With the end of WCOP, and seeing RBY OU and GSC OU adopting
McMeghan ’s approach to the ADV OU viability rankings with
vapicuno's analyses, I too conducted a survey on a subset of the ORAS playing community that have been active in the past year and the results are as seen. Big Thank You to
ABR ,
Altina ,
Analytic ,
baddummy ,
Charmflash ,
Eo Ut Mortus ,
false ,
Gondra ,
jonfilch ,
KratosMana ,
le LLiolae ,
Lusa ,
Savouras ,
starry blanket ,
TDK ,
Will of Fire ,
yjh971203
In the same vein as
Earthworm , I will detail the process used to come up with the rankings
Collection of data
Earthworm’s GSC rankings involved him setting up a Google form with each Pokemon from the old VR having their own question asking the user to enter the ranking number for that Pokemon. However, he noted that this method had flaws in that it “was quite awkward (the google form). It almost certainly caused a degree of bias due to people's desire to finish quickly and having to recall the numbers they had already entered”, and that “There were some cases where people ranked things the same rank accidentally”
In order to rectify these flaws, I instead setup a rank order survey on Surveymonkey. The survey forced all participants to arrange the 100 Pokemon that were already present in the current VR in order so no Pokemon would be missed out and it will be impossible for people to rank 2 different Pokemon the same rank.
I added two non-mandatory questions asking players if there were any Pokemon they think should be ranked if they weren’t already ranked, and if they thought that any Pokemon should be removed from the rankings.
Flaws:
-The sheer volume of viable Pokemon in ORAS makes it intimidating to rank, which might have contributed to fairly average player response
-There is no centralised discord server for ORAS that the other communities such as ADV or GSC have, so disseminating information to interested player base has to be done through Smogon PM, which can be clunky at times.
-We faced a similar problem to GSC OU in that the ability to meaningfully define a border for ranks below B based on averages + standard deviations is very limited. The divisions are therefore quite ambiguous.
-If i were to conduct these rankings again, I will allow the option to vote to exclude certain Pokemon from the rankings instead of asking as a separate question; I didn't know surveymonkey allowed this until
Earthworm told me so it was an oversight on my part.
-Earthworm randomised the order of the Pokemon in later surveys he took for GSC Ubers to reduce a degree of bias. This will definitely be done in the future if conducted again.
Without further ado, here are the updated rankings
S Rank:
S1 Rank
01
Clefable
S2 Rank
02
Metagross (Mega)
S3 Rank
03
Keldeo
04
Gliscor
05
Ferrothorn
A Rank:
A1 Rank
06
Tornadus-T
07
Slowbro (Mega)
A2 Rank
08
Magnezone
09
Excadrill
10
Tyranitar
11
Heatran
A3 Rank
12
Rotom-W
13
Garchomp
14
Landorus-T
15
Weavile
16
Alakazam (Mega)
17
Latios
B Rank:
B1 Rank
18
Bisharp
19
Skarmory
20
Azumarill
21
Volcarona
22
Serperior
23
Slowbro
24
Scizor (Mega)
B2 Rank
25
Chansey
26
Amoonguss
27
Charizard (Mega-Y)
28
Medicham (Mega)
29
Suicune
B3 Rank
30
Manaphy
31
Diancie (Mega)
32
Thundurus
33
Zapdos
34
Lopunny (Mega)
B4 Rank
35
Charizard (Mega-X)
36
Hydreigon
37
Jellicent
38
Starmie
39
Latias (Mega)
C Rank:
C1 Rank
40
Tangrowth
41
Alomomola
42
Talonflame
43
Pinsir (Mega)
44
Volcanion
45
Gastrodon
46
Kyurem-B
47
Heracross (Mega)
48
Manectric (Mega)
49
Kyurem
C2 Rank
50
Tyranitar (Mega)
51
Crawdaunt
52
Latias
53
Altaria (Mega)
54
Gyarados (Mega)
55
Jirachi
56
Terrakion
D Rank:
D1 Rank
57
Hippowdon
58
Venusaur (Mega)
59
Nidoking
60
Alakazam
61
Mew
62
Reuniclus
63
Quagsire
64
Slowking
65
Gardevoir (Mega)
66
Breloom
67
Gengar
D2 Rank
68
Dragonite
69
Gyarados
70
Garchomp (Mega)
71
Aerodactyl (Mega)
72
Klefki
73
Mamoswine
74
Diggersby
75
Gallade (Mega)
76
Thundurus-T
77
Victini
78
Togekiss
E Rank:
E1 Rank
79
Politoed
80
Cofagrigus
81
Kingdra
82
Swampert (Mega)
83
Shuckle
84
Kabutops
E2 Rank
85
Dragalge
86
Raikou
87
Galvantula
88
Seismitoad
89
Mandibuzz
90
Empoleon
91
Sharpedo (Mega)
92
Tentacruel
93
Azelf
94
Pidgeot (Mega)
95
Cobalion
96
Celebi
97
Scolipede
98
Omastar
99
Sceptile (Mega)
100
Beedrill (Mega)
Visual representations of results
vapicuno helped do a visual representation of everyone's results, including the old and new viability rankings. On the new VR Column, green indicates a rise, red indicates a drop and purple indicates that there is no change. The green and red in everyone's rankings indicate what they ranked higher (green) and lower (red) than the new VR.
