Resource Battle Stadium Singles Series 12 Viability Rankings

Good to see Regieleki mentioned as a pro for Landog. I loved using it, but Landog denies it moving up.

I strongly agree w/ ditto going down to A. Now I feel I should've said that already but I always feel I'll be wrong. It's just too frail. It can be like a 3rd restricted to some extent though what's cool.
 
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Theorymon

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Not gonna elaborate on this yet for my rankings (I gotta focus on something else cuz I've been goofing off with that SV leak today LOL), but notice Butch Hardnight has stuff like B+ in his rankings. We actually talked about this on discord, because stuff like Zygarde and Zekrom feel tough to rank under the current system, because they're clearly above something like say, Lugia or Kyurem-W, but aren't really on the level of something like Calyrex-S and are generally not beginner friendly.

So basically, I think we are gonna mess with increments to make things easier. IDK how far we'll go for the voting, but feel free to mention stuff like "Ditto is A+" or whatever for now, because it might actually be easier so we don't have headaches like "where does Xerneas go" lol.
 

DerpySuX

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Might as well make a personal ranking. Keep in mind I spend a lot of time optimizing certain teams and Pokémon, so I might view things a little differently than those who dabble with everything. Anyway, here we go

NOTE - I’m only listing mons I have enough experience with to justify talking about, or things that I think have potential and want to hear more about. Stuff like Cinderace and Urshifu are where they should be imo, and I have nothing to say that hasn’t been said already.

S+
:Zacian-Crowned: I don’t think I really need to explain this one, Zacian is the undisputed ruler of gen 8. The metagame is so desperate for checks at times that almost anything with a neutral/positive MU against Zacian gets considered. I have seen even offensive teams running shit like Quagsire simply because Zacian is that terrifying. Zacian also has a fair few options for its set despite being the definition of unga bunga, stuff like Wild Charge, Crunch, Fire Fang, and Quick Attack can all be used to augment Zacian’s incredible threat level. I normally try not to rank a Pokémon as the definitive “best” but in Zacian’s case, it would simply be disingenuous, there is nothing that even comes close.

S
Legs

:Kyogre: Kyogre is as powerful as ever, probably even more so in generation 8 as Dynamax provides it with yet another option to pile on massive damage. From the proven standards like Choice sets and LO/AV dynamax to the somewhat gimmicky Sub + CM, Kyogre is always a threat and must be respected.

:Yveltal: Honestly this is the Pokémon that scares me the most in Team Preview. While I wholeheartedly believe Zacian is more threatening, Yveltal’s ability to force massive damage on almost anything is absolutely more terrifying. The simple fact is that while Zacian is stronger, you know what moves it is going to have for the most part. Yveltal’s ability to attack from either side of the spectrum means that until it goes for an attack, you don’t know what to check it with. And while the Special attacker is more consistent, the physical variant has just as much snowballing potential. One wrong move against Yveltal can spell your demise.

:Necrozma-Dusk-Mane: I must suppress my inner fangirl for this, but I truly and wholeheartedly believe that NDM is one of the absolute best restricted choices in gen 8 BSS. I mentioned above how almost anything with a neutral Zacian MU is worth considering, and not only does NDM have quite a good Zacian MU with just a bit of bulk investment, it still poses a massive threat while doing so. This is a rare and invaluable trait to have, and without a doubt it is NDM’s selling point. Beyond this, Necrozma Dusk Mane is arguably capable of utilizing the widest array of distinctly different sets of any restricted Pokémon. Each one of them, from Dragon Dance, to Cosmic Power, Calm Mind, and even All-Out Attacker, are excellent and highly threatening to a vast portion of the metagame. NDM is also one of the few boosting sweepers that can be built to be relatively safe from Ditto. Now, despite all of my praises, I’m fully aware that NDM is by no means a perfect Pokémon, and has its share of issues, but if piloted correctly, it can dismantle teams like nothing else, and it’s versatility means your opponent always has to be worried about a stray Earthquake, Heat Wave, and the like.

