AAA Almost Any Ability Resources

[Isaiah]

art by senko
​

NOTE: This thread is only for resource updates/discussion. General metagame discussion should be in the Almost Any Ability Metagame Thread.

Resource Council Members:
Isaiah (Tier Leader)
Atha
Quantum Tesseract
LordBox
Tranquility
Ivar57
DeepFriedMagikarp
Kinetic
Gimmicky
UT
cat
cumps

Index:
> Viability Rankings
> Speed Tiers
> What do we do in this thread? Can I post here?
> Role Compendium

[Other] Resources:
> Metagame Thread
> Sample Teams
> Discord [Metagame Discussion/RMT]

 

[Isaiah]

Viability Rankings + Sample Sets (and Analyses)
Last update: mini update April 10th, 2024​

- Each Pokemon links to its page in Smogdex.

Votes: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...FM8isGtTkr/pubhtml?gid=1632258521&single=true

	Pokemon	Abilities
S Rank
None!
A Rank
A+
Corviknight	Corviknight	Fluffy, Intimidate, Well-Baked Body, Prankster
Great Tusk	Great Tusk	Scrappy, Fluffy, Regenerator, Mold Breaker
Manaphy	Manaphy	Regenerator, Motor Drive, Protosynthesis
Roaring Moon	Roaring Moon	Sword of Ruin, Magic Guard, Regenerator
A
Azelf	Azelf	Psychic Surge
Chien-Pao	Chien-Pao	Sword of Ruin, Adaptability, Magic Guard
Deoxys-Speed	Deoxys-Speed	Psychic Surge, Prankster, Sheer Force, Protean
Gholdengo	Gholdengo	Earth Eater, Well-Baked Body, Adaptability, Immunity Abilities
Iron Moth	Iron Moth	Desolate Land, Sheer Force
Scream Tail	Scream Tail	Pixilate, Unaware
Walking Wake	Walking Wake	Primordial Sea, Dragon's Maw, Adaptability
Zamazenta	Zamazenta	Sword of Ruin, Scrappy, Purifying Salt, Regenerator
A-
Barraskewda	Barraskewda	Primordial Sea
Ceruledge	Ceruledge	Desolate Land, Sword of Ruin, Adaptability
Deoxys-Defense	Deoxys-Defense	Unaware, Intimidate, Fluffy, Regenerator
Dragonite	Dragonite	Aerilate
Empoleon	Empoleon	Volt Absorb, Earth Eater, Bulletproof
Gengar	Gengar	Sheer Force, Normalize, Beads of Ruin
Iron Boulder	Iron Boulder	Sharpness
Iron Hands	Iron Hands	Earth Eater, Regenerator, Surge Surfer
Mandibuzz	Mandibuzz	Unaware, Fluffy, Magic Guard, Immunity Abilities
Pecharunt	Pecharunt	Prankster, Intimidate, Corrosion, Well-Baked Body
Primarina	Primarina	Primordial Sea, Regenerator
Swampert	Swampert	Regenerator
B Rank
B+
Garchomp	Garchomp	Regenerator, Sword of Ruin
Heatran	Heatran	Water Absorb, Magic Guard, Desolate Land, Earth Eater
Kingambit	Kingambit	Adaptability, Well-Baked Body, Earth Eater
Latios	Latios	Adaptability, Tinted Lens, Hadron Engine
Ogerpon-Hearthflame	Ogerpon-Hearthflame	Sword of Ruin, Desolate Land, Magic Guard, Mold Breaker
Ogerpon-Wellspring	Ogerpon-Wellspring	Primordial Sea, Sword of Ruin
Sandy Shocks	Sandy Shocks	Hadron Engine, Earth Eater
Skarmory	Skarmory	Well-Baked Body, Fluffy, Intimidate
Ting Lu	Ting Lu	Regenerator, Fluffy
Zapdos	Zapdos	Primordial Sea, No Guard, Intimidate
Zapdos-Galar	Zapdos-Galar	Sword of Ruin, Magic Guard
B
Archaludon	Archaludon	Primordial Sea, Regenerator, Earth Eater
Blissey	Blissey	Magic Guard, Unaware, Well-Baked Body
Cinderace	Cinderace	Desolate Land, Mold Breaker, Magic Guard, Sword of Ruin,
Electrode-Hisui	Electrode-Hisui	Magic Guard
Goodra-Hisui	Goodra-Hisui	Regenerator, Earth Eater
Landorus-Therian	Landorus-Therian	Desolate Land, Regenerator
Meloetta	Meloetta	Regenerator
Meowscarada	Meowscarada	Sword of Ruin
Ogerpon-Cornerstone	Ogerpon-Cornerstone	Rocky Payload, Sword of Ruin
Slither Wing	Slither Wing	Tinted Lens, Magic Guard, Sword of Ruin
Terrakion	Terrakion	Sword of Ruin, Adaptability
Volcarona	Volcarona	Sheer Force, Desolate Land, Magic Guard
Zoroark-Hisui	Zoroark-Hisui	Sheer Force
B-
Jirachi	Jirachi	Regnerator
Garganacl	Garganacl	Earth Eater, Fluffy
Iron Treads	Iron Treads	Regenerator, Immunity Abilities, Magic Guard
C Rank
Chansey	Chansey	Unaware, Magic Guard, Pressure
Chesnaught	Chesnaught	Flame Body, Well-Baked Body
Cobalion	Cobalion	Magic Guard
Cresselia	Cresselia	Unaware, Stamina
Enamorus-Therian	Enamorus-Therian	Sheer Force, Well-Baked Body
Iron Crown	Iron Crown	Tinted Lens, Adaptability
Kommo-o	Kommo-o	Regenerator, Galvanize
Landorus	Landorus	Desolate Land, Sheer Force
Mew	Mew	Regenerator, Magic Guard
Polteageist	Polteageist	Queenly Majesty, Normalize
Quaquaval	Quaquaval	Intimidate, Magic Guard, Fluffy
Regieleki	Regieleki	Refrigerate
Smeargle	Smeargle	Prankster, Aroma Veil
Talonflame	Talonflame	Magic Guard
Thundurus	Thundurus	Sheer Force, Magic Guard
Thundurus-Therian	Thundurus-Therian	Sheer Force, Primordial Sea
Toxapex	Toxapex	Corrosion, Prankster
Ursaluna-Bloodmoon	Ursaluna-Bloodmoon	Adaptability, Storm Drain, Steam Engine
Zamazenta-Crowned	Zamazenta-Crowned	Dauntless Shield

