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Checks important special attackers (most notably Cm Clef) and unlike Pex, Ferro, and Tran it isn't weak to any of clef's common coverage options. It is also pretty hard to switch into with its great movepool and STAB options which make Sludge Bomb hard to beat. It partners up very well with Ash-Greninja most notably, as it can threaten out Agren's checks like Spd Tapu Bulu, Tapu Fini, Ferrothorn, Clefable, and makes sure Toxapex will not be able to switch into Ashgren after Future Sight, while Greninja can destroy most of Glowking's bad MUs and can abuse Future Sight as much as possible with U-turn or use Spikes to make Slowking's Sludge Bomb and Flamethrower even harder to switch into. Some other solid teammates are Mega Lopunny and Dragon types which appreciate Glowking's ability to check Cm Fini and Cm Clef. Future Sight + Regenerator is just very good.
Now despite this it has several drawbacks which prevent it from being A-. It has its fair share of bad top tier MUs, and its lack of even passive recovery is expoitable. It is also rather reliant on AV to check things reliably which gives it a slightly harder time against Knock Off which its checks sometimes carry.
I agree with nomming Ash-Greninja and Kart to at the very least S. I think Blaziken should be in C, B+ seems ridiculous but I don't think it should be Unranked. I also think Volcanion deserves a bigger rise, probably to B-.
Checks important special attackers (most notably Cm Clef) and unlike Pex, Ferro, and Tran it isn't weak to any of clef's common coverage options. It is also pretty hard to switch into with its great movepool and STAB options which make Sludge Bomb hard to beat. It partners up very well with Ash-Greninja most notably, as it can threaten out Agren's checks like Spd Tapu Bulu, Tapu Fini, Ferrothorn, Clefable, and makes sure Toxapex will not be able to switch into Ashgren after Future Sight, while Greninja can destroy most of Glowking's bad MUs and can abuse Future Sight as much as possible with U-turn or use Spikes to make Slowking's Sludge Bomb and Flamethrower even harder to switch into. Some other solid teammates are Mega Lopunny and Dragon types which appreciate Glowking's ability to check Cm Fini and Cm Clef. Future Sight + Regenerator is just very good.
Now despite this it has several drawbacks which prevent it from being A-. It has its fair share of bad top tier MUs, and its lack of even passive recovery is expoitable. It is also rather reliant on AV to check things reliably which gives it a slightly harder time against Knock Off which its checks sometimes carry.
I agree with nomming Ash-Greninja and Kart to at the very least S. I think Blaziken should be in C, B+ seems ridiculous but I don't think it should be Unranked. I also think Volcanion deserves a bigger rise, probably to B-.
Beedrill-Mega @ Beedrillite
Ability: Sniper
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Knock Off
- Poison Jab
- Drill Run
Although Mega Beedrill is widely regarded as a noob trap, and one of the less reliable Megas available, I believe its strong STABs and unparalleled pivoting ability give it a unique niche on VoltTurn teams. Specifically, it shines well on teams alongside Electric-types, who use it for ample entry opportunities and late-game cleaning of Ground- and Steel-types. Knock Off is a solid tool for getting rid of annoying items, like Landorus-T or Corviknight's Rocky Helmet, Chansey's Eviolite, or an assortment of Pokemon's Leftovers. Poison Jab is also a surprisingly good tool - the high poison chance lets it break through Landorus-T and several other miscellaneous switch-ins like Alomomola (as shown below). One teammate I see as mandatory for Beedrill is Magnezone, for the obvious reasons - it can very easily remove Beedrill's two biggest roadblocks in Corviknight and Skarmory. Below, I will share an example of a team I have built around Beedrill and some replays in which it performs its job well.
Essentially, Beedrill is good because it provides an amazing matchup vs offensive teams, as a premier revenge killer coupled with its momentum-grabbing teammates. However, as seen in the replays below, it also exerts heavy pressure against fatter builds, using its teammates' support in double Defog and pivoting to steadily chip down opponents with its strong U-turn and blistering Speed. It is a potent, albeit niche, pivot that works extremely well with proper team support. It fits well in B rank alongside most of the other more niche threats, thanks to its potent offensive potential that gives it usefulness in the vast majority of possible matchups; some of the negative aspects bringing it down include the sheer amount of team support required, weakness to priority, and struggle vs certain Stealth Rock setters.
This is the first National Dex team I have built by myself, after being inspired by some random in the official Smogon Discord to try and make Beedrill work. I took certain liberties that I probably would not have without being proficient in the tier, but I believe that the team is cohesive and utilizes Beedrill to its full potential.
The initial concept was built around Mega Beedrill + Magnezone, to eliminate its two major roadblocks in Corviknight and Skarmory, while forcing huge chip on Ground-types with Flash Cannon. I added HP Grass after facing a Gastrodon, but this moveslot is very flexible - HP Ice or Fire would also fit fine here, but Rising Voltage adequately deals with Ferrothorn so I didn't think having it was too necessary. Defog Landorus-T gives me insurance vs most of the physical Stealth Rock users in the tier while using HP Ice to surprise other Ground-types with a good chunk of damage and providing convenient pivoting support to form part of the VoltTurn core. Tapu Fini is my other Defogger, mostly here just for Heatran and to ensure I don't lose to Ash Greninja or rain. The last two members of the team, Tapu Koko and Zapdos, round out the Electric spam offensive core. Because neither really need Heavy-Duty Boots with this offensive core, I chose to take a more interesting approach by using Terrain Exetnder (coupled with Telepathy Tapu Fini) and Rising Voltage Zapdos to more easily bust through Steel-types like Heatran while using Flyinium Z to power through Gliscor, Hippowdon, and Landorus-T. Overall, this team has been very fun to use - the reward for playing aggressively is very high and it's pretty easy to trap opponents into VoltTurn pivoting cycles using each of the pivots and wallbreakers to their full potential.
I am really newbie to this tier and to this type of posts but I would like it to give it a try. I would understand every response to my post, which could be difficult to share due to my unexperience. I am also a non-native English speaker, I am spanish, so srry if something its not quite legible or it is difficult to understand.
With this Wacan Berry set, which figured in the sample teams resource of National Dex, Manaphy stallbreaking power is almost unstoppable. Its suboptimal Speed tier in conjunction with its great stats (100 in every one) makes Manaphy a good choice in offense and hyper offense teams. Getting a Tail Glow set up its quite easy in the tier, only being really pressured by Electric and Grass types, and with the help of Wacan Berry half problem is solved. Rillaboom (with Grassy Glide) and Kartana (with its optimal Speed) are the best Manaphy check, but they are not as used as before. However its great coverage optiones (Ice Beam and Energy Ball) allows it to destroy entire teams if u can set up with Tail Glow.
