Resource SS ZU Viability Rankings v2 - Update @236

Jett

gm gobodachis
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I haven't done noms in a long time, so here are a couple and I'll "briefly" comment on the ones above but here we go:

:rapidash-galar: Rapidash Galar C to B-/B. Gorse has been overlooked for a very long time, even by myself, but I think it definitely warrants a rise. Two really solid sets in SD and CM, a really useful defensive typing for an offensive Pokemon makes it a perfect addition to teams which need a Pokemon act as an secondary Fighting- and Psychic-type check. The reliable recovery further helps the latter and with the immunity to Toxic as well, I feel that a fair few "standard" teams can struggle to deal with it. Being slower than Froslass does suck a little but it still has an incredible Speed tier being faster than some of our top threats in Jynx, Basculin, Morpeko, and Silvally formes just to name some examples. Not sure where to exactly rank this, but I think at the very least, it is in line with some of the upcoming wallbreakers from the last metagame.

:type-null: C to C+. Specially defensive slow pivot. Does this pretty well, although it's certainly no Wishiwashi or Perrserker. Still very passive and vulnerable to Knock Off, but it can somewhat blanket check special attackers which isn't awful. Will definitely see some usage on certain VoltTurn teams or teams based on a very hard to get in breaker that really need this sort of assistance so a small rise will suffice.

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:froslass: Froslass New to A. Yup agree with what's been said. Great mon, not broken but definitely has a very distinct role that offensive teams will certainly appreciate.

:miltank: Miltank Keep at A+. This one is a tough one to call; on the one hand it can definitely 1v1 a lot of things and be obnoxious, but it's also pretty exploitable and predictable at times due to its somewhat passive tendencies. Gets blown back by our special attackers in Jynx and Basculin, but once they are gone (im assuming way too much lmao), I can certainly see a case for this potentially moving up.

:poliwrath: Poliwrath A- to A. One of the few actually good Basculin switch-ins, can be pretty threatening as an offensive Water-type itself as well. Bulky sets are also pretty solid, metagame just really suits my best friend Justin.

:klinklang: Klinklang A to A+. Ye this mon is a menace at the moment. It does have checks but those checks struggle against some of our key threats, as most are weak to Water-types.

:jynx: Jynx A to A+. Yep, another one that makes sense, lost Wishiwashi so scarier to switch into, and despite the lack of switch-ins, it's still too hard to be consistent with it to be considered S.

:basculin: Basculin B+ to A+. While this has been nommed for a rise already, I'm gonna push it one further. This mon is totally cracked against many teams since having a sturdy Water-type answer is difficult without resorting to Poliwrath (or other extremely niche Water-immune Pokemon). Sure Grass-types are decent but they fear Ice Beam and even take a lot from Choice boosted STAB attacks despite resisting them. Furthermore, this mon has been teching against generally special walls like Articuno in order to bypass them further reducing good switch-ins, and again faster than Jynx is really nice at the moment.

:stunfisk: Stunfisk Keep at A-. Seems odd that a Stunfisk hater would wanna keep Stunfisk here but its one of the best Klinklang answers, I've seen many teams utilise other special attackers + Skuntank and this deals with that, still deals with Rotom as well. Yes it's awfully passive, lacks recovery and extremely exploitable but it does do a great job of crucially just checking some big threats to the point, where I feel forced to use it on certain teams (feelsbad moment). Wouldn't be sad tho if it did drop tho.

:shiftry: Shiftry B+ to B. Shiftry has struggled for a while and the shifts haven't helped it either, fine with it going down.

:qwilfish: Qwilfish A+ to A. Too many special attackers for its liking and there's also a new Spiker in town. Still a good mon but has more trouble seeing success at the moment.

:tangela: Tangela A+ to A. Ye Corth summarise this well by saying its just like Qwil whereby the specially defensive counterparts rose and these two arent sufficient at dealing with the rise of special attackers. Still great mons despite the suggest drop.

:altaria: Altaria A to A-/B+. I've never really been much of a fan of this Pokemon. Its awfully passive as a defogger and its matchups right now are significantly worse than other defoggers, and we also got Lassie to make things worse for it.

:persian-alola: Alolan Persian B+ to A-. Amazing Speed tier, good fast check to physical attackers, good utility and typing for the metagame, definitely deserves this.

:coalossal: Coalossal B to B+. Again I'll admit I'm not the biggest fan but we lost a spinner and some other important mons, and this does a decent job at filling those shoes. Namely does well into Ice-types barring Focus Blast from Jynx and it can still eat one. Still has glaring flaws such as being very passive and the awkward typing that is both great and bad at the same time but I can definitely see it go up; not too fussed if it doesnt tho.

:morpeko: Morpeko B to S B+. :pekobusiness:

:lurantis: Lurantis C to C+. Ye small rise but we should expect to see more of this Pokemon given we lost Eldegoss.

:silvally-grass: Silvally-Grass ?. Not sure if we need to be using this but I haven't really tried so I can't say for certain.

bloop.
 
:accelgor: Accelgor from B to B+
I think Bug is a really cool type in this meta. There's more Psychics (mostly just more Uxie and Jynx) which also leads to more Darks to neutralize them (Morpeko, some Sableyes and even Shiftry rise?). Well, here's a type that deals big damage against both! And as a nice bonus you also hit Grasses (read: Tangela and Thwackey mostly) hard. Now, the problem is in actually keeping them in, but if your opponent has no option but to send them out, you're one happy person with this mon.
It's a small rise, because, well, it's still a bug type. Its typing holds it back so much defensively and offensively, aside from the flavor of the meta as of now. Popular physical scarfers like Sawk and Kabutops will swiftly squash it with Stone Edge, special walls will outlive it... basically what i'm trying to say is that not a lot has changed for it in terms of survivability, but in terms of things it can prey on there's a lot more.
Bonus points for surviving CB Thwackey's Grassy Glide or Scarf Jynx's Ice Beam.

:coalossal: Coalossal from B to B+
Basically what has been said previously. Jynx and Froslass hate it, Articuno fears it and it's a really good hazard compressor.

:klinklang: Klinklang from A to A+
I will admit, it's really, really tough to deal with it effectively while also dealing with things that shut its counters down. It's also very happy that wishi and maybe even perrserker are gone, but this tier also really needs steels. It's healthy kind of strong.

:thwackey: Thwackey from A+ to S
Thwackey is one of the hardest mons to switch into and one of the hardest to actually stop. Its kit is top tier with KnockTurn, STAB Priority buffed by grassy terrain and a 150 damage nuke. The recoil is not as scary with terrain healing you off. Its partners are really good mons right now (especially Klinklang who adores weaker EQ, but also Coalossal mentioned earlier). Dark and Bug also happen to be genuinely good coverage types in this meta. There's hardly a team that doesn't want a Thwackey set.
I'm not 100% sure on the S tier. Ideally it'd be like S-. Tangela and Gourgeist-Super are really good walls that you kinda don't want to run with Thwackey in a team as to not stack weaknesses. But besides that, Thwackey feels perfect in this meta.

(pardon if any of these aren't good enough, i'm still kinda new to all this, comparatively to most of you all at least)
 

5Dots

Chairs
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R A D I C A L N O M S
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I introduce it better than Corthius

RISES
:Froslass: NEW -> A
Froslass competes with Qwilfish as the best Spiker in the tier - it brings a ghost immunity to prevent its spikes from being spun away, has great matchups against common defoggers like Altaria, Silvally-Poison, and non-Choice Scarf Rotom, has a terrific speed tier, outspending meta threats like Gourgeist-S and Jynx, and has an amazing support movepool alongside it. Froslass is quite flexible as it has powerful STABs to complement its Speed tier (Triple Axel, Poltergeist, Ice Shard, even its special movepool), which makes up for its mediocre attacking stats. Options like Substitute, Taunt, Will-o-Wisp, and even Disable make it annoying to deal with in getting spikes on or off, enabling its offensive or defensive teammates to capitalize off of it.