 

[Isaiah]

Speed Tiers
(Current as of March 3, 2024)
(DeepFriedMagikarp is the GOAT for doing this literally by themselves)​

Speed	Sprite	Pokemon	Base	IVs	EVs	Nature
666	(+2)	Garchomp	102	31	252	+
656	(+2) (+2)	Volcarona, Zapdos-Galar	100	31	252	+
618		Zamazenta	138	31	252	+
612	(+2)	Moltres-Galar	90	31	252	+
598	(+2) (+2)	Volcarona, Zapdos-Galar	100	31	252	=
590	(+2)	Iron Crown	98	31	252	=
568	(+2)	Dragonite	80	31	252	+
568		Meowscarada	123	31	252	+
565		Greninja	122	31	252	+
562		Zamazenta	138	31	252	=
558	(+2)	Moltres-Galar	90	31	252	=
555	/ (+1)	Roaring Moon	119	31	252	+
548		Regieleki	200	31	252	+
541		Azelf	115	31	252	+
525	(+1)	Ogerpon-*	110	31	252	+
529		Scream Tail	111	31	252	+
522		Walking Wake	109	31	252	+
518	(+2)	Dragonite	80	31	252	=
504		Deoxys-Speed	180	31	252	+
499		Regieleki	200	31	252	=
499	(+1)	Garchomp	102	31	252	+
496		Sandy Shocks	101	31	252	+
492	(+1) (+1)	Manaphy, Volcarona, Chi-Yu	100	31	252	+
478	(+2)	Polteageist	70	31	252	=
459		Deoxys-Speed	180	31	252	=
450	(+1)	Great Tusk	87	31	252	+
448	(+1) (+1)	Manaphy, Volcarona, Chi-Yu	100	31	252	=
447		Rotom-Wash	86	31	252	+
442	(+1) (+1) (+1)	Kommo-o, Ceruledge, Quaquaval	85	31	252	+
439		Gholdengo	84	31	252	+
438		Electrode-Hisui	150	31	252	+
436	(+2)	Iron Hands	50	31	252	+
430		Slither Wing	81	31	252	+
426	(+1)	Dragonite	80	31	252	+
412		Zamazenta	138	31	252	+
409	(+1)	Great Tusk	87	31	252	=
408		Barraskewda	136	31	252	+
405		Chien-Pao	135	31	252	+
403	(+1) (+1) (+1)	Kommo-o, Ceruledge, Quaquaval	85	31	252	=
393		Hoopa	70	31	252	+
390		Zamazenta-Crowned	128	31	252	+
388	(+1)	Dragonite	80	31	252	=
386		Talonflame	126	31	252	+
381		Iron Boulder, Ribombee	124	31	252	+
379		Meowscarada	123	31	252	+
377		Greninja	122	31	252	+
372		Inteleon	120	31	252	+
370		Roaring Moon, Cinderace	119	31	252	+
369		Chien-Pao	135	31	252	=
361		Azelf	115	31	252	+
353		Thundurus, Scream Tail	111	31	252	+
350		Iron Moth, Gengar, Zoroark-Hisui, Ogerpon-*, Latios, Latias	110	31	252	+
348		Walking Wake	109	31	252	+
346		Terrakion	108	31	252	+
342		Iron Treads	106	31	252	+
333		Garchomp	102	31	252	+
331		Sandy Shocks, Thundurus-Therian, Landorus	101	31	252	+
328		Manaphy, Zapdos, Zapdos-Galar, Volcarona, Chi-Yu, Entei, Mew, Shaymin	100	31	252	+
324		Hydreigon, Iron Crown	98	31	252	+
309		Landorus-Therian	91	31	252	+
306		Arcanine-Hisui, Moltres, Moltres-Galar	90	31	252	+
301		Sandy Shocks	101	31	252	=
300		Great Tusk	87	31	252	+
299		Manaphy, Zapdos, Zapdos-Galar, Volcarona, Chi-yu, Entei, Mew, Shaymin	100	31	252	=
298		Rotom-Wash	86	31	252	+
295		Kommo-o, Ceruledge, Quaquaval, Samurott-Hisui, Archaludon	85	31	252	+
295		Hydreigon, Iron Crown	98	31	252	=
293		Gholdengo	84	31	252	+
287		Slither Wing	81	31	252	+
284		Dragonite, Okidogi, Mamoswine, Chandelure	80	31	252	+
281		Landorus-Therian	91	31	252	=
279		Moltres-Galar	90	31	252	=
278		Heatran	77	31	252	+
273		Great Tusk	87	31	252	=
269		Kommo-o, Ceruledge, Quaquaval, Samurott-Hisui, Archaludon	85	31	252	=
262		Volcanion, Hoopa	70	31	252	+
261		Slither Wing	81	31	252	=
259		Dragonite, Okidogi, Mamoswine, Chandelure	80	31	252	=
258		Scream Tail	111	31	0	=
240		Garchomp	102	31	0	=
240		Primarina	60	31	252	+
239		Polteageist, Sinistcha	70	31	252	=
236		Manaphy	100	31	0	=
226		Gliscor	95	31	252	=
224		Tinkaton	94	31	0	=
219		Primarina	60	31	252	=
218		Kingambit, Diancie	50	31	252	+
216		Deoxys-Defense, Brambleghast	90	31	0	=
212		Pecharunt	88	31	0	=
210		Great Tusk	87	31	0	=
210		Enamorus-Therian	46	31	252	+
208		Rotom-Wash	86	31	0	=
206		Archaludon, Cresselia, Kommo-o, Suicune	85	31	252	=
204		Gholdengo	84	31	252	=
199		Iron Hands, Kingambit, Diancie, Ursaluna	50	31	252	=
196		Mandibuzz	80	31	252	=
190		Heatran	77	31	0	=
186		Smeargle, Florges	75	31	0	=
184		Manaphy	100	0	0	-
182		Fezandipiti	99	0	0	-
176		Skarmory, Sinistcha	70	31	0	=
171		Chesnaught	64	31	28	=
170		Corviknight	67	31	0	=
168		Skeledirge	66	31	0	=
166		Meloetta	90	0	0	-
156		Goodra-Hisui, Primarina	60	31	0	=
146		Blissey	55	31	0	=
144		Blastoise	78	31	0	-
136		Iron Hands, Kingambit, Diancie, Ursaluna, Muk-Alola, Registeel	50	31	0	=
128		Enamorus-Therian	46	31	0	=
125		Corviknight	67	0	0	-
124		Ursaluna-Bloodmoon	52	29	0	-
124		Hippowdon	47	25	0	=
124		Ting-Lu	45	29	0	-
112		Swampert, Empoleon, Primarina	60	0	0	-
106		Garganacl, Toxapex, Dondozo	35	31	0	=
76		Clodsire	20	31	0	=
58		Slowking-Galar, Slowking	30	0	0	-

