Welcome to Smogon! Take a moment to read the Introduction to Smogon for a run-down on everything Smogon, and make sure you take some time to read the global rules.
art drawn + thread run by ausma | VR concept credit goes to PK Gaming
Welcome to the Scarlet and Violet Overused viability rankings, Teal Mask edition!
In this thread, we, as a community, will be ranking every single justifiably usable Pokemon into "tiers" ranking their viability in the metagame. You're encouraged to post your thoughts and opinions on the various Pokemon that are viable in OU and what tier they should fall under. Posts in this thread will be taken into account when deciding rank changes, but the ultimate decision will be handled by OU Viability Rankings council vote during each slate of rankings!
The general idea of the topic is to rank each OU Pokemon under "rankings" that go in descending order. Since this is a tier list for the entire metagame, everything is lumped together. There won't be any segregation between offense, defense, and supportive presences in the metagame within this thread. For example, Cinderace can be ranked in the A- tier as a supportive presence, Walking Wake can be ranked in the A- as an offensive presence, and Dondozo can be ranked in the A- tier as a defensive presence.
Finally, there will be a council of experienced players who will discuss and vote on the ranking of Pokemon. Depending on how the metagame is developing, we could update the thread every couple of weeks or every month+. Please note that your posts still very much matter and will be factored in to what we discuss and the discussions themselves. This thread is nothing without the posters and every informed opinion that is shared is considered a valuable contribution in my eyes, so do not hesitate to post if you know the metagame well and understand the forum rules. The council will consist of the following users:
Post intelligently. Posts like "I think pokemon X should be in this tier" will be deleted and potentially infracted if it is a repeat issue. Expand on your opinion with actual analysis showing understanding of the metagame and perhaps bringing a unique perspective to the conversation.
Absolutely no flaming, personal attacks, or general idiocy will be tolerated. Part of this is under moderator discretion and please know that posting in this thread is a privilege, not a right. You'll get warned initially if it is not something overly malicious, but harsher punishments can and will come with repeated behavior or severe offenses.
Usage statistics may be used to support an argument or a claim, but don't base your ENTIRE argument around them. There needs to be more substance than just this. For example, you can't just say "Pokemon X shouldn't be this tier because they aren't used that often!"
When nominating a Pokemon to move from one rank to another, do not merely list its obvious qualities such as stats, typing, movepool, etc. If you think a Pokemon deserves to rise or drop, explain what has changed in the meta to cause such Pokemon to get better or worse. I can assure you that the VR Council already knows the obvious qualities and we are far more interested in understanding why you believe it has increased or decreased in viability.
Unrelated discussion such as talk of (potential) suspects and unproductive one liners that do not greatly contribute to discussion will be deleted. If this becomes a recurring issue for any particular user, then it could lead to an infraction. If you are unsure where to post something, feel free to start a conversation with me on here or discord. Moreover, if you have a general question, then odds are it belongs in the SQSA, not here.
Being OU by usage alone does not guarantee a ranking. We touched on usage not being the sole reason behind viability of anything before, but this is very true here as a lot of things accumulate ladder usage despite not being the best option. Do not mistake the correlation between usage and viability as stronger than it actually is. If you have any further questions about this, please start a conversation with me on here or discord instead of posting it in this thread.
When new Pokemon, items, abilities, and/or anything else relevant to the OU metagame are released, please hold off on discussing the ranking of the new Pokemon or the rankings of Pokemon that are impacted by these developments until there is approval to discuss the matter by an OU Moderator in this thread.
Failure to follow these rules after warning(s) will result in an infraction or possibly a ban depending on the severity of the offenses.
If you are nominating a Pokemon to be ranked (meaning it was previously unranked), then you need to provide replays of it being used in the metagame and you also should go out of your way to be as thorough as possible in explaining why it has a niche in the metagame (Example of GOOD UR Nomination) -- a vast majority of nominations have been of poor quality historically and we reserve the right to revoke nomination privileges from thread posters at any point in time. If you are in doubt, then feel free to start a conversation with me on here or discord prior to nominating a Pokemon and I will give you honest feedback on the post.
