several times in the spotlight tour as well. I'm really not sure why it was this low. Cloyster admittedly, cannot be used as it is in other tiers, it rarely outright wins, it lacks the power. However what Cloyster is incredibly good at is wallbreaking. By boosting its speed past every other pokemon while still doubling its attack's damage, it forces the opponent to use a defensive check, not an offensive one. This puts your opponent in a situation of unavoidable damage, letting you remove or significantly chip something so that a threatening partner, most notably Mega Alakazam but also other attackers, can finish the job. Cloyster's hydro pumps are strong enough to bring high HP pokemon like Mew or Melmetal into the range of most attackers, and it has the ability to use self destruct to deal massive damage or KO pokemon that would normally hard stop Cloyster and other special attackers, like Mega Gyrados, Alolan Muk, and Snorlax.
Cloyster wall breaking applied
(I'm not recommending using surf I'm just using it to demonstrate reliability when possible).
+2 Cloyster Surf vs. Melmetal: 138-163 (65.7 - 77.6%)
Mega Alakazam Shadow Ball vs. Melmetal: 70-83 (33.3 - 39.5%)
Mega Aerodactyl Earthquake vs. Melmetal: 72-86 (34.2 - 40.9%)
Starmie Scald vs. Melmetal: 64-76 (30.4 - 36.1%)
+2 Cloyster Hydro Pump vs. Mew: 118-141 (67.4 - 80.5%)
(pokemon that can capitalize on a low health mew are easy to imagine)
+2 Cloyster Self-Destruct vs. Mega Gyarados: 135-159 (79.4 - 93.5%)
Starmie Thunderbolt vs. Mega Gyarados: 56-66 (32.9 - 38.8%)
Mega Alakazam Dazzling Gleam vs. Mega Gyarados: 78-94 (45.8 - 55.2%)
Mew U-turn vs. Mega Gyarados: 40-48 (23.5 - 28.2%)
+2 Cloyster Self-Destruct vs. Snorlax: 204-241 (86.8 - 102.5%)
(dead to anything or dead)
+2 Cloyster Self-Destruct vs. Muk-Alola: 183-216 (101.6 - 120%)
(dead)
I feel like a mistake that might have been made about Cloyster is lumping it with omastar, when it reality, being able to outspeed everything after a boost is a massive massive bump in viablity for the Pokemon, because it being able to FORCE damage onto the opponent is very valuable. It also has the trait Cloyster has always had; massive defense letting it set up relatively stress freely(especially in a physical meta)notably living any hit from adamant Melmetal after stealth rock. It has tournament results and I encourage you to try it out for yourself, paired with special attackers, I think you'll find it easily places with the other B+ pokemon.
:ss/dugtrio: B- > UR
Dugtrio is a perfectly viable sidegrade to alolan dugtrio. Alolan dutrio is still a better option usually, hence the letter of my nomination, but dugtrio has some interesting advantages that you should consider. Stats-wise, Dugtrio trades 10 defense for 10 speed, which would normally sound great considering how frail duggy is, but he also loses a steel typing, which is bad for the most part. On the surface level this would seem like dugtrio has the small, consequential niche of outspeeding Persian-Alola and Starmie, but in practice what this actually means, is that dugtrio can viably run an adamant nature and still outspeed the crucial base 100 mark, something that alolan dugtrio cannot do. This is crucial for a number of things, like improving damage vs melmetal, securing OHKOs on pokemon like nidoking and nidoqueen after rocks, doing more to to alakazam and bee with sucker, etc. TLDR: 10% more damage is good. Losing the steel typing can also be nice in situations where it is better to not be weak to EQ, but mainly is not so good, hence why it is 4 subranks below the steel type counterpart. Losing the steel type makes you a target for toxic, not resist U turn, take twice as much damage from rocks, and lose an immunity and multiple other resistances. It's worth noting however that Dugtrio can bluff jolly and force out things that actually outspeed it like alolan duggy and gengar.
It's up to you and your teamcomp to decide which duggy is better, but either way, it's a fast electric immunity with a strong STAB that hits melmetal, def not unranked material.
