Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon In-Game Tier list (v2)

[Ryota Mitarai]

(approved for posting by DHR-107)

Welcome to the Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon in-game tier list! The goal of this list is to tier every Pokemon available in USUM under one of the tiers, ranging from S-tier, the highest one, and F-tier, the lowest one. The main factor under which each Pokemon is tiered is called efficiency. A Pokemon that is efficient provides faster and easier solutions to major fights, which include Totem Pokemon, Kahunas, Guzma, Ultra Necrozma, the Elite Four, and the final fight against Hau, than ones that are considered inefficient. Thus, Pokemon in higher tiers, such as S and A, are considered very efficient, while ones in lower tiers, such as D and E, are not considered very efficient.

What are the tiers?
This list is using 7 tiers:

• S-tier
• A-tier
• B-tier
• C-tier
• D-tier
• E-tier
• F-tier

Why is a Pokemon a certain tier?
There are 6 factors that determine a Pokemon's tier in this list:

• Availability - This is how early a Pokemon becomes available and how hard it is to encounter and catch (read: encounter and catch rate). Pokemon that come early and are easy to find and catch tend to rank higher.
  
  
• Typing - A Pokemon's typing can be a crucial factor that determines its performance for the game. Pokemon with better typing tend to rank higher. An example of a good type is Flying due to early Flyinium Z and the high amount of Flying-weak bosses.
  
  
• Stats - A Pokemon's stat distribution is crucial for its success. Does the Pokemon have a stat distribution that complements its movepool and typing? Pokemon whose movepool favors its typing and movepool tend to rank higher. Note that the game is predominantly physical, so Pokemon that deal with physical attackers tend to rank higher than ones that deal with special attackers.
  
  
• Movepool - Movepool consists of a Pokemon's level up, TM, and tutor learnset. Pokemon that learn good moves that complement its stats and typing early tend to rank higher. If a Pokemon needs multiple tutor moves to be good or needs to rotate them in order to defeat as many major opponents as possible, it may be knocked down in ranking.
  
  
• Major Battles- Refers to the Pokemon's performance. If a Pokemon has good stats, movepool, and typing, it will likely perform well in more matchups and thus rank higher. Having a good matchup against Ultra Necrozma counts as a positive. In general, a Pokemon also ranks higher if it beats a major opponent than if they merely assist against them (such as with dual screens or other tactics).
  • Lusamine and most Hau fights are not considered, as they do not have to be won to advance through the game.
  • Gladion is also not considered, because there's only one fight with him that is of any relevance (you don't even have to win the second fight) and, at this point, it becomes a bit pointless to really consider him relevant enough to change a Pokemon's tier
  • Plumeria is not considered, as she appears only for two fights, one of which isn't really that difficult. Like Gladion, there's little point in considering her, as she shouldn't really be able to change a Pokemon's tier
  • The Nihilego at the Aether Paradise is not considered for a Pokemon's tier, because it will sooner or later flee from the battle itself, thus anything that can live for long enough is "good" for it (obviously, OHKOing it is preferred, but it's still not relevant enough to warrant attention)
  • The Necrozma fight at the Altar is also not considered, as I don't think it's relevant enough to change a Pokemon's rank, same deal with Ultra Recon Squad
  • I don't look for the Trial Captains from Mina's trial either, because the trial is a bit different per version and the game is already long enough with the current bosses.
  • As a whole, I don't look for those fights above when evaluating a Pokemon's tier. You can mention them or something, but don't expect them to be significant enough to change a Pokemon's tier.
• Other factors - Anything else not covered above, like abilities and experience groups, can affect a Pokemon's rank, both positively and negatively.

Other things to keep in mind:

Trading
Trading for this list is considered only for the purposes of evolving Pokemon (like Kadabra and Haunter) and not to receive outside help. In order to accomodate to players that do not have access to trading, Pokemon that evolve by trade will get a Trade and a No Trade ranking

• If a Trade and No Trade Pokemon end up in the same tier after tiers are more or less settled, provided they do not perform differently enough, they will be merged in one entry. If there are any differences, those can be mentioned in their write-up. The same rule applies to Pokemon with other reasons for branching; for example, if both of Rockruff's evolutions have similar contributions and end in the same tier, they will be merged into one to reduce clutter.
  
  
• Note that Phantump may be an exception to the general rule, because you can obtain a Phantump from an in-game trade, which will cause it to evolve. How it will be dealt with (whenever they are gonna be merged, separated as Trade and No Trade, or have different formatting) will be decided once we establish how both perform.
  
  
• Rhyhorn (QR) is another exception to this rule. It won't get a Trade and a No Trade rank, because the Protector cannot be obtained before the post-game, so it will just be tiered as a Rhydon.

We tier each Pokemon individually
The list treats each Pokemon as if the reader has already decided to use it and thus wants to see how it's going to perform. This means that we won't penalize a Pokemon for being worse than another one. For example, Pikipek is not going to be C-tier because Hawlucha is better. If two Pokemon deserve to be the same tier, they will be the same tier. Similarly, there is no "opportunity cost" when faced with a choice between some Pokemon. For example, Rowlet is not going to be ranked lower because it prevents you from using the better Popplio and Litten.

• Comparing Pokemon to make a point clear is fine. Basing a Pokemon's tier off another Pokemon's performance is what you really should be avoiding.

Exp. Share
The list assumes that the Exp. Share is on. Unlike in XY and ORAS, Exp. Share does not break the game at all. In fact, because bosses use good IVs and EVs, outleveling them is necessary to be on par with their strength. If you want to share your experience with a Pokemon from a run with the Exp. Share off, please make it clear that you had it turned off. Note that non-participants only get 50% of the received Exp., so you may wanna use all of your Pokemon from time to time.

It is important to note that, even though Exp. Share is considered in this list, Pokemon that are too weak to participate in fights (including ones against route trainers) and thus rely on the Exp. Share to get most of their Exp. for most of the game will still rank lower. Thus, Bagon is not going to be ranked high because you can just turn the Exp. Share on and only use it once it evolves into a Salamence. On the other hand, if a Pokemon needs the Exp. Share for, say, only 2-3 levels, it won't be much of an issue.

Team size
I am not going to actively push for a particular team size, as Exp. Share allows you to run even teams of 6 Pokemon viably. However, it is easier to overlevel with fewer members due to the fact they will be used more often and thus will get the full portion of Exp. But if you need a number, assume 5-6 members.

Time-based events
Manipulating the clock to trigger time-based events (where possible) is allowed and is not going to affect negatively any Pokemon's ranking.

A Pokemon being available only at specific times of the day/week is not considered a negative, mostly to not complicate tiering more than it already is. Regardless, it's not really a downside if you adjust your gaming schedule so that you can obtain it (cause, really, saying that [X Pokemon] is C-tier if you are not playing on Monday sounds a bit dumb)

Pokemon Refresh, Festival Plaza, and Poke Pelago
Pokemon Refresh can be used to get the Exp. boost, though the other effects (higher chance of landing critical hits, a chance to avoid moves, and a chance to survive an attack that would KO you) are not considered for the purposes of this list. If you want to test, it is highly recommended to just stick to two hearts so you can get the boosted Exp. and not have the other effects intervene in your testing

Poke Pelago and Festival Plaza are not considered for the purposes of this list. Beans from Poke Pelago are still a fair game, this is mostly refering to the Pokemon and items you get from there

Levels for the Elite Four
Realistically speaking, you could get all of your Pokemon up to level 68 with usage of every single Rare Candy you can obtain. Since that level is too high and not the easiest to reach, appropriate max levels for the Elite Four can range from around 60 to around 65, assuming you fight most trainers that are not too out of your way and use Exp. Boost from Pokemon Refresh.

(note: I don't mind you playing either by fighting optional trainers or fighting only the mandatory ones. However, I do have a slight preference for the former, so if you can do that, I would be happy if you played this way. But again, I am not going to force anyone to play in any way they don't want to. Keep in mind that the obligatory trainers are not a lot, so expect to be horribly underleveled and constantly OHKOed or 2HKOed).

X Items and Roto Loto
X Items aren't banned, but are highly discouraged when evaluating a Pokemon's ranking. This is because a huge amount of Pokemon would benefit from an X Item against certain bosses and will make this list more inconsistent and I'd rather keep it as consistent as possible. They should be a fair game for Ultra Necrozma, though.

Roto Boosts fall in the same category as X Items. The other Roto powers largely depend on when you use them; if you, for example, use a Roto Bargain at Seafolk Village to buy the expensive TMs, I probably wouldn't bat an eye, because it is reasonable to have it at that point if you were playing the Roto Lotos consistently. I'd personally discourage from the usage of Roto Exp., though, just so you don't end up inflating a Pokemon's actual performance.

In addition, the list doesn't count a second Z-Move that is used as a result of the Rotom Dex allowing you to use one again as a positive, so please don't use this in your tests

===

What is (not) being tiered?

The following Pokemon will be tiered:

• Any Pokemon in the Alola Pokedex that can be obtained before becoming Pokemon Champion
  
  
• Any Pokemon that can be obtained through QR scanning before becoming Pokemon Champion. You can find QR codes on the Internet for this purpose. Partner Cap Pikachu will also be tiered, as it's obtained through QR scanning as well. Note that QR availability is not considered a negative; the list assumes that the reader has already decided to use the Pokemon in question and is willing to obtain them through any means as soon as possible.

The following Pokemon will NOT be tiered:

• Any Pokemon that can be obtained only after becoming a Pokemon Champion , such as Type: Null, or that can only be obtained by transferring it from another game.
  
  
• Pokemon that can only be obtained through events, like Marshadow.
  
  
• Pokemon from wormholes (excluding UBs). While the Legendary ones tend to be powerful, regardless of what you get, it will just bloat the list with stuff that no one is really going to use. And most of the non-Legendary ones wouldn't rank high anyways.

===

Other Useful Resources

Pokemon Ultra Moon encounter table (features SOS slots)
Pokemon Ultra Sun encounter table (features SOS slots)
Pokemon USUM In-Game Tier List v1 (previously hosted by Stellar)
In-Game Tips and Tricks (has useful information, such as a list of move tutors, ways to obtain fast money, evolution stone locations, and etc. The article has info for both SM and USUM)
Google Doc with Rare Candy locations (there are around 20 that you can reasonably obtain before the post-game, you can obviously pick less if you want some more reasonable E4 levels)
Trainer data (features EVs, IVs, moves, levels, and natures of trainers, though lacks data on Totems)
Totem data (features EVs, IVs, moves, levels, and natures of Totem Pokemon, Nihilego, and the Necrozma fights)

===

Tips when posting:

• Standard forum rules apply. Most importantly, be respectful when communicating with other people. It's okay to disagree with certain nominations, but flaming them or being obnoxious about it is not going to help you.
  
  
• Remember that this is a list for Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon and not for Sun and Moon. Therefore, please do not base your rankings solely off experience from those games. Comparing experiences from both games to make a point clear is fine, just avoid nominations like "Wishiwashi to S because it was a monster in SM!"
  
  
• When nominating a Pokemon, try to be a little bit more specific as to what it does exactly. For example, "Passimian is awesome because it learns Bulk Up and Close Combat naturally!" is not actually that convincing, because it could still be bad even then. Saying something like "Passimian is able to defeat X, Y, and Z with natural Bulk Up and Close Combat, making it awesome!" is a lot more convincing.
  
  
• Keep discussions to tiering Pokemon. This thread is not for general discussion of the games and other similar things.
  
  
• The list is currently not officially accepting write-ups. You can use a write-up to present your nomination, but when the time comes to write up Pokemon, you will still be expected to submit your write-up (and hopefully edit any information that may have been proven or disproven by the time we reach the phase)
  • If you want to know when the list is going to be considered ready for write-ups, I would say somewhere when everything that would be ranked C and above has been used thoroughly enough once or twice (preferably twice for more complicated cases), be it from me or other people, till we reach a consensus on them. D and below can get away with one test and I will be dealing with this mostly (as a "pet project", if you want to put it that way) just to make sure nothing is heavily misplaced, though you are free to help there as well, if you wish to.

Rankings are in the next posts.

 

[Ryota Mitarai]

two asterisks (**) means that the Pokemon's rank will change by the November 1 if not challenged

one asterisk (*) means that I am open to changing the Pokemon's rank, but will remain in this tier if not challenged.

If the Pokemon has no asterisks, then I am pretty much satisfied with the ranking. It is not impossible for the Pokemon to move tiers, but you will need a very good reason to suggest a tier change for the Pokemon

S-tier
The following Pokemon are considered the most efficient Pokemon for the games. They typically show up before the late-game, are able to OHKO or 2HKO majority of the opponents with minimal support, and have any flaws they may possibly possess overshadowed by their ability to breeze through the games.

S-tier

Hawlucha
Mudbray
Oricorio

A-tier
The following Pokemon provide a high amount of efficiency for completing the games, but generally require some support in order to be dominating, such as a notable amount of healing items, or their great performance is hindered by a slightly late arrival.

A-tier

Charmander
Magikarp
Magnemite
Makuhita
Munchlax
Pikipek
Popplio
Stufful
Totem Alolan Marowak
Wingull
Wishiwashi

 

[Ryota Mitarai]

B-tier
The following Pokemon provide a good amount of efficiency for the games, but are held back by the striking flaws they have, such as a notable amount of bad matchups, overreliance on healing items, or simply a late arrival.

