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Resource SV NFE Viability Rankings

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NFE Viability Rankings
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Welcome to the SV NFE Viability Rankings!

You know the drill; every Pokemon deemed viable by the NFE Council will be listed below and separated into rankings from S to C-. All sets will be taken under consideration when a Pokemon is ranked, be they offensive or defensive, and we hope to keep these rankings as up to date as possible as the meta evolves from here on out. If you want to make any nominations to raise or lower a Pokemon's listed viability, please leave your reasoning below and be sure to include replays if the Pokemon in question is unranked or if your argument centres around an innovative set!

SV NFE Viability Ranking Tier List

S

:Piloswine:Piloswine
:Tinkatuff: Tinkatuff

A+
:Drakloak: Drakloak
:Dunsparce: Dunsparce
:Ivysaur: Ivysaur
:Koffing: Koffing
:Monferno: Monferno
:Quaxwell: Quaxwell
:Sliggoo-Hisui: Sliggoo-Hisui

A
:Fletchinder: Fletchinder
:Girafarig: Girafarig
:Pignite: Pignite
:Seadra: Seadra
:Thwackey: Thwackey

A-
:Fraxure: Fraxure
:Frogadier: Frogadier
:Gabite: Gabite
:Glimmet: Glimmet
:Hattrem: Hattrem
:Krokorok: Krokorok
:Quilladin: Quilladin
:Raboot: Raboot
:Servine: Servine

B+
:Clefairy: Clefairy
:Duosion: Duosion
:Wartortle: Wartortle

B
:Charjabug:Charjabug
:Eelektrik: Eelektrik
:Grimer-Alola: Grimer-Alola
:Hakamo-O: Hakamo-o
:Pikachu: Pikachu
:stunky: Stunky

B-
:chinchou: Chinchou
:Mareanie: Mareanie
:Morgrem: Morgrem
:Naclstack: Naclstack
:Stantler: Stantler

C+
:growlithe-hisui: Growlithe-Hisui
:Lampent: Lampent

C
:braixen: Braixen
:Cutiefly: Cutiefly
:Murkrow: Murkrow
:porygon: Porygon
:quilava: Quilava
:Vullaby: Vullaby

C-
:charmeleon: Charmeleon
:cranidos: Cranidos
:Crocalor: Crocalor
:croconaw: Croconaw
:Dragonair: Dragonair
:gastly: Gastly
:graveler-alola: Graveler-Alola
:grovyle: Grovyle
:meditite: Meditite
:Mienfoo: Mienfoo
:Rufflet: Rufflet
:shroodle: Shroodle
:Varoom: Varoom
:Weepinbell: Weepinbell
:wooper-paldea: Wooper-Paldea
:Zweilous: Zweilous
Removed banned Pokemon (Scraggy)
Undergone a VR revamp
Removed banned Pokemon (Dusclops)
Undergone a VR revamp
Removed banned Pokemon (Vigoroth)
Removed banned Pokemon (Misdreavus)
Removed banned Pokemon (Electabuzz, Combusken)
Removed banned Pokemon (Gligar)
Removed banned Pokemon (Gurdurr, Magmar, Qwilfish-Hisui)
Ranked notable Pokemon released from the Indigo Disk DLC
Removed banned Pokemon (Vulpix, Sneasel)
v.2.2 Vote Sheet
Removed banned Pokemon (Qwilfish-Hisui)
v2.0 Vote Sheet
Ranked Dartrix in A-
Removed banned Pokemon (Misdreavus, Naclstack)
v1.0 Vote Sheet
 
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:vigoroth: A- to A+/S-
Has 1 set (maybe like 1.8 if charitable) but its genuinely such a nightmare in game and usually requires multiple mons to be positioned well to handle appropriately. I think its the best setup sweeper in the tier by a large margin but it also exerts a lot of early pressure as a knocker that outspeeds missy (especially if it reveals wisp).

:sliggoo-hisui: B+ to A
Great all around glue. Acid spray 3 attacks is very obnoxious on spikes teams and its just really generally useful to have an offensive stopgap to thwackey that doesn't instantly become useless if it takes a knock.

:scraggy: C- to B-/B
Shed skin dd is a menace and is surprisingly easy to find chances to setup with. I think its one of the better ho threats and is likely worth exploring on other builds.
 
:vigoroth: A- to A+/S-
Has 1 set (maybe like 1.8 if charitable) but its genuinely such a nightmare in game and usually requires multiple mons to be positioned well to handle appropriately. I think its the best setup sweeper in the tier by a large margin but it also exerts a lot of early pressure as a knocker that outspeeds missy (especially if it reveals wisp).

:sliggoo-hisui: B+ to A
Great all around glue. Acid spray 3 attacks is very obnoxious on spikes teams and its just really generally useful to have an offensive stopgap to thwackey that doesn't instantly become useless if it takes a knock.
Agree with the Vigoroth and Hisuian Sliggoo nominations. There have been discussions on how Vigoroth's Speed and overall bulk have been very oppressive, and now with Missy gone, there's one less check to it. Not helping is all Fighting-types being naturally slower than it and needing something like Scarf Monferno or Toxic to truly threaten it, both of which have ways to work around it thanks to its deep movepool (enough Bulk Up boosts, Substitute/Taunt). Hisuian Sliggoo is the definite #2 Steel-type and an elite Dragon-type in the tier; its typing is super helpful for checking Grasses, Waters, and Electrics alike and being one of the few walls to handle Tinkatuff really well. It's a driving force as to why other walls like Clefairy and Duosion have faced a much harder time this generation fitting on teams. I'd also like to nominate a few others:

:Drakloak: A- -> A/A+
With misdreavus gone and a lack of competition for its role, Drakloak now claims the throne of top spinblocker and speed control in the tier. Solid offensive presence alongside a deep offensive and utility movepool makes it very splashable on multiple teams. I've enjoyed running Specs a lot to 2HKO unsuspecting targets like Vigoroth and Ivysaur. It's also one of the two best screens setters in the tier (alongside Morgrem, another underrated pick) that can pivot out and also use Curse to force switches too.

:Pignite: A- -> A+
It's clear teams depend on Pignite to provide offensive punch, and it's no slouch at it. Possessing one of the highest Attack stats in the tier, a formidable STAB combo, and high-powered moves to back it up, It easily can Knock Off Quaxwell's eviolite and come back later to 2HKO it with Close Combat. This generation and current meta has been a big blessing for Pignite: Magmar got banned, there's new toys in Close Combat + Knock Off, and most walls being very vulnerable to Fire/Fighting/Dark makes it very difficult to wall at all stages of the game. While Monferno and Raboot still stand out as competition, they have been moreso progress makers and lack the raw power and slightly better bulk Pignite has to offer. The fourth moveslot has been especially customizable, choosing between Sucker Punch to finish off faster foes like Girafarig or Frogadier, to High Horsepower to maim Mareanie and ease the mirror matchup. Options like Bulk Up or Trailblaze are also possible options to make it even harder to revenge kill/switch in. Overall a very clear top 10 Pokemon in the tier and should be in consideration against nearly all serious NFE teams.

:Seadra: C -> B-
On the surface, Seadra is completely outclassed by Quaxwell due to its lack of Rapid Spin and Encore. What Seadra has over Quaxwell is much higher Speed (tied with Girafarig and outspeeds staples like Monferno and Gabite) and Poison Point, which discourages Pokemon like Piloswine and Fire-types from freely firing off their STAB moves. Base 85 Speed makes Seadra surprisingly customizable into how much bulk it wants for investment; only 16 are needed to outrun traditional Pignite sets. The downside is that it trades utility, has a very shallow movepool (Ice Beam and maybe Clear Smog are options, but are far less effective than RestTalk) and relies on Poison Point's 30% chance to distinguish itself from Quaxwell. However, it has emerged as a notable option during last NFEPL; consider the sea horse if your team needs compression of Speed and a Fire-type/Piloswine check.

:krokorok: C- to C+
Still a niche pick, but STAB Knock Off distinguishes it from Piloswine and Gabite. While it lacks in bulk, it makes up by being a better progress maker against Quaxwell and other defensive titans like Vigoroth and Ivysaur, softening up for other heavy hitters like Fire-types or frogadier to take advantage of later in the game.

:dusclops: C- to C+
While Dusclops is no Misdreavus (trading away Speed and offensive presence), Dusclops can still do much of the same things Misdreavus can do as a wall: spread status, get recovery with Pain Split, and consistently chip away foes with Night Shade. With investment, Dusclops can be surprisingly difficult to KO and can be worth spending the sixth slot on your team to block hazards.
 
Going to kickstart some more discussion post-Misdreavus and Vigoroth bans, and with finals of NFEPL under way:

Rises:

:piloswine: S- -> S
This is a no brainer, especially given the Misdreavus and Vigoroth bans. Piloswine with Choice Band is 2HKOing nearly everything with its STAB moves. Pokemon like Quaxwell and Dunsparce need to invest Speed EVs in order not get 2HKOed by Rocks damage and Knock Off, and in a tier loaded with good Knock Off users like Pignite, Monferno, and Tinkatuff, all waiting to chip down threats for Piloswine, it becomes a consistent threat looming to decimate defensive switch-ins. It's got some good moveset diversity as well, ranging from Trailblaze to help win mirror matchups and outrun Pignite to Curse to be a surprisingly effective wincon to even Roar to amp up the hazard stacking pressure. It's especially potent given Koffing is on the upswing as well, functioning as a Toxic Spikes remover deterrent. It's still the best offensive Stealth Rock setter as well because of how limited its switch-ins are. It comes to show how Pokemon like Dunsparce, Fletchinder, and Seadra, threats that have struggled to fit on teams, are now on the rise because of the wooly mammoth. As a bonus, Piloswine is an amazing tank, surviving even Pignite and Monferno's Close Combats or non-Specs Frogadier's Surf and able to easily OHKO them back. Piloswine is a strong contender for the best Pokemon in the tier and should be accounted for in 100% of all serious teams.

:koffing: A -> A+/S-
Toxic Spikes have taken back the meta by storm. Its mere presence forces your to run adequate hazard removal; going hazard-free or Quaxwell as your remover is not enough given how likely your team be overwhelmed, and how passive Quaxwell usually is. Ivysaur has struggled more often to fit on teams due its passivity and reliance on Knock Off for utility (which can be blocked off by Tinkatuff and Sliggoo-Hisui). There's been a number of Koffing mirrors this NFEPL and Seasonal that fights to Toxic Spikes off their side so their teammates stay healthy. As a bonus, it neutralizes Tinkatuff's Pickpocket, allowing Thief to actually work against it, and can whittle it down with repeated Will-O-Wisps and Pain Splits. It also messes with anti-meta Pokemon like Clefairy, Duosion, Hattrem, and Servine through Neutralizing Gas as well, making them a lot less effective. Most importantly, it's a great defensive stop to the tier's offensive Fire-types (the big three in Monferno Raboot Pignite), and Grass-types (Thwackey mostly, but also Servine and Ivysaur). Piloswine and Gabite aren't even free switch-ins given how susceptible they are to getting crippled by a stray Will-O-Wisp, and special attackers must watch out for Sludge Bomb poisoning (Girafarig, Frogadier, Wartortle, Drakloak). It's gotten to the point where some teams are running Heavy-Duty Boots on non-Stealth Rock weak attackers like Thwackey, Pignite, and Monferno (Frogadier had also already ran Boots beforehand) to not be crippled by hazards. It's clear Koffing has risen up back to glory as one of the best defensive titans on a team and, like Piloswine, must be checked for in the builder for serious teams.

