Resource SS Doubles OU Viability Rankings (updated 10/14 on post #134)

[ProNooob]

Theres a couple of reasons but 3 main ones that I'll list in order:

No Dynamax - Smogon doubles bans dynamax while VGC allows it. This alone affects every pokemon's viability, and a lot of strong VGC pokemon that rely on abusing dynamax (and often weakness policy with it) aren't as good here.

Melmetal: the post above me mentioned mythical but there's one main one that matters, and that's Melmetal. Melmetal is absurdly strong and has a huge impact on the VR, boosting those who fair well (or, less bad, few things do well vs melmetal) and hurting those that do poorly vs it. It's currently being suspected and if banned, the VR may slightly shift closer to the VGC vr.

6 on 6 - VGC plays 4 on 4 while smogon doubles is 6 on 6 - this makes battles longer, increasing the usage of stealth rock and slightly hampering the use of things like tailwind and trick room.

Theres a few other differences like the gravity + sleep ban and the beat up ban, but those are the main reasons.

Why aren't indeedee and hat on the list?

 

[YoBuddy]

Why aren't indeedee and hat on the list?

They are. Both in tier 5. They are pretty much only good on fullroom, which gets destroyed by Melmetal, which has >50% usage in tours.

 

[ProNooob]

They are. Both in tier 5. They are pretty much only good on fullroom, which gets destroyed by Melmetal, which has >50% usage in tours.

Oh I see. I'm just stupid and didn't see it. I see why they are tier 5 with a melmetal as the opposing lead.

 

[Gammie87]

Gigalith Ur---> 5
I think Gigalith has a lot of potential in the basis of this current meta with the banning of Melmetal. It has a very high attacking stat (max iv max ev adamant nature is 405), almost comparative to Rhyperior (max iv max ev adamant nature is 416) And fits the trickroom niche much more nicely for a few reasons
1) It doesn't have the 4x weakness like rhyperior does to grass and water, which is great because mons like blastoise venusaur and rotom w often are intertwined into teams. Also it has access to sturdy which is often overrated for trickroom teams as unless its focused hard would allow it to have one attack at least, or the sandstream allows an easy setup into a sandstorm team if you wanted. However sturdy protects gigalith from any one shot scenario allowing it to deal that massive damage. Also it has a much higher special defense stat for more protection against special moves that may be used against rhyperior
2) it has a lower speed stat then rhyperior which allows it to under the trickroom niche to counter certain trickroom counters like getting damage on gastrodon, torkoal unless it rocks 0 iv in speed (which based on the meta with not a ton of under 50 speed mons would be more unlikely) and just gives it more range in the trickroom sense. (no iv no ev minus speed nature gigalith is 49)
3) With the setup provided to fit a hard trickroom niche i created, it gives access to an easy weakness policy, allowing to to mow through many mons with that, while with rhyperior, its 4x weakness provides it with some setbacks in that scenario
Overall I feel this mon represents the tier 5 perfectly, as with proper trickroom support, offers great physical advantage to a team while giving it a slower mons checks for trickroom, and overall adding to the physicality of the team. I have provided a replay to see it in work, as well as the setup I use through battle.
Gigalith @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
- Heavy Slam
- Protect

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8doublesou-1131744213

 

[HeatEdgeSword]

> Tier 3
I'm going to say the basic gists of it, if you already know what Rillaboom does, you may skip reading until the end.

It's surprising how well Grassy Terrain blends with Rillaboom with its passive recovery for it and teammates helped by the fact that it usually holds Assault Vest for additional special bulk with U-turn for pivoting out. Additionally, it has Fake Out and being faster than both Gothitelle and Incineorar, Knock Off for item removal, and a choice between Drum Beating for speed control and Wood Hammer to eliminate Water-types such as Milotic and Blastoise.

I would have been conflicted with Tier 3 or 4 for Rillaboom before, but after some more testing, I can safely say that it deserves the Tier 3 spot.

 

[sawamura]

