I have felt for some time that the viability rankings are in need of an overhaul. Sometimes suggested changes are skipped over, so there are some weird placements that have simply been forgotten about. I actually began this post a month or two back, but because of exams and LCPL pre-season, I decided to take a break. In the mean time, some of the suggestions I was planning to write up were implemented in Fiend's recent post, which is good because my post would be at a pretty awkward length otherwise. I expect there are at least a couple of nominations in the list below that you won't agree with, and honestly I would prefer that, because these are a lot of nominations, and I'm sure some of them are quite debatable - hopefully I can spark discussion on some things worth discussing.
Thanks to Tahu for looking this over beforehand.
Fletchling: A+ -> A
And with that, I would like to begin with what will probably be my most controversial nomination.
First off, I really like the state of A+ and S right now and what they represent - the absolute elite of the tier, containing the most splashable, most threatening, most defining Pokemon of LC. And Fletchling is without doubt one of the faces of LC. Not only does it have a suspect behind its belt, it's a staple on extremely popular VoltTurn and Birdspam teams, justifiably sitting near the front of everybody's threat lists.
However, outside of its significance, sometimes I feel like Fletchling isn't quite up to par with the other A+ ranked Pokemon in other categories - or rather, not anymore. It's still absurdly threatening to unprepared teams, but since its suspect a year and a half ago, the metagame has gotten unfriendlier and unfriendlier to it. These metagame shifts have been in no small part due to Fletchling's own strength, of course, but the Viability Rankings represent the viability of a Pokemon in the current state of the metagame; its legacy simply isn't a factor we should consider. This is the same reason why it was brought down from S-rank originally, and I think it's time we moved it down again.
My biggest issue is that Fletchling feels just a little bit less consistently effective nowadays. Don't get me wrong; this is a nomination to mid A, so Fletchling is still super good. That being said, we've always had lots of available checks to Fletchling - Pawniard, Chinchou, and Magnemite drastically hamper Fletchling's ability to sweep, and are as good as ever. But it's not just Flying resists that check Fletchling. Its low initial damage output means that Pokemon like Porygon and Vullaby are able to check it; defensive Porygon in particular is a fantastic Fletchling checks because not only does it take a pitiful amount from unboosted Acrobatics and OHKO in return after Stealth Rock with Ice Beam, but it can counter-trap one of Fletchling's most popular partners, Diglett. Now, very few of these are actually hard counters to Fletchling, but at the same time, you have to consider how Fletchling's frailty - especially if it runs a Special Defense-reducing nature for Overheat - means it struggles to set up or even come into play. If it isn't granted the opportunity to set up, its damage output is somewhat underwhelming in such a bulky offensive metagame, not even OHKOing Foongus or Slowfoo. Checks will almost always suffice, and it's incredibly easy to fit a couple of Fletchling checks onto a team without even thinking about it.
The popularity and splashability of its checks isn't the only way Fletchling's own capabilities have hindered it. The metagame has become extremely well adapted to Fletchling in particular, but Flying is still a great offensive type. As a result, we've seen a rise in other offensive Flying-types, namely Drifloon and Vullaby. For various reasons, many of which are related to their far greater bulk, Drifloon and offensive Vullaby in particular tend to fare much better against popular metagame trends. Drifloon is currently sitting at the same rank as Fletchling, and Vullaby is at the rank that I am proposing Fletchling moves to. In the past few months, they have gone from what was generally a supporting role for Fletchling on birdspam teams to directly competing with, and very often ousting Fletchling as a team's Flying-type. In fact, it's not uncommon to see Fletchling shafted aside even on the birdspam teams that it defined for over a year in favour of a Vullaby + Drifloon core.
I would like to elaborate some more on Fletchling's splashability, because I feel that this is another major area where it tends to struggle to compete with the other A+ ranks, or at least with the ones that are comparably match-up based in their effectiveness (and because it will be a major factor in my next nomination). Again, I'm not trying to say at all that Fletchling is
difficult to fit onto a team. It's one of the most prominent Pokemon on VoltTurn archetypes alongside Mienfoo, Chinchou, and Magnemite, and happens to work especially well on VoltTurn + Diglett teams; although for the first time it's suffering major competition for a slot, it's still a very potent sweeper for bird spam teams; and even run-of-the-mill offensive teams will occasionally find the room for Fletchling as a soft check to Fighting-types and Snivy, as well as a decent late game cleaner. Compared to the other A+ ranks, though, it looks somewhat less impressive. Gastly and Timburr are a bit more difficult to fit onto a team than Fletchling, but I would argue that they are far more consistently effective than Fletchling or even the rest of the A+ rank to make up for it (I suppose the standard Life Orb Gastly set is shut down by Stunky, but Stunky is rare and frankly not great in the current metagame). Whereas Fletchling is a niche pick for general offense and a top pick for two major offensive archetypes, Abra can be tossed onto just about any offensive team and do well; if a team runs any form of hazards (most teams) or simply wants some of the most important defensive Pokemon in the metagame hindered, it will noticeably appreciate Drifloon's presence; and Magnemite is a fantastic pivot and/or safety net for offensive and balanced teams alike, synergizes well with some of the strongest Pokemon in the metagame, and is versatile enough to perform well in a few other niche roles, like trapping Pawniard.
I emphasize again that I am not attempting to get Fletchling unranked. It's still a fantastic Pokemon on the right teams; it just doesn't feel more fantastic than some of the better things in mid A, or as fantastic as those in A+. Although its influence on the metagame cannot be denied, the time when it truly dominated the metagame is long gone.
Foongus: A -> A+
I swear this isn't just because Foongus is the cutest and the best.
It may be true that Foongus is not as directly influential in the metagame as the current A+ and S rank Pokemon, and that's probably why it might initially look out of place amongst the Pokemon currently in A+. The other Pokemon are viable because of their inherent strengths, whereas Foongus is good because it beats extremely important Pokemon. This makes sense because everything else in A+ is almost strictly offensive in an offensive metagame, whereas Foongus is a defensive threat. But similarly to my nomination for Fletchling, what I will be discussing is Foongus's actual capabilities in the current metagame, not its influence. Maybe there will be a metagame shift in the near future, like a ban on Diglett or Scald, that will hinder Foongus's prominence or consistent effectiveness, and Foongus will deserve to be moved down, but for the time being, I think the metagame is very friendly to Foongus.
