Ability Tiering Thread and General Ability Discussion (Final Check)

forestflamerunner

forestflamerunner

Ain't no rest for the wicked
Thread introduction

Pokémon are compared all the time. Some are considered better than others, some are considered underrated, others are notorious for being considered overrated. However, there is rarely such debate in regard to abilities, with the exception of within the confines of a specific Pokémon. However, in this generation, abilities can make or break Pokémon. Ninetales would not be as popular as it is if it wasn’t for its ability. Regigigas wouldn’t be struggling in NU if it wasn’t for its ability. But what if regigigas got drought? Or even pressure? What if charizard had wonderguard? It is very easy to see that some abilities truly let Pokémon shine, while others force Pokémon to just stall. The question is which are the studs and which are the duds.
I was participating in the CAP 3 Ability discussion today, and it occurred to me that it may prove useful to have an organized list, a tier system if you will, to discover which abilities are useful and which abilities are, well, terrible. This question gave birth to this thread, which I hope will become a general abilities discussion thread where people can debate over the viability and possible uses of abilities. Furthermore, I have included a tier list of the abilities based on my own personal opinion, in order to have some reference points to keep track of which abilities are hot and which are not. This tier list will be updated every few days in response to the general ability debate in this thread. Please note that this thread is not meant to discuss what would happen if Pokémon x had ability y. that will probably get this thread locked and the Mods will probably dish out a few infractions to you and me, which none of us want. Get to posting your ability opinions with a newfound gusto, and if you want, you can take a gander at the tire list below.



Tier list
Tier explanation
S Tier- Abilities that are so good that the ability will often make otherwise unusable Pokémon viable.
A Tier- A Tier abilities are abilities that are great on their own merit, and don’t require specially tailored stat spreads or movepools to make them effective. These abilities can generally be slapped on any Pokémon and that Pokémon would be significantly better for it.
B Tier- Abilities that are good but not as good as A Tier abilities either because they require a more customized movepool and stat spread to be effective, are more specialized in purpose or effect, or are have affects that are just flat out inferior to the affects of A or S Tier Abilities
C Tier- abilities have uses, but the effects aren’t gamebreaking and oftentimes not even game changing. These abilities may have some niche uses but there are superior options available.
D Tier- abilities which are so rarely useful that the Pokémon might as well not have one most of the time, but these abilities may come in handy once in a blue moon.
F Tier- abilities that are almost always detrimental to the pokemon that has it or abilities that have no competitive uses.
Z Tier- Abilities whose effects are unknown or are impossible to extrapolate to Pokemon other than those that naturally obtain it.


S Tier


Arena Trap
Drizzle
Drought
Huge Power
Imposter
Magic Bounce
Moody
Multitype(Do Not Know Typing)
Prankster
Pure Power
Sand Stream
Snow Warning
Shadow Tag
Wonder Guard


A Tier

Adaptability
Chlorophyll
Compound Eyes
Contrary
Download
Dry Skin
Flash fire
Flower gift
Guts
Harvest
Hydration
Intimidate
Levitate
Lightningrod
Magic Guard
Magnet Pull
Motor Drive
Moxie
Multiscale
Multitype(Know Typing)
Natural Cure
No Guard
Poison Heal
Quick feet
Regenerator
Sand Rush
Sap Sipper
Serene grace
Sheer force
Shield Dust
Simple
Speed Boost
Storm Drain
Swift Swim
Technician
Tinted Lens
Thick fat
Trace
Water absorb
Volt absorb
Unaware


B Tier

Air locked
Analytic
Bad Dreams
Clear Body
Cloud nine
Cursed Body
Defiant
Effect Spore
Filter
Flame Body
Flare Boost
Heatproof
Hustle
Ice Body
Illusion
Iron Barbs
Leaf Guard
Marvel Scale
Mold Breaker
Reckless
Rock Head
Rough Skin
Sand Force
Sand veil
Scrappy
Shed skin
Skill Link
Snow Cloak
Solar Power
Solid Rock
Static
Sturdy
Suction Cups
Terravolt
Toxic Boost
Turboblaze
Unburden
Victory star
White smoke
Wonderskin


C Tier

Aftermath
Anticipation
Blaze
Frisk
Gluttony
Immunity
Infiltrater
Inner focus
Insomnia
Iron Fist
Justified
Limber
Liquid Ooze
Mummy
Overcoat
Overgrow
Pickpocket
Poison point
Poison Touch
Pressure
Rattled
Rivalry
Soundproof
Steadfast
Sticky hold
Swarm
Synchronize
Torrent
Toxic Boost
Vital spirit
Water veil
Weak armor


D Tier

Anger Point
Battle Armor
Big Pecks
Cute Charm
Damp
Early Bird
Forecast
Forewarn
Heavy Metal
Hyper Cutter
Keen Eye
Klutz
Light Metal
Magma Armor
Oblivious
Own Tempo
Pick up
Shell armor
Sniper
Stench
Super luck
Tangled feet
Unnerve


F Tier

Color Change
Defeatest
Friend Guard
Healer
Honey Gather
Illuminate
Minus
Normalize
Plus
Run away
Slow start
Stall
Telepathy
Truant


Z Tier

Zen mode
 
I feel like this, once complete, would fit together nicely with the Balanced Hackmons thread.

I assume this thread is about abilities on their own, not on certain Pokemon (e.x. Levitate is epic on Eelektross, an Electric type, but pointless on Rotom-S, a Flying type)

My view of S Rank:
Arena Trap If Magnet Pull is only A, this should be A as well.
Contrary
Drizzle
Drought
Sand Stream
Snow Warning All of the weather abilities are a godsend on any Pokemon.
Huge Power / Pure Power (I don't think there's a difference... Slash identical or nearly identical abilities with each other)
Imposter
Moody
Shadow Tag
Wonder Guard
Prankster - Make any normal-priority status move go first? Who wouldn't want that?
Magic Bounce - The things Magic Bounce provides are just invaluable.
A few other could go here too.

My view of F-Rank:
All abilities in red are only useless in singles - their effects can be amazing in Doubles.
Color Change - This should not be at the bottom. Maybe second to last for its own unpredictability, but everything it can do makes it not bottom material.
Damp
Defeatist
Friend Guard
Healer
Honey Gather
Illuminate
Minus
Plus
Rattled - I think this ability might be a bit better with different distribution - an offensive Steel type would theoretically make good use of this ability.
Slow start
Soundproof - Immunity to Roar and Perish Song is in no way a bad thing. Mr. Mime can make good use of it.
Stall
Telepathy
Truant
Zen mode - Bottom of the barrel only because it was only given to Darmanitan, who can't really use it and has a far better ability in Sheer Force.

