Resource National Dex Monotype Viability Rankings [Post-NDMPL]

[revolverhenry]

(Water) -> C While "Urh Dur Webs" is quite definitely far from a valid argument when defending the competitive prowess of a particular mon, Araquanid shines in plenty other aspects besides grating webs as is; with a wonderful ability in Water Bubble, Araquanid not only obtains a resistance against fire types move, redundant as it may be, but also an Adaptability boost in any Water moves it may use, such as Liquidation, Scald and, of course, a one time nuke in the form of a Hydro Vortex hard to survive to any but the bulkiest of mons. That, on top of a rather versatile support movepool with moves such as Mirror Coat, Magic Coat, Aqua Ring and the aforementioned webs, makes it so Araquanid can serve a variety of purposes on a team, such as a suicide lead with sash and webs, a Specially Defensive tank with the ability of dropping nuclear nukes with Waterium Z or a massively powerful wallbreaker with Choice Band. While undeniably niche and perhaps not as consistent as other options, Araquanid has served me well in plenty of structures, web based or not, and I personally believe that it has more of a consistent niche than most of the other options in D.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldexmonotype-1975583866 - A more than excellent showing of Araquanid's strengths, such as his winning lead match up against common fire staple Torkoal thanks to Magic Coat and surprising striking power with his Liquidations, opening remarkable holes on the opposing team's defenses. To top it all, Araquanid is able to stand his own against Volcanion, keeping webs in the game and eventually allowing its team to win the game thanks to the crucial speed drop against Charizard X, Ogerpon-H and Iron Moth
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldexmonotype-1975554004 - Sweet, short and straight to the point, Araquanid shows yet againt its wonderful utility, bouncing Gastrodon's hazards with Magic Coat and taking advantage of the switches it forces by laying webs, and surprising lack of passivity by OHKOing a Garchomp while it was trying to set up.

-> A Degenerate win condition in any water composition you might imagine, rain or not, with the Acid Armor + Take Heart, pretty much unwallable and completely immune to status, besides being able to snowball at an almost worrying rate if positioned correctly, which is really not that complex taking into account Manaphy's natural excellent bulk and wonderful defensive typing in pure Water. Other sets, such as a Scarfed set or the classic Tail Glow nuke dropper wall breaker, still have plenty of merit and, while in my opinion overshadowed by the AA+TH one, can still be used to great effect.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldexmonotype-1975809568 - A Replay vs Screens Fire where Manaphy takes advantage of Rotom-H's passivity to set up, becoming basically unkillable in the process; while undeniably in possession of the type advantage, Manaphy shows off its not too shabby bulk by, with only three boosts to its special defense, taking Volcarona and Iron Month's hit like a champ and proceeding to win the game by forfeit.

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldexmonotype-1975549211 - A replay that serves as evidence for both Araquanid's utility in web and crazy power in its ability to almost OHKO a defensive Scizor and Manaphy's impressive resilience and game winning bulk by surviving a Vikavolt's discharge and revenge killing it in return. Excuse the horrid plays on my part throughout the match, though

(Bug) -> A When regarding Bug, Vikavolt is a versatile wallbreaker and pivot with a handy Ground immunity and Electric resistance that, with sets ranging from Specs, to Assault Vest to Heavy Duty Boots with Roost for longevity, helps a ton in match ups such as Electric, Water, Ground and Flying in ways that Galvantula cannot, making up its abysmal speed with almost unbelievable fire power and decent bulk (two areas in which Galvantula is sorely lacking). While it doesn't win any of the aforementioned matchups, it is probably the best helper Bug could ask for in any of them, helping heavy hitters such as Volcarona, Scizor and Kleavor position themselves to hit harder in more effective ways.

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldexmonotype-1969114035 - While not long lasting inside the game's context, this replay shows Vikavolt's ability to force switches, resist electric hits that no other mon in bug can tank comfortably and jawdropping power through its ability to 2HKO a Thundurus Therian while not even suffering a scratch from its powerful electric attacks.

