Anything Goes Resources

A few things to bring up. Feel free to discuss whether you agree or not. These will be updated depending on general feedback.

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B to B+/A- MMX is an excellent physical attacker with a variety of coverage options. It has a skyrocketing Attack stat which exceeds Rayquaza-Mega. This pokemon can OHKO EKiller Arceus variants with Low Kick or with a +1 Drain Punch. It can easily sweep unprepared teams.

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B to B+ With pokemon such as Rayquaza-Mega suffering from an absence of reliable recovery. Salamega can be a delight to teams requiring set up sweepers that prow on the ability to gain their HP back. This pokemon is highly regarded in the Ubers metagame, but does take up a mega slot which could be used on Mega Rayquaza. When considering usage for this pokemon it would heavily depend on the need for recovery or not. Although it is outclassed by Rayquaza-Mega, it still performs a decent job.

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C+ to C- This pokemon seems to have no room within the AG metagame, especially with pokemon such as Rayquaza-Mega and the previous two on the page performing a lot better than Aerodactyl. Its typing can be useful against Arceus and Primal-Groudon, but it's so frail it dies to these pokemon anyway.

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Unranked to C- This pokemon has no niche over Espeon in terms of Baton Pass teams. "Pixilate Hyper Voice", I'm sorry but in what universe does an evasion boosted Espeon struggle with substitute mons? I really do NOT think we should rank this pokemon. Pairing it alongside is not a great idea either as other mons can do the job which also have a use (see Mr. Mime if you require a fairy).

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Unranked to C- I can agree with this, but my judgment may be a little biased. I used this pokemon when I started the AG metagame and used it alongside my team to get to high ladder. I got to the top 5 with it, and beat Semen, Gunner and Curve. Due to my lack of knowledge for the metagame, Aron posed a safety net in case there was something I couldn't stop. When paired with a berry juice it could come in on anything and Endeavor it the following turn. I think this pokemon does have certain viability within the metagame; not sure if C is too high or not though, so I'll pose a C-.

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Unranked to C+ "Bronzong can check Xerneas, set up rocks, use toxic protect & use Skill Swap. It's also very easy to wish to just because it takes min damage from a lot of things like Groundceus, Kangaskhan, Lugia, Diancie, P don without a fire move & so on. I believe that it outclasses every mon in the C+ division, but it's not good enough to be in B." - GunnerRohan. Essentially it.

I would like to hear viewpoints on these. But as always feel free to discuss other pokemon as you wish.
Alright, time for Sage's insight.

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C+ to C- I really do not agree with this demotion. I believe that the formidable speed that Aerodactyl provides paired with decent attacking abilities and useful access to support moves merits it a position in C+.

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Unranked to C- Agreeing with this. Aron is an unreliable strategy, but the fear it creates as well as the need for the opponent to play around this strategy is enough for Aron to be gifted with the rank of C-.

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Unranked to C+ Agreeing with this. Aegislash outranks Bronzong, but Bronzong stil presents a good enough front to be given C+.

ZEKROM-What is going on? I would really like someone to at least say if it's being promoted or not, since there was a lot of discussion on it...
 
I'm only going to address Mega-Aerodactyl for now. I feel that:

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C+ to D/Unranked : Aerodactyl's only niche in AG is fast Taunt/SR. It does mediocre damage to everything & is essentially a suicide lead. Unless you're planning to run HO, I don't see it taking a spot. It doesn't guarantee rocks vs magic bouncers either, so Excadrill seems to outclass it. It's just a mediocre mon in general which may get rocks & some damage off, or none of the aforementioned.
 
I'd like to address MMX and Aron for now, thanks!

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B to (oh well) B : True Mega Mewtwo-X does need an increase in rank (If the pokemon other than MMX in B continue to be there, if that ain't done moving to B+ is viable), but I won't support moving it to B+ for the following reasons -
1. Although it has a higher attack, more speed and slightly higher bulk (106HP) it, in no way, even comes close to M-Ray due to the lack of powerful physical stab moves and can OHKO almost nothing that isn't weak to fighting (mostly no-one uses Zen Headbutt and it doesn't even after using Bulk Up once cause I've tried it myself)

2. The speed boost M-Ray gets on using Dragon Dance along with a boost to attack is what makes M-Ray truly outclass it though (hence negating the fact that MMX has more speed), not to mention powerful coverage moves M-Ray has access to.

