Resource Monotype Viability Rankings [March 2024]

[Pengairxan]

Poison laddering has been happening so, here we go again.
C -> B
Dragon, thats all I'm going to say.
Okay I should expand on that.
Gengar's STAB Shadow ball is still a respectable special attack in this Meta and has a great advantage over both Glimmora and Iron Moth's non Poison STAB of being heavily unresistant by Common Dragons with only Roaring Moon resisting it. It also comes packing some very specialized and incredible coverage in Icy Wind being able to remove threats like Landorus, Gliscor and Garchomp after some chip (or just Ebelt in Landorus case), trick to agonize walls or even offensive threats like Kingambit with Choice Items, Will-O-Wisp to mess up physical attackers and Destiny Bond as a good ol hail merry. It can even work alongside Iron Moth and Glimmora providing complements them by running Coverage they can't afford on their set/run in general. I.e Iron Moth can't afford to run Energy Ball on this set? Gengar can run it instead. Glimmora can't learn Electric coverage? Gengar's got its back.
This isn't even a joke, I've started running both Iron Moth and Gengar to success.

Now onto the actual write up.
A -> S
S ->
I did this last DLC and I'll do this again.

Amoonguss role like always is still an incredible physical wall that takes on the Ground type, and with how much more powerful it has gotten after DLC2 with the return of Excadrill, Amoonguss has felt more extesional than ever. Even more so than Geezing which while solid in its own right, doesn't threaten Ground-types back in response and often leads to a quick howdy doody from Bloodmoon and Landorus which are mons Poison teams gag at. Even in other tough matchups like Dragon and Steel, the threat of Spore can create breathing room to force a switch which can allow a Poison team to spread other statuses, heal up or get a better mon into position safely for said matchup. (I.e I've got an Amoonguss in against a Kingambit and they go Ghold so I can call that out and position something like my Salazzle or Alolan Muk to make some key progress)

Galarian Weezing meanwhile has issues, 4 moveslot syndrome is the main one. Its good into Dragon and Dark, yeah. But Steel is a complete no show for it with how problematic the entire is with it always inviting in Gholdengo or Heatran who just laugh at it before kill it. But it also just doesn't threaten Grounds the same way Amoonguss does. Like sure it burnt the Clodsire, but now what? Just keep spamming Fairy stab and Defog until something happens? And you have to switch out against Bloodmoon/Landorus or else its just an OKHO and you've got to hard ball to AMuk or Glowking hoping to god it doesn't setup so you can make some level of progress in the matchup still.

It also doesn't help that Galarian Weezing can't really handle most Dragons (The one of the big reasons I presume it is now S rank), Just going to S, A, and B real quick, The only Dragons where Geezing has a consistent postivie matchup basically are Garchomp which is a hazard bot and maybe Roaring Moon because banded Iron Head does exist and 2 hits us. But the rest are either full on special attackers like Hoodra and Latias, Possibly special or physical like Dragapult and Kommo-o which requires knowledge for us to check in the first place or are physical but don't care anyway about burns like Gouging and Baxcalibur. Hell Gouging just see Geezing and free setup because unless you're running Toxic Haze, you don't do anything to it.

 

[The Black Hippopotas]

This is me asking a question that's probably silly because I lack information but...

I see Trapinch is D Rank in Ground. I guess the reason is Arena Trap.

My question is...why isn't Dugtrio then ranked? Is Dugtrio banned?

If it isn't banned, then it doesn't make sense that Trapinch is ranked but Dugtrio isn't. And then I nominate Dugtrio to C Rank due the stuff it does the best: trap and revenge kill.

 

[Scarfire]

This is me asking a question that's probably silly because I lack information but...

I see Trapinch is D Rank in Ground. I guess the reason is Arena Trap.

My question is...why isn't Dugtrio then ranked? Is Dugtrio banned?

If it isn't banned, then it doesn't make sense that Trapinch is ranked but Dugtrio isn't. And then I nominate Dugtrio to C Rank due the stuff it does the best: trap and revenge kill.

First Impression memes for the most part. Traps Chien, Wellspring, Meowscarada etc. Not much more.

Edit: do wanna add its kind of a meme nomination for it to even be in D rank, neither Trapinch nor Dugtrio have any worth on ground, they take up important slots for EXTREMELY little value and the things they do aren't like..impossible to do regardless (checking the aforementioned trappable targets)

 

[Guzzles]

This is me asking a question that's probably silly because I lack information but...

I see Trapinch is D Rank in Ground. I guess the reason is Arena Trap.

My question is...why isn't Dugtrio then ranked? Is Dugtrio banned?

If it isn't banned, then it doesn't make sense that Trapinch is ranked but Dugtrio isn't. And then I nominate Dugtrio to C Rank due the stuff it does the best: trap and revenge kill.

It’s mainly just that Trapinch can secure OHKO hits on mons with Choice Band First Impression that Dugtrio could not with Trapinch’s rlly high atk stat, things like Ogerpon-W, Chien, Meowscarada can all be OHKOd whereas Dugtrio couldn’t reliably kill any of these mons

 

[numeronormal]

Balanced Normal is generally the most stable way to play Normal. P2 is generally super important for this and so on. Foul Play beats Dragon because Dragon tends to capitalise off of setup mons. It helps prevent Baxcal setting up, and if it does, chances are that you get a kill on it. Also, you can trace Archaludon’s Stamina and 1v1 it. There are plenty of situations where P2 is stgruper useful with Trace and can really help with an opponent’s team. I’ve played matches where I trace Ogerpon-Wellspring’s Water Absorb to wall it and win, or yeah, tracing Regenerator against the Amoongus-Toxapex Poison core. I’d say Porygon2 is probably the mon that makes the vast majority of Normal teams “glue”, and I think it’s probably down to lack of experience and/or your team not building around it properly. It’s huge in discouraging the setup mons that a lot of the metagame revolves around and it has coverage with BoltBeam and further options. If anything, yeah, I would probably agree with the idea that it even deserves S-rank but I’m not overly bothered about the current placement given it’s with Ditto etc. which are just as pivotal. Generally this mon does not deserve a drop in rank at all.

I am late to respond to this, but all i gotta say is you are creating a solution for a problem that doesn't exist. Even without porygon 2 (and even blissey), normal should have zero issues with dragon/steel/water/ground. Fire as well (but thats a discussion not pertaining to porygon2). I've never been in a situation where I am like yea I need to foul play or ice beam some dragon or gliscor, or atk/spd boosted ogerpon (from my perspective all ogerpon variant is a fraud) giving me problems, or some baxcalibur/gouging fire is preventing from me to win (even if I used ditto as a last resort), or I need to trace regenerator to live longer. All boltbeam does is give neutral coverage to many typings, but without heavy sp.atk IV investment, itss really a limited usage to a balanced normal team. Such a limitation means that Porygon2 might not be the optimal choice for every team or situation, and thus does not fit the proper definition of A. (Moreover, I've spoken to some top normal players in the ladder and hold similar thoughts on P2, being not belonging to A and therefore lower than A).

Additionally, if balanced normal is a thing to play normal, I did play balanced normally initially before I changed playstyle. Therefore, I believe:

Oinkologne-F UR -> low B or high C (if Snorlax is moved to D). This thing is literally a better version of Snorlax w/ Aroma Veil. Thick Fat is not missed much, and while its slightly less bulky, with Stockpile, you lowkey wall every dark team in the game.

Finally, these things should be UR:
Maushold: D -> UR
Cincinno: D -> UR
Porygon Z: D -> UR

By placing these things on the ranking, you are literally inviting new players to use things that don't work. Maushold and Cincinno literally KOs themselves against rocky helmet, or max stacks stamina against Archaludon. And if you are a hazard user, how about you destroy your own efforts with tidy up? Sure its a defog, but they are too squishy to take advantage of the damage boost. Population Bomb with wide lens is overrated. If you miss even 1 hit, it doesn't do anything, and these two mice/rabbit hybrids are so reliant on wide lens to make it work. Its too volatile. And Porygon-Z, I got no words its just bad, its worse than D.

 

[Neko]

Oinkologne-F UR -> low B or high C (if Snorlax is moved to D). This thing is literally a better version of Snorlax w/ Aroma Veil. Thick Fat is not missed much, and while its slightly less bulky, with Stockpile, you lowkey wall every dark team in the game.

