Resource SV LC Viability Rankings

[Hacker]

236 SpA Voltorb-Hisui Giga Drain vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Eviolite Numel: 7-10 (31.8 - 45.4%) -- 99.9% chance to 3HKO
Possible damage amounts: (7, 9, 9, 9, 9, 9, 9, 9, 9, 9, 9, 9, 9, 9, 9, 10)

Numel's longevity is incredibly poor and trying to justify it as a HisuTorb check is incredible copium. You also get 2 tapped by modest sets after rocks. Most games when you bring it all you really will have the oppurtunity to do is get a burn on one thing and just die. Good luck hitting Fire Blast too. There are more fringe options in the C tier that I would rather bring over Numel that can actually perform a role or two decently enough in certain circumstances.

 

[Envy]

B- -> B+

it is frail and not as good as growlithe, but this guy with tera breaks almost all standard structures and almost always fishes some tera dragon or water to deal with it, definitely one of the most underrated mons atm and for sure above the other B- ranked mons, of course it is tera dependent and this is why I cant rank it above B+, but if you get the right turns with tera still available, torchic just straight up wins. it has some problems with fire blast not being a solid move but it comes with the risk of running a strong and fast mon like it.

 

[Éric]

supporting torchic from B- to B+

I think this is a very difficult mon to take on, and very good to have on your team if you can build around it. I used to be a non-believer, because i hated how you need to hit Fire Blast, and you don't OHKO Mienfoo, until i discovered how well it pairs with Spikes, and how amazing it is when it terastalizes. Granted, it is both kinda tera dependant and tera weak (opp tera dragons and such can beat it), and it also struggles with longevity, but so many teams just cannot deal with it. See: here, here and here. These are 3 of my Majors matches, and I basically won on matchup on all of them because Torchic was just unstoppable if set up correctly. This is a different example, of how Torchic can dictate endgame pace and win matches on its own. I think a rise is truly deserved.

from B- to B
Grookey is another mon I think is underapreciated in our current VR, even tho less so than Torchic. In those same games you can see what it is supposed to do: check Voltorb and beat HO. It is kind of dead weight in some match ups, depending on how many poisons does your opponent have lol but it probably will get its thing done.

quick noms

all unviable
deserve a higher rank
deserve to be ranked instead

 

[Altariel von Sweep]

after a long while of being dead, i bring a little nomination to the table that should be considered:

UR -> C
i have been tweaking around with this little bug and it has been fun. joltik's typing gives it an upper hand vs most of the viable pokemon thanks to near accurate thunders + bug buzz to deal with the most annoying pokemon in the metagame right now in hisuian voltorb. however, it happens with a pokemon of its typing: it is heavily reliant on hazard removal to function properly, although it has a 17 speed tier, it heavily dislikes faster pokemon like stunky and wattrel completely invalidates it, this latter being on the rise. i have been running this set to a certain extent and success, so you can get an idea of what it can do:

boredom

Joltik @ Eviolite
Ability: Compound Eyes
Level: 5
Tera Type: Electric
EVs: 36 Def / 220 SpA / 236 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Agility
- Bug Buzz
- Thunder
- Energy Ball / Giga Drain

joltik makes use of agility to set up on pokemon weak to it or unable to do anything to it like non-tera hisuian voltorb, mareanie, sr pawniard and toedscool, since its stabs scare them away. +2 speed joltik outspeeds the entire metagame aside from unburden drifloon (?), and modest provides more firepower to make thunders stronger, being able to reach crazy calculations like 2hkoing slowfoo and pawniard, as well as 2hkoing mudbray with energy ball after rocks. to add on top of this, most non-resists get 2hko'd by thunder, as you can check with calculator in hand. a little proof is in order, to show how good it actually can be in the right hands:

nerding

220+ SpA Joltik Thunder vs. 156 HP / 116 SpD Eviolite Mienfoo: 10-13 (43.4 - 56.5%) -- 93.8% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock
220+ SpA Joltik Energy Ball vs. 36 HP / 0 SpD Eviolite Mudbray: 12-16 (50 - 66.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock

to use it properly, it needs hazard removal, as stated above, and it also wants help removing threats like wattrel and glimmet, which threaten it due to their traits, using pokemon likke gothita and memento support to ensure you get an agility boost in front of more pokemon aside from those mentioned before. i provide here a few replays to showcase how it works and how quickly it can turn the tides on with proper support and decision making.

