to C+even with gholdengone this mon still suffers from being passive and 8 pp roost and there are way better options
and i agree with venu being underrated
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Resource National Dex Viability Rankings (Pre Tera Ban)
- Thread starter Kyo
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to C+even with gholdengone this mon still suffers from being passive and 8 pp roost and there are way better options
and i agree with venu being underrated
A+-->A- got the feeling that this mon is outclassed by gliscor in a lot of situation when it comes to set hazard and garchomp is better on an offense sr setter role. Also the rise of alomomola in ou makes landorus as a pivot less interesting as well as being a mon that is annoyed my mola
A-->A- Since kingambit and ghold, i think his defensive traits are not as necessary as defoging isn't as tedious without ghold and get chiped down easily by thehazards that he wants to remove even if his offensives traits are still very good.
A-->A+ (or maybe S) This mon is amazing as it gives so much utility with sr and defog knocku turn as well as the dlc addtition spikes and even being a good wincon with sd paired with the tera that makes very scary with a water or fairy typing.I find it hard to find abalanced/bulky offense where gliscor isn't relevant.
B+-->A+(or maybe S) Flip turn wish regenrerator we all know it, we all hate/love it.
B-->B+ i think that this mon is not used enough freeze dry plus earth power is a godlike coverage and with his substitute set , this mon can pretty much threaten the entire metagame except scizor-mega or volc.
C+->B- This thing possesses a good ability to shut down powerful sweeper but also has some good niche as a wallbreaker as fire ghost typing makes good coverage especially with wow/hex/torch song.
C+->B+ Same arguments with dirge on the defensives abilitybut i would argue that toxic spikes is an underrated option for sire as sire threaten pex ,g-king and other clod with eq and even if pex is very resilient due to recovery pp nerf pex cannot take eq for eternity.Anywayi think clod deserve to be higher as it is the best answer to electric threats, volcarona ,valiant.Sandy shocks Ur +-> C i think ground/electric/ice(tera) is an amazing combo that threaten all the tier. Even if we're not willing to use the tera, shocks is a great pivot and laying some spikes and breaking with a powerful knock off user like weav or meowsk is noteworthy.
Ah yes a fellow mvenu enjoyer myself I enjoy the very real spicy sd mvenu but the main tank one is def the main one and it's great.C- -> C+/B-
Underrated Pokemon that has some really appreciable anti meta qualities. Matches up well into Iron Valiant, OgerponW, not horrible into some Garg sets, UrshifuR, Mega Diancie, and depending on fourth move slot, Heatran. Provides a useful back up check to these mons without being terribly passive, which is nice to have.
Sinistcha from Unranked to B-
I like me a cup of tea, alright?
Well, he isn't even tea but that's beside the point. I think Sinistcha should be moved up primarily due to his niche in acting as a bulky wincon now that BM is gone, and with the meta very much supporting Valiant, Sneasler, and Gliscor, Sinistcha comfortably counters all 3. It's impressive move set and bulky built features allow it to tank multiple hits and commonly respond with a heavy hitting Matcha-Gotcha or Shadow Ball. On top of that, with multiple relevant teammates such as Zamazenta, Rotom-W, and Heatran, it can easily be brought in to deal with their checks and start stacking.
Here is a battle where I used Rotom-W and Zacian to get rid of otherwise pesky walls/counters that would deter Sinistcha from operating fully, and with it proceeding to sweep the game. Thanks to its handy use of Terastalize and powerful recovery moves in Strength Sap and the aforementioned MG, it can easily maneuver itself into a position of dominance.
I like me a cup of tea, alright?Well, he isn't even tea but that's beside the point. I think Sinistcha should be moved up primarily due to his niche in acting as a bulky wincon now that BM is gone, and with the meta very much supporting Valiant, Sneasler, and Gliscor, Sinistcha comfortably counters all 3. It's impressive move set and bulky built features allow it to tank multiple hits and commonly respond with a heavy hitting Matcha-Gotcha or Shadow Ball. On top of that, with multiple relevant teammates such as Zamazenta, Rotom-W, and Heatran, it can easily be brought in to deal with their checks and start stacking.
Here is a battle where I used Rotom-W and Zacian to get rid of otherwise pesky walls/counters that would deter Sinistcha from operating fully, and with it proceeding to sweep the game. Thanks to its handy use of Terastalize and powerful recovery moves in Strength Sap and the aforementioned MG, it can easily maneuver itself into a position of dominance.
We've done a post-NDPL and Summer Seasonal VR update, here are past UR Pokemon that are now on the VR!
With Gholdengo banned, you might think that Aegislash would at least have a drop of merit now, even with everyone saying that it's straight up not good. In all honesty, Aegislash checking Tapu Lele, Iron Valiant, and Sneasler with its excellent typing, making good progress with Toxic + King's Shield sets, and being a good Choice item user has made it worthy of being ranked.
Chansey has gained some merit post-Gholdengo, it does what it's always done since the introduction of Eviolite, though with all of the Spikes and Knock Off around there could be some challenges for it. But you should be covering those problems with its teammates anyway!
