Resource SV OU Indigo Disk Viability Ranking Thread

[Venuesaur]

snip

Just wondering why grasspon is so high on that list, even higher then cornerstone?

 

[Finchinator]

Just wondering why grasspon is so high on that list, even higher then cornerstone?

This team has been running all over SPL:

• https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen9ou-752549 -- JJ vs Sav
• https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen9ou-752822 -- Punnyvs xavgb
• https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen9ou-751283 -- Separation vs Raptor
• https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen9ou-749895 - Acr1 vs Finch
• https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen9ou-748405 - Punny vs mncmt

We also saw a cool application of it here in lax vs mncmt: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen9ou-751881 and here in Rubyblood vs Trosko: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen9ou-751407

It has a ton of utility w/ Encore/Knock and being able to boost speed w/ Tera whil also actually being able to use boots is huge.

 

[pika pal]

Absolutely superb write-up, I adore when people go all-in on their thoughts and really break down where they're putting stuff in the metagame, but I've got a super stupid nitpick I want to ask.

For Great Tusk, you name it as the rightfully best hazard remover available in the game right now, almost inarguably the best Spinner we've ever had. But in Iron Moth's 30th spot write-up, you say "keeping rocks off has never been harder". What's up? I feel like there's been a back-and-forth for the last 16 months of "Great Tusk is the best spinner we've ever had!" and "Yeah, but hazard removal has still never been worse."

I don't think these are strictly incompatible ideas. Great Tusk is legitimately the best Spinner I think we've ever had, at least when evaluating OUs relative to each other; simultaneously, the increased Hazard distribution and very limited options BESIDES Tusk does mean that hazards are still very difficult to keep off the field overall (different than how easy they are to deal with necessarily, since HDB exist for example).

Gen 6-8 had overall fewer Hazard stackers that could get them up easy whilst also having a lot of relatively viable removal choices, while earlier gens generally felt lower on both all around rather than a huge imbalance in favor of one specific half. One thing for example is that most of the viable Hazard Removal this Gen is weak to Water (Cinderace and Iron Treads as well as Tusk). I think that while Tusk is a phenomenal Spinner, the fact that it's one of only a one-hand's-worth of options makes it much easier to prepare for those few remover (especially with the other "glue" roles some play) such that your hazards are harder to get rid of long term (i.e. remove/prevent and ensure they don't then go up later)

 

[zioziotrip]

Absolutely superb write-up, I adore when people go all-in on their thoughts and really break down where they're putting stuff in the metagame, but I've got a super stupid nitpick I want to ask.

For Great Tusk, you name it as the rightfully best hazard remover available in the game right now, almost inarguably the best Spinner we've ever had. But in Iron Moth's 30th spot write-up, you say "keeping rocks off has never been harder". What's up? I feel like there's been a back-and-forth for the last 16 months of "Great Tusk is the best spinner we've ever had!" and "Yeah, but hazard removal has still never been worse."

Maybe getting a little off-track for the VR thread, I do still feel like conceptually Gholdengo is an extremely imbalanced presence, it shouldn't get all three of completely block hazard removal/have an excellent defensive profile between typing and BST/have reliable recovery. Is that just the difficulty of fitting Great Tusk on every team? Because as the #2 most viable Pokemon in the metagame I feel like any hazard-weak mons that don't already run Boots has their viability sharply increased if Great Tusk Spins that consistently.

Yeah I realized this inconsistency writting and should’ve been more specific, my bad. Offense particularly struggles with consistent removal. Iron Treads, Deoxys-S, and Ribombee are mons that pose a real nuisance to Tusk attempting to switch in but also Pult, Glimm, Gholden, and Serp for example discourage aggressive Tusk leads.

Generally Tusk on offense would like to run Booster as it turns it into a very real wincon with nice speed but Booster limits its flexibility and ability to hit the field multiple times making justifying it as a lead into setters difficult.

Running Boots Tusk or Treads on offense is an option to have significantly more consistent removal but in tandem with Iron Moth is a bit of concession as you’re loading two offense fish mons that contribute little to the balance/fat mu. Not a dealbreaker but something that has to be considered when attempting to use Iron Moth.

 

[658Greninja]

I’ve been waiting til the results for the G-Fire suspect to post these so here it goes. I will alwo try to avoid past noms I’ve made like Lando to A+, Garg higher up, etc.

Rises:

A > A+

Explanation

Zama made its way onto multiple builds with Roar Ironpress. The sheer speed and bulk of Zamazenta made it a splashable end-all check to multiple OU staples like Gambit, G-Fire, Darkrai, and Dragonite. It is the modern day equivalent to Suicune in early gens. A splashable defensive check in the early-to-mid game and wincon in the lategame. I believe its placement should reflect that.

A- > A

Explanation

Dragonite has seen massive usage in SPL. Even being number one in usage in one week of SPL which is an insane feat, and is not for show. Dragonite has been used for excellent role compression, checking half the tier in one slot thanks to Multiscale and priority E-Speed. Feburary and March have been experimental months of Dnite. With sets like CB, Mixed, Dtail, and Encore DD finding success in important games. The decreased usage of Skarm Balance builds also helped contribute to Dnite’s success.

A- > A

Explanation

Samu has also seen higher usage on ladder and SPL, sometimes being apart of the classic Glimm/Ghold core. Imo Spike Stacking strats are better on offensive builds due to being able to chip down the opposing team slowly and quickly. Samu just so happens to be the best offensive Spiker the tier has to offer. Boots, AV, Scarf, and Helmet are all great, but Band has been a favorite of mine and has no defensive counterplay of played right. Samu also offers solid defensive utility vs Gambit and Ghold while boasting Encore to stop lategame Gambit sweeps. A trend it appreciates is Tusk giving up CC more frequently for other options like BU, Knock, or Rocks. Though it faces competition from other physical Dark types and Wogre, plus it’s rather frail and slow, I think it still warrants a slight rise.

B+ > A-

Explanation

Since the Sleep ban, most of the playerbase anticipated it would fall out of favor, possibly even drop to UU which would’ve been unheard of generations ago, but it wasn’t Darkover yet. Darkrai usage saw a notable increase on high ladder and tours. While Darkrai lacks defensive utility, its claim to fame is as an excellent wallbreaker on HO/BO in response to increased usage of Garg Balance and BO builds where Darkrai’s speed and coverage shines. It has ran a variety of sets with Sash, LO, Expert Belt, Boots, Custap, Lum, Scarf, etc. There has also been instances of Darkrai’s utility with Wisp, T-Wave, and Knock seeing occasional use.

B+ > A-

Explanation

Balance builds have been making a comeback, and Stall continues to be piloted, all thanks to this big CaseOh fish. Though the standard 2-Atks Resttalk set still sees success, the Curse set has been responsible for unthinkable comebacks, including the infamous Tera Normal Dozo incident. SpD Curse Dozo also matches up decently into NP Ghold

B+ > A-

Explanation

I might be the only believer of Iron Moth besides maybe Storm Zone, cause its absolutely cracked. Moth can snowball games similarly to Volc, but more immediately with either Speed Booster or SpA Booster after a single Fiery Dance boost. Moth also checks other threats like Zama, physical Valiant, etc. Tera Ground/Water Blast nukes switch ins like Garg, Gking, and SpD Gliscor while being harder to rkill. Substitute is a cute way for Moth to get more Fiery boosts and blank Gambit Sucker. With good positioning, Moth can outright sweep a whole team by itself. SpA Proto is a sleeper pick, and after an Agility boost, you outpace the entire tier. So you can follow this flowchart depending on the matchup. Vs offense you click Agility. Vs defense you just click buttons. Being the only other offensive Tspike absorber besides Glimm also gives it a niche over Volc.

