Gen 4 DPP OU Viability Rankings V2

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M Dragon

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Zapdos should probably not be S rank. I think that the big DPP top 3 (Heatran + Tyranitar + Jirachi) are above them, as well as probably Rotom-A and Starmie.

I feel that Zapdos does not dominate the tier as much as those 3 mons, since it has a hard time beating defensive teams, especially with bliss or bulky ttar or bulky grounds like Swamp, and it has some trouble taking hits vs some offensive teams if sr is up. Yes, it is a huge threat, but it is some steps behind Heatran + Tyranitar + Jirachi

Starmie and Rotom-A are also some steps behind the top 3, but they are used in a lot of the teams nowadays. Maybe S-?

There is no way Breloom is A+. It is too much a hit or miss pokemon. It destroys unprepared teams, but vs prepared teams it can be nearly useless. Don't get me wrong, Breloom is great, but it is too inconsistent to be A+.

I would probably rise Lucario and Infernape to A+, since they are 2 mons that can easily destroy any team, and they have nearly no safe switchings as well, especially if hazards are up.

So I would rank them (S and A+);

Tyranitar / Heatran / Jirachi (S, the best DPP mons)
Starmie / Rotom-A (a bit worse than the top 3 but probably still S rank. Maybe S-?)
Zapdos (in a limbo between S and A+. I would probably rank it as A+ for the reasons I explained)
Dragonite / Lucario / Infernape (huge A+ threats with nearly no safe switchings that can open teams or sweep teams easily with little support)
Scizor (really scary late game sweeper in the late game, hard hitter in the midgame, with great priority and great bulky, definitely deserves A+ rank, the mon that used to be the DPP king)
Skarmory (a monster that walls half of the tier and sets up hazards which are huge in DPP)

Then the A ranked mons
 
I think there's enough to actually drop Rotom-A to A+. It's really good, but spin blocking is getting harder and harder. Starmie's using either offensive or drive sets which makes it annoying to face, even when using Tyranitar, making spins easy. The others are clearly above it (even Zapdos in my opinion).

As for Zapdos, I still think it's really up there. Strong enough to break through a lot of the defensive cores. It can't beat them all, but what can? So many of them get revealed midway or late in the game and can Roost you out (Tyranitar needs to watch out for SubRoost on the hazards stacking teams).

Starmie is right up there with the other three. LO is always the best and most dangerous set, though most I see are the bulkier ones now, which take advantage of those who never use CBTar.

I'm starting to think Hippowdon should be A+ too. It's so easy to get rocks up and stay alive. The SpD set is one of the best pivots in my opinion because so much can fall to 2HKO. Gengar, which I'm seeing a ton of always comes in predicted EQs (which is what bad players do) and think they can just whittle you down with Shadow Ball. Stall then it with Slack Off and they take LO recoil + SS. It never lets anybody stat up because you threaten the PHaze (whether it dies or not, sometimes you can't afford to let Gyarados DD). If you trained the opponent to attack directly, you get easy switches that way.
 
Breloom needs to stay in A+, it is not hit or miss at all. There is nothing that so easily and consistently threatens defensive teams while still giving you a buffer against dangerous offensive pokes like oh I don't know, Tyranitar's STABs... and the LO Aero that 6-0es everyone. Not to mention Mach Punch checks a fuckload of threatening guys, like DDtar, Emp, AgiliLuc, ScarfTran). Plus, a lot of offense falls back on Swampert as a glue for Zap/ScarfTran/Tar/etc and there's Loom's free entry. You're still effective against offense, just not as much as against slower dudes obviously. For the later gen guys, liken it to BW2/ORAS Landorus against offense, except Loom's a decent bit better. Against a bulky team it comes in so easily, it's SR resistant and heals in sand despite being affected by it. This is so big - you cannot rely on mostly passive damage to play around it like you do a lot of pokes, and you can't even revenge it with Scarftar reliably because of Mach. All its defensive checks have crippling issues - SR, Pursuit, and U-turn. None of them are sand immune either. The only exception to this is Aerial Ace/Impish Ice Fang Gliscor, but that's pretty niche and you still have to sac something to sleep before sending it in - plus, no Restalker is a good response to Loom. Please keep it in A+, he's one of a kind.

I agree that Scizor, Lucario and Infernape should be A+ (although I thought Ape already was, weird). Sciz because Scarf is amazing and bulky SD is the best sweeper, Luc is a terror whether you send him in early to open some holes or later when we all know what he does, Ape is self explanatory and that speed is so huge. It's part of why I think Gengar is super good rn. Speaking of, what do you guys think of Gar for A+? It's such a nightmare for both offense and stall but especially offense with that high speed and its scary strong LO attacks. It can also ruin bulky steel (Skarm Jira Zor Zong) + Bliss/Clef answers with Taunt/WoW. Yeah "scarftar pursuit" but Gar has the tools to beat it if the player is smart.

I personally think Zapdos is a tad better than Rotom-A, I think both should be at the top of A+. I think Zap has some arguments for being the lowest S rank but I'm content with it as the best A+ dude as well.

Heatran and Starmie definitely shouldn't drop lol, if people started using both of their LO sets again they'd shit themselves

Also Jirachee asked me to take these over (and make Gliscor A+ because Sand Veil is fucking stupid) so if you guys are ok with that I'll make a new thread
 
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