Resource Monotype USM Viability Rankings

Lilymoding

formerly Kyosuru Jets
Electric | Zeraora
Unranked ---> A

So, Zeraora's been a movie star recently and seeing as nobody has made a post yet, I figured I might as well.

Firstly, why so high? Well, it's helpful to look at one of Electric's notable weak matchups: Normal.

Zeraora has access to a strong and consistent fighting move in the form of Close Combat. This allows Electric to actually apply pressure against normal teams, 2hkoing defensive Chansey after rocks even w/o band. Along with Plasma Fists checking a Staraptor switch, Zeraora is a formidable threat vs Normal.

Moving on to the mon as a whole, take a look at this feisty boy's stats.

143 base speed puts a +speed Zeraora at 423. To put that in perspective, that's equivalent to a 79 base max speed choice scarf. It easily outspeeds most threats in the meta. On top of this staggering speed, it has a decent attack stat at 112. With a SpAtk stat of 102, it's able to pull off a good mixed set with HP Ice to help check one of Electric's worst matchups: Dragon.

As far as it goes in comparison to the rest of Electric's options, it takes a role not occupied by much. The closest to Zeraora would have to be Thundurus, but with a lack of consistent fighting stab, lack of physical diversity, and a lower speed tier, Zeraora manages to outclass it in its role. The only other competitor would have to be Electivire, and.. well...

Overall, Zeraora manages to fill a crucial role in electric, that helps make the type's matchups better. If so, then why not S?

Well, Zeraora's attack stat might be good for what it needs to do, but as a whole, 112 isn't a lot. It remains rather weak, and while this can be alleviated with Choice Band, that works to remove some of Zeraora's utility. It also manages to have a fairly lackluster movepool, lacking important tools for many of Elec's dire matchups, having to rely on a meager HP Ice vs Dragon. Honestly, if Zeraora was part fighting, or had access to Ice Punch, I would argue for S, but without it, the mon is simply lackluster in the meta as a whole.

That is why Zeraora should be A. This movie star was cast perfectly for its role, but there are better actors in the world.
 

Havens

WGI World Champion
is a Tiering Contributoris a Contributor to Smogonis a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Social Media Contributor Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnus
Electric | Zeraora
Unranked ---> A

So, Zeraora's been a movie star recently and seeing as nobody has made a post yet, I figured I might as well.

Firstly, why so high? Well, it's helpful to look at one of Electric's notable weak matchups: Normal.

Zeraora has access to a strong and consistent fighting move in the form of Close Combat. This allows Electric to actually apply pressure against normal teams, 2hkoing defensive Chansey after rocks even w/o band. Along with Plasma Fists checking a Staraptor switch, Zeraora is a formidable threat vs Normal.

Moving on to the mon as a whole, take a look at this feisty boy's stats.

143 base speed puts a +speed Zeraora at 423. To put that in perspective, that's equivalent to a 79 base max speed choice scarf. It easily outspeeds most threats in the meta. On top of this staggering speed, it has a decent attack stat at 112. With a SpAtk stat of 102, it's able to pull off a good mixed set with HP Ice to help check one of Electric's worst matchups: Dragon.

As far as it goes in comparison to the rest of Electric's options, it takes a role not occupied by much. The closest to Zeraora would have to be Thundurus, but with a lack of consistent fighting stab, lack of physical diversity, and a lower speed tier, Zeraora manages to outclass it in its role. The only other competitor would have to be Electivire, and.. well...

Overall, Zeraora manages to fill a crucial role in electric, that helps make the type's matchups better. If so, then why not S?

Well, Zeraora's attack stat might be good for what it needs to do, but as a whole, 112 isn't a lot. It remains rather weak, and while this can be alleviated with Choice Band, that works to remove some of Zeraora's utility. It also manages to have a fairly lackluster movepool, lacking important tools for many of Elec's dire matchups, having to rely on a meager HP Ice vs Dragon. Honestly, if Zeraora was part fighting, or had access to Ice Punch, I would argue for S, but without it, the mon is simply lackluster in the meta as a whole.

That is why Zeraora should be A. This movie star was cast perfectly for its role, but there are better actors in the world.
Just because something fills a "crucial" role on teams, does not always warrant a mon being S rank. Some examples of this would be Garchomp as A rank on Dragon for Stealth Rocks, Avalugg on Ice for being a spinner w/ recovery, Dugtrio on Ground for being a Bulu trapper (or any other grounded trapper), and etc. Roles such as this, while very critical for the success of their respective teams, are really just very powerful niches with potent uses. They don't define the metagame in the way that their S-rank bretheren do to the point where we have to extensively prepare for them as a standalone threat.

That being said, I think it is way too early to consider ranking Zeraora when there hardly is any evidence at all to determine the limit of its versatility, as well as absolutely zero results in a competitive setting (ssnls, MPL, etc.) If it were something like Marshadow, with a justification for undeniable power and teambuilding restriction, then a conversation could easily be made for S rank. Thankfully however, it is not that, and we can sit down and analyze what Zeraora is capable of first before reaching a preliminary decision. If one were made right now, I'd place it at B rank, as it's a solid midground for something that has room to grow in potential, given the unique options it provides for Electric teams as a physical attacker.
 

Lilymoding

formerly Kyosuru Jets
Just because something fills a "crucial" role on teams, does not always warrant a mon being S rank. Some examples of this would be Garchomp as A rank on Dragon for Stealth Rocks, Avalugg on Ice for being a spinner w/ recovery, Dugtrio on Ground for being a Bulu trapper (or any other grounded trapper), and etc. Roles such as this, while very critical for the success of their respective teams, are really just very powerful niches with potent uses. They don't define the metagame in the way that their S-rank bretheren do to the point where we have to extensively prepare for them as a standalone threat.
Yes, this is why I put it at A, for reasons that I described at the end of my post.


That being said, I think it is way too early to consider ranking Zeraora when there hardly is any evidence at all to determine the limit of its versatility, as well as absolutely zero results in a competitive setting (ssnls, MPL, etc.) If it were something like Marshadow, with a justification for undeniable power and teambuilding restriction, then a conversation could easily be made for S rank. Thankfully however, it is not that, and we can sit down and analyze what Zeraora is capable of first before reaching a preliminary decision. If one were made right now, I'd place it at B rank, as it's a solid midground for something that has room to grow in potential, given the unique options it provides for Electric teams as a physical attacker.
The beginning of this makes a lot of sense, and you're absolutely correct in the fact that there aren't many results to look at given how young it is. That being said, I take issue with the idea of placing it at B rank for the sake of future experimentation. If it is given a rank, that's analyzing what we know right now and how it scales up in its type and in the meta. Yes, it has room to grow or fall from expectation, but that is more of a reason to keep in unranked instead of putting it at B. Looking at it simply on paper compared to those who work to fill it's role, they are all similar enough to where one doesn't provide unique utility over another. Thundurus' only unique asset would be prankster TWave / Taunt. Electivire just utterly fails to compete, and Zeraora outclasses Thundurus in speed and rivals it in terms of offensive pressure, causing it to serve as an alternative to Thundurus, if not simply outclassing it (not to mention Thundurus has to rely on superpower, hampening its cleaning ability).