B- > B

Explanation

Magcargo already made this nom, but I’ll throw my hat in here too. First of all, Booster variants suck. Too Tera reliant, and you have better options to work with. Instead focus your attention on AV and Specs sets which have seen some success on BO builds as a pivot with defensive utility that is one of the better offensive checks to Kyurem. Crown can further support these builds with Future Sight, acting as sort of a fast Gking. Psychic Noise + Volt Switch lets you slowly chip down Ghold and Dirge throughout a game. Plus its a good anti-lead into Glimmora who I think should also rise a rank.

B- > B

Explanation

Sand has actually seen a bit of success lately. Whenever Sand is brought, it manages to pull through half the time. Ttar is a pain to switch into for bulkier builds. Grounds eat an Ice Beam, Knock chunks everything else, Low Kick erases Gambit, and Clef’s Moonlight recovery gets gutted by Sand. Plus the Sand chip has merit for denying lefties and eliminating Dnite’s Multiscale. It also shows to be a solid soft-check to the likes of Raging Bolt, Volc, and Focus Miss-less Darkrai.

B- > B+

Explanation

Volcanion has seen a bit of a resurgence in SPL, OST, and ladder. It isn’t just the Stallbreaker sets this time, we’ve seen options like Roar, Wisp, and Custap Berry see play. Volcanion’s natural bulk and immunity to Water has seen it play a part inaking progress and checking Gambit, Wogre, Weavile, Prim, and even Zama with Tera Ghost. Water Absorb has also seen value in blocking Flip Turn from Mola which has picked up in usage since February. The Trapper set manages to land a kill every game (exaggerated obviously).

C+ > B-

Explanation

Blissey is the piloter of stall teams. The tier is loaded with special threats like Ghold, Rbolt, CM Valiant, Wake, and Darkrai. Blissey’s ability to blank them is a tale as old as time. I also highly encourage the playerbase to experiment with other options like Alluring Voice to punish Substitute, Ice Beam to smack Gliscor and Lando, or faster variants to catch weakened Gambit off-guard. It is rather remarkable that even after the power creep and nerf to its kit, Blissey still remains OU relevant.

C+ > B-

Explanation

Hoopa-U has seen a bit of usage and has proven to be more valuable than the vr implies. Gets a ton of milage off of slow pivots like Mola. Hoopa’s ability to compress the role of both a wallbreaker and special sponge is incredible on the bulkier builds Hoopa finds itself on. Been enjoying Tera Fairy AV since it still gives you a Dark resist, but also gives you better MUs into Zama, Hexpult, and removes its weakness to Fairy. The increased usage of Balance builds has also incentivized further Hoopa success and if we’re being honest, it doesn’t deserve to be next to Enam-T. (The T stands for Trash)

C+ > B-

Explanation

The other two Ogerpons have been reevaluated despite their competition with Wogre. Rockpon solidifies itself as an underrated HO mon that can function either as a breaker, a Spikes lead, or revenge killer thanks to Sturdy. With hazard control from Treads, Tusk, Cinder, or Hatt, they ensure that rocks stay off and Sturdy is always available. Traditional counterplay to Wogre is different from dealing with Rockpon, and that makes it good at taking advantage of traditional Wogre checks like Dnite. It is for this reason that Rockpon has seen increased usage for the unique traits it offers over its watery sister.

C+ > B

Explanation

While this seems like an extreme leap, Webs have spiked in usage as a response to HO and the excellent abusers DLC2 brought. If you’ve seen 10 replays of the latest weeks of SPL or OST and played around 10 games in ladder, you will find at least one Ribombee staring at you in team preview. It has proved itself to be a solid archetype due to the meta shifting away from the Skarm/Meow/Gking Boots Spam builds of early 2024.

C > B-

Explanation

Teal Mask Ogerpon has been getting spammed alarmingly frequently. Take a look at the statistics in SPL.

It is clear that Ogerpon is putting in enough work to be used as much as tier staples Hatterene and Kyurem. Ogerpon takes on a similar role to Meowscarada as the Grass type on Boots Spam. With Encore, more immediately threatening Grass STAB, and Defiant to punish Lando. Oger has the option to Tera for the speed boost to outpace such threats as Walking Wake, +1 G-Fire, Dragapult, Weavile, Darkrai, etc.

D > C

Explanation

Iron Jugulis imo is a sleeper pick, albeit a niche one. Though not the fastest or stronger Booster abuser, Jugulis makes use of it to be a fantastic anti-lead with Taunt, Dpulse, Hurricane, and EP to deny the opponent’s progress and dent some holes. Jugulis’ speed also makes it a solid anti-lead against Balance. Being able to resist Knock and Taunt it from doing anything. Jugulis can continuously beat down on these teams until it goes out of commission. Tera Ground + Taunt also lets it break through Garg and avoid T-Waves from Clef, Pult, or Gking, with the added benefit of luring Raging Bolt into a bad time. Regardless of your stance on Jugulis, we can all agree it is better than Hippo lmao.

D > C+

Explanation

Another underrated anti-lead mon. Balloon allows teams to check Kyurem and Moon in the short-term, but thats not where its success lies. In SPL and on ladder, Tinkaton has seen slight appearances as a lead with the sheer utility it provides from Rocks, Encore, T-Wave, and Knock. Balloon + Pickpocket also lets you steal items and punish those Boots spamming pivots. Mold Breaker ensuring rocks stay up and also has the benefit of T-Waving Ghold/Garg. Tinka has also been responding to Gliscor with Ice Hammer to 2HKO the flying scorpion. Leng Loi managed to top the ladder with a Tinkaton + Jugulis team, proving what it has to offer in the current offensive metagame.

UR > C

Explanation

Thundy-I is an anti-meta pick that I have found success with. Prankster T-Wave is an incredible tool in an offensive meta like SV OU even with it being the most loaded with Dark types. Outside of its anti-HO niche, you have a wallbreaker with Boltbeam coverage and Knock. With slight bulk investment it lives hits like unboosted Wogre Ivy, any hit from Val, and Hex Pult just so it can get off a para. Its matchup into SE-less Zama is also notable and it pairs well with alot of offensive threats. I talked more about it in this post.

These traits work in practice as I have several replays of Thundy putting in work.

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-2082589636 (judging by the ak acrynom and the mega-zam avatar, I think this was Akalli)
Here I double into Thundy on the Zama after Glimm gets locked into Rocks. Since I already faced him once on the ladder with this team (and lost), he knew the Prankster T-Wave is coming, they swapped to Raging Bolt where I nailed them with Tbolt + Tera Blast Ice. Unfortunately it fell to Roaring Moon, but removing Rbolt and forcing Moon to spend a booster helped me in the long run as the team lost access to priority. It also shows that even with the knowledge of T-Wave Thundy, it still shows its value in a game.

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-2075085526?p2 (vs Eeveeto)
Not knowing I was up against Eeveeto, I lead off with Thundy to get up a Knock. It took massive damage from the Helmet chip and Salt Cure but still stayed. I would bring the Thundy back in on the Inteleon, and threaten with T-Wave. They swapped to Gking, eating a T-Wave and a crit Knock, along with a full-para to add onto the bs. After some pivoting from Eeveeto, Thundy claimed Corv’s life and proceeded to nuke Eeveeto’s Tera Dragon Garg out of commission.

There are three other replays provided on the same post if you want to check them out. I won’t rank it higher since it is reliant on burning Tera depending on the matchup. Yes, I will continue to campaign for this thing so it can at least get a slap in the wrist.