Gigalith Ur---> 5
I think Gigalith has a lot of potential in the basis of this current meta with the banning of Melmetal. It has a very high attacking stat (max iv max ev adamant nature is 405), almost comparative to Rhyperior (max iv max ev adamant nature is 416) And fits the trickroom niche much more nicely for a few reasons
1) It doesn't have the 4x weakness like rhyperior does to grass and water, which is great because mons like blastoise venusaur and rotom w often are intertwined into teams. Also it has access to sturdy which is often overrated for trickroom teams as unless its focused hard would allow it to have one attack at least, or the sandstream allows an easy setup into a sandstorm team if you wanted. However sturdy protects gigalith from any one shot scenario allowing it to deal that massive damage. Also it has a much higher special defense stat for more protection against special moves that may be used against rhyperior
2) it has a lower speed stat then rhyperior which allows it to under the trickroom niche to counter certain trickroom counters like getting damage on gastrodon, torkoal unless it rocks 0 iv in speed (which based on the meta with not a ton of under 50 speed mons would be more unlikely) and just gives it more range in the trickroom sense. (no iv no ev minus speed nature gigalith is 49)
3) With the setup provided to fit a hard trickroom niche i created, it gives access to an easy weakness policy, allowing to to mow through many mons with that, while with rhyperior, its 4x weakness provides it with some setbacks in that scenario
Overall I feel this mon represents the tier 5 perfectly, as with proper trickroom support, offers great physical advantage to a team while giving it a slower mons checks for trickroom, and overall adding to the physicality of the team. I have provided a replay to see it in work, as well as the setup I use through battle.
Gigalith @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
- Heavy Slam
- Protect

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8doublesou-1131744213

Hey Bro Honestly, the usefulness of this mon in the MetaGame is completely useless, sorry to say it this way but Hippowdown does a better job of executing the Sand Stream being a very passive Playstyle with access to Stockpile and Stealh Rocks set Very versatile although The Best Rock Type of the Tier is Tyranitar by far Outclassed a lot and he is the best couple of Excadrill as Partner Sand leaving Gigalith Inviably but I encourage You can if you have something that I Can Contribute in Form do not hesitate to continue Trying to Include Item.

Tier 3
With the Armor Island DLC, the return of Kingdra is encouraging to resume this very strong climate in the metagame. Taking into account the combination with Politoed and the introduction of New Moves we can go back to the Psyquic Spam and combined we have
something else Similar to what was deoxys- Lele now replaces it alakazam - Indedee or Indeede F That place The psyquic Surge. Returning to kingdra, It is a mon that we have to be very afraid of and with access to hurricane he can abuse the rain so as not to fail giving advantage to being able to hit hard to amoongus which is a poke that entered in the last update. Kingdra gives you a lot of Pressure when combining it with Psyquic Terrain because you limit a Metagame around incineroar that has Covered and has been a nuisance throughout SS

Tier 3
Alakazan It is another Mon I have wanted to get ahead of my opinion and wanting to Say this My opinion about the Buff that it receives when Obtaining the access of Expanding Force along with the Psyquic Terrain It can Cause Large Amounts of damage that OneShot can do Horribly and more if receive a Helping Hand in Terrain To be able to Wear Strongly. The Magic Guard allows you to use Life Orb, Having Shadow Ball for Gothitelle or Focus Blast to hit an incineroar or Tyranitar is something that we have to take into account and not overlook. We can also take it Scarf + Trick or Specs
As established in this good example For KyleCole Sample, if they want more power but with Magic Guard + Life Orb they are Very Strong combinations And if You Like To Hit The Dragon-Type Like Dracovish You Can Take Dazzling Gleam

 

[GenOne]

So I've hosted a fair amount of roomtours and laddered a bit since DLC dropped. I'm still learning what's good/bad, but feel like I've seen enough to at least have some preliminary opinions to start the conversation.

nominations

New additions:

