Hello everyone, I've got a couple things to announce. First,
Exclaimer will be stepping down from the Viability Ranking Council and
snake_rattler will be taking over her position on the council. Second, snake_rattler and I have been working on getting one last update done before Sun/Moon comes out in a couple weeks, which we've laid out bellow. We've tried to take into account as much feedback from this thread as possible, as well as meta trends we've observed since the release of Kerfluffle. Lastly, I want to make it clear that this list isn't the official list of changes yet, rather, they are what we think are appropriate. A lot of the changes are for Pokemon that weren't discussed in the thread so we'd like to give everyone a chance to comment on any of our proposed changes or make a nomination of their own. Once we feel discussion about the changes have slowed down we'll take in any additional feedback from this thread and make the final changes. I'd also like to thank anyone and everyone who's helped us by posting in this thread, every little bit of feedback is tremendously helpful to us.
A+:
Manaphy: A+ to A
The metagame has become increasingly offensive and the release of faster Pokemon such as Mega Crucibelle and Kerfluffle has made it more apparent how little Manaphy can do against faster teams. Other trends such as higher Latios usage and increased competition with other stallbreakers such as Gliscor and Naviathan have also lead to a decrease in viability.
A:
Mega Altaria: A to B+
This drop is a bit drastic, but with the current metagame's focus on Fairy-, Steel-, and Poison-types, Mega Altaria finds itself having a harder time setting up, which is important as offensive Dragon Dance is clearly its best set in the current metagame. Moreover, Clefable competesfor a Fairy-type with slower, supportive qualities.
Landorus-T: A to A+
Landorus-T has seen a massive spike in usage since our last update as people have shifted away from Garchomp and Colossoil as their Ground-type of choice due to Landorus-T's ability to compress multiple roles in a single teamslot. Being able to check Mega Crucibelle, Talonflame, and Colossoil all in one team slot is becoming a more and more valuable niche, and Landorus-T's ability to set Rocks efficiently is also very important.
Mollux: A to A-
Mollux's performance in the metagame has taken a notable decline. Mollux's Scarf set is being abandoned in favour of other revenge killers, notably Volkraken, Talonflame, and even Victini, who are able to revenge kill +1 Aurumoth. Additionally, slow Mollux sets have trouble working due to the popularity of Mega Crucibelle and Landorus-T. Even though it can stomach Kerfluffle's STAB attacks and Sludge Bomb, it has a hard time taking Hidden Power Ground, which is common on Kerfluffle sets.
Volcanion: A to A-
Volcanion's niche in the current metagame has stabilized as a powerful Specs abuser. Despite its powerful ability and superior movepool, Volcanion faces intense compition from Volkraken as the go to Choice user. We feel that this limitation on Volcanion is enough for it to drop into A-.
Kerfluffle to A
Kerfluffle has shown to be a very competent Pokemon in the current metagame that is able to punish a number of builds and threaten many top threats. However, we do not believe Kerfluffle has reached the level of centralization or utility as other A+ Pokemon have. The metagame has already started to adapt to it through the increase of Amoonguss in the meta, and until other developments occur to demonstrate a higher level of viability for Kerfluffle, it will be ranked in A.
A-:
Bisharp: A- to B+
Introduction of Kerfluffle into the tier has severly impacted Bisharp's viability, as Kerfluffle was designed to be a reliable revenge killer to Bisharp. Bisharp now carries a significant oppurtunity cost when Pursuit trapping as it has no counterplay against Kerfluffle once it is in. Other Pursuit trappers, such as Colossoil, Scizor, and Weavile better fill its niche while not being completely stopped by Kerfluffle.
Mega Medicham: A- to A
Mega Medicham has been seeing more usage lately as more people flock to Amoonguss and Mega Venusaur to check Kerfluffle, both of which are easy targets for Mega Medicham teams to target. Furthermore, Kerfluffle has proven itself to be an effective Mega Sableye check, which is a boon for Mega Medicham as the Magic Bouncer has histroically been its worst matchup. Additionally, Mega Medicham's ability to break through Cyclohm, Clefable, and Amoonguss all in one teamslot has proven to be valuable in this metagame.
