Resource SS CAP Viability Rankings

[Darek]

Decided to make some nominations here:

-> S: Zapdos is able to check so many threats in the metagame while being extremely difficult to be switched into itself. It's able to dismantle the classic Tomo+Libra cores, as well as being a reliable answer to Tornadus-T, Rillaboom, and Cawmodore. The Defog set is solid but nothing to write home about, but 3 attacks + Roost is insanely good right now in my opinion. It's extremely difficult to switch into even without SpA investment and it's basically free to click Volt Switch more often than not. The few mons that can switch into all 3 of its attacks still lose momentum against Volt Switch(with the exception of Zeraora); the most common ground types in the tier are Garchomp, Landorus, and Equilibra, the former two get roughly 2hko'd by Hurricane, and Equilibra can't threaten Zapdos while taking significant chip from Heat Wave. While Knock Off can be annoying for it to deal with, it can still be avoided for the most part and Zapdos can continue coming in and providing momentum for the team.

-> A-: Jumbao's unique typing and access to Trace make it able to check a variety of mons in the tier. Being a decently fast, offensive Fairy with a Ground resist is really great right now. Scarf Jumbao is a really great revenge killer with its Leaf Storm + Moonblast + Focus Blast coverage being very difficult to switch into outside of Slowking-G and Toxapex, and is also a great answer to SD Garchomp. Trace gives Jumbao some really unique switchins, namely, it can block Volt Switch from Zeraora and eat Magma Storm from Heatran and proceed to force them out.

-> A-: Heatran is still quite good, but I find that it's generally outclassed by Equilibra in terms of being a bulky Steel-type. While a Fire immunity is nice, Equilibra's Ground immunity is generally preferred, and the utility Libra provides in Doom Desire and Rapid Spin is typically better than what Tran provides. Equilibra is a lot less susceptible to entry hazards than Heatran is, and because of it, Libra can afford to take a Knock Off a lot better than Hetran can. Heatran is able to carve itself a distinct niche in its ability to trap mons with Magma Storm, but the prevalence of Slowking just makes it extremely difficult for it to make progress.

-> B+: Oh baby it's time for me to talk about Miasmaw! This mon has its notable flaws, but Miasmaw's unique access to Neutralizing Gas and First Impression provides a very distinct and valuable niche. While it does have some difficulties switching in, it can somewhat reliably switch in on two of the best mons in the tier in Slowking and Equilibra. While Slowking can potentially cripple Miasmaw with a Scald Burn on the switchin, Future Sight and Teleport are almost always preferable to click, and even then, Miasmaw takes very little from Scald, putting the Slowking user in a very poor position if the burn doesn't proc. Similarly, while Equilibra can get some decent chip on Miasmaw with Flash Cannon, Doom Desire or Earth Power are clicked way more often, and it's very possible the Libra doesn't have Flash Cannon at all. Even then, the current metagame has a plethora of offensive pivots that make great partners for Miasmaw: Zapdos, Kerfluffle, Krilowatt, and Barraskewda can all pivot out on a Regenerator mon and bring it in. Compared to other wallbreakers in the tier, Banded Miasmaw is still quite prediction-reliant, but that's not a huge issue thanks to Neutralizing Gas always gaining progress when forcing out a Regenerator mon. First Impression is also just a phenomenal move, acting as a surefire failsafe against most setup sweepers and fast mons in the tier.

 

[Rabia]

-> A-: Jumbao's unique typing and access to Trace make it able to check a variety of mons in the tier. Being a decently fast, offensive Fairy with a Ground resist is really great right now. Scarf Jumbao is a really great revenge killer with its Leaf Storm + Moonblast + Focus Blast coverage being very difficult to switch into outside of Slowking-G and Toxapex, and is also a great answer to SD Garchomp. Trace gives Jumbao some really unique switchins, namely, it can block Volt Switch from Zeraora and eat Magma Storm from Heatran and proceed to force them out.

-> A-: Heatran is still quite good, but I find that it's generally outclassed by Equilibra in terms of being a bulky Steel-type. While a Fire immunity is nice, Equilibra's Ground immunity is generally preferred, and the utility Libra provides in Doom Desire and Rapid Spin is typically better than what Tran provides. Equilibra is a lot less susceptible to entry hazards than Heatran is, and because of it, Libra can afford to take a Knock Off a lot better than Hetran can. Heatran is able to carve itself a distinct niche in its ability to trap mons with Magma Storm, but the prevalence of Slowking just makes it extremely difficult for it to make progress.

I think you're underselling Heatran's capabilities really heavily here. The biggest boon to using Heatran right now is probably for Taunt + Toxic trapping sets, which can remove even bulky Water-types like Slowking and Toxapex with extreme ease and makes it really good as a partner for Pokemon such as Kyurem and Syclant that go berserk afterwards. Beyond both being defensive Steel-types, the similarities sort of end there; the utility that Equilibra and Heatran offer differs greatly, and I don't ever find myself trying to replace one for the other as a result. The competition for a teamslot is much lower compared to say, Slowking versus Slowbro.

The Jumbao nomination, however, I agree with wholeheartedly, albeit I'm still gonna want to see a bit more success before an A- rise. Magearna's and Cinderace's bans are absolutely huge for Jumbao because they were two of the best offensive responses to it, and in general there's been a slow decline in usage of Galarian Slowking ever since the Magearna ban (this could perhaps change, however, with Kyurem's rapid ascent back to the top). It's a phenomenal offensive response to many potent offensive options, including Garchomp, Rillaboom, and Dragapult, and Healing Wish is a really cool niche that is hard to come by.

---

-> A
I think Astrolotl is a bit overrated at the moment in A+ and feel it'd be more fitting in A. It's still the best Spiker in the tier and can punish lazy teambuilding really effectively with Fire Lash and its other disruption moves, but ever since it's lost Knock Off, it's felt a lot easier to not constantly lose momentum to. Sure, Pokemon like Tomohawk, Heatran, and Toxapex don't enjoy being statused by Thunder Wave or Will-O-Wisp, and you can always opt to set a layer of Spikes, but it's a fair bit harder now for Astrolotl to just sit in front of teams and exist.

-> A
I voted to keep this in A+ last slate because the nomination was really late and I didn't have a whole lot of time to think about it, so I'd like to at least mention it again to gauge the opinions of others. I think Clefable's best set right now is Calm Mind; Moonblast + Flamethrower coverage is really nice, and although foes like Heatran and Galarian Slowking can prevent you from making the momentum you'd like to, they're not deal breakers. The former is generally not the hardest to force damage onto, and the latter actually struggles to break +2 Clefable. I think my biggest gripe with Clefable right now is it feels less useful defensively; ever since Urshifu-S's ban, I've felt less and less inclined to use utility sets because the defensive glue those sets once provided is no longer really there, and even Cinderace's ban takes a little away from Clefable despite it basically being Gunk Shot fodder anyhow. I think there might be something to specially defensive sets now that Dragapult and Kyurem are returning to prior levels of strength, but I can't say that I've actually (seen them) used myself.

 

[D2TheW]

Figured I’d finally actually contribute to this thread since I’ve been meaning to do some noms for ages.

Zapdos A+ -> S

Darek kinda sniped me on this one, but yeah, I agree that Zapdos is worthy of S tier. The three attacks roost set is one of the most consistent performers in the meta game to game and it fits on all sorts of teams. It says a lot that the defog set is disliked by so many, including myself despite being perfectly functional as the three attacks set is just that good. Zap is one of the most splashable answers to Cawm, NP Torn T (losing boots is obviously a pain but Torn risks a static para that could neuter it for the rest of the game) and checks a myriad of other things like rilla, lucha and melmetal while conversely, it doesn’t really have any hard counters or especially stifling bad mus. It absolutely eats Slow, Tomo, Libra cores and is able to consistently keep momentum and position it’s harder hitting teammates with volt switch. Similar to krill, very few volt blockers are actually comfortable coming into zap making progress consistently and easy. This thing just matches up so well vs so much and performs so consistently that it deserves S rank imo.