Amoonguss: UR -> Tier 2 or 1​	Amoonguss is one of the bulkiest redirectors in the metagame, and it is usually pretty free to spam Spore with Misty and Electric Terrains being the worst ones right now. Also, its newly gained access to Pollen Puff is just straight up nuts. The omnipresence of psyspam in the early meta make me think Amoonguss a tier 2 pick, but at the same time I've been unironically building teams with 2+ goggles users which makes me think this may be a 1. That said, we have many great redirectors like Blastoise to compete with now, so Amoonguss doesn't dominate the redirection niche quite as strongly as it used to.
IndeedeeM: UR -> 2 or 3​	The introduction of Expanding Force, a very powerful spread Psychic move boosted by Psychic Terrain, makes psyspam builds compelling to build right now. The wide distribution of Expanding Force, paired with the fact that only Rillaboom really rivals Indeedee-M seriously as a terrain setter, makes Indeedee-M a serious threat to be reckoned with in the early days of this meta. What remains to be seen is whether psyspam remains potent as the metagame progresses, or whether players simply adapt around it. So for now, I'd say either 2 or 3 is a good spot, but I could see this dropping later on.
Alakazam: UR -> 3​	Alakazam, stat wise, is a poor man's Deoxys-A in this metagame. Unlike Deo-A, Alakazam's speed isn't quite top tier, but comes close. Zeraora and Dragapult outpace it, but otherwise Alakazam is a speedy threat. Expanding Force makes Alakazam a threat, and Dazzling Gleam gives it a way out against Dark-types. That said, Alakazam's other coverage options kind of blow. Neverthe less, I think Life Orb + Substitute, focus sash + magic guard, and choice scarf builds are all threats to be reckoned with. But I think as the metagame adapts Alakazam will never be a top tier threat.
Rillaboom: UR -> 2 or 3​	Rillaboom isn't new per se, but the addition of Grassy Surge and Grassy glide give Rillaboom new tools that make this more compelling, to the point where it is basically a new Pokemon. It is the only legitimate rival to Indeedee as a terrain setter right now, which make Rillaboom a good fit for teams that want to shut down psyspam. That said, Rillaboom in a vacuum is still mediocre at best - it just happens to be in the right place at the right time in this meta.
Urishfus: UR -> 2 or 3​	As the meta progresses, I could see one forme or the other emerging as more viable, but for the time being they both stand out to me as doing similar things, just with slide differences in coverage and defensive synergy. Urishfu boasts a solid attack stat, especially given that its signature moves always deal crit damage. Its Unseen Fist ability also bypasses Protect, which is very useful in this hyper offensive new metagame. Its speed stat is also respectable, making it a great candidate for Choice Scarf but also passable with Life Orb or Assault Vest. Lastly, it gets access to U-turn as a pivot move, not to mention a respectable library of coverage options. The only drawback to Urishfu is its somewhat lackluster SpD stat, but I think Urishfu is flexible enough and strong enough to have a lasting niche in the game.
Kingdra: UR -> 2​	Kingdra has been a formidable threat in most tiers, but the current metagame seems to favour fast and offensive builds, and there are only a few Fairies that can really keep it in check, as opposed to SM where Tapus were omnipresent. Hurricane was also a buff that Kingdra didn't need but situationally appreciates. This might drop to 3 latter but I think 2 is reasonable rn.
Politoed: UR -> 4​	It sets rain and isn't Pelipper.
Chansey: UR -> 4​	Our SpD damage sponge is back, and it does pretty much what it did in SM. It has an easier time using Toxic without Tapu Fini around, is a very reliable Stealth Rocks setter, and has Teleport as a cool new way of slow pivoting off the field. On the other hand, Intimidate is worse in this meta and there are at least a few physical attackers like Urfishu that can take down Chansey without overthinking it. For now I'll nom it to 4, to be consistent with where it landed last gen.
Volcarona: UR -> 4​	Volcarona struggles a bit to be threatening before it sets up, but with the right support it is the same Quiver Dance threat it always was.
Krookodile: UR -> 4​	Krookodile is a neat pick as a budget Landorus-T, although Intimidate isn't as good as it once was and its Dark typing is a bit of a liability in this metagame. Nevertheless, its speed tier makes it reasonably decent as a Choice Scarf attacker, while it can also get away with bulkier builds that set Stealth Rocks.
Porygon2: UR -> 4​	Porygon2 is a solid bulky Trick Room setter just like in other generations, but Trick Room already has a pretty well-defined framework at this point, and all P2 really does is give an alternative setter with a recovery option. I could see P2 getting better as the metagame evolves and settles, but with things being so hyper offensive right now I think 4 is a good spot.
Azumarill: UR -> UR​ mishmishmishmishmmishmishish	Azumarill had a time and a place, but it is hot garbage in this metagame imo. If you face up against a Psychic Terrain team, it's hard to fire off Aqua Jets. If you face up against a Rillaboom team, Rillaboom just outspeeds you and OHKOs you with Grassy Glide. In theory Azumarill is a threat vs non terrain teams, but it just feels like such a high risk low reward pick right now.

Nominations for existing VR mons:

