Resource RU Viability Ranking: ORAS Edition

[Molk]

Art Made by Bummer
​

Welcome to the official RU Viability Rankings topic. In this thread, we as a community will rank every single usable Pokemon into ranks. In this thread, you're encouraged to post your thoughts and opinions on the various Pokemon that are usable in RU and what rank they should fall under. The general idea of the topic is to rank each RU pokemon under "rankings" that go in descending order.

Note, atomicllamas, EonX, and Spirit also run this thread



S Rank:
Reserved for Pokemon who can sweep or wall significant portions of the metagame with little support, and Pokemon who can support other Pokemon with very little opportunity cost ("free turns"). Also the home of Pokemon who can easily perform multiple roles effectively, increasing their versatility and unpredictability. If the Pokemon in this rank have any flaws, those flaws are thoroughly mitigated by their substantial strengths.

Dugtrio

Houndoom

Reuniclus

Steelix (Mega)

A Rank:
Reserved for Pokemon who can sweep or wall significant portions of the metagame, but require some support or have some flaws that prevents them from doing this consistently. Supporting Pokemon in this rank may give opponents free turns or cannot create free turns easily themselves, but can still do their job most of the time.

A+ Rank

Abomasnow (mega)

Cobalion

Cresselia

Doublade

Durant

Emboar

Tyrantrum

A Rank

Alomomola

Camerupt (Mega)

Drapion

Hitmonlee

Meloetta

Rhyperior

Slowking

Whimsicott

A- Rank

Aromatisse

Glalie (Mega)

Escavalier

Exploud

Heliolisk

Qwilfish

Rotom-Mow

Seismitoad

Tangrowth

Virizion


B Rank:
Reserved for Pokemon who cannot sweep through or wall significant portions of the metagame, but can properly fulfill a given offensive/defensive niche. Support Pokemon in this category have flaws that prevent them from doing their job or are setup bait for dangerous sweepers. Pokemon who are partially outperformed by a Pokemon in A or S Rank, but are otherwise very dangerous, may also fall into this category.

B+ Rank

Accelgor

Druddigon

Fletchinder

Hitmontop

Jolteon

Medicham

Mesprit

Shiftry

Slurpuff

Spiritomb

B Rank

Amoonguss

Bronzong

Clawitzer

Crustle

Delphox

Eelektross

Garbodor

Gurdurr

Jellicent

Magneton

Quagsire

Samurott

Sawk

Sigilyph

Skuntank

Torterra

Weezing

B- Rank

Audino

Audino (mega)

Banette (mega)

Braviary

Combusken

Gorebyss

Granbull

Jynx

Omastar

Togetic

Xatu

Zangoose


C Rank:
Reserved for Pokemon who can be effective given the right support, but either have crippling flaws that prevent them from consistently executing their strategy or are completely eclipsed by a Pokemon in the above ranks.

C+ Rank

Archeops

Cofagrigus

Cradily

Gastrodon

Golbat

Gourgeist Small

Gourgeist XL

Huntail

Kabutops

Kecleon

Kricketune

Lanturn

Leavanny

Mismagius

Piloswine

Registeel

Rotom-F

Sandslash

Sneasel

Uxie

C Rank

Aurorus

Bouffalant

Chatot

Hariyama

Liepard

Malamar

Musharna

Pelipper

Pinsir

Scyther

Vivillon

C- Rank

Abomasnow

Articuno

Barbaracle

Cinccino

Ditto

Ferroseed

Ludicolo

Meowstic-Male

Roselia

Tauros

Victreebel


D Rank:
Reserved for Pokemon who have a small niche in the current metagame, but have very noticeable flaws that make them more trouble than they're worth the majority of the time.

Hippopotas

Lilligant

Mantine

Poliwrath

Servine

Stoutland

Stunfisk


BLACKLISTED aka E Rank:
bad pkmn (RU Pokemon by usage that are bad will be listed here. Everything not listed also falls in here. Unviable Pokemon that have been repeatedly brought up in this thread, whether they're RU by usage or not, will also be listed here. Discussion on these Pokemon often tends to derail the thread, and therefore discussion on them is not allowed.

