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Resource Monotype Viability Rankings [February 2026]
- Thread starter Neko
- Start date
wait dang you're right. But still, does it really need to be in the same tier as Abomasnow? I feel that's really bad for a Pokemon that can snowball high-damage grass moves in only 3 turns without needing nasty plot.
This pokemon is D ranked because it has basically no coverage. Literally 1 special, non grass type move besides tera blast: dragon pulse. If it had better options other than glare and sub or screens for moveslots it might be higher on the VRs. C is like maybe arguable but even that is kinda pushing it. Torterra is C and has shell smash and like, movepool options and good secondary stab that hits poisons and fires and steels as well as being a poison neutrality. The reality is that serp really just doesn’t hold up.
I think they're in the same tier cause serp is a good mon that provides nothing to the team, while abomasnow is a shit mon that provides a lot to the team
thanks for explaining this to me!
also you too Molemitts now I understand better
Have you never used a suicide lead in your life? Just because a mon dies in the first 3 turns doesn't mean the mon didn't contribute. In fact, far from "slowing down the pace of ice", the mon in fact massively speeds up the pace of HO Ice by giving you a gamestate that you can take advantage of. Let's take the following replay as an example:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-2486424859-4e6jia9h9e4oi8t1vr0disix3mrstjkpw?p2
Against a Darkrai lead, leading Ninetales-Alola is risky since it can die to Specs Sludge Bomb. Instead, by leading Froslass, Twaving, and getting a layer of spikes to help secure damage rolls later, we immediately get screens up the second it dies. In other words, leading Froslass gives us an advantageous game state that we can immediately capitalize on by getting Screens up.
Another example:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-2486463783-0e30xo4to8hi4909g962c6x265qfp8ipw
By Twaving the Greninja, we can ensure that Frosmoth sets up on it without issue, immediately forcing the opponent onto the back foot, and as the replay goes we see that Frosmoth is able to sweep with the free +1.
Another example:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-2486400785?p2 Burn instantly turns Corviknight into setup bait, allowing me to win the game right away
Of course these replays are just what is expected of Froslass; there are obviously games where it overperforms, like:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-2486461687-3ijbvb2f2h152xxclfn6i0xujp9sxlvpw?p2 -- wins the game T1
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-2486422858-jhmrhxp0na0m49bqg96ufas99d21aevpw?p2 -- GG Froslass OP
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-2394056960-rr5e315bsmtyg1vdhgvq9cp5omoifxtpw Spikes stack wins games
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-2486408427 Froslass saves the game
And there are of course games where Cursed Body gives you free setup.
Oh, and I've also yet to mention how good Spikes are at bringing things into ranging from various Ice sweepers & scarfers, especially on teams with Icy Rock Tales where mons like Snowslash and Cetitan appreciate the chip to allow them to potentially revenge kill threats despite their mediocre unboosted damage output. I've personally put Froslass on teams more than I've used the so-called "auto includes" like Mamo or Weavile. Froslass doesn't get a lot of kills, but it sure as hell impacts winning and I like winning games.
Since Dewgong is blacklisted, let's just agree to disagree and move on.
As for Cetitan, the "his argument seems like youve failed to bring in cetitan for success and then deem it as mediocre but its quite the opposite." is just completely uncalled for, especially because one of the sample teams I nominated at https://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/sv-monotype-sample-teams-september-2025.3733750/post-10781748 contains a cetitan. I have had a lot of success with the mon, but that doesn't mean that I can't recognize the mon's shortcomings and deficiencies. I also nominated Articuno to move from C -> D even when I was having success with it. Do you only nominate mons down when you can't build with them?
Like, just let me ask a few questions:
- Would you still run Cetitan on a team without Icy Rock A-nine (the mon can run Light Clay or Scarf, both viable options), over other options such as SD weavile or SS cloyster?
- Are you going to still run Cetitan when you're running a Kyurem set that isn't Specs who assists in in denting physical walls? There are other viable sets such as SubTect, Dice, and even Boots.
- How reliable is Cetitan at setting up with a sufficient amount of Hail turns left without support from a dedicated pivot?
- How do most Ice teams reliably chip at Sableye, a mon Cetitan doesn't OHKO with shard, when it commonly runs HDB? The team I submitted for samples has Knock off on Snowslash for this purpose; does this count as specialized support?
- How does Cetitan help when you can't get up screens because a strong, fast breaker is lead and is staring at your A9 in the face T1?
Overall, yes Cetitan can be strong in the right circumstances but it does not deserve an A rank spot.
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Aside from the fact your replays are trash (why's this dark one here, the guy let you get up 3 spikes and then forfeited...), I have changed my tune a bit on Froslass and agree that Froslass is defs a bit overlooked in how useful it is, though I don't know if it's A or B tier to be honest.
That being said, I think the point I agree with you more is 100% the fact that Cetitan needs to be dropped from A. I'll give it a...
A-->CFrankly speaking I think XYZ was correct in saying Cetitan is a mu fish mon, it secures the Fly mu but isn't really needed for that to be honest. Not to mention, I've found myself having a bit of a better mu spread with a cetitan-less team I made.