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/...-1977063198-8w198vf93hdu5cn6rtkh01krc33wy6zpw
- Utmost impressive showing of Vikavolt in the electric match up; the only line of defense against Regieleki's terrifying onslaught of Rising Voltages, Vikavolt tanks and pivots its way through the game, dealing incredibly imporant chip to the Rotom W and, together with invaluable Kleavor, dealing the Coúp de Grace to the biggest nails in the shoddy coffin for bug in this god forsaken match up; Zapdos and Regieleki

 

[Saltyape]

Is Walking Wake banned because I don’t see it on the banlist but it isn’t on the water or dragon vr list. Also I don’t see ogerpon wellspring on the water vr.

 

[Neko]

Is Walking Wake banned because I don’t see it on the banlist but it isn’t on the water or dragon vr list. Also I don’t see ogerpon wellspring on the water vr.

this is a bug, I'll fix it
Thanks for notifying me

 

[AzsaZazsa]

Alrighty! I spent the majority of the past two days playing around on the ladder with Fairy after taking a huge break from Monotype in Gen 9 due to the new mons killing a lot of the fun for me. Really glad to see things have mellowed out. Here are my thoughts on the meta having used any Fairy I could reasonably slot. Made it to 1500 on my main using some of these, will post my team as a sample soon.

A -> A+ / S
Honestly, I've yet to come across a Fairy team without this guy, and for good reason. I use him on every one of mine. Fairy tailors highly to HO which means Klefki is a must-have with a combo of Prankster screens and Spikes. You're almost guaranteed to get off both screens since very few things OHKO an HP+Def Klefki through the relevant screen, and Prankster allows you to set that screen before you get hit. Prankster Thunder Wave can be used to cripple a lot of the meta as well, and is valuable speed control. Defog and Foul Play are great utility as well.

What holds Klefki back is a combo of Taunt and 4MSS. You want both screens, you want Thunder Wave, and there are three moves that all fight for that last spot. I've found Spikes can be a bit tough to pull off for Fairy, but Foul Play is amazing and although I usually run Defog, I often run into "I would be winning if I had Foul Play" situations since Klefki is easy to set up on for Electric types. The issue of Electric is partially solved by pairing with though, since when the opponent sets their terrain they're risking a sweep from it the second goes down.

That being said, I still consider him to be one of the most integral parts of a Fairy team. He pairs amazingly with the fast powerful threats of the type, and Thunder Wave lets you very easily run without while still being near guaranteed the speed advantage. becomes a near-unbreakable wall for 6 turns depending on the type matchup, and especially against a special attacker can set up Calm Mind with very little danger since even a crit typically can't kill. can also worry less about the loss of bulk after Mega Evolving, and is usually a pretty easy switch directly out of Klefki. can capitalize on its deceivingly solid bulk behind the safety of the screens, and live hits from Pokemon like and kill, even after Disguise breaks.

C -> D / UR
Contrasting , I've yet to come across a Fairy team WITH this guy. I toyed around with him on the ladder and he was very consistently deadweight, and is really hard to justify slotting over the mons that do Tinkaton's job but way more effectively. The cuteness factor can't save it from being sub-mediocre. I'm actually unsure why it's ranked to begin with. If somebody could give me information I might be missing I'd appreciate it, but as far as I'm concerned it's basically impossible to run him above like 1300 ELO without coping with your wasted team slot.

D -> C
This is probably the weak link on this list since it's pretty inconsequential in general, but if you have a personal disdain for Klefki he's a great alternative with Parting Shot for great pivoting, and can be better than Klefki in very specific circumstances. I wouldn't run him, but I understand why someone would and I think he's lower than he should be here. He also packs a punch and can catch an unprepared team off guard as such.

