Pokemon Black 2 and White 2 In-Game Tier List (Reboot)

OP adapted from DrumstickGaming's Black and White list
Previous Thread
Approved by DHR

Pokemon Black 2 / White 2
In-game Tier List Discussion





Hello, and welcome to the Pokemon Black 2 and White 2 in-game tier list! In this thread we will be testing, discussing, and ranking the Pokemon available to use in the main game of Pokemon Black 2 and White 2. Pokemon are ranked based on their efficiency and usefulness throughout a typical run of the game.

How do you rank Pokemon?

Pokemon are ranked according to the following 5 factors:

Availability: This is how early a Pokemon arrives in the game and how hard it is to find (read: encounter rate). Factors such as requiring backtracking or a hard-to-obtain evolution item will weigh negatively against a Pokemon's rank. This factor generally weighs in favor of mons that are available early-game, as they are present for more fights and will be at a higher level and have more friendship points than a mon you capture late-game by the time you reach that point. Pokemon that come late but at higher levels, such as legendary Pokemon, suffer less. Availability does not include version exclusivity.

Typing - A Pokemon's typing can be of great importance for an efficient playthrough. Typings that better match up versus the game's major battles will generally result in higher ranks.

Stats - A Pokemon's stat distribution is crucial for a Pokemon's success. If a Pokemon has a stat distribution that favors its both typing and movepool, it will often be higher on the tier list. In general, a Pokemon that is often slower than it is faster will often be ranked lower on a tier list.

Movepool - A Pokemon's movepool (both level-up and TM/HM) are crucial for a Pokemon. Unlike with past games, TMs are of infinite use, and thus have no opportunity cost. However, moves taught by the Move Tutors in exchange for Shards will generally come with opportunity cost, with the exception of moves taught in exchange for Red Shards (more on that below).

Major Battles - Major battles consist of Gym Leaders, Colress, Ghetsis, the Elite 4, and Iris. A Pokemon that is capable of sweeping or heavily contributing to most, if not all, of the major battles will rank higher than a Pokemon that can not, or a Pokemon that can sweep certain battles but struggles heavily vs others. Note that an overlevel limit of +2 is in effect when testing for this list. A Pokemon may only be two levels above the battle's highest-leveled Pokemon in order for the test to be legitimate (i.e. 35 at Clay or 62 at Iris).

What are the tiers?

In this tier list we currently have seven tiers. Tiers are based off of the following:

S Tier
A Tier
B Tier
C Tier
D Tier
E Tier
F Tier

The tier list is alphabetized for convenience. The higher tier a Pokemon is in, the more it contributes within an efficient playthrough. Pokemon in S tier are the best of the best, borderline (or literally) overpowered in terms of performance. On the other hand, Pokemon in F tier are practically unusable. Pokemon in C tier are average; they might contribute decently across the board or specialize really well against certain battles while falling flat against others. Pokemon within tiers are ranked alphabetically, not based on their specific viability compared to one another.

Which Pokemon are available for the player to use in Pokemon Black 2 and White 2?

Here is a link to the Black and White 2 Pokedex, which includes the Pokemons' availabilities. Most of the Pokemon listed there are available to test, although some are exceptions due to only being obtainable in the postgame or via event. These will be listed in the "untiered" section below.

What tools are allowed for the player to use?

The player is allowed to use any legitimate means within the cartridge for completing the game efficiently. The player is only allowed to trade to evolve Pokemon and not to receive outside help otherwise. Use of healing / stat boosting items, such as potions, X items, and status healing items, can negatively affect a Pokemon's rank, especially if it can be concluded that item usage is necessary for a Pokemon to perform in a battle. Held items, such as Eviolite or berries, are not penalized. On harder battles, such as Colress or Iris, item usage is not as penalizing due to the difficult nature of these fights (and particularly with Colress' tendency to paralyze everything in front of him), however excessive item usage will still be penalized.

Shard Tutors

Pokemon Black 2 and White 2 introduced the existence of several move tutors throughout the game which will teach your pokemon powerful moves in exchange for certain shards. Three of these are available in the main game; their location, the moves they teach, and their price are all listed here. In the case of the first tutor in Driftveil, there is actually an npc in the Nimbasa City Pokemon Center who will give you ten free Red Shards, meaning you can get one move (or multiple, if you choose the lower cost moves) with no opportunity cost. Pokemon that benefit from or require a move obtained from this tutor will not be penalized; Pokemon that require multiple, however, will. In the case of the other two, while there are a certain amount of Blue and Yellow Shards available throughout the overworld, these are generally spaced out, being as late as Victory Road or requiring a backtrack, and can also be inconsistent between versions. Even if you collected them all, you'll still need to grind extra Shards to afford the most expensive moves. As a general rule, any Pokemon that requires a move(s) from these tutors will be penalized.

Current Tier List Rankings

S-Tier:
Reserved for Pokémon who possess the highest levels of efficiency of the available options in Pokémon Black 2 & White 2. Pokémon in this tier are able to OHKO or 2HKO an overwhelming majority of opponents, limiting the amount of attacks used against them, and possess minimal reliance on items to help assist them defeat opponents at like levels. These Pokémon typically show up before the late-game and any flaws they have are absolutely made up by their advantages.

  • Braviary
  • Darumaka
  • Drilbur
  • Heracross
  • Magnemite
  • Minccino

A-Tier: Reserved for Pokémon whose efficiency in terms of completing the game is considered to be very high. Pokémon in this tier are able to OHKO or 2HKO a lot of opponents and are not very reliant on items to succeed, but either have some visible flaws that hurt their efficiency or have their usefulness counterbalanced by a late arrival.

  • Axew
  • Cobalion
  • Conkeldurr
  • Espeon
  • Jolteon
  • Vaporeon
  • Elekid
  • Lillipup
  • Litwick
  • Oshawott
  • Petilil
  • Pinsir
  • Riolu
  • Roselia
  • Sandile
  • Scraggy
  • Sigilyph
  • Tepig
  • Terrakion
  • Virizion
  • Zorua

B-Tier: Reserved for Pokémon whose efficiency in terms of completing the game is considered to be moderately high. Pokémon in this tier are able to OHKO or 2HKO a fair chunk of opponents and may have a bit of item reliance to assist in sweeping opponents. These Pokémon are still very useful but either have several visible flaws holding them back or come fairly late.

  • Aron
  • Azurill
  • Baltoy
  • Basculin
  • Buizel
  • Cottonee
  • Cubchoo
  • Deerling
  • Ducklett
  • Dwebble
  • Ferroseed
  • Frillish
  • Gligar
  • Gothita
  • Gigalith
  • Growlithe
  • Joltik
  • Gurdurr
  • Escavalier
  • Klink
  • Koffing
  • Magby
  • Mandibuzz
  • Maractus
  • Mareep
  • Metang
    Mienfoo
  • Numel
  • Steelix
  • Pansage
  • Pansear
  • Pawniard
  • Pelipper
  • Pidove
  • Piloswine
  • Psyduck
  • Sawk
  • Sewaddle
  • Skarmory
  • Skorupi
  • Snivy
  • Solosis
  • Spheal
  • Tangela
  • Trapinch
  • Venipede
  • Volcarona
  • Zangoose
  • Zebstrika
  • Zubat

C-Tier: Reserved for Pokémon whose efficiency in terms of completing the game is considered to be average. Pokémon in this tier are able to OHKO or 2HKO a reasonable portion of opponents but are matchup-based enough to need some item reliance to assist in sweeping some opponents. These Pokémon are useful but either have several visible flaws holding them back or barely make up for their late arrivals.

  • Absol
  • Audino
  • Banette
  • Bouffalant
  • Buneary
  • Clefairy
  • Drifblim
  • Druddigon
  • Flareon
  • Elgyem
  • Emolga
  • Foongus
  • Golurk
  • Grimer
  • Lapras
  • Lunatone
  • Nosepass
  • Panpour
  • Patrat
  • Rattata
  • Remoraid
  • Boldore
  • Sandshrew
  • Seel
  • Seviper
  • Accelgor
  • Sneasel
  • Solrock
  • Spoink
  • Staryu
  • Swablu
  • Throh
  • Trubbish
  • Tynamo
  • Woobat
  • Yamask
  • Zweilous

D-Tier: Reserved for Pokémon whose efficiency in terms of completing the game is considered to be moderately low. Pokémon in this tier are able to OHKO or 2HKO a small amount of opponents and tend to be matchup-based enough to need item reliance to assist in sweeping a few opponents. The usefulness of these Pokémon are typically counterbalanced by many visible flaws or are useful Pokémon that come very late.

  • Alomamola
  • Castform
  • Combee
  • Corsola
  • Dunsparce
  • Umbreon
  • Onix
  • Purrloin
  • Skitty
  • Sunkern
  • Vanillish
  • Vulpix

E-Tier: Reserved for Pokémon whose efficiency in terms of completing the game is considered to be very low. Pokémon in this tier are generally only able to OHKO or 2HKO specific opponents and suffer from being matchup-based, generally relying on items to assist in sweeping several opponents. These Pokémon either have flaws that outshine its strengths or are otherwise decent Pokémon that come too late to be of any major use.

...

F-Tier: Reserved for Pokemon whose efficiency in terms of completing the game is considered to be extremely low. Pokemon in this tier are generally incapable of OHKOing or 2HKOing opponents, or come so late in the game that they are practically worthless against what major battles remain. Gimmick Pokemon may also reside here.

  • Bronzor
  • Delibird
  • Ditto
  • Karrablast (no trade)
  • Shelmet (no trade)
  • Shuckle

Untiered: Reserved for Pokemon whom, while listed in the Black and White 2 Pokedex, are not available for testing due to only being available either in the postgame or as part of an event.

Munna
Glaceon
Leafon
Archen
Tirtouga
Heatmor
Durant
Cryogonal
Tornadus
Thundurus
Landorus
Tympole
Stunfisk
Vigoroth
Corphish
Jigglytuff
Lickitung
Yanma
Tropius
Carnivine
Croagunk
Pupitar
Reshiram
Zekrom
Kyurem
Keldeo
Meloetta
Genesect
 
Last edited:
Welcome everyone. This list is being rebooted with the intention of modernizing it and making sure rankings are accurate. To this end, I've added two new tiers, E and F. As Pokemon filter down to these tiers, it should make the tiers above less bloated. This updating doesn't just apply to lower tier Pokemon, however; all Pokemon are fair game to test. Ranks are malleable and can be changed with enough support. Writeups for the currently ranked Pokemon do exist, but they will likely need editing or in extreme cases complete revamps if significant changes to tiers occur. I will work on perusing the writeups and seeing which ones need updates/revamps as the thread progresses.

While you can test with basically whatever you want, I thought I'd list some mons which are straightforward enough to test and are possible candidates for dropping/rising a tier:

  • :snivy::tepig::oshawott: - the starters are easy enough to use because, well, they're starters. Starters tend to have a fair bit of bias towards them, and other threads have shown starters can actually be pretty bad even when they were once considered to be quite good, so I want to make sure their rankings are accurate as they are.
  • :magnemite: - Magnemite is an easy Pokemon to run into pretty much by design, and in previous threads it's been hyped for its legendary defensive typing, power, and access to Sturdy, hence it currently sitting in S tier. However Magnemite does suffer from some considerable weaknesses, notably its low Speed and bad movepool, consisting pretty much only of STAB moves that come pretty late, leaving it rather weak in the early game and lacking coverage in the late game.
  • :mandibuzz::braviary: - These birds can be found on route 4 on a given day of the week (Thursday in Black 2 for Mandibuzz, Monday in White 2 for Braviary). As you might expect, having these mons which normally evolve at level 50 in time for gym #4 is a pretty big advantage. Mandibuzz in particular I have reason to suspect is a hidden gem with the combination of Nasty Plot and Weak Armor, so I'd like to see some testing on that front. Braviary is already in S tier, but despite its incredible stats, I feel like it functions similarly to Pidove overall, who currently resides in A tier, so perhaps it could use some testing to confirm.
  • :cobalion::virizion::terrakion: - the legendary Sword Trio come rather late but have the stats and movepool to back it up, specifically high Speed and access to Swords Dance and Fighting STAB. They do have flaws, however; Coba and Viriz come with average attack and middling coverage options, while Terrakion comes a gym later and lacks the defensive utility of his compatriots, albeit with the benefit of having much higher Attack and STAB Rock Slide. All are ranked quite high currently, but I'd like to see some testing to confirm this (hint: Master Ball is your friend here).

As a final note, here are some resources I found in the previous thread which could be of some use. Nothing you couldn't find going through Serebii or Bulbapedia but it's nice to have it all in one place (credit to Its_A_Random):

TM21 Frustration (Floccesy Ranch, Plasma Grunt)
--GYM 1--
TM83 Work Up (Gym 1 Prize)
TM27 Return (Aspertia City, Bianca)
TM46 Thief (Virbank Complex)
TM94 Rock Smash (Virbank Complex, Beat three Workers)
--GYM 2--
TM09 Venoshock (Gym 2 Prize)
HM01 Cut (Roxie, Beat Plasma Grunt)
TM44 Rest (Castelia City [Castelia Street], 11th Floor of western building)
TM45 Attract (Castelia City [Route 4 Street], 47th Floor of southeastern building)
TM70 Flash (Castelia City [Narrow Street], Man behind Dumpster)
HM04 Strength (Castelia Sewers, Hugh)
--GYM 3--
TM70 Struggle Bug (Gym 3 Prize)
TM28 Dig (Route 4)
TM16 Light Screen (Nimbasa City, $30,000)
TM33 Reflect (Nimbasa City, $30,000)
TM66 Payback (Route 16 [Strength])
TM95 Snarl (Lostlorn Forest [Zoroark / Backpacker])
HM02 Fly (Route 5, Bianca)
--GYM 4--
TM72 Volt Switch (Gym 4 Prize)
TM63 Embargo (Driftveil City)
Driftveil Tutor (Driftveil City, 10 Free Red Shards in Nimbasa)
->Covet, Bug Bite, Drill Run, Bounce, Signal Beam, Iron Head, Super Fang, Uproar, Seed Bomb, Dual Chop, Lock Kick, Gunk Shot, Fire Punch, Thunder Punch, Ice Punch
--GYM 5--
TM78 Bulldoze (Gym 5 Prize)
TM39 Rock Tomb (Relic Castle B1F)
HM03 Surf (Route 6, Cheren)
--SURF--
TM53 Energy Ball (Aspertia City [Surf])
TM41 Torment (Castelia Sewers [Spring/Summer, Surf])
TM56 Fling (Route 6 [Surf])
TM80 Rock Slide (Mistralton Cave, 3F [Surf, Strength])
TM07 Hail (Mistralton City, $50,000)
TM11 Sunny Day (Mistralton City, $50,000)
TM18 Rain Dance (Mistralton City, $50,000)
TM37 Sandstorm (Mistralton City, $50,000)
TM58 Sky Drop (Mistralton City)
TM81 X-Scissor (Route 7)
TM61 Will-O-Wisp (Celestial Tower, 2F)
TM65 Shadow Claw (Celestial Tower, 4F)
--GYM 6--
TM11 Acrobatics (Gym 6 Prize)
TM40 Aerial Ace (Mistralton City)
TM57 Charge Beam (Lentimas Town)
TM30 Shadow Ball (Reversal Mountain Exterior)
TM54 False Swipe (Reversal Mountain Interior, Fill Habitat List)
TM69 Rock Polish (Reversal Mountain Interior)
TM29 Psychic (Route 13 [Surf])
TM14 Blizzard (Lacunosa Town, $70,000)
TM25 Thunder (Lacunosa Town, $70,000)
TM38 Fire Blast (Lacunosa Town, $70,000)
TM15 Hyper Beam (Shopping Mall Nine, $90,000)
TM68 Giga Impact (Shopping Mall Nine, $90,000)
--GYM 7--
TM82 Dragon Tail (Gym 7 Prize)
Draco Meteor Tutor (Opelucid City, Drayden)
TM42 Facade (Marine Tube, Humilau Side)
TM06 Toxic (Seaside Cave)
--GYM 8--
TM55 Scald (Gym 8 Prize)
TM67 Retaliate (Plasma Frigate)
TM13 Ice Beam (Giant Chasm Cave [Surf])
TM03 Psyshock (Giant Chasm Crater, Beat Ghetsis)
TM05 Roar (Route 23)
TM12 Taunt (Route 23 [Cut, Strength])
TM35 Flamethrower (Route 23 [Surf])
--WATERFALL--
TM92 Trick Room (Abundant Shrine [Surf, Waterfall])
TM01 Hone Claws (Victory Road Entrance)
TM24 Thunderbolt (Victory Road, Beat Hugh)
TM93 Wild Charge (Victory Road [Surf, Waterfall])
---
INEFFICIENT TO GET
Battle Subway/PWT TM's [Requires BP]: TM10 Hidden Power TM17 Protect, TM20 Safeguard, TM23 Smack Down, TM31 Brick Break, TM32 Double Team, TM34 Sludge Wave, TM48 Round, TM51 Ally Switch, TM59 Incinerate, TM60 Quash, TM64 Explosion, TM75 Swords Dance, TM77 Psych Up, TM79 Frost Breath, TM87 Swagger, TM88 Pluck, TM89 U-Turn
Lentimas Town Tutor [No Easy Blue Shards]
Humilau City Tutor [No Easy Yellow Shards]

