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Lower Tiers RBY Ubers Hub
- Thread starter Enigami
- Start date
Ordered within tiers
ordered within tiers
Mons I want to talk about
The problem with Swords Dance Mew
If you glance at my ALTPL/UWL teamdump you'll see that with Mewtwo, I experimented with a ton of different sets: Barrier, Twave, Amnesia, Explosion, and so on. However with Mew I stuck with the traditional Swords Dance set (I think?) every game, and I felt like it was less useful as the weeks went on. The problem with Swords Dance Mew, compared to older RBY Ubers metas, is that now Mew and Mewtwo are running around spamming Thunder Wave more often than ever. This means it's much harder now for Mew to set up Swords Dance and remain unparalyzed, which heavily hinders its sweeping potential.
I noticed this problem especially with Swords Dance + Thunder Wave + Earthquake + Soft-Boiled Mew. I used to believe that this set was the best Mew set in RBY Ubers, and you could run it alongside Cloydon essentially for free, since Cloyster and Rhydon checked the birds. In a world where Mewtwo still spams Amnesia + 2 Attacks + Recover, you could bring this Mew set in on Mewtwo, paralyze it, then spam soft-boiled until it FPs then get a free boost. Now that you have a boosted unparalyzed Mew staring down a paralyzed Mewtwo, this often forces your opponent out, and if you are in a good enough position you could force progress or even sweep outright. If you try doing this in 2025, Mew and Mewtwo will trade Paralysis, and now your Mew becomes a much less effective progress maker sweeper.
Support Mew
So I genuinely thought this was an original idea and was talking to Ctown6 about it then he linked me to this post where he talked about the same exact mew set THREE YEARS AGO. My idea behind support Mew is that Swords Dance does not let you fit Thunder Wave, Soft-Boiled, and Explosion on the same set. You generally have to give up one, or sometimes two, of these good moves to make room for Swords Dance and your attacking moves. Because of this, I figured why not scrap Swords Dance and run these three + an attacking move (mainly used Psychic). I have described this set to people as an "exploding Chansey". The mon is played like Chansey, generally eats and spreads para, not a great damage output, and sticks around through good bulk + instant reovery. However Chansey is pretty flawed in Ubers largely due to how passive it is and how it allowes Mew/Mewtwo to setup for free. This is where boom is useful, if you need to bail out of Mew/Mewtwo setting up on you, you can explode to gain momentum.
This set fits best on teams that do well in the physical department and appreciate Mew's purpose as more of a defensive backbone than a physical sweeper. Double Normal (Bull + Lax) teams stand out in particular for me. You have enough physical firepower with the Normals so SD Mew alongside them seems like overkill. Running support Mew and playing it more defensively gives you a mon to fall back on and threaten paralysis against special attackers, such as Psychic-types, Zapdos, or Cloyster. You're not bulletproof, of course, but you definitely appreciate the defensive utility. An example of a team Support Mew would NOT be good on is some kind of Mie + Zam team. You have enough twavers and special tanks and would greatly appreciate SD Mew's offensive potential more. My general rule was "the more physical a team is, the less physical Mew's set should be"
Zapdos is not great
Zapdos in OU has two key defining traits: (1) it is a deadly lategame sweeper with Agility and dual STAB, and (2) it has a hard wall in Rhydon. In Ubers, Rhydon is still common and Zapdos is still ass into it. In fact, I'd argue that Zapdos into Rhydon is much worse in Ubers since Zapdos + Tauros is heavily constraining in builder meaning there is a good chance you are not using the Bull. Additionally, Zapdos is not nearly as deadly in Ubers; Mewtwo sits on it (and now with Blizzard > Ice Beam it 2HKOes), and while Mew into Zapdos is a lot shakier it's still hard for Zapdos to break.
