the VR really needs some changes so here is what i think reflects the lcwc meta best:
S:
Diglett is undoubtedly the top 2 mon of the tier as it's the best speed control and revenge killer we have, it makes so much MUs better to handle and can trap a wide number of mons due to final gambit, also a solid SR setter.
A+:
Natu is the type of mon that you can add on any team and it will make it better, it's an incredible pivot, gives safety against spikestack and is quite versatile with sets, being able to run calm mind or life orb for extra firepower.
A:
Frillish is an incredible wall that doesn't suffer from being too passive due to scald burn into hex being hard to switch into, it can break through it's own checks in the long run and is also very valuable against sun teams.
A:
Pawniard has to compete with ferroseed for the steel type slot on the team so they should be on the same rank, the scarf set is also very mediocre since it's very predict reliant and can easily lose momentum against mienfoo.
A-:
Abra needs to choose between having extra damage or being able to escape trapping which makes it awkward, counter trapping is not very reliable due to floating dig being everywhere but even then it's still the strongest mon in the meta and will be very good if you can fish for a team without diglett.
B+:
Morelull is the second best fighting resist we currently have, it compresses fighting res and water res in the same slot and is very threatening to mienfoo with moonblast and effect spore, however it's very passive against ferro and has a notable weakness for tspikes or any poison coverage which can make it unreliable.
B+:
Archen is a solid scarfer that can force progress with knock + u-turn combo and has coverage to hit everything it needs, it can also run juice sets that have great wallbreak potential if given the opportunity, unfortunately defeatist + SR weakness limits a lot how much you can get out of it.
B+:
Sandygast has proved to be a solid SR setter and a wall that makes great defensive cores even outside of the usual hazard stack teams, however unlike frillish it's more passive and doesn't get many opportunities to fish for burns.
B+:
Tyrunt doesn't like the rise of Morelull and Frillish/Sandygast but it's definitely still a solid sweeper that just needs someone to find a good team for it to start doing it's thing again.
B:
Grookey has a hard time sweeping due to the limited turns it has + how much support it needs, it doesn't force much progress since it knocks the same mons that would be knocked by mienfoo (koffing and larv), has low defensive value for being a grass type that absolutely doesn't want to switch in on scalds and usually relies on speedties to break through natu.
B:
Mareanie is by far the most trappable fighting resist we have which makes it unreliable, however it's still a great mon that can make progress early by spamming knock off.
B-:
There is 0 reasons to be running timburr outside of that one sun team rn, the 2 structures that would normally use it (fighting spam and larv teams) are mediocre, and in any other team you would much rather have mienfoo instead.
B-:
Hard to justify using trapinch over diglett, it still does it's job just fine but there aren't that many strong sweepers to abuse ferro/pory being removed so you usually don't get that many value out of it, not to mention fgambit dig can also trap ferro if needed while being much better overall.
B-:
Magnemite is nothing but a MU fish, scarf sets against dig teams need to win a 50/50 every single time and they also just can't break through ferro, the charge beam salac set can either insta win or be completely useless depending on wheter your opp has a ferro or not, overall a very unreliable mon.
UR -> C:
Lileep is a niche SR setter that can absorb scalds from frillish and hits the same bulk as sandygast meaning it can also check the likes of natu and ponyta, however it's extremely passive with no way of punishing a mienfoo switch while also being weak to u-turn, it has a place in some tspikes teams but probably not something you would want to run often.
C:
Foongus is simply outclassed by morelull, with lower defenses and no resist to knock it gets worn down very easily and really hates to face the common koffing + natu combination, the one niche it has is not having the tspikes weakness which could become relevant if more people start running that.
UR:
i see no reason to run pancham at all, worse than the 2 other fighting types so it's only niche is on a fighting spam (which is already mediocre) and even then farfetch'd-galar is doing the same job, if not better.
UR:
Shellos is simply outclassed by every single other defensive water type, no scald + hex combination, no spin + twave, no tp + future sight, the one niche it has is sticky hold but it's not enough when you're still being a passive mon that doesn't check anything the other water types don't, the cmn set is also very meme and needs a lot of support to not just insta lose against frillish.
Why play SS LC?
Vullaby
Mienfoo
Koffing
Ferroseed
Omanyte
Ponyta
Porygon
Staryu
Ponyta-Galar
Chinchou
Onix
Carvanha
Dwebble
Mudbray
Sandshrew-Alola
Snover
Vulpix
Charmander
Spritzee
Larvesta
Munchlax
Elekid
Corphish
Slowpoke
Wingull
Drilbur
Shellder
Venipede
Wynaut
Kabuto
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- Air Balloon/Shed Shell Diglett is a potential ban candidate to me. It limits Abra, which is good, but it also invalidates Pokemon such as Mareanie, Larvesta, and most electric types in addition to limiting or trapping even more. It being unable to be counter trapped usually means that these Pokemon become unviable or very inconsistent, since Shed Shell dig can not be limited to one kill/entry. Banning Diglett would be a drastic shift that would almost certainly result in more bans down the road, but considering the state of the tier almost no matter what gets used, I support this.
