DPPt in-game tiers.

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IstheCakeReallyaLie

After talking for a bit on IRC, several (well, 2 or 3) people decided that we should have an in-game tier thread for DPPt. There isn't one being updated (the last one is (was?) in Stark Mountain), so here we are.

Now, it's been a long time since I played Platinum, so I can't really give anything to this article, but you can help! Just toss a reply right here. Theorymoning, while not prohibited, will probably not get your article in the OP.

Abra
Azelf
Bidoof reserved for Naix
Buizel
Chimchar reserved for Naix
Cranidos reserved for Naix
Gastly
Gastly
Gible
Giratina
Houndour
Machop
Piplup (reserved for Espeon65)
Rotom
Scyther
Shink
Starly Done.
Turtwig

Bronzor
Croagunk
Snorunt-->Froslass
Ralts-->Gallade reserved for Naix, not sure which evo
Ralts-->Gardevoir reserved for Naix, not sure which evo
Eevee-->Jolteon
Magikarp
Marill
Meditite
Pikachu
Ponyta Done.
Shellos
Eevee-->Vaporeon

Bonsly
Budew reserved for Naix
Buneary
Chatot
Clefairy
Drifloon Done.
Electabuzz
Geodude
Girafarig
Eevee-->Glaceon
Gligar
Hoothoot
Magnemite
Mesprit
Psyduck
Uxie
Wingull
Wooper
Zubat

Absol
Aipom
Barboach
Burmy
Carnivine
Cherubi
Chansey
Chingling
Combee
Duskull
Eevee-->Espeon (reserved for Espeon65)
Feeba
Finneon
Eevee-->Flareon
Snorunt-->Glalie
Goldeen
Heracross
Hippopotas
Kricketot
Eevee-->Leafeon
Lickitung
Magmar
Mantyke
Mime Jr.
Munchlax
Nosepass
Onix
Pachirisu Done.
Porygon
Remoraid
Rhyhorn
Riolu
Shieldon
Skorupi
Sneasel
Snover
Spritomb
Swablu
Swinub
Tangela
Tentacool
Togepi
Tropius
Eevee-->Umbreon
Unown
Wurmple
Yanma

Dialga
Palkia

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Version : All
Stats: Starly and its evoultions have great Attack and Speed, but middling defenses and horrid Special Attack. Intimidate somewhat fixes your bulk issues. Fully evolved, Staraptors base 120 Attack and 100 Speed leave it far ahead of the pack. The good news here is, you evolve into Staravia at level 14, and then evolve into Staraptor at level 34, which is a fairly quick evolution line.

Movepool: Starly's evolution line has a fantastic movepool, boasting 2 fearsome STAB moves in Brave Bird and Return (Double-Edge and Facade work well here too), and you then get Close Combat at level 34 as a Staraptor when you evolve, which finishes off your coverage by hitting the Steel and Rock types currently walling your STAB's. Your 4th moveslot can even be put to use to learn Fly, an in demand move in-game.

Availability: Very early, before you even reach your first gym you will have had multiple chances to catch Starly on the first 2 routes you use in the game at a very high apprentice rate, and if you miss out there Staravia can be caught during the middle parts of the game as well.

Coming soon to a thread near you!

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Version: Plat.

If you didn't pick Chimchar, you have very few choices in terms of fire types. This is the 3rd best fire type behind Infernape and Houndoom. It can sweep gyms and Elite Four members by itself, but it evolves at the high level of 40.

Availability: Early, Right outside Oreburgh City.

Stats: Rapidash has got a great 105 speed, and a decent 100 base attack, and a slightly disappointing Sp. Atk with 80.

Moveset: Moveset wise, it doesn't have much going for it. It can use various Fire STABs, such as Fire Blast and Flamethrower, but that can get you by. It's best physical STAB is Flare Blitz, which sadly you don't get until 56. It also gets Megahorn through Heart Scale, which can be an option against Lucian.

Drifloon (Low Tier)

Version: All

Stats: Below Average. Besides HP and arguably Special Attack, Drifloon has some pretty below average stats. He's sort of fast, but his defenses are very, very lackluster to accompany his HP, and they really bring Drifloon down as a whole. His typing is decent, though. When he evolves into Drifblim, none of these facts really change. Other Pokémon really catch up quickly to him, and it gets harder and harder to win battles with his only ok offensive stats. He is also very easily outclassed by other Flying-types.

