Resource AG Viability Rankings

[NB402141]

->A+
In the current meta, mons like zekrom and groudon can be a huge problem when they set up. And when they have sub this can stop ditto from being a reliable check. Lunala is able to easily beat these Dynamax sweepers whether or not they Dynamax.

set

Lunala @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Shadow Shield
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Will-O-Wisp
- Roar
- Roost
- Ice Beam

Using this set, if a Groudon comes in and uses sd using will o wisp then if it dynamaxes u can spam roost, and if it doesn't you can use roar. Lunala's ability allows it to take half damage when at full health allowing it to tank a hit from 2x ATK Groudon. Using Heavy-duty-boots on lunala is very helpful that way you don't lose your ability affect to rocks. As for Zekrom, using will o wisp can also work but in the case of substitute, you can use roar. Lunala is also capable of taking out zygarde dd using ice beam. In case you want to kill those mons, ice beam is very helpful since it's super effective. Here are some calcs:

calc

defending

Groudon:
Before burn:
+2 252 Atk Life Orb Groudon Precipice Blades vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Shadow Shield Lunala: 220-259 (46 - 54.1%) -- 53.1% chance to 2HKO
+2 252 Atk Life Orb Groudon Max Quake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Shadow Shield Lunala: 256-302 (53.5 - 63.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
After burn:
+2 252 Atk Life Orb burned Groudon Max Quake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Shadow Shield Lunala: 128-151 (26.7 - 31.5%) -- guaranteed 4HKO
+2 252 Atk Life Orb burned Groudon Precipice Blades vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Shadow Shield Lunala: 110-129 (23 - 26.9%) -- 52.5% chance to 4HKO
Zekrom:
Before Burn:
+1 252 Atk Zekrom Bolt Strike vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Shadow Shield Lunala: 137-162 (28.6 - 33.8%) -- 0.6% chance to 3HKO
+1 252 Atk Zekrom Max Lightning vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Shadow Shield Lunala: 148-174 (30.9 - 36.4%) -- 64.4% chance to 3HKO
After burn
+1 252 Atk burned Zekrom Max Lightning vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Shadow Shield Lunala: 74-87 (15.4 - 18.2%) -- possible 6HKO
+1 252 Atk burned Zekrom Bolt Strike vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Shadow Shield Lunala: 68-81 (14.2 - 16.9%) -- possible 6HKO
Please note these calcs are with shadow shield so it would probably do more without shadow shield

attacking

4 SpA Lunala Ice Beam vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Zekrom: 170-202 (49.8 - 59.2%) -- 74.2% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
4 SpA Lunala Ice Beam vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Groudon: 186-220 (54.5 - 64.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
4 SpA Lunala Ice Beam vs. 16 HP / 0 SpD Zygarde: 360-424 (99.7 - 117.4%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO

As you can see, lunala is capable of surviving a hit against those Dynamax sweepers allowing it to burn or roar them. But lunala is also capable of being offensive.

set

Lunala @ Power Herb
Ability: Shadow Shield
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moongeist Beam
- Meteor Beam
- Ice Beam
- Roost

Using this set you can use meteor beam to boost your spa atk then use either moongeist or ice beam to sweep. In the case of a chansey or blissey, you can repeat meteor beam to keep boosting your special attack. You can also roost in case you get damaged. While this set wouldn't work great on its own, sticky web is a helper to this set. If the opponents were to be slowed by sticky web it would allow you to go faster than mons like zacian or calyrex. The increased sp atk from meteor beam would help do better damage and if you want you could Dynamax. This set, unfortunately, gets beat by yveltal offensive and calyrex scarf. Here are some calcs:

calc

+1 252 SpA Lunala Moongeist Beam vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Zacian-Crowned: 226-267 (69.3 - 81.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+1 252 SpA Lunala Meteor Beam vs. 248 HP / 252+ SpD Yveltal: 296-350 (65 - 76.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+1 252 SpA Lunala Moongeist Beam vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Calyrex-Shadow: 1020-1200 (299.1 - 351.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+1 252 SpA Lunala Moongeist Beam vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Kyogre: 190-225 (55.7 - 65.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

As you can see, lunala is capable of cripling some of the best Dynamax sweepers in the meta by using will o wisp and roar. It's also capable of surviving against those sweepers. It can also be offensive and deal some good damage to its opponents using a meteor beam then moongeist beam/ice beam. This mon is one of the most reliable checks for groudon and zekrom in the meta and it deserves to go to A+.

 

[Frito]

I feel like this nomination is long overdue, Slurpuff to B-
<-- click for set

As more HO teams have become more common, Slurpuff has steadily shown itself to be one of the premier web setters in the current metagame. Slurpuff is consistently able to get up webs early game with the combination of Magic Coat to block Taunt from Yveltal and its Unburden Ability along with sash to get webs up before it dies. Slurpuff is not nearly as passive as Shuckle, which means in the face of most common defoggers, puff is able to threaten with Endeavor, once knocked to either its sash or low hp, or simply explode preventing a defog. Puff also has access to Yawn to apply even more pressure and force awkward scenarios.

The trade off for the extra pressure Slurpuff provides over Shuckle is that puff needs to be paired with another mon to set up rocks, where shuckle compresses both roles. While this isn't a bad thing, as common partners like Lando-T apply offensive pressure as well; this still means HOs will only have 4 core attackers dishing out the damage instead of 5. Along with this, puff will require either taunt or spin block support in the last 5 mons in order to make sure the webs remain up.

With all this in mind, I feel like it's fair to have Slurpuff in B- below Shuckle as it requires most support to pull off. Replays demonstrating puff are below.

Replays

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8anythinggoes-1324741896-jnh1raqytfvfpibjdit6rchewt7tn56pw - puff managed to keep webs up in the face of yveltal defogging to allow webs to remain up and the offensive onslaught to begin
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8anythinggoes-1311392777 here puff gets up webs and provides a free switch into yveltal after using explosion, even though webs aren't maintained all game
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8anythinggoes-1291593077-du2yxt3upuxbgqx19gc743wpdw9zud4pw even when not lead with, as long as rocks are kept off puff can get webs up
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8anythinggoes-1324948961-h7ci7riijld5sunltgw2gsk7q13j2uxpw webs remain a constant source of pressure the entire game
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8anythinggoes-1291211044-4dpwpyp13b3xwsh9av1g4f2r9l7gj76pw even after being forced out by taunt, puff comes back in a sets webs in front of a zacian-c then continues the pressure with endeavor
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8anythinggoes-1325023668-fqnbopkb199x7718q564tbz176i5mespw

 

[Frozoid]

UR --> C

Set

Pheromosa @ Choice Band
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Poison Jab
- Close Combat
- U-turn
- Triple Axel

Band Phero is a really good breaker and has potential to thrive in galar due to lack of priority users. It outspeeds the whole metagame except Regieleki allowing it to pivot into teammates easily when threatened. Its able to 2HKO almost every Pokemon except Lunala for which Throat Chop is an option. It gets good STAB-type moves in Close Combat and U-turn (that allows it to chip opponents and pivot into teammates) while also gets coverage moves in Throat Chop, Poison Jab, and Triple Axel that help it dent Pokemon that resist its STAB-type moves such as Lunala, Xerneas, and Eternatus.

Here are some nice calculations for an insight

Calculations

Close Combat -
252 Atk Choice Band Pheromosa Close Combat vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Zacian-Crowned: 271-319 (83.1 - 97.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Choice Band Pheromosa Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Necrozma-Dusk-Mane: 186-220 (46.7 - 55.2%) -- 69.5% chance to 2HKO ( guaranteed 2HKO after chip from a single spike)
252 Atk Choice Band Pheromosa Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Ferrothorn: 362-428 (102.8 - 121.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 Atk Choice Band Pheromosa Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Yveltal: 318-375 (69.7 - 82.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Triple Axel-
252 Atk Choice Band Pheromosa Triple Axel (40 BP) (3 hits) vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Yveltal: 426-504 (93.4 - 110.5%) -- approx. 68.8% chance to OHKO
252 Atk Choice Band Pheromosa Triple Axel (40 BP) (3 hits) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Eternatus: 432-510 (89.2 - 105.3%) -- approx. 18.8% chance to OHKO
252 Atk Choice Band Pheromosa Triple Axel (40 BP) (3 hits) vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Zekrom: 348-414 (102 - 121.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 Atk Choice Band Pheromosa Triple Axel (40 BP) (3 hits) vs. 252 HP / 208+ Def Zygarde: 540-636 (128.5 - 151.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 Atk Choice Band Pheromosa Triple Axel (40 BP) (3 hits) vs. 252 HP / 208+ Def Zygarde-Complete: 540-636 (84.9 - 100%) -- approx. 6.3% chance to OHKO

252 Atk Choice Band Pheromosa Poison Jab vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Xerneas: 282-334 (71.7 - 84.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Choice Band Pheromosa Throat Chop vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Shadow Shield Lunala: 212-250 (44.3 - 52.3%) -- 17.6% chance to 2HKO

Replays

frozoid's replays - Pokémon Showdown (pokemonshowdown.com) ( Cleans chipped Pokemon at the very end )
frozoid's replays - Pokémon Showdown (pokemonshowdown.com) ( Phero takes out half of a Baton Pass Calyrex-S team)

 

[Beatboxing_Phantom]

How is shuckle higher than skarm? I have no idea how to do any of the fancy formatting, but either way I think shuckle should be at least same as skarm and skarm should be higher. Skarm is just great with everything hazards. I understand shuckle can set up webs and rocks, but otherwise its useless, its a waste of a slot, the other mon can also set up rocks, but skarm can defog anything your own team doesnt like while also setting up hazards itself. I would say shuckle should be moved down to maybe D, skarm should be C

 

[assaultdestiny]

How is shuckle higher than skarm? I have no idea how to do any of the fancy formatting, but either way I think shuckle should be at least same as skarm and skarm should be higher. Skarm is just great with everything hazards. I understand shuckle can set up webs and rocks, but otherwise its useless, its a waste of a slot, the other mon can also set up rocks, but skarm can defog anything your own team doesnt like while also setting up hazards itself. I would say shuckle should be moved down to maybe D, skarm should be C

Mainly because of Sticky Webs. Webs HO has proved to be one of the best types of Hyper Offense (better than HO also ) and as a Webs setter, people almost always look at . It has everything that an HO Hazard setter needs to have: multiple hazards, and go bye after the hazards are set. In HO Teams, isn't a waste of a teamslot. Sure, other Webs setters like Slurpuff exist, but it falls out of viability because it can't set Rocks, which'd mean you'd have to 'waste' a teamslot for an (usually) .
Agreed, it can come in the place of to Spin and set Rocks, but it can't do both because of its low speed, and it can't go boom afterwards to bring in another teammate safely, and so remains, if not the best, one of the best Webs setter that HO Teams want, and so it isn't a waste of a teamslot.

is kinda meh. It auto loses to few of the most common Pokémon in the current meta, namely , , , , , , and more.
It also faces stiff competition from as a Spikes setter, as a Rocks setter, and as a Defogger. It also can't act as a check, for it loses to Wild Charge.
As a sturdy Rocks setter, or a Defogger, it just falls out of viability for it just can't stand tall in the power filled meta.
Imo D is good enough for and B+ good for .