———

Normies

:Landorus-Therian: Between Intimidate, it’s excellent typing, and high offensive threat, Landorus is once again one of the very best Pokémon in the metagame. The advent of Dynamax allows for Landorus to reach its highest potential as a sweeper ever, allowing it to use extraordinarily powerful Flying STAB, that also patches up it’s rather unimpressive Speed stat. Beyond this, Landorus’ typing, stat spread and movepool allow it to slot into a wide array of roles. From a suicide leaf, to a bulky pivot, to one of the most fearsome Dynamax abusers in the game, Landorus-T will be useful on almost any team.

:Zapdos: Zapdos has been one of the most dominant BSS forces for a while now. Max Airstream in conjunction with its great typing, Special Attack, passable bulk, and infuriating abilities in Pressure and Static allow it to be potent as both an offensive and defensive threat. Discharge and Static allow Zapdos to spread paralysis with incredible efficiency, and Roost allows it to stay healthy throughout a game. Zapdos is also capable of utilizing a wide array of items very effectively, from Life Orb, to Heavy-Duty Boots, Rocky Helmet and Kee Berry, Zapdos is chock full of great sets and will perform anywhere it is placed.

———

A/B

Legs

:Calyrex-Shadow: (A) Calyrex is a terrifying presence. It’s absurd power and speed allow it to power through way more than you would think just by looking at it. Should Calyrex manage to grab a kill, Grim Neigh allows it to snowball out of control incredibly quickly. The only reason I hesitate to call it a top tier threat is because of the heavy presence of Dark Types like Yveltal, Urshifu, and especially Tyranitar, who all give it incredible trouble. In a way, though, this also speaks to the extreme threat level of Calyrex, as even in a meta dominated by the most powerful Fairy-Type the game has ever seen, we have Dark Types as a central force largely because of how terrifying Calyrex is. Calyrex is also fairly flexible, having an exremely fast Will-O-Wisp, and the infuriating SubSeed combination means Calyrex can play the bulky role much better than its stats would suggest. With all of this in mind, I think Calyrex definitely stands out as a very strong Pokémon, however with its weaknesses and limited options to handle its checks, I don’t think it is quite S-rank material.

:Xerneas: (A/B) With the recent discovery of a set that can potentially BEAT Zacian once Geomancy is used, I believe Xerneas is worth considering for A-tier. As always, Geomancy is an incredibly threatening move, and Fairy Aura boosted attacks give Xerneas immense power. The main thing that has been holding it back is the dominance of Zacian-Crowned. Of course, there are other Steel Types that also scare Xerneas, but none quite as much as Zacian, and this ability to potentially win one of its scariest matchups makes Xerneas worth considering on more teams.

:Zygarde: (A) Honestly fuck this thing. In all seriousness, Zygarde is terrifying when played correctly. Glare and Coil are infuriating moves to play around, and Substitute makes it all the worse. Zygarde can afford to use all of these moves thanks to Thousand Arrows being able to hit airborne targets (which I think is stupid :)). Despite my immense hatred for this thing, I would be lying if I said it wasn’t a good choice if you want to win.

:Eternatus: (A) I honestly don’t see Eternatus too often, since the team I like to run generally doesn’t care too much for it. I do, however, know a small bit about it. Eternatus has quite a good typing, Poison and Dragon work incredibly well together, and a pretty nice stat spread. Cosmic Stall is an incredibly annoying set to face if you don’t have the proper answers for it. The potency and popularity of this set means most players will probably send in a stall breaker to handle Eternatus, and this can be taken advantage of with offensive variants as well. Eternatus can run all of Choice Scarf, Choice Specs, and Life Orb with incredible consistency. Another option lesser seen, but no less threatening, is the Power Herb + Meteor Beam set. All of these sets are incredibly threatening and can end a game very quickly if not responded to properly.

:Dialga: (B) he thicc.
Honestly I don’t have too much to say about Dialga. It’s a great Pokémon, weak to Zacian, but generally tanky enough for one big hit, it does a lot of damage and can mix and match coverage to beat what your team needs it to beat. It’s not the best choice for a restricted Pokémon, but not exactly bad either. This is an iffy B tier for me, but I figured I would at least mention it and see what other people think.

