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Archaludon while not required on rain, is a powerful presence there. It doesn't have to be splashable when the playstyle it does fit on, it's very good there. It's not the easiest pokemon to handle once it gets going. It also brings really useful defensive utility to rain not unlike another steel like Ferrothorn, but comes as being a more aggressive and offensive presence. That's just my two cents though.
That's a fair point. It's not more so that "Arch is not required" because it is a very good choice on Rain, it's that we simply have rain as a B+ tiered playstyle right now and Arch is only seen on these Rain teams. For the sake of congruity, I think we can move both Arch and Mega Swampert down to match the enabler in Pelipper.
me spamming it in tours for free wins to the point ppl try and cteam it with sinistcha stall
jk but for real the mon kinda clicks buttons for free especially in a tier where stall/fat is a lot more viable then current gen and it can find entry points much easier. It was sitting kinda split vote between B/B+ last slate and kyo changed their mind from B to B+ with a side comment "Can be scary behind screens" (it very much can it trades 2-1 with basically everything) which was enough to push it over the edge to B+
the tier is deprived of ghosts. I think the only OU by usage ghost is mega banette. so it's stabs are a lot harder to switch around which makes the turns it has to get correct a lot easier IMO.
Hi yall, today imma be talking about a mon I feel is underrated in the current meta game,sinistcha UR-C-
What does sinistcha do?
Now you may be thinking, what exactly can it do that other things cant? Well for starters it provides a bulky spin blocker, utilised in this team by untrue_reality . Nuthin but a "C" thang - Sinistcha offense (pokepast.es) This demonstrates sinistchas potential niche on hazard stacking teams/maybe some webs teams. It also can be an an effective wincon if it can get free turns to set up. As a cherry on top as such, it greatly improves a lot of teams rain mu and can whittle down physical attackers via strength sap.
Sinistcha Sets:
Sinistcha-Masterpiece @ Leftovers
Ability: Heatproof
Tera Type: Poison
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Matcha Gotcha
- Shadow Ball
- Calm Mind
- Strength Sap
This is imo sinistchas best set, it provides a good wincon and with the correct utilisation of tera can effectively set up. It also provides a good answer to Barraskewda on rain, as well as Great Tusk (252 Atk Great Tusk Ice Spinner vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Sinistcha: 122-144 (35.3 - 41.7%) -- 78.8% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery, and its all recovered back by matcha gotcha) Urshifu Rapid Strike, Ursaluna and some others.
A set recently Used by LOQP to hit n1 on ladder with this team N1 ladder team by Lo-Q-P, used by aim in megas ttt (pokepast.es) , this more support orientated sinistcha is capable of spreading para while retaining its ability to check things physically. Hex becomes a powerful button click after getting a para off, boosting sinistchas offensive capabilities. (More niche than the other set fs but still exists and can work on some structures)
Also a fun set to use, ghost z and tr goes hard ngl.
Team mates for the Tea:
As one of sinistchas main niches is it being one of few spin blockers, its only logical that it is paired with a hazard setter such as landorus therian or gliscor on balance and mons like glimmora and ribombee on offense/ho. It also appreciates dark switchins such as Mega TTar which also absorbs knock off. Sinistcha also appreciates Tapu Lele and Iron Valiants abilities to break dark types better for it. Other good partners include Urshifu Rapid and Zama, as it appreciates sinistcha beating psychics 1v1.
Why does it actually deserve a team slot over something else lmao:
Sinistchas niche on webs and hazard stack is, imo not done well by any other mon. Its a great bulky wincon that matches up well into all spinners, making its spin blocking ability more potent due to its ability to get of a calm mind vs Tusk and a lot of foggers. It can also provide a check to Waterpon and urshifu rapid strikes while also being good into powerful wallbreakers like Luna, and mons such as lando.
CALC TIME:
Offensive Calcs:
+1 0 SpA Sinistcha Matcha Gotcha vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Iron Valiant: 229-271 (79.2 - 93.7%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock- Vals only doing 50 to this with specs shadow ball after a cm, 30 of which is recovered back by matcha gotcha
+1 0 SpA Sinistcha Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Slowking-Galar: 206-246 (52.2 - 62.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO- Tryna Come in on matcha gotcha? Takes 50.
+1 0 SpA Sinistcha Shadow Ball vs. 248 HP / 76 SpD Corviknight: 160-189 (40.1 - 47.3%) -- 43% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock- definite 2hko after brave bird recoil (you heal the damage back off and lower its attack so your never losing this interaction)
Defensive Calcs:
252 Atk Lopunny-Mega Close Combat vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Sinistcha: 141-166 (40.8 - 48.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery- CCs not doing 50
252 SpA Tapu Lele Psychic vs. +1 248 HP / 4 SpD Sinistcha in Psychic Terrain: 153-181 (44.3 - 52.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery- Also no 2HKO, sinistcha can ohko back with shadow ball
252+ Atk Gouging Fire Heat Crash (120 BP) vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Heatproof Sinistcha: 138-164 (40 - 47.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery- Also no 2HKO from gouging which is nice
All defensive calcs vs phsical attackers mean it cannot be 2hkod and can recover the damage off in the case of gouging and mlop and ohko lele
I want to nominate Brute Bonnet for the VR because I genuinely think it has a solid niche in the tier. Due to being the paradox form of Amoongus, Brute Bonnet gets access to the move Spore - an extremely powerful 100% accurate sleep move. This move provides incredible value on high-pressure offensive teams as a lot of the time a pokemon can't survive 2-3 turns to wake up and often results in the mon becoming either a sac, just dying, or allowing setup or better positioning for the rest of the team. On top of this, unlike other Spore users such as Amoongus, Brute Bonnet can actually force switches due to it's very respectable base 127 attack stat and capitalise on them by clicking Spore on the switch, often leading to the slept mon dying. This can be absolutely incredible as often these switchins such as Heatran, Volcarona, Moltres, Gouging Fire, Charizard Y, or Toxapex are incredibly key pokemon for the structure of the opponents team and while Brute Bonnet may not always be able to kill these mons itself, it can safely hard switch into something that can and often leads to teammates such as Mega Charizard Y being able to win the game.