B-tier

Abra (Trade)
Alolan Grimer
Bulbasaur
Combusken
Cubone
Cutiefly
Dewpider
Eevee (Jolteon)*
Eevee (Vaporeon)
Fletchling
Furfrou
Grubbin
Litten
Litwick
Machop (Trade)
Magby (Trade and No Trade)
Marshtomp
Mimikyu
Passimian
Rockruff (UM)
Rowlet
Salandit
Spearow
Squirtle**
Totem Gumshoos
Zubat

C-tier
The following Pokemon have many flaws, but also have some positive traits that prevent them from being outright bad. These Pokemon typically have many bad matchups, although they are able to make up for that with a good amount of great matchups.

C-tier

Alolan Diglett
Alolan Graveler (Trade)
Axew
Basculin
Barboach
Beldum
Bisharp
Buneary
Caterpie
Celesteela*
Comfey
Cottonee
Cranidos
Eevee (Flareon)**
Eevee (Leafeon)
Eevee (Sylveon)
Ekans
Gastly (Trade** and No Trade)
Growlithe
Honedge
Horsea (Trade)**
Inkay
Kangaskhan
Kartana*
Klefki
Lillipup
Lunala*
Machop (No Trade)**
Mankey
Mareep
Mawile
Miltank
Minior
Monferno
Murkrow
Necrozma*
Pancham
Phantump
Pinsir
Poliwag (Poliwrath)
Prinplup
Psyduck
Ralts (Gardevoir)
Roggenrola (Trade)
Rockruff (US)
Scatterbug
Scraggy
Shellder
Solgaleo*
Staryu
Steenee
Surskit
Tauros
Togedemaru**
Trapinch
Wimpod
Xurkitree*
Yungoos
Zorua

 

[Ryota Mitarai]

D-tier
The following Pokemon generally have more negative traits than positive, but are still able to perform well in a handful of matchups. These Pokemon, while bad, have enough power to be somewhat usable in matchups outside their positive ones.

D-tier

Abra (No Trade)
Alolan Graveler (No Trade)
Alolan Meowth
Alolan Rattata
Alolan Sandshrew
Alolan Vulpix
Amaura
Anorith
Archen
Bagon
Bonsly
Buzzwole
Chinchou
Clamperl (Gorebyss)
Clamperl (Huntail)
Crabrawler
Delibird
Delphox
Drifloon
Drowzee
Dunsparce
Eevee (Espeon)
Elekid (Trade and No Trade)
Feebas (Trade)
Frillish
Gabite
Golett
Greninja
Grotle
Grovyle
Hoothoot
Horsea (No Trade)
Houndoom
Kabuto
Komala
Krokorok
Lapras
Larvitar
Manectric
Mantyke
Mime Jr.
Morelull
Natu
Nihilego
Noibat
Nosepass
Omanyte
Oranguru
Partner Cap Pikachu**
Petilil
Pichu
Pineco
Poliwag (Politoed)
Pyukumuku
Remoraid
Rhyhorn
Roggenrola (No Trade)
Rufflet
Sandygast
Skarmory
Slowpoke (Slowking)
Smoochum
Spheal
Spinarak
Swinub
Tentacool
Tirtouga
Torkoal
Turtonator
Tyrunt
Vanillish

E-tier
The following Pokemon provide very little efficiency for completing the game. They are useful in a very limited amount of matchups, generally do not beat major opponents, but instead only assist teammates against them, or the massive amount of time or effort needed to obtain or make them good outweights significantly their positive contributions.

E-tier

Absol
Aerodactyl
Baltoy
Bruxish
Carbink
Castform
Chesnaught
Clawitzer
Cleffa
Corsola
Dedenne
Dhelmise
Eevee (Glaceon)
Eevee (Umbreon)
Elgyem
Exeggcute
Finneon
Fomantis
Goldeen
Goomy
Granbull
Guzzlord
Happiny
Igglybuff
Jangmo-o
Kecleon
Ledyba
Lileep
Mareanie
Mienfoo
Minccino
Onix (Trade)**
Paras
Pheromosa
Pidgeot
Poipole
Seel
Shellos
Shieldon
Shuppet
Slowpoke (Slowbro)
Snorunt (Froslass)
Snorunt (Glalie)
Trubbish
Vullaby

 

[Ryota Mitarai]

F-tier
The following Pokemon are considered the least efficient Pokemon for completing the games. They have little-to-no good matchups or they do not perform well enough to justify their inconvenient availability.

F-tier

Alomomola
Beedrill
Carvanha
Clamperl (No Trade)
Corphish
Ditto
Dragalge
Drampa
Feebas (No Trade)
Flabebe
Larvesta
Luvdisc
Onix (No Trade)
Ralts (Gallade)
Relicanth
Sableye
Smeargle
Sneasel
Spinda
Tropius
Wailmer

Untiered
The following Pokemon are in the Alola Pokedex or can be obtained through the QR scanner, but can only be obtained after beating the Pokemon League or are available only through events or Poke Pelago. Pokemon from wormholes (excluding Ultra Beasts) are also not tiered, but will not listed.

Untiered

Aggron
Aipom
Blacephalon
Dratini
Druddigon
Eelektross
Heracross
Leavanny
Lickitung
Magearna
Marshadow
Misdreavus
Porygon
Pyroar
Riolu
Rockruff (Lycanroc-Dusk)
Rotom
Scyther
Stakataka
Tapu Bulu
Tapu Fini
Tapu Koko
Tapu Lele
Type: Null
Zeraora
Zygarde

Keep in mind that the tier descriptions are just a rough outline of what you are most likely to see. They are not meant to be followed super strictly and we can be flexible when needed.

 

[Ryota Mitarai]

list of Pokemon by availability. The list will highlight the earliest point at which you can obtain the particular Pokemon.

I will also use this list to mark stuff that need a ranking

Formatting: Pokemon (location, levels, encounter rate if applicable, additional comments if there are such, ranked/no tier)

Some notes:

- Anything on Route 1 before the Iki Town festival is a guaranteed catch if you throw your Poke Ball

- List doesn't account for SOS encounters, unless that's the only way to obtain it

- Some Pokemon only appear in specific grasses of the location. I have not mentioned which ones for aesthetic purposes

- Fossil Pokemon are available in both versions, but what fossils you can buy in Olivia's jewelry shop in Konikoni City depends on the version. US players can buy Skull, Cover, Helix, Claw, and Jaw, while UM players can buy Plume, Armor, Dome, and Sail. Fossils not buyable in one of the versions are obtainable only through Poke Pelago in the other.

- Totem Pokemon have guaranteed 3 perfect IVs, though they are determined at random. Same deal for all Legendary Pokemon.

- Each in-game trade Pokemon has a perfect IV in a specific stat. More specifically, those are Hawlucha (Attack), Noibat (Special Attack), Barboach (HP), Arbok (Defense), Phantump/Trevenant (SpD), and Shellos (Defense). There's also an in-game trade for Tauros (Speed), but it's post-game.

-You can obtain an Eevee egg in the Pokemon Nursing Center in Paniola Ranch, which hatches at level 1. It is always male and hatching it allows you to take a Water, Fire, or Thunder Stone of your choice. There is a small area south of the building, where you can move in circle with Tauros Charge, thus allowing you to hatch it faster. You also get a Roto Power for breeding, thus speeding up the process even more.

- Adrenaline Orbs can be obtained as soon as you reach Paniola Ranch, where you can get five of them. They are needed to make catching SOS-exclusive Pokemon easier, as Pokemon will call for help only once per battle otherwise.

- You will see things like Gastly -> Haunter and Gastly -> Haunter -> Gengar. This is because I am using the list as a checklist as to what needs to be tiered, so any Pokemon that gets branched in some way will be in the list multiple times to account for all the branches.

Pokemon by availability

Rowlet -> Dartrix -> Decidueye (Route 1, lv. 5, starter, ranked)

Litten -> Torracat - Incineroar (Route 1, lv. 5, starter, ranked)

Popplio -> Brionne -> Primarina (Route 1, lv. 5, starter, ranked)

Pikipek -> Trumbeak -> Toucannon (Route 1, lv. 2-3, 20%, ranked)

Yungoos -> Gumshoos (Route 1, lv. 2-3, 20% daytime, ranked)

Totem Gumshoos (Heahea Beach, lv. 20, collect 20 Totem stickers, US only, ranked (may be merged with normal one))

Alolan Rattata -> Alolan Raticate (Route 1, lv. 2-3, 20% nighttime, ranked)

Caterpie -> Metapod -> Butterfree (Route 1, lv. 2-3, 10%, ranked)

Ledyba -> Ledian (Route 1, lv. 2-3, 20% daytime, ranked)

Spinarak -> Ariados (Route 1, lv. 2-3, 20% nighttime, ranked)

Buneary -> Lopunny (Route 1, lv. 2-3, 10%, ranked)

Inkay -> Malamar (Route 1 (Hau'oli Outskirts), lv. 4-7, 30%, ranked)

Zorua -> Zoroark (Route 1 (Trainers' School), lv. 5-8, 30%, ranked)

Furfrou (Hau'oli City (shopping district), lv. 6-9, ranked)

Pichu -> Pikachu -> Alolan Raichu (Route 1, lv. 2-3, 5%, ranked)

Grubbin -> Charjabug -> Vikavolt (Route 1, lv. 4, you get a forced encounter, ranked)

Bonsly -> Sudowoodo (Route 1, lv. 11-14, 30%, requires Tauros Charge, ranked)

Happiny -> Chansey -> Blissey (Route 1, SOS ally of Munchlax, Pichu, and Bonsly, ranked)

Munchlax -> Snorlax (Route 1, lv. 11-14, 10%, requires Tauros Charge, ranked)

Slowpoke -> Slowbro (Route 1 (Hau'oli Outskirts), lv. 4-7, 20%, ranked)

Slowpoke -> Slowking (Route 1 (Hau'oli Outskirts), lv. 4-7, 20%, ranked)

Wingull -> Pelipper (Route 1 (Hau'oli Outskirts), lv. 4-7, 50%, ranked)

Abra -> Kadabra (Hau'oli City (shopping district), lv. 6-9, 10%, ranked)

Abra -> Kadabra -> Alakazam (Hau'oli City (shopping district), lv. 6-9, 10%, ranked)

Alolan Meowth -> Alolan Persian (Route 1 (Trainers' School), lv. 5-8, 50%, ranked)

Magnemite -> Magneton -> Magnezone (Route 1 (Trainers' School, lv. 5-8, 10%, ranked)

Alolan Grimer-> Alolan Muk (Route 1 (Trainer's School, lv. 5-8, 10%, ranked)

Mime Jr. -> Mr. Mime (Hau'oli City (shopping district), lv. 6-9, ranked)

Ekans -> Arbok (Route 2, lv. 6-9, 20%, ranked)

Dunsparce (Route 2, lv. 7-11, 15%, ambush encounter, ranked)

Growlithe -> Arcanine (Route 2, lv. 7-10, 10%, ranked)

Drowzee -> Hypno (Route 2, lv. 6-9, 10% daytime / 20% nighttime, ranked)

Makuhita -> Hariyama (Route 2, lv. 6-9, 20% daytime / 10% nighttime, ranked)

Smeargle (Route 2, lv. 6-9, 10%, ranked)

Crabrawler -> Crabominable (Route 2, lv. 8-11, berry pile, ranked)

Gastly -> Haunter (Hau'oli Cemetery, lv. 6-9, 10%, ranked)

Gastly -> Haunter -> Gengar (Hau'oli Cemetery, lv. 6-9, 10%, ranked)

Drifloon -> Driflblim (Hau'oli Cemetery, lv. 6-9, 40% daytime, ranked)

Murkrow -> Honchkrow (Hau'oli Cemetery, lv. 6-9, 40% nighttime, ranked)

Zubat -> Golbat -> Crobat (Hau'oli Cemetery, lv. 6-9, 20%, ranked)

Noibat -> Noivern (Verdant Cavern, lv. 8-11, 30%, ranked)

Alolan Diglett -> Alolan Dugtrio (Verdant Cavern, lv. 8-11, 35%, ranked)

Spearow -> Fearow (Route 2, lv. 7-10, 10%, ranked)

Rufflet -> Braviary (Route 3, lv. 10-13, ambush encounter (US only), ranked)

Vullaby -> Mandibuzz (Route 3, lv. 10-13, ambush encounter (UM only), ranked)

Mankey -> Primeape (Route 3, lv. 9-12, 30%, ranked)

Delibird (Seaward Cave, lv. 9-12, 20%, ranked)

Hawlucha (Route 2, lv. 8, trade Spearow, ranked)

Oricorio (Melemele Meadow, lv. 9-12 (US) / 10-12 (UM), 20%, ranked)

Cutiefly (Route 2, lv. 7-10, 10%, ranked)

Flabebe -> Floette -> Florges (Melemele Meadow, lv. 9-12 (US) / 10-12 (UM), 20%, ranked)

Petilil -> Lilligant (Melemele Meadow, lv. 10-12, 20% (UM only), ranked)

Cottonee -> Whimsicott (Melemele Meadow, lv. 9-12, 20% (US only), ranked)

Psyduck -> Golduck (Seaward Cave, lv. 9-12, 30%, ranked)

Smoochum -> Jynx (Seaward Cave, lv. 9-12, 30%, ranked)

Magikarp -> Gyarados (Brooklet Hill (fishing in Totem Den), lv. 10-16 (normal fishing) / 10-21 (bubble spot), 50% (normal fishing) / 40% (bubble spot), ranked)

Barboach -> Whiscash (Royal Avenue, lv. 21, trade Tentacool, ranked)

Seel -> Dewgong (Seaward Cave (surfing), lv. 15-18, 30%, ranked)

Machop -> Machoke (Ten Carat Hill (farthest hollow), lv. 11-14, 30%, ranked)

