The Live Auction is complete, and all 8 teams are ready to go! As such, it's time for immediate post-draft Power Rankings! We will likely give another Power Rankings during the midseason and maybe one near the end like last year. You are all welcome to do your own Power Rankings or predictions. Note that this is just our opinion and we could very well be wrong. Please take no offense, and let's begin!
#1- Saur True Venusaurs
Besties avarice and Expulso team up to run it back this year of UUFPL, hoping to take the crown after losing in finals. The end result was a very strong draft by the two of them that has won them the #1 placement. With a top SS player in KM, dominant ORAS player in Expulso, returning DPP champ Alkione, and old gens beast Mr.378, the Venusaurs are certainly stacked. Beyond this, omi is a solid player compared to a good amount of the SS pool, especially with avarice support. phoopes is strong in RBY, and thepatatedouce is very invested in GSC as a generation. The Venusaur's aren't fully perfect though, they have a lot of unproven talent in their remainder slots, which certainly can mean big issues if they have to sub out a starter. Regardless, the Venusaur's are the most threatening team in this tournament and can definitely win it all. How many times will we see cheese this tour? Take a guess!
#2- Starly Rae Jepsen
Coming in at a very,
very close second (and we mean VERY) we have Starly Rae Jepsen. Watching the draft I was dazzled by Drew and pdt's tactics, they played it smart with their costs and built up an amazing roster. Getting Liam at 14k has def been a steal, as his flexibility between SM, ORAS, and ADV can be very helpful based on what the team needs. Dingbat starts out in ORAS where we can easily expect a positive record. Koalaance was the highest performing RBY player in UUSD II AND the RBY circuit champion, so very high expectations are for this player. drew himself has been getting into the play of mons again, and has a good entourage of Allen-xia to do well in SS. zS and crying will do well in a shallow DPP and BW pool too. The rest of the team is quite unproven; Luna's Banned Now, SpacialRendevous, and UnzipsCrogre have to compete in a stacked pool of ADV, GSC, and SS players, though the latter can certainly break out this tour. With support like Permission Slip and haxlolo as SS backups, as well as Chaos2223 and A Hero's Destiny for other tiers, boosted up their great communication and early 2010s music, Starly Rae Jepsen is a forced to be reckoned with and can hold their own against a lot of the competition, being a strong contender to win the whole thing.
#3- Silicobra Kai
This team has definitely shown to be the most interesting lineup, being really good off in many places. Their SS is STACKED between SCL champ OnArceus and solid newcomer Sirwings, with Pannuracotta being solid as well. Eden hasn't played much BW but he has proven to be a consistent winner wherever he is slotted. hjkhj has been a ladder hero since ORAS and can do well here or in SS, making an appearance in SM even. Cam is a solid swiss army knife and can fit into whatever tier needed, while Parpar is strong at ADV. Beraldinho should do well in a very dire DPP pool. RBY and GSC aren't as strong, but with great matchups across the other gens it doesn't even matter much. If teams take advantage of these weaker slots, the Silicobras may be in trouble, but with their dominance in the remaining gens it'll be interesting to see how far Cam and bb skarm can take this team.
#4- Diancie is Unbreakable
Returning manager Estarossa teams up with May to form a solid team this tournament, filled to the brim with Jojo references. Lily is versatile in her playing and should do well regardless of what tier she plays. Estarossa supports Thor in GSC, a very dangerous duo indeed. Unowndragon is one of the better RBY players and gorex can possibly find ground in the new ADV tier. However, the team's issues become more apparent here. Nalorium, despite his experience last UUFPL and UU Snake, has been having poor seasons lately. ara ara is relatively unknown too, but in a limited DPP pool we can only watch what they can do. While his SS has potential, Estarossa certainly fell into last year's trap of not drafting a stronger SS core. Meri Berry is the NUTL and was an All-star last year, but that's all the team really has for SS, not to mention she may not even SS if the team needs an ADV slot. Moreover, avg, adem, Lovestalllive life, starfalcon555, and BT89 are all unproven presences, meaning they can struggle to pop off against certain foes, but this is UUFPL! New talent will get their chance to thrive, and the overall enthusiasm of this team environment can yield this team big wins in the tour, thus placing them at #4.
