M&M Mix and Mega Resources

There have been quite a few changes in my mind this past OMPL. There have some been particular comebacks from the likes of Landorus-Therian, Primal Groudon and Darkrai, whilst some have lost out on the new bulky builds, such as Kartana. Without further ado, here is what I think the current VR looks like.

S rank
Alas, Primal Groudon. Enter the king of Ubers, and possibly the best contender for the best Pokemon in Mix and Mega. Whilst some sets have really lost out, such as Swords Dance + Stealth Rock and, slightly less so, defensive Stealth Rock with the re-introduction of certain Magic Bouncers like Zapdos and Mandibuzz, other sets have seriously gained traction. A set I want to particularly highlight here is the mixed RP set, which cleans current offense builds quite easily due to most Primal Groudon checks either being weak to Ice or being neutral to Fire. Whilst it definitely struggles with balance, and the loss of defensive roles certainly hurts, it’s not the end of the world for the primordial beast – bluffing here is your main way of muscling through builds!

Pretty much uncontested imo for the most versatile Pokemon in Mix and Mega. Magearna is a ridiculous role compressor in the current metagame, taking on the likes of Tapu Lele and Darkrai as well as bluffmeister with some of its lesser used sets, such as Pinsirite or Manectite… the roles it can do are simply fantastic at the moment. Cameruptite really forces your opponent to play aggressively or it can do ridiculous damage if given plenty a switchin, with the added bonus of doing all the roles a Steel would usually end up compressing. Pinsirite has shown itself on balance builds as a way of greatly enhancing the structure of WishPass, which can particularly make Pokemon like mixed Swords Dance Primal Groudon huge threats to balance and even stall. Cameruptite OTR CM is also a huge wincon, especially versus standard balance teams that don’t opt to use Blissey, as it can very quickly wear such teams down alone and forces conservative play with checks such that it can indirectly re-enforce a team’s defensive structure. Magearna is the queen of balance, and it really shows.

Whilst I haven’t seen much innovation from other people with Zygarde, I personally believe that Offensive Coil Lucarionite Zygarde is ridiculously consistent at the moment. Every check in the book, except maybe Mandibuzz -> fast Ice attack user is prone to getting paralyzed, and that means that shit like Magearna can really exploit the momentum gain from this. It also self-supports Zygarde in the Buzzwole matchup, as it can potentially cheese its way through its titanic bulk. Bulky Altarianite DD is also another set that has shown itself to be particularly good since the shift from Buzzwole to Manectite Mew as the standard blanket check for Zygarde. Not quite as versatile as the other two, but consistent enough to be considered S alongside them.

I really do believe that all of the mons in S rank seem to shuffle about every day, and they’re all pretty close to eachother in terms of effectiveness. Some builds have lost out, whilst others have gained – and yet, ZyMag has always ended up proving to be an always consistent combination, enough to propel these two ahead of Primal Groudon in some cases.

A rank

A+:
Wew. Landorus-Therian has really done it this time, and I currently feel like it is at its prime. Between Salamencite and Altarianite, both very good role compressors for offensive teams, it is an elite wallbreaker that can check even strong threats like Terrakion and Darkrai, and its Salamencite set happens to be one of the best checks to Primal Groudon, particularly Swords Dance + Stealth Rock variants. It also happens to be one of the best techs against webs in particular, as its speed, bulk and power all combine together to nearly invalidate most common techniques of breaking teams, for example, versus mixed Swords Dance Primal Groudon, Landorus-Therian can come in and simply force it out, which can happen early enough in the game to do significant damage to the rest of the team. This new offensive metagame really favours this mon, and for that reason I believe it is at the top of A+.



I feel like I’ve misunderstood how to use it all this time. No wonder I had suspicions it was ranked too low previously…

IF ONLY YOU GOT IN EASIER.



I personally believe Terrakion has the potential to be another S candidate, but with how difficult it is to get in these days and how hard it is to properly preserve, I feel as if A+ is fine as it is for Terrakion. There are also a few good offensive checks rising, such as Altarianite Landorus-Therian, and this severely hampers Terrakion, as it is only realistically able to get in twice or so a game. Regardless, the near uncounterable nature of Terrakion makes it one of the most successful wallbreakers in the metagame at the moment, and consumer of balance.

Man I’m so glad I brought back Manectite Mew from Gen 6, this mon is actually amazing rn. Being a blanket check to just about half of the entire metagame (Entei, Zygarde, SD Primal Groudon…), and yet with more options than its potential competition in Arceus-Ground, such as U-turn, I find Mew to be the best purely defensive Pokemon in the current metagame at the moment. The problems with it that don’t make it any higher than it currently is are mainly due to having a bad matchup vs multiple of these targets at once (i.e Landorus-Therian + Zygarde) and whilst it’s certainly more resilient than most other checks, it finds it hard to consistently do this.

A+ is pretty consistent with where it stands, and I personally believe that like with S, the gap isn’t quite defined between each Pokemon, however, the gap between S and A+ actually feels like something this time around.

A:
Still the same consistent -atespeeder it has been throughout the metagame. Not much has really changed for it, sans the rise of Manectite Mew, and it can exploit that fairly well via usage of Toxic, which can pressure Mew particularly if not supported properly, i.e paired with a Primal Groudon.

Buzzwole has been a bit interesting recently. Aggronite is still a very reliable wall, but if I’m honest it fails to do much against the common hyper offense team, which can make it a liability on your team. However, there have been rises of stones like Sablenite, as well as the fringe usage of Blue Orb and Metagrossite that particularly employ defensive and offensive niches for certain structures of teams. Sablenite has been a particular rising Pokemon, as it is able to check two of the newer sets in the scene, such as OTR CM Magearna and Darkrai, which checks are usually scarce.

I swear, what was everyone thinking when we put this mon all the way back to B-? Darkrai has shown itself to be a brutally strong wallbreaker, with very few consistent checks – Magearna and non-Aggronite Buzzwole come to mind. And unlike Terrakion, it happens to be great at exploiting the likes of certain walls, such as Mew. Diancite is also one of the best speed control options in the current metagame, being akin to the likes of Naganadel from previous metagames of Mix and Mega. Thunder is a particularly lethal check on it, being able to fry Ho-oh, one of its best checks previously, and hit certain Blue Orb users, such as Primal Kyogre and Golisopod. In any case, it still suffers from the same problems that Terrakion does, as it can be inconsistent at times, and falls victim to Pixilate priority from Entei and Zygarde.

Still the most stalwart wall of the metagame. Whilst it might be very easy to exploit the momentum that Blissey hands over to the opponent, its influence on current builds cannot be denied. It doesn’t invalidate ‘95% of special attackers’ either, as some people claim, as the likes of Magearna, Darkrai, Azelf and Keldeo can all bust through relatively easily. Regardless of this crippling weakness, particularly to Magearna, Blissey just so happens to be one of the best support options for balance at the moment, particularly when paired with Pinsirite Magearna with Heal Bell to help certain wallbreakers get in multiple times, when the best method of defeating them is through chip. I personally placed this at the bottom of A rather than the top of A- despite its lack of effectiveness in some matchups (with the exception of Healing Wish being particularly nice for offense to have!) due to the sheer impact it has on teams and how hard it is to outright beat it rather than force a loss of momentum without certain Pokemon.

As it stands, the gap in A rank mons is quite clear, from the consistent and reliable priority support that Entei gives, to the great wall that is Blissey, most of these mons either suffer from prominence of checks or lack of counterplay against certain threats, particularly I find in order of severity.


A-:
Poor Kartana. The new offensive metagame really does not favour it, and neither does the defensive metagame, either. Rises in Pokemon like Cameruptite Magearna, defensive Stealth Rock Primal Groudon, and even the likes of Landorus-Therian make it difficult for Kartana to do much until saved for lategame, and even then, Kartana can struggle to make too much of a splash. OTR + CM Magearna is a particular trouble for Kartana, as it is able to outright use it as setup fodder lategame and countersweep due to Kartana’s lacking damage output, often times leaving it outside of -atespeed range. As such, its hunger for hazard support and inconsistency in cleaning puts it at the top of A- imo.

Gyara Toxapex yet again lacks counterplay. Having something that can reliably defog Toxic Spikes without a viable Poison in the metagame other than itself sucks pretty badly – so Toxapex, by sheer uncommon typing alone can rip through certain balances just by spreading Toxic so well. Not only this, but it has a great defensive utility, being one of the only checks to the likes of ShadowBolt Cameruptite Magearna, and one of the best partners to Lunala, despite being its complete antagonist. Latiasite Toxapex has a few notable niches too – it is one of the few Pokemon that can claim they check both Entei and Primal Groudon at once, and even fewer that are not afflicted by status. Smack Down causes issues, but this can be very easily exploited by the likes of a Landorus-Therian. Just make sure you’re prepared for a Magearna switchin if this ends up being what you opt as one of your defensive Pokemon.

Victini has seen a few downfalls in the current metagame – whilst the existence of good checks like Blue Orb Magearna and certain Dragon-types has died down, Victini still struggles to find a way to outshine Primal Groudon in most of its roles. It particularly struggles with being offensively checked by Lucarionite Zygarde, however the likes of Glaciate will help to solve this problem. However, by doing this, Victini misses out on Taunt, a valuable breaking tool for the likes of more balanced builds who would opt to run something like Blue Orb Magearna or Gliscor to handle it. It is spread quite far in the current metagame, and the more offensively inclined it becomes, the less viable Victini becomes.

Ho-oh has seen better days certainly, however, I personally agree that Ho-oh is one of the best Pokemon that balance teams could have at the moment. Being a surefire resistance to the likes of Arceus-Ground, defensive Primal Groudon and Magearna (before Stealth Rock) make Ho-oh one of the best defensive role compressors in the metagame. Unfortunately, with the metagame gearing up and certain pressures like Noivern popping up, preventing Ho-oh from properly recovering, it seems as if Ho-oh is starting to slow down again as a team slot. Manectite Mew isn’t great news for it either, as it can happily opt to Intimidate it and lower its attack to safe levels for another switchin to manipulate. Having a Mew burned isn’t great news for Ho-oh either – since the damage nerf from gen 7, Toxic has been far preferred, and having Mew being burned means it can very safely switch into any attack it has. Still a strong option for anyone who likes proactive play.

