Woah update, reflects most meta changes really well imo, I do think some of these are being exaggerated / understated though. My current thoughts <3
Landorus from A -> A+
I think the reasoning of Raging Bolt 's rise also applies to Landorus. The significant rise in Calm Mind Raging Bolt Bulky Offense, currently one of the best teams right now, so good in fact that it allowed Landorus to triumph Flutter Mane in the day 2 usage stats. Of course this isn't the only team Landorus fits on, and it isn't the only reason I'm proposing a rise. Landorus 's Ground STAB and power is incredible right now, incredibly difficult to switch in on and you'll come to notice that the majority of teams have a noticeable Ground weakness, as a Fire-type + Raging Bolt are on so many teams, the teams without Raging Bolt also make up for it with another Ground weakness, think Glimmora , Kingambit , or: Iron Hands . Doesn't help that the most common Ground resists we have are either your own Landorus , or a Grass-type like Ogerpon-Wellspring , , or .The former two can not take a Sludge Bomb, and the latter can't reliably threaten Landorus . While this sounds like it doesn't matter since the Ogerpon formes can knock it out first or Terastallize, it really shows how difficult it is to switch into Landorus . This allows it to fit on so many teams as a check to opposing Landorus :Ladnorus: and as a threat that breaks apart their team. since our most notable Offensive threats (Flutter Mane , both Urshifu formes , Ogerpon-Hearthflame , Chien-Pao , Gholdengo etc.) have fantastic offensive synergy with Landorus, which is capable of removing their few checks in the format. Just super consistent and splashable threat that definitely separates itself from the other Pokemon within the tier.
Urshifu-R from A -> A+
Similar to Landorus actually, the rise of CM Raging Bolt Bulky Offense skyrocketed Urshifu-R 's usage. Urshifu-R's synergy with the rest of the top tiers (bar Ogerpon-Wellspring and ) allows for this, the ability to remove Flutter Mane , Incineroar , and Landorus makes it an ideal partner to many Pokemon, including Incineroar , Raging Bolt , Chien-Pao , and especially Ogerpon-Hearthflame .Ogerpon appreciates how Urshifu-R threatens them and baits in food. Rillaboom , Amoonguss , and Ogerpon-Wellspring can't freely answer Urshifu-R with how much damage Hearhflame threatens paired with Follow Me protection. While the two seem to struggle against Raging Bolt , it's far from the case when Thunderclap successfully gets redirected. Not as if usage stats are anti Urshifu-R either, , showing a massive resurgence to tie its competition after everyone finished experimenting with Urshifu-S . I do also think how much offensive pressure Choice Scarf brings is far too valuable, usually being able to threaten the opposing side of the field which of course, can't Protect. It also allows it to bs past its so called 'checks', Ogerpon getting U-turned on for 50% is a prime example.
Tornadus from A- -> A
This is incredibly confusing to me, its the Tailwind archetype in one Pokemon. As a support Pokemon, it isn't required to have many good matchups but its hard to deny how excellent Flying STAB currently is. Current meta trends haven't changed that fact and have actually made Tornadus even better, considering how excellent Landorus is in Tailwind and how much Snow struggles after you remove the weather or Taunt Ninetales . One of the premier Urshifu-S partners as the Pokemon adores speed control, and pretty much everything in S all the way down to B+ have seen success in Tailwind, the Pokemon is just incredibly strong everywhere and allows for common offensive cores (think Urshifu-S Gholdengo Landorus and Flutter Mane Chi-Yu Glimmora ) to be twice as threatening.
Entei from B+ -> B / B-
I don't get this Pokemon, Fire-type competition is at an all time high and Farigiraf has messed up its best composition, its a lot more niche than anything else in the tier. It also lacks results to justify it above the tiers below, and its meta matchup only got worse with the significant rise in Raging Bolt and Landorus . Sacred Fire funny move though and Extreme Speed as a utility move rather than offensive tool works fine so I don't think it belongs any lower.