:Sliggoo-Hisui: B+ -> A
While Tinkatuff takes a more defensive-oriented approach to walling threats, Sliggoo-Hisui goes offensive. Like Koffing, its typing is very helpful in stuffing Grass- and Water-threats like Frogadier, Wartortle, Quaxwell, Thwackey, and Ivysaur, but also gains some new matchups like Girafarig and Tinkatuff. Unlike Koffing needing to rely on Wisp and Pain Split residual damage to try and beat Tink, it can actually play the long game against it and spam Flash Cannon to win the war of attrition. Against more offensive-oriented teams, Gooey can be a good deterrent against Fire-types like Monferno Raboot and Pignite looking to freely spam their STAB moves. Its bulk is actually very surprising: even with max SpA, a standard all-out attacking set can avoid a 3HKO from +2 Shell Smash Wartortle, an elite setup sweeper and fire back with powerful Thunderbolts. It took some time, but it's a very dangerous tank and can be very annoying to switch into considering its STAB combination and Thunderbolt provides at least perfect neutral coverage against most of the tier. Choice Specs sets have also been potent in dismantling slower threats like Dunsparce and Piloswine looking for easy switch-ins. While Tinkatuff has the gold medal for Steel-types in the tier, Sliggoo-Hisui is certainly not far behind, with other Steel-types like Pawniard, Varoom, and Bronzor trailing very far behind in usability, and is a very potent choice to add for tanks in your roster.

:Fletchinder: B- -> A-
Fletchinder has risen up back in place as one of the best checks to Piloswine and the Fire-types, clearly superior over SS superstar Vullaby. With Wisp and Flame Body, it can put a stop to Piloswine's breaking attempts and catch unsuspecting Raboot off guard with an unfortunate burn. It's also a handy Thwackey and Servine check, stopping them easily with its STAB moves and reliable Roost recovery, 4x resisting pesky Grass moves. Its Speed tier is very customizable, with bulkier sets being able to outspeed threats like Pignite with minimal investment to fast wall sets that outspeed even Monferno and Gabite. What makes this lower than Quaxwell is its gaping susceptibility to Stealth Rock once Boots are removed and its own frailty: Fletchinder can easily be ruined with scenarios like Piloswine using Band Icicle Crash on Boots sets to decimate it. Tinkatuff also beats it easily in the early game despite a type disadvantage. Nevertheless, Fletchinder has proven its value significantly since the start of NFEPL and deserves consideration as your tier's hazard remover and Piloswine, Grass, and Fire check.

:Glimmet: B- -> B/B+
Glimmet has risen back up as an anti-meta threat that benefits from the hazard game. Most Poison-types tend to be defensive and struggle against Steel-types, but Glimmet breaks the mold through Corrosion. While its defensive stats are poor and typing leave it with few opportunities to switch in (mostly against Fletchinder, most Poison-types, and Tinkatuff), Toxic being able to wear down Steel- and Poison-types is a big boon considering how deceptively hard they are to wear down without reliable recovery, and how most of these defensive giants can very easily wall most teams. Koffing, Ivysaur, and Tinkatuff looking for a free switch-in will be hit with a nasty surprise. Alternatively, it's the go-to lead pick for hyper offense teams, able to quickly set up at least one hazard and force Koffing interactions with Toxic Debris, though this tends to be more inconsistent with the high amount of bulky threats.

:Pikachu: B -> B+
Although difficult to fit on builds, owing to its reliance on Light Ball and extreme frailty, if Pikachu manages to avoid Grass-types and Piloswine, it becomes one of the most devastating threats on the field. It's the fastest viable Knock Off user (Elekid exists too, but it's far more situational), and Base 90 Speed makes it pretty fast in the meta, outspeeding metagame staples like Monferno, Girafarig, and Gabite. A lot of Electric-types will struggle in this meta, owing to their lack of coverage, but Pikachu breaks the mold through Surf, discouraging Piloswine from switching in. On the special side, it's got enough bulk to survive hits from weaker attackers like Koffing, Fletchinder, and Quaxwell; while it's a poor idea to switch PIkachu into anything, if nothing else wants to, Pikachu can do the job if needed. Its Speed also allows it to pair well with VoltTurn pivots like Raboot, Frogadier, and Monferno looking to break down their checks - Monferno can even discourage Grass-types like Thwackey and Servine from revenge killing it. With the Vigoroth ban, Pikachu now is more easily able to fit teams as a fine candidate to build around or as a late teamslot to help round Speed control issues.

:Dusclops: C- -> B+/A-
Once languishing helplessly in Misdreavus's shadow, Dusclops has now become the most consistent spinblocker in the tier. Amazing bulk enables it, with investment, to survive attacks like the 3HKO from Pignite or Frogadier, and recover a lot of damage away with Pain Split, complemented with a low HP stat. Drakloak may provide the Speed, phazing, screens, and breaking potential, but Dusclops makes it up with defensive fortitude for teams looking at balanced and hazard stacking cores. Its typing enables it to completely stuff Quaxwell (unlike Drakloak), and actually take titans like Piloswine and Dragon-types head-on without having the problems of Drakloak's subtyping. Dusclops' bulk is further reinforced by Koffing's rise, making it more difficult to get rid of Toxic Spikes while being a constant status spreader. Despite its seemingly shallow movepool, Dusclops has decent customizability, can feasibly run Haze to disrupt potential bulky sweepers like Duosion and Wartortle or Thief to punish Knock Off users like Thwackey and Pignite. Once again, the bans to Misdreavus and Vigoroth have immensely benefitted it, removing competition and a counter to it. While restricted to balance and bulkier builds, Dusclops remains a key part of them, significantly improved from the slate of bans and now having a clear, respected niche in the current metagame.

:Scraggy: C- -> B-/B
It seems like a theory mon but it's easier to use than I thought. What differentiates itself from Fighting-types like Monferno/Raboot is Dragon Dance; these sets make it a surprisingly good hyper offense option with rare access to High Jump Kick. Having access to STAB Knock Off is also a boon. A second benefit are having two good abilities: Moxie makes it much harder to switch into after a Dragon Dance + KO, which has helped a lot given the bulkier pace of the tier. Shed Skin makes it more resilient against Thunder Wave and Wisp users running about, which is filled to the brim with users like Tinkatuff Koffing and Dusclops. True, its Speed is quite slow (and can be even at +1) and its bulk isn't anything to write home about. While you might think Tinkatuff would be a reliable check, it hasn't been running Play Rough at all (going solo Knock Off on standard defensive sets and Ice Hammer/Steel Beam on rare offensive sets), and Scraggy has Taunt and Shed Skin to work around Encore and other utility moves. The other Fire-types like Pignite, Monferno, and Raboot have more immediate damage output, but the cleaning potential gives it a good reason to be run as a win condition. Scraggy is very underrated and should net a higher ranking for its good tools.

:Seadra: C -> B/B+
See the above post as to why I rated Seadra higher. Despite a low overall usage, I believe it's a great sidegrade to Quaxwell owing to its higher Speed and Poison Point.

:Stantler: C- -> C+/B-
It definitely looks like worse Girafarig at first from the lack of the Psychic typing, but there's still a few things that allow it to take the nod. Not having the Psychic typing helps it set up Calm Mind or other moves better compared to Girafarig, lacking the Knock Off and U-turn that often plague Girafarig from setting up. Without the worry on Knock Off, it doesn't have to worry about Tinkatuff's Knock Off instantly breaking its Substitutes. This ironically makes it also a better check to Grass-types like Thwackey, Ivysaur, and Servine with its lack of Knock Off weakness; speaking of, its Megahorn coverage gives it a more direct hit on them in the first place. Lastly, it retains the strengths that allow Girafarig to excel, namely a good base 85 Speed, good offenses, and a deep movepool that allows it to run both special and physical sets to make it difficult to guess on preview.

:Stunky: UR -> C+
Looking for a Poison-type not named Koffing? Maybe your Poison-type is more offensive while having a deeper movepool? Stunky might smell worse than roadkill, but looks are deceiving. Stunky's access to STAB Knock Off is an important factor, discouraging switch-ins like Hisuian Sliggoo and opposing Koffing looking for an easy pivoting opportunity. Tinkatuff must also watch out for Temper Flare, as the move can 2HKO after its Eviolite is removed, something that cannot be said for Koffing. Stunky also has enough Speed to outrun standard Thwackey sets, and unlike Koffing, is more free to run experimental fourth moves. After Gunk Shot, Knock Off, and Temper Flare, the fourth move is flexible: Toxic Spikes continues the trend Koffing sets up, while Sucker Punch lets you revenge faster threats like Frogadier, Drakloak, and Pikachu. The issue is how it compounds a weakness to Piloswine, Gabite, and other physical attackers by taking up the Poison slot, which forces you to run a bulky Water or other wall, though its perks over Koffing can make it a fine last-minute addition for teams looking for compression.

:Chinchou: UR -> C+
PandaDoux brought this up, but Chinchou has a solid niche as a complete counter to Quaxwell via Water Absorb. While Grass-types (and to a lesser extent, Electric-types) can discourage Quaxwell from staying in, they aren't able to usually stopping it from pivoting to other teammates. Chinchou is able to do just that, not only threatening it with STAB Thunderbolt, but also gaining recovery from Flip Turn. It can also function as a pivot itself with either Volt Switch or Flip Turn. Unlike the passive Eelektrik or the frail Pikachu, Chinchou manages to mesh defensive and offensive benefits to its name. While not ideal defensively considering its mediocre bulk even when fully invested, its offensive profile being able to outspeed Piloswine and Pignite is also valued to have. A surprisingly deep movepool with Scald, Ice Beam, and Thunder Wave give it decent customizability, which discourages many Grass-types from switching in. While previously off the table for most teams, Chinchou's unique set of qualities makes this a great spice/anti-meta choice for teams looking for a Quaxwell counter and offensive Pignite/Piloswine deterrent.

Drops:
:Wartortle: A+ -> A-
Wartortle has become much harder to fit on teams. Lacking the recovery of Quaxwell or the utility of Frogadier's Spikes, Wartortle needs to use Shell Smash + Rapid Spin in order to distinguish itself from the pack. While it's fine at its job as a sweeper, the issue lies in how it's being restricted to late-game to set up. Unlike Quaxwell, Fletchinder, or most other hazard removers, Wartortle fares poorly spinning early to mid-game, considering that defensive setters like Tinkatuff and Dunsparce can set rocks up multiple times thanks to its typing and bulk, while other hazard setters like Piloswine and Gabite exert strong enough pressure that discourages spinners from staying in. Even at +2, it still needs something to remove Thwackey and weaken Tinkatuff and Quaxwell that will often block it from doing its job. While still potent in the right matchup, it's now far more limited in its role and necessitates a noticeable drop.

:Clefairy: A- -> B+
Clefairy continues to get overshadowed by Tinkatuff as the latter's dual Fairy/Steel typing grants it better resistances to the metagame overall. Clefairy has a very severe 4MSS on what it wants to run after Thunder Wave + Moonlight recovery (which the recovery PP nerf hurts a lot too): Night Shade is most common but leaves it completely walled by Girafarig/Dunsparce, but Moonblast is pretty weak with how bulky most of the tier has been. This leaves it with Knock Off, Encore, and Stealth Rock with its remaining slots: I'd probably run with Knock Off to surprise Piloswine, but Stealth Rock can be helpful to free up Piloswine and Gabite's moveslots. Encore can be fine if you want to try to catch foes off guard into using unfavorable STAB moves, but most would switch out anyways. I feel Clefairy gets pressured too easily by Knock Off and item disruption in general, as its physical bulk isn't too great even when fully invested (once Eviolite is gone, lots of physical attackers can easily KO it), and its bulk doesn't compensate for the passivity it weighs on the team. Quaxwell and Koffing tend to be easier to fit on teams because they're more reliable checks to trends like swine, Fire-types, Thwackey, etc. Not helping is Koffing exploiting Clefairy with Neutralizing Gas. Perhaps most importantly, Tinkatuff is just better as a Fairy-type considering its typing and more well-rounded stats make it easier to spam utility moves. If your fairy-type needs recovery, maybe Clefairy is the better option, but most games are actually pretty quickly paced and leave not too much room for recovery.

