NFE NFE Resources

[Fish Gaming]

Onix should be added to stealth rock setters and physical walls. Y'all just gonna look over onix's 160 base defense?

 

[Thimo]

Made my own VR based on my experiences in NFE, do note I've been here for only 3 weeks but I do have a good enough understanding within the metagame to have a say on most of these Pokémon. Most changes are subtle and some are drastic but I personally think this is a far more accurate representation of the current metagame than the current VR, and I would like to nominate everything that has changed in this list.

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Machoke A+ to S

Linoone-Galar A to A+
Klang A to A+

Hattrem A- to A
Wartortle A- to A

Carkol B+ to A-
Clefairy B+ to A-
Roselia B+ to A-
Togetic B+ to A-
Brionne B to A-
Pikachu B- to A-

Mareania A- to B+
Dartrix B to B+
Thwackey B- to B+
Charmeleon C to B+
Cutiefly UR to B+

Trapinch A- to B
Torracat B+ to B
Farfetch'd-Galar B- to B
Vullaby B- to B
Vulpix C+ to B
Dottler C- to B
Gastly UR to B

Vulpix-Alola A- to B-
Lampent B to B-
Raboot B to B-
Mudbray C+ to B-
Drilbur C to B-
Koffing UR to B-
Drizzile UR to B-

Drakloak B- to C+
Sliggoo C to C+
Diglett C to C+
Corvisquire C to C+
Dusclops C- to C+
Timburr UR to C+
Wooper UR to C+
Bronzor UR to C+
Gothorita UR to C+
Lombre UR to C+
Scraggy UR to C+
Riolu UR to C+

Swirlix C- to C
Tranquill UR to C
Bulbasaur UR to C
Corphish UR to C
Darumaka UR to C
Remoraid UR to C
Ponyta UR to C
Frillish UR to C
Inkay UR to C
Woobat UR to C
Wailmer UR to C

Shelmet C to C-
Sinistea C to C-
Trubbish UR to C-
Dwebble UR to C-
Dewpider UR to C-
Pancham UR to C-
Kirlia UR to C-
Snorunt UR to C-

 

[Quagg]

The meta has changed a lot since the last VR update so I have a lot of changes in mind for this post. Figured out the best way to structure this is to just make a completely new VR and explain why I put the mons in these new rankings. Me and 85percent teamed up on this so huge shoutout to him.

S
Haunt is fine
A+ to S
This one kind of speaks for itself. Its just nothing bad about Machoke. The bulk and power makes this mon very hard to kill and even harder to switch into. Perfect coverage moves in Knock Off, Heavy Slam or even Facade on Flame Orb sets. Bullet Punch is a great tool to kill mons like Haunter when its weakened. Flame Orb Bullet Punch actually does 50+ damage. Base 45 speed isn't even that bad in this meta since if you give it enough speed u will actually be able to utspeed the majority of the metagame. Machoke can even be used as a Physical wall against threats like Piloswine or Klang which otherwise lacks counters. Machoke just has so much role compression in one slot that its no reason to not put this mon on ur team.

A+
Pilo is fine
A to A+
This mon offers so much utility and support in this metagame. Fastest viable mon in the meta with access to Knock Off + Parting shot lets it spam Knock off and pivot out so easily. Linoone is also the best way to revenge kill Haunter. The Normal type even gives it immunity to Ghost moves which is huge since its stops Haunter from spamming Shadow Ball. The toxic orb set is also one of the few things that can outspeed Haunter with Sticky Web support or Wartortle at +2 speed.
A- to A+
Hattrem is problably the best mon for Hazard control because of Magic Bounce. Its also such a good partner to almost every physical attacker in the tier since it prevents Corsola and Gloom from clicking Strength Sap, and it has access to Healing Wish which gives mons like Machoke another chance to go ham on the opposing team. Hattrem can also be pretty hard to switch into thanks to its excellent coverage and STAB moves.
A to A+
This might be biased since I love Klang so much, but I really think this mon deserves a spot on this rank. Its one of the best Haunter switchins and its also a very scary setup mon. Machoke is probably the most used Klang check, but once Machoke its Knocked, Klang actually does a lot of damage and doesn't need much chip to kill after a Shift Gear. The slow Volt Switch set is also really cool for bringing in wallbreakers like Flame Orb Machoke or Specs Haunter to take advantage of Klangs common switchins.

A
Cors is fine
Gloom is fine
B+ to A
Roselia is very good in the current meta. It has a good matchups against new meta trends like Shell Smash Wartortle and Brionne, and its also solid against Haunter. Its also really good at pressuring Hattrem if it tries to hard switch expecting Spikes.

A-
Wartortle is fine, but I have seen some more usage lately. Excited to see more of this.
B+ to A-
Clefairy is a really cool mon with an amazing movepool and good bulk. Solid rocker which beats Hattrem 1v1 because of healing moves and Knock off/Moonblast chip. However the reason why I think this Pokemon is A- rank worthy is because of the Teleport set. This is definitely an unexplored set, but we have also seen what it can do paired with wallbreakers.
B+ to A-
This pokemon gives so much role compression. Good rocker and spinner which can even trap and beat Hattrem with Fire Spin. Its also really bulky and has a great matchup against top tier mons like Haunter, Linoone, Roselia and Hattrem.

B+
Charja is fine
Morgrem is fine
Im a bit on the fence with this Pokemon. Im gonna keep it at B+ for now since it has great matchup against a lot of the top tier mons, but at the same time it feels like a momentum drain. Interested to see more opinions about this mon.
B to B+
This mon has 2 good sets which is Choice Specs and Spdef. I haven't seen much Choice Specs, but after looking at some damage calcs I'm convinced that this Pokemon is very scary. Base 50 speed isn't even bad in this tier as I mentioned earlier. The spdef set is also good since its checks Wartortle, Charmeleon on sun teams and it has a good Haunter matchup. Water STAB in general is also very solid.
A- to B+
Mareanie is so weird for me. Why isn't this used more? It learns Knock Off, Recover, Tspikes and it has Regenerator. Machoke is starting to run less Eq and it can even wall Wartortle, Brionne, Klang and some Machoke sets. Maybe its too weak/passive for this meta? I really wonder what other people thinks about this mon.
A- to B+
Nomming this down because its really hard to fit on teams and it really doesn't like locking itself into Outrage in this meta. Corsola can freely burn or heal on it, Klang can set up and Piloswine can revenge kill it with Ice Shard. Dragon Claw is obviously an option too, but it loses so much power. I think Fraxure is in a tough spot atm but its by no means a bad Pokemon.
B to B+
Torracat is currently B+ which I don't agree with. Raboot is faster, stronger and has better coverage moves. Sucker Punch for Haunter, U-turn and fire STAB is really good. I believe that this mon is a bit unexplored. Decided to just swap places for these 2 mons since I believe Raboot should be ranked higher than Torracat.
B- to B+
This is the best Defogger in the tier at the moment in my opinion. Great bulk, typing and movepool and it has a great matchup against top tier mons. The Nasty Plot set is also very dangerous for unprepared teams.

B
Lamp is fine
I feel like Piloswine and Klang kind of holds this mon back from its full potential, but definitely a really interesting mon. Defensive sets can deal with Machoke and SD is also solid. Sucker also makes it hard for Haunter to revenge kill. Interested to see more opinions about this mon. Keeping it B for now, but I can see it being ranked higher.
Duo is fine
A- to B
I know that people have mixed opinions on this Pokemon so I'm interested in more discussion, but I really don't think Trapinch is very good. Its very hard to fit on teams since its extremely frail and slow so it doesn't offer much role compression. Its niche it that it can trap Hattrem, Linoone, Carkol and Klang. Imo Trapinch is very unreliable when it comes to trapping these since they often have tools that lets them beat Trapinch. Machoke can easily be put over Trapinch when it comes to dealing with those mons.
Torracat B+ to B
I explained why I swapped places with Raboot earlier. I still think fire STAB and parting shot combo is solid tho.
B+ to B
Palpitoed was ranked to B+ mainly because of Pawniard, but now that Pawn is gone I think its fair to nom it down. Palpitoad really struggles to get Rocks up, its very weak and is just outclassed as Rocker and Wartortle/Brionne answer.
B+ to B
Togetic is a decent Defogger, but a bit worse than Vullaby. Mainly because it hates Klang and Haunter, and it doesn't learn Knock Off. Togetics Nasty Plot set is also a bit worse than Vullabys Imo since its way easier to revenge kill.

B-
Farf is fine
Haka is fine
Munch is fine
Pika could possibly be ranked higher, but gonna keep it here for now. Interested to see opinions about this.
Thwackey is fine
A- to B-
This Pokemon shined when Rufflet was still in the tier, but now that Rufflet is gone I think its fair to say that its almost no reason to use this mon. I never really understood why this was ranked higher than Morgrem in the first place, since I think Morgrem completely outclasses it as screen setter. This Pokemon can probably even be ranked even lower.
C+ to B-
This Vulpix on the other hand is more interesting. Sun is very matchup reliant, but definetly unexplored. Excited to see more sun teams.
C to B-
Shellos is another mon thats gaining some more usage lately. Sticky Hold is really cool since u can't get Tricked by Haunter and u don't lose Eviolite when opposing mons uses Knock Off. B- seems fair for now.

C+
Mudbray is fine
I might be underestimating the banded set honestly, but just gonna keep it here for now since I have almost never seen this mon in action. Will definitely test this out more.
B- to C+
I don't know why, but for some reason this Pokemon doesn't work. Fastest mon in the tier and really cool coverage moves. I guess 60 Special Attack for Choice Specs sets is just a bit too weak. Haunter being in the tier also makes it really hard to even think about putting this on your team.
C to C+
Charmeleon is scary on sun teams, but other than that pretty bad. Since sun is seeing some success I think its fair to nom this up along with Vulpix.
B- to C+
This Pokemon is outclassed by Hattrem as Magic Bouncer, but I think that reliable recovery and Teleport gives it a niche. B- is a bit too high tho Imo which is why I'm nomming it down.
C to C+
Drilbur is pretty cool since it can freely get up rocks against Hattrem because of Mold Breaker. 85 base attack isn't bad either and its ability lets it spam Eq which is never a bad thing in a tier where ground resists doesn't exist.
C to C+
This is another mon I feel is a bit unexplored. Its really bulky on the special side which lets it take hits from Haunter, Wartortle, Charmeleon etc. Sap Sipper is also cool since it can prevent Corsola from healing. Definitely have to test out this more.

C
Honedge is fine
Shelmet is fine
C- to C
I think the Iron Defence, Body Press, Recover, Psychic set needs some more testing since it can actually beat a lot of the top mons, and Haunter is one of the few mons that actually can revenge kill easily since we lack strong special attackers.
C- to C
Sure it might be outclassed by Cors, but its jut not fair to put this in the bottom rank. Its a very bulky Pokemon with access to a lot of good support moves.
UR to C
UR to C
UR to C
All these 3 were UR and we figured these are the ones we think should be ranked. I think its fair to put them in C rank for now. Excited to see more Koffing usage. Neutralising Gas is very cool against Hattrem teams.

C-
Swirlix is fine
C to C-
C to C-
Nommed these down since their niche is so minimal.

UR
C to UR
I see 0 reason to use this

Looking forward for more VR discussion!

 

[S1nn0hC0nfirm3d]

Rises:

Machoke - A+ > S: Pawn meta forced teams to choose hard between Machoke's defensive set, as it was the best check to pawn, or its much more offensive sets. Now, the meta facilitates a ton of Machoke variation that makes it the best at its roles. You can't go wrong with the high-powered CC and Knock Off combo, and you'd be at an unnecessary disadvantage not using Machoke on your team; its bulky offensive presence perfectly represents the tier.

Linoone-Galar - A > A+ / S-?: It's got everything it needs for the tier to be on par with Pilo, if not right up there with the other S ranks. It's a soft check to Haunter and can Taunt walls from recovering or setting status. Also, its usually the fastest unboosted mon in games, which allows it to Knock Off and Parting Shot out on everything; even Machoke, which comes in to check it, hates losing its Evio followed by a weakened Attack from pshot. This is such a valuable, offensive combo that enables the spread of Knock Off so sweepers / cleaners / trappers can 1HKO their desired targets. A very limited amount teams would want realistically to opt out of its support, and I cannot stress this enough that the support is so valuable (and destructive) for the tier.

Hattrem - A- to A: Probably really overdue but the mon is the most centralized hazard control in the tier by a long shot. It manages this by having an edge against common, usually slower Pokemon like Machoke, Gloom, and Corsola-Galar. Not to mention the phsydef sets allow it to somewhat check Pilo, and the support from Healing Wish is awesome. It's another one of those super relevent mons that isn't going anywhere as teams will again and again use it.

Pikachu - B- to B: Its a legit breaker and pivot. At B-, the VR kinda falls flat for being consistent, but Pikachu has a lot of pros as being one of the only midspeed wallbreakers. It can Knock Off into Brick Break and have a great chance to KO Piloswine and Ferroseed, and in general is revenging most of the slower meta in Machoke, Hattrem, Wartortle, and Togetic with Volt Tackle. There's a lot to love about it, and is a great wallbreaker for any VoltTurn team.

Keep it where it is!
Trappnch - A-: "Yh this things not good" Simbo I'm sorry but this nom was wack, and I need to defend Trapinch here. Its downsides of being frail and slow are near meaningless when it enables 2 of the best mons in the tier, Haunter and Linoone-Galar, by trapping and eliminating the opposing Linoone-Galar, Klang, Ferroseed, and Carkol. How could we collectively agree that every team should prep for Haunter yet devalue one of the best ways to support it? Trapping and getting rid of its checks is crazy great and super reliable!. Even if they're already dealt with, having a strong First Impression to threaten Wartortle and Pikachu is pretty cool. Either the CB or Eviolite sets work fine.

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nfe-1108726073 - The slow Volt Switch from Klang on the opposing Linoone-Galar late game secured the sweep for Haunter.

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nfe-1108546050 - Hatt Healing Wishes into Trapinch after the trapping Carkol is forced to rest. With the special wall and Normal-resist gone, both Haunter and Linoone-Galar reliably break down the opposing team.

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nfe-1108550272 - Trapinch as a lead jeopardized Linoone-Galar's health and later traps and KO's Ferroseed, but my team succumbs to SR chip, no Fire resist, and bad plays on my end.

I could show more if I built better / had more time, but Trapinch being underused in OMPL does not correlate to its lack of viability. Such a monster when played right, and all the meta trends put more emphasis on it being a top tier support.