Necrozma: 3 -> 2​	Necrozma has similar SpA to Alakazam, but much better bulk as well as protection from super-effective damage thanks to Prism Armour. Choice Scarf Necrozma is a strong alternative to Alakazam on psyspam teams, but is much less of a one-trick pony given its other viable niches as a Trick Room or Stealth Rock setter. It also is a good offensive resist to opposing psyspam teams, which is helpful right now.
Blastoise: 2 -> 1​	Flip Turn.
Hatterene: 5 -> 4 or 3​	Trick Room is still as linear and predictable as ever, but the introduction of Expanding Force makes Hatterene much bigger and less interactive threat inside of Trick Room.
Indeedee-F: 5 -> 4 or 3​	Indeedee-F does not learn Expanding Force, which makes it significantly worse than its male counterpart. However, it is a fantastic glue mon on Trick Room builds, or even just psyspam teams that prefer a bulky redirection support to a fast and offensive terrain setter. E: Indeedee-F does, Indeedee, learn Expanding Force. My bad.
Zeraora: 2 -> 3​	Zeraora still has its place, but with the reintroduction of Psychic Terrain builds, as well as more viable weather sweeping options, Zeraora has lost a lot of ground as the fastest offensive threat / utility support in the tier.
I'd go here Dragapult: 2 -> 3​	Same arguement as Zeraora. Dragapult's main niches were being fast and ignoring Fake Out. Neither of those are as necessary now, and Kingdra yeets Dragapult off the battlefield in a hot minute. Scarf Urishfu is also bad news for Dragapult.
Bisharp: 5 -> UR​	I don't think I even saw this used before DLC, but there's 0 reason to use this over Urifshu now.
Acranine: 5 -> UR​	Krookodile now fills the niche of "the other Intimidate user that isn't Incineroar." What is Arcanine doing on any build that a different mon can't do better?
Keldeo: 5 -> UR​	Urishfu Rapid Strike.
Kommo-o: 2 -> 3​ mishmishmishmishmishmishmish	Still very good at its job, but the new Expanded Force attackers make it a bit harder to use. Also, the Body Press sets seem less good now that we banned Melm.

 

[HeatEdgeSword]

Alright, I think I have one more nomination to make.

Darmanitan > UR
When was the last time it has been used? Sure, Darmanitan hits hard, but that's all it's good at. Its awful bulk makes so prone to be revenge killed and Fake Out would've ruined it which is especially bad since it cannot run Protect. What didn't help its flavor is more Water-types are in Doubles OU that can resist its STAB and Flare Blitz. Compared to others that are ranked in the VR, Galarian Darmanitan definitely feels very out of place if it's solely ranked for its hard-hitting qualities in spite of its glaring flaws and it should be unranked to reflect that.

 

[Commander Beta]

Proposed changes:
Those challenging GenOne:
Urshifus: UR ->1 or 2. The banhammer probably won't come to them, contrary to what we thought pre-update, but their power can't be denied, their ability to trade one to one with the most powerful enemy, even through protect deserves a high tier. Not to mention how well it works with redirection support from amoonguss or volcarona. You can't go wrong with them unless you are building a tr team.
UR ->3. Most people, including GenOne focus on her offensive set which is undoubtly excellent, however, the set I have been using the most is defensive redirection, it's not as bulky as amoonguss, however it is very powerful even without much investment, has access to tailwind, and flame body cripples physical attackers, especially priority users which she mainly resists, this versatility is worth a tier 3 spot.
UR-> 5. What GenOne said holds true but on grassy terrain teams he can be a good option, plus I see psyspam teams have began to steadilly fall in popularity as people realise how weak some of it's member are, exposing them to any faster mons, or even priority if psy terrain were to be replaced.

Original:
UR-> 3 . A favorite of mine these days, increadibly good defensive typing for the current metagame, strong fairy decimating technician boosted bullet punch and access to tailwind, if you are careful avoiding fire type attacks, or throw an occa berry on, he can both support your team and crush the opposition. One might worry about psy terrain at first, until you realise how stupid bug bite is after technician, also having supereffective damage against most psy abusers and facilitators. If you wish to further consolidate your position one can protect tailwind taking advantage of scizor's psy resist.
UR->4 or 5. Basically a less bulky, more offensive whimsicott which can set up priority tw, or at least extremely fast tw after it isnt at 100% HP. He does have to be extra careful of rapid strike urshifu, but having amoonguss solves that, use effect spore if you want to extra annoy your opponent. Plus, talonflame can 0HKO urshifu with brave bird after the slightest of chip damages on urshifu. If it isnt the rapid strike version one might also choose to burn him with will o wisp.
4->UR. This makes me especially sad since I was the one who proposed her tiering in the first place, but the psy terrain buff has made her kind of redundant. Having so much excellent grass competition in rillaboom and Lurantis (will propose a Lurantis tiering when I have tried her enough) from the psysical side, aswell as ludicolo and venusaur from the special side, doesn't help her case. Feint used to be a gimmick for her, but urshifu has taken over said niche.

 

[sawamura]

Tier>2

To tell the truth Amoonguss is Mon which is Very Difficult Give him a Good OneShot As He Deserves but in a Metagame where he can be more Offensive (after Ban Dyna) He can have a bad time However, there is no denying the ability he has to be A wall Perhaps one of the best with blastoise of the current Meta. What is the point Expanding Forces is the Key now and with a Kingdra Loose with Hurricane it usually gives Problems and together with a possible Return of Hatterene + Indeede Be very Affected by not sleeping before your Magic Bounce and nevertheless this Incineroar which can be carried clearly with safety Googles and taunt that leave him without options.