Ambipom

Claydol

Hitmonchan

Typhlosion

GOD rank: Reserved for Pokemon who are so strong that they cannot be used effectively by mortals (jk, never use non shadow tag wobb)

Magnemite (the user)

Pawniard

Wobbuffet

NEW PKMN RANK:

Pokemon that are new to the RU tier and haven't been around long enough to correctly be listed go here, i'd like discussion on where to put these asap

 

[Molk]

reserved just in case we somehow reach the character limit in the OP

For the record, i know that there are some p. large changes between this and the previous thread (some Pokemon that used to be in A rank were moved all the way down to the lower B ranks because of metagame shifts, a lot of the C and D rank Pokemon were removed). If you strongly oppose any of those changes, just say so in the thread :], none of these changes are permanent if you guys dont want them to be!

Also note that this initial list wasn't the work of just one person, i can think of at least 10-15 people (council or no council) that helped contribute to the initial list before it was publically posted. So if there's something super wrong iyo, there really isn't any one person you can blame here.

 

[Mistress Remilia]

Overall, good work from everyone who worked on it! :)
However, i do have few things to say.

Cofagrigus for B-: Defensive Cofagrigus finally find a good enough niche to set it appart from the other Ghost of the tier ( Mainly Spiritomb ) :
Mummy forces Lopunny, one of the most feared mons of the tiers, to switch most of the times, and even if you'll probably bring the arguement of multiples switches, Rest Talk Defensive is, IMO, the best Defensive Cofag atm, i'd like to pull that it has okay match up against some other physical attackers as well, Mega Glalie can also be put in this sort of situation, even if you won't like the Double Edge Refrigerate or even Return/Frustration.

Clawitzer for B/B-: I do understand that the meta didn't worked in its favor, but seriously, C+? It still has the same wallbreaking abilities as before, and it can be very effective in some situations, due to excellent coverage, not half bad bulk either as well as okay typing with not much weaknesses.

 

[migzoo]

Clawitzer for B/B-: I do understand that the meta didn't worked in its favor, but seriously, C+? It still has the same wallbreaking abilities as before, and it can be very effective in some situations, due to excellent coverage, not half bad bulk either as well as okay typing with not much weaknesses.

Agreeing with Clawitzer. Although it can be argued that its niche as a wallbreaker has been encroached upon by new ORAS threats, I have found that Clawitzer actually works quite well in conjunction with aforementioned threats. In particular, it can U-Turn on forced switches and get Dragalge/Pidgeot/Lopunny in safely, helping build offensive momentum.

 

[phantom]

Oh, Mega Steelix got shuffled out for w/e reason. I think it was placed in mid B before, and I think that'd be an okay starting point for now.

 

[Expulso]

Malamar: Unranked ---> D Rank
Yes, this thing was previously total trash. However, it gets Knock Off now, and as we know, giving anything Knock Off automatically makes it viable! In all seriousness, Knock Off is Malamar's only real reliable STAB move, letting it actually damage threats like Spiritomb and Doublade (bad example, w/e) that would come in on its strongest attack, Superpower. A cool set to run is BlackGlasses, because a) it's a GODDAMN SQUID IN GLASSES and b) it's a good lure for things like Spiritomb and BD Slurpuff, which it can cripple.

Tyrantrum: B- ---> B (or B+)
DD. Outrage. 'Nuff said.
Its typing is also good for walling Moltres, a threat to almost any team, and using it as setup bait; this thing is a lot more powerful with Outrage than people give it credit for.

have some other thoughts but want to play the meta more, just want to start discussion right now

 

[aVocado]

Tyrantrum: B- ---> B (or B+)
DD. Outrage. 'Nuff said.
Its typing is also good for walling Moltres, a threat to almost any team, and using it as setup bait; this thing is a lot more powerful with Outrage than people give it credit for.

have some other thoughts but want to play the meta more, just want to start discussion right now

I have been playing around with Tyrantrum, specifically the choice band set, and holy shit it fucking hurts. Literally all walls that doesn't resist Outrage are 2HKO'd. Examples:

252+ Atk Choice Band Strong Jaw Tyrantrum Ice Fang vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Gligar: 312-368 (93.6 - 110.5%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO
admittedly you need SR here, but Ice Fang has like 56% chance to OHKO

252+ Atk Choice Band Tyrantrum Outrage vs. 104 HP / 248+ Def Alomomola: 256-303 (51.5 - 60.9%) -- 91.8% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Choice Band Tyrantrum Outrage vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Rhyperior: 246-289 (56.6 - 66.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Choice Band Tyrantrum Stone Edge vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Aromatisse: 226-267 (55.6 - 65.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

And it's good to pair with things like Mega Sceptile, Glalie, or Dragalge, as it can do an excellent job of softening common switch-ins to all 4 of them. Haven't tested DD yet though, but I imagine it's not so different than before.

