Resource SV NFE Viability Rankings

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NFE Viability Rankings
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Welcome to the SV NFE Viability Rankings!

You know the drill; every Pokemon deemed viable by the NFE Council will be listed below and separated into rankings from S to C-. All sets will be taken under consideration when a Pokemon is ranked, be they offensive or defensive, and we hope to keep these rankings as up to date as possible as the meta evolves from here on out. If you want to make any nominations to raise or lower a Pokemon's listed viability, please leave your reasoning below and be sure to include replays if the Pokemon in question is unranked or if your argument centres around an innovative set!

SV NFE Viability Ranking Tier List

S

:Tinkatuff: Tinkatuff

S-

:Girafarig: Girafarig
:Piloswine:Piloswine


A+
:Frogadier: Frogadier
:Quaxwell: Quaxwell
:Thwackey: Thwackey

A
:Dunsparce: Dunsparce
:Ivysaur: Ivysaur
:Koffing: Koffing
:Monferno:Monferno
:Raboot: Raboot
:Wartortle: Wartortle

A-
:Clefairy: Clefairy
:Drakloak: Drakloak
:Fraxure: Fraxure
:Gabite: Gabite
:Pignite: Pignite
:Servine: Servine

B+
:Duosion: Duosion
:Hattrem: Hattrem
:Sliggoo-Hisui: Sliggoo-Hisui

B

:Charjabug: Charjabug
:Eelektrik:Eelektrik
:Mareanie: Mareanie
:Naclstack: Naclstack
:Pawniard: Pawniard
:Pikachu: Pikachu
:Quilladin: Quilladin
:Vullaby: Vullaby

B-
:Fletchinder: Fletchinder
:Glimmet: Glimmet
:Grimer-Alola: Grimer-Alola
:Hakamo-O: Hakamo-O
:Lampent: Lampent
:Morgrem: Morgrem
:Varoom: Varoom

C+
:Mienfoo: Mienfoo
:Weepinbell: Weepinbell

C
:Arctibax: Arctibax
:Crocalor: Crocalor
:Cutiefly: Cutiefly
:Dartrix: Dartrix
:Dewott: Dewott
:Dragonair: Dragonair
:Murkrow: Murkrow
:Rufflet: Rufflet
:Seadra: Seadra
:Zweilous: Zweilous

C-
:Braixen: Braixen
:Carkol: Carkol
:Dusclops: Dusclops
:Gloom: Gloom
:Grotle: Grotle
:Krokorok: Krokorok
:Hippopotas: Hippopotas
:Marill: Marill
:Prinplup: Prinplup
:Scraggy: Scraggy
:Stantler: Stantler
:Toedscool: Toedscool
Removed banned Pokemon (Misdreavus)
Removed banned Pokemon (Electabuzz, Combusken)
Removed banned Pokemon (Gligar)
Removed banned Pokemon (Gurdurr, Magmar, Qwilfish-Hisui)
Ranked notable Pokemon released from the Indigo Disk DLC
Removed banned Pokemon (Vulpix, Sneasel)
v.2.2 Vote Sheet
Removed banned Pokemon (Qwilfish-Hisui)
v2.0 Vote Sheet
Ranked Dartrix in A-
Removed banned Pokemon (Misdreavus, Naclstack)
v1.0 Vote Sheet
 
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:vigoroth: A- to A+/S-
Has 1 set (maybe like 1.8 if charitable) but its genuinely such a nightmare in game and usually requires multiple mons to be positioned well to handle appropriately. I think its the best setup sweeper in the tier by a large margin but it also exerts a lot of early pressure as a knocker that outspeeds missy (especially if it reveals wisp).

:sliggoo-hisui: B+ to A
Great all around glue. Acid spray 3 attacks is very obnoxious on spikes teams and its just really generally useful to have an offensive stopgap to thwackey that doesn't instantly become useless if it takes a knock.

:scraggy: C- to B-/B
Shed skin dd is a menace and is surprisingly easy to find chances to setup with. I think its one of the better ho threats and is likely worth exploring on other builds.
 
:vigoroth: A- to A+/S-
Has 1 set (maybe like 1.8 if charitable) but its genuinely such a nightmare in game and usually requires multiple mons to be positioned well to handle appropriately. I think its the best setup sweeper in the tier by a large margin but it also exerts a lot of early pressure as a knocker that outspeeds missy (especially if it reveals wisp).

:sliggoo-hisui: B+ to A
Great all around glue. Acid spray 3 attacks is very obnoxious on spikes teams and its just really generally useful to have an offensive stopgap to thwackey that doesn't instantly become useless if it takes a knock.
Agree with the Vigoroth and Hisuian Sliggoo nominations. There have been discussions on how Vigoroth's Speed and overall bulk have been very oppressive, and now with Missy gone, there's one less check to it. Not helping is all Fighting-types being naturally slower than it and needing something like Scarf Monferno or Toxic to truly threaten it, both of which have ways to work around it thanks to its deep movepool (enough Bulk Up boosts, Substitute/Taunt). Hisuian Sliggoo is the definite #2 Steel-type and an elite Dragon-type in the tier; its typing is super helpful for checking Grasses, Waters, and Electrics alike and being one of the few walls to handle Tinkatuff really well. It's a driving force as to why other walls like Clefairy and Duosion have faced a much harder time this generation fitting on teams. I'd also like to nominate a few others:

:Drakloak: A- -> A/A+
With misdreavus gone and a lack of competition for its role, Drakloak now claims the throne of top spinblocker and speed control in the tier. Solid offensive presence alongside a deep offensive and utility movepool makes it very splashable on multiple teams. I've enjoyed running Specs a lot to 2HKO unsuspecting targets like Vigoroth and Ivysaur. It's also one of the two best screens setters in the tier (alongside Morgrem, another underrated pick) that can pivot out and also use Curse to force switches too.

