The previous VR has been vastly outdated for a while after its release and the council have taken the time to reform their thoughts and opinions, as well as introduce new Pokemon into the rankings.
Arctic, Tmi, and I have revamped the Generation 8 VR, including changes we saw would be more accurate for the metagame.
Eternamax Rank
Eternatus-Eternamax
Explanation:
To put it bluntly, Eternamax is Gen 8 Pure Hackmons as a Pokemon. With an immense BST of 1125 including defenses higher than
Ultra Necrozma's entire statspread combined, it has been left with no other choice but to embody the entire metagame. Everything in Pure Hackmons revolves around finding ways to defeat this beast whether it's through the use of OHKO moves, Shell Smash + Super Effective Psychic-type/Dragon-type/Ice-type STAB attacks, Perish Song, Comaphazing, or Final Gambit. These methods are often made into full-on strategies used in complete teams to win because this Pokemon's presence single-handedly makes them the best wincons. On top of this, teams without Eternatus-Eternamax are mostly put into a disadvantage due to it being the most capable of consistently dealing with the entire rest of the metagame. Other Pokemon in this format have extremely high power levels and without Eternatus-Eternamax, their chances of breaking the metagame become easy enough to the point where players could easily win with little to no effort. In summary, almost every action taken for victory reflects on the presence of Eternamax and ironically, this Pokemon restrains much of the chaos Pure Hackmons could've gotten otherwise.
Outside of this Eternamax's stats allow it to run a plethora of useful moves and a couple useful abilities making its sets difficult to predict and for most other Pokemon to overcome. All of these traits also leave it to being the best and most spammable Pokemon in the metagame.
S Rank
Zacian-Crowned
Explanation:
Zacian-Crowned is no short of being an absolute monster in Pure Hackmons. It carries a ridiculous speed stat, backed up by a decent bulk, type, and the highest attack in the game. Zacian commonly uses Double Iron Bash, which has a high BP and a 51% flinch chance. It can even attempt paraflinch with either Nuzzle or Glare. One of the few Pokemon not to be threatened by Double Iron Bash is Eternamax. Zacian is forced to use OHKO moves to actually K.O. But thanks to its bulk and speed, Zacian can use moves like Substitute and Taunt to deny almost any action Eternamax can do back. It can also do a variety of other support and status strategies, such as TrickScarf, hazard management, or speed control (Rapid Spin and Para). Zacian's bulk and speed makes it one of the best checks to Eternamax - if Eternamax is the meta, Zacian is the anti meta. Zacian and Eternamax also synergize well together: Zacian shuts down many things who would otherwise beat Eternamax, while Eternamax is bulky enough to survive unboosted threats against Zacian. Aside from a few Eternamax sets, only a dedicated check like Gyarados, Reshiram, or Ferrothorn can handle Zacian-C and its OHKO. When put together, Zacian-Crowned is meta-defining due to being the most responsible for many of the RNG-based games one may experience and all of its traits leave it to be widely-known by many top tier players as the unhealthiest Pokemon in the metagame.
A Rank
Indeedee (Echo ➥
Indeedee-F)
Kyurem-White
Mewtwo
Necrozma-Dawn-Wings
B Rank
B1
Mandibuzz
Reshiram
Umbreon
B2
Aegislash
Corviknight
Ferrothorn
Gyarados
B3
Grimmsnarl
Necrozma-Dusk-Mane
Obstagoon
B4
Gourgeist-Super (Echo ➥
Gourgeist-Large)
Zamazenta-Crowned
C Rank
C1
Dragapult
Ninjask
Melmetal
Seismitoad
Zeraora
C2
Dusclops
Tyranitar
C3
Cinderace
Darmanitan-Galar-Zen
Drapion
Snorlax
Zacian
Zamazenta
C4
Mimikyu
BLACKLIST: DO NOT BRING UP POKEMON FOR THEIR BURN UP SETS.
MAJOR CHANGES:
1) All the Pokemon who were previously A+ now hold their own full rank in A. The idea of Pokemon being put into different subranks under the same full rank is to be able to identify a Pokemon having relatively higher or lower viability than another, but by a small margin. We believe the Pokemon who were initially A+ have gone above and beyond any Pokemon below them by a wide margin, as mentioned in previous posts, however they are not to be moved up because Zacian-Crowned holds the rank and is beyond everything below it by an even wider margin.
2) Rankings below A are separated into tiers of four represented by a number.
3) "Echos" were added. Echoes are Pokemon whose main roles, movesets, and strategies are exactly the same as the base Pokemon and tend to be either as effective, unnoticeably less effective, or slightly less effective but are not outright outclassed. These are usually different formes of the same Pokemon or in part of the same evolutionary line. I felt about adding Echos in because while Pokemon like Indeedee-F and Gourgeist-L have been seen as "worse" than their other forme(s) the difference in how they affect winning chances are too slim and these Pokemon can be or are nearly as frequent of a presence.
In older gens it's similar to how Chansey and Blissey functioned. Chansey was often perceived as slightly better but Blissey was still a very strong presence in the same metagame while having the same roles, movesets, and strategies to be used under. This was due to the trade of advantages and disadvantages for it being worthy in the eyes of other players, despite their effectiveness not being so drastically different to warrant a separate rank. Echos are strictly determined and must be Pokemon who only exist to serve all of the same purposes another Pokemon and without being completely better off running a different set.
4) The blacklist has changed. Individual Pokemon were removed in exchange for a blacklist on discussing any Pokemon for their burn up sets.
Because the structure of this VR has changed entirely, going over most of the rises and drops would be a confusing process for everyone. Therefore for this I will only be including rejected nominations and Pokemon who were added:
Rejected Nominations:
Eternamax -> S
Although this was a council decision and is agreed upon by plenty of players outside the council, there will be a future post from me personally explaining what I believe sets Eternamax well apart from Zacian-Crowned to remain having it's own ranking above it.
Added Pokemon:
UR -> B2
UR -> B4
UR -> C3
UR -> C4 (This is essentially Mimikyu rank)
No Pokemon were removed although some were close to. Pokemon in the A rank will be given their own description in the future. If you want to discuss or ask more questions about the viability rankings go ahead!