NU Viability Rankings

[ceal]

Sceptile to S: Agree

Sceptile is one of the most meta-defining special attackers in the tier, with its blazing speed it can outspeed every unboosted mon in the tier bar niche mons like Ninjask and Electrode and hit them with a powerful specs leaf storm. The thing about Sceptile is that, not only is it incredibly fast, but also hits incredibly hard, and has few switch-ins thanks to its amazing coverage. Considering most teams’ answer to this is sack and revenge w/ Drapion, or switch in w/ Golbat, which is easily taken advantage of by threats like Sneasel, Rhydon, and even Barbaracle, Sceptile is an easy S in my eyes.

Machamp to A+: Agree

Losing possibly one of his best offensive checks in Cofagrigus means that the CHAMP gets more opportunities to fire off his super-powered attacks without becoming setup fodder, which is always a great thing. As always, Machamp has no switch-ins, 2hko’ing practically every pokemon in the tier after rocks, even Slowbro. He may not have speed or longevity, but he just simply lacks actual switch-ins, and he makes his mark in almost every game.

Slowking to A-/B+: Agree

Slowking is mostly outclassed by Slowbro, that’s simply a fact, as Phys.Def and CM sets are done better by Bro due to is better overall bulk (for those who don’t know, Slowbro can run 240 sp.def evs and 16 def evs with a bold nature and have the same sp.def and two more points in defense, making him bulkier). His only good set that’s seen a moderate amount of use in high-level play is AV, which, while alright, falters against most of the offensive special attackers in the A ranks (only really checking Meloetta, Sigilyph, and Vivillon, and even they can be set-dependent), and means you can’t run a Slowbro on the same team, and when the CHAMP is looking to be stronger than ever before, having a semi-consistent check is better than a fighting “resist” that gets 2hko’d by cc after rocks.

 

[Earth]

** Virizion -> S

I think that Virizion is one of the best Pokemon in the current metagame. It has very few reliable checks and almost no counter (except for, like, Gourgeist) thanks to its insane coverage. I'll talk about the most powerful set currently, the SD one. Virizion runs double STAB and has the ability to run Rockium Z with Stone Edge, or Psychium Z with Zen Headbutt, each of these sets have their merits; Stone Edge hits multiple Flying-type mons that would usually try to switch in, such as Xatu, while Zen Headbutt hits Pokémon like Croagunk, and the various other Fighting- and Poison-type mons we have in the current tier. Its speed tier is very good, 108 base speed, which makes it able to outspeed a good amount of Pokemon in the tier, that combined to its power after one SD can be very dangerous if a team is unprepared. The main raison why I'm nominating Virizion for S is the fact that it's very hard to prepare for because of its unpredictable coverage move.

** Granbull (B) -> B+

In my opinion, Granbull definitely deserves more love. To me, it currently is one of the best defensive mons; Granbull is an awesome check to a top-tier threat: Sneasel, a non negligible quality. Also, Granbull is an amazing Fighting check, thanks to its typing and Intimidate, which is really nice since we have plenty of those. It has utility in moves such as Thunder Wave and Heal Bell, and can run Normalium Z with Z-Heal Bell, giving it more longetivity. I think that the metagame is very kind to Granbull, and it deserves to get a better spot in the VR.

** Machamp -> A+ / agree

Machamp has always been amazing, but the departure of Cofagrigus makes it even more of a strong threat. Machamp's raw power (130 base Attack) combined with Guts makes it incredibly hard to switch into, having very few Pokemon being able to take Gust-boosted Facade, or Close Combat, or Knock Off. It's a physical Pokemon that isn't scared of getting burnt, which is a very interesting quality, therefore it also makes it a decent status absorber. Machamp is definitely one of the biggest threats right now, and deserves the A+ rank.

 

[Punchshroom]

I think that Virizion is one of the best Pokemon in the current metagame. It has very few reliable checks and almost no counter (except for, like, Gourgeist) thanks to its insane coverage. I'll talk about the most powerful set currently, the SD one. Virizion runs double STAB and has the ability to run Rockium Z with Stone Edge, or Psychium Z with Zen Headbutt, each of these sets have their merits; Stone Edge hits multiple Flying-type mons that would usually try to switch in, such as Xatu, while Zen Headbutt hits Pokémon such as Golbat, and the various Fighting-type mons we have in the current tier. Its speed tier is very good, 108 base speed, which makes it able to outspeed a good amount of Pokemon in the tier, that combined to its power after one SD can be very dangerous if a team is unprepared. The main raison why I'm nominating Virizion for S is the fact that it's very hard to prepare for because of its unpredictable coverage move.

