Welcome to the NU Lower Tier Niche Archive, a project iplaytennislol and I have been working on together. The scope of this thread is to provide a list of all the Pokemon in tiers below NU (excluding most LC) and describe whether they have a niche that warrants any potentially viable sets in NU over any Pokemon that might "outclass" them.
You are welcome to fight for or against any Pokemon on the list (potentially adding Pokemon to the list as well), but don't use "outclassed" as a justification for removing anything unless there is a Pokemon out there that will do everything that Pokemon can do better.This is NOT the Viability Rankings and we should be exploring any relevant avenue for these Pokemon.
Example: Prinplup has comparable bulk to Wartortle, but with Defog and Stealth Rock. However, Wartortle has Foresight and Rapid Spin so it has a notable set over Prinplup.
Butterfree has two potential abilities with Compound Eyes and Tinted Lens. Vivillon is faster than Butterfree and has Compound Eyes with Hurricane. Butterfree has nothing better than Vivillon here and is outclassed. Mothim is more powerful than Butterfree and has the same coverage with Tinted Lens so Butterfree is outclassed here as well.
Arbok, 2 cool abilities in intimidate and shed skin. Access to decent boosting move in coil. Priority in sucker punch. Weak to common psychic types. Access to aqua tail/eq to hit its common switch ins.
Ariados, One of the few sticky web users in the tier. Access to priority in sucker punch. outclassed my leavanny. Access to megahorn and toxic spikes seperates it from leavanny.
Armaldo, Bad typing, not a very reliable spinner. Outclassed by kabutops, sandslash. Priority in aqua jet. Spinner that beats Malamar and checks Normal-types.Fits well on Rain teams that struggle to reliably beat Grass-type Pokemon.
Articuno, 4x rocks weakness and annoying typing. Great offensively but cant take many hits. Access to freeze dry allows it to hit waters that resist its dual stab like Lanturn.
Aurorus, Huge threat. Access to hyper voice + refrigerate or blizzard + snow warning. Access to psychic which hits yama, access to Freeze-Dry to hit Water-types, access to earth power which hits fire and steel types. Can also run a nasty physical attacking set with moves such as Return, Stone Edge, and Earthquake. Also has access to Stealth Rock and Encore for a lead set. Scarf set beats weather based sweepers such as Ludicolo and Victreebel thanks to Snow Warning. Can also utilize a Rock Polish set to some degree of effectiveness.
Avalugg, Super defensive wall + rapid spinner. Weak to stealth rock. Can switch in and beat both tauros and archeops (unless stone edge, i believe its 2 hit ko'd after rocks). leaning towards yes because Kushalos crushed me with it.
Barbaracle, Fantastic sweeper with access to shell smash. Tough claws allows it to completely run through teams. Access to cross chop for Ferroseed and earthquake for lanturn. Return is a great middle ground that gets the tough claws boost. Return/Razor Shell/eq or cross chop beats the entire tier. Stone edge isnt necessary. Grass Knot allows it to get by bulky water types like Quagsire.
Basculin, Access to adaptability. Access to priority in aqua jet. Super frail but access to cool moves like superpower (hits bulky steels/normals), zen headbut(hits poison types) and crunch to hit psychics, Ice Beam for Grass-types.
Bastiodon, Access to soundproof which beats chatot effectively. Shuts down flying types. Access to stealth rock and roar. Incredibly slow and reliant on Metal Burst for damage. Typically Probopass fills this role better, unless Roar is absolutely necessary
Beartic, Incredibly lethal under rain because of access to swift swim. Priority in aqua jet. Coverage in superpower to hit steels and normals. Literally OHKO's or 2HKO's the entire tier with a Swords Dance up. Generally bad outside of rain.
Beheeyem, Access to analytic + decent coverage. Terrible speed but ok because of analytic + natural bulk. Effective Trick Room setter, can run a calm mind set; however, this is typically outclassed by other Psychic-types.
Bellossom, One of the few Physical attacking Chlorophyll Sweepers (although mostly outclassed by Sawsbuck), access to cool moves like Swords Dance, Leaf Blade, Drain Punch, and Facade, decent bulk gives it a surprising number of set up opportunities. Decent base Spdef. Stat paired with moves such as Synthesis, Sleep Powder and Stun Spore mean that Belossom can run a decent specially defensive set.
Bibarel, Access to simple and unaware. Terrible typing, weak to grass, fighting, electric. Access to stealth rock, super fang and thunder wave. Beats top mons in SD samurott, Fletchinder and CM psychics.
Carbink, Cool typing that allows it to take on normal and fire types. Access to stealth rock, dual screens, and explosion to function as a suicide lead. Can work as a trick room setter. Sky high defense stats, calm mind resttalk moonblast = ez wins
Carracosta,Access to shell smash and priority in aqua jet. Really good flying resist, good fire resist, good normal resist. Access to stealth rock.