Starmie: A- to B+
Another victim of the recent introduction of Kerfluffle, Starmie finds itself underperforming as it's unable to rely on its speed tier as much as before. Leftovers sets don't seem to be able to threaten enough, and Life Orb sets get worn down too quickly against other offensive teams. Latios is also giving it more competition due to its ability to fit better on offensive teams overall.
B+
Mega Gallade: B+ to B-
Mega Gallade represents one of the other drastic changes we'd like to see, as it's effectiveness in the current metagame has been called into question with the introduction of Kerfluffle, which can easily revenge kill it. There seems to be little reason to use Mega Gallade when Mega Medicham is able to achieve higher levels of power while having acces to Bullet Punch. It seems counter intuitive, but Mega Medicham is able to deal with Mega Crucibelle and Kerfluffle better than Mega Gallade through this move.
Hippowdon: B+ to B
Hippowdown has seen a drop in both viability and usage as Pokemon such as Landorus-T and more importantly, Gliscor, are rising. Overall, Landorus-T has completely overshadowed Hippowdon by offering much more offensive presence and a valuable Ground-type immunity. If Hippowdon becomes common on popular builds we may see it rising back to B+, but for now we believe its best to drop it to B.
Mew: B+ to B
Mew is a subpar stallbreaker, as it's main niche is to spam Taunt and Will-O-Wisp alongside Knock Off and Softboiled. However, the presence of offensive Pokemon such as Colossoil, who doesn't mind a burn or Taunt, Kerfluffle, who, again, doesn't mind a burn or Taunt, and Gliscor, who appreciates having a weak Knock Off removing its Toxic Orb and doesn't mind a burn. Additionally, a few stall staples aren't threatened by Mew such as Tomohawk, who can use Prakster Roost after Taunt wears off (forcing Mew to be in a stalemate), Pyroak, who absorbs Will-O-Wisp, and Mega Sableye, who flat out walls Mew. While Mew can run Psychic to alleviate some of these problems, Mew struggles to find a moveslot for it. Thus, Mew should drop to B.
B
Celebi: B to B-
Celebi has really taken as hit into obscurity with Mega Crucibelle being as close to the worst thing that could happen to it. Add in it's difficulty to deal with Tornadus-T and slow speed and its obvious why Celebi has slowly gotten worse and worse. Defensively it also competes with Amoonguss and Tangrowth, which are able to offer more without giving up as much momentum.
Kabutops: B to B-
Omastar: B to B-
We've decided to drop both Rain sweepers as most Rain builds have centered around Kingdra as their backup sweeper of choice. There's specific weaknesses to either Pokemon, such as a compounded inability to break Rotom-W and Ferrothorn for Kabutops or Omastar's poor base speed, that hold these two Pokemon back when compared to Kingdra or Mega Swampert.
Mamoswine: B to B-
Mamoswine's slow speed really puts it at a disadvantage against offense and forces it to rely on its okay bulk or Ice Shard. A lot of common Pokemon, such as Mega Crucibelle and Mega Metagross, are able to force it out, and with the introduction of Kerfluffle into the metagame Mamoswine has become harder to fit onto teams.
Tangrowth to B
Tangrowth has proven to be a reliable pivot and a solid check to Pokemon such as Colossoil,
However, it struggles against common Pokemon such as Tomohawk, Volkraken, and Aurumoth, so it will be placed in B for now.
Slowking to B
Slowking is a viable pivot thats for the most part outclassed by Slowbro but has its uses on teams that need Slowking's superior special defense to check Kerfluffle and Tomohawk better. It is held back mainly because the physical threats Slowbro walls are more relevant than what Slowking walls. However, it's still a completely viable, if niche Pokemon, which fits right in with other B ranked Pokemon.