 

[Kipkluif]

This except to A- instead if C, joltik on paper beats so many popular mons and the 30% para chance means every switch into it is risky

 

[Colin]

A -> A-

Hisuian Growlithe is still a very threatening breaker, but it dislikes teams frequently either going for a bulkier approach and outlasting it with hazards and resists for both stabs + defensive terastalization and potential protect scouting, or running Shellder. It can still hold up on very fast paced teams, or alongside hazard removal from Toedscool, where its poor longevity is mitigated or doesn't matter. Will-O-Wisp as a 4th move on Choice Scarf is excellent, as it gives it a progress click into Shellder teams by crippling Mienfoo without giving free setup, while also helping other setup threats find more opportunity. Tera Fire is still nuclear and if there are not good enough Fire resists few things win faster with less prediction.

 

[#1 Talonflame Enjoyer]

C -> B / B+

Call me biased, but this little guy packs an absurd punch with Tinted Lens Life Orb STAB First Impression and U-turn.

228+ Atk Life Orb Tinted Lens Nymble First Impression (90 BP) vs. 0 HP / 196 Def Eviolite Mienfoo: 8-13 (38 - 61.9%) -- 12.1% chance to 2HKO (8, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 13)

(This calc may or may not be realistic, I just used showdown usage for calcs.) As seen here, this guy hits even Eviolite Mienfoo ( ) for decent, if not good damage. It also OHKO's the notorious speed demon, Hisuian Voltorb ( ) in one blow (Yes, the Eviolite set.) Now of course, tera exists, however...

228+ Atk Life Orb Tinted Lens Nymble First Impression (90 BP) vs. 36 HP / 36 Def Eviolite Tera Fire Voltorb-Hisui: 10-16 (47.6 - 76.1%) -- 96.5% chance to 2HKO (10, 10, 10, 13, 13, 13, 13, 13, 13, 13, 13, 13, 13, 13, 13, 16)

Still almost a Guarenteed 2HKO with Priority, pretty good if you ask me. Now of course, all the things it beats regularly in a no-gimmick matchup such as , , , , Just to name a few common mons in Little Cup. Of course now, that's just First Impression, not even considering the great STAB pivot move U-turn, and Sucker Punch, so if Nymble didn't finish the job, it'll do it next turn. Now yes, there are obviously counters and checks like , , and , just to name some. But I do believe that despite all this, this silly little bug has lots more potential than people think. There may be some things I missed, and if so, feel free to comment on it, but that was simply my case on why I thought Nymble could really be put a little higher than it is. Thank you for your time reading this, and God Bless.

 

[#1 Talonflame Enjoyer]

D -> B-

This thing is surprisingly underated for the amount of power it has. First off, This thing checks many common threats in the Tier such as , , , , , and even almost OHKO's the biggest wall in the tier, With either STAB Thunderbolt or the niche move, Tera Blast Ice which absolutely decimates most of it's checks.

236+ SpA Tera Ice Magnemite Tera Blast (80 BP) vs. 36 HP / 0 SpD Eviolite Mudbray: 20-26 (83.3 - 108.3%) -- 75% chance to OHKO (20, 20, 20, 20, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 26)

236+ SpA Tera Ice Magnemite Tera Blast (80 BP) vs. 36 HP / 36 SpD Eviolite Toedscool: 28-40 (133.3 - 190.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO (28, 36, 36, 36, 36, 36, 36, 36, 36, 36, 36, 36, 36, 36, 36, 40)

236+ SpA Analytic Magnemite Thunderbolt (117 BP) vs. 36 HP / 0 SpD Growlithe-Hisui: 24-28 (104.3 - 121.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO (24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 25, 25, 25, 25, 25, 27, 27, 27, 27, 27, 28)

Granted, the last calculation is if the opponent is swapping in, but it still proves the point that this thing is a force to be reckoned with. Let's not also forget that it gets Volt Switch, Which let's it get free damage off on mons it doesn't wanna face, while also switching out into something that better handles it.

