Project Rate of the Month: January

[Twilight]

Art by lyd
Rate of the Month
​

RotM is a project that looks to bring quality individual rates into the spotlight and recognise the hard work of unbadged raters.

Concept

• Every month, official Team Raters will monitor the rates posted in their respective tiers.
• A few will be chosen that the RMT staff feel exemplify the qualities of an excellent rate.
• These rates will be posted in this thread, along with a paragraph explaining why the particular rate won. This will allow aspiring raters to gain an idea of what constitutes high-quality rates, and hopefully incorporate those aspects into their own rates.
• Official Team Raters are eligible to win, but unbadged raters will have priority.

Prizes

• Winners will earn a place in the Hall of Fame, which will be kept in the OP of every thread, and will earn more consideration for the Ladybug
  
  and Team Rater
  
  badges.
• After gaining three places in the Hall of Fame, a rater will be eligible to earn voice status in the RMT room on PS! on the condition that they've shown an interest in getting involved.

We hope that this project will encourage people to put more effort into their rates and become better and more experienced raters, consequently increasing the quality of rates posted in the forum. Good luck to you all!

Hall of Fame

January - Simia, vsomani (SM OU)
February - Simia (SM OU)
March - patlop2307, Simia (SM OU)
April - lyd, patlop2307 (SM OU)
May - DragonKnightmaster, patlop2307 (SM OU)
June - patlop2307, MFJr King (SM OU)
July - Indigo Plateau , vso (SM OU)
August - vivalospride (SM UU), Charmflash , DKM (SM OU)
September - vivalospride (SM UU), Snowy (SM OU)
October - vivalospride (SM UU), Lyd (SM OU)
November - MFJK (SM OU), curiosity (SM OU)
December - MFJK (SM OU)
January - Finchinator (SM OU)
February - Curiosity (SM OU)
March - Lyd (SM OU)
April - Twilight (SM UU)
June - ShuckleDeath (SM PU)

 

[DKM]

Congratulations to Finchinator for winning Rate of the Month of January!

Finch starts off his very detailed rate by explaining the teams weaknesses. First mentioning Tapu Lele who can power through most of the team, not to mention the two Pokemon faster than it struggle to actually take it out. He also mentions two set up sweepers in Double Dance Magearna and Volcarona who have the potential to sweep the team. Next he mentions Tornadus-T and Mega Alakazam who are able to outspeed the whole team and continuously pressure the Pokemon who are able to take a hit. Lastly, he talks about Mega Diancie who is able to keep up Stealth Rock and apply pressure for most of the game, and Kyurem-B, specifically the Life Orb set which has the power and coverage to beat the whole team.

Finch starts with a small rate that consists of minor changes, the first of which is giving Tornadus-T Hurricane as well as a Max Speed EV spread; this makes it a better check to Tapu Lele and Mega Alakazam, as well as opposing Tornadus-T which is important for the fastest Pokemon on a team. Next he adds Earthquake to Mega Latios which helps against Magearna as well as offensive Heatran, while still doing heavy damage to Dark-types like Tyranitar and Greninja. He then offers an alternative of putting Earthquake on Tangrowth to help it check Shift Gear Magearna and punish Heatran. Lastly, he suggests fitting Scald on Slowbro as it's a very useful move to hit Heatran while also threatening physical attackers like Mega Mawile and Mega Tyranitar with a burn.

In the his bigger rate, Finch gives an excellent analysis on this type of team as a whole. He first explains that for a team to deal with offensive threats it will need either defensive counterplay (a hard counter or defensive checks) or offensive counterplay (revenge killers). He explains that the team is currently lacking a reliable form of revenge killing and that it's also lacking in defensive counterplay since the team doesn't have a heavily defensive backbone that is typically seen on stall. He suggests that a Regenerator core should be paired with a more offensive core to add more ability to revenge kill instead of attempting to play a drawn out game where the team risks getting overwhelmed; this would require removing Clefable to add more offensive presence. Or that it should take a more defensive route like that seen on stall; this would mean adding Chansey to the team, removing Mega Latios and Tornadus-T, and adding more forms of hazard control like Zapdos, Mega Sableye, and Mew to support the team in a longer, drawn out game.

Excellent rate man. Keep it up everyone

 

[DKM]

Congratulations to curiosity for winning Rate of the Month of February!

Curiosity starts his rate by explaining a teambuilding error, trying to pair an offensive core of Mega Medicham + Ash-Greninja with a semi-stall core of Chansey + Skarmory. This costs alot of momentum, which the offensive core needs in order to function properly. Next he mentions Pokemon like Heatran and Tornadus-T which take advantage of the passive core and put alot of pressure on the team. He also brings up Pokemon such as Tapu Fini, Celesteela and Tangrowth that have great defensive utility against the team, making them awkward to play around. Lastly, he explains that the team can't beat stall, as nothing can break through common cores like Mega Sableye + Chansey + Unaware user that are found on this archetype.

Curiosity's first change is replacing Skarmory with Tornadus-T, this gives the team a good answer to Grass-types like Tapu Bulu, Kartana, and Tangrowth, a reliable form of hazard control, and another revenge killer thanks to the speed control it provides. It also annoys alot of common defensive Pokemon like Toxapex, Chansey, and Celesteela with the combination of Knock Off and Taunt, improving the teams matchup against balance and stall. Next, he replaces Chansey with Rotom-W. This gives the team a check to Heatran, Tornadus-T, both Greninja formes, and Water-types in general. It also provides momentum through Volt Switch, supporting the offensive nature of a Mega Medicham team. After this, he replaces Reuniclus with Magearna to provide the team with an excellent Stallbreaker thanks to the combination of Calm Mind + Pain Split. This also adds an answer to Psychic-types like Mega Alakazam and Tapu Lele, along with insurance against Ash-Greninja's Dark Pulse.

Curiosity also provides an alternative of using Fairium Z Magearna + Rocky Helmet Garchomp. This improves the stall matchup even further, while also allowing Magearna to run more bulk which helps against Mega Alakazam. Rocky Helmet Garchomp improves the teams matchup against Heatran, as well as physical attackers like Kartana, Mega Scizor, and Mega Charizard X. He then mentions the option of using an offensive Tornadus-T set with Metronome, as a defensive set is no longer necessary. This further improves the teams stall matchup, helping Magearna overcome Pokemon like Jirachi, Toxapex, and opposing Magearna. Lastly, he mentions that Mega Medicham should run High Jump Kick instead of Drain Punch as the higher damage output is necessary for KOing a bunch of Pokemon.

Good rate buddy, keep it up.

 

[DKM]

Congratulations to lyd for winning Rate of the Month of March!

Lyd starts off his rate by removing Mega Tyranitar and replacing it with Calm Mind + Pain Split Magearna. This provides the team with a much needed bulky Steel-type to help against Mega Alakazam, Tapu Lele and opposing Magearna. Furthermore, this change adds a better Dark resist as insurance against Ash-Greninja while also giving the team a better way to tackle stall.

Next, he replaces Landorus-T with Gliscor. This provides the team with a Stealth Rock setter after Mega Tyranitar was removed, it also adds a necessary Heatran check and something that can switch into Mega Mawile. Finally, he changes the ability on Zapdos to Static, this can potentially punish Mega Medicham which is a threat to the team. It can also punish other physical attackers such as Kartana and Tapu Bulu, as well as U-turn users like Landorus-T and Tornadus-T.

Good work, keep it up as always

 

[DKM]

Congratulations to Twilight for winning Rate of The Month of April!

Twilight starts off his rate by explaining that the team is reliant on Scizor's Bullet Punch for revenge killing due to the lack of speed control, leaving it vulnerable to many fast threats. He next mentions that physically defensive isn't optimal for Rhyperior, as it struggles more with Mega Manectric, Rotom-H and Moltres. He also adds that Choice Specs Sylveon is a niche pick that is mostly outclassed by Primarina. Finally, he mentions that the team's stall matchup can be improved as Mega Slowbro + Scizor usually can't break these teams alone.