Let's briefly go through what Foongus does. If you're in need of a resilient Fighting check, then you should consider giving Foongus a go. If you want a resilient Water check? Foongus is probably the best choice in the metagame. Long-lasting Fairy counter? Foongus. Volt Switch switch-in? Check. Some way to put enormous amounts of pressure on any team that doesn't have Vullaby? Check. Any combination of those traits? Pick Foongus. It's hard to argue that the three most prominent types in LC are Fighting, Water, and Flying. Foongus is one of the best choices available for checking the most relevant members of the first two, and has the means to threaten Pokemon in the third. Teams based around Toxic Spikes have also been gaining traction recently, and Foongus is easily the single most irritating Pokemon for those teams to face. Although not really a point for this nomination, I think it's funny how Foongus has a sizeable chance to beat Fletchling in a 1v1; Acrobatics doesn't come close to OHKOing Foongus, and Sludge Bomb usually 2HKOes.
As for how Foongus has improved enough to warrant it being raised, I'll admit that Foongus benefits from Diglett's popularity. I personally feel that Foongus has been mid A since Swirlgar, never really getting the chance to improve. However, in the current metagame, just about every major trend except for Drifloon plays in Foongus's favour. Diglett is what's getting all of the attention right now, and this benefits Foongus in several important ways that more than make up for the increase in Drifloon. The most obvious reason is that most bulky Poison-types are weak to Diglett where Foongus is not, expanding Foongus's niche as a team's dedicated bulky Fairy- or Fighting-type check. In addition, many notable offensive threats, such as Snivy and various offensive Water-types, have gained a great deal of prominence for their ability to severely punish teams that are overly reliant on Diglett once they come in on the revenge-kill. Foongus finds itself as not just a check to these key threats, but one of the best available checks, in part due to its limited competition in this role. This makes Foongus an excellent partner for Diglett itself, which is why Foongus is seeing so much use even on otherwise offensively built teams, although it of course greatly appreciates this even on teams without Diglett.
Arguably the most crucial reason why Foongus is so much stronger in a Diglett-centric metagame is how rare Gothita has become from being easily trapped by Diglett, preventing Gothita from being able to get a single KO; this is to the point where Gothita even recently dropped to LC UU. As a result, whereas Foongus formerly had to be run with solid back-up checks in case of Gothita cores, Foongus can now more safely act as the sole dedicated check to these threats. Foongus was frequently seen in this role in SPL where it currently sports a 63% win rate over 27 games, ranking it at the third most wins and the fourth most games of any Pokemon in LC. Courtesy of Regenerator, lack of double weaknesses, and the threat of Spore, it is able to perform its defensive role consistently and effectively. This brings me to the main area where Foongus effortlessly matches and exceeds the current A+ ranked Pokemon - its splashability. Foongus offers so much defensively that I personally often find it difficult not to include Foongus on a team. It makes its way onto teams far more easily than the A+ ranked Pokemon, even Abra (which is noticeably hindered by Diglett, especially LO Abra), and is almost always able to hold its own from a defensive standpoint. Although Gastly and Timburr are probably more likely to sweep a team than Foongus is, Foongus is still dangerous enough once it's in with Sludge Bomb and Spore to be a threat worth considering in teambuilding, and excels in just about every other category.
Carvanha: A- -> A
I've mentioned Water spam a few times now. We could attribute its rise to specific Pokemon like Diglett, or the things that have dropped in popularity like Croagunk, but at the end of the day, it honestly just comes down to offensive Water-type Pokemon in LC being really strong. I'll begin with the poster child (fish?) of Water spam, Carvanha.
I am sure this nomination has been brought up and just forgotten about before, because there is no way Carvanha's combination of speed, power, and versatility has gone unnnoticed to the average LCer. Everything that can switch in on the physical set is pummeled by the special set. Pokemon that might be able to revenge-kill the special set are picked off by Aqua Jet or are too invested in Special bulk to take a physical attack. Even for each set there is room for variation; the physical set may choose to run Zen Headbutt, the special set has some obscure Hidden Powers at its disposal, and both can run Destiny Bond if Carvanha is being used as a lure instead of the win condition. And Carvanha as a lure is just fine; it's definitely got the coverage options, and functions well even if there is nothing to lure. But I think most of its strength stems from how effective of a sweeper it is. Water spam cores are great to break down Carvanha's checks, but its utility isn't only limited to that; there have been a number of successful teams utilized in SPL and other major tournaments where Carvanha is paired with a trapper or simply some slow VoltTurners. It synergizes with a huge portion of the metagame and is naturally powerful enough to significantly threaten bulkier teams, and heaven forbid you run an offensive team with less than three Carvanha checks.
The nice thing about Carvanha as an offensive Pokemon is how effortlessly it synergizes with other offensive Pokemon. Although it does require support, this support is extremely easy to come by; Knock Off, trappers, slow VoltTurners, and Water or Dark spam partners aren't costly to include on a team and help a great deal in breaking down the bulky Pokemon that Carvanha struggles to sweep through. This does not mean that it requires more support than the average sweeper, because unless the team is especially Carvanha resilient, one of those is usually enough. Carvanha is similar to Snivy in that it can support its own sweep early game for almost no cost by simultaneously pressuring the opponent with the possibility of a sweep and doing damage; it helps that it is almost impossible to revenge-kill with a trapper bar a healthy Sash Diglett. Because Carvanha requires so little support to significantly threaten the opponent, it isn't uncommon to see Carvanha included as a back-up win condition, although it's strong enough of a sweeper for sure to have a team built around it.
I am not nominating another major member of Water spam cores, Corphish, simply because I feel that Carvanha is a better sweeper. Don't get me wrong; Corphish is incredibly threatening, and can most certainly sweep with one of its set-up sets when given the opportunity. However, there are several Pokemon that can safely switch into Corphish, a couple of times, whereas Carvanha has an assortment of coverage moves. When it comes to the amount of pressure put on the opposing team once it manages to get into play, I feel like Carvanha is rivalled pretty much only by Gastly and possibly Snivy.
Omanyte: A- -> A
Here's another nomination that has been made a few times in the past. Omanyte's Shell Smash set has been around for a while now. It is accounted and prepared for in teambuilding. In response, Omanyte sometimes runs a few tweaks, such as HP Grass or Rock Blast; it's versatile enough to break through some of its checks, allowing a great deal of leniency in what supports it. However, its dominant set of Shell Smash / Water STAB / Ice Beam / Earth Power has been one of the metagame's most effective sweepers for a long time, and, thanks to its fantastic stats and typing, will almost definitely remain so for the rest of the generation. Few sweepers come close to its power and speed after only a single turn of set-up; those that do tend to be both much less resilient to priority and significantly more difficult to set up.