It took a bit cause trying to fit everything I wanted felt a bit counterintuitive, however I finally got around to making an HO Froslass Ice I liked. I ended up settling for a Dual Lead HO with Scarf Alolatales. Sash Froslass with spikes/will o/taunt/curse, and sash Mamo with SR/EQ/Ice Shard/Knock(originally Endeavor), alongside Scarf alola, HDB Shell Smash Cloyster with Ice Beam/Rock Blast/Icicle Spear, HDB A-Sandslash for Spin, and Specs Kyurem to tie it all together.
I don't think I'd lost with it yet on ladder, here are the last 3 replays I had with it but there were some prior ones vs. Dragon which probs would've been a good demonstration for the merits of Cloy.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-2488670479-1hp4jdmacf0mtiitei1t6uxj36y9al8pw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-2488674640-a7tv1sexjnxjuc7xv249tgvudjy8w2dpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-2488677742-v4elymsd2ems72ffpd6441bv14cn791pw
Edit: here's a replay vs. Dragon
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-2488695124-2vb4ukvkuhut1ujnjvpy3pn9bsrdgkkpw
Edit 2: I think got Saw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-2488698833-kydow9jatu1u1oc61yslukt080ybisdpw
I also will say I think it's a bit of a shame Dewgong got blacklisted, I recognize it became a bit of a meme, however it feels like every week someone new comes in complaining about Ice having issues with switchins to shit like Heatran in the mono room. As XYZ said earlier, there are other pivots, but as he also said, Dewgong is probs the best out of all of them. While I don't know if I can say Screens Ice is the best build, it's a build that desperately wants pivots like Dewgong.
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Amoonguss (grass): S -> B
Idk how to put this, but this dude just doesn't do anything. Huge momentum sink, and doesn't actually address your weaknesses to poison and bug. Spore is nice, but after putting something to sleep, it just sits there. Foul play deters mons from setting up on you, but it's usually not tanky enough to come in on an SD and click foul play. Poison coverage is also nothing crazy, and toxic can cripple an opponent, but if you're playing grass, you're unlikely to last long enough to exploit it.
And regardless of all that, S tier is supposed to be for mons that will nearly always be a good inclusion on a team, and Amoonguss just isn't one of those.
Idk how to put this, but this dude just doesn't do anything. Huge momentum sink, and doesn't actually address your weaknesses to poison and bug. Spore is nice, but after putting something to sleep, it just sits there. Foul play deters mons from setting up on you, but it's usually not tanky enough to come in on an SD and click foul play. Poison coverage is also nothing crazy, and toxic can cripple an opponent, but if you're playing grass, you're unlikely to last long enough to exploit it.
And regardless of all that, S tier is supposed to be for mons that will nearly always be a good inclusion on a team, and Amoonguss just isn't one of those.
B -> C (Fighting) Scrafty does well as a non-AV special wall. However, AV Gallade has almost completely eclipsed as the dedicated special wall for Fighting with Iron Hands as the backup AV option should someone drop Gallade for something else. The initial hype for Scrafty came after last year's circuit Dieu Amphibien vs Cielau where Cielau brought Scrafty 3 straight times to secure win 3-2 after being down 0-2. Since then, Scrafty usage has been at an all time low and doesn’t seem like a B rank mon for Fighting.
B -> A (Water) Rain builds have been doing well on both ladder and tour play. Pelipper being a solid physical wall and slow pivot into Eject Button Toxapex provides great momentum. Pair that with item removal in Knock Off and being a Ground immunity, we have a well rounded A rank mon.
B -> A (Water) With Rain comes Water’s best Swift Swim mon. If Rain is doing great, then Barraskewda is one of the largest contributors. The fastest mon in the game with spammable Liquidations and Flip Turns creates great momentum and punches holes needed for Water. Also being able to outspeed Flutter Mane outside of Rain is a big plus as well.Even if Barraskewda doesn’t get A rank, Pelipper still should have a strong consideration for it. Seeing that Ethereal Sword’s most recent Monotype Swiss Finals series broadcasted a Rain Water team without Barraskewda claiming a win. Rain is a general plus for Water overall that’s been netting good results.
B->A (Water) Stall water's really good and this mon's a big reason why; this also sees use on balanced water builds. A fat Wishpasser with momentum move (flip turn) is just so so good, B is underrating this. It also has a choice of utility options with Knock off, Scald, and Mirror Coat that are a bit of a headache for opposing teams to scout and play around, since teams generally don't want to give Mola free turns to wish something back to full health.
A -> S (Fighting) Gallade is now the decicated special wall of Fighting; long live AV Gallade. It's also hard to prepare for matchups like Poison without running this.
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hi here's my hot take of the day
UR ->D/C (Steel)
I've realized my car is not even ranked! This guy can do so many things, whether it's Parting Shot support, Iron Head/Spin Out, Shift Gear, Toxic Spikes (just got the idea for toxic spikes today when I realized Gholdengo ran Hex.) With Filter, it can survive most unboosted moves that would otherwise OHKO it. It can also run High Horsepower to counter Fire types. Can be run as a Neutral to Fighting, and can run Air Balloon so it can get an immunity to ground type moves. Focus Sash is an alternative for Shift Gear sets, allowing Revavroom to freely get the outspeed on many Monotype threats, and also deal big damage. It can also run defensive EV spreads while keeping the same moves.