POSTGAME ONLY
TM03 Dragon Claw (Dragonspiral Tower)
TM04 Calm Mind (Striaton City, $80,000)
TM08 Bulk Up (Striaton City, $80,000)
TM19 Telekinesis (Route 18)
TM22 Solar Beam (Pinwheel Forest)
TM26 Earthquake (Route 15)
TM36 Sludge Bomb (Route 8)
TM43 Flame Charge (Tubeline Bridge)
TM52 Focus Blast (Wellspring Cave [Surf])
TM71 Stone Edge (Twist Mountain)
TM84 Poison Jab (Moor of Icirrus)
TM85 Dream Eater (Dreamyard)
TM86 Grass Knot (Pinwheel Forest)
TM90 Substitute (Twist Mountain)
TM91 Flash Cannon (Twist Mountain)
HM06 Dive (Undella Town, Hugh)
Nacrene City Tutor

--GYM 1--
Ether (Virbank Complex, Talk to Scientist three times)
Silk Scarf (Virbank Complex)
--GYM 2--
Amulet Coin (Castelia City, Route 4 Street)
Bicycle (Castelia City, Entrance)
Charcoal / Miracle Seed / Mystic Water (Castelia City, Battle Company)
Ether (Castelia City, Battle Company)
Eviolite (Castelia City, Route 4 Street, 40+ Pokémon Seen)
Exp. Share (Castelia City, Battle Company)
Heart Scale (Castelia City, Prime Pier)
Miracle Seed (Castelia City, Castelia Park)
Quick Claw (Castelia City, Skyarrow Bridge Gate)
Rare Candy (Castelia City, Find the Harlequins)
Scope Lens (Castelia City, Battle Company)
Heart Scale (Castelia Sewers [Spring/Summer])
Leftovers (Castelia Sewers)
Twisted Spoon (Castelia Sewers)
Hard Stone (Relic Passage)
Mystic Water (Route 4)
--GYM 3--
Fire Stone (Desert Resort)
Heart Scale (Desert Resort)
Max Ether (Desert Resort)
Soft Sand (Desert Resort)
Macho Brace (Nimbasa City)
10x Red Shard (Nimbasa City)
Soothe Bell (Nimbasa City)
Sun Stone (Nimbasa City)
Thunder Stone (Nimbasa City)
Leaf Stone (Lostlorn Forest)
--GYM 4--
Air Balloon (Driftveil City)
Big Root (Driftveil City)
Everstone (Driftveil City)
Expert Belt (Driftveil City, Lv30+)
Incenses (Driftveil City, $9,600)
Shell Bell (Driftveil City, 70+ Pokémon Seen)
Moon Stone (Route 6)
Shiny Stone (Route 6)
--GYM 5--
Ether (Pokémon World Tournament)
PP Up (Pokémon World Tournament)
Rare Candy (Relic Passage [Strength])
Rocky Helmet (Pokémon World Tournament, Relic Passage [Strength])
--SURF--
Expert Belt (Route 19 [Surf])
Water Stone (Route 19 [Surf])
Heart Scale (Route 20 [Surf], Route 6 [Surf])
Rare Candy (Route 20 [Surf, Autumn], Virbank City [Surf])
Black Glasses (Castelia City, Back Alley [Surf])
Black Sludge (Castelia Sewers [Surf, Spring/Summer])
PP Up (Route 6 [Surf], Celestial Tower)
Magnet (Chargestone Cave)
Metal Coat (Chargestone Cave)
Thunder Stone (Chargestone Cave)
Master Ball (Mistralton City)
Sharp Beak (Mistralton City)
Elixir (Route 7)
Leaf Stone (Route 7)
Lucky Egg (Celestial Tower)
--GYM 6--
Fire Stone (Lentimas Town)
Spell Tag (Lentimas Town)
Dusk Stone (Strange House)
Rare Candy (Strange House, Route 12)
Toxic Orb (Reversal Mountain) [Black 2]
Flame Orb (Reversal Mountain) [White 2]
PP Up (Reversal Mountain, Route 12, Village Bridge)
Smoke Ball (Reversal Mountain)
Water Gem (Reversal Mountain) [Black 2]
Heart Scale (Undella Town, Undella Bay, Route 14 [Surf], Village Bridge [Surf])
Shiny Stone (Undella Town)
Draco Plate (Undella Bay)
Splash Plate (Undella Bay)]
Max Ether (Route 13, Village Bridge)
Metronome (Lacunosa Town)
Smoke Ball (Opelucid City)
Elixir (Route 9)
--GYM 7--
Black Sludge (Marine Tube, Poison Barb)
7x Heart Scale (Humilau City, Luvdisc needed for five)
Shell Bell (Humilau City)
PP Up (Route 21, Route 22)
Heart Scale (Seaside Cave)
Rare Candy (Seaside Cave [Strength], Route 22)
Poison Barb (Route 22)
--GYM 8--
Electirizer (Plasma Frigate) [White 2]
Magmarizer (Plasma Frigate) [Black 2]
Max Elixir (Plasma Frigate, Giant Chasm Crater Forest)
Moon Stone (Giant Chasm Cave, Giant Chasm Crater Forest)
PP Up (Giant Chasm Crater Forest, Route 23 [Cut, Strength])
Razor Claw (Giant Chasm Crater Forest)
Sun Stone (Giant Chasm Crater Forest)
Heart Scale (Route 23 [Cut / Surf])
Rare Candy (Route 23)
--WATERFALL--
Rare Candy (Lostlorn Forest [Surf, Waterfall], Abundant Shrine [Surf, Waterfall], Victory Road [x2])
PP Max (Abundant Shrine [Surf, Waterfall], Victory Road)
Shiny Stone (Abundant Shrine [Surf, Waterfall])
Razor Fang (Route 11 [Surf, Waterfall])
Dragon Fang (Victory Road)
Dragon Scale (Victory Road)
Dusk Stone (Victory Road)
Max Elixir (Victory Road [x2])
PP Up (Victory Road)

Thank you for reading, and happy posting!
 
What a coincidence, I just happened to start a new playthrough of Black 2 yesterday. Currently using Snivy and Pidove, planning to add Drilbur, Scraggy and either Staryu or Spheal to the team later on. Haven't decided on a final member yet, but I'm leaning towards Litwick or Axew. I should note that my playstyle is probably different from most other people who playtest for these threads, but once I have completed the run, I'll give some thoughts on the Pokémon I used.
 

Ryota Mitarai

Shrektimus Prime
is a Tiering Contributoris a Contributor to Smogonis a Top Smogon Media Contributor
If you can use PKHex, I made a tool that can be useful to you if you are planning on skipping parts of the game due feeling too lazy to do them. There's a GitHub repository linked that explains how to use it. Basically, if you are feeling too lazy to do any portion of the game (like the long stretch between Skyla and Drayden) and decide to use PKHex/other means to skip those portions (and level up the Pokemon appropriately), but you are worried that missing EVs will affect your Pokemon's performance, you can use the tool to calculate how many EVs the Pokemon would have received if it had actually defeated any specific foe(s). The tool even tracks your current level so you know when to stop (e.g. you get to a too high level). This obviously works only if route cleaning plays little, if any, role in your nominations, since this essentially removes that part and allows you to focus your efforts more on the major battles.

For my runs, I always skip the long stretch between Skyla and Drayden, thus assume that I always use the tool for that purpose at least (I may occassionally also skip Route 23/Victory Road if I am feeling too lazy)

I have a few preliminary runs (I was asked to help with the list, so I had started some runs some time ago) and will post about them at some point. I also have another run currently going on about which I will post once I am done with it. I will mainly test Pokemon like Banette and Pelipper that I'd assume most people wouldn't test so that we have more data on those, though I can provide input for some of the more viable things if I've used them.
 
What a coincidence, I just happened to start a new playthrough of Black 2 yesterday. Currently using Snivy and Pidove, planning to add Drilbur, Scraggy and either Staryu or Spheal to the team later on. Haven't decided on a final member yet, but I'm leaning towards Litwick or Axew. I should note that my playstyle is probably different from most other people who playtest for these threads, but once I have completed the run, I'll give some thoughts on the Pokémon I used.
I'm thinking of using Litwick myself as it has been awhile since I last used it.

The best thing you can say about it is you can barely have Lampent by Skyla if you're persistent (level 41) is within the gap. It MIGHT be B tier but it is late and it takes some effort with the Litwick phase. Not sure.

Axew I'm pretty sure is A tier. Yes it's mega late but Haxorus speaks for itself, you get it in time for Drayden and it can even smash Colress with Mold Breaker. I don't think the League stands up to Swords Dance Haxorus either. It's the gold standard of a late mon that absolutely earns A rank (anything post-Clay usually isn't A for me, personally).

Also, as a tip don't forget Cheri Berries and Chesto Berries in important battles you get from the various Pokemon Rangers - just don't use them on your attempt you move onward. Cheri Berries make both Elesa and Colress a lot more manageable, Pecha can help with Roxie, and Chesto Berries COMPLETELY trivialize Caitlin (literally any setup sweeper laughs at her with Chesto).

I just did a preliminary run, here are my logs and noms for Oshawott, Riolu, Dunsparce, Zubat, Pinsir and Cobalion.

Cheren (12): Strangely, my Oshawott failed to 3HKO Patrat with Water Gun, but it knocked me into red and thus Torrent range on Potion letting me pick up the KO. Oshawott is finished off by Lillipup. Water Gun 4HKOs Lillipup but +2 Tackle takes you to red.

Roxie (17): Pecha Berry. If you roll the 50% Razor Shell Defense drop, you 2HKO Koffing with Razor Shell (it crit me with Assurance, lul). Venoshock from Whirlipede does like 13 of your 54 HP and is thus a rough 4HKO. If you roll the Razor Shell Defense drop on Whirlipede, you also 2HKO it. Pretty great, was left at 17 HP in my second attempt, got Defense drops in both my attempts so this should be pretty reliable.

Burgh (23): Eviolite. You and Swadloon 3HKO each other with Return and Razor Leaf respectively. Dwebble does laughable damage (like, 5 HP with Smack Down) as you smack it to red HP with Razor Shell.

Elesa (30): Mystic Water. Believe it or not, Dewott actually has a niche against Elesa! Emolga's Volt Switch should take you to between 16-28 out of 88 HP at level 30, knocking you into Torrent. With Torrent and Mystic Water, Razor Shell actually OHKOs Flaaffy with a neutral move! Accounting for my Brave nature, I took Mystic Water off and it took Flaaffy to red. Without Mystic Water in Torrent, you still cleanly 2HKO Flaaffy with Water Pulse and outspeed it after it Volt Switches in, so you are virtually guaranteed to beat it at worst and avoid Static.

Clay (33): I think Brave nature hurt me here. Started this mid-battle with Mystic Water…Dewott is 3HKOed by Sandslash’s Crush Claw, but OHKOs it back with MW Water Pulse. Excadrill used…lol Metal Claw to take me to yellow, but it looks like Rock Slide might 2HKO you.

With Eviolite, this is much better. Krokorok outspeeds but 4HKOs with Crunch but can drop Defense, you OHKO it back with Water Pulse. Strangely, Sandslash went for Rollout on me, and without Mystic Water, Water Pulse leaves it in red, upon which you can Aqua Jet if you want, but I for some reason thought Clay could heal when Rollout locks you in.

Skyla (39): Mystic Water. Swoobat outspeeds and 6HKOs with Heart Stamp while Surf knocks it to red and thus healing range: if you have Aqua Jet you can pick it off on turn 3. Attract can also be a pain, but I simply switched out when that came up second attempt.

Swanna outspeeds and Air Slash does roughly 50 of your roughly 130 HP (thus a 3HKO) and can flinch as you 3HKO Swanna with Return.

Against Swanna with full HP in that second attempt with Silk Scarf on…Skyla FeatherDanced me. Yeah, just…just avoid Swanna I think.

I also think I legit Speed tied with Skarmory - you 2HKO it with Surf easily even without Mystic Water, and it’s not like it threatens you - Air Cutter CRITS only…3HKO you. Mediocre: it might just be my Brave nature but your slowness just kinda sucks here outside of Ai derping.

Drayden (47): Expert Belt. Druddigon’s Crunch roughly 3HKOs as Blizzard knocks it to red (Hail can put you in range of 3HKOs too). Sadly, Hail chip + Blizzard barely leaves Druddigon alive in red, and you’ll likely be in red when Flygon comes out…only for it to NOT kill me and go Dragon Tail as it dies. Hail stops as Haxorus comes in, I somehow no scope my last Blizzard and OHKO it while I’m at 14 HP (!!!)

Your best option is using Surf to chip Druddigon first, THEN using Hail, then use Blizzard to finish it off (should be in yellow health when this happens)…but in this case Flygon (in more than one attempt) goes for Earth Power and kills you, ugh.

At absolute worst you should beat Flygon 1v1: Surf 2HKOs it as Earth Power 3HKOs you (Flygon outspeeds). Conclusion: this matchup is clunky and not that good, continuing the slow descent the line has had since Elesa.

Marlon (50): Mystic Water. Carracosta notably outsped me and did half with Crunch after Shell Smash, but you easily 2HKO him with Surf (though sometimes he can just straight up attack with Crunch unboosted).

I tried SilverPowder for Wailord - would you believe Megahorn actually 2HKOs it (3HKOs without the item)? The problem comes in with accuracy and Bounce paralysis (Bounce is a rough 4HKO), so you can still lose. Also, without Mystic Water, Surf plus effectively +2 Aqua Jet leaves Carracosta alive.

So go with Mystic Water Surf for Carracosta, Aqua Jet if it Shell Smashes to kill, throw in a Surf for Wailord and two Megahorns - I got past both once but even I can’t see what you’re doing to Jellicent outside of stuff like Toxic. Okay.

Colress (54): Mystic Water. Surf 2HKOs Magneton, but interestingly, it will paralyze you, then Volt Switch to Zone, bringing you to red HP and thus knocking you into Torrent, letting you bring Magnezone to red HP if it switches in, causing Zone to be healed as you knock it to red again, then hopefully pick it off with Aqua Jet (I was paralyzed and died though).

Klinklang’s Thunderbolt comes close to 2HKOing you as you 2HKO with Surf: of course it paralyzed me. Much to my surprise, you OHKO Beheeyem with Megahorn, though watch out as Energy Ball 2HKOs you. At level 55, I cleanly 2HKO Metang with Surf, though it can use Agility and flinch you with Zen Headbutt. Okay.

Ghetsis (54): Mystic Water. Cofagrigus looks like it is 2HKOed by Surf but I’d wager Protect and Leftovers put this in jeoprady. At level 55, Samurott is 3HKOed by Seismitoad’s Earthquake as you 2HKO with Surf; sadly it outspeeds you. However, I am in Torrent as Eelektross comes in, which somehow enables it to be OHKOed with Surf. Drapion comes in, it’s probably going to revenge me so I Aqua Jet to do 1/3 since I’m around 50 HP…and I live Night Slash somehow???? Yeah. So I Full Restore and do 2/3s with Surf to finish it off, now in yellow HP.

Hydreigon’s Dragon Rush cleanly 2HKOs you. At level 56 and full HP, Surf does 2/3s to Toxicroak as it roughly 3HKOs with Poison Jab, surprisingly I picked it off with Aqua Jet.

Shauntal (58): Mystic Water. If you aren’t burned, Waterfall 3HKOs Cofagrigus while it 3HKOs you with Shadow Ball, though this does trigger healing.

Swords Dance up to +4 as Cofagrigus burns and attacks you: you must Full Restore to get the burn off. +4 Waterfall OHKOs Cofagrigus as you’re at 2/3s HP. The bad news is Driftblim comes in and revenge kills you with Thunderbolt.

During a Rawst Berry attempt where I boosted up to max (no burned) Cofagrigus is OHKOed by Waterfall. Only problem is that at 38 HP (I am in Torrent) Driftblim’s Aftermath kills me, and no, Mummy does not override it.

So Cofagrigus and Driftblim are generally unfavorable, what about the others? Well, Chandelure outspeeds and comes close to just straight up OHKOing you with Energy Ball (I lived at 8 HP) but you OHKO back with Mystic Water Torrent Waterfall. Torrent Waterfall OHKOs Chandlure.

Golurk is outsped even with Brave nature and OHKOed by unboosted Samurott Mystic Water Waterfall.

