Resource National Dex Ubers Viability Rankings [Update #9 at post 335!]

[unfuuny]

C --> B
B+ --> B
You've all heard this song and dance before. I think Shuckle is better than Smeargle. Now, over the years I have gone from thinking Smeargle is straight up trash to wising up and seeing the potential in them. And still, I believe saying that Smeargle is flat out better than Shuckle isn't true. I do believe they are close to on par with each other, but I would still give the edge to Shuckle. Now, I have tried and failed to explain why before, but I think now I can finally do it justice.

Now, people have been saying a lot that Shuckle doesn't have a lot going for it over Smeargle. However, there is one big thing that it has over Smeargle. It can set hazards.

Now, while hazards are listed as an option on the Dex, in my opinion they are incredibly niche. Running hazards means you can't run Perish Song, and not running Perish Song means that against Dragon Dance Zygarde, you either instantly lose or don't get to set webs until significantly later while also having to deal with the damage a +1 Zygarde is about to do to your team. There aren't a lot of teams that can afford this, so hazard Smeargle is virtually unviable. Now, I don't think I have to tell you how good hazards are for hyper offense teams. As such, any hyper offense team wanting hazards is almost always going to pick Shuckle over Smeargle. I can absolutely see the argument that this still doesn't put Shuckle on par with Smeargle, but frankly I find C laughably unjustifiable. In my opinion, Shuckle is at least B-, and I think Shuckle very much belongs in B tier or higher.

I do think shuckle is a lot better than the vr suggests. Setting hazards without fearing taunt and being able to function well even when not being used as a lead are very valuable traits. But it being so slow means anything can fog it, without being able to do anything back, except crippling it with encore which is honestly not all that debilitating compared to Smeargle’s nuzzle and mortal spin (tho I’m a rapid spin enjoyer). And being a hazard lead that doesn’t fear taunt means it also faces a lot of competition from deoxys-s which doesnt have passivity problems since it can run taunt itself. This plus being able to nigh guarantee a stealth rock + a spiki means deo-s is in my opinion in a pretty good metagame position right now. Which means i dont really understand your point of smeargle not being a good hazard setter. Its job is to get up sticky web and avoid being taken advantage of in result of it needing a turn. if you want hazards, you run deoa, or that blue purple thing i forgot the name of.

 

[bumboclaat]

C --> B
B+ --> B
You've all heard this song and dance before. I think Shuckle is better than Smeargle. Now, over the years I have gone from thinking Smeargle is straight up trash to wising up and seeing the potential in them. And still, I believe saying that Smeargle is flat out better than Shuckle isn't true. I do believe they are close to on par with each other, but I would still give the edge to Shuckle. Now, I have tried and failed to explain why before, but I think now I can finally do it justice.

Now, people have been saying a lot that Shuckle doesn't have a lot going for it over Smeargle. However, there is one big thing that it has over Smeargle. It can set hazards.

Now, while hazards are listed as an option on the Dex, in my opinion they are incredibly niche. Running hazards means you can't run Perish Song, and not running Perish Song means that against Dragon Dance Zygarde, you either instantly lose or don't get to set webs until significantly later while also having to deal with the damage a +1 Zygarde is about to do to your team. There aren't a lot of teams that can afford this, so hazard Smeargle is virtually unviable. Now, I don't think I have to tell you how good hazards are for hyper offense teams. As such, any hyper offense team wanting hazards is almost always going to pick Shuckle over Smeargle. I can absolutely see the argument that this still doesn't put Shuckle on par with Smeargle, but frankly I find C laughably unjustifiable. In my opinion, Shuckle is at least B-, and I think Shuckle very much belongs in B tier or higher.

I think you could justify moving Shuckle up a subrank or two due the optimizations in webs structures having made the archetype as a whole signifcantly stronger. This isn't because Shuckle is any better and Ribombee would accompany it at least on my slate if it were to rise. There are some scenarios where Shuckle is better than Smeargle, but in practical terms they are few and far between. Honestly, Perish Song is better against Dragon Dance Zygarde than Encore as you either KO Zygarde or force it out. With Encore you do have the Substitute / DD v Encore / Webs condundrum whereas Smeargle is consistent. Consequently, the main differentiator movepool wise is Smeargle's status spreading v Shuckle's Stealth Rock. I find that Smeargle's status spreading is far more useful, even against teams Shuckle is supposedly better against. Smeargle's Speed does make an actual difference as it can find an opportunity to set Sticky Web mid-game against the base 90s. Removing enemy Sticky Web while not thudding into nearly every other hyper offense lead helps a lot. I can see Shuckle at C+, maybe B-, but B is far too high for me. Shuckle itself has not changed nor has the metagame surrounding it changed in a favourable manner.

-> C-

With the metagame starting to settle I'm being obligated to start scratching the bottom of the barrel on stuff currently unranked in the VR, which has eventually led me to a somewhat underrated trapper.

What niche Dugtrio have over Gothitelle is a question some can reasonably ask, and the answer lies on Dugtrio's decent base 120 Speed enabling it to make the most of allies spreading Toxic to then just make the most of a slow pivot to stall them out with Substitute + Protect, as such opponents can't switch out thanks to Arena Trap. STAB Earthquake also has synergy at hitting foes that can't be poisoned as they're weak to Ground, plus there's bonus points for making the most of a slow pivot to trap and remove worn down foes like Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre.

While Dugtrio isn't too hard to outspeed in paper, it makes a good core with Fezandipiti, as it provides all the exact support it needs to do its role well (spreading bad poisoning, slow pivoting, and can even turn foes that'd normally vaporize Dugtrio like Eternatus into Dugtrio food thanks to Icy Wind). So overall it's a quite good option to patiently dismantle teams that give it the right support.

Here's some replays showcasing it in action:

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldexubers-2352704506
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldexubers-2352740638-9afndbv8j2r3ax4abbhjk3agjklk8ljpw

I get the idea, but as mentioned on discord I'm just not sure how practicable it is. Yeah it does trap, but I'm not sure how important Dugtrio's Speed makes a difference especially when it is Adamant and thus cannot trap most Arceus formes. Unless I'm missing something it feels like more of a paper thing especially given webs need to be removed for it to sucessfully trap Primal Kyogre.

 

[bumboclaat]

Sorry for the double post, but I'm giving a heads up to get your nominations in as there is a slate tentatively planned upon the conclusion of the ghosting tour in two weeks! There is a pre NDPL slate planned, but we wanted to do another before that and the timing worked out well. Any nomination made before May 18 is guaranteed to be considered. Nominations made after this date may be considered, but that will depend on whether the slate has been completed. As such, we cannot make any guarantees after this date.

Discussion Points

Last slate Zygarde rose to S+, but barely as a single vote on the slate made the difference. Since then, there as been a lot of discussion both publicly and privately amongst the playerbase over whether this rise was merited. What do you think?

Ho-Oh has received a sizeable quantity of S votes over the last few slates, but has remained in S-. Over this period Ho-Oh has seen a substantial bump in tournament play, culminating with roughly roughly half of teams deciding that the bird is the word in NDBD and the winter seasonal. This comes on the back of bulky offense structures opting to use Ho-Oh instead of Giratina-O. Accordingly, at this point Ho-Oh has proven itself to be at worst a solid option on any non hyper offense structure. Do you think this is enough to bump it to S?

Arceus-Dark may be an odd inclusion here given it finally rose to S- after being the victim of a tied vote in the previous slate. Arceus-Dark has been the best Arceus forme for quite some time as it easily anchors any non hyper offense structure - akin to Ho-Oh. The similarities don't stop there as both Pokémon primarily use defensive sets on stall and offensive sets otherwise! The big question regarding Arceus-Dark's viability is how to weight the 'Arceus Tax.' Is the 'Arceus Tax' sufficient to keep Arceus-Dark in S- or is it S regardless? There is not a precedent for the Arceus Tax capping an Arceus forme's viability at S- as Arceus-Ground was considered a S rank Pokémon in the past. What do you think?

Last slate Zrp200 voted Yveltal to S rank and the idea of Yveltal becoming S rank and this opinion has gained some traction amongst the wider playerbase. Yveltal has always been amongst the most used Pokémon, but as the metagame has developed it has seemingly settled into a state where Yveltal is considered near mandatory on hyper offense structures with some thinking it may be a little too good at enabling hyper offense. Consequently, Choice Scarf Yveltal has seen a slight bump due to its potency against said structures. At the same time, Yveltal has seen a substantial drop in use on balance and bulky offense structures as teambuilders have increasingly opted to use other Pokémon to fill the wall and stallbreaking roles that were traditionally Yveltal's domain. Yveltal is undoubtedly one of the strongest Pokémon in the metagame, but exactly how strong? Please weigh in and let us know!

Arceus-Fairy has had some trouble overcoming the fact that it isn't Arceus-Dark. When Arceus-Fairy rose to A+ the metagame was quite different and developments have not been kind to Arceus-Fairy. It is still an excellent Pokémon, but its use and tournament success have lagged a bit behind what is expected of an A+ Pokémon. Do you think this is irrelevant and Arceus-Fairy is still an A+ Pokémon or that some correction is needed? Either way, chime in!

Giratina-O has traditionally been the monarch of bulky offense structures, but its rise from its steady A- placement was on the back of Alomomola structures where Giratina-O is not only an essential component, but syngergises near perfectly with Alomomola. Although these structures retain at least a neutral matchup against the majority of the metagame, their inability to handle Sticky Web structures has resulted in a sharp decline in use. A single bad matchup usually isn't the end of the world, but when Sticky Web is not only one of the strongest and most popular archetypes Alomomola / Giratina-O structures don't even have the breathing room to outplay this horiffic matchup. Rather unfortunately for Giratina-O, this has extended to its traditional home of bulky offense as offensive Ho-Oh has committed regicide. Giratina-O slid down a subrank last slate...do you think it should stop at A or Giratina-O should drop further? Let us know!

There isn't much to say about Smeargle that has not been said. It received a couple of A- votes last slate and Sticky Webs have shown no sign of slowing down since. Although other setters are viable, Smeargle has remained the premier setter due its support movepool harshly limiting the number of Pokémon willing to take it on due to being crippled and unable to perform their duties later in the game. Despite other Pokémon such as Shuckle and Ribombee being viable, the gap is such that Smeargle can be considered the flag-bearer for Sticky Web. Do you think Sticky Web has demonstrated enough power and consistency to breach the A ranks?

 

[AM]

S+



S



S-



A+



A



A-



B+



B

Hide

B-











C Rank

C+

Arceus-Grass






C




Mega Tyranitar




C-

Yap

I hid the B- section and below because I'm of the opinion anything past B territory in a VR is largely meme territory or too niche, B- is perfectly usable but niche or specific playstyles (stall). I won't go too in depth on placements as I moved stuff around based on certain biases and what I perceive as actually good. Stuff in the current VR captures a lot of usable things but there's a bit of bloat due to this where certain things are currently and how the council perceives specific placements. I will mention a couple of things.

Yveltal should be in S, truthfully there's few reasons to be dropping this mon outside of specific playstyles and I would say its Pdon levels of necessity but I will admit it's a mon that wants to be Scarf, Offensive, defensive all at once but can only choose one and that's probably the only "flaw" it has besides specific mons.

Moved Arc-Ground up for Ddance sets, they are very strong with customizble sets/evs based on what you want to be better against. It's also a mon that forces defensive Tera to not get totally swept by it. I would normally move Ho-Oh down to A+ but it's marginally better than the A+ mons currently so I'll leave it there. It is worse in a format where offensive variations of Don are really good, but people are very attached to this mon because it does cover a handful of big things. The A's have about the same viability I am not high on Ultra-Necrozma like others are it is too high currently. It is probably very unexplored with Screens however.

I put Ditto much higher than its current placement because I think as long as you have a Ditto you have an out to a lot of rando cheese, getting info on sets early is also a huge advantage due to the variety in which certain staples can be used. Smeargle moved way up because it is focal point of what is #1 playstyle you need to account for in some manner. I am high on Lunala for its offensive sets so A- is fine but Yveltals presence is annoying for it as it forces it to Tera Fairy and its usually not the mon you want to Tera. If it werent for Yveltal this mon would probably be A+.

The Bs are a bit of a mess largely because they're getting into that niche, forced into specific playstyle category. Pao moved up because SD + Darkzium especially with Webs up can pretty much eliminate a mon. I actually like this mon better than Chi-Yu on Webs since it also has priority that's useful for a couple of specific things Ultra Necro and Scarf Yveltal. It is held back by Zacian-C being good though I will admit. Fez just seems too low cause it's a legit mon that is better than some of its own current ranks. Fish I dont find good I would normally drop it but it's better than its lower subrank I guess. M-Mence doesnt seem good either, this is a mon I would never use unless you wanted to fish someone who happens to be always weak to it but it's going to stay here for similar reasons as fish.

Shuckle up for same reason, outclassed by Smeargle but is way to low and in some scenarios actually easier to get Webs up with Shuckle than Smeargle, Smeargle is hard to fit Encore on because it's trying to do too much in some games. Diancie-Mega is probably a B+ realistically but it takes a bit of finesse to really get going and is kind of bad into some of the top tier things. Offensive Heal Bell user has some value I like Moon, Diamond, Epower, Heal Bell. Goth is not good but not total shit, again another mon you can fish with if you know your opp just loses to it or likes loading super fat teams. Ray isn't great but might be unexplored with Webs, Band is okay with Para support.

The hide stuff wont elaborate too much they're too niche or meme territory.

 

[bumboclaat]

So AM's post was great and normally I do a big VR post containing an excessive degree of yapping, but it motivated me to make a (relatively) short post. I'll do the normal post after the slate. The Pokémon in parenthesis are those I'm currently debating whether or not they should move. This VR is by no means set in stone, but it is a snapshot of my views on the metagame as a whole. Everything is ordered within the subranks.

S+: ()
S: ()
S-:()

A+:
A: ()
A-: ()()

B+: ()()
B:
B-:

C+
C: ()
C-: ()

UR/D:
New:

Yap

I voted S+ last slate, but was on the fence until the slate was finalized, changing my votes multiple times. The biggest argument for S+ is the Primal Groudonesque presence Zygarde has in the teambuilder. It isn't at Primal Groudon's level, but it also is not far off. Similar to Primal Groudon, there is not a single slot replacement that compensates for the defensive value Zygarde provides both in the builder and in game. Zygarde isn't mandatory on balance and bulky offense structures, but it is irreplacable on most of them. Unlike using Ferrothorn + Eternatus for Primal Kyogre, there isn't really a replacement when it comes to dealing with Marshadow. Tera Fairy Garganacl exists, but that requires Tera, a turn to switch-in and use it, and often wants a Tera Water Zygarde as a teammate anyways.

Our alternate options for physical walls with a semblence of longevity are pretty scarce. Arceus formes can do so, but doing so usually results in a losing matchup to Pokémon they're otherwise expected to take on such as Yveltal and wallbreaker Eternatus. These Arceus formes are able to act as special walls in large part because Zygarde is already handling nearly every physical attacker. These Arceus formes can act as physical walls, but still require assistance to check Pokémon such as Marshadow, Dragon Dance Necrozma-DM, Swords Dance Primal Groudon, Zacian-C, and Dragon Dance Zygarde. Zygarde isn't an impenetrable physical wall, but its gaps are small enough that they are easy enough to cover. Its flexibility in the last slot is also underrated as Dragon Tail, and to a lesser degree, Toxic enable Zygarde to check a wider range of Pokémon. There is also Dragon Dance Zygarde which easily sweeps most balance and bulky offense structures that do not explicitly prepare for it. Dragon Dance Zygarde has stumbled a little bit as a result, but is still excellent. Furthermore, it is one of the few Pokémon that is a solid lead against Smeargle as its ability to disrupt positioning via Dragon Tail before succumbing to Perish Song often provides the space needed to remove Sticky Web. When I look at Zygarde as a whole, I'm still split. I view Zygarde as the only Pokémon with an argument to share S+ with Primal Groudon, but S+ is still a damn high bar and at best Zygarde barely clears it. Either S+ or S is fine by me.

I think defensive Ho-Oh borders on hot garbage if used on nearly anything outside of stall. Offensive sets though... *devil's kiss*. The lack of physical bulk can be a tad annoying at times, but it actually threatens Pokémon beyond those scared of a burn. This offensive presence actually allows it have a reasonable chance at removing Sticky Web and leverages the defensive qualities that makes Ho-Oh such a good Pokémon in the first place. This offensive/defensive bundle of utility is S rank imo. It fits on everything that isn't HO, provides either status support or phasing, and is immensely flexible. It is a solid check to Dragon Dance Zygarde and Primal Kyogre with Tera Grass due to its surprisingly powerful Brave Bird. Who knew that 130 Attack + 120 BP STAB hits hard? It blanket checks Calm Mind Arceus formes, pivots, yada yada yada. I have tried a lot to make Giratina-O BO work and often times replacing it with offensive Ho-Oh results in a better team. When I look back to what was considered 'S Rank' in previous metagames, Ho-Oh is currently better than a lot of them were at the time.