Some Calcs (Using a Jolly Build, assuming Shift Gear was brought up.):
+1 252 Atk Revavroom Iron Head vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Flutter Mane: 594-702 (235.7 - 278.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+1 252 Atk Revavroom High Horsepower vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Archaludon: 234-276 (72.8 - 85.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+1 252 Atk Revavroom High Horsepower vs. 80 HP / 20 Def Eviolite Bisharp: 192-226 (65.9 - 77.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+1 252 Atk Revavroom Gunk Shot vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Alomomola: 229-271 (42.9 - 50.8%) -- 3.9% chance to 2HKO (pressures switch)
Defensive Calcs (Special Defense build.):
252 SpA Choice Specs Flutter Mane Mystical Fire vs. 220 HP / 252 SpD Filter Revavroom: 192-226 (53.9 - 63.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Volcarona Fiery Dance vs. 220 HP / 252 SpD Filter Revavroom: 225-265 (63.2 - 74.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO (Assuming Shift Gear was brought up, Revavroom can KO Volcarona with a couple of Gunk Shots. Quiver Dance cannot safely be brought up in this scenario.)
252+ SpA Heatran Magma Storm vs. 220 HP / 252 SpD Filter Revavroom: 274-324 (76.9 - 91%) -- guaranteed 2HKO (Unless Heatran had a Air Balloon or Shuca Berry, Revavroom can finish it afterwards.)
UR ->D/C (Steel)I've realized my car is not even ranked! This guy can do so many things, whether it's Parting Shot support, Iron Head/Spin Out, Shift Gear, Toxic Spikes (just got the idea for toxic spikes today when I realized Gholdengo ran Hex.) With Filter, it can survive most unboosted moves that would otherwise OHKO it. It can also run High Horsepower to counter Fire types. Can be run as a Neutral to Fighting, and can run Air Balloon so it can get an immunity to ground type moves. Focus Sash is an alternative for Shift Gear sets, allowing Revavroom to freely get the outspeed on many Monotype threats, and also deal big damage. It can also run defensive EV spreads while keeping the same moves.
Some Calcs (Using a Jolly Build, assuming Shift Gear was brought up.):
+1 252 Atk Revavroom Iron Head vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Flutter Mane: 594-702 (235.7 - 278.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+1 252 Atk Revavroom High Horsepower vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Archaludon: 234-276 (72.8 - 85.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+1 252 Atk Revavroom High Horsepower vs. 80 HP / 20 Def Eviolite Bisharp: 192-226 (65.9 - 77.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+1 252 Atk Revavroom Gunk Shot vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Alomomola: 229-271 (42.9 - 50.8%) -- 3.9% chance to 2HKO (pressures switch)
Defensive Calcs (Special Defense build.):
252 SpA Choice Specs Flutter Mane Mystical Fire vs. 220 HP / 252 SpD Filter Revavroom: 192-226 (53.9 - 63.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Volcarona Fiery Dance vs. 220 HP / 252 SpD Filter Revavroom: 225-265 (63.2 - 74.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO (Assuming Shift Gear was brought up, Revavroom can KO Volcarona with a couple of Gunk Shots. Quiver Dance cannot safely be brought up in this scenario.)
252+ SpA Heatran Magma Storm vs. 220 HP / 252 SpD Filter Revavroom: 274-324 (76.9 - 91%) -- guaranteed 2HKO (Unless Heatran had a Air Balloon or Shuca Berry, Revavroom can finish it afterwards.)
As a bighi here's my hot take of the day
enjoyer I would second a ranking change, but probably only as far as D rank. I don't believe that the shift gear set is worth running given that 
is an option that is better almost all of the time, however I do think that there is a proper niche as a poison spreader. No other mon on the type gets both toxic and toxic spikes, which is pretty good already, but with parting shot in there as well so that your walls take less damage you can rack up passive damage pretty fast. This does make you pretty bad into steel and poison, but high horsepower can finish out the set so you aren't fully worthless. This set does best into dark and dragon I find, with them not liking getting hit by toxic on mandi/ting lu and having no hazard removal respectively. EDIT: a showcase of revavroom winning a tournament game by poisoning a roost dd dnite https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen9monotype-898847Another mon I would nominate for steel is
who i believe should take 
's spot in D rank. The only reason to run Magnezone imo is to tilt the mirror in your favour, and i think that Lucario does that better, as demonstrated in this match of the circuits https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen9monotype-895981
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S -> A (Water)I no longer believe Greninja deserves S rank on Water.
S rank on Water to me means that the mon is at the worst, very solid, across multiple archetype and is near essential to making them work. When compared to Toxapex, Greninja is starting to collapse hard. Rain has been the main exoduses for Greninja with no successful rain loading it throughout MWP while both Balance and Stall hasn't really been appreciating it as much recently with Balance opting for different comps all around with other special attackers such as Primarina and Walking Wake while Stall is starting to experiment with Hisuian Samurott which has taken the mantle of the main Dark for Water on both Balance and Rain thanks to Ceaseless Edge providing Spikes to wear everything down.