Machop -> Machoke -> Machamp (Ten Carat Hill (farthest hollow), lv. 11-14, 30%, ranked)

Roggenrola -> Boldore (Ten Carat Hill (farthest hollow), lv. 11-14, 10%, ranked)

Roggenrola -> Boldore -> Gigalith (Ten Carat Hill (farthest hollow), lv. 11-14, 10%, ranked)

Carbink (Ten Carat Hill, lv. 11-14, 20%, ranked)

Sableye (SOS ally of Carbink, only in cave area, ranked)

Mawile (Ten Carat Hill, lv. 11-14, 30%, ranked)

Rockruff -> Lycanroc-D (Ten Carat Hill (farthest hollow), lv. 11-14, 20%, ranked)

Rockruff -> Lycanroc-M (Ten Carat Hill (farthest hollow, lv. 11-14, 20%, ranked)

Spinda (Ten Carat Hill (farthest hollow), lv. 11-14, 30%, ranked)

Tentacool -> Tentacruel (Brooklet Hill (surfing in Totem's Den), lv. 14-17, 40%, ranked)

Finneon -> Lumineon (Brooklet Hill (surfing in Totem's Den), lv. 14-17, 40%, ranked)

Wishiwashi (Brooklet Hill (fishing in Totem's Den), lv. 10-16 (normal fishing) / lv. 10-21 (bubble spot), 40% (normal fishing) / 25% (bubble spot), ranked)

Luvdisc (Melemele Sea (fishing), lv. 10-17, 25%, ranked)

Corsola (Melemele Sea (fishing), lv. 10-17 (normal fishing) / lv. 10-22 (bubble spot), 5% (normal) / 5% daytime or 20% nighttime (bubble spot), ranked)

Mareanie -> Toxapex (SOS ally of Corsola, ranked)

Shellder -> Cloyster (Kala'e Bay (fishing), lv. 10-17 (normal fishing) / lv. 10-22 (bubble spot), 5% (normal fishing) / 35% (bubble spot), ranked)

Clamperl (Melemele Sea (fishing), lv. 10-17 (normal fishing) / lv. 10-22 (bubble spot), 5% (normal fishing)/ 35% daytime or 25% nighttime (bubble spot, ranked)

Clamperl -> Gorebyss (Melemele Sea (fishing), lv. 10-17 (normal fishing) / lv. 10-22 (bubble spot), 5% (normal fishing)/ 35% daytime or 25% nighttime (bubble spot, ranked)

Clamperl -> Huntail (Melemele Sea (fishing), lv. 10-17 (normal fishing) / lv. 10-22 (bubble spot), 5% (normal fishing)/ 35% daytime or 25% nighttime (bubble spot, ranked)

Remoraid -> Octillery (Melemele Sea (fishing), lv. 10-17 (normal fishing) / lv. 10-22 (bubble spot), 25% (normal fishing) / 15% (bubble spot), ranked)

Mantyke -> Mantine (Route 1 (surfing), lv. 15-18, 20%, ranked)

Bagon -> Shelgon -> Salamence (Route 3, lv. 9-12, 1%, ranked)

Lillipup -> Herdier -> Stoutland (Route 4, lv. 11-14, 20% daytime / 30% nighttime, ranked)

Eevee -> Vaporeon (Route 4, lv. 11-14, 5%, ranked)

Eevee -> Jolteon (Route 4, lv. 11-14, 5%, ranked)

Eevee -> Flareon (Route 4, lv. 11-14, 5%, ranked)

Eevee -> Espeon (Route 4, lv. 11-14, 5%, ranked)

Eevee -> Umbreon (Route 4, lv. 11-14, 5%, ranked)

Eevee -> Leafeon (Route 4, lv. 11-14, 5%, ranked)

Eevee -> Glaceon (Route 4, lv. 11-14, 5%, ranked)

Eevee -> Sylveon (Route 4, lv. 11-14, 5%, ranked)

Mareep -> Flaaffy -> Ampharos (Paniola Ranch, lv. 12-15, 30%, ranked)

Mudbray -> Mudsdale (Route 4, lv. 11-14, 20%, ranked)

Igglybuff -> Jigglypuff -> Wigglytuff (Route 4, lv. 11-14, 20% daytime, ranked)

Tauros (Paniola Ranch, lv. 12-15, 5%, ranked)

Miltank (Paniola Ranch, lv. 12-15, 5%, ranked)

Surskit -> Masquerain (Brooklet Hill (walking), lv. 14-17, 20% nighttime, ranked)

Dewpider -> Araquanid (Brooklet Hill (walking), lv. 14-17, 20% daytime, ranked)

Fomantis -> Lurantis (Route 5, lv. 13-16, 20%, ranked)

Morelull -> Shiinotic (Brooklet Hill, lv. 14-17, 20% nighttime, ranked)

Paras -> Parasect (Brooklet Hill, lv. 14-17, 20% daytime, ranked)

Poliwag -> Poliwhirl -> Poliwrath (Brooklet Hill (surfing), lv. 14-17, 40%, ranked)

Poliwag -> Poliwhirl -> Politoed (Brooklet Hill (surfing), lv. 14-17, 40%, ranked)

Goldeen -> Seaking (Brooklet Hill (fishing), lv. 10-16 (normal fishing) / lv. 10-21 (bubble spot), 30% (normal fishing) / 25% (bubble spot), ranked)

Basculin (Brooklet Hill (fishing), lv. 10-16 (normal fishing) / lv. 10-21 (bubble spot), 25% (normal and bubble spots), stripe depends on version, ranked)

Feebas (Brooklet Hill (fishing), lv. 10-16 (normal fishing) / lv. 10-21 (bubble spot), 1% (normal fishing) / 10% (bubble spot), ranked)

Feebas -> Milotic (Brooklet Hill (fishing), lv. 10-16 (normal fishing) / lv. 10-21 (bubble spot), 1% (normal fishing) / 10% (bubble spot), ranked)

Alomomola (Brooklet Hill (fishing), lv. 10-16 (normal fishing) / lv. 10-21 (bubble spot), 5% (normal fishing) / 35% (bubble spot),ranked)

Fletchling -> Fletchinder -> Talonflame (Wela Volcano Park, lv. 16-19, 30%, ranked)

Salandit -> Salazzle (Wela Volcano Park, lv. 16-19, 30%, ranked)

Totem Salazzle (Heahea Beach, lv. 30, collect 60 Totem stickers (UM only), ranked)

Cubone -> Alolan Marowak (Wela Volcano Park, lv. 16-19, 24%, ranked)

Totem Alolan Marowak (Heahea Beach, lv. 25, collect 40 Totem stickers (US only), ranked)

Kangaskhan (Wela Volcano Park, lv. 16-19, 1%, ranked)

Magby -> Magmar (Wela Volcano Park, lv. 16-19, 15%, ranked)

Magby -> Magmar -> Magmortar (Wela Volcano Park, lv. 16-19, 15%, ranked)

Larvesta -> Volcarona (Lush Jungle (cave), lv. 41-44, 1%, requires Machamp Shove, ranked)

Stufful -> Bewear (Route 8, lv. 17-20, 10%, ranked)

Steenee -> Tsareena (Lush Jungle (ambush encounter), lv. 19-22, 70%, ranked)

Comfey (Lush Jungle, lv. 19-22, 10%, ranked)

Pinsir (Lush Jungle, lv. 19-22, 4%, ranked)

Hoothoot -> Noctowl (Lush Jungle, lv. 19-22, 20% nighttime, ranked)

Kecleon (Dividing Peak Tunnel (ambush encounter), lv. 17-20, ranked)

Oranguru (Lush Jungle (ambush encounter), lv. 19-22, 30% (UM only), ranked)

Passimian (Lush Jungle (ambush encounter), lv. 19-22, 30% (US only), ranked)

Goomy -> Sliggoo -> Goodra (SOS ally of anything in Lush Jungle with rain, lv. 19-22, 10%, ranked)

Castform (SOS ally of anything in Lush Jungle with rain, lv. 19-22, 1%, ranked)

Wimpod -> Golisopod (Dividing Peak Tunnel (ambush encounter), lv. 17-20, ranked)

Staryu -> Starmie (Route 7 (fishing), lv. 10-18 (normal fishing) / 10-23 (bubble spot), 5% (normal fishing) / 35% (bubble spot), ranked)

Sandygast -> Palossand (Hano Beach, lv. 22-25, 30%, ranked)

Omanyte -> Omastar (revive at Route 8, lv. 15, ranked)

Kabuto -> Kabutops (revive at Route 8, lv. 15, ranked)

Lileep -> Cradily (revive at Route 8, lv. 15, ranked)

Anorith -> Armaldo (revive at Route 8, lv. 15, ranked)

Cranidos -> Rampardos (revive at Route 8, lv. 15, ranked)

Shieldon -> Bastiodon (revive at Route 8, lv. 15, ranked)

Archen -> Archeops (revive at Route 8, lv. 15, ranked)

Tirtouga -> Carracosta (revive at Route 8, lv. 15, ranked)

Tyrunt -> Tyrantrum (revive at Route 8, lv. 15, ranked)

Amaura -> Aurorus (revive at Route 8, lv. 15, ranked)

Larvitar -> Pupitar -> Tyranitar (Diglett's Tunnel, lv. 20-23, 10%, ranked)

Phantump -> Trevenant (Memorial Hill, lv. 21-24, 30%, ranked)

Natu -> Xatu (Akala Outskirts, lv. 21-24, 20% daytime, ranked)

Nosepass -> Probopass (Akala Outskirts, lv. 21-24, 15%, ranked)

Pyukumuku (Route 7 (surfing), lv. 16-19, 20%, ranked)

Chinchou -> Lanturn (Route 8 (fishing), lv. 10-20 (normal fishing) / lv. 10-25 (bubble spot), 5% (normal fishing) / 35% (bubble spot), ranked)

Poipole -> Naganadel (Ultra Megalopolis, lv. 40, after defeating Ultra Necrozma, ranked)

Trubbish -> Garbodor (Malie City (outer cape), lv. 25-28, 30%, ranked)

Minccino -> Cinccino (Malie City (outer cape), lv. 25-28, 20%, ranked)

Pineco -> Forretress (Route 10 (ambush encounter), lv. 26-29, 30%, ranked)

Skarmory (Route 10, lv. 26-29, 10%, ranked)

Ditto (Konikoni City / Route 9, lv. 29, part of the Five Ditto quest (each Ditto has a set nature and a perfect IV in a specific stat), ranked)

Cleffa -> Clefairy -> Clefable (Mount Hokulani, lv. 27-30, 20% nighttime, ranked)

Elgyem -> Beheeyem (Mount Hokulani, lv. 27-30, 20%, ranked)

Minior (Mount Hokulani, lv. 27-30, 10%, ranked)

Beldum -> Metang -> Metagross (Mount Hokulani, lv. 27-30, 10%, ranked)

Pancham -> Pangoro (Route 10, lv. 26-29, 10%, ranked)

Komala (Route 11, lv. 26-29, 10%, ranked)

Torkoal (Route 12, lv. 29-32, 20%, ranked)

Turtonator (Blush Mountain, lv. 29-32, 10% (US only), ranked)

Houndoom (Route 12, lv. 29-32, 20% (US only), ranked)

Dedenne (Blush Mountain, lv. 29-32, 10%, ranked)

Togedemaru (Blush Mountain, lv. 29-32, 10%, ranked)

Manectric (Route 12, lv. 29-32, 20% (UM only), ranked)

Elekid -> Electabuzz (Mount Hokulani, lv. 27-30, 10%, ranked)

Elekid -> Electabuzz -> Electivire (Mount Hokulani, lv. 27-30, 10%, ranked)

Alolan Graveler (Route 12, lv. 29-32, 30%, ranked)

Alolan Graveler -> Alolan Golem (Route 12, lv. 29-32, 30%, ranked)

Krokorok -> Krookodile (Haina Desert, lv. 32-35, 70%, ranked)

Trapinch -> Vibrava -> Flygon (Haina Desert (ambush encounter), lv. 32-35, 10%, ranked)

Gabite -> Garchomp (Haina Desert, SOS ally of anything with sand weather, lv. 32-35, 10%, ranked)

Baltoy -> Claydol (Haina Desert, SOS ally of anything (UM only), ranked)

Golett -> Golurk (Haina Desert, SOS ally of anything (US only), ranked)

Klefki (Thrifty Megamart, lv. 31-34, 15%, ranked)

Totem Mimikyu (Heahea Beach (Totem), lv. 40, collect 80 Totem stickers (we will likely tier it off the Totem version), ranked)

Shuppet -> Banette (Thrifty Megamart, lv. 31-34, 30%, ranked)

Frillish -> Jellicent (Route 14, lv. 34, one is harrassing a surfer and will attack the player if interacted with, ranked)

Bruxish (Route 13 (fishing), lv. 10-33 (normal fishing) / 10-39 (bubble spot), 5% (normal fishing) / 25% (bubble spot), ranked)

Drampa (Mount Lanakila (left icy cave), lv. 47-50, 10%, ranked)

Absol (Tapu Village, lv. 30-33, 20%, ranked)

Snorunt -> Glalie (Mount Lanakila (base), lv. 30-33, 20%, ranked)

Snorunt -> Froslass (Mount Lanakila (base), lv. 30-33, 20%, ranked)

Sneasel -> Weavile (Mount Lanakila (upper reaches), lv. 47-50, 20%, ranked)

Alolan Sandshrew -> Alolan Sandslash (Mount Lanakila (base), lv. 30-33, 30% (UM only), ranked)

Alolan Vulpix -> Alolan Ninetales (Mount Lanakila (base), lv. 30-33, 30% (US only), ranked)

