Battle Spot Singles Viability Rankings!

[6tennis]

rip Feliburn
20XX-2015

In any case, what do you all think of Staraptor? Reckless-boosted Brave Bird or Double-Edge hits nearly everything like a truck, and it can function as both a wallbreaker, a revenge killer (with access to Final Gambit!), or a pivot. It has amazing coverage, what with Close Combat allowing it to demolish most Rock- and Steel-types that would wall it otherwise. The only problem I see is that it's outclassed in all of its roles. Most notably, Talonflame is an exceptional Flying-type that has an extremely high-power priority move, as well as U-turn, not to mention it also sometimes runs a stallbreaker set, et cetera. Also take a look at Landorus-T - a powerful Choice Scarf user that has great STAB moves and exceptional coverage. My point is that while Staraptor is good at a lot of things, it's not great at one particular thing. For this reason, I'd put it anywhere in the C rank. If this thread is still active, that is.

 

[Omastar68]

Omastar68 I appreciate the enthusiasm man but there are some issues here



This is honestly not a very common situation. Basically requiring Regice to be used with a screens user means 2/3 of your team is used up just for Regice to be used, and that's not quite good enough for C- class.


Being 2HKO'd is really not that impressive. It basically means you can never switch in on a Garchomp, and even if you are already in, a lot of Garchomps carry Focus Sash so you'd have to take two hits anyway.


Not sure what Blast means here, I'll assume Fire Blast but you didn't say which Pokemon.


This is even more damning evidence, I'm not sure why it was included.

Not very impressive either, many Pokemon can survive hits from Hippowdon, and besides, Hippowdon is not an offensive threat.


The biggest issue here is that even though Regice can take 1 or 2 hits from these Pokemon, it doesn't really do anything to capitalize on it. Sure, it can survive, but how does that help you? It's not really an offensive or defensive threat, and it doesn't really use the momentum to set up anything either.

I'd say Avalugg outclasses it as a defensive Pokemon (even though Avalugg has its fair share of problems as well) but honestly I can't really give you examples of better Pokemon because you haven't really said what Regice actually does, only what it can survive. We're really missing a lot of details here.

I only really suggested Regice because I caught a near perfect one the day before I posted about it being C-. The damage calc starting with "blast" was supposed to say "252 SpA Mega Charizard Y Fire Blast...," stupid iPad. What Regice does is have great coverage(ice isn't as good as ground or fighting for coverage, but lots of things are 4x weak to it), and absurd special bulk, particularly with an assault vest, and reasonable physical bulk. I included the calc with Kanga because it showed you have a good chance to survive it's strongest move(assuming it's been out for at least a turn, so it can't Fake Out), still, that was kind of stupid. I like Avalugg, too, but it can't really use or take special attacks, and it's even slower with much worse coverage. That said, I'm certainly not gonna push for Regice being ranked, I really just wanted an opinion.

 

[Hulavuta]

Omastar68 like I said though, you really haven't said what it is supposed to do. You said it can survive a few attacks and has good bulk and coverage but that doesn't really mean anything. Avalugg is not really a fair comparison at all because at least we know it's a defensive Pokemon, it's not really clear what Regice even does that other Pokemon cannot. That's what I was trying to get at.

Also, I wouldn't say getting 2HKOd by the major offensive threats is very impressive. A lot of Pokemon can survive a +0 return but that doesn't mean anything not to mention it cannot really do much damage back to Kangaskhan. Looking at the top ranked Pokemon, the only things it can really "handle" is maybe Thundurus and Landorus, but I think that's hardly worth it. Even looking at low-ranked Pokemon, it's not quite as good as any of them. I believe it should remain unranked.

 

[6tennis]

Also, what about Double-Edge? It OHKOs Regice.

 

[freekhoorn]

rip Feliburn
20XX-2015

In any case, what do you all think of Staraptor? Reckless-boosted Brave Bird or Double-Edge hits nearly everything like a truck, and it can function as both a wallbreaker, a revenge killer (with access to Final Gambit!), or a pivot. It has amazing coverage, what with Close Combat allowing it to demolish most Rock- and Steel-types that would wall it otherwise. The only problem I see is that it's outclassed in all of its roles. Most notably, Talonflame is an exceptional Flying-type that has an extremely high-power priority move, as well as U-turn, not to mention it also sometimes runs a stallbreaker set, et cetera. Also take a look at Landorus-T - a powerful Choice Scarf user that has great STAB moves and exceptional coverage. My point is that while Staraptor is good at a lot of things, it's not great at one particular thing. For this reason, I'd put it anywhere in the C rank. If this thread is still active, that is.

I think staraptor has some niche, especially with final gambit, which once screwed up my team cause i was unprepared for it, but, as you said, its outclassed in the other roles it has, and looking to the description of C, it doesnt really have multiple "notable niches", so i say C-.

 

[Omastar68]

Omastar68 like I said though, you really haven't said what it is supposed to do. You said it can survive a few attacks and has good bulk and coverage but that doesn't really mean anything. Avalugg is not really a fair comparison at all because at least we know it's a defensive Pokemon, it's not really clear what Regice even does that other Pokemon cannot. That's what I was trying to get at.

Also, I wouldn't say getting 2HKOd by the major offensive threats is very impressive. A lot of Pokemon can survive a +0 return but that doesn't mean anything not to mention it cannot really do much damage back to Kangaskhan. Looking at the top ranked Pokemon, the only things it can really "handle" is maybe Thundurus and Landorus, but I think that's hardly worth it. Even looking at low-ranked Pokemon, it's not quite as good as any of them. I believe it should remain unranked.

