Resource SV OU Viability Ranking Thread [ UPDATE: POST #751 ]

[Venduria]

The only resist berry that would make sense running on meowscarada to me is whatever the ice resist berry is, since if you're staying you're 9/10 clicking flower trick and turning monograss, and the berry could help you resist... chien pao icicle crash? maybe? Not sure, I'm already hurting my arms with stretching here.

I haven't used meowscarada a lot, but the few times I did I preferred scarf to get the jump on booster energy iron valiant and other scarfers. Don't take this too seriously though like i said, I haven't used the cat much so I'm just going outta my limited experience lol

Most Meowscarada are U-Turning until they can clean up with Flower Trick tbh. A resist berry seems completely pointless, as a lure option for Meow is kinda the antithesis of what you want it to do.

 

[Harmless]

first nom I've made since gen 7 so excuse potential lurker shit

to A-

I realize that hazard stacks are really strong and removal options are limited but tbh I've always found this thing to be pretty overrated. Maybe I have a totally wrong read on things rn, but I think a hazard stacker that doesn't just die (like garganacl) provides a lot more value than a suicide lead whos progress might just be undone at some point. Not to mention that with how many pokemon just run boots, and great tusk being lando t the second (especially with him being one of the only really good hazard removers who can also threaten gholdengo), sometimes you might be playing a 5v6 for no reason if you run it as a suicide lead.
Of course, it's not bad by any means. Even tusk doesn't really want to be in vs it because of either mortal spin poison or energy ball. I just don't think it's as strong as all the other pokemon in A right now.

to A

I'm just here to echo what others have said. I've been a garchomp truther since day one, and I like it a lot more as a lead compared to glimmora.

other shit I agree with

to A-
to A/A+/whatever the fuck it's good
to S

 

[Venduria]

I've already made my Dragalge nomination but wanted to chime in with the rest of my nominations and agreements.

Agree with:

to A-

to A

to S

to A+

to A

to A-

to A+

to B+

to C

to B+

to UR

to C

to B-

My own nominations that I didn't see listed:

UR to C
Resource - SV OU Viability Ranking Thread [ OPEN TO NOM — POST 130 ] | Page 14 | Smogon Forums post for my own nomination. Honestly feels better than half the C roster but it being ranked at least is better than nothing.

S- to S
Gholdengo Great Tusks and Dragapult feel like the clear top 3 mons in the metagame at the moment. Dragapult has so many viable sets, both physical and special, and plenty of ways to cripple switch ins that think they're safe. Substitute sets are making a comeback and are catching teams unaware and essentially losing the game off a misread on the set. Similar situations happen with Choice Band/Choice Scarf misreads, and Tera + its coverage means you never truly know if you're safe until it reveals the set. Happens to also fit in every metagame archetype which makes it super splashable.

A+ to S-
In my opinion, the 4th best mon in the tier. Similar to Dragapult you don't know if its physical, special, or even mixed, even after it reveals its set. Mixed LO also has the potential to 6-0 Stall and Balance teams that are unprepared. Moonblast is ridiculously spammable, and its speed tier is amazing, with SE coverage against all meta threats that are faster barring Cinderace. It has a move ocean, and is one of the biggest restrictions to teambuilding at the moment.

B- to C
What even is Hawlucha doing up there? There are a ton of great Fighting mon options in the tier, and I'm unsure it being a Great Tusk answer and Mold Breaker Defog is important enough to be ranked with Orthworm and Gyarados.

D to UR
If you want a strong Sucker Punch use Kingambit. Proto Growth sets are scarier on paper than they really are, but I struggle to see a situation where I want Brute Bonnett over almost any other Dark mon or Proto sweeper.

 

[Magcargo]

S -> A+

I feel like its still a very good pokemon but it should drop, sure it does do a lot of stuff but I believe after a bit of adaptation teams are able to deal with good to gold esp having removal such as av iron threads, av great tusks, or teams that stack boots to make sure gholdengo + spike stack do not overload a team esp ones that have corviknight on their team .

S- -> S

S tier justifies this thing, its like its a lando-t in SV. It has everything to be ran everywhere it wants to, CB to be ran as a breaker, av can be ran as a pokemon that can take hits occasionally and helps in the gholdengo, iron moth, specs pult, etc, it can run lefties/helmet and be ran as a physical wall to stone wall most physical attackers such as chomp, cinderace, iron hands, scizor, kingabmit, etc. It has everything it wants from providing a team with spin, rocks, item removal, and being able to provide a team with a BU sweeper.. this thing has everything, but yeah this is why its S tier

With Chi-yu gone, I think Gholdengo is better than ever before. Very little can switch into its attacks apart from stuff like Ting-Lu, which is prone to getting worn down throughout a match. Nasty Plot sets are OP, can run a ton of different items and EV Spreads on those sets + can stick around for a while thanks to Recover. Has very good MUs vs too much of the meta like Corv, Toxapex, Hatterene, Iron Valiant, Garganacl, etc. Scarf sets can also be annoying to deal with, not many Pokemon want to switch into a Trick or its powerful attacks. Meta adaptations arguably don't affect it too much, as it always retains that base utility of good as gold, it's solid natural bulk, Recover, and it's amazing offensive presence, which are valuable on a game to game basis imo regardless of adaptations.

I agree with Great Tusks to S-Rank, very reliable Pokemon that is similar to Gholdengo, can run many different sets. It's lack of recovery outside of leftovers, and weakness to status are somewhat limiting factors, but it more than makes up for those shortcomings via is strong offensive and defensive presence.