Snorlax is most definitely less niche than Oinkologne due to its sheer stats which lets it deal with pesky attackers from both sides of the spectrum. For instance:
+1 252 Atk Gouging Fire Flare Blitz vs. +1 248 HP / 8 Def Thick Fat Snorlax: 127-150 (24.2 - 28.6%) -- 99% chance to 4HKO
+1 0 Atk Snorlax Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Gouging Fire: 200-236 (56.9 - 67.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 SpA Choice Specs Flutter Mane Moonblast vs. 248 HP / 252+ SpD Snorlax: 162-192 (30.9 - 36.7%) -- 68% chance to 3HKO
0 Atk Snorlax Heavy Slam (120 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Flutter Mane: 302-356 (120.3 - 141.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
vs
+1 252 Atk Gouging Fire Flare Blitz vs. +1 252 HP / 252+ Def Oinkologne: 156-184 (36.7 - 43.3%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
You dont have a good attack to hit it back with, while Snorlax definitely can.

252 SpA Choice Specs Flutter Mane Moonblast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Oinkologne: 199-235 (46.9 - 55.4%) -- 74.2% chance to 2HKO
Again, no good move for it

Stockpile is also limited as it grants you only up to +3, while Snorlax with Curse is able to go as high as +6 Atk/+6 Def which matters alot. The increased speed nor Aroma Veil doesnt really matter since even though Oink blocks Sableye, it can still be burned and you have no means to beat it (which it and non rest talk lax share)

Finally, these things should be UR:
Maushold: D -> UR
Cincinno: D -> UR

Maushold and Cincinno are actually not bad mons. Balance doesnt mean running 6 fat mons, but having a swap in that lasts long enough for your other team mates to take over and beat the opposing team. Maushold is better against types that arent carrying a ghost type, while Cincinno is better choice types where you need the coverage like Fire or Ground due to Rock Blast/Bullet/Triple Axel being seriously strong.

Maushold and Cincinno literally KOs themselves against rocky helmet, or max stacks stamina against Archaludon.

Aside from Skarmory and Mandibuzz, Toxapex, and Amoonguss (rarely), there's not much Rocky Helmet users rn.
Archaludon is a counter to both of them, but its only found on the two types both of them do not excel on.
Although Dragon is fought in approximately 1 in 5 games, there's still 4/5s of the games where both of them can possibly shine. Both of them are also great team mates to use with Hisuian Zoroark's illusion, as "it" baits in Physical Walls that Zoro kills (eg. Skarmory swapping into "Maushold" only to get Flamethrowered)

And if you are a hazard user, how about you destroy your own efforts with tidy up?

There arent much hazards aside from Smeargle and Rocks Blissey, its likely that you can Tidy up to remove the hazards stacked against you. And, if you're using smeargle, you can use Band Cincinno instead, as Webs lets it outspeed and commit atrocities.

I don't have any particular opinions on P2 so I didnt touch on that.

I hope these clarifies stuff.

 

[numeronormal]

Snorlax is most definitely less niche than Oinkologne due to its sheer stats which lets it deal with pesky attackers from both sides of the spectrum. For instance:
+1 252 Atk Gouging Fire Flare Blitz vs. +1 248 HP / 8 Def Thick Fat Snorlax: 127-150 (24.2 - 28.6%) -- 99% chance to 4HKO
+1 0 Atk Snorlax Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Gouging Fire: 200-236 (56.9 - 67.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 SpA Choice Specs Flutter Mane Moonblast vs. 248 HP / 252+ SpD Snorlax: 162-192 (30.9 - 36.7%) -- 68% chance to 3HKO
0 Atk Snorlax Heavy Slam (120 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Flutter Mane: 302-356 (120.3 - 141.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
vs
+1 252 Atk Gouging Fire Flare Blitz vs. +1 252 HP / 252+ Def Oinkologne: 156-184 (36.7 - 43.3%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
You dont have a good attack to hit it back with, while Snorlax definitely can.

252 SpA Choice Specs Flutter Mane Moonblast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Oinkologne: 199-235 (46.9 - 55.4%) -- 74.2% chance to 2HKO
Again, no good move for it

Stockpile is also limited as it grants you only up to +3, while Snorlax with Curse is able to go as high as +6 Atk/+6 Def which matters alot. The increased speed nor Aroma Veil doesnt really matter since even though Oink blocks Sableye, it can still be burned and you have no means to beat it (which it and non rest talk lax share)

Who is going to let a snorlax get to +6? That stat is irrelevant when, in a serious game, I don't see a scenario ever reaching that point. Taunt/Encore is pretty common from my experience and its not just sableye. Oinkologne-F gets curse as well, but that does not mean its the better option. When using oinkologne, I don't anticipate using Oinkologne unless I get a free switch in, which means a free stockpile (this should be the same for Snorlax and curse). For Oink-F, if I want to reliably stay in, I want to make sure not just my def is good, but also my sp.def. After +1 stockpile, lets compare the stats vs +1 standard set snorlax:

+1 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 Sp.Def Thick Fat Snorlax: 523 hp, 252 def, 350 sp.def
+1 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Sp.Def Aroma Veil Oink-F: 433 hp, 393 def, 327 sp.def

The stat distribution is a lot more balanced and my Sp.Def tankiness will surpass Snorlax with just 1 more move. The sheer stats that Snorlax have is almost negated at +1.

Some of these statistics is not a fair comparison because when would I ever use Oink-F against a flutter mane? Snorlax's niche of OHKO flutter mane really does not matter because Mononormal already has multiple checks against flutter-mane and has no problem with it. Additionally, I could never switch into Oink-F unless I get a free-switch in. So you are always going to be ahead by +1 stage of whatever stat:

+1 252 Atk Gouging Fire Scale Shot (4 hits) vs. +2 248 HP / 252+ Def Oinkologne-F: 100-124 (23 - 28.6%) -- approx. 91.9% chance to 4HKO
+2 252+ Def Oinkologne-F Body Press vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Gouging Fire: 108-128 (30.7 - 36.4%) -- 62% chance to 3HKO

I know I used scaling shot here (125 BP as opposed to flare blitz 120 BP), but flare blitz has recoil damage so that only hurts Gouging Fire.

I am not gonna go hard on damage calc here, because I don't typically rely on damage calcs. Most of the time, in battle, I am not at 100% hp. All i know is that from experience, after certain checks is gone, Oink-F can be unstoppable, such as walling moltres-galar and defeating it as well.

Maushold and Cincinno are actually not bad mons. Balance doesnt mean running 6 fat mons, but having a swap in that lasts long enough for your other team mates to take over and beat the opposing team. Maushold is better against types that arent carrying a ghost type, while Cincinno is better choice types where you need the coverage like Fire or Ground due to Rock Blast/Bullet/Triple Axel being seriously strong.

Aside from Skarmory and Mandibuzz, Toxapex, and Amoonguss (rarely), there's not much Rocky Helmet users rn.
Archaludon is a counter to both of them, but its only found on the two types both of them do not excel on.
Although Dragon is fought in approximately 1 in 5 games, there's still 4/5s of the games where both of them can possibly shine. Both of them are also great team mates to use with Hisuian Zoroark's illusion, as "it" baits in Physical Walls that Zoro kills (eg. Skarmory swapping into "Maushold" only to get Flamethrowered)

There arent much hazards aside from Smeargle and Rocks Blissey, its likely that you can Tidy up to remove the hazards stacked against you. And, if you're using smeargle, you can use Band Cincinno instead, as Webs lets it outspeed and commit atrocities.

I don't have any particular opinions on P2 so I didnt touch on that.

I hope these clarifies stuff.

It's significantly harder for maushold/cincinno to get a free switch in. Ursaluna-BM gets electric immunity, Zoroark-Hisui has fighting immunity. The birds have ground immunity. Ditto has transform, etc. If its gonna be plain normal and not dual typing, it has to really make up for it with some sort of bulk (such as p2 and eviolite). That situation with Zoroark's illusion to bait physical wall can be applied to so many different normal pokemons, thats not something that is unique only to maushold/cincinno. Moreover, mononormal really should not have any big issues with dragon. Dragon is a type that you have to consider everytime you go in and by bringing in maushold/cincinno, you are giving away a match for free, and making yourself work a lot harder than you need to.

Band cincinno/sticky web sounds interesting but I am not a hazard user so can't comment on that.

Lastly, I never said that balance means running 6 fat mons. By using Zoroark-Hisui and ditto, thats a maximum of 4 fat mons. I run 0-1 bulk mononormal and I can reliably beat Dragon, Electric, Fighting, Fire, Ghost, Grass, Ground, Ice, Normal, Psychic, Steel, and Water at high ladder. I can't reliably beat rock/bug but those things are in the bottom of that tier list in the other thread and I don't see them often, so I see this as a win. Flying I can't beat and porygon2 checks that so thats the only credit that I can give. I am not intentionally shitting on P2, that thing is literally my favorite pokemon. I detrimentally rely on that thing in other metagames, but I can't see it on every mononormal team.

