NFE NFE Resources v2

[Shing]

I didn't see much activity on the forum, and I see NFE has UMPL and SSNL tournaments right now, and the community is trying to push NFE. And I'm bored, so I figured out it could be nice to post some NFE stuff. Here are my noms with both rising and drops.

Rises

A+ to S-/S
Simple and clear, Pikachu’s way too good for A+. Sure it can’t fit in many teams compared to Tangela/Golbat, but plenty of teams benefit from Pikachu’s ability to...
- Revenge kills with a skewed low risk/high reward, making it the best reversal in NFE. Also pretty much change the momentum from your advantage to reset or your opponents real quick.
- Knock Off and Pivoting
- Be an offensive Electric-type. They are so damn good and scary in NFE.
- Synergize very well with offensive top tiers
- Hit hard and run away at any given

Pikachu has also a limited and inconsistent counterplay. Something with chipping it down with hazards, keeping the Pikachu checks as healthy as possible, trying to kill the Pikachu by priority/tanking the damage and killing it right after which can be difficult since most of them lack recoveries. Tangela is Pikachu’s only true counter as a note, but Tangela won’t get a hit on it and lures other breakers that are able to take care of it. All I’m saying is if you’re able to fit Pikachu in your team, your team will usually be more solid against most playstyles and Pikachu won’t disappoint you. It’s just way too ridiculous to be in A+ imo.


A to A+
The best Stealth Rocker in the game. Being able to check Golbat, and add strong chip damage on Defogs/Spinners is very valuable in the current meta. It’s also a soft check towards Pikachu, special attackers such as Electabuzz, Magmar and Kadabra, and able to threaten defensive cores with the right moves. It has a lot of versatility, albeit the role is very straight forward. It can invest into SpDef to tank Special Attacks, make it faster so it’s able to 2hko switchins Tangela that doesn’t have speed investment, and can opt for other utility moves such as toxic in order to cripple his checks. Piloswine just fits in so many teams for being a bulky offense, and I think Piloswine deserves to be in A+ for those qualities and he’s more common in NFE.


A- to A
Usually, you would use Magmar for being a difficult wallbreaker to switch in. However, the Eviolite variant is just as good. Magmar is able to switch in against reasonable pokemon, such as Golbat, Tangela, Hattrem, Thwackey, Clefairy, Ferroseed, Koffing, Corsola-G, Lampent, and some degree Electabuzz, Kadabra, and Pikachu when you look only in S to A- rankings. The Stallbreaker set also enables Magmar to change the mid-game pace straight into the endgame, especially against defensive teams. E.G Magmar outspeeds Golbat and taunts it to prevent it recovering/defogs, and able to either throw strong chip damage and cripple with burn to next switchins. Or his versatile coverage + bulk would annoy support mons such as Mareanie with Taunt/Ground move or cripple Slowpoke/Marshtomp with toxic. Essentially forcing defensive teams to switch around while Magmar holds the mindgame advantage.
It also has amazing abilities such as Flame Body of having a chance to cripple Pikachu, Thwackey, and anyone that dares to knock it off. Or Vital Spirit that helps it against sun teams, specifically Sleep Powder Ivysaur. Speaking of sun… Magmar can be both sun abuser or anti-sun. Outclassing Charmeleon as Special Attacker, and able to check Ivysaur, Lampent, Magmar itself, and Tangela, so you don’t need to use any of that weird Sliggoo shit. Obviously, Magmar isn’t A+ since it has its difficulty to switch in bc rocks, and once you’re knocked you may as well just stay in since Magmar finds fewer opportunities to switch in. Magmar is also bad at the early game and prefers once you’ve weakened the opponent's side. But I think Magmar is underrated and deserves to be recognized more. I’ve already praised it enough that I’m confident that Magmar deserves to be in A.


A- to A
I’m an avid Corsola-G fan, and I always find it in a lot of my teams. Corsola-G’s is more popular as a Specially Defense role, but I’ve always found it effective against the current Physical Attackers, so the mixed Def/SpDef Corsola-g exists and it’s still consistent at its job checking both sides. Speaking of the meta, Defog Golbat has been more unpopular with the rise of Piloswine and it prefers adding pressure and out stalling instead, so the next popular picks are Gurdurr, Hattrem, Wartortle, and Vullaby. Corsola-G is able to take on 3 of them, Vullaby being the only one that’s able to not be completely trapped by Corsola-G. Gurdurr and Hattrem are risking themself to get trapped, while Rapid Spin is blocked by Corsola-G. So Corsola-G will be able to have rocks on the other side in one way or another. The biggest issue with Corsola-G is obviously being overwhelmed by the offense and sometimes it’s hard to find good sap opportunities, especially if the opponents decide to run taunt. So while Corsola is a threat, if you’re able to keep Corsola-G at low health, you’re either forcing it to use sap or force it to switch out. And that’s a problem if you’re facing playstyles as Offense. So if it’s still A-, then it makes sense too. I’m nominating since the meta lets Corsola-G be able to do what it wants freely enough.


B+ to A-
Potentially? I’m fine with it being B+, but I think Wartortle is slightly underrated. Not as a sweeper, but being one of two good spinners in the game. Fire Offense is also becoming more popular and T-Spikes are still annoying to deal with. Wartortle is able to handle both of them fairly well. There’s also Piloswine and Ferroseed up in rising, which Wartortle is able to handle with Scald/Seismic Toss or even synergize together. More qualities Wartortle has over water types is its slow pivot, and many teams would appreciate it. Shell Smash Wartortle is fine but difficult to find opportunities, and Sun Wartortle is viable, but meh lol.


and B+ to A (Imo Ivysaur may get A+/S- as it’s the big reason why Sun is great)
Jett explained it well, but I would rank Ivysaur higher. Ivysaur carries sun teams, and I’m very sure if drought got banned Ivysaur would still be able to excel in the meta by having another sun setter, or Sunny Day Ivysaur could be an option. Anyway, Sun is extremely good and it's something you have to be aware of when playing NFE nowadays.


B to B+
Slowpoke’s one of few Magmar Counters and provides a utility that fits the meta. It can act as a slow pivot with Teleport, Para/Toxic Status, Future Sight setup, tanking physical hits, and Raboot/Magmar, and gives breakers free switch-ins. Ngl tho, ppl that use Slowpoke are kinda cringe *cough* Greybaum *cough* but Slowpoke can get a rise.


C- to C
Not much to say except it can fit in stall and tank stuff extremely well. Ho3n’s replays at NFE Crown made me change opinions on it a little.


Drops

A+ to A
Probably a hot take, but I’ve seen the meta developing in more ways to trouble Hattrem as a hazard blocker. Ferroseed threatens it with Knock Off, enabling SR users(Piloswine mainly) the ability to 3hko it, Koffing being an annoyance for Hattrem since it can’t block Toxic Spikes, Corsola-g being able to trap and beat Rest/Sleep Talk. There’s also unexplored stuff I haven’t seen so much, such as Mareanie is another perfect lure to get rid of Hattrem’s Eviolite, and Marshtomp is actually able to trap Hattrem and beat non-Giga drain ones in 1v1 with Seismic Toss, etc. The Meta has also been more favored into momentum and Hattrem can feel like a sitting duck and forced to switch out more than dishing out damage. And Hattrem has a minor 4-Move Syndrome where it’s not able to fit in everything it wants to, especially if you’re going for Rest/Sleep Talk. Hattrem will always be solid though just how it warps the hazard game. The ability to wall out almost every SR users + block hazards is stupid, which can force the games to play slowly and sometimes just focusing on getting rid of Hattrem lol. Some other key details to know is Hattrem is able to tank the common Golbat sets, and it’s annoying to switch out to another mon since Hattrem can run other moves if it wants to. Just remember if you want to use Hattrem, add a poison mon or a spinner with it and you will have an easier time abusing Hattrem.


A- to B+/B
The Meta is not nice at all for this guy. Rocks? Can’t break in against Hattrem, Golbat and Gurdurr can come in and defog out for free, Wartortle spins them lol. And Marshtomp can’t pressure them back in most cases, pretty sad. The typing is actually healthy for being able to check Fire/Electric mons, sadly it’s overwhelmed by the amount of Grass-types and by Special/Physical wallbreakers and it doesn’t help when it doesn’t have any recovery. Just not being able to do its job consistently is bad enough. Marshtomp is a healthy pokemon in the meta and should fit in theory, but in practice struggles to get what it wants. I’m putting the blame on Hattrem and Golbat tbh.


B+ to B
Hard to fit in most teams, screens are worse with more defogs and Mime-G existing, and setting up Nasty Plot is hella hard. But it has some cool niches such as the ability pickpocket being able to steal your opponent's eviolite, or the real deal: stealing Pikachu’s Light Ball and rendering it useless through the match. Dark Types has a hard time rn, but Morgrem has some untapped potential I would love to see explored.


B to B-/C+
Only has the niche as endgame cleaner, but hard to justify using it with the competition over other Fire types and Hattrem/Golbat/Kadabra just keep Combusken on watch. Not able to switch in many scenarios and lacking power even with setups is bad enough. Once Monferno comes in the tier, then it’s even harder to have a reason using this pokemon.

Drop Palipitoad, Natu, Honedge, and all the other C- mons to UR, please. Either they’re outplaced or don't function at all. Hell, I would add Hail Teams over them lmao.


Other Potential mons I would have talked, but refrained.

A to A+
Being able to deal with Kadabra, Tangela, Wartortle, Clefairy, many Special Attackers etc. As well one of few hazards with knock off; being able to get rid of Hattrem’s eviolite. It’s also the only good spiker and one of few viable steel types. But I refrained as I think there's an extreme amount of Pokemon that can exploit Ferroseed with it lacking recovery and getting worn down very well. Ferroseed is just really annoying to switch in and it gets what it wants most of the time, hence why I considered ranking this a spot higher.

B to B+
Another Steel type, but less hazards and more slow pivoting. I was going to talk more about Klang for being more reliable against Kadabra, Tangela, Golbat, etc. And overall slow pivoting is really good, but I remember that Klang is extremely hard to fit in most teams. And there’s a lot of pokemon that’s able to exploit its weakness. So yeah sorry Klang, you were great before but now you’re just hard to fit in teams. I would still recommend using it for like balance although, but balance itself has always struggled in nfe.

 

[Greybaum]

I've got more noms to submit today. Only drops, unfortunately - other people have beat me to the rise noms I'd otherwise put forward.


A to A-

Clefairy is a really solid utility Pokemon that fills a lot of niches that not many Pokemon can boast (e.g. if you're looking for a Stealth Rock user that can Knock Off, or a Stealth Rock user that isn't complete Piloswine food, or even just a Stealth Rock user that can spread status, you're often out of luck). Having said that, I think it should receive a small push down the rankings. A lot of Pokemon that are increasing in popularity (Golbat, Koffing) either directly or indirectly punish its use, and a lot of its defensive utility now relies on the opposing Pokemon not being a certain set (e.g. LO Kadabra, Taunt Magmar, Taunt Electabuzz, CB Piloswine, Gunk Shot Raboot).


A- to B+

I think a lot of people who talk to me regularly know I've never been a big fan of Lampent so I'm giving this one another go. Lampent is in a really awkward speed tier for a Pokemon with such middling bulk, leaving it fairly helpless a lot of the time against pretty much every offensive Pokemon out there, be it one of the slower breakers like Fraxure or one of the faster Pokemon like Pikachu or Thwackey that often just leave a couple of EVs in to make sure Timid Lampent doesn't get any mileage. I think it also just lacks a lot of utility, being a sometimes-check to Raboot and Ivysaur and that's about it. Any time I use Lampent I feel like I'm just fishing for a good matchup; there are definitely games where it smacks up someone using Slowpoke or Drakloak as their Fire-resist but there are just as many games where it never gets in, or goes up against a SpDef Vullaby or Golbat where it can't make much progress without additional pressure from Stealth Rock etc.
I think Choice Scarf was a cool tech for a while, but now that it's being accounted for by Wartortle, Ivysaur etc. putting 8 more EVs into Speed it's lost a lot of its lustre.

B+ to B-
I don't think many people have reconsidered Machoke's rank since Gurdurr first dropped into NFE. In theory it's still a threat on par with the other Pokemon on B+, but I don't think that ranking really gets across just how badly outclassed Machoke is in almost every team. It's become a really niche Pokemon largely restricted to Flame Orb or ToxTantrum sets; Gurdurr just does everything else better, especially with how prized Defog is.

B to C+
Largely outclassed by Ferroseed. Ferroseed has Leech Seed for self-recovery, Knock Off to at least weaken Hattrem, and a more valuable defensive-typing that allows it to check Wartortle and Kadabra with greater ease. Metang's main niche is in its neutrality to Fighting-type attacks, but Shadow Ball is common enough on (especially) Kadabra and sometimes Gr. Gime for me to not want to put this on many teams. A greater attack stat is cool, but it's still unable to get past Hattrem, and it can't actually put any investment into its Attack if it wants any chance of switching into Kadabra a second time. Having Zen Headbutt is cool, but I think it has a worse matchup vs Gurdurr unless Hattrem is also around, if only because Ferroseed has more opportunities to come in and Leech Seed is chipping down Gurdurr about as much as Metang's ZHB. The only big advantage Metang seems to have is vs Defog Golbat, but I don't think that warrants it staying around in the B ranks alone, especially when Golbat is one of the worse Defog users in my eyes.