Yeah.
 
S Tier- abilities that are very powerful that make otherwise unusable Pokémon viable
Click to expand...

If this is the case, then I reckon Speed Boost could be considered S tier. It is pretty much the sole reason (aside from the Hi Jump Kick buff) that got Blaziken banned. It also made Sharpedo a LOT more viable in higher tiers, and Yanmega is pretty awesome with it too.

And yeah, I do think all Weather abilities should be S, it completely dominates the metagame.
 
Magic Bounce should probably be S tier. Who would have considered Xatu in Gen. 4? Speed Boost and Magic Guard is a literal godsend to anything that gets them, they should be S too IMO.

About Huge Power and Pure Power, there is technically a difference that not many people know about, in that Huge Power will actually halve it's effect each time it's passed to another user. No effect on singles but yeah.
 
I think F tier should be limited to abilities that fail the question, "Is this better than no ability?" That is, if you hit a Pokémon with one of those abilities with Gastro Acid, would it stay the same or even become better? With that requirement, Damp, Rattled, and Soundproof at least (Color Change and Zen Mode are debatable since they're gimmicky but not strictly detrimental or useless) should be off the list - the first two do provide a benefit, however small, and Soundproof can be very useful in some contexts such as Baton Pass teams.
 
While we as an OU moderating team will allow this thread to continue for now, I must emphasize the fact that you must bring discussion points here if you are going to post. I am hoping that we as a community can get a pretty solid list down (forestflamerunner has already given us a good start). So please post with some intelligence! Provide some reasoning to each of your posts; explain why you would move an ability up or down.

On the flip side, posts that are simple readjustments of the OP (I would raise Honey Gather up a tier and Wonder Skin down one, for example) will not be tolerated and consequentially deleted. You have to give some logic in this topic. It can be brief, but it has to be present. Hopefully this will inspire some awesome discussion and get all of our brains chuggin' on how abilities work competitively. Perhaps the OP will even get a method down to get some voting done and make an "official" ability tier list; might be kind of cool to toy around with something like that. Thanks for reading and happy posting.
 
Tinted lens and No Guard should definitely be A.

tinted lens for wreaking shit with STAB moves, and No Guard to abuse inaccurate moves. (especially for balanced hackmons)

editing because birkal here ninjad me and set a criteria LOL ;)

i believe that class A should at least include abilities that give immunities. levitate, water absorb, storm drain, etc would all fall into this category.

also. it was under my impression that one of the two "power" abilities multiplied the attack only 1.5 times if skill swapped onto another poke. just a slight nitpick
 
I think that Rain Dish has the potential to be a Class B ability. Rain Dish has greatly increased Tentacruel's survivability and has made him a premier spinner because of this. Class C defines the ability as something that the pokemon wouldn't exactly miss, but imo Rain Dish + ever present rain(new drizzle ability) has greatly increased tentacruels usage this generation.
 
I'd also like to voucher that F (or rather maybe G?) Tier be changed to abilities that actually have disadvantages, and then having another for little/no effect. Something like:

F Ranked:

Color Change
Damp
Friend Guard
Healer
Honey Gather
Illuminate
Minus
Plus
Rattled
Soundproof
Telepathy
Zen mode

G Tier:
Deafetist
Slow Start
Stall
Truant

This would make much more sense as some abilities in F can actually have a use, while others would just be hindering.

Additionally, I would like to re-emphasise Magic Guard for S Tier: It literally makes Clefable, Reuniclus, and Sigilyph viable because of it, and considering the how universal Stealth Rock and Sand damage is, not to mention Spikes and Toxic, it is an almost unrivaled Ability for taking down Stall.
 
Mold Breaker is listed as rank A, while Teravolt and Turboblaze are listed as rank C. They have identical effects, and so should be in the same rank; probably rank A or B.

Some abilities definitely seem misplaced; I'll run through some of them here.

Soundproof - Soundproof isn't an excellent ability but it deserves higher than F. It's been mentioned already, but immunity to Roar and Perish Song seems like a nice deal to me. Rank C or D would be suitable.

Tinted Lens - Tinted Lens is one of the best offensive abilities in the game and should be ranked as such. Resistances just melt away under the force of Tinted Lens, necessitating a 4x resistance or an immunity to your STABs in order for a switch-in to avoid taking a powerful neutral hit. Definitely an A rank, if not S.

Prankster - if it makes Sableye useful in OU, it must be something special... definitely should be considered for S rank, really.

Magic Bounce - see Prankster, replacing the word "Sableye" with "Xatu".

Rivalry - rank C feels a bit high. The inconsistency that this ability causes is hardly desirable...

Poison Point - a 30% chance to cause the worst status condition in the game? People switch walls into one layer of Toxic Spikes to deliberately take regular poisoning for a reason; it's a useless status condition that blocks much more potent ones like burn or toxic poisoning. I'd honestly push it right down into rank F, and certainly nothing higher than D.

Sand Veil / Snow Cloak - these seem like they belong in the same tier, as they have the same effect in their respective weather conditions. I suppose Sand Veil was ranked higher due to the prevalence of sandstorm over hail, though, so I suppose they'd be fine as they are.

Torrent / Blaze / Overgrow / Swarm - not quite sure why Overgrow is a rank lower than the other abilities on this list, given the similarity of the abilities.

Those are about the only holes I could pick in this, though, it's a great list and could make a potentially very useful resource.

also why can nobody in this thread spell "Defeatist"
 
Something I want to point out is that some abilities appear to be placed on the list based on the Pokemon that get them (see Overgrow versus other pinch abilities). Since this is a list of the abilities, I believe that this should be a solely merit-based system unrelated to the Pokemon that have said abilities. Pokemon can be used as justification to move an ability up or down a tier in some cases, but otherwise it should be just the abilities.
 
