Resource SS OU Viability Ranking Thread [Update: Post 102]

[MrHands]

View attachment 270611

Nominating Milotic from Unranked (wtf) to C or C- rank in OU.

I have used Milotic extensively in OU and consistently managed to reach mid-high ladder in the range of 1600 - 1700, to even exceeding 1700.

How to use?

In my view, Milotic’s most consistent and viable set in OU is its mixed wall set (with tweaks to its past SS OU EV spread):

Milotic @ Flame Orb
Ability: Marvel Scale
Nature: Bold
EV: 252 HP/ 124 Defence / 84 Sp Def/ 48 Speed

• Scald
• Toxic/Ice Beam
• Haze/Flip Turn
• Recover

Flame Orb is no longer a gimmicky item of choice on Milotic as compared to past metagames where the burn damage proved inefficient (some even say detrimental) on Milotic’s walling ability. In particular, with the nerf to burn damage to just 6% per turn and thereafter providing Milotic with an immunity to status, Flame Orb provides Milotic a self-reliant way of obtaining the Marvel Scale (“MS”) boost to its Defence and Milotic can easily regain HP via Recover. The EV investment in Defence allows Milotic to reach 370 Defence when MS is activated, coupled with 394 HP which allows Milotic to check threats that it otherwise originally could not and proceed to cripple them with either Scald (burn), Toxic or dealing heavy damage with Ice Beam (if opponent is a dragon type or weak to Ice) – Terrakion, Scizor, Dragapult (non-hex), Urshifu (non-band), Rilaboom (non-band), Exacdrill (non-Mold Breaker) etc. Also, if Salazzle rises in popularity again, MS Milotic will be sure to check it, especially the Toxic-stalling Salazzle set. Finally, MS Milotic can sponge Knock-Off since Flame Orb is no longer necessary once the burn has set in, and this makes Milotic excellent against ghost types using Poltergeist (Alolan-Marowak etc.)

The proposed moves are standard and quite self-explanatory for a defensive Milotic. Notably, Milotic also gained Flip Turn post-DLC so if your preference is not to stay in, Flip Turn can be used to maintain momentum so that a partner pokemon in the team can deal with the threat ahead.

48 Speed EVs allows Milotic to hit 210 Speed, thereby checking Adamant Crawdaunt, most Primarinas and most notably Azumarill (especially the Belly Drum set) with Haze to prevent boosting and allowing Milotic to Toxic-stall the same. This investment of EVs in Speed does not reduce Milotic’s bulk thanks to Flame Orb. The remaining 84 EVs are put into Sp Def to beef it up to 307 Sp Def which is respectable for a mixed wall set and allows Milotic to better sponge special hits.

The MS Milotic set also walled Cinderace previously as none of its attacks can 2HKO Milotic and Cinderace risked getting burned by Scald if it stayed in, provided that Milotic hit 400 Defence after MS is activated (267 Defence before MS). Since Cinderace is now banned, Milotic can now afford to beef up its Sp Def more. If the preference is therefore to exploit Milotic’s superior special bulk, the EVs between Defence and Sp Def may be adjusted accordingly and Milotic’s nature can also be changed to Calm. One may then consider equipping Milotic with Leftovers and other moves such as Mirror Coat. A specially defensive Milotic also takes on boosting Volcarona decently so long as Volcarona lacks Giga Drain (which most do not have these days as Psychic is the superior option to deal with Toxapex and at least dent Dragapult).


Downsides

With the OU metagame being so hard-hitting these days, defensive pokemon are rarely able to keep up. The ones that have withstood the harshness and brute force of the current metagame are usually those with a superior defensive ability such as Regenerator or with typings that wall / check the top offensive threats of the metagame (Hippowdon, Galarian-Weezing, Mandibuzz etc.).

A pure water typing is decent though I acknowledge that while there is a lack of weaknesses, there is also a lack of useful resistances which may cause MS Milotic’s augmented physical bulk to also struggle against very strong Close Combats, banded Wicked Blows and boosted dragon attacks such as Dragon Darts and Outrage. The special side did not get easier either since more pokemon now have access to Nasty Plot such as Gengar, Alakazam and Hydreigon.

Additionally, while MS Milotic functions similarly to Toxapex, Milotic lacks Knock-Off, Regenerator and poison support moves. I’m not saying Milotic can wholesale replace Toxapex in a team but I think Milotic distinguishes itself with its lack of exploitable ground and psychic weaknesses and being able to achieve mixed-wall capability at a small price.

Defog support is also highly recommended since Milotic is vulnerable to Stealth Rock and Spikes on top of the burn damage but thankfully, Toxic Spikes no longer affect Milotic once Flame Orb has activated a burn beforehand.


Partners

From experience, MS Milotic is a good member of a strong defensive core in a bulky offence team, especially when partnered with other dedicated walls:

• Amoongus;
• Blissey;
• Chansey;
• Corviknight;
• Ferrothorn;
• Galarian-Weezing;
• Hippowdon; and
• Tangrowth.

Offensive partners – dragons and strong ground types such as Hydreigon, Dragapult, Mamoswine etc. all benefit from having Milotic in their team. Steel types such as Excadrill also benefit from Milotic’s presence to help absorb fire, non-boosted fighting moves and ground moves. Pokemon that are susceptible to status also appreciate having Milotic around.


Concluding thoughts

I know many of you will think “you should just use Toxapex” in OU since the movesets are similar and Toxapex clearly has superior defensive support moves and marginally better overall bulk. Putting aside the discussion of banning Toxapex, Milotic’s defensive prowess is not shabby and it has less exploitable weaknesses. It is also not crippled by Knock-Off so long as you get that burn up beforehand which is not difficult. Additionally, Milotic has superior Sp Atk and way higher Speed than Toxapex which can make a stark difference i.e. being able to land a fast Toxic and proceed to toxic-stall its opponents, and Haze boosts away so that it won't get hit by boosted moves.

With the right team support, MS Milotic can put in good work and is a decent choice of a bulky water in OU.

Some replays for reference:

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ou-1157247793-9lodnyvt6w4vq14bs93gd35rckx6icapw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ou-1157245582
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ou-1158941918-kh5yt2zxjinfkddhnlujyc2y8ocp94rpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ou-1173117963-pkmtjopqynhzkelrzfnyelpuep53jv2pw

First off 252 HP / 208 Def / 48 Speed Calm reaches one lower defense point but has 7 more sp def points than your spread. There might be a better spread overall but this one seems to be an improvement.

Second I watched your logs and Imo just run leftovers.

Replay 1: Tpunch 3HKOed with or without Flame Orb and Lefties would have made tanking Dragapult's Tbolt less painful. You would have survived Weavile's Knock Off and Recovered off further damage burned or not. Dragapult comes in a second time and once again you are punished for not using Lefties. Milotic comes in on Weavile again and eats an Ice Shard but ends the turn with about 12% less HP than it would have with lefties. Milotic then takes 22 + 6.25% burn = 28.25 from Urshifu Drain Punch that would have been 33 - 6.25 = 26.75% with leftovers and no burn. Milotic then had a stall match against Cofag that Milotic won, but was forced to waste far more PP Recovering than it would have otherwise. You then stall out Urshifu and Dragapult where again, Burn and loss of passive healing was more relevant than 50%+ defense boost.

tl;dr R1 Leftovers was strictly superior.