B-
Amoonguss: B- to B+
This mushroom's usage and viability shot up once Kerfluffle was released, as its now one of the go to checks on a number of teams. Amoonguss's rise has been a long time coming as it has proven itself to be an important check to Keldeo and other Pokemon for stall and balance builds.
KFP: B- to C
We just don't see a reason to use Mega Pidgeot anymore. Tornadus-T does everything better and has picked up another niche Mega Pidgeot is unable to fulfill by being one of the more reliable Kerfluffle switch ins. Additionally, Assault Vest Tornadus-T can check Cawmodore, and Life Orb Tornadus-T has superior coverage and power.
Sylveon: B- to C
The shift towards a faster metagame is the nail in the coffin for our ribboned friend. Support sets are almost entirely outclassed by Clefable, and it's offensive set received considerable competition from Kerfluffle, who may not be able to hit as hard as Sylveon but is leagues above it in terms of use against offense due to its higher speed, coverage, and better pivoting move. Other factors such as the new emphasis on Steel- and Poison-types has really put a damper on it.
Tyranitar: B- to B+
Tyranitar has finally found its niche in the metagame by being the de facto Talonflame remover, as well as a powerful wallbreaker or a competent scarfer. The increase of more traditional OU threats such as Landorus-T over Tomohawk has helped greatly in its effectiveness, and Tyranitar has once again found its main prey in Latios.
Dugtrio to B-
Dugtrio fulfills a strong niche of being able to remove troubling Pokemon, such as Naviathan or Heatran for stall, as well as making competent offensive cores with Pokemon such as Cawmodore or Kerfluffle to remove Mega Crucibelle or Volkraken. It's a very situational and niche option but more than enough to fit into B-.
Gastodon to B-:
Gastrodon can wall common Choice Water-types like Keldeo and Volkraken as well as wall Talonflame, Cyclohm, and Colossoil. It is comparable to Quagsire, another Water- and Ground-type that we are raising to B-, as Gastrodon's weakness to Grass-type moves prevents it from functioning fully. Additionally, Gastrodon can be overwhelmed by special sweepers.
Volcarona to B-
Volcarona has found it's niche as a powerful setup sweeper that perfectly exploits Kerfluffle. It has several advantages over its moth overlord Aurumoth in that its able to work around Bullet Punch much better than Aurumoth and can afford to run defensive setup options such as resist berries without compromising its power.
C
Mega Glalie: use Syclant
I'm dropping this Pokemon from the viability rankings. I've always felt like its been a significantly underwhelming Pokemon and nothing is more apparent with powerhouses such as Mega Metagross, Mega Crucibelle, and Kerfluffle not even giving it the time of day. There is no reason to use Mega Glalie over superior options such as Syclant, who can hit just as hard, set Spikes, pivot, and has good coverage, or Weavile, who can dish out powerful hits as well, Pursuit trap, and remove items.
Mega Houndood: unranked
I've also decided to drop Mega Dog as I see no reason to use it in the current metagame. Introduction of Kerfluffle as a solid check to it gives me all the more reason to remove it.
Quagsire C to B-
Quagsire has shown itself to be a decent option for stall teams looking for an Unaware user. This niche is more than anything in this rank can claim, so I'd like to move it to B-.
Suicune C to B-
The decline of Mollux really makes Suicine more viable than ever as it now represents a powerful wincon that can setup on a number of top threats. It's ability to snowball games once its been allowed to setup puts it apart from other C ranked Pokemon.
Magneton to C
We've decided to add Mangeton to C as it's a niche option for teams that would like to compress the role of Steel-type removal and Cawmodore check.
Cofagrigus to C
Cofagrigus has seen use on Trick Room teams as a secondary setter and as CAP is one of the few metagames with viable Trick Room teams, we've decided to add it to C. It's tremendous bulk and ability to apply pressure to opposing teams itself justify its rank in C.
D
Mega Bannete: unranked
I've finally decided to drop this trash Pokemon. It's painfully obvious to anyone halfway fluent in the metagame that it is way to much of a risk to run given the low quality results it gives.