Other ORAS OU Viability Ranking Thread - Check post #2359

[z0mOG]

Nominating Lanturn for C+/B-:
It serves as a perfect counter for Mega Manectric, Magnezone, and Rotom-W. It also serves as a check to Pinsir-Mega, Talonflame, and Thundurus. It can almost always get momentum with volt switch (ground types) and can avoid being toxic stalled with Heal Bell. Lastly, it has Thunder Wave to keep it useful as support. It should remain ranked low however, due to it's subpar stats and inability to heal.

 

[Arcanine is Regal]

I'm on my phone right now so this'll be short, I'll expand later. But I've used diancie and it is pretty damn frail, not to mention it takes about 43%from stoss, which is just too much. That being said if you pair it up with gothitelle, you will never lose to stall. But yeah I just wanted to say that diancie is pretty frail, and on its pre mevo turn it has its awful speed and the awful defense. So it's not quite as good in practice, as it is on paper. However, it's still definitely an a-a+ mon.

 

[naturalstupidity]

My opinions on a few of the A- Pokemon that haven't been talked about:

--> B+

Kyu-B isn't nearly as good as it once was. The Sub set is still a good wallbreaker, but its now even more middling Speed hinders it against the ubiquitous offensive teams on the ladder. Scarf is OK, but the increasing usage of Scarfed Keldeo, Latios, and even Hydreigon means that it will still be frequently outsped. AV lost its main niche of countering Greninja thanks to Low Kick. It's still good, but not on the level of things like Diggersby and Mega Sceptile.

--> A/A+

Magnezone is on 9/10 offensive teams these days, and it's not hard to see why. Trappers have just become so much better in ORAS, and Magnezone is the best. It pairs well with almost all of the new Megas and supports them all very well, while providing offensive presence and a momentum grabber. This thing's influence is so profound that it's forcing every Steel type not named Excadrill or Heatran to run a subpar item to avoid being trapped by it. Magnezone is a boss.

--> A

Mega Swampert made rain so much better. The almost non-existance of Mega Charizard Y also helps rain out a lot. Though Politoed sucks as a Pokemon, it is the only reason that rain as a playstyle can exist. Since rain is definitely an A-rank playstyle in this speed-centric metagame, it's only logical that Politoed be ranked A too.

--> B+/B

Mega Ttar is pretty bad, sadly. It faces competition from Mega Mence and even Mega Altaria as a DDer, and the omnipresence of Scarf Landorus-T hurts it more than most. Mega Ttar was already on the decline in XY, and the influx of excellent new Megas gives it a lot of competition. Mega Gallade and Mega Lopunny are also everywhere to prey on its crippling 4x Fighting weakness.

Everything else in A- has been talked about already (Mega Sable) or I feel should stay in A- (Diggersby, Jirachi, Mega Sceptile).

 

[trikx_insane]

you know standard mega sableye stall builds? cm mega diancie eats those alive. here's the set:

Diancie @ Diancite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Calm Mind
- Moonblast
- Earth Power
- Psyshock

fairy+ground is great coverage, resisted only by talonflame. psyshock allows it to hit talonflame and chansey, who can only seismic toss diancie. so that leaves the only stops to this set unaware clefable with sdef investment, and sdef jirachi, which dies to a little bit of prior damage. and as sableye gives stall control, diancie takes it away. you cant taunt it to keep it from setting up. you cant toxic it to whittle it down. you cant burn it to whittle it down. you cant phaze it to force it out. and worst of all for stall, it isnt frail to the point where it is 2hkod. 50/110/110 is admirable for an offensively based mon. this set, in conjunction with rock polish, push it to a+ imo.

50/110/110 seems cool at first for an offensive mon. but with a terrible typing, and no investment in defenses, it really isn't all that appealing and is pretty frail. It barely resists any hits at all .

edit; not to mention base 50 hp suckz lol.

 

[Ptyra]

reasoning please? You've put a lot of rank changes there that haven't even been considered yet, such as Terrakion and Jirachi.

There are too many Pokemon, I haven't the time to make a reasoning for all of them (and I don't speak English very well, I'm french).

Terrakion is victim of speed creeping, and he has a lot of new checks like Mega Metagross, Mega-Diancie, Mega Gallade, Mega-Tenefix...
Jirachi is good in the current meta, it beats stuff like Mega Diancie. However, not sure it should go to A, it is more A- rank material.


These are just suggestions.

 

[Celticpride]

Mega Heracross-> A-
Mega Heracross actually plays well against new stall, because it's Sub set handles Mega Eye very well. It's also one of the small handful of things that can 2HKO Mega Slowbro unnboosted. It has gotten worse with the faster threats around, but SubCross still handles stall well and maintains decent utility against offense. Anything lower than A- is too low for it imo. Calcs:

252 Atk Mega Heracross Pin Missile (5 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Sableye: 165-200 (54.2 - 65.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Mega Heracross Pin Missile (5 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowbro: 250-310 (63.4 - 78.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

Also, napty, Landorus-T isn't as huge a threat to Mega Heracross as one thinks, because even at -1 Hera hits hard and Lando-T can't do that much in return. It can also set up SD on Lando. The ladder is filled with new toy syndrome atm, so not seeing an old Mega isn't grounds for dropping something.

