Hi everyone. Codex again because he cannot shut his mouth. After Miltank post and new trends/Starmie slander post. I wanna finish my thoughts and shut up until BDSPPL. So, last writing session goes here. I'll drop my full personal VR in the end.
BUT FIRST
I wanna address something I personally think would be helpful to have for a metagame like BDSP. Which are two ranks that aren't present atm.
Im also gonna drop the stats of ssnl from R6 onwards here for references:
RISES:
A+ to S-. I think this is pretty much a given, even if we do have ways around it. You take teams from not so far ago and they had to sack a mon everytime Starmie came in. Starmie is restrictive on the builder and even if do believe its manageable, good piloting and hazards can put those answers at bay. Fantastic coverage and BP moves, the speed tier, and also the utility of the defensive set, being the only viable Spinner of the tier. I think this mon has been avove the A+ guys since a while.
A to A+. I dont even understand why this mon dropped to begin with, yes phys def is not that good now. But offensive sets are still fantastic, just as with Offensive Starmie, many teams struggle to switch into STAB Water/Electric attacks, Scarf is on its peak now and Specs can just burst through common walls. Trick makes it a winning tool vs Stall, and even with the prominence of common Grass-types, this mon remains at the top.
A to A+ Yh I also thought this guy had fallen off but not really lmao. Infernape is a massive threat and its probably the best Pokemon vs balance which are very prominent at the moment. Its combination of offensive tools + speed tier and breaking power shouldn't be underestimated, Gliscor is proned to run Spdef again, same with Rotom, this mon gets much more turns to click buttons now. Mixed is fantastic into Clef comps. I find this guy one of the hardest to prep for in builder.
A to A+. I think Gliscor is very complex, and it requires brain to pilot, otherwise you may think it does nothing and gets free mons to come in. I thought that too, but me seeing top players piloting it and how vastly versatile this mon is, being one if not the best removal atm. It's definitely the only removal that doesn't dislike running it. Its spreads are customizable, it 1v1s so much stuff because it just doesn't die. Its decieveingly fast. And its generally a BDSP staple seen in usage and on the builder. I think its as important as Clefable or Latias are, so it should rise for me.
A- to A+.THIS DROPPING INSTEAD OF ANYTHING IS SO STUPID WTF Welp, talking about versatility. Probably the biggest trend of this seasonal is the rise of Mew, in general Mew is great in every role it performs this being spdef, MU, offensive pivot, rocker or removal, toxic spreader. Its an amazing asset on your team and it forces a lot of things out since you gotta respect its coverage and overall bulk. I think its results in the builder and in practice being so proficient makes it jump straight into A+ for me. Top 10 mon imo.
A- to A. Ok everyone who has played me and know me knows how much I love this thing. Best grass type in the tier by a good margin imo. Rose is a staple on balance cores thanks to its great typing, ability, bulk and offensiveness, and its best asset inSleep Powder Spikes, I am a Spikes stan since removal struggles to be that consistent to keep up with Rose setting up multiple times, as it gets on pretty much all grass types, water types, and its the best answer to Clefable, even better than Heatran which risks T-wave. Speed tier for a spiker is great too, since a lot of the tier falls into the 80 or below category, faster mons now have to creep for this. And sometimes it only needs to get a spike once and sleep something to win the game.
A- to A. Not acknowleding how Blissey can just fit into balance cores without going full stall is how I assume it has kept being lowly tiered. Blissey can just fix a lot of problems in your building by just slotting it in. Helping to spread para and rocks, Ice beam is solid vs Gliscor and Chomp, the latter needing to boost to kill it back. And many teams can just lose to Blissey when the 50+ turns has passed, which is very common in this meta to happen.
A- to A. Lucario its a monster, now that it has started to be seen in other compositions rather than HO, it performs just as well, its such a scary mon to switch into. Its dual STAB is very spammable, Crunch is good enough coverage and this guy forces a lot of annoying and risky 50/50 if you just give it the right turn to SD once and its over. The fact that Gliscor and Washtom have started to lean into the special side, it beats Clef and Blissey. Man, this mon is an A.
A- to A. Kissladen should have risen in the last VR update anyway, but got lowballed by a certain member. In any case, its not only the flinching to death part. Because its a much more complex mon, the stat distribution is just amazing, its fast enough, strong, and has a typing that allows it to come free into the imo most scary mon in the tier. Its rock weaknesses has been patches better now with the likes of Starmie/Latias/Mew which make a great core with Togekiss, NP and scarf are underrated in how they can just solo teams on its own.