Zeraora is more than a solid midground. It is the co-champion, if not champion, of its role in electric, and works to aid some of electrics worst matchups.
Is it fantastic in the metagame? By no means.
Does it need time to develop more so we can see where it fits in the meta? Yeah, sure.

That being said, judging it on paper and through ladder practice, I would say Zeraora deserves an A rank.
 

maroon

free palestine
is a Site Content Manageris a Top Team Rateris a Member of Senior Staffis a Community Contributoris a Top Tiering Contributoris a Top Contributoris a Top Smogon Media Contributoris a Dedicated Tournament Hostis a Top Tutor Alumnusis a Top Social Media Contributor Alumnus
RMT & Mono Leader
Tornadus-Therian: C to A/B (Flying)

Ok so with all these balanced flyings w/ Mega Aerodactyl and or Scarf Lando-T running around there is one pokemon that has gained alot more usage and a very solid pick on these fatter flying builds and that is Tornadus-therian. It can help check Mega Venusaur which can give lots of trouble to these fatter flying builds with Mega Aerodactyl due to them not really having anyway to properly attack it. Tornadus-Therian solves that once again and plays a part in crippling Normal with Knock Off, being able to subdue the eviolite cores eviolite and diggersby choice band, all of which cause headaches for flying. These are a part of the reasons i feel Tornadus-therian should be A rank on flying teams.

Aerodactyl: B to C (Flying)

Aerodactyl is only used as a Anti-lead on HO Flying teams which has not been seeing much usage lately and quite frankly HO teams that are weak to Stealth Rock are just sad. Anyway Aerodactyl is really only used there and does not come close to providing the utility that Thundurus-Therian does as an Electric-immunity. Anyway I believe for HO Flying not being good or popular at the moment that Aerodactyl does not deserve B rank

Added Decidueye to this post so I would not double post.
Decidueye: D to C (Grass)

Grass is a very interesting type in the current metagame, while not being very good against alot of types it does hold its niche in very comfortably being able to beat a few top tier types being Water, Fairy, and Normal. However it has always struggled vs Psychic, due to Victini and the Lati twins, but Decidueye remedies this problem. With access to Swords Dance with Spirit Shackle and Sucker Punch it can become a very dangerous threat to Psychic teams. Being able to knock out Latios with +2 Sucker Punch and always Victini after Stealth Rock chip. It can also nuke slower support pokemon on Psychic-type teams such as Slowbro, Mew, and Jirachi with Sinister Arrow Raid its Z-move. Solely for the reason on Psychic being such a dominant type that grass is weak to I believe it should be at least C rank, since it is not as easy to fit on a grass team as other B ranks such as Celebi.
 
Last edited:
Rotom-Wash: A to B (Water)

Rotom-Wash is by no means a bad pokemon on Water teams, being a very solid defensive pivot that offers alot of useful role compression. However compared to other pokemon on the viability rankings, it feels more in place ranked at B due to it having a greater opportunity cost compared to the other defensive threats listed at A. Swampert/Mega Swampert, Mantine, and even Azumarill are type-defining defensive threats and Rotom-Wash doesn't really feel like it as nearly as easy to slap onto a balanced water team and have no issues compared to them. It feels more comparable to some of the defensive threats within the B ranking, such as Empoleon, Gastrodon, and Mega Slowbro. These pokemon all provide great benefits for a Water team and have useful niches, but require more careful usage and teambuilding compared to the A ranks to be effective.

The point I'm trying to say is Rotom-Wash is not nearly as splashable or easy to build with as the other A ranks on Water, and should drop down to the B ranks.
 

Vid

Our life is what our thoughts make it
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnus
Long awaited update is here. We'll try to do an update every 2 weeks to keep the VR up to date and avoid big revamps.
Bug
Mega Pinsir S->A
Scolipede B->C
Shuckle B->C
Ribombee C->D
Fairy
Mimikyu B->A
Fighting
Infernape A->B
Lucario B->C
Toxicroak C->D
Conkeldurr D->Unranked
Flying
Skarmory S->A
Dragonite A->B
Mega Charizard Y A->B
Aerodactyl B->C
Tornadus-Therian C->B
Hawlucha C->D
Mandibuzz C->D
Thundurus C->D
Gyarados D->Unranked
Ghost
Doublade C->Unranked
Dhelmise C->D
Water
Azumarill A->B
Kingdra B->C
Manaphy B->C
Pelipper B->C
Araquanid C->D
Milotic C->D
Primarina C->D
Quagsire C->D
Tapu Fini C->D
Crawdaunt D->Unranked
Politoed D->Unranked
Slowbro D->Unranked
Tentacruel D->Unranked
Jellicent Unranked->C
Steel
Skarmory S->A
Celesteela A->S
Stakataka B->C
Cobalion C->D
Doublade D->Unranked
Durant D->Unranked
Psychic
Deoxys-Speed A->B
Meloetta B->C
Gardevoir C->Unranked
Metagross C->B
Poison
Gengar A->B
Skuntank C->D
Amoonguss D->Unranked
Mega Beedrill D->Unranked
Salazzle Unranked->C
Normal
Snorlax C->B
Rock
Stakataka C>D
Dragon
Latios A->S
Electric
Zeraora Unranked->A
Xurkitree B->C
Grass
Decidueye D->C
Ground
Gastrodon B->A
Dark
Bisharp A->B
Mega Tyranitar A->B
Mega Sharpedo B->C
Crawdaunt C->D
Mega Houndoom D->Unranked
Umbreon D->Unranked
 
Ok so some of the VR changes like the Skarmory drop on Steel and the Decidueye rise on Grass were not implemented. Also there were some changes on Fire which weren’t even listed:

Blacephalon: A -> B
Charizard-Mega Y: A -> B

The Charizard drop is totally fair, but why did Blacephalon drop? I understand that the type was top-heavy in the A ranks but Blacephalon was one of if not the best Choice Scarf user the type has and Specs sets aren’t shabby either. I feel like Rotom-Heat or Infernape would be better in B instead of Blacephalon because it is pretty easy to build with, consistently pulls it’s weight, and should basically be on every Fire team lacking Volcarona.
 

