Resource SWSH LC Viability Rankings

[Fiend]

Thank you Gummy for the art.
​

Welcome to the LC viability ranking project. In this project, we will "tier" every Pokemon based on usefulness. Broader metagame discussion should be held in the metagame discussion thread. This is a place to talk about the rise and fall of individual pokemon instead.

VR Council

Corporal Levi
Coconut
Fiend
kythr
LilyAC
Star
tazz
Acehunter1
wesh papillon

S
Mienfoo

A+
Diglett
Grookey
Koffing
Natu
Pawniard
Porygon

A
Abra
Ferroseed
Ponyta
Tyrunt

A-
Carvanha
Frillish
Mareanie
Staryu
Timburr
Trapinch

B+
Drilbur
Larvesta
Magnemite

B
Archen
Charmander
Dwebble
Mudbray
Onix
Vulpix

B-
Farfetch'd-Galar
Foongus
Morelull
Munchlax
Sandshrew-Alola
Shellos
Slowpoke
Snover
Stunky

Below in C & D, these Pokemon are generally considered to have negatives such that they are not considered very competitive choices for your team. However these Pokemon usually have at least one positive quality which makes them usable though nonoptimal. These are generally considered "for fun" but are ranked to indicate their strengths and weaknesses.

C
Elekid
Golett
Pancham
Ponyta-Galar
Spritzee
Wingull
Wynaut

D
Amaura
Anorith
Chinchou
Corphish
Cottonee
Croagunk
Lileep
Meowth
Omanyte
Pumpkaboo-Small
Shellder
Sinistea
Tirtouga
Treecko
Trubbish
Venipede

 

[Corporal Levi]

We're still discussing some other changes, but in the meantime, Drifloon is moving to S.

 

[Corporal Levi]

The VR is now open to posts! Please be sure to follow the rules when doing so.

We have decided to go through with the following updates for now:

Trapinch down from S to A+

Diglett up from B to A+

Oddish up from B to A+

Timburr up from B to A+

Pawniard up from B to A

Wingull down from A to B+

Drilbur down from A to B

Croagunk up from C to B

Krabby up from C to B

Scraggy up from C to B

Chinchou down from A to C

Koffing down from B to C

Salandit fom unranked to C

Wynaut fom unranked to C

Gossifleur from C to unranked

Morelull from C to unranked

Natu from C to unranked

Pumpkaboo-Super from C to unranked

Snover from C to unranked

 

[sam-testings]

Krabby B --> B+

Other than making B+ into a mono water team, Krabby is actually pretty good at the moment. It can run a variety of sets (Scarf, Agility, SD on webs), and has a lot of nice coverage moves (Knock, Body Slam, Superpower, Rock Slide). Although at first glance it seems like a worse Corphish due to a lack of Aqua Jet and lack of bulk, this mon surprised me a lot when I was suspect laddering with a scarf set and I would win a decent amount of games just by clicking Liquidation 6 times after some knocks. Also, Krabby hits marginally harder than Corphish in some scenarios which can be helpful. Overall, pretty fun underrated mon at the moment that hit likes a truck. Waterspam in general I think is fairly decent at the moment so this shouldn't be that big of a surprise I hope.

 

[Altariel von Sweep]

B -> B+
Galarian Ponyta can run many sets to tailor its teammates' needs along with many decent movepool options, and the fact that it can bypass Toxic Spikes thanks to Pastel Veil is being overlooked, which is the main reason it is able to scare a good portion of the metagame out. Calm Mind sets are able to clean teams thanks to its bulk and Speed tier, and it appreciates Trapinch trapping Ferroseed, Pawniard and Munchlax, which suppose a big problem for Galarian Ponyta to handle, depending on what the coverage is between Mystical Fire and Dazzling Gleam. Life Orb sets in my opinion are the most important to account for considering Ponyta has above average offensive stats and one of the best Speed tiers in the metagame, being able to wreck anything that cannot resist Life Orb boosted Psychics, being able to 2HKO a big portion of the metagame and OHKO important threats such as Vullaby, Mareanie, Timburr and Oddish. It does not stop there, as mixed sets are also fire in this metagame state, specifically Low Kick variants OHKOing Munchlax after Stealth Rock and 2HKOing Onix. The only problems it presents are a notable presence of 4MSS trying to run Mystical Fire, Dazzling Gleam, Morning Sun, Calm Mind and Protect on its sets, as well as proneness to getting revenge killed by First Impression Trapinch and Pawniard. However, that 4MSS seems to vary depending on the set and can be managed around between Galarian Ponyta's teammates, so I see no reason not to rise it to B+.