The incredible utility that Brute Bonnet provides is only made better by it's very respectable 111/99/99 bulk and defensive typing that while at a first glance is absolutely awful, actually has some important resists that make a very good core with other pokemon such as Mega Charizard Y. While it's defensive typing does give it an unfortunate 4x weakness to U-Turn, it also has some important resists such as dark, water, ground, electric, and an immunity to psychic. This allows it to function as a switchin to common speed control that threaten Charizard Y such as Darkrai and scarf Samurott-H as well as being a soft switchin to pokemon such as Raging Bolt, Urshifu-R, and choice scarf Tapu Lele. While these pokemon do generally all have a way to be able to hit Brute Bonnet, they would be forced to make a relatively risky predict by clicking a resisted attack infront of Charizard Y predicting the switch to Brute Bonnet, risking losing their mon altogether.
One of the biggest issues that Brute Bonnet has to deal with is Tapu Koko due to Electric Terrain preventing sleep. On top of this, Tapu Koko often runs U-turn to deal significant damage to Brute Bonnet. However, this unfortunate matchup can be worked around. The most common switchins to Brute Bonnet are conveniently primarily flying types, meaning that Spore can put them to sleep regardless of the terrain which catches many people off guard. On top of this, Loaded Dice Bullet Seed easily 2hkos Tapu Koko and it can be dealt with provided that you predict the Tapu Koko to come in on your Spore. Moreover, Brute Bonnet can utilise tera exceptionally well as Tera Poison mitigates every single one of its weaknesses and turns almost all of them into resists - allowing it to flip the matchup on an unsuspecting Iron Valiant, Mega Diancie, Tapu Lele, Urshifu-R, or essentially any mon clicking U-Turn expecting it to die.
You might be wondering: Why should I use Brute Bonnet over other Spore users such as Amoongus?
And the answer to that question is simple: Speed and offensive pressure.
While Brute Bonnet does have a low speed tier compared to the average mon, it is actually an incredible tier for what it wants to do, allowing it to fit in significant investment to bulk while also easily hitting 200 speed, therefore outspeeding mons such as Mega Mawile and Ursaluna, as well as slower mons such as Corviknight, Heatran, Mega Scizor and Ting Lu. While this may seem somewhat inconsequential at first, this speed tier allows it to land a fast Spore, which is something that other Spore alternatives such as Amoongus can't do. This allows it to shut down slower mons and allow the other breakers on the team to be able to deal with mons that ordinarily they may not be able to deal with otherwise due to the opponent being unable to recover health or attack back while asleep, which interestingly makes it a useful tool for dealing with stall teams. On top of this, I don't think I need to explain much about the fact that Brute Bonnet has significantly more offensive pressure than Amoongus and provides the utility of Spore in a more offensive way while still maintaining respectable bulk, which is perfect for teams that don't appreciate a momentum sink like Amoongus.
I also want to mention how to play it as if you aren't careful then Brute Bonnet can quickly become a momentum machine that your opponent can manipulate and can make it very difficult for it to enter the field. Brute Bonnet is a mon that absolutely thrives off of doubles, meaning that it has a rather high skill floor. Despite this, if you do manage to make a successful double and actually get it onto the field in a desirable position then it is primed to throw off a Spore completely for free and they are practically forced to go to their grass type such as Ferrothorn to absorb it, allowing you to essentially double back to a mon like Charizard Mega Y with almost zero risk and many times claim a kill. It may just be that Brute Bonnet matches my playstyle perfectly (as someone who makes a lot of doubles) which allows it to put in as much work as it does, and if that is the case then I understand it being rejected. If you don't use it in this specific style then it is very easy to pressure out due to its 4x weakness to U-Turn and can at times be a total liability. Despite this, as seen by the replays, with the right team to compliment that playstyle with Hatterene to prevent hazard chip from stacking up and Charizard Y giving a strong breaker to take advantage of Spore combined with the momentum generated by the doubles, it can be a genuine incredible force to be reckoned with, at times claiming 3-4 kills in a single game.
As for sets that it can run there are a few options, so I have procured some chinese EV spreads:
This spread lives both a +1 Draco Meteor from Raging Bolt and a Moonblast from Mega Diancie while still maintaining enough attack investment to guaranteed 2hko Alomomola and Dondozo with Bullet Seed
This more defensive spread lives 2 tera water Choice Band Surging Strikes from Urshifu-R as well as both of the afformentioned calcs while still maintaining it's speed tier. Leftovers can optionally be ran over Loaded Dice if you prefer being more defensive. This set also actually beats Raging Bolt 1v1 using the combination of Synthesis and Spore provided that they have expended their Dragonium Z.
This final spread is the one I personally run as it is more offensive while still maintaining adequate bulk and speed. It isn't as consistent defensively as both +1 Draco Meteor from Raging Bolt and Mega Diancie Moonblast are a roll to kill with this EV spread, however the extra offensive power is still largely appreciated.
I humbly request that you keep an open mind while thinking about this mon and don't immediately brush it off as terrible. I honestly think that it has some genuine, incredible value with the right teammates to back it up and - as seen with the replays - it can go absolutely crazy in the right circumstances. I'll end this off with some calcs from the spread I like and the team I used.
+1 252+ SpA Raging Bolt Draco Meteor vs. 168 HP / 0 SpD Brute Bonnet: 367-433 (90.6 - 106.9%) -- 43.8% chance to OHKO
252 SpA Diancie-Mega Moonblast vs. 168 HP / 0 SpD Brute Bonnet: 366-432 (90.3 - 106.6%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO
After laddering for a good amount for Ladder Tour and luckily qualifying and preventing myself from having to torture my mental playing it even more, I wanted to publicize some thoughts I have about some Pokemon after seeing and playing multiple games this past week.
A -> A+
It was really weird how people thought it was mediocre at first because of people using that weird Dragon Dance + Heavy-Duty Boots set, but now that Dragonium Z has been discovered I think this Pokemon has improved greatly and is definitely a threat with little to no pivots on balance teams; the only teamstyle that can safely pivot around this without some prediction is stall with Dondozo, which is definitely saying something. The defensive utility is has against Volcarona and Iron Crown and with its speed tier being fine after a Dragon Dance too are some other traits it has as well. With everyone spamming that HO that the Northeast used in WC made with this Pokemon I think most players should know how threatening this Pokemon is and probably agree it needs more respect. Also I trolled with a Substitute + Dragon Dance set with Loaded Dice Scale Shot for a few games and it funnily worked out for a little bit.
A -> A+
I actually despise playing against this when it's using Choice Scarf, it's relatively easy to click buttons against offense lacking Raging Bolt or Dragonite and even then you are not going to consistently check it over the course of a game. Swords Dance sets are still fine but I don't see them on the same level as Choice Scarf since you can revenge kill and scout for it on most teams you see it on. However, that doesn't change the fact that Choice Scarf is probably the best Choice Scarf user in the tier at the moment and its been going insane recently in the meta, should definitely rise in my opinion.