 

[HydreigonTheChild]

With Chi-yu gone, I think Gholdengo is better than ever before. Very little can switch into its attacks apart from stuff like Ting-Lu, which is prone to getting worn down throughout a match. Nasty Plot sets are OP, can run a ton of different items and EV Spreads on those sets + can stick around for a while thanks to Recover. Has very good MUs vs too much of the meta like Corv, Toxapex, Hatterene, Iron Valiant, Garganacl, etc. Scarf sets can also be annoying to deal with, not many Pokemon want to switch into a Trick or its powerful attacks. Meta adaptations arguably don't affect it too much, as it always retains that base utility of good as gold, it's solid natural bulk, Recover, and it's amazing offensive presence, which are valuable on a game to game basis imo regardless of adaptations.

sure those are nice arguments... but maybe S- instead then... ive felt teams have been able to adapt better to gholdengo and have multiple ways to prevent it from forcing a lot of progress against teams. Sure it has its own good MU's but av great tusks, iron treads, garchomp, sp. def clodsire, tera water garganacl, ting lui, and more can take it on... and not many mons give it free turns. Even pokemon such as breloom can just CB bullet seed or bulldoze it into oblivion. Like if a team crumbles because pex and corv give it free turns then its a bad team... its like letting kingambit come in and shit on ur team because amoonguss gives it free turns

 

[Supersam10001]

Torkoal- B+ to C-

Sun lost its biggest threat , Chi-Yu and is now pretty bad. When chi-yu was there sun was the best weather by far but as we've learnt now its pretty mid. While still having threats like scovillain , great tusk, roaring moon , cinderace and sandy shocks it is now terrible. While still being decent it is no longer amazing in this meta.

Sandy Shocks-

D to C
Sandy shocks is pretty incredible. With the ability to volt switch with pokemon like Cinderace, it can create incredibly threatening volt turn combos.
A few calcs-
252 SpA Choice Specs Tera Ice Sandy Shocks Tera Blast vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Assault Vest Great Tusk: 410-486 (94.4 - 111.9%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Tera Ice Sandy Shocks Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 64 SpD Toxapex: 294-348 (96.7 - 114.4%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Sandy Shocks Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Tera Fairy Garganacl: 162-192 (40 - 47.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery [Basically if you get any chip you can kill this]
252 SpA Choice Specs Tera Ice Sandy Shocks Tera Blast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Vessel of Ruin Ting-Lu: 234-276 (45.5 - 53.6%) -- 36.3% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Choice Specs Sandy Shocks Earth Power vs. 252 HP / 84 SpD Amoonguss: 229-270 (53 - 62.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Sandy Shocks Earth Power vs. 248 HP / 252+ SpD Clodsire: 302-356 (65.2 - 76.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Tera Ice Sandy Shocks Earth Power vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Roaring Moon: 207-244 (58.9 - 69.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Tera Ice Sandy Shocks Tera Blast vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Dragapult: 470-554 (148.2 - 174.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO

So as you can see here, its almost always able to 2hko literally everything. Here are some defensive calcs
+2 4 SpA Gholdengo Shadow Ball vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Sandy Shocks: 253-298 (81.3 - 95.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Cinderace Pyro Ball vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Sandy Shocks: 186-219 (59.8 - 70.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

 

[Venduria]

Torkoal- B-to C-

Sun lost its biggest threat , Chi-Yu and is now pretty bad. When chi-yu was there sun was the best weather by far but as we've learnt now its pretty mid. While still having threats like scovillain , great tusk, roaring moon , cinderace and sandy shocks it is now terrible. While still being decent it is no longer amazing in this meta.

Sandy Shocks-

D to C
Sandy shocks is pretty incredible. With the ability to volt switch with pokemon like Cinderace, it can create incredibly threatening volt turn combos.
A few calcs-
252 SpA Choice Specs Tera Ice Sandy Shocks Tera Blast vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Assault Vest Great Tusk: 410-486 (94.4 - 111.9%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Tera Ice Sandy Shocks Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 64 SpD Toxapex: 294-348 (96.7 - 114.4%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Sandy Shocks Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Tera Fairy Garganacl: 162-192 (40 - 47.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery [Basically if you get any chip you can kill this]
252 SpA Choice Specs Tera Ice Sandy Shocks Tera Blast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Vessel of Ruin Ting-Lu: 234-276 (45.5 - 53.6%) -- 36.3% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Choice Specs Sandy Shocks Earth Power vs. 252 HP / 84 SpD Amoonguss: 229-270 (53 - 62.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Sandy Shocks Earth Power vs. 248 HP / 252+ SpD Clodsire: 302-356 (65.2 - 76.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Tera Ice Sandy Shocks Earth Power vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Roaring Moon: 207-244 (58.9 - 69.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Tera Ice Sandy Shocks Tera Blast vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Dragapult: 470-554 (148.2 - 174.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO

So as you can see here, its almost always able to 2hko literally everything. Here are some defensive calcs
+2 4 SpA Gholdengo Shadow Ball vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Sandy Shocks: 253-298 (81.3 - 95.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Cinderace Pyro Ball vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Sandy Shocks: 186-219 (59.8 - 70.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Torkoal from B+ to C is such a hot take (lmao). You're essentially saying that Torkoal's viability is on the same level roughly as Pincurchin and Scovillain, and is less viable than the other weather setters, including Hippowdon and Tyranitar. Sun lost Chi Yu but Proto teams are as good as ever.

Besides, in the very next paragraph you go off about how great Sandy Shocks is but Torkoal is just mid, even though Torkoal accentuates Sandy Shocks' viability. Keep in mind that I don't at all disagree with a Sandy Shocks rise, I actually nominated for higher than C. Torkoal to C is just so confusing to me because it still gives great role compression, decent matchup into the Gholdengo/Corviknight core you see frequently, and gives weather win conditions with mons you probably already fit into your team like Roaring Moon, Great Tusks, and... *checks watch*... Sandy Shocks.

 

[Magcargo]

sure those are nice arguments... but maybe S- instead then... ive felt teams have been able to adapt better to gholdengo and have multiple ways to prevent it from forcing a lot of progress against teams. Sure it has its own good MU's but av great tusks, iron treads, garchomp, sp. def clodsire, tera water garganacl, ting lui, and more can take it on... and not many mons give it free turns. Even pokemon such as breloom can just CB bullet seed or bulldoze it into oblivion. Like if a team crumbles because pex and corv give it free turns then its a bad team... its like letting kingambit come in and shit on ur team because amoonguss gives it free turns

IDK, most of the time I feel the engagements are mostly in dengo's favor if played well, specifically against Ground-types, since they don't have much besides Leftovers Recovery. Gholdengo is usually chunking them for OK Damage + potential additional chip damage via hazards which they might not be able to do much about due to Dengo preventing Defog AND Spin + even though Tusks and Treads beat it, that initial turn of not being able to spin is crucial to make it a bit easier for Corv to pressure them for even more damage w/ Brave Bird or Body Press, respectively. Makes it quite a bit easier for Dengo to break them in an actual match. I'm not really a fan of using this as an arguement since it literally applies to everything in the meta + Gholdengo's innate typing is already really good, but Tera Flying can also be a good mix-up vs Grounds since it grants another free turn for Dengo to fire off one its powerful attacks on them or in Clod's case, makes it unable to really do damage barring the rogue poison jab or rock slide (though clod getting off free spikes isn't fun either).

