Resource NU Viability Rankings

[Serviperhater]

sorry for another post so soon but we also forgot to move down Rotom-mow from b- to c

 

[poh]

-> UR

Only niche is terrain teams and it still isn't getting usage despite Pom-Pom, Cress and Thorns departure. Terrain teams are slowly dying off anyway and i doubt this mon will cause a resurgence. This mon is ZU for a reason.

-> UR

No point in keeping this mon ranked tbh. Pretty sure this got ranked back when he had Deoxys and Cress. It has been dropping the vr ranks every update since July...

-> UR

Yeah yeah Elias used this i know, even tho it did fuck all in that game (ice punched a registeel and died a few turns after). Again, there's no real reason to have this mon ranked. Why would i ever use it over Mienshao?

 

[Phantomistix]

Hi quick update we voted Scyther into A- :)

Good speed tier, great power w Technician + DWB with very few mons that can switch into both DWB and CC, gets the broken move (U-Turn) and gets Defog too for whoever is still huffing enough copium to run defog reliant teams.

Edit: THIS DOES NOT MEAN QUICK ATTACK SCYTHER IS GOOD STOP USING IT ON LADDER

 

[Lucario]

It's no secret that Flygon is the uncontested best Pokemon in the tier and deserves Its S tier ranking. Flygon is incredibly splashable, being able to fit on any team with a wide variety of sets, moves, and items. The tier revolves around Flygon. There's about 4 other Pokemon that, in my opinion, are also incredibly splashable and have a very high impact on the meta. In no order those Pokemon are Mienshao, Kilowattrel, Toxicroak, and Tauros-W. Mienshao is already in the S tier, though I believe it belongs in a lower tier with those other 3 Pokemon, specifically S-. I know VR council doesn't particularly want an S- rank for... an unknown reason. Every other tier uses an S- rank, not sure why we do not. Anyways, here's my justification for the new rank.

Let's start with Mienshao. It's a fantastic Scarfer and wallbreaker that is tough to take down. That's pretty much all there is to it, as I mentioned it's already in S, everyone knows just how insane it is. Kilowattrel is a very interesting Pokemon in the current meta. It's the fastest unboosted Pokemon and is a solid late game sweeper. Its has 2 great abilities, Volt Absorb to reliably wall opposing Kilowattrel and Raikou, and Competitive to punish Intimidate users and whatever Defog users ladder uses. I find myself adding Kilo on a lot of teams, even HO. Kilo is also one of the best revenge killers, forcing Tera Electric on Mienshao or Tera Ground on Tauros-W. Toxicroak is really threatening thanks to its potential to break through almost all defensive cores. Just like Flygon and Mienshao, it has a variety of moves and items it can use, whether it's both Knock Off and Sucker Punch, or Ice Punch, Earthquake or Encore, while being able to run Life Orb, Leftovers, Air Balloon, Scarf, and even Clear Amulet. Revenge killing it isn't easy because +2 Sucker Punch can reliably KO anything faster than it after Tera. Just like the previously mentioned Pokemon, Toxicroak fits on any team imaginable. Tauros-W is one of the best Pokemon at forcing your opponent to Tera. Choice Band is incredibly strong, Bulk Up has a nice range of move and item variety, and Scarf sets might exist. Everybody knows what this thing does, yet so many teams fold because of it. You already know what I'm about to say, it fits on all teams with a wide variety of sets/moves/etc.

Now you might be saying that that's what makes them A+ (or S for Mienshao). Which I agree, but are we really claiming they're that much worse than Flygon? Are we saying they're on the same level as Overqwil or Bronzong? Do we really think they deserve to be just a single subrank above Basculegion, Breloom, or Munkidori? These Pokemon all do what Flygon does, which is get slapped on a team with whatever 4 moves and item. These Pokemon warp the meta almost as much as Flygon, they deserve S-.

I'd like to see more discussion about this, I want to understand why there is no S-... and who knows, maybe others agree.

Unrelated to the above topic, but Toxtricity should be in A. It's a broken mf.

 

[McMeghan]

I'll post my VRs after SCL but Mienshao > Flygon. Imo a more consistent Pokemon given the immediate power right off the bat and the reliability of its moves (Knock/Uturn are never bad moves to click). On the other hand Flygon has to deal with immunities for both of its stabs and isn't as powerful immediately. DD's ability to get out of the control is the only reason this Pokemon is near the top and tbh it's quite reliant on Tera being online to be that threatening imo.

Toxicroak is good for sure but nowhere near as good as Mienshao. Imo it's just quite natural to check because of its speedtier/lack of bulk/awful weaknesses.

Kilowattrel is straight up mid. Electric isn't a good offensive typing when every team wants an immunity to the typing and your alternative is a 70% accurate move or 75 base power move. It's a fine Pokemon but on a completely different power level than Flygon/Mienshao and even Croak.

 

[Serviperhater]

A+ -> A-/B+
Overqwil is a super cool mon but let’s be fr this thing was super overhyped. When looking at our current A+ and A ranks overqwil stands out as just not as good as the rest of the mons. While it has a good spot on rain, rain has not been nearly dominant enough for overqwil to be A+. Defensive overqwil and sd overqwil off of rain are hardly enough to put it up that high either. It competes heavily for a spot with incin and a-muk for the dark type spot on a team and almost always is looked over in the builder for them at least for me.
A -> B+
How the mighty have fallen. Breloom had a niche of being able to switch into our waters but literally all of them can pack ice beam or flip turn. Breloom is very powerful but it isn’t switching into anything and if it’s up against anything faster chances are it’s getting ko’d. id almost almost want one of our other fighters, even if I wanted a scald switch in toxicroak or Lum berry tauros do the job better. banded is still good but limited so I think B+ is more than fair.
B- -> UR
What does this thing do that other mons don’t just do better? relic from old metas. plz remove
B- -> UR
psychic terrain is bad lol
B- -> B
hail is good. seen a lot more tournament success and ladder success as of late. deserves a little bump up.
B -> A-
HO staple. best speed control option on ho and defensive sets are still decent. definitely deserves the buff in ratings

might come back and add more later bye

 

[Rabia]

few things I want to comment on considering what yday's upload was, also I agree with all of Serviperhater's nominations and might push for a further loom drop xd

-> A
pretty easily the best non-copper steel-types atm. klefki saw a ton of scl success and has remained a staple in tours since, while registeel i think we're just finally seeing how useful its bulk gap over the other steels is. also helps that neither are weak to knock off and therefore are a good bit better into cinccino than bronzong is.

-> B+
on paper pretty good but kinda flops in practice. you're too reliant on effect spore imo and being a physical wall that gets cunted by flygon is shaky. glowbro only gets away with it because it's a superior mienshao answer + regenerator op.