Lunala is something I find to be particularly useful on the likes of Hyper Offense for a few major reasons – Shadow Shield is particularly nice at stopping matchup bullshit such as Rock Polish Primal Groudon from doing much, and that Z-nuke particularly smarts for anything that isn’t named Gyaradosite Toxapex to try and switch into. CM Roost sets are particular annoyances for Magearna Bulky Offenses – even with the proper chip, CM Roost Lunala will be able to win on a 1v1 matchup. However, I feel as if the increase in prominence of Darkrai really makes Lunala’s day a lot worse, and the comeback of some faster Arceus spreads as well as faster spreads in general can cause non-Roost sets a bit of trouble.

Ultra is still one of the best wallbreakers any sort of offense could want – it particularly pairs quite well with LeleRai as it can abuse Tapu Lele’s Psychic Terrain to its advantage lategame. Unfortunately, Lunala can still give it considerable issues, and Entei, a Pokemon that has fallen only in recent times gives it major problems both when setting up and after setting up. Heat Wave is a rather nice tech that Ultra can employ to lure the likes of Buzzwole, however, I personally (not true for most people) believe that since Buzzwole is in preference of mixed spreads due to Magearna being an issue to check, Heat Wave often doesn’t let Ultra Necrozma through. Alas – if Aggronite Buzzwole didn’t exist, I could imagine both DM and Ultra being much better.

Lele has finally found a partner to abuse the slot that it opened, and Darkrai fits it no better than any other. And with a shift away from Aggronite, more teams have opted to run Magearna as their main countermeasure to it. Nature’s Madness helps out considerably here due to Magearna’s lack of reliable recovery, and can really weaken an opposing core simply by forcing switches. Tapu Lele is decent speed control too – and alongside Darkrai can revenge kill a large portion of the metagame, only really falling to Terrakion and Cobalion. Lucarionite also finds itself in a better position than before with Aggronite Mew and DM having little usage, which manages to break quite well under Sticky Web, and can possibly bring part to a new variant of LeleRai.

DM is ridiculously close to the borderline for me, and it just edges out Zapdos with how well it cleans up the likes of Manectite Mew balance. It also happens to be particularly great at finding setup opportunities where most Steels would be unable to find them, such as versus a Landorus-Therian, making it a great antagonist for a more traditional HO that isn’t Webs. Competition from Magearna as a Steel can really hurt Duskmane, and its one time Z-move can be a particular nuisance. However, a SpD SD set isn’t too bad right now as a strong Magearna check, and thereby certain teams which depend on chipping Steels to rid of them (such as Firespam) often finds themselves in a bit of trouble versus this set. So… unfortunately not that great news for it, but it is still decent enough to find itself in A-.

A- is a bit peculiar for me. I find that there are certain mons that hover on the edge of each boundary, and I personally feel as if there’s nothing stopping public opinion from these two going elsewhere. For these next ranks, I’ll be going over a short summary of each position, rather than a full description.


B rank

B+:
Zapdos (Sablenite, Venusaurite, Manectite)
Golisopod (Blue Orb)
Arceus-Ground (Earth Plate)
Skarmory (Blue Orb, Venusaurite)
Metagross (Pinsirite)
Shaymin-Sky (Diancite)
Gliscor (Venusaurite)
Azelf (Red Orb)
Arceus-Fairy (Pixie Plate)
Zygarde-Complete (Leftovers)
Keldeo (Lucarionite, Diancite)
Shuckle (Gyaradosite, Ampharosite)

Zapdos was placed at the top of B+ due to its newfound niche in stopping Stealth Rock from being set by the likes of Salamencite Landorus-Therian and Metagross without being knocked out from the following Explosion, making it a rather decent tactic against offense.

Golisopod was placed next to it due to a surge in the usage of certain pivots such as Buzzwole and Mew that can severely hamper its ability to break teams or set hazards for the opponent to exploit.

Arceus-Ground was placed below Golisopod due to its Calm Mind set, which we previously overlooked when nominating Arceus-Ground down to B. It happens to be a particularly lethal check against certain builds lacking proper Ground-resists, but most teams are able to deal with it effectively if the game does not get drawn out long enough for them to wilter away.

Skarmory was placed directly below Arceus-Ground due to its niches in checking the likes of Entei, Primal Groudon and Ho-oh all at once, being one of the best stopgaps against Firespam. It particularly started rising due to the decrease of Smack Down Primal Groudon usage and the increase of certain sets such as Defensive SR or Mixed RP.

Metagrosss was placed just below Skarmory because of its defensive niches on Sticky Webs as an offensive Stealth Rock setter. It is a particularly great blanket check to the likes of Tapu Lele due to this trait, and is one of the harder Flying-types to switch into.

Shaymin-Sky was placed below Metagross due to an ever increasing matchup problem versus Steel/Flying and Fire-type teams. However, this does not mean to say that it is bad – the role compression providing both speed control and a way of getting another Pokemon back in the game is greatly appreciated by an abundance of teams.

Gliscor was placed below Shaymin-Sky because of a lack of reliability in beating common Primal Groudon variants and a tendency to be passive against certain builds utilizing Substitutes, such as Lucarionite Zygarde builds.

Azelf was placed below Gliscor because of its newfound place on Webs as a budget Naganadel, as well as having generally limited switchins on standard builds. However, outside of webs support, it is prone to getting revenge killed easily, and so I decided B+ was its best fit.

Arceus-Fairy was placed below Azelf for its CM sets that particularly provide role compression in an attempt to check the likes of Zygarde and Terrakion. Support is simply unable to do the roles it needs to and is absolute bait for the likes of Magearna, as well as fail to set SR / Defog very well in comparison to Arceus-Ground.

Zygarde-Complete was placed below Arceus-Fairy due to its ability to break balance efficiently either with a subCoil set or its standard sub DD set, making it a particularly strong pick for those who wish to exploit the likes of Buzzwole as a standard Zygarde switchin as well as providing a great physical tank which can potentially take the likes of a +2 Close Combat from Terrakion in Complete. However, sets without Substitute can struggle to find the niche that other sets would have, and Giratina is often preferred on stall due to the threats it handles with its better typing.

Keldeo was placed below Zygarde-Complete as it happens to be one of the more situational breakers in the VR, however, it exploits the lack of Water-resists on most teams with its powerful Fighting-type STAB.

Shuckle was placed below Keldeo as Webs hasn’t been getting off to the greatest start with new techs popping up such as OTR CM Magearna and Noivern particularly annoying these builds. The rise in usage of Landorus-Therian is also a double-edged sword for it that particularly strikes it badly; and thereby as most balances now have a breaker that bypasses webs, staying together might be a bit harder for teams in the future.


B:
Manaphy (Absolite, Manectite, Cameruptite)
Cobalion (Pinsirite, Diancite)
Kyogre-Primal (Blue Orb)
Mandibuzz (Sablenite, Venusaurite)
Raikou (Red Orb)
Yveltal (Life Orb)
Rayquaza (Life Orb)
Xerneas (Power Herb, Choice Scarf, Fairium Z)

Manaphy was placed at the top of B due to its offensive role compression on Webs and pure offense based builds with its Manectite set. A lack of overall dedicated preparation for Manaphy can also result in Manaphy becoming an immediate wincon, particularly for those that either lack a Red Orb user or lack a bulky attacker like Magearna.

Cobalion was placed near the top of B due to its general versatility within the two sets. The utility roles that Pinsirite can provide whilst being able to bypass traditional Flying-resists (see: Zapdos) gives Cobalion a much more defined role, particularly on Webs teams, as unlike Magearna the initial speed and +2 damage boost forces it out less from Pokemon like Entei.

Kyogre-Primal was placed just below it with the main problem being that Kyogre-Primal struggles to find places to get into games and start breaking quickly. However, in the cases that it can get in freely, it often times will just win out of being able to do so.

Mandibuzz was placed in B between Kyogre-Primal and Raikou due to its enhanced defensive capabilities compared to other Magic Bouncers, particularly being one of the few that are able to defend against defensive Primal Groudon’s Stealth Rock set. It also provides teams with a great pivot, albeit one that can shorten games due to its tendency to lure in Fairy-types such as Magearna.

Raikou was placed below Mandibuzz as its inability to harm Dragons and middling Speed tier prevents it from breaking most builds – however, those that rely on a Zygarde for their Fire-resist may suffer from the HP Ice build, and that breaking power gives it a solid niche as one of the strongest offensive pivots in MnM.

Yveltal was accidentally deleted. The main reason I feel it should be here is due to its Heat Wave LO set, particularly roasting the likes of Magearna on the switchin. Due to the general lack of checks to this set on most teams, I find it is quite anti-meta and deserves this position – even the likes of Lunala can fear it.

Rayquaza yet again fits the idea of ‘situational breaker with mild defensive utility’.

Xerneas is placed at the bottom of B due to an abundance of checks on teams and the prevalence of Altarianite Extreme Speed preventing it from getting off a sweep easily versus most teams. Fairium Z can cheese some matchups but it is in general an extremely inconsistent set versus any team with a Magearna.

B-:
Giratina (Leftovers)
(Noivern (Altarianite)) (Ranked for its anti-offense capabilities, particularly against Webs)
Salamence (Salamencite)
Ditto (Choice Scarf)
Mamoswine (Lucarionite)
Genesect (Altarianite, Pinsirite)
Arceus-Dragon (Draco Plate)
Arceus-Rock (Stone Plate)
Giratina-Origin (Griseous Orb)
Volcarona (Red Orb, Cameruptite)
Excadrill (Lucarionite, Pinsirite)
(Zeraora) (Ranked for its Pinsirite set, which compresses speed control into a somewhat bulky package combined with decent damage output.)
Tapu Koko (Diancite, Lucarionite)
(Dugtrio) (Ranked for its Lopunnite set, which can trap the likes of Blissey, carving a free path for something like Magearna or Lunala to sweep.)