I think Dengo is one of the King's of getting free turns arguably because it can just effortlessly switch into many status moves like Corv's Defog, Amoongus's Spore, etc. that are quite difficult for others to switch into / prevent + forcing switches by threatening big damage vs stuff like Hat. Big fan of running Covert Cloak on it to completely own Garganacl barring the rouge EQ variants (which I haven't seen but can be effective) giving it another great entry point most of the time. Sure a lot of Pokemon run tech options to deal with it, but I think that alone speaks volumes doesn't it? Its not like these Tech options immediately beat it either, as Gholdengo can still recover vs stuff like Shadow Ball Blissey and Stomping Tantrum Amoonguss.

Maybe it could be S-, but I think its too powerful, versatile, and centralizing for that to be a fair rating. I do think that Tusks should join it in S however.

 

[MindofLights]

I guess I’m a little surprised at the lack of paldean Tauros discussion. I feel that both it’s fire and water forms are the best switchins to Chien-Pao. They each have different pros/cons and I think both deserve a spot on the VR, but since the water type is UR I’ll stick to discussion of fire Tauros. (The main differences between the two imo is the rain matchup and spreading burns, but of course they each have different defensive profiles)

I nominate Tauros-Paldea-Fire to rise to B rank (And water somewhere in C).

Basically it’s a fantastic switch in to some of the best and most threatening physical attackers in the tier like Chien Pao, Kingambit, Cinderace. Even certain special attackers like volcarona can struggle due to its unique typing. The bull acts as a counter to many physically attacking Pokémon like the aforementioned chien pao and is a check to nearly all of them(intimidate is really good). It does this while spreading burns with wisp and attacking with decent fire/fighting coverage.

Bulk Up and Will o Wisp lets Tauros not be so passive. With one or two bulk ups this mon can really threaten a lot of offensive teams with its coverage and spreading burns can help make progress against defensive teams that aren’t threatened by the fire cow.

There are 2 main reasons I think Tauros-Paldea-Fire needs a rise compared to before the quickbans.
One is that chi-yu is gone, meaning you aren’t running a fire and dark resist that is still 2HKO by the most common attacker of those types
Two is that Chien-Pao is now incredibly common and this is the best Pokémon on the VR to switch into it.

I guess it’s also important to note that fire cow isn’t a slouch offensively. While I wrote the post with just it’s physically defensive bulk up/wisp/raging bull/body press set in mind(oh yea this can break screens too), it has good speed, great attacking STAB, and good enough base attack to be a threat even before it sets up a bulk up. Flare Blitz/CC/EQ sets could be powerful and surprising.

It does have some drawbacks, namely Pokémon like skeledirge and no recovery. You can wear down Tauros fairly easily with hazards or repeated attacks and there are certain common defensive Pokémon like skeledirge, dondozo, toxapex that hard wall this Pokémon. Even some offensive Pokémon like specs dragapult, iron moth, ceruledge(lol) can switch in if you aren’t carrying the right coverage.
Still, it’s a great Pokémon that I think has improved due to metagame shifts.

 

[Esca D. Sulphate]

Torkoal- B+ to C-

Sun lost its biggest threat , Chi-Yu and is now pretty bad. When chi-yu was there sun was the best weather by far but as we've learnt now its pretty mid. While still having threats like scovillain , great tusk, roaring moon , cinderace and sandy shocks it is now terrible. While still being decent it is no longer amazing in this meta.

Which one is it? Sun is terrible or Sun is decent?

Either way C- is wayyyyyyyy too low. Sure ChiYu was good on Sun but it wasn't carrying the archetype to a degree where it is B+ with it and C- without. Sun still has plenty of other good mons like Proto spam, Cinderace, Scovillain and even Charizard has more reason to be used now that funny fish doesn't do its job better. It took a blow sure but pretending it's worse than literal Pincurchin squads is outright asinine.

 

[WindaGusto1]

(Armarouge)
Unranked -> C or C-

I may get disregarded considering I've been lurking without an account and just made one to post, and I'm not a high-rated player. That being said, I'm giving this a shot.

Armarouge, at face value, doesn't particularly impress, and was completely overshadowed by Chi-Yu earlier on. However, even with Chi-Yu out of the meta, Armarouge faces stiff competition as an offensive Fire type from Skeledirge, Volcarona, and Iron Moth. Armarouge's somewhat good defenses are eclipsed by Skeledirge, its up-front power is beaten by Iron Moth, and its sweeping potential is beaten by Volcarona, and even its partner Ceruledge.

However, Armarouge brings two major things to the table: a powerful Fire/Psychic offensive typing and Flash Fire. Armarouge's base 125 Special Attack, somewhat good defenses, and powerful STAB Armor Cannon allow for it to seriously punish opposing players when a team is built with it in mind.

While Armarouge can be difficult to bring on the field, the rewards are great; Armarouge has an incredibly deep move pool to back up its 125 Special Attack, and its lackluster speed can be shored up by a Choice Scarf, and potential weaknesses to threats it would like to answer fixed with Terrastalization. At 409 Speed, with STAB Armor Cannons and Psychics or Psyshocks, and coverage including Energy Ball, Flash Cannon, Aura Sphere or Focus Blast, and many other strong moves, Armarouge can become very difficult to switch into, particularly with Tera Grass or Steel. Many teammates also appreciate its presence, as its Flash Fire eats up the Torch Songs, Flamethrowers, and Will-o-wisps teammates such as Corviknight, Iron Treads, and Scizor want nothing to do with, and those teammate's access to VoltTurn helps actually bring it onto the field to begin doing its damage. Corviknight in particular removes the hazards Armarouge dislikes, U-Turns for him, and chips threatening physical attackers with Rocky Helmet, while Armarouge answers the Gholdengo and Fire-Type moves Corviknight hates. Its relatively solid 80/100/80 defenses combined with its offensive pressure allow it to compress the some of the defensive duties of Skeledirge with the immediate threat of Iron Moth, while actually having a stronger STAB fire attack, as illustrated below.

