Hey, you lovely people. I played Black and White 2 for the first time last month and I liked it. I want to play it some more with different Pokes, so I thought I might as well do some playtesting for this thread since ranking is still going on.
I used the following team for a Black 2 run:
Here are my logs for them:
Snivy is honestly not as bad as I was thinking it was going to be. Having high speed and a great setup move in Coil is legit good. Leaf Blade is also a decent STAB move. Having no second type and a horrible movepool is bad, though. Return is pretty much the only real coverage it has because Dragon Pulse and Aqua Tail are expensive Blue Shard tutor moves. Once Snivy gets going it can sweep most fights with Coil and item support, except for some bad type matchups. Snivy has 1 B/C-tier and 2 C-tier nominations so far, but given how it's a Starter and pretty self-sufficient, I think Snivy is a B-tier Pokemon.
Lillipup really surprised me. I mean it is a Route 1 Normal type. Those normally fall off later. But Lillipup is super consistent and pretty much the definition of reliable. Good enough speed, great attack and bulk, surprisingly deep movepool. Lillipup has pretty much no truely bad matchup except Marshal. It can always do something and often that something is actually just sweeping. Lillipup has 2 A-tier nominations so far and I wholeheartedly agree. Lillipup should be in A-tier.
Dwebble has a rough start but as soon as it evoles into Crustle (which doesn't take long) and after beating Clay you can relearn Shell Smash at the PWT. Crustle is a great user of this strong setup move and if it can successfully set up, it sweeps the battle 9/10 times. Pretty much the only matchups that are bad for it are fights where it can't set up or the opposing team has too many stops for it. Otherwise great setup sweeper that you can use as soon as the mid game. Its typing isn't the greatest offensively and defensively, though. Dwebble had 1 B-tier nomination so far and I agree. Dwebble for B-tier.
Skarmory is a defensive wall which is not great, but its offenses aren't the worst. Okay attack and speed, decent attacks and if you have to be a wall, you might as well be invincible which Skarmory really is with its broken typing. Autotomize is also a great setup move for it to fix is speed later. Iron Head is a great free STAB move from the move tutor and Fly and Rock Slide/X-Scissor/Night Slash are solid coverage moves. Skarmory offenses certainly fall off a bit in the late game and its has basically no really good matchups. It is mostly just decent in most fights. Skarmory had only 1 nomination so far but that one was for E-tier which I think is too harsh. It is an end of mid game Pokemon which does overall fine if not great. Skarmory should be in C-tier imo.
Jellicent is so much worse than I thought it was going to be. I went for the static encounter one which I suspected was going to be better. But it was still pretty bad. Ghost is a surprisingly bad typing in this game. Jellicent also has just too low offensive stats for a late game Pokemon with no setup moves except Trick Room. This thing hits like a wet noodle. And due to its typing lacking good resistances for the late game, it is not that great at taking hits either. Kind of telling that it has a bad matchup against the Fighting type specialist. Jellicent had 1 nomination each for D-, D/E- and E-tier. I also think E-tier is more fitting for Jellicent.
Absol is just a bit mediocre. It has great attack but its speed is just a bit too low for the late game and it is way too frail. It can run a good Swords Dance set but it is sometimes hard to setup or sweep because of its fraility and speed. Its movepool also has a bit of a whole as its only real coverage moves against Steel types are the expensive Blue Shard tutor move Superpower or Fire Blast which isn't ideal. It has some bad matchups because of those problems. But then again it also has two great Elite Four matchups which is certainly noteworthy. But for a late game Pokemon it just doesn't bring enough to the table. Absol has 1 D-tier nomination so far and I agree. Absol should be D-tier.
The is the second time I did a Black 2 run and the first time I tryharded the game. So if I missed something important then let me know.
I also build myself a table for team building and went through the effort of collecting all the nominations from this thread so far. Might as well share it here. Maybe you have some use for it too.
The next team I will run consists of Tepig, Magnemite, Mandibuzz, Panpour, Grumpig and Tangela. Stay tuned.
I used the following team for a Black 2 run:
- Snivy (Starter)
- Lillipup (caught in Floccesy Ranch)
- Dwebble (caught in Desert Resort)
- Skarmory (caught on Reversal Mountain)
- Jellicent (caught in Undella Bay (static encounter on Monday))
- Absol (caught on Route 13)
Here are my logs for them:
Gym 1 Cheren: level 12/13, Snivy outspeeds both Patrat and Lillipup, Patrat is only 4HKOed by Vine Whip, 2 Leers and 2 Vine Whips were used instead to avoid the Potion, it likely knocks Snivy into Oran Berry range, Lillipup is 3HKOed by Vine Whip after 1 Leer, and its boosted Tackles do a lot of damage, a Potion might be needed, Performance: D-tier
Gym 2 Roxie: level 18, Servine outspeeds everything, it needs to set up 3 Growths to 2HKO Whirlipede with Return, Koffing only needs two boots and can't do much damage, Servine takes less than half from Venoshock unless its poisoned (I had a +SpDef nature, though), with a Pecha Berry equipped this fight is not too much of a problem, healing wasn't needed,
Performance: B-tier
Gym 3 Burgh: level 24, Servine carries the Eviolite and is faster than Swadloon, 2 Growths are needed to 2HKO with Return, Dwebble is likely outsped and 2HKOed by Leaf Tornado, depending how much Swadloon lowered Servine's special attack and speed, neither one is doing much damage to it, Leavanny is faster but Servine can take 3-4 Struggle Bugs without getting into red health while +2 Return 2HKOs (Sitrus Berry and Hyper Potion waste some time, though), no healing was needed,
Performance: B-tier
Colress 1: level 24, Servine carries the Eviolite, 2 Growths are needed to 2HKO Magnemite and Klink with Leaf Tornado, Thunder Wave from Magnemite and Charge from Klink can cause problems, they also deal decent damage to Servine, it is possible to win the battle without healing but it is not likely,
Performance: E-tier
Gym 4 Elesa: level 30/31, Servine carries the Eviolite, it can easily set up 2-3 Growths on Emogla who does very little damage with Pursuit, Zebstrika is 2HKOed by Leaf Tornado at +2/+3 and its Flame Charge doesn't do too much (which it strangely doesn't go for much), Flaaffy is OHKOed by Leaf Tornado at +2, Servine is faster than Emolga and Flaaffy but it is likely getting paralysed, Performance: B-tier
Gym 5 Clay: level 33, Servine carries the Eviolite, Servine is faster than Krokorrok and can set up 1 Growth to then OHKO it and Sandslash with Leaf Blade and Leaf Tornado, Excadrill is faster but 3HKOed with +1 Leaf Tornado or Leaf Blade through Sitrus Berry, Metal Claw does a lot though, 1 Hyper Potion could be needed, Servine is slower than all three if it gets hit by Bulldoze once,
Performance: B-tier
Hugh 3: level 34, Servine carries the Eviolite, Servine outspeeds everything, Pignite and Tranquill are 2HKOed by Return and Simipour is OHKOed by Leaf Blade, Pignite and Tranquill don't really go for their super-effective moves for some reason, but Servine can take one strong one,
Performance: A-tier
Cheren 2: level 34, Servine carries the Eviolite, Servine outspeeds everything, at +1 Leaf Blade 2HKOs Stoutland and OHKOs Cinccinio and Watchog, Stoutland can't do much damage,
Performance: A-tier
Colress 2: level 34, Servine carries the Eviolite, Servine is faster than Magneton but it will get a Thunder Wave off, after 1 Growth Leaf Blade is 2HKOing Magneton and Klink and OHKOing Elgyem, due to it status things can certainly go wrong though,
Performance: B-tier
Gym 6 Skyla: level 39, Serperior outspeeds everything but gets absolutely destroyed, Swoobat's Acrobatics is doing over half, Serperior can only 2HKO it with Return with Rocky Helmet chip, Swanna also 2HKOs Serperior with Air Slash while Leaf Blade is only doing half with Miracle Seed, Skarmory completely walls Serperior, horrible matchup,
Performance: E/F-tier
Hugh 4: level 41/42, Serperior outspeeds everything, after 1 Coil Return 2HKOs Unfezant, Aerial Ace 2HKOs Emboar and Leaf Blade OHKOs Simipour, Unfezant's Air Slash does almost half, however it also likes to use Detect, so its possible to get a free turn for Coil, Leftovers also helped here, Emboar doesn't really go for Heat Crash and as such does almost no damage,
Performance: A-tier
Zinzolin 1: level 43, Serperior outspeeds everything except Sneasel, the first turn is best spent using Coil which makes Golbat's Acrobatics hurt less (but it still does half), +1 Leaf Blade OHKOs Cryogonal and Sneasel while Emboar hopefully takes down Golbat and Garbodor, Serperior is weak to everything her though, so there is a chance it gets knocked out, but the fight is not as bad as you would think,
Performance: B/C-tier
Gym 7 Drayden: level 47/48, Serperior outspeeds everything and wants to set up 4 Coils to OHKO Druddigion and Haxorus with Silk Scarf boosted Return and Flygon with Leaf Blade, the problem is Druddigon is likely to Dragon Tail out Serperior after some boosts ending its sweep attempt, +3 is also not enough for Flygon and Haxorus who will also Dragon Tail it out, Serperior still does fine with less boosts but it sucks, I guess you could also box all other team members for this battle so Serperior can't get phazed out, in which case the battle becomes a very easy A-tier sweep, but I guess we probably don't do that right, overall Serperior is just too inconsistent here,
Performance: C-tier
Zinzolin 2: level 48, Serperior outspeeds the two Cryogonals and OHKOs them with Leaf Blade, Weavile is faster but Serperior can take two Ice Shards from full and 2HKO it with Leaf Blade, straightforward sweep,
Performance: S/A-tier
Gym 8 Marlon: level 50, Serperior outspeeds everything (even Carracosta after a Shell Smash), Return into Leaf Blade kills Carracosta, Wailord and Jellicent are OHKOed by Expert Belt boosted Leaf Blade, super easy sweep, Serperior isn't threatened by anything,
Performance: S-tier
Zinzolin 3: level 51, Serperior outspeeds everything, Leaf Blade OHKOs both Cryogonal and also Weavile if Serperior is in Overgrow range, its best to focus on the Ice types while Emboar takes care of the other Pokemon, Serperior can take 1 Ice Shard and 1 Steamroller from full, but if things go out of order it could be that 1 Hyper Potion is needed,
Performance: A-tier
Zinzolin 4: level 52, Serperior outspeeds everything, the two Cryogonal are OHKOed by Leaf Blade, Weavile is 2HKOed and Serperior can barely take a Night Slash + Ice Shard or 2 Ice Shards from full health, consistent and easy sweep,
Performance: S/A-tier
Colress 3: level 52/53, Serperior outspeeds everything, it needs 5 Coil boosts to 2HKO all of Colress' Steel types, setting up on Magneton is somewhat safe, Flash Cannon is only a 3HKO (4HKO with Leftovers), but due to the length of the setup the chance for Magneton to get a Special Defense drop or Critical Hit is high, X Sp. Def can help, once Serperior reaches +5 and 2HKOed both Magneton and Magnezone nothing can stop its sweep afterwards, Klinklang and Metang get 2HKOed by Leaf Blade without being able to do anything meaningful in return, Beheeyem gets OHKOed, Serperior needs around 4 Full Restores for this fight, it can sweep this fight but the support is big and it can just get haxed,
Performance: C-tier
Ghetsis: level 52/53/54, Serperior outspeeds everything, it wants to set up 5 Coils to OHKO everything, at +5 Leaf Blade OHKOs Cof*grigus, Seismitoad and Eelektross while Return OHKOs Drapion, Toxicroak and Hydreigon, the setup on Cof*grigus is decently safe as it wastes its turn a lot with Toxic and Protect, though if Shadow Ball gets a Special Defense drop it now 2HKOs Serperior so you would need a X Sp. Defense for that, otherwise if no major hax happens Serperior can sweep with just 1-2 Full Restores, Leftovers are also very useful here, overall pretty good,
Performance: A-tier
Hugh 5: level 58/59, Serperior outspeeds everything, its need +4 to OHKO everything, +4 knocks out Unfezant with Return, Simipour and Bouffalant with Leaf Blade (it never has Sap Sipper, Bulbapedia is just wrong on this) and Emboar with Aerial Ace, Serperior is kind of reliant on Unfezant using Swagger but granted it often does instead of just U-Turning out to Bouffalant, setting up 2 Coil and then healing the confusion with an item is all it needs, overall the battle was most often an easy sweep but it does have some RNG associated with it,
Performance: A/B-tier
Elite Four Shauntal: level 58/59, Serperior outspeeds everything, it really needs to set up all the way to +6 with Coil to get the OHKOs on Drifblim and Chandelure with Leaf Blade (and Chandelure is still a roll, so it needs the Miracle Seed too), setting up on Cof*grigus is somewhat safe as it needs two Special Defense drops for Shadow Ball to 2HKO Serperior, but given how many turns of setup Serperior needs there is a real chance to just get haxed, at least Serperior can sweep this battle but it certainly isn't efficient, Performance: C-tier