So...why wouldn't you Continental Crush the Golbat again?

up to S

Sceptile is what I would call a 'brainless attacker'; between its defining Speed tier, great power, strong neutral coverage, and good sustain for a sweeper, there is very little repercussion for Sceptile to throw out attacks and do a chunk to pretty much everything in the tier, because Leaf Storm and Overgrow Giga Drain coming from those offensive stats are just that good. Heck, Sceptile can get away with just spamming Specs/LO Grass attacks throughout an entire match should the opponent lack a 4x Grass resist or super fat 2x resist. Swords Dance sets are certainly a threat as well, providing a wincon as well as a way to punish some of its checks. It's extremely self-sufficient and splashable, to the point where I'd say a majority of teams are improved simply by including it onto their team.

up to A-

Cofag's ban from the tier helped Mismagius in two ways. One, there is less competition in the role of "Ghost nuke" in the tier. Two, Machamp's inevitable rise to power would likely result in an influx bulky Poisons and Psychics, which Mismagius appreciates. Mismagius also offers offense a very soft Machamp check, as any deterrent against Machamp's two strongest attacks is helpful and can be significant in limiting the amount of kills Machamp gets. Outside of Ghostium Z, Mismagius can prove slightly tricky to check as well with the prospect of Colbur Berry or Rockium Z.

up to S

I'm just gonna lead off by echoing my prior thoughts on this mon before the ban:

Holy shit, this is easily my least favorite Pokemon to fight in this tier. Between Colbur CM and Choice Specs, this Pokemon can badly punish you for hazarding a guess and has the gall to not even slow down the pain train afterward. Meloetta has unreasonably respectable Speed for a Pokemon so specially tanky, and its coverage lets it nails the entire tier for neutral at worst. Colbur Melo flips off attempts to Pursuit trap it and blasts away with +1 Hyper Voice to instantly put down your Sneasel or Drapion or whatever and continue holepunching while being just generally annoying to revenge kill, whereas Choice Specs has absurdly strong neutral coverage and has the option to either run moves like U-turn, Knock Off, or Dazzling Gleam or even consider forgoing Hyper Voice to fully round out its Psychic coverage and throw you off your game. And then we got sets like SubCM which preys on your overconfident AV Slowking, and even some whack Calm Mind + Bloom Doom set to smash counters like Spiritomb + Steelix + Slowking in one go & give me nasty Necrozma vibes all over again. FUCK fighting this mon.

While the loss of Cofagrigus may seem to have weakened one of Meloetta's best niches in the tier, Meloetta still manages to benefit from the situation. Namely, the inevitable rise of Machamp (which even unboosted Meloetta easily OHKOes), the increase in bulky Poison-types. and the greater opportunity cost of running Slowking over Slowbro give Meloetta more breaking opportunities than before. Frankly I thought a rise for this was overdue, and Meloetta is still a potent threat in that you pretty much need at least 2 solid checks to avoid getting overrun by this; a definitive quality for S Rank.

Also yeah Machamp for A+

 

[Earth]

So...why wouldn't you Continental Crush the Golbat again?

Indeed, my bad, my example was quite stupid; didn’t realize it at first. Edited that to a more relevant mon that ZHB would hit, thanks for pointing that out.

 

[The Goomy]

Indeed, my bad, my example was quite stupid; didn’t realize it at first. Edited that to a more relevant mon that ZHB would hit, thanks for pointing that out.

Still disagree that the fighting types are the main draw of Psychic Z. The real allure is being able to lure and beat common answers like Garb and Plume for other team members to succeed.

 

[LORD HELIX 65]

I'll throw in my two cents:
Machamp: A ---> A+

Now that cofagrigus is gone, Machamp is considerably more frightening since it can now spam CC and facade easier with having to fear cofagrigus switching in. Also, A Bulk up guts set with aurora veil works surprisingly well. With webs seemingly increasing in popularity, Machamp can benefit from being on a webs team to make the most of its low speed. The absence of Cofagrigus has caused a substantial increase in Machamps viability, due to a newfound lack of switch ins. I'm sure this will result in a surge of bulky poisons to try to counter this behemoth. It is going to be a lot harder to wall its facade and CC than ever before.

 

[Shadestep]

definitely agree with sceptile moving to s and machamp moving up. two offensive behemoths that are hard to stop and don't require much team support, especially sceptile. its incredible speed and defenses that arent that bad, as well as being able to beat most other grass types in the tier and outspeeding things like +1 scrafty is very useful.
now onto my own nomination; i was very surprised to see this mon as low as it is and i definitely think it should be used more.

