Resource SS Monotype Viability Rankings [Isle of Armor]

[Ronman5]

Kyurem-B (both types) S -> UR: Self explanitory

Kyurem (Dragon/Ice) D -> B: pretty much necessitated because of the ban, regular Kyurem's coverage is still good and its wallbreaking is still great enough to where this is the best possible substitute; they're the same mon p much besides the extra 40 attack and lack of Fusion Bolt.

fuck

Coming in a bit late also Kyurem is lacking a good part of Kyu Bs game in Teravolt, since Teravolt lets me do crap like Earth power a Rotom Heat. But yeah basically the same mon without its good ability, its lack of fusion bolt (which sucks considering it doesn't have Bolt Beam coverage) and that sweet sweet 40 extra attack

Also i feel Kyurem norm is less easy to run mix sets and stuff. I think you have to go more or less all or nothing into one side of its reprotre aka physical or special... and in 90% of cases most people do specs special attacking Kyurem, though i guess a sub DD Kyurem could work.... just not as well as normal Kyurem

 

[pikachu<3]

After getting reqs with Flying and dabbing a bit with rain flying, I'd like to nominate a few VR changes for the type.

RISES

B -> A

Flying's best scarfer, and it's not particularly close. Outspeeds critical mons such as +2 Cloyster, +1 Gengar, +2 Toxicitry, +1 Terrakion, +2 Polteologist, +2 Barbarcle, and hits them all hard with STAB Draco Meteor. Infiltrator is a godsend, allowing Noivern to hit and KO common abusers of substitute such as Hydregion, Dragapult, Salazzle, Kyurem, and Keldeo. Also ignores screens, which are super common in the current metagame. Has the ability to pivot out of predicted switches with U-turn as well. This needs a rise, and if anything A rank may even be a bit low for it.

C -> B

Nothing really changed for Hawlucha--it's still chronically walled by Aegislash and remains for the most part a one-trick pony. But it pairs incredibly well with Noivern, since it's a cleaner that can't revenge kill, while Noivern is a revenge killer that struggles to clean due to Draco Meteor's stat drops and Hurricane's accuracy issues.

Having additional insurance against threats like Bisharp and an additional rock neutrality is always nice to have too.

UR -> D

Flying's only bulky electric neutrality with access to roost. Dartrix is actually quite ridiculously bulky when paired with an Eviolite, viz:

252 SpA Choice Specs Indeedee Psychic vs. 248 HP / 252+ SpD Eviolite Dartrix in Psychic Terrain: 148-175 (41.2 - 48.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

Dartrix normally runs something like the following:

Dartrix @ Eviolite
Ability: Long Reach
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Toxic
- Knock Off
- Roost
- Haze

Haze ensures things like CM Hat and CM Reniculus fail to setup on you, while the other moves are for general utility.

Some replays showcasing Dartrix's abilities:

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8monotype-1122448096
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8monotype-1119725255-vovq05t71hmjhsjq913uxwxqnqwgx38pw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8monotype-1121183131

DROPS

A -> B

Our favorite overrated red lizard needs to drop. With Noivern taking the mantle of Flying's default choice scarfer, it's getting harder and harder to justify Charizard on a team. While Charizard does help with breaking the Steel, Grass, and Dark mus, Togekiss is capable of this job while providing significantly more defensive utility. Obviously Charizard is still a good mon, but it's no longer on par with Gyarados and Togekiss and needs to drop.

B -> C

Defensively, Mantine just doesn't offer as much as Mandibuzz does, who shares the same rank. Mandibuzz offers a valuable psychic immunity, a built-in check to Polteologist, and also a ghost resistance. In addition, Mandibuzz offers significant utility in knock off, foul play, taunt, whilwind, uturn, toxic, defog, etc. Mantine, for the most part, offers scald, a water immunity, and a fire resistance. The water immunity that Mantine offers isn't as valuable anymore due to the fact that Charizard is no longer the default scarfer of choice; in fact, running Mantine has the significant opportunity cost of not running Gyarados (of course you can run both, but you stack an electric weakness which is bad). Defensive Mantine sets in general don't offer as much as Mandibuzz does, and the rankings should reflect this. Offensive Swift Swim sets have their own issues, which brings me to my next nomination.

C -> D

Pelipper is the posterchild of rain flying, and its ranking should serve as a general indicator of the viability of rain flying in the metagame. And the general consensus is that rain flying absolutely blows.

Rain flying faces several issues. Running both Mantine and Pelipper together (the only way to really justify running this over the much superior Gyarados) stacks a quad weakness to Tbolt, made even worse by the fact that flying has no electric immunities. This not only leaves the team horrifically weak to Dry Skin Heliosik, but also makes any mon with the ability to outspeed Mantine and electric coverage highly problematic. This includes Gardevior, Scarf Gengar, and Scarf Dragapult, all reasonably common in the current metagame.

Moreover, the metagame is in general already prepared to handle rain-boosted hydro pumps thanks to the introduction of mons such as Dracovish and Barrakeda, both of which provide very threatening water STAB. Mantine in general isn't a great abuser of Swift Swim either, due to its pathetic base 80 spa and needing a timid nature to outspeed base 100 scarfers. It can fail to wallbreak effectively, especially if Pelipper has fainted, viz:

252 SpA Choice Specs Mantine Hurricane vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Toxapex: 144-169 (47.3 - 55.5%) -- 17.6% chance to 2HKO after Black Sludge recovery
252 SpA Choice Specs Mantine Hurricane vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Toxapex: 109-130 (35.8 - 42.7%) -- 94.5% chance to 3HKO after Black Sludge recovery
252 SpA Choice Specs Mantine Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Tyranitar in Sand: 186-222 (46 - 54.9%) -- 7.4% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Choice Specs Mantine Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Ferrothorn in Rain: 128-151 (36.3 - 42.8%) -- 96.3% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Choice Specs Mantine Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Corviknight: 156-184 (39 - 46%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery -- Pelipper is mandatory to break this
252 SpA Choice Specs Mantine Hurricane vs. 244 HP / 0 SpD Lapras: 204-240 (44.1 - 51.9%) -- 13.3% chance to 2HKO

Considering the fact that flying has to stack weaknesses to run this, for such a mediocre payoff, Pelipper needs to move down to D rank.

D -> UR

Who uses this again?

 

[ImperialGamer517]

Lemme dump new rankings here.

C -> B: The explanation is pretty simple. Now that the Rillaboomer’s HA Grassy Surge has been released, it could now act as a better support Pokemon on Grass-type teams since it is now able to set up Grassy Terrain to power up its and its teammates STAB moves.

A -> S: Now that Libero is out, Cinderace now has its own offensive capabilities. It is really awesome on any teams that one of its Pokemon gets STAB, including coverage. With its access to Gunk Shot, it could prove its own against Water-type teams due to potentially switching into a Poison-type.

 

[Fírnen]

After getting reqs with Flying and dabbing a bit with rain flying, I'd like to nominate a few VR changes for the type.

RISES

B -> A

Flying's best scarfer, and it's not particularly close. Outspeeds critical mons such as +2 Cloyster, +1 Gengar, +2 Toxicitry, +1 Terrakion, +2 Polteologist, +2 Barbarcle, and hits them all hard with STAB Draco Meteor. Infiltrator is a godsend, allowing Noivern to hit and KO common abusers of substitute such as Hydregion, Dragapult, Salazzle, Kyurem, and Keldeo. Also ignores screens, which are super common in the current metagame. Has the ability to pivot out of predicted switches with U-turn as well. This needs a rise, and if anything A rank may even be a bit low for it.

C -> B

Nothing really changed for Hawlucha--it's still chronically walled by Aegislash and remains for the most part a one-trick pony. But it pairs incredibly well with Noivern, since it's a cleaner that can't revenge kill, while Noivern is a revenge killer that struggles to clean due to Draco Meteor's stat drops and Hurricane's accuracy issues.

Having additional insurance against threats like Bisharp and an additional rock neutrality is always nice to have too.

UR -> D

Flying's only bulky electric neutrality with access to roost. Dartrix is actually quite ridiculously bulky when paired with an Eviolite, viz:

252 SpA Choice Specs Indeedee Psychic vs. 248 HP / 252+ SpD Eviolite Dartrix in Psychic Terrain: 148-175 (41.2 - 48.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

Dartrix normally runs something like the following:

Dartrix @ Eviolite
Ability: Long Reach
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Toxic
- Knock Off
- Roost
- Haze

Haze ensures things like CM Hat and CM Reniculus fail to setup on you, while the other moves are for general utility.