Elite Four Marshal: level 58, Serperior outspeeds everything but Throh lowers its speed by 2+ stages so it actually moves second against everything else, Serperior can pretty reliably set up Coils and sweep with 1 or 2 healing items, +1 Leaf Blade 2HKOs Throh, +2 Leaf Blade gets the OHKO on Mienshao and 3HKOs Conkeldurr at +1, Sawk gets 2HKOed, not too much risk in this fight unless you get crit, Throh's Storm Throw is not really a threat,
Performance: A/B-tier
Elite Four Grimsley: level 58, Serperior outspeeds everything, it can very safely set up Coils on Liepard because well it is a Liepard, the only thing it can really do is be annoying with Attract if you have a male Serperior, +4 Leaf Blade OHKOs Scrafty and Krookodile and 2HKOs Bisharp (3HKO through Sitrus Berry), overall very safe and consistent sweep,
Performance: S/A-tier
Elite Four Caitlin: level 58, Serperior outspeeds everything, Taunt totally imobilizes Musharna and allows Serperior to set up endlessly with Coil, it needs +5 to OHKO everything, super easy and consistent sweep, not even healing is needed, but the setup does take a while,
Performance: S/A-tier
Champion Iris: level 59/60, Serperior outspeeds everything, Hydreigon and Druddigon are the most dangerous Pokemon because their Flamethrowers are a roll for a 2HKO, Druddigon also has Dragon Tail to phaze Serperior out, it needs to set up Coils to sweep, Leftovers are a must to get out of 2HKO range from Flamethrower, 2 Full Restores are needed to get past Hydreigon and Druddigon with +2 Return to 2HKO them, once you get that far its a mostly safe sweep, Lapras and Archeops are OHKOed by +2 Leaf Blade, Haxorus is 2HKOed by Return and Serperior can take a +1 X-Scissor with the Coil boosts, Serperior needs to use another Coil against Aggron to 2HKO it with +3 Leaf Blade but Aggron can't really do anything against boosted Serperior, once you get past the dodgy start, it is an easy sweep, but things certainly can go wrong at the beginning,
Performance: B-tier
Overall battle performance: B-tier
Gym 2 Roxie: level 18, Servine outspeeds everything, it needs to set up 3 Growths to 2HKO Whirlipede with Return, Koffing only needs two boots and can't do much damage, Servine takes less than half from Venoshock unless its poisoned (I had a +SpDef nature, though), with a Pecha Berry equipped this fight is not too much of a problem, healing wasn't needed,
Performance: B-tier
Gym 3 Burgh: level 24, Servine carries the Eviolite and is faster than Swadloon, 2 Growths are needed to 2HKO with Return, Dwebble is likely outsped and 2HKOed by Leaf Tornado, depending how much Swadloon lowered Servine's special attack and speed, neither one is doing much damage to it, Leavanny is faster but Servine can take 3-4 Struggle Bugs without getting into red health while +2 Return 2HKOs (Sitrus Berry and Hyper Potion waste some time, though), no healing was needed,
Performance: B-tier
Colress 1: level 24, Servine carries the Eviolite, 2 Growths are needed to 2HKO Magnemite and Klink with Leaf Tornado, Thunder Wave from Magnemite and Charge from Klink can cause problems, they also deal decent damage to Servine, it is possible to win the battle without healing but it is not likely,
Performance: E-tier
Gym 4 Elesa: level 30/31, Servine carries the Eviolite, it can easily set up 2-3 Growths on Emogla who does very little damage with Pursuit, Zebstrika is 2HKOed by Leaf Tornado at +2/+3 and its Flame Charge doesn't do too much (which it strangely doesn't go for much), Flaaffy is OHKOed by Leaf Tornado at +2, Servine is faster than Emolga and Flaaffy but it is likely getting paralysed, Performance: B-tier
Gym 5 Clay: level 33, Servine carries the Eviolite, Servine is faster than Krokorrok and can set up 1 Growth to then OHKO it and Sandslash with Leaf Blade and Leaf Tornado, Excadrill is faster but 3HKOed with +1 Leaf Tornado or Leaf Blade through Sitrus Berry, Metal Claw does a lot though, 1 Hyper Potion could be needed, Servine is slower than all three if it gets hit by Bulldoze once,
Performance: B-tier
Hugh 3: level 34, Servine carries the Eviolite, Servine outspeeds everything, Pignite and Tranquill are 2HKOed by Return and Simipour is OHKOed by Leaf Blade, Pignite and Tranquill don't really go for their super-effective moves for some reason, but Servine can take one strong one,
Performance: A-tier
Cheren 2: level 34, Servine carries the Eviolite, Servine outspeeds everything, at +1 Leaf Blade 2HKOs Stoutland and OHKOs Cinccinio and Watchog, Stoutland can't do much damage,
Performance: A-tier
Colress 2: level 34, Servine carries the Eviolite, Servine is faster than Magneton but it will get a Thunder Wave off, after 1 Growth Leaf Blade is 2HKOing Magneton and Klink and OHKOing Elgyem, due to it status things can certainly go wrong though,
Performance: B-tier
Gym 6 Skyla: level 39, Serperior outspeeds everything but gets absolutely destroyed, Swoobat's Acrobatics is doing over half, Serperior can only 2HKO it with Return with Rocky Helmet chip, Swanna also 2HKOs Serperior with Air Slash while Leaf Blade is only doing half with Miracle Seed, Skarmory completely walls Serperior, horrible matchup,
Performance: E/F-tier
Hugh 4: level 41/42, Serperior outspeeds everything, after 1 Coil Return 2HKOs Unfezant, Aerial Ace 2HKOs Emboar and Leaf Blade OHKOs Simipour, Unfezant's Air Slash does almost half, however it also likes to use Detect, so its possible to get a free turn for Coil, Leftovers also helped here, Emboar doesn't really go for Heat Crash and as such does almost no damage,
Performance: A-tier
Zinzolin 1: level 43, Serperior outspeeds everything except Sneasel, the first turn is best spent using Coil which makes Golbat's Acrobatics hurt less (but it still does half), +1 Leaf Blade OHKOs Cryogonal and Sneasel while Emboar hopefully takes down Golbat and Garbodor, Serperior is weak to everything her though, so there is a chance it gets knocked out, but the fight is not as bad as you would think,
Performance: B/C-tier
Gym 7 Drayden: level 47/48, Serperior outspeeds everything and wants to set up 4 Coils to OHKO Druddigion and Haxorus with Silk Scarf boosted Return and Flygon with Leaf Blade, the problem is Druddigon is likely to Dragon Tail out Serperior after some boosts ending its sweep attempt, +3 is also not enough for Flygon and Haxorus who will also Dragon Tail it out, Serperior still does fine with less boosts but it sucks, I guess you could also box all other team members for this battle so Serperior can't get phazed out, in which case the battle becomes a very easy A-tier sweep, but I guess we probably don't do that right, overall Serperior is just too inconsistent here,
Performance: C-tier
Zinzolin 2: level 48, Serperior outspeeds the two Cryogonals and OHKOs them with Leaf Blade, Weavile is faster but Serperior can take two Ice Shards from full and 2HKO it with Leaf Blade, straightforward sweep,
Performance: S/A-tier
Gym 8 Marlon: level 50, Serperior outspeeds everything (even Carracosta after a Shell Smash), Return into Leaf Blade kills Carracosta, Wailord and Jellicent are OHKOed by Expert Belt boosted Leaf Blade, super easy sweep, Serperior isn't threatened by anything,
Performance: S-tier
Zinzolin 3: level 51, Serperior outspeeds everything, Leaf Blade OHKOs both Cryogonal and also Weavile if Serperior is in Overgrow range, its best to focus on the Ice types while Emboar takes care of the other Pokemon, Serperior can take 1 Ice Shard and 1 Steamroller from full, but if things go out of order it could be that 1 Hyper Potion is needed,
Performance: A-tier
Zinzolin 4: level 52, Serperior outspeeds everything, the two Cryogonal are OHKOed by Leaf Blade, Weavile is 2HKOed and Serperior can barely take a Night Slash + Ice Shard or 2 Ice Shards from full health, consistent and easy sweep,
Performance: S/A-tier
Colress 3: level 52/53, Serperior outspeeds everything, it needs 5 Coil boosts to 2HKO all of Colress' Steel types, setting up on Magneton is somewhat safe, Flash Cannon is only a 3HKO (4HKO with Leftovers), but due to the length of the setup the chance for Magneton to get a Special Defense drop or Critical Hit is high, X Sp. Def can help, once Serperior reaches +5 and 2HKOed both Magneton and Magnezone nothing can stop its sweep afterwards, Klinklang and Metang get 2HKOed by Leaf Blade without being able to do anything meaningful in return, Beheeyem gets OHKOed, Serperior needs around 4 Full Restores for this fight, it can sweep this fight but the support is big and it can just get haxed,
Performance: C-tier
Ghetsis: level 52/53/54, Serperior outspeeds everything, it wants to set up 5 Coils to OHKO everything, at +5 Leaf Blade OHKOs Cof*grigus, Seismitoad and Eelektross while Return OHKOs Drapion, Toxicroak and Hydreigon, the setup on Cof*grigus is decently safe as it wastes its turn a lot with Toxic and Protect, though if Shadow Ball gets a Special Defense drop it now 2HKOs Serperior so you would need a X Sp. Defense for that, otherwise if no major hax happens Serperior can sweep with just 1-2 Full Restores, Leftovers are also very useful here, overall pretty good,
Performance: A-tier
Hugh 5: level 58/59, Serperior outspeeds everything, its need +4 to OHKO everything, +4 knocks out Unfezant with Return, Simipour and Bouffalant with Leaf Blade (it never has Sap Sipper, Bulbapedia is just wrong on this) and Emboar with Aerial Ace, Serperior is kind of reliant on Unfezant using Swagger but granted it often does instead of just U-Turning out to Bouffalant, setting up 2 Coil and then healing the confusion with an item is all it needs, overall the battle was most often an easy sweep but it does have some RNG associated with it,
Performance: A/B-tier
Elite Four Shauntal: level 58/59, Serperior outspeeds everything, it really needs to set up all the way to +6 with Coil to get the OHKOs on Drifblim and Chandelure with Leaf Blade (and Chandelure is still a roll, so it needs the Miracle Seed too), setting up on Cof*grigus is somewhat safe as it needs two Special Defense drops for Shadow Ball to 2HKO Serperior, but given how many turns of setup Serperior needs there is a real chance to just get haxed, at least Serperior can sweep this battle but it certainly isn't efficient, Performance: C-tier
Elite Four Marshal: level 58, Serperior outspeeds everything but Throh lowers its speed by 2+ stages so it actually moves second against everything else, Serperior can pretty reliably set up Coils and sweep with 1 or 2 healing items, +1 Leaf Blade 2HKOs Throh, +2 Leaf Blade gets the OHKO on Mienshao and 3HKOs Conkeldurr at +1, Sawk gets 2HKOed, not too much risk in this fight unless you get crit, Throh's Storm Throw is not really a threat,
Performance: A/B-tier
Elite Four Grimsley: level 58, Serperior outspeeds everything, it can very safely set up Coils on Liepard because well it is a Liepard, the only thing it can really do is be annoying with Attract if you have a male Serperior, +4 Leaf Blade OHKOs Scrafty and Krookodile and 2HKOs Bisharp (3HKO through Sitrus Berry), overall very safe and consistent sweep,
Performance: S/A-tier
Elite Four Caitlin: level 58, Serperior outspeeds everything, Taunt totally imobilizes Musharna and allows Serperior to set up endlessly with Coil, it needs +5 to OHKO everything, super easy and consistent sweep, not even healing is needed, but the setup does take a while,
Performance: S/A-tier
Champion Iris: level 59/60, Serperior outspeeds everything, Hydreigon and Druddigon are the most dangerous Pokemon because their Flamethrowers are a roll for a 2HKO, Druddigon also has Dragon Tail to phaze Serperior out, it needs to set up Coils to sweep, Leftovers are a must to get out of 2HKO range from Flamethrower, 2 Full Restores are needed to get past Hydreigon and Druddigon with +2 Return to 2HKO them, once you get that far its a mostly safe sweep, Lapras and Archeops are OHKOed by +2 Leaf Blade, Haxorus is 2HKOed by Return and Serperior can take a +1 X-Scissor with the Coil boosts, Serperior needs to use another Coil against Aggron to 2HKO it with +3 Leaf Blade but Aggron can't really do anything against boosted Serperior, once you get past the dodgy start, it is an easy sweep, but things certainly can go wrong at the beginning,
Performance: B-tier
Overall battle performance: B-tier
Gym 1 Cheren: level 12, Patrat gets outsped and 3HKOed, Bite can cause some flinches, Patrat is not doing much in return, Cheren's Lillipup is slower and gets 2HKOed by Tackle after 1 Leer, Lillipup doesn't need more healing than its equiped Oran Berry if even that,
Performance: A-tier
Gym 2 Roxie: level 18, Herdier outspeeds everything and after 1 Work Up its just 2HKOs Koffing and Whirlipede while they do barely any damage in return, super easy sweep,
Performance: S-tier
Gym 3 Burgh: level 24, Herdier carries the Eviolite, Herdier outspeeds Swadloon and Dwebble but Leavanny is faster (Dwebble too at -1), Herdier can easily set up 3 Work Ups on Swadloon and then OHKO Swadloon and Leavanny with Return and 2HKO Dwebble, healing is not needed outside of a a Razor Leaf crit from Leavanny,
Performance: B-tier
Colress 1: level 25, Herdier outspeeds both Pokemon and 2HKOs easily with Rock Smash, only 1 Parlyz Heal was needed after Magnemite's turn 1 Thunder Wave, Herdier barely got damaged, rather easy fight,
Performance: A-tier
