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Lower Tiers RU Viability Rankings Thread

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You forgot the most relevant calc. +6 0 Atk Braviary Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Registeel on a critical hit: 323-381 (88.7 - 104.6%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO. Also, Registeel never has to click sleep talk while sleeping, which effectively gives it 104 PP vs Braviary's 88. (Rest is 16 x 3, Curse is 16, Iron Head is 24, Sleep Talk is 16).

EDIT: I got the pp for brave bird wrong.
 
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ah mb i should have mentioned the important part regarding the crit. Also i didn't mention the total PP thing because i think the chances of brav criting the registeel is way higher, than the situation ever coming down to pp stall
 
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updates:

Alomomola up to S
Omastar up to B-
Houndoom down to B
Braviary up to A
Emboar down to A-
Gallade down to B
Aggron up to B+
Dugtrio up to A+
Spiritomb down to B+
Togetic down to C+
Pelipper down to C+
Poliwrath down to C+

discussion points:

Virizion down to A+
Escavalier up to A
Gastrodon Unranked
Lanturn up to C+
Ferroseed up to C+
Aromatisse down to B-
Hitmonlee up to A
Samurott down to C+
Skuntank down to C
Hitmontop down to C
Eelektross down to C
 
Virizion to A+

No way. It's still really good, it's virtually impossible to outright counter depending on the moves and set it runs, you switch in your Venusaur expecting the physical set, and you get 2HKOed by a +1 Hidden Power Ice, or you switch in Delphox expecting the special set and get OHKOed by a +2 Stone Edge. Weezing is the closest to guaranteed counter, although it's still 2HKOed by a +2 Zen Headbutt and loses if Virizion's running Lum Berry.

Escavalier up to A

Agree, it can check a lot of important Pokémon like defensive Venusaur and Tangrowth. I've had the best results with the Choice Band set, but the SD Resttalk set's pretty good too.

Gastrodon unranked

Disagree, I think it's fine in D. Its typing and Storm Drain gives it a niche over Alomomola and Jellicent, although they are typically better overall.
 
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In this one, there are only two that I'm particularly invested in, so I suppose I'll share.

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Virizion to A+: Disagree

Nope, Virizion is still way too much of a threat, even with it being so prepared for, as many teams preparation (guilty) is Venusaur, which does fine against stone edge but completely fails to counter ZHB even with its most defensive spreads. Alomomola and Registeel are still great, both of which are total bait for Virizion- this is not new, but still, ripping apart one of the best defensive cores in RU regardless of what member is in deserves some recognition. I really don't see what's gotten worse for it since it rose to S, because Venusaur's current popularity really doesn't cut it, as all it really does is provide incentive to run ZHB on Virizion, which really doesn't make it any worse as a Pokemon. The problem with Virizion being prepared for isn't a huge issue, as most teams answers aren't really answers. Aromatisse and Colbur Uxie are 2HKOed by +2 Leaf Blade after rocks, Just as Garbodor, Weezing, and Venusaur are 2HKOed by +2 Zen Headbutt. Granted, Garbodor can OHKO back with Gunk Shot and Weezing can haze or Clear Smog, But smacking them once with Zen Headbutt can put them into a dangerous range of being KOed anyway. The CM set has been seeing some usage lately, and for good reason. Despite its tendency to get inflicted with crippling status, it still finds a ton of setup opportunities and can be just as much of a hassle as SD. Now, some people would mention a surprise factor here, but I will not, as I don't believe that a set simply being less used makes it a better set. I will say that it finds setup opportunities against passive special attackers- even ones with super effective moves, especially Diancie and Aromatisse. I don't think there's much else to say here. Virizion is still way too much of a force to be dropped right now.

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Escavalier to A: Disagree

I'm not super adamantbadum-tss about this one, but I thought it was still worth giving my two cents. I'll be blunt. This thing is too damn slow. What I'm mostly getting at here is that Alomomola can Knock it before it gets a real chance to ravage the opposing team, as can Venusaur. Even if Venusaur doesn't carry knock, there's a fair chance it's carrying leech seed, which will whittle Escavalier extremely quickly, which lead into its second largest problem, the fact that between rocks and taking weak attacks, it's gonna find itself whittled extremely quickly. I'm not trying to discredit Escavalier here as it has a frightening amount of power, and in that regard I find it similar to Mega Camerupt. I'm sure someone will make an obligatory "bad comparison" comment, and I understand that they obviously check different things and Escavalier has much better defensive typing, they still share the role of a bulky wallbreaker. Checking Venusaur is still huge and is the main reason I don't really see too much of a problem with a rise, but I feel that something that slow and easily whittled shouldn't be hanging around with more reliable threats like Braviary and Rhyperior.
 
