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Resource National Dex Ubers Viability Rankings [Update #11 at post 363!]

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Magearna: D to C
The set I use:
Magearna-Original @ Assault Vest
Ability: Soul-Heart
Tera Type: Ground
EVs: 248 HP / 68 Def / 192 SpD
Calm Nature
- Fleur Cannon
- Ice Beam
- Volt Switch
- Tera Blast

I am of the opinion that Magearna has an actual place in Nat Dex Ubers, a niche place, but a place nothing less. So what does this "place" have to with anything, the AV set is what I'm gonna mainly talk about. The added special defense means that it can sponge special hits quite well, but nothing more important than being an excellent check to the incredibly centralizing Yveltal. Since both of Yveltal STABs are resisted, plus the fact that Magearna can hit Yveltal for Stab super effective damage with Fleur Cannon, which even without investment, will always OHKO Life orb Yveltal after the Orbs damage.

252 SpA Life Orb Dark Aura Yveltal Dark Pulse vs. 248 HP / 192+ SpD Assault Vest Magearna: 52-62 (14.3 - 17%) -- possible 6HKO
0 SpA Magearna Fleur Cannon vs. 0 HP / 0- SpD Yveltal: 398-470 (101.2 - 119.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO

This doesn't just apply to just Yveltal, with it's Zacian-Crowned shared typing, it can also stonewall Deoxys-Attack, thanks to it's expanding Force resist, and solid bulk accompanied by Assault Vest, and partial fairy typing making it neutral to Low Kick, along with easily switching into special moves that aren't Fire or ground type, or Primal Kyogre.

Now Magearna has alot of flaws holding it back from ever being anything above a C+, like a horrible Primal Groudon match, being setup fodder for Zacian Crowned, unimpressive special attack especially without investment, the Ho-oh issue, and lack of reliable recovery.
However, these can somewhat be undone with careful teambuilding, like Alomomola wish passing as an example, so Magearna can last longer in longer battles.
Anyways: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldexubers-2499243966-c6mkc3xh97y5knj2au9l009u0154foupw Magearna's special hit taking abilities at full effect.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldexubers-2499251650 Not too much, but can prob show it's capabilities against stall quite decently thanks to volt switch.
 
With webs remaining unbanned and Smeargle still being annoying as ever, I'm nomming the mon that has been keeping me sane this past week on ladder to C-.
:sv/toedscruel:
Toedscruel Tuesday baybee
Toedscruel @ Focus Sash
Ability: Mycelium Might
Tera Type: Ground
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Spikes
- Earth Power
- Spore
- Rapid Spin

You may wonder, what does this bum ass mushroom do? Well, it has a few very nice traits that make it one of the best anti-leads in the NatDex Ubers landscape. Most notably, and the reason I started looking at this Pokemon in the first place, is that it has an immunity to both Nuzzle, and Spore. This means it is affected by neither debilitating status conditions that the main Hyper Offense lead Smeargle uses. But that is not the only thing that Toedscruel for it; It has Rapid Spin, so it can remove Sticky Webs that Smeargle tries to set up. And it of course has hazards itself. While the mushroom unfortunately does not learn Stealth Rock, it does have access to the still very good Spikes.
However, Smeargle is not the entire hazard metagame. There are other hazard leads such as Mega Diancie, Glimmora, Shuckle, Ribombee and ofcourse, Deoxys-Speed. But Toedscruel has ways to deal with all of them through the power of friendship and also Earth Power. For Mega Diancie the gameplan is to Rapin Spin first, so you outspeed, and then click Earth Power for the OHKO. Glimmora dies to an Earth Power into Rapid Spin. Shuckle cannot withstand the unending power of 64 Rapid Spin PP and Ribombee cannot stop Toedscruel since its Grass typing prevents Stun Spore. And two Earth Powers and a Rapid Spin deals with Deoxys-Speed.
But Hyper Offense is not the only strategy, and even though facing this is when Toedscruel shines, it is most definitely not useless in the other matchups. Just like our great friend Smeargle, it has access to Spore, so it can turn off any mon that does not have access to taunt or is not named Ferrothorn. It can turn off opposing non-dedicated leads or Ho-Oh attempting to OHKO it with the funny 50/50 Sacred Fire. With Earth Power it also has a Super Effective hit on Primal Groudon and enough damage output to break Dragon Dance Zygarde Substitutes. After a Rapid Spin, it outspeeds almost everything (with exception of Deoxys-Speed), so it gets the jump on Zacian-C and can OHKO it with Tera Ground after a spike.
Toedscruel is most definitely without flaw though. I already mentioned Ho-Oh, and how it can get OHKOed by a single Sacred Fire 50% of the time 95% of the time. Yveltal also completely walls it with Taunt, but pretty much any Taunt user fares pretty well, as Earth Power from Toedscruel definitely is not a world-shatteringly powerful move. Pairing it with Eternatus and Zacian can definitely alleviate these issues though.
Also here's a funny replay https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldexubers-2494793578
In conclusion, I think that Toedscruel deserves a spot on the VR due to its unique traits, which let it be a strong anti-lead, while still functioning well versus standard Balance teams. Thank you for listening to my rambling, it is always Tuesday somewhere in the world.
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breezai out
 
:sv/smeargle: -> A+

Frankly I think that this deserves to get this kind of rank as it directly represents how much Sticky Web defines the current metagame, but more specifically, as to explain how it's more viable than before, well, it turns out that its EV spread is quite suboptimal, and thus a "minor" development on that enables it to reduce its counterplay by a notable amount as to merit a raise, for reference here's all viable multi-hit move users against the current standard spread:

252+ Atk Kyurem-Black Icicle Spear (5 hits) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Tera Steel Smeargle: 305-360 (97.1 - 114.6%) -- approx. 99.6% chance to OHKO
252 Atk Choice Band Pheromosa Triple Axel (120 BP) (3 hits) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Tera Steel Smeargle: 227-267 (72.2 - 85%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
176+ Atk Ho-Oh Dual Wingbeat (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Smeargle: 306-360 (97.4 - 114.6%) -- 92.6% chance to OHKO
252 Atk Life Orb Rayquaza Scale Shot (5 hits) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Tera Steel Smeargle: 330-390 (105 - 124.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Now compare the above calculations over just fully investing on Defense:

252+ Atk Kyurem-Black Icicle Spear (5 hits) vs. 0 HP / 252 Def Tera Steel Smeargle: 190-225 (75.6 - 89.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Choice Band Pheromosa Triple Axel (120 BP) (3 hits) vs. 0 HP / 252 Def Tera Steel Smeargle: 143-168 (56.9 - 66.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
176+ Atk Ho-Oh Dual Wingbeat (2 hits) vs. 0 HP / 252 Def Smeargle: 192-228 (76.4 - 90.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Life Orb Rayquaza Scale Shot (5 hits) vs. 0 HP / 252 Def Tera Steel Smeargle: 210-245 (83.6 - 97.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO


While some of these benchmarks compromise the Tera slot, it does mean that the relevant multi-hit move users are no longer as reliable to anti-lead Smeargle.