:Pawniard: B -> C+
The loss of Knock Off was a massive blow to it. In theory it's a fine late-game cleaner with SD + Sucker Punch, but it's a lot harder to pull off when its bulk is mediocre to begin with, and you're still pretty slow. Pawniard has to rely on weaker Dark STABs like Night Slash to try and clean games, and STAB Iron Head is nice for Piloswine and maybe Clefairy but overall not great at anything else. Its coverage options are pretty bad, needing to resort to Brick Break and Stone Edge to differentiate itself. I'd sooner use Pignite, Thwackey, or Monferno for their better typings and faster Speed than to fit Pawn in.

:Mareanie: B -> C+
Even while retaining several good traits, like Regenerator, good overall bulk, and a synergistic typing, SV has been extremely harsh to it. Mareanie losing Knock Off and Scald means it's far more passive than before, having to rely on nicher options like Infestation and Toxic in order to try to perform. Additions like Hisuian Sliggoo and Girafarig have been massive problems with it, as they can wall and pressure it to no end and freely set up on it, while Pokemon it previously checked like Monferno and Pignite all have gotten new tools to take it on more easily (as a matter of fact, Pignite sometimes runs High Horsepower to beat it in the first place, as does Monferno pivoting to a teammate with U-turn or beating it with Knock + Thunder Punch). That's not even mentioning the common Grass-types and Dragon-types that also populate this meta. While Mareanie was a solid pick when NFE was still in its infant stages, Mareanie now fits on very few teams and has been off the radar for most games.

:Naclstack: B -> C+
After a strong start to the generation by becoming banned alongside Misdreavus, Naclstack heavily struggled down the line. Once a good answer against Misdreavus, Vigoroth, and a beneficiary of Terastalization, Naclstack has cratered to obscurity. Metagame shifts have been considerably harder on it, with the things mentioned being gone now. Its weakness-laden typing (Ground, Water, Grass, Fighting) combined with reliance on Salt Cure for damage makes this very passive and hard to fit in and work on a team. If your team is very bulky and has lots of defensive backbones, Naclstack can still work as a Tinkatuff, Dunsparce, and Hattrem check. The issue likes in most Pokemon either being resilient against Salt Cure or being way too threatening against it. Fire-types can threaten massive damage against it, Grass-types can chop it with Knock or STAB moves, Piloswine destroys it, Koffing, Clefairy, and Duosion can bypass Purifying Salt with their abilities, etc. Water-types like Quaxwell can pivot away, Wartortle can beat it 1v1 with setup, and Girafarig can ruin it with Trick or blast it with Specs-powered coverage. Even Hisuian Sliggoo can discourage it with Flash Cannon! As you can see, Naclstack is threatened out by way too much and needs to be reserved for a few specific Pokemon to establish itself. You've got plenty of choices for your Stealth Rock setter too: Piloswine and Gabite remain great offensively, Tinkatuff and Dunsparce are great defensively, and even more niche choices like Clefairy and Glimmet have more room to switch around than Naclstack. Overall, it's way too much of a specialist and requires a steep amount of building around it to not let it get trampled by metagame threats.

:Toedscool: :Hippopotas: :Prinplup: :Gloom: :Carkol: C- -> UR
These five picks have been firmly off a teambuilder's radar for many months now, and for good reason. The former two are relics from old metas and they're badly outclassed by Piloswine, Gabite, and Krokorok. Toedscool is far too passive and has a detrimental ability (Hattrem and Naclstack are struggling in this meta themselves), Hippopotas's reliable recovery offset by its utter lack of damage output, low overall stats, and relevant Electric-types easily bypassing their typing, Prinplup will rarely actually get the competitive boost with most defoggers struggling to remove hazards in the first place and lacking important moves like Rapid Spin and Encore that Quaxwell gets. Gloom's Moonblast doesn't hit relevant targets for enough damage and Strength Sap's recovery makes it unreliable, plus is outclassed by Ivysaur. Carkol is 100% a worse spinner than Quaxwell from its much worse defensive typing, lack of pivoting, and worse speed; you can find much better Will-O-Wisp users in Dusclops and Koffing if you want to spread status too.
 
I did a little bit of testing/building in the QWONK cord for NFEPL, and I like doing VR noms and having opinions.

:Porygon: UR -> B-
When big tony 2014 brought it, it put in WORK. If you're too lazy watch it or to skip to like turn 27 of the replay, the Porygon is able to KO the (burned + knocked) piloswine and weakened dusclops under TR, and if tony had a little bit better luck, theres a chance the Porygon got 5 or 6 KOs that game. It's a good offensive mon between download and its incredible coverage, and its able to find enough turns to click buttons with trick room and recover. I think that its convincing performance in that game alone is enough to justify a place for it on the VR.

:Pignite: A- -> A+ :Monferno: A -> A-
I think that Monferno is third place to Pignite and Raboot. Sure, it does have more flexability and therefore less predictability, but if I want a fighting type who can threaten knock and pressure tink, I'm going Pignite. If I want a fire-type pivot and late game cleaner. I'm going Raboot. That aside, I think Pignite is top 3 in offensive pressure for the tier, and the only thing holding it back from being even higher is the fact that Piloswine is a better physical wallbreaker.

:Thwackey: A+ -> A
I'm just not that impressed by Thwackey. It's walled by Tink, Fire-types, can't revenge Girafarig, and can find lines where it loses to Piloswine's ice shard. Thwackey is at its best against the 3 water types in the tier, and I guess pilo. That is also a list of good matchups for Quaxwell (barring Wartortle kinda), while Quax also is good into fire-types, offers removal, and is more likely than not already on my team. I know comparing Thwackey and Quax isn't fair, but if Quax is good into similar mons as Thwackey (and more than Thwackey), why would I need to double up on those matchups? Thwackey isn't A+ level for this reason.

:Ivysaur: A -> B+
It's still good, don't get me wrong I enjoy using this thing. But it's grass, and the most threatening attacker in the tier are fire, ice, or water-types with ice coverage.

:Drakloak: A- -> A
I don't think I need to explain what the #1 spinblocker in the tier does. It's a good mon and definitely meta enough to be at least A. It's worse than the mons in A+ imo, since while it does offer a lot of value and flexibility between specs and evio pivot sets, it's not as consistently valuable as Quaxwell or even Pignite.

:Dusclops: C -> A-
Just wanted to add my support for A- clops. I think it's one of the best CB pilo switches we have, and that value pushes it above B+.

:Mareanie: B -> B-
It's still got traits like fighting + fire resist, poison typing for tspikes, and regenerator, and although I have no idea what it does in the meta or how I would go about using it, I think it's not C-tier material. I'm traumatized from loading a non-hhp pignite into it during UMBD.

:Krokorok: C -> B-
Idk, I like this mon tho. I think it's better than the C-ranks. As opposed to something like Crocalor or Murkrow where I can't figure out the best set, the value Krok has with EQ + knock is straightforward and valuable enough to escape the C-tier.
 
My VR update
S- -> S :piloswine:Piloswine ; Choice Band is just absolutely insane, 2HKOes Quaxwell after rocks and a wonderful revenge killer with Ice Shard while still being able to come on some stuff thanks to its good bulk like Gabite, Koffing, Tinkatuff, Drakloak... Standard Rocks is still fine if u have a way to pressure Quaxwell, which is very easy to have nowadays. Trailblaze is a wonderful sweeper, especially in Offense, tho it is a lot rarer. I'm sure we will find defensive variants of Piloswine in the future as well like SpD Piloswine to come on Drakloak with ease, but we're not there yet.

A+ -> S :quaxwell:Quaxwell ; I don't know why it wasn't S already, Quaxwell is the best removal of the tier and was pretty much the only one for YEARS, it's a staple of the tier, most teams run it due to it checking a lot of top tier breakers like Piloswine, Frogadier, Monferno, Pignite, Raboot... while having recovery, pivot, and being the best of the few removals of the tier. As of right now Quaxwell has some INSANE usage stats, 2nd most used Pokemon in seasonal rn with 50% usage and 66% usage in NFEPL so far, if that does not qualify something for S Rank i don't know what does.

A -> A+ :koffing:Koffing ; Neutralizing Gas + Toxic Spikes annihilates most teams without Poison-types, and due to the lack of good Poison-types in the tier (it's mainly just itself + Ivysaur) you kinda have to put it in every team to have a good counterplay to Toxic Spikes. Koffing also checks a plethora of Pokemons as well which makes it very easy to build with and acts as a Knock Off Absorber to Monferno, Pignite & Thwackey which is very rare in this tier.

A -> A+ :monferno:Monferno ; Some might say it's just a combination of Raboot + Pignite (U-turn x Knock Off), and it is, but it is a good one. I find it easier to fit in Balance builds due to it outspeeding Thwackey and Servine while still being pretty bulky with Eviolite, thus coming on the field easier than Pignite or Raboot. It's also one of the most versatile Pokemon of the tier, Stealth Rocks & Defensive sets are pretty niche but exist in specific builds, and Swords Dance or Nasty Plot are extremely threatening wallbreakers, or even sweepers with the access of both Mach Punch & Vacuum Wave.

A- -> A+ :drakloak:Drakloak ; Drakloak took Misdreavus' spot as the best spinblocker of the tier. It can force Quaxwell to run Triple Axel which is pretty bad for Quaxwell because it can't really threaten Fires & Piloswine effectively, so even if it's an option, most Quaxwell will still play Surf anyway. Drakloak is the fastest Pokemon of the tier, can pivot with U-turn and despite its poor SpA it has access to STAB Draco Meteor that makes up for it, as well as Night Shade for consistent damage on Tinkatuff. Hex is also a good option due to status spreaders being so popular in the tier (TSpikes, Thunder Wave being in every team naturally). Choice Specs is also really powerful but it comes with the downside of being weak to hazards, thus having less opportunity to come on the field.

A- -> A :pignite:Pignite ; Arguably the strongest wallbreaker of the tier. Knock Off + Close Combat is very difficult to handle, and contrary to Raboot & Monferno it has access to Ground coverage to deal with Poison-types, which makes it probably the hardest Pokemon to answer defensively. However it is really slow, so slow that in fact some Quaxwell are fast enough to outspeed it making it much easier to deal with. You can also play around Pignite and try to outplay it so it's not like it's completely impossible to deal with it without losing a Pokemon, there are ways to deal with it defensively and it gets pressured by a lot of stuff due to being so slow. Bulk Up Sets are probably underrated, could see it becoming more prominent in Offense.

B+ -> A :duosion:Duosion ; Future Sight is extremely powerful and makes breaking teams pretty easy, pair it with some physical breakers and the job it's gonna do is insane. Defensively it's not bad at all either, checking a lot of Special stuff like Girafarig, Frog, helping with Hliggoo, Ivysaur. Regenerator helps it coming on passive stuff like Quaxwell or Koffing and click Future Sight then switch out quickly without worrying about its health. Magic Guard with Acid Armor + Calm Mind is also an insane endgame cleaner and kind of a sleeper pick, Dark types are still pretty rare and by the end of the game Tinkatuff will most likely be dead.