Mega Manectric-> A+
In the age of Mega Mence, Manectric is a great. It also still stands out as a great revenge-killer, with Greninja, Thundy-I, and Talonflame being notable targets. Where it really shines is in checking mono-attacking Mega Mence. Earthquake is a threat to it, but not many people are running it to my knowledge. It's one of the few even remotely anti-Mence things HO can run without turning into forced balence.

Mega Gyarados-> A+
STAB Crunch is awesome. It almost matches Ice Fang damage on Mega Venu, and Dark overall is a very spammable type. Water and Dark is pretty strong coverage, and Earthquake smacks basically everything that resists the STAB combo (Mega Alt, Keldeo, Azu) pretty hard. The only thing that truely walls it by typing that has the bulk to back it up is Chesnaught. Not to mention that 2 attacks+DD+Taunt/Sub sets have gotten better because EQ is a worse pairing for Waterfall than Crunch.

Mega Lopunny-> A+
Others have already said it, but Lopunny's godly on HO teams. Unresisted STAB and insane versatility are it's two biggest highlights. The thing I like most about it is its fast Heal Bell. In order to fit a cleric, most of the time offensive teams have to resort to less than optimal options or forgo coverage to fit on Heal Bell. Lopunny is the perfect solution to that issue, and healing itself of status is also a very big advantage to Heal Bell. It's also got other good support options like Healing Wish, Baton Pass and Substitute.

Mega Aero-> A
Very versatile, and an awesome revenge killer. Tough Claws give it's weaker moves some extra omph, and it has a ton of decently powered offensive options. Hone Claws is a great move for it, because even if an Intimidater comes in on it Stone Edge gets 100% accuracy. Taunt and Roost also give it good stallbreaking potential and self -recovery.

Gliscor should also drop, the meta is really overprepared for it at this point. Almost every physical attacker that can seems to run Ice Punch for coverage, and HP Ice is also a very common option on special attackers. The rise of Lando-T hurts a lot, because the meta preparing for Lando also means more prep for Gliscor.

I'm also not sure about Diancie going up. 4 attack sets actually have some decent counters, and the coverage it drops to run RP or CM opens up more checks to it. I've seen a few people say so far of really doesn't have a ton of checks or counters, but there's a decent number of there. If you don't run HP Fire, which most RP and CM sets don't, it opens you up to a lot of Steel types coming in on you. If you drop Earth Power, Psyshock or Diamond Storm instead you open yourself up to other things that can check you. I've used it a lot and could really go either way, but there are more solid answers out there that can easily take one or more of it's coverage moves and hit back.

 

[napty]

Celticpride, I use Landorus-T a lot, it's one of my fav. I know it can't do a shit to Mega Heracross. :] So what I usually do with Mega Heracross is just come in to get the Intimidate drop and tank the hit, and then tank an other hit and U-Turn to a check. That works too and that stops Heracross from being too much dangerous, so Lando-T is a is still a pain for the blue bug. Unless he has Sub but I've never seen a Sub Heracross

 

[AM]

Diancie is fine where it's at honestly. It's not exactly some overwhelming crazy powerful mon and I don't see it as threatening as those in the A+ ranked category if we look at something like M-Gallade for example. An increase of sash Mamoswine on offensive teams, Greninja, Lando-T, M-Gross and so forth can give M-Diancie trouble. The only way it bypasses some of these like Greninja for example is through its Rock Polish Set, which needs enough team support to successfully pull this set off well so there's that. Its coverage is pretty nice but most times doesn't have the power output to break past strong stall and more bulkier builds without its Calm Mind Set, prone to offensive teams in general now. Overall a cool mon but its typing is not the most fantastic of things and if it were XY it would be an A+ candidate for sure. Until its pros can actually shine well it's perfectly fine in A.

M-Gyarados needs to move up because it's not only awesome now with Crunch, but Taunt M-Gyara shuts down one of the cornerstones of stall which is M-Sableye while being able to beat M-Bro with Sub Ddance (no burns please). Jolly variants have seen an increase in usage to mitigate its issues with offense and the speed increase of said offensive mons and overall the tools it has are much more relevant due to metagame trends.

Although this seems like it won't be the most permanent of stays I feel M-Sableye for now should be S cause its a fantastic spin blocker and provides great fantastic defensive synergy for stall teams among every single other trait others have described better than I would.

 

[TaBuu]

Nominating Mega Aerodactyl from A Rank to A+ Rank
​

mega aerodactyl puts in work against all kinds of offensive teams thanks to its stellar 150 base speed and 135 base attack which gets a further boost (for certain moves) from tough claws. stab stone edge and aerial ace provides solid coverage while mega aerodactyl has other useful coverage moves as well, such as earthquake and ice fang. rock and flying provides surprisingly good defensive synergy as mega aerodactyl resists fire, flying, bug and poison and has ground immunity. but the real icing on the cake is how many offensive threats mega aerodactyl is capable of checking. mega salamence, mega lopunny, keldeo, mega charizard x, latios, mega gallade, garchomp, talonflame and the list goes on. given oras' current metagame state, i'm hard-pressed to find another mega pokemon that can check as many pokemon as mega aerodactyl can, effectively. mega aerodactyl also has access to stall-breaking sets with taunt & roost and a set up move in hone claws. but in all honesty, those sets pale in comparison to offensive mega aerodactyl as offensive mega aerodactyl is the only set that should be effectively ran in the meta atm.