Drops:

Fraxure, Mareanie, and Vulpix-Alola - A- > B+: When it comes to B rank mons, I like to think that they represent good picks and support to the top tiers, but aren't viable enough in their own right to dictate their own positions in the meta. This is probably why B+ is so large, as all the mons currently there are great support but aren't the top of their game thanks to heavy competition / inadequacies. This is where I believe these three belong, as they are a noticeable step down from the support and sweeping potential that Trapinch and Wartortle provide.
Fraxure's inconsistent bulk and coverage requires that many physical walls are gone before it can sweep with DD. Its Dragon-typing isn't too valuable past the Fire resistance when our offensive Water-types carry Ice Beam, the one Electric-type Pikachu already dents it with Knock Off, and the Grass-types threaten back with Strength Sap or Leech Seed. It's not horrible on its own to support, but there are better sweepers and cleaners to first try and abuse.
Mareanie as a wall has great recovery and Knock Off, but fails to wall relevant attackers like EQ Machoke Taunt Linoone-Galar for physical sets, and special are even more pitiful with the lack of relevant walls they stop. It still has a noteworthy niche for its passive recovery and Knock Off, and can be a valuable Haze user against Wartortle and Klang. In most regards though, it underperforms as a consistent wall, and often is sackable if the MU does not include these aforementioned sweepers or Fire-types to switch into (which 2 of them U-Turn out on, and Lampent can break through it anyways).
Vulpix-A is as good as Auroara Veil is, and right now I'd call it decent but no where near meta. Veil teams have variability and allow for low tier sweepers to have a shot at sweeping alongside established sweepers. Vulpix, however, is such a liability due to how frail it is, and considering Veil also competes with DualScreens and lacks consistent results, I believe its better to rank it accordingly at B+.

Palpitoad - B+ > B: As a big supporter of Palp, I still have to address that the reason why it was nommed up in the first place was to check Pawniard. With that niche gone, and more competition with defensive Wartortle and Brionne sets, the few attributes that distinguish Palpitoad don't make it this viable. It ought to drop back down to B as a mediocre Water immunity and SR user to outrun and potentially Burn Piloswine and Ferroseed.

Farfetch'd-Galar - B- > C-:
He has no niche. He has no use. This mon is sure to lose.
He can't wallbreak when he needs to
And dies to Machoke checks, just for you.
Deflate his rank just like a balloon.
This crazy mon just digs this tune.
Huh!
Farfetch'd
Farfetch'd-Galar
Farfetch'd
Farfetch'd-Galar sucks!

Corvisquire - C > UR: I feel like this mon just went under the radar on the last batch of cleaning up the C ranks. It sees zero use and as a Defog user, we not have Dartrix and Vullaby which have better stats, typings, and movepools to justify over Corv. It is completely overshadowed and never used, and I am certain that it is not worth valuing compared to other UR mons that have just as worse of niches.

I'll leave it there and check out the other noms later!

 

[King Leo V]

I wanted to do my personal vr too, so here we go.

MONS THAT NEED A RISE:

A+ to S Agreed with Quag and Ho3n -Only mon which is top tier at both defense and offense. 3 sets which are just great at what they are meant to do.

A to A+ Agreed with Quag and Ho3n. Speed + Parting shot is a great combo. Has access to the best NFE move Knock making it the best pivot in the tier. Toxic Orb varient can outspeed the whole tier and could help as a late sweeper too.

A to A+ Agreeing with Quag. Checks haunter, grass, poison mons, has volt switch for momentum, Set up variety which can put in work once mons are chipped. Opponent is forced to save mons to check it.

A- to A Agreeing with Ho3n, I think A+ is still a bit too high for it.

B+ to A- Agreeing with Quag that it got but A is a bit too high. I think it's deserves to be in the same rank as carkoal.

B+ to A- It sure serves as a very good support mon with wish, teleport support allowing for mons with no recovery to wreck havocwith replenished health again. Agree with quag here.

B+ to A- With hazard being good without a lot of mons which can remove, it can do both the jobs which is very handy.

B to B+ With sun being used now, I think this mon is B+ worthy for sure, It was a good specs set too. So In agreement with quag.

B to B+ Fast enough for most of the mons in the tier, decent attack, uturn for momentum, and sucker punch for haunter. I think these make raboot B+ worthy without a doubt.

B- to B Fat, access to knock, can set up with nasty plot, can pivot with u turn if needed, provides hazard removal. If used effectively if can check a few varients of machoke and haunter.

C to B- Success of this mon is kinda matchup dependent. It is hard to use but it can keep it's item and is bulky which is a very handy ability.

C+ to B- Sun teams are good atm and the setter should be treated as a bigger threat than it was before.

C to C+ Very decent in sun which deserved it a C+ rank.

C to C+ Sliggo deserves C+ atleast, it has a huge spd and sap sipper, hard to build around though.

UR to C+ It is a solid tspiker, can check machoke now that it does not have eq most of the time, can check pilo if levitate.

C- to C Webs, and I've seen a set up varient too, which is not bad and can put in work if you have nothing for it. Deserves a C.

UR to C Has decent defenses and can remove whether now. Nothing too great but is bulky and can be a decent mon.


MONS THAT NEED TO DROP:

A to A- Good defending mon, but with a decent increase in fire type usage I think it's usage has reduced a bit and corsola is a bit better in that regard.

A- to B+ I like this mon, it can knock, set tspikes, and has regen. But I think it's inability to do something against any of the mons makes it very passive and has seen a notable reduced usage.

A- to B+ hmm, It is good but it dies to most things and is not really dependable to kill many. Like only a band with a good predict can get you a kill unless you chip down, get to range and kill. And even then next turn you die or being taken advantage of for being band locked into first impression.

B+ to B It is a decent mon, but it does not have a great coverage. Only fire type coverage is notable. You have the setup power trip set..but setting up with it is very tough tbh.

B+ to B It put in good work in the pawn meta, but with more rose, hatterm which make it impossible for it to set up rocks, it is really not as good a pick it was.

A- to B- It more like a set up once mon, cannot really do anything other than that, and morgrem is a better setter of screens.

B- to C+ Not really worth using, hatterm does better in almost everything it does. Has u turn to pivot and has recovery which are the only reason which still keep this without going UR.

C to C- It dies to a flame ord bullet punch if it runs band and without band if cannot ko anything unless it is has been chipped a lot.

C to C- Rarely you get to live and shell smash and there are a lot of priority mons so I don't see many cases where it can put in good work.

MONS THAT NEED TO BE KICKED:

C to UR - Useless considering vull, dartrix, togetic.

 

[OranBerryBlissey10]

First of all, I absolutely agree with the Shellos rise. I have been using it with a lot of success. A great Knock Off sponge and wall. Also counters setup mons like Wartortle with Clear Smog with the exception of Klang. Although it can still burn non-rest Klang. Next, I would like to talk about a very underrated mon: Dewpider. It has two valuable niches. The first one being that it is a special wall with Mirror Coat, which is very useful in a meta with Haunter and Wartortle. Thanks to its incredible ability, it can also dish out some damage without needing to rely on Mirror Coat, as well as being a check to Charmeleon in the sun (Solar Power Overheat in the sun does less than half to a spdef Dewpider). Its mediocrity as a physical wall can be somewhat mitigated with the use of Scald and/or Lunge (yes, it gets Lunge). Its second niche is hazards: not only is it a decent websetter, but it gets Magic Coat. If your opponent leads with their hazardsetter and you with Dewpider, they will probably expect a hazard trade. Using Magic Coat, you can flip the tables and get off two kinds of hazards (or switch if you bounced back the opposing webs). In my opinion, Dewpider should be bumped up from UR to C. It can be a bit prediction-heavy, but that shouldn't be a problem right now since Dewpider isn't used a lot.

 

[Jett]

Hey frens, welcome to another VR update.

VR Votes

Rises

from A+ to S. By far the most used Pokemon and considered the best by many, with 3 incredibly strong sets; Tank, Flame Orb and PhysDef. It is able to fit on to most playstyles very nicely with its combination of solid bulk and amazing wallbreaking power. Pawniard leaving has freed up its scary offensive sets and its insane coverage means that it is incredibly difficult to switch into especially considering its speed tier isn't particularly a hindrance with how many slow walls are currently on teams. Overall, its incredible versatility meaning it can fit onto almost any team puts it firmly in the S rank.

from A to A+. Galarian Linoone is currently the most reliable offensive check to Haunter. Parting Shot makes it extremely valuable as its able to keep up momentum and making it incredibly difficult to revenge kill. Toxic Orb still has a place as it can revenge kill Scarf Haunter and Wartortle after some chip at +2. Linoone also function as a very effective cleaner due to its solid Attackin conjunction with its speed.

from A to A+. Klang continues to be an amazing Special Wall which is also able to provide slow Volt Switches to safely bring in frailer Pokemon. Klang is also an amazing setup sweeper, with many teams being unprepared to deal with more offensive sets once a few opposing Pokemon have been chipped.

from A- to A+. Hattrem continues be the most common form of hazard control on teams with an excellent matchup into most Stealth Rock users and Spikers. PhysDef sets with Giga Drain have been rising in usage as it allows Hattrem to reliable deal with Piloswine, the premier Stealth Rocker in the metagame.

from B+ to A-. Roselia is an amazing Special Wall being able to check Wartortle, Specs Brionne, and Haunter(as long as it has Extransensoryy/Shadow Ball). Offensive sets have also been rising in usage and often catch Hattrem off gaurd as it tries to switch in to prevent Spikes going up.

from B+ to A-. Carkol offers great role compression as it can set up 2 types of hazards and be a Rapid Spinner. It function as an amazing Special Wall and with FIre Spin it can even trap Hattrem and remove it.

from B+ to A-. The combination of Teleport and Wish which pairs extremely well with Wallbreakers without healing like Machoke, Haunter and Piloswine. Its also a decent wall with access to other useful utility moves, such as Knock Off, Stealth Rock and Thunder Wave.

from B to B+. Both of Brionne's sets are extremely solid at the moment. Its SpDef set has the ability to check Haunter, Wartortle, and Charmeleon under Sun, which are all extremely potent special wallbreakers. Its Choice Specs fires off extremely power Hydro Pumps which dents any teams with a Water-type resist.

from B- to B+. Pikachu has been a very slept on wallbreaker, with physical, special, and mixed sets all seeing usage. Its able to break past some of its checks like Piloswine and Carkol with Knock Off and coverage moves such as Brick Break and Surf. Extreme hits Pokemon which are faster than it extremely hard whilst Volt Tackle lets it easily break past slower Pokemon like Clefairy, Machoke, and Togetic. On top of all this, it also has access to Volt Switch making it a really good member on VoltTurn cores.

from B- to B. Vullaby is one of the best Defog users and its combination in great bulk and solid defensive typing has led to its rise in usage. With access to Knock Off and U-turn it can be an annoying utility pivot and Nasty Plot gives it options to go for a more offensive route.

from C+ to B-. With Stamina, its a very solid physical wall and is one of the better and more reliable Klang checks. It's also able check Machoke relatively well. Having access to Stealth Rock is an added bonus.

from C+ to B-. Sun has seen an increase in usage, and whilst it is still a quite unexplored archetype, Vulpix is a must-have on Sun teams so it sees a rise to B-.

from C to B. Shellos is an extremely valuable wall with Sticky Hold meaning it is a wall which cannot be Knocked Off or Tricked. It has access to reliable recovery, defense boosting moves and counter and mirror coat, which makes it a pain to break past for teams with Toxic or a setup sweeper.

from C to C+. Similar to Vulpix, Charmeleon is a large part of Sun's success and being a phenomenal cleaner and wallbreaker under sun thanks to Solar Power.

from C to C+. A very solid Stealth Rock user for HO teams with Mold Breaker letting it set Rocks up against Hattrem.

from C to C+. There has been a rise in Special Attackers and Sliggoo has also been a very solid special wall so it deserves a small rise. Sap Sipper also prevents Pokemon which rely on Strength Sap from healing.

from C- to C. Although it is largely outclassed by Corsola, it has some solid support moves which means it doesn't warrant the lowest rank.

from C- to C. Iron Defense Body Press and Infestation Sticky Web are two niche sets which have been seeing a rise in usage.

Drops

from A- to B+. With how common Piloswine has been, Fraxure has struggled to fit onto teams as it can also be easily revenge killed. The rise of Clefairy and other defensive Fairy-types also give it fewer setup opportunities than before. Other setup sweepers like Wartortle are just more effective than it at setting up and sweeping.

from A- to B+. Mareanie has struggle to find its place, being slightly to passive with poor matchups into the most common offensive threats at the moment. It doesn't check Machoke or Haunter well enough.

from A- to B+. Trapinch still offers incredible support for Pokemon like Haunter, but it has become harder to fit onto teams with how common Piloswine and Machoke are.

from A- to B-. This was long overdue, Alolan Vulpix is outclassed by Morgrem for the most part due to a worse defensive typing, lack of Prankster and worse stats overall.

from B+ to B. Other Haunter checks are able to fit in some form of recovery or are able better role compressors than Ferroseed.

from B+ to B. Pawniard's departure from the metagame means it loses it main niche over other defensive Waters like Brionne and Wartortle. Only a slight drop since it still has very valuable utility in Stealth Rock.

from B+ to B. Torracat has be dropped to be the same rank as Raboot which has a better movepool and better speed tier. Torracat's niche over Raboot is Parting Shot but this isn't enough to keep it a subrank above.

from B- to C+. Hasn't seen much usage with Machoke outclassing it for the most part as a FIghting-type.

from B- to C+. Drakloak is still seeing very little usage. Its mostly outclassed by Haunter as a Special Attacker and its physical movepool being lacklustre means it'll be dropped to C+

from B- to C+. Its outclassed by Hattrem as a Magic Bounce user for the most part. Weakness to Piloswine and Carkol which are the 2 most common Stealth Rock users also hurts its viability.

from C to C-. Another trapper which hasn't seen much user recently. Piloswine being super common makes it difficult to use and it isn't living anything so is heavily reliant on Sash.

from C to C-. It still has the niche of being able to be a Shell Smash user but it is outclassed by Wartortle for that role.

from C to UR. Other birds have better defenses, are more reliable at getting off Defog and have better utility/typing.

from C to UR. Honedge hasn't really been used at all, and its poor Special Defense makes it a shaky Haunter check at best as well as being weak to other common Pokemon like Linoone, Machoke and Piloswine.