Chatot, Access to chatter which always confuses. Access to boomburst. Terrible defenses. Access to nasty plot, encore, heat wave, and u-turn.
Clefairy, defensive fairy with good support options like stealth rock, encore, t-wave, knock off, as well as reliable recovery, magic guard, and a boosting move in CM.
Corsola,Good typing which gives it a Fire-, Normal-, and Flying-type resists. Stealth Rock + Recovery + Regenerator give it an ok defensive niche.
Cottonee, Solid defensive typing backed by Eviolite despite poor bulk. Prankster + great utility moves such as Light Screen, Reflect, Memento, Leech Seed, Taunt, Tailwind, and Encore.
Croconaw, Access to dragon dance, swords dance and priority in aqua jet. Access to ice punch for coverage. Can run evio to maximize bulk and set up opportunites.
Dedenne, Access to nuzzle. Outclassed offensively by other electric types like Rotom, Raichu etc. with a great speed tier and the ability cheek pouch, dedenne can effectively stall out many Pokemon in the tier with a combination of Substitute+Toxic and a Sitrus Berry.
Delibird, Access to spikes + destiny bond + rapid spin + defog. Terrible typing but acts as a good suicide lead. Hustle + Choice Band leads to unreliable albeit insane damage output.
Dewgong, Access to thick fat. Poor typing, weak to grass, fighting, electric. Access to disable, encore, icy wind, perish song. Solid ice resist.
Ditto,Best revenge killer in the tier with Imposter. Can really only run choice scarf.
Dodrio, Powerful normal and flying attacker. Good speed and isnt too frail. Access to knock off, baton pass, and more immediate power allows it to not be entirely outclassed by Swellow.
Dragonair, Access to extreme speed + dragon dance. Eviolite gives it decent oppritunities to set up. Gets aqua tail to hit bulky ground and rock types. Marvel Scale has incredible synergy with resttalk, making dragonair a great booster with Dragon Dance and Dragon tail. Good special move pool with Draco Meteor, Fire Blast, and Surf.
Drifblim, Access to unburden. Access to endure, acrobatics, defog, destiny bond, will-o-wisp memento, tailwind. Ability to go physical or mixed.blocks rapid spin.
Dunsparce, Access to serene grace body slam, rock slide. Access to coil and roost which no other Normal-type gets.
Duosion, Outclassed by mostly Mesprit, Uxie, Musharna. However, magic guard and sky high Special Attack makes it on the edge of viable. If hazard control is really difficult to fit on your team Duosion is a really solid option as it doesn't care about rocks, spikes, tspikes, and other residual damage.
Dusclops, Incredibly bulky and reliable spin blocker. Access to will-o-wisp, rest talk, destiny bond, priority in shadow sneak. Evio makes it a reliable spin blocker.
Dusknoir, Access to shadow sneak, power up punch, earthquake, pursuit, and will-o-wisp. Solid defenses.
Dustox, Access to shield dust and unique secondary Poison-typing, which grants it an immunity to Toxic, retains the x4 fighting resistance, but having only a x2 weakness to Rocks, separates it from other quiver dancers. Iron Defense synergizes with the Quiver Dance set for all around bulk.
Eelektrik, Cool ability allows it to have no weaknesses. Cool coverage. Very slow and weak both defensively and offensively.
Electabuzz, Fast and bulky with Eviolite. Immunity to sleep with Vital Spirit. Focus Blast is good coverage.
Electrode, Fastest mon in the tier besides Ninjask. Aftermath is a really cool ability, runs both a Choice Specs and Weather support set effectively with Access to taunt, signal beam, light screen, rain dance, and explosion. Weak defensively.
Flareon, Strongest physical fire type. Access to flash fire and guts. Access to baton pass. Access to superpower to hit rock types, facade, and priority in quick attack.
Floatzel, Access to bulk up + baton pass. Can also go fully special with access to hydro pump and ice beam. Access to taunt. Great ability in water veil.
Fraxure, Access to dragon dance. Access to eviolite which increases set up opportunities. Access to low kick and superpower to hit bulky steels or rocks. Aqua tail is a cool option too.
Frogadier,Awesome ability in protean. Access to hydro pump, dark pulse, gunk shot, rock slide, low kick, ice beam etc. Only toxic spiker in the tier that doesnt have Xatu comin in on it anticipating t-spikes. Access to taunt + good speed tier allows it to stop opposing entry hazards and defogs
Furfrou, Access to fur coat which halves physical attacks. Access to sucker punch, u-turn, thunder wave, and cotton guard.