Twilight's first major change is replacing Rhyperior with Cobalion as a Stealth Rocker that can check Bisharp as well as most Scizor variants, taking the pressure off Rotom-H. It also synergizes with Future Sight Mega Slowbro by punishing attacks from Dark-types and forcing them out. Next, he replaces Latias with Choice Scarf Krookodile which gives the team much needed speed control as well as a Ghost resist to keep the likes of Gengar and Chandelure in check. It also adds an Electric immunity to the team after Rhyperior was removed. Finally, he replaces Sylveon with Nasty Plot Togekiss which improves the team's stall matchup while also adding a reliable switch-in to Krookodile. Additionally, it provides the team with Heal Bell support which is especially useful to Mega Slowbro.

Moving onto the minor changes, Twilight replaces Pursuit on Scizor with Bug Bite due to Krookodile also having Pursuit. Bug Bite gives Scizor a reliable STAB attack to pressure bulky Water-types such as Alomomola and Quagsire. Next he suggests Tunder Wave over Toxic on Rotom-H which can help SD Cobalion and NP Togekiss by slowing down fast Pokemon like Latias, Hydreigon, and Terrakion that would attempt to switch in. Finally, he changes Mega Slowbro to a more offensive set with a Modest nature which helps it put on as much pressure as possible using Future Sight.

Great work, keep it up

 

[Twilight]

Congratulations to ShuckleDeath for winning Rate of the Month of June!

ShuckleDeath starts off his rate by suggesting several minor set changes. He begins by suggesting Gunk Shot over Ice Punch on Primeape to retain the ability to punish Grass-types but having the added benefit of hitting Clefairy. Next he recommends using a more offensive Mudsdale set with an Adamant nature so that it can 2HKO Clefairy and Kanghaskan, the latter being important due to the team lacking a real response to it. Rock Slide was suggested over Protect to punish threats like Swanna with a more immediate response than Toxic. ShuckleDeath then recommends using a physically defensive Jellicent with a Bold nature instead of a specially defensive variant, which is vital for pivoting into offensive Alolan Sandslash on Hail teams. He also suggests using Taunt over Shadow Ball to disrupt bulkier walls like Quagsire from using recovery and spreading status. Finally, he recommends using an Iapapa Berry over Icium Z on Rotom-F to improve its ability to handle Alolan Sandslash and Aurorus. This is further implied with him suggesting Hidden Power Fighting in the last slot to help remove them.

Next ShuckleDeath moves onto his major changes for the team, where he starts by replacing Guzzlord with Lycanroc. Lycanroc being an essential component for the team to function well against non-weather offense, which the team previously lacked the ability to handle. Lycanroc also gives a solid check that can pressure Oricorio-Pom-Pom which heavily threatens the team otherwise. It also provides the wall breaking potential needed with both Swords Dance and Lycanium Z for Scarf Primeape to clean in the endgame. Lastly, he replaces Mesprit with Oricorio-Pom-Pom to prevent the team being too weak to Gurdurr, while helping with the Stall matchup by virtue of Taunt. He suggests Lum Berry which helps with Toxic based Stall teams, but he also suggests the alternative use of Rocky Helmet to chip down opposing Primeape for Lycanroc.

Amazing rate dude, keep up the good work!

 

[Twilight]

Congratulations jcbc for winning rate of the month for July!

jcbc did a great job with an NU rate last month and took the approach of making the original team into a strong HO for the final product, as they felt it previously didn't abuse the power of dual screens to its full extent. He starts off by changing the item on Vivillion from Wide Lens to Leftovers, explaining how the need to further boost its accuracy is not required when it has the ability Compound Eyes already. He also states how important a Timid nature is to naturally outspeed Pokemon like Rotom and Golbat, allowing Vivillion to use Sleep Powder against them to use the opportunity to set up. jcbc then suggests using a more offensive Druddigon that still provides the Stealth Rock support the team needs, but also provides it with more wallbreaking capabilities for the many sweepers on this team. He then recommends using a Modest Comfey to provide it with more damage output while still being able to outspeed Garbodor and max speed Incineroar, to hit them with the newly suggested Hidden Power Ground in the final slot.

Moving onto the major changes for this rate, jcbc begins by replacing Scrafty with Incineroar. The Incineroar set proposed allows it to set up multiple boosts with Flame Charge and Bulk Up behind screens to be an effective sweeper/breaker. jcbc also explains how important Substitute can be to avoid being status by Toxic from foes preventing it from being worn down. Finally, jcbc suggests replacing Dhelmise with Kabutops as he mentions how beneficial it is to have another sweeper to abuse the dual screens over hazard removal support. He recommends using a Chople Berry on Kabutops to prevent it from being revenge killed by Passimian and to guarantee that Weak Armor activates most of the time, only further improving its sweeping potential under screens.

This was a great rate, keep it up dude!

 

[Twilight]

Congratulations esche for winning rate of the month for August!

Esche starts off his rate by suggesting a few minor changes. First up he recommends using Facade over Body Slam on Snorlax to allow it to absorb status while increasing its power and be less vulnerable to burns. He then recommends using a more conventional Gengar set being Fightinium Z + Substitute, which allows Gengar to break past its natural checks in Krookodile and Hydreigon more safely. Esche then replaces the Z move, which was on Cobalion with a Shuca Berry. This being important to handle Mega Aerodactyl and Krookodile, which heavily annoy Gengar.

Moving onto major changes, Esche starts by replacing Mega Steelix with Mega Altaria to give the team a sturdier Fighting resist while still being able to check Latias. He suggests using a support Altaria set to help remove status from Snorlax if a Toxic prevents it from sweeping. Esche then replaces Starmie with Volcanion as the new form of entry hazard removal. Volcanion provides the team with another Scizor answer that can offensively pressure Ground-types, especially with a Shuca Berry in tow to take on Mamoswine etc. Finally, Esche suggests using Krookodile over Hydreigon to remedy the missing Ground-type but it also provides Pursuit support to handle Latias and opposing Gengar better. Esche also suggests using Iron Tail in the final slot to lure Mega Altaria while still retaining the ability to hit Mega Aerodactyl.

Esche has been consistently rating both RU and UU teams with amazing quality, always a pleasure to read them. Keep it up dude!

 

[Twilight]

Congratulations Vulpix03 for winning rate of the month in September!!

Vulpix recently did a great Gen 6 OU rate where he put the effort in to provide two different versions to please the creator of the team. The rate can be found here. Vulpix starts off with a version that makes the team more consistent by replacing Bisharp with physically defensive Tangrowth as the team lacked a much needed Mega Lopunny, Mega Metagross, and Gliscor pivot. Vulpix then swaps out Talonflame for Heatran to be the new Stealth Rock user on the team that can pivot into threats like Latios. The final major change is using Assault Vest Tornadus over Latios as the team needed a pivot into Pokemon like Mega Alakazam + other special threats. For minor changes, Vulpix suggests using a Swords Dance Excadrill for more breaking power + Leftovers to pivot into Fairy types like Clefable, as well as recommending Protect over Calm Mind on Mega Gardevoir to scout choice locked threats like Weavile and Tyranitar.

Moving onto the second version he chooses an approach to keep the originality of the team by recommending Zapdos over Talonflame for a Volt Switch momentum user that is bulky enough to reliably use Tailwind. Vulpix then recommends Whimsicott instead of Latios as another Tailwind user thanks to Prankster that can also generate momentum for the team's breakers. Vulpix's final major change is Keldeo over Bisharp as the need for two Pursuit trappers is not required + Keldeo gave a much valued Weavile pivot. Minor changes included using a more offensive Tyranitar with Fire Blast to lure Scizor for Mega Gardevoir. Vulpix also correctly points out both Tailwind + Smooth Rock isn't necessary so suggests Chople Berry to catch threats like Gengar and Mega Charizard Y. Just like the first version the same Excadrill recommendations are carried over.