New Additions

from UR to C+. Gothorita is a solid Nasty Plot user with amazing coverage and a decent speed tier. Competitive also deters Defog and its able to switch into these birds and fire off aThunderbolt

from UR to C+. Koffing with neutralising gas is one of the better Flame Orb Machoke switch-ins. In addition to this, Neutralising Gas lets it set up Toxic Spikes against Hattrem, which is commonly a team's only hazard control. Checks Piloswine if its levitate instead.

from UR to C. With access to great utility in Sticky Web, Tailwind, Skill Swap, and Magic Room, Cutiefly is able to fit well on hyper offensive teams and is able to use Sticky Web even against Hattrem with the right moves.

from UR to C. Darumaka is a very powerful glasscannon and wallbreaker but is somewhat unreliable due to Hustle. Its access to U-turn lets its Choiced sets keep up momentum.

from UR to C. Although it has a poor movepool, a combination of its solid Special Attack and amazing Speed tier means it can be a solid cleaner with its Water STAB. It also has access to both U-turn and Sucker Punch.

from UR to C. Gastly is a decent choice for Ghost Spam teams, with Modest Gastly reaching pretty much the same Special Attack as Timid Haunter. Its Specs set synergises very well with Haunter's Evio SubWisp set to break past teams.

from UR to C. It has decent defenses, and it can disrupt weather with its ability which is a valuable niche with sun teams on the rise.

from UR to C-. One of the best Piloswine switch-ins but it still struggles to deal with other common threats such as Haunter, Machoke and Piloswine.

from UR to C-. Frillish is a solid Wartortle answer. Decent wall which has access to Taunt and Will-O-Wisp and has recovery which isn't blocked by Hattrem. It does struggle against Haunter and Machoke however.

from UR to C-. Inkay is a decent late game win condition with its combination of Contrary and Superpower, but it takes a bit of time to get going. Its unique typing helps it to do this with a severe lack of offensive Fairy-types currently.

from UR to C-. Mostly outclassed by Machoke, but Scraggy is decent setup sweeper with access to both Dragon Dance and Bulk Up.

Thanks everyone for your nominations, especially those who provided reasoning. Please keep nominating as they are extremely valuable in keeping our VR up to date.

 

[Kaif]

im a lazy cow so heres noms

A to B+: this thing hates wartortle klang hattrem piloswine and basically most of the common mons on teams, roselia and dartrix do grass jobs better.

B to B+: I wasn't really sold on this mon before someone (i think it was shing) used some defensive defog set and I noticed that nothing in this meta likes taking knock off and/or toxic except probably klang, alongside the fact that sd is really good as well this mon def needs a raise.

B to A-: this is one of the only things that can take haunters dual stab w/ ease although it doesn't like getting dazzling gleamed on the switch, B on the vr is really underselling how good of a defensive mon it is with knock uturn/toxic defog and roost.

those are the lazy noms for today, if i can get my ass rolling I'll probably make a han baunter post in the metagame thread

 

[OranBerryBlissey10]

UR to C-: It's very similar to its Unovan counterpart in every way (it even gets Flare Blitz) and that one is C rank. I used Scarf Hustle a bit and it's quite effective. Even though normal Darumaka is usally considered better, the difference isn't enough to warrant it being two ranks higher.

C to C+ A good defensive wall with recovery and rocks. On top of that, setting up on it is difficult due to Whirlwind and/or Toxic.

UR to C Decent on rain teams as a good swift swimmer. Also has a versatile physical movepool containing Zen Headbutt, Fake Out, Knock Off, Drain Punch (even Fire Punch for some reason) and Swords Dance to use it.

UR to C- Can put up rocks and Shell Smash with access to Knock Off. Misinterpreting an opposing Dwebble can be quite problematic.

UR to C- This is a weaker version of Ivysaur which was a VERY balanced mon on sun teams :)

B- to C+ This mon just doesn't have a large enough niche to warrant a B-. It's a decent Scarfer or SD sweeper, but that's it. I will say that this will likely completely change when it gets its HA, which is very good. But right now it's not good enough.

C to C- Ironically, this mon's physical movepool is pretty good (Sucker Punch, U-Turn, Ice Shard) but its special one is lackluster. Doesn't have a valuable niche except as a borderline acceptable screensetter.

C to C+ Bulky Trick Room staple (yes I know Trick Room is very rare in this format) with good support moves. Can also run a bulky sweeping set with will-o-wisp and Calm Mind. It may not be great, but its bulk is good enough for C+

I'm not exactly sure how valuable this niche is, but it completely walls every Klang variant thanks to its typing and Unaware and can freely set up on it.

UR to C- Also completely walls Klang but can instead use Volt Switch or Heal Bell for team support. Is also a check to Pikachu with decent bulk.

UR to C- My opinion on Dewpider still stands. (look back by 3 posts for a detailed reasoning)

I would like to conclude these nominations by saying that I think the new viability ranking has made some amazing changes. (And no, I'm not just saying that because of Scraggy) I also felt like Koffing and Shellos were severely underrated which has now been fixed.

 

[Eris]

bored. gonna do a vr :)

A- to A
I really feel like Roselia plays too much of an important role in the metagame to only be A-. It's the primary spike setter offering massive team utility especially in our current metagame which is slowly developing into a more offensive playstyle. Roselia is also one of the best special defensive wall being able to checks Wartortle at +2 and various other threats like Haunter and Brionne. It's also really solid offensively, being able to ohko Haunter with Leaf Storm is just beyond imo when this tier has little grass counter play. It has versatility and can easily get rid of the S ranks and A+ baring Klang.

A to B+/B
Following the Roselia nom Gloom just does not feel like an A rank to me. Besides being a Machoke wall (which it does pretty poorly as well) it just doesn't do anything notable. Most A ranks have no trouble staying in and Hattrem dominating the metagame does not help Gloom achieve its ability to tank and recover, thus forcing it to run double recovery and losing on utility it could otherwise be running. Overall still a good mon just not at the moment.

B+ to A-
I might be incredibly bias but this mon is so powerful and I can't believe it didn't make it to the As last VR update. Barely anything likes to switch into Choice Specs especially as everything is usually in range after Knock Off. Brionne is also pretty fast for the current metagame where it outspeeds most walls, its best wall is literally itself which i think just describes how hard this Pokemon can hit. Spdef also walls Haunter and Machoke doesn't even want to switch in on that which I think just shows how valuable it is on a team.

A- to A
Mr.Smash has been used a lot lately and I've been having a lot of fun using it. This tier has so many good support and utility users that it would be a shame not exploiting this mon on every occasion. I've seen this on screens, webs hazard spams, gravity, sun and pre much everything at this point. Top tier wincon and late game threat, hits hard and easily can turn games around after a few mons are in range. It forces Roselia, Ferro and Klang usage as well as these mons are pre much the only ones that can 'reliably' check it in place. Bulky sets are also really good since our only other spinner is Carkol and hazards are really annoying to place in this meta.

B+ to A-
I know this mon does not see a lot of play and people sleep on it a lot but Fraxure might be one of the best wallbreakers of this metagame. I've been testing it quite a bit lately and honestly after a swords dance this mon just goes ham. It outspeeds almost the entire metagame but Haunter and Linoone which is pre much it's only downfall as it sets up on so much. First Impression is also really good at revenge killing Linoones and Morgrems and most people don't really prep for Fraxure. Choice Band and Choice Scarf sets are also pre fun and good revenge killers but SD imo is where it's at.

B+ to A-
This mon is pre crazy when used right, I mean it breaks literally every defensive cores and is a great wallbreaker, in most games you can literally just volt switch around and pressure your opponent until everything just dies which I think is just mad. Pikachu is also super versatile and has coverage for literally every mon in this tier. Only viable answer I've seen is Ferro and even that mon is easily worn down from volt switch spam.

B to B+
I've mentioned this mon quite a bunch throughout this post and it's just really solid right now. It checks a lot of mons which are rising in usage and the lack of fire types just benefits it so much. One of the most notable hazard setters as it is one of the few who can threaten whatever likes to come in through Knock Off. The only reason why I wouldn't argue for A ranks is because of the lack of recovery this mon has with how common Hattrem is, it also suffers from Vullaby problems where it sometimes tries to do more than it can do and ends up being a little unreliable. Nonetheless this mon is good right now with how prevalent water types are.

B to B+
Raboot in my opinion is the best fire type we have at the moment. This mon offers a lot of good offensive pressure through its wide coverage and good atk stat. I really have not enjoyed facing it whether it was banded or using boots and def punched a few holes on my teams. It also does well against most A ranks and the few who can switch in don't enjoy being u-turn'd on. I've personally really enjoyed it paired with Pikachu and Linoone-Galar. Really fun offensive core for this meta.

now, couldn't end the post without noming a c rank so here we go

UR to C/C+
Been having fun using this cutie quite a bit lately and it's honestly really solid right now. It has good coverage and good spe which makes it an overall good revenge killer for this meta. Being able to threaten Machoke, Haunter, Linoone is something I really enjoy. I've been pairing it with Agility which imo works better than CB though still a viable option. Going to leave the set and a cute replay of it working, enjoy n_n

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nfe-1113652382

set

Ponyta-Galar (F) @ Eviolite
Ability: Pastel Veil
EVs: 108 HP / 252 Atk / 148 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Zen Headbutt
- Play Rough
- High Horsepower
- Agility

 

[Shing]

I wanted to post some VR stuff here for a while, but never got to it until now so enjoy reading.

A- -> A

Wartortle

Wartortle is being used more as a premier endgame sweeper in the current meta. It has made an impact on the meta where it reminds everyone to have a water/grass type or pokemon that can revenge kill it. Its decent bulk let it always have a chance to use shell smash, and its typing let it tank prominent priority moves as ice shard and bullet punch. Wartortle can also opt for sub or rapid spin for its 4th move. And it can run as a bulky spinner with sp def/def sets and threatens switch-ins spinblockers as Haunter/Corsola-G. I could see it in A+ too, but I’ll keep it A as it deserves it.

A- -> A

Roselia

Roselia is more important with the rise of Wartortle where its spdef set can check it and beat it in 1v1. Being able to check Haunter and Special Pikachu is helpful too. It’s also the best spiker in the game and can opt for offensive sets to scare Hattrem, the premier hazard checker. The speed tier is also really good for the tier where Roselia can outspeed a lot of pokemon while having a great bulk.

B+ -> A-/A

Pikachu

Very slept pokemon right now. Similar to Fire-types, they are only a few ones viable in the meta. However Pikachu is a special one since it’s the only good offensive electric pokemon. Capable of breaking common cores with its huge movepool, both special and physical roles makes it hard to pinpoint the set. The only thing that holds it back is Haunter and to some degree trappers. But once Haunter is banned, Pikachu will be a nuclear power that can’t be stopped.
Also thanks to Thimo and Quag showing me the threat that is Pikachu.

B -> B+

Ferroseed

Despite Hattrem and Machoke running around on everyone’s team, I believe Ferroseed could move up a spot in the VR. The rise of Wartortle and Roselia, as well as being able to check on Klang and Haunter does attract ppl using Ferroseed. And it’s one of few with both rocks and spikes with toxic/knock off. The only reason why I wouldn’t rank this higher is how common Hattrem and Machoke are right now.

B -> B+/A-

Vullaby

Vullaby is really cool as a pokemon. Being able to act as a pivot, running various offensive/defensive sets, and being able to tank hits in general. Its typing is very beneficial for the meta where it can switch into Hattrem and Linoone-G. Vullaby is a very double-edged utility pokemon since it can mildly check most NFE pokemon, but it heavily depends on the set. The problem in itself is that the check covering isn’t so huge so it could feel like the set could be very specific. But I do still think it should rise up since it has viable roles and it can do its job very well.

Also, another unrelated note I want to talk about Vullaby itself is that pokemon is the definition of slow/fast pivot. Its speed tier is exactly fast on every unboosted mons, but at the same time it’s slow since there are many pokemon can outspeed Vullaby with Speed Evs. But the point is Vullaby’s speed tier is pretty defining in itself as a pivot and it is important to remember when you are making your NFE team.

B -> B+

Raboot

Raboot is a good offensive pokemon with an amazing speed tier + priority where it’s not easy to switch in because of the uncommon fire type. Its offense presence is also nice as it can act as a setup sweeper, revenge cleaner, and a pivot. As a nfe pokemon it can switch into fairies and Hattrem to force them out, setup on them. It’s also very nice to revenge kill grass and steel types, and sucker punch prevents it from losing against Haunter. But It’s still held back where hazards will wear it out and mons like Machoke, piloswine, Corsola-G, and water mons are able to stop him. But he’s still such a threat I would consider moving him up a spot.

C+ -> B

Charmeleon

One of two premiers Sun mons. A good speed tier, coupled with choice scarf, and having an ability that boosts fire moves in sun combined makes it faster than any unboosted pokemon, and capable to OHKO everything that isn’t resistant. And it makes a nice core with Gloom as both of them can cover each countered mons. It’s basically a vibe check to balance/bulky team that lacks any fire resistance.

Drop

A -> B

It's your boi, Gloom

Passive mon that sucks as its a physical wall. Can’t even take Flame Orb Machoke, and easily exploited in the meta where Hattrem, Klang, Piloswine, and taunt Linoone is common, and losing knock off makes this pokemon a sitting duck that can’t take hits on switch-ins. As an NFE pokemon overall, it suffers competition as a physical wall to like Machoke and Corsola, Roselia as a grass/poison mon, and perhaps cores with the top tiers.

I’ll respect it for still being able to check evio/physdef Machoke and Linoone, and it’s the one of the two premier sun mon. But otherwise this pokemon doesn’t even deserve to be in A rank at all.

B+ -> B

LOOK, A FLYING EGG

This pokemon isn’t bad and I like this mon, but it gives me just a meh feeling when I’ll make a team. Competition as a defogger from Dartrix and Vullaby, physical tank kinda mid; heavy slam Machoke screws it up super hard which really makes Linoone the only where Togetic can be useful but then “Linoone used Parting Shot!” lol, and like a fairy it’s just easier to use Clefairy tbh.

I could go as far as dropping it to B-, but I haven’t explored too much on spdef Togetic or nasty plot Togetic. So I’ll keep it B since due to my lack of exploration. But again, Togetic is meh and it’s hard to fit this pokemon in a team.

B- -> C

pix more like fix this freeze mon

Making this short, maybe outclassed by Morgrem. Vulpix-A is susceptible to taunt from faster pokemon like Linoone-G, easily frail, and sun teams. While Morgrem can throw out screens before it gets taunted, can at least switch in and out and doesn’t get affected by the weather. Aurora veil is still better than double screens, but Vulpix itself is just so easy to stop.

