Resource National Dex Viability Rankings (Post Tera Ban)

[Kin+ak (✧∇✧)]

I'm overdue for a VR nom, sorry to the fans.

to C
"Mega Garchomp is a shitmon" WE'RE NOT IN 2019 ANYMORE WAKE UP!!
Mega Garchomp is infamous for being worse than Garchomp, and I don't question the veracity of this statement -- in most cases. Mega Garchomp is actually quite effective, when it uses its ability, Sand Force. What does Sand force do? essentially, 130 BP on EQ and Stone Edge when Sand is up.
that is all. The ability of Mega Garchomp is to have 130BP EQ. THE 170 ATTACK MON IS USING GROUND HIGH JUMP KICK WHEN SAND IS UP. Besides that, it also gets 40 Base Points added to its Special attack upon Mega Evolving. what this means is that now it gets Arceus level special attack with STAB Draco Meteor. Now let's talk about this Draco Meteor. with 140 SpA investment, Draco Meteor:
-140 SpA Garchomp-Mega Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Alomomola: 342-403 (64 - 75.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after sandstorm damage
-140 SpA Garchomp-Mega Draco Meteor over 2 turns vs. 244 HP / 0 SpD Landorus-Therian: 333-394 (87.6 - 103.6%) -- guaranteed KO in 2 turns after Stealth Rock
-140 SpA Garchomp-Mega Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Great Tusk: 306-361 (70.5 - 83.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
-140 SpA Garchomp-Mega Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Dondozo: 261-307 (51.7 - 60.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
And that's not all Mega Chomp does with this much Special attack, it also uses the handy Fire blast! it lets it beat Ferrothorn, Mega scizor, Balloon Gholdengo, :
-140 SpA Garchomp-Mega Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 176 SpD Ferrothorn: 316-376 (89.7 - 106.8%) -- 75% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
-140 SpA Garchomp-Mega Fire Blast vs. 248 HP / 128 SpD Scizor-Mega: 368-436 (107.2 - 127.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
-140 SpA Garchomp-Mega Fire Blast vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Gholdengo: 226-266 (71.7 - 84.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
-140 SpA Garchomp-Mega Fire Blast vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Corviknight: 238-280 (59.6 - 70.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
-140 SpA Garchomp-Mega Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Skarmory: 280-330 (83.8 - 98.8%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock


and at that Point you might be askin: "Does earthquake even hit that hard if you use that much EVs into Special attack?" or "yo ass aint beating AV mola lmfao" (I see you) or even "OBVIOUSLY Kin+ak would talk about Mega Garchomp" (I'm in your walls)
However, Garchomp's trusty day one companion STAB move, Earthquake, does everything you wish it could do.
-Deals with AV Mola, 120 Atk Sand Force Garchomp-Mega Earthquake vs. 8 HP / 248 Def Alomomola: 220-259 (46.5 - 54.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and sandstorm damage YES
-Deals with Most of everything, TBH.
120 Atk EVs EQ is not here to OHKO most of everyhthing, it's here to 2HKO most of everything. It can also run Hidden power Ice to beat Gliscpex all by itself, or Stone Edge to Kill Zap and Molt. Don't forget that Mega Garchomp is also Bulkier, letting it use Utility such as Spikes or Toxic in some cases, tho I'd stick to AOA Mega Garchomp for the VR.

but what does Mega Garchomp give to Sand teams? why not Use Mega Tyranitar or Mega Scizor or something like that?

Mega Garchomp's Bulk lets it be a Wincon that doesn't fear most priority or common offensive types. the fact that it's mixed lets you put a ton of pressure on the opponents when they least expect it. one dmeteor and landot can' t check excadrill no more, One fire Blast and Corv can't switch in on you no more, one Dmeteor and Zama can't switch in on Excadrill no more, one EQ and Mega Sableye can't switch in on Hippowdon in fear of a double EQ, Mega Chomp isn't here to break it's here to make progress. Anyways because it's so great in Sand teams I think Mega Garchomp should be at least C on the VR thank you if you read this post fully and did not just think "lmao Kinak noms mega garchomp" because otherwise fuck you.



REPLAYS:

None Lol

told you there were NONE

why are you sitll here? you believe in Mega Chomp??

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldex-2450201461-h2ehwnms6gg9k62e6jt4uo2jq84wq0kpw?p2
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldex-2450165575-q6r2mgboxop88eeol36hnxdolgpqucwpw?p2
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldex-2448179182-vck6yql6nksl9buiir32f72jt57stpxpw?p2
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldex-2448003539-of2hmqvh9ji5trgf7bm85k4bmigebinpw (Best replay if you aint got time to see them all)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldex-2445524308-8ef21c2apk8mt11511nq2hryguwdgivpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldex-2445308514-cr4ncwue27d176acm2rstyh5aflb30jpw?p2

In some of those games, Garchomp is not the wincon, sometimes it's Excadrill or Gholdengo, but Garchomp is what lets them thrive, by killing a mon here, by Chipping a mon there, that's how it becomes useful, that's the true use of Mega Garchomp.

