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Drop Diglett to A. Given the current state of the metagame, players have already adapted to it fairly well tbh, and I don't think anybody agrees that, atm, it is as much of a threat and game changer as it was the time hollywood nominated it to rise. Diglett just does its role very well in taking out Pokemon that threatens its teams, but his job (goth too) is much tougher post-suspect and I didn't believe before Dig was 100% game-winning, it for sure isn't now.
EDIT: Strongly agree on A+ Gastly.
Nah it's still good, traps a lot of stuff, can set SR up even memento; people just stopped using teams that auto lose to trappers I feel, Diglett hasn't gotten too bad. Snivy corph etc might take advantage of trapper teams but trappers are also some of the best revenge killers in the tier >_>
I think Sandshrew should be moved to B-. It lures in gastly and pumpkaboo, 2 common spin blockers, and hits them hard KOing life orb varients of the former and removing eviolite from the ladder. It's defense are also very good (reaching 19), good enough infact, to 1v1 mienfoo and to take any hit from pre-swords dance fletchling. It should obviously be moved to B-.
I think Sandshrew should be moved to B-. It lures in gastly and pumpkaboo, 2 common spin blockers, and hits them hard KOing life orb varients of the former and removing eviolite from the ladder. It's defense are also very good (reaching 19), good enough infact, to 1v1 mienfoo and to take any hit from pre-swords dance fletchling. It should obviously be moved to B-.
It faces extremely heavy competition from Drilbur, who largely outclasses it bar a higher defense stat and knock off. In almost all cases it becomes a question of why are you using Sandshrew when you could be using Drilbur? While having higher physical defense can be nice, it comes at the cost of having significantly lower special defense and speed. In fact the standard spread for Sandshrew ties with Pumpkaboo, meaning that there's a decent chance that even if you predict the pumpkaboo switch-in correctly you might just end up burned and lose to pumpkaboo anyways.
Overall, the only time I've made a team where Sandshrew couldn't be replaced more effectively by Drilbur was on double sand rush teams, where it was moderately effective after a swords dance. Honestly I could see Sandshrew actually moving down to C, although the better matchup against physical attackers might be enough for it to stay. I highly oppose it in B- though.
Agreeing with Merritty, Even though it can take some physical punishment and it has Knock Off, it has to sacrifice Rock Slide which lets Birds come in for free and set up on it (like Fletch). Plus tying with something that can neuter and ko you isnt worth it. Shrew is not OHKOing Pumpkaboo anytime soon. Like I may use Shrew commonly nowadays but I dont really think it's in the place to rise either.
The point of running Shrew is to beat Pumpkaboo on the switch and then have the ability to spin, meaning you EV to outspeed and 2HKO with Knock Off (236/156+ attack w/o rocks, 0 with). It's literally just 116 EVs in Speed, which Shrew can afford rather easily. The point of Shrew having worse special bulk is also rather hilarious to consider, as the most common special attacks (Gastly, Foongus, Chinchou, Staryu, Houndour, Snivy, Abra) all have the same exact rolls (or the OHKO regardless w/ a 1 damage difference) meaning they all beat Drillbur and Sandshrew equally as easily, sans Speed ties. Spin / Knock / EQ / filler leaves enough roll on Shrew to prevent bird set up, and the presence of Knock Off and EQ can somewhat deal with Fletchling while Knock Off is more than enough to annoy Archen and Vullaby and everyone's suddenly new favorite bird Wingull (if SR is up none of them really switch in unless you consider prediction being a thing, which also effects Drilbur). The largest points that Drilbur has over Shrew is attack (which is Knock Off can be argued to lessen the gap here), 17 Speed to speed tie Archen and Snivy and Mienfoo while outspeeding Pawniard and Chinchou mainly plus Mold Breaker EQ to nail prevent Gastly, Bronzor, and Baltoys! Outspeeding Chinchou is cool, and removes a counter, however outspeeding Pawniard isn't really that amazing due to being physically frail and thus prone to Sucker Punch; this frailness is hardly augmented by speed as well, considering the most common attackers tie, have priority, or outspeed Drilbur, which gives Drilbur the advantage 50% of the time. Lovely odds. Moreover, Shrew can find a niche on teams which enjoy more pressure on Pumpkaboo and the ability to get off a spin despite it or Frillish or Drifloon being present in a match. Teams which enjoy having a tad more bulk over speed, and something to soften walls and typical counters to say, Corphish or Tirtouga can find Shrew especially helpful. However, it lacks the staying power and the ability to pressure offensive teams to move up to B-. It is not directly inferior to Drilbur, or Kabuto for the matter, because of the reasons I've given above, and is generally superior to the likes of Anorith and joke pokemon Baltoy due to actually being able to pressure common pokemon outside of just a Knock Off or Ice Beam/Trick. I would even argue that depending on the team, Sandshrew can be vastly superior to Drilburr as it is more flexible and can be harder to switch into.