Virizion to A+: Agree

While I considered Virizion the best Pokemon last meta, in this, it's less effective, mainly because of Dugtrio easily trapping it. Virizion is pretty much forced to set up in order to do any substantial damage (especially because it needs Lum Berry if its physical otherwise you can't actually check much, and special Virizion is annoyingly inconsistent), and while it is easy to set up, being forced to set up limits the options you can do and makes you even more ruined by revenge killers like the aforementioned Dugtrio, Sneasel, Aerodactyl, Fletchinder, and Scarf Drapion. Virizion is also hurt by the increased usage of Uxie which is generally a pretty solid check to Virizion. Defensively, Virizion is checked well by Pokemon like Weezing, defensive Venusaur, Granbull, Musharna, and Garbodor.

While most of the checks to Virizion have flaws, there are enough of them that are generally good in the metagame outside of beating Virizion that makes Virizion a much less potent threat than it used to be. Even if you don't guess the right move or set, you can usually play around it since Virizion is still pretty weak at +2; for example, if Weezing is your main Virizion answer, and Virizion happens to have Zen Headbutt, Weezing is only going to take about 70% damage max from +2 ZHB, so you can just send in a Sigilyph to beat Virizion instead without too much lost. Obviously Virizion is still amazing since it beats Alomomola + Registeel core, but I don't think it's quite S worthy anymore because of its reliance on setting up; the multitude of good offensive Pokemon that not only revenge kill Virizion, but apply a lot of offensive pressure at the same time; and enough Pokemon that can reliably take a +2 physical or +1 special attack and retaliate back.

Also gonna throw in another nomination:

Uxie to A- rank

Uxie has proven to be a fantastic Pokemon on offense teams as it's easily the most reliable SR setter for them. It generates momentum like no other Pokemon and manages to have fantastic bulk while having the essential Ground and Fighting resist that every team needs.

While Uxie should go up to A- simply because of how good the pivot set is on offense, it's also a decent glue Pokemon on stall as shown by -Tsunami-'s stall team. Uxie has access to useful utility moves like Heal Bell, U-turn, and Knock Off, while being a solid check to most Fighting-types and being able to soft check most of the metagame. Of course, Uxie's lack of recovery makes it less durable than a stall team would want, which is why it needs to be paired up with Alomomola Wish support, but that should be a given on stall anyways.
 
Escavalier: Absolutely agree with this, but not for all the reasons some might think. While Escavalier is a fantastic wallbreaker with frightening power and very few checks, there's another reason I feel this should rise. That reason is Pursuit. Pursuit is still a fantastic move in the current meta, and Escavalier can make itself useful even if the opponent has one of the few reliable checks to it by tagging the fleeing Pokemon with a pretty strong Pursuit. The deal is made even sweeter if it's something like Slowking, Hoopa, or Uxie since it takes away Slowking's Regenerator (and then some) kills Hoopa and does a buttload to a defensive mon with no reliable recovery. The Speed is a bit unfortunate, but thanks to Mega Steelix not being around, it doesn't have to go max Speed. 168 is enough for Togetic and uninvested Rhperiors (which are bad Rhperiors imo, but that's just me) Dugtrio being around only helps to remove fat Bug resists like Registeel and Diancie as well as faster Fire-types. Great Pokemon, solid typing, and multiple roles with a single set make it A rank. Just please don't use AV on this thing...

Gastrodon: Dump it. Weak to Venusaur, weak to Virizion. If I want a Water-type that just kinda sits there and annoys the opponent, I'll take Mola, Jelli, and Slowking every time.

Hitmonlee: I can definitely get behind this one. Hitmonlee is one of those Pokemon that really benefits from base 80 being the main Speed tier for wallbreakers right now. The dual priority Reckless set is as good as it's always been, and it got a nice boost with Amoonguss leaving the tier a while back. On that topic, the set that I feel got a whole lot better with some recent shifts is the Scarf set. You may think "why use Scarf Hitmonlee when there's Scarf Medicham?" The answer is pretty simple: Scarf Medicham. I'm not kidding. Hitmonlee gives you what Medicham gives you; strong Fighting-type Scarfer that has two spammable moves. Difference is that Hitmonlee is faster and it can provide emergency entry hazard control without losing any coverage. It also has a reliable STAB move available to it (CC) for when it wants to clean, unlike Medicham. It's a very solid Pokemon that really benefits from Fletchinder's checks becoming more common and the main Speed tier for wallbreakers being base 80. Definitely support a rise to A rank.