A- to A. Milotic has made its way into OU and does just what it did on UU, be annoying af. This mon just doesnt die, and its the water type to run phys def on. While also running spdef at the time, since its super bulky on both sides. Apart from Specs Zone, theres nothing viable that can OHKO Milo in the tier unboosted. Milo can seat in on a lot of the higher and top tier mon and consistently beat them thanks to its instant Recovery and just raw bulk. Balance its on its prime now and the ability to Haze out potential threats that would try to break through it is underrated.
B+ to A-. I just think Spikes are good enough, I've been liking Skarm comps to spike stack as an alternative to Rose and I don't think this mon should have dropped in the last update either. Its the best HO lead without question, and defensively its still great, its the main reason Chomp runs Fire Blast and theres a good amount who don't cuz they forget this Pokemon exists now. It helps vs Weavile, and its typing lets it get spikes on grass types, clef, help vs lucario. etc. The B+ mons do less atm.
B+ to A- Im surprised this mon is fsr down there when there are worst mons in A- rn lmao. Mamoswine STABs + Freeze-Dry is Unwallable, it has a good speed tier to perform, its just that the main two grounds take the spot. But again, for some reason, Skarm is seen less, and Freeze-Dry goes ham into the waters. I think this is much better than Nidoking, its not prediction reliant since its typing and ability gives it free turns to click. It walls Do-Nothing Lati and unlike with Nidoking, when you are in, you are in control. Mamoswine is good. A- mon, another one I don't get why it dropped.
C to B+ Yeah, I'm going this far. I have the balls to do it and to recognize how fantastic this mon is now. Thanks to Boopi who I think started with this, Lax takes advantage of its sheer bulk and makes a wall into common threats like Weavile, Heatran and Starmie while also being an extremely scary and solid wincon. If you don't have Luc/Ape or a Trick Rotom, you are in trouble vs Lax getting a single curse. I think its comparable to Suicune and better than Suicune now, and a great alternative to Blissey, fat normal types fit so well now. I think this is better than anything below B+ and its a high B+ even. With even more balls it can go even higher.
B- to B. I think considering both options and rain being a thing, one of the best cheese, and the Sniper sets, makes it relative to Heracross in potency. Its hard to take down and it can setup easily on stuff, and rain can just fish a lot of teams, and this is a must on rain. B mon.
C to B- I explained why I think Espeon should be considered in your builder in the trends post. This is where I would rank it.
UR to B- I made a whole post on it, im reflecting that post into a rank and to start, mons with niches like Miltank its a bold but good start. I think its better than all Cs im ranking soon.
UR to B- igiveuponaname and his Moltres stall basically, same case as Miltank more or less, so same rank.
UR to B- A little better than Mowtom imo, getting free turns on Gliscor Scizor and Heatran its great,, also destroying stall much better than the other 2 forms, its just that we gotta shift from building tran teams that get 6-0d by Starmie lmao.
C to C+. Its just a better mon than the new ones I'm ranking. Its niche its strong enough, has a decent matchup into all the top 4 mons + Ape, Luc, Craw and Gliscor, it also phazes Lax. Its just hard to build it as your main water type, and its a little outclassed by Milotic.
UR to C+. Why is this not ranked. Look at balance and this guy now. It fucks up common cores and its fast af. Only wack thing is missing.
C to C+. Better than the Cs im ranking, good on stall.
C to C+ I understand its appeal, and its annoying to face tbh, it will always cripple something with Knock. Its a worse Gliscor for sure but stronger, it randomly lives shit and can save you from hazards and a Chomp going crazy with Ice Shard, its ok.
UR to C. I think being bulkier than King allows it to perform better 3atks + tox/tspikes. Which help vs Mew and the fat normals. Speed tier is worse but just commit to modest, hits really hard too.
UR to C. Offensively walling Latias is pretty good, revenging Chomp, Weavile, Focus Blast to defend vs Heatran/Zone and H-wish potential. Strong fast moonblasts. Anti-rain cheese. Should be ranked.
UR to C. shoutout to Scarf Kricketune I mildly believe. It spins which is appreciated while dealing with clef, annoys Heatran. Its typing is oddly good into some matchups. Its just wack to have a water weak to EQ. But it has great utility options and its very fast.
UR to C. Unironically switching into STAB Edgequake is really tough if you arent Tangrowth, and this guy hits really really hard. Rock typing is more annoying than anything but it gets patched by Solid Rock, having SD is what makes it have the niche for me. You'll trade something with it.