Here i show some calcs vs common Pokémon:
252+ SpA Manaphy Ice Beam vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Landorus-Therian: 432-512 (113 - 134%) -- guaranteed OHKO no Tail Glow needed
+3 252+ SpA Manaphy Surf vs. 252 HP / 88 SpD Corviknight: 348-409 (87 - 102.2%) -- 18.8% chance to OHKO
+3 252+ SpA Manaphy Energy Ball vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Greninja-Ash: 476-560 (167 - 196.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO +2 252+ SpA Manaphy Energy Ball vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Greninja-Ash: 476-560 (167 - 196.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO vs Ash-Greninja with Chocie Specs it can survive a hit and OHKOing it
+3 252+ SpA Manaphy Energy Ball vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Tapu Fini: 358-422 (104 - 122.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO Scarfer Fini 3HKOs Manaphy with Moonblast, but its OHKOed by Energy Ball (after TG)
Maybe Pokémon like Ferrothorn, Toxapex... can wal Manaphy with ease but I have played 20 consecutive games and haven't seen them in almost a game despite being A/A+ Pokémon. In conclusion, due to the facility of making set up I have found and the incredible coverage options of Manaphy, I think that it should be A- ranked.
Maybe Pokémon like Ferrothorn, Toxapex... can wal Manaphy with ease but I have played 20 consecutive games and haven't seen them in almost a game despite being A/A+ Pokémon. In conclusion, due to the facility of making set up I have found and the incredible coverage options of Manaphy, I think that it should be A- ranked.
I agree with giving a rise, but not for the reasons you stated. If you're using , it's generally on some form of HO or in rain, and generally, you'll want a Waterium Z over anything else. With a Waterium Z, at +3 SpAtk, a Hydro Vortex is a killing machine to just about anything which is not immune to it's attack. This is furthur augmented if rain is present. Even is in risk of drowning after even a tiny bit of chip.
+3 252+ SpA Hydro Vortex (175 BP) vs. 252 HP / 176+ SpD : 225-264 (63.9 - 75%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
As coverage options, you'd generally want Ice Beam or Psychic. Psychic 1-shots Toxapex, which is crucial, given just how many pokemon become dangerous once is dealt with. Ice Beam on the other hand, deals with Manaphy's Grass weakness.
252 SpA Ice Beam vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD : 220-260 (64.5 - 76.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery
252 SpA Ice Beam vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD : 195-230 (75.2 - 88.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Both Pokemon get 2HKOed by an Ice Beam, and these are just 2 of it's best checks. is probably the closest thing to a true Manaphy counter. comes close, but fails to get the OHKO with Freeze Dry without Specs and can't handle rain boosted Waterium Z
+3 252 SpA Hydro Vortex (175 BP) vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD in Rain: 485-571 (124 - 146%) -- guaranteed OHKO.
That's why I prefer Waterium Z over other items since it gives Manaphy the breaking power to not care about MSS that much. Here are calcs against a few "counters"
+3 252 SpA Hydro Vortex (175 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD : 237-279 (68.8 - 81.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
+3 252 SpA Hydro Vortex (175 BP) vs. 248 HP / 92 SpD : 320-377 (74.2 - 87.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Black Sludge recovery
+3 252 SpA Hydro Vortex (175 BP) vs. 164 HP / 0 SpD : 324-382 (88.5 - 104.3%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO
+3 252 SpA Hydro Vortex (175 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD : 219-258 (72 - 84.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+3 252 SpA Hydro Vortex (175 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD : 393-463 (137.8 - 162.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+3 252 SpA Hydro Vortex (175 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD : 457-538 (64 - 75.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
I feel like, 's great bulk (raw bulk is similar to Toxapex on that regard), absolutely devastating power and decent enough speed (most pokemon faster than it can't kill it while most Pokemon slower than it get killed before. and risk very dangerous 50-50 speed ties) certainly warrant a rise
UR --> C
Tornadus (M) @ Flyinium Z
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hurricane
- Focus Blast
- Nasty Plot
- Taunt / Heat Wave
Torn I is an absolutely devastating wallbreaker, cleaves past most stalls and fat without much problem. The main allure over Thundy is STAB Hurricane, which basically gives this mon two switchins if its at plus two in the entire tier. Speed tier is very nice, creeping lati is actually really major and if some crackhead is using greedvile for whatever reason u outspeed that as well, get the jump on kart, etc. Last slot is fairly flexible with Focus Blast and Hurricane already covering the majority of things, I like Taunt as it turns your fat matchup into basically a free win, however Heat Wave can be nice for bopping corv a bit easier or if you don't like how much blast misses vs steels. Alternatively I've experimented with Z Icy Wind on ladder for Zapdos, but that's normally an lol. Don't have many replays but here's one from a while back that showcases its potential even tho I end up losing: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nationaldex-1285955803-nhjainyhjm8fms1gn8vtclawyw87kqjpw
B- --> C
I made the mistake of using this mon recently and I won't be doing it again. Essentially the only thing I like about this mon is the fact that it can surprise kill Weavile, which is legit something Colbur Bro can do already. The Glowbro interaction seems cool at first but is also extremely transparent and any competent player can force u out or force a mega quite easily, not to mention the severe 4mss that greatly hinders its ability to be a good cm user. Altogether, mega bro feels too niche even for B- and deserves a drop.
B- --> C
While I don't believe Char X is totally unviable, thanks to surprise factor and a somewhat cool typing, along with the sheer power that we all know about, I do have to concur that this mon is very very mediocre and struggles to do much of anything in the current meta. It's in this horribly awkward spot where it's pretty much only usable on HO (which is not at its best rn) and takes up a mega slot while being horribly rocks weak, which means your HO really has to double down on hazard removal at all costs, otherwise you've essentially got a useless mega slot. It also suffers from bad 4mss, as you realistically want all of blitz, roost, dclaw/outrage, and eq. Without roost you're basically just a Blaziken taking up your mega slot, without dragon coverage and all of a sudden you're losing to stuff like lati and chomp which is laughable, and drop eq and you're now walled by tran. I know other sets like Sd and Drum have been experimented with, but those are horribly niche and I'd really rather use Kommo-o over it. CharX just is not a good mon to use, and a drop would reflect this well.
B+ --> A-
I know everyone won't be a fan of this, but I think the Zapdos hate train is more than a little undeserved, and people have definitely been harsh with it. Zap is a very good offensive mon, as electric/fire/flying/ice potential coverage is insanely annoying to switch into. 3a sets are just really solid and very good vs a lot of common bulky offense teams, especially Mega Lopunny ones, as Static is a great deterrent from Turn/PUP spam. Additionally, the commonly shit on defog set actually works well when used with Z Hurricane on a faster paced team, as shown in my sample. It's not the best thing in the world, but you're not begging for a third attack and being able to ohko a lot of grounds with little to no chip with your Z move allows you to fog later on fairly often. Zapdos is also a staple on rain teams which I believe to be very underrated right now. All in all, I think Zap's potent offensive potential combined with its quite underrated defensive attributes and a frustrating ability to para your pokemon the millisecond they decide to click a contact move warrants a rise, although I understand if this is an unpopular train of thought.