Vanillish -> Vanilluxe (Mount Lanakila (base), SOS ally of anything with hail weather, lv. 30-33, 10%, ranked)

Scraggy -> Scrafty (Route 16, lv. 32-35, 30%, ranked)

Bisharp (Route 17, lv. 33-36, 5%, ranked)

Granbull (Poni Wilds, lv. 41-44, 20%, ranked)

Shellos -> Gastrodon (Seafolk Village, lv. 44, trade a Granbull, ranked)

Relicanth (Poni Breaker Coast (fishing), lv. 10-44 (normal fishing) / lv. 10-49 (bubble spot), 1% (normal fishing) / 10% (bubble spot), ranked)

Dhelmise (Seafolk Village (fishing), lv. 10-44 (normal fishing) / lv. 10-49 (bubble spot), 1% (normal fishing) / 10% (bubble spot), ranked)

Carvanha -> Sharpedo (Poni Breaker Coast, lv. 10-44 (normal fishing) / lv. 10-49 (bubble spot), 10% (normal fishing), 20% (bubble spot), ranked)

Dragalge (Poni Breaker Coast (ambush encounter), lv. 41-44, 20% (UM only), ranked)

Clawitzer (Poni Breaker Coast (ambush encounter), lv. 41-44, 20% (US only), ranked)

Wailmer -> Wailord (Poni Breaker Coast (ambush encounter), lv. 41-44, 70%, ranked)

Lapras (Poni Breaker Coast (surfing), lv. 41-44, 5%, ranked)

Tropius (Exeggutor Island, lv. 42-45, 20%, ranked)

Exeggcute -> Alolan Exeggutor (Exeggutor Island, lv. 42-45, 20%, ranked)

Corphish -> Crawdaunt (Vast Poni Canyon (fishing), lv. 10-46 (normal fishing) / lv. 10-51 (bubble spot), 5% (normal fishing) / 35% (bubble spot), ranked)

Mienfoo -> Mienshao (Vast Poni Canyon, lv. 43-46, 20%, ranked)

Jangmo-o -> Hakamo-o -> Kommo-o (Vast Poni Canyon, lv. 43-46, 5%, ranked)

Litleo -> Pyroar (Poke Pelago (after reaching Poni Island), ranked)

Misdreavus -> Mismagius (Poke Pelago (after reaching Poni Island), ranked)

Aerodactyl (Seafolk Village, lv. 40, gift from an Ace Trainer in the Huntail boat, ranked)

Solgaleo (Mahalo Trail, lv. 60, after beating Gladion at Mount Lanakila (US only), ranked)

Lunala (Mahalo Trail, lv. 60, after beating Gladion at Mount Lanakila (UM only), ranked)

Nihilego (Ultra Deep Sea, lv. 60, ranked)

Buzzwole (Ultra Jungle, lv. 60, US only, ranked)

Pheromosa (Ultra Desert, lv. 60, UM only, ranked)

Xurkitree (Ultra Plant, lv. 60, ranked)

Celesteela (Ultra Crater, lv. 60, UM only, ranked)

Kartana (Ultra Forest, lv. 60, US only, ranked)

Guzzlord (Ultra Ruin, lv. 60, ranked)

Necrozma (Mount Lanakila (crater), lv. 65, ranked)

===

The following Pokemon are obtained through the QR scanner. Formatting: Pokemon - day of the week, location, level (yes, it's fixed), egg move, ranked/no tier.

QR mons

Melemele Island

Squirtle - Monday, Seaward Cave, lv. 12, Aqua Jet, ranked

Onix - Tuesday, Ten Carat Hill, lv. 14, Rototiller, ranked

Horsea - Wednesday, Kala'e Bay, lv. 18, Water Pulse, ranked

Scatterbug - Thursday, Hau'oli City, lv. 9, Rage Powder, ranked

Bulbasaur - Friday, Route 2, lv. 10, Grassy Terrain, ranked

Litwick - Saturday, Hau'oli Cemetery, lv. 9, Endure, ranked

Charmander - Sunday, Route 3, lv. 12, Counter, ranked


Akala Island

Partner Cap Pikachu - you need to scan a special QR code that was distributed to whoever went to watch Pokemon the Movie: I Choose, though you can find the code on the Internet. In fact, Bulbapedia has QR codes for USA/PAL region, South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan. The Partner Cap Pikachu comes at level 21, has boosted Exp. (since it's treated as traded), and has Thunder / Thunderbolt / Iron Tail / Quick Attack upon being obtained. The Partner Cap Pikachu can be retrieved at the Pikachu Valley and you can also obtain a Pikashunium Z from the same location, thus giving you an earlier Electric Z-Move. Ranked

Spheal - Monday, Route 7, lv. 19, Belly Drum, ranked

Combusken - Tuesday, Route 8, lv. 20, Low Kick, ranked

Honedge - Wednesday, Akala Outskirts, lv. 23, ranked

Beedrill - Thursday, Route 4, lv. 14, none, ranked

Grovyle - Friday, Route 5, lv. 16, Grassy Terrain, ranked

Marshtomp - Saturday, Brooklet Hill, lv. 17, Counter, ranked

Ralts - Sunday, Route 6, lv. 17, Misty Terrain, ranked for both

Ula'Ula Island

Swinub - Monday, Tapu Village, lv. 33, Icicle Spear, ranked

Prinplup - Tuesday, Route 16, lv. 35, Power Trip, ranked

Grotle - Wednesday, Ula'Ula Meadow, lv. 36, Heavy Slam, ranked

Pidgeot - Thursday, Route 10, lv. 29, Steel Wing, ranked

Monferno - Friday, Route 11, lv. 29, Power-Up Punch, ranked

Axew - Saturday, Mount Hokulani, lv. 30, Counter, ranked

Rhyhorn - Sunday, Blush Mountain, lv. 32, Guard Split, ranked

Poni Island

Note that Aggron, Rotom, Eelektross, and Leavanny are post-game, so they won't be listed

Chesnaught - Thursday, Exeggutor Island, lv. 45, Spikes, ranked

Greninja - Friday, Poni Wilds, lv. 44, Bestow, ranked

Delphox - Saturday, Ancient Poni Path, lv. 44, Wish, ranked

===

List of Pokemon by wormhole color. Parenthesis indicates that the Pokemon is obtainable only in that particular version for the Legendary ones or the item they can hold for the non-Legendary ones. This list is useless for tiering purposes, but I decided to feature it anyways if someone decides to use it as a resource or something

wormholes

Blue wormhole
Quagsire (Rindo Berry), Lombre (Sitrus/Chesto Berry), Floatzel (Wacan Berry), Stunfisk (Soft Sand), Barbaracle (Grip Claw)

Lugia (UM), Latias (UM), Latios (US), Kyogre (UM), Uxie, Azelf, Mesprit

Green wormhole
Nuzleaf (Sitrus Berry), Grumpig (Persim Berry), Drapion (Poison Barb), Audino (Sitrus Berry), Heliolisk (Shuca Berry)

Mewtwo, Raikou (US), Entei (UM), Dialga (US), Cobalion, Virizion, Terrakion, Reshiram (US), Zekrom (UM), Xerneas* (US)

* - has Geomancy upon capture.

Red wormhole
Swellow (Charti Berry / Wide Lens), Altaria (Genius Wing), Yanmega (Wide Lens), Sigilyph (Clever / Resist Wing), Swanna (Swift Wing)

Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, Ho-Oh* (US), Cresselia, Tornadus (US), Thundurus (UM), Yveltal (UM)

* - has Burn Up upon capture (not like you are not gonna forget it for Flamethrower or something, but hey)

Yellow wormhole
Magcargo (Passho / Sitrus Berry), Medicham (Coba Berry), Hippowdon (Soft Sand), Abomasnow (Occa Berry), Crustle (Hard Stone)

Regirock, Regice, Registeel, Groudon (US), Palkia (UM), Heatran (US), Regigigas (UM)

 

[Ryota Mitarai]

Reserving this post just in case, you are now free to post.

I have started a run with Ekans / Lycanroc-M / Vaporeon / Miltank / Steenee / Torkoal. I will be sharing my experiences with them when I use them more.

Feel free to comment on the rankings of currently-ranked Pokemon. Not everything has been tiered currently, so if you have rank suggestions for things that have not been ranked yet, please speak up

 

[Its_A_Random]

Pyukumuku for C/D.

Everything I said here and sb879's addendum below said post is relevant. Its lack of useful offensive options matters little when it is one of the most efficient Pokémon in the game for taking out Totems / Ultra Nec due to Innards Out (or Counter), or taking out a problematic threat in general. Whether using two/three underlevelled Pyukumuku to take out Totems due to how their AI works or using the one to take out with Pain Split into Innards Out shenanigans.

It's niche and will at best take out one Pokémon from most trainers, but that isn't the point. The point is that for those few critical fights, it is one of the most efficient Pokémon in the game, and that alone is worth a decent ranking. That levelling it up to be on par with others is optional is a bonus.

 

[Suspicious Derivative]

Great to see a new thread for US/UM! I usually don't contribute to the in-game tier lists because I rarely replay Pokémon games, and whenever I do, I generally don’t play in a way that’s very useful when it comes to contributing to these threads. But I lurk these threads a lot, and I wanted to try to contribute to this one a little. I have some opinions regarding some of the Pokémon I used for my in-game teams on US/UM a few years ago. I made a post in the previous thread which can be found here, I also made a somewhat more detailed post for my UM team in an old in-game team thread, that post can be found here. I will repost some things from both of these posts here. I don’t really have “logs” for important battles, but I did write down some short summaries of all important battles from my UM playthrough, which I have saved. I can post them here as well if that is desired. Most of them are probably not very good tough.

So, here are my thoughts on 10 different Pokémon. I used Lilligant and Alolan Ninetales as well, but since I traded over stones to evolve them early, I will not talk about them. Also, note that I also played with the Exp. Share off, maxed the affection of all my Pokemon in Refresh and I only used Z-moves in important battles (apart from setup moves like Z-Splash), so keep that in mind. I know some of these are wrong for this tier list, so if that makes my opinions for the thread invalid, then that’s unfortunate but something I can live with.

First, here some short thoughts on the Pokémon that are already listed.


Litten: Agree with A, the Litten line is really good but not perfect. Not much else to say about it.


Oricorio: Agree with A here as well, Oricorio is very good but it never really felt like S-tier to me, so I think it should stay in A.


Abra (with trade): Personally, it was a bit disappointing for me. I’d say B rather than A but I guess A can work.


Lillipup: I think B is fine. It was on the border between B and C for me, it wasn’t super good but not completely useless either. It can stay in B.


Buneary: I think C, this was a bit disappointing when I used it. But I’m not sure, maybe B can work for it after all.

Next, to some nominations of my own, for Pokémon that aren’t listed yet.

First, the one I feel the strongest about.


Eevee (Leafeon) for B Tier.
In the last thread, I wrote this about it:
Final moveset: Leaf Blade / X-Scissor / Bite (Knock Off after beating the game) / Swords Dance
Definitely one of the better members of the team. It has great Attack and Defense, its Speed is also quite good. Its Sp.def is terrible though, I could never expect it to survive neutral or even resisted special moves. I'm not sure about the best point to catch an Eevee if you want to use Leafeon, I caught mine after completing the Grass Trial so I could evolve it immediately afterwards. It gets Razor Leaf upon evolving, then Seed Bomb through the Ula'ula Move Tutor and then finally Leaf Blade later on, so it will always have a pretty strong STAB move. It has a decent movepool but it is hard to know what moves to use. I went with the moves listed above, but Synthesis and Aerial Ace are also alternatives. Leafeon is strong but its non-STAB moves apart from X-Scissor are quite weak and won't do much damage unless it boosts its Attack with Swords Dance first. Overall, it felt very useful at many times, I could count on it to be useful when other members of the team couldn't do much.

And then the rest:


Mimikyu (regular, not Totem) for B Tier. The Totem version is probably better though.
Old post:
Final moveset: Play Rough / Shadow Claw / Leech Life / Hone Claws (Swords Dance after beating the game)
Available quite late, after beating the Ghost Trial. It also has a low chance of appearing but I got lucky and found one quickly. Unfortunately, it felt underwhelming as it rarely did enough damage. After I had beaten the game and unlocked the IV Judge, I found out that my Mimikyu had a 0 IV in Attack, that's probably one reason as for why it felt like it rarely did enough damage. It needed Hone Claws to do more damage, but by the time it had set up it still didn't feel like it did enough. Either that, or it had already fainted from the damage it took while setting up after its Disguise had broken. Play Rough also had a tendency to miss at the worst possible moments if I didn't use Hone Claws to raise Mimikyu's Accuracy first. Leech Life could be good to recover HP, but I rarely found use for it in the later stages of the game. Disguise is a great Ability, but it never felt like it helped all that much. I can see Totem Mimikyu being really good in these games, but sadly I didn't quite feel it with regular Mimikyu. I still love it though.


Pineco for D Tier.
Old post:
Final moveset: Bug Bite / Heavy Slam / Rock Slide / Drill Run (Earthquake after beating the game)
Available in the early parts of Ula'ula Island. It has fantastic Defense and decent Attack but lower Sp.def and very low Speed. It evolves quickly after capture which is good. Bug Bite is unfortunately very weak for a main STAB move, and it is in an awkward position when it comes to Gyro Ball. It is too slow to outrun anything, but too fast for Gyro Ball to do any significant damage. Heavy Slam is better, but it becomes available very late. It does get Rock and Ground-type moves for coverage so that's at least something. I could always count on Forretress to survive any Physical hit, and even any Special hit thanks to Sturdy as long as it had full HP. Unfortunately, it could rarely KO anything back. Most opponents were 2-3HKO'd if Forretress survived long enough. Overall it was not the best, but definitely not the worst either.


