It is true that Kingdra is very good, but it falls short of Pelipper and Seismitoad which it is ranked next to. Try to make a comparison for Pokemon you are nominating to other Pokemon that are ranked on its type. Remember that the viability rankings are all about a Pokemon's viability relative to other Pokemon on the type, and we can use Water as an example here. Let's look at the A ranked Pokemon since you're pushing for Kingdra to rise. Pelipper is the cornerstone of all rain teams, enabling the playstyle entirely and Kingdra's viability to begin with, and Seismitoad is extremely splashable as it fits on both balanced and rain teams as a Stealth Rock setter and an Electric immunity with different sets. Cloyster is mediocre compared to those two, and should drop to B regardless, and fits well with Kingdra there.
I don’t disagree with any of this. I was incorrectly under the impression that Barreskewda was A rank, which was my primary motivation for suggesting Kingdra at that rank. I was trying assess it in the context of the other Pokémon, and when I reread the viability rankings I changed my mind (as I noted in my comment).
Spitballing more personal thoughts for the next update too:
Water's rankings should have many changes, as more Pokemon being added shifts a lot of previously good Pokemon lower as a result of there being more competition for slots. Keldeo should drop from S, as Toxapex strikes to me as the best Pokemon on Water period, you can basically just chuck it onto any team bar specific Sticky Web offenses and it'll hold your team together nicely as excellent glue. Cloyster obviously can't compete with the other A ranked Pokemon especially if Keldeo drops, so it should drop to B. B ranked Pokemon like Dracovish and Crawadaunt that have become harder to fit on teams should drop down to C, and that should push down C ranked Pokemon like Gyarados, Golisiopod, Barbarcle and Blastoise that can't really compare to those to D.
Dragalge is simply amazing for Dragon teams in the sense that it covers up many of Dragon's weak matchups very nicely. Toxic Spikes are amazing against Psychic and Fairy, two matchups for Dragon that would be borderline unwinnable otherwise, especially considering it 1v1s Hatterene if it tries to prevent Toxic Spikes using Magic Bounce. Great special bulk combined with a Fairy neutrality and Flip Turn also makes it great glue defensively, as it can switch into many Special Attacks and grab momentum for other Dragons to switch in safely and wallbreak with. Forms a really nice defensive core with Duraludon against the anti-Dragon trifecta of Psychic Fairy and Ice, where both of them provide a solid backbone to switch into all types of attacks. I personally think Dragalge is worth A ranking and noticeably more splashable and better than the B ranked Pokemon, but this is always welcome for more opinions.
The upper half of Steel's rankings are an interesting topic at the moment that would be nice having more input on. Here's the conversation between Floss and I for transparency, but the main issue is Steel's S-B rankings and how to reflect viability accurately. Some Pokemon like Klefki and Duraludon should probably drop down, and that leaves Skarmory, Excadrill, Jirachi, and Bisharp at B. Main question is whether or not there is a clear cut in viability for the B ranked Steel Pokemon, and how to accurately represent that through the S and A ranks if so. Aegislash to S is another topic that can be revisited especially if some of the B ranked Pokemon rise to A, but main question is whether or not it is better than Ferrothorn and as good as Corviknight? Feel free to share your thoughts about it here.
Re: future water updates, I agree that Toxapex is hands down the best water type and is the only mandatory include. I feel like Seismi and Peliper are probably next on the list, followed by Keldeo. Frankly, I would be open to Keldeo dropping to B (I think it’s more realistically A-). I would guess that the majority of swift swim teams do not run Keldeo, as Peliper / Seismitoed / Toxapex / Kingdra are the core of SS teams. Sometimes Keldeo is included after that, but it seems to be more common to supplement with physical attackers like Crawdaunt.
I actually feel like running both Barreskewda and Kingdra is a mistake. The meta is not particularly friendly to Barreskewda right now, and with the ban of Damp Rock you don’t have the ability to maintain rain through both Barreskewda and Kingdra. Theoretically running both gives you more flexibility but I’m not thrilled about Barreskewda inside the rain right now, let alone outside it.
Re: Dragon, what Dragalgae set are you running? I’ve been running with dragon recently and haven’t found a set I particularly like. Though I’m also running an offensive Duraludon set, so maybe I should be asking you about that instead! I see how the pair of them provide a nice core on paper but haven’t gotten it to work for myself yet.
