Resource USUM NU Viability Rankings (Old)

[Rabia]

A+ -> S
Mans is real good. A+ definitely represents that, and I may be slightly overrating Diancie, but I feel its versatility over other Pokemon in A+ pushes it into S (not only versatility, but the effectiveness of all its sets). Specs really has no great answers outside of thicc players like AV Slowking and Gigalith (Gigalith has to be wary of SpDef drops from Earth Power tho) or scouting around and hoping you get the read right. Diancie offers a soft answer to Incineroar (has to care for Groundium Z which is on the rise), Guzzlord, and Sneasel, all of which are still threatening as hell. I can definitely understand the view of Diancie simply being near the top of A+, but I believe it is closer to S.

B+ -> lower (probably B-)
Sand exists and invalidates Delphox as a Pokemon. Diancie existing isn't doing it justice either. AV Slowking and Slowbro being really good fuck it too. The only trend I can think of that helps Delphox out is the decline of Sneasel.

B -> B+/A-
As long as Venusaur is in the tier, Golbat is one of the best defensive Pokemon in the tier given it is the hardest stop to it we have. Golbat retains some utility outside of Golbat in checking things like Toxicroak and offensive Grass-types like Whims and Sceptile. Breaks stall, reliable recovery, Defog support, overall just a real good boy. Reliant on Eviolite yeah, but Golbat is just really nice to have currently.

Other noms I still support that I made/support that others made:

TAGNELA RANKED IN C+

(steel) B -> B+

C- -> shadow realm

A -> A-

 

[jcbc]

A+ -> S

It is a pokemon that with the amount of movepool it has, has a variety of impressive sets so it can adapt to almost any type of team, TR, defensive rocker, even double dance Z ..., another reason why this pokemon is very good in the current meta is because all the walls of the fire type mons, like houndoom, delphox etc., also serves vpara sneasel, guzzlord ..., in short a great pokemon, since with the sand spam teams, It makes very a bulky mon with it's high defenses, and it can even carry Z-heal bell for an amazing recovery.

B -> B+

comfey is an incredibly good pokemon that due to its triage ability makes it a pokemon that depends on the MU makes it an automatic wincon since with the set of CM + taunt + Dkiss, it has an impressive ability to sweep entire teams, it has a capacity of bulk that although it is not the best is a very good switch in front of the fighting types such as yama, passi and medi. It can also be taken into account, when using it as a defogger.

A- -> B+

As we move forward in the meta, I feel that xatu has less presence and is being set apart by other mons that do their job better. With the changes in the meta, xatu can increasingly switch to less offensive threads. In short, I think it is still a good poke but that each time it has less access to the goal and that other mons are stealing his site on it.

B -> B+

Mesprit is a pretty underrated mon because it has impressive stats, and a very large amount of variety, from a very good wall for the fight type, to set up rocks, to scarfer or specs. It has a good moveset for all these possibilities, it can also serve as a wish passer (Hwish), and with its variant specs it has a great ability to break.

C+ -> B-

Accelgor has an impressive movepool, with which you can surprise any opponent's poke, since with its variant specs, added to its enormous base speed, it does (depending on the MU) a thread to take into account, in addition, you can use as suicide lead taking advantage (once again its great speed), since with spikes and tspikes + final gambit make it an ideal teammate for mons who want to abuse the hazards (such as braviary, scrafty or other mons like that).

A -> A+

klinklang is a pokemon that in the current meta, has few switches, among which are steelix and slowbro which, if you accompany a klinklang of a venusaur, a sneasel or any mon that takes advantage of these 2 mons already mentioned, makes it a very important thread and which can cause some impressive problems, because after 1 SG, with Z steelium if it has been removed from the two most important checks for klinklang (already mentioned) can sweep without problems.

B -> B+

vileplume has an impressive bulk, which along with its typing and strengh sap makes it impressively useful, since it helps a lot in some time check some threads apart that gives a tspikes absorb.

C -> C-

ambipom the meme purple monkey, which should not have never raised, is showing itself that it is not a good poke or for NU, it lacks the damage to break the physical walls of the meta.



Another nominations that i will support:

C+ -> B-

B- -> B

B -> B+

B -> B+

B -> A-

B+ -> B-

B -> B-

B -> C+

B -> B+

C- -> C

C- -> UR

 

[Katy]

B -> B+

definetly agreed on that nom, miltank is a good check to the special attackers in this tier, gained alot of usage the past times. his formidable defensive stats and the hp stat makes it up for a good rocks setter. also the curse set is pretty cool to run and you have a good dmg output with eq and body slam (which is a ble to para). i really agree on this, it should def. rise. no point in keeping it so low.

C- -> UR

I dont see it anywhere tbh. i really think it should be unranked. It doesnt do anything what a better fighting type can also do.

B -> A-

pretty good currently. i agree with his rise to B+/A-

 

[Espeonage.]

diancie shouldn't go s imo, super good mon obviously but imo it still faces too many issues w shit like venu, ive seen some things like ground z incen emerge to deal w it which shows the meta is adapting to it, so idt its up there w bro and venu in s.

disagree w this rising as well, while being by far the best check to broken venu is amazing, it still faces a lot of other issues. as a defogger, it loses to every rocker besides pallo who still gives it a bit of trouble. taunt tox is better but its also less splashable, and still faces issues w being worn down. i also feel like it struggles to be a primary fighting check bc of how it gets shafted by medi, pass can u turn on it and if rocks are up can wear it down super easily, scrafty and yama both knock it, and while its the best croak check in the tier, the other fighters are all problematic in a way.

feel like both of these should drop, giga/diancie are both super problematic for both of them, cm phox is basically useless at this point bc of how its just so easy to defensively beat/trap. scarf doom takes a big hit from phoxes falling viability bc a huge part of its niche was trapping her. np doom is still super scary for non-diancie teams, but its hard to fit and walled by diancie and while z dark can kinda annoy giga, it still needs some chip to kill. both of these mons can rkill z cele venu w scarf which is nice, but idt either of these mons justify b+ anymore. i think doom should go b and phox should go b-.

disagree w klangy boi rising, new drops help him but i think he deserved a- before the drops and now hes a after the drops, lix and bro are as problematic as ever, annoyed by things like roar, idt it deserves to be w things like ice cream and diancie.

can get behind probo miltank ferro and scrafty rising and gurdurr+xatu dropping altho i dont rly want to write much abt them.

 

[JustoonSmitts]

I'll go ahead and make my own nomination:

C -> C- or even D
I'm honestly surprised that this is still in the C-ranks at all. Technician Fake Out and Pursuit are nice enough, I guess, but Ambipom can't do anything at all to the top Rock and Steel-type Pokémon in the tier. I'm not even sure what it does better than other Pokémon in NU. I'd rather use Cinccino than Ambipom since at least it can threaten Gigalith and Diancie with Bullet Seed, even if it can't OHKO them. If I want to use Fake Out, I'd rather use Hitmonlee since it actually can break walls. And if I want a pivot, I'd rather go with Whimsicott, Braviary, Silvally-Steel, any other Pokemon with U-turn will do. Even most of the Pokémon in C- are more justifiable to put on a team than Ambipom. Go ahead and drop the monkey down to C- or D.