3. It's inability to handle set-up sweepers is a problem as well. M-Ray can OHKO it with Dragon Ascent and Xerneas with Moonblast and Ice Punch doesn't OHKO M-Ray (neither does Poison Jab always OHKO Xerneas even after Bulk Up)

4. Lack of a priority move is a problem as well.

5. Also, M-Ray gets a free slot to have either Lum Berry or Sky Plate or Sharp Beak or LO.

(I'd suggest lowering the ranks of other Pokemon in B rather ':P')

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Unranked to C- : Yes I agree with this completely as I've battled various variants of aron?! It's almost sure to bring down the HP pretty low (1%) or even OHKO a Pokemon (when using Sandstorm and Endeavour with berry Juice against a Pokemon that takes damage from sandstorm). So it can put, anyone unaware of this niche, in trouble (kinda). Some variants have Recycle as well in-case the opponent messes up.

Hope you guys like my comment! This is my first comment ever on the Smogon Forums!
Thanks again.
 
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Chansey > Blissey because Chansey can actually live physical hits whereas Blissey just has absolutely no physical bulk. Especially in an tier with ekillers galore. Chansey is also a necessity on any AG stall team along with gira (not that AG stall is common), so it deserves a ranking. Chansey can even run a sash counter lure like blissey, it just does everything better. Anyways we already debated this in length, I guess it's done.

Gunner Rohan aron in D is fine with me.

Please do not rank sylveon, the viability rankings are cluttered as it is.

MM2X should stay B. Other things should drop. It definitely isn't a top tier mon, but it does have it's place.

Why is Maerodactyl even ranked?? What can it do in AG exactly besides get 2HKO'd by things it resists? It's attack stat isn't even great in this uber-galore meta.

Bronzong faces a lot more competition in AG than it does in Ubers. Steelceus can play a similar role, granted without ground immunity and there's no opportunity cost of using an arceus in AG since you get as many as you want. However, it does have its niche. C is where I'd place it.

Spin Da (Pig) groundceus can run a physically bulky set just as easy as it can run an offensive set, and it actually has better bulk than Hippowdon as well as a better movepool. It virtually outclasses it.



sorry if i missed anything
 
No opinion on most of the noms but Aron to C is ridiculous. It can come in and trade for one thing if SR aren't up. You could do that with inner focus sash counter alakazam or something ridiculous, but we aren't calling that good. Hell, sturdy metal burst bastiodon does the same thing with roar and can check non EQ Arceus, let's rank that. If it's getting on here anywhere then D is the place, but I don't see how it deserves even that because it can trade. Just use Deo-A or something. Also agreeing with Sylveon not being ranked.
Edit: what makes Aron better here than in other tiers really? It still provides no defensive utility and is dead weight with SR up and can at best trade. Why is that more valuable here? Oh and it loses to SD ghostceus the third most relevant sweeper pretty much edit 2: fourth oops

Mega Aero could also stand to stay C rank, anything fast with an Espeed resist is nice and offensive utility sets are certainly above things like Aron. In one mon you've got a fast Espeed resist with solid offenses that's fairly threatening to offense because of the lack of switchins outside of gira and support arc, and a pursuit trapper for everything from lati to mega gengar. I'd honestly like it to stay c+ but at least above c. Might make a large post of noms later.
 
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I am just wondering, why Latias, Latios and Palkia are all in the same rank? They pretty much check the same things and have similar movesets only with Latios being the most powerful one of the 3 and Latias pretty much only has only Healing Wish to stand out over Latios.
 