Gym 4 Elesa: level 30/31, Herdier carries the Eviolite, Emolga is faster and Volt Switches out to Flaaffy who is OHKOed after 1 Work Up, Emolga Volt Switches again to Zebstrika who is OHKOed by +1 Dig and never gets a move off unless Herdier gets paralysed, finally Emolga is also getting OHKOed by Return, Herdier does receive decent damage and likely status during this fight but doesn't require healing,
Performance: A/B-tier
Gym 5 Clay: level 33, Stoutland is faster than Krokorok and after 1 Work Up to offset the Intimidate Return OHKOs it, Torment can be annoying for the remaining battle, it is better to use 2 Work Ups against Krokorok though, as Sandslash is barely not 2HKOed by neutral Return, Sandslash can be annoying with defense drops from Crush Claw, Excadrill is faster than Stoutland but +1 Expert Belt boosted Dig OHKOs it and its doesn't deal too much damage back, so it likely doesn't need any healing during this battle, Stoutland is outspeed by everything at -1 if its hit by Bulldoze,
Performance: B-tier
Hugh 3: level 33, Stoutland outspeeds and OHKOs Pignite and Tranquill with Dig and Return, Simipour is faster and Return is a roll to OHKO, the only thing that can go wrong is Scald burning Stoutland, but it would still sweep,
Performance: S/A-tier
Cheren 2: level 33, Stoutland outspeeds all three Pokemon and at +1 OHKOs them all with Return, super easy sweep,
Performance: S-tier
Colress 2: level 33, Stoutland outspeeds all three Pokemon and OHKOs them, if Magneton is Sturdy it can get a Thunder Wave off, but Stoutland can still sweep without much issue, Crunch for Elgyem and Dig for Klink,
Performance: S/A-tier
Gym 6 Skyla: level 39/40, Swoobat is faster but can't do much damage after Intimidate, Expert Belt boosted Crunch OHKOs it, similar with Swanna, it is faster than Stoutland but doesn't do much damage and gets OHKOed by Thunder Fang, Skarmory is 3HKOed by Thunder Fang, Stoutland only struggles if it got hit by Feather Dance by Swanna,
Performance: A/B-tier
Hugh 4: level 42/43, Stoutland outspeeds and 2HKOs both Unfezant and Emboar with Return, neither one can do much damage to it, Simipour is faster but Return has a chance to OHKO it with Silk Scarf, the only real threat is a Scald burn but Stoutland would still sweep,
Performance: S/A-tier
Zinzolin 1: level 43, Cryogonal and Sneasel outspeed Stoutland but Cryogonal is OHKOed by Return and Golbat, Garbodor and Sneasel all have a chance to be OHKOed by Silk Scarf boosted Return as well, Soutland mostly sweeps but receives a bit of damage,
Performance: A-tier
Gym 7 Drayden: level 47, Druddigon is slower and 2HKOed by Return, it also can't do much damage back thanks to Intimidate unless it goes for Revenge, Flygon is faster but also 2HKOed by Return, its Earth Powers do sting though, Haxorus is faster but Silk Scarf boosted Return has a chance to 2HKO through Sitrus Berry, if Stoutland gets Dragon Tailed out, it can pretty freely switch back in again, 1-2 Hyper Potions are needed for this fight though,
Performance: B/C-tier
Zinzolin 2: level 48, Stoutland is slower than everything, Return does OHKO both Cryogonals but they can be annoying with Confuse Ray or Reflect, Ice Beam also stings, Weavile is 2HKOed, Stoutland can land the OHKO if it has Iron Head, 1 Hyper Beam might be needed,
Performance: A/B-tier
Gym 8 Marlon: level 50/51, Carracosta is slower than Soutland even after 1 Shell Smash, Crunch into Dig 2HKOs after 1 Shell Smash which it is very likely to do, Wailord is slower and really likes to waste its only turn with Amnesia, even at low health, Return is a 2HKO, Jellicent is problematic, Crunch is a 2HKO but Scald and Cursed Body are big problems, 1 Hyper Potion is likely needed too, a bit inconsistent,
Performance: B-tier
Zinzolin 3: level 51, Stoutland is slower than everything except Watchog, Cryogonal can be annyoing with Confuse Ray or Reflect but otherwise they just get OHKOed by Return, Weavile is 2HKO (OHKO with Iron Head), its best to focus on the Ice types while Emboar cleans up the rest, decent enough sweep which very likely doesn't require any healing,
Performance: A-tier
Zinzolin 4: level 52, Stoutland is slower than everything, the Cryogonal can be annoying with Confuse Ray or Reflect, their Ice Beam and Weavile's Night Slash also does decent damage, Return OHKOs the Cryogonal and 2HKOs Weavile, if Stoutland has Iron Head it also OHKOs the Cryogonal through Reflect and lands the OHKO on Weavile outside Reflect, 1 Full Restore might be needed if things go south,
Performance: A/B-tier
Colress 3: level 52/53, Stoutland outspeeds everything and no attack 2HKOs it, Magneton will always Thunder Wave Stoutland and then Volt Switch out to Magnezone which gives Stoutland the option to break their Sturdy with Crunch, Stoutland will need its first Full Restore against Magnezone and its second against Klinklang, Dig KOs Magnezone after Crunch, Crunch breaks Klinklang's Air Balloon and Expert Belt boosted Dig 2HKOs afterwards, its +1 Giga Impact does barely do half, Metang is 2HKOed by Dig and Beheeyem is 2HKOed by Crunch or Return, neither one deals half to Stoutland, lastly Magneton is KOed with Dig after Crunch broke its Sturdy at the beginning of the fight, honestly a pretty safe sweep, Soutland only needs 2-3 Full Restores,
Performance: A-tier
Ghetsis: level 52/53/54, Stoutland outspeeds Cof*grigus, Seismitoad, Toxicroak and Eelektross, Stoutland is slower than Drapion and Hydreigon, everything gets 2HKOed, Cruch for Cof*grigus and Return for everything else, only Toxicroak's Brick Break and Hydreigon's Dragon Rush deal more than half to Stoutland, with a few healing items Stoutland can sweep here,
Performance: B-tier
Hugh 5: level 57/58, Stoutland outspeeds everything, it only really needs 1 Work Up to sweep easily, +1 Expert Belt boosted Dig OHKOs Emboar, Simipour is OHKOed by Return and Bouffalant and Unzefant are 2HKOed by Return, if Unfezant goes for Swagger then the sweep is even easier, consistent sweep,
Performance: A-tier
Elite Four Shauntal: level 57/58, Stoutland can easily set up 2 Work Ups on Cof*grigus and then just outspeeds and OHKOs everything with Crunch, Expert Belt helps with some rolls, Stoutland does maybe need 0-2 Full Restores depending if Cof*grigus and Chandelure burn it, but otherwise super easy and consistent sweep,
Performance: S-tier
Elite Four Marshal: level 59, Stoutland needs 1 Work Up to 2HKO Throh with Return, Throh will slow down Soutland with Bulldoze and deal good damage with Storm Throw, Mienshao just outspeeds and OHKOs it with High Jump Kick, Conkeldurr and Sawk can both take 2 or more hits before going down and deal heavy damage in return, Stoutland just a bad time here,
Performance: E-tier
Elite Four Grimsley: level 59, Stoutland is slower than Liepard and Krookodile but faster than Scrafty and Bisharp, Stoutland can easily set up Work Ups on Liepard who can barely deal any damage and can only annoy with Attract if you have a male Stoutland, at +3 Stoutland OHKOs everything, Return for Liepard, Scrafty and Krookodile and Dig for Bisharp, fairly easy and consistent sweep, 1 Hyper Potion is probably needed to get out of Earthquake range from Krookodile after Liepard chipped Stoutland down,
Performance: A-tier
Elite Four Caitlin: level 59, Stoutland outspeeds everything, after 2 Work Ups it OHKOs everything with Expert Belt boosted Crunch, setup is rather easy on Musharna but it can be annoying with Reflect in which case you have to wait for it to wear off, 1-2 Full Heals are needed agaist Yawn, pretty safe sweep but it can take a bit,
Performance: A-tier
Champion Iris: level 59/60, Stoutland is faster than Druddigion, Aggron and Lapras but slower than Hydreigon, Haxorus and Archeops, Stoutland wants to set up 3 Work Ups to comfortably sweep, Hydreigon's Dragon Pulse is not a 2HKO so Stoutland can set up to +3 with the help of 2 Hyper Potions, +3 Return then OHKOs Hydreigon and Druddigon, another Hyper Potion is needed against Haxorus to get out of range of its attack, +3 Return brings it down to its Sash, Iris uselessly heals her Haxorus to full with a Full Restore but the next +3 Return is just going to knock it out, Haxorus will never get off a +1 attack on Stoutland, Aggron is OHKOed by +3 Dig, before you knock out Aggron you have to make sure to heal back to full though as you need to be outside the range of Archeops Acrobatics, it also has Rock Slide which can flinch you, Iron Head or Wild Charge OHKOs it, overall Stoutland can decently consistently sweep but requires a lot of healing items,
Performance: B/C-tier
Overall battle performance: A/B-tier
Performance: A-tier
Gym 2 Roxie: level 18, Herdier outspeeds everything and after 1 Work Up its just 2HKOs Koffing and Whirlipede while they do barely any damage in return, super easy sweep,
Performance: S-tier
Gym 3 Burgh: level 24, Herdier carries the Eviolite, Herdier outspeeds Swadloon and Dwebble but Leavanny is faster (Dwebble too at -1), Herdier can easily set up 3 Work Ups on Swadloon and then OHKO Swadloon and Leavanny with Return and 2HKO Dwebble, healing is not needed outside of a a Razor Leaf crit from Leavanny,
Performance: B-tier
Colress 1: level 25, Herdier outspeeds both Pokemon and 2HKOs easily with Rock Smash, only 1 Parlyz Heal was needed after Magnemite's turn 1 Thunder Wave, Herdier barely got damaged, rather easy fight,
Performance: A-tier
Gym 4 Elesa: level 30/31, Herdier carries the Eviolite, Emolga is faster and Volt Switches out to Flaaffy who is OHKOed after 1 Work Up, Emolga Volt Switches again to Zebstrika who is OHKOed by +1 Dig and never gets a move off unless Herdier gets paralysed, finally Emolga is also getting OHKOed by Return, Herdier does receive decent damage and likely status during this fight but doesn't require healing,
Performance: A/B-tier
Gym 5 Clay: level 33, Stoutland is faster than Krokorok and after 1 Work Up to offset the Intimidate Return OHKOs it, Torment can be annoying for the remaining battle, it is better to use 2 Work Ups against Krokorok though, as Sandslash is barely not 2HKOed by neutral Return, Sandslash can be annoying with defense drops from Crush Claw, Excadrill is faster than Stoutland but +1 Expert Belt boosted Dig OHKOs it and its doesn't deal too much damage back, so it likely doesn't need any healing during this battle, Stoutland is outspeed by everything at -1 if its hit by Bulldoze,
Performance: B-tier
Hugh 3: level 33, Stoutland outspeeds and OHKOs Pignite and Tranquill with Dig and Return, Simipour is faster and Return is a roll to OHKO, the only thing that can go wrong is Scald burning Stoutland, but it would still sweep,
Performance: S/A-tier
Cheren 2: level 33, Stoutland outspeeds all three Pokemon and at +1 OHKOs them all with Return, super easy sweep,
Performance: S-tier
Colress 2: level 33, Stoutland outspeeds all three Pokemon and OHKOs them, if Magneton is Sturdy it can get a Thunder Wave off, but Stoutland can still sweep without much issue, Crunch for Elgyem and Dig for Klink,
Performance: S/A-tier
Gym 6 Skyla: level 39/40, Swoobat is faster but can't do much damage after Intimidate, Expert Belt boosted Crunch OHKOs it, similar with Swanna, it is faster than Stoutland but doesn't do much damage and gets OHKOed by Thunder Fang, Skarmory is 3HKOed by Thunder Fang, Stoutland only struggles if it got hit by Feather Dance by Swanna,
Performance: A/B-tier
Hugh 4: level 42/43, Stoutland outspeeds and 2HKOs both Unfezant and Emboar with Return, neither one can do much damage to it, Simipour is faster but Return has a chance to OHKO it with Silk Scarf, the only real threat is a Scald burn but Stoutland would still sweep,
Performance: S/A-tier
Zinzolin 1: level 43, Cryogonal and Sneasel outspeed Stoutland but Cryogonal is OHKOed by Return and Golbat, Garbodor and Sneasel all have a chance to be OHKOed by Silk Scarf boosted Return as well, Soutland mostly sweeps but receives a bit of damage,
Performance: A-tier
Gym 7 Drayden: level 47, Druddigon is slower and 2HKOed by Return, it also can't do much damage back thanks to Intimidate unless it goes for Revenge, Flygon is faster but also 2HKOed by Return, its Earth Powers do sting though, Haxorus is faster but Silk Scarf boosted Return has a chance to 2HKO through Sitrus Berry, if Stoutland gets Dragon Tailed out, it can pretty freely switch back in again, 1-2 Hyper Potions are needed for this fight though,
Performance: B/C-tier
Zinzolin 2: level 48, Stoutland is slower than everything, Return does OHKO both Cryogonals but they can be annoying with Confuse Ray or Reflect, Ice Beam also stings, Weavile is 2HKOed, Stoutland can land the OHKO if it has Iron Head, 1 Hyper Beam might be needed,
Performance: A/B-tier
Gym 8 Marlon: level 50/51, Carracosta is slower than Soutland even after 1 Shell Smash, Crunch into Dig 2HKOs after 1 Shell Smash which it is very likely to do, Wailord is slower and really likes to waste its only turn with Amnesia, even at low health, Return is a 2HKO, Jellicent is problematic, Crunch is a 2HKO but Scald and Cursed Body are big problems, 1 Hyper Potion is likely needed too, a bit inconsistent,
Performance: B-tier
Zinzolin 3: level 51, Stoutland is slower than everything except Watchog, Cryogonal can be annyoing with Confuse Ray or Reflect but otherwise they just get OHKOed by Return, Weavile is 2HKO (OHKO with Iron Head), its best to focus on the Ice types while Emboar cleans up the rest, decent enough sweep which very likely doesn't require any healing,
Performance: A-tier