Yveltal is an interesting case and unfortunately I am a fence sitter in this case. Defensive Yveltal doesn't really enter the equation for me as I've spent a considerable amount of time attempting to build good teams with it, only to end in failure. The biggest argument for Yveltal to S is the strength of the Life Orb set which has become near mandatory on HO structures in way that no other Pokémon is outside of the suicide lead. Even the fabled Extreme Killer Arceus and Zacian-C can be swapped for another Pokémon and the team should still function relatively well. Life Orb Yveltal in many ways feels like the Primal Groudon of HO: you can drop it, but most of the time you really shouldn't unless that is the goal from the outset. This alone wouldn't surge Yveltal to S in my eyes given that this is a singular playstyle and HO does not have near enough dominance to justify such a rise. However, the popularity of HO is great for Choice Scarf Yveltal as it is great v HO and dogshit against nearly everything else. I'm on the fence because I've found Yveltal near impossible to fit on balance and bulky offense structures as well...these teams need to handle Yveltal with Sticky Web up to be viable, which heavily diminishes its wallbreaking prowess without Sticky Webs to help. Even then, Choice Scarf Yveltal is living its best life at the moment and that might be enough to push it to S for me.

Last slate I voted Eternatus to S- and this one I'm considering A+. Eternatus's main selling point has always been its ability to easily slot into just about any team. I've long held the view that this does not translate cleanly into practise. Since our last slate I've noticed a lot Sticky Web structures successfully drop Eternatus which was the main thing keeping it in the S ranks for me. Eternatus is still amazing on stall, but its vibes on HO are merely good rather than amazing. I've thought defensive Eternatus outside of stall has been middling at best for a while, but I've found Eternatus increasingly difficult as a whole to slot in on balance and bulky offense structures. Defensive Eternatus sets have felt as though they are always missing at least one of bulk, speed, power, or moves and Fezandipiti absorbing Toxic Spikes while countering every Eternatus set doesn't exactly make things better. Until recently I was a staunch advocate of wallbreaker Eternatus on balance and bulky offense, but have also been using that less recently as well. What I've found particularly irksome is that even if you manage to remove Sticky Web, wallbreaker Eternatus is only alright against that archetype while Calm Mind Arceus formes EVd to use it as setup fodder have become the standard. When I look at Eternatus as a whole I see a very good Pokémon, but one where accounting for its flaws eclipses the value of its versatility and that makes it difficult to see it as a S rank Pokémon.

Arceus-Fairy is primarily a balance and bulky offense Pokémon which should be right up my alley. I think last slate I voted A while everyone else voted A+ and my frustrations with Arceus-Fairy have only grown since. In a vacuum Arceus-Fairy might be an A+/A rank Pokémon, but we don't play in a vacuum. My main frustrations come from the strain Arceus-Fairy places in the builder which sometimes translate into battles themselves. Arceus-Fairy isn't Arceus-Dark and damn can that be frustrating. Arceus-Fairy does have some upsides such as forcing Yveltal to tera, a slightly better offensive Eternatus and Zygarde matchup, and of course its positive matchup against Arceus-Dark itself. It also tends to be better into a lot of lower tier Pokémon which is nice. However, to compensate for this, you have find a different source of Ultra Necrozma counterplay which usually means Tera Dark on one if not Pokémon or using Marshadow. Marshadow is excellent, but being pidgeonholed into something beyond the 'mandatory' Pokémon is never a great feeling. Primal Groudon is whatever, but solving Ho-Oh in the builder is far more annoying and that is before getting into the Dragon Dance Necrozma-DM issue. Primal Kyogre helps with this, but building with Arceus-Fairy is a lot of 'what should I use to deal with x' compared to just slapping Arceus-Dark on the same structure. Ultimately, it shares most of the same downsides as Arceus-Dark and doesn't offer a ton to compensate. Arceus-Fairy is a good Pokémon, but the amount of time required to spend compensating for its flaws are reminiscent of an A- Pokémon.

Lately I've been feeling that unless you're looking to handle very specific Pokémon or support Dragon Dance Zygarde building with Giratina-O is more trouble than it is worth. It loses to damn near everything outside of a few select Pokémon and even then you end up wanting to find a way to fit Dragon Tail onto a special set as physical sets lose to most of the Pokémon Giratina-O is meant to beat. To top things off, dealing with Sticky Web structures often means sacrificing two whole Pokémon and potentially tera so the rest of the team better be damn good against offense. Whenever I build Giratina-O teams I'm often left feeling that everything is stretched a little too thin for comfort. Yeah countering Primal Groudon is great, but Primal Groudon isn't a pain to handle defensively. The main advantage Giratina-O has over Coil Zygarde in that regard is Eruption Primal Groudon, which is exclusive to Sticky Web structures anyways which Giratina-O struggles immensely with. Primal Groudon isn't great on HO, but it at least gives Giratina-O the only easy opportunity it will get to remove Sticky Webs. If webs go Giratina-O stocks shoot up, but the earliest possibility of that happening is months away and doesn't seem likely anyways. For me the question isn't if Giratina-O should drop, but whether it deserves to remain in the A ranks at all. I'm split on that and am unsure if I'll vote A- or B+ in a couple weeks. Giratina-O remains above Alomomola for now as it works better without it than the other way around.

I semi agree with AM, but I do find that the value of Encore is not nearly enough to compensate for the bullshit Smeargle throws at you. There is also Shuckle being so much worse against HO which is rough. Having x check to y threat crippled with Spore / Nuzzle / Mortal Spin is way more impactful and Perish Song provides a way to get Smeargle off the field. The Mental Herb is nice, but it isn't as though our Taunt users really want to take on Smeargle due to the aforementioned moves. Furthermore, Taunt doesn't break the Sash and it isn't all that uncommon for paralysis + Moody boosts to allow Smeargle to setup Webs anyways. Even then, Smeargle's Speed lets it find opportunities to setup Sticky Webs pretty consistently against the teams Shuckle is supposed to be better against.

Dragon Dance sets are the main reason I'd even consider Arceus-Ground good to begin with. The thing is...they only really fit on offensive structures and have pretty stringent competition with Extreme Killer Arceus. Somehow I find Arceus-Ground both overrated and underused. It should be used a lot more than it is as a lot of HO squads appreciate being shored up against Marshadow and Zacian-C. Vibes wise though, when I think of 'decent alternative to Ekiller while being quite niche outside HO' my mind does not high tail straight to an A rank, but somewhere in the B ranks. A- is attempting to account for my biases, but Arceus-Ground feels more at home in B+/B. It has been a long time since a non DD set saw signifcant use and being the best Arceus forme against Primal Groudon is a lot less valuable than it seems for the structures support sets fit on.

The Pokémon that deletes you when you face it then flops when you use it. It should be used more. As AM mentioned, godly support movepool + speed + power = good Pokémon. I'm not sure if I'll vote for a rise yet, but Mega Diancie is a Pokémon that provides a ton of value when piloted well even if the structures that can acommodate it are limited.

Dragon Dance is so good, but hard to fit. The difficulty of fitting it makes me wonder if it is better in A-. Pretty much everytime I see defensive Necrozma-DM put in work it is against a bad or outdated team.

Set VR

Defensive: S+
Jank Defensive: S+
Utility SD: S-/A+
SD 3A: A/A-
Double Dance: A-
RP 2/3A: B+
Eruption: B+/B
Offensive Support: C


Coil (Dragon Tail): S+ / S
Coil (Glare): S+ / S
Dragon Dance: A
Coil (Toxic): A
Trapper: C+


Offensive: S
Defensive: B+/B
Choice Band: C+


Calm Mind: S/S-
Defensive: B/B+


Life Orb: S/S-
Choice Scarf: A
Defensive: B/B+
Jank: C+


Choice Band: S-
Bulk Up: A-/B+
AoA: B-


Wallbreaker: A+
Meteor Beam: A+/A
Offensive T Spikes: B+
Choice Specs: B
Defensive: B


BB + CC: A+
PR + TB Ground: A
BB + TB Ground: A-/A
PR + CC: A-


Defensive: A+
Wallbreaker: A+/A


Tera Normal Double-Edge: A
Tera Ghost: A/A-


Dragon Dance: A


CM + Taunt: A-
CM + Coverage: B+/B
Defensive: B


Choice Specs: A-
Meteor Beam: B+
Defensive: C


Lead: NDAG


Dragon Dance: A-
Swords Dance: C+


Life Orb: A-
Lead: B
Meteor Beam: C+


Choice Scarf: A-


Dragon Dance: A-/B+
Calm Mind: B
Defensive (Taunt + Toxic): B-
Defensive (Other): C/C+


Special: A-/B+
Mixed: C+
Physical: C


Mixed Def: B+/A-
Phys Def: C+


Nasty Plot: B+


Pivot: B+


Hazard Lead: B+
Screens Lead: B-/C+


Choice Band: B+
Dragon Dance: B/B-


Specially Defensive: B+
Phys Def: C


Choice Band (not on TR): B+
OTR: B-
Choice Band (on TR): C

 

[Cancel cult]

--> C-

Trick Room sucks and is almost unviable. The only reason I say almost is that if you are somehow sure that your opponent is running hyper offense in a tournament, you could counterpick with Trick Room. That is an incredibly niche scenario, and one that some might say does not qualify as viable, but I'll give it the benefit of the doubt. I was originally going to suggest the whole Trick Room club be unranked, but I'll be generous and do this.

 

[Cancel cult]

anyways, personal VR time
tiers are ordered, and you can click on some of the pokemon for an explanation. (all of S tier, darceus, and unec)
If you would like more explanations, @ me on discord (or pm me if you dont have discord), and I'll add one.

S+

S

S-

A+

A

A-

B+

B

B-

C+

C

C-

I don't know what you do

 

[Sami]

Unfortunately, my team in the NDUbers Ghosting Tournament are out. That tournament was pretty fun, even though I wasn't a fan of all the scheduling issues that the 'Ghosting' aspect of this causes, especially since I use Smogon the most compared to my teammates (no insult to them they're great and I probably needed them tbh). But anyways, because of that, I think now is a good time to make a personal VR, since not only is everyone else doing one, but I haven't made one in a while, and quite a bit has changed over these few months. There will be a snapshot of the whole VR at the end of this post, so there's that. There are some Pokemon I don't have much to say about though, so if my 'reasonings' for some are really short and whatever, that's probably why. Ideally I wanted to think of something meaningful for all of the Pokemon here, but some are just obvious to where they belong. I shouldn't have to say this, but these opinions aren't set in stone. There are quite a few Pokemon I had to go back-and-forth with and by time I actually vote for the VR Slate, I might've changed my mind compared to this post. Finally, this is more off-topic, but viability rankings in the future should use tables rather than being a long list of Pokemon; it just feels better to look at, and makes it easier to screenshot to share to people if needed. But that's just me I guess. Anyways:

If the "Tier" section is in Green, the Pokemon has risen up from what it is on the current VR. If its Red, it has dropped from its current position. A white colouring is neutral.

