Resource SM OU Viability Rankings and Metagame Discussion

[MANNAT]

Don't let Charmflash's delusion fool you, Bronzong is completely unviable.

 

[Ske]

Don't let Charmflash's delusion fool you, Bronzong is completely unviable.

Says Who

 

[YubelVT]

Don't let Charmflash's delusion fool you, Bronzong is completely unviable.

idk, it does beat lando pex and mag...

 

[ILoveGarchom]

Is the current VR up to date?

 

[Maktyum]

Is the current VR up to date?

yes, it was updated in October

 

[Icemann]

haven't played this tier since it was current gen, can someone explain what cress is used for and its sets?

 

[DIYUSI]

haven't played this tier since it was current gen, can someone explain what cress is used for and its sets?

https://www.smogon.com/dex/sm/pokemon/cresselia/ou/

It's slighty outdated since spl showcased some new sets such as Double Screens, but this is still close to what's the current role of Cress in the metagame.

 

[zinnias]

i wrote it like 7 months ago im crying at it being outdated lol, will receive an update post spl

 

[zinnias]

haven't played this tier since it was current gen, can someone explain what cress is used for and its sets?

short answer

runs twave lunar dance on hyper offense teams, rlly good at bringing stuff back and has the bulk to check plenty of shit like lele, medi, lopunny to boot. on bulkier teams it runs things like calm mind psyshock ice beam moonlight and its a natural offense killer, psyspam can hardly even touch it and other offense styles lacking something like zor or tran can just get cleaned up pretty fast once their way of threatening cress (such as kyu-b z-move) is exhausted

long answer

 

[DIYUSI]

My personal VR (with some explanations when I have something to say about a specific Pokemon). It's ordered moreover. Hope you will enjoy the read lol

SM OU Viability Ranking 2025

S RANK

S rank

1- The best Pokemon of the tier by a large margin. It fits virtually every playstyle (including Stall) and, often, it's very hard to not splash Magearna everywhere.

S- rank

2- The 3 main sets with Landorus-Therian are Defensive, Choice Scarf and Swords Dance. While Defensive and Scarf are nearly mandatory on any structure remotely pro-active, Swords Dance is one of the most consistent offensive set in the current metagame (that will always be relevant as long Landorus-Therian's usage is high).

A RANK

A+ rank

3- The funny thing with Heatran is how Defensive variant tends to lose to what it should check on paper (Tapu Lele, Magearna and Volcarona). However, Offensive variant (or even Defensive variant going Max HP + Timid with a lot of speed) are adaptations that show Heatran is still one of the biggest threat of the tier.
4-
5- Fuck that Pokemon lmao. DD on HO is a pain (with Bulky Roost variant possible to punish even futher stucture not running either a strong check like Slowbro or a way to immediately OHKO it like Mega Tyranitar) and SD Roost on Balance is evil.
6-
7-
8- I didn't understand during SPL why that Pokemon was not spammed more. Really good MU into Celesteela + Toxapex Sand and Rain. Moreover, you can put Hone Claws on it to trivialize most Balance/Semi-Stall/Stall MU.
9-
10- I'm mixing both Ash-Greninja and Protean Greninja in this slot. Only noteworthy thing about it is that Ash-Greninja is better nowadays since it has a natural good MU into HO/Offense.
11- The current metagame is so hostile to it. Its assets are still very relevant, obviously, but some of its "ancestral" structure (like Mega Latias + Gliscor + Toxapex) have a terrible MU into every modern HO/Offense. From what I saw, the way to keep Mega Latias above the curve is to put former niche tech such as Wish (with a very pro-active partner such as Landorus-Therian) or Roar to improve its MU into HO.

A rank

12-
13-
14-
15- I would put it in the A+ tier before but since Cresselia is hella common nowadays, it's a lot harder to load it.
16- Not only being the new face of Balance (and Sun technically lol), HO started to use it a lot more. Eject Button is nice to compensate its slow pace and Double Screens is unfunny to face.
17- One of the best check to Mega Charizard X. I still think every Mega Tyranitar's structures are flawed by default, however, its raw bulk and great power, let it match heavenly into modern HO stuff.
18- Similar to Mega Tyranitar, its assets are also quite strong into the current metagame. Not only its doubled speed is a nice safe net into HO, its favored MU into Cresselia Balance (Cresselia + Toxapex structure in general) turns Excadrill into a risk-less and, therefore, popular pick.
19-
20- Same as Kyurem-Black, I didn't understand why it was not spammed more during SPL. Mega Charizard Y is one of the best enabler of the most consistent defensive BO core of the tier, aka Heatran (or Ferrothorn with another Mega such as Diancie) + Tapu Fini + Landorus-Therian. Moreover, it also enables a ton of strong Pokemon such as Cresselia and Kartana.
21-
22-
23- The reason of why Balance seems weaker is mostly that Gliscor is bad into how people adapted to its former dominance: spamming the hell out of HO. Moreover, Landorus-Therian is a much better pick outside of Balance.
24- Pretty much mandatory on any BO.

A- rank

25-
26-
27-
28- It would be an A+ threat in my books if only Mega Alakazam didn't need to hit 3-4 Focus Blast in a row to win a match (especially when a miss is equal to its death).
29- Unkillable like Faker but completly useless unfortunately. Calm Mind sets are still quite threatening and a lot of bullshit variants are possible with it (such as Cosmic Power + Seismic Toss).
30-

B RANK

B+ rank

31- Rotom-Wash is in this weird spot where most offense are good enough with only Landorus-Therian + Magearna and Offensive Rotom-Wash is very hard to justify in bulkier structure.
32- Still broken but nothing really auto-lose to it anymore.
33-
34-
35- Similar to Ash-Greninja, Mega Lopunny feels a lot better to load nowadays (despite the high usage of Cresselia).
36-
37-
38- Garchomp's decline seems to finally settle with it being a vanilla option on HO builds.
39-
40- Mega Mawile is simply not it unfortunately. Too much mindgames to get progress, fire-types are everywhere and its usual good partners are all meh atm (Garchomp, Rotom-Wash, Tapu Bulu, ...). Finally, despite being the best way to run it, Wish Chansey + Mega Mawile is just not worth the efforts.

B rank

41-
42-
43- Mega Scizor is bad on Balance but still remain one of the best Mega on BO structure.
44- I like it a lot. Its okay-ish SpeDef Bulk and Speed combined with its offensive assets make it a solid breaker into anything.
45-
46-
47-
48- Celesteela is a bad Pokemon by default, but its specific defensive profile will always give to it a seat in the metagame.
49-
50- Extremely underrated but also very challenging to found a solid structure with it. Z-Hydro Pump Taunt variant is bad tho.
51-
52- I tried it recently and I became a fan of it since then. Imo, 4A is its best set and I think partners such as Wish Clefable and Heal Magearna are all fake with it. Unfortunately, similar to Mega Tyranitar, Mega Aggron's structures seems to be flawed by default.
53-

B- rank

54- Stall will never be solid in SM OU but it's not a reason to fish with Celesteela/Jirachi + Volcarona Stall.
55-
56- Despite Nasty Plot having a very favored MU into Fat and Sand, including it in any kind of team is probably a challenge impossible to overcome
57-
58- Similar to Celesteela, Jirachi is a bad Pokemon by default. However, it's one of the best pick if you want something that sit on Tapu Lele and Kyurem-Black structure.
59-
60-
61-
62-
63-

C RANK

C+ rank

64-
65- Webs is bad but Araquanid with Trick Room + Rain support is pretty scary.
66-
67-
68- Specs on HO structure is quite cool in practice but you never want to load this thing into Mega Tyranitar or Chansey.
69-
70-
71- Really dislike it, basically a Knock Off bot.

C rank

72-
73-
74- Necrozma only looks real on Mega Charizard Y Sun. Fine pick to compress a rocker that check Mega Medicham and able to pressure Toxapex.
75-
76-
77-
78- Only Choice Scarf seems real on it, and it's not exactly something you want to put in a team.
79-
80-

C- rank

81- Offensive variants are bad. Defensive variants are worth in the right structure.
82- Cool pick to answer broken fire-types and modern HO but weirdly hard to fit on an actual solid structure.
83-
84-
85-
86-
87- Good pick to destroy Balance/Semi-Stall but, otherwise, not exactly useful.
88-
89-

 

[zinnias]

We updated the VR for 2025 by surveying a group of 11 SM mods / top players and updated the post. Big thanks to Skypenguin and Maktyum for their great work in facilitating this and also thanks to those who responded.

Here are the changes!

S Rank
1. =0 Magearna
2. =0 Landorus-Therian (was S- Rank)

S- Rank
3. =0 Toxapex

A+ Rank
4. =0 Kartana
5. =0 Charizard-Mega-X
6. =0 Heatran
7. +12 Tapu Lele (was A Rank)
8. +5 Serperior
9. +6 Ferrothorn
10. +15 Alakazam-Mega (was A- Rank)
11. -2 Kyurem-Black
12. +4 Greninja-Ash
13. +1 Greninja
14. -2 Tornadus-Therian

A Rank
15. -4 Tapu Koko (was A+ Rank)
16. +4 Diancie-Mega
17. -9 Latias-Mega (was A+ Rank)
18. -11 Gliscor (was A+ Rank)
19. -9 Chansey (was A+ Rank)
20. +4 Excadrill
21. +12 Tapu Fini (was A- Rank)
22. +10 Tyranitar-Mega (was A- Rank)
23. -5 Cresselia
24. -3 Medicham-Mega
25. +13 Charizard-Mega-Y (was B+ Rank)

A- Rank
26. +4 Manaphy
27. -10 Volcarona (was A Rank)
28. +11 Garchomp (was B+ Rank)
29. +5 Victini
30. -8 Weavile (was A Rank)
31. +22 Celesteela (was B Rank)
32. -1 Swampert-Mega
33. -10 Kommo-o (was A Rank)
34. -7 Clefable
35. =0 Scizor-Mega (was B+ Rank)
36. +1 Lopunny-Mega (was B+ Rank)

B+ Rank
37. -9 Rotom-Wash (Was A- Rank)
38. +12 Zapdos (was B Rank)
39. +6 Dragonite (was B Rank)
40. +4 Pelipper (was B Rank)
41. -15 Mawile-Mega (Was A- Rank)
42. -6 Slowbro
43. -2 Skarmory
44. -15 Hawlucha (Was A- Rank)
45. +10 Gyarados-Mega (Was B- Rank)
46. -4 Latios-Mega

B Rank
47. +10 Reuniclus (Was B- Rank)
48. +18 Gyarados (Was C+ Rank)
49. +10 Pinsir-Mega (Was B- Rank)
50. -7 Tapu Bulu (Was B+ Rank)
51. -11 Seismitoad (Was B+ Rank)
52. -1 Gastrodon
53. -5 Slowbro-Mega
54. +6 Sableye-Mega (Was B- Rank)
55. +7 Jirachi (Was B- Rank)
56. -10 Ditto
57. +6 Magnezone (Was B- Rank)

B- Rank
58. -4 Hoopa-Unbound
59. -3 Heracross-Mega
60. -13 Hydreigon (Was B Rank)
61. -9 Garchomp-Mega
62. +14 Venusaur-Mega (Was C Rank)
63. -14 Kyurem (Was B Rank)
64. -6 Thundurus-Therian
65. +10 Mew (Was C Rank)
66. +1 Tyranitar (Was C+ Rank)

C+ Rank
67. -3 Keldeo (Was B- Rank)
68. -7 Hippowdon (Was B- Rank)
69. -1 Blacephalon
70. -1 Crawdaunt
71. =0 Aggron-Mega
72. =0 Marowak-Alola
73. +22 Gallade-Mega (Was C-)
74. NEW Araquanid
75. +14 Pyukumuku (Was C-)
76. +11 Altaria-Mega (Was C-)
77. +17 Suicune (Was C-)
78. =0 Amoonguss (Was C)
79. -6 Alomomola

