Resource SS OU DLC2 Viability Ranking Thread [SEE: Page 105, Post 2618]

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So this has probably already been beaten to death, but honestly,

:regieleki: B -> B-/C+

This thing is just bad. It should have stayed in UU. I swear people only use it outside of screens because it's a funny gimmick mon that has just an ounce of realistic viability. Comparing it to other mons currently sitting in B, it sticks out like a sore thumb. There's no way you can tell me this thing is on the same level as Hawlucha, Volcarona, Skarm, etc.. We all already know what's wrong with this thing: a lack of coverage allowing it to be walled by the omnipresent ground type. Spoiler alert: that kills it.

As a specs wallbreaker, I mean. Just have a ground mon on your team, and this thing is left swifting helplessly, praying to do some damage on your ground switch in. Bulky grasses work here too. It's a complete deadweight until the grounds are down, and it just drains so much momentum until that happens. Maybe you can use it as fodder or something idk lol. That aside, Tapu Koko is just a better electric specs user since it can actually hit grounds with Dazzling Gleam or Grass Knot for decent damage.

The screens set is serviceable, but personally, I think Tapu Koko equally as good (if not a better choice) anyways. Clearing hazards is nice and all, and Explosion is also nice, but imo the utility Tapu Koko gives with Taunt and Electric Terrain is superior. The competition is heavy here, and I don't think Regieleki outperforms Tapu Koko as a screens setter enough (or at all) to merit such a high ranking in conjunction with the often-deadweight specs set.
The specs set isn't dead weight that often, just having it in the back helps deter your opponent from taking risks with their ground types (like switching in to rotom w, koko or magearna to block a volt switch. All these have ways to heavily damage most OU grounds too; rotoms hydro, mags ice beam, kokos grass knot. I don't think there's any ground other than spdef gastrodon that avoids a 2hko from all of these).


I've been running a team built around rising voltage specs leki and my hardest matchups have been rain(particularly barakuda) and stall with clef/shedinja/gastro so far. Stuff like exca/chomp/lando/hippo/nidoking haven't been too difficult to wear down.
 
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A-->A or A+

This guy is back and more menacing and ever IMO, the ridiculous speed tier and wide movepool just makes him one of the most amazing revenge killers in the tier and one of the best cleaners versus offensive teams with just a choice specs equipped, and the absence of horse makes his competition extremely limited. He's got a wide variety of set options beyond just specs that can all pull their weight versus most team builds (TWave/Wow+Hex with HBD and Life Orb DD are just a few examples) and can beat or at least heavily cripple some of his most common checks and make switching around on him an extremely awkward task. The fact that he resists so many common forms of priority i.e. grassy glide and aqua jet makes revenge killing him a really difficult task in combination with his blistering speed, and in most games he should just be able to continuously gain U-turn momentum until it's his time to come in and start picking up kills with Draco or Shadow Ball. Definitely one of the more splashable mons in OU right now and deserves way higher than A-

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B-->B or B+

This is one of those mons than can completely mess you up if you're unprepared for it. Once Pex is weakened or pressured by hazards or once bro gets his boots/helmet knocked off, this thing can kinda just start clicking Strikes or CC without a care in the world. Being a physical breaker that laughs in the face of Landorus-T is in itself nothing to scoff at, and his typing and speed tier make him an absolute nightmare for unprepared offensive teams lacking a bulky water-type glue like the aforementioned pex and bro. Being slightly faster than Lele, having solid bulk that lets him withstand most physical hits that aren't from Kart or Rillaboom, and having U-turn to apply pressure to his switch-ins give him a pretty solid edge as a breaker IMO. He's a great option in rain but can totally function on his own without it, too.
 

Finchinator

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Part 1 (of 2)

