AAA Almost Any Ability Resources

[cjw405]

Thundurus-Therian B to B+


Thundurus-Therian (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
Tera Type: Electric
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Focus Blast
- Psychic
- Nasty Plot

This mon absolutely smacks the highest ranked regenvest, goodra-h after a nasty plot allowing the rest of your special attackers to go haywire. It does rely on focus blast hitting but it's well worth the chance to get rid of such a tanky mon. If the opposing team is slow it does great work breaking stuff too.

Calcs

+2 252 SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Thundurus-Therian Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Goodra-Hisui: 346-408 (95 - 112%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Thundurus-Therian Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Goodra-Hisui: 346-408 (95 - 112%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock

+2 252 SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Thundurus-Therian Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Meloetta: 218-257 (53.9 - 63.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

+2 252 SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Thundurus-Therian Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Muk-Alola: 259-305 (62.5 - 73.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Idk what set blissey runs so hopefully it's accurate.
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Thundurus-Therian Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 4+ SpD Blissey: 671-790 (93.9 - 110.6%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO

 

[berry]

Nominating Tinted Lens to Enamorous-T's ability pool. This set has been appearing in my builder super frequently as I build and test for farm and ompl, and for good reason. Off the rip, this mon absolutely crushes two of the biggest fairy switch-ins in the meta in corviknight and skeledirge. Specifically, these two mons usually feel safe switching into a mystical fire or an earth power because of well baked body and earth eater respectively, and this set can just ignore either of those to chip for a ridiculous amount. Here are the two calcs that I think matter in making this nomination.

252+ SpA Choice Specs Tinted Lens Enamorus-Therian Moonblast vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Corviknight: 296-350 (74.1 - 87.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Choice Specs Tinted Lens Enamorus-Therian Moonblast vs. 248 HP / 252+ SpD Skeledirge: 228-268 (55.4 - 65.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

One of this mon's strongest assets is that, on preview, it can easily bluff sheer force or triage to lure one of these switchins. The nuke from one of these turns is enough to put either of these defensive stalwarts on the back foot, essentially forcing you to pick 1 to lose the next turn after being hit with a massive moonblast. I think that's this set's main upside from the sheer force set is simply being able to 2HKO corviknight and skeledirge instead of 3HKO them, all while clicking a powerful stab that any other mon on the opposing team wouldn't want to send any other mons into. This mon's only real switchins are av hoodra and heatran, both of which it struggles ridiculously against because of their own strong steel stabs and crazy spdefs with resistant typings. If you don't run either of these though, you're really just losing against enam atm.

 

[Gimmicky]

Nominating Magic Guard to 's ability pool. MGLO has taken a hit due to the increased bulk of the meta, but I still find myself in situations where I'd much rather my Chien-Pao be Magic Guard than SoR. Magic Guard allows Chien-Pao to make progress very easily in the midgame, switching in without taking 25% from Stealth Rock giving it ample opportunities to barrage the opponent with strong STAB moves or to go for a win with Swords Dance. You also maintain a crucial 405 speed, giving you the edge on things like Modest Electrode-H, +1 Ceruledge, and scarf Hoopa.

MGLO Chien-Pao puts enormous pressure on the common Regenvesters with just it's STAB moves, being able to 2hko the most common ones, forcing them out. This forced switch-out provides a huge momentum boost in your favor, allowing you to threaten their switch-in with a good prediction, set up a Swords Dance, or safely switch in another key offensive threat.

Chien-Pao calcs vs spdef mons

- 252 Atk Life Orb Chien-Pao Icicle Crash vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Goodra-Hisui: 172-203 (47.2 - 55.7%) -- 73.4% chance to 2HKO
(a crit Heavy Slam will never ohko you)
- 252 Atk Life Orb Chien-Pao Icicle Crash vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Garchomp: 717-847 (170.7 - 201.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
- 252 Atk Life Orb Chien-Pao Icicle Crash vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Landorus-Therian: 749-879 (196 - 230.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
- 252 Atk Life Orb Chien-Pao Crunch vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Meloetta: 398-471 (98.5 - 116.5%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO
- 252 Atk Life Orb Chien-Pao Crunch vs. 252 HP / 84+ Def Mew: 268-320 (66.3 - 79.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
- 252 Atk Life Orb Chien-Pao Icicle Crash vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Muk-Alola: 216-255 (52.1 - 61.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

You get the point- MGLO Chien-Pao is naturally a massive threat to the tier's specially defensive walls while also having the ability to switch in repeatedly thanks to the utility of Magic Guard, allowing you to soften up the opposing team during the midgame in preparation for something like Triage Enam-T or Iron Moth to clean up. Is this Chien-Pao's best set? No. Is it perfectly viable? Yes.

 

[dsklizzle]

Here's a sample set I made for Surge Surfer Ursaluna

Surge Surfer Ursaluna

Ursaluna @ Choice Scarf/Leftovers
Ability: Surge Surfer
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Body Slam
- Headlong Rush
- Ice Punch/Thunder Punch/Fire Punch
- Fire Punch/Swords Dance

[Set Analysis]
With a choice scarf, Surge Surfer Ursaluna has a speed of 654, meaning it is only slower than +2 Volcarona with a speed-boosting nature. Ursaluna's massive attack makes it a threat to most of the metagame, even threatening Fluffy Pokemon with Fire Punch. The main issue with this set is being locked into an attack due to choice scarf as both ghost and flying type Pokemon are immune to Body Slam and Headlong Rush respectively. To avoid this, you can run leftovers and Swords Dance for a bulkier set that can OHKO most of the metagame with its strong STAB moves and coverage in one of the elemental punches.