 

[Captain Maybe]

I'd like to make a nomination.

(Steel) B -> B+

No I'm not just saying this just cause Venusaur is in the tier. I'm saying it because Venusaur is in the tier amongst other things. Right now I just think it's a really good defogger. Parting Shot is always good unless you get Xatu'd and it takes bunches of hits from Whimsicott, Venusaur, Diancie that isn't specs and predicts you with Earth Power, Garbodor, the list goes on. I don't think it's ripe for an A ranking due to pretty much 0 recovery but for now, while Venusaur is here and it can parting shot on its stupid Zelebrate and hurt it with Flamethrower, I think it deserves to be mentioned at least above the likes of Blastoise.

I also agree with

going to the Shadow Realm. It has no place in a meta where Steelix, Defensive Incineroar, and Gigalith are common and good.

 

[shiloh]

figured id make a post w/ some of my thoughts

**ur -> c_/c+
ive been using tangela a bit more lately w/ the rise of sand teams & the added need for teams to be able to run a grass that wont drop to ground moves, as before most grasses could handle grounds due to them being slower & usually defensive. however w/ the rise of sandslash ground resists that wont drop to edge / knock are more & more necessary on certain builds so this is where tangela comes into play. w/ great defensive stats backed by eviolite, as well as decent offensive presence and a strong stab in leaf storm. i think its a faiarly solid meta-pick atm, and could probably rise higher as its able to take on a large majority of the upper ranks; things like slowbro / diancie / gigalith / lix / etc. the moveset ive been running for the most part is leaf storm / giga drain / knock off / sleep powder, but i think hp fire / synth / leech seed all have practical applications based on what you need it to do.

**b_ -> a-
originally ranked lower than stout, i think w/ how the meta has shifted & settled a bit its clear slash is on the level, if not better, than stout for sand teams. the power & speed it has after sd is insane. tec rage basically can pick a kill vs teams that lack a strong defensive grass (ie tangela / geist), and the few things that can take it dont want to take edge / knock. overall this mouse is just insane right now, and a- might be underselling it still.

dont want to clutter up that many noms atm since there will be a potential shift in the meta w/ the results of the venu test being in by the end of the week, so ill just leave it at that. ill probably get another council slate up / vote by next sunday / monday depending on how the meta is looking.

 

[Skelos]

Weezing @ Icium Z
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 148 Def / 108 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sludge Bomb
- Will-O-Wisp
- Taunt
- Haze

This standard ORAS Weezing with Z-haze is really amazing since sand is really popular rn and Sandslash is kinda annoying without an actual ground resist. What's nice is it also counters all the premier fighting types in the tier bar medicham. After running a few tests, this set disrupts a lot of things including most of the tier's rockers, fairy types, physical attackers, taunt bait mons etc. The only issue is that it still has a pretty low spd and golbat and xatu are annoying most of the time though they dont want to get statused, that's why mons like Sneasel, Heliolisk, Vanilluxe, etc. work really well with Weezing. The EVs are to maximixe physical bulk and outspeed no speed Malamar but it seems that it could be even more optimized to do its role better.


I think with the tier settling down at this point in time, this thing could be placed in like B- or so since it provide some unique role compression that's really hard to find atm, though it still has some flaws but workable ones.

calcs

+2 252 Atk Toxicroak Acid Downpour (190 BP) vs. 252 HP / 148+ Def Weezing: 184-217 (55 - 64.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Black Sludge recovery
+1 252 Atk Scrafty Corkscrew Crash (180 BP) vs. 252 HP / 148+ Def Weezing: 157-185 (47 - 55.3%) -- 17.6% chance to 2HKO after Black Sludge recovery

Also, just wanna echo Diancie being great rn. There's really not much drawbacks running it especially the specs set with venusaur gone now and it just proves how annoying specs fairies in this tier. I don't have much to say but it works amazingly and performs really well whenever i use or vs it so i think it warrants an S now.

 

[Rabia]

B -> B+/A-
Venusaur is gone and this is going to have a large rippling effect on the viability of many defensively-inclined Pokemon. Vileplume is no Venusaur, but it does help to check Diancie and Fighting-types not named Medicham. Strength Sap + Sleep Powder and the generally annoying Effect Spore is also cool.

B -> B-
Golbat was seeing much more traction in a meta with Venusaur. Now that Venusaur is gone, Golbat should go down. I feel Golbat is still a fine enough pick to remain in the B tiers though; the defensive pivot set is still fine for checking stuff like Toxicroak and Grass-types such as Sceptile and Whimsicott, and the stallbreaker set is cool from what I've heard, though I haven't used it personally.

also now that Slowbro is the only S-ranked mon I am starting a petition to rename S-rank to Slowbro-rank

 

[Funbot28]

Been playing some more NU after the Venu ban and have a couple opinions on the current VR:

A+ -> S
Between its Specs, Scarf, and new ToxicTect set, Vanilluxe is a beast in the current meta. The main niche it has over other wallbreakers in the current meta is that most of its checks (think Bulky Incen, Silvally-Steel, Cryogonal, AV Slowking / Slowbro, SpD Steelix) all get worn down rather quickly due to accumulation of hazard stack, hail chip, and a potential Toxic from the latter set listed. Once its checks are weakened, Vanilluxe becomes one of the most deadliest cleaners in the lategame due to how stupid Blizzard spam can be. Most teams need at least 2 ways to check Vanill which may not be too hard given its relatively low Speed tier (especially when running Modest) and its horrid defensive typing coupled with an SR weakness which disallows it to come in as freely as it wants, but with the advent of new threats such as bulky Defog Rotom and Golbat coming back into popularity, Vanilluxe has had a bit of an easier time fitting itself into the current meta, even checking Sand teams which have been gaining some traction as of late.

A -> A-
Hates the rise of Diancie and Gigalith which can both annoy standard RestTalk sets and can even take on the SD set (more Diancie though thanks to Diamond Storm boosts). I just feel Type: Null gives up too much momentum for a lot of scary threats rn such as SD Incen, Klingklang, Toxicroak and CM + Taunt Comfey. While its still one of the best blanket checks to a bunch of threatening wallbreakers, it struggles to find a place on most teams due to how little it can offer sometimes besides occasional pivoting or an SD sweep (however needs Pursuit support).

B+ -> A-
Sceptile has a lot of threatening sets that make it hard to check due to how different it's checks may be, specifically talking about stuff to check Specs, LO Mixed, or even bulky SD. It has become the primary Grass-type wallbreaker in the metagame in the wake of the Venu ban and appreciates the rise of certain Rock and Water types which have gotten more popular now post-Venu. Specs in particular is quite noteworthy atm due to it being a pain to check offensively due to great coverage + a rlly good Speed tier.