:Silvally: :Water Memory: C- -> B
A huge increase, but without Wishiwashi, Silvally-Water is able to distinguish itself much more among its Water-type brethren. A lone Water typing gives it less weaknesses compared to other Waters, like Kabutops, Cramorant, and Poliwrath - Pokemon like Gurdurr, Lycanroc, and Altaria that would otherwise take advantage of them, can’t easily beat down Silvally-Water. While czim showcased Silvally-Fighting‘s excellent coverage choices in beating numerous defoggers, Silvally-Water does more or less the same thing, but with a welcome resist to Steel. Multi-Attack alongside either Thunderbolt, Ice Beam, Flamethrower, and U-turn provides great coverage in this new meta, which other Waters could only dream of doing. Another advantage it has is that without a boosting item, WaterVally is the fastest unboosted Water-type in the meta, giving it a needed hand against opposing Waters (qwilfish, cramorant), non-Choice Scarf Rotom and Sawk, Kangskhan, and Rotom-S. Overall, while Silvally-Water faces steep competition with its brethren, Wishiwashi leaving has allowed it to perform leagues better compared to previous metas as a mixed attacker and pivot.

:Musharna: C -> C+

As with Silvally-Water, while Musharna has difficulty fitting over Uxie, Exeggutor and Jynx as both a defensive and offensive Psychic-type, Musharna’s reliable recovery in Moonlight combined with a beefier Future Sight gives it an advantage compared to Uxie, requiring less support and can run more items as a result - actually, running itemless may very well be its best choice, since it can be one of the few Psychic-types that can reliably switch into threats like Gourgeist-S, Froslass, and other Knock Off users like Sawk and Gurdurr without being worn down so quickly. In addition, it’s a better status absorber than all three of them, as it can discourage status users like Miltank and Stunfisk by using Toxic against them. Offensive and/or Healing Wish sets also warrant testing, as it’s also capable of becoming a neat wincon with its great bulk.

:Carracosta: :Runerigus: UR -> C-
While I don’t have replays for both of them, Carracosta performs amicably as a Shell Smash sweeper, as it’s distinct for picking off Manectric after a +2 LO-boosted Aqua Jet. Compared to Crustle, Carracosta has a better defensive and offensive typing, has priority, and can afford to run mixed sets. Like Crustle, it can set up in front of the same targets (Kangaskhan, Rapidash, Miltank).
+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Carracosta Aqua Jet vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Manectric: 250-294 (88.9 - 104.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Carracosta Aqua Jet vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Rotom: 203-239 (84.2 - 99.1%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Carracosta Stone Edge vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Appletun: 493-581 (116.5 - 137.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Carracosta Aqua Jet vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Ninetales: 416-494 (144.9 - 172.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Runerigus has a coveted Fighting immunity, making it a Stealth Rocker that reliably switches into Gurdurr, Throh, and Sawk far more reliably with a Colbur Berry and Wandering Spirit, Said ability also nicely stops Kangaskhan from spamming its STABs, which is something other Ghost-types can’t replicate. Runerigus also has nice matchups against common Stealth Rock setters like Stunfisk, Uxie and Rhydon, as it can take advantage of their lack of reliable recovery with its STABS + Wisp, giving it an edge over the long game. Lastly, Runerigus’ bulk enables it to be an emergency stop-gap to threats like Skuntank, Malamar, and Morpeko, giving it another edge over other Ghost-types that either have to switch out or just lose to them. Although Runerigus’ lack of reliable recovery is apparent, many other Ghost-types and Stealth Rock setters also don’t have recovery.

While niche, both of them have some merits that can put in notable work when built correctly.
DROPS
:Qwilfish: A+ -> A
A new Spiker in town alongside it having to pick and choose for losing against either Jynx or Klinklang is not good for our pufferfish. Qwilfish’s passivity can be apparent given how it needs bulk to be a physical wall, and if Clear Body alongside poor stats let it down, it kind of underperforms, no? Swords Dance sets can probably see more usage thanks to its nice speed and STABs, though they can still be underwhelming since Qwilfish’s merely good offensive presence and low bulk can often prevent it from getting far with a sweep. Still a terrific Pokemon, but the new meta trends are just not in its favor.
:Appletun: B -> B-:
Appletun hates Jynx and Klinklang being the hot topic of the month. As a defensive Grass-type, while it has triumphs with a Dragon-typing + Thick Fat + great special bulk to give it better matchups against Ninetales and Rapidash, it still doesn’t have recourse against the aformentioned Ice- and Steel-type besides gimmicky Iron Defense or Body Press shenanigans. At least Tangela can put Klinklang to sleep and has Knock Off utility, while even something like Lurantis can also boost on its own and counter sweep Klinklang while also providing Defog + Knock Off support. Also, Froslass being the new Spiker doesn’t help it either.
:Lapras: C- -> UR
It’s…a Water Absorb user that loses to Poliwrath and Kabutops. As if that wasn’t bad enough, it’s slower than, well, pretty much everything except Exeggutor, but compared to other water- and Ice-types, like Poliwrath and Jynx, Lapras doesn’t offer anything other than Ice STAB. Trapping sets are also bad considering how telegraphed it can be and how offensive the meta has become, which is not helped by some Clefairys running Teleport and its hazard vulnerability.
 

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viet noa

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Cleaning Up C Tier
:ss/cradily:
Cradily: C to UR

One of the biggest losers of Basculin's ban was a niche counter to it, named Cradily. It has great attributes on paper ~ utility moves, reliable recovery, and balanced stats. Unfortunately, I think its typing is too poor, even with Storm Drain. Despite its bulk, its lack of resistances means that it can get forced to spam Recover pretty frequently. Thus, it has a hard time consistently switching into Pokémon it otherwise could check, like Thwackey and Poliwrath. While it has strong STAB moves, its typing makes its combination easily walled by common Pokémon like Klinklang, Tangela, and mixed wall Miltank. Swords Dance sets similarly end up not working well, especially when it's outclassed by other Rock-type Swords Dance users in the tier (Lycanroc-Midnight, Rhydon, and even Silvally-Rock).
:ss/drifblim:
Drifblim: C- to UR

Regardless of how highly you think of Electric Terrain, the truth is that there are a lot of Pokémon that can potentially take advantage of it. Furthermore, there's a lot of ETerrain abusers that are frankly better than Drifblim. As a bulky setup sweeper, Galarian Rapidash and Uxie can more efficiently cover that role due to their favorable typings and attacks. Gapidash is especially better, because it's immune to being worn down by Toxic. With Drifblim relying on getting multiple boosts so that Shadow Ball can actually hit hard, it's all too susceptible to being Toxic stalled by walls like Miltank. As an Unburden user, Thievul's moveset and typing makes it a much more consistent threat. And of course, it's lacking the immediate firepower of Rising Voltage Manectric or Raichu. While you can argue that it has somewhat of a niche on ETerrain teams, it's ultimately a very niche sweeper on an already niche playstyle. The opportunity cost makes it not worth it, most of the time.
:ss/falinks:
Falinks: C- to UR

Looking at it on paper, Falinks looks like it would serve a purpose as a Defog lurer. Sadly, when you look past the surprise factor, there's very little Falinks can actually do. Most Defog users have either (a) Toxic or (b) a Flying-type attack, both of which can cripple a Falinks looking to switch in. Once that niche is gone, it essentially becomes a much worse version of Sawk. It doesn't have the firepower, coverage, nor the offensive utility that the other ranked Fighting-types have in this tier. Frankly, as a Defog lurer, I'd almost always use the unranked Pawniard over it. At least with Pawniard, for as flawed as it is, it has the typing and movepool to actually threaten Defog users on a relatively consistent basis.
:ss/lapras::ss/lilligant::ss/ludicolo::ss/shuckle:
Other UR Noms

Here are a couple other mons that I think should be UR, but I don't have nuanced explanations for. I second 5Dots's reasons for Lapras dropping to UR. I think Lilligant is too frequently going to run into Steel-types and Poison-types that completely wall it, and I think as an ETerrain sweeper, there are plenty of better options. I think Ludicolo needing Rain Dance in order to potentially do alright is asking for too much, especially since it only gets an attacking boost for one move. Sticky Webs already are a borderline UR playstyle, but I'd legitimately make the argument that Orbeetle's pivoting and recovery makes it a more reliable Sticky Web setter than Shuckle.
 