Uxie: This is lowkey one of my favorite mons right now. It does just so much for offensive teams as an all-purpose pivot, Fighting-check, and momentum builder. It reminds me a lot of how I loved to play with Cobalion back in XY, only that Uxie trades in some Speed and a lot of power for much more overall bulk. The drop in Speed isn't that bad as Uxie still has enough to outspeed Medicham, Venusaur, and Hoopa to do something with them. It's just a great Pokemon right now, but one I feel that a lot of people kind of sleep on just due to not really being familiar with how it wants to play on offensive teams. It definitely needs to be A- rank. It's the Stealth Rock user that offensive teams should be using just due to how much it can provide in one teamslot. Also, it works on VoltTurn because of the fact it can Yawn + U-turn for instant momentum while still being a soft pivot for such teams.
 
Virizion was one of the top threats in RU, but it faces a couple of problems in the current metagame. The increase in usage of Dugtrio means that Virizion's role as a sweeper is hindered, mainly because without any boost Virizion is weak as shit, so it is more likely to set up on Pokemon, which can also be taken advantage of. Threat level of Virizion is pretty much non-existent if you have a Dugtrio in your team so you can just sack a Pokemon or use a slow U-Turn user to switch Dugtrio in safely to KO it. Yeah, I get that Virizion is unpredictable because it has two different sets which have different checks and counters, but the specially offensive sets are way worse atm due to it struggling to get past Registeel because it has to hit Focus Blast and is susceptible to Thunder Wave / Toxic too. The rise in usage of Uxie and Flying-types also hinder Virizion's usage, and it doesn't have the immediate power and utility like Venusaur that it can still be a top tier threat. Then there's the teambuilding factor where one has to choose to use either Venusaur or Virizion. Choosing both is fine too, but most people tend to use one or the other. Anyways, choosing Venusaur is more beneficial than Virizion teambuilding wise in the current metagame so I don't think Virizion should be in the same rank as Venusaur. Supporting Virizion to drop to A+.

Magneton is everywhere because it can check Flying-types and having a bulky Water-type that can actually counter Magneton is pretty neat. Lanturn also has support moves which is nice in some slow paraspamming team, where it can cripple common switchins like Venusaur and faster Pokemon like Virizion (given Lum is used), making it a niche for slower teams. Lanturn also has Heal Bell which is neat, and it is a good Flying-type check too. Giving slow Volt Switch to glass cannons like Hitmonlee / Medicham / Sneasel is also nice. Yeah so Lanturn has a niche for checking Electric- and Flying-types in RU and so I support Lanturn to rise to C+.
 
My biggest issue with Lanturn is that it doesn't beat SubBU Braviary even with Thunderbolt. You pretty much have to pair it with another bulky water to allieviate its personal issues, which sucks a ton, but it's also really nice for BO to have a hard switch in to Magneton or Jolteon that isn't at risk of getting fried by the right hidden power. I would definately like to see some replays where this does something, honestly; it sounds ok on paper but is it worth it? That being said, C+ sounds fine for it.

I also think that the trends towards using Dugtrio and Band Flygon alongside Magneton hurts Lanturn even worse.

Re: Escavalier, (band) Megahorn is crazy spammable by itself, and then it has the coverage to break most of the bug resists that actually come in; on top of that, Poison types would much rather be specially defensive right now, so it usually breaks what could otherwise be decent answers. It's got okay bulk, a good defensive typing that means it will almost always tank a hit, and it also counters the most common Venusaur set while checking Glalie (double edge can 2hko after rocks if you're like 0 hp). Plenty of things can beat it because it has a 4x weakness, but most don't have the room and Esca has the bulk to live 1 hp fire from Timid LO saur/Timid mGlalie anyway. Absolutely down for A. I also think it pairs pretty well with literally everything, thanks to its good defensive typing, and the fact that it often lures in Registeel and Mola and does a decent chunk to both. Pack a fire check or two (you should anyway) and you're pretty much good.
 
Hariyama probably needs to move up to at least B- at this point, its a really good answer to Sneasel which is imo the best A+ mon atm (including virizion), but a fighter that resists fire and ice is incredibly useful atm. I'm personally running AV w/ phys def investment (and obv attack) but Fake Out / Knock Off / Bullet Punch / Close Combat is pretty great, you can change bullet punch for Ice Punch / EQ if your team requires, but I like BP for offensive diancie and other random fast mons. Its also a pretty solid check to Mega Glalie which can be a bitch for balance to prepare for. There is also a rumor going around that Hariyama is literally Blissey with 125 base attack, idk if that's true though.