 

[Geysers]

I've got a few housecleaning noms to make here, hopefully none of these are super controversial.
-> UR
This mon is just kinda... useless? It's outclassed by White Kyurem in every conceivable way and using it as your Kyogre check means losing to KyuW because it can’t absorb sheer cold. This thing is incredibly passive and contributes no utility outside of beating Kyogre, something that White Kyurem does too, just a lot better since it can beat other stuff. Gastrodon is complete deadweight in any non-Kyogre matchup, and I feel like it doesn't really have a niche anymore.
-> UR
This mon is also useless. It's pressured so hard by Calyrex-S it's not even funny, and it fails to make progress against common defensive Pokemon like Eternatus and Necrozma-DM. It also gets pressured by Kyurem-W and fails to bring useful defensive utility to a team, being strictly outclassed by Lunala in virtually every conceivable context.
-> C
As cool as this mon is on paper, it never really seems to do anything in an actual game. It struggles to find enough turns to actually do what it wants to, and is so frail that it realistically only gets one opportunity per game to even try to set up. It's super easy to chip and just loses hard to priority users like Marshadow and Yveltal. Add this to the fact that it faces tremendous competition as an offensive Psychic type from Calyrex-S, and you get a mon that doesn't really deserve to be used on a serious team. Stalltwo sets are also cool on paper, but they are pressured incredibly hard by stuff like Yveltal and Calyrex-S, both of which are near-omnipresent, making it difficult for stalltwo to make any progress.
-> C
I like this mon. I really do. I just don't think it's as easy to fit on teams as it once was, given meta shifts that have increased usage of Pokemon like Lunala, which it really hates. In addition, it struggles mightily to really find many setup opportunities, as the whole "forcing ndm out to get a dd off" gimmick doesn't really work any more given that everyone knows that it needs to set up before it can do anything remotely productive. This Pokemon just really struggles in the current meta and has a hard time finding use on any serious teams.
-> B-
Oh god I hate this thing so much. Regardless, I can't disagree that it's effective. As a reliable counter to Kyurem-W that can click tons of OHKO moves with impunity while also coming in on numerous bulky Pokemon such as Eternatus and Lunala, this thing is an insanely irritating way to pressure a lot of common balanced and bulky builds. The only reason I don't think it should be any higher is that it is complete deadweight against offensive builds, which have admittedly been becoming more common lately.
-> B
This thing, while cool, faces incredibly stiff competition as a webber from Slurpuff, which is far less passive and can punch massive holes in teams with Endeavour while also blocking hazard removal with Misty Explosion. As neat as Shuckle is, it's just not as dominant of a websetter as it once was, and I've been finding it far easier to justify using Slurpuff + Landorus-T webs than Shuckle webs lately.
-> B/B-
This mon is an insanely good secondary webs suicide lead alongside Slurpuff, while also being an incredibly threatening Dynamax sweeper and a solid defensive check to Zekrom that finds numerous opportunities to click Knock Off and U-Turn to gain momentum. Despite being reliant on leftovers for recovery, it has enough bulk that it can come in on Necrozma-DM pretty freely and force it out with the threat of Knock Off, often spending enough time on the field to recover a fair bit of health. In addition, defensive Landorus-T works great alongside pokemon like Dragon Dance Necrozma-DM, as it can serve as a rocksetter, taking advantage of opposing Necrozma-DM to set Stealth Rock and potentially Knock something, or generate a bunch of momentum. Defensive Landorus-T can also pivot into Zacian-C fairly freely, allowing it to serve as a backup check in a pinch, especially if one's Necrozma-DM has been chipped. Offensive Landorus-T is also extremely potent, capable of mauling most balances after a single setup turn, and easily generating plenty of setup opportunities against the omnipresent Necrozma-DM, while also being able to serve as a last-ditch Zacian-C check, should the need arise. Overall, Landorus-T provides enormous utility both offensively and defensively, and is becoming increasingly splashable on balance builds and offensive teams alike.

e: clarified relationship between using gastrodon and losing to sheer cold

 

[Tic-Tac-Toe Guru]

This nom is a legitimate nom I'm making, but it is kinda funny that I'm making this at all:

--> D

PIG GOD (Snorlax-Gmax) (M) @ Figy Berry
Ability: Gluttony
Gigantamax: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Recycle
- Earthquake / Darkest Lariat
- Body Slam / Double-Edge
- Curse

I made a meme team centered around Snorlax to honor the legendary GOATed player Big Boned Boyz, and it turns out the team is surprisingly effective, and Snorlax is one of the main reasons why. Snorlax comes in on several common Pokemon, such as support NDM, support non-Knock Off Yveltal, and Calyrex-S, and once 1 or 2 Curses are set up, this thing is off to the races. It is HARD to knock out this thing once it's set up; Caly has trouble touching it, NDM cannot touch it at all if it doesn't have Knock Off to get rid of the berry, Zacian-C's Close Combat 3HKOes after Snorlax is at +2 and eats its berry (and it can easily get to +2 on something like an NDM), and once it's set up, it deals solid damage to pretty much whatever it wants, and it's a prime Dynamax target; Max Quake allows it to boost its SpDef to support its walloping physical defense, especially once its set up, it can continue restoring its health through a powerful G-Max Replenish, and it's just so bulky that when its Dynamaxed, it's hard to touch it, and it can tear through teams and let other supporting sweepers come in late game and get wins. Earthquake is the preferred coverage move of choice, but if your team has a hard time dealing with Caly-S, Darkest Lariat is a viable option as well, as it also hits NDM for super effective damage.

Does Snorlax have its issues? Obviously. Is it a surefire Caly check? No. Does it require pretty adequate team support? 100%. But when it does, it's a monster, and if you're not prepared for it, well, just ask Geysers.

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8anythinggoes-1341814716 (note that had I not been an idiot and used Replenish on turn 12 Snorlax likely picks up 3 KOs this game).

I do believe Snorlax is at the very least worthy of serious consideration for a D ranking. It has a niche in the metagame and is a monster when not played around adequately.

JAJAJAJAJA ALL HAIL PIG GOD

 

[assaultdestiny]

Hi I got a few noms

RISES

B- to B
D to C / C-


B- to B

Sets

Calyrex-Ice @ Weakness Policy
Ability: As One (Glastrier)
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
IVs: 0 Spe
Brave Nature
- Glacial Lance
- High Horsepower
- Swords Dance
- Trick Room

Calyrex-Ice @ Choice Band
Ability: As One (Glastrier)
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Glacial Lance
- High Horsepower
- Trick
- Aromatherapy / Icicle Spear

Calyrex-Ice @ Leftovers
Ability: As One (Glastrier)
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Leech Seed
- Substitute
- Glacial Lance
- Swords Dance

Calyrex-Ice is a very support-demanding Pokémon, but has a lot of things to it's advantage. With the meta usually going for bulky balanced teams which most of the time incorporate Ice- weak Pokémon, such as Yveltal, Eternatus, Groudon and Zygarde, Calyrex-Ice can display it's true walbreaking potential.
It's also not limited to similar sets, with plethora of options such as SubSeed (breaks Stall and Balance), Trick Room (breaks Hyper Offense) and even Iron Defense under it's belt, it can perform numerous roles in accordance to what the team requires. It can also function as a secondary check to multitudinous Pokémon such as Groudon, Zekrom, Eternatus and more. This profundity allows Calyrex-Ice to besmirch many defensive staples in the current meta.
Ice- as a typing is superlative offensively also. It's main coverage move in High Horsepower (sporadically Close Combat too) and Glacial Lance, it's main STAB, provide almost unresisted coverage. Combined with it's laudative base 165 Base Attack, great bulk and wonderful ability, Calyrex-Ice is a force worth reckoning.
When given the correct support and opportunity, Calyrex-Ice can rip through teams very easily, and therefore I'm nominating Calyrex-Ice Rider from B- to B Rank.