Pokemon​	Tier​	Reasoning​
	S	Spoiler for Mobile convenience Already starting off with a controversial take, I know. Primal Groudon, to me at least, feels limited in what it wants to do, to the point where I can't really say its S+ material. Firstly, Primal Groudon has limited sets. Although it has quite some flexability with its EV spreads, even if its only above 100 spare EVs left to use for whatever, the issues stem from its movepool and its 4MSS which holds it back on a lot of things, as well as the metagame not being kind to a lot of its alternative sets, whether it be because they're ineffective (such as with Eruption or offensive Overheat sets), or because they sacrifice so much from Primal Groudon's ordinary roles (pretty much any Swords Dance set). This mostly leaves Primal Groudon with just its typical defensive set, which isn't bad of course, but it has a lot of flaws that Primal Groudon could, but just can't, overcome. One of which is being mostly shut down by Ho-Oh. Usually, Primal Groudon is praised as a good Stealth Rock setter, but since Ho-Oh can more often than not, shut it down, since it doesn't mind taking Toxic too much, it is easily able to Defog against it. Unfortunately for Primal Groudon, it's lack of recovery prevents it from staying in and wearing Ho-Oh down, since it cannot afford to take a Brave Bird or opposing Toxic, especially if Zacian-C is present on the opposing team. Replacing any of Primal Groudon's moves with Rock Tomb or Stone Edge brings issues regarding Giratina-O, Arceus formes, and Zacian-C to an extent since Overheat is more reliable than Precipice Blades. Using any sort of offensive capabilites that Primal Groudon has, more often than not, hinders its defensive capabilites too, such as handling Zacian-C and Primal Kyogre, which is Primal Groudon's main job on bulky offense and balance builds. Being more encouraged to use Swords Dance to actually wallbreak means it isn't setting Stealth Rock as frequently either, if at all if you're using Double Dance, and being forced to put investment into Attack and Speed (for Zygarde) prevents it from withstanding hits it could usually handle, such as Zacian-C's +3 Tera Fighting Close Combat after mild chip damage. Other offense sets, such as Eruption and offensive Overheat, are more extreme examples of this, and the idea that Primal Groudon needs its bulk to be worth it as a slot is proven right by their very low usage rates. Primal Groudon isn't passive of course, and its typical defensive sets and Swords Dance variants aren't bad, but a lot of the issues mentioned above are issues Zygarde has to deal with too. Defensive Zygarde is great, but it has its issues being slow and somewhat easy to overwhelm with status and hazards, just like defensive Primal Groudon, while Dragon Dance Zygarde trades most of its defenses for offense, making it harder to build around, just like Swords Dance Primal Groudon. They both even have niche, mostly useless sets in Trapper Zygarde and offensive Overheat Primal Groudon too! So, rather than pushing Zygarde up to S+ Tier, I think it makes much more sense to drop Primal Groudon, since it definitely doesn't feel as dominant as it did back in USUM, where it had a much more prevelant position between balance and HO, due to Xerneas's influence, especially when Sticky Web HO teams (aka the main HO today), doesn't struggle with Zacian-C at all if played right. Speaking of Sticky Web, that archetype dropping Primal Kyogre for Chi Yu doesn't help Primal Groudon much, since now it only checks Zacian-C, which is quite specific even if its on majority of Sticky Web teams.
	S	As said before, it makes more sense to me, for Primal Groudon to drop to S Tier, than for Zygarde to rise to S+ since it is even less dominant on metagame archetypes, such as HO and fat balance teams. With Primal Groudon, you can try to justify using Double Dance or Eruption on the former, but Dragon Dance Zygarde on HO is just bad. Additionally, Coil Zygarde can struggle against specific HO threats, most notably Double-Edge Extreme Killer Arceus, who blasts through it with Tera Normal + Life Orb at +2. Of course it's not bad, but it still has the same issues Primal Groudon does regarding set variety, set viability, and longevity against a team. Zygarde also does nothing against Stall, while even defensive Primal Groudon can actually be a threat once Giratina is down due to Overheat (another reason why dropping it is an issue for Primal Groudon).
	S-	Ho-Oh is fine. I don't have much to say about it, but offensive sets are fine, while defensive sets can be useful depending on the team its built for. I do think Choice Band is slept on, although it requires a LOT of team support, so I'm not surprised it isn't used much. I know this is basically one sentence, but this is what I meant by "There are some Pokemon I don't have much to say about though, so if my 'reasonings' for some are really short and whatever, that's probably why."
	S-	It being mandatory on what is arguably the best archetype in the tier goes a long way in its viability. But also being great AGAINST that same archetype with its Choice Scarf variants is also fantastic. I think Choice Scarf Yveltal as a whole is quite overhated, since a lot of people make fun of it losing to Ultra Necrozma, even though I think revenge-killing boosted Zacian-C, Dragon Dance Arceus-Ground, and even niche Pokemon like Marshadow or Lunala, is great for the bulky offense teams that it fits on. That fast Defog is always useful too.
	A+	Set variety is the reason I'm dropping it to A+ since Defensive Arceus-Dark is pretty bad outside of Stall, especially when Calm Mind Arceus-Dark still counters Ultra Necrozma. Although it still is the best Arceus forme in the tier, by a decent margin, it isn't that flexible to use, since 90% of the time you need Tera Poison for the Stall MU, making Tera Fairy quite niche, especially combined with Refresh. There isn't much to do with its EVs either. The most you can do is load 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe with a Timid Nature, to get the jump on other Calm Mind Arceus formes, but this holds back your defensive capabilites, notably against Meteor Beam Eternatus. Just because its the main Arceus forme used on GHAZ, doesn't guarantee a spot in the S ranks, since not only is there still a strong reason to use other Arceus formes, but its lack of immediate power holds it back quite a lot compared to other bulky attackers like Wallbreaker Eternatus and Defensive Primal Kyogre.
	A+	Similar to Arceus-Dark, it only really has one set it likes to load, being its Meteor Beam variants. Outside of those, defensive Eternatus is pretty bad outside of Stall (just like defensive Arceus-Dark), and Choice Specs Eternatus requires a good chunk of team support to work effectively. It doesn't feel as dominant anymore in both bulky offense and balance builds it used to fit on, and there are some HO teams that opt to drop it as well (most notably the xu9 Chi Yu webs team that uses Lunala as their Meteor Beam attacker instead). These offensive sets don't like the rise of Sticky Web either, for similar reasons to Calm Mind Arceus-Dark, since it cannot handle Yveltal anymore, and its bulk becomes much more limited when its Speed is dropped.
	A+	Ok if you haven't noticed already I'm just dropping the current S- Pokemon to A+ because in my opinion, the S ranks are too bloated and they shouldn't have that many Pokemon in there to begin with. Anyways, Marshadow also only runs one set: Choice Band. While I don't think its bad, its limited, and even though Marshadow has great offeneses against both balance and HO teams with Shadow Sneak, notably against Ultra Necrozma, it still has 0 defensive utility outside of Extreme Killer Arceus, which is too specific. Again, nothing really against the little guy, I just don't see how its S- material outside of being a good clicker. It doesn't like Sticky Web that much either to be honest. I guess you could use the Bulk Up variant on HO teams, since it is a spinblocker. Loading Marshadow onto Smeargle Webs is actually a good countermeasure against opposing Webs teams since it makes it much harder for the opposition to pilot Smeargle to remove your Sticky Webs, especially if you have Zacian-C to block Mortal Spin. But this issue with this is that, Marshadow doesn't have a lot of immediate power, and it requires a good chunk of setup, and it still kinda loses to Zygarde unless you burn Tera Ghost or use Marshadium Z, the latter of which hurts Ultra Necrozma quite a bit. But that's still on paper, and it still doesn't make Marshadow S- material in my eyes, even if it did work, which it doesn't really.
	A+	I only have one thing to say about Zacian-C. If you use Tera Fighting on a Primal Groudon, you can afford to click Swords Dance (probably again), and that OHKOes Primal Groudon with Close Combat. This is assuming you're fully healthy, of course. Aside from that I have nothing to say about Zacian-C, she's fine I guess. Definitely the Sticky Web Pokemon of all time.
	A	I'm not sure how this got to A+ in the first place but it should probably drop along with the others. Its only available on HO teams which really holds back its flexability, and even then it still has competition with Arceus-Ground since that is just as good of a breaker in my opinion. It burns through Tera, especially if using Double-Edge, and it doesn't last very long because of Life Orb + Double-Edge recoil too. The standard Taunt variants are alright, but they're much better near the end-game due to their lesser offensive presence. Trick Room setter Arceus is whatever, its not important. Arceus is still quite reliant on HO teams to give it good oppurtunities, and while Sticky Web is powerful at the moment, its not a good reason to have Arceus in A+ Tier.
	A	I disagree with the idea that Arceus-Ground is bad. If anything, its quite underrated in my eyes. Dragon Dance Arceus-Ground is still a threat especially with Taunt being able to shut down Smeargle variants lacking Mortal Spin, making it a decent anti-offense tool. The Calm Mind variants are just as good at wallbreaking, with the drop in Giratina-O usage, running Power Gem lets you break past GHAZ quite frequently, especially if you position well. As for "defensive" Arceus-Ground, I think an overhaul to that set is needed since it checks basically nothing defensively, with Primal Groudon clicking Overheat into you anyways; I was thinking it could be a decent clicker with Judgement, Ice Beam, Power Gem, and Taunt, but this might suck (I haven't tried yet). But, it is still a great threat into the metagame, which is why I think it should stay in A tier.
	A	It really struggles defensively and is somewhat difficult to pilot, especially against offensive teams where it can, at most, trade with opposing offensive Pokemon. Sure, it is very annoying into GHAZ if played right, but its so easy to slip up with this thing. Additionally, its very easy to out-offense for an structure that isn't Stall, especially the Wallbreaker variant. Its good, but not A+ good, since I wouldn't ever put Primal Kyogre on par with Eternatus or Zacian-C, since they're much more effective at wallbreaking in my opinion.
	A	Dragon Dance is still scary, especially when it can easily wear down Primal Groudon with Earthquake. It doesn't like Tera Water Zygarde, but pairing this up with Dragon Dance Zygarde is actually great at dismantling most balance cores than run this tier, since one beats a Zygarde for another. It's slow, sure, but its bulk is fantastic and its actually solid into HO teams whether it be against +1 Eternatus, Zacian-C, Arceus, or the entirety of Trick Room. Speaking of which, OTR NDM is a good, albeit niche, anti-offense measure, since Necrozma-DM is tanky enough to survive +1 Tera Ground Zygarde's Thousand Arrows with just 248 / 16 Def (iirc), which is very nice into all the hyper offense running around today.
	A	The guy who stands up. A very similar situation to Arceus, where its main set only belongs on HO teams. Its still very hit-or-miss, since if Arceus-Dark is around, it isn't doing anything meaningful, as centralising as that is. The Stealth Rock variant is cool, but its more surprise factor that carries it due to it bluffing Necrozma-DM, defensive or not. It wants to Ultra Burst quickly to have access to LTBTS, but at the same time it doesn't since NDM has much better defensive qualities to setup better, either Stealth Rock or Dragon Dance. I haven't tried it out, but I don't think Swords Dance is worth it, even if you 2HKO Calm Mind Arceus-Dark. It requires too much team support to really get going. Its one of the most polarising Pokemon in the tier because of all of this, which is fair since its basically two Pokemon in one.
	A-	Being completely stuffed by Ho-Oh is quite bad, as well as the fact that you aren't using Arceus-Dark when using Arceus-Fairy, it limits what Arceus-Fairy can actually do. Immediately threatening Yveltal and Zygarde is nice, but when the former can just click Tera Fire/Flying, and the latter stops you from directly switching in with Glare, it makes life harder than it needs to be. I was thinking, maybe Refresh is better on this specifically, simply because of the Coil Zygarde MU, although it doesn't stop it from using Rest, and the utility of Taunt is probably better anyways. Regardless, I don't see how this is fit for A tier, let alone A+ tier, so into A- it goes.
	A-	Tera Normal Extreme Speed is a little bit nice into Sticky Web teams, and so that Deoxys-A isn't just completely useless, but aside from that, its fine I guess. Lead Deoxys-A is probably underrated, but it doesn't really beat any other lead, and is more annoying for GHAZ structures trying to play around 180 SpA Psycho Boost reliably.
	A-	The first rise so far! Ditto being a fantastic stopgap into opposing Sticky Web, and all the other HO archetypes, is great in this metagame, especially for GHAZ cores since Ditto is arguably the best speed control there is for this tier. I think people should use it more, it's very nice to have.
	A-	As time goes on I've become increasingly frustrated with Giratina-O. The rise of Dragon Dance Zygarde really sets this thing back since it can use Special variants as setup fodder with Substitute spam blocking Draco Meteor and status. The Physical sets are decent at slowing down Arceus-Ground and Arceus, but they struggle more into Primal Groudon and Coil Zygarde, two things Giratina-O should be great against. Mixed sets are out of the question because I've yet to see a set I actually like, on a team I actually like. There's also the issue of which status you're using, since Toxic leaves you vulnerable to Zacian-C, Thunder Wave makes you passive into all the Ground-types, and Will-O-Wisp leaves you weak to special attackers, Ho-Oh, and Primal Groudon. All of this, combined with getting fried by Yveltal as it tries to remove Sticky Web, and it makes Giratina-O rather annoying to use, especially since its longevity is horrible without a certain someone, who I'll get to.
	A-	Choice Specs is still spammable as always, even if Arceus-Dark is very popular since Moonblast chunks it pretty hard. More notably, I've seen a rise in Meteor Beam sets outside of PsySpam, which is pretty cool, since I've never fully agreed that Meteor Beam Lunala isn't usable outside of PsySpam. There is a defensive Lunala team on samples currently, but that set is much more niche even if it has its merits (notably against Zacian-C and Eternatus). There's also Calm Mind Lunala, which is a little odd to play with, but the extra bulk from Calm Mind combined with the ability to switch moves is pretty nice against certain teams with offensive Eternatus. It's a solid Pokemon.
	B+	Petah... the horse is here. And he's STILL clicking Glacial Lance for the 1034873th time in a row. And he's STILL good because he benefits a lot from the drop in Tera Water Zygarde usage a lot. Although he doesn't like the rise in Double Edge Extreme Killer Arceus, because it would ordinarily trade with it just fine (it lives +2 Life Orb Tera Normal Extreme Speed). It also doesn't like Chi Yu that much either. OTR sets are good but they're still awkward to build around even if they match up very well into opposing HO teams, as well as being a Tera Hog outside of HO because of Pokemon like Ho-Oh and Overheat Primal Groudon. Regardless, he's still a fantastic wallbreaker, especially since he's one of the few that isn't hurt by Sticky Webs directly.
	B+	Still a good HO lead despite it not being Sticky Webs. It can actually annoy Smeargle quite a bit with Rocky Helmet + Taunt, since breaking the Focus Sash partially discourages Smeargle from mindlessly clicking Nuzzle, which is even more useful if you have a Ground-type like Arceus-Ground for an easy pivot. I guess you can't really setup hazards after that, but denying Sticky Web is always useful for HO teams. Other than that, not much to say. It's good I guess.
	B+	Click Dragon Ascent and kill everyone. I've seen Scale Shot Rayquaza as a Smeargle anti-lead and, I think its cool to be honest. It's a little less optimal than having Extreme Speed, but in this current age, I think it's valid. It also lets Rayquaza HYPOTHETICALLY go for a clean-up against more offense teams, but let's be real this is never happening. HO teams not using Shuckle is also a good benefit for Rayquaza since it can come in more often to revenge-kill something with Extreme Speed, like Chi Yu or Arceus.
	B+	I think its underrated and underexplored. It can definitely work on more bulky offense teams rather than strictly being a HO pokemon. It has good utility against Pokemon like Smeargle, Ho-Oh, and even Zygarde with Refresh, letting Mega Salamence actually setup on the former for free. It's a fantastic breaker too, since it overwhelms Zygarde pretty easily even though it loses the 1v1 more often than not. It's Speed is great too, and its bulk is more than serviceable even without Intimidate. I wouldn't be using Defog Mega Salamence anytime soon, but bulkier Dragon Dance sets are still solid, as well as the typical offensive variants that HO teams use. Similar to Rayquaza, ignoring Sticky Web is excellent too.
	B+	Speaking of Sticky Web, I've seen people suggest that Smeargle is too strong and OP, and while the tier definitely doesn't like it, I just can't suggest it should be A- like how others think. It has a lot of things, but it also misses out on a lot of things. The most notable of which is Stealth Rock, which Shuckle has, meaning Smeargle relies way too much on its teammates to do the breaking, making Smeargle useless against Stall or fat balance teams that don't care about Sticky Webs. It has 4MSS outside of that too, since without Mortal Spin you fold more easily to Ground-types like Arceus-Ground, but with Rapid Spin you struggle much more into Marshadow and Lunala that may try to spinblock you. There's also the issue of its non-existant bulk outside of Focus Sash, and how many Pokemon, like the aforementioned Rayquaza, can use niche moves to effortlessly push past you. The lack of Taunt is also very noticeable, with Mortal Spin variants being completely walled by Ferrothorn for example. Smeargle is great of course, but there are enough things wrong with it to justify it NOT being A- than it deserving the spot.
	B	He's really not that bad. I think the issue right now is the set people are using, because Arceus-Water is still an effective wincon, even against GHAZ, since a lot of the Pokemon that would ordinarily shut it down, like Giratina-O and Eternatus, are falling off now. In particular, Mono-Judgment is atrocious and nobody should use it. Defensive Utility is similarly as bad. However, offensive Calm Mind with Grass Knot, is surprisingly viable in my eyes. You're not completely stuffed by either Primal forme, as you would be if you ran Ice Beam (or Earth Power but only against Primal Kyogre I guess), and with Tera Grass, you become a solid check into Primal Kyogre, Arceus-Ground, and Dragon Dance Zygarde. You still retain the ability to break past Ho-Oh and Yveltal anyways, since you outspeed both. The lack of Grass-types outside of Tera Grass Ho-Oh, Ferrothorn, and the niche Pokemon in the C ranks, means this set does get the work done a lot of the time, especially since it still has valuable defensive utility for GHAZ teams against Necrozma-DM, Calyrex-I, and Chien Pao.
	B	This rise is more theory-work than having actual results. The rise of Sticky Webs and Dragon Dance Zygarde makes me wonder why people haven't been using this guy as much. Especially with Calm Mind Arceus-Dark being more popular. Sure, it struggles into Yveltal and Marshadow still, and it hogs Tera Fighting, but the pressure it puts in a BO1 game is INSANE. I suggest people use it more, it's slept on.
	B	After Adem left, I've noticed basically nobody talks about this guy anymore. Which sucks. The only relevant team with Chien Pao is my team, which is just an updated version of Adem's team, but this team struggles quite a bit with Sticky Webs. The only other team with Chien Pao is Bobsican's Semi-Stall, but that's surely unviable at this point. Regardless, it doesn't like the rise in Sticky Webs at all for its Choice Band set, and any other set is just not worth using because it either lacks power or it lacks setup opportunities to really work. It still is a fantastic breaker though.
	B	Smeargle's best friend. It hogs the Z-Move slot which is why I don't want to put it into B+ alongside Smeargle, along with the fact it is a bit weird that they would be next to each other, considering how Chi Yu is not mandatory on Sticky Webs HO. Similarly to Chien Pao, it doesn't have that many setup opportunities either, since it only really Nasty Plots on predicted switches. Outside of HO though, I do still think Choice Specs is usable, although I have yet to make a team I like with it. We don't talk about NDBD Week 7 PLEASE.
	B	I was close to putting it into B+ tier, but I decided to hold back because, while anti-leading opposing HO leads is fantastic, it is really predictable, which can lead to some hiccups. Additionally, it is still quite frail, and although it is one of the best GHAZ breakers in the tier because of its coverage combined with hazards, it is still quite hard to pilot properly. Its Stall MU is great, but not concrete enough due to Diamond Storm's bad PP combined with its slight miss chance. Absolutely fantastic Pokemon, but it has enough issues to make B tier a justifable spot for it compared to B+ in my opinion.
	B	I was slightly close to putting it into B- tier, but I'll give it the benefit of the doubt, since he still is very annoying to play against. The issue I have with it, is that it really isn't the best fit for GHAZ, the main group it works best with. It's still passive, weak, easy to pivot into, especially on predicted switches, and although having Spikes is nice, it isn't game-breaking. Granted, being able to set hazards against both Glimmora and Mortal Spin Smeargle is pretty nice, as well as checking Primal Kyogre. With Tera Grass, which is probably the better option right now, you beat Zygarde and Arceus-Ground too, which is cool. I just wished it wasn't so passive.
	B	Click U-turn one grillion times and win. Seriously though, it is one of the best pivots this tier has to offer even though I don't use it much. Compared to Ferrothorn or even Alomomola, that move alone saves its viability so much. It handling Calm Mind Arceus formes (barring Ground), Eternatus, and Yveltal, all in one slot, is insane role compression, especially since with Icy Wind, it is actually a decent out against Sticky Web when combined with Ho-Oh. B tier is fine for it. It's not super splashable and it can be taken advantage of by a lot of things, but it's still good.
	B	I was close to dropping it to B- but that was mostly because of its poor usage. Its still a fine HO lead though, although its not as good as Deoxys-S or Smeargle, even though it can punish similar to the latter. You could argue Toxic Spikes have gotten marginally better because Eternatus is slightly less common, but there are still enough Flying-, Steel- and Heavy-Duty Boots Pokemon to prevent that from being an issue. Also Fezandipiti is annoying too.
	B	FLOOBER! I think the tier is too offensive at the moment for it to really shine. It doesn't fit in many places, is hard to build around, and while it can be detrimental for GHAZ teams relying on Zygarde, it still has a lot of issues finding its entry points, making it really hard to use. It's still insane if played right or if the MU calls for it, but I think a drop is deserving due to its horrid opposing HO MU.
	B-	I never really liked this Pokemon to begin with but its passivity is REALLY starting to catch up with it now. It already doesn't do well into Arceus-Dark or Eternatus, and the rise of Sticky Web and Dragon Dance Zygarde makes using this Pokemon a detriment a lot of the time. Its good friend Giratina-O is not doing so well either, and those type of structures are falling out of favour now. Additionally, it faces competition from Fezandipiti and Landorus-T as a defensive pivot with utility, so I think a drop is reasonable.
	B-	Lumping these three together because they all go onto the same load anyways: Stall! Its fine. I have nothing against Stall, but the rise in Chi Yu usage makes me wonder if it really is worth B- tier or not. I'm not 100% sure because Chi Yu still cannot setup for free against Stall teams, especially with Ho-Oh using Brave Bird there anyways, so maybe its not that significant of an issue. Regardless, its ok, its still quite MU fishy though.
	B-	Its a really solid pivot that compresses a Zacian-C check, being very nice for certain offense structures. That combined with Taunt + Stealth Rock gives it enough distinction from other pivots, although it still is far from splashable and is very prone to being overwhelmed. I was thinking Choice Scarf Landorus-T could be usable for similar reasons to Yveltal; it has a Fast Defog, revenge-kills Zacian-C and Eternatus, while not being affected by Sticky Webs. But this seems even harder to build around due to its slight passivity into bulkier teams compared to regular defensive Landorus-T. Rather underexplored though, I think it has quite a lot of potential.
god this sprite is UGLLYY	B-	Similarly to Arceus-Water, I think the issue stems from the set people are using and how they're using MMY that's the issue. MMY, in all honesty, is a pretty bad sweeper, because it is simply too easy to revenge-kill without having to use Dual Screens, or wait right til the end where Marshadow or Sucker Punch Yveltal are gone. But, the former Pokemon can easily be solved with Substitute, which I think is actually a very neat move on MMY, since it gives it much more significance against HO leads like Smeargle and Glimmora, while protecting itself against Sucker Punch Yveltal, Ditto, and surprise Tera from opponents you would revenge-kill, such as Eternatus and Arceus-Fairy. Substitute + 3A is a solid enough Pokemon, but Substitute + Nasty Plot is usable too, although hard to pull off successfully. The drop in defensive Ho-Oh usage is also great for MMY, as is the drop in defensive Arceus-Dark, since Calm Mind Arceus-Dark doesn't OHKO unboosted, letting MMY potentially 2HKO with Focus Blast.
	B-	Multi-hit moves in a Dragon Dance Zygarde and Smeargle metagame are always going to be fantastic. It does quite well into GHAZ too since it overwhelms Primal Groudon quite a lot, while boasting a solid Stall MU for its team too. Other than that, not much to say, he's pretty good. Although I don't think Tera Fairy is worth it, just use Tera Electric.
	C+	I like this Pokemon. It pairs up both with and against Sticky Web teams pretty well, since, similarly to other Flying-types, it ignores Sticky Webs entirely. Like Salamence, you can use Refresh to annoy the fuck out of Smeargle, but usually Taunt is better. Additionally, you outspeed both Yveltal and Chi Yu, letting you potentially 1v1 with Calm Mind assuming the latter has already used its Z-Move. The lack of Steel-types is always great as well.
	C+	I like Arceus-Rock as well for a similar reason; it beats Yveltal and Chi Yu. It beats Extreme Killer Arceus and Mega Salamence too, which is even better. Granted its harder to build around but Rock-type STAB is pretty spammable as we've seen with Mega Diancie, especially since both NDM and Zacian-C are afraid of Will-O-Wisp. I have a feeling it should be used more, it seems like a good pick right now, especially with Dragon Dance Zygarde not being able to switch into it for free either.
	C+	This guy is beautiful. Similar to Arceus-Rock, it compresses a lot of defensive qualities with a few good offensive traits that make it pretty fun to use and build around. Notably, it handles Yveltal, Giratina-O and Choice-locked Lunala very well, while being a strong Sucker Punch user handing Ultra Necrozma. It has Knock Off, giving it similar utility to Arceus-Rock. It does pretty solid into the metagame since it pairs very nicely with GHAZ as well, although it still has trouble against Zygarde and defensive Primal Groudon, but the risk of hyper offense teams losing after they've lost Zacian-C due to Sucker Punch 50/50s against Kingambit is always valuable for balance and bulky offense teams.
	C+	Its still a questionable revenge-killer into a lot of things BUT the role compression between Rapid Spin, and Triple Axel cleanly removing Dragon Dance Zygarde and Smeargle, is always appreciated in this metagame. It's very prone to being haxxed by Tera which is rather unfortunate, meaning it still feels a bit odd to use, especially when it has basically zero entry points in most games. It also doesn't like Sticky Webs that much, but it does like the rise of Offensive Ho-Oh as opposed to defensive Ho-Oh, so these good redeeming qualities keep it afloat for me. Too bad it dies to Deoxys-A's Extreme Speed though.
	C+	I think Smeargle's hype has shadowed over Shuckle, but the latter still has amazing qualities that Smeargle doesn't. Stealth Rock is obvious, but Encore is arguably just as broken as Nuzzle is, especially into a lot of balance structures that try to abuse Shuckle's passivity with their own hazards. Additionally, Shuckle's better bulk lets it get 3HKOed by a lot of attacks that would easily remove Smeargle, most notably, defensive Primal Groudon's Precipice Blades, letting it get more done with Sticky Webs + Encore. Finally, Final Gambit is a great pivot move for Shuckle while possibly wearing something down if they haven't damaged him enough, although that's kinda unlikely since he has 20 HP. Regardless, outside of Rapid Spin, I still think Shuckle has a place in this tier despite Smeargle being the main Sticky Web user today.
	C+	While Dragon Dance Zekrom is usually overshadowed by Chi Yu and Ultra Necrozma, as Z-Move using wallbreakers/sweepers, and while that set in particular is not the greatest, its still usable. But people have forgotten about one Zekrom set which I think is the better one nowadays: Mixed Zekrom. Rather than burning a Z-Move for Primal Groudon, Zekrom can just click Life Orb boosted Draco Meteor and chunk it for recklessly switching in. With 84 SpA, you can even 2HKO Double Dance Primal Groudon with it! After that, Zekrom can use Bolt Strike as much as it wants, blasting past Ho-Oh, Primal Kyogre, and Necrozma-DM with ease. Scared of random Tera options from Zygarde and Ho-Oh? Just click Volt Switch. Scared of Shuckle? Scale Shot. Zekrom usually forces Tera Fairy into Zygarde which synergises fantastically with Zacian-C too, while Zekrom beats Tera Water Zygarde, and helps to overwhelm Primal Groudon with Zacian-C.
	C+	Ok, we get it, it can miss. But let's look past that for a bit. Palkia-O still destroys GHAZ pretty consistently. Even Arceus-Dark is a poor check into it since it gets chunked so hard on the switch by Hydro Pump, which has a small odd to 2HKO it. Since Ferrothorn is non-existent, and majority of NDM are offensive Dragon Dance, replacing Fire Blast with a utility option such as Thunder Wave is not even bad; in fact, I'd say it should be standard, along with ditching Tera Water, and loading something better, like Tera Fairy or Fire, just for better defensive qualities. It doesn't like Stall at all, sure, but it doesn't completely fold to HO either. Remember Smeargle? Just click Substitute into it and now the whole team has to risk 1v1ing this thing behind Substitute, which HO teams really don't want to have to do. Thunder Wave makes this issue for them 10x worse too. Yes I know, it misses everything, but so does Primal Groudon when you think about it. And punishing and dropping him for that is obviously rubbish, so why should Palkia-O be punished? Its not like it DOESN'T have utility for its team, especially when its a soft-check to Primal Kyogre and Ho-Oh too. The hate on this guy feels a bit forced.
	C+	It's just annoying to build around to be honest. Salt Cure is like stepping on needles but when I have to invest so much into it for it to work, it doesn't feel good on my behalf. It's alright at setting Stealth Rock, but its immense passivity after you click Salt Cure hurts too much for me to keep it into B- alongside Kyurem-B. It's certainly annoying, sure, but the Giratina-O structures it farmed like crazy, have died down significantly, and the rise of Dragon Dance Zygarde punishes Garganacl hard. IDBP just doesn't have the immediacy to be really worth it either, it asks for too much and it loses to too much trying to setup as well, such as every Special attacker willing to trade into it.
	C	Rise of Calm Mind Arceus-Dark is good for it because it doesn't immediately die to Foul Play trying to 1v1 it. Never Ending Nightmare at +4 is also a guaranteed OHKO on Arceus-Dark, meaning you can play aggressively into it and force a trade. Unfortunately, not only do you fold to Marshadow regardless, but these HO teams have no Ultra Necrozma to capitalise on this Arceus-Dark beating, since Arceus-Ghost uses a Z-Move slot. Regardless, its still cool I guess.
	C	My goat still got it, trust. Anyways, Galarian Darmanitan is still fine into this metagame. It performs just as well, if not better, into the balance builds including GHAZ, compared to Pheromosa, and while Sticky Webs hurt it quite a bit, you're still a great revenge-killer outside of them, notably outspeeding +1 bulky Arceus-Ground unlike Pheromosa. It doesn't require too much support either, since all it really needs is an answer into Stall, and a source of hazard removal. Which should be on your team anyways.
	C	Trading with Double Edge Arceus is fantastic in this metagame, alongside being a special attacker that destroys Fezandipiti, who's currently on the rise like crazy. Its still a fantastic nuke with Draco Meteor as well, and fits decently on GHAZ as a secondary Primal Kyogre answer alongside Primal Groudon. It can soft check a bunch of other things too, such as Eternatus, Mega Salamence, and Yveltal. It also does great into Stall.
	C	Sticky Webs and HO in general rising suggests this thing deserves a rank up too. It still has great utility in a spinblocker, and by consequence, Extreme Killer Arceus answer, Taunt user, Fairy-type against Eternatus, and overall great wallbreaker with its unresisted STAB combined with Power Gem to destroy Ho-Oh. I think ladder convinces people this little fella isn't worth it, because they use the abysmal Booster Energy Speed variant to be a shitty Ultra Necrozma revenge-killer, but Life Orb + Tera Fairy is definitely the way to go in my opinion.
	C	PsySpam does not enjoy the rise of Sticky Webs, since that is one of the main things that beats it very well. Although the archetype does great against things such as Arceus, the increased use of Pokemon such as Chi Yu, Yveltal, Smeargle, and even Ultra Necrozma to an extent, really hold the archetype back at being functional. It's basically mandatory to use Ditto at this point, since you auto-lose to any HO interaction, especially Trick Room. Additionally, it has very little usage, which hurts it a lot.
	C	This is going to look completely schizo but HEAR FLOOBER NATION OUT... she's goated? An Endeavor user that isn't completely stuffed by Giratina-O looks obnoxious to fight against, but pair this with Encore and 135 Speed, and Mega Lopunny actually becomes problematic for teams that don't expect it. It can revenge-kill Pokemon such as Arceus-Dark, it outspeeds +1 Dragon Dance Zygarde and is able to Encore lock it into whatever it just used; before Mega Evolving, it has Limber, making it an actually usable Glare Zygarde switch-in, which a lot of teams just lack, and Substitute can become very annoying for Smeargle leads that want to abuse it. It was used in the very first game of Ghosting Tour, and it freaking won. I think she deserves the spot.
	C	Yeah, I see the vision. Similar to Mega Lopunny, Encore is a broken move. Combine this with good defensive utility, eating status moves with Jungle Healing, OHKOing Primal Kyogre with Power Whip, and having access to good moves like Knock Off, Rock Tomb, and U-turn... it seems actually quite fun to play with I'm being honest.
	C-	Speaking of Grass-types, here's one I don't like... I was going to keep it in C tier but then Bumboclaat made fun of me in Smogon Discord server so this is my get back. It advertises that it checks Zygarde, but unlike Zarude, Mega Venusaur, or Ferrothorn, it really does not like switching into Glare, making it a much more difficult Zygarde answer than it needs to be. It does beat Dragon Dance Zygarde, but Tera Fairy Zygarde already does that, so there's less incentive to use this guy on balance teams where it fits best. Unlike Zarude, its quite hazard weak too, especially to Toxic Spikes, unlike Mega Venusaur. Meanwhile, against Primal Kyogre, its whole niche is to... sacrifice itself just to do like 86% to it with Grass Knot? I get that Primal Kyogre is a pain in the ass for balance teams, but I would never sacrifice and entire Arceus forme to handle it. If you run Calm Mind to 1v1 Primal Kyogre instead, you just end up being setup fodder for Ho-Oh and even Eternatus to an extent. If you DON'T run Calm Mind, then you just... don't beat Primal Kyogre, unless its repeatedly taken Stealth Rock damage, at which point, wouldn't have been using Primal Groudon been fine at that point? They do both OHKO after a few rounds of Stealth Rock. What if you Grass Knot as it switches out? How do you handle Primal Kyogre from there? You're not going to click Recover against Ho-Oh are you? I don't get this Pokemon, it feels like it asks for too much to go right, especially when it comes to building with it, since it is passive into so many other things, like Zacian-C and Eternatus, or Ho-Oh, even IF you run Power Gem.
	C-	The only team I have ever seen with it was the Bobsican Semi-Stall and that's long gone. Its C- tier as a "benefit of the doubt" because I'm just hoping at this point it has a team it works on. Not like it matters too much since it still loses to Chi Yu Webs pretty hard.
	C-	Technically a drop for Hatterene, but that's because 99% of Trick Room teams use Melmetal and Cresselia anyways, and I haven't seen a Trick Room team without those two in ages, so there's not much distinction between the two types of TR anymore. It's still insanely MU fishy though, and although it dunks on Sticky Webs, it still folds into a lot of other things.
	C-	Why use dual screens when I can just use Sticky Webs? Why use Grimmsnarl instead of Deoxys-S? Not having any hazards is a detriment a lot of the time and although you pair up well against opposing HO teams (even though you don't really considering how Chi Yu sets up on you for free), this just falls into a TR-esque issue where you're just MU fishing most of the time.
	C-	It dunks on Smeargle and other hyper offense leads completely. Its less punishable than Mega Diancie since Zacian-C gets outsped and nuked by Earthquake which is never worth it for its team. It has similar pivoting options like Shuckle with Steel Beam. It can still use Rock Tomb to snipe Flying-types. I know Stealth Rock is mediocre as your only hazard lead, but denying all other HO hazard leads is fantastic right now, especially for HO teams that struggle against a mirror.
	C-	I'm mostly substituting another Pokemon for MMX but yes... MMX twitter is real... anyways I suppose its a good wallbreaker with Nasty Plot + Psychic combined with Low Kick and Stone Edge. It has 4MSS but mid-to-late game is surely its time to shine. It's annoying to revenge-kill too because of the extra Defense boost combined with its Fighting-type messing with Marshadow and Yveltal respectively. Not completely sure about its archetype, maybe HO is best for it, but the only time I've seen it was on bulky offense. I think it has potential... although its definitely not a B- Pokemon let's be realistic.
	C-	Extremely similar to Iron Treads. That's about it. Was considering dropping it to UR but if people are rising Smeargle above B+ then surely its fine here.
	UR	It doesn't have a niche. Its mostly just a worse Garganacl outside of trolling Chi Yu, but similar to Garganacl, building around it is abysmal because of its horrid defensive profile. That stall team is basically dust at this point by the way.
	UR	I like Gholdengo's concept, but the teams it fits on just don't work anymore; they're too passive in this day and age to get anyways outside of MU fishing. Combine this with Gholdengo being a massive Tera Hog and folding to hyper offense teams, and even being slower than the Primals, and it makes it pretty bad to use most of the time.
	D	Basically just the hyper offense version of Gholdengo, and its still worse than both its Mega formes. You cannot be hogging Tera in the big 2025, just to have what is basically a worse Tera Blast Ground Zacian-C. You beat Stall easily... so what? You still fold to Zacian-C and Toxic Spikes without Smeargle, and Chi Yu also beats Stall. I'd rather have it hog the Z-Move slot than hog the Tera slot. Also, the nomination for this guy was... not good... those replays are still bad; just because you beat a council member doesn't mean your Pokemon will get ranked. Otherwise Spectrier would be ranked. Do not ask who lost to Spectrier.
	UR	I know its not ranked but I know people are gonna flip their shit when they notice it, so I might as well bring it up. Mega Venusaur primarily beat Primal Kyogre, which it still does pretty well, and TERA WATER Coil Zygarde, NOT Tera Fairy. It still does fine into Fairy, but Water was one of its main niches. It's really passive right now too, and compared to Zarude, it doesn't have the offensive capabilities to really make it worth it. It doesn't work too well on GHAZ either as a result. I'd argue its still better than Arceus-Grass defensively, but even though its limited, Arceus-Grass's neutrality to Ground BARELY makes it better than Mega Venusaur. Folding into Toxic and Glare more is never okay though. It's sad to see, a once prevalent defensive cornerstone of the metagame, crumble into the past, I know... but if you truly love something... you have to let it go...
	UR	I mean it definitely has a defensive niche since it isn't TOO passive, but being completely stone walled by Life Orb Yveltal is horrible; even Alomomola is somewhat threatening to it with Toxic, but Ting Lu just does nothing into it. It's bulk is fantastic, but it gets overwhelmed way too quickly by hazards and just switching into attacks repeatedly. Spikes are nice, but like with Ferrothorn, its not enough IMO to justify a C ranking. Not sure how you would build around it either without the team being too weak to Primal Kyogre and Arceus.
	UR	When am I ever using this. Why would I use this, over Gothitelle at least? What does it even beat? I don't get it. At least Wobbuffet forces a trade; this guy just dies to everything. Toxic Stall is whatever, especially since Gothitelle can still do the same thing with Fezandipiti's Icy Wind drops.