 

[Machi]

There are definitely more Pokemon able to counter Mega Diancie than those you mentioned. Specially defensive Celebi, Mega Venusaur, Alomomola, SR Clefable, Mega Scizor, and SpD Jirachi are some other common Pokemon that can counter Mega Diancie without HP Fire. Also, you can't deny that Diancie's typing leaves vulnerable to all sorts of dangerous Pokemon, which means that most faster Pokemon will be able to OHKO it, not to mention priority users such as Azumarill and Mega Scizor. Don't feel like writing much, but imo Mega Diancie shouldn't be any higher than A rank, it has too many weaknesses and is not hard enough to switch into to be in A+.

I don't really mention things like Celebi/Venusaur because they take a heft from Diamond Storm even without any EV investments (and I usually invest in attack around 88-100 but I am not sure what would be the norm so I will just play safe and say 0 for now unless someone has a more optimal EV spread in mind):
0 Atk Diancie Diamond Storm vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Celebi: 162-192 (40 - 47.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

Assuming in MEVO form already, if not well MVenus becomes even shakier taking damage in base form.
0 Atk Diancie Diamond Storm vs. 232 HP / 0 Def Mega Venusaur: 136-162 (37.8 - 45.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
0 Atk Diancie Diamond Storm vs. 252 HP / 240+ Def Mega Venusaur: 102-121 (28 - 33.2%) -- guaranteed 4HKO

As for Clef:
0 Atk Diancie Diamond Storm vs. 252 HP / 160 Def Clefable: 172-204 (43.6 - 51.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

As for Scizor it is also around that range, granted this is handy in forcing him to roost or out right attack giving you the chance to switch Rotom-W in safely.
0 Atk Diancie Diamond Storm vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Scizor: 118-139 (34.4 - 40.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO (You're obviously going to hit him on the switch regardless of HP fire)
0 Atk Diancie Diamond Storm vs. 248 HP / 116 Def Mega Scizor: 111-132 (32.3 - 38.4%) -- 97.7% chance to 3HKO

As for Alo:
0 SpA Alomomola Scald vs. 0 HP / 0- SpD Diancie: 86-104 (35.6 - 43.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
160 SpA Diancie Moonblast vs. 104 HP / 156 SpD Alomomola: 171-202 (34.4 - 40.6%) -- 51.8% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
Can't say Alo is that threatening given the very weak scalds, with a chance drop from Moonblast:
-1 0 SpA Alomomola Scald vs. 0 HP / 0- SpD Diancie: 60-72 (24.8 - 29.8%) -- 99.9% chance to 4HKO
I wouldn't say switching in is all that easy because of that -1 SpA from Moonblast (which is what you'll be likely spamming). Though Alo is pretty passive for most part so not the hardest thing to take advantage of.

As for priority users like Azu or Craw as I mentioned they are able to check Diancie provided that she hasn't gained any +1 boosts otherwise their CB/LO AJ becomes a 2HKO, from an OHKO.
252+ Atk Life Orb Adaptability Crawdaunt Aqua Jet vs. +1 0 HP / 0 Def Diancie: 146-177 (60.5 - 73.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Huge Power Azumarill Aqua Jet vs. +1 0 HP / 0 Def Diancie: 150-176 (62.2 - 73%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Which can make playing around her bit more annoying.

She is still deathly allergic to any steel type attacks, even from non STAB users are enough to OHKO her regardless. That said I don't feel it all that difficult to play around her weaknesses and I don't feel she is any easier to switch into.

 

[Flamer]

Time for a revised nomination

+

Mega-Sableye to A+
This thing always makes me shit my pants when I see it. The CM set absolutely demolishes offensive teams thanks to priority wisp stopping would-be checks seeking to target it's unboosted physical side. It's also an amazing spinblocker for Stall, who have adapted well to the new meta, might as well quote Jukain here as he knows far more about it than I do about this monster.

Wanted to bring up this lord.

Sableye @ Sableite
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Will-O-Wisp
- Calm Mind
- Shadow Ball
- Recover

Recently I've been experimenting with a bunch of different things, some good and some bad, and Mega Sableye is definitely one of those good things. CM Wisp Mega Sableye just straight up takes souls. Unfortunately I don't have any replays of any really recent version of my Mega Sableye stall, but it puts in work. The thing Mega Sableye does is offer stall teams pressure, flexibility, and control of the hazard game. Mega Sableye beats pretty much all of the tier's Stealth Rock users besides SR Landorus-I, which is rare anyways, and Heatran, which can be dealt with by Tentacruel (an excellent partner for synergetic reasons, mostly taking on Fairies). I'm talking things like Mamoswine, Garchomp, Terrakion, Ferrothorn, Landorus-T, Tyranitar, Jirachi, Chansey, etc., all these common SR setters. It also means that it's difficult to pressure stall with something like Spikes Ferrothorn, as Sableye just comes in for free. It also spinblocks, which is pretty big for maintaining your own hazards in terms of the sand matchup.