It's great to see some quality rates from past gens, keep it up dude!

 

[Twilight]

This month we will be taking a different approach and showcasing two rates, this being something we may consider doing into gen 8. With that, congratulations Rabia and Cynara for winning rates of the month in October!

Starting off we have Rabia who made a quality rate on a Passimian team for the NU tier:


Click the sprites for a link to his rate!

Rabia starts off his rate with some major changes, the first being the recommendation of Aerodactyl over Sneasel, which gave the team needed speed and better defensive utility overall. He then suggests replacing Heliolisk with Rotom because it provided the new team with a solid response to Braviary and a secondary Fighting-type response.

Rabia then moves onto suggesting a few minor changes to improve the quality of the team. He begins by explaining how U-turn is a key and necessary move on Passimian to provide momentum with the switches it forces. Rabia then makes the Incineroar run a more offensive spread, due to his previous changes alleviating the need to use a slower variant. Finally, Rabia fixes the Garbador EV spread to a more standard variant and recommends Toxic due to Toxic Spike stacking and Defog clashing + it helps punish opposing Rotom.

Next we have an excellent rate from Cynara around Geomancy Xerneas in the Ubers tier:


Click the sprites for a link to her rate!

Cynara provides a lot of insight into the many threats like Mega Gengar, Dragon Dance Zygarde-C, and harsh Stall matchup that gave the original team a lot of issues. She begins off with her only major change in suggesting Arceus-Water over SpD Necrozma-Dusk-Mane, which she expressed had a lot of redundancy here with having both Giratina and Ferrothorn already. Arceus-Water, in turn, helps the team combat the likes of Ho-oh, DD Zygarde-C, and provides a more defensive pivot into the likes of Marshadow and Mega Salamence if needed.

Cynara then moves onto her minor changes by suggesting a more offensive SD Primal Groudon set to act as the much-needed breaker to threaten bulkier teams like Stall, this set also having synergy with T-wave spikes support from Giratina-O and Ferrothorn to better accomplish this. Finally, Cynara recommends using Aromatherapy over Focus Blast on Xerneas to ease the ability to play around status like Toxic and T-wave.

Both users recommended alternative options worth considering so do give their rates a proper read for my insight on this.
Excellent rates from both of you keep it up!

 

[Twilight]

Only one rate to showcase this month for November so congratulations to zf for his innovative ADV OU team rate.


Click the sprites above for a link to his rate!

zf makes one major change by replacing Steelix with Claydol as it provided Rapid Spin support to the team while maintaining a relatively strong Explosion. He also suggests using Rock Slide in order to pressure specially defensive Zapdos. He then provides a great EV spread that eases the Starmie matchup because it can survive one Hydro Pump from full as well as outspeed Dragon Dance Tyranitar.

The rest of zf's changes consist of minor changes to improve the quality of the original team. He starts by recommending a Special Pursuit Metagross instead of a mixed one in order to trap and remove Gengar or weaken it with Psychic as it can threaten to OHKO Gyarados. Next zf suggests using a specially defensive Celebi with Heal Bell to support Rest Gyarados as it can struggle to burn off sleep turns easily. HP Grass is suggested to better deal with Tyranitar and OHKO Dugtrio and provides a great spread that can survive Hidden Power Bug from Dugtrio and outspeed Dragon Dance Tyranitar. He then recommends using a 2 Atks Suicune with Ice Beam in order to better deal with Dragon Dance Salamence and the passivity of the set is alleviated by virtue of Heal Bell on Celebi. zf makes a slight EV spread change on Magneton that allows it to survive Hidden Power Ground from Skarmory as well as suggesting Sunny Day over Toxic as both Suicune and Gyarados appreciate it. Finally, zf recommends a minor Gyarados EV change that lets it OHKO Gengar at +2 and survives a Thunderbolt from Starmie at full.

Excellent rate keep up the great work!

 

[Twilight]

Congratulations to Animesh_ and Confluxx for winning the rate of the month in December!

SS OU

Click the sprites for a link to their rate!

This was a great rate from Animesh_ during the Galarian Darmanitan meta, where he makes several major and minor changes to improve the original team. Starting off with Major Changes, Animesh recommends replacing Hatterene with Clefable as it made the team less susceptible to Ghost-types like opposing Dragapult but still maintained the offensive core and intention that the original user wanted. Animesh's next change was to replace Galarain Corsola with Mandibuzz, as it did several things for the team. It helped patch up the Ghost- and Dark-types matchup even further with it being a solid Choice Specs Dragapult and Gengar switch in, and gave this team a much-appreciated Ground immunity. Mandibuzz also gave the team hazard removal support, which was key for supporting Galarian Darmanitan. Moving onto minor changes, Animesh recommends a Choice Specs Dragapult over a CB version as it is a much more consistent wallbreaker that can't be taken advantage of as easily, unlike the previous set that relied on Phantom Force. Finally, he recommends using Thunder Wave on Ferrothorn as it lets it punish Pokemon like Gyarados, Hawlucha, and Togekiss etc. that it invites in, which allows the team's offensive core to deal with them better.

SS Monotype

Click the sprites for a link to their rate!

Next, we have a very good rate from Confluxx for a Monotype Grass team. He only makes a few changes to the team, including one major change where he suggests replacing Choice Scarf Roserade for SpD Ludicolo. Confluxx identifies that the team values Ludicolo's ability to pivot into Gardevoir and Hatterene better, especially with the team already having a good matchup against Dragon- and Fairy-type teams, which Roserade was originally intended for. Moving onto minor changes, Confluxx suggests that Superpower should be favored over Earthquake on Rillaboom as it is much more consistent at dealing with Steel-types. Finally, he suggests using a physically defensive Ferrothorn as the team values its ability to pivot into Icicle Crash from Galaran Darmanitan greatly, something Grass-type teams lack ideal pivots into.

Great rates from both of you, keep up the good work!

 

[Twilight]

Congratulations to celes, Decem, and curiosity for winning the rate of the month in January! For this month and continuing we will hopefully be showcasing a total of three rates per month from the categories of SS OU, SS Other Teams, and finally Past Gens if there are ones of quality.

SS OU - Celes
(/ )
Click the sprites for a link to their rate!

Celes has recently come back to rating and made a great rate on a team built around Rotom-H. Celes even creates two different variations of the original team with one being more offensive and the other defensive. Celes starts off their rate by suggesting a more sensible set being Nasty Plot Rotom with how few Pokemon on the team had the potential to abuse dual screens support. This change forms a great offensive core with Dragapult allowing it to pressure some of Dragapult's checks like Mandibuzz and Clefable better. Celes also recommends changing Corviknight to a physically defensive variant with Brave Bird to alleviate the Conkeldurr matchup. They also recommend using Body Press on the first iteration of the team to deal with Excadrill and Bisharp while the second iteration betters from U-turn more.

Moving onto major changes, Celes explains the need to run a SR user on the team so suggests using SpD Clefable over Sylveon. Clefable gave the much needed Stealth Rock user and helped patch up the matchup against Hydreigon and Dragapult. LO Hydreigon was recommended over Umbreon as it had a lot of redundancy on the team now, so Hydreigon creates a great offensive pairing with Dragapult to break each others checks.

On the alternate defensive version, Celes keeps the Sylveon on the original team and makes it a more defensive variant to take on the same aforementioned Dragon-types. Kommo-o is suggested over Umbreon for the same reasons above but acts as the needed Stealth Rock user on the team to take on physical attackers like Excadrill, Bisharp, and Crawdaunt very well to alleviate pressure from the team's Toxapex.