No opinion on most of the noms but Aron to C is ridiculous. It can come in and trade for one thing if SR aren't up. You could do that with inner focus sash counter alakazam or something ridiculous, but we aren't calling that good. Hell, sturdy metal burst bastiodon does the same thing with roar and can check non EQ Arceus, let's rank that. If it's getting on here anywhere then D is the place, but I don't see how it deserves even that because it can trade. Just use Deo-A or something. Also agreeing with Sylveon not being ranked.
Edit: what makes Aron better here than in other tiers really? It still provides no defensive utility and is dead weight with SR up and can at best trade. Why is that more valuable here? Oh and it loses to SD ghostceus the third most relevant sweeper pretty much edit 2: fourth oops

Just use Deo-A? I don't think you understand that Deo-A doesn't ensure an OHKO with the bulky things coming around (also Deo-A is also useless with SR set-up).
It's quite obvious it's there to come at the start itself, so there's no question of stealth rock. True it can do nothing to Ghostceus (but maybe it makes the opponent do what you want 'em to?!) but that's why C-. Also Arceus-Ghost is not that common. In all it just helps reduce the HP of an opposing pokemon. Also, no-ones saying C- Mons are good.
 
No opinion on most of the noms but Aron to C is ridiculous. It can come in and trade for one thing if SR aren't up. You could do that with inner focus sash counter alakazam or something ridiculous, but we aren't calling that good. Hell, sturdy metal burst bastiodon does the same thing with roar and can check non EQ Arceus, let's rank that. If it's getting on here anywhere then D is the place, but I don't see how it deserves even that because it can trade. Just use Deo-A or something. Also agreeing with Sylveon not being ranked.
Edit: what makes Aron better here than in other tiers really? It still provides no defensive utility and is dead weight with SR up and can at best trade. Why is that more valuable here? Oh and it loses to SD ghostceus the third most relevant sweeper pretty much edit 2: fourth oops

Mega Aero could also stand to stay C rank, anything fast with an Espeed resist is nice and offensive utility sets are certainly above things like Aron. In one mon you've got a fast Espeed resist with solid offenses that's fairly threatening to offense because of the lack of switchins outside of gira and support arc, and a pursuit trapper for everything from lati to mega gengar. I'd honestly like it to stay c+ but at least above c. Might make a large post of noms later.
I agree with most of what you said about Aron, and either way D is fine in my opinion like I've said. So there's no point really debating arguments.

The thing about mega aero is that you can only have 1 mega. Mega Aero is a pretty shitty one at that. Mega Ray is simply a better bird. Mega aero doesn't check ekiller because espeed 2 or 3hkos it, and stone edge from arc OHKOs it . I challenge you ot someone else to show me one good AG team that aero is the mega (and the most viable choice for it). It simply isn't good. It's fast, but so are a lot of things in AG. It's powerful, but not as powerful as other threats. If it had an extra 20/20/20 in bulk it would be a good mega sure, but for now it's just bad.


Edit; mertyville is right. Drop Latias one rank imo. Latios is simply better.
 
Just use Deo-A? I don't think you understand that Deo-A doesn't ensure an OHKO with the bulky things coming around (also Deo-A is also useless with SR set-up).
It's quite obvious it's there to come at the start itself, so there's no question of stealth rock. True it can do nothing to Ghostceus (but maybe it makes the opponent do what you want 'em to?!) but that's why C-. Also Arceus-Ghost is not that common. In all it just helps reduce the HP of an opposing pokemon. Also, no-ones saying C- Mons are good.
I meant if you're that desperate to KO a weakened sweeper, deo-a's faster espeed is a better way than ranking Aron. Arc ghost is extremely relevant, so I thought I'd just bring up the point that Aron can't beat one of the most relevant sweepers, just wanted to bring it up. It also can't beat mons with knock off 1v1, that was just an example. I really don't get what "come at the start of itself means" but using it as a lead is a waste if that's it. I get c- isn't good, but it's still overrating Aron. Also deo-a is far from useless with sr up
I agree with most of what you said about Aron, and either way D is fine in my opinion like I've said. So there's no point really debating arguments.

The thing about mega aero is that you can only have 1 mega. Mega Aero is a pretty shitty one at that. Mega Ray is simply a better bird. Mega aero doesn't check ekiller because espeed 2 or 3hkos it, and stone edge from arc OHKOs it . I challenge you ot someone else to show me one good AG team that aero is the mega (and the most viable choice for it). It simply isn't good. It's fast, but so are a lot of things in AG. It's powerful, but not as powerful as other threats. If it had an extra 20/20/20 in bulk it would be a good mega sure, but for now it's just bad.