A- -> A
Probably the most annoying set up sweeper in the tier, Iron Defense + Calm Mind can steal games so fast even in the most unrightful hands and even then just basic Calm Mind + 3 Attacks can still make good progress against teams. Assault Vest is one of the most comfortable sponges in the tier to me since it always can come in on literally any special attacker that is not named Darkrai, then it has the choice to either blast through it with its strength, be annoying with Psychic Noise, or click Future Sight; before or after all these actions it can Volt Switch which is an amazing tool since VoltTurn cores are strong at the moment in this meta. Choice Specs is a miscellaneous set that I'm not a fan of due to innate issues of it being an Iron Crown you can play around even more but if you're facing it under Electric Terrain is going to be extremely obnoxious if you're not running a bulky check or counter. If anything needs a raise on this list I have, it should be this.
B+ -> A-
You always see this on Rain and it's quite straightforward in what it does for Rain teams with its insane speed tier and Tera Water boosted attacks being ridiculously strong and Close Combat obliterating pivots like Ogerpon-Wellspring and Ferrothorn is good as well. In general I feel like the integral pieces of Rain should all be A- and not B+ regardless of whatever in-play thing you can say about the Pokemon, such as Pelipper.
B+ -> A-
Myself and a few others used this a lot during Ladder Tour and as good as Wellspring is, Cornerstone put it some amazing work and has established itself as not even a sidegrade to Wellspring, more so a solid alternative to it. Rock-type Ivy Cudgels are great and when you already have a powerful Power Whip and Superpower in your arsenal as well it can become extremely annoying to switch into once boosted. Another plus is how it can trade against other set up sweepers or some big breakers in general with Sturdy, along with the utility of Embody Aspect to tank a hit from Landorus-Therian or Mega Scizor in a pinch once your Sturdy is broken, and further letting you obliterate them with a boosted Ivy Cudgel. It performs easier against bulky teams as well since they put too much effort into checking Wellspring which Cornerstone can take advantage of by having a better time against the Tera Dragon users. Cool guy and I'd like for people to use it more to see what it can exploit.
B+ -> A-
Enabler of the best weather playstyle in the tier and honestly should've been A- with what it facilitates but I don't understand why that much. See the last sentence of the Barraskewda raise proposition for more thoughts on why.
B -> B+
Cheese man supreme over here, its snowballing potential has always been great but I think that it should be reflected in its ranking because of how easily it steals games from your opponent with either revealing Tera Blast Ground or clicking Glare against your check and chipping it down with its teammates as well, hopefully not trying to 1v1 you and you getting fully paralyzed against it and lose. In practice it can realistically beat most of its checks over the course of a game since Glare is just so ridiculous and Leaf Storm being Leaf Storm helps its in the case of it being cheesy as well. Very annoying wincon and I don't know why it's so low for how weirdly consistent it is.
C+ -> B-
Not a fan of this too much because it's not the hardest thing in the world to prevent it proccing Weak Armor with a Swords Dance boost, but it is still a challenge to switch into it once boosted, especially with the Tera Ghost stuff people have been running as of late. Defensive Teras on this do nothing for it because you would much prefer the extra firepower of your Poltergeists instead of trying to live against a Pokemon that can probably kill or pressure you anyway. Had a good performance in Ladder Tour, was previously B-, and I think it should be raised again.
C -> C+
Glimmora is an annoying lead against other hyper offense or offensive teams in general and still has merit over Landorus-T as a lead because of its other capabilities as a lead such as Mortal Spin, Spikes, or even some other things like Memento. It is very exploitable by Steel-types in general so don't be too unwise when using it as a lead, because if you use it in the right way it can be something really annoying and will help its teammates set up and click buttons once it duties as a lead Pokemon is fulfilled.
Some other rise thoughts I had but I'm not really adamant on them at the moment:
A -> A+
Both of these guys are pretty good right now and love that Zamazenta left the tier, Mega Lopunny is the second best Fighting-type speed control option with all of the utility it has still remaining intact, and Mega Medicham is a formidable breaker and is something you will have to consider during the course of a game. Feel like both can be played around a good bit and still have some issues sometimes, with Mega Medicham being outplayable and Mega Lopunny getting forced out a lot. By the way Triple Axel on Mega Lopunny is probably valid because everyone is spamming Landorus-T and Gliscor, I think it's neat.
A -> A+
Great bulky set up sweeper and will likely make progress in any game it's in, defensive utility it has against Urshifu-R and Mega Charizard Y for offense is a great trait as well. However, the opportunities it's given can be taken advantage of by opponents if you can manage it correctly, on the verge of A+ to me and I'm not against the ranking at all, I'm just not too strong about it.
B+ -> A-
Abuses Landorus-T + Iron Crown offense teams like no tomorrow, good clicker in general but it of course isn't the strongest thing in the world so it can be checked and played around just fine. Spikes are Spikes though, which is something that needs to be kept in mind when you're against it.
B -> B+ Annoying sponge that will be tanking whatever you need it to, seen some experimenting with Stone Edge and Payback on it which was nice to see on it, though Ruination is a good tool in general. It's innate passivity is still an issue though.
B- -> B
Snowballer with some nice defensive utility but you need things to really go in your way to make an impact, but Fiery Dance boosts aren't too unlikely so it won't hurt to try and see if you can get boosts from it. Can be outplayed and forced out often though, so that's sort of annoying.
B- -> B
Not too sure why this dropped in the first place but even then I guess B- is fine, I just don't see it on the same level as Skeledirge as a defensive Pokemon. Has good utility and bulk and can hit hard as well, though don't use Knock Off ever on it.
C- -> C
Calm Mind sets are really good and Custap Berry can catch you off guard by claiming a kill with a powerful boosted Hydro Pump or Moonblast, Substitute + Calm Mind is fine if you want to mess with Galarian Slowking but besides those two sets, feel like anything else is just weird. Also defensive utility it has is great against Darkrai and Urshifu-R which is a nice plus. Don't use the wrong set(s) on this or you will find little to none success.
C -> C+
Stall has had consistent enough success the past few months for these three to be C+, as that's where I think Pokemon that are exclusive to the playstyle should reside in. You could say Chansey is usable on balances, but I think it's still a fine Pokemon on stall and should be risen for that, though not too strong about it.
Now with that out of the way, here's some UR nominations for some Pokemon I think are alright.
UR -> C
Should've been ranked the day DLC 2 came out, but for some reason its just been left in the dust. Sun is a decent playstyle with some good heavy hitters like Gouging Fire and Raging Bolt, it's a decent facilitator but its passivity is annoying at times. Though with Sun in general you should very aggressive in your play instead of trying to get the Sun setter to do something besides clicking Stealth Rock.