B -> B+
I actually think that Taunt + CM Comfey is one of the best late game sweepers in the current meta due to it being a great check to offensive teams once Steels and Poison types are out of the picture / weakened. Can be really annoying to properly wear down due to its good bulk and great defensive typing and can shut down a lot of teams due to how hard it can be to check offensively. Still piss weak unboosted and does need the aforementioned Steels and Poisons to be weakened to really snowball but still Comfey can put in a lot of work once conditions are set up for it to.

Also agree with a Sandslash, Golbat, Vileplume and Silvally-Steel rise alongside a drop of stuff like Absol and Zangoose.

 

[Espeonage.]

Been playing some more NU after the Venu ban and have a couple opinions on the current VR:

A+ -> S
Between its Specs, Scarf, and new ToxicTect set, Vanilluxe is a beast in the current meta. The main niche it has over other wallbreakers in the current meta is that most of its checks (think Bulky Incen, Silvally-Steel, Cryogonal, AV Slowking / Slowbro, SpD Steelix) all get worn down rather quickly due to accumulation of hazard stack, hail chip, and a potential Toxic from the latter set listed. Once its checks are weakened, Vanilluxe becomes one of the most deadliest cleaners in the lategame due to how stupid Blizzard spam can be. Most teams need at least 2 ways to check Vanill which may not be too hard given its relatively low Speed tier (especially when running Modest) and its horrid defensive typing coupled with an SR weakness which disallows it to come in as freely as it wants, but with the advent of new threats such as bulky Defog Rotom and Golbat coming back into popularity, Vanilluxe has had a bit of an easier time fitting itself into the current meta, even checking Sand teams which have been gaining some traction as of late.

A -> A-
Hates the rise of Diancie and Gigalith which can both annoy standard RestTalk sets and can even take on the SD set (more Diancie though thanks to Diamond Storm boosts). I just feel Type: Null gives up too much momentum for a lot of scary threats rn such as SD Incen, Klingklang, Toxicroak and CM + Taunt Comfey. While its still one of the best blanket checks to a bunch of threatening wallbreakers, it struggles to find a place on most teams due to how little it can offer sometimes besides occasional pivoting or an SD sweep (however needs Pursuit support).

B+ -> A-
Sceptile has a lot of threatening sets that make it hard to check due to how different it's checks may be, specifically talking about stuff to check Specs, LO Mixed, or even bulky SD. It has become the primary Grass-type wallbreaker in the metagame in the wake of the Venu ban and appreciates the rise of certain Rock and Water types which have gotten more popular now post-Venu. Specs in particular is quite noteworthy atm due to it being a pain to check offensively due to great coverage + a rlly good Speed tier.

B -> B+
I actually think that Taunt + CM Comfey is one of the best late game sweepers in the current meta due to it being a great check to offensive teams once Steels and Poison types are out of the picture / weakened. Can be really annoying to properly wear down due to its good bulk and great defensive typing and can shut down a lot of teams due to how hard it can be to check offensively. Still piss weak unboosted and does need the aforementioned Steels and Poisons to be weakened to really snowball but still Comfey can put in a lot of work once conditions are set up for it to.

Also agree with a Sandslash, Golbat, Vileplume and Silvally-Steel rise alongside a drop of stuff like Absol and Zangoose.

while i can def get behind a sceptile and comfey rise, i absolutely disagree w ice cream being s or type null being a-. in terms of vanilluxe, if you compare it to every other a+ mon, theres something that clearly stands out about it, all of the other a+ mons are far more splashable. in terms of its sets, scarf is mediocre and ive never really found it too threatening, specs is excellent as ever, but it also faces the same problems as ever, namely being worn down easy, relatively struggling to get switchins and being easily revenge killed. as for the toxtect set, the only person ive ever seen use this is you, but really outside of improving the sneasel and miltank matchup, it really doesnt seem all too great, and it worsens the matchup with things like steelvally and piloswine a ton. golbat def hasnt risen, quite the oppisite, bat usage is much lower w/o venu, and fat defog rotom isnt rly a set, so those arent exactly trends that favour ice cream. also idk who uses av slowbro/king and lix as ice cream checks, none of those are reliable at all and using those as your ice cream checks, esp w/o a sneasel, is just asking to lose to it.

regarding type null, that mon is stil absolutely fantastic. as usual, it acts as a super reliable switchin to things like whimiscott and specs guzzlord, while also providing either a super scary wincon or a nice pivot. gigalith being in the tier is also good news for sd null, as it sets up super freely on it as at +2 def it doesnt fear any of its moves and can rest of any toxics, so u can get to +6 super easily, and pivot sets can just u turn anyway. while null isnt beating a +6 def diancie, it is an excellent switchin to specs dia, and it can once again set up freely on rocksdiancie because it pp stalls unless theyre ep and get super lucky w drops, and again, pivot sets can u turn out freely.

also wanna make some of my own noms:

scrafty--->b+
scrafty is honestly super good rn, and i actually think it should be considered for a-, but ill start with b+. both dd and rest bulk up scrafty are super solid sets. rest bulk up is a lot easier to switch into in the early game bc things like croaker and diancie can switch into it a few times, but unless u have a fairy not called diancie, all of its checks can be worn down because it can switch in to things like bro freely it can wear down its checks super nicely+u can pair it w teammates like roar to help beat shit like diancie. dd sets are a lot harder to defensively switch into obv bc of how strong hjk and shit are, and can also work as a good lure to a lot of things, either w fight z as a stronger nuke, or steel z if u specifically want to punish faries, mainly aroma and whimsi bc diancie/aud take good amounts from aop anyway. it does still have its problems, namely lack of defensive utility and being rkilled by things like scarf pass and sceptile, but its definitely a solid setm, and i think all that stuff means scrafty warrants a rise to b+.

golbat--->b-
not much to say; venus departure means that its main niche is gone, and while it def has some use to check croaks and sceptiles and shit idt it should be b anymore

blastoise--->b+
again, not too much to say, blastoise is w/o a doubt the remover w the best matchups vs common setters like lix, and while it invites things like lisk and croak in for free, i feel like stoise is the only remover which i fully feel comfortable using bc it doesnt have any super major flaws like every other remover.

 

[ryan]

why is half the tier in b

 

[MaahirMomtaz12]

why is half the tier in b

LOL yeah B looking too big

 

[rhydonphilip]

because of the B mid sub tier complaints I will list some basic suggestions i don't think people will disagree with;

Absol to B-
Any set it pulls off is slow, requires set up and then relies too heavily on priority. With Diancie, Whimsicott, Mega-audino and Comfey around many corners alongside an abundance of fighttypes like BU scrafty and Passimian who give -2 shits about absol I think this drop is long over do. B mid -> B-.