Edit; mertyville is right. Drop Latias one rank imo. Latios is simply better.
obviously aero isn't going to ohko arc, that's reliant on not letting it sd for free. What I do disagree with though is comparing it to megaray. Aero is a fast revenge killer that won't drop to an espeed like deo-a or something making it more comparable to mega gengar than anything. Yes they both use a mega slot, but you use a mega because of what it gives the team not because you need to use the slot. Aero has speed, decent power, and the utility of pursuit and even rocks if you need them which clearly sets it apart from other mons. As far as good teams I won't have my comp for at least a day and I'm still relatively new to the format so yeah
 
I meant if you're that desperate to KO a weakened sweeper, deo-a's faster espeed is a better way than ranking Aron. Arc ghost is extremely relevant, so I thought I'd just bring up the point that Aron can't beat one of the most relevant sweepers, just wanted to bring it up. It also can't beat mons with knock off 1v1, that was just an example. I really don't get what "come at the start of itself means" but using it as a lead is a waste if that's it. I get c- isn't good, but it's still overrating Aron. Also deo-a is far from useless with sr up.

Rather than KO a weakened sweeper, Aron ensures bringing it's health down to 1% which Deo-A too can't ensure on the bulky things. I did mean opening with aron. (Really even at the top, most people don't use Ghostceus much, it's starting to become a thing now though not to mention that even Deo-A struggles against Ghost Pokemon). Well, true it can't knock-out all the Pokemon 1v1, but the point of using it is to bring the HP down to 1%. Also, Deo-A after SR can be easily knocked down by priority moves (but obviously, it is better than Aron). NVM though, Joshz said it'll continue to be in D o.O
 
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Rather than KO a weakened sweeper, Aron ensures bringing it's health down to 1% which Deo-A too can't ensure on the bulky things. I did mean opening with aron. (Really even at the top, most people don't use Ghostceus much, it's starting to become a thing now though not to mention that even Deo-A struggles against Ghost Pokemon). Well, true it can't knock-out all the Pokemon 1v1, but the point of using it is to bring the HP down to 1%. Also, Deo-A after SR can be easily knocked down by priority moves (but obviously, it is better than Aron). NVM though, Joshz said it'll continue to be in D o.O

Aron just loses to SR & ghost types. It's not hard to ensure both of those things on a team. Aron's niche in the meta is non-existent. Even focus sash endeavor Ratatta/Tailow can do what Aaron does. They're still Dank mons.
PS: I accede to the fact that Josh is stupid.
 
Ok, so most changes have been decided on, I just need to know which B mons to drop since MMX is clearly more viable than the rest of its rank. So please out of the following, lmk where these pokemon belong.
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I will make a large update post after we decide on these.

Edit: half of you are telling me they require a drop, and the other half are telling me it's fine.

Edit2: We're discussing Greninja, LandoT and Espeon dropping, but as always if you think something doesn't belong. Feel free to discuss.
 
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Does anybody actually have teams where it's that important that they run regular groudon over primal? I can see where it might be nice on paper if you're really weak to other rp groudon or something but really what's the point of being weaker to ogre, xern, etc? Not enough experience to say drop but it sounds pretty outclassed on paper
Edit at below
Joshz that team has no switch-in to ogre and is nowhere near ground weak, I don't even know why he doesn't use primal don and the rmt doesn't explain
 
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Everything looks fine and at the same level of MM2X, I don't agree they should be dropped.

Except maybe Lando-T, it really doesn't fit in AG well. B- fits it a lot better imo. I won't write much because I haven't used it much in AG, but it simply can't keep up with all of the threats in the tier well.



Any thoughts on Greninja dropping? I am undecided, would like to see some arguments for or against it.

