Resource Series 9 Viability Rankings

[yuki]

These are the official Viability Rankings for VGC Series 9. In this thread, we as a community will be ranking each and every usable pokemon into different tiers based on how viable we believe them to be. We encourage you to post your thoughts and opinions on on the various usable Pokemon in VGC and what tier you think they should belong in. Posts in this thread will be taken into consideration when deciding changes to the VR.

While Viability Rankings for Series 7 do exist in a previous metagame discussion thread, we are going to be introducing a restructure to how we will be doing the tiering this time around. Equally, we have all gained a bit more experience with VGC 2021 and have some differing thoughts to before thanks to this. We think it makes the most sense to start afresh with a new VR and a new place for discussion therein.

The general idea of this is to rank every usable Pokemon in VGC into different rankings that will go in descending order. Since we are evaluating the entirety of the metagame, we will not be splitting Pokemon based on their roles within teams - supportive and offensive Pokemon will be ranked based on their impact that they have on the meta and the teams they will be brought for. For example, a Pokemon like Incineroar will be ranked highly for its supportive presence and Kartana for its offensive presence. While these examples are definitely present in the current Viability Rankings, as the metagame progresses and evolves so do Pokemon's utility and viability, so the Council will approach this with an open mind as we move forward.

Finally, there will be a Council of experienced players who will discuss and vote on the ranking of each Pokemon. As the Series tend to be fairly short, we will be attempting to keep this up-to-date based on what's going on in the tournament scene and adapting our list based on both tournament results and ladder success as the metagame evolves. Keep in mind, your posts and insights are still very valuable to us and will be a factor in any changes that we make. This thread would be nothing without the community and all of your input, so if you feel you have a good grasp on the metagame and fully understand the forum rules, then don't be hesitant to post.

Your VR Council:
Netherious
Raineko
zeefable
Deishu
maovgc
Namuko Pro
z0mOG

VGC Series 9 Viability Rankings:


Tier 1:
Incineroar
Regieleki
Urshifu-R

Tier 2:
Coalossal
Dragapult
Grimmsnarl
Landorus-T
Porygon2
Rillaboom
Thundurus
Togekiss
Torkoal
Urshifu-S
Venusaur

Tier 3:
Amoonguss
Blastoise
Celesteela
Clefairy
Garchomp
Glastrier
Gothitelle
Indeedee-F
Kartana
Registeel
Spectrier
Tapu Fini
Whimsicott
Zapdos

Tier 4:
Charizard
Cinderace
Dusclops
Hatterene
Mamoswine
Metagross
Moltres-G
Regirock
Rotom-H
Stakataka
Weezing

Tier 5:
Bronzong
Dracovish
Entei
Ferrothorn
Gastrodon
Heatran
Kingdra
Marowak-A
Nihilego
Politoed
Porygon-Z
Raichu
Regidrago
Regigigas
Rhyperior
Rotom-W
Snorlax
Tapu Koko
Terrakion
Tyranitar

 

[jonas]

More Coal Disrespect

Also, idk how much crack the council was on to put Clefairy in tier 4. It is a top 2 redirector in this meta, and is incredibly powerful on literally every single HO team.
It 100% belongs above Zard, Clops, and mamo. I have some other ideas that I will right up later

On another note, how are the members of the council decided?

 

[yuki]

More Coal Disrespect

Also, idk how much crack the council was to put Clefairy in tier 4. It is a top 2 redirector in this meta, and is incredibly powerful on literally every single HO team.
It 100% belongs above Zard, Clops, and mamo. I have some other ideas that I will right up later

On another note, how are the members of the council decided?

Coal and Gigas always get disrespected in these VRs. I feel they're a lot stronger with open teamsheets rather than the ladder BO1s. Reason being us just predictability and that everyone can have a mode for it ready. Much harder as the coal player without the planning time. Think of Tier 3 somewhere from A- to around B. So still good.