Replay 2: Flame Orb protected Milotic from Salazzle's Toxic. Magearna faced off against Milotic and lost but again, burn + lack of Lefties made it a worse matchup. Milotic then 1v1ed against Jolly Banded Cinderace Gunk Shot at 47% (I think that's what the damage output suggests). The damage from that is 44.1 - 52% to burned Milotic meaning with burn it's 50.35 - 58.25. With Leftovers it would definitely be a KO.

tl;dr R2 Burn helped a bit this match.

Replay 3: Milotic scares Mandibuzz out and HDB CInderace comes in. It is unable to 2HKO Milotic and U-turns out. Gunk Shot + Burn damage - 36.25%. 41.75% with Lefties and no burn. It later comes in on Cinderace again and walls it a second time. It then stalls out Specs (?) Magerana with a bit more difficulty due to burn chip. Lastly it 1v1s Toxapex for a while who probably would have given Milotic difficulty if Toxic Spikes or Toxic could hurt you.

tl;dr R3 Leftovers would have been better. You could have even switched in on Toxic Spikes after 1 layer to get a similar status immunity effect.

Replay 4: Milotic 1v1s Crawdaunt. LO Knock Off to burned Milotic (+ burn) does 54.25% while Lefties takes 65.75 and after losing Lefties takes about 50%. For some reason you stayed in against Rillaboom when you had Togekiss but I suppose it did allow you to take 60% from Grassy Glide instead of 90%. In either case you would have been able to hit it with Toxic. You took 17% from Weavile Knock Off which would have been about 25% if not burned.

tl;dr R4 technically Flame Orb worked but it didn't seem necessary.

If you're looking for a poison immune water type that spams Scald and Toxic and that also has a habit of eating Knock Offs + Burn I have a suggestion... Toxapex. I like Milotic but I don't really think there's much of a reason to use it. If someone disagrees please feel free to correct me!

 

[skyhigh981]

First off 252 HP / 208 Def / 48 Speed Calm reaches one lower defense point but has 7 more sp def points than your spread. There might be a better spread overall but this one seems to be an improvement.

Second I watched your logs and Imo just run leftovers.

Replay 1: Tpunch 3HKOed with or without Flame Orb and Lefties would have made tanking Dragapult's Tbolt less painful. You would have survived Weavile's Knock Off and Recovered off further damage burned or not. Dragapult comes in a second time and once again you are punished for not using Lefties. Milotic comes in on Weavile again and eats an Ice Shard but ends the turn with about 12% less HP than it would have with lefties. Milotic then takes 22 + 6.25% burn = 28.25 from Urshifu Drain Punch that would have been 33 - 6.25 = 26.75% with leftovers and no burn. Milotic then had a stall match against Cofag that Milotic won, but was forced to waste far more PP Recovering than it would have otherwise. You then stall out Urshifu and Dragapult where again, Burn and loss of passive healing was more relevant than 50%+ defense boost.

tl;dr R1 Leftovers was strictly superior.

Replay 2: Flame Orb protected Milotic from Salazzle's Toxic. Magearna faced off against Milotic and lost but again, burn + lack of Lefties made it a worse matchup. Milotic then 1v1ed against Jolly Banded Cinderace Gunk Shot at 47% (I think that's what the damage output suggests). The damage from that is 44.1 - 52% to burned Milotic meaning with burn it's 50.35 - 58.25. With Leftovers it would definitely be a KO.

tl;dr R2 Burn helped a bit this match.

Replay 3: Milotic scares Mandibuzz out and HDB CInderace comes in. It is unable to 2HKO Milotic and U-turns out. Gunk Shot + Burn damage - 36.25%. 41.75% with Lefties and no burn. It later comes in on Cinderace again and walls it a second time. It then stalls out Specs (?) Magerana with a bit more difficulty due to burn chip. Lastly it 1v1s Toxapex for a while who probably would have given Milotic difficulty if Toxic Spikes or Toxic could hurt you.

tl;dr R3 Leftovers would have been better. You could have even switched in on Toxic Spikes after 1 layer to get a similar status immunity effect.

Replay 4: Milotic 1v1s Crawdaunt. LO Knock Off to burned Milotic (+ burn) does 54.25% while Lefties takes 65.75 and after losing Lefties takes about 50%. For some reason you stayed in against Rillaboom when you had Togekiss but I suppose it did allow you to take 60% from Grassy Glide instead of 90%. In either case you would have been able to hit it with Toxic. You took 17% from Weavile Knock Off which would have been about 25% if not burned.

tl;dr R4 technically Flame Orb worked but it didn't seem necessary.

If you're looking for a poison immune water type that spams Scald and Toxic and that also has a habit of eating Knock Offs + Burn I have a suggestion... Toxapex. I like Milotic but I don't really think there's much of a reason to use it. If someone disagrees please feel free to correct me!

Hi there, thanks for the suggested EV spread! You are right - 314 Sp Def will definitely be even better.

Round 1 - For this match, there was nothing too scary for Milotic to wall so I agree leftovers might have been more helpful.

Round 2 - Yes, the burn prevented Choice Band Cinderace from destroying Milotic, and sometimes the MS boost is what turns matches around so I disagree that the burn only helped "a bit".

Round 3 - Yes, it was a specs Magearna based on the damage output. No, toxic spikes is not good because even if it's 1 layer of toxic spikes, the toxic damage is double that of a burn. A burn is Milotic's best status and there is no better way to guarantee this than a Flame Orb.

Round 4 - No, Milotic without the MS boost will struggle against Crawdaunt quite badly as even without letting Crawdaunt boost itself, Crawdaunt has a good chance to 2HKO Milotic. MS prevents that and allows Milotic to straight up (toxic) stall out Crawdaunt or fish for burn with Scald. In short, a burned Milotic is better as a check against Crawdaunt. In fact, this is something Toxapex cannot do.


"If you're looking for a poison immune water type that spams Scald and Toxic and that also has a habit of eating Knock Offs + Burn I have a suggestion... Toxapex. I like Milotic but I don't really think there's much of a reason to use it. If someone disagrees please feel free to correct me!"

I mentioned in my original post that I do agree Toxapex has superior moves and options but the point I was trying to make is that whilst Toxapex is, without a doubt, an excellent bulky water type, I do not think that makes Milotic shabby and unviable in OU especially when Milotic still has exploitable traits (way higher Sp Atk and Speed) and has less weaknesses (Psychic and Ground); there may be team builds that appreciate Milotic more than Toxapex. But taking into account Toxapex's existence in the tier and Milotic's other flaws, this is why I am only humbly nominating Milotic to low-tier OU viability.