Apagogie

Zee you later
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Since i played the meta again, few noms from my observation:

:Uxie: Uxie B+ -> A-
I've been a lot into the Uxie hate but right now, it's a pretty decent choice. The role compression of being the only mon in the tier having rocks + a pivot move in being a Sawk check is pretty valuable right now after we lost a ton of our pivots. It also sees consistent usage in a suicid lead in sun and stored power sets punishes hard teams who rely too much on some lazy ways to check defensive set up sweepers. Exploration with this mon stays also possible which is kinda cool. Strucutres with Uxie stay honestly pretty awkward since your rotom check becomes suddendly very limited so it still asks some mental exercises when you decide to use it.

:Silvally: Silvally-Dark A -> A-
I'm not sure about this but I want that the council votes on it so let's go. I find building teams with Vally Dark a weird challenge right now considering that you generally want to use a dark type with a better speed tier, especially persian-alola. Only having a speed tie with jynx sucks, and if it's still a good deterend against stored power alcremie, i feel like this set isn't very used anymore with the overpreparation of everyone. Still a threating set up sweeper in the right conditions but it looked more manageable / less useful in teams for me lately.

:Dugtrio-Alola: Dugtrio-Alola A- -> B+
Dugtrio-alola has a good role in the metagame, being a soft check to klinklang, an immunity to electric types, being able to threaten Alcremie, sometimes even being able to click rocks. Still, without pivots this mon is very difficult simply to use which asks a good preparation ahead, and subToxic sets are less effective with most of miltank carrying heal bell. I had okay success with it but it was in very special teams which specific structures. I consider dugtrio-alola to be an interesting pick rather than being a staple mon that you would see in most of teams. That's the border for me between A and the B rank so i think B+ is more accurate.

:Throh: Throh A- -> B+
Maybe i'm biaised on this considering I only saw this mon being played on ladder but I don't think this is a staple mon either. I don't really know what's his role in the current metagame? Is it a spd wall who cannot switch against alcremie/jynx? Is it a klinklang switch in like rapidash, without the speed tier but better against fat? Is it a way to pressure Miltank? Is it the symbol of the league against Sawk? Honestly i'have no clue but it's the only mon in the whole A rank that i haven't seen any serious player playing recently so i dont think it's a staple anymore. I can be wrong on this but i would like that the council votes on this too

:Rotom-Fan: Rotom-Fan B -> B-/C+
I tested it and was really not fan of this mon overall. It's weaker than the rest of the B rank which is full of very useful mon. I have no idea what's the niche of rotom fan in the tier right now, air slash is too weak to use this in flying spam, it struggles to prevent any rocker to set up rocks in front of it, cannot defog versus lass, combo of stab very weak to break through ground types/elecctric types which are close to necessary in every team. I wouldn't advice anyone to try this.

:Trevenant: Trevenant C+ -> Lower
Trevenant is too high. It still caries the role to hit Miltank with a solid Drain punch, something gourgeist cannot do, which is not so bad in itself but one of the main niche was being able to switch consistently against wishiwashi without being worried to get a burn. Now that Wishiwashi is gone, it falls under the category of very average wallbreaker in the tier which is most often than not absolutely not able to break anything. We have several slow good wallbreakers in the tier and i doubt most your choice would fall on Trevenant to accomplish anything. I also don't mention that having a grass and a ghost stab goes against trends of the metagame since more and more teams are prepared to have a way against this. You need a very solid reason to use this instead of gourgeist or any other wallbreaker.

:Type-Null: Type-Null C -> B-
I tested it. This mon is not incredible but the bulk and u-turn makes it useful to check decently a big part of the metagame. It's relatively quickly weaken by hazards but better and more splashable than most of the C rank.

About other noms
:Miltank: Miltank A+ -> S
This mon deserves to be S rank. She is simply the most and one of the only consistent mon in the tier and in my opinion, what can be considered as the best mon in ZU at the moment. She is able to win a number of 1v1 which is unmatched in the metagame, making this mon ironically one of the best wincondition in late game. Her absurb speed tier makes her able if you wish to be able to revenge kill Jynx and the Vallies. She is one of the only consistent switch in to mons such as Thwackey/Froslass (yeah both can annoy her but what else would you use if you are not satisfied with Miltank?). Boots and Rocky Helmet both makes some match up very tedious to maintain for the opponent. You can slap a Miltank in every team and she will never be a deadweight.

:Froslass: Froslass A+
Froslass deserves A+ imo. This mon doesn't have very good switch in and helps teams in term of speed tier and progress thanks to spikes. Taunt is very annoying for any fat team and especially to disturb mono attacker miltank. She has some bad match up and the utility she provides in team is sometimes slightly lacking but it's one of the biggest threat in ZU for slow teams.

:Qwilfish: A+ -> A
Yeah. Wouldn't be surprised if people want it even in A-. Could be used as a lass check that being said, especially if itemless.

:Klinklang: A -> A+
Yeah, this mon is very threating and forces to play suboptimal structures to be fine versus it.

:Persian-Alola: B+ -> A
I'm not a big fan of Persian-Alola but the speed tier and the typing which allows to it be above Froslass makes it to be one of the staple mon I use when i'm building a team. I think A- is underranking its utility in teams. It's a step above Skuntank/Clefairy/Gourgeist-Small in term of utility and impact on the metagame in my opinion.

:Coalossal: B -> B+
Yeah, coalossal is good, good compression of role and being able to threat lass and fish against klinklang is very good.
 
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Celever

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I wasn't sure I wanted to make a post but after Cradily being nommed to unranked I'll defend it for a while and then add some of my own stuff.

:cradily:Keep in C Rank
I've had a lot of success using Cradily on balance teams. It's a really nice mon on specific balance formations, because it's a glue and win condition in one slot, which is something rare in ZU. Of course, Klinklang shares that role compression, and most of the time you would just use that instead, but Cradily is a valid, useable alternative. Initially it appealed to me due to Altaria being pretty common -- Altaria itself isn't top-tier at the moment and has been nommed to drop, but ZU's defog game is poor and it's a quad Grass-Type resist which is still valuable -- and I think a lot of Cradily's viability is in being able to whack Altaria and Golbat with Stone Edge, since a lot of offensive builds use them as their Grass-Type (read: Thwackey) answer. Requires cleric support, but other than that it's a fine obscure pick and most balance teams have Heal Bell on Miltank or Uxie anyway, and that's what C-rank is for.

:miltank:A+ -> S
Most common, splashable, consistently good mon in the format.

:klinklang: A+ -> S
Most oppressive, consistently annoying mon in the format. SubTox and Shift Gear sets have completely different checks and counters. My view is it should be banned tbh but that's just me. If you don't use Klinklang on your team, you are at a disadantage against opposing teams that use Klinklang.

:sawk: S -> A | :throh: A- -> A
In the Klinklang meta, these two mons' viabilities have changed a lot. Sawk functions as a pretty poor offensive check to Klinklang, whereas Throh is a useable defensive one (should be run PhysDef nowadays). Beyond that, Sawk is a nice scarfer that lacks a bit of power, and a nice bander who gets screwed a little by a lot of the format's speed control measures. A seems very correct for it to me, though I know it's a significant drop, and A+ would also be fine. Throh is less consistent, but setup spam is relatively common at the moment and it's the best mon in the format against those builds. I'd be fine with it staying in A-, but I do feel it's A.

:cramorant: B+ -> B-
I really tried to make Cram work and it just, doesn't. It's an offensive defogger that sits below the speed tier of most of the format's premier offensive threats, and 70/55 physical bulk is bad even for an offensive defogger. It honestly gets one Defog off per battle. If you want to use an offensive defogger, use Shiftry or creative Rotom builds. Cram next to Golbat as a niche defogger seems fine, though I'd say Golbat is honestly prob better on more teams.

:cryogonal: C+ -> B-
On the note of niche hazard removal, Cryogonal is worth another look by a lot of players I think. It's not as niche and unsplashable as C+, but since it's rare B- is fine. Nice special wall utility mon with Knock, Spin, Defog, Recover, Haze, Toxic and even Screens. Becomes surprisingly splashable on balance, stall, and perhaps bulky offense builds. 95 SpAtk is nice, after all. Main detriment is it's a free switchin for Klinklang but so's most of the tier so hey. Out of our hazard control options, Cryogonal is the one that I think saps momentum the least, besides Rotom.