Some replays showcasing Dartrix's abilities:

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8monotype-1122448096
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8monotype-1119725255-vovq05t71hmjhsjq913uxwxqnqwgx38pw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8monotype-1121183131

DROPS

A -> B

Our favorite overrated red lizard needs to drop. With Noivern taking the mantle of Flying's default choice scarfer, it's getting harder and harder to justify Charizard on a team. While Charizard does help with breaking the Steel, Grass, and Dark mus, Togekiss is capable of this job while providing significantly more defensive utility. Obviously Charizard is still a good mon, but it's no longer on par with Gyarados and Togekiss and needs to drop.

B -> C

Defensively, Mantine just doesn't offer as much as Mandibuzz does, who shares the same rank. Mandibuzz offers a valuable psychic immunity, a built-in check to Polteologist, and also a ghost resistance. In addition, Mandibuzz offers significant utility in knock off, foul play, taunt, whilwind, uturn, toxic, defog, etc. Mantine, for the most part, offers scald, a water immunity, and a fire resistance. The water immunity that Mantine offers isn't as valuable anymore due to the fact that Charizard is no longer the default scarfer of choice; in fact, running Mantine has the significant opportunity cost of not running Gyarados (of course you can run both, but you stack an electric weakness which is bad). Defensive Mantine sets in general don't offer as much as Mandibuzz does, and the rankings should reflect this. Offensive Swift Swim sets have their own issues, which brings me to my next nomination.

C -> D

Pelipper is the posterchild of rain flying, and its ranking should serve as a general indicator of the viability of rain flying in the metagame. And the general consensus is that rain flying absolutely blows.

Rain flying faces several issues. Running both Mantine and Pelipper together (the only way to really justify running this over the much superior Gyarados) stacks a quad weakness to Tbolt, made even worse by the fact that flying has no electric immunities. This not only leaves the team horrifically weak to Dry Skin Heliosik, but also makes any mon with the ability to outspeed Mantine and electric coverage highly problematic. This includes Gardevior, Scarf Gengar, and Scarf Dragapult, all reasonably common in the current metagame.

Moreover, the metagame is in general already prepared to handle rain-boosted hydro pumps thanks to the introduction of mons such as Dracovish and Barrakeda, both of which provide very threatening water STAB. Mantine in general isn't a great abuser of Swift Swim either, due to its pathetic base 80 spa and needing a timid nature to outspeed base 100 scarfers. It can fail to wallbreak effectively, especially if Pelipper has fainted, viz:

252 SpA Choice Specs Mantine Hurricane vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Toxapex: 144-169 (47.3 - 55.5%) -- 17.6% chance to 2HKO after Black Sludge recovery
252 SpA Choice Specs Mantine Hurricane vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Toxapex: 109-130 (35.8 - 42.7%) -- 94.5% chance to 3HKO after Black Sludge recovery
252 SpA Choice Specs Mantine Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Tyranitar in Sand: 186-222 (46 - 54.9%) -- 7.4% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Choice Specs Mantine Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Ferrothorn in Rain: 128-151 (36.3 - 42.8%) -- 96.3% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Choice Specs Mantine Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Corviknight: 156-184 (39 - 46%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery -- Pelipper is mandatory to break this
252 SpA Choice Specs Mantine Hurricane vs. 244 HP / 0 SpD Lapras: 204-240 (44.1 - 51.9%) -- 13.3% chance to 2HKO

Considering the fact that flying has to stack weaknesses to run this, for such a mediocre payoff, Pelipper needs to move down to D rank.

D -> UR

Who uses this again?

Charizard isn't overrated at all, in the current meta, Steel and Psychic are really strong and common.
Because of that and help against Ice type (Corvi played with Body Press, Iron def, Roost, U-Turn/Defog can't beat Avalugg Iron Def Body Press (because no Taunt on its set)) mainly, Charizard Specs/Scarf or even with boots is really strong to help Flying.

Concerning Dartrix, I've to admit despite some doubtful replays (Against psychic by example, no Trick, no Jirachi to try to kill Dartrix but just spam weak moves on it) may be D-Ranked indeed to have a pivot and resistance in front of Electric spam.
Unfort, it won't be able to do anything against Zeraora band but it can be an option for Flying team, especially in your Rain Flying.

I agree too with your Hawlucha reasonning.

Ps: Swoobat is a bad meme imo and doesn't have anything to be D ranked. Sigilyph is clearly a better Psychic/Flying Pokemon than Swoobat because of its coverage and ability.

 

[Day Healer]

Lemme dump new rankings here.

View attachment 252114 C -> B: The explanation is pretty simple. Now that the Rillaboomer’s HA Grassy Surge has been released, it could now act as a better support Pokemon on Grass-type teams since it is now able to set up Grassy Terrain to power up its and its teammates STAB moves.

View attachment 252120A -> S: Now that Libero is out, Cinderace now has its own offensive capabilities. It is really awesome on any teams that one of its Pokemon gets STAB, including coverage. With its access to Gunk Shot, it could prove its own against Water-type teams due to potentially switching into a Poison-type.

Im gonna disagree with Rillaboom nomination. Grass usually have all its slots well defined: ferrothorn/apletun form the usual defensive core, whimsicot a nice dragon answer and sun setter if necessary, venusaur your steel killer under sun, celebi poison killer and rock setter if necessary and the last place goes to 1 between shiftry (for full sun teams), rotom (specs or nasty plot, and best answer again flyings featuring corviknight) or Virizion (a niche fast scarfer than outspeed scarf charizard). I yet to see how rillaboom contributes to the team more than all those mons, specially having the same problem scarf tapu bulu had in gen7 grass: great again types grass already does well and bad again types grass struggles. At least bulu had a secondary type, so that too.

Im gonna agree with Cinderace nomination btw, it does so much for the team and can run a multitude of sets, my preferite is bulk up with HJK/zen headbutt/sucker punch for a good cleaner; or scarf cinderace is viable too if you need it, outspeeding even scarf terrakion; or even the old reliable boots cinderace with Court Change. So yeah, S to cinderace.

 

[mushamu]

I'm locking this thread after this update as we won't be doing an update until after more Pokemon drop when the metagame will be more different. Some of these changes aren't necessarily because the metagame changed for these Pokemon to rise or drop, it was just because we felt said Pokemon fit better in another rank. PM the VR council as per usual if you have any questions.

Changes

Bug

B -> C
Dark

C -> D
Dragon

S -> UR

B -> C

C -> B

D -> B
Electric

D -> UR
Fairy

S -> A

B -> A

UR -> D
Fighting

A -> B
Fire

A -> S

B -> C

B -> C
Flying

C -> D

D -> UR
Grass

A -> B
Ground

B -> C
Ice

S -> UR

A -> S

C -> D

D -> B
Normal

B -> A
Poison

B -> A
Psychic

B -> C

B -> C

UR -> D
Rock

A -> S

B -> A

D -> C
Steel

D -> C

Reasonings

Bug

Fits better with the more niche C ranked Pokemon on Bug.
Dark

Although Aura Wheel can be cool against Water teams which are typically a bad matchup for Dark, it is still inconsistent at beating it and is hard to justify using in other matches that Dark can already cover pretty well
Dragon

Kyurem-B got banned in the recent suspect test, so it will be unranked.

More people are opting to drop Kommo-o for other options with role compression on Duraludon for Stealth Rock especially Dragon values the teamslots even more now to cover matchups that Kyurem-B covered when it was present.

There is more reason to use Dracovish as a wallbreaker after Kyurem-B was banned as it overlapped with a lot of the matchups Dracovish as a wallbreaker excelled in when it was present.

Kyurem-B's departure means base Kyurem sees more merit as a wallbreaker, being able to break down types like Water and Poison with Choice Specs or even Substitute sets.
Electric

Not worth using Lanturn as a pivot anymore, especially when Alolan Raichu's Speed under Electric Terrain checks many threats across the board.
Fairy

Choice Scarf Gardevoir is more droppable now that many people are now recognizing Alolan Ninetales's incredible viability, which can help against weather teams like Ground and Water by setting hail

Alolan Ninetales is phenomonal at supporting setup with Aurora Veil, which is particularly nice for Fairy teams with an abundance of setup sweepers to use, making them all more reliable. Overall a fantastic option on Fairy teams that was criminally underrated when it was initially released.

Defensive Stealth Rock setter that can switch into Jirachi and provide a Poison immunity, is usable enough to be ranked at D.
Fighting

While still a good option on Fighting, Kommo-o can be hard to fit on most teams compared to Cobalion because its potential roles have a lot of overlap with other Pokemon.
Fire

Cinderace was already a good candidate for S rank, but getting Libero pretty much solidifies it. With Libero giving it STAB on each attack and more coming into place, Cinderace is now one of the best Pokemon Fire teams have to offer.

Arcanine is in a worse spot now as a wallbreaker now that Cinderace's Libero gives it STAB Sucker Punch as priority and Darmanitan is otherwise better.