/

/

/

Blastoise/Cryogonal/Comfey/Ferroseed stay B mid
contrary to some earlier mentions i think blastoise thanks to the lack of recovery is well placed in B mid alongside cryo and comfey. Both stoise and cryo tend to give away opportunity even when unable to spin directly, this leads to limiting their splashability to more defensive teams.
Meanwhile Comfey actually has some use because of pure fairy type compaired to whimsi allowing it to be splashed around more easily. Too bad it still allowes in a number of mons with the same issues. Unlike the other 2 the types of teams it's used on can be a bit wided up but what it end up being able to provide isn't on par with what the current B+ mons do for me to reflect down on it. Stay B.

Gastrodon abstain;
ngl I have not seen this mon in action enough to make a valid opinion on it. I honestly don't even know why it's listed this high up. It needs a lure set with ice beam to hit grass types and past that it relies on toxic to wittle vikavolt and such. I know it has a number of thinks it checks along the lines of heliolisk, 1v1 pressure slowbro, toxicroak etc but still, I question if the opportunity loss compaired to the likes of palossand is worth it.

Gallade to C+;
I don't care for it's niche, I care for the simple question when are you actually going to prefer this mon over the massive aray of better options for each of it's utilities. Scrafty is prefered for BU thanks to an aray of reasons. CB/Scarf/LO all are put to shame thanks to Medicham or the pivoting utility of passimian and lastly the Z SD sets are even combated by BU electrium z medicham.... which in and of itself is so little seen. Only other mentioned options are massive burn bait or unable to utilize coverage to any proper extend you could justify splashing it on a none-specifically made for IT team. B mid -> C+.

/

Golbat/hitmonlee are fine where they should be.
Golbat still pressures most of our passive meta with the taunt set and it still holds a spot of one of only 2 always reliable toxicroak counters alongside palossand. Hitmonlee has 87 speed tier to it's advantage over medi which does come in handy. LO mach Punch still holds a place in our heart for how broad the damage delt is. Stay B.

Magmortar was mentioned to rise to B+ at one point if I am not mistaken but thanks to sand meta I think it should be waited on a bit because by the current situation it's lack of physical defense and high weakness to damage chip makes it bait for pursuit trappers sneasel/stoutland, held back by all our current rockers bar steelix. Stay B for now.

&

Scrafty and Malamar to B+;
Malamar/Scrafty; both these work very simalar. Rest-talk malamar abuses any team lacking Vikavolt or simalar pokemon where as Bulk Up scrafty pressures any team lacking a proper fairy type. They both screw over sand starting at +1 and they both love to face off vs the passive meta. i am not sure if people tried rest-talk malamar enough but the possition it holds that makes you really hate not having signal beam slowbro or vikavolt on your every team. Unlike Scrafty it does miss out on the possibly instant pressure of removing burn or instantly healing back with rest shed skin.

Mesprit; abstain;
I actually have personal experience with this mon now with an icium z sr set, perhaps the niche does lie in Scarf Healing wish but not too convinced. I might actually prefer a defensive rock set with colbur to counter sandslash and such because a rocker that counters sandslash is great.
What exact possition this mon should be I will leave for other people to comment on.

Miltank stay B;
not much to say; it has recovery to deal with ice types like Vanilluxe so it has utility to answere ice/fire mons as a rocker. it's speed tier lets it outpace a number of relevant sets like incineroar's utilities alongside the capasity to deal annoying damage with seismic toss which actually helps out to have.

Mismagius to B-.
No, this mon isn't as good anymore and you know it. From more fast physical attackers with pursuit to better spD answeres that 1v1 it to already compeating moveslots like power gem, dazzel, taunt on top of already having 2 moves it needs to form a niche. i know it still pressures a number of older meta teams that have naturally build around the current meta but that wouldn't be reflecting it's possition for right now.

Omastar stay B.
Sand helps you out so hard thanks to +1 spD and locked stoutlands/Sneasels. Both those mons just make easy bait and legit name me your counter in THIS current meta because half the teams I see just get ran over super easily by it. I already asked it to move to B+ but I would fille a personal report of complaints to whoever suggests it shouldn't rise or should drop to B, /me Angry face >:(

Palossand B mid to B+;
Sand loves sand. I don't beleave you get to abuse the 66% recovery from shore up as often as someone new to this meta might assume but it does help when facing sandslash and just recovery+ ghost type screws over stoutland so there is that too. Really cool mon right now on top of already beating toxicroak, common rockers and pressure vs slowbro.

Pyukumuku stay B mid;
Cute vs a number of teams. If you have toxicroak or rest-talk mons or jk, scrafty you usually end up out stalling it. it actually compeats moveslots with counter, spite, soak + block, alongside the always needed toxic + recover. Pretty cool vs set up mons but many teams learned to carry toxic answeres.

Sandslash from B mid to A-;
i doubt any one could disagree with this one besides thinking it should rise higher; I don't believe it should but I want to see others comment on that more. With and Sd up in sand with z-move it is one of the best pokemon period; but look at all the buzzwords i just used. Needs the weather up, needs a turn to set up and relies on the Z to pick up on important KO's. Just 1v1 to slowbro it can't beat slowbro without the SD up, so you need to rely on the fact slowbro can't directly OHKO you(still does 78-93 with scald) and that it wouldn't burn you. This is also just 1 mon mentioned, you also have Palossand/blastoise/Piloswine/Bulky Rotom and relies on coverage to hit mons like vikavolt/BU braviary, Knock off for levitating ghosts and more.

&

Silvally-Steel and Togedemaru stay in B mid. Both have the use full type and Scarf togedemaru changed my mind around from wanting it to drop a subrank to letting it stay. With scarf it's a short term pressure to many electric types and serves as a major annoyance to passimian/rotom users as it pivots for free on both. Helmet mons have dropped in useage and it sure doesn't mind that. Silvally steel on the other hand fits nicely simalar to blastoise/cryogonal, possibly more like stoise as it lacks recovery and just as easily lets in mons. Does have pivoting utility that both of them lack and a straight up great type.

/

/

Vaporeon, Vikavolt and Vileplume; stay B mid. All 3 have this old trend to them, one more than the other.
Vaporeon actually likes to have stoise gone. Vilevplume lacks the speed to pressure stuff around for the wish pass set and the z-celebrate set is still solid. it's not directly revenge killed by the likes of stoutland/sandslash and abuses mons like Sneasel for set up. Also appriciates the slower pase of the rest of the meta when not regarding our scarf fight types. Vikavolt is just enjoyable, when not looking at sand it just pivots for free on basically anything. Relies on having rocks off the field for momentum gain and this is what makes me question my mind when saying its amazing in current meta. Vileplume to no ones suprise is B mid with the bulk and strength to add on or against sand teams. Aromatherapy is ment to be one of the main utilities it has but I lack the personal experience with that move for it in this meta.