C -> UR
Stick to Ice, Ninetales-A, because you're nearly unusable on Fairy. With so few variation on Fairy teams it can be really hard to use Ninetales, even given its speed and Aurora Veil, since every team that's making it anywhere has Diancie-Mega and more than one quad-weakness to Steel is pushing it on the ladder. Especially since as a lead it's pretty hit or miss, with the main lead for half of the types directly countering it. especially underspeeds even at max Speed investment to set Sand and sends you into either a forced switch or desperado under the threat of Stone Edge, and since a lot of Fairies really can't handle that without the screens that Ninetales is supposed to set that becomes a problem really quickly. I'd suggest D-tier if it weren't for DLC2 bringing in even more reasons to avoid this mon with and all posing a threat.

UR -> D
A decently potent wallbreaker and can even be a sorta 2.0 with the buff of Calm Mind it got in Gen 9. Recovery being limited to Wish + Protect unfortunately holds Sylveon back a lot though, and basically means it has to choose between having Mystical Fire or Calm Mind (both of which are very necessary) so I think D-tier is more appropriate. Either way I think untiered isn't really fair when STAB Pixilate Hyper Voice can tear through teams that don't resist it, and it can even double as a wish passer in some situations.

UR -> C
With parading around as a Dragon check to Fairy, I think it's time we re-establish who's boss here. It also has the fun side-job of walling , though that's less valuable here since a few Fairies have that covered. Specs boosted Moonblast and Surf are very helpful, and Psychic Noise completely shuts down as well as being a 2HKO. The reliance on Specs to hit its targets hard enough can be an issue, along with the subpar Speed tier, but it comes in use a lot in the current meta in my experience. Very likely gonna hold a spot on my main ladder team for now. A world where Primarina gets a good ability is one I dream of frequently, but even without one, it's a great tool in Fairy's arsenal.

B -> A-
Everyone meet Junior! A staple of both of its types since release, and with good reason. One of the best mons for cleanup in the type and ends up being a powerhouse in nearly every game it plays. Valiant has outclassed it a bit, but STAB Shadow Sneak at +2 is gonna hit hard in any situation, and with Fairy starving for good physical attackers (that aren't too good, ) it's still a mainstay despite Valiant.

 

[Neko]

VR update post MWP (sans the tiebreaks) is up!

->B I know Greninja exists but as a mega evolution for mono dark teams I believe this might be the best. The problem with Mega Tyranitar is that A it's always at risk of being Killed by a fighting coverage and B unlike mono rock Tyrantair's sand stream doesn't benefit the team infect it hinders the team since you have to consider sandstorm damage potentially putting your teammates in potential Ko range of certain moves. mega Houndom while fire coverage against bug types struggles to fit on teams especially since it makes moats dark teams more weak to ground. I'm not mentioning mega Absol since that mon is to frail and doesn't have a secondary typing to bring to the table. Mean while with mega sharpedo it has good water coverage with bonus stab on biting moves like crunch, ice fang and even psychic fangs thanks to strong jaw giving strong coverage against threats like Garchomp, Toxapex and even mega Altaria. sharpedo also benefits from the presence of alolan Muk protecting it from grass types.

The issue with sharpedo is that Ice Coverage is usually done better by Weavile, while breaking Toxapex is done by Hydrei/Goltres. Currently denied, but maybe if there's a time where one can fit M.Shark on a team without losing too much (note that M.Ttar shines in HO teams, while balance teams will almost always use M.Sab, so) its ranking can be revisited

(Water) -> C

yea

-> A

yes

(Bug) -> A

eeh, the point of bug is go brr and not live too long. Galvantula's speed tier edges Vika out in this case. Aside from the elec matchup, Vika is outshined by the spooder

A -> A+ / S

yea

C -> D / UR

D -> C

the council preferred these to stay as it is for now

C -> UR

Its highly likely that Alolan Ninetales teams are the teams with Tinkaton, but C and below ranks are mons that "you can use them, but it'll outshine the higher rankers on very specific interactions only"

UR -> D

its not really good, its lower bulk and lack of coverage is...scary

UR -> C

Directly competes with Fini aside from this breaks Toxapex while Fini has somewhat ok speed, we'll revisit it some other time. We did bumped it to being ranked in the mean time though (D)

B -> A-

anti-synergy with lele and Valiant and Bulu existing makes Mimi's rank unlikely to get higher, sorry.