Ok I'm going to go through the list and post my opinions on each in bold. Oh yeah, this is gunna be a big post.

forestflamerunner said:
S ranked


Arena Trap Not better enough from Magnet Pull. Should be A ranked, though I do agree it is somewhat preferable to Magnet Pull, it's definitely no Shadow Tag.
Contrary
Drizzle
Drought
Huge Power
Imposter
Moody
Pure Power
Shadow Tag
Wonder Guard


A ranked

Adaptability
Chlorophyll
Download
Dry Skin
Flash fire
Flower gift Dunno about A rank, I don't think an attack and defense boost in sun can really compare with others in this category. It's not like doubling your speed like other weather abilities do, and while an attack boost and defense boost is cool and all it isn't enough on its own.
Guts
Harvest Similar to flower gift, I just don't think this is good enough to warrant A rank. Very few Pokemon can actually use it well with current available berries. Maybe once the pinch berries finally get released it'll be A rank, but for now it's definitely no more than B rank.
Heatproof An extra resistance is nice and all but again, it just doesn't compare to the others in the A category, especially when it contains so many immunity granting abilities. B rank again, as it's good, it's just not THAT good. Heatproof alone won't be changing the tide of many battles.
Intimidate
Iron barbs Iron barbs is nice and all, but a little bit of contact damage isn't enough to compare to stuff like Chlorophyl and Storm Drain. Not many battles have their tides turned by Iron Barbs. Again, B rank at most, maybe even C rank. I doubt Ferrothorn would mind much if it lost it.
Levitate
Lightningrod
Magic Bounce This one is definitely S rank. When an ability can make XATU viable in OU and even Ubers, then you know you have something special on your hands. The only reason this move doesn't have more impact is because it's only given to two frail psychic types; if it had larger distribution like it does in balanced hackmons you'd see the true force that is this ability.
Magic Guard Also verges on S rank, but I think it does fit in A rank. While it is no doubt one of the best abilities around, it doesn't instantly make everything that has it gold. Clefable is cool for instance, but it's not epic even with Magic Guard. A rank for sure, but not S rank.
Magnet Pull
Mold Breaker I don't think this qualifies as A rank, as it doesn't frequently change the course of a match by itself. The fact that most Pokemon that have access to it tend to go with their other abilities says volumes about this ability. While it certainly is good, bypassing Levitate, sturdy and a few others doesn't change the game often enough to be A rank. B rank certainly, but not A rank.
Motor Drive
Moxie
Multiscale
Natural Cure
Poison Heal
Prankster This move is so S rank. It singlehandedly moved Sableye from the bottom of NU right up to mid UU. Hell, it sees 2% usage in OU because of it. It was a major factor contributing to Thundurus' ban too. Prankster is GOLD and every Pokemon that uses status moves wants it.
Quick feet I'm not convinced this is A tier, but maybe that's just because nothing gets it that can really abuse it at the moment. Getting a speed boost from status and being immune to the speed drop from paralysis is cool and all, but it isn't nearly as game changing as Guts is as far as I can tell. But again, I don't have a lot of experience with this ability so I can't judge for certain.
Regenerator
Sand Force
Sand Rush
Sand Stream If Drizzle and Drought are S tier so is Sand Stream. ANYTHING with Sand Stream would go OU, if it weren't for the fact that Tyranitar usually outclasses them. The very fact that this ability causes Hippopotas to be solid UU is enough to show how S tier it is.
Serene grace
Sheer force
Simple
Speed Boost No people, this isn't S tier. Constant speed boosting is great and all, but you need the tools to take advantage of it in order to be successful. If it was S tier, Ninjask wouldn't be in NU.
Storm Drain
Sturdy
Swift Swim
Technician
Thick fat
Water absorb
Volt absorb


B ranked

Air locked It's Air Lock, not Air locked btw.
Analytic
Bad Dreams
Clear Body
Cloud nine
Compound Eyes
Filter
Flame Body
Flare Boost
Hydration Oh hell naw, this is so A tier, if only because it allows for instant full healing with rest in rain. It makes shit like Lapras feasible in OU if you use it right and turns Vaporeon into a nearly unbreakable wall. Then there's Manaphy, who wouldn't likely be sitting in Ubers right now if it didn't get this ability.
Leaf Guard Due to Leaf Guards icompatibility with rest, this actually DOES belong in B tier.
Marvel Scale No no no, this is A tier. It makes things like Milotic and Dragonair so, so much better than they would be normally, primarily because of its synergy with rest-talk sets. I know that if this ability had better distribution we'd never have even considered the thought of this being anything less than A tier. Marvel Scale wins games.
Multitype
No Guard Similar to Marvel Scale, if this move had better distribution it'd never be considered for B tier. 100% accuracy on all your moves is ridiculously potent, seeing as it allows you to use more powerful but less accurate moves with absolute accuracy. It's like a power boost. I tell you, just imagine No Guard Tornadus. Then weep.
Pickpocket
Reckless
Rough Skin
Sand veil
Sap Sipper If all the other abilities that grant immunities deserve A tier, so does this. It just happens to be distributed to a lot of bad pokemon or Pokemon with S tier or high A tier abilities (hello Azumaril and Sawsbuck). The attack boost it grants is obviously hella powerfull and grass type moves are common enough to warrant this being A tier.
Shed skin
Snow Warning A tier! Abomasnow would never see the light of day if not for this ability. It's so good it was banned flat out from UU. If that's not A tier, I don't know what is.
Solar Power
Solid Rock
Static
Tinted lens
Unaware This ability is also A tier, again, it just happens to be distributed to rather lackluster Pokemon. Still, it's good enough on its own to see that Quagsire gets used in OU, which is a pretty big feat. I know that if a lot better walls than Quagsire got this we'd all be a lot more scared of this ability and set up sweepers would be a LOT less common.
Victory star
White smoke