SS Monotype - Decem

Click the sprites for a link to their rate!

Decem suggests a few major changes to the original team by recommending Galarian Mr.Mime over Vanilluxe as it compresses a lot of roles for the team. First of all, it provides the team with a form of hazard removal which is key for a mono Ice-type team. Mr.Mime also provides the team with speed control with a Choice Scarf to revenge kill threats like Choice Scarf Excadrill and Dracovish. Decem also recommends using Trick to potentially cripple a foe for Weavile and Cloyster to potentially set up on. Next Decem recommends running Froslass over Frosmoth because of how pivotal of a role it plays on Ice Hyper Offense. Froslass paired with Galarian Mr.Mime creates a great core for keeping hazards off the field with the combination of Taunt + Rapid Spin while also being able to stack Spikes for the teams breakers.

Moving onto minor changes, Decem suggests using Flare Blitz over Stone Edge on Galarian Darmanitan, as it's extremely important to be able to punish Steel-types like Ferrothorn. Next Decem corrects the Weavile nature to Jolly in order to outspeed threats like Ribombee, Gengar, and Salazzle. Finally, they recommend using Oblivious over Thick Fat on Mamoswine as guaranteeing Stealth Rock against foes like Froslass, which is important for dealing with the mirror Ice matchup.

SM OU - Curiosity

Click the sprites for a link to their rate!

Curiosity starts off with a few major changes, the first being the replacement of Tapu Koko for Tornadus-T. Tornadus-T provides a lot of role compression for the team by taking on the role of a hazard remover that can generate momentum against its common checks like Tapu Koko and Heatran for Kartana and Mega Alakazam to take advantage of. Torn also greatly eased the matchup against opposing Kartana allowing Curiosity to make these next few changes. Next, he suggests using Magearna over Heatran as it is a much better pivot into several threats such as the offensive Psychic-types, Tornadus-T, and being able to punish Dark Pulse from Ash-Greninja. Magearna also creates a nice voltturn core with Tornadus-T for the team's breakers to get in safely. Finally, Curiosity suggests using offensive Garchomp over Gliscor giving the team a powerful wallbreaker and a secondary response to Heatran.

Moving onto smaller changes, Curiosity recommends using a Synthesis Kartana instead, which alleviated the matchup against opposing Ground-types as well as suggesting a slightly bulkier spread to take on Garchomp better. Finally, he suggests running Baneful Bunker or Toxic on Toxapex over Haze as it has a fair amount of redundancy with Heart Swap Magearna.

Amazing rates from all three of you, keep it up!

 

[Twilight]

We haven't had much activity in other tiers to showcase other rates this month but one stood out in particular. Congratulations to Confluxx for winning rate of the month in February.


USUM Monotype - Confluxx
Click the sprites for a link to their rate!

Confluxx starts off his rate by replacing Tentacruel for Toxapex as his only major change. Toxapex outclasses Tentacruel when it comes to being a defensive pivot at the cost of losing hazard removal in exchange for Regenerator and reliable recovery. Moving onto minor changes, Confluxx makes the Crobat Defog to make up for removing Tentacruel and also recommends using a more offensive EV spread when pairing it with Flyinium Z. Confluxx then recommends using Curse + Recycle Muk over Assault Vest allowing it to be a troublesome cleaner and let it comfortably take hits better by virtue of Figy Berry. Finally, Confluxx recommends using Stealth Rock over Sludge Wave on Nidoking because the team previously lacked a user of the move.

Great rate Confluxx, keep up the good work

 

[Twilight]

Congratulations to Jordy, StepC, and Splash for winning the rate of the month in March!

SS OU - Jordy

Click the sprites for a link to their rate!

Jordy started off his rate by removing Zeraora for Rotom-H because this team lacked a necessary Ice resist to deal with foes like Kyurem and Mamoswine easier. Rotom also gave the team an easier means of breaking Ferrothorn and easing the matchup against opposing Clefable and Corviknight. Next Jordy recommends replacing Terrakion with Hydreigon to give the team a needed Ghost resist to handle foes like Aegislash easier while giving the team some Speed control with this next change.

Jordy then moves onto minor changes as he recommends they run a Hex Dragapult over a Choice Scarf set as it helped ease the Toxapex matchup greatly. He then suggests that Seismitoad be his Knock Off user with the removal of Zeraora as punishing Clefable and Ferrothorn is appreciated a lot here. Jordy then changes the Corviknight set to have both Iron Head and Body Press to help deal with foes like Clefable, Bisharp, and Excadrill. He also suggests a mixed spread with more SpD investment to help with Dragapult and Clefable. Finally, Jordy recommends running minor SpD investment on their Clefable to deal with Leftovers Dragapult easier.

SS Monotype - Splash

Click the sprites for a link to their rate!

Splash begins their rate by replacing Piloswine with Mamoswine as it fits the nature of an offensive Ice team far greater than Piloswine. Splash recommends a Sash Stealth Rock set with Oblivious to guarantee that Stealth Rock can get up. He also suggests running Endeavor to punish faster foes attempting to 2HKO it, allowing it to pick them off with Ice Shard. Next, he suggests using Weavile over Froslass as it gives the team a strong breaker, more Speed control, and eases the matchup against Steel with Low Kick + Knock Off.

Moving onto minor changes, Splash suggests using Encore over Extrasensory on Alolan Ninetales to punish foes attempting to set up on it, which can provide Kyurem Black with multiple turns to set up a Dragon Dance. Next, he makes a very minor spread adjustment in making Kyurem Black have maximum Attack investment. Lastly, he recommends using Heavy-Duty Boots on Avalugg to make it a more reliable entry hazard remover and suggests using Avalanche over Roar.

SM OU - StepC

Click the sprites for a link to their rate!

StepC begins their rate by explaining how weak the initial team was to Kartana and Tapu Lele. His first major change is removing Tapu Koko for Tornadus-T to accommodate for the Kartana weakness and with Rotom-W being able to fulfill the role of a Defog user it can run Heat Wave to better handle it + punish Steel-types easier. His last major change is replacing Toxapex for Heatran because it gives the team more reliable counterplay against Magearna and Tapu Lele. He suggests running Steelium Z to punish foes like Garchomp and the Lati twins.

Moving onto minor changes he suggests using a Choice Scarf Landorus instead of a defensive set, with Heatran being the new Stealth Rock setter, to give the team needed Speed control to handle foes like Mega Alakazam and Tapu Koko. Next, he suggests using a specially defensive Tapu Bulu instead of a Scarf variant to give the team an easier pivot into Ash Greninja and allow it to beat foes like CM Clefable 1vs1. StepC then suggests using Swords Dance on Mega Mawile to give the team a reliable matchup against balance and stall teams it could struggle to break otherwise. Finally, he suggests using a Wiki Berry over Leftovers on Rotom-W allowing it to recover its health in a pinch when pivoting into strong attackers and attempting to be the team's hazard removal.

Solid rates from all of you keep it up

 

[Twilight]

Congratulations to Finchinator, RebornFX, and StepC for winning the rate of the month in April!

SS OU - StepC

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StepC makes a couple of minor changes to further improve an already solid team. He starts off by recommending changing the Clefable to a Wish + Teleport set in order to provide the team with enough longevity to muscle past foes like Hippowdon that can give Obstagoon troubles. He also recommends a SpD set to handle Kyurem and opposing Dragapult better. Next, he recommends using a Hex Dragapult set to help it more reliably break and punish defensive cores but it can provide Obstagoon with more opportunities to wallbreak with U-turn. Finally, he suggests using a slightly bulkier Rotom-H with Nasty Plot to handle foes like Bulk Up Zeraora easier. He recommends using Pain Split to help it get past foes like Toxapex and Corviknight better as well as suggesting Heavy-Duty Boots to alleviate its weakness to being worn down by Stealth Rock.