:sableye: C+ -> C-
This mon is really bad folks. The best thing it does is add pressure on setup sweepers in team preview for more paranoid / conservative players. When you click a setup move it's a 50/50 that Sableye might switch in to threaten you with Encore, but every team out there has 1-5 mons who can just switch into Sableye in turn because they don't care about the rest of its moves. It shouldn't go to unranked, it has a small function, but it has a place on 1/100 teams built for this format lol

:morpeko: B -> B+ / A-
This mon has had a real rise recently. I just realised it can learn Rapid Spin -- have to admit I've never seen a utility set -- because its main function at the moment is a nice offensive pivot who resists both of Klinklang's STABs. With Sawk becoming less common, the meta is much nicer to Morpeko as that mon used to be a bit ubiquitous and that was pretty oppressive for Morpeko. Aura Wheel is also really nice, as the only mon that resists both types of the attack is Shiftry and Shiftry is not a valid Morpeko answer since it gets worn down really easily. Morpeko > Persian-A with regards to splashability and consistency at the moment, and Persian-A is rightly in B+.

:Lurantis: C -> Unranked
This mon gets bopped by everything. Slow af. Convinced its viability is 0 at this point.

Also agree with Uxie in A- but I think B+ is also fine, it's really on the border between those two ranks. There's a case for Jynx -> A+, surprised that hasn't been nommed yet, but I'm iffy on it too.
 
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OranBerryBlissey10

is a Tiering Contributor
NUPL Champion
:Silvally-Water: (water): C- to B: Both offensive and defensive watervally massively appreciate the shifts, as both high profile competitors and roadblocks have since left the tier. Eldegoss, Wishiwashi and Basculin were all impeding its viability and it has a chance to shine now it didn't get before. Defog/Multi/Tbolt/Uturn beats most of the hazard setters and is also a pretty useful pivot while Work Up/Multi/Tbolt/Ice Beam genuinely has little solid switchins.

:Appletun: B to A-: Appletun has been underrated for a while, but the current meta puts it in the spotlight even more. Not only are its stats incredible in a vacuum, which allows it take a hit from pretty much everything but it also answers a variety of prominent mons. (like tang, dash, tales, rhydon, rotom, duggy, fisk)
Appletun hates Jynx and Klinklang being the hot topic of the month.
Despite this being mostly true, it is very misleading. Not only did it lose two of its biggest answers to the shifts, but Jynx was already popular in the previous meta while Perrserker was far more punishing than Klinklang for it (bc of free uturn). Defensive sets are extremely painful for unprepared teams and offensive sets have excellent destructive potential. Even theoretical bad matchups are still quite manageable (for example, alcremie cannot setup vs apple acid and specs draco forces cuno to roost) and good ones are devastating.

:Roselia: UR to C+: If you look at the vr rn, rose could utter this statement regarding a large portion of the top mons: "Hmm I don't hard counter this but I do kinda check it." Said quality is pretty useful with recovery, a toxic immunity and ability to use free turns effectively. Apart from that, it has two large boons. The first being access to spikes, which have been in demand ever since the untimely departure of Snowslash. The second one is being a grass type that beats other grass types. Most notably Tangela is entirely useless vs it, and after having knocked rose, will often immediately double out out of fear of giving rose a free turn. (which is abusable) Some (high-level) replays of it in action:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8zu-1554011052-wzzsvdje0bduaes3la7ll13indykfbgpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8zu-1554016920-st2lvmtw0rds9lzv4qny8jrw1jijeu4pw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8zu-1561321663-rdmlmbth5peh53o3u726fio0o549a6zpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8zu-1548439133-igo1sj77o6fn9k6ilimbeagmw9207b6pw (granted it doesn't do a lot but the spike helps)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8zu-1548401837-hhxdpp0zziiyif41tnzyr8a1hpg2kj9pw

:Pawniard: UR to C-: Pawn is the closest thing zu has to a competent defog punisher. Fits on hazard stack teams as it's great at abusing cuno (and to a lesser extent, alt). Also a decent check to the grasses, rotom and the new lass. Pawn can quickly get out of hand and 6-0 some teams even if it's a bit of a mu fish. Some examples:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8zu-1544559026-fnc8ff0uamltpj4jcngs5bzbc52b7hppw (turn 5 is huge)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8zu-1556400721-40vdfhn35041k00eedoxdz1h46ol5utpw

Can't believe two posts mentioned Cradily and neither mentioned its best set. (meteor beam is not a balanced move)
shadow tl out
 

Tuthur

formerly 0-7 in FCL
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VR update happened! This time Danny joined us to vote. Voting sheet by Jett.

New Placement:
:froslass: to A+

Rises:
:klinklang: A to A+
:jynx: A to A+
:persian-alola: B+ to A
:uxie: B+ to A-
:appletun: B to B+
:liepard: B to B+
:morpeko: B to B+
:rapidash-galar: C to B-
:type-null: C to C+
:ivysaur: C- to B+
:ludicolo: C- to C

Drops
:qwilfish: A+ to A
:silvally:(Dark) A to A-
:throh: A- to B+
:cramorant: B+ to B
:rotom-fan: B to B-
:cradily: C to C-
:falinks: C- to UR

Froslass settled in the tier as a premier Spikes setter with an excellent Speed tier and great stall breaking capacities with its Heavy Duty Boots set. Klinklang and Jynx rising should be no surprise as they became far better with the recent tier shifts removing checks to them like Wishiwashi and Perrserker. With a lot of proeminent VoltTurn member leaving the tier, replacements such as Alolan Persian, Uxie, and Type:Null have risen in popularity. Council team also decided to rank all the sun staples in the same rank in B+, as it is where we see the archetype's viability. Galarian Rapidash also rose due to the combination of great Speed, ability to check Sawk, and Toxic immunity, letting it round up some team by covering precise weaknesses. Qwilfish dropped as Froslass gives it more competition as a Spikes setter and it struggles with trends like Klinklang, Exeggutor, and Jynx. Silvally-Dark has been harder to fit into teams due to being slower than Froslass and Alolan Persian became the favorite fast Dark-type pivot, because the wallbreaking capacities matter less than Alolan Persian's huge physical bulk in the current metagame. Throh struggles with special attacker trends like Jynx and Exeggutor, while missing its partner in crime in Eldegoss, Poliwrath and Gurdurr are also giving it tough competition as bulky Fighting-types due to their better Klinklang matchup. The other drops are Pokemon that became even harder to fit into teams.
 
1651336551263.png

C -->B+

Major jump but in my eyes stalls just as viable as other playstyles like sun so I wanted to nom this about where we have sun. While it does generally have a losing match up into froslass (and sun but thats more depending on how you build it. I imagine you can manage through with sp.d alt stall variants) I find that, when built and played correctly, you generally have answers for basically everything in the tier right now. Stalls in the most viable place its been since it lost audino and I think its a crime to have stall staples this low now

1651337545230.png

B- --> B

Same thing as above, just a stall staple. Its a dark type that wins the set up war against Stored Power Alcremie which is mandatory to have on stall given Pyuk covers the other set match ups and it also gives you a much needed fighting immunity to not get blown out by stuff like CB Sawk as well as a much needed win condition to play for. Generally an auto include on most stall.


1651337200929.png

B+ --> A-

So this nom mostly comes off of finding a lot of success with Gurdurr + Klinklang as a core, the idea being Klinklang covers the awful Alcremie match up that Gurdurr invites in as well as off loads a lot of the pressure that opposing Klinklangs put on your Gurdurr by giving you the ability to directly switch your own Klinklang into their Klinklang which then puts them in a spot of having to either commit to the set up war knowing at any time you can double into Gurdurr and force them out resulting in a net negative for them in terms of tempo, or switch out to the Klinklang answer and hope it ends better than setting up and getting abused by Gurdurr. It really is a lose-lose situation for them at that point and that interaction comes up a lot given how popular Klinklang is.

That said even outside that core Gurdurr puts out so much pressure against any non Alcremie team and its definitely something that I think is flying under the radar right now.



1651336783845.png

B- --> C

Its like regular stunfisk except worse in every single way. Thwacky is all over the place so you can't even build with this as a consistent steel type because you're not even afforded that in a lot of match ups. Its really good outside the problem of e-terrain killing your steel typing but that one problem I think nukes it into niche low viability.



1651337770668.png

C- --> UR

Can we just get rid of this already? Its fast but it literally does nothing and is dead weight/ something you should cut or replace on every team its on. There hasn't been a single team I've ever looked at and went "yeah Boltund fits here" or "Boltund is a good addition for this team". Its just bad.
 