Caitlin (58): Chesto Berry. Boost up to +4 with Swords Dance as Musharna Yawns you twice. OHKO Musharna with Waterfall. Gothitelle comes out and outspeeds, Thunderbolting you to Torrent range as you OHKO it with Waterfall. Reuniclus comes out and is outsped, dying to Waterfall, with Samurott growing to level 59. Sigilyph dies to +4 Torrent Aqua Jet, but I did crit.

Marshal (59): Mystic Water. You can boost up to max if you want but you’ll need to heal, though note Throh is not OHKOed by +6 Aqua Jet. Mienshao is OHKOed by +6 Aqua Jet though (also killed it in +4 with Torrent). Conkeldurr is also not OHKOed by +6 Aqua Jet (both it and Throh are taken to red, pre-Berry on the latter). Even in the best case scenario where Conkeldurr misses Hammer Arm, Sawk is guaranteed to revenge kill you due to Sturdy. Conkeldurr’s +1 Hammer Arm knocks you to red and thus Torrent range from full HP. Okay.

Grimsley (59): Mystic Water (or Expert Belt, but I derped). Attract is a pain, but Liepard’s non-crit Night Slash is a 4HKO, and even if love hax happens you can actually kill it with +2 Torrent Aqua Jet. Krookodile comes in and dies to +1 Torrent Aqua Jet, with Samurott growing to level 60 in the process. Scrafty comes out, is outsped and dies to +1 Torrent Waterfall. My Brave Samurott somehow outsped Bisharp (both are base 70 Speed) and OHKOed it with +1 Torrent Waterfall. In a retest without Torrent (read: in yellow HP) it was revealed +2 Aqua Jet lets Liepard live in red, but still OHKOs Krookodile at +1. Scrafty lives +1 Waterfall close to red but puts you in Torrent range with Brick Break (AKA 3HKO). I crit Bisharp out but I doubt it mattered. Great.

Iris (58): Expert Belt. Megahorn knocks Hydreigon to red or sometimes even OHKOs it as it outspeeds and barely misses the 2HKO with Dragon Pulse. Lapras comes in and forces you out.

At full HP, Samurott’s Ice Beam knocks Druddigon to low yellow as Focus Blast 3HKOs you (Samurott outspeeds Drudddigon). With Samurott level 60, Aggron comes in. Samurott outspeeds and knocks it to low yellow with Waterfall as it goes for Automatize; Double Edge knocks you to red and thus Torrent range as you kill it. Haxorus comes in and Samurott is too weakened as it is revenge killed.

However, at full HP, Samurott is only 3HKOed by Haxorus’s unboosted Earthquake as Ice Beam knocks Haxorus to red: naturally he crit me out. With Samurott at full HP, Archeops’s Acrobatics barely knocks you to less than 1/3 / Torrent range as Waterfall OHKOs it back, though an Acrobatics crit can just straight up OHKO you if you are unlucky. Probably beating two mons.

Cheren (12): Patrat 4HKOs with Tackle while you 4HKO with Quick Attack; you’ll barely beat it including the Potion (I crit him, was one Tackle away from death). You’re probably not beating Lillipup without Counter in a slugfest - he can also boost and OHKO you, so I settled for sniping the KO with Quick Attack.

Roxie (17): Work Up to +3 as Koffing takes you to yellow with three Tackles, then Koffing is taken to red with 200-249 Silk Scarf Return, I get crit and I die. +1 Return 2HKOs Koffing and is rolls to 2HKO Whirlipede (unlikely) plus boosted Venoshock nukes you. Average, I took Whirlipede to red once though I think it derped with Pursuit.

Burgh (23): Silk Scarf. Have Lucario Work Up to +1: Swadloon lives in red, but Burgh wastes his potion. Leavanny comes in, gets to Berry range but you barely 2HKO anyway. At level 24 Lucario 2HKOs Dwebble with Force Palm. Extremely easy, you’ll still be in green health.

Elesa (30): Soft Sand. Much to my shock, Lucario outsped Emolga. Soft Sand unboosted Bone Rush with 3 hits OHKOs Flaaffy.

I used Work Up before Emolga Volt Switches (a 4HKO, to 66 / 91 HP) as Zebstrika comes in. Zebstrika then Flame Charged me to 30 HP (read: a 3HKO) as +1 3-hit Bone Rush takes care of it. Flaaffy comes in and +1 2-hit Bone Rush OHKOs it. Emolga comes back in as I am at level 31 with 32 HP. I OHKO it with Return and get a Static proc.

My second attempt had Zebstrika Volt Switch to Flaffy, which died. Zebstrika used Pursuit as I missed Bone Rush, then it killed me. This isn’t reliable by any means, but I would say it’s slightly better than average.

Clay (31): Expert Belt. Notably, despite Intimidate, you still OHKO Krokorok with -1 Force Palm…sometimes. A future attempt revealed it can live a -1 Force Palm red on low rolls, prompting Clay to heal…though 2 turns means good chances of Force Palm paralysis (Krokorok Bulldoze roughly 2HKOs you).

Sandslash comes in and I switch out to something else, as most of the time Excadrill comes in on your Krokorok killer.

At full HP and no debuffs, Lucario’s Force Palm looks to be a rough 3HKO on Sandslash and Bulldoze 2HKOs you.

Lucario outspeeds Excadrill and you Force Palm to mid-yellow or even low green post Berry. However, Bulldoze knocks you to red and lets it pick you off with Slash since it outspeeds you post-Speed drop. The first matchup Lucario is definitely pretty bad for.

Skyla (38): Expert Belt. This matchup is weird. Swoobat 3HKOs you with Acrobatics, but if you had the fortune to get a Steadfast Riolu and she rolls a 30% flinch on Heart Stamp, you can outspeed both Swoobat and Swanna. If you Swords Dance up before this happens, both Swoobat and Swanna are OHKOed by +2 Rock Slide, but Skarmory is bulky enough to live two Force Palms unless you get high rolls. It never really attacked me though.

The second attempt went differently, Swoobat Acrobatics turn 1 and Attracted turn 2, though I didn’t roll infatuation and OHKOed it. Swanna goes first and Air Slashes me to 31 HP as Rock Slide OHKOs once more. Skarmory managed to faint me with two uses of Air Cutter right before I dealt the finishing blow. Decent.

Drayden (47, 48 for Haxorus): Silk Scarf. Don’t bother with +2 Return in this matchup: it leaves Druddigon and Flygon alive and you REALLY don’t want to eat boosted Revenge from Druddigon (takes you to red more or less). You just need two turns (unboosted Druddigon Revenge 2HKOs and it is rare he clicks it twice anyway), though in one attempt I died to a crit.

If you boost to +4 he seems to spam Dragon Tail as his team is OHKOed by +4 Return. Much more reliable than Skyla despite +4. For reference, Flygon’s Earth Power knocks you to red from full.

Marlon (51): Rawst Berry. You can 2HKO Carracosta with two Force Palms if it goes for Shell Smash turn 1, thankfully you outspeed it even when Carracosta is +2. You can Swords Dance on Wailord whose Scald is a 3HKO - I rolled a crit Return to OHKO. Jellicent is OHKOed by +2 Shadow Claw.

Next attempt Lucario apparently REALLY hated Marlon’s Carracosta, I crit it, rolled the Force Palm proc, and it was fully paralyzed on the same turn as Marlon healed. After doing 1/3 to it on heal, I Swords Danced up, with Carracosta’s Scald being a 3HKO and burning me, which was healed off due to Rawst Berry.

I finish Carracosta off, and +2 Return leaves Wailord in red, with Wailord taking me to red but not burning with Scald. I OHKO Jellicent just like usual. Pretty good.

Colress (54): Cheri Berry. 3 hits of Bone Rush seems to kill both Magneton and Magnezone (I got a crit on the latter but eh). Magneton’s Discharge seems to 2HKO you, so watch out.

You can Swords Dance with Cheri Berry; +2 Bone Rush OHKOs Magneton and Magnezone with 2 hits. I level up to level 55 and OHKO Klinklang with +2 Force Palm. Beheeyem comes out and dies to +2 Return. Metang comes out and lives 2 hits of +2 Bone Rush in red and +2 Force Palm in yellow, but dies all the same. I tested again and Beheeyem lived +2 Return in red this time. Still an effortless sweep, notably you outspeed Metang after Agility.

Ghetsis (55): Expert Belt. As a side note, Lucario OHKOs White Kyurem with Close Combat. Cofagrigus’s Psychic doesn’t even 3HKO you, amusingly. Boosting to +4 lets you OHKO Cofagrigus with Shadow Claw. Seismitoad dies to +4 Return. Drapion is outsped and OHKOed by Close Combat. Now at level 56, Lucario outspeeds and OHKOs Eelektross and Toxicroak with Return. Hydeigon comes out last and is outsped and OHKOed by Close Combat.

Shauntal (58): Rawst Berry. +2 Expert Belt Shadow Claw takes Cofagrigus to red, so you need +4 to beat it. Hope Cofagrigus goes for Will-O-Wisp, then Psychic (4HKO) as you Swords Dance to +4. OHKO Cofagrigus with Shadow Claw.

The problem is now you need to either chance Chandelure’s Flame Body 30% or a 10% Rock Slide miss: I missed and got crit by Fire Blast (ow!). Alternatively, you can say “BLEEP that accuracy nonsense” and apparently just OHKO it with +4 Bulldoze without risk. Both Golurk and Driftblim are outsped and OHKOed by +4 Shadow Claw, and you have enough HP to where Aftermath isn’t an issue.

Caitlin (59): Chesto Berry. You can easily boost with Swords Dance twice on Musharna as it uses Yawn twice. From there you outspeed and OHKO everything with Shadow Claw. My Lucario was level 60 when Sigilyph came out last, but I doubt it mattered.

Marshal (59): Leftovers. Bulldoze from Throh does a third as you Swords Dance, then watch and be amazed as Lucario OHKOs Marshal's Throh at +2 with Close Combat. Mienshao comes in and revenge kills you right after though. An unboosted crit Close Combat almost one shot Conkeldurr before Sitrus Berry, implying it is 3HKOed . Lucario notably 1v1s Sawk if Lucario is at full health, as you can Bulldoze (I outsped it fine anyway, but Sawk and Lucario get close in Speed) to break Sturdy, tank a Brick Break into red health, then kill Sawk with Close Combat.

Grimsley (59): Expert Belt. You almost don’t even need to Swords Dance here, as Fake Out into Steadfast lets you outspeed and OHKO Liepard and even Krookodile with Close Combat…until Scrafty lives -1 Close Combat in red and OHKOs you back. Swords Dance once and tear through his team no problem. Liepard can go for Attract if you are male, but it’s not really killing you anyway. Easy sweep.

Iris (59): Expert Belt. Believe it or not, Lucario outspeeds Hydreigon, so you can Swords Dance up before OHKOing with Close Combat (Flamethrower knocks you near red). Druddigon comes out and promptly dies to +2 Close Combat, same with Aggron as Lucario grows to level 60. Haxorus comes out fourth, but you outspeed and +2 Close Combat knocks it to Focus Sash range as it kills you with Earthquake.

Revived and fresh, unboosted Close Combat OHKOs Lapras but causes Archeops to revenge kill you with Acrobatics easily. 1v1ing Archeops goes no better for Lucario, as unboosted Close Combat knocks it near red while Acrobatics does similar damage to you; you lose as it is faster, but Archeops generally comes out last anyway.

Roxie (17): Silk Scarf. Dunsparce outspeeds and 3HKOs Koffing with Silk Scarf 150-199 Return. I’m at 2/3 HP for Whirlipede. Venoshock does like…9 damage of my 64 HP as I use Yawn, then Defense Curl, now at 1/3 HP as Whirlipede is asleep. One miss later and poison damage, reset.

I instead Defense Curl turn 1 on Koffing. Three Rollouts takes it out, then Curlout 4 OHKOs Whirlipede. It has Protect though it never went for it in 3 successive attempts.

Burgh (23): Hard Stone. Pretty good even if you bring it in later, I Curled on a weakened Dwebble and killed it and Leavanny with Rollout, albeit at low HP.

Anyway, Defense Curl then Rollout to kill Swadloon in two hits, otherwise a potion is used. Dwebble looks like it stops your fun though due to a potion. I missed as he healed, with Curlout 2 killing it. Curlout 3 takes care of Leavanny but you’re going to get low on HP. Not exactly super reliable due to Razor Leaf crit and miss RNG, but still good overall: it’s moreso Sturdy than Dunsparce being bad here.

Also, Silk Scarf Return based on ranges without it (still using Hard Stone) should 2HKO Swadloon. You can Defense Curl on Dwebble then Rollout there if you like. So yeah, pretty good.

Elesa (30): Silk Scarf. If anything, this fight is where Dunsparce’s minor tank attributes shine. Emolga’s Volt Switch only does 25-27 of your 106 HP (a rough 4-5HKO) while it is surprisingly knocked to mid-RED by Return (though I think I was level 31 when that happened, after the other two mons). Emolga usually Volt Switches to Flaaffy who is knocked to red or mid-yellow by Silk Scarf Return. Flaaffy’s Volt Switch does 31 / 106 HP (a 4HKO).

Assuming no paralysis, Dunsparce outspeeds Flaaffy easily. Believe it or not, Dunsparce actually 2HKOs Zebstrika cleanly with Return even after Sitrus Berry - not half bad. The Ai can also derp sometimes. I used Lemonade to speed up the testing process here, as with all Pokemon in this fight Volt Switch means damage is more annoying to get than usual.

With Cheri Berry, you still cleanly 2HKO Flaaffy in my Lemonade-less solo attempt - I somehow didn’t roll Static in two turns. Emolga switched back to Zebstrika, but without Silk Scarf you fail to 2HKO it with Return thanks to Sitrus Berry. Bizarrely, between heal turns, Quick Attack, and Pursuit, the Ai let me just…kill Zebstrika before Emolga came back in and kill me.

Also, Soft Sand Dig knocks Flaaffy to red. Zebstrika was just too annoying to position, really.

Clay (31): Silk Scarf. Krokorok outspeeds and Crunch 3HKOs you as you 2HKO Krokorok with -1 Return, meaning that while I never saw it, it would be possible to lose to Krokorok if it rolled a Crunch Defense drop turn 1.

At full HP and no debuffs, Dunsparce can easily outtank Sandslash it seems as it likes to Rollout and Crush Claw, though Sandslash does outspeed as you 3HKO with Return (got a lucky miss on Rollout). Mediocre.

At full HP and no debuffs, Dunsparce can Yawn Escadrill as non-critical hit Slash is a 3HKO (40 of your 110 HP). Sadly, Dig 3HKOs Excadrill, bringing it to mid-yellow post-Berry after two hits.

Skyla (38): Hard Stone. Swoobat’s Acrobatics is a 3HKO (like 50 out of your roughly 130 HP), so paralyze it with Thunder Wave, then Rock Slide it turn 2 to take it near red. Unfortunately Attract is a thing if you are male and Skyla can heal, but I beat it first try.

Swanna comes out. Air Slash does 45 damage, which is a 4HKO and can flinch. You can paralyze it too, but Swanna also has…Featherdance, which I think causes you to 4HKO with Rock Slide at -2…and it has Roost. Yeah this will send you into a healing loop most likely. I eventually beat it, but all of my Rock Slide PP was depleted when I did so (though I could have likely used Return just the same). Though I think I used like, two Hyper Potions before I fainted Swanna due to Swoobat and a random critical hit. I think I might have went for a Lemonade on Swoobat too?

While Swanna is slow to be killed, you also have pretty good odds to laugh in its face, because Between 60% Rock Slide flinch chances with Serene Grace and Thunder Wave paralysis, the enemy has a 70% chance of skipping a turn.

Skarmory comes close to 4HKOing with Steel Wing. You can try Leftovers here with Thunder Wave and Coil up, though Steel Wing’s 10% chance to raise Defense is obnoxious. Note it takes a paralyzed Skarmory two Agility uses to outspeed Dunsparce again. At +3 (actually +4, but Skarmory had that Defense buff) more or less both Return and Rock Slide 4HKO Skarmory. You should out-tank it with Leftovers and paralysis rolls.

Actually, with Leftovers, Dunsparce is pretty solid in general. You can Thunder Wave Swoobat, then Rock Slide + Return to kill it if you don’t trigger heal range. Without Featherdance in the picture, Rock Slide 3HKOs Swanna. You just need to not roll a first turn flinch from Air Slash, because the longer the fight goes on the more she risks pulling out Featherdance. Thankfully, not even a Sitrus Berry seems to stop Swanna from being 3HKOed by Rock Slide, allowing me to get to Skarmory with no healing items used whatsoever thanks to paraflinch luck. I’m taken back to yellow by Skarmory’s Steel Wing as I paralyze it and coil once, now at 52 HP after another Steel Wing. I coil a second time as Skarmory uses Agility; I have six Rock Slides left: sadly I don’t flinch it as it boosts again. Naturally, it crits me with I believe Steel Wing (though it also has Air Cutter) before I can finish it off.

