Howdy,
With regards to SS UU, I believe that very few people actually like this tier as is and for the rest it's simply tolerable with it's own fair issues. There's a few current meta defenders with valid arguments, but to not take this opportunity to try something new in a rather solved and stale meta would be a shame to pass up. Even if an official decision is not made on behalf of a tested mon at the end of the tour, there is no harm in experimenting with the tier for the duration of the tour. In addition to potentially freeing something(s) for this tour, I would like to propose a secondary option in being able to ban something(s) that is currently within the tier for the duration of the tour as a means to see what the tier is like without the presence/influence in question. This is something that could be applicable to the other UU tiers as well as something to consider. I'm not really in a position to discuss GSC UU in depth, but imagine a no Granbull/Scyther/Nidoqueen/etc. meta, a no Kangaskhan in ADV UU etc., no Primarima/Cobalion/etc. lol, legit any other tier could apply this if that's of interest to the masses.
Anyways, as far as SS tiering goes, I believe there's I think there's two routes that could be taken that revolve around Primarina. This mon is one of the more centralizing things in the tier, with fair arguments on both sides for and against this mon in the tier. That being said, I feel like things that could be freed from UUBL vary a ton depending on whether this mon exists or not within the tier. When SS was current generation, the bans of Mienshao/Kommo-o/Moltres-galar/Aegislash really put the final nail in the coffin leading to Prima's dominance within the tier. Not to say that Prima wasn't good into these mons, but these were all mons that could threaten it in some way that could be argued to have been healthy interactions on the basis of Prima's influence alone. I believe that in the current meta Prima just has way too much freedom in that very few things can actually pressure it, on top of just having the set versatility to bypass every one of its checks (even just Scald burns making bulky grasses set up fodder or losing regardless to Calm Mind if they lack physical coverage to hit it) outside of very niche mons that aren't UU by usage in Articuno and Mantine. Ideally, any mons up for consideration to be freed from UUBL should be to counteract this dynamic in some way if we're looking at taking the route to preserve Primarina in the tier. The alternative route would be to ban Primarina to make team building easier and going from there as to what should be freed from UUBL. A third option would be to see the tier with the end-of-gen would-be shifts without the tier lock so the uu tier without Rotom-wash/Excadrill/Crawdaunt/Gastrodon/Blaziken. I'm curious as to what others think about these routes, but as far as UUBL drops within the current tier goes I think it's tough to imagine freeing any one mon by itself, but it would be the safest thing to do test wise if changing the tier is agreed upon at some point. My quick thoughts on the UUBLs:
Aegislash: I was a fan of Aegislash's centralization in the tier but the sentiment against it is understandable, although I do believe the addition of this mon could allow for additional things to be freed without as much worry, but this is a pretty drastic change that isn't too far away from what current gen ss players may have experienced so perhaps it would be better to consider things that were banned at an earlier time.
Alakazam: Absolutely not lol this mon just shreds everything and I recall that it could very easily EV for most priority hits as well without missing out on too much power so I can't see this being a healthy addition.
Arctozolt: This is the mon that I believe has a real basis for a retest out of all the BLs. This mon was deemed too much at a time when Alolan-Ninetales was in the tier and Ninetales undeniably offered a lot for the hail playstyle in combination with Arctozolt, but since Ninetales currently resides in OU I think it could be worth giving this mon another chance. The hail playstyle in the current tier would rely on Vanilluxe/Aurorus/Abomasnow, so it is a weird nerf in a way to not have Ninetales but could still very well have potential to be a legit playstyle. Arctozolt only really needed its stabs to function, so it has some solid options for the last two move slots that could be of some concern on top of being able to set its own hail without a dedicated setter as well.
Blaziken: This mon was interesting in the time it was allowed in UU in that there was counterplay options to it, but would definitely still be borderline. The appeal to freeing this would be that it is something that would play into the Prima dynamic, but I remember one of the arguments for banning this mon was that it could essentially pick its checks, so I feel like it would kinda do a lot of what Prima already does so if this mon ever got freed it would likely need to be freed with something alongside it like Latias maybe.