Calcs

Offensive Calcs

Trick Room Set

252+ Atk Glacial Lance vs. 252 HP / 4 Def : 220-261 (62.5 - 74.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after recovery

+2 252+ Atk Glacial Lance vs. 252 HP / 4 Def : 441-519 (125.2 - 147.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO


252+ Atk Glacial Lance vs. 248 HP / 208+ Def : 223-264 (53.7 - 63.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

+2 252+ Atk Glacial Lance vs. 248 HP / 208+ Def : 447-526 (107.7 - 126.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO


252+ Atk High Horsepower vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Prism Armor : 124-147 (31.1 - 36.9%) -- 76.4% chance to 3HKO
(100% chance to 3HKO after minimum chip damage)

+2 252+ Atk High Horsepower vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Prism Armor : 247-292 (62 - 73.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO


252+ Atk Glacial Lance vs. 252 HP / 0 Def : 582-686 (120.2 - 141.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO


252+ Atk Glacial Lance vs. 252 HP / 28 Def : 408-482 (100.9 - 119.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO


252+ Atk Glacial Lance vs. 252 HP / 208+ Def : 724-856 (113.8 - 134.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Choice Band Set

252+ Atk Glacial Lance vs. 252 HP / 4 Def : 330-388 (93.7 - 110.2%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO



252+ Atk Glacial Lance vs. 248 HP / 208+ Def : 336-396 (80.9 - 95.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO


252+ Atk High Horsepower vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Prism Armor : 186-220 (46.7 - 55.2%) -- 69.5% chance to 2HKO


252+ Atk Glacial Lance vs. 0 HP / 4 Def : 433-511 (110.1 - 130%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252+ Atk Glacial Lance vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def : 312-367 (68.4 - 80.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery


252+ Atk Glacial Lance vs. 252 HP / 0 Def : 872-1028 (180.1 - 212.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO


252+ Atk Glacial Lance vs. 252 HP / 28 Def : 612-720 (151.4 - 178.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO


252+ Atk Glacial Lance vs. 252 HP / 208+ Def : 1084-1284 (170.4 - 201.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Defensive Calcs

+1 252 Atk Teravolt Bolt Strike vs. 252 HP / 4 Def : 247-292 (61.1 - 72.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO


252 Atk Stone Edge vs. 252 HP / 4 Def : 221-263 (54.7 - 65%) -- guaranteed 2HKO


+6 224 Atk Thousand Arrows vs. 252 HP / 4 Def : 336-396 (83.1 - 98%) -- guaranteed 2HKO


252+ SpA Fairy Aura Moonblast vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD : 181-214 (44.8 - 52.9%) -- 27.3% chance to 2HKO


252 SpA Flamethrower vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD : 221-263 (54.7 - 65%) -- guaranteed 2HKO


0 Atk Sacred Fire vs. 252 HP / 4 Def : 188-224 (46.5 - 55.4%) -- 75% chance to 2HKO

D to C / C-

Set

Solgaleo @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Full Metal Body
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Sunsteel Strike
- Morning Sun
- Teleport
- Earthquake

Solgaleo is a Pokémon that was forgotten after the release of a more popular Pokémon in Necrozma-Dusk Mane. Now the question arises, why use Solgaleo over Necrozma-Dusk Mane?
Calcs actually show that it's bulkier than Necrozma-Dusk Mane till not hit by a super-effective move, due to it not having Prism Armor. This is not a big problem because Zacian-Crowned rarely run Crunch, and their only attack which'd hit the Solgaleo super-effectively would be Assurance, which is patched up by running Heavy-Duty Boots on it.
Another point is Solgaleo's superior speed tier. This, in synchronicity with Teleport, would aid the Solgaleo from not being trapped and neutralised by a potential Gothitelle matchup, as it can Teleport when the Gothitelle is Resting.
Even though Solgaleo can't do the job of a hazard setter, it would leave a free slot for a Specially Defensive or Offensive Dragon Dance Necrozma-Dusk Mane, which could decisively help against Geomancy Xerneas' matchup, or wallbreaking, respectively.
Because of all these efficacious traits, Solgaleo fit's the description for a Pokémon more than the D-Rank, and therefore I'm nominating Solgaleo from D to C / C- Rank.

Calcs

Defensive (Solgaleo VS Necrozma-Dusk Mane) Calcs

+1 252+ Atk Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def : 181-213 (37.8 - 44.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
As compared to,
+1 252+ Atk Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def : 160-189 (40.2 - 47.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO


+2 252+ SpA Max Lightning vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Dynamax : 372-438 (38.9 - 45.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
As compared to,
+2 252+ SpA Max Lightning vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Dynamax :312-368 (39.1 - 46.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

Offensive Calcs

4 Atk Earthquake vs. 4 HP / 0 Def : 170-200 (52.1 - 61.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

4 Atk Max Steelspike vs. 4 HP / 0 Def : 163-193 (50 - 59.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO


4 Atk Sunsteel Strike vs. 0 HP / 4 Def : 296-350 (75.3 - 89%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

4 Atk Max Steelspike vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Dynamax : 384-452 (48.8 - 57.5%) -- 94.9% chance to 2HKO

DROPS

B to B-


B to B-

Not necessarily good sets

Palkia @ Leftovers / Life Orb / Lustrous Orb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid / Hasty Nature
- Spacial Rend
- Thunder
- Hydro Pump
- Fire Blast / Focus Punch

Palkia @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Surf
- Rest
- Toxic / Roar

Palkia is a very underwhelming Pokémon. Why use it when there are other, better Pokémon? As an Kyogre check, Kyurem-White and Eternatus outclass it completely. Kyurem-White can also fire Sheer Colds, be a Sheer Cold absorber, and Eternatus can also utilise Dragon Tail, destroying momentum.
Palkia also suffers from a bad defensive typing and low base speed. It get's revenge killed easily by the likes of offensive Eternatus, Calyrex-Shadow, Zacian-Crowned, and more. Even if it's used as a Kyogre check, because of the lack of recovery, it'll go to La La Land soon enough, which'd mean a waste of a teamslot.
In the offensive set's, if Life Orb isn't ran, then it lacks even the basic power required to pick a few KO's, and if it carries Life Orb, then it get's worn down too quickly, as it's weak to each and every hazard also. The Lustrous Orb sets are also not viable enough, as the boost acquired by Life Orb is higher than that of Lustrous Orb.
It also suffers from the Four Moveslot Syndrome. The first two moves are usually STAB, third move is a pick of Thunder usually, and the last move is a choice between Focus Punch and Fire Blast, both of which are very great moves which Palkia would indeed love to have. If it chooses Focus Punch, it loses to Zacian-C. If it goes for Fire Blast, Chansey and co wall it completely. This is a problem which irritates building around Palkia as it would require lots of support according to the set.
The defensive sets are no good too. Without any recovery outside Leftovers and Rest, it falls too quickly. Taunt also limits it, as then it won't be able to bring Rest to the play.
Palkia just isn't at the level of the other Pokémon up in B-Rank. Outclassed by many, it falls out of viability. Therefore, I'm nominating Palkia from B to B- Rank.

Calcs

Offensive Calcs

252 SpA Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Shadow Shield : 122-144 (25.5 - 30.1%) -- guaranteed 4HKO


252 SpA Spacial Rend vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD : 192-227 (45 - 53.2%) -- 0.4% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
(Seriously, this thing?)


252 SpA Hydro Pump vs. 4 HP / 252+ SpD : 153-181 (23.4 - 27.7%) -- 77.7% chance to 4HKO


252 SpA Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD : 278-328 (68.8 - 81.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO


252 SpA Hydro Pump vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD : 259-305 (75.9 - 89.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Defensive Calcs

+1 252+ Atk Close Combat vs. 0 HP / 0 Def : 263-310 (81.9 - 96.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO


252 SpA Astral Barrage vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD : 298-352 (92.8 - 109.6%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO


252+ Atk Dark Aura Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def : 305-360 (95 - 112.1%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO

252+ SpA Dark Aura Dark Pulse vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD : 212-251 (66 - 78.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO


252+ SpA Fairy Aura Moonblast vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD : 390-458 (121.4 - 142.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO

0 SpA Fairy Aura Moonblast vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD : 290-344 (90.3 - 107.1%) -- 43.8% chance to OHKO


252 SpA Dynamax Cannon vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD : 393-463 (122.4 - 144.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO

 

[Ruparajan gaming]

Why is slurpuff in B?

 

[Frito]

Why is slurpuff in B?

Hello! Slurpuff is in B rank due to its ability to set Sticky Web so reliably and its ability to stop common Defoggers from removing webs. It also has other great tools like Magic Coat and Yawn to apply more pressure, with Endeavor always being an option as well. Overall, it is a very good suicide lead for hyper offense teams.

 

[Fc]

New VR Update is here, with all the changes and the reasonings for the shifts below:

RISES:


S -->S+

Yveltal has finally moved to S+ after sticking around as an S rank staple, and its presence in the metagame shows how effective it is. Building without this mon is near impossible, with the role of checking the only other S+ mon covered as well as other support roles like a pivot option, decent general Sp.def wall, and a hazard control option as well as item removal with Knock Off. Offensive sets are also as deadly as ever, with both Physical and Special being incredibly hard to switch into for the entirety of the metagame, making it one of the best offensive dynamax abusers. All of Yveltal's amazing qualities and great current position in the meta gave it that push to rise to S+.


A- --> A

Ditto has had a large presence in the metagame for the longest time now, with stopping threatening dynamax sweepers such as Calyrex-S and Xerneas being such an important role to have on teams. It compresses a lot of things teams need, namely speed control, while being one of if not the single best revenge killers to anything in the tier. Very simple but effective mon that rose 1 subrank.


C --> B-

Landorus-T has been picking up a lot in usage, with its sets showing just how good they are recently. Defensive is a solid Stealth Rock setter that provides a check to Groudon and Zekrom as well as a soft check to Zacian-C, a pivot option, etc. Offensive sets are where it really shines, with SD Explosion or Fly sets both being great at either cleaning or setting rocks on HO teams, while having the important trait of being effectively improof from Ditto due to it having the slower Fly or Ditto having to Explode. Solid pick currently that rose quite a bit.


D --> C-

Small rise with the new inclusion of the C- ranking, Chansey's great natural bulk with Eviolite makes it a great special wall and a bit tankier than Blissey in general, but the loss of another item option such as Utility Umbrella means it either has to sacrifice physical bulk to live Specs Kyogre hits, or simply lose that MU which Blissey excels in with the difference in bulk being minimal, but regardless it's Chansey so it rises a bit for being fat. Toxapex was another wall that moved slightly from D to the new C-, with it having strong attributes as a Regenerator pivot against some dangerous Pokemon like Zacian-C, Eternatus, and Yveltal, while just being a generally hard thing to take down. Knock, Scald, Haze, Recover, Toxic (spikes) etc. are all great options it has, and it deserved to be a bit above D rank for those.


D --> C

Spikes are good, meaning Skarm is good. It can pivot into things like Groudon and even take a hit from Zacian-C while being a reliable phazer with Sturdy, so it's a better pick than before and rises a rank.