:sv/ribombee: -> B-

As its niche relies on anti-leading Smeargle, its viability correlating accordingly to a slight raise is a fair claim, but more notably the above kind of stuff also applies to Ribombee:

252 Atk Choice Band Pheromosa Triple Axel (120 BP) (3 hits) vs. 4 HP / 252 Def Ribombee: 220-261 (83.9 - 99.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+1 252+ Atk Teravolt Kyurem-Black Icicle Spear (5 hits) vs. 4 HP / 252 Def Tera Steel Ribombee: 225-265 (85.8 - 101.1%) -- approx. 0.4% chance to OHKO

Of course, Ribombee can still invest a little more in HP in exchange of... just the Speed tier of other fully invested Ribombee? It turns out that there's quite a gap between its own Speed tier and the crowded base 120 Speed tier, so it's possible to remove the Kyurem-B damage roll, although it's a rather niche scenario over the more common Pheromosa anti-lead.
 
:sv/iron-treads:
UR --> C/C-

Iron Treads @ Booster Energy
Ability: Quark Drive
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 236 Atk / 36 SpD / 236 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Rock Tomb / Steel Beam / Knock Off
- Rapid Spin

Just going to throw this out there since we're nominating lead Pokemon; Iron Treads is similar to Toedscruel. While it isn't immune to Spore variants of Smeargle, it is able to beat non-Tera Ghost variants of Deoxys-S since it outspeeds it. It is also immune to Glimmora's Mortal Spin.

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen9nationaldexubers-881108
Really mid replay but it was used in NDPL (by me) and it prevents Deoxys-S from being led while denying Mega Salamence safe setup via Rock Tomb.
 
:sv/arceus:
A --> A+

Very useful priority to have against HO teams (revenge kills Chi-Yu, Ultra Necrozma, and weakened stuff like Eternatus, and can annoy Lunala), checking it defensively is also hard as it dismantles many of the defensive cores with ease. Offensively Marshadow and Zacian-C are annoying for it but the former still doesn't like Tera Ghost mindgames or switching into Shadow Claw, while Zacian-C is easy to get low. While giving up your Arceus forme can be quite the investment it's really worth it for EKiller. Also think Earthquake isn't that bad of an option in the last slot if Zacian-C/Garganacl are particularly annoying.

:sv/eternatus:
A --> A+ or higher

The offensive sets are scary. Choice Specs is great at breaking fatter teams while Meteor Beam set does the same while fitting on Hyper Offense teams. Toxic Spikes is also underappreciated, a lot of HO teams and even some BO teams simply ignore having a Toxic Spikes absorber (or are forced to Tera Poison Arceus-Dark). However, defensive still has issues of 4MSS resulting in not being able to hit the Steels, so not seeing as much use as offensive sets is fair. Its versatility makes it comparable to POgre, imo even better.

:sv/salamence-mega:
B --> B+

Flying STAB is just very very potent in this tier, plus soft checking Primal-Groudon and being able to setup on it and other Pokemon like Ho-Oh is pretty cool. The speed tier is also great because it outpaces Chi-Yu and Yveltal with just max speed investment without caring for Webs. Gets easily out of hand with a couple of DDs and needs to be carefully played around.

All of the above three mons share some similarities: while threatening many bulky teams, they also retain utility against HOs which is one of the best things you can ask for in this tier.

:sv/zekrom:
D --> C

Zekrom has some merits that Kyurem-B lacks, such as nuking Zacian-C at +1 which Kyurem-B needs Tera for and yet does not accomplish with certainty. Also, it's not as stonewalled by Primal Groudon as people think it is. If PDon is chipped, Zekrom easily gets out of hand, and even if not, it blows a decent chunk out of PDon's health. Magnet Rise can get another DD, which I think is worth dropping Substitute for since that only really loses to Ferrothorn (and SpD Ferro is not tanking a +3 Z-Move anyway).

+1 252 Atk Zekrom Bolt Strike vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Zacian-Crowned: 313-370 (96.3 - 113.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
+1 252 Atk Tera Electric Kyurem-Black Fusion Bolt vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Zacian-Crowned: 265-313 (81.5 - 96.3%) -- 18.8% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
+2 252 Atk Zekrom Devastating Drake (190 BP) vs. 248 HP / 68+ Def Groudon-Primal: 397-468 (98.5 - 116.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
+3 252 Atk Zekrom Devastating Drake (190 BP) vs. 248 HP / 8 Def Ferrothorn: 339-399 (96.5 - 113.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock

:sv/gothitelle:
B- --> C+

This is an extremely mu fishing mon that absolutely folds in certain mus and feels like playing a 5v6, genuinely don't believe it deserves to be ranked so high. It traps Zygarde and physically defensive Ho-Oh, and also owns stall but there's a lot more viable stuff that owns stall while not being useless into rest of the meta. But the amount of matchups where you feel like playing with a deadweight makes it very risky to bring, evident with the zero usage in NDPL VI.

View attachment 793213Magearna: D to C
The set I use:
Magearna-Original @ Assault Vest
Ability: Soul-Heart
Tera Type: Ground
EVs: 248 HP / 68 Def / 192 SpD
Calm Nature
- Fleur Cannon
- Ice Beam
- Volt Switch
- Tera Blast

I am of the opinion that Magearna has an actual place in Nat Dex Ubers, a niche place, but a place nothing less. So what does this "place" have to with anything, the AV set is what I'm gonna mainly talk about. The added special defense means that it can sponge special hits quite well, but nothing more important than being an excellent check to the incredibly centralizing Yveltal. Since both of Yveltal STABs are resisted, plus the fact that Magearna can hit Yveltal for Stab super effective damage with Fleur Cannon, which even without investment, will always OHKO Life orb Yveltal after the Orbs damage.

252 SpA Life Orb Dark Aura Yveltal Dark Pulse vs. 248 HP / 192+ SpD Assault Vest Magearna: 52-62 (14.3 - 17%) -- possible 6HKO
0 SpA Magearna Fleur Cannon vs. 0 HP / 0- SpD Yveltal: 398-470 (101.2 - 119.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO

This doesn't just apply to just Yveltal, with it's Zacian-Crowned shared typing, it can also stonewall Deoxys-Attack, thanks to it's expanding Force resist, and solid bulk accompanied by Assault Vest, and partial fairy typing making it neutral to Low Kick, along with easily switching into special moves that aren't Fire or ground type, or Primal Kyogre.