Besides controlling the hazard game when Mega Evolved, Mega Sableye can also put in a lot of work as just normal Sableye, spreading Prankster Will-O-Wisp and in many cases just outright demolishing offensive and balanced teams. And that's another place Mega Sableye shines: sweeping. Usually, against more offensive teams, you don't evolve it right off the bat and instead run around spreading Will-O-Wisps and maybe firing off a Shadow Ball or too, applying pressure to the opposing team and weakening down threats to the point where all of Mega Sableye's answers are worn out by late-game. On my team I pair this with a full array of hazards to amplify this pressure and really allow Mega Sableye to shine. Once this pressure has taken its toll, you can Mega Evolve Sableye, potentially, and set up to sweep. Sometimes, this can even be done early-game, as a huge amount of teams don't really account for Mega Sableye (particularly on the offensive end of the spectrum, as high physical bulk + Wisp and respectable special bulk + CM boosts combined can make it really hard to break.

calcs to give you an idea of its bulk

252 Atk Adaptability Mega Beedrill U-turn vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Sableye: 106-126 (34.8 - 41.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock
252 Atk Landorus-T Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Sableye: 109-130 (35.8 - 42.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock
244 Atk Life Orb Mamoswine Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Sableye: 133-156 (43.7 - 51.3%) -- 5.9% chance to 2HKO
252 Atk Tough Claws Metagross Meteor Mash vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Sableye: 132-156 (43.4 - 51.3%) -- 4.7% chance to 2HKO
252 SpA Life Orb Greninja Hydro Pump vs. +1 252 HP / 4 SpD Sableye: 118-140 (38.8 - 46%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252 SpA Mega Sceptile Leaf Storm vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Sableye: 204-241 (67.1 - 79.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 SpA Clefable Moonblast vs. +1 252 HP / 4 SpD Sableye: 116-140 (38.1 - 46%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Keldeo Hydro Pump vs. +1 252 HP / 4 SpD Sableye: 159-187 (52.3 - 61.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Keldeo Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Sableye: 159-187 (52.3 - 61.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Life Orb Gengar Shadow Ball vs. +1 252 HP / 4 SpD Sableye: 101-121 (33.2 - 39.8%) -- 100% chance to 3HKO
252 SpA Life Orb Latios Draco Meteor vs. +1 252 HP / 4 SpD Sableye: 165-195 (54.2 - 64.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Mega Sableye is benefitting from a few metagame trends at the moment as well. Mega Charizard X is currently pretty uncommon, as it to be expected with of course Mega Salamence, but also Mega Altaria, which I consider better than it on the whole for sure. Also, Clefable is being used significantly less with its inability to counter Greninja, and even then non-CM variants lose to Mega Sableye if they switch into Calm Mind or even 1v1 if Sableye hasn't evolved yet (far from uncommon).

So yeah, Mega Sableye is really good. It completely and utterly rips apart so many teams atm. I'd post replays, but I really don't save them so I don't have any good ones around. However, I've seen marked success with it dismantling ridiculous offensive and defensive cores alike in this metagame.

As it stands, until the meta dies down and people start using mons like CharX to beat, Sableye has a field day with unprepared teams, which there are a lot of so I feel A is a better fit compared to A-. Even in a more adapted meta, Sableye would still be a really good mon and a huge threat.

UPDATE: Originally, I was happy with A for Sableye but having used it more, I can definately say this thing is A+ without a doubt. It fills so many roles for Stall that not many can, Unrivaled hazard control, win con, priority burn and stops many of the new offensive megas cold in their tracks. It has its issues as well, namely having difficulty in setting up on teams with special attackers such as Keldeo, Ninja or Clefable however with the trend of physical mons that M-eye outright sets up on, it is clearly worthy of A+.

EDIT: Having played with Mega Diancie I can safely say it's a solid A threat, it doesnt find as many opportunities to actually do anything, whether it be set up or switch in and it has a much larger range of counters than what you guys are saying. It's basically an offensive but less effective version of Sableye so iid keep it at A+

 

[napty]

Charizard X is a pain for the Calm Mind set, but even then, Mega Sableye can run Foul Play over Calm Mind (as well as Knock Off over Dark Pulse), which is less funny for Charizard X.

But either way, look at dis, look at how Mega Sableye needs almost no support: something that can deal with Clefable, and something that can deal with Char X. That's all he needs to work, once they are removed he can sweep all day... definitely a S-Ranked Pokemon.

 

[UnicornDemon2]

Mega Sableye for S-Tier!

Another thing that makes this Pokemon sooo good is it's singular fairy weakness. Unlike Ferro or Heatran it doesn't have a glaring 4x weakness, so it doesn't have to worry about lures and can switch into most of the Pokemon it checks or counters safely. Fairy type moves are uncommon outside of STAB. There is no hidden power fairy. You might see dazzling gleam on like, Mega-Alakazam. Starmie could run dazzling gleam, but that would be an incredibly niche lure. And... that's it. Pokemon like Ferro have to worry about random Superpowers from Azumarill. Sableye doesn't.

 

[Reverb]

I definitely see Terrakion as A- rather than A. While it is by no means a bad Pokemon, ORAS has introduced several new threats that reduce its viability. Terrakion is primarily used as either an SR Pokemon or a sweeper. In the first case, the introduction of Mega Sableye renders this set less effective, as Magic Bounce will simply Reflect Stealth Rock and Taunt; at the same time, Terrakion cannot kill Mega Sableye barring some extraordinary luck. In the latter case, Terrakion as a sweeper is far less potent compared to XY OU. Among the popular new Megas are Sceptile-M, Salamence-M, Gallade-M, Diancie-M, Metagross-M, etc. All these Pokemon out-speed and OHKO Terrakion (barring Salamence-M, which comes close to OHKOing). Whereas before Terrakion's excellent Speed and Attack gave it an edge, now, there are simply too many powerful and fast Pokemon. Consequently, Terrakion's sweeping potential is diminished.