Aurumoth UR -> C

Auru has carved itself a small niche in the meta as a part of certain hyper offense squads, as a scarf final gambit user. Auru’s great hp stat of 110 means that the only mons you’d really expect to see in any given game with a greater hp stat than max invest auru are Blissey, Melmetal and Krilowatt though there are also some more niche but still relevant mons like Colossoil, Gastrodon and Amoongus that can take a gambit at the cost of almost all of their health. Gambit is also stopped by ghosts but there isn’t exactly an abundance of spookies now that spect has kicked the bucket. As we see in the usage stats in 2spoopy4u ‘s post here https://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/sword-and-shield-cap-metagame-discussion.3656824/post-8769165 Dragapult is the only ghost with significant usage, while Aegislash and Pajantom also see some use. Auru can also dip into it’s movepool to counteract some of it’s answers with moves like blizzard for pult and close combat for blissey. Auru is typically paired with suicide lead Lando T and together they can consistently put ho teams 4-4 with rocks up which are great conditions for ho to thrive. It’s not a massive niche and the viability of ho took a hit following the ace and gear bans but it still deserves a place on the VR imo.



As for the other noms itt recently:

-> A-: Disgree -> B+: Agree. Jumbao really appreciates the ace and gear bans as well as the fact that Glowking (which should probably drop btw but I cba to write that up) has dropped off since gears ban. It’s typing is pretty useful in the current meta and even though it’s calcs vs Slowking can be immensely depressing, it can trace regen to keep it healthy when running choice sets.

-> A-: Disagree. Tran doesn’t really have to compete with libra for a slot because a) stacking steel types really isn’t that bad b) they actually synergise pretty well and most importantly c) they perform very different roles on a team. Libra: Electric immunity, ground immunity, spinner, dd spammer. Tran: Fire immunity, rocker, trapper, status spreader. Each have other distinct advantages like how libra can apply great pressure with dd while tran doesn’t let slowking make such consistent progress thanks to taunt and toxic. They also have clear weaknesses like libra constantly giving slowking free turns and how Magma storm is the worst move of all time, seriously this shit takes years off my life every time it misses.

-> B+: Stop. Just stop. We legit need to hold an intervention for you Darek. This is unhealthy.

-> S: Somehow a worse take than the Miasmaw one.
Edit: Bink asked for a proper explanation so I'm just gonna cp what I said in the cord. Rocker that never keeps rocks up vs any of the removal in the tier, way worse as a ground type hazard remover compared to libra, doesn't really check much of anything since the ace ban except for zera and it doesn't like knock, and just kinda outclassed by other grounds both offensively and defensively

I was gonna do a mienshao nom but shsp might legit murder me irl so I’ll refrain…for now….

T_T

D2TheW Today at 00:09
Yo
Hypothetical question
For absolutely no reason at all
Would it be possible
Hypothetically
To write a smogon post entirely in comic sans
Hypothetically of course

MewBby Today at 00:11
No

SHSP I tried T_T

 

[Rabia]

I wanna recap some recent discussions we've had in the VR chat as well as voice chats involving the VR:

As of now, several of us on the VR team view Slowking to be without a doubt the best CAP Pokemon. Although Garchomp and Equilibra certainly define the metagame, Slowking remains a noticeable step above them in terms of viability. As such, there have been a couple proposals regarding what to do: we could drop Garchomp and Equilibra down to A+ while moving several A+ Pokemon down to A (and this would probably continue to affect lower ranks too), or we could create an S- rank.

I'm of the opinion an S- rank would be beneficial as of now. I think moving Garchomp and Equilibra entirely out of S would be a misrepresentation of the metagame, but having them alongside Slowking similarly feels inaccurate.

S Rank:

S Rank
Slowking

S- Rank
Dragapult
Equilibra
Garchomp
Zapdos

A Rank:

A+ Rank
Astrolotl
Clefable
Heatran
Tomohawk
Tornadus-T

A Rank
Galarian Slowking
Krilowatt
Kyurem
Landorus-T
Rillaboom
Toxapex

A- Rank
Blissey
Corviknight
Ferrothorn
Hydreigon
Kerfluffle
Melmetal
Zeraora

I'd imagine the upper echelons VR to look something like this were an S- rank to be in place. Zapdos has been talked up quite a lot as of late as one of the best pivots and Defoggers in the tier, and Dragapult's success in CAP Winter Seasonal mandates that it receive more attention I feel. With these two Pokemon higher up, I think it becomes easier to justify Astrolotl and Clefable remaining in A+, although I'd still drop Galarian Slowking because it really doesn't feel on the level of the other Pokemon in A+.

One official nomination so that this post isn't just me showing what I want the VR to look like:

-> A
Slowking being very common doesn't matter all that much when the most common Steel-type in the tier doesn't even resist Ice. While Kyurem is very prediction reliant, I've found that it's still rather easy to force progress with it entirely because of how strong it is; very rarely are the predictions in your opponent's favor because of this. The continued use of Pokemon like Tomohawk and Zapdos that Kyurem feasts against when brought in via pivots makes it super easy to succeed with and should be reflected with a rise.

 

[dex]

I agree wholeheartedly with Rabia in the creation of an S- tier. I also really like the Kyurem nomination because, as Rabia said, it just brute forces progress. I'd like to make a couple other nominations of my own.

-> B+
The Cinderace and Magearna bans have helped Jumbao immensely, as two of its biggest pressures have left the metagame. It's Choice and LO sets both force a lot of damage on the other team, and its somewhat unique access to Healing Wish can make it quite useful in the late game. Furthermore, its ability to straight up wall Heatran and apply meaningul pressure on the common Slowking + Libra core makes it quite difficult to deal with if traditional SpD walls are a team's only answers to it.

-> A
I still think that Astrolotl is the best spiker in the tier, but its uses outside of that have become quite limited since the nerf. It really, really misses Knock Off, and while it is still nice as a passable SpD defensive pivot, it just as a whole doesn't make progress like it used to, especially in a meta swarming with Dragapult and Garchomp teams. Losing Knock also hurt its matchup into Slowking noticeably, which was a pretty unfortunate consequeunce of the nerf.

 

[Mx]

Alright, time for another update!

Rises:

Kyurem A- → A
Mandibuzz B+ → A-
Tyranitar B+ → A-
Jumbao B → A-
Tapu Lele B → B+
Hippowdon B- → B
Skarmory B- → B
Victini B- → B
Weavile B- → B
Aurumoth UR → C
Necturna UR → C

Drops:

Astrolotl A+ → A
Slowking-Galar A+ → A
Krilowatt A → A-
Toxapex A → A-
Blissey A- → B+
Ferrothorn A- → B+
Latios B+ → B
Nidoking B+ → B
Kartana B → B-
Moltres B → B-
Suicune B → B-
Crucibelle B- → C
Regieleki B- → C
Stratagem B- → C
Swampert B- → C

Blaziken C → UR
Shedinja C → UR

Here's the reasoning for some of the most significant changes:

A+ to A: As the metagame settles, it's clear that now Astrolotl is nowhere near as dominant as it once was. The loss of Knock Off means that it struggles a lot more to make progress against common threats like Slowking, Tomohawk, or Mandibuzz, which makes it significantly less splashable that it once was, to the point where we believe that it should drop a subrank again.

A+ to A: While on paper Slowking-Galar can wall any special attacker with its Assault Vest set, its vulnerability to Knock Off, entry hazards and common threats like Garchomp and Dragapult makes it not as effective as it once was.

A- to A: As Rabia explained in his latest post, Kyurem can easily take advantage of common mons like Zapdos and Tomohawk and is incredibly deadly with the right prediction thanks to its great power and coverage, so it most definitely deserves a rise.

and B+ to A-: While Spectrier might have left the metagame, having a Ghost resistance is still very important for all teams due to Dragapult and to a lesser extent Pajantom and Aegislash still being very dangerous. These two are some of the best options for that role, especially considering the amount of support they can provide to a team outside of their role as Ghost checks.