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viet noa

eating neopronoun pizza at little xe/xyrs
is a Pre-Contributor
:ss/gourgeist-small:
Small Gourgeist: A- to B+
While the metagame shifts haven't been exclusively negative for Gourgeist-S, I think it's overall more difficult to slot it onto teams. This is mainly due to the competition being pretty intense. It definitely still is very versatile, but I think it suffers from just how good Froslass and Thwackey are, alongside the rise of other revenge killers like Alolan Persian. Froslass's Speed, Ice-type attacks, and utility in Spikes and Taunt have made it the go-to Poltergeist user. Thwackey's access to Grassy Surge and Knock Off also feels like more valuable offensive utility than Gourgeist's bulk and access to Trick, especially since Poltergeist can sometimes be a hinderance to Gourgeist-S's team synergy. We also see how some of its biggest checks, like Miltank and the aforementioned Alolan Persian, have risen in usage.

:ss/gurdurr:
Gurdurr: B+ to A-
The banning of Basculin lets Gurdurr invest more into its physical prowess, allowing it to be an even greater check to breakers like Klinklang and Silvally-Dark. Although Gurdurr suffers against some really terrible matchups in Altaria and Alcremie, its access to Knock Off lets it at least make some progress when they switch in. Part of what makes Gurdurr a riser to me is its synergy with top-tier teammates. As kay has mentioned, Klinklang easily covers against Gurdurr's worst matchups. Another partner I find really interesting is Silvally-Poison, who can absorb Knock Offs and directly threaten counters like Alcremie and Clefairy. Gurdurr's strength and access to priority gives it a very distinct niche over other bulky Pokémon. And with offensive teams on the rise, this will only prove to be more vital than before.

:ss/sableye:
Sableye: C+ to B-
The potential's always been there, but with Sableye making some notable appearances in ZU's Seasonal, I think it's starting to reach that ceiling. Sableye definitely has quite a few rough matchups, but as a defensive Pokémon, it's able to near instantly make progress for teams. Priority access to recovery, status, and taunting lets it provide immediate usage once it switches into physical attackers. For example, in this Seasonal tourney match, even when Sableye has a less-than-ideal matchup, it can still make quick progress through Knock Off and different status moves.

Other Noms:
:pyukumuku: up to B
:pawniard: up to C-
:boltund: down to UR
:shuckle: down to UR
:lapras: down to UR
 
1651811165995.png

B --> B+

Okay time for the classic kay nom of fighting for this to keep its place in B+. Its extremely good and punishes any offensive teams that can't outright ohko it, and threatens bulkier teams Gulp Missile procs to lower defense into Brave Birds (please stop running hurricane). This mons so much better in practice than it is on paper, and even on paper its a really good mon. Would recommend people explore it as their bulky water option because the pressure it puts down is unreal. There are some games where this mon randomly trades with like a Jynx or a Cuno because they're so pressured to get rid of it.

1651811070283.png

C --> B+

Okay this meta is prime for Mushy. You've got BB and CB Sawk running around as a terror and teams spamming these really annoying toxic walls like Miltank and Articuno that make it a headache to grind against them. But Mushy fixes those by being one of the strongest Sawk switch ins in the tier as well as abuses Miltank and company with Synchronize to bounce their Toxics back at them while you cleanse it with Rest Talk. The real draw to Musharna tho is the other two move slots: Future Sight and Moonblast. Teams can just crumble with the right breaker being backed with a Future Sight hit and between that and Moonblast, you've got a mon that kinda just emits this passive pressure on teams while invalidating some strategies people are pulling towards. I think this mons hella under rated.


1651811092495.png
(super)
C+ --> B

Same thing as above but it kinda does what Tangela does in a budget way but does it in a harder Sawk answer kind of budget way which is very appealing right now. Pairs really nicely with Miltank and it generally just does a lot right now. Sawk switch ins are dire and this is one of the few good switch ins to BB and CB.
 
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viet noa

eating neopronoun pizza at little xe/xyrs
is a Pre-Contributor
:ss/shiinotic:
Shiinotic: C to B
A current trend in the defensive metagame is the rise of catch-all physical walls that easily spread status moves. Musharna, Gourgeist-XL, and Alolan Persian are some notable winners in recent developments. I think with its near unparalled VoltTurn punishing and status spamming, Shiinotic has a very established niche right now. Some of the top physical wallbreakers in the metagame don't just get completely blanked by Shiinotic, but also get actively punished. With its presence alone, Knock Off spammers like Sawk, Thwackey, and Gurdurr suddenly get scared to use the most spammable attack in the game. It does have some poor matchups, but being both a reliable counter to direct threats (Rhydon, Silvally-Dark, Appletun) and an anti-cheese measure against MU fishes (Malamar, Flapple, Crustle) makes it a solidly respectable defensive Pokémon to me.

:ss/stunfisk:
Stunfisk: A- to A
One of the key defensive walls holding the fabric of ZU together is Stunfisk. It'll always have its flaws of no reliable recovery, dependence on Leftovers, and so on. However, Stunfisk's role compression only serves to be more vital. It sets up rocks, spams Toxic, is volt immune, tanks most special attacks (even super effective ones from the likes of +1 Silvally-Poison), and can counter certain physical sweepers like Klinklang. This opens up room for teammates, as most notably, Miltank has been able to run Heal Bell much more frequrntly. The raw defensive profile brought by Stunfisk may not be the greatest in a vacuum, but the utility it provides facilitates a greater team.

:ss/thievul:
Thievul: B+ to B
A prediction-reliant, high-risk nuke like Thievul will always have rather shaky viability. In this current metagame, Theivul really dislikes a lot of the defensive trends. With Jynx becoming the dominating special nuke (who already gives Thievul tough competition), special walls like Articuno and Clefairy have been more vital than ever. Thievul hates this, as it was previously able to get away with the fact that special walls weren't as much of a priority before. Now, with Stunfisk, Clefairy, Articuno, Alcremie, Altaria, and more, Thievul has to take into account far too many obstacles for it to consistently break through. Thievul is still very much a demon, but in practice, it often gets overwhelmed. It often comes down to either getting walled by a resistant to Dark-types, or having its coverage move get sat on by a resistance / immunity. And plus, this is all given the hypothetical that it even gets to switch into the field safely.
 

Corthius

diehard hockey fan
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:Stunfisk: A- -> A
Some could argue that it is worth of A+ even, but A is a fine fit for it as well.
Stunfisk plays a key role in a lot of balance cores that are in the need of a solid Volt Switch immunity. Its typing and ability also allows it to be an excellent answer to Klinklang and punishes contact moves in general with Static. Pretty much agreeing with what has been said and I don't think anyone should be denying that.

:Rapidash: A- -> A
With Klinklang and Alcremie being literally everywhere right now, Rapidash finds itself in a solid spot being able to answer both with decent reliability. Flame Body and the pure Fire typing also makes it one of the best answers to Thwackey, while physical attacker in general are never really safe clicking a contact move in this matchup. Tangela regaining a lot of popularity also makes for a great comeback of TangDash, only really in the need of covering the almighty Fighting types we have.

1651811070283.png

C --> B+

Okay this meta is prime for Mushy. You've got BB and CB Sawk running around as a terror and teams spamming these really annoying toxic walls like Miltank and Articuno that make it a headache to grind against them. But Mushy fixes those by being one of the strongest Sawk switch ins in the tier as well as abuses Miltank and company with Synchronize to bounce their Toxics back at them while you cleanse it with Rest Talk. The real draw to Musharna tho is the other two move slots: Future Sight and Moonblast. Teams can just crumble with the right breaker being backed with a Future Sight hit and between that and Moonblast, you've got a mon that kinda just emits this passive pressure on teams while invalidating some strategies people are pulling towards. I think this mons hella under rated.
Yes, incredibly based pokemon.

:Rapidash-Galar: B- -> B
While it recently rose from the C ranks, this pokemon still feels really underrated. SD variants are really dangerous with Fairy/Ground coverage hitting everything, besides other niche defensive options, for at least neutral damage. Morning Sun and Pastel Veil allow for an easy set up vs the common fat pokemon like Miltank and Altaria which are really popular right now. Alcremie being its main competition when it comes to set up sweepers is annoying, but I believe SD is a lot better than CM right now, mainly for making the most of its offensive niche.