 

[Sputnik]

Gonna make a couple quick noms based on a few trends we've been seeing in PL

B+ -> A-

Kyurem is quickly turning into one of the most feared offensive threats in the tier. We already knew that the standard Boots SubRoost set has been a destroyer of balance for a long time, but recent innovations and metagame developments has made it even more effective offensively as of late. The Groundium Z variant of the balance breaker set, in particular, means that certain midgrounds to the set, most notably Gholdengo and Glowking, are no longer fully safe from being blown up by it. Many slower balance teams lacking a Fire-type use these as their main SubRoost Kyurem counterplay, so having the option to nuke these guys makes Kyurem an even more multifaceted and dangerous threat. A lot of teams are relying on bulky Fire-types, most notably Moltres and Volcarona, to handle Kyurem, but they are far from safe from all of its sets. The Choice Specs set is another set that I've been really liking recently; it pushes a ton of damage onto switch ins like Glowking, Body Press Ferrothorn, and, most crucially, Moltres, while also being a very strong wallbreaker in its own right. It's certainly prediction reliant, but the reward is well worth it. And lets not pretend like the standard SubRoost set is bad or anything; it gets Substitutes up on common Pokemon like Alomomola, Toxapex, and Zapdos and then goes to town. Kyurem certainly has issues, which is why I don't think it can go higher than A-. It tends to give Volcarona free turns, which is never a good thing, and running a Dragon-type that checks neither Waterpon nor Zard Y can be constricting in builder at times. These are not completely unreasonable things to cover, however; a lot of Kyurem teams use things like AV Alomomola to help with Volcarona while getting Kyurem in safely, or even another Dragon-type to deal with Waterpon and Yard. All in all, its well worth bending over backwards in builder to make this thing work, and its way more threatening than other B+ Pokemon in my opinion, so a rise is warranted.

A- -> B+

Clef still has a lot of good traits, as being a Fighting resist that also sets Stealth Rock is fantastic, while Magic Guard makes it a status and Knock Off absorber extraordinare. However, I do not believe metagame trends currently favor Clefable. It tends to be rather passive into Gliscor anchored balances, and it struggles to scare out many Volcarona and Gholdengo sets. Additionally, its Dragon immunity is of less use than previously, as dangerous Dragons like SD Garchomp, Mega Latios, and the aforementioned Kyurem can brute force their way past it, as these Pokemon often don't even use their Dragon-STAB as their primary option. It still checks these ok, but its not an especially safe switch in. The lack of a Ground-, Psychic-, Ice-, or Fire-resist leaves Clefable overwhelmed by many common offensive types at this time, which makes it a bit harder to get the most out of than its defensive compatriots. Still a decent choice, but not A- in my opinion.

(This is Mega Latias) C- -> UR

Lets rip off the bandaid; no one is bringing this thing to any games that matter. The slow, CM sweeper sets that this was known for in SS is essentially completely unviable in a world of Alomomola, Gholdengo, Glowking, and Volcarona. Any offensive wallbreaker set is entirely outclassed by Mega Latios, as Mist Ball is strictly worse than Luster Purge (Mega Latios needs Luster Purge drops to make progress into a lot of common builds at all) and its not as strong anyway. Your best bet with this is probably using it as a Waterpon and Yard check that can also spread Thunder Wave...and then give Alomomola and Gholdengo as many free turns as they want. Yeah no thanks. Get this guy outta here.

 

[slopcat]

sputnik's post reminded me this exists so just to tack on another few noms onto his post

-> A

probably the most splashable speedcontrol rn, really easy to get value in literally every game just due to fake out + quick attack being so good. birds always suck of course but being able to blow past basically everything else short of slowbro is really really valuable. also ada lop is rly good use it

-> A-

slopcat no water resist special is entirely based around this guy. this thing is fat as shit and can very easily get to +4. most physical attackers just lose to this thing because the fighters all get popped after they cc themselves down and the grounds/waterpon all just have a fairly tough time getting through the guy. i think you can slot it below the fsight brothers but probably above stuff like tusk or tran.

