VR Update!
Hello! The Natdex council decided that with the AG classic wrapping up, this would be a good time for a VR update. Before we get to the update proper, however, we've got three new council members! Myself,
WSun1, and
Kate have joined the team! We haven't figured out a practical way to vote on individual mons' placement within a rank, so stuff's alphabetized once again, whenever a mod has the time to update the OP.
Here's the
slate!
Rises (courtesy of
WSun1)
S- to S (Ground)
B to B+ (Steel)
B- to B (Rock)
B- to B
D to C
UR to D
As the new DLC expanded metagame has begun to settle down throughout the past 8 months, Arceus-Ground has once again proved itself to be one of the most threatening breakers and Dynamax sweepers the game has to offer. It is more threatening now than ever due to the falling off of Ho-Oh, a then omnipresent defogger and most reliable check to Calm Mind Arceus-Ground whose role has been replaced by the now omnipresent specially defensive Yveltal. The effectiveness of the Calm Mind set has not been hampered by the introduction of Calyrex-S as it easily muscles its way through this fragile threat by boosting and Dynamaxing. Moreover, the Swords Dance set is also as threatening as ever due to the mandatory presence of a specially defensive Yveltal which replaces what could have been a physically defensive pivot with a vulnerable target for Stone Edge. Arceus-Ground takes advantage of all of these recent metagame shifts productively to achieve the coveted ranking of S.
Arceus-Steel offers great role compression as a breaker capable of overwhelming threats such as Calyrex and Zacian-C, a switch-in to Rayquaza-Mega’s Dragon Ascent, and a general damage/status sponge. Dynamax enables Arceus-Steel to bolster its physical defense to unbreakable levels with Max Steelspike after it boosts its special attack and defense with Calm Mind, making it an extremely formidable breaker with access to recovery.
Arceus-Rock has been proving to be a reliable Rayquaza-Mega wall as more and more people gravitate to V-create over Earthquake to sufficiently threaten physically defensive Necrozma-Dusk-Mane. Additionally, it offers one’s team with another means of setting stealth rock which frees up a spot on defensive Necrozma-Dusk-Mane for something like Dragon Dance. As such, it has been bumped up from B- to B.
These Pokémon have found niches on hyper offense teams as an entry-hazard setter and breaker, respectively. Excadrill distinguishes itself from other breakers as it has access to mold breakers and rapid spin which allows itself to set hazards through magic bounce and remove hazards for its team. Necrozma-Ultra shines as a self-improofing breaker on teams that do not require a defensive Necrozma-Dusk-Mane to counterplay the threatening Zacian-C. It has access to an excellent move pool and ability, stellar base stats, and is capable of outspeeding common threats to Hyper Offense teams in Zacian-C and Calyrex-S with Dragon Dance. Hyper Offense has only become more and more threatening as people have begun to shy away from building Ditto-centered bulky offense teams, which helps these two Pokémon rise in the viability rankings.
Skarmory has found itself a niche as an alternative to Celesteela, checking Necrozma-DM and some Arceus-Ground sets while spreading status and stacking Spikes. Its access to phazing in Whirlwind also helps it to deter setup attempts by Pokemon that could otherwise threaten it, making threats like Xerneas and Zekrom more manageable. Despite this, its weakness to the numerous special attackers in the tier and its corresponding inability to handle Calm Mind Arceus-Ground reliably make it a niche pick at best.
Drops
S+ to S
A+ to A (Dark)
A to A-
A- to B+ (Fairy)
B+ to B
B+ to B
B+ to B-
B to C
B- to C
B- to C
C to D
D to UR
D to UR
While Calyrex-S is still an incredibly threatening presence, we feel that it doesn't merit placement above the rest of the S rank. Calyrex-S suffers from the increased offensive presence in the meta, which can reduce its setup opportunities, with the threat of pursuit-trapping by Marshadow being especially significant.. Notably, Calyrex-S often loses to Calm Mind Arceus formes, which somewhat hampers its effectiveness. Regardless, Calyrex-S is still an incredibly dominant present in the current meta, and definitely deserves its S rank.
Any Calyrex-S check not named Yveltal has been falling off lately, for good reason. All three of these Pokemon lose hard to Buginium Z Calyrex-S, and their inability to provide pivoting or punish setup as reliably as Yveltal hamstrings their viability. Mega Tyranitar, especially, is incredibly difficult to justify right now given that it takes a mega slot, and, as such is dropping to C. Despite its inability to check Calyrex-S as reliably as Yveltal, Arceus-Dark continutes to be a very solid Pokemon, running support, Perish-trapping, and Calm Mind sets with equal facility.
Ho-Oh's still quite solid, but it dislikes the increased presence of Refresh support Arceus formes, which can reliably 1v1 it, and a general shift towards more offensive team structures on which it can struggle to find room. Additionally, the ability of Specially Defensive Yveltal to slot Defog reduces teams' need for Ho-Oh thanks to Yveltal's amazing role compression. This mon could definitely rise back to A if the meta becomes more favorable to it, however.
Fairyceus is no longer the Yveltal check of choice, as it faces stiff competition from Arceus-Dark and Yveltal, both of which have the added benefit of compressing a Calyrex-S check as well. Fairyceus does, however, still retain some viability thanks to its ability to threaten Zygarde and run potentially threatening Calm Mind sets.
Ferrothorn is becoming increasingly difficult to fit on teams, as the meta shifts towards bulky offense that favors more offensive ways to handle Kyogre. Notably, Ferro faces stiff competition from Primal Groudon, which has numerous advantages such as soft-checking Zacian-C and being able to deter setup attempts through phazing. Ferrothorn also doesn't appreciate that Kyogre has been getting rarer, as it sees fewer and fewer opportunities to be useful.
Offensive Pokemon weak to Calyrex-S
and slower than it? Not in this meta! Both Mega Mewtwo Y and Mega Gengar are checked by the same things that check Calyrex-S, significantly hurting their viability. While Mega Gengar retains some fringe utility as a balance breaker, Mega Mewtwo Y is virtually impossible to justify on any serious team, and I quite frankly don't know why it didn't drop to UR. Both Mega Gengar and Mega Mewtwo Y are easily revenge-killed by Calyrex-S, making them serious liabilities given that they give Calyrex-S a free setup turn every time it comes in.
Another offensive mon that struggles to find any setup attempts in the current offense-heavy meta, Groudon is extremely difficult to fit on a team, and is severely hampered by the rising prominence of Arceus-Ground and Arceus-Water. There isn't a ton more to say here, so I'll move right along.
Stall is extremely difficult to build effectively in the current meta, and these drops reflect that. Lugia gives setup turns to all manner of offensive Pokemon, ranging from Zacian-C to Calyrex-S to Arceus-Steel and struggles to find room on anything thanks to its extreme passivity. The same thing applies to the other two, neither of which has any real utility right now thanks to the absurdly centralizing power of Calyrex-S.