Definitely agree with Uxie for A- for the reasons stated by DTC / EonX, and additionally because its just so customizable, obviously SR is an easy choice, but fast yawn prevents brav from setting up on it, Psyshock threatens Venusaur and Virizion and its bulk allows it to eat their attacks pretty easily. I've seen shake run like protox on it (maybe not toxic but other things had toxic and he had protect which seemed like a pain to beat) Bulky U-turners are also just good right now especially when paired with Dugtrio (which is v good atm).

I agree w/ lanturn for C+ but I actually think its biggest flaw is that its a bulky water that can be trapped by duggy, Lanturn beats Braviary by slow volt switching into something like Mega Glalie or Sneasel (breaking the sub) and allowing them to get off free powerful ice attacks. It just sucks that you can get absolutely dicked in games because your water was trapped and removed.
 
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I don't want to argue about this, but switching in something that wins isn't winning yourself, and Sneasel's Icicle Crash isn't knocking out a +1 Braviary, meaning that you need one of several specific, very strong attackers to reliably knock out Bravairy when using Lanturn as a check, so long as Braviary doesn't choke and BB on Lanturn. Lanturn's Volt Switch doesn't break a roosting Braviary's sub as well, even at 252 modest, which puts additional pressure on Lanturn. It's not really an answer unless you're super desperate, and only barely relieves pressure on the team elsewhere in that specific matchup, since you have to forfeit free turns to Braviary, who has multiple "good" options, if you want to ensure the sub is broken. I think saying Lanturn wins implies that Lanturn is pulling the weight in that matchup, when what it really does is get Glalie in safely if you predict correctly.
 
Just to add that uxie's main thing is that it's the only stealth rocker that can actually pivot, options for good volt-turning in ru are a bit lacking so thats higly appreciated.
I think virizion should definitely drop too, everyone overprepares for it so damn hard nowadays. Although if built correctly a team can very well get past these checks and pull off a successful late game with it, it just looks like it needs too much support for something thats supposed to be S rank.
I also think that druddigon should rise a rank or two, both spdef lefties and phys def rocky helmet are good sets to run at the moment, being able to check venusaur and delphox p well w the former and discouraging some physical attackers such as emboar or fletch from going for the revenge kill w the later. Life orb sets are very very good at the moment as well, even though i really think you do not need a dragon stab on it whatsoever, thats the set i've been using:

>:3 (Druddigon) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 88 HP / 252 Atk / 168 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Thunder Punch
- Earthquake
- Sucker Punch
- Gunk Shot

It can hit mola/jellicent p hard w thunder punch and gunk shot is stronger than dragon claw and can provide some p cool neutral coverage on most things, eq is nice for some immediate way of hurting camerupt and diancie which is why i dont run fire punch, priority is a must imo.

252+ Atk Life Orb Sheer Force Druddigon Thunder Punch vs. 120 HP / 136+ Def Alomomola: 270-320 (53.8 - 63.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

Hope i dont regret coming back to posting here ;_;
 
>8 days later

Yeah, I agree that druddigon can raise at least 1 rank. Defensive Stealth Rock sets are really good and life orb set is a monster that would even better if it had higher BP moves and had a strong dragon STAB that didnt caused Drud to be locked into it, but it is B material imo.

And I also agree with Hitmonlee and Escavalier to A rank. Escavalier and Hitmonlee power is disgusting, Escav having really notable niches like being a guaranteed venusaur switch-in since hp fire is really uncommon, almost nonexistant, while being a psychic type check that doesnt die to melo STABs on the switch besides spiritomb but tomb have been getting notably worse so yeah, thats dope. Megahorn is absurdly spammable, that shit is so goddamn strong. Same with Hitmonlee, you just press hjk and knock off and see how everything gets worn down, adamant and jolly natures are both really nice if you want the extra power or outspeed venusaur and base 80s, etc. Scarf hitmonlee is also a really nice set nowadays, probably emergency utility in spin and a really capable revenge killer with reckless hjk and having notable uses since scarf drapion gained relevancy, outspeeding and KO ing it. Yeah, both to A rank

Also, Hariyama to B-, yes. Mega Glalie checks with offensive presence are lacking and Yama is good, with the right spread it can live a specs meloetta psychic from full 100% of the time o _ o. Dope mon.