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2025-12-monopsychic-1630: 0.19734%
I'm not fully convinced this mon is unviable; SD iron leaves can break down water and even has trailblaze to potentially outspeed specs greninja. It can also run a somewhat decent scarf set if you really don't like water and want a scarfer that's good in that matchup. In addition, it also gets Close combat to hit Bisharp/Steel if you really need to, and can even potentially do some work against flying with Wild Charge. Overall, while it's certainly niche I'm not sure its in unviable territory.D -> Unranked (Psychic) Iron Leaves is not viable and is virtually not used cf. usage stats:
2025-12-monopsychic-1630: 0.19734%
The usage stat shouldn't be brought up; popularity is not an indicator of viability especially for D ranks. IMO usage just means that the mon is unexplored, not that the mon is necessarily bad. For what it's worth, there's at least one mon on the current VR that has less usage than Iron Leaves.
Anyways, a nomination from me:
B->A (Poison): This mon is a nice glue for more offensively oriented balance builds; parting shot is really nice and the bulk is also nice potentially allowing you to cut passive mons like Toxapex. In addition, the Air Balloon set allows you to more easily deal with threats to poison like Ursaluna and Ceruledge, and walls some variants of Gliscor. On more defensive poison builds this allows you to get away with specially defensive Toxapex, which is nice. Overall an underappreciated mon that should rise.
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B -> A (Dragon) With recent Dragon builds running an offensive core of CM Raging Bolt + Choice Band/Specs Dragapult, Latias has been the complementary piece of the offensive core to provide Healing Wish support and the preferred speed control over Roaring Moon. Latias usage for the most recent MWP was 57.14%, way up from the 33.33% usage from the last MPL.
B -> C (Fighting) Okidogi’s niche on Fighting has been nonexistent. With Gallade being the best Assault Vest for Fighting and the next best being Iron Hands, Okidogi consideration falls off a cliff, especially considering its fellow Fighting/Poison type is Sneasler. Also, as far as setup sweeping is concerned, SD Iron Hands and SD Urshifu-Rapid Strike are the go-tos. Going further for bulky setup sweeping, Scrafty would have a greater consideration and utility with its Psychic immunity and STAB Knock Off.
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Meow, happy valentines day! We did a new slate to adjust some of the Viability rankings to better reflect the meta from MWP + other stuffs
Bug
B->A
Access to Will-o-Wisp, Recovery, decent steel-pressuring coverage, and pivoting makes it a decent pick these days.
Dark
S->A With Darkrai and Hisuian Samurott as competition for slots, along with Meow being the better Scarfer, Greninja finds itself being not as important these days.
A->B Mandibuzz and the faster pace of games made this gremlin drop more. Sableye's only claim to fame is making the Fighting MU even more easier, but even then Meow/Greninja can try to do most of the work to win that mu at least 50% of the time.
Dragon
C->B Preferred Steelkiller + Vacuum Wave makes it more desirable in some cases than...
B->C Walking Wake, which aside from steelkilling, overlaps awkwardly with Latios. Still ok though considering it doesnt fear Ice Shard.
Electric
B->A Screens Electric seems to be the go-to Electric these days
A->B Which means there's less space to add the socks in. Not being able to hit Gliscor also hurts its ranking.
Fighting
B->C His time is up, it still has a niche in the sense that you could do AV Dogi + Scrafty + SD Hands, but that seems to be too many hoops + doubling down on Pois/Fights would be annyoying.
Fire
A->S
Similar to Normal's VR, Fire's guys have a really good core, which means Fire teams will always have these and rarely the other guys in the VR.
Flying
S->A Fatter Flyings opt to drop Tornadus-T in favor of doubling/tripling down on Moltres/Zapdos/Articuno/Dragonite cores to check threats like Ogerpon.
A->B Adjusted since Articuno is a weird mon. Sure it does hard counter types like Fairy, Water, and Dragon, but these types have started adapting to use much more deadlier threats like Raging Bolt, Specs Primarina, and Ogerpon-W to deal with this bird.
C->B Good Ghost resist and wincon as seen in MWP.
Ghost
S->A Pecharunt's ability to eat most physical attacks and pivot around and lack of hazards in ghost that is worth defogging (Spikes targets usually use Rapid Spin) makes it less mandatory these days.
B->A SD and the new Choice Band sets breathe new life in the use of this cute fox. Illusion also makes playing Ghost much more funnier due to it being able to pose as "Flutter Mane" and murder your only Flutter Mane check :3c
Grass
S->A
C->B Shell Smash Torterra can casually clean up teams late-game
Ground
A->B Mamoswine and Great Tusk have been too essential these days to deal with Flying and fast setup threats. Garchomp lacks the immediate speed without a Choice Scarf, and setup/mixed sets feel lacking speed-wise and couldn't break types as well.
Poison
B->A Pecharunt's ability to eat most physical attacks, pivot around, and be a good wincon late-game with NP makes it a decent choice for Poison teams. And in case you do run hazards, its ability to spinblock is great (though, do you really need to spinblock in the Fighting/Bug matchup?)
C->B
Steel
B->A Bulk Up Corviknight is on almost all of the steel teams these days because its a scary wincon.
C->B Mold Breaker for the Dragon matchup
Water
A->S Ceaseless edge is broken and it has Sucker Punch which is vital for punching Flutter Mane (One of Water's nemesis) in the face
S->A The rise in viability of Scarf Urshifu and Specs/Scarf Walking Wake made the frog drop
, 
B->C Mainly Ogerpon-W's fault, and Scarf Rotom-W isnt really existent these days
This is all for this rank update, op is updated. We hope to hear feedback from these changes!
