Viability Rankings (OUTDATED)

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Hulavuta

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And tbh I feel like the whole Viability Ranking should be updated because there are so many changes to make.
To update the VR I'd say you can just write the changes and you don't have to write an explanation for it because then way more ppl will participate in this. I realise it at my own, I'd change quite a lot things but I'm just too lazy to write that much and most things should be just obvious anyway (for example the aspect with Suicune and Tapu Fini). If there are very controversial changes (or if you want a Pokemon to be S because that is a "big step") you can ask and discuss but for most things the community should've the same opinion.
Yeah, I would like to ask everyone be patient with the Viability Rankings. We are a much smaller community than any of the tiers or VGC, yet we have the most Pokemon to deal with out of any metagame. So it's unavoidable that our rankings will move pretty slowly.

Anyway, here are my personal thoughts.

Garchomp: Drop down from S rank to A rank: Like others have already stated, Garchomp's effectiveness has just dropped significantly. Focus Sash, which I once considered the best and most reliable set in all of Battle Spot, is not so great anymore now that Stealth Rock is everywhere. And without that, it dies to most set-up sweepers rather than being a great check to them. Scarf sets are still really good though, but with both of its STABs having immunities, it can hurt your momentum if you're not careful. But I still think it's good as an offensive check to +1 Gyarados, +1 Zard X and Y, +1 Volcarona, etc.

Kangaskhan-Mega: Drop down to A- rank: Jhonethan basically said it all. "Damage is not what it used to be" being the key phrase here. Misses out on a lot of unfortunate KOs. With the Sucker Punch nerf along with the Parental Bond nerf, you are no longer afraid of just using a Scarfer to revenge kill it, as it has no way to boost Speed outside of getting passed it.

Mega Charizard X: Somewhere in A rank idk: Kind of ambivalent on this one, so I'm just bringing it up for discussion. I see a lot of people using Dragon Dance sets on it now which I don't think are very good. But there must be something wrong with SD Flame Charge if people are using Dragon Dance now. And its usage is slipping, Y is becoming more popular (which I predicted, and then changed my mind, and then it came true, so like fuck) I think it should still remain in A somewhere, but not sure where.

Mega Charizard Y: From A rank to A+ rank: This mon is so fucking good, now that people have finally realized I was right the whole time and that Flame Charge is actually a godlike set on this Pokemon. It can sweep entire teams now after just one turn of set-up, which can easily be achieved by sacrificing a Pokemon or using Hippowdon Yawn or a smart double switch. It and Volcarona are the reason that Stealth Rock is everywhere now. S-Rank if Stealth Rock didn't exist; it has a little trouble because Fire-types can decently switch into it and force it out a few times. Unlike Volcarona, it can't afford to use Roost and can't boost and kill Fire-types with Inferno Overdrive.

Azumarill: From A- rank to B- rank: Toss dis nigga. It is so bad. Sad for me to say, but it's true. I'm honestly not even sure what it does anymore. Its bulk is not that impressive anymore with all the power thrown around, and its so slow it has to take two hits before it can ever do anything. You are rarely ever able to set up Belly Drum, and even after that it's not so great because it can't OHKO things like Metagross, Kanga, or Gyarados with Aqua Jet. Not to mention Tapu Lele Psychic Terrain shuts it down completely. Really sad because it's one of my favorite Pokemon, but just objectively I think it is pretty bad. No way this thing is better than Hydreigon, Pheromosa, Gliscor, Gyarados, Nihilego, Serperior, or Tapu Bulu.

Cresselia: Maybe from A- rank to A rank: There's been a resurgence of Cresselia use lately, I guess that's just how these things come in cycles. I personally haven't used it much, so I'm leaving this as a maybe. With Trick Room becoming popular again as a way to counter all the insanely fast sweepers, it has been finding a niche again.

Rotoms: Drop from A-Rank to B or B+ rank: Everything's been said already. They don't cut it anymore. Although I would say I find Rotom-H a little better than Rotom-W, so perhaps keep Rotom-H in A- and drop Rotom-W to B.

Nihilego: Up from B+ rank to A- or A rank: It's funny that a Pokemon considered to be useless at the beginning of the generation would give Celesteela competition as the best Ultra Beast. It's been an amazing anti-meta threat lately, thanks to its amazingly convenient 103 speed and great special defense. It takes out Charizard, Garchomp, Tapu Koko, Tapu Lele, Tapu Fini, Tapu Bulu, and Thundurus-T. It's being used on a lot of successful teams now. In return for having horrid physical defense, it is a Choice Scarf Pokemon that can actually switch into the tier's strongest special attackers and then kill them.