Rises
  • :Landorus-Therian: from A+ to S: Landorus-Therian has quickly risen back to the top of the usage stats; while usage is not the only indicator of viability, there is a strong correlation here. Landorus-Tis one of the best Stealth Rock setters and physically defensive pivots while also maintaining a superb offensive presence. Cinderace's ban may slow it down a little bit, but there is little reason to believe Landorus-T will be anywhere besides the top moving forward. Swords Dance and Choice Scarf sets are also very viable, helping cement it as a versatile, top tier option. We reserve S rank for Pokemon that play a large part in defining the metagame -- Landorus-T does exactly that.
  • :Tornadus-Therian: from A to A+: Tornadus-Therian joins Landorus-Therian among the top Pokemon in the metagame, which seems to be the realm of mid-generation five released legendries thriving almost nine years later! Much like Landorus-T, Tornadus-T is a phenomenal pivot. Tornadus-T gets by with the assistance of Regenerator and Heavy Duty Boots, allowing for it to get in-and-out more times than just about any other Pokemon with such a speed tier and offensive presence in the metagame. Be it through sheer utility thanks to Knock Off and Defog, breaking power with Nasty Plot, Hurricane, and complimentary coverage such as Heat Wave or Focus Blast, or momentum generation through U-turn, Tornadus-T's antics are always going to leave a lasting impact on the game. It is one of the most practical options in the metagame right now and there are no signs of this changing anytime soon.
  • :Corviknight: from A- to A: The bird is the word -- and no, this is not a cheesy Family Guy skit. The third straight Flying type rising in viability is Corviknight. Corviknight naturally rose as a result of Spectrier's ban, which gave us one less reason to use competitor Mandibuzz. Some other, less direct cause-and-effect trends in the metagme have also made it more favorable for Corviknight, which is the Defogger best suited for combatting bulky Ground type Stealth Rock setters. In addition to this, Corviknight's pressure and access to a slower U-turn are both very practical in the metagame. Pressure allows for new strategies to open up in drawn out games whereas U-turn allows it to open the game up for frailer offensive teammates. Corviknight is a fantastic defensive pivot and utility Pokemon in the metagame that is fully deserving of a place in the A rank.
  • :Dragapult: from A- to A: Once upon a time, Dragapult was hardly seeing any usage in a hectic early DLC2 metagame and in the depths of an OU chatroom, a disgruntled Finchinator uttered "one day, Dragapult will be a top 10 Pokemon again". Seeing as Finchinator has not once been wrong about anything Pokemon related ever, it is natural that Dragapult is already beginning to rise back up to where it once resided, near the top of the viabiliy rankings. While Dragapult is not quite near its DLC1 peak, it is seen as one of the premier forms of speed control and it has a very unique niche in the metagame as an offensive Ghost with great utility and a couple of strong sets. Dragapult improved with Spectrier's ban and also has a practical enough typing to make it worth considering on teams that need require a fast pivot.
  • :Hydreigon: from A- to A: This three-headed Dragon was used on what seemed to be every other team during the peak of the Spectrier metagame, but then it dropped a bit once it was removed from the tier due to lack of defensive need for it. Since then, more offensive Hydreigon sets have emerged as strong breaking and sweeping options on the special end of the spectrum. Due to an average speed tier, Hydreigon is held back in a metagame filled with fast offensive options, but it is still strong enough and has access to enough coverage to where Hydreigon can break through many teams, leaving it solidly in A rank.
  • :Slowking: from A- to A: You may wonder why I keep writing full paragraphs for each Pokemon -- I do not know the answer, so let's be a bit more succint here. Slowking is just like Slowbro, but it has more special bulk. It does a better job against Nidoking, Heatran, Tapu Lele, Latios, and other special attackers as opposed to physical attackers, making it a viable alternative on specific teams.
  • :Tapu Koko: from A- to A: In a metagame where U-turn and Volt Switch unlock countless possibilities for progress generation, it should be no shock that a Pokemon that has access to both of these moves is an absolutely electric pick in the metagame, surging up the viability rankings. Jokes aside, Tapu Koko is a strong pivot that has the ability to check Tornadus-Therian, which very few Pokemon can say. While Tapu Koko's strength or coverage are nothing to brag about, it is a great game flow Pokemon that can support fellow Electric attack users, check a number of Pokemon with a sneaky good defensive typing, and lure in a specific pool of Pokemon that many teammates can take advantage of well. Tapu Koko's improved viability likely has some correlation to the ban of Spectrier and Cinderace, making it more likely to be used as a form of speed control, too.
  • :Hippowdon: from B+ to A-: We have discussed plenty of birds and dragons, so why not throw in a hippo to our viability ranking changes list as well? Hippowdon is a very bulky Stealth Rock setter with the ability to summon Sand. It has not gained anything of note, but it is able to check Tapu Koko, Zeraora, and Heatran, who are all strong and improving Pokemon in the current metagame. Specially Defensive Hippowdon in particular is seeing more usage as it is able to withstand many hits on both sides of the spectrum due to already superb natural physical bulk.
  • :Kyurem: from B+ to A-: Kyurem has been seeing a lot more usage recently already, but the bans of Cinderace and Magearna give us even more reason to try it out. Both Choice Specs and Substitute variants show a lot of promise, having very few switch-ins due to how practical Freeze Dry is in a metagame populated by many Water types.
  • :Dragonite: from B to B+: Dragonite may not have risen if we voted after the Cinderace ban, to be entirely honest. Utility sets began seeing a lot of usage after Storm Zone popularized them on ladder, being able to withstand attacks from Cinderace, Heatran, Kartana, Rillaboom, Excadrill, and others while dealing out significant damage to each and having utility options like Heal Bell or Defog at its disposal. Cinderace's ban is one less Pokemon for it to wall, but it still can function. In addition to this, Dragon Dance variants are quite underrated, making great use of the combination of Multiscale and either Heavy Duty Boots or even Weakness Policy depending upon the pace of the team.
  • :Skarmory: from B to B+: Skarmory is an underrated option in the metagame, being able to lay up Spikes while also walling a significant portion of the physical attackers in the metagame. Both bans improve it, too. Skarmory will never be a top tier presence with all of the strong special attackers, Defog users that minimize it, and Heavy Duty Boots spam, but it retains a lot of viability as a wall that has the ability to help make progress, which can go a long enough way to land it in B+ for the time being.
  • :Scizor: from B to B+: I voted to leave Scizor in B and have not used it too much, but my general understanding is that Swords Dance Scizor has a lot of surprisingly good match-ups. It does come with some risk about facing a Pokemon like Toxapex, which shuts down the generic bulky Scizor variant. However, the upside is impressive and it is still a Steel type that is not overly passive, giving every Scizor fan some hope for its future in the SS metagame.
  • :Zeraora: from C+ to A-: Everyone wrote Zeraora off once the Landorus-Therian and Garchomp were released due to the lack of Hidden Power Ice. Everyone was wrong -- Zeraora is still a superb pivot and form of speed control in the SS metagame, especially given how strong Tornadus-Therian is right now. Yes, Zeraora is reliant on incremental chip like Knock Off against these Pokemon, but this adds up over time, especially alongside other forms of support. Late game, Zeraora can be an absolute monster if teams do not have secondary checks and counters to it. I realize that a rise up from C+ to A- skips the entire B ranks, but we should not B surprised to C it in A rank in the near future at this rate.
  • :Rotom-Wash: from C+ to B: Rotom-Wash is once again putting OU in the spin cycle, crippling one thing and pivoting around yet another all while making us wonder if it will ever die -- spoiler: it will NOT. Rotom-Wash has seen a bit more usage with the abundance of bulky Ground types and Tornadus-Therian in the metagame. It has a limited offensive presence still, but it is enough to force some switches and progress in games, opening things up for many stronger teammates. This alone is enough for a slight bump from the depths of C+ to the middle of the B ranks.
  • :Tapu Bulu: from C+ to B: Tapu Bulu has a great set of coverage moves like Close Combat and Stone Edge that help it pose a major threat. While Rillaboom is regarded as the stronger option, the Fairy typing and access to Stone Edge opens it up to some interesting possibilities in a metagame where Rock weak Defoggers double as Grass checks on many teams. Luring in Tornadus-T, Zapdos, Moltres, and others goes a long way, but this alone is only enough for it to be in B rank, which still is far behind Rillaboom.
  • :Reuniclus: from C+ to B-: The Pokemon that is either jell-o or a fetus or some weird combination of the two clicks Calm Mind and then wins -- it is that simple. Unless you get crit, then it is less simple and you do Not win.
  • :Bisharp: from C to C+: Bisharp is an improving win condition on hyper offensive builds that takes advantage of common Defog users and has a strong Dark STAB, allowing it to sweep through many underprepared teams with minimal support. While it is not quite the worldbeater that it once was in prior generations, Bisharp is still able to make use of Sucker Punch and Knock Off well when it finds openings.
  • :Blacephalon: from C to C+: Something about people wanting to replace Spectrier.
  • :Glastrier:, :Mamoswine:, & :Weavile: from C to C+: The trio of fringe Ice types has been taking a liking to the bans of Cinderace and Magearna. Glastrier's amazing bulk allows for many set-up opportunities and the ability to score clutch kills. Mamoswine's fantastic dual STAB means very few Pokemon can swap into it safely. Finally, Weavile has a great speed tier and can threaten unprepared teams easily, which is going to pop up more often due to the lack of Magearna in the metagame nowadays.
I decided to go more in depth and spread this over two posts to maximize my like count so I could give everyone perspective on the new metagame. It has been a while since the last update, so I felt longer reasoning on some of these was due and I will be glad to go into more depth for people who have questions after this is open -- feel free to message me then. Regardless of that, I am going to post the drops tomorrow in a similarly thorough fashion, so stay tuned and the thread will be re-opened afterwards.
 