Movepool: Decent. Drifloon, when it evolves, can use a fairly wide range of attacks, from Shadow Ball to Payback, from Thunderbolt to Fly. He doesn't learn all that great STAB moves, though, having to rely on Astonish as a Ghost-type move until Ominous Wind, and even then Ominous Wind has terrible PP. The same goes for Flying-type STABs, seeing as Gust is the only Level-up move he learns.

Availability: Early. Drifloon is available on Fridays at the Valley Windworks after you beat Team Plasma, just before the Eterna Forest. Just reset your DS clock and you're golden. Eterna is a great place to level up, and the Eterna gym is designed specifically for Drifloon, it seems.

Additional Comments: Drifloon is cute and fun to use early on, but definitely takes a massive fall as soon as Maylene sends out that Lucario. It's all downhill from there. But he can function as an HM slave with Fly to an extent, right? Wrong. Unless you already have Drifblim, I would recommend leaving being a Fly slave to a Starly or something, as Drifloon cannot learn Fly until it evolves at Lv. 28. What a shame, though. He's just so cute.

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Version: All

Stats: Poor. Pachirisu has terrible HP, Attack, Defense, and Special Attack compared to other available Pokémon. At its time of first encounter, though, it is one of the fastest Pokémon, and also has decent Special Defense. Its stats lose luster as soon as others begin evolving, however, as when you encounter it your starter should have evolved, at least.

Movepool: Shallow. There are only a few moves worth using on Pachirisu, and they are as follows: Quick Attack, Super Fang, and Discharge. If you use it for anything else, it will be outclassed even when you first meet it, seeing as Shinx/Luxio has both higher Attack and learns Spark around the same time. All of its other moves can also be matched by others around the time of encounter. Also, Super Fang comes mid-game, at Level 33, when Pachirisu is no longer a valuable party member. It does learn Cut and Flash, though.

Availability: Early. Pachirisu is available just before Eterna Forest at the Valley Windworks. He can be of some assistance against Team Galactic, and can even be grinded with Cheryl in the Eterna Forest, which can be used to level up easily against the resident Budew and Trainers' Abra and Beautifly. It also comes around the time when an HM slave for Cut can be used, so that be harped upon.

Matchups


Additional Comments: None, really. Try to avoid using Pachirisu. It's cute and all, but not the greatest Pokémon for an efficient run. It really it cute, though, so you could keep it as a mascot, like Ash's Pikachu.

Form to fill out:

Game version(s): Plat., DP, or both.
Stats: This should explain itself.
Movepool: Again, this should be obvious.
Availability: Include version exclusiveness.
Additional comments: Boss matchups (not too in depth, just the really important bits), other tidbits that would be useful.

If this form is not filled out correctly, your entry WILL be ignored.

We're assuming that people can obtain trade evos, but some Pokemon that are useful on their own without a trade evo can be considered (will always be placed at least one tier lower).
 
Couple comments:
1. I recommend shifting to a tiering style as follows: Top, High, Middle, Low, Bottom, Unavailable. This grants equality in terms of gauging power levels, ensuring accuracy, while also allowing a spot for Dialga/Pakia et al.

2. As a notice to all submitters, we want DETAIL from your response. This isn't something you should half-ass. If you want your entry to be accepted, go into depth on your Pokemon and make it quality work.


List of Pokemon you should cover
Abra
Azelf
Bidoof
Buizel
Chimchar
Cranidos
Gastly
Gible
Giratina
Houndour
Machop
Piplup
Rotom
Scyther
Shink
Starly
Turtwig

Bronzor
Croagunk
Snover-->Froslass
Ralts-->Gallade
Ralts-->Gardevoir
Eevee-->Jolteon
Magikarp
Marill
Meditite
Pikachu
Ponyta
Shellos
Eevee-->Vaporeon

Bonsly
Budew
Buneary
Chatot
Clefairy
Drifloon
Electabuzz
Geodude
Girafarig
Eevee-->Glaceon
Gligar
Hoothoot
Magnemite
Mesprit
Psyduck
Uxie
Wingull
Wooper
Zubat

Absol
Aipom
Barboach
Burmy
Carnivine
Cherubi
Chansey
Chingling
Combee
Duskull
Eevee-->Espeon
Feeba
Finneon
Eevee-->Flareon
Snover-->Glalie
Goldeen
Heracross
Hippopotas
Kricketot
Eevee-->Leafeon
Lickitung
Magmar
Mantyke
Mime Jr.
Munchlax
Nosepass
Onix
Pachirisu
Porygon
Remoraid
Rhyhorn
Riolu
Shieldon
Skorupi
Sneasel
Snover
Spritomb
Swablu
Swinub
Tangela
Tentacool
Togepi
Tropius
Eevee-->Umbreon
Unown
Wurmple
Yanma

Dialga
Palkia
 
I guess I'll start.