252 SpA Iron Moth Flamethrower vs. 252 HP / 84 SpD Amoonguss: 338-402 (78.2 - 93%)
252 SpA Armarouge Armor Cannon vs. 252 HP / 84 SpD Amoonguss: 416-492 (96.2 - 113.8%)

Picking between Tera Grass and Steel depends on the team you build. Tera Steel allows him to very convincingly check Iron Moth, Tera Fairy Skeledirge, and Chien-Pao, while better handling Tera Fairy Espathra, Volcarona, and Hatterene, while making him immune to Toxic and Sandstorm, while Tera Grass improves his Ground and Water weaknesses, alongside making Garganacl, Rotom-W, Dondozo, and Dragonite easier to handle. I personally prefer Tera Grass for Garganacl.

So Armor Cannon is Strong, but what can Armarogue come in on?

Hide

Besides the aformentioned Amoonguss and Gholdengo , here is a list of targets Armarouge hits hard, and can use a VoltTurn to come in on:
Kingambit (OHKO, lives Sucker Punch with no fainted allies, otherwise has to Tera to live)
Hatterene (2HKO after leftovers and Draining Kiss recovery)
Chien-Pao (OHKO, Outspeeds but must Tera to live Sucker Punch consistently)
Iron Moth (OHKO after 1 layer of Spikes)
Breloom (OHKO)
Corviknight (OHKO)
Scizor (OHKO)
Meowscarada (OHKO on non-Scarf, watch out for Sucker Punch and Scarf Knock Off)

Conditional (Needs scouting or team support, or requires the right set)
Clodsire (2HKO after Chip)
Garganacl (2HKO with Tera Grass Energy Ball, 57% chance to 2HKO with Tera Steel Flash Cannon)
Iron Valiant (OHKO, Outspeeds without Booster Energy/Scarf)
Iron Hands (OHKO after 2 layers of spikes or 15% of chip)
Glimmora (Needs a teammate to break Sash, OHKOs)
Volcarona (2HKO without Quiver Dance or with Flash Fire, Lives +1 Bug Buzz)
Skeledirge (Tera vs. Tera, Tera Steel 2HKOs Tera Fairy, Tera Grass 2HKOs Tera Water)
Dragonite (After a Normal Tera and Dragon Dance, still outspeeds Adamant Dragonite and hits for about 60% without Multiscale, Tera Grass makes the Earthquake weakness easier to handle. Without a Tera Dragon Pulse hits hardest. Always Lives +1 ES)

These are just the most notable targets.

Sample Set

Hide

Armarouge @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Flash Fire
IVs: 0 ATK
EVs: 252 SpA / 12 Def/ 244 Spe
Timid Nature
Tera: Steel/Grass
-Armor Cannon
-Psychic / Psyshock
-Dragon Pulse
-Flash Cannon / Energy Ball
Other Notable Moves: Dark Pulse, Shadow Ball
Aura Sphere can be taken over Dragon Pulse to help win in the Ditto 1v1, while better handling Tera Dark Chien-Pao and Tyrannitar.

Armarogue has clear weaknesses. It is weak to Rain, Dragapult, Sucker Punch, and Stealth Rock, but it has clear benefits when you build your team with it in mind. Its ability to clean up softened targets, check some important meta threats, provide some defensive duties, and punch holes for its teammates is valuable, if in a niche context, which is why I am nominating it for C to C-. It is generally outclassed by some other fire types, but its use cases are significant enough I think it warrants a ranking. Some key teammates to keep in mind are Corviknight, who it has excellent synergy with (Kind of reminds me of Toxapex and Reuniclus), Iron Treads, who similarly has a fire weakness and removes hazards while Volt Switching for it, Rotom-Wash, who can help greatly against the water threats Armarouge can struggle with, Scizor, who applies offensive pressure while U-Turning for it and can clean up or soften targets, and Garganacl, who can help with many other threats Armarouge struggles with, while nicely taking Dragapult's Shadow Balls. I personally think he is best on high-longevity balance teams who can wear targets down into his range and cover his weaknesses, or offense teams that can make more use of his ability to handle key threats. He definitely is very demanding on teambuilding, needing teammates to bring him in off of VoltTurns, hazard removal, and takes up a main Tera slot, but he provides useful traits for it.

Replays:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1770377640-fsr0cybvvjr85v2wfbi6fxxl2yyysoepw (This one shows how he can be used on a balance team. Note that while Meowscarada is threatening, once it is choice locked, it is constantly forced to switch and Arma can pick up some kills that open the game up)

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1770208471 (This one shows how important team support is but how useful he can be with it. Admittedly my opponent made some questionable decisions this game such as keeping Baxcalibur in.)

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1770216924 (This one shows how even in a bad overall matchup, he can still do a lot of work punching holes for the rest of the team. Admittedly Focus Punch on Iron Hands is questionable at best.)

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1770179259 (I debated on if I should put this one here, but I thought it nicely demonstrated what a good matchup looked like, and how I could win with him despite my own poor play at points)

 

[Critaquil]

from A- to A, I have not seen nearly enough people talking about rotom, water electric is an incredible typing both offensively and defensively, wisp acts as a great deterrent to the numerous physical attackers within the tier, while volt switch wears down defensive mons while giving momentum for the team, highly splashable and extremely versatile, and worthy of A rank in my eyes.

 

[Eeveeto]

from A- to A, I have not seen nearly enough people talking about rotom, water electric is an incredible typing both offensively and defensively, wisp acts as a great deterrent to the numerous physical attackers within the tier, while volt switch wears down defensive mons while giving momentum for the team, highly splashable and extremely versatile, and worthy of A rank in my eyes.

I would have agreed with this 2 weeks ago, when Cinderace wasn,t here, but I feel now its a little worse due to competing with other bulky waters that check Chien Pao AND Cinderace, like Dondozo, Toxapex and Paldean Tauros Water. Its still very good, but 2 weeks ago it was almost dominant and its not anymore.