The Point continues to maintain itself with the Rage Powder and a move that can give complexity to many teams under the shadow of the Trick Room such as The Pollen Puff that helps recovery either from your Wallbreakers or the Mon of your team that does not have Capacity Recovery. Amoonguss It is an excellent pokemon that adapts easily to any Standard or Balanced Team from which we can get a lot of profit and know it Play wisely

Tier > 5

We have seen AegiSlash level in SM many times and we are all aware that it has not been his best season in SS. With the Inclusion of Expanding Force (I feel I'm giving this Playstyle a lot of Importance) aegislash can give a little Boost even if this is not your Metagame due to Incineroar the Mystical Fire or Well Said Urshifu, with the Wide Guard User Aegislash is the Best Option regarding Psyquic Spam coverage and in response to it can Contribute both Defensively or Offensively, Unfortunately I would like to nominate him for more Position but what he played with does not let me encourage him to continue Climbing

 

[fespy]

-> 2
70bp STAB priority attack is absurd. This mon can remove psychic terrain, stomp on bulky waters, has a fake out faster than everything except zeraora, and has great coverage to back it up. People have already covered why this one is great, and I don’t need to say much more.

-> 3
Chansey is great because it’s a one-stop-shop for walling some of the biggest threats in the meta. Rain, sun, fullroom and psyspam can steamroll lots of teams, and the only teams that do not get run over are those with multiple resists and immunes. Chansey is the only mon that can sit in front of any of these, freeing up the other 5 slots on your team. Only reason it’s not higher is the prevalence of knock off and close combat.

 

[Test Bots]

UR --> 2

Scizor shines in this meta due its defensive and offensive attributes. For example, Scizor can switch into Rillaboom and OHKO it (calc below). If Scizor uses SG, it can safely switch into Venu/Amoonguss and defeat/ignore them, too. Basically, it's good against most Grass types. Other mons it seems to excel at beating are Psy Spam, Rock types (Tyranitar/Terrakion), Fairy Types (Togekiss/Whimsicott), and simply, frail enough mons. Scizor also has great applicable Speed. It can outspeed 100 Spe mons like Volcarona through TW and with no Spe investment at all. Note that Scizor itself can be a TW setter as well.

252+ Atk Life Orb Technician Scizor Dual Wingbeat (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Rillaboom-Gmax: 410-484 (101.4 - 119.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO

-1 252+ Atk Life Orb Technician Scizor Dual Wingbeat (2 hits) vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Volcarona: 354-422 (113.8 - 135.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO

 

[GenOne]

Goth 1 -> 2, or everything else +1

I agree with most of the noms coming in, but also notice that few Pokémon have been nominated to tier 1. As it currently stands, goth is the only tier 1 mon on the VR.

I still think goth is one of the better Pokémon in the metagame, but I don’t think it deserves to be in a league of its own. So many of the new DLC options have access to pivoting moves as well.

 

[Kenpwnchi]

Is it possible to say we have no Tier 1 rn?

 

[ProNooob]

Is it possible to say we have no Tier 1 rn?

Totally. I may not be the best doubles OU player but there isn't always need something that is a staple/is very easy to put on a team with 5 pokemon.

 

[tennisace]

I think the issue is that there are a couple of big, meta defining archetypes (rain, psyspam) that don't fit neatly into a VR because the individual components aren't overwhelmingly good on their own. I'd consider pairs like Poli + Kingdra or Indeedee + (insert psychic partner) tier 1, but not on their own.

That said, I do think Rillaboom is good enough to be nommed to Tier 1. It isn't overwhelming or anything, but Grassy Glide + resetting Psychic Terrain for partners + Fake Out + good all around stats + good coverage makes it a very solid pick in this metagame. Unless you're dedicating your team to another terrain, there are few teams that cannot benefit from the support and offense Rillaboom provides right now.

 

[ProNooob]

I think the issue is that there are a couple of big, meta defining archetypes (rain, psyspam) that don't fit neatly into a VR because the individual components aren't overwhelmingly good on their own. I'd consider pairs like Poli + Kingdra or Indeedee + (insert psychic partner) tier 1, but not on their own.

That said, I do think Rillaboom is good enough to be nommed to Tier 1. It isn't overwhelming or anything, but Grassy Glide + resetting Psychic Terrain for partners + Fake Out + good all around stats + good coverage makes it a very solid pick in this metagame. Unless you're dedicating your team to another terrain, there are few teams that cannot benefit from the support and offense Rillaboom provides right now.