Turtwig (really Torterra) for Top Tier

This guy is just amazing. He has super effective stabs against half of the gyms within the game. He also gets crunch for coverage, which takes out one other gym. In fact, the only gym where he is useless in is the grass gym. After Turtwig evolves into Torterra, he gets earthquake, which is insanely useful in the gyms, against your rival, and against parts of the elite four.

A set I personally used when I got to Torterra was
item: big root
-Giga Drain
-Earthquake
-Crunch
-Toxic

Giga drain is for decent healing, earthquake was the go to move for damage when it wasn't resisted, crunch was the last coverage move for those pesky flying and ghost types (cough*drifblim*cough), and toxic was the filler because there were, IMO, better pokemon to use stone edge on. Wood hammer could replace toxic or giga drain, but then you either lose healing, or have nothing to prevent yourself from getting either amnesia stalled or evasion stalled, both of which do occur within the game.



Actually, now that I think about it, do you even get stone edge before completing the game?

Possibly more to come.
 
Ponyta for Mid Tier

Version: Plat.

If you didn't pick Chimchar, you have very few choices in terms of fire types. This is the 3rd best fire type behind Infernape and Houndoom. It can sweep gyms and Elite Four members by itself, but it evolves at the high level of 40.

Availability: Early, Right outside Oreburgh City.

Stats: Rapidash has got a great 105 speed, and a decent 100 base attack, and a slightly disappointing Sp. Atk with 80.

Moveset: Moveset wise, it doesn't have much going for it. It can use various Fire STABs, such as Fire Blast and Flamethrower, but that can get you by. It's best physical STAB is Flare Blitz, which sadly you don't get until 56. It also gets Megahorn through Heart Scale, which can be an option against Lucian.

Matchup:
Roark: If you are using Ponyta, you should probably have Piplup or Turtwig to beat Roark with. This will not do well against Ponyta.

Gardenia: Gardenia is a great matchup for Ponyta. You should have Flame Wheel and the only non-grass move she has is Roserade's poison sting.

Fantina: A pretty even matchup here. You can hit all the ghosts weaker physical side using STAB Flame Wheel, but watch out for Mismagius. Her Mismagius is quite strong.

Maylene: This one is not the best matchup for Ponyta, as her Meditite and Machoke have Rock Tomb, and Lucario has Bone Rush. You can hit Lucario with the Super-Effective STAB Flame Wheel to dent it severly or take it out if needed.

Crasher Wake: STAY AWAY. You have no chance here with Ponyta, so don't even try.

Byron: You should have Fire Blast on your Ponyta by now. This can beat Magneton fairly comfortably, and do quite a lot to Steelix. The main issue is that Steelix has Earthquake and Bastiodon has Stone Edge and is super bulky. This will not be the best matchup ever for your Ponyta, or Rapidash.

Candice: You can probably comfortably OHKO everything, but if Fire Blast misses, you may have some issues against Piloswine.

Volkner: You should do decently well against all of his pokemon, but it is a completely neutral matchup.

Aaron: He is so easy with this it isn't funny. You should easily be able to take out all his pokemon.

Bertha: Don't bother as her whole team will hit you super-effectively.

Flint: Not a very good matchup here.

Lucian: If you gave it Megahorn, now is the time to use it. If not, I wouldn't use Rapidash.

Cynthia: It can beat Roserade, and hold its ground against Spiritomb, and isn't great against anything else.

Cyrus: Rapidash can do well against anything but Gyarados and Houndoom, unless it has Megahorn.

Barry: Beats Heracross, Roserade and is okay against Staraptor.

Conclusion: While it is the 3rd best fire type, it is not the best party choice. Houndoom makes a much better fire type, but Rapidash works.
 
I used mostly Infernape, Garchomp, and Gyarados in my playthrough. I'll reserve Magikarp I guess. High tier is where I'd place it at best.