Please actually look into the pokemon you're talking about, as sometimes you're incredibly wrong and missing key points. Flat, empty statements are counterproductive.
I'm nominating Tyrunt to B-. This thing makes an excellent switch in to Fletchling (like almost anything that resists flying) but what makes it stand out is how well it can take advantage of this. Add that it's great typing lets it resist electric and be neutral to water and it has even more DD opportunities. The main draw of it as a dragon dancer over Corphish who is a full rank higher is the raw coverage Tyrunt has with it's boosted strong jaw attacks and large movepool. Most things that would wall a rock type such as Ferroseed, Magnemite, and Hippopotas can be destroyed with fire fang and ice fang. And then you can run a strong jaw crunch for things like Slowpoke or iron head for Spritzee. Of course, you can't run everything and it's special defense is pretty shit, but having a dragon dancer with much better bulk and typing than Corphish and the ability to change its moveset to what it needs against its checks is definitely really helpful and I think 2 ranks below Corphish is a good estimate of its ability. I'm not mentioning it's Stealth Rock set because lmao use Archen or Drilbur.
Natu to C+... (I get the joke people think i complain just to complain but this is a poke i wanted to ask to upvote a long time already and is the most valid one to argue-about that i thought was underrated)
ahh this poke is interesting imo, mostly i see people complaining about how it loses to most hazard users like <Name any rock type with Sturdy+Juice+SR> and Practicaly spreaking almost any SR setter, what it does....
But... natu's natural type makes it already one of the better checks to fight types, grass types(most notably compleatly blocking: cottonee, foongus) and dealing fairly well against other psychic types with strong offencive mixed set or outwalling them + U-turning them to finish them.
Stats:
Enough to go somewhat bulky and enough to go viable offence hitting 17 speed, 16 sp attack and on the offencive set also 13 physical attack with that.
Niche: U-turn, Viable 2 set's being the mixed set and the Bulky set (and maby if you concider the screen set aswell but i am not a fan of screens at all),
Magic bounce what is a thing on it's own, however if the poke wouldn't be viably able to use ,it's not mutch of a use. It does however do a great job with blocking paralysis, Will-O-Wisp and the already explained Spore/Sleep powder users aswell as checking hazards+ Pressuring them with your awairness (or atleast it should, sady i haven't seen that be true at all >.>)
Some Calcs fo those who did love to see them:
Offence:
196 SpA Life Orb Natu Heat Wave vs. 84 HP / 148+ SpD Eviolite Ferroseed: 26-31 (118.1 - 140.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO
196 SpA Life Orb Natu Psychic vs. 156 HP / 116+ SpD Eviolite Mienfoo: 18-26 (78.2 - 113%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO
116 Atk Life Orb Natu Sucker Punch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Gothita: 18-23 (85.7 - 109.5%) -- 75% chance to OHKO (HP Fire goth)
116 Atk Life Orb Natu Sucker Punch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Gastly: 23-29 (121 - 152.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
196 SpA Life Orb Natu Psychic vs. 0 HP / 0- SpD Drifloon: 21-27 (84 - 108%) -- 50% chance to OHKO
116 Atk Life Orb Natu Sucker Punch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Drifloon: 23-29 (92 - 116%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO
196 SpA Life Orb Natu Giga Drain vs. 156 HP / 236+ SpD Eviolite Omanyte: 26-31 (118.1 - 140.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO
196 SpA Life Orb Natu Giga Drain vs. 36 HP / 0 SpD Eviolite Shellder: 18-23 (90 - 115%) -- 75% chance to OHKO
196 SpA Life Orb Natu Psychic vs. 140 HP / 52 SpD Eviolite Pancham: 23-31 (92 - 124%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO
196 SpA Life Orb Natu Psychic vs. 0 HP / 212 SpD Eviolite Pancham: 18-26 (78.2 - 113%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO
196 SpA Life Orb Natu Psychic vs. 76 HP / 0 SpD Archen: 19-23 (82.6 - 100%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO
with SR/Hazard calcs:
196 SpA Life Orb Natu Psychic vs. 0 HP / 236+ SpD Eviolite Timburr: 18-26 (75 - 108.3%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
116 Atk Life Orb Natu Sucker Punch vs. 0 HP / 36 Def Gothita: 16-21 (76.1 - 100%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock and 1 layer of Spikes
196 SpA Life Orb Natu Psychic vs. 124 HP / 160 SpD Eviolite Foongus: 18-26 (72 - 104%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
196 SpA Life Orb Natu Psychic vs. 236 HP / 0 SpD Eviolite Porygon: 9-13 (34.6 - 50%) -- 87.9% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock
196 SpA Life Orb Natu Psychic vs. 212 HP / 76 SpD Eviolite Spritzee: 9-13 (33.3 - 48.1%) -- 87.9% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock
196 SpA Life Orb Natu Giga Drain vs. 76 HP / 0 SpD Chinchou: 21-26 (84 - 104%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
196 SpA Life Orb Natu Psychic vs. 36 HP / 0 SpD Eviolite Shellder: 16-19 (80 - 95%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock and 1 layer of Spikes Defences:
200+ SpA Adaptability Skrelp Hydro Pump vs. 196 HP / 76 SpD Eviolite Natu: 14-18 (60.8 - 78.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
116 Atk Timburr Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 196 HP / 156+ Def Eviolite Natu: 10-14 (43.4 - 60.8%) -- 88.7% chance to 2HKO
236 Atk Life Orb Mienfoo Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 196 HP / 156+ Def Eviolite Natu: 16-21 (69.5 - 91.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
180+ Atk Pancham Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 196 HP / 156+ Def Eviolite Natu: 12-16 (52.1 - 69.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 Atk Pumpkaboo-Super Shadow Sneak vs. 196 HP / 156+ Def Eviolite Natu: 6-8 (26 - 34.7%) -- 0% chance to 3HKO (lol 0%)
196+ Atk Snubbull Play Rough vs. 196 HP / 156+ Def Eviolite Natu: 9-12 (39.1 - 52.1%) -- 0.4% chance to 2HKO
+2 240 SpA Snivy Leaf Storm vs. 196 HP / 76 SpD Eviolite Natu: 11-13 (47.8 - 56.5%) -- 93.8% chance to 2HKO
0 SpA Foongus Sludge Bomb vs. 196 HP / 76 SpD Eviolite Natu: 7-9 (30.4 - 39.1%) -- 17.6% chance to 3HKO
+1 116 Atk Timburr Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 196 HP / 156+ Def Eviolite Natu: 16-20 (69.5 - 86.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+6 116 Atk Guts Timburr Mach Punch vs. 196 HP / 156+ Def Eviolite Natu: 4-6 (17.3 - 26%) -- 0.1% chance to 4HKO
I can't be bothered to list all the resisted grass attacks and fight moves but i named the most treathning once.
All pokes listed above can be 1HKO'd or 2HKO'd(+outspeeds). There is allot more but i just named the most important once.
I actualy saw allot of team support with/from this poke mostly being faster momentum support from the LO set and slow(ish) momentum giving for slower momentum teams.(13-14 speed)
It also because of this more versatile set difference was quite easy to build with.(there also happened to be 2 teams that just wanted Magic Bounce support but i don't include those.)
Still no reaction of anyone agianst Natu or counter argument but still ignored....
As for Tyrunt, the main possitive I see is how easy it actualy is to place in a team, or atleats mutch easier then Axew if you want a dragon dancer, and also serves it's possitive compaired to Hippo/Onix as a phazer.
While yes you wouldn't normaly build around a poke like that as it needs good teammates and support, however all it realy needs is already on practicaly anyteam lol. I am talking about: a fight type and something to take away hazards and are ready to go.(highly exaggerated but objectively speaking you got most it did need already.) Did i also say it kills any counter excluding Spritzee/Snubble/Cottonee depending on what set it run's with only big difference being ferroseed over EdgeQuake combo.
It has a big list of problems though as it's type while good is also a hugh downfall as it can't safely take out sertain treaths without risking to get burned and Paralysed/Item knocked off, also the most domminant types in the LC meta being fight ,fairy (and ground/steel) break down the sweeping part rater well.
Exept if someone has pokes that can easly take down fairy's like spritzee/Snubble/Cottonee with more then just removing evio i did love to hear it (i am 100% awair pawniard/Ferroseed/Magnemite exists)
I would say C+ suits it nicely, but i can understand why people think it should be higher.