Finchinator

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OU Leader
Drops
  • :Melmetal: from A+ to B+: Do note that this drop is only so large (A+ to B+) due to the length between updates, which is largely due to tiering decisions messing with timing. It has been a steady decline for Melmetal rather than it going from hero to zero overnight. Melmetal is still a viable option as it has great offensive strength and physical bulk, but it unfortunately is very awkward to fit on to teams and finds itself very inconsistent in the metagame. Melmetal's usage has reflected this drop for a while now; it was barely a top 25 Pokemon in January on the ladder and it is outside of the top 30 in SPL thus far. In a metagame where so many other Steel types are strong and provide distinct defensive presences, you can argue that Melmetal is the awkwardly-large-and-metallic fish out of water. Thankfully, Magearna is one less Steel to compete with it and Cinderace is one less Fire type to threaten it, but even this has not yet led to an uprising in Melmetal viability. We are a far cry away from the days where Melmetal was a potential suspect, let alone an Uber. I personally believe people will figure out how to optimally use it sooner rather than later, leading to at least a slight uptick in viability and usefulness, but until then, it will reside rightfully outside of the A ranks.
  • :Excadrill: from A to A-: Excadrill has been struggling to break past the various Flying type Defog users like Corvknight and Mandibuzz all generation, but now they are common and numerous bulky Ground types also prove troublesome with Landorus-Therian, Garchomp, and even Hippowdon seeing consistent usage. Excadrill is able to make some incrimental progress with the surprise Toxic or give itself decent odds with the occasional Iron Head flinch, but it simply lacks the offensive presence it had at points earlier in the generation. Excadrill was seen as a consensus top 10 Pokemon earlier in the generation, but now it is more top 20-25 and this drop reflects that. If the metagame becomes a bit more offensive with there being less defensive restraints forcing specific structures, then we may see an uptick in Excadrill usage on Sand teams as a revenge killer, however.
  • :Mandibuzz: from A to A-: With Spectrier getting banned, Mandibuzz is still a good Defog user and pivot on the defensive end, but there is one less reason to use it. Mandibuzz is still good, but it is no longer great and absolutely nowhere near a metagame staple, which it previously was close to being.
  • :Tapu Fini: from A to A-: Tapu Fini has slowly dropped in usage ever since the bans of Pheromosa and Zygarde. There are less Pokemon it is able to check, making it reliant on the utility options it has and Misty Terrain supporting. These two options will keep it around and viable, but not quite in the middle of A rank. It is able to stuff most Heatran and Dragapult sets, but without reliably recovery, it is only a temporary answer and it does not check or counter many other common Pokemon either. The occasional Trick Choice Scarf set will keep things exciting, especially if everyone's favorite player Storm Zone is the one using it, but again: this is simply not enough for it to maintain an A ranking. A- is much more fitting of Tapu Fini's viability.
  • :Moltres: from A- to B: Moltres has been declining in usage and viability for a while now; Knock Off is growing more common on a number of Pokemon that it would normally check such as Kartana, Ferrothorn, and even Landorus-Therian, which can also run Toxic to cripple it through status. Moltres's durability is reduced and it has a limited window to get off Defogs and be the wall it once was in the tier. It is unlikely that Moltres will hang on to its status as an OU Pokemon for much longer unless something changes and it is seeing a significant drop in viability to reflect this.
  • :Suicune: from B+ to B: The metagame is too proactive and filled with options to cripple Suicune -- Knock Off, Spikes, status spread, etc. -- for Suicune to find enough openings to win games, especially given its inherent inconsistency due to Toxapex and various Grass and Electric types being able to stop it in its tracks. Suicune rose in popularity at first due to it having a good match-up against unprepared balance teams, but nowadays it is on the radar and even when not prepared for, more teams naturally are able to suffocate it before it can begin to sweep through.
  • :Blaziken: from B to B-: The one-time Uber has fallen from grace, dropping all the way to UUBL without much of a presence in the OU metagame. While Cinderace's removal from the metagame gives it a sliver of hope as there is a bit less competition, Blaziken is still deemed fringe. Blaziken lacks the ability to consistently break past various bulky options in the metagame such as Toxapex, Slowbro, Tapu Fini, and Landorus-Therian due to its inability to find set-up turns that are safe. Blaziken is too fragile and reliant on Life Orb to find sustainable succes in OU, but it may still find the occasional opening with enough support, which will keep it ranked in the low Bs for the time being at least. This is still a depressingly far cry from being an Uber, but it is what the Fire chicken will have to settle for right now.
  • :Buzzwole: from B to B-: We are running out of reasons to use Buzzwole. It still handles Kartana, Rillaboom, and Landorus-Therian, but otherwise, it is virtually useless with the standard, defensive set. Buzzwole's viability has taken a huge hit with the bans of Kyurem-Black, Zygarde, and Urshifu. With many Pokemon taking advantage of its limited offensive presence when running the defensive set, Buzzwole is oftentimes regarded as a liability and many people struggle to make it worthwhile because of this.
  • :Exploud: from C to UR & :Porygon2: from C- to UR: Turns out lower tier Normal types only were worth using when there is a broken Ghost type with no non-STAB coverage residing in the metagame. How unfortunate.
  • :Regidrago: from C- to UR: Ranking this one was a mistake to begin with, let's be real.
Thanks for being patient everyone -- here are all of the drops!
 