Does anybody actually have teams where it's that important that they run regular groudon over primal? I can see where it might be nice on paper if you're really weak to other rp groudon or something but really what's the point of being weaker to ogre, xern, etc? Not enough experience to say drop but it sounds pretty outclassed on paper
http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/ag-perfection-peaked-2066.3541127/
 
Does anybody actually have teams where it's that important that they run regular groudon over primal? I can see where it might be nice on paper if you're really weak to other rp groudon or something but really what's the point of being weaker to ogre, xern, etc? Not enough experience to say drop but it sounds pretty outclassed on paper.

I do agree that P-Gdon completely outclasses regular Gdon, but it is viable as most people don't use P-Kyogre and it's a a good rock-setter as well as not 4x weak to water moves (Special M-Ray is gaining ground?! If not special even Physical ones have Waterfall or Surf as a coverage move instead of EQ), therefore making sure it sets up those rocks. However it is no longer able to effectively check Xerneas. In all I don't think we need to drop regular Gdon.

Edit: About Landorus-T, I don't think it's good enough? But I've never used it (never encountered it as well) so I don't know.

About Greninja, I'd say let it be. The Protean is pretty handy but it still isn't able to OHKO pokemon (Unable to OHKO M-Ray without LO, maybe not that bad then?). It's a decent pokemon, being ale to set-up toxic spikes and using it's protean ability to hit pokemon harder (not to mention that it can help fool inexperienced players).

About Espeon, If the ability of Espeon to lead baton pass teams is not taken into account a drop is pretty much what it deserves, but really it's a pretty good baton passer. I just battled a Baton-Pass team yesterday and Espeon had quite an effect on the battle (Stretched the battle, I mean 126 turns!). It however has no role on non BP teams so lower it I guess.

About Aegislash, IK we're not discussing Aegi but I don't really see the niche Aegi has, despite the good amount of defences it's shield forme has it still does get OHKO'ed.
 
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I do agree that P-Gdon completely outclasses regular Gdon, but it is viable as most people don't use P-Kyogre and it's a a good rock-setter as well as not 4x weak to water moves (Special M-Ray is gaining ground?! If not special even Physical ones have Waterfall or Surf as a coverage move instead of EQ), therefore making sure it sets up those rocks. However it is no longer able to effectively check Xerneas. In all I don't think we need to drop regular Gdon.
It's completely outclassed...but viable with a niche...but can't check xern like Pdon can...but doesn't need to drop? Plus people don't use primal ogre and they use physical surf ray? Like wat
 
It's completely outclassed...but viable with a niche...but can't check xern like Pdon can...but doesn't need to drop? Plus people don't use primal ogre and they use physical surf ray? Like wat
They do use it Megazard, I've battled them myself (You have more chances of OHKOing P-GDon using Surf than Waterfall). And B is low enough for Groudon I'd say. It's a fact that most people don't use Kyogre, they use the P-Groudon, Yveltal, M-Ray and three Arceus team.

EDIT:
I'd not lower Groudon from B, as it is viable enough due to P-Kyogre not being that common and B-Class is quite lower than the S-Class in which P-Groudon is.
 
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But if it's outclassed it should drop further. No reason to use it so it's not that viable. As far as surf, EQ is gonna deal with it when it's weakened and I'd rather hit other stuff more but uh k

Anyway, when I was looking at B ranks I realized that the whole VR seems a but inflated. You've got like 90 Pokemon ranked, it's hard to get all of them right but overall things just get boosted past their place. Off the top of my head here are some things that just seem overrated.

arc steel a to a-: Cool mon but has issues walling things when EQ is preferred coverage on everything, SD is pretty lame, free switch for don, not on the level of things like yveltal or arc fairy
smeargle a- to b+: Moody is cool but this thing is so commonly and easily prepared for, it cant really cheese its counters with a different moveset. Too luck based and potentially worthless for an a rank
ditto a- to b+: Supremely meh, you could always not set up from team preview or abuse it being choice locked and any team support/defensive opportunities are reliant on your opponent's team
clefable b+ to b: Doesn't have the bulk to actually wall that effectively. Needs max def for Ekiller, cant beat geoxern, falls to primal don and megaray, etc
groudon b to c: Outclassed, still havent seen any good reasons to use this thing but not as strong on it
xatu c+ to somewhere? Why is this a c+ mon? Why would I want to use this? Sylveon is a better secondary BP recipient to espeon lol
rayquaza c- to c: Doesn't waste a mega slot and is still fairly impossible to wall, can bluff ray + mmx or something, just feels low despite its amazing mega