C+ to C-/UR
This is the only Pokemon I'm not really sure about here, but only because I haven't experimented much with Nasty Plot. Fraxure is faster, has access to various set-up options like Dragon Dance, Swords Dance, and Scale Shot, and has a much easier time dealing with Pokemon like Clefairy thanks to Poison Jab (as opposed to Zweilous' having to sacrifice 60% of its health to hit Clefairy with a 64%[?] accurate Head Smash). Even as a Choice Band user, First Impression is a really solid priority option to have in the back. I'm just not sure what Zweilous offers; Webs can kind of make up for its Speed tier, but I think I'd still pick Fraxure to be able to outspeed Pokemon like Kadabra and Electabuzz.
Again, Nasty Plot might be okay, and that's something I'd like to test out a bit more before nomming this straight to UR, but then again it's not much stronger than Drakloak so maybe it's not worth it.

C to UR
I hate to do this to my boy but it's time we unrank Honedge. I originally nommed this onto the VR because of how it countered Golbat (being immune to both Toxic and Super Fang) and Klang, but Shift Gear Klang hasn't seen much, if any use recently, and while part of me wants to keep this secret it doesn't really beat Golbat in the first place. It's immune to both Toxic and Super Fang which is really cool but Taunt Golbat just stalls it out of Iron Head PP, so beyond chipping away at Roost PP it doesn't actually achieve much. Adding onto that, Honedge really lacks immediate power leaving it without many options beyond Toxic & Protect stalling, which makes it pretty helpless against common Pokemon like Mareanie. I think this mon can still work, but you have to dedicate so many resources to supporting it and even then you'll end up finding that you're better off just swapping two slots around and using something like Slowpoke or Mareanie instead.

C to UR
Speaking of which, Seadra just has no way to get past common Water-resists, leaving you playing 5v6 far too often. Its only advantage over Wartortle, its Speed tier, rarely becomes relevant, and it carries all the same drawbacks Wartortle does and more.

C to UR
Similarly, Palpitoad's niche of "worse Marshtomp but beats Wartortle" just isn't very valuable in this metagame. It has to be maintained at 100% to check anything it wants to (especially Wartortle) and a lot of the time the compression isn't needed; you can just slot in a Mareanie, Ferroseed, or Marshtomp; the trio of "sets Stealth Rock, checks Fire-types, beats Wartortle" has never been relevant in my experience, and it never does any of those three things particularly well in the first place. Finally, I'd just like to echo Shing's nom to drop Marshtomp. I agree with everything he said, but it's also all true of Palpitoad, but to a greater extent.

 

[hayedenn]

I don't feel like writing a lot rn so I'm just gonna nominate my BOY to C rank.

Now, you may be like, tox, Archen f*cking sucks, and you may be write for its offensive sets. However Archen is also a great suicide lead, and one I'd argue is just as good as Dwebble.

set

Archen @ Focus Sash
Ability: Defeatist
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt
- Head Smash
- Endeavor

What makes Archen a great suicide lead is its access to Taunt, Rocks, and Endeavor. With this combo, you are usually guaranteed a layer of Rocks (the mind games against opposing lead Piloswine's can be tricky with mind-games but you at least get rocks, you may not prevent them though). Now, being a suicide lead with Taunt + Hazards is great in it of itself, but Archen has something else in its toolbox to screw with opposing teams, and that's Endeavor. With Endeavor, Archen is able to put a solid dent in one of your opponent's Pokemon, bringing it down to low HP (or even 1 HP if you consume your sash).

Now, you may be like "Tox, what about Hattrem?" And to that I say it gets BLOWN BACK BOYE. Archen's incredibly high attack stat makes Head Smash a very spammable move if you so desire, and it has the very cool added bonus of having a 91% chance to 2HKO max defense Hattrem.

calcs

252+ Atk Archen Head Smash vs. 252 HP / 244+ Def Eviolite Hattrem: 153-181 (48.1 - 56.9%) -- 91% chance to 2HKO
252+ Atk Archen Head Smash vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Eviolite Piloswine: 195-231 (48.2 - 57.1%) -- 91.8% chance to 2HKO
252+ Atk Archen Head Smash vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Wartortle: 135-160 (41.9 - 49.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252+ Atk Archen Head Smash vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Clefairy: 178-211 (51.7 - 61.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Archen Head Smash vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Koffing: 121-144 (42.6 - 50.7%) -- 2.3% chance to 2HKO (and with neutralizing gas this mu doesn't matter :O )
252+ Atk Archen Head Smash vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Corsola-Galar: 117-138 (36.1 - 42.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252+ Atk Archen Head Smash vs. 248 HP / 8 Def Eviolite Mareanie: 237-279 (78.2 - 92%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Archen Head Smash vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Eviolite Ferroseed: 87-103 (29.7 - 35.2%) -- 22.8% chance to 3HKO

archen bodying deez hoes

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nfe-1322783762-bo65n5gew6n19mm8zk78f0ec6n7fjzupw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nfe-1322776729-llbjsvq776p74sqdskk85e7zyqy59ydpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nfe-1317783401-c421v0ywm6i32a95hu7vths821pdrhdpw

 

[Jett]

Hey frens, welcome to another VR Update. As always the voting sheet is here and has the detailed opinions of council members included.

Rises

A+ to S
Pikachu has been an offensive terror for a while now, and while arguments about its splashability and lack of defensive utility were used in the past to defend its placement in A+, it is clear that as the best cleaner, and an amazing pivot and wallbreaker, it is very deserving of this rise. Pikachu's presence alone has warped the metagame greatly as seen by the lack of frail setup sweepers due to their vulnerability to being revenge killed by its priority, and almost every team consisiting of both a Grass- and Ground-type to limit its Volt Switch nuisance.

B+ to A-
Sun as an archetype has been on the rise for a while and also been growing in popularity. Ivysaur is a staple on sun teams as it is the best Chlorophyll user to abuse Sun, thanks to its amazing coverage and utility moves. What holds sun back from rising higher are that sun checks are not super difficult to fit on teams and the presence of Golbat does limit its options a fair bit.

B+ to A-
Vullaby is rising in usage again after its potential as a Knock Off and U-turn machine has been fully realised again. It is a great addition to both Bulky Offense and Balance teams and can support offensive Pokemon far better than Golbat can. A premier example of Vullaby at its best is when it is paired with Life Orb Kadabra. Additionally many teams end up being very vulnerable to Psychic-types and cannot afford to run Golbat so Vullaby being a soft check to these Pokemon is often a much better fit.

B+ to A-
Vulpix is another of the staples of Sun being the only Drought setter available in NFE. It is being ranked as highly as the main abuser as the two are an accurate reflection of the state of Sun at the moment.

B+ to A-
With hazard control being relatively poor, Wartortle has a great niche as a slow pivot with Rapid Spin. Especially with Marshtomp's decline, teams are now more in need of a Fire-type check and it is pretty splashable due to its great role compression. Lack of recovery does hold it back from rising any further than A-, when other defensive Water-types are ranked fairly similarly to Wartortle.

B to B+
Slowpoke is a great slow pivot, thanks to its Regenerator and Teleport combination. Again, it is ana amazing answer to top tier Fire-types but in particular, it resists both types that Magmar commonly runs in Fire and Psychic. In general, it is a great physical check to common Pokemon such as Piloswine and Gurdurr, and can capitalise on Golbat as well.

Drops

A to A-
Clefairy has been struggling slightly more due to the recent metagame trends such as Poison-types being more common, and its reliance on Eviolite and recovery being more noticeable given the fact common special attackers have means to deal with Clefairy through Knock off and Taunt. It still has great utility so we'll only be lowering it to A- for now.

A- to B+
Lampent is still one of the best Choice Scarf users but it can no longer speed check Pokemon such as Ivysaur and Wartortle which account for its Speed tier now after +2. Its other sets (Eviolite and Specs) haven't been fairing too well, and with its main niche being more well known and prepared for, it is more difficult to get out a lot from Lampent. Still has solid matchups against most priority users and Trick is still annoying for many teams.

A- to B+
Marshtomp struggles a lot against common hazard control as its unable to threaten Gurdurr, Hattrem, or Golbat, making it a lot worse as a Stealth Rock user. While it has nice utility and a good-typing for Fire- and Electric-types, it does hate how common Grass-types are so we'll be knocking it down to B+.

B+ to B-
Largely outclassed by Gurdurr except for a few sets which rely on its faster Speed or its No Guard Dynamic Punch combo. Still a decent mon but only really ever seen on rare teams than revolve around Fight spam.

B to C+
Combusken's offensive sets haven't found a place in the metagame and its only decent set of SubToxic is rarely used so C+ is a more fitting rank for this small niche.

B to C+
Metang has been struggling for a while now, mainly because as a Stealth Rock user, is doesn't excel at anything in particular. Ferroseed is a better Steel-types since Metang's Psychic-typing hinders it from checking Psychic-types that carry Shadow Ball. Metang does not have Knock Off to threaten common hazard control such as Hattrem.

C+ to UR
Zweilous is largely outclassed by other physical wallbreakers such as Fraxure and other Nasty Plot users such as Morgrem leaving it in an awkward spot in the metagame. While it does have slightly more power than some of the aforementioned wallbreakers giving it a chance to 2HKO Tangela with a neutral attack, it isn't worth it for the miss chance and it is extremely vulnerable and often forced out after getting 1 KO due to its poor defensive typing.

C to C-
Dartrix has a few quirks like its SD set with its unique offensive typing and it is a great defensive answer to namely Thwackey but these niches are not enough to warrant it staying in C given its relatively low usage.

C to UR
The main reason Honedge was nommed up was its ability to check Golbat but this isn't the case against Golbat's best set which has Taunt, which shuts down Honedge from being an offensive threat. Honedge lacks immediate power and heavily relies on Shadow Sneak to pick up weakened/frail targets in order to check them, as these Pokemon such as Kadabra and Galarian Mr. Mime often carry super effective coverage to threaten it out.

C to UR
Hasn't really been used since DLC I, where it is much harder to fit on teams especially with its poor matchup against Piloswine. Hattrem is basically better than it in every way in terms of hazard control, and the niches it has such as Feather Dance don't match the utility Hattrem provides for teams.

C to UR
Palpitaod is basically bad Marshtomp, and Marshtomp is also struggling in the metagame, so Palpitoad has no real niche in the metagame. It is a supposed Offensive Wartortle answer but other Pokemon do this job just as well such as Slowpoke and Mareanie but have more utility, and access to reliable recovery. Offensive Palpitoad is the one notable distinction from Marshtomp but haven't seen any usage either.

C to UR
Seadra has been struggling in the metagame for a while now. Offensive water-types haven't been particularly good with Electric- and Grass-types being everywhere and Wartortle as a whole is better than Seadra outside of the immediate Speed. Seadra is completely deadweight against a lot of the common Water-type Pokemon that teams are beginning to run as well.

C to UR
Sand teams are unviable. Stall teams are uncommon but don't utilise Hippopotas either.

 

[S1nn0hC0nfirm3d]

Mid-UMPL Noms​

> A: Gurdurr is harder to fit when the there's more aptly typed physical walls or tanks with better recovery and / or coverage. It patches some weaknesses and has a "blanket physical check" thing going on, but it's also kind of inconsistent and has competition with Tangela, Golbat, Hattrem, ect. Defoggers are not nearly as good as the hazard setters in NFE, and Gurdurr is no way better than Piloswine, for example. Even if Gurdurr beats Piloswine, that isn't even unique as hazard control when Hattrem sets do the same thing. Overall, there's nothing unique nor meta defining about Gurdurr. Also, getting hard walled by S tiers Tangela and Golbat and having lower priority than Pikachu is a pain. Guess what else applies here...

> A: Another small drop for the aforementioned reasons of having a bad time with the S tiers. Thwackey has a very hard time making progress against Golbat and Tangela even with Knock Off and U-turn; this applies to a lesser extent to Koffing as well. The amount of momentum it and its teammates needs to maintain to break these threats is sometimes near perfect play. Let's not forget Thwackey is often deadweight vs Sun too. Thwackey ends up shining best late-game where it can clean and, usually, beat stuff like Kadabra and RestTalk walls that also may have stayed around, but idk if that is always worth the Golbat / Tangela problems + Thwackey may still lose to stuff like Pikachu and Raboot later on too. VoltTurn does fine with offensive cores like Electabuzz + Raboot, Raboot + Pikachu, and Pikachu + U-turn Golbat which don't always need Thwackey's support. VoltTurn may also want to rely on the defensive merits of Tangela or Ferroseed as a Grass-type for the team, so there's no doubt in my mind that Thwackey isn't mandatory for NFE VoltTurn. In general its more of a run of the mill A tier than anything above that.

