Resource SV Ubers UU Viability Rankings (Post #94 for February Shifts)

[Leo Justice]

I don't think hazards matter too much to LO Zacian, and that's because of Cyclizar. Not only can Cyclizar just flat out remove hazards as the only consistent hazard removal in the tier, but using Shed Tail to get Zacian in kinda nullifies the effect of taking spikes damage. Cutting into your bulk on a LO set isn't great, but the immediate power difference when compared to the HDB set while having a substitute to prevent revenge killing. The only hazards that actually affect Zacian switching in from Shed Tail is toxic spikes and sticky web, but smart play with Cyclizar to remove those before switching in is always an option.

LO Zacian just deals sooooo much damage that I think it's worth running LO over HDB in about 90% of situations. Its wallbreaking power is just so good that it's worth sacrificing its long-term sweeping potential.

Pretty much like Napp00 said, so many different attacks will KO Zacian if using LO as between the damage of hazards and its own recoil, it'll put itself in range of getting revenge killed.

And to your point about Cyclazar, well, that is not necessarily the case. Unless you are switching into a Dragon move or a move that misses, the sub it gives you is likely to break as the power level is just higher. Additionally, because our lack of Defog, it is worth noting that any ghost type in the opposing team will completely shut down that attempt. Between Dragapult, Gholdengo, and Spectrier, it is quite hard for Cyclazar to spin reliably.

 

[IcyScream]

I don't think hazards matter too much to LO Zacian, and that's because of Cyclizar. Not only can Cyclizar just flat out remove hazards as the only consistent hazard removal in the tier, but using Shed Tail to get Zacian in kinda nullifies the effect of taking spikes damage. Cutting into your bulk on a LO set isn't great, but the immediate power difference when compared to the HDB set while having a substitute to prevent revenge killing. The only hazards that actually affect Zacian switching in from Shed Tail is toxic spikes and sticky web, but smart play with Cyclizar to remove those before switching in is always an option.

LO Zacian just deals sooooo much damage that I think it's worth running LO over HDB in about 90% of situations. Its wallbreaking power is just so good that it's worth sacrificing its long-term sweeping potential.

Cyclizar is not bulky enough too midgame spin reliably, and cannot meaningfully threaten the most common spin blockers. (in no particular order) who outspeeds and can ohko cyc from full with draco or dragon darts. whose fluffy sets can shrug a knock or draco and 2hko with body press. has the worst matchup, but can still 2hko with draining kiss, or nasty into draining kiss and recover most of its health. lol right, knock if its air balloon or hope they're not scarf. boots also allows it to not die to priority (like lorb actively makes easier), jet punch, grassy glide, tera normal extreme speed, as well as faster pokemon like unburden sneasler, dragapult, opposing zacian (in a speed tie) or boosted pokemon. Also mentioned, it turns zacian from invaluable assets against webs, to a determent. Mag being the most common spiker, being able to come in at almost any point in the game and get at least one spike, making any non boots zacian shockingly worse.

 

[Bice]

nomming to A-
Landorus carves a valuable niche as the tier's only fast Ground-type and an offensively threatening one to boot thanks to Sheer Force. The tier has very few viable Ground resists, many of which don't like taking a Sludge Bomb to the face (or can be pivoted out on with U-Turn). Scarf Landorus speed trolls several prominent mons, most notably Cyclizar (Earth Power will always prevent a Shed Tail and has a good chance to KO with Tera Ground) and Chi-Yu (especially trolly thanks to Landorus's 101 speed tier). Very few things want to switch into it, and those that are tend to be Grass-types that are prone to being pressured, such as Arceus-Grass and Rillaboom. I don't think it should go higher than A- by virtue of its fragility and movepool being just okay, as well as its tendency to get pressured itself by several top meta threats (most notably mons it barely 2HKOs, such as Palkia-O and Zacian) and Air Balloon Steel-types like Dialga and Magearna throw a big wrench into Landorus's MO, but I still think it's better than many of the B+ mons like Meowscarada and Moltres.

 

[Gaboswampert]

UR to C- / C
Gave a set and some calcs with it on the UUbers underdogs thread, tldr hazard remover with an useful niche as its one of the few spinners that can take on Ghold, unblockable Spore is also a nice tool on a meta without consistantly bulky Grass mons, only Arceus-Grass and Rillaboom, but still quite niche as Rilla can be slapped into most team archetypes without much issue and since its AV most of the time it cannot really threaten it much, its Spore-spamming niche is outclassed by fellow shroom Amoonguss, and many top tier offensive mons like Magearna, Palkia-O, Chi-Yu and Arceus forms have ways to hit it supperefectively, overall, while very shaky, i can see it having a slight niche

 

[Tbolt]

C+ -> B-/B

Specially defensive Heatran's great typing gives it a great matchup into many of the top Pokemon of the tier, including Magearna, Iron Moth, Volcarona, Clefable, etc. If a Pokemon lacks Ground coverage, it often doesn't have another way to beat Heatran. Obviously you're a bit shaky vs Zacian so you need to support it, but I personally feel that Heatran is better than all of the Pokemon in C+, as well as a few Pokemon in B-.

UR -> C-

Niche counter to Sneasler, Rillaboom, and non-Psychic Fangs Zacian that can spread burns and poison with Will-O-Wisp and Toxic Spikes. Not the most defensively resilient nor offensively threatening Pokemon but forcing out Sneasler and Zacian once is enough to neutralize their threat potential, plus a Spikes and Ground immunity is always nice. Obviously can't fit on every team and is fodder for a ton of Steel-types but is an interesting option for balance teams. Choice between the two is whether you value Weezing-Galar's Dark resistance and Dragon immunity or Weezing's Poison resistance.



Not necessarily a nomination up or down, but just a reminder how underrated Scarf Palkia is. Many teams try to revenge kill Palkia-O with their Zacian or Cyclizar, so Palkia can increase its Speed to become a powerful revenge killer that is still nearly as strong as Palkia-O.

 

[Corthius]

Zacian-Hero S- -> S/S+
I'll point to my post in the NP thread for this. Zacian is the best pokemon in the tier in my eyes. Magearna might fit onto every playstyle, Thought, Zacian's viability and standpoint in the metagame still surpasses it in my opinion. I'm not 100% convinced, but with the sub ranks, I might even want to drop Magearna to S-, but I'm not 100% sold on that, so just this little side note.

Sneasler A- -> A
A- is such a criminally low rank for the (second) best lategame cleaner in the tier right now. Sneasler can very easily be positioned to win lategame, with only a handful of top pokemon even standing a chance versus it. The "main" set I've seen was SD + STABs + Acrobatics, though I found this set to be a bit of a noobtrap, because of the Unburden + Acrobatics being easily something to draw your eye to. Instead, I focused on what actually withstands Sneasler's outstanding STAB combination. With a little rise of Weezing-usage, and the fact that when I wasn't able to sweep with Sneasler it usually was due to a physically defensive Hounstone, I opted forthe following new option. Tera Fire Tera Blast. This has many benefits. For one, it makes you immune to the pesky Will-O-Wisp thrown at you, and for other it allows you to catch Hounstone with a non-contact, super effective move, OHKOing it in the process, while also covering for Gholdengo. It also allows you to resist a potential Play Rough from a full live Zacian you can't risk missing Gunk shot on. In general it gives you a very good complementary new "STAB" move, with other defensive benefits. It is notable though, that you find yourself now weak to Palafin's Jet Punch, so be careful about that.