Salazzle is more of a matchup oriented Pokemon for types like Poison and Dark, wheras other B ranked Pokemon like Incineroar and Arcanine are more useful against a majority of the metagame.
Flying

Rain Flying is extremely niche while Flying typically prefers balance or screens offense with Xatu.

Swoobat sounds good on paper with Simple Calm Mind but never actually sweeps consistently in practice.
Grass

Not particularly on par with the other A ranks, Appletun is crucial as a Fire resist and Venusaur in conjunction with Whimsicott are staples on Sun, the main playstyle which Grass runs. Celebi fits better with the other B rankers like Shiftry, Virizion, and Rotom-Mow which usually outline Grass teams as more optional offensive Pokemon.
Ground

Not much reason to use Flygon as a Choice Scarf user after Kyurem-B got banned, and Choice Specs sets are overshadowed by Rhyperior if you're using it to check Corviknight.
Ice

Kyurem-B got banned in the recent suspect test, so it will be unranked.

Avalugg is the first pick for hazard removal due to its reliability with its bulk and Heavy Duty Boots on many Ice teams, which is important due to the Stealth Rock weakness.

Pretty niche as a hazard remover right now, while Froslass is more splashable on hyper offensive teams because of its valuable access to Taunt.

Like on Dragon, Kyurem-B's ban opens up Kyurem's viability on Ice too as a strong special wallbreaker.
Normal

Amazing hazard lead alongside being a great offensive threat, fits better with Pokemon like Snorlax and Indeedee.
Poison

Excellent glue pretty much any Poison team should have, fits better with the A ranked Pokemon
Psychic

Psychic has an abundance of Healing Wish users, so it is hard to justify using female Indeedee over its male counterpart, which has the benefit of additional power and Speed sometimes.

Reuniclus is no longer as reliable as it used to be, especially when Dark-type Pokemon are everywhere, making it inconsistent.

Prankster screens is a niche that's cool to have in an offense based meta. There was some controversy for ranking Meowstic in SM but we decided that it was worth ranking in SS now where Deoxys-S isn't present as an extremely fast screens setter that can set Stealth Rock. Although there are other screens setters that can set Stealth Rock in SS, none of them are particularly fast.
Rock

We decided to move up Coalossal to A, so Tyranitar goes to S. It's always been great on Rock teams, this generation again due to its ability to set sand to support its teammates and its own reliability as a setup sweeper with Dragon Dance.

Coalossal's ability to remove hazards is appreciated by all Rock teams, allowing it to fit on more builds than the Pokemon ranked at B at the moment.

Decent special attacker + setup sweper and is overall generally more useful than Drednaw.
Steel

Cool priority in First Impression to take out Pokemon like Nasty Plot Mew and weather abusers, and otherwise good offensively and more splashable than the Pokemon currently in D.

Since the DLCs are planned to drop on June 17th, there won't be any discussion points this time. See you then!

 

[maroon]

In time for the DLC update Floss has joined the VR team!

 

[mushamu]

DLC Update:
Keep in mind this update was mainly focused on ranking the newer additions from the DLC, along with 2 obvious changes in Alolan Ninetales and Rillaboom. There are many other changes the VR council have in mind, but for now, we're giving it time to allow the metagame to settle to revisit those changes and to make them as accurate as possible.

Additions

Bug

-> S

-> S

-> A

-> B

Dark

-> S

-> A

-> B

Dragon

-> B

Electric

-> A

Fairy

-> S

-> A

Fighting

-> S

-> B

-> D

-> D

Fire

-> A

-> C

-> D

Flying

-> B

-> D

-> D

Ghost

-> B

Ground

-> C

Grass

-> D

Ice

-> C

Normal

-> S

-> S

-> B

-> D

Poison

-> B

-> B

-> C

Psychic

-> A

-> B

-> C

-> D

-> D

Rock

-> A

-> C

Steel

-> B

-> B

-> C

-> D

Water

-> S

-> B

-> B

-> B

-> C

-> C

-> C

-> C

-> D

Changes

Fairy

A -> C
Grass

C -> B

Reasonings

Bug

Scizor and Volcarona are two of Bug's most dangerous offensive Pokemon that returned. Volcarona in particular got more dangerous in the transition from SM to SS with the introduction of Heavy Duty Boots, patching up its own Stealth Rock weakness and Bug's lackluster hazard removal in order to sweep many types across the board, notably Steel which Bug teams struggled with beforehand.

Nice Choice Scarf user on Bug with its Fighting STAB and speed tier, can set Spikes too.

Speed Boost is nice for cleaning types but can struggle due to Bug's lack of good hazard removal, exposing its Rock weakness if it does not run Heavy Duty Boots, sometimes forcing it to forego Life Orb.

Dark

Extremely powerful offensive Pokemon, easily cemented itself into Dark as one of the best Pokemon on the type due to its good offensive stats, good coverage, and signature move in Wicked Blow.

Nice for fast Taunt and Stealth Rock, allowing Dark to run hyper offense a lot easier.

Generally a decent cleaner in late game scenarios against types like Dragon, Electric, Ground, etc.

Dragon

Toxic Spikes are great for patching up weaknesses against Fairy and Psychic which Dragon teams previously struggled against, and can Flip Turn to prevent momentum loss. A Poison typing gives the additional benefit of a Fairy neutrality too, and being specially bulky means it finds a lot of opportunities to do its job.

Electric

Magnet Pull is nice for beating Steel types and Steel itself is a nice defensive typing, making it a good tool to use on Electric teams.

Fairy

The introduction of Klefki means that Alolan Ninetales now struggles as an Aurora Veil setter, as it falls short of Klefki's superior defensive typing, access to Spikes, and Prankster. It is still viable for Snow Warning disrupting weather, but now much more niche.

Classic Klefki comes back to Fairy as the best support Pokemon the type has access to, setting down screens as well as laying down Spikes for the entire type to take advantage of. Its Steel typing is also great, providing a Steel neutrality, a Poison immunity, and many resistances across the board.

Belly Drum Azumarill works nicely against the types Fairy teams are typically weak to on top of being a nice sweeper. Fire, Ground, Steel, and Poison teams are all threatened by Azumarill once it sets up, now giving Fairy more leeway in those matchups.

Fighting

Like on Dark, Urshifu-Single Strike style is also one of the best Pokemon on Fighting due to its good Dark typing as well as its strong priority in Sucker Punch coupled with its good signature move and offensive stats. A strong Sucker Punch user is particularly nice for picking off Pokemon like Dragapult and Alolan Raichu which Fighting teams would otherwise struggle with.

Decent Psychic cteam and Choice Scarf user, has some other cool options like Knock Off and Spikes for Fighting.

Decent pivot with Regenerator but struggles to fit on Fighting teams in the long run due to their superior Choice Scarf users.

The oppurtunity cost is high for Urshifu-Rapid Strike Style considering Single Strike is much better on the type due to its Dark typing and STAB, while the type already has Keldeo for Water STAB.

Fire

Heavy Duty Boots makes Volcarona one of the most dangerous threats in the current metagame, as it now does not need to worry about being crippled by hazards, namely Stealth Rock. For Fire, it covers many matchups across the board due to its reliability, and even previous bad matchups like Ground and Dragon can potentially be swept by a well played Volcarona.

Electric Immunity as well as being a strong wallbreaker and Stealth Rock setter gives Alolan Marowak a nice niche on Fire teams.

Similar to Volcarona, Talonflame also appreciates Heavy Duty Boots as it allows it to preserve Gale Wings with Stealth Rock set and get off an emergency Tailwind, Brave Bird, or Defog much more easier. Should note that Tailwind is nice in an offensive based metagame, but Talonflame is niche at best even with these traits.

Flying

Cool Defensive typing and hazard setter that Flying teams appreciate.

Talonflame can run some niche Tailwind, Swords Dance, and Defog sets with Heavy Duty Boots but like Fire, its role on Flying remains niche.

Electric immunity but not good otherwise.

Ghost

Wallbreaker, Stealth Rock setter and Electric immunity in one, although it does face competition from Galarian Corsola as a Stealth Rock setter. Both of them are B ranked at the moment, but that can be subject to change as the metagame develops.

Ground

Nice Choice Scarf user with Knock Off, generally cool Speed control outside of sand.

Grass

Receiving Grassy Glide allows Rillaboom to preform as a strong and effective breaker in many matchups, with Swords Dance and Grassy Glide being a dangerous combination in particular.

Spore and the defensive typing is nice but otherwise it struggles to find a place on Grass teams, leaving it a niche option at best.

Ice

Cool offensive Rapid Spin user, but struggles with Avalugg's dominance due to its reliability and can be weak without boosts.

Normal

Normal's got its defensive core back again, and this time they can support the offensive Pokemon a lot better due to their access to Teleport, allowing them to pivot extremely well. Normal teams have been centered around its defensive backbone for generations, and putting both Chansey and Porygon2 at S again is no surprise here.