 

[Critaquil]

I would have agreed with this 2 weeks ago, when Cinderace wasn,t here, but I feel now its a little worse due to competing with other bulky waters that check Chien Pao AND Cinderace, like Dondozo, Toxapex and Paldean Tauros Water. Its still very good, but 2 weeks ago it was almost dominant and its not anymore.

on the contrary, the rise in prevelance in other waters is exactly why I think that rotom should rise, as its a bulky water that abuses the presence of other bulky waters, turning the increased usage of dondozo or toxapex into free wisps or volt switches, it also pairs wonderfully with said bulky waters, especially pex, given that the 2 do a great job spreading status and don't share any weaknesses.

 

[viivian]

The viability rankings have nothing to do with RU and they have not been updated since due to the freeze from the Tera suspect. You can expect an update next week

gonna looking forward to that then

 

[JoeMama]

from A- to A, I have not seen nearly enough people talking about rotom, water electric is an incredible typing both offensively and defensively, wisp acts as a great deterrent to the numerous physical attackers within the tier, while volt switch wears down defensive mons while giving momentum for the team, highly splashable and extremely versatile, and worthy of A rank in my eyes.

Big agree, the washer's looking ready for another great gen as a bulky water. The scariest move for it is Meowscarda's Flower Trick (and that's without discussing Tera Steel.)

While I'm agreeing I'd like nom

to C+. Maybe a controversial nom, however its biggest special sun nuke competition in Chi-Yu was banned meaning Charizard is a little better off. Is quite frail but support from M-Bounce Hatterene can help alleviate this problem as can Tera to resist or be neutral to rocks while being able to run scarf or specs. Or you can go completely nuke-mode with Tera Fire Overheat a-la Chi-Yu. Not to mention the ground immunity is nice for the tusker to switch into a predicted Eq/ Headlong Rush on Torkoalfor example, niche situation but a situation nonetheless

 

[UnfortunateSal]

Echoing Rotom to A, maybe even A+, this thing is an extremely good utility mon and very, very annoying for a lot of teams to deal with. It checks dangerous mons like Great Tusk, Dragonite and Kingambit pretty well, and pivots well into a lot of defensive Pokemon too, like Corviknight, Dondozo, Toxapex, Skledirge etc. Alongside Corviknight, it's one of the absolute best pivots in the tier, and unlike Corviknight, it's astoundingly hard to actually switch into. The only Pokemon that can consistently switch into it is Amoonguss, everything else gets burnt or worn down or straight-up dies to Hydro Pump, and Protect helps so much for both Leftovers recovery and scouting the many Choice users in the tier right now. It's gotten to the point where I've been running 30 Speed IV Rotom just to make sure I can underspeed opposing Rotom and Volt Switch after them lol. Fantastic Pokemon, definitely deserve to be bumped up a rank

Also, I know I've mentioned this before, but I've been trying Tinkaton more and more after the recent bans and I genuinely think it might be worthy of B- rank. The ability to set up rocks while checking Chien-Pao, Iron Valiant and Hatterene and providing TWave and Knock Off support is just so, so valuable, and it's surprisingly resilient thanks to protect. It's still a relatively niche pick, but it is something genuinely worth considering on your average team since it can plug very important holes. Its big flaw is that it's complete Great Tusk bait, but that's something you can build around and support without too much difficulty, and it's honestly not that demanding in terms of team support compared to the standards of the lower B ranks. A couple replays showing what it does and how well it does it:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1769622595-cbyitwekhm5xv9amhleu6ce1sihibbzpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1771807679-ddcufw6dqxaj8z23r1fyi20rix2ghaspw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1771922947-k7duoqg73wb0j6snegh8kmcjpo7943npw

(also choice banded great tusk is absolutely bonkers and you should try it out if you need any more convincing that great tusk is an S rank mon)

 

[SetsuSetsuna]

UR -> B-/B

HO/Offense lost one of it's best leads in Annihilape, while the shifts itself have made Iron Treads a tad worse (lost a great partner in Annihilape, and a reason to use it over Tusk with it being faster than Chi-Yu also gone). Some teams have attempted to slap lead Great Tusk with either Booster Energy or Focus Sash. In practice this set struggles to put rocks up, is set up fodder for Bulk Up Great Tusk, Will-O-Wisp Volcarona, Roost Dragonite, and sometimes has to tera to do anything meaningful. When looking for other replacements we then look for something that can put up hazards vs the big 3 of the early hazard game in Great Tusk, Hatterene and Glimmora. Thus lead Toedscruel

Blackpink (Toedscruel) (F) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Mycelium Might
Shiny: Yes
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Spikes
- Rapid Spin
- Giga Drain / Energy Ball / Spore / Leaf Storm
- Earth Power

Mycelium Might ignores Magic Bounce, allowing it to put hazards against Hatterene. Energy Ball and Earth Power threaten Great Tusk and Glimmora, respectively, allowing it to keep hazards off your side, put at least 1 Spike on the other side or both. It of course does well against other setters such as Clodsire, Ting-Lu and Garganacl. Gholdengo and Skeledirge don't want to try to spinblock as they are both weak to Earth Power. Cinderace has to think twice before clicking Pyro Ball Turn 1 since Earth Power can outright OHKO. Spore is another potential option that can break games early on, though rather inconsistent. Leaf Storm just outright OHKOs max HP Great Tusk, but a miss can be very costly.

The set can fail at removing hazards if the opponent decides to Tera ghost their hazard setter but Great Tusk operates under this idea too. The passivity of no Spore also means that setup Pokemon such as Volcarona, Dragonite, and Roaring Moon can set up from the get go so you gotta be mindful about that. Fast Taunts and multihits can also be troublesome, examples are Taunt Meowscarada and Dragon Darts Choice Band Dragapult.

Given Glimmoras place, I like to believe B-/B is a fair starting placement for Toed though anything other than UR would be nice.

