Almost Any Ability Resources

[imas]

Contributors: aesf Jordn LaxLapras motherlove
Format inspired by Zangooser

thanks to Bummer for the spectacular artwork​

What is Almost Any Ability (AAA)?

AAA allows your pokemon to use almost any ability. It should be noted that AAA does not follow the OU banlist but has its own. Certain abilities and pokemon have been banned to AAA Ubers to create a more balanced metagame. You can refer to the AAA Ladder thread for more info on the banlist or find out more about aaa ubers and it's banlist.


What should I use this thread for?

You should use this thread for:
- Discussing the viability of Pokemon in the metagame and nominating them for ranks in the viability rankings
- Adding Pokemon to the role compendium
- Speed Tiers to be implemented
- Donating Sample teams

You should use the ladder thread for:
- Discussing the AAA (both ubers and regular) metagame
- Discussing sets you've had success with
- Bringing up potential suspects


Posting in the threads

In either thread, your posts should include proper justifications with examples from the AAA metagame.

When discussing a set in the ladder thread mention why and how it works in the current meta, what pokemon it beats/walls and what role it serves.

When nominating for the role compendium, specify what makes the specific pokemon worth a mention and why it does its job well. When nominating for a rank in viability rankings, specify why this pokemon should rise or fall based on its performance in the current metagame. When asking for a speed tier to be implemented, mention the pokemon's usage and why it's more relevant now. When "nominating" something to be implemented into the speed tier, please use the given format.


Index

• Viability Rankings
• Speed Tiers
• Roles Compendium
• Sample Teams

 

[imas]

VIABILITY RANKINGS​

Welcome to the AAA Viability Rankings! Here, we'll try to accurately represent the current state of the Almost Any Ability metagame and attempt to rank Pokemon commonly used in the metagame based on how well they do their job and how easy it is for them to fit onto teams.

The Viability Ranking consists of four ranks: S, A, B and C. Several of these have subranks to divide the Pokemon in there even more. However, there won't be a segregation between Pokemon which fulfill different roles. Pokemon in the same rank/subrank are listed alphabetically.

S Rank:

Skarmory - Gale Wings, Unaware, Intimidate, Flash Fire, Prankster

Tyranitar - Adaptability, Regenerator, Defiant

Manaphy - Poison Heal, Motor Drive, Regenerator, Sheer Force, Unaware, Volt Absorb
​

A Rank:

High A Rank

Braviary - Gale Wings, Poison Heal

Deoxys-S - Mold Breaker, Download, Sheer Force

Doublade - Regenerator, Flash Fire, Levitate

Entei - Refrigerate, Tinted Lens, Desolate Land

Heatran - Desolate Land, Chlorophyll, Magnet Pull, Levitate, Turboblaze

Honchkrow - Adaptability, Gale Wings

Latios - Adaptability, Tinted Lens

Lucario - Tough Claws, Refrigerate, Scrappy, Sheer Force, Adaptability

Mega Gyarados - Magic Bounce, Volt Absorb, Motor Drive -> Mold Breaker.

Thundurus - Sheer Force, Refrigerate, Magic Guard

Victini - Desolate Land, Tough Claws, Tinted Lens, No Guard, Sheer Force, Turboblaze

Volcanion - Tinted Lens, Adaptability, Motor Drive, Magnet Pull, Swift Swim

Zapdos - Intimidate, Unaware, Drizzle, Delta Stream, Magic Guard, Magic Bounce, Primordial Sea, No Guard
​

Mid A Rank

Alakazam - Sheer Force, Adaptability

Chansey - Magic Bounce, Unaware, Regenerator, Flash Fire

Diancie - Regenerator, Poison Heal

Genesect - Sheer Force, Refrigerate, Tough Claws, Regenerator

Gengar - Sheer Force, No Guard, Normalize

Heracross - Tough Claws

Kyurem - Adaptability, Refrigerate, Sheer Force, Tinted Lens

Mandibuzz - Poison Heal, Unaware, Volt Absorb, Delta Stream, Intimidate, Regenerator, Magic Guard

Mew - Unaware, No Guard, Prankster, Magic Bounce

Volcorona - Magic Guard, Desolate Land, Sheer Force
​

Low A Rank

Ferrothorn - Flash Fire, Primordial Sea, Regenerator, Prankster, Tough Claws, Bulletproof, Magic Bounce

Garchomp - Adaptability, Poison Heal, Magic Bounce

Greninja - Protean, Sheer Force

Hippowdon - Intimidate, Unaware, Poison Heal, Magic Bounce.