Namranan

:)))))))))))
Ok I have some noms for a few things on this VR, mainly two mons on fighting...:

Lucario: C -> B (Fighting)
This nomination may seem a little jarring at first but allow me to explain:


Lucario has a solid niche on fighting as a way of dealing with Fairy-types like Mega-Diancie and Tapu Bulu with Bullet Punch and Meteor Mash respectively.

vs Diancie 252+ Atk Life Orb Lucario Bullet Punch vs. 16 HP / 0 Def Diancie-Mega: 302-364 (123.2 - 148.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
vs Tapu Bulu 252+ Atk Life Orb Lucario Meteor Mash vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Tapu Bulu: 330-393 (117.4 - 139.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Life Orb Lucario Bullet Punch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Tapu Bulu: 151-179 (53.7 - 63.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery
+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Lucario Bullet Punch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Tapu Bulu: 296-351 (105.3 - 124.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO


It can also defeat frail Pokemon like Greninja with Extreme Speed after a Swords Dance, making it a nice lategame cleaner.

vs Greninja +2 252+ Atk Life Orb Lucario Extreme Speed vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Greninja: 307-361 (107.7 - 126.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
vs Dragonite +2 252+ Atk Life Orb Lucario Close Combat vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Dragonite: 259-305 (80.1 - 94.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
vs Raichu-Alola +2 252+ Atk Life Orb Lucario Extreme Speed vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Raichu-Alola: 382-451 (146.3 - 172.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Along with this, Lucario can also wallbreak Pokemon like Celesteela and Mega-Venusaur with its STAB moves after a Swords Dance and chip damage.

vs Mega Venusaur +2 252+ Atk Life Orb Lucario Meteor Mash vs. 248 HP / 244+ Def Venusaur: 305-360 (84 - 99.1%) -- 75% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
vs Celesteela +2 252+ Atk Life Orb Lucario Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Celesteela: 351-413 (88.1 - 103.7%) -- 25% chance to OHKO after Leftovers recovery

So based on this, and the fact that speed tiers are more important than ever before in this meta due to frail but fast Pokemon like Zeraora and Greninja being really common, I believe that Lucario should rise to B rank.

I am aware that Breloom is better than lucario at cleanup against certain types in general as it can KO Mega-sharpedo and Greninja more consistantly, however mach punch is not as fast as Extreme Speed, which means it misses out on beating Azumarills and Dragonites hence why Lucario still has a slight niche over Mach Punch in that respect.

Compared to the other B ranks, Lucario fits right in.

Hawlucha, Buzzwole and Infernape all assist with at least one difficult MU and have other qualities that are useful to fighting, whether it be Buzzwole's physical bulk or Hawlucha's ability to Defog hazards. Lucario's role in assisting a difficult MU along with its wallbreaking and lategame potential I feel is more than enough to justify a B rank along with these pokemon.


Other noms:

Chesnaught: D -> Unranked (Fighting)

I don't really see a point in keeping this thing in the VR for fighting. Breloom outclasses it as a Grass-fighting type and Buzzwole is a better bulky revenge killer. Spikes support is also pointless as Fighting already struggles to keep just rocks up. Lastly, it distracts from the main playstyle of fighting, Offense, due to it not having enough of an offensive presence.
 
Last edited:

maroon

free palestine
is a Site Content Manageris a Top Team Rateris a Member of Senior Staffis a Community Contributoris a Top Tiering Contributoris a Top Contributoris a Top Smogon Media Contributoris a Dedicated Tournament Hostis a Top Tutor Alumnusis a Top Social Media Contributor Alumnus
RMT & Mono Leader
Salazzle (Poison) - C to B

Salazzle @ Leftovers
Ability: Corrosion
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Flamethrower
- Toxic
- Substitute
- Protect

Salazzle is a fantastic addition to Poison-type teams allowing it take on Steel-, Water-, and Poison-type matchups with more ease. Due to Corrosion being able to poison Pokemon regardless of typing it can break down a plethora of bulky Pokemon including but not limited to Mega Venusaur, Toxapex, Celesteela, and Empoleon. This allows these otherwise stand still matchups that usually end when one side makes an aggressive play and or chokes into a much shorter matchup. It can also take on Pokemon that can be hard for poison to take on such as Choice Scarf Excadrill behind a Substitute, which is easy to get up against Steel-type teams. However Salazzle has tons of matchup issues such as against offense it carries almost no weight for the team and is often times the first pokemon to sack. Salazzle has seen tournament usage since MWP last year and has managed to stay relevant since then again seeing usage in MPL. Overall for these reasons above I believe Salazzle is very much deserving of the B rank on Poison-type teams.
Here is an example of Salazzle taking advantage of a balanced team: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7monotype-789364896

Celesteela (Flying)- A to S

Celesteela @ Leftovers
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 248 HP / 104 Def / 156 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Leech Seed
- Protect
- Heavy Slam
- Flamethrower / Toxic

Basically without the need to use Skarmory as the Defogger on Flying-type teams due to the of Flying teams composition Pokemon such as Mantine and Gliscor as Defoggers there is less reason to not use Celesteela. Celesteela sees a ton more usage on ladder and tours. Being a fantastic wall that can provide Leech Seed support and scout attacks such as Victini's V-Create, its role compression makes it an important assest to the type. With the added option of being able to choose whether it wants to fully cripple other Pokemon with Toxic, which chips pokemon very fast in tandem with Leech Seed or use Flamethrower to allow it to hit Pokemon such as Scizor and Ferrothorn making it overall is a fantastic Pokemon. While also fitting on HO teams, though not as important, such as Wyn's Flying that has been spammed all through MLT just goes to show how flexible this Pokemon is and the wide range of utility it brings to the Flying-type team. In the most recent version of MPL only 1 team out of the countless Flying teams brought in the USM meta opted to choose Skarmory over Celesteela. As seen in MPL4 Flying-type teams are opting to go with Celesteela over Skarmory, which is why i fully believe Celesteela fully deserves the S rank on the Flying-type and definetly at least should not share the same rank as Skarmory, a much less used Pokemon.
 
Last edited:
Mega Scizor (Steel): S->A



S rank means that Pokémon should be mandatory for the type and can not be left out of the team. Ever since the Jirachi Calm Mind Sub set has popped up together with Stakataka, some steel teams have found themselves not using Mega-Scizor. The Jirachi Set allows Steel to effectively deal with both Water and Normal, while Mega-Scizor didn't contribute much to the former and also has trouble against Foul Play Porygon2. Stakataka allows the team to run a Z move and have effective sweeps against teams Jirachi is weaker against.

Again, by all means Mega-Scizor didn't suddenly become bad. It's still mandatory on most teams. However, since Steel can build without Mega-Scizor and be very effective, a drop to A could be reasonable.


Jirachi (Steel): B->A


Jirachi can run two sets to effectiveness on Steel. The first being the Z-Happy Hour set, the second being the Calm Mind Sub set. The latter is really good at dealing with Normal and Water, while the first has a very strong offensive presence overall: it can break teams during the mid game or sweep teams during the late game. Jirachi is one of the better offensive mons steel can use. Since teams don't require to run both Skarmory and Celesteela and it's definitely more viable than Bisharp on steel, I feel like it deserves a raise.

I just want to mention here that, while I don't think Stakataka deserves a raise, I think it could be a good idea to mention it supplements a team with Jirachi really well.


Cradily (Grass): A->S


This mon has been discussed a whole lot in the past comments. There's two main points I have to add. 1. I agree with everything Juleocesar wrote in his comment on Cradily. 2. I disagree with the way Tyke tiered Cradily by comparing it to Venusaur and Ferrothorn.