As for the Clefairy, I'd probably consider it top 3 as a redirector and around the same level as Indeedee-F in my mind (both in Tier 3 tbh). But given there are something like 56 mons here, and we basically had to throw it together, there were bound to be inconsistencies in a single vote (hence why this is preliminary).

How do we get our council?
Mostly the active contributors for us that know what they're doing. Neth, zee and I only took over as us 3 early Feb and officially more towards March. Putting these teams together that didn't exist before can be hard, so we're happy to just listen to any feedback we can get.

 

[Bananers]

New series new noms! Also, I am so glad to be on the VR, thanks for letting me in!

Tapu Fini 2 -> 1
Fini is extremely splashable and can beat literally every special attacker late-game with the CM set bar like Regieleki, but FIni can also run a very solid support set with moves like Haze, Heal Pulse, and Icy Wind. Not to mention, Misty Terrain is also excellent for the abundance of top-tier physical attackers to block burns and such. Like said, Fini is just so splashable and in the builder, it's my go-to fairy type for really any team.

Torkoal 3 -> 2
Torkoal has great supporting sets and offensive sets, making it tricky to determine what it can do to a team in preview, and is no doubt the best drought user in the game. I don't understand how you can rate Torkoal lower than Venusaur when Torkoal makes Venusaur the threat it is. Even without this tiering anomaly, Torkoal has proven to be a top threat in today's meta, whether it's from Yawn's or strong Eruptions, which in my opinion makes it deserving of 2

Politoed, Kingdra 4 -> 3
The rain duo is really good IMO. With the right support, Kingdra can blow through teams easily with Rain boosted max Geysers, and even Politoed can be threatening with the Choice Specs set that Juan Naar innovated. But the support set with Helping Hand and Perish Song is still fantastic and boosts Kingdra's power to massive levels. These two are much better than other Pokemon in Tier 4 like Dracovish and Zapdos-G, in my personal opinion.

Garchomp, Entei UR -> 4
These mons simply counter sun extremely well, and sun is one of the top teamstyles in today's meta, so therefore Garchomp and Entei love this and deserved to be ranked.

That's all for now, I'll prolly make some drop noms soon so see ya then.

 

[He-who-is-not-to-be-named]

I will now be making some of my own noms hehe.

Registeel: 5->4: Registeel is a pokemon that has some valid usage, and in S7 there were teams that performed pretty well with it(won a tourney I think). Once you get rid of the Urshifus and Kartana, it's very hard to stop this pokemon from just cleaning late game. Once could even argue that access to Amnesia as well as Iron Defense makes it better than Ferrothorn.

Dracozolt: 5->4(above Dracovish): The Vish might be harder to stop in singles, but imo in doubles the Zolt takes the crown. Most sand teams have a common trait, and that's a crippling weakness to water types(especially since their max moves change the weather to rain). Dracozolt is one of the best ways for sand teams to get good coverage, knock out most opposing water types and serve as a potential max option that doesn't take away its own speed boost by using its main STAB attack. Dracovish does none of this, and while it does take out ground types doesn't have enough speed to outspeed Regieleki in sand, which means that it can potentially get taken out before it even gets the chance to move because of Ewebs+A Strong and Fast Attacker.

Entei: 4(When Bananers gets his nom approved)->3: This "fake Arcanine" has a lot of stuff. As Bananers said, it's a great counter to sun, and the fact that its main attack has a 50% chance of burning means that opposing threats like Metagross, Regirock and Regigigas are much easier to deal with simply because they most likely won't have enough damage output to OHKO or 2HKO most mons. It also has great max potential due to a good Atk stat, Inner Focus(which prevents Intimidate drops) and a wide variety of powerful moves that most pokemon in the upper tiers really don't like. It's not enough to get it into tier 2 for sure, but it's definitely going to warrant a tier 3 for me.