UR to C. Again I see its appeal and I understand, it compresses Spikes which are really good and Spin which is uncommon. It walls Roserade which is cool. Its just a very mid Scizor but not unviable, good for hazard stack and slow pivot.
UR to C. If Volbeat and Torkoal are ranked the abuser should be too. Better than Victreebel cuz bulk even if no Weather Ball
UR to C. Rain abuser with a good offensive typing, should be ranked.
UR to C. Rain abuser with a good offensive typing, should be ranked
DROPS
S to S-. In my VR Im just putting this right alongside Starmie. I went through my Weavile and Starmie phase. I have my final conclusion on both, they both aren't broken, they both are better than the A+, I dont have the Weavile skill issue anymore. Its just not in the level of the Big 3.
A to A- Yh this is contradictory but a lot of times it struggles to perform its role even if balance is peak now. Most of the time it just comes in to chunk hits and Knocks and Sleeps something while barely holding in. I think it being a physical wall while most physical mons can hit it super effectively or burst through it with setup and the prevelance of just strong special attackers makes it fall down a rank for me. A is overrating it imo.
A- to B+ This is another glazing in the VR for sure. Yes CB Dnite can break a bunch of walls with sheer power and DD can be a scary wincon. But its far below the ones in A- imo. Its very hard to fit, it struggles to make use of Multiscale the majority of times. Clefable existing is just a nuisance for it. And Garchomp almost outclassing it in every sense is no favorable for it. E-Speed is the tool that keeps it from not getting even lower for me. Its also very slow for a mon like this.
A- to B+ Look if this is your wallbreaker you're basically putting yourself in a position of calling every 50/50 correctly. It has to call the Blissey and run Focus Punch, its paper into anything faster. Doesnt switch into much, only Clefable. It suffers from every priority in the meta. And with the presence of Starmie in the builder, special walls that are meant to blanket Starmie just happen to answer Nidoking too, like Mew, bulky Latias and Spdef Quag, to name a few. I think the physical monsters in Mamoswine and Garchomp are much better, even if they struggle with Clef just a little.
A- to B+ For an A- ranked mon, commiting to build with Suicune is tough. I mean, it barely got any usage in the higher rounds of the seasonal. Suicune can win games just as fast as it can loses them. It relies on balance teams that cant punish a bulky water setting up and basically pp stalling and in the end it ends up trading with something and then being too low to do anything else. Its honestly outclassed by the much safer and splashable option in Milotic, as a bulky water, or even defensive Starmie, which provides utility and speed tier to check what a water type its supposed to do. As a CM sweeper, Latias, Clefable and even Blissey are better options atm imo. (so yeah UU could have kept this guy kek)
B+ to B Man poor Azelf gets outclassed in every single role it used to perform its harsh but its so mid now. As a lead, HO teams have leaned in 95% percent of times for Custap Skarm over Azelf, as it provides multiple hazards and the usefulness of priority move before dying. As a Psychic type that deals with Scizor, Mew is just better in every way. Bulkier and strong enough to not attempt to use the frail Azelf. Speed tier is nice but you aren't dealing with Latias or Chomp realiably cuz you lack strong attack into Latias and Ice Beam into Chomp. Its a great rain setter, and also I can see some Choiced sets being pulled off as it has strong U-turns. Aside from that, Azelf is the worst Psychic labelled OU right now. Also Mew its a better RD setter lmao.
B+ to B- Extremely overrated in VR atm lol. CM sets are just not winning games, +1 and you still not killing a Gliscor or a Garchomp, Shadow ball is cool for Celebi and Latias but you aren't that inmediate threat to account for. Speed tier is cool, I've been liking more an AoA set as fast Volt switchs with the speed tier is nice. But its not enough for me to see this as a B+ or even B mon, all the B do more and better on their roles. This is never passing Blissey, Rose just poisons it eventually, Snorlax. Ye.
B to B-Yes I hate the dogs trio lmao When are you ever using this instead of Heatran and mainly Infernape? Even Rotom-Heat as more appealing traits, your main stab just gets its PP worn down so easily, are you are a C mon when u are clicking anything not Sacred Fire/E-speed. Its not fast enough, not bulky enough, Milotic and Starmie exists, Latias, idk. Entei is so mid.
B to B- This just being in the same rank as Slowbro makes no sense since a stall build will have Blissey for most purposes you'll want Slowking for, like checking Starmie and Nidoking, also bad check to Starmie. Put this down one rank please.