C rank

(Kangaskhan-Mega) (Ranked for its ability to break balance using Parental Bond Seismic Toss)
Arceus-Flying (Sky Plate)
Arceus-Ghost (Spooky Plate)
Weavile (Glalitite, Lucarionite)
Jirachi (Ampharosite)
Hippowdon (Venusaurite, Sablenite)
Arceus (Normalium Z)
Archeops (Diancite)
Celebi (Blue Orb)
Gastrodon (Manectite, Sablenite)
Stakataka (Heracronite)

The rest of these nominations, if unexplained, are mainly due to a lack of reasoning for them or simply failure to play with them.
 
Hi guys, I would like to propose a suicune promotion to around B Rank. It functions as a great physical attacker blanket check and after a Calm Mind, it can take many other special hits as well. Here’s a ladder replay with it sweeping: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7mixandmega-789257491. I’m pretty sure he qualifies as a good enough player to be significant but I’m not sure. Anyway, it almost always checks about half the meta, so I think it deserves a rank.

Also, in the same team, I would like to propose thundurus to C rank as it provides a strong Blissey breaker, fast revenge killer, defogger and pivot. I forgot to save the replay showing it’s amazingness :( but it’s still good, with an extremely fast 141 base speed and a staggering 175 base attack. Some might say it’s outclassed by Zeraora, but I don’t think so as it can both pivot and remove hazards reliably, as it only gets affected by Stealth Rocks.

Doublade (latiasite, sablenite, venusaurite, blue orb) to C Rank (maybe C-) as well, as it provides a solid Terrakion check as well as being able to kill pokemon after a swords dance. It plays a similar role to Blue Orb and Venuaurite Magearna, except with slightly better defense, no pivot, and much less offensive utility.

I think that’s all. Oh wait I forgot the best Pokemon in the world:
Zorua @ Diancite
Ability: Illusion
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- U-turn
- Nasty Plot
- Night Daze
- Substitute

Lol, when I put the 4 moves in, it suggested ‘Specially Defensive’. Completely broken but please do not ban.
 
Magearna A+ -> S
Mew A -> A+
Kartana A -> A-
Victini A -> A-
Landorus-T A- -> A+
Toxapex A- -> A
Arceus-Fairy A- -> B+
Golisopod A- -> B+
Gliscor A- -> B+
Shaymin-Sky A- -> B+
Arceus-Ghost A- -> C
Tapu Lele B+ -> A-
Keldeo B+ -> B
Xerneas B+ -> B
Volcarona B+ -> B-
Arceus-Ground B -> A-
Weavile B -> B-
Darkrai B- -> A
Arceus-Rock B- -> B
Rayquaza B- -> B
Arceus-Flying B- -> C
Excadrill B- -> C
Hippowdon B- -> C
Arceus-Water B- -> UR
Mamoswine C -> B
Arceus C -> UR
Gastrodon C -> UR
Celebi C -> UR
Yveltal UR -> B
Mandibuzz UR -> B
Zeraora UR -> B-
Noivern UR -> B-
Kyogre UR -> B-
Kangaskhan UR -> C
Dugtrio UR -> C
Kyurem UR -> C


I'll be writing up reasoning later today.
 
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in the hills

spreading confusion
is a Top Artistis a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Social Media Contributor Alumnusis a Senior Staff Member Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
and with that vr update we have another resource coming: The Set Viability Rankings!
S
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Magearna (Cameruptite: S, Sablenite A+, OTR Cam: A, Pinsirite: A-, Blue Orb: B+, Latiasite: B+, Manectite: B+, Venusaurite: B Alakazite: B-)
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Groudon-Primal (Defensive: S, SD SR: A+, Mixed: A+, RestSD: A-)
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Zygarde (Lucarionite: S, Altarianite: A+, Pinsirite: B+)

A+
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Landorus-Therian (Salamencite: A+, Altarianite: A, Pinsirite: A)
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Mew (Manectite: A+, Sablenite: A, Aggronite: A-)
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Terrakion (Lucarionite: A+, Diancite: A)

A
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Blissey (Sablenite: A)
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Buzzwole (Aggronite: A, Sablenite: A-, Blue Orb: B)
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Darkrai (Blastoisinite: A, Diancite: A)
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Entei (Altarianite: A, Pinsirite: B+)
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Toxapex (Gyaradosite: A, Latiasite: A-)

A-
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Arceus-Ground (CM: A-, Support: B)
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Ho-Oh (Life Orb: A-, Choice Band: A-, Curse: B+, Defensive: B)
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Kartana (Metagrossite: A-, Lucarionite: B)
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Lunala (Lunalium: A-, Specs: B+)
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Necrozma-Dusk-Mane (Double Dance: A-,Bulky SD: B+, Defensive: B-)
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Necrozma-Ultra (SD: A-)
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Tapu Lele (Diancite: A-, Lucarionite: B+)
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Victini (Red Orb: A-)

B+
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Arceus-Fairy (Support: B+, CM: B+)
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Azelf (Red Orb: B+)
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Gliscor (Venusaurite: B+, Blue Orb: B)
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Golisopod (Blue Orb: B+)
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Metagross (Pinsirite: B+)
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Shaymin-Sky (Diancite: B+, Red Orb: B+)
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Shuckle (Gyaradosite: B+, Ampharosite: B+)
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Skarmory (Blue Orb: B+, Venusaurite: B)
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Zapdos (Sablenite: B+, Venusaurite: B, Manectite: B)

B
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Arceus-Rock (Support: B)
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Cobalion (Pinsirite: B, Ampharosite: C)
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Keldeo (Lucarionite: B, Diancite: B-)
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Kyogre-Primal (SubCM: B, Mixed: C)
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Mamoswine (Lucarionite: B)
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Manaphy (Manectite: B, Absolite: B, Cameruptite: B-)
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Mandibuzz (Sablenite: B)
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Raikou (Red Orb: B)
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Rayquaza (SD: B)
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Xerneas (Geomancy: B, Choice Scarf: B-, Z-Geomancy: C)
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Yveltal (Life Orb: B, Choice Scarf: B-, Choice Specs: B-)
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Zygarde-Complete (Coil: B, DD: B, Defensive: C)

B-
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Arceus-Dragon (Support: B-)
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Ditto (Choice Scarf: B-)
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Genesect (Altarianite: B-, Pinsirite: C)
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Giratina (Defensive: B-)
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Giratina-Origin (Defog: B-, SubCM: C)
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Kyogre (Choice Specs: B-, Choice Scarf: B-)
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Noivern (Altarianite: B-, Salamencite: C)
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Salamence (Salamencite: B-)
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Tapu Koko (Lucarionite: B-, Diancite: B-)
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Volcarona (Red Orb: B-, Cameruptite: C)
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Weavile (Glalitite: B-)
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Zeraora (Pinsirite: B-, Lopunnite: B-, Glalitite: B-)

C
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Arceus-Flying (CM: C)
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Arceus-Ghost (Support: C)
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Archeops (Diancite: C)
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Dugtrio (Lopunnite: C)
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Excadrill (Glalitite: C, Pinsirite: C)
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Hippowdon (Venusaurite: C, Sablenite: C)
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Jirachi (Ampharosite: C)
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Kyurem (Audinite: C)
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Kangaskhan (Kangaskhanite: C)
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Stakataka (Latiasite: C, Heracronite: C)
 
Another set of nominations:

Darkrai -> A+

Darkrai is amazingly solid in the current metagame, using a variety of rising Pokemon as setup fodder by offensively checking them, such as Mew and Lunala, two very commonplace Pokemon. It also helps that Blastoisinite, the arguable best set, can utilize its already decent Dark/Poison coverage to give way to Substitute, a move that is able to scout for hax on the likes of Magearna and Buzzwole, making it infamously difficult to handle. Recent metagame trends have really made this Pokemon even better, as Fleur Cannon variants of Magearna have been seen less often, and Buzzwole is very unlikely to keep its original typing. The increase in usage of Zygarde also makes certain Pokemon available for Darkrai to push around: common neutral Arceus formes, such as Ground, are already 2HKO'd by Dark Pulse, so Darkrai is able to utilize the momentum loss caused by Zygarde to its advantage. Simply put; Darkrai is far above what we initially placed it at and its effectiveness is growing by the second.

Mew -> A
Terrakion -> A (+ Pinsirite)

Lumping these two together as they haven't lost out too much on the metagame but just don't fit in A+ with Lando and Darkrai. Terrakion is an odd choice - why, especially when we have a new lure set in Pinsirite, would Terrakion be any worse than it was? The simple explanation for this is due to the influx of -atespeed arising back into the metagame and the lack of abusable Pokemon in common team structure. Even with pivoting, it finds it difficult to outright 1v1 most of the threats in this metagame, making it incredibly hard to utilize early-game with the exception of Blissey teams, which, whilst not very common at the moment, have been finding their ways past Terrakion with bulky variants of Altarianite Zygarde, which can make Terrakion very inconsistent at the job it tries to do. Whilst the rise of Blastoisinite Darkrai does help out Terrakion a lot, it doesn't appreciate giving Diancite Darkrai what is effectively a free Nasty Plot, and it hates taking heavy damage from Darkrai, as it needs its HP to break through the many miscellanous 'checks' it has, such as Aggronite Buzzwole and Manectite Mew.

Mew, on the other hand, is getting extremely easy to exploit with its Manectite set. The problems that it faces at the moment are quite severe: the rises of breakers such as Darkrai and Primal Kyogre force Mew to play less conservatively with its health and therefore allow for it to be more easily broken by the likes of Zygarde; and the things it is meant to check can muscle through it or abuse it through either a U-turn or Explosion. It doesn't help that Primal Groudon can run more bulk to bypass it as well, which makes for Mew being an ineffective check to the variants it is supposed to beat.