-> B+
too many water immunities to rate this guy in the A ranks. obv you can u-turn on them but idrt this interaction justifies keeping inteleon highly ranked. scarf is probably ok tho Shengineer

-> B+
still a fine remover and in the non-incineroar matchups it's not the worst. i think tho a lot of the time you'd rather just superman it up and disregard it as a spinner. hell i think tsar/tenta end up being a bit better at times because unlike bramble, they often can do a bit more in their bad matchups because of knock off/pivot access.

 

[Stories]

Hard agree on Scream Tail rising, in fact I'd say it should rise even higher. HO is a super dominant playstyle right now and Scream Tail does a ton for the playstyle with its great speed and bulk letting it serve as an anchor and a decent setup sweeper. It's also great at facilitating other sweepers as Steel-types and special walls are often tasked with dealing with it and they take a good chunk in the process, opening up the window for the likes of Porygon-Z or Diancie

 

[Lucario]

While we're at it, I want to nominate my girl Hoopa to B/B-. I started using Hoopa a few months ago due to its great matchup into Cresselia and Bronzong. The former is gone, but the latter is one of the best Pokemon in the tier. Hard walling any Body Press set that utilizes Psychic Noise over Heavy Slam, Gyro Ball, and Earthquake is an extremely valuable niche. It also acts as a special wall in a pinch, checking stuff like Kilowattrel, Articuno-G, and Meloetta. Its Speed tier is horrible ngl, but slapping a Custap Berry on it is very funny and has helped me win several times. It has tools like Nasty Plot, Focus Blast, and Draining Kiss (I think??) to help beat down on walls and checks like Incineroar and Alolan Muk. Destiny Bond is also a move of all time on Custap Berry sets.

I'm dumb and haven't saved any replays of it since Cresselia was in the tier, but it's a good mon, trust me.

 

[LessThanThreeMan]

Kilowattrel A+ -> A
I think kilo is a bit overrated here. Sure it's fast and has good stabs, but it's just not strong enough without the boosting item. I do think life orb/specs is really good on anti-hazard HO and rain, but I think the boots set you commonly see is just ok. On balance it wants to fit into the wall breaker slot and its... it's just not a wall breaker. Boots kilo is still good vs offense since it naturally out speeds so much but I don't think it's A+ worthy. I'd feel differently if it got a boosting move, but it doesn't unfortunately. (charge beam doesn't count)

Overqwil A+ -> A-
Good mon but overhyped initially. SD on paper has few defensive checks but it's neither fast enough nor bulky enough to pull this off as often as id like it to. It has a decent speed tier but its still in the mid speed category. It has great resists but it doesn't have the bulk of something like incin. I like spikes overqwil but I dont think thats an A+ set either, and probably not even the best spiker available. If you want to keep overqwil this high I think you'd have to value the rain sweeper sets, but I don't think this is even a requirement on rain.

Breloom A -> B+
Similar to overqwil but worse; too slow, too frail, too much 4MSS, and I just don't love how it fits into the meta now. Strong if it gets hits off but struggles to get hits off. Teams typically have good mach resists that can revenge if need be as well.

Vileplume A -> B+
Plume does really well into some of our physical attackers (mostly fighting types), but it's just so exploitable. Great into wet bull (banded zen headbutt 2 shots but you don't really see them run that), shao carries ice moves but can get effect spored I guess, flygon gets through it with several sets (sub dd, special, band.) There are still some merits to plume but on most of those teams I'd rather have a glowbro.

B- -> B
B- -> B
Snow is good.

Scream Tail B -> A
CM booster energy scream tail has become an offensive staple and it fits on basically all HO teams. I think the defensive sets are a bit mediocre, but we are underrating cm. This mon has a base 4 special attack stat, but it doesn't matter when it has the bulk to get multiple boosts/turns to attack, great coverage, high base power moves, and outspeeds the entire tier. CM scream is probably the best late cleaner in the tier now. This set reminds me a lot of nasty plot mew in that it is very hard to revenge kill, but with less initial power of course.

Swampert A- -> B+
Do people still use pert? I don't think pert is bad by any means but being a bulky water that doesn't resist water makes teambuilding with it awkward. Decent tank but I don't think it has enough of a meta presence for it to be in the A tiers anymore. I think gastro is the water/ground option teams are favoring now since it is immune to water but also doesn't struggle vs toxicroak like vapo/milo can.

 

[Stories]

Ok here we go.

Porygon2 uses the combination of insane bulk, Trace, and Recover to be a surprisingly great tank, with enough fire power and coverage to not be a sitting duck (literally).

Trace is actually a big deal for p2, letting it wall a surprising number of Pokemon such as

Flygon (Levitate)
Chandelure (Flash Fire)
Vaporeon (Water Absorb)
Toxtricity (Punk Rock)
Kilowattrel (Volt Absorb)
Gligar (Immunity)
Mienshao (Tera + Regen)
Tauros-Paldea (Tera + Intimidate)
and even though Oricorio-Pom Pom is banned, p2 beat that as well

Not going to bore you all with a wall of damage calcs I just want to say that a Pokemon with all these attributes should at least be in the C tier, if not higher. I'd personally put it at around B-.

 

[Serviperhater]

I know I just posted but I wanted to give some mons not on the VR a nom. I didn’t wanna go find the replays but all of these mons have teen moderate success on tours/ladder/tournaments
UR -> B+
With Pom-Pom out of the tier Oricorio-Sensu is filling in right where pom-pom left off. While it’s a lot worse than pom-pom because of its weakness to all of the dark types in the tier it can pull off the bulky taunt set and offensive qd sets super well. also it has ghost typing so emergency spin blocker on ho teams and balance teams with hazards.
UR -> B+
This and scyther are the only useable defoggers. While Altaria is kinda passive it does well into a lot of the strongest physical attackers in the tier like wet-bull, flame-bull, choiced mienshao locked into not an ice move, etc. Wisp provides really good utility too. Maybe a bit of an over rank but id say altaria is pretty good.
UR -> C
This thing is good on terrain as the only special unburden sweeper. it deserves the move to C rank
UR -> C
Flamigo has seen use as a scarfer that is immune to spikes and neutral to rocks. Being able to hit ghost and being immune to intimidate is nice but suffers major competition from shao. still has enough over to be ranked and let’s shao run life orb on teams that have both.
UR -> C
has seen decent tournament use as a stall mon. status immune and salt cure go hard.
UR -> B/B+
A lot of people have picked up on hisuian braviary. the agility set does an amazing job of killing whatever is in front of it (accuracy willing) if this thing could hit its attack probably nominate it higher.

