Resource National Dex Viability Rankings (Post Tera Ban)

[TBE]

UR -> B-

Around the beginning of WC I built a BO team featuring Defensive Cresselia to counter the growing Charizard-Y usage on ladder and incidentally I discovered not only one of my favorite teams ever but a criminally underrated pokemon, Cresselia (all links to replays and teams will be shared at the end). Defensive Cresselia serves as a blanket check to a wide spread of offensive pokemon including some of NDOU's strongest wall breakers like Charizard-Y, Mega-Diancie, Tapu Lele, Mega Latios, Mega Medicham and more. Many of the Wall Breakers that I listed are so incredibly threatening because of Spikes, being immune to them greatly enhances your teams defensive capabilities. Cresselia's typing and ability in conjuction with each other make it highly compatible with other defensive behemoths in the tier, most notable IMO is Ting Lu. On top of that it has an amazing movepool suited for the perfect support pokemon. Thunder Wave can be used to cripple breakers making them easier to 1v1. Ice Beam is generally solid coverage that denies certain pokemon free setup oppurtunities as well as targeting grounds which helps spread paralysis. Lunar Dance compliments your breakers or other defensive pokemon greatly and can allow for more intutive play. Cresselia sounds fantastic on paper but it has some really bad match ups. Recently, Pursuit Kingambit and Mega-Tyranitar are at their lowest in usage but are devastating match ups for Cresselia and 100% its biggest threats.

If you're not persuaded from that beautiful summarization then let me introduce some replays and teams for you to try out yourself!

Teams:
https://pokepast.es/6e33386fd415611e
https://pokepast.es/d8bf5224b78eb85d
Replays:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldex-2378214524-202h40q1u9ae243bsv325rcoi3wqv6spw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldex-2378237662
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldex-2376839923
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldex-2378233970-6q5t1x4jk3bd8uuxp1xoy35aw263v6vpw?p2
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldex-2378280456

Quality of the games vary but these all showcase the function of Cresselia which is the entire point of this post. As far as the TR team from the replays, gimmick or not, the interactions shown are what matter more. I woulda got more but started tilting, S/O Steezy aka Genesis9507 for replayz

 

[tpfire]

Can someone explain why lando t isn't s tier. I feel like the z move are some of the scariest thing to face when using a bulky team

 

[DarmanitanDLuffy]

Can someone explain why lando t isn't s tier. I feel like the z move are some of the scariest thing to face when using a bulky team

I think Lando is placed perfectly in a tier where Gliscor is the best (or second best) mon. Non Z sets can’t threaten Gliscor at all while they get poisoned. Z sets are slow unless you run double dance which doesn’t fit off HO. Running a Z move also sacrifices a utility move which is Lando’s bread and butter. Lando also has no reliable recovery and its longevity is pretty questionable.

 

[Kin+ak (✧∇✧)]

I'd really like to know why every TR considered "meta" I ever see has a Ghostium Z sinistcha, it's basically never used anymore outside of "respected" TR teams.
Anyways Cress deserves to be ranked I second this. and you know who also deserves it? our favorite mon from gen 2, the only one with a remotely good design bar Ho-Oh, you guessed it, Ampharos!!!

to C-​

Mega Ampharos used to be mid as fuck during Tera times. Now however, that you do not need to OHKO everything on sight to win, it absolutely loves its life. Obviously it can and will still try to OHKO various Meta mons, but now that it's not a requirement, it can use Tbolt Dpulse to get mssive work done. Add to that various coverage in Focus Blast, HP ice, dazzling gleam, power Gem or Signal Beam. Alternativly it can use the more situationnal but oh so devastating Charge beam. Basically Charge Beam lets it pick off a KO like a Mega Diancie around 40% HP, 70% Chance to get a Special attack boost, after which you can OHKO offensive Lando with Dragon Pulse, and OHKO Max HP Lando with Dragon Pulse with a high roll or after rocks. Focus Blast is pretty Mandatory for Tinglu Mtar and KGB running around, but this mon is very customizable.
I want to add that it's great at killing Pokémon other Common TR sweepers, mainly Ursaluna, struggle with, namely Physdef Mola, Slowbro, Corviknight and Zamazenta. Therefore, it's a really decent option for Trick room teams in a meta as slow as ND.

Mega Ampharos is also one hell of a bulky mon, not ropping to defensive Lando EQ, Specs Kyu Freeze Dry, Val n lele moonblast, and Mdia Moonblast is a roll. I'm deadass. And Additional turns out of trick room are the key to victory, that's why Frail Slow mons never succeed.

all in all you have a Mon that wins vs Tinglu, whose Dragon Pulse 3HKOs Clod, 1v1s Ival (Massively overrated mon btw), 1v1s most of the time Mdia and Lele in TR, and who can OHKO mons commonly used to stall Trick room such as Corv Mola Dnite or Terapagos.


I'm Also re-nomming Stakataka.

View attachment 745047to C-
I hope Y'all enjoyed my non-shitmon nom but welp I can't hide my true Nature for too long.
for clarity's sake, I'm gonna nom this set of Stakataka to C-, the rest I haven't tested(Steelium Z, Clear Amulet)/are balls (EQ over Heat Crash, Groundium Z, stealth rocks):

Stakataka @ Life Orb
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Lonely Nature
IVs: 15 Def / 0 Spe
- Gyro Ball
- Heat Crash
- Stone Edge
- Trick Room

Beast Boost Attack, Life Orb, Rock/Steel/Fire Coverage, Trick Room.