 

[Bluepanther512]

I admit that I'm biased to TR but,
Stakataka 4->3 I've been able to get consistent wins (w/o restricted) by maxing it or A.Executor. The combo of amoongus,TR, and sweeper almost never fails for me
alolan executor UR-5 It gets harvest, solar beam, and flamethrower. It's not even hard to get and it also gets TR so you dont even need to sack/ switch and with harvest and sun you'll rarely be ok'ed and be able to make the most of your max moves

 

[Jashsmash]

New series new noms! Also, I am so glad to be on the VR, thanks for letting me in!

Tapu Fini 2 -> 1
Fini is extremely splashable and can beat literally every special attacker late-game with the CM set bar like Regieleki, but FIni can also run a very solid support set with moves like Haze, Heal Pulse, and Icy Wind. Not to mention, Misty Terrain is also excellent for the abundance of top-tier physical attackers to block burns and such. Like said, Fini is just so splashable and in the builder, it's my go-to fairy type for really any team.

Torkoal 3 -> 2
Torkoal has great supporting sets and offensive sets, making it tricky to determine what it can do to a team in preview, and is no doubt the best drought user in the game. I don't understand how you can rate Torkoal lower than Venusaur when Torkoal makes Venusaur the threat it is. Even without this tiering anomaly, Torkoal has proven to be a top threat in today's meta, whether it's from Yawn's or strong Eruptions, which in my opinion makes it deserving of 2

Politoed, Kingdra 4 -> 3
The rain duo is really good IMO. With the right support, Kingdra can blow through teams easily with Rain boosted max Geysers, and even Politoed can be threatening with the Choice Specs set that Juan Naar innovated. But the support set with Helping Hand and Perish Song is still fantastic and boosts Kingdra's power to massive levels. These two are much better than other Pokemon in Tier 4 like Dracovish and Zapdos-G, in my personal opinion.

Garchomp, Entei UR -> 4
These mons simply counter sun extremely well, and sun is one of the top teamstyles in today's meta, so therefore Garchomp and Entei love this and deserved to be ranked.

That's all for now, I'll prolly make some drop noms soon so see ya then.

I would go so far as to say garchomp deserves tier 2 honestly. It was picking up usage near the end of series 7 as an answer to both sun and coalossal teams, and it still fulfills both of these roles very well. Only reason it missed the initial list was by accident.

EDIT: I also agree with the rest of your nominations.

 

[AaPokemon]

I think Tapu Fini should be tier 1. First of all, Misty Surge is one of the best abilities in the game, blocking status and making things like Amoonguss and Venusaur easier to handle and protecting from random burns or Thunder Waves. 2nd, Fini can be an endgame win condition all by itself and win a 1v1 against most special attackers. It can be very hard to ko for a lot of teams lacking a physical Grass/Electric type. And with Incineroar and Landorus being top tier choices, that weakness isn't hard to cover for when teambulding. It also makes for a great defensive core with Incineroar stalling out things like tr and Dynamax from dangerous threats like Glastrier.

 

[AustinXX555]

My knowledge of Series 7 isn't super good, at least compared to series 5 and 8, but I'll put my two cents in a couple topics.

I agree with Tapu Fini being in Tier 1. It was easily one of the most dominant forces in series 7, and I have no doubts that dominance will continue in 7.5-I mean 9.

Clefairy should definitely be Tier 3. Friend Guard + Redirection is super valuable and has no right being in tier 4.

I'd also consider moving Stakataka and Regigigas to tier 3 as well, but I'm not as confident in them due to my lack of series 7/9 experience, so I'll just leave it here, and get to practicing series 7.-9! 9! Series 9

EDIT:

anything that wins a zygarde raid (with no deaths and 3 npcs) defintly is good

 

[Bluepanther512]

My knowledge of Series 7 isn't super good, at least compared to series 5 and 8, but I'll put my two cents in a couple topics.