Palafin A+ -> A
I'm not gonna lie, I find Palafin to be pretty lackluster. It relies too heavily on tera to be threatening in my eyes, and the free turn you give your opponent while switching out is super easy to take heavy advantage of. You need pretty well placed positioning to not fall behind on such a turn, or even getting momentum out of it. Additionally, I find CB to only really work well under rain, which gives it a needed damage boost (doesn't need to tera as much as non-rain) and it overwrites sun, which is actually very annoying for Palafin to face. I also find Water to not be nearly as splashable offensively as Palafin would like it. Top mons like Dialga, Palkia and Grassceus being very common even without Palafin in the picture really hurt its viablitity.
On a different note, I really want to try out a bulky set up Palafin with Jet Punch/Drain Punch/Bulk Up/Taunt. I theorized this with BaitWiz already, but I have yet to try it out. Taunt in particular is very strong to counteract all the phazer we have in the tier right now. I doubt this set will make me change my mind though.

 

[Exotic64]

B -> A+
I find it pretty funny that Zama-C is slept on this hard, the people who played OU during Pokemon Home's release will relate to me when I say this thing is stupidly broken and the same goes for Ubers UU. Being a consistent Zacian check that can tera into something obnoxious is absolutely not busted, and say resists all you want but when Zama-C is getting to +6 defense everything gets stat checked by its stab body press not to mention this things DISGUSTING bulk. Without leaking alts I will say I have been dominating ladder and I genuinely think the counterplay to this is slim to none - the real counterplay I really found was Wisp Houndstone under sand but I feel like the ID Sub BP Behemoth Bash set with Tera Fire is just obnoxious and makes Houndstone look shit. Completely underrated and insane how slept on this mon is when the counterplay is almost 0, fits on many different structures as well however I have found putting it on HO the best. The sub set also completely sits in front of Garg, which only wins if it turns ghost which is a shit type on Garg
I would argue it to be a mon worthy of being S-, but until more people try it out and realise how dumb this mon is then A+ should be fine.

 

[AlicieLizzie]

B -> A+
I find it pretty funny that Zama-C is slept on this hard, the people who played OU during Pokemon Home's release will relate to me when I say this thing is stupidly broken and the same goes for Ubers UU. Being a consistent Zacian check that can tera into something obnoxious is absolutely not busted, and say resists all you want but when Zama-C is getting to +6 defense everything gets stat checked by its stab body press not to mention this things DISGUSTING bulk. Without leaking alts I will say I have been dominating ladder and I genuinely think the counterplay to this is slim to none - the real counterplay I really found was Wisp Houndstone under sand but I feel like the ID Sub BP Behemoth Bash set with Tera Fire is just obnoxious and makes Houndstone look shit. Completely underrated and insane how slept on this mon is when the counterplay is almost 0, fits on many different structures as well however I have found putting it on HO the best. The sub set also completely sits in front of Garg, which only wins if it turns ghost which is a shit type on Garg
I would argue it to be a mon worthy of being S-, but until more people try it out and realise how dumb this mon is then A+ should be fine.

Zamazenta-C is outclassed by Zamazenta-Hero. The item Limitation is huge. It has lower speed, and the steel type is honestly a detriment. Being weak to ground in this tier is always a very exploitable flaw. Good luck boosting to +6 Defense whenever a huge portion of the tier is special, and you have no recovery outside of rest.
Edit: Forgot something. Sure you’re not weak to Play Rough anymore, but you’re still slower and now you’re weak to Close Combat. This thing isn’t a Zacian counter lmao. You have to at least be neutral to both in order to have a chance to be a counter or even a check.

 

[Qbking3]

Zamazenta-C is outclassed by Zamazenta-Hero. The item Limitation is huge. It has lower speed, and the steel type is honestly a detriment. Being weak to ground in this tier is always a very exploitable flaw. Good luck boosting to +6 Defense whenever a huge portion of the tier is special, and you have no recovery outside of rest.
Edit: Forgot something. Sure you’re not weak to Play Rough anymore, but you’re still slower and now you’re weak to Close Combat. This thing isn’t a Zacian counter lmao. You have to at least be neutral to both in order to have a chance to be a counter or even a check.

It’s not outclassed by hero form at all. For one, the stats are better on it and steel is a great typing in general. Its iron defense set is one of the most reliable sets in the entire tier and it is still extremely fast. It outspeed every relevant special attacker other than dragapult and boosted body press hits stupidly hard so it’s not always as easy as switch in a special attacker because a massive chunk of them drop to a body press after just 1 or 2 iron defenses and an even bigger chunk can’t ohko it. That’s not even bringing up the fact that with Tera, it becomes an absolute monster thanks to the guessing game you need to play. Physical attackers barely hurt it after a single iron defense and it can clean up games a lot of the time. An item slot isn’t worth sacrificing the extra stats and the steel typing which make Zamazenta so strong in the first place.

 

[Joseph Gomes]

Zamazenta-C is outclassed by Zamazenta-Hero. The item Limitation is huge. It has lower speed, and the steel type is honestly a detriment. Being weak to ground in this tier is always a very exploitable flaw. Good luck boosting to +6 Defense whenever a huge portion of the tier is special, and you have no recovery outside of rest.
Edit: Forgot something. Sure you’re not weak to Play Rough anymore, but you’re still slower and now you’re weak to Close Combat. This thing isn’t a Zacian counter lmao. You have to at least be neutral to both in order to have a chance to be a counter or even a check.

Very wrong. Zama-C has much better bulk and defensive profile. It doesn't need recovery since nothing can stop it from going to +6, which it can do in blink of an eye since it's faster than the likes of Arceus. It's a total monster and I wouldn't argue against S- rank in VR.

 

[BaitWiz]

Heya, making a big metagame post with a few noms after playing a decent number of games on ladder! I've really enjoyed playing this tier and I think there's a lot of interesting things going on~

RISES

S- to S

Zacian is one of the most powerful attackers in the metagame, being able to 2hko almost everything upon first switchin with good prediction and doing a solid job in subsequent switchins. The best set imo is Choice Band since all of the coverage is important, though HDB + Swords Dance definitely has a niche as well if you're willing to give up coverage for being able to break everything else harder - I think anything else is trolling, as you don't want to be taking hazard chip for 0 reason and Life Orb recoil just pushes Zacian further into easy revenge range.