The downside to this set as compared to Triage or Turblaze is its reliance on a Hadron Engine user. Running this with a Hadron Engine user with either Volt Switch or U-turn is a must. Hadron Engine Iron Moth checks the water, fighting, grass, and ice types that threaten Ursaluna with a Hadron Engine-boosted Discharge, Dazzling Gleam, and STAB Fire Blast/Flamethrower respectively. Iron Moth also provides strong special attacks to break through physical walls that Ursaluna may struggle with. Hadron Engine Sandy Shocks is another option. It checks the most prevalent fighting type Pokemon Zapdos-Galar with stealth rocks and Hadron Engine-boosted STAB electric-type attacks as well as breaks any focus sash user to allow Ursaluna to OHKO them. However, its shared weakness to grass, water, and ice types leaves it vulnerable to many of the same threats Ursaluna faces. Electrode-Hisui is another option as its strong grass and electric-type STAB moves threaten water type pokemon like Quaquaval and Volcanion but its lack of bulk means that it cannot switch in many times, making it hard to set up Ursaluna.
Scream Tail also makes a great partner for Ursaluna due to its 4x resistance to fighting types, ability to switch into strong special attackers, and ability to wish-pass to it. Lastly, Ursaluna thrives next to a strong dark type like Meowscarada, Kingambit, or Greninja as they check ghost-type Pokemon like Palossand and Polteageist.

 

[cjw405]

I would like to nominate fluffy as one of rotom-wash's abilities

Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Ability: Fluffy
Tera Type: Electric
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Will-O-Wisp
- Protect

This set allows rotom to take hits from the likes of kingambit, quaquaval, chien pao, and threaten them out. Using protect it can gain recovery from leftovers over time to allow it to take these hits over and over as well as scouting potential moves from choiced attackers. It can pair with a physical attacker like slither wing to make a volt-turn core to slowly wear the opposing team down, or alternatively it can be paired with scream tail who provides it wish support and in return rotom can burn scream tails counters like goodra-hisui with will-o-wisp. Also note this cannot swap into cinderace due to pyro ball not being contact.

List of what it potentially beats

Kingambit (might struggle against wbb)
Quaquaval
Chien Pao (be careful around this)
Zamazenta-c (usually can get off a will-o-wisp to disable it)
Barraskewda
Arcanine-h (make sure to keep rotom healthy)
Samurott-h (hates getting knocked off)
Slither wing (checks mglo variants without earthquake)
Zapdos-g (can swap into brave bird and u-turn)
Talonflame
Tinkaton (hates getting knocked off)
Dondozo? (probably can swap into wave crash and force it out)

Might be more stuff it beats but this is all i'm fitting for now.

 

[berry]

Some post-OMPL VR noms based on closely following this year's OMPL AAA games.

Meloetta A to A-
Heralded as one of the best RegenVest users released with Home, Meloetta completely flopped on the OMPL AAA stage. As an extremely passive Regenerator user that can barely ever find a time to click moves other than U-turn, it is outclassed by other "toolbox" Regenerator users like Garchomp and Landorus as well as Hisuian Goodra who comes with better offensive tactics and a better typing. Don't get me wrong, it's still a powerful Regenerator pivot who can absorb a wide variety of special attacks (as is expected of any RegenVest pivot), but it struggles to make meaningful progress outside of clicking U-turn and its other 3 moveslots feel like wasted potential.

Meowscarada A- to B+
Completely missing in the post-Home OMPL meta. Seemingly unable to keep up with the omnipresent Corviknight and new post-Home toys like Zamazenta and Hisuian Goodra, Meowscarada has fallen from one of the meta's scariest scarfers to a fringe pick. This change isn't only represented in its complete absence in OMPL, but also in its fall from #10 to #27 in 1760 ladder usage. With other more explosive SOR picks like Galarian Zapdos and the meta's gravity towards Steel-types, I think that Meowscarada will continue to drop in viability in the upcoming months.

Regieleki B to B+
Purely explosive. With Refrigerate, Regieleki becomes an extremely aggressive spinner and BoltBeam spammer that can close out games when the opponent's special walls have been weakened. Tera Blast gives this Pokemon so much when it comes to offensive options, and it completely blows Pokemon that previously would have walled an Electric spammer like Garchomp and Landorus out of the water. This doesn't even account for its volatility with Explosion, always keeping opponents guessing and trying to dodge a superpowered Ice-type move that can end a foe in the blink of an eye.

Garchomp A+ to S
With upwards of 50% usage and a positive winrate in OMPL (as well as a ridiculous 42% usage of the CorviChomp core), I don't see any argument for Garchomp not being up there with the face of the tier. This Pokemon has a ridiculous toolbox that has been fully utilized in this tournament season, threatening with utility Regenerator, offensive SOR , access to hazard stacking, and the ability to viably run mixed sets. Chomp is the ultimate toolbox Pokemon that can act as anything on preview, and it has the usage and winrate to back itself up.

Kingambit A to A-
An absolute disappointment this OMPL season. Kingambit is a Pokemon that's great on paper and falls short in practice, most notably by struggling against Corviknight in-game. This is a great example of "calcs don't tell the whole story", as 2HKOs on Corviknight are only ever really facilitated in the late game when anything else on your team would beat corv anyway. This Pokemon also suffers from extreme predictability: all non-Adaptability sets struggle heavily against Corv (which is an instant losing ticket in a meta with 70% Corv usage) and it has nearly no variance in its moveset to deal with other up-and-coming threats like Zamazenta-C.

Zamazenta-C A- to A
A surprise as one of the most-used Pokemon this OMPL, Zamazenta has shown itself to be both an offensive and defensive powerhouse. Dauntless' nerf is unfortunate to say the least, and I think with old Dauntless this would be a much easier nomination to justify, but the addition of Body Press to Zamazenta's movepool gives it its best tool to date. Zama is able to effectively take advantage of some of the top threats and metagame staples in Hisuian Goodra, Scream Tail, Chien-Pao, Kingambit, Iron Treads, Slither Wing, and others, letting it blanket check a wide variety of physical attackers and toolbox Pokemon while having high potential to retaliate. Additionally, it just has the ability to insta-win certain matchups on preview as a defensively-oriented Pokemon by spamming Iron Defense, a trait that's usually found on hyper offense builds including sweepers like Chien-Pao or Iron Moth.