C ranked

Aftermath
Blaze
Cursed Body
Defiant
Effect Spore
Frisk
Hustle
Ice Body
Illusion Wait what? C tier? Illusion is a game changing ability! If it was distributed to more than 1 Pokemon it'd play havok with everything. It's A tier at the very least, and there's a good argument out there for S tier. Definitely not C tier though. If you don't make good use of it, that's your fault, not the fault of the ability.
Immunity
Infiltrater
Inner focus
Insomnia I'd say this is actually at least B tier, as being immune to sleep is hugely valuable in certain situations. Again, it just isn't particularly well distributed (not to actually GOOD pokemon) so we don't consider it often. Immunity to sleep is no small deal.
Iron Fists
Justified
Klutz I'm pretty sure this ability being in C tier is a mistake. Klutz is purely negative with no benefits to the user at all (well I suppose you could use Entrainment but I'm pretty sure we're not considering that in tiering here). It's F class without a doubt.
Limber
Liquid Ooze
Mummy I think this ability is actually much higher ranked, at least B tier or maybe A tier. The problem again is that it's only distributed to one Pokemon. With abilities being as powerful as they are, the ability to passively disable them is a huge boon. I mean, disabling poison heal or something is just hilarious. It might not change the course of every or even most games, but it certainly isn't something you wouldn't miss.
Normalize
Poison point
Poison Touch
Pressure
Rain dish No, the passive healing from Rain Dish is really quite potent. Tentacruel would not be nearly the beast it is if it wasn't for it. Maybe not quite A tier due to the need for Rain and the fact it's just not as immediately powerful as other weather abilities, but B rank for sure at the very least.
Rivalry
Rock Head
Scrappy
Shield Dust
Skill link I think Skill Link deserve higher tiering; again, the distribution isn't that good. Seeing as most multi-hit moves got a big power boost this generation its suddenly become very useful, turning unreliable moves into reliable 125BP monster attacks. But remember that one Pokemon that does get it benefits enormously from it; Cloyster. It's a downright defining point of Cloyster in fact. I'd say B tier, maybe even A tier. The Pokemon in question just needs to have a moveset that can actually take advantage of it.
Snow Cloak Errr if Sand Viel is B tier, why is this C tier? I mean they're nearly identical... then again, Sandstorm IS miles more common. I guess it does belong here.
Steadfast
Sticky hold
Suction cups
Swarm
Synchronize
Teravolt It's a Moldbreaker clone and should be in the same tier as Moldbreaker (in my opinion, tier B)
Torrent
Trace
Turboblaze See Teravolt.
Unburden I think Unburden deserves to be B tier or A tier, as with the advent of the type gems this ability suddenly became insanely easy to activate, and a passive speed boost is nothing to sneeze at. It isn't Speed Boost true, but I know that you'd miss it if it were gone on something like Drifblim, and it made Hitmonlee a lot more threatening than it was before too.
Vital spirit See Insomnia.
Water veil
Weak armor
Wonder skin


D ranked

Anger Point
Anticipation Just because virtually nothing gets it doesn't make it useless. Scouting out an opponent's move just by switching in can tell you a lot about what set your opponent is running. Sure it might not be A or even B tier, but it's definitely not D tier.
Battle Armor
Big Pecks
Cute Charm
Early Bird
Forecast
Forewarn
Gluttony
Heavy Metal
Hyper Cutter
Keen Eye
Light Metal
Oblivious
Overcoat
Overgrow
Own Tempo
Shell armor
Sniper
Stench
Super luck
Tangled feet
Toxic boost
Unnerve


F ranked

Color Change I disagree with Articblast, Color Change is more harm than help. It's too exploitable, as it's all too easy for an opponent to MAKE you weak to their attacks with it. It's bad because it's in the control of your opponent, not you. That's why it's F tier.
Damp D tier, not F tier. Explosion and Self-Destruct might not be as common or deadly as they were last game, but they are around still and preventing the opponent from using it could be useful. It's just because literally everything that gets it gets something better that it's never used.
Defeatest Defeatist, not Defeatest
Friend Guard Doubles
Healer Doubles
Honey Gather
Illuminate
Minus Doubles
Plus Doubles
Rattled Just because the Pokemon that get it are useless doesn't make the ability itself useless. A free speed boost is almost never a bad thing (unless you're using Gyro Ball or running Trick Room). Maybe C tier would be where I'd place it.
Slow start
Soundproof D tier, as it does have some use. Blocking Roar and Perish Song has definite use on Baton Pass teams. It might not be great, but it's not useless either.
Stall
Telepathy Doubles
Truant
Zen mode Eh, debatable. It's kind of a weird ability, being the only one that basically changes you into an entirely different Pokemon upon activation. I mean, how COULD you put it on anything else? I just don't even know HOW to tier this thing.
Click to expand...

So there's my much-more-than-2-cents. Hopefully others will share their opinions on this, as I think I'm not alone in my opinion of many of these. But hey, all there is to do is to wait and see right?

EDIT: 100% agree with Articblast's post above mine. For tiering abilities they should be considered on their own in a vaccuum, not based on the Pokemon that get them. Rattled for example isn't a bad ability, it's just given to terrible Pokemon. It certainly doesn't belong in the same tier as stuff like Defeatist and Slow Start.
 
Jimera0 said:
Ok I'm going to go through the list and post my opinions on each in bold. Oh yeah, this is gunna be a big post.



So there's my much-more-than-2-cents. Hopefully others will share their opinions on this, as I think I'm not alone in my opinion of many of these. But hey, all there is to do is to wait and see right?

EDIT: 100% agree with Articblast's post above mine. For tiering abilities they should be considered on their own in a vaccuum, not based on the Pokemon that get them. Rattled for example isn't a bad ability, it's just given to terrible Pokemon. It certainly doesn't belong in the same tier as stuff like Defeatist and Slow Start.
Click to expand...

Yeah, your list is a whole lot less subjective than his, and I pretty much agree with it.

One caveat though: Klutz is not a F tier ability. Sure, it negates you from using your hold items, but realize the strategic potential in that. Trick/Switcheroo over that Flame Orb/Choice Scarf/whatever to cripple either a physical attacker, or a wall respectively. You won't know what the Klutz pokemon is holding until it renders one of your opponent's pokemon useless for the rest of the match.

Now, that strategy currently only works with Lopunny, which has disappointing stats. But it does carve a unique niche for the bunny. It's a disruptive ability all right, but nowhere near broken or unfair. I say C-Tier is fine.

Also you forgot Pickup, which is a rather rubbish ability. Still, it's situationally useful in Little Cup, where Oran Berry isn't uncommon, so put it in D.

And I really don't think Trace should be C rank. It allows access to pretty much any ability in the game for crying out loud. Switch into any pokemon with an immunity-granting ability, and wall them to death. Chandelure? Ha! It's also very unpredictable, as the ability constantly changes, forcing your opponent to adapt their strategy likewise.

Put it in B tier at the very least. It doesn't belong anywhere near Weak Armor.
 