So, would you say we should nominate kingdra AND politoed as an individual unit rather than 2 different mons for tier 1? That would make sense, as kingdra without toad is kinda bad, but with toad deserves tier 1. Same could be said for indeedee and alakazam.

 

[tennisace]

So, would you say we should nominate kingdra AND politoed as an individual unit rather than 2 different mons for tier 1? That would make sense, as kingdra without toad is kinda bad, but with toad deserves tier 1. Same could be said for indeedee and alakazam.

No, I wouldn't (and didn't) say that. I don't think we're accepting nominations of cores to the VR thread.

 

[qsns]

The DLC metagame is characterized by the most incredible support Pokemon we've ever seen. This will inform most of these nominations - at the top, you're either an amazing support Pokemon, you're one of the few effective damage dealers, or you suck.

Support noms:


Blastoise -> 1
Blastoise was already a great Pokemon before the DLC drop and Flip Turn patched up its only weakness in staying on the field once Fake Out + FM wore out their usefulness. Completely controls the flow of the game and enables setup sweepers like nothing else. Definitely the best Pokemon in the tier.

Rillaboom -> 1
Rillaboom has an incredible toolbox of options that make it carry its weight each game. All of Fake Out, U-Turn, Grassy Glide, and Knock Off are wildly useful at about all stages in the game for shutting down the opponent's team (Grassy Glide being especially nice as a STAB move for slamming Blastoise), and it does a solid amount of damage with Grassy Terrain to where it's never a dead slot. Grassy Terrain helps you keep your team healthy and shut down Psychic Terrain teams. Very very splashable and always carries its weight.

Chansey -> 2
Chansey does the same Chansey shit as it always does, but now nothing deals damage. This is the time for Chansey to thrive. It is one of the only viable Stealth Rock setters, invaluable in a metagame where the top Pokemon have great pivot options, and after clicking SR, can usually just invalidate 4-5/6 of the opponent's team members. Teleport is a phenomenal 4th move that allows Chansey to escape the field once your opponent switches in one of the few Chansey checks in the tier and lets you bring in a favorable matchup, letting you rack up progress through Urshifu attacks, Stealth Rock, or general chip, vastly expanding the amount of teams that Chansey fits comfortably on (though Toxic is still pretty good for a late-game Chansey win condition).

Amoonguss -> 2
Amoonguss does Amoonguss stuff and now has access to Pollen Puff. Super irritating to play around with Knock Off being so prevalent and easy to click to deny Safety Goggles and is a viable way to shut down Chansey. The lack of Fake Out & inability to do damage can make it annoying to pivot into certain situations, which probably prevents it from being Tier 1.


Weezing-Galar -> 2
Definitely a bit of a jump, but absolutely deserved right now. Weezing provides one of the only checks to Urshifu & provides Toxic Spikes support which help break down the bulky pivots such as Rillaboom and Blastoise. Neutralizing Gas is as irritating as ever, preventing Rillaboom's priority STAB move & Chansey/Amoonguss' self-heal as they switch out, as well as protecting your team from the offensive threats of terrain / weather. All of these qualities are incredibly nice in enabling Chansey to do its thing, as its main check is resisted by Weezing and you're able to protect your team from TSpikes + set up your own to make faster progress.


Damage dealers:
Togekiss and Kommo-o are other damage dealers, but they're in tier 2 which seems appropriate.

Urshifu-Single-Strike -> 2
Urshifu forces progress like nothing else in the tier. There is nothing that can truly stomach a CB Wicked Blow outside of Weezing-G and Togekiss - not even Protect. Getting this in on a free switch, easier than ever due to the plethora of options the rest of the tier has, means that you're probably getting a kill or forcing damage on one of the only things that can check Urshifu later in the game. It acts as one of the only non-gimmick answers to Chansey and rips apart the slower, bulkier teams that it's usually found on. There is a very good case for this being tier 1, but I think I'm going to hold off on this one until the metagame develops more.


Volcarona -> 2
Heavy-Duty Boots are mandatory on Volcarona. That being said, Volcarona is one of the best damage dealers in the metagame. Spread moves are the best way to get around the omnipresent Blastoise and the Fire coverage it offers matches up quite nicely into the rest of the metagame with its Bug Buzz shredding Blastoise. It is also relatively easy to set up when the support Pokemon that deals the most damage in general is Rillaboom. This is a recent tournament game that showcases Volcarona's lethality - even through Chansey, Blastoise, and Incineroar, Ezrael is quite easily able to win thanks to Volcarona's fantastic typing and Blastoise's support.