B+ to A-/A

Landorus is incredibly difficult for much of the metagame to switch into, and its speed tier is solid enough to outpace and threaten out common bulkier mons like Magearna and Dialga, giving it opportunities to break with its powerful moves or boost to unholy levels with Nasty Plot. It also outpaces other key offensive threats like non-scarf Gholdengo and Chi-Yu, Urshifu, Baxcalibur, and Rillaboom, though it has to be wary of priority from the final two. It also utilizes Tera to add depth to its game, making its STAB Earth Power even stronger with Tera Ground or mixing up its typing with other Terastalization options. Lastly, while Landorus isn't winning any awards for its bulk, its typing allows for it to act as a one time check to some of the scariest Pokemon in the metagame like Sneasler and bulkier Arceus forms lacking Ice Beam.

B+ to A-

While I haven't gotten to use this a ton, my initial findings are that budget Ho-Oh physically defensive Moltres is an incredibly powerful defensive wall for the common physical attackers in the tier - it switches comfortably into Zacian's strongest two attacks, does reasonably well into other common physical attackers like Rillaboom and Sneasler, spreads annoying burns to the opponent's team, and can pivot out with U-Turn, chipping nearly everything and/or generating momentum. It definitely feels better than most of the other Pokemon in B+ on a game to game basis, and once again it's a wall that benefits from Terastalization, allowing it to get rid of its weaknesses to Water, Rock, and Electric if the situation calls for it. Too bad it doesn't get Regenerator like its big brother, but there could definitely be a worse consolation than Flame Body.

B to B+

While sand can at times struggle into Rain and Palkia-Origin, when played well it can be one of the most potent forces in the metagame, and Hippowdon has established itself in my mind as the premier setter for a damn good reason; it has insane physical bulk to check several physical monsters like DDance/SD Arceus and CB Zacian after its first switchin, as well as reliable recovery to heal off their damage. Roar allows it to phase bulky setup sweepers like Double Dance Magearna and Cosmic Power Arceus, while it can carry useful utility in Stealth Rock as well. Lastly, it can use Tera Grass or Water to flip the tables on Palafin and other powerful Water attackers in the metagame, allowing it to either beat them or phase them out.

B- to B

Arceus Rock might not be the creme of the crop in terms of defensive typing, but Mono Rock typing offers some unique perks in the tier, especially when its SpDef is bolstered by sand support - being able to switch into threats like Chi-Yu multiple times is insane team support, while Mono Rock typing means it's an Arceus Form that resists Extreme Speed from opposing Arceus, allowing for revenge killing options. Its other resistances in Poison and Flying don't come into play all that often, but it's an Arceus form that brings several unique things to the table that other forms can't. I wouldn't recommend using it outside of sand, though!

DROPS

A+ -> A

Mostly echoing Corthius here - Palafin relies a lot on Tera Water, rain, and/or multiple boosts to get going and the initial turn it has to switch in before it gets rolling can be a huge momentum sink, often being very difficult to make happen without significant cost to its team. Its rough MU into Palkia-Origin doesn't exactly help things either, considering that mon is everywhere and is incredibly scary for most teams to switch into multiple times. Like Corthius mentioned I think Bulk Up Palafin has merit as a bulky wincon and midgame breaker in theory, but I haven't gotten to fully test it in practice yet.

B- -> C+

As stated before, I feel that Hippowdon is the premier sand setter of the tier. Tyranitar's many weaknesses are often a major hinderance for its team in a metagame filled to the brim with powerful Steel, Fairy, and Water-type Pokemon as well as common Ground and Fighting coverage, while even some Pokemon it theoretically does well against like SD/DDance Arceus and Roaring Moon can blow past it with some chip and/or the right coverage. The biggest things Tyranitar has going in its favor is that it stonewalls Chi-Yu and can break/trade with SpDef walls like Blissey and Dialga, but this isn't nearly enough to make up for its otherwise lackluster traits.

---------------------------------------------
I know I mostly nominated more rises than drops here, but I feel like the current VR doesn't fully encapsulate the premier picks for Ubers UU and I wanted to nominate a few mons to help fill out those upper tiers.

 

[Eelstartega]

Let me see...

S tier

Zacian-Hero: S- --> S/S+
It's obviously a pokémon who is a bit overtuned in this meta and the best pokémon in the tier. Nice 92|115|115 bulk, the second fastest viable mon in the tier, over 200 attack when it enters the first time the battlefield, great coverage. I think I have to remind you this doggo was ANYTHING GOES back in SS due to how overwhelming it was to face. EVERYTHING in this tier seems crafted to check Zacian-Hero, and even then the pokémon just escapes with clever tera usage and Shed Tail support from Cyclizar. Wouldn't be surprised to see this thing banned soon.

Arceus-Dark: S- -->B+
On the opposite side of the spectrum, we have a ridiculously overrated pokémon by the council. Sneasler, Zacian, Magearna, Palafin's Close combat, Zamacenta-Crowned, all scaring this thing to the pokéball. Why would you use this over Chi-Yu or Roaring moon? Defensive Dark type is not a niche on high demand atm with all the fairies running around.

Cyclizar: A+ --> S-
The tier is in a high demand of Shed tail enabling Setup sweeps. From Nasty Plot from Spectrier and Landorus, going through Swords dance Zacian or Sneasler, Dragon Dance Arceus-Fire and Roaring Moon, to end up in classics like Calm mind Espathra and Arceus, the fact Cyclizar is there to give them free turns and status immunity faster than Arceus can act is what gives UUbers a lot of its HO identity.

A tier

Sneasler: A- --> A/A+.
What do you use to check a fast fairy and Normal type? An even faster Poison/Fighting might be the answer and this pokémon is exactly that. Sneasler is the fastest pokémon around if we consider items and habilities, in this case unburden; not even a jolly scarf electrode can outspeed this thing with neutral speed nature (657 vs 678), and is good at threatening almost everything with a OHKO after an swords dance, . That being said, "105" speed isn't amazing if uninvested and is prone to die if it doesn't oneshot which, even at an effective base attack of 148, is not unlikely without setup, and with 80|60|80 bulk that's quite difficult. All in all, Sneasler is a sweeper who is worth supporting with stuff like Shed tail or terrain.

Rillaboom: A- --> A
Yeah, this is part of the necessary support for Sneasler. Is not like you NEED this because white herb close combat exists, but is desirable. Its honestly an underwhelming pokémon here outside Sneasler, but at least Grassy terrain helps the 2 most common Arceus forms, Banded Wood Hammer hurt and Grassy Glide can revenge kill semi-reliably, but even then grass is not good on offense. See it as the necessary tax for Sneasler Sweeps, like Torkoal's sun, with potential upside for teams that are quite common and good like the Arceus Poison or fire.

Gholdengo: A --> A-
You would think in a tier where Kingambit isn't allowed and the best pokémon is a fairy, a special-attacking Steel-type would be the solution. Indeed it is... The problem is that there's 3 on said role already in Dialgia and Magearna alongside Gholdengo. Everyone offers something unique, but Gholdengo offers the least useful traits of them all for the tier atm. The defog + spin immunity isn't nearly as useful when Gliscor, Ting-Lu and Glimmora are all in Ubers (THANK ARCEUS FOR THAT), the fighting immunity isn't that useful outside Zamacenta-Crowned and is quite vulnerable to the everpresent knock off. Is not bad but certainly worse than the other steels because ghosts aren't in high demand atm.