 

[Kyuzeth]

It's honestly beyond me why Landorus-T hasn't gone up to S-Rank, while Mega Charizard X stays in S when it's very clearly A+. Done talking about them now, so let's just move on to the A and A- changes.

Mega Sableye should definitely rise all the way to S. It's the best Mega for Stall teams because of Magic Bounce, its Dark/Ghost-type only giving it one weakness (two if it's Mega Lopunny), its wonderful defensive movepool and its ability to play mindgames by timing its Mega Evolution. It's also the safest Mega Gallade counter available in OU, since nothing hits it SE and it can burn Mega Gallade, rendering it useless. I wouldn't mind it moving up to S, just because of how scary it is on and against Stall teams.

Mega Manectric deserves to rise up to A+. The metagame is definitely in its favor, as it can use its blistering 135 Speed in conjunction with Intimidate and Volt Switch to nerf the many physical attackers that are running rampant at the moment, while preserving momentum and punching holes in opponents' teams. Its main partner, Landorus-T, has improved as well in the current metagame and the dual-Intimidate combination is more lethal than ever before. Let's not forget Mega Manectric's 135 Special Attack stat, which, while not THAT much in comparison to some of the new Megas, is still as good as ever and its wide Electric/Fire/Ice coverage allows it to hit a large array of targets for SE damage, notably Mega Metagross (Flamethrower/Overheat) and Mega Slowbro (Thunderbolt/Volt Switch). What's worth noting as well is that Mega Manectric has a really good 1v1 matchup against Mega Salamence, 2HKOing most variants with HP Ice and nerfing its Attack with Intimidate. Some of its main checks, including Mega Charizard X and Tyranitar, have become a lot less frequent with the metagame shifts, allowing Mega Manectric to blast its Thunderbolts and Flamethrowers with much greater ease (though Mega Altaria is a problem). Lastly, since Thundurus-I and its Thunder Wave spam have risen in usage, regular Manectric can come in, get a Lightning Rod boost and turn into a frightening sweeper, but it's common knowledge that this is a tricky strategy. All in all, things are looking good for Mega Manectric and it should definitely rise to A+.

Mega Gyarados should rise back to A+, since the ORAS changes have been extremely beneficial for it. Crunch is a fantastic STAB that has great neutral coverage with Waterfall and allows the serpent to strike Psychic-types supereffectively, meaning it's no longer walled by the likes of Slowbro and Mew. Mold Breaker is a fantastic Ability in the current metagame, as it allows Mega Gyarados to Taunt Mega Sableye past Magic Bounce and strike Mega Slowbro with the occasional crit, which is really useful considering Megabro's gargantuan Defense. It still has great 95/109/130 bulk coupled with Intimidate, allowing it to easily get a DD in. Mega Gyarados has definitely become more solid in ORAS, so I say it deserves its spot in A+.

Mega Aerodactyl has increased in effectiveness as well. It's capable of checking the large slew of fast sweepers in OU, most notably Mega Gallade, Mega Lopunny and Mega Salamence; the former two are slain by Aerial Ace, the latter is dealt with using Ice Fang. In fact, mono-Flying Mega Salamence will be hard-pressed to beat a properly-invested Mega Aerodactyl. It's got the coverage, power and Speed to deal with a large variety of threatening Pokémon in OU and therefore deserves to rise to at least A, if not A+.

Dragonite has been having a tough time keeping up in the new metagame. The Choice Band set is the only thing it really has going for it at the moment and that's still easily dealt with by the new threats that have risen. As a Dragon Dancer, it's entirely outperformed by Mega Salamence and Mega Altaria; the latter happens to be one of Dragonite's biggest checks/counters, as a CB Earthquake usually fails to 2HKO, while Dragonite is 2HKOed/OHKOed in return by, well, Return or Hyper Voice. Its 80 Speed is suboptimal as well and at +1, Dragonite still can't keep up with a large slew of Pokémon. Extreme Speed remedies this issue by hitting fast, physically frail Pokémon hard, but generally Dragonite just doesn't do too well at the moment and should drop to A- or even B+.

Mega Medicham has been suffering from a major case of unfavorable metagame shifts. Literally all it has over Mega Gallade are more raw power and Fake Out to assure a safe Mega Evolution, but that aside, its 100 Speed has become a lot less impressive and its 60/80/80 bulk is kind of meager compared to Mega Gallade's 68/95/115. On top of that, it doesn't have the same awesome coverage as Mega Gallade, HJK is a much riskier STAB and it's walled to no end by Mega Slowbro, even with Thunder Punch. It just doesn't have much of a place in the current meta, so drop it to B.

Magnezone has definitely made its mark in ORAS OU. It's one of the very best partners to Mega Salamence, getting rid of Fairy- and Steel-types that pester the Mega dragon. Its Electric/Steel-type gives it a lot of defensive merit, not only giving it a sizeable amount of switch-ins, but additionally making it a great partner for many top-tier Pokémon that appreciate Steel-types gone from the opposing team. Its 130 Special Attack lets it blast strong Thunderbolts and Flash Cannons, while its low 60 Speed gives it a slow Volt Switch that many new Megas appreciate, so that they can come in and Mega Evolve safely. Generally a really good Pokémon to go with at the moment, so A is a good rank for Magnezone right now.