Kartana -> A (+ Pinsirite)

Adamant Kart is an absolutely amazing breaker. Aggronite Buzzwole, one of the most common switchins to it, is actually beaten by Adamant sets (only guaranteed after SR), and the loss in Speed isn't very relevant at the moment, as very few Pokemon are around in the 131~149 base Speed range, even less so that are relevant. Smart Strike on these sets can even attempt to muscle past Cameruptite Magearna, historically one of its better checks due to the amount of momentum it could gain from it. The loss in usage of other checks such as Aggronite Wisp Mew and, in general, wisp Arceus have lead to Kartana being a better balance breaker than it once was. Not only this, but if you REALLY want power, then Pinsirite has been a set I've been using, initially as a meme:

Kartana @ Pinsirite
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Return
- Sacred Sword / filler
- Swords Dance
- filler (Tailwind / Defog / Substitute)

Pinsirite Kartana can do some amazing things. First off, it lures all Buzzwole sets, and also lures Golisopod, making it quite tough to predict, as it checks and counters almost completely switch up. Return is also powerful enough to guarantee the 2HKO on 252 HP / 132+ Def Arceus, which is already a solid benchmark in itself. The biggest problem that I'd note with this set is that it is hardwalled by Magearna and Mew: the former is a lot bigger of a problem, however the latter can be exploited quite easily by assisting breakers like Darkrai and Primal Kyogre, both of which actually have some nice synergy (particularly Primal Kyogre - the wear on Primal Groudon is very much appreciated.) The additional Flying typing also makes it a decent Defogger, particularly against more offensive playstyles, such as Webs. Tailwind can also give it a much better offensive matchup, which will use targets that could initially revenge kill it as bait (Terrakion is not guaranteed, however). As such, this duality of playstyle can make Pinsirite Kartana a particularly brutal wallbreaker. Sacred Sword rounds off the coverage by hitting miscellaneous targets such as non-Fighting neutral Steels and Arceus-Rock.

calcs:
252+ Atk Aerilate Kartana Return vs. 252 HP / 132+ Def Arceus-Ground: 222-262 (50 - 59%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Aerilate Kartana Return vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Terrakion: 298-352 (91.9 - 108.6%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO

Metagross -> A-

Metagross has a surprising amount of utility. For example, the Steel/Flying typing can provide a check to Arceus-Ground and Mew on offensive teams, and its unparalleled ability to set Stealth Rock is great in a meta where Zapdos usage has been dwindling. It also particularly takes a hold on even its counters: Skarmory doesn't appreciate getting blown up on and having Stealth Rock to deal with, as it can leave it in range of Pokemon such as Swords Dance Primal Groudon and Landorus-Therian. What makes it better in this current metagame is the increase in overall offensive teams, and whilst it does not like the further introduction of Levitate / Flying Steel-types, it is happily able to set Stealth Rock on its competitors and complete its role. Overall a solid Pokemon that I feel should rise despite its lacking usage, and a difficult one to punish - that -ate Explosion hurts.

Arceus-Ground -> B+
Necrozma-Ultra -> B+

Both of these Pokemon don't like the new metagame changes. For example, most of the things that Arceus-Ground could check are now either gone or can exploit it in a good way; Calm Mind sets have unfortunately lost a good ability to be a wincon through this problem, and the likes of Altarianite Zygarde have adapted in a way that makes Arceus-Ground even less effective of a check. It doesn't like seeing other wallbreakers like Primal Kyogre either, and Darkrai can exploit its loss of momentum versus what it can check.

As for Necrozma-Ultra, it severely suffers in this meta due to the rise of -atespeed and Darkrai, which not only make its chances to sweep dwindle, but also its breaking power - Entei is effectively able to answer both DM and Ultra once, and Darkrai can just hard into Light That Burns the Sky. High Lunala usage doesn't help; which is another Pokemon effectively able to answer both at once, and letting a breaker with a powerful attack like Lunala's is somewhat asking for it.

Kyogre-Primal -> B+

A lesser usage of other Red Orb users than Primal Groudon leads to Primal Kyogre being one of the better wallbreakers at the moment. One may compare it to Manaphy, however, the damage output that Primal Kyogre initially puts on the table is just so much better when compared to the speed and boosting ability of Manaphy. It also helps that one of its best partners is ridiculously good: Cameruptite Magearna, alongside Primal Kyogre is probably one of the hardest things to wall in the entire meta, and handing over momentum to one of them is extremely hard without a Primal Groudon; and even then, a simple double switch can lead to Primal Kyogre forcing you onto your secondary Water resist. Whilst the rise of bulkier Altarianite Zygarde do not help it, the rise of Manectite Mew and other passive physical checks is something to be happy about. Lucarionite Zygarde is a great partner in this way; it helps answer Primal Groudon for Primal Kyogre, and forces Primal Kyogre's checks to come out - not only weakened, but potentially paralyzed if running a Glare set. This is probably the best partner for the cyclical offense core of Lucarionite Zygarde + Cameruptite Magearna, and due to the prominence of both these Pokemon, it should rise with them.

Victini -> B+

The rising usage of bulkier Altarianite Zygardes, and Altarianite Zygarde in general leaves this mon with more to be desired. As a breaker, it can be difficult for it to already find setup opportunities, and it also has to struggle with the usage of defensive Primal Groudon sets, making it tough for it to make a big mark on even the balance builds it fares best at pressuring. Victini also has huge problems with the usage of Darkrai, as it can often times reverse the scenario of the game, even as a modest revenge killer. Whilst the drop in general defensive Ground-types such as Gliscor has gone down, Victini does not appreciate the more offensive metagame and its new contraptions, and so it should drop.

Gliscor -> B

Anyone who has played for a good while knows that Gliscor doesn't actually check what it should: it struggles massively with trying to check defensive Primal Groudon, when it is forced to be Toxiced, and can't check other Fire-types without investing heavily into Special Defense, which makes it harder for Gliscor to function as a pivot. To make matters worse, an increasing usage of Zygarde and the lack of sturdy checks to it can make bait to it much less appreciated, due to its high passivity. Its Blue Orb set isn't in a great spot either, with Zygarde usage on the rise, and its ability to somewhat consistently check it - however, as Mew usage is starting to go back down, it is getting easier for Blue Orb Gliscor to do the job it wants to. Despite this, the Blue Orb set wasn't too viable in the first place, and I believe that Gliscor, overall has dropped in effectiveness.

Archeops -> B-

Archeops @ Diancite
Ability: Defeatist
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Head Smash
- Earthquake
- Heat Wave
- Hidden Power Ice / Endeavor / U-turn

I feel that this set is an effective offense killer: Head Smash is incredibly hard to initially wall, and the coverage given here allows for Archeops to hit all sides of the spectrum. Heat Wave is able to smash through Buzzwole and flying Steels, Earthquake hits the majority of Steels for good damage, and Hidden Power Ice beats Landorus-Therian and Zygarde. This is probably one of the more difficult mixed attackers to wall in the metagame; but the problem with it is that Head Smash will wear it out extremely quickly. Using anything other than Head Smash over that slot can prove brutal for it, as it would drop the damage output that it needs on threats such as Toxapex and Zygarde that allow it to be so brutal to offense. However, the benefits end there: being walled by defensive Ground-types such as Arceus-Ground and being walled by Manectite Mew makes Archeops an unfortunate victim of the metagame changes of Zygarde, and problems with soft-checks (particularly Magearna and other offensive steels). It also has problems with health management - particularly even trying to break Blissey with Head Smash will often result in a double down.

Calcs:

252 Atk Archeops Head Smash vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Toxapex: 159-187 (52.3 - 61.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO (Latiasite)
252 Atk Archeops Head Smash vs. 176 HP / 0 Def Zygarde: 253-298 (63 - 74.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO (Altarianite)
252 Atk Archeops Head Smash vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Blissey: 334-394 (46.7 - 55.1%) -- 69.5% chance to 2HKO

Volcarona -> C
Weavile -> C

These Pokemon... just aren't good anymore. Volcarona suffers heavily from never getting in and having the problem of both being outclassed by Azelf and being hardwalled by a bunch of solid Pokemon, such as Ho-oh, Blissey and Blue Orb Magearna, as well as having the problem of the increasing usage of Zygarde. It doesn't help that the meta has gotten more offensive, meaning Stealth Rock is more commonly up, and therefore Volcarona has an even harder time sweeping. It also means that despite being able to use Magearna as setup fodder, Volcarona cannot do so reliably due to hazards, and if it opts to run Cameruptite it is in severe lack of initial damage output and speed due to its poor coverage. Speed is essentially the problem here - it can put it in range of multiple Pokemon even at +1, particularly Diancite Terrakion and Pinsirite Zeraora, and even then it has to start dropping coverage for Roost to consistently pull off a mediocre job of sweeping.

Weavile, on the other hand, consistently suffers from being named 'sack fodder' every game, by virtue of being completely walled by top tier threats such as Magearna and Entei, as well as struggling from new meta developments - the rising usage of Latiasite Toxapex, the continued usage of Aggronite Buzzwole, the greater usage of Coil Altarianite Zygarde, more physically defensive Primal Groudon, and just overall a lacking ability to even create a crack in bulky offense builds. It is plagued by usage of fairies and fire types, and should really drop into the crevice that is C.

Groudon-Primal -> A+

Take this as a warning to everyone. Innovation is at an all time low with Primal Groudon. No new sets are really being thought of as of now, and some of the underprepped ones (such as Mixed and Rock Polish) aren't even being used at all. I really do think that if most players pick up their game and start running support for these underprepped sets, then Primal Groudon could possibly be S again.

The problem with Primal Groudon at the moment is that it has been effortlessly handled by a few key mons - the rising of Sablenite Mandibuzz prevents defensive Stealth Rock from setting Stealth Rock at all and can prevent even SD SR from trying to get a chance at setting them, the huge usage of Zygarde which outright prevents Primal Groudon from doing much to offense unless it uses the mixed Rock Polish set, and most of all the increased usage of Landorus-Therian, giving its Stealth Rock + Swords Dance set a huge competitor and often times an outright better and more consistent user of the strategy. This increase has also made it so that the SD SR set has outright very little power to wallbreak due to Landorus-Therian being a very strong check. Its usage increase also makes webs Primal Groudon less effective, giving these sorts of builds a strong revenge killer to what was previously a near unanswerable wallbreaker. Increased usage of offensive checks such as Lunala also give Primal Groudon more trouble, and the amount of offensive checks has gotten to a stage where I feel as if Primal Groudon's offensive sets simply don't cut it anymore. High Magearna usage also makes it so that offensive sets are less preferred, because they are often forced to take huge chip damage from Cameruptite's coverage, and if SD SR or Eruption, it can outright lose entirely to Pinsirite Magearna. Usage of Latiasite Toxapex also makes Primal Groudon ineffective at taking care of multiple balance archetypes, and the continued usage of the two most solid Zygarde checks, Manectite Mew and Aggronite Buzzwole give SD SR hell, and even Defensive can have some issues with Manectite Mew, despite it not being a solid check at all.