Some nominations on my own:

Rotom-Cut to A-: The lawnmowner has gotten increasingly better lately imo. Dugtrio being really common on todays metagame makes the choice of using Virizion not so appealing at times, and it being a Specs Magneton switch-in unlike the other popular grass types in Virizion and Venusaur(AV tangrowth still exists, guys :( ) while it being immune to Choice Band Flygon main STAB in Earthquake are some really notable perks right now that make Rotom-C a really nice choice for teams. Some teams do really struggle switching into the Specs set and LO sets have been some use and they are really functional and just being as hard to switch into since it punishes certain grass checks in weezing and taking advantage of Registeel, Garbodor, among other grass checks making dealing with it a tricky situation. Funnily enough, I nommed this to drop on mega abomasnow meta but it has improved a lot since then. Back to A- imo, it deserves it.

Drapion to A+: Drapion right now is one of the most consistent right now. Having a good amount of sets in shuca SD, lum SD, banded and scarf sets give Drapion a huge degree of versatility and it is capable of playing around metagame trends, like Dugtrio being so prevalent, with a shuca berry which isnt only for Dugtrio (also works for Flygon and Rhyperior) and Scarf outspeeding Dugtrio while being a more reliable pursuit trapper to the likes of Sigilyph and Delphox. It can also become counterplay to the omnipresent virizion and being a really solid Venusaur check is just some amazing role compression for many teams right now. It always pulls its weight on many matches despite being weak (like seriously, it doesnt even kill max hp rhyperior with +0 aqua tail) but its fantastic utility compensates from every lack of initial power imo. Solid A+ imo.

Rotom-N could rise a rank as well imo, and maybe even Gurdurr. Could elaborate later on these but thats just a first impression, could be wrong obviously.
 
Eelektross to C: No

Eelektross has been getting worse lately but everyone is still giving it too much shit. Everyone is looking only at its downsides and not on its upsides. It has ZERO weaknesses, something that no other relevant Pokemon has, and it has the bulk to make use of that advantage. Eelektross can still heal with Giga Drain, and while it's not much it's still at least something. Eelektross is also incredibly diverse, it can act as a good slow pivot and Giga Drain stuff like Band Rhyperior that give it trouble, it can even has a way to deal with Venusaur and Virizion with Flamethrower. Just because the metagame is adapting a little negatively to it doesn't mean that it needs to keep sinking, Eelektross still has its pros.



Delphox to A

Jesus it is threatening rn. It is incredible on offense, and once it gets going it tears apart top tier threats such as Venusaur, Sneasel, Virizion, Mega Glalie, and more. It even has good coverage in the form of Grass Knot. Delphox is pretty fast for RU standards and Fire Blast/Psychic/Grass Knot threatens a big portion on the team, it is great on offense.

Accelgor to B

It's the fastest thing in the entire tier. Accelgor will pretty much always get the Spikes off with Encore and its high ass Speed. It fits super well on HO, and the support it provides for its team is incredible. It should definitely rise to B.
 
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Slowking: IDC
Medicham: No. Nothing has changed for Medicham to get worse. Medicham is still a very powerful wallbreaker that is still hard to switch into. It can still abuse the fact that there are many slow Pokemon in the tier to use as wallbreaking fodder and it still does its job well.
Sneasel: No. Mega Glalie is a lot better with actual ways to beat Water and Steel types. Sneasel has Knock Off? Half the tier can learn Knock Off. It's easily stopped by common stuff such as Rhyperior and Alomomola, and Sneasel is frail even with Eviolite and weak to Rocks. Don't raise please.
Flygon: No. Flygon is the most used Pokemon in the tier, it easily counters a lot of the tier's most common Pokemon like Magneton, Rhyperior, Registeel and Diancie. It's the tier's best hazard remover with lots of options and it fits well on both offense and stall. Being immune to Dugtrio's trapping, while not being that big of a deal, is pretty cool too. Is Sneasel the reason? Sneasel can't switch in on Fire Blast, and of course people are going to run at least one check to the S rank Pokemon on a team. Should Venusaur drop because of Sneasel as well? Should Alomomola drop because of Magneton?
Jolteon: Yes. So fast, powerful, it checks a lot of common and good Pokemon, and it's even a good pivot. It's excellent on HO and should rise for excellent offensive presence.
Granbull: Yes. Intimidate Granbull can soften up a lot of Pokemon that other stuff fails to do the same way. Physically Defensive sets are so bulky thanks to Intimidate, not a lot of other physical walls are like Granbull.
 