Gabite, Access to stealth rock, neat typing which allows it decent bulk w/ eviolite. Rough Skin is also a great ability for residual damge on Physical Attackers. Access to fire blast to smack Ferroseed.
Girafarig, Access to nasty plot + baton pass. Cool typing allows it to be the only psychic type in the tier immune to ghost. sap sipper makes a good Grass-type immunuity.
Gogoat, Incredibly cool pokemon because of its natural bulk, ability in sap sipper, movepool containing rock slide, earthquake, bulk up. Horn Leech and Milk Drink replenish HP consistently.
Golduck, Only thing that stands out is its ability cloud nine. I guess it could function to beat weather because life orb ice beam beats sun and hp grass can handle rain. Calm Mind is a good set up option.
Golem, Access to stealth rock + explosion. Access to sturdy allows it to be a good suicide lead with custap berry. Strong offensive presence with Earthquake + Stone Edge STAB, sucker punch, and Explosion.
Gourgeist, Cool typing allows it to resist water, electric etc and acts as a neat spin blocker. Access to will-o-wisp, leech seed, rock slide to hit fire, flying and ice types. Has many forms which heighten certain stats. Priority in Shadow Sneak, and reliable recovery in Synthesis.
Grumpig,insane spdef stat with thick fat makes it a great blanket special fire and ice type check, can afford to run assault vest. Access to thunder wave, focus blast, signal beam, calm mind, taunt. Access to thick fat which maximizes its set up oppritunities.
Heatmor, Access to flash fire, priority in sucker punch, giga drain. Poor speed however it has a niche over Ninetales because of giga drain (allows recovery), knock off, and sucker punch.
Huntail, Access to shell smash + sucker punch + baton pass. Arguably does a better job than Gorebyss because of its access to priority.
Hypno, Access to wish, seismic toss. Can act as a decent cleric. Insomnia is a neat ability. Generally outclassed by audino for Wish Passing. access to belly drum zen headbutt and drain punch.
Illumise, Access to tailwind, rain dance, sunny day, u-turn, encore. Acts as a great pivot on weather teams.
Jumpluff, Access to sleep powder + swords dance. Cotton guard is also a really neat option. Also has access to synthesis. Able to run acrobatics without a huge drawback from not having an item.
Kadabra, Access to magic guard seperates it from other psychic types. great speed and special attack but terrible defenses which are mitigated by running focus sash. Also access to Encore and Thunder Wave to stop set-up sweepers.
Kingler, Very high attack stat. Access to agility and swords dance which allows it to break balance and offense. Knock off and superpower allow it to decimate teams.
Klang, Bulky set with eviolite can allow Klang more set up oppritunites than Klinklang. Rest talk is neat too.
Kricketune, Another cool sticky web user. Access to taunt and endeavor which seperates it from other sticky web users.
Krokorok, Hard check to rotom barring will-o-wisp. It can pursuit trap as well. Access to knock off. Has a cool ability in moxie. Access to stealth rock.
Lairon, Access to stealth rock, metal burst, sturdy (which allows it to run custap berry, allowing it to be a good suicide lead).
Lampent, Hard walls Pyroar because they dont run dark pulse. Access to flash fire. Energy ball is a neat coverage move. Access to trick room which is cool.
Lapras, Access to freeze dry which allows it to beat bulky waters. Access to hydration which is cool when paired with rain dance. Shell armor is cool too.
Leafeon, Great speed, attack and defense. Solid in and out of sun. Limited coverage makes it not higher than it is in viability rankings. Knock off and natural gift psychic, fire are the only cool things it gets. X-scissor i guess is decent if you are paranoid about Malamar.
Leavanny, Sticky web user with access to magic coat. This allows it to block oppposing hazards and taunt. Knock off and SD allow it to get past Xatu.
Lickilicky, Bulky wish passer and cleric. Oblivious seperates it from Audino. Access to knock off. more raw bulk than regular audino.only normal type with access to explosion, ability to run a solid choice band or swords dance set.
Linoone Belly drum sweeper and choice band are the only notable sets. Extreeme speed is really the only reason to use this mon. Access to seed bomb for Rhydon and Quagsire. Access to shadow claw for Ghost types. Access to rock smash for Probopass.
Lumineon, Access to defog without having a rocks weakness. Storm drain is neat as it can freely switch in to scalds and other water moves. Tailwind can support teammates vs SmashPass or Weather teams. U-turn allows it momentum.
Lunatone, Access to stealth rock. Reliable recovery in moonlight. Cool fire resist, normal resist, and flying resist.
Luxray,Intimidate mixed pivot with Volt Switch and Superpower. Guts set is outclassed by every other Guts user.
