S Rank
--------
A+ Rank
--------
A Rank
--------
A- Rank
--------
B+ Rank
--------
B Rank
--------
B- Rank
--------
C+ Rank
--------
C Rank
--------
C- Rank
--------
--------
A+ Rank
--------
A Rank
--------
A- Rank
--------
B+ Rank
--------
B Rank
--------
B- Rank
--------
C+ Rank
--------
C Rank
--------
C- Rank
--------
-Empoleon takes over as my #1 over Crobat. Its defensive qualities (namely being a specially defensive steel) and utility options render it arguably the most irreplacable options on any bulky offense build that it fits well on, and unless it encounters a team that was built to make it regret switching in, it will always get its money's worth one way or another.
-Seismitoad continues to be a consistently excellent choice as a stealth rocker, but over time, I've begun to view this mon as more of a safe option, which I have a somewhat mixed interpretation on. On one hand, it's still arguably the most effective mon at getting rocks up in this meta, and with its defensive profile, it usually gets plenty of turns to annoy its switchins with some combination of scald/knock off/toxic. On the other hand, its offensive shortfalls in comparison to more dynamic options like Mega Pert/Rhyperior turn it into a complete liability against various prominent threats in this meta, some of which have grown in popularity lately, which is why Mega Swampert and Seismitoad will be switching places in my vr.
-I am shamelessly overrating the fuck out of Rhyperior because, ever since I started disrespecting the shit out of scald, I'm realizing more and more how much of a machine this mon really is. Sacrificing HP/spdef investment unlocks a lot of offensive potential on this mon, allowing exploration with shit like turbo rocks/sub 3 atks with more attack investment and further augmenting its value on teams that want a dynamic presence in the rocks slot.
-Cobalion dropped out of A ranks entirely in my last update... only to find itself back at the top of A- here?!?! I tried to convince myself that it was more difficult to justify using in this meta, only to find it on like 30% of my teams again due to the opposite being true. Volt switch takes great advantage of most of its hard switchins atm (Slowking, Doublade, Jellicent to name a few) since most ground-types don't appreciate taking repeated CCs, let alone potentially at +2, and not having to run attack moves outside of its STABs gives it options as either a support slot, a sweeper, or even a mix of both. These two traits over its competition in Heracross and Virizion have given it a lot of value in this meta again, especially in an environment that rewards aggressive play more.
-Celebi finds itself firmly in A- rank this time, and for a rather unusual reason: Stealth Rock. Rediscovering that move on it has given me a completely new perspective on Celebi's biggest strength in this meta, which is no longer its ability to sweep but rather its ability to be a support slot that functions quite differently versus a fellow healing wish user in Gardevoir that functions more offensively. That being said, I'm placing it one spot ahead of Gardevoir partly because I have a bias towards its overall dynamics, but there's valid arguments for the latter being better.
-Roserade is in a fairly awkward spot in terms of its fit in this meta due to its limited defensive utility, so it takes a subrank drop here. 3 attacks + spikes/powder is still effective since there's still relatively limited counterplay to stabs + hp electric, but the one time I decided to load powder on this, Pak decides to load fucking mandibuzz and i'm still lowkey mad about it
-Spikes is annoying, screens are annoying, paralysis is annoying, and Klefki has gained enough traction for doing all three at once for me to move it into the A ranks.
-I've had a bit of trouble properly evaluating Metagross because I barely use it to begin with, but, in spite of that, I'm currently leaning on the side of it being overrated, so it drops a whole subrank alongside Roserade.
-Aggron is difficult to justify, considering its competition with Rhyperior/Mega Pert as a rocker and with Empoleon as a Steel-type, but its offensive qualities might be worth exploring again, considering the success that Rock Polish + 3 attacks has been seeing in its spot appearances.
-Infernape was an interesting case for me because it's a threat that requires a high level of skill to get the most out of it in terms of both the teambuilder (strong 4mss) and overall gameplan, especially if you're not running choice band on it. That being said, it has, quite frankly, a top 5 moveset that it can utilize very effectively, which is why I moved it up a subrank.
-more yapping to come soontm
-Seismitoad continues to be a consistently excellent choice as a stealth rocker, but over time, I've begun to view this mon as more of a safe option, which I have a somewhat mixed interpretation on. On one hand, it's still arguably the most effective mon at getting rocks up in this meta, and with its defensive profile, it usually gets plenty of turns to annoy its switchins with some combination of scald/knock off/toxic. On the other hand, its offensive shortfalls in comparison to more dynamic options like Mega Pert/Rhyperior turn it into a complete liability against various prominent threats in this meta, some of which have grown in popularity lately, which is why Mega Swampert and Seismitoad will be switching places in my vr.
-I am shamelessly overrating the fuck out of Rhyperior because, ever since I started disrespecting the shit out of scald, I'm realizing more and more how much of a machine this mon really is. Sacrificing HP/spdef investment unlocks a lot of offensive potential on this mon, allowing exploration with shit like turbo rocks/sub 3 atks with more attack investment and further augmenting its value on teams that want a dynamic presence in the rocks slot.
-Cobalion dropped out of A ranks entirely in my last update... only to find itself back at the top of A- here?!?! I tried to convince myself that it was more difficult to justify using in this meta, only to find it on like 30% of my teams again due to the opposite being true. Volt switch takes great advantage of most of its hard switchins atm (Slowking, Doublade, Jellicent to name a few) since most ground-types don't appreciate taking repeated CCs, let alone potentially at +2, and not having to run attack moves outside of its STABs gives it options as either a support slot, a sweeper, or even a mix of both. These two traits over its competition in Heracross and Virizion have given it a lot of value in this meta again, especially in an environment that rewards aggressive play more.
-Celebi finds itself firmly in A- rank this time, and for a rather unusual reason: Stealth Rock. Rediscovering that move on it has given me a completely new perspective on Celebi's biggest strength in this meta, which is no longer its ability to sweep but rather its ability to be a support slot that functions quite differently versus a fellow healing wish user in Gardevoir that functions more offensively. That being said, I'm placing it one spot ahead of Gardevoir partly because I have a bias towards its overall dynamics, but there's valid arguments for the latter being better.
-Roserade is in a fairly awkward spot in terms of its fit in this meta due to its limited defensive utility, so it takes a subrank drop here. 3 attacks + spikes/powder is still effective since there's still relatively limited counterplay to stabs + hp electric, but the one time I decided to load powder on this, Pak decides to load fucking mandibuzz and i'm still lowkey mad about it
-Spikes is annoying, screens are annoying, paralysis is annoying, and Klefki has gained enough traction for doing all three at once for me to move it into the A ranks.
-I've had a bit of trouble properly evaluating Metagross because I barely use it to begin with, but, in spite of that, I'm currently leaning on the side of it being overrated, so it drops a whole subrank alongside Roserade.
-Aggron is difficult to justify, considering its competition with Rhyperior/Mega Pert as a rocker and with Empoleon as a Steel-type, but its offensive qualities might be worth exploring again, considering the success that Rock Polish + 3 attacks has been seeing in its spot appearances.
-Infernape was an interesting case for me because it's a threat that requires a high level of skill to get the most out of it in terms of both the teambuilder (strong 4mss) and overall gameplan, especially if you're not running choice band on it. That being said, it has, quite frankly, a top 5 moveset that it can utilize very effectively, which is why I moved it up a subrank.
-more yapping to come soontm