UR -> C
I used to think this was a fraud but after seeing what it can do I think its worth a ranking. What I think stands out about it is its item choice; specifically Choice Band and Heavy-Duty Boots. Choice Band can be really annoying and it punishes Landorus-T teams since you can't pivot into it due to Defiant, and most of its checks don't appreciate Knock Off or U-turn, and the Steel-types will not like Superpower at all. Swords Dance, though probably done better by its other forms, are still a valid option on it because of the Speed boost it obtains once it turns into its Tera form. Solid guy and I'd like to see it ranked.
UR -> C
Volcanion has been decent in general but I think it's worth a rank because of its firepower and the utility it has against a good bit of the meta. It's already a good wallbreaker and usually can give most bulky offense and offensive teams some trouble, but sets like Fire Spin + Taunt trapping passive Pokemon like Alomomola, Toxapex, and Slowking-Galar is neat, and Tera on it is great since you then can get a free pivot into Urshifu-R, Ogerpon-Wellspring, etc. Choice Specs could probably be experimented with since it has some powerful STABs and nice coverage, but that's to be determined. I do think he is valid in general though.
UR -> C-
Very laughable Pokemon but I feel like the belief of it being completely unviable isn't too true. Choice Band is tried and true and is the flagship set on it because of how strong it is, but other sets like Assault Vest could be looked into because it trades with most of them, along with still being a Hoopa-U and running stuff like Psychic Noise to be annoying against would-be checks like Landorus-T. I would only use those two sets, not too sure about Choice Specs but it could probably catch stuff off guard.
UR -> C- / C
I'm not high on this guy outside of weather teams but its defensive profile against Raging Bolt and Iron Crown and utility in general is sufficient enough for it to have a niche. Stealth Rock sets are fine and Assault Vest sets while really odd perform well enough to support its case. I don't have much to say about this since I don't use it myself but the results it has don't lie.
Don't have much opinions on what should be dropped, so I only wanted to cover what I think should be risen. Mega Banette and Mega Charizard X can probably both be UR though because those guys are out of jobs. Heavily on Mega Banette, because that guy fell off real bad...
A -> A+
I'm higher on MLop than MMedi but both feel really nice right now when their main competition (and in the case of Lop, a major offensie check) in Zamazenta is gone. MLop's speed control and general anti-offense nature is really beneficial for teams atm and it's pretty flexible for its last moveslot so it can do a surprising amount of things. Try out Encore btw it's pretty cool. MMedi meanwhile is one of the most threatening breakers in the tier mainly hindered by the notably middling speed, but it forces progress well and breaks down conventional and common bulky structures.
A- -> A
Pretty versatile and effective pokemon, with pretty obnoxious sweeping sets but it's also a very sturdy special sponge which is appreciated in a tier where Lele is around and other threats like Valiant, Zapdos and Koko are also annoying. It's also a pretty disruptive pokemon thanks to Psychic Noise which allows it to better wear away at typical psychic checks such as Ferrothorn or Corviknight, and Crown if played well can help chip away at Stall teams.
B+ -> A-
It's been seeing more usage and for good reason. While it's not as simple to put on a team as Wellspring, the breaking power is just as potent and at times, can be more awkward to pivot around and play against. Stabs+Superpower alone is potent and if hazards are kept off and thus Sturdy is maintained, it's able to emergency check some threats rather uniquely.
B+ -> A-
Not much to say other than these should be ranked with Arch. Pelipper is mandatory on rain and Barra is both potent speed control both in rain and when it's down thanks to its high speed, and it's good at catching rain's nemesis Wellspring with CC.
B+ -> A-
C-Edge is a cracked move, but Razor Shell is understated in how threatening it can also be in making progress thanks to the 50% defense drop chance. Think it's better now that Zama is banned, and very customizable and flexible pokemon mainly hindered by average stats. Still performs well and a good pokemon in the meta. Oh and it's pretty inconsistent and difficult to fit, but CB Sam spamming C-Edge is amazing at breaking and forcing progress at once.
C -> C+
Decent mon for breaking through bulkier teams since it tends to outlast them through SD Drain Punch that got a little better post Zama ban. AV works for soft checking some special threats while offering a buffer to most Dark types, especially Darkrai and can effectively abuse opposing Koko's presence with a little care in positioning.
C- -> UR
Get it out of here. It was gimmicky at best when it was first ranked and it just doesn't work in practice at all. Main stab is highly exploitable between poor PP, accuracy issues and it being blanked by Normal-types, Dark-Types, Booster Energy users, Garganacl, and more really deflate any on paper threat level it may seem to have. Suffers badly from moveslot issues, taking up a mega that could go to something actually consistent and threatening, and awful bulk.
A- --> A
This mon is so good and consistent into every playstyle, tera dark knock 2hkos most the common walls ranked ou and opens up most pokemon wearing boots to be subjectable to stealth rocks and other hazards.
KNOCK OFF
im not sure if these are calced with two full power knocks but it knocks off boots/rocky helmet opening it up later for a kill when hazards are brought into question. 252 Atk Choice Band Tera Dark Weavile Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 4 HP / 252+ Def Alomomola: 248-294 (52.5 - 62.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Choice Band Tera Dark Weavile Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Corviknight: 210-248 (52.5 - 62%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Choice Band Tera Dark Weavile Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 248 HP / 212+ Def Toxapex: 164-194 (54.1 - 64%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
There are no setbacks whatsoever to clicking knock off apart from potential static or flame body pokemon with the only viable ones being
all these mons get 2hkod by a move in weaviles arsenal and even if you dont want to risk the para/burn after one knock off you can switch out and next time that mon tries to come back in its taking rocks which do 25-50 percent depending on the mentioned pokemon.
Basically everytime weavile comes in its taking an item which is guaranteed progress in a pokemon match which i believe is essential for breaking teams, the only time weavile doesnt take an item is if its either z (it gets revealed that they're z because there was no item knocked off), booster energy (its a once per match thing and weavile in this case would be forcing it out) or they're just no item.
SPEED
This mon is also fast asf with a 125 base speed outspeeding and being able to kill things like ogerpon-wellspring and tornadus-t while also speed tieing with darkrai. Its speed in conjunction with pursuit and ice shard makes it one of if not the best revenge killers in all of nd.
ICE SHARD
Not to mention this mons amazing priority in ice shard, Ice shard deals with z move dragonite, raging bolt (50/50 in most cases they thunderclap vs you but if u ice shard it cancels that and thunderclap fails bc u have more priority), and finishes off other mons when low enough.