I agree with Tapu Fini being in Tier 1. It was easily one of the most dominant forces in series 7, and I have no doubts that dominance will continue in 7.5-I mean 9.

Clefairy and should definitely be Tier 3. Friend Guard + Redirection is super valuable and has no right being in tier 4.

I'd also consider moving Stakataka and Regigigas to tier 3 as well, but I'm not as confident in them due to my lack of series 7/9 experience, so I'll just leave it here, and get to practicing series 7.-9! 9! Series 9

I have to agree with stakataka and anything that wins a zygarde raid (with no deaths and 3 npcs) defintly is good

 

[Netherious]

Ok quick changes I'm also going to personally nom:

Fini 2 -> 1
Misty Terrain is very nice right now with sun coming down from it's peak and Garchomp on the rise, as well as being hard stop to Urshifu-S. Great support for several WP mons such as Metagross, Regirock, and Moltres-G.

Garchomp UR -> 2
Garchomp is arguably as good, if not better than Landorus-T at the moment. It doesn't have to max unlike Landorus to be successful and also offers a better natural bulk to deter Venu Koal. 102 speed outspeeding Urshifu, Charizard, and so much more enables it to be a very solid meta staple in the making. Garchomp is here to stay yall.

Tapu Koko 4 -> 3
Great support and overall amazing check to Thundurshifu because of the resist to all of their stab moves. It is a bulkier Regieleki and that speaks volumes to its capabilities. Electric terrain is also very nice in a sleep-heavy environment.

Clefairy 4 -> 3
Amazing HO support. Really solid option for redirection and Friend guard is amazing.

I'm also on the fence on this one but:

Porygon2 2 -> 1
P2 keeps the meta in check and is such a defensive pain to deal with. With screens and/or stat reduction, p2 will never be OHKO'd and actually has offensive presence that keeps it from being deadweight late in the game. It is very capable of winning 4v1 in the late game because of how bulky it is, and how universally capable it is on a plethora of compositions.

Also a reminder; we're human and we make mistakes. This has been up for only a few days so let's not be too critical of the team who's worked together to cast votes on a format that is just now coming back. Often times we only know as much as we see on ladder and in an early format (even in one we've played before) things change and the meta will shift no matter what it may have been before.

 

[yuki]

Here with a quick edit:
So I did miss a few things from the initial Rankings. I want to say Indeedee-F, Garchomp, and Entei were all missed off despite being voted on. That's fixed. Carry on as normal!

 

[North]

Some of my thoughts

Thundurus

2 -> 3
Thundurus really is not as potent as it was in Series 8. I think it still finds its way on offense, but just feels outclassed by Zapdos on fatter builds. The format not being as fast, and without as many nukes means dynamaxing early in the game can be very punishable. Thundurus is a pokemon that is absolute garbage outside of max with a self damaging stab and superpower as its usable moves, as opposed to Zapdos having 2 (don't click hurricane) usable non max moves. Not to mention bulky max mons like Glastrier and Metagross are way better in this format make Thundurus just very limited to me.

Togekiss

4 -> 3
Bulky fairy types are a very hot commodity, and in my opinion, mandatory on every balance team atm. The sheer pressure that Urshifu exerts onto balance just requires an answer. Togekiss is probably the second or third best option for this after Fini. Being a great supporter of things like Spectrier or sd Lando set Togekiss apart from Fini or Grimm.

Sylveon

UR -> 4
Remember what I said about bulky fairy types. Same applies here. Sylveon sets itself apart with access to fairy quick attack and yawn, providing some pressure to Urshifu immediately (with self proc potential) while maintaining some pressure into fairy resists. It saw some success in Japan during Series 7, and I know some top players who experimented with this thing months ago. Definitely a good mon that deserves a mention

 

[ProNooob]

U did my man coal dirty...is this a bo1 or bo3 list?