SS VGC - RebornFX

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Reborn, similarly makes several minor changes to this team to further improve the quality of this team. Firstly, he recommends using Expert Belt on Ferrothorn, which helps it remove foes like Tyranitar, Gastrodon, and Milotic a lot easier. He also uses his galaxy brain to improve the Ferrothorn EV spread to minimise the damage it takes from Hail and Burn damage. Next, he recommends using Flamethrower over Scald on Dragapult in order to ease this team's ability to break through Ferrothorn and it also eases the matchup against Durant. He then suggests improving their Togekiss spread to run an optimal amount of HP and SpD to near enough avoid the OHKO from Jolly Excadrill and LO Rotom-H's Thunderbolt. He then provides the user with multiple fixes to the Incineroar spread to meet their needs, whether it be slow enough to Parting Shot after an opposing Incineroar or run a faster spread with enough Speed for foes like Togekiss and Excadrill out of sand. Finally, they recommend using Earthquake on CB Excadrill for its stronger power but also recommends they can opt to run a Weakness Policy Excadrill.

BW OU - Finchinator

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Finch starts off by stating how vulnerable this team is to Spikes with too many members being grounded and the team lacking removal to help with this. For this reason, he recommends using Excadrill over Heatran to provide Rapid Spin support, a Ground-type, and it is a partner that can benefit from Tyranitar's sand. Next, he suggests using a Nasty Plot + Baton Pass Celebi as Baton Pass helps against Pursuit Tyranitar and it can pass a Nasty Plot boost to Latios or Keldeo. With replacing the Stealth Rock user, Finch suggests making Tyranitar the SR user of choice, as well as suggesting a Chople Berry on it to ease the ability to take on Reuniclus and Thundurus-T. Next, he recommends running a Choice Scarf Latios to provide the team with a sufficient amount of Speed control to help against Starmie, Scarf Garchomp, and opposing Latios. It also allows the team to play around +1 Volcarona a lot easier. Finch then suggests using Pain Split on Rotom-W so that Celebi isn't too reliant on Celebi for the Rain matchup. Finally, he recommends using Hidden Power Flying over Bug to help deal with Poison Orb Breloom, which the team is very reliant on Celebi to deal with. He also suggests using Leftovers on it to mitigate being worn down by hazards and Sand chip.

Great rates from all of you, keep it up

 

[Twilight]

Congratulations to RebornFX, TJ, and Jordy for winning rates of the month in May! We have no past gen teams to showcase so we'll be showcasing two SS Other Gen teams this time around.

SS OU - Jordy

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Jordy begins his rate by replacing Bisharp with Mandibuzz. Mandibuzz provides the team with a Ground immunity that isn't susceptible to Mold Breaker Excadrill, which can easily wear down Ferrothorn otherwise and proceed to clean through the majority of this team. Mandibuzz also keeps the Ghost resist but is a much sturdier check to Dragapult and Choice Specs Aegislash. Mandibuzz also provides the team with Defog support, which allows Rotom-H to run a more offensive set. Jordy suggests running a faster Mandibuzz with Brave Bird because the team doesn't handle foes like Bisharp that well and it also eases the matchup against Conkeldurr.

Moving onto minor changes, Jordy starts off by suggesting Flamethrower over Fire Blast on Dragapult due to most Corviknight opting for physically defensive sets, its better accuracy, and greater PP. Next, he recommends running 7 Speed IVs on Clefable to be slower than other Clefable to get momentum with Teleport while still being faster than Hippowdon. Finally, with Mandibuzz fulfilling the role of an entry hazard remover, Jordy recommends running a Nasty Plot Rotom-H giving the team a more potent win condition. Jordy also suggests running Toxic over Will-O-Wisp to cripple Dragapult and opposing Rotom-H. He also replaces Volt Switch with Discharge to provide Rotom-H with better Electric STAB and it synergizes well with Hex Dragapult.

SS VGC - RebornFX

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This is a great rate from Reborn where he supports this G-Max Lapras with Trick Room. His only major change is replacing Mimikyu with Dusclops as it's additional bulk and access to Pain Split makes it a better abuser of Lapras's screens with Haze being able to infringe opposing sweepers. He then suggests Life Orb with Iron Fist on Conkeldurr to increase the damage of his next suggestion in Thunder Punch to help this team break Water-types like Primarina more easily. He also suggests running Detect over Protect on Conkeldurr to avoid any potential Imprison shenanigans. Reborn then informs the user to use Protect on Lapras as it as absolutely mandatory if running Perish Song on it.

Moving onto more minor changes, Reborn recommends using Weakness Policy Duraludon as it can have the item procked off the two EQ users on the team to potentially OHKO an opposing Dusclops with a Max Darkness. In order to support Duraludon more he recommends running EQ over Stone Edge on Gyarados + it also hits Coalossal without risking giving it a Steam Engine boost. He also recommends running a Modest Duraludon and making Gyarados Jolly with enough Speed for opposing Duraludon. Reborn then recommends running EQ on Excadrill over Rock Slide and to run Protect over SD to work well alongside Perish Song Lapras. Reborn also provides the user with an alternative route they can take there team if they are hesitant to replace Mimikyu, which you can read more into in their post.

SS PU - TJ

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TJ starts off his rate with a few minor changes. He suggests running Hydro Pump on Ludicolo over Weather Ball as it provides it with much needed Water-type coverage outside of rain. TJ also suggests running Rain Dance over Focus Blast as the team currently only had one reliable way to set up rain. Next, he recommends running Thunder Wave for the utility and Speed control it provides alongside a bulkier spread to provide Meowstic with as many opportunities to set up rain dance. TJ then suggests dropping First Impression on Falinks for Megahorn or Zen Headbutt to give it reliable coverage to either beat Psychic-types like Musharna or Poison-types like Roselia. He also suggests using Lum Berry to provide Falinks with safer opportunities to set up a No Retreat or a Shed Shell to allow Falinks to prevent itself from being trapped by No Retreat.

TJ then moves onto major changes where he recommends replacing Pikachu with Choice Scarf Manectric. Manectric provides the team with better Speed control, cripple common Rain checks in Roselia and Type: Null with Switcheroo, and take advantage of rain being set to run Thunder. Finally, TJ suggests running Mawile over Glalie because the team was in need of a Stealth Rock user and a check to Poison-types like Silvally. Mawile's given EV spread allows it to tackle Ice-types like Glaceon and take a Flamethrower from the different Silvally forms and OHKO them back with Metal Burst.
Great rates from all three of you

 

[Jordy]

Congratulations to marilli, Memoric, and Excal for winning rates of the month in June! Keep up the good stuff!

SS Battle Stadium - marilli

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Marilli starts off by pointing out that a team useable in both Battle Stadium Singles and Doubles will have some fundamental issues and weaknesses to big threats in both formats. Marilli first discusses that Hex is not a viable option on Rotom-W. It may hit Dragapult, but it does not hit it hard enough; Mr Mimikyu is better off leaving that to the rest of the team. Nasty Plot is a much better option, as Rotom-W can be relatively passive otherwise. A change in EV spread is also recommended, allowing Rotom-W to survive a +1 Life Orb-boosted Max Overgrowth from Gyarados, outspeed Adamant Tyranitar with maximum Speed investment, and OHKO Dynamaxed Gyarados with Max Lightning. Moving on, marilli recommends Stealth Rock or Swords Dance instead of Protect on Excadrill. Neither are particularly important, but especially the latter could help with busting open teams. Sheer Cold is typically not considered a viable move, but it's a good option on Lapras as it gives it a very strong Max Resonance. Beyond that, more passive Pokemon like Toxapex and Snorlax cannot discourage Lapras from firing off a couple Sheer Colds, often resulting in atleast one KO. As the team was unfinished, marilli suggests Kee Berry Mimikyu for in the last slot. The team as it stands is very weak to Dynamax Pokemon, especially those holding a Lum Berry, and Mimikyu is a great solution to this problem thanks to Disguise. It also helps out with Curse Snorlax. Marilli finishes the rate off with some final comments, pointing out how Arcanine cannot check Cinderace adequately with its current EV spreads.