 

[zaydapoketrainer]

UR -> B-/B

HO/Offense lost one of it's best leads in Annihilape, while the shifts itself have made Iron Treads a tad worse (lost a great partner in Annihilape, and a reason to use it over Tusk with it being faster than Chi-Yu also gone). Some teams have attempted to slap lead Great Tusk with either Booster Energy or Focus Sash. In practice this set struggles to put rocks up, is set up fodder for Bulk Up Great Tusk, Will-O-Wisp Volcarona, Roost Dragonite, and sometimes has to tera to do anything meaningful. When looking for other replacements we then look for something that can put up hazards vs the big 3 of the early hazard game in Great Tusk, Hatterene and Glimmora. Thus lead Toedscruel

Blackpink (Toedscruel) (F) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Mycelium Might
Shiny: Yes
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Spikes
- Rapid Spin
- Energy Ball / Spore / Leaf Storm
- Earth Power

Mycelium Might ignores Magic Bounce, allowing it to put hazards against Hatterene. Energy Ball and Earth Power threaten Great Tusk and Glimmora, respectively, allowing it to keep hazards off your side, put at least 1 Spike on the other side or both. It of course does well against other setters such as Clodsire, Ting-Lu and Garganacl. Gholdengo and Skeledirge don't want to try to spinblock as they are both weak to Earth Power. Cinderace has to think twice before clicking Pyro Ball Turn 1 since Earth Power can outright OHKO. Spore is another potential option that can break games early on, though rather inconsistent. Leaf Storm just outright OHKOs max HP Great Tusk, but a miss can be very costly.

The set can fail at removing hazards if the opponent decides to Tera ghost their hazard setter but Great Tusk operates under this idea too. The passivity of no Spore also means that setup Pokemon such as Volcarona, Dragonite, and Roaring Moon can set up from the get go so you gotta be mindful about that. Fast Taunts and multihits can also be troublesome, examples are Taunt Meowscarada and Dragon Darts Choice Band Dragapult.

Given Glimmoras place, I like to believe B-/B is a fair starting placement for Toed though anything other than UR would be nice.

W

 

[MorganaJirachi]

UR -> B-/B

HO/Offense lost one of it's best leads in Annihilape, while the shifts itself have made Iron Treads a tad worse (lost a great partner in Annihilape, and a reason to use it over Tusk with it being faster than Chi-Yu also gone). Some teams have attempted to slap lead Great Tusk with either Booster Energy or Focus Sash. In practice this set struggles to put rocks up, is set up fodder for Bulk Up Great Tusk, Will-O-Wisp Volcarona, Roost Dragonite, and sometimes has to tera to do anything meaningful. When looking for other replacements we then look for something that can put up hazards vs the big 3 of the early hazard game in Great Tusk, Hatterene and Glimmora. Thus lead Toedscruel

Blackpink (Toedscruel) (F) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Mycelium Might
Shiny: Yes
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Spikes
- Rapid Spin
- Energy Ball / Spore / Leaf Storm
- Earth Power

Mycelium Might ignores Magic Bounce, allowing it to put hazards against Hatterene. Energy Ball and Earth Power threaten Great Tusk and Glimmora, respectively, allowing it to keep hazards off your side, put at least 1 Spike on the other side or both. It of course does well against other setters such as Clodsire, Ting-Lu and Garganacl. Gholdengo and Skeledirge don't want to try to spinblock as they are both weak to Earth Power. Cinderace has to think twice before clicking Pyro Ball Turn 1 since Earth Power can outright OHKO. Spore is another potential option that can break games early on, though rather inconsistent. Leaf Storm just outright OHKOs max HP Great Tusk, but a miss can be very costly.

The set can fail at removing hazards if the opponent decides to Tera ghost their hazard setter but Great Tusk operates under this idea too. The passivity of no Spore also means that setup Pokemon such as Volcarona, Dragonite, and Roaring Moon can set up from the get go so you gotta be mindful about that. Fast Taunts and multihits can also be troublesome, examples are Taunt Meowscarada and Dragon Darts Choice Band Dragapult.

Given Glimmoras place, I like to believe B-/B is a fair starting placement for Toed though anything other than UR would be nice.

Toadscruel best mon

 

[Venduria]

UR -> B-/B

HO/Offense lost one of it's best leads in Annihilape, while the shifts itself have made Iron Treads a tad worse (lost a great partner in Annihilape, and a reason to use it over Tusk with it being faster than Chi-Yu also gone). Some teams have attempted to slap lead Great Tusk with either Booster Energy or Focus Sash. In practice this set struggles to put rocks up, is set up fodder for Bulk Up Great Tusk, Will-O-Wisp Volcarona, Roost Dragonite, and sometimes has to tera to do anything meaningful. When looking for other replacements we then look for something that can put up hazards vs the big 3 of the early hazard game in Great Tusk, Hatterene and Glimmora. Thus lead Toedscruel

Blackpink (Toedscruel) (F) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Mycelium Might
Shiny: Yes
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Spikes
- Rapid Spin
- Energy Ball / Spore / Leaf Storm
- Earth Power

Mycelium Might ignores Magic Bounce, allowing it to put hazards against Hatterene. Energy Ball and Earth Power threaten Great Tusk and Glimmora, respectively, allowing it to keep hazards off your side, put at least 1 Spike on the other side or both. It of course does well against other setters such as Clodsire, Ting-Lu and Garganacl. Gholdengo and Skeledirge don't want to try to spinblock as they are both weak to Earth Power. Cinderace has to think twice before clicking Pyro Ball Turn 1 since Earth Power can outright OHKO. Spore is another potential option that can break games early on, though rather inconsistent. Leaf Storm just outright OHKOs max HP Great Tusk, but a miss can be very costly.

The set can fail at removing hazards if the opponent decides to Tera ghost their hazard setter but Great Tusk operates under this idea too. The passivity of no Spore also means that setup Pokemon such as Volcarona, Dragonite, and Roaring Moon can set up from the get go so you gotta be mindful about that. Fast Taunts and multihits can also be troublesome, examples are Taunt Meowscarada and Dragon Darts Choice Band Dragapult.

Given Glimmoras place, I like to believe B-/B is a fair starting placement for Toed though anything other than UR would be nice.

Is Giga Drain not worth slashing in the Energy Ball slot? Energy Ball has 68.8% chance of OHKO on no bulk Tusk but otherwise the sustain may help especially if you survive the hit with Focus Sash. You still guarantee the 2HKO on max HP Tusk.