B to A-: Without having to compete with Magearna, Jumbao has quickly proven to be an excellent offensive Fairy-type and not only it can be very challenging to check without specific checks like Slowking-Galar but it can also provide great utility thanks to its access to Healing Wish, great matchup against mons like Garchomp and Zeraora and can even provide Drought support on certain teams.

A- to B+: While Blissey is a good bulky Ghost immunity, it really can't do much apart from spreading status and pivoting away, and even with Teleport it still tends to be a huge momentum sink, so it's significantly less useful than other mons in A-.

B to B+: Scizor benefits a lot from current metagame trends like Astrolotl dropping in usage and threats like Kyurem and Jumbao becoming more common. Early-game it can use Knock Off to cripple checks like Zapdos and Heatran and then later it can use U-turn to keep up momentum or sweep with Sword Dance and Bullet Punch once these checks have been sufficiently weakened, making it a pretty consistent mon.

UR to C: Aurumoth has recently seen a decent amount of usage thanks to its access to Final Gambit, allowing it to practically always eliminate a threat when using a Choice Scarf set, which can be incredibly useful in Hyper Offensive teams, so we believe it deserves to be ranked once again.

andC to UR: Blaziken has seen little to no usage lately, it struggles to find opportunities to set up and has a bad matchup against many common staples like Slowking, Tomohawk, Garchomp, so we believe it has no place in the current metagame. Shedinja has seen some usage in the past on stall teams but we believe that is currently just too inconsistent to be worth ranking.

 

[Rabia]

some explanations for other rises/drops too that weren't given:

Tapu Lele suffered a lot between generations between losing Z-Crystals and Psychic Surge getting nerfed, but Choice Specs sets are still really effective wallbreakers. Most teams rely on a Steel-type like Equilibra or Heatran to take on Tapu Lele, and once they get hit by Focus Blast once, they're no longer reliable switch-ins. Hell, a lot of Equilibra don't even run Flash Cannon right now, which means Tapu Lele can potentially just beat it one-on-one without even having to rely on Focus Blast.

Although the meta is trending towards more special attackers, Hippowdon remains useful for keeping setup sweepers like Cawmodore, Hawlucha, and Garchomp in check thanks to Whirlwind, and it has a very safe role on bulkier sand builds and provides those teams with an Electric immunity, which can be hard to come by otherwise.

Skarmory is the best Rillaboom counter available mostly because it isn't weak to delay moves like Tomohawk is. It's a good alternative Spiker to Astrolotl that has a similarly passable Equilibra matchup via Body Press but can stay in more easily because of its typing.

Victini under sun does not have much counterplay. While it's no Cinderace replacement, it provides similar tools in being a strong Fire-type wallbreaker that can pivot and, if running Choice Scarf, beat Cawmodore in a pinch.

Late-game Weavile has very few answers at +2. Realistically, your best bet will probably be a bulky Water-type like Toxapex and Arghonaut, both of which don't have the firmest of grasps on the meta at the moment. Similarly, Choice Band sets are very solid wallbreakers that can click-click Knock Off throughout battles really freely.

Fringe hyper offense sweeper with Geomancy sets.

Krilowatt is a lot more threatening on paper than in practice. Its coverage + Magic Guard makes it sort of annoying to play around, but it still struggles with not being all too strong and as a result isn't the worst thing to pivot around with soft checks.

Toxapex struggles because of Future Sight's prominence and the fact Slowking is typically teams' go-to Water-type. What it offers defensively isn't as appreciated as it was in previous metagames in comparison to Slowking.

Always been a bit overrated, usually just outclassed by Astrolotl as a Spiker and other Steel-types defensively.

mon bad, really awkward to build around and outclassed by Dragapult and Kyurem

Nidoking is just not viewed in the same perspective as it was earlier this generation; it's still a strong wallbreaker but suffers immensely from Slowking's omnipresence.

Tomohawk + Zapdos moment

Wait, you're telling me defensive Fire-types STILL suck?

I have not seen a Suicune sweep anyone since Snake Draft

Crucibelle is just really niche. It offers some super good utility with Trick + U-turn + Stealth Rock, and Choice Scarf sets are pretty solid Tornadus-T counterplay, but once it drops its Choice Scarf on something, it becomes a lot less intimidating.

It is not even a guaranteed slot on hyper offense teams anymore.

It sees next to no usage and needs a lot of conditions met to safely use Meteor Beam and sweep.

mon bad, there exist better Heatran checks and Electric immunities

 

[Rabia]

cap winter seasonal is over, so ig now is as best a time as any to make noms.

-> B
Kerfluffle is very seldom used at this point. Slowking omnipresence makes it really hard to force progress with, and your ideal partner being fucking MIASMAW should be an unrank condition. Jumbao has solidified itself as the go-to offensive Fairy-type nowadays because of its combination of defensive utility and Healing Wish support, and all Kerfluffle really offers is raw wallbreaking power and pivoting. This is nice and all, but its limitations in successfully breaking teams combined with how little it provides on defense makes it hard to justify nowadays.

-> B+/B
This rose recently, and I do not know why. It sort of checks Equilibra, but that's really about it? I find justifying it on teams super difficult when comparing it to other Defoggers, pivots, and Steel-types. It does some nice stuff defensively, namely stonewalling Rillaboom and Jumbao while also bothering certain offensive Tornadus-T variants, but it otherwise feels really inferior to Equilibra and company.

-> B
There's a contingent of CAP's playerbase that loves Blissey. I am not a part of that group. Blissey offers very little in games and mostly just exists to pretend like you have a good Ghost-type check and special wall. What generally ends up happening, though, is Blissey consistently cedes momentum in spite of it having Teleport. I'd love to call it a good answer to delay move users, but... it lets in all the delay move abusers in return, so you generally end up in a worse position trying to leverage Blissey's positioning.

-> B-
Awfully difficult to "make work" and generally just outdone by Dragapult. I keep seeing attempts at experimenting with it (Calm Mind, Future Sight) that haven't resulted in any long-term consistency for the Pokemon.

-> UR/C maybe
It offers nothing to teams. I do not know why it is ranked. I saw it once in my seasonal run, and it was used as death fodder.

-> UR
Nobody uses it.

-> UR
Nobody uses it outside of againa on that one rain team.

 

[Rabia]

been several weeks since the last post, and yet I still have some nominations (mostly based on my personal VR thing)

-> A-
Scizor is a fantastic defensive/utility option in this metagame. The rise of wallbreakers like Kyurem, Jumbao, and Tapu Lele makes other Steel-types like Equilibra and Heatran a little less consistent because they can falter to STAB and coverage moves from these guys. Scizor doesn't have that issue, and while its stats can leave it a bit quicker to be overwhelmed by some of the potent wallbreakers, it slows them down much more effectively than other elite Steel-types. U-turn + Knock Off is eternally broken, and Scizor has also seen some success as a Swords Dance sweeper on hyper offense teams with a set of Swords Dance / Bullet Punch / Knock Off / Psycho Cut, which helps diversify its uses and show it's more than just an at-times flimsy defensive Pokemon.

-> A
Admittedly, I'm still not the biggest proponent of Zeraora, but with Dragapult as dominant as it is, having a revenge killer that contests its Speed tier is fantastic. It also helps builds find an alternative Electric-immune teammate, which is generally cool when fitting one of Garchomp/Landorus-T/Equilibra is too much to ask for.

-> A-
Urshifu-R is great because Future Sight is great. Slowking being super prevalent over Slowbro and, to some extent, Toxapex makes breaking through the common bulky Water-types much easier, and physical walls like Tomohawk become death fodder on Future Sight turns. It's still sort of limited by how the common revenge killers are super good at taking it out, but as a wallbreaker, few Pokemon can match it in efficacy.