UR --> C
I think Lycanroc-Dusk should be ranked as even though it kinda, dies to alot of things, it kills alot of things too, and it always works wonders for destroying things quickly, like Volcarona and the Char Megas, and it has a decent movepool, with moves like psychic fangs and close combat, and it outspeeds most mons, but i still think the main problem is the speed, yes it is faster than MOST of the mons in the national dex, However, it is still not as fast as things like greninja but still as frail, and the only thing it can do about those mons, are accelerock, but since greninja is still faster, he can hit lycanroc-dusk faster and stronger, so it relies on switch-ins too, as without a switch-in to tank the hit, lycanroc-d can die pretty easily, especially when the opposing teams can also have things like webs and scarfed mons, and in those situations, lycanroc-d has pretty bad chances to outspeed, making the speed of a Jolly Max Speed Lycanroc-d, 233, which is pretty garbo if you dont have webs of your own to even the speed out ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Calcs: 252 Atk Life Orb Lycanroc-Dusk Stone Edge vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Charizard-Mega-X: 361-429 (121.5 - 144.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 Atk Life Orb Tough Claws Lycanroc-Dusk Accelerock vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Charizard-Mega-Y: 504-598 (169.6 - 201.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 Atk Life Orb Tough Claws Lycanroc-Dusk Close Combat vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Chansey: 543-642 (77.2 - 91.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO (so close :c)
252 Atk Life Orb Tough Claws Lycanroc-Dusk Thunder Fang vs. 248 HP / 168+ Def Corviknight: 169-200 (42.3 - 50.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery (2hko after stealth rocks)
In my opinion, Both of this pokemon should be ranked because sun have a good matchup with webs,stall,balance,trick room,bulky offense and grass spam. Venusaur, torkoal and blaziken makes a good core for sun team.
Let me explain how to deal with the playstyle that i mention:
1)Against stall, blaziken is very good because nothing can stop blaziken from sweeping except quagsire but venusaur can help dealing with that.
2)Against bulky offense, you just need to out offense them and honestly its not that difficult.
3)Against grass spam, play blaziken and venusaur smartly and you can win.
4)Against balance , +2 firium blaziken in sun delete toxapex and mega latias, you could add weavile to dealing mega latias as well.
5)Against trick room, torkoal can help,protect from blaziken also help wasting trick room turn, you could add weavile to your team because weavile annoy trick room setter and have priority.
6)Against webs, torkoal can spin and lava plume the web setter and blaziken and venusaur sweep.
Mega Diancie is one of the best megas at the moment and a very great wall breaker. It can also be a nice rocker that can keep rocks up. I nom it to s rise to A+ because lot of mons and teams have a very difficult time dealing with diancie since moonblast+diamond storm+earth power just destroys a lot. This mon also has a nice speed tier which outspeeds non scarf kartana and alolan ninetails which are becoming popularized at the moment. Diancie is also hard to switch into with spikes and magnezone support which makes it 10x more threatening,especiall since lot of ppl's switchins to diancie is toxapex. It beats mons such as volcarona,kartana,charizarrd y and x,kommo,heatran,clefable,lando to some extent,garchomp,mega latias, and kyurem. Those mons are kinda common in the meta and having diancie on your side makes it easy to beat those mons.
Toxapex is easily top 5 pokemon in national dex and is on like 90% of teams because of its utlity. It can check greninja,zardy,weavile and checks a lot of other mons such as volc. It has access to regen which makes it hard to kill and a great movepool. Its movepool consists of scald,knock off,recover,toxic,toxic spikes,haze,poison jab for fini and baneful bunker. With all this and how it helps in a lot of games I nom it to S-. Toxapex kinda defines national dex meta and is always mentioned in the teambuilder. It also lives a lot of super effective hits and lets it toxic then regen up which helps in the long run.
Victini is a very underrated mon atm. The boots set is a very nice set that can break the meta with just 4 moves. V create,bolt strike, u turn and glaciate is all it needs to beat a good portion of the meta and is annoying to deal it. It doesn't take rocks dmg and hits hard against mons such as volcarona,toxapex,corviknight,mega scizor,ferrothorn,lando,gliscor,garchomp,clefable,it can annoying both lati twins andbeats tangrowth. I am nomming it to A- since its a dangerous mon to deal with and something not many really prep for.
Charizard Y is one of my favourite pokemon and is a very strong breakers. It struggles against chansey and toxapex but with some support it has the ability to break through those. Now a lot of people don't like it since it takes 50% from rocks so defog support is key when using it. There are of course ways to prevent charizard from taking rocks. Those ways are magic bounce and defog. People made hatterene and zardy cores which are very good because hatterene helps with rocks,chansey,kommo and pex which zardy struggles to beat. For defog there are good defoggers such as scarf lando,gliscor,corviknight,hydreigon and kartana. It also requires pursuit and future sight support for blissey/chansey and toxapex. I nom zardy to A- because despite the support needed it always does work with support given and is always a dangerous mon to battle. It threatens gliscor,clef,lando,tangrowth,scizor,heatran,ttar, and other mons in the tier.
Specs koko is a scary set to face when your ground is ice weak. Volt switch is always annoying to deal with but adding hp ice to the equation is ridiculous and the fact is can use grass knot is even more infuriating. This set is always threatening thanks to its speed which outspeeds weavile,non ash greninja,kartana,diancie,gengar and lati twins. I nom it to A+ because of the fact that koko has two more scary sets. Hdb koko is a very good pivot mon that helps some pokemon get in such as mawile,kartana,garchomp and other strong offensive mons. You are immune to hazards which helps you in long term alongside roost. CM koko is also a good pick with z fairy to kill stuff like lando,chomp,gliscor,clef etc and is a good late game wincon.
Mega heracross gets no credit in the metagame which is stupid considering the fact that its an amazing wallbreaker and hard to kill. It has a monstrous 185 base atk and access to swords dance,substiture,skill link,rock blast,bullet seed,close combat and pin missile. If you can get a sub and sd with this mon you will claim at least 1-3 mons. Koko hera is a very underrated duo and I am pretty sure peapod used that in ndlt which was nice. Hera can beat mons such as pex,corv after an sd,,sets up on tang,scizor,gliscor,lando,chomp,mawile etc. I nom it to B+ due to the fact is always pressures your opponent and that is has good bulk for substitute.
Melmetal is one of the most annoying mons to deal with. It lives random super effective moves and returns with an OHKO. It also has the most broken move double iron bash making it a good pick on t wave spam and trick room. The pads set is my favourite set but there is also assault vest,leftovers,choice band and other random sets people make. It can help beat mons such as corv,pex,tang,scizor,mawile,clef,kyurem,fini,good against the hail duo and latias. I nom it to A/A+ because of its offensive pressure and its bulk. Steel typing helps it so its immune to toxic,sand dmg and many resists which helps it eat up moves and attack.
Urshifu RS is really not talked about since the main fighting type is lopunny. I nom urshifu to A- because future sight urshifu just has no switchins and can easily overwhelm the meta game.You beat mons like lando,gliscor,pex,chomp,heatran,corviknight,lopunny,ferrothorn,lele,scizor,ash gren,weavile and volc. I was using a urshifu team with galar slowking and reach like 1890 on ladder which is good considering i also fought good players. Urshifu is really strong with the band set and there aren't many mons that want to switch into it.