B to C+ Ok I really don't get why this guy is on par with Pokemon like Staraptor, Mismagius and Heracross who do fulfill niches and get use in certain compositions. The only reason for this to be in the VR its the Defog set, which is honestly underrated ngl. But just as a specific niche, a removal that checks Heatran and Scizor is cool. Offensively, it should never be ran over Garchomp or Dnite.
B- to C+ Massively outclassed by Quagsire and most bulky waters, its just so passive and does nothing but come in on some waters and thats it. Sticky Hold is a cool niche for stall to keep Rotom at bay. Thats it.
B- to C+ This will almost never sweep you, Ye it taunts clef, trades with it and does nothing else back. Weak to rocks, worse Feraligatr, awful coverage. And Feraligatr is already B imagine getting outclassed lol
B- to C+ Just feels very bad now with the prevelance of the Grasses, as it gets walled by them and also outclassed. Super hard to fit into any structure now. The STAB combination seems redundant since Water from Washtom hits grounds too and its much better.
B- to C+ I understand how are we looking for unique removal options but this never got any meaningful use. Its annoying to face for sure but giving free turns to any Ground type sucks. And its not like you can U-turn all the time like in LGPE lol. Besides paralyzing your team which a lot of mons already do better, this mon should belong to the Cs sorry.
B- to C I think its offensive niche belongs to a niche situation fitting more with the C guys in my perspective. Its scary on preview but its so outclassed, we have good fighting types already, and having to call Starmie or Latias sucks, Mew also exists. This struggles into common psychics where as Lucario and Infernape just have better tools to consider this in your team.
B- to C Again another glaze, when are you ever running this? A water type weak to Ground moves and neutral to fire its awful in OU meta. Unless some custap torrent niche or something, defensively is just dead weight. I dont UR this because I can see some minor applications of this offensively. But thats it.
B- to UR Lmao, its time to face it guys. Jirachi sucks ass, is beyond dogshit. It does literally nothing that another mon already does and does it better in the tier. Any offensive set its just awful, being a spdef wall is not a niche this fulfills nicely now as there are tons of mons that do that, it barely checks what its supposed to do. Lets take this guy out please. The DPP King is a mere insect in BDSP.
C to UR You are never using this as a lead over Skarm or over Azelf/Mew as a RD setter. Sorry.
C to UR Man if water sweepers struggle to setup and find ways to sweep, this thing just does not do it. I think every pokemon I'm ranking have actual niches in the tier to keep Cloyster shown in the VR fsr.
C to UR This mon is a fun meme, is like using it and seeing abilities getting down is like yay cool. You see Gliscor taking poison damage, Growth Regen not working and you wall Azu. Yeah sure, this is never getting any use. Its trash.
BUT FIRST
I wanna address something I personally think would be helpful to have for a metagame like BDSP. Which are two ranks that aren't present atm.
- I'd like to re-add the S- rank as in my opinion, and despite my disliking the concept of S-, it helps to fix the VR structure of BDSP quite a lot, and consdering me and others think that the threats, Weavile and Starmie are better than the A+ but worse than the Big 3, ergo should be separated.
- I wanna request the addition of C+ rank. I know having too many Pokemon down it's just finding niches in obscure Pokemon, but having both C+ and C would expand the pool of Pokemon that do indeed have useful niches, and take out others that are present in the VR and should be UR imo. I think neglecting C mons getting its use is bad and it makes the metagame be kinda stuck, reason why for example Snorlax took so long to discover. It doesn't hurt to have them represented on VR rank, a lot of posts have already shown the appeal of wanting more mons to be represented in VR.