 

[Kin+ak (✧∇✧)]

to B
imo this is a very solid mon that really likes the fact Spinning isn't too hard here so it can get AV and Win vs pretty much anything that cannot use a Super effective STAB on it, it will trade at worst. Icicle Crash sucks so obviously go for the ever-superior Avalanche, since u slower anyways. it gets very neat coverage, Incineroar hates taking a CC on the switch, the "incredible" HO Scream tail on its end has to connect 2 Fire blast at +1 to kill it IF i doesn't tera. if it's running only 8 spdef IVs. Glastrier can Hit most the met for superreffective damage, and it likely will get to send the damage off its 145 attack stat thanks to its 100/130/110 Bulk. Not too much of a Tera Hog either, as keeping its pure Ice type over a Tera like Water or ground or whatever lets it stay neutral vs things like Tbolts, Leaf storms, and such hard-hitting moves. Avalanche, when attacked, hits 120BP and Will OHKO a Bunch of Neutral targets. I also don't base my sayings off of Ladder experience only, I don't like laddering.
to B-
Screens are bad without Light clay. Embrace Band Grimmsnarl. It has good stabs in crunch/throat chop, Sucker Punch and play rough, Crunch/throat chop giving you an edge over Bronzong in lead, Sucker Punch OHKO'ing unsuspecting Choice users, very much so thanks to frisk. Frisk is a give-in that you're not Screens but doesn't reveal your set while You can Reveal the opp's item, and most of the time, its potential movepool. Prankster with Parting shot to pivot also works but as a last moveslot Fire punch and Low Kick are good Options imo. Low kick hits most steels harder than fire punch but Klefki has more freedom in the MU without Fire punch.
to A
imo Offensive sets are not That great but I'm running AV Glast anw, and defensive Scream tail. imo a great support, fast encore, Twave, Miensao switchin, Wish support all in one slot is very valuable and unique. Twave in particular does well into Fast mons/opposing scream tails that cannot beat it before getting Para'd, and with Offensive pressure it js makes many mons useless. Fast encore is a cool tool into Setup sweeprs, particularly slow ones that will want to setup more than not. Wish and 115 Base HP is also bloody efficient when encore can punish whatever the opps wanna do when they predic protect -I dont run protect and Wish is still incredible on this Gigachad-
to A-
this thing is a nuke. Hurricane is a big destroyer but is innacurate, and that's not that bad tbh. this thing nukes what doesn't resist it with SFLO sets (the only real ones). Agility+3a is my go to as this thing gets 123 BP Heat wave, Effectively Obliterating shi with Tera fire. Psychic is also a good delete button on many less bulky things/uninvested mons and it's hella accurate. in a Meta that Craves steels when it comesto checking both Flying- and Psychic-type mons, Firing (lol?) off powerful 123 BP LO boosted Heatwave s is always welcome ain't it? also its bulk isn't too bad so it can get an agility if the opp hits it for neutral. 1- is high af but this thing really IS a nuke.
to B+
This is a top Spinner if you ask me. Its body press does decent damage, it's insanely bulky on thz physical side, Tera, Will-o-wisp and Flame Body further helping it bulk out attacks, it's really good at neutralizing things like Mienshao by switching in on weak contact attacks (fake out here, or even knock if really needed) to fish a flame body proc and Make it WEAK at best. with sufficient suppport, dodges Tera hog while doing its job really eficiently. Both S pokémon get to use a SE STAB but Both do NOT want to switch in when it spins or when it sets rocks, because Wow is incredible into switches, as not much of anything outside of Hera enjoys a good ol burn.
to S-
if ANYONE is EVER going to use throat chop over something else, it's for this guy over there. and for the Amped, at it. Low-key is not a shitmon I guess, but Amped gets Shift Gear, Making it approximately 7x better. Tera NOrm Boomburst already makes little Scrtail have some ppunch despite 65 Base spa off of 252 EVs Neutral nature. Toxtri has it get the BP of V-Create (Higher by 2 btw), has 114 Base spa and generally will run Modest, for at +2 it hits 498, outspeeding Base 100 Scarf (492), thus FLygon, mainly. Flygon will run Tera Ghost Throat chop to wall it, because it's such a bloody menace. Throat spray is GOATED on this thing since Chansey is gone, as now it will not need LO Drain punch to F it up, and it can now go for Snarl to hit the measly Ghost+[Elec resist] Types that Hope living a hit and killing it. Snarl also lowers the opponent's spatk, letting you live hits you Shouldn't while activating Throat spray, Killing things you shouldn't
Replays:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nu-2259133717 HBrav doing Hbrav things (Ignore the Coalossal Awful missplay)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nu-2257134232 Hbrav took the win BUT Glast lived a boomburst and a fire blast from Scream tail (65 spa lmao) then CHANDELURE FIRE BLAST and Avalanched it, chill af.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nu-2255649621?p2 Grimm gets early KO by Killing Bronzong lead, Scream tail prevents Incin from Doing Big Damage by Encoring SD, Is ther the whole game to support the team and ends by cleaning with Dgleam on Easy targets Flygon and Mienshao.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nu-2255648057 Glastrier Cooks Tera Scream Tail, Sucker punch Grimmmsnarl Checks Torterra
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nu-2253897688 Sucker Punch Grimmsnarl Removes Chandelure Early on, Glast Owns Nasty plot Sweeper, Scream tails uses it as a Toxtri setup opportunity, When Diancie tries to take back advantage Glast stops it with sheer bulk, Scream tail then uses Bulk + STAB Dgleam + Twave to KO Flygon and neutralize Toxicroak, Hbrav Tanks Sucker punch and KO Croak.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nu-2253896924?p2 Short replay, Grimm removes a Big hitter early on with Sucker punch, Coalossal Proves its sheer Bulk against Gligar.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nu-2248778598?p2 VS a old-fashioned team, but still, Toxtri using snarl to live a hit, Coalossal Burning things, letting its teammates live good hits, with Hbrav Finishing the Job when its time comes.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nu-2246706312?p2 Toxtricity is a scary sweeper, Using its Neat defensive typing to Setup on mons that can't do real damage to it, here Galvantula, and finishes off a team, + Tera predic the PZ bc it was hella obvious.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nu-2244859425 Screal tail uses its superior speed to Dominate over a scyther, Glastrier uses sheer attack and bulk to Tear through the team, left with only SPatkers that cannot Kill it (so special attackers in General xdxd)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nu-2244844331?p2 Team has no mongevity, no heals until it does, encore twave wish Scream tail is an absolute Unit of a support, Encore in particular being a deadly weapon.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nu-2244841977?p2 Grimmsnarl wrecks the lead, Brav gets 2 KOs By Agility, Glast Outbulks 2 opps and Toxtri wins thanks to Neat defensive typing (and not the absolute lowroll of a DWB that was xd)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nu-2241600751?p2 Toxtri puts intense Offensive pressure, Scr Tail uses Wish as a way for Safe switches for its teammates, Coalossal Body Presses Incineroar for the win.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nu-2231277605?p2 Coalossal puts in work vs Rain, Scream Tail gives the freeest switches with Wish + encore, Effectively Getting AV Glast on the field at full despite the full Hazards set.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nu-2228923921?p2 Here AV Glast takes on Florges and Salazzle, living Easily the Salazzle's flamethrower while killing with High horsepower while Scr Tail Twaves and neutralizes mons. Toxtri Use Defensive typing to stup on Florges, and snarl to hit Hoopa, a mon with a MAtchup that isn't supposed to be too bad into toxtri.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nu-2262180627?p2 This replay too, Coalossal keeps hazards up vs Tentacruel, Grimmsnarl Band does band things, deletes 3 mons from the opp's Wildly chippin the survivors, And Tera Toxtricity wins on choice locked Chandy