I am still onboard with nidoking and galar moltres rise as well.
I believe that seismitoad has a solid niche in the metagame to the point where it is worthy of a rank. On offensive teams, it offers incredible role compression in being able to set rocks, block volt switch and being one of the best heatran checks in the tier.
Seismitoad @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 192 SpD / 64 Spe
Careful/Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Earthquake/Earth Power
- Stealth Rock
- Scald
- Refresh
Why use Seismitoad?
Of course, these traits can be compared easily to garchomp, which does the same thing whilst being a dangerous breaker with sd zmoves. However, toad has access to crucial moves in scald and refresh, as well as the freedom to run far more bulk investment and leftovers, checking special threats more effectively. Furthermore, it's typing allows it to come into tapu koko and zapdos' volt switch without instantly dying to hidden power ice or dazzling gleam, unlike many of its ground-type brethren. Refresh is an amazing move, allowing it to heal toxic from pex and tran as well as will-o-wisp from rotom-wash, especially important as it is immune to all of its direct attacks. While it does not threaten to OHKO defoggers like offensive rockers, it has access to scald, allowing it to cripple the likes of corviknight, rotom or even tapu fini if the toad user anticipates the defog to help its teammates break through much easier.
Another comparison could be made to gastrodon, which fulfills similar roles of special walling, only gastrodon has reliable recovery, allowing it to stay healthy longterm. However, gastrodon is incredibly passive, and has issues fitting its threatening moves, such as scald. As a result, after switching into a move e.g. heatran magma storm, the most gastrodon can be is recover (which can be abused) or fire off an attack which may do nothing, given the popularity of toxapex, corviknight and gliscor. Meanwhile, seismitoad is able to switch into the pokemon it checks and setup rocks or threaten a switchin with a burn.
What Makes Seismitoad Worthwhile in the Current Metagame?
The bulky offense and offense teams that most appreciate toad's magnificent compression are at an all-time high, as well as the pokemon it switches into most, being special victini, z tran and washtom whilst koko, magnezone and zapdos remain excellent. Of course, seismitoad is not perfect, as its lack of strong moves can leave it vulnerable to the likes of reuniclus and mega latias. However, the team structures that they fit on tend to be less common.
Replays: (I'll add more when i get more)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nationaldex-1438574631 - here seismitoad was able to lead vs my opponents koko and easily get up rocks while koko was unable to threaten it in return, doing the same thing to camerupt after eating an earth power. It was then able to shut down tapu bulu with a scald burn that allowed corviknight to completely sit on it.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nationaldex-1433118565 - a game taken from week 2 of ndpl, seismitoad could get rocks up early in the game while not caring for the toxics thrown at it due to refresh. As such, it was able to force in tangrowth, which after using its sleep, allowed mega latios to switch in relatively scot-free.
First time I've ever done something like this, feel free to roast me abt what i did wrong
First time I've ever done something like this, feel free to roast me abt what i did wrong
[/QUOTE]
Thing is the spdef set is pretty outclassed by spdef regular swampert, who shares all of toads good traits that you mentioned, has better bulk, high horsepower letting it function vs and on teams with grassy terrain and can not be a total momentum sink thanks to flip turn. Toads access to water water absorb does mean that it technically has something over pert, yet if this niche is needed for a team, I would argue gastro's role as a water ground would be more important overall as toad lacks clear smog and haze to check manaphy. Since it's overall outclassed imo, idt it has a niche and should then remain unranked.
Thing is the spdef set is pretty outclassed by spdef regular swampert, who shares all of toads good traits that you mentioned, has better bulk, high horsepower letting it function vs and on teams with grassy terrain and can not be a total momentum sink thanks to flip turn. Toads access to water water absorb does mean that it technically has something over pert, yet if this niche is needed for a team, I would argue gastro's role as a water ground would be more important overall as toad lacks clear smog and haze to check manaphy. Since it's overall outclassed imo, idt it has a niche and should then remain unranked.
No offense, but saying "pert and gastro better" really doesn't say much about how good or bad either party is.
Gastro and toed are so fundamentally different in both teamstyles they fit on and what role they fit on said team that boiling it down to "they both have a water immunity" is very unfair to the distinct advantages toed has (mainly rocks and a better movepool containing Knock-Off and a few tech moves). These advantages lend to toed being far less passive than gastro.
Pert meanwhile doesn't have water absorb, which alone kind of makes it worse because half the justification for using toed as a ground type over objectively superior ground types is water absorb and giving up on that defensive utility is huge even compared to flip turn. Speaking of flip turn, that's the only substantial advantage swampert has, since toed also has tech moves for grassy terrain (unless the damage calc and bulbapedia page are wrong, earth power and stomping tantrum don't lose power from grassy terrain) and those 15 extra defences aren't really a selling point, since you're arguing raw statistics without calculations to back them up.
Not trying to say that toed is good or even worth using, stall lord here so I've never touched it, even if I were to use it, I'd still probably think that it's kinda bad. But saying that toed is unviable because it's worse than two mons that don't really fill the same role as toed, while also ignoring the advantages toed has over those two mons isn't really a good way to see if a mon is bad or not (especially since pert is also UR).
Its not really about tournament games,since this is a resource for new players you can kinda base it off ladder too. It doesn't see much use but it has a lot of nice tools, its stats allow it to be a defensive wall or offensive. The choice band set is kinda cool i saw agency x dababy use it and it has a nice movepool with liquidation earthquake and ice punch there isn't many resists there. It can be an annoying defensive wall because ground types are always annoying and it has 1 weakness which is grass. So overall it does have use and I think it could be ranked maybe i'll make a post specifically on it ;)
Magnezone is genuinely one of the most threatening Pokemon in the tier right now and I don't think A realy justifies how good this thing is. The meta has shifted in a way where it is both highly valuable utility-wise and just good in its own right. All three sets (Specs, Z-Move, and Scarf) have genuine use in the meta at the moment; Specs is always good for the value of trapping conventional targets/being a good wallbreaker in its own right while also being really tough for most teams to safely Volt block, Z-Move sets trap a number of very important targets (MMaw, etc.), and Scarf is fantastic for getting the jump on several notable offensive threats at the moment and trapping Swords Dance Kartana (seriously try building with Scarf Zone not having to build with like three SD Kartana checks is very refreshing). The meta is currently primed for Zone to do its work, as Corviknight, Skarmory, Ferrothorn, and Mega Scizor are all very common and defensively very important to the teams that they fit on, while Kartana is one of the fiercest offensive threats currently in the meta with MMaw being as solid as ever. And, again, these are incredibly important defensive Pokemon; teams often need them to beat some of our most threatening Pokemon currently, such as Kartana, Tapu Lele, Tapu Koko, Calm Mind Clefable and Fini, Garchomp, Gliscor, Weavile, the list goes on. Building a team that covers everything that it has to while also not being total Zone bait is quite difficult at the moment, as the meta is packed with a lot of very difficult Pokemon to reliably answer over the course of a game, and Zone trapping some of our best, most important mons can spell out bad news. Steel Beam is also a nice upgrade that I'm seeing get used as well to increase Zone's wallbreaking capability. Overall, I feel that Zone is one of the largest threats in the meta right now and should be A+ as a result
Couple other quick noms
C -> B-
Moltres is pretty cool on fat stuff with its nice defensive profile giving these teams buffer against things like Heatran, Kartana, Mega Mawile, and Mega Charizard Y while also potentially easing efforts to pivot around Landorus-T. These teams can also make use of its PP Stalling abilities, especially vs. Offensive Heatran teams, which is very valuable at the moment what with how common it is. I also think pivot sets might have some value on more balanced stuff but I need to test that out a bit more. Still, what it offers bulkier stuff is enough to make it B- in my opinion.