 

[TTK]

boomp post on page 1 of the thread already eluded to the issue with the Rock VR but as the leader of the Rock Nation, the one that spams this type in the high ladder the most, I will have to say my piece with some personal corrections of mine. I will do this post as going through every rank of the type and let you know whether I would rise or drop the mons in that particular rank.

S Rank
- No change. Best mon on the type.

A Rank
- Accurate placement. Arcanine-H's neutrality to Steel is very useful. It's quite strong offensively especially if given a band and is one of the better counterplay Rock has for Steel matchups being able to delete most of the type other than like Archaludon.
- Drop to B rank. Garganacl is not a bad mon by any means. Rock structures can fit it pretty easily, good bulk and ability. However, it contrasts with one of my opinions with another pokemon on the type, Rhyperior. Rhyperior is stuck in C rank and I'll explain my points for Rhyperior but a 2 rank difference is crazy to me when they basically have similar utility for the type and Garganacl is definitely not A rank level in terms of how often you want to use it. Like you would use everything in A bar Garg, add Ogerpon ofc then like Garganacl is like a flex slot rather than a compulsory slot.
- Accurate placement. No issues with me.
- S rank this immediately, it's like when Toxapex was put in A rank in like DLC1 meta for Water and basically everyone was confused asf. This is how I feel rn. Iron Boulder was frankly a godsend for this type. Its speed tier gets the jump on many common speed control options in the tier that can threaten rock teams: ,,,. It's as a mandatory a bring as Ogerpon-C is.
- Accurate placement.

B Rank
- Drop to C Rank. Kleavor is what I like to call a "massive fraud". Before DLC2, I could say Kleavor is a low A or B rank pokemon but afterwards? What niche does this thing have now when Iron Boulder is in the tier? Even pre DLC2, its role was also put to question because Arcanine-H was a better scarfer and Kleavor is too slow to really have an impact in the offensive metagame. Stone Axe is useful to free up space on the more bulkier mons like , and co but putting it in the same tier as Terrakion makes no sense to me.
- Accurate placement. Thanks to the CLC i've been using Minior more and it's a nice sweeper to have on the type. It does lack damage if it's setting up in Meteor-forme but Meteor does give it the bulk to live some neutral hits gets below 50 and outspeeds the entire tier and kills everything with Acrobatics. It's definitely not as consistent as the A ranks so B is fitting for it.
- Accurate placement. I was disappointed that Terrakion felt kinda mid and even it, with its 108 base speed is too slow for the meta rn but hey, Banded is still as strong as it's always been. I think it would've thrived if it kept Rock Polish :(

C Rank
- Rise to B Rank. Diancie is much much more useful pokemon than Kleavor and once again, I'm here to advocate for this thing being ranked higher on its type. I think this game shows Diancie's potential vs the top type in the metagame atm https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9monotype-2032625185 and generally, 50/150/150 bulk is just amazing to have.
- Accurate placement.
- Accurate placement.
- Accurate placement. Iron Boulder killed this thing.
Accurate placement. Now that its Sand Rush brother's niche of being fast in sand doesn't matter really as much, it's on top again yet it's worse Terrakion so ye.
- Rise to B Rank. Probably biggest example of "no one actually used this." Rhyperior is quite versatile. Has Rock Polish sets, SD sets, Counter sets. This game vs Flying with SD Gliscor here (HERE), Gliscor would've killed every other rock pokemon (ignoring ) but not Rhyperior. It lived EQ then just countered back and Gliscor died. Members of the Rock Nation also let me in on Weakness Policy Rock Polish Rhyperior. This set relies on Rhyperior's bulk + Solid Rock that probably allows never to get OHKOd by non Water and Grass moves, gets to +2 speed then kills everything with its near unresisted STABs. Electric is an irrelevant type in the grand scheme of things but it does have a good matchup into Rock. This game here, Rhyperior managed to get 2 turns against an Iron Hands then proceed to reverse sweep with Rock Polish. Only issue with Rock Polish is that it just about cannot outspeed base 130 speed pokemon but that's fine enough. To get back to the Garganacl vs Rhyperior point I listed above, they can both be bulky setup wincons or just bulky mons and I feel like they are quite interchangeable. Rhyperior can even tech stuff like Ice Punch and other coverage options to lure in certain threats which Garg cannot do.

D Rank
Rise to C Rank. I used to be a Coalossal hater, I just hate their evolution line. Their typings have always let them down. It's no different in Monotype but Arcanine gets away with it because it's offensive and somewhat fast. Coalossal though offers hazard removal options which only Glimmora has but struggles to fit Mortal Spin sometimes and good physical bulk like most rock types. It can definitely slot itself over Arcanine-H and still see some results. D rank is like for wholly bad pokemon but they have one or two use cases, Coalossal offers some vital things that warrant it out of D rank.
- I would personally just unrank this, idt there's been ever a serious rock team using this guy and was actually somewhat successful. It's actually worse than Golem-A and it's a paradox mon LMAO

 

[mauby]

Since DLC2 dropped, I've done extensive testing using Fighting and have some thoughts to share.

C rank -> A rank

In the current meta, AV Gallade is the MVP of Fighting:

• AV Gallade is Fighting's best check for Psychic type moves thanks to it's Psychic coverage neutrality. Also unlike Scrafty, AV Gallade can also sponge Fairy type coverage
• Sharpness + Sacred Sword beats Stamina Archaludon and cripples Iron Defense users like Zamazenta and "demon keys" Klefki
• Sharpness + Psycho Cut is great for the Poison matchup and the plethora of bulky Poison types that trouble Fighing such as Toxapex, Amoonguss, Slowking-Galar & Weezing-Galar. It also pairs well with Sacred Sword to punish dark type switch-ins.
• Sharpness + Night Slash is great vs opposing Psychic and Ghost types that threaten Fighting. These include mons such as Latios/Latias, Espathra, Protean Extrasensory Greninja, Gholdengo, Sinistcha and Iron Crown. It also pairs well with Shadow Sneak to finish off weakened foes of these said types.
• Shadow Sneak is useful priority that pairs well with Night Slash, doing neutral damage to types that resist Vacuum Wave / Mach Punch. It's great vs faster Ghost and Psychic types such as Flutter Mane, Iron Boulder, Dragapult and Latios/Latias.

Damage Calcs

Offensive Damage Calcs

• 252+ Atk Gallade Shadow Sneak vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Flutter Mane: 152-180 (60.5 - 71.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
• 252+ Atk Sharpness Gallade Night Slash vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Latios: 294-348 (97.6 - 115.6%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO
• 252+ Atk Sharpness Gallade Night Slash vs. 252 HP / 200 Def Espathra: 280-330 (71 - 83.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
• 252+ Atk Sharpness Gallade Sacred Sword vs. 248 HP / 8 Def Zamazenta: 208-246 (53.7 - 63.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
• 252+ Atk Sharpness Gallade Psycho Cut vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Toxapex: 198-234 (65.3 - 77.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Black Sludge recovery
• 252+ Atk Sharpness Gallade Psycho Cut vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Weezing-Galar: 234-276 (70.2 - 82.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Black Sludge recovery
• 252+ Atk Sharpness Gallade Sacred Sword vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Muk-Alola: 298-352 (71.9 - 85%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Black Sludge recovery
• 252+ Atk Sharpness Gallade Sacred Sword vs. 200 HP / 212+ Def Archaludon: 290-344 (78.1 - 92.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

Defensive Damage Calcs

• 252 SpA Choice Specs Latios Luster Purge vs. 136 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Gallade: 138-163 (44.3 - 52.4%) -- 18.4% chance to 2HKO
• 252 SpA Flutter Mane Moonblast vs. 136 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Gallade: 188-224 (60.4 - 72%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
• 252 SpA Choice Specs Protean Greninja Extrasensory vs. 132 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Gallade: 99-117 (31.9 - 37.7%) -- 90.3% chance to 3HKO
• 252 SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Landorus Earth Power vs. 136 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Gallade: 136-161 (43.7 - 51.7%) -- 10.9% chance to 2HKO
• 252 SpA Gholdengo Shadow Ball vs. 136 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Gallade: 158-188 (50.8 - 60.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
• 252 SpA Enamorus Moonblast vs. 132 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Gallade: 188-224 (60.6 - 72.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
• +1 252 SpA Spectrier Shadow Ball vs. 132 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Gallade: 254-300 (81.9 - 96.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
• 252 SpA Choice Specs Dragapult Shadow Ball vs. 132 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Gallade: 194-230 (62.5 - 74.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Replays

• vs Poison
• vs "demon keys" Klefki
• vs Latios & Archaludon Dragon
• vs Lando-I Ground
• vs Scarf Iron Boulder Rock
• vs Scarf Gholdengo Steel
• vs Iron Def Zamazenta

Replays during 37-3 Suspect run

• vs Psychic
• vs Poison
• vs Psychic
• vs Latios + Dragapult Dragon
• vs Skeledirge Fire
• vs Fairy
• vs Dragapult + Latias Dragon
• vs Primarina Water

s/o ArkenCiel, TheIronPikachu & Coach Harry

 

[NotDaProGamer]

Not played the most and probably dumb, but how would do in Flying for the mirror and for some others?