 

[Gimmicky]

AAA Role Compendium
​

This is the Role Compendium for the AAA tier. Each Pokemon that is here is, at least theoretically, viable in the AAA metagame, and as such, it will change as the viability rankings get updated. Feel free to discuss below whether a Pokemon should be added to or removed from a certain role; however, please refrain from discussing the order of a given subsection aside from glaring issues.

Hazard Setters

Hazard Setters

Stealth Rock:
|

Spikes:
|

Toxic Spikes:
|

Sticky Web:
|

Hazard Control

Hazard Control

Defog:
|

Rapid Spin:
|

Other removal:
(Court Change)

Spinblockers:
|

Momentum

Momentum

U-turn:
|

Volt Switch:
|

Flip Turn:
|

Parting Shot:

Set-up Sweepers

Set-up Sweepers

Swords Dance:
|

Nasty Plot:
|

Bulk Up / Curse:
|

Calm Mind:
|

Other:
(Fiery Dance) (Iron Defense) (Cosmic Power) (Dragon Dance) (Quiver Dance) (Tail Glow) (Take Heart) (Belly Drum)

Status Afflictors

Status Affilictors

Burn - Direct (Will-O-Wisp):
|

Burn - Indirect (Lava Plume/Steam Eruption/Scald):
|

Paralysis - Direct (Thunder Wave/Stun Spore/Nuzzle/Zap Cannon):
|

Paralysis - Indirect (Discharge/Thunder):
|

Bad Poison - Direct (Toxic):
|

Bad Poison - Indirect (Poison Fang/Malignant Chain):
|

Utility

Utility

Knock Off:
|

Wish:
|

Heal Bell:

Wallbreakers

Wallbreakers

Physical Amplification (Sword of Ruin, Adaptability, Guts, etc.):
|

Special Amplification (Beads of Ruin, Adaptability, Hadron Engine, etc.):
|

Magic Guard - Physical:
|

Magic Guard - Special:
|

Magic Guard - Mixed:
|

Weather - Desolate Land:
|

Weather - Primordial Sea:
|

Dedicated Walls

Dedicated Walls

Physically Defensive Amplification (Intimidate, Fluffy, etc.):


Specially Defensive Amplification (Vessel of Ruin, Sand Stream etc.):


Type Immunity Walls (Well-Baked Body, Volt Absorb, Earth Eater etc.)
|

Regenerator - PhysDef:
|

Regenerator - SpDef:
|

Speed Control

Speed Control

Naturally Fast:
|

Choice Scarfers:


Extreme Speed:
|

Sucker Punch:
|

Other (Amplification):
(Surge Surfer) (Protosynthesis) (Rapid Spin)

Other (Priority)
(Aqua Jet) (Bullet Punch) (Fake Out) (First Impression) (Shadow Sneak) (Vacuum Wave) (Water Shuriken)

 

[UT]

So...what do we do here?
​

Welcome to the AAA Resources thread! One thing we very much want to encourage this generation is community involvement in the resources thread. We got an amazing response when we asked for sample sets in the main thread, and that's what we want to continue here.