-> A
Choice Scarf and Life Orb Jumbao both hold really strong spots in this metagame. The former supplies Healing Wish support and a means to revenge kill common fast Pokemon like Dragapult, Zeraora, and +1 Garchomp, whereas the latter can nuke defensive cores that lack blanket special walls like Galarian Slowking and Blissey. Trace is also huge for it in a metagame that continues to be defined by Slowking, letting it consistently take advantage of Regenerator and prevent Scald burns from ravaging your team.

-> B-, maybe higher
Dragonite is a cool Defogger that makes Astrolotl's life hell. Even if you run status, it's very easy to fit Heal Bell onto Dragonite, letting it harass Astrolotl even more. Admittedly haven't seen this one too much, so some of this is theory.

-> rank it somewhere
Dragapult is a problem, so Bisharp is good. This is not rocket science. It's a fantastic wallbreaker that appreciates the common Knock Off switch-ins being super risky to send out against it, and it especially appreciates that Tomohawk is currently not running Speed investment for it.

----

-> A
I'm still really high on Tomohawk because it bothers the fuck out of literally any physical attacker, but as the metagame continues to heavily favor special wallbreakers, it's not as justifiable as it once was as a catch-all defensive Pokemon. It's still great at providing utility and answering most physical threats, but Future Sight even causes some issues here.

-> A-
Galarian Slowking continues to falter as a result of Slowking... existing. That alone introduces a huge level of opportunity cost to using its Galarian forme, which doesn't benefit from broken move Teleport and checking Equilibra. The great coverage will always be great for it, as well its ability to blanket check some of the strongest special wallbreakers in the game, but it's not as defining as A rank suggests.

-> B-
Rain is at best on equivalent footing with sun right now, so it should fall to where sun is currently ranked. I guess you could also justify sun rising, which is fine too.

 

[Aquarius Ghost ❤]

Hey guys, this is my first cap VR post, so let's hope it goes well!

UR to C- / C
The reason I'm nomming Golurk to be on the VR because of how potent it is as a wallbreaker. There are a few downsides such as its poor Speed and its somewhat frail defensive stats. Meaning it can't come in on such threats, it can mainly just come in on some Electric-types and some stall pokes such as Regieleki, Blissey, Cyc, and possibly Zapdos if your lucky enough to not encounter the ones that have Hurricane( which is like all of them). Now, I have often seen this phrase come up, "Why should I use it over threats like Garchomp?" Well, one of the reasons behind that is... Golurk doesn't need SD to be a potent threat and.. it 2HKOs physdef Corviknight with a Poltergeist, anyway, Garchomp doesn't really have great coverage to hit Flying-types other than Stone Edge which doesn't even do much to Corvi, Lando, and Skarm, while not having good coverage for Libra. I get that u can run Fire fang, but u will lose out on either Scale shot which is ur main move to catch some Speed, or Stone Edge. On the other hand, Golurk is able to threaten all of those targets with Poltergeist and 2HKO with ease, it also has a Dynamic Punch for Libra. Golurk can run Trick to cripple pokemon such as Tomohawk, CM Clefable, Equilibra, and Mandibuzz. Tho Golurk requires a lot of team support, since it's frail it needs some support from the likes of Slowking, Swampert, and Corviknight to bring it in safely. Just like any other wallbreaker, Future Sight support from Glowking, Slowking, and Slowbro is greatly appreciated. U also need something to deal with the ghost mons too. Anyway, TIME FOR THE REPLAYS!!!

GODLURK FOR C

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8cap-1331263893
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8cap-1330648169-riivqe2qoquau6b2zohk6zevd5sp2xlpw https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8cap-1330651980-rc2rhc7q9zc1kqhdbpgujlk1dex70xfpw https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8cap-1330504376-5q5v70o5i8mwvsklt7ol9j0e9cha1lkpw https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8cap-1330489765-vott6xsqg7j5auxhkkd59pvzgf915pypw https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8cap-1330483728-x4xwh02g66d8a0jsjmo4kn23sx9uaz7pw

 

[spoo]

been several weeks since the last post, and yet I still have some nominations (mostly based on my personal VR thing)

-> A-
Scizor is a fantastic defensive/utility option in this metagame. The rise of wallbreakers like Kyurem, Jumbao, and Tapu Lele makes other Steel-types like Equilibra and Heatran a little less consistent because they can falter to STAB and coverage moves from these guys. Scizor doesn't have that issue, and while its stats can leave it a bit quicker to be overwhelmed by some of the potent wallbreakers, it slows them down much more effectively than other elite Steel-types. U-turn + Knock Off is eternally broken, and Scizor has also seen some success as a Swords Dance sweeper on hyper offense teams with a set of Swords Dance / Bullet Punch / Knock Off / Psycho Cut, which helps diversify its uses and show it's more than just an at-times flimsy defensive Pokemon.

-> A
Admittedly, I'm still not the biggest proponent of Zeraora, but with Dragapult as dominant as it is, having a revenge killer that contests its Speed tier is fantastic. It also helps builds find an alternative Electric-immune teammate, which is generally cool when fitting one of Garchomp/Landorus-T/Equilibra is too much to ask for.

-> A-
Urshifu-R is great because Future Sight is great. Slowking being super prevalent over Slowbro and, to some extent, Toxapex makes breaking through the common bulky Water-types much easier, and physical walls like Tomohawk become death fodder on Future Sight turns. It's still sort of limited by how the common revenge killers are super good at taking it out, but as a wallbreaker, few Pokemon can match it in efficacy.

-> A
Choice Scarf and Life Orb Jumbao both hold really strong spots in this metagame. The former supplies Healing Wish support and a means to revenge kill common fast Pokemon like Dragapult, Zeraora, and +1 Garchomp, whereas the latter can nuke defensive cores that lack blanket special walls like Galarian Slowking and Blissey. Trace is also huge for it in a metagame that continues to be defined by Slowking, letting it consistently take advantage of Regenerator and prevent Scald burns from ravaging your team.

-> B-, maybe higher
Dragonite is a cool Defogger that makes Astrolotl's life hell. Even if you run status, it's very easy to fit Heal Bell onto Dragonite, letting it harass Astrolotl even more. Admittedly haven't seen this one too much, so some of this is theory.

-> rank it somewhere
Dragapult is a problem, so Bisharp is good. This is not rocket science. It's a fantastic wallbreaker that appreciates the common Knock Off switch-ins being super risky to send out against it, and it especially appreciates that Tomohawk is currently not running Speed investment for it.

----

-> A
I'm still really high on Tomohawk because it bothers the fuck out of literally any physical attacker, but as the metagame continues to heavily favor special wallbreakers, it's not as justifiable as it once was as a catch-all defensive Pokemon. It's still great at providing utility and answering most physical threats, but Future Sight even causes some issues here.

-> A-
Galarian Slowking continues to falter as a result of Slowking... existing. That alone introduces a huge level of opportunity cost to using its Galarian forme, which doesn't benefit from broken move Teleport and checking Equilibra. The great coverage will always be great for it, as well its ability to blanket check some of the strongest special wallbreakers in the game, but it's not as defining as A rank suggests.

-> B-
Rain is at best on equivalent footing with sun right now, so it should fall to where sun is currently ranked. I guess you could also justify sun rising, which is fine too.

Briefly responding just to say that I agree with everything on here. I had urshifu-r at b+ on my personal rankings to be a bit conservative but I’ve been using it a ton recently and I really do think it’s one of the tier’s best breakers, so a- is definitely more fitting. I’m also 50/50 on whether galarking is more b+ or a- but either is realistically fine as long as it’s not in A anymore.