Jirachi - Regenerator, Tinted Lens, Sheer Force, Serene Grace

Krookodile - Bulletproof, Adaptability

Staraptor - Gale Wings, Tinted Lens, Guts

Zygarde - Poison Heal, Magic Bounce, Refrigerate

Meloetta - Regenerator

Mega Metagross - Defiant / Flash Fire -> Tough Claws
​

B Rank:

High B Rank

Azumarill - Poison Heal, Huge Power

Blastoise - Poison Heal

Goodra - Regenerator

Hydreigon - Mega Launcher, Sniper, Sheer Force, Tough Claws

Infernape - Magnet Pull, Sheer Force, Adaptability, Drought, Mold Breaker, Download

Landorus-T - Aerilate, Refrigerate, Regenerator, Adaptability, Mold Breaker, Flash Fire

Rotom-Wash - Swift Swim, Regenerator, Primordial Sea, Poison Heal, Magnet Pull

Swampert - Poison Heal, Regenerator, Sap Sipper

Tentacruel - Regenerator, Unaware

Vaporeon - Poison Heal

Mega Lopunny - Download -> Scrappy

Mega Swampert - Drizzle -> Swift Swim

Mega Tyranitar - Defiant, Magic Bounce, Prankster -> Sand Stream

Togekiss - Delta Stream, Magic Guard, Pixilate, Gale Wings
​

Mid B Rank

Azelf - Sheer Force, Download

Blaziken - Speed Boost, Tough Claws, Magic Guard

Breloom - Prankster, Technician

Chesnaught - Poison Heal, Tough Claws,Flash Fire, Unburden

Landorus-I - Sheer Force, Refrigerate

Mega Diancie - Download, Magic Bounce -> Magic Bounce

Deoxys-D - Mold Breaker, Prankster

Escavalier - Regenerator

Gliscor - Intimidate, Gale Wings, Unaware

Moltres - Magic Guard, Gale Wings, Primordial Sea, Desolate Land

Raikou - Teravolt, Adaptability, Magnet Pull, Regenerator

Sylveon - Regenerator, Poison Heal

Tyrantrum - Magic Guard, Tough Claws, Adaptability

Mega Charizard X - Drought, Magic Guard, Download, Magic Bounce, Multiscale -> Tough Claws
​

Low B Rank

Cresselia - Unaware, Poison Heal

Jellicent - Adaptability, Prankster, Poison Heal

Magnezone - Regenerator,Swift Swim,Primordial Sea

Pangoro - Tough Claws, Adaptability

Scizor - Flash Fire, Regenerator

Shuckle - Mold Breaker, Prankster

Sneasel - Refridgerate, Adaptability

Tornadus - Gale Wings, Sheer Force, No Guard, Drizzle / Primordial Sea, Tinted Lens

Zoroark - Illusion, Adaptability, Tough Claws, Sheer Force

Mega Slowbro - Volt Absorb, Intimidate, Unaware, Magic Bounce, Magnet Pull, Regenerator -> Shell Armor
​

C Rank:

High C Rank

Absol - Tough Claws, Adaptability

Aromatisse - Unaware,Poison Heal

Arcanine - Tough Claws, Refrigerate

Celebi - Unaware, Poison Heal

Crobat - Magic Guard

Excadrill - Adaptability, Flash Fire, Bulletproof, Refrigerate

Gastrodon - Thick Fat, Primordial Sea

Metagross - Regenerator

Porygon2 - Prankster

Rampardos - Magic Guard, Sand Rush, Tough Claws

Rhydon - Regenerator

Rhyperior - Adaptabiliity, Poison Heal

Shaymin - Tinted Lens, Poison Heal, Sheer Force

Shiftry - Adaptability

Starmie - Intimidate, No Guard, Primordial Sea, Sheer Force, Adaptability

Talonflame - Magic Guard

Mega Manectric - Magnet Pull / Intimidate -> Intimidate

Tornadus-T - Tinted Lens, Drizzle, Download, Sheer Force

Umbreon - Poison Heal

Virizion - Poison Heal
​

Mid C Rank

Chandelure - Desolate Land, Magic Guard, Adaptability, Sheer Force

Conkeldurr - Tough Claws

Darmanitan - Tough Claws, Unburden

Diggersby - Huge Power

Haxorus - Tough Claws, Tinted Lens

Omastar - Regenerator, Levitate, Swift Swim, Poison Heal

Rotom-Frost - Adaptability

Thundurus-T - Swift Swim, Sheer Force, No Guard

Mega Altaria - Magic Bounce / Multiscale / Intimidate -> Pixilate

Mega Blastoise - Drizzle / Magnet Pull / Lightning Rod-> Mega Launcher

Mega Gardevoir - Competitive, Download -> Pixilate

Mega Houndoom - Drought -> Solar Power.
​

Low C Rank

Crawdaunt - Adaptability, Swift Swim

Ditto - Imposter

Hoopa-C - Adaptability, Chlorophyll, Swift Swim, Tinted Lens

Klefki - Regenerator, Prankster
​

 

[imas]

Speed Tiers​

​

Format: [Speed Stat] - Pokemon Name | [Base Speed] | [IVs]:[EVs] | [Stat modifier]
​

Tier 0 [speed > 365]
600 - Diancie-Mega, Metagross-Mega | 110 | 31:176 | +2
562 - Landorus-Therian | 91 | 31:252 | +2
542 - Rotom Wash | 86 | 31:252 | +2
504 - Deoxys-Speed | 180 | 31:252+ | +0
492 - Victini, Volcarona | 100 | 31:252+ | +1
486 - Hydreigon | 98 | 31:252+ | +1
478 - Swampert-Mega | 70 | 31:252 | +2
475 - Kyurem | 95 | 31:252+ | +1
466 - Krookodile | 92 | 31:252+ | +1
459 - Deoxys-Speed | 180 | 31:252 | +0
454 - Heatran | 77 | 31:252- | +2
448 - Victini, Volcarona | 100 | 31:252 | +1
442 - Heracross | 85 | 31: 252+ | +1
439 - Haxorus | 97 | 31:252 | +1
438 - Magnezone | 60 | 31:252 | +2
433 - Kyurem | 95 | 31:252 | +1
430 - Gyarados-Mega | 81 | 31:252+ | +1
417 - Heatran | 77 | 31:252+ | +1
424 - Krookodile | 92 |31:252 | +1
403 - Heracross | 85 | 31:252 | +1
393 - Volcanion | 70 | 31:252+ | +1
391 - Gyarados-Mega | 81 | 31:252 | +1
388 - Blaziken | 80 | 31:252 | +1
379 - Heatran | 77 | 31:252 | +1
377 - Greninja | 122 |31:252+ | +0
375 - Tornadus-Therian | 121 | 31:252+ | +0
369 - Lopunny-Mega | 135 | 31:252 | +0
366 - Gyarados-Mega | 81 | 31:184 | +1



