Gen 4 DPP UU Viability Ranking

[Oglemi]

It's time we do one for the best metagame of all time imo.

S Rank: Reserved for the top threats in the UU metagame. These Pokemon are usually able to perform a variety of roles effectively, or can just do one extremely well with little to no extra support. Their use has low risk involved and high reward exerted. Pokemon in this tier have very few flaws that are patched up by numerous positive traits.

Top:

• 
  Milotic
• 
  Venusaur

Mid:

• 
  Mismagius

Low:

• 
  Arcanine
• 
  Moltres
• 
  Registeel

A Rank: Reserved for Pokemon that are outstanding in the UU metagame and can sweep, wall, or support the majority of the tier. These Pokemon require less support than other Pokemon to be used effectively, but still perform less consistently than the average S rank Pokemon. A rank Pokemon have few flaws that can be overlooked when compared to their positive traits.

Top:

• 
  Dugtrio
• 
  Hitmontop
• 
  Kabutops
• 
  Omastar
• 
  Qwilfish
• 
  Spiritomb

Mid:

• 
  Blaziken
• 
  Donphan
• 
  Leafeon

• 
  Rhyperior
• 
  Rotom
• 
  Uxie

Low:

• 
  Alakazam
• 
  Azumarill
• 
  Clefable
• 
  Cloyster
• 
  Houndoom
• 
  Mesprit
• 
  Sceptile
• 
  Scyther
• 
  Steelix
• 
  Swellow
• 
  Tauros
• 
  Torterra
• 
  Toxicroak

B Rank: Reserved for Pokemon who are slightly above average in the UU metagame. These Pokemon have more notable flaws than of those above it that affects how they function in the tier. Their positive traits still outshine their negatives, but they require a bit more team support to bring out their full potential

Top:

• 
  Absol
• 
  Aggron
• 
  Blastoise
• 
  Chansey
• 
  Hariyama
• 
  Hippopotas
• 
  Kangaskhan
• 
  Lanturn
• 
  Slowbro
• 
  Snover
• 
  Weezing

Mid:

• 
  Ambipom
• 
  Exeggutor
• 
  Feraligatr
• 
  Ludicolo
• 
  Manectric
• 
  Miltank
• 
  Nidoking
• 
  Tangrowth

Low:

• 
  Altaria
• 
  Entei
• 
  Espeon
• 
  Drapion
• 
  Electrode
• 
  Gardevoir
• 
  Gorebyss
• 
  Hitmonlee
• 
  Jynx
• 
  Magmortar
• 
  Primeape
• 
  Regirock
• 
  Skuntank
• 
  Slowking

C Rank: Reserved for Pokemon that have notable niches in the UU metagame, but have just as notable flaws that prevent them from being top tier threats. Pokemon in the C tier often require significant support to be as effective as higher ranked Pokemon in UU. C rank Pokemon tend to face a lot of competition with the more commonly used Pokemon.

Top:

• 
  Claydol
• 
  Cradily
• 
  Charizard
• 
  Dusclops
• 
  Gastrodon
• 
  Lickilicky
• 
  Medicham
• 
  Raichu
• 
  Typhlosion
• 
  Ursaring
• 
  Walrein

Mid:

• 
  Cacturne
• 
  Dodrio
• 
  Floatzel
• 
  Glaceon
• 
  Gligar
• 
  Linoone
• 
  Magneton
• 
  Nidoqueen
• 
  Poliwrath
• 
  Porygon2
• 
  Regice
• 
  Sharpedo
• 
  Shiftry
• 
  Victreebel

Low:

• 
  Ampharos
• 
  Bibarel
• 
  Camerupt
• 
  Crawdaunt
• 
  Golem
• 
  Haunter
• 
  Lapras
• 
  Lopunny
• 
  Muk
• 
  Ninetales
• 
  Quagsire

D Rank: Reserved for Pokemon that are below average in the UU metagame. These Pokemon often require very significant amounts of support with a relatively low reward compared to higher ranked Pokemon.


Top:

• 
  Articuno
• 
  Drifblim
• 
  Golduck
• 
  Grumpig
• 
  Marowak
• 
  Xatu

Mid:

• 
  Chatot
• 
  Electabuzz
• 
  Jumpluff
• 
  Mr. Mime
• 
  Sandslash
• 
  Venomoth
• 
  Whiscash

Low:

• 
  Butterfree
• 
  Exploud
• 
  Girafarig
• 
  Huntail
• 
  Luxray
• 
  Vileplume

Untested Rank: Reserved for pokemon that might have niches, but havent been sufficiently tested. Post your experiences with them here so we can give them a tier.
and now onto: THE RULES.