One big thing Zapdos (and all other fliers) has is walling Mono-EQ Mew sets. This used to be a very valuable trait and I ranked Zapdos very highly because of it. However as I mentioned in the Mew section I find Swords Dance Mew as a whole to not be as dangerous anymore, to the extent that I don't think it's worth devoting an entire teamslot to walling Mono-EQ Mew when I could instead just Thunder Wave it. This means I don't think Zapdos is an effective sweeper or worth using as a Mew wall, making it hard to justify, especially since Zam and Mie have grown on me as twavers.
Most of my Zapdos hate is towards back Zapdos, though. I think lead Zapdos is still very good, being able to force damage and para and favorable against most leads. Lead Zapdos is fine, but back Zapdos is hard to justify.
Not gonna give it its own section but this does also mean I think Aerodactyl is dead. It's really not worth using an entire teamslot to wall Mew, and on top of that your opp isn't even guaranteed to run lax or SD Mew anymore, meaning Aero might just wall zero mons on your opponent's team. Take your Aerodactyls somewhere else, this is a serious tier.
Chansey is underrated (if you play it correctly)
You know that bell curve meme where both the bottom and top of the curve agree while the middle disagrees? That is how I feel about Chansey. People new to RBY Ubers will assume Chansey is good because of the special bulk and "ability to wall Mewtwo", then once you improve at the tier you will see Chansey is not that great since it is passive and doesn't actually wall Mewtwo. However, if you keep playing the tier even more you will realize Chansey indeed has a place, as long as you play it a certain way.
The way I see Chansey is as a sleeper, no different from pokemon like Exeggutor and Jynx. This is different to OU Chansey where Sleep is one of the many things it can do, but not the sole purpose of the mon. If you are using Chansey, use it for sleep. In contrast with Exeggutor, it lacks the offensive pressure, but does not die to Ice moves. This makes it my sleeper of choice against teams that need a little more help with special attackers, with mons like Tauros, Snorlax, Cloyster, and Rhydon. Exeggutor is the better Pokemon most of the time, but Chansey definitely has a place. I especially like pairing it with Lead Tauros since you can turn 1 switch against a lot of leads, mostly the Psychics.
Once complaint I've seen against Chansey is "after landing sleep it's just explosion fodder." This is a good thing though! After Chansey lands sleep it is extremely passive and doesn't do much outside of Thunder Wave. I would much rather have Exeggutor use Explosion on my Chansey than something more valuable, like my Mew or Mewtwo.
If you think Chansey is bad, you are bad.
Alakazam is a great mon
Alakazam has been incredibly disrespected in RBY Ubers for a long time, and I think this mon deserves more respect. Lead Zam is still great, I'd argue as good as OU since it's great at forcing twave. Less Chansey means you are more likely to bait in a turn 1 egg switch, with teammates such as Slowbro, Rhydon, and Mew appreciate. My recent distaste for Zapdos has also made me appreciate Zam more, as I feel it has outdone Zapdos as a twave lead.
Something that I think is extremely underexplored right now in Ubers is back Alakazam. Kinesis Alakazam is genuinely a good Mewtwo answer since you can recover on boosted hits and click Kinesis, stalling it out through misses and FPs. I tried this with Flash Chansey in UWL but it did not work since Flash Chansey had to dodge para to be effective, then I figured if I'm dodging para anyway why not just load Zam, and Kinesis Zam has performed much, much better.
Alakazam is a fantastic mon and is easily a top 10 ubers Pokemon in my opinion.
Mewtwo
- Amnesia
- Ice Beam
- Barrier
- Recover
It's tempting to blame builder and skill issue as the cause for almost everyone in the UPL pool constantly getting 6-0ed by this guy but genuinely fuck this asshole. I hate this set with a burning passion. It's not fun to use since you don't get to play the game with your mewtwo until you send it in and click 17 setup moves then hope you dodge a few crit booms and sweep. Barrier2 can win games based on matchup. If you don't have a way to stop Mewtwo once it sets up then... gg? But you also can't just bring Chansey/Cloyster/Slowbro to every game so sometimes you just have to accept the loss. This set also brings back the famous "GET MEWTWO PARALYZED SO IT CAN'T BE FROZEN AND YOU CAN PP STALL BETTER" strategy which I'm really upset the meta has drifted back towards it.