UR -> C
I think Pancham should be ranked. The ability to scare Ferroseed and Munchlax out thanks to its powerful STAB Drain Punch and ability to pivot against its resists like Mareanie and Spritzee is really good in this metagame, as this provides a very appreciated slow momentum for Pokemon that can beat Pancham's switch-ins or trap them with Diglett, easening its capability to punch holes through the opposite team. Its movepool is also no slouch, as it can pick its checks and counters with Ice Punch hitting Oddish and Vullaby, Zen Headbutt hitting Timburr, Thunder Punch 2HKOing both Corphish and Mareanie, and Gunk Shot attaing a surprising calculation of 2HKO on Spritzee if unboosted. That's not all, as Swords Dance sets are a big menace with the proper support, getting the ability to easily turns many of the aforementioned calculations into OHKOs, as well as becoming a really hard Pokemon to switch into.

To prove the effectiveness of Pancham, I have a replay which showcases how Parting Shot is able to regain momentum against a Pokemon trappable by Diglett.

All aside, I agree with sam's Krabby nomination. The lack of decent Water-type checks allows Krabby in combination with Corphish to easily muscle through many teams whose Water-type check is weakened, beating each other's checks, as well as Krabby having an insane initial firepower to OHKO important threats that are neutrally hit by Liquidation such as Vullaby.

 

[Muksu]

B -> C
Rufflet very one-dimensional as it lost access to moves like Aerial Ace, Roost and Defog. It has to rely on Hustle and Choice Scarf, which makes it pretty inconsistent.

C -> B
Chinchou is a nice pivot and among the most common scarfers in the tier. STAB Volt Switch provides nicely momentum, especially as Chinchou can pressure Ground-types with its Water moves.

UR -> C
Magic Bounce is amazing, and Natu has good speed and great movepool as well. It can run many different sets, such as scarf, LO, defensive and dual screens support.

UR -> C
Minccino is one of my absolute favorite mons to use in the tier. It's very fast and has access to good support moves such as Knock Off and U-turn, and Tail Slap hits very hard even without attack investment thanks to STAB and Skill Link. It has a pretty good matchup against everything but steels and fighting mons, and fighters are outsped and don't enjoy switching into Tail Slap.

The set

Minccino @ Eviolite
Ability: Skill Link
Level: 5
EVs: 36 Atk / 116 Def / 116 SpD / 236 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Tail Slap
- Knock Off
- U-turn
- Grass Knot

In some best-case scenarios Minccino can just keep firing moves, beating and crippling stuff. It can usually provide pretty reasonable support in less ideal matchups and scenarios as well.

 

[ghost]

UR -> C
Charmander is on the come-up a tremendous cleaner on Sun thanks to newfound ladder hero strezah. Serene brought Charmander to his SPL game because Scarf Charmander with Solar Power blows through teams in the Sun - Fire Blast 2HKOs Mareanie and every other relevant fire resist, meaning Sun teams have a second extremely-powerful breaker in addition to Growth Oddish. I'll leave it in C for now because it's unviable outside of sun, but we're on a Charmander wave right now and I think it's been shown to be VR-worthy.

 

[Kingler]

i think natu should be moved to C. i've used natu sun in LPL and it's actually a legit mon, it keeps hazards off and psy + fire + grass is legit coverage. it's not for every team i'd say, but magic bounce is huge and it's actually not terrible against a lot of top mons (LO psy koes mareanie after rocks). I'd wager it's better than koffing at least lmao.