What goes here?
Do you have a sample set for a mon on the VR? Post it here, especially for mons that do not have sample sets/analyses. Think something is in the wrong place on the viability ranking, or missing a viable ability? Tell us why. Do you think one of the analyses is out of date, or could be improved? Make the suggestion. See something missing from the Speed tiers? Point it out. Are there other types of resources you would like to see? We're all ears!

What still goes in the main thread?
Basically, everything else. Tiering actions, cool strategies you've found, sharing sample teams or fun teams you've been using, etc. all still go in the main thread. This thread is for specifically contributing to resources, everything else still goes in the main thread.

Thanks for all the contributions you've made so far, and we look forward to seeing what else you come up with!

 

[Ducky]

I'd like to nominate Baxcalibur to mid. It has a great offensive typing and strong priority in ice shard that makes it very nice vs a lot of the meta. I don't have any replays to show, but I climbed to 1400 on the ladder with it and can pretty confidently it deserves to be mid tier.

Baxcalibur @ Choice Band
Ability: Sword of Ruin / Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Glaive Rush
- Icicle Crash
- Ice Shard
- Earthquake

I've found Choice Band to be better, but a Boots set with SD over EQ is also pretty solid.

 

[Giagantic]

I'd like to suggest moving up Iron Valiant to High.

With a simple set such as this:

Iron Valiant @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Moonblast
- Thunderbolt
- Shadow Ball / Knock Off
- Close Combat

This Pokemon is able to tear into teams from both spectrums making defensive counterplay difficult at best. The chief example, one which I am sure many familiar with AAA currently have experienced is that of Corviknight vs Iron Valiant, or more specifically how Iron Valiant totally wrecks one of the most common defensive pivots / defoggers available, regardless of set.

Oh it is Ice Scales Corviknight get 2-3hko'd, 4 Atk Life Orb Iron Valiant Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Corviknight: 203-239 (50.7 - 59.7%) -- 84% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

Oh it is Fur Coat Corviknight get 1-2hko'd, 252 SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Iron Valiant Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Corviknight: 356-421 (89 - 105.2%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO

Despite not being the fastest threat, Iron Valiant ain't slow, it faces competition from faster special attackers like Flutter Mane but is able to break past defensive counterplay that would stymie common Flutter Mane sets. This attribute can't be understated and this is ignoring the various other sets it can run from Scarf Trick to other potentially unexplored sets. Point is, Iron Valiant is a monster of a pokemon, it's limits haven't been fully explored and it is already so potent that I am hard-pressed to find good counterplay to it outside of prediction or simply not allowing it the opportunity which, in my opinion doesn't fit it's place in Middle viability.



(Woops I did it again Edit: Accidentally didn't input right calcs as pointed out by Astralydia below)

 

[astralydia]

I'd like to suggest moving up Iron Valiant to High.

With a simple set such as this:

Iron Valiant @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Moonblast
- Thunderbolt
- Shadow Ball / Knock Off
- Close Combat

This Pokemon is able to tear into teams from both spectrums making defensive counterplay difficult at best. The chief example, one which I am sure many familiar with AAA currently have experienced is that of Corviknight vs Iron Valiant, or more specifically how Iron Valiant totally wrecks one of the most common defensive pivots / defoggers available, regardless of set.

Oh it is Ice Scales Corviknight get 2hko'd, 0 Atk Life Orb Iron Valiant Close Combat vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Corviknight: 200-238 (59.3 - 70.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO.

Oh it is Fur Coat Corviknight get 1hko'd, 252 SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Iron Valiant Thunderbolt vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Corviknight: 359-424 (106.5 - 125.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Despite not being the fastest threat, Iron Valiant ain't slow, it faces competition from faster special attackers like Flutter Mane but is able to break past defensive counterplay that would stymie common Flutter Mane sets. This attribute can't be understated and this is ignoring the various other sets it can run from Scarf Trick to other potentially unexplored sets. Point is, Iron Valiant is a monster of a pokemon, it's limits haven't been fully explored and it is already so potent that I am hard-pressed to find good counterplay to it outside of prediction or simply not allowing it the opportunity which, in my opinion doesn't fit it's place in Middle viability.

The benchmarks are lacking HP investment - whilst not too important, this actually makes Corviknight a bit more of a reliable pivot. In the case of Ice Scales, you'll need to predict correctly, and in the case of Fur Coat, Thunderbolt isn't an automatic OHKO, meaning that in pinch situations, Corviknight can at least attempt to check Valiant if the game depends on it. However, this isn't an argument against the nom - just an observation.
4 Atk Life Orb Iron Valiant Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Corviknight: 203-239 (50.7 - 59.7%) -- 84% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Iron Valiant Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Corviknight: 356-421 (89 - 105.2%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO

 

[Ducky]

Ok I didn't think I would be back in this thread again so quickly but think the defensive Great Tusk set can be improved a little.

The first change is removing 32 EVs from HP and the 4 in Atk and moving them to speed. This creeps Jolly Iron Hands and let's you tie +Speed base 100s. It might be worth to invest 40 EVs into speed to outspeed base 100s at +1, but the most important thing is creeping Hands IMO.