#5- Yolo Swag Poliwags
GSC enthusiasts Holly and Trevelion have made a stand to try and win it all in UUFPL. Immediately they purchase Juno for 25k, a huge amount of money and the most expensive pick this tour. While Juno + Holly may be the scariest GSC combo, that's still only one tier. Still, they've got a solid roster. GasaiYunosan at 4k is a huge underpay given their performance in masters. Moreover, passion and Thiago Nunes are solid players and should do well wherever they're slotted with their experience. stunner047 and HSOWA make up a RBY core that's exciting to see, but HSOWA seems to be their only DPP player, leaving that slot a bit stressed. Panther-T has done well in the past, being an All-Star last year, though a new return to Pokemon means they've got to shake off some rust. The Strap plays ADV UU, so it'll be interesting to see how he reacts to the new tier and more competitive environment, but he should do fine though and provide strap memes along the journey. Their SS lineup is noticeably the weakest, as more inexperienced players apart from Yuno makeup the group. They have the potential to win it all, but they've got some tough foes ahead and need to work together to reach the top.
#6- Here Comes the Sunfloras
Coming in at #6 we have Here Comes the Sunfloras, a team led by returning manager and BW enthusiast Faded Love. In typical UU team tour fashion, there's always one team that ends up being an army, and that's this team right here. Granted he plays his games, Diophantine may be the strongest GSC in this pool, and beyond this innovamania should do fine in ADV with their experience. Shellnuts + AM is a very strong RBY combo, though their investment in this tour can certainly be an issue. Faded has lots of experience in BW so they should do fine. Adrift and Alone was a sleeper pick for 3k, being one of the best SM players last year, though the pool may be more intense this time around. Ampha gets a shot in DPP, though there is still much to prove. Specs is very nice and a cool player but will def need support if not properly invested in the tour. Their SS lineup is pretty solid, style.css and Prof.Otaku did well during tryouts, while Corporate N is arguably a top 5-7 SS player in the pool. They've got some fair support options, though they need to prove themselves. The sunfloras are not bad, but they definitely need strong leadership and dio not cancering to go far, and they certainly have the potential to do so.
#7- Kakuna Matata
The Kakuna's have a lot to prove here. Accel is perhaps one of the best ADV players, even the best, in the pool and should do great here, while Cherry and Draph have potency in their own respective tiers. Volk is quite strong in RBY as well. Their SS has a lot more to prove however, with the exception of Dugza and Brexus the other slots do not matchup well against the majority of the teams. ORAS, BW, and DPP all have more inexperienced faces that have a lot ahead of them to go positive. The Kakunas aren't bad, but they def need to strengthen certain slots if they hope to win it all.
#8- Sirfetch'deez Nuts
Last and unfortunately least we have the nuts. Newer user Aqua Jet led the charge during the auction which led to some questionable price purchases due to falling to upbids. As for the players, who is the best SM on their team? Pif. Who is the best ORAS on the team? Pif. DPP and ADV? Pif. His support is certainly valuable but he cannot be everywhere at once. Fakee is one of the best BW players and should do fine. Spl4sh is experienced but in a stacked ADV pool they've got a lot to do. Celebii is solid at GSC but everyone needs support in GSC and him managing it himself will not end well. 5Dots seems to know RBY, but compared to the other teams they have a lot to improve. There's not much confidence in the remaining slots, they all rank very low compared to the other teams, with the exception of TotomonGang in SS, though his inexperience has left him prone to making misplays in the past. Still, this tour is about having fun and getting experience, and this team will certainly do so, but they have way too much to overcome if they want to win the whole thing. On the other hand, pif's team was ranked last last year and won the whole thing, so maybe it's fate instead.