Sneasel S (Agree): Sneasel is awesome, STAB Knock Off, STAB priority, Fighting coverage and access to STAB Pursuit in competition with Glalie, Glalie can pass by bulkier Water types lik.e Alomomola and Blastoise, but Sneasel have the STAB Knock Off to get rid of items like Leftovers, Life Orb and Choice Specs / Band. Anyway, Sneasel has the needed ability to pass though 2 S Ranks (unless you are running Sun Sweeper or Scarf Venusaur, and is still able to revenge kill it with Ice Shard when weakened). And still can defeat most offensive and defensive threats in the tier (Dugtrio, Slowking, Sigilyph, Meloetta, Virizion, No-Scarf Hoopa, Jellicent). Unlike Mega Glalie, STAB Knock Off allows it to defeat Bronzong and is able to 2HKO Registeel thanks to Low Kick (it can't use Pursuit if it runs Low Kick, though). So it can threaten any relevant Steel type not named Magneton better than Glalie-Mega.
Jolteon A- (Agree): Jolteon can threaten most teams being a good pivot with the 2nd best unboosted speed tier in the entire meta (tied with Aerodactyl), have a great offensive presence and many damage, its ability give a Electric immunity and have a coverage that works well against many Grass types and even Dark and Psychic types and HP Ice can OHKO any set of Flygon aside of the Defensive one (and OHKO it with Specs most of time)
Granbull B+ (Agree): Intimidate is awesome and allows it to check Offensive Pokémon with its defensive set, and it have a decent movepoll with Thunder Wave, Roar, a strong STAB and Clerical Support in Heal Bell, can use an Offensive Set as well, with Leftovers / Band. Fire, Ground and Fighting coverage access, I think its fine being a Fairy type, with immunity to Dragon and Dark / Fighting resists (which can threaten Choiced Flygon Sets with Outrage, Sawk won't be able to spam Close Combat, etc.).
The rest I really don't know
 
I guess I'll throw my hat into the ring because I do care about some of these mons.

Slowking to A: Yes. Originally i was going to nom against this but sadly I have to agree. Of all the teams I've made in the past month or so almost all of them have had Slowking on them because it's so good at soft-checking a bunch of different mons and also due to its survivability with Regenerator. Slowking can check threats such as: Hitmonlee, Emboar, Medicham, Meloetta, Diancie, Aerodactyl, and Fletchinder. Slowking is boned by status, though, and that's a problem. I find that Slowking can mesh really well in a defensive core, especially with Venusaur. But it's gotten worse with some teams packing Magneton and Venusaur and Drapion, and Slowking can be worn down by checking multiple things, so I feel it goes better alongside mons like Registeel and Fletchinder in A.

Granbull to B+: Yes. This guy has always been and still is a great answer to physical attackers. Sneasel, Flygon, Fighting-types, Scyther, you name it. Granbull performs very well vs offense, a common archetype. I've also been wrecked by its Choice Band set at least once on the ladder. That set checks much of the same things as the defensive one but manages to be really threatening against balance, punching holes in Fairy resists like Escavalier, Venusaur, Registeel. Granbull is deserving of B+.
 
I'm only gonna post on sneasel and accelgor because it's the only ones that may be really controversial and I want to make this as clear as possible.

Comparing Sneasel to Mega Glalie is about as good of analogy as comparing an apple to a fucking pickup truck. They serve COMPLETELY DIFFERENT PURPOSES, and as such don't compare them. The only lateral is that they're both ice-type wallbreakers, and sneasel is hardly a wallbreaker as much as it is a utility mon. The only real utility value in mega glalie is spikes, and that's only on offensive builds, while the utility value of sneasel is pretty splashable on a lot of teams. STAB Knock Off is huge, and that's not something a whole lot of mons can boast to be able to use effectively. Pursuit is absolutely gigantic and CANNOT be understated, getting chip on shit like scarfgon and druddigon is HUGE for some teams. Again, citing basic flaws like "weak to rocks" and "frail" just makes yourself look like an idiot. Sneasel pressures offense harder than almost any other mon in the tier, hitting stuff like bandgon, glalie, and uxie. Its dual stabs are a godsend in a tier where most offensive teams are running stuff like uxie to check medicham, which makes sneasel even more of a blessing for teams, naturally complementing an even larger selection of pokemon.