Im also gonna drop the stats of ssnl from R6 onwards here for references:
Code:
---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| Rank | Pokemon | Use | Usage % | Win % |
+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| 1 | Scizor | 56 | 59.57% | 53.57% |
| 2 | Clefable | 40 | 42.55% | 52.50% |
| 3 | Heatran | 37 | 39.36% | 45.95% |
| 4 | Garchomp | 36 | 38.30% | 47.22% |
| 5 | Gliscor | 34 | 36.17% | 52.94% |
| 6 | Infernape | 28 | 29.79% | 50.00% |
| 7 | Rotom-Wash | 27 | 28.72% | 51.85% |
| 8 | Latias | 24 | 25.53% | 54.17% |
| 9 | Starmie | 24 | 25.53% | 45.83% |
| 10 | Tangrowth | 19 | 20.21% | 36.84% |
| 11 | Mew | 19 | 20.21% | 57.89% |
| 12 | Togekiss | 18 | 19.15% | 50.00% |
| 13 | Weavile | 16 | 17.02% | 43.75% |
| 14 | Lucario | 15 | 15.96% | 53.33% |
| 15 | Crawdaunt | 14 | 14.89% | 42.86% |
| 16 | Roserade | 14 | 14.89% | 64.29% |
| 17 | Blissey | 10 | 10.64% | 50.00% |
| 18 | Azumarill | 10 | 10.64% | 50.00% |
| 19 | Alakazam | 9 | 9.57% | 33.33% |
| 20 | Magnezone | 9 | 9.57% | 44.44% |
| 21 | Dragonite | 9 | 9.57% | 22.22% |
| 22 | Mamoswine | 9 | 9.57% | 55.56% |
| 23 | Skarmory | 8 | 8.51% | 75.00% |
| 24 | Azelf | 6 | 6.38% | 50.00% |
| 25 | Donphan | 6 | 6.38% | 33.33% |
| 26 | Rotom-Mow | 6 | 6.38% | 33.33% |
| 27 | Mismagius | 5 | 5.32% | 60.00% |
| 28 | Tyranitar | 5 | 5.32% | 60.00% |
| 29 | Forretress | 5 | 5.32% | 60.00% |
| 30 | Milotic | 4 | 4.26% | 75.00% |
| 31 | Snorlax | 4 | 4.26% | 100.00% |
| 32 | Raikou | 4 | 4.26% | 75.00% |
| 33 | Feraligatr | 3 | 3.19% | 0.00% |
| 34 | Empoleon | 3 | 3.19% | 33.33% |
| 35 | Poliwrath | 3 | 3.19% | 33.33% |
| 36 | Gastrodon | 3 | 3.19% | 66.67% |
| 37 | Nidoking | 3 | 3.19% | 33.33% |
| 38 | Suicune | 2 | 2.13% | 50.00% |
| 39 | Celebi | 2 | 2.13% | 0.00% |
| 40 | Kingdra | 2 | 2.13% | 50.00% |
| 41 | Slowking | 2 | 2.13% | 50.00% |
| 42 | Miltank | 2 | 2.13% | 100.00% |
| 43 | Moltres | 1 | 1.06% | 100.00% |
| 44 | Qwilfish | 1 | 1.06% | 100.00% |
| 45 | Volbeat | 1 | 1.06% | 100.00% |
| 46 | Nidoqueen | 1 | 1.06% | 0.00% |
| 47 | Staraptor | 1 | 1.06% | 0.00% |
| 48 | Quagsire | 1 | 1.06% | 0.00% |
| 49 | Slowbro | 1 | 1.06% | 0.00% |
| 50 | Breloom | 1 | 1.06% | 0.00% |
| 51 | Gyarados | 1 | 1.06% | 100.00% |
RISES:
A+ to S-. I think this is pretty much a given, even if we do have ways around it. You take teams from not so far ago and they had to sack a mon everytime Starmie came in. Starmie is restrictive on the builder and even if do believe its manageable, good piloting and hazards can put those answers at bay. Fantastic coverage and BP moves, the speed tier, and also the utility of the defensive set, being the only viable Spinner of the tier. I think this mon has been avove the A+ guys since a while.
A to A+. I dont even understand why this mon dropped to begin with, yes phys def is not that good now. But offensive sets are still fantastic, just as with Offensive Starmie, many teams struggle to switch into STAB Water/Electric attacks, Scarf is on its peak now and Specs can just burst through common walls. Trick makes it a winning tool vs Stall, and even with the prominence of common Grass-types, this mon remains at the top.
A to A+ Yh I also thought this guy had fallen off but not really lmao. Infernape is a massive threat and its probably the best Pokemon vs balance which are very prominent at the moment. Its combination of offensive tools + speed tier and breaking power shouldn't be underestimated, Gliscor is proned to run Spdef again, same with Rotom, this mon gets much more turns to click buttons now. Mixed is fantastic into Clef comps. I find this guy one of the hardest to prep for in builder.
A to A+. I think Gliscor is very complex, and it requires brain to pilot, otherwise you may think it does nothing and gets free mons to come in. I thought that too, but me seeing top players piloting it and how vastly versatile this mon is, being one if not the best removal atm. It's definitely the only removal that doesn't dislike running it. Its spreads are customizable, it 1v1s so much stuff because it just doesn't die. Its decieveingly fast. And its generally a BDSP staple seen in usage and on the builder. I think its as important as Clefable or Latias are, so it should rise for me.