> A+: Everyone's favorite special wall. It has crazy high use and for a good reason; nothing else has the same amount of utility and consistency as a Kadabra check. Steel-types are very good, and even though Ferroseed is walled by Hattrem, most teams are finding ways to exploit a knocked, sleeping Hattrem thanks to Ferro baiting it in. Comparatively, Ferroseed is also already the highest ranked special wall, so may as well put it at A+ to show that it's the best; it of course also performs very well enough on the some of the best builds we're seeing right now.

> A: Regenerator cores are very good. Seeing the lowest rank Tangela partner at A- right now is off to me just because of the sheer success of Regenerator duos. Besides the fact that Mare is already a good special wall and satisfies the niche of a grounded Poison-type to check Toxic Spikes, it also is arguably the best Tangela complement. Maybe this nom speaks more highly of the already accredited S tier Tangela, but note that Tangela is often only as good as its support or it won't abuse Regenerator propperly. Naturally, Mareanie is one of its best pairings, and a rise would reflect that.

> A-: Marshtomp is extremely relevant as an alternative Ground-type if you don't want (or can't afford to) build with Piloswine. I think it goes without saying that if you let Pikachu and Electabuzz Volt Switch freely, then there's likely a big flaw in your team. Diversity in Ground-types is low but that's what makes Marshtomp more valuable. Compared to Piloswine, Marshtomp has more longevity to it, largely thanks to only a single weakness. In comparison, Piloswine can be targeted by a ton, but if you keep Marsh healthy and pair it with good Grass resists then it'll be very hard to take down. This also makes Marsh easier to support by itself and a great late-game win condition even if you choose for RestTalk. I enjoy RestTalk Marsh a lot in this meta, and you may have seen me use it in w2 of UMPL. Recovery was clutch to keep the Electabuzz in check throughout the game and to combat Wartortle's Seismic Toss. Use more Marshtomp; it'll patch holes and open up more creative teambuilding options if you consider it as an A rank like it ought to be.

> A-: Like Mareanie, Regenerator is still really good!!! Also checking Magmar and Piloswine in awesome, which is also like Marshtomp. See where I'm going here? Slowpoke is a sidegrade as a defensive Water-type for everything else in the A tiers. Of course there's some unique perks like Teleport + Future Sight, but really what matters is that defensive utility.

> B: Kinda on par with Gastly as a cool breaker to build around. Dunking on Golbat, especially with paralysis / sleep support, is one of my favorite things to do with Lairon. It often gets in on really anything Golbat can do bar U-turn and then has a free turn to Head Smash. Lairon also can get in on and break Hattrem and Clefairy. Superpower covers most of the few switch-ins it has, but between 50/50s and Head Smash misses I can see why it's not everyone's cup of tea. Marshtomp and Gabite can be tough if you can't get a Knock Off on em and Tangela in general is rough too, so with it being matchup reliant I'm fine with just B, but a raise is still worth it for almost entirely the Golbat matchup.

> C-: Here's a fun one. Swirl has been on the VR before I'm almost certain for the same thing I'm suggesting now: Grassy Terrain Unburden. Calm Mind with Draining Kiss / Flamethrower / Thunderbolt coverage is surprisingly effective at cleaning; I mean it's at the very least neutral on all of our VR, if not super effective! This is a super specific niche on Thwackey-based HOs so I don't expect it to be any higher than this. Acknowledging it at C- would represent one of NFE's more unique albeit inconsistent subplaystyles. I used CM + 3 attacks, but CM + Cotton Guard works as well if you get rid of Golbat / Mareanie or Ferroseed / Tangela earlier on. Here's the set I run:
Swirlix @ Grassy Seed
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 112 HP / 252 SpA / 144 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Draining Kiss
- Flamethrower
- Thunderbolt

Replays:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nfe-1333464371
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nfe-1335840431-ebzy05pe12cf3mz40ev3q6azsh5p6elpw

 

[Shing]

I've been playing too much NFE, so I'm feeling to post some quick noms rn.

A+ -> A/A-
Gurdurr's weakness is more apparent. Two of the S rank is able to outwall it, specifically Golbat that doesn't let him get much recovery from Drain Punch. Speaking of that, Gurdurr gets worn down hazard mons attacks and can't get much recovery. And there's Koffing that outrights annoy Gurdurr with status and ignores guts. Defog becomes a little inconsistent since Gurdurr won't be able to do it in a longevity type of match, and Hattrem/Golbat gives it the competition as a hazard removal. Gurdurr's still able to take the physical hits regardless and getting those Knock Offs are valuable so I believe Gurdurr more focused to be offensive as possible is the best direction for this pokemon. But if the meta becomes bulkier and more defensive type-core depended, I can see Gurdurr drop to A-.

A+ -> A
Ho3n explained it the best. SD Thwackey also sucks because it loses momentum and lets Koffing/Golbat get a free switch in. But it's still A for me. Because the ability is very valuable for its longevity and many teams such as bulky offense benefit that to keep their mons alive as possible. And Thwackey still keeps Wartortle in check, and force in very predictable switch-ins that can be used to your advantage, and enables you safe switches from powerful breakers such as Kadabra, Mime-G, and Electabuzz. I prefer Grassy Glide/Knock Off/ U-Turn/Taunt over SD so you prevent Koffing and Ferroseed setting up, and prevent Golbat switch-ins to recover. Adding HP Evs is recommended so you're not getting 2hko'd by Wartortle's Ice beam and you're able to switch in more.

A-> A+
Seems like I was right on Ferroseed in my previous post. Ferroseed's very important for many teams that need a check to dangerous threats such as Kadabra and Wartortle because of its valuable typing. It's also the only good spiker and is able to knock off Hattrem, which helps immensely for the teammates that struggle to break it. The UMPL has shown that Ferroseed is being used a lot, and with good reasons with the amount of Kadabra/Wartortle. I don't see Ferroseed being used less anytime soon which is why I think it deserves to rise.

A -> A-
It faces more competition as a special attacker/sweeper and the role as a psychic type. Kadabra has more raw power, Magmar and Electabuzz have better defensive typing and can switch in more frequently, Kadabra and Hattrem are more attractive while Mime-G can be a little underwhelming with the raw power and its typing make it more difficult to switch in. Mime-G has still an excellent speed tier and insane movepool with utility and coverage so it's not really bad. It's more like the meta doesn't favor it. Mime-G can be a deathly threat at any time, but right now it has competition and can't fit in a lot of teams.

A- to A
I still think it's A easily, and the points I made are still relevant. However, I believe that Magmar doesn't have a bad "early-game", the rock weakness isn't the worst thing since you're able to cover that by having "I wall every SR users" Hattrem in your team, and with the extreme rise of Ferroseed, Magmar couldn't have a better time fitting in this meta. I'll provide a slightly different set that could change the way people could use Magmar and make my claim stronger.

Set + Explanation

Magmar @ Eviolite
Ability: Flame Body / Vital Spirit
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Lava Plume / Fire Blast
- Psychic / Scorching Sands
- Taunt / Will O Wisp / Toxic
- Thief

Instead of the typical 3 attacks Magmar with taunt, you've now two attacks with two utility moves. Magmar's very known to lose its Eviolite if it wants to switch in against Tangela and Ferroseed, which is why many people feel discouraged to switch in. Thief fixes that problem by stealing their checks Eviolite. This is valuable not only because you're bulky again, but you've effectively weakening their checks, especially those that are hard to get a Knock Off on such as Slowpoke. Lava Plume is preferred the best, but Fire Blast is better for the raw power. Psychic compliments Fire and Psychic is an extremely good offense type that pressures a lot of common teams. Scorching is good for fish burns and against Lampent/Electabuzz, but Thief does 3hko by stealing its Eviolite provided below and Electabuzz gets pressured by Fire Stab already.

0- Atk Magmar Thief vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Eviolite Lampent: 76-90 (29.1 - 34.4%) -- 3.1% chance to 3HKO
0- Atk Magmar Thief vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Lampent: 112-134 (42.9 - 51.3%) -- 4.7% chance to 2HKO

Taunt is the most preferred so you're able to prevent Recover/Defog. It's also faster than Golbat. But if you don't like taunt then you're able to change that. Will O Wisp cores with Fire Blast best so you could have a guaranteed burn on physical attackers. Do these on rockers, either they switching in or your Magmar is in low health, and a healthy Piloswine finishes you. Core it with Hattrem and you will make sure that your opponent will suffer through the match. Toxic is just an option if since Fire STAB attracts more water checks if you just want to finish them faster. Otherwise, Magmar is able to play early, and potentially to the endgame if kept alive enough. I wish I could provide replays, but I either I can't as my opponents don't want their team leaked/shown and I kinda forgot saving them since I don't like saving replays against bad teams. I've played this against everyone I've met, including good ones and I've gotten a lot of success from it.

A- -> A
Stresh is hella based for voting him for A, because I think it's legit right now. Shell Smash has been picking up once again. Thwackey has been less common with the Golbat's presence and it's able to clean up a team very well. It does also do a good amount of damage with neutral Surf/Ice Beam, being able to 2hko Thwackey example. Water types have extremely good synergy with Golbat, and I believe Wartortle is the best water type synergizing with Golbat. Golbat's super fang also put Electabuzz in the range of getting 2hko'd by Wartortle's Surf/Hydro, making it unable to check Wartortle. Besides getting rid of Golbat's checks, he has a versatile 4th slot. Rapid Spin synergizes with Defog Golbat by having more hazard control for example. 4th slot can be anything you want really. But yeah good synergy with top tiers with good type and good utility, very much possible to rank it in A.


See Ho3n, I really agree with him on everything. I'll add an extra note that Mareanie will get a lot of Knock Off opportunities and it's one of the best Shell Smash Wartortle Switch-ins. I think Mareanie can be a little difficult to put in teams for offensive and bulky offense, but it's very valuable for fat-based teams. Definitely vouch for this one.

B -> B+
Cool mon I've been trying more. The typing makes it a decent special wall and has an ability that adds some chip on Pikachu. The speed can also help it outspeeding Stallbreaker Tangela and Specs Lampent, and it can opt for fire coverage to pressure Ferroseed/Tangela, unlike Marshtomp. It can also trap Hattrem and maybe beat it with Fury cutter, but that shit inconsistent lol. But with the small decline in Gurdurr Defog and Thwackey, I think Gabite can get a rise since it has its unique difference from the other rockers.

B -> B+
Steel types are important as that's one of the main traits Ferroseed has. A lot of steel types suck, but I still think Klang is useable and fits in the meta. Can switches in against some special attackers that Ferroseed doesn't like, has arguably more consistent recovery than Ferroseed so it's able to check Kadabra and it got the slow pivoting which I always praise strongly on. I'll acknowledge the problem that very offense and bulky offense teams do not appreciate it as it can feel like fodder sometimes, and it's damn hard to build with it. But I do think balance and fat teams would benefit this, and then offensive teams that aren't hazard orientated would appreciate it. Another thing I would love to try is Volt/Toxic/Rest/Talk so you can poison your ground checks or mons that just stay in like Tangela since Klang can't just hit back. The problem is that Klang can't hurt Kadabra, but not like Kadabra can 3hko it anyway. So it's all up to the team itself easier than said.


Other mons I thought of talking about, but refrained.
A- to B+
B+ to B
A+ to S- (Easy to see why)


Btw out of boredom, I'm gonna rank my top 6 NFE mons for no reason kek. And it fits in this thread so lfg real quick. Btw best =/= broken.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

 

[hayedenn]

some noms cus im procastinating on writing my essay

A -> A+/S-
Pilo (and pileo) is the GOAT rn. Easily one of, if not the best hazard setter in the game with unmatched offensive presence compared to other hazard setters (like half the time u can 3HKO Hattrem depending on you and your opponent's set). I've been a big fan of basically max HP / quarter in atk adamant / quarter in spdef spread since you're able to have really good special bulk, letting you kinda check stuff like Kadabra while also still having offensive presence. Yeah, Pilo does kinda get pressured fairly easily due to Super Fang Bat and it can't switch in easily on stuff like Gime or Ebuzz that it's kinda supposed to check, but it's still really great right now. Overall, Pilo is super splashable on any offensive-oriented team and it has amazing role compression.

A+ -> S-
Electabuzz is crazy right now, really. I can't put into clear words why I think Electabuzz is amazing right now but I'll try. VoltTurn is in an amazing spot in the metagame right now, Psychic/Focus Blast is really solid coverage and splashable moves like Taunt/Toxic let you get by checks that would usually cause you problems. Eviolite makes Electabuzz a great Golbat check, and items such as Specs really enhance it's ability as a wallbreaker to help cause opposing fat teams trouble. Really like the mon right now and it should really be on almost any offense team right now. It also synergizes really well with other offensive Pokemon such as Thwackey and Raboot and common hazard setters such as Ferroseed and Piloswine.