Tier 1 [speed < 365]
364 - Tyranitar | 61 | 31:252+ | +1
361 - Tyrantrum | 71 | 31:252 | +1
361 - Raikou, Sneasel, Starmie | 115 | 31:252+ | +0
353 - Thundurus, Tornadus | 111 | 31:252+ | +0
350 - Latios, Gengar, Mega Metagross, Mega Diancie | 110 | 31:252+ | +0
333 - Garchomp | 102 | 31:252+ | +0
331 - Landorus | 101 | 31:252+ | +0
328 - Victini, Manaphy | 100 | 31:252+ | +0
326 - Genesect | 99 | 31:252+ | +0
324 - Hydreigon | 98 | 31:252+ | +0
317 - Kyurem | 95 | 31:252+ | +0
309 - Landorus-Therian | 91 | 31:252+ | +0
306 - Lucario | 90 | 31:252+ | +0
299 - Entei, Staraptor | 100 | 31:252 | +0
289 - Kyurem | 95 | 31:252 | +0
283 - Krookodile | 92 | 31:252 | +0
281 - Landorus-Therian | 91 | 31:252 | +0
279 - Lucario | 90 | 31:252 | +0
278 - Heatran | 77 | 31:252+ | +0
269 - Heracross | 85 | 31:252 | +0
244 - Manaphy, Zapdos | 100 | 31:32 | +0
243 - Tyranitar | 61 | 31:252+ | +0
241 - Tyrantrum | 71 | 31:252+ | +0
222 - Meloetta | 90 | 31:24 | +0
221 - Tyranitar | 61 | 31:252 | +0
208 - Rotom Wash | 86 | 31:0 | 0
196 - Braviary | 80 | 31:0 | +0
192 - Blastoise | 78 | 31:0 | 0
178 - Honchkrow | 71 | 31:0 | +0
176 - Skarmory | 70 | 31:0 | +0


Tier 2 [speed < 175]
166 - Umbreon, Vaporeon | 65 | 31:0 | +0
156 - Sylveon, Swampert | 60 | 31:0 | +0
136 - Chansey, Azumarill, Diancie | 50 | 31:0 | +0
126 - Conkeldurr | 45 | 31:0 | +0
116 - Rhydon | 40 | 31:0 | +0
106 - Doublade | 35 | 31:0 | +0
85 - Forretress | 40 | 31:0 | +0
94 - Aromatisse | 26 | 31:0 | +0
76 - Escavalier | 20 | 31:0 | +0
46 - Shuckle | 5 | 31:0 | +0
40 - Ferrothorn | 20 | 0:0 | +0

 

[imas]

Roles compendium
​

Welcome to the AAA Roles compendium. Here, we are attempting to list the roles that common pokemon in AAA perform. The pokemon are not listed in any particular order.

Offensive Pokemon

Physical Attackers

Special Attackers

​

Mixed Attackers

Wallbreakers

Choice Scarf Users

Priority Users

Pursuit

Magnet Pull

U-Turn/Volt Switch

Setup Sweepers

Dragon Dance / Quiver Dance

Agility / Rock Polish

Swords Dance

Nasty Plot / Tail Glow / Offensive CM

Defensive Setup

Defensive Pokemon

Physical Walls

Special Walls

Mixed Walls

Defensive Pivots

Hazards

Lead

Stealth Rock

Spikes

Magic Bounce

Defog

Rapid Spin

Defiant/Competitive

Spin Blockers

 

[imas]

reserved for sample teams

 

[imas]

reserved for recent updates

 

[imas]

You can now post! But please give the OP a read and try to follow the guidelines.

 

[Imperator Romanum]

Manaphy to S

Manaphy is in my mind currently the best water type, the best PH user, a tie for best stallbreaker and generally an amazing pokemon. And I'm not talking about motor drive, but PH. LaxLapras invented it and it's amazing. Knock off + Tail glow allows Manaphy to quickly gain power, while Knock off lets it get passed Chansey, Meloetta, Goodra and a plethora of other PH users trying to take advantage of it. Right now it's sitting at a fairly low usage compared to motor drive but I wouldn't be surprised if it increased significantly the coming months.

Scald lets it cripple physical switch ins trying to take advantage of it's relatively low bulk compared to Suicune, while Knock off aims to remove Life orbs, Leftovers, Assault vests, Specs items and Eviloite from the following "checks" Latios, Thundurus, Volcanion, Chansey, Meloetta, Goodra, Heatran and Victini. Without their items they become significantly easier to handle.

The nature of PH lets manaphy be a very offensive wall, that can still act as a fire/ice/water switch in for stall-teams while still putting tons of pressure on your opponent.