Guess I'm the first to post after changes, anyway time to give some thoughts on possible changes to the VR. Looking forward to the new meta developing of course.
to A+: With the bans of the bunnies, Rillaboom has cemented itself as top threat in the current metagame. It's insane revenge killing capabilities with grassy slide and its strong movepool and diverse offensive sets has made it one of the top offensive picks in this metagame. While grass is easily walled, I still do believe that Rillaboom has the impact on the metagame to be an A+ mon.
to A: Also benefitting from the bunnies being banned, Lele is an absolute force in the OU metagame. With just its STABS it pressures everything outside of steels, and has options like thunderbolt, focus blast, and shadow ball to abuse the low recovery most have. It is way stronger that the others in A- and its offensive capabilities would be better acknowledged if it rose to A.
to B+/B: I hate this mon. After spectrier and Cinderace's ban, I find it hard to justify using over corv, zapdos, or torn-t as a defogger. It isn't a bad mon per say, just the others are so much better that they eat into mandi's viability a lot. Corv checks rilla and chomp better while torn-t and zapdos are way less passive and the former is an insane offensive pivot while the latter punishes contact with static.
to B+: Despite TTar getting better with the bunny's leaving, I do think hippo is better on sand and I find it hard to keep them in the same ranking when hippo is way better than TTar, so I think a sub rank drop to B+ fits this better.
- just pointing out that even though it rose to C+ its still under C, so notifying you Finchinator
- more of a discussion point, but what do any of these do again? I'm not experienced with any of them to be frank, but most of them just stick out as niche crap on trick room or outclassed stuff that I wouldn't bother touching. If anyone can justify these go for it but I think they should be UR.
 
Rilla needs to rise, the amount of work that needs to be made so that you don't crumble to Rilla, it doesn't seem right for a Mon that isn't A+. And after all, the VR is about how much that particular mon affects the meta.

Rilla is massively powerful and needs respect in the team builder, more so than stuff like Lando even

:Rillaboom: to A+

Also, it's very awesome that we have finally had a gen where all three starters of a gen are/were OU viable! Now it's only down to the water and grass starter, but still, 2/3 pretty good
 

Finchinator

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OU Leader
:Kyurem: for A

While this may seem premature, I can safely say that very few people prepare for Kyurem sufficiently and it shows whenever people bring it lately. It was already on the way up prior to the bans, which I alluded to in the rises post, but honestly it is even better than I anticipated after getting some games in. The Choice Specs set may be support reliant -- Teleport and Defog are great, but also slow U-turn/Volt Switch can work, but it has enormous upside right now, getting kills in virtually every game unless it faces a Blissey. A lot of the time, it can totally derail gameplans of balance teams and force progress against them at an alarming rate if it gets in safely. For a Pokemon with such great bulk, the spammability of Ice Beam + Freeze Dry with the Draco nuke option in the back is a bit too much to settle in A- right now I feel.
 

AnimaticLunatic

I COULD BE BANNED!
I nominate :reuniclus: to a solid B, maybe even B+ with assult west set

Unlike its main competion in :slowking-galar: as SPD assult vest regenarator user with future sight, it is neutral to all of of potential coverage of Kyurem White, Nidoking and Tapu Lele baring shadow ball. Actually, it is even better check to Tapu Lele since it is resistant to Tapu Leles psychic coverage, not neutral to it, so it is not 2 hit KO by psyshock/ heavily dented. It also checks Tapu Koko and is somewhat better answear to Heatrun since it lacks Ground weakness.
Now, the cons are that it does lack Toxic spikes absorption which means that it can also be poisoned which may prove a problem in a longer game. Especially against toxapex. And it is overall less tankier then SlowkinG. It also has worse coverage options, especially since it can not threaten its switches with poison prock like galar king can with its secondary stab in sludge bomb. And neutrality to fairy does meant it is potentially 2 hit KO by Tapu Leles Moonblast with rocks up.

Still, overall, while I can not predict what special threats will rise in upcoming weeks, I think that Reuniclus can be contender as special sponge on a lot of teams instead of pokemon such as Blisey and Slowkings.
 
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A- > A:
Kart being in A- is a crime given how it’s one of the scariest breakers in the metagame. Most of it’s checks don’t like losing their items to Knock, add to the fact that it has lost two major checks in the tier and it has gotten scarier. Synthesis + SD is incredibly scary due to it’s kill power and defensive utility being able to act as a Chomp and Rilla check while maintaining itself alive and setting up on the likes of Defensive Lando, non-BP Ferro, and Blissey. Band Kart with Future Sight support is almost unwallable that’s its insane. The rise of Pult and Torn hurts it but the loss of one of its biggest competition and checks in Ace is huge.