Blacklisted Pokemon: All posts regarding these Pokemon will be deleted (or nominations of these Pokemon will be removed)
Hello everyone and welcome to the official Viability Rankings of the DLC1 metagame! Finchinator unfortunately has stepped down as the project leader after years of hard work on this resource, so I'll taking the reigns from here. Please be sure to thank him for his hard and thankless work!
I will be leaving the thread open for 24 hours for any questions. I'm going to be taking a flight tomorrow so I personally might be a bit slow, but I (or any other VR council members) will get to them when possible!
Not quite that linear though. Unaware + timely Tera can go a long way towards being useful into HO, being able to wall a ton of set-up, especially when it commits to using Tera.
Obviously the match-up into Gliscor is lackluster and Knock distribution plagues it, but think about how it does into Iron Moth, Zamazenta, Iron Valiant, Sneasler, and Hatterene already -- and these are all within the A subranks. Now imagine Tera to help vs things like Kingambit, Roaring Moon, and Grounds and it goes a long way.
Skele has seen better days earlier on in the generation, but it is very viable and we saw it surface more as recently as this past weekend. It is comfortably B+, imo.
Why is Politoed D-Rank? What's its niche over Pelipper?
Why is Cinderace only A and not A+?
Why is Gliscor above Kingambit and Gholdengo? Its utility is off the charts, but it can be exploited by a few key mons and cores, namely other Gliscor, Corviknight, Hatterene and the like.
Why isn't Maushold way higher? 111 base encore is amazing, many teams have no good popbomb swap and it's maybe the most reliable viable hazard control.
Surprised anyone would want it A+ if I’m being honest. Offensively, it’s at a low point. Utility wise, it’s in a great spot, but really with screens slowly leveling out, it’s only really elite into Webs if we are being real. A lot of Spikes teams end up being fine playing with them up on both sides anyway. The utility is unique and awesome, but alone it’s not close to enough to be a top 5-7 Pokemon or A+.
Why is Gliscor above Kingambit and Gholdengo? Its utility is off the charts, but it can be exploited by a few key mons and cores, namely other Gliscor, Corviknight, Hatterene and the like.
Gliscor has adapted to these Pokemon even. It’s now running SD and Uturn a ton to capitalize on patterns from the initial sets. Corv also gets stuffed by Ghold and in general is limited, but yea, I think gliscor is a clear, distinguished Pokemon atop the VR so far.
Great with Unaware into some meta threats while remaining plenty viable with normal utility onslaught and occasional CM variant. It has so many moves that fitting it into balance is still very easy and practical after all.
Why is Politoed D-Rank? What's its niche over Pelipper?
Why is Cinderace only A and not A+?
Why is Gliscor above Kingambit and Gholdengo? Its utility is off the charts, but it can be exploited by a few key mons and cores, namely other Gliscor, Corviknight, Hatterene and the like.
1: encore, lack of rocks weakness, and access to hypnosis makes it a bulky rain setter that can provide rain a tool into stuff like sd gambit and enable more aggressive switching
2: utility is great and its speed tier is premium for what it's tasked to take on, but offensively is really inconsistent and often winds up feeling weaker in practice than it does on paper
3: what gives gliscor that extra subranking is that each option can make consistent progress and gliscor can easily adapt to its checks, whereas dengo/gambit, while having obscenely strong and widely applicable offensive utility throughout the game, do require some conditions to be filled before they can really hit the jackpot, and do have some inherent set limitations. even if you opt for a more offensive sd gliscor it's pretty easy to just slot on knock and let your gliscor soak status like crazy while easily disrupting throughout the game before potentially cleaning. or you can throw on u-turn to capitalize on the switch-ins throughout the game. it's got a ton of ways to work around standard counterplay—potentially even finding ways to exploit them—and still provide consistent elite value
4: clef has a ton of sets/utility, being a bulky fairy is great for valiant/rm, and unaware is really strong into the current metagame landscape. it can also just as easily run magic guard, but its set options make it a very splashable utility pokemon and defensive stopgap into some big hitters, the latter of which is super valuable in such a centralized metagame landscape
this was xavgb's suggestion so perhaps he can explain better than me, but from what i've seen it has some pretty cool merits as a spdef wall into bulky np dengo comps. since it has a solid speed tier, access to haze, and great natural spdef, it can serve as a solid sidegrade to empoleon by letting you check walking wake/iron moth but also prevent dengo from exploiting you by boosting in your face. scald is cute too
Why isn't Maushold way higher? 111 base encore is amazing, many teams have no good popbomb swap and it's maybe the most reliable viable hazard control.