Decent special attacker with Choice Specs / Choice Scarf / setup, although losing its Z-move makes it inconsistent at times.

Choice Specs Boomburst hits really hard, allowing it to come in on passive Pokemon and fire off strong attacks.

Poison

Nice sweeper, beats the terrain types like Electric and Psychic nicely as well as others like Dragon, Fire, and Dark.

Good defensive typing with Spore and Regenerator allows it to form defensive cores nicely with Poison's other Pokemon.

Decent special attacker with Flip Turn but niche due to the faster special attackers Poison gets access to, namely Gengar. Hard to fit on most teams, which is why it's C ranked.

Psychic

Focus Sash Alakazam is incredible for Psychic teams as serving as a blanket check is extremely useful in an offensive based metagame.

Slowbro and Slowking are both nice Teleport users with good defensive typings and bulk. However, Slowbro's higher physical bulk is much more appreciated by Psychic teams that struggle to switch into Pokemon such as Excadrill, Galarian Darmanitan, and Urshifu-Rapid Strike Style have other specially bulky Pokemon like Celebi that make Slowking more niche.

Decent Rapid Spin user but fits on more specific builds.

A Poison typing allows it to absorb Toxic Spikes and gives it a nice Bug neutrality, but not much reason to use Galarian Slowbro over Slowbro other than that.

Rock

Tough Claws combined with good coverage moves allows Lycanroc-Dusk to be a nice offensive option on Rock teams.

Rock appreciates Tough Claws more, so base Lycanroc struggles to find a place even with Sand Rush, with Lycanroc-Dusk's priority in Sucker Punch and Sticky Webs being present.

Steel

Cool offensive support with Spikes and screens for more offensively geared teams.

Nice defensive typing but faces competition from Corviknight which can switch into Mystical Fire spam.

Magnezone is nice for trapping and pivoting with Volt Switch, but is worse than the B ranked Pokemon at the moment. We may plan to shift Steel's list up a bit, so Magnezone can potentially rise in the future.

Scizor's issue on Steel comes from the fact that it faces competition with a lot of other Swords Dance users like Bisharp and Aegislash, making it much harder to fit compared to Bug teams that appreciate its priority greatly.

Water

Urshifu-Rapid Strike style is a huge threat in the Monotype metagame at the moment, with its nice offensive stats, signature move in Surging Strikes, and ability in Unseen Fist, especially with rain powering Surging Strikes and Aqua Jet up.

Both offensive and Sap Sipper sets are viable, Sap Sipper sets are nice especially with Rillaboom's Grassy Glide threatening to sweep Water teams whole otherwise.

Great rain sweeper which is one of Water's main archetypes at the moment, effective against many types, notably Dragon.

Like on Psychic, Slowking and Slowbro are both nice Teleport users that can provide momentum. However, Slowking is preferred on Water due to its high special bulk, allowing it to check Psychic-type Pokemon such as Alakazam, Gardevoir, and Indeedee nicely, especially with the introduction of Expanding Force.

Toxic Spikes, Rapid Spin, and Liquid Ooze are nice niches to have but Tentacruel finds a hard time fitting onto teams with Toxapex being dominant.

Like on Dark, Sharpedo is a decent late game sweeper on Water as well, especially combined with rain boosting its Hydro Pumps, but has a harder time fitting on teams due to the abundance of more consistent rain sweepers Water has access to.

Decent Rapid Spinner but fits on specific teams.

Viable as a rain setter that can also use Perish Song, but Pelipper is preferred due to its U-turn pivoting, Ground immunity, and access to Defog.

Discussion Points:

• 
  (Bug)
• 
  (Dark)
• 
  (Fire)
• 
  (Psychic)
• 
  (Psychic)
• 
  (Psychic)
• 
  (Water)
• 
  (Water)

Since the metagame is going to change more frequently, we're planning on doing updates more frequently until the metagame starts to settle down. With the new additions, more input is appreciated in order to help make the VR as accurate as possible, so we encourage you to post about nitpicks you have about the current viability rankings, discussion point or not. This thread is now unlocked, happy posting!

 

[StellaAthena]

Scyther is a Pokémon to watch. Technician Dual Wingbeats gives it 180 BP spread over two hits. Scyther has some serious stats too, clocking in at 281 / 319 / 294 / 131 / 294 / 331 once you take Eviolite into account. It’s biggest limitation is its inability to use both Eviolite and HDB at the same time, so it might work better on flying teams due to their better hazard removal. It gets SD, Agility, and Roost for all your set-up sweeper needs. It also gets STAB UTurn, Quick Attack, and Knock Off.

I would put Volcarona as an S-Tier for Fire, no questions asked. In addition to being an all-around sick pokemon, Giga Drain (water, ground) and Psychic (Salazzle, Toxepex, Swords of Justice) lets you muscle past Pokémon that are otherwise solid roadblocks against fire.

Calcs vs Swords of Justice

+1 252 SpA Volcarona Giga Drain vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Keldeo: 274-324 (84.8 - 100.3%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO
+1 252 SpA Volcarona Giga Drain vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Keldeo: 274-324 (84.8 - 100.3%) -- 43.8% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

+1 252 SpA Volcarona Psychic vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Keldeo: 328-388 (101.5 - 120.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO

It’s interesting that Dragon was called out in the update because I feel that Cinderace makes Dragon a free-roll, not Volcarona. Even at +1, there are a lot of dragons that survive attacks from Volcarona

Dragons that survive +1 Volc

+1 252 SpA Volcarona Bug Buzz vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Dragapult: 144-169 (45.4 - 53.3%) -- 35.5% chance to 2HKO
+1 252 SpA Volcarona Psychic vs. 204 HP / 0 SpD Dragalge: 254-300 (78.8 - 93.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+1 252 SpA Volcarona Bug Buzz vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Dracovish: 273-322 (85 - 100.3%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO
+1 252 SpA Volcarona Psychic vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Noivern: 181-214 (58.1 - 68.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Additionally, when you take into account the fact that you can’t run four attacking moves on Volc there’s also going to be others that beat it depending on what you drop: Fire (Duraludon), Bug (Hydreigon), Grass (okay, not grass but I don’t think you can drop Giga Drain), Psychic (Kommo-O).

While Gardevoir certainly faces a lot of competition nowadays, the ability to Trace Swift Swim makes it an incredibly potent threat against Water teams. The fact that you can outspeed and OHKO is Kingdra through the rain is huge, and Psychic lacks the prankster TWavers Fairy can use to neutralize Water’s threats.

Kingdra I’m shocked to see as low as B tier. With its new access to Hurricane, Kingdra seems to be the best special rain sweeper in the game. EDIT: I see that all rain sweepers are ranked B or less. I’m not sure I agree, but it’s at least consistent.

 

[Dragapult]

The meta shift and re-introduction of Marowak-A brings with it a whirlwind of changes for Ghost despite getting few new toys from Isle of Armor. I believe the following to be solid points of discussion:

: B --> A

• Picks up arguably even better than where it left off, having gained a 110 BP STAB move in Poltergeist. Off the bat it is Ghost's hardest hitter (saying something), and absolutely dents most mons not named Tyranitar with its STAB alone. which, when coupled with Earthquake, hits everyone in the tier bar Hydra for neutral damage. Electric immunity is currently invaluable given the present popularity of Rising Voltage spam, as well as providing a safe switch for Volt Switches and T-Waves. Compresses elements of both Corsola-G (rocks utility) and Chandelure's (Steel killer) roles into an offensive inclined mon partnering nicely with other Ghosts benefitting from the meta shift.

: D --> C

• A good mon largely out of favor pre-DLC due to its being a poor fit on offensive teams. It is currently far harder for Ghost to forgo hazard control due to the popularity of webs strats on two popular types (Electric & Bug) – and not infrequent use on a third (Water), each with their own strong abusers who can rip through Ghost teams with little resistance. Grass is also just a better typing than pre-DLC.

B --> C

• Marowak is just a better mon on most teams. SubCM wrecks Steel, yes, but Marowak even with Fire Punch still punishes the defensive core while Excadrill gets revenged by Dragapult running Fire Blast. The saving grace for it here is Infiltrator, but even that is also done by Dragapult.

: B --> B

• Finds its role as rocker eaten into by Alolawak, though remains a major defensive threat that can neuter most physical attackers not running Knock Off. Alolawak taking over Rocks duty means Corsola-G can now comfortably run Haze, somehow making it even more annoying. Though Alolawak definitely gets the nod on offensive teams I think Corsola's utility as a general nuisance means it still has plenty to offer the type.