SS VGC - Memoric

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In this rate, Memoric ultimately aims to make some optimizations to the team presented by Crayoneaterman. To kickoff the rate, Memoric believes that running a physical Dragapult with a Weakness Policy, combined with Shadow Sneak on Dusclops instead of Haze, will make the team much stronger overall; physical Dragapult is a much more threatening Dynamax user, while Dusknoir will have some utility outside of just setting Trick Room, which can be useful in matchups where you have to bring both Conkeldurr and Dragapult. Moving on, Memoric advocates for Rotom-W instead of Gyarados, which maintains the role of checking Ground-types such as Sand Rush Excadrill, while also solidifying the team's matchup against some other Pokemon like Togekiss, Primarina, and Lapras. Finalizing the rate, Memoric makes some suggestions for the movesets of Conkeldurr, Excadrill, and Togekiss. The current Conkeldurr set is rather gimmicky with Expert Belt and would be much more consistent with Flame Orb and Guts. On top of that, Excadrill should use Focus Sash instead of Weakness Policy as Dragapult will be taking up the slot for Weakness Policy, while still enabling Excadrill to beat some Pokemon it otherwise cannot. Memoric also suggests Protect over Rock Slide because Rock Slide hardly has any relevant targets and will be pretty weak coming from Excadrill. To end things off, a more defensive Togekiss set with Babiri Berry and Yawn is suggested to take a hit from Excadrill, while also supporting the team more.

DPP OU - Excal

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Excal's rate is nothing major, as the team is already in a good state, but there are a couple things that could be refined to preference. To start things off, Excal suggests Chople Berry Tyranitar with Dragon Dance instead of the current set with Pursuit, as can help with patching up the weakness to Infernape, Breloom, and Gengar, while benefitting greatly from Spikes support. Excal suggests the moves Crunch, Stone Edge, and Fire Punch to hit Pokemon such as Rotom-A, Zapdos, and Breloom. Moving on, Excal also notes that opposing Skarmory can be annoying to deal with, as it can find many opportunities to set up Spikes and can continually phaze Suicune. To deal with this issue, Excal suggests running Taunt in Brave Bird's stead on Skarmory to completely shut down opposing Skarmory. Although dropping Brave Bird on Skarmory will oftentimes leave teams weaker to Breloom, the addition of Chople Berry on Tyranitar makes up for this quite well.

 

[Twilight]

Congratulations to Finchinator, GreenGogoatttt, and TJ for winning rate of the month. We have no old gens this time around with the lack of activity there.

SS OU - Finchinator

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Finch makes no major changes for this rate but he touches up on minor things that overall vastly improve the quality of this team. He begins his rate by recommending a bulkier spread on Hawlucha that allows it to avoid Toxapex breaking its Substitute with Scald. Next, Finch recommends using a Swords Variant of Rillaboom with U-turn. This allows them to maintain momentum against foes like Corviknight more easily while maintaining the wallbreaking capabilities desired for a HO team like this. He also suggests using an Adamant nature alongside Life Orb because sets lacking Wood Hammer greatly appreciate the extra damage output, especially with the loss of Speed being made up for with Grassy Glide being STAB priority.

SS Doubles OU - GreenGogoatttt

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GreenGogoat begins his rate by suggesting an alternative spread on Politoed that helps it survive a Close Combat from Choice Band Urshifu. He then suggests using Muddy Water on Kingdra over Hydro Pump because it is Kingdra's most spammable move, notably because it hits multiple targets. Next, Greengogoat suggests replacing Amoonguss with Rillaboom as it provides Fake Out support and Speed control with Grassy Glide. Grassy Terrain can also be used to offset other terrains like Psychic to help Scizor spam Bullet Punch more easily. He then suggests making Scizor Choice Band over Assault Vest because of how incredibly hard it hits. He also suggests replacing Brick Break for U-turn to generate momentum and replace X-Scissor for Bug Bite as it punishes berry uses like Blastoise and Togekiss more. GreenGogoat then suggests using a more defensive Togekiss as the team is in dire need of an Urshifu pivot and the utility from Follow Me and Tailwind can be imperative to help the breakers on this team successfully do their job. Finally, he recommends replacing Volcarona with Urshifu as it gives the team a more consistent answer to Sand teams, Chansey, and Blastoise, which give rain teams trouble.

SS PU - TJ

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TJ starts off his rate by suggesting Ninjask over Butterfree with it having recently been banned from their metagame. Ninjask helps ease the rain matchup and it works well in tandem with Klinklang and Sandslash to wear down each other's checks. Next, TJ suggests replacing Kadabra with Lilligant because this team struggles with pivoting into Water-types. It also provides the team with another sweeper capable of removing bulky Grass-types. Finally, he recommends investing some EVs into HP to help it potentially take hits like Focus Blast from Mr.Rime.

Good rates from all of you.

 

[Twilight]

I forgot to post this for August so I apologize for that. I will have September winners posted soon too. Congratulations to GreenGogoatttt and xzern for winning rate of the month in August.

SS Doubles OU - GreenGogoatttt

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GreenGogoat starts off their rate by suggesting using a Sitrus Berry with Protect on Indeedee to improve its longevity. Next, they suggest using a Choice Scarf Gardevoir if they are intent on using it as a secondary Psychic Terrain abuser. GreenGogoat then suggests replacing Hatterene with Alakazam as it is a much better abuser thanks to its Speed tier. They also note that Indeedee + Alakazam is a great lead. They then recommend Protect on Hawlucha over Poison Jab due to Acrobatics being strong enough against Fairy-types. GreenGogat then recommends using Tailwind on Ribombee as it can support the entire team compared to Speed Swap. He also recommends Pollen Puff over Dazzling Gleam as healing your teammates could be useful. Finally, he suggests using a Choice Band Dragapult as the team wants something that can muscle through Gothitelle and Necrozma


SS Doubles OU - xzern

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xzern starts off their rate by replacing Gardevoir with Whimsicott as it is much more reliable and can provide better Speed control with Tailwind support. xzern also suggests they could use Mew as an alternative support Pokemon that can help its teammates out with Fake Out and Tailwind support. They then recommend replacing Scizor with Incineroar as the team had a notable Fire weakness. Incineroar provides Fake Out support and can keep up momentum with the utility of Parting Shot. Moving onto minor changes, xzern suggests using a Choice Specs Dragapult to remedy how underwhelming it can be at times. They then inform the user that Dragon Tail isn't a good move on a sweeper Gyarados so recommends using Power Whip or Double Edge for Water-types. xzern also suggests using a Sitrus Berry too. Finally, xzern changes the Amoonguss set to have both Sleep Powder and Rage Powder as Amoonguss's main role is to redirect Pokemon for Gyarados and Corviknight to sweep.

Great rates from both of you, keep it up!

 

[Twilight]

Congratulations to SLDR, Sickist, and marilli for winning rate of the month in September.

SS OU - SLDR

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SLDR begins their rate by replacing Mew with Excadrill as it helps improve the team's matchup against Hatterene and opposing Toxtricity. They then alter the Hawlucha spread slightly as it doesn't require as much HP investment to avoid certain rolls against most foes. SLDR then changes the Toxtricity spread to always OHKO Excadrill after a Shift Gear boost. He then suggests using a Safeguard Volcarona as it can turn many foes like Toxic Rotom-H into setup fodder. Finally, they recommend running Knock Off on Rillaboom to hit Dragapult, Aegislash, and Gengar.