Although I haven't used it enough yet, so I think B- or B is fine for now. I will extensively use this and build around it after I'm done with school on friday.

 

[Molk]

Oh, Mega Steelix got shuffled out for w/e reason. I think it was placed in mid B before, and I think that'd be an okay starting point for now.

whoops! added it! It wasnt the only mon that was shuffled out of the piratepad btw, i needed to readd Golbat and Gastrodon before posting this x.x

 

[Mew2]

Bronzong from B+ to A-

While ORAS didn't gave any useful tool to Bronzong, he walls a majority of the top RU threats atm including Mega Sceptile, Glalie, Slurpuff and Dragalge as well as walling some old ones like Mega Abomasnow and Aromatisse. Thanks to Levitate one of his weaknesses becomes an immunity and gives him a niche over Registeel, who can be easily trapped by Dugtrio. Bronzong also brings to the team Stealth Rock support and even weather support in the form of Rain Dance or Sunny Day. While Bronzong lacks reliable recovery and has a nasty weakness to Dark and Fire, the amount of threats he walls with ease makes him a candidate for A- rank.

 

[Da Pizza Man]

Please change "ROCK WITH EYES" to Carbink. The joke isn't funny at all and it just confuses noobs or people who end up getting the Carbink sprite glitched up.

 

[The Leprechaun]

Right now, I feel like doublade is ranked far too high when considering how hard it gets boned by so many of the new threats. What used to be so grest about it was that it could set up easily thanks to its bulk and typing and then proceed to sweep through the range of frail offensive pokes that were prominant in RU. Now though, a lot of the most popular offensive mons have a way of tanking its shadow sneak and then ohkoing back. The mons I'm talking about include houndoom, lopunny, sharpedo, camerupt, pidgeot, pangoro, steelix. Of course some of the mons that checked it before oras are still popular (moltres, meloetta, spiritomb, rhyperior etc) and things it checked have fallen from favour (virizion, drudd, delphox). Even things that you might expect it to check as a steel type can beat it after one switchin

Hide

252 SpA Sceptile Leaf Storm vs. 212 HP / 0 SpD Eviolite Doublade: 135-159 (43.2 - 50.9%)
252+ SpA Choice Specs Adaptability Dragalge Draco Meteor vs. 212 HP / 0 SpD Eviolite Doublade: 224-264 (71.7 - 84.6%)

The one thing that it did gain as a defensive threat is drain punch slurpuff. Doublade is one of only a couple of mons which can consistently check drain punch slurpuff but at this point, cupcake has not managed to represent a large partbof the meta and unless that happens, douvlade should definitely move down from a+.

 

[Swagodile]

I also support Doublade going down to A or possibly A-.

It's one-dimensional and predictable as hell, its Special Defense is piss poor even with Eviolite, and it's heavily reliant on Shadow Sneak (which Meloetta, M-Pidgeot, and M-Lopunny are immune to) to finish off foes. There are definitely better Swords Dancers and set-up sweepers in general in RU now.

 

[aVocado]

I definitely support Doublade dropping down, to A-. I was arguing with Spirit about this yesterday on IRC and wanted to post the nom here but didn't have time. Adding to what Lep said, Doublade being in A+ also implies it's on the same level of viability as it was pre-ORAS, which isn't true at all. Introduction of a lot of Pokemon and special attackers/wallbreakers definitely hurts it, as well as the drop in Pokemon its supposed to check (SD Cobalion and Virizion aren't really seen much nowadays).

It also can't really sweep as easily as before with two of the tier's biggest threats (Pidgeot and Lopunny) being immune to Ghost-type attacks and delivering hits that do 80% minimum.

 

[Froggyboy]

Sawk, Pelipper, Audino, and Stoutland all have their BW sprites, js.

Sharpedo down to A/A-
While Sharpedo has a better ability in Speed Boost, its mega evolution is overall a better Pokemon, with more attack, speed, and bulk to actually take a hit(And Strong Jaw is still nice to boost STAB Crunch and Ice Fang). Regular Sharpedo is pretty much outclassed by its mega, as Mega Sharpedo can have speed passed from its base form, so I don't see why they are in the same rank.

 

[aVocado]

Sawk, Pelipper, Audino, and Stoutland all have their BW sprites, js.