Landorus-T from B -> B+ / A-
Really just my earlier reasoning except far stronger with exploration of Choice Band. as Landorus showed us, Ground is a fantastic STAB, and the few resists either fold to Rock Slide or Tera Blast Flying in Choice Scarf's case. As I've brought up with Tornadus , Flying is an equally scary STAB that synergises well with Landorus-T , big reason Choice Band partners with Tornadus to wreck havoc. Very limited things actually good into it and isn't nearly as outclassed by Incineroar as Harcanine , which even shares the same Fire-typing, making what they check and what they lose to similar to an extent., yet Harcanine 's Rock STAB, Extreme Speed, and speed tier, allow it to find great success.
Porygon2 from B -> B+
Not a lot to say here honestly, really bulky offensive speed control with offensive pressure gets you somewhere. Has seen development on Gouging Fire teams as they are known for being vulnerable to opposing speed control, and I find P2 Gholdengo Bulky Offense teams as incredible right now, Ice Beam handling Landorus well.
Iron Crown from B -> B-
Psyspam has taken a hit but has so Iron Crown in general, Rillaboom , Landorus and Raging Bolt rising in popularity are all horrible meta developments for Iron Crown , and Utrecht goes to show this incredibly well. Out of the teams that got CP, Iron Crown was on less than a third of Indeedee teams, they've just shifted to Trick Room variants which are more consistent.
Iron Hands from B- -> B+
I covered this already and don't get the slander, beautiful meta matchup because you know, the bulkiest Pokemon in the format with Drain Punch muscles past everything, Incineroar not running much speed currently is crucial as it allows for Iron Hands to Drain Punch for half its hp, and unlike the Attack drops, Incineroar can not recover the hp and does not want to be taking so much damage as it pivots around. This means it has a has a good matchup, or can at the very least trade with everything from S to A- bar Landorus , Amoonguss , and Gouging Fire , all for the record can be handled by adding a Landorus forme to your team or combinations of certain Pokemon. Iron Hands also has Fake Out support, which is usually faster than Incineroar 's, fantastic move that can't ever be overlooked. This is not to mention Iron Hands' Clear Amulet set, which OHKOs Flutter Mane, Incineroar, Urshifu-S, and more making for a reliable Trick Room sweeper. Notably worse into Raging Bolt but the 2HKO just tells you that VGC's bulky staples cant withstand its power. Its not like Iron Hands faces a results issue either, usually scoring Top Cut and in Dortmund's case, was just barely out of the Top 12 Day 2 graph. Same with Landorus-T , It isn't outclassed by Incineroar any more than Harcanine and can actually pair with other Fire-types to success.
Baxcalibur from B- -> C+
I don't understand why this Pokemon rose anyway. It's generally outclassed as an Ice-type by Chien-Pao and Articuno on snow, and doesn't have the greatest meta matchup. Out of Every Regional so far, it's gotten a 'stellar' 5 day 2 results, and more than half of them were from the very first two regionals, so it clearly isn't that either. Just not many reasons to use it and it definitely doesn't belong with Archaludon and Torkoal, which are at least staples in their respective archetypes.
Armarouge , Ogerpon , and from C -> C+
Psyspam teams have started to explore Armarouge Cornerstone Sun and it's been working out pretty well. Arguably one of the better Psyspam compositions right now but it's far more legit than Smeargle and Walking Wake , which struggle to get a single result or find a strong team every event.
Whimsicott from C- -> C / C+
Okay it's generally outclassed by Tornadus but it's not that bad, Encore is a very desirable tool and Fairy STAB is appreciated. Quite a few teams actually want what Whimsicott can provide and while it's always been on the lower end of results, these results are consistent, I'm pretty sure it has Day 2d every single event lmao.
Gallade from UR -> B-
This was likely missed but there's not much to argue against it. A flexible psyspam staple that's on a significant amount of Indeedee teams. Psychic Terrain-boosted Psycho Cuts OHKO Flutter Mane and , while the Pokemon that can take on these attacks like Incineroar and Kingambit perish to Sacred Sword. Helps ease up many of Psyspam's matchups with STABs alone, and Wide Guard is just the cherry on top. Wide Guard makes sure that even leads that get around Indeedee 's Follow Me can't actually stop Trick Room, Gallade having access to Trick Room forces mindgames from Turn 1.