 

[ghost]

A -> A+

I think there's a case for Vulpix to move all the way up to S, but for the moment this move is a no-brainer. Vulpix may well be the most meta-defining offensive threat. Sun is one of the most common archetypes right now and Vulpix completely enables it both with Drought and its ability to blow holes in teams with sun-boosted fire STABs. Taking advantage of that fire STAB even further is Eject Pack Vulpix, which has gone from a cool tech to one of the biggest threats in the entire tier. Eject Pack Vulpix in combination with Diglett can decimate most defensive cores and nuke everything less sturdy. This set is so potent that Munchlaxes run Pickup partially to take MORE damage from Overheat such that Berry Juice pops and Diglett cannot kill with Earthquake. This is not even to mention possible Scarf and Specs sets. This thing is really good.

 

[Altariel von Sweep]

Time to do this.

UR -> C
Even after Cherubi's ban, Litwick still has a really good niche within this metagame state thanks to the combination of Flash Fire + Ghost typing, which allows Litwick to handle most of sun teams, which means it can make use of its inmunity to either fire off a strong STAB attack to the switch-in, or set up. Having a Ghost-type as well means it serves a really important role by shutting down any attempt of Vulpix generating momentum with its Eject Pack set, and escape from both Diglett and Trapinch to maintain the team's momentum. Hell, even Fire spam of Vulpix + Charmander cannot do anything against it! On top of that, outside of Sun teams, Litwick does a nice job at checking Cutiefly and Timburr, and cockblocking Oddish and Munchlax thanks to its defensive and offensive traits.

To show you the efficacy in its role, I will now provide the set I have been running:

Fogoso

S (Litwick) @ Berry Juice
Ability: Flash Fire
Level: 5
EVs: 36 HP / 236 SpA / 196 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Fire Blast
- Shadow Ball
- Energy Ball

Litwick's low Speed means that maximum invested is required to at least outspeed relevant threats such as Oddish outside of Sun and Timburr. When faced against Vulpix, Substitute allows it to get a barrier to help it dent the opposing team's Pokemon if Vulpix decides to switch out. Substitute + Berry Juice ensures that Litwick gets a reliable mean of recovery aside of Pain Split, and allows it to handle Oddish much more easily bypassing Sleep Powder, while able to set it up on the other Pokemon that Litwick can handle.

This set is better used on Webs to take advantage of Litwick's offensive typing and allow it to clean teams while putting a halt on sun teams. However, 11 Speed keeps being pretty slow, which means Diglett still outspeeds it, and it has to be careful with opposing priority such as Corphish's Aqua Jet and Pawniard's Sucker Punch, although the latter can be played around with Substitute. On top of that, Fire typing makes it weak to Stealth Rock, forcing your team to run Drilbur in your Webs team. Nevertheless, its niche cannot go unnoticed in a Vulpix centralized metagame, where even Charmander is able to blast through its resists with pure Fire STABs.

 

[MK007]

Helioptile UR -> C

Chinchou C -> UR

Hide

Helioptile @ Eviolite
Ability: Dry Skin
Level: 5
EVs: 4 HP / 12 Def / 188 SpA / 92 SpD / 196 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Surf
- Volt Switch
- U-turn

Helioptile does Chinchou's job, but better.

• Drifloon and Corphish are both super prevalant in the current meta, and Helioptile is a better switchin to both of those than Chinchou due to having Dry Skin and Normal Typing. This combination also allows it to hard wall Frillish.
• Helioptile has access to U-Turn, which gives it an advantage over Chinchou in matchups where a Diglett or Trapinch are present.

Dwebble B -> B+

Dwebble is slightly better now than it was the last time VR was updated.

• Counter Dwebble has become somewhat popular again as it allows Dwebble to overcome Timburr, which is one of it's main counters. Dwebble has solid winrates in both LC Ekans and LPL with it's Shell Smash + Counter set seeing usage.
• The rise of Oddish has hurt the usage of Corphish slightly, which helps make Dwebble even better.