I'm bringing this up now because in the wake of the SSS Manaphy lost a counter in Suicune and a soft counter in Snorlax, both of which were competition. Manaphy is definitely a dominate threat capable of being a crutch for offensive teams that doesn't lose momentum and always retains a certain ability to apply pressure on your opponent - werher it's Knock off, Scald or Tail glow, this thing is a massive threat.

That was my main nom, now this is something we should probably discuss

Mega Metagross A- -> B
Greninja A- -> B+
Virizon C+ -> B

 

[imas]

I'm surprised no one replied to this. Manaphy is definitely a lot better now than it ever was before, probably even S good. However, its rise to popularity is pretty recent and I'd like to wait a bit before a nomination to S goes through.

 

[IronicDouble (‽)]

Is this thread dead? What happened?

 

[The Immortal]

Is this thread dead? What happened?

having 2 omotms really hurt the rest of the permanent ladders imo

 

[Admiral Kirk]

Alright, I have a couple nominations.

Tyranitar S -> A or A+

Tyranitar is a good Pokemon in AAA. It's probably the best pursuit trapper, and it's a great rock setter. However, its low speed and below-average defensive typing stop it from being in S. Just looking at these rankings, it loses one-on-one to about 20 out of the 34 A-rank mons, while Skarm loses to only about 10. It's still pretty good in its own right though, so A or A+ would be good.

Aegislash (common ability of Stance Change) Unranked -> A+

Aegislash is great. It's got excellent stats and access to a solid moveset, including King's Shield, Swords Dance, Shadow Sneak, and Pursuit. It's also got great typing. In my opinion, it's actually just as good as Doublade, given its higher special bulk, attacking power, and access to King's Shield.
In addition, Aegislash is not listed as a priority user, physical attacker, special attacker, pursuit user, mixed wall, or anything else in the roles compendium, which should definitely be fixed.

Conkeldurr C -> Add Magic Bounce to common abilities and B+ at the least

Magic Bounce Focus Punch Conkeldurr is wonderful. It's not very common, but it wrecks stall and any walls that don't have powerful attacking moves. It can force switches with Magic Bounce, then either set up a sub or just go for a Focus Punch. I have some replays (albeit old replays) that show how good it can be:
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/almostanyability-281772132
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/almostanyability-286432842

In regards to Manaphy, I think S-Rank is good. Manaphy was the main reason for the Poison Heal suspect, and it's probably the best stallbreaker in the metagame right now. It can also be a solid wall, although wall sets aren't as good or as common.
I don't have an opinion on the rest of Grains of Salt's nominations, since I haven't used those Pokemon in a while.

Also, Dragonite should be removed from the rankings, and Noivern needs to be added (although I'm not completely sure where exactly; I haven't gotten around to using it yet).

 

[imas]

Deleted dragonite from things and added manaphy to S because it's honestly overdue. Ttar's utility in most games is honestly invaluable + noivern (specs) is a thing now, so I think that nom needs convincing. LaxLapras, Grains of Salt and motherlove what do you think?

 

[Laxpras]

TTar is S without a doubt. First of all, idk where he got it loses to 20/34 A rank mons, that is absolutely ridiculous and not true. TTar is still probably the second best mon in the meta, behind Manaphy. Its Pursuit is absolutely devastating. Think about it this way. Skarmory is easily checked, if not countered, by common mons and thus most teams. To check Tyranitar, things like Chesnaught or Intimidate Hippowdown have to be run, both of which can get worn down extremely easy. Tyranitar absolutely changes any game to a point where it can flat out win, or at least scare your opponent with Pursuit enough where they can't abuse their best threats.

As for Noivern, I think its kind of broken and should probably be banned but that's not the thread for that. For now, I would put in A at the very least, it probably fits best in A+, and I would consider S. It's ridiculously fast, hits crazy hard and 2HKOs pretty much everything. I could be convinced pretty easily to say S, but ig I'll say A+ for now.

