Going to start a writeup, but I definitely won't finish it now.
This is my first time writing these, so let me know if these are even readable. Any advice on writing is appreciated.
Rises:
B+ ---> S- This thing is genuinely absurd. Ability makes this mon one of the best answers to Dragapult. Salt Cure forces progress to the point where it forces many teams to run a designated Covert Cloak mon. Protect SR and Curse EQ sets are both quite strong (EQ destroys a would-be answer in Krilowatt) and both Tera Water and Tera Fairy make this thing pretty unkillable. Biggest issues is weakness to Spikes and demanding Tera in most games, which are not issues shared with other S- rank mons, but I think its positive qualities more than make up for these drawbacks
A ---> A+ This Pokemon's performance in CAPPL demonstrates that it merits a raise to A+ due to its sheer effectiveness in shutting down set-up sweepers while also providing strong utility in Spikes + Knock Off. The core of Arghonaut + Slowking-G + Gliscor does not share the weaknesses of the previously common Arghonaut + Equilibra + Venomicon core, and techs such as Tera Dark and Roar have allowed Arghonaut to bypass techs for it such as Stored Power or Tera Ghost.
A ---> A+ The premier anti-fat mon due to incredible STAB coverage and immediate power of Ivy Cudgel, access to Swords Dance, and Encore to abuse recovery moves or Iron Defense mons. It can tech to beat standard defensive counters with its choice of Stomping Tantrum or Play Rough, pivot with U-turn, or provide team utility with Spikes or Knock Off. Additionally, SD + Trailblaze sets can completely farm opposing offense teams. This is a very versatile Pokemon with a lot of power, only held back by weakness to hazards and being initially outsped by several strong offensive threats.
To be continued...
B ---> A Darkrai's speed tier, incredible movepool, and solid firepower with the option of Nasty Plot for boosting make it one of the premier breakers in the tier. The standard set with NP/Ice Beam/Sludge Bomb/Dark Pulse is quite strong into most teams, but Darkrai also gets many other options to break through answers to this set, such as Focus Blast for Kingambit, Will-o-Wisp for Zamazenta and Arghonaut, Trick + Scarf/Specs for Chansey, and Sucker Punch (lol) for Deoxys-Speed and Dragapult. Being able to fit on both offense and as a primary breaker on balance/fat, and excelling in both structures, justifies Darkrai's spot in A-rank.
UR ---> A- After the initial release with Draining Kiss (definitely S- rank at least), Chuggalong has recieved 2 nerfs. Currently, Chuggalong is mostly locked to Clangorous Soul + 3 attacks sets, with its choice of STABs, Flamethrower, Surf, or Stored Power. This makes it a relatively straightforward hyperoffense Pokemon that forces teams to run non-priority answers to it. The A- ranking is for Chuggalong before the PPL nerf (-7 Speed) as this nerf has not been implemented yet. I could see it dropping to B+ or B after the nerf, as 108 speed means Chuggalong crucially underspeeds Ogerpons before setting up, and Walking Wake after setting up.
B+ ---> A- Molllux is one of the few Rapid Spinners in the tier that is not weak to Water-type attacks, which automatically makes it valuable for certain team structures. Additionally, it checks common threats such as Hemogoblin, Ogerpon-Wellspring, Venomicon and Dragapult. Mollux also has a very respectable Special Attack stat and STABs with 30% status chance, which makes it relatively difficult to switch in to, especially for common spinblockers like Gholdengo and Revenankh. However, Mollux is susceptible to Knock Off, and loses hard to Gliscor (after Toxic Orb procs) and Garganacl so it is hard to rank it higher than A-.
B ---> A- Ceaseless Edge continues to be a broken move; being able to set up hazards while applying offensive pressure is obviously incredible, and Samurott-Hisui has a strong typing and moveset to complement it. Most notably, Knock Off can remove Heavy-Duty Boots from common switch-ins like Venomicon and Arghonaut, and Razor Shell or Aqua Cutter threaten massive damage on common spinners like Equilibra or Great Tusk, as well as the ever-present Garganacl and Gliscor. Taunt, Encore, and Flip Turn with Heavy-Duty Boots are all options to dismantle fatter teams, which I believe is Samurott-Hisui's best role in the current meta. However, Sucker Punch, Aqua Jet, and using a Choice Scarf are also options to make Samurott-Hisui stronger against offense. Samurott-Hisui can be difficult to position due to its frailty and mediocre speed, and each set struggles in certain matchups, but it can often net absurd value if played correctly due to its unique qualities.