 

[Dead by Daylight]

S ---> A
Honestly, I don't feel like Clod deserves mandatory status on Ground teams. It's a staple on Sandless teams for sure, but on Sand it's just way too much of a momentum sink, and while it helps with the Water MU, it's not foolproof: lots of mons on Water, like CB Barra and Kingdra, hit it very hard with their other STAB moves.

 

[TTK]

S ---> A
Honestly, I don't feel like Clod deserves mandatory status on Ground teams. It's a staple on Sandless teams for sure, but on Sand it's just way too much of a momentum sink, and while it helps with the Water MU, it's not foolproof: lots of mons on Water, like CB Barra and Kingdra, hit it very hard with their other STAB moves.

I think you somewhat misunderstand the role of the S rank on the viability rankings. S rank does not automatically warrant "mandatory use" for every typing, it's a case by case basis I feel. Bug's S ranks definitely feel "mandatory" because the type already lacks options and dropping Volcarona or Kleavor is probably throwing. Regarding Kingdra, Clodsire isn't even 2HKOd by Draco Meteor (252 SpA Choice Specs Kingdra Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 96+ SpD Clodsire: 211-250 (45.4 - 53.8%) -- 2.3% chance to 2HKO after Black Sludge recovery) and Barraskewda runs Psychic Fangs, which frankly you can still play around when it's choice locked so "a lot of water mons beating clod" doesn't really hold up. If you want a Water mon that can actually break Clodsire, you have Specs Protean Gren, which does just click Ice Beam.

Clodsire is S rank on Ground because defensively, it covers all sorts of teams that you can make with the typing. Its Water immunity + neutrality to Grass make it the optimal "Water immunity" pokemon to be running. It's also Ground's best special wall and has reliable recovery, something Ting-Lu and Swampert lack for example. I will also have to disagree with Clodsire being a momentum sink on sand teams. Even if it was a major momentum sink, what else are you running in its slot? Gastrodon would do the same thing without being able to Toxic or even threaten Grass mons with STAB super-effective coverage. Remember, this is one of your few Ogerpon-Wellspring switchins on this type. Sand is played in a bulky-offensive manner where you have your defensive pieces (/) then just your offensive pieces (/////). Some of these pokemon don't want to be switching into most of our strongest special attackers in the tier like Flutter Mane, Iron Valiant, Keldeo etc and Clodsire covers pretty much all of them it's not weak to type-wise. Clodsire most of the time always gets value when it's in anyway, Toxicing something is good or even setting up a Toxic Spikes. It's also on the player to play skillfully and utilise double switching so your opponent doesn't take advantage of Clodsire being in. If sand is up for example, Drill outspeeds most of the meta and can threaten most offensive pokemon.

You can watch 2 of my videos here (here here) with me utilising sand ground to try and see in practice how useful Clodsire is for sand-based teams, which are frankly the best playstyle to be using the type on.

 

[DaRotomMachine]

I think you somewhat misunderstand the role of the S rank on the viability rankings. S rank does not automatically warrant "mandatory use" for every typing, it's a case by case basis I feel. Bug's S ranks definitely feel "mandatory" because the type already lacks options and dropping Volcarona or Kleavor is probably throwing. Regarding Kingdra, Clodsire isn't even 2HKOd by Draco Meteor (252 SpA Choice Specs Kingdra Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 96+ SpD Clodsire: 211-250 (45.4 - 53.8%) -- 2.3% chance to 2HKO after Black Sludge recovery) and Barraskewda runs Psychic Fangs, which frankly you can still play around when it's choice locked so "a lot of water mons beating clod" doesn't really hold up. If you want a Water mon that can actually break Clodsire, you have Specs Protean Gren, which does just click Ice Beam.

Clodsire is S rank on Ground because defensively, it covers all sorts of teams that you can make with the typing. Its Water immunity + neutrality to Grass make it the optimal "Water immunity" pokemon to be running. It's also Ground's best special wall and has reliable recovery, something Ting-Lu and Swampert lack for example. I will also have to disagree with Clodsire being a momentum sink on sand teams. Even if it was a major momentum sink, what else are you running in its slot? Gastrodon would do the same thing without being able to Toxic or even threaten Grass mons with STAB super-effective coverage. Remember, this is one of your few Ogerpon-Wellspring switchins on this type. Sand is played in a bulky-offensive manner where you have your defensive pieces (/) then just your offensive pieces (/////). Some of these pokemon don't want to be switching into most of our strongest special attackers in the tier like Flutter Mane, Iron Valiant, Keldeo etc and Clodsire covers pretty much all of them it's not weak to type-wise. Clodsire most of the time always gets value when it's in anyway, Toxicing something is good or even setting up a Toxic Spikes. It's also on the player to play skillfully and utilise double switching so your opponent doesn't take advantage of Clodsire being in. If sand is up for example, Drill outspeeds most of the meta and can threaten most offensive pokemon.

You can watch 2 of my videos here (here here) with me utilising sand ground to try and see in practice how useful Clodsire is for sand-based teams, which are frankly the best playstyle to be using the type on.

I also want to say that would not be able to fill the role fills as well as does on Ground.

 

[NotDaProGamer]

Regarding Kingdra, Clodsire isn't even 2HKOd by Draco Meteor (252 SpA Choice Specs Kingdra Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 96+ SpD Clodsire: 211-250 (45.4 - 53.8%) -- 2.3% chance to 2HKO after Black Sludge recovery)

Just took a gander since I want to get into this tier, so... This actually ignores the SpA drops, which means that it is only a KO on 4 hits, and THAT isn't even guaranteed:

1. 252 SpA Choice Specs Kingdra Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 96+ SpD Clodsire: 211-250 (45.4 - 53.8%) -- 2.3% chance to 2HKO after Black Sludge recovery
2. 252 SpA Choice Specs Kingdra Draco Meteor over 2 turns vs. 252 HP / 96+ SpD Clodsire: 317-376 (68.3 - 81%) -- not a KO
3. 252 SpA Choice Specs Kingdra Draco Meteor over 3 turns vs. 252 HP / 96+ SpD Clodsire: 387-460 (83.4 - 99.1%) -- not a KO
4. 252 SpA Choice Specs Kingdra Draco Meteor over 4 turns vs. 252 HP / 96+ SpD Clodsire: 441-524 (95 - 112.9%) -- 68.8% chance to 4HKO after Black Sludge recovery
5. 252 SpA Choice Specs Kingdra Draco Meteor over 5 turns vs. 252 HP / 96+ SpD Clodsire: 495-588 (106.6 - 126.7%) -- guaranteed KO in 5 turns after Black Sludge recovery

(And this is without Recover)

Aand, Clod can tank just one Psychic Fangs (not well, but technically: 252 Atk Choice Band Barraskewda Psychic Fangs vs. 252 HP / 160 Def Clodsire: 322-380 (69.3 - 81.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Black Sludge recovery.)

 

[roxie]

Minor Slate Part 1: Approved VR Nominations

Amoonguss (Poison) A -> S

roxie Amoonguss's Spore paints room for Poison to pivot. This is the only Pokemon that can really stop you from losing to Urslauna-BM also. Landorus is also an underrated Pokemon and it practically just spams Psychic / Earth Power and you need something that can stop certain abrasive threats from casually clicking buttons.

Pengairxan Amoonguss role like always is still an incredible physical wall that takes on the Ground type, and with how much more powerful it has gotten after DLC2 with the return of Excadrill, Amoonguss has felt more extesional than ever. Even more so than Geezing which while solid in its own right, doesn't threaten Ground-types back in response and often leads to a quick howdy doody from Bloodmoon and Landorus which are mons Poison teams gag at. Even in other tough matchups like Dragon and Steel, the threat of Spore can create breathing room to force a switch which can allow a Poison team to spread other statuses, heal up or get a better mon into position safely for said matchup. (I.e I've got an Amoonguss in against a Kingambit and they go Ghold so I can call that out and position something like my Salazzle or Alolan Muk to make some key progress)

Blissey A -> B

roxie Blissey naturally benefits off Heavy-Duty Boots however, Normal is 7MSS atm with Ursluna-BM, Braviary, Ditto, Porygon2, Zoroark-H, and the newly dropped Terapagos. Terapagos has Stealth Rocks and some Normal builds just forgo Blissey and run Rapid Spin / Defog Braviary.