Btw, MS Milotic is fully immune to poison; Toxapex can still be poisoned by Salazzel #justsaying

In any event, the OU metagame is getting more and more hard-hitting, and Milotic suffered ever since Gen 5 because while MS is a neat ability, the reliance on the opponent to activate it for you is not ideal (amongst other factors). Now that burn damage is nerfed, this is the best and most self-reliant way to activate MS and allows Milotic to face off against the menacing physical attackers of the tier while not sacrificing too much of its special bulk.

Finally, I am grateful for your analysis and thanks to everyone else who "liked" my original post.

 

[MrHands]

Hi there, thanks for the suggested EV spread! You are right - 314 Sp Def will definitely be even better.

Round 1 - For this match, there was nothing too scary for Milotic to wall so I agree leftovers might have been more helpful.

Round 2 - Yes, the burn prevented Choice Band Cinderace from destroying Milotic, and sometimes the MS boost is what turns matches around so I disagree that the burn only helped "a bit".

Round 3 - Yes, it was a specs Magearna based on the damage output. No, toxic spikes is not good because even if it's 1 layer of toxic spikes, the toxic damage is double that of a burn. A burn is Milotic's best status and there is no better way to guarantee this than a Flame Orb.

Round 4 - No, Milotic without the MS boost will struggle against Crawdaunt quite badly as even without letting Crawdaunt boost itself, Crawdaunt has a good chance to 2HKO Milotic. MS prevents that and allows Milotic to straight up (toxic) stall out Crawdaunt or fish for burn with Scald. In short, a burned Milotic is way better as a check against Crawdaunt.


"If you're looking for a poison immune water type that spams Scald and Toxic and that also has a habit of eating Knock Offs + Burn I have a suggestion... Toxapex. I like Milotic but I don't really think there's much of a reason to use it. If someone disagrees please feel free to correct me!"

I mentioned in my original post that I do agree Toxapex has superior moves and options but the point I was trying to make is that whilst Toxapex is, without a doubt, an excellent bulky water type, I do not think that makes Milotic shabby and unviable in OU especially when Milotic still has exploitable traits (way higher Sp Atk and Speed) and has less weaknesses (Psychic and Ground); there may be team builds that appreciate Milotic more than Toxapex. But taking into account Toxapex's existence in the tier and Milotic's other flaws, this is why I am only humbly nominating Milotic to low-tier OU viability.

In any event, the OU metagame is getting more and more hard-hitting, and Milotic suffered ever since Gen 5 because while MS is a neat ability, the reliance on the opponent to activate it for you is not ideal (amongst other factors). Now that burn damage is nerfed, this is the best and most self-reliant way to activate MS and allows Milotic to face off against the menacing physical attackers of the tier while not sacrificing too much of its special bulk.

Finally, I am grateful for your analysis and thanks to everyone else who "liked" my original post.

I actually agree that it should be placed in low tier viability. I'm just saying I'm having a hard time thinking of where I would rather use Milotic > Toxapex. It's kind of a weird situation where Flame Orb often performs worse than Leftovers but if you aren't using Flame Orb you're kind of just using a worse Toxapex a lot of the time. It's worth mentioning Milotic isn't weak to Ground or Psychic so it handles stuff like Rhyperior and Alakazam a lot better. On other other side Milotic is a LOT weaker to residual damage taking burn chip every turn and not having Regenerator. It also doesn't get Knock Off, Toxic Spikes, or Baneful Bunker so despite having higher Sp attack it's a lot more passive.

Like, I definitely like Milotic and agree that C- or something is fair (it's certainly at least as good as that Mimikyu trash) but I'm just trying to think of when I'd want to use it over Toxapex.

 

[skyhigh981]

I actually agree that it should be placed in low tier viability. I'm just saying I'm having a hard time thinking of where I would rather use Milotic > Toxapex. It's kind of a weird situation where Flame Orb often performs worse than Leftovers but if you aren't using Flame Orb you're kind of just using a worse Toxapex a lot of the time. It's worth mentioning Milotic isn't weak to Ground or Psychic so it handles stuff like Rhyperior and Alakazam a lot better. On other other side Milotic is a LOT weaker to residual damage taking burn chip every turn and not having Regenerator. It also doesn't get Knock Off, Toxic Spikes, or Baneful Bunker so despite having higher Sp attack it's a lot more passive.

Like, I definitely like Milotic and agree that C- or something is fair (it's certainly at least as good as that Mimikyu trash) but I'm just trying to think of when I'd want to use it over Toxapex.

Yea I think Milotic definitely beats out some of the options in low-tier VR at the moment.

Perhaps one of those situations may be an overlap in typings? For example, if your team already packs a poison type (like I did with G-Weezing), I really wouldn't want another poison type such as Toxapex on the team. But of course, this is my team-building preference; some may argue that Toxapex's weaknesses are very easily patched up and its partner pokemon can be those that are immune to Toxapex's weaknesses.

From experience, MS Milotic also paired quite well with Clefable that uses wish-port and this reduces Milotic's need to use Recover from time to time. I also personally think the rewards that Flame Orb give (i.e. immunity to other status + defence boost + even if opponent uses knock-off, I don't really care so long as burn is already activated) as opposed to Leftovers has won me over.

I know Toxapex is disruptive and that's what it does; but I find it way too passive and it can easily be a set-up bait (if you don't use Haze). At least Milotic can flip-turn out if you want lol. Anyway, to each his own - I also adore Toxapex and fully agree that it is a very good water type and deserving of its current rank in the VR.

I just wanted to present and raise awareness of Milotic's viability because I have had some success with it in OU.

 

[crobatoh]

In the Pre-DLC Viability Ranking Discussion, I made a case for Durant to be moved up to C+, and then DLC happened and crushed my hopes and dreams of Durant moving up. However, I think my point remains, so I'd like to nominate Durant to be moved up to C or maybe even C+

Most people would simply say, well, why not just use Scizor? I do think that overall Scizor is a better pokemon, but Durant does some things better. Scizor's most common set is a specially defensive pivot, with U-Turn, Knock Off, Roost and Bullet Punch, with Technician, and HP and Sp. Def. EV's. This works well as a pivot, and does a good job with chipping away at Fairy types and being able to stay in for a long time. Durant doesn't do this. Durant does so many things, but not this.

Let's start with my favorite thing to do with Durant: Use Hone Claws. Usually, this move is ignored in favor of Dragon Dance, Swords Dance, or Shift Gear. However, not only does Durant not have any of those three, but it also functions better with Hone Claws, because of its ability, Hustle. If Durant manages to get off a Hone Claws, then its attack stat, with max EV's, neutral nature, and disregarding items will be 713. Now, if you slap on a life orb, it becomes 927, all of this with moves getting a net accuracy boost. It's simply ridiculous. The main problem with this set is actually getting off the Hone Claws. Against anything special, you might as well just not try Durant has awful special bulk. And while its physical bulk is better, it isn't incredible. So the best things to set up against are walls such as Toxapex, which can only hope for a scald burn, Ferrothorn, which might use knock off, but 713 is still ridiculous, and most of all, Chansey and especially Blissey. Both of them can only hurt Durant with seismic toss, which does 38.9%. Not great, but a small price to pay for a ridiculous attack stat. Here's the set I use.