Honestly, even though this matchup relies on luck from both sides and you have to waste turns to paralyze stuff, it’s not bad, it’d say it’s just about average and tell you to avoid Skarmory. I’d wager you should prioritize Swanna.

Drayden (48): Leftovers. Druddigon’s Crunch 3HKOs you before you Coil, and depressingly, you are somehow SLOWER. After two Coils Druddigon actually has the brains to start using Slash when you’re around half HP. Fourth turn it apparently went Dragon Tail as I OHKO it with +3 Return.

Flygon comes in, goes for Dragon Tail and I OHKO it. Haxorus comes in and ALSO goes for Dragon Tail as I OHKO it. A hilarious sweep.

Another attempt revealed +2 Return leaves Druddigon and Flagon in red (you could probably get away with running Silk Scarf but healing off chip damage is good for something as slow as Dunsparce).

Marlon (51): Expert Belt. Don’t bother with Coil - +2 Scald from Carracosta 2HKOs and burn sucks. At best you’re beating Carracosta - Warlord outspeeds and revenge kills you. Don’t bother 1v1ing Wailord either with Charge Beam - it has Amnesia, I could heal but like after 5 Charge Beams and Marlon healing I was just like…no thanks, I’m not wasting my time anymore.

Colress (54): Leftovers. Magneton 3HKOs with Volt Switch as it goes to Magnezone, who outspeeds you normally. Thankfully, you can Bulldoze and 2HKO it on the switch in, with Leftovers putting you back at 3/4s HP now. I crit Klinklang with Return to 2/3s HP as it used Shift Gear. Sadly, Klinklang’s Defense is so high Drill Run is a 3HKO, and +2 Giga Impact basically OHKOs you.

You outspeed and 2HKO Beheeyem if that means anything to you.

Ghetsis (54): I went Lucky Egg here because I doubted Dunsparce would survive long. Amusingly, you can actually beat White Kyurem - you tank a Fusion Flare easily while barely living in green, Thunder Wave it, flinch it with Rock Slide three times, then kill it with Return - if it goes for Ice Burn, congrats you got a free turn.

Unfortunately, Dunsparce’s one niche I thought it might have for Ghetsis was quashed - Eelektross outspeeds Dunsparce, and while its attacks are 3HKOs, you miss the 2HKO with Return unless you run Silk Scarf, it looks like. I doubt it’s taking any of the others reliably, but between using Coil once and healing up on Eelektross and Toxicroak, it’s revealed that at +1 Defense, Dunsparce takes barely less than half from Toxicroak’s Brick Break while +1 Return leaves it in red (watch out for Sucker Punch though).

Amusingly, one Coil under your belt significantly helps for Drapion, non-critical hit Night Slash does like 45 damage (a 5HKO) while you 2HKO Drapion back with Return. Dunsparce can tank 2 Dragon Rushes from Hydreigon at +1 Defense, but flinches can ironically ruin your day and you only knock it to like, low yellow with Return.

Shauntal (58): Rawst Berry. It’s Dunsparce. Rock Slide unboosted couldn’t even 2HKO Chandelure.

You can boost on Cofagrigus with Charge Beam: +3 Shadow Ball OHKOs it (you outspeed, though full disclosure I did crit Charge Beam once after attempts finally stopped rolling Special Defense drops). Charge Beam Cofagrigus twice, then kill it with Shadow Ball (Rawst should waste a turn and you do outspeed).

Golurk comes out and outspeeds and does half your HP with Brick Break, letting you OHKO back. Chandelure comes out and revenge kills you. Sadly, you need +3 to OHKO Golurk with Shadow Ball as +2 Shadow Ball makes it live in red. If you let burn happen you absolutely die to Golurk, no question.

Caitlin (58): Chesto Berry. Even in the best case scenario where Musharna Yawns the first two turns as you Coil, +2 Return knocks it to low yellow as it Yawns a third time. You kill it, fall asleep, get taken to red by Reuniclus Focus Blast as you Full Heal, and +2 Return knocks Reuniclus to red. Return MIGHT do half to Sigilyph it seems (didn’t hit it at full) and Psychic doesn’t 2HKO you.

Marshal (58): Leftovers. You actually outspeed Throh (yes that’s right folks, DUNSPARCE OUTSPED SOMETHING!) before Bulldoze, so you can sneak in a Coil. Sadly this prompts Throh to Storm Throw you to red and +1 Return is only a 3HKO. Unboosted Return 3HKOs Throh, so you’re probably getting two Returns off before you die.

Grimsley (58): Silk Scarf. +1 Return knocks Liepard to red and thus 2HKOs it, thankfully Fake Out + any use of Night Slash 3HKOs you. Scrafty comes out afterward and revenge kills you.

Iris (58): Silk Scarf. This matchup won’t change anything, it’s probably only taking one at absolute best.

Burgh (23): Eviolite. Golbat outspeeds and OHKO Swadloon with Wing Attack. You can miss the 3HKO on Dwebble with Wing Attack as it chips you with Smack Down, but Confuse Ray can help. Thanks to a potion, Dwebble actually beats Golbat, so best to leave it to something else. Believe it or not, Leavanny actually lives Wing Attack in red pre-Berry, but it’s not killing you.

Elesa (30): Cheri Berry. Return knocks Emolga to barely yellow, but and does similar damage to Flaaffy but leaves it in low green (indeed, 2 Return uses leaves Flaaffy in red, I’d imagine Silk Scarf remedies this and solidifies the 2HKO). Flaaffy tries to paralyze you twice with Cheri Berry.

Crobat actually outspeeds unboosted Zebstrika and knocks it to low green HP with Return, just like Flaaffy. But Volt Switch means it’s probably hard to secure a KO on it. You should be outspeeding everything without paralysis.

Anyway with Silk Scarf, Return does 2/3 of Emolga’s HP and cleanly 2HKOs Flaaffy. You’re 2HKOed by any Volt Switch. Like with Dewott, this isn’t GOOD, but you can likely pick something off after a team member weakens it.

Clay (33): No item. -1 Acrobatics 2HKOs Krokorok as Crunch 4HKOs you (if it did use Torment, Return still picks it off fine). Without debuffs, Acrobatics on Escadrill I think 4HKOs Excadrill as it 2HKOs you with Rock Slide.

At full HP and no debuffs, Acrobatics actually barely manages to 2HKO Sandslash, though it looks pretty close. I am again, assuming no debuffs as most of the time Sandslash comes out third. Not half bad, honestly, just don’t fight Excadrill.

Skyla (39): No item. Crobat outspeeds Swoobat and Acrobatics knocks Swoobat to low yellow as it goes for a 3HKO with Heart Stamp. You waste Skyla’s Hyper Potion through this method. Swanna comes out, and while you don’t 2HKO with Acrobatics due to Berry, Air Slash only does like roughly 35 damage back, knocking you to a little over 40 HP. You should just barely take out Swanna in red HP. Acrobatics is like a 6 or 7HKO on Skarmory, who 4HKOs with Steel Wing. Beating Swoobat and Swanna is pretty reliable, I did it when skipping to Skarmory for another mon.

Drayden (47): No item. Acrobatics comes close to 2HKOing Druddigon but seems like unfavorable rolls: even with a potion use on Druddigon I missed the ranges twice and died (partially due to crits but point stands); this also happened in a second attempt too, so let’s just assume that you probably aren’t beating Druddigon unless you stop to Poison Fang chip it first (you’ll be at 1/3 HP).

After doing half to Flygon with Acrobatics then dying, I revive and heal up Crobat, only to discover that to my horror, Acrobatics is ALSO a 2HKO range on Flygon as Rock Slide 3HKOs you. I heal up a third time only for Haxorus to Dragon Tail me out for 1/3 (yeah, it hurts). I heal up again, hoping for it to tail me back in but I end up switching back in and Acrobatics critting it for the win.

Crobat can 1v1 Haxorus if it starts Dragon Dancing and Slashing you, but AGAIN it misses the 2HKO with Acrobatics. So yeah, Crobat can probably take one threat or so, not very great.

Marlon (51): No item. 2HKO Wailord on ranges with Acrobatics and hope it goes Amnesia over Scald (based on a crit, it seems like maybe a 4HKO or 3HKO normally). Jellicent looks like rolls to 2HKO with Acrobatics as it 3HKOs with Scald - I don’t think this activated Berry. Second attempt not only activated Berry, it activated Cursed Body and I got burned plenty of times by both Wailord and Jellicent.

Colress (54): No item. Yeah you’re not doing much here, so I didn’t test much. However, you 2HKO Beheeyem with Acrobatics before it 2HKOs you with Psychic.

Ghetsis (54): No item. Acrobatics 2HKOs Sesmitoad who roughly 3HKOs with Muddy Water, 2HKOs Drapion who 4HKOs you with IIRC Night Slash. Acrobatics seems to miss the 2HKO on Hydreigon if my crit is any indication, but maybe its Life Orb damage can bridge the gap: Rock Slide looks like a 2HKO. At level 55, Acrobatics OHKOs Toxicroak. I did Full Restore to speed things along but Crobat is by no means bad here.

Shauntal (58): Rawst Berry. Fly + two uses of Acrobatics kills Cofagrigus, though you will have to heal burn off once. Crobat is 2HKOed by Cofagrigus’s Psychic and does a solid 2/3s to Driftblim with Acrobatics (I’d wager Driftblim 2HKOs, Coffin got a Special Defense drop earlier and I was at half HP).

Chandelure’s Psychic puts Crobat in red: Fly is a 3HKO if you are curious (Flame Body is a possibility so there are scenarios where if you have a Rawst Berry you could use Fly). Chandelure seems to win though as Acrobatics puts it in Sitrus Berry range and it lives a second in red. Bizarrely, you and Golurk 3HKO each other with Acrobatics and Shadow Punch, but of course it crit me. Crobat and Driftblim 2HKO each other with Acrobatics and Thunderbolt respectively: you have enough HP to live Aftermath.

Caitlin (58): SilverPowder. Itemless Acrobatics 3HKOs Musharna, and depressingly even SilverPowder X-Scissor (slightly more powerful than itemless Acrobatics) can miss 2HKO (Musharna was still in low green) AND it can set Reflect or put you to sleep. SilverPowder X-Scissor depressingly 4HKOs Sigilyph who does 3/4s with Psychic. Reuniclus is thankfully 2HKOed by X-Scissor, but Gothitelle seems to be 3HKOed. I doubt you’re beating more than one mon.

Marshal (58): No item. Crobat’s Acrobatics knocks Throh to roughly red HP, triggering healing as it can miss with Rock Tomb. Conkeldurr comes in and is notably 2HKOed by Acrobatics despite Sitrus Berry as it whiffs Stone Edge. Sawk is knocked to Sturdy by Acrobatics as boosted Payback 3HKOs you. Crobat outspeeds and OHKOs Mienshao with Acrobatics. Note if Conkeldurr Bulks Up turn one, it seems Stone Edge OHKOS you if you get a bad roll and it lives in a sliver of red HP. Crobat’s one genuinely good matchup: it’s not going to change its C tier placement though.

Grimsley (59): No item. My Crobat is female, and apparently the Ai is smart enough to know it has Inner Focus as it goes for Night Slash on a 4HKO as Acrobatics makes Liepard live in red (X-Scissor does similar damage). Scrafty comes in and also lives Acrobatics in red, Rock Tombing you to yellow, but you still finish it off fine. Krookodile comes in and outspeeds you thanks to Rock Tomb and takes you to red with Crunch while -1 Acrobatics is a 3HKO before you die. Pretty clear cut, but decent.

Iris (59): No item. Didn’t test this much. Acrobatics seems to 3HKO Haxorus, but doing so will cause it to be dangerous as it will DD; pray it misses Dual Chop. Interestingly, you outsped Archeops and Crobat has a chance to live Rock Slide in red, you can Acrobatics it to Defeatist range.

Elesa (30): Cheri Berry. Hysterically, my Pinsir actually outsped Emolga, meaning it’s tricky to hit her other members reliably. Believe it or not though, even without Silk Scarf, Pinsir’s Strength cleanly 2HKOs Emolga as Volt Switch is a 3HKO (27 of your 81 HP). Zebstrika comes in and uses…Pursuit, or maybe Quick Attack but I believe Pursuit??? And Dig bizarrely OHKOs it. Flaaffy comes in and Dig OHKOs it too. Emolga comes back in and dies, I SOMEHOW finished in green HP. My Cheri Berry got used up on Emolga early on, and then Static activated at the very end.

I tried again and virtually the same sweep happened minus any Static procs. It might be my good Attack IV (20-29) but I also can’t really control that much when Pinsir is A) a 5% B) requires Mold Breaker - you’re just not going to get average IVs that way most of the time.

Clay (31): Expert Belt. Notably, despite Intimidate, you OHKO Krokorok with X-Scissor. First time I crit Krokorok, but even in a retest where I took off Expert Belt it STILL OHKOed at -1 without the crit -1 Brick Break does 1/3 to Excadrill not activating Sitrus Berry…but he is smart enough to Bulldoze, then Rock Slide you to red HP and likely flinch you.

In my attempt without Expert Belt, Excadrill immediately Rock Slided then Metal Claw to 2HKO and I got Excadrill to mid-yellow post-Berry.

One on one at full HP with Sandslash without debuffs, you 3HKO it with X-Scissor while their attacks do minimal damage - watch out for Crush Claw Defense drops and crits though - I won with a crit taking me to red HP and a pointless Defense drop on the same turn IIRC. Pretty good.

Skyla (40): Hard Stone. First off, forget Swords Dance, Swoobat outspeeds and cleanly 2HKOs by doing 2/3s of your HP with Acrobatics. Oddly you OHKO it back with Rock Slide. You outspeed Swanna, but Rock Slide should likely only knock it to red / low yellow on an average Pinsir given my absurdly high Attack IV and level (mine did mid-red). Also it finishes the job by 2HKOing you if it gets an Air Slash in (it crit but I doubt it mattered). You outspeed Skarmory unless it goes for Agility: +2 Rock Slide and likely Brick Break 2HKOs it as non-critical hit Air Cutter is a 3HKO: surprisingly you can take Skarmory. Bleh.

Drayden (47): SilverPowder. Druddigon’s Crunch is a rough 3HKO, but believe it or not, +2 X-Scissor was enough to OHKO Druddigon and Flygon, who I outsped (I blame Naive). Haxorus comes in, outspeeds, Dragon Dance derps and dies.

In a second attempt without SilverPowder (it IS out of the way and I have good IVs after all)) I kill Druddigon at +2 but miss the OHKO on Flygon twice; this lets me find out Rock Slide is a 3HKO). Haxorus notably lives in red pre-Berry and kills me. With SIlverPowder back on, I get OHKOs on Druddigon and Flygon once more (had to get Haxorus data for Crobat).

Marlon (50): SilverPowder. You NEED Expert Belt to OHKO Carracosta after Swords Dance with Brick Break - Scald interestingly 2HKOs even when Carracosta is unboosted. +2 X-Scissor actually left Wailord alive.

I went back and got Storm Throw, and this time Carracosta did finally Shell Smash, and I got the OHKO with Storm Throw, and Wailord died to +2 X-Scissor. Jellicent looks 2HKOed by Rock Slide, but then the literal worst turn ever happened - Cursed Body, then Scald burn, after which I knocked it to low yellow with X-Scissor. With another attempt, I flinched Jellicent and won just fine. Pretty great but you definitely need a specific setup (I didn’t consider Storm Throw over Brick Break initially).

Colress (54): SilverPowder. Mold Breaker Dig OHKOs both Magneton and Magnezone. Metang comes in and you Swords Dance as it uses Agility. Surprisingly I still outsped it afterward and OHKOed it with +2 X-Scissor. Klinklang comes in, you outspeed it and OHKO it with +2 Storm Throw. At level 55, I OHKOed Beheeyem with X-Scissor; though I did crit, I doubt it mattered. I repeated the battle and strangely I crit Beheeyem AGAIN with X-Scissor. A clean sweep on Colress is outstanding.

Ghetsis (55): SilverPowder. Boosting on Seismitoad who 2HKOs with Muddy Water. Sesmitoad is outsped and dies to +2 X-Scissor, Eelektross dies to +2 X-Scissor, Hydreigon is outsped and OHKOed by X-Scissor (!), Drapion is outsped and OHKOed by X-Scissor (!!) and Toxicroak dies to Dig. I think I got a level for Toxicroak or something, whatever.

Shauntal (58): Hard Stone. Cofagrigus seems to roughly 2HKO you with Shadow Ball (my Pinsir is a Naive nature) and 3HKO with Psychic. After two healing items I have boosted to max with Swords Dance and am at red HP with a Special Defense drop. I had a brain fart and went Dig over Rock Slide, which sadly didn’t OHKO (left Coffin in red).

I switched to Rawst Berry and amusingly got a miss on WOW, but wasn’t 2HKOed by Shadow Ball as I boosted to max: Coffin was left alive by Rock Slide.

