hi, gonna drop a few noms/thoughts
: Call me crazy for this one ig (or call it useless since scizor is leaving in a few days) but i think it's time to swap these 2. Scizor is not as good as it used to be, and it's mostly because of how the meta adapted. Fitting checks, even hard checks for it is not hard, it finds way less opportunities to setup and take over the games and being forced to run stuff like dwb sucks because 3 attacks roost in some games achieves literally nothing. Don't get me wrong, I still think that scizor is a super good mon, but a setupper that needs a lot of support to take over games (and to me, it does right now) is not S- worthy.
I don't really have too strong of an argument for Keldeo, i just think that specs is insane and the off meta that is rising up right now helps it a ton. It's speedtier is really good, missing out only on thundurus (for the relevant ones [not azelf]), one of the only 3 relevant scarfers does nothing to Keldeo (best you can do is tricking a scarf or you have to run coverage for it) and at the same time it 2hkos the entire tier bar 2 or 3 mons(that you can flip turn on if you run that ig). It's also super easy to support and sinergies super well with spikes and stuff. I just think that Keldeo is god right now and it has way more influence on teambuilding too since it forces you to run sketch counterplay like av reun/gbro (and i'm fairly sure that av azu got tour usage for this reason too). I do believe that Keldeo deserves the S- rank more than scizor does and that these 2 should be swapped.
The A+ and A ranks look a bit weird in their current state. I agree with Adaam 's post on every single point, except that i'm not quite sure about rising amoonguss. I feel the same about it being better than tangrowth but i'm not quite sure if it's an A+ mon.
: I feel like it's finally time to rise the monkey to A+. I've been a zarude hater since it came out in dlc1 but boots just feels amazing rn. Reminds me a lot of zeraora (except that it's way slower) and operates the same way, if it gets momentum its quite obnoxious to play against because it's limited counterplay give away a ton of opportunities and drains momentum really hard. It's also quite bulky and an okay-ish Aegi check, also shits on mew which is never a bad thing.
Last points i wanted to rise up in these ranks are Kommo-o and Washtom but i'm not sure about them. Kommo-o fell off the radar really hard and it doesn't get good enough usage for A+. Half of the times it got used as of late it was bulky sr too i believe which does nothing in a lot of cases, Setupper sets are still good but being forced to run eq sucks a bit? As i said i'm not sure but I don't think it's relevant enough for A+ anymore. Washtom is also weird because the best set for it is pain split wow which is almost always unfittable (you end up wanting scarf or defog a lot of times which hurts washtom really hard), but there are some games where it literally 6-0's on preview. Zarude is annoying for it but being forced to waste a turn on jungle healing everytime it gets burned sucks for the monkey, other stuff that gets throw at washtom doesn't really enjoy a burn or gets voltswitched on.
: I'm really high on entei as a mon rn and i believe that it's place is in A-. Damage output is amazing, burn chance is cool and comes in handy often, stone edge to hit mence/strong prio in extreme speed and as last you have a few options depending on what you need. Toxic for some setuppers works well, flare blitz to trade something off before dying/have the extra power and sleep talk is good on some teams to hurt amoonguss. Entei is getting more and more usages but it's still quite underrated, it definitely deserves to rise from B- and A- looks perfect for it in my eyes.