The Shell Smash set alone is arguably good enough for mid A since it's not less effective than the current A+ and mid A sweepers, but the offensive hazard set has also become quite popular over the past few months. Thanks to its offensive presence, Omanyte has a strong match-up against several common leads, notably beating Tauntfoo with a combination of Knock Off and Hydro Pump. More importantly, it can immediately benefit its teammates with entry hazards and Knock Off; I have seen a fair amount of Toxic Spikes teams recently, and Omanyte is one of the most viable Toxic Spikes setters available. Omanyte's main advantages over other suicide leads, other than the sheer number of options it has for how it can support the team, are that its role isn't obvious from team preview due to the prevalence of the Shell Smash set, and it is much easier and more useful to keep alive after the first few turns. After setting hazards up, Omanyte still has utility as a Knock Off spammer and check for Fire- and Flying-types, and its good initial bulk lets it come in throughout early and mid game. If we consider the hazard set effective enough to be A-, even if the Shell Smash set alone isn't good enough for mid A, two A- sets that fill completely separate team slots would warrant Omanyte's placement in mid A.
Shellder: A- -> A
Of course, I can't mention how good Shell Smashers are and not nominate for a rise what a lot of people are calling the single best dedicated sweeper in LC right now. I said earlier that Shellder requires a full team to bring out its potential, but that's not a huge disadvantage because it's just so easy to build a team around Shellder. It may have as many checks as other major sweepers, but one thing almost every major Shellder check has in common except for Porygon is that they are incredibly easy to eliminate or sufficiently weaken. Steel-types get trapped by Diglett, Magnet Pull Magnemite, or Trapinch, Ferroseed is probably the single most vulnerable Pokemon to being worn down in LC, and bulky Fairy-types go out of their way to switch into Knock Off. Other than basic trapper support and Knock Off support, Shellder needs hazard support, but any hazard user will do; it wants checks to threats that may force it out initially, but these can be offensive or defensive; and it needs things to lure in what it can set up on or Memento support, but this doesn't have to be something specific. Shellder can forgo Ice Shard for Hidden Power Fighting or Razor Shell to switch up its potential team build even more.
Even with all of that, Shellder teams are often written off as standard and boring. This only serves to show how strong Shellder teams are; they're consistently effective enough to compete with every other team archetype. Most teams based around a specific sweeper, such as Zigzagoon and Sun teams, are nowhere near considered standard (maybe boring). Shellder isn't really anti-meta now that it has cemented itself as a top tier sweeper, as shown by its SPL win rate, but its niche in LC definitely benefits from other metagame trends.
There are a few other sets like Scarf and bulky Rapid Spin, but they're not really worth mentioning compared to the main set. I believe that Shellder deserves to move to mid A by virtue of its Shell Smash set's sweeping potential.
Tirtouga: B+ -> A-
Tirtouga was moved down relatively recently (in the past year or so), and there were times where I agreed that it should be B+. I'll begin by saying the defensive Tirtouga is hardly worth mentioning. Between its lack of recovery and inability to do a whole lot other than get rocks up once it switches in, it's much easier to fit other bulky Rock-types onto a team. There are a few specific team compositions where its raw bulk might be useful, but that's not saying much for a nomination to A-. SturdyJuice Tirtouga is pretty good, but it's so well prepared for nowadays - which is a big part of why Tirtouga was originally moved down - that I feel its main benefit for this nomination is just how it really limits the opponent's options due to how threatening it can be if it does manage to successfully set up.
The metagame is actually pretty friendly to Shell Smashers at the moment. Sash Diglett is barely worth using, Magnemite is often Scarfed instead of SturdyJuice, Mienfoo tends to be Tauntfoo, Timburr and Croagunk aren't quite as popular, and teams are frequently using Snivy as their Grass-type over something bulkier. There are still trends that they don't appreciate, such as Foongus going up and Ponyta going down, but overall, I think Shell Smashers are in a better place than they were during the last LCPL as far as sweeping goes. Tirtouga is well below Shellder or Omanyte when it comes to sweeping; not only is it outsped by common Scarf users after one boost, but it relies a little too much on Stone Edge for comfort. However, Omanyte and Shellder can be quite difficult to set up in a fairly offensive metagame given the omnipresence of Electric- and Grass-types, as well as powerful special attackers like Porygon and Gastly. This is where bulky Tirtouga shines. Thanks to its fantastic initial bulk and good utility even outside of sweeping, Tirtouga is far easier to include on a team as a secondary sweeper, making it a comparatively low risk, low reward sweeper but overall similar in viability. Whereas Omanyte and Shellder usually have entire teams dedicated towards their sweeps, you're more likely to see Tirtouga as a member of a Water spam core. It still has enough of an extensive movepool and powerful priority to act as a team's main sweeper, of course, and saw success in both roles during SPL.
I am not nominating Tirtouga for the same rank as Omanyte because Omanyte has a genuinely strong hazard set outside of Shell Smash, whereas Tirtouga's sets other than bulky Shell Smash are fairly average.
Croagunk: B+ -> A-
Croagunk still has all of its downfalls that resulted in its drop to B+ initially. It's vulnerable to trappers, it's easily worn down, and none of its stats are outstanding. What has changed is the metagame shift towards offensive Water-types. Through this alone, Croagunk carves a significant niche as a solid Water-type check that has some offensive presence. Croagunk is definitely not a top notch offensive Pokemon; in fact, letting Drilbur or Archen get in once can actually serve to hinder extremely hyper offensive teams. However, it's far more immediately threatening than comparably solid Water-type checks. A Knock Off that's at least strong enough not to ignore, powerful STAB moves, and two great boosting options in Bulk Up and Nasty Plot all serve to make Croagunk surprisingly difficult to hard check outside of Hippopotas, leaving it much less passive than Foongus, Ferroseed, or Chinchou. Croagunk can do plenty outside of checking Water-types, of course, between its numerous priority options to revenge-kill threats and make Croagunk itself more difficult to revenge-kill, and its fantastic set of resistances. Unfortunately Mienfoo tends to be paired with trappers to U-turn to, but Croagunk still does fine against Pawniard, Timburr, and most Grass-types. Trappers, especially Diglett, may be as prevalent as ever, but I would argue that the accompanying metagame shifts favour Croagunk enough to warrant it moving back to A-.
I won't make a formal nomination for Cottonee because I would have been opposed to this two months ago, and right now I'm still on the fence, but moving it back to A- may be worth considering. It's easier to muscle through with Water spam than Croagunk, is hard walled without much trouble, and still carries Croagunk's disadvantages of being easily lured and trapped. However, its offensive and defensive synergy with Shell Smashers is definitely something to take into account, and it can support some other sweepers, although not quite as impressively. I think the 17 Speed HP Fighting set is its best bet right now because it isn't quite as much of a free switch-in to threatening offensive Pokemon.