-> B+ (on a pvr he's a solid A- or maybe scraping into an A but b+ is plenty i think lol)

only viable rocks + spin guy and *CAN* neutralize stuff like dnite or garchomp. spin + ice spinner (or just spinner in the latter case) very easily cleans these two, obviously requiring baloon to do so which imo is its best item regardless. the spdef lefties stuff is okayyy but its not what u want treads for imo. shitting on koko/rbolt is also a really nice feeling that only ting-lu can fill, and 342 speed is really awesomesauce for stuff like the aforementioned chomp/lele/zap etc. probably my most used mon in tours at this point (maybe only beaten out by zapdos?) really really love this dude and think it deserves a more appropriate ranking.

-> B-

endure ghostium is really stupid lol but fat ceru is also the goat. love that set. everyone needs to start using fat ceru. it beats everything. it puts bta on zama. please use fat ceru guys

-> C- or UR

this thing is so fucking ballsack dawg it has 0 bulk, is slower than damn near every defensive piece, cannot play the game vs the birds, hits hard but never hard enough, total tradebot in 70% of the games its in and most of the time its just trading with landorus. if i wanted to trade with landorus i would use literally anything else. i dare you to tell me one thing this can do better than kingambit. you can't even say it answers dnite or chomp better because gambit can actually run balloon and doesnt have the bulk of a wet rag. get this shit off my screen.


tusk/ival should also be b+'ers but people love em and theyre like usable so nyeh. as long as sun isnt considered the fish that it is people will always think tusk is good but i just do not like this mon very much. ival feels p similar but it can clean well and can sometimes just instawin if it rolls the right set (sd in particular here). kokoval is bad and a fish. dont use it.

 

[Nish the Great]

I agree with the entire post above, noms of my own:


A- --> A
Absolute insane progress maker, loves the rise of AV mola over boots physdef, and scarf is just so good to slap on things as speed control+progress+idc if you switch into a resist im getting my spikes. Huge for BO and balance


A --> A-

The vr giveth dark types and the vr taketh dark types away. Ive been finding the ting-anchored BO styles to just be rly inconsistent and being a huge momentum sink and a fake check to everything not named zapdos is a huge L (Also ghold runs modest z now so its even faker into that(


B --> B+

Il i just shit on tinglu for being a fake everything check but ... corv is just so great to blanket check a lot of stuff and it keeps up momentum decently well. Nice anchor when you built the rest of your team kinda shakily.



B --> C+

In a ghold meta this is just a complete fraud. Superpower at like 80% usage on woger so its not a check. Scarf is ass, SdZ is niche and outclassed for both the SD grass slot and the Z slot, defog is so dead.



B --> B+

The only downside to running this on HO is species clause, otherwise this does everything the playstyle asks for and more. Stabs+sp punch through everything not named ghold, Sd can muscle through ghold, sturdy is insanse utility or just makes it more uncheckable. Outside of HO this sucks but on the playstyle i feel like its one of the best.

 

[Ch0ppas]

Gonna drop my thoughts on a few mons after some tour games

B- -> B/B+ wasnt very high on this before but came around to it (slopcat special). Very nice role compression with rocks/spin and defensive utility into koko/bolt. Max attack and speed is probably the best way to go rn letting it revenge certain threats

B -> B+ Personally think its a tier above everything in B (maybe not weav but not as splashable). Pivot sets do fine with defog and lets you gain momentum easier with uturn. Doesnt dud into gholdengo as bad as you think. Ive seen success with idbp sets but ive never tried personally

A -> A+ Best scarfer in the tier hands down. Great speed control and fits onto a lot of playstyles. Fsight + this is an amazing progress maker vs a lot of teams. Can neutralize a lot of things like dnite, chomp, volc. Decline in pex balances also helps this thing out.

B+ -> B I think its just not favorable into a lot of things. Suffers from 4mss you want fire punch for ghold, ice punch for glis/lando/dnite, stabs for strong spammable moves, fake out/bullet for priority and revenging. Also is a magnet for zap/volc/molt status. 100 speed tier just doesnt cut it anymore.

 

[pokegod70419]

my thoughts! (since we're doin this now)

S -> S+
let's be so fr this is the best mon in the tier by a mile. it can glue, it can z plot, it blocks defog, steel/ghost is an elite typing, it genuinely can just do everything ever and is even controversial for being too good for the tier. it needs to go up

A+ -> S-/S
checks everything with av, wishpasses to teammates, can consistently switch in and pivot on the best mon in the tier. i don't know why this hasn't been proposed yet if i'm gonna be honest

 

[Runo]

let's be so fr this is the best mon in the tier by a mile. it can glue, it can z plot, it blocks defog, steel/ghost is an elite typing, it genuinely can just do everything ever and is even controversial for being too good for the tier. it needs to go up

In most tiers this ranking would imply you think Gholdengo is near mandatory in order for your team to be considered good. Is this the case or no?