Thank you for your submissions and see you when the VR updates again >:3

 

[TDLoriat]

Durant (BUG) D -> C
I believe that the utility and immediacy from Durant match up to be equivalent to something like Golisopod or Frosmoth.
Pros

• Durant has a stealth rock neutrality, allowing it to switch in and out to utilize its strong stabs and coverage more effectively.
• Hustle gives you budget gorilla tactics that can be completely negated by one turn of hone claws set up which also would give an attack stat of over 700 (252 evs on jolly)
• With scarf Durant outspeeds many competent threats such as greninja, iron boulder, roaring moon, and blacephalon at plus 1 (neutral natures on all)
• Durant has access to stab first impression and potential swarm boosts to combo off of its 112 defense stat
• Good coverage with ground, rock, dark, and fighting moves

Cons

• Overlaps with other better steel/bug types
• Hustle is luck reliant
• 58/112/48 bulk is not good in most standards
• Lacks access to u turn
• Does not mitigate bugs crippling fire weakness (unless youre lucky in which case "0 Atk Durant Stone Edge vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Blacephalon: 256-302 (103.6 - 122.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO")

Overall, I find Durant's prowess to outshine the likes of other D rank Pokémon, which have far more limited use cases or are outclassed much more thouroughly.

 

[revolverhenry]

First of all, and before I am to nominate anything, I'd like to point out that the VR update was all around absolutely fantastic and that the council and VR Team have been doing an tumost wonderful job for what has been already a whole year of the generation. While I might disagree regarding some key points, I wanted to get it out of the way before nominating a couple of mons for some types I've been playing as of late.

in Bug, from B to (at the very least) A -> I'm terribly sorry, but when I first saw the update I just couldn't believe this; Araquanid is an absolutely great mon in Bug, bringing forth to the table an absolutely wonderful ability that grants a fire resistance (which is something greatly appreciated in the context of bug) and incredibly powerful water attacks with very little investment, tremendous utility in the form of Magic and Mirror Coat, Webs, Toxic and even trapping if feeling cheeky (I do believe that Araq is by far the best web setter for Bug) and a mindbogglingly good special bulk that, together with mons such as Scizor, Forretress or even Buzzwole, create surprisingly decent defensive backbones for Bug teams. While I can evidently see that it isn't a perfect mon, the lack of reliable recovery besides Leftovers definitely hurts and its physical bulk is frankly far from the best, and I wouldn't go as far as to call it a S rank mon in the metagame, Araquanid in Bug plays a crucial role and is definitely leagues above mons akin to Armaldo or Galvantula.

in Bug, from B to A -> Another mon that I feel has been unfairly demoted; while the scarf sets are fairly worse than Kleavor's, they are still far from bad and create a still wonderful synergy with Volc's strengths; beyond that, though, Buzzwole, through its amazing physical bulk and peculiar defensive typing, is and interesting presence in Bug teams that can singlehandedly make some match ups, such as Steel, Dark, Rock with HArc, Fighting or Poison far more Bug favored, as sets with Substitute and Bulk Up absolutely destroy Stall and slower forms of Balance and its great coverage (Including STABs, Flying, Ground, Rock and Flying coverage) allows it to selectively decide which mons it wants to screw over with. Yet again, and while not a defining presence, Buzzwole is in my eyes a far batter mon than a B Rank would imply.