Durant @ Life Orb
Ability: Hustle
252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
-Hone Claws
-Iron Head
-X-Scissor
-Stone Edge/Rock Slide

The modified accuracies of Stone Edge and Rock Slide after a Hone Claws are 85 and 95 respectively. Personally I use Stone Edge. Fire is Durant's only weakness, but none of them in OU can switch in safely against Durant as shown here:

+1 252 Atk Life Orb Hustle Durant Stone Edge vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Marowak-Alola: 517-611 (198 - 234%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+1 252 Atk Life Orb Hustle Durant Stone Edge vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Rotom-Heat: 530-627 (174.9 - 206.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+1 252 Atk Life Orb Hustle Durant Stone Edge vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Torkoal: 320-377 (93.2 - 109.9%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO
+1 252 Atk Life Orb Hustle Durant Stone Edge vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Volcarona: 1591-1872 (511.5 - 601.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO

None of them outspeed Durant, so even if you don't predict it, just use a move that will kill after the switch.

You can also run a banded/scarfed set with first impression instead of X-Scissor. I haven't used this much, so I won't go in depth, but it solves the issue of needing the right target to set up on. However, I still prefer Hone Claws because if First Impression is used, it can only be used once before switching, and the 80% accuracy isn't great.

Also forgot replays! Here are two where I used the listed set but instead of stone edge I had stomping tantrum.

Replay 1: Would've likely swept if the other person didn't forfeit
Turns 2-4
Replay 2: Not as good, but an impressive show of power
Turns 6-10

 

[Gomi]

I'm bored again
from B to B-: This is just not a very good pokemon. Whirl+Psong sets are pretty servicable on some stalls or as a lure for rain teams but tend to be inconsistent due to whirlpool's mediocre accuracy and can face issues if the opponent does deduce your set and scout accordingly. Belly drum sets are also pretty damn inconsistent and get absolutely stomped into the ground by Rillaboom, Itemless Toxapex, Specs Pult, Mandibuzz, and a few other mons, and this implies it gets the belly drum off in the first place, as I've found it incredibly easy to force a 50/50 prediction on the Azumarill user due to alot of pokemon being able to either absolutely cripple it or deny its setup. HO is absolutely brimming with options currently and I just dont see this one being as good as other pokemon like LO Zeraora or Shift Gear Toxtricity.

from B- to B: Magearna's ban has been very kind to this mon, given it hated Magearna abusing it to throw out an attack after every KO and its prescence limiting the effectiveness of Wishport Clefable. Now that wishport Clef is so much easier to put onto teams, this pokemon's main issue can more easily be accounted for in building, and it absolutely loves Skarmory being such an effective form of support via Spikes, as well as the metagame being quite a bit more noticably Semi Stall heavy, which conkeldurr excels at ripping apart, ESPECIALLY with volturn support from the amazing boots Zeraora. On top of this, it's actually not a bad choice in the HO matchup due to its ability to take some pretty huge hits and KO in return, or revenge kill certain threats with mach punch. A simple set of Close Combat, Mach Punch, Facade/Earthquake, and Knock puts in plenty of work and tends to force alot of really uncomfortable predictions, if you can put your opp on the defensive, of course. Just use it, it requires notable amounts of support but the work it puts in more than makes up for it.

or + from B+ to A-: This Playstyle is just good, even when prepped for. Of course it faces issues, like the dragons as a whole being a thorn in its side ( Especially Kommo-o and Dragapult), and yea, it tends to be really easy to offensively overwhelm if you can play around Venu properly, but Venusaur is just so obscenely powerful, and Charizard is pretty damn threatening in its own right. There's even great variations, such as Hatterene sun, which punish otherwise fine anti sun measures, like a Haze Toxapex looking to waste sun turns or a Twave Bliss looking to cripple your Venusaur. Rillaboom sun to Ease prediction by enabling Venusaur to run Grassy terrain boosted Solar Beam+Giga Drain, which pretty much raw powers everything your coverage would hit, in order make Pivoting around it borderline impossible, is also pretty damn good.

Other people's neat noms
to C/C+, I lean more towards C but yea this is a cool sun abuser pick, scarf darm pretty much steamrolls everthing under sun at the cost of low survivability, especially since Hippo+Pex sands aren't as common as they once were, which could pivot around sun Darm by racking up Recoil and denying it KOs.
to S-: Y e s , fantastic speed control with good set variety, decent longevity, good defensive utility, AND splashable on multiple team styles, while enabling dangerous offensive mons with lure sets and fast, no hazard damage volt switches? This is a great pokemon and I 100% agree with it rising.
C to C+/B-: Yea it's kinda matchup fishy but CM is pretty good on HO teams, not to mention specs is still a servicable breaker on Balance teams. I definitely see this as being a step above the mons in C.

 

[The Dragon Master]

I'm bored again




or + from B+ to A-: This Playstyle is just good, even when prepped for. Of course it faces issues, like the dragons as a whole being a thorn in its side ( Especially Kommo-o and Dragapult), and yea, it tends to be really easy to offensively overwhelm if you can play around Venu properly, but Venusaur is just so obscenely powerful, and Charizard is pretty damn threatening in its own right. There's even great variations, such as Hatterene sun, which punish otherwise fine anti sun measures, like a Haze Toxapex looking to waste sun turns or a Twave Bliss looking to cripple your Venusaur. Rillaboom sun to Ease prediction by enabling Venusaur to run Grassy terrain boosted Solar Beam+Giga Drain, which pretty much raw powers everything your coverage would hit, in order make Pivoting around it borderline impossible, is also pretty damn good.

I agree with this nomination. Sun is soo good with rain being borderline bad and the hippo not particularly enjoying switching into either zard or venu lest it lose ~80% of its health in one fell swoop. Pex can stall out sun turns but you need about 5 correct predictions for that to happen as if you recover as venu growths then you straight lose and if you haze as they attack then your on the back foot . Venu can also pressure blissey as all it can do is seismic toss and venu heals that off easily with giga drains because of their huge hp stat. And pult is clean OHKO'd by zard and either koal or blissey wall it depending on the set. Kommo is the only real safe answer but it's not famed for its longevity and it can't take repeated boosted giga drains very well. Venu deals with offense very well and zard can crush stall once chansey has been sufficiently weakened to be 2HKO'd by weather ball ( not too difficult). Suns good matchup against both stall and offense make it one of the most effective playstyles
definately deserving the A- rank.

 

[MrHands]

The modified accuracies of Stone Edge and Rock Slide after a Hone Claws are 85 and 95 respectively.

Hold up I think it's better than that. +1 Accuracy is 4/3 so 80% becomes 106% and 90% becomes 120%. So assuming you're at +1 both moves should never miss.

Edit: I'm dumb ignore me.

 

[Magcargo]

Hold up I think it's better than that. +1 Accuracy is 4/3 so 80% becomes 106% and 90% becomes 120%. So assuming you're at +1 both moves should never miss.

You forgot to factor in hustle, which multiplies the accuracy by 4/5.