Zinzolin 4: level 52, Stoutland is slower than everything, the Cryogonal can be annoying with Confuse Ray or Reflect, their Ice Beam and Weavile's Night Slash also does decent damage, Return OHKOs the Cryogonal and 2HKOs Weavile, if Stoutland has Iron Head it also OHKOs the Cryogonal through Reflect and lands the OHKO on Weavile outside Reflect, 1 Full Restore might be needed if things go south,
Performance: A/B-tier
Colress 3: level 52/53, Stoutland outspeeds everything and no attack 2HKOs it, Magneton will always Thunder Wave Stoutland and then Volt Switch out to Magnezone which gives Stoutland the option to break their Sturdy with Crunch, Stoutland will need its first Full Restore against Magnezone and its second against Klinklang, Dig KOs Magnezone after Crunch, Crunch breaks Klinklang's Air Balloon and Expert Belt boosted Dig 2HKOs afterwards, its +1 Giga Impact does barely do half, Metang is 2HKOed by Dig and Beheeyem is 2HKOed by Crunch or Return, neither one deals half to Stoutland, lastly Magneton is KOed with Dig after Crunch broke its Sturdy at the beginning of the fight, honestly a pretty safe sweep, Soutland only needs 2-3 Full Restores,
Performance: A-tier
Ghetsis: level 52/53/54, Stoutland outspeeds Cof*grigus, Seismitoad, Toxicroak and Eelektross, Stoutland is slower than Drapion and Hydreigon, everything gets 2HKOed, Cruch for Cof*grigus and Return for everything else, only Toxicroak's Brick Break and Hydreigon's Dragon Rush deal more than half to Stoutland, with a few healing items Stoutland can sweep here,
Performance: B-tier
Hugh 5: level 57/58, Stoutland outspeeds everything, it only really needs 1 Work Up to sweep easily, +1 Expert Belt boosted Dig OHKOs Emboar, Simipour is OHKOed by Return and Bouffalant and Unzefant are 2HKOed by Return, if Unfezant goes for Swagger then the sweep is even easier, consistent sweep,
Performance: A-tier
Elite Four Shauntal: level 57/58, Stoutland can easily set up 2 Work Ups on Cof*grigus and then just outspeeds and OHKOs everything with Crunch, Expert Belt helps with some rolls, Stoutland does maybe need 0-2 Full Restores depending if Cof*grigus and Chandelure burn it, but otherwise super easy and consistent sweep,
Performance: S-tier
Elite Four Marshal: level 59, Stoutland needs 1 Work Up to 2HKO Throh with Return, Throh will slow down Soutland with Bulldoze and deal good damage with Storm Throw, Mienshao just outspeeds and OHKOs it with High Jump Kick, Conkeldurr and Sawk can both take 2 or more hits before going down and deal heavy damage in return, Stoutland just a bad time here,
Performance: E-tier
Elite Four Grimsley: level 59, Stoutland is slower than Liepard and Krookodile but faster than Scrafty and Bisharp, Stoutland can easily set up Work Ups on Liepard who can barely deal any damage and can only annoy with Attract if you have a male Stoutland, at +3 Stoutland OHKOs everything, Return for Liepard, Scrafty and Krookodile and Dig for Bisharp, fairly easy and consistent sweep, 1 Hyper Potion is probably needed to get out of Earthquake range from Krookodile after Liepard chipped Stoutland down,
Performance: A-tier
Elite Four Caitlin: level 59, Stoutland outspeeds everything, after 2 Work Ups it OHKOs everything with Expert Belt boosted Crunch, setup is rather easy on Musharna but it can be annoying with Reflect in which case you have to wait for it to wear off, 1-2 Full Heals are needed agaist Yawn, pretty safe sweep but it can take a bit,
Performance: A-tier
Champion Iris: level 59/60, Stoutland is faster than Druddigion, Aggron and Lapras but slower than Hydreigon, Haxorus and Archeops, Stoutland wants to set up 3 Work Ups to comfortably sweep, Hydreigon's Dragon Pulse is not a 2HKO so Stoutland can set up to +3 with the help of 2 Hyper Potions, +3 Return then OHKOs Hydreigon and Druddigon, another Hyper Potion is needed against Haxorus to get out of range of its attack, +3 Return brings it down to its Sash, Iris uselessly heals her Haxorus to full with a Full Restore but the next +3 Return is just going to knock it out, Haxorus will never get off a +1 attack on Stoutland, Aggron is OHKOed by +3 Dig, before you knock out Aggron you have to make sure to heal back to full though as you need to be outside the range of Archeops Acrobatics, it also has Rock Slide which can flinch you, Iron Head or Wild Charge OHKOs it, overall Stoutland can decently consistently sweep but requires a lot of healing items,
Performance: B/C-tier
Overall battle performance: A/B-tier
Gym 4 Elesa: level 30, Dwebble carries the Eviolite, Emolga is faster and its Volt Switch does almost half even with Eviolite, Dwebble is faster than Flaaffy and 2HKOs with Rock Slide (Dig is not an OHKO and risks status from Static), Emolga comes in again and knocks Dwebble into red health with Volt Switch into Zebstrika, Dwebble can use this turn to Rock Polish but needs 1 Hyper Potion afterwards as Zebstrika Quick Attacks, Zebstrika is now slower (unless it used Flame Charge) and Dwebble can take 1 Volt Switch from near full, Dig does over half through Sitrus Berry, it Volt Switches to Emolga who Dwebble now outspeeds and OHKOs with Rock Slide, overall very risky battle,
Performance: D/E-tier
Gym 5 Clay: level 34, Crustle is slower than Krokorok but it can't do much damage so it can set up a Rock Polish to outsped everything, Bug Bite is very close to an OHKO, Soft Sand boosted Dig is doing half to Excadrill but after a Bulldoze, it is faster again and both Metal Claw and Rock Slide deal too much damage to Crustle to win the 1v1 considering Excadrill's Sitrus Berry, Sandslash is faster than Crustle and Rollout can get out of control, meanwhile Bug Bite is only a 3HKO, overall not a great battle for Crustle,
Performance: C/D-tier
Hugh 3: level 34, Crustle is slower than Pignite but after 1 Shell Smash it outspeeds and OHKOs everything with Dig, Bug Bite and Rock Slide, Pignite can't really do anything, super clean sweep,
Performance: S-tier
Cheren 2: level 34, Crustle is slower than Stoutland but after 1 Shell Smash it outspeeds and OHKOs everything with Rock Slide and Bug Bite (Cheren's Stoutland can live +1 Rock Slide if it has Intimidate), Crustle isn't threatened by anything, easy sweep,
Performance: S-tier
Colress 2: level 34, Magneton is faster and is quite a threat with potential status, a hard hitting Mirror Shot and potentially having Sturdy, in theory Crustle can take one Mirror Shot and then Shell Smash to sweep Colress' entire team with Dig and Bug Bite, but Magneton can certainly ruin this,
Performance: B-tier
Gym 6 Skyla: level 39, Swoobat is faster but can't do much damage, Crustle outspeeds everything after 1 Shell Smash, Swoobat and Swanna are OHKOed by +2 Rock Slide and Skarmory is 2HKOed, Steel Wing does a lot of damage but Crustle still doesn't need any healing, the entire battle only takes 5 turns, rather consistent sweep,
Performance: S/A-tier
Hugh 4: level 41, after 1 Shell Smash Crustle outspeeds and OHKOs everything, Rock Slide for Unfezant, X-Scissor for Simipour and Dig for Emboar, the only things that can go wrong is if Unfezant flinches Crustle multiple times as its tries to set up or if it uses Taunt to prevent Shell Smash which wastes some turns, overall very easy sweep though,
Performance: S/A-tier
Zinzolin 1: level 43, Crustle outspeeds everything except Sneasel after 1 Shell Smash, Rock Slide then OHKOs Cryogonal and Golbat, Sneasel is also OHKOed and Garbodor is also OHKOed with Hard Stone (or Emboar cleans up), easy sweep in just 3 turns but if Sneasel goes for Punishment, then it can deal big damage to Crustle after Shell Smash, not enough to knock it though, Shell Smashing twice gets around that but risks damage from Ice Beam,
Performance: S/A-tier
Gym 7 Drayden: level 47, Crustle is faster than Druddigon and can set up 2 Shell Smashes on it without getting knocked out, it never went for Dragon Tail in my testing, at +4 Crustle outspeeds and OHKOs everything with X-Scissor, decently consistent sweep,
Performance: A-tier
Zinzolin 2: level 47, Crustle outspeeds both Cryogonals after 1 Shell Smash, Weavile is faster however, Ice Beam does half and Cryogonal can set up a Reflect, however +2 X-Scissor still OHKOs all three Pokemon after 1 Shell Smash, equipping a Sitrus Berry might be good as Ice Beam + Night Slash come very close to knocking out Crustle,
Performance: A/B-tier
Gym 8 Marlon: level 50, Crustle is faster than Carracosta but because of Sturdy and Scald it has no good setup oppertunity, neutral Scald is nearly an OHKO, Wailord and Jellicent are also faster and heavily threatening with Scald, if Crustle could get off a Shell Smash then it could at least take out Wailord and Jellicent, but sadly it just is a horrible matchup,
Performance: F-tier
Zinzolin 3: level 51/52, Crustle is slower than everything but after 1 Shell Smash it outspeeds everything except Weavile, Cryogonal can be annoying with Confuse Ray or Reflect, once Crustle is set up it just gets two kill two Pokemon each turn for 3 turns with Rock Slide (better equip the Wide Lens), Ice Beam + Night Slash does actually come very close to knocking it out so you might want to play it safe with a Hyper Potion,
Performance: A-tier
Zinzolin 4: level 52, Crustle is slower than everything but after 1 Shell Smash it outspeeds and OHKOs everything with X-Scissor (even through Relect!), if you want to be super safe you can equip Crustle with a Persim Berry against Confuse Ray, this is a super safe and easy sweep,
Performance: S-tier
Colress 3: level 52, Crustle is slower than Magneton who just OHKOs it with Flash Cannon from full, Magnezone is also faster and KOs it, both also have Sturdy so Crustle can't set up, Klinklang is on an Air Ballon that Crustle needs to break, both Klinklang and Metang need +2 to be OHKOed by Dig but their Steel Attacks are too strong for Crustle, Beheeyem is the only Pokemon Crustle can outspeed and OHKO with X-Scissor, overall just a horrible matchup for Crustle,
Performance: E/F-tier
Ghetsis: level 52/53/54, Crustle can get a safe Shell Smash off on Cof*grigus as it will always Toxic and Protect on the first two turns, that means it can Shell Smash turn 1 and heal the poison with a Full Heal on turn 2, +2 Expert Belt boosted Shadow Claw OHKOs Cof*grigus, Crustle then outspeeds and OHKOs everything, Seismitoad and Hydreigon are OHKOed by X-Scissor, Drapion and Toxicroak are OHKOed by Dig, only Eelektross is barely able to live a +2 X-Scissor, but it can't do enough back and is then KOed, rather safe sweep with barely any item support, Leftovers are nice to have,
Performance: S-tier
Hugh 5: level 58, Crustle outspeeds everything after 1 Shell Smash, it can easily set up on Unfezant, at +2 X-Scissor OHKOs Simipour and 2HKOs Bouffalant (Megahorn doesn't OHKO after Shell Smash), Emboar is OHKOed by +2 Dig and Unfezant is OHKOed by +2 Rock Slide, very safe and consistent sweep, if Unzefant goes for Swagger turn 1 then Bouffalant is also OHKOed, the confusion can be easily healed with an equipped Persim Berry or Full Heal,
Performance: S-tier
Elite Four Shauntal: level 58, Crustle is trying to setup a Shell Smash to sweep but sadly +2 Expert Belt boosted Shadow Claw is still only a roll to OHKO Cof*grigus (and I even had a +Attack nature), the rest of her team gets outsped and OHKOed by Shadow Claw but setting up against Cof*agrigus is kind of difficult as Crustle can't take Shadow Ball into Shadow Ball after Shell Smash, the most consistent strategy I came up with was to equip a Rawst Berry and Shadow Claw on turn 1, if it tries to burn you, you have a free turn next turn to Shell Smash (Crustle can take 1 Shadow Ball at -1 and Aftermath later from full), if it Shadow Balls instead then you have to heal until it wastes its turn to your Berry, sadly much less consistent due to an unfortunate roll, still likely to sweep though and it could also just set up on Golruk instead,
Performance: A/B-tier
Elite Four Marshal: level 58/59, Crustle needs +4 to OHKO Throh and Conkeldurr, luckily it can set up two Shell Smashes on Throh as Crustle can take a Rock Tomb at -1 into Rock Tomb at -2 without fainting, +4 Aerial Ace then OHKOs Throh and Conkeldurr, then Sawk's Sturdy sadly stops Crustle's sweep, Aerial Ace brings it down to 1 HP and then Sawk knocks Crustle out, you will have to bring in another Pokemon, Marshal will heal his Sawk to full HP the next turn so use your other Pokemon to break its Sturdy again, once your other Pokemon is knocked out, Crustle can come back in again and set up again, but Rock Slide is a 2HKO so it can be dicy with flinches, after a new Shell Smash Aerial Ace OHKOs the damaged Sawk, Mienshao is also outsped and OHKOed, sadly Sawk's Sturdy makes Crustle's performance worse here, but if you really wanted to you could relearn Stealth Rock and set them up on Throh to break Sawk's Sturdy,
Performance: B-tier
Elite Four Grimsley: level 58/59, Crustle needs 2 Shell Smashes to KO Scrafty and Bisharp, but thankfully it is very safe to set up twice on Liepard, Crustle can take Fake Out + 2 Night Slashes (one at -1 and one at -2) without even getting into red health, +4 Crustle then just outspeeds and OHKOs everything with X-Scissor, the only thing that can go wrong is Liepard being annoying with Attract in case you have a female Crustle, in that case you might need 1 Hyper Potion, otherwise clean and easy sweep,
Performance: S/A-tier