Mantyke for D Tier.
Old post:
Final moveset: Scald (Surf after beating the game) / Air Slash / Ice Beam / Roost
I backtracked to Melemele to catch one after getting the ability to Surf on Lapras (so I would have it before the Fire Trial), though I'm not sure if that is the best moment to catch one. It also requires a Remoraid to evolve but finding one is not hard since you already have the Fishing Rod at that point. As for Mantine, it has insane Sp.def while its other stats are a bit lackluster. It is slow and has lacking offenses. Like most Water-types, it also takes forever before it gets a good Water-type move. Air Slash and Roost are cool, but they are not enough. Water Absorb was also fun since the AI was sometimes stupid enough to use Water-moves against Mantine. I won most battles with Mantine but the majority of them were slow victories since it didn't do much damage with its moves and had to heal itself with Roost throughout the battles. Still, its Special bulk should not be underestimated as it took a +4 Dazzling Gleam from Totem Ribombee like nothing. Mantine is not the best, but not completely useless either. However, a more offensive set with Rain Dance and Swift Swim might be better than my defensive set with Roost and Water Absorb.


And lastly, Tentacool. This was one of the worst Pokémon I have ever used for an in-game team. I think it belongs in E or maybe F, it was just that bad. While my feelings towards it are very strong, I am not going to make an actual nomination. I think I just got unlucky and had a very bad experience with Tentacool, I think someone else should test it as well just to see how it performs.

 

[Ryota Mitarai]

I will address the nominations presented so far and post about my own experience with my current squad:

Pyukumuku for C/D.

I will play it safe for now and slate it for D-tier. While Pyukumuku looks to be a very efficient Pokemon for some fights, I think C-tier is too high for a Pokemon that only works for Totems and that is barely useful for any non-Totem fights, most notably the Elite Four. I read that post you linked and I am not sure if I like the idea of "level management" (which I assume is just boxing it for some time then adding it to your team when you need it), since most people that decide to use it will likely just let it suck Exp. from other teammates and never box it.

I know sb said that you don't need multiple Pyukumukus, but just in case you do need them, I don't think it's a good thing that you need multiple of them to take down an opponent, since Pyukumuku in vacuum only partially contributes to the fight in question this way. I would have to use Pyukumuku myself to confirm this, though.

snip

you don't have to worry about logs or similar. I am fine with just detailed description of the Pokemon's performance throughout the game. Obviously, if you have something as detailed as logs, I will likely be more convinced that the suggested rank is good for it, as I won't have to wonder how it would perform in other matchups that do not seem too advantageous for it. But you don't necessarily need logs to convince me that the suggested rank is good for it

Anyways, even though you had your Exp. Share turned off, I think your nominations make sense, for most parts. Whenever you extrapolated or not, I don't know, but they make sense regardless. I will address them one by one:

Abra (with trade): Personally, it was a bit disappointing for me. I’d say B rather than A but I guess A can work.

This is reasonable. Alakazam was like on my first test run ever, so I may have oversold its viability. Per memory, it may really be better in B, but I do have to say that it's better than what most people give it credit for (for example, it can beat Lurantis, Kommo-o, Hala, and contribute majorly against Marowak. Fast Reflect is always nice). But again, B is reasonable, if more people support it, I can drop it.

Lillipup: I think B is fine. It was on the border between B and C for me, it wasn’t super good but not completely useless either. It can stay in B.

One friend that used it also thought the same (B or C), but I used it and was convinced that it's better in B. Intimidate + Baby-Doll Eyes utility is pretty useful too, along with Stoutland's great general power (like, really, Work Up + STAB Z-Last Resort is a fun nuke), but I am glad you see B as a possible tier.

Eevee (Leafeon) for B Tier.

This is probably the only nomination for which I would probably need more details to see the suggested rank. Reason is that Grass typing is resisted pretty often against major opponents by the time you get Leafeon and thus it doesn't really have many natural advantages (though it should be able to handle Olivia's Lycanroc and later Hapu). I can see +2 Z-Iron Tail OHKOing Mimikyu, though, so that could be a huge plus to it, if you don't mind breaking the Disguise with something else first. While I don't have experience with Leafeon, I am using Tsareena atm and I can tell you that it has not been too great, which is where I draw the parallel. However, natural SD will probably make it better than Tsareena, especially as it allows it to muscle through some more neutral matchups. It is important to note that Eevee can be useful for Araquanid, as it can put it in red with +1 Z-Last Resort with Adaptability, which technically would translate to Leafeon's tier too

If you have more details about your experience with Leafeon, please speak up so I can understand better if it's good for B-tier.

As for catching Eevee right before evolving it, in general, almost everything prefers to be caught as soon as possible, so they can get more Exp. and EVs. Some exceptions do exist, such as Pichu, where you want to catch it with Luxury Ball from Route 2 so you can get Electro Ball at level 13, and Bagon, where you can try catching it at Kala'e Bay to avoid the 1% encounter rate (or potentially SOS chain a Shelgon, if you are willing to go that far).

Mimikyu (regular, not Totem) for B Tier. The Totem version is probably better though.

I used Mimikyu in a casual run and I can see B-tier, personally. Mimikyu is the only Pokemon with a Fairy Z-Move against Kommo-o (granted, it has Roseli Berry, but I am sure two attacks will be enough to take it down, not to mention Disguise gives you a free turn to waste the Roseli Berry and then nuke it with a Z-Move). It is also a fantastic option for Ultra Necrozma if you are willing to throw Revives on it.

And yeah, the Totem is definitely better. It will have three perfect IVs, so you can SR for Attack / Speed / HP, if you are willing to. It does come slightly underleveled, but Exp. scaling + Pokemon Refresh should allow it to quickly catch up with your team, and it means that you don't have to look for one (they tend to be quite rare).

I am willing to put it in B-tier for now, but I am open about possibly dropping it to C if someone proves that Mimikyu has too many issues (remember, Mimikyu comes quite late, so it wants to perform exceptionally well to be a high tier). But I am fine with B-tier currently.

Pineco for D Tier.

This makes sense, I can see Forry being very useful for Mimikyu with Gyro Ball. The only issue there is Banette possibly burning you, but a lot of things do too and Forry, unlike most things, actually has a good chance against Mimikyu. The Ribombee matchup also looks great. But yeah, D-tier makes sense to me, currently.

Mantyke for D Tier.

Most Kala'e Bay Water-types have this issue. They can be good for Marowak, but you need to heavily backtrack to get them for Marowak, which to an extent nullifies the good matchup. Swift Swim set is definitely better on Mantyke, as Rain Dance can easily be bought at Royal Avenue (it's a bit expensive, but money in Alola is almost never an issue, as you don't need to buy Poke Balls and potions aren't super expensive either). Anyways, D-tier to me sounds fine, considering Mantine also levels up rather slowly, so your team will likely be somewhat more underleveled than normal, as you are gonna use Mantine more than other members to keep it up with your team.

===

Here is my experience with my squad (Arbok / Lycanroc -M / Vaporeon / Miltank / Tsareena / Torkoal). Stopped after beating Mimikyu:

Arbok

Arbok has surprised me so far. Ekans and Arbok are by far the best suppot mons I've ever used in these games. Intimidate + Glare + Leer/Screech + Acid Spray can make every Totem incredibly easy for teammates. Note that I am not using the traded one.

However, Arbok has some flaws. First of all, Arbok rarely wins fights on its own. When it does, it's generally due to some luck (e.g. lucky paralyses from Glare). Second of all, Arbok is not as useful against any major opponent with multiple Pokemon like Kahunas, though you could have Arbok deal with a problematic Pokemon (like their ace) to give it some usability.

Currently leaning towards C with a possibility for B. Arbok will likely fall off at the Pokemon League, where it will have a hard time projecting its presence, even its support one. However, if you ever need a support mon, Ekans should be your first choice.

Lycanroc-M

(btw, I am considering dropping Lycanroc-D to C, please post if you have any comments on that)

Lycanroc-M, for most parts, contributes similarly as Lycanroc-D. Lycanroc-D, however, is faster and has fewer problems with opponents like Guzma's Masquerain, though Lycanroc-M performed well against the first fight regardless. Both of them are somewhat eh as Rockruff and Akala is not super kind to them (Marowak is a bit of a luckfest for both, as they can barely live joint attacks there)

However, Lycanroc-M has one tool that makes it different from Lycanroc-D. That is Counter upon evolution. With Counter, Lycanroc-M can beat opponents like Togedemaru (avoid flinches, though) that Lycanroc-D can only dream of beating. I can see Counter being useful against opponents like Kommo-o and UN (with Sash if you cannot live), which will definitely make it more useful than Lycanroc-D. I am currently leaning towards B-tier at worst for Lycanroc-M due to this reason.

Vaporeon

This assumes that you hatch the Eevee egg and take the Water Stone somewhat immediately. Vaporeon has a great matchup against Marowak and Olivia (only avoid Lileep), but tends to be somewhat bad elsewhere. HOWEVER, Vaporeon has an interesting niche, which is natural Haze. This makes it very useful against bosses like Mimikyu, as it can make them a lot more easier to handle for teammates. B-tier at best, though, Vaporeon has not been too useful outside of that.

Miltank

Performed worse than I thought. Bide strats are not reliable here, due to the fact it targets the last Pokemon that attacked the user and most Totem allies are slower than the Totem. Furthermore, Miltank levels up slowly, is hard to find, and you want Scrappy to improve the Ghost matchups (Thick Fat isn't really that useful, imo). It also suffers from 4MSS, as you want to run Curlout, Body Slam, Work Up, and Fire Punch (and Bide, I guess?). It is generally solid with a neutral matchup and can be useful against opponents like Lurantis if you have Fire Punch, but Miltank is C-tier at best.

Tsareena

Very disappointed. It is borderline late-game and Steenee phase is nothing but bad. Z-Moves from it barely 2HKO and you want to use it so it levels up faster. While it improves as a Tsareena, as it can handle Olivia's Lycanroc with no issues, Tsareena has lacked any natural advantages and has been limited to just assisting teammates with Trop Kick. Queenly Majesty can be useful for Guzma's Golisopod, but he is a bad matchup otherwise. C-tier at best, but more comfortable with D-tier right now.

Torkoal

Haven't had much chance to use it, but Torkoal can be useful for Mimikyu by greatly weakening it with Specs Flamethrower in sun, but you won't be beating it easily (but regardless, the weakening without Z-Moves is nice). It managed to catch up with most of my team by beating even Pokemon that resist Fire (like the fisherman's Gyarados). Likely C-tier, but I have yet to use it more.

Here are some current rankings that I am not too confident with and potential tiers. They will be considered if there's support behind the changes:

Machop (Trade) B -> A?
Stufful B -> A?
Eevee (Flareon) C -> B?
Bruxish B -> C?
Rockruff (Lycanroc-D) B -> C?
Delibird C -> D?
Bulbasaur A -> B?

I want to receive a little bit more nominations before I make changes to the list with the current nominations. I've liked the nominations so far, so please keep it up!

 

[DrumstickGaming]

Real quick thoughts post-Totem Alolan Marowak:
Growlithe has been garbage. It has lost literally every boss fight. Intimidate is nothing when every Totem is OP as crap and all the important trainers have good IVs. It needs to pick up majorly for it to be C once I get Flamethrower Arcanine.

Furfrou has been pretty good, soloing Normal trial and Araquanid as well as even Hala (!) while providing an acceptable performance for Marowak. I haven't tried Z-Last Resort but I may do so for Lurantis. I expect it to fall off come island 3, but it's been pretty great!

Basculin is insane, even Water types get nuked by Aqua Tail (borderline OHKOs). Optimistic for its performance.

Can't say much on Eevee, cause I haven't got Leafeon yet.

Bisharp and Pancham will be my final two members.

Keep up the good posts everyone! I might post logs after island 2, just wanted to drop a quick post right now.

 

[aegon the unlikely]

Furfrou has the potential to be really good with Fur Coat and Baby-Doll Eye spam.

 

[Its_A_Random]

I will play it safe for now and slate it for D-tier. While Pyukumuku looks to be a very efficient Pokemon for some fights, I think C-tier is too high for a Pokemon that only works for Totems and that is barely useful for any non-Totem fights, most notably the Elite Four. I read that post you linked and I am not sure if I like the idea of "level management" (which I assume is just boxing it for some time then adding it to your team when you need it), since most people that decide to use it will likely just let it suck Exp. from other teammates and never box it.

I know sb said that you don't need multiple Pyukumukus, but just in case you do need them, I don't think it's a good thing that you need multiple of them to take down an opponent, since Pyukumuku in vacuum only partially contributes to the fight in question this way. I would have to use Pyukumuku myself to confirm this, though.