Celesteela had a surge in usage because of Ursaluna-Bloodmoon in the tier, and even without it in the tier Celesteela still has a solid niche with Leech Seed + Protect sets having good longevity and often being an annoyance to teams that are reliant on making progress fast. The viability of Autotomize + Power Herb sets are to be determined as there hasn't been much discussion about it.
Grimmsnarl brings good traits to the table as a screener with Prankster + Taunt or Parting Shot, and has been overlooked in the past with Pokemon like Kingambit and Gholdengo existing. With those two Pokemon gone along with Baxcalibur leaving, and as such reducing the viability of Aurora Veil drastically, Grimmsnarl has been given a rank due to its screening capabilities.
There's finally a Sticky Web setter on the VR, wow! With Ribombee's good Speed tier and strong STAB that threatens hazard removal like Great Tusk, its ability denying additional effects flinching from Mega Lopunny, spreading status on Pokemon trying to take advantage of it with Stun Spore, and preventing Magic Bounce from bouncing its Sticky Web back with Skill Swap, Ribombee has been given a rank.
Araquanid is better but it's whatever
Y'all ever heard of Slowpoke Fan? Ask him about this thing, I'm sure he's used it more than any of us and can explain why it's ranked. If you don't want to ask him, it's basically an annoying win-con with Matcha Gotcha, Calm Mind, and Strength Sap, so yeah.
Here are the rises and drops!
Voting Document
Note: D = UR
And to end things off...
Yes, we voted on this. NO, IT DID NOT MAKE THE VR.
With Gholdengo banned, you might think that Aegislash would at least have a drop of merit now, even with everyone saying that it's straight up not good. In all honesty, Aegislash checking Tapu Lele, Iron Valiant, and Sneasler with its excellent typing, making good progress with Toxic + King's Shield sets, and being a good Choice item user has made it worthy of being ranked.
Chansey has gained some merit post-Gholdengo, it does what it's always done since the introduction of Eviolite, though with all of the Spikes and Knock Off around there could be some challenges for it. But you should be covering those problems with its teammates anyway!
Celesteela had a surge in usage because of Ursaluna-Bloodmoon in the tier, and even without it in the tier Celesteela still has a solid niche with Leech Seed + Protect sets having good longevity and often being an annoyance to teams that are reliant on making progress fast. The viability of Autotomize + Power Herb sets are to be determined as there hasn't been much discussion about it.
Grimmsnarl brings good traits to the table as a screener with Prankster + Taunt or Parting Shot, and has been overlooked in the past with Pokemon like Kingambit and Gholdengo existing. With those two Pokemon gone along with Baxcalibur leaving, and as such reducing the viability of Aurora Veil drastically, Grimmsnarl has been given a rank due to its screening capabilities.
There's finally a Sticky Web setter on the VR, wow! With Ribombee's good Speed tier and strong STAB that threatens hazard removal like Great Tusk, its ability denying additional effects flinching from Mega Lopunny, spreading status on Pokemon trying to take advantage of it with Stun Spore, and preventing Magic Bounce from bouncing its Sticky Web back with Skill Swap, Ribombee has been given a rank.
Araquanid is better but it's whatever
Y'all ever heard of Slowpoke Fan? Ask him about this thing, I'm sure he's used it more than any of us and can explain why it's ranked. If you don't want to ask him, it's basically an annoying win-con with Matcha Gotcha, Calm Mind, and Strength Sap, so yeah.
Here are the rises and drops!
Code:
New Additions:
Aegislash: C-
Chansey: C-
Celesteela: C
Grimmsnarl: C-
Ribombee: C-
Sinistcha: C-
Rises:
Iron Valiant: A+ -> S-
Gliscor: A -> A+
Ogerpon-Wellspring: A -> A+
Scizor-Mega: A- -> A
Alomomola: B+ -> A-
Diancie-Mega: B+ -> A-
Medicham-Mega: B+ -> A-
Ting-Lu: B+ -> A-
Mawile-Mega: B -> B+
Latias-Mega: B- -> B
Rillaboom: B- -> B
Iron Moth: C+ -> B-
Skeledirge: C+ -> B-
Meowscarada: C -> C+
Corviknight: C- -> C
Ogerpon-Cornerstone: C- -> C+
Venusaur-Mega: C- -> C
Drops:
Landorus-Therian: A+ -> A
Lopunny-Mega: A+ -> A
Great Tusk: A -> A-
Rotom-Wash: B+ -> B
Dondozo: B -> B-
Hawlucha: B -> B-
Moltres: B -> B-
Ninetales-Alola: B -> C
Skarmory: B -> B-
Cresselia: B- -> C+
Greninja: B- -> C+
Hatterene: B- -> C+
Gastrodon: C+ -> C
Hydreigon: C+ -> C
Magnezone: C+ -> C
Serperior: C+ -> C
Amoonguss: C -> C-
Buzzwole: C -> C-
Lilligant-Hisui: C -> UR
Tyranitar: C -> C-
Empoleon: C- -> URNote: D = UR
And to end things off...