C Rank
80. -1 Shedinja
81. +10 Salamence
82. =0 Aerodactyl-Mega
83. -9 Necrozma
84. -1 Krookodile
85. -20 Volcanion (Was B-)
86. -16 Moltres
87. +1 Buzzwole
88. +7 Azumarill
89. -9 Tangrowth
90. NEW Torkoal
91. -7 Bisharp
92. NEW Venusaur
93. +5 Porygon-Z
94. -17 Breloom
95. -5 Mantine

 

[im_m0rtal.]

hello, i'd like to thank the SM mods for the VR update. That said, I'd like to ask :
What has caused the much needed upgrade of lando from S- to S?
Why have the grass types in general gotten better?
Why has the psyspam core of tapu lele and alakazam gotten better?
Why has fat seen a degrade in a meta that is bursting with offense teams (like serp mag) gotten worse? this can be seen from the ratings of chansey, latias, gliscor, cress etc getting worse
and probably most importantly, why has everyone's favourite water electric type rotom-wash (also koko!) taken a hit in a meta with a lot of volt-spam?

i'm not sure if im supposed to post these here, in simple question simple answer or on discord. I'd appreciate sm1 helping me out :P

 

[zinnias]

hello, i'd like to thank the SM mods for the VR update. That said, I'd like to ask :
What has caused the much needed upgrade of lando from S- to S?
Why have the grass types in general gotten better?
Why has the psyspam core of tapu lele and alakazam gotten better?
Why has fat seen a degrade in a meta that is bursting with offense teams (like serp mag) gotten worse? this can be seen from the ratings of chansey, latias, gliscor, cress etc getting worse
and probably most importantly, why has everyone's favourite water electric type rotom-wash (also koko!) taken a hit in a meta with a lot of volt-spam?

i'm not sure if im supposed to post these here, in simple question simple answer or on discord. I'd appreciate sm1 helping me out :P

1. The boundaries for tiers have been a bit redefined, this can be seen in where Pokemon didn’t move and still went up or down in tiers. This is likely due to the removal of C- in order to encourage less fringe picks

2. I’m not sure if grasses are linked together really but what I’ll say for Ferro is that it is incredible anti-weather, with its typing for rain and its spikes for sand. It’s more popularised to use it as a rocker with no spikes and that makes it a lot more versatile on what it can fit on and what it can do. Serperior just feels a bit more fully fledged, it is the partially the face of modern offense and ho teams, and more people are realising just how good subleech is.

3. Psyspam is just a very consistent offense style (despite focus blast being a bit part of it). You have lots of good matchups and have outplay potential for pretty much everything. I don’t think it has necessarily gotten better recently, it has been a defining playstyle for a while.

4. I think fat just looks different now. Insane wall breakers like SD Zard, CB/SD Kart, Kyurem-B, Mega Tyranitar are around every corner but in addition to that, stallbreakers like Manaphy, Taunt Lele/Zam/Gyara/MGyara/Torn etc etc. I still love using fat but it’s clear that passive styles and Chansey/Clef/Bro type mons as a whole are on a bad streak. Cress was a little overrated in last years VR, I still think it’s a very solid part of the tier but it isn’t reinventing the wheel.

5. I still think koko is very good. Maybe it was overrated in the last VR, or sand’s uptick made it less desirable, but it’s fine. Rotom seems like it should be popping off with new changes but to me it just feels like a fish and all of the rotom builds are old and stagnated. I’m not sure that the meta is a lot of volt spam, there are some classic teams with koko / rotom but they aren’t like they were

 

[im_m0rtal.]

1. The boundaries for tiers have been a bit redefined, this can be seen in where Pokemon didn’t move and still went up or down in tiers. This is likely due to the removal of C- in order to encourage less fringe picks (this worked amazingly… lol.)

2. I’m not sure if grasses are linked together really but what I’ll say for Ferro is that it is incredible anti-weather, with its typing for rain and its spikes for sand. It’s more popularised to use it as a rocker with no spikes and that makes it a lot more versatile on what it can fit on and what it can do. Serperior just feels a bit more fully fledged, it is the partially the face of modern offense and ho teams, and more people are realising just how good subleech is.

3. Psyspam is just a very consistent offense style (despite focus blast being a bit part of it). You have lots of good matchups and have outplay potential for pretty much everything. I don’t think it has necessarily gotten better recently, it has been a defining playstyle for a while.

4. I think fat just looks different now. Insane wall breakers like SD Zard, CB/SD Kart, Kyurem-B, Mega Tyranitar are around every corner but in addition to that, stallbreakers like Manaphy, Taunt Lele/Zam/Gyara/MGyara/Torn etc etc. I still love using fat but it’s clear that passive styles and Chansey/Clef/Bro type mons as a whole are on a bad streak. Cress was a little overrated in last years VR, I still think it’s a very solid part of the tier but it isn’t reinventing the wheel.

5. I still think koko is very good. Maybe it was overrated in the last VR, or sand’s uptick made it less desirable, but it’s fine. Rotom seems like it should be popping off with new changes but to me it just feels like a fish and all of the rotom builds are old and stagnated. I’m not sure that the meta is a lot of volt spam, there are some classic teams with koko / rotom but they aren’t like they were

1. the removal of c tiers is a pretty smart play i have got to agree.

2. i think grass types as a whole have improved. everything such as mvenu, ferro and serp except bulu has improved its rankings which is pretty surprising in a tier where kartana ranks #4. i guess the benefits of serperior are also that the helm set sort of beats chansey/stall 1v1, or atleast wear it down to a state where your other spatker like volcarona just wins.

3. whats the reason for the improve in mega alakazam, if psyspam is as consistent as it ever was? has it been seeing usage on teams that are NOT psyspam? i remember seeing an empo fat team with mega alakazam, although i seem to remember you were sort of opposed to those sort of builds (and tbh they are tuff to make)

4. dyt the meta will cycle back to fat once people STOP running taunt as fat isn't that prevalent anymore?

5. i see. i suppose rotom and koko give a lot of role compression but people have successfully worked around those?

this has been informative, thank you very much

 

[zinnias]

1. the removal of c tiers is a pretty smart play i have got to agree.

2. i think grass types as a whole have improved. everything such as mvenu, ferro and serp except bulu has improved its rankings which is pretty surprising in a tier where kartana ranks #4. i guess the benefits of serperior are also that the helm set sort of beats chansey/stall 1v1, or atleast wear it down to a state where your other spatker like volcarona just wins.

3. whats the reason for the improve in mega alakazam, if psyspam is as consistent as it ever was? has it been seeing usage on teams that are NOT psyspam? i remember seeing an empo fat team with mega alakazam, although i seem to remember you were sort of opposed to those sort of builds (and tbh they are tuff to make)

4. dyt the meta will cycle back to fat once people STOP running taunt as fat isn't that prevalent anymore?

5. i see. i suppose rotom and koko give a lot of role compression but people have successfully worked around those?

this has been informative, thank you very much

As for zam, i think it mostly just comes down to a difference in perspective than last time. If it rose massively despite not changing much then that just shows a personal bias that Skype and I’s VR last year had, I suppose. I don’t back zam on non psyspam personally

Idt fat is going anywhere and fast taunts are great into all styles considering opposing hazards / set up, it’s just a very solid option for mons and not just fishing fat

Not sure it’s anything to do with role compression but maybe I’m misunderstanding

 

[im_m0rtal.]

As for zam, i think it mostly just comes down to a difference in perspective than last time. If it rose massively despite not changing much then that just shows a personal bias that Skype and I’s VR last year had, I suppose. I don’t back zam on non psyspam personally

Idt fat is going anywhere and fast taunts are great into all styles considering opposing hazards / set up, it’s just a very solid option for mons and not just fishing fat

Not sure it’s anything to do with role compression but maybe I’m misunderstanding

rotom is just a great role compressor, so is koko.
rotom- defog, volt switch, water, ground immune, defensive backbone
koko - wincon with cm, good speed, volt switch, fairy type and z user
i assume they're being run less often since people have found other ways to fulfill their teams requirements

the part about zam is interesting, ill have to find some zam games now. taunt is probably true too.

 

[Fdmw]

rotom wash is unmon atm , fake fire resist , looses to every fire in existence , the only thing rotom wash goobs is rain pert although sub toxic pert owns it.

 

[Proftreez]

Oh damn a new VR update that's crazy.

While my original intent was to completely schizo out and write out an overly detailed analysis on the intricacies behind every single placement within my rankings, after having my draft nuked several times cause im a procrasinating fuck; alongside a 9-page google doc that has been made obsolete just cause of how drastically my rankings have fluctuated in the past couple of months, I reckon its just better to just get SOMETHING out there LOL.

Anyway here's the funny image for your viewing pleasure:

Feel free to ask questions or anything about any specific placements, despite my deathly aversion to writing any long-form content (I'll get that RMT out one day), I'm pretty adept at yapping about nonsense.

Peace y'all, hopefully more coming soon.

 

[mysticalbruh1]

Gonna post my VR here, take it with a grain of salt as my peak is only #96, so im not very good, just passionate about SM and wanted to share my thoughts.

S Rank
Magearna
Landorus-Therian (Self-explanatory, near-guaranteed fit on any offense team and always fills in the gaps in a team. Not as versatile as Mag however, and it doesnt quite fit on EVERY composition)

S- Rank

Toxapex
Tapu-Lele (Specs variants are arguably the strongest wallbreaker in the tier, doing considerable damage to even the tankiest of resists. Other variants like Choice Scarf, Taunt + Natures Madness and Z-move CM also fit well on offense, and entire teams can be built around psychic terrain)

A+ Rank

Kartana

Mega-Charizard-X

Mega-Medicham (Anything with 100 base speed shouldnt be hitting this hard. It can absolutely rip through any team without a bulky psychic or sableye)

Serperior

Gliscor
Heatran

Chansey

Tornadus-Therian (Genuinely the most splashable mon in the tier)

Mega-Latias

Mega-Alakazam

Cresselia (Super versatile, most sets can destroy offense teams and it can work as a lone check to things like mega-alakazam, mega-medicham, tapu lele and more)
Tapu-Koko
Ferrothorn
Ash-Greninja (Although its an incredible wallbreaker, its strength has invited many checks to it, both common and niche, into use. You'd be hard pressed to find a good team without at least 1-2 ash-gren checks)
Greninja (Definition of versatile, scouting for its set can be difficult because of the sheer amount of Z-moves and coverage options it has. Its also great on balance teams as an anti-offense pick)
Kyurem-Black

A Rank

Mega-Charizard-Y (Has 3 switch-ins, everything else dies─sun teams have really picked up in usage and they're great into psyspam)
Weavile (A lot of offensive utility with pursuit, knock off and strong priority. Destroys a lot of defensive staples like latias, slowbro and gliscor. Forms a great ice spam core with KB, while also being great into those lucha+medi+koko offenses)

Mega-Tyranitar
Clefable
Volcarona (Arguably the most versatile sweeper, volc can pretty much fit on any archetype with both offensive and bulky sets)
Hawlucha
Excadrill
Mega Diancie (Great speed tier and is just a great all out attacker and rocker-feels quite unversatile though)

A- Rank

Garchomp
Tapu-Fini
Manaphy (Super restricting mon─absolutely ruins any balance (especially on rain), and its just ridiculous to deal with rest+hydration)
Pelipper + Mega-Swampert (Rain is kind of a MU, but is still quite viable and mandates a check to it on any team)