Oddish A+ -> S

The Bulky Oddish set with Strength Sap has ousted Growth Oddish as the best set (though growth is still incredibly good).

• Strength Sap gives Oddish ridiculous recovery, while simaltaneously stopping most physical attackers dead in their tracks.
• Oddish has very few mons that can switchin and not receive significant chip damage. Ferroseed is the most obvious and it's very easily chipped down over the course of a match as most teams with Ferroseed are using it as a blanket check to many other things not named Oddish.
• Sleep Powder, which Growth Oddish doesn't have room for is incredibly useful, and allows Oddish to essentially be a better Foongus.

These factors make me believe that Oddish is more influential on the current metagame than Corphish, Diglett, Mareanie, Onix, Timburr, or Trapinch, and it's ranking should reflect that.

Cufant C -> Unranked

Now that the novelty of Cufant being a shiny new toy has worn off, I think it is safe to say that there isn't a place for a steel type wall breaker that is slow in LC. Trapinch and Diglett make it's life hell, and Onix and Mudbray are both extremely common now as well.

Other Noms I agree with that have been brought up :

Litwick Unranked -> C

Rufflet B -> C

Galarian Pony B -> B+

Edit : Removed Koffing Nom to C as it's already in C.

 

[fatty]

first VR post in a long ass time lol

although similar, I don’t think helioptile is enough to usurp chinchou entirely. helio has 17 speed but everything bulk wise is heavily in chinchou’s favor, and for a pivot that’s super useful. the fire resist, while being somewhat rare, can also come in handy. furthermore, the water stab is better than normal stab and ice beam in certain situations can help break past oddish if you’re going an offensive route. all-in-all, I think you just pick your poison, but helio definitely isn’t enough to make Chou unranked. if anything, I’d argue floon is the only thing keeping helio useful over Chou.


oddish is perfectly fine where it’s at. it’s a very strong offensive threat on sun, but needs all the support it can get from vulpix and trappers. the popular bulky set is great at what it does but in the end it’s still an inferior foongus. I get the meta is different, but it’s still a very reactionary mon considering how strong corph, fighters, grounds and toxic spikes are. I don’t see people trying to shoehorn things onto teams to deal with bulky oddish or it effecting what mons you can use as much as an S rank mon should be. A+ is perfect for it and I think you can clearly compare it to any other S rank mon and see why it isn’t on that level.

I can see a rise for vulpix to A+. Its offensive capabilities alone are great, forcing most teams to run 1 of like 3 mons that can reliably take a sun boosted overheat or fire blast. it has flame charge to be a more potent threat vs more offensive teams as well. beyond it’s personal power though, it single handedly supports one of the top 3 archetypes in the meta by making oddish a beast, reduces the effectiveness of waters like corph while simultaneously being a boon for mons like dd onix, and even makes mons like charmander good enough to bring to tour matches. It’s not S, but I think it’s offensive and support abilities make A+ definitely fair.

I think the b / b+ tiers need a fairly big overhaul. wingull is too good of an offensive threat to not be A rank. it’s one of the 4 fastest mons in the tier, and the one 19 speeder that can actually cripple Munchlax with knock. it’s stabs are still only handled by chinchou / helio and it has enough movepool variety to still be able to keep opponents guessing. ground immunity with water stab is a welcome addition to any team and it’s one of the mons that help keep potential webs squads in check the best.