Because of how much of a sack of shit this mon is I'm gonna list a ton of ways to counter it so if you think opponent is gonna bring it you can shut them down then laugh in their face as their wincon gets destroyed.
(Kinesis)
(Recover)
(Ice only)
(Bolt only)
(SD + Boom)
(just crit lmao)
(boom before setup)But you know what the fun part is? Even if you prep for it and have the perfect counter THIS SHITHEAD CAN STILL FREEZE YOU! ISN'T THAT FUN AND EXCITING GAMEPLAY??? Almost all of these "counters" require some degree of luck (except maybe like cloyster/grounds vs the mono attacking sets). Alakazam has to hit kinesis then dodge moves, chansey/slowbro/mew have to dodge freeze etc.
I still really like RBY Ubers overall as a tier but Barrier2 has made it less enjoyable for me.
You guys are all welcome to me and JVG25 for the beauty that is Barrier Ice Beam M2
M2 defines ur team style, mew is ass but needed, nice 4mss buddy, tauros is the goat but harsher environnement (like i have followed anything uber related this year...) eggy spoiled child, lax has no match up issues with the right set, dosent expose you to anything unlike its alternatives, but the lax mirror sucks.
Zapdos best lead (even against gengar) good in the back, starmie will always be better alakazam for me as long as tbolt isnt everywhere, cloy is the best anti physical option and despite the lack of status dosent slow down offence too much thanks to cheap clamp and boom (and is a staple of more reactive/unorthodox builds) chansey is chansey, will always milk lesser players by getting more done than it should. Rhydon and gar gives normal resists and gengar can lead and may offer tbolt.
zam jynx are good leads (and back jynx might be the next step of offence cuz egg mirror sucks) hypno is a sleeper faster than eggy and can also keep making progress with 100% acc para. Jolt is similar to zam, less longevity but better zap/water option which isnt too revelant if its sleeping. Gap between golem and rhydon is still to big for me but what i can i do, amnesia is fucking terrible, agility is a good wincon esp vs physical oriented teams. wrap is ass and cheap but like hypno any sleeper faster than eggy that can apply para after is good enough
Only ranked mons that id use quite consistently. Slowbro barely made the cut. Might think that Cuno or Molt could be good, and I gave up on Golem. Thats about it, really
Earlier this year there was an evolution in M2 set catered to more twave spreading and immediate high offence strategy, such as Blizzard over Ice Beam, and Selfdestruct. The balance in physical and special pokemon was still prevalent. This set allowed your Rhydons and Tauros' to clean up endgames.
A counter meta has risen, first aimed at neutering and walling this Mewtwo. Namely, the increasing prevalence of Starmie and Alakazam.
I will not lie. I despise the current meta. I am not very good at it also yes (I stubbornly tried to persevere with a balance of phys and special attackers in UPL and paid the price) but I would say this regardless I think.
The new meta contains a lot of heavily RNG dependent moves and strategies. Intense twave+recover spam, Kinesis Zam, Barrier2 and Cloyster have risen for example. The meta feels like it's both littered with teams that can reduce games to twave spam + explosion and force short games, and yet is also filled with distinct styles catered to stall.
There are a multitude of different styles and viable sets to bring now which is worlds apart from 2/3 years ago. To the extent that I think it's difficult to cover everything and scouting has become extra important. Are you covered enough against physical offence? Are you covered against Wrap? Are you covered against ice spam? Etc.
The biggest demon by far is Barrier2. I predicted this guy would rise back in March after I saw the direction the meta was going in UWL and sadly it has. I hate this mon with a passion in this meta. Completely agree with Gastlies. There is a skill in knowing when to begin to set it up to an extent. But mostly this thing is an rng/matchup fish. PP stall is legit the only way to prevent it cleaning sometimes, and if you don't have the right mon for it then either get lucky crit(s) or wave goodbye to all your exploders. Sometimes the threat of it forces you into instantly going to a boomer also, so it acts as a scarecrow to whatever mon you may have had in a good position in a game.