Mega-Lopunny
Kommo-o (The standard z-sweeper set can feel underwhelming, however the SpDef set is an amazing check to many common mons like ash-gren, volc, heatran and serperior. DD electrium or groundium Z sets are great for breaking past toxapex and skarmory)
Mega-Scizor (Very good check to much of the tier, and is very customizable)
Tapu-Bulu
Mega-Pinsir (Hits extremely hard for how good its speed tier is, and having a strong flying type priority comes up very often for dealing with boosted sweepers and things like Mega-Lopunny)

Mega-Mawile

Rotom-Wash (Jack of all trades but doesnt excel at anything, more of a backup check/pivot)

B+ Rank

Ditto
Victini (Feels pretty weak in general, but its a pretty competent pivot and scarf gambit is good utility)
Celesteela
Magnezone (Despite its predictability, setting up a trap isnt too difficult and eliminating steels enables so many things like Kartana, Mega Pinsir, Mega Scizor and many more. Pretty mediocre outside of this niche)
Zapdos
Mega-Gyarados (A good sweeper for shutting down fats and stalls, needs to be played very patiently though to avoid chip)
Slowbro (Amazing check to most physical mons in the tier, like Mega Medicham, Gliscor and Mega Charizard X, and regenerator improves its matchup greatly into stall)
Skarmory

Mega-Latios

B Rank

Gastrodon (Better than seismitoad imo due to its longevity with recover, and more streamlined stats for dealing with special attackers. In general though, gastrodon is sat on more bulky balance teams, while seismitoad is stronger on BO)
Seismitoad (While it has no reliable recovery and worse stats than gastrodon, it makes up for that in a stronger utility movepool─options like stealth rock, refresh and knock off set it apart)
Jirachi
Dragonite
Reuniclus (Most of the time is just a big MU. Can break balance and stall without an SD gliscor, and also is a great check to medicham)
Buzzwole (A very underrated pick as a physical wall, can easily check common attackers like Kartana, Mega Scizor, Garchomp, Mega Tyranitar, Mega Gyarados, Gliscor and more)

Muk Alola (Super underrated special wall, better than chansey at dealing with psyspam due to pursuit and knock)
Keldeo
Tyranitar

Mega Heracross
Mega-Garchomp (Mixed sets actually provide quite a bit of value against all team archetypes, and the amount of options it can run can sometimes make it worth it to use over normal garchomp)
Volcanion (With the correct support, this thing becomes an amazing balance breaker. Offensive sets on this arent great, but both specially and physically bulky sets are great)
Kyurem (Great at PP stalling a bunch of different things, and some teams literally just cant beat it)
Hippowdon (Underrated as a sand setter, as it has more longevity than ttar because of slack off, and more utility options as well. Its usable as a check to physical attackers on non-sand teams as well)
Hydreigon

B- Rank

Mega-Venusaur (Its a great stop-gap to much of the tier, and because of its insane bulk with only 2 weaknesses, it very often walls half the team)
Hoopa-Unbound
Bisharp (Great cleaner because of its STAB knock and sucker punch─also a must-have on web teams.)
Thundurus-Therian
Crawdaunt
Mega-Slowbro (Holding slowbronite is helpful against reducing knock off damage, but also being able to suddenly gain a burst of defense is very helpful in many situations)
Gyarados

Mega-Aggron

Mega-Sableye (Pretty limited to stall─stall is mid in the current meta though)
Nidoking (Nidoking can dismantle many teams if given the opportunity to switch in. Since its prediction reliant, there is some randomness when using it, but getting predicts right will net an OHKO almost every time. Very fun mon to use)
Amoonguss
Azumarill (Pretty good sweeper, +6 aqua jet hurts, and still sweeps most weakened teams)

C+ Rank

Blacephalon
Mega-Sceptile (Very good into offense, leaf storm OHKOs stuff like tapu koko)
Mew
Scolipede
Mega-Altaria (A great typing a great defensive stats let it check a lot of things in the tier, and with pixilate+return it isnt a slouch for damage either. It also has good utility like heal bell, roar, defog and haze, but it isnt a very splashable pokemon due to taking the mega slot)
Mega-Camerupt (Great switch in to most volt switch users, also good at breaking through defensive pex cores)
Mega-Aerodactyl
Suicune
Mega-Gallade

Tangrowth
Stunfisk (Good role compression as para support, rocker and voltturn punisher)
Mantine

Gengar
Mega-Sharpedo (A good cleaner because of its speed and strong jaw boosted coverage, however its also a one trick pony)

C Rank

Breloom
Mamoswine
Mega-Ampharos
Porygon-Z (+2 252+ SpA Adaptability Porygon-Z Breakneck Blitz (200 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Eviolite Chansey: 626-738 (88.9 - 104.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock)
Nihilego

Klefki
Quagsire
Araquanid (Best sticky web setter, also decent as an offensive mon on rain)

Ribombee (The second best sticky web setter, cool for its fake out immunity and stun spore)
Marowak-Alola
Mega-Blastoise (Its very good bulk with mono-water typing makes it quite sturdy, and its a fairly strong special breaker combined with rapid spin utility)

C- Rank

Mega-Manectric
Ninetales-Alola
Moltres (Crippling SR weakness holds it back from having a great defensive niche)
Mimikyu
Alomomola

Mega-Beedrill (While adaptability u-turn is strong and it has good utility in knock off and toxic spikes, its stab typings are quite awful, and it is very vulnerable to chip)

D Rank

Mega-Steelix (I can see a mega steelix team given the right support, but its a lot of work just to make it on par with other bulky steels)
Shedinja
Forretress

Pyukumuku (Has a cool niche on hard stall teams that want an unaware mon)
Mega-Houndoom (Could possibly be decent on sun teams with torkoal/ninetales)

 

[kopv18]

Gonna post my VR here, take it with a grain of salt as my peak is only #96, so im not very good, just passionate about SM and wanted to share my thoughts.

S Rank
Magearna
Landorus-Therian (Self-explanatory, near-guaranteed fit on any offense team and always fills in the gaps in a team. Not as versatile as Mag however, and it doesnt quite fit on EVERY composition)

S- Rank

Toxapex
Tapu-Lele (Specs variants are arguably the strongest wallbreaker in the tier, doing considerable damage to even the tankiest of resists. Other variants like Choice Scarf, Taunt + Natures Madness and Z-move CM also fit well on offense, and entire teams can be built around psychic terrain)

A+ Rank

Mega-Alakazam (Being the fastest mon in the tier, its hard to find a game where zam didnt contribute anything at all)
Kartana (Amazing mon, personally dont think its as broken as its made out to be, but still very powerful. Its also surprisingly versatile, as recent experiments with Band/Utility kart on balance teams have panned out well)
Gliscor
Tornadus-Therian (Genuinely the most splashable mon in the tier)
Mega-Latias
Mega-Medicham (Anything with 100 base speed shouldnt be hitting this hard. It can absolutely rip through any team that doesnt have a reliable check to it)
Heatran
Mega-Charizard-X (Not only is an amazingly powerful sweeper on HO, but has a great deal of value as an SD breaker on slower paced teams)
Chansey (Cornerstone of balance and stall, the tier would fall apart without chansey)

Cresselia (Super versatile, most sets can destroy offense teams and it can work as a lone check to things like mega-alakazam, mega-medicham, tapu lele and more)
Serperior
Tapu-Koko (Koko hate is so forced. It has a variety of great sets, and the natural speed control it brings + its versatility allows it to fit on almost any archetype)
Ferrothorn
Ash-Greninja (Although its an incredible wallbreaker, its strength has invited many checks to it, both common and niche, into use. You'd be hard pressed to find a good team without at least 1-2 ash-gren checks)
Mega-Charizard-Y (Has the least switch-ins out of anything in the tier... great speed tier for how hard it hits, and Roost + Good Natural Bulk grants it more longevity than most wallbreakers, even despite its major SR weakness)
Greninja (Definition of versatile, scouting for its set can be difficult because of the sheer amount of Z-moves and coverage options it has. It doesnt hit as hard as other offensive staples, but a bad predict against it can lose the game instantly ─ great on balance teams as an anti-offense pick)
Kyurem-Black

A Rank

Mega-Mawile (Can perform its wallbreaker role in so many ways, and with so many coverage options + SD, it can fit like a glove on anything ranging from offense to balance)
Weavile (The offensive utility and power weavile can bring to a team is hefty, with it having STAB Knock, Pursuit and STAB priority with Ice Shard. Works well on literally any archetype, whether that be as a supportive pursuit trapper/knocker for mons like gliscor, or as an offensive check to ice-weak pokemon like Garchomp, Tornadus-T, Gliscor and Hawlucha)
Clefable
Volcarona (Arguably the most versatile sweeper, volc has a lot of prescence in the tier and any team without a check to it will surely be blown away. Offensive sets work well on any HO or offense team with good hazard control, while bulky sets serve as a great check and punish (with Flame Body) to common mons like Kartana, Excadrill and Weavile for balance teams, and its even great on stall as a cleaner)
Hawlucha
Rotom-Wash (One of the few mons that is equally as valuable against offense as it is against stall/balance. Great roll compression and works on most team archetypes)
Mega-Lopunny
Excadrill
Mega Diancie (Great speed tier and hits very hard with amazing stabs and coverage. Unfortunately, its quite limited to HO teams because it has no longevity and not the best defenses)

A- Rank

Mega-Tyranitar (Despite it being a wall of stats, its typing leads to it being threatened out by a great deal of things, and its lack of recovery or leftovers combined with its vulnerability to every type of hazard makes it very easy to wear down. Still very strong, and a great sand enabler)
Tapu-Fini (One of the best BO mons in the game. Works as an amazing check to all the threatening water, fighting and dark types, and has great utility with Defog + Taunt, as well as its trapper set)
Manaphy (Cheesiest mon in the tier, Rest + Hydration ruins most defensive counterplay against it, and 100 stats across the board allows it to take super effective hits and just full heal them off. Higher than pelipper and swampert because its not a rain-exclusive, buts its best value comes from rain teams)
Pelipper + Mega-Swampert (Rain is such an easy archetype to use. It either completely destroys teams that dont have a sturdy check to it, or get rolled by teams with multiple water + ground resists)
Kommo-o (The standard z-sweeper set can feel underwhelming, however the SpDef set is an amazing check to many common mons like ash-gren, volc, heatran and serperior. DD electrium or groundium Z sets are great for breaking past toxapex and celesteela)
Mega-Scizor (Bulky set is great at sitting on things, and it can customize itself with a great movepool, acting as a U-turn pivot, or a tanky defogger. The fully offensive SD is extremely underrated and can completely sweep teams that dont have psychic terrain, or a hard check like skarmory, bulkarona or zapdos)
Tapu-Bulu
Mega-Pinsir (Hits extremely hard for how good its speed tier is, and having a strong flying type priority comes up very often for dealing with boosted sweepers and things like Mega-Lopunny)
Garchomp

B+ Rank

Ditto
Victini (A fairly good scarfer because v-create makes it very powerful despite its lackluster attack, but being weak to stealth rock leaves it lacking as a pivot, and sacing itself turn 1 with final gambit is often more value)
Celesteela
Magnezone (Fairly one-dimensional as trapping is its only niche. Despite its predictability, setting up a trap isnt too difficult and eliminating steels enables so many things like Kartana, Mega Pinsir, Alakazam and many more)
Zapdos
Mega-Gyarados (Quite a potent sweeper against more slow paced teams, as substitute or taunt can shut down defensive counterplay, as well as mold breaker ignoring unaware, magic bounce (for taunt variants) and wonder guard)
Mega-Latios
Slowbro (Amazing check to most physical mons in the tier, like Mega Medicham, Gliscor and Mega Charizard X, and regenerator improves its matchup greatly into stall. Its typing also allows it to soft check special attackers like Tapu Lele and Manaphy)
Skarmory
Muk Alola (Super underrated special wall, better than chansey in many ways due to being able to pursuit trap psychics and spam knock off against defensive teams. Being poison allows it to absorb t-spikes as well)