why yes these were a lot of replays but I js wanted to prove why these Pokémon are worthy of the ranks I'd see them in

 

[Pokeslice]

Just want to chime in to add nothing except that I support the majority of the drops on mons like Breloom, Plume, Intel, Bramble, Swampert, etc. I also support the rise of Snow and Scream Tail as legit powerful options in the tier.

To not just make it a one liner, I'd like to propose moving a lot of A+ down, but specifically:

A+ -> A- Because this mon is well past its prime. It's fast, but extremely hard to throw on teams because of its lack of a defensive profile and its lack of power. I think this mon is best on Weather HO, but not good enough to warrant a high ranking.

A+ -> A- I think other people have elaborated on this a bunch more so I won't go further. I just support this falling

A+ - A I find Croak extremely good, but I think with Water-types running coverage for it consistently and Gastro rising in usage limiting its set up opportunities that Croak isn't as good as it was a few months ago. Everyone and their mom is running Tera Poison or Ghost on everything as well.

 

[Zangoose360]

Decided to make my first VR post. I agree with Pokemon dropping such as Swampert, Overqwil, Breloom, Brambleghast, Toxicroak, Kilowattrel, and Vileplume, and support Scream Tail rising since its great on HO as a CM sweeper. However, the Pokemon I'll be discussing is:


Minior: C -> B

I've been using Minior for quite a bit now and believe it should rise on the VR. LessThanThreeMan already made a VR post on it a while back, but there are a few things I wanted to mention about Minior. While Minior did lose a Pokemon it could setup on in the form of Talonflame, it still has other Pokemon it can setup on such as Incineroar, Gligar, Vileplume, Alolan Muk. The thing Minior has going for it is that most Pokemon don't want to take a +2 Acrobatics from Minior when it is in its core form, and most Pokemon who resist Acrobatics can get hit by Earthquake. I also find Substitute|Shell Smash|Acrobatics|Earthquake to be the most optimal set on it. Substitute helps against priority moves, helps Minior change its form, scout out Teras/choice locked Pokemon, help avoid status conditions if its not in its Meteor Form, and can be useful to prevent the opponent from Intimidate shuffling against Minior. While you do lose a coverage slot, the only notable coverage option you miss out on is Tera Blast Ghost to stunt on Bronzong. You don't really need a Rock STAB unless you want to hit Kilo and opposing Minior super effectively. (Rotom-Heat isn't a real mon)

While Tera Flying gives Minior's Acro some extra power, I found Tera Ghost to be the most optimal Tera on Minior imo, (even if you don't use Tera Blast Ghost) given how good Fighting-types such as Mienshao, Waterbull, and Toxicroak are in the tier rn, as you can Tera Ghost against an incoming Close Combat, which can potentially give you a free turn depending on what Pokemon is in front of Minior. For example, if you Tera Ghost in front of a Scarf Shao locked into CC, you can Shell Smash the turn you tera, then either get up a Sub, attack, or go for another Shell Smash. Tera Ghost also lets Minior have immunity to Normal and Fighting priority moves (i.e Mach Punch, Fake Out, Extreme Speed) to help with not being easily revenge killed alongside Substitute.

I also find Minior to be an option on the Cinccino HO teams, as it likes Stealth Rock being removed, and those teams tend to be able to pressure Bronzong, which allows for Minior to go for a late-game sweep and doesn't have to fit Tera Blast Ghost just to deal with Zong. I'd also like to mention that with Minior using Substitute, use 30 HP IVs to make Minior's HP divisble by 4 to make it where you need to only get off 2 Subs or 1 depending on if rocks are up.

So, yeah. This concludes my first VR post. Minior is an option for the Cinccino HO teams and can be a potent late game cleaner that most Pokemon don't want to switch into thanks to the combination of Acro + EQ, with Tera Ghost being allowing Minior to take advantage of how good Fighting types are in the tier as well as taking advantage of Choice locked Pokemon, which is why think Minior should have a spot that is higher than C rank on the VR.

 

[emikatana]

Pretty new to Smogon in general but thought it was time to make my first VR post to give my thoughts on the meta right now. Agree with what other people are saying generally. I just wanted to nominate a couple things to the VR, most importantly:

UR -> B+ Porygon2 is straight up one of the best special walls in the tier. With already decent bulk boosted massively by Eviolite, it can switch into almost every special attacker in the tier, and very few special attackers run Fighting coverage to hit it for supereffective. With a base 105 SpA stat, it hits decently hard with stab Tri-Attacks, and can spread paralysis with Thunder Wave. Trace is an amazing ability that lets it do a ton of cool things, such as completely walling Vaporeon and Chandelure, and allowing it to switch into Flygon's EQ. For Tera types, Tera Ghost is what I prefer, giving it an immunity to Fighting and providing a stab boost to Shadow Ball, however Poison is also very valid. Porygon2's main downsides are its weakness to Knock Off, as well as common Fighting mons like Mienshao and Waterbull. However most teams will want to have a physical defender who can switch into those mons anyway, so this isn't a huge deal IMO. All in all, Porygon2 is a very solid special wall that can fit onto almost any balanced team, soaking up special hits and spreading paralysis while doing good damage in return.