I don't know why Bulu got dropped to C+ but it doesn't deserve it, it's bad don't get me wrong but it can get a few KOs/lure stuff which is like more than every C+ mon has ever done, while also allowing seed cheese that can still be a thing. Mantine should probably rise from c+ as well, don't know where though. Also togekiss in B and gmolt in B+ aren't both accurate imo and should both be A-. As for the discussion points, I disagree with heattom and gyara dropping and not sure about hatt rising. Gyara is amazing on offense and gets more hate than it should, it takes over games with ease and it's as good of a dder as mence. Heattom lost part of it's utility but NP is still amazing imo and nihilego's presence in current meta doesn't hurt it too much, you can also fish a para with discharge and make that mon completely useless. As for hatt, i disagree with everyone that calls it a good mew counterplay since it's really not, but the trades it can get on stuff like aegi might be good enough to rise it up a rank. I don't see it ever 6-0ing though. Also drop mamo its not a mon lol. Sorry for any typos/stuff, i'm half asleep still o/
I don't really have too strong of an argument for Keldeo, i just think that specs is insane and the off meta that is rising up right now helps it a ton. It's speedtier is really good, missing out only on thundurus (for the relevant ones [not azelf]), one of the only 3 relevant scarfers does nothing to Keldeo (best you can do is tricking a scarf or you have to run coverage for it) and at the same time it 2hkos the entire tier bar 2 or 3 mons(that you can flip turn on if you run that ig). It's also super easy to support and sinergies super well with spikes and stuff. I just think that Keldeo is god right now and it has way more influence on teambuilding too since it forces you to run sketch counterplay like av reun/gbro (and i'm fairly sure that av azu got tour usage for this reason too). I do believe that Keldeo deserves the S- rank more than scizor does and that these 2 should be swapped.
The A+ and A ranks look a bit weird in their current state. I agree with Adaam 's post on every single point, except that i'm not quite sure about rising amoonguss. I feel the same about it being better than tangrowth but i'm not quite sure if it's an A+ mon.
Last points i wanted to rise up in these ranks are Kommo-o and Washtom but i'm not sure about them. Kommo-o fell off the radar really hard and it doesn't get good enough usage for A+. Half of the times it got used as of late it was bulky sr too i believe which does nothing in a lot of cases, Setupper sets are still good but being forced to run eq sucks a bit? As i said i'm not sure but I don't think it's relevant enough for A+ anymore. Washtom is also weird because the best set for it is pain split wow which is almost always unfittable (you end up wanting scarf or defog a lot of times which hurts washtom really hard), but there are some games where it literally 6-0's on preview. Zarude is annoying for it but being forced to waste a turn on jungle healing everytime it gets burned sucks for the monkey, other stuff that gets throw at washtom doesn't really enjoy a burn or gets voltswitched on.
I don't know why Bulu got dropped to C+ but it doesn't deserve it, it's bad don't get me wrong but it can get a few KOs/lure stuff which is like more than every C+ mon has ever done, while also allowing seed cheese that can still be a thing. Mantine should probably rise from c+ as well, don't know where though. Also togekiss in B and gmolt in B+ aren't both accurate imo and should both be A-. As for the discussion points, I disagree with heattom and gyara dropping and not sure about hatt rising. Gyara is amazing on offense and gets more hate than it should, it takes over games with ease and it's as good of a dder as mence. Heattom lost part of it's utility but NP is still amazing imo and nihilego's presence in current meta doesn't hurt it too much, you can also fish a para with discharge and make that mon completely useless. As for hatt, i disagree with everyone that calls it a good mew counterplay since it's really not, but the trades it can get on stuff like aegi might be good enough to rise it up a rank. I don't see it ever 6-0ing though. Also drop mamo its not a mon lol. Sorry for any typos/stuff, i'm half asleep still o/
A -> A+
UR -> C/C+
A -> A+ : 
I'm trying to get them fixed but as of right now they won't be viewable. Sorry about that 
To B/B+
C -> D
The VR team has discussed updating the ranks within the week, so be sure to get your last nominations in soon since this thread will be locked not long from now! Cheers~
imma post my VR takes rn 
I still think this is kinda terrible. While it keeps a decent amount of stuff in check it's incredibly painful to support due to the amount of free switch-ins to very common stuff it gives (pif mentionned it but everyone runs more than 1 hard counter w/o even noticing it), even providing passive healing to some of its worst nemesis. It certainly carves itself a niche in some balance builds but requires that kind of playstyle to be usable (offensive sets bring virtually nothing right now) and almost never feels worth outside of it. I don't know how much the balance niche should matter since this is a playstyle i'm not comfortable with right now, but I guess it's better than most of the stuff in C+, and it on its own shapes the games differently (both to the bulu user's advantage and dismay), but it doesn't feel better than any of the B- stuff (drop Incineroar).