B+ -> A :sliggoo-hisui:Sliggoo-Hisui ; It's easy to fit in teams, it's a powerful breaker with STABS + Tbolt & Acid Spray, if you outplay with it you'll take kills, and it checks a lot of special stuff easily like Drakloak, Girafarig, Ivysaur, Frogadier, Wartortle without having SpD investment which is really useful, it's really good as a tank in Offense teams and it can still run RestTalk sets in bulkier teams, tho it's less common and a bit worse than 3 Atk + Acid Spray imo.

B- -> A- :fletchinder:Fletchinder ; The best defogger of the tier and by far, it also checks a plethora of physical pokemons in one slot like Thwackey, Raboot, Piloswine, Pignite, Monferno... and it's fast enough to outspeed most of them. Flame Body also punishes Raboot & Thwackey from spamming U-turn. However Fletchinder needs Eviolite to check Piloswine reliably and most stuff it wants to check have access to Knock Off anyway, so that means that it will take 50% on rocks, so using it as your only way to deal with hazards is extremely risky. But it pairs well with Quaxwell or Hattrem in order to avoid this. It can play U-turn if u don't want it to be passive but most of the time you'll have to play WoW + Brave Bird to check Piloswine & Monferno/Pignite, which makes it pretty passive.

C- -> A- :dusclops:Dusclops ; It's a really good defensive Pokemon, its stats are insane it can check a plethora of things, can play Trick to act as a Knock Off absorber, a safe way to spinblock Quaxwell and keep your hazards up the whole game, access to WoW or Haze to deal with setups, one of the rare Piloswine Band switch in. Just an all-around solid pick defensively, it is a little bit passive and having Pain Split/RestTalk has recovery is tough but it found its place in the meta since Misdreavus's departure.

C- -> A- :krokorok:Krokorok ; Best Dark-type of the tier, it's a good rocker, forcing both Hattrem and Quaxwell out which is pretty difficult to find. It exploits Tinkatuff and heavily supports the team offensively with Knock Off + Eq that will get rid of Eviolites on Pokemons that are usually a pain to break like Dunsparce or Quaxwell. It's a solid option that should always be able to do its job well regardless of the MU.

B- -> B+ :glimmet:Glimmet ; Aside from Frogadier it's the best Spiker of the tier, it comes on the field easier than Frog which gives you more opportunities to stack hazards. Corrosion is also really good to weaken Steel-types and it's fast enough to outspeed Pignite if you wanna run an offensive set. Can be played in both fat stack hazards or HO as well which is a big plus compared to other Spikers of the tier.

C- -> B :scraggy:Scraggy ; Good into bulky builds with passive stuff, but it is really slow and easily checked by Fightings or overall just bulky Pokemons like Ivysaur, Servine, Gabite whatever. It's also really slow; needs 2 Dragon Dance to outspeed Frogadier. But it's good in Offense and provides a strong option vs fat.

C -> B- :cutiefly:Cutiefly ; I would put Cutiefly one rank below Charjabug. They both represent the Sticky Web playstyle and are the only 2 viable Sticky setter option; Charjabug is bulkier which provides you a defensive pivot for mid-game and Cutiefly has access to Skill Swap to get the Sticky vs Hattrem and is fast enough to provide extra support with Stun Spore later in the game.

C- -> B- :stantler:Stantler ; CM Sub STAB Earth Power is really good at breaking, it's surprisingly powerful and has many opportunities to setup thanks to Sap Sipper. Kinda hard to justify in a team other than in Offense tho but it's fine.

C -> C+ :seadra:Seadra ; It's the same thing as Quaxwell but instead of providing removal it provides Poison Point which weakens Quaxwell and makes it a better check to physical stuff like Raboot, Piloswine, Monferno... Not much else to say tho it's nothing crazy like having a removal is better in 99% scenarios, but at least Seadra is fine at doing this particular job.
UR -> C+ :chinchou:Chinchou ; Offensive Chinchou is great in Voltturn teams as it stops Quaxwell from pivoting thanks to Water Absorb and due to its Water STAB you can easily spam Volt Switch (or just run Flip Turn) without worrying too much about getting blocked by Ground-types. It's also pretty fast and can revenge kill Pignite & Piloswine, as well as being bulky enough to trade with stuff like Drakloak and Frogadier. It's a good Pokemon to get the momentum going and spam VoltTurn but i wouldn't consider in teams other than in VoltTurn specifically with lots of U-turn.

UR -> C+ :corvisquire:Corvisquire ; Defogger with Taunt and can check Grass-types and Pignite, doesn't let Tinkatuff get rocks up thanks to Taunt. It's really good into bulky teams especially Stack Hazards.

UR -> C :porygon:Porygon ; Download + Trick/Trick Room gives it a niche over Dunsparce which makes it an offensive Pokemon hard to deal with.

UR -> C :stunky:Stunky ; It's fine if you need a TSpikes absorber, it's not that easy to answer defensively as Ground-types don't have recovery and Tinkatuff can get stuck with Life Orb or gets heavily weakened by Temper Flare. Stunky is pretty fast so it can revenge kill a couple of stuff and can come on Grass-types. It's a decent option in specific builds.

UR -> C :wooper-paldea:Wooper-Paldea ; It's a good Spiker, comes easily on the field vs Tinkatuff, Koffing, or Quaxwell thanks to Water Absorb which gives you many opportunities to get Spikes up. Also has access to Toxic to prevent Quaxwell from spinning against it. Very passive tho. It is a good option as a Spiker. https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen9nfe-866016 as an example of what Wooper-Paldea can do, got opportunities to come on Tinkatuff then was able to keep hazards up and weaken the opposing team with Spikes. In Quaxwell interactions i could have stopped it from pivoting thanks to Water Absorb but got outplayed.

UR -> C- :charmeleon:Charmeleon ; Sun wallbreaker with Solar Power should kill everything. Only viable in sun tho.

UR -> C- :croconaw:Croconaw ; Decent in HO, Sheer Force is a good offensive boost, Dragon Dance makes Croconaw fater than everything at +1, if u want Adamant you'll tie with Frog at +1 so it's good fast enough. Got Ice coverage for Dragons and Grass, got Trailblaze for Waters, it's wouldn't get much trouble to setup anyway as it's decently bulky and it'll be powerful enough to run Eviolite anyway.

UR -> C- :growlithe-hisui:Growlithe-Hisui ; Choice Band + Rock Head + Head Smash has very few switch ins. Flare Blitz threaten Steel-types to come in. It doesn't get many opportunities to come but it can be an insane wallbreaker against most teams.
Drops
S- -> A :girafarig:Girafarig ; It is harder to fit in teams since Misdreavus' departure and Choiced set is a lot worse than before imo with the rise of Duosion, Sliggoo-Hisui and Dark-types. I do find it very effective with a sub mixed set or Nasty Plot and it is still a very strong offensive Pokemon of the tier, but it just feels worse than before in the meta right now.

A+ -> A :frogadier:Frogadier ; Frogadier does not have many opportunities to come on the field, which is pretty much why i think it's not deserving of the A+, it has everything else tho; good Speed, good SpA, good movepool, U-turn, Spikes, TSpikes, Switcheroo... But it does feel like it needs some sort of support in order to function perfectly, and i don't think that should be the case if you're trying to belong in A+

A -> A- :wartortle:Wartortle ; I find it harder to justify in a build and i find it more difficult to sweep with it than before; stuff like Servine, Sliggoo-Hisui or even Eviolite Girafarig are a lot more popular than before and they can all check Wartortle at +2. I think this is fine tho like there are a lot of teams not prepped to it and you can make a path for it to sweep later. I also think offensive teams are underexplored and Wartortle would most likely thrive in those kind of teams.

A- -> B+ :fraxure:Fraxure ; It's a really powerful breaker but it's hard to put it on teams. Other than in Offense it will struggle to justifty its spot in a team which can't make it deserving of the A ranks, tho its insane offensive prowess saves it from a complete downfall imo.

B -> C+ :mareanie:Mareanie ; It's too passive for the tier and too hard to build with, having a Poison-type that can't check Grass-types reliably forces you to have a very weird and passive structure, and having a Water-type not being able to check Piloswine forces you to run double Water with Quaxwell which is redundant in teambuilding. It's not unviable, it does have a pretty good MU into some HO thanks to Haze + TSpikes but overall it's not great.

B -> C+ :pikachu: Pikachu ; Hard to build with, very hard to get on the field due to it relying on Light Ball, thus having an insanely bad bulk, being 2HKOed by pretty much the whole tier, even the most passive stuff like Koffing will threaten it, can't even come on Tinkatuff due to being too weak offensively without Light Ball so it can't afford to come on a Knock Off, it can't even come on Dusclops because it doesn't want to get burned... It does have a pretty good Speed so it can revenge kill a fairly amount of stuff, however it barely breaks anything ; can't freely Knock Off due to Tinkatuff having Pickpocket and being able to steal your Light Ball, can't spam Volt Switch due to Ground-types being pretty common, Grass-types easily check it and force it out and most teams run a Grass-type. Pikachu is highly dependant on you outplaying your opponent in order to work, which, is the case of many offensive Pokemons that belong in the C ranks. I don't think Pikachu is completely unviable, however it's only working when you are better than your opponent, in which case, you're gonna win regardless of having Pikachu or not. It only has good MUs against specific teams that don't run Grass-types and even then you'll have to put on the work in-game to make it successful.

B- -> C+ :lampent:Lampent ; It's too hard to put on the field, it doesn't get as many opportunities as it can't spinblock Quaxwell effectively, can't come on Tinkatuff as well due to TWave + Knock Off, gets revenge killed really easily as well. It does have a niche as being a strong wallbreaker in Offense, probably with Life Orb or something to take kills easily, but it's pretty niche.

A- -> C :clefairy:Clefairy ; It's time to stop being delusional about this one, it is absolutely garbage. There is a reason why in every tournament it has a negative winrate and it's because it's horrible into the SV meta; can't check Pokemons with Knock Off because Knock Off + STAB destroys it, so you can't use it as a Monferno, Thwackey, Pignite check. Does not check Piloswine due to Pilo just spamming STABS and PP stalling all of your Moonlight, SpD-wise you can't check Girafarig for the same reason and it will get destroyed by Dragons like Fraxure & Gabite due to them having coverage that Clefairy can't handle. It's also insanely passive, letting a lot of stuff just freely coming into it like Sliggoo-Hisui, Duosion, Ivysaur... Imo Clefairy has only 2 niches; 1st is Trick Sticky Barb to weaken Steel & Poison-types easily, however due to the nature of the tier there are chances of you just getting the Sticky Barb back on another Pokemon because if your Pokemon hits a contact move into Sticky Barb and it has no items it will receive the Sticky Barb, which is a disaster. 2nd niche is Wishpass as Magic Guard + Wish makes it easy to put Clefairy on the field and heal its allies, which is only good into bulky teams.

B -> C :naclstack: Naclstack ; Defensively the Rock-type is a disaster in this tier; resists Flying, Fire and Normal (& Ghost thanks to its ability), but Flying & Normal moves are extremely rare, Fire Pokemons all have access to a Fighting-STAB, and Ghost-moves are also not common, Dusclops running Night Shade and Drakloak having access to HPump when Specs or Draco Meteor & U-turn. Salt Cure + Stealth Rocks is interesting but it's still easily checked by Grass-types and Fighting-types. Naclstack can get good MUs but it's gonna be pretty rare, not good into most of the tier.