Now Magearna has alot of flaws holding it back from ever being anything above a C+, like a horrible Primal Groudon match, being setup fodder for Zacian Crowned, unimpressive special attack especially without investment, the Ho-oh issue, and lack of reliable recovery.
However, these can somewhat be undone with careful teambuilding, like Alomomola wish passing as an example, so Magearna can last longer in longer battles.
Anyways: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldexubers-2499243966-c6mkc3xh97y5knj2au9l009u0154foupw Magearna's special hit taking abilities at full effect.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldexubers-2499251650 Not too much, but can prob show it's capabilities against stall quite decently thanks to volt switch.
Magearna has a bunch of nice traits on paper, but there's a more things going against its favour. It's a Fairy- and Steel-type that does not beat either of Calm Mind sets of Arceus-Dark and Arceus-Fairy, and it does not take Fire-type moves like Heat Wave and Fire Blast from Yveltal and Eternatus respectively that well compared to Fezandipiti. Moreover, Volt Switch being shut down and a free switch-in for the best Pokemon in the tier i.e. Primal Groudon is further bad for it. At least Fezandipiti can spam U-turn (also get poison procs with Toxic Chain). Fezan does better into all of these, also including Primal Kyogre. Vs stall while both are mostly pivot move bots, the difference is that Fezan can absorb Toxic Spikes and ensure your breakers aren't on a timer (also spreads poison). Magearna is only better vs Deoxys-Attack as far as special attackers go, which I think isn't enough justification to use it and ignore the other glaring weaknesses.

:sv/smeargle: -> A+

Frankly I think that this deserves to get this kind of rank as it directly represents how much Sticky Web defines the current metagame, but more specifically, as to explain how it's more viable than before, well, it turns out that its EV spread is quite suboptimal, and thus a "minor" development on that enables it to reduce its counterplay by a notable amount as to merit a raise, for reference here's all viable multi-hit move users against the current standard spread:

252+ Atk Kyurem-Black Icicle Spear (5 hits) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Tera Steel Smeargle: 305-360 (97.1 - 114.6%) -- approx. 99.6% chance to OHKO
252 Atk Choice Band Pheromosa Triple Axel (120 BP) (3 hits) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Tera Steel Smeargle: 227-267 (72.2 - 85%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
176+ Atk Ho-Oh Dual Wingbeat (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Smeargle: 306-360 (97.4 - 114.6%) -- 92.6% chance to OHKO
252 Atk Life Orb Rayquaza Scale Shot (5 hits) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Tera Steel Smeargle: 330-390 (105 - 124.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Now compare the above calculations over just fully investing on Defense:

252+ Atk Kyurem-Black Icicle Spear (5 hits) vs. 0 HP / 252 Def Tera Steel Smeargle: 190-225 (75.6 - 89.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Choice Band Pheromosa Triple Axel (120 BP) (3 hits) vs. 0 HP / 252 Def Tera Steel Smeargle: 143-168 (56.9 - 66.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
176+ Atk Ho-Oh Dual Wingbeat (2 hits) vs. 0 HP / 252 Def Smeargle: 192-228 (76.4 - 90.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Life Orb Rayquaza Scale Shot (5 hits) vs. 0 HP / 252 Def Tera Steel Smeargle: 210-245 (83.6 - 97.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO


While some of these benchmarks compromise the Tera slot, it does mean that the relevant multi-hit move users are no longer as reliable to anti-lead Smeargle.

:sv/ribombee: -> B-

As its niche relies on anti-leading Smeargle, its viability correlating accordingly to a slight raise is a fair claim, but more notably the above kind of stuff also applies to Ribombee:

252 Atk Choice Band Pheromosa Triple Axel (120 BP) (3 hits) vs. 4 HP / 252 Def Ribombee: 220-261 (83.9 - 99.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+1 252+ Atk Teravolt Kyurem-Black Icicle Spear (5 hits) vs. 4 HP / 252 Def Tera Steel Ribombee: 225-265 (85.8 - 101.1%) -- approx. 0.4% chance to OHKO

Of course, Ribombee can still invest a little more in HP in exchange of... just the Speed tier of other fully invested Ribombee? It turns out that there's quite a gap between its own Speed tier and the crowded base 120 Speed tier, so it's possible to remove the Kyurem-B damage roll, although it's a rather niche scenario over the more common Pheromosa anti-lead.
I think the discovery of a "anti-multi-hit moves" tech for the web setters is not enough enough to propel a rise in their viability. It just means that people need to use better counterplay than multi-hit moves, but also, you're giving up Tera on a suicide lead JUST to get Sticky Webs up. That alone can cause you to be lagging behind severely in a game, I don't really think it's really a practical scenario aside from HO mirrors in some cases.
 
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I think the discovery of a "anti-multi-hit moves" tech for the web setters is not enough enough to propel a rise in their viability. It just means that people need to use better counterplay than multi-hit moves, but also, you're giving up Tera on a suicide lead JUST to get Sticky Webs up. That alone can cause you to be lagging behind severely in a game, I don't really think it's really a practical scenario aside from HO mirrors in some cases.
It does mean that there's a slight further centralization as there's less ways to reliably deal with Smeargle without using even more situational options, and it's not just setting Webs up, Smeargle can use Nuzzle first then outspeed and set Webs, which is nice utility so the foe's lead is also easier to answer afterwards, especially as Smeargle does outspeed the entire unboosted Paralyzed metagame. Ribombee can also perform something similar with Stun Spore.
 
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Maybe a hot take but I feel like the S ranks are getting too crowded, and I don't think they 100% fit the S and S- descriptions. IMO either get rid of S+, or get rid of S- then shift everything down. It is ranked by viability for A- rank and above.

Primal Groudon is the only truly irreplaceable Pokemon in the metagame, and should be one subrank above Zygarde-C. It's still a S- rank worthy Pokemon, but I feel like it can sometimes be overwhelmed in this metagame. Arceus-Dark gives your team a good switchin to Yveltal and Necrozma, two otherwise very difficult Pokemon to check.

Zacian imo is the biggest threat right now with Tera and I really don't enjoy facing an unscouted one. TB ground, TB fighting, dual STABs, substitute? Also with Kyogre, not only you beat down PDon, but you also cover the whole spectrum of teams generally speaking, from HO to stall. Marshadow's priority is as useful as ever, and provides Ekiller counterplay outside of Webs. Ho-Oh I feel like is not as dominant as it was, plenty of teams don't need its qualities. I find myself wishing it had the defensive set's bulk when using the offensive one, and its offensive prowess when using the defensive one. Plenty of top tier Pokemon will annoy it to some degree, for example CM Refresh Arceus-Dark, DD Dragon Tail Zygarde-C, Wild Charge Zacian-C, Kyogre, Stone Edge Necrozma, the Meteor Beam users... Primal Kyogre on the other hand is a monster. It can trade with basically anything in this metagame and will punch holes even in well-built teams. Very high reward Pokemon.