Bug
B->AAccess to Will-o-Wisp, Recovery, decent steel-pressuring coverage, and pivoting makes it a decent pick these days.
Dark
S->A With Darkrai and Hisuian Samurott as competition for slots, along with Meow being the better Scarfer, Greninja finds itself being not as important these days. A->B Mandibuzz and the faster pace of games made this gremlin drop more. Sableye's only claim to fame is making the Fighting MU even more easier, but even then Meow/Greninja can try to do most of the work to win that mu at least 50% of the time.Dragon
C->B Preferred Steelkiller + Vacuum Wave makes it more desirable in some cases than... B->C Walking Wake, which aside from steelkilling, overlaps awkwardly with Latios. Still ok though considering it doesnt fear Ice Shard.Electric
B->A Screens Electric seems to be the go-to Electric these days A->B Which means there's less space to add the socks in. Not being able to hit Gliscor also hurts its ranking.Fighting
B->C His time is up, it still has a niche in the sense that you could do AV Dogi + Scrafty + SD Hands, but that seems to be too many hoops + doubling down on Pois/Fights would be annyoying.Fire
A->SSimilar to Normal's VR, Fire's guys have a really good core, which means Fire teams will always have these and rarely the other guys in the VR.
Flying
S->A Fatter Flyings opt to drop Tornadus-T in favor of doubling/tripling down on Moltres/Zapdos/Articuno/Dragonite cores to check threats like Ogerpon. A->B Adjusted since Articuno is a weird mon. Sure it does hard counter types like Fairy, Water, and Dragon, but these types have started adapting to use much more deadlier threats like Raging Bolt, Specs Primarina, and Ogerpon-W to deal with this bird. C->B Good Ghost resist and wincon as seen in MWP. Ghost
S->A Pecharunt's ability to eat most physical attacks and pivot around and lack of hazards in ghost that is worth defogging (Spikes targets usually use Rapid Spin) makes it less mandatory these days. B->A SD and the new Choice Band sets breathe new life in the use of this cute fox. Illusion also makes playing Ghost much more funnier due to it being able to pose as "Flutter Mane" and murder your only Flutter Mane check :3cGrass
S->A C->B Shell Smash Torterra can casually clean up teams late-gameGround
A->B Mamoswine and Great Tusk have been too essential these days to deal with Flying and fast setup threats. Garchomp lacks the immediate speed without a Choice Scarf, and setup/mixed sets feel lacking speed-wise and couldn't break types as well.Poison
B->A Pecharunt's ability to eat most physical attacks, pivot around, and be a good wincon late-game with NP makes it a decent choice for Poison teams. And in case you do run hazards, its ability to spinblock is great (though, do you really need to spinblock in the Fighting/Bug matchup?) C->B Steel
B->A Bulk Up Corviknight is on almost all of the steel teams these days because its a scary wincon. C->B Mold Breaker for the Dragon matchupWater
A->S Ceaseless edge is broken and it has Sucker Punch which is vital for punching Flutter Mane (One of Water's nemesis) in the face S->A The rise in viability of Scarf Urshifu and Specs/Scarf Walking Wake made the frog drop, B->C Mainly Ogerpon-W's fault, and Scarf Rotom-W isnt really existent these daysThis is all for this rank update, op is updated. We hope to hear feedback from these changes!
So there are two rises I'm here to push back against straight away.
Poison
B -> C
B -> D
I've asked Neko and she couldn't give me an answer so I'm here to ask, why?
Both of these mons are appealing on paper but just, fail in practice more often that you would like.
Salazzle easier to cover since it was a stealth rise, but you can't pull a fast one over me, I check these like mad because I need inspiration for analysis work. Salazzle's gives corrosion + an honestly nice speed tier, but outside of that, it isn't great. Its not powerful enough to be a threat so would be switch ins to Corrosion anyway like Toxapex and Gliscor just come in for free without much issue and its lacking self preservation alongside mediocre bulk make it hard to keep alive long term in the matchups where you would get the most value out of it, the mirror and Steel. Especially with how hard it is to come onto the field against Steel in the first place with how the entire type decks Salazzle outside of Skarmory and even thats an issue due to the Spikes. And Poison, if its a regen core with Pex + Glowking or has Rest AMuk, forget it, Salazzle isn't making the progress it wants to here and thats the big thing it has. It has these defensive teams, but it just can't break them at all even with help.
I was inititally going to write something new for Glimmora, but I did just write Glimmors Slander in analysis form, so I'm going to just use that.
Not in that paragraph but a few more minor things.
Iron Moth is a better threat into Ice/Bug overall in my opinion as its better at checking threats like Scizor and Cetitan (notably, living both their boosted priority options after SR Chip while Glimmora falls)
TSpikes just aren't great right now, the most proiment TSpike weak types are Dragon and Dark, but they have ways around them (Both types usually have 3~4 mons that are steel, levitate/flying/Air Balloon or using boots making them immune to the effects) which isn't great for a mon which is iconic for being a suicude lead to gets up TSpikes.
All Corrosion problems are the same as Salazzle's.
Poison
B -> C B -> DI've asked Neko and she couldn't give me an answer so I'm here to ask, why?