Feel free to tear these apart as I'm sure at least one is actually fine as is and I'm over/underrating it in a 5 minute attempt to fix inflation. Also blaziken is ranked B but the mega isn't mentioned anywhere on VR D:
 
But if it's outclassed it should drop further. No reason to use it so it's not that viable. As far as surf, EQ is gonna deal with it when it's weakened and I'd rather hit other stuff more but uh k

Anyway, when I was looking at B ranks I realized that the whole VR seems a but inflated. You've got like 90 Pokemon ranked, it's hard to get all of them right but overall things just get boosted past their place. Off the top of my head here are some things that just seem overrated.

arc steel a to a-: Cool mon but has issues walling things when EQ is preferred coverage on everything, SD is pretty lame, free switch for don, not on the level of things like yveltal or arc fairy
smeargle a- to b+: Moody is cool but this thing is so commonly and easily prepared for, it cant really cheese its counters with a different moveset. Too luck based and potentially worthless for an a rank
ditto a- to b+: Supremely meh, you could always not set up from team preview or abuse it being choice locked and any team support/defensive opportunities are reliant on your opponent's team
clefable b+ to b: Doesn't have the bulk to actually wall that effectively. Needs max def for Ekiller, cant beat geoxern, falls to primal don and megaray, etc
groudon b to c: Outclassed, still havent seen any good reasons to use this thing but not as strong on it
xatu c+ to somewhere? Why is this a c+ mon? Why would I want to use this? Sylveon is a better secondary BP recipient to espeon lol
rayquaza c- to c: Doesn't waste a mega slot and is still fairly impossible to wall, can bluff ray + mmx or something, just feels low despite its amazing mega

Feel free to tear these apart as I'm sure at least one is actually fine as is and I'm over/underrating it in a 5 minute attempt to fix inflation. Also blaziken is ranked B but the mega isn't mentioned anywhere on VR D:
Sorry don't have time to argue all of these in detail.

Blaziken-Mega isn't viable in AG.

I support Arc-steel dropping to a-.
Smeargle should definitely stay a-.
Ditto ould rop to b+ or stay, I don't really care either way.
Yes drop Clefable, down to C+ at least imo B isn't enough.
Disagree with regular don dropping, it still has very good bulk and beats pdon who is the most common lead in ag, as well as dealing with mega ray better and being able to run lum to beat klefki even better.
Unrank xatu. Fuck C+, espeon straight outclasses it.
I can support rayquaza moving up to C.
 
if Mega Blaziken isn't viable then I should at least know that from looking at the viability rankings. It should at least be obvious in D or something, there's no way to know that some seemingly perfectly viable thing doesnt actually work
 
if Mega Blaziken isn't viable then I should at least know that from looking at the viability rankings. It should at least be obvious in D or something, there's no way to know that some seemingly perfectly viable thing doesnt actually work
Seconding this. Mega Blaziken could be said as unviable in Ubers too, but it is still a better version of Blaziken (mainly speed and bulk issues) with a lot more opportunity cost. For example, the infamous Latios-Mega is still ranked in OU despite being "unviable".
 
Seconding this. Mega Blaziken could be said as unviable in Ubers too, but it is still a better version of Blaziken (mainly speed and bulk issues) with a lot more opportunity cost. For example, the infamous Latios-Mega is still ranked in OU despite being "unviable".
Dude, stop comparing AG to Ubers. In Ubers, Mega Blaziken actually is slightly viable. In AG theres more competition, it suffers greatly from things like Klefki being on almost every team and bulky pdon just kinda stopping it. Regular Blaziken has a niche of baton pass teams. I still think Latios-Mega should be unranked in OU, but that isn't my call.
 