I'd agree with Eternatus' and Ekiller's nominations above if we keep the same ranking structure. I disagree with a Smeargle rise even with Webs, I think A is already plenty high. Honestly, unless you get Spored, Smeargle is not threatening by itself and it being A+ feels out of place with POgre, Ekiller, Eternatus or Unecro below.

Agree with a MegaMence rise. Garganacl is a decent Pokemon, and not even a Tera hog depending on the matchup. Salt Cure is very awkward to switch into. It dominates all the viable Defoggers (namely Ho-Oh and Giratina-O), and TB Fairy gives your team the sturdiest Marshadow and Zygarde-C check possible while providing an okay Yveltal counterplay, which is huge. It is also slower than Mola, so any Mola+Tina structures are fighting an uphill battle against Garganacl. Great against stall as well.
 
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We are planning to do a slate in the near future so this is a formal announcement to get the nominations in if you'd like them to be considered. Normally we give a weeks notice, but with this being such a busy time of year for a lot of the council probably expect a VR update in early 2026! I'll have my normal full post either then or before if it is done. In the meantime, I wanted to weigh on on a few of the recent nominations

:magearna: As Swas mentioned, I'm really not seeing what Magearna is doing that Fezandipiti doesn't in this sort of role. Magnearna was a Pokémon I loved during the Xerneas metagame, but I've felt it is somehow unviable despite that typing and movepool pretty much since Xerneas was banned.

:iron-treads: Sure? Not really opposed to it being ranked and it does the job fine.

:toedscruel: It is a meme, but also kinda legitmately viable, even if it is only C-. It does fill a niche, and that niche is actually somewhat valuable. The suspect is over and sticky web is staying so having a bunch of shitmons bloat the bottom of the VR that do little more than antilead Smeargle is kinda reflective of the metagame.

:smeargle::ribombee: I disagree with this nomination. Tera is a fine price to pay to nullify the antiwebs 'tech' and I don't think Smeargle is an A+ Pokémon regardless of the EV optimisations. The same applies to Ribombee. I think these are cool, but I don't think these are particularly game changing. I do think Smeargle is the best A rank Pokémon, but don't think it is A+. I also don't think Kyurem-B is a good example to use for Ribombee since Tera Electric is the most common and well...with that it gets +2 and has the bulk to deal with Ekiller so it really doesn't matter. I think these two Pokémon are fine where they currently are at the end of the day.

:arceus: I get where the nomination is coming from, but disagree. I wouldn't be shocked if Ekiller ends up rising anyways, but I still view it as a near HO exclusive Pokémon and have not loved the other teams I've seen that try to make it work. The competition from Arceus-Ground is a bit too high given the limited scope of teams that Ekiller fits on. It has some A+ vibes to me, but I think it needs more success outside of HO where it is demonstrably an important component of those teams.

:eternatus: Agreed on this one. I was split between A+ and A for Eternatus last slate and iirc it ended up being a single vote from remaining in A+. Eternatus is sort of the same thing as always: some set fits on a lot of stuff, but I feel that the support it needs in the builder regardless of the set is a bit too high for S- right now. I'd be very surprised if Eternatus didn't rise to A+ this slate and wouldn't be shocked if ended up in S- as I'm likely a tad lower on it than other voters.

:gothitelle: Agreed, but also just trapping Zygarde is fine. With Gothitelle imo you're always building a team with the assumption that it will trap some specific thing and it has important enough targets to build around. We are a long way from the days where Gothitelle could semi reliably trap two Pokémon on balance structures though.

:zekrom: I can kinda see C-, but C is a bit high for me. Zekrom is one of those Pokémon that does stuff, but that stuff rarely feels important enough to justify giving it the extensive amount of support it needs. Even the 'free' matchup of stall isn't nearly as brainless as people imply imo even if it is a good one. Zekrom hasn't seen much successful experimentation in a while, but I think it has some potential to be a low tier shitter. It has just been so long since it has done anything to actualize its potential and I think we are at the point in the metagame where results are needed.

:salamence-mega: I'll probably vote B+ this slate, but Mega Salamence gets a lot of undeserved glaze imo. It isn't bad, but it is a rare HO Pokémon that actually gives Zygarde the space to be a threat rather than trade with something which I really don't like. Also...for all the success it has had this year it is really only two teams. Yeah it can be a big threat after a boost, especially against offense, but even getting that is so much more difficult than it should be. It is fine in B+ I guess, but also I think it'd be fine in B. At the beginning of the year Mega Salamence was bordering on C+ imo so it has improved a lot. I wouldn't be shocked to see it in A- by the end of the generation if people 'figure it out' as it feels like there is untapped potential atm.

The 'S rank discussion' - This isn't the first time this has been brought up. I'm of the opinion that there have not really been any metagame changes that really impact whether or not S+ should exist or not. There are definitely arguments for getting rid of it, but those have not really changed nor are they more compelling. This is a roundabout way of saying if you thought S+ should have been demolished a couple of years ago then you probably still do and vice versa. I'm not really sure what has changed that merits somebody changing their stance.

'Noms' - Mostly differences I have with the current VR (S/A/B ranks)

Rises

:kyogre-primal: A+ -> S-
:eternatus: A -> A+
:arceus-ground: A- -> A
:chi-yu: B+ -> A-/A
:salamence-mega: B -> B+
:garganacl: B- -> B

Drops

:zygarde-complete: S+ -> S
:necrozma-ultra: A -> A-
:deoxys-attack: A- -> B+
:giratina-origin: B+ -> B
:ditto: B+ -> B
:chien-pao: B -> B-
 
The 'S rank discussion' - This isn't the first time this has been brought up. I'm of the opinion that there have not really been any metagame changes that really impact whether or not S+ should exist or not. There are definitely arguments for getting rid of it, but those have not really changed nor are they more compelling. This is a roundabout way of saying if you thought S+ should have been demolished a couple of years ago then you probably still do and vice versa. I'm not really sure what has changed that merits somebody changing their stance.

In my opinion, it's not really about metagame change, it's more how we define the S ranks. S ranking should be reserved for Pokemon that shape the metagame. At the beginning there were 4, nowadays there are 7.

1) This dilutes the meaning of S ranks, which, again, should show that the Pokemon control the metagame. 4 is acceptable to me, but 7 is really a lot and not representative of the metagame. If there are so many Pokemon that are dominant, then actually none of them are. See what I mean?

2) This is Ubers and it is full of powerful Pokemon that can do many roles. They are all amazing on their own. The viability rankings should represent their "power" relative to each other. If the average "power" is higher, this just means it should be harder to justify a S rank. For example, I think Ho-Oh, Eternatus, Marshadow are very close in viability and should share the same ranking letter (A, very high tier, without considering the subranks), with PDon firmly above (S tier, sitting on top of the metagame). Yet Ho-Oh and Marshadow are sharing the same tier with PDon while Eternatus is one tier below (I know, I know, the ranking is somewhat outdated). This doesn't feel right to me. Should we create the dreaded "Z" tier for PDon then? That's why I prefer to move everything down. A ranks are still great, especially considering the power level of the metagame.