 

[ProNooob]

Coal is a pokemon that defines every team it's on, gives them very little flexibility, and can be checked very easily by the myriad of bulky ground types or the smallest amount of respect in the teambuilder. I was fine with people pushing for it in series 8 because you could make up with its awful lack of flexibility by employing Zacian or Yveltal, but Moltres-G or whatever your backup Dynamax option is just won't cut it.

I will give more thoughts on this VR toward the end of NPA's regular season. Pretty happy with it + some tier shifts that we have on the way. Just wanna touch on this post while I'm here.



If you wanted to get your point across to someone in the real world, you wouldn't do it by calling the opposing "on crack". The one-liner that you follow it up with doesn't really do you much good either. If you wanna suggest something I really do think it'd be best to format your posts like some of the good examples below:

I do agree with the coal part. I feel coal's lack of flexibility though is dealt with in an open sheet format, although that might not be what this VR is going off of. But the fact that chomp is becoming more popular is scary for coal users...

 

[yuki]

Hey everyone, just hitting you all with the changes to the VR!

The rises:

2 -> 1
Tapu Fini's Misty Terrain as well as being a potent Calm Mind attacker that slots on to so many teams makes this thing one of the most consistent and strong Pokemon in the format, and deserving of being in the top tier.

3 -> 2
Rotom-Heat is exceptional at checking some of the most common Pokemon in the metagame, from a positive Sun matchup against Venusaur and Charizard, to being super effective against Glastrier, Tapu Fini, Metagross and Rillaboom it can check so many things in the highest tiers that it outright deserves to be there.

3 -> 2
Majority of the council feel that Torkoal's integral role in the success of Sun teams as well as its versatility to be both an offensive and supportive Pokemon in these setups make it suitable for Tier 2.

+ 4 -> 3
The rain duo are back! I think we underestimated them at first, but upon further consideration their consistency and the fact they can still be a threat to several top threats such as Sun, Coalossal, Incineroar and Landorus-T means they should definitely get a chance in a tier higher than they're already in.

4 -> 3
As North mentioned, bulky Fairy-types are a commodity and a good addition to a lot of Balance teams. We are fully convinced by this Pokemon's potential. Pressuring things like Urshifu, Rillaboom and potentially Venusaur is a brilliant quality to have, and being a bulky Follow Me user supports several things such as Spectrier and SD Landorus-T

4 -> 3
In the same vein, we're happy to promote Clefairy up to Tier 3. It was definitely disrespected the first time around, and is an obvious staple for a bunch of HO teams that exist. We honestly can't believe we missed this thing. Friend Guard + Follow Me + Helping Hand + a lot of stuff and the ability to pressure Urshifu make this thing pretty good.

4 - > 3
We feel this is still a good offensive Trick Room setter, with the potential to punish opposing threats such as Moltres-G, Zapdos and Glastrier. Worthy of the spot in Tier 3 as it can still fit on a lot of builds.

The drop:

2 -> 3
Unfortunately Thundurus is the sole victim of the revote. Thundurus definitely had a bit of hype from us being carried over from Series 8. But let's face facts, burning your Dynamax early or getting super aggressive with it can be punishing. Thundurus can still be extremely effective, but it's definitely feeling a cut below the other Electric/Flying-type in Zapdos.

The new arrivals:

UR -> 4
Bulky Fairy-types. See the Togekiss point above. Sylveon can exert good pressure on Urshifu with self-proc potential with a Fairy Quick Attack. It also comes with Hyper Voice as a strong spread move, Yawn as a brilliant support move and other options such as Mystical Fire. Comfey is another traditional self-proc mon with access to Trick Room, Ally Switch, Taunt and good priority with Triage.

UR -> 4
Mimikyu is still a solid Trick Room setter and has good supportive options in Will-O-Wisp and Taunt. It can also serve as a decent attacker if needs be. May still turn out to be a potent Trick Room setter again, so in Tier 4 for now.