Yes, we voted on this. NO, IT DID NOT MAKE THE VR.
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why did lop drop and ting lu rise
Now that Dengo is gone, I at leats know Ting Lu will rise due to his unique bulk and ability to place hazards. Idk about lopunny.
As for ting lu it also pairs well with alomomola so he has some amount of psuedorecovery so it doesn't just take damage then be permeantly out of commission.
idk if this is a hot take or not but im following my heart here
from A+ to S/S-
holy shit this mon is annoying, it's got a great speed tier, incredibly strong stabs a great ability in water absorb and an insanely good movepool with great utility options like spikes taunt and encore or coverage options for every mon under the sun with play rough, superpower or stomping tantrum. trying to check this thing defensively consistently is scarier than black friday as a minimum wage cashier
from A+ to S
putting this guy in a tier is downright criminal, it's absolutely insane how much utility gliscor can fit with just 4 slots, it's great at absorbing knock off, status etc with its great defensive typing and phenomenal ability it's always contributing majorly to any game. It fits on everything and does everything well, it can be an incredibly potent wincon with swords dance it can barf up spikes while knocking off boots it can defog constantly in a game with its incredible longlevity. all around just an elite pokemon and a great choice for any team that can afford to use it
from S- to A+
I dont get all the hype around this mon, while yes it's a great pokemon and hard to deal with I just don't think it's worthy of the S tier, it feels much more in line with other A+ ranked pokemon.
from A+ to S/S-holy shit this mon is annoying, it's got a great speed tier, incredibly strong stabs a great ability in water absorb and an insanely good movepool with great utility options like spikes taunt and encore or coverage options for every mon under the sun with play rough, superpower or stomping tantrum. trying to check this thing defensively consistently is scarier than black friday as a minimum wage cashier
from A+ to Sputting this guy in a tier is downright criminal, it's absolutely insane how much utility gliscor can fit with just 4 slots, it's great at absorbing knock off, status etc with its great defensive typing and phenomenal ability it's always contributing majorly to any game. It fits on everything and does everything well, it can be an incredibly potent wincon with swords dance it can barf up spikes while knocking off boots it can defog constantly in a game with its incredible longlevity. all around just an elite pokemon and a great choice for any team that can afford to use it
from S- to A+I dont get all the hype around this mon, while yes it's a great pokemon and hard to deal with I just don't think it's worthy of the S tier, it feels much more in line with other A+ ranked pokemon.
Let's be honest to S
I don't know what there really is to explain but
Its by far the most splashable mon in the tier it spreads poison, can set spikes, or remove hazards, and has incredible longevity in poison heal and roost, another option is swords dance which is a great and quite reliable win condition. Across all these factors should be S tier
to S I don't know what there really is to explain but
Its by far the most splashable mon in the tier it spreads poison, can set spikes, or remove hazards, and has incredible longevity in poison heal and roost, another option is swords dance which is a great and quite reliable win condition. Across all these factors
should be S tier
unrank sinistcha, it is unviable. there is no one defending this mon with a straight face. (i have seen the replays, i only hope that no one on the vr council did lol because if thats what it did to get ranked then i might as well submit pawniard [broken])
gliscor to s, its the face of the tier and the most efficient mon currently, this guy is sm mage levels of good (and broken)
valiant to a, this mon was never s, idk how anyone could have ever thought it was lol. its borderline high a or low a+, but imo its a because i feel its a step below lele in the fast special mon role.
idk why lando dropped but kindly raise it back up. its the second best ground in the tier by a large margin, if ur not using gliscor 80% of the time ur probably using lando
donzo drop idg too, it is literally holding bulkier playstyles together, i dont think its physically possible to build a fat/stall without it, the mon (was) a sneasler check, is a waterpon and the only realistic (redacted does not count chris) glisc check
so much things i question about this vr slate, but im just gonna tell myself you were all reeling from the effects of the dengo ban
also for the next vr post, can you guys talk about the actual relevant mon raises / drops too. no offense, but while its nice to hear that lilligant hisui and jirachi has new friends in the trenches of c-, i would think people want to know things like why the council moved valiant to s, why did mlop drop, etc, you know? actual relevant mons that people want to know about.
gliscor to s, its the face of the tier and the most efficient mon currently, this guy is sm mage levels of good (and broken)
valiant to a, this mon was never s, idk how anyone could have ever thought it was lol. its borderline high a or low a+, but imo its a because i feel its a step below lele in the fast special mon role.
idk why lando dropped but kindly raise it back up. its the second best ground in the tier by a large margin, if ur not using gliscor 80% of the time ur probably using lando
donzo drop idg too, it is literally holding bulkier playstyles together, i dont think its physically possible to build a fat/stall without it, the mon (was) a sneasler check, is a waterpon and the only realistic (redacted does not count chris) glisc check
so much things i question about this vr slate, but im just gonna tell myself you were all reeling from the effects of the dengo ban
also for the next vr post, can you guys talk about the actual relevant mon raises / drops too. no offense, but while its nice to hear that lilligant hisui and jirachi has new friends in the trenches of c-, i would think people want to know things like why the council moved valiant to s, why did mlop drop, etc, you know? actual relevant mons that people want to know about.