Urshifu-Rapid-Strike -> 3
Missing out on Amoonguss with its STAB coverage really sucks, and being weak to Grassy Glide really sucks. It's not bad, but I probably just wouldn't use it over Single Strike on the vast majority of teams.

EDIT: I originally nominated this to 4 but would rather see this at 3. Used Paraplegic's sample team and it has a really unique typing that allows it to capitalize on Volcarona, one of the scariest Pokemon in the tier. Sub's a cool set.

Noms down:


Gothitelle -> 2/3
Nothing deals damage, especially now that Melmetal's gone, and you can't capitalize on the offensive pressure that a partner provides to make up for its passivity. Also everything good gets a pivoting move which makes it significantly more difficult to set up Shadow Tag traps.


Incineroar -> 3
Incineroar has been incredibly unimpressive for a while now and this metagame has exacerbated its flaws. It faces direct competition for better support options in Blastoise and Rillaboom (it also underspeeds both of them, meaning it provides less effective Fake Out pressure) & its Intimidate is quite useless in a metagame where the most viable physical attacker either ignores Intimidate or just OHKOs it with Close Combat. There are better "crutch" Pokemon to just slap on your teams these days.


Dragapult -> 3
Dragapult was probably already a tier 3 Pokemon before the DLC drops and really struggles to deal damage against the extremely bulky metagame.


Excadrill -> 3
Excadrill's speed advantage is not super needed right now and it matches up incredibly poor into both Tier 1 Pokemon. Using Tyranitar also opens your team up to getting absolutely blown the fuck back by either Kommo-o or Urshifu.


Rotom-Wash -> 3
Doesn't deal enough damage and completely shut down by all of Rillaboom, Chansey and Kommo-o, as well as potentially facing competition from Blastoise as the Water-type on your team.


Milotic -> 5
Wicked Blow crits through Coils and OHKOs fast variants & faces direct competition from the much better Blastoise for the bulky Water type slot. I would not use this in the current metagame.


Conkeldurr -> UR
I'm not sure why this was on the VR in the first place but Trick Room sucks and just use Urshifu.


Bisharp -> UR
Intimidate utility is at an all time low - just use Urshifu.


Hydreigon -> UR
Doesn't deal enough damage and it's stuck with using Timid to outspeed Urshifu instead of actually forcing damage with its Draco Meteors. Being at -2 is really shitty in a metagame where everything can set up with a free turn or two.


Keldeo -> UR
Just use Urshifu Rapid Strike. Also Blastoise and Rillaboom exist.


Scrafty -> UR
Arctic edit: the pants lizard must be spared from the horrors of the viability rankings

 

[emma]

my top two tiers would look something like this

tier 1
blastoise: fo/follow me with a pivot move that can honestly be slapped on any team pretty easily. haze is an unique move option i like to stop opposing setup mons
rillaboom: another fo and pivot mon but boomer actually does a lot of damage with priority glassy glide in grassy terrain. grassy terrain is also helpful for stopping physics terrain teams. again, a mon that can be put on almost any team

tier 2
incineroar: again, fo + pivot mon that pairs nicely with toise and boomer. being able to knock off or switch out with parting shot make sure its never deadweight. it can tank -1 zeraora plasma fists into cc. tier 2 instead of 1 because intimidate is not the best when the two main physical damage dealers (zer and urshifu) hit it really hard.
weezing-galar: with the large amount of support/pivot mones, tspikes is very handy to wear them down. neutralizing gas shuts down weather and terrain abilities as well as incin's intimidate and komm-o's soundproof. super bulky as well since it can take 2 lo zera plasma fists. poison/fairy coverage hits almost everything except steels. walls komm-o/urshifu really well.
chansey: one of the best rockers in tier. stoss and toxic make sure it's never worthless on the field. teleport is an option as a pivot move to get chansey out of tough spots. unfor that urshifu absolutely destroys it and zer can hit hit hard with cc.
amoonguss: knock off being super common helps eliminate safety googles so shroom can put whatever it wants to sleep. rage powder is a strong support move and regenerator helps it switch out and pivot (except when against weezing). it faces competition from boomer as your grass which hinders its ability to be easily thrown in teams.
zeraora: being able to do massive damage to the only intimidate mon in the tier despite being a physical attack is a huge plus. strong check to blastoise. one of the only fast things in the meta at base 143 spe. another knock off mon but i also like fire punch as an alternative
komm-o: extremely easy to get to +2 with clangorous soul + throat spray + great support mons, usually with fo. hits toise/boomer hard while they cant really hit it hard back. flamethrower seems to be the common third slot but i also like draco meteor to hit other komm-o. getting walled by fairies sucks.
urshifu: fighting/dark coverage hits every type for at least neutral beside fairies. hitting through protect and being really strong is dope. like zer, hits the only intimidate mon in the tier for massive damage: 252 lo cc at -1 does around 75% to incin. one of the few fast-ish mons in the tier.
gothitelle: borderline tier 2/3 mon for me. toise, incin, boomer, all have switch moves to escape shadow tag. when using it, it would sometimes feel really worthless as all it can do it click psychic for not a lot of damage. obvi does not belong in a tier by itself in the dlc meta

have not seen/used but are prob tier 2: mew, volc, whims, venu

 