Vikavolt: C+ ---> B_
i feel like this pokemon is a hidden gem in the metagame, and people are finally starting to catch up with it. having a 100% winrate in NUPL so far (it was used in 3 games) speaks for itself. Specs Vikavolt is an insanely powerful nuke that also comes with handy resistances and decent natural bulk, meaning it doesnt die to a meaningless scald or whatever and can switch in somewhat safely on weaker attackers or pokemon like steelix.
here are some high quality replays featuring vikavolt:
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen7nubeta-303182
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen7nubeta-302951
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7nubeta-604789157

aside from specs, there are plenty other good options for it, including bulky roost, or a physdef set although i dont have any experience with that, but i've seen that being used on the ladder a couple of times.
Anyways, i think this pokemon should get a little bit more credit than it does now since it has a crazy 145 base SpA stat and is a gigantic nuke, only really hindered by its poor speed. C+ is way too low for it since its way out of class there with the other barely viable pokemon in that rank.

 

[shiloh]

Update time!

Rises:

Quagsire: C- --> C
Meloetta: A+ --> S
Probopass: Unranked --> C-
Kabutops: Unranked --> C
Turtonator: C --> B-
Sandslash-Alola: C --> A-
Slowbro: A --> A+
Machamp: A --> A+
Shuckle: B --> B+
Aurorus: C --> A-
Vileplume: B+ --> A-
Sceptile: A+ --> S
Granbull: B --> B+
Mismagius: B+ --> A-
Vikavolt: C+ --> B-

Drops:

Slowking: A --> A-
Jellicent: A --> B+
Sneasel: S --> A+
Minior: B --> B-
Absol: B+ --> B
Sableye: B- --> C

All the shifts were proposed by someone in this thread so if you wish to see an explanation just look over the past 2 pages to see the reasoning behind each of the rises / drops! If something still doesn't make sense feel free to PM me or another member of the ranking team to get a more in depth description of the nomination in question.

Continue to focus on the higher ranks for the time being, but since the tiers starting to stabilize we can spend more time focusing on the lower ranks as well as long as it stays on topic and isnt niche mons that dont need to be ranked at the current time.

 

[cyanize]

I like all of these changes. The only one I disagree a bit is dropping Sneasel as it still has an absurd effect on offensive teams that aren't AVeil and Pursuit is busted, but with the meta slowing down some I can understand.

On to a few nominations for a defensive mon that has been a bit overlooked imo:

Gourgeist-XL C -> B-

This mon is so slept on right now. It switches into a good couple of threats in the upper rankings that are hard to cover otherwise and uses them as turns to spread burns or annoy the opposition with Leech Seed. A few examples of threats it comes into include Machamp, Virizion, Hitmonlee, and Scarf Drapion, and it also takes advantage of all of the most common hazard setters, only truly fearing Toxic from Lix. On top of all this, it's not overly passive - between Leech Seed, Wisp, and Foul Play it has the tools to deter or decently chip switchins. All in all, a quite underrated mon and one I think deserves a place in the B ranks, even if only because it reliably beats Machamp lol

 

[Moron5]

Scrafty: B+ => B/B-
Honestly Scrafty is quite underwhelming having played against and built with it several times in the past. There are only two alright Scrafty sets imo and they're both DD (Shed skin dd and moxie z crystal or LO dd) both of which are underwhelming even after a boost (outsped and hard countered by the popular whimsicott also can't do anything to a healthy granbull). Both of those sets are stopped by different things both are which are common in the metagame (status for moxie and pretty much anything that can tank a +1 move from shed skin). It has to choose between drain punch or high jump kick which losing either means a large power drop or lack of any recovery options. Not to mention it's quite overrated as virizion is just so much more reliable and even something like Jynx hits harder and faster once it's got its kiss in.


Tldr: simply put there are better: 1) set up sweepers 2) fighting types

 

[Metal Sonic]

#feelsbadman when my nominations were ignored

Let's try again with a higher tier nomination!

Tauros B+ -> A Rank

Tauros is a very powerful wallbreaker right now with an awesome speed tier that lets it clean teams up as well. As Cofagrigus is out of the tier it can spam STAB Body Slams boosted by both Life Orb and Sheer Force which hurt a ton. It has Base 100 Attack too which is a little bit less than Sceptile's Special Attack (105) and more than Sneasel's Attack (only 90). Tauros has great coverage moves too, like Earthquake to 3HKO Rhydon/Steelix or Fire Blast, which after a Sheer Force and Life Orb boost will still hurt when hitting an enemy (Physically Defensive Steelix) super effectively. Rock Slide is a nice 90 BP coverage move that also gets double boosts, making it very threatening to Golbat and the like.