Blissey: A- --> B+/B
Blissey is the best special wall around for more defensive teams... In a tier full of setup sweepers and Offense to Hyper Offense. She lacks encore which makes her passivity highly exploitable by said setup sweepers and offensive teams, as well as very difficult to fit into slots. Oftentimes you're just better using Arceus or Magearna for the role of special defender; dedicated defensive teams can use her alongside stuff like Alomomola but is still more on the Fringe side of things.

Espathra: B+ --> A-
The meta is oddly kind to it. Outspeeding almost everything after a single speed boost, as well as the tier being kinda lacking on Unaware, psychic resists and priority makes the evil Ostrich very prone to just sweep or at the very least trade 2 for 1. Is not the most consistent pokémon, but it's worth the slot more often than you think. A big reason for it is roughly the same as Sneasler AKA abusing Rillaboom's grass, this time with more interest in the grassy seed defense boost and recovery so it can setup reliably.

Walking Wake: A- --> B+
Apparently this Dragon/Water is more reliant on the weather than people expected. Without it this thing is just a worse Palkia-Origin in almost every way, and the item flexibility isn't that relevant considering Lustrous globe is quite the good item anyways. It works under sun quite well but that's about it.

Zamacenta-Hero: B --> A-
The tier has been kind to this dog lately, mainly as the steel type who isn't weak to many steel-type usual checks, as well as good against opposing steel types. It's main draw is that great 128 speed who beats Cyclizar and Arceus, and it actually threatens them with supereffective STAB, most notably non-scarf Chi-Yu, Roaring Moon, Baxcalibur, Dialga and Cyclizar, and with Substitute it can also threaten will'o'wisp Arceus poison and Zacian if packing heavy slam and even revenge beat Swords Dance Arceus-Fire with rock support. That being said, this thing lacks recovery so it needs support to supplement that, which isn't that big of a task considering Rillaboom's rise to support Sneasler. This thing just fits well in the current meta.

That's for now. I'll analyze pokémon leaving/moving into B tier soon enough.

 

[Magcargo]

Let me see...

S tier
View attachment 575246Zacian-Hero: S- --> S/S+
It's obviously a pokémon who is a bit overtuned in this meta and the best pokémon in the tier. Nice 92|115|115 bulk, the second fastest viable mon in the tier, over 200 attack when it enters the first time the battlefield, great coverage. I think I have to remind you this doggo was ANYTHING GOES back in SS due to how overwhelming it was to face. EVERYTHING in this tier seems crafted to check Zacian-Hero, and even then the pokémon just escapes with clever tera usage and Shed Tail support from Cyclizar. Wouldn't be surprised to see this thing banned soon.

View attachment 575249Arceus-Dark: S- -->B+
On the opposite side of the spectrum, we have a ridiculously overrated pokémon by the council. Sneasler, Zacian, Magearna, Palafin's Close combat, Zamacenta-Crowned, all scaring this thing to the pokéball. Why would you use this over Chi-Yu or Roaring moon? Defensive Dark type is not a niche on high demand atm with all the fairies running around.

View attachment 575254Cyclizar: A+ --> S-.
The tier is in a high demand of Shed tail enabling Setup sweeps. From Nasty Plot from Spectrier and Landorus, going through Swords dance Zacian or Sneasler, Dragon Dance Arceus-Fire and Roaring Moon, to end up in classics like Calm mind Espathra and Arceus, the fact Cyclizar is there to give them free turns and status immunity faster than Arceus can act is what gives UUbers a lot of its HO identity.

A tier
View attachment 575256Sneasler: A- --> A/A+.
What do you use to check a fast fairy and Normal type? An even faster Poison/Fighting might be the answer and this pokémon is exactly that. Sneasler is the fastest pokémon around if we consider items and habilities, in this case unburden; not even a jolly scarf electrode can outspeed this thing with neutral speed nature (657 vs 678), and is good at threatening almost everything with a OHKO after an swords dance, . That being said, "105" speed isn't amazing if uninvested and is prone to die if it doesn't oneshot which, even at an effective base attack of 148, is not unlikely without setup, and with 80|60|80 bulk that's quite difficult. All in all, Sneasler is a sweeper who is worth supporting with stuff like Shed tail or terrain.

View attachment 575453Rillaboom: A- --> A.
Yeah, this is part of the necessary support for Sneasler. Is not like you NEED this because white herb close combat exists, but is desirable. Its honestly an underwhelming pokémon here outside Sneasler, but at least Grassy terrain helps the 2 most common Arceus forms, Banded Wood Hammer hurt and Grassy Glide can revenge kill semi-reliably, but even then grass is not good on offense. See it as the necessary tax for Sneasler Sweeps, like Torkoal's sun, with potential upside for teams that are quite common and good like the Arceus Poison or fire.

View attachment 575455Gholdengo: A --> A-.
You would think in a tier where Kingambit isn't allowed and the best pokémon is a fairy, a special-attacking Steel-type would be the solution. Indeed it is... The problem is that there's 3 on said role already in Dialgia and Magearna alongside Gholdengo. Everyone offers something unique, but Gholdengo offers the least useful traits of them all for the tier atm. The defog + spin immunity isn't nearly as useful when Gliscor, Ting-Lu and Glimmora are all in Ubers (THANK ARCEUS FOR THAT), the fighting immunity isn't that useful outside Zamacenta-Crowned and is quite vulnerable to the everpresent knock off. Is not bad but certainly worse than the other steels because ghosts aren't in high demand atm.

View attachment 575456Blissey: A- --> B+/B.
Blissey is the best special wall around for more defensive teams... In a tier full of setup sweepers and Offense to Hyper Offense. She lacks encore which makes her passivity highly exploitable by said setup sweepers and offensive teams, as well as very difficult to fit into slots. Oftentimes you're just better using Arceus or Magearna for the role of special defender; dedicated defensive teams can use her alongside stuff like Alomomola but is still more on the Fringe side of things.

View attachment 575457Espathra: B+ --> A-.
The meta is oddly kind to it. Outspeeding almost everything after a single speed boost, as well as the tier being kinda lacking on Unaware, psychic resists and priority makes the evil Ostrich very prone to just sweep or at the very least trade 2 for 1. Is not the most consistent pokémon, but it's worth the slot more often than you think. A big reason for it is roughly the same as Sneasler AKA abusing Rillaboom's grass, this time with more interest in the grassy seed defense boost and recovery so it can setup reliably.

View attachment 575459Walking Wake: A- --> B+.
Apparently this Dragon/Water is more reliant on the weather than people expected. Without it this thing is just a worse Palkia-Origin in almost every way, and the item flexibility isn't that relevant considering Lustrous globe is quite the good item anyways. It works under sun quite well but that's about it.