I personally think Tirtouga should go back up to A-. It has quite a few advantages over Shellder: an easier time setting up thanks to more resistances, great coverage with its STABs (only Croagunk and Ferroseed resist both) and a better movepool. Shellder is faster and has an easier time against Grass types though thanks to Icicle Spear (also beats Sash Abra). Tirtouga can also run a great defensive set.
I've been playing around with some C rank Pokémon, and my thoughts so far:
Tyrunt: Honestly, way surpassed my expectations. Great power, solid bulk and good typing. Dragon Dance, Stone Edge, Outrage, Fire Fang is deadly once the Fairies are down. Rank Up to B-
Honedge: This Pokémon would have been great in Gen 5 LC, but time has moved on. Knock Off's all over the place, it's too slow, its ability is worse than useless, its Special Defence is awful and its great Attack is wasted on low power STABs. Rank down to C-, maybe D.
Honedge: This Pokémon would have been great in Gen 5 LC, but time has moved on. Knock Off's all over the place, it's too slow, its ability is worse than useless, its Special Defence is awful and its great Attack is wasted on low power STABs. Rank down to C-, maybe D.
Honedge is actually rather useful, you underestimate how good its defense is and how strong its attacks actually are. Sure, its flaws are bad, but nothing really changed for it to make it worse, and it's absolutely better than C- rank, and by far better than most of the really bad mons in D. Keep it where it is.
Numel, on the other hand, is a decent Simple Sweeper, since Flame Charge provides essentially an agility boost and Growth (if you choose to use it) is an SD and Nasty Plot at the same time. Not sure how you used it without knowing what it does...
I mean it's basically the only special ground attacker and can break through grass types. That's fairly useful.
Honedge: This Pokémon would have been great in Gen 5 LC, but time has moved on. Knock Off's all over the place, it's too slow, its ability is worse than useless, its Special Defence is awful and its great Attack is wasted on low power STABs. Rank down to C-, maybe D.
Numel Has 2 big things one noted by Mirritt and also has acces to a good Defencive set what basicaly has immunity to taunt, SR, still strong/effective enough fire/ground coverage to get the needed 2HKO's and enough defences and usefull 10 speed to be worthwhile for some serious teams, (i am not suggesting everyone will be usin this over ponyta or anything but it serves it's niche against grass types and chinchou.
You guys probably know about this little chick, especially for it's HA, Speed Boost. Well, I think this chicken deserves to rise. It's Baton Pass set is very good thanks to Eviolite giving it decent bulk and paving the way for another member to sweep the opposing team. But my favorite set to use with Torchic is the Life Orb set. This set has the potential to really crush the opposing team with Torchic's suprising strength, having powerful moves like STAB Fire Blast and using Speed Boost to continiously become faster and potentially sweep the opposing team. Torchic also has good coverage, like Rock Slide, or one of the Hidden Powers. It can even get out of a bad situation by Baton passing, passing Speed Boosts to a teammate. Torchic has some glaring flaws which can keep it from being effective, like how frail the LO set is, it needs hazard support and Wish, and it has that SR weakness too! It also faces competition from other fire types like Ponyta and Vulpix. But I think Torchic isn't given enough credit, especially in a meta where threats like Diglett are getting worse and stuff like Snivy are getting better, and you can't forget that Baton Passing set, which can make a game turn around. Overall, while I don't mind if torchic keeps in B, as it does have flaws and stuff like Tyrunt are getting better and better, I do hope you give this nomination some consideration.
200+ SpA Life Orb Torchic Fire Blast vs. 212 HP / 76 SpD Eviolite Spritzee: 13-17 (48.1 - 62.9%) -- 93.8% chance to 2HKO
200+ SpA Life Orb Torchic Hidden Power Grass vs. 76 HP / 0 SpD Eviolite Omanyte: 26-31 (123.8 - 147.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
200+ SpA Life Orb Torchic Hidden Power Grass vs. 84 HP / 156+ SpD Eviolite Solid Rock Tirtouga: 16-19 (69.5 - 82.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
36 Atk Life Orb Torchic Rock Slide vs. 76 HP / 156 Def Archen: 16-21 (69.5 - 91.3%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
36 Atk Life Orb Torchic Rock Slide vs. 76 HP / 156 Def Eviolite Larvesta: 21-26 (91.3 - 113%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
200+ SpA Life Orb Torchic Fire Blast vs. 0 HP / 36 SpD Eviolite Mienfoo: 16-19 (76.1 - 90.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Honestly all Torchic needs is HP Grass and Fire Blast, give it protect and then either Baton Pass or Rock Slide. Honestly Torchic would be ok for B+, its offensive set is pretty nice (although priority screws it right over) and it's the enabler of Baton Pass and most Quickpass teams.