From there, I think B+ needs a couple new additions. Croagunk, drilbur, and ponyta are discernibly better than the other mons in B, but are limited enough to not break into A. croagunk, while being limited by Diglett as usual and floon being a shit, still has the typing, ability, and movepool to be a legit threat and fairly easy to fit into teams. Between checking Corphish and fighters, having priority and np to pose real sweep potential, being a special attacker that doesn’t lose to lax, and the ever sought after ability to soak ts, gunk deserves the rise.

drilburs fatal flaw is simply having too many viable grounds, but it’s niche is still worthy of a raise imo. It’s the best spinner in the tier, making it useful for spikestack or webs teams that want to keep their own hazards. Continually, spin +SD let’s it carve out a solid double dance sweeper niche, and the lack of good ground answers in the tier makes it very potent.

ponyta is probably the one most deserving of a raise. I know trappers KILL a lot of ponyta’s potential, but we’re talking about a potentially broken mon were it not for them. Ponys stats are amazing as always, it has all the coverage it needs to run all of special, physical, and mixed sets. Cm Eviolite ran with trappers (yes it’s also one of the better users of said trappers) allows you to make use of its good bulk and set up on some very prominent threats. On sun, it gets a boosted mystical fire and morning sun. It’s even the best healing wish user the tier has ever seen, and altho again it’s hard to fit with non evio sets due to having to run protect, it’s just another feather in the cap. On top of all that, it’s immune to ts, and as is becoming a theme, I’m sure you know how important that is.

 

[Yoshi]

-> C/B
Snover getting unranked was definitely a crime. This Pokemon pretty much shits on balance in almost every case, and has a decent MU against sun as well thanks to Snow Warning. The downsides here are that it has a fairly low speed tier for a Choice Scarf user (it only hits 14), and isn't exactly the strongest Pokemon in the tier, either. However, these aren't massive problems, especially when using Snover in the proper situations. Blizzard is a strong enough move to throw off some pretty hard hits, and paired with Hail, you're 2HKOing / 3HKOing a lot of Pokemon that resist, and straight up nailing Pokemon like Drilbur and Drifloon. This should definitely be ranked again, maybe even straight up to B rank.

-> Keep Ranked
We had a chat on Discord about this Pokemon the other day, and I think we came to a reasonable conclusion about this Pokemon: The hate it gets is a meme. Chinchou certainly isn't a fantastic Pokemon. The argument that it condenses being a bulky Water-type and being a bird check into a shitty package is certainly a fine claim. The existence of trappers doesn't help much, either. However, Chinchou can offer a lot to a team by being able to condense those roles, but only as a secondary check. It's a decent enough Berry Juice pivot, too. If anything, this Pokemon could rise to B, but there's a clear opposition to it that's perfectly reasonable as well. Definitely keep it ranked though, Helioptile comparison is null, as fatty mentioned above.

----

I agree with boosting Vulpix, Litwick, Drilbur, Ponyta, Croagunk, and Wingull as well. They've been supported enough above and they're fairly self-explanatory rises anyway.

 

[Arts and stuff]

DD Cornish is fine the way it is because it can check ponyta and other popular psychic types with knock off and can check the setup dwebble and venoshock Salandit as well as popular grass types like ferroseed with X scissor
TLDR auto correct is awful

 

[Arts and stuff]

sobble is b tier at least because it can set reflect and light screen and can end the existence of weak armour onix and dwebble as well as checking grass, dark, and psychic types with u turn
perfect set up early and kills late game. Solid mon honestly.

 

[Merritt]

sobble is b tier at least because it can set reflect and light screen as well as life dew

You've got a pretty uphill battle to find a reason to run any screen setter besides apix. Life Dew, meanwhile, is such a terrible healing move in singles that it's barely worth mention (it only heals 25%).

Sobble's well deserving of its unranking.

 

[MK007]

So nobody has really discussed viability rankings since home dropped and some bans went out. I'll be the first to do so I suppose. Not doing a huge writeup since theres a lot of noms to make but here goes...

Munchlax S -> B
Knock is back, which hurts every munch set. Things like Timburr are seeing high usage again due to having knock again. This meta is just not friendly to the mini lax rn.

Oddish A+ -> A-
Knock has widespread distribution once more which hurts a defensive mon like Oddish.

Bulbasaur UR -> C
Basically an Oddish/Foongus clone but with the option for knock. Synthesis is kinda worse than strength sap but knock is a neat tech and honestly kind of useful.