View attachment 575461Zamacenta-Hero: B --> A-.
The tier has been kind to this dog lately, mainly as the steel type who isn't weak to many steel-type usual checks, as well as good against opposing steel types. It's main draw is that great 128 speed who beats Cyclizar and Arceus, and it actually threatens them with supereffective STAB, most notably non-scarf Chi-Yu, Roaring Moon, Baxcalibur, Dialga and Cyclizar, and with Substitute it can also threaten will'o'wisp Arceus poison and Zacian if packing heavy slam and even revenge beat Swords Dance Arceus-Fire with rock support. That being said, this thing lacks recovery so it needs support to supplement that, which isn't that big of a task considering Rillaboom's rise to support Sneasler. This thing just fits well in the current meta.

That's for now. I'll analyze pokémon leaving/moving into B tier soon.

I am the biggest Espathra / Stored Power hater out there. However, I don't think Espathra is worthy of A-. If anything, I think it should drop to B rank. It can definitely spiral out of control, but Roar / Encore users are way too common and they leave Espathra feeling somewhat limited, as if its one strategy is interrupted, it does NOTHING. Doesn't help that it has a terrible match-up into Clefable as well, though I think it might be able to brute force past it a bit better than other CM mons like Arceus. As a stored power cheese wincon, I believe it has big competition with other Pokemon like Arceus and Magearna that also have recovery options and / or great defensive utility. Espathra's defensive utility, meanwhile, is completely nil, it lacks other options beyond Stored Power cheese, and it is borderline useless if the opponent has the proper countermeasures against it, which can't be said for Arceus and Magearna imo.

 

[Joseph Gomes]

I am the biggest Espathra / Stored Power hater out there. However, I don't think Espathra is worthy of A-. If anything, I think it should drop to B rank. It can definitely spiral out of control, but Roar / Encore users are way too common and they leave Espathra feeling somewhat limited, as if its one strategy is interrupted, it does NOTHING. Doesn't help that it has a terrible match-up into Clefable as well, though I think it might be able to brute force past it a bit better than other CM mons like Arceus. As a stored power cheese wincon, I believe it has big competition with other Pokemon like Arceus and Magearna that also have recovery options and / or great defensive utility. Espathra's defensive utility, meanwhile, is completely nil, it lacks other options beyond Stored Power cheese, and it is borderline useless if the opponent has the proper countermeasures against it, which can't be said for Arceus and Magearna imo.

Agreed, this tier has quite a few fatmons who spam roar all the time. Espathra is not a mon who can afford to get denied setting up multiple times, as it doesn't have bulk to make up for whatever HP it lost while setting up.

 

[Exotic64]

Zamazenta-C is outclassed by Zamazenta-Hero. The item Limitation is huge. It has lower speed, and the steel type is honestly a detriment. Being weak to ground in this tier is always a very exploitable flaw. Good luck boosting to +6 Defense whenever a huge portion of the tier is special, and you have no recovery outside of rest.
Edit: Forgot something. Sure you’re not weak to Play Rough anymore, but you’re still slower and now you’re weak to Close Combat. This thing isn’t a Zacian counter lmao. You have to at least be neutral to both in order to have a chance to be a counter or even a check.

theres a reason hero is OU and crowned got quickbanned from the tier
tera on zama-c is also an amazing investment, u say the mon is slow but the only notable threads its slower than are spectrier and zacian
with the lack of ghosts and the only reliable one being dengo which is easily exploitable theres nothing switching in on a +6 BP, which is relatively easy to get ngl

 

[TTK]

Got some quick noms to go over after playing quite a number of games (gotta get my elo back though)

B- to B - Been running Assault Vest Azumarill and I have to say, being able to wall pretty much every special attacker in the tier ranging from , , and more and being able to keep up with the damage output in the tier (Jolly Palafin hits 419 atk, Adamant Huge Power Azu reaches 436 Atk with an additional STAB + Knock) gives it quite a decent niche I feel that deserves a slight rise. It certainly doesn't like Rillaboom being common and you don't want to drop your tera on it compared to its possible teammates (or run Sap Sipper LMAO) but I've found it a decent offensive and defensive crutch in order to handle some of our strongest mons.

B- to B+/A- - Spectrier being this low honestly baffles me. It's certainly one of the tier's most threatening offensive mons, which can snowball out of control once it gets going. Its base 130 Speed is its strongest strength, getting the jump on the dragons and and being faster than means you can burn it and basically shut it down. Outside of potential Wisp Hex sets, Sub + NP is its premier set imo. Everyone be like "Spectrier lacks coverage" like Ghost/Fairy coverage is not only walled by Pyroar lol. Like even if you phaze out Spectrier, at +2 it's either killing smth or doing 70/80 to defensive Arceus formes.

Let me see...

S tier
View attachment 575246Zacian-Hero: S- --> S/S+
It's obviously a pokémon who is a bit overtuned in this meta and the best pokémon in the tier. Nice 92|115|115 bulk, the second fastest viable mon in the tier, over 200 attack when it enters the first time the battlefield, great coverage. I think I have to remind you this doggo was ANYTHING GOES back in SS due to how overwhelming it was to face. EVERYTHING in this tier seems crafted to check Zacian-Hero, and even then the pokémon just escapes with clever tera usage and Shed Tail support from Cyclizar. Wouldn't be surprised to see this thing banned soon.

View attachment 575249Arceus-Dark: S- -->B+
On the opposite side of the spectrum, we have a ridiculously overrated pokémon by the council. Sneasler, Zacian, Magearna, Palafin's Close combat, Zamacenta-Crowned, all scaring this thing to the pokéball. Why would you use this over Chi-Yu or Roaring moon? Defensive Dark type is not a niche on high demand atm with all the fairies running around.

View attachment 575254Cyclizar: A+ --> S-
The tier is in a high demand of Shed tail enabling Setup sweeps. From Nasty Plot from Spectrier and Landorus, going through Swords dance Zacian or Sneasler, Dragon Dance Arceus-Fire and Roaring Moon, to end up in classics like Calm mind Espathra and Arceus, the fact Cyclizar is there to give them free turns and status immunity faster than Arceus can act is what gives UUbers a lot of its HO identity.

A tier
View attachment 575256Sneasler: A- --> A/A+.
What do you use to check a fast fairy and Normal type? An even faster Poison/Fighting might be the answer and this pokémon is exactly that. Sneasler is the fastest pokémon around if we consider items and habilities, in this case unburden; not even a jolly scarf electrode can outspeed this thing with neutral speed nature (657 vs 678), and is good at threatening almost everything with a OHKO after an swords dance, . That being said, "105" speed isn't amazing if uninvested and is prone to die if it doesn't oneshot which, even at an effective base attack of 148, is not unlikely without setup, and with 80|60|80 bulk that's quite difficult. All in all, Sneasler is a sweeper who is worth supporting with stuff like Shed tail or terrain.

View attachment 575453Rillaboom: A- --> A
Yeah, this is part of the necessary support for Sneasler. Is not like you NEED this because white herb close combat exists, but is desirable. Its honestly an underwhelming pokémon here outside Sneasler, but at least Grassy terrain helps the 2 most common Arceus forms, Banded Wood Hammer hurt and Grassy Glide can revenge kill semi-reliably, but even then grass is not good on offense. See it as the necessary tax for Sneasler Sweeps, like Torkoal's sun, with potential upside for teams that are quite common and good like the Arceus Poison or fire.