:Pignite: A- -> A+
It's clear teams depend on Pignite to provide offensive punch, and it's no slouch at it. Possessing one of the highest Attack stats in the tier, a formidable STAB combo, and high-powered moves to back it up, It easily can Knock Off Quaxwell's eviolite and come back later to 2HKO it with Close Combat. This generation and current meta has been a big blessing for Pignite: Magmar got banned, there's new toys in Close Combat + Knock Off, and most walls being very vulnerable to Fire/Fighting/Dark makes it very difficult to wall at all stages of the game. While Monferno and Raboot still stand out as competition, they have been moreso progress makers and lack the raw power and slightly better bulk Pignite has to offer. The fourth moveslot has been especially customizable, choosing between Sucker Punch to finish off faster foes like Girafarig or Frogadier, to High Horsepower to maim Mareanie and ease the mirror matchup. Options like Bulk Up or Trailblaze are also possible options to make it even harder to revenge kill/switch in. Overall a very clear top 10 Pokemon in the tier and should be in consideration against nearly all serious NFE teams.

:Seadra: C -> B-
On the surface, Seadra is completely outclassed by Quaxwell due to its lack of Rapid Spin and Encore. What Seadra has over Quaxwell is much higher Speed (tied with Girafarig and outspeeds staples like Monferno and Gabite) and Poison Point, which discourages Pokemon like Piloswine and Fire-types from freely firing off their STAB moves. Base 85 Speed makes Seadra surprisingly customizable into how much bulk it wants for investment; only 16 are needed to outrun traditional Pignite sets. The downside is that it trades utility, has a very shallow movepool (Ice Beam and maybe Clear Smog are options, but are far less effective than RestTalk) and relies on Poison Point's 30% chance to distinguish itself from Quaxwell. However, it has emerged as a notable option during last NFEPL; consider the sea horse if your team needs compression of Speed and a Fire-type/Piloswine check.

:krokorok: C- to C+
Still a niche pick, but STAB Knock Off distinguishes it from Piloswine and Gabite. While it lacks in bulk, it makes up by being a better progress maker against Quaxwell and other defensive titans like Vigoroth and Ivysaur, softening up for other heavy hitters like Fire-types or frogadier to take advantage of later in the game.

:dusclops: C- to C+
While Dusclops is no Misdreavus (trading away Speed and offensive presence), Dusclops can still do much of the same things Misdreavus can do as a wall: spread status, get recovery with Pain Split, and consistently chip away foes with Night Shade. With investment, Dusclops can be surprisingly difficult to KO and can be worth spending the sixth slot on your team to block hazards.
 
Going to kickstart some more discussion post-Misdreavus and Vigoroth bans, and with finals of NFEPL under way:

Rises:

:piloswine: S- -> S
This is a no brainer, especially given the Misdreavus and Vigoroth bans. Piloswine with Choice Band is 2HKOing nearly everything with its STAB moves. Pokemon like Quaxwell and Dunsparce need to invest Speed EVs in order not get 2HKOed by Rocks damage and Knock Off, and in a tier loaded with good Knock Off users like Pignite, Monferno, and Tinkatuff, all waiting to chip down threats for Piloswine, it becomes a consistent threat looming to decimate defensive switch-ins. It's got some good moveset diversity as well, ranging from Trailblaze to help win mirror matchups and outrun Pignite to Curse to be a surprisingly effective wincon to even Roar to amp up the hazard stacking pressure. It's especially potent given Koffing is on the upswing as well, functioning as a Toxic Spikes remover deterrent. It's still the best offensive Stealth Rock setter as well because of how limited its switch-ins are. It comes to show how Pokemon like Dunsparce, Fletchinder, and Seadra, threats that have struggled to fit on teams, are now on the rise because of the wooly mammoth. As a bonus, Piloswine is an amazing tank, surviving even Pignite and Monferno's Close Combats or non-Specs Frogadier's Surf and able to easily OHKO them back. Piloswine is a strong contender for the best Pokemon in the tier and should be accounted for in 100% of all serious teams.

:koffing: A -> A+/S-
Toxic Spikes have taken back the meta by storm. Its mere presence forces your to run adequate hazard removal; going hazard-free or Quaxwell as your remover is not enough given how likely your team be overwhelmed, and how passive Quaxwell usually is. Ivysaur has struggled more often to fit on teams due its passivity and reliance on Knock Off for utility (which can be blocked off by Tinkatuff and Sliggoo-Hisui). There's been a number of Koffing mirrors this NFEPL and Seasonal that fights to Toxic Spikes off their side so their teammates stay healthy. As a bonus, it neutralizes Tinkatuff's Pickpocket, allowing Thief to actually work against it, and can whittle it down with repeated Will-O-Wisps and Pain Splits. It also messes with anti-meta Pokemon like Clefairy, Duosion, Hattrem, and Servine through Neutralizing Gas as well, making them a lot less effective. Most importantly, it's a great defensive stop to the tier's offensive Fire-types (the big three in Monferno Raboot Pignite), and Grass-types (Thwackey mostly, but also Servine and Ivysaur). Piloswine and Gabite aren't even free switch-ins given how susceptible they are to getting crippled by a stray Will-O-Wisp, and special attackers must watch out for Sludge Bomb poisoning (Girafarig, Frogadier, Wartortle, Drakloak). It's gotten to the point where some teams are running Heavy-Duty Boots on non-Stealth Rock weak attackers like Thwackey, Pignite, and Monferno (Frogadier had also already ran Boots beforehand) to not be crippled by hazards. It's clear Koffing has risen up back to glory as one of the best defensive titans on a team and, like Piloswine, must be checked for in the builder for serious teams.

:Sliggoo-Hisui: B+ -> A
While Tinkatuff takes a more defensive-oriented approach to walling threats, Sliggoo-Hisui goes offensive. Like Koffing, its typing is very helpful in stuffing Grass- and Water-threats like Frogadier, Wartortle, Quaxwell, Thwackey, and Ivysaur, but also gains some new matchups like Girafarig and Tinkatuff. Unlike Koffing needing to rely on Wisp and Pain Split residual damage to try and beat Tink, it can actually play the long game against it and spam Flash Cannon to win the war of attrition. Against more offensive-oriented teams, Gooey can be a good deterrent against Fire-types like Monferno Raboot and Pignite looking to freely spam their STAB moves. Its bulk is actually very surprising: even with max SpA, a standard all-out attacking set can avoid a 3HKO from +2 Shell Smash Wartortle, an elite setup sweeper and fire back with powerful Thunderbolts. It took some time, but it's a very dangerous tank and can be very annoying to switch into considering its STAB combination and Thunderbolt provides at least perfect neutral coverage against most of the tier. Choice Specs sets have also been potent in dismantling slower threats like Dunsparce and Piloswine looking for easy switch-ins. While Tinkatuff has the gold medal for Steel-types in the tier, Sliggoo-Hisui is certainly not far behind, with other Steel-types like Pawniard, Varoom, and Bronzor trailing very far behind in usability, and is a very potent choice to add for tanks in your roster.