B Rank

Gastrodon (Better than seismitoad imo due to its longevity with recover, and more streamlined stats for dealing with special attackers. They are difficult to compare, as gastrodon is generally sat on more balanced teams, while seismitoad is stronger on BO)
Seismitoad (While it has no reliable recovery and worse stats than gastrodon, it makes up for that in a stronger utility movepool. SR and Knock Off are great options that provide much more pressure than gastrodon can put out, and while it needs more support with something like a wish chansey or rest + heal bell magearna, it is more suited for BO teams because of this utility)
Jirachi
Dragonite
Reuniclus (Most of the time is just a big MU, cant break balance that well because setup latias and gliscor are quite common and beat it. A good check to offensive psychics, especially medicham)
Buzzwole (A very underrated pick as a physical wall, but it is a great check to many common physical sweepers in the metagame. It can shut down many things like Kartana, Mega Scizor, Garchomp, Mega Tyranitar, Mega Gyarados, Gliscor, and its a nice check to pretty much all physical attackers)
Keldeo
Tyranitar
Mega-Sableye (Stall isnt that bad of an archetype, it just requires more innovation than other archetypes because of the sheer number of wallbreakers. Mega sableye is almost required on any viable stall team, although it is limited to this archetype)
Mega-Garchomp (Mixed sets actually provide quite a bit of value against all team archetypes, and the amount of options it can run can sometimes make it worth it to use over normal garchomp)
Volcanion (With the correct support, this thing becomes an amazing balance breaker. Offensive sets on this are terrible thought, only use the bulky sets, whether that be AV or physical protect)
Kyurem (Great at completely PP stalling out anything slower than it, and some teams cant do anything about it. With lunar dance support to restore its own PP, this thing becomes maybe the biggest troll in the tier next to gliscor)
Hippowdon (Underrated as a sand setter, as it has more longevity than ttar because of slack off. Whirlwind, SR, yawn and toxic are all great utility options it has access to as well, so while best used on sand teams, its splashable on certain BO teams as well)
Hydreigon

B- Rank

Mega-Venusaur (Its a great stop-gap to much of the tier, and because of its insane bulk with only 2 weaknesses, it very often walls 5/6 of the enemy mons)
Hoopa-Unbound
Bisharp (Great cleaner because of its STAB knock and sucker punch. Utility sets with pursuit arent nearly as good as sweeper sets though. Also a must-have on web teams.)
Thundurus-Therian
Crawdaunt
Mega-Slowbro (Even just holding the Slowbronite is helpful against reducing the damage that knock off would do, but having the ability to mega evolve in a pinch can allow it to live things it really shouldnt, like CB kartana leaf blade)
Gyarados
Nidoking (Nidoking can dismantle many teams if given the opportunity to switch in. Since its prediction reliant, there is some randomness when using it, but getting predicts right will net an OHKO almost every time. Very fun mon to use)
Amoonguss
Azumarill (Pretty good sweeper, +6 aqua jet hurts, and still sweeps most weakened teams)
Mega Heracross

C+ Rank

Blacephalon
Mega-Sceptile (Very good into offense, leaf storm OHKOs stuff like tapu koko)
Mega-Aggron
Mew (Very interesting HO lead, has decent utility to enable other offensive teammates, but it isnt that difficult to defeat and its impact is often minimal. It is also very telegraphed as a lead, so being anti-led is common)
Scolipede
Klefki (While it does have its shortcomings, mainly in its stats, it has an array of amazing utility thats further boosted by prankster. Its a great role compressor, having access to dual screens, t-wave, spikes, defog, and switcheroo, and can fill the final teamslot on teams that require multiple of these things at once)
Mega-Altaria (A great typing a great defensive stats let it check a lot of things in the tier, and with pixilate+return it isnt a slouch for damage either. It also has good utility like heal bell, roar, defog and haze, but it isnt a very splashable pokemon due to taking the mega slot)
Tangrowth
Mega-Camerupt (Great switch in to all volt switch users not named rotom-wash, and hits really, really hard)
Mega-Aerodactyl
Cofagrigus (Good switch-in to the physical attackers that need their ability, like mega medicham, gliscor, azumarill, hawlucha and more. Also breaks toxapex's monopoly on toxic spikes, although it is a much worse user of it due to its vulnerability to status and chip)
Suicune
Mega-Gallade
Mantine
Mega-Sharpedo (A good cleaner because of its speed and strong jaw boosted coverage, however its also a one trick pony)
Gengar

C Rank

Breloom
Mamoswine
Mega-Ampharos (Volt switches are strong af, and this is the only mon where its HP ices actually OHKO lando and gliscor)
Porygon-Z (+2 252+ SpA Adaptability Porygon-Z Breakneck Blitz (200 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Eviolite Chansey: 626-738 (88.9 - 104.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock)
Nihilego
Quagsire
Araquanid (Best sticky web setter in the tier, also decent as an offensive mon on rain)

Ribombee (Its probably the second best sticky web setter, and is cool for its fake out immunity and stun spore)
Marowak-Alola
Mega-Blastoise (Its very good bulk with mono-water typing makes it quite sturdy, and its a fairly strong special breaker combined with rapid spin utility)

C- Rank

Mega-Manectric
Salamence (Less capable flyinium-z sweeper than dragonite and gyarados, but its typing + intimidate can occassionally make it worth it over the other options)
Thundurus
Ninetales-Alola
Moltres (Crippling SR weakness holds back this great type combo and moltres from having a great defensive niche in OU)
Mimikyu
Alomomola

Mega-Beedrill (While adaptability u-turn is strong and it has good utility in knock off and toxic spikes, its stab typings are quite awful, and it is very vulnerable to rocky helmet and SR chip)

D Rank

Mega-Steelix (I can see a mega steelix team given the right support, but its a lot of work just to make it on par with other bulky steels)
Shedinja
Forretress

Pyukumuku (Has a cool niche on hard stall teams that want an unaware mon)
Mega-Houndoom (Could possibly be decent on sun teams with torkoal/ninetales)

FINALLY SOMEONE WHO ALSO LOVES ALOLAN MUK! with the meta right now i think it's in a cool spot, idk about b tier but it's pretty decent :)

 

[YubelVT]

Gonna post my VR here, take it with a grain of salt as my peak is only #96, so im not very good, just passionate about SM and wanted to share my thoughts.

S Rank
Magearna
Landorus-Therian (Self-explanatory, near-guaranteed fit on any offense team and always fills in the gaps in a team. Not as versatile as Mag however, and it doesnt quite fit on EVERY composition)

S- Rank

Toxapex
Tapu-Lele (Specs variants are arguably the strongest wallbreaker in the tier, doing considerable damage to even the tankiest of resists. Other variants like Choice Scarf, Taunt + Natures Madness and Z-move CM also fit well on offense, and entire teams can be built around psychic terrain)

A+ Rank

Mega-Alakazam (Being the fastest mon in the tier, its hard to find a game where zam didnt contribute anything at all)
Kartana (Amazing mon, personally dont think its as broken as its made out to be, but still very powerful. Its also surprisingly versatile, as recent experiments with Band/Utility kart on balance teams have panned out well)
Gliscor
Tornadus-Therian (Genuinely the most splashable mon in the tier)
Mega-Latias
Mega-Medicham (Anything with 100 base speed shouldnt be hitting this hard. It can absolutely rip through any team that doesnt have a reliable check to it)
Heatran
Mega-Charizard-X (Not only is an amazingly powerful sweeper on HO, but has a great deal of value as an SD breaker on slower paced teams)
Chansey (Cornerstone of balance and stall, the tier would fall apart without chansey)

Cresselia (Super versatile, most sets can destroy offense teams and it can work as a lone check to things like mega-alakazam, mega-medicham, tapu lele and more)
Serperior
Tapu-Koko (Koko hate is so forced. It has a variety of great sets, and the natural speed control it brings + its versatility allows it to fit on almost any archetype)
Ferrothorn
Ash-Greninja (Although its an incredible wallbreaker, its strength has invited many checks to it, both common and niche, into use. You'd be hard pressed to find a good team without at least 1-2 ash-gren checks)
Mega-Charizard-Y (Has the least switch-ins out of anything in the tier... great speed tier for how hard it hits, and Roost + Good Natural Bulk grants it more longevity than most wallbreakers, even despite its major SR weakness)
Greninja (Definition of versatile, scouting for its set can be difficult because of the sheer amount of Z-moves and coverage options it has. It doesnt hit as hard as other offensive staples, but a bad predict against it can lose the game instantly ─ great on balance teams as an anti-offense pick)
Kyurem-Black

A Rank

Mega-Mawile (Can perform its wallbreaker role in so many ways, and with so many coverage options + SD, it can fit like a glove on anything ranging from offense to balance)
Weavile (The offensive utility and power weavile can bring to a team is hefty, with it having STAB Knock, Pursuit and STAB priority with Ice Shard. Works well on literally any archetype, whether that be as a supportive pursuit trapper/knocker for mons like gliscor, or as an offensive check to ice-weak pokemon like Garchomp, Tornadus-T, Gliscor and Hawlucha)
Clefable
Volcarona (Arguably the most versatile sweeper, volc has a lot of prescence in the tier and any team without a check to it will surely be blown away. Offensive sets work well on any HO or offense team with good hazard control, while bulky sets serve as a great check and punish (with Flame Body) to common mons like Kartana, Excadrill and Weavile for balance teams, and its even great on stall as a cleaner)
Hawlucha
Rotom-Wash (One of the few mons that is equally as valuable against offense as it is against stall/balance. Great roll compression and works on most team archetypes)
Mega-Lopunny
Excadrill
Mega Diancie (Great speed tier and hits very hard with amazing stabs and coverage. Unfortunately, its quite limited to HO teams because it has no longevity and not the best defenses)

A- Rank

Mega-Tyranitar (Despite it being a wall of stats, its typing leads to it being threatened out by a great deal of things, and its lack of recovery or leftovers combined with its vulnerability to every type of hazard makes it very easy to wear down. Still very strong, and a great sand enabler)
Tapu-Fini (One of the best BO mons in the game. Works as an amazing check to all the threatening water, fighting and dark types, and has great utility with Defog + Taunt, as well as its trapper set)
Manaphy (Cheesiest mon in the tier, Rest + Hydration ruins most defensive counterplay against it, and 100 stats across the board allows it to take super effective hits and just full heal them off. Higher than pelipper and swampert because its not a rain-exclusive, buts its best value comes from rain teams)
Pelipper + Mega-Swampert (Rain is such an easy archetype to use. It either completely destroys teams that dont have a sturdy check to it, or get rolled by teams with multiple water + ground resists)
Kommo-o (The standard z-sweeper set can feel underwhelming, however the SpDef set is an amazing check to many common mons like ash-gren, volc, heatran and serperior. DD electrium or groundium Z sets are great for breaking past toxapex and celesteela)
Mega-Scizor (Bulky set is great at sitting on things, and it can customize itself with a great movepool, acting as a U-turn pivot, or a tanky defogger. The fully offensive SD is extremely underrated and can completely sweep teams that dont have psychic terrain, or a hard check like skarmory, bulkarona or zapdos)
Tapu-Bulu
Mega-Pinsir (Hits extremely hard for how good its speed tier is, and having a strong flying type priority comes up very often for dealing with boosted sweepers and things like Mega-Lopunny)
Garchomp