For the record, I am perfectly fine with D, but to talk about a few things:

• Yes Level Management involves using the PC for multiple Pyukumuku strats. When I did my challenge run (see sig), I had to have the Pyukumuku within certain level ranges (Early 20's) for Totem Togedemaru/Mimikyu such that they had low enough bulk to be one shot (and given Totem AI, if there is a OHKO for the taking, it will go for it), but high enough health so that two Pyukumuku would be enough to take out the totem so something else could come in and pick off the add (which won't get its action in before the totem, making the strategy "safe"). It's a similar deal for the Counter one shot on Totem Kommo-o (I think the one I used was Lv31?). For Totem Ribombee, two-shot or three-shot is safe since Blissey only comes at < 50% HP and is slow enough so it Heal Pulses nothing. I didn't try it with Totem Lurantis, but that fight isn't as straightforward in theory because of Solar Blade needing a charge turn out of sunlight after the first use.
  • Multiple (underleveled) Pyukumuku in general isn't something that most normal players are going to do, but if we are assuming the player is at least competent (which isn't a bad thing), then it's definitely something worth talking about, as it provides valuable insight into alternative approaches that make the notion of Pyukumuku outside of F-Tier not as ridiculous as it seems. Potentially an AC mention in the writeups.
  • The downside of this strat is that it does take exp away from 1-3 Pokémon for what is for all intents and purposes, death fodder. Whether or not it's a bad thing varies but I don't think it's a bad idea in the long term, really.
  • In short, underlevelled Pyukumuku are the Pokémon equivalent of grenades/bomb items in your typical turn-based RPG and while one on it's own isn't super efficient, it's efficient in multiples. Of course, there's nothing stopping you from using one or two and then using another Pokémon to finish the job, but that also speaks of Pyukumuku's ability to support the party by providing chip damage to a target which can be used to secure a KO or something.
• I would recommend trying out the single Pyukumuku idea with Pain Split + Innards Out as it would be interesting to see how that pans out in practice (since I've only played using the multiple underleveled strats). I'd say it might do decently, but given that it's probably not going to be one shot, it might see the AI behave a little differently? My biggest concern on that front would be Totem Ribombee who might just Quiver Dance in your face, but it would at least take Blissey out of the picture. And even then, the Pelipper could end up being a "useful idiot" that could end up helping you get the KO. It will also give an idea of what it does in a vacuum, so that in a way is a plus.
  • I mean I could test it myself, but I have enough on my plate at the moment in and out of Smogon Forums.
• I personally think Pyukumuku doesn't really conform to the same norms that other Pokémon go through personally. It's "efficiency" is in dying, it doesn't require as much levelling up depending on what you are doing (and can just sit in a box until you want it), its slowness doesn't matter (95% of the time), it doesn't attack directly. It's a complete oddball that operates on its own wavelength and cannot be used the same way you can use any old normal Pokémon.

That said, I did say in my post in the old thread that it could be worth talking about multiple instances of the same Pokémon in the policy thread, or alternatively making a blanket ruling to not consider multiples in testing to avoid any potential Pandora's Boxes like this very example. Even then, I feel a single Pyukumuku can be a D at best and can do similar things, but it's not as safe as multiples.

Furfrou has the potential to be really good with Fur Coat and Baby-Doll Eye spam.

Debuffing in general is very good in Ultra SM from a support standpoint as it makes setup a lot easier given the power level of the game, but remember that we want to try and beat the game as efficiently as possible. While it provides a safe way to get through a fight, it's not a particularly fast way through a fight, and that there are faster options available in most cases.

I definitely have experience with Furfrou, but it was a challenge run with move restrictions (see sig) so I don't have much in terms of valuable insights to contribute beyond Baby-Doll Eyes (and Sand-Attack) spam. It can definitely do the debuff job well, but there might be some other applications that are worth considering.

 

[PokePoindexter]

I love how we revisit the in-game tier list just as I finish replaying Ultra Moon. Anyway, some recommendations from various mons I've trained (past and present):

: If you can Bank one over to another copy in which you've completed the game to teach it Foul Play, it's not half bad. If you can't, don't bother with it. It can take hits, but its moveset and low offensive stats make it hard for it to hit back. I should nominate it for F, but it's one of my all-time favorites and is available early on, so I'm too nice to nominate it for anything lower than E.

: Awesome early-game Dark-type that can play some mean mind games because the AI doesn't exactly understand Illusion very well. No joke, I beat Ultra Necrozma without taking a shred of damage thanks to it. Its better attacks don't come until later on (hence why I'm not going for S-tier), but I think being able to cheese a boss battle as notoriously brutal as that is the cherry on top that makes it worthy of A.

: I've loved it since I first discovered it, and I love using it in-game too. You can get the Choice Specs in the exact same location you find it, and if you have the patience to SOS for a Snow Warning one (which honestly doesn't take that much time), you can launch perfect-accuracy Blizzards to your heart's content starting at Level 42. Time it right and you can reach that level right before getting the Ice Stone to evolve it (in Po Town). It does appear fairly late, though, and it's pretty much a dud against Molayne and Olivia, so I'm nominating it for B.

: Another solid Ice-type that comes along just in time to be useful. Its secondary Steel-typing helps out against the myriad of Poison-types Team Skull uses and against Totem Ribombee (and Kommo-o to an extent, but that thing is still part Fighting-type). B.

: Baby the hell out of it and give it a Muscle Band or Wise Glasses available in the Battle Royal Dome (do some Mantine Surfing to get the needed BP) and it can function as well as a B-tier mon. Unfortunately, you can do the same for nearly everything else as well. I really only used it because Lumineon has grown on me via Contests and the Pokeathlon during my phase of burnout from online battles, so I wanted to see if I could enjoy using it on an in-game team, and I actually did, but I won't be unrealistic with my nomination either. It learns Water Pulse at Level 22, making it good against Kiawe, useless against Mallow (except for Sudowoodo), can evolve just in time to thrash Olivia, and managed to stay on my team all the way to Giovanni, so I guess that has to count for something. I'd recommend a lot of other Water-types over it, but it can still get the job done, so D it shall be.

: Another mon that grew on me the same way Lumineon did, so I had to try it out in my most recent playthrough. Get a Spoink early on and train it up, and it's roughly A or B-tier. But otherwise, it doesn't show up until the Ultra Warp Ride... but on the other hand, I don't think I've ever used any previous Psychic-types in Alola otherwise as I think the type as a whole is pretty forgettable in these games (excluding the legendaries, of course). I'll nominate it for C. Power Gem hits Totem Ribombee super-effectively and makes it a decent option against Kahili. Not a bad choice if you're looking for an eleventh-hour mon to fill out the last slot on your team.

: Put in the patience and it pays big dividends. But it just takes way too long to get and requires massive amounts of babying to get there. Not really worth it. Despite being another one of my all-time favorites, I'm not gonna hold back on the F nomination this time; at least my other E picks were fairly easy to obtain and available much earlier.

: Very disappointing. The best it could do before evolving was use Aqua Jet and Smack Down. It's a decent option against Olivia and Guzma, but that's about it until you reach the Elite Four. Kabutops makes up for part of the disappointment, but it's just too little too late. Gonna have to go with D here.

: Loved it in SM, love it just as much here. Evolves early, has great Speed and solid Sp. Atk, gives Totem Raticate and Hala seizures, excels against Totem Lurantis, learns plenty of solid moves both via level-up and TM, and stays useful throughout the game. If there's one mon you're seeing in this post that I think deserves to be nominated for S, this is it.

 

[Ryota Mitarai]

snip

Hi, thank you for your nominations! Some of your nominations make sense, but there are some Pokemon whose viability I think you are overselling. I will cover them one by one.

Before I go on, please note that transfering is not considered whatsoever in this game, so Foul Play on Umbreon isn't going to be considered. Also, I saw you mention Giovanni, note that Episode RR isn't part of this list either (in case you included it in your nominations in some way)

Awesome early-game Dark-type that can play some mean mind games because the AI doesn't exactly understand Illusion very well. No joke, I beat Ultra Necrozma without taking a shred of damage thanks to it. Its better attacks don't come until later on (hence why I'm not going for S-tier), but I think being able to cheese a boss battle as notoriously brutal as that is the cherry on top that makes it worthy of A.

I've never used Zorua outside of cheesing UN, so some of this is just educated guess on my side, but A feels too high. Alola's major bosses often have a super effective move that can pretty much kill Zorua right on the spot. For example, Hala, Araquanid, Mimikyu, Kommo-o, and Ribombee all have natural advantage over it. Other opponents, like Marowak and Lurantis, possess coverage (Brick Break and X-Scissor, respectively). While you could try fooling them with Illusion, most of the time the opponent will go straight for an attacking move turn one, which breaks the Illusion. Couple it with the fact that in more neutral matchups Zorua will struggle due to poor bulk, so it's really not doing much there.

I've personally always imagined it as C-tier more than something else, but never really put it anywhere preliminary since I wanted to use it first before doing so. But I think A-tier is too high and I would need more arguments to be convinced of such a high tier

I've loved it since I first discovered it, and I love using it in-game too. You can get the Choice Specs in the exact same location you find it, and if you have the patience to SOS for a Snow Warning one (which honestly doesn't take that much time), you can launch perfect-accuracy Blizzards to your heart's content starting at Level 42. Time it right and you can reach that level right before getting the Ice Stone to evolve it (in Po Town). It does appear fairly late, though, and it's pretty much a dud against Molayne and Olivia, so I'm nominating it for B.

First, I am sort of hesitant about considering SOS chaining, since you need to chain for some time to increase the chances of one coming with Snow Warning. Second, Vulpix, like Zorua, doesn't seem to have a natural advantage against whatever is left of the game (other than Kahili and Hapu, I guess? Kommo-o can be 2HKOed, per calculations, but you aren't winning). Olivia and Molayne, as you said, are out of question here, though Ribombee seems to be out of question too. For a Pokemon as late as Vulpix to be B, I generally expect it to be incredibly good with very little bad matchups, which doesn't seem to be the case with Vulpix.

Sandshrew, similarly, I want to see a very good performance for B, which I cannot imagine currently

: Loved it in SM, love it just as much here. Evolves early, has great Speed and solid Sp. Atk, gives Totem Raticate and Hala seizures, excels against Totem Lurantis, learns plenty of solid moves both via level-up and TM, and stays useful throughout the game. If there's one mon you're seeing in this post that I think deserves to be nominated for S, this is it.

Bug / Fairy is commonly walled by major opponents, like Marowak and Togedemaru. Furthermore, Ribombee, disappointingly, cannot win against Kommo-o, at least from when I used it (cause Roseli Berry / Bullet Punch / Poison Jab). It does have some interesting matchups, like Alolan Raticate, Hala, Nanu, and Lurantis, along with being a good Raichu killer, but S implies that the Pokemon has very little bad matchups and can bulldoze an overwhelming amount of opponents, generally.

I think B-tier is fine, personally, considering I even considered C-tier at some point. Anything higher than B would need more support before I go with it.

Your Kabuto, Finneon, and Larvesta nominations make sense and I don't have much issue with them, though I am not sure how you got a Choice item on Finneon, since Band and Scarf are only in the Battle Tree. I will consider those, since they make sense, but the others I think are a bit too high atm and I would need more detail / support before I consider them. Umbreon will be slated for E, but I am willing to change its tier if someone that used it without Foul Play comes with a more appropriate rank.

Grumpig isn't considered, since the list isn't tiering wormhole Pokemon.

===

As for the Pyukumuku thing, yeah, the usage of multiple Pokemon of same species is probably better in the policy thread, but for now Pyukumuku will be slated for D and tiered as if you are using it alone.

===

I am at Kommo-o, so I should be able to provide ranks for my mons soon. After that, I will get a slate and vote on most of the nominations brought here.

 

[PokePoindexter]

though I am not sure how you got a Choice item on Finneon, since Band and Scarf are only in the Battle Tree.

Reasons why I should not be making nominations at 3 in the morning. I meant to say Muscle Band.

 

[Celeb]

I plan to beat Ultra Sun this year with Rowlet, Cutiefly, Wishiwashi, Passimian, Alolan Geodude and Turtonator. I have a question semi-related to this topic. How annoying is Exp. Share when you use Pokemon from both slow and fast experience groups in your team? I feel like Passimian will eat so much experience I will never have a chance to use Wishiwashi.

Lycanroc-M

(btw, I am considering dropping Lycanroc-D to C, please post if you have any comments on that)

Lycanroc-M, for most parts, contributes similarly as Lycanroc-D. Lycanroc-D, however, is faster and has fewer problems with opponents like Guzma's Masquerain, though Lycanroc-M performed well against the first fight regardless. Both of them are somewhat eh as Rockruff and Akala is not super kind to them (Marowak is a bit of a luckfest for both, as they can barely live joint attacks there)

However, Lycanroc-M has one tool that makes it different from Lycanroc-D. That is Counter upon evolution. With Counter, Lycanroc-M can beat opponents like Togedemaru (avoid flinches, though) that Lycanroc-D can only dream of beating. I can see Counter being useful against opponents like Kommo-o and UN (with Sash if you cannot live), which will definitely make it more useful than Lycanroc-D. I am currently leaning towards B-tier at worst for Lycanroc-M due to this reason.

Here are some current rankings that I am not too confident with and potential tiers. They will be considered if there's support behind the changes:
[...]
Rockruff (Lycanroc-D) B -> C?

I've noticed this and wanted to put my two cents in. If midday form is similar in efficiency as in SM then it is no B tier material. Too frail, unreliable STAB, lacking movepool. I haven't used it in Ultra though so my opinion is not that valuable I guess.

 

[Ryota Mitarai]

I plan to beat Ultra Sun this year with Rowlet, Cutiefly, Wishiwashi, Passimian, Alolan Geodude and Turtonator. I have a question semi-related to this topic. How annoying is Exp. Share when you use Pokemon from both slow and fast experience groups in your team? I feel like Passimian will eat so much experience I will never have a chance to use Wishiwashi.

In general, it will force you to use the Slow exp. mons more to keep them up with your levels, as far as my experience goes. Non-participants only get 50% of the Exp., so if you were to use Wishiwashi more, it'd be clearly outleveling them, for example.

Thank you for your plans for running the game, it will be appreciated!

I've noticed this and wanted to put my two cents in. If midday form is similar in efficiency as in SM then it is no B tier material. Too frail, unreliable STAB, lacking movepool. I haven't used it in Ultra though so my opinion is not that valuable I guess.