Re: discussion points

• 
  (Bug) A --> A - no doubt the present meta is slightly less friendly than what Heracross would have encountered had it been among the original SS roster. Regardless, the classic ScarfMoxie set remains an insanely dangerous mon capable of acting as an instant wincon against a number of popular types (Psychic and Ghost off the top of my head) with the appropriate coverage move once webs are set. It is every bit as much a fixture on Bug as Galvantula. Beneath that, Centiskorch is pretty bad and Scolipede is far too inconsistent to be considered on par with Heracross. It should stay at A.
• 
  (Dark) S --> A - While I have my reservations about Urshifu-S being placed at S, Ttar is clearly the odd man out among the original S-ranks given its struggles in a number of increasingly relevant matchups, as well as the return of lead Krook contesting Ttar's place as go-to rocker. Despite this, Ttar retains invaluable utility as the best defensive partner to Mandibuzz as well as all-around special tank able to somewhat stall out terrain turns, especially with help from Grimmsnarl. I still think it a great mon that Dark is better with than without, though it is probably closer to Grimm and Bisharp than it is to Hydra and Mandi. I can see it remaining in S though think A is probably more appropriate right now as Krook being back means its niche is no longer untouchable on HO teams Considering the ubiqity of Rain right now I think Sand Stream alone makes the case for Ttar to remain at S.

• 
  (Steel) S --> C - I like Durant. Scizor's better.

 

[juleocesar]

Hello all! After some playtesting, I'd like to come up w/ several nominations:

Unranked - > C (Ground): With access to the new Steel Roller move and the prevalence of terrain types like Psychic as well as Fairy teams in general, Steelix has found its niche in Ground teams. Especially that some of Ground Pokemon options aren't exactly mandatory on the team as it very often ends up w/ Pokemon like Flygon or Rhyperior. I've found assault vest to be effective as it can handle Hatterene more comfortably and dispell Indeedee's terrain setup and checking it as well. However, it also has access to some interesting techs like Iron Defense + Body press, Head Smash + Rock Head which def have some potential. Finally, it can take on some ice moves that Ground usually have problems with, such as Freeze Dry A-Ninetales, which its other teammates definitely have trouble handling.

B -> C or D (Electric): With many good options available right now on Electric, ranging from Rising Voltage abusers to Magnezone itself, Morpeko's utility has been limited to niches. It is a decent physical attacker with a dark STAB and parting shot, but other than it is not going to be really worthwhile as it has a reasonably high opportunity cost right now to fit on teams.

Unranked-> D (Poison): I am a bit surprised that this came to be ranked on Psychic but not on Poison. Despite being very hard to fit as it has a reasonably high opportunity cost, it has the niche of acting as a setup Stored Power sweeper (as poison doesn't have any other options for that). It also has access to Fire + Poison coverage and although Salazzle performs a much better job offensively, it can still check problematic Steel types like Ferrothorn for example. Finally, it compliments the Regenerator core nicely, even with its mediocre bulk compared to the OG slowbro, but it should be enough to alleviate pressure from other Pokemon.

and

C / D-> Unranked (Grass): In all honesty I have seen less and less Roserade and Vileplume throughout the months and especially post DLC1, there is literally no reason to use these Pokemon at all. You basically have much better offensive options all around, and especially Venusaur can provide complete offensive coverage to the point it just outclasses Roserade in sun teams. Now that Fairy has access to a reliable Steel type pokemon in Klefki, Roserade also fails to snowball game outright w/o sun in that mu (likely its only niche w/ scarf). As for the Grass offensive presence, Rillaboom does a much better job vs Ground, Water and even offensive types like Psychic and Fairy itself thanks to its new priority move, terrain setting and higher offensive stats / setup straits. The only utility Roserade brings to the table is toxic spikes, which's definitely not worthwhile for a team that is already very tight on teamslots. The same can be said about Vileplume, which's pretty much an outclassed version of Venusaur but with access to Moonblast, but given how dragon's decreased in usage and viability DLC1, there's also little to no reason to use it (especially that is not even a good wincon vs dragon anyways to begin with, due to the introduction of Dragalge, so Vileplume shouldn't be really ranked either).

 

[GamRSquirtle99]

Marowak-A (Fire) C --> B
My reasoning for this is that Marowak-a can wall and kill some of fire's most prominent threats. Plus it's a free electric immunity you're not running flare blitz. Here's the set I use on my fire team. Paired with screenstom-h, this thing is able to tank SE hits and still deal enough damage to net a kill.

Wak-A Set

Marowak-Alola @ Thick Club
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Bonemerang
- Shadow Bone
- Swords Dance
- Fire Punch

Supporting Calcs:

Terrakion

252 Atk Terrakion Stone Edge vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Marowak-Alola: 302-356 (93.4 - 110.2%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO
252 Atk Terrakion Earthquake vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Marowak-Alola: 202-238 (62.5 - 73.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Thick Club Marowak-Alola Bonemerang (2 hits) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Terrakion: 380-448 (117.6 - 138.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Dragapult

252 SpA Dragapult Shadow Ball vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Marowak-Alola: 264-312 (81.7 - 96.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Dragapult Draco Meteor vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Marowak-Alola: 213-252 (65.9 - 78%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Life Orb Dragapult Dragon Darts (2 hits) vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Marowak-Alola: 206-244 (63.7 - 75.5%) -- approx. 2HKO
+1 252+ Atk Life Orb Dragapult Dragon Darts (2 hits) vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Marowak-Alola: 306-362 (94.7 - 112%) -- approx. 75% chance to OHKO (+1 due to dragon dance dragapult)
252+ Atk Thick Club Marowak-Alola Shadow Bone vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Dragapult: 554-654 (174.7 - 206.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Toxapex

0 SpA Toxapex Scald vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Marowak-Alola: 126-150 (39 - 46.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
0 SpA Toxapex Scald vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Marowak-Alola in Sun: 62-74 (19.1 - 22.9%) -- possible 5HKO
252+ Atk Thick Club Marowak-Alola Bonemerang (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Toxapex: 184-220 (60.5 - 72.3%) -- approx. 2HKO
+1 252+ Atk Thick Club Marowak-Alola Bonemerang (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Toxapex: 276-328 (90.7 - 107.8%) -- approx. 50% chance to OHKO (+1 due to swords dance wak-a)

Raichu-A

252+ SpA Life Orb Raichu-Alola Psychic vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Marowak-Alola: 204-242 (63.1 - 74.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Life Orb Raichu-Alola Surf vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Marowak-Alola: 273-322 (84.5 - 99.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Thick Club Marowak-Alola Bonemerang (2 hits) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Raichu-Alola: 600-708 (229.8 - 271.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Thick Club Marowak-Alola Shadow Bone vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Raichu-Alola: 764-900 (292.7 - 344.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Screens Calcs (mons Wak-A can only beat behind screens):

Keldeo

252 SpA Choice Specs Keldeo Scald vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Marowak-Alola in Sun through Light Screen: 117-138 (36.2 - 42.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Keldeo Hydro Pump vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Marowak-Alola in Sun through Light Screen: 160-190 (49.5 - 58.8%) -- 99.6% chance to 2HKO
252+ Atk Thick Club Marowak-Alola Shadow Bone vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Keldeo: 240-283 (74.3 - 87.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Gengar

252 SpA Gengar Shadow Ball vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Marowak-Alola through Light Screen: 159-187 (49.2 - 57.8%) -- 96.9% chance to 2HKO
252+ Atk Thick Club Marowak-Alola Bonemerang (2 hits) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Gengar: 520-616 (199.2 - 236%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Thick Club Marowak-Alola Shadow Bone vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Gengar: 662-782 (253.6 - 299.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Thick Club Marowak-Alola Fire Punch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Gengar: 294-346 (112.6 - 132.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO

The List Goes On

I encourage everyone who read this to do their own calcs with the set I'm using (plus rotom screens with light clay). You'll see that this Pokemon easily deserves AT LEAST B Rank on fire mono.

 

[roxie]

Replying and putting input.

Venusaur and

Roserade (D->UR) and

Vileplume (A->B/C)With Amoonguss coming into replace Vileplume and having access to Spore and Foul Play basically lowers the point in even running Venusaur or Roserade. Vileplume is nowhere near Unviable, I consider it an alternative "worse" option than Amoonguss because it has Regenerator and you can Foul Play Swords Dance users such as Bisharp and Excadrill. Also since Amoonguss forms a Regenerator core and has a little more synergy, and is better than Vileplume, I would think Amoonguss taking Plume's A position

Unranked-> D (Poison): I am a bit surprised that this came to be ranked on Psychic but not on Poison. Despite being very hard to fit as it has a reasonably high opportunity cost, it has the niche of acting as a setup Stored Power sweeper (as poison doesn't have any other options for that). It also has access to Fire + Poison coverage and although Salazzle performs a much better job offensively, it can still check problematic Steel types like Ferrothorn for example. Finally, it compliments the Regenerator core nicely, even with its mediocre bulk compared to the OG slowbro, but it should be enough to alleviate pressure from other Pokemon.
snip

Unranked-> D (Poison). I can agree on this nomination. Comparing it to C-Rank (Dragalage), and D-Rank Toxicroak, I feel like it has a small niche. Having access to Nasty Plot and a variety of coverage such as Grass Knot, Scald, Fire Blast, and Psychic can do a number in matchups. However as Juleo mentioned before, Salazzle performs the job much better and so does Gengar.