3) This viability ranking is also a resource for beginners. It would become much clearer for them if they can outright see the most prominent Pokemon in the metagame.

It doesn't seem like it but I swear I don't have that strong of an opinion on this, but I felt like responding to this specific part of your comment, especially since I wasn't clear enough in my previous post.

I agree or somewhat agree on all your nominations, except
Psycho Boost/Low Kick/Guess the move or lose 1/Guess the move or lose 1

Guess the Tera as well if you rely on priority to check this

It's still absurdly threatening and shouldn't drop. Yes Webs mean trouble, but it shines against everything else. Has priority. One of the rare Pokemon that can outspeed Zacian-C as well as deal meaningful damage to it. Just for this I'd keep it in A-.

Happy holidays!
 
:kyogre-primal: A+ -> S- or S

kyogre wins 1v1 matchups against almost everything in the current tier. Even in neutral or slightly unfavorable situations, it can force its way through with RNG without taking much damage.

While it's already a powerhouse in 1v1s, just one Calm Mind makes it a serious sweep threat. Another huge plus is that it doesn't consume Terastallization; since kyogre can't Tera anyway, you can save that resource for your other teammates.

It might not be a "must-pick" for every single archetype, but it fits into any team except for Stall. Even if we're being conservative, I think it’s the strongest Pokémon in S-, and I personally believe it deserves to be in S tier.


I'm not so sure about :deoxys-attack:. I feel like A- is a bit high due to Psycho Boost's accuracy issues, but it's definitely stronger than the Pokémon in B+.
 
1768362605786.png
Gliscor : UR -> C+/B-
The set I'm using
Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
Shiny: Yes
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
Impish Nature
- Protect
- Toxic
- Taunt
- Earthquake

Gliscor is a Pokémon that I feel like is very overlooked in the ND Ubers metagame, and this is kind of surprising since Gliscor in my opinion, doesn't have just a niche, but a legitimate place in the tier. This is thanks to it's ability to counter the clear second best Pokémon in the tier, Zygarde Complete thanks to taunt stopping Coil variants cold, while poison heal means it cannot get glared, and Thousand arrows doing utterly nothing even at +1 thanks to Gliscors solid phys bulk when maxed out. Gliscor can also handle the Dragon Dance variant since the use of taunt and protect being able to still force out Zygarde despite the investment in its attack.

+1 216+ Atk Zygarde-Complete Thousand Arrows vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Gliscor: 121-144 (34.2 - 40.7%) -- 99.9% chance to 4HKO after Poison Heal

This doesn't just apply to Zygarde Complete, Gliscor can also wall another top Pokemon in Ho-oh, since Gliscor cannot be burned when it's badly poisoned, and can wear down Ho-oh with Toxic in return, speaking of Toxic, Gliscor can easily spread toxic against pokemon that would just otherwise evaporate it like Offensive Yveltal, Wall breaker Primal Kyogre, thanks to arguably being the best user of the Toxic + Protect combo due to it's poison heal ability. Gliscor is also an utter nightmare against Balance thanks to how well it can spread Toxic, finding ways to switch-into mons like Ho-oh, Zygarde, and DD Arceus-Ground without Taunt, which many don't have. Gliscors main issue however, is it's vulnerability to literally every special attack thats not earth power or thunderbolt, and it's bad matchup to Hyper Offense, since they're generally too fast pace for Gliscor to chip them away with Toxic, But these aren't world-ending flaws with the right support, like pairing with Fezandipiti to tank special attacks as an example.

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldexubers-2517514546
This replay shows it's ability to entirety shut down Zygarde Complete quite well.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldexubers-2518838419-83bsi5a6luut7k8mhok0hv0k5ofwoo5pw
This replay shows it's Toxic stalling potential very well with how it can beat non tera marshadow thanks to poison heal and the phys Def spread.

Conclusion: I feel like Gliscor is quite a solid defensive Pokemon in the ND Ubers metagame thanks to it's aforementioned traits of walling the insanely dangerous Zygarde Complete, though it's issues and the fact it really only fits on bulkier teams does hold its traits back, Gliscor still seems to have that overlooked, but solid place in the tier.
 
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036.png
Clefable: UR to C (at least)
Set:
Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
Tera Type: Dark/Ghost/Poison/etc.
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Wish
- Protect
- Aromatherapy/Teleport
- Encore/Moonblast