 

[Imperator Romanum]

Going to say S as well, it hits stupidly hard and is pretty much impossible to switch into expect based god stunfisk/diancie. Other than this metagame isn't prepared for special flying spam at all, the fact that it hits so hard, is so fast and with the coverage that it has means that it'll be coming in and doing work every match. 2HKOing TTar, Good chance to OHKO Thundurus after rocks, OHKOs Latios, 2HKOs Specially defensive Skarmory, 2HKOs Doublade, Zapdos, Zygarde and tons of other defensive mons really put this thing over the top. Doing it with one move? S easily.

 

[IronicDouble (‽)]

Erm, may I ask why Mew's best ability is still No Guard? Wasn't Zap Cannon banned, and therefore No Guard Mew really has no niche over Prankster/Magic Bounce? I don't know if I'm missing something or not...

 

[imas]

Erm, may I ask why Mew's best move is still No Guard? Wasn't Zap Cannon banned, and therefore No Guard Mew really has no niche over Prankster/Magic Bounce? I don't know if I'm missing something or not...

No, just an oversight.

 

[IronicDouble (‽)]

No, just an oversight.

ok understood. is there any reason that one of deoxys-defense's viable abilities is not poison heal? i mean i know its there for hazard stacking, but thats somewhat outclassed. its not that bad of a ph user imo...any reason?

 

[QT]

Is there a reason that the OM sample teams haven't been ported over? Do you want explicit permission, is there some kind of higher requirement here, or is this another oversight?

 

[imas]

Is there a reason that the OM sample teams haven't been ported over? Do you want explicit permission, is there some kind of higher requirement here, or is this another oversight?

We were trying to decide how we should import the teams here [the format] but never decided on how we should go about doing that. Options were:
-just link the teams to the existing thread
-get brand new teams
-port the teams over, making them available for stealing right from the sample teams post [via hide tags] + have a small description

Since we never really decided and the new gen is almost here, we just never did anything about it. Starting next gen, I'll probably just give lax the thread and the AAA thread's second post will host the sample teams. [All metagames will host sample teams in post 2 starting sun/moon]

ok understood. is there any reason that one of deoxys-defense's viable abilities is not poison heal? i mean i know its there for hazard stacking, but thats somewhat outclassed. its not that bad of a ph user imo...any reason?

Because it's not good? Only DeoD PH we've seen is cosmic power/recover/toxic which is a pretty terrible set. It's setup fodder for skarm/other PH pokemon (like manaphy) [that's 2 s ranks] and it's 2hko'd by bandtar. It's also setup fodder for Lucario/Doublade and is shut down by Taunt. All in all, if you're looking for a PH psychic type wall, you have better options in Cresselia and even Mew thanks to it's very large movepool. Deoxys-D is good at one thing, setting hazards, and its Ranking + listed ability shows that. And no, it is not outclassed by Deoxys Speed because while DeoS is a suicide lead, Deo-D can be both a suicide lead or a bulky hazard setter/pivot. Also, its prankster set has merit in its ability to counterlead DeoS in fact.

Your post is exactly the kind of posts I dont' want in this thread. Please read this extract from the OP.

Posting in the threads

In either thread, your posts should include proper justifications with examples from the AAA metagame.

When discussing a set in the ladder thread mention why and how it works in the current meta, what pokemon it beats/walls and what role it serves.

When nominating for the role compendium, specify what makes the specific pokemon worth a mention and why it does its job well. When nominating for a rank in viability rankings, specify why this pokemon should rise or fall based on its performance in the current metagame. When asking for a speed tier to be implemented, mention the pokemon's usage and why it's more relevant now. When "nominating" something to be implemented into the speed tier, please use the given format.

It's very possible that you had a different PH set in mind that actually works but we cannot read minds so if you don't post your reasoning as to why it should be listed and why it's good in the current meta, there's no reason for us to include your suggestion.

I'm only leaving this post here because this is the first time this has happened and leaving the post here will hopefully let future users see why we don't want posts like this. However, all future posts like this will be deleted.

 

[IronicDouble (‽)]

Well since Aerilate is unbanned, why don't we fix the rankings?