Edit: At the person who did Torterra, you said he is only useless against the Grass gym. Wouldn't he have trouble against the Ice gym? Personally if I used him I'll probably do a Rock Polish set.
 
NidokingKing said:
I guess I'll start.

Turtwig (really Torterra) for Top Tier

This guy is just amazing. He has super effective stabs against half of the gyms within the game. He also gets crunch for coverage, which takes out one other gym. In fact, the only gym where he is useless in is the grass gym. After Turtwig evolves into Torterra, he gets earthquake, which is insanely useful in the gyms, against your rival, and against parts of the elite four.

A set I personally used when I got to Torterra was
item: big root
-Giga Drain
-Earthquake
-Crunch
-Toxic

Giga drain is for decent healing, earthquake was the go to move for damage when it wasn't resisted, crunch was the last coverage move for those pesky flying and ghost types (cough*drifblim*cough), and toxic was the filler because there were, IMO, better pokemon to use stone edge on. Wood hammer could replace toxic or giga drain, but then you either lose healing, or have nothing to prevent yourself from getting either amnesia stalled or evasion stalled, both of which do occur within the game.



Actually, now that I think about it, do you even get stone edge before completing the game?

Possibly more to come.
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Can you put that into the format in the OP? Thanks a bunch.
 
IsTheCakeReallyALie said:
Snover-->Froslass + Snover-->Glalie
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...facepalm...its Snorunt...

I would love to help with this! If possible, I would like to reserve Espeon, and Empoleon. I don't wanna go crazy, since I would be starting a brand new run so that I remember exactly, so I'll only reserve those two, but I will have other on my team, and if they aren't taken, I'll write them, too. I plan to use Tropius, Dusclops, Lucario, and Weavile, too. I will most likely end up getting Riolu and maybe even Eevee from my Diamond version, just so I can have someone other than Piplup until the 4th gym.
 
If nobody minds, I'm going to go through Platinum with the following Pokemon: Chimchar, Bidoof, Budew, Drifloon, Cranidos, and Ralts. Expect me to give feedback on the team once every 3 badges, and I'll write entries for all of them when I'm done (assuming nobody else does them by the time I finish).

Also, Espeon, I'm pretty sure we're not allowed to trade from other games unless it's to evolve trade-evolution Pokemon, as trading in Pokemon from other games causes them to have boosted experience and potentially allows them to be on your team earlier, making them seem more useful than they actually might be.
 
I'm not sure why we have another in-game tier for this game, but I'll contribute.

EDIT: I want to have a decent looking analysis...can I reserve Starly, Drifloon, and Pachirisu? The last two aren't going to be all that hotly contested.
 
Naix said:
Also, Espeon, I'm pretty sure we're not allowed to trade from other games unless it's to evolve trade-evolution Pokemon, as trading in Pokemon from other games causes them to have boosted experience and potentially allows them to be on your team earlier, making them seem more useful than they actually might be.
Click to expand...

Really? Darn it. Okay, well then I'll change my team up a bit so I have more at the beginning. Maybe change Duskull to Sphinx...I'll figure it out.
 
Naix said:
If nobody minds, I'm going to go through Platinum with the following Pokemon: Chimchar, Bidoof, Budew, Drifloon, Cranidos, and Ralts. Expect me to give feedback on the team once every 3 badges, and I'll write entries for all of them when I'm done (assuming nobody else does them by the time I finish).

Also, Espeon, I'm pretty sure we're not allowed to trade from other games unless it's to evolve trade-evolution Pokemon, as trading in Pokemon from other games causes them to have boosted experience and potentially allows them to be on your team earlier, making them seem more useful than they actually might be.
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I'm going to be giving saying that Inanimate Blob gets Drifloon, if that's okay with you. It's typically first come, first serve, but you're taking six and Blob is taking three.

Edit: What are you going to evolve Ralts into? And if you're going to get Cranidos, make sure your TID is odd.
 
Ralts

Ralts is imho the best Psychic-type to use in the main storyline. Alakazam is unobtainable for many people, Bronzor sucks, etc. Top-tier.