Bunnelby: B+ -> B
This one may seem weird on paper, but I don't find Bunnelby to that far above the wall-breakers in mid B. The Life Orb and Choice Band sets decimate stall and have the advantage of fairly powerful priority, but Bunnelby's below average Speed tier relegates it to use on webs if it doesn't want to rely solely on Quick Attack to do damage against more offensive teams. Without webs, a wall-breaker with a better Speed tier is far less match-up based; with webs, I would usually rather use a sweeper that isn't forced out by priority as easily, such as Cranidos. As such, I do not feel that it is better than Doduo, Pancham, or Cranidos. Choice Scarf Bunnelby seems strong on paper with its combination of speed and power, but in practice, it's very difficult to get in due to its almost complete lack of resistances and terrible bulk. This, combined with how easily it's forced out due to its reliance on moves with immunities, being outsped by other Scarf users, and vulnerability to priority, makes it difficult to take advantage of. It is also unable to OHKO most Eviolite holders, and relying so much on prediction against teams with Drifloon and Archen to not be a liability makes it even less consistent. Bunnelby isn't necessarily a bad Pokemon, but it's much harder to fit onto a team and less consistent than most Pokemon in B+.
Pumpkaboo-Super: B+ -> B
This was originally A- -> B+, but I agree with TCR's sentiment that it's not even good enough for that.
Okay, so say I'm looking for a spinblocker. Pumpkaboo-Super initially looks like a good choice because it matches well against common Rapid Spinners, but it comes with several notable flaws.
It's extremely passive, to the point of barely even being an offensive threat. It's incredibly predictable. It struggles to outlast its common checks due to Synthesis's low PP.
Then we have Drifloon, which also does well against most variants of Drilbur and Staryu; the variants that beat Drifloon are usually also able to break past Pumpkaboo. Drifloon has the potential to be one of the strongest sweepers in the metagame. It is one of the most unpredictable and threatening Pokemon in the metagame. It easily outlasts most of its checks.
There isn't much else to say. Pumpkaboo does have its advantages, but it's only rarely worth choosing. A B+ Pokemon should not come this close to being directly outclassed.
Dwebble: B+ -> B
Dwebble tends to get a lot of flack, but to be honest it can be a pretty cool mon. It tends to be shafted aside in the lead slot nowadays for Omanyte as a hazard stacker and Onix as a reliable Stealth Rock setter, but having both SturdyJuice and more than one hazard to lay is still pretty nice. However, it's extremely predictable by now, and so enough countermeasures have developed that it's rarely able to actually abuse its strengths, which is why it tends to be shafted aside. Dwebble can take advantage of this somewhat by running a Shell Smash set, but this struggles to get through some very common defensive Pokemon. With enough support, the Shell Smash set still makes for a nice win condition, but Dwebble isn't anything special as a set-up sweeper, to the point where even mid B is a bit of a stretch if we're considering the Shell Smash alone. Neither set is consistently effective nor splashable enough to warrant B+, and although they're different enough to make Dwebble somewhat more unpredictable, it's not hugely beneficial when many of the same Pokemon can easily deal with both sets.
Zigzagoon: B+ -> B or lower
Definitely lower than mid B - Onix and Torchic are two solidly mid B Pokemon that I would rather fit onto a competitive team over Zigzagoon seven days a week.
Zigzagoon archetypes have always been quite unreliable; they rely on heavily outplaying your opponent, whether through lots of hard reads or the opponent not knowing what they're doing, to get trappers in on everything they need to trap, and Knock Off everything that needs to be Knocked Off. In addition, Zigzagoon is very match-up reliant; too many Zigzagoon checks and getting rid of all of them with trappers alone, as difficult as they are to get in, no longer becomes feasible. Zigzagoon has always come off as a bit odd sitting in B+ due to its unreliability. Of course, winning with a Zigzagoon against a good player using a good team can feel quite rewarding; it just isn't all that viable, and that's what we're discussing here.
The match-up issue has gotten so much worse with the rise of Drifloon. Zigzagoon teams traditionally rely on trappers to guarantee the removal of things that beat Zigzagoon, but Drifloon flips this on its head by being immune to both Shadow Tag and Arena Trap (and in fact setting up on trappers in some cases) and getting around Pursuit trappers without much trouble. Weakening Drifloon isn't enough unless it's the last Pokemon on the opposing team, because as long as Drifloon is healthy, it can burn Zigzagoon to neuter its sweep. Drifloon is pretty much as close to an auto-lose as it gets for otherwise decent Zigzagoon teams; an insane amount of prediction and luck is needed to force Drifloon onto the field and then eliminate it. With such an enormous blow to dedicated Zigzagoon archetypes, we're left mostly with sweeper spam teams, which are gimmicky at best. This is not something that should be said of a Pokemon in B+, which is for Pokemon that are splashable enough to actually be worth considering as a threat during teambuilding, or even mid B Pokemon, which generally at least have solid and defined niches. This is something that fits the definition of a C rank Pokemon.
Aipom: B -> B+
It's strong.
Riolu: B -> B-
I would like to say right now that I am not making this nomination because Riolu isn't effective enough once it does find a team slot, as Riolu is one of those Pokemon that can be incredibly rewarding to be creative with. Rather, it struggles to find that team slot to begin with; there are some other very strong Fighting-types in LC. Every Fighting-type that tries to do defensive things has to compete with Mienfoo; every Fighting-type that tries to sweep has to differentiate itself from Timburr. Riolu is much more niche than either Mienfoo or TImburr, to say the least. Not only does it get much less set-up opportunities than Timburr, but it has less utility in case a sweep isn't reasonable because it doesn't get Knock Off, and relies heavily on unexpected coverage moves to break past its counters, which is risky if the opponent tries to scout for, say, Iron Tail. Compare this to Doduo, which is arguably one of the worse mid B ranks. There are four other Pokemon that come close to Doduo's level of both power and speed; Abra and Gastly have neither Doduo's powerful Knock Off nor decent priority, Aipom's Fury Swipes doesn't have Doduo's Brave Bird's OHKO power, and Taillow is so underwhelming outside of its STAB moves that it's actually possible to wall. Other things with Knock Off and priority can't even come close to Doduo's initial power or Speed tier. A Knock Off user that guarantees a KO every time it gets into play is Doduo's own niche. It's just that Riolu's niche doesn't seem as defined as the other mid B ranks, although it's certainly there; most of the time, you have to really justify using Riolu over another Fighting-type.