~Rules~​

~Only nominate viable Pokemon. We are not going to put every legal Pokemon in UU on the list. There is no reason to put stuff that no one will ever use.
~Post intelligently. Posts like "I think pokemon X should be in this tier" will not be tolerated
~No flaming
~No talk about editing the OFFICIAL smogon tier lists.
~Only pokemon in UU are up for nomination, pokemon in higher tiers are not allowed to be nominated, this should be common sense but lol

 

[Bad Ass]

DROPS:
rhyperior and uxie down to low A
arcanine down to low S
zam down to low A
tangrowth down to like mid/low B that shit is garbage
kangaskhan top B
charizard down to god knows where ive never seen one

RAISES:
moltres to mid/low S
dugtrio to top A/low S
qwilfish to mid A/low A
swellow to low A
hitmontop to mid A
scyther top B
ELECTRODE TO LOW B
hariyama to mid B

i'll elaborate on any if necessary. i kinda ignored low c and d rank.

 

[Oglemi]

I always liked Charizard and it was nice outspeeding the base 95s. It wasn't as powerful as Moltres, leaving it a bit more exposed to Milotic, but if you were going to go for a Sunny Day set, Charizard was probably better. It was also nice for its physical set.

Rhyperior and Uxie I think are good enough for mid A rather than low A, probably more so Uxie than Rhyperior though I guess.

 

[Eo Ut Mortus]

my own initial list

S+:
Milotic
Venusaur

S:
Arcanine
Donphan
Registeel

S-
Blaziken
Moltres
Sceptile

A+:
Dugtrio
Leafeon
Mismagius
Scyther
Spiritomb
Swellow
Toxicroak

A:
Azumarill
Clefable
Hitmontop
Houndoom
Kabutops
Mesprit
Omastar
Qwilfish
Rotom
Torterra

A-
Aggron
Alakazam
Hariyama
Hitmonlee
Lanturn
Rhyperior
Tauros
Walrein

B+:
Absol
Altaria
Cloyster
Drapion
Feraligatr
Jynx
Slowking
Snover
Steelix
Uxie

B:
Charizard
Glaceon
Hippopotas
Kangaskhan
Ludicolo
Miltank
Nidoking
Slowbro
Tangrowth
Weezing

B-
Articuno
Blastoise
Cacturne
Chansey
Cradily
Exeggutor
Manectric
Magmortar
Regirock

C-D
Everything else

F
Dodrio

Notable changes / reasoning:
Registeel up to S- tier: best defensive answer to many of the top threats, particularly Venusaur.
Spiritomb up to S- tier: Best defensive spinblocker and Pursuiter in a tier where hazards + (double) spinblocking is one of the most used strategies.

Omastar / Qwilfish up to A+ tier: Spikes are so good in UU, regardless of what style you're playing, and these two are the best Spikers.
Donphan / Hitmontop / Kabutops up to A+ tier: Same reasoning, but fill the role of spinners.

Leafeon up to A tier: Get rid of Registeel and almost nothing can wall it; outruns and KOes both Moltres and most Venusaur with +2 LO Double-Edge.
Chansey down to B- tier: Chansey is pretty bad; all it excels at is walling Moltres, and you're better off using Clefable outside of that.
Slowbro down to B tier: Opportunity cost; you're generally better off using Milotic.

Charizard: generally sucks but it has a small niche in Belly Drum + Thunderpunch for teams that rely on Milotic as their only check to Fire-type Pokemon

 

[Folgorio]

the simple fact that a new rank (t rank) was not created for tauros sickens me. tauros is the definition of a manly motherfucking pokemon. tauros is the kind of guy who would take your mom out on a date and she'd be begging to let him have his way with her, because he just exudes manliness. but tauros wouldn't do that. even though everyone in the room knows that at any given moment, tauros could whip out his bull dick and eviscerate every woman in the room, tauros is too much of a gentleman to do it. instead, tauros comes home with your mom, puts her to bed. he's genuinely interested in her well being. he tucks her into bed and has a long talk with you about how he hopes to treat her right, to have a new start. tauros has made mistakes. we all have. he recognizes his mortality and the flaw in human nature, and he realizes that you're probably not comfortable with a new dude being around the house since dad left. but it is ok. because tauros understands. after a few months of this, mom has news. tauros is moving in. he saunters in the house because he is a god damn bull and he does what he wants, but still respects your space. he always knocks before he enters your door. he's a good cook and always helps with the dishes. you sense a change in your mom, something that you haven't seen in years. could it be genuine happiness? you see a glow in her smile, a way that she carries herself that left with dad. tauros sees it too.