Drops:

A > A-

Explanation

Yes, this thing is good, but not on the same level as Lando, Wogre, or Zama. I’d argue stuff like Mola and Garg are better in the current meta. Scarf sets have few switch in opportunities due to be hazard weak and frail. its kinda weak outside of Healing Wish and the occasional times STAB Moonblast hits everything. While I can see the value of CM or Mixed sets, I feel those sets have competiton with Valiant who boasts a better speed tier + Booster. Other Fairies like Hatt and Prim often get slapped onto the team styles Enam finds itself in.

A > B+

Explanation

I know this placement is harsh but my opinion on Skarm since December went from top 5 to this thing is mid. Skarm is inconsistent as a physical wall. Jolly Gambit is more common and that cleaves through Skarm with enough SO boosts. Taunt Moon mows through it, and even standard sets can break through cause Skarm is easy to chip. Wogre also shreds it with +2 Ivy. Due to the rise of Ironpress Zama and Dnite, teams have been incorporating more Tera Ghost, making its life worse. Skarm can 1v1 Tusk, but Skarm is such a free switch in for like, half the entire meta.

Pult, Hatt, Lando, Bolt, Mola, Ghold, Volc, Moth, Gking, Prim, Dirge, Clef, Zap, Moth, Crown, Washtom, Volcanion, etc.

While you get one spike off, the opponent is free to do whatever they want. At least with other walls like Ting-Lu, they can force damage with Ruination or decently hard hitting EQ. Skarm is an absolute momentum sink and a fake physical wall. The tier has several other physically bulky walls like Mola, Dozo, Zama, Lando, Gliscor, and Tusk that can fit its role and better. Hell, Corv is a better Skarm because it can U-Turn out of the bad matchups. This is effectively more useful than getting up one Spike and having it get removed by Tusk. We can also see its usage steadily decline as the older spike builds Skarm used to fit in are falling out of style. TL;DR, Skarm is kinda mid, but it checks Rilla on Balance so I won’t drop it any lower.

A > A-

Explanation

I’m putting these two together cause I won’t separate the love they have for each other. Anyways, even with Arch banned and G-Fire in the tier still, Sun is not as dominant as the VR reflects. You might see frequent usage of it on mid ladder but that’s about it. The main reason is due to the rise of bad matchups like Mola, Garg, and Dnite. Wake no longer can freely spam Hydro with high Wogre usage. A well-timed Tera Water can stop a CB G-Fire from making progress. The archetype still has solid matchups into Stall, along with a decent HO matchup, so Sun is still good in the current meta. I just feel it isn’t on the same level as the other A ranks.

A- > B+

Explanation

Like with Skarm, Meow fell off. It saw very few SPL appearances and when it did show up, Meow did not contribute much. The direction the meta has been heading since February is not favorable to Meow Spike Stack, mostly because teams are more aggressive and fast to overwhelm them. Meow’s awkward speed tier really hurts it, and it often is too weak to pick up neutral KOs. Balance builds have even ditched Meow for other options like Weavile or Pult. It’s really in an awkward spot rn.

B+ > B-

Explanation

As much of a Greninja stan I am (if you couldn’t tell), can I ask y’all to recall the last time you seen a Greninja on ladder? It barely gets used at all. Imo the addition of Raging Bolt and Primarina killed most of this thing’s viability. Getting a BB boost is way too difficult, and it’s rkilled by all the priority in the world, all while relying on an 80% accurate move to do meaningful damage. We simply have better cleaners on HO.

B+ > B-

Explanation

Latias went from a promising HO sweeper to a MU fishy queen, and not the good kind of MU fishy like Volc. Overly Tera reliant, gets shit on by opposing setup or just by hitting it, and Screens have fallen in favor of classic HO, Terrain, or Webs. Easy to stop with Encore as well. Stored Power sweepers are kinda shit in this meta, idk why anyone wants to suspect the move.

B > C

Explanation

Another mid cheese sweeper. Dies to priority or just by LO chip + Blitz recoil. Has 0 defenses and doesn’t have the coverage to hit everything it needs to. Blaziken needs Protect cause even at +1 it gets outsped by several mons like Dragapult, Deo-S, Booster Val, and Booster Tusk.

B- > C+

Explanatory

Comfey got used several times in the early weeks of SPL and then it just…stopped getting used.

C+ > D

Explanatory

Rain almost never gets used and even then, you won’t find Kingdra on alot of them. The Gking, Wogre, Mola meta is not kind to it.

C > UR

Explanatory

Psyspam is bad cheese. You need to play perfectly in order to not drop games. There are several matchups it just auto-loses to on preview. Samurott invalidates the entire strat of keeping hazards off. Since the archetype rarely runs SR you can preserve your Sash lead if you’re running HO and kill whatever setup sweeper is in front of you. The mere existence of Rillaboom violates it by resetting Terrain. Ting-Lu doesn’t even need to get hazards up to give these teams a hard time. Just keep clicking everything besides hazards until Hatt dies. Psyspam has very few ways of killing it. Tera Dark Amnesia Clod on Stall is an instant ggs.

 

[sims796]

This team has been running all over SPL:

• https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen9ou-752549 -- JJ vs Sav
• https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen9ou-752822 -- Punnyvs xavgb
• https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen9ou-751283 -- Separation vs Raptor
• https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen9ou-749895 - Acr1 vs Finch
• https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen9ou-748405 - Punny vs mncmt

We also saw a cool application of it here in lax vs mncmt: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen9ou-751881 and here in Rubyblood vs Trosko: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen9ou-751407

It has a ton of utility w/ Encore/Knock and being able to boost speed w/ Tera whil also actually being able to use boots is huge.

Dammit this isn't good for the viability of Meow. Grasspon is not allowed to be better!

On a serious note, I hope Trick Meow gets more attention, I plan on experimenting with that, elo be damned..l

 

[Baloor]

Not gonna do a whole write up but wanted to echo the fact that pult is hands down the best mon in the tier and should be top of S (even though I think it stands out more than other s tier mons too). It’s not a mandated thing on every team like primal groudon was so it doesn’t quite qualify for S+ but it’s just below that for me.

It has a good matchup Vs every archetype which is huge in a tier with so much variance and is constantly evolving. It is quite literally never deadweight, unlike literally every other top mon which fall in and out of Favor consistently due to constant shifts. With more set variety popping up recently like dd, cb and to a lesser extent specs which can threaten teams that are only prepped for hex, it cements itself as the dog to me.

 

[urban]

Some nominations for mons that I have used with some frequency:

A to S-

Zamazenta-Hero

Zamazenta fits on every playstyle except stall. Iron Defense + Body Press is no doubt the best set in this offensive meta and sports amazing versatility as a sweeper/revenge killer. Last two moveslots can be used for coverage (Crunch, Heavy Slam, Stone Edge) or support (Substitute, Roar). Tera type can be a little predictable between Steel and Fire, but Zama rarely requires Tera to function, and a timely Tera can still win the game against Pokémon like Volcarona, Dragapult, and Valiant. Boots or Lefties give Zama a lot more longevity, and niche items like Mirror Herb can also clutch wins. Unfortunately, this set suffers from 4MSS and just blanks into bulky cores featuring Dozo/Glowking and certain Tera-Ghost Pokémon. Definitely still a top tier set despite these flaws. Haven't used AoA or Band in a while, but I think Band especially shows some promise in this meta as it can demolish balance cores while still being effective against offense thanks to Zama's amazing speed.