I think Tera Poison and Grass are worth considering given Poison is a great type that lets you take Tusk Close Combats better, as well as letting you absorb Toxic Spikes later if you switch out. Tera Grass just lets you outright OHKO max HP Tusk with Energy Ball.
252 SpA Tera Grass Toedscruel Energy Ball vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Great Tusk: 468-552 (107.8 - 127.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Totally agree with the nom. Surprised it's not already on the VR.

 

[RedxThree]

Echoing Rotom to A, maybe even A+, this thing is an extremely good utility mon and very, very annoying for a lot of teams to deal with. It checks dangerous mons like Great Tusk, Dragonite and Kingambit pretty well, and pivots well into a lot of defensive Pokemon too, like Corviknight, Dondozo, Toxapex, Skledirge etc. Alongside Corviknight, it's one of the absolute best pivots in the tier, and unlike Corviknight, it's astoundingly hard to actually switch into. The only Pokemon that can consistently switch into it is Amoonguss, everything else gets burnt or worn down or straight-up dies to Hydro Pump, and Protect helps so much for both Leftovers recovery and scouting the many Choice users in the tier right now. It's gotten to the point where I've been running 30 Speed IV Rotom just to make sure I can underspeed opposing Rotom and Volt Switch after them lol. Fantastic Pokemon, definitely deserve to be bumped up a rank

I actually feel Rotom-W is appropriately ranked. Can’t help but notice it doesn’t have the greatest matchups with the rest of A-. There are so many games I load into with a Rotom and say “omg Rotom 6-0’s this dude,” and by the end it gets 0-1 kill and spreads a status or two. It actually does check a lot in practice but it often has to settle for Volting out to something that can actually dispatch the threat, not to mention it gets worn down very easily and is one of the more predictable mons in the tier. Rotom-W is good at what it does for bulky offense but I think Corv is a bit better overall as a pivot.

I’d also like to nom Chien-Pao for somewhere in S but not sure what the difference between S and S- is, if someone could illuminate I’d appreciate it.

 

[Pinecoishot]

UR -> B-/B

HO/Offense lost one of it's best leads in Annihilape, while the shifts itself have made Iron Treads a tad worse (lost a great partner in Annihilape, and a reason to use it over Tusk with it being faster than Chi-Yu also gone). Some teams have attempted to slap lead Great Tusk with either Booster Energy or Focus Sash. In practice this set struggles to put rocks up, is set up fodder for Bulk Up Great Tusk, Will-O-Wisp Volcarona, Roost Dragonite, and sometimes has to tera to do anything meaningful. When looking for other replacements we then look for something that can put up hazards vs the big 3 of the early hazard game in Great Tusk, Hatterene and Glimmora. Thus lead Toedscruel

Blackpink (Toedscruel) (F) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Mycelium Might
Shiny: Yes
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Spikes
- Rapid Spin
- Giga Drain / Energy Ball / Spore / Leaf Storm
- Earth Power

Mycelium Might ignores Magic Bounce, allowing it to put hazards against Hatterene. Energy Ball and Earth Power threaten Great Tusk and Glimmora, respectively, allowing it to keep hazards off your side, put at least 1 Spike on the other side or both. It of course does well against other setters such as Clodsire, Ting-Lu and Garganacl. Gholdengo and Skeledirge don't want to try to spinblock as they are both weak to Earth Power. Cinderace has to think twice before clicking Pyro Ball Turn 1 since Earth Power can outright OHKO. Spore is another potential option that can break games early on, though rather inconsistent. Leaf Storm just outright OHKOs max HP Great Tusk, but a miss can be very costly.

The set can fail at removing hazards if the opponent decides to Tera ghost their hazard setter but Great Tusk operates under this idea too. The passivity of no Spore also means that setup Pokemon such as Volcarona, Dragonite, and Roaring Moon can set up from the get go so you gotta be mindful about that. Fast Taunts and multihits can also be troublesome, examples are Taunt Meowscarada and Dragon Darts Choice Band Dragapult.

Given Glimmoras place, I like to believe B-/B is a fair starting placement for Toed though anything other than UR would be nice.

Agree with a nom for the lead set to be ranked atleast C after using it. Spore is easily the best aspect in my opinion, unblocked outside of the few grass types in the tier. Another thing I’ve played around with is getting rid of spin for leaf storm noticing spin isn’t clicked too much for me. Overall the ability to get unblocked hazards and spore while threatening common spinners with dual stab makes it have a role on ho teams as a lead.

 

[CaptainBlaze22]

View attachment 482933C to C+/B-
With Chi-yu now banned, Imo Charizard is alot viable now on sun teams as their nuke. While its true sun teams are quite fringe and hard to pull of consistently, they are a team style that works quite decently. Charizard is a great choice on sun teams because choice specs + solar power alongside tera fire does alot of damage like


252 SpA Choice Specs Solar Power Tera Fire Charizard Overheat vs. 248 HP / 252+ SpD Skeledirge in Sun: 365-430 (88.8 - 104.6%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO

252 SpA Choice Specs Solar Power Tera Fire Charizard Overheat vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Garganacl in Sun: 326-384 (80.6 - 95%) -- 50% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

252 SpA Choice Specs Solar Power Tera Fire Charizard Flamethrower vs. 252 HP / 64 SpD Toxapex in Sun: 206-243 (67.7 - 79.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Black Sludge recovery

252 SpA Choice Specs Solar Power Tera Fire Charizard Flamethrower vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Dondozo in Sun: 413-486 (81.9 - 96.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO


Now it is true that charizard is weak to Stealth rocks which hampers its abilty to switch in safely, but sun teams often run great tusk which is the best spinner in the tier and the fact that great tusk also loves the sun due to protosynthesis getting activated. Corvknight can defog away rocks and even let zard switch come in via u-turn. In most games, zard can easily claim 1-2 KOs which is advantageous. Charizard's speed of 100 is also quite decent meaning it can fire of its attacks.

Charizard's main issues aside from is 4x stealth rock weakness is that it can be forced out by pokemon like Chien-Pao and garchomp(tho none of them want to switch into zard safely at all) and also its low bulk meaning its not contributing to the team defensively aside from maybe being able to switch into great tusks's headlong rush. Also Charizard needing Tera fire to really do that stuplyifying damage can be questionable as well.