Guzzles I feel Blissey has lost a lot of its necessity within Normal as a type, and generally can be replaced by other mons in her slot. Having lost both Toxic and Teleport in Generation 9, Blissey isn’t quite as much of a staple of the type as it once was. Rather, when you run Blissey, it tends to feel like more of an accessory to Porygon-2 in a defensive core, which has more versatility as a mon, and Blissey’s main usage now comes from Stealth Rock, but this makes it incredibly weak to Taunt and not the best hazard setter Normal has. It functions in specific team comps with the Chansey + Porygon2 defensive core, but it is very much confined to that archetype of Normal and isn’t the level of necessity of other A-rank Normal-types in Ditto and Braviary.

Brambleghast (Ghost) C -> B (Ghost)

roxie Brambleghast provides Spikes and Spikes make progress. Defoggers in SV have been nerfed (re: Mandibuzz/Braviary) and its kind of awkward into Gholdengo. In other words, Brambleghast + Gholdengo is great utility for each other. Rapid Spin makes up for Ghost's loss on Mega Sableye.

mushamu This nomination is moreso based on how Brambleghast ties into Ghost's main niche in the metagame which gives it a crucial role on the type. In a SV Monotype centralized around hazard stacking and control, Ghost is mainly known for the fact that as an offensive type, the hazards it sets are going to always be impossible to remove. Gholdengo blocks every Defog user, while the type is straight up made up of spinblockers. A lot of the way that Ghost uses to pressure the opposition is through Spikes stacking and the fact that Pokemon that are using Boots are probably going to be outsped by two monsters in Flutter Mane and Dragapult. As for Brambleghast, it is by no means an excellent Pokemon- it's definitely pretty balls when you look at it on paper but it does fill an important role in Monotype: compressing Rapid Spin and Spikes into one slot which frees up Pokemon and item slots on the rest of the team. Running Rapid Spin on Brambleghast means its easier to abuse the sheer power that other Ghost types like Flutter Mane, Dragapult, and Spectrier have instead of being locked down to Boots while Ceruledge also really likes it to preserve Focus Sash. Its bulk is pretty awful but it does have a good typing which gives it a crucial Ground and Water resistance and can at least live medium strong attacks like Hisuian Samurott's Ceasless Edge, giving it flexibility in setting and removing hazards. As far as support Pokemon go on Ghost Brambleghast is the primary example and should be ranked higher to reflect that.

Coalossal D -> C (Rock)

Set by Boomp

Coalossal @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Flame Body
Tera Type: Rock EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Flamethrower
- Body Press
- Rapid Spin
- Will-O-Wisp

roxie Rock is one of the more fringe-type atm as it has a weird matchup into prominent trends like Archaludon and Azumarill + Primarina Fairy teams. However the typing can at least better its matchup against threats like Scizor and Kingambit with its Fire-typing. Furthermore, Rock doesn't have access to Mega Diancie this generation so the need to run a entry hazard control can not only provide longevity for the overall team; it also enables more creative sets on other Pokemon by relieving the need of Heavy-Duty Boots.

Diancie Rock C -> B

roxie Diancie's Diamond Storm + Body Press + Draining Kiss + Earth Power coverage can be pretty demonic in matchups like Fairy and Dragon. Diancie has enough bulk in conjunction with sand to check special attackers like Flutter Mane and Greninja.

TTK Diancie is much much more useful pokemon than Kleavor and once again, I'm here to advocate for this thing being ranked higher on its type. I think this game shows Diancie's potential vs the top type in the metagame atm

Dragapult A -> S (Dragon)

mushamu In terms of glue Pokemon on Dragon Dragapult is probably not what the common Monotyper would think of, instead coming up with examples like Archaludon, Latias, and Hisuian Goodra. However from my time building Dragon in SV Monotype, Dragapult has been one of the best Pokemon to use on the type so far as I would describe it as defining due to its Speed, typing, status moves, and Infiltrator, even though its mainly known as an offensive Pokemon. I've been using Boots Dragapult with Draco Meteor/Hex/Wisp/Twave and its pretty all-purpose in what it does; sometimes replacing a status move with U-turn is okay too. Double status Dragapult is really good at forcing scenarios that either 1. a Pokemon gets crippled or 2. they get Hex'd or nuked with Draco Meteor. This gives it a lot of outplaying flexibility, as there are certain Pokemon that hate being statused in every matchup and Dragapult can use those opportunities to click Hex or generate momentum on switches freely. Dragapult can pretty much do whatever it wants to in the builder other than that, Scarf Dragapult is the fastest Speed control in the tier, and Substitute + Wisp is good for breaking down bulkier types. Its way more flexible and just better than the A ranked Pokemon and should be S ranked because of the flexibility it provides to Dragon team structures being a jack of all trades of sorts.

Galarian Weezing (Poison) S -> A

roxie Galarian Weezing is 5MSS but its appeal is its typing. It sucks vs a lot of Pokemon like Archaludon, Gholdengo, Gouging Fire, and Hatterene. The VR team feels this Pokemon isn't a staple anymore this generation. Its Fairy typing and defensive bulk can still dismantle threats like BD Encore Azumarill and Kingambit. Some of the community has opted to run Toxic to dismantle swaps like Gouging Fire and Baxcalibur. Overall the metagame is too abrasive and in a lot of situations Galarian Weezing's role can be manipulated very easily by an abundance of threats.

Pengairxan Galarian Weezing meanwhile has issues, 4 moveslot syndrome is the main one. Its good into Dragon and Dark, yeah. But Steel is a complete no show for it with how problematic the entire is with it always inviting in Gholdengo or Heatran who just laugh at it before kill it. But it also just doesn't threaten Grounds the same way Amoonguss does. Like sure it burnt the Clodsire, but now what? Just keep spamming Fairy stab and Defog until something happens? And you have to switch out against Bloodmoon/Landorus or else its just an OKHO and you've got to hard ball to AMuk or Glowking hoping to god it doesn't setup so you can make some level of progress in the matchup still.

Kingambit A -> S (Dark)

roxie Kingambit's Steel-typing provides Dark a backbone against Fairy-types like Flutter Mane and Primarina. Dark teams traditionally would run Alolan Muk to dramatically improve that specific matchup but Kingambit does so much in the tier. Supreme Overlord paints winpaths and in conjunction with Swords Dance + Sucker Punch, its going to play a dramatic role in how exactly the game progresses. Kingambit is also customizeable with EVs and items such as Chople Berry to check Sacred Chien Pao and specific Iron Valiant sets, Leftovers or Heavy-Duty Boots to provide longevity, or aggressive/specific items like Life Orb or Air Balloon.

mushamu Gambit is arguably the best mon on Dark and why the type is good in the metagame, the only Pokemon that can also be described like that is Pao. It's noticably better and more influential than any other pokemon in the A rankings, even though Ting-lu should probably be B ranked. But for Gambit, it's arguably one of the best and threatening Swords Dance users in the entire metagame, with +2 Sucker Punch having ridiculous calculations combined with Supreme Overlord. Unless you load it against Fighting which is probably the only type Gambit isn't threatening against, in every game it appears in it feels like you're always playing around the threat of it coming in and using Supreme Overlord to sweep as most of the time it's getting a Swords Dance under its belt against weaker Pokemon. As for teambuilding, the compression it provides is near unparalleled. Alongside being a setup sweeper, Steel is the best defensive typing in the game and with Gambit's good bulk it can be a Fairy neutrality that Dark teams appreciate very much. Chien-pao is probably the more "threatening" S-ranked Pokemon that Dark has, but it would be incorrect to say that Gambit does not define the type as much as Pao does alongside being a metagame titan and keeping its only but extremely influential Swords Dance set from sweeping has been a recurring theme throughout the entirety of SV Monotype.

Iron Boulder A -> S (Rock)

roxie Iron Boulder is naturally a good revenge killer checking threats like +1 Speed Baxcalibur, Choice Specs Flutter Mane, and Sneasler. Ogerpon-formes are a common threat to Rock-teams with its STAB Horn Leech being a natural threat. However, Iron Boulder can check +1 Speed Ogerpon with its STAB Mighty Cleave along with coverage in Megahorn and Close Combat checking each of-Hearthflame, -Wellspring, and -Cornerstone, respectively.