A to A+

Ogerpon-Wellspring

Ogerpon-W functions on both offense and balance as a midgame wallbreaker and lategame cleaner. This is thanks to Ogerpon-W's dual STABs which are extremely difficult to switch into, especially when coupled with excellent attack bolstered by Swords Dance and solid speed. However, I think Ogerpon-W has two major issues that hold it back from being S-tier right now imo. The first is that its good-not-great speed and mediocre bulk mean that it is easy to force out in this offensive metagame. The second is that Ogerpon-W doesn't have a lot of versatility in its set. Item slot and Tera type are locked. SD/Ivy Cudgel/Grass STAB are all mandatory, though there is some flexibility in the 4th moveslot with Encore/coverage. I suppose you could ditch SD on some builds, but that really weakens Ogerpon's potency as a balance breaker. All that said, Ogerpon-W is still great in this meta and deserves a rise.

A- to A+

Iron Valiant

I think Iron Valiant is really good in this metagame dominated by Dragon, Fighting, and Dark types. Valiant has great set diversity, with several new sets emerging in the last few weeks. Its offensive movepool options let it fulfill a ton of different offensive roles from physical sweeper with booster speed and SD to special breaker with Specs. Its support options in Encore and Destiny Bond are also still very valuable to a lot of teams. I do think it is quite reliant on getting the speed boost from BE in many cases, but that just means Valiant needs to be played carefully to maximize its effectiveness.

A+ to A

Raging Bolt

Raging Bolt still has great power and amazing bulk, but its low speed makes it reliant on Tera to beat the omni-present Ground and Dragon types in the tier. I also find that its power is somewhat lacking without a CM or BE boost, especially since its STABs have common resistances and immunities. That being said, with Tera, it can usually claim a couple of kills against offensive teams and can break some balance cores lacking Ting-Lu/Glowking.

A+ to B+

Pelipper/Barraskewda

I don't think rain is as dead as some people say, though the loss of Archaludon definitely hurt the playstyle a lot. That being said, rain still does really well into most forms of offense, especially Glimmora HO builds lacking Ogerpon-W. Its matchup against bulky offense/balance is usually pretty good too, though Barraskewda really has to watch out for Teras from Garganacl, Glowking, and Skarm/Corv. Some of rain's old partners like Raging Bolt and and Torn-T can capitalize on these Teras though, which improves the matchup quite a bit. Stall matchup is definitely really tricky and usually a loss.

B to B+, C+ to B+

Ninetales-Alola/Ribombee

Kinda like rain, these two represent offensive playstyles that can be pretty effective against a lot of offensive and balance builds. However, their matchup into stall is significantly better than rain's thanks to tier staples like Kingambit and Gholdengo and playstyle staples like Ursaluna and Manaphy, who all thrive with webs/screens support. Even with the sleep ban, Ninetales-Alola has a great support option in Encore and STABs that are surprisingly difficult to switch into for a lot of teams. Ribombee also has a fantastic support movepool with Stun Spore, Skill Swap, Psychic Noise, Screens, and more.

A note on rain/webs/veil

I think these three playstyles are all pretty close in viability at the moment. They are all strong offensive styles that can be a little matchup dependent. If I had to order them, it would probably be Ninetales-A > Pelipper/Barraskewda > Ribombee.

Ribombee is by far the least durable of any of these Pokemon, with offensive leads like Iron Treads, Glimmora, and Deo-S making its job of getting up webs a little more difficult in those matchups. Webs also has a more difficult matchup into balance and boots spam than the other two. On top of that, webs pretty much requires Air Balloon Gholdengo too, which isn't a bad thing, but does make playing around Webs a little more predictable.

Funnily enough, rain struggles against Webs and Veil in addition to its bad stall matchup, but is probably the most solid against more standard offensive builds thanks to Barra's power and Peli's pivoting ability.

Ninetales-A can support some deadly threats like Kyurem, Volcarona, Dragonite, and Hatterene in a way that Webs (and rain) cannot, making it the most potent of the three in my eyes.

A to B

Torkoal

Sun is less consistent than any of rain/webs/veil right now because its pieces are pretty one-dimensional and Sun benefits a lot of opposing tier staples like Great Tusk and Roaring Moon. Torkoal is actually a pretty bad weather setter thanks to the sleep ban, its rocks weakness with no recovery, and its lack of pivoting move. It is almost always dead weight when it comes in and can't even effectively set hazards because of its Ground weakness. Sun staples like Wake, Bolt, Gouging Fire, and Tusk have fairly predictable sets, but also have niches outside of sun that mean they shouldn't drop like Torkoal.

 

[Kadiro]

Okay, i have some nominations before they update the vr:

from S- to S

It was amazing already but the wisp+hex set is so good at disrupting all kinds of pokemon, i dont think is inferior to tusk or gambit in any sense, arguably the most annoying mon in the whole tier. Specs is making a resurgence too.

and from A+ to S-

volc is almost broken, many games are lost when volc has the right tera and if your only way of revenge killing it after a QD is your kingambit you better be lucky with the flame body burns. Imo the only thing that keeps this thing in OU is in fact slowking-g.
Gking is a glue like no other, it checks so many things that it can run whatever it wants and stilll be effective agains offensive mons like volc, pult, bolt, enamo, and wake and also many bulky/ deffensive mons like clodsire, clef, garga, primarina and skarm. Its also the only reliable switch into kyurem in the whole tier and destroys sun and rain. Amazing mon.

and from A to A+

oger is almost impossible to switch into, she is back the level it had pre DLC2, play rough is the go to now as the coverage move since the tier is full of dragons. Not an S tier imo since it feels kinda useless in some match ups against super fast HO with moon, valiant, zama and pult. Still an amazing mon that may keep going up in usage and viability.

lando is also back, it has completely outclassed gliscor in bulky offense and its so good to have a fast stealth rocker that can pivot in and out while being able to taunt fat mons. Its kinda limited in what it can do but its amazing in that one thing.

I really hate zama, i voted ban when it was suspect tested long ago and i thought that this mon was somewhat unhealthy for the tier, but you cant call it broken now although its really good. ID+press sets are the only thing you should run on zama, i dont think the other sets are justifiable when u can just ID once and be an unkilleable sweeper. The thing that is making zama awesome again is its tera variablility and its last move. Tera fire and steel are the go to nowadays and the last move makes it quite unpredictible since it can stone edge volc, heavy slam clef, sub on gking or roar other zamas. Its in a really good position right now and its would be S- if wisp pult wasnt so omnipresent

from B+ to A

darkrai is better than anyone expected after the hypnosis ban. NP + 3 attacks, 4attacks with boots and choice sets are all viable. Another good thing about darkrai is that it on fast games it can take one strong neutral thing from almost anything and if u dont kill it its killing you back, but besides that it has 0 defenssive utility tbh so it can be hard to fit sometimes.

from A+ to A

i still think this pokemon is broken and the tier would be much better without it but its fair to say that at the moment is manageable. It wins a ton of games but lando being at the top again really slows him down and its not as easy to set up anymore. its still amazing sure and with some changes i see this thing being suspect tested in the future, but its not as immediate as it used to be.

and from A+ to B+

yeah, the archaludon ban really killed rain, that and gking, which is better than ever. Its still possible to have a good rain team tho, greninja is quite scary against a number of teams imo, but rain is very mediocre atm.

from A to B+

man this thing is so weird. i was never a big fan of it from the beginning, i thought it was overrated and it shows. it was really good on rain and also on some sun team, but these playstyles are now worse than ever. Raging bolt being now less top tier is also an important factor. Sure, u can use it as your suicide lead but at that point its better to use glimmora. Its not horrible but i find it hard to justifiy over the other grounds in the tier.