is in a similar position to before. It wants to keep rain in check but a bunch of abusers (Keldeo, Azumarill, Barraskewda) have a way to 2hko it with little effort, which means you gotta play very carefully despite having something that's supposed to make the matchup against the playstyle much easier. It still wants to kinda check special mence, Lycanrock and now Nidoking but doesn't really do so, and you always have to give up on checking a few when picking the ev spread/nature which makes it even worse. It really feels like a wannabee jack of all trades and master of none, and it's not even good at that seeing how grass types are close to mandatory in a huge amount of teams and how Knock Off, Toxic or anything slightly crippling its already somewhat insufficient bulk ruin any chances it has at handling what you'd want it to handle. It's a mon that's annoying to see at team preview though, cause it can render clicking some moves extremely punitive but it needs a lot of support and extreme carefulness when playing. Shouldn't get any higher than B
similar issues as gastrodon's in worse since it has no recovery but at least it's able to regain momentum extremely easily with Knock Off and Stealth Rocks, much unlike gastrodon, who is usually a good way to lose a lot of turns whenever it gets in. It also has an above decent niche in rain, good unpredictability thanks to its decent coverage on both sides and can bring rocks if you don't feel like running Rachi. It's good at role compressing in a bunch of playstyles, B sounds pretty good
rain counter is nice and it does that much better than gastrodon but I'm still not exactly sold on it, feels matchup-fishy and it never did much outside of rain matchups for me. Probably can rise a subrank
not sure how I feel about this. It's sometimes extremely painful to face and some other times people switch it in on AV Tangrowth. When building I rarely ever consider it (much like its female counterpart) due to how limited its defensive utility is. It's still dreadful to lose to people clicking buttons with it so I'd say A- is good, but it sounds like smth that can drop once the meta's settled down a bit I guess.
Rest Talk handles Aegi and grasses (among others), which are extremely common picks and can be painful to remove. Double Dance is as painful as ever and can easily clutch games with decent rng. Maybe it's because I often end up forgetting it exists when building but I always find myself thinking there's always a way I lose to it, depending on what specificities it might be running (rest on double dance, np on rest talk..). Having to find a way so most sets can't win on team preview can be a bit painful when not running Diancie. Def agree on a rise.
to C+/B-
B+ -> A- 
UR -> C
from S- to S: Aegislash has become the most important Pokemon in the UU metagame. The incredible consistency with which its King’s Shield + Toxic set forces progress in matches while also checking many popular Pokemon speaks for itself. However, Aegislash can still find other ways of being applied thanks to its fantastic set versatility. The importance Pokemon like Krookodile and Zarude have secured in building is testament to Aegislash’s hold over the tier, and currently there’s no question that it’s one of the most consistent and centralizing forces.
from A+ to S: Keldeo has reclaimed its previous title as the tier’s most overtly threatening wallbreaker. Its Speed tier and fantastic STAB combo have already proven excellent in a metagame where Nihilego/Zarude/Chansey are all becoming mainstays, though the advent of rain has also been amazing for Keldeo, pushing its damage output even further over the top. Given that it’s a central Pokemon in pretty much any match it appears in, Keldeo has an excellent case to reside in S.
from A+ to S-: Thundurus has an abundance of absolutely fantastic tools for the metagame: a Speed tier that bests Keldeo/Zarude/Nihilego, Knock Off for deterring switch-ins like Chansey and Tangrwoth, and consistent pivoting and progress with U-turn. It’s a premier pivot and additionally one of the most pressing sweepers with its Nasty Plot set. It’s a clear cut above A+, though it doesn’t quite have the same hold over the tier or immediate threat level that Aegislash and Keldeo have respectively, so S- is a fitting placement for now.