I think you’re overselling Excadrill here, by a lot. Excadrill loses 1v1 to Charizard, Darmanitan, and Torkoal, and can lose to Cinderace with chip or if Cinderace has a life orb. Excadrill also loses to Cinderace and Volcarona if either get a chance to set up (which both can do easily vs. Steel). Frankly, I’m excited to see Choice Scarf Excadrill on the other side of the table, because it loses to the majority of Pokémon on my fire team!
As The Dragon Master notes, if you ever get locked into Rock Slide you can be easily exploited by several pokemon, but using EQ sets you up to lose a Pokémon when Charizard gets a free switch in and then you have to sack a Pokémon getting Excadrill out of there. It’s plausible that Excadrill improves the fire MU on Steel specifically, but only because nearly every steel type is awful in the fire MU. The couple percentage points that Excadrill adds are not notable and don’t make the MU even boarderline.
Can you provide replays of beating Fire with Steel that shows off Excadrill being good? I’m frankly having trouble seeing it.
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- Bewear has seen a lot of usage in MPL and on some popular MLT teams, and this is mainly due to its ability to act as a far less passive check to physical attackers like Excadrill and Bisharp, unlike Porygon2 who we will talk about later. This and its positive MU's against types like Steel and Dark allow it to become one of Normal's premier threats rather than a niche C-rank mon. I think its benefits to normal make it more comparable to Heliolisk, who also serves its purpose as a good Pokemon vs Water-type teams and a general threat thanks to Glare. So for these reasons, I believe it should be ranked in B rather than C. (Also Darkest Lariat lets it not get walled by ghosts like it did last gen)
- Braviary, like Bewear, has seen a ton of usage in MPL and MLT teams. In fact, its been pretty much ubiquitous on all Normal teams for the most part. The reason for this mainly lies in one of its key moves, Defog. The ability to remove hazards is incredibly crucial for normal as it has no good boots users (besides Braviary) and it relies on its Pokemon using their items way more than any other type. Due to this, Bulky Braviary has become a near staple on normal teams due to its ability to remove hazards effectively. Pair this with its Defiant ability denying opposing defoggers or Magic Bounce users and you have a very solid Pokemon that Normal teams have access to. Its usage in MPL alone warrants a rise, but for the reasons that I just described, its role is clearly more comparable to the likes of (for the lack of better mons) Heliolisk.
- Porygon 2 has fallen from grace due to a multitude of factors. One factor is ironically enough, Teleport. Now that its partner in crime Chansey has the ability to slow pivot to lure in Physical attackers, Porygons ability to switch into them has become less valuable. Another factor is that Bewear does its job as a check to physical attackers better. Due to the loss of Hidden Power, Porygon2 is now a sitting duck (literally) against steel types. Enter Bewear, who can still stomach attacks from the likes of Bisharp and Scizor and hit them back with its own Fighting-type STAB move, as well as turn opposing walls like Ferrothorn and Toxapex into setup bait with Substitute and Bulk Up. These are things that Porygon2 cannot do anymore and is why in MPL and MLT we have seen more people using Bewear instead of Porygon2. These are the main reasons why Porygon just isn't as potent as it once was, but that doesn't mean its outright bad now, far from it. Teleport was still a great buff to it, and it can still be useful in some matchups, but in general its just not good enough to warrant an S rank anymore. I think A might be too generous, but B might be too harsh so that's why I'm undecided as to where it should go, but the main point is that it should no longer be S rank.
- Porygon Z definitely isn't the greatest special attacker that Normal has access to anymore, namely because of Indeedee and its Expanding Force, and Heliolisk's ability to make Water and Flying very easy matchups. It doesn't have any other moves or niches that allow it to really outshine these two effectively either, as Indeedee is a better Specs and Scarf user, and Heliolisk has the coverage needed to beat most of Normal's MU's. Porygon Z just does not cut it to be a great mon on normal and instead finds itself as a more niche pick for the type. Its rank on the VR should reflect this and is why I am suggesting it should be C, as it is still a strong special attacker, just outclassed by the others.