B -> C
This thing is honestly awful right now. The meta is horribly hostile to it, as a lot of things that very easily beat it, such as Kartana, Magnezone, and Weavile, are all super common right now. It also doesn't check much that can't be covered with an overall superior Pokemon; Heatran is nice until it Toxics you, Mega Latias is kind of cool until you realize other fat pivots can do the same thing, and yeah it barely checks pivot Mega Lopunny but PuP sets can put Slowking into a very awkward situation. Running a water that doesn't check Ash-Gren can also be awkward right now, and its not as good as Slowbro against things like Mega Medicham and Landorus-T. The only time I could see this being used over Slowbro, Galarian Slowking, or like any other defensive water was if someone really needed to check CM Lele, Mega Diancie, and Heatran all in the same slot. So yeah you should pass over this unless you need some really specific role compression.
I'm at work so I'll keep this relatively short, but I wanted to nominate Mega Lopunny to S.
It's by far the most used mega in NDPL and for good reason. It's answers are limited, and pairing it with a breaker like Kyurem or a trapper like Magnezone pretty much covers all of them, and that doesn't even count the 4 other slots on the team. Lop is super splashable and fits on basically any non stall structure, and is very self sufficient. It shits on offense and has a very wide movepool that let's it do anything it wants. Wanna lure grounds for electrics? Triple Axel. Voltturn spam? U-turn fake out. Make fat teams sad? Encore Power up Punch. Hell, you can even run Healing wish on HO to give a teammate a second life or run double priority to stop DD/Speed boosting sweepers.
I've used it every week since week 3 of NDPL and while I'm telegraphing my teambuilding, it's hard for me to justify using any other mega outside of maybe lati or mdia, it's just that strong. It's put in work every single time I've used it and not once did I regret loading a lop team.
S rank is reserved for mons that are metagame defining, and Lop is more than deserving to be alongside Lando and Heatran in this tier.
If this gets pushback I'll go more in depth, but I sincerely believe Lop is more than deserving of S rank
Lop is super splashable and fits on basically any non stall structure, and is very self sufficient. It shits on offense and has a very wide movepool that let's it do anything it wants. Wanna lure electrics? Triple Axel. Voltturn spam? U-turn fake out. Make fat teams sad? Encore Power up Punch. Hell, you can even run Healing wish on HO to give a teammate a second life or run double priority to stop DD/Speed boosting sweepers.
Definitely agree with the nom to S id like it as a nice S- similar to where it was during meta, but as is, is the best counter offence mon you can fit on non-screens HO. Fake out + quick attack is an incredible set to splash on slower HO teams and softens the matchup vs practically any setup sweeper letting you stack several slower breakers on a team. This is crucial in allowing HOs to have an easier stall matchup. Encore + pup can brutally take advantage of many bulkier threats setting up on anything that clicks a recovery move and forcing them to switch which puts them in another sticky situation, has 100% perfect neutral coverage from scrappy + fighting + normal while this not only guarantees consistency in what it does it also effectively 3hkos everything in the game forces most slower switchins to heal and potentially get encore trapped again. Biggest thing holding back is the 4mss right now.
Lending my support to this nom because I said a while ago in natdex cord that I think this mon is just actually broken. It is absurdly easy to fit onto a team due to unresisted coverage. You're essentially adding offensive presence to your team that will have a consistent level of power across any matchup since you're always hitting for at least neutral. Granted you have to pair Lopunny with a stronger breaker to bypass mons over a certain defensive threshold but that's not hard to do within the constraints of teambuilding and Lop can bring these mons onto the field easily with a well predicted u-turn. Outside of strictly offensive teams Lopunny is still amazing since you can often get away with using it as speed control (no scarfer needed) and it revenge kills pretty well with fake out and potentially quick attack. Pup encore sets are just alright in my opinion cause you lose fake out but it's still something that makes you second guess your play when going against Lop that hasn't revealed a full moveset yet.
Buzzwole to B- Btw when nomming something, i recommand typing the name of the mon next to the sprite, so in the future people still can see what you are talking about, even if the sprite break for some reason, like here
On defensive teams, Buzzwole defensive profile is very valuable right now. Being a decent answer to offensive grounds, grasses (bar serp and normalium kart), MLop and Weavile, and even some niche threats like SD LO Crawdaunt while not being trapped by Zone is just awesome (For some of those threats you need significant defensive investment, however). Rocky helmet Buzzwole in particular can be really annoying for PUP MLopunny, which is usually a threat for defensive teams. Checking Weavile is also extremely valuable, because that thing actually doesn't have lot of reliable defensive answers, aside from like pex (steel birds are super fake checks to it - athough, even if Buzzwole is better at checking Weavile, it can still lose in certain scenarios, but i'll talk about that a bit later in the post).
It also possesses a nice offensive presence : Roost 3a can be surprisingly hard to switch into sometimes, and BU sets are underexplored wincons that rewards patient plays very well. So far i've been trying BU only on stall, but i believe it might work on semistall and fat balance teams as well. Here is an example of a stall featuring it (Built by Byleth and me for NDPL, against Kyotoshi): https://pokepast.es/068c1f90bbfd8d78
Won't go in depth too much, but basically Buzzwole glue that team very well, and allows it to work decently without relying on a steel that could be trapped. Being a win condition is a very nice plus as well here.
I'm not nomming it higher because its bad MUs against important presences like Clefable, Heatran or MMawile, or just special attackers in general, hold it back. MMawile in particular can restrict you even further in the builder, since skarm would overlap with Buzzwole, so you're stuck with bulky Volcarona or softer answers. It also hates hazards, and isn't very hard to chip with some smart pivoting or doubles (It is also worth to note that Band Weavile can 2HKO it with TAxel after rocks). Heavy Duty Boots won't save it either, since lot of stuff it attempts to check commonly run Knock Off. Sometimes it also kinda want to run multiple spreads at the same time, because bulk is needed to check stuff like Weavile proprely, while atk investment allows it to be actually threatening. However, i still believe its defensive feats warrants a rise to B-, because they are really useful rn.