B+ Rank

Ditto
Victini (A fairly good scarfer because v-create makes it very powerful despite its lackluster attack, but being weak to stealth rock leaves it lacking as a pivot, and sacing itself turn 1 with final gambit is often more value)
Celesteela
Magnezone (Fairly one-dimensional as trapping is its only niche. Despite its predictability, setting up a trap isnt too difficult and eliminating steels enables so many things like Kartana, Mega Pinsir, Alakazam and many more)
Zapdos
Mega-Gyarados (Quite a potent sweeper against more slow paced teams, as substitute or taunt can shut down defensive counterplay, as well as mold breaker ignoring unaware, magic bounce (for taunt variants) and wonder guard)
Mega-Latios
Slowbro (Amazing check to most physical mons in the tier, like Mega Medicham, Gliscor and Mega Charizard X, and regenerator improves its matchup greatly into stall. Its typing also allows it to soft check special attackers like Tapu Lele and Manaphy)
Skarmory
Muk Alola (Super underrated special wall, better than chansey in many ways due to being able to pursuit trap psychics and spam knock off against defensive teams. Being poison allows it to absorb t-spikes as well)

B Rank

Gastrodon (Better than seismitoad imo due to its longevity with recover, and more streamlined stats for dealing with special attackers. They are difficult to compare, as gastrodon is generally sat on more balanced teams, while seismitoad is stronger on BO)
Seismitoad (While it has no reliable recovery and worse stats than gastrodon, it makes up for that in a stronger utility movepool. SR and Knock Off are great options that provide much more pressure than gastrodon can put out, and while it needs more support with something like a wish chansey or rest + heal bell magearna, it is more suited for BO teams because of this utility)
Jirachi
Dragonite
Reuniclus (Most of the time is just a big MU, cant break balance that well because setup latias and gliscor are quite common and beat it. A good check to offensive psychics, especially medicham)
Buzzwole (A very underrated pick as a physical wall, but it is a great check to many common physical sweepers in the metagame. It can shut down many things like Kartana, Mega Scizor, Garchomp, Mega Tyranitar, Mega Gyarados, Gliscor, and its a nice check to pretty much all physical attackers)
Keldeo
Tyranitar
Mega-Sableye (Stall isnt that bad of an archetype, it just requires more innovation than other archetypes because of the sheer number of wallbreakers. Mega sableye is almost required on any viable stall team, although it is limited to this archetype)
Mega-Garchomp (Mixed sets actually provide quite a bit of value against all team archetypes, and the amount of options it can run can sometimes make it worth it to use over normal garchomp)
Volcanion (With the correct support, this thing becomes an amazing balance breaker. Offensive sets on this are terrible thought, only use the bulky sets, whether that be AV or physical protect)
Kyurem (Great at completely PP stalling out anything slower than it, and some teams cant do anything about it. With lunar dance support to restore its own PP, this thing becomes maybe the biggest troll in the tier next to gliscor)
Hippowdon (Underrated as a sand setter, as it has more longevity than ttar because of slack off. Whirlwind, SR, yawn and toxic are all great utility options it has access to as well, so while best used on sand teams, its splashable on certain BO teams as well)
Hydreigon

B- Rank

Mega-Venusaur (Its a great stop-gap to much of the tier, and because of its insane bulk with only 2 weaknesses, it very often walls 5/6 of the enemy mons)
Hoopa-Unbound
Bisharp (Great cleaner because of its STAB knock and sucker punch. Utility sets with pursuit arent nearly as good as sweeper sets though. Also a must-have on web teams.)
Thundurus-Therian
Crawdaunt
Mega-Slowbro (Even just holding the Slowbronite is helpful against reducing the damage that knock off would do, but having the ability to mega evolve in a pinch can allow it to live things it really shouldnt, like CB kartana leaf blade)
Gyarados
Nidoking (Nidoking can dismantle many teams if given the opportunity to switch in. Since its prediction reliant, there is some randomness when using it, but getting predicts right will net an OHKO almost every time. Very fun mon to use)
Amoonguss
Azumarill (Pretty good sweeper, +6 aqua jet hurts, and still sweeps most weakened teams)
Mega Heracross

C+ Rank

Blacephalon
Mega-Sceptile (Very good into offense, leaf storm OHKOs stuff like tapu koko)
Mega-Aggron
Mew (Very interesting HO lead, has decent utility to enable other offensive teammates, but it isnt that difficult to defeat and its impact is often minimal. It is also very telegraphed as a lead, so being anti-led is common)
Scolipede
Klefki (While it does have its shortcomings, mainly in its stats, it has an array of amazing utility thats further boosted by prankster. Its a great role compressor, having access to dual screens, t-wave, spikes, defog, and switcheroo, and can fill the final teamslot on teams that require multiple of these things at once)
Mega-Altaria (A great typing a great defensive stats let it check a lot of things in the tier, and with pixilate+return it isnt a slouch for damage either. It also has good utility like heal bell, roar, defog and haze, but it isnt a very splashable pokemon due to taking the mega slot)
Tangrowth
Mega-Camerupt (Great switch in to all volt switch users not named rotom-wash, and hits really, really hard)
Mega-Aerodactyl
Cofagrigus (Good switch-in to the physical attackers that need their ability, like mega medicham, gliscor, azumarill, hawlucha and more. Also breaks toxapex's monopoly on toxic spikes, although it is a much worse user of it due to its vulnerability to status and chip)
Suicune
Mega-Gallade
Mantine
Mega-Sharpedo (A good cleaner because of its speed and strong jaw boosted coverage, however its also a one trick pony)
Gengar

C Rank

Breloom
Mamoswine
Mega-Ampharos (Volt switches are strong af, and this is the only mon where its HP ices actually OHKO lando and gliscor)
Porygon-Z (+2 252+ SpA Adaptability Porygon-Z Breakneck Blitz (200 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Eviolite Chansey: 626-738 (88.9 - 104.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock)
Nihilego
Quagsire
Araquanid (Best sticky web setter in the tier, also decent as an offensive mon on rain)

Ribombee (Its probably the second best sticky web setter, and is cool for its fake out immunity and stun spore)
Marowak-Alola
Mega-Blastoise (Its very good bulk with mono-water typing makes it quite sturdy, and its a fairly strong special breaker combined with rapid spin utility)

C- Rank

Mega-Manectric
Salamence (Less capable flyinium-z sweeper than dragonite and gyarados, but its typing + intimidate can occassionally make it worth it over the other options)
Thundurus
Ninetales-Alola
Moltres (Crippling SR weakness holds back this great type combo and moltres from having a great defensive niche in OU)
Mimikyu
Alomomola

Mega-Beedrill (While adaptability u-turn is strong and it has good utility in knock off and toxic spikes, its stab typings are quite awful, and it is very vulnerable to rocky helmet and SR chip)

D Rank

Mega-Steelix (I can see a mega steelix team given the right support, but its a lot of work just to make it on par with other bulky steels)
Shedinja
Forretress

Pyukumuku (Has a cool niche on hard stall teams that want an unaware mon)
Mega-Houndoom (Could possibly be decent on sun teams with torkoal/ninetales)

Something that *might* be worth mentioning on the Mega Garchomp ranking is that you can just run Sand Veil on pre-mega chomp to maybe get free switches in sand, sometimes. Rough Skin is *probably* better even on dedicated Sand Teams but like, hey, it's a thing that you can do.

 

[mysticalbruh1]

FINALLY SOMEONE WHO ALSO LOVES ALOLAN MUK! with the meta right now i think it's in a cool spot, idk about b tier but it's pretty decent :)

i added stunfisk to my VR because of you...

 

[Metallica126]

Since SPL/WCOP/SMPL/RCOP i have enough experience play/support SM OU, i make this personal ranking to share my idea.

:kyurem-b: I put it in high place, if spread EVs delicacy, it's decent bulk can trade many mon, Icium-Z is most soild but Electircium/Dragonium-Z or Magnet/LO have different work, with dragon type it also can be seen a wall to switch in some water type, for example, in SPL XV, geniusx use bulky kyu-b give rain many trouble, with bulk, kyu can deal superpower pert, i think kyu-b should be seen more important part in SM OU now.

I like sandstorm, it can solve almost everything if player played well, tyranitar i think is 2nd mega in SM OU, it like kyu-b, can use high bulk trade many mon and being zard-x check, it also is sand's engine.
Regular tyranitar is underrated, it not good because all set have problem but both have advantage, like band ttar can bring more power and deal psychic wall good, if predict well it almost can 1hko all thing, but it is too slow, av is good spdef wall to trade zam/volcarona/zard-y, Rank B is enough.

I was keld hater, but now, keld can did well in some HO/Sand, with some support can give fat huge trouble, it's decent speed also can revenge kill some attacker, cm sub/taunt are good, try it.

I think i put it lower, tried this mon in SPL W9, when i see c0mp's scout, hera burst in my brain, like first two mon i explained, hera's bulk also can did well in some trade work, it's decent power easy won fat, no one switch in it and give huge trouble in sand.

It's revenge kill work be underrated, can use strong aqua jet revenge kill volcarona/sand rush exca/hawlucha by some chip, but too weak

Good offense rocker with z

idk but i don't think it is decent mon now, only power, others not well, it have low speed, about bulk, if put many bulk, it can't overspeed some wall like skarmory, if put speed than bulk is wrong, it can't deal many popular mon like zard-x and revenge kill not too good now because lele, overall i not consider pick it in first mind.

 

[Proftreez]

Welp, yet another dead thread in the graveyard that is the SM forum. Anyway, here's a VR post.

Alright, before I go into depth on some of this shit, it's probably best I address the elephant in the room: I got NO fucking idea what the HELL happened in the SPL pool. We've seen fucking Mega-Aerodactyl, Mimikyu, Mega-Manetric (twice?????), Lycanroc-Dusk, and fucking FROSLASS all independently loaded at different points of the season. While there is no doubt some utility provided by these mons, in the grand scheme of things, there is a reason why they aren't regularly loaded in the metagame. With the general team quality having been as questionable as it is (Weather should have been extremely dominant this season), I don't find this season of SPL to be indicative of the modern metagame, and did not take much of it into account during the construction of my VR. Regardless, with the tiebreaker semis currently taking place, I don't envision any substantial changes will take place in my placements, and given the amount of bullshit I'm planning on writing in the future, might as well get this shit out of the way.

Rather than strictly encompassing tour usage, this VR was organized as a reflection of my own experiences of prepping, building, and playing the tier. Just know, if you see some weird shit, it's there for a reason, and if you don't see something, there DEFINITELY is a reason why it's not there. With all that said, here's the funny image for your viewing pleasure:

Instead of indulging in the masochistic self-induced psychosis that is writing an excerpt for shitmon number #237 in the tier like I attempted last year, I will instead be focusing on a select mons of particular interest and their interactions with the modern metagame. Unfortunately, shitters like Scizor and Gengar won't get their shine this time around, but I feel like their roles are comparatively intuitive and are less interesting in their respective niches.

Of course, if you don't care, you can keep scrolling lol.

Tale of the Tape

The Pinnacle:
​

The defining mons of the tier: Magearna and Landorus-T have long established themselves as the best mons in the format, with nothing in the game being able to replicate their immense versatility. Be it sweeper, breaker, pivot, defensive glue, cleric, hazard-setter, pseudo-phazer, lure, these two can do it all. Although I do believe Magearna slightly edges Lando-T based on its own merits, the splashability of the lion-dog and its status as the best glue mon in the tier, arguably being the best Scarfer in the tier, as well as having the capacity to compress the roles of pivot, rocker, and fogger in a single slot while functioning as the best blanket check to the litany of physical attackers while providing an essential volt-absorber. Furthermore, the resurgence of offensive sets in the form of LO and Rock Polish variants and the advent of full utility sets are more than enough to warrant an equal ranking with Gear. I have no clue if any of the lads who update the VR will take the time to read this damn thing, but if y'all do, I believe the two should be weighed equally, sharing the #1 placement in the tier.