UR -> 4
Gothitelle always has a place in the metagame as a supportive Shadow Tag user. Fake Out, Helping Hand, Taunt, Fake Tears, Trick Room, Ally Switch etc. etc. etc. This thing seems to always find a home and it feels right to have it on the list.

UR -> 4
Milotic is still a decent Pokemon for deterring Intimidate with its Competitive ability. Alongside consistent recovery in... Recover, it can prove to be fairly potent in a lot of situations. Definitely something to be considered in more Physical teams in need of a solid bulky Water backbone.

UR -> 5
These are all Pokemon that have some qualities that give them a niche in the current metagame. As such, we've decided to include them in Tier 5. Feel free to ask us for more information on this lot, it was just a hell of a lot to write in the end and more than it's worth for a few of these mons.

As usual, discuss, debate and suggest any rises, drops or new entries you'd like to see. We're always open to hear your opinions.

 

[Bananers]

Nom time nom time

Regieleki 1 -> 2
Regieleki is strong and all, but the problem with it right now is two things. One, back in series 7 there were limited ground types, really only Landorus-T, but with Garchomp on the rise there are more mons that it cannot touch. And two, its splashability really isn't on the same level as the other S/1 tiers. I can slot Fini or Incin on basically every team, but Eleki is really good on HOffense builds, but on bulkier teams, the Rotoms and Zapdos are better fittings for the electric slot. It just doesn't fill the requirements to be S/1 tier in my opinion.

Whimsicott 3 -> 2
Whimsicott is what makes HOffense good. Prankster Tailwind cannot be overstated how good it is and how it defines Offense teams. And the thing is, what puts it above Tornadus for me is the plethora of other supporting moves it can run. Fake Tears, Helping Hand, Trick Room, Taunt, and Charm (betcha forgot it gets Charm) are all very good options it can run besides Tailwind. In my opinion it definitely sets itself apart from Tornadus, and is deserving of 2.

Porygon2 2 -> 1
Porygon2 is phenomenal. It compresses so many roles into one, it can be an attacker, a damage reducer, a Weakness Policy proccer, a stally endgame mon, so much. It fits on basically every balance build and is the most splashable mon behind Incineroar in my opinion. It is one of the most defining mons of series 9, and it deserves S/1.

 

[Microwave Raccoon]

UR -> 5

Guzzlord has multiple things that differentiate itself from its dark and dragon type competition. For one thing, its dragon typing gives it key resistances to electric, fire and water. These resistances allow it to check threats such as Regieleki, Thundurus and the Rotom forms, all of which threaten its primary dark type competition in Moltres-G.

It also has better coverage in max ooze to hit fairies and further boost its special attack, and max flare to hit Kartana and Celesteela who could otherwise give it trouble. Max darkness is still an incredibly powerful tool that gives it great snowballing potential in combination with max ooze and beast boost. Should it activate a weakness policy and pick up a KO with max ooze or max darkness, it can essentially go to +4 in a single turn if you factor in the spdef drop or sp.atk boost.

The dark typing is incredibly useful in the current meta, letting it wall the many powerful ghost type pokemon going around such as Dragapult and Spectrier, while threatening to ohko in return and snowball with max darkness. It is also able to ohko Metagross and survive a +2 max hailstorm in dynamax, making it a good check both in and outside of trick room.

As a trick room Pokemon, Guzzlord's niche lies in its ability to turn pokemon like Marowak-A and Torkoal from a threat, into an oppurtunity. Both get destroyed by a special max darkness and can do little in return with their stabs. Guzzlord also has the a similar ability to the Horses, meaning you can't just sack a pokemon to get your check in, because by doing that you essentially give it an additional boost, or in the case of max ooze, two additional boosts.

Of course, Guzzlord is not without its flaws, it struggles with Glastrier, which is arguably the best trick room pokemon in the game, and its fighting weakness is a huge boon against Urshifu. However its greatest weakness comes in form of fairies, being 4x weak to them and having to rely on the weaker max ooze to hit them. This means that Guzzlord teams will require heavy anti-fairy support to function. These reasons are why I think Guzzlord should be moved up from untiered to tier 5.