Anyways, few quick noms of my own
-> B+, maybe A-
I’ve seen a ton of different opinions about volc being anywhere from like B- to A but it’s obviously very undervalued where it’s ranked right now and B+ is where I’d personally put it. It’s very matchup dependent but there isn’t really a hard counter for every set other than like tran, a >60% ttar (even full health ttar can lose to swarm but that's less common), and maybe twave astro. I think it’s just stupid good right now, it’s one of the absolute best options for offense teams and is a pretty potent wincon on BO/balance too so this rise has been a while coming

-> A
Probably the second best spinner/fogger in the tier, it's absurdly reliable hazard removal and defensive glue that still doesn't cede momentum because of slow uturn. I feel like corv does a ton of the same stuff that tomo does, eg checking rilla, grounds, and hazard control except corv is far less passive and also switches into offensive fairies and steels. Having access to Pressure is also a huge point in corv's favor, it's so so good in games that are even remotely drawn out. Just does not make sense to have it ranked below tomohawk anymore so putting them both in A feels a lot more appropriate

-> B
Ghost resists can be hard to come by these days, and while colo isn’t a super durable mon by any means, it’s still capable of keeping stuff like tran and dragapult from getting out of control if you have another teammate that can also sorta soft check them. Still really useful to have a spinner/status spreader/volt blocker/ghost resist in one slot and it’s just generally a decent soft check to a wide range of mons

-> A+, and maybe -> S-
briefly touched on this in my personal VR but libra is a lot easier to abuse now than it has been in the past and mons like zapdos/chomp are pretty clearly a notch above it at this point. Dragapult is also legit disgusting so I could see it rising to S- as well, mostly indifferent about that one since I don’t think S- should be very large if that rank is going to exist at all. It seems like p much everyone has different preferences for how to handle the S ranks but this is best solution to me

 

[dex]

Thought I might go over some of the drops/rises I had in my personal VR here as noms.

-> B+
I personally haven't used Hydreigon on any competitive team since Spectrier got banned. SpD sets just don't provide the same bulk and utility as Mandibuzz and Tyranitar, and while I do think offensive Hydreigon, particularly Nasty Plot, can get work done on more passive teams, 9 times out of 10 I end up wishing it was just a Dragapult.

-> A-
It took some time for me to understand just how good HDB Koko is. Electric Terrain lets this mon do so, so much damage, and a pivot that forces out Tomohawk and Slowking is quite nice.

-> B+
Not a lot can switch into banded Weavile. If a team has consistent hazard removal, I honestly think that Weavile can put in more work than Syclant in most cases. I've personally become a big fan of the Weavile/Corviknight core, which can be very hard to punish given the lack of good offensive fire types in the tier. It's the best user of Knock Off in the tier given how it forces Tomohawk out.

-> C
I can't remember the last time I saw a Moltres in the tier. It just doesn't do a whole lot. Zapdos and Tornadus-Therian are both better options in terms of Flying types that have defensive capabilities while applying some offensive pressure.

-> UR
Simply put, Mollux has no place on a team in the current meta. There are better CM sweepers, especially with the introduction of Chromera. There are far, far better rockers, such as Heatran, and Equilibra and Colossoil have completely dominated the spinner niche. Unrate it.

 

[Mx]

It's been a while but it's time for a new update! againa is currently busy so Darek851 will join us for this slate.

Rises:

Dragapult A+ → S
Kyurem A → A+
Jumbao A- → A
Zeraora A- → A
Tapu Lele B+ → A-
Scizor B → A-
Aegislash B → B+
Skarmory B → B+
Weavile B → B+
Urshifu-R B- → B+
Volcarona C → B+
Colossoil B- → B
Dragonite C → B
Magnezone C → B
Aurumoth C → B-
Necturna C → B-
Dracozolt C → B-
Miasmaw C → B-

Chromera UR → B+
Bisharp UR → B

Drops:

Equilibra S → A+
Tomohawk A+ → A
Slowking-Galar A → B+
Hydreigon A- → B+
Kerfluffle A- → B+
Slowbro B+ → B
Tapu Fini B+ → B
Barraskewda B → B-
Cyclohm B → B-
Latios B+ → B
Pelipper B → B-
Amoonguss B- → C
Moltres B- → C
Suicune B- → C

Mollux C → UR
Reuniclus C → UR

A+ → S: Dragapult has always been one of the most centralizing threats since the beginning of Gen 8 but during the last few months it really has become more powerful and versatile than ever, being one of the best and most splashable mons available and usually requiring at least 2 dedicated checks in order to prevent it from easily breaking the team.

A → A+: Kyurem continues to rise in viability as one of the best wallbreakers in the metagame, usually only requiring a few predictions to completely take over a game.

B → B+ Skarmory continues to prove itself as a powerful defensive threat capable of reliably walling mons like Garchomp while providing very valuable Spikes support.

B- → B+: Another powerful breaker, Urshifu-R has benefited greatly from the decreased usage of Tomohawk, Toxapex, and Slowbro. This trends means that it can be really easy to overwhelm most teams with just its STAB moves + U-turn.

C → B+: Volcarona has seen a resurgence both in OU and in CAP and it has reminded people of how devastating it can be if you don't prepare for it with multiple options that very few mons can answer reliably.

UR → B+: Our newest CAP has arrived and for now, it'll be sitting at B+. Chromera can be a powerful win condition and has decent utility but it usually requires support in order to sweep and it can be played around by most teams by exploiting its 4MSS and Color Change.

UR → B: This mon has been under the radar for a while, as since Urshifu was banned there aren't many good offensive Dark-types. Bisharp can be a very powerful breaker with some good resistances and access to powerful priority in Sucker Punch to compensate for its low Speed.

S → A+: While Equilibra is still a fantastic pick, it is now much easier to punish with mons like Zapdos, Corviknight and of course the omnipresent Slowking. It's also not good at checking many of the rising threats in the metagame like Kyurem, Jumbao, Tapu Lele, and Zeraora.

A+ → A: Currently there aren't many mons that Tomohawk can reliably beat, as most threats have adapted to it. Prankster Haze sets are better at countering stuff like Garchomp and Cawmodore but those are much harder to fit into a team due to being easier to wall and much worse at keeping momentum.

A → B+: Galarian Slowking is just too easier to wear down compared to regular Slowking and it can't keep momentum as well either because its lack of Teleport.

A- → B+: The fact that Hydreigon loses to Dragapult makes it not have as much defensive utility as it used to and while it can be a very dangerous breaker, it suffers from a lot of competition in the current metagame.

B- → C: Moltres doesn't have a very good matchup against most common mons and even the ones it can beat like Rillaboom have ways to severely cripple it in Knock Off, making it a subpar option.

B- → C: Suicune is just too inconsistent at the moment, as it can be usually played around by most teams with staples like Slowking, Zeraora, Kyurem, Rillaboom, or Zapdos.

and C → UR: There is just no place for these mons in the current meta, as there are much better options available for any role they could perform.

 

[stealthstone]

Decided to make some nominations here:

-> S: Zapdos is able to check so many threats in the metagame while being extremely difficult to be switched into itself. It's able to dismantle the classic Tomo+Libra cores, as well as being a reliable answer to Tornadus-T, Rillaboom, and Cawmodore. The Defog set is solid but nothing to write home about, but 3 attacks + Roost is insanely good right now in my opinion. It's extremely difficult to switch into even without SpA investment and it's basically free to click Volt Switch more often than not. The few mons that can switch into all 3 of its attacks still lose momentum against Volt Switch(with the exception of Zeraora); the most common ground types in the tier are Garchomp, Landorus, and Equilibra, the former two get roughly 2hko'd by Hurricane, and Equilibra can't threaten Zapdos while taking significant chip from Heat Wave. While Knock Off can be annoying for it to deal with, it can still be avoided for the most part and Zapdos can continue coming in and providing momentum for the team.

While i definitely agree with your assessment of zapdos as being an excellent pokemon in the meta, I do think that although garchomp and lando will often be within 2HKO range from hurricane, this isnt a reliable indicator of whether zapdos can check them, as if used twice, hurricane actually is more likely to miss at least once than it is to hit both times

 

[Rabia]

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8cap-1314644022
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8cap-1314648897

-> B-
As you can see in this very high skill level series, Blaziken has great potential in this metagame as a hyper offense sweeper with the support of dual screens :) not much can contend with it after a Swords Dance, and even offensive counterplay is limited because of Speed Boost. It's also very convenient that Blaziken resists the most common form of priority---Rillaboom's Grassy Glide. With Slowbro, Toxapex, and Tapu Fini continuing to see less usage as a result of Slowking's dominance and Tomohawk sort of falling out of favor, Blaziken has a decent spot in this metagame.