Nominate:

UR -> C-/C

Best boi

Set

Nominating this pokemon out of UR in C-/C as a specially defense lead rocker. The reason behind this is to threaten switch-ins Hattrem(specifically the physical defense set). Knock Off makes sure Hattrem is 2ko’d by X Scissor while taking damage from it. X-Scissor is also neat to chip Linoone-G if they are using taunt as an attempt to prevent you from using stealth rock. Toxic is for defog-mons and an option to slowly chip them out in general.

Dwebble does also have a neat base defense stat even without ev invested, although it doesn’t help his flaws that well. He does outspeed uninvested pokemon around 40-52 base speed. Now his flaw is that he’s easily very worn out from almost any type of attack, lacking any recovery and power. Being a bug type makes him very susceptible to hazards in combination. And he’s also just set up bait too for pokemon like Machoke and Klang, which is something you should take notice of. That’s why he’s best fit in the early-game, mostly as a lead.

For his shell smash set, that thing is outclassed by Wartortle, Klang, and is worse than Sinistea. So don’t use that set please.

Here are some calcs if you are interested in Dwebble.

Calcs

Dwebble on Hattrem
4 Atk Dwebble Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 244+ Def Eviolite Hattrem: 64-76 (20.1 - 23.8%) -- guaranteed 5HKO
4 Atk Dwebble X-Scissor vs. 252 HP / 244+ Def Hattrem: 116-140 (36.4 - 44%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

Hattrem on Dwebble
0 SpA Hattrem Psychic vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Eviolite Dwebble: 73-87 (24 - 28.6%) -- 95.9% chance to 4HKO
0 SpA Hattrem Giga Drain vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Eviolite Dwebble: 41-49 (13.4 - 16.1%) -- possible 7HKO

Note. While Dwebble can 2HKO Hattrem, acknowledge that it is roll depended and Giga Drain can screw the 2HKO.

Dwebble on Linoone-G
4 Atk Dwebble X-Scissor vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Eviolite Linoone-Galar: 122-146 (41 - 49.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
4 Atk Dwebble X-Scissor vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Linoone-Galar: 182-216 (61.2 - 72.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Linoone-G on Dwebble
252 Atk Linoone-Galar Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Eviolite Dwebble: 82-97 (26.9 - 31.9%) -- guaranteed 4HKO

Glad I could get this out. Now I can go and enjoy this “special day” c:

 

[Miyami~~~]

My turn:

A+ to S
I'm not 100% sold on this one since it's pretty obviously not on the same level as the broken duo, but Galarian Linoone is easily the #3 most important mon in the meta and imo a solid step above the rest of the A+ mons. It simply can't be overstated how important STAB Knock Off is in this tier, and Linoone is by far the best thing at abusing it with excellent typing that lets it be a semi-reliable check to things like Haunter and Hattrem by forcing them to think every time they click a STAB move, lest something lose an item or get parting shotted. I'm of the opinion that Linoone is the single best glue mon in the meta despite not being overall the best since it rarely wins games on its own but it always does something, as it's always garaunteed to Knock something and permanently cripple at least one mon as a result, on top of its surprisingly important defensive typing and the best speed tier in a meta where choice scarfers aren't exactly relevant. I can see it not being S since it's not broken like the other two S Tiers but I figured I'd at least push since I really do think it's that good.

A to A-/B+
This thing kind of sucks in practice even if it's amazing on paper, just because it matches up horribly with a lot of the good mons. It's so unbelievably passive that things it's supposed to check can occasionally take advantage of it or just pivot into a Knock mon and force something to lose an item. Machoke/Haunter/Linoone being the big three of the meta forces it to make a pretty harsh prediction every time it wants to click a move, since letting any of them in for free can usually be a death sentence, and it basically can't touch Guts Machoke in any meaningful way. It's still fine and has its place on certain teams, but it lets in way too many dangerous threats in for free to be A and really should just drop.

B to B+
It's not great, but it's one of about two viable scarfers in the meta, and that's a fairly unique niche all to its own, but it also has band and boots bulk up sets to take advantage of. It's surprisingly effective at punching through teams lacking Mareanie or Palpitoad while still being able to keep momentum up with u-turn or surprise people with sucker punch. This has already been talked about so I won't elaborate much more.

B to B+/A-
This is the best defensive rocker in the metagame. Checks Piloswine, Wartortle, Pikachu, Fires and Brionne in one slot while being able to spread status with Scald/Toxic and (obviously) set rocks. I wish I had more to add but it's just really consistent at what it does and checks so much of the metagame that it definitely should rise, especially as other offensive water types are getting more prominence.

 

[Jett]

Welcome to the 6th edition of the NFE VR update.

VR Votes

Rises

A- to A. Specially defensive sets are a very solid check to both Haunter and Wartortle (which has been on the rise as of recent) and have access to reliable recovery. Offensive sets can really punish Hattrem as it tries to switch in to deny Spikes being set up. It has a solid speed tier and can easily afford to creep wallbreakers like Machoke.

A- to A. Wartortle is the best setup sweeper in the metagame with its very solid bulk letting it nearly always pull off a Shell Smash. With so many good hazard setters and some reliable screens users means that you can very easily build around Wartortle and provide it with the support it needs to sweep through teams during the later stages of the game.

B+ to A-. A very solid special wall which can check Haunter, Charmeleon, and Wartortle with ease, all common threats at the moment. Choice Specs is still incredibly difficult to switch into with many teams lacking a Water-resistant pokemon with a decent speed tier which lets it outpace the walls and tanks in the metagame.

B+ to A-. A solid wallbreaker and cleaner; Pikachu has incredible offensive stats which are backed up by an incredible movepool. An example of this is its special set with Surf let it break past Carkol and Piloswine. Access to Fake Speed gives it a very reliable form of speed control. Volt Switch lets it pivot a be a general nuisance to teams. Pikachu has been pretty slept on for a while and only now are we realising its full potential.

B to B+. Dartrix has become a slightly more popular choice as a Defogger. It is able to check Machoke pretty well and none of the Stealth Rock users take appreciate having their Eviolite removed. In addition to this, its offensive SD set has also seen a fair amount of success in OMPL proving to be a powerful wallbreaker with strong STAB moves and priority in Sucker Punch to get around its middling speed.

B to B+. A solid hazard setter and wall which can cripple Hattrem (or any switch-in for that matter) with Knock Off. Now that Hattrem is running Mystical Fire as often as before, Ferroseed has a slightly better matchup into teams whichrely as Hattrem as the only hazard control. Its able to check Wartortle and Haunter decently. A lack of reliable recovery, however, prevents it from rising any further.

B to B+. Specially Defensive Palpitoad has been seeing some solid usage recently as it is able to check both Haunter and Wartortle. PhysDef is also still solid as it can check Pikachu and Piloswine pretty well. As always the access to Toxic and Stealth Rock is always appreciated but the SpDef set is the main reason for this rise.

B to B+. Raboot has a few good options at the moment, Bulk Up, Scarf and Banded, just to name a few. Access to Sucker Punch lets it handle most notably Haunter. Access to U-turn lets it pivot out of bulky Water-types. It's being used as a fairly reliable as a revenge killer or setup sweeper at the moment so it's moving up a subrank as these are enough to outclass Torracat as a Fire-type.

B to B+. A solid wall being able to fit the role of either Special or Physical wall. Its a pretty reliable Defog user at the moment and with U-turn is able to be a solid defensive pivot and keep up momentum which a lot of hazard control lack at the moment. It can even be a faster pivot to avoid being threatened by Piloswine and Machoke. This flexibility is extremely useful at the moment, as Vullaby is seeing a small rise because of this.

C+ to B-. Charmeleon is a staple on sun teams, which have a seen a lot more experimentation lately. We're moving this up with Vulpix in B- as both are proving to be integral to sun teams at the moment.

UR to C-. Although it's pretty outclassed by other Webs setters, it still has the niche of Magic Coat letting it bounce back status moves and incoming entry hazards which can be important for webs teams which tend to rely on Hattrem as their own hazard control.

UR to C-. Sturdy + Entry Hazards, means that Dwebble can be a solid lead for certain teams. Its a Rock setter which can easily threaten out Hattrem. It also has an extremely niche Shell Smash set.

UR to C-. Manual Rain is seeing some experimentation and Lombre is a decent sweeper for those teams. however, it is very lacklustre in any other archetype.

Drops

A to B+. Gloom is a mediocre Machoke wall which fails to deal with Flame Orb variants effectively. Hattrem is still ever-present and is able to exploit Gloom's passive tendencies. Hattrem forces you to run double recovery slots but Gloom would really like to run utility in Sleep Powder so it isn't complete setup fodder to mons like Klang.

B+ to B. Togetic has been struggling as both a wall and Defog user as of late. It is unable to switch into the best two Pokemon in the metagame, Haunter and Machoke, unlike Vullaby and Dartrix, which can at least switch into one of them. Clefairy is better at more reliably walling Dark-types due as it doesn't take damage from entry hazards.

B- to C+. It's still not seeing much usage at all since the Rufflet days. Morgrem is a far more reliable screen setter and Vulpix-A sucks defensively meaning it struggles to get up screens multiple times.

C to C-. This was overranked previously. It still has the nice of Screens and U-turn and is fast with a decent special attack stat but poor coverage as well as being general outclassed by other Water-types and screen settters means we're dropping this a bit.

 

[Miyami~~~]

Alright, so I've been sitting on various versions of this post for a while but now that the meta's settled at least a little bit I figure I'll go ahead:

UR > S
I don't think this should come as any surprise to anyone who's played the meta at all since the DLC happened. Kadabra occupies the same broken metagame-warping space as Machoke, with a fantastic ability to clean up teams and mess with its own checks thanks to how massive its movepool is, as while as Magic Guard Sash guaraunteeing one hit if you so choose making it extremely difficult to revenge kill. Kadabra near-mandates a Klang or Slowpoke on most teams just to handle it, since not much else really stands up to it, and its affect on the meta has already been felt both through usage (Trapinch in particular skyrocketing because it's Kadabra's best partner, but other things like Hattrem usage decreasing slightly or Linoone falling off a cliff) or set adjustments (Linoone requiring Toxic Orb just to outspeed Kadabra since it dies to Gleam), and will probably continue to do so for the forseeable future.

UR > A-
Tangela is also debatably somewhat of a problem child, although I don't think it's as metagame-warping as Kadabra or Machoke, but its impact has definitely been felt. It's an okay Machoke check, but while that was generally overblown, it does a really good job at coming in on enough physical attackers and spreading knock offs or doing damage, while not being so passive that things like Kadabra can come in with impunity. Regenerator is a godsend if you can switch it out later on vs things that threaten it, of which I personally think there's a lot more than people say, even if admittedly some of them, such as Kadabra, can't switch in. It's overall a very solid mon that I may be underrating but will generally perform at most tasks you'd want it to while being very self-sufficient.

B- > A+
Choice Band Grassy Glide Thwackey is unironically a better form of speed control than most our actual scarfers. Grassy Glide was a godsend for it since it just lets it come in on so much of the meta and scare it out, and since it has knock off, it can feign a glide and then knock its own checks such as Tangela and Corsola to make headway and then come back in later to pick up kills with Wood Hammer. Sub/SD/Glide/Drain Punch is another set that's been making the rounds, although I personally haven't used it, but it's something to keep in mind. Even without personally being able to attest to it, Band is just so good and so splashable that I feel like that set along is worth of A+. Terrain powering up your other grass moves and weakening EQ is also a pretty neat interaction that lends itself to a lot of teambuilding options.

B+ > A
Libero isn't as big a buff as Grassy Terrain + Grassy Glide, but it's definitely notable and that + Thwackey's influence makes Raboot the best setup sweeper in the metagame right now if you want to go that route with Bulk Up. 4 Attacks with Fire Move/HJK/U-Turn/Sucker is probably its best set right now, since it really wants the ability to pivot out of its checks and revenge non-sash Kadabra with Sucker. I don't think it's as good as it was pre-dlc since Sash Kadabra is really annoying for it and, bizarrely, it can have issues with Tangela if it doesn't want to run Overheat, but it's still an extremely good choice right now and definitely better than it was.

I'm not going to write paragraphs for every mon so have a lot of rapid-fire nominations:

A+ > A: With Kadabra's presence in the tier, it lost its biggest advantage in its speed tier and now has to resort to the completely inferior Toxic Orb set to retain that. It's a huge downgrade since you're putting yourself on a timer and taking a deep cut to your bulk just to be faster than one Pokemon, which you can't reliably switch into and might beat you with focus sash anyways.

A > A-: Thwackey singlehandedly makes this mon a lot worse since it will never sweep teams or even pick up more than one kill against a Thwackey team with a reasonably competent player piloting it.

A- > B: I've personally thought this mon was awful for some time now since if you're ever using Rocks + Spin your team's probably bad and it doesn't reliably check much of anything, which is now even more true with Haunter's departure making its poison resistance less useful. I can't see why you'd want to use this if you aren't running sun.

B+ > A-: Kadabra's best partner since it deals with most reasonable Klang sets on the spot, at which point Kadabra gets to wreak havoc on the tier. First Impression with Arena Trap also brings a surprising amount of utility, since it breaks Kadabra's sash and kills LO, revenges Thwackey and Linoone, and is just generally useful. Assuming Kadabra gets banned sometime soon, this rise should probably not happen, but while it's still in the tier I'm going to nom this.

UR > B+: I feel like it's a little too passive to really make it to the higher ranks, since it lets a lot of the tier's very dangerous grass types in for free, but regenport is great utility and it's a fairly sturdy Kadabra check so B+ seems fine.

B+ > B-: Tangela really encroaches on both its niches due to just having better stats for both of them, although STAB Sludge Bomb is really nice for sun sweeper glooms. It doesn't really have a niche outside of being a sun sweeper now, so it should be ranked with the other oens.

UR > B: While boots are a blessing for Linda, Dual Wingbeat just isn't that great a move. It feels very matchup-dependant since there's a lot of things that can either deny Gale Wings or just wall it, but it's a menace for teams that don't have that. Revenging Kadabra with Gale Wings intact is very nice, however.

C+ > B-: Not 100% sold on this one, but it has a really nice speed tier alongside the coveted Ghost STAB and even fire coverage for Klang if you want it. Doesn't really have a good STAB move, but Hex with tspikes support can be very difficult to deal with.

C+ > B-: Decent Machoke check, now with the ability to remove items, although it has a little bit of trouble fitting that on a set. Hilariously, it also turns off regenerator, which makes it a pretty funny answer to Tangela since it can come in and threaten it out without healing. It's a little too passive to really go higher though, imo.