Now of course, this is all well and good, but of course, comes with it's downsides such as Tera Fire Tera blast and when no Tera, the usual threats. And also , Which Magnemite cannot OHKO with Tera Blast Ice. But regardless of these setbacks, it will often win you some good games.
Thanks for hearing my pitch on why Magnemite too is capable of more than just what's on the surface.

 

[emptywisdom]

i liked this analysis ftmp, but this calc was strange to me

236+ SpA Tera Ice Magnemite Tera Blast (80 BP) vs. 36 HP / 0 SpD Eviolite Mudbray: 20-26 (83.3 - 108.3%) -- 75% chance to OHKO (20, 20, 20, 20, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 26)

mudbray runs spdef frequently enough that mag does not function as a reliable check, esp if ur running scarf. youd have to commit to tera blast ice on the switch, and this is not a play that can be consistently replicated.

absolutely mag is useable, but it does not fulfill this function as reliably as professed.

 

[Mister Magnus]

Nominating to A+

REASONING:

1st: Glim is as easy to bring into a team as the A+ mons, it gives you the poison type needed to counter act other glimms a very easy to use hazard setter and a Vull check, which are the obvious reasons for bringing it, including the free progress of brainless toxic spikes


2nd: Glim is one of the best offensive enablers of all time, specially in a meta where HO is trending up and it can either use Spikes, sweep, memento, setup some gimmick weather, even if the setup aint ideal, it can pretend to do way too many things, more often than i would like to admit I just put a glimm into a team and it improves, which is similar to what top tier mons do.


3rd: Glim has enough spattack to be decent enough surprise scarfer on more offensive oriented teams even the likes of "scarf memento" if needed be, althought clearly inferior to growlithe on that regard.

 

[#1 Talonflame Enjoyer]

i liked this analysis ftmp, but this calc was strange to me

mudbray runs spdef frequently enough that mag does not function as a reliable check, esp if ur running scarf. youd have to commit to tera blast ice on the switch, and this is not a play that can be consistently replicated.

absolutely mag is useable, but it does not fulfill this function as reliably as professed.

My apologies, I was going off of Showdown usage and I don't use Mudbray too often, so I wasn't aware it often invested in special bulk. Thanks for letting me know. (Though I did check afterwards, it does still hit it hard.)

 

[#1 Talonflame Enjoyer]

B- -> B+

it is frail and not as good as growlithe, but this guy with tera breaks almost all standard structures and almost always fishes some tera dragon or water to deal with it, definitely one of the most underrated mons atm and for sure above the other B- ranked mons, of course it is tera dependent and this is why I cant rank it above B+, but if you get the right turns with tera still available, torchic just straight up wins. it has some problems with fire blast not being a solid move but it comes with the risk of running a strong and fast mon like it.

I absolutely agree with this comment, Torchic with Speed boost can punch lots of holes through teams that don't see it coming. Life Orb damage boost actually holds it up well. The only real problems with Torchic is that it is Weak to rocks, is quite frail, and doesn't have a very good movepool to choose from outside of Sub or Protect and Tera Blast. But regardless of this limited movepool, it can still be a menace without setup. Of course it also doesn't NEED to run Fire Blast as it gets Flamethrower, which hits pretty hard in itself, though being a bit weaker. Then again, if something is not Guarenteed for me, it ain't happening. So I'll take it.


B- -> B+

 

[Colin]

Nominating to A+

REASONING:

1st: Glim is as easy to bring into a team as the A+ mons, it gives you the poison type needed to counter act other glimms a very easy to use hazard setter and a Vull check, which are the obvious reasons for bringing it, including the free progress of brainless toxic spikes


2nd: Glim is one of the best offensive enablers of all time, specially in a meta where HO is trending up and it can either use Spikes, sweep, memento, setup some gimmick weather, even if the setup aint ideal, it can pretend to do way too many things, more often than i would like to admit I just put a glimm into a team and it improves, which is similar to what top tier mons do.