Perhaps it'd be better to think of it like this. Sneasel's niche is not in cleaning, wallbreaking, or revenge killing, although it is very good at all three. It is in SUPPORT. Is your scarf medicham having a bit of a rough time with that Uxie? Not with a well timed pursuit shaving off a crisp 60 percent. Are you having some trouble with that stallbreaker Jellicent ruining your happy stall funtimes? Fear no more! From Hyper Offense to Stall, Sneasel finds a place on any playstyle. As such, due to its splashability, power, and general utility, I feel like Sneasel should rise to S-rank.

Now on to the king, Accelgor.

Accelgor should rise to B-rank. Not because of its lead set, but because of its offensive set. Offensive Accelgor is an absolute monster atm. It literally 6-0's offense from the moment it's in, outspeeding virtually everything bar the rare scarf lee/ scarf flygon.

For the record, this is what I believe the best set is:

Accelgor @ Life Orb
Ability: Sticky Hold
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Bug Buzz
- Hidden Power Ice/Hidden Power Ground
- Focus Blast
- Giga Drain

What sets this set apart is its ability to outspeed a mon that has become more popular than ever before in scarf medicham, the premier form of speed control for offensive teams. As such, Accelgor is a threat truly slept on in the current meta, completely stepping on offensive teams, which are becoming more and more popular as the metagame pregresses. Even versus fat balance cores (think venu + toise, fighter + sigi), accelgor has the necessary coverage to threaten KOs versus the sturdiest balanced teams. As such, for its incredible team-breaking and core-breaking potential with its offensive set, I nominate Accelgor for B-rank.
 
Sneasel's fucking piss weak and super easy to wear down especially if you use life orb. If you use choice band have fun getting trapped by dugtrio (and pivoted by alomomola). it's not hard to revenge because it's frail as shit and not that fast. Also the most broken pokemon in the tier is such a hard counter. And you'd think it's not a huge deal to give alomomola free switch-ins but scald is such a balanced move that this is not the case haha.

Literally letting alomomomola come in for free is a 30% chance of hell (shoutouts chaos) and sneasel can only remove its item for 32% or whatever awful damage output it gives. Sneasel barely belongs in A+ rank let alone S. it's a fatally flawed pokemon because it's weak and it's only merit is knocking off items as it fails to kill LITERALLY everything. For fucks sake, it's so frail and weak that colbur uxie checks it. Like come on,,
 
Raise Granbull up please, it's just such a good blanket check for so many mons and can be a godsend for teams and really glue teams together. The banded set is amazing because it not only has great defensive utility, but it's also a really surprising wallbreaker. When most people look at granbull, they really think about its defensive utility, but it has enough offensive firepower to just bust through the fat balances that are running around. The thing has a 40% chance to 2HKO standard alo after rocks, which is fucking insane because of how fat alo is, not to mention that basically turns into a 2HKO if you pair bull with a knock off user like banded scyther. Not only is Granbull strong, but it also has really good offensive coverage, with registeel and Venu getting obliterated by granbull's coverage. Not only is granbull strong enough to tear up standard balanced teams, but it can also body offensive teams because intimidate coupled with a fairy typing lets it switch into fighting and dark types with ease, including Sneasel, who is being named for s rank, and fire off attacks that offense frankly doesn't have any hope of switching into. Personally, I haven't used defensive Granbull, but it has been a really solid cleric that still has solid power uninvested that can chip away at offensive mons easily. Recently, the drop in magnetos usage from a month ago really helps Granbull because you don't have to worry about running into mag volt urn as much which turns Gran into an excuse for mag to fire off an analytic boosted hit. Overall Granbull is a very solid offensive and defensive mon that can check a ton of huge threats to offense like scarf medicham, sneasel, etc. while also being strong enough to break through defensive teams very well when equipped with a choice band.
 
Slowking down to A

I agree, every time I've used it I've been disappointed. Actually right now I'd say it's best set is Offensive Trick Room.

Medicham down to A

Disagree, it packs a hell of a punch and is very difficult to switch into. Its Scarf set can also ravage offensive teams.

Sneasel up to S

Disagree. Extreme frailty and poor defensive typing means you can't switch it into anything, it can't touch most Pokémon with decent physical bulk, and the Psychic types it would otherwise check are now commonly running Colbur Berry. It's also not very powerful - while it gets Swords Dance, it doesn't have the space or opportunity to set up.

Flygon down to A+

Disagree, it's still a versatile threat that can work on a variety of team
archetypes. Choice Band's a great wallbreaker, Scarf's a great revenge killer, and it's the best Defogger in the tier thanks to its SR resistance and Spikes and T-Spikes immunity.