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B > B+:
Ace and Mag leaving was great for it as it lost one of its best checks and lost competition. Specs hits everything not named Blissey, SpD Pex, or Mandi like a truck but it’s worth noting Blissey can be CC’d, SpD Pex is 2HKOd after rocks, and Mandi can be crippled by Knock or Toxic from its teammates throughout a game making it more difficult to check. Aegi also takes advantage of common threats like Bro, Clef. Along with checking up and rising threats like Kyurem, Lele, and Latios. Sub-Tox is incredibly difficult to play around it due to Shadow Ball resists either not liking Toxic, or gets nuked by Close Combat. Def look forward to the ghost sword’s future.

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B > C+:
This mon was meh before and it’s still meh now. All the things I said before about Kommo-o still apply here. No reliable recovery, faces competition with Chomp and other rockers, weak to alot of common attacking types, and has a hard time keeping rocks up vs the top defoggers. Did Kommo-o get any better from the bans? No. It got worse. Torn and Pult are in the top 5 and 10 respectively now, Kyurem, Lele, Koko and Hydreigon are stronger than ever, and on top of that it still hates losing its lefties. At least the ban of Mag helps, but not by much imo. One thing Kommo-o has going over Chomp and Lando is it’s ability to check Ferro, Rilla, and Kart so I wouldn’t say it’s absolute garb l.

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B > B+:
Similar story to Aegi but even better. Corv has been rising in usage for its ability to check and counter several threats in the metagame. Along with some that are rising in usage and viability such as Rilla, SD Lando, Drill, Lele, Hydreigon, and Kart who all appreciate the removal of Ferro, Corv, and Skarm. If it wasn’t so awkward to build with it I’d place it to A-, but for what we got it’s good.

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B > B-:
How is this burnt chicken in the same rank as Rotom-Wash and Gastrodon? There is no reason to run Molt over Zapdos who has a better typing and doesn’t become D- tier without boots. Plus it has Volt Switch to keep momentum going. Molt has U-Turn but it rarely ever gets to fit it cause it will become a siting duck vs Pex and Tran otherwise without Scorching Sands. Invites in too much shit like Pult and Slowking while acting as a mediocre Rillaboom switch in.

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B > B-:
I’m less harsh on this thing. It’s a decent choice but not B rank imo. It has a good role as a screen setter but it can sometimes be replaced by Koko if you don’t need spin. Specs can also work however it requires heavy support that its better to invest in something like Specs Koko. It has unique qualities that separates it from Koko, but it’s not enough to warrant a B ranking.

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B > B-:
Zarude may have gotten better with the bunnies being Thanos snapped, but it’s placement was made before Urshifu and Spect were wiped out of the Earth so it’s a little outdated. Faces competition from Rilla and Kart as an offensive grass type wincon, has trouble fitting on teams due to it’s bad defensive typing and U-Turn being a pain in the ass.

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B- > C+:
Fails to break open cores due to the prominence of everyone and their mothers running either a bulky water or a bulky grass. Also unlike Rapid-Strike Shifu it doesn’t have decent bulk nor the ability to fit on other styles besides rain. This change imo is long overdue.

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B- > C-
What is Buzzwole walling that every other good physical wall we have in the tier can’t? Unless you despise Conkeldurr for whatever reason, there isn’t a reason to run Buzzwole over Tang, Lando, Pex, or Skarm who provide utility. Tang has Knock Off + Sleep Powder and Regen, Lando has fucking everything, Pex has Knock, Regen, Scald, and TSpikes, and Skarm has Spikes. Buzzwole has none of that. Cinderace and Mag being in the tier wasn’t the reason it was hardly viable, everything else it wrong about it. Now a surge of Lele and Specs Kyurem is coming and you better believe it ain’t gonna want anything to do with them.

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B- > C:
Hatterene is outclassed defensively by Slowking, and offensively by yours truly, Lele. Unlike Lele who has Focus Blast, Hatt basically lets Tran in for free and we all know how much that mon loves free turns. Too slow to be threatening to those teams with strong speed control, and not bulky or resilient enough to last throughout a long game. It has Magic Bounce and Trick Room. That’s all I can think about atm.

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B- > UR
It walls Koko and that it. No need to say anything else.

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C+ > B-:
Reuniclus hates all the Pult and Hydrei spam but the loss of Ace and Mag helped give Reun more opportunities to setup. It’s scary against balance builds that don’t have much to deal with it’s presense. B- rank would best represent it’s place in the meta better.

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C+ > B-/B:
Definitely much better due to current trends. Checking Kyurem, Lele, and Torn, while setting up rocks, providing momentum, spreading paralysis, or passing wishes is highly valuable in this metagame. It can even act as speed control with Scarf or even sweep with a surprise Sub-CM set I came up with.

Jirachi @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 16 SpA / 240 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Calm Mind
- Thunder
- Icy Wind

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C+ > C:
Goon’s best niche was as a breaker + Spectrier check. Spect has been gone for a while so it lost splashability. Goon is still a viable choice in the meta especially with Mag being wiped out, but it gets worn down too quickly and is outpaced by most of the offensive metagame being in the awkward 95 Speed tier with Lele and Kyurem.

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C+ > B-:
This is a hot take (pun unintended) and alot of people might disagree with me on this but Heattom is underrated in the current meta. It faces competition from Tran but it has some unique merits that gives it a niche over lava roach. Heattom provides teams as it takes on the role of a breaker, ground immunity, paralysis spreader, as well as a great switch in to Sub-Roost Kyurem, Zapdos, Koko, and a check to NP Torn. Even with the introduction of Chomp and Glowking, most of the tier don’t like taking Discharge + Overheat from a +2 Heattom. Pult and Hydreigon can eat up it’s stabs, but they hate getting paralyzed by Discharge or Toxic’d. Chomp is immune to Discharge but hates taking a Wisp or Toxic. Glowking can easily wall it, but if it gets Knock’d, a +2 Overheat is 2HKOing it. SpD Tran can tank +2 Discharges and Toxic it, but Heattom can always run Sub which also lets it setup on non-Knock Off Defensive Lando. Plus heal bell support from Clef can neglect that a little. Blissey takes any hit from it but Pain Split is annoying. I know this was long but I wanted to give a good description of Heattom as an underrated mon in the tier. Yeah it’s heavily reliant on Boots and has no reliable recovery other than Pain Split, but it’s has a solid niche in the meta with how unprepared most teams are vs Kyurem.