The problem with comparing Cradily to Mega-Venusaur and Ferrothorn for a rank is that you're actually stating the mon has to compete for his role with (one of) the former two, which isn't the case. As written many times, Cradily complements what M-Venu and Ferro already have, while adding it's own niche and defensive ability to the type. In no way does Cradily function in the same way or has it the same function as M-Venu and Ferro. Furthermore I don't think saying it's only an average check to things like Volcarona is a real argument to put it out of S if it's literally the best check the type has. To give a comparison with the Ice type I love so much. If I was told I had to lose either Mamoswine or Ninetales-Alola on Ice, I'd gladly dump Mamoswine any time. Why? Since Ice can't live without Ninetales-Alola. If we follow Tyke's reasoning, that would mean Mamoswine needs to be A since it's inferior to what Ninetales-Alola serves to the team. I think that's wrong, since Mamoswine has a completely different role to fill. Hence why they're both in S.

I know Tyke gives great examples of Pokémon like Raichu-Alola and Garchomp that are in A even though they are mandatory on every team. My personal view would be that these mons should probably get an S-rank. Raichu is irreplaceable on Electric as far as I know, while Garchomp is the only good Stealth Rocker Dragon has - and I think we all agree hazards makes or breaks teams. However, I'll leave the discussion of Raichu-Alola, Garchomp and others open to those who know more about the types and won't include them in my post.

I would advise everyone who wants to join on this discussion to read the first comment by Juleocesar, the reply from Tyke and finally the reply from Juleocesar. I think Juleocesar gives great arguments and replies as to why this mon should be in S.
 
Last edited:
Mega Scizor (Steel): S->A



S rank means that Pokémon should be mandatory for the type and can not be left out of the team. Ever since the Jirachi Calm Mind Sub set has popped up together with Stakataka, some steel teams have found themselves not using Mega-Scizor. The Jirachi Set allows Steel to effectively deal with both Water and Normal, while Mega-Scizor didn't contribute much to the former and also has trouble against Foul Play Porygon2. Stakataka allows the team to run a Z move and have effective sweeps against teams Jirachi is weaker against.

Again, by all means Mega-Scizor didn't suddenly become bad. It's still mandatory on most teams. However, since Steel can build without Mega-Scizor and be very effective, a drop to A could be reasonable.


Jirachi (Steel): B->A


Jirachi can run two sets to effectiveness on Steel. The first being the Z-Happy Hour set, the second being the Calm Mind Sub set. The latter is really good at dealing with Normal and Water, while the first has a very strong offensive presence overall: it can break teams during the mid game or sweep teams during the late game. Jirachi is one of the better offensive mons steel can use. Since teams don't require to run both Skarmory and Celesteela and it's definitely more viable than Bisharp on steel, I feel like it deserves a raise.

I just want to mention here that, while I don't think Stakataka deserves a raise, I think it could be a good idea to mention it supplements a team with Jirachi really well.


Cradily (Grass): A->S


This mon has been discussed a whole lot in the past comments. There's two main points I have to add. 1. I agree with everything Juleocesar wrote in his comment on Cradily. 2. I disagree with the way Tyke tiered Cradily by comparing it to Venusaur and Ferrothorn.

The problem with comparing Cradily to Mega-Venusaur and Ferrothorn for a rank is that you're actually stating the mon has to compete for his role with (one of) the former two, which isn't the case. As written many times, Cradily complements what M-Venu and Ferro already have, while adding it's own niche and defensive ability to the type. In no way does Cradily function in the same way or has it the same function as M-Venu and Ferro. Furthermore I don't think saying it's only an average check to things like Volcarona is a real argument to put it out of S if it's literally the best check the type has. To give a comparison with the Ice type I love so much. If I was told I had to lose either Mamoswine or Ninetales-Alola on Ice, I'd gladly dump Mamoswine any time. Why? Since Ice can't live without Ninetales-Alola. If we follow Tyke's reasoning, that would mean Mamoswine needs to be A since it's inferior to what Ninetales-Alola serves to the team. I think that's wrong, since Mamoswine has a completely different role to fill. Hence why they're both in S.

I know Tyke gives great examples of Pokémon like Raichu-Alola and Garchomp that are in A even though they are mandatory on every team. My personal view would be that these mons should probably get an S-rank. Raichu is irreplaceable on Electric as far as I know, while Garchomp is the only good Stealth Rocker Dragon has - and I think we all agree hazards makes or breaks teams. However, I'll leave the discussion of Raichu-Alola, Garchomp and others open to those who know more about the types and won't include them in my post.

I would advise everyone who wants to join on this discussion to read the first comment by Juleocesar, the reply from Tyke and finally the reply from Juleocesar. I think Juleocesar gives great arguments and replies as to why this mon should be in S.
Ok I have to disagree with the Scizor nomination in particular (I don’t have much to say on the others they are fine staying or rising). You say since Mega Scizor isn’t used on some specific Steel teams it shouldn’t be S. I don’t really see this as a good reason since alot of S ranks that are perfectly justified like Landorus-Therian on Flying and Mega Sableye on Dark aren’t used on certain builds of those types (Mega Aero Flying/HO Dark). The S rank isnt really for mandatory pokemon but more for pokemon that are type-defining and consistently pull their weight in the majority of matchups, meaning you can’t really go wrong when building a team around them. Mega Scizor is still ran on the vast majority of Steel teams for it’s ability to act as a good pivot and sweeper due to a variety of factors (good stats, Roost, Technichian, etc.). Just because some builds don’t use it doesn’t mean it has to drop from S all of the sudden.
 
Ok I have to disagree with the Scizor nomination in particular (I don’t have much to say on the others they are fine staying or rising). You say since Mega Scizor isn’t used on some specific Steel teams it shouldn’t be S. I don’t really see this as a good reason since alot of S ranks that are perfectly justified like Landorus-Therian on Flying and Mega Sableye on Dark aren’t used on certain builds of those types (Mega Aero Flying/HO Dark). The S rank isnt really for mandatory pokemon but more for pokemon that are type-defining and consistently pull their weight in the majority of matchups, meaning you can’t really go wrong when building a team around them. Mega Scizor is still ran on the vast majority of Steel teams for it’s ability to act as a good pivot and sweeper due to a variety of factors (good stats, Roost, Technichian, etc.). Just because some builds don’t use it doesn’t mean it has to drop from S all of the sudden.
Wasn't Mega-Pinsir dropped from S->A on bug just because of that Spider Webs Soak Araquanid set that allowed you to run Mega-Scizor effectively on bug, because Araquanid could take care of Water and Steel threats? I feel like it's the same sort of reasoning, but I could be wrong.

As a player who has only been playing monotype for two months, I can't seem to find a consistent clear answer to when a pokémon should be in tier "X" and when it should be in "Y" (definition). Even upon reading through all the comments on this thread, there is loads of inconsistencies that still made changes.

I know that Mega-Sableye is S on dark despite not being used on HO Dark. But generally I'd like to think HO Dark is a worse way of playing the type than Balance. So I think this is a different answer to why it should be in S. But again, I don't find it clear.

Thanks for your comment.
 