Machoke, Access to no guard dynamic punch, knock off, bullet punch, elemental punches, and stone edge. Dynamic punch separates itself from superior fighting types like Gallade and Sawk. Bulky with Eviolite.
Magcargo, Flying, grass, fire and normal resist with access to recovery. Access to stealth rock. Hard walls every varient of Fletchinder barring natural gift ground.
Magmar, Generally outclassed my Magmortar in every way. Only argument for it is eviolite belly drum because of the increased bulk.faster than magmortar.
Marill, Decent choice for stall teams looking for a lock down answer to offensive Grass-types. Rare Fairy-typing and Perish Song is cool. water-fairy is a really niche typing that allows marill to check powerful threats such as Pinsir.
Marowak, Powerful wall breaker with Thick Club coupled with great coverage options like Stone Edge, Fire Punch, and Knock Off.
Masquerain, Only Quiver Pass user in the tier with cool options like Sticky Web + Intimidate.
Meganium, Very cool offensive Grass-type with access to Swords Dance + Earthquake + natural bulk.
Meowstic-M, Prankster Reflect, Light Screen, Thunder Wave, Trick, and Heal Bell.
Meowstic-F, access to competitive and a very nice speed tier, solid coverage options, such as Thunderbolt and Energy Ball.
Metang, Unique Steel/Psychic-typing with notable Attack stat, Stealth Rock, awesome bulk, Psych Up, and priority in Bullet Punch. Cool Normal-type switch in.
Mightyena, Slow, but access to Fire Fang, STAB Sucker Punch, Taunt, Play Rough to hit fighting types, and Moxie.
Misdreavus, Bulky Spin blocker with access to a bunch of utility moves like Will-O-Wisp, Taunt, Pain Split, Destiny Bond, and Thunder Wave. run hex over shadow ball if u use this.
Monferno, Ability to run offensive and defensive sets. Offensively, Fire/Fighting is hard to switch into. Defensively, it has a cool typing that resists Steel-, Fire-, Dark-, and Ice-types among others with access to Slack Off and Will-o-wisp. Also has access to Stealth Rock.
Mothim, best Bug/Flying-type Tinted Lens attacker. Quiver Dance and Energy Ball/Giga Drain are cool with Bug/Flying-type STABs.
Mr. Mime, Great Psychic/Fairy-typing with amazing coverage in Focus Blast. Options like Healing Wish, Nasty Plot, and Trick go great too.
Murkrow Great typing defensively and offensively. Prankster and a slew of support moves, such as Roost, Feather Dance, Mean Look, Perish Song, Taunt, Haze, Tailwind, and Whirlwind are great assets. Offensively it gets Brave Bird, Sucker Punch, Calm Mind, and Dark Pulse.
Ninetales, Nasty Plot sweeper with immunity to Fire-type attacks. Psyshock hits Hariyama, Energy Ball hits Rock-types.
Ninjask, Fastest mon in the tier. Choice Banded hurts while gaining momentum with U-turn. Access to Swords Dance + Baton Pass.
Noctowl, Specially bulky with access to Defog, Heat Wave, Roost, Insomnia for Sleep Powders, Night Shade, and U-turn.
Octillery, Good Trick Room abuser with Water Spout and Fire Blast. Otherwise outclassed by Samurott.
Palpitoad, OK bulk with Eviolite, nice Water immunity, Stealth Rock, and good Water/Ground-typing with only one weakness (excluding Freeze Dry).
Parasect, poor typing, but has fair bulk. Water-type immunity with Dry Skin and access to Spore. Aromatherapy, Knock Off, and Swords Dance are other options.
Pawniard, Bulkiest Defiant user in the tier. Strong STAB Sucker Punch, STAB Knock Off, STAB Pursuit, and Steel-type coverage with Iron Head. Notable access to Swords Dance and even Stealth Rock.
Pelipper, Bulky Defog user with Roost, Scald, U-turn, and even Knock Off. Can go Specially Defensive and even Offensive with Hurricane.
Persian, Fake Out Physical set is mostly outclassed by Kangaskhan. Fast Nasty Plot set has cool coverage options like Water Pulse, Icy Wind, Shock Wave, and Technician boosted Hidden Powers.
Pignite, Powerful coverage with Flare Blitz, Superpower, Wild Charge, and Sucker Punch. Thick Fat and Eviolite bulk give it a couple switch in opportunities.
Pikachu, Access to the rare Extremespeed coupled with a great Attack stat backing it up. Light Ball lets Pikachu hit crazy hard with its STABs and coverage options like Knock Off and Grass Knot.
Piloswine, Two cool abilities in Thick Fat and Oblivious. Thick Fat gives it an Ice-type resistance and one less weakness in Fire-types. Oblivious prevents Taunts to guarantee Stealth Rock. Ice-type STAB beats Xatu switch ins, strong Ground-type STAB with Earthquake, and even priority with Ice Shard. Notable Attack stat and great Eviolite bulk.