Honorable Mentions:
Heatran
I really wanted to find a place for Heatran in A tier, but I don't think it has that kind of power right now. The up-and-coming MGLO Mixtran set is pretty terrifying on paper and Heatran has had good results this OMPL through both special MGLO and IronPress sets, but I can't see this Pokemon fitting into the A tier as it stands right now.

Galarian Slowking
Another Pokemon that I'm generally confused about, but I think has untapped potential. While it saw pretty minimal usage throughout the tour, I think the combination of Chilly Reception as a pivot move and Future Sight is a combo that holds pretty intense power.

 

[Gimmicky]

Noms :)

Heatran A- to A
Have to say, this has consistently impressed me in the past few weeks. A great showing in OMPL, an amazing stat spread, a great defensive typing that allows it to easily get onto the field and put in a lot of work, and great versatility as both an offensive and defensive mon makes this easily, from my POV, the quintessential Balance mon. Heatran exploits the near omnipresent Corviknight (Body Press isn't real and you know it) and Scream Tail, getting into the battle with ease and either wreaking offensive havoc with mixed MGLO, offensive DesLand, or IronPress, or sitting in front of some of the tier's best breakers with defensive MG, DesLand, or Earth Eater/Levitate. Only thing holding me back from nomming it even higher is Garchomp arguably being the second best mon in the tier, and a poor matchup against most Primsea mons.

Muk-Alola B+ to A-
Another surprise coming out of the meta right now, Muk-A went from a fringe pick to, arguably, one of the best Regen mons in the tier. Knock Off is amazing utility, while Poison Fang allows you to spread great passive damage and disincentivizes potential answers like Garchomp, non-MG Slither Wing, and Landorus-T from switching in. The last two moveslots are versatile, and gives Muk-A surprisingly great versatility. Your choice of Poison Jab / Gunk Shot for STAB, Fire Punch for Corviknight, Drain Punch for Chien-Pao and Goodra-H, Rock Slide for Zapdos-K and Talonflame, etc. There might even be merit in Snarl to better handle special mons. Muk-A suffers from some mild passivity issues, but Knock Off and status-spreading keep this from being too much of a problem. It doesn't deathly fear physical coverage as much as Meloetta does thanks to a much better typing, which I think is the biggest selling point for Muk-A.

Zapdos-Galar A to A+
This thing consistently beats almost everything in the tier. Seriously. MGLO can wear down almost any team given enough time, while SoR shreds through most things. Brave Bird + Thunderous Kick is a phenomenal STAB combo, especially with no BB recoil on MGLO sets, U-Turn is a great tool for taking advantage of the checks you force in, and Taunt in the last slot gives you a lot of utility against balance and fat. Adamant Scarf outspeeds the entirety of the unboosted meta bar Regieleki/Electrode-H, while still having phenomenal breaking power with options like Adaptability or SoR, and room to drop Taunt for Close Combat. Zapdos-G has proven itself a consistently amazing offensive mon, and I'd argue the best in the tier bar Garchomp.

 

[TrulyAtrocious]

Nominating Earth Eater to 's movepool. Iron Treads' biggest flaw is vulnerability to getting chipped, since it has amazing defensive typing and role compression for the meta, but it has two key weaknesses that hold it back: fire and ground. With Earth Eater, Iron Treads can benefit from a mirror matchup instead of coming out neutral, not to mention that even with a resist, the damage from opposing Treads' Iron Head will stay, which Earth Eater can help offset. It also helps it switch into non-FB and deny hazards, with a 4x resist to Stone Edge. If walls an opponent's win condition, Earth Eater can help it stay high.

(As I write this, I convince myself less and less of my argument)

 

[Isaiah]

Nominating Earth Eater to 's movepool. Iron Treads' biggest flaw is vulnerability to getting chipped, since it has amazing defensive typing and role compression for the meta, but it has two key weaknesses that hold it back: fire and ground. With Earth Eater, Iron Treads can benefit from a mirror matchup instead of coming out neutral, not to mention that even with a resist, the damage from opposing Treads' Iron Head will stay, which Earth Eater can help offset. It also helps it switch into non-FB and deny hazards, with a 4x resist to Stone Edge. If walls an opponent's win condition, Earth Eater can help it stay high.

(As I write this, I convince myself less and less of my argument)

The reason that Levitate is on the VR instead is that as an anti-hazard measure, Iron Treads should not be weak to Spikes. Levitate enables it to repeatedly switch into entry hazard setters without having to worry about taking the chip damage itself. One could sort of make a case for Earth Eater having value against Smack Down Landorus, but that's not really common enough to give up the more regularly applicable use of avoiding Spikes.

 

[Isaiah]

Viability Rankings + Sample Sets (and Analyses)
(current as of July 27th, 2023)​

* Only up to the top three most relevant abilities for each Pokemon are listed. If you're wondering about the viability of any ability not listed, feel free to ask about it in this thread :]