Magnezone is genuinely one of the most threatening Pokemon in the tier right now and I don't think A realy justifies how good this thing is. The meta has shifted in a way where it is both highly valuable utility-wise and just good in its own right. All three sets (Specs, Z-Move, and Scarf) have genuine use in the meta at the moment; Specs is always good for the value of trapping conventional targets/being a good wallbreaker in its own right while also being really tough for most teams to safely Volt block, Z-Move sets trap a number of very important targets (MMaw, etc.), and Scarf is fantastic for getting the jump on several notable offensive threats at the moment and trapping Swords Dance Kartana (seriously try building with Scarf Zone not having to build with like three SD Kartana checks is very refreshing). The meta is currently primed for Zone to do its work, as Corviknight, Skarmory, Ferrothorn, and Mega Scizor are all very common and defensively very important to the teams that they fit on, while Kartana is one of the fiercest offensive threats currently in the meta with MMaw being as solid as ever. And, again, these are incredibly important defensive Pokemon; teams often need them to beat some of our most threatening Pokemon currently, such as Kartana, Tapu Lele, Tapu Koko, Calm Mind Clefable and Fini, Garchomp, Gliscor, Weavile, the list goes on. Building a team that covers everything that it has to while also not being total Zone bait is quite difficult at the moment, as the meta is packed with a lot of very difficult Pokemon to reliably answer over the course of a game, and Zone trapping some of our best, most important mons can spell out bad news. Steel Beam is also a nice upgrade that I'm seeing get used as well to increase Zone's wallbreaking capability. Overall, I feel that Zone is one of the largest threats in the meta right now and should be A+ as a result
Absolutely send this mon to A+ and while you're at it...
Corviknight A+ -> A
This mon is severely overrated by the community at large. Anyone who has been following NDPL OU games has likely seen the heavy Magnezone usage and it doesn't take a genius to figure out why this is bad for Corv. Even disregarding Magnezone I've felt for a while that Corviknight, while certainly one of the most splashable mons in the tier, struggles to do much more than u-turn for momentum in a majority of its games. Usage and winrate stats from NDPL are pretty revealing in this regard.
Week 1 of NDPL, tied for 6th most used mon and appeared on 25% of teams. Won only a single game in which both teams had Corviknight and it was a surprise bulk up set that cleaned rather than the standard defog + u-turn.
The following 3 weeks, Corv stayed very high in usage while maintaining a roughly 50% winrate.
Week 5 of NDPL, Corv usage beginning to drop off (Magnezone goes brrr) similar horrible winrate to week 1.
Week 6 of NDPL, Corv usage is in the dumpster with 1 win in 3 appearances. (Lameflame vs Gray) Corv came out for exactly one turn to get a slow u-turn on Fini and did nothing else.
To explain the problem I see with Corviknight:
This mon is very splashable due to amazing typing but this leads to Corv being slapped onto a lot of teams and expected to carry certain roles way harder than it actually can.
Take this balanced offense team from that NDPL game. Corv needs to defog rocks to keep Zard and Kyurem healthy or the team loses most of its offensive pressure. However, it also really wants to u-turn any time it comes onto the field to let in one of the breakers. Gray's team desperately needs it as a defogger, but it's also the team's physical wall and pretty much the only thing stopping Garchomp from having a field day. Offensive rockers in the current meta are very hostile to Corviknight to the point where it typically can't prevent rocks from going up for at least a few turns and instead has to come in and defog later. Mystical fire Mega-Diancie, Heatran, and rockium-Z Chomp and Lando will all beat this mon outright while Clef, Toxapex, and Ferro all have status options and knock off to put a lot of pressure on it. Assuming you aren't getting immediately trapped by a Magnezone, Corv is still hard pressed to find opportunities to perform hazard control and fulfill its role as a slow pivot. More often than not, it chooses to just spend the game u-turning for momentum because fighting the hazard war long-term is a losing battle that lets in the aforementioned offensive threats for free.
Now I just spent this whole post shitting on Corviknight, but I'm only nomming it down to A rank because nobody can deny it's still a really great mon. I just think that the playerbase rates it too highly and the current meta is not friendly to Corv at all.
HELLO EVERY1 i was told i wasnt too late to write these noms so i will do it now
UR > C
Moltres-Galar @ Flyinium Z
Ability: Berserk
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fiery Wrath
- Hurricane
- Nasty Plot
- Taunt
holy FUCK this mon is amazing. Literal loml. Okay so onto the nom fr.
GMolt is a potent fatbreaker with this set, shutting down stuff like Toxapex and Ferrothorn as free setup fodder, and it takes advantage of the overall passiveness of mosts fats. Modest Z Hurricane is extremely difficult to switch into, with even solid resists like Tapu Koko taking upwards of 70%
252+ SpA Moltres-Galar Supersonic Skystrike (185 BP) vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Tapu Koko: 174-205 (61.9 - 72.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Furthermore, Dark + Flying STABs are ridiculously hard to switch into consistently, especially when you factor in the Z-Moves and Nasty Plot. This set functions in a way Plot Torn T would, but without the Speed and longevity, and trades that for a secondary extremely spammable STAB and better special bulk. Okay so the real question is, why not use Taunt Hydreigon? Well for one, the STAB combination is much, much better, especially at besting fat, with Hydreigon basically unable to break past the likes of Clefable, especially Unaware ones without wasting a Ground-Z, and Ground / Dark means it has only 1 really spammable move in Dark Pulse. Forcing the Z Move to be on EP also means it lacks a lot of immediate power. Furthermore, the bulk decrease and typing difference is also extremely annoying, as GMolt being neutral to U-Turns and taking only just above 50 from Clefable Moonblasts is extremely helpful. Furthermore, being a Dark type that isnt instantly forced out by Mega Lop, and can soft check Aura Sphere Mega Latias is really great. However, this set really only fits on Offense and certain HOs, and Hydreigon is obviously overall better.
252 SpA Tapu Koko Thunderbolt vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Moltres-Galar in Electric Terrain: 254-300 (79.1 - 93.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 SpA Clefable Moonblast vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Moltres-Galar: 162-192 (50.4 - 59.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Lopunny-Mega Close Combat vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Moltres-Galar: 222-262 (69.1 - 81.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Never-Melt Ice Kyurem Ice Beam vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Moltres-Galar: 290-344 (90.3 - 107.1%) -- 43.8% chance to OHKO
252 SpA Tapu Lele Moonblast vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Moltres-Galar: 254-302 (79.1 - 94%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Keep in mind this is no bulk invested, assuming you do choose to invest in bulk you live a ton of other rolls.
This set is quite fishy IMO, and only works best on screens HO. However, if it does get going it is very effective and scary to deal with. It is certainly the best out of the other 3 other options.
This set allows GMolt to setup much more aggressively vs more offensive teams, due to Rest + Chesto Berry giving it an extra life. I saw this set used in OLT and I do think it has potential here.
RestTalk
Moltres-Galar @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Berserk
EVs: 152 HP / 252 SpA / 104 Spe (ev spread can probably be adjusted to be fatter)
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Rest
- Nasty Plot
- Sleep Talk
- Hurricane
A bit more of a long term wincon for fatter teams, RestTalk GMolt was a NDUU staple pre mew ban and can definitely see use here in NDOU.