So 80 *4/5 * 4/3 = 85% and 90 * 4/5 * 4/3 = 96%.

 

[MrHands]

You forgot to factor in hustle, which multiplies the accuracy by 4/5.

So 80 *4/5 * 4/3 = 85% and 90 * 4/5 * 4/3 = 96%.

Whoops! Good call.

 

[Monky25]

I'm bored so I'll throw in some more ideas for VR changes

A- --> B+/B : To me, Slowrbo really isn't that good right now. Many common pokemon like zeraora, rillaboom, dragapult, volcarona, kyurem, urshifu, and hydriegon all threaten it severely. It's definitely hard to fit on a team compared to other stuff like pex as a water or hippo as a physical wall. It just doesnt feel on par with the other things in A- like amoongus, kommo-o, and skarmory.

A --> A-: Mandibuzz i feel didnt drop far enough last VR update. It faces way more competiton from stuff like skarm and corv who are much better with the cinderace ban. Its still a great aegislash, pult, and rilla check, so a small drop from A to A- is a fair drop.

A- --> B+: I thought alakazam would get better by a lot with the bans but i havent seen it at all this month. With priority like Scizor BP, craws aqua jet, and rillas glide, zam can be quickly revenge killed if not sashed. Also, zera and pult being faster and everywhere means zam cant stay in and take a hit. Furthermore, blissey is very very good right now and while zam can run psyshock, it misses out the power with psychic. Furthermore, it struggles with adapting gleam or shadow ball on its moveset, meaning it will miss out on hitting aegislash or mandi depending on its set. Should drop to B+ to reflect these faults.

C- --> UR: I haven't seen this thing at all. What does it even do? Someone could clarify but the fact that this pokemon is nonexistent means that it should'nt even be ranked.

Other noms I agree with but wont elaborate on
Durant UR--> C

A+ --> A

C+ --> B-/B

B- --> C+

A+ --> S-

B--> B-

+

B+ --> A-

 

[PimpParasect]

View attachment 271400C- --> UR: I haven't seen this thing at all. What does it even do? Someone could clarify but the fact that this pokemon is nonexistent means that it should'nt even be ranked.

Mienshao has a decent niche as a pivot, one of the best attributes is outspeeding base 100s at +1 with a scarf set which is solid enough for C-. Pivoting with regenerator and not needing to run boots over scarf gives it more leeway to revenge kill dangerous sweepers while pivoting with u-turn, and its coverage lets it RK quite a few key threat (volc after a quiver dance with stone edge, dragapult with knock off, close combat for the blobs and hydreigon, etc.)

Is it good? no. Does it have a niche? Yes, that's basically C-.

 

[MrHands]

View attachment 271400C- --> UR: I haven't seen this thing at all. What does it even do? Someone could clarify but the fact that this pokemon is nonexistent means that it should'nt even be ranked.

I mean if Mimikyu is C- then Mienshao is probably usable. But seriously it has 125 base attack and LO High Jump Kick as well as usable 95 base SA for stuff like Grass Knot. It has a good movepool as well. Regenerator lets it do stupid stuff like click Swords Dance with minimal risk and come back in later even if it predicts wrong. There's also Choice Scarf / Band which isn't terrible. It's the 4th fastest thing in OU, 5th if you consider Jolly Hawlucha to be a thing (it isn't really).

 

[Monky25]

Mienshao has a decent niche as a pivot, one of the best attributes is outspeeding base 100s at +1 with a scarf set which is solid enough for C-. Pivoting with regenerator and not needing to run boots over scarf gives it more leeway to revenge kill dangerous sweepers while pivoting with u-turn, and its coverage lets it RK quite a few key threat (volc after a quiver dance with stone edge, dragapult with knock off, close combat for the blobs and hydreigon, etc.)

Is it good? no. Does it have a niche? Yes, that's basically C-.

I mean if Mimikyu is C- then Mienshao is probably usable. But seriously it has 125 base attack and LO High Jump Kick as well as usable 95 base SA for stuff like Grass Knot. It has a good movepool as well. Regenerator lets it do stupid stuff like click Swords Dance with minimal risk and come back in later even if it predicts wrong. There's also Choice Scarf / Band which isn't terrible. It's the 4th fastest thing in OU, 5th if you consider Jolly Hawlucha to be a thing (it isn't really).

I guess you’re both right about explaining it’s niche. Thanks for helping me understand mienshaos viability better

 

[Dreadfury]

A few of my own thoughts:

-->A+

Rillaboom has officially solidified itself as one of the biggest, most incredibly versatile threats in the OU tier and I feel that A sells it painfully short in that regard. It benefits tremendously from the Magearna and Cinderace bans, moreso than an A-ranking suggests, and is a staple of almost all forms of Hyper Offense.

--> B+

I think Hawlucha is certainly well beyond the level of the likes of Tangrowth or Reuniclus, and it is the star player of some of the best Hyper Offense teams the tier has to offer. It has near-perfect synergy with the incredible Rillaboom, and this synergy plus Rillaboom simply getting better and better as time passes is plenty of reason for it to rise in my opinion. Hyper Offense and Stall are dominating the ladder currently, and Hawlucha is both one of the best Hyper Offense mons and one of the best offensive answers to Hyper Offense teams.

--> A- or A
--> B or even B+
--> UR --> C+

Representative of Sun as an entire archetype; I think the Sun-specific offensive cores are downright absurd currently. Specs Zard and Scarf Darm are incredibly powerful threats that help patch up Venusaur's few flaws as a sweeper. I think Sun is by far the best weather archetype in the meta (besides maybe semi-Sand?) and ranking its unique threats higher than they currently are would be an accurate reflection of this.

(By the way, I'm working on gathering some replays of more underrated Sun abusers I'd like to nominate separately)

(This is the wet one) --> B

Rain isn't a bad archetype and Urshifu-R is essentially Ash-Greninja on a budget for modern Rain squads. I think it has plenty of merit and, while not at the level of its ridiculously strong Dark brother, it should probably be ranked a little higher.

--> S-

If Zeraora should rise (and I firmly believe it absolutely should), so should Dragapult. Dragapult is one of the tier's best forms of speed control, a phenomenal offensive pivot, a great wallbreaker, and a great sweeper. Dragapult has an absurd amount of set diversity and, in my opinion, I think its Choice Scarf set is criminally underrated currently. Even if Scarf couldn't be used to effectively revenge kill a great deal of threats (it's a phenomenal anti-weather countermeasure!, its most common sets are plenty good enough to warrant a rise to either S or an S- subrank below the likes of Clef and Pex. This thing and Zeraora are very clearly better than anything else in their existing subrank but the other things in A+ barring Excadrill most certainly deserve their spots up there.

--> C+

There are still times where this thing catches me off-guard, but those times usually involve me not running Toxapex on a team. If I am running Toxapex on a team, this thing simply doesn't present a threat to me. With Toxapex being as absurdly oppressive as it currently is, I don't think this thing should be anywhere near the B-ranks currently.