Meta feels very matchup roulette to me rn. I'm sure more counter-meta ideas will come, these things usually move in cycles, so I'm not concerned about the state of the tier rn but if it is still the same in 6-12 months time then I do begin to fear.
Biggest drop off from last VR is Rhydon and Zapdos imo. Biggest gains are Mie, Zam and Cloy. Mewtwo has strengthened its stranglehold on first over 2025. Mew still deserves to be same tier tho.That top 6 I ranked is the best team by a mile atm. Majority of games I watched towards the end of UPL looked the same
A counter meta has risen, first aimed at neutering and walling this Mewtwo. Namely, the increasing prevalence of Starmie and Alakazam.
I will not lie. I despise the current meta. I am not very good at it also yes (I stubbornly tried to persevere with a balance of phys and special attackers in UPL and paid the price) but I would say this regardless I think.
The new meta contains a lot of heavily RNG dependent moves and strategies. Intense twave+recover spam, Kinesis Zam, Barrier2 and Cloyster have risen for example. The meta feels like it's both littered with teams that can reduce games to twave spam + explosion and force short games, and yet is also filled with distinct styles catered to stall.
There are a multitude of different styles and viable sets to bring now which is worlds apart from 2/3 years ago. To the extent that I think it's difficult to cover everything and scouting has become extra important. Are you covered enough against physical offence? Are you covered against Wrap? Are you covered against ice spam? Etc.
The biggest demon by far is Barrier2. I predicted this guy would rise back in March after I saw the direction the meta was going in UWL and sadly it has. I hate this mon with a passion in this meta. Completely agree with Gastlies. There is a skill in knowing when to begin to set it up to an extent. But mostly this thing is an rng/matchup fish. PP stall is legit the only way to prevent it cleaning sometimes, and if you don't have the right mon for it then either get lucky crit(s) or wave goodbye to all your exploders. Sometimes the threat of it forces you into instantly going to a boomer also, so it acts as a scarecrow to whatever mon you may have had in a good position in a game.
Meta feels very matchup roulette to me rn. I'm sure more counter-meta ideas will come, these things usually move in cycles, so I'm not concerned about the state of the tier rn but if it is still the same in 6-12 months time then I do begin to fear.
Biggest drop off from last VR is Rhydon and Zapdos imo. Biggest gains are Mie, Zam and Cloy. Mewtwo has strengthened its stranglehold on first over 2025. Mew still deserves to be same tier tho.That top 6 I ranked is the best team by a mile atm. Majority of games I watched towards the end of UPL looked the same
Attachments
The 2025 Ubers VR is here!
Thanks to all submitters, as well as Wanted in 49 States for compiling all the data! Also shoutout to BeeOrSomething I really liked how you formatted the GSC NU VR update and blatantly ripped it off.
The VR is below, each tier is ordered. The number in the parentheses is the change in placement compared to the March 2024 Update. You can access the raw data here.
S Rank
01 Mewtwo (0)
02 Mew (0)
A Rank
03
Exeggutor (+1)
04
Tauros (+1)
05
Snorlax (-2)
B1 Rank
06
Cloyster (+12)
07 Zapdos (+3)
08
Rhydon (0)
09
Gengar (-2)
B2 Rank
10 Chansey (-4)
11
Jynx (0)
12 Alakazam (0)
13
Slowbro (-4)
14
Starmie (-1)
C Rank
15
Articuno (+8)
16
Dragonite (+1)
17
Golem (-2)
18
Victreebel(+4)
19
Jolteon (-3)
20
Hypno (-6)
D Rank
21
Lapras (0)
22
Sandslash (-3)
23
Moltres (+3)
E Rank
24
Persian (0)
25
Electrode (+3)
26
Aerodactyl (-6)
F Rank
27
Dodrio(-2)
28
Poliwrath (+2)
29
Arbok (+2)
30
Ditto (+3)
Observations
3 --> 5 (-2)
Snorlax dropping two spots on the VR is a good representation of how laxless teams have been developed for the past year or so. It is difficult to run multiple slow mons in RBY Ubers so teams like CloyDons and BroDons often drop Lax, while other teams just lean offensive with stuff like Tauros and Exeggutor. Fitting all three of Tauros Exeggutor and Snorlax is tricker than ever now as well due to the ice-cold climate of the current RBY Ubers meta. However, Snorlax is still an elite Pokemon; not a single submitter ranked it (or Tauros/Exeggutor) below #5 on the viability rankings. It is still one of the most important and dominant Pokemon in the metagame, with strong Normal STAB and the best boom in the tier, but it is no longer seen as up on a pedestal alongside Mewtwo and Mew.