 

[mongibongi]

A+ -> S-/S
checks everything with av, wishpasses to teammates, can consistently switch in and pivot on the best mon in the tier. i don't know why this hasn't been proposed yet if i'm gonna be honest

Definetly agree, the more I play the tier the more I realize how cheap this thing is. The thing that does it for me is how its so hard to not get value out of every time you bring it in. Fits on everything that isn't HO, lets you play way more reckless with your bulky attackers, av really does check (or at least pivot on) just about the whole tier, all while essentialy being toxapex lite with toxic and knockoff/scald if you want, if that isnt the makings of an S tier mon i dont know what is

 

[Moyashi]

S -> S+
let's be so fr this is the best mon in the tier by a mile. it can glue, it can z plot, it blocks defog, steel/ghost is an elite typing, it genuinely can just do everything ever and is even controversial for being too good for the tier. it needs to go up

S+ is reserved for the Pokémon that are so incredibly, absurdly good that they’re essentially almost mandatory on teams (think Primal Groudon/early gen8 Clefable). While Ghold is undeniably the best Pokémon in the tier, it isn’t so good that it’s mandatory or that teams are worse for not having it.

 

[CamGem2019]

when is ts gonna get updated? the vr is almost a year old brochacho

 

[Moyashi]

that does remind me to post finally

A- -> B+
This one is more personal but I find this Mon to sometimes just be “OK”. There are games where it can get some good work done, but other times it just is underwhelming as a ground type that offers significantly less defensive utility compared to Landorus-T, Ting-Lu, Garchomp or Gliscor. Hell I’d argue Iron Treads even is better. While Tusk can be threatening, it can’t fit enough moves for enough situations and always winds up missing something. I’m not big on this one atm.

B+-> A-
One of the best balance breakers we have in the tier imo. SubRoost (or even SubTect, don’t sleep on it) is great for abusing all the Mola teams running around, and a fair amount of defensive structures can struggle with it if it winds up up subbed and ready. Groundium Z is fantastic for luring would be checks like Glowking, and is a general great burst of power in key situations. Tech like HP fire also gets used for Ferrothorn, specs is scary, and so on. Being a Dragon that can’t check ZardY and letting in Volc isn’t great, so for now I don’t think it can go higher but it is great right now.

B- -> B+
Was a hater of this Mon for a long time but I’ve come around on it. And it’s way better than the stuff in B- or B. Solid spinner with good defensive utility, decent customizability, there isn’t much to say since it’s so straightforward but it does its job pretty well.

C+ -> B-
Tough to fit? Yeah. But it being a decent source of role compression for balance (zardy soft check, volcarona check, status absorber, rocker, Zapdos check, terapagos check) gives it value.

That’s not why I’m here though. There was a generally agreed upon idea that post te re era, set up Garg was too hard and inconsistent to pull off. Well I agree, that Iron Defense sets are bad.

Mono Curse however, is still a decent wincon that is deceptively difficult to take down mid-late game. Not even always late game either.

Here Curse Garg snowballed early and caused a ton of havoc. Passive regenerator mons couldn’t damage it giving free set up (lack of wish mola really hurt).

Endgame Curse Garg cleaning up (even working through banded Kartana)

Technically not a win but it demonstrates the kind of havoc Curse Garg can cause.

This Mon does require more support to accommodate its flaws without Tera but it’s still capable in this metagame and not to be underestimated imo.

 

[Ineros]

Hello everyone, with PL ending and circuit coming to a close, we have decided to release another VR slate!

(Template stolen from SV OU’s most recent VR slate.)

VR slate doc can be found here.

Additions

UR to C

Rises

A- to A
A- to A
B+ to A
B- to B+
C+ to B-
C+ to B-
C to B
C to C+
C to C+
C to C+
C to C+
C- to C
C- to C

Drops

A+ to A
A- to B+
A- to B+
A- to B+
B+ to B
B to B-
B to C+
B to B-
B to B-
B- to C+
B- to C+
B- to C+
B- to C+
C+ to C
C+ to C
C to C-
C to UR
C to C-
C- to UR
C- to UR

Major Shifts

UR to C (+2)
Slowking, ever since NDWC and recently in NDPL, has seen usage on some teams that appreciate it acting as a sturdy check to dangerous Psychic Types such as Tapu Lele and Mega Latios, Pokemon that aren’t reliably checked by some Steels such as Ferrothorn, Iron Treads, and Mega Scizor. Being an incredible anchor against these Psychics for teams that prefer these kinds of steels is a rank worthy trait in of itself, along with the fact it can help pivot around other special attacking threats such as Terapagos and Mega Charizard Y.