SS BSS - marilli

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marilli begins their rate by informing the user that EVs work slightly differently between level 50 Pokemon and singles OU. For this reason, they suggest two different Primarina spreads that are more optimized for this metagame with very clear reasoning behind each benchmark. He then suggests running Hyper Beam on Volcarona as the potential to reduce a foes Speed if it Dynamaxes can support Urshifu well. marilli also recommends a spread that allows Volcarona to take a Dracozolt Max Airstream. Next, marilli suggests replacing Nasty Plot and Clear Smog on Gengar for Dazzling Gleam and Will-O-Wisp. Dazzling Gleam helps deal with Urshifu and Hydreigon, while Wisp in conjunction with Focus Sash can cripple physical attackers attempting to sweep. Finally, he recommends running Thunder Punch as it gives it the best neutral coverage thanks to Primarina being the most common Fairy-type in BSS.

SM OU - Sickist

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Sickist starts off by replacing Tapu Koko with Magearna. This fulfills a similar role in what they both defensively check but a CM Pain Split Magearna drastically improves the matchup against Stall teams. Next, he replaces Ferrothorn with Tangrowth as the Steel typing is no longer required with Magearna on the team. Tangrowth helps check Landorus-T and eases the matchup against some Psychic-types like Mega Alakazam for Magearna. Moving onto minor changes, Sickist changes Toxapex into a SpD set with Baneful Bunker to help it check Ash-Greninja, Volcarona, and Magearna better. He then replaces Ice Beam on Ash-Greninja with Spikes.

Great rates from all of you

 

[ShuckleDeath]

Congratulations to tears, DC, and BKC for winning Rate of the Month in October.

SS OU - tears

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tears begins their rate by replacing Tangrowth with Assault Vest Amoongus. This allows the team to more easily handle Calm Mind Clefable and Shift Gear Toxtricity. With EV investment in defense tears determines Amoongus will deal with Swords Dance Rillaboom quite nicely and being used in conjunction with Shed Shell Corviknight allows the team to handle Choice Specs Magnezone. Next, tears states that U-turn on Corviknight would be more valuable for the team over Body Press for getting Urshifu-Rapid-Strike or Kyurem into play. tears also notifies that Body Press is used mainly for hitting Excadrill, which U-turn into Urshifu-Rapid-Strike also achieves. U-Turn also helps to keep Alakazam in check, which tears believes can be problematic to the team. tears then suggested replacing Metremone with Heavy-Duty Boots on Kyurem as it helps the overall matchup with offensive teams as Corviknight struggles to Defog hazards away against offensive teams. Next, tears suggests Thunder Wave over Toxic on Blissey, because Calm Mind Clefable with Flamethrower can beat Assault Vest Amoongus, and Paralysing them can greatly help in those matchups. Finally, tears suggest Flamethrower over Knock Off on Clefable to help against Ferrothron and Bulk Up Corviknight.

SS LC - DC

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Firstly, DC replaces Mareanie for Foongus. Foongus fulfills virtually the same roles as Mareanie while not compounding weaknesses with Wingull. Foongus also helps in dealing with Grookey, and DC also notes that Foongus is less prone to being trapped by Arena Trap abusers. Secondly, DC replaces Ferroseed with Pawniard to add a reliable Flying-type resistance for the team. Pawniard maintains Knock Off utility as well as having Sucker Punch to help with priority users and faster Pokemon. Lastly, DC suggested an alternative EV spread for Meinfoo as they feel a slow spread is not mandated on this team and EV investment in special defense will help the team manage in beating Vulpix.

ADV OU - BKC

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BKC starts off their rate by suggesting making a change to the Salamence set. Changing Choice Band Salamence to a mixed offensive set lets it wallbreak past a vast number of defensive cores while adding longevity to Salamence via Leftovers. This change also greatly improves the odds of getting past Skarmory. BKC then states that Suicune can become a nuisance and to remedy this they suggest changing Hariyamas EV spread and moveset. Dropping unnecessary speed EVs and investing more EVs into Special Defense and adding Whirlwind allows Hariyama to phase out a resting Suicune. Whirlwind has a secondary purpose in phasing Baton Pass users, notably Celebi. Next, BKC inquires that with such a solid defensive backbone Metagross could benefit the team by sacrificing some bulk to run 128 attack EVs. This allows Metagross to break Suicunes Substitutes to better threaten it with Explosion. Next, BKC suggests having Starmie run an EV spread of 252 hp, 148 defense, 44 special attack, 32 special defense, and 32 speed. The special attack investment will 2hko non invested Tyranitar along with the special defense avoiding an OHKO from Crunch and sand damage from Tyranitar. The speed investment can be used to outpace offensive Claydol. BKC also makes a light suggestion of putting a Modest nature on Blissey this better deals with Dugtrio and specially defensive Salamence. BKC ends by suggesting replacing Lum Berry for Leftovers on Tyranitar as they feel this team is best used to break down teams over a long period of time and feels Leftovers will achieve this goal better in the long run. BKC also states that Leftovers Tyranitar will better check some variants of both Celebi and Jirachi.

Great rates from all three of you!

 

[Twilight]

Congratulations to Decem, GaryTheGengar, and Estarossa for winning Rate of the Month in November.

SS Monotype - Decem

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Decem starts off their rate by innovating a Weakness Policy Latias set that eased the matchup against Zeraora as well as other matchups like Dragon and opposing Psychic teams. You can find more details about the set in the original post. Decem changes the Slowbro to Heavy-Duty Boots with Ice Beam to make the most out of Regenerator and improve the Dragon matchup respectively. They also suggest changing Alakazam to Psyshock for Volcarona and making Tapu Lele a Choice Specs set. Decem also suggest using Encore to ease the matchup against Corviknight and Aegislash, as well as running Thunder Wave to make up for the team's lack of reliable Speed control. Finally, Decem recommends replacing SR on Jirachi for Trick and using Blue Flare over Searing Shot on Victini.

SS UU - Estarossa

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Esta starts off his rate by suggesting Thundurus-Therian over Zeraora because the team appreciates a better means of pressing Hippowdon + it compresses the Ground and Electric immunity. He then recommends using Kommo-o over Hydreigon to give the team a Stealth Rock setter. Next he suggests replacing Ditto with Aegislash because Ditto doesn't fit that well on webs and the team appreciated a more reliable late-game cleaner. Air Balloon improving the ability to take on foes like Terrakion and Hippowdon. Next, Estarossa suggests using a Nasty Plot 3 Attacks Gengar because a Hex Wisp set doesn't take advantage of Sticky Web as well. Finally, Estarossa recommends running U-turn on Ribombee to generate momentum against foes like Aegislash.

DPP OU - GaryTheGengar

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Gary uses his experience to make a series of minor changes to improve this already solid team. To start off his rate Gary recommends changing Kingdra to a Dragon Dance + Rest variant in order to use these Water-types as a set up opportunity. He even provides two alternative spreads to opt for depending on which the user might prefer. Next, Gary suggests using a Choice Scarf Latias set instead of a Choice Specs as the weakness to opposing Dragon Dance sweepers is extremely worrisome. He also adds Thunder Wave to the set to cripple Pokemon like Jirachi, which it struggles to dent otherwise. Finally, he recommends running Crunch on Lucario because Thunder Punch is extremely specific for Pokemon like Gyarados and won't get much use outside of these few matchups.

Solid rates from each of you, keep it up.

 

[ShuckleDeath]

Congratulations to Abhisdn417, marilli, and Tomahawk for winning Rate of the Month in December.