Last edited:
Mega Aerodactyl (Flying): B ---> A

This should've happened already. Mega Aerodactyl's skyrocketing usage and viability should be represented by an A rank on the VR. Charizard Y dropped to B solely of off the competition this thing provides, but Mega Aero didn't rise because (I'm assuming) the VR council didn't think they should be a letter rank apart. I agree with this notion, and think both should rise to A but I think Charizard would need a longer post solely for it, so I'll put that off for later. The fact of the matter is Mega Aerodactly is undebatably an amazing pick in this metagame, with EdgeQuake coverage coming off of 135 Attack with a blistering 150 Speed tier, as well as Tough Claws Pursuit to remove Victini or chip away at things it scares out. It is also quite a versatile threat, with Roost, Stealth Rock, Taunt, Hone Claws, and coverage like Fire Fang, Ice Fang, Wing Attack, Aqua Tail (idk). If you aren't convinced look at the second half of MPL and look how much people spammed this thing. This thing does a fantastic job of cleaning weakened teams, revenge killing big threats like Tapu Koko and Mega Diancie, and being an all-around reliable offensive presence. Raise it. Anyways I made this part of the post just as a crowd-pleaser cause now it's on to a shitmon.

Mega Beedrill (Bug): Unranked ---> D

Wait! This isn't a meme I promise. This thing actually has some tiny niches on Bug teams that doesn't make it complete garbage.

For reference here is the set I will be referring to, "made" by me (I don't think anyone else has seriously attempted this set).

Beedrill-Mega @ Beedrillite
Ability: Swarm
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Poison Jab
- U-turn
- Drill Run
- Swords Dance

Red touches yellow, kill a fellow.

Swords Dance Mega Beedrill? I'll get to that shortly, and what the set does. I used to be a Mega Beedrill hater myself (the thing is even more garbage on Poison don't even), however a cycle of CLC featured Ribombee+Mega Beedrill as a core, which is a big L to Water and especially Poison teams under normal conditions and without sacrificing other matchups with counter-teamy sets (HP Electric Ribombee anyone?). However I decided to take a more novel approach and use a boosting Beedrill set to punch holes in these teams, especially late game when it's checks were weakened. I was suprised it actually worked kinda well.

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7monotype-782218138
Mega Beedrill obviously gets walled by alot of stuff in Monotype (hello Celesteela), but similarly to defensive Mega Scizor it makes up for this with it's ability to pivot out with U-Turn, grabbing momentum off of obvious switch-ins into it. We see turn 4 and 5 Mega Beedrill forcing out Toxapex but getting hopelessly walled by Crobat, but still being able to grab momentum with U-Turn.

Turn 24, after Crobat is gone, we see Mega Beedrill is able to take a Scald from Toxapex (only does 25%), and then 2HKO it with Drill Run. It then proceeds to soften up the team and pave the way for Volcarona to win.

Obviously not the highest quality replay, but it showcases Mega Beedrill's ability to tank weak special hits (65/80 isnt unusable) provided it can avoid rocks damage, and then break apart balance teams late game, specifically Water and Posion. Here are some calcs of it doing that.

0 SpA Venusaur-Mega Hidden Power Fire vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Beedrill-Mega: 124-146 (45.7 - 53.8%) -- 38.7% chance to 2HKO
+2 252 Atk Adaptability Beedrill-Mega Poison Jab vs. 248 HP / 244+ Def Venusaur-Mega: 244-288 (67.2 - 79.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

+2 252 Atk Beedrill-Mega Drill Run vs. 248 HP / 12 Def Muk-Alola: 484-570 (117.1 - 138%) -- guaranteed OHKO

0 SpA Toxapex Scald vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Beedrill-Mega: 63-75 (23.2 - 27.6%) -- 73.1% chance to 4HKO
+2 252 Atk Beedrill-Mega Drill Run vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Toxapex: 208-246 (68.4 - 80.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Black Sludge recovery

+2 252 Atk Adaptability Beedrill-Mega Poison Jab vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Swampert-Mega: 131-155 (32.4 - 38.3%) -- 97.9% chance to 3HKO
+2 252 Atk Adaptability Beedrill-Mega U-turn vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Swampert-Mega: 230-272 (56.9 - 67.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
(Not great but it softens it up nicely and isn't a reliable switch-in)

0 SpA Mantine Scald vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Beedrill-Mega: 85-102 (31.3 - 37.6%) -- 85.5% chance to 3HKO
+2 252 Atk Adaptability Beedrill-Mega Poison Jab vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Mantine: 350-412 (93.5 - 110.1%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO after Leftovers recovery

Against more offensive teams or types with something that hopelessly walls it (Flying, Steel, lol), never click Swords Dance and just spam STABs obviously.

So, it isn't dead weight vs some balance teams. Great, but what else does it do? I'm going to go over the positive traits of Mega Beedrill that it provides for Bug teams.

Great Pivot
Mega Beedrill's amazing amazing 150 Attack and 145 Speed combined with Adaptability lets it apply incredible offensive pressure to anything that takes neutral damage from it's STABs. U-Turn in particular is a great move which Bug lacks many good abusers of strangely, the only common one being Scizor. Mega Beedrill provides a second user which similarly forces a ton of switches, forming a U-Turn core and annoying the crap out of types with reliable Bug switch-ins (Psychic, Dark, Dragon, etc.), as well as wearing down shared checks like Zapdos and Gastrodon.

Abuses Sticky Webs
Beedrill's speed tier lets it do a fantastic job of taking advantage of Bug's web support. Many types rely on relatively frail Choice Scarf users like Greninja, Victini, and Terrakion in order to deal with Mega Beedrill. Webs removes this option, limiting offensive counterplay severely and making it more difficult to check via faster threats.

Helps In Some Annoying Matchups
Beedrill does a great job at pressuring types like Dragon, Dark, Fairy, and Psychic due to them struggling to switch into it and what little counterplay they have (if any) being extremely predictable. However Electric was one I was suprised how insanely threatening it was against. Mega Beedrill actually serves as a reliable offensive Tapu Koko check that doesn't rely on Webs, which is an amazing thing for Bug teams, and generally has no good switch ins due to the Poison-resistances being slow as hell and bopped by Drill Run.

252 Atk Adaptability Beedrill-Mega Poison Jab vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Rotom-Wash: 134-158 (44 - 51.9%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Adaptability Beedrill-Mega U-turn vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Rotom-Wash: 118-140 (38.8 - 46%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
(This thing can only switch in once and is weakened to the point of uselessness)

252 Atk Adaptability Beedrill-Mega Poison Jab vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Rotom-Wash: 134-158 (44 - 51.9%) -- 68.4% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
(Rocks make it even less reliable)

252 Atk Adaptability Beedrill-Mega Poison Jab vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Rotom-Wash: 184-218 (60.5 - 71.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
(SpDef Rotom isn't a check)

252 Atk Adaptability Beedrill-Mega Poison Jab vs. 252 HP / 176+ Def Zapdos: 168-198 (43.7 - 51.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
(PhysDef Zapdos is still not super common and isnt paired with Phys Def Rotom. While it seems to reliably check it, literally any sort of chip brings it into the 2HKO range, including the omnipresent Stealth Rocks)