:Groudon: (B) Similar to Dialga, I don’t have much to say here. It’s quite strong and capable of running through a lot of stuff. It’s just got a few really bad matchups with some of the top tiers that hold it back. Groudon is notable for having a decent matchup against Zacian imo, but it just doesn’t differentiate itself from the other big restricted mons enough to warrant picking it much of the time.

———

Normies

:Ditto: (A) - My sweep now b

:Darmanitan-Galar: (A/B) Monke is scary as always. Gorilla Tactics is just an absurd ability. Thanks to Ice Crash’s flinch rate, darm can potentially cheese it’s way past stuff it shouldn’t really be beating, too. Flare Blitz, Earthquake, U-turn, and other options all provide Darm with all the tools it needs to hit for huge numbers no matter what’s in front of it. It generally won’t last long, as it has abysmal bulk, but when you’re nuking everything in sight, that’s a small issue.

:Pheromosa: (B) I’ve been using Mosa for a while and I absolutely love it. Getting a more consistent Fighting STAB in Close Combat really makes all the difference. Mosa is an excellent wallbreaker and offensive Pivot, with enough coverage to mix and match its last two moves to your liking. Unfortunately, it’s biggest issue is that it gets knocked out by a stiff breeze, which makes getting it in a rather difficult task sometimes. Still, once Mosa finds its way in, it’s generally going to smack something really, really hard.

:Regieleki: (B) It kills Kyogre, that’s about it. Teams without a ground type can potentially be in trouble too, but generally you’re using this thing to kill Kyogre, and at that it is immensely reliable. The screener is pretty alright too, though I don’t see it much.

:Quagsire: (A/B) This thing beats Zacian. That’s all you really need to know. Quagsire is the single most consistent stop to the single most threatening Pokémon of all time. Sure it has flaws, but when over half the teams on ladder use Zacian, Quagsire is a great pick.

:Umbreon: (B) I really, really like Umbreon. It sets itself apart from other fat Yawn users by being one of the most consistent stops to Calyrex. With STAB Foul Play, Umbreon can force even Zacian to think twice about coming in, while I don’t think it’s as consistently good as the premier yawners like Quag and Hippo, it’s definitely worth considering if you need a Calyrex answer.

———

Thats all from me. I’ve been typing this for a good few hours now lol. Hopefully you find some of this useful
 
I certainly don't have enough opinions to make a big post like the last few, but I do feel Mamoswine should move down to B.

Using it I had often been disappointed, it does easy and needs sash. Relying on priority and, in my case, Freeze-Dry makes it a somewhat poor msxers. This matters if it is brought w/ Zacian and, say, Chansey, as only it can max to any effect but not that much. Hippo can't max well either but it can yawn other max stuff. So I definitely think Mamo should not be higher than hippo. Also, 2 things sash Mamo should beat 1v1, Zacian and Landog, can switch between each other and make it a guessing ge. Ice on Landog hardly scratches Zacian, while Zacian can switch out of EQ, lower atk, and be immune(Landog.)

I guess you get Oblivious rocks, but I just don't like rocks. maybe that makes me bad at nomming stuff.
 
:sm/Lunala: to B for restricted tier list

Three top 100 placements - same number as the Kyurem forms and Reshiram combined - shows that it has demonstrable success on ladder and fulfills a solid niche for some teams compared to the current B ranks. I personally have tried a couple of Lunala teams in the format, in addition to using it for almost all of Series 10, and have really enjoyed using it on those teams.

Defensive utility umbrella sets (usually with Calm Mind and/or a status move) match up very well into swordfish, and are the biggest selling points for using Lunala over Calyrex-S. Shadow Shield and 137/89/109 bulk lets it 1v1 almost anything slower than it lacking a type advantage, including traditional Ghost-type answers like Porygon2 and Blissey. Lunala is also one of the very few reliable forms of defensive counterplay to things like Groudon, Zekrom, AoA Necrozma-DM, Zygarde, and Seismitoad. Unlike Lugia, though, Lunala is much less passive and has access to a spammable Ghost-type STAB Moongeist Beam, which lets it bypass the likes of Zacian and Necrozma more easily.