This bull is the boss, it should rise ;-;

 

[SANJAY]

Gonna have to disagree with the above post

Firstly, I think you're overselling Tauros just a bit. For one, I think the jump from B+ to A is a pretty large one. Though Cofagrigus' departure from the tier has helped it a bit, I don't think Tauros has improved that much to warrant such a big rise. For one, Tauros' speed tier isn't as good as you say it's to be, it still gets outsped by the likes of: Sneasel, Whimsicott, Sceptile, etc which honestly has hindered its ability this gen and are extremely common. Tauros also faces stiff competition from other normal types such as: Dodrio, Cinccino and Ambipom due to their ability not having to run one move just to cater one Pokemon (I'm talking about Tauros having to run Fire Blast simply to hit steelix whereas things such as Dodrio can run Jump Kick to hit other Pokemon other than simply one). Lastly, Iron Tail is invalid with Body Slam which stops Tauros from hitting fairy types, I'm pretty sure. Though Tauros can still be threatening, it's just really mediocre and I don't think it's deserving of a rise to A (A-, maybe) unless a drastic change happens

 

[Metal Sonic]

Thanks for your feedback! I'm sure that most people who have not actually tried Tauros in practice would think the same thing.

Tauros actually has bulk, allowing it to survive Sneasel's attacks and OHKO it. It's speed tier is still good, just because it doesn't outspeed 100% of the tier (that would put it at S rank, then) doesn't mean it's any less effective, it can just switch out of those threats then. The bull actually outspeeds and counters Mismagius, which is quite lol to me.

Fire blast is just a filler; I almost never actually use it in games; with a 40 Base Special Attack it actually sucks, so one can consider running Pursuit instead.

Fairy types don't resist Body Slam, so they still get 2HKOed anyway. True, Iron Tail is not valid, sadly, but I don't fancy using a 75% accuracy move anyway.

I'm not asking it to go to S Rank, but I believe that because of these factors, Tauros definitely warrants a rise; if not to A rank then at least A-.

 

[poh]

Thanks for your feedback! I'm sure that most people who have not actually tried Tauros in practice would think the same thing.

Tauros actually has bulk, allowing it to survive Sneasel's attacks and OHKO it. It's speed tier is still good, just because it doesn't outspeed 100% of the tier (that would put it at S rank, then) doesn't mean it's any less effective, it can just switch out of those threats then. The bull actually outspeeds and counters Mismagius, which is quite lol to me.

Fire blast is just a filler; I almost never actually use it in games; with a 40 Base Special Attack it actually sucks, so one can consider running Pursuit instead.

Fairy types don't resist Body Slam, so they still get 2HKOed anyway. True, Iron Tail is not valid, sadly, but I don't fancy using a 75% accuracy move anyway.

I'm not asking it to go to S Rank, but I believe that because of these factors, Tauros definitely warrants a rise; if not to A rank then at least A-.

I've actually played with Tauros this gen and i can tell you that it's just not as good as before. It struggles a lot to beat physically bulky mons and we have a ton of them right now. Most of them are specially offensive so they have an even easier time against Tauros since it has to run Naive for Fire Blast. It has good coverage to deal with stuff like Golbat but it just lacks the extra power to 2hko its checks which is quite meh. Even in its own rank, mons like Aromatisse, Granbull, Spiritomb, Jellicent and Vaporeon beat it 1v1. And like SANJAY already said, it gets outsped by very good and common mons, another thing hindering Tauros' success. Don't forget the everpresent Scarfed Fighting-types, Slowbros, Rhydons, Steelixes. As long as the meta stays like this, i don't see Tauros doing well. B+ is good for it.

 

[Raseri]

i got permission from rozes to post here but I made a video of me discussing what makes the S and A+ mons good : ) going to post some noms later like Whimsi dropping

 

[LORD HELIX 65]

Incineroar: B ---> B+

Incineroar has the role of an Assault vest user in NU, and this role will only improve thanks to the new meta trends. The rise of Sceptile, Mismagius, Vileplume, Slowbro, and Alolan sandslash means Incineroar can reliably counter these new threats with his 2 stab moves. Darkest Lariat and Flare blitz. Incineroar Can tank anything sceptile throws its way, and OHKO it with Flare blitz. Slowbro is slower (obviously) and takes a good chunk of damage from a darkest lariat and Incineroar can stand up to its non-boosted water type attacks. Vileplume gets outspeed and Incineroar has a decent chance to OHKO it with Flare blitz. Incineroar can crush mismagius with darkest lariat, as even a shadow ball at +2 won't be doing too much to Incineroar. Unless the mismagius runs power gem, it will be hard for it to stand up to Incineroar. Vikavolt is slower than Incineroar and gets OHKOed by Flare blitz, even with max HP. As for Alolan sandslash, it has a 4X weakness to fire, and will inevitably get OHKOed on the switch in trying to set up Aurora Veil. Incineroar loves these new changes in the meta, as it allows him to counter more threats than ever. For these examples of how much more effective Incineroar can be against these rising threats. I would like to see it bump up to B+

 

[Venoxio]