Satan Was a Snake:
​

Anyone who has played ORAS should be well aware of the utter demon that is Serperior, and the impact this shitter has had on the tier is nothing short of immense. SubSeed sets are insanely difficult for the vast majority of compositions to deal with, demolishing a multitude of Fat and Weather configurations nearly single-handedly. This is all without mentioning the ease with which Serp spreads Paralysis, its capacity to slot in disruption in the form of Knock Off and Taunt, as well as arguably being the best Defog punish in the entire tier. No other mon makes you tangibly feel the effects of forgoing a move or item slot quite like Serp, be it Gyro Ball on Ferrothorn, Roar or Lava Plume on Heatran, dropping U-Turn or forgoing Flyinium Z on Tornadus-Therian, Ice Beam on Gear, or any of the numerous coverage/utility options run on the multitude of defensive mons Serp can find entries on and begin snowballing against. Additionally, the shift away from Rocky Helmet utility variants, in particular on HO structures, has added a new dimension to its utility, with innovations such as full utility Lando-Ts opening up avenues for Serperior to abuse sets such as the aforementioned SubSeed set, as well as alternative sets such as Stallbreaker or Scarf. One development I am a particular proponent of is the recent increase in its usage on Sun, with its defensive traits notably providing a consistent way of pressuring the likes of Mega-Diancie and Tonadus-T, as well as checking key threats such as Manaphy in Rain, often flipping the match-up in favor of Sun for an adept pilot. Genuinely fuck this mon LOL.

Murderers' Row:
​

In my mind, Mega-Tyranitar, Mega-Diancie, Mega-Charizard-Y, Mega-Charizard-X, and Mega-Alakazam, or Mega-Swampert (which presents some strong arguments for the number 5 slot), consist of the Top 5 Megas in the modern metagame, with all 6 Megas collectively encompassing the most dangerous styles in the current metagame: Sand, Bulky Offense, Sun, Hyper Offense, Psyspam, and Rain, respectively, standing out as top priorities to address in prep, building, and play with their rankings mirroring my general perception of their viability (Rain notably being an outlier, as I would easily group it in the top 3 by virtue of sheer threat level). Of course, this isn't to say these Megas are beholden to their styles, as versatility is the name of the game in SM, with all members being interchangeable across select styles (with M-Dia notably functioning as a lead on certain iterations of HO, MTtar functioning as a sweeper on both BO and HO sixes, etc), however it does provide a rudimentary guideline for the expectations of each style. The more astute of you might notice a significant drop off in both Zard-X and M-Zam in comparison to my prior rankings, with Zard-X dropping from its placement as the #1 Mega in the tier, as well as M-Zam dropping down from an A+ rank, residing in the Top 10 of my VR, to a respectable, but noticeably lower spot in the A tier. With the general shift of the metagaming following a more offensively oriented direction, the Fat teams that SD variants of ZardX and M-Zam in Psyterrain would have otherwise feast on have, for the most part, gone to the wayside, with the few relevant examples of defensive sixes remaining in the tier persisting primarily due to their capacity to combat these particular threats and limit their breaking capabilities. Additionally, the continued presence of Sand and BO structures (particularly DMC and its derivatives), combined with the increased usage in defensive pieces such as Lando-T, Celesteela, and Encore Clefable, has been massively unfavorable for the pair. However, the real nail in the coffin for these two Megas is that, despite how ungodly threatening they are within their respective compositions, you really are just hard stuck trying to innovate with these bastards. Zard-X and M-Zam are incredibly demanding Megas in the builder, necessitating some ways to compensate for their number of defensive flaws, with Zard-X having the horrendous 4x weakness to Rocks and M-Zam being built with paper and having Tapu Lele as a near mandatory partner; requiring teams to either compromise key resistances or solid checks to certain threat (with Psyspam structures frequently dropping Fire resists altogether in favor of using Kyu-B as a stat check), or requiring an extremely frantic pace with singular goal of bulldozing the opposition, generally limiting their placement on HO or Heavy Offense configurations, with deviations towards other styles generally being defensively gimped and clunky. Although few things are as terrifying as a boosted Zard-X or an M-Zam in Psyterrain, they are ultimately held back by their defensive flaws and the restrictive nature of their viable structures, factors reflected by their lower placements.

MF Barney:
​

(WIP) Dragonite is a fucking INSANE mon. While by no means a complete substitute for the defensive flaws present in a team (we really running no Dark-resist in 2026 on anything that isn't Celestial Alignment, which already is crusty AF), the combination of its natural bulk and defensive typing allowing it to check the likes of Ash-Gren, Zard-Y, and Volcarona alongside its capacity to function as one of the most dangerous set-up sweepers in the tier, alongside the capacity to function as a get-out-of-jail-free card thanks to Multiscale, is an INSANE combination of traits for any mon to have. These traits have allowed Dragonite to find a place on nearly every conceivable style in the tier, finding success on Hard Stall, Semi-Stall, BO, Offense, and HO teams at varying points of the meta. Of course, several issues hold Dnite back from residing at the absolute pinnacle of the tier, with weakness to Rocks and the presence of residual damage from Sand limiting its capacity to abuse Multiscale. Additionally, competition from the other Dragons in the tier, specifically Kyurem-Black and Kommo-o, due to their unique defensive profiles, with Kyu-B's raw base stats making it overall bulkier compared to Dnite out of Multiscale, with Kommo-o having an important Dark resistance, the capacity to abuse Z-moves and Stallbreak better, as well as higher speed tiers at neutral. However, several traits of Dnite allow it to carve a distinct niche for itself, primarily through its versatility, with all of Band, Bulky DD, and offensively oriented DD sets all being viable, being able to slot priority, recovery, Sub, a range of coverage options (Ice Punch, Superpower, Fire Punch, etc.), as well as two viable Z moves in Dragonium and Flyinium. Furthermore, its defensive typing, allotting it a resistance to Fire, neutrality to Steel, Psychic and Flying, and only a 2x weakness to Fairy (especially when padded by Multiscale), gives the Gen 1 pseudo-legend far more opportunities for setup, as well as the capacity to effectively trade with almost the entire tier, with noteworthy targets including Excadrill, Mega-Alakazam, and Hawlucha. Additionally, by virtue of its high-base power and presence of coverage moves in comparison to Kyu-B, alongside its significantly higher attack stat in comparison and versatility presented in its DD sets in comparison to Kommo-o, Dnite is far less reliant on utilizing its Z-Move to break, thereby allowing it to leverage a well-timed Z-Move far more efficiently in contrast to its compatriots. Fuck Zaza for bringing this fucker back into the limelight.

Fuck Mannat:
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Following the metagame trend of pushing anti-offense countermeasures to the top of the tier, Clefable has had a massive jump in usage, finding itself as a centerpiece on the two most prominent forms of Fats (being Ferro + Tran or Skarm + Tran configurations), as an anti-HO engine. I've gone more into the specifics of this set here (ignore the vitriol if you just want the set LMAO), though I do want to specifically highlight the value of Encore beyond Demon Clef. Defensive teams often have to forfeit a free turn of entry when responding to the swath of set-up sweepers in the tier, either in the process of setting hazards, recovering health, or taking a KO on a dangerous threat. The natural bulk and typing of Clef in tandem with the fantastic ability Magic Guard, allowing it to maintain full health despite potential hazards and other forms of residual damage, and survive a boosted attack from nearly every set-up sweeper in the tier, essentially guaranteeing it a way to reset momentum against the most dangerous mons in the tier. For these Fat configurations that often orient around the stacking of hazards, denying a potential sweep and forcing extra hazards damage is game-changing, flipping the match-up against the variety of HO and Offense teams on its head. Of course, the omnipresence of the number of Steel-types that permeate the meta will always limit Clef, especially with the prominence of the likes of Excadrill and Magearna in the current metagame. Nonetheless, the impact of Clefable cannot be understated; with its disruptive properties, survivability, and capacity to run a large amount of coverage to circumvent entries of problematic mons, all warrant its placement in the upper echelons of the tier.

The Tale of Icarus:
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Never would I have imagined ever ranking Gliscor below the coveted A+ tier; however, it's become more and more evident that the purple shitter just ain't it anymore. With the decline of SD sets mirroring the drop in viability of fat structures, given the continually offensive nature of the meta, it becomes more and more difficult to justify its placement at the top ranks of the tier. However, I do want to mention Taunt Glisc as a particularly underrated option, notably maintaining a level of utility against offensive structures, being able to deny rocks consistently, as well as demolishing the vast majority of Fat configurations with proper support. And don't cheat the match-up, nothing punishes a player more than one unprepared to deal with the bygone demon that is SD Gliscor. Don't get it twisted, Gliscor is still Gliscor, and although the utility sets are comparatively limited in their usage, rocker and fogger variants still do rocker and fogger things; few mons completely dumpster Sand structures the way a well-played SD Glisc does, but it's quite clear the metagame has undergone a paradigm shift that disfavors Gliscor and the structures it finds itself on.

Rocket Man:
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As though it were a mirror to Gliscor, the rise of Celesteela (resulting in its placement in the A- tier) is something I wouldn't have ever imagined to be possible, but welp, here the fuck we are. Once long dead and forgotten amidst the heyday of LatiPexGlisc fats, considered a disgrace equivalent to the likes of Azumarill and Tangrowth, the resurgence of Sand structures as a response to the metagame, alongside the proliferation of DMC and Psyspam structures, has breathed new life into the fallen titan, allowing it to reclaim its throne as the immortal. Semantics aside, Celesteela is a fucking bastard. The proficiency with which Celesteela can spread chip damage while negating some of the most dangerous progress makers in the tier is insane, all backed by the efficacy of the anti-meta nature of Sand structures, and despite a substantial amount of time passing since regaining prominence in the tier, the bastard somehow manages to be at its most annoying ever. In a tier where the likes of Drill, Kartana, M-Dia, M-Zam, and Tapu Lele stand at the pinnacle of the offensive meta, Celesteela essentially body checks the entire offensive meta, necessitating ways to either brute-force the fucker, or multiple forms of disruption to deny it from full sending Leech Seed, healing up to full as you lose half your team's health pool in the process. Albeit linear in its placement on compositions essentially functioning as a Sand merchant, the holes it patches through its bulk and defensive typing are irreplaceable for the style, as without the presence of Celeseteela, Sand would never have been able to match its current level of dominance. Additionally, offensive AV variants have been finding more usage as a way of compressing the defensive qualities of Celesteela and transforming it into a threatening tank, abusing its powerful Heavy Slams and colorful coverage in tandem with its fantastic natural bulk to trade against large portions of the metagame effectively. Any player worth their salt should constantly have this mon on their radar, both in prep and the builder, with any viable structure requiring multiple ways to punish its presence.

Late Surger:
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(WIP) Few mon can quite option selects the builder like Keldeo, with perhaps only SubSeed Serp, Volcarona, and select variants of TR/SG Gear matching the 6-0 potential of the fucker. If you're unable to effectively phaze the fucker or consistently deny its Sub attempts, you might as well save your time and click the X button LOL. Beyond its capacity to utterly demolish certain fats, Keldeo persists as a dangerous threat against Offense and Weather configurations (as long as Fini isn't in the picture), being able to threaten key defensive pieces such as Lando-T as well as checking variations of Volcarona, Greninja, and Mega-Tyranitar by virtue of its natural bulk and defensive typing, alongside its solid speed tier of 108, outpacing common offensive threats such as Garchomp, Thundurus-Therian, and the pool of Megas that reside in the base 100 speed tier. Notably, the advent of Lunar Dance support sets of Skype's obese wife, Cresselia, on BO and HO structures creates a particularly interesting avenue for Keldeo to overwhelm its checks, as the PP-restoring properties of Lunar Dance essentially double the number of Keldeos in game, replicating a more proactive variant of Suicune found on select M-Dia HO structures, allowing it to brute force configurations reliant on Haze Toxapex to stave off the bastard. The combination of these traits has allowed the ORAS titan to find placements on HO, Sand, and BO structures, all purely off the merits of its SubCM set alone, with alternative sets such as Specs and Taunt Z being worthy of more exploration. As a Keldeo believer since 2024, I feel vindicated to see its continued usage in the tier. While not exactly the most plug-and-play mon, a well-piloted Keldeo is absolute hell to play against, and treating it as a bygone relic of a generation prior is a quick way to get trampled.