18 --> 6 (+12)
A mon rising up twelve spots in a thirty-year old metagame seems impossible, but here we are. The current Ubers environment is EXTREMELY friendly towards Cloyster. Its high defense and access to Explosion make it a good teammate to use on and against offense. Tauros, Snorlax, and Exeggutor are all being spammed right now, making Cloyster's STAB Blizzard extremely deadly. The increase in recoverless Mew/Mewtwo also makes Blizzard harder to switch into than before. Additionally, Articuno and Barrier + Ice Beam Mewtwo are more common now, both of which Cloyster walls. Even if it doesn't land a Barrier + Ice Beam Mewtwo matchup, most teams have at least two of Tauros, Snorlax, and Exeggutor. This alongside Explosion mean Cloyster will always provide something useful to your team.
6 --> 10 (-4)
From 3rd, to 6th, to 10th, the fall of Chansey continues. The offensive nature of the tier has essentially killed every Chansey set except for Sing, and Sing Chansey competes with other sleepers such as Gengar, Jynx, Hypno, and most importantly Exeggutor. You need a really good reason to use Sing Chasney over Exeggutor as Eggy's access to Explosion makes it much more forcing and offensive. On the other hand, Chansey can become setup fodder for Mewtwo and Mew due to its passivity. However, Chansey does have an important place in the meta, since unlike Exeggutor it can fend off the onslaught of Ice-type moves present in the tier right now. I could also see Chansey making a resurgence in the future, as it is good at fending off Barrier + Ice Beam and BlizzBolt Mewtwo, two sets that are increasing in popularity.
9 --> 13 (-4)
Slowbro used to be a top mon in Ubers since it could counter-boost aganst Amnesia Mewtwo lacking Thunderbolt, either stalling it or forcing it out. It can still do this, but Amnesia Mewtwo as a whole is less common now, making Slowbro's niche more redundant. Nowadays, the meta is about paralyzing the opposing Mewtwo and forcing it out with a physical attacker as opposed to stalling, so it shouldn't be a surprise that the more offensive Explosion-wielding Cloyster has surpassed Slowbro as the dominant bulky Water-type of the tier. Slowbro still has a place, though, as Psychic + Blizzard Mewtwo is still walled by it, and it can fend off Barrier + Ice Beam Mewtwo. A large part of why Mewtwo runs Thunderbolt is because of Slowbro after all. It's just that its passivity is much more exploitable nowadays.
23 --> 15 (+8)
A lot of what I talked about in Cloyster's section applies for Articuno as well. It is a good offensive mon with Agility and the strongest Blizzard in RBY, and is a good anti-offensive mon due to its good matchups against Tauros, Snorlax, and Exeggutor. This makes it one of the most deadly Pokemon in the tier after Mewtwo is off the field, as even Mew struggles to heal off Articuno's Blizzards once it is paralyzed. The fall of Chansey and Slowbro, as well as lower prevalence of Starmie compared to OU makes Articuno much more deadly in Ubers as well. However, Articuno is not an Ubers staple quite yet. It still suffers from doing NOTHING to Mewtwo outside of freeze, and the rise of Cloyster has been terrible for it.