B ---> A As mentioned above, Zamazenta has issues with common Pokemon such as Gliscor, Dragapult, Arghonaut, and Venomicon. That means that, in many matchups, Zamazenta is a Pokemon that has a hard time making progress, especially against fatter teams. However, Zamazenta is so incredibly strong against offense that it more than makes up for the matchups where it blanks. Zamazenta's incredibly speed, the second fastest unboosted in the tier, allows it to outpace and threaten many offensive threats such as Darkrai, Roaring Moon, and Ogerpon-Wellspring, and threaten massive damage with Body Press or set up Iron Defense to effectively tank their attacks. This Pokemon is incredibly consistent at beating offense, so it warrants a spot in A rank (I can see it dropping to A- but this thing is so annoying whenever I play vs it).
Drops:
S ---> A Post-nerf Hemogoblin is significantly weaker due to 2 reasons. Firstly, the loss of Bitter Blade means that Hemogoblin cannot trade into fat teams as efficiently. Now, Hemogoblin has to trade health into mons that resist Extreme Speed
, rather than simply tanking a hit and healing to full.The second reason ties into the first; now, Hemogoblin is often forced to run Moonlight to maintain longevity. This reduces its flexibility, as previously it could run Tera Blast to get past counters, Spikes, Taunt, Wish, etc. The nerf also heavily impacted Choice Band sets, which often relied on Bitter Blade healing to sustain through Stealth Rock damage. Hemogoblin still has its main trick of Pixilate Extreme Speed, and is one of the most surefire answers to Dragapult, but it no longer dominates the meta as it once did.
A+ ---> A A decrease in Hemogoblin usage means more Fighting types, such as Arghonaut, Great Tusk, Revenankh, and Zamazenta. This is not a great meta development for Kingambit. However, I am still a big fan of it as a bulky Steel-type that can check Gholdengo, Kyurem (one-time with Balloon), Chuggalong, and pressure many faster threats with Sucker Punch. I have been a big fan of Tera Fire especially, to become to Will-o-Wisp from opposing Dragapult, which is a notoriously annoying Pokemon in the tier. Even though I think it's not as powerful, especially at the last-mon Tera to reverse-sweep role, it still has many strong qualities that warrant an A ranking.
A+ ---> A I personally do not have a lot of experience using Roaring Moon in CAP. However, it is hard to justify an A+ ranking given its CAPPL performance (35% WR :pensive:). Additionally, it is much harder to stack Dark-types in CAP due to the existence of Hemogoblin, Revenankh, and Arghonaut which makes the opportunity cost of running Roaring Moon higher. Personally I have a bias against this mon since I always expect it to sweep at +1, and when it fails to OHKO Equilibra with Knock Off and eats a ton of damage from EP I feel disappointed, but I guess I have too-high expectations of it. It is still a strong breaker that often trades 1-for-2, but often demands Tera to deal with aforementioned threats, which makes it a bit awkward to use in practice.
A+ ---> A Honestly, the standard Stealth Rock/Sludge Bomb/Body Press set feels like a major liability in many games. Many common Pokemon in the meta can easily take advantage of this set, such as Gholdengo, Slowking-G, and Gliscor. Additionally, most of this mon's best targets
, such as Hemogoblin, Rillaboom, Iron Valiant (non-CM) are not as common. I am convinced that the Nasty Plot + Hurricane set, is still quite strong, but it does not offer as much utility and require more support so this warrants a drop in ranking.
To be continued...
A ---> A-
A- ---> C I don't think this Pokemon deserves C, but I honestly haven't seen it used.
A- ---> B-
A- ---> B-
A- ---> B-
A- ---> B-
A- ---> B-
A and A- Rises have been updated. I don't know when I'll update next, maybe this will be a weekly update thing until the real VRs are released LOL
For next update:
Drops: Skarmory, Clefable, Heatran, Iron Moth, Krilowatt, Miasmaw, Primarina
Looking ahead (B+ and B ranking):
Rises: Iron Crown, Ogerpon, Revenankh, Blissey, Moltres, Ursaluna
Drops: Iron Boulder, Meowscarada, Serperior, Barraskewda, Latias, Manaphy, Pelipper, Rotom-Wash, Toxapex
(Honestly, do Torn-T, Skeledirge, Stratagem even deserve B+? I might drop them... )
I will probably stop after B rank. B- and C rank are full of weirdo mons that I don't feel confident speaking on. This means this post will probably get 3 more updates, hopefully before the updated VR is posted lol.