:Manectric: B+ -> B/B-
This pokemon has fallen out of favor for a while now, but it not being worth using only solidifies itself with Stunfisk usage being at an all time high. While you can cripple it with Switcheroo, that is not unique as the usually better Rotom can do the same but doesn't even need to do that to break it. Basically Manectric can't break any of the Ground types that are common right now besides Alolan Dugtrio which outspeeds non Choice Scarf Manectric making even this matchup shaky.

:Silvally:(flying) B -> B-
This really hurts to say, but Silvally-Flying just isn't as good as it was. The current meta has shifted towards a lot of pokemon Silvally-Flying dislikes to face like Klinklang and Stunfisk and getting yet another Ice type in Froslass that is annoying to cover didn't help either. Mixed sets should still put in work, maybe now using Flamethrower over Flamce Charge for an easier time vs Klinklang, but then Rotom becomes even more annoying than it already is.

:Rotom-Fan: B- -> C+/C
Rotom-Fan's niche is being a more reliable Fighting type switchin than Rotom while still offering similar offensive and utility options for your team. The problem is that the mons it wants to check (Fighters like Sawk, Gurdurr and Poliwrath) either are now shifting to stronger sets (CB Sawk) or outlive it throughout the battle (Gurdurr). Poli also has a valuable secondary STAB which makes the mu shakier.

C-Rank to UR
:Cradily:
:Boltund:
:Lapras:
 
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Apagogie

Zee you later
is a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Staff Alumnus
The viability rankings is honestly pretty accurate right now except for nominations already made by others. Very good job by the council. I will take the opportunity to start a discussion about a mon to get the opportunity to have a vote about it.

:Thwackey: Thwackey A+ -> A
Thwackey stays an excellent mon in the zu metagame. SD sets will stay a major threat in end games until the end of the gen, choice band sets - although they have a tendancy to kill themselves - makes insane progress if played correctly and finally, the utility that the priority, knock off, u-turn and the soft recovery that grassy surge provides (even though it also beneficts the other team) is very convenient for teams for many different reasons. That being said, there are valid points which make Thwackey in the metagame more difficult to play, less splashable and finally less useful, which warrants in my eyes a new classification in the A rank.

The first thing which is important to notice is that its grass stab isn't as useful as it used to be. The balance between mons which fear grassy glide versus mons which can handle the stab is very detrimental to the monkey. We count a bunch of very good grass resists very popular such as Tangela, Silvally-Poison, Miltank, Articuno, Altaria, Rapidash, Gourgeist-Small, Skuntank, all very common and often trendy in the current metagame and a lot of them have good recovery and staying power. At the opposite, mons threaten by Thwackey are often with a lack of longevity relatively easy to abuse while the game progresses (Rhydon, Stunfisk), not trendy (Poliwrath) or frail which is more interesting but shares this niche with scarfers, other priorities abusers or faster revenge killers. Pratically speaking, clicking a grass move rarely gives you a reward. Playing around its checks is sometimes doable with good anticipations & the right set but it's more often than not a hassle due to the solidity of its sturdy answers. We have in ZU mons which are able to inflict pressure more direct against the opposite team so if it's one of your objective, you could consider an other choice.

An other thing which goes against our starter is to observe that adding Thwackey to a team doesn't really improve your checklist in the current metagame. At best, you can argue that it has a decent match up versus Rhydon and is able to revenge kill Jynx or to nuke defensive mons with a strong wood hammer. Even in taking these qualities for granted , which can be discussed, this is not exactly what is needed right now. The teambuilding is constricted to handle various threats with specific answers such as Sawk, Klinklang, Rotom, Froslass, Alcremie. Thwackey doesn't help against any of those. There is not a lot of reason to play it in the first place if not for U-turn/knock Off/grassy surge recovery from a teambuilding standpoint which leads to its complete skip in an important number of teams.

There other more specific but still important reasons make Thwackey less viable at the moment. Notably one of the big reason to play a mon with a very strong priority is to be safe against offensive sweepers hard to revenge kill. In the past, it was by the way used to pressure Silvally-Ground and rain teams. The metagame has changed and now the two main threats fitting to this definition in zu is on the one hand a boosted klinklang, on the other hand sun teams. Thwackey has a bad or terrible match up against both of them. It also doesn't revenge kill well Ninetales and some sweepers in electric terrain teams. It makes this niche questionable and in competition with other mons able to bring the appropriate counterplay.

I will stop there even if we could get deeper into some specific match ups. Thwackey stays a potent mon but I cannot consider it in the current metagame with the same level of viability of Klinklang, Rhydon, Articuno, Miltank, Alcremie. I think the A rank looks to be a more accurate picture of the place of this Pokémon in ZU.
 
1652549135734.png

B --> B+

This lowkey should be in the low A ranks but we'll get there. This mon can pretty much auto win most of the non Alcremie match ups because the tier lacks any of the strong U-turn mons it once had like Vally-ground and Perrserker as well as most Vally sets not running SD + U-turn anymore. Mons super scary and its starting to slowly see an uptick in play by specific people but it hasn't generally caught on like it should so this is a very modest nom to get it into the publics eye more.


1652549313090.png

C- --> B

Okay like it not, E-terrain is in the meta. It was spammed to great success in seasonals with players such as Danny pretty much going undefeated playing it as well as it now exploding in popularity on the ladder tour with players like Poat peaking first yesterday and Yovan who is now in second as of writing this with a Pinchurin + Drifblim core as opposed to a full on terrain abuse like we're seeing others go with. I think the playstyle still needs optimizing as I'm seeing a lot of suboptimal abusers still getting run but when you run the good versions with things like Rest CM Uxie and (in my opinions) the next 2 best abusers being CM Rapidash-Galar and QD Safeguard Lilligant, we're going to see a lot more of this in the near future as it gets optimized.

I'd nom the other e-terrain users to move up too but its hard to tell which abusers are going to end up being the best ones to play outside the obvious Uxie abuse. But its safe to say Pinchurin at least should move up to reflect the overall viability of it and we can reassess where the other abusers like Lilligant, Drifblim, and Swoobat stand.
 
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:boltund:
C- --> UR
Can we just get rid of this already? Its fast but it literally does nothing and is dead weight/ something you should cut or replace on every team its on. There hasn't been a single team I've ever looked at and went "yeah Boltund fits here" or "Boltund is a good addition for this team". Its just bad.
:boltund: down to UR
C-Rank to UR
:Boltund:
No the dog is staying and not just staying, he's a good boy and going up. C- > C

All I see when people talk about about Boltund is how bad it is vs Rhydon, which is true. Being walled by the A+ "best ground type" is not a good look. However Rhydon isn't the best Ground-type right now, I mean it might be if you wanna be technical about it, but it for sure isn't the most used which is all that matters. This title belongs to king Stunfisk or its ugly cousin gunfisk once you realise your 6-0d by a Jyxn or Froslass breathing on your team with their frosty breath. Anyway back on topic, Klinklang has insane usage right now pushing Stunfisk usage through the roof in return and this benefits Boltund as it 3HHKO's this flatfish. So overall Klinklang meta best meta for Boltund since its been in the tier, thus needs a rise instead of dropping to UR.

252 Atk Life Orb Strong Jaw Boltund Crunch vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Stunfisk: 153-181 (36.2 - 42.8%) -- 96.5% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery :pip:
 

5Dots

Chairs
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:ss/Sableye: C+ -> B+/A-
Even with low stats all-around, Sableye is a defensive staple that checks numerous physical attackers in one slot, and provides a massive amount of benefits otherwise. Why? Prankster + a superb movepool, in addition to an outstanding defensive typing. Knock Off is really nice for providing general utility, since many offensive threats like Klinklang, Gurdurr, and Articuno rely on their items for longevity. Sableye is nice since it doesn’t fear Knock Off as much as other defensive Knock Off users (Tangela, Clefairy, Gurdurr - all of them hate losing their Eviolites). Will-o-Wisp is nice to cripple threats, but a +1 priority Will-o-Wisp to instantly cripple titans like Klinklang, Rhydon, and Alolan Dugtrio? Even better! Sableye can discourage physical sweeping attempts right from team preview. But what if Klinklang sets up Substitute in front of you? That’s when +1 Encore comes in, giving you a free opportunity to a teammate that can do whatever against the opposition (or if you’re feeling it, predicting switch-ins with Knock Off). All of these boons give Sableye great utility in fatter or stall builds, as it’s often hard to take into account the rise of Klinklang and how Stunfisk gets worn down easily by residual damage. Sableye‘s low special bulk still leaves it at the mercy of many special attackers like Manectric, Appletun, and Specs Jynx, as well as Dark-types like Silvally-Dark, Skuntank, and Thievul, but all of them lack reliable recovery and can be worn down over the course of a game. Alcremie (and Clefairy to a lesser extent) being as popular as ever also doesn’t help, but support from teammates like Gurdurr, Type: Null, and Klinklang respectively can make these obstacles overcome.