Last year, I said that I was no longer interested in this discussion. But a new year has come, and it's time to put all the salty past away and make contributions to the community.
Okay, let's talk about Clefable a little bit. I've been using this mon for about half a year, and it's really a reliable mon. I screwed up its performance in NDPL, but that's mainly my own fault, not this mon's.
For all non-Ubers unaware pokemon to be used in an Ubers tier, the clear reason would be that they are able to stop some important setup sweepers, and it's surely the case for Clefable. Specifically, Clefable can stand in front of the following threats:
zygarde-complete.png.m.1753797560
The main selling point of Clef is that it stops both of ZygardeC's mainstream sets with ease without consuming the tera, and none of the high-ranking pokemon is able to do so. In Gen9, Soft Boiled is nerfed to 8PP, but we still have the 16PP Wish, so the 16PP Thousand Arrows won't be a problem. Damage calc:
216+ Atk Tera Ground Zygarde Thousand Arrows vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Clefable: 154-182 (39 - 46.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
If a coil Zygarde chooses to tera, your Moonblast won't be able to force its sleep, and you won't win a PP war against it, so you need a backup plan (like Marshadow).
arceus.png.m.1753797560
It depends on the set. Clef doesn't have enough bulk to fully stop an Ekiller fully dedicated to the normal type onslaught. Here is the calc:
252+ Atk Life Orb Arceus Extreme Speed vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Clefable: 153-183 (38.8 - 46.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Life Orb Tera Normal Arceus Extreme Speed vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Clefable: 205-244 (52 - 61.9%) -- 97.7% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Life Orb Arceus Double-Edge vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Clefable: 231-274 (58.6 - 69.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Life Orb Tera Normal Arceus Double-Edge vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Clefable: 309-367 (78.4 - 93.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
Without Double Edge, the mere 8PP of Espeed is easy to stall out. Without tera, it's still possible to use the Wish-Protect combo to accumulate Ekiller's recoil damage (it clearly has no slot for Recover). But the power of tera normal Double Edge is definitely not what Clef can tank, and that's why tera ghost is listed as an option:
252+ Atk Life Orb Tera Normal Arceus Shadow Claw vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Ghost Clefable: 182-216 (46.1 - 54.8%) -- 9% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
Since you would only use this tera facing a Double Edge set, this damage is not too big a problem.
mewtwo.png.m.1753797560
Usually, it's just me using this regular Mewtwo, but since this set has been recognized in the official damage calculator, I will list it here. Psystrike might give you a huge advantage when facing Chansey, Kyogre, Hooh, and CM Arceus, but not against this Clef. Here's the calc:
252 SpA Life Orb Tera Fairy Mewtwo Psystrike vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Clefable: 212-251 (53.8 - 63.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Life Orb Tera Fairy Mewtwo Tera Blast (80 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Clefable: 211-250 (53.5 - 63.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
Seems to be a 2HKO, but remember, Wish+Protect+Lefti gives you 62% of recovery, so it's easy to stall out its LO recoil (that's why I always say that M2 and Mola have a great synergy). However, M2Y is much tougher to deal with because it won't take recoil damage, and is much tankier against Moonblast:
252 SpA Mewtwo-Mega-Y Psystrike vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Clefable: 195-231 (49.4 - 58.6%) -- 69.5% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Mewtwo-Mega-Y Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Clefable: 177-209 (44.9 - 53%) -- 0.4% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
0 SpA Clefable Moonblast vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Mewtwo-Mega-Y: 84-100 (23.7 - 28.3%) -- 94% chance to 4HKO
I'm not putting M2Y here, but unaware still gives you some room for maneuver.
garganacl.png.m.1753797560
You will still take damage from Salt Cure, but its ID Body Press does nothing to you. You can also use Wish to heal the teammates chipped by Salt.
salamence-mega.png.m.1753797560
Definitely not a counter, but you'll never be OHKOed unless crit, so with Moonblast+recoil damage, usually Mence won't be able to sweep. Calc:
252+ Atk Aerilate Salamence-Mega Double-Edge vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Clefable: 246-291 (62.4 - 73.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Aerilate Salamence-Mega Facade vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Clefable: 144-171 (36.5 - 43.4%) -- 99.1% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
0 SpA Clefable Moonblast vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Salamence-Mega: 216-254 (65.2 - 76.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
arceus-dark.png.m.1753797560
It has taunt, so Clef is not a full counter. But it takes little damage from Judgement, and can make decent damage by Moonblast if Darkceus doesn't tera. So Clef could be part of your strategy against it. Calc:
0 SpA Dread Plate Arceus-Dark Judgment vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Clefable: 82-97 (20.8 - 24.6%) -- possible 6HKO
0 SpA Clefable Moonblast vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Arceus-Dark: 168-200 (37.9 - 45.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

The second selling point of Clef is clearly its access to Aromatherapy/Heal Bell. I cannot stress more about the importance of status healing in this tier when status trade is extremely common. When you're not dealing with those setup sweepers, you can always find opportunities to switch in against mons like defensive Yveltal, Hooh, and Darkceus to use the status-healing move. It's another reason why Clef is so perfect against Zygarde. Will we see an Iron Tail Zygarde in the future? Just kidding.
Personally, I think the status healing move is too important to drop. But if you have a different opinion, then Wish+Teleport is also a well-tested combo.
For its tera pick: Dark helps you against Ultra Necromza; Ghost helps you against Double Edge tera normal Ekiller and the rare Zygarde with Thousand Waves+Coil+Scale Shot+Rest; poison helps you against Tspikes and ZacianC. I will only list these three, but there might be more possibilities. Here are some related calcs:
0 SpA Clefable Moonblast vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Necrozma-Ultra: 204-240 (60.7 - 71.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Necrozma-Ultra Outrage vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tera Dark Clefable: 229-270 (58.1 - 68.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
+1 252 Atk Zacian-Crowned Behemoth Blade vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Unaware Tera Poison Clefable: 160-189 (40.6 - 47.9%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
0 SpA Eternatus Dynamax Cannon vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Tera Poison Clefable: 162-192 (41.1 - 48.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

Teammates: Marshadow, Etern, Ditto, Ferro, etc, just name a few. You need to notice that Encore only has 8PP, so if you pick this move, you shouldn't run a very slow-paced team.

Replays:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldexubers-2424243578-5lsjw1q3dckmwgeeg96n5gemjfydlqfpw (VS Ebony God)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldexubers-2423860498-5oghkvxals1nkm1wrj9s1d2kd24buxbpw (VS Unban NAT AG)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldexubers-2424733415-oo14tx8e9gbihfwcpoai5tfpyosvlyhpw (VS Arcfairy)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldexubers-2423855766-rf4u45g2qt22t70clex4w2dp97nri0rpw (VS Webs)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldexubers-2441302910-ypc6dfnvny41bn0sv43lju9hvj20gdapw?p2 (VS baolong8848)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldexubers-2448878217-opwp4l0efqnrcbnx3vw6tuguy18ey3hpw?p2 (VS Yrmpa)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldexubers-2463946470-pful4nl31t35rq71c3dnw1twva2kqr7pw (VS Yrmpa)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldexubers-2450754783-w45hry1iw9bkflwmsd2px2tjxf6nwjopw?p2 (VS Coder20x)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldexubers-2477671000-bq2alhoo95oo40blg3l23ccqmwmuvjepw (VS Unban NAT AG)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldexubers-2499307525-qrk6sv2rwel3s1p8b8y7lwxu4cflyeupw?p2 (VS Cancel Cult)

I initially put it in C-, but now I'm convinced that it should be ranked higher, and C might not be its ceiling. I hope more people can give this mon a shot, and it would perform well in the right teams.
 
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Hi everybody! Here are some explanations for the shifts and some other discussions that came up during the slate. These explanations attempt to provide a more 'objective' perspective to the extent that this is possible as opposed to personal views. I'll probably have a post later this week with those.

Explanations - Rises

:Zacian-crowned: [S- -> S] Zacian-C has surged in use over the course of the last year and hasn’t shown any sign of slowing down, even surpassing 50% use recently! While Zacian-C’s use and viability have fluctuated, the amount of respect it demands in the teambuilder has not. Over this time the playerbase has increasingly opted for more offensive structures. Not only is Zacian-C near mandatory on these structures, it is also one of the strongest Pokémon against them due to the limited counterplay available for these teams to incorporate. Consequently, the unsettlingly high number of games have been decided by Zacian-C speed ties has not gone unnoticed. Offense may be Zacian-C’s home, but it remains a solid option on bulkier playstyles, albeit with significant competition for its roles.

:Eternatus: [A -> A+] Last slate Eternatus dropped a subrank by a single vote and has risen back up. Eternatus is undoubtedly one of the best Pokémon in the tier, but opinions are split on exactly how good. Eternatus isn’t at the ‘just throw it on a team and figure out the details later’ level of flexibility that defined its peak, but is on a rebound. Offensive sets anyways, defensive Eternatus remains rare, but that is still an improvement from earlier last year when it was nearly non-existent outside of stall.