/ A- -> A and B+ -> A-
I put all the fire-types in the same post because I think they are all pretty similar. Offensive fire-types are really great in the metagame right now, and the rise of their usage along with some of these fire-spam archetypes we've been seeing really represent how good they are. Lampent's ghost/fire STAB coverage really pressures teams well right now (use Specs if ur goated), and Magmar and Raboot I think have also shown how good they can be, with Taunt (and/or Toxic) Magmar becoming incredibly powerful with its ability to shut down opposing fat teams while Raboot, specifically Banded has shown how few switch-ins it has. I'm a big fan of these three right now and I think they're some of the best offensive Pokemon we have right now.

Some other noms I'll agree with
A -> A-
A-> A+
A+ -> A/A- Stop using Defog Gurdurr and use physdef BU
A- -> A

I'll try and make another post once UMPL ends or right before OMPL/OMFL start

edit: also since shing ranked his opinion on his favorite mons, ill do something a bit different and rank the mons I've found myself using the most in this meta. also this isn't entirely representative since it's just from my "good nfe teams" folder. i also use other stuff but these are all the most common mons on teams i would use in tournaments
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

 

[ArcticBreeze]

Felt like posting what my opinion is on the vr idk why. UMPL is going on, but w/e I dont plan to play more weeks. The list should be in viability order within subranks if I didn't screw up.

S-Rank

S
Golbat
Hattrem

S-
Pikachu
Tangela
Kadabra

A-Rank

A+
Gurdurr
Ferroseed
Piloswine
Thwackey
Electabuzz

A
Koffing
Mr. Mime-Galar
Raboot
Vullaby

A-
Duosion
Magmar
Mareanie
Slowpoke
Clefairy
Wartortle
Corsola-Galar
Lampent

B-Ranks

Fraxure
Gabite
Marshtomp
Rufflet
Ivysaur
Vulpix

B2
Morgrem
Klang
Linoone-Galar
Charjabug
Drakloak

B3
Machoke
Krokorok
Roselia
Togetic
Lairon

 

[megatyler30]

NFE UU Resources​

These have been moved.

Please see the following link for the new home of NFE UU resources: https://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/nfe-old-gens-and-om-hub-v2.3679095/post-8767702

 

[hayedenn]

NFE UU Viability Rankings​

[last updated (DD/MM/YY) 05/06/21]

As the meta still is being formed, this list is edited more frequently than your standard viability rankins. Things will be moved around and when the meta is further explored we will break Pokemon down into letter rankings. Also, not everything on this list has been tested extensively by us. Many of these rankings are still theorymons so while this preliminary VR should be mostly accurate, some stuff may be better or worse than its ranking says


High Tier

Drakloak
Duosion
Gloom
Hakamo-o
Ivysaur
Koffing
Lairon
Linoone-Galar
Roselia
Torracat
Vullaby
Zweilous


Mid Tier

Abra
Amaura
Brionne
Charmeleon
Combusken
Dartrix
Drilbur
Dwebble
Gastly
Grookey
Hatenna
Hippopotas
Lickitung
Metang
Mienfoo
Morgrem
Mudbray
Munchlax
Natu
Palpitoad
Porygon
Sandshrew-Alola
Seadra
Spritzee
Staryu
Swirlix
Tentacool
Vibrava
Vulpix-Alola
Woobat


Low Tier

Archen
Baltoy
Bronzor
Chinchou
Cubone
Cutiefly
Dewpider
Dottler
Dragonair
Drizzile
Elekid
Farfetch’d-Galar
Fletchinder
Foongus
Frillish
Gothorita
Honedge
Horsea
Kubfu
Lileep
Lombre
Luxio
Magnemite
Marill
Meowth-Galar
Nidorino
Omanyte
Onix
Poipole
Ponyta
Ponyta-Galar
Pumpkaboo-Super
Pupitar
Rhyhorn
Sandshrew
Scorbunny
Scraggy
Sealeo
Shelgon
Shellos
Sinistea
Skrelp
Sliggoo
Slowpoke-Galar
Snover
Stunky
Timburr
Tyrunt
Whirlipede
Yamask
Zorua


New Drops

Charjabug

NFE UU Set Compendium

high-tier set dump https://pokepast.es/1167e5917c4156b1
mid-tier set dump https://pokepast.es/25dd210ba1924679
low tier set dump https://pokepast.es/3f072024ae994a73​

 

[megatyler30]

NFE UU Role Compendium​

- Section 1: Utility

Entry Hazards and Support:

• Stealth Rock
• Spikes
• Toxic Spikes
• Sticky Web
• Rapid Spin
• Defog
• Magic Bounce
• Memento
• Screens

- Section 2: Offensive Roles

Wallbreakers:

• Physical
• Special
• Mixed

Stallbreakers:

• Taunt-Based
• Setup-Based

Choice Item Users:

• Choice Band
• Choice Scarf
• Choice Specs

Item Removers:

• Knock Off

Setup Sweepers:

• Bulk Up
• Curse
• Dragon Dance
• Scale Shot
• Swords Dance
• Calm Mind
• Nasty Plot
• Growth
• Agility
• Flame Charge
• Shell Smash
• Acid Armor / Iron Defense
• Amnesia
• Other (Speed Boost) (Power-Up Punch) (Belly Drum)

Priority Attack Users:

• Bullet Punch
• First Impression
• Ice Shard
• Sucker Punch
• Aqua Jet
• Fake Out
• Shadow Sneak
• Grassy Glide (Grassy Surge)
• Extreme Speed

- Section 3: Support Roles

Walls:

• Physically Defensive
• Specially Defensive
• Mixed
• Tanks

Pivots:

• Volt Switch
• U-Turn
• Flip Turn
• Parting Shot
• Teleport
• Regenerator

Clerics:

• Aromatherapy/Heal Bell
• Healing Wish
• Wish

(P)hazers:

• Clear Smog
• Haze
• Roar/Whirlwind
• Dragon Tail

- Section 4: Type Checks

• Dark
• Fire
• Fighting
• Ghost
• Grass
• Ground
• Poison
• Psychic
• Steel
• Water

- Section 5: Weather

Sun:

• Sun Setters
• Sun Abusers

Rain:

• Rain Setters
• Rain Abusers

Hail:

• Hail Setters (snow warning)
• Hail Abusers

 

[Miyami~~~]

NFE UU Speed Tiers

Tier 0: 500+ Speed

Spoiler

687 / Dwebble / 55 / +Spe / 252 / +4
538 / Poipole / 73 / +Spe / 252 / +2
522 / Combusken / 55 / Neutral / 252 / +3
516 / Drilbur / 68 / +Spe / 252 / +2
510 / Sinistea / 50 / Neutral / 136 / +4
507 / Omanyte / 35 / Neutral / 252 / +4

Tier 1: 499-400 Speed

Spoiler

492 / Linoone-Galar / 100 / +Spe / 252 / +1
484 / Grovyle / 95 / Neutral / 64 / +2
478 / Dragonair / 70 / Neutral / 252 / +2
459 / Torracat / 90 / +Spe / 252 / +1
458 / Dwebble / 55 / +Spe / 252 / +2
458 / Hakamo-o / 65 / Neutral / 252 / +2
442 / Pupitar / 51 / +Spe / 252 / +2
442 / Seadra / 85 / +Spe / 252 / +1
440 / Combusken / 55 / Neutral / 120 / +3
438 / Horsea, Ivysaur / 60 / Neutral / 252 / +2
428 / Scraggy / 48 / +Spe / 252 / +2
426 / Charmeleon / 80 / +Spe / 252 / +1
425 / Combusken / 55 / Neutral / 96 / +3
418 / Combusken / 55 / Neutral / 252 / +2
403 / Poipole / 73 / +Spe / 252 / +1

Tier 2: 399-300 Speed

Spoiler

398 / Lombre / 50 / Neutral / 252 / +2
392 / Gloom / 40 / +Spe / 252 / +2
382 / Amaura / 46 / Neutral / 252 / +2
358 / Dragonair / 70 / Neutral / 252 / +1
358 / Sandshrew, Sandshrew-Alola / 40 / Neutral / 252 / +2
352 / Combusken / 55 / Neutral / 120 / +2
344 / Swirlix / 49 / Neutral / 152 / +2
343 / Hakamo-o, Mienfoo / 65 / Neutral / 252 / +1
340 / Combusken / 55 / Neutral / 96 / +2
340 / Shelgon, Sinistea / 50 / Neutral / 136 / +2
338 / Omanyte / 25 / Neutral / 252 / +2
333 / Drakloak / 102 / +Spe / 252 / +0
331 / Pupitar / 51 / +Spe / 252 / +1
328 / Linoone-Galar / 100 / +Spe / 252 / +0
321 / Scraggy / 48 / +Spe / 252 / +1
317 / Elekid / 95 / +Spe / 252 / +0
314 / Whirlipede / 47 / Neutral / 108 / +2
313 / Combusken / 55 / Neutral / 252 / +1
306 / Abra, Drizzile, Ponyta, Ponyta-Galar, Torracat / 90 / +Spe / 252 / +0

Tier 3: 299-200 Speed

Spoiler

295 / Seadra / 85 / +Spe / 252 / +0
293 / Cutiefly / 84 / +Spe / 252 / +0
284 / Charmeleon, Gastly / 80 / +Spe / 252 / +0
269 / Poipole / 73 / +Spe / 252 / +0
267 / Kubfu, Woobat / 72 / +Spe / 252 / +0
264 / Combusken / 55 / Neutral / 120 / +1
262 / Archen, Morgrem, Onix / 70 / +Spe / 252 / +0
260 / Scorbunny / 69 / +Spe / 252 / +0
259 / Charmeleon / 80 / Neutral / 252 / +0
258 / Drilbur / 68 / +Spe / 252 / +0
255 / Combusken / 55 / Neutral / 96 / +1
255 / Shelgon / 50 / Neutral / 136 / +1
251 / Grookey, Nidorino, Roselia, Vulpix-Alola / 65 / +Spe / 252 / +0
242 / Grovyle / 95 / Neutral / 64 / +0
242 / Seadra / 85 / Neutral / 144 / +0
239 / Dragonair / 70 / Neutral / 252 / +0
237 / Fletchinder / 84 / Neutral / 132 / +0
236 / Zweilous / 58 / +Spe / 252 / +0
235 / Whirlipede / 47 / Neutral / 108 / +1
229 / Dwebble, Farfetch’d-Galar, Gothorita / 55 / +Spe / 252 / +0
229 / Grookey, Hakamo-o, Mienfoo, Nidorino, Roselia, Zorua / 65 / Neutral / 252 / +0
223 / Dartrix / 52 / +Spe / 252 / +0
221 / Pupitar / 51 / +Spe / 252 / +0
219 / Horsea, Ivysaur / 60 / Neutral / 252 / +0
216 / Swirlix / 49 / +Spe / 252 / +0
215 / Zweilous / 58 / Neutral / 252 / +0
214 / Scraggy / 48 / +Spe / 252 / +0
210 / Amaura / 46 / +Spe / 252 / +0
210 / Morgrem / 70 / Neutral / 132 / +0
209 / Combusken / 55 / Neutral / 252 / +0
206 / Staryu / 85 / Neutral / 0 / +0
204 / Fletchinder / 84 / Neutral / 0 / +0

Tier 4: 199-100 Speed

Spoiler

199 / Lombre, Metang / 50 / Neutral / 252 / +0
196 / Gloom / 40 / +Spe / 252 / +0
195 / Scraggy, Tyrunt / 48 / Neutral / 252 / +0
191 / Amaura / 46 / Neutral / 252 / +0
190 / Natu / 70 / 196 / / Neutral / 56 / +0
189 / Magnemite / 45 / Neutral / 252 / +0
184 / Stunky / 74 / Neutral / 0 / +0
179 / Lairon, Marill, Meowth-Galar, Porygon, Sandshrew, Sandshrew-Alola / 40 / Neutral / 252 / +0
176 / Combusken / 55 / Neutral / 120 / +0
176 / Dragonair, Tentacool, Vibrava / 70 / Neutral / 0 / +0
174 / Chinchou / 67 / Neutral / 16 / +0
174 / Palpitoad / 69 / Neutral / 0 / +0
172 / Swirlix / 49 / Neutral / 152 / +0
170 / Combusken / 55 / Neutral / 96 / +0
170 / Shelgon, Sinistea / 50 / Neutral / 136 / +0
169 / Omanyte / 35 / Neutral / 252 / +0
168 / Cottonee / 66 / Neutral / 0 / +0
166 / Hakamo-o, Roselia, Trubbish / 65 / Neutral / 0 / +0
157 / Whirlipede / 47 / Neutral / 108 / +0
156 / Ivysaur, Luxio, Sliggoo, Vullaby / 60 / Neutral / 0 / +0
152 / Zweilous / 58 / Neutral / 0 / +0
148 / Pumpkaboo-Small / 56 / Neutral / 0 / +0
146 / Baltoy / 55 / Neutral / 0 / +0
140 / Dartrix / 52 / Neutral / 0 / +0
138 / Marill / 40 / Neutral / 88 / +0
136 / Brionne, Metang, Shelgon / 50 / Neutral / 0 / +0
132 / Scraggy / 48 / Neutral / 0 / +0
126 / Mudbray, Sealeo / 45 / Neutral / 0 / +0
118 / Pumpkaboo-Super / 41 / Neutral / 0 / +0
116 / Frillish, Gloom, Lairon, Marill, Porygon, Sandshrew, Sandshrew-Alola, Snover / 40 / Neutral / 0 / +0
114 / Hatenna / 39 / Neutral / 0 / +0
106 / Koffing, Timburr / 35 / Neutral / 0 / +0
104 / Shellos / 34 / Neutral / 0 / +0
100 / Hippopotas / 32 / Neutral / 0 / +0