Some Replays:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8vgc2021-1252307098
Guzzlord activates its weakness policy outside of trick room and picks up 3 KOs
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8vgc2021-1254548567
Similar thing here, fake out support allows me to play around urshifu
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8vgc2021-1251676423-oy54ylqdafx2aw147ia8vuqfv60okfbpw
Guzzlord chips the entire team and KOs Zapdos to enable Rillaboom
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8vgc2021-1221348550
Fairly Low ladder Guzzlord sweep
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8vgc2021-1319126052
Guzzlord punches holes vs rain and sets up for a Fini endgame
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8vgc2021-1254550223
Guzzlord sweeps team with no dark resist lol
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8vgc2021-1320971065
Guzzlord acts as a safety net against opposing Dragapult and Rotom-H

 

[yuki]

Post-vote thought time:

5 -> 4
I think Registeel is a good bulky Steel-type option with great potential for the endgame. Naturally high Defense with Body Press is great, and being able to boost defense on both sides with Iron Defense and Amnesia can make it a near impenetrable wall. It can also bring in Rest as a recovery option where the 2 turns of sleep really don't hurt it as bad as other Pokemon because of all that bulk.

5 -> 4
Okay, it has a pretty big Fairy, Glastrier and Urshifu weakness, but we were messing about with this thing at the end of Series 7 with Safety Goggles to overcome Sun. I think with its naturally good SpA, access to Nasty Plot and key resistances to Regieleki, Zapdos and Venusaur, it can put in a decent shift with the right work.

UR -> 5
With a Seed boost and Unburden, Slurpuff can become a very fast supportive Pokemon with bulk somewhat comparable to Sylveon (which we ranked in Tier 4). It has options such as Yawn, Fake Tears, String Shot, Helping Hand, and Light Screen. I think this has a fair amount of potential as a decently bulky Fairy-type (assuming a boost from a Seed), but with the extra required steps to make it sing, Tier 5 seems the best position for this.

edit:
UR -> 4
I have been impressed with this thing recently, especially after earning a top cut. Deserves a spot here.

UR -> 5
Call it S8 hype, but I think Mienshao brings a bunch to the table as a Support mon with Inner Focus. Taunt, Ally Switch, Fake Out, Wide Guard, Coaching and a strong Close Combat make it usable.

UR -> 5
Not seen this as much, but it should still be good in theory with Justified, Max Airstream and AV capabilities.

UR -> 4
Kinda weird how this got missed eh? Really low usage is all I can say. We even gave it an analysis. I wrote that, go read it for why it's so good.

4 -> 3
As many people in the Smogon VGC Discord will tell you, I've been shilling this thing recently. Psychic Terrain is great, and I feel it really can be a part of a lot of great HO teams.

UR -> 5
I think this thing is actually alright on HO teams. I've been playing a fair amount of Whims, Ace, Lele recently and I gave Indeedee-M a go for some Imprison+TR stuff. I feel sure you lose out on a bit of damage, but it can definitely bring something interesting to the table and a provide an alternate out to Trick Room rather than just hoping the Taunt from Whimsicott lands. Which, in turn, removes a touch of anti-synergy between Lele and Whims.

 

[ProNooob]

3 -> 2

Might be a bit of a hot take but I feel a powerful, water type, physical threat is a niche only filled at a higher level by ursh water. While admittedly, it is no where NEAR as strong as ursh dark, the physical water type niche is still valuable.