And that's basically it I guess. Thanks for reading.

VR Snapshot

Yes, there is a rank just for shitmons I've seen be suggested. The "Just making sure I don't fit in" tier. Surprised nobody has ever brought up Alolan Muk yet we have people suggesting and using Aromatisse, Mamoswine and... Delphox... not name-calling by the way... just stating what I've seen...

 

[R8]

+1 for a gholdengo unrank, part of its niche was denying defog from Ho-Oh thanks to tera water, but now that even defog sets run offensive investment you can't really do that anymore. Maybe you could use it as a sort of defog sack (or weakness policy w/ bulk and power gem to punish ho-oh) + zacian twaver on webs HO lol but i doubt this rly has merit

 

[entrocefalo]

VR UPDATE! Here the full slate, for any question feel free to tag me or Bobsican, thanks to bumboclaat for helping.


Rises

(S- -> S)
(B+ -> A-)
(B+ -> A-)
(B -> B+)
(B -> B+)
(B -> B+)
(C -> C+)
(D -> C-)
(UR -> C-)
( UR -> C-)

Drops

( S -> A+)
(S- -> A+)
(A+ -> A)
(A+ -> A-)
(A -> B+)
(A- -> B+)
(B+ -> B)
(B+ -> B)
(B -> C+)
(B- -> C)
(C+ -> C)
(C -> C-)
(C -> C-)
(C- -> UR)
(C- -> UR)

 

[bumboclaat]

So I'm mentioned because I grabbed the rank changes and sent them to Bob and Entro yesterday as the final ranks were mostly locked in at that point. One thing that a lot of other tiers do that I really like is providing an explanation for why various Pokémon rose or dropped. Consequently, I included that and wrote it with the intent of a more 'objective' viewpoint - to the degree that is possible. I'll have my normal VR yap post done in the next couple of days, but that is from a personal perspective which isn't what this aims to do.

Explanations - Rises​

(S- -> S) If you are not using hyper offense there is a very good chance you're using Arceus-Dark. Arceus-Dark supports the team due to the immense amount of role compression it provides offensively and defensively with its Calm Mind sets. Defensive Arceus-Dark has fallen off, but is still essential on stall. Arceus-Dark provides a win condition with Calm Mind, unconditional Ultra Necrozma counterplay, and a mixed wall with stellar longevity all within a single set. Arceus-Dark supports the team whereas other Arceus formes have to be built around and still come with the similar downsides - namely issues with Marshadow and Zacian-C.