SS OU - Abhisdn417

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Abhisdn417 begins his rate by suggesting a small change of replacing Thunder Wave with Protect on Tyranitar, this just helps with passive Leftovers recovery as well as scouting choices locked Pokemon and extra sand damage. Then they replace Landorus-Therian with Excadrill as Excadrill cores really well with Tyranitar and keeps an immunity to Electric-type attacks. Abhisdn417 states that Rapid Spin is used as hazard removal and Toxic is used to hit common switch-ins to Excadrill such as Buzzwole and Hippowdon. Next, Abhisdn417 replaces Tapu Koko with Buzzwole as it acts as both a very effective physical wall and a decent win condition. They also state that speed EV investment is used for outpacing Pokemon with base 60 speed as well as a bit extra trying to creep Mandibuzz which invests for the same benchmark. Abhisdn417 ends his suggestions by replacing Moltres with Corviknight which helps in match-ups against Nidoking but warns that with hard prediction Corviknight can still be dealt with, they also explain that with Brave Bird Corviknight checks Pheromosa and Buzzwole nicely and Corviknight in conjunction with Tyranitar checks Venusaur really well as Tyranitars Sand Stream eliminates sun.

SS BSS - Marilli


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Marilli begins their rate by suggesting a change of item on Cinderace from Heavy-Duty Boots to Focus Sash or Life Orb as Heavy-Duty Boots is not as common in BSS as Stealth Rock can be dealt with in other ways in BSS, such as aggressive offensive plays in the early game. Marilli then suggests numerous items on Mimikyu stating that if Cinderace does not choose to use Life Orb then Mimikyu should consider using it. They say that a Kee Berry set with more EV investment in bulk is an option and that a Maranga Berry can help deal with Zapdos. Next. Marilli explains that Lapras likes to run Freeze-Dry over Ice Beam. They also inquire that Thunder is only beneficial when Dynamaxing, but Lapras should prioritize getting Aurora Veil set over getting rain set. Marilli then states that Dragonites item, Lum Berry, and move set of all-out attacker do not mesh well and suggests a couple of changes. Dragonite can replace Extreme Speed for Dragon Dance, but Marilli highly suggests that a set with ether Weakness Policy or Expert Belt with the coverage moves of Fire Punch and Ice Punch would be most beneficial as Fire Punch can be used against Celesteela and Ferroseed and Ice Punch hits Landorus-Therian which can be threatening to the team. To end the rate Marilli suggests the testing of several changes such as replacing Mudsdale with Excadrill as Excadrill resists Zapdoses Max Airstream, but only suggested this if the team chooses to keep Dragonite. Marillis other suggestion was to keep Mudsdale but replace Dragonite with specially defensive Porygon-2 or Nihilego to once again help to check Zapdos.

DPP Ubers - Tomahawk
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Tomahawk begins their rate by very kindly stating that the team could easily be improved by replacing Primeape. Next, Tomahawk addresses Darkrai can be handled simply by changing the move Punishment to Sleep Talk on Ho-Oh or changing the set on Ho-Oh to the move set of Sacred Fire, Brave Bird, Earthquake, and Roost and the held item Lum Berry. Then they state that a Darkrai over Primeape would be an excellent change, but Tomahawk sees that the team really wants to keep Primeape as it is the identity of the team and wisely declares that the focus should be shifted to making Primeape as good as possible against even non-Darkrai teams by utilizing Primeapes fast U-turn as effectively as possible. Tomahawk suggests changing Toxic Spikes on Forretress to Spikes or the move set of Spikes, Toxic Spikes, Rapid Spin, and Payback on Forretress as Spikes in addition to Stealth Rock helps in the spamming of U-turn. Tomahawk inquires that the biggest threats to the team overall are Giratina-O and Latios and Latias to remedy this Tomahawk actually gives three possible replacements for Latias, being Dialga, Darkrai, or a Pursuit user, Tomahawk perfectly mentions Tyranitar as well in his Pursuit user suggestion. Tomahawk then goes into really great detail about the pros and cons of each possible replacement, so I would suggest looking at Tomahawks rate in full for those. Tomahawk ends his rate by suggesting a few minor set changes, he states that making Groundon a specially defensive set, which helps gives the team a better switch-in to Dialga. He also suggests making Ho-Oh a bit bulkier, possibly adding Draco Meteor on Latias to hit Dialga hard at +1, and finally considering Punishment on Primeape to have a way of hitting Latios and Latias without switching out via U-turn.

Great work for you three keep it up!

 

[StepC]

Congratulations to BasedWhat?, Lazy_bread27, and GaryTheGengar for winning Rate of the Month in January.

SS Ubers - BasedWhat?

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BasedWhat? begins his rate listing what could be the possible weaknesses of the team under consideration. And in particular stating that there aren't Eternatus switch-in and not even the possibility of countering it, also Substitute sweepers and Gothitelle could be dangerous. It also highlights that the team is very passive as it is proposed and suggests an extra presence in the attack phase. Going by order, the first change he proposes is Blissey instead of Amoongus to have a more reliable switch-in to special attackers. BasedWhat? proposes another change as Xerneas instead of Ditto to have more skills as a sweeper, provide answers on both Marshadow and Zekrom. Furthermore, the EVs allow Xerneas to outspeed max neutral nature Regieleki at +2. Recommend the set with Aromatheraphy, but also Substitute can be a valid alternative with Focus Blast in case against Ferrothorn. As for the moves: BasedWhat? suggests Earthquake instead of Knock Off on Necrozma-Dusk-Mane to hit Zekrom, on Yveltal he prefers Foul Play to hit possible offensive Ground-types and finally on Zygarde the Coil + Rest set makes him a notorious wallbreaker.

SM Ubers - Lazy_bread27

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Lazy_bread27 begins his rate immediately proposing Zygarde in place of Toxapex after announcing that Primal Groudon can be problematic with his STAB moves. It can also absorb hits from Mega Salamence barring it clicking the rare Outrage which can then be punished by ScarfXern, his choice is also motivated by the fact that it is also very useful against Necrozma-Dusk-Mane / Ultra Necrozma. Lazy_bread27 advise Yache Berry as item to have more security against hidden power ice variants of Groudon and Marshadow. Moving on to the minor changes, the first that Lazy_bread27 refers to is Groudon Primal; suggesting Roar over Lava Plume for a valid answer against Xerneas. Another proposed change is to replace the Xerneas Focus Blast with Thinerwave, in fact he explains that it would be more advantageous to assist Kangaskhan with the possibility of paralyzing those who could outspeddarlo, moreover Focus Blast or HP Fire would be answers only on Ferrothorn, which is definitely manageable within the team. For Lazy_bread27 it's a good option to consider Arceus-Grass with Calm Mind set to increase the wincondition against Zygarde and Arceus-Ground. Finally he suggests implementing Scarf Xerneas with the bulk set in order to better help against Marshadow.

DPP OU - GaryTheGengar

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GaryTheGengar stars changing the nature on Tyranitar: running Jolly over Adamant to outspeed Latias and Starmie after a Dragon Dance and some scarfer users. He recommends that the coverage brought by Earthquake and Ice Punch is better than that brought by Fire Punch alone, as it allows you to solve problems even against Heatran. Furthermore, the option to use the Schuca Berry allows him to have better help against Flygon. Keeping the line of the team building process GaryTheGengar suggests inserting Scarf Rotom-H instead of Scarf Flygon to have more chances against the stall thanks to Trick and with Overheat he has more answers against Lucario and Scizor, by doing so the team would be safer against the sweeps given by these two Steel types. The solidity of the team in this metagame is very important, in fact being able to recover hp with Skarmory thanks to the Lefttovers is the best choice for him compared to the Shed Shell since however Magnezone could hit all the teammates anyway.The other decisive changes proposed are Dynamic Punch on Machamp, explaining that it is fundamental thanks to the synergy of his ability, Rapid Spin instead of Recover on Starmie as he prefers to use the Leftovers instead of the Life Orb thus providing a minimum of additional support to the team both as a status absorber and not to take too much indirect damage. In conclusion of this rate, Gary The Gengar proposes the standard set on Metagross with Bullet Punch over Earthquake and a Lum Berry as item againts leads with opponents Machamp.


Great rates from all of you