Incineroar: B ---> B+

Incineroar has the role of an Assault vest user in NU, and this role will only improve thanks to the new meta trends. The rise of Sceptile, Mismagius, Vileplume, Slowbro, and Alolan sandslash means Incineroar can reliably counter these new threats with his 2 stab moves. Darkest Lariat and Flare blitz. Incineroar Can tank anything sceptile throws its way, and OHKO it with Flare blitz. Slowbro is slower (obviously) and takes a good chunk of damage from a darkest lariat and Incineroar can stand up to its non-boosted water type attacks. Vileplume gets outspeed and Incineroar has a decent chance to OHKO it with Flare blitz. Incineroar can crush mismagius with darkest lariat, as even a shadow ball at +2 won't be doing too much to Incineroar. Unless the mismagius runs power gem, it will be hard for it to stand up to Incineroar. Vikavolt is slower than Incineroar and gets OHKOed by Flare blitz, even with max HP. As for Alolan sandslash, it has a 4X weakness to fire, and will inevitably get OHKOed on the switch in trying to set up Aurora Veil. Incineroar loves these new changes in the meta, as it allows him to counter more threats than ever. For these examples of how much more effective Incineroar can be against these rising threats. I would like to see it bump up to B+

I mean, Incineroar commonly runs Fire Blast over Blitz, so it can't OHKO Scept right off the bat but it can with some decent Fake Out damage or rocks. Things like Vileplume and Vikavolt can also be OHKOed after chip, Stealth Rocks mostly. It's also one, if, not the best counter to my next nomination, which may be a bit controversial and everyone has a right to disagree with, lmao. In case it wasn't clear, I agree with this nom for all the reasons you stated. But:

B+ --> A-

While this thing faces competition from Meloetta as a CM sweeper, I feel like Delphox regardless is a cut above the rest of the mons in B+. Delphox's coverage is very beneficial to a team in the metagame atm, only being resisted (iirc) by Houndoom and Incineroar. Its CM set is incredibly threatening right now, and other sets like Scarf are also good in the meta. The CM set I'd arguably say is the better set right now, with Delphox's great speed letting it rip bulkier teams apart and outspeeding common Pokemon such as Drapion, Rotom-C, and Sigilyph, and it is also able to easily kill mons that can destroy other fire types like the slows and Jellicent with Grass Knot (none of these waters OHKO Delphox with any STAB). Grassium is also a very good option on this to help it not 2HKO, but utterly annihilate these mons. Its other option, the Scarf set, is great against fast mons in the meta, and the best ones (Sceptile, Virizion, Sneasel) get destroyed by Fire Blast. Its speed tier also allows it to outpace other Scarfers such as Hitmonlee and Rotom-C, and hitting everything hard with its moves. Overall, Delphox's coverage, speed, ability to break past common fire checks, and ability to 1v1 a majority of the most viable mons in the meta warrant a rise to A- Rank.

 

[ceal]

Was originally gonna make this nom myself but oh well

Incineroar to B+: Agreed
AV Incinceroar provides Bulky Offensive teams with a blanket check to a variety of dangerous special attackers, including Sceptile, Meloetta, Houndoom, Sigilyph, Mismagius, Typhosion, Delphox, Xatu, hell it can even check Sneasel in a pinch if it needs to (wouldn't recommend throwing your AV away but the option's there if totally necessary). While some of these mons carry coverage options that can deal massive damage to Incineroar (namely Sceptile and Meloetta's Focus Blast), most of these moves cannot ohko unless Incineroar comes in on rocks (which you shouldn't let go up in the first place with this mon), allowing you to trade out in a 1-v-1 scenario. Furthermore, it does not sacrifice offensive capability for bulk, as it can hit rather hard with its STAB options and has access to a bit of offensive utility in U-Turn and Fake Out, if you run the latter over EQ. While Incineroar does require support, namely hazard removal, this isn't as big an issue as you'd expect, as most of the premier hazard removers in the tier synergize rather well with Incineroar. It also just pairs well with several popular bulky mons like Slowbro and Steelix, making it a great mon on bulkier teams and allowing it to cover for its weaknesses. Overall, Incineroar should rise on the merits that it's bulk and typing help to ease the match-up against some of the most threatening mons in the tier, and the support it does need is readily available on the kind of teams it fits into, making it relatively easy to use to its fullest potential.

 

[Deleted User 400951]

I have some noms:
Accelgor to A- - Honestly I have trouble seeing this out of the A ranks. We're seeing Grass types going up, and Psychic types. Those don't like taking a specs bug buzz to the face. It also notable beats Sneasel if healthy. While SR is a weakness and so are its god-awful defensive stats, they don't stop this mon from outspeeding 80 base speed scarfers - common rn with Medicham for example, which makes it hard to revenge kill- and getting at least 1 kill per game.