Politoed, decent defensive movepool with moves like encore, perish song, and haze. Scald and Water Absorb are also great assets. can also go offensive and maintain defensive presence with assault vest
Poliwrath, Great defensive typing and also usable offensively. Water Absorb and Circle Throw are great defensive tools. Hydro Pump, Focus Blast, Ice Beam, and especially Vacuum Wave are great assets offensively.
Probopass, Very bulky Steel-type with access to a ton of utility moves. Stealth Rock, Thunder Wave, Magic Coat, Volt Switch, and even Taunt. Sturdy makes Probopass a reliable Stealth Rock setter, and Magnet Pull can trap Steel-types like Ferroseed and Klinklang and kill with Hidden Power Fire and Earth Power, respectively.
Pupitar,shed skin and dragon dance give pupitar a solid niche as a bulky boosting attacker that don't give no fucks bout ur status.
Purugly, Normal-type with Defiant that outspeeds Pokemon with base 110 Speed. Knock Off and U-turn are great offensively too.
Quilladin, bulky Grass-type with Eviolite. Access to Spikes, Synthesis, and Leech Seed with some cool immunities to Sludge Bomb, Focus Blast, and others because of Bulletproof.
Raichu, Fast Electric-type with great coverage for most Ground-types in the tier with Surf and Grass Knot. Nasty Plot is good for boosting and Volt Switch grabs momentum can find setup opportunities with encore. Speed ties with Archeops and Tauros.
Rampardos, Mold Breaker destroys Sturdy Crustle and reliably gets up Stealth Rock against Magic Bounce users. Endeavor pairs well with a Focus Sash. Extremely high Attack stat with great coverage, such as Fire Punch, Mold Breaker Earthquake, and Zen Headbutt. choice scarf can remedy its low base speed.
Rapidash, Very fast offensive, physical Fire-type. Immunity to Fire-type attacks with Flash Fire, strong Flare Blitz, coverage to hit resists with Wild Charge an Drill Run, and even Will-O-Wisp to punish bulkier switch ins. Morning Sun gives it a reliable form of Recovery. can use baton pass to gain momentum on predicted switch ins.
Raticate, Guts user with U-turn and Sucker Punch and average speed with base 97.Hustle band hits even harder than guts.
Regice, Specially Bulky Ice-type. Cool coverage to go with its Ice-type STAB with Thunderbolt and Focus Blast.
Regigigas, Very bulky with moves like Thunder Wave and Substitute that can stall out turns of Slow Start. Specially based sets can run STAB Nature Power and coverage moves such as Earth Power and Thunderbolt.
Relicanth, Very bulky Rock-type with a unique ability in Rock Head. Choice Banded sets can abuse a powerful Head Smash and bulky Stealth Rock setting sets appreciate a strong STAB. Gets great coverage with Head Smash + Earthquake.
Roselia, very specially bulky Grass-type. Access to Natural Cure, Spikes, Toxic Spikes, Synthesis, Leech Seed, and Sleep Powder. Offensive sets can pressure Xatu switch ins.
Rotom-Frost, Very good offensive typing. Volt Switch and Trick mess with the opponent. Thunderbolt and Blizzard are hard to switch into. Levitate removes Ground-type weakness.
Sawsbuck, Fairly fast with base 95 Speed. Access to Swords Dance, Jump Kick, and a cool STAB with Horn Leech. Also has a way of grabbing momentum with Baton Pass. Chlorophyll makes it a deadly sweeper in the sun.
Scraggy, Great offensive typing that is only resisted by Fairy-types. Fairly bulky with Eviolite which gives it good set up opportunities alongside Shed Skin. Bulk Up or Dragon Dance are both viable set up options. Moxie is great versus slower teams too.
Servine, Contrary Leaf Storm is a very effective way of boosting. Cool utility moves with Glare and Knock Off. fits well on sticky web teams, and can run an effective choice scarf set.
Seviper, Access to Flamethrower and Giga Drain for common Steel-, and Ground-type switch ins.
Shedinja, Wonder Guard blocks everything Shedinja isn't weak to. Cool utility moves like Baton Pass and Will-O-Wisp can disrupt the opponent. Plus, Shedinja can even set up Swords Dances to pressure the opponent offensively.
Shelgon, bulky Eviolite Dragon-type with access to Wish; however, wish is illegal with overcoat.
Shelmet, averagely bulky with Eviolite with access to Spikes, Recover, and Baton Pass. Infestation can trap things that don't threaten Shelmet so it can set up Spikes on them.