Whimsicott and Comfey swap. Weird nomination but Priority Draining + Giga Drain sounds arguable better than Prankster Whimsicott on Fairy. Gardevoir is a better option than both in general, but Whimsicott should be UR for now.

Chandelure B --> D(Fire). With Marowak being added to fire and providing Electric-Immunity, which is pretty good in soaking up Rising Voltages and Electric-Type moves gives Fire a way less reasoning to run Chandelure. Chandelure is amazing on Ghost, and I feel like it outclasses it there but, Marowak is a better Ghost/Fire and Volcarona is a better setup sweeper.

Marowak-A (Fire) C --> B
My reasoning for this is that Marowak-a can wall and kill some of fire's most prominent threats. Plus it's a free electric immunity you're not running flare blitz. Here's the set I use on my fire team. Paired with screenstom-h, this thing is able to tank SE hits and still deal enough damage to net a kill.

Marowak-A (Fire) C --> B. I agree with this nomination. Marowak being able to OHKO Toxapex at +2 and adding a more agreeable playstyle (screens) on Fire makes it good. But screens isn't why its good, as mentioned before Marowak has an Electric-immunity and incredible wallbreaking capability and surprisingly great Bulk.

Durant S->A/B (bug). Durant is an amazing Pokemon and providing Hustle + STAB + Life orb against Hyper Offensive teams like rain, but with Scizor being here gives it less of a reason for it to be a "staple" on bug. However having amazing Attack, has its downside and its hustle's miss chance.

 

[StellaAthena]

Marowak-A (Fire) C --> B
My reasoning for this is that Marowak-a can wall and kill some of fire's most prominent threats. Plus it's a free electric immunity you're not running flare blitz. Here's the set I use on my fire team. Paired with screenstom-h, this thing is able to tank SE hits and still deal enough damage to net a kill.

Wak-A Set

Marowak-Alola @ Thick Club
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Bonemerang
- Shadow Bone
- Swords Dance
- Fire Punch

Supporting Calcs:

Terrakion

252 Atk Terrakion Stone Edge vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Marowak-Alola: 302-356 (93.4 - 110.2%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO
252 Atk Terrakion Earthquake vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Marowak-Alola: 202-238 (62.5 - 73.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Thick Club Marowak-Alola Bonemerang (2 hits) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Terrakion: 380-448 (117.6 - 138.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Dragapult

252 SpA Dragapult Shadow Ball vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Marowak-Alola: 264-312 (81.7 - 96.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Dragapult Draco Meteor vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Marowak-Alola: 213-252 (65.9 - 78%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Life Orb Dragapult Dragon Darts (2 hits) vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Marowak-Alola: 206-244 (63.7 - 75.5%) -- approx. 2HKO
+1 252+ Atk Life Orb Dragapult Dragon Darts (2 hits) vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Marowak-Alola: 306-362 (94.7 - 112%) -- approx. 75% chance to OHKO (+1 due to dragon dance dragapult)
252+ Atk Thick Club Marowak-Alola Shadow Bone vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Dragapult: 554-654 (174.7 - 206.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Toxapex

0 SpA Toxapex Scald vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Marowak-Alola: 126-150 (39 - 46.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
0 SpA Toxapex Scald vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Marowak-Alola in Sun: 62-74 (19.1 - 22.9%) -- possible 5HKO
252+ Atk Thick Club Marowak-Alola Bonemerang (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Toxapex: 184-220 (60.5 - 72.3%) -- approx. 2HKO
+1 252+ Atk Thick Club Marowak-Alola Bonemerang (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Toxapex: 276-328 (90.7 - 107.8%) -- approx. 50% chance to OHKO (+1 due to swords dance wak-a)

Raichu-A

252+ SpA Life Orb Raichu-Alola Psychic vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Marowak-Alola: 204-242 (63.1 - 74.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Life Orb Raichu-Alola Surf vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Marowak-Alola: 273-322 (84.5 - 99.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Thick Club Marowak-Alola Bonemerang (2 hits) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Raichu-Alola: 600-708 (229.8 - 271.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Thick Club Marowak-Alola Shadow Bone vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Raichu-Alola: 764-900 (292.7 - 344.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Screens Calcs (mons Wak-A can only beat behind screens):

Keldeo

252 SpA Choice Specs Keldeo Scald vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Marowak-Alola in Sun through Light Screen: 117-138 (36.2 - 42.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Keldeo Hydro Pump vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Marowak-Alola in Sun through Light Screen: 160-190 (49.5 - 58.8%) -- 99.6% chance to 2HKO
252+ Atk Thick Club Marowak-Alola Shadow Bone vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Keldeo: 240-283 (74.3 - 87.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Gengar

252 SpA Gengar Shadow Ball vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Marowak-Alola through Light Screen: 159-187 (49.2 - 57.8%) -- 96.9% chance to 2HKO
252+ Atk Thick Club Marowak-Alola Bonemerang (2 hits) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Gengar: 520-616 (199.2 - 236%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Thick Club Marowak-Alola Shadow Bone vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Gengar: 662-782 (253.6 - 299.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Thick Club Marowak-Alola Fire Punch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Gengar: 294-346 (112.6 - 132.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO

The List Goes On

I encourage everyone who read this to do their own calcs with the set I'm using (plus rotom screens with light clay). You'll see that this Pokemon easily deserves AT LEAST B Rank on fire mono.

I feel like these calcs are misleading. The most common special dragapult set is specs, and specs always OHKOs Marowak-A:
252 SpA Choice Specs Dragapult Shadow Ball vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Marowak-Alola: 390-462 (120.7 - 143%) -- guaranteed OHKO

For toxapex, you can absolutely get a kill but it’s a lot more situational than you make it seem:
0 SpA Toxapex Scald vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Marowak-Alola in Rain: 188-224 (58.2 - 69.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 SpA Toxapex Scald vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Marowak-Alola: 126-150 (39 - 46.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock

Also, your SD calc should be +2 not +1
+2 252+ Atk Thick Club Marowak-Alola Bonemerang (2 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Toxapex: 368-436 (121 - 143.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO

I agree that Marowak-A is great and am thrilled to have it on my fire team. I agree with the nomination to B (or even B+) but I think the calcs you’re presenting aren’t totally fair.

 

[roxie]

I feel like these calcs are misleading. The most common special dragapult set is specs, and specs always OHKOs Marowak-A:
252 SpA Choice Specs Dragapult Shadow Ball vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Marowak-Alola: 390-462 (120.7 - 143%) -- guaranteed OHKO
snip

psure specs and scarf are pretty common sets on dragapult, drag is scarfed on one of the samples. The only calc that was mainly needed was Toxapex , and +2 + Ground Move(Eq/Bone) OHKOS toxapex and that presents wak as a great wallbreaker in general.

 

[Dennis gr]

Keldeo (water) S->A
Heracross (bug) B->A


Keldeo in water this Gen has the Sam powers as last gen but it lacks the HP electric he used to run to deal with other water and flying teams, now due to this I believe that It will struggle more against common threads like toxapex. It's still a very good mon, just not S tier worthy in my opinion.


Heracross supports the fast offensive nature of bug teams really well, being in my opinion the best bug scarfer in the game, that's why I believe it should be moved up to S tier

 

[The Dragon Master]

(fire)B<A
In my opinion incineroar is ranked way too low. It is fires best pivot and it's ability to shut down pex and other troublesome defensive mons with taunt is invaluable to fire teams which generally struggle with these mons. It can also give one of fires strong wallbreakers free switch-ins with parting shot which is also good for grabbing momentum. Intimidate lets it take physical hits well, even with only max health investment .Its ability to remove items with knock off can also be helpful in some situations. Thus I say that inci should rise to A.

 

[StellaAthena]

View attachment 262130(fire)B<A
In my opinion incineroar is ranked way too low. It is fires best pivot and it's ability to shut down pex and other troublesome defensive mons with taunt is invaluable to fire teams which generally struggle with these mons. It can also give one of fires strong wallbreakers free switch-ins with parting shot which is also good for grabbing momentum. Intimidate lets it take physical hits well, even with only max health investment .Its ability to remove items with knock off can also be helpful in some situations. Thus I say that inci should rise to A.