C > B-: Modest Specs Gastly actually has the exact same damage output as Timid Specs Haunter, making it just as difficult to switch into defensively. However, only hitting 259 speed makes it significantly more manageable.

UR > C: Have you ever wanted to use LO Kadabra and Sash Kadabra on the same team? While, you can! Does it fit on any other team composition right now? Not at all! But Kad/Abra teams with Trapinch support are potentially devestating right now, probably enough to warrant Abra getting a rank and occupying a similar position that Gastly did pre-Haunter ban.

UR > C: Defensive sets are awful despite the great typing and movepool, but Scarf is okay since it can kill Kadabra through sash. Maybe. Thwackey ruins it and no matter what set it runs it invites Tangela in basically for free so I'm not sold on even that.

UR > C: It really hates the amount of grass types in the tier, because its Ice Beam isn't that strong, but Scarf with Flip Turn/Hydro/Ice Beam/Toxic or something is decent enough. It also has enough physical bulk to take a sucker punch from Raboot and kill it, which is fairly nice. Unfortunately its movepool is too lacking to do much else and it doesn't even get Swift Swim for some reason.

C- > C+: Pretty neat lead for HO teams right now since sturdy garauntees at least one layer of hazards and it can potentially set two under the right situations. It also has bug STAB to deter Hattrem, which is cute.

UR > C-: Has a small niche as an offensive Tspiker with flip turn, although it struggles to fit all the moves it wants. It can dent Hattrem pretty well with just its STABs or Flipturn into something like a Trapinch to remove it, which is cool. It's too slow to really make use of its power and its bulk is just okay, so it probably won't see that much use.

UR > C-: It's got decent enough bulk and teleport, alongside recover, but outside of its typing + trace letting it hard counter Lampent it doesn't feel like it really does that much.

Should probably be ranked somewhere but I'm definitely not qualified enough with them to talk about it.

C- > UR: If you want a mediocre fast water type, use Seadra. At least that one learns Ice Beam, and nobody's using this for screens when Morgrem exists.

 

[Greybaum]

new drops

n/a to S
Kadabra's kinda broke. CounterSash sets are incredibly splashable for anti-offence but Life Orb is the best set, outspeeding the entire tier (barring priority) and having very few checks, all of which are very easy to abuse (Vullaby can be hit by the many Knock Off users in the tier, Ferroseed & Klang can be easily trapped, SpDef Piloswine & Sliggoo are easy to chip & pressure, etc. etc.) and despite how abusable they are it feels obligatory to bring one of the same four or five mons regardless. S Rank this boy while he's still around.

n/a to A
This Pokemon is near-impossible to break on the physical side. You can honestly get away with using this as your initial switchin to the likes of Piloswine and Choice Band Raboot since Icicle Crash & STAB U-turn aren't even doing half and you get all of your health back with Regenerator. Pretty much any team where I want to use something like Piloswine or Klang now leaves me feeling obligated to run something that can force a Knock Off onto it like Machoke or Mienfoo which is honestly more restrictive than it sounds.
If you don't believe me, check out this game vs Shing I had in early DLC when Haunter was still around, in which Tangela walls a Piloswine and a CB Raboot. https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nfe-1134902455-jtsoqhvyum0pshsj97uv4s95gj8qg3tpw

Anyway, I honestly think this could be S rank, but I also wouldn't want to put it there so early because there's definitely a lot of avenues of pressure that people haven't really considered yet, like SubToxic Piloswine, Growth Gloom, Hakamo-o etc.

n/a to A-
Phenomenal Teleport pivot thanks to Regenerator, great SpDef blanket answer for various special attackers like Wartortle, Brionne, most Kadabra variants (Energy Ball/Shadow Ball aside) and so on. Good Toxic spreader too. Definitely on the same level as Brionne.


n/a to B-
A pretty solid Rocks setter on HO (Sash w/ Knock Off, EQ, Taunt, Rocks), a viable Choice Scarf user, and that's about it really. There's nothing particularly special about Krokorok, it's just okay at its job and building with it isn't the hardest thing to try and do even if other Dark- and Ground-types like Linoone-Galar and Piloswine are doubtlessly going to perform better on the majority of teams.


n/a to C-
This mon is honestly so bad. It requires so much support to function (two forms of hazard control, multiple Knock Off users), and its only real benefit (offensively pressuring the likes of Kadabra and Gastly) is made pointless when you consider that literally everything else in the tier forces it out.
To demonstrate my point, see this screenshot:

At first glance, this is a fairly good matchup for Fletchinder; it can pressure Kadabra and Gastly, after all, which is exactly why you run it. But then, Trapinch can comfortably tank even a Swords Dance boosted Fletchinder and Toxic it, Corsola-Galar walls it forever, Klang and Vullaby not only wall it but can use Volt Switch / U-turn respectively to keep momentum permanently on Tack's side, and because Fletchinder is absolutely useless without Gale Wings every one of these mons forces me out. In addition, the reliance on hazards being off the field leaves me playing on the defensive for the entire game because Corsola-Galar exists.

Maybe Sub/Toxic Fletchinder can do something? But when you're not actually able to pressure Toxic-immune Pokemon like Clefairy and Klang I really do not see it working.

n/a to C-
Flip Turn does not do enough damage to sufficiently pressure the various defensive walls in NFE, leaving it reliant on hazards and Knock Off support. In addition, any sort of priority (Yes, any priority: 252 Atk Choice Band Libero Raboot Sucker Punch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Carvanha: 201-237 (87 - 102.5%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock) takes it out, and this just leads to Carvanha rarely getting the opportunity to actually put in work because either a priority user is sticking around or something is keeping healthy enough to comfortably tank a Crunch or Ice Beam and hit back with literally anything to take Carvanha out. Carvanha isn't the worst mon in the tier but I can't see it working outside of specific HO builds, and even then not consistently. Full disclosure, this is the set I ran; I won't deny there might be a better one out there:

Carvanha @ Life Orb
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Flip Turn
- Crunch
- Ice Beam
- Protect

n/a to Unranked
Yo I take it back this is genuinely terrible, it doesn't even deserve C-.


I haven't used these enough to say but they definitely seem to at least deserve a bit of experimentation:

rising old mons

B+ to A-
Hattrem is much worse (more on that later), so webs are much better. Even if Hattrem wasn't much worse, Charjabug's new access to Skitter Smack helps it confidently 1v1 the alien(?) and webs have ended up being one of the better ways to pressure Kadabra, at least in my experience. Haunter's also gone, which means possibly the most anti-webs mon in the tier is gone. Not much else to say on it really.

B+ to A
Libero is huge for Raboot. Choice Band can now effectively weaken down cores with incredibly powerful High Jump Kicks, Bulk Up can take advantage of already weakened cores with STAB Sucker Punch taking out a lot of the offensive counterplay you'd normally expect to handle Raboot. It has its tough matchups, especially against the likes of Lampent or Mareanie, but this isn't dissimilar to the other A mons, notably Wartortle.

B+ to A
I hesitate to put this any higher because it only really works on specific builds but Trapinch is by far the most mindless way to take out Ferroseed and Klang, two of the biggest Kadabra answers out there, and Kadabra-based offence is by far the most effective build right now. Put two and two together and Trapinch is one of the best Pokemon in the tier, it's just limited somewhat in its splashability if you ever want to actually be creative and not use Kadabra. Arena Trap has always been broken and we're only now seeing it in action because it's got the right abusers to pair with it. I was talking to 85percent about this earlier today but I personally think Arena Trap's binary "you trap or you don't" playstyle is inherently overpowered and I'd rather see this mon get banned, independently to Kadabra which I also think needs to go.

B+ to A-
One of the best Kadabra and Tangela checks and possibly the best hazard control option in the tier now that Hattrem's started to drop off. Spreads Knock Off, can stall out Piloswine if you opt for a physically defensive set with Toxic and Defog, pretty much in the same spot as it was before (substitute Haunter out for Kadabra) but with less competition.

B to B+
Less competition as a Ghost-type, good answer to Raboot, less Galarian Linoone floating around, far more Klang floating around, and a good abuser of webs. This mon hasn't really changed but I'm finding it easier to use in various teams.

B- to A+
Grassy Surge and Grassy Glide are both incredible for this Pokemon. Offensively checks Wartortle, weakens Klang and Tangela with Knock Off, great pivot with U-turn and provides a ton of support for various Grassy Terrain beneficiaries such as Klang, Hattrem and Raboot. Choice Band is also a really strong wallbreaker, although it can have iffy matchups when it ends up facing something like Tangela and has to click U-turn for 50 turns in a row.

B- to B
Tangela is an incredible Sun abuser, so Sun's viability goes way up. I don't think a Charmeleon rise is warranted, however, as I've found Raboot is a pretty great alternative to it on Sun now so it's not quite as mandatory as it was before.

C+ to B-
One less Toxic Spikes absorber and it does a decent enough job of pressuring the likes of Tangela and Machoke, worthy of a small rise.

C to B+
Gastly is a strong wallbreaker that has far more reasons to be used now that its literal evolution isn't around to outperform it. Very scary alongside Kadabra in particular since it's so good at weakening and/or crippling mons like Klang and Ferroseed.

dropping old mons

A+ to B+
Every defensive Kadabra answer is also a Hattrem answer, and every single half-decent team is going to be running at least one of them. Klang, Vullaby etc. turns Hattrem from "good in most matchups" to "only facing bad matchups". It's still good hazard control, especially on teams with Grassy Terrain support to ease the Piloswine matchup, but right now it's struggling to do much more than a Natu would. At least it has Healing Wish?

A+ to A
Haunter is no longer around, Kadabra outspeeds it and smokes it with Dazzling Gleam, and Tangela sits on it forever (though it is nice to have something that knocks it off). Galarian Linoone is still a good pivot and a strong offensive mon but it's definitely worse than it was pre-dlc.

A- to B-
Rising threats like Raboot and Trapinch pee pee poo poo all over this stinky boy. All it really manages to do in a lot of matchups is take chip, give up momentum, then die eventually. I don't want to see it much lower than this, mostly because I genuinely think PhysDef will have some potential as soon as people start running Offensive Klang and Dartrix again, but in its current state it's just a wasted slot a lot of the time. It's reasonable on Hyper Offence, but as always there's a lot of competition there.

B to C+
Raboot getting Libero has really made it hard to justify using this mon. It used to be a nice way to chip Piloswine and Parting Shot into Hattrem but Thwackey does that better now and Hattrem's gotten worse in general. Nasty Plot is still Nasty Plot, but Torracat shares a lot of checks with Wartortle (namely Slowpoke, Mareanie and Brionne).

C+ to C
Haunter doesn't even exist anymore and you aren't outspeeding Kadabra. I think C is decent enough for it, it probably shouldn't go lower since it can still do Will-O-Wisp Hex stuff.

 

[Tack]

Not gonna talk abt most of the mons nommed, but I’m gonna drop my take on a few

Kadabra New>S+

Yeah, i'm going there. I think this is by far the best mon in the current meta atm. While the expanding force set has kinda turned out to mostly be mediocre, Sash and other LO sets are absolute monsters to prep for, essentially forcing Klang or Ferroseed on any team hoping to defensively answer Kadabra, because all of the darks hate switching in on dazzle, I’d get into more specifics but honestly I can just quote my post in discussion thread about Kadabra since I’m essentially gonna be rehashing the exact same points

It’s literally impossible to tell what Kadabra is running until it clicks a button because there’s genuinely no viable way to figure out the set on preview, and that still doesn’t reveal what 2 random moves Kad chose to bring, because every set should be psychic stab/dazzle then you can just pick between the plethora of good filler moves, be it tect/encore/counter/psyterrain/teleport/knock off/coverage of choice/sub/taunt/twave. Every single move I listed in some way allows it to undermine at least one way of answering Kadabra, and it gets to freely choose whatever it wants to undermine with no downside whatsoever.

Yeah make this thing S please, also maybe suspect it/put it up for a quickban vote, but that’s just hope

Trapinch wherever>A+/S

This is probably an unpopular take but pinch invalidates almost all of the skill that would normally happen while playing around kadabra thanks to reliably trapping both ferroseed and klang, literally all of my teams have been built around kadabra with pinch support of late just because kadabra is absolutely on a level above literally everything else once its reliable checks are removed from the equation all you need to do is click a pivoting move or call a single double out into the answer right and you win a few turns down the line. This mon doesn’t do much, it doesn’t need to. It just needs to remove the omnipresent Klang and suddenly Kadabra shreds your opponent’s team. Also it enables Gastly to do the exact same thing, and gastly can literally be slotted into a ton of teams over haunter and play exactly the same bc modest gastly has the same special attack that haunter did for a very negligible speed loss in this metagame. This mon is absolutely ridiculous and I genuinely believe that any team that doesn’t have Kad+Pinch atm isn’t optimal. Ban arena trap so I can use my brain again thanks :x

Thwackey wherever>A+

I feel like this is basically a status quo agreement at this point but Glide+terrain have genuinely made this mon insanely good, I’ve only worked w/ band thus far but sub SD is also super good as a wincon

Gastly ???>B+

Meet mini haunter! Outside of being worse vs thwackey this mon literally plays exactly the same bc the speed lost for going modest literally doesn’t matter for any other MU lol.

Tangela New>A

Incredibly effect physical sponge w/ regen that loves the addition of thwackey a lot, personally think no synth tangela is the way for most teams rn, but I’m sure that’ll change with time.

Slowpoke New>B+

Regenport is sick, can check machoke, not an awful thing to slap onto a team


Also lemme talk abt dropping carkol of a cliff because it absolutely DESPISES the direction the meta has taken, I think this mon should be C+ at most, and it’s like A- lmfao this mon is genuinely so bad rn, sure it can compress some neat stuff but actually trying to use more than one of its neat utilities in one set leads to it being completely ineffective at all of them, this pokemon genuinely feels like a fucking builder trap regardless of what set you run atm thanks to pinch+kad being one of the most dominant team archetypes, if not THE top archetype rn, and this mon is just completely fodder to it. Please stop running this.