in Bug, from C to B -> My poor, poor boy; excuse me, but I don't any way see how Galvantula (a mon I've been falling off for more as of late) actually outshines this mon in any meaningful capacity. Galvantula is a mon that is simultaneously not as fast as it wants to be and not powerful enough to take advantage of 91% Thunders, I'm sorry to say, and its frailty usually means that it isn't as good in the Ground, Water and Flying match ups as one might initially think, as it dies to as light breeze and oftentimes misses important damage thresholds. Vikavolt, even when accounting for Bug's preferred playstyle of living little and dying young, has the bulk and outstanding power to always make important progress against any team it might match up against, be it by KOing things from attacks coming out of a 145 Special Attack or providing momentum though slow Volt Switches, as well as surviving some truly impressive hits (such as having a positive chance of withstanding Jolly Barraskewda's Liquidation under Rain and always being able to one to one M Swampert with fairly little defensive investment) and not allowing dangerous electrical attackers such a Regieleki, Zapdos, Tapu Koko and Thundurus Therian of making any meaningful progress against Bug teams while keeping itself healthy with Roost, giving the type an important defensive tool and space to breath in what would be otherwise some truly agonizing match ups against Flying and Electric. Through the use of perfectly functional coverage such as HP Ice, HP Ground, Energy Ball, Air Slash and Flash Cannon (these last two if feeling cheeky), Vikavolt is a thoroughly underrated mon that definitely grants Bug similarly useful benefits and tools akin to mons such as Ribombee (another mon I feel is a bit low but that I haven't used much, sadly) and Lokix.

in Flying, from B to A -> I'm somewhat flabbergasted that this mon is not higher, actually; while I'll admit is a little bit too passive, Mantine is probably the type's best, most consistent defogger and a greatly appreciated Water immunity that pretty much makes the Rain match up flying favored. Through proper investment and with the help of Haze and Roost, many match up sweepers are just invalidated by Mantine's existence, and seeing it this low in the VR seems kind of odd, given how common and generally well regarded it is.

I have a couple more nominations I'd like to make, but four already seems like big enough of a number and these are the ones I wanted to get the more out of my chest, I'd say. Yet again, feel free to disagree and argue whatever you might see as incorrect, there are some factors I might have missed and I'll admit some of my views are greatly biased.

 

[TheShowdownHoedown]

(Rock)

A+ -> S

There is no reason to EVER drop, under any circumstance, the mon on this type. It does way too much for Rock. Being a Psychic type that doesn't suck allows you much more room to outplay several different types, especially Fighting. Scarf outspeeding several dangerous things like Sneasler/Meow/Eleki is invaluable and the SD sets, especially with RockZ, mop the floor with Poison and Tusk and help pressure Corv and other things, this mon is high key half the reason to use Rock rn and its VR placement should reflect that.



B -> A-

This guy is something I have unfairly slept on and I believe it brings Normal a lot of benefits that B rank doesn't reflect. Being a one time check to various things, especially Fightings, is good as as of recent I feel as if Staraptor often is too overencumbered with other things. Its also a super dangerous win condition especially as its 4th slot can be a mystery and Tera Starstorm even unboosted hits very hard, its also not hard to fit onto teams and it synergizes very well with Lopunny, raise this.

 

[DimLug]

What rank is for Grass? I can't imagine it's not good enough to be ranked, I would've guessed C or B.

 

[TheShowdownHoedown]

What rank is for Grass? I can't imagine it's not good enough to not be ranked, I would've guessed C or B.

is currently URd on Grass it seems, but I think this is silly as the niche it occupies is still there imo as it's a very good lure for Corv and also rips apart Poison no matter what bulky core it attempts to use, its almost like a physical version of NP Celebi, imo C rank is fitting

 

[boomp]

Heyyy NDM Fam I'm here to say a few things in the vr <3
C -> B on Dark
Overqwiliam might not seem like a strong pick, but it does allow the user in dark to ease certain matchups combine with Intimidate + forming a strong core with Mandibuzz and M Sab. It also allows it to potentially stop Iron Valiant and M Lop which Dark teams appreciates. Rather you run a defensive or SpD Set, I feel Overqwilliam Barb Barrage its way to B!