beyond frail and is really hard to get in since it lacks resists on top of that, plus the loss of power when not using pop bomb is absurdly noticeable when using coverage for ghosts. when it can get going, it gets going, but it requires a lot of support in and of itself
Meowscarada being below Teal Mask Ogerpon seems interesting to me. They’re very similar since they’re both fast offensive grass types with Knock, Spikes, and U-Turn, however I was under the impression that most people found Meowscarada better. I know Ogerpon can burn its Tera to gain speed whenever it wants & has Defiant, but is that really worth the 13 base speed and STAB on Knock Off tradeoff, plus the option to run Protean on banded sets?
Curious about Ogerpon-Watermelon’s placement in A+ instead of S-. Offensively, the SD set is a powerhouse with near zero switchins bar tera Dondozo and maybe bulky Dragonite. Utility-wise, the encore set is very splashable. It seems to me to be a defining force in the meta right now.
Curious about Ogerpon-Watermelon’s placement in A+ instead of S-. Offensively, the SD set is a powerhouse with near zero switchins bar tera Dondozo and maybe bulky Dragonite. Utility-wise, the encore set is very splashable. It seems to me to be a defining force in the meta right now.
I'm guessing it has to do with its vulnerability to Hazards, which it can't circumvent with Boots like some other Pokemon. Additionally, being locked to Tera Water does limit its options compared to other threats, though it is still one of the best Tera users in the tier. Being a Water-type unable to check Fire-Types without Tera also stings. Nonetheless, I still consider it at the Top of A+.
Curious about Ogerpon-Watermelon’s placement in A+ instead of S-. Offensively, the SD set is a powerhouse with near zero switchins bar tera Dondozo and maybe bulky Dragonite. Utility-wise, the encore set is very splashable. It seems to me to be a defining force in the meta right now.
@Magcargo’s post covers the essentials solidly, but i really have to emphasize that hazard weakness. for a mon that relies on its natural bulk for the most part, being chipped relentlessly esp when you’re coming in and out of battle a lot can really be a problem.
Meowscarada being below Teal Mask Ogerpon seems interesting to me. They’re very similar since they’re both fast offensive grass types with Knock, Spikes, and U-Turn, however I was under the impression that most people found Meowscarada better. I know Ogerpon can burn its Tera to gain speed whenever it wants & has Defiant, but is that really worth the 13 base speed and STAB on Knock Off tradeoff, plus the option to run Protean on banded sets?
encore and sd are pretty major deviations in the movepool department, and the speed embody aspect really is so big for it. it’s had some impressive results, but meowscarada definitely needs to be respected and has its place.
imo emp just doesn’t do enough. like for instance rotom-w is prob higher in the list bc
1. its spikes immune
2. eq immune
3. spread status
so it can just pump the living shit out of the tusk or gliscor.
however with emp it’s a water that doesn’t help deal with the most common grounds bc it’s deathly afraid of their stab moves. not only that but it’s a water type that doesn’t like switching into the best fire types in OU and unlike the other fire neutral water “water pon” it doesn’t threaten to just kill half ur team with 1 free turn.
so overall as a bulky water it’s just a momentum sink against super aggro offensive teams and against defensive bulkier teams it’s scared to threaten the common grounds that it’s supposed to scare out. (but it’s still useful tho don’t get it twisted)
didn't want to post a one liner but why is mukidori in the VR if gengar isn't but gengar is munkidori but faster and With actual coverage? Can you help me With that?
why is Fez not ranked? It walls Pult, Valiant, Iron Moth, Gholdy (With Tera), Wake, Zapdos, Enamourus. It also has U-Turn for momentum &can badly poison the opponent! It should at least be ranked B-.