 

[MAMP]

just a few noms since i'm still getting the hang of the new meta:

Ferroseed B+ > A-
really well-positioned right now. one of the most reliable kadabra counters, beats thwackey (except sub sd), and takes advantage of new popular stuff like slowpoke and tang to get spikes. ferro also loves that hattrem is getting less popular bc it makes clicking spikes so free and very rewarding in a lot of situations against a lot of teams. spikes are just super broken in this metagame bc there's not much good hazard control, almost no good flying types and basically nothing runs lefties or boots to mitigate them

Thwackey B- > A+
funny monkey has heaps of sets (cb, sub sd, sd uturn, leech seed?, evio 4 attacks?) and they're all really good. straight up best speed control in the meta right now and knock + uturn makes it really annoying to switch into even though the tier is full of fat grass resists. metagame-defining, i think there's a real case for this to go to S

Lampent B > B+/A-
sub cm lamp pairs really well with thwackey bc you sub on stuff like bulky grasses and klang that thwackey uturns on and you benefit a lot from terrain healing + weakened earthquake. lampent takes advantage of so many common defensive mons and not a lot reliably switches into it, and it has the bulk to reliably take hits from all kinds of shit. i was surprised to see this down in b because it feels like every team gets pressured really hard by it

Trapinch B+ > A+/S
this mon is fucked up and very unhealthy for the meta. i do not like him

Wartortle A > B+
sucks so much against thwackey

Carkol A- > B/B-
this was never good

 

[Simbo]

Might as well join the nom train, keep it running people.

New Mons

Kadabra: New to S

Read everyone else's piece above. It's the biggest threat and best mon in the metagame.

Lickitung: New to C

I've tried licki a bit, it's nb. Very good bulk bolstered by a very good supportive movepool lets it function as an ok switch-in to threats like Kad, Gastly, and it can switch-in comfortably to most defensive mon in the tier. Only real issue is licki's splashability, there's not many scenarios where you would genuinely want what licki provides over one of the other many defensive Pokemon we have, which is why it shouldn't go anywhere higher than the C's.

Tangela: New to A-

Tangela is definitely one of the best new toys we've been given. Insanely bulky on the physical side, one of the only semi-reliable Choke switch-ins, and a reliable switch-in and check to a lot of top mons in the tier such as Thwackey, Gloon, can even act as a pivot against SE physical STAB from like Pilo thanks to Regen. I don't think it's worth anything higher than A- rn, since the meta is starting to adapt to it (rise of Lamp, Rose, Sub SD Thwackey beats non-SBomb sets, more Ferro and Klang because of Kad doesn't help, Toxic Pilo, Encore Choke still getting usage etc), and the meta will continue to adapt to it. It's not the insane threat it looked like during the first two days of post-DLC meta. If you're using Tang, you should be running at min 190 speed tho, maybe even 200 or whatever ada Pilo hits, being faster than Choke is massive.

Old Mons

Thwackey: B- to A+

Again, read people's arguments above. Massive threat.

Hattrem: A+ to A-

Fall from grace for probably the most annoying mon in general. Having to compete with Kad as the Psychic on the team is massive, and Kad is so so good rn that not using it is kinda like gimping yourself before the match even begins. On top of that, as Tack mentioned, people are preparing (or trying to prepare) for Kad so much that Hat suffers as a result. Barring Ferro, they mostly share similar checks. Hattrem is still super valuable because it's still the best hazard deterrent in the tier, still blocks Sap, and is the best way of preventing Pilo from getting them up, but it's not the A+ pre-DLC mon anymore.

Linoone-Galar: A+ to A-

It has suffered from Kad being faster than it, no Haunter to check, and the rise of Trapinch. The first factor makes Torb the 'best' set again, since it outspeeds, but it gets chipped very easily and its pivoting ability is heavily reduced. No Haunter is big too, since that was one of the bigger reasons to run Gloon pre-DLC. Trapinch is massive; Torb Gloon cannot fit Protect on its set period, so it is far more susceptible to trapping from the increasingly popular Pinch. Not as good as pre-DLC but still decent.

Trapinch: B+ to A+

Speaking of, the big man himself. I'm probs gonna make a post on him in the meta discussion thread in the next few days, had an argument with Tack like two days ago on him, and am convinced Pinch is very unhealthy for the meta, but haven't decided yet if that's because Kad has given Pinch enough value to be used and so good. It's definitely a meta- and game-warping Pokemon right now, can trap Kad (and Gastly) counterplay like Klang, Ferro, Gloon very easily, especially when physdef. It also forces 50/50s with Kad trapping. I'll touch on this more when I make the meta post, but Pinch trapping for the physdef set is very brainless, to the point where you can just hard switch into standard spdef Klang sets and trap, no doubling required. The set can be adapted fairly easily depending on what specific threat your team needs gone, it's very good rn.

Wartortle: A to B+

Wacky Thwackey.

Brionne: A- to B

Specs still hits hard, but we have too many waters, and Spdefs main niche of being a Haunter and Wartortle check is far less significant now that the former is banned and the latter is less popular. It can't even serve as a good Kad check, since LO Eball does a chunk, and Encore can just lock it into an unfavourable move. The defensive set is not as good in the current meta as it was pre-DLC.

Carkol: A- to B-

Yh, rip Carjane

Charjabug: B+ to A-

Even though it had a decent mu vs Hat, less Hat helps it a lot with setting Webs early. It's also really fat, giving Webs a nice pivot or even just fat sack against big threats to free a turn to get a big threat in. Webs is also a solid playstyle in the current meta, Hat is less common, Vull is very easy to pressure, Wart is not as viable, Dartrix is still decent, but hazard removal in general is easier to pressure.

Raboot: B+ to A

Very good mon, Libero is a great Ability, BU sets are decent for setiing up on Choke/Pilo or defensive threats that can't break, good pivot, has Sucker for Kad. Biggest disadvantage is probs that standard sets are a free Sub for Lampent, and it doesn't offer much switch-in check potential, but it's still a solid breaker.

Vullaby: B+ to A-

Even though this mon is the easiest Mon to pressure in the meta rn, it's still probably one of the best forms of removal we have, and a decent Kad check, which is enough for a rise imo.

Lampent: B to A

Massive threat, probably the biggest thing to rise from the Haunter ban. Very few teams are prepped for its STAB combo, it has a good enough speed tier to outspeed all the defensive and BO mons in the 100-200 speed tier, and can get free turns or switch-in on Pokemon like Clefairy, Roselia, or just from VoltTurn/Teleport Mons. Maybe it might be less popular when adapted too, but the fact that counterplay to it doesn't really overlap with Kad is also massive, since it can exploit that.

Gastly: C to B+

Defensively, just as dangerous as Haunter. Offensively, worse MU vs Thwackey, Raboot, Pika, Fletch (even chipped), basically anything in the 260-316 speed. Also takes more from prio. Big threat regardless.

Hakamo-o: B- to B+

Sub SD Dual Chop Drain Haka is p good rn, has a pretty solid matchup vs most non Clef, Toge, or Slowpoke teams. With Bulletproof, this set can set up on most defensive Pokemon in the tier, examples include Tangela, Ferroseed, non-BB Vull, Charja, non-Extra Rose, non-Haze mare etc. Defensively, it also has quite a few unique but useful niches, being probably one of the few mons that can switch in and exploit Lampent if needed, and helping against the Sun MU by a decent bit. It's better than it was pre-DLC, exploits a few of the current trends.

Palpitoad: B+ to B-

Similar to Brionne, mostly outclassed and its niche isn't nearly as valuable as it was pre-DLC. Klang has its hands full checking Kad, Gast, avoiding the trap etc, you don't need Palp to check Shift Gear anymore. Tort is dropping, Raboot and Lamp can break through Palp anyway, and it has increased competition as a defensive water.

Vulpix-Alola: C+ to UR

Morgrem, no one's using Vulpix screens, bop this off cheers.

Cutiefly: C to UR

Charja, no one's using Cutie webs or those other niche moves, bop this off cheers.

Darumaka: C to UR

Raboot, no one's using the 80% fire, bop this off cheers.

Dewpider: C- to UR

Charja, no one's using Magic Coat over Charja, bop this off cheers.

Drizzile: C- to UR

 

[Cheryl.]

Here are my thoughts after getting filtered in a bad tier for the past week

Kadabra: is a clear S rank, is for babies, if you can't shit on your opponents with KadPinch you're an idiot, has some decent checks but has a billion ways to bypass all of them, usually through Knock Off or by trapping. Simply broken

Tangela: A, pretty solid stuff and I don't see why people say it's broken, it just sits there and clicks Knock, Grass STAB, or some other annoying move yeah but there's a ton of ways to disassemble it through Knock spam, literally any Fire type, etc. Maybe Chlorophyll sets are the truth but idk, Tang's just a solid support mon to me right now...

Porygon: C/C+, is a very cute Teleport user that notably has Trace which allows it to counter the rising threat Lampent, preventing the SubCM set from mowing over your slower teams and making you break your monitor. Eviolite with SpD can also check Kadabra which is cool, suffers heavily from 4MSS and overall passivity though, and is only really worth it for Teleporting into your Trapinch.

Wartortle: A-/B+, Thwackey's an overrated idiot but is still quite annoying for Smash sets and it also suffers a bit from SashBra and Ferroseed being so common. Also can't break fat Waters outside of Zen Headbutt for Mareanie but yeah, defensive Flip Turn sets are cute though but overused no brain pill monkey is the main reason

Raboot: A, does Raboot shit

Drakloak: B-, got a bit better with Haunter being gone, Specs Hex with status spam support is actually super deadly and you have the semi-nuke of Draco Meteor on your side too, maybe this wont go through cause Kadabra being faster is a thing but hey in a ideal meta it would've been banned Day 2!

Carkol: B/B-, you guys actually rated him as an A- mon lmao, but it's got it's uses on some teams that appreciate it's role compression, ultimately disappointing due to lack of Toxic

Palpitoad: A-, it's a splashable Rocker and that's actually hard to find in this meta, counters Klang, checks Raboot, only issue is it lets in Grasses

Mudbray: Im sorry I don't care but this mon lets in Grasses for free and Waters and who is using this??? Klang counter ig but bruh LMAO, C rank this trash

Dusclops: Poltergeist + Sneak sets make this into a reasonably strong tank with some offensive utility. It can live like any one hit and dish out some back, big issue is Knock being so good can clash with Poltergeist but meh, I'd give it a small rise cause every random has washed me with this shit and realistically, its not my fault.

Drizzile: hello darkness my old friend

Thwackey: this mon is good, yes. but everyone is saying it's A+ when its not. maybe its cause im retarded but I don't see all the hype, Grassy Glide's utility is amazing and you can Knock and pivot around but shit still walls it, you actually need Wood Hammer or else you get walled by Gorsola or whatever and Dusclops, 80 Speed aint all that, this shitty ass SD set I was using, yeah I need Wood Hammer, but then you fucking lose to Klang, or bulky Grasses, or literally everything else, SubSD is filtered by Tang, DARTRIX (LOOOOOOOOL), nah bruh, this mon's cheeks! GARBAGE, A-, probably A, but A+ is really too high imo considering the ridiculous shit in there. (Piloswine is suspect material, Trapinch is baby mode, Klang's just good, everything else is not A+) I will say though, maybe I'm trying too hard. I may be trying to utilize too much skill on this no skill mon... We'll see

 

[Eris]

echoing a bit of the above posts but still thought i'd share some of my own opinions

B+ to A/A+
Easily my favourite Pokemon at the moment. While I do recognise BU Raboot's popularity I am much more fond of Banded Raboot, this mon just doesn't have that many switch ins, especially with the up-rise in Grass-types lately. I have been using it a lot and it's an amazing lead vs Web teams which have been very popular lately. U-turn allows you to lure a lot of walls like Mareanie and Corsola-Galar which are then murdered by either Trapinch or Kadabra. Libero also allows you to play around, I've seen people use normal type attacks specifically to out pp stall Corsola-Galar into not breaking a sub. Overall just a really solid threat for the current metagame and I do believe it matches up to Piloswine.

UR to A+/S
UR to C+
Abra Kadabra boom your mons disappear! (haha get it). Paired or not these two have a really big influence on the metagame. Kadabra now holding the spot of being the fastest Pokemon in the metagame as well as one of the strongest hitting attacker definitely makes it stand out amongst others. It has strong coverage in Dazzling Gleam and Energy Ball allowing it to hit Dark-types and Ground- and Water-types like Piloswine, Brionne and Wartortle for stronger damage. Steel-types like Klang and Ferroseed who could usually wall this have a bit of trouble breaking Kadabra and Abra when paired with Trapinch, which revolves most of the counter play to be based on faster attackers are ev-ing some of your Pokemon into 2hko range. Kadabra holds a lot of versatility in its sets which are almost unpredictable at preview, whether it is holding Focus Sash or Life Orb as well as what moves it is using. Counter and Encore core was very popular in SM which allows it to break past bulkier attackers. Abra while being the nerf'd version still holds a lot of Kadabra's qualities in being fast and having strong damage output, more NFE threats can outpace it and tank some its attack which makes it easier to deal with but it still is a threat nonetheless.

UR to A
One of the best if not the best Physical Wall of the Metagame, great with Regen cores like Slowpoke and Mareanie, as well as support in Knock Off and status for other breakers like Machoke, Kadabra, Raboot and Thwackey. Whilst being the best Machoke 'wall' it still isn't as reliable as many make it to be but it definitely is a small improvement from pre merge. Easily thrown on a team you have little reason not to use it right now.

UR to B
I love this Pokemon, I think it's adorable the way it moves it feet on field and stuff. Competitively I've mainly used it as a Choice Specs attacker, combined with download you actually hit a solid 663 special attack which is pretty strong if you ask me. The mon has amazing coverage to hit almost everything, I mainly use Thunderbolt/ Ice Beam/ Psychic as coverage but Shadow Ball can be good for sets aimed at walling Special Attackers like Lampent. It also can be used as a lure or support Pokemon with Toxic and Teleport being the main set but it also can pass effects like Trick Room, Rain, or Gravity which is always nice.

UR to B-
Big fan of this Staryu this gen, I think the rise of Grass-types have been slowing it down a bit as an offensive attacker but it still outclasses many of our offensive spinners mainly Wartortle and Drillbur thanks to great speed tier, the ability to pivot with flip turn and analytic allowing it to scare of most hazard setters. Staryu can also be run bulkier with its access to recovery along with support moves which allows it to be versatile and slightly unpredictable in movesets.

UR to C
I have used this Pokemon quite a lot in pre Haunter ban and it's not great but still very fun to use. I paired it on a Webs team with Knock Off support which allows it to break walls like Corsola Galar and Klang easily as well as outspeeding other threats like Raboot. It has really good coverage in Fire Blast, Ice Beam and Shadow Ball which allows it to hit a wide range of the metagame still, only problem is its lack of power where you really depend on the Choice Specs boost and are rendered useless most of the time once knocked off.

UR to C+
Cool offensive Pivot, not threatened by Kadabra Pinch cores thanks to protect and speed boost, solid cleaner as well with good coverage. Only problem this mon has is its underwhelming bulk and damage output which warrants it for me to nom it any higher. It does however function well as a cleaner or midgame pivot as a lure and does what it needs to do.