Sharpedo down to A/A-
While Sharpedo has a better ability in Speed Boost, its mega evolution is overall a better Pokemon, with more attack, speed, and bulk to actually take a hit(And Strong Jaw is still nice to boost STAB Crunch and Ice Fang). Regular Sharpedo is pretty much outclassed by its mega, as Mega Sharpedo can have speed passed from its base form, so I don't see why they are in the same rank.

LO Sharpedo is still very viable as a sweeper as it still hits hard (thanks to LO) while not taking up the mega slot, allowing you to use a mega alongside it.

 

[Swagodile]

Sawk, Pelipper, Audino, and Stoutland all have their BW sprites, js.

Sharpedo down to A/A-
While Sharpedo has a better ability in Speed Boost, its mega evolution is overall a better Pokemon, with more attack, speed, and bulk to actually take a hit(And Strong Jaw is still nice to boost STAB Crunch and Ice Fang). Regular Sharpedo is pretty much outclassed by its mega, as Mega Sharpedo can have speed passed from its base form, so I don't see why they are in the same rank.

Because you may want to use Sharpedo and a different Mega.

Sharpedo is more of a cleaner/revenge killer, whereas M-Sharpedo is more of a late-game sweeper.

 

[Froggyboy]

Because you may want to use Sharpedo and a different Mega.

Sharpedo is more of a cleaner/revenge killer, whereas M-Sharpedo is more of a late-game sweeper.

LO Sharpedo is still very viable as a sweeper as it still hits hard (thanks to LO) while not taking up the mega slot, allowing you to use a mega alongside it.

The way I see it(which may be flawed), LO Sharpedo gets worn down fast, with both recoil, hazards, and priority/scarfers. Mega Sharpedo can actually take on priority and scarfers, with better bulk and base speed, as well as hitting harder than LO Sharp with Strong Jaw attacks. Though I do see how regular Sharpedo is a better revenge killer, I just feel Mega Sharpedo should be ranked higher.

 

[Oglemi]

Durant B ---> B+ or A-

Almost nothing in the current A or S rank can switch into CB safely and it fits really well on offensive teams as a wallbreaker for the top threats in the tier (wrecks Cress/Slowking for THE BUNNY and smashes Dragalge for MegaDoom). It doesn't even lose momentum if you use Baton Pass correctly. I'm surprised it's as low as it is currently aside from the accuracy thing.

 

[tehy]

On durant: there's a reason i'm using fire fang on megalix (i.e. no sheer force, heavy ass heavy slams), and that's hc durant.

Haven't seen cb durant this gen at all though, weirdly

Lo Sharpedo hits harder with Waterfall and EQ (though megapedo prefers last slot ice fang, i believe?).

Morr importantly, mega pedo is weak before transforming, but once it transforms, you'd better not get forced out or you can't get more speed boosts. LO pedo is pretty strong without this problem.

 

[Kevun]

Alomomola -> A+

Mola didn't get a direct improvement with ORAS, but it certainly is better. It has great type synergy with a huge portion of the new threats (Houndoom, Sceptile, alge, Camerupt, Steelix, probably more) combined with its huge wishes makes it a great universal glue mon and pivot, and is part of the reason why Mola balance is so good right now. Since the specially defensive spread gained a lot of popularity, it can check a huge portion of the tier including Mega Pidgeot, Scarf Moltres, and even powerful wallbreakers like Specs Dragalge, Mega Camerupt, and Meloetta from full. Meanwhile, its massive physical bulk (more than max/max Aromatisse even without defense investment) lets it check old threats in Doublade, Rhyperior, Druddigon, etc., as well as Mega Lopunny and Mega Glalie without Freeze Dry. Yeah, this thing is pretty good rn.

 

[Bouff]

Alright, imma post some stuff here.

-> B / B+ Granbull has actually found a place to shine in this metagame, particularly on stall teams. It serves as a great check to Mega Lopunny, who is virtually everywhere in this metagame, as well as checking the likes of Hitmonlee, SD Mega Sceptile, Sharpedo, and Spiritomb, thanks to its amazing bulk and ability coupled with its good typing. Unlike other clerics, it's not too passive either, as Play Rough hits a good portion of the tier and eq ohkoes magneton trying to switch in and makes it difficult for other fairy-resists to switch in, and can cripple some fast threats with Thunder Wave. It also serves as a great cleric on stall teams, making it a great partner for Alomomola.