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My opinion related to the VR:
A+ -> S
This is probably the face of the metagame right now. The spdef boost and stab boost from tera combined with the amazing water ivy cudgel makes it an amazing setup sweeper, challenging both in the builder and in-game. With set options also including uturn, encore and substitute, it is strong, reliable and flexible.
A- -> A
The tier’s best wish passer and the only one which makes this tactic viable. It is pretty similar to the other A tier mons, in the sense that it is easy to fit on a team, requires little to no support, enables other teammates and pretty much carries bulky archetypes with its sustain. Even ignoring the wish pass aspect, it is an amazing defensive pivot, though not at the same level as glowking
S-/S
While waterpon leads the meta in offensive presence, gliscor does so defensively.This mon does too much, is incredibly flexible and quite a challenge to force out, as even its obvious checks don’t enjoy a toxic and will be worn down by the combination of toxic, protect and potentially the hazards it offers. Rocks, spikes, defog, posion heal/roost sustain, toxic/knock off annoyance and even an offensive set.
C- -> C+
It is clearly a step above all the mons in C tier. Offensive spell tag set with Kings shield/shadow sneak/shadow ball/flash cannon is very hard to switch into. Also a pretty good valiant/lele check
A+ -> SThis is probably the face of the metagame right now. The spdef boost and stab boost from tera combined with the amazing water ivy cudgel makes it an amazing setup sweeper, challenging both in the builder and in-game. With set options also including uturn, encore and substitute, it is strong, reliable and flexible.
A- -> AThe tier’s best wish passer and the only one which makes this tactic viable. It is pretty similar to the other A tier mons, in the sense that it is easy to fit on a team, requires little to no support, enables other teammates and pretty much carries bulky archetypes with its sustain. Even ignoring the wish pass aspect, it is an amazing defensive pivot, though not at the same level as glowking
S-/SWhile waterpon leads the meta in offensive presence, gliscor does so defensively.This mon does too much, is incredibly flexible and quite a challenge to force out, as even its obvious checks don’t enjoy a toxic and will be worn down by the combination of toxic, protect and potentially the hazards it offers. Rocks, spikes, defog, posion heal/roost sustain, toxic/knock off annoyance and even an offensive set.
C- -> C+It is clearly a step above all the mons in C tier. Offensive spell tag set with Kings shield/shadow sneak/shadow ball/flash cannon is very hard to switch into. Also a pretty good valiant/lele check
Just a final thought heading into the DLC.
UR --> C / C+
Dracozolt finds its place on sand teams. When it's in sand, it can destroy offense and stall alike. While it does need team support to break through Ground- and Grass-types, it is nearly unwallable once those two things are taken out. I left a slightly more detailed description in my RMT, but this should suffice. At the very least, Dracozolt can go 1-for-1 and open up a hole in the enemy's team. So while Dracozolt finds no place in the metagame outside of sand, in sand, it's an insane wallbreaker thanks to Bolt Beak.
Here are some replays:
[Gen 9] National Dex: dewfew vs. looking 4 horizons - Replays - Pokémon Showdown! (pokemonshowdown.com) vs. MolaLuna: NP Torn managed to remove the Ground-type and Terastallized Excadrill traded for Ferrothorn, letting Dracozolt claim 2 KOs late-game and clean up dewfew's team.
[Gen 9] National Dex: gholdie vs. looking 4 horizons - Replays - Pokémon Showdown! (pokemonshowdown.com) vs. Mega Venusaur Balance: You might think that Dracozolt would do nothing against a team with both Mega Venusaur (a Grass-type with reliable recovery) and Landorus-T, right? Well. Dracozolt claims a KO on Landorus-Therian and ends up being able to 2HKO Mega Venusaur with a bit of chip damage and with the help of Tera Electric. Claiming these two KOs lets Urshifu-R clean up gholdie's team late-game.
[Gen 9] National Dex: RunicPower419 vs. looking 4 horizons - Replays - Pokémon Showdown! (pokemonshowdown.com) vs. Wellspring Balance: While this game was a loss, it also shows Dracozolt's breaking power. It's able to consistently force damage on Heatran and Gliscor thanks to its Choice Band Outrage, and forced Runic into some situations where either Heatran fainted to Bolt Beak or Gliscor was 2HKOed by Outrage. I did end up losing because of some poor play versus Wellspring causing me to lose my defensive core, which is not what you want into Mega Lopunny, but the point still stands.
[Gen 9] National Dex: looking 4 horizons vs. newinthegame - Replays - Pokémon Showdown! (pokemonshowdown.com) vs. Jirachi Balance: Random ladder replay here (I dropped like 250 ELO on this account testing other stuff). First few turns here were awful play by me, letting Hippowdon get tricked and needlessly giving away Torn-T. However, I found a switch-in opportunity on Moltres, letting me Bolt Beak (since I removed Garchomp with Shifu). Jirachi gets OHKOed (!) and Garganacl gets 2HKOed (!!), and my opponent forfeits.