Other noms: Rises-
MLop, Clefable A+>S- -Both extremely amazing Pokemon right now, with MLop being by far the best mega on teams, and a multitude of clef sets being used on a lot of teams, they both deserve S-
Magnezone, Ferrothorn, Tapu Koko A>A+ - All these Pokemon have risen in dominance over the past few weeks. Zone has been a big hot topic for discussion lately, and has been a very big influential mon. Ferrothorn loves the offense boom, and different Koko sets have seen a lot of teams due to how splashable they are right now.
Serperior, Melmetal A->A - Serp IMO is a near staple for a lot of HO teams, and have seen a ton of recent set variation, and is definitely a influential Pokemon with how painful it has been to deal with in the builder. People have finally realised that Melm is not hard to build with and need to l2p.
Volcarona B+>A-/A - I am really not sure why Volc is, and has been B+ LMAO this mon is a pain in this as, pretty much a staple for HO, seeing quite a lot of use on offenses and balances, certainly an amazing mon.
RotomW, Zapdos, Skarm B+>A- -The former 2 appreciate the offense boom and both Zap and Skarm appreciate the Lopunny boom. The latter also appreciates how solid Lop + Spikes are right now, and is a great blanket check for a lot of things.
Mega Latios B>B+/A- Idk why this is so low right now, certainly a great Pokemon, compressing a lot of roles offensively and defensively, and is a pain to deal with for a lot of BOs and Offenses.
Mew, Greninja B>B+ See: Lopunny + spikes, and more usage in Gren sets, with EBelt and Scarf being used more, and Boots seeing a fair bit of usage as well. Mew sets NEED to be experimented with more, it is an amazing Pokemon and i can see it at a- over time definitely.
Gyarados B->B - Really underrated Pokemon in HO, hot take but imo MChomp and Mxard are better HO mons than MGyara, and you’re better of with reg gyara in these HOs. Really underutilised in these days HOs, and def shld be used more.
Buzzwole C>B-/B - Really great glue mon on a lot of fats, and has been seeing quite a bit of usage on BOs as a blanket check to a lot, shld have been ranked higher.
Blacephalon, Hoopa-U, Moltres, Volcanion C>B- -Really great breakers and have much more defined niches, although I am a bit mixed on Hoopa-U but it does have potential as shown in stuff like NDLT, and a lot of bulky offenses / offenses find stuff like MDia + Volcanion, Blaceph + MDiancie/Tomb MSciz a pain to deal with. Molt has been seeing quite a bit of use throughout ndpl with more utility sets, and some sub sets as well which is really quite interesting. These mons are certainly more used and overall better than the other mons in C.
Drops-
Corv A+ > A - Kyo explained this p well
MChomp A > A- -When was the last time any1 used this? A good breaker, but definitely not the same polarising one it was last time, people have realised its not hard to deal with really
Slowbro A->B+/B - Very low usage, it is definitely not on the same tier as Drei and Melm, very little reason to use it rn.
Amoong, Bliss, Rilla, Excadrill B+>B - Amoong fell off, not much reason to use it rn, bliss rilla drill are all fairly mid and these have been very irrelevant for ages, although I do feel driller has more potential.
Arctozolt, Aegislash, Gengar B>B- - Zolt was just a craze, it should have never been ranked this high in the first place lmfao, both Aegi and Gar have not been used in ages although they still retain their niche.
Zarude B->C - I love the mon but unfortunately the meta right now is not kind to it, very lop and offense heavy.
MBro, Blaziken B->UR/C - Both terrible mons that have never been used in ages, Blaziken is a worse Xard and literally does nothing right now in this offense heavy meta, when was the last time some1 used Mega Bro seriously?
Crawdaunt, Dracozolt, Quagsire C>UR - Daunt as much as i love it cant work in this meta because of how fast paced it is, Zolt is a joke no one has used this seriously, Quag i dont really see any use on stall as much other than ig helping with twave melm?
Good morning everybody, as NDPL comes to an end we're back with a much needed VR update. Below are the changes, and here are the votes for those who are interested.
Code:
Rises
Lopunny-Mega: A+ -> S-
Ferrothorn: A -> A+
Magnezone: A -> A+
Victini: B+ -> A-
Latios-Mega: B -> B+
Buzzwole: C -> B-
Moltres: C -> B-
Seismitoad: UR -> C
Torkoal: UR -> C
Venusaur: UR -> C
Tornadus: UR -> C
Moltres-Galar: UR -> C
Drops
Corviknight: A+ -> A
Garchomp: A+ -> A
Garchomp-Mega: A -> B+
Diancie-Mega: A -> A-
Amoonguss: B+ -> B
Blissey: B+ -> B
Excadrill: B+ -> B
Aegislash: B -> B-
Gengar: B -> B-
Slowking: B -> C
Blaziken: B- -> C
Gallade-Mega: B- -> C
Charizard-Mega-X: B- -> UR
Slowbro-Mega: B- -> UR
Thundurus-T: B- -> C
Zarude: B- -> C
Crawdaunt: C -> UR
Dracozolt: C -> UR
Quagsire: C -> UR
If you've been following NDPL, you've surely noticed how overbearing Lopunny is in this highly offensive metagame. Offensive teams have to trade HP and play sack wars to get their revenge killers in, hoping to deal with Lopunny through passive damage such as Rocky Helmet and Spikes. Defensive teams are also greatly annoyed by Encore sets, and even the niche Toxic has seen use, further illustrating Lopunny's high flexibility. No team is truly safe from Lopunny, especially in a highly offensive metagame, and as such it is rising to S-.
Magnet Pull enabling several terrifying breakers such as Kyurem, Choice Specs Tapu Lele, and Garchomp is a highly useful trait as of late. Additionally, since Kartana is as terrifying as it is, removing it can be a blessing. Magnezone's effect on the teambuilder is no joke, with most teams shifting to defensive counterplay that isn't vulnerable to Magnezone's trapping, which can be seen through the great decline in Corviknight and defensive Mega Scizor usage. As such, it is rising a rank.
Victini's convenient defensive typing coupled with its useful offensive traits allow it to excel as an offensive pivot in the current metagame. Victini also has a very customizable moveset, with both physical and special sets being excellent. Encore also enables Victini to greatly annoy defensive teams, especially those anchored by Calm Mind Clefable or Mega Latias. All in all, these traits warrant a rise.
Heatran check not crippled by Toxic? Tapu Koko check? Stealth Rocks? These are highly desirable traits currently, earning Seismitoad its place in C
Sun is a pretty scary playstyle, especially as it sees more ladder usage. Venusaur is the biggest offensive threat Sun teams have, and is enabled by Torkoal, which compresses several roles very nicely. This results in them being ranked alongside each other.
Nasty Plot Tornadus is an offensive demon and completely rips up fatter teams. Its extremely positive matchup against these team styles warrant a rank in C.