Both of these mons are appealing on paper but just, fail in practice more often that you would like.
Salazzle easier to cover since it was a stealth rise, but you can't pull a fast one over me, I check these like mad because I need inspiration for analysis work. Salazzle's gives corrosion + an honestly nice speed tier, but outside of that, it isn't great. Its not powerful enough to be a threat so would be switch ins to Corrosion anyway like Toxapex and Gliscor just come in for free without much issue and its lacking self preservation alongside mediocre bulk make it hard to keep alive long term in the matchups where you would get the most value out of it, the mirror and Steel. Especially with how hard it is to come onto the field against Steel in the first place with how the entire type decks Salazzle outside of Skarmory and even thats an issue due to the Spikes. And Poison, if its a regen core with Pex + Glowking or has Rest AMuk, forget it, Salazzle isn't making the progress it wants to here and thats the big thing it has. It has these defensive teams, but it just can't break them at all even with help.
I was inititally going to write something new for Glimmora, but I did just write Glimmors Slander in analysis form, so I'm going to just use that.
Glimmora is enticing; its respectable Special Attack combined with a strong movepool—containing powerful support options like Stealth Rock, Mortal Spin, and Corrosion Toxic and hard-hitting offensive tools like Sludge Wave and Earth Power—should make it a powerhouse. However, it is never going to be the best at making use of its supportive and offensive options. Its low bulk makes it far too frail to consistently spread Toxic poison, keep entry hazards up, or remove them with Mortal Spin, making its support unreliable in the long term. Meanwhile, its Special Attack is only just respectable, and it is unable to threaten types like Flying and Fire as much as it would like without major support to wear teams down first. It also demands a Choice Scarf; otherwise, it isn't fast enough to check threats such as Cinderace and Ogerpon-H comfortably.
Iron Moth is a better threat into Ice/Bug overall in my opinion as its better at checking threats like Scizor and Cetitan (notably, living both their boosted priority options after SR Chip while Glimmora falls)
TSpikes just aren't great right now, the most proiment TSpike weak types are Dragon and Dark, but they have ways around them (Both types usually have 3~4 mons that are steel, levitate/flying/Air Balloon or using boots making them immune to the effects) which isn't great for a mon which is iconic for being a suicude lead to gets up TSpikes.
All Corrosion problems are the same as Salazzle's.
Flying:
A -> S
In a metagame dominated by Dark and Dragon, Enamorus is the premier scarfer on Flying, and a mon that has become a vital piece that fills numerous roles and secures crucial matchups. Moonblast is an amazing STAB, taking care of threats like Darkrai, Latios, and Kyurem. Earth Power is great coverage and hits threats to flying such a Gholdengo, Ceruledge, and Heatran. Your third move is surprisingly flexible. Superpower can pose an additional threat to Dark, hitting Bisharp and Band Meowscarada after a Triple Axel, and allowing Enamorus to abuse Contrary. Mystical Fire can also be another tool, adding decent Fire coverage. With that being said, I've been liking a +SpA nature paired with Sludge Bomb lately, which can hit fairies and even OHKO Ogerpon-H after rocks. Healing Wish allows for Enamorus to also take the role of a cleric, being able to heal non-boots Dragonite and Moltres-Galar, giving them another chance to break. Due to its role compression, coverage, and ability to assist in critical matchups in Dark/Dragon, I believe a lot is missed when Enamorus is dropped from Flying teams.
Dragon:
C -> B
S -> A
A -> S
Hydreigon is far from washed. The traditional Sub/NP set allows Hydreigon to break through fat teams/types like Poison, Ground, Stall Water, Fat Flying and Steel by setting up on passive mons like Clodsire, Toxapex, and most Heatran variants. Both Earth Power/Flamethrower are viable options depending on which matchups you're trying to secure, with Flamethrower being better into Flying as it hits Articuno, and EP giving you an easier time against Goodra-H and Water/Ground/Poison. Levitate also gives you a ground switch-in, which can be helpful for teams that don't carry a Lati@s/Flying Type.
While Dragapult is still a tremendous mon, I've been finding that it can be dropped if you want to add mons with better coverage. A Specs or Non-choiced Latios can be run alongside a Scarf Roaring Moon for speed control, accomplishing Dragapult's role as a wallbreaker with even better coverage (Ice Beam for Gliscor, Psyshock/Luster Purge being a strong Psychic STAB, Aura Sphere hitting Dark/Steels). Dropping Pult can also allow for Dragon to open a slot for a steelbreaker like Hydreigon or Kommo-o.
Raging Bolt has been gaining popularity, and for good reason. With an obscenely high SpA stat, outstanding bulk, and access to Calm Mind + Thunderclap, Raging Bolt has become one of the best mons in the meta. After a Calm Mind, Bolt becomes a dangerous set-up sweeper against any team that doesn't have an Electric immune. This allows you to set up on passive mons like Klefki on Fairy, force out Steel-birds, and hit everything Thunderclap/Thunderbolt doesn't with an absurdly strong Draco Meteor, including being able to OHKO most variants of Gliscor at +1. Dragon Fang is another option for even more damage with Draco Meteor, giving you an even better matchup into mons like Swampert, Gastrodon, and Clodsire. Raging Bolt also has an insane matchup into Water, being able to OHKO a vast majority of its mons at +1, and being able to eliminate the Ground type with Draco Meteor. With that, I'll leave you with one truly absurd calc.