B -> C- :vullaby: Vullaby ; Defogger that can't defog against the rockers of the tier, it doesn't check anything successfully, stuff like Ivysaur, Thwackey, Pignite, Monferno, Piloswine, Girafarig, Gabite... which are Pokemons that Vullaby should in theory check based on its typing, but they all break it in some ways, with setups, Knock Off, STAB moves, coverage, or just even U-turn + Rocks. It can probably find a place in some very rare situations where you'd need a removal with Ground immunity + Psychic immunity, but i really struggle to see it being successful.

B -> UR :pawniard: Pawniard ; It's just bad, not having access to Knock Off is really hard for Pawniard, not even being able to break Quaxwell despite Swords Dance is sad. It's also really slow so it can get outsped by Tinkatuff and get Encored on Swords Dance... Every team will run checks to it naturally, Defoggers are extremely rare and the only relevant one checks it anyway (Fletchinder)... It's just bad, realistically you have no reason to use it.

B- -> UR :varoom:Varoom ; Its only niche was to be a Poison-type + defensive pivot in Offense during Misdreavus meta, but now i don't think Offense wants to have it, they would rather have an offensive Ivysaur or give up the TSpikes MU, or get a Wartortle Spin to deal with Koffing. Varoom is too fragile and doesn't provide much utility other than Parting Shot + TSpikes deterrent which is not enough to justify it on a team atm.

C+ -> UR :mienfoo:Mienfoo ; Outclassed by other Fighting-types, too fragile to run a defensive pivot set and too slow with no coverage to act as a real breaker. If you want a SD Fighting-type you can play Monferno or even Hakamo-o that at least has coverage to hit Poison-types, Mienfoo is just bad imo.

C -> UR :arctibax:Arctibax ; Outclassed by other Dragon-types, Fraxure, Gabite and Hakamo-o are all better options with better stats, better coverage, better typing, better ability, there's no reason to use Arctibax over them.

C -> UR :dartrix:Dartrix ; Want a defogger? Play Fletchinder. Dartrix had the niche of being the best defogger of the tier since the beginning of the generation, but since Electabuzz/Misdreavus meta it had struggle to really finds its place in any team, and now that Fletchinder is officially a good option i don't think there are reasons to use Dartrix; Grass / Flying is a really bad type, can't check Ground-types, can't check Grass-types, can't check Fighting-types, passive asf, it's just trash.

C -> UR :zweilous:Zweilous ; Same thing as Arctibax, outclassed by other Dragons, and now that Dark-types are becoming better it gets outclassed as a Dark-type as well. No reason to use it competitively. Hustle is also hella bad.

C- -> UR :carkol:Carkol ; Horrible typing, outclassed by every rocker, every spiker, every spinner, no reason to use it.

C- -> UR :gloom:Gloom ; Outclassed by Weepinbell which is outclassed by Ivysaur; at least Weepinbell has SD and can be played in Sun, Gloom has nothing.

C- -> UR :hippopotas:Hippopotas ; Too passive, no reason to use, can't keep rocks vs Quaxwell or Hattrem, doesn't check a lot of stuff either, just use something else.

C- -> UR :marill:Marill ; Nobody is falling for its trap set and even if you somehow do fall for it it will likely die before Perish Song ends, or you can just outspeed it and Encore with Tinkatuff, its strategy doesn't work.

C- -> UR :prinplup:Prinplup ; Too slow too weak not bulky enough no utility outclassed by other Waters (Frog / Wart offensively, Quaxwell / Seadra defensively)

C- -> UR :toedscool:Toedscool ; It's just a weird Pokemon that has a lot of interesting stuff but it's kinda just mediocre everywhere so it's bad; like it has Spikes, an ability that goes through Magic Bounce, Toxic, Rapid Spin, Knock Off, but it also has a -1 priority on every status move, doesn't check anything successfully, has no recovery option... Other Spikers are just far better.
 
New VR update voted on by the council!
:Piloswine: S- -> S
:Quaxwell: A+ -> S
:Monferno: A -> A+
:Koffing: A -> A+
:Drakloak: A- -> A
:Pignite: A- -> A
:Duosion: B+ -> A-
:sliggoo-hisui: B+ -> A-
:Fletchinder: B- -> A-
:Glimmet: B- -> B+
:Seadra: C -> B
:Cutiefly: C -> B-
:Dusclops: C- -> A-
:Krokorok: C- -> B+
:Scraggy: C- -> B
:Stantler: C- -> B-
:Girafarig: S- -> A+
:Frogadier: A+ -> A
:Wartortle: A -> A-
:Clefairy: A- -> B
:Mareanie: B -> B-
:Naclstack: B -> C+
:Pawniard: B -> C
:Vullaby: B -> C
:Lampent: B- -> C+
:Varoom: B- -> C
:Mienfoo: C+ -> C
:Weepinbell: C+ -> C
:Arctibax: C -> C-
:Crocalor: C -> C-
:Dartrix: C -> C-
:Carkol: C- -> UR
:Gloom: C- -> UR
:Marill: C- -> UR
:Prinplup: C- -> UR
:Toedscool: C- -> UR
:Chinchou: UR -> C+
:Stunky: UR -> C+
:Croconaw: UR -> C
:Meditite: UR -> C
:Porygon: UR -> C
:wooper-paldea: UR -> C
:Charmeleon: UR -> C-
:Shroodle: UR -> C-
:Corvisquire: UR -> C-
:Growlithe-hisui: UR -> C-
 
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A new VR is here! Let us know what you think below! Make sure to nom for next slate if you want your input in our voting!!

:dunsparce: A -> A+
:ivysaur: A -> A+
:dusclops: A- -> A
:fletchinder: A- -> A
:sliggoo-hisui: A- -> A
:glimmet: B+ -> A-
:hattrem: B+ -> A-
:krokorok: B+ -> A-
:scraggy: B -> A-
:seadra: B -> A-
:quilladin: B -> B+
:stunky: C+ -> B-
:growlithe-hisui: C- -> C+
:quaxwell: S -> A+
:raboot: A -> A-
:duosion: A- -> B+
:wartortle: A- -> B+
:cutiefly: B- -> C+
:croconaw: C -> C-
:dewott: C -> C-
:meditite: C -> C-
:mienfoo: C -> C-
:varoom: C -> C-
:zweilous: C -> C-
:pawniard: C -> UR
:arctibax: C- -> UR
:corvisquire: C- -> UR
:dartrix: C- -> UR
:hippopotas: C- -> UR
:cranidos: UR -> C-
:grovyle: UR -> C-
 
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Drakloak should go to at least A+

Uncontested speed tier bar scarfers (inconsistent) and el*ctrode + dual status + pivoting + water-resistant spinblocker. Draco also hits like a truck and is incredibly viable at forcing out random stuff that isn't built to take less than 40%. Absolute staple of balance teams. Especially as a spinblocker it's so much more flexible than Dusclops, which really opens up teambuilding paths rather than restricting them.
 
Rise
:Dunsparce: < S
Very customizable mon that has blend well with most playstyles, and with Piloswine and balance has been dominating, Dunsparce is just if not at all, common as Piloswine and Tinkatuff in terms of usage IMO.

:Dusclops: < A+?
Insanely centralizing on how it abuses the hazards rn, and takes advantage of teams that try to be trade heavy and love the game being played slow, forcing teams to bring out of thinking sets as SD + Healing moves like Monf and Fletchinder, which makes them weaker vs others in exchange.

:Drakloak: < A+?
Probably what Finchely said, but it has that hit and run playstyle, and in the long term, it can clean up or cause havoc to its favour. Both Rest Talk, boots with Twave, and Specs are deadly despite the meta becoming more fattier to the tier.

:Sliggoo-Hisui: < A+
Specs make it the special equivalent of Piloswine, a weaker speed tier but with much more switch-in opportunities and bulkier in comparison. Even without specs, it can act as a defensive check, wallbreaker, and strong switch-in against so many in this tier. Dragon + Steel Offense is also a difficult combo to build against, and mons like Tinkatuff and Dunsparce can get worn down very quickly, often requiring teams to bring two mons with healing to not get overwhelmed by it. The biggest aspect for this is that I find it to be able to pressure Quaxwell + Fletchinder, and even mons like Dunsparce, to be a key reason why it's A+ for me.

:Stunky: < B/B+
Despite its lackluster performance, it has a lot of value to break the balance of teams, and it's better the mons on B-(though I question why Stantler is there, though lmao).

Drop
:Koffing: < A?
Koffing is always controversial for busted t-spikes, but I find the rise of Glimmet and people spamming Ivysaur making it difficult to build and play it in a tournament match. There's also mons like Sliggoo-hisui that prey upon it and then give it multiple opportunities to start wallbreaking. Hell, it can't really thief it safely as it could get locked by Specs.

:Thwackey: < A
Lots of fat and more teams preparing for grass offense have definitely made Thwackey's progress much more annoying. The risk of Fletchinder being a staple in the tier, and just not having a lot of favourable switch-ins, makes it hard to justify building with it.

:Girafarig: < A
Sliggoo-hisui, some degree Dusclops, and Dunsparce hinder this Pokémon's progress, especially when it cannot switch in due to its suspicious typing and bulk.

:Pignite: < A-
Potentially the biggest threat in the tier, but unfortunately, people like me adapt by making our mons speed creep if possible, and Jolly Pignite is noticeably worse at wallbreaking IMO. Monferno also gives it heavy competition due to avoiding the speed creep + healing move gives it setup with longevity, which is often strong in this tier.

There are probably more I could mention, but I'll keep myself from mentioning them since they don't have enough data or proof for me to be sure about. The meta atm just proved it isn't just Piloswine and Tinkatuff spam back months ago, and therefore I can see adaptations against the rise of Dunsparce x Dusclops / Dunsparce + Quaxwell / Dusclops + Quaxwell, the weird rise of Scraggy, and such, etc.
 
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:drakloak: Drakloak :drakloak:
Move this thing up to A+. Having the fastest natural speed tier and access Draco / Hex / Wisp / Twave / Uturn is quite absurd in a tier where scarfers are rarely seen. It also has incredibly easy ins versus common pokemon such as Quaxwell and Seadra, and is an absurdly splashable spinblocker for more offensive teams that would rather avoid using Dusclops. Dealing with Drakloak is no difficult feat, it struggles into Tink and Sligoo, but it can always freely uturn away after having clicked a debilitating status move the previous turn, allowing it to still have made progress and then pivot out with more or less impunity. To come back to that part about its speed tier, this pokemon is frankly a little absurd to try and check offensively. It resists gglide, and is faster than everything bar scarfers. The only splashable method of offensively answering Drakloak is Piloswine's Ice Shard - not bad by any means but it is certainly restrictive. Without Ice Shard, you consign yourself to either attempting to purely handle it defensively (and to a degree you must accept that your spdef core will likely get mixxed to shit), or using a less standard build where you use Scarf Monferno (60% chance with knock) or Frogadier (Giraf is inconsistent because it never kills from full unless it's modest shadow ball which is a 56% chance to kill). This thing is frankly a little bit absurd in it's own right and I think it deserves the rank to match.

:thwackey: Thwackey :thwackey:
Lower this at least a stage, maybe even to A-. The current meta where Fletchinder, Ivysaur, and rest Sligoo are being spammed everywhere is not friendly to it. Furthermore, Grassy Glide is simply not in very high demand right now. In particular Frogadier's usage has declined in part due to the fact that Drakloak is the king of speed tiers right now. Speaking of which, Drakloak resists gglide, and must be significantly chipped before its put into range of even lorb gglide.
 
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With the conclusion of UMCL, I feel like we're due a VR update and I've got a couple of thoughts and opinions I'd like to share.