I personally think Tirtouga should go back up to A-. It has quite a few advantages over Shellder: an easier time setting up thanks to more resistances, great coverage with its STABs (only Croagunk and Ferroseed resist both) and a better movepool. Shellder is faster and has an easier time against Grass types though thanks to Icicle Spear (also beats Sash Abra). Tirtouga can also run a great defensive set.
I've been playing around with some C rank Pokémon, and my thoughts so far:
Tyrunt: Honestly, way surpassed my expectations. Great power, solid bulk and good typing. Dragon Dance, Stone Edge, Outrage, Fire Fang is deadly once the Fairies are down. Rank Up to B-
Honedge: This Pokémon would have been great in Gen 5 LC, but time has moved on. Knock Off's all over the place, it's too slow, its ability is worse than useless, its Special Defence is awful and its great Attack is wasted on low power STABs. Rank down to C-, maybe D.
Honedge is actually really really good if you absolutely need Abra removed while needing to check Spritzee. It is also great in a psuedo fletchling check, although it can struggle to actually do anything to Fletchling if you don't build it correctly. Honedge is probably the best dedicated Pursuit trapper rn, since Stunky is just a liability on so many teams. The only reason that Stunky should be higher on the rankings than Honedge is its Speed and access to Defog imo.
Numel is a pretty cool option to pair with mons like Scarf Snivy that need things like Magnemite plain removed. Its one of the best Magnemite options in the meta rn, and can even support its team outside of that. Its best in semi-stallish teams tho, so if all you do is play typical ladder offense teams then you won't really realize its value. Both should stay in their respective tier.
I personally think Tirtouga should go back up to A-. It has quite a few advantages over Shellder: an easier time setting up thanks to more resistances, great coverage with its STABs (only Croagunk and Ferroseed resist both) and a better movepool. Shellder is faster and has an easier time against Grass types though thanks to Icicle Spear (also beats Sash Abra). Tirtouga can also run a great defensive set.
I dunno if it necessarily belongs in A-, I'm leaning towards it going up though, but I gotta say its defensive set is really underrated, especially as a rocks lead. stealth rock / aqua jet / stone edge /eq gives it everything it really needs to serve as a hard to stop rock setter and tank. With eviolite and solid rock with the right investment, it can 1v1 stuff its normally killed by like energy ball sash abra, all archen variants, corphish and vulpix. It also can stay in on volt switches from chinchou and set up rocks on foo unless its HJK LO or something. Of course, it struggles to do anything to fighting types other than set rocks and fatter grass types like foonguss and ferroseed wall it, but it's still an awesome defensive mon who i think should have both its offensive and defensive sets looked at when ranked.
Still no reaction of anyone agianst Natu or counter argument but still ignored....
As for Tyrunt, the main possitive I see is how easy it actualy is to place in a team, or atleats mutch easier then Axew if you want a dragon dancer, and also serves it's possitive compaired to Hippo/Onix as a phazer.
While yes you wouldn't normaly build around a poke like that as it needs good teammates and support, however all it realy needs is already on practicaly anyteam lol. I am talking about: a fight type and something to take away hazards and are ready to go.(highly exaggerated but objectively speaking you got most it did need already.) Did i also say it kills any counter excluding Spritzee/Snubble/Cottonee depending on what set it run's with only big difference being ferroseed over EdgeQuake combo.
It has a big list of problems though as it's type while good is also a hugh downfall as it can't safely take out sertain treaths without risking to get burned and Paralysed/Item knocked off, also the most domminant types in the LC meta being fight ,fairy (and ground/steel) break down the sweeping part rater well.
Exept if someone has pokes that can easly take down fairy's like spritzee/Snubble/Cottonee with more then just removing evio i did love to hear it (i am 100% awair pawniard/Ferroseed/Magnemite exists)
I would say C+ suits it nicely, but i can understand why people think it should be higher.
I agree with C+ and maybe with B-. Natu is definitely better than a lot of C mons.
Natu is a cool mon who has unique niches. The best is obviously Magic Bounce, and but there are others.
First, his coverage is just atrocious for so many teams. Psychic/Fire/Grass + LO hits hard a lot of toptiers mons OHKOing Mienfoo, Foongus, Pawniard, Tirtouga, Omanyte, Magnemite... and there are others. To be honest, with LO, it 2HKOes like 80% of the metagame without rocks.