252 Atk Adaptability Beedrill-Mega Poison Jab vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Zapdos: 224-264 (58.3 - 68.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
(SpDef Zapdos is also bopped)

252 Atk Adaptability Beedrill-Mega Poison Jab vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Tapu Koko: 448-528 (159.4 - 187.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252 Atk Beedrill-Mega Drill Run vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Golem-Alola: 312-368 (103.6 - 122.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252 Atk Adaptability Beedrill-Mega Poison Jab vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Zeraora: 248-292 (78.2 - 92.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
(Mega Bee outspeeds so Zera loses to it)

252 Atk Beedrill-Mega Drill Run vs. 76 HP / 0 Def Magnezone: 344-408 (114.6 - 136%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252 Atk Adaptability Beedrill-Mega Poison Jab vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Thundurus: 260-308 (86.9 - 103%) -- 18.8% chance to OHKO

252 Atk Adaptability Beedrill-Mega Poison Jab vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Raichu-Alola: 338-398 (129.5 - 152.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Wow! Mega Bee is great!!1 So why only D? Well I am aware of Mega Beedrill's obvious flaws that hold it back. Dying to any remotely strong physical attack is it's biggest issue making it easily forced out by physical priority from the likes of Dragonite and Scizor. It also competes hugely with another Megas on Bug, with Pinsir, Scizor, and even Heracross being far superior and more reliable options most of the time. However I think Mega Beedrill has enough of a use and not an overwhelmingly high opportunity cost compared to Poison (Mega Venu is king) on the Bug type to snag a D-rank along with stuff like Ribombee, Durant, Vivillion.
 
Last edited:

Shokkking

No man can walk out on his own story
Zeraora (Electric): A --> S

Zeraora is a very good physical wallbreaker, the best in his only type, competing only with Electivire (We all know that no one uses that), Physical Tapu Koko (Really average), Alola-Golem (Suicide Lead) and Physical Thundurus. Zeraora has access to Close Combat, the only thing that prevent the electric mono from being totally walled by Chansey, Alola Muk, Tyranitar Assault Vest and other stuffs. His high speed allows him to outspeed Loppuny-Mega, Aerodactyl, Weaville, Scarf Bulu and others. Zeraora learns Knock Off and Iron Tail, two important moves in the Band Set, allowing him to kill Alola Marowak and Fairy-Types, respectively. Plasmas Fists (Sign move) has 100 BP, gets stab and buff in Electric Terrain, making his job as a wallbreaker/cleaner. Another set is Life Orb, turning Zeraora mixed with Hidden Power Ice and possible a pivot with Volt Switch.
The point is: Zeraora is a must in almost every electric team, with the best Physical Electric Move, awesome stats (112 Atk, 143 Spe), good movepool and a lot of advantages. Without Zeraora, the electric team loses a lot of potential.

 
Time for another nom


Dusclops: Unranked =>C

Dusclops deserves a rise on Ghost thanks to the niche it has as a Pressure trapper. It's a lot more detailed in this post I made, so I'll just summarize some of the stuff. With Mean Look, Dusclops is able to trap and stall out defensive nuisances such as Mega Venusaur, Toxapex, Celesteela, Assault Vest Alolan Muk, Porygon2, and various others. Decidueye isn't as consistent when dealing with some of these threats, especially since the former 3 all have some way of poisoning Decidueye, wearing it down quickly and forcing it to spam Roost a lot, and the latter 2 having super effective coverage to nail Decidueye with. Additionally, it's also able to switch into offensive threats such as Mega Lopunny and Excadrill and cripple them with Will-O-Wisp. While Cofagrigus can run a set very similar to this, that also comes with the added benefit of beating Mega Pinsir and Mega Altaria, Cofagrigus' best way of doing consistent damage is with Curse, which requires it to take off half of its own health, leaving it unable to safely Curse against Mega Venusaur, Download Porygon2, or Mantine. Dusclops can do sufficient amounts of damage with Seismic Toss, forcing the opponent to use up recovery moves more often without sacrificing its own HP. It also offers more overall bulk with its Eviolite. Dusclops offers very unique utility as a trapper against balance teams, which is why it deserves to rise to C rank.



Dusclops @ Eviolite
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Seismic Toss
- Will-O-Wisp
- Mean Look
- Rest
 
Last edited:

mushamu

God jihyo
is a Tutor Alumnusis a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Community Leader Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Top Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnusis a Former Smogon Metagame Tournament Circuit Champion
short nom

Reuniclus (Psychic) unranked --> D / C

Renuiclus's niche on Psychic lies in its Calm Mind and Offensive Trick Room sets. (Z) Thunder along with Calm Mind allows it to serve as an effective setup sweeper vs Water and Flying, since Thunder prevents Mantine from being a dedicated counter, as shown in this replay. Thanks to Magic Guard, it's able to avoid status such as Toxic that would otherwise prove its sweep ineffective by putting it on a timer, something Reuniclus has over Mega Latias as a Calm Mind user.

Reuniclus @ Electrium Z / Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 212 Def / 44 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Psychic
- Thunder
- Recover


Offensive Trick Room Reuniclus can also sweep late game when its checks and counters have been worn down or knocked out. Reuniclus can be a decent Trick Room setter because of its good bulk and take advantage of it using its good special attack as shown in this replay. In conclusion, Reuniclus can run a few decent sets on Psychic and that I feel is why it has a niche on the type. Because of this, it should snag a D or a C rank, as that's a good representation that it's usable and its definitely as usable as, or better than Gallade and Deoxys-Defense, the current D ranks.
 
Last edited:
Possibly controversial nomination

Mega Lopunny S --> A (Maybe even B but I think that's a stretch, sad we don't have A-)


Mega lopunny has always been underwhelming for me. Does next to nothing against toxapex and mega venu + tspikes which is HUGE in the meta currently and is basically the water/poison/grass matchups. M-Lop doesn't run ice punch and even with it, it'd struggle vs flying so that's another matchup it struggles to really help with as it's walled by gliscor, zapdos and defensive torn. Also walled by clefable on fairy doing at most 40 with leftovers recovery, and when Clef isn't run bulu forces it out every time with scarf or can be set up on easily with azu behind a reflect but it can put it some work in that MU due to it's speed. Against psychic it's walled by things like defensive celebi, slowbro and mew, one of which is common on most teams. Encore + pup can be very nice but psychic has the tools to play around it quite comfortably. Against electric it's pretty walled by zapdos and against dark it's walled by mandibuzz unless you're running focus punch which would probably require sub. This would mean taking massive damage from helmet chip and losing or getting close to losing your best chance to beat mega sableye later. In the ground mu you're pretty walled by hippo and it's definitely the poorer mega vs bug. Steel has defensive celesteela and Scizor which wall regular lop sets comfortably enough, and scarf exca can come and revenge it with some chip.

So I know that was long and clustered but it's a quick overview of how many types manage to wall it across the tier.