UR --> B

Slurpuff jumps an insane amount of ranks, going from UR to match the highest other webs setter, Shuckle, in B rank. Magic Coat, webs, Unburden, Yawn, Misty Explosion, and Endeavor are all unique traits it has, making it an excellent webs setter with options to both get itself off the field and threaten with Sleep and Magic Coat against opposing hazards. Great HO lead and deserving of a huge raise.


UR --> D

Fast, strong, pivot option that's the second fastest unboosted viable option in the metagame behind Regieleki, so it definitely has a place. Choice Band sets have few switch ins with the decline of Ho-Oh and can always pivot around as usual, it just lacks super hard in bulk and fails to OHKO a lot, instead just 2HKO'ing most Pokemon with good prediction. This puts it not too high in the rankings, but viable nonetheless. Another UR webs setter, what Galvantula has over the others is an offensive way to threaten both defoggers and fast offensive Pokemon with Thunder, Toxic, and Twave. Nothing really likes taking either the strong Thunder or status while also letting up webs, so it earns a spot in D rank.


UR --> C

As a great Groudon check which are hard to come by as well as a strong offensive presence and Calyrex-S revenge killer, Giratina-O finds itself rising from UR to C rank as a strong Dragon-type option. Physical and Special sets are powerful against common Pokemon like Necrozma-DM, Groudon, and even certain Kyogre, and with that combined with support options like Defog it rises a good amount.

DROPS:


S --> S-

Small drop for Kyogre, forming its own place in the otherwise unpopulated S- rank. Increased usage of its checks like Kyurem-W and a slight Chansey boost as well as Eternatus being as good as ever means it's slightly less effective generally, but S- is still no bad ranking so it's definitely a great offensive and even defensive presence against Pokemon like Groudon and Zygarde in the metagame.


A --> A-

Ferrothorn has seen a slight dip in viability, a large part being due to the fact that Sp.Def isn't the most reliable Kyogre check, being that specs spout just 2HKO's making it fairly ineffective in the common HO mu. Phys.Def is still great at checking Zekrom, Zygarde, and even eating hits from Zacian-C when boosted so it's still no slouch defensively, just takes a small drop here. Lunala similarly takes a small drop as a defensive pivot, but it also does have effective offensive sets that work well with the best mon in the tier, Calyrex-S, to form a strong Ghost Spam core. The increased usage of breakers like Marshadow as well as Lunala just being fairly passive in general on the defensive sets, being forced to Roost a lot, lowers it a bit. Zekrom also joins to populate A-, with it just somewhat falling off in all ways with nothing really going wrong necessarily. Lunala and ferro lowered in viability but so did Zekrom which it actually appreciates less usage for, but generally Zekrom just falls short offensively of other threats, being reliant on Dynamax a lot of the time and also being quite weak to opposing Dynamax from Pokemon like Dusk Mane, Xerneas, and especially Groudon. The metagame just doesn't give it a ton of opportunities to set up and break, so it falls a bit.


A- --> B+

Ho-Oh just doesn't have a lot of what it needs in the meta. It relies a lot on boots in a meta with 2 knock users in S and S+ ranks as well as a Trick user, all of which it wants to pivot into. Combined with Whirlwind not working on Dynamax things just slowly stopped being as good for Ho-Oh. It's still definitely a strong wall and pivot with Regenerator, Sacred Fire, Defog, and other options, but it fell out of favour a good bit.


B+ --> B

Shuckle sometimes feels like a greedy webs setter, with it rarely getting up Rocks as well as webs. Slurpuff picking up a ton and Galvantula just a bit also gives it great competition, so it lowers a bit since it doesn't have enough a lot of the time to put it above Slurpuff in rankings.


B --> B-

Palkia just kinda sucks, it's definitely a paper Pokemon, where in theory it can do a lot but generally just falls short. It's slow and reliant on prediction with inaccurate moves, so it drops a bit.


B- --> C

Reshiram has lost quite a bit of usage, another case of where it just kind of doesn't work as well as on paper. Things like Kyogre and Landorus-T are really strong against it, and it also struggles to set up while competing with a ton of other DD sweepers like Zekrom and Zygarde.


C --> D

C --> C-

A couple C rank drops here, Dialga doesn't do a ton in the metagame, being a flimsy defensive check to Pokemon like Kyogre while also not dishing out the most damage ever. Regieleki falls with the falling of Shuckle since that's the archetype it fits best on, and Gastrodon is just a fairly ineffective Pokemon outside of just beating Kyogre and Palkia as well as being a mediocre special sponge.

And Finally


D --> UR

Lunala exists, Ho-Oh as a phazer exists, Yveltal and Caly are S+ tier, etc. etc. Don't use Lugia.

Edit: Public voting sheet here (very late I know) https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...5bUd4OdJT9zsn_CSEarZIveI0/edit#gid=2048759395

 

[assaultdestiny]

Why is slurpuff in B?

Slurpuff can act as a suicide lead on hyper offensive teams using Sticky Web and its myriad of crippling moves to support its teammates. Ask yourself, what would you like for a Suicide Lead to have? Ability to shut down opposing leads? Indeed. Ability to shut down common Defoggers? For sure. And ability to go boom after you did your work? One billion percent. Slurpuff can do all this. With Magic Coat, the opposing Hazard lead would have a tough time setting their hazards. With Yawn, opposing Fog users have to rethink before coming in for free. And with Misty Explosion? Piece of pizza baby, go boom! Misty Explosion is also good in shutting down opposing Fog, as Defog Yveltal is rarely max speed, which'd mean that you go boom first, and they won't be able to use Fog next turn, and then you can easily bring in a Pokémon to deal with the Yveltal, such as Xerneas. Misty Explosion also acts as budget U-Turn, providing some momentum.
Slurpuff's ability, Unburden, is also great. With its shitty bulk, almost any strong attack can KO it. As you'll be Sashing it most of the time, you survive an attack, the Sash protects you, and the magic starts. Now, your speed is doubled! This'd mean that you can Yawn the opposing Zac-C before they Behemoth Blade you again, ggwp.
But sadly, all is not well for Puff. Literate opponent’s would lead with something like Zac-C, and click Assurance t1. This means you don’t get to your Sash and die a bloody death next turn. But still, you do set your Webs, so not everything is bad here.
Slurpuff usually runs 0 IVs in HP, Defense, and Special Defense allow Slurpuff to activate its Focus Sash more consistently. It can also run Endeavor, but because of the Four Moveslot Syndrome, you won’t be able to run Magic Coat. Webs, Yawn and Misty Explosion are mandatory on almost all sets.

Usual Set:



Slurpuff @ Focus Sash
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe
IVs: 0 HP / 0 Def / 0 SpD
Hasty Nature
- Sticky Web
- Yawn
- Magic Coat / Endeavor
- Misty Explosion

 

[Will]

Hi all! I would like to make some mid-AGPL nominations as I believe that the tier has developed quite a bit throughout the duration of the tournament thanks to all of the creativity and innovation ushered in by everyone's teambuilding.

S- to S
Kyogre's current presence in the metagame is more threatening than ever with the recent discovery of a new set (thunder wave, substitute, calm mind, surf) that enables Kyogre to beat its most omnipresent check, Eternatus. Furthermore, a new calm mind substitute rest set is becoming more and more popular as it beats dragon tail Eternatus. Just generally speaking, Kyogre's many offensive and defensive sets present such an absurd amount of versatility and I definitely believe it deserves S rank. Its presence in the metagame is just as impactful as Calyrex-S/Zacian-C as it always calls for a hardline check while teambuilding and its versatility as both a defensive and offensive staple far exceeds that of Calyrex-S and Zacian-C, so why should it be anything less than S?

B+ to A-
Ho-oh has found a new niche in the metagame as a reliable defogger as Ferrothorn becomes more popular, offensive Yveltal makes a return, and the amount of random knock off on defensive Necrozma-Dusk-Mane and Ferrothorn has decreased. It also beats the threatening dragon dance toxic Zygarde set, is able to spread status, and can act as a soft Zacian-C and Calyrex-S check/pivot.

B to B-
I just honestly don't think this mon is too impressive on most non-stall teams. Lately, it has only become more and more obsolete. It's far outclassed by Yveltal as a Calyrex-S check because Yveltal provides defog utility and has far more set versatility which can be seen in sets such as the 72 defense invest foul play set which threatens Zacian-C and the new choice scarf set. Your team will always need a defogger either way, and if you don't have a defensive Yveltal to fit it on, you're going to be left in an awkward spot of being forced to build with another defensive pivot that runs defog such as Lunala and Ho-oh. Now I'm not saying that it's a bad thing to run these mons, necessarily, but generally speaking, your teambuilding just becomes that much more restrictive in a tier where things are already extremely restrictive. Moreover, the specific combination of Tyranitar + Lunala is pretty suboptimal as you may end up accidentally breaking your own Lunala's shadow shield with Tyranitar's sand stream sometime througout the match.

B- to B+
Landorus has really settled into the metagame as of late. It can act as a defensive u-turn pivot that sets rocks, a suicide lead that sets rocks and explodes, and a threatening life orb dynamax sweeper. Intimidate enables it to fulfill all of these roles with ease by weakening the omnipresent Necrozma-Dusk-Mane to a point where it doesn't deal much damage. Furthermore, it can pivot into Zacian-C to scout for assurance if needed and beats non-magnet rise Zekrom sets. It definitely deserves better than a lousy rating of B-.

D to C
Choice band pheromosa is heat. It outspeeds and nearly threatens the entire meta with a highly versatile moveset. Furthermore, it has access to a stab boosted u-turn, which allows you to compound momentum with ease. Its only downside stems from its fragility, but this isn't the world's largest issue as it pretty much OHKOs everything you need it to. I hope that its usage in AGPL rises soon because honestly I think it's really cool to build around. It does have its shortcomings but definitely deserves more than a D.

