Finch, blink twice if you're in danger. This ain't like you!
Alright. Jokes aside, here are some of my thoughts about some of the nominations (also, shoutouts to y'all for unblacklisting Zygarde; imma cook something spicy up in a few weeks):
Ash-Greninja to S: VERY SLIGHTLY Disagree
Make no mistake: this thing is fucking incredible. Wallbreaker, revenge killer, anti-offense threat that fits phenomenally well on rain teams, Spiker, the works. And Ice Beam sets becoming a little more prominent lets it break past some of its would-be counters a lot more easily, which is crucial because Bulu and Tangrowth are literally everywhere right now to the point where I'm almost never seeing a team without one or the other. But I still feel like Ash-Greninja is a tad one-dimensional even though that one set (well, maybe two sets) it has happens to be one of the forces that defines the metagame. I wouldn't consider it as splashable as Lando-T or Heatran and I'm leaning a bit towards it staying in A+ right now. But again, this doesn't mean I don't think Ash-Greninja is one of the most centralizing forces in the meta, because it most certainly is.
Mega Mawile to S: ...Kinda Agree
I'd argue that this is definitely over the edge compared to Ash-Greninja, even though it's strictly an offensive threat as well: it combines a great defensive typing with several crucial immunities and resists, a great pre-Mega ability, and non-negligible bulk with a downright ludicrous movepool and a monstrous Attack stat to break literally anything, period. Focus Punch/Brick Break bops Heatran, Sucker Punch forces opponents into a nasty 50/50 situation and gives offensive teams hell, Thunder Punch reams Celesteela and Pex, Fire Fang reams Scizor, and its STABs aren't anything to scoff at either. Mawile can pick and choose whatever the hell it wants to beat with its four moveslots and you most likely won't know what options it's opting to run until it claims something's life anyway. I'm still a bit iffy about this one compared to Heatran and Landorus-T and even Zygarde, but if anything should go to S between it and Ash-Greninja it should most certainly be this behemoth.
Chansey to A-: Somewhat Disagree... but
Mega Sableye to A-: Strongly Agree
I'm not sure if I'm completely sold on Chansey rising up to A, but I definitely agree that Mega Sableye should rise a subrank. Both are Stall staples and both tend to see some use outside of their dedicated archetypes from time to time, but I'd argue that these two Stall staples should be ranked identically for the time being, although I'm not necessarily
opposed to a Chansey rise to A. Moreover, Mega Sableye makes for Volcarona's best partner, and Volcarona is becoming a significantly stronger threat now. Y'all should try out the CM+Mean Look set I tried meming with earlier since it's actually kinda clean in practice every now and again, too, although it's obviously not what MSab is known for.
Mega Diancie from B+ to A-: Agree
Turns out Protect is pretty amazing on this after all. Mega Diancie is a little underprepared for, in my opinion, and that's what makes it so incredibly deadly. There are entire teams that can only avoid getting bodied by this thing by manipulating the very RNG of the game itself to strategically dodge Diamond Storm (
cough Omari cough), and it still has plenty of other options it can run to deal with offense, balance, and stall should one want to run Rock Polish or CM, although I'd say Protect is best for now and most would be inclined to agree.
Tapu Fini from B- to... anywhere higher tbh: Agree
Good Defogger. Not passive. Provides status immunity for several turns. Can chip away at Stall super well. Good defensive typing. Can lure, trap, and kill Pex in a massive turn of events, letting it support Volcarona decently well. Fini offers quite a bit more to teams than many of us initially gave it credit for and I don't think I'd be very opposed to seeing it rise up a bit.
Mega Zard Y from B- to B: Agree
I'm gonna resist the urge to make a Finch vs. Omari joke again, but I genuinely think Zard Y is massively underappreciated and underrated at the moment. It tends to be a massive pain to switch in on and that ultimately leaves many of its best counters relegated to fatter teams that it's still very, very capable of wallbreaking past. It's solid despite its shortcomings by virtue of its bad typing and a rise to B doesn't seem too unreasonable.
Mega Heracross from B to B+: Strongly Agree
Fat stuff go up, big bug go up too. Mega Heracross doesn't have too terribly much trouble demolishing Stall right from the word go and its counters are limited to a very, very select few things that aren't even run on all Stall variants. Gliscor variants on Stall sometimes run Wing Attack for this thing alone because it's
that terrifying.
Blacephalon from B- to B: Strongly Agree
Its offensive typing isn't the best, but it
really appreciates Tyranitar's decline. Although I'd still argue Gengar has a few things worth using it for over Blacephalon, I personally think Blacephalon is better by a decent enough margin at this point. Despite its inability to hit a select few prominent threats, it has quite a diverse movepool and a stat spread that really lets it shine in some aspects, such as a Speed Boosting Sub+CM set, typical Specs/Scarf sets, etc. I don't think B is
too unreasonable for it, but I also don't think Finch made this nom.
Avalugg from C to C+: Strongly Agree
This iceberg is one of the few things in the tier that can get in Zygarde's way and sink it so consistently and I still firmly believe Zygarde is an extraordinarily powerful threat even if some may argue it isn't worthy of S yet. Plus, it's not half-bad as a spinner for the fat teams it fits on.
Tornadus-Therian from A+ to A: Very, Very Strongly Disagree
This thing benefits greatly from the rise in popularity of Tangrowth in two senses: it has another target it can deal some nasty damage to, and it has a fantastic teammate to pivot around with since they form such a downright brutal Regenerator core. While I don't think it's as incredible as it once was, it's still arguably one of the best offensive pivots in the tier, and arguably one of the best Defoggers in the tier too (if not
the best Defogger). I can't say I fully understand why it's being nominated for a drop when it still breaks what it needs to, Knocks what it needs to, and gets rid of Stealth Rocks as it always should.
Not gonna comment on Volcanion or Mega Aerodactyl since I haven't used them enough but I'd argue there are a hundred and one megas I
could use in this tier that are better than Mega Aerodactyl so I don't think I'd be too opposed to unranking that shit. Also don't have any replays for Kommo-o so I'm gonna stay away from that one.