Simipour, Fast, offensive Water-type with access to Nasty Plot. Cool coverage with Hydro Pump, Ice Beam, and Grass Knot. Outspeeding most relevant Grass-types like Lilligant and Servine.
Simisage, Offensive Grass-type that's faster than Lilligant. Access to Focus Blast, Nasty Plot, and a strong Leaf Storm.
Simisear, Fast offensive Fire-type with access to Nasty Plot, Gluttony, Grass Knot, and Focus Blast.
Slaking, Normal-type faster than Kangaskhan, but slower than Tauros. Insanely high Attack stat with a bunch of offensive options, such as Sucker Punch, Pursuit, Earthquake, and Fire Punch. Missing every other turn is a bummer, though.
Sliggoo, Specially bulky Eviolite Dragon-type. Cool offensive options, such as Ice Beam and Sludge Bomb, along with Sap Sipper to provide an immunity to every Grass-type move in the game.
Solrock, Bulky Fire-type resistance and Ground-type immunity with access to Stealth Rock, Morning Sun, and Will-O-Wisp.
Spritzee, Notable bulk with Eviolite coupled with pure Fiary-typing. Aroma Veil makes it immune to Taunt and Encore. Cleric stuff like Aromatherapy and Wish.
Stantler, Grass-type immunity with Sap Sipper. OK offensive options with Earthquake, Megahorn, and Jump Kick. Outspeeds Mesprit and Kabutops. intimidate and trick room are also cool niches.
Staravia, Reckless Brave Bird and Double-Edge hurt. Base 80 Speed is OK. U-turn is cool for momentum. defensive defog set with intimidate can also work wonders.
Stoutland, Great Attack stat to go with its impressive coverage options, such as Superpower, Fire Fang, Crunch, Play Rough, and Pursuit. Sand Rush makes it a great sweeper,
Stunfisk, very specially bulky Ground-type with access to Stealth Rock. Pain Split and Scald are cool tools too. Discharge, Static, and Thunder Wave make Stunfisk an easy tool for Paralyzing. one of the most reliable electric and flying checks in the tier.
Swalot, Bulky Poison-type with Liquid Ooze to punish Giga Drain and Leech Seed users. Gets Encore along with Earthquake to punish Steel-types.
Swanna, Kinda fast Defog user with access to Roost. Strong Water/Flying-type coverage with Scald and Hurricane is hard to switch into. can utilize brave bird to get past specially bulky pokemon such as hariyama and audino
Swoobat, Fast Calm Mind sweeper, outspeeding Archeops. Unaware beats every other Calm Mind sweeper in the tier. Simple Calm Mind boosts snowball fast. Heat Wave, Signal Beam, Energy Ball, and Stored Power are great.
Tangela, Bulky even without an Eviolite. Regenerator is free health. Leech Seed, Sleep Powder, and Synthesis are great defensive options. Extensive offensive options with Leaf Storm, Giga Drain, and Ancient Power for Fire-types.
Torkoal, Very physically bulky Fire-type. Access to Stealth Rock, Rapid Spin, and Clear Smog.
Torterra, Strong and bulky Grass/Ground-type. Access to Stealth Rock, Synthesis, Leech Seed, and Roar defensively. Wood Hammer and Earthquake for strong STABs, Stone Edge for Flying-types, Rock Polish and Swords Dance for setting up.
Tropius, Very slow and fairly weak. Good bulk can make up a bit for its bad typing. natural gift + leaf blade with harvest and lum berry give tropius a solid dual stab combination that can be difficult to switch into for most common flying resists. Defog and Roost are good for bulky sets.
Ursaring, Guts hits like a truck. Quick Feet outspeeds Pyroar. Cool coverage options like Close Combat, Seed Bomb, Crunch, and Earthquake. Access to Swords Dance.
Vanilluxe, Kinda fast, stupid strong, Freeze-Dry beats most nIce resists, and very versatile for its last slot. Ice Shard, Autotomize, Explosion, Flash Cannon, and Signal Beam are cool options to go with your STAB and Hidden Power option.weak armor is cool to boost your speed after taking a hit, which makes you more difficult to revenge kill
Venipede, frailer than Whirlipede, but has more Speed. Sets Toxic Spikes/Spikes and can outspeed Archeops at +1 Speed which Whirlipede can't.
Vibrava, Kinda bulky Eviolite Dragon-type with access to Defog and Roost. Immunity to Ground with Levitate.
Victreebel, Chlorophyll, Weather Ball, and Solarbeam make Victreebel a great Sun sweeper. Poison STAB is cool, gets Sucker Punch too.
Vigoroth, Surprisingly bulky with Eviolite. Gets cool options like Slack Off, Taunt, Bulk Up, and Knock Off for a Stall Breaker set.