--> C or C+

Durant does Durant things. Its Hone Claws set is a ferocious breaker in its own right, and First Impression is a downright phenomenal tool to have at a team's disposal in a tier with threats like Rillaboom, Venusaur, Hydreigon, Zeraora, and the like crawling around on every other team. Durant's strong albeit inconsistent priority offers teams a phenomenal revenge killing tool against many fast but somewhat frail offensive threats.

And, finally...

--> B+

This thing is an absolute force to be reckoned on Hyper Offense teams, and I think it could potentially rise based on that powerful role it plays on said HO teams.

 

[The Dragon Master]

B- ->B or Higher

Charizard is too good for B- rank. As everyone has said sun is good now and the ability to break every wall in the game is rather nice for sun which has no trouble dealing with offense ( because)
It's speed tier is great for the tier as only 3 mons (granted those mons are very good) can outspeed it.

to C or C-

Darm deserves to be ranked but I don't think it's c+ material as of yet . Torkoal and zard are sun staples by now and stacking another fire type is not ideal. Cinderace was so good that it was worth this . Also libero meant it could change types . Darm also gets worn down quick and can't do much to hippo other than trick in which case it loses scarf meaning it then gets outsped by Urshifu and other stuff like volc which is not ideal.

 

[Ur local kangaroo]

A- -> B+: I know I'm kind of beating a dead horse, but Slowbro is honestly a worse Toxapex, Compared to Toxapex, it has a worse defensive typing, Water/Psychic isn't a bad type combo at all, but Unlike Toxapex (which only has to worry about Electric, Ground, and Psychic Types) Slowbro has to worry about Grass, Electric, Ghost, Bug, and Dark Types; Also It Cripples hard from being Knock Off'd, because it's gonna lose its Heavy-Duty Boots or its Rocky Helmet, did I mention that Knock Off is really widespread on Physical Attackers; and it Cripples to Toxic and Tox Spikes (With no Heavy-Duty Boots) Toxapex just absorbs Toxic And Tox Spikes, and while Toxapex has low HP for a wall, It has Great Defense (152 Def and 142 Sp. D)
While Slowbro has good HP it has Good Defense but ok Sp. D (110 Def, 80 Sp. D), I'll Admit that Teleport is the one thing that makes Slowbro better than Toxapex, but it's not much

A+ -> A: Has this Pokemon seen any usage in OU recently? I Know I don't have the best memory, But I don't remember Seeing Excadrill Usage in OU in Post-DLC 1
Edit: as it turns out, I sort of correct on Not Seeing Excadrill, It Saw Lower than usual usage from 8-09 to 8-23, most likely due to Magearna and Cinderace Being Banned, But now it has tons of usage (34% to be exact as of 8-27) (Source: babiri.net)

 

[ReadTheMango]

A+ -> A: Has this Pokemon seen any usage in OU recently? I Know I don't have the best memory, But I don't remember Seeing Excadrill Usage in OU in Post-DLC 1

A plethora of mold breaker sets have been seeing usage. Primarily leftovers with a regular EV spread, but also sash on HO and scarf occasionally for speed control. Sand Rush has been seeing a bit of use at the higher end of the ladder as well, with Tyranitar as a partner (which has been interesting to see). Overall I think driller has about 25% usage if babiri.net is to be believed. That's a huge chunk of usage, and its pretty effective too. Yes there's a bunch of Skarm and Corviknight around, but there are plenty of answers to those in the game to pair this mon with. It puts a huge amount of pressure on the steel bird user to keep them healthy.

I agree Drill isn't at the top of A+ but it is a damn good mon. I would have to disagree with this nomination specifically.

 

[Dreadfury]

I've returned to make my second post in 24 hours; after having promised to bring home replays of more niche Sun abusers that I feel could deserve a mention on the VR, and attempting and failing miserably to ladder with a proper Hail team, I instead toyed around with a very, very different beast. And what an absolute beast it is, should it be given the support it needs to break holes left and right.

I nominate Golurk from Unranked to C- or C

Just as was the case with my Charizard nomination several months ago, I can assure you all that this is not an elaborate shitpost; if Shuckle and by extension Webs HO is going to be ranked anywhere (it's currently in C) on this VR I firmly believe Golurk should have a place at least one subrank below it due to a series of very unique traits it offers for Webs teams.

"Why Golurk?"

Golurk always had what was in theory an incredibly good offensive typing and a formidable Attack stat to complement it; however, it lacked a good Ghost STAB, which held it back tremendously from any semblance of OU viability. With the Isle of Armor DLC introducing several new and impactful moves, Golurk got a fun new toy to play around with: Poltergeist. With this, Golurk now has access to two incredibly powerful and spammable STAB options that can 2HKO the overwhelming majority of the tier.

While the existence of Rillaboom, Crawdaunt, and Mandibuzz hold Golurk back quite significantly, with the former two threatening to revenge kill it and the latter being the closest possible thing to a "counter" the tier has to offer, Golurk offers immense wallbreaking capabilities that allow it to tear holes in the tier's common defensive teams for teammates like Urshifu or Azumarill to take advantage of. Cinderace's ban benefits Golurk by giving it less competition in the wallbreaking department and one fewer Sucker Punch user to worry about ending a sweep.

Golurk greatly appreciates how good Clefable and Toxapex currently are; it is one of the few threats in the tier that can consistently pressure Toxapex with damage it simply cannot heal through (and it threatens an OHKO after Rocks) and Clefable can only 3HKO it while Golurk threatens it with a pretty comfortable 2HKO with Poltergeist.

Golurk also has access to the ever-annoying No Guard Dynamic Punch; while this is honestly a massive gimmick compared to Golurk's absurd STABs, it also plays an integral role in making Golurk impossible to truly counter. The guarantee to confuse any switchin gives Golurk a decent chance of turning its very few defensive checks into cannon fodder

Golurk wouldn't be viable based on its wallbreaking prowess alone; however, with Sticky Web support, Golurk can truly shine by suddenly being able to threaten virtually every staple of traditional offensive teams with a clean OHKO while simultaneously making up for its otherwise painful Speed tier if it's running an Adamant nature.

Golurk's defensive typing may not be particularly good, but in the context of one of the most anti-Offensive Offense playstyles in the tier it provides Sticky Web teams with some very important qualities:

• Golurk's Ghost typing allows it to spinblock against Excadrill, who wants absolutely nothing to do with a healthy Golurk.
• Golurk's Ground typing offers a resistance to Stealth Rock and an immunity to common Electric moves and Thunder Wave.
• Golurk's natural bulk allows it to eat a Knock Off from Boots Zeraora even after Stealth Rock damage, threatening one of the tier's most effective means of speed control.
• Golurk completely walls Defog Corviknight, which has recently overtaken Mandibuzz as the tier's premiere Defogger.

While I could potentially list an enormous wall of calcs showcasing everything Golurk can nuke from orbit, I'd argue that the replays I'll provide will speak more volumes than anything a long list of calcs ever could.

Obligatory Replays:

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ou-1175187813

Golurk comes in on my opponent's Excadrill's Rapid Spin, ensuring that it both keeps the Sticky Webs up and gets a free turn to set up a Rock Polish. My opponent would've been completely swept by Golurk at this point, as everything on his team was threatened by an OHKO at this point.