Pokemon	Abilities
S Rank
Corviknight	Intimidate, Fluffy, Well-Baked Body
Garchomp	Regenerator, Adaptability, Sword of Ruin
A Rank
A+
Chien-Pao	Sword of Ruin
Iron Treads	Levitate, Earth Eater, Well-Baked Body
Scream Tail	Unaware, Regenerator, Pixilate
A
Goodra-Hisui	Regenerator
Iron Moth	Desolate Land, Hadron Engine, Sheer Force
Quaquaval	Magic Guard, Fluffy, Intimidate
Zamazenta-Crowned	Dauntless Shield
Zapdos	Primordial Sea, No Guard, Fluffy
Zapdos-Galar	Magic Guard, Sword of Ruin, Scrappy
A-
Ceruledge	Desolate Land, Sword of Ruin
Cinderace	Desolate Land, Magic Guard, Sword of Ruin
Heatran	Earth Eater, Magic Guard, Desolate Land
Kingambit	Adaptability, Well-Baked Body, Tinted Lens
Meloetta	Regenerator
Meowscarada	Sword of Ruin
Mew	Regenerator, Magic Guard, Prankster
Slither Wing	Magic Guard, Tinted Lens, Sword of Ruin
B Rank
B+
Arcanine-Hisui	Magic Guard
Electrode-Hisui	Magic Guard, Hadron Engine
Goodra	Regenerator
Landorus-Therian	Regenerator, Fluffy
Muk-Alola	Regenerator
Regieleki	Refrigerate
Roaring Moon	Strong Jaw, Fluffy, Sword of Ruin
Skeledirge	Earth Eater, Desolate Land
Talonflame	Magic Guard
Thundurus	Sheer Force
Volcanion	Magic Guard, Primordial Sea
B
Azelf	Psychic Surge, Protean
Barraskewda	Protean, Primordial Sea
Blissey	Unaware, Magic Guard, Vessel of Ruin
Enamorus-Therian	Sheer Force, Triage
Greninja	Primordial Sea
Hydreigon	Beads of Ruin
Inteleon	Primordial Sea
Kilowattrel	Primordial Sea
Landorus	Sheer Force, Well-Baked Body
Rotom-Wash	Earth Eater, Hadron Engine, Primordial Sea
Sandy Shocks	Hadron Engine, Earth Eater
Thundurus-Therian	Sheer Force
Ting-Lu	Regenerator
Volcarona	Mold Breaker, Sheer Force, Desolate Land
B-
Clodsire	Well-Baked Body, Earth Eater, Corrosion
Cresselia	Unaware
Garganacl	Sand Stream, Vessel of Ruin
Glimmora	Earth Eater, Corrosion
Gyarados	Fluffy
Hoopa	Sheer Force
Lucario	Magic Guard, Adaptability
Samurott-Hisui	Adaptability
Toxapex	Corrosion, Prankster
Typhlosion-Hisui	Magic Guard, Desolate Land
C Rank
C
Brambleghast	Fluffy
Chesnaught	Triage, Well-Baked Body
Chi-Yu	Beads of Ruin, Desolate Land
Cloyster	Technician
Decidueye	Fluffy
Diancie	Earth Eater, Regenerator, Triage
Dondozo	Magic Guard, Tablets of Ruin
Donphan	Fluffy
Gardevoir	Prankster, Hadron Engine, Tinted Lens
Gastrodon	Fluffy
Hatterene	Triage
Hawlucha	Magic Guard
Haxorus	Protean
Hippowdon	Intimidate, Wandering Spirit
Iron Jugulis	Sheer Force, Primordial Sea
Iron Leaves	Sharpness
Lilligant-Hisui	Sword of Ruin
Masquerain	Primordial Sea, Prankster
Mismagius	Normalize, Triage
Moltres	Magic Guard, Desolate Land
Moltres-Galar	Primordial Sea
Palossand	Magic Guard, Well-Baked Body, Fluffy
Pawmot	Magic Guard, Sword of Ruin
Polteageist	Queenly Majesty, Fluffy
Slowking	Fluffy
Slowking-Galar	Fluffy, Vessel of Ruin
Spidops	Prankster
Tinkaton	Well-Baked Body, Regenerator
Toxtricity	Refrigerate
Zarude	Adaptability, Fluffy

VR is now up to date, you know the drill! I'll leave it in "hot fix" mode for 48 hours to fix minor mistakes (like missing Pokemon/abilities), so let me know if you catch anything.

Individual votes: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...FM8isGtTkr/pubhtml?gid=1632258521&single=true

 

[Don Vascus]

VR is now up to date, you know the drill! I'll leave it in "hot fix" mode for 48 hours to fix minor mistakes (like missing Pokemon/abilities), so let me know if you catch anything.

Individual votes: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...FM8isGtTkr/pubhtml?gid=1632258521&single=true

Add wbb to lando's abilities. Its a fantastic check to multiple fire types with it and it even saw play in ompl

Thats the Land0 (Landorus-Therian) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Well-Baked Body
Tera Type: Ground
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
IVs: 30 Spe
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Swords Dance / U-Turn
- Smack Down

A set like this checks ace, ceruledge, heatran and to some extent talonflame, and can function as a pivot or decent wincon with either U-Turn of SD. Smack down and U-Turn differenciate it from similar bulky non-regen chomp sets that are meant to serve as the primary check to fire types such as Tablets or intim (not Fluffy, because it gives up its fire resist) but chomp is not straight up better because it still can actually check MGLO Harcaninie and can run spikes

 

[Siamato]

VR is now up to date, you know the drill! I'll leave it in "hot fix" mode for 48 hours to fix minor mistakes (like missing Pokemon/abilities), so let me know if you catch anything.

Individual votes: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...FM8isGtTkr/pubhtml?gid=1632258521&single=true

We talked about that with a few people so we'll be interested to know why UT was allowed to vote for VRs? From my knowledge, UT resigned his position as TL and council member. Is anybody allowed to do council's duty now? I don't have in mind a memory of such a thing happening in the past and that's how it should work I believe. If you resign your position as council member, for any reason, you shouldn't be allowed to perform council's tasks like tiering decisions, VRs votes and just any of them really; whatever your current position is or past one was. That's just a question of coherence otherwise idk Jrdn, Shiloh or even small Osake should be able to vote as ex-council members if they want? It also ensures resources and decisions are made by people that actually play the metagame actively and at a decent level due to the selection process.
Nothing personal against UT btw. Just he shouldn't have been authorized to vote for those VRs (last ones it was ok because we don't really know if he voted before or after cuz his resign happened almost at the same time)

Neverheless I appreciate council's transparency on voting! It will definitely help me to target Rotom-Wash haters still in B after all it's proved!!

EDIT: For anyone interested, at the end of the day, especially when it comes to resources, it's up to the council/TL to decide who does what; even if it involves people actually out of the council. If you want and manage to convince the council of your great knowledge of the metagame, you may be able to perfom tasks such a VRs votes for instance. It's at the discretion of the council itself and nothing is really rulled by text. Might help some people to get involved now that they know they can possibly do?