Iron Thorns D -> UR (Rock)

roxie Iron Thorns ability is competely useless for Rock and due to its typing, its forced to run Air Balloon to prevent passiveness against threats like Air Balloon Heatran and Earthquake Gouging Fire. Its Electric typing also is supposed to be good against Water and Flying types. In comparison to Ogerpon-Cornerstone, its tremendously less viable as a lot of Water's collection can easily check Iron Thorns by simply running a faster check like Urshifu-R or swap into Swampert / Gastrodon / Quagsire. It doesn't provide any value so we are deranking this.


Rhyperior C -> B (Rock)

TTK Rise to B Rank. Probably biggest example of "no one actually used this." Rhyperior is quite versatile. Has Rock Polish sets, SD sets, Counter sets. This game vs Flying with SD Gliscor here (HERE), Gliscor would've killed every other rock pokemon (ignoring ) but not Rhyperior. It lived EQ then just countered back and Gliscor died. Members of the Rock Nation also let me in on Weakness Policy Rock Polish Rhyperior. This set relies on Rhyperior's bulk + Solid Rock that probably allows never to get OHKOd by non Water and Grass moves, gets to +2 speed then kills everything with its near unresisted STABs. Electric is an irrelevant type in the grand scheme of things but it does have a good matchup into Rock. This game here, Rhyperior managed to get 2 turns against an Iron Hands then proceed to reverse sweep with Rock Polish. Only issue with Rock Polish is that it just about cannot outspeed base 130 speed pokemon but that's fine enough. To get back to the Garganacl vs Rhyperior point I listed above, they can both be bulky setup wincons or just bulky mons and I feel like they are quite interchangeable. Rhyperior can even tech stuff like Ice Punch and other coverage options to lure in certain threats which Garg cannot do. - ttk

 

[roxie]

Minor Slate Part 2: Personal Council Nominations by roxie & Neko


Zarude (Dark) D -> UR

roxie No one uses Zarude. If you use Zarude over Meowscarada you probably dislike Neko and you don't want that right?


Kommo-o (Dragon) B->C

Neko With the inclusion of Archaludon as a decent check to Chien-Pao and Kingambit that boasts a much better typing, Kommo-o has lost its job on Dragon teams. Its worth noting that Gouging Fire also provides access to strong Fire attacks to check Ice-types and Raging Bolt's Thunderclap outshines Vacuum Wave in terms of targets, making Kommo-o much more obsolete than expected.


Latios (Dragon) C->B

roxie Latios is a diverse Pokemon in the metagame and with Levitate, it acts as an aggressive and fast alleviation for a friendly-hazard metagame. Dragon doesn't have access to a dedicated hazard remover because you're better off running Heavy-Duty Boots or an offensive Pokemon that doesn't mind entry hazards as much such as Latias, Latios, and Hydreigon. Furthermore, this helps a lot with Choice Band Excadrill on Ground and Ursaluna. Latios also offers Dragon another Fighting resist as Dragon's structure can be very Fighting-spammable with compositions consisting of Archaludon / Gouging Fire / Baxcalibur + Misc (Goodra-H/Dragapult/Raging Bolt/Kyurem/Roaring Moon/Latias).

Neko Latios soars to B rank, reuniting with his sister Latias, as his decent speedtier and defensive capabilities due to Levitate is still of great value for Dragon teams. Latios' access to a variety of coverage moves such as Ice Beam, Aura Sphere, and Thunderbolt helps Dragon teams shore up any lack of coverage, and the sheer wallbreaking power of its STABs is still very threatening in a fast-paced metagame.


Iron Thorns (Electric) D -> C

roxie Electric is the type Iron Thorns can be useful. On a niche note Electric does have Electric Terrain in some form and its unfortunately dismantled due to Tapu Koko not being here. However, Pincurchin is ranked on the VR for its small niche of Tapu Koko simply not existing + Quark Drive abusers. However, Pincurchin alone is primarily just a host and its often a lead that just clicks one hazard and it can barely swap in. Iron Thorns role on Electric can a least run Air Balloon to alleviate for the loss of Defog Pokemon to setup Dragon Dance and temporarily have an immunity to Ground-type attacks which can be useful against threats like Gliscor and Garchomp. Rock Blast is also cool into Ceruledge and in contrast, Stone Edge does consistent damage against Gouging Fire and Torkoal.


Clefable A -> B

roxie Fairy has opted to run Primarina more commonly over Clefable and primarily using Klefki as the dedicated Stealth Rocker. Clefable still has really good matchups and I've personally have been testing Unaware Clefable with Boosts + CM / Cosmic but overall the community has taken a shift in these compositions overall.

Neko The much stronger metagame, introduction of new mean threats like Gouging Fire, and the drop in viability of Flying teams is bad news for Clefable as its pure Fairy typing is now a liability to checking certain Dragon-types, unlike a certain mermaid. Fairy teams are also oversaturated with Calm Mind users, with Hatterene + Primarina cores being more flexible than those using Clefable.


Primarina Fairy B -> A

roxie Primarina is insanely bulky and honestly its what Creseidon wishes to be...NO SHADE. But a setup sweeper that can check Gouging Fire and Gholdengo on Fairy makes this Pokemon so great. Calm Mind is its most prominent set with 252 HP / 196 Def / / 60 Spe with a Bold Nature. Sets on all Pokemon in the metagame are uploaded on the Smogon Dex for reference: https://www.smogon.com/dex/sv/formats/monotype/

Neko The Mermaid alluded to the downfall of Clefable, Primarina is mostly carried by its excellent typing which lets it check Gouging Fire and Baxcalibur. Calm Mind sets are the most common sets, and Surf, Drain Kiss, and Psychic Noise provides ample coverage to break down bulkier types not named Poison. Assault Vest Primarina has also seen some use, acting as a pivot for strong wallbreakers like Choice Specs Flutter Mane, Iron Valiant, and Azumarill, which is a unique niche that no one can replicate on Fairy teams.


Tinkaton (Fairy) C -> D

roxie Tinkaton finds a hard place on Fairy as Fairy / Steel overlaps. In comparison to slots and the overall metagame, Azumarill and Primarina takes advantage of such an offensive screens playstyle. Tinkaton still has ways of dismantling stuff with Mold Breaker + Twave/Encore.

Neko With screens Fairy being the best archetype for Fairy teams, Tinkaton's niche as a poison immunity becomes non-existent. It also doesnt help that it struggles to break through anything Fairy teams have trouble with due to its low attack, lack of coverage, and mediocre bulk.


Hisuian Liligant (Fighting) C->B

roxie Lilligant-H is inconsistent due to its reliance on Sleep and its competition with Breloom (simply being more reliable) but when it does land it can work miracles alone as a dangerous setup sweeper and dismantler.


Heatran (Fire) -> S

roxie balloon magma typing is too good to give up


Iron Moth (Fire) C -> B

Neko Choice Specs Overheat synergizes extremely well under sun, its one of the few Pokemon on Fire teams thats able to outspeed and OHKO Landorus, Gliscor, and Walking Wake is always great.


Talonflame (Fire) A -> B

Neko With Fire teams being so stacked with the addition of Gouging Fire, Ogerpon-H, and Poltergeist Ceruldge, Fire teams struggle to make a place for Talonflame to reside in. Furthermore, Talonflame's niche as a ground-type immunity can be replicated by using Air Balloon, while its ability to remove entry hazards can be replaced with Torkoal's Rapid Spin and Cinderace's Court Change.


Gyarados (Flying) B->A

roxie Provides some respite against Water- and Fire-type threats like Barraskewda and Gouging fire due to Intimidate and its innate resistances. It also provides phazing support in Dragon Tail and Thunder Wave to enable its team mates like Landorus, Tornadus-T, and Dragonite.


Landorus (Flying) B -> A

Neko Provides a speedtier and ensures that the Flying team isn't that passive. Fallbacks like Articuno, Gyarados, and the Steel-types like Corviknight and Skarmory support Landorus' wallbreaking endeavors, and in return it deals with Gouging Fire, Gholdengo, and Archaludon for them.


Basculegion-Physical (Ghost) D - UR

roxie physical ghost d -> ur the special one is alr ranked just pick one. Extremely hard to fit


Hydrapple (Grass) S -> A

roxie not a staple it’s slow but regen is still good


Ogerpon-Cornerstone (Grass) B -> A

roxie Sturdy provides Grass a saving grace against threats like Chien Pao, Greninja, and Ice Shard Baxcaliburr. It provides a win condition against a multitude of matchups like Flying, Fire, and Dark while also having an interesting coverage pool in Supepower / Stomping / ZHB.