252 Atk Iron Treads Earthquake vs. 80 HP / 0 Def Raging Bolt: 320-378 (77.8 - 91.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+1 252+ SpA Dragon Fang Raging Bolt Draco Meteor vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Iron Treads: 291-342 (90.6 - 106.5%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
Water:
C -> B
D -> B
Keldeo and Quaquaval are often overshadowed by Urshifu-R, but I would argue they play far different yet important roles on Water teams, and actually pair extremely well with the bear. Keldeo straight up owns dark and can make a lot of progress against Steel and Flying. The set I've been enjoying lately is black belt + Calm Mind. Surf is a solid STAB that allows Keldeo to hit and force out Skarmory. Secret Sword hits Goodra-H and can 2HKO Specially Defensive Corviknight after a CM. Vacuum Wave is perhaps Keldeo's greatest calling card, as it can either OHKO Meowscarada and Greninja after a CM, or can do the same without setting up after chipping the two with hazards. Keldeo also allows for Urshifu-R to drop Choice Scarf as the unicorn can deal with Dark alone.
Quaquaval provides something that Water desperately wants: Rapid Spin, and it is FAR from an empty slot outside of just hazard removal. An Air Balloon + Spin/Close Combat/Aqua Step/Triple Axel set gives you a ground immune and tremendous coverage. Aqua Step is your water STAB paired with Moxie that allows you to boost both your attack and speed, letting Quaquaval to creep Specs Flutter Mane at +1 and Scarf Meowscarada at +2. Triple Axel allows you to check certain variants of Dragonite, and also hits Clodsire. Close Combat hits Dark types and is another strong STAB move. Rapid Spin enables Water teams to drop Heavy Duty Boots on mons that would otherwise need it, and allows Urshifu-R flexibility to run SD + Mystic Water/Punching Glove. In conclusion, the duck is far from washed.
Dark:
C -> B
Bisharp builds have become a lot more common lately, and for good reason. Being able to tank a Moonblast from Flutter and switching into Corviknight's Defog are both tremendous features that add to a type that desires consistent offensive pressure. Throwing a Bisharp on a Dark comp also ensures you likely won't lose to Ghost, which can be surprisingly tough for standard Dark comps. Bisharp can also put in some crazy work against Fairy due being able to tank a hit or two while holding Eviolite and countering with Iron Head. Overall, Kingambit at home is still really good and should at least be B tier.
A -> SIn a metagame dominated by Dark and Dragon, Enamorus is the premier scarfer on Flying, and a mon that has become a vital piece that fills numerous roles and secures crucial matchups. Moonblast is an amazing STAB, taking care of threats like Darkrai, Latios, and Kyurem. Earth Power is great coverage and hits threats to flying such a Gholdengo, Ceruledge, and Heatran. Your third move is surprisingly flexible. Superpower can pose an additional threat to Dark, hitting Bisharp and Band Meowscarada after a Triple Axel, and allowing Enamorus to abuse Contrary. Mystical Fire can also be another tool, adding decent Fire coverage. With that being said, I've been liking a +SpA nature paired with Sludge Bomb lately, which can hit fairies and even OHKO Ogerpon-H after rocks. Healing Wish allows for Enamorus to also take the role of a cleric, being able to heal non-boots Dragonite and Moltres-Galar, giving them another chance to break. Due to its role compression, coverage, and ability to assist in critical matchups in Dark/Dragon, I believe a lot is missed when Enamorus is dropped from Flying teams.
Dragon:
C -> B S -> A A -> SHydreigon is far from washed. The traditional Sub/NP set allows Hydreigon to break through fat teams/types like Poison, Ground, Stall Water, Fat Flying and Steel by setting up on passive mons like Clodsire, Toxapex, and most Heatran variants. Both Earth Power/Flamethrower are viable options depending on which matchups you're trying to secure, with Flamethrower being better into Flying as it hits Articuno, and EP giving you an easier time against Goodra-H and Water/Ground/Poison. Levitate also gives you a ground switch-in, which can be helpful for teams that don't carry a Lati@s/Flying Type.
While Dragapult is still a tremendous mon, I've been finding that it can be dropped if you want to add mons with better coverage. A Specs or Non-choiced Latios can be run alongside a Scarf Roaring Moon for speed control, accomplishing Dragapult's role as a wallbreaker with even better coverage (Ice Beam for Gliscor, Psyshock/Luster Purge being a strong Psychic STAB, Aura Sphere hitting Dark/Steels). Dropping Pult can also allow for Dragon to open a slot for a steelbreaker like Hydreigon or Kommo-o.
Raging Bolt has been gaining popularity, and for good reason. With an obscenely high SpA stat, outstanding bulk, and access to Calm Mind + Thunderclap, Raging Bolt has become one of the best mons in the meta. After a Calm Mind, Bolt becomes a dangerous set-up sweeper against any team that doesn't have an Electric immune. This allows you to set up on passive mons like Klefki on Fairy, force out Steel-birds, and hit everything Thunderclap/Thunderbolt doesn't with an absurdly strong Draco Meteor, including being able to OHKO most variants of Gliscor at +1. Dragon Fang is another option for even more damage with Draco Meteor, giving you an even better matchup into mons like Swampert, Gastrodon, and Clodsire. Raging Bolt also has an insane matchup into Water, being able to OHKO a vast majority of its mons at +1, and being able to eliminate the Ground type with Draco Meteor. With that, I'll leave you with one truly absurd calc.