3rd: Glim has enough spattack to be decent enough surprise scarfer on more offensive oriented teams even the likes of "scarf memento" if needed be, althought clearly inferior to growlithe on that regard.

I agree with the Glimmet rise, it is the premier Vullaby check and therefore the easiest rocker to fit on a team. Its also a fire resist, although it can't use that unless it can avoid taking Vullaby/Stunky Knock Offs. It also just hits really hard vs neutral targets.

 

[Envy]

Mareanie to A
The best fighting resist in the tier and has a nice role compression since it can check a lot of offensive threats like and the list goes on. And it is more versatile than since you can go for a lot of different moves that will not compromise its function as a defensive pivot, like Ice Beam, Iron Defense, Toxic Spikes and Acid Spray.

Also i would like to mention that it pairs well with and forming the best defensive core in the tier, meanwhile being a good mon on its own, doesnt have as much synergy.

 

[teamo]

there's a good argument for raising to A+
it's such a versatile mon and is for sure a league above in viability as a fight resist, also really appreciating not really needing its eviolite. the biggest thing thats holding it back right now is but it can tera out of it and its teammates like or your own can all help beat it.

 

[Hacker]

The VR has finally been updated! Here are a few of the more notable changes in rankings especially since its been a while

Drops
A -> B-
Dog has seen quite the falloff lately. It's very restricting to build with alongside very challenging to use in game with mons like mareanie becoming more and more popular. It is also completely outclassed by Torchic as an offensive fire which you will now see reflected in the rankings.
A- -> B
Pawniard is very much a tera hog in a metagame where tera is crucial. Its reward of using Tera isn't very strong compared to mons like Torchic. You're essentially playing the game both without Tera and the game 5v6 when using Pawniard. It isn't completely terrible though and can be good in very specific circumstances which is why its not lower.
A -> B+
Shellder has also had quite the falloff lately. It's incredibly prone to mons that are more common nowadays such as Grookey, and everyone having defensive Teras preserved to beat Shellder very much hurts its viability though it is still an okay pick on certain teams.

Rises
B- -> B
This guy has seen a little bit of success in LCPL with being naturally good into Holtorb and it being pretty threatening offensively, at least when it hits lol.
A- -> A
Mareanie has emerged as the best fight resist and it got raised up as a result. Offensive sets are pretty cool and threatening, while iron defense can be very challenging to kill in the endgame with the right circumstances.

gn

 

[Mister Magnus]

The VR has finally been updated! Here are a few of the more notable changes in rankings especially since its been a while

Drops
A -> B-
Dog has seen quite the falloff lately. It's very restricting to build with alongside very challenging to use in game with mons like mareanie becoming more and more popular. It is also completely outclassed by Torchic as an offensive fire which you will now see reflected in the rankings.
A- -> B
Pawniard is very much a tera hog in a metagame where tera is crucial. Its reward of using Tera isn't very strong compared to mons like Torchic. You're essentially playing the game both without Tera and the game 5v6 when using Pawniard. It isn't completely terrible though and can be good in very specific circumstances which is why its not lower.
A -> B+
Shellder has also had quite the falloff lately. It's incredibly prone to mons that are more common nowadays such as Grookey, and everyone having defensive Teras preserved to beat Shellder very much hurts its viability though it is still an okay pick on certain teams.

Rises
B- -> B
This guy has seen a little bit of success in LCPL with being naturally good into Holtorb and it being pretty threatening offensively, at least when it hits lol.
A- -> A
Mareanie has emerged as the best fight resist and it got raised up as a result. Offensive sets are pretty cool and threatening, while iron defense can be very challenging to kill in the endgame with the right circumstances.

gn

Agree with all this but, why hasnot Torchic rise to A-, Torchic itself forced a weird trend of random Tera dragons and forces a reactive response no other B+ Mon has while having none of the drawbacks said mons have considering there is not really a awful matchup for the chic.