You may have noticed that I haven't mentioned mixed Rock Polish variants having issues at all with these metagame problems, and that is for a few reasons: it already has a poor defensive matchup, as noted by Latiasite Toxapex usage, and in general, lacking usage makes it often a set that no longer needs to be accounted for. Again, bulky Altarianite Zygarde harasses this set by setting up Coils on it, and a lack of overall setup fodder makes it difficult to get that one Rock Polish up before Primal Groudon is in range of -atespeed. Other, less common Pokemon such as Blue Orb Skarmory can also harass it, however, as was shown in match 3 of my week 7 game in OMPL against M'joe'ra, it is not exactly a perfect check as it can often have the Primal weather turned against it. However, that also demonstrates another, minor problem: the set is not exactly consistent as a sweeper, and can have problems with depending on accuracy of Fire Blast - in a similar way to which Focus Blast Cameruptite Magearna is not used much despite its defensive utility; it is often dependent on it for picking up notable 2HKOs on defensive Pokemon, such as Sablenite Mandibuzz, and certain Ground-types (Arceus-Ground can stall out PP of Flamethrower).

However, it all dwindles down to how it compares to Magearna and Zygarde; and that is simply in the fact that it cannot deal enough damage to defensive cores to keep it up there with them, nor is it exactly the role compressor it is in Ubers. It requires heavy defensive investment to actually do what it needs to and as a result often can't break properly, as seen with Stealth Rock + Swords Dance sets. It simply cannot do its roles as well as it used to, and should drop to the level that Landorus-Therian and Darkrai can operate to.


EDIT: Three more nominations:

Lunala -> A (+ Leftovers)

Lunala @ Leftovers
Ability: Shadow Shield
EVs: 72 HP / 248 Def / 88 SpA / 100 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moongeist Beam
- Moonblast / Ice Beam
- Calm Mind / Defog
- Roost

Alongside Lunala's Z-crystal CM set, I have been finding that Lunala actually has significant defensive utility as well. The set above, which is really a manifestation of two sets, aims to check a variety of Pokemon, such as Zygarde, Necrozma-DM, Tapu Lele, Landorus-Therian, and even check some variants of Primal Groudon. Lunala also finds it quite easy to stall out certain Pokemon that would otherwise prove an issue, such as Primal Kyogre, fishing for misses. This is something that Manectite Mew cannot do, and whilst this is a much shakier Zygarde and Landorus-Therian check, it is better at doing the other roles and honestly is a lot more solid in this metagame because of that lack of passivity. Whilst the usage of Darkrai can prove an issue; Lunala's CM set will always seem to be able to find a way around it with its free move slot. Tailwind is particularly amazing as it will allow Lunala to get past most of its revenge killers, although it more specifically targets Diancite and Blastoisinite Darkrai. The most unfortunate problem with Lunala is that it is commonly walled by Blissey, Gyaradosite Toxapex, and Sablenite Magearna, however, it forces Blissey into a scenario where some variants cannot handle it when supported with one that breaks another, such as Darkrai vs Psywave variants and Magearna vs Confide variants. Gyaradosite Toxapex's momentum is exploitable by the many Ground-types in the meta that incidentally pair well with its partners, and Sablenite Magearna hates taking the Z-move, as it can then be exploited by Darkrai. This sort of strategy is particularly effective midgame, as Magearna may already be worn into range of +1 Maelstrom. What makes Lunala better in this metagame, imo, is the lack of half checks that would otherwise restrict Lunala's movepool, mainly bulky Dark-types like Yveltal, greatly improving offensive matchups.

Mandibuzz -> B+

Mandibuzz (F) @ Sablenite
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 252 HP / 92 Def / 164 SpD
Impish Nature
- Foul Play
- Roost
- Defog
- U-turn

(Max SpD and a Careful nature allow this mon to take on Diancite Darkrai and RP don much better)
Ever since user stresh started using this mon, I've sorta come to love it as a defensive pivot on more balanced builds. Being one of the few Pokemon to actually take on Primal Groudon (and with this spread, it counters defensive SR and checks SD SR), being able to take on countless other setup users such as Lunala and pivot out of some more bizarre matchups, such as against Arceus-Ground and Blastoisinite Darkrai. Disapproves of Lava Plume Primal Groudon, however, the usage of that set is at a low as of now. One might inquisite its Fairy weakness, however access to U-turn allows it to cut corners and continue with getting momentum. Targets that would usually answer it get thrown into an opposing answer, such as Ground-types for Magearna and Steels for other Fairy-types. For this reason I find Mandibuzz is quite good at repairing holes in teambuilding and checks a bunch of strong metagame threats that are otherwise tough to take down, albeit not directly some of the time.

Arceus-Fairy -> B

Momentum loss galore. Arceus-Fairy sucks at its job to be honest; it doesn't really check Zygarde, and whilst it's a fairly solid Terrakion check it is easily exploited by the hazards that can support it. The introduction of Darkrai has also moved Arceus-Fairy away from relevance as other, better utility Fairies are on the market that can either revenge kill or outright counter Darkrai. Arceus-Fairy isn't very able to use its support movepool, either: most common Sablenite users will bounce back Stealth Rock and Toxic, whilst Defog Arceus-Fairy helps out with very few Stealth Rock setters. What makes things even worse for Arceus-Fairy is that it's complete bait to Magearna; and whilst Calm Mind sets may be able to bypass it, they also end up losing momentum to far more Pokemon, especially the rising Toxapex. Honestly I would rather use Arceus-Rock than this thing, at least that has a role it can actually do without being a potential momentum loss.
 
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Thoughts on Avalugg -> B/A-? uh, not a good speaker but I'll do my best here.

Blue Diamond (Avalugg) (F) @ Blue Orb
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Avalanche
- Earthquake
- Rapid Spin
- Recover

Blue orb and huge base defense lets iceberg switch in on some of the most common and dangerous physical attackers in the game right now such as altarianite Entei/Zygarde, salamencite Landorus, even Pdon, and scare them away with ice/ground coverage coming off 167 base attack thanks to blue orb.

252+ Atk Groudon-Primal Precipice Blades vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg: 127-151 (32.3 - 38.4%) -- 4.7% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock
252+ Atk Pixilate Entei Extreme Speed vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg: 91-108 (23.1 - 27.4%) -- 60.3% chance to 3HKO after Stealth Rock
+1 252+ Atk Pixilate Zygarde Extreme Speed vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg: 127-150 (32.3 - 38.1%) -- 3.9% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock
252+ Atk Aerilate Landorus-Therian Return vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg: 115-136 (29.2 - 34.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock

8 Atk Avalugg Earthquake vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Groudon: 124-146 (30.7 - 36.2%) -- 47.7% chance to 3HKO
8 Atk Avalugg Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Entei: 218-258 (50.2 - 59.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
8 Atk Avalugg Avalanche vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Zygarde: 302-356 (71.9 - 84.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
8 Atk Avalugg Avalanche vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Landorus-Therian: 612-720 (191.8 - 225.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO obviously

While a weakness to stealth rock and special attackers will hold Avalugg back some, it can switch in on and force out some of the biggest threats in the game right now on top of having hazard control and recovery, so that's why I think Avalugg deserves a spot.
 
Thoughts on Avalugg -> B/A-? uh, not a good speaker but I'll do my best here.

Blue Diamond (Avalugg) (F) @ Blue Orb
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Avalanche
- Earthquake
- Rapid Spin
- Recover

Blue orb and huge base defense lets iceberg switch in on some of the most common and dangerous physical attackers in the game right now such as altarianite Entei/Zygarde, salamencite Landorus, even Pdon, and scare them away with ice/ground coverage coming off 167 base attack thanks to blue orb.

252+ Atk Groudon-Primal Precipice Blades vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg: 127-151 (32.3 - 38.4%) -- 4.7% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock
252+ Atk Pixilate Entei Extreme Speed vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg: 91-108 (23.1 - 27.4%) -- 60.3% chance to 3HKO after Stealth Rock
+1 252+ Atk Pixilate Zygarde Extreme Speed vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg: 127-150 (32.3 - 38.1%) -- 3.9% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock
252+ Atk Aerilate Landorus-Therian Return vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg: 115-136 (29.2 - 34.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock

8 Atk Avalugg Earthquake vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Groudon: 124-146 (30.7 - 36.2%) -- 47.7% chance to 3HKO
8 Atk Avalugg Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Entei: 218-258 (50.2 - 59.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
8 Atk Avalugg Avalanche vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Zygarde: 302-356 (71.9 - 84.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
8 Atk Avalugg Avalanche vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Landorus-Therian: 612-720 (191.8 - 225.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO obviously

While a weakness to stealth rock and special attackers will hold Avalugg back some, it can switch in on and force out some of the biggest threats in the game right now on top of having hazard control and recovery, so that's why I think Avalugg deserves a spot.
Lugg isn't really what I would consider an A- threat. It struggles significantly to check the Pokemon it should without Roar, and can still be exploited by them in a multitude of ways: for example, Primal Groudon breaks through with Swords Dance, but is also able to force Avalugg to decide on keeping Stealth Rock off the field or prioritizing its own health because of its incapability to punish Primal Groudon. Altarianite Zygarde causes significant issues if it decides it just wants to set up to OHKO (or worse yet, has Pain Split), Lucarionite Zygarde is capable of paralyzing Avalugg or outright counterphazing it, Entei is capable of forcing Toxic on Avalugg (although it can't do much else; good job), and Landorus-Therian can either trade or outright beat 1v1 depending on its stone. For this reason I find it heavily outclassed by Arceus-Ground as that is able to more heavily punish its checks without needing the use of phazing.