14 --> 20 (-6)
Hypno is tied for the biggest drop in the VR which is kinda funny because I'm not sure exactly what caused this to happen? It's not a mon that's talked about that often it's just something that kind of exists in the tier. I have two ideas for what caused this drop. The first is that a lot of stuff below Hypno got better, while Hypno just kinda stayed the same. Cloyster and Articuno I've already mentioned which already drops Hypno by 2 spots. Wrap has seen an uptick which improves Victreebel as well. The second explanation for Hypno's drop could be a rise in Gengar and Jynx leads, which outspeed lead Hypno letting them get the first sleep. Exeggutor leads are less common which was one of Hypno's better lead matchups. Hypno is still an important part of the lead metagame, matching up particularly well into Mewtwo, but it is less frequently seen now.
20 --> 26 (-6)
Last, and least, is Aerodactyl, which like Hypno dropped six spots. Unlike Hypno though, I do have a good explanation for why Aero dropped. When your entire purpose is to wall Snorlax and Swords Dance Mew, and those two are less common, you're gonna suck. Tauros is running Thunderbolt more now to snipe Cloyster which is also bad into Aerodactyl. Unfortunately this mon is pretty much dead in the current Ubers environment, there might be some very specific scouts which this mon is good into (those with 100% physlax and SD Mew) but those are very hard to find in 2025.
Thanks to all submitters, as well as Wanted in 49 States for compiling all the data! Also shoutout to BeeOrSomething I really liked how you formatted the GSC NU VR update and blatantly ripped it off.
The VR is below, each tier is ordered. The number in the parentheses is the change in placement compared to the March 2024 Update. You can access the raw data here.
S Rank
01
Mewtwo (0)02
Mew (0)A Rank
03
Exeggutor (+1)04
Tauros (+1)05
Snorlax (-2)B1 Rank
06
Cloyster (+12)07
Zapdos (+3)08
Rhydon (0)09
Gengar (-2)B2 Rank
10
Chansey (-4)11
Jynx (0)12
Alakazam (0)13
Slowbro (-4)14
Starmie (-1)C Rank
15
Articuno (+8)16
Dragonite (+1)17
Golem (-2)18
Victreebel(+4)19
Jolteon (-3)20
Hypno (-6)D Rank
21
Lapras (0)22
Sandslash (-3)23
Moltres (+3)E Rank
24
Persian (0)25
Electrode (+3)26
Aerodactyl (-6)F Rank
27
Dodrio(-2)28
Poliwrath (+2)29
Arbok (+2)30
Ditto (+3)S:
A:
B1:
B2:
C:
D:
E:
F:
A:
B1:
B2:
C:
D:
E:
F:
Observations
3 --> 5 (-2)Snorlax dropping two spots on the VR is a good representation of how laxless teams have been developed for the past year or so. It is difficult to run multiple slow mons in RBY Ubers so teams like CloyDons and BroDons often drop Lax, while other teams just lean offensive with stuff like Tauros and Exeggutor. Fitting all three of Tauros Exeggutor and Snorlax is tricker than ever now as well due to the ice-cold climate of the current RBY Ubers meta. However, Snorlax is still an elite Pokemon; not a single submitter ranked it (or Tauros/Exeggutor) below #5 on the viability rankings. It is still one of the most important and dominant Pokemon in the metagame, with strong Normal STAB and the best boom in the tier, but it is no longer seen as up on a pedestal alongside Mewtwo and Mew.
18 --> 6 (+12)A mon rising up twelve spots in a thirty-year old metagame seems impossible, but here we are. The current Ubers environment is EXTREMELY friendly towards Cloyster. Its high defense and access to Explosion make it a good teammate to use on and against offense. Tauros, Snorlax, and Exeggutor are all being spammed right now, making Cloyster's STAB Blizzard extremely deadly. The increase in recoverless Mew/Mewtwo also makes Blizzard harder to switch into than before. Additionally, Articuno and Barrier + Ice Beam Mewtwo are more common now, both of which Cloyster walls. Even if it doesn't land a Barrier + Ice Beam Mewtwo matchup, most teams have at least two of Tauros, Snorlax, and Exeggutor. This alongside Explosion mean Cloyster will always provide something useful to your team.