Overall I am not saying charizard is a an excellent pokemon, but its a quite decent mon under sun teams and Imo sun teams are decent enough and when using sun, charizard should be considered.

I agree but also think the scarf set will work as well and given sun and tera fire you can give zard a surprise factor out side of damage sence many of mons that would come in will over speed but get koed if they aren’t aware plus it give zard some options when sun isn’t up

 

[fly casanova]

| A- --> A/A+

TLDR: skeledirge entered SV with a uniquely strong kit and has only gotten better as the tier's developed. the tera suspect result was music to his ears - who would've guessed, when you take excellent bulk, unaware, a snowballing signature move, consistent recovery, and maximize those strengths by changing into the type of your choice, you get a very good mon. the recent bans of chi-yu and ape only opened him up more.

breaking dirge's traits down explains why I think it's one of the premier mons in the tier:

• typing - fire/ghost doesn't sound amazing defensively on paper, but it's perfectly suited to check many often-spammed offensive moves. moonblast, cc, flamethrower, sludge bomb/wave, icicle crash/spinner, and espeed immediately come to mind. looking at who clicks those moves, you shut down valiant, iron moth, volc, slither wing, dnite, iron hands, scizor, and more. for proof of fire/ghost’s offensive profile, see blacephalon.
• bulk - 104/100/75 is damn bulky factoring in unaware, wisp, and slack off. OHKO's are very rare, meaning you always have an opportunity to progress the game.
• unaware + torch song - ignoring opponents' stat raises is great. ignoring opponents' stat raises while boosting yourself is amazing. anything setting up prematurely invites in dirge to shut it down and start snowballing in the other direction.
• tera - the running joke that dirge and garg are the best new fairy types is funny because it's true. monotypes like fairy, water, poison, or dragon are very strong defensively, and each one allows you to counter certain threats of your choosing.

bearing this in mind, dirge can matchup fish for every strong mon in the tier, checking and/or setting up on things that would normally threaten it. a few examples of shutting down OU's premier offensive mons:

• gholdengo - turn into anything not ghost on shadow ball and 2HKO back.
• pult - same thing.
• tusk - wisp it on the switch or tera + wisp. you beat it 1v1 forever once it's burned, even without tera if you're physdef.
• chien-pao - come in on ice move and click torch. you can tera if it's not locked and eat crunch.
• dnite - if you don't tera, eq does... a moderate amount? you can eat one, wisp, and heal up if you have the health. you wall everything else.
• espathra - even after 2-3 calm minds, you still eat stored power. you'll probably take a lot, but you should win the 1v1.
• valiant - you eat this for breakfast. sball/knock does a decent amount, but torch does more.
• moth - same as valiant; you eat anything it would go for.

lots of calcs

252 SpA Gholdengo Shadow Ball vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Tera Fairy Skeledirge: 169-199 (41.1 - 48.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
0 SpA Tera Fairy Skeledirge Torch Song vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Gholdengo: 204-240 (64.7 - 76.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 SpA Tera Fairy Skeledirge Shadow Ball vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Dragapult: 236-278 (74.4 - 87.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk burned Great Tusk Headlong Rush vs. 248 HP / 128 Def Skeledirge: 174-205 (42.3 - 49.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252 Atk Sword of Ruin Chien-Pao Icicle Crash vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Skeledirge: 87-103 (21.1 - 25%) -- 0% chance to 4HKO
252 Atk Sword of Ruin Chien-Pao Crunch vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Tera Water Skeledirge: 165-195 (40.1 - 47.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252+ Atk Dragonite Earthquake vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Skeledirge: 178-210 (43.3 - 51%) -- 3.1% chance to 2HKO
+3 0 SpA Espathra Stored Power (200 BP) vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Unaware Skeledirge: 274-324 (66.6 - 78.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

and for defensive mons? you can easily tweak your set and take advantage of them. you can run covert cloak if you hate garganacl in particular, or - in my opinion, the stronger option - substitute. sub takes advantage of would-be counters like garg, pex, clodsire, or amoongus, allowing you to force progress by snowballing torch song boosts - most defensive mons have a hard time breaking your sub, especially after tera'ing into the type of your choice.

would-be checks not breaking your sub

0 Atk Garganacl Salt Cure vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Skeledirge: 86-104 (20.9 - 25.3%) -- 0.1% chance to 4HKO
0 SpA Toxapex Chilling Water vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Skeledirge: 84-102 (20.4 - 24.8%) -- guaranteed 5HKO
0 Atk Clodsire Earthquake vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Tera Water Skeledirge: 85-102 (20.6 - 24.8%) -- guaranteed 5HKO
0 Atk Dondozo Liquidation vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Tera Fairy Skeledirge: 93-109 (22.6 - 26.5%) -- 19.4% chance to 4HKO
0 SpA Amoonguss Giga Drain vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Tera Fairy Skeledirge: 90-106 (21.8 - 25.7%) -- 2.1% chance to 4HKO
0 SpA Hatterene Draining Kiss vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Tera Fairy Skeledirge: 90-106 (21.8 - 25.7%) -- 2.1% chance to 4HKO
0 SpA Rotom-Wash Hydro Pump vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Tera Dragon Skeledirge: 78-93 (18.9 - 22.6%) -- possible 5HKO
8 SpA Torkoal Lava Plume vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Skeledirge in Sun: 72-86 (17.5 - 20.9%) -- possible 5HKO

dirge has cemented its spot as one of the tier's best tanks, period. it's already been recognized for its role as an unaware wall, but I feel that offensive sets can be even more dominant. the hard stop to setup sweepers, the ease of snowballing momentum back your way, and the ability to flip your type weaknesses on its head makes dirge a very scary threat if unprepared.

more TLDR: relevant 1600ish replays of dirge shutting things down, taking advantage of high-tier mons, or simply refusing to die:

• https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1772566531-aqjkpzor3v4t722txwa011ra7y3xwqmpw
• https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1772580576-yjhjdvmjxkt3t0ik1yt3vybg0i8jhvdpw
• https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1772488463-lym5yhbc8lvzw53i5gu01dx5sfppovbpw
• https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1772099997-wue8wtddwkqzallj7krjzi44tqdzk1spw
• https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1771953445-l33tc7vfwl2m76u710klv4b2h30ja0fpw