Offensive sets are potent in their own right, as Lunala has amazing coverage moves in Focus Blast, Moonblast, and Thunder that Calyrex could only dream of. Lunala also cannot be revenge KO'd by Mimikyu with Shadow Shield in tact, fwiw. However, these sets are more difficult to justify than a bulky set when Calyrex exists.
 
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S:

:calyrex-shadow: Calyrex-Shadow - If Ditto is considered to be S Tier, I believe Calyrex-Shadow should also be considered an S Tier restricted as it is a step above the other non-Zacian-C restricteds. To add to this, Zacian + Calyrex-S is without a doubt the most disgusting duo in the tier since no pokemon can even switch into both of these pokemon meaning you have to rely on winning mind game situations or let a pokemon faint and go into a check for the restricted out on the field or Ditto in order to reliably check these Pokemon. It also warps teambuilding and team preview, making it far more simplistic since it essentially forces all three brings and the lead in a lot of cases between the restricted rules and by just having these two pokemon due to Calyrex-s's ability. I believe this the case for the vast majority of teams. It also forces heavy dark type brings in a lot of matchups which makes Zacian-C even more absurd. There is good reason its usage is higher than Yveltal/Kyogre at all levels.

A:

:porygon2: Porygon2 - A lot of what is good boils down to how well you handle broken threats, Porygon2 holds a decent matchup vs. Calyrex-S, Necrozma Dusk Mane and Yveltal for something you don't even need to use a restricted slot for. It can live a hit from Zacian-C and click Thunder Wave. It generally beats Zapdos in the 1v1, destroys Lando-T. It can also be a menace for a lot of the lesser used restricteds like Zygarde and Calyrex-I and Foul Play/Ice Beam combination is generally annoying for most restricteds I haven't already mentioned. It is closer to S than B. It is like a less passive Chansey.

:incineroar: Incineroar - I think it is worth considering this pokemon for A tier or at least B tier. My perception from playing with it is that it has the right combination of stuff you need, Intimidate and Fire Typing to fight Zacian-C and Dusk Mane, Dark Type for Calyrex-S and to resist Yveltal Dark moves and waste its dynamax, Darkest Lariat is the perfect move to just wind up random cosmic power pokemon like Lugia and the rare Cosmic Power NDM. Slow U-Turn to ensure favourable matchups is so valuable in my mind allowing you to control the pace of the game and get in big threats.


B:

:blissey: Blissey: I think this pokemon still has clear value, but Chansey is overall better in most circumstances. When looking at Utility Umbrella Blissey, Chansey is generally enough. Yes, Chansey can be exploited by some lesser used Kyogre sets in a way that CM Blissey cannot and is even more passive, but those Kyogre sets cannot be Scarf and once you have ascertained that a larger avenue of routes can be utilised.
 
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I support all those, w/ intensity of support descending with the list itself. Caly-S is pretty absurd, it shows as the only good stop I can think of to Zacian/Caly-s IS scarf Caly-s lol. Well, Reieleki can do ok w/ them. But Caly-s is still a great revenge killer, and it still has a bit of a move pool. Good Mon vs Zacian generally.

It makes me wonder if a Mon that can handle either separately(w/ some luck,) is really good. But I've stopped using this Mon for now, plus I've nommed it before with not so much as a negative response, so nvm.

As for the rest I run 2 Body Press mons so typically they don't hurt me as much, but I agree they're good, w/ Blissey somewhat less so.

Also, for when it's added, suggesting Heatran go down to C. I never see this anymore. It's too weak to ground imo. A Chople set has gotten my Zacian a long time ago, but you could just run something else good vs. Zacian w/o a rarely used item. Lots of stuff has ground, you can almost guarantee it on Necrozma Dusk-Mane and Ho-oh, plus there's Kyogre and all the other waters and many fighting types on here. Heatran isn't useless because it can handle Caly-S w/ Dark Pulse, I fully expect, but there's fairly little else despite power and bulk. I also am finding Eternatus to be quite rare although that may be my luck and not the case.