[talkingtree]

The DLC + HA starter drops have shaken up the tier quite a bit, so the VR council decided to simply vote on every Pokemon that was either already on the list or nominated to be ranked. Below is the full voting slate, with a list of changes noted at the bottom. Apologies for anyone looking for a written response to their nominations -- with 38 on the slate, it seemed more important to get these out quickly as the time it would take to fully respond would slow down the process quite a bit.

voting

Rises:
Tier 2 → Tier 1
Tier 3 → Tier 2
Tier 3 → Tier 2
Tier 4 → Tier 2
Tier 5 → Tier 4
Tier 5 → Tier 3
UR → Tier 4
UR → Tier 1

Drops:
Tier 1 → Tier 2
Tier 2 → Tier 3
Tier 2 → Tier 3
Tier 2 → Tier 3
Tier 2 → Tier 3
Tier 2 → Tier 3
Tier 2 → Tier 3
Tier 3 → Tier 4
Tier 3 → Tier 5
Tier 3 → Tier 4
Tier 3 → Tier 4
Tier 3 → Tier 5
Tier 4 → Tier 5
Tier 4 → Tier 5
Tier 4 → Tier 5
Tier 4 → Tier 5
Tier 5 → UR
Tier 5 → UR
Tier 5 → UR
Tier 5 → UR
Tier 5 → UR
Tier 5 → UR
Tier 5 → UR
Tier 5 → UR
Tier 5 → UR

Initial Placements:

-S → Tier 1
→ Tier 2
→ Tier 2
→ Tier 2
→ Tier 3
→ Tier 3
→ Tier 4
→ Tier 4
→ Tier 4

-R → Tier 4
→ Tier 5

 

[Pyritie]

As a VGC player who peeks at DOU occasionally out of curiosity, why did sylveon rise?

 

[Ezrael]

As a VGC player who peeks at DOU occasionally out of curiosity, why did sylveon rise?

sylveon is a damage dealer in a format with few to no damage dealers. Moreover, sand hasn't been doing well because of rillaboom and blastoise. Sylveon's most common counters are less common

 

[GenOne]

Tsareena 4 -> 3

In a meta with so many viable Fake Out and priority attackers, being able to block priority with Queenly Majesty is very strong on the right team.

It also has the right bulk and movepool to take on all of the Tier 1 threats, hard shutting down Rillaboom, threatening a KO on Blastoise, and (this is the shakiest example but...) being able to Play Rough an Urshifu with good positioning.

One drawback to using Tsareena is that on many teams, that same slot would be better with Rillaboom. But I’ve also seen teams that run both, and double grass isn’t a horrible type to stack in this meta on the right team (Ezrael’s sun team is the first example that comes to mind for me).

Idk if this is a good nom or not, but that’s what votes are for and I think Tsareena can do a lot of work in this meta.

 

[Kenpwnchi]

Tsareena 4 -> 3

In a meta with so many viable Fake Out and priority attackers, being able to block priority with Queenly Majesty is very strong on the right team.

It also has the right bulk and movepool to take on all of the Tier 1 threats, hard shutting down Rillaboom, threatening a KO on Blastoise, and (this is the shakiest example but...) being able to Play Rough an Urshifu with good positioning.

One drawback to using Tsareena is that on many teams, that same slot would be better with Rillaboom. But I’ve also seen teams that run both, and double grass isn’t a horrible type to stack in this meta on the right team (Ezrael’s sun team is the first example that comes to mind for me).

Idk if this is a good nom or not, but that’s what votes are for and I think Tsareena can do a lot of work in this meta.

Tbh, Tsareena pairs really well with Rillaboom (if you're willing to risk having two Grass-type mons). Grassy Surge, naturally, will boost Tsareena's offensive potential while also allowing it to take advantage of Grassy Slide. With the meta being bulky rn and Incineroar on the low, Tsareena's time to shine is now. Also, Tsareena is an alternative to Indeedee-M/F for those who wanna stop priority without having to use a Psychic-type mon (which lose to Urshifu [Dark]). Great nom, GenOne!!!