Also I think Stealth Rock can be slashed behind Body Press for the 4th slot, as Great Tusk is often able to find opportunities to set up Rocks during a game and matches up pretty well vs a lot of the tier's hazard removal.


anyways this is what i think the new sett should look like

Great Tusk @ Leftovers / Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 220 HP / 252 Def / 36 Spe
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Knock Off
- Rapid Spin
- Body Press / Stealth Rock

 

[SparksBlade]

Palo needs a sample set!

Fur Coat Palossand

Palossand @ Leftovers
Ability: Fur Coat
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Shore Up
- Earth Power
- Shadow Ball

I randomly decided that I wanted to try Palossand and looked around the forums and resources a bit, as well as asking on PS. The most I could find was "decent physical wall, gog set better, hippo better". Haters. Palossand being part Ghost-type actually came into play quite a bit with spinblocking and just taking less chip from random U-Turns

Shadow Ball I think separates Palossand from Hippowdon as well, as now you can waste Corviknight's Roosts if it just tries to 1v1 you, or force it out and manage to keep your rocks. Also in last mon scenarios you get plenty of chances to spam Shadow Ball vs, say, DD Dragonite, which means most times it won't be able to get enough boosts to kill you then sweep your whole team because of Roost PP and SpDef drop chances.

In my opinion Earth Power is slightly more important than Shadow Ball, so I tried a few more options in place of Shadow Ball. Protect for Choiced Chi-Yu / Flutter Mane, Chilling Water for just the attack drop in case someone really tries to muscle past you, Hypnosis cos why not, and Imprison to prevent rocks. All were kinda meh, maybe Protect closest to useful but I ended up going back to Shadow Ball every time.

This mon ate every physical hit, including super effective ones and tinted lens ones and was one of . I haven't tried the other mons as much/at all so can't say too much for it's ranking, maybe near the bottom of Mid rather than in Low but that's whatever. It does have its flaws tho - VERY PASSIVE. All you can do is pray for some SpDef drops and nothing else. Hippowdon having Whirlwind over it is also a big thing even if Hippo can't touch Corviknight because shuffling through hazards is great even with the drawback of being useless vs last mon.

I think Palossand fits some very niche role over its competitors but it's not a completely overshadowed mon either.

 

[Giagantic]

Okay folks, next nom to move up is one I think few will disagree with and is a Pokemon that runs a wide number of abilities to fit the team it is on and that Pokemon is none other then Gholdengo! It is in my opinion a top tier Pokemon in AAA and should be grouped up with the titans of the meta!

The reason? Simple, it can effectively fit into most teams and run a wide range of abilities such that when facing one you never actually know what it is running till it is too late. Every single match with a Gholdengo is one in which you are never sure if you are up against one that is immune to ground (Earth Eater), immune to fire (Well-Baked Body), extremely physically bulky (Fur Coat), or running more niche abilities such as Bulletproof to stop incoming threats from checking it. It can run tanky sets, choiced sets with trick, bulky offensive sets, sub based sets, and performs these roles to similar degrees of effectiveness.

Gholdengo is a pokemon that basically has everything it really needs to perform, it's dual stabs are resisted by a scant few Pokemon, and give it a great number of resists and immunities. It's movepool contains everything it needs similarly to it's typing having access to the unique steel move Make It Rain! on top of Shadow Ball, Recover, Substitute, Trick, Nasty Plot, and so forth... It is one of the few pokemon that can actually run it's regular ability and get away with it in AAA... this in of itself says a lot about how powerful and effective it is in it's role as a bulky steel/ghost.

It can also check or counter a number of the top rated pokemon simply by running a variety of sets for example, it can run Well-Baked Body and counter Iron Moth, Substitute sets can setup in front of Garganacl for free, Dragonite is forced to EQ but can backfire when facing Fur Coat or ground immune abilities, heck... whilst the following isn't something you should necessarily run Gholdengo could easily counter non-mold breaker variants of Iron Bundle with any sort of water immunity. It is a Pokemon that can easily punish the most common pivot and defogger, Corviknight, it can scare off every single variant of the steely bird but Power Trip sets which take too long to setup to effectively handle Gholdengo before it sets up itself and breaks through Ice Scales. The list of what it can run is vast and it is this fact that elevates it far above other Pokemon in my opinion. Facing one forces you into guessing what it is running or testing out the waters, this allows a Gholdengo player to easily bluff abilities such as Well-Baked Body or Earth Eater lest the opponent wants to risk a pokemon or give way to a easy setup moment.

TLDR: Gholdengo is a bundle of potential abilities with great firepower and greater typing and should not be lumped in the Middle of the VR but firmly placed at the top.

 

[LordBox]

Supporting both the Gholdnego and Iron Valiant promotions, Gholdnego is just immensely useful and versatile with all its set whether RegenScarf, Bulky FC/Type Immunity or other stuff like Specs or such while Iron Valiant is just a really good mixed Wallbreaker that can actually break through the dominant FurScale cores that are everywhere.