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Update Time!
There are a plethora of pokemon discussed recently in terms of rank change, so here are the updates. I will attempt to justify each change that requires justification to the best of my abilities. If you disagree with any, as always feel free to discuss.

Code:
Changes:
Aerodactyl-Mega, C+ to C
Arceus-Steel, A to A-
Aron, Unranked to D
Blaziken-Mega, Unranked to D
Bronzong, Unranked to C+
Clefable, B+ to B
Ditto, A- to B+
Landorus-Therian, B to C+
Latias, B- to C+
Rayquaza, C- to C
Smeargle, A- to B+
Xatu, C+ to D

Aerodactyl-Mega
C+ to C
What does it do?: Fast Taunt and SR.
Okay, this is just silly. Why would I waste my mega slot on this when the non-mega version does the same thing? "It gains 20 in each defense". I wouldn't justify that enough to use it up as my mega slot, unless I wasn't using a mega.
What does it do?: Heavy Attacker.
Rayquaza-Mega applies better offensive pressure to most, if not all opposing teams. Maybe typing. Wouldn't do it for me.
Why this rank?: C
Much to my dismay, most of you believe this pokemon should stay on the ranks, even though you've all probably never used it and never seen it used by a top player. You all wanted it to stay, except Gunner. I'll make an unnoticeable change.
Major Proposal:
Unrank this shitbirdpokemon and rank the non-mega version :D

Arceus-Steel
A to A-
What does it do?: Check Xerneas.
Although it can do a good job at this, contemporary Xerneas sets include Focus Blast as coverage, therefore deeming Steelceus useless if it comes in post-geo. It also struggles to KO if special, as Special Steelceus loses to non-FB Xern in a 1v1 fight.
What does it do?: Act as a strong CM attacker.
Ho-Oh's popularity has risen recently due to its ability to wall special attackers relatively well and me. Groudon-Primal is also the second most used pokemon in the metagame, making a staple on most teams. This can prevent efficient CM setup by Steelceus.
Why this rank?: A-
Although modern changes hurt Steelceus, they don't majorly impact its viability to the extent of other changes. Also, I do feel we overranked this before, but w/e.

Aron
Unranked to D
I'm not explaining this as it's pretty self-explanatory. D, as it can be very efficient if used properly.

Blaziken-Mega
Unranked to D
"If Mega Blaziken isn't viable then I should at least know that from looking at the viability rankings. It should at least be obvious in D or something, there's no way to know that some seemingly perfectly viable thing doesnt actually work" - Megazard. Only ranked for demonstration-al purposes.

Bronzong
What does it do?: Xerneas Counter/Wall.
Straight up walls Xern and smashes it fairy face in. Gyro OHKOs, if built with the correct EVs; not that that's really important. Mostly, its insane typing paired with incredible bulk is what prevents Xerneas from beating it.
What does it do?: Its typing and bulk allows it to wall a few important threats in the meta.

Clefable, Ditto, Latias and Xatu
They seemed inflated to being with, but previous arguments justified a drop as well. Also, I'm too lazy to write as much as I did for the first two.

Any other discussion, feel free to continue.
 
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All right, here's a Darkrai analysis (approved by Joshz). Go nuts.

OVERVIEW
In a metagame where Sleep Clause does not exist, Darkrai finds itself in a position to succeed. Its signature move, Dark Void, has decent accuracy for a sleep inducing move and, unlike Spore, no type is immune to it. Along with its signature ability, Bad Dreams, it can whittle down opposing Pokemon while they are unable to do anything. Darkrai is no slouch offensively either, sporting excellent Special Attack and Speed stats, as well as Nasty Plot to boost its STAB Dark Pulse. Unfortunately, Darkrai, being a Dark-type, struggles against common Fairy-types such as Xerneas, Klefki, and Fairy Arceus. It's also frail, and as a result, fairly prone to being revenge killed. Still, there's no denying Darkrai has a major impact on the Anything Goes metagame.