Tier 5: 99- Speed

Spoiler

98 / Rhyhorn / 25 / Neutral / 0 / +0
96 / Dottler, Duosion, Lickitung, Skrelp, Yamask / 30 / Neutral / 0 / +0
92 / Honedge / 28 / Neutral / 0 / +0
90 / Dewpider / 27 / Neutral / 0 / +0
86 / Shelmet / 25 / Neutral / 0 / +0
82 / Bronzor, Lileep, Spritzee / 23 / Neutral / 0 / +0
67 / Cubone / 35 / -Spe / 0 / +0 (0 Speed IVs)
66 / Foongus, Sandygast, Slowpoke-Galar / 15 / Neutral / 0 / +0
58 / Duosion / 30 / -Spe / 0 / +0 (0 Speed IVs)
46 / Munchlax / 5 / Neutral / 0 / +0
45 / Spritzee / 23 / -Spe / 0 / +0 (0 Speed IVs)

 

[Rav3]

Have been laddering and building a lot post UMPL, and thought it was time to get some VR noms in. Weird round of noms, as a lot of mons will probably stay where they are when 2 weeks ago I'd have agreed with a lot of the nominated drops (such as Thwackey to A/A-). Here goes:

Rises

Corsola-Galar -> A; I think Corsola was incredibly under rated and should probably never have dropped down the VR, but with a meta shift, it has again shown to be such a great hazard setter, and can run either physdef or spdef sets. IMO spdef sets are the better off the two, running sball to more reliably beat specs GMime, and importantly now with special bulk, more easily beat hattrem. Corsola is a weird mon, as its a defensive rocker that beats Hattrem, something other fat rockers like Marshtomp really struggle to do. Spdef sets are even able to check many physical threats that lack knock off such as Piloswine and non-banded raboot. Building around Corsola can be tricky however, as most people rely on their rock setter to also be there volt immunity which is now more important then ever with Electabuzz gaining even more popularity, and it also doesn't like switching in on Tangela and having its eviolite removed, or been statused. Physdef sets still do what they have done for the majority of ss, check shit, sap shit, get rocks up, and chip shit with night shade

Wartortle -> A; I have used a lot of Wartortle for the last few months, and have found that a lot of teams lack good counterplay to it, baring a Thwackey (or formerly a Pikachu). Wartortle offers a huge amount of utility throughout a game, often achieving alnot just by clicking surf and rapid spin, however some matches it absolutely goes in, often requiring very little positioning to establish it as a great wincon, such as getting a knock on a mon like Slowpoke, Mareanie or Ferroseed, or simply chipping Electabuzz slightly. Not to mention that subsmash can often close endgames out easily or that spin, flip turn sets aren't also fantastic.

Magmar -> A; No longer do I feel like Magmar is on par with Raboot after having used more and more of it lately. It has more set versatility then I first anticipated such as Ho3ns cool overheat, thief specs set, standard evio taunt 3 attacks, thief, taunt 2 attacks, Arctics stoss set. It is great for fishing for burns with flame body + lava plume, has considerable bulk, power and speed, a useful second ability in vital spirit for the crazy good sleep powder Tangela set and a great typing for NFE. I prefer to run good hazard control (Hattrem + removal) with evio, but boots is viable too.

Duosion -> A-/A; Arctic and I both used regen future sight through UMPL, physdef is the best switch in to Golbat in the tier, while spdef is great now as a soft GMime, Ebuzz and Magmar check. Future sight is a busted move with regen, and even without investment still hits incredibly hard. Regen Duosion is so great early and mid game for scouting sets, firing off Fsight, spreading toxic, and chipping mons down. Adds a completely different dynamic to a game then possibly any mon in the tier. Let alone how good but hard to use dual dance Mguard sets are. Great mon, and should rise at least one subrank, maybe even two.

Marshtomp -> A-; Marsh is the best Ebuzz switch in, one of the better Magmar switchins, and has decent matchups v various other mons in the tier. It can struggle to set rocks v Hattrem, but can chip Hattrem down with Stoss or scald burns. I prefer physdef Marsh w/ spdef investment to check to help check Raboot and Pilo whilst still maintaining good bulk to switch into Ebuzz and Mag. Kind of a jack off all trades mon, master of none.

Slowpoke -> A-; I think slowpoke is every part as good a mon as Mareanie is, and deserves the same rank. In truth I actually find Slowpoke much easier to build with then Mareanie even. Similar to Marshtomp, with mixed investment it can serve as a check to a considerable amount of the meta game to varying degrees of success (Raboot, Piloswine, Golbat, Wartortle, Gmime, Magmar), but can often struggle to do all these things at once. Golbat is only threatened by Psychic if knocked, Slowpoke can struggle to check subsmash Wartortle, banded Raboot can seriously dent with Uturn/Assurance. However I still believe this is a mon derserving of a rise, providing valuable early and mid game scouting, spreading status, and most importantly using broken Teleport to get in offensive threats which I believe to be Slowpokes best attribute.

Linoone-Galar -> B+; at least this guy speed ties our best Psy type now instead of outright losing the tie. Dark types still have a strong role to play in NFE, however I feel the gap between Vullaby and Linoone has decreased significantly now. Linoone knocks, taunts, pivots and can also be a late game threat with a decent speed tier. Having a psy immunity can be invaluable when facing off against GMime and Hattrem teams.

Drops

Gurdurr -> A; I love Gurdurr and use it alot, even if ojr says defog is bad (its not terrible), but as many other noms have mentioned, its outclassed at most specific things it does (phys wall, removal, spreading knock, etc) but it still offers phenomenal utility and is still a very important mon to consider in the builder but I believe A better reflects its value.

Clefairy -> B+; again, another mon that offers great utility whilst been outclassed at specific roles. Knock, twave, moonblast, rocks, recovery, wish, teleport are all great tools, especially with Mguard but it really struggles to have a defined niche. I am by no means suggesting Clef is a bad mon, just one that can really be an issue to fit into some teams.

Vullaby -> B+; cruel cruel world. Vullaby was undoubtedly due for a rise before the ban of Kadabra. However now it has lost some of its best niche which was a semi ok check to Kadabra, Thwackey and Tangela. However now, you need huge giant balls of steel to switch this thing in on GMime for fear of eating a stab ice move, which leaves me asking, what is its role in teambuilding that allows it stay in the A ranks?

Morgrem -> B-; screens are bad, almost unusable, and NP morg whilst really cool on paper and can be very tough to check, its just a mon that isnt that easy to use or build around. Looking in the B ranks, it has more in common with mons found in B- then where it found itself B+.

Ivysaur -> Stay A-; weird nom but ok. I'd like to see Ivy stay at A- even with the sun nerf. Moreso though for its stall breaker set, which is a sideways trade with the Tangela stallbreaker set IMO (- spA, no regen) (+ tspikes mu, checks opposing tangelas). I think it is better then Roselia still, as spreading knock is just invaluable whilst still soft checking most things that Roselia can even without spikes. I believe this ranking is still purely deserved just for the stall breaker set which is slightly customisable especially with speed, I've been running 201 speed with Knock, Sludge Bomb, Leaf Storm/Eball/Giga and synthesis. Would highly recommend giving it a try

Lastly, I wish I had gotten some Vibrava replays but these are dead hours. But I do think its deserving to be ranked, decent Ebuzz, Mag swithins that can defog and pivot. Passive and lets Piloswine in, but certainly has a viable niche.

 

[S1nn0hC0nfirm3d]

New sample teams courtesy of NFE's council!

CB Raboot +Hattrem by 85percent


Thwackey +Mime-G by 85percent


Wart + Mag by Rav3ndan


Regen Spam by S1nn0hC0nfirm3d

Feel free to PM me or another council member with concerns with samples or if you have a team you'd like to add. We could always use a couple more!

Noms! also I agree with Rav for the most part :>

A+ > S: No doubt here, Electabuzz easily is on par with the other S ranks, and maybe even better. If not for the hype, the amount of centralization this mon causes shows off its greatness. Counters can be worn down so Focus Blast or even Psychic / Toxic / Taunt are a big problem for them. Electabuzz can play its way out of even its worst matchups with minimal support.

A > A-: Toxic Spikes are great and all but the hazard's competition / counters are getting better (more Mareanie and even Roselia and Ivysaur are seeing use). Koffing is also often a reactionary, matchup based pick that lacks the consistency of better walls, especially when its Pain Split recovery is a gamble mid- to late-game.

A > A+
B+ > A: Ground-types are near-mandatory to stop Electabuzz from netting momentum. The recent bans somewhat made Piloswine less effective given that it was used as a bulky offensive check to Kadabra, Ivysaur, and Pikachu, but the bans work both ways: the resulting lower powerlevel leaves Piloswine as one of the last remaining titans in the tier. Ground / Ice is still super good and you can't go wrong with it.
Marshtomp is the second most viable Volt Switch counter and I don't think it's too far behind Piloswine. Its typing, along with the advent of RestTalk sets, make it very reliable at supporting cores of Grass-, Fire, and Steel-types, and it becomes a sort of glue for a lot of reliable defensive cores that don't exceed like 4 walls. I nommed it for A- earlier but now I think A is fitting.

A- > B: Stallbreaker sets forfeit a lot compared to stallbreaker Tangela and really only come up in building to patch some holes. That's fine, but I wouldn't call it an A rank sidegrade to Tang, but rather a mid-viable pick for some teams. Losing regenerator is huge in the current meta and the chip damage + loss of momentum when using Synthesis makes Ivysaur highly abusable. Don't forget it loses that valuable 4th slot that Tang could fit Sleep Powder or Stun Spore with and that's another deal breaker for me. Sure you hard counter Tang but you let Golbat switch-in for free, especially when it already lost its Eviolite? That matchup just makes Ivysaur a lot harder / unsafe to play, amongst others like the VoltTurn and Spikes matchups.

Mid-UMPL Noms​

These are all still relevant bar the Thwackey drop, as VoltTurn teams with it are very threatening and effective with the corresponding rise in viability of Thwackey's teammates.

Let us know what else you think deserves a rise / drop! VR update is planned for a week or so. Get those noms in while you can!

 

[hayedenn]

ok it's time

my vr rises/drops

1. agrees

Spoiler

A- > A
A > A
A- > A
B+ > A-
Duo is really solid right now both defensively as a regen abuser and as a setup sweeper (peep that low dark-type usage from here on out) and it's deserving of a raise. I'd put it in A- to start simply because I don't think we have enough evidence over a long period of time to put it higher but imo it's probably gonna end up in A-rank
B+> A
I despise Marshtomp personally but it's pretty solid rn
B -> B+
A+ > S
A > A+
A+ > A-
I'm gonna slightly disagree with Rav here and say that I think Gurdurr deserves to drop even farther to A-. It's anecdotal, but honestly most games I've seen with Gurdurr have been with it flopping hard on its face, and while I know it can be pretty decent (use Counter) it's just difficult in this meta. I think Taunt BU has a possible niche with Gorsola usage rising dramatically but Bat is still everywhere as well as threatening special attackers in general, which Gurdurr struggles with
A- > B+
B+ > B-
A- > B+
I don't think Ivy deserves to drop as far as Ho3n says it does, but I think it's fair to say that Ivy stallbreaker sets are probably as good as something like Lampent or Slowpoke. I have not yet been convinced that it's a sidegrade to something like offensive Tang but I think it has a decent niche.
A > A-
UR > C
B -> B+
Mime-G check, need I say more?
B+ > A-

2. disagrees

Spoiler

Stay in A-
I agree that Clef definitely struggles to have a niche, but it's still a very good mon for defensive glue on teams that checks a wide variety of special attackers. It does get bodied by Taunt Ebuzz and it can struggle against set-up sweepers, but it's fat special bulk is really unmatched in terms of typing, good forms of recovery, access to Knock Off and underrated Aromatherapy (try it out sometime) as well as Thunder Wave, etc. I don't think Clef has gotten worse at all, even if it is a bit more difficult to use than it was previously.
Stay in B
This mon is bad

3. my own noms -> if people need replays i can pass them to u but cus of ompl i don't wanna share replays freely sorry

UR > C/C+
I'll summarize my posts from council server here because I really don't want to write any more.
Pros of Sandygast: hard checks ebuzz, is moderately fat, pretty solid dual STAB lets it check fires and 3HKO hatt (if it doesn't have mfire, and if it does have mfire u can stall it out of them pretty easily) and scorching sands makes it at least harder for stuff like thwackey to switch in out of fear of burn, ghost-typing lets it "soft spincheck" (you cant stay in on tort but u can at least make it a little harder for it to spin) also ghost STAB is really good as mentioned above, consistent recovery move
Cons of Sandygast: gets set up on pretty easily, gives free switch-ins to tang and wart as well as opposing rockers like clef/marsh, really gets hampered by toxic, ive found it pretty necessary to run stuff like aromatherapy clef with it cus of how prevalent toxic is, little bit of 4MSS, u wanna run toxic with it but i think dual STAB is a bit better than toxic just cus u wanna hit buzz AND that.