Lasen here you go

 

[Zephyri]

Heatran->S
This Pokemon is literally just BrokeAstro 2.0 imo. The combination of Magma Storm, Stealth Rock, and Toxic means that it can force chip damage and progress in basically every situation, and it has little to no legitimately safe switchins. It's also a necessity to prepare for with more than one Pokemon; teams tend to have to carry multiple Heatran switchins/fire resists/ground types, since if you have only one it tends to get chipped down by tran over the course of the game by toxic and magma. It definitely has weaknesses, in its vulnerability to hazards and weakness to knock off, but I think it definitely warps the metagame around itself atleast to some extent.

Krilowatt->A
Grass types (specifically Rillaboom, Ferrothorn and Kartana) have decreased in usage as a byproduct of Dragapult's and Heatran's high usage, and with Flying-types being near essential on most teams, Krilowatt has a lot more to prey on and doesnt see some of its most reliable checks (Rilla/Kart) nearly as often. Some metagame trends have hurt it, like the rise of SpDef Clefable and the fact that Knock Off users are basically mandatory now, but I think the necessity of VoltBlocking ground types and flying types, the fact that it isnt OHKOd by basically anything, and its deceptively good speed tier are enough to give it a solid A rank

 

[Mx]

Alright, time for a small update!

Rises:

Zeraora A → A+
Corviknight A- → A
Skarmory B+ → A-
Tapu Koko B+ → A-
Urshifu-Rapid Strike B+ → A-
Volcarona B+ → A-
Bisharp B → B+
Colossoil B → B+
Dragonite B → B+
Tapu Fini B → B+
Rotom-Wash C → B-
Blaziken UR → C
Crawdaunt UR → C
Grimmsnarl UR → C

Drops:

Tornadus-Therian A+ → A
Astrolotl A → A-
Rillaboom A → A-
Tyranitar A- → B+
Excadrill B+ → B
Aurumoth B- → C
Cyclohm B- → C
Latios B- → C
Regieleki C → UR
Swampert C → UR

 

[Zephyri]

making another nom :]

Clefable-> S
SpDef Knock Clef is the single most infuriating mon in the tier and forces progress in a metagame where its impossible to force progress because of HDB+King Regen shit (isnt exactly CAP but trying to find a WCOP game that lasts for less than 100 turns is surprisingly a challenge. Especially in a metagame thats ruled by Pult, a Pult check that isnt passive AF+doesnt need to be recovered every 0.5 turns (hey there mandi) is so so good. Putting a Clef on your team doesnt make it particularly weak to anything and the limited amount of Clef switchins (by which i mean mons that dont hate taking a knock+dont get super chipped by moonblast+dont give it free rocks) means that its almost always going to be valuable. Its also nigh impossible to make progress against it in my experience because its bulky enough to not get 2hkod by anything neutral, you cant damage it residually, it's one of the best Knock absorbers in the tier. Super hard to prepare for, very little opportunity cost, great at forcing progress and hard to force progress against. Please move this up :]

 

[Voltage]

Two Unranked nominations for your consideration.

to B- at least

Random nomination, but it's worth bringing up. I've been playing around with the ideas of fatter offense for a couple weeks now, and between some build I've made, as well as frequent testing with one 2spoopy4u, I'm realizing very quickly that Buzzwole being unranked is a crime. Is it the greatest Pokemon in the tier? No. It struggles with many of the major threats in the tier, including Tomohawk and Clefable. However, its sheer physical bulk and access to recovery allows it to check hard-hitting physical attackers and sweepers, including Garchomp, Zeraora, Rillaboom, Melmetal and to an extent Urshifu-R. Therefore, Buzzwole is an excellent add to any fatter balance team as a defensive wall.

That's not to say that Buzzwole doesn't have offensive uses as well. Given an insane base 139 Base Attack, Buzzwole can also act as an impressive presence as well, should one opt to go down that path. Adamant Buzzwole's Close Combat OHKOs Equilibra, and 2HKOs Scizor and Corv under the right circumstances. Unlike certain physical walls like Hippowdon, or even Tangrowth (which should probably drop from B tbh), Buzzwole has an immediate offensive presence that can also force switches as well.


for C

Plasmanta is always fluctuating in and out of viability, and as we saw with Brambane's Clefsoil Team it would seem we're nearing the peak of said viability sinusoid. Right now, Defensive Plasmanta is a great check to a lot of smaller, yet notable threats. In particular, fat Plasmanta is a great check to teams with Cawmodore or Rain teams through use of its bulk + Haze, and its ability to make it immune to water. Electric / Poison is a tough type to use right against some of the S and A rank mons, but Plasmanta also threatens common bulkier Flying types like Corviknight, Skarmory, Tomohawk, and even Tornadus-T, as well as more offensive Grass types like Kartana and Rillaboom. It's a niche pick, but it absolutely has a place in this metagame right now as a wonderful anti-meta option.


I might make some more nominations prior to CAPPL 7 starting, and I want to investigate Toxic Volkraken a bit more before I make a true nomination, but I think these two mons should be on the viability rankings at this point.


EDIT: also to B-, CB Blaziken is a crazy snowballing mon and you should use it.

 

[Steam Buns]

UR -> B+

Just found out Jello fetus is really good, not sure why it's gone unranked for so long. Physdef lorb is the set, after a few calm minds it's near unstoppable but doesn't need to setup to provide strong support defensively, or apply strong pressure offensively. Rank it cowards.

C -> B

Good mon, I don't feel like explaining myself so just trust me, please and thankyou.

 

[Zephyri]

Just found out Jello fetus is really good, not sure why it's gone unranked for so long. Physdef lorb is the set, after a few calm minds it's near unstoppable but doesn't need to setup to provide strong support defensively, or apply strong pressure offensively. Rank it cowards.

seconded, i legit have a post written up about this but this is a lot more concise and better
i'll add that colbur berry is a really solid option for it because it means you can 1v1 stuff like colo and you can take knocks a lot better in general+you're probably going to get knocked whatever you do since youre slower than everything and knock is usually the only se move they have against you thats physical and youre basically prime knock bait+i dont think the item is super important on reuni

the set that i use thats proven to be really nice:
Ashley (Reuniclus) @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 212 Def / 44 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Stored Power
- Focus Blast
- Recover
(will add replays tomorrow)

 

[Rabia]

Yo, Urshifu-R has no reason to be below A+ right now; Toxapex is still pretty low usage and Tomohawk has been trending downward in favor of Landorus-T for awhile now, and both of these trends are really favorable for it. Jumbao + Zapdos usage hurts it some yeah, but as a wallbreaker Urshifu-R isn't rivaled by much at the moment and is really content with the most common answers to it being quite easy to overwhelm long-term.