:Fletchinder: B- -> A-
Fletchinder has risen up back in place as one of the best checks to Piloswine and the Fire-types, clearly superior over SS superstar Vullaby. With Wisp and Flame Body, it can put a stop to Piloswine's breaking attempts and catch unsuspecting Raboot off guard with an unfortunate burn. It's also a handy Thwackey and Servine check, stopping them easily with its STAB moves and reliable Roost recovery, 4x resisting pesky Grass moves. Its Speed tier is very customizable, with bulkier sets being able to outspeed threats like Pignite with minimal investment to fast wall sets that outspeed even Monferno and Gabite. What makes this lower than Quaxwell is its gaping susceptibility to Stealth Rock once Boots are removed and its own frailty: Fletchinder can easily be ruined with scenarios like Piloswine using Band Icicle Crash on Boots sets to decimate it. Tinkatuff also beats it easily in the early game despite a type disadvantage. Nevertheless, Fletchinder has proven its value significantly since the start of NFEPL and deserves consideration as your tier's hazard remover and Piloswine, Grass, and Fire check.

:Glimmet: B- -> B/B+
Glimmet has risen back up as an anti-meta threat that benefits from the hazard game. Most Poison-types tend to be defensive and struggle against Steel-types, but Glimmet breaks the mold through Corrosion. While its defensive stats are poor and typing leave it with few opportunities to switch in (mostly against Fletchinder, most Poison-types, and Tinkatuff), Toxic being able to wear down Steel- and Poison-types is a big boon considering how deceptively hard they are to wear down without reliable recovery, and how most of these defensive giants can very easily wall most teams. Koffing, Ivysaur, and Tinkatuff looking for a free switch-in will be hit with a nasty surprise. Alternatively, it's the go-to lead pick for hyper offense teams, able to quickly set up at least one hazard and force Koffing interactions with Toxic Debris, though this tends to be more inconsistent with the high amount of bulky threats.

:Pikachu: B -> B+
Although difficult to fit on builds, owing to its reliance on Light Ball and extreme frailty, if Pikachu manages to avoid Grass-types and Piloswine, it becomes one of the most devastating threats on the field. It's the fastest viable Knock Off user (Elekid exists too, but it's far more situational), and Base 90 Speed makes it pretty fast in the meta, outspeeding metagame staples like Monferno, Girafarig, and Gabite. A lot of Electric-types will struggle in this meta, owing to their lack of coverage, but Pikachu breaks the mold through Surf, discouraging Piloswine from switching in. On the special side, it's got enough bulk to survive hits from weaker attackers like Koffing, Fletchinder, and Quaxwell; while it's a poor idea to switch PIkachu into anything, if nothing else wants to, Pikachu can do the job if needed. Its Speed also allows it to pair well with VoltTurn pivots like Raboot, Frogadier, and Monferno looking to break down their checks - Monferno can even discourage Grass-types like Thwackey and Servine from revenge killing it. With the Vigoroth ban, Pikachu now is more easily able to fit teams as a fine candidate to build around or as a late teamslot to help round Speed control issues.

:Dusclops: C- -> B+/A-
Once languishing helplessly in Misdreavus's shadow, Dusclops has now become the most consistent spinblocker in the tier. Amazing bulk enables it, with investment, to survive attacks like the 3HKO from Pignite or Frogadier, and recover a lot of damage away with Pain Split, complemented with a low HP stat. Drakloak may provide the Speed, phazing, screens, and breaking potential, but Dusclops makes it up with defensive fortitude for teams looking at balanced and hazard stacking cores. Its typing enables it to completely stuff Quaxwell (unlike Drakloak), and actually take titans like Piloswine and Dragon-types head-on without having the problems of Drakloak's subtyping. Dusclops' bulk is further reinforced by Koffing's rise, making it more difficult to get rid of Toxic Spikes while being a constant status spreader. Despite its seemingly shallow movepool, Dusclops has decent customizability, can feasibly run Haze to disrupt potential bulky sweepers like Duosion and Wartortle or Thief to punish Knock Off users like Thwackey and Pignite. Once again, the bans to Misdreavus and Vigoroth have immensely benefitted it, removing competition and a counter to it. While restricted to balance and bulkier builds, Dusclops remains a key part of them, significantly improved from the slate of bans and now having a clear, respected niche in the current metagame.

:Scraggy: C- -> B-/B
It seems like a theory mon but it's easier to use than I thought. What differentiates itself from Fighting-types like Monferno/Raboot is Dragon Dance; these sets make it a surprisingly good hyper offense option with rare access to High Jump Kick. Having access to STAB Knock Off is also a boon. A second benefit are having two good abilities: Moxie makes it much harder to switch into after a Dragon Dance + KO, which has helped a lot given the bulkier pace of the tier. Shed Skin makes it more resilient against Thunder Wave and Wisp users running about, which is filled to the brim with users like Tinkatuff Koffing and Dusclops. True, its Speed is quite slow (and can be even at +1) and its bulk isn't anything to write home about. While you might think Tinkatuff would be a reliable check, it hasn't been running Play Rough at all (going solo Knock Off on standard defensive sets and Ice Hammer/Steel Beam on rare offensive sets), and Scraggy has Taunt and Shed Skin to work around Encore and other utility moves. The other Fire-types like Pignite, Monferno, and Raboot have more immediate damage output, but the cleaning potential gives it a good reason to be run as a win condition. Scraggy is very underrated and should net a higher ranking for its good tools.

:Seadra: C -> B/B+
See the above post as to why I rated Seadra higher. Despite a low overall usage, I believe it's a great sidegrade to Quaxwell owing to its higher Speed and Poison Point.

:Stantler: C- -> C+/B-
It definitely looks like worse Girafarig at first from the lack of the Psychic typing, but there's still a few things that allow it to take the nod. Not having the Psychic typing helps it set up Calm Mind or other moves better compared to Girafarig, lacking the Knock Off and U-turn that often plague Girafarig from setting up. Without the worry on Knock Off, it doesn't have to worry about Tinkatuff's Knock Off instantly breaking its Substitutes. This ironically makes it also a better check to Grass-types like Thwackey, Ivysaur, and Servine with its lack of Knock Off weakness; speaking of, its Megahorn coverage gives it a more direct hit on them in the first place. Lastly, it retains the strengths that allow Girafarig to excel, namely a good base 85 Speed, good offenses, and a deep movepool that allows it to run both special and physical sets to make it difficult to guess on preview.