Landorus from A -> A+
I think the reasoning of Raging Bolt 's rise also applies to Landorus. The significant rise in Calm Mind Raging Bolt Bulky Offense, currently one of the best teams right now, so good in fact that it allowed Landorus to triumph Flutter Mane in the day 2 usage stats. Of course this isn't the only team Landorus fits on, and it isn't the only reason I'm proposing a rise. Landorus 's Ground STAB and power is incredible right now, incredibly difficult to switch in on and you'll come to notice that the majority of teams have a noticeable Ground weakness, as a Fire-type + Raging Bolt are on so many teams, the teams without Raging Bolt also make up for it with another Ground weakness, think Glimmora , Kingambit , or: Iron Hands . Doesn't help that the most common Ground resists we have are either your own Landorus , or a Grass-type like Ogerpon-Wellspring , , or .The former two can not take a Sludge Bomb, and the latter can't reliably threaten Landorus . While this sounds like it doesn't matter since the Ogerpon formes can knock it out first or Terastallize, it really shows how difficult it is to switch into Landorus . This allows it to fit on so many teams as a check to opposing Landorus :Ladnorus: and as a threat that breaks apart their team. since our most notable Offensive threats (Flutter Mane , both Urshifu formes , Ogerpon-Hearthflame , Chien-Pao , Gholdengo etc.) have fantastic offensive synergy with Landorus, which is capable of removing their few checks in the format. Just super consistent and splashable threat that definitely separates itself from the other Pokemon within the tier.
Urshifu-R from A -> A+
Similar to Landorus actually, the rise of CM Raging Bolt Bulky Offense skyrocketed Urshifu-R 's usage. Urshifu-R's synergy with the rest of the top tiers (bar Ogerpon-Wellspring and ) allows for this, the ability to remove Flutter Mane , Incineroar , and Landorus makes it an ideal partner to many Pokemon, including Incineroar , Raging Bolt , Chien-Pao , and especially Ogerpon-Hearthflame .Ogerpon appreciates how Urshifu-R threatens them and baits in food. Rillaboom , Amoonguss , and Ogerpon-Wellspring can't freely answer Urshifu-R with how much damage Hearhflame threatens paired with Follow Me protection. While the two seem to struggle against Raging Bolt , it's far from the case when Thunderclap successfully gets redirected. Not as if usage stats are anti Urshifu-R either, , showing a massive resurgence to tie its competition after everyone finished experimenting with Urshifu-S . I do also think how much offensive pressure Choice Scarf brings is far too valuable, usually being able to threaten the opposing side of the field which of course, can't Protect. It also allows it to bs past its so called 'checks', Ogerpon getting U-turned on for 50% is a prime example.
Tornadus from A- -> A
This is incredibly confusing to me, its the Tailwind archetype in one Pokemon. As a support Pokemon, it isn't required to have many good matchups but its hard to deny how excellent Flying STAB currently is. Current meta trends haven't changed that fact and have actually made Tornadus even better, considering how excellent Landorus is in Tailwind and how much Snow struggles after you remove the weather or Taunt Ninetales . One of the premier Urshifu-S partners as the Pokemon adores speed control, and pretty much everything in S all the way down to B+ have seen success in Tailwind, the Pokemon is just incredibly strong everywhere and allows for common offensive cores (think Urshifu-S Gholdengo Landorus and Flutter Mane Chi-Yu Glimmora ) to be twice as threatening.
Entei from B+ -> B / B-
I don't get this Pokemon, Fire-type competition is at an all time high and Farigiraf has messed up its best composition, its a lot more niche than anything else in the tier. It also lacks results to justify it above the tiers below, and its meta matchup only got worse with the significant rise in Raging Bolt and Landorus . Sacred Fire funny move though and Extreme Speed as a utility move rather than offensive tool works fine so I don't think it belongs any lower.