 

[spoo]

an update should be right around the corner so I figure now's a good time to jot down some thoughts ( there are many )

-> A+, maybe S-
really just not close to as dominant as they were both before. wrt chomp a lot of meta trends are starting to swing pretty unfavorably for it, with the rise of stuff like weav, rshifu, lando-t, even buzzwole, and its old struggles continuing to haunt it as well - bao and skarm haven't really gotten any worse, there are just as many random fairies to block scale shot (which you really need w dragapult and koko running around), the mon was never a particularly good volt blocker against the two relevant volt switchers in the tier, and it just continues to struggle finding opportunities to sweep/break open teams in the way that it wants to. this all sounded really negative but the mon is obviously still one of the tier's premier wincons, and I don't think A+ would be underselling it

slowking also has been having a much harder time with meta shifts. dragapult being on every team means that a dark type is also probably going to be on every team, neither of which king really loves, and the meta taking a more offensive turn is also super hard for it to adjust to - a lot of the BO/offensive teams we've been seeing don't struggle to abuse king before it can set up FS+port combos, which now you'll only see happening maybe a couple times each game. king doesn't come close to dictating the pace of matches in the way it did before because of how overpressured it is by offensive trends, and a lot of the specific pokemon rising/falling (common FS targets are also a bit rarer) are p unfavorable for it too, so it's clearly positioned for a drop imo

-> A
kyurem is bonkers but it shouldn't be in the same rank as chomp/king/clef/tran if the two S ranks were to drop, it's not really comparable. roughly the same logic here with zapdos which i feel has been on the decline for a bit anyways

-> A-
the draw of libra before used to be mostly its insane role compression, eg volt blocker, spinner, bulky steel, ground immunity, dd setter, etc, and while these are all still technically traits it possesses, it's also a lot worse at all of them. the mon is not a good volt blocker against zera (cc or knock on switch) and it actively loses to zap, it can't safely switch in on a lot of the common rockers like tran (bad idea) or clef/lando (knock off is death), it's a fine ground immunity but again lando can knock it and chomp doesn't particularly care if it's chipped which is a trivially easy task. it's also not great as a bulky steel atm because kyurem still eats it, bao doesn't care that much, lele cares 0 if it's not flash cannon, and cm flame clef will often come out on top, plus doom desire isnt really as valuable as it used to be. it's just such a hard mon to justify rn and there's no way it shouldn't be dropping at least a subrank

-> A-
bad mon

-> B+
both aren't horrible picks but I have really hard time seeing them on the same level as volc, lele, koko, scizor etc - they're far less common these days and generally a lot less effective or easy to justify on a team

-> B
ferro doesn't exist right now, kerfluffle is also far less common and harder to make work against common meta picks like the various bulky steels that have been rising as well as stuff like pex/king/torn/even volcarona. good breaker but being locked into specs really holds it back, it's at a weird speed tier too and generally i'd just rather use a diff mon. chromera's drop is also not motivated by losing ice beam at all fwiw, i think it's just steadily been on the decline and we are still waiting to see more hard results from it

as for what should rise
-> A+
see rabia's post above, it's genuinely such a bullshit breaker

-> A
pex fell off for a bit but I think it's on the rise again - spdf sets are fantastic for being able to deal with breakers specs pult and LO bao, and being one of the few checks to rshifu and weavile is huge too. future sight has also been getting worse which means it can actually beat the breakers it's supposed to beat

-> A
really strong on both BO/HO, its SD set is so so good at cleaning late game, there are definitely a few roadblocks like physdef pex but seriously very few things can stop a +2 weavile from cleaning a slightly weakened team

-> A-
cm sets are dangerous and cap has also yet to fully experiment with scarf/whirlpool sets which seem to be doing nicely in ou. the mon also offers a bunch of defensive utility against threats like tran and rising mons like shifu/weav, there are just a lot of qualities coming together here that make it fit for a subrank raise

-> B
buzz has a wild amount of defensive value against rilla/weav/chomp/other grounds yet still manages to be a dangerous offensive presence itself - the mon definitely has a bit of 4mss, but it's ultimately pretty small in the grand scheme of things. i can see buzz rising further if we get some good results out of it but B seems fitting atm

-> somewhere in the lower ranks?
SD/leech/edge/cc is really scary + grassy terrain offsets LO recoil and supports teammates, i don't really know where bulu would go but I'm leaning B- territory

 

[Mx]

Alright, time for a new VR update. We also have decided to add a S- Rank to better reflect the current meta.

Rises:

Urshifu-R A- → A+
Toxapex A- → A
Volcarona A- → A
Weavile B+ → A
Slowking-Galar B+ → A-

Buzzwole UR → B
Blacephalon UR → B-
Mew UR → B-
Reuniclus UR → B-
Tapu Bulu UR → B-

Drops:

Garchomp S → S-
Slowking S → S-
Zapdos A+ → A
Equilibra A+ → A-
Tomohawk A → A-
Astrolotl A- → B+
Mandibuzz A- → B+
Tyranitar B+ → B
Chromera B+ → B-
Slowbro B → B-
Tangrowth B → B-
Moltres C → UR
Stratagem C → UR

 

[Lasen]

Gonna give a couple of explanations to the tier changes, nothing too in depth but enough to give you all an idea of what's happening!


The sole S rank, everything seems to have moved strategically to allow it to be the best. Less Dragon resists are around and the Ghost resists of the metagame can often crumble to Choice Specs Shadow Ball, especially since it can get a lucky drop and turn the tide of the battle immediately. Its great speed tier also allow it to U-turn out of anything that isn't named Zeraora nor holds a Choice Scarf and the Heavy-Duty Boots set can Thunder Wave or Will-O-Wisp its usual answers to put them in Hex range. The new king sits alone at the tippy-top of the CAP metagame's food chain.

Rises:

A-→A+B+→A
Both of these Pokemon saw a ton of usage in World Cup recently, so it's only natural that CAP would follow in using them. CAP has always had Tomohawk keeping physical attackers through either Intimidate or the PranksterHaze set. Both Weavile and Urshifu-R have the tools necessary to circumvent both versions of Tomohawk-albeit they hate taking Rocky Helmet chip from their multi-hit moves . They also both can run Choice Band sets as well as set up sets and each set demands a different type of respect. Weavile's coverage is nigh impossible to switch into safely, nailing the Psychic-types that are gaining traction as well as the defensive Flying-types that are always good like Zapdos and Tornadus-T. It can also revenge kill some of the best sweepers in the tier in Garchomp and Dragapult with its Ice Shard as well as Choice Scarf Jumbao! Urshifu-R on the other hand works quite similarly to its Dark-type brother banished to Ubers, abusing Future Sight as it throws massive hits that barely have any switchins.

A-→A
Toxapex is actually perfect for the metagame we currently have; it can beat the two aforementioned breakers, can be a counter to Scarf Jumbao and a situational check to something like Dragapult, checking it if it doesn't click Draco Meteor and even threatening to cripple it with Knock Off. It can also run Shed Shell to escape Heatran's Magma Storm and give you a safe switch to your breakers! Its utility movepool is larger than life itself, providing Toxic (Spikes), Haze for setup sweepers, Knock Off removing items, Scald spreading burns and occasionally even being able to run Light Screen to limit the damage the delayed moves are gonna deal to your other Pokemon.

B+→A-
Just like its Kantonian brother, Slowking-Galar is here to set up powerful Future Sight and then enable your physical breakers-namely Urshifu-R as mentioned above. It also is able to deal with Kyurem, a threat that has been slowly rising in popularity for months now and can take Heatran even better than its Kanto variant by Earthquaking it for a clean 2HKO. It can also take on Tapu Koko and Fini, two Pokemon I think are criminally underrated at this moment. Not only that, it's a fat Pokemon that can self-set to beat Chromera with Future Sight setup>Sludge Bomb>FS landing. Overall a fantastic pick for any team that also frees you to run a different bulky water such as Slowbro or Arghonaut.