B+ to A (+2)
The Pokemon who terrorized PL itself. Kyurem has everything it needs to break down everything in the metagame with a lot more set variety being explored. Standard subroost is still solid, with Groundium Z also being an option along with boots on such sets to nail down short term checks such as Melmetal and Slowking-Galar quicker, but other options such as 3A with HP Fire and a boosting item such as Never-Melt Ice and Expert Belt have sprouted recently. Not to mention Kyurem still crushes many common balance and BO staples such as Alomomola and Zapdos.

B- to B+ (+2)
Iron Treads is role compression incarnate. Having the 2 most needed typings on any team along with acting as a hazard removal option and setter at the same time makes it incredibly easy to slap on teams, hence it’s increasingly growing usage. This usage is not just based on hypotheticals, either; it can switch into a solid amount of meta threats such as Tapu Koko, Gholdengo, and Choice Scarf Tapu Lele.

C to B (+3)
Shooting up 3 subrankings is a feat for a Pokemon that already had an impressive amount of potential. During PL, we saw Ceruledge gain a major glow up as it had a lot more usage on not just Sun but also more traditional Offense and HO structures. Endure was a new tech discovered in this tournament and it is extremely helpful in gaining Weak Armor boosts vs foes that easily revenge kill Ceruledge such as Urshifu-R, Great Tusk, and Ogerpon-W. This also means Ceruledge does not have to sacrifice its item slot to gain the Weak Armor boosts consistently, meaning it can run Ghostium Z and turn into an incredibly dangerous breaker that nearly nothing bar Garganacl and Mega Tyranitar can switch into consistently. Combine that with ample setup opportunities against meta staples like Terapagos, Volcarona, and Choice-locked Tapu Lele and it’s easy to see why this Pokemon rose up a whole ranking.

B to C+ (-2)
Kartana, even though it has seen some sparse usage, still struggles to find a place on many teams due to its extremely unfortunate speed tier for the metagame along with facing steep competition from Ogerpon-Wellspring.

C+ to C- (-2)
Rotom-Wash has seen 0 usage in tournament play and has very steep competition as well from other Water-type pivots such as Alomomola and Toxapex. Its usage case is incredibly specific and it doesn’t properly check much in the current meta. For example, it isn’t a good check at all to common Fire- and Water-types when it is supposed to act as a resist to them.

C to UR (-2)
The only time this Pokemon saw usage in PL, it ran into both Gholdengo and Zapdos… I think that’s all that needs to be said. It also doesn’t help that it struggles to setup or threaten much of anything in the metagame, especially with its extremely lackluster power. There will always be more consistent and stronger sweepers on terrain offense teams compared to this in the metagame.

 

[CamGem2019]

A couple words
A+ ---> S-
Seriously? This thing has been long overdue for a tier below the cheese stick. Its undeniably one of the more bulky mons in the format, and the iron def sets just elevate it even further. On top of that the all out attacker sets are super powerful as well. Rockium Z even works on some of these sets. Theres so much set variations tbh at this thing can run sometimes it feels hard to tell what exactly this thing could be running. Very few mons can confidently wall this thing, and even then some sets it runs still ends up getting through. Not as good as ghold, but it's approaching that point.

A ---> A+
Theres also a lot of set variations with this guy as well. Most people have seen the whole toxic/slack off thing, but nowadays ive started noticing that AV is super strong as well- PsyNoise SBomb Fthrower IBeam for example catches so many bodies at times. A more niche but real option could be calm mind, as that can still put in some work. The main kicker with this guy is that it just works so well as a wall, and i feel like its still kinda low at A.

A- ---> B
Ok. This is severely higher than what it should be at. First of all, Its a bulky mon that doesnt have enough to defend itself against mons like pwhip waterpon, crunch zenta, switch zapdos, hell, even things like meowscrada and even shit like power whip ferrothorn. The positives outweigh the negatives. Theres just too much shit that hits it too hard. Scald isnt gonna bail you out of everything.

 

[ILoveGarchom]

View attachment 789463A- ---> B
Ok. This is severely higher than what it should be at. First of all, Its a bulky mon that doesnt have enough to defend itself against mons like pwhip waterpon, crunch zenta, switch zapdos, hell, even things like meowscrada and even shit like power whip ferrothorn. The positives outweigh the negatives. Theres just too much shit that hits it too hard. Scald isnt gonna bail you out of everything.

A pokemon has weaknesses? You don't say

 

[CamGem2019]

A pokemon has weaknesses? You don't say

I do say. Theres just too many of them.