A- to A+.
A- to A. Ok everyone who has played me and know me knows how much I love this thing. Best grass type in the tier by a good margin imo. Rose is a staple on balance cores thanks to its great typing, ability, bulk and offensiveness, and its best asset in
A- to A. Not acknowleding how Blissey can just fit into balance cores without going full stall is how I assume it has kept being lowly tiered. Blissey can just fix a lot of problems in your building by just slotting it in. Helping to spread para and rocks, Ice beam is solid vs Gliscor and Chomp, the latter needing to boost to kill it back. And many teams can just lose to Blissey when the 50+ turns has passed, which is very common in this meta to happen.
A- to A. Lucario its a monster, now that it has started to be seen in other compositions rather than HO, it performs just as well, its such a scary mon to switch into. Its dual STAB is very spammable, Crunch is good enough coverage and this guy forces a lot of annoying and risky 50/50 if you just give it the right turn to SD once and its over. The fact that Gliscor and Washtom have started to lean into the special side, it beats Clef and Blissey. Man, this mon is an A.
A- to A. Kissladen should have risen in the last VR update anyway, but got lowballed by a certain member. In any case, its not only the flinching to death part. Because its a much more complex mon, the stat distribution is just amazing, its fast enough, strong, and has a typing that allows it to come free into the imo most scary mon in the tier. Its rock weaknesses has been patches better now with the likes of Starmie/Latias/Mew which make a great core with Togekiss, NP and scarf are underrated in how they can just solo teams on its own.
A- to A. Milotic has made its way into OU and does just what it did on UU, be annoying af. This mon just doesnt die, and its the water type to run phys def on. While also running spdef at the time, since its super bulky on both sides. Apart from Specs Zone, theres nothing viable that can OHKO Milo in the tier unboosted. Milo can seat in on a lot of the higher and top tier mon and consistently beat them thanks to its instant Recovery and just raw bulk. Balance its on its prime now and the ability to Haze out potential threats that would try to break through it is underrated.
B+ to A-. I just think Spikes are good enough, I've been liking Skarm comps to spike stack as an alternative to Rose and I don't think this mon should have dropped in the last update either. Its the best HO lead without question, and defensively its still great, its the main reason Chomp runs Fire Blast and theres a good amount who don't cuz they forget this Pokemon exists now. It helps vs Weavile, and its typing lets it get spikes on grass types, clef, help vs lucario. etc. The B+ mons do less atm.
B+ to A- Im surprised this mon is fsr down there when there are worst mons in A- rn lmao. Mamoswine STABs + Freeze-Dry is Unwallable, it has a good speed tier to perform, its just that the main two grounds take the spot. But again, for some reason, Skarm is seen less, and Freeze-Dry goes ham into the waters. I think this is much better than Nidoking, its not prediction reliant since its typing and ability gives it free turns to click. It walls Do-Nothing Lati and unlike with Nidoking, when you are in, you are in control. Mamoswine is good. A- mon, another one I don't get why it dropped.
C to B+ Yeah, I'm going this far. I have the balls to do it and to recognize how fantastic this mon is now. Thanks to Boopi who I think started with this, Lax takes advantage of its sheer bulk and makes a wall into common threats like Weavile, Heatran and Starmie while also being an extremely scary and solid wincon. If you don't have Luc/Ape or a Trick Rotom, you are in trouble vs Lax getting a single curse. I think its comparable to Suicune and better than Suicune now, and a great alternative to Blissey, fat normal types fit so well now. I think this is better than anything below B+ and its a high B+ even. With even more balls it can go even higher.
B- to B. I think considering both options and rain being a thing, one of the best cheese, and the Sniper sets, makes it relative to Heracross in potency. Its hard to take down and it can setup easily on stuff, and rain can just fish a lot of teams, and this is a must on rain. B mon.
C to B- I explained why I think Espeon should be considered in your builder in the trends post. This is where I would rank it.
UR to B- I made a whole post on it, im reflecting that post into a rank and to start, mons with niches like Miltank its a bold but good start. I think its better than all Cs im ranking soon.
UR to B- igiveuponaname and his Moltres stall basically, same case as Miltank more or less, so same rank.