Rusty Washing Machine:
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Rotom-Wash is unmon atm, fake fire resist, loses to every fire in existence, the only thing Rotom-Wash goobs is Rain Pert, although Sub Toxic Pert owns it.

Not exactly a complete representation of my thoughts on the mon, but good enough for an opening (holy fuck, brother, fix your formatting). The only reason I really am addressing this bastard is that somehow, someway, this piece of shit continues to slip through the cracks of the shitmon filter and finds usage in tournament play. Several issues plague Rotom-W that limit its viability, the most damning of which is its middling bulk comparison to its typing and speed tier. Being a Water-type in SM, unable to consistently answer pretty much any of the Fires in the metagame properly is fucking TERRIBLE, especially one as gimped into the likes of Ash-Gren, Manaphy, and Keldeo, and as the likes of Ferrothorn, Kartana, and Serperior continue to rise in usage in the metagame (with the presence of SubSeed Serp in particular being a death sentence), Rotom-W continues to be hard-pressed to function as an effective pivot. The rise of these Fires and Grasses to the forefront of the metagame in the present metagame raises a particularly troubling dilemma for Rotom-Wash: the catch-22 of running either T-Wave or Wisp. Forgoing T-Wave effectively relegates Rotom-W to set up fodder to the likes of Volcarona, Zard-X, and Serperior, abusing its entries to rack up multiple boosts and break massive holes; however, without Wisp, neutering the likes of Ferro, Mega-Swampert, and Mega-Scizor suddenly becomes a massive challenge, given their comparative indifference to Paralysis, or their capacity to circumvent it through their typing or the presence of priority. This is without mentioning the paradigm shift to a more offensively oriented metagame, as the general pace of offensive structures have continued to progressively become more and more faster, further highlighting the bulk issues surrounding Rotom-W, making max bulk a prerequisite to even function properly as a defensive pivot, sacking its genuinely good speed tier (a factor particularly notable given the massive uptick inJolly M-Ttar), as the demanding nature of the meta has largely made speed creep a luxury you can't afford. Additionally, 4mss presented by Defog and Pain Split, the presence of hard voltturn blockers in the form of Gastrodon and Seismitoad, as well as general metagame adaptations such as the increased usage of Tapu Fini, as well as the adaptations of clerics in the form of Cresselia and Magearna, and the presence of Substitute set-up sweepers all massively increasing the resilience of the tier to status. Nonetheless, there still are positives with the mon: nothing can quite replicate the qualities of Rotom-W, and in a metagame dominated by the likes of Sand, Rain, and HOs, lynch pinned by dangerous sweepers such as Excadrill, M-Pert and Gyarados, the combination of its defensive typing alongside its role compression as pivot, defogger, and disruptor no doubt remain invaluable. Notably, offensive Z-Moves sets utilizing Pain Split notably reside in a unique spot, as the continued prevalence of T-Wave Chansey allows it to consistently harass a subset of defensive sixes, functioning as a legitimate breaker. However, like a lot of mons that have edge cases for their uses to counteract pockets of the metagame, the modern meta has surpassed Rotom-W. Were it not for the threat level of mons such as Excadrill, M-Pert, and the Fliers, I would have slotted it way lower than B-, but for now, it hangs onto relevancy by a thread.

​

As much as I would love to write more, it has occurred to me that I have dropped a thousand plus words for a VR post, so that's all for now LOL.

Well, that's all from me for now. Hopefully, we get some other people to drop their own VRs; shit is looking a bit crusty right now. Oh, and to address the elephant in the room, don't worry, the follow-up is coming, though, between college and IRL obligations, time is something I have been a bit strapped on, and with my tendency to procrastinate (and apparently do too much like an idiot, I did not need to write this much for a fuckass VR LOL), it might be a while before I manage to get to it. But beyond that, writing these posts has put things into perspective for me, and for better or for worse, somehow it's caused me to start giving a shit about this game again.

To that end, I am looking to work on some other posts as a way of potentially sparking discussion (I'm saving the Manaphy rant for later), as well as providing a lens to the inner workings of a tier my friends and I have spent so long working to refine and elevate. The first thing on the chopping block for me is a general post covering this current iteration of SPL, covering some shifts in the general meta, and certain details I feel the vast majority of players miss when dealing with the nuances of the tier, but I digress.

Till then, take care y'all, and peace.

 

[Fdmw]

Welp, yet another dead thread in the graveyard that is the SM forum. Anyway, here's a VR post.

Alright, before I go into depth on some of this shit, it's probably best I address the elephant in the room: I got NO fucking idea what the HELL happened in the SPL pool. We've seen fucking Mega-Aerodactyl, Mimikyu, Mega-Manetric (twice?????), Lycanroc-Dusk, and fucking FROSLASS all independently loaded at different points of the season. While there is no doubt some utility provided by these mons, in the grand scheme of things, there is a reason why they aren't regularly loaded in the metagame. With the general team quality having been as questionable as it is (Weather should have been extremely dominant this season), I don't find this season of SPL to be indicative of the modern metagame, and did not take much of it into account during the construction of my VR. Regardless, with the tiebreaker semis currently taking place, I don't envision any substantial changes will take place in my placements, and given the amount of bullshit I'm planning on writing in the future, might as well get this shit out of the way.

Rather than strictly encompassing tour usage, this VR was organized as a reflection of my own experiences of prepping, building, and playing the tier. Just know, if you see some weird shit, it's there for a reason, and if you don't see something, there DEFINITELY is a reason why it's not there. With all that said, here's the funny image for your viewing pleasure:

View attachment 818697

Instead of indulging in the masochistic self-induced psychosis that is writing an excerpt for shitmon number #237 in the tier like I attempted last year, I will instead be focusing on a select mons of particular interest and their interactions with the modern metagame. Unfortunately, shitters like Scizor and Gengar won't get their shine this time around, but I feel like their roles are comparatively intuitive and are less interesting in their respective niches.

Of course, if you don't care, you can keep scrolling lol.

Under the Lens

The Pinnacle:
​

The defining mons of the tier: Magearna and Landorus-T have long established themselves as the best mons in the format, with nothing in the game being able to replicate their immense versatility. Be it sweeper, breaker, pivot, defensive glue, cleric, hazard-setter, pseudo-phazer, lure, these two can do it all. Although I do believe Magearna slightly edges Lando-T based on its own merits, the splashability of the lion-dog and its status as the best glue mon in the tier, arguably being the best Scarfer in the tier, as well as having the capacity to compress the roles of pivot, rocker, and fogger in a single slot while functioning as the best blanket check to the litany of physical attackers while providing an essential volt-absorber. Furthermore, the resurgence of offensive sets in the form of LO and Rock Polish variants and the advent of full utility sets are more than enough to warrant an equal ranking with Gear. I have no clue if any of the lads who update the VR will take the time to read this damn thing, but if y'all do, I believe the two should be weighed equally, sharing the #1 placement in the tier.

Satan Was A Snake:
​

Anyone who has played ORAS should be well aware of the utter demon that is Serperior, and the impact this shitter has had on the tier is nothing short of immense. SubSeed sets are insanely difficult for the vast majority of compositions to deal with, demolishing a multitude of Fat and Weather configurations nearly single-handedly. This is all without mentioning the ease with which Serp spreads Paralysis, its capacity to slot in disruption in the form of Knock Off and Taunt, as well as arguably being the best Defog punish in the entire tier. No other mon makes you tangibly feel the effects of forgoing a move or item slot quite like Serp, be it Gyro Ball on Ferrothorn, Roar or Lava Plume on Heatran, dropping U-Turn or forgoing Flyinium Z on Tornadus-Therian, Ice Beam on Gear, or any of the numerous coverage/utility options run on the multitude of defensive mons Serp can find entries on and begin snowballing against. Additionally, the shift away from Rocky Helmet utility variants, in particular on HO structures, has added a new dimension to its utility, with innovations such as full utility Lando-Ts opening up avenues for Serperior to abuse sets such as the aforementioned SubSeed set, as well as alternative sets such as Stallbreaker or Scarf. One development I am a particular proponent of is the recent increase in its usage on Sun, with its defensive traits notably providing a consistent way of pressuring the likes of Mega-Diancie and Tonadus-T, as well as checking key threats such as Manaphy in Rain, often flipping the match-up in favor of Sun for an adept pilot. Genuinely fuck this mon LOL.

Murderers' Row:
​

In my mind, Mega-Tyranitar, Mega-Diancie, Mega-Charizard-Y, Mega-Charizard-X, and Mega-Alakazam, or Mega-Swampert (which presents some strong arguments for the number 5 slot), consist of the Top 5 Megas in the modern metagame, with all 6 Megas collectively encompassing the most dangerous styles in the current metagame: Sand, Bulky Offense, Sun, Hyper Offense, Psyspam, and Rain, respectively, standing out as top priorities to address in prep, building, and play with their rankings mirroring my general perception of their viability (Rain notably being an outlier, as I would easily group it in the top 3 by virtue of sheer threat level). Of course, this isn't to say these Megas are beholden to their styles, as versatility is the name of the game in SM, with all members being interchangeable across select styles (with M-Dia notably functioning as a lead on certain iterations of HO, MTtar functioning as a sweeper on both BO and HO sixes, etc), however it does provide a rudimentary guideline for the expectations of each style. The more astute of you might notice a significant drop off in both Zard-X and M-Zam in comparison to my prior rankings, with Zard-X dropping from its placement as the #1 Mega in the tier, as well as M-Zam dropping down from an A+ rank, residing in the Top 10 of my VR, to a respectable, but noticeably lower spot in the A tier. With the general shift of the metagaming following a more offensively oriented direction, the Fat teams that SD variants of ZardX and M-Zam in Psyterrain would have otherwise feast on have, for the most part, gone to the wayside, with the few relevant examples of defensive sixes remaining in the tier persisting primarily due to their capacity to combat these particular threats and limit their breaking capabilities. Additionally, the continued presence of Sand and BO structures (particularly DMC and its derivatives), combined with the increased usage in defensive pieces such as Lando-T, Celesteela, and Encore Clefable, has been massively unfavorable for the pair. However, the real nail in the coffin for these two Megas is that, despite how ungodly threatening they are within their respective compositions, you really are just hard stuck trying to innovate with these bastards. Zard-X and M-Zam are incredibly demanding Megas in the builder, necessitating some ways to compensate for their number of defensive flaws, with Zard-X having the horrendous 4x weakness to Rocks and M-Zam being built with paper and having Tapu Lele as a near mandatory partner; requiring teams to either compromise key resistances or solid checks to certain threat (with Psyspam structures frequently dropping Fire resists altogether in favor of using Kyu-B as a stat check), or requiring an extremely frantic pace with singular goal of bulldozing the opposition, generally limiting their placement on HO or Heavy Offense configurations, with deviations towards other styles generally being defensively gimped and clunky. Although few things are as terrifying as a boosted Zard-X or an M-Zam in Psyterrain, they are ultimately held back by their defensive flaws and the restrictive nature of their viable structures, factors reflected by their lower placements.