Elite Four Caitlin: level 59, Crustle outspeeds and OHKOs everything with X-Scissor after 1 Shell Smash, equip a Chesto Berry against Musharna's Yawn (which it will always go for on turn 1), zero risk, easy sweep,
Performance: S-tier
Champion Iris: level 59/60, Crustle is slower than Hydreigon but outspeeds everything after 1 Shell Smash, Crustle can take Hydreigon's Surf from full and then OHKO it with X-Scissor, Lapras is OHKOed with Rock Slide, sadly Druddigon lives a +2 X-Scissor (I even had a +Attack nature) and can knock Crustle out, its only chance is to flinch Druddigion with Rock Slide or get a high hit Rock Blast if you are running that, Aggron and Acheops are both OHKOed by +2 Dig or Rock Slide, Haxorus sadly also stops the sweep unless you get a high hit Rock Blast, a full sweep is unlikely but Crustle can still knock out plenty Pokemon, if you bring it back later with a Max Revive it can even set up and sweep again,
Performance: B/C-tier
Overall battle performance: A/B-tier
Performance: D/E-tier
Gym 5 Clay: level 34, Crustle is slower than Krokorok but it can't do much damage so it can set up a Rock Polish to outsped everything, Bug Bite is very close to an OHKO, Soft Sand boosted Dig is doing half to Excadrill but after a Bulldoze, it is faster again and both Metal Claw and Rock Slide deal too much damage to Crustle to win the 1v1 considering Excadrill's Sitrus Berry, Sandslash is faster than Crustle and Rollout can get out of control, meanwhile Bug Bite is only a 3HKO, overall not a great battle for Crustle,
Performance: C/D-tier
Hugh 3: level 34, Crustle is slower than Pignite but after 1 Shell Smash it outspeeds and OHKOs everything with Dig, Bug Bite and Rock Slide, Pignite can't really do anything, super clean sweep,
Performance: S-tier
Cheren 2: level 34, Crustle is slower than Stoutland but after 1 Shell Smash it outspeeds and OHKOs everything with Rock Slide and Bug Bite (Cheren's Stoutland can live +1 Rock Slide if it has Intimidate), Crustle isn't threatened by anything, easy sweep,
Performance: S-tier
Colress 2: level 34, Magneton is faster and is quite a threat with potential status, a hard hitting Mirror Shot and potentially having Sturdy, in theory Crustle can take one Mirror Shot and then Shell Smash to sweep Colress' entire team with Dig and Bug Bite, but Magneton can certainly ruin this,
Performance: B-tier
Gym 6 Skyla: level 39, Swoobat is faster but can't do much damage, Crustle outspeeds everything after 1 Shell Smash, Swoobat and Swanna are OHKOed by +2 Rock Slide and Skarmory is 2HKOed, Steel Wing does a lot of damage but Crustle still doesn't need any healing, the entire battle only takes 5 turns, rather consistent sweep,
Performance: S/A-tier
Hugh 4: level 41, after 1 Shell Smash Crustle outspeeds and OHKOs everything, Rock Slide for Unfezant, X-Scissor for Simipour and Dig for Emboar, the only things that can go wrong is if Unfezant flinches Crustle multiple times as its tries to set up or if it uses Taunt to prevent Shell Smash which wastes some turns, overall very easy sweep though,
Performance: S/A-tier
Zinzolin 1: level 43, Crustle outspeeds everything except Sneasel after 1 Shell Smash, Rock Slide then OHKOs Cryogonal and Golbat, Sneasel is also OHKOed and Garbodor is also OHKOed with Hard Stone (or Emboar cleans up), easy sweep in just 3 turns but if Sneasel goes for Punishment, then it can deal big damage to Crustle after Shell Smash, not enough to knock it though, Shell Smashing twice gets around that but risks damage from Ice Beam,
Performance: S/A-tier
Gym 7 Drayden: level 47, Crustle is faster than Druddigon and can set up 2 Shell Smashes on it without getting knocked out, it never went for Dragon Tail in my testing, at +4 Crustle outspeeds and OHKOs everything with X-Scissor, decently consistent sweep,
Performance: A-tier
Zinzolin 2: level 47, Crustle outspeeds both Cryogonals after 1 Shell Smash, Weavile is faster however, Ice Beam does half and Cryogonal can set up a Reflect, however +2 X-Scissor still OHKOs all three Pokemon after 1 Shell Smash, equipping a Sitrus Berry might be good as Ice Beam + Night Slash come very close to knocking out Crustle,
Performance: A/B-tier
Gym 8 Marlon: level 50, Crustle is faster than Carracosta but because of Sturdy and Scald it has no good setup oppertunity, neutral Scald is nearly an OHKO, Wailord and Jellicent are also faster and heavily threatening with Scald, if Crustle could get off a Shell Smash then it could at least take out Wailord and Jellicent, but sadly it just is a horrible matchup,
Performance: F-tier
Zinzolin 3: level 51/52, Crustle is slower than everything but after 1 Shell Smash it outspeeds everything except Weavile, Cryogonal can be annoying with Confuse Ray or Reflect, once Crustle is set up it just gets two kill two Pokemon each turn for 3 turns with Rock Slide (better equip the Wide Lens), Ice Beam + Night Slash does actually come very close to knocking it out so you might want to play it safe with a Hyper Potion,
Performance: A-tier
Zinzolin 4: level 52, Crustle is slower than everything but after 1 Shell Smash it outspeeds and OHKOs everything with X-Scissor (even through Relect!), if you want to be super safe you can equip Crustle with a Persim Berry against Confuse Ray, this is a super safe and easy sweep,
Performance: S-tier
Colress 3: level 52, Crustle is slower than Magneton who just OHKOs it with Flash Cannon from full, Magnezone is also faster and KOs it, both also have Sturdy so Crustle can't set up, Klinklang is on an Air Ballon that Crustle needs to break, both Klinklang and Metang need +2 to be OHKOed by Dig but their Steel Attacks are too strong for Crustle, Beheeyem is the only Pokemon Crustle can outspeed and OHKO with X-Scissor, overall just a horrible matchup for Crustle,
Performance: E/F-tier
Ghetsis: level 52/53/54, Crustle can get a safe Shell Smash off on Cof*grigus as it will always Toxic and Protect on the first two turns, that means it can Shell Smash turn 1 and heal the poison with a Full Heal on turn 2, +2 Expert Belt boosted Shadow Claw OHKOs Cof*grigus, Crustle then outspeeds and OHKOs everything, Seismitoad and Hydreigon are OHKOed by X-Scissor, Drapion and Toxicroak are OHKOed by Dig, only Eelektross is barely able to live a +2 X-Scissor, but it can't do enough back and is then KOed, rather safe sweep with barely any item support, Leftovers are nice to have,
Performance: S-tier
Hugh 5: level 58, Crustle outspeeds everything after 1 Shell Smash, it can easily set up on Unfezant, at +2 X-Scissor OHKOs Simipour and 2HKOs Bouffalant (Megahorn doesn't OHKO after Shell Smash), Emboar is OHKOed by +2 Dig and Unfezant is OHKOed by +2 Rock Slide, very safe and consistent sweep, if Unzefant goes for Swagger turn 1 then Bouffalant is also OHKOed, the confusion can be easily healed with an equipped Persim Berry or Full Heal,
Performance: S-tier
Elite Four Shauntal: level 58, Crustle is trying to setup a Shell Smash to sweep but sadly +2 Expert Belt boosted Shadow Claw is still only a roll to OHKO Cof*grigus (and I even had a +Attack nature), the rest of her team gets outsped and OHKOed by Shadow Claw but setting up against Cof*agrigus is kind of difficult as Crustle can't take Shadow Ball into Shadow Ball after Shell Smash, the most consistent strategy I came up with was to equip a Rawst Berry and Shadow Claw on turn 1, if it tries to burn you, you have a free turn next turn to Shell Smash (Crustle can take 1 Shadow Ball at -1 and Aftermath later from full), if it Shadow Balls instead then you have to heal until it wastes its turn to your Berry, sadly much less consistent due to an unfortunate roll, still likely to sweep though and it could also just set up on Golruk instead,
Performance: A/B-tier
Elite Four Marshal: level 58/59, Crustle needs +4 to OHKO Throh and Conkeldurr, luckily it can set up two Shell Smashes on Throh as Crustle can take a Rock Tomb at -1 into Rock Tomb at -2 without fainting, +4 Aerial Ace then OHKOs Throh and Conkeldurr, then Sawk's Sturdy sadly stops Crustle's sweep, Aerial Ace brings it down to 1 HP and then Sawk knocks Crustle out, you will have to bring in another Pokemon, Marshal will heal his Sawk to full HP the next turn so use your other Pokemon to break its Sturdy again, once your other Pokemon is knocked out, Crustle can come back in again and set up again, but Rock Slide is a 2HKO so it can be dicy with flinches, after a new Shell Smash Aerial Ace OHKOs the damaged Sawk, Mienshao is also outsped and OHKOed, sadly Sawk's Sturdy makes Crustle's performance worse here, but if you really wanted to you could relearn Stealth Rock and set them up on Throh to break Sawk's Sturdy,
Performance: B-tier
Elite Four Grimsley: level 58/59, Crustle needs 2 Shell Smashes to KO Scrafty and Bisharp, but thankfully it is very safe to set up twice on Liepard, Crustle can take Fake Out + 2 Night Slashes (one at -1 and one at -2) without even getting into red health, +4 Crustle then just outspeeds and OHKOs everything with X-Scissor, the only thing that can go wrong is Liepard being annoying with Attract in case you have a female Crustle, in that case you might need 1 Hyper Potion, otherwise clean and easy sweep,
Performance: S/A-tier
Elite Four Caitlin: level 59, Crustle outspeeds and OHKOs everything with X-Scissor after 1 Shell Smash, equip a Chesto Berry against Musharna's Yawn (which it will always go for on turn 1), zero risk, easy sweep,
Performance: S-tier
Champion Iris: level 59/60, Crustle is slower than Hydreigon but outspeeds everything after 1 Shell Smash, Crustle can take Hydreigon's Surf from full and then OHKO it with X-Scissor, Lapras is OHKOed with Rock Slide, sadly Druddigon lives a +2 X-Scissor (I even had a +Attack nature) and can knock Crustle out, its only chance is to flinch Druddigion with Rock Slide or get a high hit Rock Blast if you are running that, Aggron and Acheops are both OHKOed by +2 Dig or Rock Slide, Haxorus sadly also stops the sweep unless you get a high hit Rock Blast, a full sweep is unlikely but Crustle can still knock out plenty Pokemon, if you bring it back later with a Max Revive it can even set up and sweep again,
Performance: B/C-tier
Overall battle performance: A/B-tier
Hugh 4: level 41/42, Skarmory outspeeds everything after 1 Autotomize, Rock Slide 2HKOs Unfezant who can only really be annoying with Taunt on the first turn, Emboar is OHKOed by Expert Belt boosted Fly, Simipour is 2HKOed by Fly but its Scald is doing a lot and the burn chance is also a real threat,
Performance: A-tier
Zinzolin 1: level 43, Cryogonal is faster than Skarmory and its Ice Beam does a lot of damage, however after 1 Autotomize Skarmory outspeeds everything, Cryogonal and Sneasel are OHKOed by Iron Head, Golbat is 2HKOed by Rock Slide, Garbordor is 2HKOed by Iron Head, beside Cryogonal nothing can't seriously damage Skarmory, decent sweep,
Performance: A-tier
Gym 7 Drayden: level 47, Skarmory is faster than Druddigon and after 1 Autotomize it outspeeds everything, Druddigon is 3HKOed by Iron Head, Flygon is 3HKOed by Fly, Haxorus is 4HKOed, Skarmory probably gets Dragon Tailed out once or twice but it is almost invicible against Drayden, Leftovers do a lot here as well with Fly, Skarmory wins at the end but it is kind of slow,
Performance: A/B-tier
Zinzolin 2: level 47, Skarmory outspeeds the two Cryogonals after 1 Autotomize, however they can be annoying with Confuse Ray or Reflect and Ice Beam is doing half, all three Pokemon are OHKOed by Expert Belt boosted Iron Head,
Performance: A/B-tier
Gym 8 Marlon: level 50, Skarmory outspeeds Carracosta even after a Shell Smash but its attacks are just to weak, Iron Head is only a 4HKO even at -1 and there is a good chance you knock it into Hyper Potion range, +2 Scald does 75%, Skarmory's chances against Carracosta are bad, Wailord is slower and likes to waste its turn with Amnesia, Sharp Beak boosted Fly 2HKOs, Jellicent is only 3HKOed (Night Slash would also not 2HKO) and Scald is a big threat, overall not a great matchup,
Performance: E-tier
Zinzolin 3: level 51, Skarmory is slower than the Cryogonals but outspeeds everything after 1 Autotomize, but before it gets this boost off Cryogonal and Liepard can be quite annoying with Confuse Ray, Reflect and Taunt, Taunt being the worst outcome since the Ice Beam from the two Cryonogal is the only move that can even touch Skarmory, the two Cryogonal are both OHKOed by Iron Head or Rock Slide (even through Reflect), Weavile is OHKOed by Expert Belt boosted Iron Head, its best to go after the Ice types with Skarmory while Emboar cleans up the other Pokemon with Flamethrower for a solid sweep,
Performance: A-tier
Zinzolin 4: level 52/53, Skarmory is slower than everything but after 1 Autotomize it outspeeds everything, Iron Head OHKOs both Cryogonal even through Reflect, with Expert Belt Skarmory can also OHKO Weavile with Iron Head outside of Reflect, Ice Beam does almost half and Reflect or Confuse Ray can be annoying though, it is safer with Persim Berry even if you miss the Weavile OHKO as it can't touch Skarmory anyway,
Performance: A-tier
Colress 3: level 52, Skarmory is walled by Magneton, Magnezone and Klinklang and just KOed by their ELectric attacks, nothing Skarmory can do against them, Skarmory will 1v1 Beheeyem and Metang eventually with some healing support, Night Slash is its best attack against them,
Performance: D-tier