from A to A+: Amoonguss offers pretty undeniably great utility at this stage of the metagame. Spore is back to being relatively unprepared for, while its typing and movepool prevail over Tangrowth with Keldeo, Mienshao, and Toxic Aegislash all being important metagame components. Rising to A+ reflects the consistency of its utility quite well.
from A to A+: Krookodile is among the tier’s steadiest and most splashable glues. Between its ability to check Aegislash, useful resistances and immunities, and access to fantastic tools like STAB Knock Off and Toxic, it can compress roles and force progress more consistently than nearly anything else in the tier. Even hard checks like Zarude and Buzzwole are highly burdened by hazard removal, and Krookodile’s choiced sets have their merits as well.
from A to A+: Zarude has become a top tier pivot. Its aptness at absorbing status, solid Aegislash matchup, and ability to check many trending Pokemon (including Rotom-W, Krookodile, Zygarde-10%, and most rain abusers), allows it to fulfill many important roles in a match and consistently pull its weight.
from B+ to A-: Teleport Chansey has surged lately as a great utility pick on balances. Both Scizor and Mew’s departures were huge for it, and its defensive utility has remained strong with Pokemon like Nihilego and Rotom-W surging and special Salamence and Primarina still being staples.
from B to B+: Tentacruel can still feel easily overwhelmed at times, though it has a lot to love as a pick right now with Keldeo being so prominent and many other Water-type breakers also increasing in viability. The headache its STAB moves can create alongside Knock Off is also very useful in allowing it to consistently make progress in matches.
from B- to B+: Barraskewda has a much more significant place in the tier with Pelipper offering extremely accessible rain support. It’s arguably the main staple of rain offenses thanks to its incredible power and sufficient coverage, though it still sits a rank below Pelipper for now on account of rain having a few different options for success that may exclude Barraskewda, whereas Pelipper is always necessary.
from B- to B: Crawdaunt has cemented a new niche in the tier as an extremely scary breaker on rain teams, threatening popular rain checks like Mantine. Although there will always be a bit of a ceiling to its viability due to issues with its Speed and bulk, enabling Crawdaunt is currently easier than it has been in a while, which a rise reflects.
from B- to B: As rain teams have occupied the offensive spotlight in recent weeks, Gardevoir has been able to really tap into the utility of its Trace ability to revenge kill Swift Swim users and check foes like Thundurus-T. In addition to Choice Scarf rising in value, its Heavy-Duty Boots set has remained solid thanks to Gardevoir’s colorful utility movepool.
from UR to C: Jellicent manages a rank thanks to the unique perks it currently offers with its typing and movepool. It’s a neat bulky Water-type option thanks to its reliability in pivoting into Keldeo and various rain abusers, though Taunt and Will-O-Wisp are also solid tools that help distinguish it from other Pokemon.
from UR to C: I forgot to put this in the above post regarding rises so here it is now. Ribombee is finding a rank again due to being the main webs setter at this stage of the metagame. Although webs aren’t great lately, Ribombee’s Speed and ability to pressure a typical nuisance to the archetype in Zarude is pretty decent, letting it carve a small niche.
from A+ to A: Kommo-o is still an important Pokemon, but no longer poses the threat level or hold that it used to. Clangorous Soul sets have grown fairly adjusted to and aren’t given as many setup opportunities following the Light Clay ban. Other sets like defensive/Choice Specs/Swords Dance have gotten usage, but while good, still don’t elevate Kommo-o to A+ level, especially with the opportunity cost it has for both its typing slots and the popularity of many checks.
from A+ to A: The consistency of Glowbro’s CM set has been hurt a lot by Aegislash’s prominence (in addition to a few popular Aegi checks giving Glowbro a hard time), and while AV is a solid option, it also isn’t a particularly defining or threatening set. It’s become relatively adjusted to lately, which means that a drop is in order.