Landorus-T from B -> B+ / A-
Really just my earlier reasoning except far stronger with exploration of Choice Band. as Landorus showed us, Ground is a fantastic STAB, and the few resists either fold to Rock Slide or Tera Blast Flying in Choice Scarf's case. As I've brought up with Tornadus , Flying is an equally scary STAB that synergises well with Landorus-T , big reason Choice Band partners with Tornadus to wreck havoc. Very limited things actually good into it and isn't nearly as outclassed by Incineroar as Harcanine , which even shares the same Fire-typing, making what they check and what they lose to similar to an extent., yet Harcanine 's Rock STAB, Extreme Speed, and speed tier, allow it to find great success.
Porygon2 from B -> B+
Not a lot to say here honestly, really bulky offensive speed control with offensive pressure gets you somewhere. Has seen development on Gouging Fire teams as they are known for being vulnerable to opposing speed control, and I find P2 Gholdengo Bulky Offense teams as incredible right now, Ice Beam handling Landorus well.
Iron Crown from B -> B-
Psyspam has taken a hit but has so Iron Crown in general, Rillaboom , Landorus and Raging Bolt rising in popularity are all horrible meta developments for Iron Crown , and Utrecht goes to show this incredibly well. Out of the teams that got CP, Iron Crown was on less than a third of Indeedee teams, they've just shifted to Trick Room variants which are more consistent.
Iron Hands from B- -> B+
I covered this already and don't get the slander, beautiful meta matchup because you know, the bulkiest Pokemon in the format with Drain Punch muscles past everything, Incineroar not running much speed currently is crucial as it allows for Iron Hands to Drain Punch for half its hp, and unlike the Attack drops, Incineroar can not recover the hp and does not want to be taking so much damage as it pivots around. This means it has a has a good matchup, or can at the very least trade with everything from S to A- bar Landorus , Amoonguss , and Gouging Fire , all for the record can be handled by adding a Landorus forme to your team or combinations of certain Pokemon. Iron Hands also has Fake Out support, which is usually faster than Incineroar 's, fantastic move that can't ever be overlooked. This is not to mention Iron Hands' Clear Amulet set, which OHKOs Flutter Mane, Incineroar, Urshifu-S, and more making for a reliable Trick Room sweeper. Notably worse into Raging Bolt but the 2HKO just tells you that VGC's bulky staples cant withstand its power. Its not like Iron Hands faces a results issue either, usually scoring Top Cut and in Dortmund's case, was just barely out of the Top 12 Day 2 graph. Same with Landorus-T , It isn't outclassed by Incineroar any more than Harcanine and can actually pair with other Fire-types to success.
Baxcalibur from B- -> C+
I don't understand why this Pokemon rose anyway. It's generally outclassed as an Ice-type by Chien-Pao and Articuno on snow, and doesn't have the greatest meta matchup. Out of Every Regional so far, it's gotten a 'stellar' 5 day 2 results, and more than half of them were from the very first two regionals, so it clearly isn't that either. Just not many reasons to use it and it definitely doesn't belong with Archaludon and Torkoal, which are at least staples in their respective archetypes.
Armarouge , Ogerpon , and from C -> C+
Psyspam teams have started to explore Armarouge Cornerstone Sun and it's been working out pretty well. Arguably one of the better Psyspam compositions right now but it's far more legit than Smeargle and Walking Wake , which struggle to get a single result or find a strong team every event.
Whimsicott from C- -> C / C+
Okay it's generally outclassed by Tornadus but it's not that bad, Encore is a very desirable tool and Fairy STAB is appreciated. Quite a few teams actually want what Whimsicott can provide and while it's always been on the lower end of results, these results are consistent, I'm pretty sure it has Day 2d every single event lmao.
Gallade from UR -> B-
This was likely missed but there's not much to argue against it. A flexible psyspam staple that's on a significant amount of Indeedee teams. Psychic Terrain-boosted Psycho Cuts OHKO Flutter Mane and , while the Pokemon that can take on these attacks like Incineroar and Kingambit perish to Sacred Sword. Helps ease up many of Psyspam's matchups with STABs alone, and Wide Guard is just the cherry on top. Wide Guard makes sure that even leads that get around Indeedee 's Follow Me can't actually stop Trick Room, Gallade having access to Trick Room forces mindgames from Turn 1.
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