So been superior to the B+ on advantage to use, less drawbacks, very small risk to bring into a team i completely disagree it is on the same category of mons it outclass completely

Torchic is either A- if not A

 

[Colin]

Torchic is a very dangerous threat, but its also very linear. if there is a mareanie or other fire resist intact, Torchic has to tera if it wants to break through. It also has to contend with missing its attacks, while being too frail to live most attacks if it does miss. Its incredibly dangerous, but the commitment to running it and its complete lack of defensive utility makes it harder to fit on teams.

 

[Greedy_eb]

Before I get into why I am posting, note I am referencing a post made by Éric that I have linked here that I recommend you read to gain valuable insight on an SCL player's opinions. I also agree with some of Eric's opinions about the meta, mostly the underrated mons sections. I might write a post discussing the takes I disagree with later, but I wanted to highlight this comment in his post.​

i know people will never stop using bad pokemon, or even think they are good, but i think they should.​

To start simply, Pawniard I completely agree with. It's outclassed as a Steel-type Stealth Rock user, a Swords Dance sweeper, and a 16-speed Dark type. I do not know what the use case for this mon is, but would love for someone to find it. Tentacruel I have mixed thoughts on. Knock Off, Rapid Spin, and Flip Turn are all valuable moves for some teams to have on one mon. While I do think it is worse than Toedscruel for its role, it's hard to call this mon bad when the job it does is valuable and better builders than me consistently have found success with it. Finally, the mon I'm most knowledgeable on and the reason I'm making this post.

Nymble is a genuinely good Pokemon.
As someone who has used the mon since the beginning of the generation and more recently in multiple tournaments this year, I think Nymble got better with Voltorb-Hisui's ban from the tier, something most people I assume would not immediately think. While Voltorb-Hisui was a valuable team member for Nymble TTM teams (side note, I'm claiming ownership of the TTM acronym) for pivoting and speed control, its common use of Tera Fire and/or Protect made it hard for Nymble to actually revenge kill it. With fewer mons running Protect, it makes it easier for Nymble to click its strongest move.

October 2024 VR Rankings

Mini VR Rant

Above you can find my ordered tier list I created on 19 October 2024 for this month's VR update. I think this is one of my weakest submissions since joining the team in March of this year as I'm a "boring" player/builder who would gladly use a snoozefest six variant each week because it's consistent, so a new meta where people are still trying to find the next best thing made this a challenge. Certain tiers like A-, B+, C I'm sure will change in both what mons are in then and the order of mons in their specific tiers. The one constant in all my rankings since March though, is Nymble in B tier. Since joining the VR council, all five updates I've participated in have Nymble in the B tier, and I'm sure if I looked back to further tier lists I created joining I would not have found Nymble below B-.

While I'm not going to explain what Nymble does with its move pool since it's so shallow and there are about eight viable moves total, I will discuss the pressure it creates both on and off the field. The standard Nymble set of First Impression Leech Life U-turn +1 is easy enough to understand: click STAB Bug moves with Tinted Lens, revenge kill fast mons, and switch out on the slow ones. This ladder replay is a good example of the offensive pressure Nymble can put on against a team, where I'm able to come back after losing Mienfoo, a majority of HP on Tinkatink and Voltorb-Hisui, and my Voltorb-Hisui's item in the first six turns.

The pressure that First Impression puts on my opponent who wants to keep his important weakened pieces to switch lets me make proactive turns and eventually wins me this game. My recent Fall Seasonal game vs Scottie is a lesser example of this too, where the threat of FImp allows me to keep up the momentum and eventually win this game after two max roll Iron Head flinches put me far behind. It also should have gotten a kill against the Toedscool in the endgame and been useful for the Choice Scarf Vullaby and knocked off Foongus, but I forgot I died to Dazzling Gleam so I greedy clicked Leech Life.