Mega Latias. When one hears the name, Stored Power immediately comes to mind. Justifiedly so, since it's easily the best abuser of the move. Mega Latias gives Mega Slowbro some competition as the best Calm Minder in the tier, thanks to its great 80/120/150 defenses coupled with good 140 Special Attack and 110 Speed stats. It has such ease setting up two CMs and then plowing its way through teams with 100-BP Stored Powers, all the while preserving its HP with Roost and healing status with Refresh, should one opt to run that. It can even go with a variation on Stored Power by running a Hidden Power in the fourth slot or just go dual-STABs with Dragon Pulse and Stored Power. While it does require Dark-types to have fainted before it can go, once Mega Latias gets two CMs in, it's hard to stop and only fast, physical powerhouses will be getting the better of it. Definitely A+ material.

That's it for now, I may add more if anything comes to mind. Kyuzeth out.

 

[Flarowak]

Mega Altaria A to A+

I've been using the bulky dd set for Altaria, and it absolutely rules. It's typing makes it super easy to come in come in for setups, and it's Return hits really hard even at just +1. Facade could also be a great option for status users such as sableye to throw that prankster toxic/will-o-wisp in their own face. Give it a mon or two to deal with it's threats and it becomes really easy to setup and clean up shop.

Mega Slowbro A+

I've already made this argument once or twice and feel I've pretty much said it all for him, however I'll repost it if anyone wants to see.

 

[TheEnder]

Rises:

| A- → A+ or S |
Many other people have already suggested this change to happen, and I completely agree with them. Mega Sableye is, in my eyes, one of the sole reasons stall is viable in ORAS. It checks and counters so many physical attackers, such as Mega Gallade, Landorus-T, and even Mega Metagross. Magic Bounce allows it to singlehandedly have full hazard control once Mega Evolve'd, as it beats nearely every Stealth Rock and Spikes setter in the metagame. Most importantly though, Mega Sableye is a incredibly potent CM sweeper, as its immense bulk and access to healing and Will-O-Wisp lets it set up on the majority of the metagame. Some og the few things that are capable of beating Mega Sableye are Mega Charizard X, Unaware Clefable, and Mega Altaria, whereas the former two are pretty uncommon, and the latter being easily dealth with by most Steel-types. Mega Sableye is simply put incredibly dangerous, and if you come unprepared, there isn't really much you can do, just like the case was with Clefable when its CM set first became popular. All in all, defineately deserving of a rise, and imo deserving of S rank.

| A- → A or A+ |
In the current metagame, where everyone and their mother is abusing Mega Salamence before it gets banned, Mega Aerodactyl really shines. It is really anti-meta, just like Azumarill was early XY. Mega Aerodactyl is one of the better offensive checks to the aforementioned Mega Salamence, but also Mega Beedrill, which is otherwise pretty hard to keep in check. Mega Aerodactyl is also capable of revengekilling gaint threats such as Mega Gallade, Greninja, Mega Sceptile, and Mega Lopunny. Due to its decent offensive movepool, Mega Aerodactyl also has to option to run lesser used moves to take care of certain Pokemon for its team. For example, it can run Earthquake to hit Heatran and Magnezone, Aqua Tail to hit Terrakion, Tyranitar, and Excadrill, and Taunt to neuter Hippowdon and Clefable. To sum up, Mega Aerodactyl is better than ever, can is really hard to handle for more offensively oriented teams. Thus, I think it should rise to A ro A+.

| A → A+ |
Just like Mega Aerodactyl, Mamoswine is really anti-meta in the current metagame. Outside of Rotom-W, there isn't really a lot of Pokemon stopping it, with the exception of revengekillers. Due to its powerful Ice Shard, Mamoswine is capable of revengekilling Mega Salamence after just a bit of prior damage, which is quite the feat. Due to having access to Superpower and Knock Off, Mamoswine is also a great teammate for Pokemon that appreciate having Ferrothorn and Skarmory's Shed Shell removed. There isn't really a lot to say about Mamoswine, it just does what it has been doing in XY a bit better, as the metagame changes have been kind to it.

| A → A+ |
Against any balanced or stall team lacking Mega Sableye, Mega Latias is just crazy good. When invested in, its bulk is amazing, which allows to set up on nearly everything. Once it has a couple of Calm Minds under its belt, it is basically a wrap. The mono attacking Stored Power set running around isn't the only viable set either, as running Two Attacks + Calm Mind + Roost is an option, which lets it beat most Dark-types. Due to Mega Latias's wide set of resistances it is also a great switch-in to Rotom-W, Keldeo, Thundurus, Landorus, Mega Gallade, Mega Slowbro, and so on. The amount of Pokemon it is capable of checking defensively, while still having such a huge amount of offensive presence, is what makes Mega Latias such a great Pokemon. Not only does it wall the majority of the metagame, but it's also a great wincondition. As balanced teams realy suffer from being too passive when trying to keep a lot of Pokemon in check, there is no wonder Mega Latias shines the way it does, and all in all, I think it is deserving of rising to A+.