Overall, I think Sandygast is pretty cool rn and even if it isn't perfect, it is viable

replays

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nfe-1357642580-g1jtwud1hhwc6cqwzqg2rkumten40yypw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nfe-1357643980-9sdqhot5lkc5qzx17hmpx9uoc8x531bpw

UR > C/C+
Lots of the points of Sandygast apply here but spdef Vib is cool cus you beat buzz. EQ is good STAB and obv it has access to U-Turn which is nifty for VoltTurn purposes. It has access to Roost, and while it does get owned by a lot of rockers, that be how it is. Anything that eats FBlast from Buzz and can threaten it back is cool in my book. I mean, Vib is at least as good as defensive Carkol

replays

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nfe-1357649365-tcqyddddpnb3a3cevckaqkt8pwla8wqpw

B- > B
Krok is a really solid choice anti-meta choice right now. I really like its offensive Stealth Rock set because of how prevalent Hattrem and Gorsola are atm, so having access to Rocks/EQ/Taunt/Knock makes it a really cool psuedo stallbreaker that can spread Knock Off and set hazards. Scarf is a decent set as well for purposes of revenge-killing Electabuzz, Mime-Galar, and Raboot which are all really prevalent offensive pokes. Also, Intimidate is a really solid ability for helping the rest of your team manage physical threats such as Thwackey/Pilo/Raboot which, while Krok loses to, may help teammates such as Golbat/Hattrem/Gorsola/etc

4. other stuff I've been using rn that i like but arent gonna nom (this is just gonna be me talking about my love for )

With Ferroseed imo getting a bit worse due to the Kadabra ban, Specs Porygon (as well as spdef pory but i don't use that trash) has become a really solid special wallbreaker. Specs + Getting a SpA boost from Download makes Tri Attack a really spammable move atm, and even though Gorsola has become more popular as well as Klang, the amount of coverage options Porygon has at its disposal usually means that you have at least one safe option to go for at any time. A core I've been really liking is Specs Porygon + Thief Magmar, because when you do run into stuff like Ferroseed or Tang, when your opponent tries to Knock Off your Porygon you have something to go into that punishes that play.

 

[S1nn0hC0nfirm3d]

VR update!
Copy of votes: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1DsjVVwLnxMK0cIYg1Fpjar7hleQK-ohXBK--j3Hh4PM/edit?usp=sharing

Rises

B+ > A-
A- > A
A- > A
A > A+
A+ > S
A- > A
A- > A
B+ > A
B > B+
UR > C-
UR > C
UR > C

Drops

B > B-
A+ > A
A+ > A
A- > B+
B > B-
A > B+
A- > B

Electabuzz is the new S rank in town. Correspondingly, most Ground-types like Piloswine, Marshtomp, Vibrava, and Sandygast rose. Past giants like Wartortle, Raboot, and Galarian Corsola rose again to more relevancy as there's less power creep from the recent bans. Speaking of which, Vullaby and Ivysaur dropped due to Kadabra and Vuplix being absent from the tier. Other trends include Thwackey, Gurdurr, and Koffing feeling overvalued at first, and Duosion really caught on recently with Future Sight sets devastating the tier.

 

[ArcticBreeze]

mons are in viability order, I put less attention to detail in the C ranks

personal vr bop

S
Golbat
Piloswine

A+
Electabuzz
Tangela
Duosion
Gurdurr
Mr. Mime-Galar

A
Raboot
Thwackey
Wartortle
Corsola-Galar
Magmar

A-
Hattrem
Mareanie
Clefairy
Koffing
Ferroseed

B+
Linoone-Galar
Fraxure
Marshtomp
Vullaby

B
Lampent
Rufflet
Slowpoke
Klang

B-
Charjabug
Krokorok
Gastly
Combusken



C+
Ivysaur
Machoke
Dusclops
Hakamo-o
Togetic
Carkol
Lairon
Morgrem

C
Abra
Roselia
Hippopotas
Drakloak
Dartrix
Shellos
Mienfoo
Sandygast

C-
Sandshrew-Alola
Vulpix-Alola
Dwebble
Porygon
Vibrava

 

[Shing]

With the Mr. Mime-Galar suspect happening right now, I wanted to have some way to document this period of the meta since it was in OMPL, and I believe having the info on how the previous meta worked once we come back to look or remember it, I think it is extremely important for me to store in information on this period. I believe Mr. Mime-Galar will get banned which is why I took my time to write this, or if not then it can help the players that will join NFEPL to have some understanding of how the current meta works. As I believe the current VR doesn't completely reflect the meta, which is fair after a month meta with no noms.

I've my own complaints about how the gaps between ranks are right now because some gaps are way wider than others which don't reflect as accurately on what mons are viable or not. But since I don't know my solution to have close the gaps, I'll just write my definitions on each rank so you'll at least understand the impact on them. There are still rises and drops that will be explained no worries.

Disclaimers
I made my own VR with orders, which means this is also my opinion on who I think is worse or better. Take a strong grain of salt on B rank and below since I don't consider them worthy to go into.
S < A+ < A < A- << B+ <<< B << B- < C+ < C < C-
This is where I think the gaps between my ranks(and lowkey the current VR) are right now. S to A- are viable, B+ is viable but has its competition, B and below that are mostly niches, outclassed, and unviable in my eyes.
I'll make a comparison on my rises/drops over to the main VR as I don't think my own VR should be that different from it. So think of it as a rise/mon post too, which I'll explain in detail.

My personal NFE viability rankings

S Tier - Staples that will hold your teams in order to play this meta.
1. S = S
2. S = S
3. A+ < S (Rise)



A+ Rank - Has controversial strength that lacks consistent counterplay plus the strengths below, but isn’t S since there’s something that holds them back from belonging S tier.
4. S < A+ (Drop)
5. A < A+ (Rise)
6. A < A+ (Rise)


A Rank - Extremely strong synergy with the top tiers and fits in most teams, but has clear counterplay to prevent them being oppressive. It’ll always perform the role well with consistent results.
7. A = A
8. A = A
9. A = A
10. A = A
11. A = A
12. A = A

A- Rank - Very good in its role when it’s performed, but requires some support or has some weakness that prevents them from doing their things consistently.
13. A- = A-
14. A < A- (Drop)
15. B+ < A- (Rise)
16. B+ < A- (Rise)
17. A+ < A- (Drop)


B+ Rank - Has a unique strength that could give them an advantage over teams, but is limited to sudden playstyles. Can struggle if the opposing team can deal with the said strength.
18. A- < B+ (Drop)
19. B+ = B+
20. A- < B+ (Drop)
21. B+ = B+
22. B+ = B+


B Rank - Has a niche that could perform against some matchup, but it is hard to fit in teams and find many opportunities to sweep. Here’s where niches start.
23. B+ < B (Drop)
24. B = B
25. B = B


B- Rank - They have a specific niche, but need heavy support to make it work or is inconsistent against most playstyles.
26. B < B- (Drop)
27. B- = B-
28. B < B- (Drop)
29. B- = B-
30. B- = B-


C+ Rank - Largely outclassed or can’t perform its role well, but has some specific strengths that could fit for some teams.
31. B- < C+ (Drop)
32. B- < C+ (Drop)
33. C+ = C+
34. B- < C+ (Drop)


C Rank - Has one only good thing against specific playstyle/mon, but otherwise falls down flat and almost impossible to fit in a common team.
35. UR < C (Nom!!)
36. B- < C (Drop)
37. C = C
38. C+ < C (Drop)
39. B < C (Drop)
40. B- < C (Drop)



C- Rank - Potential spot to be in the VR. Take this ranking as just an opportunity to figure out if it has a niche in this meta.
41. C < C- (Drop)
42. C < C- (Drop)
43. C- = C-
44. C < C- (Drop)
45. UR < C- (Nom!!)

All the pokemon from current VR that aren't mentioned here means I think they belong to unranked.

Explanations on Top 3, Rises/Drops, some nominations, and other pokemons I want to talk about

S
An amazing glue that’s able to handle most Physical attackers, and even take on Special Attackers as Spdef has its valuable niches. But the best quality is that it has an amazing speed tier while being bulky, making it harder for slower Pokemon to perform its role if they don’t have anything to cripple Golbat. Coupled with a versatile utility moveset and amazing typing that’s able to handle potential threats such as Thwackey, Gurdurr, and Tangala it’s very attractive to use this in any team. Golbat is the best Pokemon IMO just because of its effect on teambuilding, and how it centralizes the meta to handle around it. With that said, I’ll note that Golbat could possibly not be the current #1 NFE Pokemon. The meta has adapted Golbat where Golbat’s “being able to check almost everything” hasn’t turned out to be completely true, and sometimes Golbat feels like a burden in sudden scenarios where it gets cornered and forced to recover or be a sack, not being able to do its job. But it’s still such an amazing pokemon and will just fit in your team regardless if you like it or not.


S
Tangela is one excellent little rascal with extraordinary strength with so few weaknesses, even having an argument as the best pokemon in NFE for some people. It has a crazy amount of versatility on its sets with different moveslots and EV spreads which are all legitimate to use. Unlike Golbat it doesn't get cornered to force itself to recover and hardly loses momentum thanks to Regenerator, which makes it more active from early to end. While the counters/checks look pretty obvious, the counterplay against Tangela isn’t as clear because Tangela has its own irrational counterplay. Golbat without taunt risks themself getting crippled by paralyzing or sleep, Ferroseed can risk getting trapped by Infestation, Vullaby despises getting poisoned and Klang, Roselia, and Ivysaur have their huge problems fitting in the meta. There’s a solid amount of offensive counterplay, but all of them do not appreciate switching in Tangela due to its insane utility and 100 SpAtk base stat. I should also mention that it’s also good against Volt-Turn cores which is a quality of its own I really like. The reason why I don’t think it’s #1 comes down to how many teams need it, the usage of it, and if it does outclass other pokemon. While Tangela has a lot of attractive attributes for many teams, it’s not nearly as mandatory in comparison to Golbat and Piloswine, and some offensive playstyles don't need the bulk that Tangela has. Tangela doesn’t have the high usage that Golbat has, and it doesn’t actually outclass as hard. Golbat, Gurdurr, and Wartortle all have their own unique traits as a physical defensive role, and for grass mons Thwackey and Ferroseed both function differently and have things that Tangela doesn’t. Even so, I’m still thinking very highly of Tangela which I think it’s 2nd best and I wouldn’t be surprised if Tangela could have been the best.


A+ < S
Piloswine has been in the trend of everyone’s team recently, as shown with the high usage at OMPL and it’s not a surprise why. Not only it’s the best rocker by far, but it’s also able to pressure Golbat, put a good amount of chip on Gurdurr/Wartortle, and adapted the Hattrem matchup by speed creeping and relying on Icicle Crash flinch cheeses to bypass it or with a combination of another pokemon as Duosion as a way to combat hazard removers. Speaking of that, Piloswine has insane synergy with most of the viable Pokemons, both offensive and defensive. It’s one of the best Pokemon to make progression in a match with its insane STAB combination while having the perfect bulk to soft check the majority of the meta at the same time, and that’s not mentioning priority, volt-blocker, and a semi fire check which are all important qualities. I’ll also mention Piloswine has formed a very strong core with Golbat and Duosion and it has been proven extremely effective and every team has to respect it. I still don’t think Piloswine is better than Tangela or Golbat. One of the minor issues is that a lot of teams want to preserve its bulk and longevity so sometimes it won’t play in the early field, and while it’s able to have many opportunities to use Stealth Rocks, you can easily get rid of them with Gurdurr and Wartortle. Obviously, you could have a chance to chip them, but you’ll risk yourself worn down Piloswine and killing its longevity. Tangela and Golbat in comparison are more active in the field and have recovery to back up their longevity while being a little more unpredictable than the straightforward sets Piloswine uses. Piloswine is still amazing and won’t disappoint you most of the time, which is why I rose it up to S rank and a top 3 pokemon. It has proven enough that it deserves to be a meta-defining Pokemon in NFE.


S < A+
I don’t think I’ll need to explain why Electabuzz is so good, but I would need to explain why I dropped it from S rank into A+. I find the counterplay against Electabuzz reasonable enough to prevent it from being too relevant in the field at early-game. A number of combinations such as Piloswine x Duosion/Clefary are solid counterplay against it and make it harder for Electabuzz to be active in the field. Obviously, Electabuzz can always play around them, but my point is that Electabuzz doesn’t simply cover every checks at once and it affects its relevance on the early game. It also doesn’t have that much power behind it, it’s just that the coverage is amazing. But the power behind it is a legitimate flaw, and Specs Electabuzz isn’t good as Eviolite is just too valuable to not use. Electabuzz is still amazing though, and the fact that a lot of legitimate checks/counters such as Marshtomp, Roselia, and Ivysaur struggle in the meta helps it do what it can do best; being a necessarily annoying pest. No shame if it’s still S rank, but I think Electabuzz has something that holds it back that prevents it from being in it based on how the meta function right now.