Vulpix-A UR -> A+
Fast Ice with 120 BP Stab, Moonblast, and Freeze-Dry would but this mon in low A tier already. It also has arguably the best move + ability combo in the game with Veils + Hail

Squirtle UR -> B
Shell Smash is kinda cool, especially with veils running around.

Mareanie A+ -> A-
Knock Distribution is up, and setup sweepers are super prevalent.

Pancham UR -> B
Basically your Iron Fist Timburr but with better stats. No mach, but 25/15 Pancham with Drain/Knock/TPunch/IPunch is actually not bad at all rn.

Ferroseed A -> A+
Pretty much mandatory to run Ferro rn or you lose to Cutie. Ferro has it's flaws but it's the only legitimate answer to Cutie rn that isn't easily trapped and is actually useful in other matchups.

Meowth UR -> B
Id actually say B- rn but there isn't one so B it is. Meowth gets Double Edge back and with how prevalent veils sweeper teams that abuse Vull and Zig are rn its not bad at all. Meowth also regains Water Pulse which allows it to bop most Onix sets. Sturdy Juice Onix isn't very common rn so Meowth literally just comes in and water pulses most Onix sets.

Pawniard A -> A+
Brick Break pawn is back for as long as veils stay around. It also gets knock again now and is generally just better than it was. Unsure if it's enough to justify A+ but it has 2 things going for it now that it didn't before so I'll go ahead and toss the nom out.

 

[ojr]

Ponyta-Kanto UR --> A/A+
Ponyta is a great fire type in the metagame which doesn't have many fire types to begin with. The only viable fire types would be the quite niche Salandit and the other even more niche Sizzlipede (which isnt even ranked :/). Ponyta is also a nice offensive check to cutiefly and is also quite unique in that respect. Ponyta has a great movepool with moves like high horsepower, wild charge, solar blade, flame charge, low kick, even play rough??? and of course the strong stab flare blitz. But also defensive sets are quite good at spreading burns and it has reliable recovery in morning sun. Even though trapping does hurt it diglett has to be wary of flame charge if isnt the rare choice scarf diglett and some variants of trapinch can get 2hkoed by flare blitz and solar blade can easily ko it after some chip damage.
236 Atk Ponyta Solar Blade vs. 156 HP / 76 Def Eviolite Trapinch: 20-24 (86.9 - 104.3%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO
Possible damage amounts: (20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 22, 22, 22, 22, 22, 22, 22, 22, 24) idk if this is the correct spread though correct me if Im wrong.

 

[Gravelmouse]

The only viable fire types would be the quite niche Salandit and the other even more niche Sizzlipede

Charmander wants to know your location
anyway I agree with ponyta high B to low A tier, It has the very attractive aspects of its galarian counterpart,
A flexable speed tier, either able to speed tie things like cutiefly, or run a neutral speed nature, which allows you to outspeed the EXTREMELY crowded 17 speed tier, very serviceable bulk, it comfortably hits 22/13/13 on offensive sets, letting it make good use of eviolite, and reliable recovery in morning sun.
Ponyta also boasts electric and ground coverage to compliment its strong fire STAB, and unlike ponyta galar, it has both toxic and willo-wisp.

One of the only turn-offs for me on ponyta are its weakness to rocks, which puts it in range of things I'd like it to check, and the unreliability of its ability.

 

[ghost]

I think fire Ponyta is unquestionably A+. Trappers may be the only thing keeping it from S. It's a bulky 19 speeder that beats the best mon in the tier (Cutiefly) and matches up well with A-Vulpix too. Spreading burn is great especially now that few Timburrs are running Guts, and Pony gets the coverage (Wild Charge, High Horsepower, Play Rough, Low Kick) to effectively threaten the entire tier.

 

[DC]

--> UR to C/C+
Stunky is an underrated breaker with good speed, coverage, and access to Nasty Plot. Between Sludge Bomb, Dark Pulse, and Flamethrower/Fire Blast, it is able to threaten common defensive walls like Ferroseed, Spritzee, and Frillish. However, its mediocre bulk and weakness to trapping doesn't help it in many scenarios. But I think Stunky has a decent niche to deserve a spot at C rank.