Some calcs:

+1 252 SpA Choice Specs Porygon-Z Tri Attack vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Eviolite Porygon2: 151-178 (40.3 - 47.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252 SpA Typhlosion-Hisui Eruption (150 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Eviolite Porygon2: 115-136 (30.7 - 36.3%) -- 58.2% chance to 3HKO
252 Atk Mienshao Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Eviolite Porygon2: 278-330 (74.3 - 88.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO (Lives a hit from Scarf Mienshao)
0 SpA Porygon2 Tri Attack vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Flygon: 108-127 (35.8 - 42.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
0 SpA Porygon2 Shadow Ball vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Chandelure: 132-156 (50.5 - 59.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

UR -> C Rhydon has a niche as a very bulky setup sweeper, similar to Scyther's role on HO. With Eviolite, it has an impressive 414 Defense stat with no investement, combined with a respectable 105 base HP stat it can tank neutral or even supereffective physical hits and set up on them. Using a double dance set, it can go for an Agility, SD, or both depending on the circumstances. Even with an Adamant nature, it outspeeds nearly the entire tier after an Agility, and does brutal damage with a 130 base Atk stat. For attacks, I prefer running dual STAB with EQ and Stone Edge, but Rhydon gets great coverage such as Ice Punch to hit Flygon or Crunch to hit Bronzong. All in all, a pretty decent set up sweeper that definitely has a niche in the NU tier since its evolution Rhyperior left.

Decidueye-Hisui UR -> B Decidueye-Hisui is a very solid and versatile mon that definitely has a place in the NU tier. It learns Defog and Roost, meaning it can be a good hazard control option in a tier that has very limited options for that role. However, the main thing that makes Decidueye-H good is its signature move Triple Arrows. This move is extremely strong and makes Decidueye-H a very potent wallbreaker that can smash through a lot of defensive mons with crits, defense drops, and flinches. It's ability Scrappy means that Ghost types/Teras and Intimidate mons cannot stop it from clicking Triple Arrows over and over. It has good coverage for our Grass/Poison mons in Brave Bird, Sucker Punch for priority, U-Turn to pivot, STAB Trailblaze to boost speed and SD/Bulk Up to set up. I have had success with Choice Band sets and defensive Defog sets, but you can definitely run other things too.

Anyway, this is literally the first time I've ever done this sort of thing on Smogon so I hope it's at least sort of legible.

 

[658Greninja]

A > Lower
Its Vileplumover.

> A
Imagine Vileplume but with even better bulk in exchange for being more passive. Helps pivot into Flygon, Scarf Shao, Water Tauros, etc.

 

[emikatana]

Hello and welcome to my second VR post. I've played hundreds of ladder games of NU over the past week so I think I have a pretty good read of the post-shift meta. With that said, here's my VR rankings for the post-shift meta.

B- -> S- With Alolan Ninetales dropping to NU, the Goatitan has shot up in usage and viability. While it has always been a terrifying snow sweeper, it has been held back in the past by Abomasnow being the only snow setter. With Alolatales by its side, Cetitan can easily fit on any offensive team, with full snow also improving significantly. Cetitan has a massive 170 HP stat, the highest in the tier, with a great attack stat too. In snow, Cetitan's moderate speed stat gets boosted massively, outspeeding almost everything in the tier in snow, barring the fastest Scarfers. It has a great movepool too, with Ice Shard to beat priority users, Earthquake and Superpower to break through Ice resists, and Knock Off for Brongzong. With Alolatales dropping to NU, Cetitan has become, in my opinion, the best setup sweeper in the tier and a meta-defining threat that every team has to consider while teambuilding.

NEW -> A+ When Alolatales dropped, people mostly thought of its usage on Snow teams. However, it is also an amazing enabler for HO teams, with Aurora Veil and a fast Encore to help its partners get in the game and set up, as well as an amazing speed stat that outspeeds almost everything that threatens it. Alolatales can even be a threatening sweeper on it's own, with Nasty Plot and a lethal STAB Blizzard.

NEW -> C Torkoal is shit. Sorry Torkoal fans, but it just is. It does nothing new for the tier, Fire is a bad typing for a defensive mon, and with Drought banned it can't even be a sun setter like it was in RU. I hope Torkoal can get a hasty quickdrop, I'm sure PU would appreciate it much more than we do.

NEW -> B Amoonguss is just Vileplume with a slightly worse movepool. Regenerator is a good ability for sure, but without any offensive threat itself it becomes very passive and has no pivot move to give its teammates free switches. Unlike other Regenerator mons, it has little offensive threat, no pivot moves, and no utility outside of the horrible inconsistent Stun Spore. The only saving grace is that unlike Vileplume, it consistently lives Mienshao's CC -> Triple Axel. Vileplume should definitely be ranked higher than Amoonguss IMO. Vileplume has the same typing but much better moves such as Leech Seed and Strength Sap that allow it to consistently 1v1 many physical attackers, while Amoonguss is often forced to switch out after a couple hits. However, they both have a crippling weakness in their grass typing, and with the significantly increased usage of Ice types on offensive teams, Amoonguss is a physical wall incapable of stopping many physical offense sweepers such as Cetitan and Scyther, taking a brutal 80% from an unboosted Dual Wingbeat.

B -> A Avalugg is the other mon that has become significantly stronger with Alolatales. Already a massive physical wall, Avalugg now benefits greatly from the increased prevalence of Snow, even without being paired with Alolatales. While in Snow, Avalugg has a defense stat of 770 without any boosts, making it extremely difficult to take down even with supereffective attacks, with even LO Mienshao needing three Close Combats to kill it. The Snow boosting defense also boosts Avalugg's Body Press (I have learned that this is not the case, only Defense stat stages modify the value used for Body Press, not other defense boosts), making it hard for a lot of special attackers to switch in on it without getting significantly chunked. Also having Rapid Spin is super good, especially for Snow teams. One of the major counters is Chandelure, who can switch in for free and force Avalugg out. However, combination of Sturdy to always live a single hit and coverage such as Earthquake to catch Fire and Poison switchins for supereffective damage, while Avalugg's Ice STAB threatens common Flying types like Kilowattrel, Scyther, and Gligar. All in all, an already powerful physical wall that has become even stronger with the addition of the strong and common snow setter Alolatales, who can actually turn Avalugg's Ice type into an advantage for it. However, the real thing that makes Avalugg truly the best physical wall in this meta is that it may be the one consistent defensive check to Belly Drum Cetitan, even being able to tank a +6 Superpower in snow.

A+ -> B+ Overqwil is a very good rain sweeper, but with the high usage of Alolatales, Rain has a difficult time being viable in the current meta without an automatic setter. Outside of Rain, Overqwil is a decent defensive mon but struggles due to it's Ground weakness as well as bad matchups into common mons such as Flygon, Waterbull, and Incineroar. Scale Shot sweeper sets are a thing too, but Flygon is just better let's be real here.