Much like Tornadus above, Moltres's Nasty Plot sets are ridiculously scary, especially on hyper offensive teams. It also has deceptively high bulk, making it quite a menace to revenge kill. It'll be joining Tornadus in C.
The rise of Magnezone is one thing, but Corviknight is highly exploitable in this highly offensive metagame and doesn't play very actively, leading to a lot of play off the back foot. Corviknight also can't keep Stealth Rocks off against the single best Stealth Rocker in the tier, Heatran. Substitute + Bulk Up sets have taken over as the predominant set simply because of how lackluster Defog Corviknight is. Unfortunately, Corviknight is simply too easy to exploit in this current metagame, and is dropping to reflect this.
Once a terrifying offensive menace, Mega Garchomp simply does not cut it as of late. Being damaged while setting up is painful, it is revenge killed rather easily, and requires near perfect play to gain mileage against the common Heatran + Lando + Fini cores, without mention of Mega Lopunny's priority wearing it down rather easily when factoring in Scale Shot Defense drops. All in all, Mega Garchomp does not have enough breathing room to reliably function in this metagame, and is dropping a whole two ranks as a result.
Excadrill is frankly underwhelming. Offensive sets are mediocre at best into the omnipotent defensive cores running around lately, and relying on Sand Rush to provide speed control is inconsistent. It's dropping to reflect it's shortcomings.
Slowking taking up the Water slot on a team is very dissapointing, as it leads to incredibly awkward Ash-Greninja counterplay. Additionally, Future Sight's relative lack of usefulness in this metagame does it no favors either. Use a better Water-type on your team, like Tapu Fini, and slot a second Pokemon to check Tapu Lele. It's far simpler than shafting yourself by using Slowking.
When's the last time any of these were used at a respectable level? All of these Pokemon are either outclassed or downright bad, and they're being unranked.
And that's it! I'll update the OP sometime tonight, but if there's any questions, feel free to ask below!
Hi gm I agree with mostly all of the rises and noms, especially gmolt one :3, but a some of these really confuse me, like a lot, and one of this just completely baffles me.
This was quite out of the blue imo, Chomp is still an extremely stellar mon in the current meta, and i dont really think there are any meta trends right now that are going against it, its usage in NDPL while not high has certainly been still quite good, and dont think much has changed for it to have dropped down a rank honestly. Would love to have an explanation for this, might help me understand more.
I am in complete support of this drop, but I feel what makes this even worse is why this did not get UR compared to MXard, when it os worse in every possible way, tour / high level showings, usability on teams.
This is honestly what shocks me the most, especially when compared to Blaze. While yes, it isnt doing too hot in a Lando/Fini/Tran meta currently it absolutely has seen high level play, unlike blaze which no one has ever touched since it came out and people realised it is garbage. Some replays at a high level where it was used and did something.
Lameflame let Lando take rough skin + SRocks and consequently lost half his team due to the Xard because Lando wasnt high enough to take the hit. Fini is also not a solid check due to TPunch and the fact that even boosted Flare Blitz’s do enough to 2HKO:
+1 252 Atk Tough Claws Charizard-Mega-X Flare Blitz vs. 248 HP / 16 Def Tapu Fini: 167-197 (48.6 - 57.4%) -- 50.8% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
-and with CharX being neutral to both Water and Fairy, and base Char resisting Fairy and being immune to Ground, it honestly gets quite a lot of setup opportunities just by utilising Mega Evolve timing. It is honestly really easy for teams just fall apart due to switching the wrong Pokemon into Char X.
Pre-mega it can easily get a free sub VS the Clefable, and a free setup turn, basically forcing the switch to Toxapex, which also gives it a free sub / setup turn. At this point the game was over really, the crit on Toxapex did not matter (since it 2hkoed), nor the Para on clef (i was behind sub, and killed it anyways, and could have fished for full para anyways regardless, or just dded again and won because clef doesnt do enough. This game clearly shows how easy it is for teams to just get completely swept due to getting the coverage moves wrong / getting surprised by a relatively uncommon set.
0 SpA Clefable Moonblast vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Charizard: 56-66 (18.8 - 22.2%) -- possible 5HKO
0 SpA Toxapex Scald vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Charizard-Mega-X: 60-72 (20.2 - 24.2%) -- guaranteed 5HKO
I think these 2 tour games are enough justification that this -
When's the last time any of these were used at a respectable level? All of these Pokemon are either outclassed or downright bad, and they're being unranked.
- Is simply untrue about Xard. 2 high level tour games where Char X actually put in work and won the game.
However, I do agree that the Meta is highly against it at the moment, and it cant do as much as it could, say, a few months ago, so I would have supported a drop to C really, but UR on the basis that it got no high level showing is honestly just wrong lol. If keeping Xard UR is really that warranted, I honestly dont see any reason why this garbage is not UR as well? Xard should be on a similiar, if not better level than Blaze. When was the last time Blaziken was used at a respectable level? It has 0% usage in NDPL, I am pretty sure no one used it in the latest SSNL as well, I am honestly quite baffled at how this Pokemon was tiered in compared to Xard.
TLDR: Yeah it isnt that good of a pick in this current Meta, and hard to justify on teams, and thats why I would support a drop to C. However it has seen decent tour and high level play (both SSNL and NDPL), and has put in a lot of work in both games it has been showcased in. There is no reason for this Pokemon to be UR by the basis mentioned, especially when compared to its direct competititor (a utterly worse mon in pretty much all aspects) in Blaziken, which has seen 0 tour play, 0 tour results, 0 high level results in total, and is completely forgotten.
Slowking taking up the Water slot on a team is very dissapointing, as it leads to incredibly awkward Ash-Greninja counterplay. Additionally, Future Sight's relative lack of usefulness in this metagame does it no favors either. Use a better Water-type on your team, like Tapu Fini, and slot a second Pokemon to check Tapu Lele. It's far simpler than shafting yourself by using Slowking.
a rise, but not for the reasons you stated. If you're using 
is in risk of drowning after even a tiny bit of chip.
is dealt with. Ice Beam on the other hand, deals with Manaphy's Grass weakness.
: 220-260 (64.5 - 76.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery
: 195-230 (75.2 - 88.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
comes close, but fails to get the OHKO with Freeze Dry without Specs and can't handle rain boosted Waterium Z
: 320-377 (74.2 - 87.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Black Sludge recovery
: 324-382 (88.5 - 104.3%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO
: 393-463 (137.8 - 162.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
: 457-538 (64 - 75.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
risk very dangerous 50-50 speed ties) certainly warrant a rise
A -> A+
C -> B-
B -> C
to S id like it as a nice S- similar to where it was during 
meta, but as is, 
Buzzwole to B-
Corviknight A+ -> A
is not UR as well? Xard should be on a similiar, if not better level than Blaze. When was the last time Blaziken was used at a respectable level? It has 0% usage in NDPL, I am pretty sure no one used it in the latest SSNL as well, I am honestly quite baffled at how this Pokemon was tiered in compared to Xard.