A < A+
With Kadabra and Pikachu getting banned, and Sun losing popularity after the Vulpix(Drought) ban, Mime-Galar lost its most important revenge killers and became the main threat that’s constantly on every builder’s back.
Both Specs and Nasty Plot are good sets for their own purposes, but Nasty Plot is what makes Mime-Galar a nuclear force. There’s no true counter to it as Mime-Galar can change her moveslots to beat its supposed check/counter. Although you can’t cover everything with one set, it will still hit the majority of mons in the meta. Combined with having one of the fastest pokemon in the tier, and having utility and decent bulk with Eviolite, Mime-G will find a good amount of positions to set up.
Mime-Galar’s impact on the meta has forced most teams to keep their teams bulky and healthy enough to be able to revenge kill it, have a combination of speed control with Electabuzz or another Scarfer, and rely on specially defensive mons such as Clefairy, Corsola-G, and especially Duosion. It will still not however completely stop Mime-Galar from sweeping your team.
The reason why I didn’t rank it in S is that there are some things that hold Mime-Galar back. In particular, it can be somewhat a glass cannon against Bulky Offense, and if you’re able to stop the 2+ Mime-Galar the chances it will pull it out again are slim assuming you weaken it. Mime-G without any boosts is also weak. Specs aren’t as effective due to the high usage of Duosion as it counters the Specs set. It does not also fit in all types of teams compared to the S ranks. However it’ll fit extremely well in any offensive team, and the fact that I genuinely think it invalidates balance/bulky balance playstyle harder than anyone else speaks a lot of this pokemon.


A < A+
At first, I was only using it because it was the best check/counter against Mime-Galar. Eventually, after some weeks at OMPL, I realized it was the best specially defensive pokemon in the tier. It had the ability to also hard check/counter Electabuzz, Magmar, Wartortle, etc. Coupled with Recover and Regenerator you would think that’s only it? Oh no, it is actually a powerhouse behind it thanks to Future Sight with a whooping 125 SpAtk base stat. This makes it attractive to a ton of wallbreakers, namely Piloswine, Gurdurr, Grass-types, and Fire-types for example. Hell, even defensive teams could benefit from this. The screwed-up part is that there’s a very limited counterplay against it due to the lack of viable dark and steel types, and with the help of wallbreakers limiting the switch-ins may I dare to say it’s broken and beyond stupidity? The counterplay would be using your own Duosion to tank them, but Protect will help it secure damage against wallbreakers. Other options are using dark/steel types to combat it, but even they needs Protect to make sure they won’t get screwed by the wall breaker combo. The worst option would be to accept that some of your pokemon has to take the hit which ends up from being worn out to a downright sack. Because of these traits, this pokemon has a huge amount of usage, maybe only behind Golbat and Piloswine since it’s such a good glue with an insane synergy to most of the Top Tiers. The only reason why I don’t think it’s in S Rank in all honesty is that I think the Pokemons above it are better. Duosion also leaves itself open to some pokemon that loves to switch in on their lackluster coverage. They can’t also pull out Future Sight at every situation and every Knock Off/Thief user and physical wallbreakers forces it out rather easily. I still think Duosion is a massive pain in the ass to play, so even if Mime-Galar could be banned, Duosion could become a better pokemon. I should also mention they can also run Iron Defense/Calm Mind Set which is a massive pain in the ass to deal with. Duosion is just so annoying to face, on god.


A
Just want to talk about how amazing this Pokemon is still right now. Spikes are very valuable to help breakers to break their checks, e.g Specs users against Duosion. The combination of Leed Seed and Protect is extremely effective to wear down the checks and annoy the hazard removers while staying alive as long as possible. But I think one of its biggest qualities is that it’s able to combat Duosion’s Future Sight combined with a breaker such as Piloswine, Gurdurr, Tangela, etc, and still not sacrificing too much progression/momentum. It does also benefit from the lower usage of Hattrem and can run physical defensive to tank hits against Piloswine, Thwackey, and Golbat. It may not be used so much as in Kadabra/Pikachu meta, but it has still undying qualities. I can definitely see this pokemon rise in the meta and I hope I’m right on that. Here’s a replay of how frustrating Ferroseed could be in the current meta.


A
Just wanna speak out of this pokemon as it’s a favorite of mine and that I really like how creative people have been using Magmar. The Fire Spin set is an excellent anti-meta lure that’s able to get rid of Duosion, Marshtomp, and Mareanie with a snap, enabling breakers that couldn’t break them an opportunity to sweep the team. I’ve been using the Belly Drum set, which is a decent enough niche with alright opportunities to set it up since it forces a lot of teams out to their “supposed” check/counters. Belly Drum pretty turns it around 180 and OHKOs them. I’ll talk out that it doesn’t fit in the description of A Rank: having a strong synergy with many others and fitting in teams. But I do still think it’s A Rank because its wall-breaking potential, defensive traits, and anti-meta shenanigans are threatening enough for me to consider it in A Rank although just at the bottom. Magmar is really cool in NFE.


A < A-
The meta has favored more momentum and being to maneuver around, which does hurt Corsola-G’s passive nature in this meta. As a rocker, more teams prefer using Piloswine, and as Phys-def mon it has competition against Golbat and Tangela which doesn’t get ruined by taunt nor doesn’t get nearly as worn down, and as Sp-Def mon it faces some competition against Duosion as Duosion can switch around more and has a better synergy with the top tiers.
I do still think Corsola-G has its different qualities that are valuable for many teams. Being able to pose a threat against most physical attackers, ignore spins from Wartortle, and cripple teams with status. It’s able to run different sets to deal with the targets is also neat, although you can’t check everything at once as running mixed leaves you open and worn down rather quickly(as someone that has abused mixed sets before). I also think that Corsola-G is not as nearly as good as the A Rank mons. If I would use Corsola-G nowadays, it would be its “wincon” nature by walling hits or being a deadly wincon sweeper. I’ll say that Whirlpool Corsola-G is niche and I would just use it only for Ferroseed and Gurdurr even if it’s scary. Using Will O Wisp and Haze is much better right now and will help you cripple your counters/checks.


B+ < A-
Vullaby can be a decent option to combat Future Sight x Physical Breakers, and differentiate itself from Golbat by its typing and knock support. I would probably opt for Physdef Vullaby as it can go toe to toe vs Physical Attackers, namely Piloswine. It will always have the 4 move syndrome issue, but you can at least build a set that works for your team. Also, it’s a much better pokemon than them in B+ and comparable to A- mons, hence why I believe it could get a rise.


B+ < A-
Lampent is one of few that’s able to combat the infamous Golbat/Duosion/Piloswine core albeit you’ll need some support to weaken the core though. It differs from Magmar/Raboot by being able to handle Water- and Psychic Types much better, which is a good enough difference for me. Another quality it has going for is being a decent revenge killer with scarf and specs can be scary since most teams don't have Ghost-type resistance. It does still have some problems getting in the field and it’s a slow breaker which won’t help it against fast teams, but it’s solid on its role once you find the right opportunity. Calm Mind w/ Eviolite or Boots is also underrated as most mons despise switching in against Lampent’s coverage. I can see it stay in b+, but it has very unique traits that make it viable enough to be in A-.

A+ < A-
Hattrem’s too passive for the meta. Rest/Talk is too limited and can be free switch-ins to Piloswine or Ferroseed depending on the set, or just simply Duosion. The meta does not favor Hattrem with the heavy competition on Duosion and Mime-Galar, and Piloswine has adapted the matchup by relying on speed creeping and flinches, which makes it unable to do its job, aka inconsistent. Hattrem with healing wish and utilizing its utility is still good though and valuable for offensive teams, but I still think adding Hattrem in your team is hard to justify if you’re going for bulkier teams. It could be dropped lower, but for now, I’ll let it be at the bottom of A-.

A- < B+
I don’t really like dropping it down, but I don’t think it deserves to be in A-. Barely but still Mareanie is a weird pokemon in the tier. It has this double-edged typing where it’s really good against Koffing teams, decent against volt/turn cores, and hard counters Wartortle. At the same time, it is susceptible to many Pokemon with Psychic/Electric/Ground coverage designed to cover other threats, and it is unfortunate that Mareanie is also affected by it. The main reason why I would drop it to B+ is that toxic spikes aren't as common and it’s more like matchup fishing at this point. Mareanie with toxic spikes is also easily dealt with by Gurdurr, Golbat, and Hattrem. Some other problem I’ve with it is that it has this annoying 4 moveslot syndrome issue.
No Knock Off = Free Duosion switch-ins. No Scald = Piloswine, Magmar, and Golbat isn’t worried about stab or burn chances. No haze = leaves you completely open to setups. No Toxic Spikes = losing a valuable niche to worn-down teams, and you’re much easier to switch in.
I also don’t find it as easy to fit in teams, mostly good on defensive or balanced teams which both don't do well right now. Mareanie is a little unfortunate on how the meta is right now, which is why I see it as a barely viable pokemon.


A- < B+
The only reason why you would use it over Piloswine is to hard counter Electabuzz and Magmar. Otherwise, this pokemon lacks the power and coverage to pose as a threat and can’t even keep the rocks out there. If Marshtomp faces a hattrem with rest/talk, that’s an automatic L for Marshtomp lol. It does also get worn too easily, which is why rest/talk Marshomp exists. It’s probably the best set Marshtomp has going for, boosting its ability to be a wall. You lose the threat potential, but you could be a decent endgame wincon that is exchangeable enough. Still, you’ll more than likely just use Piloswine for its wallbreaking and its bulk to soft check a lot of teams. IMO though the reason why I don’t like using Marshtomp right now is because of Mime-G's existence alone just invalidates its existence as a SpDef mon. Maybe if Mime-Galar gets banned, Marshtomp could rise up again although barely. It’s not a bad pokemon, but the meta does not favor it at all.


B+ < B-
Almost impossible to build around this pokemon as it has no good defensive synergy to any teammates. The Bulk Up set is also highly passive and hard to pull out with the constant offense teams and Stealth Rock weakness limiting the chances to get in the field. The wall-breaking potential is the only thing this pokemon shines in with only a few pokemon that aren’t comfortable switching in. But that thing has its own flaws with the chance of missing the hit and being even less comfortable to get in the field, and then very susceptible to getting revenge killed. Rufflet is just not good, and I’m happy with that LOL.


B < B-
Sticky Webs is just difficult to use right now. Too many defog mons that can comfortably switch in, and the abusers of it are rather inconsistent. It is just really hard to use it and it can only work against some teams at best. Sorry Antares, webs aren't good right now bro.


B < B-
Kinda scary with that ghost stab ngl. Still almost impossible to get switch-ins for this Pokemon, being so frail sucks and I don’t see it fits in a lot of teams. Still, the fact it has some powerhouse behind it makes it okay in my book to be B- instead of being much lower.


B- < C+
Outclassed by Ferroseed as a spiker and Koffing does a better job as a Toxic Spiker setter. The niche it has right now is being a Toxic Spikes absorber, threatens Tangela, and can perform well against Electabuzz that lacks psychic. Still almost impossible to fit in teams.


B- < C+
Tangela does a better job than this pokemon the majority of the time. Ivysaur’s niche is being a Toxic Spikes absorber that’s also able to threaten Tangela, having Knock Off and having decent power as a stall breaker. Not easy to fit in teams, and is very matchup-heavy.


B- < C+
Beyond outclassed by all rockers. But has its decent niche to combat against Volt-Turn cores, and then has a SpDef set that can decent against Magmar, Electabuzz, Hattrem, and Duosion, the latter two having a little different approach to beat. But yeah, there’s almost no reason to use this pokemon unless for these very specific reasons.


UR < C
Zweilous is just another abuser with an uneasy coverage that most teams don't have covered. You would only switch it in only against Duosion and Hattrem and abuse it from there. The drawbacks are the missing chances and it won’t be an active piece in the field most of the time. Otherwise a cool mon as a C rank pokemon. Quag has definitely used it and Kythr has used it at OMPL as proof I guess.


B- < C
Similar concept as Zweilous, but instead it’s against Golbat. Sadly that mon can u-turn as a mixup, so that idea is dead. Hattrem and Duosion can be potential switch-ins, but really there are enough mons that can tank Lairon's hits consistently enough. I think this mon can fall out of NFE VR at some point, but hey at least it’s a great pokemon in NFE UU.


C+ < C
How are you even able to break teams where Duosion, Golbat, Gurdurr, and numerous other pokemon are able to 1v1 you? There’s no way you’ll get to even set up lmao. The Combusken with Sub Protect with toxic support can be lit, but as long Golbat is viable there’s no way you’ll get any good result with it. Also almost outclassed by its own comrades as Fire and Fighting-type rip.