 

[Delibird Heart]

A -> B+/B
I'm not sold on Deo-S. LO all-out attacker sets struggle to deal any real damage because of Deo-S' meager 95/95 offenses, especially since the tier is filled with bulky monstrosities like gouging fire, raging fire, dengo, etc. It's also immensely frail with a very bad typing so it doesn't offer any defensive utility as opposed to something like zama or pult which are also very fast while sporting better typings and bulk. As a hazards lead it gets the job done but imo that quality alone does not warrant such a high spot on the ranking, especially since Iron Treads or Hatterene teams can still stop it, unlike something like Samu-H lead. Sure it's very fast, but it's not even the fastest anymore because of booster mons. B rank at best imo, but maybe there's something there I'm not seeing.

B+ -> C+/C
This one I really don't understand. Torn has seen virtually no usage this gen after predlc meta. Losing defog really hurts, and a slightly better Hurricane in Bleakwind Storm does not save it. The introduction of Raging Bolt and the return of Weavile does not favor this guy at all either, and Slowking-G sits on it all day. It's once great speed tier is now just kinda good. It's a decent check to Rillaboom and Serperior but so is Zapdos and he's a much better pivot imo. Another argument would be that this outspeeds and KOs Waterpon but that's not even necessarily true because of the free spdef boost it gets on tera. Also I know popularity is generally not an argument but seriously has anyone actually seen Torn-T this gen ? Because I definitely haven't.

B- -> C
Despite it's brief usage in SPL, I don't think comfey is that guy. It gets stopped dead in its track by mons like heatran and loses badly to volcarona. Honestly I don't have much to say about this one other than it's pretty gimmicky and unreliable IMO. I might be wrong about this because I haven't seen it or played it much in this gen, but from past gens' experience I don't think this should be so high on the VR.

C+ -> D/UR
What niche does kingdra have on rain over something like Basculegion-F ? I'm not even sure this deserves to be ranked.

D -> UR
What does this even do now that spore has been banned? Sticky web + spore was probably the only relevant niche this had in OU.

UR -> C/C+

Overqwil @ Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim
Tera Type: Water / Flying
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant / Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Crunch
- Gunk Shot
- Liquidation

With the advent of Waterpon and Raging Bolt, having the option to run a swift swimmer that is not a water type is extremely welcome for rain players. Overqwil's unique Dark/Poison typing gives rain some much needed defensive utility, as it resists sucker and grassy glide and is not weak to thunderclap. Offensively, this means that you can threaten mons like Waterpon and Alomomola that solidly check Barraskewda, thus giving it very good synnergy with the most commonly used rain sweeper. It also means you very easily come in on glowking clicking sludge bomb or future sight and set up on it. Adamant variants hit incredibly hard, getting a clean OHKO on roaring moon with Gunk Shot even unboosted, while jolly hits 590 in rain, outspeeding the entire tier including booster mons. Down below are some more relevant calcs:

Overqwil Damage Calcs

vs
+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Overqwil Liquidation vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Kingambit in Rain: 311-367 (91.2 - 107.6%) -- 50% chance to OHKO

+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Overqwil Liquidation vs. 212 HP / 0 Def Kingambit: 207-244 (52.5 - 61.9%) -- 98.8% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Kingambit Iron Head vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Overqwil: 153-181 (49.1 - 58.1%) -- 98% chance to 2HKO
252+ Atk Kingambit Sucker Punch vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Overqwil: 67-79 (21.5 - 25.4%) -- 0.2% chance to 4HKO
(if gambit comes in on Boosted Qwil, you should always beat it regardless of it being defensive or offensive)

252+ Atk Life Orb Overqwil Gunk Shot vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Roaring Moon: 341-402 (97.1 - 114.5%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO

252+ Atk Life Orb Overqwil Crunch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Gholdengo: 359-424 (113.9 - 134.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252+ Atk Life Orb Overqwil Crunch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Dragapult: 437-515 (137.8 - 162.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO

+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Overqwil Gunk Shot vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Gouging Fire: 433-511 (123.3 - 145.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO

+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Overqwil Liquidation vs. 244 HP / 248+ Def Gliscor in Rain: 450-530 (127.8 - 150.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Overqwil Gunk Shot vs. 244 HP / 248+ Def Tera Water Gliscor: 317-374 (90 - 106.2%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO

252+ Atk Life Orb Overqwil Gunk Shot vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Ogerpon-Wellspring: 595-702 (197.6 - 233.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Life Orb Overqwil Gunk Shot vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Tera Water Ogerpon-Wellspring: 298-351 (99 - 116.6%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO

252+ SpA Raging Bolt Thunderclap vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Overqwil: 186-220 (59.8 - 70.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Protosynthesis Raging Bolt Thunderclap vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Overqwil: 241-285 (77.4 - 91.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Overqwil Gunk Shot vs. 64 HP / 28 Def Raging Bolt: 538-633 (132.1 - 155.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252+ Atk Choice Band Rillaboom Grassy Glide vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Overqwil in Grassy Terrain: 97-115 (31.1 - 36.9%)

+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Overqwil Gunk Shot vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Alomomola: 426-503 (79.7 - 94.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

I personally have used Overqwil quite a lot lately on 1700ish ladder (albeit as part of a goofy wugtrio team, but there's no reason it wouldn't work similarly well on a more serious rain team). Here are some replays featuring it's capabilities:

Replay 1 - Overqwil sweeps after setting up on glowking (I gunk shotted the tusk and the pult because I expected both to tera on crunch/liquidation respectively, but it didn't matter because barra was always gonna clean up at that point)
Replay 2 - Here Overqwil allows me to win against what is probably the most anti rain team I have ever seen by getting rid of all the mons that Barra struggles against.
Replay 3 - Overqwil tanks fiery dance from moth and ohkoes it back, allowing me to claim victory in the end (tbh this game is kinda haxxy, sorry to my opponent lol)
Replay 4 - Against stall, overqwil easily finds an opportunity to set up and then punches holes through my opponent's team (especially dozo which can be very annoying for rain), allowing barraskewda to clean up after.
Replay 5 - Exploiting banded rilla, Overqwil sweeps from turn 2.
Replay 6 - After setting up on deo-S, Overqwil immediately forces tera from my opponent which puts me in a very good position, leading to a win.

In conclusion I really think this mon is slept on. At the very least it's DEFINITELY way better than Kingdra. Please either rank this or unrank kingdra (or both, ideally).

Thanks for reading !

 

[BolTingBlazie]

A -> B+/B
I'm not sold on Deo-S. LO all-out attacker sets struggle to deal any real damage because of Deo-S' meager 95/95 offenses, especially since the tier is filled with bulky monstrosities like gouging fire, raging fire, dengo, etc. It's also immensely frail with a very bad typing so it doesn't offer any defensive utility as opposed to something like zama or pult which are also very fast while sporting better typings and bulk. As a hazards lead it gets the job done but imo that quality alone does not warrant such a high spot on the ranking, especially since Iron Treads or Hatterene teams can still stop it, unlike something like Samu-H lead. Sure it's very fast, but it's not even the fastest anymore because of booster mons. B rank at best imo, but maybe there's something there I'm not seeing.

B+ -> C+/C
This one I really don't understand. Torn has seen virtually no usage this gen after predlc meta. Losing defog really hurts, and a slightly better Hurricane in Bleakwind Storm does not save it. The introduction of Raging Bolt and the return of Weavile does not favor this guy at all either, and Slowking-G sits on it all day. It's once great speed tier is now just kinda good. It's a decent check to Rillaboom and Serperior but so is Zapdos and he's a much better pivot imo. Another argument would be that this outspeeds and KOs Waterpon but that's not even necessarily true because of the free spdef boost it gets on tera. Also I know popularity is generally not an argument but seriously has anyone actually seen Torn-T this gen ? Because I definitely haven't.