 

[Moyashi]

View attachment 789463A- ---> B
Ok. This is severely higher than what it should be at. First of all, Its a bulky mon that doesnt have enough to defend itself against mons like pwhip waterpon, crunch zenta, switch zapdos, hell, even things like meowscrada and even shit like power whip ferrothorn. The positives outweigh the negatives. Theres just too much shit that hits it too hard. Scald isnt gonna bail you out of everything.

The grass type can threaten the water type isn't really a compelling argument imo. Waterpon screws with every water type in the tier (hi it's me I still hate this thing) but just like those waters, you pair it with a Waterpon check to account for this. It's also weird to suggest it can't handle Zamazenta when Crunch bounces right off (outside Band but Slowbro just switches out after taking the hit) while it clicks Teleport or TWave or Future Sight, or it can click Psychic Noise to beat Sub Zama even harder while denying healing from so many would be switch ins. Meowscarada is a very niche pokemon to begin with that also loses to Slowbro partners anyways.

As a bulky water, it's pretty unique in being probably the best Urshifu-R answer there is, and it separates itself from Alomomola by being a bulky water that can't have its pivot blocked by Waterpon. Its also a strong Gliscor check with Ice Beam if you need that and is a good check to other physical threats like Cinderace, Landorus-T, Garchomp, Great Tusk, Dragonite, Melmetal and Mega Lopunny. It's odd to say that it can't handle mons like Zapdos or Wellspring when that isn't even it's role in the first place. That's what teammates are supposed to cover. And other than Wellspring, nothing it's weak to is really hard to cover for in the first place.

Tldr; Slowbro is fine. It does face competition from Alomomola which brings longevity support to its whole team through Wish, or a super sturdy blanket check to most special threats in AV, but also has strong points that Mola cannot hope to fill and thus the two settle in their distinctive roles.

 

[CamGem2019]

The grass type can threaten the water type isn't really a compelling argument imo. Waterpon screws with every water type in the tier (hi it's me I still hate this thing) but just like those waters, you pair it with a Waterpon check to account for this. It's also weird to suggest it can't handle Zamazenta when Crunch bounces right off (outside Band but Slowbro just switches out after taking the hit) while it clicks Teleport or TWave or Future Sight, or it can click Psychic Noise to beat Sub Zama even harder while denying healing from so many would be switch ins. Meowscarada is a very niche pokemon to begin with that also loses to Slowbro partners anyways.

As a bulky water, it's pretty unique in being probably the best Urshifu-R answer there is, and it separates itself from Alomomola by being a bulky water that can't have its pivot blocked by Waterpon. Its also a strong Gliscor check with Ice Beam if you need that and is a good check to other physical threats like Cinderace, Landorus-T, Garchomp, Great Tusk, Dragonite, Melmetal and Mega Lopunny. It's odd to say that it can't handle mons like Zapdos or Wellspring when that isn't even it's role in the first place. That's what teammates are supposed to cover. And other than Wellspring, nothing it's weak to is really hard to cover for in the first place.

Tldr; Slowbro is fine. It does face competition from Alomomola which brings longevity support to its whole team through Wish, or a super sturdy blanket check to most special threats in AV, but also has strong points that Mola cannot hope to fill and thus the two settle in their distinctive roles.

Woah. Great description. This actually enlightened me, thank you. Anything else I should note on the other rankings?

 

[CappyThePulpy]

Alright time for a DOUBLE nomination

UR -> C+

Set:

248HP / 244+ def / 16spe
248HP / 160+ def / 84 spdef / 16 spe

- Body Slam
- Will-o-Wisp
- Roost
- Heal Bell / Flamethrower

Coming in first we have everyone’s favourite fluffy cloud dragon. What does it do so well in the meta? It walls stuff and it spreads status. Dragon/fairy is a unique typing with 4 weaknesses, 9 resists, and a very valuable dragon immunity. These resistances notably include the main sets of a lot of the nastiest mons in the meta: waterpon, raging bolt, volcarona, shifu, rilla, zardy, and many others. Altaria’s bulk also allows it to take neutral hits from other common mons like lando and tusk.
Offensively, pixilate body slam is a brilliant spammable move. 100BP 100 accuracy 30% para physical stab. Yes, its contact, but who cares? Roost and heal bell will manage the main consequences of clicking contact moves. Spreading paralysis while doing good damage from an uninvested base 110 atk is a fairly unique characteristic. As a bonus, the paralysis also works on ground types! How often do you see your lando get paralysed? Gholdengo thinks it switches in for free? Volcarona? They both risk getting crippled.

But wait, there’s more! Will-o-wisp gives you access to another broken status condition. Kingambit comes in? Enjoy the burn. Mega scizor thinks it has free setup? Its gonna need a lot of SDs (you live +0 bullet punch, so theres no real threat there).