[Gen 9] National Dex: RunicPower419 vs. looking 4 horizons - Replays - Pokémon Showdown! (pokemonshowdown.com) vs. Wellspring Balance: This was round 2 against Runic. Dracozolt eliminates Gliscor, which is Runic's only check to it, and the rest of the team falls apart. This is yet another example of how Dracozolt can break common defensive cores and singlehandedly win games.
[Gen 9] National Dex: looking 4 horizons vs. Ineros - Replays - Pokémon Showdown! (pokemonshowdown.com) vs. Mega Latias Bulky Offense: Another example of how Dracozolt can eliminate its answer (this time in Gliscor) and just win. Tera Dragon Toxapex gave him a stay of execution, but Scald not burning meant that it was over.
[Gen 9] National Dex: looking 4 horizons vs. AnotherDahnessAlt - Replays - Pokémon Showdown! (pokemonshowdown.com) vs. BuluHands Bulky Offense: While this isn't the best showcase of Dracozolt, it was still able to beat two natural resistances to it in Tapu Bulu and Iron Hands. This is moreso an example of how Dracozolt, with the proper team support, can either break through teams or clean up weakened oppositin.
UR --> C / C+
Dracozolt finds its place on sand teams. When it's in sand, it can destroy offense and stall alike. While it does need team support to break through Ground- and Grass-types, it is nearly unwallable once those two things are taken out. I left a slightly more detailed description in my RMT, but this should suffice. At the very least, Dracozolt can go 1-for-1 and open up a hole in the enemy's team. So while Dracozolt finds no place in the metagame outside of sand, in sand, it's an insane wallbreaker thanks to Bolt Beak.
Here are some replays:
[Gen 9] National Dex: dewfew vs. looking 4 horizons - Replays - Pokémon Showdown! (pokemonshowdown.com) vs. MolaLuna: NP Torn managed to remove the Ground-type and Terastallized Excadrill traded for Ferrothorn, letting Dracozolt claim 2 KOs late-game and clean up dewfew's team.
[Gen 9] National Dex: gholdie vs. looking 4 horizons - Replays - Pokémon Showdown! (pokemonshowdown.com) vs. Mega Venusaur Balance: You might think that Dracozolt would do nothing against a team with both Mega Venusaur (a Grass-type with reliable recovery) and Landorus-T, right? Well. Dracozolt claims a KO on Landorus-Therian and ends up being able to 2HKO Mega Venusaur with a bit of chip damage and with the help of Tera Electric. Claiming these two KOs lets Urshifu-R clean up gholdie's team late-game.
[Gen 9] National Dex: RunicPower419 vs. looking 4 horizons - Replays - Pokémon Showdown! (pokemonshowdown.com) vs. Wellspring Balance: While this game was a loss, it also shows Dracozolt's breaking power. It's able to consistently force damage on Heatran and Gliscor thanks to its Choice Band Outrage, and forced Runic into some situations where either Heatran fainted to Bolt Beak or Gliscor was 2HKOed by Outrage. I did end up losing because of some poor play versus Wellspring causing me to lose my defensive core, which is not what you want into Mega Lopunny, but the point still stands.
[Gen 9] National Dex: looking 4 horizons vs. newinthegame - Replays - Pokémon Showdown! (pokemonshowdown.com) vs. Jirachi Balance: Random ladder replay here (I dropped like 250 ELO on this account testing other stuff). First few turns here were awful play by me, letting Hippowdon get tricked and needlessly giving away Torn-T. However, I found a switch-in opportunity on Moltres, letting me Bolt Beak (since I removed Garchomp with Shifu). Jirachi gets OHKOed (!) and Garganacl gets 2HKOed (!!), and my opponent forfeits.
[Gen 9] National Dex: RunicPower419 vs. looking 4 horizons - Replays - Pokémon Showdown! (pokemonshowdown.com) vs. Wellspring Balance: This was round 2 against Runic. Dracozolt eliminates Gliscor, which is Runic's only check to it, and the rest of the team falls apart. This is yet another example of how Dracozolt can break common defensive cores and singlehandedly win games.
[Gen 9] National Dex: looking 4 horizons vs. Ineros - Replays - Pokémon Showdown! (pokemonshowdown.com) vs. Mega Latias Bulky Offense: Another example of how Dracozolt can eliminate its answer (this time in Gliscor) and just win. Tera Dragon Toxapex gave him a stay of execution, but Scald not burning meant that it was over.
[Gen 9] National Dex: looking 4 horizons vs. AnotherDahnessAlt - Replays - Pokémon Showdown! (pokemonshowdown.com) vs. BuluHands Bulky Offense: While this isn't the best showcase of Dracozolt, it was still able to beat two natural resistances to it in Tapu Bulu and Iron Hands. This is moreso an example of how Dracozolt, with the proper team support, can either break through teams or clean up weakened oppositin.
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any thoughts on Blaziken?