However, I do see some advantages to Avalugg that could keep it in C. For one, it is arguably the sturdiest Zygarde check in the game with Altarianite, being able to avoid Dragon Tail, have an -ate Rapid Spin, and overall a few things that would mitigate the problems with running Avalanche as your only STAB. Coil may give it issues however, which it will not give any to Buzzwole. However, the compression it provides against many Ground-types, including those Buzzwole can't properly handle, makes it actually somewhat decent. Small niche, but possible for something like that to be ranked if it answers such a threat.
 
I'll admit that A- was overselling it, but at the same time I think you're underselling it. The mons it checks all face 3hkos at best, usually 2hkos, with the exception of coil-pain split Zygarde which does beat Avalugg if it isn't running toxic or roar. But the threats checked by Avalugg have to spend time setting up to break the ice, and whether it's with status/phazing or just 2/3hkoing them with avalanche/earthquake Avalugg doesn't give them that time. I'm hoping it can rise to B rank as while it might only check a handful of mons, they're all top metagame threats and it checks them well.
 
Ok, so I’d like to suggest Tapu Bulu to around C Rank. It is easily the best Zygarde check in the game (provided not glalite), and with the diminishing usage off Buzzwole, its best check, I feel that this set should go up.

120+ Atk Pixilate Tapu Bulu Frustration vs. 40 HP / 0 Def Zygarde: 368-434 (100.2 - 118.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO

+1 252+ Atk Pixilate Zygarde Return vs. 252 HP / 136 Def Tapu Bulu: 241-285 (70 - 82.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock

You can take a +1 Return from it, and KO it back with Frustration. This is assuming we’re using Altarianite.

120+ Atk Pixilate Tapu Bulu Frustration vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Zygarde: 306-362 (72.8 - 86.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

+4 252+ Atk Adaptability Zygarde Thousand Arrows vs. 252 HP / 136 Def Tapu Bulu: 237-279 (68.8 - 81.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock

I was being a bit rediculous there with +4, but point proven. This doesn’t just beat Zygarde, it can also easily beat no Fire move Primal Groudon.

252 Atk Groudon-Primal Precipice Blades vs. 252 HP / 136 Def Tapu Bulu: 87-103 (25.2 - 29.9%) -- 95.6% chance to 4HKO after Stealth Rock and Grassy Terrain recovery

120+ Atk Tapu Bulu Wood Hammer vs. 252 HP / 56+ Def Groudon-Primal in Grassy Terrain: 213-252 (52.7 - 62.3%) -- 99.6% chance to 2HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery

Look, I made the EVs for Zygarde, assuming I could beat this Primal Groudon guaranteed with a 2ko. So unless you have the worst luck in the world, I think you should count it as a guaranteed 2ko. Also, one might complain that the 2 Primal Groudon sets are different. One is defensive, one is offensive. I just put defensive to show how much damage Tapu Bulu can do, and I put offensive to show how much damage it can take.

Those 2 Pokemon are both S Rank, and while no Fire move Primal Groudon is rare, and you should switch out against it (unless chip), I still believe that checking the insane Zygarde should make it worthy of C or C+ rank.
 
Update 29/09/2019

(key: Chazm | Chloe | In The Hills | stresh | Quantum Tesseract)

(A majority vote is needed for each to pass - Abstain votes do not count toward the total)
Magearna: S -> A+: N Y Y Y Y
Darkrai: A -> A+: Y Y Y Y Y
Mew: A+ -> A: N N Y Y N
Blissey: A -> B+: Y Y Y Y Y
Buzzwole: A -> A-: Y N N N N
Victini: A- -> B+: Y Y Y Y Y
Necrozma-Ultra; A- -> B+: Y Y Y Y Y
Metagross: B+ -> A-: Y Y Y Y Y
Mandibuzz: B -> B+: Y Y Y Y N
Zygarde-Complete: B -> B+: A Y Y Y A
Zeraora: B- -> B: Y A A A Y
Noivern: B- -> B: Y Y Y Y N
Archeops: C -> B-: Y Y Y Y A
Manaphy: B -> B+: Y Y Y Y Y
Kyogre-Primal: B -> B+: Y Y Y Y Y
Cobalion: B -> B-: N N Y N Y
Gliscor: B+ -> B: Y Y Y Y Y
S-: exists: Y N N N N
Arceus-Ghost: C -> shadow realm: Y Y Y Y Y
Latias: UR -> C: N A A Y N
Ho-oh: A- -> A: Y N Y A Y
Shaymin-Sky: B+ -> B: Y Y N N Y
 
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Been a while since I've played, but I'd like to nominate Excadrill for B- with Lucarionite.

Excadrill @ Lucarionite
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant/Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide
- Swords Dance

[110/170/78/75/65/110]

The set is fairly straightforward. Eathquake and Iron Head are two incredibly reliable and fairly spammable STAB moves that hits most of the meta for at least neutral damage. Rock Slide is used as a coverage option to deal consistent if not fatal damage to Ho-Oh, Pinsirite Entei, and Zapdos that its STABs simply can't reach. Swords Dance allows you to achieve wallbreaker status and deal even heavier damage and set up on those that think they can come in on one of Excadrill's attacks just to realize that it's now prone to being taken out in one hit. Jolly can net you some more speed to outpace threats, but Adamant, especially combined with Sticky Webs, allows you to deal more damage and grab some kills that you otherwise couldn't.

I know that Excadrill doesn't have the single greatest stats of any Pokemon and I know that there are other Lucarionite users that are more appealing, but there's something that Lucarionite Excadrill has that almost no others do: It can reliably kill if not 2HKO a ton of relevant mons in the tier.

252+ Atk Lucarionite Excadrill Earthquake vs. 248 HP / 8 Def Groudon-Primal: 388-460 (96.2 - 114.1%)
252+ Atk Lucarionite Excadrill Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Sablenite Magearna: 380-448 (104.3 - 123%)
252+ Atk Lucarionte Excadrill Iron Head vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Latiasite Magearna: 170-202 (46.7 - 55.4%) -- 99.6% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock
-1 252+ Atk Lucarionite Excadrill Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Manectite Mew: 168-198 (49.2 - 58%) (pretty sure this runs defensive EVs so this is a maximum)
252+ Atk Lucarionite Excadrill Iron Head vs. 252 HP / 96+ Def Sablenite Mandibuzz: 136-162 (32 - 38.2%) -- 3.9% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock
252+ Atk Lucarionite Excadrill Earthquake vs. 40 HP / 252+ Def Sablenite Blissey: 288-340 (43.5 - 51.4%) -- 99.6% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock
252+ Atk Lucarionite Excadrill Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 64 Def Arceus-Ground: 238-280 (53.6 - 63%)

And before you ask, Lucarionite Earthquake will do more damage than Pinsirite Return on all of its applicable targets.

The only common defensive mons that it can't break are Skarmory, Giratina, maybe Mew, and Buzzwole. Almost everything else has a chance to be 2HKOed without Swords Dance. What makes it different from Terrakion is that while it's slower requiring Sticky Web support, it's far more reliable with its STABs than Terrakion's and is part Steel type, which means -ate users (unless Glalitite) won't be able to revenge kill it with Extremespeed.

252+ Atk Altarianite Zygarde Extreme Speed vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Lucarionite Excadrill: 111-131 (30.7 - 36.2%) -- 88.2% chance to 3HKO after Stealth Rock

Meanwhile...

252+ Atk Lucarionite Excadrill Iron Head vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Altarianite Zygarde: 348-412 (97.4 - 115.4%)


Yeah this has stiff competition, requires a good amount of support to pull off, has stats that are just shy of becoming overly viable, and can't kill everything, but I seriously think this can be seen as an anti-meta threat if the conditions are all met.
 
Been a while since I've played, but I'd like to nominate Excadrill for B- with Lucarionite.

Excadrill @ Lucarionite
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant/Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide
- Swords Dance

[110/170/78/75/65/110]

The set is fairly straightforward. Eathquake and Iron Head are two incredibly reliable and fairly spammable STAB moves that hits most of the meta for at least neutral damage. Rock Slide is used as a coverage option to deal consistent if not fatal damage to Ho-Oh, Pinsirite Entei, and Zapdos that its STABs simply can't reach. Swords Dance allows you to achieve wallbreaker status and deal even heavier damage and set up on those that think they can come in on one of Excadrill's attacks just to realize that it's now prone to being taken out in one hit. Jolly can net you some more speed to outpace threats, but Adamant, especially combined with Sticky Webs, allows you to deal more damage and grab some kills that you otherwise couldn't.

I know that Excadrill doesn't have the single greatest stats of any Pokemon and I know that there are other Lucarionite users that are more appealing, but there's something that Lucarionite Excadrill has that almost no others do: It can reliably kill if not 2HKO a ton of relevant mons in the tier.

252+ Atk Lucarionite Excadrill Earthquake vs. 248 HP / 8 Def Groudon-Primal: 388-460 (96.2 - 114.1%)
252+ Atk Lucarionite Excadrill Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Sablenite Magearna: 380-448 (104.3 - 123%)
252+ Atk Lucarionte Excadrill Iron Head vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Latiasite Magearna: 170-202 (46.7 - 55.4%) -- 99.6% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock
-1 252+ Atk Lucarionite Excadrill Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Manectite Mew: 168-198 (49.2 - 58%) (pretty sure this runs defensive EVs so this is a maximum)
252+ Atk Lucarionite Excadrill Iron Head vs. 252 HP / 96+ Def Sablenite Mandibuzz: 136-162 (32 - 38.2%) -- 3.9% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock
252+ Atk Lucarionite Excadrill Earthquake vs. 40 HP / 252+ Def Sablenite Blissey: 288-340 (43.5 - 51.4%) -- 99.6% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock
252+ Atk Lucarionite Excadrill Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 64 Def Arceus-Ground: 238-280 (53.6 - 63%)

And before you ask, Lucarionite Earthquake will do more damage than Pinsirite Return on all of its applicable targets.