Roost is pretty obvious. For the last slot, heal bell is preferred, provided your team can use it. Everyone who builds off meta mons or even some of the meta ones knows that moltres is annoying as hell and that the heal bell/aroma distribution sucks, leaving you with hatterene and clef as the only real choices. Mlopunny and dragonite already have slot issues, making them carry heal bell hinders them severely. Alternatively, flamethrower can be run to give scizor and ferro a good roasting, doing half to the former and ko ing the latter after rocks, even with a negative SpA nature, which you should be running, dont get baited by hyper voice.

Matchup-wise, altaria is well positioned against most archetypes, answering some common ho mons, crippling offense and balance builds with its status and going the long distance with heal bell against stallier builds. Its only real issue is hstack, as it takes damage from all hazards after mega evolving. This is further amplified by a bad gholdengo matchup. On the bright side, it kinda eats most hazard stackers alive (hrot, tinglu, chomp) so at least you are not giving your opponent free hazards.

For EVs, the only relevant thing is outspeeding gambit so you can always click wisp into it. The 160+def/84spdef set better takes on zardy and raging bolt, but I cannot remember the calcs which made me choose these exact numbers.

(Replays at the end)

UR ->C-

Set:
248HP / 252+ spdef / 8 def
Ability: poison point
Item: Assault vest

- poison jab
- knock off
- pursuit
- drain punch

Not as much to say about muk, but lets start with the typing. Dark/poison is a brilliant typing, with only one weakness, 3 resists and a psychic immunity. While the lack of resists may seem bad, it is diminished by muk’s raw bulk and the role it wants to perform. As a dedicated special wall and pursuit trapper, having a ghost resist and a psychic immunity is the status quo. However, unlike kingambit, mega ttar, or weavile, muk is neutral to fairy, fighting, and steel, the most common moves employed by pursuit weak mons to discourage a pursuit. It wont get exploded by focus blast while trying to trap gholdengo, it can walk into make it rain with no issue, and its not scared of lele’s moonblast.

When it comes to pursuiting neutral targets, here is where muk’s true niche is found. While its pursuit does very low damage compared to the monster attack stats of mega ttar and kingambit, it can force status. Instead of just taking the pursuit and regening it later, mul’s targets have to deal with poison. Not toxic, but its better than nothing and the chip will make the difference on mons like moltres, zapdos, and even kyurem. Poison touch is only a 30% chance, but over the course of the game if there is a key pursuit target you will poison it eventually, so it is very much alright to fish for it. If you want a less targeted but higher chance poison, combining the ability with poison jab’s 50% is the better approach.

Knock off is knock off and drain punch is a rare click mostly for kingambit.

To sum up its niche in the meta, knock, pursuit and poisons are a way to make progress (not guaranteed, but it is progress in most games), while being a good special wall and solid lele answer. Its main weakness and reason why I am putting it in C- is its lack of recovery. This mon desperately wants wish support. I guess grassy terrain is also an interesting approach.


Replays for both (on the same team)
I added a higher number of replays than usual to try and showcase both altaria and muk, but if anything altaria is the star of these replays.


https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldex-2497564494

(Sacked half my team for no reason, nothing special)



https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldex-2497567910-mh4xnghfc1vb10jq2vmwk41hs9jl21ypw

(Highest rated replay)



https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldex-2497572458

(Muk vs volcarona)



https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldex-2497574261

(Altaria vs rain)



https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldex-2497577639

(Type chart is hard sometimes)



https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldex-2497579016

(Low rating but it highlights how heal bell allows you to go the distance against slower teams, solving one of the main ways to pressure wish passing)



https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldex-2497586417

(Altaria walling sun)

 

[CappyThePulpy]

Happy new year everyone! Seeing as my last post didn’t get any hate, time to bring out the greatest shitmon of all.

UR-> C-

Yeah, this is a wild one but I’ve had much more success with this than with my previous nominations. Managed to peak 1850 with the beedrill team that half the ladder knows by now, which is quite impressive considering my (lack of) skill and mild adhd. This probably makes me the leading bee expert right now. So, lets get into it.

What is beedrill’s niche? A very fast and decently strong glass cannon with a powerful pivot move and some utility. Brilliant speed tier, adaptability, lackluster stab combo, contact heavy. Bug/poison is kinda bad offensively, but there are some interesting targets to hit neutrally or super effectively.