(B+ -> A-) Sticky Webs are the most centralizing element of the current metagame and Smeargle alongside its support movepool are a signifcant reason why (Ctrl + F yields 24 results) . The pool of Pokémon that consistently punish Smeargle is tiny and that is just the standard set of Sticky Web / Nuzzle / Perish Song / Mortal Spin. The secondary effects of these moves means that it is not worthwhile for Taunt users to attempt to deny Sticky Web as they will be crippled and unable to perform their duties later in the game. Consequently, Smeargle rarely faces reprecussions if it chooses to deviate from this standard with moves such as Spore or Rapid Spin or even Stone Axe / Ceaseless Edge if the Smeargle user is willing to risk not seeing Dragon Dance Zygarde. Moody also enables shenanigans despite still not seeing much use for some reason.

(B+ -> A-) Ditto has had a few A- votes in the last few slates but is finally rising. It shouldn't be a shock in a metagame so centralized around Sticky Web, but there are a couple other metagame trends that benefit Ditto. Extreme Killer Arceus is predominantely Tera Normal due to +2 Double-Edge's ability to easily cleave through GHAZ cores and Behemoth Blade has been the preferred STAB on Zacian-C. Neither of these sets are improofed and make hyper offense structures more vulnerable to countersweeps. Although less impactful, Ditto also appreciates a slight decline in offensive Primal Kyogre on hyper offense as its titanic special bulk enables it to self improof when healthy.

(B -> B+) Chi-Yu was the missing piece Sticky Web structures needed to solve their consistency issues. It is surprising it took us this long as a collective playerbase to realize this given it has been ranked forever solely due to its strength on Sticky Webs. While Chi-Yu isn't mandatory on Webs, it isn't far off. It provides a fast Taunt to help maintain Sticky Web and is near unwallable while helping with the stall matchup which has historically been Sticky Webs biggest issue.

(B -> B+) While Fezandipiti teams may be somewhat limited structurally, they are incredibly consistent in large part due to the support Fezandipiti is able to provide. It has a shallow, but effective support movepool. Icy Wind is the key to its success as it facilitates consistent removal of Sticky Web while also dissuading Zacian-C from switching in as the Speed drop often means wasting the Intrepid Sword boost. Additionally, Alluring Voice is a solid option for teams that do not want or need support from Acid Spray to help against Substitute users such as Dragon Dance Zygarde and Mega Diancie. Surprisingly, the only good Pokémon that happily switches into Fezandipiti is Dragon Dance Necrozma-DM. Apparently, Substitute Yveltal with Special Defense investment to prevent two Icy Winds from breaking it has popped up on the ladder recently. If that doesn't show that Fezandipiti is legitimate nothing will.

(B -> B+) Mega Diancie is probably the Pokémon that has benefitted the most from recent metagame trends. It has always been a solid, if seldom used, dedicated lead on hyper offense structures, this niche has not factored into its rise. Rather, Mega Diancie has seen a solid amount of success on offense squads where it employs the same traits, but on its wallbreaking set. It has most often been seen using a Substitute 3A set that blanks Smeargle while its power and coverage make it difficult for balance and bulky offense structures to handle early-game. While its bulk may be pitiful, it is bolstered by a shockingly effective defensive typing that lets it switch-in against important Pokémon such as Yveltal, Chi-Yu, and Ho-Oh although Sacred Fire is a risk. These same traits also help a lot against stall once it has Mega Evolved. Mega Diancie is still somewhat underexplored and has a shockingly deep utility movepool that it can put to good use.

(C -> C+) With Sticky Webs being as strong and centralizing as they are, the niche of Sticky Web setter that denies Sticky Web due to its high Speed + Imprison is slightly more valuable. It isn't complete deadweight outside of this role, but that is the primary reason to use Ribombee.

(C -> C+) Webs are strong enough that Shuckle deserves a small rise. Shuckle is servicable and honest. Unfortunately honesty doesn't win you and prizes in this cutthroat environment.

(D -> C-) Choice Specs Dialga is a nuisance for many Fezandipiti structures while being a servicable wallbreaker in its own right. Although it is a worse Choice Specs Lunala, this is enough of a niche for it to be ranked.

(UR -> C-) Mega Lopunny switches into Zygarde's Glare due to Limber before Mega Evolving and can Encore it. It also uses Substitute and an unblockable Endeavor thanks to Scrappy to bring most Pokémon within range of a teammate to finish off. Not scrappy enough.

( UR -> C-) Nomination here. Tl;DR - Zarude counters both Zygarde sets and Primal Kyogre while helping to facilitate the removal of Sticky Webs.

Explanations - Drops​

( S -> A+) While Meteor Beam Eternatus is a staple on hyper offense structures due to its efficacy as a wallbreaker and cleaner, Eternatus as a whole has been suffering for a while. Defensive sets of all varieties have fallen off a cliff and have seldom been seen outside of stall where they remain excellent. Part of this is due to Toxic Spikes being signifcantly less powerful, especially against hyper offense due to Eternatus itself. Additionally, while defensive Eternatus may soft check a ton of Pokémon, it doesn't hard check a lot due to having issues fitting all the moves, items and EVs it wants regardless of its configuration. Even the wallbreaker set isn't seen nearly as often these days due to a poor matchup into Sticky Web structures and Calm Mind Arceus formes EVing specifically toallow them to use it as setup fodder. These were all issues Eternatus has been trying to manage before a certain phesant reared its head. Eternatus is still an excellent Pokémon, but the days where one could throw it on just about any team are long gone.

(S- -> A+) Zacian-C is still amongst the most centralizing and scary Pokémon in the metagame and easily plows through teams that don't give it a proper level of respect in the builder. That being said, it has dropped for a reason. While Zacian-C remains a staple bordering on mandatory on most hyper offense structures, it has had trouble slotting into balances and to a lesser degree, bulky offenses for some time now. While Zacian-C is excellent against hyper offense structures, it is reliant on its Speed and is seldom able to contribute to the process of removing Sticky Web. While this is managable, the issue is compounded by an uptick in Heat Wave use on Yveltal. Zacian-C's existing issues with bulkier structures that are forced to incorporate solid counterplay have also gotten slightly worse. Primal Groudon is running 140+ Def more often to remove the +3 Tera Fighting CC roll and Landorus-T is seeing slightly more use as well. Zacian-C is still an amazing Pokémon, but its ability to easily slot into less offensive structures is at an all time low.

(A+ -> A) Extreme Killer Arceus has not declined at all since the last slate. To the contrary, it is as excellent as ever and its drop is a correction from a slightly inflated rank. Extreme Killer Arceus ultimately is a Pokémon exclusive to hyper offense where it does have notable competition from Arceus-Ground. While Tera Normal Double-Edge Arceus may be one of the scariest Pokémon for balance structures to deal with, it does leave the hyper offense structures it anchors even more vulnerable to its greatest enemies in Marshadow, Zacian-C, and to a lesser extent - Ditto.

(A+ -> A-) Arceus-Fairy appreciates a positive matchup against Arceus-Dark, but has been struggling signifcantly otherwise. It is really feeling the weight of its poor matchup against most other top-tier Pokémon which requires it to lean more heavily on support than ever with the shift to offensive Ho-Oh and Tera Fire Yveltal on hyper offense structures being particularly rough. The need to find Ultra Necrozma counterplay elsewhere leads to further headaches in the teambuilder as Arceus-Fairy teams are often forced into accommodating Choice Band Marshadow or multiple Pokémon with Tera Dark, heavily limiting their diversity. Arceus-Fairy is still a solid Pokémon, but these concessions are signifcant in the currently restrictive metagame. Its solid matchups into many anti-meta Pokémon and cheese is appreciated, but the degree that Arceus-Fairy has to be built around is signifcantly higher than one would expect from an A+ Pokémon.

(A -> B+) Giratina-O is dropping for similar reasons as its fishy companion: Webs. While Alomomola has rarely seen without Giratina-O, Giratina-O itself is having issues of its own these days. It has always had poor defensive typing, but this has been salvaged by a stellar matchup into a couple of specific Pokémon. This is made worse by the continued dominance of Arceus-Dark, Marshadow, and Life Orb Yveltal. Yveltal specifically has made Giratina-O's life miserable as it struggles to remove entry hazards against nearly any hyper offense structure. This has lead to a sharp decline in the bulky offenses Giratina-O commonly anchored recently as they are seeking alternate methods of entry hazard removal more than ever. Offensive Ho-Oh has replaced Giratina-O on many bulky offenses while other players have gravitated towards teams offensive enough to justify Mega Diancie and/or Choice Scarf Yveltal.

(A- -> B+) Short answer: Webs. Slightly longer answer: Alomomola is feeling the brunt of not really checking much by itself. This would be fine if Alomomola structures didn't have such significant issues with Webs. The balances it anchored have almost disappeared due to a near total inability to beat Sticky Webs. The metagame is currently centralized around Sticky Web and getting shellacked by such a common archetype is a massive issue to put it mildly despite solid matchups into most other archetypes. Alomomola teams are an archetype themselves due to its unique supporting capabilities so a drop is merited.

(B+ -> B) Chien-Pao remains excellent itself, but the structures it fits on have seen signifcant decline. As scary as Chien-Pao is as a wallbreaker, its viability is soft capped by the strength of the structures it slots into given the support it requires.

(B+ -> B) Fezandipiti is the latest in a series of metagame developments that Gothitelle dislikes. Ho-Oh shifting to offensive sets and Ultra Necrozma fading from Sticky Web structures are others as the latter is its saving grace against hyper offense. Gothitelle can still be deadly, but it is less consistent than ever.

(B -> C+) Arceus-Water has been struggling for a while to find an identity as its lack of useful resistances has resulted in defensive sets being absent from the metagame for some time now. It has seen some success with Calm Mind sets, but its inability to rely solely on Judgment makes it difficult to justify over other Arceus formes. It can still be a threat, but the support it requires heavily limits the structures that can support it - meriting a drop.

(B- -> C+) Blissey intially shot up due to finding a niche on semistalls in addition to a small niche on stall teams due to its ability to hold an item. Although Blissey is still viable on these structures, its niche has largely been usurped by Fezandipiti as it walls most of the same Pokémon while being significantly less passive.

(C+ -> C) While its powerful Grass Knot may have a bevy of practical applications, it does come with a lot of downsides. Arceus-Grass has 4MSS and while it does counter Zygarde, it still doesn't appreciate switching into Glare. The offensive gaps of Grass Knot also leaves Arceus-Grass with 4MSS which isn't ideal as it wants all of Recover, Grass Knot, Power Gem, Ice Beam, and Earth Power.

(C -> C-) Although there have been attempts to explore Mega Tyranitar outside of the one stall team, they have largely been unsuccessful. Mega Tyranitar stall may be outdated, but it is still viable even if it is worse than the standard.

(C -> C-) Everything comes with an opportunity cost and that has never been higher for Zekrom. Although hyper offense structures appreciate its ability to send stall to the shadow realm, they don't enjoy being locked out of Ultra Necrozma or Chi-Yu. Even then, Zekrom has always had consistency issues due to the precision needed to effectively pilot it. Having to choose between outspeeding Zacian-C with Jolly or the power of Adamant is also frustrating.

(C- -> UR) The overly passive fat balances that Gholdengo used to feast on are no longer common enough to justify its ranking. While the metagame has been trending away from these teams for a while, the shift from offensive to defensive Ho-Oh is the nail in the coffin. This was written before R8's post, but the reasoning is the same.

(C- -> UR) Mega Venusaur continues its tradition of flip flopping between C- and UR. While it may appreciate a shift back to Coil Zygarde, it was already on thin ice. Mega Venusaur has always been fringe viable, but in a Webs dominated metagame its passivity bites it more than ever. The discovery of Zarude doesn't help matters either as it fills a similar niche, but the extra Speed and utility make it tough to justify Mega Venusaur.

Discussion Points​

Split Votes - Due to an even number of voters, in the event of a tie a Pokémon retains the same subrank. This applies to the following Pokémon:

(3 S | 2 S- | A+)
(3 A | 3 A-)
( 3 B | 3 B-)
(3 B- | 3 C+)
(3 C | 3 C-)
(3 C- | 3 D)

Big Changes - Chiming in on anything related to the slate is much appreciated! Everyone has a different perspective and experience with the metagame and the VR isn't some objective truth. Are there some rises or drops you disagree with or perhaps a Pokémon you think should have moved, but didn't? Let us know! If not, here are some specific things that are.

Eternatus dropping 2 subranks was pretty surprising. Even as someone who voted A+ I expected it to end at S- going into this slate. Eternatus ended up with 1 S | 1 S- | 4 A+ votes so there definitely isn't a consensus amongst the council. We all think it is an excellent Pokémon, but at the same time... Eternatus has generally been considered the 3rd best Pokémon at worst since Xerneas was banned so this is a pretty big change. Do you think Eternatus deserved to drop? If so, do you think A+ is a bit much?

Arceus-Dark is the first Arceus forme since Arceus-Ground way back near the start of the metagame to breach S! This is a monumental feat for any Arceus forme given the inherent opportunity cost! Surprisingly, Arceus-Ground and Arceus-Dark achieved this feat via opposite means. Arceus-Ground achieved its S rank as a jack of all trades Pokémon that could easily fit onto just about any archetype outside of stall. Furthermore, almost every team found itself weak to one of Arceus-Ground's sets or one of their many permutations. In contrast, Arceus-Dark has achieved its S rank mostly on the back of its Taunt Calm Mind set. The only 'variety' this set really has is running a max-max EV spread which avoids speed creeping and speed ties from opposing Taunt Arceus formes. However, the standard is the standard for a reason as running the max-max spread does come at the cost of some signifcant defensive benchmarks, most notably the ability to consistently check (non Tera Dragon) Meteor Beam Eternatus and Life Orb Yveltal over the course of longer games. Personally, I'm surprised Arceus-Dark ended up in S and didn't lock in my S vote until relatively late in the slate. What do y'all think about Arceus-Dark? I don't think there is disagreement that it is the best Arceus forme, but there definitely isn't a consensus on whether it is S or S- worthy.

This is the culmination of the last few slates where Zacian-C has received an extra A+ vote each time. I think I'm the original Zacian-C is A+ voter, but I also don't take issue with it being S- as it is pretty borderline to me anyways. Everybody agrees that Zacian-C is one of the best Pokémon in the game, but when a Pokémon is ranked this highly, 'splashability' becomes pretty important. For example, as great and centralizing as Extreme Killer Arceus is, its inability to fit on anything outside of hyper offense puts a 'soft cap' on its viability and makes it nearly impossible for it to be S rank (tiering action would probably happen first). Zacian-C, while not as extreme in this regard, has been increasingly difficult to fit outside of hyper offense for a while now as these structures are frequently opting for alternate Pokémon to fill the roles Zacian-C traditionally would. A+ is objectively excellent, but it also feels weird to see Zacian-C in A+. What do you think?

Ho-Oh was the last Pokémon to have its rank determined and ended up in a split vote. There isn't really a council consensus on this and this extends to the rest of our playerbase as well. Everyone thinks Ho-Oh is a great Pokémon, but most people split hairs on exactly how good. What do y'all think?

The frequency with which Bob and I express our disdain for Ultra Necrozma's continued presence in the tier would leave one with the impression that it is an S rank Pokémon, not one at risk of dropping a rank. While Ultra Necrozma is one of the most threatening Pokémon in the tier, the respect it forces in the teambuilder results in some struggles to capitalize on said threat. Funnily enough, Chi-Yu is a massive beneficiary of this dynamic. The council is obviously split on this, but how do y'all evaluate teambuilder v in-game presence?

Giratina-O + Alomomola structures have been struggling for a while due to the presence of Sticky Webs, but Giratina-O is also its own Pokémon. The two are somewhat linked, but Giratina-O has had a rough time on its traditional home of bulky offense for similar reasons. Giratina-O bulky offense obviously isn't unviable, but it has been uncommon for a while now and hasn't had the best results either. Do you think we were a bit too harsh on Giratina-O or should it share the same subrank as its fishy companion?

 

[Bobsican]

Between second thoughts between the council, as well as some formulation concerns, M-Lopunny is being UR'd again over being ranked.

Sorry for any confusion, hopefully it may Return at some point!

 

[bumboclaat]

There is too much yapping here, but it doesn’t feel like that much. I had to delete the set VR and still ran out of space somehow twice. So going to keep this brief. I think the metagame is reasonably competitive but is stale and too centralized due to the restrictions Sticky Web and Ultra Necrozma force in the builder. The canary in the coal mine for me is the lack of diversity in the Arceus slot. Some level of stratification is expected as a metagame is optimized, but the degree we are currently experiencing is a symptom of issues that should be addressed via tiering action. I feel like a Debbie downer writing that despite still loving the tier. Everything is ordered as usual. Usually the VR yap is done a day or two before the slate is finalized, but I've been very busy irl. Let’s get straight to the biscuits.

S+
S
S-

A+
A
A-

B+
B
B-

C+
C
C-

UR/D:
New:

[Old Rank -> New Rank | Raw Change | Subrank Change] This is based on my last slate which is ordered within the subranks.

S+​

[1 -> 1] Primal Groudon remains Primal Groudon. Zrp mentioned during the slate that something is probably wrong with the tier if it isn’t S+ and he is right. I’ve been liking 140+ Def recently as it still checks what it needs to on the special side and shoring up the Zacian-C matchup helps a lot of teams that would otherwise be quite shaky. I like Rocks 3A, but I think a lot of teams greed it and don’t provide enough breaking power to compensate for dropping Toxic.