B- -> C
Despite it's brief usage in SPL, I don't think comfey is that guy. It gets stopped dead in its track by mons like heatran and loses badly to volcarona. Honestly I don't have much to say about this one other than it's pretty gimmicky and unreliable IMO. I might be wrong about this because I haven't seen it or played it much in this gen, but from past gens' experience I don't think this should be so high on the VR.

C+ -> D/UR
What niche does kingdra have on rain over something like Basculegion-F ? I'm not even sure this deserves to be ranked.

D -> UR
What does this even do now that spore has been banned? Sticky web + spore was probably the only relevant niche this had in OU.

UR -> C/C+

Overqwil @ Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim
Tera Type: Water / Flying
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant / Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Crunch
- Gunk Shot
- Liquidation

With the advent of Waterpon and Raging Bolt, having the option to run a swift swimmer that is not a mono-water type is extremely welcome for rain players. Overqwil's unique Dark/Poison typing gives rain some much needed defensive utility, as it resists sucker and grassy glide and is not weak to thunderclap. Offensively, this means that you can threatens mons like Waterpon and Alomomola that solidly check Barraskewda, thus giving it very good synnergy with the most commonly used rain sweeper. It also means you very easily come in on glowking clicking sludge bomb or future sight and set up on it. Adamant variants hit incredibly hard, getting a clean OHKO on roaring moon with Gunk Shot even unboosted, while jolly hits 590 in rain, outspeeding the entire tier including booster mons. Down below are some more relevant calcs:

Overqwil Damage Calcs

vs
+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Overqwil Liquidation vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Kingambit in Rain: 311-367 (91.2 - 107.6%) -- 50% chance to OHKO

+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Overqwil Liquidation vs. 212 HP / 0 Def Kingambit: 207-244 (52.5 - 61.9%) -- 98.8% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Kingambit Iron Head vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Overqwil: 153-181 (49.1 - 58.1%) -- 98% chance to 2HKO
252+ Atk Kingambit Sucker Punch vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Overqwil: 67-79 (21.5 - 25.4%) -- 0.2% chance to 4HKO
(if gambit comes in on Boosted Qwil, you should always beat it regardless of it being defensive or offensive)

252+ Atk Life Orb Overqwil Gunk Shot vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Roaring Moon: 341-402 (97.1 - 114.5%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO

252+ Atk Life Orb Overqwil Crunch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Gholdengo: 359-424 (113.9 - 134.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252+ Atk Life Orb Overqwil Crunch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Dragapult: 437-515 (137.8 - 162.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO

+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Overqwil Gunk Shot vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Gouging Fire: 433-511 (123.3 - 145.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO

+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Overqwil Liquidation vs. 244 HP / 248+ Def Gliscor in Rain: 450-530 (127.8 - 150.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Overqwil Gunk Shot vs. 244 HP / 248+ Def Tera Water Gliscor: 317-374 (90 - 106.2%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO

252+ Atk Life Orb Overqwil Gunk Shot vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Ogerpon-Wellspring: 595-702 (197.6 - 233.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Life Orb Overqwil Gunk Shot vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Tera Water Ogerpon-Wellspring: 298-351 (99 - 116.6%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO

252+ SpA Raging Bolt Thunderclap vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Overqwil: 186-220 (59.8 - 70.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Protosynthesis Raging Bolt Thunderclap vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Overqwil: 241-285 (77.4 - 91.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Overqwil Gunk Shot vs. 64 HP / 28 Def Raging Bolt: 538-633 (132.1 - 155.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252+ Atk Choice Band Rillaboom Grassy Glide vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Overqwil in Grassy Terrain: 97-115 (31.1 - 36.9%)

+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Overqwil Gunk Shot vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Alomomola: 426-503 (79.7 - 94.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

I personally have used Overqwil quite a lot lately on 1700ish ladder (albeit as part of a goofy wugtrio team, but there's no reason it wouldn't work similarly well on a more serious rain team). Here are some replays featuring it's capabilities:

Replay 1 - Overqwil sweeps after setting up on glowking (I gunk shotted the tusk and the pult because I expected both to tera on crunch/liquidation respectively, but it didn't matter because barra was always gonna clean up at that point)
Replay 2 - Here Overqwil allows me to win against what is probably the most anti rain team I have ever seen by getting rid of all the mons that Barra struggles against.
Replay 3 - Overqwil tanks fiery dance from moth and ohkoes it back, allowing me to claim victory in the end (tbh this game is kinda haxxy, sorry to my opponent lol)
Replay 4 - Against stall, overqwil easily finds an opportunity to set up and then punches holes through my opponent's team (especially dozo which can be very annoying for rain), allowing barraskewda to clean up after.
Replay 5 - Exploiting banded rilla, Overqwil sweeps from turn 2.
Replay 6 - After setting up on deo-S, Overqwil immediately forces tera from my opponent which puts me in a very good position, leading to a win.

In conclusion I really think this mon is slept on. At the very least it's DEFINITELY way better than Kingdra. Please either rank this or unrank kingdra (or both, ideally).

Thanks for reading !

I do agree on the torn drop but probably just to B because it does technically have a use case as a mon that can regularly threaten knocks, thanks to being usable offensively unlike cyclizar which just doesn't have the stats. Knock + Regen is a strong niche remember which is why it is ranked decently high, especially since it does technically have the stats to use it. Bolt and wellspring are rough for it though as bolt is just impossible to knock without being sacked even with and Wellspring just absorbs knock. I feel as if B is fitting since it technically is unique enough as a knock Regen user with good enough stats. Also Glowking doesn't necessarily sit on it because it does have to worry about knock off and taunt, and torn can just knock and get out with U-Turn. I think a drop to B is fine for it in all honesty since it technically has some noteworthy traits still, even if it's overlooked and not always optimal, also Torn just cannot function as well with the combo of wellspring and raging bolt in the meta as well as Kyurem, all of which are broken and either absorb knock or just don't allow it to pivot and remove items. Knock + Regen was the reason it has been B+ rank for the longest time for a reason, since it is unique amongst the knock off users to have that combo and a usable offensive stat, do think it should drop to B since things are a bit too hostile for it to do its job as well, definitely nowhere near as bad as it was in predlc though with no knock though. B feels about the right place to drop for it at the moment. I do think the utility in knock + Regen and good offensive stats and speed are enough to justify it only dropping one subrank considering knock + Regen is something unique and valuable it offers even if it doesn't see a whole lot of use.

Edit: Yeah I think torn should drop now, shocking isn't it?

Not too keen on lowering Deo-S simply because it is a potent choice on HO and Hyper Offense is very prominent right now, and it has a lot of tools to capitalize on it. It did quite well in recent OU tournaments

Also toxapex feels way too high on the VR, checks wellspring and a couple other pokemon thanks to its good defensive but that is about it. Should definitely go to the C ranks as Pex really doesn't feel like it does much in the current meta or offers anything noteworthy as a Regen user right now over the other ranked ones. Every OUPL and tournament game of gen 9 OU I see Pex do fuck all. I think C+ is a good place for it.

 

[Eeveeto]

C+ -> D/UR
What niche does kingdra have on rain over something like Basculegion-F ? I'm not even sure this deserves to be ranked.

Higher bulk, better defensive typing and both Draco Meter and Tera Hurricane hit harder than Shadow Ball. So, while not opposed to drop it, UR is way too harsh, this Mon will always have a niche, even in Gen 12.