Jolteon up to A-

Agree, it's very fast and hits pretty hard.

Granbull up to B+

Agree, this is one of the best offensive checks to Fighting types in the tier. I've only ever used the Choice Band set, and even though it lacks power compared to the likes of Sawk and Hitmonlee, its great defensive typing and superior bulk give it more opportunities to come in. It's also virtually impossible to reliably wall depending on what it runs. Think you can switch in your Venusaur? Enjoy the Fire Punch! What about Registeel? Yeah have fun taking the Close Combat. I'd actually put it in A- personally, but B+ is fine.

Also, please put Virizion back in S, it's easily a top tier threat. People are more prepared for it now, but it can usually bypass its checks with the right move - offensive Venusaur is OHKOed by a +2 Zen Headbutt. If a new player were to ask what Pokémon in RU they must prepare for, Virizion would be the one I'd suggest.
 
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im just going to do a mini rant on what makes offensive pokemon deserving of s rank. to quote the op exactly, "The best of the best. Reserved for Pokemon who shape and define the RU metagame and are a clear-cut above the rest of the tier. These Pokemon are typically very powerful offensive threats that are difficult to prepare for...If the Pokemon in this rank have any flaws, those flaws are thoroughly mitigated by their substantial strengths". is sneasel necessarily difficult to prepare for? thats a matter of opinion.

sneasel can be a massive threat to any team even if its carrying alomomola because of pursuit. right now the majority of our teams are packing a psychic type to deal with broken pokemon such as venusaur, virizion, every fighting type, other psychic types and random things that their secondary typings cover. they are in most cases just good reliable pokemon for breaking stall and preventing scarf medicham sweeps. but if sneasel pursuits it, suddenly your stall team or offensive fighting type just became way more threatening.

what separates sneasel from the other pursuit trappers is the utility it provides. it fulfills the speedy slot many teams and at the same time can stand up to huge threats like Virizion and pursuit trap the freakish amounts of wallbreaking psychic types we have. its not supposed to beat alomomola thats not its job on these teams. that would be like me saying alomomola shouldn't be s rank because it cant beat venusaur. that doesn't mean it has to rise i just wanted to point out that being frail doesnt mean it cant be s rank (hitmonlee? sceptile?). there are other good arguments for why sneasel shouldnt be s rank other than its frail.
 
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Yh no Slowking doesn't deserve to drop. Slowking is a Pokemon that I have been playing around with a lot since it has tons of versatility and it's a bulky Water-type that isn't a complete momentum drain. First of all it is probably the most diverse Pokemon in the tier. It can be defensive with Thunder Wave or be a win con with Calm Mind, it can run Choice Specs to wallbreak, lure, and be a pivot all in one slot. Offensive Trick Room is a scary late game cleaner under the right circumstances. Assault Vest also works to pressure the opponent with Future Sight and gives a blanket check to about 60% of all the special attackers in the tier. So even though AV and Defensive sets are the most popular you have to be extremely wary of coming in on a Choice Specs Scald or a Thunder Wave of you predict CM. Outside of its versatility it is probably the second best switch in to Emboar who ravages many teams as well as a Fighting-type resist which relieves a lot of stress on teams that don't already have one. Now I know that a lot of people dismiss Slowking to use the superior Alomomola since it isn't weak to Dark-types and can still check Fighting-types. But you also have to consider that Wish passing isn't always optimal for faster or frailer teams or even ones that don't / can't afford to toss offensive momentum which is wear more offensive variants come in handy. Slowking still holds a valuable place in this meta and should remain A+
 
Am I missing something with Virizion? yes, it's very powerful after it's boost, but surely the fact that even d- rank pokemon(scarfed) can switch in and ohko it a couple of times over:
252 SpA Typhlosion Eruption (150 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Virizion: 348-410 (107.7 - 126.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO
(348, 350, 356, 360, 362, 368, 372, 378, 380, 384, 390, 392, 396, 402, 404, 410)

Or that C+ rank pokemon check it comfortably and then ohko it twice over:
+2 252 Atk Virizion Stone Edge vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Golbat: 204-242 (57.7 - 68.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
(204, 208, 210, 212, 214, 216, 220, 222, 224, 226, 228, 232, 234, 236, 238, 242)
0 Atk Golbat Brave Bird vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Virizion: 564-664 (174.6 - 205.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
(564, 568, 576, 580, 588, 592, 604, 612, 616, 624, 628, 636, 640, 648, 652, 664)


That should mean it's not S rank material
 
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