Ralts is obtained on either Route 208 or Route 209 (around Hearthome city). It evolves at level 20 into Kirlia, so only a couple of levels after you catch it. It then evolves into Gardevoir at level 30 (pretty early for such a fantastic Pokemon) or Gallade if you use the Dawn Stone (available a bit later on). Ralts is fairly common, you have a 20% chance to encounter it on Route 209. One of the best things about Ralts is that you can choose the evolution depending on its nature. If you have an Atk increasing nature or a SpA decreasing one and it's male, it's probably best to evolve it into Gallade (which gets Psycho Cut at level 31, Leaf Blade/Night Slash with a Heart Scale, and Close Combat at level 53. If you want a Fighting-type move earlier on, you can always teach it Drain Punch or Brick Break.

I however prefer Gardevoir. She can steamroll practically any boss in the game by herself, and is extremely self-sufficient. She learns her excellent moves very early on (Calm Mind as a Kirlia, Psychic at level 33, and Wish with a Heart Scale). A set of Calm Mind, Psychic, Thunderbolt (she's a great Pokemon to use the TM on) and Wish/Shadow Ball/Focus Blast can really massacre any boss. She's obviously no slouch when it comes to one on one either, as that 125 SpA makes quick work of anything with Psychic or a coverage move. She's awesome at taking special hits as well. Trace is an incredible ability, even in-game, and it makes her one of the best Gyarados counters (these guys are notoriously difficult in-game), as she bounces back Intimidate and strikes them down with Thunder. Synchronize is fine too, but if you can, catch a Ralts with Trace.

Gallade and Gardevoir only have one real flaw, and that's their low Exp gain. At 1,250,000, their EXP Growth is slow, but the fact they get their good moves and evolutions early on means that this really isn't much of an issue. Exp share is a great way to bring Ralts up as well.
 
IstheCakeReallyaLie said:
I'm going to be giving saying that Inanimate Blob gets Drifloon, if that's okay with you. It's typically first come, first serve, but you're taking six and Blob is taking three.

What are you going to evolve Ralts into? And if you're going to get Cranidos, make sure your TID is odd.
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Well, I'm fine with him using Drifloon instead. I'll probably use a honey tree Pokemon in its place. (Whichever falls out first is the one I'll use, provided it isn't a Wurmple. None of the honey tree Pokemon are in high demand.) Also, seeing as how Cherub Agent already did a Ralts entry, I'll go with Togepi instead. E was going to evolve it into Gardevoir, if you're still curious.
 
Naix said:
Well, I'm fine with him using Drifloon instead. I'll probably use a honey tree Pokemon in its place. (Whichever falls out first is the one I'll use, provided it isn't a Wurmple. None of the honey tree Pokemon are in high demand.) Also, seeing as how Cherub Agent already did a Ralts entry, I'll go with Togepi instead. E was going to evolve it into Gardevoir, if you're still curious.
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Okay, thanks for the update! For anyone who's wondering, you can still write an entry; the person didn't put it in the proper format.

Cherub, can you put your entries in the proper format? I can always convert it, but it would be nice to be able to have some copypasta.
 
Piplup for high tier.

Water starters are usually good and piplup is no exception. The fact that it's a penguin means it learns peck really early on. This means that it can easily muscle past grass and bugs with plenty of PP to spare on its stronger moves. It also has a great special attack stat to abuse its STAB water moves.

Once it evolves into Empoleon, it gains the much coveted steel secondary typing which effectively gives it resistance to most common moves found on wild pokemon. It also has good matchups against most gym leaders except Gardenia and Volkner. Against Gardenia, Prinplup can gamble with peck and while Empoleon is weak to Volkner's electric attacks, everything except for Octillery takes neutral damage from surf.
 
Starly (Top Tier)