Possibly Pex to C, I don't see it much.

Caly-I to C, it seems outclassed as a WP user by Necrozma Dusk-Mane due to that one's ability. DD sets also give huge competetion to Agility Caly-I. I guess it still has Trick Room, but so does the only somewhat faster NDM. And TR is vulnerable to Max Guard.
 
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Theorymon

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THE VR LIST HAS FINALLY BEEN UPDATED! I didn't even bother with a change log, this is a massive revamp that better reflects the past 3 months of metagame development!

We did have trouble on agreeing on stuff though, with a lot of us having very different ideas on what a VR list should be accomplishing. Personally, what I tended to vote for did take beginner usability into account. During discussion and debate, a point was brought up that we don't really have any resources for hgiher level players, and stuff like usage stats from the top 100 teams might be more useful than the VR list. I may be adding a secondary thing to the 2nd post such as links to our own personal VR lists as well.
 
Huh, Bronzong made it even though I didn't suggest it and would think I'd be the only one too. That's cool Regieleki moved up, though idk how anyone could vote it C- or god forbid unranked. Fwiw I like this update.

I AM however surprised Corv got it, since I brought that mon up but was shot down(er, gently if that even makes sense.) Is there a vote to decide on what's voted on or is it just based on obviousness?
 
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NDM deserves it. Not that Caly-S doesn't necessarily imo, and there's the fact it's maybe even easier to use cause Astral Barrage go boom, but...W/e.

I really like SD NDM. Spe on it can be a lost cause, SD can get you past normal checks/counters like Ferro and Steela. At least it's more interesting than DD, and even if it's deemed a worse set, that just helps your case. Since it shows an 'inferior' NDM can still do good
 

DerpySuX

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NDM deserves it. Not that Caly-S doesn't necessarily imo, and there's the fact it's maybe even easier to use cause Astral Barrage go boom, but...W/e.

I really like SD NDM. Spe on it can be a lost cause, SD can get you past normal checks/counters like Ferro and Steela. At least it's more interesting than DD, and even if it's deemed a worse set, that just helps your case. Since it shows an 'inferior' NDM can still do good
Dragon Dance is the standard for a reason, being able to hit stuff before getting hit yourself is a huge advantage. It also allows NDM to be a bit more cavalier with its setup, since, once it’s speed is boosted enough, it can just recover off whatever hit it took setting up, there are also things like Yveltal, Calyrex-S, Kyogre, and Ho-Oh, that can all beat common NDM sets without a speed boost, however, with a speed boost the matchup suddenly swings in Dusk Mane’s favor. This dynamic is exactly what allows NDM to slot on so many teams. This isn’t to say that Swords Dance sets are unviable, as they definitely have place and purpose in the metagame. In fact, some of the most dangerous sets to standard Dragon Dance NDM are the Swords Dance variants of NDM itself. These two boosting moves serve very different purposes. It’s more apt to think of SD as a wallbreaker, whereas the Dragon Dance set aims to be a sweeper.
 
Yea it's not "better," exactly. But I do LIKE it better. And it shows NDM's value, in having more stuff. So I definitely agree w/ it being so high, since it even has special sets, w/ or w/o Stored Power.
 
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DerpySuX

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Series 12 is coming to a close soon, but I would like to nominate Hippowdon to B+ nonetheless.

In my eyes, Hippowdon has proven itself to be a more than capable addition to many teams. It backs up the ever popular SwordFish core beautifully, as any potential threat to your restricteds can simply be yawned after failing to kill hippo, and thus either falling asleep or giving hippo a free turn to set rocks or do whatever it pleases. It’s also particularly great at annoying NDM, as sand stream limits recovery immensely, and in the event of NDM just having switched into a Zacian Close Combat, you can nip the following morning sun and make it less able to stop Zacian again.