View attachment 575455Gholdengo: A --> A-
You would think in a tier where Kingambit isn't allowed and the best pokémon is a fairy, a special-attacking Steel-type would be the solution. Indeed it is... The problem is that there's 3 on said role already in Dialgia and Magearna alongside Gholdengo. Everyone offers something unique, but Gholdengo offers the least useful traits of them all for the tier atm. The defog + spin immunity isn't nearly as useful when Gliscor, Ting-Lu and Glimmora are all in Ubers (THANK ARCEUS FOR THAT), the fighting immunity isn't that useful outside Zamacenta-Crowned and is quite vulnerable to the everpresent knock off. Is not bad but certainly worse than the other steels because ghosts aren't in high demand atm.

View attachment 575456Blissey: A- --> B+/B
Blissey is the best special wall around for more defensive teams... In a tier full of setup sweepers and Offense to Hyper Offense. She lacks encore which makes her passivity highly exploitable by said setup sweepers and offensive teams, as well as very difficult to fit into slots. Oftentimes you're just better using Arceus or Magearna for the role of special defender; dedicated defensive teams can use her alongside stuff like Alomomola but is still more on the Fringe side of things.

View attachment 575457Espathra: B+ --> A-
The meta is oddly kind to it. Outspeeding almost everything after a single speed boost, as well as the tier being kinda lacking on Unaware, psychic resists and priority makes the evil Ostrich very prone to just sweep or at the very least trade 2 for 1. Is not the most consistent pokémon, but it's worth the slot more often than you think. A big reason for it is roughly the same as Sneasler AKA abusing Rillaboom's grass, this time with more interest in the grassy seed defense boost and recovery so it can setup reliably.

View attachment 575459Walking Wake: A- --> B+
Apparently this Dragon/Water is more reliant on the weather than people expected. Without it this thing is just a worse Palkia-Origin in almost every way, and the item flexibility isn't that relevant considering Lustrous globe is quite the good item anyways. It works under sun quite well but that's about it.

View attachment 575461Zamacenta-Hero: B --> A-
The tier has been kind to this dog lately, mainly as the steel type who isn't weak to many steel-type usual checks, as well as good against opposing steel types. It's main draw is that great 128 speed who beats Cyclizar and Arceus, and it actually threatens them with supereffective STAB, most notably non-scarf Chi-Yu, Roaring Moon, Baxcalibur, Dialga and Cyclizar, and with Substitute it can also threaten will'o'wisp Arceus poison and Zacian if packing heavy slam and even revenge beat Swords Dance Arceus-Fire with rock support. That being said, this thing lacks recovery so it needs support to supplement that, which isn't that big of a task considering Rillaboom's rise to support Sneasler. This thing just fits well in the current meta.

That's for now. I'll analyze pokémon leaving/moving into B tier soon enough.

I disagree with the Gholdengo nomination to drop it. Gholdengo at this point is a staple of hazard stack HO since you won't get off the hazards. Hazards are clearly respected in this tier or else we wouldn't have boots spam teams and our most splashable removal option is , which you know, isn't doing anything to Gholdengo other than Knocking it on the switch then shed tailing out and getting the sub broken by Gholdengo's incoming attack. The issue here is that you compare it to Dialga and Magearna under the line of "steel special attackers", which to be honest, Gholdengo is carrying out that role the best out of the 3, since Dialga and Magearna are being used for their defensive attributes more than their offensive potential. Its ability to keep hazards up on the field when we have many top mons that are unable/don't run boots (, (), etc) makes offence very strong in the meta and when everything is quite bulky having that chip to kill things easier is appreciated and why a mon like can feel so strong.

Other Things of Note I Agree with

• Rise - I also agree that Zacian is the best mon in the tier rn and the VR should certainly reflect this. The people above have explained well enough why.
• Rise - Bro when I say our Ground resists are dire, they are dire. Landorus is still really held back by its speed tier and it doesn't find many opportunities to switch in that much but when it's in, it's dealing a whole lot of damage. I wanted to try Sub 3 attacks, akin to but Palkia obviously pulls it off a lot better since that 120 Speed gets it the jump on most of the meta.
• Rise - Also hella confused why bro is this low when it's only outsped naturally by real mons , and and with just max HP investment just doesn't die and can run away with games once the fighting resist is dead, which it can do itself tbf since it has Crunch to deal with Ghosts or run Behemoth Bash/Heavy Slam to deal with Zacian.

 

[Eelstartega]

I've seen the Usage rates and I know that anything with less than certain usage in Ubers is available, {[1 - 0.5^(1/15)]*(100%)} to be exact which translates in roughly 4.51584%. That means there's 3 new pokémon to use down here according to usage rate of november, and no loses:
1°:

2.89% PR is very low, even back in gen 7; I'm sure certain Youtuber caused this demon to arrive into Ubers during october (Probably someone of the agency). This Satan equivalent is a mix defender with access to defog. It is the single most important addition of this month because If I remember correctly it was quite popular back in october, although its presence will not make Zacian less prominent; if anything it should make it more popular.

2°:

This bird had 4.12% PR in Ubers during november, probably due to too many miraidon and less Zacian-Crowned. Now UUbers has a defensive steel type defogger with reliable recovery and U-turn. This might increase the Gholdengo stocks and it tends to be too passive at times, but at least is a Steel type to somewhat wall Zacian who doesn't make your team prone to a Landorus Sweep.

3°:

I did the maths due to 3 pokémon with 4.50-4.55% usage, and 4.5125% indeed meets the requirements of having an usage rate lower than 4.5158%, but barely, which is why we aren't getting Ditto (4.5243 was a bit too high. The last one was Kingambit btw). Finally, a good Unaware user in terms of defense, so we don't have to rely on 95 | 73 physical bulk to stop Swords dance Zacian-Hero and Dragon Dance Arceus-Fire, but instead on a great 150 | 115 bulk.

Those 3 are all good defensive pokémon who should help to solve some of the issues UUbers has, most notably a lack of a proper defensive gameplay making the game too snowball-heavy, while still not so good to be defined by switching like Isle of Armor OU. Expect good things of all 3 of these to be what the tier needs, specially semi-stall.

 

[Eelstartega]

Part 2 of my ranking. Now featuring B Rank pokémon and "newcomers".

"Newcomers" and other A ranks.

A+ Rank
It is one of the best defensive walls in the whole tier, if not the best. 150|120|120 Bulk, walling lots of top tiers like Palafin or Arceus-Fire and poison, will-o-wisp for any physical attacker who's not fire type and having roar and for other setup attempts. This would be a banworthy pokémon if it had roost over rest.

A/A- Rank
Because it's unaware setting and being just a physical Blissey. Most setup sweepers are physical anyways, so the bad special bulk it's not that big of a deal. It being able to just humilliate Wild Charge Zacian is definitely something worth considering even outside your defensive teams as part of a balanced core.

--> B+ Rank.

