Post 2nd DUbers money tour VR noms:
1->2
Ho-Oh is still very powerful, but it struggles with recent meta trends. Whimsicott HO is more popular, Stealth Rock is more popular, Zekrom is more popular, Incineroar is more popular; there's a lot that's not in Ho-Oh's favor. For example, consider its interaction with Stealth Rock. Ho-Oh tends to be a mon you want to max, but maxing a Pokemon at half its HP is a fairly big commitment. Heavy-Duty Boots dodges that issue, but significantly weakens Ho-Oh without its Weakness Policy or Life Orb. Using max before rocks go up is the best way to go ideally, but then you're typically committing to an early max, which is usually not great. It's still a phenomenal Coaching target and is an excellent way for balance teams to set Tailwind, but it's not quite a tier 1 mon anymore.
2->3
Blastoise has fallen off considerably, I think in large part due to Kyogre's dominance. Blastoise heals from passive rain but that's about it; Water Spout goes around Follow Me, and a Max Lightning based on Thunder shuts down Yawn. I think it's clearly not at the same power level as the other threats in the tier.
2->1
Incineroar provides so much for a team just by existing. It's one of the best Pokemon at slowing down Coaching attempts, and as long as you are running full physical defense, you're surviving all the important physical attacks in the tier, often many repeated hits. Most balance teams are forced into Kyogre or their whole team would just get Intimidate cycled.
2->3
Xerneas always has potential, but never quite seems to do anything. Both Zacian and Zamazenta do well into it for different reasons, but its positive traits are often overshadowed by being a poor Dynamax Pokemon and lacking the coverage to deal with the tier's myriad of Steel-types.
2->1
Although Zamazenta can occasionally be a passive presence on the board, it is such an important enabler that it's often difficult to ignore. Coaching is a super important wincon that is trivially easy to set up, and Wide Guard stops the wide array of important spread moves in the tier, buying time for its teammates. It's extraordinarily difficult to kill in one hit with a big move, and often it tanks many smaller moves. Zamazenta enables a very slow, methodical way of playing which pushes balance teams forward.
3->4
Worse Whimsicott in nearly all ways. Having a stronger single-target attack barely matters, and Whimsicott has many more viable options.
3->2
Whimsicott hyper offense was very successful in the recent money tour. The straightforward strategy of "move faster than their guys" is complimented well by a follow-up Dynamax with Max Airstreams to retain the Speed advantage even after Tailwind expires. New sets, including the important bulky Charm/Light Screen set adapted from VGC, give Whimsicott surprisingly good extra utility; Cotton Spore is also a solid option into opposing Tailwind teams that works much more quickly than Tornadus's Icy Wind.
3->1
This is a pretty wild jump, but Zekrom is a pretty wild Pokemon. A Life Orb Bolt Strike threatens a knockout on bulkless
Dynamaxed Kyogre, and maxing Zekrom has a shot to OHKO even 252 HP Kyogre before Electric Terrain is even set. Its Electric-typing is great into Yveltal as well, especially AV Yveltal, which doesn't always run enough Speed to get the jump on it. The Life Orb set can run Dragon Dance, making it very punishing if it ever gets a free turn, since you can jump past CalyS/Zacian. In addition to the Life Orb set, Assault Vest is another very viable option, avoiding important 3HKOs like Calyrex's Astral Barrage and even Kyogre's Specs Water Spout. It's an excellent Coaching target, and utterly walls Ho-Oh. Its biggest weaknesses are getting Parting Shot cycled, Play Rough Zacian (which keep in mind it doesn't always use), and Groudon. It can't be understated how important its matchup vs Kyogre is; there's no other Pokemon in the tier that can switch in on its attacks and reliably threaten a knockout.
5 -> 3
We learned from VGC 2022 that Palkia is a very nice TR setter; it's awkward to try to muscle through it with traditional options (e.g. Yveltal or Calyrex-S) thanks to its high special bulk, which also lets it set TR vs Kyogre without taking a million damage. It offers much-needed typing flexibility on your Trick Room setter, and when paired with traditional partners like Incineroar or Amoonguss, typically guarantees at least one Trick Room goes up.
UR -> 3
You might say "lol Behemoth Blade", but it is not that hard to apply Speed control to get around that problem. Ice/Dragon/Ground is solid coverage, hitting most of my favored tier 1 for super effective damage, save Calyrex, which it KOs through Focus Sash, and Kyogre, which it walls. Its real issue is Steels like Zamazenta or Necrozma-Dusk-Mane that it can't just OHKO, but this is another mon that fits well on the hyper offense style of play.
UR -> 3
Lando-T offers a lot of role compression as a Stealth Rock user, Intimidate, and potential max option. It's more naturally synergistic than Groudon, for example, as a Ground-type rocker on Kyogre teams. Rocks + Intimidate keep it valuable even if you decide to max something else.
UR -> 4
While it struggles with similar issues as Calyrex-Shadow, it offers a unique role with Meteor Beam threatening heavy damage on Yveltal and Incineroar, in addition to the bulk needed to set a Speed control option like Tailwind or Trick Room at least once. Definitely a niche pick, but not one out of the realm of reasonable sets.
UR -> 4
Mienshao offers Fake Out, Wide Guard, an immunity to Intimidate and Fake Out, and a number of fun support moves like Feint and Helping Hand. Wide Guard is such a high-value move in DUbers that attaching any other good qualities to it makes it a viable choice, especially on hyper offense teams that aren't interested in Zamazenta's slower pace.
5 -> UR
They don't do anything of value in the tier. I propose just getting rid of 5 again and adding the remaining Pokemon to 4:
5 -> 4
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Amoonguss
Celesteela
Charizard
Coalossal
Drednaw
Gothitelle
Hitmontop
Indeedee-F
Kartana
Magearna
Melmetal
Mewtwo
Porygon2
Raichu
Rayquaza
Tapu Lele
Torkoal
Urshifu-Single-Strike
Victini
Zygarde