I’m curious what set you’re running. I had tried a SpD invested set with AV to provide a bulky pivot but the attacks I really wanted to be able to take more flexibly were strong water type attacks (especially with STAB) and I found that even max invested Incinaroar doesn’t take stray Hydro Pumps too well.

 

[The Dragon Master]

I’m curious what set you’re running. I had tried a SpD invested set with AV to provide a bulky pivot but the attacks I really wanted to be able to take more flexibly were strong water type attacks (especially with STAB) and I found that even max invested Incinaroar doesn’t take stray Hydro Pumps too well.

Im using it more as a stallbreaker with taunt and toxic(max spdef). Fire usually has trouble with stall especially pex and chancy. Not sure if AV can work too well cause one of its best qualities is being able to stop recovery on defensive mons.

 

[Havens]

Effective stalls in Monotype are few and far between. The only type has a capacity to run a form of stall well is Water, and the matchup is naturally losing for Fire (though it has been shown that Fire can beat Water!). Fire doesn't necessarily struggle with Toxapex and Chansey either, given the former struggling with Rotom-H, Volcarona as most Pex are Physically Defensive, the latter struggling with Darm, and both potentially falling to Cinderace because of its adaptive typings alongside Bulk UP + Zen/HJK combinations. If anything, the points that Incineroar should be considered for in terms of a potential rise is the Dark typing as the immunity to Psychic teams, which are ever growing in terms of viability at higher play and a nuisance for Fire, for without it nothing really stops Psychic from clicking Expanding Force or spamming Psychic STAB in general.

That being said, Incin should probably stay at B. It's an option that teams will use as a glue, but not something that influences how multiple types play out versus Fire aside from one or two of them.

 

[Escur Eternet]

Crawdaunt → Rank A
Sableye → Rank C

Why is Crawdaunt Rank C and Sableye Rank B on Dark?

Sableye is useless against monodark and monofairy match ups and Crawdaunt has adaptabillity+ knock off and aqua jet STAB, access to Sword Dance and a really good attack stat

I think that Sableye should be Rank C and Crawdaunt Rank B or maybe Sableye Rank B and Crawdaunt Rank A

Bewear (Normal) : D → B
I've been really surprised that Bewear have been D-ranked.
Why?
Because bewear in SS (even post-bank) helps a lot the normal type.
Its most current set (Bulk Up, Sub, Darkest Lariat, Drain Punch) is really powerful and is able to make big holes in opponent teams in addition to be a pivot sometimes due to its great physical bulk (as Normal type doesn't have a lot this kind of Pokemon).
In many cases, it can create a sub and sets up easily and force opponent to sack at least one Pokemon to break the sub.
By example, common Pokemon in "top types": Ferrothorn, Bisharp, Corsola-G, Mandibuzz (in the case Bewear speed is above usual Mandi speed~200), ...
So, why should it be D-ranked?
- Can't hit Toxapex, Mew wallbreaker,... Which is the same for Snorlax.
- Frail Sp.Def (or less good than Snorlax)

I really think after analyzed pro and con, that Bewear doesn't have to be D-ranked at all in normal type.
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I agree with that. Sub bulk up is a great set as well.

 

[StellaAthena]

Crawdaunt → Rank A
Sableye → Rank C

Why is Crawdaunt Rank C and Sableye Rank B on Dark?

Sableye is useless against monodark and monofairy match ups and Crawdaunt has adaptabillity+ knock off and aqua jet STAB, access to Sword Dance and a really good attack stat

I think that Sableye should be Rank C and Crawdaunt Rank B or maybe Sableye Rank B and Crawdaunt Rank A

I think that Urshifu fills the same role as Crawdaunt, and typically does it better. What advantages does Crawdaunt have over Urshifu?

Im using it more as a stallbreaker with taunt and toxic(max spdef). Fire usually has trouble with stall especially pex and chancy. Not sure if AV can work too well cause one of its best qualities is being able to stop recovery on defensive mons.

I won’t deny that fire struggles with Pex, but I’m not sure Incinaroar is the way to handle it. Pex can actually 1v1Incinaroar:

4 Atk Incineroar Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Toxapex: 64-76 (21 - 25%) -- 0% chance to 4HKO
4 Atk Incineroar Knock Off vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Toxapex: 42-51 (13.8 - 16.7%) -- possible 6HKO

0 SpA Toxapex Scald vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Incineroar: 84-98 (21.3 - 24.8%) -- guaranteed 5HKO

And even when Taunted Toxapex can still heal by switching out. It does better against Chansy, sure, but Cinderace’s unboosted HJK OHKOs Chansy too. I actually think the Pokémon it helps the most against is P2, as Cinderace doesn’t OHKO (even at +1) and doesn’t want to get hit by a TWave. But I think you have other better options against P2, and a Pokémon that’s good against a handful of Pokemon Isn’t something I feel like I have space to run.

 

[mushamu]

It’s interesting that Dragon was called out in the update because I feel that Cinderace makes Dragon a free-roll, not Volcarona. Even at +1, there are a lot of dragons that survive attacks from Volcarona

Dragons that survive +1 Volc

+1 252 SpA Volcarona Bug Buzz vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Dragapult: 144-169 (45.4 - 53.3%) -- 35.5% chance to 2HKO
+1 252 SpA Volcarona Psychic vs. 204 HP / 0 SpD Dragalge: 254-300 (78.8 - 93.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+1 252 SpA Volcarona Bug Buzz vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Dracovish: 273-322 (85 - 100.3%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO
+1 252 SpA Volcarona Psychic vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Noivern: 181-214 (58.1 - 68.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Additionally, when you take into account the fact that you can’t run four attacking moves on Volc there’s also going to be others that beat it depending on what you drop: Fire (Duraludon), Bug (Hydreigon), Grass (okay, not grass but I don’t think you can drop Giga Drain), Psychic (Kommo-O).

While Gardevoir certainly faces a lot of competition nowadays, the ability to Trace Swift Swim makes it an incredibly potent threat against Water teams. The fact that you can outspeed and OHKO is Kingdra through the rain is huge, and Psychic lacks the prankster TWavers Fairy can use to neutralize Water’s threats.

Kingdra I’m shocked to see as low as B tier. With its new access to Hurricane, Kingdra seems to be the best special rain sweeper in the game. EDIT: I see that all rain sweepers are ranked B or less. I’m not sure I agree, but it’s at least consistent.

Since you asked about Volcarona sweeping Dragon, I will explain it to you. A well played Volcarona can definitely beat a standard Dragon team, especially if it has Roost. Noivern struggles to take on Volcarona after it gets up a Quiver Dance as it can start Roosting off Hurricanes especially under Sun which makes Hurricane unreliable, Dracovish loses to Bug Buzz at +1 with Stealth Rock chip, Roost allows you to once again 1v1 common Dragalge sets. Volcarona uses both Hydreigon and Dragapult as setup fodder considering they are both special attackers.

Compared to the other A ranked Pokemon, it's noticeably harder to fit Gardevoir nowadays when teambuilding so a drop to B isn't completely unreasonable. Defensive Pokemon like Celebi and Slowbro handle weather sweepers well, which Gardevoir's main role is to take advantage of with Trace. Alakazam being released also lessens the need to have Gardevoir to check weather sweepers, as it can blanket check just about any offensive threat with Focus Sash. Slowbro and Necrozma are also harder to fit on teams as B ranked Pokemon, despite being good options, so Gardevoir fits well together with those.

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.


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.

 

[ExtremeCynthia]

I agree with the sentiment of steel’s viability being clouded and less accurate, and after using tons of Steel teams on alts, I think I have some input in regards to mons currently sitting in B.

Excadrill B → A

With the rise of Fire due to Libero Cinderace and the return of Volcarona, Steel has been feeling the effects of lacking Fire tanks such as Heatran more heavily than before. While Excadrill is far from a Flash Fire Steel type, let alone a tank, used effectively, it can sweep almost every option fire has, while providing immense utility that proves to be relevant for numerous other matchups.

Excadrill calcs

The following calcs are made under the assumption Excadrill is running either Choice Scarf, or an item like leftovers, AV, or sash. EV’s being used are 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

252 Atk Mold Breaker Excadrill Rock Slide vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Volcarona: 476-564 (153 - 181.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Excadrill being able to carry Rock Slide gives it an edge up as a pokemon, being able to achieve a OHKO against Volcarona and to have options against flying types. All of Fire’s other options, like Cinderace, or Rotom-H, get melted to STAB Earthquake, with the exception of Flying types and..

252 Atk Mold Breaker Excadrill Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Torkoal: 192-228 (55.8 - 66.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

No surprise there. Apart from my fire rant, which I do believe can be justified for steel given the heatran-less era that SS mono is in currently, here are some other calcs/facts I’ll just leave here.