Fraudwatch​
:frogadier:
A -> B+

This guy fell off the face of the earth. Frogadier was only brought once in UMCL, and for good reason: it is simply outclassed at the moment by the other Water-type starters. Yes, it plays a very different role, but in a metagame where having either a Quaxwell or a Seadra feels borderline mandatory, it becomes difficult to fit this guy on teams. I think there are generally better spikers or better scarfers for any given team structure. I definitely don't think Frogadier should be ranked higher than Wartortle, hence the double downgrade.

:girafarig:
A+ -> A

Not as bad since Girafarig definitely still has a niche, but this is mainly a result of the rise of Sliggoo-H. High Horsepower doing 43% max from Life Orb mixed sets just isn't enough (see Turns 37 - 39). Girafarig definitely isn't bad by any stretch of the imagination, but for me, it no longer warrants a place alongside the other mons in A+.

Risers​
:sliggoo-hisui:
A -> A+

I think this is one of the most meta-defining threats in the tier right now. Slig effectively negates every special attacker in the tier, and the RestTalk set demands dedicated breakers lest it simply outlast your entire team. So many practice games either in tests or on ladder have devolved into 2 Sliggoos staring each other down either waiting for Flash Cannon SpDef drops or PP-stalling. In a personal VR, I think I would have this guy in S alongside Piloswine (and Tinkatuff might drop to A+) purely because of how centralising it is in the builder. Maybe that's just a skill issue though, maybe I just love building teams that are 6-0ed by Slig. Really the only thing keeping Sliggoo-H in check is the prominence of a certain Fighting-type...

:scraggy:
A- -> A+

It felt like this guy went crazy in UMCL. It'd be interesting to see the statistics here (I do not have the technical nous to do this myself), but like Sliggoo-H, Scraggy is one of those mons that you have to be acutely aware of in the builder or you will get 6-0ed by it. The DD set is fine, especially on (Screens) Offence, but of course, it's the Bulk Up set that causes nightmares. Plus, it's defensive utility should not be understated - I pretty frequently have Bulk Up Scraggy as my sole Drakloak answer, and for the most part, it gets the job done. You're never not getting value out of Scraggy, and I think it is clearly better than everything else in A- and even A.

:seadra:
A- -> A / A+

Rounding out the big three that really defined the NFE meta in UMCL for me, it felt like Seadra slowly eclipsed Quaxwell as the premier defensive Water-type through the course of the tour. Again, it'd be interesting to see if the statistics back up this claim. Its ability to completely keep Scraggy in check with its Clear Smog set and its ability to rest off poison / paralysis make it more reliable in longer games. Plus, it can just crit my shit apparently. With hazard spam seemingly on the decline as an archetype (maybca brought a totally hazard-less team to the finals), and with the many tools hazard-stack has for Quaxwell anyway, the case for Seadra as the premier bulky Water-type is pretty strong. I think it deserves to be at least on par with Quaxwell.
 
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To no one’s surprise, the boob once again demonstrates how much he is willing to throw Finchely under the bus in order to position himself better in the public theatre. I see how it is.
IMG_9590.jpeg


In all seriousness however, I think that :seadra: Seadra is solidly an A tier Pokémon, as its flaws leave it just short of making A+.

Seadra is undoubtedly an incredibly Pokémon, but no matter how you tech it, it always has some notable weaknesses. Seadra mandatory includes are Flip and RestTalk, so I’ll be discussing in terms of the last move you choose to run. Surf is the standard, although increasingly it’s being dropped in favor of other options that let you shore up Seadra’s weaknesses; surf’s upside however is that it is far and away the best way to hit Fire and Ground-types, the Pokémon the Seadra is primarily meant to wall. Ice Beam nails Dragon-types and Thwackey, at the cost of being able to properly threaten Fire and Ground-types (particularly BU Monferno). Clear Smog may be the most specialized but it’s specializations are crucial in that it checks BU Monferno, Fraxure, Scraggy, and like Wartortle-ish, at the cost of retaining some of Surf’s weaknesses with Drakloak and Thwackey, and also uniquely being bad into Sub SD Gabite. This customization is part of what allows Seadra to perform so well, as it is easily adaptable to the needs of a given team, but I also think that the issue of not having any one set with standout consistency means that Seadra restricts team flexibility more than it frees up.
 
My personal opinion on this since Dusclops' departure
:quaxwell: A+ -> S
We banned the Ghost-types so this is naturally coming back to S ; the only Ghost-type left is Drakloak that can be killed by Triple Axel, Quaxwell paired with a Knock Absorber to stuff like Krokorok & Monferno is just really hard to get through. There's not much to say to be honest, this is gonna come back to previous metas where Quaxwell was dominant due to being the only good Pokemon with a removal option, it's not gonna be as overwhelmingly dominant with Fletchinder having a pretty good spot in the meta, but still, it's undeniable that it is a valuable glue to any defensive core that will put a lot of work against any MUs.

:drakloak: A -> A+
Fastest Pokemon of the tier, only Ghost-type to prevent Quaxwell from spinning for free, a great special attacker, just a very easy offensive Pokemon to put in teams as this is not only a reliable revenge killer but it also provides defensive utility thanks to its great typing and access to TWave. Also a great pivot for wallbreakers like Pignite.

:sliggoo-hisui: A -> A+
Great Pokemon both offensively and defensively. RestTalk rose in popularity and it can be a real pain to break while not being the most passive thing in the world with its access to Draco Meteor. It has been replacing Tinkatuff in many teams with its defensive set, however offensive sets are still incredibly good at breaking and making progress while checking stuff.

:scraggy: A- -> A
Really threatening setup with both of its sets, Bulk Up is especially great in Balance teams and Dragon Dance is insane behind screens in Offense. However Dusclops being banned hinders it for sure as it was its main fodder as well as structures Scraggy tends to be best against (Fat teams) are also gonna lose in popularity since Dusclops was such an important part of them. Still tho i'm rising it because it is so threatening anyway and can really end the game at any moment if you're not being careful.

:seadra: A- -> A
Just a great defensive pivot, super bulky, super fast for a defensive Pokemon, outspeeding most of the stuff it wanna check, and still quite powerful. Relying on RestTalk really sucks tho and is what prevents it from being top tier, but it really found its place within team structures especially with Fletchinder.

:quilladin: B+ -> A-
Quilladin doesn't need that much support and has a great spot in the meta as a defensive spiker, checking many threats that bulkier teams tend to struggle against like Krokorok & Ivysaur while being an important part of fat structures alongside Glimmet depending on what you prefer.

:charjabug: B -> B+
Sticky Web offense is just good. Not much else to say to be honest. We have great offensive Pokemon that take advantage of the Web so it really is just a good playstyle to consider.

:clefairy: B -> B+
Clefairy kinda found a spot in the meta as a support, not really checking anything outside of Drakloak & Scraggy kind of sucks but it still has opportunities to come against the more passive stuff and provides support with TWave, Trick + Sticky Barb, Knock Off, and can even run Calm Mind sets. Magic Guard is also super great in the meta so you don't get fucked by hazards.

:mareanie: B- -> B
I just think it's easier to fit in teams that all of the B- that are really niche in my opinion. Mareanie does provide some really good stuff with Haze, Toxic & TSpikes as well as pairing well being a pain for some teams thanks to Infestation.

:stunky: B- -> B
Same reasoning as Mareanie; easier to fit in teams than what is below it and can really break through defensive cores so well if you get the right plays.

:braixen: C- -> C
It has some uses and it's pretty... niche but kind of decent like with the right support it can actually be useful but like this demands to build around it entirely or something.

:cranidos: C- -> C
Worse Growlithe-Hisui as it fears Will-o-Wisp but it's basically the same thing so putting it one rank below it. Also unlike Growlithe-H it's not locked which is the main reason you'd wanna use it over it.

:gastly: UR -> C-
Horii made it work with a weird trap set that kinda works so i guess i'll rise it C-.

:graveler-alola: UR -> C-
I am convinced this Pokemon can work. Elec + Rock + Ground coverage is just great, it also has access to Focus Punch for Piloswine. It is slow asf tho cannot really come on the field easily but it does take advantage of Tinkatuff entirely as well as some really passive stuff like RestTalk Glimmet but yeah overall not great but i'm sure it can work.
:tinkatuff: S -> A+
I don't think Tinkatuff is as meta defining as it used to be, we've seen the rise of many Pokemon that take advantage of Tinkatuff naturally such as Sliggoo-H RestTalk, Krokorok, as well as many lures like Ivysaur Leech Seed, mixed Girafarig... A lot of team structure also do not rely on Tinkatuff anymore, many teams use Sliggoo-H as their special wall with Dunsparce as the rocker for example. Don't get me wrong this is still an incredibly valuable tool to have, but it is exploited & lured by many threats of the metagame, and it does not feel like it's as good as it used to be.

:girafarig: A+ -> A
Dark-types are more common, Sliggoo-H is more common, other attackers similar to Girafarig are more common as well, thus replacing it in many teams. Does not feel as oppressive as it used to be at all, still a great offensive Pokemon but definitely not an A+ Pokemon imo.

:thwackey: A+ -> A
Same reasoning as Girafarig: Fletchinder is much more common, Poison-types are still everywhere, Thwackey was also especially great paired with Girafarig as an offensive pivot but since Girafarig struggles a bit more than before, naturally its best offensive teammate does worse as well. Still great and honestly might be a little underrated atm but definitely worse than it used to be.

:frogadier: A -> B+
Frogadier kinda just struggles to be unique ; there are a couple of other Water-types you could use, it's not the fastest Pokemon as it's outsped by Drakloak, there are others, more reliable Spikers in the tier.

:fraxure: A- -> B+
It just struggles to fit anywhere but Offense, which is why i'm dropping it to B+. It's just not going to work well in more standard teams and demand support from either/both screens & hazards.

:gabite: A- -> B+
Exact same reasoning as Fraxure; hard to put in teams without looking like a random breaker in a standard team thus playing the game 5v6 until you have the opportunity to setup except some teams naturally run checks to it like Piloswine so it's kinda useless if you can't take advantage of the work it does, which is what offense does best.

:cutiefly: C+ -> C
Just a worse Charjabug, the Pokemon above have more to bring than this in my opinion.

:lampent: C+ -> C
There are other better breakers in the tier, i don't think this is really worth using unless very specific teams or just wanting to play it.

:dragonair: C -> C-
I always think it's got a niche but nobody plays it and i don't have the faith to play it either so i'm dropping it to the very last rank.

:rufflet: C -> C-
Best offensive Flying-type of the tier is its only niche, but with the rise of Steel-types and physically defensive Pokemon like Dunsparce & Seadra it's kinda just not worth using unless you're predicting specifically a team weak to it but like that must be so rare.

:weepinbell: C -> C-
Sun saves it but sun isn't super good anyway.

:wooper-paldea: C -> C-
Outclassed by other Spikers although it still have something unique thanks to Water Absorb + Toxic but yeah not much to say.

:zweilous: C -> C-
People who uses it just like gambling.

:crocalor: C- -> UR
This Pokemon has worked for a while but now we gotta say goodbye to it. Defensively Fire-type is just awful, Fletchinder is an exception due to Flying-type providing a unique Ground-immunity in the tier, but Crocalor has nothing, it's also super passive like pick your struggle you can't be a defensive Pokemon with a bad defensive typing while being passive asf.

:meditite: C- -> UR
Its stats are just awful and there are many other Fighting-types in the tier that are much better than it. Also Choice Scarf sets are no longer freely hitting that Zen Headbutt with the rise of many Dark-types and more defensive stuff like Dunsparce & Seadra rising.

:shroodle: C- -> UR
No.