B+ -> A Firebull has become much more competitive with Waterbull due to Alolatales dropping. It has the signature move Raging Bull to break Alolatales' Aurora Veil, however unlike Waterbull, Firebull's Fire typing gives it a much better matchup into Alolatales, being neutral to Moonblast and resisting Freeze-Dry. Also is better into Amoonguss/Vileplume, Avalugg, and Bronzong, which are some of the more common physical walls. Ground weakness does suck though.

B- -> B+ One of the most consistent ways for offense teams to stop Cetitan.

UR -> C Lycanroc definitely has a niche in the current meta, fast Rock type is quite valuable, beats Cinccino leads, outspeeds and kills Alolatales, Accelerock can finish off Cetitan in a pinch.

Anyway hopefully you enjoyed my snow meta rankings :d Sorry that it's so long I had a lot to say

 

[Da Pizza Man]

The Snow boosting defense also boosts Avalugg's Body Press,

Snow does not boost the power of Body Press.

 

[Ren-chon]

First post here (wtf) so gotta make it count

S Rank

No changes although honestly Ive been a bit disappointed on Flygon lately, but its still a good bit ahead of the rest of the tier

A Rank

A+

Bronzong -> A+ Teams these days are able to really abuse zong or just deal with it way quicker, even on vap/sylv squads. However Gyro zong is still a really nice tool for balance to deal with HO and psychic noise filters out bad vap squads
Incineroar -> A Its a mid-A rn, maybe even on the lower end of things. Shao being the most broken mon in the tier does it no favors, and being OHKOd by knock off just sucks. However, chandy seeing more usage means it still has a solid place in a lot of balances and knock + wow is broken since the 6% chip is often teh difference between a 3hko or a 2hko on the bulky waters
Kilowattrel -> A I honestly really like the bird but it always seems kinda... Lacking? It cant take hits very well, if volt absorb it gets owned by pz lugg teams and if its competitive then its significantly easier to deal with while also losing even more defensive potential. Its kinda decent into HO by itself but even then it can be turned into setup fodder by elec scyther. Idt it should drop any lower tho because its kind of a nice "offensive glue" especially for teams struggling into lo shao
Overqwil -> A- Only reason its this high is due to rain and even then Ive never seen it do much. Gets a lot worse now with lugg getting way more popular
Tauros-Paldea-Aqua -> A It already wasnt THAT good due to waters running coverage, but with Amoonguss around its just a sad day for the water dog
Toxicroak -> A+ Keeping it A+ because I still think its decently good and can do well into Amoonguss (granted you dont get greedy into fp), also the best mon in the tier alongside Shao to force defensive teras with. Wouldnt be opposed to a drop however

A

Amoonguss -> A Provisory ranking, but I can see it rising later on. Best glue mon in the tier rn and it just has everything: foul play to counteract its passive nature, sludge to make it harder to switch into, TOXIC!!!! and even other neat options like stun spore and av stomping
Basculegion -> A If not for the defensive profile of other waters being needed in most teams and Shao checks often doubling as a basc check, I would almost vote for a rise. Special Basc is really good while cb carries rain on its back. Sub 3a is also awesome at exploiting Vap teams
Breloom -> A- Meh, its kinda good as a cetitan check? But even then Cetitan can easily eat a mach and it just doesnt really do much into Amoonguss as even if you run like ace it can just switch out
Muk-Alola -> A Best special glue in the tier. Restalk knock with poison touch means its really hard to switch into which is welcome for a defensive mon. I honestly rate it higher than Incin rn
Munkidori -> A+ Im a huge Munki stan. 2nd best scarfer in the tier (and honestly its only because Gon has nice defensive utility too) and can pick a mon to OHKO with Trick, and the fact its base 106 spe while not being tera dependent means it can both outspeed everything even scarfless and use a defensive tera to handle stuff that may outspeed it (namely cincc) or threaten prio (croak, decid)
-> A Snow is really really good rn and basically wins into any non-lugg squad, while also being extremely potent as a standalone mon (specs and NP). Being faster than the coveted base 105 benchmark cements its spot in A
Vaporeon -> A+ Coverage 4th Vap is actually surprisingly difficult to switch into, with pretty much only other Vaps, Muk and Gastro being able to easily. Beam also takes advantage of all the Amoonguss and with how physical heavy our tier is, most things dont wanna set up in front of Vap and risk a burn. Best water in the tier hands down, and it shows with a lot of trends being about taking advantage of it while still exceeling at its job
Vileplume -> A- or B+ Meh no reason to run this with Amoonguss around. Ig effect spore is nice?
A-

Brambleghast -> B+ Meh, recent meta isnt too kind on it. Its nice removal but it cant really check a lot of stuff, hard to switch into things it wanna switch into (waters), and extreme fodder for Snow
Chandelure -> A Really good mon rn. CM tera grass eats Gastro squads alive, whereas specs can brute force through water + amuk/incin
Cinccino -> A or A+ The face of HO rn, and even some balance has been running it. At +1 it can easily clean late, fast enough so that even unboosted can throw hits and check some offensive behemoths, while also being excelent removal that single handely makes evio Scyther a viable (and extremely good) pick. Its no wonder some people want a Cincc suspect after Shao
Diancie -> A- or A People exploring other steels more is good news for Diancie, but its not like it has a good time into them either. Zong running steel moves a standard 4th also does it no favors, however its still an extremely potent sweeper that can get out of control late while being a sort of "panic button" for HO as an anti-ditto tech and good into snow if cetitan hasnt set up yet
Gligar -> A- Eh, kinda wanna drop it but not yet I think. It doesnt really do much? SD Scyther sets up on it, the steels can knock and/or ice spinner, and its not like we lack spikes setters either
Inteleon -> B+ Every team has a Gastro, Vap or Croak... So ya.
Milotic -> A- 4th best water
Porygon-Z -> A Can muscle through any sdef steel team, takes advantage of the infinitude of pivots we have rn and the bulky setup set can run off with games it had no business winning just by virtue of screwing up with your opps calcs
Registeel -> A It trades ground immunity for bulk when compared to zong. Way more durable, can be used to check things like muk (granted youre running eq), and twave is a great move in general
Scyther -> A Best actual sweeper in HO hands down. Evio Scyther is a nightmare to deal with and the reason why HO is SO good rn. In my opinion this mon should be on the radar for the coming future. In the past Id vote it potentially all the way up to A+, but lugg popularity really hurts it while also being weak to snow in general
Slowbro-Galar -> A- Meta isnt too kind to it rn, but still a great glue for teams that also want something that deals with steels
Swampert -> B I... Dont see much a reason to use this? Its a good choice for snow but thats honestly it lol
Sylveon -> A Roar is great at stopping some critters and forcing tera on gon with it is funny, while CM can beat teams that let their steels get too chipped. Also good Shao check
Toxtricity -> A No idea why its so low. One of our best breakers rn
Typhlosion-Hisui -> B lol