I've found it to be really underwhelming, oftentimes I feel like it doesn't contribute anything to a game when you bring it. I think that if you want to bring a fast fire type you'd be much better off running Gouging Flame. It's proven itself to be a solid all around option and it feels like it's contributing consistently when you bring it
I want to give some noms for the new mons, because no one has so far. (These are first impressions btw so I wouldn’t be surprised if they were completely off.)
B+/A-: Ok I know earlier I’ve said arch was mid before but I’ve seen it work. Very good typing is part of why it’s decent in the first place. It also has an insane signature move which can help with its lack of setup outside of iron defense (but you aren’t running that on rain, where arch is almost always found) and is very powerful in its own right. It has great spatk (125) so it actually makes use of a decent stab combo (which includes Draco) and electro shot. Great defense also helps it take even a super effective hit. Some issues I see with arch are a middling speed tier, spikes weakness, and being weak to the best offensive type in ground. It does really well against bulkier builds that include mola/Glisc, but doesn’t really do well against more offense builds with such a low speed. Weaknesses against ival and lele (even with av) don’t help it. Everyone right now is running the av set with body press to do more damage to things like ting Lu, blobs and mtar under rain. Tera options could include Tera grass to continue checking waterpon or Tera flying to do better against Zama/mlop.
A- this mon in my opinion is very underrated. Although it has a very bad typing which loses to a lot of the threats in the meta such as lele, ival, and np tornt, it has a slew of good traits. First, it has regenerator, which is without contest one of the top 3 singles abilities. Unlike its fellow Regen grasses in tangrowth and amoonguss, it also brings great offensive pressure with a nasty plot + recover set, making it a scary wincon. It also shuts down a lot of defensive cores which mainly feature alomomola with heatran and ting Lu/gliscor. Not only does it have the stats and tools to be a wincon, it also has great coverage as well! Earth power is your main coverage move, but you can also run hydro pump to hit volcarona and moltres. It also has an amazing signature move which can double to 160 BASE POWER 30% of the time…. The same as, you know, scald. The tera option I see mainly working is Tera poison to help against ival and other fairies like koko and clef.
B This mon is… weird but it has some merit to be used. For starters, it has a great typing for this meta which checks a lot of mons such as Tapu lele, the new iron Boulder, and ival to an extent. It checking lele would be enough to put it in some kind of niche, but it also has a respectable base spatk of 122, which can be used in a couple ways. First off, you can run a speed booster cm set, which is very nice because it outruns 2 main scarfers in lele and shifu and outspeeds mons like mmedi, enam, and specs/Lo ival. Calm mind makes up for the power loss you need for speed booster and with an effectively 100 bp steel move and great coverage in focus blast, it can be decently threatening. Secondly, you can use a pivot set with av or boots. This has the same idea as glowking, except you aren’t slow pivoting, as crown here uses a stronger fsight + vswitch which helps mons like Zama and Mmaw. Some problems with this mon are a not great speed tier, not great offensive typing, and competes as a fsight pivot with glowking which brings a lot of utility over crown such as twave and slow pivots. A good Tera I see with this is dragon which helps against waterpon and gives a fire resist.
B+/A- Raging bolt is interesting due to being an electric type which handles waters and claps (literally) a lot of regular offense styles with scarf rotom wash, shifu, hsam, and ival as well as a stab which crushes grounds in Draco meteor. This thing is kinda like a “guard” of sorts that decides if a team is way too passive or not, as it very threatening with sub cm sets with a great 137 spatk. On these sets it can run either dragonium z or lefties, depending if you want this thing to live long term or short term. Dragonium z gives a no drawback nuclear bomb that dents even steel resists with a cm boost. This is me posting, so I can’t go without talking about taunt boots pivot bolt, which helps deny spikes/rocks from Ferro and recovery from mons like Garg, clefable, and gliscor allowing it to pressure these mons and pivot out to another teammate to capitalize on this pressure. My personal favorite Tera is grass, which helps still check waterpon while giving a ground resist. Unfortunately, this mon gets hit by a lot of things super effectively right now, such as the 2 big fairies, grounds, and coverage from mons like waterpon, heatran, and dnite.
A/A+
The more I look at this mon, the more threatening it appears. It is just very versatile. You may think this is a worse xard looking at its stats and a not as impressive 115 attack, but it is actually the opposite. You can take advantage of this thing’s bulk (which is better than dialga’s physically btw) by using a dragon dance set. You can run either dragonium z outrage, as well as boots and booster with scale shot. A defensive set can also most definitely be used, taking advantage of a new signature move in burning bulwark (basically burn protect) to punish most physical attackers all game such as Zama, msciz, great tusk, and grasses like kart and rilla. There are even more gimmicky sets such as outrage temper flare as well as a spdef booster set I saw someone use which helps against lele and ival as well as other spatkers such as np tornt and yard. Although there are few all-game checks, some ones that come to mind are Mola, Lando, and iron Boulder, but all these are solved by using Teras like steel or grass/flying.
