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Resource Scarlet and Violet RU Indigo Disk Viability Rankings

Wanna throw in my VR thoughts for once, since there's quite a few things that I wanna talk about after The Theft Of Hippowdown

:pmd/feraligatr: B+ -> B
Gatr really just kinda ain't that good enough to belong in B+. Still just kinda too slow, and without enough breaking power to justify in a vast majority of cases. It's only really good at breaking through teams without quagsire that are also all slower than feraligatr. Aqua Jet is nice, especially in a PZ tier, but like if you want a mon that can use aqua jet, crawdaunt is right there to do about double the damage of feraligatr with the same move. Good coverage, and theoretically threatening, but just gets worn down too easily without doing enough damage to justify being brought in a majority of cases. (also can't even beat quagsire without prior chip too lmao)​

:pmd/quagsire: B -> B+
Speaking of the big sire, I agree with Heatranator on this one. Grounds are more scarce and valuable now, able to be splashed on multiple teams, very flexible movesets with Counter, Spikes, Whirlpool, hell even Encore. Not the bulkiest guy sadly, but Unaware more than makes up for it for stopping all sorts of setup sweepers, and generally just being a very stable mon in an unstable tier. Not A- tier, but definitely deserves B+ for being such a staple of stall and a good mon in general for BO / Balance.​

:pmd/swampert: B -> B-
On the topic of the waters... This guy has use i guess, but i just feel like he's never brought to games, and kinda just doesn't have anything majorly useful to do in most games. It sets stealth rocks and flip turns, that's it. Theoretical mon, not a practical one. Maybe it still has a niche on offense teams, but it's just not appearing in the meta enough to justify being B rank.​

:pmd/entei: A- -> A
Entei has been carrying me HARD recently, it's just so good. Just a solid mon, with a good speed tier nowadays that's notably very anti-talonflame; a boon in a tier where talon's the top one mon. Sacred Fire is an amazing stab move as always, and massively supports teammates while nuking any mons that don't resist it, and Extreme Speed is always a great tool to have to stabilize games and revenge kill guys. I think the two major sets atm that I would say should be ran would be HDB Tera Normal and HDB Tera Grass. Choice Band i feel has kinda fallen off lately, especially with our generally weak removal options and the prevalence of webs teams and HO teams in general on ladder, means that although you get big damage, it's taking too much damage over time to really be a major player in most games. Meanwhile HDB sets can always switch in and get something done, especially vs. webs teams like the LBN sample infesting ladder atm (where Entei's good speed tier puts it above most of the slower guys on that team). Tera Normal sets lean into the Extreme Speed idea and are generally pretty reliable and good at revenge killing, potentially either running Double-Edge for a nuke or Crunch to hit Slowbro, and Tera Blast Grass Sets instead lure and OHKO / 2HKO all of the bulky waters in the tier that would otherwise want to switch into Entei and force it out, allowing Entei to go ham in matchups where it would otherwise be stifled. Overall a great mon that should be ran more, definitely deserving of a rise.​

:pmd/slowbro: S -> S
This is kinda just in response to the discussion that's been happening about maybe dropping Slowbro down a tier, and tbh I think it has every right to stay in S tier. Super splashable, plenty of sets it can run, amazing regen bot just in general, can get away with not popping tera, and has plenty of tech to do better into its less favorable matchups. It can't do EVERYTHING, but it does so much so well that I think it should stay in S tier.​

:pmd/rhyperior: A- -> B+
This guy i have less opinions on, but I think rhyp just isn't really deserving of an A- spot. It's just not as seen and as good as the other mons in that tier, and although Rhpy is certainly a GOOD mon, with solid attributes and breaking power, it's just not a good ENOUGH mon to be in A-.​
:pmd/meloetta: -> C​
I won't extol the virtues and wonders of Meloetta, I'll just say that Meloetta's made at least enough of an appearance, tournament and ladder wise, to at least be on the VR. LBN's been using AV Melo quite a bit lately, and I myself have made numerous attempts to say that Meloetta is at least usable and has niches that cannot be filled by other mons. Thank you for my restrained TED talk.​
:pmd/toxicroak: -> hell​
who the fuck is using toxicroak in the big 2026, this guy fell out of usage a year ago get him outta here, ZERO rain teams are using this guy​
 
Wanna throw in my VR thoughts for once, since there's quite a few things that I wanna talk about after The Theft Of Hippowdown