 

[Isaiah]

We talked about that with a few people so we'll be interested to know why UT was allowed to vote for VRs? From my knowledge, UT resigned his position as TL and council member. Is anybody allowed to do council's duty now? I don't have in mind a memory of such a thing happening in the past and that's how it should work I believe. If you resign your position as council member, for any reason, you shouldn't be allowed to perform council's tasks like tiering decisions, VRs votes and just any of them really; whatever your current position is or past one was. That's just a question of coherence otherwise idk Jrdn, Shiloh or even small Osake should be able to vote as ex-council members if they want? It also ensures resources and decisions are made by people that actually play the metagame actively and at a decent level due to the selection process.
Nothing personal against UT btw. Just he shouldn't have been authorized to vote for those VRs (last ones it was ok because we don't really know if he voted before or after cuz it happened almost at the same time)

Nevetheless I appreciate council's transparency on voting! It will definitely help me to target Rotom-Wash haters still in B after all it's proved!!

Well yeah...this isn't anything new. VR councils can and do exist, and even last gen, we let motherlove vote on VRs even when he wasn't on council anymore because he was so invested in helping with resources and still very actively played the metagame. All of the former council members you mentioned would also be free to vote if they wanted to as well--they just don't bc they've expressed zero interest in returning to do council work (of the people listed, Shiloh is the only one still in the council Discord). Not having the magic label of "council member" doesn't take away someone's qualifications to vote on what's good in the metagame.

 

[Osake]

VR rants since I'm writing about AAA then I can disappear for a week

Overall pretty accurate rankings I think I'll make some comments for a few but that's often little changes and the difference between B+ and A- or stuff like that is usually down to players' preferences so not a big deal but I'm annoying so here we go

I'd add Volt Absorb as an ability, and if you're only doing the best 3 I'd remove WBB because it's not a good set overall imo and still lose to many Fire-types, whereas VA has the interesting niche of shutting down pivoting, Treads, Shocks, Electrode-H, Regieleki, Zapdos/Kilo if necessary although not ideal, and is way better than WBB (where's Flame Body ??)

Well this thing can be a lot of things, I'm a bit unsure about Adapt and SoR really being the best/more commons I feel like we saw more Fluffy Chomp during OMPL and it should be add instead of one of those (I'd say Adapt cuz SoR Chomp is a good HO pick)

not rly common anymore but Dazzling could still be slashed imo for enam mainly (put defiant for the troll, won an ompl game can't be bad)

feel like PSea should be listed over Fluffy but I never used Fluffy Quaqua a lot so maybe it's not as bad as it looks

:meowscarda: I'd add Adaptability which is a superior pick when you're not using Play Rough/Low Kick (or TPunch I guess..) as coverage (and with Spikes/Switcheroo/Sucker in last) since you don't really care of the U-Turn boost and it's better to not reveal your ability + allow SoR on other mons possibly. I'd also Rank Meow B+ bc I don't find it that good, it's Pao but slower and it can OHKO less things

Hm tricky one bc it can do everything but I feel like the only set that could be A- is Regen, others are mid and Regen is often outclassed bc you don't want to use your Regen Slot on Scarf Mew so I'd rank it in B+ cuz sacrificing your Regen Slot on Mew has less utility than on Meloetta or Goodra-H

I agree with Don Vascus, WBB should be slashed. Also, regular is better than lando-t imo and they should at worse be in the same rank (and have the same slashed abilities obviously if you add WBB add to both) because you often want to use special moves to for Zama-C and in that case Lando-I is better, the Speed is also more valuable than the Attack I think

A bit sad to not see Regen slashed even if it's way less common than before, but I'm not sure over what I would put it. Probably Fluffy cuz Scream Tail exists and this set is bad but idk

I'm surprised atha didn't make his propaganda but I'll do it for him, Regen on Volc is not that bad. Actually an annoying mon when you can't damage it. Def has some A- material too but prob too slow for that

Bad mon. Switcheroo isn't enough to justify its place here, B- and could even be C tbh

Should be B+ imo but maybe I'm overestimating it's ability to break through Goodra-H. Maybe add Mega Launcher ? it's a fun set

No Regen is a shame, best set of Rotom whereas Earth Eater is..? something I guess. Also should be B+

Very bad mon imo, and def less good than Toxapex. I'd either rank Clod C or Pex B, but as bulky Poison-types you should often choose Pex over Clod

Might only be theory mon since I never used in practice but I think Toxic Debris has a shot (I know Isaiah used it and PociekMociek used it during the seasonal), Sand Stream is just trash now

:chessnaught: Honestly not a bad mon and could be B-. BD sets are always a threat and Spikes + Body Press is pretty valuable

I wanted to use RegenVest Dozo and I think Regen is still an option, although a bit hard to build around

yo ? in C? with Hippowdon and Gastrodon ?? I know all C mons aren't on the same level since no C+ / C- but Moltres is good and definitely B-, closer of B than C tbh

Same than Moltres. It's not super great, but it has some good utility that def should push it in B-

sorry for posting after the VR was posted and the 48h delay too but I was a bit busy with OMPL and stuff :(

 

[Slither Wing]

Sorry to bother, but the Slither Wing link takes it to recommended AG sets, which doesn't seem right, fix pls?

 

[Gimmicky]

Mildly scattered list of suggestions + some noms

the speed tiers list should definitely have 20 spe EV Scream Tail (263) on it, it's the most common spread on the most common set and an important benchmark for anything that might be trying to creep it, as well as a good visual indicator of exactly what the investment is for. also, the link on the VR currently leads to it's UU sets, not the AAA set.

to A+. Many people have shared this sentiment in the main thread, so I'll keep this short, but Hisuian Goodra is the best spdef mon in the tier and it really isn't close. It's considered required on some team structures and it's almost always highly recommended on most others. If you need a special wall, it's almost always going to be a Hoodra. It's arguably similar to Corviknight in that you're usually going to either be running a niche teamstyle or you're going out of your way to not use Hoodra to patch up a more specific hole in your team. I definitely wouldn't call it quite as omnipresent, but I wouldn't say it's far behind either. Also, Sludge Bomb has seen enough play (including the OMPL finals) to deserve a slash on the sample set, imo.