I've used this thing a lot and it always feels frailer than you would expect. While Steel/Flying is an amazing defensive type, the tier feels filled with fire and water offense, and that poor 87 attack is very exploitable and defog is usually done better by Giratina. Good but not that good.

--> C Rank
Because she technically still has a niche as a Special swift swimmer who is not walled by Palkia-Origin and has supereffective shadow ball for Giratina and other ghosts. Is on the gimmickier side of things but it's technically there.

A --> Unranked
No Last respects, no reason to use this over better ghost types. I know there's a policy against unranking pokémon or something like that, but I felt I needed to mention this, even if obvious it's no longer good.

A+ --> A/A-
While I used to disagree with most of you in terms of how good palafin was, being very likely a lack of experience using Palafin, now there's a true reason to derank Palafin a notch or 2: GIRATINA and DONDOZO. This pokémon usually can deal with its checks with close combat, making it difficult to avoid KOs against it, but Giratina just walls perfectly the common set and gives this almight cosplayer a nasty 4MSS... except not really since Ice Punch isn't even a 2HKO against the common Giratina Sets. Dondozo on the other hand is just so ridiculously bulky it can stall those 8 close combats with rest, and setup doesn't work against the unaware of it. Even against Corviknight it'll struggle if not taunt bulk up due to the wave crash recoil, which is still defeated in a 1v1 by Rocky helmet; Btw, it also struggles against Basculegion-Female, who would have guessed. Just too many bad matchups added this month, a bad meta for Palafin overall compared to the great one of november.

A --> A-
2 Words: Arceus, Chi-Yu. This Arceus Form deals with opposing Arceus the worst, and is very vulnerable to Zacian unlike the other popular Arceus forms. Still walls Palafin, checks quite well Landorus-I and the new Dondozo, but I feel it is no longer worthy of the A title like Chi-Yu or Sneasler. Still good, but less than a month ago.

A- --> B+/B
The meta is just too hostile for a slow ice type setup sweepers with all the fairies and fast dragons going around. It has almost unresisted combo in dragon + ice + ground, but even then that speed makes it vulnerable to revenge kill even from defensive pokémon, while the prevalence of Extreme speed arceus doesn't give him any favors. Still hits like a truck and has unresisted combo, but it requires more setup than what most teams are confortable with.

B tier

B+ --> A-
The tier just lacks good ground resists, with Corviknight being unironically our best bet because this landlord has sludge bomb for Rillaboom, which doesn't weaken earth power btw. While 101 speed is unimpressive, he's still fast enough to do the job against the many defensive pokémon in the tier, and even some offensive pokémon like the common arceus forms, considering many don't go +speed nature. Expect more Ice beams from Arceus and them being either +speed nature or investing full on speed to counter him.

B+ --> C+
Arceus Fighting has a massive Issue: OPPORTUNITY COST. The Arceus slot is one of the most valuable assets in your team, if not the most, that's why it's usually reserved to check Zacian with either poison or Fire. What's more, this thing is in many cases just a poor man's Zamazenta-Crowned, who is faster, has more defense, an useful steel typing and doesn't compromise your Arceus slot. But the worst thing is that it is way too easy for Zacian to just go in and KO you due to being slower and weak to fairy, while fire and poison could use Zacian as entry point in a pinch. Recovery isn't a saving grace for everything, and you would be better by using Arceus-Psychic for the cosmic power shenanigans.

B+ --> B-
Theory Arceus-Ice is better than Practice one. In theory, this is an amazing BoltBeam user with STAB on both Judgement and thunderbolt after tera. In practice being an ice type who cannot use boots is kind of a death sentence for a lot of teams, and will be forced to use recover way too often, making it prone to lose momentum and get snowballed; not to mention this pokémon is way too reliant on Tera to work to avoid dying to a fighting or fire move, removing lots of flexibility. The strongest offense is a good defense who can counterattack, not just the strongest offensive combo.

B- --> B+/A-
On the other side of the spectrum, Spectrier feels way too slept on. Is a fast Ghost type, outspeeding everything in the tier but Dragapult, Zacian and Scarfers, with incredible special attack and is in a tier where Dark types are almost nonexistant outside Chi-Yu and Roaring Moon, both of which are vulnerable to stuff like Banded Palafin or Zacian; What's more, there's no more Houndstone competing for the offensive ghost type niche. Its frailty and being somewhat tera-reliant are the only things who keep it from fully saying it's an A rank atm.

B- --> B+
Another sweeper who feels the entire council slept on, Volcarona. We know how it works, a setup sweeper with quiver dance. The reason it seems to work so well it's because of an amazing matchup spread, the lack of knock off in the tier and a mechanical quirk. In terms of matchups it kinda wins almost automatically against Magearna, Cyclizar, Gholdengo, Dialga, Rillaboom, Arceus-Grass and Zamazenta-Crowned, which gives it plenty of entry opportunities. The lack of knock off outside clear select users that Volcarona beats in a 1v1 meant this bug should remain healthier than you might expect due to not suffering chip damage. Finally, the mechanical quirk is that Bug buzz ignores substitutes, making this moth one of the best answers to the common Shed tail strat. That being said, there's a reason I don't think it should be A-Rank: ARCEUS-FIRE. Arceus-Fire is arguably the best Arceus atm, is naturally faster, can match the quiver dance buff with Dragon dance and will just click Flare Blitz on this thing, KOing it on one hit at +1 unless Tera Blast Water which is not very optimal.

B- --> B
You know its trick, multiscale with boots, dragon dance, extreme speed with tera normal, earthquake to hit what resists normal and utility filler. It might be a OTP but the trick seems effective enough in UUbers. The reason of this is kinda simple: It really abuses Arceus. Right now Arceus are not running Ice beam for... reasons, giving Dragonite free setup; what's more, they're weak to earthquake, meaning you more often than not beat them in a 1v1. Finally ground immunity is still very valuable, with many top tiers using it to cover Dialga, the main Arceus forms and Magearna. That being said, this orange Barney doesn't like Giratina at all, unable to 2HKO it even with Dragon claw, and neither does the introduction of Corviknight, but at least it has fire punch for it.

B --> C
This pokémon was very reliant on Sand rush Houndstone to work. Now that there's no sand rush there's no viable Sand rush user left. Now it feels just outclassed by other ground types: Both Ursalunas have more reliable offensive power, Garchomp offers spikes and speed, Quagsire has spikes, recovery and Unaware, Dugtrio will (try to) trap pokémon, Donphan spins and knocks off items and don't even make me talk about Landorus-I. This tier has the peculiarity of barely having good electric types or even moves, which means Ground defensively is a worse steel type or water type on most cases, and offensively Ground is less potent than usual due to rillaboom, although tbf Hippowdon should be running high horsepower to avoid this issue.

B- --> C
Arceus-Rock really doesn't like the lost of Houndstone either. Its main niche was being a QuakeSlide setup sweeper with incredible bulk under Hippowdon's sand. That being said, the sand was heavily reliant on the now unviable Houndstone, making Arceus-Rock's niche much less appealing, even though it still technically exists.