[2 -> 2] Last slate I wasn’t fully sure if Zygarde was S+ and after thinking about it for a while decided it was, albeit borderline. This time around I thought I’d be voting it back to S but realized that nothing had really changed to merit a drop. It is worse than Primal Groudon, but has that Primal Groudon-esque quality of irreplaceable defensive traits in the builder. Tera Fairy does counter Dragon Dance Zygarde, but Tera Water is a lot better, rendering Tera Fairy more of necessary evil that is still good. It gives out a potential emergency out against Eternatus, Primal Kyogre, and Zacian-C to name a few while being much better into cheese and standing in the way of Dragon Dance Necrozma-DM. Dragon Dance Zygarde is still good, but we’ve learned to build and play around it. I’ve been preferring Dragon Tail over Glare quite a bit recently as well. Additionally, it suffers from the issue of being a great Pokémon that is hard to fit on good teams. Lastly, Zygarde holds the metagame together and if it were to be banned I think we’d eventually end up needing to ban Primal Groudon, Primal Kyogre, Zacian-C, Marshadow, and Extreme Killer Arceus.

S​

[3 -> 3] I’m sad Ho-Oh didn’t hit S, but finally correcting the Extreme Killer Arceus in A+ is alright I guess. Offensive Ho-Oh is just so good. It checks almost everything the defensive set does, but without the passivity and beats most of the Pokémon that goob defensive Ho-Oh. The two important differences are Zacian-C and Coil Zygarde. The Zacian-C matchup is felt, but manageable, especially with 140+ Def Primal Groudon. Coil Zygarde is mostly because Thunder Wave is a lot better than Whirlwind on offensive sets, but it feels weird to say that it isn’t really bad. Coil Zygarde may be amazing, but it takes a while to get going and it is pretty containable for the balance and bulky offensive Ho-Oh anchors. This is a small price to pay for insurance against Taunt Calm Mind Arceus formes, Eternatus, Primal Kyogre, and Dragon Dance Zygarde. Hopefully next slate Ho-Oh rises.

[7 -> 4 | +3 | +1 Subrank] Arceus-Dark supports the team while other Arceus formes require you to build around them. Recently I’ve been going out of my way to try and build teams without Arceus-Dark and unless it is super offensive, they just feels worse and less consistent. Arceus-Dark just gives you so much offensively and defensively. It is a fastish Taunt user, amazing Calm Mind sweeper, mixed wall, and win condition. It compresses Ultra Necrozma and Yveltal counterplay while using the latter as setup fodder. It beats offensive Ho-Oh long term and provides a solid Coil Zygarde check and the Ghost resist makes Marshadow think twice. Importantly, it shares a lot of the same major flaws as other Arceus formes such as a weakness to Marshadow and Zacian-C, but few of the downsides. If you’re not running hyper offense there is a good chance your team has an Arceus-Dark, and if it doesn’t, that it considered it. I don’t really dock it points for only having one set outside of stall where defensive is still needed. Only having one set isn’t an issue when it does everything it needs with that one set.

S-​

[5->5 ] Yveltal is weird as at various points I considered it for both S and A+. The entire metagame is centralized around it at the moment due to its power on and enabling of Sticky Web structures. Chi-Yu is arguably somewhat close, but one can honestly just use Smeargle + Yveltal + Arceus forme + three random Pokémon and probably have a good team. Yveltal is just as essential to other hyper offense structures, but Sticky Web is by far the best archetype. Paradoxically, this has had a somewhat negative effect on Yveltal as a whole. As a viable team needs to handle Yveltal when Sticky Web is up, it is a far less effective wallbreaker outside of Sticky Web structures. Choice Scarf is amazing, but only on a narrow band of offensive teams that need exactly what it provides. Otherwise I think it is pretty mediocre and usually indicative of bigger issues with the team. I’ve also never been high on the defensive set, but I also think it is at a low point currently. It is incredibly tera reliant and doesn’t really have a singular tera type that it appreciates while having 4MSS. Ultimately, Yveltal felt best staying in S-.

[7 -> 6 |+1] Marshadow is kind of as close to the perfect offensive Pokémon as possible while remaining healthy. That being said, if Zygarde is banned Marshadow probably will have to be at some point, but now it is a healthy presence. The amount of role compression it provides makes up for the anti-web support required which I can’t really say about other top tiers such as Eternatus or Zacian-C. To some extent, it is what makes non Arceus-Dark structures work while still being excellent on said structures. It blanket checks Arceus formes with the exception of Dragon Dance Arceus-Ground, is a superb revenge killer, and amazing wallbreaker all in one package. Its bulk is paper thin, but it survives just enough hits to allow for some mistakes. It also benefits a ton from the scariest Extreme Killer Arceus set being Tera Normal Double-Edge. That OHKOes every member of the GHAZ core, but add a Marshadow and its fine. If it isn’t this set Zygarde can handle it. Revenging the +1 Necrozma-DM that just blew something up is great as well! To clarify, this is the Choice Band set and I’m still not big on Bulk Up or AoA. Long term defensive counterplay is rare and plays a big role in why Zygarde is S+. Whenever I check in on SV Ubers and see these greedy ass Double Dance Arceus and Demon Necrozma-DM running around I yearn for Marshadow to put a stop to this tomfoolery.

A+​

[9 -> 7 | +2] I’ve thought Zacian-C was A+ for a while now, but I’m also slightly higher on it than I have been for the last few slates. Zacian-C is still an excellent Pokémon that forces respect, but has a harder time blasting through teams that give it said respect. The issue I find with Zacian-C is that it is incredibly hard to fit on balance because as great as it is as an anti-offence Pokémon, it doesn’t really help remove webs and can’t fill that role if they’re up. Furthermore, Tera Fire Heat Wave Yveltal is a little more common these days which smokes it and does that for free if Webs are up. It isn’t that balance teams don’t appreciate everything Zacian-C can bring to the table, but that it is more difficult than ever to provide the conditions to do so. The same applies to bulky offence, albeit to a lesser degree.


[3 -> 8 | -5 | -1 Subrank]
There is the pheasant in the room, but all it did was put a massive spotlight on a lot of the issues Eternatus has been suffering from. I think the biggest impact Fezandipiti has had on Eternatus is slowing down the Tera Dragon Meteor sets that have become a staple on hyper offense thanks to the power boost that allows it blow past the Taunt Calm Mind Arceus formes that use wallbreaker Eternatus as setup fodder.

Defensive Eternatus though… it wants 1000 EVs, probably 7+ moves, and multiple items. It soft checks a lot, but at the same time doesn’t really hard check or counter much. Defensive Eternatus suffers from Toxic Spikes not being nearly as powerful as they were in the past against hyper offense due to itself before getting to the issues Fezandipiti brings. It wants the healing from Leftovers, but without Heavy-Duty Boots it can’t trade against Yveltal if Webs are up. I think the best example of Eternatus’s issues is its relationship with Marshadow. If it runs enough to Speed to outspeed it doesn’t really have the bulk to switch-in and if it invests in bulk Marshadow can just Tera Ghost anyways. Wallbreaker Eternatus is still decent on balance and bulky offense, but is more of a luxury these days as it is inherently prepped for. It can put in work regardless, but it also has an uphill battle and hates Webs. Eternatus is still a great Pokémon, but I think back to the first slate I partook in where there were serious discussions of it being S+ and was considered the third best Pokémon in the metagame at worst. Those days are long gone.


[8 -> 9 | -1] Primal Kyogre is an honest blue collar worker (pun unintended). Everytime I write one of these posts I feel like I say the same thing about Primal Kyogre. If you’re not running hyper offense or something like Utility Umbrella Fezandipiti + Ferrothorn + Primal Groudon at least one Primal Kyogre set is incredibly scary to see at team preview. I’ve been working on a meta discussion post about offensive and defensive counterplay to GHAZ for a while now when I’ve had time, but in that I’ll talk about how a well played offensive Primal Kyogre on bulky offense is probably the scariest thing for a balance team to see. I’m just surprised that offensive Primal Kyogre is seeing less use on hyper offense structures these days because it forces progress like little else.

I go through cycles of using defensive Primal Kyogre and everytime I forget just how amazing it is. It has a poor HO matchup, but still trades with Yveltal when Webs are up and survives +1 Wild Charge which is great. It also works as a lead against HO and its only truly bad matchup imo is against Alomomola structures. Not every team needs a Primal Kyogre, but unless you’re running fat it can pretty easily fit on nearly anything. The -1 is more because I think Zacian-C is a just a tad bit better, not that Primal Kyogre is any worse.

A​

[12 -> 10 | +2] I’ve been blabbering on for months at this point that Extreme Killer Arceus’s inability to fit on anything outside of HO structures locks it out of A+ for me. There are nitpicks I have our current VR, but this was the only placement that sticks out like a sore thumb. Tera Normal Double-Edge has established itself as arguably the single largest threat to the common GHAZ core and are the final evolution of the Normalium-Z sets that started popping up after Xerneas was banned.

This set is a ferocious wallbreaker, but an easy solution for the structures it targets is simply to add a Marshadow which a lot of them appreciate anyways. I feel like a broken record, but an aspect of Extreme Killer Arceus I feel is often overlooked is how it exacerbates issues with Pokémon hyper offense structures already struggle with in Marshadow, Choice Scarf Yveltal, and Zacian-C. Dragon Dance Arceus-Ground helps against all of these, but has much less pizzaz and I’ll cover that in its own section.

[11 -> 11] I have not laddered for a while due to some personal frustrations with it, but I still at least glance at the usage and movepool stats every month for high ladder. There is the usual tomfoolery, but I was shocked to see that Covert Cloak has higher use than Solg-Z. The inner workings of the ladder are an enigma. More seriously, I’ve mulled over whether Necrozma-DM should drop or not. This is not due to whether it is splashable enough to justify an A ranking.

As you climb up the rankings the ability to mindlessly slap something on a variety of teams becomes progressively important and that is probably biggest differentiator between A and A- for me. Necrozma-DM brings a lot to a team. It scares balances lacking Tera Water Coil Zygarde shitless until the fourth move has been revealed and even then, it isn’t like offensive Ho-Oh loves taking Photon Geyser. It is a decent Extreme Killer Arceus check while being a nice soft Zacian-C check. If it runs Photon Geyser it is also great v stall and synergizes beautifully with Dragon Dance Zygarde as Sami mentioned. It is also the one good offensive Pokémon that doesn’t give two shits about Fezandipiti as it can keep boosting while Icy Wind tickles it and you’ll eventually remember it is 95% accurate and will miss eventually.

That is a lot to love, but its flaws limit how easily you can put it on a team. The big one is the low Speed as it relies on Adamant to net a lot of OHKOes, but the whole let me boost my Speed to still get outsped and OHKOed by Marshadow is kinda rough. It also isn’t really going to take more than one smack against much of anything and has 4MSS. I’ll give Necrozma-DM another slate or two, but I wouldn’t be surprised to vote it A- after NDPL. It is a Pokémon you’re usually happy to have, but also one that is annoying fit for its rank.

A-​

[16 -> 12 |+4] I’ve repeated myself ad nauseum with Specs Lunala. Get one Moonblast turn right and it just blows up most balance and even a lot of bulky offense structures. The support it wants in Zygarde + Arceus-Dark or -Fairy would probably be on the team anyways so that isn’t a burden. What has changed is the success Meteor Beam sets have had outside of psyspam. This even made its way onto the samples courtesy of Emoxu9 and if you have not tried that team you should give it a go as it is a great combination of offbeat, yet consistent! It is enough that I mulled over voting Lunala to A but held off for now. I can pretty easily see myself voting Lunala to A on the next slate.

[21 -> 13 |+8 | +1 Subrank] Shoutout to Fangame10 who hates Smeargle as much as I do. Initially I thought that Smeargle should be banned instead of Sticky Web, but I’ve come around to banning the move itself. Smeargle is heads and shoulders above Shuckle, but webs are probably broken regardless. Smeargle punishes almost everything with just the standard moveset and is rarely punished itself if it wants to greed because of the huge risk that comes with the information deficit. At least people still largely refuse to use Moody for some reason so that is nice. I’d take a Smeargle or Sticky Web ban over Yveltal as I view Yveltal as a very healthy centralizing Pokémon outside of Sticky Web, but it enables Sticky Web to an unhealthy degree. Entro voted Smeargle to A and I'm starting to think I should have as well.

[10 -> 14 | -4 | -1 Subrank] Arceus-Fairy appreciates Arceus-Dark, but suffers so much from the fact that it isn’t Arceus-Dark despite matching up better into a lot of off-meta and cheese. Ultimately, the poor matchups with the top tiers are hurting it so much and Yveltal defaulting to Tera Fire hurts it a lot because that stuffs Arceus-Fairy if Webs are up and is often worth burning. Marshadow almost feels mandatory when running Arceus-Fairy because of Ultra Necrozma and while Marshadow may be amazing, being forced into something when teamslots are as constrained as they are currently is not a great feeling. For a while it has felt like a lot of the Arceus-Fairy teams I build would just be better if they had an Arceus-Dark. The Marshadow matchup is kind of only really better on paper as Arceus-Fairy loses to Marshadow anyways and you lose a Ghost resist so the Marshadow user does not have to think as much. I’m currently wondering if Arceus-Fairy would be better off in B+. It is still good, but it can be real painful to support at times.

[15 -> 15] I’m still surprised I don’t view Ultra Necrozma as the most banworthy element of our tier anymore. Don’t get me wrong, it definitely should be banned, but Webs are a bigger issue. Ultra Necrozma still doesn’t really get past its own counterplay outside of running X-Scissor which is mediocre, but Chi-Yu definitely benefits from the constraints Ultra Necrozma forces in the teambuilder. Those constraints are where I struggle with Ultra Necrozma because it is a B+/B Pokémon otherwise. It may be scary when it stands up, but it is less scary when your team doesn’t have a featured shitmon.

[17 -> 16 | +1] If you have the right tera type, moves, and click well Deoxys-A is one of the scariest Pokémon in the game. This isn’t always going to be the case, but Deoxys-A can somewhat be summed up as Psycho Boost + Low Kick + 2. Right now I think there is a pretty argument for Rock Slide to be the third with Rock Slide + Extreme Speed + Tera Ghost being my preferred option. The Extreme Speed immunity is great and you probably are not going to be fitting Marshadow alongside Deoxys-A anyways. Deoxys-A has a high ceiling, but also a super low floor on account of the whole KO or be KOed thing. It is never going to get old seeing people tera their offensive Eternatus and not realize Psycho Boost OHKOes anyways. If everything goes well Deoxys-A is an A/A+ tier Pokémon, but games are not played on paper.

[18 -> 17 | +1] Sticky Webs are great = Ditto is great right? Well sort of, it isn’t as though you can chuck Ditto on a team and otherwise ignore Sticky Web. The team still likely wants Sticky Webs gone as Yveltal and Chi-Yu improof reasonably well. Ditto definitely appreciates recent metagame trends such as Tera Normal Double-Edge Arceus, Zacian-C preferring Behemoth Blade, and a slight downtick in offensive Primal Kyogre use for some reason. Ditto isn’t a Pokémon for every team, but its traits are something that nearly every can appreciate and enough can reasonably fit it. I’m glad that after eeking closer to A- the last couple of slates it has finally breached the barrier.

[14 -> 18 | -4] Arceus-Ground feels simultaneously over and underrated. I’ve thought for a while the only good set is Dragon Dance, but barely anyone actually seems to use it on the structures where it is good. It isn’t flashy, but I’m continually surprised more hyper offense enjoyers don’t want to shore their teams up against Marshadow and Zacian-C which is definitely an issue for teams that employ Extreme Killer Arceus. Even then… Arceus-Ground is my lowest ranked Pokémon in A- and I can easily see it in B+.

B+​

[13 -> 19 | -6 | -2 Subranks] Giratina-O has been suffering issues of its own outside of the ones that Giratina-O + Alomomola structures are although they both stem from the same place. The biggest positive about Giratina-O is its ability to facilitate Dragon Dance Zygarde because we’ve realized that slapping that on everything is stupidly greedy and defensive Primal Groudon of all things becomes a significant issue. Outside of that though…it is kinda dire out there for Giratina-O. I hesitate to say it is great against Primal Groudon in general because it hates switching in on Toxic, but it is amazing against offensive variants…which also are not that common. Outside of this, Giratina-O has good matchups against Extreme Killer Arceus and Dragon Dance Arceus-Ground on paper, but has a rougher time in practice. Tera Steel is a solid Ultra Necrozma check, but I also don’t love knowing I have to tera Giratina-O everytime it shows up, but at least that is an additional benefit rather than the sole reason to run it.

Physical sets are kinda dogshit because they lose to everything Giratina-O is supposed to beat, but phasing is good. Special sets would love to fit Dragon Tail but not having some forme of status also sucks and they struggle if either Arceus forme has Recover or Taunt anyways. Giratina-O just kinda loses to everything else. I do like special sets, but I hate knowing that Webs are almost never being removed and if they are it is probably going to cost two Pokémon + Tera so chances are I’ll lose anyways. I want to like Giratina-O, but it is such a headache to build with and the switch to offensive Ho-Oh doesn’t help things either as Brave Bird does enough to be annoying. Maybe dropping Defog is the way to go, but also part of what makes Giratina-O decent in the first place is the offensive pressure it exerts alongside the ability to remove entry hazards.