Nymble also excels at just sitting in the back and winning the game once progress is made by its teammates. In this test game with SCL player Envy, by Turn 13 Nymble already wins the game whenever I decide to bring it in, with everything left on his team being 2hko'd by Bug moves, especially when I'm up in the sack wars 5-4 at Turn 15. There's also this LCPL game where after everything on my opponent's team is chipped down enough, Agility Nymble wins the 1v3 (with a lucky one-turn sleep). With how customizable the last move slot is on Nymble, it can have many opportunities to take over in the mid or endgame. Finally, here's a replay of me beating Eric with Nymble, just because :).

As much as I'd like to only highlight the bug's strengths, there's a reason that I'm not saying it should be in B+ or higher. Its lack of bulk can make entry points difficult to find, it's semi-limited to teams that have hazard removal (mostly Toedscool), and getting a turn wrong can result in its early demise. There's also a skill curve with getting used to what moves to click, as early game FImps can lead to a loss of momentum and make it hard to go for the sack endgame Nymble excels at winning. The realistic nom for the bug should be B-, but I'll aim high with B.

More 2024 Nymble vs Notable Players

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen9lc-802206?p2 vs Quinn
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9lc-2144095794-j3p4bzxsg9dotwzpr122wgjvwxettrxpw vs Acehunter1
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9lc-2084424112-uxs6ktk7sfj0z2qad7qm1pnldmvf2h6pw?p2 vs westSasori
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9lc-2075706130-w77fyanzjrj93w59jyc7cj7dm037je7pw vs starsama
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9lc-2066106389-fnhj8wsxgzyn98342gvujmmep4e59k0pw?p2 vs kythr
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9lc-2056883092-kd1zfeqcg6fwih8zhrrbmv5ew2v1zajpw vs coconut
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9lc-2045018967-sl4a8f0bp70akfkrp7n9p6sv0602qs2pw?p2 vs tempo di anguria

Art by grape tylenol​

 

[Flou]

Both and should rise from B+ to A-, letting these guys sit in B+ is a little silly considering how much Torchic brings to the table and how much complaining Shellder brings to the metagame discussion thread

Shellder and Torchic are a fair amount better than Snubbull and Chinchou and are around the same in terms of viability with everything else in A- in my opinion. Tournaments in the last few months have shown Torchic's domination, often forcing teams to commit their tera to stop it. Shellder also forces tera a lot of the time and on top of that can even get around these teras with stuff like tera rock against foongus clicking tera water

If only one of these guys can rise it should probably be Torchic but both are good enough to deserve the promotion

 

[Colin]

From C to A-, B+ to A-, and B+ to A- to reflect the change and rise of offensive structures:

These threats are offensive staples right now, with a growing number of people believing Shellder in particular is broken. Magby has had quite the spike in popularity, with several uses in SCL in the last 3 weeks. Fire Blast + Psychic is very difficult to switch in vs, and Magby has a wide movepool to make its game easier, with Substitute, Protect, Will-O-Wisp, and more seeing usage. Magby is especially good at punishing the trending Tinkatink and Foongus, considering that it does not need its item to be threatening and it is immune to Spore. Torchic is a better cleaner with Speed Boost that is also effective for similar reasons as Magby, but it lacks Psychic so needs Terablast as coverage. Shellder has excellent synergy with fire types, especially when they spread burns for it. Shellder has also seen increased set variety recently, with many tera options and moveset options to combat standard answers to its Shell Smash sweeping ability.

 

[Onraider]

to C tier and to C/D tier

https://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/metagame-discussion.3710868/post-10320635
As Eric has mentioned in his post here as well switches into some of the biggest forces in the metagame rn with ease, and with sticky hold it is a pain to deal for teams at times. With a growing trend in the meta rn to offensive fires like and , having a bulky water in a team provides relief to team structures especially like ttm which can struggle against mons with fire+psychic coverage. With having stealth rock it will always be able to provide utility to a team, and it has other useful options in yawn, clear smog etc if needed.

