Initial thoughts VR list. Haven't gotten to test much lately cause of irl business and ladder being kinda dead in my area, but this is what I compiled between earlier experience and theorycrafting; here's a key to tell you what experience I have with each of these mons:
Bold= Have used
Underline= Have faced
S Tiers
S
Dialga is a defensive staple with great offensive presence, one of the few things that can tank Kyogre Water Spout (at least when healthy), sets Rocks, tanky enough to potentially phase with Roar. Lack of recovery is only real downside.
Specs Water Spout go brr.
Kyogre is the one mon you absolutely have to account for in builder, and it can even potentially brute force through checks like Dialga with paralysis.
Water Spout doesn't go brr with
Palkia on the team. Strong STABs (especially with Lustrous Orb), great coverage like Fire Blast, Thunder and Focus Punch (yes, seriously), outspeeds most other Ubers- baseline for a good special attacker.
S-
With great Speed and power backed by Nasty Plot and a wide movepool, Nasty Plot
Mewtwo is the premier sweeper/cleaner. Have it slightly below the Big Three since its bulk is only okay, it can't slot Recover without cutting into offensive potential, and unlike the Big Three it takes a turn to really get going with Plot. Still really scary mid-late game; Specs is also possible but much more exploitable.
A Tiers
A+
Not quite as domineering as the four S tiers, but
Rayquaza is definitely a cut above the other A tiers. Dragon Dance or Swords Dance makes it a terrifying breaker, while Band set is a nightmare to switch into and lets it fully abuse Dragon STAB. Earthquake is great coverage, while Extreme Speed makes up for lacking coverage to prevent priority weakness. Rocks weakness does keep it from S rank, especially with its only decent bulk.
A
Kyogre may be the dominant weather setter, but
Groudon isn't exactly bad, either. It can set Rocks, sweep with SD and possible Substitute to block status or Rock Polish to outpace other Ubers, spread status with TWave or Lava Plume (?), and back up strong STAB with Stone Edge or Dragon Claw. Resisting Rocks don't hurt either. Groudon's good power and extensive versatility make it something not to be slept on.
Losing Boots, Brave Bird, and Toxic, you may be tempted to write off
Ho-Oh; that impression, however, betrays how annoying this thing can be in practice. Regenerator means Rocks aren't a death sentence, Sacred Fire is a pain to deal with if you lack a living Kyogre, and its SpD + recovery makes Ho-Oh arguably the tier's best special wall despite Stealth Rock. Ho-Oh pairs well with Groudon, covering each other's weaknesses bar Water, performing dual hazard duty and Drought powering up Sacred Fire.
A-
Dragon good=Fairy good, although most Fairies can't really cut it in an Ubers environment.
Clefable finds itself a role in the tier thanks to its good blend of utility, packing Rocks, Aromatherapy, Encore and most importantly Wish. I've already talked about how game-changing Wish can be in a tier where many top tiers lack recovery, and between its key immunity and Unaware to stop sweepers it can be a key glue mon. Its neutral bulk isn't the best, though, and it can be a bit passive at times.
In spite of its competition,
Garchomp is a rather solid offensive presence in the tier between its strong STAB combo and its rather crucial speed tier, making it a Dragon that can naturally outspeed Palkia; SD and STAB EQ mean it can also break Dialga more easily than its Dragon peers. Rocks and Flamethrower/Fire Blast even allow it to occasionally function as a decent setter in conjunction with Rough Skin.
With a rather limited pool of resistances to its fearsome STABs available,
Giratina-O is not the easiest attacker to switch into, especially with boosted STAB priority and Wisp or TWave to cripple switch ins. It can also slot Defog into that fourth slot if you have status covered, packing enough bulk to tank most non SE attacks. Main downside is it usually isn't running max speed, so you'll probably end up having to stomach more hits than other offensive mons.
I admit, I don't really get the hype around
Lugia; Multiscale is good, but hard to make consistent use of without Boots and risk of getting burned, on top of natural passivity and several common weaknesses. In fairness, it might just be because of how I build that I don't have much trouble with Lugia. With the right team, though, Lugia can still be a solid general wall thanks to its bulk, or potentially pull off a bulky CM set late-game (which it is limited to given 90 SpA). Generally works best on more defensive teams where it doesn't stack weaknesses as much.
Made a whole post about
Umbreon, so to keep it brief: Wish good, enough physical bulk to curb scary physical attackers, Foul Play for actual offensive presence, Yawn to force switches, and makes a rare Ghost resist. Umbreon shouldn't be your only defensive option, but it is a solid mon atm.
Wobbuffet is as annoying as ever; delete certain threats to your team, or create set-up opportunities for teammates. You'll probably only get one or two mons before going down, but that can be enough to win games. Only downside is it can't make much progress against most defensive mons, so you mainly want Wob on offensive teams.
B Tiers
B+
Cloyster has the option of either HO hazard lead or late game sweeper with Shell Smash, taking advantage of how good Ice is offensively in the tier. Sweeper set is dangerous once it gets going, but Cloyster does struggle a bit with set-up opportunities between Rocks weakness and bad special bulk.
Double duty on hazards (with Toxic Spikes for rare poison), and it has Volt Switch in a tier without many pivots. Bad special bulk does limit
Forretress a bit, with its physical bulk not being as impressive as you'd think without heavy investment.
Gastrodon is a pretty good Kyogre check, backed up with Scald and Clear Smog to prevent set-up. Its bulk is generally solid with only one weakness, although it can still be overwhelmed vs offense teams.
Probably the weakest cover legend, but great bulk and Pressure can make
Giratina a good defensive mon in conjunction with options like Wisp, Defog and Roar. It is also very passive, however, and Rest can be exploited easily by various sweepers.