252 Atk Iron Treads Earthquake vs. 80 HP / 0 Def Raging Bolt: 320-378 (77.8 - 91.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+1 252+ SpA Dragon Fang Raging Bolt Draco Meteor vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Iron Treads: 291-342 (90.6 - 106.5%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
Water:
C -> B D -> BKeldeo and Quaquaval are often overshadowed by Urshifu-R, but I would argue they play far different yet important roles on Water teams, and actually pair extremely well with the bear. Keldeo straight up owns dark and can make a lot of progress against Steel and Flying. The set I've been enjoying lately is black belt + Calm Mind. Surf is a solid STAB that allows Keldeo to hit and force out Skarmory. Secret Sword hits Goodra-H and can 2HKO Specially Defensive Corviknight after a CM. Vacuum Wave is perhaps Keldeo's greatest calling card, as it can either OHKO Meowscarada and Greninja after a CM, or can do the same without setting up after chipping the two with hazards. Keldeo also allows for Urshifu-R to drop Choice Scarf as the unicorn can deal with Dark alone.
Quaquaval provides something that Water desperately wants: Rapid Spin, and it is FAR from an empty slot outside of just hazard removal. An Air Balloon + Spin/Close Combat/Aqua Step/Triple Axel set gives you a ground immune and tremendous coverage. Aqua Step is your water STAB paired with Moxie that allows you to boost both your attack and speed, letting Quaquaval to creep Specs Flutter Mane at +1 and Scarf Meowscarada at +2. Triple Axel allows you to check certain variants of Dragonite, and also hits Clodsire. Close Combat hits Dark types and is another strong STAB move. Rapid Spin enables Water teams to drop Heavy Duty Boots on mons that would otherwise need it, and allows Urshifu-R flexibility to run SD + Mystic Water/Punching Glove. In conclusion, the duck is far from washed.
Dark:
C -> BBisharp builds have become a lot more common lately, and for good reason. Being able to tank a Moonblast from Flutter and switching into Corviknight's Defog are both tremendous features that add to a type that desires consistent offensive pressure. Throwing a Bisharp on a Dark comp also ensures you likely won't lose to Ghost, which can be surprisingly tough for standard Dark comps. Bisharp can also put in some crazy work against Fairy due being able to tank a hit or two while holding Eviolite and countering with Iron Head. Overall, Kingambit at home is still really good and should at least be B tier.
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why are delibird and dewgong blacklisted??
alr so for a lil bit I've been experimenting (not very good experiments, while I do think revavroom is good, I'm terrible at team building the other parts so its on low ladder) and I've discovered it's good on Balance-y/Offensive Poison teams! Air Balloon + Shift Gear means only Fire can kill it before it gets the Gear up, and after that, it can sweep any team that doesn't have a good counter. I DID have some replays but forgot to save em ._. but anyway I feel this car SHOULD be at least D tier.hi here's my hot take of the day
I've realized my car is not even ranked! This guy can do so many things, whether it's Parting Shot support, Iron Head/Spin Out, Shift Gear, Toxic Spikes (just got the idea for toxic spikes today when I realized Gholdengo ran Hex.) With Filter, it can survive most unboosted moves that would otherwise OHKO it. It can also run High Horsepower to counter Fire types. Can be run as a Neutral to Fighting, and can run Air Balloon so it can get an immunity to ground type moves. Focus Sash is an alternative for Shift Gear sets, allowing Revavroom to freely get the outspeed on many Monotype threats, and also deal big damage. It can also run defensive EV spreads while keeping the same moves.
Some Calcs (Using a Jolly Build, assuming Shift Gear was brought up.):
+1 252 Atk Revavroom Iron Head vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Flutter Mane: 594-702 (235.7 - 278.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+1 252 Atk Revavroom High Horsepower vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Archaludon: 234-276 (72.8 - 85.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+1 252 Atk Revavroom High Horsepower vs. 80 HP / 20 Def Eviolite Bisharp: 192-226 (65.9 - 77.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+1 252 Atk Revavroom Gunk Shot vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Alomomola: 229-271 (42.9 - 50.8%) -- 3.9% chance to 2HKO (pressures switch)
Defensive Calcs (Special Defense build.):
252 SpA Choice Specs Flutter Mane Mystical Fire vs. 220 HP / 252 SpD Filter Revavroom: 192-226 (53.9 - 63.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Volcarona Fiery Dance vs. 220 HP / 252 SpD Filter Revavroom: 225-265 (63.2 - 74.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO (Assuming Shift Gear was brought up, Revavroom can KO Volcarona with a couple of Gunk Shots. Quiver Dance cannot safely be brought up in this scenario.)
252+ SpA Heatran Magma Storm vs. 220 HP / 252 SpD Filter Revavroom: 274-324 (76.9 - 91%) -- guaranteed 2HKO (Unless Heatran had a Air Balloon or Shuca Berry, Revavroom can finish it afterwards.)