C to C+/B-
Dusclops really has been revived with Poltergeist, I think this mon is finally finding a role it can pursue or excel at which helps its viability a bit over other ghosts like Gorsola and Lampent. It has great bulk and does very well against most unprepared teams and does a great job dealing with Kadabra + Pinch cores. It can always mix its support moves up from Toxic to Power-Up Punch which is always interesting, def a mon to look out for now imo.

Otherwise I agree with some mons that have been brought up above such as Slowpoke, Thwackey, Gastly and such. I also think there is a lot of C ranks cleaning up that could be done but I'm not going to go through them today, but I'm mainly looking at Vulpix, Darumaka, Dottler, Drizzile, and Scraggy who are outclassed and no longer really accomplish anything in this metagame.

 

[Jett]

Thanks everyone for dropping their nominations so far. We'll be updating the VR very shortly, around next the next 48 hours or so, so if you have any last minute nominations you'd like to make, this would be the time to do it. See you all again soon!!

 

[OranBerryBlissey10]

New mons: (sorry for some of these being short)

New to C+ Got buffed with HDB and Dual Wingbeat. Definitely has issues, like having to pick between dying to rocks or being frail in general, but this mon's unique traits like Gale Wings and being a defogger that can handle Piloswine make it worthwhile.

New to C-/C While no Return isn't ideal, Herdier can put in work on sand and has good abilities for other purposes.

New to B- I wanted to use this thing as a Haunter check but then disaster struck Haunter got banned. Apart from that, it has potential as a Moxie sweeper or Intimidate pivot with support moves like Taunt and rocks.

New to C Can be scary with Forb and is also decent with the combination of Intimidate and V-switch.

New to B- Huge Power hits hard (with or without Band), and has a good mu against some of the top threats like Kadabra and Machoke. Can also be a Perish trapper.

New to C/C+ Not bad on rain and can pull off B-drum shenanigans. Water Absorb is also useful and 90 speed is pretty good.

New to C+ Flip Turn is handy, Critdra is fun, and having both 95 spatk and 95 def is promising.

New to B I've been using this thing a lot and it usally doesn't disappoint. Is a good hazard setter with trapping potential and Skitter Smack, despite being Hattrem weak. Speed Boost is an amazing ability and its high defense allows it to help with offensive threats like Machoke, Thwackey and Piloswine. It can effectively lure in most defoggers and make short work of them, making it a fine pick as a hazard setter or as a defensive check in general.

New to A+ I don't think I need to explain why Tangela is good, but I'm doing so anyway. Tangela has massive physical bulk, with or without eviolite along with an amazing ability. Even checks things like Raboot and Piloswine, and the most dangerous mon in the meta. You'll need to carry Toxic on something unexpected to hamper it and straight up overpowering it is only possible with powerful physical attackers. On top of that, it has a spatk stat of 100, meaning it's not passive at all. Using Chlorophyll means it can be a dangerous sun sweeper that has no trouble coming in on physical attacks. Moveset choices differ since Tangela has a lot of good possibilities in that regard: Knock Off, Synthesis, Toxic, Leech Seed, Giga Drain, Sludge Bomb, Substitute, Ancient Power, Sleep Powder and Leaf Storm are all good options.

New to C- Budget Kadabra can be useful on psychic spam teams. Has similar traits to its evolved counterpart.

New to C Originally, I was not sold on this mon, until I remebered that it has the cool combo of Destiny Bond+Speed Boost. You can run Protect to outspeed everything unboosted, 2 attacks, and D-bond to take out a bigger threat or something it normally can't break like Tangela. Your opponent will always have to be wary of a potential D-bond or an unexpected Flip Turn.

New to C Thick Club gives Cubone massive atk, this combined with its already good defense makes it a potentially dangerous mon under the right circumstances (possibly TR)

New to C+ Fomantis' stats are hot steaming trash, and I wouldn't even consider nomming it if it didn't have Contrary as its HA. With Servine not existing, this mon can fill a valuable empty niche as it gets Leaf Storm. Unlike Servine, however, Fomantis is a very high-maintenance mon. To effectively use it, you have to tailor a part of your team around it. These are three ideas of how Fomantis could work:

1. Bulky sweeper: You pump all ev's into hp and either def or spdef, give it Synthesis and try to get it into a good mu. It would also appreciate screens or veils to help it set up easier. This set has the most longevity and can also provide team support through Defog and punishing webs.

2. Scarfer on webs: With a Choice Scarf and a websetter, you can make Fomantis faster than even Kadabra. While this takes a fair amount of support, little can switch in on a Leaf Storm and eat another one that's twice as powerful. Playing your cards right could make the game end as soon as you put it on the field. (at least, if you got rid of a potential Ferroseed or Roselia)

3. TR Specs: Similar to the last one, but instead of trying to raise Fomantis' abysmal speed, you turn it to your advantage. While Trick Room doesn't last forever like webs, you can raise the powerlevel by using specs instead of scarf, and opposing scarfers or TO Linoone won't outspeed you either.

Basically, Fomantis isn't splashable at all, but can be very scary when paired up with the right support.

New to C- The reason I'm rating this individually is solely based on Swift Swim. Horsea isn't a bad rain sweeper and has Flip Turn as well.

New to B+ This might seem a little high, but I feel like a lot of people underestimate a good defensive mon, which Lickitung absolutely is. It has great stats and can provide support with Wish and Knock Off. Seismic Toss or Curse can help with its damage output and it can trap with Whirlpool, meaning that predicting its set isn't a piece of Alcremie. (I regret nothing)

New to B RegenTurn is a fun niche, and Mienfoo gets CC now, which is useful as a potential alternative to hjk. Taunt and Knock Off are nice as well. I can see Scarf and eviolite sets both being viable, as well as Reckless hjk sets, which hit hard.

New to B Good bulk, recovery, and a plethora of support moves to aid all sorts of teams: Trick Room, Teleport, Gravity etc. Can even hit pretty hard with Analytic or Download and may be able to pull off some weird tech with Speed Swap or Conversion.

New to C- Rocks+spin, good defense, and can sweep on sand. Not much else to say.

New to C Imagine Normal sandshrew, but better stats and typing, and another weather to sweep in

New to C Pretty good defense, setup opportunities, unique recovery that synergises with sand and is the best user of Scorching Sands. Seems unimpressive, but can be hard to deal with.

New to A- A bit passive, but has a great niche in Regenport. Is pretty bulky and allows for safe pivots while staying healthy itself. Despite being Knock-weak, Slowpoke will likely stick around for a long time. Agree with uhu (on this one, at least)

New to B- A spinner with Teleport (no longer just Shellder) is a cool niche, not to mention it can stand up to some dangerous rockers like Piloswine. I've been using it as a Gravity or rain setter and it does its job well.

New to C Tentacool is a spinner, but more important, a hazardsetter that walls Wartortle, which is commonly considered the best spinner. Also has Magic Coat and Mirror Coat combined with high spdef to surprise unexpecting opponents. EDIT: Liquid Ooze screws over Strength Sap as well.

New to A+ I know this one is controversial, but I don't think Kadabra fits in S-rank. It can't really hit steels and even gets blocked by a lot of non-resisted mons like spdef Clef or Sliggoo (max roll Lorb D-gleam does 33,5%). Being the fastest mon is ofc a massive boon, and so is Magic Guard. I'm not denying that it has a lot of tricks up its sleeve either. (btw Sash kadabra is one of them, but it gets walled easier) I just don't think they're enough to cover up its flaws like getting ohko'd by a lot of priority, and not being able to hit steels. This is where most people scream: "Kadpinch!" First of all, that's moreso an argument for Pinch being good than Kadabra. Secondly, KadPinch has flaws that can be taken advantage of, despite being a great core. 1.KadPinch doesn't deal with Ferroseed: it can easily Seed Bomb or Bullet Seed on the switch for a 2hko and even invest 4 or 8 speed to outspeed it to beat it 1v1. (banded Pinch has about a 1/3 chance to ohko though). 2. The core loses to Idef Klang, which isn't even a bad set, as little will be able to break it. Even if Kadabra teleports on the switch, Trapinch can't kill spdef Klang without a crit. 3. Competition from KadMag, which does deal with Ferroseed and can turn it and Klang into a setup opportunity on top of removing them. Unlike KadPinch, however, this core loses to V-switch Klang, which is a lot of them right now. Despite these flaws, Kadabra is still a big threat that needs to be accounted for.

Also these mons could get a spot on the VR, but I haven't seen and used them enough to judge them accurately.

/////

EDIT: I completely forgot about Jigglypuff. It's not good except for the fact that it can role compress a defog/webs punisher and a wishporter. Moveset will be weird though. Likely 2 attacks+wishport. New to C-

Old mons:

A to A+ It loved Haunter leaving as is was Gorsola's main offensive answer. Is just really good in general and you basically need a rogue Toxic or really powerful special attackers to break it. Also a great rocker/trapper etc. A huge nuisance in general and makes almost every heavy hit look like entry hazard damage.

A- to B+ This thing might have fallen off, but it's still good. A lot of people want it even lower, which isn't where it belongs. Good role compression, and can be a good physical or special wall. Also has ways to deal with opposing hazard control. Is more versatile than people usally think.

C+ to C- Hey, you know the only good thing about this mon? Yes, what if we were to take it away? Drakloak is no longer the fastest mon and Haunter leaving hurts its too, as it could previously outspeed it. All of this mon's sets hit like a wet noodle and the only good use I can see in this mon is if you wanna pretend to be low ladder, where it is frequently seen.

B+ to A- Best webber, high defense, even my setup sets work lol. Why is this not higher?

C- to C Simbo I'm using Magic Coat over Charja :). Apart from that it's got good spdef, Mirror Coat as well (making it a great sun check btw) and physical sets are now good thanks to Skitter Smack, which is excellent for Hattrem.

B+ to A- Ferroseed is a steel type that wins against Kadpinch, and walls other threats like Wartortle, Pikachu, Klang and just about any grass type. Has access to Knock and hazards as well, causing it to be an amazing role compressor, while still having a unique niche.

B- to B Apart from walling the new Kadabra, it didn't change much, but a budget Chansey shouldn't be this low to begin with.

C- to C Has three great abilities that all fit nicely in this metagame. Can serve as a Dragon Dance sweeper, a Knock Off sponge, (Intimidate being very useful) or as a setup mon with a unique niche: having access to Bulk Up, Amnesia and Shed Skin. This last set is sceptically perceived by some people, but can do things like win the mu against physdef Machoke, for example (not always because Dyna Punch lol). Overall, Scraggy is a versatile mon, and its good typing can make it effective on a good number of teams.

C+ to B- A bit unreliable, but hits like a truck, and has coverage to deal with its potential checks.(Fire Fang for Ferro, Head Smash for Togetic) Works as a scarfer or as a bander (on webs). This mon is also great on Gravity teams, with even Dragon Rush reaching 100% accuracy, not that those are all that common.

C- to C Frillish is a Raboot and Wartortle check in one slot while also having a lot of ways to hamper physical attackers (sap, willo and acid armor). Has 2 good recovery moves, making it unpredictable on that front. Just an overall good defensive mon, why is this in the same rank as Swirlix lol?

C+ to C Outclassed by Machoke and Mienfoo. The fact that is gets Defog is nice, but doesn't warrant C+

C to C+ Sand got better with 2 new sweepers and potentially some other abusers like Sandygast, and Hippopotas itself has been a little underrated for a while imo. Rocks+sand+whirlwind is annoying to deal with, and it doesn't go down easily, thanks to a good defense stat and reliable recovery.

Sorry for the late edit, I hope the council isn't overwhelmed by the quantity of noms, especially so close to the update.

 

[S1nn0hC0nfirm3d]

Just four written out noms that go in depth to my reasoning for votes later.

Fletchinder: UR to B: Lot of hate on this mon! I believe some of it is misguided, as the potential / purpose of it seems to be getting misplaced. The biggest issue that people seem to have of it is its inability to set up and stay at full, which breaks its Gale Wings necessity. That surely is true, but it is this pressure for walls like Galarian Corsola, Clefairy, and even Piloswine to keep attacking Fletch that makes for Fletch being good bait for wallbreaking. That is to say that walls sometimes need to sack themselves as they cannot afford to switch out while Fletch sets up and sweeps revenge killers like Kadabra, Thwackey, and more. Not to mention Flying coverage has limited resistances, with Pikachu, Klang, and most Carkol sets not being too effective at stopping Fletch. And even if Fletch is out of an Eviolite and is at around 85-99% HP, it still has enough natural bulk to take a hit from most neutral attackers that try and revenge kill it. All in all there is a ton of potential for this mon, and in action it can do well. Just don’t rely on it for cleaning teams most of the time, and instead look at it as a mid-game breaker in the situations I described above.

Kadabra: UR to S: For sure this mon is at the top of the meta. In my Haunter QB reasoning, I mentioned that I thought this mon was potentially even more banworthy. The amount of pressure and unhealthy assumptions and 50/50s this thing forces with its untouchable Focus Sash security is ridiculous. The techs of Counter, Protect, Encore, Psychic Terrain, and possibly more make it so hard to play with late-game; how is a player to truly know to keep around Trappinch if it actually has Protect, Torb Linoone if it has Counter, or Piloswine if it is Psychic Terrain? The fact that it keeps this air of mastery for its 4th if not 3rd move as well while still being a great revenge killer that is near untouchable is absolutely broken. There’s barely any early- to mid-game solution to pressuring or scouting Kadabra, while it itself has phenomenal support and pressure against its checks with Trappinch, entry hazards, and pivots.

Lickilicky: UR to B-: Huge special bulk with a non-conesequntial Normal typing has a ton of potential. Some think that its inability to punish some bulky offensive attackers like Machoke is a serious downside, but it doesn’t exactly bring it in for free. Note that Knock Off is always a great move to spam when walling Kadabra, Gastly, and Lampent, while you could always Wish and bring in a Machoke check like Gorsola or Gloom (of which enjoy being back to full so they don’t rely on SSap when it has the potential to be blocked). The two sets I have ran are Curse and WishTect. Its biggest downside is an obvious 4mss ordeal, as it cannot support options like Knock Off, Body Slam, Whirlpool, Heal Bell, Toxic, Seismic Toss, and WishTect all on the same set. Still, this is also a sign of variability, and I think that in its own right warrants it for this rank.