SET
name: Dark Void
move 1: Dark Void
move 2: Nasty Plot / Substitute
move 3: Dark Pulse
move 4: Focus Blast / Sludge Bomb / Thunder / Substitute
item: Life Orb / Leftovers
ability: Bad Dreams
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

SET COMMENTS
Moves
========
Dark Void is crucial to Darkrai's success. Dark Pulse is a reliable STAB move that comes off Darkrai's base 135 Special Attack, and hits things like Mewtwo, Gengar, the Giratina forms, and Lugia. The other two slots are up to your team's need. Focus Blast lets Darkrai do some respectable damage to Klefki and other Darkrai, Sludge Bomb gives it a chance against other Fairy-types such as Xerneas, and Thunder allows it to strike down Kyogre and Ho-Oh. Lastly, Substitute can deter Thunder Wave, Swagger, Toxic, and more.

Set Details
========
Maximum Special Attack and Speed investment are mandatory, as those are Darkrai's most effective stats. A Timid nature is preferred over Modest so Darkrai can outspeed Arceus, Mega Rayquaza, and others. Life Orb is the better item, complementing Darkrai's offensive prowess quite nicely. However, Leftovers is a good option if running Substitute.

Usage Tips
========
Don't be shy about using Dark Void early and often, since Sleep Clause does not exist. Nasty Plot should be used a bit more conservatively, however, as setting up is rather pointless if something that can easily KO Darkrai back is waiting in the wings. Make sure what you're setting up on can't hurt Darkrai back, or is asleep.

Team Options
========
Since most Pokemon enjoy having their checks and counters put to sleep, Darkrai can aid nearly any sweeper. Its ability to defeat the likes of Giratina and Lugia can also make things easier for Extreme Killer Arceus, for example, as it enjoys having those two Pokemon gone. If Darkrai is your main win condition, having ways to deal with specially defensive threats and Fairy-types is essential, making Pokemon such as Rock Arceus, Mega Rayquaza, and Steel Arceus good teammates as well. Primal Groudon also works; it can defeat Klefki and check Xerneas, as well as set Stealth Rock.


STRATEGY COMMENTS
Other Options
=============
It may be tempting to use a physical attack such as Knock Off to lure in a would-be counter. However, it doesn't hit very hard coming off Darkrai's base 90 Attack, which is rather low in this metagame. Given that Evasion Clause does not exist in AG, Double Team can be used to be annoying, but little more than that. Hidden Power Steel can lure in Diancie and KO it, but is otherwise not all that useful. Dream Eater and Nightmare have also seen some use alongside Dark Void, but they are generally outclassed by Darkrai's other moves, not to mention that they do absolutely nothing if the opposing Pokemon is not asleep. And please don't use Roar of Time, that move is just awful.

Checks and Counters
===================
**Klefki**: Arguably the hardest counter Darkrai has, Klefki can get Substitute up to block Dark Void, paralyze it, and annoy it with Swagger, all while resisting Dark Pulse, being immune to Sludge Bomb, and only really fearing Focus Blast.

**Revenge Killers**: Darkrai is outsped and can be revenge killed by Mega Gengar, Shaymin-Sky, Deoxys-Attack, the Mewtwo forms, and nearly all Choice Scarf users. Mega Rayquaza and Extreme Killer Arceus are able to use Extreme Speed to revenge it as well, although Darkrai can usually take a hit from full health or close to it, and Lum Berry variants of the above can even set up on Darkrai. Blaziken can use Protect to get a free Speed increase and KO Darkrai with High Jump Kick.

**Special Walls**: Primal Kyogre and Ho-Oh can comfortably take multiple unboosted attacks bar Thunder and retaliate with powerful attacks of their own, but they dislike Dark Void.

**Fairy-types**: In addition to the aforementioned Klefki, Xerneas and Fairy Arceus can give Darkrai issues with their bulk and typing. Darkrai can actually beat Xerneas 1-on-1 if it has Sludge Bomb, but if Xerneas has gotten a Geomancy boost, Darkrai will not be able to prevail. Mega Diancie can also beat Darkrai, thanks to Magic Bounce reflecting Dark Void.

**Sleep Absorbers**: Since everyone and their brother knows Darkrai will be using Dark Void, Lum Berry, Sleep Talk, and Magic Bounce users are generally good checks to it.
 
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