Why is Politoed D-Rank? What's its niche over Pelipper?
Why is Cinderace only A and not A+?
Why is Gliscor above Kingambit and Gholdengo? Its utility is off the charts, but it can be exploited by a few key mons and cores, namely other Gliscor, Corviknight, Hatterene and the like.
Cinderace is deadweight against teams that rely on Gliscor + Clefable to set up hazards, since these teams are generally immune to them and will happily trade hazards.
Gliscor is the best Pokemon in the tier because it is the best Hazard Setter (Longevity + Eq/Toxic combo), best status absorber, one of the best Knock off absorbers after Toxic Orb is triggered, and one of the best long-term win/conditions with swords dance + Knock Off. It really seems to have no flaws in a metagame defined by hazards and Gholdengo, where it is both a premier Hazard Setter and incredibly resilient against hazards.
The tier also lacks things that hit it super effectively. The only Ice type is Alolan-Ninetales, which doesn´t have a very strong offensive presence. The Water Types in the tier are all weak to Gliscor´s Toxic, short of Toxapex and Empoleon, which are weak to Earthquake and can´t switch in safely, and the strongest water types in the tier, Manaphy and Ogerpon-Wellspring are vulnerable to Gliscor´s hazards. (Especially Ogerpon since it can´t even run Boots).
When we compare Gliscor to Kingambit or Gholdengo, we see Gliscor as the most consistent Pokemon, as Kingambit struggles into the few teams running Dondozo or Moltres for it, while Gholdengo generally struggles vs most HDB Spam and Cinderace teams.
Clefable being immune to hazards automatically makes it a great Pokémon. It is one of the best Stealth Rockers in the tier, one of the best Iron Valiant and Knock-Off Gliscor answers and is heavily responsible for Garganacl´s drop to UU and Samurott-H´s fall from the top of the tier.
Meowscarada being below Teal Mask Ogerpon seems interesting to me. They’re very similar since they’re both fast offensive grass types with Knock, Spikes, and U-Turn, however I was under the impression that most people found Meowscarada better. I know Ogerpon can burn its Tera to gain speed whenever it wants & has Defiant, but is that really worth the 13 base speed and STAB on Knock Off tradeoff, plus the option to run Protean on banded sets?
Ogerpon also has Swords Dance and Synthesis, unlike Meow, which does allow it to fit on certain fat teams with SD Synthesis sets. In short, adding to all you have said, there is less risk in mispredicting with Ogerpon than mispredicting with Meow in most situations.
Really weird mon to ever use in current OU, right? What could it possibly do?
Back when Ursaluna-B was still a thing and balance was more viable than it is now (if now it just isnt close to straight up unusable), people were still trying to figure out the new threats' potential and their limitations. Ogerpon-W quickly became the replacement for Hearthflame due to its simmilar nature and power level, and Tera Dragon/Grass Dondozo was probably the only completely reliable defensive check around for it, but it could easily get crippled by hazards after a knock off, limiting its switchin capabilities, and together with its body press being a 3hko on its target and the fact that it is a passive, somewhat easily abusable mon made (and still makes) some teams unable to fit it. Plus, like mentioned earlier, it requires eating up your Tera to fully wall it, since otherwise it risks getting 2HKOd by Power Whip or just loses sometimes thanks to Horn Leech's healing (((((i wonder what being this stupid to check defensively says about Ogerpon))))).