At this point, I am convinced it should drop to C, so I will do it when I post my nominations. Midnight form will likely be B due to Counter strategies, though (beat Togedemaru, Kommo-o, and UN with it)

 

[Ryota Mitarai]

double posting, but:

1) I got a hold of Totem data (with EVs and IVs), I have updated the OP with it

2) I finished my run as I promised and will talk about it below:

run

Ekans -> leaning towards C, could raise to B if there's a strong support behind it

As I said previously, Ekans is the best support Pokemon you could pick up in these games. Glare + Intimidate + Acid Spray + Screech + Haze can all contribute to some Totem fight and make them easier. However, it is rather unimpressive at the League (though it could be good for Hau, depending on if you can lure Crabo in fast) and Ekans really best shines in Totem fights. I am gonna play it safe and put it in C for now, but with more support and arguments, I could *maybe* push it to B, but I'd rather it stays in C, at least for now

Rockruff (UM) -> B, Rockruff (US) -> C

To explain why I put Rockruff (US) in B initially, it's cause I was wondering whenever to put it in C or B, then I did some calcs and saw that, per them, you could OHKO Mimikyu with it. Welp, turns out I was wrong and that this is not actually true.

Rockruff (UM) has similar matchups as its US counterpart. While it's slower, there are no fights where there are significant differences to the point where I'd call either outright better. However, Midnight form gets access to Counter, which gives it a good matchup against Togedemaru, Kommo-o (mine managed to live one Drain Punch), and UN (wih Sash). All in all, Rockruff (UM) is better and more worthy of B-tier.

Eevee (Vaporeon) -> B

Vaporeon has good matchups against Olivia (both fights), Marowak, Hapu, Ribombee, and is reasonably good against any neutral target, though it does not always win. However, what sets Vaporeon apart from the other Eeveelutions is natural Haze, which can prove useful against UN, Mimikyu, and Kommo-o. All in all, I'd put it in C-tier performance-wise, but gonna push it to B for the Haze support, which can be valuable for the tougher opponents.

Miltank -> C

Miltank's biggest issues are that it's somewhat annoying to find, that it levels up slowly, and that it's not super easy to use consistently. Bide strats are not reliable, as Bide targets whoever attacked it last, which tends to be a Totem ally rather than the Totem. While Z-Curlout can allow it tocrush some fights, the execution of the strategy isn't really easy to pull off consistently, so I don't think this should be higher than C. I can also drop it even further, if someone has a worse experiene with it than me

Steenee -> leaning towards D

This one is probably a bit more controversial, since Tsareena's movepool is actually quite interesting. However, this thing has numerous issues that I personally couldn't just ignore. First, the Steenee period is awful and you want to use this thing so it levels up faster. While you could switch train, this is rather annoying and also wears your team off a lot faster. Secondly, Tsareena has very few naturally good matchups, which are Olivia and Hapu, for most parts, with occassional kills with coverage here and there. Thirdly, the movepool, despite being varied, simply isn't too useful for when you get it. I'd honestly have put this in E if it wasn't for Trop Kick being nice utility, but all in all, Steenee was mediocre for me. I *could* push it to C with strong support, but for now, I'd need good arguments to raise this beyond D.

Torkoal -> D

This one is also a bit more surprising, since Specs Flamethrower in sun is reasonably powerful. However, Torkoal is incredibly slow and this really prevents it from doing much to bosses with multiple Pokemon that tend to wear it off very fast. The only of those where Torkoal killed more than like one or two mons were Molayne and (lol) Acerola. Ribombee is also surprisingly a not great matchup, because Blissey is faster and heals it, while Pelipper brings rain.

All in all, considering it comes late and has *a lot* of issues, I think this is better in D. Useful in handful matchups, but has a lot more negatives than positives.

Here is the slate with the nominations that I am voting on. The results will be in on Sunday (I am GMT +2, so probably morning or noon/afternoon my time). If you have serious objections to any of the nominations, you are better off speaking up now. While it won't be impossible to change a Pokemon's tier after that, it will be somewhat easier for me if it happened before the results are in.

slate

Pyukumuku -> D
Mimikyu -> B
Pineco -> D
Mantyke -> D
Eevee (Umbreon) -> E
Larvesta E -> F
Kabuto -> D
Finneon -> D
Rockruff (US) B -> C
Rockruff (UM) -> B
Torkoal -> D
Steenee -> D
Ekans -> C
Eevee (Vaporeon) -> B
Miltank -> C

Leafeon wasn't included in this slate, as DrumstickGaming is using it right now and I want to see what he has to say before I push it anywhere. Zorua, Cutiefly, Vulpix, and Sandshrew were not included, as I want more arguments and support for them to move to those ranks.

I've been liking so far the way this has been going, so great job and thanks to all! I hope more nominations will come in the next days.

(next team for me: Smoochum / Sylveon / Milotic / Barboach / Archen / Minior)

 

[ceal]

started a run with Zubat, Munchlax, Mudbray, Jolteon, Honedge and Monferno. Only just got done Olivia tho, so I can only comment on 5 mons. Here are my thoughts so far:

- seeing this guy in A rank got me excited to use it, but as with most tier lists that have Zubat in A I think this is being overrated a bit. It's quite a solid support pokemon and is notable for just ohkoing Araquanid with SSSS but doesn't exactly win any other mus. Even against Lurantis the inability to ohko turns the mu into a massive slugfest where you won't exactly lose but take way too long to be efficient. Also doesn't totally sweep Hala which is unfortunate but expected cuz Crabrawler is bullshit. Feeling B rn but idk, it could surprise me.

- Munchlax is a neat little find and a strong mon at that. While it's only obtainable after the major battles of Melemele have been completed, it starts off strong in Akala with Z-Last Resorts galore. It gets overwhelmed by Marowak but is capable of ohkoing Araq and Lurantis and even performs pretty well vs Olivia with Brick Break. Satisfied with this guy thus far

- for an S rank, Mudbray doesn't have the strongest of starts, struggling against every totem in Akala (even Marowak overwhelms it too quickly). Normally I'd be suspect of an S rank based on this alone, but USM is a very hard game, and I've been told that Mudsdale absolutely dominates the second half of the game, so I'll hold my breath. Even now Mudbray did very well against Olivia (I opted not to get Mudsdale but if you want a stronger mu against her Lileep by all means go for it) and outside of major battles the broken ability, great stats and excellent movepool (having a pseudo-eq at 24 is insane) have made it feel very strong. Excited to see how it performs post-Akala.

- rather mid, honestly. Does pretty alright vs Araq and Olivia but absolutely turns off for the other fights. Also needs a couple tutor moves so have fun with that. Overall it's competent enough but not that strong either, like a C tier rn.

- had my dude for all of five minutes but not bad. Kinda slow to kill cuz it lacks a strong STAB at this point (whoever thought this thing shouldn't learn Smart Strike needs to get shoved in a locker fr), resigned to 3hkoing Olivia's rocks with Brick Break. Shadow Sneak is neat for picking off faster opponents but otherwise there's not much else to say. Hopefully will have a more informed opinion soon.

Hope to finish the game soon, it's taking forever cuz USM is a naturally long game and Citra will apparently turn my laptop into a bomb if I try and use the speed up feature so it'll probably take a bit. Overall tho very much enjoying this game and hope this list continues to get the attention it deserves

 

[Ryota Mitarai]

Hello, here are the results:

results

Pyukumuku -> D
Mimikyu -> B
Pineco -> D
Mantyke -> D
Eevee (Umbreon) -> E
Larvesta E -> F
Kabuto -> D
Finneon -> D
Rockruff (US) B -> C
Rockruff (UM) -> B
Torkoal -> D
Steenee -> D
Ekans -> C
Eevee (Vaporeon) -> B
Miltank -> C

this is basically a c/p of the slate, since I didn't change my mind over any nomination.

Now, I am going to employ a system that I came up with. You will notice in the rank list one or two asterisks next to most Pokemon from C and above. I want to try it as to indicate what Pokemon need confirmation more than the others and what Pokemon's ranks have been established.

two asterisks (**) means that I am very willing to change the Pokemon's tier with reasonably good arguments
one asterisk (*) means that I am mostly satisfied with its current ranking, but I am open to changing the tier with good arguments. However, it is also easy to convince me that the current tier is correct for it, especially if it was used more thoroughly.
if the Pokemon has no asterisks, then I am pretty much satisfied with the ranking. It is not impossible for the Pokemon to move tiers, but you will need a very good reason to suggest a tier change for the Pokemon

This system should hopefully make us more productive by being able to clearly tell what needs more use to establish or confirm a ranking. The system is for C and above only, since I am planning on tackling D and below by myself once we tier the whole dex. I will also include in the OP some of the proposed rankings so they can be more visible.

===

I last beat Nanu in my current run (Smoochum / Sylveon / Milotic / Barboach / Archen / Minior) and can talk a bit more about their performance:

run

Smoochum
Yeah, this is... pretty bad. Ice / Psychic is horrible defensively. The entire Akala Island hates it (Lurantis's Solar Blade hits quite hard when you are a Smoochum) and the entire Ula'Ula Island hates it. Really, the only thing close to a good matchup so far has been Hala, where it 2HKOs everything, though it gets 2HKOed by everything itself in return. Hopefully, it will perform better in Poni Island, because, right now, I am struggling to see why I'd put this in D-tier, let alone anything higher.

Sylveon
This one has been surprising. Sylveon's Work Up and Draining Kiss is a neat combo, which allows it to win against some fights, most notably Araquanid and Olivia (though it fears Lycanroc's Z-Rock Tomb). I also managed to beat Lurantis, albeit barely and in a rather complicated manner, so I don't count it. It has also been pretty good for sweeping the second Guzma fight and Nanu just with Specs Moonblast. Honestly, if it doesn't drop at Poni Island, I could see B, but I am going with C for now, since it's also a little bit slow in regards to killing Pokemon before Moonblast.

Milotic
Juggling between D and C. The biggest issue with Milotic is that getting a Feebas is pretty hard (1% or 10% in bubbling spots) and that you need to backtrack all the way back to Kala'e Bay to get a Prism Scale if you want to use it for Marowak. Outside of that, Milotic is good for Olivia and also was reasonably okay for Nanu and the second Guzma fight, though the former involves some Swagger RNG. By the way, you want Competitive on this, it's pretty neat for opponents with stat-dropping moves. I will probably settle with D-tier for now due to Erratic experience group, which is pretty bad, for most parts.

Barboach
Somewhat satisfied. While Barboach doesn't win against Marowak, Whiscash is pretty good for Olivia (I managed to sweep, though I needed Rain Dance) and it basically sat on Togedemaru like nothing (by the way, getting EQ this early is insane). The traded one (which has a better availability due to no need to backtrack) levels up very fast, it's like 4-5 levels ahead of my team (it was 49 for the second Guzma fight). Whiscash also was useful for Nanu, though didn't sweep, and almost OHKOed Mimikyu with Z-Aqua Tail in rain. It can also contribute with kills against Guzma since it learns Bounce (and Rock Tomb for Masquerain). Honestly, considering I almost never used Whiscash on the field and it still massively outlevels my team, I think it's fair to say that it will likely end up in B-tier, unless it drops significantly in performance.

Archen
The biggest issues with Archen is that it comes rather late (just before Olivia, which is a bad matchup for it) and that it comes very underleveled, though it should catch up soon enough, especially if you use Pokemon Refresh. However, Acrobatics from that thing is pretty powerful. However, major battle-wise, it's only performed well against Guzma so far (consistent sweep). Nanu has two of his mons almost OHKOed, though they generally trigger Defeatist. Likely D or C, depending on how the end-game goes.

Minior
This one is a bit weird. It sucks against Togedemaru (duh) and Mimikyu, but is good for Guzma and managed to sweep Nanu with no problems. Nanu is just "click Shell Smash and use an appropriate STAB move", while Guzma is just Specs Power Gem spam (and Ancient Power spam on the first fight, though you want to use a Z-Move first). Minior's biggest issue, other than somewhat late arrival, is that the Meteor form sucks for route cleaning, as you are stuck with low offenses while in it. However, it can generally OHKO in core form, so you could potentially not heal it to do that. And the meteor form seems useful for setting up Shell Smash too. Overall, could see C-tier if it continues to perform well, which it ideally should

Once I get enough nominations, I will make another slate and thus move some things to some tiers, depending on what is nominated

e: to avoid double posting, I will edit in my nominations:

nominations

Smoochum -> D
Smoochum is hit super effectively by the entire major arsenal of Akala and Ula'Ula. It is also not super useful against most of the E4 since it autoloses against two of its members. However, Jynx has one stupid niche, which is Perish Song at level 55, which, combined with Sash, allows it to take out Ultra Necrozma. Jynx can also beat Kommo-o by Psyching Up then OHKOing with Z-Psychic.

However, if it wasn't for Ultra Necrozma, Smoochum would be E-tier. This thing notably struggled against Hapu, since your strongest decent Ice STAB is Icy Wind. As a whole, it has very little matchups and is only saved by a niche that allows it to beat Ultra Necrozma

Sylveon -> leaning towards C, but open to B
Sylveon managed to beat many fights that I did not expect it to. Its positive matchups include Araquanid, Olivia #1, Guzma, Nanu, and Hau. However, its E4 performance was somewhat lackluster and it's still bad in a lot of matchups outside of that. Nevertheless, I considered B so I may give it that if there's more support behind it, but I will play it safe for now.