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C+ > C:
Webs aren’t doing so hot rn with Torn and Corv becoming the best defoggers in the tier. So naturally if webs drop, Shuckle drops.

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C+ > C-
No reason to run Togekiss over NP Torn in this meta unless you like torturing people with RNG. (And checking a +2 Rillaboom.)

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C+ > B-:
Seeing Weavile below Buzzwole is worse than the watergate scandal. With Mag gone, we have very little mons that resist both of it’s stabs. Fini hates losing lefties and is in general easy to wear down. Weavile checks a surprisingly large portion of the offensive metagame from SD Chomp, to NP Torn, to Pult, to Hydreigon, and Lele. Weavile is a great asset on Balance and BO teams that can sponge hits from these mons but lack a strong way of checking them. Port + Voltturn is really strong even with the departure of the bunnies which lends Weavile more opportunities to use it’s stabs. It’s weakness to rocks and frailty holds it back, but it’s a worthwhile option if you can support it.

90F67BE9-F28E-4104-BD57-5C8E45F546EE.png
C > UR:
It is written in the Ten Commandments that once Spectrier leaves, Incineroar leaves. I guess it can deal with Aegi just ok, but other than that, use any other defensive pivot.

239A8E69-5719-4233-B45D-160D74A08687.png
C > C+:
Keldeo is very support reliant but it can be worth it due to it’s ability to generate momentum with Flip Turn and continuously throw out strong Scalds, Hydro Pumps, etc. Sub-CM or CM + Taunt sets are very annoying for balance builds for almost completely shutting down Pex. However it’s forced out easily with how popular Pult, Torn, Zera, and Koko are as checks, but it’s a solid breaker with the right support.

1BB4E045-78AD-4367-B43C-E55B52B78D2F.png
C > C-:
Only low ladder players and bored high/mid ladder players ever use Mimikyu. Not strong enough to sweep reliably nor fast enough to check much without it’s Disguise. Ig it can check the dragons and some other stuff, but it’s too fringe and mu reliant to fit on most teams.

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C > C+:
The Cinderace ban freed up usage of other grounds as there is no longer Fire Chungus to force Chomp/Lando/Hippo on your team. Rhyperior imo has a niche that can make it worth using over the other grounds. Rhyperior unlike it’s ground type brethren are threatened out by Sub-Roost Kyurem, however Rhyperior lives a Freeze Dry and just smacks that mother-f’er wth Rock Blast. It’s ability to beat out nearly every defogger in the tier and keep rocks up is highly valuable. SD or Smack Down lets it force out Corv and win the hazard/remover war. It can afford to run Ice Punch to 2HKO Hippo, Rilla, and OHKO Lando after rocks since that mon is too dummy thicc to die to an EQ, even from Adamant Lando. Also checking Tran, Koko, NP Torn, completely walling Zapdos, while offering offensive and defensive utility that is similar but distinct enough to give it a worthwhile niche in OU.

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C > C-:
Still can check Rilla and if Levitate it completely counters Chomp but other than that it’s not that good rn. Too easy to wear down and has a terrible 4MSS. You had your time in the Shifu meta my sweet prince.

46DF4467-5AD0-49C0-AEF3-017501348E8C.png
C- > UR:
Too support reliant and can’t break defensive cores of the current metagame with Tran and Slowking. Needs Boots to not die to rocks and needs Specs to nuke shit. Just use Venusaur.

D1E9F924-29FD-4695-B55C-8AAC1FD3F402.png
C- > UR:
Haven’t seen this thing used since DLC1 and it doesn’t have anything going for it other than removing rocks from Tran which it ironically loses to if it’s Toxic + Taunt. There is bigger fish in the sea Mantine.

FE763CF2-2F62-4B61-89D3-E419CC7A4255.png
C- > UR:
Uhhhhhh Fini exists. Prim has seen better days in pre-DLC1 and even DLC1. Maybe next time this mon can sing again.
 
:skarmory: for A-

This may be overselling Skarmory in the metagame, but I feel that it has a great pressence especially with the ban of the two behemots, meaning that balance and stall builds can start to popping up. Skarmory is and will be good in the metagame and at diference of its cousin Corviknight it has a great tool at its disposal: Spikes. With that, it always can make progress. If the meta trends continue like this, with the massive spam of Landorus-T, Rillaboom and Garchomp, Skarmory always will be a great addition to teams as it is a counter of Rillaboom, and it only loses to obscure Garchomp and Landorus-T sets like LO Fire Blast Chomp and Gravity Landorus-T; but all-in-all, it is a great addition to teams looking for wearing down things over time. Also, it has great sinergy with many staples of balance builds like all the Slow family, Toxapex, and near perfect sinergy with Hippowdon, which is on the rise too, forming an amazing hazard spam core with absurd defensive sinergy and longevity. And also it can even function as a win-condition with its Iron Defense + Body Press set, which gives it diversity.

TL;DR: Skarmory to A- because of countering the rising Rillaboom, Garchomp and Landorus-T. Also it can check DD Dragapult if Pult doesn't carry Sub and Skarmory runs Toxic, which it almost always run it.
 
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AM

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View attachment 318405 C > C-:
Still can check Rilla and if Levitate it completely counters Chomp but other than that it’s not that good rn. Too easy to wear down and has a terrible 4MSS. You had your time in the Shifu meta my sweet prince.
It only needs Sludge Bomb, Wisp, Pain Split, Corrosive Gas the neutralizing gas Ability is actually good on it as well because it deters Regen and Corrosive Gas is a free move to use to remove items, which works on common switch ins like Heatran as well (to clarify before nitpickers come Corrosive Gas typing isn't negated by Poisons or Steels per its mechanic). Obviously checks Chomp to if using Levitate variants granted it sits at meme rank where all the C's are the same but it's not particularly worse than anything in its rank right now.
 