but in the back of your mind, you know that something is wrong. visions keep popping into your mind at night. your mother on the bed, tauros giving it to her like she's never had it before her, using his strong torso to completely annihilate her innocence and pummeling her into pleasure that she has never felt before. the subtle scent of tauros as he drops a steaming load of cow shit into the living room. the uncomfortable silence when his massive penis unsheathes itself at the dinner table. something is wrong. but no one will say anything. tauros' wrath is feared. he has played the long con, worming himself into your every day life until he appears normal, and that is when he strikes. not with a body slam, not with an earthquake, not even with a mighty hyper beam, but with the worst attack in his arsenal: complete and utter emotional abandonment.

these factors, combined with his high speed and great coverage warrant mid/low A tier.


petition (or rather -- DEMAND -- ) to move king tauros (aka EL CABRON) to tier T or A at worst

signed, The supreme overlord of smogon, Folgorio

signed, Resident queerbag, bluewind

signed, Extreme nice dude, ciele

signed, scumbag eo

signed, court jester bad ass

signed, master of all betrayal, hsa

signed, alabama native, iris

also since im here i think:
donphan and scyther should be A tier
hitmonlee should be at least B
azumarril should prob be at least A maybe S
registeel shud be S

 

[M Dragon]

Toxicroak and Azumarill are too low, they were 2 dangerous threats, especially the former.
Scyther should also be rank A

 

[Hikari]

I'm incredibly rusty at DPP UU, so take what I say with a grain of salt.

Registeel should be higher, maybe in S-. It checks way too many top threats.

Omastar and Scyther to at least A-. Omastar is one of the best Spiker in the tier, defensively and offensively (lead Omastar), and it is one of the most scary Rain sweepers (and OHKOes Toxicroak, which is one of the most common rain checks). Scyther is just damn scary to face if you can't keep rocks up, there's not much that enjoys tanking CB U-turn / Aerial Ace (mostly the former) and the SD set is pretty hard to stop, because it has good coverage and Baton Pass.

I'd put both Hippo and Snover higher, either B+ or A-. They are both pretty subpar mons, but their abilities provide an insane amount of support to their team.

Leafeon should definitely be higher. One of the best setup sweepers in the tier, it only has a handful of counters and it can play around most of them with BP. Additionally, it's pretty decent defensively thanks to its massive physical bulk, which allows it to beat Pokemon like Kabutops, Feraligatr, Azumarill, Torterra and Rhyperior.

Azumarill and Feraligatr to B. Sub Punch and CB Azumarill were pretty good, nothing special but easily better than anything other B- Pokemon have. DD Feraligatr was a pretty good setup sweeper, had problems breaking through some Pokemon like Milotic (Unless Sub Gatr vs Hp Grass / Haze-less Milotic), and SD Gatr was a pretty decent wall breaker.

Ludicolo to B+. It's coverage under Rain and its ability to break through Chansey if needed (SD Colo) makes it arguably the best rain sweeper.

Gorebyss to B-. Almost as strong as Omastar and only a bit slower, and its typing is superior.

Why is Ampharos C? I never used it and I don't remember ever facing it, but if I'm not mistaken the only thing going for it is Focus Punch and the ability to bait Chansey, assuming your opponent isn't expecting Focus Punch or has absolutely no other Ampharos switch in (like Venusaur).

Tauros should be at least B / B+. Switching into it was incredibly hard, it could 2HKO Milotic and EQ gave it excellent coverage, and it could trap and kill Mismagius (obviously other Pokemon too, but mostly Missy) with Pursuit.

Sharpedo, Poliwrath and Regice to at least mid C. Yeah, they are nothing special, but they are as good as or better than most crap in the whole C ranking.

 

[BKC]

Dugtrio to low S
Registeel to mid S
Arcanine to top A
Omastar to mid/low A
Scyther to low A
Toxicroak to low A
Qwilfish to low A
Ambipom to B

great thread

 

[Smurf.]

clefable is easily S rank. fast cm is fucking king.