:varoom: C- -> UR
No.
 
NFE community war is finaly over : Hazard stack is not broken anymore. ( I kinda miss those gliglar qwilish hisui gurdurr time tho).
I like the meta even if my building capacity is limited and I feel like I always build around the same defensive core.
What would i change on the viability ranking ( i'm not going to take a look at every UR/C mon i'm just taking the top mons for me) :
Raise :
Quaxvell --> S
Drakloak --> S+ ( fighting with piloswine for the title of best mon in the tier)
Sligoo Hisui --> A+ really close to S for me, maybe it is but i might be not realist here, A+ is still a fair place for it.
Clefairy --> A really good defensive role + help against the "ho mons" like scraggy fraxure monf, it is able to twawe cm and have variety of moves to help the team, ( i might be a little pro clefairy but, i really like it).
Scraggy --> A this guy had a time where everyone spammed it but it is kinda over now since there is no more dusclops, I still think it's a good defensive core abuser.
Seadra --> A , poison point is such a good talent and it speed tier is really good for their role, being able to outspeed pignite and piloswine without invest that much like quaxvell makes him really good.
Quilladin -->A Panda showed me the spd set and I felt in love with it. Good mon overall, really good stats, sadly it's drakloak food but otherwise it's a good mon. It also helps "checking" band pilo cuz it will always be 50/50.
Fletch --> A+ , it is the main reason why I think hazard stack isn't that good anymore, wow taunt defog brave bird sword dance flare blitz hurricane roost, nah this guy is super good, it wall a lot of physical attacker, pressure them and have a really good speed tier. It truly deserves to be higher here
Pignite --> A+ monferno but better I think, at least for breaking, evio makes him a good switch in to thawckey and/or sligoo hisui, koff is super helpful cuz he 2hk0 quaxvell without evio, I think he deserves the A+ rank
Skuntak --> idk where but higher, it is good and deserve more light on it
Drop :
Not much to say here, but i think they aren't as good as before and should at least loose a rank :
Tinkatuff
dunsparce
ivysaur
monferno
frogadier
gabite
hattrem
servine
hattrem
I'm finally back to NFE because I enjoy it more than previously. See you all in nfe seasonal, I'll fight for the title like a beast this year.
 
New VR update: Special thanks to Regiboob & Kingler who helped us for this one!
:drakloak: Drakloak A -> A+
:sliggoo-hisui: Sliggoo-Hisui A -> A+
:scraggy: Scraggy A- -> A+

:seadra: Seadra A- -> A

:quilladin: Quilladin B+ -> A-

:clefairy: Clefairy B -> B+

:grimer-alola: Grimer-Alola B- -> B
:hakamo-o: Hakamo-o B- -> B
:stunky: Stunky B- -> B

:chinchou: Chinchou C+ -> B-
:naclstack: Naclstack C+ -> B-

:braixen: Braixen C- -> C
:quilava: Quilava UR -> C

:gastly: Gastly UR -> C-
:graveler-alola: Graveler-Alola UR -> C-
:girafarig: Girafarig A+ -> A
:thwackey: Thwackey A+ -> A

:frogadier: Frogadier A -> A-

:cutiefly: Cutiefly C+ -> C

:dragonair: Dragonair C -> C-
:rufflet: Rufflet C -> C-
:weepinbell: Weepinbell C -> C-
:wooper-paldea: Wooper-Paldea C -> C-
:zweilous: Zweilous C -> C-

:dewott: Dewott C- -> UR
:grotle: Grotle C- -> UR
 
:carkol:
UR -> C+

After using this in the nfelt in the semifinals and finals, I think this mon should surely be ranked. Obviously its not the greatest thing ever, as being a rocks weak defensive pokemon is not great, but it has some very nice traits. Firstly, the stats are really good: 80/90/70 is nothing to sneeze at in nfe which means it just has a good baseline to work with and is able to take hits well. It learns spikes, making it one of the few defensive spikers in the tier alongside quilladin. Quilladin is better and fits on more teams due to having synthesis and not being rocks weak, but carkol does have some advantages. Being able to pressure fletch with power gem is pretty nice, and means free spikes if there is no hattrem. While having a reliable recovery move would be better, resttalk does allow carkol to absorb status from things like hattrem or dragonbreath sligooo in slower matchups. Carkols biggest advantage is probably having access to flame body, which can be really nice to punish things like knock off from bulky mons like tinkatuff and u-turn from faster ones like drakloak and thwackey.

Still, carkol does need some support to function, mainly reliable hazard removal as carkol itself is a pretty bad spinner. This means quaxwell is probably needed as a pair in optimal builds, even though seadra makes a great pairing by punishing quaxwell and seadra flip turns. Speaking of, carkol allows quaxwell and seadra to come in and flip turn pretty freely, though will of wisp can be used to cripple the former. If you are not using power gem, allowing monferno or pignite in for free for one spike is not ideal. In general if you are mono attack resttalk you are kind of choosing what traits are better for your team.

Here is what I personally used:

Carkol @ Eviolite
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Flamethrower / Power Gem
- Spikes
- Rest / Flamethrower / Power Gem
- Sleep Talk / Will-O-Wisp / Rapid Spin

Spread is not optimized or anything, but it does the job. You are basically choosing whether you want the resttalk recovery for longetivity or more utility options. Boots might be viable as well to dodge hazards until knocked but that loses some of the strong stats. You probably want spikes since spikes are so good in this tier and its the main niche I see for this mon. Resttalk flamethrower spikes felt best to me but its not like I played a ton of games with it.

Here are some replays from nfelt finals:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nfe-2641135426-f9ikcdg54mgnsnp8rkrkes8j8kivc5dpw?p2
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nfe-2641140616-pgbkc4xmy14eq0i6kl714wmeergjidwpw?p2

Its not like Carkol went crazy or anything but it took hits well, absorbed status, put on pressure with spikes and generally contributed. Overall I think this thing has a real enough niche to be ranked and I think someone better at building than me could make good use of this in certain structures.
 
hiii here are some noms, most of these shouldn't be that affected by toxic spikes but it's more a formality post on most of their statuses

:sv/sliggoo-hisui: A+ -> S/S-
The team's premier defensive glue and an excellent progress maker. Since Shing began using RestTalk Dragon Breath on Hisuian Sliggoo, its effectiveness as an offensive/defensive tank has become very much realized, with more and more people using it over other moves like Draco Meteor or sets like Choice Specs. Its excellent overall stats makes it very hard to deal with without having Piloswine or Fighting-types like Monferno/Pignite in hand, and the tier's lack of good long-term switch-ins has led to, quite a few times, mirror matches between who chickens out first with their Hisuian Sliggoo or crippling it with Knock Off/paralysis. The most popular answers, Tinkatuff and the first two aforementioned Fighting-types, struggle to answer it long-term with their lack of recovery, and while defensive Scraggy does well into it and can make progress in return, it's not the easiest Pokemon to fit on a team. While more consistent answers like Metang and Bronzor do exist, their passivity makes them struggle significantly against the other metagame as a whole, reflecting on how dominant it has been in recent times. As a bonus, Sap Sipper prevents even Leech Seed users like Ivysaur and Servine from disrupting it, making it a surefire check against them too. About the most consistent answer would be through Knock Off and residual damage to trigger early Rest sequences, and even then it's not reliable with the expected partners for hazard control. Overall a clear top 5, and I say top 3/2 Pokemon in the metagame that has reshifted the meta around it.
There's a very good reason this Pokemon got included to as a suspect candidate.

:sv/drakloak: A+ -> S
Ever since Dusclops got banned, Drakloak has become more important than ever to maintain hazard control and for utility. More sets have incorporated status sets to hope for good luck against Quaxwell and just be a powerful disruption against the opposition. Status in this tier is extremely powerful, and it's very easy to chip checks like Tinkatuff and Hisuian Sliggoo fast, especially with Knock Off being so commonplace. Also helping is a lack of Ghost resists, as Dunsparce and Naclstack both are quite passive needing to use recovery moves often and aren't easy to fit on teams for their more niche utilty.

Drakloak has singlehandedly has also caused Raboot and Frogadier to decline in popularity thanks to being the Speed king in this meta and a benchmark for Speed tiers. Also unlike them, its offensive typing is seldom resisted and said status just makes them easier to wear down over time.

:sv/eelektrik: B -> A-
Probably the best overall trading tool in the meta. Great bulk, load of utility, and its typing make it a much-needed check to a lot of random pokemon short-term (and sometimes long-term). It's great at being an answer for Tinkatuff, Ground-types, Water-types, Fletchinder, and non-Toxic Dunsparce and can handily beat them one-on-one with its moves (and long-term, at least trade). Having a useful Thunder Wave immunity is also cool and being one of the few Ground immuniites makes it very valuable in a tier lacking in them. Having rare access Super Fang and Knock Off makes it very valued for progress making and it can easily outlast threats 1v1 with its bulk. It's also a good blanket check to physical attackers with its bulk and no weaknesses, as threats like Monferno and Thwackey aren't happy swtiching in on it when they fear paralysis from Discharge. It's trending upwards since early meta and believe a tier raise is mandated for it.

:sv/murkrow: C -> C+
it's a pretty cool nasty plot sweeper! Many people will forget its speed tier since it's pretty frail, but given how easy Tinkatuff is to wear down and how common knock off is it's pretty capable of being an effective cleaner as the pool outside of tinkatuff is shallow when it comes to resisting its STAB moves. it has to watch out a lot for hisuian sliggoo and piloswine but it's otherwise fine at what it does and deserves a slight nod.

:sv/greavard: UR -> C+
it's a very late bloomer considering it's living in the shadow of misdreavus and dusclops for most of the generation, but it's a pretty effective wall! the two selling points is that it's actually a decent piloswine check thanks to fluffy, and roar makes it a pretty decent phazer which matches up especially nicely on spike stacking teams that don't face off against fletchinder/hattrem (the latter is pretty awkward to build around anyways). also, having night shade makes it a pretty good progress maker against anything not named normal-types. It's no drakloak but having the greater physical bulk gives it a reasonable niche on hazard stacking teams.

:sv/croagunk: UR -> C
Ok hear me out this isn't a bad pokemon but it's a good nasty plot sweeper. Dry skin is super valued for blanking seadra and non-axel quaxwell and it has reasonable entry points against threats like koffing. it struggles a lot into drakloak and tinkatuff and is super slow but has enough merit to be a usable sweeper.

:sv/servine: A- -> B-
It unfortunately really struggles a lot in this meta. Its speed is good and does have great utilty, but having no coverage makes it very easy to wall, and it has a very hard time breaking through popular trends like Koffing, Ivysaur, Fletchinder, and Hisuian Sliggoo, which are super common in teams right now. Even Pokemon it can beat 1v1 like Tinkatuff and Hattrem are super scary for it because it's quite dependent on its Speed to function well. And a multitude of offensive pokemon like Drakloak Monferno and Girafarig can give it a hard time as well simply by resisting its moves. Other grasses like Thwackey Ivysaur and Quilladin just are so much easier to fit on teams and provide more utility without having to be walled. It's never said but Servine has always struggled to fit on a team and while it'll probably get better post-Toxic Spikes ban, it's still not going to be that great without signifcant meta changes.

:sv/morgrem: B- -> C
Even on hyper offense teams, Morgrem isn't even the default option as a dual screens setter, as Drakloak is just a lot better on these builds. It lacks the Ghost typing that prevents Rapid Spin from Quaxwell, and while having Taunt is nice to stop Fletchinder and Dark Pulse to stop Hattrem, outside those teams Morgrem is just outclassed by a lot of special attackers. it'll benefit from having Scraggy banned but it's not good at doing Nasty Plot sweeps since it's not very fast and steels and ivy can easily stop it and it's not really bulky either since 65/45/55 bulk makes you pretty vulnerable to being taken out (murkrow does that better anyways and it's pretty niche as well, also it can at least be decent as a physical attacker).