The only mon that stops weavile priority is tapu lele and when lele is caught on a psychic move it gets pursuit trapped and killed and if its specs you dont even need to go for the a 50/50 you can just knock and destroy everything.
PURSUIT AND REVENGE KILLING
pursuit trapping is something rlly great in this meta with slowking and with this mon being as fast as it is when a mon is chipped enough it can just revenge kill easily with pursuit and remove it as a threat from the game. (also if this thing catches lele clicking psychic in its hood its spinning leles block and murdering it as mentioned before). i forgot to mention aswell when paired with mons like ival and diff special attackers who get walled by slowk it either kills slowking or forces out a tera after some time from gking opening up its teammates to more wallbreaking opportunities.
RIP ZAMAZENTA
unfortunately all my replays with lil bro cooking are from pre zama ban and the meta has changed a lot from then (zama ban also benefits tf out of weavile cuz that was its best wall). But overall this mons revenge killing, stallbreaking and speed plus the fact it gives guaranteed progress in games with knock off imo make it enough to be ranked A alongside its pals.
This guy is such an underrated setup sweeper and/or breaker right now and I feel like it deserves a C or C- rank on VR.
Compared to Mega Lopunny and Mega Medicham, who are faster and stronger respectively, Galarian Zapdos has an item slot which can be very powerful in the right areas. Choice Band sets are able to make holes into teams with good prediction, especially since U-Turn helps in this regard, while making Galarian Zapdos a solid offensive pivot in the process. Defiant is another thing holding it above these two, since Landorus-T is commonly used to switch into them, but it gets destroyed by Galarian Zapdos in the process. Additionally, Landorus-T, alongside Alomomola, defensive Gliscor and Ferrothorn, can be used as setup fodder for the Bulk Up + Flyinium Z sets with Subsitute, which Mega Lopunny and Mega Medicham lack; compared to Flyinium Z Landorus-T, Galarian Zapdos keeps its ability to use Flying STAB, so it is much easier to use against defensive cores including Corviknight or Tornadus-T, who could otherwise wall you if you didn't have Flying STAB outside of Supersonic Skystrike. Unlike Urshifu-R, Galarian Zapdos is faster, letting it get the jump on offensive Iron Crown and the much more niche Hydreigon, while allowing it to speedtie with Mega Medicham, Volcarona, Mega Charizard Y and even its Kantonian counterpart (which is good for Flyinium Z sets). Great Tusk on the other hand, although it has more team utility in Rapid Spin, similarly loses to Landorus-T like Mega Lopunny and Mega Medicham even with Ice Spinner, alongside being slower and having a harder time setting up with its own Bulk Up set. Lastly, Hawlucha, the other Fighting/Flying type of the tier, can only afford to setup once, effectively doesn't have an item, and has worse offensive stats than Galarian Zapdos does, as well as being susceptible to Intimidate once again. Defiant is such a powerful ability that this tier doesn't really have, and although Contrary is similar, it doesn't provide the immediate offensive pressure that Defiant does.
Speaking of offensive pressure, Choice Band Galarian Zapdos is pretty strong, being able to 2HKO pretty much anything that doesn't resist it. Only Zapdos is a true counter to Galarian Zapdos in my eyes, since Alomomola completely folds to Bulk Up sets, while Tapu Koko doesn't have the bulk to stand up against Galarian Zapdos consistently:
Brave Bird + Choice Band 252 Atk Choice Band Zapdos-Galar Brave Bird vs. 4 HP / 252+ Def Alomomola: 237-280 (50.2 - 59.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO 252 Atk Choice Band Zapdos-Galar Brave Bird vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Diancie-Mega: 131-155 (54.3 - 64.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO 252 Atk Choice Band Zapdos-Galar Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 40+ Def Ferrothorn: 199-235 (56.5 - 66.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery 252 Atk Choice Band Zapdos-Galar Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 200+ Def Garchomp: 222-262 (52.8 - 62.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO 252 Atk Choice Band Zapdos-Galar Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Gliscor: 235-277 (66.3 - 78.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Poison Heal 252 Atk Choice Band Zapdos-Galar Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Gouging Fire: 243-286 (58.6 - 69%) -- guaranteed 2HKO 252 Atk Choice Band Zapdos-Galar Brave Bird vs. 244 HP / 0 Def Iron Hands: 268-316 (52.5 - 61.9%) -- 98.8% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery 252 Atk Choice Band Zapdos-Galar Brave Bird vs. 136 HP / 0 Def Kartana: 226-267 (77.1 - 91.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO +1 252 Atk Choice Band Zapdos-Galar Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Landorus-Therian: 331-390 (86.6 - 102%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO 252 Atk Choice Band Zapdos-Galar Brave Bird vs. 52 HP / 0 Def Mawile-Mega: 118-139 (46.4 - 54.7%) -- 62.9% chance to 2HKO 252 Atk Choice Band Zapdos-Galar Brave Bird vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Pelipper: 205-243 (63.4 - 75.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO 252 Atk Choice Band Zapdos-Galar Brave Bird vs. 248 HP / 112+ Def Scizor-Mega: 178-211 (51.8 - 61.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO 252 Atk Choice Band Zapdos-Galar Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Slowking-Galar: 342-403 (86.8 - 102.2%) -- 18.8% chance to OHKO 252 Atk Choice Band Zapdos-Galar Brave Bird vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Tapu Koko: 162-192 (57.6 - 68.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO 252 Atk Choice Band Zapdos-Galar Brave Bird vs. 184 HP / 108 Def Tornadus-Therian: 303-357 (87.8 - 103.4%) -- 25% chance to OHKO 252 Atk Choice Band Zapdos-Galar Brave Bird vs. 248 HP / 212+ Def Toxapex: 157-186 (51.8 - 61.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO 252 Atk Choice Band Zapdos-Galar Brave Bird vs. 116 HP / 0 Def Ursaluna: 274-324 (63.7 - 75.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after burn damage