The graph below with standard deviations plotted on the averages was used to decide the subtiers above. Once again, thanks to vapicuno for helping me with this.
How the tiers are formed from the plot of average ranks and standard deviations
To quote vapicuno's
post this methodology is based on the assumptions that
A1. Every mon in a tier should be mostly indistinguishable from any other in the same tier.
A2. Every mon in a tier should be convincingly distinguishable from every mon in another tier.
And mathematically, for reliability we require that
B1. Enough players contribute their VR, or outliers removed, so that the central limit theorem holds and ranking statistics can be treated as normal distributions. The standard deviation can thus be meaningful statistic.
Together, these premises require that
1. Within a tier, each mon has a ranking with standard deviation that stays within the mean (average) ranking,
2. At the transition from a higher to lower tier, the mean rankings will go from a overestimate to underestimate.
I will attempt to show how the Tiers and Subtiers are formed
Tier 1 is very well defined, with a near unanimous ranking of Clefable as #1. Clefable has stayed as the best Pokemon at ORAS for years due to its unparalleled role compression and general utility. At #2 Metagross (Mega), while clearly not in the same league as Clefable, there was a general consensus that this offensive behemoth is above the next 3 Pokemon. The next 3 Pokemon (Keldeo, Gliscor, Ferrothorn), there was more contention with different people ranking them in different orders, some even thinking these Pokemon should be ranked higher than Metagross. Hence, they have overlapping standard deviations. By coincidence, my rankings were the only rankings that had my top 5 Pokemon in the same order as the new VR. These 3 groups of Pokemon are clearly a cut above the remaining Pokemon in the tier and are tiered at S1, S2 and S3 respectively in the new VR.
After the top 5, ranking bars became larger as there was more variance in the rankings with no Pokemon having a standard deviation lower than 2. There was a clear drop off from the 5th to the 6th ranked mon so a new tier is formed.
At ranks 6 and 7, we have Tornadus-Therian and Mega Slowbro. Tornadus-Therian had less contention, having a relatively low standard deviation. Tornadus-Therian generally only runs the Assault Vest set with little move variation;. However its access to utility Knock Off and U-turn, while soft checking many Pokemon makes it quite splashable and is probably the reason for its consistent rank. On the other hand, there was no clear consensus on the placement of Mega Slowbro but it still is by far the second best mega in the tier. These 2 Pokemon form the A1 tier.
The next group we have from ranks 8- 11. At number 8, Magnezone's high rank is a probably a testament to the strength of Mega Metagross and Ferrothorn. Being one of the few ways of generating chip on/revenging Mega Metagross and being able to remove Ferrothorn, Magnezone is a popular pick now. There was an increase in Excadrill's popularity due to it being one of the 2 reliable spinners in the OU metagame; both its mold breaker and sand rush sets provide a ton of utility due to the offensive presence and rapid spin. Tyranitar, one of the premier Pursuit trappers in the tier, and Heatran, one of the most consistent rockers round off this group to form the A2 tier.
Next tier is at 12 - 17. Rotom, Garchomp, Weavile and Mega Alakazam had fairly low standard deviations between 2.21 and 2.84, while Landorus-T and Latios had standard deviations at 4.91 and 4.68 respectively. Rotom-W's value is as a splashable pivot on Bulky Offense and some Balance teams, perhaps its rise into the top of this subtier is indicative of the fact that the metagame has became a bit more offensive.
There is very divisive opinion on Landorus-Therian and Latios compared to the other mons in this subtier. With Garchomp having largely replaced Landorus-T as the premier defensive ground type Stealth Rock setter, Landorus-T's main niche is in being one of the if not the best scarfer in the tier. Perhaps a player's ranking on Landorus-T is based on how much they value speed control in general in ORAS. Long gone are the days of Defog + Roost Life Orb Latios being the sole Keldeo check on teams, and Latios has continued to drop in rank.
These 6 Pokemon form the A3 tier.