- <3 Rhydonphilip

 

[rhydonphilip]

Now I know what people mind about double posts and I asked quziel about this nom.
This post is a double post because it's not ment to reflect down on any of the above mentioned relevancies because it's a nomination on it's own right. Unfortunatly I forgot to upload the replay vs quziel or whoever else I annoyed with this mon; otherwise I finally had a replay for an unlisted nomination(guess next time...);

Victreebel from Unlisted to C mid.

The set

Victreebel @ Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Giga Drain / Leaf Storm
- Sludge Bomb
- Knock Off / Sleep Powder / Hidden Power Fire / Weather Ball
- Strength Sap

I know at first sight it might look like a poor-mans Venusaur but yes, that's exactly what it is and it's even limited to sand teams to shine as bright as the acid inside. But past that it's a medium speed offensive Grass type with acces to a vareity of annoying moves and a form of recovery that actually turns any neutral physical attacker into something it can wall. With the Life Orb and one of the coverage options it also isn't held back by Xatu or Braviary who could have answered Vileplume and prevented it's recovery. This alone makes it have a niche. Now for Sand it stands out because there it has recovery to by pass this synthesis blocking issue and takes it to the next level with a proper ground or physical in general answere, despite the sour lack of bulk.

Definatly worth a slot on your sand teams and for once a mon I gladly wish to be possitioned C mid.

 

[etern]

B > B-: Absol is my baby, but like rhydonphillip said; with Pokemon like Passimian, Toxicroak, Comfey, and Whimsicott being so common your opportunities to set up an SD or clean with Sucker are much more limited. That being said, 4 Attacks with Knock / Sucker / Superpower / Iron Tail is a terrifying breaker that can really mess up common defensive cores atm and easily lure in and remove things that would normally check it. Unfortunately it's not quite as consistent as something like Sneasel or Incineroar because it lacks either the Speed or Defensive Utility to really justify a slot on teams too often nowadays. Still a decent mon, but B- would be a better fit for it atm.

B > B+: Gastrodon is super slept on for some reason but it's a fantastic glue for balance teams right now and checks a ton of stuff dominating the meta, for example; Heliolisk, Klinklang, Toxicroak, Diancie (Non-Specs), Slowbro, Rotom, and Steelix. Partner it up with something like Vileplume, Golbat, Silvally-Steel, or Cryogonal and you're set. Good mon, definitely on par with most of the stuff in B+.

B > B-/C+: Mesprit has always been mediocre to me in SM and it's definitely not good now. Scarf is awful outside of Healing Wish, but most of the time you're forced to click U-Turn a bunch of times since it's ridiculously easy to switch into for most teams. The offensive rocks set is passable, but I don't think an offensive rocker that gets halted by Silvally-Steel, Cryogonal, and struggles against Rotom is anything to write home about. It's also a super bad Fighting-type check and offers much less utility than the prominent rockers in the tier like Steelix, Diancie (Which can run an offensive set itself), Gigalith, and Torterra. Overdue for a drop.

B > B-: Not a bad mon and still quite threatening, but it's not quite as good as it used to be now that two amazing Fire-type counters (Diancie and Gigalith) have joined the tier. Not to mention that other meta trends like AV Slowbro, Sand, and the omnipresence of Scarf Passimian make Magmortar's life more difficult.

C > D: Altaria unfortunately hasn't been good since Emboar was around, loses to almost every rocker and offensive mon in the tier. Destroyed by Diancie, Gigalith, Comfey, Aromatisse, Croak, Vanilluxe, Cryogonal, Guzzlord, Malamar, Whimsicott, Sceptile, and the list goes on.

These Pokemon:

are all pretty awful, outclassed, or just have niches that suck atm, unrank so they can stop inflating bottom half of the VR.

Now I have a nomination for a Pokemon I've been using a ton the past month or so; Regice.

Regice @ Leftovers
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 180 SpA / 76 SpD (I run some speed but it's not mandatory)
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Ice Beam
- Toxic
- Rest
- Sleep Talk

This is the set I've been using on a stall team that I got reqs with, and it's still pretty good in the post Venusaur meta. Regice has titanic special bulk which lets it counter dangerous breakers like Specs Vanilluxe, Heliolisk, Whimsicott, Sigilyph, Sceptile, Vivillon, and AV Slowking / Slowbro which is super helpful for Stall, Semi-Stall, and Balance teams. Ice is obviously an amazing offensive typing, so you don't lose much by running mono Ice Beam, and even without a ton of investment you still hit most things relatively hard. Toxic lets you cripple anything bulky that may try to pivot in on you, like Pivot Slowbro, Mega Audino, Gigalith, Miltank, and Vaporeon. RestTalk means you never die and outlast any bulky walls that'll try to cripple you with Toxic and gives you more chances to roll Ice Beam which is pretty cool. (Also lets you act as a sleep absorber, super useful for fat teams). Clear Body is also fun because you beat Silvally-Steel (Without Multi Attack) 1v1 and block it from using Parting Shot. Apart from my bulky set, Offensive is also nice and breaks a lot common balance cores atm. Overall, solid mon with a clearly defined niche, this can move to C+.

 

[quziel]

Some noms:

Sneasel: A+ => A
With the rise of Diancie and Incineroar the opportunity cost of running Sneasel has risen a fair bit, and thanks to the current dominance of Sand and Passimian, it really ain't as hard to deal with as it was earlier. Just a mon that doesn't really like many current meta trends, and is falling in power as a result.

Passimian: A = > A+
The most reliable scarfer in the tier atm, has great bulk, and the ability to tailor its movepool to do a ton of stuff for its team. You need a mon that can trivially revenge kill Croak, you got it, you need a mon to lure in Comfey, you got it. Just an incredibly solid mon, with truly disgusting bulk for a scarfer. Sure, its Slowbro bait to an extent, but with U-turn, is it really?

Gigalith: A => A+ / S
Sand is currently running the tier, and this mon is a huge part of that. It singlehandedly enables Sand Offense, Sand Balance, and fits extremely well on almost any team, as it has titanic bulk on the special side, actually letting it check Vanilluxe, and just generally is showing its dominance. Not too much else to say other than that Sand is incredibly influential in the tier, and this mon's ranking should reflect that.

Xatu: A- => B+
Every single rocker can, and will build itself to be able to beat Xatu, making its job of blocking hazards very difficult. Its setup bait for a lot of the tier, and if your opponent is smart, they can, and will bring in Incineroar every time Xatu comes in to punish it, along with a bunch of other annoying stuff for it. Really, this reflects a change in how hazard setters are used, rather than an extreme change in the tier, and the mon def has been sliding in viability as the tier has gone on.

Blastoise: B => B+
Its reliable hazard control in a tier where that can be annoying to come across, as well as the fact that it matches up very well vs all the tier's rockers. Sure, its completely bait for stuff like Heliolisk, but its positives outweigh its negatives imo.