UR to B- A little better than Mowtom imo, getting free turns on Gliscor Scizor and Heatran its great,, also destroying stall much better than the other 2 forms, its just that we gotta shift from building tran teams that get 6-0d by Starmie lmao.
C to C+. Its just a better mon than the new ones I'm ranking. Its niche its strong enough, has a decent matchup into all the top 4 mons + Ape, Luc, Craw and Gliscor, it also phazes Lax. Its just hard to build it as your main water type, and its a little outclassed by Milotic.
UR to C+. Why is this not ranked. Look at balance and this guy now. It fucks up common cores and its fast af. Only wack thing is missing.
C to C+. Better than the Cs im ranking, good on stall.
C to C+ I understand its appeal, and its annoying to face tbh, it will always cripple something with Knock. Its a worse Gliscor for sure but stronger, it randomly lives shit and can save you from hazards and a Chomp going crazy with Ice Shard, its ok.
UR to C. I think being bulkier than King allows it to perform better 3atks + tox/tspikes. Which help vs Mew and the fat normals. Speed tier is worse but just commit to modest, hits really hard too.
UR to C. Offensively walling Latias is pretty good, revenging Chomp, Weavile, Focus Blast to defend vs Heatran/Zone and H-wish potential. Strong fast moonblasts. Anti-rain cheese. Should be ranked.
UR to C. shoutout to Scarf Kricketune I mildly believe. It spins which is appreciated while dealing with clef, annoys Heatran. Its typing is oddly good into some matchups. Its just wack to have a water weak to EQ. But it has great utility options and its very fast.
UR to C. Unironically switching into STAB Edgequake is really tough if you arent Tangrowth, and this guy hits really really hard. Rock typing is more annoying than anything but it gets patched by Solid Rock, having SD is what makes it have the niche for me. You'll trade something with it.
UR to C. Again I see its appeal and I understand, it compresses Spikes which are really good and Spin which is uncommon. It walls Roserade which is cool. Its just a very mid Scizor but not unviable, good for hazard stack and slow pivot.
UR to C. If Volbeat and Torkoal are ranked the abuser should be too. Better than Victreebel cuz bulk even if no Weather Ball
UR to C. Rain abuser with a good offensive typing, should be ranked.
UR to C. Rain abuser with a good offensive typing, should be ranked
DROPS
S to S-. In my VR Im just putting this right alongside Starmie. I went through my Weavile and Starmie phase. I have my final conclusion on both, they both aren't broken, they both are better than the A+, I dont have the Weavile skill issue anymore. Its just not in the level of the Big 3.
A to A- Yh this is contradictory but a lot of times it struggles to perform its role even if balance is peak now. Most of the time it just comes in to chunk hits and Knocks and Sleeps something while barely holding in. I think it being a physical wall while most physical mons can hit it super effectively or burst through it with setup and the prevelance of just strong special attackers makes it fall down a rank for me. A is overrating it imo.
A- to B+ This is another glazing in the VR for sure. Yes CB Dnite can break a bunch of walls with sheer power and DD can be a scary wincon. But its far below the ones in A- imo. Its very hard to fit, it struggles to make use of Multiscale the majority of times. Clefable existing is just a nuisance for it. And Garchomp almost outclassing it in every sense is no favorable for it. E-Speed is the tool that keeps it from not getting even lower for me. Its also very slow for a mon like this.
A- to B+ Look if this is your wallbreaker you're basically putting yourself in a position of calling every 50/50 correctly. It has to call the Blissey and run Focus Punch, its paper into anything faster. Doesnt switch into much, only Clefable. It suffers from every priority in the meta. And with the presence of Starmie in the builder, special walls that are meant to blanket Starmie just happen to answer Nidoking too, like Mew, bulky Latias and Spdef Quag, to name a few. I think the physical monsters in Mamoswine and Garchomp are much better, even if they struggle with Clef just a little.