Dracozolt: This mon required very specific answers and resists most of the tiers priority methods outside of Zydog as well, so probably not a good presence.
Gengar: Could be interesting to test, but seems borderline just based on the wicked movepool and offensive stats it has on paper. However, this mon is on the more frail side and 110 speed is good, but falls within the awkward range for SS speedtier standards so maybe in practice it's fine?
Hawlucha: This mon would boost terrain playstyles, but definitely has the means to exist independently. I think this is another case of a mon that probably can't be freed alone or just depends too much on what else is freed.
Kommo-o: I actually was very fond of this mon while it was in the tier, but it undeniably has great set versatility. I'd be fond of giving this mon another chance since it did have legit means of counterplay, just scouting it was the difficult aspect about it, but I know this is a minority opinion so I can't see this being freed unless maybe Aegislash and perhaps something else existed alongside it.
Latios: Nah bro, the tier could barely handle Latias, we dont need an even stronger version of it around.
Latias: This was an interesting mon during its time in UU. I think in an alternate reality this mon could have stayed in the tier and been fine maybe, but I am a lot more skeptical of it without Aegislash and Goltres around. I remember scouting its set was somewhat challenging since its set versatility was very good, but could be adapted to perhaps. I'd be inclined to give this a chance ultimately.
Mienshao: This mon was just way too good at what it did in outlasting its checks to where it's probably still unhealthy. This mon did have some neat set options in Scarf and even Assault Vest though, but I think the negatives outweigh the positives here.
Moltres-galar: This was the coinflip mon as some like to call it based on whether it could flinch or not, but did occasionally have difficulty setting up. How quickly this mon can boost is not to be underestimated though considering Berserk, and it also had no issue pulling off mono coverage + rest sets as well with its decent bulk. This is a mon that could play into the Prima dynamic, but it's probably better to stay gone unless Aegislash is ever freed again.
Terrakion: Another negatives outweighing the positives situation and just has a lot going for it.
Thundy-I: Originally, I was an advocate in pushing for its ban in cg SS and am still very much skeptical about a faster Thundy-t being in the tier, like Thundy-t is already kinda the unwallable and is very good at generating momentum, Thundy-I having the speed tier bonus is still very much a scary thought. It was very good at punishing slower structures with how unblockable Knock Off on it was and could outlast its checks. The pivot set utilized Defiant often and could easily rack up significant chip into Salamence/Krookodile structures and Defogs, and I remember pivot and Nasty Plot sets had very different checks from each other. This mon would be interesting to see in the modern meta though, but I'm inclined to believe it might still be too much, but seems like a worthy test candidate overall.
Zapdos-galar: Decently strong with epic stabs, Choiced sets seem like the most optimal things on it so the speed tier may be one thing to hold it back and it could be argued that locking into a stab move could be punishable on top of wearing itself down with Brave Bird if it wants to do any real damage and Rocky Helmet is common enough to where thru priority it could end up being okayish in practice. This mon isn't exactly frail though. Maybe could be worth looking at in the future at some point or if Aegislash is ever freed, might be a worthy test candidate overall.
In my eyes to address the Prima dynamic if the goal was to preserve it, the ideal UUBL drops would be Aegislash + one of the fighting types, but well Aegislash kinda would open the door to more options that may or may not be welcome, so to ever free this mon again we would have to be accepting of drastic changes in the tier and follow it thru, which could be its own discussion at some point. Realistically, Arctozolt seems like the most plausible thing without too many potential consequences, but above all this form of testing just revolves around how much were looking to explore in the tier at this time.
Again, anything that is selected to be freed doesn't have to be final at the end of the tour, so if we can explore something at this time we very much should imo. I think in general this sort of medium to explore options of the sort should exist in some way. I encourage players of the non-mentioned UU tiers to also consider taking this opportunity for this kind of experimenting even just for science.