:Garchomp: ---> S

I honestly think Garchomp should be S tier. Garchomp is such a versatile pokemon in the current meta. It's arguably the best late game wall and stall breaker in the game considering just how hard it can hit after a Swords Dance boost with its coveted Edge-Quake coverage. Even pokemon like Corviknight can turn into setup fodder for Chomp if Chomp has been kept healthy for the late game.

Chomp can even sweep through Hyper and Bulky offensive teams if it manages to get a Swords Dance and Scale Shot boost. On paper, the fact that it requires 2 turns to setup itself up to sweep through fast offense seems like a massive flaw. In practice, since Garchomp is mostly tailored for late game sweeping, and since Scale Shot actually does damage while boosting Garchomp's speed, failing to predict whether or not an opponent will scale shot or swords dance first can often lead to a person switching in an incorrect answer and giving Chomp a free kill (or a free game).

On top of all of this, it can even choose to run a bulky set to setup stealth rocks and chip the opponent through a rocky helmet and rough skin. Leftovers is also a great option to increase Chomp's survivability, and these bulky sets can still manage to sweep late game after a Swords Dance boost assuming the opponent's pokemon have all sustained damage already.

In short, I really don't think anything can beat Chomp consistently barring unaware Clefable or something. Chomp has the ability to boost its stats to the point of outspeeding and breaking through pretty much everything in the tier. If little to nothing in a metagame can consistently beat a Pokemon, that's a sign that it is an S tier Pokemon.

:ss/Garchomp:

Edit: I know this last point is a bit anecdotal, but after adding Chomp to my team, I'd say I've won 5 or so games where I was in a bad position but managed to setup Chomp and then reverse sweep them in seconds. It's so damn good and I love it.
 
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:Rillaboom: to A+, this thing is one of the most centralizing mons in the meta-game; Grassy Glide is very overpowered, with a good portion of the meta-game not being able to avoid taking serious damage from this one move, not even a Slowbro can tank a Gr Gl (252+ Atk Life Orb Rillaboom Grassy Glide vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowbro in Grassy Terrain: 281-330 (71.3 - 83.7%) it's move-pool is great, has Swords Dance, and even a good match-up against opposing Rillaboom (although that would be a bad match-up too) however, Rillaboom can't do much to Corviknight, Ferrothorn, Flying types in general, and honestly, the biggest weakness for Rillaboom is its limited move-slots

252+ Atk Life Orb Rillaboom Grassy Glide vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Garchomp in Grassy Terrain: 214-253 (59.9 - 70.8%)

252+ Atk Life Orb Rillaboom Grassy Glide vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Tapu Koko in Grassy Terrain: 238-281 (84.6 - 100%(I wouldn't switch in on this thing, because its physical set does heavy damage to Rillaboom (252+ Atk Tapu Koko U-turn vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Rillaboom: 168-198 (49.2 - 58%)

252+ Atk Life Orb Rillaboom Grassy Glide vs. 0 HP / 12 Def Landorus-Therian in Grassy Terrain: 222-263 (69.5 - 82.4%(but it could have Explosion, and that would suck)

you get the picture by now



:Corviknight: to A+, with the rise of Slo-Family, Rillaboom, and the fall (or ban) of some problematic mons, Corviknight will rise, although it's not as great as Lando-T, Coviknight can still fit into a lot of roles, a Defog user, Set-up sweeper, and a wall; except for the stray Flamethrower/Fire Blast, the Wish-port family does very little to Corviknight, Rillaboom can't do anything aside from Switching out, and is a very good flying type in this meta-game (also has Nasty Plot, for some reason) Corviknight hates strong special attackers, but it doesn’t really have any other weaknesses to that scale

:Toxapex: to A-, with Lando-T, and Garchomp back, as well as the Slo-family having universal access to Future sight, linear roles for Toxapex, and Gloking not being affected by toxic, it’s kind of hard to get good use out of Toxapex, in a meta-game where walls are also pivots, Toxapex only has the standard switch out, instead of the OP teleport and/or flip turn, and the roles it’s good at, other mons can do it slightly better, it still will have a good impact on the metagame, just not like Pre-Dlc
 
View attachment 318386 B- > UR
It walls Koko and that it. No need to say anything else.
Wow that's a huge drop. Fortunately as an offensive Pokemon, the number of Pokemon Nidoqueen walls is irrelevant. The benefit of running Nidoqueen over Nidoking is that it can afford to run a Modest Nature over a Timid one and has better bulk which gives it a better matchup in fighting threats that are either a) faster than Timid King or b) slower than Modest Queen. For example, standard mixed Sand Rush Dracozolt's Earthquake will OHKO Nidoking about 69% of the time but never OHKO's Nidoqueen. Both Nido's will easily OHKO Zolt in return. This allows it to act as an emergency check against some Pokemon that Nidoking cannot. It's not a gamebreaking niche but it is a niche nonetheless and dropping it all the way past the C-ranks is not reflective of its current state in the metagame, though admittedly Queen did have a slightly better matchup against both Cinderace and Magearna.
 
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:(zapdos-galar): C+ -> B/B+ :
Gapdos is an amazing lead rn.imo its the most viable of all the fighting types in current ou. With the surge in usage and viability of the likes of hydreigon,corviknight,skarmory,kyurem,heatran,bliss,etc.it can also punish intimidate users like landot thanks to defiant while pressures opponent to use defog.its STAB combos r unresisted letting it break through even the likes of tapu fini and clef if switched in the wrong move(aka brave bird).one thing that seperates it from other fighting types (except urshifu) is its acces to u turn which makes it even more annoying to deal with.most teams would be unprepared for it as even some of the most common physical walls don't like to switch into it. Imo gaodos's biggest flaw is that it doesn't have longevity but it definitely puts enough pressure at its opponent and takes out 1 or 2 mons at least. Its much better than blaziken and deserves a rise to at least mid B. Thank you for ur time.
 