252 Atk Wellspring Mask Ogerpon-Wellspring Power Whip vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Dondozo: 290-344 (57.5 - 68.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Wellspring Mask Ogerpon-Wellspring Horn Leech vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Dondozo: 182-216 (36.1 - 42.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO (heals 30 to 35% on 0 HP Ogerpon)
252+ Def Dondozo Body Press vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Ogerpon-Wellspring: 102-120 (33.8 - 39.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
I started experimenting with some mons new to sv and to my surprise Shaymin just kinda... worked? It has a pretty decent defensive profile, although it isnt dondozo level obese 100/100 is great, all things considered. It's pure Grass-type resists both of Ogerpon-W's stabs, so no need to spend your once per battle resource that can flip the table on your opponent from a losing position to a guaranteed win for you (can you guess what my tera stance is?) or prevent you from losing automatically at a later time, while also having a much better offensive profile without any investment against Ogerpon-W: Seed Flare. Although it's limited PP can be an issue, it's 120 base power STAB will always hit way harder than any non-curse Dondozo's Body Press on neutral targets, being able to 2HKO Ogerpon-W and denting other targets that switch in while also potentially setting up an opening for one of it's Special attacking teammates (notably, used to be Ursaluna-B) such as Gholdengo to immediately force switches or a kill thanks to Seed Flare's insane 40% chance to halve SpD (-2).
0 SpA Shaymin Seed Flare vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Ogerpon-Wellspring: 133-157 (44.1 - 52.1%) -- 54.8% chance to 2HKO
(Added 40% because of the secondary effect)
+2 252 Atk Wellspring Mask Ogerpon-Wellspring Ivy Cudgel vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Shaymin: 133-157 (32.9 - 38.8%) -- 99.8% chance to 3HKO
+2 252 Atk Wellspring Mask Ogerpon-Wellspring Power Whip vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Shaymin: 160-189 (39.6 - 46.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
+2 252 Atk Wellspring Mask Ogerpon-Wellspring Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Shaymin: 174-205 (43 - 50.7%) -- 2.3% chance to 2HKO (item(
+2 252 Atk Wellspring Mask Ogerpon-Wellspring Knock Off vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Shaymin: 116-137 (28.7 - 33.9%) -- 0.9% chance to 3HKO (no item)
252 Atk Wellspring Mask Ogerpon-Wellspring Ivy Cudgel vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Shaymin: 67-79 (16.5 - 19.5%) -- possible 6HKO
252 Atk Wellspring Mask Ogerpon-Wellspring Power Whip vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Shaymin: 80-95 (19.8 - 23.5%) -- possible 5HKO
Earth Power is the secondary attack of choice due to it being able to compliement Seed Flare fairly well, hitting the would-be resists of Poison-, Fire-, and Steel-types super effectively (examples would be Sneasler, Cinderace and Kingambit respectively) trying to switch in for free, making killing them easier in the long run with this chip. Iron Moth in particular love to try and set up on Shaymin, but risk eating a quad effective attack that completely neuters substitute sets and just leaves any set one attack away from death, unless hazards are up, which give killing potential. Gholdengo doesn't enjoy switching into either, as offensive sets get 2HKO'd after 1 Spike and only 4HKOs Shaymin back with Shadow Ball. Defensive Gholdengo gets 3HKO'd and Hex sets get thwarted by Natural Cure, letting Shaymin absorb paralysis then switching out.