Thanks for reading and would love to hear yalls thoughts on this! :]
With regards to SS UU, I believe that very few people actually like this tier as is and for the rest it's simply tolerable with it's own fair issues. There's a few current meta defenders with valid arguments, but to not take this opportunity to try something new in a rather solved and stale meta would be a shame to pass up. Even if an official decision is not made on behalf of a tested mon at the end of the tour, there is no harm in experimenting with the tier for the duration of the tour. In addition to potentially freeing something(s) for this tour, I would like to propose a secondary option in being able to ban something(s) that is currently within the tier for the duration of the tour as a means to see what the tier is like without the presence/influence in question. This is something that could be applicable to the other UU tiers as well as something to consider. I'm not really in a position to discuss GSC UU in depth, but imagine a no Granbull/Scyther/Nidoqueen/etc. meta, a no Kangaskhan in ADV UU etc., no Primarima/Cobalion/etc. lol, legit any other tier could apply this if that's of interest to the masses.
Anyways, as far as SS tiering goes, I believe there's I think there's two routes that could be taken that revolve around Primarina. This mon is one of the more centralizing things in the tier, with fair arguments on both sides for and against this mon in the tier. That being said, I feel like things that could be freed from UUBL vary a ton depending on whether this mon exists or not within the tier. When SS was current generation, the bans of Mienshao/Kommo-o/Moltres-galar/Aegislash really put the final nail in the coffin leading to Prima's dominance within the tier. Not to say that Prima wasn't good into these mons, but these were all mons that could threaten it in some way that could be argued to have been healthy interactions on the basis of Prima's influence alone. I believe that in the current meta Prima just has way too much freedom in that very few things can actually pressure it, on top of just having the set versatility to bypass every one of its checks (even just Scald burns making bulky grasses set up fodder or losing regardless to Calm Mind if they lack physical coverage to hit it) outside of very niche mons that aren't UU by usage in Articuno and Mantine. Ideally, any mons up for consideration to be freed from UUBL should be to counteract this dynamic in some way if we're looking at taking the route to preserve Primarina in the tier. The alternative route would be to ban Primarina to make team building easier and going from there as to what should be freed from UUBL. A third option would be to see the tier with the end-of-gen would-be shifts without the tier lock so the uu tier without Rotom-wash/Excadrill/Crawdaunt/Gastrodon/Blaziken. I'm curious as to what others think about these routes, but as far as UUBL drops within the current tier goes I think it's tough to imagine freeing any one mon by itself, but it would be the safest thing to do test wise if changing the tier is agreed upon at some point. My quick thoughts on the UUBLs:
Aegislash: I was a fan of Aegislash's centralization in the tier but the sentiment against it is understandable, although I do believe the addition of this mon could allow for additional things to be freed without as much worry, but this is a pretty drastic change that isn't too far away from what current gen ss players may have experienced so perhaps it would be better to consider things that were banned at an earlier time.
Alakazam: Absolutely not lol this mon just shreds everything and I recall that it could very easily EV for most priority hits as well without missing out on too much power so I can't see this being a healthy addition.
Arctozolt: This is the mon that I believe has a real basis for a retest out of all the BLs. This mon was deemed too much at a time when Alolan-Ninetales was in the tier and Ninetales undeniably offered a lot for the hail playstyle in combination with Arctozolt, but since Ninetales currently resides in OU I think it could be worth giving this mon another chance. The hail playstyle in the current tier would rely on Vanilluxe/Aurorus/Abomasnow, so it is a weird nerf in a way to not have Ninetales but could still very well have potential to be a legit playstyle. Arctozolt only really needed its stabs to function, so it has some solid options for the last two move slots that could be of some concern on top of being able to set its own hail without a dedicated setter as well.
Blaziken: This mon was interesting in the time it was allowed in UU in that there was counterplay options to it, but would definitely still be borderline. The appeal to freeing this would be that it is something that would play into the Prima dynamic, but I remember one of the arguments for banning this mon was that it could essentially pick its checks, so I feel like it would kinda do a lot of what Prima already does so if this mon ever got freed it would likely need to be freed with something alongside it like Latias maybe.