6 --> 10 (-4)From 3rd, to 6th, to 10th, the fall of Chansey continues. The offensive nature of the tier has essentially killed every Chansey set except for Sing, and Sing Chansey competes with other sleepers such as Gengar, Jynx, Hypno, and most importantly Exeggutor. You need a really good reason to use Sing Chasney over Exeggutor as Eggy's access to Explosion makes it much more forcing and offensive. On the other hand, Chansey can become setup fodder for Mewtwo and Mew due to its passivity. However, Chansey does have an important place in the meta, since unlike Exeggutor it can fend off the onslaught of Ice-type moves present in the tier right now. I could also see Chansey making a resurgence in the future, as it is good at fending off Barrier + Ice Beam and BlizzBolt Mewtwo, two sets that are increasing in popularity.
9 --> 13 (-4)Slowbro used to be a top mon in Ubers since it could counter-boost aganst Amnesia Mewtwo lacking Thunderbolt, either stalling it or forcing it out. It can still do this, but Amnesia Mewtwo as a whole is less common now, making Slowbro's niche more redundant. Nowadays, the meta is about paralyzing the opposing Mewtwo and forcing it out with a physical attacker as opposed to stalling, so it shouldn't be a surprise that the more offensive Explosion-wielding Cloyster has surpassed Slowbro as the dominant bulky Water-type of the tier. Slowbro still has a place, though, as Psychic + Blizzard Mewtwo is still walled by it, and it can fend off Barrier + Ice Beam Mewtwo. A large part of why Mewtwo runs Thunderbolt is because of Slowbro after all. It's just that its passivity is much more exploitable nowadays.
23 --> 15 (+8)A lot of what I talked about in Cloyster's section applies for Articuno as well. It is a good offensive mon with Agility and the strongest Blizzard in RBY, and is a good anti-offensive mon due to its good matchups against Tauros, Snorlax, and Exeggutor. This makes it one of the most deadly Pokemon in the tier after Mewtwo is off the field, as even Mew struggles to heal off Articuno's Blizzards once it is paralyzed. The fall of Chansey and Slowbro, as well as lower prevalence of Starmie compared to OU makes Articuno much more deadly in Ubers as well. However, Articuno is not an Ubers staple quite yet. It still suffers from doing NOTHING to Mewtwo outside of freeze, and the rise of Cloyster has been terrible for it.
14 --> 20 (-6)Hypno is tied for the biggest drop in the VR which is kinda funny because I'm not sure exactly what caused this to happen? It's not a mon that's talked about that often it's just something that kind of exists in the tier. I have two ideas for what caused this drop. The first is that a lot of stuff below Hypno got better, while Hypno just kinda stayed the same. Cloyster and Articuno I've already mentioned which already drops Hypno by 2 spots. Wrap has seen an uptick which improves Victreebel as well. The second explanation for Hypno's drop could be a rise in Gengar and Jynx leads, which outspeed lead Hypno letting them get the first sleep. Exeggutor leads are less common which was one of Hypno's better lead matchups. Hypno is still an important part of the lead metagame, matching up particularly well into Mewtwo, but it is less frequently seen now.
20 --> 26 (-6)Last, and least, is Aerodactyl, which like Hypno dropped six spots. Unlike Hypno though, I do have a good explanation for why Aero dropped. When your entire purpose is to wall Snorlax and Swords Dance Mew, and those two are less common, you're gonna suck. Tauros is running Thunderbolt more now to snipe Cloyster which is also bad into Aerodactyl. Unfortunately this mon is pretty much dead in the current Ubers environment, there might be some very specific scouts which this mon is good into (those with 100% physlax and SD Mew) but those are very hard to find in 2025.