I will address all accumulated posts tomorrow at around 1:00 PM eastern time. I recognize that this list should be organized based on the merit of each individual ability and not the distribution. i tried to follow this schematic, which in part explains why i put wonder guard and pure power in S (although admittedly it takes no great imagination to figure out how badass these abilities are). however, i have made oversights and i will address them as soon as i can. Rattled is the major one (i thought it lowered speed by 1 stage, lol), but some of the abilities such as overgrow and sap sipper are rightly placed in my opinion because grass is simply inferior to fire attacks and water attacks and thus are less common and less useful. like i said, i will go into more depth tomorrow as to my opinions on the controversial cases. Also, for the sake of this Thread, i would like to focus on single battles, at least for now. i could have a parallel set for doubles after we straighten out the singles tier list, but before i address doubles, i would like to learn more about the metagame. finally, i may run polls on those abilities that people constantly disagree on in a couple weeks, if any still exist then. Thanks and keep up the excellent feedback
 
I really have to agree with Voodoo Pimp on the basis that F Tier should only be strictly detrimental abilities; Color Change is a bit iffy, but it isn't entirely detrimental and can [sometimes?] be used as an advantage so I'd say E Tier there. Even Honey Gather should be E Tier, since I think all the Slakings out there would really prefer Honey Gather to Truant. Jimera0 has also made some very good suggestions to your list, most of which I agree with, although I don't think Sand Stream is S Tier, given the fact that there are few abusers at the moment, and it's usually used to insure a team against other weather, given how easily Tyranitar can fit on a team; not to mention Tyranitar was used primarily in Gens 3/4 because it was a great Pokemon, Sand Stream was just a neat bonus; the same is true with Hippowdon but to a lesser extent. Hail overall is probably a better ability than Sandstorm; it's just unlucky enough to have a lackluster starter, compared to Sand or Rain. I'd also consider moving Unaware to S Tier; Quagsire is by no means a great wall, but it's such a fantastic asset to teams and there have been a few teams to even peak #1 with it, all because of what a useful ability Unaware is. Quagsire is able to fill a unique and really great niche in the metagame because of this ability and it would hardly see the light of day otherwise.
 
Why is Pickpocket B rank? It's always better to have your own item, rather than whatever the opponent was holding. If you want to remove their item, Trick is an extremely useful move. This ability, in my opinion, is F Rank, D at best.
 
Smaug said:
Why is Pickpocket B rank? It's always better to have your own item, rather than whatever the opponent was holding. If you want to remove their item, Trick is an extremely useful move. This ability, in my opinion, is F Rank, D at best.
Click to expand...
I would say C, maybe D at the lowest. Pickpocket only works if you're not holding an item, and unless you're using Acrobatics, having an item is generally better than having no item, and taking your opponent's item is generally better than letting them keep it. Sure, it's a weak ability, but like I said above, F tier should be reserved for completely useless/detrimental abilities, neither of which fit Pickpocket.
 
Why is Tinted Lens B ranked? You're telling me that you'd rather have Moxie than have your moves' power DOUBLED if resisted? That's perfect neutral coverage for Dragons and Great Fighting-type coverage. There is no way it belongs down there.
 
damn that's a big OP! said:
S ranked

Arena Trap- I agree

Contrary- I would move this ability to A-Tier. A Contrary Pokemon needs the movepool and stats to properly abuse this ability. This ability was designed for Serperior, but every other Contrary Pokemon cannot abuse it because Contrary is only good with proper moves.

Drizzle- Yep

Drought- Definitely

Huge Power- Definitely

Imposter- Without a Doubt

Moody- It got banned to Super-Ubers. Defninitely.

Pure Power- See Huge Power

Shadow Tag- Of course.

Wonder Guard- Yeah...


A ranked

Adaptability- I would move this down to B Tier. Adaptability is a good ability but it's not like Adaptability gives Pokemon a gigantic edge. It's like a weaker Tinted Lens with a few twists

Chlorophyll- Yes

Download- Yes, but just barely. It needs to be on the right Pokemon.

Dry Skin- Yep

Flash fire- Definitely B-Tier in my opinion. First, this ability rarely covers weaknesses, and the Special Attack boost is not always helpful. It requires prediction to use as well.

Flower gift- Worse Chlorophyll. C Tier, B Tier at the highest as it doesn't automatically transform the Pokemon into a sweeper. I'm assuming Single battles, of course.

Guts- B Tier in my opinion. Guts is not what makes Pokemon like Conkeldurr. Guts is often an "icing on the cake" ability, not a reason for usage with exceptions like Hariyama.

Harvest- Yes, but barely. Harvest is really situational, but I bet it would be a staple ability if given to the right Pokemon.

Heatproof- Definitely not an A-tier ability. Torn between C and B, but would probably go with B here. Heatproof gives one resistance to a semi-common attacking type.

Intimidate- Yes sir.

Iron barbs- Iron Barbs doesn't change the flow of many to most matches. I think people might be biased towards this ability because it's on such a phenomenal Pokemon, but this seems to fit the description of a B-Tier ability perfectly.

Levitate- No doubt. Ground is a great attacking type, and an immunity to that also grants a Spikes and Toxic Spikes immunity. This ability would definitely have been S Tier last gen, and it's an upper echelon A Tier ability this gen.

Lightningrod- B Tier. Electric is not that common an attacking type in OU, and it's much like Flash Fire in the sense that it's situational and requires prediction.

Magic Bounce- I couldn't imagine this not in the S tier. This makes crappy Pokemon automatic staples in a tier that they should never be in otherwise. Espeon would be NU Trash without this, but it's an OU staple instead.

Magic Guard- Definite A Tier ability. Probably the best A tier ability as well

Magnet Pull-I would have to bump this up to the S tier because it can justify the use of any Magnet Pull Pokemon in just about any tier. Probably the worst S Tier ability, but I would give it that distinction.

Mold Breaker- B Tier in my opinion. Mold Breaker provides a nice advantage, but it's not something that sways the tide of a battle.

Motor Drive- I would keep this as an A tier ability since Speed is the most important stat for a sweeper. This ability is better than Lightningrod in the sense that Speed is more often than not the determining factor in sweeping. B tier also makes sense, however.

Moxie- I agree.

Multiscale- Definitely yes. One of the better A-tier abilities too.

Natural Cure- Yes.

Poison Heal- Definitely

Prankster- I would bump this up to the S tier. It makes unusable Pokemon like Sableye a potent threat.

Quick feet- This might seem hypocritical of me, but I would not keep this ability in the A tier. When statused, power is the more important factor since it's more important to net KOs than to outspeed threats, which makes this inferior to Guts. B for me.

Regenerator- Of course

Sand Force- Yep.

Sand Rush-Definitely.

Sand Stream- Come on. This is an obvious S tier ability

Serene grace- Oh God yes

Sheer force- Barely, but this is A-tier worthy

Simple- Fine. This could be really good on the right Pokemon.

Speed Boost- This is not S tier. This is a top level ability, but it's only good with the tools to abuse it. A tier for you.

Storm Drain- Yes.