Volbeat, Prankster Weather, Thunder Wave, and the ability to Baton Pass Tail Glow boosts.
Vullaby, Very difficult to break with an Eviolite in-tact. Overcoat, Defog, Roost, Knock Off, Whirlwind, Foul Play, and Taunt are its most notable tools.
Wartortle, Access to the rare Foresight + Rapid Spin combo. Very bulky with Eviolite.
Watchog, Analytic boosts its attacks on forced switches. Access to Knock Off, Aqua Tail, and Fire Punch for common switch ins to Normal-types.
Whirlipede, bulky Eviolite Spikes and Toxic Spikes setter. Speed Boost might let you get another layer or two down against a fast opponent. Endeavor can cripple a wall.
Whiscash, Bulky Dragon Dance user with a cool Water/Ground-typing. Hydration is a cool ability.
Wigglytuff, Massive HP + Wish, rare Fairy-typing, and access to Competitive. Cool coverage with Thunderbolt, Flamethrower, Ice Beam, and Grass Knot.
Wormadam-Trash, Unique typing with only one weakness. Fairly bulky and is a rare Steel/Bug-type. Access to Stealth Rock.
Yanma, Decent cleaner with its base 95 speed, decent Special Attack, neat offensive STABs, Giga Drain, and, most importantly, Speed Boost.
Zebstrika, Super fast Electric-type with a choice between an Electric- or Grass-type immunity. Outspeeds floatzel and archeops. Access to Overheat fries bulky Grass-types.
Zweilous, Another bulky Eviolite Dragon-type. Dark-typing and Hustle make it an offensive threat, with great coverage in Head Smash and Superpower . Dragon Tail and Roar make it great for shuffling your opponent's team too.
The Non-Viables:
Bayleef, Outclassed by Meganium (Happy Dino ^_^).
Beautifly,Outclassed by Mothim/Vivillon.
Boldore, Outclassed by Bastiodon, Probopass, Ferroseed, and GIGALITH.
Braixen, Outclassed by fire types such as Ninetales, Pyroar, Magmortar.Defensively outclassed by Flareon.
Butterfree, Outclassed by Mothim, Vivillon.
Carnivine, Outclassed by other grass types such as Vileplume, Cacturne etc.
Cascoon, Outclassed by just about any other pokemon.
Castform, Terrible stats which make its diverse movepool not as good as it could be. Incredibly frail and weak. 100 Base Power move + STAB + Weather boost in Weather Ball is ok.
Charmeleon, Outclassed by Pyroar, Ninetales, Magmortar (belly drum).
Cherrim, Outclassed by other defensive grass types such as Vileplume, Ferroseed or Cradily.
Chimecho, Outclassed by other psychics such as Mesprit, Uxie, or Musharna. Mr. Mime gets healing wish and screens and is a better option than Chimeco.
Delcatty,Outclassed by better normal types like Kangaskhan, Zangoose etc.
Dewott, Outclassed by Samurott.
Emolga, Weak and frail. Rotom-S does most of its job better because of its superior bulk.
Farfetch'd, Outclassed by other normal types such as Kangaskhan, Zangoose, Tauros. Despite having access to defiant.
Fearow,Gets U-turn over Dodrio who is otherwise more powerful and just as fast.
Flaaffy, defenses aren't terrible with eviolite, however pure electric is a terrible defensive typing. doesnt have the offensive presence to keep up with other electrics such as evire and rotom.
Floette,Too reliant on Eviolite and otherwise outclassed by Mega Audino. Pure Fairy typing is great in nu, however most special attacking threats can be handled by mega audino despite it being neutral to fighting, and most physical threats can be handled by granbull.
Furret, Outclassed by other normal types such as Kangashan, Tauros, Zangoose.
Gigalith, Access to stealth rock + explosion. Sturdy is great because it can act as a suicide lead w/ custap berry. Does the same thing as Golem however doesnt get stab eq. Its attack is slightly higher but doesnt get priority like Golem.
Glaceon, Incredibly high special attack stat. Low speed, and low bulk. outclassed by pretty much all other offensive Ice-types.
Graveler, Outclassed by Golem.
Grotle, Outclassed by Torterra.
Grovyle, Outclassed by better grass types like Lilligant.
Gloom, Outclassed by Vileplume and Roselia.
Gothorita, Without shadow tag, it is outclassed by other psychic types such as Mesprit, Uxie, or Musharna.
Herdier, Outclassed by Stoutland.
Ivysaur, Outclassed by Vileplume and Roselia.
Jigglypuff, Outclassed by Granbull and mega Audino.
Kakuna, Outclassed by better bug types like Scyther, Vivillon, etc..
Kirlia, Outclassed by other psychic types such as Mesprit, Uxie, Musharna, etc.
