Why is Volcarona still A-? There were some strong arguments made for why it should never have dropped to A- and I believe they deserve a rebuttal. Volcarona's checks are very easy to wear down over the course of a battle and it also offers effective defensive utility which is why I believe it deserves A rank.
We voted on it and it was decisively A-.
Those arguments are fair, but they never really mentioned things like the rise in Blissey, which really is reactionary to Kyurem and hurts non-Safeguard Volcarona a ton, or Victini, which functions as a great trendy BO option that handles all non-Bug Buzz variants multiple times over.
Obviously Volcarona is a strong, polarizing option in the metagame with a high ceiling as a win condition, but just because Heatran is easy to wear out and outlasting Dragapult and Tapu Fini is feasible does not mean it is going to happen all the time or that is is this black-and-white. We are at a point where there are more forms of Volcarona counterplay than ever before, which makes consistently outlasting and defeating them especially challenging.
Say, what's keeping Scizor in A rank? There were plenty of A- noms since it easily gets worn down into range of Lele, Kyurem and other things it's meant to check, does it just find itself in a good position now between offensive sets and NMI Kyurem running around?
It is a good anti-metagame pick with the surge in Tapu Lele, Kyurem, and even CM Clefable. It can get worn out and it is consistently vulnerable to drops or status from these Pokemon, but it is one of the few answers that are not total momentum-sucks. We voted on it and the consensus was to keep it because of this.
ok the rilla drop was kinda harsh. Ye it bad but still.
If something is bad relative to its position, which you clearly imply, it is going to drop. I cannot fathom what your issue actually is and this just feels like we cannot possibly win with you, so that's just on you.
Zam dropping to ur is outlandish. You are saying that zard has a niche but zam does not. Zam did not deserve the drop whatsoever.
As clearly stated, this thread is open to questions, not your personal commentary or disagreements. There is a nomination phase for that. There is a team of people putting in thankless work to update and maintain this thread, so it would be very much appreciated if you followed simply and clearly outlined rules rather than labeling our work as "outlandish" and questioning it with no true reasoning provided.
Finally, there have been no noteworthy uses of Alakazam on the higher part of the ladder, in tournaments, or really in general. We have at least seen a few stray Charizard on Sun teams, which is, more or less, enough to keep it barely ranked. I do not know what else you expect, but you can provide actual reasoning beyond empty comparisons when the thread opens up to nominations if you so please.
Jirachi was honestly fine where it was. Why did it rise btw? I am curious.
And why did lele not rise?!?!.
That thing a damn threat.
You answered your own question there buddy. Also, it helps a ton with Kyurem and Slowking-Galar, which are as annoying as ever.
And why is conk rising?
Its been a while since it was even half decent in ou.
And dnite and hippo drop is kinda harsh too. Please explain me folks.
Conkeldurr has appeared on a few teams with Future Sight + Teleport and it also is a staple on Trick Room.
Dragonite's DD set is very support reliant and other sets are far too passive to be consistent. It's niche is fleeting and usage is dipping.
Hippowdon is still mostly solid, but the type of teams it anchors are less common and arguably less needed in the metagame given the shift in top threats as of late. Kyurem also carves up most Hippowdon builds, which is a major problem for them.
What's the reason for the Quag drop?
We have seen some Unaware Clefable on stall, too, which limits its niche further than before.
Why there no discussion on a Zapdos rise
There was, but a lot of things that are trending right now punish it such as Kyurem and Slowking-Galar. It is hard to use Zapdos consistently at the moment, so we kept it where it was.
I wanted to ask about Chomp and Shifu drops, I didn't intend to present any resistance to the VRs. I know that the VR voters know the meta better than me, I don't question their knowledge. Adding details perhaps made this sound like an argument at my end.
Apologies Finch, didn't mean to waste your time, I'll be more wary next time.
It's not about knowing more or less -- I am sure you know plenty, but we just want to keep the thread on track right now so we can help inform everyone. Then, we will open up the thread and you can state your thoughts on any drops or rises you wish to happen. It's best we keep it this way for the sake of organization. It's pretty clear you get this and probably just went a little far with your prior post, so no worries and I appreciate your response!
Question about the Victini rise, any reason it stopped at just A-? Its tour usage seems pretty strong rn, its in the top 15 most used mons in SCL and its felt reliable in its breaking and also in checking really frustrating mons to fill answers for. I am surprised its not in A. Does it not compete with stuff like Melmetal/Lele and the rest or are you guys just maybe waiting/looking into it more?
It's likely due to the fact that it can still only do so much and it struggles to break through bulkier teams, which are also beginning to see more usage. It is a great pivot and we could vote on it again to go to A in the near future, but A- support, not higher or lower, was near unanimous
Why didn't excadrill drop in conjunction with dracozolt? as they are pretty tied to sand. Has there been any important use of the utility spin set that I wasnt aware of?
Excadrill Sand niche is seen as a little stronger in our eyes due to the Steel type and Rapid Spin utility. It also is used sparingly as a suicide lead on HO teams, which cannot ever be said for Dracozolt. There's not a ton separating the two, but we believe the difference is enough to justify the slight separation.
Why didn't hydreigon drop?
It is still a good check to things like Blacephalon and Volcanion while also having potential to be a massive threat with NP sets. Obviously it is more limited than it was months back when it was A+ or A rank, but there is still plenty of reason to use Hydreigon right now.