Alolan Marowak: Drop from B+ to B (or B- if we wanna make it): Despite my best efforts, I cannot find a way to justify using Marowak on most teams now. However, I don't think it's totally useless. It can still work on Trick Room teams. Generally, Mawile is much better, but Marowak does have a better time against Steel-types than Mawile. Unfortunately, that means there is a big stacked Ground weakness on your team, and Marowak is easy to wear down. It's also a decent switch-in to Mega Charizard Y, but I think Heatran and Tyranitar are generally better in that department and offer more for your team.

Xurkitree: Drop from B rank to B- (or C+ if we wanna make it): What can I say? Another one of my favorite mons that doesn't cut it anymore. Scarf sets are outsped by every other Scarf set, Hypnosis sets use up your Z-Move and are outsped by every Scarf set. Unlike most of the threatening sweepers, it can never boost its speed twice, so it's easily revenged. Its lack of a second type lets it down hard. It is outclassed by Thundurus-T in almost every single way. 101 speed is just too good to pass up, and the special attack difference is negligible, not to mention the fact it can use All-Out Pummeling. But the biggest problem is that it cannot switch in to anything, due to its pretty bad typing. Thundurus-T gets the valuable immunities to Ground and Electric which let it easily switch in to things. Xurkitree has no such privilege. Still, I think it should stay on the rankings because Z-Hypnosis can actually be quite devastating if you lead with it, since that's the point where momentum is most neutral.


Those are all my opinions for now! First time making a viability ranking post so my apologies if my rhetoric and movements are a little too extreme.
 
Ok, here are the changes I'd make:
Garchomp: S->A
Xard: A+->A
MGengar: A+->A/A-
(Mimikyu: A+->S)I'm not very sure with this. It is in the gap between A+ and S but looking at the definitions I'd say it deserves S-Rank. There are so much viable sets and you can make sets that fit perfectly to your teams so that it fulfills multiple roles. You can add WoW to stop physical sweepers, Curse is nice for forcing Walls out or prevent things from setting up. You can use Z-Play Rough or Z-Shadow Claw and even a full Curse Set with Curse, Sub, Protect, Shadow Claw and Ghostium Z (for either Z-Curse recovery or Z-SC dmg) is possible. Furthermore having Mimikyu with the active Disguise in the back prevents the opponent from setting up their winningcondition and you can use this to set up your own winningcondition.
Tapu Koko: A+->A
Excadrill: A->A+
CharY, Thundi-T, Tapu Fini: A->A+
Suicune: A->B+
Azumarill, Rotom-H, Rotom-W: A- -> B+
Volcarona: A- -> A+/A
Megagross: A- -> A
With the B-ranked Mons i'm not that confident what to change there and if there are any changes to make without one Pokemon:
Zapdos: B+->A
 
Yeah, I would like to ask everyone be patient with the Viability Rankings. We are a much smaller community than any of the tiers or VGC, yet we have the most Pokemon to deal with out of any metagame. So it's unavoidable that our rankings will move pretty slowly.

Anyway, here are my personal thoughts.

Garchomp: Drop down from S rank to A rank: Like others have already stated, Garchomp's effectiveness has just dropped significantly. Focus Sash, which I once considered the best and most reliable set in all of Battle Spot, is not so great anymore now that Stealth Rock is everywhere. And without that, it dies to most set-up sweepers rather than being a great check to them. Scarf sets are still really good though, but with both of its STABs having immunities, it can hurt your momentum if you're not careful. But I still think it's good as an offensive check to +1 Gyarados, +1 Zard X and Y, +1 Volcarona, etc.
While the previous points are true,this thing has too many sets it can run that are viable and effective,A lot of coverage options,access to Z moves, and overall has a great match up against A+ rank threats except for mimikyu.
I disagree


Kangaskhan-Mega: Drop down to A- rank: Jhonethan basically said it all. "Damage is not what it used to be" being the key phrase here. Misses out on a lot of unfortunate KOs. With the Sucker Punch nerf along with the Parental Bond nerf, you are no longer afraid of just using a Scarfer to revenge kill it, as it has no way to boost Speed outside of getting passed it.
Sadly MegaMom has a harder time sweeping teams,BB nerf affected her a lot turning some KOs into 2HKOS, can't abuse priority like before and needs set up in order to play around scarfed mons.
Agree


Mega Charizard X: Somewhere in A rank idk: Kind of ambivalent on this one, so I'm just bringing it up for discussion. I see a lot of people using Dragon Dance sets on it now which I don't think are very good. But there must be something wrong with SD Flame Charge if people are using Dragon Dance now. And its usage is slipping, Y is becoming more popular (which I predicted, and then changed my mind, and then it came true, so like fuck) I think it should still remain in A somewhere, but not sure where.
I disagree with this, Because it still is a big threat to most teams, it has a lot of coverage options and viable sets it can run,dragon dance set while predictable is still good for a wincon,swords dance sets are mostly for wrecking Tanks,also it is able of running a will o wisp set,that while niche it does surprise common switch ins like landorus therian,also the surprise factor is what has this thing ranked so high as a misspredict on its set,could mean losing the game.