I thought it might be okay, but I understand. Regice is useful in some niche situations, but so are things like Heliolisk and Relicanth, and no one is going to use them in BS singles, at least not often. That said, I don't think the list of Pokemon viable in this meta game is so complete I had to grasp at straws to find something to add.

How do you feel about Alomomola? I think it should be at least C+.

Why are Chansey and Blissey(mainly Chansey) missing from here? I don't even like them that much, but even without the event-only move Wish, they can still use Healing Wish and Aromatherapy. I think that, with their bulk, means Chansey should be C+(maybe more, but I don't think it should be higher than Alomomola) and Blissey should be C-(certainly worse than Chansey, but viable nonetheless.)

 

[NOVED]

I thought it might be okay, but I understand. Regice is useful in some niche situations, but so are things like Heliolisk and Relicanth, and no one is going to use them in BS singles, at least not often. That said, I don't think the list of Pokemon viable in this meta game is so complete I had to grasp at straws to find something to add.

How do you feel about Alomomola? I think it should be at least C+.

Why are Chansey and Blissey(mainly Chansey) missing from here? I don't even like them that much, but even without the event-only move Wish, they can still use Healing Wish and Aromatherapy. I think that, with their bulk, means Chansey should be C+(maybe more, but I don't think it should be higher than Alomomola) and Blissey should be C-(certainly worse than Chansey, but viable nonetheless.)

We're just trying to ask you what Regice does. Maybe describe the set and moves it uses, what pokemon it beats, what kind of teams it works well on. You just havent explained it a lot besides showing calcs which doesnt do much.

We're not trying to dismiss Regice from being ranked, just trying to get a good explanation so we can form our own opinion of it. Im trying to make it clear as possible: We're not saying its good or bad, we just literally dont know what it does.

 

[Omastar68]

Okay, so what I was thinking was:

Regice@Assault Vest
Ability:Clear Body(crap on special attackers, but there's no other option)
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def/ 252 SpA
IVs(obviously you'd want the best, but this is what I have on my Regice, and it's very close to perfect: 31/0/31/31/30/x- x because I don't know, not because it doesn't matter, although, truthful, it doesn't matter that much.)
Nature: Calm(you can argue for Modest, but it's base 100 SpA vs. base 200 SpD w/ an Assault Vest, so it seems like a no-brainier)
Moves:
-Ice Beam(Frost Breath is completely inferior unless the opponent has SpD boosts, and Blizzard is only good in Hail or Gravity)Icy Wind won't let you outspeed much of anything unless you use it at least twice, and that's just not worth it.
-Thundebolt(I think Charge Beam may be better, and obviously Thunder with rain or gravity support)
-Focus Blast
-Not completely sure. I'm leaning towards Ancientpower, but my Regice has HP Grass, and Signal Beam is worth a mention.

What Regice does is somewhat dependent on the moves, but it mainly is for tanking special attack and hitting back relatively hard, as long as you either have a super effective move or the foe doesn't resist ice. Stealth Rock is largely absent in BS singles, and Garchomp is 4x weak to ice. Of course Garchomp semi-frequently runs Focus Sash, but I can't imagine that that's that common with it's bulk. Ancientpower won't kill Mega Charizard Y without some prior damage, or if you were baton passed some SpA boosts, but it'll leave a mark. Talonflame can't switch in on anything but Focus Blast, and some variants fail to OHKO, though you can always OHKO Talonflame with Ancientpower(or Thunderbolt, but you should use Ancientpower in this situation for a chance to get some boosts.) Regice has a decent chance to 2HKO Rotom-W with Ancientpower(70 accuracy isn't good), and a very good chance to 2HKO with HP Grass, both moves assuming no prior damage. Salamence isn't getting past you either. This set also loves Screens, if you can get them up. Unboosted Mega Lopunny can't OHKO through Reflact, even if there are rocks on your side. Celebi is another Pokemon that somehow missed getting ranked, and it's no threat-even if your AV gets knocked off. Dragonite, particularly with Fire Blast instead of Fire Punch, fears you. You should T-bolt first, though, to break Multiscale without activating(possible) Weakness Policy. Hydreigon, Quagsire, Volcarona(sometimes), Tangrowth(again, not ranked), Bisharp, Ferrothorn(again, not always), other Regice with a different item that's not Choice Specs, Haxorus, Alomomola, Cofagrigus, and I'm sure others, can't switch in, and may lose anyways, depending on their moves and stuff. Sorry for the wall of text, but I felt I had some explaining to do. I lied earlier-I'd love for this thing to be ranked, even a D, and I think it has a shot.

 

[6tennis]

Celebi is another Pokemon that somehow missed getting ranked,

...

 

[Benzi]

Why is Mandibuzz A- by the way? I like the bird, but I can't reason why it would be so high. What moveset justifies that rank?

 

[NOVED]

Why is Mandibuzz A- by the way? I like the bird, but I can't reason why it would be so high. What moveset justifies that rank?

It should be a lot lower. These rankings are in desperate need of a revamp.

 

[6tennis]

It should be a lot lower. These rankings are in desperate need of a revamp.

Who can revamp this thread? Feliburn is out, so can the OP be touched?

 

[Omastar68]

Shouldn't Zoroark be ranked? I'd think it deserves at least a C+, considering it's ability, good offensive stats and wide move pool. Machamp, Conkeldurr, and Virizion are unranked(yet Scrafty and Cobalion are on here...)

 

[cant say]

This thread is super outdated (last edited in July) and keeps getting necro-bumped with "why isn't this ranked?"

I'm going to lock this, we'll have a singles viability ranks thread 2.0 up very soon!

Thanks very much to Feliburn for the work he put into this. It'll serve as a great starting base for next one!