The only common defensive mons that it can't break are Skarmory, Giratina, maybe Mew, and Buzzwole. Almost everything else has a chance to be 2HKOed without Swords Dance. What makes it different from Terrakion is that while it's slower requiring Sticky Web support, it's far more reliable with its STABs than Terrakion's and is part Steel type, which means -ate users (unless Glalitite) won't be able to revenge kill it with Extremespeed.

252+ Atk Altarianite Zygarde Extreme Speed vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Lucarionite Excadrill: 111-131 (30.7 - 36.2%) -- 88.2% chance to 3HKO after Stealth Rock

Meanwhile...

252+ Atk Lucarionite Excadrill Iron Head vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Altarianite Zygarde: 348-412 (97.4 - 115.4%)


Yeah this has stiff competition, requires a good amount of support to pull off, has stats that are just shy of becoming overly viable, and can't kill everything, but I seriously think this can be seen as an anti-meta threat if the conditions are all met.
Terrakion is still better, can’t be bothered to explain rn. Mew is virtually at 0 usage with manectite, Giratina is sill good but haven’t seen it used since In The Hills RMT, And Skarmory is only used by Chazm with that lunala, skarmory team. The main reason Pinsirite is used is because of aerilate Rapid Spin (whic is great because no spinblockers, a very useful asset to HO). Rock slide hits.... very low ladder megazard y? Pinsirite also can 2ko Pdon for certain with EQ and they probably won’t Overheat because exca is rare anyway and there’s this poor guy on ladder running altarianite recently. Still, agree with your point that Exca should be higher than C. Maybe even B if brave.
 

Eli

any?
is a Battle Simulator Moderator
ok like nidotheking said, rock slide hits stuff like ho-oh/zapdos which is good for what its STAB is. ho-oh is good so yes hitting it well is too since yikes who wants a burnt Excadrill.

and yes, sure, Pinsirite is probably better on it than Lucarionite and Metagrossite might be too. so you can use pinsirite on something better like kartana or something if you want excadrill still. drill run + iron head boosted by tough claws with +40 speed, being 128 base.

ground + steel coverage that's STAB hits fun things, and really no matter what set you use you run into steel/flying types and that's annoying but not too common.

like I guess it's ok, if it's using Pinsirite or something I'd rather use Salamencite Lando-t. Faster, stronger, gets Explosion AND Swords Dance.
Excadrill's moves are pretty predictable no matter the set. All sets are gonna have Ground STAB/Rock Slide/Swords Dance with 4th move being Iron Head/Return depending on the stone.
Something like Lando-T can run rocks/eq/return/sd/explosion/defog all while just using Salamencite/Altarianite, both being -ate stones

I use Excadrill sometimes and it's ok I guess. It sure can be scary sometimes but it just doesn't like all the other ground types just pretty much being better. I think B- for it at best, tooo outclassed really
 

OM

It's a starstruck world
is a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
ok like nidotheking said, rock slide hits stuff like ho-oh/zapdos which is good for what its STAB is. ho-oh is good so yes hitting it well is too since yikes who wants a burnt Excadrill.

and yes, sure, Pinsirite is probably better on it than Lucarionite and Metagrossite might be too. so you can use pinsirite on something better like kartana or something if you want excadrill still. drill run + iron head boosted by tough claws with +40 speed, being 128 base.

ground + steel coverage that's STAB hits fun things, and really no matter what set you use you run into steel/flying types and that's annoying but not too common.

like I guess it's ok, if it's using Pinsirite or something I'd rather use Salamencite Lando-t. Faster, stronger, gets Explosion AND Swords Dance.
Excadrill's moves are pretty predictable no matter the set. All sets are gonna have Ground STAB/Rock Slide/Swords Dance with 4th move being Iron Head/Return depending on the stone.
Something like Lando-T can run rocks/eq/return/sd/explosion/defog all while just using Salamencite/Altarianite, both being -ate stones

I use Excadrill sometimes and it's ok I guess. It sure can be scary sometimes but it just doesn't like all the other ground types just pretty much being better. I think B- for it at best, tooo outclassed really
metagrossite kartana > pinsirite kartana

Exca could be good at B- because it does fill in a few niches (mold breaker rocks pre-mega, rapid spin, etc) Offensively, pinsirite / altarianite are outclassed by Landorus-Therian, but Lucarionite is nice as well.

The main draw of it is that it's got moldy rocks / toxic / eq + unblockable rapidspin post mega, making it a good fit for webs teams or as a dedicated hazard remover. I don't think it should go any higher because well, it's kinda weak in comparison to other mons
 
Exca is certainly a nice Pokemon right now that I've been enjoying. However, excadrill's niche isnt found in SD sets but rather in it's ability to spin hazards away while setting rocks of its own.

Another unmentioned stone I've been enjoying is latiasite. Yes, you can be spin blocked, but a levitating excadrill can be a great counterlead to landorus and even for SD rocks pdon and with toxic, manec mew can't keep rocks off the field. (No, manec mew is not at 0 usage rn... It is still fairly common even though it isn't the best. Skarm is also just not a one chazm team Mon it is far more widely used than that but I digress.)

I think excadrill is a fairly unexplored Mon. It's definitely limited in the roles it can provide for a team but I think there's def some room for further development and it's good enough at what it does to be used a bit more on more offensively oriented teams that want a spinner and a rock setter in one. I'm not completely convinced it deserves b- but maybe more widespread usage could help with understanding where it falls in the current meta.
 
VR Changes: 19 / 11 / 2018

Mew A+ to A
Kartana A to A+
Toxapex A to A-
Kyogre-Primal B+ to A-
Gliscor B to B-
Shaymin-S B to B-
Xerneas B to B-
Giratina-A B- to C
Arceus-Dragon B- to UR
Salamence B- to UR
Kyogre B- to UR
Tapu Koko B- to UR
Volcarona B- to C
Jirachi C to UR
Arceus-Flying C to UR
Arceus-Water UR to B-
Milotic UR to C
Moltres UR to C
Latias UR to C
Tyranitar UR to B-
Lucario UR to C
Mewtwo UR to C
Garchomp UR to C

Mew A+ to A 5A
Kartana A to A+ 5A+
Toxapex A to A- 4A- 1A
Kyogre-Primal B+ to A- 4A- 1B+
Gliscor B to B- 5B-
Shaymin-S B to B- 4B- 1Abs
Xerneas B to B- 3B- 2B
Giratina-A B- to C 4C 1Abs
Arceus-Dragon B- to C 1C 4UR
Salamence B- to C/UR 2C 3UR
Kyogre B- to UR 5UR
Tapu Koko B- to C/UR 3UR 2C
Volcarona B- to C/UR 1B- 3C 1UR
Necrozma-Ultra B+ to B 2B+ 2B 1Abs
Jirachi C to UR 5UR
Arceus-Flying C to UR 5UR
Arceus-Water UR to C/B- 3B- 2UR
Milotic UR to C 4C 1UR
Moltres UR to C 3C 1UR 1Abs
Latias UR to C 3C 1UR 1Abs
Tyranitar UR to B-/C 3B- 2C
Lucario UR to C 4C 1Abs
Mimikyu UR to C 1C 1Abs 3N
Mewtwo UR to C 4C 1Abs
Arceus-Grass UR to C 3Abs 2N
Garchomp UR to C 4C 1Abs


Discussion Points:

Lunala: A -> A+
Ultra Necrozma: B+ -> B
Slowbro: UR -> C
 
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Fardin

Tournament Banned
Where the fuck is togekiss and ekiller at. Also how u gonna unrank Koko but keep skata and kangas... ::::/%+==-+@)#&$
 
I'll start discussion off with a few noms:

Rises:

Shuckle: B+ -> A-

It might seem odd that I would nominate a hazard setter to ascend to A-, but when you consider the heavy impact that Sticky Web has on the current metagame, it is quite evident on how powerful it is. Shuckle has seen major innovation with its support - for example, more and more builds utilizing Explosion leads and cleaners such as Landorus-Therian and Pinsirite Magearna highly benefit from this increase in effective speed, as well as older mons benefitting from an increased potency such as Kartana and new variants of Terrakion. Webs also enhances the majority of viable Ubers in the tier to extreme levels; Lunala, a Pokemon otherwise plagued by the existence of Darkrai and other various coverage now does not have to worry about being forced to predict. These changes in Webs builds and how they can overcome counterteams like Zeraora and Noivern is just a testament to how effective they are in the current metagame.

Zeraora: B -> B+

Zeraora might be an overrated Pokemon in the Mix and Mega community, but its Pinsirite set is no joke. Being one of the few speed control Pokemon capable of actually switching in, Zeraora can check capable breakers such as Salamencite Landorus-T, Pinsirite Magearna, and dispatch other rampant threats such as Primal Groudon / Kyogre and Kartana from sweeping. This role compression as well as a general effectiveness against Webs teams makes Zeraora a prime fit for balance teams that need to preserve checks and fight back against offensive teams at once, and I believe it is this set of attributes which warrants Zeraora the rise.

Slowbro: UR -> C

Slowbro on the other hand, is quite an interesting role compressor that can pivot into most Stealth Rock setters, such as Primal Groudon and Landorus-Therian and cripple them with a Toxic or Scald respectively and even KO with Ice Beam depending on the variant. Slowbro is also capable of checking various rampant Pokemon such as Zygarde and Terrakion (albeit not reliably), and more uncommon Pokemon like Ho-oh and Entei that would require specific prep otherwise. As well as this, it is capable of stopping Stealth Rock from being set from other lesser used setters such as Arceus-Fairy and Mew. Unfortunately, it does suffer from being pacified by certain threats like Darkrai and Magearna; as well as being softchecked by brutal sweepers (i.e: Kartana), so adequate support from the likes of Buzzwole and Ho-oh can help with this issue.