TLDR: Use this prankster it’s goooooood


:Malamar: B -> B+
View attachment 425197
B --> B+

This lowkey should be in the low A ranks but we'll get there. This mon can pretty much auto win most of the non Alcremie match ups because the tier lacks any of the strong U-turn mons it once had like Vally-ground and Perrserker as well as most Vally sets not running SD + U-turn anymore. Mons super scary and its starting to slowly see an uptick in play by specific people but it hasn't generally caught on like it should so this is a very modest nom to get it into the publics eye more.
It’s not the lack of strong U-turn Pokemon, it’s the U-turn Pokemon that have the longevity to switch into it. Thwackey can temporarily prevent a sweep but it’s just going to take a lot of damage switching in, and Silvally formes lack recovery and will eventually lose over the long game without Terrain support. Articuno also gets crippled by Knock Off extremely hard. Also, Malamar also beats standard Clefairy which is hilarious.

:Musharna: C -> B
When others nom it it’s a rising threat, when I nom it it’s just a niche mon ;-;

Jokes aside, Musharna is a better future sight over uxie solely because of moonlight + heal bell fitting on an even fatter mon. The better offensive presence also makes it feel more threatening over neutral targets, and because of its more threatening future sight, it can use resttalk sets much better (unlike uxie, which doesn’t hit very hard and would prefer to run setup sweeper sets nowadays). Calm Mind sets are also nasty late-game since its great bulk makes it a hassle to break it down.

:Sawk: S -> A+
Sawk is still extremely threatening by its coverage and what item it chooses to run, but more teams are starting to run alcremie and bulky Ghosts to prevent it from spamming CC as easily. While the reward is great if you guess correctly, I find that all sets make you vulnerable depending on what team archetype you try to take on: scarf sets struggle to break through bulkier builds such as stall and fat due to its reliance on toxic and knock off support to make progress, while band sets have more difficulty with offensive builds due to the speed of scarf now needed to deal with faster threats like vally formes and jynx. Black belt is nice for being able to bluff choice sets, but they still don’t fix Sawk’s problem against its counters (alcremie and Sableye). Sure, Sawk can beat Klinklang 1v1 easily with scarf, but realistically, klinklang will stick around longer most of the time and outlast it with toxic support and sawk’s other teammates/checks being worn down.

:Leafeon: C- -> B-
Dunno why this was neglected but if Ivysaur and Shiftry get reasons to rise thanks to sun, there’s no reason as to why Leafeon shouldn’t either. Leafeon is the fastest viable Chlorophyll abusers and deserves attention for having Knock utility and not being as frail as Shiftry. It can also more freely run Synthesis in its movepool due to Shiftry and Ivysaur being strapped for other moves, which gives it more longevity, which is further compounded with its good physical bulk.
:Marshtomp:
Marshtomp has better stats than Palpitoad, has Ice Punch for the nasty Altarias looking to wall it, and has a cooler design. Let’s nom it from UR to C-. It also has Yawn, which unlike Palpitoad doesn’t make it automatic setup fodder against Gurdurr and curse Miltank :-)
 

Tuthur

formerly 0-7 in FCL
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:klinklang: A+ to S, it is just so hard not to build with it. It is the only Steel-type in the tier and there is just too much defensive value to run it. Also the rise of the Toxic sets makes it even adaptable, being able to cripple Rapidash, Alolan Persian, and Stunfisk, allowing it to beat them on the long term.

:rapidash-galar: and :malamar: should rise to A-, both were very underlooked, but it is clear they are very important parts of the metagame now. Rapidash-Galar is one of the most threatening sweeper for slower teams, while bringing great defensive utility as a Fighting check and Toxic absorber. While Malamar is super nasty, demolishing most teams currently that don't have Alcremie or several powerful U-turn users.

:crustle: to B, it is nothing new that Rock-type is one of the hardest to switch into in ZU with Choice Band Lycanroc and Meteor Beam Lunatone being some of the hardest to switch into wallbreakers. Crustle abuses the trend to forgo a Choice Scarf user for Alolan Persian, Froslass, or a Rapidash form and Thwackey's drop in viability, since it is not as easily revenge killed as before.

:roselia: to C, I know we just voted on this and I also wanted to keep this unranked, however OBB showed us some great games with it in SSNL with various teams, and with Malamar's increasing viability it is easier to take advantage of Defog; giving it a boost in Evasion, letting it generate some free turns to sweep against non Alcremie teams. While in return, Roselia's Poison Point lets it punish perky U-turn users like Thwackey.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8zu-1573601755-gfcg314uwacz9ozc58p78zkm8xn9pw5pw

:shedinja: to C-, I thought kay had already nommed it. Anyway, Shedinja is a niche pick that can wall common top threats to stall like non Flamethrower Silvally-Poison, non Mystical Fire Alcremie and Rapidash-Galar, Jynx, non Knock Off Lurantis, and Exeggutor.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8zu-1554655170-7we41ysr0oo1ydrttnpxdce4b3o6mlnpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen8zu-610195
 

S1nn0hC0nfirm3d

aka Ho3nConfirm3d
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Social Media Contributor Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Top Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnusis a defending SCL Champion
VR update! Thank you for 5Dots, Danny, and OranBerryBlissey10 for helping out with this update, with the latter two being permanent members of the VR team going forward. Grtz!
Copy of the sheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1BtFpYwkEqeb0M1j4_TiCf6dPu4Lf6EJ3nKQb8OEs77Q/edit?usp=sharing