Dracozolt: This mon required very specific answers and resists most of the tiers priority methods outside of Zydog as well, so probably not a good presence.
Gengar: Could be interesting to test, but seems borderline just based on the wicked movepool and offensive stats it has on paper. However, this mon is on the more frail side and 110 speed is good, but falls within the awkward range for SS speedtier standards so maybe in practice it's fine?
Hawlucha: This mon would boost terrain playstyles, but definitely has the means to exist independently. I think this is another case of a mon that probably can't be freed alone or just depends too much on what else is freed.
Kommo-o: I actually was very fond of this mon while it was in the tier, but it undeniably has great set versatility. I'd be fond of giving this mon another chance since it did have legit means of counterplay, just scouting it was the difficult aspect about it, but I know this is a minority opinion so I can't see this being freed unless maybe Aegislash and perhaps something else existed alongside it.
Latios: Nah bro, the tier could barely handle Latias, we dont need an even stronger version of it around.
Latias: This was an interesting mon during its time in UU. I think in an alternate reality this mon could have stayed in the tier and been fine maybe, but I am a lot more skeptical of it without Aegislash and Goltres around. I remember scouting its set was somewhat challenging since its set versatility was very good, but could be adapted to perhaps. I'd be inclined to give this a chance ultimately.
Mienshao: This mon was just way too good at what it did in outlasting its checks to where it's probably still unhealthy. This mon did have some neat set options in Scarf and even Assault Vest though, but I think the negatives outweigh the positives here.
Moltres-galar: This was the coinflip mon as some like to call it based on whether it could flinch or not, but did occasionally have difficulty setting up. How quickly this mon can boost is not to be underestimated though considering Berserk, and it also had no issue pulling off mono coverage + rest sets as well with its decent bulk. This is a mon that could play into the Prima dynamic, but it's probably better to stay gone unless Aegislash is ever freed again.
Terrakion: Another negatives outweighing the positives situation and just has a lot going for it.
Thundy-I: Originally, I was an advocate in pushing for its ban in cg SS and am still very much skeptical about a faster Thundy-t being in the tier, like Thundy-t is already kinda the unwallable and is very good at generating momentum, Thundy-I having the speed tier bonus is still very much a scary thought. It was very good at punishing slower structures with how unblockable Knock Off on it was and could outlast its checks. The pivot set utilized Defiant often and could easily rack up significant chip into Salamence/Krookodile structures and Defogs, and I remember pivot and Nasty Plot sets had very different checks from each other. This mon would be interesting to see in the modern meta though, but I'm inclined to believe it might still be too much, but seems like a worthy test candidate overall.
Zapdos-galar: Decently strong with epic stabs, Choiced sets seem like the most optimal things on it so the speed tier may be one thing to hold it back and it could be argued that locking into a stab move could be punishable on top of wearing itself down with Brave Bird if it wants to do any real damage and Rocky Helmet is common enough to where thru priority it could end up being okayish in practice. This mon isn't exactly frail though. Maybe could be worth looking at in the future at some point or if Aegislash is ever freed, might be a worthy test candidate overall.
In my eyes to address the Prima dynamic if the goal was to preserve it, the ideal UUBL drops would be Aegislash + one of the fighting types, but well Aegislash kinda would open the door to more options that may or may not be welcome, so to ever free this mon again we would have to be accepting of drastic changes in the tier and follow it thru, which could be its own discussion at some point. Realistically, Arctozolt seems like the most plausible thing without too many potential consequences, but above all this form of testing just revolves around how much were looking to explore in the tier at this time.
Again, anything that is selected to be freed doesn't have to be final at the end of the tour, so if we can explore something at this time we very much should imo. I think in general this sort of medium to explore options of the sort should exist in some way. I encourage players of the non-mentioned UU tiers to also consider taking this opportunity for this kind of experimenting even just for science.
Thanks for reading and would love to hear yalls thoughts on this! :]