Sturdy- This might be controversial, but this is almost a C-tier ability, and a low B tier at best. Sturdy acts like a Focus Sash, which means that it's rarely activated and only works when you're being OHKO'd. You shouldn't be getting OHKO'd in the first place, and even if you do, you only hang on with 1 HP. I would move this to the C tier.

Swift Swim- A tier definitely.

Technician- Of course

Thick fat- Yes.

Water absorb- Barely. Storm Drain and Dry Skin are better though.

Volt absorb- Electric isn't nearly as common as Water. I would make this a B tier ability. The only Electric absorption ability that I would place in the A tier is Motor Drive for its ability to initiate a sweep.


B ranked

Air lock- upper C tier in my opinion. It temporarily ignores weather, which is just not a big deal. If it canceled weather it would be great.

Analytic- Sure.

Bad Dreams- C tier. A little damage when paired with Sleep. It's only good on Darkrai because Darkrai's the perfect abuser of it. Meh.

Clear Body- Yes. And it's a good B tier at that.

Cloud nine- See Air Lock.

Compound Eyes- A-tier for this cool ability. 30% Accuracy allows any move with about 60% accuracy or more to be viable.

Filter- Yeah

Flame Body- Of course.

Flare Boost- A low B-tier ability. Could be good when paired with Flame Orb. I wish more Pokemon like Alakazam got this to see its full power.

Hydration- A tier. In the OU tier Hydration is a great ability that got Manaphy banned. Now, Vaporeon abuses it well and if Rain was in the lower tiers, it would be a staple on tons of Pokemon.

Leaf Guard- C tier. The only reason these abilities are nice is because of Rest, which Leaf Guard diasllows. Not to mention that Rain is better than Sun.

Marvel Scale- Yep.

Multitype- No. This is an A tier ability, and a case could be made for S Tier since it's so unpredictable. If this had more distribution then it would be very interesting.

No Guard- A tier. No Guard lets the user select moves without regard to accuracy, which is simply fantastic.

Pickpocket- D tier for this pointless ability. If it had the effects of Knock Off it would be better, but Pickpocket is beyond useless.

Reckless- Convenient power boost. Cool, B-Tier ability.

Rough Skin- Yes. It's just like Iron Barbs. How does this list have Iron Barbs and Rough Skin in different tiers.

Sand veil- Yeah.

Sap Sipper- Yes. Possibly A tier. Immunity to Leech Seed, Sleep Powder, and all Grass attacks is great.

Shed skin- Inferior Natural Cure. B tier is where this belongs.

Snow Warning- Come on, get this to the S tier. Abomasnow and Snover would be NU garbage, but they're BL because of Snow Warning.

Solar Power- Yes.

Solid Rock- Uh-huh/

Static- I would move this to the C tier. A slight chance to paralyze when hit by a contact move? Not only is it situational, but it's also luck-dependent. Static is a quirky ability that really doesn't make a big impact.

Tinted lens- A tier. Now moves like Bug Buzz go from crappy moves that everything resists to spammable wonders.

Unaware- A tier. Imagine if Gastrodon had this instead of Crapsire.

Victory star- C tier. 10% Accuracy whoop-de-fucking-doo.

White smoke- Def.


C ranked

Aftermath- Yep.

Blaze- This is a decidedly mediocre ability that belongs in the decidedly mediocre C tier.

Cursed Body- Yes.

Defiant- Of course.

Effect Spore- Yes.

Frisk- Scouting is so nice I might personally put this in the lowest end of the B tier. Your call, though.

Hustle- This is worth the B tier. Look at Durant.

Ice Body- This ability is useful enough to be in the B tier. If Hail was more viable then this would be a great Hail stall ability.

Illusion- One of the good troll abilities. B tier since it provides a nice setup opportunity.

Immunity- Yeah, this is a solid C ability.

Infiltrator- This is a decent C tier ability because it can give sweepers the ability to counter Hyper Offense better.

Inner focus- Dragonite would appreciate this if he didn't have Multiscale. C tier definitely.

Insomnia- Thanks to the new Sleep mechanics that re-popularized Sleep, this mediocre ability dodges the D tier.

Iron Fists- Yes.

Justified- D tier. This ability is not useful on anything, especially since Dark type moves are rare expect for Pursuit, which Justified cannot abuse.

Klutz- D tier. Possibly F tier except that I guess it has little competitive merit in the most situational of situations.

Limber- Yep. One of the better C abilities.

Liquid Ooze- It counters Leech Seed abusers, so I guess it has a little use. C tier it is.

Mummy- Yeah, I guess. Barely out of the D tier though.

Normalize- This ability is trash. Low D tier, though a strong case could be made to banish this useless ability to the F tier since it would never be used on anything.

Poison point- Get to the D tier. If it was Toxic poison then it would be a solid C ability, possibly a B ability. Normal Poison is useless.

Poison Touch- D tier. Absolutely useless.

Pressure- B tier. PP is the only thing in the game that you can't replenish no matter how good your stall team is, and Pressure allows for the strategy of PP stalling to be twice as viable.

Rain dish- B tier thanks to Drizzle. Tentacruel would probably be UU otherwise.

Rivalry- Yeah.

Rock Head- I would give this a bump to B, since if it was paired with the right moves it could make more Pokemon than Aggron viable.

Scrappy- The hell is this doing outside of the B tier?

Shield Dust- As with this. Shield Dust is incredibly underrated, just look at Cyclohm. Scald? No problem. Flamethrower burn? Not on this guy. Freeze Hax? nah... Definite B tier.

Skill link- Probably. Really, really situational but useful on the right Pokemon.

Snow Cloak- B tier. It's just like Sand Veil.

Steadfast- Yes.

Sticky hold- Nice Trick and Knock Off ability I guess. C tier most likely, though I wouldn't object to D since it's so situational.

Suction cups- I would move this up to the B tier for what it did to Cradily. Phazing is the best way to beat bulky boosters and Suction Cups make bulky boosters that much better. Imagine if Conkeldurr got this.

Swarm- Bug moves are so rare that this is a definite C level ability.

Synchronize- Makes opponents think twice about statusing. Not the best ability, but is a nice bonus and worthy of the C tier.

Teravolt- Move this up to B tier with Mold Breaker and Turboblaze.

Torrent- Right here is a good place for it. An argument could be made for the B tier since its effects have been shown with SubPetaya Empoleon but C is a good place for it.

Trace- Sure.

Turboblaze- See Teravolt and Mold Breaker.

Unburden- Definite B tier. Unburden makes bad Pokemon like Hitmonlee usable in UU and RU, which makes Unburden a useful ability. If this was the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon rankings, then...