- Durant used to be the best priority user and Physical attacker bug had access to. Now with the DLC, and with proper metagame development, it's now more noticeable than ever that Durant is no longer the top dog of Bug, far from it now. It simply is now outclassed by Scizor as a priority user, and by Heracross as a physical attacker. It still has its niche with its speed being great and Hustle allowing it to do insane damage, but compared to the other physical attackers listed, it is sorely lacking their consistency and effectiveness. I think B is the right place for it as its definitely not as important as Galvantula or Heracross for the team.
- Ribombee has fallen out of favor over the course of the Isle of Armor metagame, mainly due to the arrival of Volcarona, and Heracross challenging its role as a dark killer. While Ribombee is still great at beating Dark and Dragon, it becomes too redundant when used with Volcarona and doesn't offer up as much as it did prior due to Scizor and Heracross also granting bug easy MU's. Dragon falling out of favor in the meta also has affected Ribo's effectiveness, as it was one of the few MU's that Ribo still notably won reliably that another Pokemon didn't do. These factors all culminated together to bring us to where we are now, as Ribo has not seen a ton of use in MPL and is sparsely seen in MLT. I believe that this mon is no longer potent enough to warrant an A rank, and should be placed in B with the likes of Scolipede, who similarly only handles a specific MU while being okay but outclassed at everything else.
- Centiskorch does not cut it anymore on Bug teams. The rise in usage of Araquanid and the introduction of Volcarona removed its defining qualities on the type, which were its offensive typing and utility. Now with both of those niche's covered by better Pokemon, Centiskorch has a hard time finding a spot on the common Bug team and should be passed over like all the other C rank Pokemon that only fulfill a small niche. Centiskorch is still bug's only fire immunity, which gives it a niche, but it does not have anything else going for it at the moment and this should warrant a drop in viability.
- Araquanid has soared in usage and has been on every bug team in MPL since the Isle of Armor dropped. The main reasons for this are two things: the introduction of Volcarona, and the rise of water and general power creep. Volcarona got rid of one of its main rivals in Centiskorch, who had a superior offensive typing and an IMMUNITY to fire rather than a resistance. With Centiskorch being outclassed offensively by Volc, Araquanid could fit onto teams a little easier, but this alone wouldn't make Araqanid suddenly one of Bug's most prominent Pokemon. Bug found itself struggling to deal with the new terrain moves, most notably expanding force and rising voltage. Araqanid, armed with a Wacan Berry or Assault Vest, can take these attacks head-on and mirror coat them back to the opponent, OHKOing them with ease. While it wasn't perfect at this, it was the best option bug had to deal with the power creep these moves brought and it resulted in araq becoming almost a mainstay on most MPL bug teams. I think that for these reasons and its ability to stomach Hydro Pumps from the likes of Kingra and Keldeo, that Araquanid deserves at least a B rank on bug, I'll stretch for A though as I think its importance on the team is comparable to Heracross and Galvantula, who are also really solid glue on Bug teams that allow the type to be effective.
(water) A > B
(Fairy) A >B
Worse than the A ranks with Jirachi and Mew dropping 
A -> S
(Dragon) A -> B: for as much as it's the preferred hazard setter to Kommo-o and with a Steel/Dragon typing for Fairy, it just doesn't have power or defense to back it up. For as helpful as the natural typing and utility is, it hasn't evolved into anything useful besides the lead role, which is sad for how useful it's supposed to be.
(Dragon) B -> A: contrary to the above, this thing is fantastic. I think TSpikes are the better hazard (probably the best?) this generation, and with new pivoting and Adaptability boosted attacks arguably being more powerful with no investment when compared to Duraludon even at maximum investment, it feels easier to navigate and much easier to work with on Dragon.
(Fairy) C -> B: Primarina has really risen in significance to the tier, seeing SubKiss + Psychic sets manhandle a fair amount of glaring weaknesses/problem matchups in Water and Poison. It should not be under Gardevoir, whose usefulness has been declining over the past several months.
(Psychic & Steel) A -> S: Jirachi has really come into its own this past MPL, finding success with it's many variants; SubTox, SubPuP, SubCM, Specs, Scarf, SpDef, you name it, this thing can do most everything. Especially over the past couple of weeks where Fairy has seen an astronomical increase (no pun intended), and with this metagame slowing down a bit, it's in a great position to really take the reigns.