A-→A
A bit of a controversial figure, Volcarona has always been seen as "the match up moth" by trying to fish for a good match up and winning in builder rather than in the game. With Heatran and Urshifu-R rising in popularity, its spot in the Viability Rankings might leave some players scratching their heads. Make no mistake, however, as Volcarona teams take those into consideration by trying to overwhelm these exact checks. Volcarona inherently is added to Hyper Offense team, meaning Heatran is always under pressure to switch in and commonly other special attackers such as Geomancy Necturna draw its attention and leave it weakened so that Volcarona can break through it at a later point. In a very similar vein, Volcarona can play the chances game with Urshifu-R, as bulky sets are not OHKOed by its Aqua Jet while standard spreads also hold onto a respectable chance of surviving the super effective priority move. Volcarona can also set up at a later point when Urshifu is invited in, as it is forced to Aqua Jet or risking losing the game, giving you a very clean switch-in to something that resists its Water-type priority.

from the depths of UR:

UR→B
Buzzwole is so good at the moment, being able to just blanket wall a lot of the fast physical wallbreakers in the metagame. Need a Garchomp answer? Buzzwole gotchu. Zeraora is giving your team trouble? Buzzwole to the rescue. Knock Off spam keeping you up at night? Buzzwole doesn't need passive recovery anyway, it forces the game to progress with its muscles. Ice Punch for the Ground-types, Poison Jab for the Fairies, Earthquake or Close Combat for Heatran, Leech Life to suck up Slowtwin HP; Buzzwole can be tailored to your needs. It is undoubtedly weak to Future Sight and hazards + pivoting, but we're not trying to reinvent the wheel here, now, are we?

UR→B-
Ghost resists have come to mean just Dragapult and/or Pajantom answers in bulky Fairy-types and Corviknight respectively. But what if there was a fast, strong Ghost-type that could beat both of those with its other STAB? Enter: Pagliacci. with a base 151 Special Attack that only grows larger with every kill it gets and a very respectable Base 107 Speed, the clown is here to force you to run a Tyranitar or a priority attacker that can OHKO it or re-evaluate everything you thought you knew about the metagame. Now, Blacephalon is very reliant on proper prediction and a misstep can be fatal for either player but it's definitely got a spot in the meta.

UR→B-
Mew is as versatile as ever, being able to set up Spikes, delete items with Knock Off and also punish most hazard removers with Will-O-Wisp, run a set with Cosmic Power and Stored Power or Body Press to turn into a unique set up sweeper, or even be used as a suicide lead. Mew can simply fit on many different builds and thus earns a spot on the VR.

UR→B-
Jello boi can either set up some of the most powerful Future Sights in the tier, or use a physically defensive set with CM and Psychic/Fighting coverage to blow past common special walls. The Psychic-types that act as special walls in the tier like the Slowkings cannot actually do any damage to it and thus have to just pivot aimlessly around it while it sets up in their face. It's a genuinely terrifying Pokemon to face if you don't have the tools to punish it.

UR→B-
Tapu Bulu functions pretty similarly to Rillaboom, but has a couple of distinct differences. For one, it can't pivot with U-turn or revenge kill with a priority Grassy Glide. In exchange, it gains more longevity with Synthesis and more importantly: better coverage options. Between Close Combat and Stone Edge, the Fire-,Steel- and Flying-types that wanna resist its Wood Hammer are immediately turned into food for this absolute behemoth. Zapdos and Chromera usually decide to creep for Adamant Rillaboom and thus hit 270 Speed. Jolly Tapu Bulu hits a magical 273, being able to creep past those who even try to creep them and land a powerful Stone Edge to send them home.


Drops:

S→S-
Rabia's first born son falls in the Viability Ranking while Mewbby and Lasen are both leading the discussion? What blasphemy is this?! To quote Rabia, the metagame shifts both favor and hurt the ChainChomp. Clefable and friends forcing to take a most specially defensive route while Tomohawk and Equilibra falling off (will talk about these two soon) and Poison-types rising all make Life Orb Garchomp rub its hands as it sees even more opportunities to take over the game. On the other hand, Scarf Jumbao is faster and can revenge kill it with ease, while the rise of revenge killers that use priority to deal with their targets such as Urshifu-R, Weavile, and Syclant definitely hurt a lot. Also, Landorus-T is seeing more and more usage as the Electrics of the metagame demand more Ground-types to block their STAB. Make no mistake, though; Garchomp is one good metagame shift away from regaining its spot as #1.

S→S-
Slowking looks at the metagame and sees more Knock Off and Electric-types than ever. It's by no means a fan. Its most definitely still the best Future Sight setter, having the capability to enable breakers like it's nobody's business while it gives them an absolutely free switch in with Teleport, but it's definitely seen brighter days. Hell, even the things it's supposed to be able to take on such as Urshifu-R, a Pokemon whose STAB combination it resists, it just gets blown back from the Choice Band set while the Pads set can Thunderpunch it for a huge chunk.

A+→A
The afomentioned Ice-types rising means Zapdos isn't a fan. While it does keep a lot of contact attackers in check through Static, it's moreso an overdue drop from Garchomp absolutely demolishing it. Regardless, it still can punish the Knock Off and U-turn spam a lot of players mindlessly default to even if it doesn't like losing its item.

A+→A-
Another long overdue drop, while Equilibra provides a lot to a team in 3 immunities and the Doom Desire that terrorized the later part of USM, it can neither check Ice-types like other Steel-types can nor can it take on the most common Electric-types due to being weak to Zeraora's Close Combat and Krilowatt's Surf. It also frequently has to do way too much for its team, leaving it to get overwhelmed quite easily. Its Rapid Spin is contested by a lot of the Defoggers in the tier as well as Colossoil, another Ground-type spinner.

A→A-
Honestly, the MOST overdue drop of all time. If there is one Pokemon that gets overwhelmed in the current metagame, it's Tomohawk. Loses to other Flying-types, common physical attackers can break it, special offensive threats like Dragapult can switch into its attacking moves and immediately threaten it... It's just not the same as it used to be. It used to be the best Rillaboom answer but it would get Knocked Off and then be a sitting duck for all other physical attackers, not to mention other Pokemon like Zapdos rising to the occasion while doing more. What's that, Future Sight is rising up again? Keep it low.

A-→B+
It's that time of year where there's been a long enough period between team tournaments and Astrolotl being nerfed that it's fallen off the face of the Earth. Quite frankly, the rise of the Ground-types has made it hard to do what it used to, which is be a bulky Regenerator pivot that sets up Spikes. It no longer has Knock Off nor Wish, so its utility is at an all-time low. Will CAPPL make it rise again? My bet is on a yes. But for now, the Axolotl remains low.

A-→B+
Another do-nothing mon falling off? Color me surprised. While Mandibuzz can check Dragapult and Garchomp, if it gets Knocked Off, something it might need to do considering it resists the move, it quickly gets overwhelmed by Stealth Rock. As with other Flying-types, the rise of Weavile threatens it greatly and so it's fallen off. Being a Ghost-type answer that falters to common coverage moves they run such as Thunderbolt or Draco from Choice Specs Dragapult doesn't help its case, either.

B+-→B
Sand as a playstyle is weaker than usual, with the rise of Ground-type usage, Fighting-type coverage and breakers like the Water Bear means Tyranitar is hard pressed to be added to a team. Still, its amazing coverage options means it always can fulfill some role for a team if need be.

B+-→B-
I'm sorry quziel, but your child failed the vibe check. Chromera started out very promising, but people got smart and found out ways to take advantage of it (read: Toxic it when it's no longer a Poison-type). Its role as a stallbreaker is actually performed better by Tapu Fini, another CM special breaker but one that has a better typing and cannot get statused. Is it awful? No. Did we have new toy syndrome for a bit? Definitely, and it's wearing off on us.

B-→B-
Quite simply, other Slows are better. Slowbro relying on checking physical attackers leave it fulfilling a niche that other Water-types like Aghonaut and Tapu Fini strictly do better while also not being...well, Slowking.

B-→B-
Tangy boy has had a rough month, in CAP, OU and Ubers alike, dropping in all of those tiers' VR. Tangrowth is pressured by both Volt Switch due to its awful Special Defense and U-turn because it's weak to, leaving it playing second fiddle to other physical walls. In any case, I think it's not used as much as it could considering Ground-types are seeing a resurgence and Regenerator is a busted ability.

C→UR
We found better ways to pressure Rillaboom so the original KFC recipe is simply outclassed. RIP!

C→UR
Z-moves aren't cool grandpa, go back to retirement you literal fossil.



With all that being said, I can't wait to see how CAPPL is gonna make the metagame evolve. Hope to see something crazy rise and expect Arctozolt to be at least B+ by the end of it.