Whirlwind also provides another source of annoyance ala the semi recent Lugia developments. Making it very difficult for stuff like Zygarde to get going even when hiding behind a substitute. Hippowdon packs so much utility into one mon, and despite losing pretty hard to some other big restricteds like Ogre, Rex and Ygod, if piloted properly, it can be a massive pain.
 
Does anyone use Tapu Koko w/ Regieleki around? Maybe to compliment, but 2 electrics like that...meh. I move make it B/B-. Looking at usage it's just a bit above bulu who is clearly not getting a rank, or even a mention in unranked. Koko is slower than Zacian, weak to the same stuff as Regieleki, and not strong against much extra(I used to use AV for Yveltal but I bet LO/Specs Leki outclasses it on the whole.) I'm not an expert on it, but I don't think you have to be since it's so rare.

Also, Idk the point of Primarina. If someone can enlighten me that'd be great. Looking at moves it has over Fini, there's Sparkling Aria(wow, subs and it doesn't even hit Zygarde SE,) Encore(slow!!,) Flip Turn(ok, this is kinda cool but you may want the coverage...all of which Fini has but physical stuff which would be hard to use and isn't used,) and Perish Song(Is this maybe good?) If it routinely ran Iron Tail for the Steelspike to be bulky on both sides I might reconsider, but assuming Pikalytics got its act together finally that isn't a thing. So I say make it "Controversial low Ranked," at best.
 

DerpySuX

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Also, Idk the point of Primarina. If someone can enlighten me that'd be great. Looking at moves it has over Fini, there's Sparkling Aria(wow, subs and it doesn't even hit Zygarde SE,) Encore(slow!!,) Flip Turn(ok, this is kinda cool but you may want the coverage...all of which Fini has but physical stuff which would be hard to use and isn't used,) and Perish Song(Is this maybe good?) If it routinely ran Iron Tail for the Steelspike to be bulky on both sides I might reconsider, but assuming Pikalytics got its act together finally that isn't a thing. So I say make it "Controversial low Ranked," at best.
Primarina is considerably stronger than fini, sparkling aria bypasses substitutes, and flip turn/aqua jet can be extremely valuable moves in the right situation. Tapu Fini’s bulk in conjunction with higher speed and Misty Surge’s support capabilities, when in conjunction with the vast amount of different sets it can run make it superior to Primarina almost all of the time, yes. But, if your team needs something like Fini, with a bit more power or one of the aforementioned moves, Primarina can potentially fill that role.

Primarina is also like, the best and cutest Mon ever so, should be higher imo.
 
I guess here's where it's difficult to rate stuff. Primarina does seem to have a role(thx for explaining,) but that role is represented w/ ANY rank. It doesn't have to be C+, it could be lower or even higher, it's so arbitrary. So I guess better to leave it alone.
 

DerpySuX

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I’ll admit I was surprised to see prim make it on the rankings at all (though I definitely won’t complain about people finding a use for my favorite mon lol), considering that, at least when I use fini, I’m always taking advantage of Misty terrain. I suppose if your team really needs the extra kick and can’t afford/already has a specs user that isn’t fini, then that would be the use case.

As for the actual ranking, C tier is generally designated for niche options that have fringe, yet effective use cases, so I would say that, in the event she is ranked, C is a good place.
 
Any thoughts on Koko? That was my main thing I was trying to get dropped. It's less fringe cause it brings terrain for sleep immunity and boost to the main STAB, but it lacks Moonblast, and is limited in usefulness of the sleep immunity when Hippo hits it SE. I also had more trouble w. Zapdos w. Koko than w/ Regieleki. I mean it's ok, but B- reflects that, B+ sounds too nice.
 

DerpySuX

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Any thoughts on Koko? That was my main thing I was trying to get dropped. It's less fringe cause it brings terrain for sleep immunity and boost to the main STAB, but it lacks Moonblast, and is limited in usefulness of the sleep immunity when Hippo hits it SE. I also had more trouble w. Zapdos w. Koko than w/ Regieleki. I mean it's ok, but B- reflects that, B+ sounds too nice.
Koko enables Zekrom like nothing else. The set that offers it more usefulness is the screener, it also has access to both u turn and volt switch so you can pivot your sweepers in more consistently. It also has access to taunt, which is immensely helpful against other support leads thanks to its high speed.