 

[Moyashi]

A -> B+/B
I'm not sold on Deo-S. LO all-out attacker sets struggle to deal any real damage because of Deo-S' meager 95/95 offenses, especially since the tier is filled with bulky monstrosities like gouging fire, raging fire, dengo, etc. It's also immensely frail with a very bad typing so it doesn't offer any defensive utility as opposed to something like zama or pult which are also very fast while sporting better typings and bulk. As a hazards lead it gets the job done but imo that quality alone does not warrant such a high spot on the ranking, especially since Iron Treads or Hatterene teams can still stop it, unlike something like Samu-H lead. Sure it's very fast, but it's not even the fastest anymore because of booster mons. B rank at best imo, but maybe there's something there I'm not seeing.

Nah. While it hasn't been the most common mon in SPL as it isn't the EASIEST to build with, it's had a pretty good showing overall. Its offensive sets are great into offense because of their general frailty and its coverage, and lead sets are functional (Treads is slowly declining as it isn't nearly as useful on other playstyles as it was on rain), and they don't even have to be strictly hazard setting leads. They can flex between setting a hazard and spreading early game damage, and it can freely invest in stats how it chooses as a lead because it is so fast, rarely needing speed investment. Also mentioning booster mons is sorta silly given that only Valiant and Moon are relevant mons that outspeed it with BE (Boulder suck and is falling off hard) while we have a shortage of good scarfers. And BE is one time use so it doesn't guarantee they'll be faster than it the whole game. This last bit is more anecdotal, but it can still outrun everything with just a spd+ nature and no investment, letting it spec into both offenses if desired. You could argue for a tiny drop to A- just because it isn't the easiest to fit, but that's really it. And I wouldn't even suggest a drop personally.

Since I'm here

-> S
An amazing mon in all respects, and incredibly splashable due to the way it softchecks so many pokemon at once which can help lessen the burden on some teams when building them. It's still a potent wincon with BP, but we've seen crafty tactics like roar being used (on those set up sets even) which make it only more useful. It's honestly a top 5 mon in the tier I think.

-> S
While Zama is incredibly splashable, Pult is probably THE most splashable mon in the tier, and highly versatile. Every set is good in some degree, but the boots hex set has really popped off and is proving how potent it is with both its offense and utility. It's one of the best mons in the tier atm, top 3 easily.

 

[Heatranator]

D -> C
I think azumarill is too low, as it still can be an great mon. The assault vest set in particular is amazing as it can live many hits, including a specs kyurem freeze dry comfortably, and unlike other assault vest mons such as hatterene and glowking, it can threaten things back for really big damage. It's kinda like assault vest hamurott, but you trade spikes for insane damage. Knock off on this set is also an innovation that does amazingly for azumarill, as it even has a chance to OHKO offensive ghold, while also disrupting opposing mons that think they can switch into azu and threaten it out, such as rillaboom. It does have issues, but I think that it is on the level of mons such as sandy shocks and mandibuzz.

 

[ausma]

Voting on the new slate is now occurring! Locking.
and we can put pelipper and barraskewda out of their misery

 

[ausma]

Additionally, we will be having veti, kd458, Sp0oN1oRd, Storm Zone, and viivian joining the council and making their debut on this slate! However ayevon will be leaving; thank you for your service!

 

[ausma]

oh and Srn too i guess

 

[ausma]

Hey all! Here are the results of our latest slate:

Newly Added

Newly Added

UR to D
UR to D
UR to D

Rises

Rises

S- to S
-
A to A+
A to A+
A to A+
A- to A
A- to A
A- to A
A- to A
A- to A
A- to A
-
B+ to A
B+ to A-
B+ to A-
B to B+
B to B+
B- to B+
B- to B
B- to B
B- to B
B- to B
-
C+ to B-
C+ to B-
C+ to B-
C+ to B+
C+ to B
C to C+
C to C+
C to C+
C to C+
C to B+
C to B-
-
D to C
D to C
D to B-
D to C
D to B-

Drops

Drops

A+ to B
A+ to B
A+ to A
-
A to A-
A to A-
A to A-
A to A-
A to A-
A- to B+
-
B+ to B
B+ to B
B+ to B
B+ to B-
B to B-
B- to C
B- to C+
-
C+ to C
C to D
C to D
D to UR
D to UR
D to UR
D to UR

Major Changes

Major Changes

A+ to B
(-4 Subrankings)

I don't need to explain this, do I?

C to B+
(+4 Subrankings)

Teal Mask Ogerpon has been utterly killing it in SPL. While it has seen usage on very similar structures, it still has insanely positive fundamentals that greatly fit the tempo of this metagame. Access to the deluxe Ogerpon combination of Encore, U-turn, and Knock Off is obviously great, but what makes this Ogerpon stand out is its ability to hold an item, making it a far more potent offensive pivot compared to its counterparts. While this is already a great set of attributes, Ogerpon also comes packed with the ability to gain a permanent Speed boost when Terastalized, giving it great winning power with a boosted Grass-type STAB and excellent reinforcement with a fast Encore.

C+ to B+
(+3 Subrankings)

Speaking of Ogerpon, the other niche one is also pretty great! While not as versatile as its more aquatic variant, Rock-type Ivy Cudgel is a horrifying move to pivot around, being able to apply pressure to a vast majority of the tier with a free 1.2x boost to boot. Its Grass-type STAB does a solid job in complementing it, letting Ogerpon-Cornerstone pressure Great Tusk and Iron Treads more effectively. It has seen a lot of success lately as a potent wallbreaker and potential win condition thanks to its Speed tier and access to Swords Dance/useful coverage options to break open Ivy Cudgel switch-ins. Sturdy and its Embody Aspect also come in handy and can decide some 1v1s against boosted sweepers or revenge killers like Kingambit. It has been performing well lately on offenses for its ability to break holes especially, so a notable rise is very warranted.

D to B-
(+3 Subrankings)

On paper, Tinkaton seems like a rather underwhleming Pokemon in the context of SV OU, and generally has been under the radar for most of the generation. However recently it's been a weirdly popular Pokemon in SPL. The secret behind its success really is the collective combination of several detached qualities (some very good, some not so obvious) put together to form a shockingly good utility Pokemon. Fairy/Steel is an obviously great typing, though what sets Tinkaton apart as a utility Steel-type is its access to moves like Encore, Knock Off, and its highly relevant Speed tier, making it a great utility Pokemon with versatile resistances and deterrants for a variety of offensive structures. Another really quirky quality it has is its access to Ice-type coverage in Ice Hammer, which alongside an Air Balloon and its Speed tier, makes Tinkaton a utility Steel-type that can actively threaten Gliscor and Landorus-T. As a bonus, it has Pickpocket to steal an item on the same turn its Air Balloon is popped! It remains to be seen if Tinkaton is just a flashy trend, but as of right now its splashability and some bizarrely potent matchups makes it worthy of B- to start!

D to B-
(+3 Subrankings)

While Sinistcha hasn't been quite ruling over SPL, it's instead been a high ladder superstar, and it's not super hard to see why that is. In short, as a bulky CM sweeper, this thing has asinine sustainability with Strength Sap and Matcha Gotcha, makes really good use of Terastalization (Poison mainly) to dodge status and lower the weakness count, and has a Ghost-type STAB to give it a spammable click to win games with. It can be a pretty brutal Pokemon to go against if you're unprepared, but in spite of that, this ranking is a bit conservative until we see long-term success.

B+ to A
(+2 Subrankings)

Darkrai has seen a bit of a resurgence as a wallbreaker and balance buster thanks to its excellent coverage profile, Speed tier, and access to Nasty Plot. This makes it a really strong Pokemon on offense since it is capable of forcing trades really efficiently, or potentially winning some games with the right conditions. Being ranked alongside Weavile who fills a similar, albeit less explosive niche, makes sense.