:arceus-ground: [A- -> A] Hyper offense teams tend to hate Marshadow and Zacian-C in general, but none more than the Tera Normal Double-Edge Ekiller HOs that were ubiquitous six months ago. Dragon Dance Arceus-Ground fixes those issues whilst being a solid anti-offense tool itself. This does come at the cost of immediate power, but is often well worth it. The clearest metagame trend over the last six months has been the development of more traditional or midrange offenses where Arceus-Ground is quite common for many of the same reasons. Arceus-Ground has risen purely off the strength of the Dragon Dance set as its defensive and Calm Mind sets have not returned to the metagame in any meaningful capacity.

:chi-yu: [B+ -> A-] This is mostly the viability rankings catching up to Sticky Web developments. Chi-Yu has clearly demonstrated that it is a necessary component to Sticky Web’s success and a two subrank gap between it and Smeargle was a bit large when most successful Sticky Web teams incorporate both.

:salamence-mega: [B -> B+] The offensive Defog set has proven that its legitimacy as a Defogger that self-sufficiently removes Sticky Webs whilst providing serviceable offensive output and a status sponge. Mega Salamence has also seen some success as a Yveltal replacement on Hstack HO. Each still have their own benefits, but Mega Salamence has proven to a solid option on these structures.

:garganacl: [B- -> B] If you’ve been watching tours games recently B might seem a little low for Garganacl. Its Iron Defence + Body Press set has been putting in overtime with the Stealth Rock + Protect set making the occasional appearance. While Garganacl is a fantastic Pokémon, its reliance on Tera makes it deceptively difficult to build with despite its strengths. If teambuilders continue to overcome this hurdle in creative ways then another rise in the future wouldn’t be surprising. Perhaps we will see some more Ekillers throwing out Earthquakes?

:arceus-water: [C -> C+] It is worth noting that this vote happened before Swas busted out Swords Dance Arceus-Water. Arceus-Water has historically been a polarizing Pokémon to evaluate among the council and tends to have the highest variance in votes. This also makes it susceptible to see-sawing between tiers as it did this slate. C is likely a floor, but even without changes it would not be shocking to find Arceus-Water oscillating anywhere between B- and C.

:grimmsnarl: [C -> C+] Screens have had a slight uptick due to a solid matchup into Sticky Web and some of the newer offenses we’ve been seeing and Grimmsnarl has established itself as the best screens setter. Deoxys-S really wants a Rocky Helmet to consistently handle Smeargle and Prankster enables Grimmsnarl to do its thing. Screens are still currently the weakest of the three HO archetypes, but a slight rise represents their increased, albeit minor, place in the metagame.

:Kingambit: [C -> C+] Kingambit is an odd, but somewhat effective cleaner due to its combination of power, bulk, and typing. This isn’t a huge rise, but does elevate Kingambit to ‘legitimate’ status. It is still a niche, seldom used Pokémon, but it tends to be better than it appears at a glance.

:mewtwo: [C -> C+] Despite lower use in recent times, Life Orb Mewtwo has continued to prove that it is a legitimate part of the metagame. It is an incredibly effective breaker, but this does come with the caveat of requiring near perfect play, a deep disdain for entry hazards (especially Toxic Spikes), and an eternal fear of Zacian-C. Due to this it will always be somewhat inconsistent, but the highs are high enough for it to rise a subrank.

:tapu-lele: [C -> C+] Psyspam hasn’t changed, but was teetering on the border of C and C+. This slate it ended up on the C+ side of things.

:dialga: [D -> C-] There have not been any new developments with Dialga, but was one of those Pokémon that teetered on the border of C- and D. It has some interesting traits that enough voters believe in to rerank it.

:zekrom: [D -> C-] Zekrom has been in a similar situation to Dialga, but Swas’s nomination was convincing enough to re-rank it.

:toedscruel: [UR -> C-] Sure it is a meme nomination, but Sticky Web is here to stay and regardless of your opinion on whether it should be banned, everybody recognizes the archetype’s strength. Toedscruel makes Smeargle’s life very cruel while still doing some other things. It isn’t the first Pokémon to be ranked due to the Sticky Web matchup (Terapagos + Ribombee). Unfuuny’s nomination can be found here.

:iron-treads: [UR -> C-] Iron Treads is a niche lead for Hstack HO that can beat opposing HO leads, namely Deoxy-S and Smeargle. It was ranked for this previously, but was unranked after seeing no use for an extended period of time. Sami's nomination can be read here

:clefable:[UR -> C-] Splendid Silver Star’s nomination is here. Clefable is an Unaware wall capable of checking some scary threats while also acting as a cleric and providing Wish support. It is a unique set of attributes that has proven successful in tour play. The council unanimously felt that Clefable was worth ranking, but there were some concerns that its defensive prowess is slightly oversold due to its susceptibility to entry hazards in addition to myriad of different tera types it wants to be able to check specific threats.

:clodsire:[UR -> C-] See Bobsican’s nomination here. It is worth nothing this vote ended up being a tie between C- and UR.

Explanations - Drops

:deoxys-attack: [A- -> B+] Finding Fezandipiti was a breath of fresh air for Deoxys-A as it was close to a drop. Since then it hasn’t seen much development nor use. Deoxys-A has always operated on razor-thin margins due to its bulk, resulting in a high ceiling and low floor. The allure of that high ceiling has diminished over time due to its inherent variance and the support it needs to be effective against a lot of offensive structures. That being said, there is still little scarier than a Deoxys-A with the right moves and clicks. Deoxys-A has always been Psycho Boost + Low Kick +2. Rock Slide + Extreme Speed with Tera Ghost has been the most common for a while due to its ability to threaten nearly every Pokémon besides Necrozma-DM.

:chien-pao: [B -> B-] Chien-Pao is still an excellent wallbreaker and hasn’t changed much itself. The teams it fits on have been struggling for a bit and a subrank drop reflects this.

:glimmora: [B -> B-] Glimmora is probably the Pokémon most upset that Sticky Web remained legal as it is better than Deoxys-S in most other matchups. Glimmora Hstack isn’t an automatic loss into Sticky Web, but it is often close. Forcing the opponent to pop tera doesn’t really compensate for using HO against HO with Sticky Web up even with a hazard advantage.

:landorus-therian: [B- -> C+] Landorus-T is a fine Pokémon, but it tends to struggle a lot the moment it needs do something more than switch into Zacian-C once. That is great, but it is also a Ground-type immunity that loses to the Ground-types and the specific utility it offers has been waning for some time. A subrank drop reflects this.

:gothitelle: [B- -> C] Every metagame development over the past few years has been hostile for Gothitelle. Long gone are the passive do nothing balances where it could consistently trap multiple Pokémon. These days Gothitelle often has to choose between Tera Fairy to trap Zygarde or Tera Ghost for stall. Regardless, the result tends to be underwhelming given the amount of time required in the builder to account for Gothitelle’s flaws.