D to C-
There isn't much to say for these two mons as they're both largely unproven, but I feel that they both have potential. Shedinja is a hardline check to all of the threatening Kyogre/Xerneas sets and is capable of effortlessly pivoting with baton pass. Furthermore, it passively threatens enemies with its to pass boosts with moves such as swords dance and hone claws. You can also use it to improof things such as Zacian and Xerneas. Regieleki is an underrated sweeper with its choice specs set; its only downside is that it completely fails to touch ground types at all. Aside from that, its power is immense and you can also use it to pivot to compound momentum and gather chip on its initial switch-ins.

A- to B+
Kyurem-W has fallen off and its initial period of hype has died out. It's not on par with the rest of the current A- mons (Ferrothorn, Gothitelle, Lunala, and Zekrom). While sheer cold remains a threat to somewhat passive teams, bulky offense teams tend to capitalize off of sheer cold's horrible accuracy to gain turns of momentum. It's hard to justify inviting Zacian-C in every time you click sheer cold as you could be taking a 50-50 with losing a mon while trying to land a 30% accuracy shot, a wager that isn't statistically wise for you to make. Sheer cold has also been falling off lately, diminishing the need for using Kyurem-W over the other more reliable Kyogre checks available. Everything OHKO related aside, Kyurem-W is lowkey an unreliable check to Kyogre. The heavy duty boots set gets 2hkod by scarfed Kyogre with a tiny bit of chip, and the utility umbrella set loses to a simple Zacian-C double with rocks up because you're going to be at half health the second time you come in.

 

[ssuperiority]

B- -->B at least

Landorus-T definitely does not deserve to be among relatively limited Pokemon like Grimmsnarl. The defensive set has utility which the main competition, Zygarde and Groudon lacks. Now of course, Earthquake isn't nearly as good as Precipice Blades and Thousand Arrows, however access to moves like U-turn and Knock Off as well as Intimidate is incredibly valuable, and Lando also has Stealth Rock which Zygarde doesn't have. Lando has the ability to threaten major damage to Lunala on the switch which Groudon and (most of the time) Zygarde aren't able to do. Because of Intimidate and a lack of a Dragon weakness it can actually check most variants of Dragon Dance Zekrom, a physical attacker which shreds Zygarde. Lando can also pivot into Play Rough Zacian-C, another physical attacker which beats Zygarde. Offensively, Landorus-T is a major component of hyper offensive teams like Slurpuff webs as a suicide stealth rocker with Explosion to prevent Defog and to do damage to Defoggers.

Offensive Landorus-T is a dynamax abuser which I find to be better than SD Groudon thanks to several factors. It gets STAB on its Max Airstream letting you potentially nab both a KO and a speed boost against Yveltal and Ho-oh, which Groudon's Aerial Ace turned into a base 110 Max Airstream cannot do due to it being much weaker and lacking STAB. After a boost and with a Jolly Nature, Landorus-T can outspeed Scarf Kyogre and +1 Groudon, while Groudon cannot do this and instead speed ties with them, which kind of sucks because those two can ko a weakened Groudon or force a sack (because sd groudon HOs don't really have much to switch into Scarf Ogre and Sd Don). Intimidate is also a more useful ability than Drought is for Groudon. Overall I really do not think Lando should belong in B- because it does so much and is good at what it does unlike the other, relatively niche members of B-.

This is my first serious post here. Thanks for reading :)

 

[Tic-Tac-Toe Guru]

I’ve got a couple noms. This first one hopefully won’t be too controversial.

B -> C
Straight up, this Pokémon is outclassed by Slurpuff in pretty much every way except being able to set rocks (but puff can even kind of do that via Magic Coat). Slurpuff just has way better utility as a webs setter given the current meta, and I also think Shuckle is outclassed in utility by the B- utility Pokémon such as Grimmsnarl and Mewtwo, so I figured C rank might be a good spot for it.

This next nom might not be as popular, but
B -> B-
My issue with Dracovish certainly isn’t it’s power or it’s offensive typing but pretty much everything else. It can be an absolute demon to play around, given a free switchin yields a guaranteed KO the vast majority of the time, but I find it hard to put on a team reliably, and it’s just too slow to get in reliably most of the time, especially with faster Foul Play Yveltal rising in popularity. While Dracovish definitely can limit the moves an opponent can make based purely on presence alone, the rise of faster support mons, defensive ferrothorn, and the limitations it can place on building make it seem to me to be not worthy of a spot with the remaining B rank mons.

 

[Mbouchon]

I have a few noms for y'all. Make sure to take these as a grain of salt, since I haven't been around to watch the metagame change through AGPL; my current metagame knowledge is largely from friendlies.

Echoing WSun1 and others on these three:

B- → B / B+

This Pokemon's good. Really good. Having three well-established sets in a defensive pivot, a Stealth Rock suicide lead, and a deadly Dynamax sweeper, often making handling it appropriately a daunting task. Not only is this the case, but each role it has is done with impeccable quality; defensive Landorus-T avoids the 2HKO from Zacian-C's Behemoth Blade, suicide lead Landorus-T can deny Defoggers hazard removal with Explosion, and the offensive set threatens even Lunala and defensive Zygarde after a Swords Dance boost. It outstrips the other Pokemon in B- in both usage and usability by a large margin - a rise to B or B+ would accurately reflect on its rise in the metagame.


D → C / C+ / B-

I'm not sure how this is in D. It's far more common than the other Pokemon in the rank, and is a legitimate threat in the teambuilder. I've gotten smashed more than once by it, even with several resists. High Jump Kick hits like a truck, Poison Jab and Throat Chop are solid coverage options that hit dominant Pokemon in the metagame, and U-Turn allows it to be a pivot, an offensive Pokemon that also acts as a pivot - often wasting the opponent's Dynamax. In my opinion a drastic rise should be put in place - even a rise to B- would make sense to me.


B+ → A-

Ho-Oh is once again a defensive menace due to Knock Off Necrozma-DM not being as popular anymore. Being able to switch into its face is invaluable; its impressive ability to spread any kind of status is something one must keep in mind when battling it. However, with many Pokemon in the metagame potentially being able to run a Rock-type move, such as Necrozma-DM, Groudon, Landorus-T, and even Zygarde, Ho-Oh has a difficult time safely coming in, especially in the early game. Due to this, I believe a small rise to A- would be appropriate.


The noms below are my original thoughts:

A- → B+

How many times have I seen this Pokemon in the past week? Once. I remember Gothitelle being a menace in the first few months of the metagame, when the closest thing to a Zacian-C check besides Necrozma-DM was defensive Zygarde. However, now it's more of a nuisance thanks to Landorus-T being a relatively common pivot, Ho-Oh making a comeback, and Pokemon that are more difficult to take advantage of, such as bulky Kyogre, being more commonplace. Landorus-T being a useful Stealth Rock user also leaves Necrozma-DM open to run a Dragon Dance set on, making it more difficult to deal with; it just doesn't compare with the other A- Pokemon anymore.


D → C- / C

Despite its weakness to Necrozma-DM, I've taken a liking to this Pokemon. 170 base Attack is no joke (at +1 even a healthy Zacian-C's not going to like it), and, with its bulk and typing, is able to switch into Kyogre. Being able to OHKO Lunala with a Max Phantasm at +1 makes Kyurem-B an often devastating offensive presence. One additional perk it has is annoying opposing leads on HO teams with Icicle Spear - Excadrill, Slurpuff, and even niche leads like Aerodactyl are suspectible. Needless to say, it can often OHKO common Dragon-types with its STABs. As such, I feel that putting Kyurem-B in D doesn't do it justice; a rise is justified in my opinion.


C → C-

I'm sorry, what does this Pokemon do again? It's way too passive to be used on offensive teams, it doesn't have the moveset to adequately aid its team, and being locked to one item doesn't help. Having no recovery aside from Rest is horrible, especially for a Pokemon that's mainly ranked for being an offensive Groudon check. If it runs Shadow Sneak it has to run Poltergeist or Will-O-Wisp + Hex to prevent Necrozma-DM from walling it to oblivion. Defensively Landorus-T is generally a better Groudon check due to being a Stealth Rock user with pivoting. It's also pretty easily dealt with by Yveltal, which often uses Foul Play. There isn't a lot going for Giratina-O, and it really doesn't deserve C to me.


A- → A

Lastly this Pokemon. It'd be A- if it had only one set in Leftovers Dragon Dance, but I feel that a rise is justified due to its versatility. Even relatively sturdy checks like Landorus-T, defensive Xerneas, and Groudon dislike taking a +1 Life Orb hit; it has a good chance to bypass Ferrothorn with its comparatively rare Life Orb Focus Blast set. And Magnet Rise straight-up overpowers a staple in Earthquake Necrozma-DM. Overall a hard check's really hard to come by and a rise would reflect Zekrom's increased versatility.

 

[lotiasite]

hello now that agpl is (almost) done and i had a really fun time exploring lots of different pokemon and sets, i have a lot of nominations to make!


A+ -> S-

i consider zygarde the third most threatening offensive pokemon after calyrex-s and zacian-c. dont think i need to explain to anyone why im making this nom, all the sets between lo, dd tox, dd dtail, coil scale shot, and defensive coil are broken in their own way. you can circumvent every single one of its checks (lunala, ferro, ogre mostly) with the right set, and it is often extremely difficult to tell which set a given zygarde is going to be (especially if it just clicks dragon dance lol). life orb zygarde is the biggest punisher of cookie cutter ndm/yve/etern builds and nothing takes advantage of ndm more, which also makes it one of the best partners to zacian-c (the other extremely broken mon). ditto only beats it if they dynamax and win the speed tie (+ if you have outrage, which is not mandatory). alternatively, dd + dtail is a great set that 6-0es teams that rely on just physdef ferro as their zyg check, which is happening a lot more recently. otherwise, just overpower it with lo zyg. just going to toss a lot of replays out because zygarde is pretty self explanatory otherwise.