Comfey: B=>B+
This mon has shown itself to be incredibly potent if it gets the right matchup, providing a dual function for teams as a potent revenge killer vs threats such as Sandslash, Passimian, and Sneasel, while also threatening to end a game with its ability to CM up. Only reason I'm not pushing for higher is due to the mon's matchup issues, as it definitely has threats that it simply cannot deal with, ex. Ferroseed and co, barring random hidden power. Still, it is very possible to build around those weaknesses.

Sand stuff:
Sandslash: B=> A-/A
Stoutland: A-=>A/A+
Both of these pokemon have shown themselves as incredibly potent with the very low opportunity cost of sand support, with Sandslash being absurdly difficult to deal with if it can get a SD up, and Stoutland just being absurdly easy to use. Only real issue is that both mons are very vulnerable to Hail, and that Slash sorta needs that SD up to be so threatening. Either way, their ranking should reflect how good sand is atm.

Responses:
About Gallade:
Its niche is fairly centered on the fact that it can SD up and OHKO slowbro with a LO leaf blade at +2 rather reliably, giving it a very nice niche, which is something that Medicham cannot do without a Z-move. Its still rather threatening, and the ability to basically act as a Medicham that can just OHKO Slowbro with 1 free turn of setup is very useful, as is the ability to stomp Palossand. Generally in favor of this staying in B, as it has a useful niche, and not many other fighting types can do what it can.

+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Gallade Leaf Blade vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowbro: 367-434 (93.1 - 110.1%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO

Diancie:
Disagree with a rise to S, simply because it faces a metric fuck ton of competition, and the only role that it really has to itself, as an offensive breaker isn't worthy of S rank imo. Heal Bell is a nice niche, and can provide a use case, but imo also isn't worth S rank.

Klinklang:
Disagree with a rise; the rise of Passimian means this mon is really iffy if you're facing alolan primeape, as you need Steelium-Z to beat it, which means you aren't beating Slowbro, as well as Steelix coming back to the meta to completely nullify you. Its simply too matchup dependent to really be an A+ rank mon imo.

Tangela:
Agree with a rise, thing's bulk is simply titanic, and while it can't ever take a special hit, it def has a niche in terms of basically nullifying sand, as well as actually having an offensive presence thanks to 100 base special attack and the option to run a nuke in leaf storm.

Sceptile:
Agree with a rise, mon's fun atm, and just tossing out Leaf Storms is real great, as a lot of people are using grass resists that are fairly easy to wear down, with the exception of Golbat, but its very possible to build to beat that mon. SD also completely annihilates enemy sand offense, which is fun, provided you find a setup opportunity.

There's a ton of noms, and I'm tired, so I'll end the post here.

 

[Tangelo]

I will not let the corrupt council do away with Ambipom. As the only unironic user of the mon, I must defend it in this world of haters. We shall now address all of the unjustified monkey business Ambipom has to deal with.

Ambipom has low kick stop using pursuit it doesn't do anything anymore. This gives it a big niche over Cincinno, the other bad normal type of the tier who is comfortably sitting in b-. It means that it can actually hit Steelix for a 2HKO, and that it isn't set up fodder for Klinklang, doing a fat ~65%. The latter is especially important, as every one of Cincinno's moves is free for Klinklang. Teambuilding is a bit less linear as now you are less inclined to run Steelix as your rocker or Incineroar to not lose to Klinklang. Then there's the obvious stuff that some are understating the value of: technician fake out which does about 40% to Stoutland and eats a sand turn, the ability to switch moves so there's little fear of clicking your stab.

If anything the mon has gotten better with the rise of sand and the transition from defensive to AV Slowbro.

open ur eyes sheeple
---------------
First, taking out the trash:

drop Drampa to UR, Poliwrath to UR, Skuntank to UR, Charizard to UR

These mons are all straight dookie. Drampa and Skuntank should never have been ranked, Poliwrath's niche of beating Sneasel is negligible now with the tier adapting heavily, and Charizard was already bad lol but now it's gotta deal with Diancie and Gigalith.
---------------
Now the not trash!

But first, I'll go over some current meta trends (mainly based on my experiences in nupl):
1. Slowbro is using AV a lot more
2. Diancie/Lix/Gigalith are the main rockers, though there's been some Torterra and Piloswine usage
3. Passimian and Rotom are pretty much the only scarfers
4. Golbat usage is droping with the death of Venusaur
5. Klinklang is coming back into the meta
6. Incineroar is still king
7. Sneasel usage dropping

drop Xatu to B+, drop Rhydon to B+

I think Xatu is in a really bad spot rn, only stopping Steelix from rocking, while also being set up fodder for Klinklang and Incineroar. That being said, Steelix is still the most common rocker, so it's not totally garbage, and it still has value in bouncing back shit like toxic. That, and the fact that Sneasel is dropping in usage (though the reasons it's dropping in usage are also reasons Xatu should drop in usage except for Passimian....) lets Xatu have a baby niche. Rhydon currently struggles to make a name for itself with all the other rockers doing the stuff it does and more. It has a minor niche as an sd mon that can pressure fat builds, but it's really hard to fit on teams if it isn't your rocker.

raise Gigalith to S, Passimian to A+, Incineroar to S, Palossand to A-, Comfey to B+

Gigalith has on its own merit made itself out to be a solid mon in the meta, blanket checking the likes p much every special mon in the tier at least once and setting up rocks in one slot. Even without sand abusers, it would have a solid niche compared to other rockers. On its own, though, it's not really S, but thanks to dog and Sandslash, sand is now a meta defining playstyle, and as such the mon that is most integral to the archetype should be S. What makes this mon so powerful is that it is so splashable with Stoutland, as pretty much any 4 mon squad looking for a rocker (or even a band strong mon) + revenge killer.

Passimian is another super splashable mon that has really snuck its way into the metagame thanks to a lot of trends. The only set worth talking about is scarf, but taunt fightinium and band aren't bad. Mach 5 Passimian is a quality revenge killer vs the entire metagame and gives a nice check to mons like Incineroar and Toxicroak wo resorting to something super passive. Slowbro resorting to AV more often means Passimian cleans more often now, and even vs defensive bro u-turn is still strong.

Incineroar is so good rn as one of the few offensive Klinklang answers and has really molded the metagame around it. Though it's hard to tell because previously Sneasel was at the top of the tier, psychics are still nonexistent. It is forcing the use of fire checks that aren't Slowbro, and more or less requires a strong fighting now (aka Passimian or sometimes Hariyama). A super influential mon with many good sets (AV, SD, Iapapa) that imo kinda runs the tier with sand and Slowbro.