:klinklang: A+ > S: On top of just a general lack of Steel-types to use, Klinklang proves to be invaluable as a sweeper and an answer to Alcremie. Teams naturally start to gravitate towards Klinklang once the builder realize the team needs Klinklang's unique set of resistances and offensive pressure. More over, Choice-item sets are seeing more use and success as a lure; particularly effective in a tournament setting. Klinkklang is a clear winner.
:rapidash: A- > A: The mix of a great Speed and capabilities to check the likes of Klinklang, Alcremie, and Thwackey certainly hasn't gone unnoticed. There's also been more exploration with its coverage, like with Play Rough to dent Altaria to make room for another cleaner like Choice Scarf Sawk or Gurdurr. There's so many good matchups in a tier saturated with Grass- and Ice-types to make a fast, capable Fire-type like Rapidash a top tier threat.
:stunfisk: A- > A: Stunfisk is the premier Ground-type and Volt Switch blocker. It completes a ton of common cores, and on some playstyles, it's hard to imagine a build without Stunfisk; losing to Skuntank would be too much of a concern, for example. Its splashablity and popularity shows its more than just a good supportive wall, but one of the best walls we have.
:malamar: B > A-: Probably in part due to recent tour and ladder success, Malamar sees a big viability jump as a super dangerous sweeper. If builds lack a good answer to it, then Malamar can easily 6-0; Malamar-blindness in the builder happens more often than you'd think. Besides just fishing for the matchup, Malamar is also a legitimate special wall, so bulky that it can even sweep past Clefairy while recovering off Moonblast's 4HKO.
:rapidash-galar: B- > B+: Another jump to relevancy, Galarian Rapidash is seeing more sweeping builds outside of just terrain-boosting Stored Power sets that got Grassy Seed banned earlier this generation. That ban certainly hurt the popularity of Galarain Rapidash at first, but it still retains a lot of the great perks of regular Rapidash like that great Speed and good coverage.
:spiritomb: B- > B: Spiritomb's typing is proving to be very good, especially for its immunities. Hard to pass up on stallier playstyles, but you can also try a couple other options if you want to try it on balance.
:crustle: C+ > B-: It's our tier's resident Shell Smasher, but Crustle is just shy of relevancy because its Speed and coverage still don't cut it. There are more matchups now where it can sweep easily, but there's still the matchups where it fails, so it remains fishy.
:gurdurr: B+ > A-: Fighting-types are awesome in the current metagame, and Gurdurr is no stranger to success. One full rank below Sawk signifies its usefulness as a wincon.
:gourgeist: C+ > B-: Gourgiest-xl is a pretty worthwhile wall if you want to compress a couple roles in one. It's still a far cry from its use last generation, though it's worth considering if you want to compromise in one area to fit extra benefits in another.
:Sableye: C+ > B: Priority status + Encore is a godsend in blanket checking a slew of random wallbreakers and sweepers. This rise show more players and teams recognize Sableye as a legitimate wall worth using, and not just a niche sidegrade with a gimmick.
:musharna: C > B-: Future Sight shenanigans. You can think of Musharana as a sidegrade to Uxie with more specialized roles rather than the absurd amount of possibilities in Uxie. Musharana still falls short in some areas, though, making it fishy and awkward to build around given that it lacks pivoting and anything to do with entry hazards.
:lurantis: C > B: This rise is a long time coming. Like Malamar, teams can succumb to Lurantis-blindness and just get 6-0'd by this threat. While not as bulky as Malamar, Lurantis still overs good utility in Knock Off, and it can even afford Defog sometimes. Contrary is just one hell of an ability so there's nothing wrong with building around Lurantis, and maybe we should more often.
:pyukumuku: C > B: A stallmon in the average B ranking. Not much to say here, if you use stall, you'll certainly want to include Pyukumuku, so unless we think stall is pretty bad I don't see this mon dropping again.
:shiinotic: C > C+: Shiinotic's defensive niches were always noteworthy, if not generally outclassed by more consistent walls. It's had a few good showings recently but it's hard to see Shiinotic leave the C ranks with how reliant it can be on its gimmicks.
:pincurchin: C- > B-: Electric terrain teams are a better fish than once thought, but still too unreliable to be considered generally; I can't even get these teams to clean on the ladder, largely because Electric Seed sweepers are so hit-or-miss.
:roselia: UR > C-:
:shedinja: UR > C-: Both of these new to the bottom of the barrel Pokemon offer some good matchups, some good utility. We've Roselia especially snag a few tour wins, and it's a huge asset when playing against Tangela.
:thwackey: A+ > A: Overall I attribute this drop to more competition for Thwackey as well as its original hype dying down. We have a slew of Grass-types, pivots, and even priority attackers to try out that shows Thwackey isn't as centralizing, and especially not as mandatory, as once thought.
:manectric: B+ > B: Manectric struggles to find a niche in the current meta. Its ability isn't as valued as once before, and neither is its Speed when Choice Scarf sets are overkill and Heavy-Duty Boots sets aren't that effective.
:flying_memory: B > B-: We likely just overvalued Silvally-Flying at first, but it's clear it's not on the same playing field as a lot of the other B ranks.
:cradily: C- > UR:
:lapras: C > UR:
:boltund: C- > UR: A little housecleaning, we're not really seeing these three in competitive scenarios, and I wouldn't be surprised if we end up axing a few other short-lived C ranks in the near future too.

Be sure to check out the new VR rankings when building for the latter half of our ladder tour! Post what you think of the changes, and add what you think we missed! (Dousion, anyone? Ovo)
 
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viet noa

eating neopronoun pizza at little xe/xyrs
is a Pre-Contributor
:ss/alcremie:
Alcremie: A+ to S
Over the past year, Alcremie's been a top tier Pokemon, but it's truly been better than ever. With Silvally-Poison and Klinklang being debatably the only hard counters to Alcremie, Calm Mind sets have turned into a terrifying defensive wincon. Although it itself is an insane threat with its coverage, bulk, and power, Alcremie is also an essential counter to big risers. It really loves the rise of Pokemon like Malamar, Alolan Persian, and Gurdurr. Not only does Alcremie counter them, but it also loves having them as partners to keep Steel-types in check.

:ss/leafeon:
Leafeon: C- to C+
5Dots nommed Leafeon before, but for some reason wasn't voted on. Nevertheless, I echo his sentiment: Sun is good, and Leafeon (although not required on teams) is very good on Sun teams.

Other Noms:
:shuckle: down to UR
Webs is an HO playstyle outclassed by at least two other HO playstyles. Shuckle debatably isn't even the best Webs setter.
:flapple: down to B-
Flapple really struggles with its mediocre Speed tier combined with its terrible bulk & inconsistent accuracy. It's a nice stallbreaker, but Appletun at least has the damage output AND the bulk.
:accelgor: down to B- or C+
It has a good matchup against offensive cores, and it can break through some walls on paper, but it's far too prediction-reliant to consistently make progress against bulky cores. The role compression of being a potential special wallbreaker and revenge killer often isn't worth it when it can have trouble doing either one.

Edit: No longer nomming Skuntank down
 
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viet noa

eating neopronoun pizza at little xe/xyrs
is a Pre-Contributor
:ss/skuntank:
Skuntank: A- to B+
With recent metagame trends, Skuntank sees itself in a bit of an awkward spot. There's no doubt that it rips through most defensive cores. That said, with Stunfisk being on so many teams, Skuntank runs into roadblocks. Furthermore, the prominence of Sawk, Silvally formes, and Rapidash makes it more prone to revenge killing than ever. Still a very good Pokemon of course, but it has a bit more trouble against new-age defensive cores.
SIKE

on second thought i realize that skuntank is still rly good, just for different reasons. Corrosive Gas completely cripples a lot of its biggest counters, and while it still is easy to revenge kill and such, skuntank wears down its checks in the long game rather than solely taking it all down in one fell swoop. it also loves stall being viable again, for obvious reasons

overall it doesnt need to drop, it just needs to be used more as a disruptor and pressure tool in certain matchups
 
:bw/lilligant: C- > B- or higher. This thing has been underrated and underused for a while. QD + sleep is just a nasty combo that is hard to check and Lilligant can quickly snowball your team. Checks such as Rapidash, Klinklang, and Silvally-Poison can easily get worn down / put to sleep and I often find myself needing multiple checks to answer it consistently or try to win the 50/50 and sack a mon to sleep. More study checks in Altaria and Articuno do work however they are at the mercy of 3 turn sleep or running Brave Bird respectively. Common blanket revenge killers in Choice Scarf Sawk and Rotom not being able to revenge kill is also a big bonus for lilligant.

:bw/Mawile: UR > C Offensive Mawile is good... or at least viable, thus deserving a spot on the VR. Think of Mawile as a slighly weaker Perrserker who cant pivot but has the best typing in the game. Its dual STAB's really do tear though the tier, taking advantage on common physical walls such as Sableye, Poliwrath, and Alcremie. Doubling on Altaria and Articuno also works great with Mawil, often netting you a free kill. I've personally been using Swords Dance and Sucker Punch as its remaining slots but Thunder Punch and Fire Punch are good options to hit Qwilfish and Klinklang.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8zu-1594702940-ugrbzr7as51tbhh4qryrv5i5ne5yhthpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8zu-1595596204-5k2stn44stln17zyi0thkiv7ty11syhpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8zu-1594676450

:bw/Pawniard: UR > C > Pawniard is viable, rank it. Not sure why is keeps done dirty on slates, it has a legit niche thanks to Defiant and has seen success at high level tournament play. Sableye picking up steams recently also pushes it to higher viability.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8zu-1567064389-4deh25erje6kd5bnw4uaoinyn3ru2vjpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8zu-1556400721-40vdfhn35041k00eedoxdz1h46ol5utpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8zu-1544559026-fnc8ff0uamltpj4jcngs5bzbc52b7hppw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8zu-1595584954-bfon82ku5dkptv9irsa4r34h8kc33m2pw
 
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Electivire from UR to C. Decent speed, certain advantages such as perfect coverage. Capable of decent mixed wallbreaking or band power. Less reliable than Raichu, but arguably far better movepool. Ice Punch, Earthquake, Flamethrower, etc. All good options. Capable of pivoting and passable speed tier. Definitely worth considering, imo. Had a lot of fun using this one.
 

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