0 SpA Shaymin Earth Power vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Iron Moth: 240-284 (79.7 - 94.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
I0 SpA Shaymin Earth Power vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Iron Moth: 240-284 (79.7 - 94.3%) -- 50% chance to OHKO after 1 layer of Spikes
0 SpA Shaymin Earth Power vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Iron Moth: 240-284 (79.7 - 94.3%) -- 75% chance to OHKO after 2 layers of Spikes
0 SpA Shaymin Earth Power vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Iron Moth: 240-284 (79.7 - 94.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
0 SpA Shaymin Earth Power vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Iron Moth: 240-284 (79.7 - 94.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO after 3 layers of Spikes
0 SpA Shaymin Earth Power vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Gholdengo: 140-166 (44.4 - 52.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after 1 layer of Spikes
252 SpA Gholdengo Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Shaymin: 133-157 (32.9 - 38.8%) -- 5.5% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Gholdengo Make It Rain over 2 turns vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Shaymin: 332-392 (82.1 - 97%) -- not a KO
0 SpA Shaymin Earth Power vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Gholdengo: 140-166 (37 - 43.9%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
Synthesis is Shaymin's reliable recovery. In snow, unfortunately it gets cut in half but to make up for that the now more popular playstyle of Sun boosts it's recovery instead, which is particularly useful against Great Tusk, who is demolished by Seed Flare regardless of weather and whose Ice Spinner struggles to KO Shaymin outside of Sun. Unfortunately, it's Close Combat still puts a dent on Shaymin, but not every tusk runs that in favor of some more utility oriented sets. Regardless, Shaymin should still beat it no matter what.
252 Atk Protosynthesis Great Tusk Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Shaymin: 186-219 (46 - 54.2%) -- 4.7% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Great Tusk Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Shaymin: 142-168 (35.1 - 41.5%) -- 75.8% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Great Tusk Ice Spinner vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Shaymin: 126-150 (31.1 - 37.1%) -- guaranteed 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Protosynthesis Great Tusk Ice Spinner vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Shaymin: 166-196 (41 - 48.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
0 SpA Shaymin Seed Flare vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Great Tusk: 428-506 (115 - 136%) -- guaranteed OHKO
0 SpA Shaymin Seed Flare vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Great Tusk: 428-506 (98.6 - 116.5%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO (if no boots, dies with any chip from any hazard)
Shaymin can even 1v1 both Tail Glow and Take Heart Manaphy that don't carry Ice Beam; Tail Glow's Stored Power will only 3HKO it at +3 while getting 2HKO'd back, and Take Heart's passivity allows Shaymin to spam Seed Flare, eventually getting drops that make it unsustainable for Manaphy to keep trying to set up on it.
+3 252 SpA Manaphy Stored Power (80 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Shaymin: 181-213 (44.8 - 52.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
0 SpA Shaymin Seed Flare vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Manaphy: 258-306 (63.8 - 75.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
0 SpA Shaymin Seed Flare vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Manaphy: 258-306 (75.6 - 89.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
None take into account SpD drops
Other mons like Dragonite and the aforementioned Kingambit can be blanket checked as well. In the case of Dragonite without Ice Spinner, it will have a hard time breaking a Shaymin who's used Leech Seed on it and sweeping the rest of the opponents, with it's Multiscale broken permanently and forcing Roost more often, and giving whoever comes in some considerable recovery every turn, letting defensive partners be less preoccupied with getting worn down long term as well as providing some chip damage.
+1 252+ Atk Dragonite Extreme Speed vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Shaymin: 106-125 (26.2 - 30.9%) -- possible 6HKO after Leftovers recovery and Leech Seed recovery
+1 252+ Atk Dragonite Extreme Speed vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Shaymin: 106-125 (26.2 - 30.9%) -- 6.7% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
+1 4+ Atk Dragonite Ice Spinner vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Shaymin: 176-208 (43.5 - 51.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
(99.8% with leech seed)
As for Kingambit, it's Kingambit. Significantly harder to check but it can be done if it doesn't immediately try to Swords Dance. A partner such as Iron Valiant helps make it think twice thanks to the popularity of Encore, but in my opinion this should not be done on anything below high ladder. This mindgame would probably only ever work against experienced players. Potentially great in a BO3. But this is all theoretical speculation that will likely never come to be useful so here are the calcs instead
0 SpA Shaymin Earth Power vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Kingambit: 148-176 (43.4 - 51.6%) -- 8.2% chance to 2HKO
0 SpA Shaymin Earth Power vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Kingambit: 148-176 (36.6 - 43.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252+ Atk Kingambit Kowtow Cleave vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Shaymin: 114-135 (28.2 - 33.4%) -- 91.9% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Kingambit Kowtow Cleave vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Shaymin: 114-135 (28.2 - 33.4%) -- 0% chance to 3HKO
0 SpA Shaymin Earth Power vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Kingambit: 148-176 (43.4 - 51.6%) -- 98.8% chance to 2HKO after 1 layer of Spikes
0 SpA Shaymin Earth Power vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Kingambit: 148-176 (36.6 - 43.5%) -- 96.1% chance to 2HKO after 1 layer of Spikes and Leech Seed damage
+2 Gambit always 2HKOs, so sadly Shaymin is not a valid counter to it. However, as previously mentioned if gambit does not SD immediately or you pivot the turn it comes in, Shaymin may win the interaction with some hazard support.