In the case of it is quite similar to what it switches into like other than having a knock off vulnerability and also being weaker to . However it does have a strong benefit of having to not lose momentum healing back due to regenerator unlike . Having access to a decent movepool of Surf,Psychic,Earthquake,Ice Beam and options like Thunder Wave,Yawn it definitely has tools to annoy potential switchins like
36+ SpA Slowpoke Psychic vs. 124 HP / 76 SpD Eviolite Foongus: 14-18 (56 - 72%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Possible damage amounts: (14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 18)

36+ SpA Slowpoke Ice Beam vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Eviolite Vullaby: 10-12 (43.4 - 52.1%) -- 0.4% chance to 2HKO
Possible damage amounts: (10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 12)
0- Atk Slowpoke Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 132 Def Eviolite Chinchou: 10-12 (41.6 - 50%) -- 0.4% chance to 2HKO
Possible damage amounts: (10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 12)
(was using the default calc spread maybe theres a more optimal one around)

also can deal with better than and can threaten it back more effectively with stab Psychic

+2 236+ Atk Tera Rock Shellder Rock Blast (5 hits) vs. 116 HP / 236 Def Eviolite Slowpoke: 20-30 (74 - 111.1%) -- approx. 6.3% chance to OHKO
Possible damage amounts: (20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 30)

With the current trend of the metagame i feel there is an argument for these shifts in viability as such.

 

[Onraider]

to B+

In a metagame where foongus is being spammed, being able to pivot this in on foongus at any point during a mirror since spore is unlikely shows an instance of how useful this mon is rn and its immediately able to apply offensive pressure and also provide utility with rapid spin. We have also seen safety goggles sets being used in certain teams where there is not a proper spore switchin, showing another interesting use of the mon. With ways to be useful with SD sets, and other options like ice shard/knock off, and also being somewhat of a check to vullaby(though we have seen rise of heat wave vull), in the current state of the metagame, snowshrew is quite good

 

[Colin]

I agree with this rise to b+. I failed to get wins with it in SCL due to its weaknesses (slow, fire weak, poor vs shellder and water teras, not high longevity) but I believe that it's a powerful anti meta tool. It's by far the best vull check vs Foongus, and it's also extremely good vs tink toed mareanie teams since it threatens and spins for a long time vs Tinkatink. SD sets are the best, but due to their want to Tera they can be hard to fit. Rocks sets are a lot worse, but they can allow for some greedy fire type + vullaby offenses, if you can stomach a much worse stunky match up. In general it's a very flawed pokemon, but it has a good match up vs the most common structures and enables the best threats with removal

 

[emptywisdom]

ay, yall know this jus my opinion, right?

---

RISES

---

D ->

B-

shellos has always been viable in lcou because of its defensive stats, uncommon defensive abilities and utility movepool.

shellos can therefore act as a "tera tank" a new role in SV consisting of a pokemon that uses tera to survive a hit that would previously KO and break (and sweep).

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D ->

B-

excellent 19 speed and STAB + technician boosted priority allows meowth k to be a competent revenge killer.

technician also gives meowth stronger coverage options than first expected and as a result meowth k (also meowth alola?) are very unexplored

---

D ->

B

defensive grass type with great stats, perfect hidden ability, recovery and spikes.

chespin comes in on both (foongus + mudbray) and earns value with spikes.

chespin can also check diglett-alola, mareanie, glimmet and a few others, but less reliably.

---

C -> B-

---

C -> B

---

B ->

A-

the most versatile pokemon.
supreme 20 speed, great abilities, blessed coverage options, decent defensive stats.

---

B ->

B+

the commonality of scarf + rock head implies immediate pressure, which opens utility options such as rocks or wisp

intimidate + tera fairy allows it to function like snubbull but with other options so it should probably be with snubbull at least

---

---

FALLS

---

S ->

A+

it is with a heavy heart that i must concede that foo is no longer the best pokémon in the tier. pack it up everyone. it's time to go home.

jokes aside, foo is still quite good of course.
not much of the regenerator pivot gameplan has changed with the addition of the Tera mechanic, so foo can continue this role.

however, foo has now been given a new role as a "tera tank", which is quite vital for most teams. the weight of this responsibility can burden foo and damage its ability to make free progress

---

A+ -> A

---

A- -> B+