A- to B+ For an A- ranked mon, commiting to build with Suicune is tough. I mean, it barely got any usage in the higher rounds of the seasonal. Suicune can win games just as fast as it can loses them. It relies on balance teams that cant punish a bulky water setting up and basically pp stalling and in the end it ends up trading with something and then being too low to do anything else. Its honestly outclassed by the much safer and splashable option in Milotic, as a bulky water, or even defensive Starmie, which provides utility and speed tier to check what a water type its supposed to do. As a CM sweeper, Latias, Clefable and even Blissey are better options atm imo. (so yeah UU could have kept this guy kek)
B+ to B Man poor Azelf gets outclassed in every single role it used to perform its harsh but its so mid now. As a lead, HO teams have leaned in 95% percent of times for Custap Skarm over Azelf, as it provides multiple hazards and the usefulness of priority move before dying. As a Psychic type that deals with Scizor, Mew is just better in every way. Bulkier and strong enough to not attempt to use the frail Azelf. Speed tier is nice but you aren't dealing with Latias or Chomp realiably cuz you lack strong attack into Latias and Ice Beam into Chomp. Its a great rain setter, and also I can see some Choiced sets being pulled off as it has strong U-turns. Aside from that, Azelf is the worst Psychic labelled OU right now. Also Mew its a better RD setter lmao.
B+ to B- Extremely overrated in VR atm lol. CM sets are just not winning games, +1 and you still not killing a Gliscor or a Garchomp, Shadow ball is cool for Celebi and Latias but you aren't that inmediate threat to account for. Speed tier is cool, I've been liking more an AoA set as fast Volt switchs with the speed tier is nice. But its not enough for me to see this as a B+ or even B mon, all the B do more and better on their roles. This is never passing Blissey, Rose just poisons it eventually, Snorlax. Ye.
B to B-
B to B- This just being in the same rank as Slowbro makes no sense since a stall build will have Blissey for most purposes you'll want Slowking for, like checking Starmie and Nidoking, also bad check to Starmie. Put this down one rank please.
B to C+ Ok I really don't get why this guy is on par with Pokemon like Staraptor, Mismagius and Heracross who do fulfill niches and get use in certain compositions. The only reason for this to be in the VR its the Defog set, which is honestly underrated ngl. But just as a specific niche, a removal that checks Heatran and Scizor is cool. Offensively, it should never be ran over Garchomp or Dnite.
B- to C+ Massively outclassed by Quagsire and most bulky waters, its just so passive and does nothing but come in on some waters and thats it. Sticky Hold is a cool niche for stall to keep Rotom at bay. Thats it.
B- to C+ This will almost never sweep you, Ye it taunts clef, trades with it and does nothing else back. Weak to rocks, worse Feraligatr, awful coverage. And Feraligatr is already B imagine getting outclassed lol
B- to C+ Just feels very bad now with the prevelance of the Grasses, as it gets walled by them and also outclassed. Super hard to fit into any structure now. The STAB combination seems redundant since Water from Washtom hits grounds too and its much better.
B- to C+ I understand how are we looking for unique removal options but this never got any meaningful use. Its annoying to face for sure but giving free turns to any Ground type sucks. And its not like you can U-turn all the time like in LGPE lol. Besides paralyzing your team which a lot of mons already do better, this mon should belong to the Cs sorry.
B- to C I think its offensive niche belongs to a niche situation fitting more with the C guys in my perspective. Its scary on preview but its so outclassed, we have good fighting types already, and having to call Starmie or Latias sucks, Mew also exists. This struggles into common psychics where as Lucario and Infernape just have better tools to consider this in your team.
B- to C Again another glaze, when are you ever running this? A water type weak to Ground moves and neutral to fire its awful in OU meta. Unless some custap torrent niche or something, defensively is just dead weight. I dont UR this because I can see some minor applications of this offensively. But thats it.
B- to UR Lmao, its time to face it guys. Jirachi sucks ass, is beyond dogshit. It does literally nothing that another mon already does and does it better in the tier. Any offensive set its just awful, being a spdef wall is not a niche this fulfills nicely now as there are tons of mons that do that, it barely checks what its supposed to do. Lets take this guy out please. The DPP King is a mere insect in BDSP.
C to UR You are never using this as a lead over Skarm or over Azelf/Mew as a RD setter. Sorry.
C to UR Man if water sweepers struggle to setup and find ways to sweep, this thing just does not do it. I think every pokemon I'm ranking have actual niches in the tier to keep Cloyster shown in the VR fsr.
C to UR This mon is a fun meme, is like using it and seeing abilities getting down is like yay cool. You see Gliscor taking poison damage, Growth Regen not working and you wall Azu. Yeah sure, this is never getting any use. Its trash.
OK WE FINALLY DONE, AND WITH THIS MY GUYS. THIS IS MY FINAL PERSONAL VR BEFORE BDSPPL (ALL ORDERED IN THE SAME RANK)
Hope you guys like going through my thoughts and takes. See ya in BDSPPL ^^
Hope you guys like going through my thoughts and takes. See ya in BDSPPL ^^