[19 -> 20 | -1 | -1 Subrank] I’m writing this section post slate. Given that, I kind of wonder if Alomomola is better off in B. The elephant in the room is Sticky Web which harshly expose the fact that Alomomola barely checks anything by itself and most Alomomola structures autolose. If Webs were some niche archetype this wouldn’t be a huge deal, but they are arguably the strongest archetype currently and one which demands counterplay that most Alomomola structures can’t really fit. Alomomola structures do tend to have a decent or neutral at worst matchup into just about everything else, but damn is Alomomola a fish out of water against Webs. It is probably an A rank Pokémon if Webs are banned, but survey results are survey results so that isn’t happening anytime soon. It is a damn shame because those matchups are quite skill expressive.

[27 -> 21 |+6 | +1 Subrank] For a while I’ve maintained that Chi-Yu should be one subrank below Smeargle as it is the best Sticky Web abuser and a huge reason for why the archetype attained consistency. A second Taunt user that outspeeds every hazard removal expect Choice Scarf Yveltal is great and half the reason Choice Scarf Yveltal is good because it guarantees removal against hyper offense. Chi-Yu also benefits a ton from Ultra Necrozma’s effect in the teambuilder as it deletes most of its standard counterplay. Chi-Yu’s biggest flaw has always been its poor matchup into offense, but that is less of an issue when it helps keep the webs up itself. Yveltal is usually the roadblock for removing webs, but if they’re up Chi-Yu is the final boss as it is going to 6-0 most bulky offense and balance structures unless it gets caught off guard by a surprise tera. Marshadow being annoyed by Chi-Yu will always be funny.

[28 -> 22 | +6 | + 1 Subrank] Icy Wind makes such a difference as it gives Fezandipiti a lot more flexibility against hyper offense and makes Zacian-C uncomfortable switching in. The main difference between A- and B+ tends to be the flexibility of and support a Pokémon requires. Although Fezandipiti provides support, it needs support itself to shore up the defensive backbone to the degree it does which keeps it from A- for now. Maybe if it proves itself on bulky offense it can get there. So there have been two main Fezandipiti structures: GHAZ + Fezandipiti + breaker of choice or Bob’s fatter stuff. Fezandipiti does require a fair bit of support, but the results are so consistent it almost feels like doesn’t really matter.

[23 -> 23] I’m continually surprised by the amount of time I spend thinking about Deoxys-S v Glimmora each slate and come to the same conclusion that Deoxys-S is a tad bit better. I’ve really come to prefer the bulkier spread with a Rocky Helmet as Deoxys-S is already fast enough and the helmet provides a lot of utility from breaking sashes to providing some chip as a sack against many of the biggest threats to hyper offense which are predominantly physical. Deoxys-S has the flexibility to essentially whatever it wants, but it is the positive matchup into opposing hyper offense leads that pushes it over Glimmora for me. Deoxys-S can fit techs to beat whatever it wants even if dual hazards + Taunt + Magic Coat is the standard. Given the current strength of Sticky Web structures, I’ll tip my cap to Deoxys-S as it is far more consistent against them than Glimmora.

[26 -> 24 | +2] I’m not sure what I could say about Calyrex-I that I have not in the past. I’ve been thinking about Seed Bomb a bit more, but getting that hit on Zacian-C with High Horsepower is so nice. Just pick a tera type that benefits your team and go to town. Choice Band Calyrex-I balance or bulky offense is still probably my favourite type of team to use. Having a cleric on that sort of stuff is so nice and enables a lot of different lines and some funky techs that would otherwise be greedy.

[22 ->25 |-3] Ferrothorn is a weird one in that it simultaneously feels amazing and dogshit. Unlike Primal Groudon, it is a good Spikes setter and offensive Primal Kyogre switch-in. Spikes + Knock Off force progress while Leech Seed is functionally unblockable. Ferrothorn doesn’t compress a massive amount of roles, but it compresses really important ones which makes it better than it appears on the surface. It also has a lot of small things going for it that I think often get overlooked. For example, it is kinda dogshit into a lot of hyper offense structures, but even then it is a really good lead into said structures while also being nice into Trick Room. Trick Room may be dogshit, but it is used enough that it is a nice side benefit. The biggest thing holding Ferrothorn back is its lack of use. Usage isn’t viability, but a B+ Pokémon should probably be used a little more than Ferrothorn is.

[20 -> 26 | -6] I thought about putting Rayquaza in B which feels odd given it wasn’t that long ago that I thought about putting it in A. Rayquaza is still a nuke, but its poor matchup against hyper offense is really showing. Scale Shot is a fun tech that works, but it doesn’t really fix the core issues Rayquaza has right now. It is very feast or famine and balances + bulky offenses have trended in a direction that limits Rayquaza’s entry points and ability to blow shit up. Rayquaza is still a solid Pokémon, but it has felt harder than ever to build with and get value consistently in-game than it has for a while. Dragon Dance sets are fun on hyper offense and can easily sweep if given a turn, but it is still a second tier option and amongst those I have a soft spot for Kyruem-B. Choice Band Rayquaza is still probably one of the most fun Pokémon to use, sometimes just smacking stuff around with a nuclear breaker is akin to therapy.

[ 33-> 27 | + 6 | +1 Subrank] I’m pretty happy that Mega Diancie rose. The lead set has never really been used much which has always been a bit of a surprise. Lead Deoxys-A, sure, but lead Mega Diance has always been a great hyper offense lead that beats other hyper offense leads. Given that the tier in general has always had an offensive slant and the ladder is overwhelmingly offensive it is a bit puzzling. If it was just that I don’t think Mega Diancie would deserve to rise even if its traits are more valuable than ever.

What has been propping up more recently is the wallbreaker set. The analysis is new, but the set has been kicking around for a while and Neon liked it a lot when he was still active. I’m not really sure how to describe it other than solid. Mega Diancie may be frail as hell, but its typing is very solid for this metagame and at least lets it switch-in to a few things twice. Substitute 3A is what I’ve enjoyed, Diamond Storm + Moonblast + Earth Power is solid coverage that can smack most of the metagame pretty hard while Substitute is mostly for Smeargle. AM mentioned Heal Bell which sounds pretty cool and Mega Diancie has a real deep support movepool that probably has some hidden gems for the right team.

Anyways, Webs are busted and Mega Diancie is one of the best punishers of Webs in addition to being an annoying early game breaker against balance and offense while being decentish against stall. There are two smaller things I like as well. First is how easy it is to justify slotting Spikes over Stealth Rock on Primal Groudon alongside Mega Diancie since it deals with Yveltal so effortlessly. Second is that even if things go wrong and Zacian-C counterleads and Webs go up, Clear Body lets Mega Diancie still offensively pressure Yveltal and Chi-Yu one time. At the end of the day though, Mega Diancie isn’t the easiest Pokémon to fit outside of offensive structures and requires solid play to get the most out of. Ideally it is trading 1.5ish:1, but sometimes you just have to predict nobody is perfect. I’m not sure it’ll ever be A-, but I can see Mega Diancie staying B+ for a while unless Sticky Webs is banned.

B​

[25 ->28 | -3 | -1 Subrank] Chien-Pao isn’t any worse, but the structures it fits on are. Its frailty and Stealth Rock weakness demands specific support and that tends to result in a lot of issues with Sticky Web which uh…yeah.

[24 -> 29 | -5 | -1 Subrank] Eternatus had been struggling for a while before Fezandipiti proved itself to be real. It just shone a spotlight on Eternatus’s existing issues. It is a much bigger deal for Gothitelle though as it is yet another pivot on bulkier balance structures Gothitelle is supposed to excel against. Ultra Necrozma becoming significantly less common doesn’t help matters either as that is Gothitelle’s saving grace against HO and if you’re going to be able to trap a single Pokémon on hyper offense…that is probably the best one. I kind of feel that these days the best way to build a Gothitelle team is with Tera Fairy to ensure a trap on Zygarde. I’m not upset that Gothitelle is worse. Shadow Tag should still be banned though.

[29 -> 30 | -1] Deoxys-S is better because it can more consistently deny webs. Smeargle should be Tera Steel and facing a Glimmora HO is going to be one of the rare times that it is worth popping it. If you are not facing HO Glimmora is far more annoying to deal with than Deoxys-S. As appealing as both entry hazards are, there just are not many Pokémon that want to deal with Mortal Spin + Power Gem + Mud Shot. For example, Hstack HO is basically Ultra Necrozma’s main home right not and using your Arceus-Dark to deny Glimmora hazards means it will be 2HKOed by +1 Earthquake after the Poison chip. Glimmora hasn’t really changed much, it is still infuriating to deal with. One of the few things I like about Giratina-O is the positive Glimmora matchup if it runs Thunder Wave as it probably isn’t doing that much else otherwise.

[27 -> 31 | -4] Unfortunately for Mega Salamence, it isn’t XY anymore. I’ve been a bit of a Mega Salamence hater for a while, but have found a set recently that I kind of like. I’ll get to it later, but that set bumped Mega Salamence up a subrank on my slate. Part of the issue with Mega Salamence is that it has a lot of appealing traits, but it has so many roadblocks that prevent it from putting them to good use.

It is a fast Pokémon but is about as slow as one can be whilst being called fast and is OHKOed by most Pokémon faster than it while being locked out of tera to escape a sticky situation. It also has a massive Zygarde issue. Lots of Pokémon do, but Mega Salamence is confined to more offensive teams that are not all that keen to be giving Zygarde the guaranteed free turns that Mega Salamence will. A year ago, this wasn’t as big of a problem, but as time has progressed Zygarde’s defensive traits have proven themselves invaluable and this causes a lot of headaches in the builder. Lastly, we get to the 4MSS. Mega Salamence wants all of Dragon Dance, Double Edge, Earthquake, Façade, Return, and Roost. Sure +1 Mega Salamence is a massive threat, especially against opposing hyper offense, but it has so much difficulty finding that space to get the Dragon Dance off. On the flip side, it can against balance and bulky offense, but will thud into the Coil Zygarde that is on 90% of them.

The set I hinted at early is popular one from previous generations: Facade, Double Edge, Roost, Defog. Defog Mega Salamence was a thing earlier in the generation, but on a defensive set with Body Slam. The spread I used was 244 Atk / 44 Def / 220 Spe with an Adamant nature with the Defense enabling Mega Salamence to survive +1 Bethemoth Blade after Stealth Rock. The general idea was Webs are beyond stupid and Mega Salamence easily Defogs on Yveltal and Chi-Yu while being a solid switch-in to defensive Primal Groudon and Ho-Oh. Façade lets it break while Double-Edge has consistent power. I made a few different versions of this team, but the first seems to be the best and I’ll make a RMT at some point. It is the first Mega Salamence team I’ve built in a long time where it felt like Mega Salamence provided tangible value.

B-​

[33 -> 32 | +1] I think Pheromosa gets scrutinized a little bit too harshly. It isn’t a worldbeater, but it isn’t a shitmon either. I’ll start by saying I think Tera Ghost is pretty dogshit. Sure the Extreme Killer Arceus interaction is nice, but I don’t think it is worth giving up Tera Fighting. Pheromosa tends to work best supporting a GHAZ or GHAZ adjacent core and well the Tera Normal Double-Edge Arceus counterplay is alluring, but not really worthwhile. There have been two Pheromosa teams recently that I’ve liked, mine and Senhorlo’s. I had a Garganacl and Senhorlo had a Zacian-C while Pheromosa’s teammates can handle Marshadow + Yveltal.

This lets it play to its strengths which is being the fastest viable Pokémon while packing a punch and the ability to pivot. Tera Fighting Low Kick lets Pheromosa OHKO Zacian-C which opens up Primal Groudon both in the teambuilder and in-game which is pretty nice. It is also more than just a U-Turn bot, although it definitely benefits from the current state of the metagame. Offensive Ho-Oh is 2HKOed by Triple Axel and Pherosmosa appreciates Arceus-Dark being so common. Most stuff on balance and bulky offense doesn’t like switching into that Fighting / Ice coverage with the exception of tera Zygarde which is what teammates are for and they appreciate being brought in via U-turn. All in all, Pheromosa is just a neat Pokémon that finds itself in a favourable metagame.

[34 -> 33 | +1] As much as I like Kyurem-B it is ultimately a second-tier hyper offense mon. That being said, it fits on most hyper offense archetypes and can force progress against balance and bulky offense structures like little else with the exception of maybe Primal Kyogre. It is forcing important chip and likely a tera to open up the gates for something else while being a fine user of tera itself if the situation calls for it. It also helps against stall which is always nice as accommodating that matchup is often annoying when using lower ranked Pokémon. Kyurem-B is a Pokémon that you have to want to use, but it will be fun, and more importantly for VR purposes…actually good!

[39 -> 34 | +5] Landorus-T is good at what it does, there just are not many teams that require its services. It is also pretty flawed as it is a Ground-immune that doesn’t safely switch into the Ground-types. Even the Zacian-C matchup – its raison de jure, is a trade if Zacian-C simply boosts again as Landorus-T is reliant on the Rocky Helmet chip to finish it off and Zacian-C can always tera. Consequently, you do want some backup and if Landorus-T is dealing with Zacian-C it likely is not doing anything else that game. It has done its job, but a lot of the time it would be nice if Landorus-T could do a little more. Even after shitting on it like that, Landorus-T is fine? It does what it needs to and is a decent enough Stealth Rock setter that isn’t Primal Groudon which is always nice. It isn’t a flashy Pokémon, but flash and pizzaz has never been Landorus-T’s thing. Out of everything I’ve put in B- Landorus-T is the Pokémon I think I’m most likely to vote to B next slate.

[30 ->35 | -5] Garganacl teams are good. They are also a pain and a half to build. Garganacl does handle a lot of the threats to the balance structures it fits with tera, but this also what makes it infuriating to build with. Naturally handling Tera Normal Double-Edge Extreme Killer Arceus keeps it B- for me for now. It wants both Tera Fairy and Water for the same reasons as Zygarde, but Zygarde does function well enough if it doesn’t tera at least. A good Garganacl team needs to be made in a way that it isn’t punished if Garganacl needs to tera early game as it will often need to as it can’t switch into some of the important Pokémon it is supposed to wall without it. There is probably some teammate that also needs defensive tera to handle a threat and this conundrum is what makes building with Garganacl infuriating. It is enough that I wouldn’t be surprised to see it drop to C+ in the future.

[32 -> 36 | -4] The fishy fish is neither a swift swimmer nor very adaptable. It does autowin against some stuff, but even when compared to other second tier hyper offense Pokémon Basculegion is pretty difficult to fit. A couple of weeks ago I sat down to build some hyper offense stuff for the ghosting tour and wanted to use Basculegion and just wondered why I was. It wants something like Ultra Necrozma to break down their shared counterplay, but that is harder than ever to fit as well. I’ll give it one more slate before dropping it to C+ if nothing changes. It isn’t horrible or anything, but it often has me asking ‘why’?

[34 -> 37 | -3] This is probably the first time I’ve ever said stall has gotten worse. It has never been good, but enough structures either ignore it in the builder or simply concede the matchup to make a C+ playstyle B-. Part of the optimization of Sticky Webs is the inclusion of Chi-Yu which is now just meta instead of just a trend. I think that changes the dynamic enough to drop the stall trio to C+ as that reduces the archetypes that stall generally has a good matchup against. Stall doesn’t appreciate Sticky Webs reducing the use the HO archetypes it does have a good matchup against such as HStack and Psyspam.

C+​

[41 -> 40 | +1] I don’t really have much to say about Arceus-Grass that I have not in a previous post. I’ve been liking it a bit more, but not enough to bump it to B-. It is my favourite of the niche Arceus formes and Recover + 3A is still the way to go. Calm Mind seems neat, but it already has 4MSS and is annoying to switch around. It definitely works better on bulky offense structures than balance.

[42 -> 41 | +1] I don’t think Mega Mewtwo Y has changed and am not much of a believer in the sets people are hyping up. It is probably the Pokémon that suffers the most from Ultra Necrozma’s presence in the tier due to a near complete overlap in counterplay despite them not competing for spots on the same teams. It still has enough structures that it absolutely deletes if positioned well, but also isn’t loving the metagame overall and Fezandipiti proving to be real doesn’t help things either as it does not want to switch-in on Icy Wind despite a positive matchup on paper and hates webs.

[44 -> 42 | +2] Arceus-Rock is a cool anti-meta Pokémon as always. Earthquake is pretty shit on offensive Ho-Oh so that doesn’t change much. More people should give it ago.

[43 -> 43] I don’t think Psyspam is better or worse and a new version has not really popped up. It shamones newer players, but is ultimately pretty fishy. It has enough good matchups for C+. The biggest surprise is that Tapu Lele’s rank hasn’t changed as there are a lot of low ranked Pokémon that I think are the same but have moved up or down a couple of spots on my VR due to other Pokémon moving around them.

[50 -> 44 | +6 | +1 Subrank] Webs lead that beats other Webs leads while not being completely useless outside of this so it isn’t a complete fish. Shield Dust is also pretty nice to provide some insurance against all the bullshit Smeargle will throw at you. A slot goes to Sticky Web and Imprison, but I’m still not 100% sure what the best options in those last two slots are. Ribombee has a lot of options, but it ultimately is just an anti-webs fish.

C​

[ UR -> 45] There isn't a ton to say about Zarude that I have not already said in my nomination which can be found here. Initially I'd planned on nominating Zarude for C/C- while privately thinking it has C+ potential down the road. I decided on nominating it for C after looking at what was currently C- on the viability rankings and what I'd personally consider C/C- and realizing that I genuinely think Zarude is better than most of the Pokémon there. It is most definitely a shitmon, but a fun one with lots of practical applications. Ubers is a centralized enough metagame to enable a Pokémon such as Zarude given the important roles fills. I hope, but don't really expect Zarude to see a ton of experimentation given its rather specific nature.