Okay, so killing Cofagrigus is probably out of the question without massive healing and a boosting item. Surprisingly, Driftblim went for Shadow Ball (2HKO at full) and is thankfully slower; I get to +2 with Swords Dance and OHKO it with Rock Slide (still have Rawst Berry on). Chandelure comes out and is also outsped and OHKOed. Golurk takes you to red with Shadow Punch (previously were in high yellow) as you 2HKO with +2 Dig. Pretty good.

Caitlin (58): Chesto Berry. Boost up to +4 with Swords Dance as Musharna Yawns you twice. You outspeed and OHKO everything with X-Scissor: this matchup can also be done just fine at +2 as well.

Marshal (58): Silk Scarf. Throh’s Rock Tomb fails to 3HKO as you Swords Dance: notably +2 Return knocks Throh to red, so you can beat it while losing 3/4s of your HP in enchange and wasting one of Marshal’s healing items (I think I even outsped after one Rock Tomb). Conkeldurr comes in and I know Pinsir isn’t beating that so I switch out. Probably thanks to my Naive nature, I outspeed Mienshao and do 3/4s with unbozsted Return as it uses Bounce for a 2HKO. Sawk is outsped and 2HKOed by unboosted Return as Rock Slide 2HKOs you. Mediocre but you can probably get one KO.

Grimsley (58): SilverPowder. Liepard has Aerial Ace but it is not threatening you (you’ll be at 1/4 HP after Fake Out and two Aerial Aces). Bisharp comes in, you outspeed and Storm Throw it for the OHKO. Scrafty and Grimsley are also outsped and OHKOed by Storm Throw. Pinsir was level 59 for Krookodile who came out last. As long as Liepard doesn’t roll an Aerial Ace crit you should be fine.

Iris (58): SilverPowder. Forget a Swords Dance sweep - Hydreigon outspeeds and OHKOs Pinsir with Flamethrower. You only barely live Druddigon’s Flamethrower and OHKO it with +2 X-Scissor - without SilverPowder it lives in red. Then Archeops comes out and I laugh. Storm Throw unboosted knocks Aggron near red, I didn’t expect it to Automatize and heal but I beat it I guess. Lapras does over half you HP with Surf - I died in green. +2 X-Scissor IIRC leaves Haxorus alive even without Focus Sash. Yeah, just a wash.

Drayden (49): Metal Coat. You Swords Dance as Druddigon’s Revenge is a 4HKO, amusingly. +2 Iron Head knocks Druddigon to red (sensing a pattern here) but it actually uses Crunch to give me a Justified boost. Drayden Hyper Potions, but I OHKO with +3 Iron Head. Cobalion presumably outspeeds and OHKOs both Flygon and Haxorus unless they both clicked Dragon Tail.

My second attempt I boosted to +4 and got a Defiant boost, yeah that also ended in a sweep. This seems pretty reliable, I wanna say it was the smoothest matchup of my six.

Marlon (51): Rawst Berry . 2HKO Carracosta with Sacred Sword (you should still outspeed after Shell Smash). Swords Dance twice on Wailord who uses Amnesia twice, then OHKO with Sacred Sword. Somehow a crit Scald from Jellicent straight up OHKOed Cobalion at equal level.

In another attempt, Wailord went for Scald (3HKO) then Amnesia as I boosted to +4. Jellicent then finished me off with Scald + Burn damage.

Colress (54): Cheri Berry. 2HKO Magneton with Sacred Sword and don’t bother boosting. Don’t take on Magnezone as you don’t wanna get paralyzed.

You can easily Swords Dance on Klinklang and OHKO it with Sacred Sword, OHKO Beheeyem with X-Scissor, and…not OHKO Metang with Sacred Sword (you knock it to red lol).

The problem is Magnezone, Discharge 2HKOs you and you must Full Restore off paralysis and not roll Discharge’s 30% paralysis chance to get going. Also, unboosted Sacred Sword does 2/3 to Klinklang.

Ghetsis (54): Expert Belt. Cobalion 2HKOs White Kyurem with Iron Head. Cofagrigus roughly 3HKOs with Psychic. You can boost up to max easily because it uses Protect. Iron Head OHKOs Cofagrigus, Sacred Sword OHKOs Seismitoad and Drapion, now at level 56, Eelektross dies to Sacred Sword, Toxicroak dies to Iron Head, and Hydreigon dies to Sacred Sword.

Shauntal (58): Metal Coat. I rolled a miss on Will-O-Wisp and boosted to max as Cofagrigus went for Psychic (4HKO). +6 Iron Head OHKOs it. Sadly, Chandelure comes in and heals to low green after +6 Iron Head, nuking you out with Fire Blast.

Driftblim’s Acrobatics 4HKOs you, but note +2 Metal Coat Iron Head seems like it has a chance to not kill it (left in a sliver of red). +4 Iron Head kills Driftblim but guess what, just like with Driftblim at +2, Golurk has a chance to live +4 Metal Coat Iron Head in a sliver of red HP, and Earthquake cleanly 2HKOs you - it would have killed me if I hadn’t deliberately wasted a turn post-flinch to see EQ’s damage. Mediocre.

Caitlin (58): Chesto Berry. Boost up to +4 with Swords Dance as Musharna Yawns you twice. Musharna, Reuniclus, and Gothitelle all die to +4 X-Scissor, while Sigilyph dies to +4 Iron Head; you outspeed everything.

Marshal (58): Metal Coat. +2 Iron Head does 2/3s to Throh as it uses Bulldoze for a 4HKO, but even if you crit or flinch Throh out, Mienshao comes out, outspeeds and finishes you off with HJK. Cobalion can noticeably 1v1 Sawk unboosted, Metal Coat Iron Head barely knocks it to yellow as Brick Break 2HKOs you, though you are faster without debuffs. Meh.

Grimsley (58): Expert Belt. Aerial Ace does literally nothing to Cobalion, so Swords Dance up. Outspeed and OHKO Liepard at +2 with Sacred Sword. Krookodile brings you to +1 but you still outspeed and OHKO with Sacred Sword. Scrafty comes out third, I rolled a crit on it but my second attempt showed it dies to Sacred Sword even at +1, and Bisharp is OHKOed with +1 Sacred Sword. Effortless sweep, helps that Cobalion is genderless so no Attract.

Iris (59): Expert Belt. Cobalion outspeeds Hydreigon and can setup a Swords Dance as Flamethrower 2HKOs (3/4s of your HP). +2 Sacred Sword OHKOs it and Druddigon comes out. Thankfully you have good odds here, you outspeed Druddigon, Focus Blast can miss and Iron Head can flinch as you do 3/4s of its HP with Iron Head. Aggron comes out, is outsped and dies to Sacred Sword (it has Rock Head).

Haxorus comes out fourth and +2 Iron Head cleanly 2HKOs it, but Earthquake finishes you off. I would assume Lapras is 2HKOed by unboosted Sacred Sword (I crit it) but Archeops is actually outsped and OHKOed by unboosted Iron Head. Very, very good. Cobalion also 1v1s Hydreigon even without boosts - you both 2HKO each other.

Oshawott
:bw/oshawott:

Oshawott is an easy B tier. It simply doesn’t sweep enough after Roxie to be worthy of A. From Cheren to Elesa it feels like an A (most notably, you can OHKO Elesa’s Flaaffy with Torrent) as it always contributes, but it slowly devolves into just grabbing a few KOs repeatedly. Water just isn’t a dominant type in this game and Samurott also lacks some key moves that would help it, like Shadow Claw, Work Up, and Rock Slide. It gets the job done but nothing more than that, heck I think B is pretty generous considering you get less than a handful of sweeps.

Riolu
:bw/riolu:
Riolu is an easy A tier, if it didn’t have the infamous level 30-50 dead-ish period it might have potential for S. Riolu and Lucario definitely have problems. Riolu is fairly mediocre for both Cheren and Roxie but fantastic for Burgh. Lucario leans into mediocrity for a triple dose against Elesa, Clay, AND Skyla, which, when combined with the move pool issues, it honestly starts feeling like a B. But from Drayden onward, Lucario has a nearly flawless endgame, like one of the best you’ll ever see in BW2. I had tons of doubts on Riolu going in, and it doesn’t feel like an A until Drayden, but if you can stomach the somewhat middling road getting there, it absolutely earns A rank.

Dunsparce
:bw/dunsparce:

Dunsparce is E tier garbage. I am not mincing words here, I hated Dunsparce. Dunsparce has terrible availability with a 10% rustling grass encounter for a mon that sweeps Roxie, Burgh, and…Drayden. And that’s literally it. The fun moves it have on paper mean nothing in practice. From Chargestone Cave onward, this mon needs major healing almost all the time on the field and has no real advantages over anything else (seriously, almost all the Normals you can get I’d recommend more). Dunsparce almost never OHKOs with Return from Chargestone Cave on, I even missed KOs on crap like Watchog. Dunsparce is basically a worse Audino: yes comparisons are frowned upon, but Audino is A) more common and B) has way better bulk. And yes, I did try to use it, it’s beating one mon per team endgame due to flagging stats. It took me a lot of willpower to not drop it completely.

Zubat
:bw/zubat:
Zubat is C tier, no questions asked. It consistently gets a few KOs in major battles, but combine like...two good matchups (Skyla and Marshal) with the rest being getting one, maybe two KOs for literally the entire game, alongside running into damage ranges a lot (and I mean, A LOT) when getting 2HKOs / 3HKOs hold it back. Zubat also doesn’t have the best start in the world in Castelia - it needs healing constantly until you get to Golbat, yes it’s only 5-8 levels but those levels are pretty painful even with Burgh’s gym to help out.

There is something keeping me from saying D, and that is the fact Crobat is honestly one of the best revenge killers you can get in BW2. While Acrobatics may not hit super-effectively a lot, it is consistently useful for revenge killing stuff both in the field and in major battles. To sum it up: it has an alright run, but peaks with a fast level 33 Acrobatics, and even then that peak isn’t terribly impressive as it rarely hits major battles super-effectively - my Golbat failed to OHKO Burgh’s Leavanny with Wing Attack - on a quad-weakness.

Pinsir
:bw/pinsir:

Pinsir is one Pokemon I’m torn on the borderline for A or B. Pinsir definitely has an uneven performance for the back half of the Gyms, sweeping some and failing at others. It picks back up again with Colress and Ghetsis, basically sweeping both. Its Pokemon League performance leans into meh for me, yes it beats Grimsley and Caitlin but the others give it plenty of trouble and Iris is straight up a no-go more or less. Its weaknesses also show up a fair bit too, most notably Rock moves. The uneven performance (even if it is comparable to A tiers like Lucario) alongside the midgame and pretty miserable availability makes me want to go conservative on this one and say B tier, though it’s definitely a great Pokemon.

Cobalion

:bw/cobalion:

As much as I wanted to say C for Cobalion, I can sort of accept B on this one. Cobalion has more or less exactly two outputs: it sweeps fights with no problems (Drayden, Ghetsis, Grimsley, Caitlin with X-Scissor, complete with an above average Iris performance), or something that resists it or stops it comes in to troll it mid-sweep (Marlon, Colress with paralysis, Shauntal, Marshal). How does Cobalion stack up as a Swords Dance sweeper? There’s better ones out there: Cobalion’s sole coverage move is basically X-Scissor (Volt Switch is pretty irrelevant), it sorely misses both Rock Slide and Shadow Claw, which allow most other Swords Dancers to prosper.

I also think you could feasibly argue C given post-six badges availability and Master Ball requirement. On its own, it’s a level 45 you can slot into an endgame team okay. I just think it’s pretty late despite being good. Borderline B / C, but I slightly lean B, it is effective but you can’t really ignore its issues. What you see is what you get here.
 
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I'm thinking of using Litwick myself as it has been awhile since I last used it.

The best thing you can say about it is you can barely have Lampent by Skyla if you're persistent (level 41) is within the gap. It MIGHT be B tier but it is late and it takes some effort with the Litwick phase. Not sure.

Axew I'm pretty sure is A tier. Yes it's mega late but Haxorus speaks for itself, you get it in time for Drayden and it can even smash Colress with Mold Breaker. I don't think the League stands up to Swords Dance Haxorus either. It's the gold standard of a late mon that absolutely earns A rank (anything post-Clay usually isn't A for me, personally).

Also, as a tip don't forget Cheri Berries and Chesto Berries in important battles you get from the various Pokemon Rangers - just don't use them on your attempt you move onward. Cheri Berries make both Elesa and Colress a lot more manageable, Pecha can help with Roxie, and Chesto Berries COMPLETELY trivialize Caitlin (literally any setup sweeper laughs at her with Chesto).
Thanks for the advice! I haven't played through the main game of B2/W2 since they were new, so there's a lot I have forgotten. I'll keep your advice about the berries in mind. I also decided to go with Litwick as the final member of my team. It could be fun, and I need a Special attacker.

I'm a quite slow player though, and I really want to enjoy this as much as possible, so it will probably take a while until I am done. Just arrived at Castelia today. That said, this thread has raised my interest in completing the main game, so maybe it won't take as long as I initially thought. I should also note that I play on Challenge Mode while I guess the standard is Normal Mode, so there's a chance my results will be a bit different because of that.

On a different note, I definitely agree about Riolu for A. I used one on my inital playthrough of White 2 back in 2012 and it was really great but not perfect, so A feels very suitable for it.
 
Thanks for the advice! I haven't played through the main game of B2/W2 since they were new, so there's a lot I have forgotten. I'll keep your advice about the berries in mind. I also decided to go with Litwick as the final member of my team. It could be fun, and I need a Special attacker.

I'm a quite slow player though, and I really want to enjoy this as much as possible, so it will probably take a while until I am done. Just arrived at Castelia today. That said, this thread has raised my interest in completing the main game, so maybe it won't take as long as I initially thought. I should also note that I play on Challenge Mode while I guess the standard is Normal Mode, so there's a chance my results will be a bit different because of that.

On a different note, I definitely agree about Riolu for A. I used one on my inital playthrough of White 2 back in 2012 and it was really great but not perfect, so A feels very suitable for it.
Don’t worry about your pacing honestly, or playing on Challenge Mode, or even if you do things a little differently from how we do them! Our methods are admittedly a little rigid and not how everyone plays, so if you want to take your time instead of going “boom speedrun I beat the game in 2 days” there’s nothing wrong with that! As long as you’re not like, say, 5 levels higher than a boss (I have literally accidentally broken our rules by Ghetsis as I thought he was level 54 in normal in the last run) I think you should be fine. I remember Challenge Mode in general having a pretty steep curve so you should be fine in that respect. I played on Challenge Mode a lot a few years back.

I’m just happy we’re getting any help or feedback at all since the Pokédex is utterly huge in this game!
 
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Thanks for the advice! I haven't played through the main game of B2/W2 since they were new, so there's a lot I have forgotten. I'll keep your advice about the berries in mind. I also decided to go with Litwick as the final member of my team. It could be fun, and I need a Special attacker.

I'm a quite slow player though, and I really want to enjoy this as much as possible, so it will probably take a while until I am done. Just arrived at Castelia today. That said, this thread has raised my interest in completing the main game, so maybe it won't take as long as I initially thought. I should also note that I play on Challenge Mode while I guess the standard is Normal Mode, so there's a chance my results will be a bit different because of that.

On a different note, I definitely agree about Riolu for A. I used one on my inital playthrough of White 2 back in 2012 and it was really great but not perfect, so A feels very suitable for it.
If you're already deep into your run on challenge mode then it can't be helped, but I'd prefer if you tested in normal mode in the future, as it's not just the levels that are different, but teams, items, and movesets are all changed as well, which will have a dramatic effect on your experience with the pokemon you're testing and what rank they you'll think they should be in. Otherwise, if you can't complete your run quickly, it's no sweat; this thread isn't going anywhere.
 

Ryota Mitarai

Shrektimus Prime
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here is one of my preliminary runs, featuring Flareon / Mandibuzz / Baltoy / Tynamo / Lunatone / Staryu. Nominations and logs are below (note that Iris logs may be missing; this is because I only test Pokemon that I think can actually do something significant there)

Flareon -> C
Flareon

Elesa(30): Soft Sand. Work Up once as Emolga Volt Switches into Flaaffy. Outspeed and OHKO with Dig. Then Emolga clicks Volt Switch again, thus you click Dig in anticipation. Zebstrika comes in and dies to Dig next turn. Emolga then dies to +1 Fire Fang. Flaaffy's Static is pmuch your biggest threat, otherwise, you sweep easily

Clay(33): nope. Loses the 1v1 against everything. Excadrill, in paricular, just OHKOes it with Bulldoze

Skyla(39): Charcoal Lava Plume 2HKOes Swoobat (puts it in healing range), which 3HKOes with Acrobatics. Switch out against Swanna. Bring Flareon back against Skarmory and spam Lava Plume. Even if you took two Acrobatics, it is possible to live Skarmory's Steel Wing, though it depends on rolls. Furthermore, netting a burn at any point (out of three attempts) on Swoobat or Skarmory guarantees a victory against both. Fairly good matchup.