Version : All
Stats : Starly and its evoultions have great Attack and Speed, but middling defenses and horrid Special Attack. Intimidate somewhat fixes your bulk issues. Fully evolved, Staraptors base 120 Attack and 100 Speed leave it far ahead of the pack. The good news here is, you evolve into Staravia at level 14, and then evolve into Staraptor at level 34, which is a fairly quick evolution line.
Movepool : Starly's evolution line has a fantastic movepool, boasting 2 fearsome STAB moves in Brave Bird and Return, and you then get Close Combat at level 34 as a Staraptor when you evolve, which finishes off your coverage by hitting the Steel and Rock types currently walling your STAB's. Your 4th moveslot can even be put to use to learn Fly, an in demand move ingame.
Availability: Very early, before you even reach your first gym you will have had multiple chances to catch starly on the first 2 routes you use in the game at a very high apprentice rate, and if you miss out there Staravia can be caught during the middle parts of the game as well
Matchups: Gym/ E4 matchups below
Roark: Starly can't touch any of Roarks pokemon at this point during the game, obviously its not the best choice to use here
Gardenia: by now you will probably have Staravia, use your powerful flying STAB in Wing Attack here and Gardenia will fall down pretty easily
Maylene: Another opportunity to spam your Wing Attacks here, watch out for Lucario though as he is only neutral to it
Wake: With intimidate, you can weaken his team a fair bit, but watch out for Gyarados as he packs intimidate as well. Throwing around wing attack works fairly well here too.
Fantina: Immune to her gyms main STAB's, although they are immune to your normal moves. Sort of an even match up here
Flint: You should have Staraptor by now, and although his rock type attacks will beat you in no time, Close Combat will be doing loads of damage to his bastiodon as well as respectable damage to the rest of his team
Candice: In DP this is actually a good match up, if you lead Snovers Ice Shard will be substantially weakened by Intimidate, and Abomasnow and Medicham can't take your flying STAB. Watch out for Weavile though. In Platinum, you can beat Weavile with intimidate, as well as beating Abomasnow and having a chance at Piloswine. You don't stand much of a chance against Froslass though
Volkner: Don't use your Staraptor here, his electric attacks will shred you to bits in no time if you show yourself here, don't come out
Aaron: By now, you should have Brave Bird. If not, fly will do the trick. Just spam your flying stab here and Aaron will crumble before you. Drapion can be a problem, just use another team mate here.
Bertha: Considering a lot of her team either carry rock moves, or are rock type themselves, its probably not the best idea to show yourself around here, especially if sandstorm is up, sandstorm makes the recoil a lot higher. In DP you may get away with it, but Platinum definitely creates an unfavorable match up, with Rhyperior stomping you aside
Flint: In DP this is a fairly good match up, just watch out for his Steelix and you should be fine to throw around your STAB attacks on his team. Platinum is a slightly better match up with the removal of Steelix, watch out for Magmortars flame body hax though.
Lucian: This is a fairly even match up. Bronzong completely shuts down Staraptor, but on the other hand the rest of his team is fairly frail, so they will be taking large amounts of damage from either of your STAB attacks.
Cynthia: You easily beat both here Lucario and her Roserade, and her Garchomp and Spiritomb can't take either of your STAB attacks well. Its a fairly solid match up here.

That goes for ages and i ramble a bit, but w/e starly is easily my favorite pokemon to use in game in DPP and is definitely high tier
 
I feel like we really should have separate tier lists for Diamond/Pearl and for Platinum here... Unlike some of the earlier third games, Platinum has a ton of different Pokemon and even the gyms are in a different order. It's different enough to be classified differently if you ask me.
 
Diana said:
I feel like we really should have separate tier lists for Diamond/Pearl and for Platinum here... Unlike some of the earlier third games, Platinum has a ton of different Pokemon and even the gyms are in a different order. It's different enough to be classified differently if you ask me.
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Yeah, I was thinking so too. If there's a dramatic difference, feel free to rewrite it for a new tier.
 
Pachirisu (Bottom Tier)

Version: All

Stats: Poor. Pachirisu has terrible HP, Attack, Defense, and Special Attack compared to other available Pokémon. At its time of first encounter, though, it is one of the fastest Pokémon, and also has decent Special Defense. Its stats lose luster as soon as others begin evolving, however, as when you encounter it your starter should have evolved, at least.

Movepool: Shallow. There are only a few moves worth using on Pachirisu, and they are as follows: Quick Attack, Super Fang, and Discharge. If you use it for anything else, it will be outclassed even when you first meet it, seeing as Shinx/Luxio has both higher Attack and learns Spark around the same time. All of its other moves can also be matched by others around the time of encounter. Also, Super Fang comes mid-game, at Level 33, when Pachirisu is no longer a valuable party member. It does learn Cut and Flash, though.

Availability: Early. Pachirisu is available just before Eterna Forest at the Valley Windworks. He can be of some assistance against Team Galactic, and can even be grinded with Cheryl in the Eterna Forest, which can be used to level up easily against the resident Budew and Trainers' Abra and Beautifly. It also comes around the time when an HM slave for Cut can be used, so that be harped upon.

Oreburgh Gym: Not available.

Eterna Gym: Not recommended, seeing as Electric matches up poorly against Grass. It can be used as a Paralyzer with Spark to an extent.