:sv/crocalor: C- -> UR
Theoretically has a niche with Unaware on stall/fat builds but it's just stats bait that doesn't even get usage. Yes it has more bulk than fire-types like fletchinder and has options like Roar and Wisp but other Fire-types are faster or stronger, plus they have secondary typings to give it more valued resistances. fletchinder outclasses it considerably as a utility pokemon and monferno/pignite/raboot are just way better as offensive fire-types. Roar + Wisp + Slack Off is hypothetically something it can do none of the other Fires can do but at that point you'd use other phazers like Quilladin instead who provide much more immediate utility (Spikes). It never improved from the early meta and just kept getting worse.

:sv/zweilous: C- -> UR
Also outclassed but from an offensive standpoint (and defensive standpoint). Hustle looks cool on paper but it never gets mileage since it lacks options like Knock Off or U-turn for pivoting and sits at a very awkward Speed tier. Fraxure and Monferno are just much better breakers because they're faster and don't need to worry about missing each turn they're on the field, and they have other offesnive options outside of raw damage (priority for Fraxure and utility for Monferno). Phazers like Quilladin Gabite and even Greavard are just better since they're nowhere near as vulnerable to U-turn as it is and once again don't need to worry about Hustle's inaccuracy.
 
hiii here are some noms, most of these shouldn't be that affected by toxic spikes but it's more a formality post on most of their statuses

:sv/sliggoo-hisui: A+ -> S/S-
The team's premier defensive glue and an excellent progress maker. Since Shing began using RestTalk Dragon Breath on Hisuian Sliggoo, its effectiveness as an offensive/defensive tank has become very much realized, with more and more people using it over other moves like Draco Meteor or sets like Choice Specs. Its excellent overall stats makes it very hard to deal with without having Piloswine or Fighting-types like Monferno/Pignite in hand, and the tier's lack of good long-term switch-ins has led to, quite a few times, mirror matches between who chickens out first with their Hisuian Sliggoo or crippling it with Knock Off/paralysis. The most popular answers, Tinkatuff and the first two aforementioned Fighting-types, struggle to answer it long-term with their lack of recovery, and while defensive Scraggy does well into it and can make progress in return, it's not the easiest Pokemon to fit on a team. While more consistent answers like Metang and Bronzor do exist, their passivity makes them struggle significantly against the other metagame as a whole, reflecting on how dominant it has been in recent times. As a bonus, Sap Sipper prevents even Leech Seed users like Ivysaur and Servine from disrupting it, making it a surefire check against them too. About the most consistent answer would be through Knock Off and residual damage to trigger early Rest sequences, and even then it's not reliable with the expected partners for hazard control. Overall a clear top 5, and I say top 3/2 Pokemon in the metagame that has reshifted the meta around it.
There's a very good reason this Pokemon got included to as a suspect candidate.

:sv/drakloak: A+ -> S
Ever since Dusclops got banned, Drakloak has become more important than ever to maintain hazard control and for utility. More sets have incorporated status sets to hope for good luck against Quaxwell and just be a powerful disruption against the opposition. Status in this tier is extremely powerful, and it's very easy to chip checks like Tinkatuff and Hisuian Sliggoo fast, especially with Knock Off being so commonplace. Also helping is a lack of Ghost resists, as Dunsparce and Naclstack both are quite passive needing to use recovery moves often and aren't easy to fit on teams for their more niche utilty.

Drakloak has singlehandedly has also caused Raboot and Frogadier to decline in popularity thanks to being the Speed king in this meta and a benchmark for Speed tiers. Also unlike them, its offensive typing is seldom resisted and said status just makes them easier to wear down over time.

:sv/eelektrik: B -> A-
Probably the best overall trading tool in the meta. Great bulk, load of utility, and its typing make it a much-needed check to a lot of random pokemon short-term (and sometimes long-term). It's great at being an answer for Tinkatuff, Ground-types, Water-types, Fletchinder, and non-Toxic Dunsparce and can handily beat them one-on-one with its moves (and long-term, at least trade). Having a useful Thunder Wave immunity is also cool and being one of the few Ground immuniites makes it very valuable in a tier lacking in them. Having rare access Super Fang and Knock Off makes it very valued for progress making and it can easily outlast threats 1v1 with its bulk. It's also a good blanket check to physical attackers with its bulk and no weaknesses, as threats like Monferno and Thwackey aren't happy swtiching in on it when they fear paralysis from Discharge. It's trending upwards since early meta and believe a tier raise is mandated for it.

:sv/murkrow: C -> C+
it's a pretty cool nasty plot sweeper! Many people will forget its speed tier since it's pretty frail, but given how easy Tinkatuff is to wear down and how common knock off is it's pretty capable of being an effective cleaner as the pool outside of tinkatuff is shallow when it comes to resisting its STAB moves. it has to watch out a lot for hisuian sliggoo and piloswine but it's otherwise fine at what it does and deserves a slight nod.

:sv/greavard: UR -> C+
it's a very late bloomer considering it's living in the shadow of misdreavus and dusclops for most of the generation, but it's a pretty effective wall! the two selling points is that it's actually a decent piloswine check thanks to fluffy, and roar makes it a pretty decent phazer which matches up especially nicely on spike stacking teams that don't face off against fletchinder/hattrem (the latter is pretty awkward to build around anyways). also, having night shade makes it a pretty good progress maker against anything not named normal-types. It's no drakloak but having the greater physical bulk gives it a reasonable niche on hazard stacking teams.

:sv/croagunk: UR -> C
Ok hear me out this isn't a bad pokemon but it's a good nasty plot sweeper. Dry skin is super valued for blanking seadra and non-axel quaxwell and it has reasonable entry points against threats like koffing. it struggles a lot into drakloak and tinkatuff and is super slow but has enough merit to be a usable sweeper.

:sv/servine: A- -> B-
It unfortunately really struggles a lot in this meta. Its speed is good and does have great utilty, but having no coverage makes it very easy to wall, and it has a very hard time breaking through popular trends like Koffing, Ivysaur, Fletchinder, and Hisuian Sliggoo, which are super common in teams right now. Even Pokemon it can beat 1v1 like Tinkatuff and Hattrem are super scary for it because it's quite dependent on its Speed to function well. And a multitude of offensive pokemon like Drakloak Monferno and Girafarig can give it a hard time as well simply by resisting its moves. Other grasses like Thwackey Ivysaur and Quilladin just are so much easier to fit on teams and provide more utility without having to be walled. It's never said but Servine has always struggled to fit on a team and while it'll probably get better post-Toxic Spikes ban, it's still not going to be that great without signifcant meta changes.

:sv/morgrem: B- -> C
Even on hyper offense teams, Morgrem isn't even the default option as a dual screens setter, as Drakloak is just a lot better on these builds. It lacks the Ghost typing that prevents Rapid Spin from Quaxwell, and while having Taunt is nice to stop Fletchinder and Dark Pulse to stop Hattrem, outside those teams Morgrem is just outclassed by a lot of special attackers. it'll benefit from having Scraggy banned but it's not good at doing Nasty Plot sweeps since it's not very fast and steels and ivy can easily stop it and it's not really bulky either since 65/45/55 bulk makes you pretty vulnerable to being taken out (murkrow does that better anyways and it's pretty niche as well, also it can at least be decent as a physical attacker).

:sv/crocalor: C- -> UR
Theoretically has a niche with Unaware on stall/fat builds but it's just stats bait that doesn't even get usage. Yes it has more bulk than fire-types like fletchinder and has options like Roar and Wisp but other Fire-types are faster or stronger, plus they have secondary typings to give it more valued resistances. fletchinder outclasses it considerably as a utility pokemon and monferno/pignite/raboot are just way better as offensive fire-types. Roar + Wisp + Slack Off is hypothetically something it can do none of the other Fires can do but at that point you'd use other phazers like Quilladin instead who provide much more immediate utility (Spikes). It never improved from the early meta and just kept getting worse.

:sv/zweilous: C- -> UR
Also outclassed but from an offensive standpoint (and defensive standpoint). Hustle looks cool on paper but it never gets mileage since it lacks options like Knock Off or U-turn for pivoting and sits at a very awkward Speed tier. Fraxure and Monferno are just much better breakers because they're faster and don't need to worry about missing each turn they're on the field, and they have other offesnive options outside of raw damage (priority for Fraxure and utility for Monferno). Phazers like Quilladin Gabite and even Greavard are just better since they're nowhere near as vulnerable to U-turn as it is and once again don't need to worry about Hustle's inaccuracy.
100% cosign the first 3, don't care about the rest at all
 
I made a list of all the mons I used for Ladder Achievements, and that gave me some time to look at the VR. I'm not nomming any of the unmons i used yet cuz 1) that was a whole tspikes ban ago and 2) you probably don't care about my moderate success with Wooper, Dewpider, and Trumbeak cuz you'll never use them anyways and 3) im working on that post.

:Servine: A- -> B
As a SpDef guy it's outclassed by Ivysaur, as a grass that does nothing to Sliggoo it's outclassed by Ivysuar, yes all of Glare + Leaf Storm + Knock + Synth give it a niche, but it's coverage option (singular) is Tera Blast. The amount of Fires/Ivysaurs in this tier does no favors for Servine, grasses have it rough imo with all the fire/ice moves in the tier, and servine's tools don't help it not be a grass defensively.

:Quilladin: A- -> B+
Maybe we'll see Quilladin spike teams become more common as games start happening post Tspikes ban, but right now they aren't, and although it has a lot more variety and tools than Servine and it has the bulk to tank super-effective attacks in a pinch, it's still a grass.

:Krokorok: :Fraxure: A- -> B+
I value them less than the rest of A-. Krok is kinda weak and Frax isn't the best dragon.

:Pikachu: B -> B+
Everyone on ladder is using Pikachu. It shows up in the builder first and everyone building will recognize it. Usually I get a free KO cuz ppl let me outspeed their Pika with something that shouldn't have a choice scarf or a prio move. However, a well-played Pikachu is deadly. Electric resists are something that usually happen to naturally fit on a team, and aren't something I've found that I usually build with in mind. Pikachu can hit Elec immunes with Surf, knock, and, even though nothing is running it, fighting coverage. Between that, a possible Phys/Special guessing game, and how much Knock Off can randomly do, I think Pikachu stands more with the mons in B+ than B.

:Charjabug: B -> B-
Unless this mon is ranked for any merits other than being a webs setter, the rocks weakness and inability to do anything to Piloswine but let it switch in for free makes me think it should drop. Not that I think webs are worse for any reason, but I think that Charjabug just has a lot of glaring flaws.

:Grovyle: C- -> UR
Gseed Unburden sets do not deal damage and are bad. Trumbeak is easier to make work.

:Voltorb-hisui: UR -> C
Why isn't this at least on the VR? Maybe I've been around Nakoruru_XD too much or smth, but this mon is as deadly as Pikachu (even if a little weaker and a little more predictable). Yes, Grass and Electric are easy to accidentally wall, but the speed (even if just shy of Drak) is good, and I don't think that Voltorb is so thoroughly outclassed by Pikachu that it doesn't deserve a rank. Voltorb is also miles above most of the mons I've used in the past month.

edit: found a voltorb replay. its a bit old but its not like anything but the scraggy changed. showcases what voltorb-h brings over a pikachu well
 
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