Vital spirit- Yeah.

Water veil- See above

Weak armor- D tier trash. Weak armor is weird, situational, and not always helpful. It's useless on pretty much everything that gets it and isn't worthy of even a C rank.

Wonder skin- Cool ability, but not exactly useful. C tier is the place for a mediocre ability like this one.


D ranked

Anger Point- You need to get critted for this to even matter. Even then, it's no guarantee that you'll be able to abuse it. Obvious D tier selection here.

Anticipation- Definitely. Little to no competitive merit here, especially as it can't help you DO anything about super-effective hits.

Battle Armor- One of the better D tier abilities, but still, not that useful and simply not usable enough to merit a move to the C tier. 90% of the time it won't activate, you never know when it will activate, and if it does, no guarantee that it helps you.

Big Pecks- lol, what a stupid ability. D tier for life

Cute Charm- why does this exist? D tier.

Early Bird- Eh, it's definitely a cool, quirky ability, but Sleep isn't common in every tier and you'll still be sleeping for a turn or two anyway. Not worth a C tier bump.

Forecast- How would one even rank this ability? I guess this ability would have merit on a weather team and if it was on something besides Castform maybe it would be worth it. I would move it to the C tier simply because it has untapped potential.

Forewarn- I would push this up a tier to C. Forewarn can alert the user to gimmick sets and works every time the user switches in. This can tell the user of the opponents sets, especially if the set is based around a supremely powerful move.

Gluttony- D tier trash.

Heavy Metal- What is the point of this? Makes you MORE vulnerable to two moves while powering up another stupid move. I guess that pushes it out of F but still...

Hyper Cutter- Intimidate immunity. Whoop-de-fucking-doo.

Keen Eye- God this is useless.

Light Metal- Uh, it's a better Heavy Metal? That's about it though.

Oblivious- Simply because it can be used makes it D tier. That's it though.

Overcoat- I would jump this up a tier since it's useful in the UU and OU tiers. Sandstorm is so prevalent and this ability allows you to recover with Leftovers in Sand. That could be useful.

Overgrow- I'll move this to where the other pinch abilities go since I guess this could be cool with Giga Drain or something. C tier for you.

Own Tempo- Yep. Though props for being cool on Lilligant.

Shell armor- D tier for life.

Sniper- I consider this a C tier ability. This ability allows crits to turn into insta-OHKOs, sometimes even if resisted. Even if a Pokemon crits, say, once every four battles, it's worth it. D tier also makes sense for its situational-ness.

Stench- auto-King's Rock? lol

Super luck- Combined with moves like Psycho Cut and Night Slash, Super Luck can pull its weight on Pokemon like Absol. C tier in my book.

Tangled feet- lol

Toxic boost- lolso (also)

Unnerve- haha no chople berry for you tyranitar lolnoob d tier


F ranked

Color Change- This is a hindering ability no matter how you look at it. You no longer control your own freakin' TYPE?

Damp- D tier. This works on opponents too.

Defeatest- Utter shit.
Friend Guard- why
Healer- do
Honey Gather- OOH HONEY GATHER YAY
Illuminate-these
Minus-shit-
Plus-abilities
Rattled-D tier for free stat boosts
Slow start-exist? also GF regigigas is a KING WHO MOVES CONTINENTS. Imagine this thing without Slow Start in Ubers ;_;
Soundproof-D tier. It blocks Roar.
Stall- no.
Telepathy- No forever.
Truant- Crap.

Zen mode- D tier in my opinion. It has competitive merit in the fact that it has an effect in singles.
Click to expand...


So my ability Tier List would be:

S Tier- Abilities that automatically make any Pokemon within reason viable.


Arena Trap
Drizzle
Drought
Huge Power
Imposter
Magic Bounce
Magnet Pull
Moody
Prankster
Pure Power
Sand Stream
Shadow Tag
Snow Warning
Wonder Guard


A Tier-Abilities that significantly contribute to a Pokemon's competitive worth all or almost all of the time.


Chlorophyll
CompoundEyes
Contrary
Download
Dry Skin
Harvest
Hydration
Intimidate
Levitate
Magic Guard
Motor Drive
Moxie
Multiscale
Multitype
Natural Cure
No Guard
Poison Heal
Regenerator
Sand Rush
Serene grace
Sheer force
Simple
Speed Boost
Storm Drain
Swift Swim
Technician
Thick fat
Tinted lens
Unaware
Water absorb

B Tier-Abilities that can significantly contribute to a Pokemon's worth, but do not do so as consistently as A-tier abilities.

Adaptability
Analytic
Filter
Flame Body
Flare Boost
Flash fire
Guts
Heatproof
Hustle
Ice Body
Illusion
Iron barbs
Lightningrod
Marvel Scale
Mold Breaker
Quick feet
Pressure
Rain dish
Reckless
Rock Head
Rough Skin
Sand Force
Sand veil
Sap Sipper
Scrappy
Shed skin
Shield Dust
Snow Cloak
Solar Power
Solid Rock
Suction cups
Teravolt
Turboblaze
Unburden
Volt absorb



C Tier- Abilities that provide a noticeable boost to a Pokemon, but not enough to raise a Pokemon's usage significantly

Aftermath
Air lock
Bad Dreams
Blaze
Clear Body
Cloud nine
Cursed Body
Defiant
Effect Spore
Flower gift
Forecast
Forewarn
Frisk
Immunity
Infiltrater
Inner focus
Insomnia
Iron Fists
Leaf Guard
Limber
Liquid Ooze
Mummy
Overcoat
Overgrow
Rivalry
Skill link
Sniper
Static
Steadfast
Sticky hold
Sturdy
Super Luck
Swarm
Synchronize
Torrent
Trace
Victory star
Vital spirit
Water veil
White Smoke
Wonder skin


D Tier-Abilities that are too situational, too useless, or too hard to activate to merit much worth in competitive Pokemon

Anger Point
Anticipation
Battle Armor
Big Pecks
Cute Charm
Damp
Early Bird
Gluttony
Heavy Metal
Hyper Cutter
Justified
Keen Eye
Klutz
Light Metal
Normalize
Oblivious
Own Tempo
Pickpocket
Poison point
Poison Touch
Rattled
Shell armor
Soundproof
Stench
Tangled feet
Toxic boost
Unnerve
Weak armor
Zen Mode

F Tier- (completely useless or hindering abilities_

Color Change
Defeatest
Friend Guard
Healer
Honey Gather
Illuminate
Minus
Plus
Slow start
Stall
Telepathy
Truant
 
I'm gonna try putting together a doubles version, but it'll probably take a long time so if someone else wants to do it too I won't mind.