Stunky: B -> B-
The community has been dumping on Stunky for some time now, and the recent metagame shifts have only made Stunky worse, so I think this nomination is pretty sensible. Less Gothita and more Diglett means that Stunky will often be spending more time getting trapped than doing the trapping. Because of Drifloon emerging as the dominant Ghost-type and the increase in WoW Gastly, Stunky isn't that great of a Ghost check anymore. Honedge is gaining popularity as an Abra check. Even its niche as a fast Memento user that traps Abra is beginning to disappear with Beat Up Diglett on the radar. Essentially, Stunky has gotten worse at its single specific niche. A well-timed double switch to Diglett by the Abra user means a dead Stunky, so it can't even reliably trap the few things it continues to consistently beat. And of course, Stunky's drawback of letting in some of the most threatening Pokemon in the metagame for free is as prevalent as ever, causing it to be a liability in most match-ups. Unless you need both a Defog user and an Abra/Gastly/Gothita trapper in a single slot, you're probably better off with something else, but if Stunky really is what you need, it may be worth simply changing the rest of your team. Stunky stinks
Taillow: B -> B-
When we get to Pokemon as frail as Taillow, resistances become insignificant enough that it is less a matter of seeing how they differ from Pokemon of similar typings and more about comparing them to other glass cannons. Taillow shouldn't be compared to Fletchling or Vullaby when it functions completely differently from them; instead, we should look at its strengths over other fast and strong but extremely frail Pokemon, like Abra and Gastly. It's with this comparison that it becomes clear how big Taillow's drawbacks are.
Firstly, Special Taillow. Let's look at Staryu, which has the same Speed tier and whose Hydro Pump is almost exactly as strong as Taillow's Boomburst:
200 SpA Life Orb Taillow Boomburst vs. 0 HP / 36 SpD Mienfoo: 21-25 (100 - 119%) -- guaranteed OHKO
(21, 21, 21, 21, 21, 21, 21, 21, 23, 23, 23, 23, 23, 23, 23, 25)
196 SpA Life Orb Staryu Hydro Pump vs. 0 HP / 36 SpD Mienfoo: 21-25 (100 - 119%) -- guaranteed OHKO
(21, 21, 21, 21, 21, 21, 21, 21, 23, 23, 23, 23, 23, 23, 23, 25)
Neither has even remotely powerful priority, so they're about equally threatening to offensive teams. However, Staryu is far more dangerous to slower teams because it has much better coverage options; Taillow needs Stealth Rock to OHKO Ferroseed with Heat Wave, and has almost nothing else in the way of coverage. In addition, LO Staryu is much easier to fit onto a team thanks to an additional niche as a Rapid Spinner that is extremely difficult to spinblock, on top of being a strong offensive Pokemon, whereas Taillow needs additional support if it doesn't want to get KOed early on by Stealth Rock chip. Taillow's perk is a weak U-turn that, because of Taillow's Speed, doesn't help to get its allies in safely, and so does little more than chip at the various switch-ins Taillow's coverage moves don't allow it to break.
Then we have physical Taillow. Here I'll use Aipom:
116 Atk Life Orb Aipom Fury Swipes (5 hits) vs. 156 HP / 40 Def Eviolite Porygon: 20-25 (80 - 100%) -- approx. 6.3% chance to OHKO
(4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 5)
So 20 damage over 5 attacks;
236 Atk Guts Taillow Facade (140 BP) vs. 156 HP / 40 Def Eviolite Porygon: 16-19 (64 - 76%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
(16, 16, 16, 16, 16, 16, 16, 16, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 19)
Once again, Taillow suffers from a lack of any decent coverage moves, leaving it trivial to deal with for bulkier teams, a far cry from one of the strongest wall-breakers in the metagame in Aipom. Taillow does not have Aipom's utility due to its lack of Knock Off (or wall-breaking prowess). The weakness to Stealth Rock is once again a weak point for Taillow, and Aipom is noticeably statistically bulkier as well. Taillow has the drawback of having to utilize Protect, a revenge-kill, or a teammate's slow VoltTurn to safely activate its orb and pose as even a remote threat, making it difficult to take advantage of early game when it actually wants to be wall-breaking (which it struggles to do anyways). Taillow's own advantages are somewhat significant; Quick Attack is better for sweeping than Fake Out, and Brave Bird, while cutting Taillow's sweep short, helps against the omnipresent Fighting-types. They just pale in comparison to a Pokemon that isn't even in the A ranks.
What may draw some people to Taillow is that it can use either set. This would be great if they didn't share similar checks and counters, and if they were actually worth using. Its saving grace is that it can work as a fast suicide defogger for teams that are weak to webs in particular (if not, you may as well spin with Staryu), but that's an awfully specific niche for something in mid B.
Chespin: B- -> C+
Chespin checks some pretty annoying threats. It shuts down standard Life Orb Gastly, walls Hidden Power Fighting Foongus, and can take on mixed Croagunk. It also soft checks a few Water-types, although a poorly timed Scald burn will often let them break past Chespin due to Synthesis's low PP.
Pokemon that check a few fairly significant threats and lose to a far higher number of even greater threats have always been underwhelming in LC, especially in practice. In the current metagame, Chespin is the textbook definition of this. Mienfoo, Drifloon, Vullaby, Ponyta, bulky Fletchling, Timburr, Snivy, and numerous other top threats are barely threatened by Chespin, and can do so much more with a free turn than set up a layer of Spikes or fire off a Seed Bomb that approaches Foongus's Giga Drain in power. Hitting super effectively, Chespin's coverage moves do as much as a neutral STAB Earthquake coming off less Attack than Sash Diglett. That's unless you're willing to sacrifice bulk, in which case Chespin will have to spend so much of its time using up its 8 Synthesis PP when everything comes close to 2HKOing at worst, that it won't have many opportunities to do much else.
There's also the fact that Chespin outright loses to WoW Gastly, struggles against Hidden Power Fire and Clear Smog Foongus, and has a negative match-up against Gunk Shot Croagunk.
Lickitung: B- -> C+
This nomination follows a similar train of thought to what I have for Chespin. Lickitung can check some pretty strong threats, but it loses to more numerous and more dangerous Pokemon, making it rarely worth including. Lickitung isn't quite as extreme as Chespin; by passing huge Wishes and being able to permanently cripple switch-ins with Knock Off, it isn't quite as detrimental to the teammate that has to switch in on whatever forces Lickitung out. However, its disadvantages are significant enough that its niche is relegated to a bulky Normal-type on semistall, because letting Fighting- and Steel-types in every single time takes its toll on less resilient teams. Semistall is a very limited archetype, which makes Lickitung a perfect fit for C+.