A+/S- This thing is just amazing. Although it has a… not so great defensive typing, look at its stellar offesnive traits! It has a great offensive typing with great coverage in close combat, which beats Ferro and ohkos mtar without any boosts as well. Also, z moves are a blessing for Boulder as it already has a great speed tier, outrunning Gren, tornt, and no booster ival as well as hitting a lot of things neutrally. Booster is also a great item as it basically invalidates every form of speed control that isn’t priority. This thing shreds through all sorts of playstyles, ranging from hyper offense to stall thanks to the eterrain it’s usually paired with. Oh yeah, it also has a 100 accurate rock move as well with the same Bp as moonblast. It also has sd to boost its already great attack even further. It even doesn’t even need to worry about bad typing because of Teras like grass, flying, poison or steel. There are really not any true answers to this thing, but if you want to fend it off the best you can you can use Mola, skarmory, and papaya tusk (shoutout to hidin for coming up with the papaya tusk idea).
B+/A-: Ok I know earlier I’ve said arch was mid before but I’ve seen it work. Very good typing is part of why it’s decent in the first place. It also has an insane signature move which can help with its lack of setup outside of iron defense (but you aren’t running that on rain, where arch is almost always found) and is very powerful in its own right. It has great spatk (125) so it actually makes use of a decent stab combo (which includes Draco) and electro shot. Great defense also helps it take even a super effective hit. Some issues I see with arch are a middling speed tier, spikes weakness, and being weak to the best offensive type in ground. It does really well against bulkier builds that include mola/Glisc, but doesn’t really do well against more offense builds with such a low speed. Weaknesses against ival and lele (even with av) don’t help it. Everyone right now is running the av set with body press to do more damage to things like ting Lu, blobs and mtar under rain. Tera options could include Tera grass to continue checking waterpon or Tera flying to do better against Zama/mlop.A- this mon in my opinion is very underrated. Although it has a very bad typing which loses to a lot of the threats in the meta such as lele, ival, and np tornt, it has a slew of good traits. First, it has regenerator, which is without contest one of the top 3 singles abilities. Unlike its fellow Regen grasses in tangrowth and amoonguss, it also brings great offensive pressure with a nasty plot + recover set, making it a scary wincon. It also shuts down a lot of defensive cores which mainly feature alomomola with heatran and ting Lu/gliscor. Not only does it have the stats and tools to be a wincon, it also has great coverage as well! Earth power is your main coverage move, but you can also run hydro pump to hit volcarona and moltres. It also has an amazing signature move which can double to 160 BASE POWER 30% of the time…. The same as, you know, scald. The tera option I see mainly working is Tera poison to help against ival and other fairies like koko and clef.B This mon is… weird but it has some merit to be used. For starters, it has a great typing for this meta which checks a lot of mons such as Tapu lele, the new iron Boulder, and ival to an extent. It checking lele would be enough to put it in some kind of niche, but it also has a respectable base spatk of 122, which can be used in a couple ways. First off, you can run a speed booster cm set, which is very nice because it outruns 2 main scarfers in lele and shifu and outspeeds mons like mmedi, enam, and specs/Lo ival. Calm mind makes up for the power loss you need for speed booster and with an effectively 100 bp steel move and great coverage in focus blast, it can be decently threatening. Secondly, you can use a pivot set with av or boots. This has the same idea as glowking, except you aren’t slow pivoting, as crown here uses a stronger fsight + vswitch which helps mons like Zama and Mmaw. Some problems with this mon are a not great speed tier, not great offensive typing, and competes as a fsight pivot with glowking which brings a lot of utility over crown such as twave and slow pivots. A good Tera I see with this is dragon which helps against waterpon and gives a fire resist.B+/A- Raging bolt is interesting due to being an electric type which handles waters and claps (literally) a lot of regular offense styles with scarf rotom wash, shifu, hsam, and ival as well as a stab which crushes grounds in Draco meteor. This thing is kinda like a “guard” of sorts that decides if a team is way too passive or not, as it very threatening with sub cm sets with a great 137 spatk. On these sets it can run either dragonium z or lefties, depending if you want this thing to live long term or short term. Dragonium z gives a no drawback nuclear bomb that dents even steel resists with a cm boost. This is me posting, so I can’t go without talking about taunt boots pivot bolt, which helps deny spikes/rocks from Ferro and recovery from mons like Garg, clefable, and gliscor allowing it to pressure these mons and pivot out to another teammate to capitalize on this pressure. My personal favorite Tera is grass, which helps still check waterpon while giving a ground resist. Unfortunately, this mon gets hit by a lot of things super effectively right now, such as the 2 big fairies, grounds, and coverage from mons like waterpon, heatran, and dnite.A/A+ The more I look at this mon, the more threatening it appears. It is just very versatile. You may think this is a worse xard looking at its stats and a not as impressive 115 attack, but it is actually the opposite. You can take advantage of this thing’s bulk (which is better than dialga’s physically btw) by using a dragon dance set. You can run either dragonium z outrage, as well as boots and booster with scale shot. A defensive set can also most definitely be used, taking advantage of a new signature move in burning bulwark (basically burn protect) to punish most physical attackers all game such as Zama, msciz, great tusk, and grasses like kart and rilla. There are even more gimmicky sets such as outrage temper flare as well as a spdef booster set I saw someone use which helps against lele and ival as well as other spatkers such as np tornt and yard. Although there are few all-game checks, some ones that come to mind are Mola, Lando, and iron Boulder, but all these are solved by using Teras like steel or grass/flying.