Specific MUs aside Leech Seed is a very spammable move with no much drawback other than the eventual Gholdengo or the rare Grass-type (other than oger) switching in on you, since no one runs Black Sludge anymore due to Tera. Like i said earlier it provides useful chip and allows some more breathing room for defensive teammates on BO or Balance (will not mention stall since i have not experimented with it there yet, but i imagine it's not exactly stellar as that style usually doesn't need more than Dondozo and Gliscor for physical walls) via it's considerable recovery.
Natural Cure allows Shaymin to absorb some status such as, notably, Gliscor's Toxic, who otherwise cannot damage Shaymin much (assuming it's not a SD set). Against the common passive Gliscor, Shaymin can win the 1v1 thanks to Seed Flare.
0 SpA Shaymin Seed Flare vs. 244 HP / 12 SpD Gliscor: 160-190 (45.4 - 53.9%) -- 46.9% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Poison Heal
Not counting Seed Flare SpD drops
Tera Water can be used to flip the Cinderace and Iron Moth without Sludge Wave matchups while keeping the water resist, but i find Tera Dragon to be generally better to keep the Ogerpon-W without Play Rough matchup a perfect one. Removing the Flying weakness may also prove useful to blanket Roaring Moon or help other teammates bear it, since this thing has very limited counterplay with Dondozo being the only counter but it no longer does it's job well after having it's HDB knocked off, should hazards be up.
Alongside Protect Gliscor and both Dragon and Fire resists/immunities, choiced Walking Wake can be completely denied of doing anything. Shaymin's superior SpD compared to Dondozo allows it to better take the Hydro Steams for the team, since the latter will be forced to Rest faster which can generate the enemy team some momentum or completely crippling the fish, who would be the main line of defense against Sun teams' powerful abusers.
252 Atk Wellspring Mask Ogerpon-Wellspring Play Rough vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Dragon Shaymin: 160-190 (39.6 - 47%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Protosynthesis Tera Flying Roaring Moon Acrobatics (110 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Dragon Shaymin: 178-210 (44 - 51.9%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
0 SpA Tera Dragon Shaymin Earth Power vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Cinderace: 164-194 (54.4 - 64.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
244 SpA Choice Specs Walking Wake Hydro Steam vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Shaymin in Sun: 141-167 (34.9 - 41.3%) -- 72.6% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
0 SpA Shaymin Seed Flare vs. 12 HP / 0 SpD Walking Wake: 151-178 (44.1 - 52%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock or 1 layer of Spikes, not counting SpD drops from Seed Flare
244 SpA Choice Specs Walking Wake Hydro Steam vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Dondozo: 134-158 (26.5 - 31.3%) -- guaranteed 4HKO
People called Shaymin an unmon when i brought it up once, but i disagree. I think that it's valuable support traits for bulk focused teams are good enough to recieve a ranking in the VRs, even though it's low. It doesn't fit on every playstyle and can hard to play right due to it's prediction reliant nature in some scenarios, but it definetely has a minimally existent niche as a defensive mon. I think anyway.
All of the provided calcs are using 0 SpA Shaymin. Who knows, maybe people will experiment with it and find success with more offensive sets, even if unlikely. Tera and webs being in the tier certainly allows for this to happen. Maybe.
art drawn + thread run by ausma | VR concept credit goes to PK Gaming
Welcome to the Scarlet and Violet Overused viability rankings, Teal Mask edition!