252 Atk Mold Breaker Excadrill Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Toxapex: 180-212 (59.2 - 69.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Black Sludge recovery
252 Atk Mold Breaker Excadrill Iron Head vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Hatterene: 282-332 (88.6 - 104.4%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO
it deletes mimikyu with mold breaker
252 Atk Mold Breaker Excadrill Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Terrakion: 366-432 (113.3 - 133.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Okay, perhaps those last calcs were anticlimactic (just like this entire calc section), but they still validate the utility that a scarf Exca has. However, things get spicy when you attach a life orb.

252 Atk Life Orb Mold Breaker Excadrill Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Volcarona: 308-364 (99 - 117%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO

Earthquake has now become capable of OHKO’ing Volcarona, compared to a set 2HKO EQ with a scarf. Can’t say much changes on the torkoal front, as it just becomes 72.6-86% 2HKO, but life orb allows excadrill to OHKO all sorts of mons, such as:

252 Atk Life Orb Mold Breaker Excadrill Iron Head vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Kyurem: 382-452 (97.6 - 115.6%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO
252 Atk Life Orb Mold Breaker Excadrill Iron Head vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Clefable: 455-538 (115.4 - 136.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO [note on this one, it OHKO’s low HP investment w/out orb]
252 Atk Life Orb Mold Breaker Excadrill Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Dragapult: 277-328 (87.3 - 103.4%) -- 18.8% chance to OHKO
252 Atk Life Orb Mold Breaker Excadrill Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Tyranitar: 400-476 (99 - 117.8%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO

There are TONS of new 2HKO possibilities that are opened due to running Life Orb, I just feel that this calc section’s getting a bit long and could come to a close, as there are still things such as speed tiers that need to be addressed.

Excadrill has exceptional base attack and a solid movepool, allowing it to support for the users team, have solid coverage on current meta mons, and combined with Mold Breaker, allow for sweeps that normally would have been denied if you used any other mon. I covered some basic calculations, highlighting how Excadrill exceeds with scarf, and with Rapid Spin getting the speed boost buff, it allows for the possibility of Excadrill to not be stuck into choice scarf (albeit, I think it’s more optimal to use scarf).

Yes, Excadrill has 88 base speed. It has a hard time against pokemon such as scarfzard, and will lose to them unless Excadrill manages to have 2 stacks of speed, or you are running AV and there is no sunlight. However, Excadrills ability to dismantle one of, arguably the hardest steel matchups in the current meta while providing plenty utility for other matchups makes it worthy of a tier upgrade.

Bisharp B → A

I don’t think there’s a lot to say here apart from the fact that Bisharp is a damage dealing unit. Input from others to further the case of Bisharp is more than welcome.

A well timed Iron Head OHKO’s Hatterene and the mystical fire threat she poses [(118.5 - 140.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO], and if you can manage to get +2 Atk, the unpleasant pex gets 2HKO’d [(76.9 - 91.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO] by a knock off, all of this with the fact that Bisharp’s Defiant ability can be easily proc’d by defog, or webs they are on your side of the field. On top of this, Bisharp’s greatest tool of all, Sucker Punch, is able to revenge kill and stop sweepers, whether it be an Alakazam, or maybe a psychic type, or someone too setup for your taste. Perhaps I’m a bit overloaded from the Excadrill calculations, but I honestly don’t think there needs to be much explaining for Bisharp, apart from he is able to pack a punch on most pokemon, has a solid moveset and fits well into steel teams.

 

[The Dragon Master]

I agree with the sentiment of steel’s viability being clouded and less accurate, and after using tons of Steel teams on alts, I think I have some input in regards to mons currently sitting in B.

Excadrill B → A

With the rise of Fire due to Libero Cinderace and the return of Volcarona, Steel has been feeling the effects of lacking Fire tanks such as Heatran more heavily than before. While Excadrill is far from a Flash Fire Steel type, let alone a tank, used effectively, it can sweep almost every option fire has, while providing immense utility that proves to be relevant for numerous other matchups.

Excadrill calcs

The following calcs are made under the assumption Excadrill is running either Choice Scarf, or an item like leftovers, AV, or sash. EV’s being used are 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

252 Atk Mold Breaker Excadrill Rock Slide vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Volcarona: 476-564 (153 - 181.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Excadrill being able to carry Rock Slide gives it an edge up as a pokemon, being able to achieve a OHKO against Volcarona and to have options against flying types. All of Fire’s other options, like Cinderace, or Rotom-H, get melted to STAB Earthquake, with the exception of Flying types and..

252 Atk Mold Breaker Excadrill Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Torkoal: 192-228 (55.8 - 66.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

No surprise there. Apart from my fire rant, which I do believe can be justified for steel given the heatran-less era that SS mono is in currently, here are some other calcs/facts I’ll just leave here.

252 Atk Mold Breaker Excadrill Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Toxapex: 180-212 (59.2 - 69.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Black Sludge recovery
252 Atk Mold Breaker Excadrill Iron Head vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Hatterene: 282-332 (88.6 - 104.4%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO
it deletes mimikyu with mold breaker
252 Atk Mold Breaker Excadrill Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Terrakion: 366-432 (113.3 - 133.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Okay, perhaps those last calcs were anticlimactic (just like this entire calc section), but they still validate the utility that a scarf Exca has. However, things get spicy when you attach a life orb.

252 Atk Life Orb Mold Breaker Excadrill Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Volcarona: 308-364 (99 - 117%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO

Earthquake has now become capable of OHKO’ing Volcarona, compared to a set 2HKO EQ with a scarf. Can’t say much changes on the torkoal front, as it just becomes 72.6-86% 2HKO, but life orb allows excadrill to OHKO all sorts of mons, such as:

252 Atk Life Orb Mold Breaker Excadrill Iron Head vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Kyurem: 382-452 (97.6 - 115.6%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO
252 Atk Life Orb Mold Breaker Excadrill Iron Head vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Clefable: 455-538 (115.4 - 136.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO [note on this one, it OHKO’s low HP investment w/out orb]
252 Atk Life Orb Mold Breaker Excadrill Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Dragapult: 277-328 (87.3 - 103.4%) -- 18.8% chance to OHKO
252 Atk Life Orb Mold Breaker Excadrill Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Tyranitar: 400-476 (99 - 117.8%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO

There are TONS of new 2HKO possibilities that are opened due to running Life Orb, I just feel that this calc section’s getting a bit long and could come to a close, as there are still things such as speed tiers that need to be addressed.

Excadrill has exceptional base attack and a solid movepool, allowing it to support for the users team, have solid coverage on current meta mons, and combined with Mold Breaker, allow for sweeps that normally would have been denied if you used any other mon. I covered some basic calculations, highlighting how Excadrill exceeds with scarf, and with Rapid Spin getting the speed boost buff, it allows for the possibility of Excadrill to not be stuck into choice scarf (albeit, I think it’s more optimal to use scarf).

Yes, Excadrill has 88 base speed. It has a hard time against pokemon such as scarfzard, and will lose to them unless Excadrill manages to have 2 stacks of speed, or you are running AV and there is no sunlight. However, Excadrills ability to dismantle one of, arguably the hardest steel matchups in the current meta while providing plenty utility for other matchups makes it worthy of a tier upgrade.

Though excadrill somewhat eases the fire matchup,but it doesn't ease it enough to warrant a rise. It struggles to switch in and even if it does It's speed tier is quite middling and a scarf dosent really help as it's still outsped by scarf zard and volc at +1 ( volc gets plenty setup opportunities against steel). And non scarf sets are useless against fire as it is outsped and ko'd by almost everything on fire.

Yes, Excadrill has 88 base speed. It has a hard time against pokemon such as scarfzard, and will lose to them unless Excadrill manages to have 2 stacks of speed, or you are running AV and there is no sunlight.

Excadrill will never get 2 speed boosts from rapid spin because, as I said almost every mon on fire threatens to OKHO it . And good luck keeping sun off the field as you have no opposing weather and most of steel is physical meaning koal switches in rather well against most mons on steel. And you are seriously underestimating how dangerous zard is against steel as it can OHKO every common mon on steel in sun.

Versus Torkoal Rock slide from exca fails to even 3HKO standard koal. Against incineror there are similar results with it not being a guaranteed 3HKO .

-1 252 Atk Mold Breaker Excadrill Rock Slide vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Incineroar: 124-146 (31.4 - 37%) -- 77.4% chance to 3HKO

252 Atk Mold Breaker Excadrill Rock Slide vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Torkoal: 96-114 (27.9 - 33.1%) -- guaranteed 4HKO

This Means if it wants to have any chance of beating torkoal or incineror it has to lock itself into EQ and that lets zard come in freely. This is bad for steel as zard OHKO's every mon on steel under sun.

As for LO or AV sets those are rekt by fire due to its middling speed.