Drops:

Darkrai: A+ -> A

As it stands now, Darkrai is one of the unfortunate sufferers of the current state of the metagame. Magearna still stands extremely high and consistent in its place; Altarianite Zygarde is on the rise again, and faster breakers such as Kartana and Terrakion are rising to prominence. Not only does this make it difficult for Darkrai to pull off a sweep but it also makes it extremely difficult for Darkrai to break offensive teams due to the abundance of these checks. Diancite does avoid this; however, Diancite still suffers from major issues involving damage output meaning it can still find difficulties trying to set up. Red Orb also suffers from finding its third coverage move, and also suffers from being unable to find apt setup opportunities due to the likes of Primal Groudon and Sablenite Magearna softchecking it due to Incinerate's pitiful base Power.

Offensive capabilities aside, due to the decrease in usage of defog Mew, Darkrai finds it harder to find proper setup opportunities than ever, making it difficult to break through common checks such as Magearna and the rising Buzzwole, which has adapted many sets to deal with the new metagame breakers in Kartana and Terrakion, all of which heavily antagonize Darkrai. Not only that, but even the things it checks have started to run against it - for example, Lunala now runs Moonblast to consistently hit Mandibuzz and Darkrai, which severely limits its capability to offensively check it. At this point, Darkrai is not consistent enough to be with the rest of A+, and I think it would fit better in A.

Mew: A -> A-

Make no mistake - I love Mew, and I think its sets are still solid in the current metagame. However, I'm finding I'm simply using it less and less due to a horrific weakness to a new age of setup, such as the likes of Primal Kyogre, Lunala and Latiasite Magearna. Mew has extreme issues keeping these at bay without a free moveslot, as they are able to switch into it countless times and dent unprepared teams heavily due to their relatively uncommon checks. If Defog is dropped, then the likes of Altarianite Landorus-Therian will simply be able to set Stealth Rock on it; severely degrading its potential performance and disallowing it to check several variants of Zygarde, ranging from Lucarionite Outrage to Complete Dragon Tail. Being an improper Terrakion answer hurts too - the introduction of Pinsirite Terrakion effectively means that Manectite Mew is complete setup fodder for well predicted sets - and a +3 Terrakion is usually game under most prep.

Necrozma-Ultra: B+ -> B

Ultra Necrozma suffers severely from an -atespeed weakness that is crippling for a Pokemon that is intended to break harder than its supposed form. Unfortunately, because of this issue, the lure that Ultra Necrozma can procure is no less effective than that of DM's capabilities due to its less than ideal speed tier, as well as major setbacks against Darkrai, Lunala, and Entei, and in some cases it is irritated heavily defensively from the likes of Latiasite Magearna and Mandibuzz, to the point where attempting to use it in such a metagame would require significant support (such as Psychic Terrain) for it to pay off compared to other, more versatile sweepers such as Kartana and Lunala.
 
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Wow... first post on Smogon Forums. All right!

Okay, now getting to the point. The viability rankings are missing a lot of valuable threats. I'll nominate some here.

Nominations (Still under progress)

Gastrodon (Sablenite): UR --> B- at the least

Gastrodon is a magical set in the metagame, and recently has become more and more abused. With a great typing with only 1 weakness, it boasts of being the best defensive pokes in the game, while still having some utility / offensive pottential ("cough Blissey").

It also has considerable niche over Arceus-Water as it has, in my opinion, slightly better utility. It's access to scald over judgement allows it to check a variety of foes otherwise that would not be able to be countered by Arceus-Water, through threat of burns, allowing greater pressure in a stall team, such as Blue Orb Golisopod and Kartana. Even though these 2 pokes can beat Arceus-Water on a 1v1, Gastrodon's access means that these 2 pokes must proceed with caution or else risk burns effectively nullifying their offensive presence. Although Arceus-Water can run Will-o-wisp, it often involves wasting one of the vital movesets, and it loses either its ability set up rocks or wear down pokes with toxic, or set up sweep with Calm mind. With will-o-wisp, however, it removes its chance to be able to wear down special attackers through toxic.

Another niche Gastrodon has over Arceus-Water is the ability to beat Red-Orb bar the occasionally Solar Beam user. Gastrodon is able to switch into every Red-Orb user bar +2 Pdon while having the effective STAB to deal with them in earth power. On the other hand, Arceus-Water faces considerable pressure from these pokes as it cannot hit them with its STAB Judgement.

1 "issue" with Gastrodon normally is that it wastes the Sablenite stone. I don't see this has very much an issue as not many other Sablenite pokes are able to give us much pressure as gastrodon and still be able to pressure and stop the opponent from setting up effectively. Blissey Sablenite allows a free switch in to physical attacks, something which is definitely not faced with Gastrodon with its ability to burn physical attackers.




COMING SOON

[/SPOILER]
 
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Wow... first post on Smogon Forums. All right!

Okay, now getting to the point. The viability rankings are missing a lot of valuable threats. I'll nominate some here.

Nominations (Still under progress)

Gastrodon (Sablenite): UR --> B- at the least

Gastrodon is a magical set in the metagame, and recently has become more and more abused. With a great typing with only 1 weakness, it boasts of being the best defensive pokes in the game, while still having some utility / offensive pottential ("cough Blissey").

Vs Pdon
0 SpA Gastrodon Earth Power vs. 152 HP / 44 SpD Groudon: 222-264 (58.5 - 69.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO [Wow]
252+ Atk Groudon Precipice Blades vs. 252 HP / 244+ Def Gastrodon: 178-210 (41.7 - 49.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO252+ SpA Lunala Malicious

Vs Lunala
Moonsault vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Gastrodon: 294-346 (69 - 81.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Aromatisse (Sablenite): UR --> C

Aromatisse is one of the premier Trick Room setters in the game, even above Magearna and so on. I used it on my old trick room team in order to wreck havoc in several teams. With a great moveset with Wish and Aromatherapy, as long as a good defensive typing and great bulk, allows it to not only set up trick room, but check Zygarde.

Vs Zygarde

+2 252+ Atk Pixilate Zygarde Frustration vs. 252 HP / 244+ Def Aromatisse: 291-343 (71.6 - 84.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 SpA Aromatisse Moonblast vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Zygarde: 248-294 (69.4 - 82.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+2 252+ Atk Zygarde Thousand Arrows vs. 252 HP / 244+ Def Aromatisse: 140-165 (34.4 - 40.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO [Lucarionite]

Vs Kartana

252 Atk Tough Claws Kartana Smart Strike vs. 252 HP / 244+ Def Aromatisse: 254-300 (62.5 - 73.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO [OMG]
why is lunala using malicious moonsault?
 

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Wow... first post on Smogon Forums. All right!

Okay, now getting to the point. The viability rankings are missing a lot of valuable threats. I'll nominate some here.

Nominations (Still under progress)

Gastrodon (Sablenite): UR --> B- at the least

Gastrodon is a magical set in the metagame, and recently has become more and more abused. With a great typing with only 1 weakness, it boasts of being the best defensive pokes in the game, while still having some utility / offensive pottential ("cough Blissey").

Vs Pdon
0 SpA Gastrodon Earth Power vs. 152 HP / 44 SpD Groudon: 222-264 (58.5 - 69.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO [Wow]
252+ Atk Groudon Precipice Blades vs. 252 HP / 244+ Def Gastrodon: 178-210 (41.7 - 49.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO252+ SpA Lunala Malicious

Vs Lunala
Moonsault vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Gastrodon: 294-346 (69 - 81.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Aromatisse (Sablenite): UR --> C

Aromatisse is one of the premier Trick Room setters in the game, even above Magearna and so on. I used it on my old trick room team in order to wreck havoc in several teams. With a great moveset with Wish and Aromatherapy, as long as a good defensive typing and great bulk, allows it to not only set up trick room, but check Zygarde.

Vs Zygarde

+2 252+ Atk Pixilate Zygarde Frustration vs. 252 HP / 244+ Def Aromatisse: 291-343 (71.6 - 84.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 SpA Aromatisse Moonblast vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Zygarde: 248-294 (69.4 - 82.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+2 252+ Atk Zygarde Thousand Arrows vs. 252 HP / 244+ Def Aromatisse: 140-165 (34.4 - 40.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO [Lucarionite]

Vs Kartana

252 Atk Tough Claws Kartana Smart Strike vs. 252 HP / 244+ Def Aromatisse: 254-300 (62.5 - 73.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO [OMG]
Hi welcome to Smogon! These are some interesting nominations here, but they fail to fully explain what niche these Pokemon have over already ranked Pokemon such as Arceus-Ground, which can do everything Gastrodon can even better while still allowing for your Sablenite stone to be used elsewhere. As for Aromatisse, Trick Room in itself isn't a very viable strategy, and even then there are stronger TR setters such as Cresselia, Reuniclus or Stakataka.

When nominating Pokemon to be ranked, it's important to consider what niche they have over other ranked Pokemon, and show how this niche can be applied with replays and such. Thank you for your interest in the tier and thanks for posting :)
 
Hi welcome to Smogon! These are some interesting nominations here, but they fail to fully explain what niche these Pokemon have over already ranked Pokemon such as Arceus-Ground, which can do everything Gastrodon can even better while still allowing for your Sablenite stone to be used elsewhere. As for Aromatisse, Trick Room in itself isn't a very viable strategy, and even then there are stronger TR setters such as Cresselia, Reuniclus or Stakataka.

When nominating Pokemon to be ranked, it's important to consider what niche they have over other ranked Pokemon, and show how this niche can be applied with replays and such. Thank you for your interest in the tier and thanks for posting :)
Ok, thx! I'll edit my nom's now. First time posting, so still learning ;)

why is lunala using malicious moonsault?
xD I just used malicious moonsault then changed the stats to Ghost type Special 200 BP move
 
So, in the role compendium, under set up, Blissey is mentioned for calm mind. Is it any good compared to its other sets? What attack would you use? A normal move seems appealing for stab, but it misses out on ghost types.
 
So, in the role compendium, under set up, Blissey is mentioned for calm mind. Is it any good compared to its other sets? What attack would you use? A normal move seems appealing for stab, but it misses out on ghost types.
The role compendium is highly outdated. CM Blissey is actually really bad and doesn't do anything compared to far more competent defensive CM users such as Latiasite Magearna.
 

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