:Stunky: UR -> C+
Looking for a Poison-type not named Koffing? Maybe your Poison-type is more offensive while having a deeper movepool? Stunky might smell worse than roadkill, but looks are deceiving. Stunky's access to STAB Knock Off is an important factor, discouraging switch-ins like Hisuian Sliggoo and opposing Koffing looking for an easy pivoting opportunity. Tinkatuff must also watch out for Temper Flare, as the move can 2HKO after its Eviolite is removed, something that cannot be said for Koffing. Stunky also has enough Speed to outrun standard Thwackey sets, and unlike Koffing, is more free to run experimental fourth moves. After Gunk Shot, Knock Off, and Temper Flare, the fourth move is flexible: Toxic Spikes continues the trend Koffing sets up, while Sucker Punch lets you revenge faster threats like Frogadier, Drakloak, and Pikachu. The issue is how it compounds a weakness to Piloswine, Gabite, and other physical attackers by taking up the Poison slot, which forces you to run a bulky Water or other wall, though its perks over Koffing can make it a fine last-minute addition for teams looking for compression.

:Chinchou: UR -> C+
PandaDoux brought this up, but Chinchou has a solid niche as a complete counter to Quaxwell via Water Absorb. While Grass-types (and to a lesser extent, Electric-types) can discourage Quaxwell from staying in, they aren't able to usually stopping it from pivoting to other teammates. Chinchou is able to do just that, not only threatening it with STAB Thunderbolt, but also gaining recovery from Flip Turn. It can also function as a pivot itself with either Volt Switch or Flip Turn. Unlike the passive Eelektrik or the frail Pikachu, Chinchou manages to mesh defensive and offensive benefits to its name. While not ideal defensively considering its mediocre bulk even when fully invested, its offensive profile being able to outspeed Piloswine and Pignite is also valued to have. A surprisingly deep movepool with Scald, Ice Beam, and Thunder Wave give it decent customizability, which discourages many Grass-types from switching in. While previously off the table for most teams, Chinchou's unique set of qualities makes this a great spice/anti-meta choice for teams looking for a Quaxwell counter and offensive Pignite/Piloswine deterrent.

Drops:
:Wartortle: A+ -> A-
Wartortle has become much harder to fit on teams. Lacking the recovery of Quaxwell or the utility of Frogadier's Spikes, Wartortle needs to use Shell Smash + Rapid Spin in order to distinguish itself from the pack. While it's fine at its job as a sweeper, the issue lies in how it's being restricted to late-game to set up. Unlike Quaxwell, Fletchinder, or most other hazard removers, Wartortle fares poorly spinning early to mid-game, considering that defensive setters like Tinkatuff and Dunsparce can set rocks up multiple times thanks to its typing and bulk, while other hazard setters like Piloswine and Gabite exert strong enough pressure that discourages spinners from staying in. Even at +2, it still needs something to remove Thwackey and weaken Tinkatuff and Quaxwell that will often block it from doing its job. While still potent in the right matchup, it's now far more limited in its role and necessitates a noticeable drop.

:Clefairy: A- -> B+
Clefairy continues to get overshadowed by Tinkatuff as the latter's dual Fairy/Steel typing grants it better resistances to the metagame overall. Clefairy has a very severe 4MSS on what it wants to run after Thunder Wave + Moonlight recovery (which the recovery PP nerf hurts a lot too): Night Shade is most common but leaves it completely walled by Girafarig/Dunsparce, but Moonblast is pretty weak with how bulky most of the tier has been. This leaves it with Knock Off, Encore, and Stealth Rock with its remaining slots: I'd probably run with Knock Off to surprise Piloswine, but Stealth Rock can be helpful to free up Piloswine and Gabite's moveslots. Encore can be fine if you want to try to catch foes off guard into using unfavorable STAB moves, but most would switch out anyways. I feel Clefairy gets pressured too easily by Knock Off and item disruption in general, as its physical bulk isn't too great even when fully invested (once Eviolite is gone, lots of physical attackers can easily KO it), and its bulk doesn't compensate for the passivity it weighs on the team. Quaxwell and Koffing tend to be easier to fit on teams because they're more reliable checks to trends like swine, Fire-types, Thwackey, etc. Not helping is Koffing exploiting Clefairy with Neutralizing Gas. Perhaps most importantly, Tinkatuff is just better as a Fairy-type considering its typing and more well-rounded stats make it easier to spam utility moves. If your fairy-type needs recovery, maybe Clefairy is the better option, but most games are actually pretty quickly paced and leave not too much room for recovery.

:Pawniard: B -> C+
The loss of Knock Off was a massive blow to it. In theory it's a fine late-game cleaner with SD + Sucker Punch, but it's a lot harder to pull off when its bulk is mediocre to begin with, and you're still pretty slow. Pawniard has to rely on weaker Dark STABs like Night Slash to try and clean games, and STAB Iron Head is nice for Piloswine and maybe Clefairy but overall not great at anything else. Its coverage options are pretty bad, needing to resort to Brick Break and Stone Edge to differentiate itself. I'd sooner use Pignite, Thwackey, or Monferno for their better typings and faster Speed than to fit Pawn in.

:Mareanie: B -> C+
Even while retaining several good traits, like Regenerator, good overall bulk, and a synergistic typing, SV has been extremely harsh to it. Mareanie losing Knock Off and Scald means it's far more passive than before, having to rely on nicher options like Infestation and Toxic in order to try to perform. Additions like Hisuian Sliggoo and Girafarig have been massive problems with it, as they can wall and pressure it to no end and freely set up on it, while Pokemon it previously checked like Monferno and Pignite all have gotten new tools to take it on more easily (as a matter of fact, Pignite sometimes runs High Horsepower to beat it in the first place, as does Monferno pivoting to a teammate with U-turn or beating it with Knock + Thunder Punch). That's not even mentioning the common Grass-types and Dragon-types that also populate this meta. While Mareanie was a solid pick when NFE was still in its infant stages, Mareanie now fits on very few teams and has been off the radar for most games.