In my opinion, this is the best "special bird" of LC ("bird" because lack of flying STAB) and one of the better swebs abusers. One of the main reason is Sucker Punch, who allows him to beat things such as Gastly Scarf (and even LO, sucker punch is quite unexpected for a lot of players) who are threateningfor swebs.
Natu keep a huge pressure in the opponent, thanks to Magic Bounce and its coverage. He has a lot of decent options, like Dazzling Gleam (2HKOes Vullaby, OHKOes Scraggy), U-Turn (cool for scouting), Roost, Tailwind...
The thing who makes that it deserves more than Teddiursa, for exemple (who is a very cool mon though), is that LO is not the only playable set in Natu. He is also the best Stored Power abuser in a full BP, and can be defensive (I tested and even if this not amazing cause its typing, it stays decent), with support move such as Thunder Wave. And I guess it can even running Scarf with Trick, even if it is probably not wonderful.
His best set is obviously Life Orb but I really think it deserves more, cause its versality better than a lot of C rank, its coverage and its ability. Maybe because this is a cute bird too.
Strap in, dweebs, because I'm about to tell you why this spunky little dynamo belongs in B+
It's no surprise to anyone that Elekid faces competition as a Volt Switch user. The A+ ranked Magnemite and the A ranked Chinchou both do their job incredibly well, and can perform both offensive and defensive roles, something Elekid simply can't thanks to its meager bulk. So I'm not asking for this dude to be propelled into mid-A, but I do think he's a surprisingly underrated Pokemon, and certainly deserving of a move up. This handy little chart I have knocked up will show that Elekid possesses some useful niches that the other mainstream Volt Switchers don't, while also possessing its share of disadvantages.
So while it might be a bit childish, over-simplistic, and may fail to address a key point or two, Elekid can be a difficult Pokemon to manage. Its bulk is an issue, but when you basically get free damage off by hitting Volt Switch, it matters much less. It has access to Psychic type coverage, which is highly sought-after in a metagame where Poison- and Fighting-types are so abundant, and by getting it in safely against such an opponent (Mienfoo, Foongus, Timburr, Skrelp, Gastly, Croagunk: none of which those other two can beat anywhere near as easily), you can leave them with the distasteful choice of giving up switch advantage or letting their Pokemon die. With Knock Off and Stealth Rock support from something like Pawniard, Elekid can gleefully chip away at teams with its Life Orb boosted Volt Switches.
Also, this thing has like no good switch ins. Chinchou hates the common HP Grass, and nothing else with an Electric immunity is worth dick in LC. Porygon and Munchlax are bulky enough to take a Volt Switch, but that of course means surrendering switch advantage, allowing something like Mienfoo to be brought in safely. That's assuming it doesn't simply go for the mixed coverage in Cross Chop it might be hiding. Its coverage means you can pretty much never assume, which is what makes it such a deadly B+ deserving threat.
I'm nominating Diglett for S. You read that right.
Reserved for the very best Pokemon in the LC metagame. These Pokemon are usually able to perform a variety of roles effectively, or can just do one extremely well. 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.
With the above criteria in mind, I'm not sure how Diglett hasn't been nominated for S rank yet. Out of three viable trappers, Diglett by far is capable of supporting the most Pokemon, as well as being able to revenge kill the most Pokemon. Diglett is capable of trapping and revenge killing a staggering amount of Pokemon in the S and A ranks alone.
236 Atk Life Orb Diglett Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 196 Def Mienfoo: 16-19 (76.1 - 90.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
236 Atk Life Orb Diglett Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 36 Def Eviolite Pawniard: 18-26 (85.7 - 123.8%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
236 Atk Life Orb Diglett Earthquake vs. 76 HP / 212+ Def Eviolite Chinchou: 18-26 (72 - 104%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
236 Atk Life Orb Diglett Earthquake vs. 36 HP / 0 Def Eviolite Drilbur: 16-19 (69.5 - 82.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock (without is pretty much an OHKO)
236 Atk Life Orb Diglett Sucker Punch vs. 0 HP / 36 Def Gothita: 21-26 (100 - 123.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
236 Atk Life Orb Diglett Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 236 Def Eviolite Ponyta: 18-26 (85.7 - 123.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
236 Atk Life Orb Diglett Earthquake vs. 36 HP / 36 Def Snubbull: 19-23 (82.6 - 100%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
236 Atk Life Orb Diglett Earthquake vs. 116 HP / 156 Def Staryu: 16-19 (76.1 - 90.4%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
236 Atk Life Orb Diglett Earthquake vs. 36 HP / 116 Def Eviolite Skrelp: 18-26 (81.8 - 118.1%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
I shortened this list to not include most SE- hit Pokemon, and only includes A-rank mons. The actual amount of Pokemon that can find themselves revenge killed by Diglett is FAR larger.