 

[EonX]

Alright, I'm finally getting around to talking about stuff here:

Sharpedo: I think Shark is fine where it's at. I honestly prefer normal Sharpedo to Mega Sharpedo for one very simple reason: The ability to use Zen Headbutt. Not the first move that comes to mind, but Zen Heabutt allows Sharpedo to take on the fat Poison-types that have gained popularity with Mega bunny around and also take out Mega bunny itself with few issues (unless you're fucked in the ass by an absolute min roll after Rocks, in which case, your luck is complete aids) While Mega Shark is the only Mega I haven't used yet, I never find myself having issues with it, and in fact generally fear regular Sharpedo more because they have a lot more options for that final slot than Mega Shark thanks to the ability to run Life Orb.

Clawitzer: Yeah, this thing needs to be higher. I understand that Dragalge is around now to generally outclass it, but it honestly still works just fine. As most of you know, I adapted Balance Claws for ORAS and kept Clawitzer on the team and it seriously still works just fine. I mean, there were definitely some moments where I wish I could just mindlessly spam Draco, but its coverage is still just as amazing as it was in XY and it still does just as good vs. the teams it's supposed to be so menacing against (stall / balance) I think B would be just fine. Really eclipsed by Dragalge, but if you need a wallbreaking Water-type, Clawitzer works just as well.

Alomomola: I freaking love this thing... Well, love it an hate it. Mola can be used on pretty much any type of team that isn't HO. It's a glue mon for balance and bulky offense while being a general fat mon for stall teams. With 252 SpDef Calm spread (I run 80 HP) it can actually switch into and Wish stall Clawitzer if you can catch it with Toxic (or Toxic Spikes) which is something few other Pokemon on stall teams can do. It's a free switch-in for Dragalge, which sucks ass, and it can't do shit with Mega Sceptile (SD sets can be burned, but do you really want to risk it being special?) which are pretty major sticking points for me. While it fares well against a lot of the top tier Pokemon, it does fall flat vs. Dragalge and Mega Sceptile. That being said, they're both Dragon-types and putting a Fairy and / or Steel type with Mola really isn't that hard to do on most teams, thus making the issue much less problematic when Mola can keep them healthy long enough to outlast these threats. I'd be totally fine with a move to A+

 

[Molk]

Alrighty, gonna update this :]

Updates

Doublade down to A
Durant up to B+
Granbull up to B
Tyrantrum up to B
Clawitzer up to B-
Alomomola up to A+
Virizion up to B

I'm kinda unsure on Malamar/Cofagrigus/Bronzong, so i'd like to see more discussion on those before deciding to move them :x.

I'm also open to moving these Pokemon up/down further if you guys want (for example i put Doublade in A instead of A-), but i'd just like to take baby steps for now, especially considering ORAS is still fairly new etc.

Also be sure to remember, if you guys strongly disagree with one of the changes made here you can just say so!

 

[Holiday]

TL; DR

Nominating Aromatisse for A+ rank.

Nothing (I think) has that combination of fat wishes, good bulk, defensive typing, and Aromatherapy that Tisse has. It also isn't completely passive, as STAB Moonblast hits 5/21 A through S Ranks Super Effectively, and 12/21 for neutral. Its good mixed bulk allows it to run physical or specially defensive sets, letting you choose what best benefits your team. Also sets up Trick Room, which is pretty cool. Honestly, I don't see a reason why it isn't A+. It has competition from LoveFish, sure, but it's at least on par with it.

 

[HypnoEmpire]

I definitely agree with Bronzong moving up from B+ to A-. It is so bulky that it is almost guaranteed to set up Stealth Rock and doesn't have nasty x4 weaknesses like Rhyperior, not to mention that Bronzong has a pretty good matchup vs it. It is one of the best switch-ins to Dragalge and Mega Sceptile since it isn't weak to Focus Blast like Registeel is. It also walls stuff like Rhyperior, Belly Drum Slurpuff, Mega Abomasnow, and Mega Glalie. It isn't trapped by Dugtrio like Registeel is thanks to a great immunity to Ground. It is one of the best leads for Trick Room teams since it can set up Trick Room, Stealth Rock, then BOOM and Trick Room is pretty nice with powerful wallbreakers like Mega Camerupt and Dragalge that can abuse it. It also has a decently powerful Gyro Ball. Being weak to Ghost-, Dark-, and Fire-type moves sucks since it can't handle threats like Meloetta in the same way Registeel can, but I think Bronzongs overall usefulness at handling specific threats for stall and being amazing at setting up at the same time are enough to push it up. Its also worth noting that it can't be worn down by Spikes or Toxic Spikes and it's resistant to Stealth Rock, so it can wall stuff easier in comparison to others.