Hearthome Gym (3rd Gym) Spark can be used to an extent, but it struggles a bit against the high Defense Duskull, and cannot take a Shadow Ball from the Mismagius.

Veilstone Gym (3rd or 4th) Struggles against almost all of the Pokémon. Really can only be used as healing fodder or a Paralyzer, although with enough grinding it could fire off a Super Fang or two.

Pastoria Gym: The only time it can really shine to an extent. It can beat Gyarados with a possible Discharge fairly simply, but struggles to land hits on the faster physical attacker Floatzel.

Hearthome Gym (5th Gym): Basically the same problems as if it were facing the gym as the third gym. Not powerful enough, and cannot take hits.

Canalave Gym: Not even a contender.

Snowpoint Gym: Not even a contender.

Sunyshore Gym: Oh, please.

Entire Elite Four: Please, just don't use it for these guys. It's suicidal.

Additional Comments: None, really. Try to avoid using Pachirisu. It's cute and all, but not the greatest Pokémon for an efficient run. It really it cute, though, so you could keep it as a mascot, like Ash's Pikachu.
 
Since I recently beat Fantina, I'll mention how my team is doing.
Chimchar:
There's not much to say about Chimchar that isn't common knowledge; it's fast, it has a helpful typing early on in the game, and its adequate attacking stats on both ends means it can still pose an offensive threat if it has an Attack/SpA-reducing nature. Of course, its frailty lets it down whenever it fails to OHKO its opponent and paralysis absolutely cripples it, but those are its only real flaws and the latter is, for the most part, coming from Grass-types who are weak to Ember/Flame Wheel, or from the frail Pikachu or Pachirisu.

Current opinion: Top Tier


Bidoof:
Bidoof's abilities, while both are quite useful competitively, aren't nearly as good in-game, as (seemingly) everything knows a stat-lowering move, making Simple nearly detrimental, and Unaware doesn't allow Bidoof to take advantage of the opponent's potential stat drops, meaning Growl is now (almost) useless. Bidoof itself was easily the worst member of my team before it evolved, having disappointing Attack and only average defenses, but once it evolved, it became a solid member of my team. Defense Curl and Rollout is a surprisingly effective combination against anything that doesn't resist it, as Rollout saves PP thanks to it being a multiple-turn attack.

Current opinion: Top Tier, but only if we're taking HM Slavery into account for this list. If not, then Low Tier is the best place for Bidoof.


Budew:
Despite having an annoying evolution requirement, Budew's actually performing adequately. It does solidly against anything that doesn't resist Mega Drain or is a Psychic-type. The problem, though, is that when Grass resists show up, they tend to be in sizable groups, making Budew's usefulness fade whenever Team Galactic shows up. Also, due to the fact that it's a happiness evolution Pokemon, I tend to play much more cautiously with it, which can tend to slow things down.

Current opinion: Low Tier

Burmy (Mothim):
Burmy is one of the honey tree Pokemon, and this means that I had to turn off the game for 12 hours before proceeding. (I lathered the tree right before I went to bed, so I didn't have to wait as long, but still...) When it was a Burmy, it didn't really do much before learning Bug Bite, but once it did, it actually held its own, and it steamrolled Gardenia as a Mothim. Its typing and frailty are problems, of course, and having Bug Bite as its main STAB doesn't help things when so many things resist it.

Current opinion: Bottom Tier. It's actually decent, but the fact that you have to wait 6 hours for a 22% (11% in Diamond and Pearl) encounter kills its usability for efficient runs.

Cranidos:
First of all, to get a Cranidos, you need to dig up a Skull Fossil, which requires digging in the Underground, where the law is "The probability of finding what you're looking for is reduced significantly." Also, if you wish to use Cranidos in Platinum, your ID has to end in an odd number. These factors combined mean Cranidos is one of the few Pokemon you actually have to go out of your way to obtain. However, Take Down hits like a truck, destroying anything that doesn't resist it or have high Defense, and Pursuit, although much weaker than Take Down, gives it a way to deal with Ghost-types. (It also allows it to beat Psychic-types without taking recoil.)

Current opinion: Mid Tier. It's powerful and has the speed to outpace most non-boss trainers' Pokemon, but it doesn't do well against most of the Gym Leaders mainly due to disadvantageous type match-ups. You also need to go actively searching for it in the Underground.
The reason why I didn't type in my thoughts on Togepi is because it didn't fight at all up to this point. Togepi and Budew both have 1 heart in the Happiness Checker. I do not plan on babying them any more than I would any others, but I will give them Soothe Bells.