:Naclstack: B -> C+
After a strong start to the generation by becoming banned alongside Misdreavus, Naclstack heavily struggled down the line. Once a good answer against Misdreavus, Vigoroth, and a beneficiary of Terastalization, Naclstack has cratered to obscurity. Metagame shifts have been considerably harder on it, with the things mentioned being gone now. Its weakness-laden typing (Ground, Water, Grass, Fighting) combined with reliance on Salt Cure for damage makes this very passive and hard to fit in and work on a team. If your team is very bulky and has lots of defensive backbones, Naclstack can still work as a Tinkatuff, Dunsparce, and Hattrem check. The issue likes in most Pokemon either being resilient against Salt Cure or being way too threatening against it. Fire-types can threaten massive damage against it, Grass-types can chop it with Knock or STAB moves, Piloswine destroys it, Koffing, Clefairy, and Duosion can bypass Purifying Salt with their abilities, etc. Water-types like Quaxwell can pivot away, Wartortle can beat it 1v1 with setup, and Girafarig can ruin it with Trick or blast it with Specs-powered coverage. Even Hisuian Sliggoo can discourage it with Flash Cannon! As you can see, Naclstack is threatened out by way too much and needs to be reserved for a few specific Pokemon to establish itself. You've got plenty of choices for your Stealth Rock setter too: Piloswine and Gabite remain great offensively, Tinkatuff and Dunsparce are great defensively, and even more niche choices like Clefairy and Glimmet have more room to switch around than Naclstack. Overall, it's way too much of a specialist and requires a steep amount of building around it to not let it get trampled by metagame threats.

:Toedscool: :Hippopotas: :Prinplup: :Gloom: :Carkol: C- -> UR
These five picks have been firmly off a teambuilder's radar for many months now, and for good reason. The former two are relics from old metas and they're badly outclassed by Piloswine, Gabite, and Krokorok. Toedscool is far too passive and has a detrimental ability (Hattrem and Naclstack are struggling in this meta themselves), Hippopotas's reliable recovery offset by its utter lack of damage output, low overall stats, and relevant Electric-types easily bypassing their typing, Prinplup will rarely actually get the competitive boost with most defoggers struggling to remove hazards in the first place and lacking important moves like Rapid Spin and Encore that Quaxwell gets. Gloom's Moonblast doesn't hit relevant targets for enough damage and Strength Sap's recovery makes it unreliable, plus is outclassed by Ivysaur. Carkol is 100% a worse spinner than Quaxwell from its much worse defensive typing, lack of pivoting, and worse speed; you can find much better Will-O-Wisp users in Dusclops and Koffing if you want to spread status too.
 
I did a little bit of testing/building in the QWONK cord for NFEPL, and I like doing VR noms and having opinions.

:Porygon: UR -> B-
When big tony 2014 brought it, it put in WORK. If you're too lazy watch it or to skip to like turn 27 of the replay, the Porygon is able to KO the (burned + knocked) piloswine and weakened dusclops under TR, and if tony had a little bit better luck, theres a chance the Porygon got 5 or 6 KOs that game. It's a good offensive mon between download and its incredible coverage, and its able to find enough turns to click buttons with trick room and recover. I think that its convincing performance in that game alone is enough to justify a place for it on the VR.

:Pignite: A- -> A+ :Monferno: A -> A-
I think that Monferno is third place to Pignite and Raboot. Sure, it does have more flexability and therefore less predictability, but if I want a fighting type who can threaten knock and pressure tink, I'm going Pignite. If I want a fire-type pivot and late game cleaner. I'm going Raboot. That aside, I think Pignite is top 3 in offensive pressure for the tier, and the only thing holding it back from being even higher is the fact that Piloswine is a better physical wallbreaker.

:Thwackey: A+ -> A
I'm just not that impressed by Thwackey. It's walled by Tink, Fire-types, can't revenge Girafarig, and can find lines where it loses to Piloswine's ice shard. Thwackey is at its best against the 3 water types in the tier, and I guess pilo. That is also a list of good matchups for Quaxwell (barring Wartortle kinda), while Quax also is good into fire-types, offers removal, and is more likely than not already on my team. I know comparing Thwackey and Quax isn't fair, but if Quax is good into similar mons as Thwackey (and more than Thwackey), why would I need to double up on those matchups? Thwackey isn't A+ level for this reason.

:Ivysaur: A -> B+
It's still good, don't get me wrong I enjoy using this thing. But it's grass, and the most threatening attacker in the tier are fire, ice, or water-types with ice coverage.

:Drakloak: A- -> A
I don't think I need to explain what the #1 spinblocker in the tier does. It's a good mon and definitely meta enough to be at least A. It's worse than the mons in A+ imo, since while it does offer a lot of value and flexibility between specs and evio pivot sets, it's not as consistently valuable as Quaxwell or even Pignite.

:Dusclops: C -> A-
Just wanted to add my support for A- clops. I think it's one of the best CB pilo switches we have, and that value pushes it above B+.

:Mareanie: B -> B-
It's still got traits like fighting + fire resist, poison typing for tspikes, and regenerator, and although I have no idea what it does in the meta or how I would go about using it, I think it's not C-tier material. I'm traumatized from loading a non-hhp pignite into it during UMBD.

:Krokorok: C -> B-
Idk, I like this mon tho. I think it's better than the C-ranks. As opposed to something like Crocalor or Murkrow where I can't figure out the best set, the value Krok has with EQ + knock is straightforward and valuable enough to escape the C-tier.
 
My VR update
S- -> S :piloswine:Piloswine ; Choice Band is just absolutely insane, 2HKOes Quaxwell after rocks and a wonderful revenge killer with Ice Shard while still being able to come on some stuff thanks to its good bulk like Gabite, Koffing, Tinkatuff, Drakloak... Standard Rocks is still fine if u have a way to pressure Quaxwell, which is very easy to have nowadays. Trailblaze is a wonderful sweeper, especially in Offense, tho it is a lot rarer. I'm sure we will find defensive variants of Piloswine in the future as well like SpD Piloswine to come on Drakloak with ease, but we're not there yet.