Ghetsis: level 53/54, Skarmory outspeeds everything after 1 Autotomize which it can easily set up on Cof*grigus, Thief can be used to steal its Leftovers and then easily 1v1 it afterwards, Iron Head is a 4HKO while it can't really touch Skarmory unless it gets a Special Defense drop, Seismitoad is 3HKOed by Iron Head into 2 Flys but its Muddy Water does somewhat sting, Drapion, Toxicroak and Hydreigon are all completely walled by Skarmory and easily taken care off by Iron Head and Fly, Eelektross is the only losing matchup in this fight as its Thunderbolt does too much damage, otherwise Skarmory sweeps pretty cleanly with only modest healing support,
Performance: A/B-tier
Hugh 5: level 58, Skarmory outspeeds everything after 1 Autotomize, Unfezant is 2HKOed by Rock Slide, Bouffalant and Simipour are 2HKOed by Fly, Emboar is OHKOed by Expert Belt boosted Fly, if Unfezant goes for Swagger then Skarmory can sweep much cleaner as it turns 2HKOs into OHKOs, decently consistent,
Performance: A/B-tier
Elite Four Shauntal: level 58, Skarmory outspeeds everything after 1 Autotomize, Cof*grigus is 3HKOed by Expert Belt boosted Night Slash while it can't do much in return besides burning it, which can be healed, sadly Chandelure is not even 2HKOed due to its Sitrus Berry while Fire Blast cleanly OHKOs Skarmory, Golurk is walled by Skarmory and 3HKOed by Night Slash, Drifblim is 2HKOed by Night Slash but Thunderbolt is doing huge damage to Skarmory and it also needs the Autotomize speed boost to be faster,
Performance: C-tier
Elite Four Marshal: level 58, Skarmory outspeeds everything after 1 Autotomize (even at just +1 if Throh lowers its speed), Throh is 2HKOed by Iron Head into Expert Belt boosted Fly, Mienshao can be weirdly annoying as it really likes to go for Bounce for some reason which is a problem if Skarmory is faster and tries to OHKO it with Fly, but it is not like it does real damage and eventually it will pick a different move and die, Conkeldurr is 2HKOed by Expert Belt boosted Fly too but Hammer Arm does half and Bulk up on the flying turn is a problem, Sawk is easily 1v1ed, a bit of an inconsistent sweep,
Performance: B-tier
Elite Four Grimsley: level 58/59, Skarmory outspeeds everything after 1 Autotomize, Expert Belt boosted X-Scissor OHKOs Liepard and Fly is a roll to OHKO Scrafty, Krookodile is also a roll for the X-Scissor 2HKO with Expert Belt at -1, Bisharp needs a lot of X-Scissor hits and needs to slowly be chipped down (for the record the battle with Rock Smash is also not faster), neither one of Grimsley's Pokemon can really touch Skarmory so it is a pretty safe sweep even if it takes a while, 1 Hyper Potion might be needed,
Performance: A/B-tier
Elite Four Caitlin: level 58/59, Skarmory outspeeds everything, Musharna has a chance to be 2HKOed by Expert Belt boosted X-Scissor but its Charge Beam is decently threatening, Gothitelle is also 2HKOed by X-Scissor (but not with the Sitrus Berry), Thunderbolt does almost OHKO Skarmory, it would need to get 2 Iron Head flinches to win the 1v1, Reuniclus is also 2HKOed by X-Scissor, Focus Blast is its only serious attack but it doesn't do too much, Sigiliyph is 2HKOed by Fly and Ice Beam doesn't do much damage, overall decent matchup outside Gothitelle,
Performance: B-tier
Champion Iris: level 58/59, Skarmory has big problems against Hydreigon, Druddigion and Lapras as there super-effective special attacks just deal way too much damage and Skarmory takes too long to knock them out, Skarmory matches up decently well against Aggron, Archeops and Haxorus and will eventually 1v1 them with some healing support, but overall Skarmory is not that great here,
Performance: D-tier
Overall battle performance: B-tier
Performance: A-tier
Zinzolin 1: level 43, Cryogonal is faster than Skarmory and its Ice Beam does a lot of damage, however after 1 Autotomize Skarmory outspeeds everything, Cryogonal and Sneasel are OHKOed by Iron Head, Golbat is 2HKOed by Rock Slide, Garbordor is 2HKOed by Iron Head, beside Cryogonal nothing can't seriously damage Skarmory, decent sweep,
Performance: A-tier
Gym 7 Drayden: level 47, Skarmory is faster than Druddigon and after 1 Autotomize it outspeeds everything, Druddigon is 3HKOed by Iron Head, Flygon is 3HKOed by Fly, Haxorus is 4HKOed, Skarmory probably gets Dragon Tailed out once or twice but it is almost invicible against Drayden, Leftovers do a lot here as well with Fly, Skarmory wins at the end but it is kind of slow,
Performance: A/B-tier
Zinzolin 2: level 47, Skarmory outspeeds the two Cryogonals after 1 Autotomize, however they can be annoying with Confuse Ray or Reflect and Ice Beam is doing half, all three Pokemon are OHKOed by Expert Belt boosted Iron Head,
Performance: A/B-tier
Gym 8 Marlon: level 50, Skarmory outspeeds Carracosta even after a Shell Smash but its attacks are just to weak, Iron Head is only a 4HKO even at -1 and there is a good chance you knock it into Hyper Potion range, +2 Scald does 75%, Skarmory's chances against Carracosta are bad, Wailord is slower and likes to waste its turn with Amnesia, Sharp Beak boosted Fly 2HKOs, Jellicent is only 3HKOed (Night Slash would also not 2HKO) and Scald is a big threat, overall not a great matchup,
Performance: E-tier
Zinzolin 3: level 51, Skarmory is slower than the Cryogonals but outspeeds everything after 1 Autotomize, but before it gets this boost off Cryogonal and Liepard can be quite annoying with Confuse Ray, Reflect and Taunt, Taunt being the worst outcome since the Ice Beam from the two Cryonogal is the only move that can even touch Skarmory, the two Cryogonal are both OHKOed by Iron Head or Rock Slide (even through Reflect), Weavile is OHKOed by Expert Belt boosted Iron Head, its best to go after the Ice types with Skarmory while Emboar cleans up the other Pokemon with Flamethrower for a solid sweep,
Performance: A-tier
Zinzolin 4: level 52/53, Skarmory is slower than everything but after 1 Autotomize it outspeeds everything, Iron Head OHKOs both Cryogonal even through Reflect, with Expert Belt Skarmory can also OHKO Weavile with Iron Head outside of Reflect, Ice Beam does almost half and Reflect or Confuse Ray can be annoying though, it is safer with Persim Berry even if you miss the Weavile OHKO as it can't touch Skarmory anyway,
Performance: A-tier
Colress 3: level 52, Skarmory is walled by Magneton, Magnezone and Klinklang and just KOed by their ELectric attacks, nothing Skarmory can do against them, Skarmory will 1v1 Beheeyem and Metang eventually with some healing support, Night Slash is its best attack against them,
Performance: D-tier
Ghetsis: level 53/54, Skarmory outspeeds everything after 1 Autotomize which it can easily set up on Cof*grigus, Thief can be used to steal its Leftovers and then easily 1v1 it afterwards, Iron Head is a 4HKO while it can't really touch Skarmory unless it gets a Special Defense drop, Seismitoad is 3HKOed by Iron Head into 2 Flys but its Muddy Water does somewhat sting, Drapion, Toxicroak and Hydreigon are all completely walled by Skarmory and easily taken care off by Iron Head and Fly, Eelektross is the only losing matchup in this fight as its Thunderbolt does too much damage, otherwise Skarmory sweeps pretty cleanly with only modest healing support,
Performance: A/B-tier
Hugh 5: level 58, Skarmory outspeeds everything after 1 Autotomize, Unfezant is 2HKOed by Rock Slide, Bouffalant and Simipour are 2HKOed by Fly, Emboar is OHKOed by Expert Belt boosted Fly, if Unfezant goes for Swagger then Skarmory can sweep much cleaner as it turns 2HKOs into OHKOs, decently consistent,
Performance: A/B-tier
Elite Four Shauntal: level 58, Skarmory outspeeds everything after 1 Autotomize, Cof*grigus is 3HKOed by Expert Belt boosted Night Slash while it can't do much in return besides burning it, which can be healed, sadly Chandelure is not even 2HKOed due to its Sitrus Berry while Fire Blast cleanly OHKOs Skarmory, Golurk is walled by Skarmory and 3HKOed by Night Slash, Drifblim is 2HKOed by Night Slash but Thunderbolt is doing huge damage to Skarmory and it also needs the Autotomize speed boost to be faster,
Performance: C-tier
Elite Four Marshal: level 58, Skarmory outspeeds everything after 1 Autotomize (even at just +1 if Throh lowers its speed), Throh is 2HKOed by Iron Head into Expert Belt boosted Fly, Mienshao can be weirdly annoying as it really likes to go for Bounce for some reason which is a problem if Skarmory is faster and tries to OHKO it with Fly, but it is not like it does real damage and eventually it will pick a different move and die, Conkeldurr is 2HKOed by Expert Belt boosted Fly too but Hammer Arm does half and Bulk up on the flying turn is a problem, Sawk is easily 1v1ed, a bit of an inconsistent sweep,
Performance: B-tier
Elite Four Grimsley: level 58/59, Skarmory outspeeds everything after 1 Autotomize, Expert Belt boosted X-Scissor OHKOs Liepard and Fly is a roll to OHKO Scrafty, Krookodile is also a roll for the X-Scissor 2HKO with Expert Belt at -1, Bisharp needs a lot of X-Scissor hits and needs to slowly be chipped down (for the record the battle with Rock Smash is also not faster), neither one of Grimsley's Pokemon can really touch Skarmory so it is a pretty safe sweep even if it takes a while, 1 Hyper Potion might be needed,
Performance: A/B-tier
Elite Four Caitlin: level 58/59, Skarmory outspeeds everything, Musharna has a chance to be 2HKOed by Expert Belt boosted X-Scissor but its Charge Beam is decently threatening, Gothitelle is also 2HKOed by X-Scissor (but not with the Sitrus Berry), Thunderbolt does almost OHKO Skarmory, it would need to get 2 Iron Head flinches to win the 1v1, Reuniclus is also 2HKOed by X-Scissor, Focus Blast is its only serious attack but it doesn't do too much, Sigiliyph is 2HKOed by Fly and Ice Beam doesn't do much damage, overall decent matchup outside Gothitelle,
Performance: B-tier
Champion Iris: level 58/59, Skarmory has big problems against Hydreigon, Druddigion and Lapras as there super-effective special attacks just deal way too much damage and Skarmory takes too long to knock them out, Skarmory matches up decently well against Aggron, Archeops and Haxorus and will eventually 1v1 them with some healing support, but overall Skarmory is not that great here,
Performance: D-tier
Overall battle performance: B-tier
Hugh 4: level 41/42, Unzefant is faster but its Air Slashes don't deal too much damage and Surf is a 2HKO, Emboar is slower but sadly even with Expert Belt Surf is just barely not an OHKO, its Assurance does decent damage back, Simipour is faster but can't really touch Jellicent while Energy Ball is a 2HKO, 1 Hyper Potion could be needed,
Performance: A/B-tier
Zinzolin 1: level 43/44, Jellicent is slower than everything, Cryogonal also sets up a Light Screen which drags the battle out a lot, luckily Jellicent is pretty much invincible as nothing really damages it, Toxic from Garbodor and Punishment from Sneasel do almost nothing, slow but pretty safe fight with Emboar, a Hyper Potion might be needed,
Performance: B/C-tier
Gym 7 Drayden: level 47, Jellicent only outspeeds Druddigon, equip a Wide Lens for this figth, Blizzard 2HKOs Druddigon and Haxorus and OHKOs Flygon, the problem is that their physical attacks just do way to much damage to Jellicent, Druddigon's Crunch does over half and Flygon's Crunch and Haxorus' Dragon Tail are also 2HKOs, even with healing support this matchup is just not good,
Performance: D/E-tier
Zinzolin 2: level 47, Jellicent gets outsped by everything, while the two Cryogonal can't really touch Jellicent, they can still be quite annoying with Confuse Ray and Light Screen, Surf is only a 4HKO, Weavile's Night Slash is also doing 80%, just a rather bad matchup,
Performance: D/E-tier
Gym 8 Marlon: level 50, Jellicent outspeeds everything (even Carracostat after a Shell Smash), Carracosta usually goes for Shell Smash which means Shadow Ball into Energy Ball kills it, Wailord is easily 2HKOed by Energy Ball while it doesn't really do anything to Jellicent, Marlon's Jellicent is not 2HKOed by Shadow Ball due to its Sitrus Berry while its Ominous Wind 2HKOs your Jellicent, even if you also equip a Sitrus Berry your 1v1 chances are not great because it can also outheal Shadow Ball with Recover,
Performance: B-tier
Zinzolin 3: level 51, Jellicent is slower than everything, it can't really touch the Cryogonal so its best to focus on the Grunt's Pokemon, Liepard and Watchog are OHKOed by Water Plate boosted Scald, Cryogonal can be annoying with Light Screen and Confuse Ray, and Liepard does half with Night Slash, Weavile's Night Slash does 85%, Jellicent can help with some Pokemon but it has to rely on its partner a lot,
Performance: C-tier
Zinzolin 4: level 52, Jellicent is slower than everything, its best chance to damaging the Cryogonal is a weak Return which 2HKOs them, thankfully they can't really touch Jellicent outside of Confuse Ray or Reflect which it never used, Weavile just OHKOs Jellicent from full with Night Slash though, not much Jellicent can do here, even if it sets up a Trick Room, Surf is only a 2HKO,
Performance: C-tier
Colress 3: level 52/53, Jellicent is faster than Magneton and Magnezone, Jellicent can take 1 Volt Switch or Discharge from full, Surf into Hydro Pump 2HKOs both, for Magnezone Jellicent needs to a Max Revive to 1v1 it, Klinklang's Thunderbolt and Beheeyem's Engergy Ball are not 2HKOs so Jellicent can 1v1 them with healing support, both are 2HKOed by Surf/Hydro Pump and Shadow Ball, Metang is easily outsped and 2HKOed by Surf, not as bad of a matchup as it seems, with enough item support Jellicent can sweep,