Also, I do not plan on reserving entries for any of these Pokemon (except for Mothim and maybe Togepi) until I'm done and am merely using them and recording how they're doing to provide a reference point for those who might write entries for them.
 
Drifloon (Low Tier)

Version: All

Stats: Below Average. Besides HP and arguably Special Attack, Drifloon has some pretty below average stats. He's sort of fast, but his defenses are very, very lackluster to accompany his HP, and they really bring Drifloon down as a whole. His typing is decent, though. When he evolves into Drifblim, none of these facts really change. Other Pokémon really catch up quickly to him, and it gets harder and harder to win battles with his only ok offensive stats. He is also very easily outclassed by other Flying-types.

Movepool: Decent. Drifloon, when it evolves, can use a fairly wide range of attacks, from Shadow Ball to Payback, from Thunderbolt to Fly. He doesn't learn all that great STAB moves, though, having to rely on Astonish as a Ghost-type move until Ominous Wind, and even then Ominous Wind has terrible PP. The same goes for Flying-type STABs, seeing as Gust is the only Level-up move he learns.

Availability: Early. Drifloon is available on Fridays at the Valley Windworks after you beat Team Plasma, just before the Eterna Forest. Just reset your DS clock and you're golden. Eterna is a great place to level up, and the Eterna gym is designed specifically for Drifloon, it seems.

Oreburgh Gym: Not present.

Eterna Gym: Basically, Drifloon is designed for this gym. None of Gardenia's Pokémon, save Turtwig's bite, can touch Drifloon, which makes it perfect for training.

Hearthome (3rd Gym): He fares decently, although Ghost-typing is a double-edged sword: he hits them supereffectively, they do too.

Veilstone Gym: He can take on all of Maylene's Pokémon except for Lucario. Lucario's Steel-typing messes up Drifloon/Drifblim's mojo, and Lucario hits pretty hard on Drifloon/Drifblim's physical side with Metal Claw.

Pastoria Gym: He takes on Quagsire decently, as Quagsire can't touch Drifblim's Flying-type with Ground-types. Gyarados knows Bite, and Floatzel knows Ice Fang, though, both of which destroy Drifblim.

Hearthome Gym (5th Gym): Same exact problems as in Platinum with her being the 3rd gym.

Canalave Gym: Drifblim can't even touch Byron's Steel-types with either of his STABs, and lacks the movepool to hit supereffectively.

Snowpoint Gym: Drifblim may be able to take down Snover, but watch out. The rest's Ice-type STABs wreck Drifblim to infinity.

Sunshore Gym: Electric-types tear apart Drifblim, enough said.

Aaron: Drifblim can hold his own against Yanmega, Vespiquen, Beautifly, and Dustox, but gets torn apart by Scizor and Drapion.

Bertha: Won't be able to take on anything except MAYBE Quagsire. The rest are a serious threat and will not hesitate to pop Drifblim.

Flint: It's not really an even match-up. In DP, he can sorta take on Ambipom. In Platinum, he can't really do anything.

Lucian: Ah, finally, a chance to shine again, right? Maylene's Lucario really threw Drifblim off. But nope, Lucian's Pokémon come prepared with Electric-type attacks to tear Drifblim to shreds. What a shame. He can almost take on Gallade, though, although Gallade's Psycho Cut hits Drifblim really hard.

Cynthia: Alas, a throwback to Drifblim's good ol' days taking down Gardenia's Roserade. Drifblim duplicates this here, but nothing else of worth is really able to be mentioned. He can be used as death fodder, that's for sure. Garchomp is hard.

Additional Comments: Drifloon is cute and fun to use early on, but definitely takes a massive fall as soon as Maylene sends out that Lucario. It's all downhill from there. But he can function as an HM slave with Fly to an extent, right? Wrong. Unless you already have Drifblim, I would recommend leaving being a Fly slave to a Starly or something, as Drifloon cannot learn Fly until it evolves at Lv. 28. What a shame, though. He's just so cute.
 
Nah, I've used him. Lucario is the first heavy-hitter against Drifblim, did over 100 damage with its Metal Claw, unboosted with no crit. Drifblim simply cannot take hits, I retired him just after the 6th gym (Byron).
 
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