Edit: here we go, it's probably got some mistakes because I'm really tired and can't proofread but whatever, and if anyone wants to change anything it won't hurt my feelings. I listed the reasoning for all my changes in bold.

S ranked


Contrary
Drizzle
Drought
Huge Power
Illusion (a game-changing ability even in doubles, it would probably be broken on better Pokémon)
Imposter
Magic Bounce (this should've been here already)
Moody
Multitype (no Arceus in most doubles metagames, but still)
Prankster (should've been here already)
Pure Power
Sand Stream (should be here already, weather is king)
Snow Warning (see Sand Stream, and Blizzard is a bigger deal in doubles)
Sturdy (no hazards, most of the stuff that gets it is immune to sand, and Item Clause in most doubles metagames)
Wonder Guard


A ranked

Adaptability
Chlorophyll
Clear Body (Intimidate and friends everywhere)
Compoundeyes (accuracy matters more in doubles where every turn is more crucial)
Download
Dry Skin
Inner focus (Fake Out and Rock Slide everywhere)
Insomnia (no Sleep Clause, especially good against sun teams)
Flare Boost (same tier as Guts, it's just as good aside from being slightly more specific to activate)
Flash fire
Flower gift
Friend Guard (really good if it were on anything besides crappy NFEs)
Guts
Harvest
Hydration (should've been here already)
Intimidate
Levitate
Lightningrod
Magic Guard
Mold Breaker
Motor Drive
Moxie
Multiscale
No Guard (see Compoundeyes)
Poison Heal
Quick feet
Regenerator
Sand Force
Sand Rush
Sap Sipper (I'd put all immunity abilities in A)
Serene grace
Sheer force
Skill link (lots of stuff would love it, breaks berries and sashes)
Speed Boost
Storm Drain
Swift Swim
Technician
Telepathy (spamming spread moves with reckless abandon is always good, especially since the ones that also hit your partner are usually better)
Teravolt/Turboblaze (same tier as Mold Breaker)
Thick fat
Tinted lens (too good to not be here, almost low S)
Toxic boost (see Flare Boost)
Unburden (speed is the god stat)
Unnerve (berries everywhere)
Vital spirit (see Insomnia)
Volt absorb
Water absorb
White smoke (see Clear Body)


B ranked

Air Lock
Analytic
Bad Dreams
Cloud nine
Filter
Flame Body
Healer (basically Shed Skin for the partner)
Heatproof (inferior to Thick Fat, one resistance isn't that great)
Ice Body (great for bulky hail abusers)
Iron barbs (should've been here already, why was it not in the same tier as Rough Skin?)
Leaf Guard
Marvel Scale
Mummy (too many things rely on their abilities, possibly low A)
Natural Cure (harder to switch, Toxic is rare)
Rain dish (see Ice Body)
Reckless
Rough Skin
Sand veil
Shed skin
Simple (harder to boost, Intimidate, Icy Wind, etc. hurts worse)
Snow Cloak (same tier as Sand Veil)
Solar Power
Solid Rock
Static
Stench (free flinches would be great on anything fast)
Trace (probably should be A in singles, but the unpredictability of which ability it copies in doubles hurts it somewhat)
Unaware
Victory star


C ranked

Aftermath
Blaze
Cursed Body
Damp (Explosion is somewhat more prevalent than in singles)
Defiant
Effect Spore
Frisk
Hustle
Immunity
Infiltrater
Iron Fists
Justified
Klutz
Limber
Liquid Ooze
Minus/Plus (gimmicky, but potentially useful on the right Pokémon)
Normalize
Overgrow (should match the others)
Pressure
Rattled (similar to Justified)
Rock Head
Scrappy
Shield Dust
Steadfast
Sticky hold
Suction cups
Swarm
Synchronize
Torrent
Water veil
Weak armor
Wonder skin


D ranked

Anger Point
Anticipation
Arena Trap (possibly low C, switching is rare and it's much easier for the trapper to be killed)
Battle Armor
Big Pecks
Cute Charm
Early Bird
Forecast
Forewarn
Gluttony
Hyper Cutter
Keen Eye
Light Metal
Magnet Pull (see Arena Trap)
Oblivious
Overcoat
Own Tempo
Pickpocket (explained in earlier comment)
Pickup (it's weak, but still better than anything in F tier)
Poison point (normal poison is still bad in doubles)
Poison Touch (see above)
Rivalry (too risky and inconsistent)
Shadow Tag (see Arena Trap)
Shell armor
Sniper
Soundproof (Roar and Perish Song may be uncommon in doubles, but they're still there)
Super luck
Tangled feet


F ranked

Color Change
Defeatist
Heavy Metal (Low Kick and Grass Knot mean it usually does more harm than good)
Honey Gather
Illuminate
Run Away (you missed this one too)
Slow Start
Stall
Truant
Zen Mode
 
What is the policy for entirely outclassed abilities?

some examples:

Guts > toxic boost
pure/huge power > hustle
no guard > compoundeyes
etc.

a more fishy one is:
magic guard > immunity

edit: nvm no guard doesnt completely outclass compoundeyes.

how about vital spirit > early bird?
 
I'm confused as to why Rattled is in F tier. Even though the Pokémon that get it are pre-evos and Sudowoodo the ability itself is great.
 
bluemon said:
What is the policy for entirely outclassed abilities?

some examples:

Guts > toxic boost
pure/huge power > hustle
no guard > compoundeyes
etc.

a more fishy one is:
magic guard > immunity

edit: nvm no guard doesnt completely outclass compoundeyes.

how about vital spirit > early bird?
Click to expand...

I wouldn't say Pure/Huge Power > Hustle since you don't have to be statused for Hustle, ditto for No Guard and CompoundEyes as CompoundEyes doesn't make every attack hit you as well.
 
Magic Guard is pretty much strictly better than Overcoat, though.

I'm agreeing with a few other users that the bottom tier should be for completely useless/detrimental abilities. Though, even stuff like Truant can be competitively useful - just look at Dream World Durant for an example, who can Entrain it onto other Pokémon then allow Shadow Taggers/Arena Trappers to set up. Even something like Stall could be used to ensure your U-Turn is slower than the enemy (you could imagine something very slow setting up Trick Room, then using U-Turn to a slow sweeper, and using Stall to ensure the U-Turn went second).
 
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