Close Combat + Choice Band 252 Atk Choice Band Zapdos-Galar Close Combat vs. 4 HP / 252+ Def Alomomola: 237-280 (50.2 - 59.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO 252 Atk Choice Band Zapdos-Galar Close Combat vs. 248 HP / 184+ Def Corviknight: 211-249 (52.8 - 62.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO 252 Atk Choice Band Zapdos-Galar Close Combat vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Diancie-Mega: 262-310 (108.7 - 128.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO 252 Atk Choice Band Zapdos-Galar Close Combat vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Iron Crown: 286-337 (74.6 - 87.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO 252 Atk Choice Band Zapdos-Galar Close Combat vs. 84 HP / 0 Def Iron Crown: 286-337 (83.6 - 98.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO 252 Atk Choice Band Zapdos-Galar Close Combat vs. 116 HP / 0 Def Mawile-Mega: 237-279 (87.7 - 103.3%) -- 25% chance to OHKO 252 Atk Choice Band Zapdos-Galar Close Combat vs. 76 HP / 48 Def Raging Bolt: 294-346 (71.7 - 84.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Flyinium Z + Bulk Up +1 252 Atk Zapdos-Galar Supersonic Skystrike (190 BP) vs. 4 HP / 252+ Def Alomomola: 375-442 (79.4 - 93.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO +1 252 Atk Zapdos-Galar Supersonic Skystrike (190 BP) vs. 252 HP / 40+ Def Ferrothorn: 315-372 (89.4 - 105.6%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO +1 252 Atk Zapdos-Galar Supersonic Skystrike (190 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Gliscor: 372-438 (105 - 123.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO +1 252 Atk Zapdos-Galar Supersonic Skystrike (190 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Landorus-Therian: 348-411 (91 - 107.5%) -- 43.8% chance to OHKO +1 252 Atk Zapdos-Galar Supersonic Skystrike (190 BP) vs. 248 HP / 148 Def Moltres: 421-496 (109.9 - 129.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO +1 252 Atk Zapdos-Galar Supersonic Skystrike (190 BP) vs. 248 HP / 212+ Def Toxapex: 247-292 (81.5 - 96.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO +1 252 Atk Zapdos-Galar Supersonic Skystrike (190 BP) vs. 244 HP / 0 Def Iron Hands: 424-499 (83.1 - 97.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery 252 Atk Zapdos-Galar Supersonic Skystrike (190 BP) vs. 184 HP / 108 Def Tornadus-Therian: 319-376 (92.4 - 108.9%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO
So it clearly does a lot of damage, but Choice Band sets still have U-Turn to help pivot around and assist other offensive mons like Tapu Lele or Garchomp getting in safely, especially since they can handle some of the things that could check Galarian Zapdos, like Zapdos, healthy Toxapex or Alomomola. Galarian Zapdos fits very well on hazard stack teams since not only does a lot of its calcs become OHKO rolls after rocks (such as for Iron Crown, Mega Mawile or Toxapex) but Defiant obviously discourages Defog, so it's immediate power is staggered to all new heights with the +2 boosts. The Bulk Up sets are especially deadly since Galarian Zapdos synergises well with Dual Screens too for similar reasons, and because Subsitute makes it much harder to revenge-kill for Pokemon like Mega Diancie or Iron Valiant who would otherwise easily offensively check it. Substitute isn't required on Galarian Zapdos either, I've experimented with Taunt and it can be pretty useful into Bulk Up Corviknight or Dondozo compared to Subsitute, especially if combined with Thunderous Kick, making Galarian Zapdos pretty good at breaking opponents down even without significant boosts:
Overall, it's great ability, good movepool, serviceable stats and unresisted STAB lead me to believe Galarian Zapdos has a solid niche in the tier for the C ranks. I'd argue it has much more going for it compared to Pokemon like Mega Charizard X, Magnezone and ESPECIALLY MEGA BANETTE (who shouldn't even be ranked this mon is dogshit).
EDIT: I forgot about this but there's also a Choice Scarf set that I've added to the list of sets. It's similar to Urshifu-R's Scarf set, although I haven't used it so take what I say with a pinch of salt, but it's faster making it good at revenge-killing pokemon like Ogerpon-W or Mega Lopunny. This is definitely it's weakest set but it could probably have some merit somewhere.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldex-2142025839 Galarian Zapdos punishes Tyranitar lead (who would've been problematic against Grimmsnarl), gets a free Substitute while further punishing Landorus-T misplay, before OHKOing the worthless Mega Banette, and removing Scarf Heatran from play. This lets Serperior clean up much more easily.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldex-2142027760 Galarian Zapdos punishes Gliscor for clicking Defog before obliterating it and Alomomola with Tera Flying +2 Choice Band Brave Bird (in hindsight maybe Tera wasn't needed). This lets Garchomp clean up very easily without Gliscor or Alomomola to slow it down.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldex-2142030914 Funnily removes Choice Scarf Samurott-H after it lowered its Defense with Razor Shell, OHKOing with U-Turn of all things. It comes back in later to remove Landorus-T with Tera Flying Brave Bird even without the +1 from Defiant. With Mega Diancie (somewhat) handling Raging Bolt and Cinderace being able to clean it up, the lack of Landorus-T would've given Cinderace an easy win, if it didn't fucking miss.
Thanks to its dual Steel/Psychic typing and versatile movepool, Jirachi occupies a unique niche in NDOU. It stands out due to its ability to play various roles such as defensive support or Choice Scarf. It is particularly effective at switching into Pokémon like Tapu Lele, special Iron Valiant, serperior, slowking galar, latias and most special attackers.
- Jirachi can utilize a varied movepool including Doom Desire, Stealth Rock, Wish, Healing Wish, Thunder Wave, Toxic, and coverage moves like Fire Punch. This sets it apart from Iron Crown. Jirachi also has options like Future Sight and Psychic Noise, just like Iron Crown.
Choice Scarf Jirachi stands out by being a fast check to Pokémon like Tapu Lele,serperior winning duels thanks to Iron Head and Serene Grace. Its access to Healing Wish allows it to help a teammate return to the battle once Jirachi has done its job. its speed allows it to be a fast pivot allowing it to outspeed all the fast pokemon in the tier like loppuny tapu koko or even darkrai
The wide variety of options in its movepool allows Jirachi to adapt to many teams and their specific needs. Jirachi can be configured to respond to specific threats from the opponent, thus offering flexibility that Iron Crown does not have.
to conclude jirachi is a pokemon which is really versatile who deserves more visibility than he currently has.