Also, Avalugg should probably belong in low. Without Tera, the Tables typing really holds it back a lot. In terms of physical threats that can break through, mixed Pult/DNite/Iron Valiant, OPulse/Adapt Slitherwing, Cereludge, Offensive Tusk, BDrum Iron Hands and even Kingambit all have the capability to break Avalugg without that much trouble and so fails to find much appeal on a lot of teams that can't really find much space to find defensive answers to all of them and has meh utility overall with no pivot. Still can be worth considering as it can still wall mons that it doesn't have a poor type matchup like non-mixed DNite and Baxculibur but in most cases, at least on balance, I find FC Hippowdown as a fat sponge to be a lot better as its type doesn't suck as much and can handle generally more or even Iron Hands for the typing + pivot. Definitely also seen a lot less Tables on ladder as well, which is probably indicative of others realizing the same.

Also nominating Fur Coat Slitherwing, Stakeout CB Tusk and Stakeout Iron Valiant to be put on the VR, although I'm really just coping because I'm the only one using either Stakeout mons, but they are genuinely good options I swear. Fur Coat Slitherwing is just a cool defensive options for its ability to pivot + wisp which is enough to sell it for me but its typing also allows it to check offensive Tusk, Kingambit and BDrum Iron Hands nicely (also beats Meowscarada very well, I guess). It does admittedly struggle with stuff like Cereludge and DNite but the list isn't so long I can't put in teammates to handle them (Dazzling Flutter can lure both for players who don't scout first) with the utility that it brings, mainly just pivot because pivot is annoying to find on defensive mons these days while still being as useful as ever. Nvm I just got trolled since FC just isn't on the VR ranking but it is on SmogDex (add it to VR though).

Stakeout Tusk is a good alternative to MBreaker (I swear), it poses a similar ability to rip and shred fat or more passive teams that let it keep coming in while having an improved performance against mons that aren't FurCoat, Stakeout allowing it to do things like OHKO'ing defensive RegenTusk and spamming Knock in fear of immunities also becomes a lot better to do (doing like 80-90 to IceScales Corv). Does perform less reliably against fat FurCoat mons but with good play they can be chipped into 2HKO range, Tusk still doing 70-80 to FC Hippowdown on the switch + next attack. Heavily prediction reliant though with both STABs having common immunities so you better start praying whenever you click an attack.

Stakeout Iron Valiant I've admittedly tested less than either, but I've found it pretty cool (and if FC Flutter and IceScales Chomp can go on the viability rankings, which I've never seen on ladder once, why not this). Main advantage of this set is really capitalizing on forced switches and unlike Tusk not struggling to break FurScales. Wrecking basically anything coming in (if you can get the predict right*), even dedicated checks to Valiant like physically defensive IceScales Florges or specially defensive Scream Tail can be put into 2HKO range with some little chip and can straight up OHKO Corviknight on the switch which people still do fairly often, meaning the Corv can't escape and live another day. Life Orb recoil is annoying though and is heavily prediction reliant but this can be solved with just getting good™. It can also struggle a bit on getting in position to force some things out, although I've paired it with things like offensive SlitherWing to pivot it on FurCoat mons which usually switch out.

 

[cat]

Poltea set

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Polteageist @ White Herb

Ability: Queenly Majesty

EVs: 232 Def / 24 SpA / 252 Spe

Timid Nature

IVs: 0 Atk

- Shell Smash

- Shadow Ball

- Stored Power

- Giga Drain



heres my personal poltea set. the evs may seem weird but ive evd them to tank dnite ( +1 252+ Atk Dragonite Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 232 Def Polteageist: 193-228 (73.9 - 87.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock ) another mon it can sometimes switch in on is blissey, apart from the occasional shadow ball. of course, the best set is prob



Polteageist @ White Herb

Ability: Queenly Majesty

EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

Modest Nature

IVs: 0 Atk

- Shell Smash

- Shadow Ball

- Stored Power

- Giga Drain

 

[UT]

I'd like to nominate Baxcalibur to mid.

Did!

I'd like to suggest moving up Iron Valiant to High.

Did!

Palo needs a sample set!

Added!

Okay folks, next nom to move up is one I think few will disagree with and is a Pokemon that runs a wide number of abilities to fit the team it is on and that Pokemon is none other then Gholdengo!

Yeah wth was that in mid? Did!

Also, Avalugg should probably belong in low.

Did!

Also nominating Fur Coat Slitherwing, Stakeout CB Tusk and Stakeout Iron Valiant to be put on the VR

Did!

Poltea set

Yeah we can add the matchup Teapot, did!

Thanks for all the great suggestions, and if you have more, keep them coming!

 

[Timm168]

Dondozo with prankster rest-talk, liquidation, curse should be in low

 

[LordBox]

Dondozo with prankster rest-talk, liquidation, curse should be in low

I can get behind Dondozo being in low, although Prankster doesn't seem like that good an ability to put on that, do you really need to move faster than your opponents at all as Dondozo? If you wanna go for a bulky wincon you could always slap IceScales on that set or even FurCoat or smth. Or just use it as a bulky wall with Regen but idk I haven't tested it all.

 

[Timm168]

I'd also like to argue that Iron Bundle is at best mid viability.

What makes it broken in OU is its speed+unresisted stab combination making nothing but Blissey a true switch-in. However, the prevalence of ice scales means it gets walled extremely easily by the likes of spdef corviknight or Florges unless it's specs primordial sea (as for florges it walls regardless). Functionally we have so many options for general special walls that it falls flat in too many games.

It also gets walled by the desolate land fire types (volc and iron moth) who also prevent flip turn and shifts momentum heavily. All this alongside poor defensive typing and stats make it no where near as strong as the top threats.