Clamperl: C -> B or lower
Firstly, I do not actually think Clamperl is mid B level. I also don't think Zigzagoon is mid B level, and feel that Clamperl and Zigzagoon should be in the same ranking. This nomination is based solely on that, whether it involves Zigzagoon moving all the way down to mid C or the two meeting somewhere in between; B- feels the most reasonable from what I've seen. I would go as far as to argue that Clamperl is a little bit better than Zigzagoon because there isn't any one Pokemon that Clamperl archetypes just lose to, whereas Zigzagoon archetypes have to deal with Drifloon.
Zigzagoon's +2 priority makes it more effective against non-Drifloon hyper offense by allowing it to set up on and get past the likes of Fletchling and Cottonee; Clamperl will need these to be trapped or lured and removed. However, bulky offense is more common in the current metagame, and Zigzagoon struggles to OHKO some extremely bulky Pokemon, such as Foongus from full or Spritzee after two layers of Spikes. Then there is its damage output before set-up. As such, Zigzagoon requires a great deal of hazard and Knock Off support. Slam Clam has no such issues, being able to OHKO offensive Vullaby after Stealth Rock before set-up, and defensive Porygon and Berry Juice Chinchou after set-up. With that level of raw power, Slam Clam can afford to run Substitute to dodge Sucker Punches and in case it really can't afford to Shell Smash. This gives it a much stronger match-up versus bulky offense on top of rendering it arguably the single most dangerous threat against semistall in the metagame, so as far as sweeping potential goes, the two are on similar grounds. In terms of setting up, neither appreciates being hit by a Knock Off, although Zigzagoon can still get its Belly drum off if the Knock Off user is weak and it has Memento and/or burn support, and itemless Clamperl sweeps just fine if the opposing team is weakened enough. Since Zigzagoon can afford to invest in bulk where Clamperl needs Speed, we usually end up with the two being around equally bulky (Clamperl's 20/15/13 vs Zigzagoon's 22/11/12). They both offer zero defensive synergy and require too much support for a sweep to play the supporting role in offensive cores, and so need an entire team built around them. Clamperl is just about on par with Zigzagoon in every relevant category, so it doesn't make sense for Zigzagoon to be ranked higher.
Magby: C+ -> B-
I could take a similar approach to what I did for Clamperl, but I feel like Magby is difficult enough to set up even with a lot of support, but also effective enough even without much support, that I should just discuss it separately.
We see some obscenely powerful wall-breakers that are only average against offense in mid B; Cranidos, Doduo, and Pancham come to mind. Magby may play a little differently, but the end result is similar. Against offense, Magby relies too much on Mach Punch to sweep for comfort - not horribly ideal when it fails to OHKO common scarf users like Chinchou and Mienfoo - and finds almost no opportunities to set up. Cranidos, Doduo, and Pancham aren't dead weights against offense, though, and neither is Magby; it can most notably set up on Pawniard, and it isn't impossible to wear down these Scarf users. On the other hand, Spritzee and Foongus are just two common Pokemon on defensive teams that cannot be sent in at all, or else Magby sets up then the defensive team vanishes without a trace, especially when Scarf Pawniard or Houndour is usually the only fast Pokemon for these teams if they have one. This completely shuts down the defensive team's synergy, allowing Magby's teammates to wreak havoc. I don't feel that Magby is quite as good as the mid B wall-breakers because it only gets one shot at being a threat instead of being able to come in two or three times; Magby is suddenly less threatening when Foongus's Sludge Bomb
critpoisons as Magby sets up, and so many things can go wrong when Magby tries sweeping against offense that I'll leave it there.
I do not think that Life Orb Magby is worth considering here because not only does it have the unfortunate combination of being easily forced out and a vulnerability to every entry hazard, but its weak priority means it gets trapped for almost no cost, making other wall-breakers better choices in most cases.
Inkay: C+ -> C
Now that we're getting into the C ranks and everything is only sort of viable, it'll be harder to judge where something belongs in the subranks, but I'll try my best to be convincing.
Inkay is not a good Pokemon. It is completely shut down if the opponent has a Fairy-type, doesn't even want to attack if the opponent has Ponyta or Larvesta, and struggles hugely against Mienfoo. An Inkay sweep is extremely difficult to pull off due to its lack of built-in recovery and a heavy reliance on prediction to get past most Pokemon. Inkay can beat a few Pokemon one on one, but its awful typing, relative frailty, and lack of recovery means it can't switch in, lending it almost no defensive utility. Inkay is so underwhelming that it can't even pull off its draw as a webs check most of the time. Where webs teams usually set webs anyways against Snivy or Pawniard due to their strength even outside of checking webs, there isn't much stopping the webs user from simply not leading with webs against Inkay and playing what essentially amounts to a 5v5.
Koffing: C+ -> C
Despite being able to soft check so many physical attackers through its bulk alone, Koffing is far too easily worn down, leaving it unable to check things more than once or twice throughout the match. It doesn't have Ferroseed's numerous resistances to ignore attacks, or Croagunk's priority to be useful even at low health. Furthermore, Koffing simply doesn't do a whole lot once it's in. Snubbull has Thunder Wave and significant offensive presence, Ferroseed has Knock Off, Thunder Wave, and a lot of hazards, and Tentacool has both Knock Off and Rapid Spin. All Koffing can do is try to burn things, making it predictable and easy to wall.
It sucks that Koffing is actually pretty fun to use. I've been playing around with Toxic Spikes Koffing recently, as being able to beat Diglett on top of its physical bulk helps differentiate Koffing from other Toxic Spikes users. However, I would rather use something less passive like Omanyte or Skrelp most of the time, and setting Toxic Spikes is a rather small niche to begin with.
Axew: C+ -> C or Dratini: C -> C+
I'm not really sure whether they belong in C or C+ as I feel like they're sort of toeing the line, but either way, I believe that Axew and Dratini on equal footing. Axew is the better sweeper; it has the power needed to break through bulkier Pokemon, reaches 16 Speed, hits Cottonee on the switch with Poison Jab instead of Iron Tail, and gets through Abra with Dual Chop. Dratini's main advantage as a sweeper is Extremespeed to get around opposing frail or weakened priority users.
Dratini is the far superior wall-breaker. Its good mixed movepool allows it to plow through common defensive cores without much hassle. Whereas Axew's Life Orb or Swords Dance sets are little more than fodder against offensive teams, Dratini can use an attacking set with less drawbacks because it threatens faster Pokemon with a powerful Extremespeed. Axew's main advantage is the strength of its Outrage, but this isn't good for getting multiple KOs and leaves it even more vulnerable against offensive teams.
Both are quite difficult to fit onto a team; they're frail, and while Dragon typing isn't bad, it's also not very good, so they don't offer much defensive synergy and can be difficult to get into play. I think that their rankings should reflect how their respective advantages in each offensive role are equally significant.