Red Raven

I COULD BE BANNED!
I agree with :Garchomp: going to S rank. It no longer has to use its tank set and can not focus on being a wall breaker or sweeper. And it still has sand veil which just elevates its danger level up to eleven and at -1 def, grassy glide and ice shard are the only priority moves capable of killing it. This mon deserves a rise at least. Oh and shouldn't its mini sprite be updated?

:Rillaboom: also deserves a rise to A+. Banded grassy glides hurt anything not named Ferrothorn, Heatran and Moltres, yes even Zapdos and Tornadus Therian. It just provides the ultimate form of speed control and prevents opposing offensive ground types from getting too far out of hand

I would also like to nominate a couple mons

:Volcarona: to A- or A. This mon is just so annoying with the very balanced heavy duty boots. Without Heatran or Blissey that carry toxic, this mon can easily get like +6 and rip apart teams with just stabs and psychic. It is still frail so I'm mainly leaning on A-, maybe even B+ but it definitely deserves not to stay in B

:Pelipper: and :Barraskewda: to the C ranks. If you are ever gonna use these two mons, it is only gonna be on rain, and rain isn't exactly that great of a play style because water types are bananas, and a certain gorilla eats bananas. These two are just so specific that I don't feel they belong in B despite being decent mons in their specialty

:Excadrill: to B+. There is next to no reason to ever use this outside of sand. Landorus Therian exists and is mostly a better mon with drill's only advantage being rapid spin as opposed to Lando's defog. Even Garchomp gives it stiff competition as a ground type stealth rocker due to its ability to crack open holes in the opponent's defenses. In sand, this is a monster but outside of it, it's really not that great

:Charizard: to unranked. This mon only ever fits on sun teams and if you wanna use an eruption spamming fire type, just use Heatran. At least Heatran doesn't lose much of its eruption power by coming in once due to stealth rock, unlike Charizard that just dies to it and sun teams already have problems with stealth rock . Its specs damage output might be higher than Heatran's but this mon is just too high maintenance and restricted to a specific style to be ranked
 

Martin

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:Kyurem: for A

While this may seem premature, I can safely say that very few people prepare for Kyurem sufficiently and it shows whenever people bring it lately. It was already on the way up prior to the bans, which I alluded to in the rises post, but honestly it is even better than I anticipated after getting some games in. The Choice Specs set may be support reliant -- Teleport and Defog are great, but also slow U-turn/Volt Switch can work, but it has enormous upside right now, getting kills in virtually every game unless it faces a Blissey. A lot of the time, it can totally derail gameplans of balance teams and force progress against them at an alarming rate if it gets in safely. For a Pokemon with such great bulk, the spammability of Ice Beam + Freeze Dry with the Draco nuke option in the back is a bit too much to settle in A- right now I feel.
Agree with this nom. Honestly Kyurem is beginning to remind me of the DLC0 meta where everyone thought it was broken, granted in this meta it’s more that ppl aren’t really adjusting to it yet rather than it being broken. None of the Steel-types that see use in this meta outside of defensively-exploitable Heatran and unmon Melmetal actually resist Ice, which Kyurem can very easily take advantage of thanks to it being able to bypass Water-types without having to commit to Draco now. Maybe Jirachi, Scizor, or smth else will start to see some use to fill the defensive void left by Magearna in the future, but until they do, I don’t think Kyurem would be at all out of place in A. I also expect some ppl to pick up SpD Clef to patch up a bad Kyurem matchup with a fake response that’s just waiting to be frozen.
 
I nominate victini from b to b+ as cinderace being gone allows it to it to worry about less sucker punches being thrown its way, plus pursuit is gone this gen. Having heavy duty boots and tornadus-therian being all over the place now definitely do it favors. Victini may have lost z-moves from last gen, but it can still punish a lot of mons like moltres, corviknight, mandibuzz, rillaboom, swampert, and even other tornadus due to having to worry even less about rocks. Having all these defoggers as well as its main competition in cinderace gone. Not to mention it has access to future sight and u-turn, allowing it to have synergies with other future sight users or even set up a future sight before going down. Victini's other defensive merits allow it to offensively check other things, like being able to switch in on tapu lele and slam it with bolt strike or v-create. The fact is there are even more defoggers and heavy duty boots, alongside the new moves it got make it easier to slap on teams. That being said, it still gets stopped by things like Heatran and Landorus-T(If physical), and it may not be the most powerful or metagame defining mon, but I have been playing around with this thing and it definitely is good and seems pretty viable right now. I feel like being on the lower end of b+ makes a lot of sense for it, being able to break through volcarona and stop it from sweeping reliably due to base 100 bulk and being able to slam it back equally as hard. There are a lot of things that can be explored with Victini, and I definitely think it only gets better from the cinderace ban.
 
:(zapdos-galar): C+ -> B/B+ Choo choo! All aboard the G-Zapdos train! This thing is really good. Like said a while ago this thing is great on webs teams but recently I have been using it outside of webs. Banded can take out so many mons in the meta. Also Flying/FIghting/Dark coverage is very nice. Not to mention this is one of the best Lando punishers in the tier. If you call a Lando switch in you basically take a kill with a plus one banded Brave Bird. This mon has its flaws but it is good at what it's supposed to do and is better than garbage like eleki two subtiers above it.

On a side note, I just want to thank Finchinator for all the work he does, completely free of charge as well. You are the best man :blobthumbsup:
 

Finchinator

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I have a question: why is :zeraora: ranked in the A- tier but its actual ranking is in UU?
Usage =/= viability. There is some correlation, but it’s never a strong enough one to entirely dictate arguments.

Zeraora is a great form of speed control which doubles as an Electric immunity, Tornadus-Therian check, and great Knock Off lure to things like Leftovers and Rocky Helmet defensive pivots such as Landorus-Therian, Garchomp, and Tangrowth. This opens the door for a lot of common teammates and Zeraora holds teams together against other fast threats it can revenge kill.

In the future, use the SQSA for these questions — thanks and have a great day.
 
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