B- --> C/C-
The only reason to even use this thing for was to get Sand rush Houndstone, which was questionable even in october and now that's gone. Im amazed to say this but indeed TTar is borderline unviable even with knock off, for the simple reason that Roaring moon almost always is better, with better speed and power, making it so Zacian doesn't switch into for free. The only real niche it has is to be arguably the most reliable Chi-Yu answer around in case you have used your arceus slot in something outside fire and don't want Ice weakness, because you should forget about Giratina with all those will'o'wisp and you being slower. If you REALLY want STAB knock off + Hazards... Just use Meowscarada, who can outspeed Arceus forms and Cyclizar. Is not the worst thing ever, but is still borderline gimmicky.

And that would be it. I don't think I have something else to say here. I think I can give my opinion on other suggestions.

(B+ --> A-): Disagree; If anything it should go lower. Way too fierce competition from both the flying and fire department, specially considering Arceus-Fire isn't that big of a commitment nowadays.
(C+ --> B-): Undecided. I'm not sure if it's that good. I see the niche but also the tons of problems a x4 ground weakness has in this tier.
(C+ --> A-): Agree with the raise, disagree with the position suggested. Iron Valiant is indeed a pokémon who is a bit under the radar. Its usage is less about versatility and more with the fact it outspeeds everything with Booster energy, similar to Sneasler but trading some speed with encore, mix sets using moonblast and being better on hazard teams. That being said, those traits puts Iron Valiant as a B-/B rank pokémon.
(B- --> C+): Disagree. Urshifu-Rapid-Strike seems fine where it is, a somewhat fringe but worth considering physical water type. Also remember that the opponent might suspect dark which forces extra careful play. If anything it's getting a bit of a popularity surge, although it should decline rapid-strike in specific due to Giratina and Dondozo, just like Palafin. B- is more appropiate than A-.
(A+ --> S): Agree with the rise, but only to S-. It is one of the best pokémon around, top 5 without a doubt, but is not the overwhelming meta presence every team should prepare for, nor is that splashable as support.

 

[KineSquared]

S- to S
The meta has only gotten better in palkia-o's favor. It massively threatens all three of the new defensive drops, and those three drops check everything that checks Palkia-o. Zacian, sneasler, and rillaboom don't like these new, common walls. Hydro Pump, spacial rend, and scale shot behind a sub is massively threatening and you can even luck your way through blissey occasionally. The reason I'm not suggesting a rise to S+ is because of the accuracy inconsistencies, and the amount of pressure mons going up against Palkia-o's 8 hydro pump PP. It feels like palkia-o has the whole package in speed, power, and coverage.

 

[Magcargo]

-> B+

I've been trying this pokemon out the past few days with a couple of sets and its fine. Specs is borderline useless in most MUs, but against the Dondozo, Garganacl, and Magearna that might be getting in your Zacian's way, it does a decent enough job at picking them and making it easier for our favorite doggo to sweep. Scarf I'd say is a bit more consistent, as it can trap and pick off quite a few key targets. Namely, Its speed is high enough to outspeed the likes of Palkia-O and Cyclizar and revenge kill them with Tera Blast Fairy (admittingly a high commitment & requiring a bit of chip damage beforehand) all while crippling the likes of Blissey, Dozo, Garg, etc with Trick. In general, this Pokemon is quite customizable in its ability to remove specific defensive Pokemon. Outside of sniping key Pokemon, it is really limited, but considering how important it is to snipe key Pokemon like Dozo, I think Gothitelle is worthy of B+.

-> A+

Even with the best support possible, I don't find this Pokemon that good.... Its speed tier is amazing, as is its bulk, but Play Rough isn't that good as STAB due to the miss chance. It has a similar problem to Kingambit in OU where it functions best in an end-game scenario, there are often situations where that isn't really feasible to accomplish in a game, as you need to bring it in early to revenge kill a Pokemon like Palkia-O or something. And once that one-time boost is gone, this Pokemon's threat level falls off noticably. Positioning Pokemon like ID Garg or Corv to keep it in check isn't the hardest thing in the world. I might need more time with this Pokemon, but so far, it has consistently dissappointed me in most matches compared to other Pokemon like Arceus (which I find offers more utility and is generally scarier to deal with, though enemy Zacians with Band are also quite scary to be fair).

 

[njnp]

Locking thread as we will be voting soon

 

[KineSquared]

The New shifts are upon us! Highlighting the shifts larger than a single tier:

Rises:
Cyclizar from A+ to S-
Gholdengo from A to A+
Zamazenta-Crowned from B to A
Landorus from B+ to A
Dondozo to A
Dragapult from B+ to A-
Garganacl from B+ to A-
Corviknight to A-
Giratina to A-
Iron Moth from B to B+
Cinderace from B- to B
Dragonite from B- to B
Gothitelle from C to B
Ogerpon-Wellspring from C+ to B
Sepctrier from B- to B
Volcarona from B- to B
Heatran from C+ to B-
Zamazenta-Hero from C+ to B-
Dugtrio from C to C+
Ceruledge from C- to C
Basculegion-Female to C-

Drops:
Arceus-Dark from S- to A+
Baxcalibur from A- to B+
Houndstone from A- to UR
Rillaboom from A- to B+
Alomomola from B+ to B
Arceus-Fighting from B+ to B
Arceus-Ice from B+ to B
Espathra from B+ to B
Meowscarada from B+ to B
Moltres from B+ to B-
Pelipper from B+ to B
Ursaluna from B+ to B
Arceus-Psychic from B to B-
Ursaluna-Bloodmoon from B+ to B-
Hippowdon from B to C+
Quagsire from B to C+
Azumarill from B- to C+
Mandibuzz from B- to C+
Tornadus-Therian from B- to C-
Tyranitar from B- to C
Urshifu-Rapid-Strike From B- to C+
Cresselia from C+ to C
Hoopa-Unbound from C+ to C
Manaphy from C+ to C
Thundurus-Therian From C+ to C
Zapdos from C+ to C
Arceus-Bug from C to D
Darkrai from C to C-
Enamorus from C to C-
Milotic from C to C-
Orthworm from C to C-
Overqwil from C to C-
Scream Tail from C to C-
Goodra-Hisui from C- to UR
Talonflame from C- to UR
Thundurus from C- to UR
Basculin-White-Striped from D to UR

 

[Magcargo]

Why did Moltres drop?

 

[IcyScream]

Why did Moltres drop?

its role in checking zacian is no longer as valuable, as corviknight and dondozo are far easier to fit on teams, check more Pokemon, and have better utility

 

[Leo Justice]

Why did Moltres drop?

It is a combination of now having a lot more competition, and it's role becoming less viable.

Moltres's big thing is being able to check a variety of Pokemon by its typing, being able to burn, roar, and deal good enough damage. However, because of Corviknight, Dondozo, and Giratina, most of the things it checked like Arceus poison is better off being checked by Giratina or Corviknight. Additionally, Zacian probably wants to run tera fire now which makes Moltres' job a lot harder since it can't burn it as reliably as before.