 

[GimTomato]

Scizor: UR->4 or 5
The pinchy, punchy pest of generations past definitely has a niche here. It works as an alternative to Metagross, except with a weakness to Intimidate. However, it makes up for it with a bevy of resistances and one weakness in fire. Ignore this mon for too long and your team could very well be wiped by its Technician boosted Bullet Punches. With how frail the meta often is, at least outside of TR teams, Scizor can clean up quite easily given the proper support. In dynamax, it has access to Max Steelspike to boost its defense, Max Flutterby to lower the damage of Special threats such as spectrier, and Max Airstream to boost its low speed. Positioned correctly, Scizor can be a threat and a half to the opposing team.

 

[Evelyie]

Beat Up - Swords of Justice
Rises:

Cobalion: UR > 4

Terrakion: UR > 4

Virizion: Remain UR / 5

I think Beat Up is a good team composition. There are good Beat Up users in the meta, such as

and

. About the abusers: Cobalion beeing the most balanced and strong overall, good base speed (108) and access to Max Airstream. Since you will be at +3 (with Intimidates) and normally +4, you can also invest extra bulk, also benefiting from items such as Lum Berry, Assault Vest or even Life Orb. About Terrakion, although it doesnt get access to Max Airstrem like Cobalion (and eventually Virizion), has the highest attack stat of the 3, and can hit brutally at +4 / +3. About Virizion, it is a good Pokémon, but beeing scared of threats such as Glastrier and Landorus-T, doesn't pop off like other 2, although with its good Sp. Def stat paired with an Assault Vest, can survive to a Life Orb Max Airstream from Moltres, a non-sun Life Orb Wildfire from Charizard (Blast Burn), and dish out damage with Max Airstream or Max Rockfall.

 

[ProNooob]

Scizor: UR->4 or 5
The pinchy, punchy pest of generations past definitely has a niche here. It works as an alternative to Metagross, except with a weakness to Intimidate. However, it makes up for it with a bevy of resistances and one weakness in fire. Ignore this mon for too long and your team could very well be wiped by its Technician boosted Bullet Punches. With how frail the meta often is, at least outside of TR teams, Scizor can clean up quite easily given the proper support. In dynamax, it has access to Max Steelspike to boost its defense, Max Flutterby to lower the damage of Special threats such as spectrier, and Max Airstream to boost its low speed. Positioned correctly, Scizor can be a threat and a half to the opposing team.

Seconded, it is great on rain teams if u don't like metagross.

 

[Helios of Sun]

Quick thoughts:

Regieleki (1 > 2)
Speed control has been slightly less important in S9 as compared to S8, which is why I am of the opinion that Regieleki has fallen off slightly. Hamstermania's Life Orb Regieleki has been fantastic and does a whole lot of damage, but I find Regieleki slightly more underwhelming this series as compared to S8.

Porygon2 (2 > 1)
This thing is so good right now, and is certainly the best Trick Room user in the format. Being able to Eerie Impulse spam is great, the damage that comes out of it is certainly not low, and it still find a way to be annoying by spamming Recover over and over when its HP gets low. With all said and done, I think this mon is one of the best mons in the current format and its rank should reflect that.

Rotom-W (4 > 3)
Rotom-Wash in my opinion, is a rather undervalued Pokemon. Sure, it has its heavy weakness to Rillaboom and Venusaur, but when it shines, it is an amazing mon. With a Nasty Plot boost, the amount of damage it is able to dish out is incredibly high, with Water and Electric stab (very useful typing).

Terrakion (Unranked > 4)
I have complained more than enough about Lenny's team. Beat Up Dragapult with an option to max the Dragapult is insane coverage, and can cover many different leads in the metagame. When Terrakion is +4, it is powerful, and can one shot many mons in the format, even when they are Dynamaxed. I think this strength is enough to warrant it a spot in Tier 4.

 

[Bluepanther512]

Blastoise 5>4 Blastoise is basically a mini-Kyogre, and we all know what Kyogre can do. Blastoise is not nearly as dominant as Kyogre, but is still very good on rain teams with tanky builds with rain dish and leftovers or attack focused builds with torrent and hydro pump.