Kabuto: C -> C+
My view of mid C Pokemon is that they are effective enough to be worth using if you're looking to be innovative, but tend to be a stretch to justify including on a competitive team; C+ Pokemon have very specific but still somewhat notable niches on competitive teams. This isn't the official definition, but I feel that it checks out for what is currently in C and C+ except for what I have detailed above. This makes Kabuto very different from other Pokemon in mid C. It has a clearly defined and relevant niche as the only spinner able to check Flying-types, and the only spinner with acceptably powerful STAB priority. Other than that, Kabuto is a decent spinner in its own right; with Drifloon on the rise, it's more important than ever for Rapid Spinners to be able to threaten Spinblockers. Kabuto unfortunately can't Rapid Spin with impunity and still has to predict the Drifloon switch or Substitute Drifloon will be able to stall it out, but it's still much better off than standard Drilbur or Staryu, which can't afford to spin at all. Even though it is rarely able to fit them all into one set, Kabuto has plenty of utility between Rapid Spin, Knock Off, Stealth Rock, and Aqua Jet, which I feel is enough to warrant a rise to C+.
Mantyke: C -> C-
I think I've gone over before why I do not think Mantyke is competitively viable so I'll keep this brief.
Rain Dance Mantyke is an incredibly mediocre sweeper. It's nothing special in terms of set-up opportunities or actual sweeping ability, and is well below average compared to other underwhelming sweepers when it comes to being useful outside of sweeping. Its resistances are offset by a weakness to Stealth Rock and a reliance on Life Orb to be even remotely threatening to anything holding an Eviolite. Rain Dance Mantyke's only niche is on Rain teams, and even then it has competition.
Defensive Mantyke is not competitively viable. It has awful physical bulk and is weak to common Special attacks. Rest for recovery and a weakness to Stealth Rock means it is easily outlasted by the few things it does check. With a complete lack of good coverage moves, it takes the disadvantages I mentioned for Chespin and blows them out of the water.
Rufflet: C- -> C+
Mid A may be a stretch, but there's no getting around Rufflet's damage output. Rufflet's Choice Scarf set is similar to C+ Darumaka's, although it isn't quite as good because it lacks Flare Blitz's power or spammability. More importantly, Rufflet has its Bulk Up set, which is tough to deal with for slower teams and, thanks to Rufflet's decent bulk, can work as a tank against offensive teams as well. As a Flying-type set-up sweeper, Rufflet's far greater bulk gives it a better match-up than Fletchling against defensive teams. Rufflet's main competition as a bulky and powerful Flying-type is Vullaby, but Vullaby lacks Rufflet's sweeping potential. I think apt-get also used a Superpower LO set with webs to get past Porygon, but I don't know the details about that. If we go by what I mentioned for Kabuto, then Rufflet would not belong in C- or even mid C because it has a significant competitive niche as a bulky Eviolite-holding Flying-type that can set up and feasibly sweep.
Trapinch: D -> C+
This is a pretty big jump, but I do not think that Trapinch is anywhere near outclassed enough by other trappers to be ranked amongst completely unviable Pokemon. Frankly, I would not be opposed to seeing it in B- or mid B.
Trapinch does not have Diglett's reusability nor Gothita's flexbility. What it brings to the table is decent bulk, allowing it to guarantee the removal of several enormously important Pokemon that standard Diglett and Gothita sets would rather avoid. We may as well begin this list with Diglett and Gothita themselves. Trapinch is able to ensure neither traps more than one Pokemon during the match, and, if it's a Berry Juice variant, can actually come out of the encounter with full health.
Trapinch is able to beat a full health SturdyJuice Magnemite, which only specially defensive SubThief Diglett can do otherwise (shoutouts ADV LC); Berry Juice variants can also directly switch into Scarf Magnemite. Trapinch can reliably revenge-kill every single relevant Pawniard and Cranidos variant. Heavily weakened grounded Pokemon is picked off by Feint. It revenge-kills Drilbur, and can come in on Mienfoo's U-turn to trap Snubbull with Rock Slide followed by Earthquake. If you only need Trapinch to trap one thing, running Eviolite makes this list even longer. 45/45/45 base bulk may not be particularly impressive, but with investment, Trapinch is able to survive max SpA Chinchou's Hydro Pump, LO Vulpix's Fire Blast (Trapinch's EQ + Feint KOes through burn), and LO Abra's Energy Ball, allowing it to revenge-kill those as well. Diglett and Gothita are outright unable to deal with a healthy Chinchou, and struggle against Flame Charge Vulpix. All of this assumes Trapinch is taking damage from one layer of spikes.
Some Pokemon like Abra all three trappers can deal with, but there are Pokemon that Diglett and Gothita can trap which Trapinch cannot. Its low Speed limits it to one or two traps, so I do not claim that Trapinch is outright as good as Diglett or Gothita. However, the Pokemon Trapinch can uniquely trap are notable threats that aren't all that unlikely to be worth dedicating a slot to for nearly guaranteed removal. If the rest of the team is significantly hindered by one or more of these Pokemon, Trapinch is not only a good choice, but often the best choice.
I don't have much to say on moving things up to or down from D-rank because the boundaries get even hazier at this point, and I don't use D-rank mons much. However, Shroomish strikes me as a Pokemon that has no valid competitive use whatsoever, and is arguably less useful than some Pokemon that are currently unranked, such as Eevee and Tepig. Also, Gible is currently both unranked and D.
tl;dr Fletchling -> A, Foongus -> A+, Carvanha -> A, Omanyte -> A, Tirtouga -> A-, Shellder -> A, Croagunk -> A-, Bunnelby -> B, Pump-Super -> B, Dwebble -> B, Zigzagoon -> B or lower, Aipom -> B+, Riolu -> B-, Stunky -> B-, Taillow -> B-, Chespin -> C+, Lickitung -> C+, Clamperl -> Zigzagoon's rank, Magby -> B-, Inkay -> C, Koffing -> C, Axew -> Dratini's rank, Kabuto -> C+, Mantyke -> C-, Rufflet -> C+, Trapinch -> C
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I would also like to give my thoughts on some of the recent nominations:
Vullaby -> A+: Agree
It'd probably be at the lower end of A+, but it does feel a lot more threatening than most of the mid A Pokemon. There are almost no drawbacks to using Vullaby on any type of team; it's a fantastic choice for Dark and Flying spam offensively and has the resistances and raw bulk to provide defensive synergy. Even its toughest checks struggle to switch in more than once or twice if they don't use recovery every time they're in. Other than bulk and power, Vullaby has a perfectly sized movepool to basically do whatever it wants.