Drayden(50): Silk Scarf. Work Up twice and use Flame Charge once on Druddigon. Then outspeed and OHKO everything with Return. You will likely have to heal against Druddigon, as half of its moves 3HKO Flareon. Okay-ish matchup, certainly not very intuitive

Marlon: nope

Colress(54): Cheri Berry. 2HKO Magneton with Flame Charge as it tries to paralyze you. 2HKO Magnezone as well. After beating Zone, throw a Full Restore against Metang, Work Up once, then spam Lava Plume for the win (2HKO on Beheeyem, OHKO on the rest)

Ghetsis(54): Pecha Berry. Work Up thrice, get a Flame Charge boost and spam Return / Lava Plume to OHKO everything. You outspeed even Hydreigon. Eelektross was a crit with Lava Plume and I don't want to retest, so I assume you can OHKO it with something if even Hydreigon dies to Return

Shauntal(59): you need at least three Work Ups (Shadow Ball is a 4HKO) and then two Flame Charge Boosts. You OHKO Golurk with Charcoal Lava Plume (+2 misses the OHKO) and you can OHKO Chandelure with Dig. Never reached Drifblim, but I assume you can win against it.

Flareon

Grimsley: nope. You need tons of set up and healing to sweep (+1 Lava Plume 2HKOes Krookodile, putting it in yellow) and Night Slash from Liepard is a 3HKO, so it's hard to set up without crits

Caitlin: Chesto Berry. Work Up twice, Flame Charge, throw in a Full Restore to remove second Yawn, and spam Lava Plume. You beat Musharna and Reuniclus before Goth comes in, eats a Lava Plume and finishes you off

Marshal: no


So Flareon is kind of inconsistent in its performance as a whole; it has some very good matchups, but it often feels like a total deadweight due to autolosing a few matchups (like Marlon and Marshal). In addition, some of its sweeps require heavy setup and healing in order for it to sweep (like Ghetsis and Grimsley). It's all-around decent, but its performance in major fights is all over the place

Mandibuzz -> B at worst, maybe A
Mandibuzz

Elesa(30): Leftovers. Volt Switch seems to 3HKO Mandibuzz. However, there's a way to sweep here. Basically, you need to make it to +4 with Nasty Plot and trigger Weak Armor once, which is likely to happen (esp wth Snarl drops, as they decide to attack you with... Pursuit). Anyways, +4 Snarl 2HKOes Zebstrika and OHKOes the rest. You may need a Paralyz Heal for Flaaffy's Thunder Wave, but matchup is surprisingly decent, given I tried this strategy multiple times with success

Clay(33): Leftovers. +4 Snarl 2HKOes Krokorok and +2 Snarl 2HKOes Sandslash. Krokorok lowers your Defense too much, allowing Excadrill to OHKO you. Switch out against Excadrill and bring Mandibuzz back against Sandslash for a 2/3 victory

Skyla(39): spam Nasty Plot to the max, as Swoobat spams Acrobatics. Although it triggers Weak Armor, Swoobat' Unaware means that it ignores the Defense drops. 2HKO it with Faint Attack or Snarl. Spam Snarl on Swanna (2HKO), which goes for Air Slash. Skarmory typically finishes you off, but not before you deal 1/3 of its HP with Snarl. Fairly good matchup.

Drayden(50): Blackglasses. Nasty Plot twice and get some Weak Armor boosts then OHKO everything with Dark Pulse.

Marlon(53): Leftovers. Nasty Plot once on Carracosta, which spams Smack Down (3HKO accounting for Weak Armor). 2HKO with Dark Pulse. This puts it in healing range, giving you some turns to heal for free. +2 Dark Pulse 2HKOes Wailord, which goes for either Bounce (which doesn't KO you) or Amnesia, which you can circumvent with another Nasty Plot. +4 Dark Pulse OHKOes Jellicent, obviously. Bounce paralysis is probs your biggest issue here. Good matchup

Colress(54): Cheri Berry. You need five Bone Rushes to OHKO Magneton and four to OHKO Magnezone. Avoid Klinklang. Set up a Nasty Plot on Metang or Beheeyem and spam Dark Pulse on them. I am gonna say good matchup, because you are almost always taking out at least 3/5.

Ghetsis(54/55): Blackglasses. NP to the max and throw in a Full Restore. OHKO Coffin and Eelektross with Dark Pulse. Hydreigon comes in and 2HKOes with Rock Slide due to Weak Armor. If you do not get flinched, you win by 2HKOing with Air Slash (crit Dark Pulse put it at something like 1 HP, so not sure if it's a 2HKO or 3HKO, Life Orb damage can help you anyways). Then outspeed and OHKO the rest with Dark Pulse or Air Slash

Shauntal(59): Blackglasses. Nasty Plot once, then outspeed (no Weak Armor) and OHKO everything with Dark Pulse. Total demolition

Grimsley: Leftovers. Nasty Plot to the max and OHKO everything but Bisharp (it comes out last) with Air Slash. Liepard spams Aerial Ace, which doesn't threaten you, even with Defense drops. Bisharp generally 1v1s you due to the Defense drops, avoiding a 2HKO from Air Slash due to Sitrus Berry (Heat Wave could probs OHKO, though). Regardless, 3/4 with no coverage is fairly good

Caitlin: Chesto Berry. NP twice, then spam Dark Pulse for free OHKOs. You outspeed everything even without Weak Armor

Marshal: Leftovers. NP twice on Throh. Rock Tomb's Speed drops are nullified by Weak Armor. OHKO it and Conk with Air Slash. Sawk isn't a guaranteed win; you need either low rolls, Air Slash flinch, or one Rock Tomb miss from Throh, as Sawk can KO you with Rock Slide. You can switch out and bring Mandibuzz against Mienshao; set up NP, get Weak Armor triggered (it lives a HJK if in green, which is generally the case if you aren't unlucky with Air Slash misses) and OHKO with Air Slash. Great matchup


Mandibuzz is indeed a hidden gem, despite what you may think at first. It has Nasty Plot to compensate for its rather unimpressive Special Attack, fairly good bulk (in spite of Weak Armor), and decent Speed for a defensive Pokemon. Mandibuzz had no bad matchups until Iris in my case; it has always taken down a huge majority of a major trainer's team, Colress being the only person where more than one Pokemon have been left alive consistently, and even sweeping some fights. Notably, Mandibuzz is great against all Elite Four members, even sweeping half of them with little effort (Caitlin and Shauntal, though Caitlin isn't exactly difficult) and coming close to a sweep against Marshal, who I'd call one of the most difficult fights in this game.

So how does it do that, exactly? Well, the answer is quite simple; it sets up with Nasty Plot, taking advantage of its good Speed and bulk, and even takes advantage of Weak Armor in order to outspeed some of the quicker things in the game. I often paired Mandibuzz with Leftovers to help it with longevity as well. There were a few times where I abused a terrible AI to my advantage (most notably Elesa), so those matchups may not be necessarily good, depending on what the Ai decides to do.

But yeah, if you read the logs above, you will see Mandibuzz destroying most teams, which is why I am going for a high tier, though it does have to set up for a bit (in terms of turns, it sets up about as much as your typical Work Up users, though)

Baltoy -> D

Claydol

Skyla(39): Leftovers. Rock Slide 2HKOes Swoobat. Rock Slide + two Extrasensories KO Swanna without triggering healing. You will want to set up two Cosmic Powers against Swoobat, which tends to spam Assurance. Swanna will require at least one healing (and one more if Swoobat spammed Acrobatics). Skarmory doesn't threaten you at all, but you do little damage to it, even with Extrasensory. Okay-ish matchup

Drayden(50): Leftovers. Cosmic Power twice. Spam Psychic and Earth Power, which 3HKO everything (2HKO if you get lucky drops). Leftovers heals off a huge chunk of the Dragon Tails (Haxorus seems to spam it over Dragon Dance), only Druddigon's Crunch is worrying (esp if it gets a drop). So, I guess fairly good?

Marlon(53): takes out only Carracota. Even with +1 from Charge Beam, you fail to 1v1 Wailord

Colress(54): Leftovers. Cosmic Power turn one and try to get a Charge Beam boost. OHKO Magneton with Earth Power. Try to get another Charge Beam boost on Zone and OHKO it. Beheeyem is 2HKOed by +2 EPower, it will typically go for CM if you are healthy enough. Klinklang dies to Psychic + EPower while spamming Shift Gear and Metang is an easy kill. Good matchup

Ghetsis(54/55): terrible. You need Charge Beam boosts and Cosmic Power to do much, which forces tons of healing. I didn't bother testing too much since it was a huge hassle to get all boosts I needed

Shauntal(59): no. Even +1 Spell Tag Shadow Ball fails to OHKO Cofagrigus. Shauntal's team consistently 2HKOes at worst and you are slower than Drifblim. Bad matchup

Grimsley: didn't bother, too much Cosmic Power spam for my liking. 1v1s Bisharp, though (faster and both 2HKO each other)

Caitlin: Chesto Berry. Somehowly, +2/+3 Shadow Ball doens't OHKO stuff (Reuni lives a +3 one, Sigi and Musharna live a +2 one; I think Musharna also lives +3). Matchup isn't bad, but rather mediocre, compared to setup sweepers that plow through Caitlin

Marshal: Leftovers. Cosmic Power once and fish for two Charge Beam boosts, then spam Psychic to OHKO everything (bar Sawk). You may need to heal due to super effective move spam. Good matchup


I want first to say that this is the first time I have ever nominated Baltoy for a tier higher than E, because Baltoy notoriously sucks in pretty much any game it appears in. So what's the good and bad about Baltoy? The good thing about Baltoy is that its bulk + typing are useful for few fights, most notably Colress. My Claydol was also fairly useful against Skyla, Marshal, and Drayden. There are some quite glaring issues with it, however.

The first one is that it comes after five badges, so it has skipped around half of the game. The second one is that Baltoy is pretty bad before evolution; it's not on the level of needing babying, but you do have to be very picky in regards to what you throw it against, because it will rarely win against anything without a type advantage. The third one is the rate at which Claydol wins; it has to spend something like 10+ turns to actually perform well in most fights, because its offenses aren't exactly home to write about. I often had to abuse Cosmic Power (which just prolongs fights) in order to achieve some of my victories. For this reason, I do not think Baltoy is rather efficient, even if it can handle some of the most difficult fights.

Tynamo -> D
Eelektross

Skyla(39): Spark OHKOes Swoobat on rolls and Charge Beam OHKOes Swanna and 2HKOes Skarmory. I barely made it through with Lucky Egg, but with Eviolite, you are winning for sure

Drayden(50): Acrobatics seems to 3HKO everything. You need to heal just to beat 2/3 of his team. Meh matchup

Marlon(53): Magnet. Charge Beam puts Carracosta in red. If you get +1, you pmuch win, as TBolt OHKOes the rest with this. Jellicent is faster, but you will be healthy by the time you face it

Colress(54): Magnet. ideally bring it against Beheeyem (though Klinklang might work as well). Charge Beam once for a boost and KO Beheeyem (it goes fo two CMs if you fail to kll it) with Crunch. +1 Thunderbolt OHKOes Klinklang and puts Metang in red (so I assume rolls on both sides). Decent matchup

Ghetsis(54): mostly beats Drapion and Coffin/Toxicroak. Meh matchup

Shauntal(59): you can OHKO Cofagrigus with +2 Blackglasses Crunch, but this removes Levitate, which means Golurk (which is faster) nukes you with EQ. You can probably 1v1 Drifblim as well for a 1/2 matchup.

Grimsley: 2HKOes Liepard and Scrafty with Acrobatics. Krookodile and Bisharp generally beat you if attempting to sweep

Caitlin: Chesto Berry. Hone Claws twice and spam Crunch. You OHKO everything but Goth (Goth is almost OHKOed, so I suspect rolls). Sigilyph is faster and 3HKOes you.

Marshal: beats Throh, then it cannot take on anything else. Meh


Decent for Gyms 6 and 8 due to type advantage and even had some use against Colress thanks to resistances. Unfortunately, it's locked behind an 8% encounter rate. Training Tynamo wasn't that hard, since I just threw it on Flying Pokemon, which died with no problems. I tried a Hone Claws setup sweeper at the League and, boy, it failed miserably. It had some success against some of the E4 members, but it resulted in no sweeps, unfortunately it. This run assumed that you hold off evolving till you get Thunderbolt (since Eelektrik has no problems against Skyla)

Lunatone -> D
Lunatone

Drayden(50): Leftovers. Cosmic Power twice. You may need to heal against Druddigon if it spams Crunch. Psychic into Rock Slide into Psychic KO Druddigon without triggering potions. The rest are 2HKOed by Psychic (Haxorus avoids this with a berry, though) and spam Dragon Tail, which generally won't take you out quickly enough. Fairly good matchup

Marlon(53): Twisted Spoon. Charge Beam 3HKOes Carracosta (2HKO with Shell Smash, you outspeed). You ideally want boost turn one to guarantee a KO next turn. +1 Twisted Spoon Psychic 2HKOes Wailord (which goes for Amnesia, most of the time) and +2 outright OHKOes it. Jellicent lives one +2 Psychc and kills you, but it does take heavy damage before that. Decent matchup for that type disadvantage

Colress(54): even with Earth Power, you barely do anything; paralysis forces you to go the Cheri Berry route to KO one of the magnets and Metang almost OHKOes with Meteor Mash while you miss the OHKO on it.

Ghetsis(54/55): nope. You need +3 from Charge Beam to OHKO half of his team and Shadow Ball 2HKOes you. Don't bother

Shauntal(59): Expert Belt. Charge Beam, get boost, then KO Coffin and Golurk with Shadow Ball and Ice Beam, respectively. Drifblim outspeeds and finishes Lunatone off.

Grimsley: no

Caitlin: needs at least three Charge Beam boosts to KO Musharna with Shadow Ball. In addition, Reuniclus eats one anyways and damages you enough so that Sigilyph outspeeds and KOes you.

Marshal: Psychic 2HKOes Throh and Conkeldurr. Conk seems to go for Bulk Up when Lunatone's at full, with +1 Hammer Arm OHKOing. The rest patently beat Lunatone. Kinda disappointing for a Psychic-type, but okay-ish matchup


Biggest problem with this thing is that it comes rather late (after six badges), so its usefulness is greatly limited. It is decent in most of the remaining fights, sweeping Drayden (albeit with Cosmic Power shenanigans) and taking out 2/3 of Marlon's team in spite of the type disadvantage. It had some success against Shauntal and Marshal as well, KOing half of their teams before fainting. I am mostly going with D rather than E since there's almost no real investment to be made with Lunatone, though it does lose a few fights as a whole.

Staryu -> C, with a small case for B
Starmie

Drayden(50): set up Hail and outspeed and OHKO everything with EBelt Blizzard. You live a Crunch and three turns of hail. Excellent matchup

Marlon(53): 1v1 Carracosta, which goes for Shell Smash. Switch out against Jellicent. Magnet Thunder OHKOes Wailord, which likes to go for Bounce (a huge mistake with rain up). Decent matchup

Colress(54): MW Surf 2HKOes everything (bar Klinklang, which I didn't test). While normally not beating the magnets, Natural Cure allows it to employ some hit-n-run strategies; Starmie damages them, eats the TWave and switches out into something (ideally that can eat Volt Switch as well). You 2HKO Beheeyem and Metang; Beheeyem 2HKOes with Energy Ball (unfortunately, rain doesn't make Surf an OHKO). Switch out against Klinklang and use Starmie to KO Metang (it needs more than two Agilities to outspeed and deals little with Rock Slide). Okay matchup

Ghetsis(54/55): beats Toxicroak and Seismitoad. Additionally, it can finish off weakened Drapion and Hydreigon, but both beat it at full

Shauntal(59): Mystic Water. 2HKOes Cofagrigus with Surf, which just burns it. Switch out against Drifblim (2HKO with Ice Beam, but it kills you with Shadow Ball). Starmie outspeeds and OHKOes the rest with Surf

Grimsley: beats Liepard and Krookodile with MW Surf. Bisharp is put in yellow by that, so I assume Rain Dance wouldn't achieve an OHKO (not to mention you cannot set it up, as you die to Night Slash)

Caitlin: meh matchup. Super effective coverage everywhere and Starmie struggles to 2HKO.