:arceus-flying: [C -> C-] Arceus-Flying just isn’t used. It has some appealing traits, but nobody has demonstrated their value in any meaningful capacity. At a certain point a Pokémon has to actually be used and it has been a very long time since Arceus-Flying was. It is never going to be a top tier Arceus forme, but can easily shoot up a couple of subranks with some results.

:arceus-ghost: [C- -> D] Arceus-Ghost has become ghost envious of its past self. Once a solid antimetagame threat, Arceus-Ghost has continually tumbled down the viability rankings as it finds itself in an increasingly hostile metagame. One of Arceus-Dark, Marshadow, and Yveltal have been found on nearly every team for a while, making it difficult for Arceus-Ghost to do its thing. Over time the opportunity cost of using up both the Arceus and Z-crystal slot on HO has proven to be too much. Even the more adventurous players have failed to get value out of Arceus-Ghost for a long time now.

:blissey:[C- -> UR] Its been a while since Blissey had a surge in viability due to Bobsican’s fat balances and semistalls. While the general concept still works fine, the execution has changed. Blissey has largely been usurped on these archetypes by Fezandipiti for some time which has proven to be just as effective in practice despite significantly lower special bulk. Consequently, Blissey has tumbled down the viability rankings over the last few slates as it has failed to establish a niche in the tier.

Miscellaneous

:zygarde-complete: While most members of the council see Zygarde as the second best Pokémon, there was more discussion than ever this go around about whether or not it should be S or S+. There is a gap between Zygarde and Primal Groudon, but also a gap between Zygarde the #3 Pokémon. Although Zygarde is still considered #2, it has inched closer to S over the last couple of slates. If we were to use the S(x) model that some oldgens use such as ADV and DPP it is pretty likely Zygarde would be by itself in S2.

:ho-oh: There was a fair bit of discussion about Ho-Oh's rank, more than the past couple of slates. Ho-Oh is undeniably one of the best Pokémon in the metagame, but offensive structures utilizing other means of hazard control have been gaining popularity in recent months - namely those that use Pokémon such as Mega Diancie, Choice Scarf Yveltal, and occasionally Mega Salamence. If you're not using these structures you're likely using Ho-Oh. It is still an amazing Pokémon due to its irreplacable blend of offensive and defensive utility alongside providing the best hazard removal the tier has to offer. However, if this trend continues it wouldn't be surprising to see Ho-Oh drop to S- in the future.

:necrozma-ultra: There was not really any discussion about Ultra Necrozma within the council, but it is the 'top tier' Pokémon that has the least consensus amongst the council. In the last couple of slates Ultra Necrozma has been on the precipice of falling to A-, but this time around it is arguably closer to A+. Ultra Necrozma has long been one of the most centralizing presences in the tier due to its extremely limited consistent counterplay, especially after a boost. For the past couple of years the respect Ultra Necrozma commands in the teambuilder has been a double-edged sword that has made it difficult to translate its threat in the teambuilder to in-game success.

However, Ultra Necrozma has also significantly benefited from recent metagame trends. The more offensive teams that players have been gravitating towards are far flimsier into Ultra Necrozma as they are less able to incorporate solid counterplay and often rely on momentum or softer checks. Additionally, Hstack HO is starting to make a comeback after being somewhat absent as players embrace Rocky Helmet Deoxys-S due to its ability to make the Sticky Web matchup playable. Notably, this is the archetype Ultra Necrozma is best on, but it has increasingly been swapping Stone Edge for Outrage, enabling it to more easily power through checks such as Calm Mind Arceus-Dark and transistion more to a wallbreaking role if the circumstances call for it. While Ultra Necrozma didn't shift in this slate, its future is looking brighter than ever.

:arceus-ground: Arceus-Ground did rise, but I think it is worth mentioning in this section as it could very well rise again in the future if the aforementioned metagame trends continue. Sure it appreciates Zacian-C seeing sky high use, but it appreciates the exploration, development, and resurgence of the more traditional or midrange offenses. Although Arceus-Ground has been recognized as the best Arceus forme on these types of structures for ages, they've been fairly uncommon until relatively recently. It isn't without competition, but this spectrum of teams is the only one where it is undisputably the best. If current trends hold, it wouldn't be surprising to see Arceus-Ground rise another subrank in the near future.
 
:zygarde-complete: While most members of the council see Zygarde as the second best Pokémon, there was more discussion than ever this go around about whether or not it should be S or S+. There is a gap between Zygarde and Primal Groudon, but also a gap between Zygarde the #3 Pokémon. Although Zygarde is still considered #2, it has inched closer to S over the last couple of slates. If we were to use the S(x) model that some oldgens use such as ADV and DPP it is pretty likely Zygarde would be by itself in S2.
I honestly find this a thing too. Everytime I look at the VR, it feels strange seeing Zygarde next to Primal Groudon, as while it is definitely used a ton and very very good, it is not as present as Primal Groudon. While I am not a tiering expert I do like our current tiering system, that clearly defines what mons are slappable and strong and which mons should be used with a little more thought. Runo has stated that he would like to see the bottom tier cut off, and to move everything but pdon down a peg. While this is definitely a solution, I do think that Pokemon with little niches are fun and deserve to get ranked and will mean that pokemon that are even used "fairly" commonly, even in tournament, like clefable, zarude, melmetal are pushed off the vr. Pushing up some of these like melm+cress up however gets rid of the nuance that TR doesnt need melm+cress but TR does need hatterene, as an example. I guess a way to solve this is to order all of the mons in their respective tiers but that is a ton of work and thought, and outside of small things nobody is going to care about wether Palkia-o or shuckle is ranked higher in the glup shitto tier. So I guess without a complete tiering system overhaul I guess we are going to have to accept zyggy is going to be S+ for now.
:arceus-ground: Arceus-Ground did rise, but I think it is worth mentioning in this section as it could very well rise again in the future if the aforementioned metagame trends continue. Sure it appreciates Zacian-C seeing sky high use, but it appreciates the exploration, development, and resurgence of the more traditional or midrange offenses. Although Arceus-Ground has been recognized as the best Arceus forme on these types of structures for ages, they've been fairly uncommon until relatively recently. It isn't without competition, but this spectrum of teams is the only one where it is undisputably the best. If current trends hold, it wouldn't be surprising to see Arceus-Ground rise another subrank in the near future.
I do definitely agree with this sentiment. Arceus-Ground had long been overrated in the middle stages of ndUbers as it was just simply difficult to justify over Arceus-Dark/Fairy. But as the meta changed and new discoveries have been made, Arceus-Ground feels more usable than ever and especially nice vs or on Hyper Offense as taunt support or dd respectively.

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A great day for tuesday but a horrible day for the floobconomy
 
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