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ou-1175323193-zjq8m64ct6yalpnsy4u3oby2olxjk7lpw

Golurk sets up on Hatterene (an upwardly-trending threat), who cannot OHKO it back; at +3 (showcased here through my idiocy in letting my own Webs get bounced back, but replicable with one Rock Polish and Webs on the opponent's side of the field) it hits 522 Speed, outpacing Modest Venusaur and having enough power to OHKO it from full 75% of the time.

TL;DR: Golurk benefits greatly from several metagame trends and has a great set of traits that enable it to provide a lot for Webs teams; while Webs isn't more than a pretty good niche archetype at best, the playstyle is viable enough to be ranked and Golurk works so well on these teams that it should receive a low to mid C-ranking to showcase this.

EDIT: By the way, the Golurk team isn't something I made. This was sugarhigh's Golurk Webs team, which I thought seemed fun initially.

 

[badmonting]

Amoonguss--> A- to A

Amoonguss has just been probably the most consistent physical wall for me. I think it gained quite a bit from the cinderace ban, as cinderace was obviously something it was highly threatened by. In addition, w/ the magearna + cinderace ban making Rillaboom one of the bonafide offensive mons in the tier, Amoonguss has been one of it's few reliable checks from my experience. You do occasionally run into the guy running Acrobatics + grassy seed Rillaboom, but the vast majority of the time Rillaboom is running either CB w/ Grassy Glide + Wood hammer + U-turn+ knock-off/High Horse power or life orb w/ swords dance + grassy glide + knock-off + u-turn/wood hammer/high horse power. As such, the vast majority of the time, Amoonguss is a safe switch-in to Rillaboom. It faces competition w/ Ferrothorn in this aspect, as both ferrothorn and amoonguss double resist Rillaboom's heavy hitting stab attacks, while taking neutral from Rillaboom's often run coverage moves, except for Amoonguss being weak to acrobatics (which again, isn't run too often). Ferrothorn also comes w/ a rocky helmet, so you can feel free to put on rocky helm in addition to it's ability to really punish Rillaboom's attacks, or leftovers for extra recovery. But where Amoonguss really takes the cake is it's ability to threaten Rillaboom w/ a stab sludge bomb (does 66-80% w/o any sp. atk investment on a CB or swords dance Rillaboom) or a 100% accurate toxic. Also, often times, because the opponent does not have a good match-up in this situation, they'll often switch Rillaboom out, giving you a free spore on something. As such, Amoonguss generally creates much more momentum compared w/ ferrothorn in this match-up, and provides offensive pressure in addition to tanking Rillaboom's hits. Oh, and of course, Amoonguss has reliable recovery w/ one of the best abilities in the game (the coveted Regen), while Ferrothorn has to rely on leech seed for recovery, which can be inconsistent.

I personally like running Amoonguss on rain teams; it really synergizes well w/ rain and often makes the team exponentially better. Since Zeraora and Rillaboom are both generally very threatening to rain teams (especially Boom), Amoonguss provides a safe switch in to those prominent threats, and provides toxic and spore support to give chances for your heavy hitting rain mons (e.g. Kindgra, Urshifu RS, Crawdaunt, etc.) to get free hits off. And unlike Ferrothorn, Amoonguss crucially resists a CC from Zeraora; and w/ rain up, the rare blaze kick can't even touch it, making it essentially a hard wall. It can also wall toxapex (a mon that normally walls most rain teams) and put it to sleep, giving opportunities for your more offensive mons to get their hits off and take care of toxapex (e.g. and EQ from excadrill, zen headbutt from Urshifu, draco from Kindgra, etc.).

In essence, Amoonguss covers many of rain's crucial short comings, and as a result, imho, makes it arguably the best weather currently if you add Amoonguss.
Overall, rocky helm + physically defensive amoonguss has been the most consistent defensive wall for me. It punishes mons u-turning, and can regen off any damage to continue sponging hits; in addition, the spore + 100% accurate toxic support is invaluable. It checks a number of the premier offensive threats currently in the tier, while providing pressure w/ status (sleep and badly poison). Also, the fact that it can sponge toxic spikes is just a little nice bonus.

 

[ImperialGamer517]

A --> A-

Mandibuzz is now outclassed by Corviknight, which makes Mandibuzz as a secondary Defogger. Furthermore, what makes Corviknight a better Defogger than Mandibuzz is that the latter is easily worn down by the most common status in OU: Poison. It is also weak to the omnipresent Clefable, while Corviknight only fears Flamethrower and Thunderbolt. The only advantage it has over Corviknight is that Mandibuzz offensively checks Dragapult and it is not trapped by Magnet Pull Mandibuzz.

Honestly it is not worth running Mandibuzz anymore now that Clefable is once again OU's queen. The only reasons why you should run Mandi are:

1. If you lack Dragapult checks
2. If you have a Clef check and you do not want to have too many Steel-types

 

[JTD783]

I don’t disagree with a Mandibuzz drop, but it’s untrue that Mandibuzz is completely outclassed by Corviknight. With Brave Bird it is able to check Volcarona, and Overcoat prevents Amoonguss from mindlessly using Spore. Mandibuzz’s lack of a fire weakness, as opposed to Corviknight, gives it a better matchup against sun teams as well.

edit: it also forms the [fat regen mon + resist] core often used to deal with Urshifu. it’s another situation where the dark resistance is valuable.

 

[UnfortunateSal]

Hawlucha B -> B+ or A-

Halwucha is one of the most threatening sweepers in the tier, and with its SD Taunt set easily sets up over most common defnesive Pokemon, including bulky Grasses, Hippowdon, Mandibuzz, non-BB Corviknight / Skarmory and even offensive Pokemon like Urshifu and Rilaboom. You can even set up on Toxapex if you're feeling lucky (though you should probably only do it if it's the only thing you can set up on). Once it sets up, it is extremely hard to check or counter outside of Unaware Clefable, Slowbro, and uncommon stuff like Reuniclus and Talonflame. Offensive teams often need ot resort to priority users to take it down, and even then, it is extremely resilient to priority since it resists both Sucker Punch and Grassy Glide, so you often need multiple priority users to take it down. Its ability to act as an emergency check to the immensely threatening Volcarona also provides some defensive utility to the team, alongside the abilitiy to switch into Banded Crawdaunt's Knock Off, which is one of the most dangerous moves in the tier to handle.

The only opporunity cost it comes with is needing to be paired with Rilaboom, which a) is already one of the best Pokemon in the tier (and should be A+ rank imo but that's another discussion) and b) it has pretty decent synergy with it since it takes advantage of bulky Grass-types that check Rilaboom. They do both carry a weakness to Flying, but that's not a huge problem since offensive Flying types are basically nonexistent in this metagame. Hawlucha is just an excellent choice for offensive teams that functions as a fantastic cleaner that can even break down walls, and it easily fits alongside the likes of Gengar nad Crawdaunt, and may even be on par with Alakazam.