It's speed and access to flip turn mean its offensive sets will always be good and some interesting defensive sets (snow-warning aurora) can be scary but it's misplaced in top tier imo.

I can get behind Dondozo being in low, although Prankster doesn't seem like that good an ability to put on that, do you really need to move faster than your opponents at all as Dondozo? If you wanna go for a bulky wincon you could always slap IceScales on that set or even FurCoat or smth. Or just use it as a bulky wall with Regen but idk I haven't tested it all.

I had some success with prankster at a high-ish rank I think running spdef and being able to instantly boost defence before you get hit is a big deal. Plus being able to heal before getting hit also makes a big difference. Then being able to attack or boost with priority using sleep talk (although unreliable) can and does win games. Ice scales I could see working for sure I just think the opportunity cost is too high to give up corv, florges, garg or something else with that ability and the same goes with regen. It doesn't do much when it switches in each time (it seems like more of a wincon pokemon) so I think regen wouldn't be too good but maybe it could work.

 

[LordBox]

I'd also like to argue that Iron Bundle is at best mid viability.

What makes it broken in OU is its speed+unresisted stab combination making nothing but Blissey a true switch-in. However, the prevalence of ice scales means it gets walled extremely easily by the likes of spdef corviknight or Florges unless it's specs primordial sea (as for florges it walls regardless). Functionally we have so many options for general special walls that it falls flat in too many games.

It also gets walled by the desolate land fire types (volc and iron moth) who also prevent flip turn and shifts momentum heavily. All this alongside poor defensive typing and stats make it no where near as strong as the top threats.

It's speed and access to flip turn mean its offensive sets will always be good and some interesting defensive sets (snow-warning aurora) can be scary but it's misplaced in top tier imo.

Specs Primordial Sea Bundle is the most common set and it can very easily put Corviknight in range with good play with Flip Turn doing 20% ish while Pump can do 40%. It can still apply quite the bit of pressure of teams and despite DesoVolc/Moth it has U-Turn to keep up the momentum against them. I think the fact so many teams have specific counterplay just for Bundle and is always kept in mind when keeping special threats in mind is enough to show why it's high, it can still be immensely threatening with its power and its speed is still great only being outsped by Scarfers and Pult, IceScales Corv isn't hard to be chipped into 2HKO range with good play and even mons that essentially always wall it can still be exploited for momentum with U-Turn/Flip Turn. I'd also like the mention the funniest Galvanise Banded Giga Impact Bundle that OHKO's Corv and Iron Moth on the switch which Aesf made because its just hilarious.

Also while I'm here nominating Fur Coat as a viable ability for Volcarona. I've talked about it before and after a bit more testing it still is rather cool on HO anyway, which is the only place I've tested it on and where the opportunity cost of using FC on Volc and SR weakness don't come into play much and can pair up with other offensive monsters to overwhelm annoying special walls like Clodsire. Also why are there two Polteageists on the VR ranking?

FC Volc Set

Volcarona @ Heavy-Duty Boots / Leftovers
Ability: Fur Coat
Tera Type: Bug
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Quiver Dance
- Bug Buzz / Will-O-Wisp / Giga Drain / Psychic
- Fiery Dance
- Morning Sun

 

[Tanny89k]

Sample set:

Set

Flutter Mane @ Leftovers
Ability: Fur Coat
EVs: 120 Def / 132 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Calm Mind
- Shadow Ball
- Moonblast
- Pain Split

120 Def lets it always live +1 Sharp Beak Aerilate Dragonite's Extreme Speed; +1 252+ Atk Sharp Beak Aerilate Dragonite Extreme Speed vs. 0 HP / 120 Def Fur Coat Flutter Mane: 211-250 (84 - 99.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

 

[cat]

id like to nominate well-baked body gholdengho as a set on the vr

Gholdengo wbb

Hide

Gholdengo @ Leftovers
Ability: Well-Baked Body
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Shadow Ball
- Make It Rain
- Recover

heres a analysis if u want one (seperate from the defensive nasty plot)
Defensive Moth Check (lol)

Hide

Gholdengo's reliable recovery in Recover, ability to setup and hit hard with Nasty Plot, Shadow Ball and Make It Rain, and lastly excellent typing granting it many resists and few weaknesses. Its typing allows it, with a fire immunity ability, to check Iron Moth and Volcarona very well, as well as checking Iron Valiant, Noivern, Scream Tail and Slither Wing naturally. With Well-Baked Body, it is only weak to Ground, Ghost and Dark. With the most common ghost types being Flutter Mane and Dragapult, a good Ice Scales user like Garganacl or Corviknight can be a good partner for Gholdengo. However, Corviknight needs to be careful for Hadron Engine variants. Corviknight doubles as a partner by being able to eat the ground type moves that may plague Gholdengo. Its dark weakness is also accounted for in the fact that there aren't alot of dark types, with mainly Chi-Yu and Kingambit. Chi-Yu can get revenge killed by Aerilate Dragonite, which can be another partner for Gholdengo as it is also immune to ground types. Kingambit can be reliably check but a common Fur Coat User Iron Hands.