Ogerpon Hearthflame (Grass) S -> A

roxie also not a staple ogerpon corner is in equivalent value and it depends on the comp mold is cool but u can cover mus in other slots this isn’t fire


Rotom-Mow (Grass) B -> C

roxie no one uses this and u should use ogerpon/lilli to beat fly this Mon sucks


Terapagos B->A

Neko The turtle of Area Zero rises to A rank with its newfound set of Rapid Spin + Coverage moves, which acts as a decent entry hazard remover that threatens most entry hazard setters like Gliscor, Archaludon, and Skarmory with Ice Beam, Earth Power, and Flamethrower respectively. Furthermore, with Heavy-Duty Boots and its amazing Ability, it can act as a one-time check to pretty much every offensive Pokemon in the tier, chipping them down for Ditto to take over or outright removing them.


Ursaluna-Bloodmoon Ground A -> S

roxie He's good. Vacuum beats Chien Pao and it revenge kills stuff in conjuction with Sand + Stealth Rock doing residual damage. It takes advantage of fat and sets up with Calm Mind. Its most people's nightmare at night so he is S rank now.


Espartha C-> B

roxie speed boost is great


Hatterene (Fairy) B -> A
roxie only hazard utility this isn’t fairy where hatt is droppable


Hoopa-Unbound (Psychic) A -> S

set

Hoopa-Unbound @ Assault Vest
Ability: Magician
Tera Type: Psychic
EVs: 240 HP / 8 Atk / 12 Def / 56 SpA / 156 SpD / 36 Spe
Lonely Nature
- Psychic
- Knock Off
- Gunk Shot
- Focus Blast

roxie psychic has no a ranked and av / scarf is too good are we really not using this Mon indeedee sucks and this is ur only hope vs spa ghost moves

 

[roxie]

This is unlocked now and updated, thanks everyone.

 

[Pengairxan]

This is back and I've already got some takes to post for Poison (as per usual)
B -> A
With how much faster this metagame has gotten, Sneasler's raw speed has become more and more of a necessity for Poison to keep up against several issues and act as a great cleanup mon. Notably with the increased prevalence of Psychic-, Dragon-, Fire-, and Ground-types, Sneasler's main competition, Okidogi, often finds issues setting up and can become a liability in said matchups being an easy kill for the Latis and Lando who just invalidate it along with needing to already be setup to handle threats like Gouging Fire and Baxcalibur. Sneasler doesn't find this issue outspeeding said threats even if they are scarfed/boosted thanks to its own Scarf along with being Poison's best answer into the Ogerpon Formes overall (Beats H and W without any issues, and can Fakeout into CC against C/U-turn into CC) And with the addition of Upperhand, its become a much more reliable check into Kingambit for Poison which was previously a huge issue for Sneasler if it ever got setup. It also finds other solid issues, checking Primarina who has seen a massive uptick in usage recently, Iron Valiant should Moong/Pecha/AMuk be knocked off early (depending on the set) and obliterating Roaring moon so Geezing doesn't have to play Russian Roulette with Iron Head and Strange Steam.

A -> B
This mon runs in the issue of not being, consistent, at what Poison wants it to do and has far too many issues. Like you would think with Fire being a crime for Poison, it would be good there but Power Gem off 130 special attack isn't strong enough to reliably drop offensive threats like Ogerpon-H, Gouging Fire and Volcarona who all naturally outspeed Glimmora and can threaten it back with an OKHO (okay Volc needs a boost first or stealth rock chip, but Oger and Gouging just do). Iron Moth is strictly better against Ice and Flying being able to drop stuff like Alolan Ninetales, Baxcalibur, Landorus and Gliscor all of which pose significant issues for the type. So use it defensively right? Its role a hazard remover is better done by Geezing who is a far better physical wall, defensively Clodsire does more with Stealth Rock being actually able to check Fire-types like Volcarona, Heatran and Iron Moth with unaware/a dumby thicc special defense and both of them don't have the issue of a quad ground weakness. Which just leaves Corrosion for Glimmora. Which is it solid at, but it isn't exclusive in this role since Salazzle competes with it who has a better typing, speed tier and notably beats Kingambit which is an overall issue for Poison.
Don't get me wrong, Glimmora is still decent. But with how Poison is faring in this metagame, you want better than decent.

Also slightly not Poison take.
B -> A (Ghost)
Consistently Pecharunt feels like it does something being just this insanely fat Physical wall able to take hits and somewhat dish them back along with being one of the only two pivots Ghost actually has access to and being the more reliable one at that (sorry Dragapult) with parting shot which also benefits the setup mons giving them a bit more bulk or forcing a switch even on a mon that could of checked them originally. I'm less familiar with Ghost but in most games I play, it feels like it is consistently putting in work.
(This is the first thing I did once waking up today, don't worry.)

 

[boomp]

B-> A on Psychic
Great Scarfer for the type that checks alot of things alongside its respected teammates. Mighty Cleave, CC, and Megahorn help eases so much for psychic taking out a bunch of foes like the ogerpon formes, Meowscarada and friends. Under terrain, it becomes a great revenge sweeper against Pao and Gambit with CC and i feel it deserves a spot in the A tier. Missing out on boulder on the team feels like your playing the type even more challenging then it should be right now. Other sets like Choice Band and SD has some play as well depending on your team comp.

C -> B on Ground
Sand Ground is really dominant right now but there are some sand less ground teams as well. Quagsire serves an excellent slot on those teams due to checking big threats like Baxcalibur and Chien-Pao thanks to Unaware. Body Press and Toxic your way to victory and to B with Quagsire!

A->S on Ground
Sand Ground has shown its the best way to build ground right now and I feel Excadrill deserves the S slot. Strong Sand Sweeper to sweep away the competition, and not to mention it has gravity support from Lando. Its pretty hard to deal with Excadrill and I feel it Sand Rush it spot to S.

P.S. We're going to be Ok, trust -boomp

 

[TheWyvernKing]

Scream Tail D-->C (Psy) - Solid screens support and utility with options like encore and Wish which are much appreciated by teammates such as Metagross and Hoopa U. Between all it can do and the Psy/Fairy typing, I think the mon is super underrated and at least on par with the other C tier mons.

 

[mushamu]

Making some noms for steel because I've been messing around w it a lot. I feel like these three changes should reflect steel as a type more accurately as of right now. I'm going to go into depth of each and how they connect to the vr as a whole.

-> S
Skarmory is one of the best Pokemon on the type and a huge part of arguably why the type is good. Its basically a Corv that sets spikes and has whirlwind and considering steel is all about hazard stacking with Gholdengo, glues the type together very well.

-> S
Originally Heatran was dropped because Empoleon or Hisuian Goodra replaced its role on the team as a Fire immunity, but in this newer metagame its valuable again with both former Pokemon being pretty mid now. Air balloon Heatran is really good since it gets a free turn to set Stealth Rock and answers Gouging Fire while providing great offensive pressure. It can even run sets like Choice Scarf/Wisp/Spdef to catch things off guard, overall really flexible mon that should be S ranked again because of the compression it offers.

-> A
Iron treads is really good compression with for steel teams. The standard team of Treads/Gambit/Ghold/Skarm/Tran/Arch shows how much it supports the team by being a rapid spinner that can beat Lando/Gliscor. Steel is all about trading hazards and removing the ones on your side with Iron treads, so the role it provides for the type is pretty crucial and it should be ranked A to reflect that.

For other types:

Grass:
-> S
Both of these mons should be S ranked on grass because they pretty much define the type. You can pretty much chose what you beat with these offensive juggernauts and they have good defensive utility too.

Psychic:
-> S
These two mons should also probably be S ranked on Psychic. They both define the type in different ways and allow Psychic to hold its ground in such an offensive metagame. Deoxys S can run a lot of sets; one unique one I've been trying is the meteor beam set which can catch Pokemon with surprise and also set hazards. Lead/Specs are also really good and u can be creative with it. Iron boulder has one main good set which is scarf but it provides a lot of compression since it's able to outspeed stuff like scarf meow which is otherwise a pain in the butt for the type and beat Fire. Its by far the best speed control.

Normal:
-> A/B
Chansey on normal is something I'm a huge fan of since Eviolite gives it a lot of durability since it can do better in specific interactions. For example vs iron valiant, normal hates switching into it and having the additional bulk to just twave it from the getgo is valuable compared to blissey which is forced out. This can be very valuable in certain matchups since you can get ahead of the sack game later on, and Terapagos can remove hazards so not having boots is not a big deal.