B Rank

B+

Articuno-Galar -> A- CM beats zong squads, good Shao check when terad
Copperajah -> A Been really liking it rn. Got distinct tools compared to other steels, namely Knock + WW. Strong SF boosted iron head also means its harder to use it as fodder
Decidueye -> A- CB Polter HURTS. Only downside is having to give up on knock. SD is also really good
Gastrodon -> A Probably the most popular water in tour play rn? Or very close to Vap. Spikes + instant recovery + ground typing is insane in a tier with nearly no removal
Klefki -> A- Good steel for teams that already got a rocker, and nice at stopping HO with prankster TW
Tauros-Paldea-Blaze -> B+ Idm it rising to A- I just dont rate it too highly rn, even tho Intim is really good. Being weak to ground hurts
Tentacruel ->B Spin is cool but... Its just so frail lol feels like every game I see it its at half by turn like 5 or 6
Tornadus -> B+ Really unexplored mon rn. Hits hard, can pivot, has a great offensive movepool and tailwind is a nice tech for it
Torterra -> B or B- Hype died down a good while ago
Uxie -> B+ Can stay B+. Encore and Subs are both great tools and no-steel move zong is food for it

B

Avalugg -> A Wont really say much because every other entry in this post is just "this drops because lugg is good" lol
Dragalge -> B- re: typh
Florges -> B CM is nice, and can do some funky trick scarf stuff. Not as physically bulky as other things, and overall its a tad worse compared to Sylv evne if it has some other tools at its disposal
Galvantula -> B- Webs is cool but I havent seen this thing outside low ladder in ages
Goodra -> B- Doesnt hit hard enough, and the tier being very physically inclined does this thing no favors either
Grafaiai -> B- Terrain isnt as good rn without the elec bird but this thing is still one of the best options for it
Heracross -> B- I really dont like hera tbh, although it might be a bit better now because Shao checks tend to lose to this? idk I just dislike this mon
Kingdra -> B- Meh rain isnt that good rn and even then it never really did much
Ludicolo -> B Forces tera on Vap / Gastro and Encore is nice
Meloetta -> B Specs and SubCM are cool, but might be hard to justify over PZ in some teams
Orthworm -> C+ We know how to play around Flygon now, and the specially defensive profile on the other steels is way better
Raikou -> B+ Pivot is really good and faster than most the tier
Rotom-Heat -> B I like it. Can counter Gon easily with tera fairy and spreading wow is broken
Scrafty -> B+ The introduction of another fairy really does this no favor, but it also doesnt care about Amoonguss and lugg so it plus out in the end
Scream Tail -> A One of the reasons why HO is even good rn
Thwackey -> B- or C+ re: Graf except Thwackey sucks as a mon

B-

Abomasnow -> C+ 9t is better for snow due to Encore + Roar
Bellibolt ->B- Cool Shao tech but it doesnt do much otherwise lol
Cetitan -> A- The biggest reason why lugg is back rn, and even then it can still muscle past it with teras and Superpower. Its the mon I personally want to be looked at after this suspect
Ditto -> A- It lowkey feels mandatory in some builds
Drednaw -> C+ Not even roro could make it work
Dudunsparce -> B- Ghost immune rocker with recovery and can spread para
Hitmonlee -> C+ re: Graf and Thwackey, except that Amoonguss is even worse for it
Indeedee-M -> C+ Why was it even here in the first place
Infernape -> B I rate this super high. Great offensive movepool, one of the few fighters that doesnt care about terad waters, and has a surprise factor due to physical and special both being viable
Oricorio-Sensu -> B- I dont hype it much but its decent enough to make its way to the B ranks
Palossand -> B- Cool croak check ig?
Sandslash-Alola -> B+ Snow is broken and it can help weaken stuff for Cetitan
Staraptor -> B- Hits hard but then dies right after lol
Tsareena -> B Cool removal and less passive than bramble, but still not that god
Whimsicott -> B- Would usually drop this but Encore is cool into Snow given how Cetitan often only gets one shot at sweeping
Wo-Chien -> C+ Only slice uses it and it still lost

C Rank

C Rank

Bombirdier -> B- Being on a team with danny means you instantly starts hyping this up. Knock + pivot + prio is nice
Duraludon -> C I dont see much the appeal of this? BUt decent enough to stay ranked
Espeon -> C We know how to play around Zong now
Houndstone -> C Unfortunately elias has been winning with this so it gotta stay ranked
Minior -> C Nice option for HO
Pawmot -> B- Non-Revival is actually REALLY good. 4a can break through a lot of squads
Rotom-Mow -> C I dont see much the appeal of this? But decent enough to stay ranked I suppose
Salazzle -> B- Tox OHKOs half the tier, and Knock is great. Also faster than 9t is nice
Sandaconda -> UR Meh, no reason to ever run this. Coil was cool but now with Amoonguss 9t and all that it just doesnt make much sense
Sceptile -> UR re: The terrain stuff, except it was the worst one already
Scovillain -> C I dont really agree with dropping this. Sun is still a nice pick into teams not running tera dragon walls
Venusaur -> C re: above

UR

Torkoal -> UR Only adding this because I know some people would tag me if I didnt

 

[Phantomistix]

Smaller slate to give a preliminary ranking of the new toys as well as to vote on any noms made by you guys while we wait for the result of the Mienshao suspect test. Expect a full VR slate after the conclusion of the suspect test. As always, you can find the voting slate here.

New Additions

Ninetales-Alola -> A Great supportive option on teams with utility from Snow to give defense boosts to itself and other Ice types, as well as great options like Aurora Veil and a very fast Encore. More offensive sets like Choice Specs and NP with Tera Blast Ground have also seen use with good success. A9 is a great addition to more standard teams as well as to the niche Snow Archetype that struggled to establish itself with only Abomasnow as a setter.
Amoonguss -> A- Despite dropping alongside the later mentioned Ninetales-Alola into a very snowy tier, Amoonguss has established itself as a premier defensive grass type/fight resist over competition like Vileplume. It has better defensive stats than Vileplume, allowing it to tank moves like Mienshao's Ice Spinner better and has access to Regenerator, which is often a much better recovery option than Strength Sap in a fast paced meta.
Torkoal -> UR Get ready to learn PUese, buddy.