A+ -> S :quaxwell:Quaxwell ; I don't know why it wasn't S already, Quaxwell is the best removal of the tier and was pretty much the only one for YEARS, it's a staple of the tier, most teams run it due to it checking a lot of top tier breakers like Piloswine, Frogadier, Monferno, Pignite, Raboot... while having recovery, pivot, and being the best of the few removals of the tier. As of right now Quaxwell has some INSANE usage stats, 2nd most used Pokemon in seasonal rn with 50% usage and 66% usage in NFEPL so far, if that does not qualify something for S Rank i don't know what does.

A -> A+ :koffing:Koffing ; Neutralizing Gas + Toxic Spikes annihilates most teams without Poison-types, and due to the lack of good Poison-types in the tier (it's mainly just itself + Ivysaur) you kinda have to put it in every team to have a good counterplay to Toxic Spikes. Koffing also checks a plethora of Pokemons as well which makes it very easy to build with and acts as a Knock Off Absorber to Monferno, Pignite & Thwackey which is very rare in this tier.

A -> A+ :monferno:Monferno ; Some might say it's just a combination of Raboot + Pignite (U-turn x Knock Off), and it is, but it is a good one. I find it easier to fit in Balance builds due to it outspeeding Thwackey and Servine while still being pretty bulky with Eviolite, thus coming on the field easier than Pignite or Raboot. It's also one of the most versatile Pokemon of the tier, Stealth Rocks & Defensive sets are pretty niche but exist in specific builds, and Swords Dance or Nasty Plot are extremely threatening wallbreakers, or even sweepers with the access of both Mach Punch & Vacuum Wave.

A- -> A+ :drakloak:Drakloak ; Drakloak took Misdreavus' spot as the best spinblocker of the tier. It can force Quaxwell to run Triple Axel which is pretty bad for Quaxwell because it can't really threaten Fires & Piloswine effectively, so even if it's an option, most Quaxwell will still play Surf anyway. Drakloak is the fastest Pokemon of the tier, can pivot with U-turn and despite its poor SpA it has access to STAB Draco Meteor that makes up for it, as well as Night Shade for consistent damage on Tinkatuff. Hex is also a good option due to status spreaders being so popular in the tier (TSpikes, Thunder Wave being in every team naturally). Choice Specs is also really powerful but it comes with the downside of being weak to hazards, thus having less opportunity to come on the field.

A- -> A :pignite:Pignite ; Arguably the strongest wallbreaker of the tier. Knock Off + Close Combat is very difficult to handle, and contrary to Raboot & Monferno it has access to Ground coverage to deal with Poison-types, which makes it probably the hardest Pokemon to answer defensively. However it is really slow, so slow that in fact some Quaxwell are fast enough to outspeed it making it much easier to deal with. You can also play around Pignite and try to outplay it so it's not like it's completely impossible to deal with it without losing a Pokemon, there are ways to deal with it defensively and it gets pressured by a lot of stuff due to being so slow. Bulk Up Sets are probably underrated, could see it becoming more prominent in Offense.

B+ -> A :duosion:Duosion ; Future Sight is extremely powerful and makes breaking teams pretty easy, pair it with some physical breakers and the job it's gonna do is insane. Defensively it's not bad at all either, checking a lot of Special stuff like Girafarig, Frog, helping with Hliggoo, Ivysaur. Regenerator helps it coming on passive stuff like Quaxwell or Koffing and click Future Sight then switch out quickly without worrying about its health. Magic Guard with Acid Armor + Calm Mind is also an insane endgame cleaner and kind of a sleeper pick, Dark types are still pretty rare and by the end of the game Tinkatuff will most likely be dead.

B+ -> A :sliggoo-hisui:Sliggoo-Hisui ; It's easy to fit in teams, it's a powerful breaker with STABS + Tbolt & Acid Spray, if you outplay with it you'll take kills, and it checks a lot of special stuff easily like Drakloak, Girafarig, Ivysaur, Frogadier, Wartortle without having SpD investment which is really useful, it's really good as a tank in Offense teams and it can still run RestTalk sets in bulkier teams, tho it's less common and a bit worse than 3 Atk + Acid Spray imo.

B- -> A- :fletchinder:Fletchinder ; The best defogger of the tier and by far, it also checks a plethora of physical pokemons in one slot like Thwackey, Raboot, Piloswine, Pignite, Monferno... and it's fast enough to outspeed most of them. Flame Body also punishes Raboot & Thwackey from spamming U-turn. However Fletchinder needs Eviolite to check Piloswine reliably and most stuff it wants to check have access to Knock Off anyway, so that means that it will take 50% on rocks, so using it as your only way to deal with hazards is extremely risky. But it pairs well with Quaxwell or Hattrem in order to avoid this. It can play U-turn if u don't want it to be passive but most of the time you'll have to play WoW + Brave Bird to check Piloswine & Monferno/Pignite, which makes it pretty passive.

C- -> A- :dusclops:Dusclops ; It's a really good defensive Pokemon, its stats are insane it can check a plethora of things, can play Trick to act as a Knock Off absorber, a safe way to spinblock Quaxwell and keep your hazards up the whole game, access to WoW or Haze to deal with setups, one of the rare Piloswine Band switch in. Just an all-around solid pick defensively, it is a little bit passive and having Pain Split/RestTalk has recovery is tough but it found its place in the meta since Misdreavus's departure.

C- -> A- :krokorok:Krokorok ; Best Dark-type of the tier, it's a good rocker, forcing both Hattrem and Quaxwell out which is pretty difficult to find. It exploits Tinkatuff and heavily supports the team offensively with Knock Off + Eq that will get rid of Eviolites on Pokemons that are usually a pain to break like Dunsparce or Quaxwell. It's a solid option that should always be able to do its job well regardless of the MU.

B- -> B+ :glimmet:Glimmet ; Aside from Frogadier it's the best Spiker of the tier, it comes on the field easier than Frog which gives you more opportunities to stack hazards. Corrosion is also really good to weaken Steel-types and it's fast enough to outspeed Pignite if you wanna run an offensive set. Can be played in both fat stack hazards or HO as well which is a big plus compared to other Spikers of the tier.

C- -> B :scraggy:Scraggy ; Good into bulky builds with passive stuff, but it is really slow and easily checked by Fightings or overall just bulky Pokemons like Ivysaur, Servine, Gabite whatever. It's also really slow; needs 2 Dragon Dance to outspeed Frogadier. But it's good in Offense and provides a strong option vs fat.