Mega Charizard Y: From A rank to A+ rank: This mon is so fucking good, now that people have finally realized I was right the whole time and that Flame Charge is actually a godlike set on this Pokemon. It can sweep entire teams now after just one turn of set-up, which can easily be achieved by sacrificing a Pokemon or using Hippowdon Yawn or a smart double switch. It and Volcarona are the reason that Stealth Rock is everywhere now. S-Rank if Stealth Rock didn't exist; it has a little trouble because Fire-types can decently switch into it and force it out a few times. Unlike Volcarona, it can't afford to use Roost and can't boost and kill Fire-types with Inferno Overdrive.
Agree,this is a very powerful mon capable of breaking walls and sweeping with the flame charge set, has a great match up against many threats on the metagame,and the surprise factor also gives it an extra point for raising as it makes it more dangerous to predict before mega evolving.




Those are all my opinions for now! First time making a viability ranking post so my apologies if my rhetoric and movements are a little too extreme.
I would also agree to raise mimikyu to S rank,its ability lets it to make holes on teams on such a quick meta,able of checking many top tier threats.
 
I just want to get this out of the way.
Garchomp: Drop down from S rank to A rank:
Disagree, Focus Sash Garchomp may have dropped in viability, but it gets plenty of coverage moves. Fini hasn't been used as much lately, and Dragon + Ground covers almost everything except a few Pokemon like Togekiss and Celesteela, which one of them isn't even viable, and Garchomp can cover both with Stone Edge and Z-Fire Fang. If anything, drop it to A+.
 
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Mimikyu: A+ ---> S (Agree)
Hello BSS! Anyways, as a newcomer to this format, I have been using Mimikyu on my team. I am happy to say it is extremely good, especially when paired up with Breloom. Disguise lets it set up on most of the metagame, and at +2, it can even take down checks to it, like Magnezone (granted, via a crit Shadow Claw, but still). It is just so potent in this meta. Also, Focus Sash sets are even crazier, as it lets you set up twice. If you outspeed, your foe is likely being 2HKOed, if not OHKOed.

+2 252 Atk Mimikyu Shadow Claw vs. 128 HP / 0 Def Magnezone: 84-99 (52.1 - 61.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
 
I second the rise of Mimikyu from A+--->S
Disguise is a stupidly powerful and versatile ability. It allowed Mimikyu to safely setup against top tier threats or act as an great revenge killer. It has items such as Focus Sash, Lum Berry, Life Orb, and Z Crystals to aid in its sweep or further its survivability, especially with it's typing having near perfect neutral coverage.
It is not limited to the role of a sweeper either. Access to Curse allows it to be an excellent Trick Room setter, being guaranteed to set it up, especially with the aid of Mental Herb protecting it from Taunt, while still being decently powerful.
Furthermore, it a Speed allows it to outpace non-Scarf Tapu Lele, where Mimikyu can seriously damage our outright KO the Guardian of Akala Island.
Overall, Mimikyu is a force to be reckoned with and absolutely deserves it's place in the S rank thanks in part to its typing, movepool, broken ability, and versatility.
 
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Before I begin on this nomination, are there any Pokémon that are important to the metagame, but have yet to be given a rank? I would love to give suggestions for those.

Breloom A- ---> A
Breloom is really slept on right now. Offensive Spore is really good against this metagame, especially since nothing good right now has Magic Bounce that I can think of. Also, Focus Sash makes sure Spore happens. The only way to break it is with SR, which aren't that common, sand (not very common), hail (no), or multi-hit moves. The only thing viable to where it can threaten Breloom is Mamoswine. However, it dies in one hit to Mach Punch. Other than that, it can Spore, then start going ham. It is not on the same level as something like Azumarill, not by a long shot.
 

Thick Fat Azumarill

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Before I begin on this nomination, are there any Pokémon that are important to the metagame, but have yet to be given a rank? I would love to give suggestions for those.

Breloom A- ---> A
Breloom is really slept on right now. Offensive Spore is really good against this metagame, especially since nothing good right now has Magic Bounce that I can think of. Also, Focus Sash makes sure Spore happens. The only way to break it is with SR, which aren't that common, sand (not very common), hail (no), or multi-hit moves. The only thing viable to where it can threaten Breloom is Mamoswine. However, it dies in one hit to Mach Punch. Other than that, it can Spore, then start going ham. It is not on the same level as something like Azumarill, not by a long shot.
While Magic Bounce isn't common, Tapu Koko and Tapu Fini's terrains reduce Breloom's effectiveness a lot. Stealth Rock is also quite common nowadays, and sand teams are pretty viable, while not that common. Breloom is a real threat, but I think it is right where it should be.
 
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