Reason for drop: Chansey P2 Staraptor are fellow S rank mons. The eviolite core is the best defensive core in the tier and fully deserves the S rank; hopefully that needs no explanation. Raptor is a great defensive wall and with being a prime defogger along with a ground immunity and access to uturn deserves S rank. Mega Lop offers nothing remotely as important to normal as the previously mentioned three. As mentioned above most types check it quite comfortably or have straightforward ways to play around it with comfort. It being the fastest non scarfer other than Deo Speed is it's biggest strength, but the lack of recovery in a meta leaning towards fat balance builds means it's checked easily. Thus I propose this drop.

This isn't a post for pidgeot to rise in the rankings but it's immunity to tspikes and access to roost is really helpful and think it could see more usage! Hitting gallade and keldeo and mega venu along with uturn is super nice :D
 
Last edited:

Vid

Our life is what our thoughts make it
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnus
New update as usual any questions or concerns feel free to PM me
Flying
Celesteela A--->S
Landorus A--->B
Mega Aerodactyl B--->A
Hawlucha D--->C
Salamence D--->Unranked
Fighting
Breloom A--->B
Hawlucha B--->C
Chesnaught D--->Unranked
Normal
Mega Lopunny S--->A
Blissey D--->Unranked
Poison
Salazzle C--->B
Steel
Jirachi B--->A
Psychic
Mega Alakazam C--->D
Mega Gardevoir C--->D
Reuniclus Unranked--->C
Ghost
Dusclops Unranked--->D
Fairy
Klefki S--->A
Primarina B--->C
Gardevoir C--->D
Mega Gardevoir C--->D
Slurpuff C--->D
Diancie D--->Unranked
Water
Alomomola C--->D
Quagsire D--->C
Cloyster D--->Unranked
Primarina D--->Unranked
Volcanion D--->Unranked
Dragon
Mega Altaria A--->B
Mega Latias A--->B
Latias B--->C
Mega Garchomp C--->D
Salamence C--->Unranked
Goodra D--->Unranked
 
Sligoo (Dragon) ---> Rank C



I have been using an eviolite Sligoo a lot and have had a ton of success with it. It has an already good special defense stat. With eviolite it can easily pass the 400 mark making it a great sp tank for dragon teams. Dragon type suffers from a low choice of special defense tanks so this one is truly a good overlooked pokemon for them. It has access to acid armor and curse giving it some options to maximize its ability to tank. It can safely get off a curse or acid armor with ease as soon as it gets sent in. I use rest without sleep talk on my sligoo because it has so much bulk that the 2 turns of sleep don't matter to it. Rest furthers its bulk by negating toxic.
While it hasn't performed as well for me as the B rank dragon types, it has performed remarkably well and if used in the right situation can sweep teams. That is why I believe sligoo should be rank C based off my test results at least. I can only pull off hyper offensive teams and have never been that good at tanking, sligoo has worked well so even a beginner at tank teams will find some good use in it. It even out performs a goodra in terms of bulk, and damage if you use a sweep tank with curse instead of acid armor.
So that's why I think sligoo should be a rank C.
 
Sligoo (Dragon) ---> Rank C



I have been using an eviolite Sligoo a lot and have had a ton of success with it. It has an already good special defense stat. With eviolite it can easily pass the 400 mark making it a great sp tank for dragon teams. Dragon type suffers from a low choice of special defense tanks so this one is truly a good overlooked pokemon for them. It has access to acid armor and curse giving it some options to maximize its ability to tank. It can safely get off a curse or acid armor with ease as soon as it gets sent in. I use rest without sleep talk on my sligoo because it has so much bulk that the 2 turns of sleep don't matter to it. Rest furthers its bulk by negating toxic.
While it hasn't performed as well for me as the B rank dragon types, it has performed remarkably well and if used in the right situation can sweep teams. That is why I believe sligoo should be rank C based off my test results at least. I can only pull off hyper offensive teams and have never been that good at tanking, sligoo has worked well so even a beginner at tank teams will find some good use in it. It even out performs a goodra in terms of bulk, and damage if you use a sweep tank with curse instead of acid armor.
So that's why I think sligoo should be a rank C.
Goodra D--->Unranked
Sliggoo doesn't have enough over Goodra, or even anything over it for that matter, to earn a spot on the VR, and Goodra just got nuked.
 
This may sound stupid but I believe that Anorith (hear me out) should be on the viability ranking for Bug.
  • Jolly Scarf Anorith is the fastest Spinner in Mono Bug
  • 95 Attack is alright
  • Scarf allows it to get rocks up, outspeed quite a lot of non-Scarf users and allows it to be an offensive threat too
Anorith is no offensive threat. S, A and B ranks are all filled with heavy-hitters, and there is absolutely nothing that Anorith can hit that isn't covered by better mons. 95 attack pales in comparison to stuff like Scizor and Buzzwole, and base 75 speed is absolute crap for something with Squirtle-level defenses.

By running scarf you are foregoing focus sash and condemning this thing to get OHKO'd. Armaldo does spinning/rocks better without having to resort to a meme set, and plenty of fast bugs get Defog if you are desperate for fast hazard removal.

EDIT per below comment:

So about that extra bulk...

0 SpA Mantine Scald vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Armaldo: 174-206 (49.1 - 58.1%) -- 60.5% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
0 SpA Mantine Scald vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Eviolite Anorith: 168-198 (72.7 - 85.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Eviolite is completely useless on Anorith. The comment on Defog was made knowing full well that Bug typically doesn't want to remove their own hazards, but if you are considering running Anorith at all for a one-time semi-fast Rapid Spin, you probably aren't that concerned about conserving your turns or momentum:)
 
Last edited:
Okay Scarf Anorith is terrible and so is focus sash lol. If anything you would use Eviolite Anorith to give it some extra bulk. However, Armaldo is the preferred spinner on bug cause it's bulky enough to live a lot of hits from things that threaten bug. It also has a greater offensive presence which allows it to keep rocks up vs things like zapdos/mantine and other defoggers. Anorith does give you speed but Armaldo's bulkier even with Anorith carrying eviolite so It's really not worth using, thus it doesn't have enough going for it to be ranked when other mons can spin/set up rocks better.

" and plenty of fast bugs get Defog if you are desperate for fast hazard removal"


you really don't wanna use defog on bug cause webs is the best thing going for it, you're gonna try to keep webs up as much as possible.
 

Havens

WGI World Champion
is a Tiering Contributoris a Contributor to Smogonis a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Social Media Contributor Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnus
Welp, time to do a large nomination list (just some thoughts on these pokemon in this current meta to spark discussion):


Mega Sharpedo (Water): B -> A

Tbh, Shapredo might be A rank from usage alone, from spamming that balance water team along with very good success in the recent MPL. Sharpedo is a valuable tool in the fight against Fairy, as its able to clean late game by gaining speed to beat weakened Tapu Koko and being immune to standard Klefki sets is a massive plus for Water teams that traditionally are troubled by it. Additionally, the power Mega Sharpedo attains is crucial against another losing matchup for Water teams being Poison, as Adamant Strong Jaw Psychic Fangs OHKOes/2HKOes all Poison-types bar Alolan Muk (which can be worn down over time since most Alolan Muk sets on Poison are AV). Maybe I'm hyping it too much, but this thing should've deserved a rise quite a while ago.