C -> B- :cutiefly:Cutiefly ; I would put Cutiefly one rank below Charjabug. They both represent the Sticky Web playstyle and are the only 2 viable Sticky setter option; Charjabug is bulkier which provides you a defensive pivot for mid-game and Cutiefly has access to Skill Swap to get the Sticky vs Hattrem and is fast enough to provide extra support with Stun Spore later in the game.

C- -> B- :stantler:Stantler ; CM Sub STAB Earth Power is really good at breaking, it's surprisingly powerful and has many opportunities to setup thanks to Sap Sipper. Kinda hard to justify in a team other than in Offense tho but it's fine.

C -> C+ :seadra:Seadra ; It's the same thing as Quaxwell but instead of providing removal it provides Poison Point which weakens Quaxwell and makes it a better check to physical stuff like Raboot, Piloswine, Monferno... Not much else to say tho it's nothing crazy like having a removal is better in 99% scenarios, but at least Seadra is fine at doing this particular job.
UR -> C+ :chinchou:Chinchou ; Offensive Chinchou is great in Voltturn teams as it stops Quaxwell from pivoting thanks to Water Absorb and due to its Water STAB you can easily spam Volt Switch (or just run Flip Turn) without worrying too much about getting blocked by Ground-types. It's also pretty fast and can revenge kill Pignite & Piloswine, as well as being bulky enough to trade with stuff like Drakloak and Frogadier. It's a good Pokemon to get the momentum going and spam VoltTurn but i wouldn't consider in teams other than in VoltTurn specifically with lots of U-turn.

UR -> C+ :corvisquire:Corvisquire ; Defogger with Taunt and can check Grass-types and Pignite, doesn't let Tinkatuff get rocks up thanks to Taunt. It's really good into bulky teams especially Stack Hazards.

UR -> C :porygon:Porygon ; Download + Trick/Trick Room gives it a niche over Dunsparce which makes it an offensive Pokemon hard to deal with.

UR -> C :stunky:Stunky ; It's fine if you need a TSpikes absorber, it's not that easy to answer defensively as Ground-types don't have recovery and Tinkatuff can get stuck with Life Orb or gets heavily weakened by Temper Flare. Stunky is pretty fast so it can revenge kill a couple of stuff and can come on Grass-types. It's a decent option in specific builds.

UR -> C :wooper-paldea:Wooper-Paldea ; It's a good Spiker, comes easily on the field vs Tinkatuff, Koffing, or Quaxwell thanks to Water Absorb which gives you many opportunities to get Spikes up. Also has access to Toxic to prevent Quaxwell from spinning against it. Very passive tho. It is a good option as a Spiker. https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen9nfe-866016 as an example of what Wooper-Paldea can do, got opportunities to come on Tinkatuff then was able to keep hazards up and weaken the opposing team with Spikes. In Quaxwell interactions i could have stopped it from pivoting thanks to Water Absorb but got outplayed.

UR -> C- :charmeleon:Charmeleon ; Sun wallbreaker with Solar Power should kill everything. Only viable in sun tho.

UR -> C- :croconaw:Croconaw ; Decent in HO, Sheer Force is a good offensive boost, Dragon Dance makes Croconaw fater than everything at +1, if u want Adamant you'll tie with Frog at +1 so it's good fast enough. Got Ice coverage for Dragons and Grass, got Trailblaze for Waters, it's wouldn't get much trouble to setup anyway as it's decently bulky and it'll be powerful enough to run Eviolite anyway.

UR -> C- :growlithe-hisui:Growlithe-Hisui ; Choice Band + Rock Head + Head Smash has very few switch ins. Flare Blitz threaten Steel-types to come in. It doesn't get many opportunities to come but it can be an insane wallbreaker against most teams.
Drops
S- -> A :girafarig:Girafarig ; It is harder to fit in teams since Misdreavus' departure and Choiced set is a lot worse than before imo with the rise of Duosion, Sliggoo-Hisui and Dark-types. I do find it very effective with a sub mixed set or Nasty Plot and it is still a very strong offensive Pokemon of the tier, but it just feels worse than before in the meta right now.

A+ -> A :frogadier:Frogadier ; Frogadier does not have many opportunities to come on the field, which is pretty much why i think it's not deserving of the A+, it has everything else tho; good Speed, good SpA, good movepool, U-turn, Spikes, TSpikes, Switcheroo... But it does feel like it needs some sort of support in order to function perfectly, and i don't think that should be the case if you're trying to belong in A+

A -> A- :wartortle:Wartortle ; I find it harder to justify in a build and i find it more difficult to sweep with it than before; stuff like Servine, Sliggoo-Hisui or even Eviolite Girafarig are a lot more popular than before and they can all check Wartortle at +2. I think this is fine tho like there are a lot of teams not prepped to it and you can make a path for it to sweep later. I also think offensive teams are underexplored and Wartortle would most likely thrive in those kind of teams.

A- -> B+ :fraxure:Fraxure ; It's a really powerful breaker but it's hard to put it on teams. Other than in Offense it will struggle to justifty its spot in a team which can't make it deserving of the A ranks, tho its insane offensive prowess saves it from a complete downfall imo.

B -> C+ :mareanie:Mareanie ; It's too passive for the tier and too hard to build with, having a Poison-type that can't check Grass-types reliably forces you to have a very weird and passive structure, and having a Water-type not being able to check Piloswine forces you to run double Water with Quaxwell which is redundant in teambuilding. It's not unviable, it does have a pretty good MU into some HO thanks to Haze + TSpikes but overall it's not great.

B -> C+ :pikachu: Pikachu ; Hard to build with, very hard to get on the field due to it relying on Light Ball, thus having an insanely bad bulk, being 2HKOed by pretty much the whole tier, even the most passive stuff like Koffing will threaten it, can't even come on Tinkatuff due to being too weak offensively without Light Ball so it can't afford to come on a Knock Off, it can't even come on Dusclops because it doesn't want to get burned... It does have a pretty good Speed so it can revenge kill a fairly amount of stuff, however it barely breaks anything ; can't freely Knock Off due to Tinkatuff having Pickpocket and being able to steal your Light Ball, can't spam Volt Switch due to Ground-types being pretty common, Grass-types easily check it and force it out and most teams run a Grass-type. Pikachu is highly dependant on you outplaying your opponent in order to work, which, is the case of many offensive Pokemons that belong in the C ranks. I don't think Pikachu is completely unviable, however it's only working when you are better than your opponent, in which case, you're gonna win regardless of having Pikachu or not. It only has good MUs against specific teams that don't run Grass-types and even then you'll have to put on the work in-game to make it successful.