 

[LordBox]

id like to nominate well-baked body gholdengho as a set on the vr

Gholdengo wbb

Hide

Gholdengo @ Leftovers
Ability: Well-Baked Body
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Shadow Ball
- Make It Rain
- Recover

heres a analysis if u want one (seperate from the defensive nasty plot)
Defensive Moth Check (lol)

Hide

Gholdengo's reliable recovery in Recover, ability to setup and hit hard with Nasty Plot, Shadow Ball and Make It Rain, and lastly excellent typing granting it many resists and few weaknesses. Its typing allows it, with a fire immunity ability, to check Iron Moth and Volcarona very well, as well as checking Iron Valiant, Noivern, Scream Tail and Slither Wing naturally. With Well-Baked Body, it is only weak to Ground, Ghost and Dark. With the most common ghost types being Flutter Mane and Dragapult, a good Ice Scales user like Garganacl or Corviknight can be a good partner for Gholdengo. However, Corviknight needs to be careful for Hadron Engine variants. Corviknight doubles as a partner by being able to eat the ground type moves that may plague Gholdengo. Its dark weakness is also accounted for in the fact that there aren't alot of dark types, with mainly Chi-Yu and Kingambit. Chi-Yu can get revenge killed by Aerilate Dragonite, which can be another partner for Gholdengo as it is also immune to ground types. Kingambit can be reliably check but a common Fur Coat User Iron Hands.

I think you're already aware but WBB is already included with Defensive NP set on Smogdex and so already has a set (although isn't on the VR, for some reason) and I don't believe there's enough to distinguish WBB Gholdengo from the other sets to warrant it's own analysis and set as it functions similarly enough outside the defensive aspect (and would warrant another analysis for Earth Eater). On the set itself, Substitute should also be in there.

 

[Lechen]

​

Polteageist	Queenly Majesty
Glimmora	Earth Eater, Ice Scales, Toxic Debris
Kilowattrel	Primordial Sea
Polteageist	Queenly Majesty

I'm sorry for the one liner but I think you put Polteageist twice on the VL by accident.

 

[cat]

heres my desoland / opulse cinderace pivot, tlens / sf and mguard sets. id nominate it for around mid (def better ceruledge)
sun pivot

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Cinderace @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Desolate Land
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Pyro Ball
- High Jump Kick
- U-turn
- Swords Dance

tlens / sf

Hide

Cinderace @ Life Orb
Ability: Tinted Lens
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Pyro Ball
- High Jump Kick
- Taunt
- Swords Dance

mguard x2 (idk i have one more defensive and one offensive)

defensive mguard

Hide

Cinderace @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Flare Blitz
- U-turn
- Court Change

offensive mguard

Hide

Cinderace @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- High Jump Kick
- Flare Blitz
- U-turn

i dont mind writing an analysis for cinder if no one has reserved the spot yet (we havent removed flutter from vr)

 

[LordBox]

heres my desoland / opulse cinderace pivot, tlens / sf and mguard sets. id nominate it for around mid (def better ceruledge)
sun pivot

Hide

Cinderace @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Desolate Land
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Pyro Ball
- High Jump Kick
- U-turn
- Swords Dance

tlens / sf

Hide

Cinderace @ Life Orb
Ability: Tinted Lens
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Pyro Ball
- High Jump Kick
- Taunt
- Swords Dance

mguard x2 (idk i have one more defensive and one offensive)

defensive mguard

Hide

Cinderace @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Flare Blitz
- U-turn
- Court Change

offensive mguard

Hide

Cinderace @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- High Jump Kick
- Flare Blitz
- U-turn

i dont mind writing an analysis for cinder if no one has reserved the spot yet

Isn't it a bit too early to write Ace? Well whatever. In terms of the sets MG defensive I don't think is a thing, just slashing the SD in offensive MG with Wisp or Court Change is fine (Ace's bulk isn't real even if invested into + no recovery so I think the set would be terrible anyway). I've never seen Tinted but I guess go for it, U-Turn and Band would still seem like an option on it though. Also where is OPulse? If it's DLand, slash it. Also Life Orb, Band should be there and Will O Wisp and Court Change should be slashed with SD imo (Or you could make an SD variant or non-SD but I doubt it's needed)

 

[UT]

heres my desoland / opulse cinderace pivot, tlens / sf and mguard sets. id nominate it for around mid (def better ceruledge)
sun pivot

Hide

Cinderace @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Desolate Land
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Pyro Ball
- High Jump Kick
- U-turn
- Swords Dance

tlens / sf

Hide

Cinderace @ Life Orb
Ability: Tinted Lens
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Pyro Ball
- High Jump Kick
- Taunt
- Swords Dance

mguard x2 (idk i have one more defensive and one offensive)

defensive mguard

Hide

Cinderace @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Flare Blitz
- U-turn
- Court Change

offensive mguard

Hide

Cinderace @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- High Jump Kick
- Flare Blitz
- U-turn

i dont mind writing an analysis for cinder if no one has reserved the spot yet (we havent removed flutter from vr)

Thanks for the set ideas! (And pointing out Flutter was still on the VL, it has been yeeted). Like LordBox said, it’s far too early to write the Cinderace analysis, or honestly even rank it yet; it’s been legal on PS! less than 24 hours. Additionally, when it is time to write, reservations belong here.

While it’s too early for an analysis, we do already have a sample set up, and it is similar to your first set. I don’t see much merit to Tinted Lens or Sheer Force, as they are weaker than Orichalcum Pulse, while Magic Guard may have a niche due to Court Change and much better PP from Flare Blitz. We will see with time!