Ludicolo benefits from how naturally good Kyogre is, as well as packing SE moves for most of the tier. Swift Swim can be an effective killer late game, but what really gets Ludi this high is bulky Rain Dish set: with proper investment, this thing can be surprisingly hard to take out without a SE move, with Leech Seed exploiting lack of recovery many Ubers experience to chip them down and Scald to cripple physical attackers. If you don't have a living Rayquaza, this thing is a straight up pain in Rain.
Being a decently bulky Dragon resist automatically gives
Skarmory some benefit (one of few mons that can somewhat handle BandQuaza), and dual hazard duty is great. Doesn't work out quite as well in practice, but still an okay physical wall.
B
Azelf is probably the best screen setter in the tier thanks to high Speed (
you're not wasting Mewtwo on screens) and great options in Taunt, U-turn, Stealth Rock and Explosion, making it key on certain HO builds.
Blissey may have lost some of its best tools, but it does have a niche in being able to stave off the Sinnoh trio defensively (sans Focus Punch Palkia) while providing Rocks support. Best fourth move is probably TWave for now, helping to support offensive teammates and giving it some use on offensive builds.
While not getting relocated to Ubers, Latios does have one key distinction over its Dragon brethren in its solid speed tier, allowing it to revenge kill other Dragons with Specs or Soul Dew. Main drawback is it doesn't pack the punch of other Dragons, with even Garchomp being stronger due to SD and better second STAB.
Smeargle is a pretty good suicide lead thanks to Spore + few Grass types. Is mainly exclusive to HO teams, but it's a solid pick for that style.
B-
Definitely the weakest Uber,
Blaziken is held back by its bad bulk and difficulty getting going, really only being good once Speed Boost kicks in and not being too strong without SD. It can potentially function with screens support, so partner Azelf or Abomasnow is pretty much mandatory.
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Ditto is Ditto. Copying Ubers is strong, but it doesn't seem to be too in demand atm.
If you are going to use Swift Swim, the Kanto fossils are probably your best options; Kabutops packs decent power with SD and outpaces all Swimmers bar the weaker Qwilfish and rare Knock Off, while Omastar has Shell Smash. The two can't break through defensive mons too well, so they're best saved for late game.
The other possible new tenant, Tail Glow is not something to be taken lightly. It can't really threaten anything pre-Boost, however, plus the tier's dedicated Kyogre checks also serve to get in Manaphy's way (bar Gastrodon), and Phy's mono Water typing means it's not really an optimal partner for Ogre. Probably best on HO.
C Tiers
C+
Dugtrio isn't nearly as good a trapper as Wob, but high speed and STAB EQ mean it can eliminate specific targets; can even pick off weakened Mewtwo or Gira with Sucker Punch. Barring Electric moves, though, it basically dies to everything.
Losing Boots is definitely a pain for
Shedinja, but Wonder Guard is just that good, completely shutting down Kyogre and non Shadow Ball Mewtwo among others. Even without SD, it can still spread Wisp, pick off weakened targets with Sneak and PP stall attacks like Ho-Oh's Sacred Fire with Protect. Reliance on hazard support is still a big issue, though.
Rain Dish do be annoying in combination with Tentacruel's high SpD, packing great utility between Scald, Knock Off and Rapid Spin. It does have to contend with its weaknesses and meh physical bulk, so it should have a physically durable partner.
Tyranitar is both strong and bulky under Sand, but it really can't measure up to its DPP days. No Pursuit, Sandstorm isn't permanent, Rocks aren't basically permanent with the Defog buff. Ttar is let down as a special wall by its lack of recovery, limited turns to be specially durable and difficulty switching into key special attackers Kyogre and Palkia, especially Focus Punch Palkia. What saves Ttar from being any lower is its potential on HO with Dragon Dance, sand bulk and potential screens letting it possibly get multiple boosts.
Weavile really got gimped by losing Triple Axel, Knock Off and Low Kick, but its Speed and Ice STAB can tear holes in the enemy under the right circumstances. Probably best with Band or Focus Sash, so make sure to pack hazard support if you use it outside of the lead slot.
C
Disrupting the weather duo and resisting their STABs definitely seems appealing, but
Abomasnow doesn't have the bulk to be a good switch in for those two, with even max SpD barely avoiding 2HKO from SpecsOgre Water Spout at max HP. What it does have is Aurora Veil, allowing it to serve HO teams while threatening many Ubers with Ice STAB and Grass STAB for Kyogre; you do need to predict carefully, though, since you can't switch into them directly.
F*cking
Moody.
F*cking Moody.
Losing Encore sucks, but Shuckle can still function as a lead between dual hazards, rare access to Toxic and Knock Off or Final Gambit depending on team style (balanced vs more offensive).
C-
Jirachi largely can't cut it in Ubers; its weaknesses are too relevant, it can be dead weight vs all Ubers but Lugia, its largely too weak to make progress, burn being best status hurts it even more, and it lost key tools in Iron Head and Trick. Its one real advantage is Healing Wish, as Jirachi is largely railroaded into a pure support mon. Meaning its best asset is taking itself out.
Fairy is good, but only Clef is really notably good. Togekiss gets a small nod because of Defog support and actually having recovery.
Water immunity means
Toxicroak isn't totally useless, even if it isn't too strong and can only set up vs Choice Kyogre. +2 LO Sucker can actually OHKO Mewtwo, though.
And that's everything. A bunch of subranks will probably shift once I can actually test them, but I do think most of the non-Ubers do possess at least a small niche in the tier. Feel free to bring up any you think I missed.
SD Luke cant outspeed or kill with priority either, imo this is the best pokemon in ubers by far, even more than the Sinnoh Legends, Kyogre or Lugia.
UR -> C+ or C