B- -> C+ :lampent:Lampent ; It's too hard to put on the field, it doesn't get as many opportunities as it can't spinblock Quaxwell effectively, can't come on Tinkatuff as well due to TWave + Knock Off, gets revenge killed really easily as well. It does have a niche as being a strong wallbreaker in Offense, probably with Life Orb or something to take kills easily, but it's pretty niche.

A- -> C :clefairy:Clefairy ; It's time to stop being delusional about this one, it is absolutely garbage. There is a reason why in every tournament it has a negative winrate and it's because it's horrible into the SV meta; can't check Pokemons with Knock Off because Knock Off + STAB destroys it, so you can't use it as a Monferno, Thwackey, Pignite check. Does not check Piloswine due to Pilo just spamming STABS and PP stalling all of your Moonlight, SpD-wise you can't check Girafarig for the same reason and it will get destroyed by Dragons like Fraxure & Gabite due to them having coverage that Clefairy can't handle. It's also insanely passive, letting a lot of stuff just freely coming into it like Sliggoo-Hisui, Duosion, Ivysaur... Imo Clefairy has only 2 niches; 1st is Trick Sticky Barb to weaken Steel & Poison-types easily, however due to the nature of the tier there are chances of you just getting the Sticky Barb back on another Pokemon because if your Pokemon hits a contact move into Sticky Barb and it has no items it will receive the Sticky Barb, which is a disaster. 2nd niche is Wishpass as Magic Guard + Wish makes it easy to put Clefairy on the field and heal its allies, which is only good into bulky teams.

B -> C :naclstack: Naclstack ; Defensively the Rock-type is a disaster in this tier; resists Flying, Fire and Normal (& Ghost thanks to its ability), but Flying & Normal moves are extremely rare, Fire Pokemons all have access to a Fighting-STAB, and Ghost-moves are also not common, Dusclops running Night Shade and Drakloak having access to HPump when Specs or Draco Meteor & U-turn. Salt Cure + Stealth Rocks is interesting but it's still easily checked by Grass-types and Fighting-types. Naclstack can get good MUs but it's gonna be pretty rare, not good into most of the tier.

B -> C- :vullaby: Vullaby ; Defogger that can't defog against the rockers of the tier, it doesn't check anything successfully, stuff like Ivysaur, Thwackey, Pignite, Monferno, Piloswine, Girafarig, Gabite... which are Pokemons that Vullaby should in theory check based on its typing, but they all break it in some ways, with setups, Knock Off, STAB moves, coverage, or just even U-turn + Rocks. It can probably find a place in some very rare situations where you'd need a removal with Ground immunity + Psychic immunity, but i really struggle to see it being successful.

B -> UR :pawniard: Pawniard ; It's just bad, not having access to Knock Off is really hard for Pawniard, not even being able to break Quaxwell despite Swords Dance is sad. It's also really slow so it can get outsped by Tinkatuff and get Encored on Swords Dance... Every team will run checks to it naturally, Defoggers are extremely rare and the only relevant one checks it anyway (Fletchinder)... It's just bad, realistically you have no reason to use it.

B- -> UR :varoom:Varoom ; Its only niche was to be a Poison-type + defensive pivot in Offense during Misdreavus meta, but now i don't think Offense wants to have it, they would rather have an offensive Ivysaur or give up the TSpikes MU, or get a Wartortle Spin to deal with Koffing. Varoom is too fragile and doesn't provide much utility other than Parting Shot + TSpikes deterrent which is not enough to justify it on a team atm.

C+ -> UR :mienfoo:Mienfoo ; Outclassed by other Fighting-types, too fragile to run a defensive pivot set and too slow with no coverage to act as a real breaker. If you want a SD Fighting-type you can play Monferno or even Hakamo-o that at least has coverage to hit Poison-types, Mienfoo is just bad imo.

C -> UR :arctibax:Arctibax ; Outclassed by other Dragon-types, Fraxure, Gabite and Hakamo-o are all better options with better stats, better coverage, better typing, better ability, there's no reason to use Arctibax over them.

C -> UR :dartrix:Dartrix ; Want a defogger? Play Fletchinder. Dartrix had the niche of being the best defogger of the tier since the beginning of the generation, but since Electabuzz/Misdreavus meta it had struggle to really finds its place in any team, and now that Fletchinder is officially a good option i don't think there are reasons to use Dartrix; Grass / Flying is a really bad type, can't check Ground-types, can't check Grass-types, can't check Fighting-types, passive asf, it's just trash.

C -> UR :zweilous:Zweilous ; Same thing as Arctibax, outclassed by other Dragons, and now that Dark-types are becoming better it gets outclassed as a Dark-type as well. No reason to use it competitively. Hustle is also hella bad.

C- -> UR :carkol:Carkol ; Horrible typing, outclassed by every rocker, every spiker, every spinner, no reason to use it.

C- -> UR :gloom:Gloom ; Outclassed by Weepinbell which is outclassed by Ivysaur; at least Weepinbell has SD and can be played in Sun, Gloom has nothing.

C- -> UR :hippopotas:Hippopotas ; Too passive, no reason to use, can't keep rocks vs Quaxwell or Hattrem, doesn't check a lot of stuff either, just use something else.

C- -> UR :marill:Marill ; Nobody is falling for its trap set and even if you somehow do fall for it it will likely die before Perish Song ends, or you can just outspeed it and Encore with Tinkatuff, its strategy doesn't work.

C- -> UR :prinplup:Prinplup ; Too slow too weak not bulky enough no utility outclassed by other Waters (Frog / Wart offensively, Quaxwell / Seadra defensively)

C- -> UR :toedscool:Toedscool ; It's just a weird Pokemon that has a lot of interesting stuff but it's kinda just mediocre everywhere so it's bad; like it has Spikes, an ability that goes through Magic Bounce, Toxic, Rapid Spin, Knock Off, but it also has a -1 priority on every status move, doesn't check anything successfully, has no recovery option... Other Spikers are just far better.
 
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