Now, I'll be the first to point out that some of these calculations obviously are not including Eviolite. While there's obviously no guarantee that these Pokemon will be Knocked Off, it's VERY important to note that Diglett's a very, very good teammate for Mienfoo, Pawniard, Vullaby, Corphish, Snubbull, Timburr, Abra, and Drifloon, which are all A-rank Pokemon that commonly utilize item removal. As a Pokemon that absolutely shines in the mid-to-late stages of the game, it's almost impossible to ignore that there's a good chance many Pokemon will not have an item, particularly defensively oriented Pokemon such as Mienfoo, Staryu, Porygon, and Spritzee. I think it's actually very important to include that Spritzee can't even reliably take the piss out of Diglett, because it's 2hko'd after rocks and deals 13 damage back (on average). Porygon finds itself in the same boat, being able to trap Diglett with Trace but finding itself with about 35% hp without factoring rocks.
I'd also like to point out that a lot of common criticism about Diglett isn't completely true. Claims that it's a momentum sink, or a useless mon by itself are absolutely absurd. For sure there are Pokemon that can revenge kill Diglett, but unlike Gothita, it's got the firepower to threaten way more weakened Pokemon. Diglett obviously isn't meant to function as a standalone Pokemon, but it is perfectly capable of doing so. No one can tell me that Diglett can't act as a cleaner when it's firing off Earthquakes that are stronger than Pawniard's full power Knock Off, or Fletchling's Acrobatics. Hell, trapping, hazards, and Memento are some of the best offensive support in Little Cup. Diglett can provide all three (though i'd argue that Stealth Rock Sashlett is a waste of space in SO MANY cases). Even if Diglett finds itself useless as an attacker, it can just use Memento to almost guarantee a set up opportunity for another Pokemon. Given LC's abundance of devastating sweepers (Omanyte, Shellder, Fletchling, Magby, Zigzagoon, Archen -the list goes on) that REALLY love Memento support, it isn't hard to find something to run through your opponent with.
So clearly Diglett can find itself being used for multiple roles, is great at both, has virtually no risk (seriously, what risk is there with Memento?), and its only flaws are a vulnerability to priority, and 4mms. The former is patched up somewhat by Life Orb boosted Sucker Punches, while the latter is covered by simply running a sweeper that compensates for whatever you're missing out on beating. Diglett is a great teammate for a wide variety of Pokemon, including Spritzee, Fletchling, Pawniard, Omanyte, Gastly, and Shellder. It sits at the absolute top of the unboosted speed tiers, and can easily specialize to remove very specific threats (though doing so may compromise its effectiveness as a general trapper). Fuck Porygon, why won't we put Diglett in S?
I realize this is poorly written (i work overnight shift on Saturdays), and I'll expand and tidy everything up later.
tl;dr diglett has great synergy with so many mons, is a very underrated cleaner, and provides almost unparalleled offensive support for other mons. Diglett is stupidly splashable on so many teams. Put it in S (and imo suspect it pls)
aye guys, so I'm a bit new here and would just like to share my thoughts on a pokemon that I feel is really underrated and, after command+F, I couldn't even find on the VR.
While I know there are better spikers/t spikers in the tier, having a solid switch in/lure to Croagunk and Gastly and a counter to Snivy is really discernible, as niches go. Hidden Power Fighting could be used to lure Pawniard aswell, although I think the analysis states that in oo already. Also a VERY solid Fairy switchin, although it is true that it kind of loses to CM Spritzee if you aren't playing correctly. (There's always that 30% poison chance HaHa!). It's dual STAB is also pretty good in the meta, especially when supplemented with available coverage like Extrasensory, HP Fire or Fighting. Natural Cure is another boon for Budew, giving it a niche among Water switch ins, as it isn't succeptible to the constant burn damage that Scald normally brings, once you've switched it out. This gives it the ability to check said Waters reliably throughout a game. Synth and Rest are also cool as slots go, but I think the coverage is needed on Budew. And besides, Giga Drain hits decently hard coming from a solid Spa stat of 15, when offensively invested, while regaining you HP in the process. Yes, it has its flaws, but I think it has the ability to shine through these when you consider what it can potentialy add to a team. Anyway, just my thoughts on it. PLEASE someone correct me if I'm misguided in my thought process here. I'm pretty new to LC and won't be suprised if everything I said is pretty stupid. n_n
Also, unless there is some decent opposition soon, I will be dropping Spritzee to A. There has been some discussion in the past of wanting to move it down and I fully think it deserves it. While it's useful on many teams it's not a very meta-defining force, with it basically forcing itself to be a Knock Off absorber that doesn't actually want to lose its Eviolite, and lacking any offensive presence outside of hurting frail mons and possibly something going for it after a CM, assuming a Pawniard or other check hasn't already come in to just OHKO it anyway. I'm really just feeling similar to Oma on this as we discussed Spritzee a while back and my feelings haven't changed since.