A+/S- This thing is just amazing. Although it has a… not so great defensive typing, look at its stellar offesnive traits! It has a great offensive typing with great coverage in close combat, which beats Ferro and ohkos mtar without any boosts as well. Also, z moves are a blessing for Boulder as it already has a great speed tier, outrunning Gren, tornt, and no booster ival as well as hitting a lot of things neutrally. Booster is also a great item as it basically invalidates every form of speed control that isn’t priority. This thing shreds through all sorts of playstyles, ranging from hyper offense to stall thanks to the eterrain it’s usually paired with. Oh yeah, it also has a 100 accurate rock move as well with the same Bp as moonblast. It also has sd to boost its already great attack even further. It even doesn’t even need to worry about bad typing because of Teras like grass, flying, poison or steel. There are really not any true answers to this thing, but if you want to fend it off the best you can you can use Mola, skarmory, and papaya tusk (shoutout to hidin for coming up with the papaya tusk idea).I agree with basically everything said here... That being said I COMPLETELY disagree with the archualadon that thing is terrible and should be c tier it isn't really slottable on rain in complete honesty considering how crucial ferrothorn is to the playstyle and it's speed is in an awkward range where it's way too fast for tr but also too slow for non tr. Off rain it just doesn't really do anything uniquely valuable anyways.
going to be honest here, I don't think boulder is it. Rock psychic is super shitty typing in general, cc is good but it's nothing to write home about, you don't even ohko physdef ferro after an sd unless you tera or use a zmove, and it gets completely stuffed by lando. Unboosted you're doing literally like 30% max to alo, and you're 3hkod by flip turn. I don't think necessarily BAD, I just thing it's way too fragile for its own good, especially when you consider its weaknesses to common priority options like bullet punch or sucker punch. Ultimately I think it's just far too prediction-reliant to be better than anything but A-, and I would rather use something like sd ival or gouging as a physical breaker
edit: ok I literally got 6-0d by boulder 2 hours after making this post maybe it's good
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Does it really matter if it's defensive typing is shit if it sets up and sweeps your team?
Definitely not especially since there may or may not be a busted mechanic that lets u 50/50 every turn by changing ur defensive typing to whatever you want letting you get off free subs or SD
not like this would ever happen and I would get unluckily matched up vs a sub boulder whose typing perfectly countered my entire team....
The Tera type doesn’t need to counter your entire team. It just needs something it can setup on. You already nearly outspeed everything with booster so it’s very difficult to revenge kill if you’re setup/behind sub. The practicality of this occurring in game will vary on game position and match ups. I don’t think it’s productive to get too hypothetical.
to B+this mon was already very underrated before the dlc and now luster purge got buffed to 95 power plus it got flip turn which idk if ur ever using that but its still cool
First VR update of DLC 2, it's a little delayed but I feel like we got a good grasp on where the new mons are at
edit: here's the sheet as well
Code:
New Additions:
Iron-Boulder: A
Gouging Fire: A-
Raging-Bolt: A-
Iron-Crown: B+
Hydrapple: C+
Archaludon: C-
Rises:
Gliscor: A+ -> S-
Ferrothorn: A -> A+
Landorus-Therian: A -> A+
Slowking-Galar: A- -> A
Clefable: B -> B+
Latias-Mega: B -> B+
Rotom-Wash: B -> B+
Cinderace: B- -> B
Greninja-Ash: B- -> B
Hawlucha: B- -> B
Iron-Hands: B- -> B
Ceruledge: C+ -> B-
Latios-Mega: C+ -> B-
Meowscarada: C+ -> B-
Ogerpon-Cornerstone: C+ -> B-
Serperior: C -> B-
Slowbro: C+ -> B-
Venusaur-Mega: C -> B-
Corviknight: C -> C+
Excadrill: C -> C+
Chansey: C- -> C
Grimmsnarl: C- -> C
Jirachi: C- -> C
Ribombee: C- -> C
Tapu-Bulu: C- -> C
Drops:
Iron Valiant: S- -> A+
Garchomp: A- -> B+
Ting-Lu: A- -> B+
Charizard-Mega-Y: B+ -> B
Pelipper: B+ -> B
Swampert-Mega: B+ -> B
Barraskewda: B -> B-
Victini: B -> B-
Basculegion: B- -> C+
Charizard-Mega-X: B- -> C+
Basculegion-F: C+ -> C
Clodsire: C+ -> C
Cresselia: C+ -> C
Hatterene: C+ -> C
Magnezone: C -> C-
Greninja: C+ -> UR
Ogerpon: C- -> UR
Sinistcha: C- -> UR
Tyranitar: C- -> URedit: here's the sheet as well
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