from A to A-: Buzzwole is a bit of a clunky fit in some scenarios, with the popularity of foes like Aegislash and Salamence complicating its capacity to fit every move it’d like on its sets. The metagame is also currently filled to the brim with special attackers capable of overwhelming it quite easily, though Buzzwole’s Life Orb set is still a respectable threat.
from A to A-: Moltres struggles a lot right now with Nihilego, Rotom-W, Chansey, and Rhyperior all being common defensive countermeasures. Additionally, a lot of the metagame’s popular offensive threats, like Keldeo/Lycanroc/Thundurus, constrict its opportunities.
from A to A-: Rotom-H has seen better days, especially in comparison to its Water-type cousin. Scizor’s departure, the advent of rain, and Nihilego and Rhyperior being popular rockers have all massively eaten into its utility, giving it a ton of opportunity cost and decreased defensive value.
from B+ to B: Chandelure was once a premier offensive threat, but now struggles immensely to overcome the opportunity cost Aegislash supplies it with. Various important metagame components, including Nihilego, rain teams, and Azumarill, also limit its opportunities a lot.
from B+ to B: Cobalion’s Speed and unique coverage/support movepools will always allow it some footing in the tier, but its main claim as a solid Scizor check is now gone, and the current S-tier Steel-type in Aegislash is also a very huge hurdle for it in most cases, which eats into its value a fair amount.
from B+ to B-: Nidoqueen was already on a downward trajectory but suffers pretty massive competition with Nidoking now in the tier. It still has its own unique merits, though its typing isn’t particularly grand defensively right now, which doesn’t often make the extra bulk worth it on offensive sets.
from B to B-: Noivern doesn’t really offer too much over its competition currently aside from being a decent Keldeo check thanks to its Speed and typing. Salamence is still better for pretty much any other situation unfortunately, making cases in which Noivern is a clean fit fairly rare.
from B to B-: Toxtricity is a potent breaker that just hasn’t shown up much lately. Its shaky Speed and bulk can complicate its capacity to fit onto teams very cleanly, though its situation is also made a bit worse by the current value Thundurus presents as a breaker with more options and better tools for the metagame.
from B- to C+: Given the viability of Salamence and Kommo-o’s physical setup sets, Haxorus is in a tough spot. It simply suffers major opportunity cost and can’t really contribute anything defensively in spite of its power. It can be a fun breaker with Choice Band but is just very niche at this rate.
from B- to C+: Incineroar’s utility in comparison to more popular Dark-types is just not worth keeping it afloat in the B ranks right now. Mew and Scizor leaving hurt it a lot, and outside of its already iffy Aegislash matchup, it struggles in the face of most top tier Pokemon and archetypes.
form B- to C+: Milotic isn’t a bad standalone Pokemon, but has seen fair competition from bulky Water-types like Mantine and Gastrodon, which simply offer more right now with their secondary typings and abilities. As its opportunity cost increases, its viability takes a hit.
from B- to C+: Sun is in a rough spot given the current value of rain. Pelipper’s access to reliable recovery and Torkoal’s lack of it makes sun a far less accessible archetype, though many rain abusers, like Keldeo and Azumarill, are also quite self sufficient outside of rain, unlike Venusaur. Sun builds simply just have limited opportunities right now, which justifies a drop.
from B- to C+: Volcanion is an incredibly awkward pick due to its offensive output and defensive value being ‘decent’ but still notably worse than other Water-type options. It’s just a clunky pick that doesn’t feel like it has a lot to offer that is particularly useful in building.
from C to UR: Dragalge and Guzzlord haven’t received meaningful usage lately despite having theoretical niches, justifying an unranking given how costly the Dragon-type slot can often be. Slurpuff is an extremely predictable Pokemon that has fallen out of favor in comparison to another webs setter in Ribombee, which has more options and a better Speed tier that both improve its consistency.