A to A+ on Steel
Honestly what sets this different from Exca is its speed tier and access to Ice Spinner. Its speed tier allows for it to potentially take out landorus Regardless if Treads is running scarf or not. Steel teams appreciates this, as this allows Hoodra to not have to tank a e power and retaliate back with Ice Beam. Treads also can Role compress with removing hazards which frees up a slot for corviknight to potentially to go for more of a Iron Defense set. I believe Treads Ice Spinner its Way to A+ !

Also i know this was b4 gouging was banned but is still there remove it whenever yall get the chance.
Lastly yall are doing great, keep it up it is most appreciated <3

 

[Neko]

New VR update because NDMPL done

Bug
Araquanid B->A: With double steel bug on the rise and Galvantula being so-so, Araquanid becomes the premier Sticky Web setter for Bug teams. Its great bulk + Mirror Coat also helps the type in a pinch.
Vikavolt C->B: Decent bulk, levitate, and longevity in Roost in exchange for Speed differentiates it from Galvantula, making it a notable option for Bug teams.

Dark
-> A+: Initial Ranking

Dragon
Mega Altaria S->A+: She's still good, but based on NDMPL usage she's not as vital as she was due to defensive walls like Archaludon and Hisuian Goodra being able to take Dragon STAB moves with ease, and its speed isn't really good anymore.
Mega Latias B->A: Thoroughly explored this NDMPL, she provides lots of flexibility for Dragon teams due to her unique defensive profile and wide coverage which lets her be a decent setup sweeper in the right conditions.

Fairy
Iron Valiant S->A+: Its good, but its not as meta-defining as the other S tiers in Fairy. Though its synergy with Tapu Koko makes it too good to be dropped, its still droppable if you really wanted to and the resulting Fairy team would still be ok.

Fighting
Keldeo B->A: What Vacuum Wave does to a horse. Also, its higher speedtier and status as a Special attacker makes it easier to slot in compared to the bear.
Urshifu-R A->B: With Keldeo on the rise, the Bear finds itself out of work.

Fire
C->B: Its ability to nuke boosted Kommo-o with Dazzling Gleam is pretty cool, aside from its ability to outspeed Mega Swampert under the rain with Choice Scarf.

Flying
A+->A: The reduced usage and its mediocre speed has caught up to it. Its still great, but consider Tornadus-T next time maybe?
A->A+: The speed, flexibility of moves to use, and cleaning potential makes Mega Aerodactyl really good right now. Also, its weaknesses are a bit more easier to account for due to its lack of very crippling weakness to rocks.

Ghost
B->A: Amazing mon that solves Water and Ground matchups that are annoying for Ghost to handle.
B->C: Gholdengo happened.
UR->D: It might have a niche nowadays due to Poltergeist and Encore and Shadow Sneak and Destiny Bond and...a lot of stuff actually.Just a bit hard to justify because Mega Sableye is op

Grass
C->B: Amazing Spinblocker and setup sweeper for Grass teams, though Brambleghast's utility holds it back from getting a higher ranking.
UR->C: We forgot.

Normal
C->D: Who? PorygonZ and Hisuian Zoroark and maaaybe Terapagos all outclass her on the special attacking niche.

Psychic
->A: Initial ranking.

Rock
A+->S: Its a must have on rock, solving lots of Rock's speed issues by just existing. Z-Moves also make its attack not as "weak" too.

Steel
Iron Treads A->A+: Ice Spinner dealing with Landorus and its generally higher speed offsets its relatively weak attacks, making it more used than Excadrill.

Water
Ogerpon-W A->A+: Excellet speedtier with a colorful movepool lets it pick and choose how to help water teams. For example, Superpower deals with Ferrothorn and Archaludon, Play Rough for Kommo-o, Encore for Raging Bolt. Also has Spikes and U-turn to murk defensive counterplay like Celebi :)

Thank you for your support once again and feel free to comment on these new changes or suggest stuff we might have overlooked.