Performance: C-tier
Ghetsis: level 52, Jellicent is faster than Cof*grigus, Seismitoad, Eelektross and Toxicroak, this fight is not a good matchup for Jellicent, it can 2HKO Cof*grigus with Shadow Ball and OHKO Seismitoad with Energy Ball, but all the other four Pokemon hit it too hard with their STAB or coverage moves, its Ghost typing is a pretty big downside here,
Performance: D/E-tier
Hugh 5: level 58/59, Jellicent is slower than Unzefant and Simipour but outspeeds Bouffalant and Emboar, Unfezant and Emboar are 2HKOed by Surf and can't do much damage to Jellicent, but Jellicent has to hit Will-O-Wisp against both Bouffalant and Simipour to weaken Wild Charge and Crunch which do too much damage, afterwards Surf and Energy Ball 2HKOs them, Jellicent is pretty inconsistent in this battle as it is possibly also confused which makes hittin Will-O-Wisp hard and could spell its death,
Performance: C-tier
Elite Four Shauntal: level 58/59, Jellicent 2HKOs Cof*grigus and Golurk with Shadow Ball and Surf, but sadly Drifblim and Chandelure just outspeed and 2HKO or OHKO it with Shadow Ball, Jellicent can't even attempt Trick Room as it can't safely set it up as otherwise Cof*grigus and Golurk outspeed it and hit it hard, overall not a good matchup,
Performance: D/E-tier
Elite Four Marshal: level 58/59, Jellicent doesn't match up nearly as good as you would think, it is good against Mienshao and decent against Conkeldurr with Psychic, but Conkeldurr is only 3HKOed because of its Sitrus Berry and +1 Stone Edge 2HKOs Jellicent, Throh is outsped which means Payback is doing double damage and even Expert Belt boosted Psychic is only a roll to 2HKO, Sawk outspeeds Jellicent, both of them just kind of destroy Jellicent with Payback because healing items going first strengthens Payback, not even Trick Room is good enough here,
Performance: D/E-tier
Elite Four Grimsley: level 59, yeah no, Jellicent is simply too slow and weak to have any chance in overcomming the type matchup,
Performance: F-tier
Elite Four Caitlin: level 59/60, Jellicent outspeeds everything except Sigilyph, Shadow Ball 2HKOs Musharna with Expert Belt, but it always goes for Yawn first, so you will have to waste a turn before knocking it out to not fall asleep on the next Pokemon, then heal the sleep with a Full Heal, Gothitelle, Reuniclus and Sigilyph are 2HKOed as well but their attacks do a lot more damage, with healing support Jellicent can sweep, a bit too much support is needed and it also takes long,
Performance: C-tier
Champion Iris: level 59/60, Jellicent outspeeds Lapras, Aggron and Druddigon but is slower than Hydreigon, Haxorus and Archeops, Jellicent is not 2HKOed by Hydreigon's Dragon Pulse, Lapras' Thunderbolt and Druddigion's Rock Slide (though they all come close), which means Jellicent can 1v1 them with healing support, Expert Belt boosted Ice Beam 2HKOs Hydreigon and Druddigion, Energy Ball 3HKOs Lapras and Aggron is OHKOed by Surf, Haxorus and Archeops are a problem though, both are still 2HKOed by Ice Beam or OHKOed by Surf, but Haxorus 2HKOs Jellicent after 1 Dragon Dance and Archeops' Acrobatics is a clean 2HKO, you can't really heal Jellicent on those, overall decent matchup but not great,
Performance: C-tier
Overall battle performance: C/D-tier
Performance: A/B-tier
Zinzolin 1: level 43/44, Jellicent is slower than everything, Cryogonal also sets up a Light Screen which drags the battle out a lot, luckily Jellicent is pretty much invincible as nothing really damages it, Toxic from Garbodor and Punishment from Sneasel do almost nothing, slow but pretty safe fight with Emboar, a Hyper Potion might be needed,
Performance: B/C-tier
Gym 7 Drayden: level 47, Jellicent only outspeeds Druddigon, equip a Wide Lens for this figth, Blizzard 2HKOs Druddigon and Haxorus and OHKOs Flygon, the problem is that their physical attacks just do way to much damage to Jellicent, Druddigon's Crunch does over half and Flygon's Crunch and Haxorus' Dragon Tail are also 2HKOs, even with healing support this matchup is just not good,
Performance: D/E-tier
Zinzolin 2: level 47, Jellicent gets outsped by everything, while the two Cryogonal can't really touch Jellicent, they can still be quite annoying with Confuse Ray and Light Screen, Surf is only a 4HKO, Weavile's Night Slash is also doing 80%, just a rather bad matchup,
Performance: D/E-tier
Gym 8 Marlon: level 50, Jellicent outspeeds everything (even Carracostat after a Shell Smash), Carracosta usually goes for Shell Smash which means Shadow Ball into Energy Ball kills it, Wailord is easily 2HKOed by Energy Ball while it doesn't really do anything to Jellicent, Marlon's Jellicent is not 2HKOed by Shadow Ball due to its Sitrus Berry while its Ominous Wind 2HKOs your Jellicent, even if you also equip a Sitrus Berry your 1v1 chances are not great because it can also outheal Shadow Ball with Recover,
Performance: B-tier
Zinzolin 3: level 51, Jellicent is slower than everything, it can't really touch the Cryogonal so its best to focus on the Grunt's Pokemon, Liepard and Watchog are OHKOed by Water Plate boosted Scald, Cryogonal can be annoying with Light Screen and Confuse Ray, and Liepard does half with Night Slash, Weavile's Night Slash does 85%, Jellicent can help with some Pokemon but it has to rely on its partner a lot,
Performance: C-tier
Zinzolin 4: level 52, Jellicent is slower than everything, its best chance to damaging the Cryogonal is a weak Return which 2HKOs them, thankfully they can't really touch Jellicent outside of Confuse Ray or Reflect which it never used, Weavile just OHKOs Jellicent from full with Night Slash though, not much Jellicent can do here, even if it sets up a Trick Room, Surf is only a 2HKO,
Performance: C-tier
Colress 3: level 52/53, Jellicent is faster than Magneton and Magnezone, Jellicent can take 1 Volt Switch or Discharge from full, Surf into Hydro Pump 2HKOs both, for Magnezone Jellicent needs to a Max Revive to 1v1 it, Klinklang's Thunderbolt and Beheeyem's Engergy Ball are not 2HKOs so Jellicent can 1v1 them with healing support, both are 2HKOed by Surf/Hydro Pump and Shadow Ball, Metang is easily outsped and 2HKOed by Surf, not as bad of a matchup as it seems, with enough item support Jellicent can sweep,
Performance: C-tier
Ghetsis: level 52, Jellicent is faster than Cof*grigus, Seismitoad, Eelektross and Toxicroak, this fight is not a good matchup for Jellicent, it can 2HKO Cof*grigus with Shadow Ball and OHKO Seismitoad with Energy Ball, but all the other four Pokemon hit it too hard with their STAB or coverage moves, its Ghost typing is a pretty big downside here,
Performance: D/E-tier
Hugh 5: level 58/59, Jellicent is slower than Unzefant and Simipour but outspeeds Bouffalant and Emboar, Unfezant and Emboar are 2HKOed by Surf and can't do much damage to Jellicent, but Jellicent has to hit Will-O-Wisp against both Bouffalant and Simipour to weaken Wild Charge and Crunch which do too much damage, afterwards Surf and Energy Ball 2HKOs them, Jellicent is pretty inconsistent in this battle as it is possibly also confused which makes hittin Will-O-Wisp hard and could spell its death,
Performance: C-tier
Elite Four Shauntal: level 58/59, Jellicent 2HKOs Cof*grigus and Golurk with Shadow Ball and Surf, but sadly Drifblim and Chandelure just outspeed and 2HKO or OHKO it with Shadow Ball, Jellicent can't even attempt Trick Room as it can't safely set it up as otherwise Cof*grigus and Golurk outspeed it and hit it hard, overall not a good matchup,
Performance: D/E-tier
Elite Four Marshal: level 58/59, Jellicent doesn't match up nearly as good as you would think, it is good against Mienshao and decent against Conkeldurr with Psychic, but Conkeldurr is only 3HKOed because of its Sitrus Berry and +1 Stone Edge 2HKOs Jellicent, Throh is outsped which means Payback is doing double damage and even Expert Belt boosted Psychic is only a roll to 2HKO, Sawk outspeeds Jellicent, both of them just kind of destroy Jellicent with Payback because healing items going first strengthens Payback, not even Trick Room is good enough here,
Performance: D/E-tier
Elite Four Grimsley: level 59, yeah no, Jellicent is simply too slow and weak to have any chance in overcomming the type matchup,
Performance: F-tier
Elite Four Caitlin: level 59/60, Jellicent outspeeds everything except Sigilyph, Shadow Ball 2HKOs Musharna with Expert Belt, but it always goes for Yawn first, so you will have to waste a turn before knocking it out to not fall asleep on the next Pokemon, then heal the sleep with a Full Heal, Gothitelle, Reuniclus and Sigilyph are 2HKOed as well but their attacks do a lot more damage, with healing support Jellicent can sweep, a bit too much support is needed and it also takes long,
Performance: C-tier
Champion Iris: level 59/60, Jellicent outspeeds Lapras, Aggron and Druddigon but is slower than Hydreigon, Haxorus and Archeops, Jellicent is not 2HKOed by Hydreigon's Dragon Pulse, Lapras' Thunderbolt and Druddigion's Rock Slide (though they all come close), which means Jellicent can 1v1 them with healing support, Expert Belt boosted Ice Beam 2HKOs Hydreigon and Druddigion, Energy Ball 3HKOs Lapras and Aggron is OHKOed by Surf, Haxorus and Archeops are a problem though, both are still 2HKOed by Ice Beam or OHKOed by Surf, but Haxorus 2HKOs Jellicent after 1 Dragon Dance and Archeops' Acrobatics is a clean 2HKO, you can't really heal Jellicent on those, overall decent matchup but not great,
Performance: C-tier
Overall battle performance: C/D-tier
Zinzolin 1: level 43, Cryogonal is faster and its Ice Beam does a lot of damage but it usually goes for Light Screen, Rock Slide OHKOs it and does ~80% to Golbat who is slower, Sneasel has a chance to be OHKOed as well but even if it isn't, it doesn't do much, Garbodor is 2HKOed, setting up with Swords Dance is an option as well but risks Reflect from Cryogonal,
Performance: A/B-tier
Gym 7 Drayden: level 47, Absol is only faster than Druddigon but there is a good chance that it acts first against Flygon and Haxorus anyway as they tend to go for Dragon Tail against it if Absol is at high enough help, with a Sitrus Berry Absol can set up two Swords Dances against Druddigon and then OHKO everything with Night Slash, if Druddigon knocks Absol too low then 1 Hyper Potion might be needed,
Performance: B/C-tier
Zinzolin 2: level 48, Absol is slower than everything, Cryogonal can be annoying with Confuse Ray or Reflect while Ice Beam does a lot of damage, Night Slash OHKOs them while Weavile is OHKOed by Expert Belt boosted X-Scissor, Absol likely has enough health but it could be that 1 Hyper Potion is needed,
Performance: A/B-tier
Gym 8 Marlon: level 50/51, Absol outspeeds everything (even Carracosta after a Shell Smash), Charge Beam is Absol's best too against Carracosta, with 1 Special Attack raise it gets 2HKOed while it usually wastes its turn with Shell Smash, Wailord likes to waste its only turn with Amnesia too, +1 Charge Beam + Night Slash 2HKOs it, Jellicent is OHKOed by Night Slash, all these ranges require Expert Belt, a bit of a shaky battle as it requires Charge Beam RNG but the odds are very much in your favor,
Performance: A/B-tier
Zinzolin 3: level 51/52, Absol is slower than everything except Watchog, its low speed and bulk is a real problem in this fight, Ice Beam and Steamroller both over half, Confuse Ray and Reflect can also throw a wrench into things, you just kind of have to hope that Absol doesn't get double targeted, it can get a kill or two but the chance that it just gets knocked out is now low,
Performance: E-tier
Zinzolin 4: level 52, Absol is slower than everything but it can make use of Sucker Punch to OHKO the Cryogonal if they decide to attack, which they are likely to as Ice Beam 2HKOs Absol, Weavile doesn't do too much damage with Slash to Absol and Expert Belt boosted Rock Slide OHKOs it, there is a lot of RNG involved in this fight, it can either go very well with Absol sweeping without any healing, or Absol just gets destroyed by hax and Reflect, very inconsistent,
Performance: B/C-tier
Colress 3: level 52/53/54, Absol is faster than Magneton and Magnezone and can 2HKO them with Fire Blast, Absol can take 1 Volt Switch or Discharge from full health, with 1 Full Restore it can 1v1 both, Klinklang is also 2HKOed by Fire Blast but it is faster and Gear Grind 2HKOs Absol, however its possible to bait Klinklang into Giga Impact with healing items to get free turns (+1 Giga Impact barely doesn't OHKO either), Metang is also 2HKOed by Fire Blast into Night Slash and its Meteor Mash doesn't 2HKO Absol, Beheeyem is outsped and has a chance to be OHKOed by Night Slash, Absol can sweep here with tons of healing support, but it is fairly inconsistent as it needs to hit 7 Fire Blasts (use the Wide Lens and an Either), at least it can sweep but it is kind of ugly,
Performance: C/D-tier
Ghetsis: level 54/55, Absol is faster than everything except Drapion and Hydreigon, Absol can equip a Pecha Berry to be able to easily set up Swords Dances on Cof*grigus, at +2 it OHKOs everything except Drapion, but it is also not hard to set up 2 Swords Dances and Absol can take one X-Scissor from it from full health, +2 Night Slash OHKOs Cof*grigus, Seismitoad and Eelektross, Psycho Cut OHKOs Toxicroak and +4 X-Scissor OHKOs Drapion, Hyreigon is also OHKOed by X-Scissor but Dragon Rush is nearly an OHKO from full, so unless you want to gamble on the miss, it isn't worth it to stay in, Absol mostly sweeps here and is only stopped by Hydreigon,