Sandslash-Alola and Aurorus to A - Aurora Veil is a defining playstyle in this meta and these two are its lifeblood. Sandslash-Alola can almost always set it up with its incredible speed under hail, whereas Aurorus is a good hail setter that can set it up reliably and can provide SR support for the team (which IMO it's good at because it can force switches to get opportunities to set up). It's also good to note that Sandslash-Alola can spin and sometimes even sweep even with the terrible weaknesses to priority. AV is part of the reason that offense is so good in this meta, with many fast and frail sweepers such as SD Sceptile and Virizion appreciating it. I think these two only being in A- mispresents AV's viability - it is top-tier and these two are why.
As for my original post on this, this is why you don't stay up all night speedrunning kids!

Medicham to B+ - IMO this is rather slept on. As a scarfer, the serviceable speed and still strong power lets it sweep teams once psychics are gone. While there are >80 scarfers like Rotom-Cut, none of them match the power of this thing. There are plenty of rising fighting mons rn and this notably outspeeds and KOes the non-scarfed ones with its powerful Zen HB. Rising Darks don't appreciate an HJK. Finally, weakened threats drop to a BP.

Agreeing with Scrafty to B. It's not fast enough at +1 and getting to +2 isn't gonna be easy when Dark/Fighting defensively is just terrible.

EDITS ARE FUN KIDS (no one can say I double post!):

#feelsbadman when my nominations were ignored

Let's try again with a higher tier nomination!

Tauros B+ -> A Rank

Tauros is a very powerful wallbreaker right now with an awesome speed tier that lets it clean teams up as well. As Cofagrigus is out of the tier it can spam STAB Body Slams boosted by both Life Orb and Sheer Force which hurt a ton. It has Base 100 Attack too which is a little bit less than Sceptile's Special Attack (105) and more than Sneasel's Attack (only 90). Tauros has great coverage moves too, like Earthquake to 3HKO Rhydon/Steelix or Fire Blast, which after a Sheer Force and Life Orb boost will still hurt when hitting an enemy (Physically Defensive Steelix) super effectively. Rock Slide is a nice 90 BP coverage move that also gets double boosts, making it very threatening to Golbat and the like.

This bull is the boss, it should rise ;-;

I think a rise to A- might be ok, but A? This is the only Normal-type that has to bend over backwards to hit Steelix. That's something I feel that people don't tend to think about. And yes, it has trouble with the rising meta trend of physically defensive mons and the sort. However, this thing pretty much destroys slower offensive mons, and the speed tier isn't bad enough to make this point null. I'm looking through S through A- and I've found 16 out of 28 mons not able to switch in. That's honestly not bad, and imo that could warrant a rise. It's already proven itself to be the best offensive normal-type IMO, but A is too far in this Scarfed fighting type meta.

 

[Swaggy-G]

Sandslash-Alola to A - Aurora Veil is a defining playstyle in this meta and while it does face healthy competition from Aurorus, imo this thing is better enough to warrant at least 1 subrank higher. Slush Rush is the reason - it's much much easier for this thing to set up AV than Aurorus because it outspeeds lots of mons under hail and thus isn't as suspectible to Taunt. It can also spin for its team. It also has better physical bulk. The speed and bulk to me matters more than Aurorus's SR because you can fit another SR setter in your team, whereas 2 AV setters imo is bad and thus you need a reliable one.

Aurorus can't learn Aurora Veil. Besides, the two don't face competition from each other since they're both used on AV offense: Aurorus for hail and Sandslash for AV.

 

[yogi]

I'm not nominating anything, however I would like to ask for something from the VR council. Even if I don't always agree with people's reasoning or opinions when it comes to banning/not banning something with the NU council, I do like it that people are starting to post reasons behind why they chose that. Now whilst I know the VR shifts are not as impactful as something being banned, I would like it if the VR council could post reasoning behind why they chose to move a mon up or down. Yes I know that the users that suggested it gave their views, but I think it would be beneficial to see the council's input, as they ultimately have the final say. I'm not asking for a massive in-depth list, just a little bit of text on each nomination. I think this would especially be helpful for things that were nominated but ultimately didn't change position on the VR.

 

[Vults]

Gonna chime in with some claims that i was going to make but was beaten to the punch
First off Gourgeist-XL C -> B- in a meta full of grass and fighting types having those two types is pretty handy. Its one of the only mons that can wall virizion without really needing to worry a whole lot about the z move as you just wisp it. It helps check machamp, and hitmonlee if you are running colbur to wear them down to be revenge later on with leech seed + protect. Its not a perfect pokemon however, you cant really wall steelix because of toxic and alot of the higher fire / dark / ice / poison types really put a dent in it. Gourgeist does however fill a pretty nice niche atm and with some team support its pretty damn solid.