Altaria UR -> B Not the Step-Father, but the father that stepped up. In a tier starved for removal options and fight resists, Altaria provides good utility with its solid bulk and decent typing. It has a good amount of supportive tools, with trapping being a great option to consider as a lure. It can also act as a status absorber with its ability Natural Cure.
Porygon2 UR -> B P2 is so fat, it takes selfies in panorama mode. Great movepool with plenty of supportive options and coverage and great bulk on both sides allows it to be a very flexible tank that can fit most teams. Trace helps it stand out as it trace Flygon's Levitate, Chandelure's Flash Fire, and other abilities like Water/Volt Absorb, Regenerator, Toxic Chain, Pressure, Prankster, Intimidate and plenty more useful abilities.

Braviary-Hisui UR -> B- It does DAMAGE. Still a less popular option due to its lacking speed and bad defensive typing.
Naclstack UR -> B- Another bulky NFE, although this one is much more one-dimensional. Salt Cure allows consistent damage and the immunity to status is very nice to have. Also a very good answer to popular threats like Chandelure and Typhlosion-Hisui.
Oricorio-Sensu UR -> B- A wise man once said "Where there is an Oricorio, there is a chance". It's weaker initial typing than Pom-pom hinders it defensively.

Coalossal UR -> C I think you can tell we really are struggling for removal :sob:. Does give some solid utility with Flame Body making it a very solid uturn punish, as well as being able to flex both rocks and spikes.
Drifblim UR -> C Niche option on terrain HO, hindered by how weak terrain HO is right now overall.
Grimmsnarl UR -> C Strong attacker with utility from prankster PShot and Trick. BU sets can catch people off guard.

Rises

Toxtricity A- -> A Provides better utility to non-HO builds than PZ with Volt-Switch and a much better defensive profile.
Klefki B+ -> A Surged in usage as the only steel that has access to Spikes in a meta lacking removal. Magician sets have also seen exploration as a great way to punish Knock-Off.
Avalugg B -> A Huge jump for everyone's favorite table with the arrival of A9. Can take some of the strongest physical attacks well under snow and its' rapid spin is tough to block without knowing exactly what coverage it's packing.

Scream Tail B -> A- One of the few true consistent Mienshao answers although it does suffer from being very passive on defensive sets. Offensive CM sets have also seen a surge in popularity on both HO and more standard balance builds.
Cetitan B- -> A- Was always a threat that was hindered by how weak Abomasnow was. Now that we have an actual setter, Cetitan can shine much brighter.

Sandslash-Alola B- -> B Also enjoying A9 dropping in the tier, not quite as big a threat as Cetitan is.

Drops

Kilowattrel A+ -> A Slight drop off as people start to respect it more when building, giving it a harder time picking apart teams as it once did. Rain has also dropped off in usage, and Kilowattrel was a great abuser.
Toxicroak A+ -> A Another slight drop as more people are taking it into account when building, with the mons it used to abuse like Vaporeon teching around it, and other teams dropping Vaporeon and Milotic for Gastrodon, which does much better into Croak.

Overqwil A+ -> B+ Very overrated when it first dropped. Never established itself as a top threat, whether that be on rain or outside it. Other spikers are much more popular.
Breloom A -> B+ This guy just fell off the face of the earth ngl. Suffers a lot from the hazard heavy meta, and doesn't like either of the 2 new drops being in the tier.
Bramleghast A- -> B+ No removal teams are much more common now, competition from Amoonguss also hurts it.

Vileplume A -> B Amoonguss has taken over it's role. Struggles a lot in a hazard heavy meta and doesn't actually tank hits that well after a round of rocks and spikes. Breloom falling off and snow's rise hurt it a lot too.

Indeedee B- -> C PTerrain is much less popular now with other HO options replacing it.

 

[poh]

 

[Stories]

soon tm

 

[Stories]

-> (at least B- tier)
If Exploud and Staraptor had a weirdly horrific lovechild it would be this guy.

Clicking a single move indiscriminately in part due to Scrappy? yes
Bird? yes

With the departure of Mienshao, Flamigo serves a nice niche as a Fighting-type wallbreaker and Choice Scarf user. This is mostly because Flamigo deters common Fighting resists like Amoonguss and Sylveon with its STAB Brave Bird, but even Tera CC cleaves through neutral physical walls Houndstone and Vaporeon. Scrappy means Ghost-types can't pivot in to reduce Flamigo's impact, and even Intimidate is quite relevant in the context of the NU metagame with top tier staples like Tauros-P and Incineroar on almost every team.

Of course Flamigo has U-turn for further pivoting and other cute techs like Copycat and Feint but the real boon of this Pokemon is the spammability of its STAB moves alongside solid speed and an ok defensive typing / bulk.

252 Atk Choice Band Tera Fighting Flamigo Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowbro-Galar: 201-237 (51 - 60.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Choice Band Tera Fighting Flamigo Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 212+ Def Sylveon: 265-313 (67.2 - 79.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Choice Band Tera Fighting Flamigo Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Vaporeon: 354-418 (76.2 - 90%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Choice Band Tera Fighting Flamigo Close Combat vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Toxicroak: 254-299 (82.7 - 97.3%) -- 25% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
252 Atk Choice Band Tera Fighting Flamigo Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Basculegion: 510-602 (114.8 - 135.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Admittedly posting calcs is a bit useless because this Pokemon 2HKO's the entire tier with its STABs

 

[Rabia]

Since Mienshao is gone, a few Pokemon have risen as options to replace it in the role of Fighting-type pivot.

I agree that Flamigo should be ranked, but I'd actually go higher up to B+. Flamigo is weirdly comparable to Mienshao in that its quite hazard resistant. You don't care about Spikes at all, and although Brave Bird recoil + Stealth Rock + Rocky Helmet can rack up damage over time, it's pretty tenable and you can even run Roost on Flamigo to offset this damage. Naturally, Flamigo also enjoys Amoonguss being pretty common right now too as a common physical wall.

I'm pretty consistently on the "fuck this useless Pokemon" train with Infernape, but it's at least marginally improved in recent times. Being faster than Munkidori is a cool benefit it has over Mienshao, and that includes if you're running a set like Choice Specs. Frankly, Choice Specs is the only set I've vibed with for awhile now (Choice Scarf sucks less now tho), and with Gastrodon being so common, the set is just even better. It even has some nice fourth slot options like Vacuum Wave for Cetitan and Flygon and Switcheroo for bothering fat Pokemon of whatever kind. I think a rise to at least B would be fine.

For the uninitiated, a VR slate vote is currently underway, so there are some other gremlins and goblins that I have voted to rise on the VR too. A few noteworthy ones for me were:
-> A+ it defines basically every hyper offense structure that isn't rain or sun (or I guess Trick Room). Very stupidly good form of offensive hazard removal.
-> A+ the opposite of Cinccino in that it's an amazingly good defensive hazard remover. Walls every physical attacker ever by Terastallizing.
-> A+ Substitute sets are cheating. Good defensive value with its typing alone.