Performance: A/B-tier
Hugh 5: level 57/58, Absol outspeeds everything except Simipour, Absol relies heavily on Unfezant using Swagger, with a Persim Berry it can be at +4 at the end of the first turn after Swords Dance and Swagger, Unfezant is then OHKOed by +4 Night Slash, Bouffalant is sadly still only a roll to be KOed with +4 Night Slash, Emboar is outsped and OHKOed by Psycho Cut, Simipour outspeeds and does like 80% with Surf to Absol who knocks it out in return with Night Slash, if everything goes well Absol sweeps but if Unfezant just U-Turns into Bouffalant on the first turn, then Absol is in range of Simipour later and also doesn't KO Bouffalant at +2, shaky,
Performance: C-tier
Elite Four Shauntal: level 58/59, Absol can easily set up a Sword Dance on Cof*grigus and then outspeeds and OHKOs everything with Night Slash, a potential burn can be easily cured with an equipped Berry or a Full Heal, easy and consistent sweep,
Performance: S-tier
Elite Four Marshal: level 58/59, Absol is faster than Throh and Conkeldurr but slower than Sawk and Mienshao, +2 Psycho Cut 2HKOs Throh and Conkeldurr but of course it is risky setting up in the first place, Sawk and Mienshao also just outspeed and OHKO it with their Fighting moves, Absol is not completely useless but it dies super fast,
Performance: E-tier
Elite Four Grimsley: level 59, Absol needs to set up all the way to +6 with 3 Swords Dances in order to get the OHKOs on Bisharp and Scrafty with X-Scissor, it can set up on Liepard decently comfortable, Scrafty and Bisharp are slower but Liepard and Krookodile are faster than Absol, so Absol has to take an Earthquake from Krookodile in order to sweep, that means Absol needs to be healed to full before taking out Liepard, giving it Leftovers is also a good idea, Liepard can be annoying with Attract while setting up if you have a male Absol, consistent sweep but it needs quite a bit of support and time,
Performance: B-tier
Elite Four Caitlin: level 59, Absol outspeeds everything, it needs 1 Swords Dance to get the OHKO on Musharna and Gothitelle, with a Chesto Berry equipped it can easily set up on Musharna, in case it goes for Reflect Absol can just Swords Dance again, not much more to be said, super safe and easy sweep,
Performance: S-tier
Champion Iris: level 59, really bad matchup for Absol as a +2 neutral Night Slash is not strong enough to get OHKOs, Hydreigon also outspeeds and cleanly 2HKOs it even through a Sitrus Berry, so Absol doesn't even have a setup oppertunity against anything, Absol struggles to even 1v1 anything,
Performance: F-tier
Overall battle performance: B/C-tier
Performance: A/B-tier
Gym 7 Drayden: level 47, Absol is only faster than Druddigon but there is a good chance that it acts first against Flygon and Haxorus anyway as they tend to go for Dragon Tail against it if Absol is at high enough help, with a Sitrus Berry Absol can set up two Swords Dances against Druddigon and then OHKO everything with Night Slash, if Druddigon knocks Absol too low then 1 Hyper Potion might be needed,
Performance: B/C-tier
Zinzolin 2: level 48, Absol is slower than everything, Cryogonal can be annoying with Confuse Ray or Reflect while Ice Beam does a lot of damage, Night Slash OHKOs them while Weavile is OHKOed by Expert Belt boosted X-Scissor, Absol likely has enough health but it could be that 1 Hyper Potion is needed,
Performance: A/B-tier
Gym 8 Marlon: level 50/51, Absol outspeeds everything (even Carracosta after a Shell Smash), Charge Beam is Absol's best too against Carracosta, with 1 Special Attack raise it gets 2HKOed while it usually wastes its turn with Shell Smash, Wailord likes to waste its only turn with Amnesia too, +1 Charge Beam + Night Slash 2HKOs it, Jellicent is OHKOed by Night Slash, all these ranges require Expert Belt, a bit of a shaky battle as it requires Charge Beam RNG but the odds are very much in your favor,
Performance: A/B-tier
Zinzolin 3: level 51/52, Absol is slower than everything except Watchog, its low speed and bulk is a real problem in this fight, Ice Beam and Steamroller both over half, Confuse Ray and Reflect can also throw a wrench into things, you just kind of have to hope that Absol doesn't get double targeted, it can get a kill or two but the chance that it just gets knocked out is now low,
Performance: E-tier
Zinzolin 4: level 52, Absol is slower than everything but it can make use of Sucker Punch to OHKO the Cryogonal if they decide to attack, which they are likely to as Ice Beam 2HKOs Absol, Weavile doesn't do too much damage with Slash to Absol and Expert Belt boosted Rock Slide OHKOs it, there is a lot of RNG involved in this fight, it can either go very well with Absol sweeping without any healing, or Absol just gets destroyed by hax and Reflect, very inconsistent,
Performance: B/C-tier
Colress 3: level 52/53/54, Absol is faster than Magneton and Magnezone and can 2HKO them with Fire Blast, Absol can take 1 Volt Switch or Discharge from full health, with 1 Full Restore it can 1v1 both, Klinklang is also 2HKOed by Fire Blast but it is faster and Gear Grind 2HKOs Absol, however its possible to bait Klinklang into Giga Impact with healing items to get free turns (+1 Giga Impact barely doesn't OHKO either), Metang is also 2HKOed by Fire Blast into Night Slash and its Meteor Mash doesn't 2HKO Absol, Beheeyem is outsped and has a chance to be OHKOed by Night Slash, Absol can sweep here with tons of healing support, but it is fairly inconsistent as it needs to hit 7 Fire Blasts (use the Wide Lens and an Either), at least it can sweep but it is kind of ugly,
Performance: C/D-tier
Ghetsis: level 54/55, Absol is faster than everything except Drapion and Hydreigon, Absol can equip a Pecha Berry to be able to easily set up Swords Dances on Cof*grigus, at +2 it OHKOs everything except Drapion, but it is also not hard to set up 2 Swords Dances and Absol can take one X-Scissor from it from full health, +2 Night Slash OHKOs Cof*grigus, Seismitoad and Eelektross, Psycho Cut OHKOs Toxicroak and +4 X-Scissor OHKOs Drapion, Hyreigon is also OHKOed by X-Scissor but Dragon Rush is nearly an OHKO from full, so unless you want to gamble on the miss, it isn't worth it to stay in, Absol mostly sweeps here and is only stopped by Hydreigon,
Performance: A/B-tier
Hugh 5: level 57/58, Absol outspeeds everything except Simipour, Absol relies heavily on Unfezant using Swagger, with a Persim Berry it can be at +4 at the end of the first turn after Swords Dance and Swagger, Unfezant is then OHKOed by +4 Night Slash, Bouffalant is sadly still only a roll to be KOed with +4 Night Slash, Emboar is outsped and OHKOed by Psycho Cut, Simipour outspeeds and does like 80% with Surf to Absol who knocks it out in return with Night Slash, if everything goes well Absol sweeps but if Unfezant just U-Turns into Bouffalant on the first turn, then Absol is in range of Simipour later and also doesn't KO Bouffalant at +2, shaky,
Performance: C-tier
Elite Four Shauntal: level 58/59, Absol can easily set up a Sword Dance on Cof*grigus and then outspeeds and OHKOs everything with Night Slash, a potential burn can be easily cured with an equipped Berry or a Full Heal, easy and consistent sweep,
Performance: S-tier
Elite Four Marshal: level 58/59, Absol is faster than Throh and Conkeldurr but slower than Sawk and Mienshao, +2 Psycho Cut 2HKOs Throh and Conkeldurr but of course it is risky setting up in the first place, Sawk and Mienshao also just outspeed and OHKO it with their Fighting moves, Absol is not completely useless but it dies super fast,
Performance: E-tier
Elite Four Grimsley: level 59, Absol needs to set up all the way to +6 with 3 Swords Dances in order to get the OHKOs on Bisharp and Scrafty with X-Scissor, it can set up on Liepard decently comfortable, Scrafty and Bisharp are slower but Liepard and Krookodile are faster than Absol, so Absol has to take an Earthquake from Krookodile in order to sweep, that means Absol needs to be healed to full before taking out Liepard, giving it Leftovers is also a good idea, Liepard can be annoying with Attract while setting up if you have a male Absol, consistent sweep but it needs quite a bit of support and time,
Performance: B-tier
Elite Four Caitlin: level 59, Absol outspeeds everything, it needs 1 Swords Dance to get the OHKO on Musharna and Gothitelle, with a Chesto Berry equipped it can easily set up on Musharna, in case it goes for Reflect Absol can just Swords Dance again, not much more to be said, super safe and easy sweep,
Performance: S-tier
Champion Iris: level 59, really bad matchup for Absol as a +2 neutral Night Slash is not strong enough to get OHKOs, Hydreigon also outspeeds and cleanly 2HKOs it even through a Sitrus Berry, so Absol doesn't even have a setup oppertunity against anything, Absol struggles to even 1v1 anything,
Performance: F-tier
Overall battle performance: B/C-tier
Snivy is honestly not as bad as I was thinking it was going to be. Having high speed and a great setup move in Coil is legit good. Leaf Blade is also a decent STAB move. Having no second type and a horrible movepool is bad, though. Return is pretty much the only real coverage it has because Dragon Pulse and Aqua Tail are expensive Blue Shard tutor moves. Once Snivy gets going it can sweep most fights with Coil and item support, except for some bad type matchups. Snivy has 1 B/C-tier and 2 C-tier nominations so far, but given how it's a Starter and pretty self-sufficient, I think Snivy is a B-tier Pokemon.
Lillipup really surprised me. I mean it is a Route 1 Normal type. Those normally fall off later. But Lillipup is super consistent and pretty much the definition of reliable. Good enough speed, great attack and bulk, surprisingly deep movepool. Lillipup has pretty much no truely bad matchup except Marshal. It can always do something and often that something is actually just sweeping. Lillipup has 2 A-tier nominations so far and I wholeheartedly agree. Lillipup should be in A-tier.
Dwebble has a rough start but as soon as it evoles into Crustle (which doesn't take long) and after beating Clay you can relearn Shell Smash at the PWT. Crustle is a great user of this strong setup move and if it can successfully set up, it sweeps the battle 9/10 times. Pretty much the only matchups that are bad for it are fights where it can't set up or the opposing team has too many stops for it. Otherwise great setup sweeper that you can use as soon as the mid game. Its typing isn't the greatest offensively and defensively, though. Dwebble had 1 B-tier nomination so far and I agree. Dwebble for B-tier.
Skarmory is a defensive wall which is not great, but its offenses aren't the worst. Okay attack and speed, decent attacks and if you have to be a wall, you might as well be invincible which Skarmory really is with its broken typing. Autotomize is also a great setup move for it to fix is speed later. Iron Head is a great free STAB move from the move tutor and Fly and Rock Slide/X-Scissor/Night Slash are solid coverage moves. Skarmory offenses certainly fall off a bit in the late game and its has basically no really good matchups. It is mostly just decent in most fights. Skarmory had only 1 nomination so far but that one was for E-tier which I think is too harsh. It is an end of mid game Pokemon which does overall fine if not great. Skarmory should be in C-tier imo.
Jellicent is so much worse than I thought it was going to be. I went for the static encounter one which I suspected was going to be better. But it was still pretty bad. Ghost is a surprisingly bad typing in this game. Jellicent also has just too low offensive stats for a late game Pokemon with no setup moves except Trick Room. This thing hits like a wet noodle. And due to its typing lacking good resistances for the late game, it is not that great at taking hits either. Kind of telling that it has a bad matchup against the Fighting type specialist. Jellicent had 1 nomination each for D-, D/E- and E-tier. I also think E-tier is more fitting for Jellicent.
Absol is just a bit mediocre. It has great attack but its speed is just a bit too low for the late game and it is way too frail. It can run a good Swords Dance set but it is sometimes hard to setup or sweep because of its fraility and speed. Its movepool also has a bit of a whole as its only real coverage moves against Steel types are the expensive Blue Shard tutor move Superpower or Fire Blast which isn't ideal. It has some bad matchups because of those problems. But then again it also has two great Elite Four matchups which is certainly noteworthy. But for a late game Pokemon it just doesn't bring enough to the table. Absol has 1 D-tier nomination so far and I agree. Absol should be D-tier.
The is the second time I did a Black 2 run and the first time I tryharded the game. So if I missed something important then let me know.
I also build myself a table for team building and went through the effort of collecting all the nominations from this thread so far. Might as well share it here. Maybe you have some use for it too.
The next team I will run consists of Tepig, Magnemite, Mandibuzz, Panpour, Grumpig and Tangela. Stay tuned.
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