Set:
252 atk / 252 spe / 4 spdef
Nature: jolly
Moves:
- poison jab
- uturn
- knock off
- pursuit/drill run/tspikes

Alright we got quite a bit to unpack here. First of all, the stabs. The highlight of beedrill is its 150atk adaptability stab uturn. This thing hurts. Very few mons want to take this move without a resist, and even some of its resists take relevant chip damage. This move strongly encourages a pivot heavy team, especially when combined with a slow pivot to bring in bee safely. Poison jab is an ok stab and its poison chance can come into play for added chip damage (usually vs tusk and lando) or getting the little extra for a 2hko (usually vs some moltres sets). Bug/poison has quite a lot of resists but we can address some of those further down the line.

Knock off. This move is top tier utility and a decently strong coverage move. Its most usual targets are mola’s items (notably AV), rocky helmets (which you HAVE TO remove to spam uturn), and some boots from the status birds (we will talk about them later). There is however one case where knock off falls short: gholdengo. You dont know when this thing carries a zmove and eats knocks without a care, especially bulky sets (which have no tell before you hit them and calc). Damage is still nice for picking off a chipped ghold on the switch, but it may not be threatening to a healthy one.

Now for the last slot, things get spicy and this is where beedrill’s viability comes from.

First, you have the basic option, drill run. Good coverage, hurts heatran, ghold, treads, and gambit. Nothing special, but its not earthquake.

Now getting spicier with pursuit. While its no ttar or kingambit, its pursuit being ~30% weaker than gambit’s, it still hurts and beedrill can click it very often. Its fast, immediately threatening, and its matchups are very polarised. Playing against a beedrill, its obvious when you switch out and what you bring in. Waterpon is never staying in. Nothing is staying in when you have a corv or moltres in the back. Thats where pursuit is so strong. Will it kill a waterpon or tapu lele? No. But it hurts, and theres very little risk to it, espcially on the first click. Beedrill can pursuit a much larger array of things than ttar or gambit. Most notably, it can pursuit tapu lele much more reliably, while ttar and gambit have to be scared of getting focus blasted to pieces. Threatening an outspeed and ohko on mons like waterpon and tapu lele enables pursuit in a unique way that nothing else in the tier has. Pursuit also keeps beedrill threatening against status punishment. When the opponent has a moltres, clicking uturn might backfire, while clicking pursuit is a safe way to guarantee damage.

Toxic spikes is another utility option, especially if you can build to specifically bully toxapex and glowking. Just like the pursuit scenario, its very easy to find free turns with beedrill and click that tspike. The most usual switchins to bee are slow bulky mons, which can then be uturned on. A lot of them however are defoggers or spinners so tspike is something to specifically build around.


WEAKNESSES:

1. Contact punishment, especially static and flame body. You dont have any way against these, except for aromatherapy or misty terrain support. Many attackers suffer from this, but its very notable with beedrill due to the uturn spam playstyle. Rocky helmets can be dealt with by clicking knock off, while ferro and garchomp dont tank uturn that well and have bad/no recovery.

2. Kingambit. This thing has pursuit and sucker punch, your beedrill is very likely to die if it gets stuck in. Gambit doesnt eat repeated uturns but that is pretty much the only tool you have. Clicking uturn exclusively is the only way to keep bee safe. Tspikes sets can get 2 layers off before dying or hope for mind games.

3. Hazards. This is really no big deal if you build around beedrill well. In a tier where zardY can thrive, hazard weakess is pretty fake. Hatterene, terapagos, and tusk are your friends. Corv is pretty fake hazard control, stay away from it.

4. Gliscor, lando, birds. These can be handled through knock off, uturn and rocks chip, etc. sadly gliscor cannot be chipped but is quite exploitable when switching into a uturn (this is a big pattern in beedrill’s playstyle).


Nomination/rating reason: C- is reasonable for a mon with a clear and totally unique niche, which requires quite a lot of team support to shine. Quite in line with other C/C- mons like barraskewda, blacephalon, enamorus, mega gardevoir, or greninja.


Replays:

Fairly standard playstyle of chipping down the beedrill switchins (heatran and mvenu). Also zapdos getting completely shredded by pjab.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldex-2507952000-t5ur96au6vjdfjv3gaw1h4q6eojhpevpw



Pursuit bee paying dividends vs stall
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldex-2507958707-347959j13itiiwd7cojf5jah50cdm8npw


Example of bee outspeeding and dominating offense builds, picking up 3 kills and coming back from a pretty rough spot against a fairly standard looking team
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldex-2508262386


Beedrill putting in the work. Even though it got walled by defensive tusk, uturning on it gave my kyurem enough switchins to break. Notice the uturn heavy playstyle vs kingambit
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldex-2508804483



Beedrill getting static paralysed twice and then closing out the game.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldex-2509474166



Beedrill + mola completely owning an offensive (rain) team with u/flip turn spam
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldex-2509480921

Side note for anyone who watched the replays: A->A+, no further explaination needed, this thing being below zama is a crime