Tinted Lens to ability pool. I find that Cinderace much more heavily appreciates Tinted Lens than it does Sword. It's another set that saw relevant play during OMPL, and Tinted gets better calcs on a lot of the stuff that Sword typically helps you beat-- namely Quaquaval and Garchomp. It turns your fire STAB from threatening to one of the most dangerous moves in the tier, with very few switch-ins aside from Volcanion, WBB Pokemon, and some Primordial Sea Pokemon, depending on Cinderace's moves, and Cinderace has High Jump Kick or Gunk Shot for heavy damage on these switch-ins or U-turn to take advantage of these forced switches. Swords Dance is pretty much mandatory, even with its negative synergy with U-turn. Tinted is one of Cinder's best sets, and should have it's own sample-- perhaps replacing SoR on the VR.

Tinted Ace Sample

Cinderace @ Heavy-Duty Boots / Life Orb
Ability: Tinted Lens
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- High Jump Kick
- Pyro Ball
- Sucker Punch / Gunk Shot / U-turn

 

[LordBox]

Mildly scattered list of suggestions + some noms

the speed tiers list should definitely have 20 spe EV Scream Tail (263) on it, it's the most common spread on the most common set and an important benchmark for anything that might be trying to creep it, as well as a good visual indicator of exactly what the investment is for. also, the link on the VR currently leads to it's UU sets, not the AAA set.

to A+. Many people have shared this sentiment in the main thread, so I'll keep this short, but Hisuian Goodra is the best spdef mon in the tier and it really isn't close. It's considered required on some team structures and it's almost always highly recommended on most others. If you need a special wall, it's almost always going to be a Hoodra. It's arguably similar to Corviknight in that you're usually going to either be running a niche teamstyle or you're going out of your way to not use Hoodra to patch up a more specific hole in your team. I definitely wouldn't call it quite as omnipresent, but I wouldn't say it's far behind either. Also, Sludge Bomb has seen enough play (including the OMPL finals) to deserve a slash on the sample set, imo.

Tinted Lens to ability pool. I find that Cinderace much more heavily appreciates Tinted Lens than it does Sword. It's another set that saw relevant play during OMPL, and Tinted gets better calcs on a lot of the stuff that Sword typically helps you beat-- namely Quaquaval and Garchomp. It turns your fire STAB from threatening to one of the most dangerous moves in the tier, with very few switch-ins aside from Volcanion, WBB Pokemon, and some Primordial Sea Pokemon, depending on Cinderace's moves, and Cinderace has High Jump Kick or Gunk Shot for heavy damage on these switch-ins or U-turn to take advantage of these forced switches. Swords Dance is pretty much mandatory, even with its negative synergy with U-turn. Tinted is one of Cinder's best sets, and should have it's own sample-- perhaps replacing SoR on the VR.

Tinted Ace Sample

Cinderace @ Heavy-Duty Boots / Life Orb
Ability: Tinted Lens
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- High Jump Kick
- Pyro Ball
- Sucker Punch / Gunk Shot / U-turn

I disagree with Goodra-H being overtly the better RegenVest mon and being moved up to a whole 2 ranks above Meloetta and 3 ranks above competitors like Alolan-Muk and Kalos Goodra. Is it a good RegenVest mon, sure, otherwise it wouldn't be at A-rank at the first place. Its bulk is very large and a Water resist + SR resist help a ton but does that much it overtly better? All the RegenVest mons have their own benefits over Goodra that are noticeable and I don't think means Goodra-H is just better in "general" and they only have places on specific team styles. Meloetta's ability to pivot is very valuable and more offensive balanced teams far better appreciate pivot, and regular balance may just prefer its ability to pivot anyway or its lack of weakness to Fighting-type coverage from the likes of Thundurus forms or even Hoopa. Kalos Goodra packs a Fire resist against all-out Fire type attackers like Chi-Yu and presents a bonus against mixed attackers like MGLO Heatran and Volcanion which have gained popularity in response to Goodra-H as well as again lacking a Fighting-type weakness. Muk is more niche but Knock Off and ability to spread Toxic status presents it decent use on balance and fatter teams. Even Blissey presents competition as a blanket special wall given it's not consuming the extremely valuable Regen slot and can run various abilities like MGuard, Vessel or Unaware which help. Yes Goodra-H does pack a nice Water resist (but Kalos Goodra also has that and Meloetta can cope with pivot) and the added Steel typing helps into rocks and uh other stuff. I don't see what exactly justifies Goodra-H being 2 whole (or more) ranks above everything else when its competitors can also work just fine on all the styles of teams Goodra-H can fit on as well as have their own benefits. Frankly I've even used Meloetta more than Goodra-H which doesn't seem that great of a look and even on the many teams Goodra-H it may appear on it really isn't that hard for many of its competitors to slot in and work just fine (or even better!).

In an off-topic tangent about the meta while I'm here... Yes I can agree that the tier is increasingly heading towards a stale meta as people have optimised a frustatingly "good enough" balanced core with a Corviknight always in lieu and a RegenVest mon (Goodra-H is not so much better than its competition to be seen as a Corv equivalent, it is insanely far off that ubiquity and meta presence given it actually has large competition) + maybe a Scream Tail and some defensive filler like a Fire immunity/resist being omnipresent and leading to a slow repetitive cycle of gameplay. My decreased involvement and coping with AAA variants like NDAAA is a sign of that. Part to blame for this is simply the lack of a lot of options we had in the past, but hopefully DLC will resolve this issue. 2AC may also help by simply freeing up the available defensive options we can play with, or maybe we'll still be stuck in this sort of fishy offense into balance state we are in. In any case I still think there is still ample innovation to be had. MGLO Heatran's increased popularity and even the wacky shit that astralydia and Greybaum made work lead me to believe while this core is frustatingly consistent, there is still an ample amount of funky teams you can made work or even excel even if you need to explore into the depths and the core isn't exactly unbeatable either, but I won't reveal what I'm cooking for now.