Marshal: Twisted Spoon. Psychic 2HKOes Throh and Sawk and OHKOes the rest. You beat Throh, then Mienshao (assuming it goes for Bounce and not U-turn), then switch out against Sawk, then OHKO Conkeldurr


I am not sure why this was ever placed in A-tier in the old thread, but I think this one is a good candidate for some major reconsideration. Like Lunatone, this thing comes after six badges, so where you can use it is a bit limited already. Unlike Lunatone, however, Starmie has a lot more good matchups; it sweeps Drayden more easily, still takes out 2/3 of Marlon's team, and is more useful against Colress due to Natural Cure. In addition, it dents Shauntal and Marshal very hard and was very good against Iris, taking out 4/6 of her team with just spamming moves alone. I don't think a Pokemon as late as it deserves A-tier, but Staryu was a decent surprise as a whole and it's probably one of the most viable late-game Pokemon you can obtain

It's worth mentioning that I do not take exp groups into account here; they are relevant for maybe the first half of the game only, with Lucky Egg essentially making even the worst ones level up fast enough and thus do not feel they have enough importance to impact any of my nominations.
I will post more preliminary runs as I find my logs and write them up, let me know if there are any issues with my nominations.
 
If you're already deep into your run on challenge mode then it can't be helped, but I'd prefer if you tested in normal mode in the future, as it's not just the levels that are different, but teams, items, and movesets are all changed as well, which will have a dramatic effect on your experience with the pokemon you're testing and what rank they you'll think they should be in. Otherwise, if you can't complete your run quickly, it's no sweat; this thread isn't going anywhere.
That's fair, I definitely understand. I was already planning to play on Challenge Mode from the beginning, I wouldn't have thought about contributing to this list if you hadn't started this thread just a day after I started playing. I won't do any more playthroughs after this one (at least not in the near future), so I will only have one run to contribute to the thread.
 

Ryota Mitarai

Shrektimus Prime
is a Tiering Contributoris a Contributor to Smogonis a Top Smogon Media Contributor
I managed to dig out logs for one of my other preliminary runs. In this case, I have logs for Audino / Steelix / Combee / Castform / Skarmory / Lapras. If a matchup is missing, that means I didn't tet it

Audino -> D
Audino

Roxie(17): Return and Frustration seem to do about the same damage. At +2, Return is a 2HKO on rolls on Koffing and a 3HKO on Whirlipede. Boosted Venoshock is your biggest issue, but you have Refresh to heal it off, if you have to.

Burgh(24): Work Up thrice with Leftovers and spam Return. This OHKOes Swadloon, 3HKOes Dwebble, and 2HKOes Leavanny. You win if no crits

Elesa(30): +2 Dig OHKOes Zebstrika and +2 Return OHKOes the rest. Leftovers helps greatly, since VSwitch isn't dangerous. Great matchup

Clay(33): Work Up twice with Leftovers and spam Return. You beat Krokorok and Sandslash, even if hit with Torment. Exca might also be defeated with some healing, though Crush Claw defense drops can make it shaky

Skyla(40): Leftovers. Return 2HKOes Swoobat and, after a Work Up, Swanna (even through berry). You will need healing if you get flinched

Drayden(50): +3 Return almost OHKOes Druddigon and OHKOes the rest. With Leftovers, you have a good chance of sweeping, though you may still have to heal, depending on the damage you take

Marlon(53): Magnet Charge Beam 2HKOes Carracosta, assuming it goes for Shell Smash and you get a boost. If you get burned by Scald, you are losing against Wailord unless you heal, otherwise, you might be able to muscle through it, assuming you are very lucky with Charge Beam boosts. Meh matchup, in all honesty

Ghetsis(54/55): +4 Shadow Ball / Return seems to OHKO everything, though I couldn't get through the whole fight to verify it. This is because Audino will have to heal at least twice even with Leftovers to make it past four Pokemon (Coffin, Seismitoad, Toxicroak, and Drapion).

Shauntal(59): Work Up four times and heal with Full Restore. Then outspeed and OHKO Coffin and Golurk with Shadow Ball. Chandelure puts you in red with Fire Blast, but dies to Shadow Ball. Drifblim finishes you off

Grimsley: Work Up three times and spam Return, which beats Liepard and (with healing) Scrafty. Krookodile then finishes you off

Caitlin: somehowly, you need +6 to OHKO Reuniclus with Shadow Ball. Set up to the max and you will likely sweep (heal when needed, though)


Audino is okay-ish early on with its bulk being too much for the early-game, where most Pokemon are still unevolved. However, Audino becomes a Work Up addict from the very moment of its capture; I don't think I ever went without at least two boosts in any matchup. On top of this, you don't even end up sweeping reliably in most cases, which kind of sucks when you have to set up at least twice. The later portions of the game are somewhat difficult for Audino because its stats don't hold up there anymore and, as a result, will require a lot of healing to succeed there. So it's not too bad, but it is certainly more inefficient than efficient, so I think D-tier makes perfect sense

Onix (Trade) -> B
Steelix

Burgh(24): basically unkillable with Leftovers. Set up SR turn one and spam Smack Down (3HKO on everything without SR)

Elesa(30): easy sweep, they literally cannot touch you at all

Clay(33): -1 the entire time. For w/e reason, Krokorok's Sand Tomb is the only Ground move the AI ever selects (I tested like three times to confirm this behavior). Anyways, if hit with Torment, you can just Screech -> Iron Head or Dig and repeat in order to win against everything (hold Leftovers). Iron Head this way is a 2HKO on Krokorok and a 3HKO on Sandslash, while Dig is an OHKO on rolls on Excadrill. They don't deal anything to you at all even with defense drops (and even if you do get those, the AI still refuses to use Ground moves).

Skyla(40): easy sweep. Curse twice on Swoobat, which deals less than Leftovers's healing. In fact, you end up with full HP after KOing it (Rock Slide puts it in red), which means that Swanna cannot OHKO you with a crit Bubble Beam (normal is a 2HKO). Rock Slide 2HKOes Swoobat. Even after taking a Bubble Beam, Skarm doesn't threaten you at all and is 3HKOed by Rock Slide

Drayden(50): if used as the only member, easy sweep. Curse thrice then spam Iron Head. Druddigon deals so little damage that you will be at full with Leftovers by the time you KO it. Flygon likes to go for DTail, but even then, you can live one Earth Power and you have Sturdy anyways. +3 Iron Head OHKOes Flygon and Haxorus for sure, idr about Druddigon

Marlon(53): no

Colress(54): Leftovers. Spam Bulldoze on magnets, which should dispatch them out handily (you outspeed Magneton after two Bulldozes and Magnezone after one). 2HKO Beheeyem with Iron Head, which fails to KO you with two Energy Balls. Curse once on Klinklang, pop the Air Balloon with Iron Head and spam Bulldoze for the win. Klinklang does not threaten you at all and by the time it sets up enough, you will have KOed it

Ghetsis(54): unfortunately, sweeping here isn't possible due to the existance of Seismitoad (and other special moves), making Curse setup impossible without severe and careful healing

Shauntal(59): nope, Chandelure ruins any chances of sweeps (it comes out after Coffin, where you have to set up like crazy to sweep). You can set up on Golurk or (preferably) Drifblim, though

Grimsley: Leftovers. Curse three times then spam Bulldoze / Iron Head. Super effective moves barely do anything to you, unless they land a crit.

Caitlin: even with Curse spam, you have Focus Blast to worry about and Reflect means you fail to 2HKO Reuni even with +3 Iron Head

Marshal: with two Curses, Iron Head spam, and healing, you take out... Throh and Mienshao

Iris: Leftovers. Works best if you dispatch off all special attackers (which unironically happened to me). Once you have them taken out, bring Steelix against Aggron or Archeops (preferably the latter, but the former is good enough) and Curse twice. OHKO Aggron with Bulldoze and spam Iron Head on the other two (OHKO on Archeops, 2HKO on Haxorus). At full health, this strategy lets you beat them without healing whatsoever


This run assumes that you evolve Steelix immediately (it's a bit inefficient, but I wanted to see the earlier matchups). Steelix's typing is incredibly good for the mid- and late-game due to hard walling several opponents. Even Clay, a type disadvantageous matchup, ended up losing to Steelix due to AI derp. Steelix does fall off a bit in the endgame due to being overloaded with special attackers, though it does manage to squeeze a few victories like Colress and Grimsley. Another flaw of Steelix is wanting a Metal Coat immediately so that it can beat Burgh and Clay (as well as have a usable Attack).

Combee -> F
Vespiquen

Elesa(30): beats Flaaffy.

Clay(33): Bug Buzz OHKOes Krokorok and 2HKOes Sandslash. Krokorok goes for Torment and then Excadrill comes in, so switch out. Sandslash is outsped and its Rollout seems to come close to a 2HKO (but is a 3HKO with the rolls I got).

Skyla(40): nope, 2HKOed by whatever Power Gem hits, while being slower.

Drayden(50): if used as the only member, you can spam Defend Order and heal up with Leftovers. Rock Slide from Flygon is a 2HKO at +2 (iirc?). With that said, this is also not very efficient

Marlon(53): don't even bother setting up on Carracosta. Defend Order spam on Wailord + Toxic can help you muscle through the rest, but lol

Ghetsis(54): if you want to make it through the whole fight alive, you have to spam Defend Order and healing items to even get past Cofagrigus. You also need to Toxic stall it to win on first place. One big F-tier performance here

Shauntal(59): Toxic stalling is pmuch the only thing you can do lol

Grimsley: beats Liepard (OHKO with Bug Buzz). Then Scrafty comes in and outspeeds and kills it with two Crunches while Acrobatics fails to OHKO. On top of this, it and Krookodile have Rock Tomb

Caitlin: somehowly, you cannot even 2HKO Musharna and Sigilyph. You'd need tons of healing and Defense Orders to get past. Meh matchup


So this might be a bit extreme, but hear me out; not only does Vespiquen suck when talking about efficiency, it even requires investment on top of this.

The first thing is finding a female Combee; the only way to optimize this is to get yourself a male Cute Charm Minccino or Skitty, the latter of which is exclusive to White 2 (Buneary doesn't have Cute Charm until evolution). However, both of those options are somewhat unreliable, as both species' gender ratios are 25%/75% M/F.

The second thing is if you want Bug Buzz on it before Clay; the only way to get it this way is to hold off evolving Combee until level 29, which more-or-less makes it unusable (I remember KOing like maybe one or two Pokemon with an unevolved Combee) on its own until then. Signal Beam is an alternative, but let's be honest, are you really wasting Red Shards on this thing, especially when Bug STAB is barely useful at this point?

Now, onto its matchups. Outside of Clay, which is its only decent matchup, Vespiquen either outright loses the matchup or resorts to spamming Defend Order and Toxic stalling, both of which are pretty much anti-efficiency. Hell, Vespiquen struggled against Grimsley and Caitlin, two type advantageous matchups (let's not even talk about Marshal, who packs Rock coverage).

All in all, Vespiquen's performance already makes D-tier dubious, but combine it with the inefficiency of getting a female Combee and trying to get it Bug Buzz (so that you don't have to reteach it or waste shards on something that isn't a good investment) and this makes it an F-tier in my eyes; it's simply ridiculously inefficient to use.

Castform -> E
Castform

Clay(33): SE Weather Ball OHKOes everything (Excadrill is an assumption, though). Excadrill generally finishes you off.

Skyla(40): Hail turn one then OHKO Swoobat with EBelt Weather Ball (Acrobatics seems like a 3HKO, but it goes for Heart Stamp turn one). Skarm comes in; you outspeed and set up and spam Weather Ball once again, as it hopelessly spams Steel Wing.

Drayden(50): EBelt Blizzard under hail OHKOes everything. However, Flygon's Rock Slide puts you in range for Haxorus's Slash (which is faster)

Marlon(53): Thunder in rain seems to 2HKO everything (Carracosta due to Sturdy). Carracosta seems to 3HKO with Scald unboosted with no rain, so I assume +2 Smack Down on a rain Castform is a 2HKO. Realistically, you aren't beating more than one foe here without healing

Colress(54): (un)surprisingly, it sucks here. Setting up weather is simply too cumbersome and Klinklang even manages to 2HKO with Giga Impact unboosted

Shauntal(59): tried to set up rain, defeated Cofagrigus, then Drifblim came in and KOed me with Thunderbolt... yeah, I don't think you are KOing more than one thing here, honestly

Grimsley: failed to OHKO Liepard with rain Weather Ball...


Castform isn't *too bad*, but it's a hassle to use as a whole. The first problem is that you need to get a Castform off a 5% chance *in a rustling grass*. It has decent matchups like Clay, Skyla, and Drayden, but it has to set up weather to even do anything against them, which opens it up for KOs (since it's not particularly bulky). Its endgame is pretty bad, as it is simply outdamaged, which further exacerbates the issue with setting up weather. All in all, not useless, but a hassle to use

Skarmory -> E
Skarmory

Drayden(50): if used as the only member, it sweeps with little difficulty, as nothing can touch it. Iron Head seems to 3HKO everything

Marlon(53): even with Shell Smash defense drops, Iron Head doesn't even 2HKO. Combine it with Scald generally hitting Skarmory hard, I don't see you doing much here, you are better off just spamming Spikes

Ghetsis(54): it can take on Toxicroak and Drapion and also set up some Spikes to make the other Pokemon easier to KO.

Shauntal(59): avoid Coffin (which burns you, unless you want to set up Spikes) and Chandelure. Might as well avoid Drifblim since it packs Thunderbolt. Theorymonned here, but I highly doubt you will be doing much

Grimsley: Leftovers. Set up three layers of Spikes. Then spam Fly (this gives you free healing turns) and beat everything but Bisharp

Caitlin: everything here can hit it super effectively and off its weaker Special Defense, what am I supposed to do with it here again?

Marshal: set up one layer of Spikes to break Sturdy. Fly 2HKOes Throh and OHKOes Mienshao, pair it with Leftovers. Conk generally sets up Bulk Up, so Conk might be able to win, especially since you will have to heal at least once to get past it


Outside of coming after six badges, Skarmory isn't exactly useful in major battles either; its offenses are simply too low and thus takes too long to kill something. This is worsened by the fact you are hitting very little super effectively, so you cannot circumvent the issue easily. Skarmory is best off spreading Spikes around so that bulkier stuff are easier to KO for your teammates and to break the various Sturdies you will encounter in the game, but you can look at the logs to see just how little Skarmory tends to do. I didn't bother using Iron Head and Iron Defense, since neither of those looked like they'd help me (the latter would simply prolong fights, which would dock Skarmory some points anyways)

Lapras -> E
Lapras

Drayden(50): EBelt Ice Beam OHKOes everything, easy sweep

Marlon(53): Surf 2HKOes Carracosta, which 2HKOes with +2 Smack Down. Thunder in rain 2HKOes the rest, though Wailord goes for Amnesia sometimes. If Carracosta doesn't go for Shell Smash (and Jellicent doesn't get omniboosts), I could see it sweep without healing whatsoever (if it does go for Shell Smash, you will need to heal after Wailord). However, Cursed Body makes sweeps even more inconsistent. Meh matchup, it takes way too long

Ghetsis(54): at best beats one thing, though it cannot OHKO anything (even Hydreigon lives Ice Beam after two Life Orbs)

Shauntal(59): MW Surf 2HKOes Cofagrigus. Drifblim and Chandelure finish you off, as neither is OHKOed and outspeed and 2HKO you if you took Coffin's Shadow Ball. You beat Golurk as well, though

Grimsley: beats Liepard and Krookodile

Iris: EBelt Ice Beam puts Hydreigon in potion range, which seems to 3HKO with Dragon Pulse. Druddigon almost dies to Ice Beam, but then finishes you off with a super effective move. Lapras also outspeeds and OHKOes Aggron with Surf. If at full health, Lapras lives a Rock Slide from Archeops (deals around 55-60% damage) and OHKOes it with Surf. Haxorus has its Sash triggered by Ice Beam, though it sets up and kills you.


Rather late like Skarmory, but also happens to be stupidly rare due to being a 5% encounter with bubbling spots.. It is decent for Drayden (sweeps him easily), but tends to be meh elsewhere; even Marlon is mediocre for it due to Wailord's Amnesia and Jellicent's Cursed Body. It does have some use against Iris by taking out a few threats there. But yeah, Lapras has little utility and is annoying to catch due to rarity.

I will post another preliminary run once I collect my logs about it and post them alongside whatever I am running currently (I am close to finishing it).
 
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Geta92

formerly -GetaX-
I might pick up the game again to do some tests when I get the time to do so. If anyone else wants to try something out, something I had in mind was skipping Rattata and just getting a Raticate at the Strange House. It's only in C right now but I think it could be a lot better. A big advantage of skipping Rattata that would be that at this point, you have access to everything that can actually make Raticate good. You can get one with Guts, pick up the Burn/Toxic Orb nearby, and you already get the priority Sucker Punch right off the bat. You can also teach it Sword Dance at the Move Relearner to make a really deadly 1st setup turn. Right in the next area, you can get the TM for Facade, making this strategy even more deadly. Normal/Dark is alright coverage that gets patched out nicely with Dig which you can pick off earlier. Only Skarmory resists all three. Since you’ll essentially get 3 ATK buffs on Sword Dances with Guts, priority Sucker Punch should be enough to pick up a lot of kills and frail things faster than you and Facade and Dig should be good enough for everything else.
 