So anyways this set of Stakataka, under trick room ofc, which it can reset, it absolute Bonkers. it has the attack stat of great tusk (!), a STAB Gyro bal tht often reaches 150 BP (!) and Coverage for Steel types in Heat Crash. Last move is trick room for a simple reason: despite the poor typing, not all mons can drop it in a single hit, and in a favorable position, thanks to its stealth rocks resist, it can get TR back up vs a mon that can't hit it well, Koko for example. besides, once trick room is up, it is incredibly oppressive. Utility Lando T cannot switch in on Gyro ball, for example. You need Bulky waters to really roadblock this mon, and it's very difficult to do if it has as much as one attack boost. moreover, it's Kind o Defensively covered by common Trick room setters, Cresselia Switching in on Ground and fighting type moves, as well as special water moves, and Porygon2 (if it aint Physdef it aint real I'm not sorry) switching in on Physical water moves (especially ivy cudgel since Porygon2 Traces Water Absorb) and other moves of the sort. This stakataka in particular is very useful to trick room as whatever is on the field that isn't Dondozo, it's going to take hefty Damage.​

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldex-2375647009?p2 Turn 13 Unboosted Gyro ball OHKO chomp
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldex-2376225694 Stakataka Gyro Ball doing 70 to Zama, Heat Crash ftw.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldex-2376227933 idk what bro was cooking either but that's Staka Solo 6-0
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldex-2376238898 Gyro ball ftw





expect e Mega ampharos post in the next few days ....

Everything Said here still holds true.
I'd like to add that Stakataka OHKOs offensive Lando at +0, can use Trick room to reset it against a passive mon (Mola going for protect, Clefable, non-BP ferro, non-ep Pagos, Sball Lele, Hatterene and such) to give itself 4 more turns of trick room, even tho this maneuver needs 2 turns.



Replays for Mega Amph:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldex-2380196480?p2
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldex-2380121052?p2
Replays for Staka:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldex-2376225694
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldex-2376259088?p2

 

[MuffinOfMagic]

Just a question, but what are the reasons Lokix is unranked in National Dex? Yes it does have some issues with hazards, but from what I've seen, hazards are common, but not the central part of the metagame. Things like mega Charizard (both x and y) are placed high (A+ and B+ if I remember, but this isn't important). Lokix provides some really valuable chip damage (if not KOs) as well as great pivoting into a more defensive member of your team. I believe it has not been explored fully, and in my experience, its best item is not actually Heavy-Duty Boots, but actually Choice Scarf. Obviously this could be seen as a questionable choice since you might think its role is to click moves like Sucker Punch or First Impression, but I've found it more useful as a U-Turn spammer. Again, take all of this with a grain of salt, as I am nowhere near being amazing at National Dex.

I forgot to mention, this post is NOT me asking for Lokix to be ranked (though I believe it could), this is just me exploring an under appreciated pick I've had success with

Also if anyone has any NatDex teams that have Lokix, send them in the replies, and we might get it the love it deserves

 

[pokegod70419]

Just a question, but what are the reasons Lokix is unranked in National Dex? Yes it does have some issues with hazards, but from what I've seen, hazards are common, but not the central part of the metagame. Things like mega Charizard (both x and y) are placed high (A+ and B+ if I remember, but this isn't important). Lokix provides some really valuable chip damage (if not KOs) as well as great pivoting into a more defensive member of your team. I believe it has not been explored fully, and in my experience, its best item is not actually Heavy-Duty Boots, but actually Choice Scarf. Obviously this could be seen as a questionable choice since you might think its role is to click moves like Sucker Punch or First Impression, but I've found it more useful as a U-Turn spammer. Again, take all of this with a grain of salt, as I am nowhere near being amazing at National Dex.

I forgot to mention, this post is NOT me asking for Lokix to be ranked (though I believe it could), this is just me exploring an under appreciated pick I've had success with

Also if anyone has any NatDex teams that have Lokix, send them in the replies, and we might get it the love it deserves

Lokix is UR in NDOU because its stats, though minmaxxed, are just too low for what it wants to do. It has a niche in OU thanks to tera bug allowing choice band sets to actually output large amounts of damage with First Impression. It's also painfully rocks weak, and Pokemon like the Mega Charizards are able to function thanks to either tons of team support or only needing to come in once, and Lokix doesn't have the power to make that tradeoff worth the effort. The set you mentioned, Choice Scarf, is not only rocks weak, but is also not outputting enough damage, nor is it fast enough for what it wants to do. 92 speed at +1 is still outsped by other scarfers like Tapu Lele and Urshifu-R, making it painfully difficult for it to do anything notable, therefore being unviable in NDOU in the eyes of top players and the council.

 

[pokegod70419]

also forgot to mention but ghold blocks defog and rapid spin making it really hard for hazards to stay off a sufficient amount for lokix

 

[Moyashi]

Wellspring dodged the ban again so I’m throwing preemptive noms out to deal with the salt ;-;

B+ -> B
Some people like this but I just can’t think of enough reasons to use it these days when it’s so clunky to use at times, and it doesn’t have a ton of defensive utility right now. Poor matchups into common offensive threats and a proclivity for getting worn down by hazards (Gliscor cough) makes its longevity too limited to be relied on for checking much. In general it just feels hard to slot in and with Wellspring staying for good, it feels like it’s in a poor spot.

A -> A-
Follow up to a previous spicy take but I don’t like this Mon rn. It still feels very shaky as a steel defensively since most things you want steels to check can just chunk it or beat it easily, and it’s not terribly remarkable as a progress maker with Knock Off. SD is something you always gotta respect but that’s such an easy task with how loaded the tier is with checks and half checks alike. It just feels hard at times to justify over other steels which bring more utility and defensive prowess to the table.