Next up is Delphox B+ --> A- This mon is really nice right now with most of the higher tiers being grass and fighting types. Its stab combo is only walled by two pokemon (houndoom and incinroar) and its got enough speed and special bulk to make a setup set work. Its common sets are calm mind and it can potentially run a scarf set. Cm runs a zmove aimed at breaking through a wall of choice usually z grass but ive been testing out z psychic which is pretty nice as well. The pros of delphox are its speed stat letting it outspeed most of the meta outside of a few choice mons unboosted, and its respectable 100 spdef which lets it setup on weak scalds and even tank strong grass stabs. It has a really nice matchup vs many common mons so i feel it deserves a look.

TL;DR

B+ -> A-

C -> B-

 

[Jarii]

A+ --> S
Some have expected this some would be suprised by this, but all in all Emboar is one of the best if not the best Fire-type and/or even Fighting-type in the tier. Emboars incredible Atk and SpA stat, great offensive typing and good HP (so you can use Flare Blitz and Wild Charge pretty often.) are all great but what pushes it over the edge for me is it's "movepool and ability". With a movepool to hit pretty much everything in the whole metagame at least neutral is already amazing but if you think about the fact that 95% of the time that neutral attack is it's stab Flare Blitz boosted by Reckless is insane. Emboar is also able to run multiple sets while most think only Scarf is the way to go, Expert Belt is great to lure in stuff such as bulky Waters and then hit them with either Grass Knot or Toxic, Choice Band has legit no switch ins even like Slowbro the bulkiest Water type in the tier right gets easily 2 hit KO'ed by Wild Charge. Everytime I was against an Emboar I was thought twice what to switch in to it since you never know what it is. All with all this mon is easily top 3 in SM NU right now and deserves a S rank.

 

[lax]

to idk maybe C at least ;_;

Hey I usually don't post on forums like this but felt that I discovered an underrated mon that has some specific niches. Rn lots of people complain about the meta and rightfully so. Balance/Fat teams are really hard to make without using standard or all too common mons like Slowbro, Steelix, Xatu etc. that just mesh really well together. Furthermore, every team needs their own Sceptile, Meloetta, and Rotom-C (some of the most prevalent and common special attackers) counter, which is where Mr. Trash comes in here. When I was teambuilding I had a really solid core based around the Pokemon I wanted to support. I had 2 slots to fill out that needed to consist of a Rocker, a Pokemon that beats those 3 aforementioned mons, and preferably a Water or Ground type mon. I could not go with the basic Steelix because all those mons have the potential to destroy it, I couldn't go with any other Ground or Rock types because they lose to those grass mons, and I was really stuck. Wormadam Trash here actually fulfilled 2/3 of those roles I needed and then I could pick a more flexible mon for my last. It handles Sceptile, Meloetta, Rotom-C all pretty well.


Wormadam-Trash @ Leftovers
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic
- Protect
- Bug Buzz

The evs and set are pretty straightforward. Max Spdef Max HP to switch into Sceptile, Melo, and Rotom well and just for general bulk. Rocks because this little bug thing somehow gets rocks and rocks are always needed on teams (unless ur kink haha). Toxic to wear down some other mons and Protect to preserve its longevity and to toxic stall. I chose Bug Buzz as my final move because it hits the above 3 threats super effective and Xatu also can't roost up on it. An alternative for this set would be to make its ability Anticipation so you can scout stuff like Xatu's heat wave or random fire coverage on other mons.

Here are some calcs exhibiting its use:

not my tl

252 SpA Choice Specs Sceptile Leaf Storm vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Wormadam-Trash: 51-60 (15.7 - 18.5%) -- possible 8HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Choice Specs Sceptile Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Wormadam-Trash: 126-149 (38.8 - 45.9%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
0 SpA Wormadam-Trash Bug Buzz vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Sceptile: 164-194 (58.3 - 69%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Rotom-Mow Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Wormadam-Trash: 94-112 (29 - 34.5%) -- 99.9% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Rotom-Mow Bloom Doom (195 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Wormadam-Trash: 51-60 (15.7 - 18.5%) -- possible 8HKO after Leftovers recovery
0 SpA Wormadam-Trash Bug Buzz vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Rotom-Mow: 134-162 (55.6 - 67.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Meloetta Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Wormadam-Trash: 145-171 (44.7 - 52.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Choice Specs Meloetta Hyper Voice vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Wormadam-Trash: 81-96 (25 - 29.6%) -- 0% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
0 SpA Wormadam-Trash Bug Buzz vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Meloetta: 116-140 (34 - 41%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