Drops:

| A → A- or B+ |
Mega Medicham, sadly, suffers from being outclassed by the newly introduced Mega Gallade. As Gallade has the same typing, better Speed, better bulk, and access to a boosting move in form of Swords Dance, Mega Medicham's raw power just isn't as good as it was in the XY metagame. The fact that many of the newly introduced Mega Evolutions have Speed tiers higher than Base 100 hasn't helped Mega Medicham's case, either. Mega Sableye fully counters it, so it isn't the force it once was against stall teams. In additon to this, Mega Salamence easily OHKOs it, while the likes of Mega Sceptile and Mega Beedrill outspeed it and do significant amounts of damage to it.

 

[heritage]

I need to make sure to comment earlier to I don't get ninja'd.
Rises:

Mega Altaria to A+: As many people have stated, Mega Altaria is a fantastic Mega. It has an amazing defensive and offensive typing with the bulk to back it up, a really cool movepool with nice support moves, and it's capable of preforming many roles, and when you see it in the team preview, you never know what you have to prepare for. It could be a Dragon Dancer, Special Attacker, Supportive Mega, and many more. With out a doubt, this is at least A+ material.

Mega Latias to S: Mega Latias is the bane to so many teams. Latias is easily one of the best Calm Minders in the tier. She screws over at least 3 / 4 the teams on the ladder, and she's so impossible to even check. As I've stated before:
"She's got fantastic bulk and isn't weak to Knock Off, unlike many other Calm Minders. She's certainly better than regular Latias, so I'm wondering why she's not the same tier." That's really all I have to say.

Mega Manectric to A+: Mega Manectric is a fantastic member of the Volt-Turn combo. With the rise of physical attackers in the tier, Volt-Turn has become even more viable. She's fast enough to out-pace most of the meta game, including non-Scarfed Greninja, which has become a huge threat. ORAS has been really friendly to Mega Man and Landorus (Why isn't he S rank yet lol), and she is certainly A+ material now, coming from a person who's using a Volt-Turn combo on the ORAS ladder.


Drops:

Dragonite to B+: I was a little bit ninja'd on this one, but I completely agree with the drop. Dragonite is now completely outclassed by Mega Salamence and Mega Altaria. There really is little reason to use him anymore. I honestly like the Para-Shuffler, but that single set isn't good enough to keep it in A.

Mega Medicham to B-: As people have stated before, Mega Medicham is nearly outclassed by Mega Gallade. The only thing it has over Gallade is immediate power, which doesn't mean anything when Gallade has SD, much more bulk, higher Speed and Close Combat over High Jump Kick.

 

[I AM THE JAMAICAN BOBSLED TEAM]

ayy can we rise our man mega gyarados up to a+?

it got crunch, but more importantly, it has mold breaker taunt. do you know the implications? you can taunt sableye and make setup out of it. this alone makes gyarados one of the best stallbreakers in OU, because water+dark coverage is godlike and mold breaker taunt allows it to muscle past sableye stall. while adamant isnt as viable in ORAS, jolly makes it an antimeta threat that can outspeed beedrill, manectric, lopunny, and sceptile after a dragon dance, which isnt too hard to find. it also happens to be able to set up on greninja, another big threat in the metagame. it also resists ice shard, which is in abundance nowadays. but really, all the possible ways you can use mega gyarados in 1 role is enough to make it a+.

 

[RichieTheBeldum]

My OPINION on A --- A- Changes.

A -----> A/A-

Im probably one of the only people who see this, but I think Mamoswine has gotten a little better and a little worse in the meta. Besides threatening MSceptile and MMence with Ice Shard, this thing can hurt many of the new megas with an EQ or a Stone Edge. This thing has an amazing move pool still, but lets be honest, unless he's at full health and sashed, he won't be taking out no megas with his speed tier. Although, it does take out a lot of popular threats in ORAS, like Magnezone and non Balloon Heatran, who have increased in usage as Cores. Still the pokemon it was in XY, but the meta favors and does not favor Mamoswine. Kinda torn on where to place this thing, cause its such a unique mon. Im going on and on with this, I know, but I think he lost his power in XY due to the fast megas, but also gained power because some cores don't run something that threatens/checks Mamoswine, and sometimes, teams don't run something to check Mamoswine, making it more viable. This thing does not deserve A+ rank, but I think it does deserve its spot in A rank, or possibly A- rank.

Also, I didn't say anything about his SR set! It still works like it did in XY, and with Sash, nothing is gonna OHKO it.

A ----> A-

We don't need this thing. Sure, it has a decent Attack and Choice Scarf usability, but what does it REALLY do anymore? Sand sweep? use Mold Breaker? There are just better pokemon to fill its spot. Also, the only viable set it has is Choice Scarf, and he does not want to be locked into a move, then forced to switch out on MMence cause he was spamming EQ.
All in all, the reason why Drill needs to go down is cause of its usability and Speed. Its just not good enough

-----> A+

I don't think this needs an explanation, but if it does, its basically broken. Mega Slowbro has 180 Defense and access to Calm Mind, making it a bulky sweeping wall. It also has something that the other bulky sweepers don't: Recovery. With such a supportive ability and move set, this thing can singlehandedly sweep through teams with a single Cm. Did I also mention he is one of those megas that everyone hates to see but loves to use? that itself brings it up to A+.

Ill add more as time goes.