Big brain Eternally demonstrated the power of LO Comfey and I think the set has really pushed Comfey to a very good mon. It takes advantage of a lot of common meta trends (and struggles with others!). All of the rockers struggle to beat it, and the scarfers can't revenge it, while bulky teams have trouble dealing with taunt. Comfey pressures most fast shit and doesn't really have any matchups where it's big poop. On the other hand, some matchups it auto wins. It has some problems with Klinklang, Golbat and Incineroar (though the latter 2 aren't super hard to pressure), but that's why it's not higher (for now). Even Steelix takes around 30% from Giga Drain.

and regice is broken

 

[Elias PSY]

Torterra: B- to B/B+

A good mixed bulk, the ability to handle much common stuff like whimsicott, heliolisk (without hp ice) unboosted toxicroak, slowbro / king and passimian scarf makes it decent in addition to beating many sr setters in 1v1 (hi steelix, palossand).
Now I think he's even better with the sands team everywhere. He blocks sandslash, weakens gigalith, and is not affected by sand.

+2 252 Atk Sandslash Tectonic Rage (180 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Torterra: 234-276 (59.3 - 70%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
0 Atk Torterra Wood Hammer vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Sandslash: 258-306 (88.6 - 105.1%) -- 25% chance to OHKO after Leftovers recovery

Vivillon: B+ to B

Vivillon struggles to clean bulky teams when diancie, gigalith (again), or steelix blocks him.Yes, he takes advantage of accurate sleep powder but even with 3 turns of sleep, his low special attack cannot do much damage to most common defensive mons.Also the opponent just have to fall asleep a more useless pokemon and switch to his flying answer.

Calcs

+3 252 SpA Vivillon Supersonic Skystrike (185 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Gigalith in Sand: 162-192 (43.3 - 51.3%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery(Rock blast ohko in back)



+3 252 SpA Vivillon Supersonic Skystrike (185 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Diancie: 158-186 (51.9 - 61.1%) -- 96.1% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery (Diamond storm ohko in back)



+3 252 SpA Vivillon Supersonic Skystrike (185 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Silvally-Steel: 218-257 (55.3 - 65.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Homever he remains powerful as a late game cleaner so just drop to B imo.

 

[Ampharo]

Golduck @ Choice Specs/Life Orb
Ability: Cloud Nine
EVs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Ice Beam/Psychic
- Signal Beam
- Focus Blast
- Hydro Pump

Golduck UR>C+:

Okay hear me out, this thing actually has a significant niche. Due to it's cloud nine ability, it has the capability to completely screw over sand teams because it outspeeds both sand relevant mons once sand rush is negated, focus blast ohko'ing Stoutland and ice beam/hydro pump ohko'ing sandslash. It is less notable otherwise, but still has decent enough coverage, hitting Slowbro with signal beam (2hko), Croak with psychic, Heliolisk with blast, and being able to outspeed two powerful threats in Vanilluxe and Medicham that Samurott can't claim to do.

 

[JustoonSmitts]

I will not let the corrupt council do away with Ambipom. As the only unironic user of the mon, I must defend it in this world of haters. We shall now address all of the unjustified monkey business Ambipom has to deal with.

Ambipom has low kick stop using pursuit it doesn't do anything anymore. This gives it a big niche over Cincinno, the other bad normal type of the tier who is comfortably sitting in b-. It means that it can actually hit Steelix for a 2HKO, and that it isn't set up fodder for Klinklang, doing a fat ~65%. The latter is especially important, as every one of Cincinno's moves is free for Klinklang. Teambuilding is a bit less linear as now you are less inclined to run Steelix as your rocker or Incineroar to not lose to Klinklang. Then there's the obvious stuff that some are understating the value of: technician fake out which does about 40% to Stoutland and eats a sand turn, the ability to switch moves so there's little fear of clicking your stab.

If anything the mon has gotten better with the rise of sand and the transition from defensive to AV Slowbro.

open ur eyes sheeple

After playing with Ambipom for a while, I can say I may have been a bit harsh on my original thoughts on Ambipom. Yes, it has gotten better with the rise of sand, AV SLowbro, and it does have a niche in NU. STAB Technician Fake Out is pretty strong coming off of a base 100 Attack. The problem is that it's very hard to justify using Ambipom over other pivots or Normal-types on many teams nowadays. There are better pivots than Ambipom like Slowbro, Incineroar, or Silvally-Steel thanks to stronger STABS, much better defensive typings, and better defensive stats. It also has to compete with other Normal types like Stoutland, Zangoose, and even Cinccino since they offer much stronger coverage than Ambipom does. Even with a base 100 Attack, its damage output is poor since it has to rely on neutral damage with its STAB versus coverage moves and it can't do anything to bulky teams. It's also prone to being worn down by its Life Orb, sand, and status (especially Burn and Paralysis). It's also frail as rice paper, so it cannot take very many hits. Ambipom may be able to support your team, but it needs a lot of support itself.

Even if it looks appealing, there's a huge reason why you don't run Low Kick on Ambipom and why you always want Pursuit. Ambipom is a Pokémon that forces switches because of Fake Out and using Pursuit adds to the offensive pressure it can create. It also would force you to either give up Return (don't use Skill Link Tail Slap. That makes you a worse Cinccino.) or U-turn, which takes away its ability to pivot. Low Kick doesn't even dent Diancie, one of the best Rockers in NU, and its overall damage output is much less consistent than Return.

So while I agree it has gotten a little bit better, I don't agree with a rise at all. For now, I would keep it where it is at C.

First, taking out the trash:

drop Drampa to UR, Poliwrath to UR, Skuntank to UR, Charizard to UR

These mons are all straight dookie. Drampa and Skuntank should never have been ranked, Poliwrath's niche of beating Sneasel is negligible now with the tier adapting heavily, and Charizard was already bad lol but now it's gotta deal with Diancie and Gigalith.

I agree with the Charizard, Skuntank, and Poliwrath nominations. Charizard got screwed HARD by the introduction of Gigalith and Diancie and Skuntank bets beaten by every single Stealth Rocker in the tier. Poliwrath is a lot harder to use now that Comfey pretty much invalidates it and revenges Sneasel much better than Poliwrath. Drampa still has a place as a niche Specs user that puts a lot of pressure on defensive Pokémon like Slowbro, Ferroseed, and Steelix. I will agree the rise of AV Slowbro is not good for it. It's Speed is always a big problem, allowing it to be easily revenged by Pokémon like Sneasel or Medicham. That and locking yourself in the wrong move is very detrimental to it. But it still has a place in NU. It's just hard using it over other wallbreakers.

raise Gigalith to S, Passimian to A+, Incineroar to S, Palossand to A-, Comfey to B+

Gigalith has on its own merit made itself out to be a solid mon in the meta, blanket checking the likes p much every special mon in the tier at least once and setting up rocks in one slot. Even without sand abusers, it would have a solid niche compared to other rockers. On its own, though, it's not really S, but thanks to dog and Sandslash, sand is now a meta defining playstyle, and as such the mon that is most integral to the archetype should be S. What makes this mon so powerful is that it is so splashable with Stoutland, as pretty much any 4 mon squad looking for a rocker (or even a band strong mon) + revenge killer.