 

[kokoloko]

moltres shouldn't be S just by definition tbh. its amazing but spin support is /required/ so that in itself should drop it to a+. arcanine also isn't S just cause it can't perform to its maximum in every game due to milo/qwil/rhyp being so prominent.

s should be consolidated to just venu/milo/regis imo.

missy/dug/clef/arca/tres are the picks for a+ and everything else is a or less. those 8 mons define the meta imo.

also tauros should definitely be /at least/ b+ its so good wtf

i'll probably post more later but those are my thoughts atm.

 

[Oglemi]

OK I'd like more opinions on Tomb/Arc/Tres/Duggy and their placements in S-/A+. IMO Tres and Arc are good enough for S- just because they're phenomenal even with SR on the field, and because they are so metagame defining.

I put the best two Spikers and spinners win A+. I never liked using Donphan so I have it in mid A but I'm willing to move him up I guess.

I moved Ambi and Chansey to mid B because while I know some people loved using them, I think they were just easy to use but not necessarily that good.

I also currently have Scyther at mid A but I'm thinking maybe it's better at low A, idk.

I moved a bunch of others based on the comments so far :>

 

[Heysup]

Blaziken S.

Also keep Moltres S, if you're sorting them into high-middle-low it fits there nicely. Spin/Spikes aren't required they are just a very good idea. It is probably the best offensive Pokemon in the tier and is only really stopped by and pussy ass Chansey and Milotic,

Duggy isn't as good as it was in the Raikou metagame but it's still sort of useful for like Mismagius, Moltres, and Espeon.

Scyther is a beast but I'm not sure I would say it's A.

Arcanine is very specifically good against the top sweepers, but I wouldn't necessarily say it's S.

Fuk Spiritomb.

EDIT: Mostly kidding about Blaziken in S.

 

[Atticus]

does anyone still play this? LOL or is this just a nostalgia nerd orgy

 

[Heysup]

does anyone still play this? LOL or is this just a nostalgia nerd orgy

I am very down for the nostalgia nerd orgy as long as there is a Blaziken involved (ideally low speed with mixed attacks so it can go both ways).

 

[franky]

also tauros should definitely be /at least/ b+ its so good wtf

rank T IMO

nothing more and nothing less

 

[Bluewind]

I'm here for the nerd orgy. But without putting Blaziken in S because please. Also I wanna make it clear i signed no petition (even though EL CABRON should indeed be higher).

More love for azumarill please, he was pretty much the best bulky water for offensive teams and revenges just about every fast sweeper once they drop under 60%. Should me high A IMHO.

Hariyama also could use a lot more love, since he was pretty hard for balance teams to play around and sturdy enough to take a hit from offensive teams and kill something. Double priority, rocks resist and status soaking also made him pretty good! Low A at least imo.

Mesprit and Uxie should probably switch places and Rotom could be brought up to mid A possibly.

Honestly i've always found steelix a pretty bad mon but maybe thats just me. at least he could roar / explode on stuff setting up on him i guess. Swellow is a bit of a shitter too when priority is so common and he cannot for his life get past steels and rocks. The two of them + aggron could possibly make it into high b.

Manectric was a pretty decent mon, possibly mid b (much more relevant than ambipom tbh), as well as exeggutor.

Jynx was pretty trolly to some balance teams, prolly could make it to low b.

Raichu should be ahead of ampharos probably, NP LO could actually work when the stars lined up, while ampharos is just too damn slow.

i fight the good fight of underloved pokemons!

And lanturn should be made supreme god of UU

On the arcanine topic raised above, hes retardedly fucking good and at least mid s imo (dat spdef set) but i wont play devil's advocate. definitely deserves low s though. moltres is a more touchy issue, however, not having a spinner really sucks... but he might be able to edge out just because he can also run that retardedly annoying sub toxic set. Keep dugtrio and spiritomb in A imo.

why is chansey the god of stall so low too :o

yes i keep editting this thing as i notice stuff

 

[Monte Cristo]

Blaziken S.

Also keep Moltres S, if you're sorting them into high-middle-low it fits there nicely. Spin/Spikes aren't required they are just a very good idea. It is probably the best offensive Pokemon in the tier and is only really stopped by and pussy ass Chansey and Milotic,

Duggy isn't as good as it was in the Raikou metagame but it's still sort of useful for like Mismagius, Moltres, and Espeon.