Apart from the screener, it’s offensive variants have a small place as well. Of course, they aren’t as prominent as Zapdos or regieleki, but the partial fairy type and access to utility moves that the other electrics don’t have is worth the trade off sometimes, especially if you’re going all in on Zekrom.

Personally I don’t have a proper opinion on Koko’s placement, as I don’t use it really at all. If I want an electric type, I generally go with Zapdos, but I have seen some really great squads making use of Koko, so I don’t mind seeing it in B+
 
Oh, I kinda forgot about screens. I was just thinking of it as the offensive set(s.) But w/ that then maybe B+.

I think Rotom-H should move up. It seems as good as wash to me, maybe just B. It has good to ok match-ups w/ several restricted like Zacian, NDM(I often struggled to fit rock coverage and so just didn't,) Caly-I and S(for the latter this is more ok than good, if you're AV Dark Pulse,) Yveltal, Ho-oh(majorly walls it, w/ common moves anyway.) Xern, and Lugia. Very good w/ Zapdos, can status things too so depending on the set it's not useless vs. Landog/Tern/etc. There's trick ofc. It just seems good to me, I recently had to add Ogre since it handles this and Groudon for my team(and it still fears electric STAB somewhat.) That said, it seems more geared towards fighting some of the restricted than normal mons. But that's fine since the restricted are a pretty big deal...

EDIT: My opinions are often disagreeable, so I think I came up w/ a good idea, to nominate Caly-I to B+(this is contrary to my original thought of de-nom it to B-, that was cause of how it does vs. my Bronzong mainly, but that's my peculiar team, not regular.)

The biggest reason is the match-up w/ the 3 non-restricted S mons. It does suffer vs. S rank restricted and Zacian, but has tools for each based on if you can max, prior set-up, item, etc. For instance in TR, Zacian will take a ground move. Or if you've Steelspiked, or are Babiri(it can use Smart Strike after all,) then you live a hit. There's at least one other situation, predicting Zacian's switch-in. Ogre does not like Grass, though it does a ton too. NDM idk. I don't use Caly-I, but it's traditionally WP w/ its Jynx type and bulk. So you get a boosted High Horsepower off.

Caly-I is great vs Tern, I remember that from near the beginning of legends when I ran it. It's bad against stuff like Yveltal and Caly-S, but I think only Ho-oh is a legend that can't be handled by it. Since it can run Payback/Crunch/Lash Out for Caly-S(I'm sure this isn't done, but it could be...,) and has among the strongest SE STAB for Yveltal(you always live their max maxed, or often enough Dark Pulse un-maxed 252 HP.) SD is another ok option(this thing has horrible 4MSS but show me a legend that doesn't except I guess Yveltal,) and it beats the Unaware mons you actually see w/ Grass(I had trouble W/ Pyukumuku way back, but you can crit or even use Leech Seed/Sub.) This lets it set-up better. Speaking of which, the Agility set can be good. Close Combat is great for blobs,, p2, and TTar, and I feel like the near given WP makes this mon hard to beat w/o Zacian in preferred circumstances(well, most. But still, there are other high ranked mons weak to the biggest threat around.)

Caly-I has other options it can use imo, I looked, and w/ a modest but supportable SpA(you can run Brave cause Spe sucks,) Snarl could be run. Coupled w/ AV(or w/o,) that could be annoying. Megahorn would additionally give Flutterby for lowerinng their SpA maxed. Lastly is the main reason I'm nomming this to go up slightly-my instinct was it should go down, so if it isn't deemed worthy I'll feel right, and if it is I'll BE right. It seems like a no lose unless I really get burned for posting here again. Oh, and there's the Hippo match-up. I HATE Hippo.

That said, running caly-I means you have a big fire weakness, or you're not running Zacian. NDM does this, too, but Is a Zacian check/counter. But Caly-I is #40 so it does ok. But you get some of the worst 4mss since there are probably at least 10 relevant moves.
 
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