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8anythinggoes-1374778325-gqfs71y4w52evqy1hc285rzmj9t610rpw - me vs ff2 agpl week 2 - lo zyg instantly wins
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8anythinggoes-1375176512 - trade vs pdt agpl week 2 - defensive zyg is a menace and walls everything
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen8anythinggoes-570603 - fc vs nora week 3 - lo zyg shreds through physdef ferro and wins
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen8anythinggoes-571285 - me vs nora week 4 - subtox zyg is a huge threat from preview and destroys everything if toxic hits and foul play didnt crit
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8anythinggoes-1396375833 - jerry vs maple agpl finals - even with two stone edge misses, lo zyg destroys. no outrage is good improof

this is only from agpl but there is no shortage of replays where zygarde is consistently an insane offensive threat and such deserves to be somewhere in S rank. i myself have gotten 6-0ed by this multiple times and trying to build with zygarde in mind is extremely difficult, since you will always lose to at least one of the sets lol. there is no pokemon that rewards you more for aggressive and smart play.


A- -> A

i think ferrothorn has definitely popped off in agpl, sporting a 60+% winrate across the entire tournament. this is mostly because of the physically defensive set, either idef + bpress or curse + knock, checking zygarde, ndm, zekrom, ogre, etc, just being a huge nuisance with leech seed, and even dealing tons of damage with +2 or +4 body press. people are also realising again that spikes are still broken. spdef or mixed defense is also great because it beats all the sub + twave ogre running around. definitely deserves a rise again.

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen8anythinggoes-569263 - royal vs tj agpl week 1, ferro beats sub twave ogre
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8anythinggoes-1368617234 - jerry vs mons agpl week 1, ferro and spikes applies a ton of pressure
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8anythinggoes-1370362155 - trade vs ballfire agpl week 1, curse ferro sweeps
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen8anythinggoes-570323 - maxo vs ballfire agpl week 3, spike galore in this game and the ferro checks zekrom (would be better at it if it was physdef)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen8anythinggoes-572029 - crunch vs royal agpl week 5, ferro body press kills yveltal
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen8anythinggoes-574125 - trade vs pdt finals, ferro is a demon
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen8anythinggoes-573696 - me vs ff2 finals, spikes everywhere applies constant pressure, and ff2's ferro beats my ogre if ogre doesn't burn


A- -> B

kyurem-white sucks. like, a lot. unlike etern, ferro, and blissey, it is almost useless if there is no kyogre on the opposing team, and even if there is, sub + twave or specs still have the power to get through it. the fact that it had 4 (four) total uses in agpl should tell u everything u need to know. it is too inconsistent with sheer cold and high level tour players usually do not want to bring this level of inconsistency into tour games, where one sheer cold can either win or lose you the game. stop using this pokemon .


B -> B+

blissey, on the other hand, is great. i have been considering it on many teams as an alternative to eternatus that offers cleric support, teleport, and more reliability against rising kyogre sets such as sub + twave and specs. teleport is very underrated in a metagame where zac and caly often appreciate free switches into pokemon like ndm and etern, and cleric support is always appreciated. it does need to be acknowledged that using blissey over eternatus does mean that you need a good answer to knock off and taunt yveltal. blissey also shines because of the rising popularity of sub lo np calyrex-s, which only runs astral + dkiss and therefore cannot touch blissey even at +6 - this also means it can improof your own np caly. def should rise.

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8anythinggoes-1373374218 - bacon vs frito agpl week 2, blissey checks specs ogre and annoys things with twave
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen8anythinggoes-569518 - ballfire vs inder agpl week 2, teleport blissey is cool even on a more bulky build
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8anythinggoes-1379288055 - me vs inder agpl week 3, my bliss doesnt have confide here lol but it teleports for free to check sub twave ogre a lot better than etern does
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8anythinggoes-1391761395-1kw39nxm3b2514n9naevxzd900wpxxhpw - me vs will for test, this is just hilarious lol. blissey on ho checks scarf caly, improofs my own caly, teleports for momentum, and healing wishes, which is really awesome with gen 8 mechanics. sash caly + healing wish is really fun lol, just watch the end of this game


C -> B

speaking of underrated, gira-o is really good. its biggest flaw is obviously recovery, but you're only really going to be using it on very offensive builds, so this isn't a huge issue to me. gira-o's main niche is role compression, checking groudon and calyrex-s and offering defog. this makes it the best partner for offensive yveltal. offensive yveltal is very broken but often struggles to fit on a team just because the support that spdef yveltal adds between the most reliable calyrex-s counter, defog, taunt, fast foul play, or knock off is extremely hard to pass up. gira-o + offensive yveltal is a great core on offensive teams that shouldn't have too many issues with calyrex-s if you play aggressive. you also destroy groudon thanks to giratina-o's great natural bulk + will o wisp. definitely try it if you haven't, it's super underrated rn

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8anythinggoes-1379288055 - me vs inder agpl week 3, gira-o doesn't do much this game but it enables band yveltal, which shreds inder's team
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen8anythinggoes-571285 - me vs nora agpl week 4, gira-o spreads wisp and again enables life orb yveltal, which destroys nora's team. gira-o can also defog and is in the back to shadow sneak the calyrex-s in the endgame
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8anythinggoes-1386403430 - pdt vs geysers agpl week 5, gira-o's good bulk lets it take on the zac and almost kill it - probably would've been better to have wisp this game, but again enables life orb yveltal, which is neat
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8anythinggoes-1383223011-zgl40m50wwnb5s4ncp0ojdnha5h4bekpw - me vs frozoid for a test game, gira-o literally takes 67% from +2 groudon max rockfall with minimal bulk investment and wisps it before lo yve sweeps


D -> C

shed's a volatile pokemon but i think it works fantastically for tour games, where you don't need consistency so much as you need something that works once or twice. in this case, shed farms insane matchups or terrible matchups - obviously we know it beats every ogre, xern, some zygarde sets, and some zac sets. however, an underrated aspect of shed that i think a lot of people miss is that it is the best improof in the game. shedinja allows you to run huge threats like specs ogre, sd zac, lo zyg, and xern with absolutely 0 fear of ditto. obviously this runs the risk of getting walled when you run into opposing shedinja, but considering shedinja had 1 (one) use in agpl, which was because of me, it's not really a huge issue. i think this role alone gives shedinja a good niche on specific offensive builds worthy of C rank.

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen8anythinggoes-571165 - jerry vs ballfire, week 4 agpl, no ditto here, but shed actually has an incredible niche in this game, walling the otherwise unwallable combination of goth + zac. zac usually does not need crunch/assurance/fire fang if it's paired with goth, which jerry scouts and takes full advantage of. we also have shedinja to completely improof sd zac and lo zyg. without shed, it was very likely that goth + zac would've had a field day

UR -> D
UR -> C

got bribed by Kate to make these noms but i probably dont have to elaborate, lycan HO is great and relies a lot on these two to work. cloyster can also run hydro pump to circumvent ndm completely, and the combo of smash + spear / spikes / spin is very valuable for ho. kate can elaborate if she wants but this is mostly to get council to vote on them lol


as for noms i agree with:
B+ -> A-, very good again as a pivot, and twave + sacred fire is really good for spreading status and helping teammates like specs ogre and taunt yve by paralysing everything. also soft checks zygarde, destroys defensive dd ndm, and the rising ferrothorn and eases prediction against zac. good stuff
B- -> B+, extremely good pokemon - i think the defensive set is kinda overrated but lead on webs and especially offensive lando-t are insane. offensive life orb lando-t is nigh unwallable, and you can run it even on balance or bulky offense. for defensive, uturn + rocks + zek/don check is very nice role compression for a lot of teams.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8anythinggoes-1388860022 - will vs rotten for ssnl r1, lando-t straight up sweeps

as for other noms that i don't care very much about:
is pretty bad, can drop
is even worse, can drop
is kinda cool, can rise
can be ranked, hits really hard with lo
can be ranked, whirl + taunt + madness abuses etern + yve + ndm very well
should be ranked, almost impossible to switch into if you predict correctly

this took like an hour lol but finally done, thanks for reading

 

[Kaiser747898]

Hello! I recently found out that this thread exists, and I have some nominations to make.

1) | B+ ---> A-/A

Ho-Oh is a fantastic Pokemon! It can fill the role of a defensive backbone in a team easily with it's impressive SpDef and acceptable Defense. Even with full bulk investment, it's Sacred Fire can still do a decent chunk of damage. It's support movepool is great. and paired with it's great bulk, it can easily spread status, boost teammates' speed with Tailwind, and prevent chip damage with Defog. In addition, Whirlwind is a great way to stop setup sweepers and baton passers. It's ability, Regenerator also allows it to constantly check Pokemon throughout the game. As for notable Pokemon it can check, here is the list: Zacian-C without Wild Charge, Necrozma-DM without Stone Edge even at +6, Calyrex-S even at +1 with Specs (can come in after a teammate faints to Toxic or Thunder Wave). Although heavily crippled by Knock Off, status and supereffective moves, Ho-Oh is still a great defensive pivot.Overall, Ho-Oh is a great defensive Pokemon that definitely deserves A on the ranking.

2) | B- ---> B+ at least

Calyrex-Ice has is a Pokemon that in my opinion, quite underrated. It has fantastic bulk with insane attack. It can run a more defensive SubSeed set that after Swords Dance, completely destroys common threats like Groudon, Calyrex-S, Yveltal, and Zygarde. It can also utilize Trick Room to outspeed almost the entire AG Pokemon list, and wreak havoc with Swords Dance boosted Glacial Lance and High Horsepower, which destroys Steel, Fire and Rock types, 3 of it's biggest weaknesses. It can even fit on Baton Pass teams looking for a wall that can safely pass on boosts, and can also include it's own in Agility, Calm Mind and Iron Defense. Although it requires some support, Calyrex-Ice is an absolute menace that can sweep entire teams. Overall, Calyrex-Ice is a big threat in the right hands, and should definitely rise on the rankings.

Now, here is a more niche pick, but I think it is pretty good.