If someone is looking to do so here some advice. Relying on Zarude to be your primary Ultra Necrozma counterplay is not going to end well as it lacks Foul Play. This is pretty important as even Tera Dark Darkest Lariat lacks the power to OHKO 40 HP / 80 Def Ultra Necrozma. It can serve as a solid soft check, but it'll end up switching on on a Dragon Dance and relying on the 36% chance for one of those +1 Stone Edges to miss will make it quite inconsistent. In practise this isn't a massive concern as it wants Marshadow as a teammate anyways. Zarude's Encore provides safe entry and the Encore lock enables Marshadow to make more aggressive predictions as Zarude can switch back in on these targets to repeat the process if the Pokémon stays in. The passive healing form Leftovers is certainly nice, but the ability to meaningfully contribute against Sticky Web structures heavily outweighs this as it allows Zarude to put its 105 Speed tier to good use. My aversion to an initial C+ nomination stems from preemptively attempting to address my biases as Zarude slots in nicely on the types of balance teams I prefer.

[ 49-> 46 | +3] At this point when I think about Shuckle I wonder whether it is still worth ranking given the gap between it and Smeargle. It kind of feels like a Deoxys-S v Grimmsnarl situation except even in the situations where Shuckle should be better on paper it has difficulty translating this into a meaningful difference in-game. Sure Shuckle can’t be initially Taunted, but Arceus-Ground is the only Taunt user that is willing to take Smeargle on anyways and has completely vanished from the balance structures that Shuckle is supposed to be better against anyways. Encore is good v Dragon Dance Zygarde provided you get the turns right and can provide some momentum against some stuff while Final Gambit certainly does. The issue is that Perish Song does this while actually forcing Pokémon out or providing free entry for a teammate. As time goes on I struggle to think of matchups where the benefits of Shuckle actually materialize into something meaningful and none really come to mind. Shuckle’s biggest issue is that it is an honest Sticky Web setter – in so far as that is possible.

[40 -> 47 | -7] Last slate I voted Arceus-Water to C+ despite thinking it is a C level Pokémon as I figured I was hating too much. It doesn’t have much in the way of defensive utility and is frustratingly a Water-resist that gets goobed by offensive Primal Kyogre sets. Water is a very poor offensive type so it can’t really afford a mono Judgment Taunt set as that requires so much support you wonder why you’re using it in the first place and Calm Mind sets have severe 4MSS while being incredibly tera reliant. As much as I used to love Arceus-Water, I’ve hated building with and using it for a while now. It is usable and will win enough games to be C, but you’re really building the entire team around it which is a horrible trait in an Arceus forme that isn't supporting its teammates.

[45 -> 48 | -3] I agree with most of what Sami wrote about Arceus-Flying. At the same time, a delineating factor for C+ and C is whether a Pokémon sees any actual use. This is especially true when it comes to lower ranked Arceus formes as the others do generally at least see sporadic use. This is was the reason why I voted Arceus-Flying to C last slate as opposed to a belief that it is worse relative to previous metagames. Low ranked Arceus formes are never going to see a ton of use, but they at least see some and Arceus-Flying really has not.I personally like Arceus Flying more than anything in C and even most of the Pokémon in C+.

[ 33-> 49 | -16] Blissey is an odd one. Until its rise last year it was ranked as an alternative to Chansey on stall as Shed Shell lets it evade an eager Gothitelle. It still generally does what it needs to do despite being strictly inferior against non Gothitelle teams even if the decreased bulk is felt. As Sami mentioned, Blissey rose largely due to its compressing enough roles to find a place on Bobsican’s semistall teams at the time. The primary issue is that this was before the discovery of Fezandipiti which has since replaced Blissey on those semistalls. Consequently, Blissey’s defined niche is as an alternative to Chansey to provide some insurance against a Pokémon that itself is at a low point. This was reflected in its drop last slate, but I’m not sure how much further it should drop. Sami has it somewhere in C-, but I’m fine with it in C for now given the difference between Blissey and Chansey isn’t massive.

[46-> 50 | -4] In the last few tournaments Arceus-Dark, Marshadow, and Yveltal have cumulatively eclipsed 100% use which obviously makes things rough for Arceus-Ghost. Its reliance on a Ghostium-Z adds insult to injury as this is competition that is difficult for Arceus-Ghost to overcome on Hstack and Sticky Web structures. In comparison, Arceus-Ground may like Groundium-Z, but functions fine without it as it is a decent tera user. I’m sure Arceus-Ghost can work, but every time it has made an appearance in recent times it has flopped pretty significantly. Additionally, the scenario Sami laid out just feels a bit idealistic to me. +4 Never Ending Nightmare is just a 50% chance to OHKO even with an Adamant nature and it just gets taunted so good luck getting past +2. If you’re running SD you probably want Extreme Speed over Brick Break which would do more anyways. There is also the fact that you can’t run this alongside Ultra Necrozma which leaves me wondering why run this over Basculegion? Everything I’ve said applied last slate and I don’t think Arceus-Ghost is any better or worse than it was then. Consequently, I’m unsure whether it should be C or lower.

[47 -> 51| -4] There was a short period earlier this year where I think Palkia-O could have risen. This would have been during the early preiod of GHAZ which Palkia-O has a good matchup against on paper. At that time Arceus formes where generally floating somewhere between 330-341 Speed and Palkia-O could easily shred through the teams that opted for a slower Arceus. These days the Arceus formes are usually 341, maybe creeping a couple points higher which puts Palkia-O back in a precarious position. Palkia-O and Arceus may share the same Speed, but Palkia-O is quite reliant on a Modest nature for wallbreaking purposes so commonly being outsped is an issue. All of the previous issues also remain but Sami’s point about dropping Fire Blast does have some truth to it given Ferrothorn is and always will be on the rare side.

[52 ->52] Screens has gone from fringe to fringe. The only thing that has really changed is the prevalence of Arceus-Dark encouraging Spirit Break over Thunder Wave or Parting Shot in that last slot. If anything it might be slightly better given that screens has a slightly better matchup into Sticky Web than hazard stack. I think Screens are mediocre, but this is continued mediocrity so Grimmsnarl is safe from a drop to C- for now.

[ 51-> 53 | -2] My thoughts on Trick Room have not changed much in forever. It is a matchup fish where outcomes are by and large decided at team preview. Putting the beatdown on hyper offense structures is great, the issue is everything else. I heavily disagree with Sami that Hatterene specifically merits a drop. The main reason Hatterene is C while Cresselia and Melmetal are C- is that Hatterene isn't dropped whereas the latter two are. Trick Room may not be good, but regardless of the composition you'll always see a Hatterene and Sticky Web structures emerging as the preeminent hyper offense archetype is something that Trick Room enjoys. That could justifably be used as the basis for an argument for it to rise and I'd be open to it, but I'm not there yet.

C-​

[UR -> 54] Dialga has had an interesting history in National Dex Ubers. For most of the tier’s existence Dialga languished in C+ unphased by the turbulent metagame that surrounded it. Dialga has a lot of flaws, but its positive traits rewarded builders willing to accommodate it with success. Dialga rarely saw use and was largely relegated to theorymon with its Assault Vest and Choice Specs sets. This was fine a while, but as time progresses a Pokémon needs to have some form of results to retain a rank and Dialga didn’t have any. Given the boatload of dogshit people are willing to use, if there was something there, somebody likely would have at least attempted something. Consequently, Dialga eventually was unceremoniously dropped from the VR. So what changed?

For me, it started when Velvet decided to use it during seasonal and she happened to load into a Fezandipiti squad where Choice Specs Dialga laid down quite a beating. A significant part of Fezandipiti’s threat stems from the dearth of Pokémon that happily switch-in. The list of Pokémon capable of doing so is shockingly small. While lots of Pokémon smoke Fezandipiti 1v1, the only one that happily switches in is Dragon Dance Necrozma-DM as it is Toxic immune and doesn’t care about Icy Wind Speed drops unlike Zacian-C.

Choice Specs Dialga is an addition to this tiny list. A significant reason why Dialga lost any grace it had is that the defensive benefits it has over Lunala paled in comparison to the offensive deficiencies. Lunala does not care much about its HP, but it does care about being statused which can make navigating this matchup more difficult than it may appear. Dialga also appreciates some metagame trends such as Extreme Killer Arceus frequently dropping Earthquake, Eternatus using Tera Dragon on HO, and Zygarde opting for Tera Fairy more often. Trick + STABs is a given and Thunder is the best contender for the last slot, but I think there is some flexibility there to take advantage of Dialga’s vast movepool such as Thunder Wave or Fire Blast. I don’t think Dialga is great, but the metagame has swung just enough in its favour for it to be viable.

[50-> 55 | -5] Sami is Mega Tyranitar’s biggest hater and I don’t really think he is wrong. It has really only demonstrated viability on the one stall team despite Bob’s best efforts and that stall team is flawed to say the least. I wouldn’t be surprised to vote it UR in the future or even on the next slate, but its fine for now. It punishes lazy teambuilding more than anything.

[59 ->56 | +3] I’m not sure I’ve given Darmanitan-G an iota of thought since the last slate, but I also don’t think anything has changed that has made it better or worse and moving up three ranks is more of a result of other fringe stuff getting worse. I’d be fine if it was UR, but am also fine with it being C- even if it is closer to the former.

[60-> 57 | +3] My opinion has not changed on Mewtwo despite it rising three spots since the last slate. That is probably more a result of some Pokémon around it dropping or falling off my VR. That being said, it does appreciate Toxic Spikes being largely absent outside of stall. It still hates opposing hyper offense, any Zacian-C, and Marshadow if the opponent is aware that it is Mewtwo instead of Mega Mewtwo Y. It is still the epitome of greed and is all or nothing. Sure it might beat stall, but so do a lot of other Pokémon if they get every single turn right and are provided the same level of resources.

[56 ->58 | -2] Zekrom has floated between C- and D throughout my slate, but lives for another day. I’m not really a Zekrom believer, but it has...potential to do stuff I guess? It just requires a ton of concessions in the builder and extreme precision in-game which leads to a ton of inconsistency. Break Primal Groudon for a teammate to clean and being good against stall is the main reason to use it. Even then, I think the whole it is good against stall is more of a paper thing as it requires a ton of precision and probably wants Meteor Beam Eternatus as a teammate to absorb Toxic Spikes. Part of why Sticky Web is so strong is because Chi-Yu solves the stall matchup which made them a little inconsistent and you are not running both on the same team. There is the mixed set that Sami brought up, but that seems more like a meme for a Youtube video where it does one thing in 30 minutes rather than anything legit like in SS Ubers. Even while writing this I feel like it is better off in D, but I’ll give it time. It isn’t a great slate for Sami’s shitmons so he can have this one. It isn't worse than it was last slate anyways.

[57 -> 59 | -2] As per tradition, these two are ranked together because there isn’t really a reason to use one without the other. Cresselia and Melmetal are begrudgingly viable. I have a dim view of Trick Room in general, but I’m continually surprised that Melmetal remains more popular than Calyrex-I. It may be better against hyper offense, but Trick Room’s whole schtick is that it already goobs it. You’re also relying on a 51% to flinch whereas Calyrex-I just blows past most stuff and has actual bulk on the special side. The Stealth Rock resistance is nice, but it makes scant difference if the room isn’t active anyways as they’re both getting blown up. With Calyrex-I you can also run Tera Fairy Lunala to help with specially offensive Yveltal as PP isn’t an issue given it OHKOes everything.

[55->60 | -5] I guess I’m last Mega Venusaur believer? I don’t think it is good, but Dragon Dance Zygarde use has plummeted because it tends to result in flawed teams despite its threat level. Those teams are not dropping Zygarde outright, but shifting back to Coil sets which is something Mega Venusaur appreciates. Sami said Zarude is better, but there is still something I like about Mega Venusaur even if I cannot put my thumb on it at the moment. It is continuing its tradition of swapping between UR and C- so it will probably be back next slate anyways.

[54-> 61 | -7] The way Sami talks about Kingambit you’d think it had six moveslots and a thousand EVs. I’ve held the belief that Kingambit is viable and voted as such in every slate, but lord is this Pokémon a pain in the ass to build with. Almost any Pokémon ranked this low probably is, but Kingambit is uniquely frustrating when it has some pretty clear upsides. It is a decent cleaner, but the Speed is just slow enough that it either gives up crucial power or must accept being outsped by nearly everything and is forced to play Sucker Punch roulette. It also needs tera to get most of its relevant calcs as well which is never fun to account for in the teambuilder. Kingambit is also a reasonably bulky Pokémon, but Fighting, Fire, and Ground weaknesses are really rough in this metagame. There is Pursuit, but Swords Dance is what lets it break stuff in the first place and the targets don’t feel valuable enough to justify that. All in all Pursuit Kingambit feels like a Pokémon you’d bring to a Bo1 to fish and get wisped anyways. I want to like Kingambit due to the unique set of tools that in theory should allow it to have some success, but everytime I try and build with it is like pulling teeth.

UR/D & other nominations​

[C- ->UR] Gholdengo remaining ranked for as long as it has is a bit surprising. The overly passive fat stuff it demolishes has been bad for a long time and absent from the metagame for nearly as long. It really hates that nearly every Ho-Oh outside of stall is offensive and even on stall Ho-Oh runs both Sacred Fire and Brave Bird so it can be a bit awkward for Ghold even if it is a positive matchup. Blocking Defog on hyper offense seems nice, but Yveltal already does that and webs has Chi-Yu to help keep it up. 133 Special Attack is great in OU, but pedestrian by Ubers standards. The bulk is a similar story and although the defensive typing is great on paper, it still gets smoked by nearly every top tier Pokémon. Maybe it can eek out a niche at some point in the future, but right now it doesn’t have one. Garganacl just kind of does everything Gholdengo wants to do but better.

[C- -> UR] Flutter Mane has stayed ranked on my VR due to the LO Taunt set combined with me thinking I’m probably too much of a hater so it stayed rank in an attempt to correct my biases. I’ve thought that Flutter Mane is a D rank Pokémon for a while despite a collection of nice traits. Ultimately, it is a lot of things that are nice on paper that kind of don’t translate into games.

Sure blocking Rapid Spin is nice, but we don’t really have any spinners outside occasionally Smeargle which runs Mortal Spin most of the time anyways. Terapagos and Iron Treads…exist? I also don’t consider them viable anyways. The typing is nice for Extreme Killer Arceus, but it is so damn frail so it can’t take Shadow Claw and therefore needs another Pokémon to chip it first. There is another Fairy-type on HO that is incredibly common in part due to helping v Arceus which also deletes Flutter Mane. It is strong, but not enough to make up for how frail it is given it doesn’t get many OHKOes. C- is niche, but we are not ranking Excadrill because it gets up Stealth Rock against Hatterene which provides more practical value than Flutter Mane does currently. I think Flutter Mane could be ranked again in the future, but it will have to prove itself.

From everything I’ve seen it is more of a fun meme Pokémon that relies on the element of surprise than something that is actually viable. Sure it can goob Zygarde, unless the Zygarde user is aware of what Mega Lopunny is trying to do and just attacks as it switches in. If it is Dragon Dance Zygarde it gets outsped on the switch-in and uh that isn’t great. It has some interesting stuff going for it, but I want to see it do stuff against an opponent that actually knows what it does. One of the reasons I believe in Zarude is that it does what it is tasked with consistently without relying on what the opponent does. If I’m using something incredibly niche I want it to consistently perform the role it is put on the team to do and I have not seen Mega Lopunny convincingly do that yet. I think it could be ranked in the future, but my brain says why am I dedicating a slot to this when it is going to need backup anyways and is pretty limited in what it can do in the first place.

Whenever Bob has shown a replay with Dugtrio I’ve seen it do stuff, but it also doesn’t really feel like Dugtrio needed to do stuff to contribute to the win. Furthermore, it apparently requires and Adamant nature with an Earth Plate to hit damage thresholds so it loses out on Toxicing most Calm Mind Arceus formes which I thought was part of the appeal before I learned that. I do see some of the upsides of the set on paper, but I just don’t really see why they’re worth using Dugtrio specifically. It just kind a lot of the reasons for using it are a post hoc justification due to trapping being broken as opposed to Dugtrio being good. Unless I’m missing it enabling stuff in the builder I don’t see a compelling reason to rank it at this time. In the future, sure, but not until it proves itself.

If this was the outset of the generation, I think it is likely that the Ting-Lu nomination would have been accepted. However, we are two and a half years in so there is a higher standard. I do think Ting-Lu has potential to be ranked in the future, but the replays I’ve seen are not convincing me currently. It has a lot of positive traits, more than most of C- and a lot of C. At the same time, I’m yet to see a convincing team or replay that makes dealing with the flaws it has worth dealing with. It is a defensive Dark-resist that loses to Yveltal which is a cardinal sin when it comes to the balance structures it fits on. It is also a massive tera hog that needs it to deal with Dragon Dance Zygarde, but loses to Dragon Dance Necrozma-DM no matter what. It is also a Dark-resist that is setup fodder for Calm Mind Arceus-Dark which is yet another thing that has to be covered. It is also just really damn passive. Ting-Lu may be difficult to OHKO, somewhat annoying to switch around, and Spikes + phasing is good. However, it ultimately feels like Ting-Lu’s flaws put way too much pressure on its teammates as it is kind of a shitty half measure to a lot of the stuff it should be dealing with on paper. Those are too much for me to rank it now, although I will in future slates if somebody builds a team with it that I like.