 

[sugarhigh]

In regard to Golurk (as the creator of that team) I would like to agree with the previous nomination as well as mention it does have a niche beyond just sticky webs in breaking potential with CB trick set on balance as well the AV trick Klutz set to neuter a defensive Pokemon on the opposing team completely.
Examples with the CB set on high ladder shown here and here

I would also like to provide reasoning for another nomination:

I would like to nominate Zarude from Unranked to B-
At first glance Zarude looks quite underwhelming as a pokemon with its grass-dark typing, middling stats (though rather bulky and quite fast), and middling move pool, however, with the use of it's signature move Jungle Healing it becomes a quite a potent stallbreaker on balance and becomes a rather nuisance to defensive teams as well as provide defensive utility and checks to offensive teams.
Jungle Healing a move that is refresh and life dew in one, allows zarude to run this set:

Zarude Stallbreaker Set

Zarude @ Leftovers
Ability: Leaf Guard
EVs: 8 HP / 248 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Bulk Up
- Jungle Healing
- Power Whip
- Crunch

With this set Zarude is able to set up on multiple defensive pokemon in the tier unfazed as their only option typically is to status the pokemon which zarude can just refresh off with jungle healing as well as recover a noticeable amount of health back. Furthermore it's able to set up on pokemon such as corviknight, skarmory, mandibuzz, toxapex (especially if the pex is paralyzed), hippo, and many more.

Moreover due to its relatively high natural bulk it can afford to run max speed or near max speed as well as large investment in attack and still survive and set up attacks with ease as well as become difficult to revenge kill as it outspeeds pokemon such as volcarona, excadrill, kyurem, and many more.
For example as a calc:
132+ Def Corviknight Body Press vs. +1 0 HP / 0 Def Zarude: 96-114 (27.3 - 32.4%) -- guaranteed 4HKO (essentially at +2 it can freely wall corviknight forever)
Against offense it also can become quite annoying to deal with as its speed tier is higher than many of the breakers as well though clearly not as great on that side. Against clefable it still able to survive a moonblast and cleanly 2hko at +1. And if it gets the ball rolling the two best revengers, zeroara and dragapult can't do much to touch this pokemon as well.
Of course it does has it flaws in that if tangrowth is either using sludge bomb or focus blast or if amoonguss is using sludge bomb will wall it forever. And often times offense can overwhelm it. However beyond this it is still a potent stall breaker that deserves to be on the viability rankings.

I think it's best to show Zarude's viability through replays and as such will display some right here found on high ladder:

Against Kyurem Stall
Zarude is essentially able to set up with rather ease as the mew burning it can be easily neutralized with jungle healing and because he was trap pex instead of haze pex the game is immediately over once zarude starts to set up as even kyurem cannot revenge it as zarude is too fast.

Against Ditto Stall
Again Zarude is able to set up easily on the paralyzed toxapex and once its able to get the ball rolling it cannot be stopped. Note I used throat chop over darkest lariat as this move allows it to wall ditto and able to break ditto as well (Crunch does the same thing I just didn't know at the time it got crunch so I used throat chop).

Against Balance
Again Zarude sets up on a mandibuzz and is able to break down the entire team as there is nothing left that can beat it once it gets going.

Separation against Ditto Stall
Again Zarude is able to punch in a hole in the opposing team and allows the team to break down the opposing team. It also showcases why crunch or throat chop should be preferred to darkest lariat as ditto was able to force out Zarude in this scenario.

It is also important to note that zarude does have a role on sun teams as a growth sweeper/breaker, however I believe that set to be gimmicky at best whereas this set has a notable solid niche in the metagame and can be very consistent it what it does. I hope my explanation and these replays show to you guys why I believe Zarude deserves to be ranked at B-.
Thank you.

 

[Negative Charge]

Okay here's my meme nom for the generation. Hear me out. Comfey to C-
Aloha Emvee.

Comfey @ Pixie Plate
Ability: Triage
EVs: 232 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpA / 16 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draining Kiss
- Taunt
- Synthesis / Stored Power (thanks Gomi, I had no idea it now has this)
- Calm Mind

Any OM player will tell you how completely insane Triage is as an ability, +3 priority is no joke and lets you laugh at supposedly speedy things like Dragapult, Zeraora, Unburden Hawlucha, Grassy Glide and Aqua Jet. Aside from random Zeraoras with fake out, Comfey has the fastest offensive move in OU. Triage lets our lei invest in bulk, similar to Gen 6 talonflame. This set acts as a late game balance breaker and revenge killer. After a single CM, Comfey can 1v1 stuff like Zeraora. Also keep in mind that you can CM against something like a specs dragapult so you can get all your HP back with a draining kiss next turn. Also having a 100% brainless no thought or 50/50 way of revenge killing Ushifu/Hydreigon/Kommo-o is always nice. The cinderace and magearna bans also directly help little Comfey do more consistent work.

Obligatory wall of calcs against relevant VR mons

Calcs

252+ SpA Pixie Plate Triage Comfey Draining Kiss vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Crawdaunt: 254-302 (95.1 - 113.1%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO
252+ SpA Pixie Plate Triage Comfey Draining Kiss vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Dragapult: 200-236 (63 - 74.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Pixie Plate Triage Comfey Draining Kiss vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Hawlucha: 230-272 (77.4 - 91.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Pixie Plate Triage Comfey Draining Kiss vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Urshifu: 480-568 (140.7 - 166.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+6 252+ SpA Pixie Plate Triage Comfey Draining Kiss vs. 200 HP / 56 SpD Blissey: 234-276 (33.3 - 39.3%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
+6 252+ SpA Pixie Plate Triage Comfey Draining Kiss vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Clefable: 343-405 (87 - 102.7%) -- 18.8% chance to OHKO
+6 252+ SpA Pixie Plate Triage Comfey Draining Kiss vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Toxapex: 116-137 (38.1 - 45%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
Knocked off
+6 252+ SpA Triage Comfey Draining Kiss vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Toxapex: 97-114 (31.9 - 37.5%) -- 91.4% chance to 3HKO
+6 252+ SpA Triage Comfey Draining Kiss vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Clefable: 286-337 (72.5 - 85.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

Obviously comfey struggles pretty hard with Excadrill and Magnezone (and Corv but you can throw a Magnezone on to deal with that), which is why I'm not nomming this thing for anything high. The single biggest problem besides Steel types for Comfey is the 16 PP on Draining Kiss, I have had made some good progress against Toxapex squads but ultimately ran out of PP. I think it's a cool mon worthy of the C- rank is 100% as viable (arguably more so) than anything currenty in that rank.

Replays

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ou-1176711667-o7z7wsueni70brd7cffax0zvb62mgahpw clean sweep
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ou-1176677846-vftknbzlrr16uo6nznh6ue7rkjo2puopw ran out of juice against toxapex but still nabbed two kills
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ou-1176666124-8e2i1p090m400s7vas6qg1jzlev3mufpw somehow holds on while poisoned and crit and 1v1s an amoonguss
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ou-1177038126-4pahodojyjrmdciejvc4pgjgpx1dfrkpw sweep sweep vs Drag