 

[Gimmicky]

Viability Rankings + Sample Sets (and Analyses)
(current as of July 27th, 2023)​

All of these (currently) have incorrect links on the VR that should be fixed
Scream Tail
Iron Moth
Roaring Moon
Sandy Shocks
Iron Jugulis
Iron Leaves
no i don't know why they're all paradoxes either

 

[Gimmicky]

double post lol
the current Lando-I WBB sample set is pretty bad.

The purpose of using WBB Lando-I instead of Lando-T is for special Earth Power, so an Impish nature is just bad here. Lowering the damage of your primary STAB move is a bad choice. It should definitely be a Bold nature, lowering your attack instead. You do weaken U-Turn and Smack Down, but neither of those have the primary intention of doing damage.

I think that Taunt should be slashed in the fourth move-- maybe on Lando-T, but especially on Lando-I. Taunt gives you an advantageous matchup against most Garchomp, Kingambit and Zamazenta-C, preventing them from setting up and giving Lando-I either a hard smack with Earth Power or a free U-Turn into a more specific answer. Both of these options are viable fourth moves.

This is more of a nitpick than anything else, but as far as I can tell, the 4 SpD EVs don't give you any advantageous rolls, and would be slightly more optimal in Speed, along with 4 defense EVs. This allows you to outspeed and Taunt/Earth Power 252 neutral base 70s, notably outspeeding Polteageist, preventing it from setting up on you, and outspeeding Cloyster and Modest Volcanion, both which you 2HKO (OHKO if rocks are up). My proposal for a Lando WBB sample.

Lando-I Sample

Landorus (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Well-Baked Body
Tera Type: Ground
EVs: 252 HP / 248 Def / 8 Spe
Bold Nature
- Earth Power
- U-turn
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt/Smack Down

 

[Don Vascus]

Nominating Diancie to B-

Diancie @ Pixie Plate
Ability: Triage
EVs: 136 HP / 100 Def / 252 SpA / 20 Spe
Rash Nature
- Calm Mind
- Diamond Storm
- Body Press
- Draining Kiss

Diancie has two key advantages over Hatterene and Enamorus-Therian as a Triage kisser: its good matchup against Fire-Types and its ability to immediately byprass Goodrah. Those two boons are HUGE, as oftentimes triage pokemon are forced out offensively by Cinderace or Future Volcarona and Enami-T needs to like chip goodrah first, or paralyze it and be behind screens or have ammased a couple of boosts before hand. The EV's in this set are key for the second trick; it has enough speed to speed creep minus speed goodrah and enough defense to guarantee that diamond storm into bpress kos from full. Its not without its flaws of course, Diamond Storm can just scam you out multiple times, and its kisses are much weaker than the alternatives, for example:

+1 252+ SpA Life Orb Triage Diancie Draining Kiss vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Inteleon: 207-243 (73.6 - 86.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

But the fire type matchup is still a pretty solid pro, which in my opinion should put it above hatt

 

[LatiasDigs]

Nominating Prankster for one of Chi-Yu's abilities

Chi-Yu @ Light Clay
Ability: Prankster
Tera Type: Dark
EVs: 248 HP / 240 Def / 20 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Taunt/Overheat
- Memento

Memento requires build around to take advantage of, using powerful sweepers that can utilize both screens and forced switches from memento to potentially double set up if given opportunity, however I believe the fact that it completely dominates the screen HO mirror due to its prankster immunity makes it at least a better screener than gardevoir, which chi yu is about even with bulk wise

 

[Siamato]

Thoughts after playing the most games during AAA ssnl:

Rises

From B+ to A-

Can't believe this is B+ lol. Htrode is one of the best speed control in the metagame and surprisingly good as a breaker whenever people don't run Hoodra which is not so bad anw cuz you can always pivot in to enter some really strong breaker. That's one of the strenght of Htrode: fit into many offensive core and especially volt-turn based ones. Chloroblast MGLO does some great damages and scares Ground from trying to absorb Vswich. Really flexible mon unlike Scarf Hadron Rotom-Wash which had to pick correctly.

/ From B+ to A-

Fluffy and WBB are both good as SR setter pivot. Those set are also extremely scary as breaker with Sub and BU. Other stuff like WA or RegenVest aren't bad. Sludge Bomb is a cool tool to spread poison and give it more utility. I don't see it below things like Meow or Kingambit ngl.

From B+ to A-

Just an amazing mon tbh. One of the best breaker while providing some defensive utility. Yeah it's slow (hopefully I'd say) but it's still amazing. MGLO is ofc the best and most consistent but Psea Body Press or defensive Regen are interesting as well.

From B to B+

Idk how many time I'll have to make this nom? Rotom-Wash isn't some B trash like Azelf or Greninja bruh. Scarf Hadron, defensive Regen, hot techs like Fluffy or Gsurge are all good and really interesting in what they bring. Threatening Water STAB to make it a great pivot, WoW utility, scouting with Protect, etc. Just a great mon that can work extremely well with many things (get that WoW up on Hoodra and starts setuping with Enam/Stail or stuff like that).

From B to B+

Yooo this thing is lowkey broken lol. So many times I just look at preview and see EnamT can just autowin. And you know what? Often it happens. This mon is really scary. Double dance can become out of control quickly while Mystical Fire takes care of Fluffy Zapdos and Sludge Bomb makes EnamT winning against Unaware Stail. Other variant are interesting although more MU reliant and less good overall like Lighting Rod, MGLO mixed, SFLO, etc. Def a thing you must take into account while building. This hideous thing also provides some really nice defensive utility ngl (double resists Fighting and Bug, immu Drag and Ground and resists Dark and Grass are all good).

From C to B

Wtf happened to Tinkaton? I mean, yeah we got Hoodra which is incredible as defensive Steel but... did we forget why we were playing Tink? It was part for the defensive utility but also because it provides such really nice tools with Knock, SR and TW with an anti-Fairy nuke. Regen might be harder to run with the competition but stuff like WBB, EE or Gsurge are good enough. Ah and because Chien-Pao is broken people started running Intimidate lol.