3) | ---> C-

Tangrowth at first glance, isn't that good. After all, AG doesn't have a single Grass type in it. However, it's massive physical bulk, great ability in Regenerator combined with it's movepool of Sleep Powder and Knock Off makes it a pretty good tank. It might seem like a knockoff of Necrozma-DM, which is better than Tangrowth in terms of typing, moveset, and alot more. But it actually shines because of Necrozma-DM. Zacian-C, the biggest physical threat in the metagame, is walled easily by Tangrowth. All of Zacian-C's moves are either not effective or neutral, and the niche Fire Fang can barely dent Tangrowth. Because of Necrozma-DM, Zacian-C has to run Assurance/Crunch, so Tangrowth doesn't even need to fear the burn from it hampering Tangrowth's pivoting. Speaking of which, it's a great pivot! Regenerator is already good for pivots, but paired with Tangrowth's Sleep Powder and Knock Off, it can easily switch in on a physical Pokemon, put it to sleep, remove it's item and switch into a teammate. Although it is destroyed by Special moves, it's fellow pivoter Ho-Oh can cover that for Tangrowth. In exchange, Tangrowth offers great typing support for Ho-Oh. Although it is hampered by it's low SpDef, with smart play, it can be a incredibly good pivot. Paired with Ho-Oh, it can offer a incredibly solid defensive backbone for Balance teams. Overall, Tangrowth is a good niche pick, and can be pretty good in AG.

Moveset:
Tangrowth @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Giga Drain
- Knock Off
- Sludge Bomb
- Sleep Powder

That's all from me. Thanks for reading!

 

[cromagnet]

The VR has been updated. Here is a quick summary of the rises and drops.

Rises

Kyogre S- to S
Eternatus A+ to S-
Zygarde-C A+ to S-
Ferrothorn A- to A
Gothitelle A- to A
Ho-Oh B+ to A-
Blissey B to B+
Slurpuff B to B+
Landorus-T B- to B
Giratina-O C to B
Rayquaza C to C+
Reshiram C to C+
Zacian C to C+
Chansey C- to C
Kyurem-B D to C-
Pheromosa D to C
Regieleki D to C-
Shedinja D to C
Lycanroc UR to D
Cloyster UR to C

Drops

Kyurem-W A- to B
Excadrill B to B-
Shuckle B to C+
Palkia B- to C+
Lapras C to C-
Porygon2 C to D

Stay tuned for reasonings, presented by Fc

 

[Fc]

Shift reasonings :o

Here's the slate with all of the council's votes

Rises:

S- --> S
Kyogre has proven itself to be among the best of the best, with almost every set it has being incredible. The rise of Twave + Sub gave it a new way to beat almost every check that isn't immune to water, and Choice Specs is just as hard to switch into as ever. Regular CM sets offer great defensive utility, checking Ground-types and acting as a status absorber, so it's no surprise Kyogre rose given its power.


A+ --> S-
2 dragons rising from A+ to S-, Eternatus and Zygarde are both some of the best picks for teams. Eternatus's defensive utility and offensive prowess can't be understated, being a good soft check to arguably more of the meta than anything else. Zygarde is similar, with great defensive sets as well as powerful offensive sets that have just been boosted by the rise of Life Orb variants. These are some of the most impactful mons in the tier so they easily deserved to rise.


A- --> A
Ferrothorn's simply been amazing in recent times, with physically defensive sets being the thing that started to push it up higher. It checks a huge chunk of the meta and Spikes is such a great tool for annoying slower teams. Gothitelle is similarly able to just shut down some match ups, trapping some of the most important walls in the meta being NDM and Eternatus among other things. It doesn't see as much usage, but it's more than strong enough for a raise.


B+ --> A-
Ho-Oh comes back right after dropping, just bouncing between 2 sub ranks without a ton changing. Regenerator is such a solid ability and it helps a lot in more defensive match ups while still being able to soft check things in offense mu's, so it just rose a bit picking back up where it left off.



B --> B+
2 pink blobs, one rising for defense and one for offense. Blissey is the most reliable check to Kyogre and offensive Eternatus while also having a pivoting option with Teleport and tons of utility with Aromatherapy, Thunder Wave, Stealth Rock, etc. Slurpuff showed that it was clearly the best hazard setter, defining the webs archetype currently. Hasn't started doing anything new, just got a bit better than its former underrated placing.


B- --> B
Lando-T has shown to be even better than initially thought, with all the relevant sets being solid overall. Rocks and SD on HO are both great at what they do, and defensive is good for checking some of the most dangerous threats like Zekrom, Groudon, and soft checking Zacian-C, so it goes up a bit for it having multiple good sets for walling and breaking.


C --> B
Giratina-O is one of the biggest jumps along with Cloyster, rising a full rank from the previous shift where it went from UR to C. Special attacking defensive sets with wisp are very solid at checking Groudon, NDM, and dishing out damage with Draco and Hex after a wisp. It helps overwhelm Yveltal and can live some solid unexpected hits. Good mon that is similar to Lunala in terms of roles but is far more offensive, just lacks the recovery to put it way higher.


C --> C+
3 offensive mons, all rising a bit. Rayquaza's SD set is good on HO as a breaker, DD Reshiram finds it hard to set up but has great wallbreaking STAB's, and Zacian's band set has risen on HO as a breaker that 2HKO's everything.


C- --> C
Chansey also rising a bit like Blissey, beating Kyogre and other strong special attackers is a huge role and Chansey does have its uses through the higher overall natural bulk.


D --> C-
Kyurem-B was a bit underexplored and underrated, paired with Gothitelle or other ways to remove NDM it's a really powerful Dynamax breaker. Regieleki is one of the most threatening Pokemon in the game if you don't have a Ground-type, and those can get overwhelmed offensively leading to it being a bit better than previously thought as it applies a ton of pressure against certain teams.


D --> C
2 bugs going up a bit, Pheromosa with band being a pretty strong set and a good pivot against most teams, forcing chip on NDM a lot of the time. Shedinja counters Kyogre and Xerneas among a few other things like defensive Zygarde while having momentum with BP so its uses give it a bit of a bump up.


UR --> D
See lycan HO, it sets rocks and has Taunt + Endeavor.


UR --> C
See lycan HO, it sets Spikes and has Rapid Spin + Shell Smash and Icicle Spear.

Drops:

A- --> B
Kyurem-W has fallen off a ton, with it just kinda being mediocre at best in most cases. It checks Kyogre but loses to rocks with umbrella and specs with boots, not to mention Sub CM Twave. OHKO moves losing momentum if they miss has also become way more of a drawback, with teams being ever so slightly more offensive that just overwhelms it super hard. Eternatus being one of the best mons and Blissey rising doesn't help either, so it drops a good bit.


B --> B-
Sand isn't really good rn, with it losing to a lot of prominent Pokemon like Groudon, Kyogre, and Zygarde as well as the new up and coming Landorus-T. Lead sets are also average, with Lando-T being the rising rocks setter on HO but rocks falling out of favour for webs, so exca drops.


B --> C+
Slurpuff has taken over as the main webs setter, and Shuckle is sort of a greed pick now. Getting both rocks and webs is rare, and it's a slow mon with less utility than Slurpuff, so it drops a good bit for just not representing webs as a style anymore.


B- --> C+
This is a similar reasoning to last time it dropped, but Palkia is such a paper Pokemon. It's coverage is great, it's Sp.Atk is great, but it rarely does anything. It's too slow to break through things like Eternatus, and most things can live at least 1 hit from it, not to mention the accuracy all its moves have. It sees near 0 tour usage and is mediocre overall.


C --> C-
Similar to Kyu-W, it's just a punishable mon that get blown up by offense and offers little stability to teams it fits on. Still has OHKO but that's not enough to save it from C-.


C --> D
P2 is just barely usable, but it's heavily outclassed by Yveltal as Calyrex-S check + pivot. It struggles a lot against common walls like Yvel with Knock Off and Eternatus with Toxic, as well as a lot of offensive mons like Marshadow, so it drops but it's just barely viable for its role compression against things like Zygarde and Calyrex-S.

 

[Mbouchon]

UR --> D

Set

Slowking @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Future Sight
- Seismic Toss
- Scald
- Ice Beam / Psyshock

This Pokemon's actually not bad. While in AG it probably has to run Assault Vest due to offensive Pokemon's much higher power levels, from my experience with it it's still a solid check to most defensive Pokemon. It stomachs attacks from all Eternatus variants, is a relatively sturdy Kyogre check (even Choice Specs Kyogre fails to reliably 2HKO a healthy Slowking), can wall defensive Xerneas and waste a Geomancy Xerneas' Dynamax turn in an emergency. It even stays in on most Necrozma-DM sets and can annoy it, defensive Yveltal, and even Pokemon like Ferrothorn and bulky Groudon with potential Scald burns. Seismic Toss provides consistent damage output against opposing Pokemon that would use Slowking as setup fodder; it helps Slowking deal with Calm Mind Kyogre, Ferrothorn, and even Substitute Dragon Dance Zygarde to an extent if Slowking isn't running Ice Beam. Regenerator helps it absorb status (it helps that defensive Pokemon seems to be running Thunder Wave more commonly nowadays).

This looks like something Toxapex would be able to do, but there are a couple of key reasons why one could use Slowking instead:

- It's far less passive; it can threaten, and at the very least annoy, Eternatus with Future Sight.
- Its typing allows for more easily switching into the likes of defensive Zygarde, Necrozma-DM, and even Mewtwo.

Of course, physical Pokemon and Calyrex-S are able to force it out, but that's why there are 6 Pokemon on a team.

Some calcs:

Calcs

252 SpA Choice Specs Kyogre Water Spout (150 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Slowking in Rain: 138-162 (35 - 41.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Kyogre Thunder vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Slowking: 180-214 (45.6 - 54.3%) -- 53.1% chance to 2HKO
+2 252+ SpA Xerneas Max Lightning vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Slowking: 304-358 (77.1 - 90.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
8 SpA Fairy Aura Xerneas Moonblast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Slowking: 78-93 (19.7 - 23.6%) -- possible 5HKO
252+ SpA Life Orb Eternatus Dynamax Cannon vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Slowking: 114-136 (28.9 - 34.5%) -- 5% chance to 3HKO
252 SpA Life Orb Mewtwo Psystrike vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Slowking: 144-170 (36.5 - 43.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
0 Atk Zygarde Thousand Arrows vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Slowking: 117-138 (29.6 - 35%) -- 13.4% chance to 3HKO
0 Atk Necrozma-Dusk-Mane Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Slowking: 128-151 (32.4 - 38.3%) -- 97.8% chance to 3HKO

0 SpA Slowking Future Sight vs. 252 HP / 160 SpD Eternatus: 230-272 (47.5 - 56.1%) -- 25.8% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
0 SpA Slowking Ice Beam vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Zygarde: 272-320 (64.7 - 76.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

And now the replays!