Milotic -> C
It became a lot better in the end-game thanks to Erratic giving it free levels, essentially, and its Scald just hitting hard in general. I don't think this should be B, though, because, remember, Feebas is 10% encounter at best and that is from bubbling spots.

Barboach -> B
Easy to train due to traded exp, has key advantages, such as against Togedemaru, Molayne, and Olivia, and is generally useful against any neutral opponent and can contribute with around two kills at worst against them. It tends to suck in some more difficult fights like Kommo-o and Ribombee, but given this thing requires no usage and still outlevels your team by few levels, I am gonna give it B-tier, but I could consider C too, if the non-winning matchups are deemed too much for it.

Archen -> D
Now, this gets Acrobatics, I get it. However, Archen comes rather late (just before Olivia) AND underleveled (15). Furthermore, while Archeops can destroy fights like Guzma, it's sometimes very dependent on AI behavior (see Ribombee) or IVs to outspeed the opponent (see Kommo-o, which just barely outsped mine). I think Archen, while strong in some fights, has too many issues to be worth using, so gonna go with D-tier here

Minior -> leaning towards C, could mayybe push it to D in the future
Minior is weird in that it has interesting contributions, such as sweeping Guzma and Nanu and crushing Ribombee. However, Shields Down, while useful sometimes, is also bad in some cases. For example, Minior has to fight Kommo-o already damaged so Kommo-o can outspeed AND put it at half HP or below while it sets up Shell Smash (normally a 3HKO) in order to beat it reliably. However, it also sweeps Hau rather easily (just set up Shell Smash on Raichu while living a Thunderbolt then spam your most powerful move). All in all, it's a weird mon, but it's one of the funniest ones I have used for an in-game run, so I am willing to put it in C. However, I am willing to drop it to D if proven too weak for C.

currently doing a run with Bonsly / Steelix / Espeon / Marshtomp / Chinchou / Oranguru. Most of my team has not been too great, bar Marshtomp, which has been acceptable. I will talk more about them when I finish this run, since their issues are pretty straightforward.

 

[Ryota Mitarai]

double post but here are the results of my run:

noms

Bonsly -> D
Bonsly is somewhat useless in majority of the fights, other than using Sturdy + Tearful Look to debuff a Totem. However, it performs well against Olivia #1, Kommo-o (due to Counter), Ribombee, and Kahili. But outside of those, don't expect Sudowoodo to do much.

Onix (Trade) -> E
To get a Steelix, you need to itemhunt a Metal Coat off Magnemite (which is 10% encounter at Trainer's School). Even after you do that, Steelix is mostly a deadweight for most of the game; it takes too long to do anything to Togedemaru due to Torment + Spiky Shield gimmicks, cannot OHKO Mimikyu due to Banette's burning, and sucks against Ribombee due to Blissey healing it. While it becomes better at the E4 due to Curse through relearner, it's got a huge amount of issues, so I am gonna slate it for E. I could maybe push it to D if I am underselling it, though.

Espeon -> D
It's a Psychic-type, so it gets hit by all things. It does beat Kommo-o, but I found almost nothing useful about this. I'd personally put it in E, but I am gonna be generous and slate it for D

Marshtomp -> C, could push it to B with more support / arguments
Good for Togedemaru, Olivia (especially the second fight), Molayne, potentially Ribombee, useful for Nanu and useful for Guzma and Kommo-o with Counter. However, I felt it wasn't as good as most B-tiers, but that may have been impacted by my team's overall badness. I will slate it for C, but will give it two asterisks and move to B with reasonable arguments, if such are provided.

Chinchou -> D
Levels up slowly, comes underleveled unless you go for bubble spots, comes after Marowak. It does wall Togedemaru completely and perform well against Kahili and (to an extent) Olivia and Molayne, but it really failed to do anything impressive outside of that.

Oranguru -> D
I used some Psych Up strats on some fights, which ended up ridiculously successful. For example, against Togedemaru, Psych Up + Nasty Plot made Stored Power a *3HKO* due to berry. It also trivializes Kommo-o and Z-Psych Up helps greatly against Ribombee, followed by Stored Power spam. It was alsoable to sweep Hapu and was useful for the first Olivia fight. However, it does come late and levels up slowly, along with being meh in the other matchups, so D-tier it is.

my next team will be Mime Jr. / Charmander / Petilil / Poliwrath / Nosepass / Grotle. I may edit my analyses on them in this post if no one posts in here by the time I get to that.

Once I do a few more mons and Drumstick and Ceal finish their runs, I may mega slate whatever hasn't been tiered yet, since I have a good idea of what tier most of them would end up in, to speed up the process and so we can move on to confirming the mons' tiers.

 

[Dunfan]

Yo, Prinplup made me raise an eyebrow. Thanks to how broken X items are, i was a bit interested in Power Trip users. Unfortunately despite being otherwise great,

has imo meh matchups against most late things (particularly totem mons, failing against all of them, though it can pull Focus Sash + Foul Play on Necrozma), while Prinplup perform decent at first sight, so thought i'd theorymon a bit to see how far it can go. That's all i can give you, unfortunately; my 3DS is gone! (i will try my best though, pasta will be from a solo grindless perspective)

• Empoleon wrecks Guzma just by clicking Rock Slide. Rockium Z welcomed in the last maingame fight to ensure Vikavolt doesn't last a turn. If you decide to not evolve Prinplup until it learns Hydro Pump (level 51), you can most likely win first fight using Protect on First Impression, camp on Sucker Punch with Work Up 4x + Z-Rain Dance then sweep the whole thing with Power Trip.​
• Z-Rain Dance + Water Pledge stomps Nanu's entire team, and it has easy setup against Sableye. Considerably harder as Prinplup who misses the outspeed on Persian. I'm not quite sure of the optimal strat but just use healing items.​
• Hydro Vortex Faba's Claydol and then everything just works.​
• Kommo-o is a straight-up horrible matchup no matter what, Drain Punch is almost (or depending on your IVs/EVs, straight-up) OHKO. You need X items (or other mons) for this one, and good RNG as well. Thankfully Empoleon resists anything Scizor and Noivern can throw at it, Kommo-o's the only real problem.​
• Ultra Necrozma is simpler, Empoleon resists everything. And you have options like Toxic stall with Rest & Protect, or big damage from Neverending Nightmare, so the big guy of the game isn't too large here.​
• Mina and the other trial captains are thankfully irrelevant against Empoleon. Well, except Sophocles. Sophocles is annoying. You can try Z-Hail on Togedemaru + Protect against Magnezone while in Torrent range (aka ZIng Zap casualties), that should rid you of Sturdy to ensure you sweep everything. EDIT: Regret to say you don't have Icium Z at this point, my bad. Well, guess that just means sacrifice and using a Revive.​
• Ribombee could be summed up as "haha Corkscrew Crash go brrr". It can't hurt you, just take your time, you have Steel Wing on your side.​
• Hapu seems difficult, but Air Balloon buys you turns, and, i don't know how dumb is the AI exactly, but it might also buy you a win. If you don't wanna 2HKO/OHKO it with respectively Grass Knot/Bloom Doom, you can potentially camp on Gastrodon with Attract and Rest. If you chose to evolve Prinplup at 51, you'll OHKO both Mudsdale and Golurk with Pump, making the fight way, way, easier. (else you might have to rely on Torrent)​
• Empo can set up against literally any lead mon from the Elite 4. Work Up + Z-Rain Dance sounds like a legit way to just stomp the whole thing and bypass otherwise dangerous mons like Hawlucha.​
• Need X items (or other mons) against Hau. His team is generally pretty bad for Empoleon and Raichu is a baddy bad matchup to start with. Tbolt is just instalose for an itemless solo run without grind.​

Can't playtest anything, but thought it was worth the write.
Now, i gotta admit you'll realistically rather spend 50k into X items rather than into gimmicky TMs that you only use because they're your only other good options. So in normal context, it's better than that, and the sheer amount of fights it *cannot* carry you through can be counted on one hand, so that's impressive.
And yo, i didn't add it in the block of text, but it's in the Medium Slow experience group. Which is unlike its name suggests, 3rd best for the part of the game where you get to use it. So nice here too.

tl;dr: It does stuff, and it will carry you when you need it, but it will hurt its toes against Kommo-o and Hau.
From that intense theorymon alone, would rank it either B or A, the latter if X items are allowed so you can abuse Power Trip. It doesn't have many bad matchups, but it does arrive mid-late game and definitely ain't worthy of S tier.

 

[Ryota Mitarai]

snip

hi, thanks for your post! Sorry for not answering earlier, wanted to combine this with my summary of my current run.

Anyways, to answer your X Items question, they are not per se banned, but I'd rather people not factor them in their rankings, reason being that it will make it hard to tier things consistently and I'd like to keep the list as consistent as possible. They are a fair game for Ultra Necrozma, imo. I don't think a Pokemon ultimately has a good matchup against an opponent if the only reason for that is an X Item.

I will add this to the OP so it can be clearer in the future.

As for Prinplup, considering X Items aren't preferred, I think A is out of question. B-tier is an interesting suggestion; on one hand, Prinplup definitely looks powerful on paper, as are most starters in this game. On the other hand, it does come quite late (after all, it doesn't even come for Totem Mimikyu), so I definitely can see Prinplup being C-tier too.

I can slate it for B-tier, though, just that I will probably end up dropping it to C at some point if someone decides to give it a test and has problems with B-tier. If you want to, you can reply and give your thoughts about this.

while we are at it, are you able to elaborate more on Krokorok? Based on that comment, it seems like an E-tier best, which coincides with my own analysis of it. Worth mentioning that Foul Play isn't gonna kill Ultra Necrozma, though, I've run calculation for that for other mons, so I would know. I think Krokorok could theoritically even be F, though that's probably pushing it.

===

here are my summaries of my run so far (stopped after Mimikyu):

run

Mr. Mime
Ehhh. It's nice for Hala, as it walls him completely, but outside of that, the closest to a good matchup it had was against Lurantis and that depended on the AI derping (Signal Beam with SPowder 2HKOs, while it's faster and puts you in X-Scissor range with Solar Blade). D-tier at best

Petilil
Petilil has the major problem that Lilligant learns QD at level 28 rather than by evoluton. Therefore, the best way to get a Petilil is to box it until you get to Blush Mountain for the Sun Stone. Due to that and Petilil being pretty bad in most matchups (no single good matchup), I cannot see this higher than D (or C if it really destroys the whole game)

Charmander
B-tier at worst, possible case for A. Dragon Rage early-game is just a broken move, as it 2HKOs Hala's squad, Araquanid, and Marowak. In fact, I managed to outspeed all of them, though Marowak was by three points, so this might be IV dependent. Destroyed Lurantis with +1 Z-Fire Punch and Charizard destroyed Togedemaru and Guzma. Olivia is its only truly bad matchup.

Worth mentioning that Zard also beats Mimikyu, albeit in a somewhat niche way. What you want to do is teach it Flame Charge and Iron Tail, then break Disguise with Flame Charge. Then you Z-Iron Tail it then KO it with Fire Pledge. You manage to live two Shadow Claws and one Curse, so this impressed a lot. That's why I am willing to place it high.

Poliwrath
Ehhh. Other than a sweep against Olivia (doesn't beat Marowak, like most Waters), it hasn't done anything to stand out from most Water-types. Medium Slow exp. group is pretty nice for it, though. C-tier at best, I would say, it hasn't really done a lot other than Olivia and weakening Marowak.

Nosepass
meh, nothing too useful, outside of getting kills here and there. Mimikyu isn't too great of a matchup due to Banette's burns. E-tier at best, given it's also in the Slow exp. group

 

[DrumstickGaming]

Played for a few hours today after a roughly one week break: here's some mook thoughts (about to go up against Togedemaru):

Picked up Pancham, with a 20% rate it's not too bad to find. While it's not super GREAT right out of the box (Crunch at level 42 / no good physical Dark STAB - it can't even learn Brutal Swing) even after it evolves to Pangoro, Brick Break / Low Sweep with Eviolite is serviceable enough even if I was kinda switch training it. Probably won't have concrete thoughts on it until post Ula-ula. Interested in the Iron Fist punches (I haven't gone for Fire Punch as I want to save BP for Ice / Thunder Punch).

Basculin's been pretty good - still nukes everything with Hydro Vortex - notably almost OHKOing Gyarados through resistance (though I was like 6 levels higher or so) even OHKOing some bulky stuff like Muk and Machoke. Also was the clear MVP for Olivia.

Finally have Arcanine and it 2HKOs with Flamethrower with okay bulk now. Should improve but early Growlithe definitely wasn't that good, as stated earlier.

Furfrou I haven't used a whole lot but it's still outspeeding stuff and doing decent stuff with Headbutt last I checked. Even has an okay performance for Olivia as well. From a log:

Furfrou (30): Not too bad. Work Up twice, then Last Resort to OHKO Anorith (Bug Bite doesn’t 4HKO). Last Resort 2HKOs Lileep in spite of Giga Drain and now I am at 39 / 95 HP. Unfortunately, Lycanrock lives Breckneck Blitz at like 10 HP and kills me back with a critical hit Continental Crush. You do outspeed everyone though, which is nice. Absolutely can’t 1v1 Lycanroc at all: Continental Crush does over half from full, Rock Tomb drops Speed and it outpaces you to kill on the third hit (+1 Breckneck Blitz does half). Decent if you go to the move deleter first.

And lastly, Leafeon. Good Speed is nice as is Bloom Doom and SD. It had a bit of a shaky matchup vs Olivia (Anorith hits you hard, Lileep is a range with a Z-move and Bite flinches suck, though it can sweep if everything goes right) but has been pretty reliable in the field.

Looking forward to picking up Bisharp as I've heard some good things about it.