MF Barney:
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(WIP) Dragonite is a fucking INSANE mon. While by no means a complete substitute for the defensive flaws present in a team (we really running no Dark-resist in 2026 on anything that isn't Celestial Alignment, which already is crusty AF), the combination of its natural bulk and defensive typing allowing it to check the likes of Ash-Gren, Zard-Y, and Volcarona alongside its capacity to function as one of the most dangerous set-up sweepers in the tier, alongside the capacity to function as a get-out-of-jail-free card thanks to Multiscale, is an INSANE combination of traits for any mon to have. These traits have allowed Dragonite to find a place on nearly every conceivable style in the tier, finding success on Hard Stall, Semi-Stall, BO, Offense, and HO teams at varying points of the meta. Of course, several issues hold Dnite back from residing at the absolute pinnacle of the tier, with weakness to Rocks and the presence of residual damage from Sand limiting its capacity to abuse Multiscale. Additionally, competition from the other Dragons in the tier, specifically Kyurem-Black and Kommo-o, due to their unique defensive profiles, with Kyu-B's raw base stats making it overall bulkier compared to Dnite out of Multiscale, with Kommo-o having an important Dark resistance, the capacity to abuse Z-moves and Stallbreak better, as well as higher speed tiers at neutral. However, several traits of Dnite allow it to carve a distinct niche for itself, primarily through its versatility, with all of Band, Bulky DD, and offensively oriented DD sets all being viable, being able to slot priority, recovery, Sub, a range of coverage options (Ice Punch, Superpower, Fire Punch, etc.), as well as two viable Z moves in Dragonium and Flyinium. Furthermore, its defensive typing, allotting it a resistance to Fire, neutrality to Steel, Psychic and Flying, and only a 2x weakness to Fairy (especially when padded by Multiscale), gives the Gen 1 pseudo-legend far more opportunities for setup, as well as the capacity to effectively trade with almost the entire tier, with noteworthy targets including Excadrill, Mega-Alakazam, and Hawlucha. Additionally, by virtue of its high-base power and presence of coverage moves in comparison to Kyu-B, alongside its significantly higher attack stat in comparison and versatility presented in its DD sets in comparison to Kommo-o, Dnite is far less reliant on utilizing its Z-Move to break, thereby allowing it to leverage a well-timed Z-Move far more efficiently in contrast to its compatriots. Fuck Zaza for bringing this fucker back into the limelight.

Fuck Mannat:
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Following the metagame trend of pushing anti-offense countermeasures to the top of the tier, Clefable has had a massive jump in usage, finding itself as a centerpiece on the two most prominent forms of Fats (being Ferro + Tran or Skarm + Tran configurations), as an anti-HO engine. I've gone more into the specifics of this set here (ignore the vitriol if you just want the set LMAO), though I do want to specifically highlight the value of Encore beyond Demon Clef. Defensive teams often have to forfeit a free turn of entry when responding to the swath of set-up sweepers in the tier, either in the process of setting hazards, recovering health, or taking a KO on a dangerous threat. The natural bulk and typing of Clef in tandem with the fantastic ability Magic Guard, allowing it to maintain full health despite potential hazards and other forms of residual damage, and survive a boosted attack from nearly every set-up sweeper in the tier, essentially guaranteeing it a way to reset momentum against the most dangerous mons in the tier. For these Fat configurations that often orient around the stacking of hazards, denying a potential sweep and forcing extra hazards damage is game-changing, flipping the match-up against the variety of HO and Offense teams on its head. Of course, the omnipresence of the number of Steel-types that permeate the meta will always limit Clef, especially with the prominence of the likes of Excadrill and Magearna in the current metagame. Nonetheless, the impact of Clefable cannot be understated; with its disruptive properties, survivability, and capacity to run a large amount of coverage to circumvent entries of problematic mons, all warrant its placement in the upper echelons of the tier.

The Tale of Icarus:
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Never would I have imagined ever ranking Gliscor below the coveted A+ tier; however, it's become more and more evident that the purple shitter just ain't it anymore. With the decline of SD sets mirroring the drop in viability of fat structures, given the continually offensive nature of the meta, it becomes more and more difficult to justify its placement at the top ranks of the tier. However, I do want to mention Taunt Glisc as a particularly underrated option, notably maintaining a level of utility against offensive structures, being able to deny rocks consistently, as well as demolishing the vast majority of Fat configurations with proper support. And don't cheat the match-up, nothing punishes a player more than one unprepared to deal with the bygone demon that is SD Gliscor. Don't get it twisted, Gliscor is still Gliscor, and although the utility sets are comparatively limited in their usage, rocker and fogger variants still do rocker and fogger things; few mons completely dumpster Sand structures the way a well-played SD Glisc does, but it's quite clear the metagame has undergone a paradigm shift that disfavors Gliscor and the structures it finds itself on.

Rocket Man:
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As though it were a mirror to Gliscor, the rise of Celesteela (resulting in its placement in the A- tier) is something I wouldn't have ever imagined to be possible, but welp, here the fuck we are. Once long dead and forgotten amidst the heyday of LatiPexGlisc fats, considered a disgrace equivalent to the likes of Azumarill and Tangrowth, the resurgence of Sand structures as a response to the metagame, alongside the proliferation of DMC and Psyspam structures, has breathed new life into the fallen titan, allowing it to reclaim its throne as the immortal. Semantics aside, Celesteela is a fucking bastard. The proficiency with which Celesteela can spread chip damage while negating some of the most dangerous progress makers in the tier is insane, all backed by the efficacy of the anti-meta nature of Sand structures, and despite a substantial amount of time passing since regaining prominence in the tier, the bastard somehow manages to be at its most annoying ever. In a tier where the likes of Drill, Kartana, M-Dia, M-Zam, and Tapu Lele stand at the pinnacle of the offensive meta, Celesteela essentially body checks the entire offensive meta, necessitating ways to either brute-force the fucker, or multiple forms of disruption to deny it from full sending Leech Seed, healing up to full as you lose half your team's health pool in the process. Albeit linear in its placement on compositions essentially functioning as a Sand merchant, the holes it patches through its bulk and defensive typing are irreplaceable for the style, as without the presence of Celeseteela, Sand would never have been able to match its current level of dominance. Additionally, offensive AV variants have been finding more usage as a way of compressing the defensive qualities of Celesteela and transforming it into a threatening tank, abusing its powerful Heavy Slams and colorful coverage in tandem with its fantastic natural bulk to trade against large portions of the metagame effectively. Any player worth their salt should constantly have this mon on their radar, both in prep and the builder, with any viable structure requiring multiple ways to punish its presence.

Late Surger:
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(WIP) Few mon can quite option selects the builder like Keldeo, with perhaps only SubSeed Serp, Volcarona, and select variants of TR/SG Gear matching the 6-0 potential of the fucker. If you're unable to effectively phaze the fucker or consistently deny its Sub attempts, you might as well save your time and click the X button LOL. Beyond its capacity to utterly demolish certain fats, Keldeo persists as a dangerous threat against Offense and Weather configurations (as long as Fini isn't in the picture), being able to threaten key defensive pieces such as Lando-T as well as checking variations of Volcarona, Greninja, and Mega-Tyranitar by virtue of its natural bulk and defensive typing, alongside its solid speed tier of 108, outpacing common offensive threats such as Garchomp, Thundurus-Therian, and the pool of Megas that reside in the base 100 speed tier. Notably, the advent of Lunar Dance support sets of Skype's obese wife, Cresselia, on BO and HO structures creates a particularly interesting avenue for Keldeo to overwhelm its checks, as the PP-restoring properties of Lunar Dance essentially double the number of Keldeos in game, replicating a more proactive variant of Suicune found on select M-Dia HO structures, allowing it to brute force configurations reliant on Haze Toxapex to stave off the bastard. The combination of these traits has allowed the ORAS titan to find placements on HO, Sand, and BO structures, all purely off the merits of its SubCM set alone, with alternative sets such as Specs and Taunt Z being worthy of more exploration. As a Keldeo believer since 2024, I feel vindicated to see its continued usage in the tier. While not exactly the most plug-and-play mon, a well-piloted Keldeo is absolute hell to play against, and treating it as a bygone relic of a generation prior is a quick way to get trampled.

Rusty Washing Machine:
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Not exactly a complete representation of my thoughts on the mon, but good enough for an opening (holy fuck, brother, fix your formatting). The only reason I really am addressing this bastard is that somehow, someway, this piece of shit continues to slip through the cracks of the shitmon filter and finds usage in tournament play. Several issues plague Rotom-W that limit its viability, the most damning of which is its middling bulk comparison to its typing and speed tier. Being a Water-type in SM, unable to consistently answer pretty much any of the Fires in the metagame properly is fucking TERRIBLE, especially one as gimped into the likes of Ash-Gren, Manaphy, and Keldeo, and as the likes of Ferrothorn, Kartana, and Serperior continue to rise in usage in the metagame (with the presence of SubSeed Serp in particular being a death sentence), Rotom-W continues to be hard-pressed to function as an effective pivot. The rise of these Fires and Grasses to the forefront of the metagame in the present metagame raises a particularly troubling dilemma for Rotom-Wash: the catch-22 of running either T-Wave or Wisp. Forgoing T-Wave effectively relegates Rotom-W to set up fodder to the likes of Volcarona, Zard-X, and Serperior, abusing its entries to rack up multiple boosts and break massive holes; however, without Wisp, neutering the likes of Ferro, Mega-Swampert, and Mega-Scizor suddenly becomes a massive challenge, given their comparative indifference to Paralysis, or their capacity to circumvent it through their typing or the presence of priority. This is without mentioning the paradigm shift to a more offensively oriented metagame, as the general pace of offensive structures have continued to progressively become more and more faster, further highlighting the bulk issues surrounding Rotom-W, making max bulk a prerequisite to even function properly as a defensive pivot, sacking its genuinely good speed tier (a factor particularly notable given the massive uptick inJolly M-Ttar), as the demanding nature of the meta has largely made speed creep a luxury you can't afford. Additionally, 4mss presented by Defog and Pain Split, the presence of hard voltturn blockers in the form of Gastrodon and Seismitoad, as well as general metagame adaptations such as the increased usage of Tapu Fini, as well as the adaptations of clerics in the form of Cresselia and Magearna, and the presence of Substitute set-up sweepers all massively increasing the resilience of the tier to status. Nonetheless, there still are positives with the mon: nothing can quite replicate the qualities of Rotom-W, and in a metagame dominated by the likes of Sand, Rain, and HOs, lynch pinned by dangerous sweepers such as Excadrill, M-Pert and Gyarados, the combination of its defensive typing alongside its role compression as pivot, defogger, and disruptor no doubt remain invaluable. Notably, offensive Z-Moves sets utilizing Pain Split notably reside in a unique spot, as the continued prevalence of T-Wave Chansey allows it to consistently harass a subset of defensive sixes, functioning as a legitimate breaker. However, like a lot of mons that have edge cases for their uses to counteract pockets of the metagame, the modern meta has surpassed Rotom-W. Were it not for the threat level of mons such as Excadrill, M-Pert, and the Fliers, I would have slotted it way lower than B-, but for now, it hangs onto relevancy by a thread.

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As much as I would love to write more, it has occurred to me that I have dropped a thousand plus words for a VR post, so that's all for now LOL.

Well, that's all from me for now. Hopefully, we get some other people to drop their own VRs; shit is looking a bit crusty right now. Oh, and to address the elephant in the room, don't worry, the follow-up is coming, though, between college and IRL obligations, time is something I have been a bit strapped on, and with my tendency to procrastinate (and apparently do too much like an idiot, I did not need to write this much for a fuckass VR LOL), it might be a while before I manage to get to it. But beyond that, writing these posts has put things into perspective for me, and for better or for worse, somehow it's caused me to start giving a shit about this game again.

To that end, I am looking to work on some other posts as a way of potentially sparking discussion (I'm saving the Manaphy rant for later), as well as providing a lens to the inner workings of a tier my friends and I have spent so long working to refine and elevate. The first thing on the chopping block for me is a general post covering this current iteration of SPL, covering some shifts in the general meta, and certain details I feel the vast majority of players miss when dealing with the nuances of the tier, but I digress.

Till then, take care y'all, and peace.

Good post