Replays

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8anythinggoes-1411121997 - Slowking burns Necrozma-DM and can chip Yveltal with Seismic Toss.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8anythinggoes-1412123207 - Slowking enables Zygarde to setup and sweep with Future Sight.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8anythinggoes-1411991989-220e6az9ks67d9o1l20fsjwrlxip8aupw - Slowking forces Eternatus out, bodies Kyurem-W's attacks in conjunction with Necrozma-DM, and chips opposing Pokemon in general.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8anythinggoes-1411763734-597sekutw2w84bw6r6bznel9q6u0wrspw - Slowking chips Xerneas and can stay in on it relatively easily; it breaks Kyogre's Substitutes with Seismic Toss.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8anythinggoes-1411620483-zhpsb58wul5exhp12vmmjq4necwojt1pw - Slowking burns Zacian-C, chips Yveltal and Eternatus, and forces Eternatus out with Future Sight.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8anythinggoes-1411477645-jqspg3x0l00yu9nws1qy7d7sf1o1l8upw - Slowking pivots into a Dynamax attack and chips Ho-Oh enough to force it out.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8anythinggoes-1411126879-t5ht969tfdi6y63w0rh97fkaic0wo8zpw - It isn't deadweight against HO either; Slowking prevents Slurpuff from using Misty Explosion and walls Eternatus.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8anythinggoes-1411116030-3favgkpgbmvlx272v30uyruszuw3k1xpw - Slowking chips Giratina and Eternatus, burns Yveltal, and walls Xerneas.

In short, I think Slowking is an effective defensive Pokemon that takes care of many opposing defensive Pokemon in the metagame, while applying some degree of offensive pressure on what it checks; it's useful enough to warrant a D ranking in my opinion.

e: i heard it gets dtail too whoopsies

 

[Kaiser747898]

--> D

Moveset:
Salazzle (F) @ Leftovers / Rocky Helmet / Berry that heals 33% except for Figy Berry
Ability: Corrosion
Bold Nature
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
- Toxic
- Fake Out / Encore / Knock Off
- Protect / Encore / Knock Off
- Fire Blast / (the moves above) / Will-O-Wisp

Salazzle has an interesting niche in Corrosion and it's unique typing in Fire/Poison, letting it most notably quad-resist Fairy type moves, and resist Steel and Fighting. It has a plethora of useful support moves, namely Toxic, which can poison Steel and Poison types thanks to Corrosion, Fake Out to chip the enemy, Encore to punish setup sweepers or get a good switch-in, Knock Off to cripple the enemy, and Protect to scout out moves. Salazzle takes advantage of defensive Pokemon, most notably Necrozma-DM, which is mandatory on almost any team, and Ferrothorn, which is also quite a popular choice. It can then Toxic them, making it significantly harder to consistently check the threats they are used for, or Toxic/Knock Off the switch in, making the opponent's team weakened severely. It can easily eat any moves that Necrozma-DM or Ferrothorn tries to throw at it, bar Earthquake from Necrozma-DM, so it won't need much team support to find switch-in opportunities. Calcs will be shown below, along with some other ones. With the moveset versatility Salazzle has, it can support a team well, and can also click Fire Blast to deal some damage of its own or use Will-O-Wisp, burning them. It can run Leftovers to consistently heal, Rocky Helmet to punish physical attackers, and even a 33% healing Berry for a short-term quick heal.Overall, Salazzle has a decent time finding switch-in opportunities, is quite hard to kill with it's useful typing, and can heavily cripple teams. Unfortunately...
CONS:
Salazzle is not perfect at all. It's below-average defenses makes it fold to any strong move that it doesn't resist. It also doesn't help that it is weak to Kyogre, the most threatening specially attacking Scarfer, and Groudon, which it is 4 times weak too, and Groudon is pretty popular. It is also vulnerable to chip damage from hazards, especially Stealth Rock. It also becomes utterly useless when hit with a Taunt. It's biggest weakness is it's lack of survivability. With that said though, I still think Salazzle is good, and can be incredibly annoying with smart play.

Calculations:
Against Defensive Necrozma-DM:
0 Atk Necrozma-Dusk-Mane Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Salazzle: 112-132 (32.9 - 38.8%) -- 99.6% chance to 3HKO
0 Atk Necrozma-Dusk-Mane Sunsteel Strike vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Salazzle: 86-102 (25.2 - 30%) -- 0.1% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
(without Leftovers guaranteed 4HKO)
Against Specially Defensive Ferrothorn:
0 Atk Ferrothorn Power Whip vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Salazzle: 33-39 (9.7 - 11.4%) -- possible 9HKO (rip ferro, with leftovers it does almost nothing)
0 Atk Ferrothorn Gyro Ball (88 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Salazzle: 48-57 (14.1 - 16.7%) -- possible 9HKO after Leftovers recovery (without possible 6HKO)
4 Def Ferrothorn Body Press vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Salazzle: 39-46 (11.4 - 13.5%) -- possible 8HKO (with Leftovers also does nothing) (+6 3.9% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery)
Zacian-C Wallbreaker:
+1 252+ Atk Zacian-Crowned Wild Charge vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Salazzle: 194-229 (57 - 67.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO even with Leftovers
+1 252+ Atk Zacian-Crowned Behemoth Blade vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Salazzle: 162-191 (47.6 - 56.1%) -- 25.8% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
+1 252+ Atk Zacian-Crowned Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Salazzle: 129-152 (37.9 - 44.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
(These are the more important ones, at least for me)

Thanks for reading! I'm having lots of fun experimenting with these unusual Pokemon, so I might make another soon!

 

[Tic-Tac-Toe Guru]

C- -> C+
Honestly I think Regieleki is mad underrated as an offensive Pokémon. One thing that I do think gets overlooked is it’s ability to pivot and pivot powerfully. Volt Switch hits surprisingly hard, and Thunderbolt and Thunder moreso. It can come in on NDM and Yveltal (albeit not very freely) and just throw Volt Switches out and deal mad chip as it allows for its team members to capitalize off of this advancement in board positioning. Specs, Life Orb, and even Magnet are all good offensive item options. It can also set up screens and get out right away with either Volt Switch or explosion if you wanted to run a more passive utilitarian set. In general, this Pokémon is extremely underrated in terms of power and utility. It’s a shame it can’t hit ground types but it hits just about everything else extremely effectively barring something like an Eternatus. In my opinion it’s arguably as good as all of the Pokémon in C+ rank right now, barring perhaps…

C+ -> B- or B
I still think this Pokémon being in the C section of the VR is an absolute crime, as its breaking ability with a Choice Band set is rivaled really only by something like a Dracovish (and in my opinion Zacian is way better than Dracovish but whatever). I also think Choice Scarf could be an interesting idea for it, as it’s already very fast, and Intrepid Sword acts as basically a Choice Band anyway. With the rise of Pokémon like Zygarde and Groudon and even Scarf Yveltal, I do think Zacian could find a niche as a scarfer. I do think Zacian could be a B-rank Pokémon, but it in my opinion definitely should not be a C+ rank one.

 

[Trade]

A+ --> A
Groudon just simply does not accomplish many things better than Zygarde. Whenever I make a team, I think Zygarde's just the overall better choice for a defensive or sweeper role because of Power Construct. I think Groudon's raw power in an unboosted Precipice Blades still make it a great Pokemon in the meta, but I honestly can't see it being much higher even with niche sets like Bulk Up + Toxic, Paradancer, Eruption, etc. It just doesn't have that "Oh no, I lost..." feel that you get when a Zygarde reveals its set; not even close.

A --> A+
I'm not sure we're playing the same meta if you don't believe Ditto is at least A+ tier. Ditto single-handedly fixes some matchups for a team if you're looking for that invaluable sixth slot. It acts as speed control and an emergency button all in one, reducing games from unwinnable to perhaps 50/50s if not better. It's not even deadweight versus balance teams, because most mons run some type of recovery or Regenerator in Ho-oH's case, which can make it tough for the opponent to PP Stall you when needed. Ditto is literally what every HO player takes into account when building their team, and is a defining Pokemon in the current meta. It's one of the tenets of Icemaster's Galar RPS matchups, and has proven to be good even on Sticky Webs of all teams. Ditto is the most adamant I'll be about a rise in this post.

 

[80 yrs]

A+ --> A
Groudon just simply does not accomplish many things better than Zygarde. Whenever I make a team, I think Zygarde's just the overall better choice for a defensive or sweeper role because of Power Construct. I think Groudon's raw power in an unboosted Precipice Blades still make it a great Pokemon in the meta, but I honestly can't see it being much higher even with niche sets like Bulk Up + Toxic, Paradancer, Eruption, etc. It just doesn't have that "Oh no, I lost..." feel that you get when a Zygarde reveals its set; not even close.

A --> A+
I'm not sure we're playing the same meta if you don't believe Ditto is at least A+ tier. Ditto single-handedly fixes some matchups for a team if you're looking for that invaluable sixth slot. It acts as speed control and an emergency button all in one, reducing games from unwinnable to perhaps 50/50s if not better. It's not even deadweight versus balance teams, because most mons run some type of recovery or Regenerator in Ho-oH's case, which can make it tough for the opponent to PP Stall you when needed. Ditto is literally what every HO player takes into account when building their team, and is a defining Pokemon in the current meta. It's one of the tenets of Icemaster's Galar RPS matchups, and has proven to be good even on Sticky Webs of all teams. Ditto is the most adamant I'll be about a rise in this post.

Will continue the rest in a bit.

A --> A+

A- --> A

B- --> B

D --> C+

Unranked --> D

Trade complete ur VR post