From C to B

Nani? Moltres is definitely not C rank lmao. The combination of healing, WoW and U-Turn are really good providing it a great defensive utility. Dland is ofc the one we immediatly think about being a really good check to Volcanion or Quaqua but stuff like Intimidate/Fluffy is interesting as well. Shouldn't be so many ranks below Skeledirge lol. MGLO and mixed ones especially might be good.

From C to B-

Feels it has a lot of potential ngl. WA, EE, Regen, Gsurge, Triage, Stamina, Tdebris, etc might all work as setup or utility hazards setter.

From C to B-

Such scary things doesn't fit in C lol. Protean is cool and can become out of control extremely fast with the right coverage. Fishy for sure but actually see uses and worked.

From C to B-

Atha reminded me it exists and it's, in fact, still very interesting and scary.

from UR to B

ojr can you explain why you're goated

Drops

from A+ to A

Yeah people know I'm a Scream Tail hater, this mon is sometimes dumb (do we really still lose to CM Unaware Scream Tail nowadays?) but most of the time it's just a pink ball taking hits, wasting or killing momentum to try wishing something. I'll be interested in looking AAA ssnl stats but I don't think we saw many Scream Tail and this trend looks set to continue in AAAPL. Because Scream Tail is a momentum sponge you can only afford to play it in bulkier teams while the metagame actually favors BO/balanced with a lot of momentum from my knowledge.
Don't get me wrong, ofc Stail is still good especially with the rise (or come back?) of new sets like TW Unaware/Pixi or CM Pixi but is clearly overestimated in the current metagame. It's a relic from the era we tried to cover everything defensively but metagame changed with the use of more offensive counterplay and new breakers going through Stail.

From A to A-

This mon was really good pre-home and part of the big3 (or big4 if Stail included) but just dropped with home release. The reign of Garchomp under the meta, new Regenvesters, Psea Zapdos, WBB Treads and Lando, etc made it fall as a breaker. Other things such as Stail and Inteleon drops (Hoodra is the main reason) removed part of its utility in the metagame. Again a good mon that we should not scrap but not anymore A-rank to me. Cuz Iron Moth dropped it's perhaps interesting to try Tspikes again cuz we have less absorber now. People should try Fire Blast or Overheat over Fiery Dance to outdamage Regenvesters cuz Fiery Dance does not. Fiery Dance is good if you get the boost and if you stay next turn. Otherwise Fire Blast, Overheat and even Flamethrower are better.

From A to A-

Dog is both shit and broken at the same time. Can somehow autowin games or does pretty much nothing otherwise. Not something really healthy. I don't think such inconsistent thing should be A ranked. Looks more of an A- MU fish or HO wincon/utility to me.

From B to B-

Not saying I can't see them B but where are the uses? I never played one or I don't remember it lol. While I saw many Rotom-Wash or EnamT but apparently they are B as well kek.

From B- to lower

Those garbages are B-?

Changes I'm not sure about:

Should maybe drop? This mon feels dumb sometimes but most of the time it does nothing. The rise of Intimi Quaqua, Fluffy Lando and Zap is prob worth finally dropping it.

Same shit. Both dumb and both shit at the same time. Insane mon on paper but in practise it has a lot of trouble entering the field and getting its breaker role done. Dislike stuff like WBB Lando, Psea Zap a lot. Might be interesting to try Gsurge to allow it to take an EQ cuz that's what is holding it most of the time I think.

RegenVest dissapeared but Strong Jaw Band is really good and might be worth rising it. Put a tremendous pressure on Intimi Corv. Stone Edge allows to delete Fluffy Zapdos and Thunder Fang makes the skewer Corv Quaqua. EQ is always a good option too.

I find some other things weird but don't want to waste my time for stuff we don't care much about anw. I hope VRs will be updated to fix the home meta before DLC drops so it can reflect what the meta was. I also hope VRs will continue to be made by players that actually play the tier competitively to share an objective picture to the community.

I'll follow this post by a team dump in the main thread before stopping AAA.

 

[Isaiah]

Post-home Pre-DLC 1 VR slate is freed! This is pretty much already out of date, but it at least can be used as the latest reference point of what the meta looked like [before Game Freak gave every Pokemon access to everything through the DLC, gl].

Viability Rankings + Sample Sets (and Analyses)
(current as of September 13th, 2023)​

S Rank

Corviknight

A Rank

A+

Chien-Pao

Garchomp

Heatran

A

Iron Moth

Iron Treads

Quaquaval

Scream Tail

Volcanion

Zapdos

A-

Cinderace

Electrode-Hisui

Enamorus-Therian

Goodra-Hisui

Landorus

Landorus-Therian

Meowscarada

Rotom-Wash

Slither Wing

Zamazenta-Crowned

Zapdos-Galar

B Rank

B+

Arcanine-Hisui

Blissey

Ceruledge

Goodra

Kingambit

Meloetta

Muk-Alola

Regieleki

Roaring Moon

Skeledirge

Talonflame

Volcarona

B

Cresselia

Garganacl

Hydreigon

Inteleon

Moltres

Samurott-Hisui

Sandy Shocks

Thundurus

Thundurus-Therian

B-

Chesnaught

Diancie

Dondozo

Greninja

Haxorus

Hoopa

Kilowattrel

Lilligant-Hisui

Mew

Pawmot

Ting-Lu

Tinkaton

C Rank

C

Azelf

Barraskewda

Brambleghast

Chi-Yu

Donphan

Gardevoir

Glimmora

Hatterene

Iron Jugulis

Iron Thorns

Lucario

Lycanroc

Masquerain

Moltres-Galar

Palafin

Polteageist

Slowking

Slowking-Galar

Toxapex

Typhlosion-Hisui

Zarude

 

[Isaiah]

The role compendium post is here now (will probably have a real role compendium eventually...): https://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/almost-any-ability-dlc-1-info-post-964.3710568/post-9778887

Gonna lock this thread for now bc as cool as theorymonning is, I don't want this thread flooded with random day 0 ideas that can't really be tested.

 

[Isaiah]

Post away!