Water:

-> S
No water mon is on the level of pex but these two Pokemon are amazing when it comes down to teambuilding for the type and within the entire metagame. Greninja is great role compression since Ice beam + Sludge wave + Dark pulse gives u a good revenge killer to a variety of threats in the meta and has Switcheroo to beat things like Hatterene as well, while Ogerpon is really threatening with its SD set and arguably warps the metagame to a noticable degree. The short is that both of these mons make it really easy to build Water teams, and even though on a less populated type they would probably be A ranked just because pex is some jesus, putting them at S would make the water VR a lot easier to read.

-> B
-> C
Rain is kinda mid rn since you want like 8 mons on the team and this should reflect that. Balance is much better and beats a lot of the same things rain does + even more with the introduction of Primarina's dominance and Keldeo/Ogerpon/Gren/Pert generally being really good. Similarly, Kingdra is also good on rain, but it's a step lower than Skewda and dropping it to C should reflect that.

-> A
You pretty much need a Fighting Pokemon on Water for gambit and Keldeo does that very well + fills a pretty important role as a result. Vacuum wave makes it a great revenge killer for Pao/Gambit in particular, two metagame titans, while pretty much soloing Steel. Vacuum wave is the reason why it's better than the other fighting Pokemon because it ensures u have a gambit check no matter how healthy Keldeo is (urshifu and quaquaval both get pressured when low).

 

[TheWyvernKing]

Since DLC2 dropped, I've done extensive testing using Fighting and have some thoughts to share.

C rank -> A rank

In the current meta, AV Gallade is the MVP of Fighting:

• AV Gallade is Fighting's best check for Psychic type moves thanks to it's Psychic coverage neutrality. Also unlike Scrafty, AV Gallade can also sponge Fairy type coverage
• Sharpness + Sacred Sword beats Stamina Archaludon and cripples Iron Defense users like Zamazenta and "demon keys" Klefki
• Sharpness + Psycho Cut is great for the Poison matchup and the plethora of bulky Poison types that trouble Fighing such as Toxapex, Amoonguss, Slowking-Galar & Weezing-Galar. It also pairs well with Sacred Sword to punish dark type switch-ins.
• Sharpness + Night Slash is great vs opposing Psychic and Ghost types that threaten Fighting. These include mons such as Latios/Latias, Espathra, Protean Extrasensory Greninja, Gholdengo, Sinistcha and Iron Crown. It also pairs well with Shadow Sneak to finish off weakened foes of these said types.
• Shadow Sneak is useful priority that pairs well with Night Slash, doing neutral damage to types that resist Vacuum Wave / Mach Punch. It's great vs faster Ghost and Psychic types such as Flutter Mane, Iron Boulder, Dragapult and Latios/Latias.

AV Gallade Damage Calcs

Offensive

• 248+ Atk Gallade Shadow Sneak vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Flutter Mane: 150-178 (59.7 - 70.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
• 248+ Atk Sharpness Gallade Night Slash vs. 152 HP / 244+ Def Espathra: 242-286 (65.5 - 77.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
• 248+ Atk Sharpness Gallade Night Slash vs. 252 HP / 196+ Def Gholdengo: 192-226 (50.7 - 59.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
• 248+ Atk Sharpness Gallade Sacred Sword vs. 252 HP / 88 Def Zamazenta: 193-228 (49.7 - 58.7%) -- 69.5% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

Defensive

• 252 SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Landorus Earth Power vs. 136 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Gallade: 136-161 (43.7 - 51.7%) -- 10.9% chance to 2HKO
• 252 SpA Choice Specs Latios Luster Purge vs. 136 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Gallade: 138-163 (44.3 - 52.4%) -- 18.4% chance to 2HKO
• 252 SpA Flutter Mane Moonblast vs. 136 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Gallade: 188-224 (60.4 - 72%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
• 252 SpA Gholdengo Shadow Ball vs. 136 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Gallade: 158-188 (50.8 - 60.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Replays of AV Gallade

• vs Poison
• vs "demon keys" Klefki
• vs Latios & Archaludon Dragon
• vs Lando-I Ground
• vs Scarf Iron Boulder Rock
• vs Scarf Gholdengo Steel
• vs Iron Def Zamazenta
• vs Ghost

s/o ArkenCiel, TheIronPikachu & Coach Harry

idk if it's A rank but I definitely second Gallade going up from C, I'd personally do Gallade-->B Rank tbh. Compared to the rest of the C rank mons I see Gallade as a step above. Like Scrafty, Gallade's AV set can be run to answer mons like Latios and Espathra, unlike Scrafty Gallade doesn't get hit 4X weak from Dazzling Gleam, meaning it's actually a true counter to DGleam Espathra sets. Scrafty also has no offensive presence, meaning without max attack it doesn't even break 50% on Espathra with Knock after Espathra loses it's item. Similarly, a defensive Gholdengo faces 2hko damage rolls from Gallade's Night Slash whereas Scrafty just becomes setup fodder.
Gallade's ability sharpness with it's solid movepool makes it a potent corebreaker, and even while holding an assault vest it is an active problem for opposing defensive cores. Band and HDB are also both options, though I kinda see them as a bit less useful for a fighting's comp alot of the time and ultimately giving Gallade more competition for it's role.
One of the reasons I don't agree with an A Rank Gallade, is that there are a few problem mons which other AV users like Iron Hands flat out handle better. Iron Hands in contrast can Heavy Slam fairies - particularly useful for Hatt, plus has volt switch for pivoting, and better longevity with Drain Punch in addition to far better physical bulk. Though Gallade technically can Drain Punch, Sacred Sword is a huge part of the appeal with the Sharpness Boost.

 

[boomp]

A -> S on Fairy
The Little Mermaid honestly made its way as the go to option on Fairy. Its defense set is really popular right now due to being a defensive check to Gouging Fire. Behind Screens and after a Calm Mind boost, it becomes a devastating sweeper. Easing the Steel Matchup as well which can be a pain for Fairy teams. And also theres an AV set going around with Flip turn for momentum and on both sets it has access to Psychic Noise which just makes this mon a huge threat to deal with.

B -> A on Fairy
This one is pretty straight forward for me, Fairy is extremely hazard weak and having hat on the team makes it annoying to set up hazards if its not ceaseless edge or stone axe. It also has nice utility in Nuzzle which allows dangerous teammates like Flutter Mane and Iron Valiant have a easier time sweeping.

A -> S
To good of a teammate to pass up on normal teams, especially when alot of setup mons is in the metagame right now. Go to teammate and while its alive in the match, it forces people to not set up ever due to ditto being able to just reverse sweep the competition. Playing without ditto seems like you are trying to play the tier on hard mode, which is why i feel ditto transformed its way to S <3

 

[Flubbo]

I'm a little surprised to not see Floatzel ranked at all in the water tierlist, its a very capable swift swimmer that can outspeed timid scarf Dragapult with only 200 speed EVs (You don't need a +speed nature, either). It does have a lower attack stat than Barraskewda (339 vs 379 with max attack), but the raw destructive power of wave crash actually makes it hit harder than Skewda's liquidation (banded wave crash OHKOs max def Ting-Lu in rain, Barraskewda's liquidation in the same conditions does 78.6-93.8%). Floatzel's main problem is a lack of coverage, with only ice spinner and crunch, though it usually hits harder with rain-boosted wave crash anyway.

Probably a B-tier, as its not quite as good as Barraskewda because Floatzel's lack of coverage results in it getting walled by Toxapex and Archaludon, who Skewda can deal with thanks to psychic fangs and close combat.

 

[Scarfire]

I'm a little surprised to not see Floatzel ranked at all in the water tierlist, its a very capable swift swimmer that can outspeed timid scarf Dragapult with only 200 speed EVs (You don't need a +speed nature, either). It does have a lower attack stat than Barraskewda (339 vs 379 with max attack), but the raw destructive power of wave crash actually makes it hit harder than Skewda's liquidation (banded wave crash OHKOs max def Ting-Lu in rain, Barraskewda's liquidation in the same conditions does 78.6-93.8%). Floatzel's main problem is a lack of coverage, with only ice spinner and crunch, though it usually hits harder with rain-boosted wave crash anyway.

Probably a B-tier, as its not quite as good as Barraskewda because Floatzel's lack of coverage results in it getting walled by Toxapex and Archaludon, who Skewda can deal with thanks to psychic fangs and close combat.

Floatzel has had no real niche in a long time, rain isn't always the dominant water playstyle, and even when it is used, Barraskewdas speed (even outside of rain it outspeeds Chien/Flutter), coverage, and most important of all, access to a fast + hard hitting flip turn, make it extremely outclass Floatzel. On top of that water teams have no space to viably run both Barra + Floatzel, so 9.9/10 times you are dropping something important to run Floatzel, which fills a roll you don't necessarily need. All in all I personally would keep Floatzel unranked, especially since its had no results shown in the past many months.