:pmd/feraligatr: B+ -> B
Gatr really just kinda ain't that good enough to belong in B+. Still just kinda too slow, and without enough breaking power to justify in a vast majority of cases. It's only really good at breaking through teams without quagsire that are also all slower than feraligatr. Aqua Jet is nice, especially in a PZ tier, but like if you want a mon that can use aqua jet, crawdaunt is right there to do about double the damage of feraligatr with the same move. Good coverage, and theoretically threatening, but just gets worn down too easily without doing enough damage to justify being brought in a majority of cases. (also can't even beat quagsire without prior chip too lmao)​

:pmd/quagsire: B -> B+
Speaking of the big sire, I agree with Heatranator on this one. Grounds are more scarce and valuable now, able to be splashed on multiple teams, very flexible movesets with Counter, Spikes, Whirlpool, hell even Encore. Not the bulkiest guy sadly, but Unaware more than makes up for it for stopping all sorts of setup sweepers, and generally just being a very stable mon in an unstable tier. Not A- tier, but definitely deserves B+ for being such a staple of stall and a good mon in general for BO / Balance.​

:pmd/swampert: B -> B-
On the topic of the waters... This guy has use i guess, but i just feel like he's never brought to games, and kinda just doesn't have anything majorly useful to do in most games. It sets stealth rocks and flip turns, that's it. Theoretical mon, not a practical one. Maybe it still has a niche on offense teams, but it's just not appearing in the meta enough to justify being B rank.​

:pmd/entei: A- -> A
Entei has been carrying me HARD recently, it's just so good. Just a solid mon, with a good speed tier nowadays that's notably very anti-talonflame; a boon in a tier where talon's the top one mon. Sacred Fire is an amazing stab move as always, and massively supports teammates while nuking any mons that don't resist it, and Extreme Speed is always a great tool to have to stabilize games and revenge kill guys. I think the two major sets atm that I would say should be ran would be HDB Tera Normal and HDB Tera Grass. Choice Band i feel has kinda fallen off lately, especially with our generally weak removal options and the prevalence of webs teams and HO teams in general on ladder, means that although you get big damage, it's taking too much damage over time to really be a major player in most games. Meanwhile HDB sets can always switch in and get something done, especially vs. webs teams like the LBN sample infesting ladder atm (where Entei's good speed tier puts it above most of the slower guys on that team). Tera Normal sets lean into the Extreme Speed idea and are generally pretty reliable and good at revenge killing, potentially either running Double-Edge for a nuke or Crunch to hit Slowbro, and Tera Blast Grass Sets instead lure and OHKO / 2HKO all of the bulky waters in the tier that would otherwise want to switch into Entei and force it out, allowing Entei to go ham in matchups where it would otherwise be stifled. Overall a great mon that should be ran more, definitely deserving of a rise.​

:pmd/slowbro: S -> S
This is kinda just in response to the discussion that's been happening about maybe dropping Slowbro down a tier, and tbh I think it has every right to stay in S tier. Super splashable, plenty of sets it can run, amazing regen bot just in general, can get away with not popping tera, and has plenty of tech to do better into its less favorable matchups. It can't do EVERYTHING, but it does so much so well that I think it should stay in S tier.​

:pmd/rhyperior: A- -> B+
This guy i have less opinions on, but I think rhyp just isn't really deserving of an A- spot. It's just not as seen and as good as the other mons in that tier, and although Rhpy is certainly a GOOD mon, with solid attributes and breaking power, it's just not a good ENOUGH mon to be in A-.​
:pmd/meloetta: -> C​
I won't extol the virtues and wonders of Meloetta, I'll just say that Meloetta's made at least enough of an appearance, tournament and ladder wise, to at least be on the VR. LBN's been using AV Melo quite a bit lately, and I myself have made numerous attempts to say that Meloetta is at least usable and has niches that cannot be filled by other mons. Thank you for my restrained TED talk.​
:pmd/toxicroak: -> hell​
who the fuck is using toxicroak in the big 2026, this guy fell out of usage a year ago get him outta here, ZERO rain teams are using this guy​
I just want to add on the Gatr discussion and want to say that running an adamant nature actually makes quag risk a 2hko
252+ Atk Life Orb Sheer Force Feraligatr Liquidation vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Quagsire: 179-212 (45.4 - 53.8%) -- 41.8% chance to 2HKO
and it's not like quag can just spam recover with just 8 recover pp, but gatr can't switch as freely because of toxic. And me personally, I really don't see the point in running jolly when he gets outsped by every scarfer in the tier so using him as a dd sweeper seems like the best way to use him while differentiating him from crawdaunt. I would say the big thing that makes him unique from daunt is that ice punch scares breloom and chesnaught while crawdaunt gets walled badly. Yeah he has horrible issues like hazards and status crippling him badly but if you can somehow find a good moment to set up like a noivern draco spattack drop or a chipped wall that's forced to heal or switch he can just destroy certain teams. Staying at B+ seems good for now imo.
 