other sets can be mentioned like the z happy hours
Moltres is kinda good ngl. checks msciz lacking knock and is a good punisher against common mons with contact like mlopp or if msciz u turns. it kinda is a little passive and if you really need a kanto bird, Zapdos exists
Volc should honestly be in a+(though I'm not noming it) it abuses tera super hard and is bulky enough to live a hit and usually one qd is all you need to sweep(not to mention coverage like tera grass giga drain and HP ground)
Latios-Mega is actually kinda good. stab dracos and psyshocks hit quite hard coming from a base 160 spark. Lack of specs is bad but coverage in mystical fire and pivot in flip turn is always appreciated
Maybe bc idk how to use lando properly but I think it shouldn't be s. Prob s-. Literally every Mon has knock and toxic, defog is done by Zapdos and torn-t and realistically only scarf sets are actually good. fast taunt/sr combined with u turn, stone edge for predictions and stab eq are always good ig
Weavile needs a raise. that's all I'm saying. banded pursuit/knock hits hard and sort of revenge kills vs Lele if Lele is choice locked into psychic/specs. Glowking switches instead of pivots as knock hurts. I originally wanted to put mtar instead but realized there are far better megas to waste ur slot on. Weavile helps pursuit trap whilst being quite splashable
Finally, ogerpon wellspring. why is this thing good? ik it's good but it should be a at best. relies on either an inaccurate move or kinda weak move for grass stab and being tera locked to water isn't always good. sure +2 superpower ohkos Ferro but still
ok this thing is actually good. Suffers from 4mss a bit too hard but it's fast enough to out speed shit while not being speed control. encore destroys passive mons, knock is generally good and..
I think volcanion has a place in the current meta, about on par with other C+ mons such as excadrill, moltres and ceruledge. Why?
Volcanion has many things going for it: good stats, great typing, great ability, good movepool. How does that help us determine its spot in the meta?
First of all, volcanion is a high power low speed special attacker. This means it needs entry points throughout the game in order to fire off its attacks. Its defensive profile provides entry into some of the most common mons in the meta, such as mega scizor, corviknight, ferro and the ever present water types, most notably alomomola and choice locked barraskewda or urshifu. Access to taunt can ruin an alomomola’s game and, combined with the potential fire spin, can trap and kill its most common switch in, glowking. In many ways, volcanion behaves like a water absorb offensive heatran: it can find entry points into most steels, while also happily switching into a mola or a pelipper. Also, its rain matchup is pretty great, unlike heatran which finds itself into ohko range from pretty much every water move and has its attacking potential neutered by the rain effect.
I have had a lot of success with this set:
While most trapping sets I have seen are bulkier, I think the main benefit of volcanion is its immediate power, which comes at a not-so-bad speed tier. Other noteworthy tera options are ghost, which guarantees you trap and 1v1 blissey, or steel in order to always trap and 1v1 glowking, without any need for prior chip or a healthy volcanion. Tera ground deals with its most important threat in the meta, tapu koko.
Here is a replay where, despite my awful play throughout the game, I manage to pull a win with volcanion against a pretty standard looking mega scizor offence.
I think volcanion has a place in the current meta, about on par with other C+ mons such as excadrill, moltres and ceruledge. Why?
Volcanion has many things going for it: good stats, great typing, great ability, good movepool. How does that help us determine its spot in the meta?
First of all, volcanion is a high power low speed special attacker. This means it needs entry points throughout the game in order to fire off its attacks. Its defensive profile provides entry into some of the most common mons in the meta, such as mega scizor, corviknight, ferro and the ever present water types, most notably alomomola and choice locked barraskewda or urshifu. Access to taunt can ruin an alomomola’s game and, combined with the potential fire spin, can trap and kill its most common switch in, glowking. In many ways, volcanion behaves like a water absorb offensive heatran: it can find entry points into most steels, while also happily switching into a mola or a pelipper. Also, its rain matchup is pretty great, unlike heatran which finds itself into ohko range from pretty much every water move and has its attacking potential neutered by the rain effect.
I have had a lot of success with this set:
While most trapping sets I have seen are bulkier, I think the main benefit of volcanion is its immediate power, which comes at a not-so-bad speed tier. Other noteworthy tera options are ghost, which guarantees you trap and 1v1 blissey, or steel in order to always trap and 1v1 glowking, without any need for prior chip or a healthy volcanion. Tera ground deals with its most important threat in the meta, tapu koko.
Here is a replay where, despite my awful play throughout the game, I manage to pull a win with volcanion against a pretty standard looking mega scizor offence.
Why speed when the whole point of is it's an bulky offensive trapper like you said. Also some run u turn instead of volt switch and heatran can stall you with tera grass + magma storm and toxic bc your not immune
Why speed when the whole point of is it's an bulky offensive trapper like you said. Also some run u turn instead of volt switch and heatran can stall you with tera grass + magma storm and toxic bc your not immune
The idea I tried to convey is that volcanion is a great immediate power special attacker with the trapping part as an added benefit, not as its main job. Getting toxic stalled by a heatran is unlikely due to volcanion’s faster taunt. The “X tera ruins your day” argument can be applied to every mon.
Koko does run uturn on most of its sets but that is not a problem. Tera ground is meant to be an option to dodge a thunderbolt and take out the koko (with chip). If the koko uturns on the tera, you simply kill whatever comes in instead. I’m not saying tera ground is optimal, but it provides an immunity and a resistance against two out of volcanion’s 3 natural weaknesses.
Edit: regarding the speed, its great to creep the entire range of mons around the 222 point, which includes slow landos, heatrans and scizors. Volcanion’s “bulk” is more of a consequence of its base stats and amazing typing, I don’t believe further investment is rewarding enough
Personally I think this Mon is top 5 atm. It’s a great enabler, amazing speed control and it’s incredibly threatening. Specs or Z both require caution from the opponent, most ground types aren’t safe switch ins. And to be completely fair, the Koko player will not always want to spam volt switch, I’m not sure where the prediction burden lies. I doubt there’s any objections to this post but I’d like it to add something that might be controversial. Even S- should be considered, the level of impact this Pokemon has is underestimated. Unfortunately its lack of immediate damage without modifiers makes it difficult to make progress with it early on. An example, Landorus will live HP Ice from standard 252 Koko unless specs.
252 SpA Choice Specs Tapu Koko Hidden Power Ice vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Landorus-Therian: 384-452 (100.5 - 118.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Tapu Koko Hidden Power Ice vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Landorus-Therian: 256-304 (67 - 79.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Tapu Koko Hidden Power Ice vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Landorus-Therian: 256-304 (80.2 - 95.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
SD sets are less consistent with the rise of offense and less fat. Landorus is also the preferred option due to set versatility which Landorus generally exerts more pressure offensively and is a great emergency check to many physical attackers with the help of intimidate.
Fortunately, Gliscor holds a few key advantages over Landorus. To state the obvious, longevity. It’s a great status and knock absorber. The other major thing is spikes, it’s one of the most valuable moves in the tier, helps wear down walls and pivots, pairs well with priority or fast pivots like Scizor, Koko and Urshifu. No other ground types compete with Gliscor as a spiker, Garchomp is not a replacement because they meet different requirements when building.