Snivy -> A+: Disagree
Snivy, on the other hand, certainly has significant drawbacks. Though it only has a few solid defensive checks, its lack of bulk and awkward Speed tier leaves it with plenty of offensive ones, which isn't great in a metagame that leans towards offense. For every game where it threatens to cleanly sweep the opposing defensive team, it has another where it takes most of the match to even find the opportunity to come in on a revenge-kill, only to get forced out immediately afterward. It also doesn't just slide onto any team; not that fitting Snivy onto a team is a challenge, but a frail Grass-type stacks some pretty notable weaknesses. It does need to be accounted for in teambuilding, but not more than other high tier offensive threats. The A+ ranks just feel more splashable and consistent than Snivy.
Vulpix vs Houndour vs Bellsprout
Of the options proposed, I think Vulpix in B+ and the other two in mid B makes more sense than Vulpix in A- and the other too remaining B+. Sun is pretty good and Vulpix is vital to the archetype, but it's still only a single, fairly minor archetype, whereas most Pokemon in A- are a bit more flexible. Despite its power and potential for
critburns, I would rather use a faster wall-breaker over LO Vulpix, which really struggles to make a significant impact against offense when everything outspeeds and OHKOes it. It has to rely on Flame Charge to hold its own against balance most of the time, which rarely works out because these opportunities are few and far between and Vulpix is forced out by priority users or a faster Scarf user immediately afterwards. Choice Scarf is also easily forced out because its coverage moves are extremely weak, so it usually has to lock itself into Fire Blast. All variants of Vulpix have trouble getting in due to their frailty and lack of immunities, and don't appreciate being so easily forced out because they are weak to every single entry hazard.
As for the idea behind this nomination, I don't mind seeing Bellsprout a rank below Vulpix for the reasons given. They're both vital to the sun archetype, and it wouldn't be too far off to have Vulpix at the top of B+ with the vast majority of its niche being sun / Bellsprout at the bottom of B+ with the entirety of its niche being sun, but there is a definite discrepancy in their viability, though. I don't agree with Houndour because it has several very important advantages over Vulpix that make it easier to fit onto the average team, even if it doesn't define an entire archetype. It's more dangerous to offensive teams because of the power of its LO Sucker Punch, it has better sweeping potential thanks to its access to Nasty Plot, and it isn't completely outclassed in the support department due to Destiny Bond and STAB Pursuit. Eviolite and Choice Scarf Houndour are pretty underwhelming in terms of power and bulk unless you're desperate for a more reliable Pursuit trapper, though, so I think its ranking should mostly be based on how good its LO set is.
Lileep -> B-: Disagree
When we make the move from viable to relevant, it's no longer a matter of whether a Pokemon is completely outclassed - we have to consider the Pokemon's disadvantages as well, and Lileep has a lot of those. Even with a Storm Drain boost, Lileep isn't powerful enough to deter most of its checks; for reference, its Giga Drain hits about as hard as Scarf Chinchou's Scald. Of course, the Storm Drain isn't actually that easy to get, in which case we're working with Special Attack that makes defensive Trace Porygon look like a top offensive threat. I can see where this nomination is coming from since Lileep does have its notable strengths, but I would argue that they're pretty close to the other stronger C+ ranks. For example, Darumaka's Hustle Scarf set is very difficult to switch into and still threatening to offense, while Buneary is extremely unpredictable and can do a combination of Life Orb + good coverage, Heal Bell, Thunder Wave, Baton Pass, and Healing Wish to support its team and still pose as an offensive threat.
Archen -> A-: Agree
It wasn't too long ago that I would've argued for Archen being closer to A+, but Archen simply isn't as splashable as it once was. It still has its fantastic combination of utility, power, and versatility, but the metagame shifts have made its weaknesses much more prominent. Being weak to Water-types and Magnemite and set-up bait for Shellder puts a lot of pressure on the rest of the team, so Archen may not always be the best choice when you're looking for a hazard setter or remover or a Fletchling check.
Drilbur -> A-: Agree
At first I was hesitant to agree because Drilbur is still pretty good, but after chatting with madoka, I think the easiest way to see the logic behind this nomination is by comparing Drilbur to Staryu. Staryu is pretty clearly A-; the defensive set can be very passive and the offensive set is easily trapped and revenge-killed, in addition to relying somewhat on prediction. However, it also doesn't come off as worse than Drilbur. Although Drilbur has a more sought-after defensive niche as a hard Magnemite check, defensive Staryu can deal with Fire-types and Omanyte, soft check a few other things, and most importantly, check things throughout the match. Drilbur has access to Stealth Rock, while Staryu has Scald and Thunder Wave. They resort to only partially effective means to get past Drifloon, with Rock Tomb or paralysis/burns. Life Orb sets are able to OHKO Drifloon on the switch and are in general difficult to switch into, but also easy to revenge-kill, with Staryu's higher base Speed being offset by Sand Rush Drilbur. Staryu is about as splashable as Drilbur and about as effective, so it makes sense for both of them to be A-.
It's worth noting that Rock Tomb BJ Drilbur actually beats defensive Staryu one on one about half the time (because of Scald burns), though.
Pumpkaboo-Small -> C: Agree
Pumpkaboo-Small used to have a decent niche as a Spinblocker with offensive presence, but this is no longer notable with the popularity of Drifloon. Both lack OHKOing power initially, but where Pumpkaboo only made it as high as it did because of its typing, Drifloon genuinely excels in every other category. It has more sweeping potential, more unpredictability, and most importantly, the ability to actually stick around instead of being worn down switching in once or twice. Without a genuine reason to be included on a competitive team, Pumpkaboo-Small should not be anywhere near the B ranks.
Tyrunt -> B-: Disagree
I'm sort of on the fence for this, but so far I am not convinced as to why it should move. I don't think it should be based on being the best Dragon-type, because Dragon isn't exactly a sought-after typing in LC. Instead, it would make more sense to compare Tyrunt to popular Rock-types. Dragon Dance Tyrunt is a decent sweeper on its own, but most of the time I would rather run SturdyJuice Tirtouga over SturdyJuice Tyrunt and bulky SS Tirtouga, Shellder, or Omanyte over bulky DD Tyrunt. Stealth Rock Tyrunt is a little more unique in its niche, but it still suffers competition from plenty of other Stealth Rock users, and as a Fletchling check, being Diglett weak isn't great. Choice Scarf Rock-types have never been very good in LC, and I don't see why Tyrunt would differ when its main advantage in a powerful secondary STAB locks it in on top of carrying an immunity (Dragon Claw's damage is pretty underwhelming). Each Tyrunt set has advantages over its competitors, since if they did not, Tyrunt wouldn't be ranked at all, but they don't seem very notable.