New scheduled VR update! Please remember that we have our slates ready for the 13th-20th or so, your noms will be added to the next slate ahem Elec-ant1234 ahem.

Additionally, C- will come into existence on the NEXT VR update. We held a vote this month to approve its existence, and next month we'll add Pokemon in there. So, if you have any specific suggestions for who goes there, please post them.

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UR -> C
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UR -> C
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D -> C
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UR -> C
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UR -> C
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UR -> C

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C+ -> UR

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Alright, reminder that slate will be set up within like 5 days, so get some C- noms in while you can. For now though, I got more noms of my own. Also check out my yuri on AO3 thnx. https://archiveofourown.org/works/68109381/chapters/176180351

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B+ -> A-
This mon is so much better than B+. I remember dunking on this thing back in GWeez / Gapdos meta and while I was 200% correct to do so, the guy has gotten alot better overall, I must admit. Post hippowdon especially, and various fun sets have been seen for this guy. Sub Salac got used in RUPL W1, and I've messed w Choice Band, SR Dice, and there's definitely other sets out there. Mon is definitely nice and unlike other HO mainstay Torterra, who is mostly locked to HO, Terrakion can be used on just about anything. In fact I kinda wanna say A- is a low ball, but I'll save that for future noms. For now, A- is fair as hell.

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C -> C+
LBN nomming Infernape higher who could've seen this coming? Yeah, C is just disrespectful Imma be honest that was an overshot. It's all fun and games calling it potential man and while it's certainly awkward at times and its Talon MU isn't great, there's alot of games where it just goes on a tear. After getting it to put in work in 2 ssnl replays vs good players, I think i can comfortably say that Ape is still not bad, and I think it fits surprisingly well on fatter builds. It's not like specs is all it can do though, I've gravitated to CB as like, a Mienshao that doesn't care about spamming contact moves vs Talon. It's pretty good, honestly.

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UR -> C-
Thing is nice. I've gotten good success w this on bulkier/more offensive builds, and while it does somewhat step on Tentacruel's toes for its job, Sp def bruiser who pivots and has strong dracos and tspike absorbing utility is hard to call shit, and a lot of times you can pressure steels and that's when you really see this guy shine. I have replays somewhere but honestly i lost em, and the one i didnt was last winter ssnl when I dogged GK in finals so like.. take that how you will. But its good though just take my word for it. It's more proven than fckin scyther.

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A- -> A
I think all three of these are significantly above the other A- crop, and are more in line with the A ranks. Entei has been a pain in the ass for awhile, and TB-Grass sets can 1v1 a vast swath of the tier, with immense facetank value and bolsters the HO mu to boot. Very good and annoying mon to deal with, and the natural bulk is just amazing for it. Blissey is the resident cleric and enables probably the 2nd most braindead combo in the tier, or is a bonus piece to the most braindead core in the tier. ShaoBliss or PZ&Shao are easily the stupidest duo the tier has, and cleric support for shao in general is just plain stupid. Obviously, the defensive value is incredible and allows for some more liberties to be taken in the builder on your other slots, since you can sometimes just write some mons off completely when u have blissey. Gardevoir is a more.. underappreciated mon despite how consistent its been, and I'd say its really good now as well. Fits like a charm on PZ&Shao builds, and has amazing anti-bullshit utility vs weather with trace, or can do what cielau did to heatranator and just.. sat on vaporeon the entire game and got like 4 kills lmao. She's always been very good for awhile, but I'd say pressuring steels is easier than ever right now, and Gardevoir finds itself fitting like glue on the best brainless comps the tier has. She's better than A-, imo.
 
hej
:Bombirdier: --> C-/C
I like this guy a lot, Dark+Flying isn't easy to switch into with no Hippo since common Knock Off absorbers like Chesnaught explode to Brave Bird. Sucker Punch is also super nice anti-weather and and anti-offense in general and Tera Dark Sucker can pick up some nasty kills. Has a decent speed tier and is overall a really solid progress maker with a strong matchup vs offenses. The last can also be legit anything. If you wanna try and be a Krook with prio you can run Rocks. If you wanna snipe Talon you can run Rocky Payload and Stone Edge. If you want recovery so you can wear down teams longer you can run Roost. If you wanna pivot, you can go U-turn. The movepool is super nice on this guy and I've also enjoyed using bulky rocks sets in the past. I hit like #4 or #3 on ladder with him and he puts in the work so he definitely has a niche imo.
 
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