Tanglea: UR to A+: This rank has always been for Piloswine; a stellar mon that centralizes the meta but has never been deemed to be too broken by the community at large. Tanglea feels to fit this description well. It made a huge impact on teambuilding, and affected how almost all our physical attackers wallbreak or sweep. Even Raboot cannot 1HKO if purely physical, while Tang can Knock Off if it really wanted to stay in and debilitate while recovering later. Only its poor special bulk makes it just below the S ranks, but even that could have a solid argument if someone composed it.

 

[Jett]

First Post DLC VR Update!! A big thank you to cool user Ho3nConfirm3d for helping out with writing some of these :> and rest of council for voting so quickly.

VR Votes

New Pokemon

New to S. No surprises here; Kadabra with its incredible special attack and being the fastest unboosted Pokemon in the metagame lands straight into the highest rank. It has an amazing movepool which allows it to break past a significant portion of the metagame. Despite its poor defensive stats, Magic Guard and Focus Sash means it can always take at least one hit making it somewhat difficult to revenge kill and on top of all this, it can run valuable utility in Encore, Taunt, or even Counter.

New to A. Tangela is both an incredible support and physically defensive wall, even being able to switch into the physical attacks of Piloswine and Raboot relatively comfortably (although not exactly recommended). Regenerator allows it to come into physical attackers and spam Knock Off, Leech Seed, and Toxic to cripple opposing Pokemon for its team. It also makes for a semi-reliable Machoke check but various prominent Special Attackers, such as Kadabra, Roselia, and Lampent hold it back from being placed any higher.

New to B. Slowpoke is another reliable physical wall with the combination of Regenerator and Teleport letting it come in on Machoke and Piloswine reliably. Teleport also let’s it bring in offensive frailer Pokemon far more safely whilst offering it some sort of momentum as it is quite a passive Pokemon. This along with only a decent special defense means it is very susceptible to both Taunt and special attackers which is why it is being ranked at B for the time being.

New to B-. Thanks to Gale Wings Fletchinder can sweep against common speed control mons such as Kadabra and Thwackey. However, it is most effective as a wallbreaker with Will-O-Wisp and Swords Dance to cripple walls and Tanks like Corsola and Piloswine, setup on them and then proceed to break past them. Its weakness to Stealth Rock can make it slightly unreliable at times, although it does have Roost to get it back to Gale Wing range/keep itself healthy.

New to B-. Its SpDef set can reliably check Special Attackerslike Kadabra and Roselia and even counters Flash Fire Lampent due to Trace. Teleport allows it to pivot out since it can be a passive Pokemon at times as it can invite the likes of Machoke and other powerful physical wallbreakers in.

New to B-. It sets Spikes and / or Toxic Spikes easily with Infestation to scout for Hattrem, and Speed Boost on top of a great Defense stat also opens opportunities to set hazards.

New to C+. This does the same thing as its evolution but slightly worse. It is very strong on Psychic spam teams which are benefiting greatly from Expanding Force. Trapinch support is another big factor for why Abra can be used in the metagame.

New to C+. Krokorok has 2 viable sets, Stealth Rock and Choice Scarf. For the most part, it is outclassed by other Dark-types like Linoone and Vullaby and Ground-type Stealth Rock users, like Piloswine and Palpitoad. Its best niche is as a moxie cleaner.

New to C+. With access to Regenerator and U-turn, Mienfoo makes for a decent offensive pivot. Outside of this it is somewhat outclassed by Machoke both defensive and offensively, but fits a niche enough role with a decent enough speed tier to differentiate itself from other Fighting-types.

New to C. Carvanha has the ability to pivot with Flip Turn and its ability Speed Boost allows it to clean up weakened teams, making it an interesting offensive option for HO teams. However it is extremely frail making it extremely vulnerable to priority and will be knocked out by anything it fails to OHKO, meaning it requires a lot of support to work.

New to C. Lickitung makes for a solid wall with access to utility moves like Knock Off, Wish and Heal Bell. Although it is quite passive, Oblivious means it cannot be shut down by Taunt users and it can easily take attacks from Special Attackers like KAdabra, Lampent, and Gastly. Its weakness to Machoke is its biggest problem as well as being potential setup bait for some Pokemon, especially when not running Toxic.

New to C. Water/Fairy is a great typing, and Maril has potential to shine with both offensive and defensive sets with good coverage in Knock Off, Aqua Jet, Whirlpool, and Perish Song. It's still behind the curve of better tiered physical attackers or walls, as relying on Belly Drum to wallbreak or RestTalk to recover can be detrimental.

New to C. Seadra has a few nice things going for it as a fast offensive Water-type. It has much better coverage than Drizzile since it has access to Ice Beam as well as having the option to utilise a more gimmicking Focus Energy set. It still struggles in a metagame with better Water-types and with Grass-types being super common.

New to C. Staryu makes for a decent offensive Spinner with a decent movepool including Flip-turn to keep momentum, and threaten many Stealth Rock users. It also has the option for most defensive sets utilising Recover instead.

New to C-. An offensive Bug / Fire typing lets it spam its STAB attacks in U-turn and Flare Blitz, with support in either Wild Charge, Morning Sun, Wil-O-Wisp, or Toxic. Working around its 4x Stealth Rock weakness and situational match ups will make Larvesta hard to pull off without extensive team support.

New to C-. It has an incredible movepool with excellent coverage moves which it can use to break past certain walls. Its lack of speed and only mediocre Speical Attack means it needs a lot of support from Sticky Web users or Knock Off users to be used effectively.

New to C-. Magnet Pull lets it trap Ferroseed and offensive Klang sets that lack Volt Switch, where it relies on its good Special Attack and decent Defense to pull through in these situations.

New to C-. It has a Steel-typing and accesses to both Stealth Rock and Rapid Spin, allowing it to compress hazard control onto one pick. Multiple relevant weaknesses, especially its 4x weakness to Fire- and Fighting-type attacks, and poor special bulk and Speed make it a liability in most cases, and teams are better off with different picks for these roles usually.

Rises

A to A+. Being a blanket physical wall is so important in this meta, as it would be overwhelming for most defensive cores to not have its support in checking Machoke, Piloswine, Klang, and Raboot. The revelation of Whirlpool sets was also a step in the right direction for it, as trapping while chipping most targets works for most balance teams to secure sweepers later on.

B- to A+. Thwackey received two new tools, the first being its HA, Grassy Surge, and the next being a new DLC move in Grassy Glide. The combination of these two provide Thwackey with a 91 base power STAB move with priority which would be incredibly strong on its own, and when paired with Choice Band is probably the most reliable form of Speed Control NFE has to offer. However, Thwackey also has a pretty solid movepool and can even run Swords Dance to be a reliable cleaner and wallbreaker in the current metagame.

A- to A. DLC added many more pivots that can bring in NFE's star wallbreaker. Losing Haunter also was a good buff for it, as most relevant faster attackers are now weak to its FakeSpeed options in priority. Being able to pick off weakened walls and attackers while using Volt Switch to pivot out on the walls it cannot break is a deadly combo. Again, Pikachu's Speed, priority, and offensive pivoting makes it near untouchable while it wears down teams.

B+ to A. The release of Libero was a nice buff to Raboot with both Choice Band Bulk Up sets finding slightly more success due to its coverage moves now hitting slightly harder making it a bit more difficult to check reliably. It still has its difficult matchups with the various Water-types in the metagame, especially ones with Regenerator like Mareanie, but the additional firepower makes it one of our best setup sweepers at the moment.

B+ to A. Trapinch benefited a lot from the DLC, most notably forming an extremely potent core with the aforementioned Kadabra. It can also pair well with Thwackey, Gastly, and Fletchinder as it provides an effective way of dealing with opposing Steel- and Rock-types, most notably Klang and the now less common Carkol.

B+ to A-. Hattrem becoming less common means Charjabug has a much easier time setting up webs. Haunter was also one of the most threatening Pokemon to Webs team due to its Levitate ability, and its ban makes it easier for Webs teams to flourish. Additionally, Charjabug is able to switch into attacks from both of the top two threats in the metagame, being Kadabra and Machoke.

B+ to A-. Ferroseed is an extremely good check to various common threats, including Kadabra, non Drain Punch variants of Thwackey, and Pikachu. It is able to get up hazards relatively easily as it can come in easily against the numerous passive regenerator Pokemon like Tangela and Slowpoke which are being used at the moment. Hattrem usage going down also helps it.

B to A-. Lampent is able to abuse its Substitute sets because of the numerous Grass-types that are present in the metagame as well as being able to setup against Klang which is being used as a common check to Kadabra.

B+ to A-. Regenerator cores are on the uptrend, with Mareanie being a star component. Being able to switch between two Regenerator walls while capitalizing with Knock Off or spreading status is proving to be a very threatening strategy. Its Water- and Ice-type resistances and access to Haze makes it a decent Wartortle counter as well.

B+ to A-. It is arguably the best hazard removal that NFE has at the moment. It also works well as a Kadabra check and can even perform well as a defensive pivot. It’s decently versatile but is easily pressured due to its passivity hence only a small rise.

B to B+. Haunter being banned and Kadabra taking over gives room for Togetic's naturally sufficient special bulk to shine. While it has better bulk than Clefairy, being vulnerable Stealth Rock and Toxic makes it a step down in comparison for most cases.

C to B. Modest Gastly hits as hard as Timid Haunter and with Haunter gone, Gastly actually has a place in the metagame outside of Ghost Spam. It’s more vulnerable than Haunter being only 259 speed when Modest but it still is a potent wallbreaker and has essentially replaced Haunter on many teams.

B- to B. Bulletproof allows Hakamo-o to set Substitutes and Swords Dance on numerous defensive Pokemon such as Tangela, Ferroseed, and Charjabug as well as being a good check to Lampent. It has a very good matchup into teams without a Fairy or Slowpoke.

C+ to B-. Koffing is the most reliable Machoke check at the moment. Whilst Kadabra’s usage hurts its viability, neutralising gas Koffing is one of the best way of deal with Tangela and preventing it from regenerating health when it switches out. Also it is a good Toxic Spikes absorber which is good with Mareanie is becoming more popular.

C to C+. Dusclops gained a new tool in Poltergeist giving it a high base power STAB move to distinguish itself from Corsola-Galar (which has always been the better wall of the two). This turns Dusclops into more of a Tank being able to take most hits comfortably and dishing significant damage back and finishing off weakened Pokemon with Shadow Sneak.

C- to C+. A solid suicide lead for HO teams, with Sturdy guaranteeing at least one layer of hazards. It also has Knock Off and X-Scissor to threaten out Hattrem, which has become less common on teams.

Drops

A+ to A. It now has to compete with Kadabra as a Psychic-type, and Kadabra has also led to an increase in Dark- and Steel-types in the metagame, which Hattrem dislikes a lot. Hattrem is still extremely valuable as a form of hazard control and blocking Strength Sap users but it is no longer a Pokemon which can be slapped onto many teams without thought.

A+ to A-. Kadabra’s release means that Linoone-Galar is no longer the fastest common Pokemon in the metagame and is now forced to run Toxic Orb if it wants to check Kadabra offensively. Linoone was also Haunter’s best offensive check and the Haunter ban will make Linoone less of a priority to have on teams. Lastly the rise of Trapinch, forces Linoone to run Protect more often over Taunt meaning it can less reliably deal with Corsola-Galar and other passive walls.

A to A-. Wartortle’s Shell Smash set is having a tougher time with 3 reliable checks in Focus Sash Kadabra, Grassy Glide Thwackey, and Ferroseed all being super common in the metagame. Mareanie is also very solid at the moment and has always been Wartortle’s best check and as a result Wartortle has been lowered to A-.

A- to B+. Brionne hates the rise of so many Grass-types in the metagame as well as facing competition from Mareanie as a defensive Water-type, which has reliable recovery unlike Brionne which is forced to run RestTalk. It used to check Haunter and Wartortle, but the former is now banned and the latter is being used significantly less than pre-DLC.

A- to B. Carkol, whilst having good role compression, hates the current metagame with the rise of Trapinch and defensive Water-types, as well as Hattrem’s usage going down (and it being one of the hazard setters with the ability to trap Hattrem). Haunter’s ban also hurt it as it was one of the better checks for it.

B+ to B. Wartortle usage decreasing means it isn’t as needed as a special wall to offensive Waters. Fire-types like, Raboot and Lampent, are able to break past Palpitoad pretty easily if running the correct coverage. It also lets in Grasses in for free which hurts its viability a lot.

B+ to B-. Gloom now shares competition with Tangela which offers better utility and is less passive. Gloom still functions as a solid sun sweeper but this niche alone means it should be ranked with the rest of the sun archetype.

B to C+. Torracat’s physical sets are now largely outclassed by Libero Raboot. It’s Nasty Plot sets with Parting Shot still have a decent niche in the metagame but does face competition from Lampent as a special Fire-type.

B- to C. It is still a decent physical wall but it really struggles in this metagame with how common Grass-types like Roselia and Tangela are being seen as well as how often Water-types are being run on teams.

C+ to C. Still outclassed by Morgrem as a screens user. It still may be the premier setter for a very unexplored Hail archetype with Sandshrew-Alola coming back so we’re holding off on completely unranking it for now.

C to C-. Webs and Magic Room are very niche and only seen on offensive teams and are mostly outclassed by Charjabug as a Webs setter.

C to UR. In hindsight this was clearly a flavour of the month thing; Darumaka whilst it hits hard, is extremely frail and now has to contend with Libero Raboot as a Fire-type and with Hustle makes it too much of a double edged sword to be considered over Raboot on any team.

C- to UR. Dewpider is outclassed by Chajrabug like every other web setter. Magic Coat isn’t a big enough niche to justify ranking.

C to UR. Outclassed by Charjabug as a Web setter and its Calm Mind and Iron Defense sets haven’t really been used either. It also dislikes Raboot running around in the metagame.

C- to UR. This thing is pretty much completely outclassed by other offensive Water-types like Wartortle and Seadra which have far superior movepools and no one uses this for screens either.

Thanks everyone for making me spend way too long writing this their nominations and helping the council keep the VR updated!!

 

[Eris]

Hello! With NFEPL advancing I've decided to update the Set Compendium.

https://pokepast.es/15f689afdd7f2752 - set comp

https://pokepast.es/3af0e4c4c19bde4c - sets but adjusted for calc

massive shoutouts to everyone who helped with sets, special shoutouts to uhuhuhu7 and 85percent for proofreading.
EVs descriptions will be posted when set comp post is updated but in the meantime if anyone wants to propose sets to be added feel free to dm me or post some on this thread and they will be considered by QC team. On another note role comp will also be updated in the next couple of days!