B- to B+
(+2 Subrankings)

Iron Crown is pretty awesome. As of late, its resistances and unique offensive profile lend a really nice hand to offense. We've been seeing a lot of permutations that work nicely overall thanks to its extremely flexible and generally efficient stat spread (Booster Energy + CM, Dual Dance, AV with Future Sight + Volt Switch, etc.). Additionally, with the rise of Glimmora as of late, Tachyon Cutter is an amazing tool for offense to have in order to completely eliminate it and utterly mitigate any progress it could make otherwise.

C+ to B
(+2 Subrankings)

Sticky Web has been seeing a bit of a resurgence with the pantheon of Sticky Web-benefitted wallbreakers in the tier; Ribombee is in part to thank for this, reclaiming its throne as the pinnacle Sticky Web setter. Its Speed tier is insane, letting it near always get them up in the face of most Pokemon, and it has great tools to keep them up after the fact. The combination of Shield Dust, its access to moves like Skill Swap and Psychic, and STAB Moonblast particularly are really neat and let it potentially beat Pokemon like Glimmora 1v1 or get them up against Hatterene structures. Against Ribombee Webs, the question is not "how do I stop them from getting up", but rather "how do I remove them later in the game".

C to B-
(+2 Subrankings)

Galarian Weezing has a host of great qualities that make it a nice and well-ranged utility Pokemon for balances. It's a Defog user that can use Neutralizing Gas to freely do so in front of Gholdengo, its resistances/bulk are super useful, and it has tools like Will-o-Wisp and Toxic to force respect. Levitate variants are also very solid, which trades freer Defogs for an amazing matchup into Great Tusk and Landorus-T.

A to B+
(-2 Subrankings)

Skarmory is a pretty great physical wall with a host of great qualities, such as being an efficient Spikes stacker and great reinforcement into Pokemon like Kingambit and Zamazenta. Though, since it tends to only run Body Press as its attacking move, it has shown to be a bit exploitable with some sneaky Tera types and tools like Encore, Roar, or Taunt.

B+ to B-
(-2 Subrankings)

Tornadus-T is not eating very good. While it has some nice qualities that it's seen success with in previous generations (good resistances, Regenerator, great Speed, Knock Off, U-turn, etc), it's just not really accomplishing much that efficiently since so much can switch in against it (Gholdengo, Slowking-Galar, etc) and it lacks utility outside of Knock Off and U-turn. It's outclassed by Pokemon like Landorus-T as a bulky Flying-type U-turn pivot, and as Speed control it's just outclassed miserably by Pokemon like Dragapult and Zamazenta. It could bounce back like its brother if the conditions improve in the future, but as of right now it's not seeing very much use in favor of other Pokemon that do its job better.

B- to C
(-2 Subrankings)

This placement was jumping the shark a bit, and since then it's really fallen off. Grassy Terrain structures pretty much never use it anymore, and it needs a lot of conditions to be met before it can properly sweep games. Hawlucha is just overall a lot more efficient and easier to use, even adding some defensive utility with a speedy Encore and some nice resistances, so most teams opt for it instead.

____


The last Pokemon I wanted to talk about is Deoxys-Speed. Its drop seems really bizarre seeing as it's had a lot of success in SPL lately, so let me nip this one in the bud. The core reason for its drop, according to those who have voted, is less that it's falling off, and more that the A rank was a severe overestimation of its viability last slate. SPL's success, in their minds, rose it into A-. This generally makes sense as its usage fell off a cliff post-Archaludon ban and pre-SPL, so its resurgence keeping it in the A ranks is fine enough justification.

As always, we are going to have about 24 hours for questions to roll in and for the council to answer. Please be sure to read the Major Changes spoiler tag to see if your question has already been answered, or search for it in the thread if not. Repeat questions will be ignored!

 

[knexhawk]

I take full credit for muks addition and most of the credit for wo chien. big stall forever.

 

[FayaWizard]

Empoleon is finally gone from the VR! Rejoice!

What's up with Hydreigon rising though? And Tyranitar?

 

[Heatranator]

D to C

Lets gooo! The last post always wins, I guess.
Sad to see registeel or Overqwil not in D, but oh well, maybe I'll petition them to rise some other time.

Why did Rotom Wash rise? It's an alright mon, but it doesn't have reliable recovery to wall things it wants to.
Why did Moltres Galar rise? Not that it's a bad mon, but it seems rather gimmicky as a setup sweeper and not reliable as a defensive mon due to lacking roost.
Why did Quaquaval drop? I know its not the best, but it does have rapid spin, which is valuable in OU. Plus, being able to threaten most spikers/stealth rockers gives it a valuable niche. Combine that with sweeping potential and niche stuff like roost and encore, and it sounds like a C rank mon.
Why did Heatran drop? I need to know why my precious boi is suffering. It still seems to do the same things it did before.

 

[Venuesaur]

Why did dondozo rise?

 

[ausma]

Why did Rotom Wash rise? It's an alright mon, but it doesn't have reliable recovery to wall things it wants to.
Why did Moltres Galar rise? Not that it's a bad mon, but it seems rather gimmicky as a setup sweeper and not reliable as a defensive mon due to lacking roost.
Why did Quaquaval drop? I know its not the best, but it does have rapid spin, which is valuable in OU. Plus, being able to threaten most spikers/stealth rockers gives it a valuable niche. Combine that with sweeping potential and niche stuff like roost and encore, and it sounds like a C rank mon.
Why did Heatran drop? I need to know why my precious boi is suffering. It still seems to do the same things it did before.

Rotom-Wash has been renewed a bit as a nice defensive pivot with good resistances, status, and solid resilience into Pokemon like Landorus-T. It’s seen some SPL success.

Galarian Moltres is committal much like Comfey since it tends to run Dual Dance, but is far more explosive while boasting excellent natural bulk and some valuable resistances to offense-threatening Pokemon like Dragapult and moves like Grassy Glide and Sucker Punch. It’s definitely a viable choice for hyper offenses that make use of dual Screens to leverage setup.

I voted for Quaquaval to stay in C so I don’t fully subscribe to this, but it has a rough time into a lot of spin blockers and has strained moveslots that make it difficult to reliably pressure them without making a major concession or two. It still has a niche but its extreme reliance on team support makes it harder to use on a game to game basis.

Heatran is still useful into bulkier structures and has use into Pokemon like Kyurem, Volcarona, and Gholdengo. However its weaknesses sting for it a lot right now since Ogerpon-Wellspring is everywhere and it’s weak to Pokemon like Great Tusk that you really don’t want your Stealth Rock setter to be weak against.

Empoleon is finally gone from the VR! Rejoice!

What's up with Hydreigon rising though? And Tyranitar?

Hydreigon was suggested by viivian so I’ll let her answer this one.

Tyranitar has seen some success as a wallbreaker and tank, and recently has had some funky success as a setup sweeper with Tera Blast at its disposal.

Why did dondozo rise?

Dondozo has some extremely important qualities for fat structures thanks to its insane physical bulk and Unaware, making it a nice win condition into offense while making it difficult for nearly all physical oriented Pokemon to break past consistently. With bulkier structures becoming more common lately and it being a fixture on nearly all of them, it’s natural for it to rise to the A ranks to reflect that

 

[Tio Chico]

Why Dondozo rise only one subrank? A mon for me.
Edit: Could you elaborate on Dragapult please? Although it's a bit obvious, it's something that involves S tier.

 

[MaahirMomtaz12]

Why was Kantonian Muk ranked and not its Alolan counterpart? What sets it apart?