Passimian is another super splashable mon that has really snuck its way into the metagame thanks to a lot of trends. The only set worth talking about is scarf, but taunt fightinium and band aren't bad. Mach 5 Passimian is a quality revenge killer vs the entire metagame and gives a nice check to mons like Incineroar and Toxicroak wo resorting to something super passive. Slowbro resorting to AV more often means Passimian cleans more often now, and even vs defensive bro u-turn is still strong.

Incineroar is so good rn as one of the few offensive Klinklang answers and has really molded the metagame around it. Though it's hard to tell because previously Sneasel was at the top of the tier, psychics are still nonexistent. It is forcing the use of fire checks that aren't Slowbro, and more or less requires a strong fighting now (aka Passimian or sometimes Hariyama). A super influential mon with many good sets (AV, SD, Iapapa) that imo kinda runs the tier with sand and Slowbro.

Big brain Eternally demonstrated the power of LO Comfey and I think the set has really pushed Comfey to a very good mon. It takes advantage of a lot of common meta trends (and struggles with others!). All of the rockers struggle to beat it, and the scarfers can't revenge it, while bulky teams have trouble dealing with taunt. Comfey pressures most fast shit and doesn't really have any matchups where it's big poop. On the other hand, some matchups it auto wins. It has some problems with Klinklang, Golbat and Incineroar (though the latter 2 aren't super hard to pressure), but that's why it's not higher (for now). Even Steelix takes around 30% from Giga Drain.

I hard agree with all of these. I pretty much have nothing else to add other than Specs Comfey is also a pretty threatening set that doesn't require it to set up AND that can also potentially screw its counters like Ferroseed or Steelix with Trick. ;)

 

[yogi]

This is the first time I've made a NU VR post in a very long time, but I'm back I guess. So I'm only going to nominate one Pokemon, and that's...

Alolan Raticate c- > c+

This may seem very out there and super abstract, and you may be thinking "but the meta is super against it, especially with things like Diancie dropping". Well, that's where you are wrong:

Raticate-Alola @ Groundium Z
Ability: Hustle
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Sucker Punch
- Double-Edge
- Stomping Tantrum

This isn't my set, but I'm super happy with how it's performed so far. The ability to straight bop things like Diance, Garbodor (without taking around 65% recoil), Steelix after Sturdy is broken, and a plethora of other Pokemon at +2 is fantastic for Raticate, absolutely demolishing common cores like Brolix and such. Powerful priority right now is also what helps Alolan Raticate stand out, as foes such as Whimsicott don't actually want to take a +2 Sucker Punch, especially if they've been previously chipped. Something else super neat to note is that if you miss with any of your moves, Stomping Tantrum increases to base 150, essentially giving you a free Z move.

Just a replay displaying what I mean:
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7nu-755766969

 

[shiloh]

nu viability rankings update | may 31st, 2018

hey, sorry for the delay but was mainly waiting for the meta to settle post venu ban + got a bit busy myself. decided to do something different and include a spreadsheet with everyones vote this time so its more clear on how we voted.

click here to check it out
​

heres a summary of rises and drops anyway:
rises

comfey b -> b+
ferroseed b -> b+
gastrodon b -> b+
gigalith a -> s
incineroar a+ -> s
palossand b -> b+
passimian a -> a+
regice ur -> c
sandslash b -> a
sandslash-alola c+ -> b-
sceptile b+ -> a-
stoutland a- -> a+
tangela ur -> b-
vileplume b -> b+
weezing ur -> c-

drops

absol b -> c+
ambipom c -> c-
charizard c -> ur
delphox b+ -> b-
gallade b -> b-
golbat b -> c+
gurdurr c- -> ur
mesprit b -> c+
mismagius b -> b-
poliwrath c- -> ur
raticate-alola c- -> ur
rhydon a -> a-
smeargle c- -> ur
type: null a -> a-
typhlosion c- -> ur
xatu a- -> b+
zangoose b- -> c+

overall this was a lot of cleaning up the b ranks as well as the lower c ranks. we also added two new mons to s rank, gigalith and incineroar as they both are at the top of the meta right now. with sandslash and stoutland also moving up to show how dominating sand has been over the past few weeks. fire types aside from incineroar were all on the decline though, with delphox, charizard, and typhlosion all dropping ranks, typhlosion and charizard both unranked in fact. golbat saw a fairly big shift in viability, with talks of it being brought up into the a's before venus ban where it promptly was taken down the the c's.

let me know if you like the change with spreadsheet being public, and keep on nominating what you want to see changed. aiming for another vote in two weeks, so stay tuned till then n_n

also with disjunction and kiyo both leaving recently we've added Stan Soojung to the vr council as well n_n

 

[Rabia]

A -> A-
Guzzlord has been on a downward trend for awhile. Diancie not only devours it (Steel-Z is a good lure but idt that's all too common) but gives it competition as a breaker with Spex, and Passimian being the most common Choice Scarf user means it's going to be threatened out pretty constantly. Sand being as good as it is is also a problem for it.

C- -> D / unrank
shit mon

Steelix has always existed and given this trouble since it OHKOs with Heavy Slam through shields; PhysDef Diancie eats a hit from +2 Minior and Diamond Storm doesn't need much damage to kill with shields up; Sneasel is still a very good Pokemon and revenges with Ice Shard. This thing doesn't really get usage outside of low ladder and while usage isn't necessarily indicative of viability, it literally not existing in NUPL is not encouraging. Minior is also outclassed imo by Omastar as a Shell Smash user given Omastar's more immediate power and still decent enough bulk which lets it set up well enough.

tbh not sure about Minior nom since most of its defensive checks are easy to get the chip you need; I personally have never seen it do anything though and its low usage in tournament play to me speaks something

C- -> higher
Being a fairly nice pick on Sand teams warrants a rise out of the shithole that is C- tbh. Essentially gains a Shell Smash offensive boost with Sand Rush + Swords Dance and getting that SpDef boost under Sand makes it easier to set up than usual. Definitely at least a C+ Pokemon that is underappreciated by the ladder.

 

[JustoonSmitts]

**artwork by me**

I hard agree that Minior should just be unranked already. It may be as cute as a button and a decent set-up sweeper (on paper), but in practice it simply doesn't do anything in NU. Even if sand makes setting up easier, it's way too easily pressured by priority users like Sneasel and Medicham and bulky Pokémon that can eat its STABS like Gigalith, Diancie, and especially Steelix can easily revenge kill it. Slowbro also eats a hit easily at +2 and can easily threaten it with Scald. Pokémon like Lycanroc and Omastar are much better set-up sweepers since Lycanroc has a great Z-move and Accelrock (which also pressures Minior) and Omastar has a much better offensive type and movepool. I haven't seen anyone use it in ages, so it won't surprise me if it drops to PU next month. Even then, I don't see it lasting in PU. It might just get quickbanned or suspected like Archeops did (if Arceops was bad enough for a suspect, Minior is going to be cancer). It may be cute and colorful, but Minor REALLY just sucks right now...

Down to the shadow realm with ye, ya Technicolor comet.