SO all in all, Wormadam doesn't seem too bad and I definitely believe it should receive an official rank, maybe even higher than C but that may be too ambitious for now. It serves a specific niche in being able to beat, force out, or grant yourself the chance to double on 3 of the biggest threats in this tier right now. It has access to stealth rocks and overcoat which grant it more uses. Don't sleep on the trash bug thx

 

[SPACE FORCE meeps]

hello i would like to bring up some pokemon that i have used that have been generally overlooked thus far!

raticate-alola: unranked -> c/c+

i've experimented with two sets for this pokemon and i'll discuss them both in some detail and why i like them:

Raticate-Alola @ Normalium Z
Ability: Hustle
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Crunch
- Double-Edge
- Sucker Punch
- Swords Dance

darknium z is also an option, but normalium z is fairly suitable for teams which can effectively take out steelix, since it'll struggle more against steelix without a one time z-crunch nuke. anyways, this set can serve either an excellent one time nuke, and it can potentially sweep late game if dark resists are removed (and if you can hit your attacks). z-double-edge is extremely dangerous especially considering it cannot miss, even without swords dance, it is capable of ohkoing any offensive pokemon that doesn't resist normal, and enough damage on bulkier pokemon so that they may be ko'd on the next turn if they attempt to switch in, and at +2 anything that doesn't resist normal drops, even doing 50-60% to steelix. it's general coverage is extremely useful as well, as even after its z-move is consumed, it can still ohko a good portion of the bulkier pokemon in the tier. +2 sucker punch is extremely dangerous late game as well, as some potential revenge killers such as rotom-c and sceptile are ohko'd, and even some dark resists such as sneasel and houndoom are ko'd after rocks by +2 sucker punch, which can make raticate-alola potentially dangerous late game. however, it does struggle in the sense that a lot of revenge killers are fighting-type, and it's not necessarily easy for raticate-alola to setup, as its bulk is relatively mediocre and thus it can only take some neutral hits well. also as i've hinted, hustle can be a thorn sometimes as it may miss some attacks in attempt to sweep.

Raticate-Alola @ Dread Plate
Ability: Hustle
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Crunch
- Pursuit
- Sucker Punch
- U-turn

while building my team last week for nupl, i was searching for pokemon not named sneasel, drapion, or spiritomb that could potentially wield pursuit, and when i saw raticate-alola learned it, i thought it would be interesting to experiment with, and i find it to be a fairly dangerous pursuit trapper, as it can ohko the common pursuit targets, and non-physically defense slowking (which was my main pursuit target while teambuilding), while also being capable of switching moves (sneasel and drapion require band to ohko). also accuracy is ignored when an opponent switches out while using pursuit, so that comes in handy despite hustle. u-turn and sucker punch are also nice boons for this set, as it allows raticate-alola to pivot against potential switch-ins and what not, and act as an emergency revenge killer if needed. the other aforementioned pursuit trappers i've mentioned are generally better, but i do think raticate-alola still has some niche in this role

so overall, i think raticate-alola's best role is being a potent wallbreaker/late game sweeper since with z-crystals it can fire off one extremely powerful attack, while also being able to tear through most of the tier after an sd boost, but it does have it's struggles setting up and 80% accuracy is a thing; and it has a neat role in functioning as a pursuit trapper

oricorio: unranked -> c+/b-

i'm probably higher on oricorio than i am on raticate-alola right now; set i've been using:

Oricorio @ Flyinium Z
Ability: Dancer
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hurricane
- U-turn
- Revelation Dance
- Calm Mind

one of the best things about oricorio is that its typing allows it to consistently take advantage of the ever prominent steelix, as it can switch in against either of its attacks, and then proceed to attack or setup, giving it solid potential to disrupt defensive cores in the tier. outside of rock-types, particularly rhydon, oricorio's offensive coverage is really solid in the tier since of course, it can deal heavy damage to steelix with revelation dance, the most common flying resist, which allows it to be a disruptive threat on offensive with its flying coverage as well.

oricorio does share the same typing as charizard, along with inferior stats, but it still has some advantages over charizard. oricorio has access to a more potent flying stab in hurricane, allowing it to better abuse such a potent offensive typing, and a very dangerous z-hurricane which is capable of ohkoing a number of frailer offensive threats without a boost. calm mind is also beneficial for oricorio as it becomes even more threatening after a calm mind boost, ohkoing pokemon such as slowbro which, may be an opposing teams only fire resist, thus allowing for oricorio to potentially ko multiple pokemon if it can take down slowbro, while also paving the way for other fire-types to clean. and oricorio also gets u-turn which is nice for pivoting, and also luring in slowking which can be pursuit trapped, which may pave the way for oricorio to dent the opposing team, given slowking is a solid check to oricorio.

overall i think oricorio benefits greatly from the prevalence of steelix in the tier, as it's capable of tearing through common defensive cores such as steelix / slowbro / posion-type