Thundurus-I, Thundurus-T, Landorus-T, Landorus-I have Aerilate added as a viable ability.
Rank Noivern, Regular Gyarados, Salamence. (Just an idea, Noivern --> A; Regular Gyarados --> B, Salamence --> B)
Raise Landorus-T and Landorus-I's rankings as now Aerilate gives it a long need Flying STAB. Maybe each up a rank?

EDIT: With possible flying spam, I feel like electric types like Raikou should go up a rank or two. However, I do not have sufficent evidence quite yet.

 

[Admiral Kirk]

In my opinion, Noivern should be A+ rank. It hits stupid hard, and it's faster than a large amount of the Pokemon in AAA. It might be S, but I'm not completely sure about that given that it gets beaten by most priority users, which are really common in this meta.

I also agree with IronicDouble (‽) that some electric types should go up; specifically, I wanna mention Raikou, Magnezone, and Rotom-Frost, although I'm sure there are others that I'm overlooking. In my opinion, these should go up a rank each.

Also, are we not gonna talk about Aegislash and Conkeldurr? I can get disagreeing with Conkeldurr now that Boomburst is more prominent, but Aegislash definitely needs to be added.

 

[dusk raimon]

View attachment 67894
Manaphy to S

Manaphy is in my mind currently the best water type, the best PH user, a tie for best stallbreaker and generally an amazing pokemon. And I'm not talking about motor drive, but PH. LaxLapras invented it and it's amazing. Knock off + Tail glow allows Manaphy to quickly gain power, while Knock off lets it get passed Chansey, Meloetta, Goodra and a plethora of other PH users trying to take advantage of it. Right now it's sitting at a fairly low usage compared to motor drive but I wouldn't be surprised if it increased significantly the coming months.

Scald lets it cripple physical switch ins trying to take advantage of it's relatively low bulk compared to Suicune, while Knock off aims to remove Life orbs, Leftovers, Assault vests, Specs items and Eviloite from the following "checks" Latios, Thundurus, Volcanion, Chansey, Meloetta, Goodra, Heatran and Victini. Without their items they become significantly easier to handle.

The nature of PH lets manaphy be a very offensive wall, that can still act as a fire/ice/water switch in for stall-teams while still putting tons of pressure on your opponent.

I'm bringing this up now because in the wake of the SSS Manaphy lost a counter in Suicune and a soft counter in Snorlax, both of which were competition. Manaphy is definitely a dominate threat capable of being a crutch for offensive teams that doesn't lose momentum and always retains a certain ability to apply pressure on your opponent - werher it's Knock off, Scald or Tail glow, this thing is a massive threat.

That was my main nom, now this is something we should probably discuss

Mega Metagross A- -> B
Greninja A- -> B+
Virizon C+ -> B

I wanna say I've started playing a lot more AAA recently and I use manaphy on almost all my teams (with the same set by LaxLapras every time) and I whole heartedly support its rise to S rank for a number of reasons. First off with PH it is incredibly hard to revenge kill effectively and after 1 tail glow it can 6-0 unprepared teams. Also against balance or stall manaphy has an incredibly easy time and is able to 6-0 easily through a combination of pp stalling the unaware wall and knock offing leftovers/eviolites and sweeping with tail glow boosted scalds. Also if the manaphy set isn't a bulkier one and is in fact a faster tail glow set with motor drive then it can capitalise upon a misprediction by the opponent and sweep easily.

 

[Hilomilo]

I'm not extremely experienced with AAA, but I have been using aerilate Noivern quite a bit lately and must say, it's a true force to be reckoned with. The ability to outspeed and dismantle offensive cores and leave teams reliant on a flying resist is enough for me to say it warrants placement in either A or A+, though I'd like to hear what others think too.

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/almostanyability-465297778
Here's just ONE example of what Noivern can do with a tiny bit of speed support and a primarily offensive team to feast on.

 

[Lennon1398]

Dunno if this is still being used but Water Bubble Golisopod is a force to be reckoned with. 170 power Liquidation and 80 power Aqua Jet, and it can't be burned.