B < C
I learned this pokemon was in B tier, lmao. The niche it has is being able to revenge kill Mime-Galar and annoy teams with Will O Wisp or some niche stuff as sub/disable. But really, this pokemon is so mad weak and doesn’t fit in a lot of teams. Specs are kinda nice though for chip damage, but there are better Pokemon that are able to do the job much better than it. The Speed tier makes it a decent enough niche.


B- < C
HO Leads are suffering right now tbh. Krokorok is still good at letting the rocks stay in the field against Golbat and Hattrem, but overall I find Clefairy and Piloswine actually better as suicide leads tbh. Can probably fall out of the NFE VR.


C < C-
Same deal with Krokorok, but much worse against Gurdurr and Wartortle really. Double hazard with knock + setup could be built around, but I don’t see it work most of the time really.


C < C-
Haven’t seen much use with it, and looks hard to fit in teams. But it has some tricks with trace shenanigans that could work against regen-mons. Also got some teleport with recovery and decent 65/70/75 bulk so I think it got some niches in here. Really specific on how you’ll build the team, but I don’t think Porygon should be UR yet.


C< C-
I think Regen with Knock/U-Turn could have some tricks going in there for defensive teams, but I just don’t think it’s better than mons in C rank really.


UR < C-
Abra’s niche is that it’s a fast offensive special attacker that has knock off and is able to threaten Golbat. It’s a perfect lure to Duosion thinking to switch in and then loses its evolite, and now can’t switch in against LO Abra Shadow Ball. It’s still frail af and so it can literally die to anything, so you’ll need pivots to get it in safely. Luckly, Thwackey sounds like a perfect teammate to force switch-ins such as Tangela, Golbat, Koffing and Gurdurr. I can see it go to at least C+ at best if you want an attacker with raw power and free control. Skysolo has pulled out Abra at OMPL and while it didn’t do that much I can see the niche of it(also proof of replay lul).

Set

Abra @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Knock Off
- Psychic
- Shadow Ball
- Dazzling Gleam

Cool calcs
252 SpA Life Orb Abra Psychic vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Eviolite Gurdurr: 377-447 (100.8 - 119.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Life Orb Abra Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Duosion: 192-229 (57.4 - 68.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Life Orb Abra Psychic vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Eviolite Golbat: 281-330 (79.3 - 93.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Life Orb Abra Psychic vs. 252 HP / 172 SpD Eviolite Golbat: 229-273 (64.6 - 77.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Life Orb Abra Psychic vs. 252 HP / 172 SpD Golbat: 343-406 (96.8 - 114.6%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO

 

[hayedenn]

personal vr as ompl winds down. greens are rises and reds are drops

vr

S-Rank

S
Electabuzz
Golbat
Piloswine

A-Rank

A+
Duosion
Gurdurr
Magmar
Raboot
Tangela
Thwackey

A
Corsola-Galar
Ferroseed
Hattrem
Wartortle

A-
Clefairy
Lampent
Linoone-Galar
Mareanie
Marshtomp


B-Rank

B+
Fraxure
Koffing
Rufflet
Slowpoke
Vullaby


B
Abra
Charjabug
Drakloak
Ivysaur
Gastly
Klang
Morgrem
Roselia
Zweilous

B-
Krokorok
Lairon
Machoke
Togetic

C rank and below

C-Rank

C+
Gabite
Carkol
Combusken
Dusclops
Hakamo-o

C
Charmeleon
Drilbur
Dwebble
Mienfoo
Porygon

C-
Dartrix
Swirlix
Munchlax
Sandygast
Torracat

UR
Metang
Vibrava

 

[choicebadkyurem]

NFE Viability Rankings
[last updated (DD/MM/YY) 29/04/21]​

These are the Viability Rankings for the NFE tier. Pokemon are ranked based on their positive and/or negative traits, including their splashability, effect on the metagame, and reliability, as well as numerous other factors. All Pokemon for now are ranked by alphabetical order. If you'd like to see a Pokemon change rank, please leave a constructive post here detailing the rank you'd like to see the Pokemon moved to, and provide evidence to support your reasoning. Most importantly, if you wish to nominate an unranked Pokemon to be ranked, replays are required.

S-Rank
Reserved for absolutely meta defining Pokemon.

S
Electabuzz
Golbat
Tangela

A-Rank
Reserved for Pokemon that do great in the current meta, and otherwise need little to no support to function, or ones that provide a tremendous amount of support.

A+
Hattrem
Piloswine

A
Corsola-Galar
Duosion
Ferroseed
Gurdurr
Magmar
Raboot
Thwackey
Wartortle

A-
Clefairy
Mareanie
Marshtomp


B-Rank
Reserved for Pokemon that work well in the meta or can provide valuable niches, but otherwise have large competition or flaws that make them not as viable as A-Rank Pokemon.

B+
Koffing
Lampent
Linoone-Galar
Rufflet
Slowpoke
Vullaby


B
Charjabug
Drakloak
Fraxure
Ivysaur
Gastly
Klang

B-
Gabite
Krokorok
Lairon
Machoke
Morgrem
Roselia
Togetic

C-Rank
Reserved for Pokemon that have a notable niche, but are generally outclassed or have major flaws that hold them back.

C+
Carkol
Combusken
Hakamo-o
Metang

C
Charmeleon
Dusclops
Dwebble
Mienfoo
:sandygeist: Sandygeist
Porygon
Vibrava

C-
Dartrix
Drilbur
Swirlix
Munchlax
Torracat

Its spelled Sandygast btw

 

[lepton]

Its spelled Sandygast btw

man S1nn0hC0nfirm3d cant spell sandygast to save his life this is after being corrected once before it was even posted smh

 

[ArcticBreeze]

He shouldn't have to just unrank it lmao. If you think sandygast is a good addition to your team you fucked up somewhere maybe even outside of the builder...

 

[S1nn0hC0nfirm3d]

VR noms!
C+ > B: The spread I used in week5 has a ton of potential imo, and really its just a competent sidegrade to Gurdurr on Future Sight teams. In short, the spread lets foo switch in and tank a ton more than Gurdurr, with Regenerator + U-turn / Fake Out being a phenomenal combo to regain all your health back in a mere 3 switch-ins max. Golbat, Electabuzz, and Piloswine are way less effective at dealing with foo than Gurdurr—given their standard spreads, that is. Future Sight teams enjoy the feasibility in punishing common Duosion + Gurdurr countermeasures and take advantage of the centralized meta. These teams are any far the only ones where foo is worth it, though, but given how dominating this playstyle is, good alternatives should be more fit to B than C.

B > B+: Both these wallbreakers were used to great success this PL and mid-B is an unfair ranking to them. It’s true that their wallbreaking is a little precarious, but that only gatekeeps them from A rank imo. There was a fair amount of teams that lacked adequate checks to these two to the point where Outrage and Shadow Ball / Sludge Bomb got a KO freely mid-game. I can probably speak more highly of Gastly personally given it was on my Zwei team, though Fraxure still proved itself to be great on other teams.

B+ > A: Unapologetically one of the best mons in the meta due to Future Sight, Tangela, and being a tough wall. It’s pretty outdated for us to have no Dark-type in the A ranks anyways and Vull is the best pick. SubToxic is also a pretty stellar balancebreaker and it means hazard removal—which Vull isn’t the best at—can be handled by better support like Golbat / Gurdurr / Wart.

B+ > A-: It and its Toxic Spikes are too legit for B+. Koffing is a centralizing force and is a decent wall in its own right.

A > A+: See above regarding how much I already praised this mon and its undeniable influence. Not S rank due to flaws in its bulk and coverage but totally Pilo tier as far as success + relevancy goes.

B- > B: A mandatory Ground-type in each and every team cannot only be Piloswine and Mashtomp. While these two are still probs the best for the role, Gabite sees use mimicking Marshtomp sets to a similar degree. Choice Scarf sets are also kinda neat / saw use this PL. This rise is justified as Gabite is a relevant alternative to the A-tier Ground-types and shouldn’t be in the lowly B- rank.

B- > B+ / A-: It’s a huge jump but it’s a sign of the times. Roselia counters Tangela + sets Spikes, and that Poison-typing offers a ton of different teambuilding avenues compared to Ferroseed, namely countering Electabuzz. There’s also Ferro’s passivity, wheras Roselia hits hard and has Sleep Powder or even Psychic coverage for Golbat and Koffing. I at least can safely say that Roselia is legit in this current meta and that it shouldn’t be in B when Spikes, Toxic Spikes, Tangela, and Electabuzz are as good as they are rn.

C+ > B: We did it people. We finally figured out how to use Metang: either as SR + 3 Attacks or Trick. Seriously it feels good to know what Metang does in this meta and to see good teams built around supporting it with knock and status. That unique typing and recent success makes me think its totally a B niche than a C one.

B- > C+: There’s no way this thing is as good as Morgrem. Also it sees 0 use.

:sandygeist: > UR: They see no use and I no longer believe they have a niche on par with the other C ranks. If we want to create a D tier of mons that could work but you shouldn’t use then thats where I’d put these losers and a slew of others.

URs (from NFE discord):

> B+: Easy to understand its role as a FS counter, not perfect but a pretty good track record and adds to a necessary diversity in Dark-types and FS counters.

> C: Hail is a decent HO archetype, seen some success, huge holes regarding Gurdurr and Fire-types tho so it's EZ to see why it could be UR.

> B-:Counters buzz and mag, pivots, beats Wart unlike Marsh but Marsh is bulkier and stronger as a RestTalk special wall.

> C-: It's marshtomp with a water immunity. Use it to also check Wart and stop Flip Turn, not an awful niche when losing some bulk and power compared to Marsh

> C+: Counters all of the tier's Fire-types, phazes, Flamethrower for Steel- and Grass-types. Wish support very uncommon yet not an awful niche, and Protect + Roar combos well with Duosion support.

> C+: Shell Smasher with coverage like EP for Mare and is a little stronger than Wart (+2 EP OHKOes Evio Buzz after rocks), more vulnerable and harder to smash generally + still walled by Ferro

> C: NP with a speed tier that is just barely fast enough for slow wallbreaker, the biggest issue tho is that bat / thwack / even lamp can outspeed, so it relies on mediocre bulk to trade. Is the trade worth it? Morg is faster with arguably better defensive merit thanks to its immunities so im not sure if goth is viable in comparison.

And thats all! Lmk what you think. I ended up being very optimistic and favorable here with almost all rises, no drops. Could anything else have dropped or risen that I missed? I would love to get a VR update in the works in a week or so. Try to get your noms in by then!

 

[Miyami~~~]

free hail

 

[OranBerryBlissey10]

and A to A+: both are terrifying breakers with very little defensive counterplay and have seen a lot of successful usage in nfepl, they deserve to be this high imo

A to A+: future sight teams (or more specifically the gurduo core) defined the early weeks of nfepl and still have massive presence in the builder, can run lure sets, protect sets (for opposing fsight) or even double dance sets as a mixup, very useful for regen spam etc this mon is just great

to S+ OR and to A+: this is probably a controversial opinion but Golbat feels a cut above the rest to me, pretty much every meta trend in nfepl was at least partially designed to get past it (f.e. fsight meta, standardizing stun spore tang, resttalk ebuzz, gurd dropping mach for tpunch/ipunch/hh, rise of metang, cb linoone (ok I admit that one was just me but still)) while teams already have adaptation for those trends like thief bat, whirlwind bat or running something like vullaby alongside it to cushion the blows meant for bat. An intact taunt super fang bat is going to be a lot harder to deal with than a knocked para'd defog bat. I think tang and ebuzz are the second and third best mons in the meta respectively but golbat is significantly more meta-defining than either of them hence this proposition

B+ to A-: could provide a detailed explanation but honestly tspikes just go brrrrr

B+ to A-: physdef has picked up traction as it can defog on pilo with evio while also being a more reliable tang check than golbat (this also allows it to shield golbat from mons like thwack/tang/gurd/metang while allowing it to run non-defog sets), with 0 speed iv's vull is also a hard stop to gurduo since you're able to roost after the drain punch and slow uturn out of it

B to C: this has been massively overranked for months (seriously even in pikaboot meta it sucked because if either predict correctly even once you're playing 5v6) and only fits on very specific offensive builds, the best shot this thing has at viability is probably on pilo teams that lack good ebuzz answers since even if ebuzz predicts right and volts you have the fastest uturn in the tier, typing and utility are not entirely horrible which is why I'd hold off on ranking it even lower since it may work in theory

and B- to B: putting these in the same boat since they can both be effective wallbreakers and the circumstances are more favorable to them than last meta, in Gabite's case it's the influx of Raboot, Magmar and passive ebuzz sets while Morgrem really benefits from the presence of gurduo and non-gyro ferro. (for clarity's sake, referring to the 'sub np dpulse gleam' and 'hclaws eq drush scale' sets)

C+ to B-/B: not gonna repeat after Ho3n but he's right (am however gonna claim copyright despite its showcase game being my worst one)

would also like to echo the UR noms, especially chou, goth and zwei (however I will riot if sandygast is unranked)
also would've liked to delve into some other nitpicks but I restrained myself to the more important ones/ones I've had the most experience with.
Alas, it was decided to update the vr before nfepl even ended but feel free to argue with me if you disagree with my objectively correct takes