Gyarados (Water): A -> B
Gyarados hasn't necessarily fallen off persay, DD + Flyinium Z sets have always been, and still are very effective at late game cleaning. However, when I see the other A rank Water mons such as Keldeo, Swampert, Mantine, Suicune and others that fill such critical roles for any Water team, Gyarados looks out of place as being less than, especially when other setup sweepers such as Keldeo, Mega Sharpedo, and Suicune perform much more effectively in this balance heavy metagame.


Mega Latias (Dragon): B -> A
Mega Latias should never have been dropped imo. CM Stored Power sets are still extremely dangerous even in the face of incredible special walls like Chansey and Celesteela, while its incredible bulk, typing and recovery make it the best and closest thing to a defensive Dragon-type in the tier. I'm guessing that the drop was attributed to the rise of Dark and prominence of Fairy teams, but being able to set up and sweep against Fairy-types bar Mega Diancie and Mimikyu is so incredibly valuable on its own that it warrants the rise back up to A.


Araquanid (Bug): A -> S

This mon is absolutely fantastic. Aside from being the best defensive check to Fire-types for Bug teams, the rise of Spider Web trapping sets have now enabled Bug to reliably break down some of the biggest threats to themselves, as it uses Spider Web, Soak, and Toxic to break down Celesteela, Toxapex, Mega Venusaur, Mantine, and others, enabling teammates like Mega Pinsir and Volcarona to setup and sweep much easier. It's a staple on any and all Bug teams, and any team that doesn't have one is at a disadvantage because its positives outweigh any and all negatives, and its roles are very beneficial to Bug's success. It definitely deserves the rise.


Magnezone (Electric): A -> B

Magnezone's primary roles have been outclassed in the current meta, as Alolan Golem has better utility as a trapper, while Zeraora's holds critical prominence in the Normal matchup and also is a better check against Fairy teams, and especially Choice Scarf Tapu Bulu. Magnezone is just not on that level of prominence anymore, and should be dropped down.


Ribombee (Fairy): B -> C

Do people even use this anymore? Aside from setting up webs in the face of Mega Lopunny, this feels like a wasted slot, especially when Fairy's standard offense builds are already more effective and powerful enough with Klefki's screens support and spike stacking. I'd think that having Ribombee as support is lackluster in comparison to that.


Smeargle: C -> D

Good on HO Normal which is very underwhelming and sparsely used at high level play. No need for this thing to be kept this high when the teams its used on are relatively far gone from being effective in this meta.

Also wanna spark a discussion on Dragonite (Dragon) dropping from S -> A rank, but that's for another post cause I ran out of time.
 
Last edited:

Harpp

No rain, no flowers.
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Social Media Contributor Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnus
Gyarados (Water): A -> B
I disgaree with this nomination. Gyarados has always been one of the most effective set up sweeper water has access to. It is also one of the best Z move users as it does a good job in breaking down Pokemon such as Mega Venusaur and Toxapex and do well against Bug-type teams too as water teams tend to struggle against Poison and Bug. Note: Bug teams heavily cteam water by using stuff like Vikavolt which has seen some usage in tournaments and Psy Z volcarona. You compared it with other A rank pokemon such as Keldeo, Mantine, Suicune etc which all have different roles. Gyarados does a neat job breaking down aforementioned types while also not being a dead weight in other match ups. Its decent bulk and ability allows it to effectively fulfill this role on water teams.

Also, I strongly believe Dragonite should not be ranked down to A because :
1. Multiscale acts as an emergency and pseduo Focus Sash against opposing threats like Tapu Koko, Greninja, Mega Scizor or even against mirror Dragon match ups, which is in my opinion very efficient for a type like Dragon which utilizes an offensive playstyle where defensive counter measure is limited as lack of defensive backbone on the team.
2. It is ridiculously strong as a wallbreak and unparalleled as it brings a lot of things on the table such as coverage to break down Steel teams thanks to Fire Punch and Superpower and strong priority in Extreemespeed which picks off threats to the type like Greninja. Priority is important on offensive playstyles.
3. It requires little support to fulfill its role. Dragonite just needs Defog support to act as a wallbreaker / revenge killer.
4. Dragonite is type-defining and consistently pulls its weight in a lot of match ups.
It should stay S.
 
Tapu Bulu: A--->S (Fairy)

Tapu Bulu has always been an incredible Pokemon on Fairy, and at this point in the metagame it is seen on basically any viable Fairy team. It's typing and good bulk is extremely valuable for checking Ground, Water, and Electric types which Fairy teams otherwise are strapped for switch ins to, and Grassy Terrain is very useful for weakening Earthquakes and providing Pokemon like Mega Diancie and Klefki with extra healing. Choice Scarf and Choice Band sets are good as they have ever been, but the Substitute+Swords Dance have become popular recently and are very effective at captilizing on forced switches and breaking past walls with it's customizable coverage, being able to target poor matchups like Zen Headbutt for Poison or Superpower for Steel. All in all the versatility and raw power of this mon has made it a very important part of Fairy and warrants an S rank.

Crobat: A--->S (Poison)

Crobat has always been mandatory on a viable Poison team, (unless you decide to run Golbat) as it provides 2 very crucial roles as a Defogger and a Ground-immunity, effectively being able to support it's teammates and solidifying itself as a staple of the type's defensive core, along with Mega Venusaur, Toxapex, and Alolan Muk. It also provides Flying-coverage which is very valuable offensively, being able to hit crucial targets like Mega Venusaur and Mega Gallade which otherwise are massive nuisances for the team. I also think offensive sets with Flyinium Z are very under explored. It is very easy to fit this set on a team as Poison lacks another common Z-Move user, and it puts in a ton of works against fat walls in conjunction with Taunt, while also being amazing for KOing or seriously denting threats like Landorus in the Ground MU after switching into it. All in all Crobat's importance on Poison I see makes it worthy of S rank.

Here's a replay of Z-Brave Bird Crobat threatening a Ground team: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7monotype-809099743

Whimsicott: C--->B (Grass)


Whimsicott serves as an effective supporter for Grass teams, having several useful qualities that can make it a good addition for Grass teams. Moonblast, despite Whimsicott's poor Special attack, proves to be very valuable offensively for threatening Dark and Dragon teams which otherwise can give Grass issues, as well as being able to punish Dark-type that try to block it's Prankster moves. Its speed tier also is great for a type that otherwise struggles with being slow, putting it above big threats to Grass like Mega Gallade and Kyurem-Black without the need of a Choice Scarf (though Choice Scarf is a viable option to run on it). Prankster in conjunction with a great utility movepool consisting of Encore, Stun Spore and Tailwind, among other options, lets it effectively provide speed control and shut-down setup attempts from the opponent. Tailwind is particularly beneficial for teammates like Breloom and Choice Band Tapu Bulu, giving them much more leeway to wreak havoc. These useful qualities and decent splashability makes Whimsicott worthy of a B rank in my opinion.

Here's a replay of Whimsicott using Tailwind to support a Decidueye sweep: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7monotype-790698231
 

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 1, Guests: 1)

Top