 

[Corporal Levi]

Hi all. The VR has been outdated for some time, so we put together a quick vote to at least have the VR reflect the home metagame. This is just the VR council's quick and dirty opinion for now - we'll do a more discussed update after the Vulpix-A suspect. Not all of these changes have been due to home; some are just because the VR hadn't been updated to reflect the metagame immediately before home dropped.

Ferroseed: A -> A+
Pawniard: A -> A+
Ponyta: UR -> A+
Vulpix-Alola: UR -> A+
Frillish: B+ -> A
Rufflet: B -> A
Oddish: A+ -> A
Zigzagoon: A+ -> A
Drilbur: B -> B+
Farfetch'd-Galar: A -> B+
Munchlax: S -> B+
Koffing: C -> B
Shellos: C -> B
Dwebble: B -> C+
Scraggy: B -> C+
Wynaut: C -> C+
Hippopotas: B -> C
Krabby: B -> C
Bulbasaur: UR -> C
Darumaka: UR -> C
Meowth: UR -> C
Natu: UR -> C
Pancham: UR -> C
Pumpkaboo: UR -> C

 

[Arts and stuff]

Where is crogunk? Did he stay in B tier?

 

[ghost]

Where is crogunk? Did he stay in B tier?

Croagunk is still in B tier.

 

[Gravelmouse]

B-> B+
Hoping to cause some acknowledgement of this little guy, looking at the mons in B+, I think its more then deserving of B+.
I saw widespread use of it while observing people trying to get veil reqs, it was on a squad by Laroxyl that got a lot of use(and it got some SPL use), and this let me observe it interact with the meta. Shellos has several niche's above its competition in mareanie (and frillish to an extent). The main draw is, of course, Sticky Hold, which lets Shellos retain its eviolite for the entirety of a match, as well as weakening the damage of knock off, letting shellos serve as a switch in to something like vullaby, when another bulky water would not want to lose its item. Shellos has a widespread and customizable movepool, consisting (in order of viability) recover, scald, clear smog, toxic, as well as surprise factors like yawn, Counter and mirror coat which can be used to OHKO a timbur after tpunch or something. Acid armor and Amnesia with rest might also be used, I don't see this as a viable option atm though.

Really the best way to showcase Shellos's place in the meta is to look at how it matches up with the best mons in the tier


shellos beats the (imo) best mon in the meta rn, cutiefly, which is not something mareanie can reliably do, losing to QD on the switch with shield dust and roost. Shellos has access to clear smog, which lets it do super effective damage to the bug, pressuring it to roost, but also preventing it from accumulating boosts, and lastly shuts QT down with toxic.

Being not weak to ground attackers, and more importantly, trappers, is super important for a water type and this also lets it be a better check to everything it needs to check, because it cannot be skillessly removed from play. It needs to be at 12/27 health to be killed by a normal roll diglett, and 7/27 health to be killed by trapinch, because trapinch is of course, outsped and needs to kill with first impression.

The crabs are important offensive threats that shellos all but stymies, because it resists their main option, and takes reduced damage for their main secondary attacks, knock off.

Shellos matches up with most sets of the princess of LC much better then mareanie, taking reduced damage from knock off, which denies any attempt at 2HKOing with knock into BB, and has the option of spamming clear smog to insure against any threatening setup variants.

While mareanie and shellos both threaten these with scald, and they both get chunked by tpunch, shellos cannot be beaten 1v1 via being knocked off, and essentially resists both of pawniard's STAB attacks

To be clear I don't think shellos is a better pokemon then mareanie, I just think mareanie is shellos's biggest competition, and I wanted to provide reasons why you might want a shellos on your team, which is what VR rankings is all about :D

I love discussion and I'm not the most experienced in the meta, so if I said anything ignorant or weird, please correct/challenge me. ty for reading my way too long post about this slimy cutie