While this group of Pokemon formerly formed the A- tier, there was a significant drop off from ranks 17 - 18. Latios was ranked at 16.64 on average, while Bisharp was ranked at 21.23. This significant drop off hence demarcates the start of the B Tier. Bisharp, Azumarill and Volcarona are 3 of the most dangerous setup sweepers that have the ability to sweep teams that position themselves poorly, and are definitely threats that have to be respected in the builder. Skarmory is the distant second best spiker in a tier infested with Magnezone, which forces it to run Shed Shell a lot. Serperior has a myriad of support moves like Glare, Knock Off. Regular Slowbro is one of the best bulky waters with Regenerator, checking Metagross, Keldeo and Gliscor while having access to a pretty solid movepool with multiple utility options. Despite the prevalence of TankChomp and Magnezone, Mega Scizor still remains the best full counter to Mega Metagross (unless you meet the infamous HPFire Meta
) that has access to good utility moves like Defog, Knock Off and U-Turn. While Pokemon in this subtier are all extremely potent threats that must be taken into account in the builder, they definitely feel in general less splashable than the Pokemon in the above tier, hence I don't find myself disagreeing with the voter pool indicating that these Pokemon should be in a different tier from the Pokemon above. These Pokemon form the B1 subtier.
At ranks 25 - 29, we meet what was generally agreed to be the 5th, and 6th best Megas in the game. Charizard Y and Mega Medicham are 2 strong archetype defining Pokemon that must be accounted for in the builder when opting to use a fatter team. Chansey, when partnered with her fellow fat Pokemon in a stallier team still remains a frustration for many offenses. Amoonguss has dropped a bit in popularity since the last VR. While it still remains a good check to Keldeo and Calm Mind Clefable, Spore, its main claim to fame, can become a dead move against Gliscor teams that manage to activate Gliscor's Toxic Orb. These Pokemon form the B2 Subtier.
Next we have ranks 30-34. There is a slight increase in ranking of Manaphy. Manaphy is one of the most dangerous Pokemon for a fat team to handle. Thundurus took a significant dip in rankings, as perhaps people realised that many team structures have a way to organically check it, limiting its usefulness. Mega Diancie, dropped a bit while Mega Lopuny and Zapdos remained more or less in the same place. This group forms the B3 Subtier.
Next we have ranks 35-39. Something to note is the increase in the ranks of Jellicent. Jellicent first gained popularity in modern ORAS after CBB debuted it in SPL 9. Its viability at that time was met with skepticism from some people as they did not buy into the hype. Now, almost 2 years after that, Jellicent has cemented its place in the metagame with it rising 11 ranks from the old VR. Something interesting to me is that Starmie did not trend downwards with the increase in popularity of Jellicent. Toxic Starmie does not seem to be very popular in ORAS now, and with the increasing popularity of Jelli, I would expect that Starmie's ranking continues to drop as it is a less reliable spinner. This group forms the B4 subtier and rounds off the B tier.
The next significant drop in rank was between Mega Latias and Tangrowth. Mega Latias was ranked at 39.67 while Tangrowth was ranked at 43.67. There larger drop between the aforementioned Pokemon as compared to the previous difference in subtiers means that a new tier should be formed rather than a subtier. Tangrowth in particular received a significant increase in ranking, and I attribute this to the popularity of its Rocky Helmet set, which allows it to chip Mega Metagross throughout the game. This group from 40 - 49 forms the C1 subtier.
The next group from ranks 50 - 56 include two Megas that were considered fringe options for a large part of ORAS. Mega Tyranitar, which rose 20 ranks in the rankings, was used by CBB and Nintendi in WCOP to strong wins, showing that both Stealth Rock and Dragon Dance Mega Tyranitar are threats that should not be taken lightly in the current metagame. There was also a resurgence in Mega Altaria, a Pokemon that has barely seen tour usage since the first 6 months of ORAS. Most players who use Mega Altaria in recent tours use it on stallier builds with Dragon Dance and Heal Bell so it can free up a slot on Chansey. Definitely, Mega Altaria's increase in ranking is justified. This group forms the C2 subtier.
D1 Rank
At 57 - 67, we see Pokemon that while definitely viable, are only situationally effective and require more a modicum of team support to reach their full potential. Quagsire and Slowking in particular, have significantly higher tournament usage compared to the rest of this subtier that belies their low ranking. Mega Gardevoir continues to fall in grace, with it dropping from 56 - 65. Although it boasts one of the strongest nukes in the form of STAB Pixilate Hyper Voice, the current metagame run by Mega Metagross has not been kind to it, which is probably the reason why it has been dropping in ranking every subsequent VR. These Pokemon form the D1 subtier.
D2
While I was initially unsure on where to draw the line, with
vapicuno's help, the boundary was drawn between 67 - 68. In my humble opinion, the Pokemon here are fringe enough that they can be considered rarely seen in ORAS. These Pokemon form the D2 subtier
Finally, we reach the E Ranks at 79 - 100. The Pokemon here are generally those that fulfill a niche, albeit inconsistently. Most rankers will probably be pretty fatigued once they reach the tail end of the rankings and hence generally leave the Pokemon in the same order as the original viability rankings with a few exceptions. Cofagrigus, Shuckle and Seismitoad in particular have large error bars, indicating that perhaps they have more utility than what their rankings here represent. I have divided ranks 79 - 84 into Tier E1 while 85 - 100 is at Tier E2.
Sorry for the wait, hope everyone enjoyed looking at the results. Raw data is available
here I welcome any discussion from anyone if they disagree with anything I have said.