Scyther is a beast but I'm not sure I would say it's A.

Arcanine is very specifically good against the top sweepers, but I wouldn't necessarily say it's S.

Fuk Spiritomb.

This. All of this. Agreed

More on blaziken though : Blaziken is one of the best wallbreakers in his tier, and imo it's up there with Venusaur in terms of versatility. The SD/CB set is almost impossible to wall unless you pack +Def Arcanine + Moltres + Rhypy and more which is a huge Azu/Rhypy weak core. The agility set is a great LGS (Late game sweeper), the special set lures and kills physical set checks well, and the scarf set is one utilitous revenge killer. While Blaze does have flaws such as azu weakness, 4mss and morr, it's strengths overpower it's flaws enough to be A+/S.

Also Rotom should be mid A and Arcanine to top A.

 

[Oglemi]

I updated this again :>

 

[Isa]

What made Weezing a B-rank Pokémon? In the old RMTs I find, Weezing is frequently used and praised as a great Venusaur counter, the most common Pokémon in the meta...so why is it not higher? Did the metagame have unfavorable shifts or something?

(shameless bump)

 

[Kel9901]

What made Weezing a B-rank Pokémon? In the old RMTs I find, Weezing is frequently used and praised as a great Venusaur counter, the most common Pokémon in the meta...so why is it not higher? Did the metagame have unfavorable shifts or something?

(shameless bump)

well i guess heracross got banned...

 

[Oglemi]

Weezing was hyped for a while as the only "true" counter to Venusaur (SpD RestTalk specifically), but it just completely saps momentum from your team the moment you send it out. Most of the other top threats in the meta get a free switch into Weezing, it has massive 4mss, and while Explosion is something to be wary of, it typically won't want to boom if you still have venu/fighters on your team. Essentially, it's a lot like Chansey is; annoying as fuck for some teams and it's use is legitimate, but ultimately mostly over-specialized.

and yea it was about the only good stop to non-guts hera aside from checking it with stuff like perior until hera was banned

 

[Cheryl.]

I'm just gonna revive this thread here becaus it's the only DPP UU VR avaiable and I think we should get more discussion.
#KeepVRAlive

 

[Tomahawk]

I'm just gonna revive this thread here becaus it's the only DPP UU VR avaiable and I think we should get more discussion.
#KeepVRAlive

well ok, not really smth i can respond to but

i think dugtrio could be S- because it's a fucked mon
is snover really that good?
houndoom is SOLID. could be Amid
claydol and ursaring are better than the other mons in C top

 

[Cheryl.]

Well, since this thread has been revived by me, I might as well make a nomination:

Blaziken for A Top
I may have just started DPP UU a few days ago, but I have learned that Blaziken is an amazing mon. It's such a great wallbreaker with a variety of sets. Fire/Fighting is a really good offensive typing right now in DPP UU, as it can break through multiple mons like Rhyperior and even Milotic sometimes with Blaziken's Fighting moves and coverage. Blaziken's coverage, as stated earlier, is really good, as it has moves like Rock Slide to kill unsuspecting Moltres. With great mixed attacking stats, Blaziken can threaten both physical and special walls alike. It also has a bit of unpredictability to him, as he has a variety of sets, including Choice Band, Choice Scarf, Life Orb, Swords Dance, and even Agility. Blaziken has a few flaws that hurts it, though, like it's somewhat mediocre 80 base speed, and it's Fire/Fighting typing makes it weak to some common types, like Water, Ground, and Flying. It is also weak to the common priority move Aqua Jet, which can hurt it's sweeping potential a lot. But overall, Blaziken is such a good wallbreaker and attacker in DPP UU that I think it is better than the A mid mons and more on par with the A Top mons, and therefore I believe it should rise.

Also honestly I think Alakazam could be A mid but it gets screwed over by stuff like Spiritomb and it's defenses hurt it a lot, but Kazam can run through teams so easily it's not even funny.

 

[Oglemi]

well ok, not really smth i can respond to but

i think dugtrio could be S- because it's a fucked mon
is snover really that good?
houndoom is SOLID. could be Amid
claydol and ursaring are better than the other mons in C top

Hail in itself is that good ya, not that Snover is anything to brag about. No opinion on the other suggestions but I don't think Houndoom is any better than the other mons in A- and I wouldn't place it on the same rank as rhy/rotom. Houndoom is solid but the mons in midA are extremely consistent compared to everything else in A-.