Ledian, Outclassed by Scyther.
Lombre, Outclassed by Ludicolo.
Loudred, Terrible all around. Outclassed by other normal types such as Swellow and Pyroar. doesn't even get boomburst.
Luvdisc, Outclassed by just about every other water type in the tier. rip queen.
Luxio, Outclassed by other electric types in the tier such as LUXRAY andRaichu, Electivire, etc.
Maractus, Everything Maractus can do, Cacturne will do better.
Marshtomp, Only slightly more bulk than Palpitoad, who has a Water immunity.
Metapod, no.
Minun, Outclassed by other offensive or defensive Electric-types.
Nidorina, outclassed by better offensive Poison-types like Arbok and seviper.
Nidorino, outclassed by better offensive Poison-types like Arbok and seviper.
Nuzleaf, Access to Defog, but slow, weak, and outclassed by every offensive Grass-type in the tier.
Pachirisu, Outclassed by other defensive Electric-types like Lanturn.
Phione, Access to U-turn, but no other notable niche over other offensive Water-types.
Pidgeotto, Slow, frail, and weak for a Defog user.
Plusle, outclassed by other defensive and offensive Electric-types.
Poliwhirl, outclassed by other defensive or offensive Water-types like Poliwrath.
Quilava, outclassed by other offensive Fire-types.
Sealeo, no recovery and outclassed by other bulky Water-types.
Seadra, outclassed by other offensive Water-types because it's weak. extremely high base defense stat +eviolite and toxic can make a defensive set ok, but typically outclassed by lumineon and prinplup.
Seaking, immunity to Electric-type attacks, but otherwise weak and outclassed by other offensive Water-types.
Silcoon, no.
Skiploom, outclassed defensively and offensively by most Grass-types in the tier.
Spinda, Slow, weak and frail. Unfortunately not very usable despite cool tools like Rapid Spin, Trick Room,Wish, and Contrary Superpower.
Sudowoodo, outclassed by Golem in every way Access to Wood Hammer + Rock Head.
Sunflora, entirely outclassed offensively and defensively compared to other Grass-types, such as Vileplume and Exeggutor.
Swadloon, no
Spewpa,no.
Tranquill, Outclassed by other Normal/Flying-types.
Unfezant, Every other Normal/Flying-type has the same tools it does(aside from maybe Taunt and Wish), but with more Speed.
Unown, it only has one attack.
Vanillish, outclassed by every other offensive Ice-type.
Vespiquen, Outclassed by Scyther in almost every way except for a slow U-turn.
Wailord, Poor defenses, poor speed. Outclassed by better offensive Water-types. Octillery performs the Water Spout game better with better coverage.
Walrein, Bad defensive typing with few resists. No Scald. Other defensive Water-types such as Lanturn and Mantine do any of its jobs better.
Weepinbell, outclassed by its evolution, Victreebel.
Wobbuffet, Shadow Tag is banned. Wobbuffet is a sitting duck and every Pokemon with Encore does its job better.
Wormadam, Poor defensive typing and nothing over better defensive Grass-types.
Wormadam-Sandy, Poor defensive typing, no recovery, and nothing over better defensive Ground-types.
Big thanks to Raseri hollywood Can-Eh-Dian metaphysical and Kiyo for checking over the list and making sure we had a great product here!
Literally no thanks to Mont. He just complained.
If you find any serious errors please let us know!
You are welcome to fight for or against any Pokemon on the list (potentially adding Pokemon to the list as well), but don't use "outclassed" as a justification for removing anything unless there is a Pokemon out there that will do everything that Pokemon can do better.This is NOT the Viability Rankings and we should be exploring any relevant avenue for these Pokemon.
Example: Prinplup has comparable bulk to Wartortle, but with Defog and Stealth Rock. However, Wartortle has Foresight and Rapid Spin so it has a notable set over Prinplup.
Butterfree has two potential abilities with Compound Eyes and Tinted Lens. Vivillon is faster than Butterfree and has Compound Eyes with Hurricane. Butterfree has nothing better than Vivillon here and is outclassed. Mothim is more powerful than Butterfree and has the same coverage with Tinted Lens so Butterfree is outclassed here as well.
If you're looking for a cool Pokemon that does something specific, I recommend using Ctrl + F
Golduck, Only thing that stands out is its ability cloud nine. I guess it could function to beat weather because life orb ice beam beats sun and hp grass can handle rain. Calm Mind is a good set up option.
The Non-Viables:
Big thanks to Raseri hollywood Can-Eh-Dian metaphysical and Kiyo for checking over the list and making sure we had a great product here!
Literally no thanks to Mont. He just complained.
If you find any serious errors please let us know!
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