Also, unless there is some decent opposition soon, I will be dropping Spritzee to A. There has been some discussion in the past of wanting to move it down and I fully think it deserves it. While it's useful on many teams it's not a very meta-defining force, with it basically forcing itself to be a Knock Off absorber that doesn't actually want to lose its Eviolite, and lacking any offensive presence outside of hurting frail mons and possibly something going for it after a CM, assuming a Pawniard or other check hasn't already come in to just OHKO it anyway. I'm really just feeling similar to Oma on this as we discussed Spritzee a while back and my feelings haven't changed since.
Yeh, although my input isn't backed up by the wealth of knowledge you guys have, I also agree with Spritzee in A. Out of the times I have faced it, it hasn't really done much for the opposing team. Tbh, its presence on teams often hurts your opponent, as its main role is a Fighting/Knock Off switchin and your opp normally wants to get his bang for his buck if he spent a slot on it, which is easily predicted and either U-Turned or doubled on. Not the best argument, but I've blindly just clicked turn with my Mienfoo when they have a Spritzee and it kind of just works everytime. Its also a huge momentum sap in what I've found to be a pretty offensive metagame. It seems alright, but prob not A. But what the hell do I even know? HaHa!!
As u can see it has some notable advantages against many common/good mons in the current metagame. Starting with common physical attckers we have fletch and foo. Fletch vs. Shrew is somewhat of a stalemate do to the fact that neither can KO the other in less than 4 turns so it forces Fletch to switch or on the off chance that you can predict a roost do a hefty 65-78%. That match-up does mean much just thought id include it to show shrew's defensive power, on to foo. Foo is one of the most common mons in LC (appearing on approximately 43% of LC teams) and its matchup vs. shrew is surprisingly in shrew's favor. Shrew can remove Eviolite from foo making its defensive power a lot less present and can almost finish it off with an earthquake. The only thing about this matchup is that foo can remove the helpful eviolite from shrew as well. Now on to water types, namely, chinchou, carvahna, and tirtouga. Chinchou is another very common and very good mon who again (if it is running scald over hydro pump) can be beaten by shrew. If chin doesn't burn with scald shrew 1HKOs with eq. Carvahna can KO shrew with waterfall but it is only a 6.3% chance. Shrew however can KO 100% of the time with eq. The Tirtouga matchup isn't really in shrews favor i just thought it would be good to mention that if Tirtouga is unsmashed then it can NOT KO shrew and shrew can certainly kill it with an eq. Finally, are the special attackers that switch in to shrew like Gastly and the ones that think they are safe with staying in on it: Vulpix. Gastly is one of the best shrew counters if it is running energy ball but without it players still overestimate the power of their gastly's shadow ball. The calcs say it all: non-energy ball gastlys stand no chance against shrew. Drilbur is a common mon who shrew is being compared to, people argue that shrew is never a better choice over drilbur and is only good on sand rush teams but that is certainly not true. Some people carry the notion that drilbur having higher special defense than shrew makes it better which is not true and is quite irronic due to the fact that against common special attckers like gastly, chinchou, and abra, they have close to the same rolls for survival. And to add salt in the wound drilbur's defense reaches a pitiful maximum of 14 and let's face it, no one is going to fully invest in its defense or give it a defensive nature. shrew on the other hand reaches a maximum of 19! Though, like drilbur, no one should fully invest in that unless using it as a purely physical wall, that is still 3 points higher than porygon, argueably the best defensive mon in the tier! The only things drilbur has going for it over shrew is its slightly higher attack and speed stats and mold breaker which allows it to hit levitate users such as gastly but then again those mons are beaten by knock off most of the time. Finally to seal the deal i will show how well shrew would fit into B-. Tentacool, one of the mons in B- is basicly a bulky staryu with knock off. Sound familiar? That is because Tentacool is to Staryu as shrew is to Drilbur. B- is meant for mons who need a bit of support on their team but still do quite well if given this support and shrew fits that bill. I strongly believe shrew deserves to be moved up to B-.