Gliscor is very good still but is not favored in the meta as opposed to other ground types. Honestly it works best on stall and mega tar teams to form a hazard stack core. Even then, there is competition for its slot. I don’t think this Mon is deserving of S- especially since when we initially ranked this mon to S-, it is not as good since then.
SD sets are less consistent with the rise of offense and less fat. Landorus is also the preferred option due to set versatility which Landorus generally exerts more pressure offensively and is a great emergency check to many physical attackers with the help of intimidate.
Fortunately, Gliscor holds a few key advantages over Landorus. To state the obvious, longevity. It’s a great status and knock absorber. The other major thing is spikes, it’s one of the most valuable moves in the tier, helps wear down walls and pivots, pairs well with priority or fast pivots like Scizor, Koko and Urshifu. No other ground types compete with Gliscor as a spiker, Garchomp is not a replacement because they meet different requirements when building.
Gliscor is very good still but is not favored in the meta as opposed to other ground types. Honestly it works best on stall and mega tar teams to form a hazard stack core. Even then, there is competition for its slot. I don’t think this Mon is deserving of S- especially since when we initially ranked this mon to S-, it is not as good since then.
I disagree with the gliscor drop, imo the biggest contributor to the disappearance of SD glisc is… spikes gliscor outclassing it. Hazard stack is a very flexible playstyle (not at all limited to mtar structures) and defog sets are still fine since good durable defoggers are kinda hard to come across these days.
I also disagree with a Gliscor drop. Spikes Gliscor is actually really annoying on hazard stack (which as Nish pointed out, is very flexible as a playstyle) because its naturally great defensive profile and longevity makes it greatly efficient at getting them up. It's especially noteworthy because on those hazard stack teams, much like Ferrothorn, it's very good at abusing common removal options and potentially outlasting them. You can run knock off to support your stealth rocker and make it harder for opposing defoggers to remove your hazards, while Toxic lets you play the long game and wear down those removal options. TornT and Zapdos especially are victim to this and while not really good (but ladder somehow loves it), Moltres as well.
Also I hadn't thought about it til Nish pointed it out but yeah. We don't have that many great defoggers in general, let alone sturdy ones and Gliscor is one of the few "sturdy" ones we have.
Do agree with koko rise though. Staple on all kinds of playstyles and enables a lot of strategies to function and one of the best unboosted forms of speed control around, especially relevant with Darkrai everywhere.
Also I hadn't thought about it til Nish pointed it out but yeah. We don't have that many great defoggers in general, let alone sturdy ones and Gliscor is one of the few "sturdy" ones we have.
is actually quite good in this meta imo since iirc generic pivot hp ice is a roll to 2hko. Imo also suffers from 4mss cos roost, knock, toxic, u turn, defog, eq for stab, spikes, protect and some other shit I may or may not have forgor about
In response to everyone who replied to my post, thank you for the engagement. My biggest motivation to drop Gliscor is his decrease in value since he was last ranked. I don’t agree that SD is not used because it’s purely outclassed by spikes but I can acknowledge that is part of it and I’ll admit it’s something I overlooked in my initial post.
In terms of poor removal options, I’ll load h-stack later and take note of what I see. I’ve been on and off since zama ban so a few things could be inaccurate.
C-> B+ easily the best support mon in the tier makes it basically a 10v6 other HO support mons are built for and lame, even with the cteams they cant handle the grimm it does what it does insanely well and foul play sets will even snipe good KO's on anything trying to boost up. Screens stays heavily underrated as the most consistent form of HO and enables so many mons with insane coverage that otherwise wouldnt have the bulk to keep up with this tiers meta.. Enables the several unwallable breakers in this tier such as to trade off and go for an easy wincon vs common defensive structures and any competent builder can work around the common anti-leads such as and
A- -> A
B+ -> A-
B+ -> A-
C -> C+
C- -> UR
252 Atk Choice Band Tera Dark Weavile Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 4 HP / 252+ Def Alomomola: 248-294 (52.5 - 62.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Choice Band Tera Dark Weavile Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Corviknight: 210-248 (52.5 - 62%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Choice Band Tera Dark Weavile Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 248 HP / 212+ Def Toxapex: 164-194 (54.1 - 64%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Nominating Galarian Zapdos from UR to C 
252 Atk Choice Band Zapdos-Galar Brave Bird vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Diancie-Mega: 131-155 (54.3 - 64.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Choice Band Zapdos-Galar Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 40+ Def Ferrothorn: 199-235 (56.5 - 66.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Choice Band Zapdos-Galar Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 200+ Def Garchomp: 222-262 (52.8 - 62.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Choice Band Zapdos-Galar Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Gliscor: 235-277 (66.3 - 78.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Poison Heal
252 Atk Choice Band Zapdos-Galar Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Gouging Fire: 243-286 (58.6 - 69%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Choice Band Zapdos-Galar Brave Bird vs. 136 HP / 0 Def Kartana: 226-267 (77.1 - 91.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+1 252 Atk Choice Band Zapdos-Galar Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Landorus-Therian: 331-390 (86.6 - 102%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO
252 Atk Choice Band Zapdos-Galar Brave Bird vs. 52 HP / 0 Def Mawile-Mega: 118-139 (46.4 - 54.7%) -- 62.9% chance to 2HKO
252 Atk Choice Band Zapdos-Galar Brave Bird vs. 248 HP / 112+ Def Scizor-Mega: 178-211 (51.8 - 61.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Choice Band Zapdos-Galar Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Slowking-Galar: 342-403 (86.8 - 102.2%) -- 18.8% chance to OHKO
252 Atk Choice Band Zapdos-Galar Brave Bird vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Tapu Koko: 162-192 (57.6 - 68.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Choice Band Zapdos-Galar Brave Bird vs. 184 HP / 108 Def Tornadus-Therian: 303-357 (87.8 - 103.4%) -- 25% chance to OHKO
252 Atk Choice Band Zapdos-Galar Brave Bird vs. 116 HP / 0 Def Ursaluna: 274-324 (63.7 - 75.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after burn damage
UR > C-/C 
C-> B+ easily the best support mon in the tier makes it basically a 10v6 other HO support mons are built for and lame, even with the cteams they cant handle the grimm it does what it does insanely well and foul play sets will even snipe good KO's on anything trying to boost up. Screens stays heavily underrated as the most consistent form of HO and enables so many mons with insane coverage that otherwise wouldnt have the bulk to keep up with this tiers meta.. Enables the several unwallable breakers in this tier such as 
and 