 

[Talpr0ne]

I'm not sold at all about Slowbro-Mega being placed in A+, expecially not basing on the merits of its Calm Mind set, which is actually really easy to pierce through, even at +1, since it has 5 weakness, all common types, expecially on the special side. It is really difficult to find a team that doesn't carry at least one beetween Substitute Mega-Salamence, Mega-Manectric, Greninja with Dark Pulse or Grass Knot, Mega-Sceptile, Magnezone, Gengar, Breloom, Mega-Charizard Y Mega-Gardevoir, stallbreaker Mew, Substitute Mega Gyarados, Mega-Heracross, Scizor, Thundurus, Mega-Beedrill, Mega-Venusaur, CB Tyranitar, SubCm Mega_Latias, Calm Mind Clef(both Magic Guard and Unaware) and CroCune. All these Pokémon can threaten Mega Slowbro in some way even after a Calm Mind, by outright blasting through it or engaging it in a boosting war it has no chance to win. What's worse it that most of these Pokémon care very little about a Scald burn.
I feel that other possible sets such as Slack Off+Thunder Wave, Offensive Trick Room, Modest Slack Off+3 atks etc, are too unexplored to talk about them because everyone is psyched about CM for some reason.

 

[blaargathon]

I would say Chesnaught should be moved up to B+, but def not A-. Literally every mon in S shits on it.

 

[naturalstupidity]

More opinion dumping:

wall of text

--> A+


Mega Altaria is just so versatile. It can run offensive sets, defensive sets, or literally anything else along that spectrum. Dragon/Fairy typing with Pixilate is a brilliant offensive and defensive combination, and its above-average bulk makes it a great check to many top metagame threats. It gives defensive teams not wanting to run Sableye (all three of them I guess) some much-needed offensive presence, and it gives balanced and bulky offensive teams a bulky sweeper. Mega Altaria is definitely a top-tier threat, and its ranking should reflect this.

--> B+


I honestly felt that Dragonite was an A- Pokemon in late XY, and the metagame shifts that ORAS brought have only made it worse. Simply put, it faces massive competition from things like Mega Mence (not really that relevant but still significant) and Mega Altaria. While it doesn’t take up the Mega slot like they do, Dragonite is just a dumbed-down version of one of those that’s only ever used if you already have a filled Mega slot. Similarly, metagame shifts around these Pokemon have harmed Dragonite greatly. Everybody and their mom is using Greninja, Mamoswine and Weavile are gaining popularity, and Steel-types are staples that absorb Dragonite’s Banded Outrages and E-Speeds. The metagame has hurt a Pokemon that was already A-, and it doesn’t deserve to be A.

--> A


While this may be slightly controversial, I feel that Excadrill should remain where it is. may not be the best spinner anymore, but sand offense is still a major threat, and Excadrill is the main reason why sand offense can even exist. The metagame centers around speed a lot more now, and Excadrill’s blistering speed under sand means that it’s able to take advantage of the many fast, somewhat frail Pokemon going around now. While Excadrill as a spinner isn’t as viable, sand offense has gotten better in my opinion, and Excadrill rightfully should be A.

--> A- / B+


Gliscor was a solid A rank in XY back when Landorus-I and Mega Heracross were terrorizing balanced and stall teams, but the metagame isn’t as kind to Gliscor as it once was. The things that Gliscor checks aren’t nearly as common now, and things that solidly beat it are running rampant in the metagame. Gliscor also faces serious competition from Landorus-T, a top-tier threat who does everything that Gliscor does and so much more. It doesn’t deserve to stay in A.

--> A+


Everyone’s said what needs to be said about Mega Gyarados – Crunch has made it so much better. It can devastate stall with a Taunt+DD set, or decimate balance with a Sub+DD set. Having two powerful STABs makes Mega Gyarados a serious threat, and it’s certainly worthy of A+ rank.

--> A+


I’ve already said why Rotom-W should be A+, but I really feel that this change needs to be made. Rotom-W checks so many of the new Megas while also checking the increasingly popular rain offense. The metagame is a lot kinder to VoltTurn now, and Rotom-W is one of the best Volt Switchers out there. Metagame shifts have helped it out greatly, and I don’t see much of a reason to keep it in A when Landorus-T, another Pokemon who got better thanks to metagame shifts, is A+.

--> B+


Terrakion’s glory days are over, and its role as the premier physical Fighting type has been taken by Mega Gallade and Mega Lopunny. Its 108 speed just doesn’t cut it anymore versus terrifying new offensive threats, and the increase in Scarf Keldeo / Latios usage slightly hinders Scarf sets. Many of the new Megas also check it quite well, and in general the metagame is not kind to Terrakion. The metagame is so hostile to it that I don’t even think it should be A-. B+ seems like a good place for it.

 

[Talpr0ne]

Also noticing

Mega Medicham to A-: As people have stated before, Mega Medicham is nearly outclassed by Mega Gallade. The only thing it has over Gallade is immediate power, which doesn't mean anything when Gallade has SD, much more bulk, higher Speed and Close Combat over High Jump Kick.

Wouldn't a rank beetween B and C+ be a much more appropriate rank to how yourself described Medicham? I agree with how you described Medicham but not with the proposed rank.

 

[heritage]

Also noticing

Wouldn't a rank beetween B and C+ be a much more appropriate rank to how yourself described Medicham? I agree with how you described Medicham but not with the proposed rank.

Lol it's too early in the morning
I was going to say B-, not A-. I need sleep. Changing now.