In this thread, we, as a community, will be ranking every single justifiably usable Pokemon into "tiers" ranking their viability in the metagame. You're encouraged to post your thoughts and opinions on the various Pokemon that are viable in OU and what tier they should fall under. Posts in this thread will be taken into account when deciding rank changes, but the ultimate decision will be handled by OU Viability Rankings council vote during each slate of rankings!
The general idea of the topic is to rank each OU Pokemon under "rankings" that go in descending order. Since this is a tier list for the entire metagame, everything is lumped together. There won't be any segregation between offense, defense, and supportive presences in the metagame within this thread. For example, Cinderace can be ranked in the A- tier as a supportive presence, Walking Wake can be ranked in the A- as an offensive presence, and Dondozo can be ranked in the A- tier as a defensive presence.
Finally, there will be a council of experienced players who will discuss and vote on the ranking of Pokemon. Depending on how the metagame is developing, we could update the thread every couple of weeks or every month+. Please note that your posts still very much matter and will be factored in to what we discuss and the discussions themselves. This thread is nothing without the posters and every informed opinion that is shared is considered a valuable contribution in my eyes, so do not hesitate to post if you know the metagame well and understand the forum rules. The council will consist of the following users:
Post intelligently. Posts like "I think pokemon X should be in this tier" will be deleted and potentially infracted if it is a repeat issue. Expand on your opinion with actual analysis showing understanding of the metagame and perhaps bringing a unique perspective to the conversation.
Absolutely no flaming, personal attacks, or general idiocy will be tolerated. Part of this is under moderator discretion and please know that posting in this thread is a privilege, not a right. You'll get warned initially if it is not something overly malicious, but harsher punishments can and will come with repeated behavior or severe offenses.
Usage statistics may be used to support an argument or a claim, but don't base your ENTIRE argument around them. There needs to be more substance than just this. For example, you can't just say "Pokemon X shouldn't be this tier because they aren't used that often!"
When nominating a Pokemon to move from one rank to another, do not merely list its obvious qualities such as stats, typing, movepool, etc. If you think a Pokemon deserves to rise or drop, explain what has changed in the meta to cause such Pokemon to get better or worse. I can assure you that the VR Council already knows the obvious qualities and we are far more interested in understanding why you believe it has increased or decreased in viability.
Unrelated discussion such as talk of (potential) suspects and unproductive one liners that do not greatly contribute to discussion will be deleted. If this becomes a recurring issue for any particular user, then it could lead to an infraction. If you are unsure where to post something, feel free to start a conversation with me on here or discord. Moreover, if you have a general question, then odds are it belongs in the SQSA, not here.
Being OU by usage alone does not guarantee a ranking. We touched on usage not being the sole reason behind viability of anything before, but this is very true here as a lot of things accumulate ladder usage despite not being the best option. Do not mistake the correlation between usage and viability as stronger than it actually is. If you have any further questions about this, please start a conversation with me on here or discord instead of posting it in this thread.
When new Pokemon, items, abilities, and/or anything else relevant to the OU metagame are released, please hold off on discussing the ranking of the new Pokemon or the rankings of Pokemon that are impacted by these developments until there is approval to discuss the matter by an OU Moderator in this thread.
Failure to follow these rules after warning(s) will result in an infraction or possibly a ban depending on the severity of the offenses.
If you are nominating a Pokemon to be ranked (meaning it was previously unranked), then you need to provide replays of it being used in the metagame and you also should go out of your way to be as thorough as possible in explaining why it has a niche in the metagame (Example of GOOD UR Nomination) -- a vast majority of nominations have been of poor quality historically and we reserve the right to revoke nomination privileges from thread posters at any point in time. If you are in doubt, then feel free to start a conversation with me on here or discord prior to nominating a Pokemon and I will give you honest feedback on the post.
Blacklisted Pokemon: All posts regarding these Pokemon will be deleted (or nominations of these Pokemon will be removed)
I suggest Shaymin goes into C tier 