I might pick up the game again to do some tests when I get the time to do so. If anyone else wants to try something out, something I had in mind was skipping Rattata and just getting a Raticate at the Strange House. It's only in C right now but I think it could be a lot better. A big advantage of skipping Rattata that would be that at this point, you have access to everything that can actually make Raticate good. You can get one with Guts, pick up the Burn/Toxic Orb nearby, and you already get the priority Sucker Punch right off the bat. You can also teach it Sword Dance at the Move Relearner to make a really deadly 1st setup turn. Right in the next area, you can get the TM for Facade, making this strategy even more deadly. Normal/Dark is alright coverage that gets patched out nicely with Dig which you can pick off earlier. Only Skarmory resists all three. Since you’ll essentially get 3 ATK buffs on Sword Dances with Guts, priority Sucker Punch should be enough to pick up a lot of kills and frail things faster than you and Facade and Dig should be good enough for everything else.
Actually, the Facade TM doesn’t come until after seven badges, because it is on the opposite end of the Marine Tube (which is locked for passage until later) meaning you have that big stretch before you can use Raticate to its full potential. And even then the next two bosses in Marlon and Colress have Sturdy mons that resist Facade, so good luck there (you could maybe setup on Wailord but I don’t know how you’d setup on Colress and sweep feasibly). Dig does help for Colress but that also accumulates more poison / burn damage since it is a two-turn move.

Also, I don’t really think skipping Rattata would be noticeably better like it is with unusable trash like Purrloin. Rattata should have Hyper Fang around the time it is caught (it gets Hyper Fang at only level 16 and unevolved Pokémon are still fine for the surrounding areas) and you get Raticate before Burgh easily. It’s still just a Raticate, but it should be at least okay in major battles due to relatively high stats until after Clay, which is when it gets Swords Dance anyway. Catching it earlier also gives it more time to build up Return for Gyms 3-7 before it gets access to Facade. And as a rule of thumb, you generally have to stomp most major battles after six badges to be above C. Skipping four gyms only hurts Rattata / Raticate: it has a way better shot at B tier if you just grab Rattata due to having way better availability, plus you get more EVs that way.

Additionally, regardless of how good Raticate is lategame, it’s also the definition of a glass cannon. 55/60/70 bulk will probably be two-shot by most neutral moves when you get access to Facade.
 
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Ryota Mitarai

Shrektimus Prime
is a Tiering Contributoris a Contributor to Smogonis a Top Smogon Media Contributor
Speaking of later acquisitions, I am noticing that Vullaby and Rufflet are tiered separately from their evolved forms on the list, but they should not be; there's no particular reason to ever use those over the evolved forms you get much, much, much earlier. Yes, they do play out "differently" in that they are just outright worse and have nothing positive that the evolved forms don't. Tiering them separately is a bit like tiering early Psyduck and Route 23 Golduck separately; one is obviously going to be better and the other one provides no benefits whatsoever that'd push you to use it over the first one.

And no, "having to change the clock" is not a negative, I am pretty sure this is going to be allowed (correct me if I am wrong, though). In addition, the fact that the Route 23 Vullaby doesn't have Weak Armor isn't a plus either, because Weak Armor helps Mandibuzz against Grimsley and Marshal and provides no drawbacks against Caitlin and Shauntal, so this Vullaby doesn't have any benefits over the earlier Mandibuzz either.

I will post later or tomorrow the two runs I promised to talk about
 
Speaking of later acquisitions, I am noticing that Vullaby and Rufflet are tiered separately from their evolved forms on the list, but they should not be; there's no particular reason to ever use those over the evolved forms you get much, much, much earlier. Yes, they do play out "differently" in that they are just outright worse and have nothing positive that the evolved forms don't. Tiering them separately is a bit like tiering early Psyduck and Route 23 Golduck separately; one is obviously going to be better and the other one provides no benefits whatsoever that'd push you to use it over the first one.

And no, "having to change the clock" is not a negative, I am pretty sure this is going to be allowed (correct me if I am wrong, though). In addition, the fact that the Route 23 Vullaby doesn't have Weak Armor isn't a plus either, because Weak Armor helps Mandibuzz against Grimsley and Marshal and provides no drawbacks against Caitlin and Shauntal, so this Vullaby doesn't have any benefits over the earlier Mandibuzz either.

I will post later or tomorrow the two runs I promised to talk about
You're right in that I will not be penalizing changing the clock to get Mandibuzz and Braviary, so there is basically no reason to tier their later per-evolutions at all. I will be removing them from the list.

I might pick up the game again to do some tests when I get the time to do so. If anyone else wants to try something out, something I had in mind was skipping Rattata and just getting a Raticate at the Strange House. It's only in C right now but I think it could be a lot better. A big advantage of skipping Rattata that would be that at this point, you have access to everything that can actually make Raticate good. You can get one with Guts, pick up the Burn/Toxic Orb nearby, and you already get the priority Sucker Punch right off the bat. You can also teach it Sword Dance at the Move Relearner to make a really deadly 1st setup turn. Right in the next area, you can get the TM for Facade, making this strategy even more deadly. Normal/Dark is alright coverage that gets patched out nicely with Dig which you can pick off earlier. Only Skarmory resists all three. Since you’ll essentially get 3 ATK buffs on Sword Dances with Guts, priority Sucker Punch should be enough to pick up a lot of kills and frail things faster than you and Facade and Dig should be good enough for everything else.
You could try taking a later Raticate but I certainly wouldn't recommend it. While Raticate isn't hard sweeping everything pre-Orb it certainly is capable of contributing, and regardless by skipping the earlier Rattata you are missing out on important EVs and happiness points that will make your Raticate stronger later on than if you just grabbed it at the Strange House. I also am not a fan of Sucker Punch, Raticate actually has a rather high Speed stat and doesn't need priority except for a few scant targets, which isn't worth losing coverage in Dig over.
 

Ryota Mitarai

Shrektimus Prime
is a Tiering Contributoris a Contributor to Smogonis a Top Smogon Media Contributor
as I promised, I am writing up the Pokemon from the two runs I mentioned. I will put both runs in different hide sections so you can read whichever ones interest you. As always, missing matchup = didn't test

The first one is a preliminary run, consisting of Sewaddle / Zubat / Emolga / Klink / Numel / Pawniard

Sewaddle -> B
Leavanny

Cheren(13/14): Bug Bite 2HKOes Patrat and 3HKOes Lillipup. Lillipup is faster, but +1 Tackle is only a 3HKO, so you win unless it crits

Roxie(19): struggles to beat just Koffing

Burgh(24): Bug Bite 2HKOes Swadloon and Leavanny. Avoid Dwebble

Elesa(30): Silk Scarf Return 2HKOes everything. Zebstrika beats you for sure, though

Clay(33): beats Krokorok and Sandslash

Skyla(40): lul

Drayden(50): SD twice then outspeed and OHKO everything with X-Scissor

Marlon(53): MS Leaf Blade is an OHKO on everything (or triggers Sturdy)

Colress(54): nope

Ghetsis(54): SD twice, then outspeed and OHKO everything with STABs or Return

Shauntal(59): +2 Spell Tag Shadow Claw 2HKOes Coffin and OHKOes the rest. +4 OHKOes everything. Heal off burn

Grimsley(59): outsped by Liepard and 2HKOed by Aerial Ace. Bisharp comes after Liepard, which also has Aerial Ace. All in all, you need offscreen healing to perform well

Caitlin(59): set up go brr (you outspeed Sigilyph, may wanna use Shadow Claw here just in case X-Scissor fails to OHKO)


I will admit Sewaddle doesn't exactly have the strongest case for B, but I feel it's better in B than C. First of all, Sewaddle has a great matchup against Cheren, which is a trait shared only by a few early-game Pokemon (from experience: starters, Lillipup, Riolu, and Pidove). It evolves into Leavanny fairly early if you soft-reset for highest massage boost (I managed to evolve mine before Burgh) and is decent against most Gyms unti Skyla. Afterwards, it sweeps Drayden, Marlon, and Ghetsis easily (will need healing against Ghetsis), alongside Shauntal and Caitlin. As I said, not the most solid case, but I think it performs slightly better than what I'd put in C, so I will go for B, though this will probably need more tests before this is put anywhere

Zubat -> C
Crobat

Burgh(24): Wing Attack 3HKOes Dwebble (doesn't trigger potions) and OHKOes the rest. Eviolite makes Dwebble a non-threat. Easy sweep

Elesa(30): Silk Scarf Return 2HKOes everything (though Zebstrika is a 3HKO due to berry). Due to Volt Switch nad paralysis, you don't do much here

Clay(33): Acrobatics 2HKOes Krokorok at -1 and, without modifiers, 3HKOes Sandslash, which only wins if it lands a lucky crit.

Skyla(40): Acrobaticss 2HKOes Swoobat and Swanna. Easy victory against those if Swanna doesn't Featherdance you

Drayden(50): Acrobatics 2HKOes everything, but Haxorus finishes you off.

Marlon(53): beats Wailord. Jellicent is 3HKOed by Acrobatics because of Sitrus Berry and 3HKOes with Scald, so some luck here is required (mainly no Cursed Body / Scald burns)

Colress(54): nope

Ghetsis(54): beats Coffin and Toxicroak

Shauntal(59): struggles to get 2HKOs here, so not really great

Grimsley(59): beats Liepard and Scrafty

Caitlin(59): meh, didn't try it for obvious reasons

Marshal(59): defeat Throh, switch out against Conk, then bring it back in and beat the rest. Sawk spams Payback for w/e reason, guaranteeing this good matchup


like Sewaddle, Zubat is going to evolve fairly early (I think mine evolved around Elesa, but I am not 100% sure, it's def before Clay, though). Unfortunately, Zubat faces the same issue it faces in other games; it's simply not powerful enough. It has to rely on type advantage to win much, though the great Speed is very nice. It mostly gets by having very strong matchups against certain opponents (like Burgh and Marshal), but it's hardwalled in several matchups or sometimes contributes little to a matchup, so I think C-tier makes perfect sense


Emolga -> D
Emolga

Elesa(30): at best beats her own Emolga

Clay(33): beats Krokorok

Skyla(40): Electro Ball spam nets you an easy victory

Drayden(50): beats either Druddigon or Haxorus

Marlon(53): spam Charge Beam on Carracosta to get at least one boost, then spam Discharge for an easy sweep

Colress(54): nope

Ghetsis(56): didn't try this, since I don't see this doing much + I was overleveled anyways

Shauntal(59): 1v1s Coffin or Drifblim

Grimsley(59): lock Liepard into Fake Out with Encore and spam Acrobatics to beat it and Scrafty.

Caitlin(59): lock Musharna into Reflect or Dream Eater and get yourself free Charge Beam boosts. You may not sweep, but can do quite a lot here

Marshal(59): beats Throh and Mienshao


Emolga has two big issues: the first one is availability. Emolga is a 10% encounter rate with rustling grass. This means it will take you some time to find an Emolga. The second one is its stats, which limit it greatly when not hitting super effectively. Emolga is most useful against Skyla and Marlon, where it sweeps with little effort. The reason I am going with D rather than E is that Emolga does contribute to other fights enough that it does not deserve E-tier, but it's kind of a "two-trick" pony as a whole, given the low amount of sweeps and being limited in its contributions elsewhere

Klink -> C
Klinklang

Clay(33): lul

Skyla(40): with Eviolite and Charge Beam, you win easily. Charge Beam is a 3HKO on Swoobat, allowing you to net multiple boosts (remember it's Unaware, though). Once you feel happy with your boosts, feel free to KO Swoobat with Gear Grind. The rest cannot take boosted Charge Beams at all and nothing on her team hits you hard

Drayden(50): Gear Grind is an OHKO on everything after Screech, though Haxorus can avoid this with its Sitrus Berry. You are unlikely to sweep unless you are lucky with AI behavior (Flygon's Earth Power can KO after eating a Revenge) and accuracy, but you shouldn't struggle too much against Druddigon and Haxorus

Marlon(53): EBelt Charge Beam spam can net you a sweep. It 2HKOes Carracosta if it goes for Shell Smash turn one. Wailord is 3HKOed at +1 and Jellicent takes as little as two to die. Beware Cursed Body, though

Colress(54): nope

Ghetsis(54): Shift Gear thrice then OHKO with Gear Grind or Silk Scarf Return

Shauntal(59): you need four Shift Gears to OHKO everything reliably

Grimsley(59): you need to Shift Gear four times and heal once to sweep. Return OHKOes Liepard and Krookodile, then +3 Gear Grind OHKOes Scrafty. Bisharp is 2HKOed by Wild Charge and requires healing before that to result in a sweep

Caitlin(59): no problems here, just make sure you beat Musharna with Reflect gone


Pretty decent as a whole, it's mainly held back by how much it sets up (and Gear Grind's shaky accuracy, I guess) and that Shift Gear comes quite late. Steel typing lets it set up on a few opponents rather easily and it can even take on opponents like Skyla and Marlon with just Chage Beam. If it didn't set up as much, it'd probs have a good case for B (on the bright side, at least you are getting Klinklang this game, unlike BW1)

Numel -> E
Camerupt

Drayden(50): 1v1s Druddigon with Soft Sand Earth Power, then dies to the next threats

Marlon: lul

Colress(53): can KO Magneton, though it will take tons of damage if it doesn't get a lucky Lava Plume drop to bypass Sturdy. Outside of this, it OHKOes Metang and Klinklang with Charcoal Lava Plume and 2HKOes Beheeyem if it gets burned turn one

Ghetsis(54): beats Toxicroak and Drapion

Shauntal(59): 1v1s Chandelure with Soft Sand Earth Power

Grimsley(59): Soft Sand Earth Power almost OHKOes Liepard and OHKOes Bisharp

Caitlin(59): didn't try it, as Camerupt consistently fails to KO frailer targets

Marshal(59): didn't try it, I have stopped bothering with Camerupt at this point


This is hilariously bad as a whole. It's very slow and its typing is not very helpful for what is left of the game. Colress is the only matchup that comes close to good. In the other ones, you are generally limited to KOing one Pokemon at best. It's even a bit unusable against some of the route trainers around Humilau, as most pack super effective coverage. In short, don't bother using this

Pawniard -> E / D
Bisharp

Drayden(50): nope, Druddigon and Flygon beat you

Marlon(53): 1v1s Carracosta or Jellicent

Colress(54): can probs net a KO or two with Dig and Night Slash (Magneton with Cheri Berry, Metang, and Beheeyem), otherwise, nope

Ghetsis(54): beats Coffin, then mostly loses to everything else.

Shauntal(59): +1 Night Slash with Black Glasses OHKOes everything, but Chandelure is faster... Could use Rock Polish, though

Grimsley(59): Hone Claws thrice and Rock Polish once, then spam Iron Head for the win (you need +3 to OHKO Scrafty). Note that Defiant helps here against Krookodile

Caitlin(59): set up go brr

Marshal(59): unfortunately, Throh goes directly for Storm Throw, so no trolling with Defiant and Rock Polish :((


I originally wanted to say D-tier, but looking at the logs, it might have a better case for E-tier. Outside of coming late, Bisharp's contributions aren't exactly notable; it's mostly limited to sweeping some of the E4, albeit with something like three Hone Claws. Either tier is fine, honestly (and, like Klink, you get to evolve it this time as well)



here are the nominations for my last run, consisting of Venipede / Buneary / Zebstrika / Banette / Pelipper / Tangela
Venipede -> C
Scolipede

Roxie(17/18): Defense Curl then click Rollout. Koffing 8HKOes you after DCurl, so you can afford a miss or two. Rollout #3 is enough to OHKO Whirlipede

Burgh(23): Eviolite. Bug Bite muscles through the Grasses (even eats Sitrus Berry!) and Rollout muscles through Dwebble (it can also kill Leavanny if you still have Rollout left). Smack Down is a 6HKO with DCurl. Easy sweep

Elesa(30): Soft Sand. Dig OHKOes Zebstrika and Flaaffy, the former being a speed tie. Emolga (which is typically the last Pokemon to return if you outspeed and OHKO Zebstrika) is 2HKOed by Rollout, though watch out for Static. Great matchup

Clay(34): Leftovers. Use Defense Curl a few times and 2HKO Krokorok with Bug Bite. -1 Dig is a 3HKO on Excadrill (eat Sitrus Berry with Bug Bite). Alternate between Dig and DCurl if Tormented. Excadrill can be beaten without healing assuming you don't get flinched often. Sandslash goes for Rollout, which you can interrupt with Dig, but matchup kinda gets prolonged. Okay-ish

Skyla(40): Hard Stone. Click Rollout, which KOes Swoobat in two hits (Swoobat is slower and 2HKOes with Acrobatics). Swanna comes in, but is outsped and dies to Rollout. Rollout #4 puts Skarmory in healing range while it goes for Agility, then Rollout #5 triggers Sturdy. Skarmory is faster, but it is possible for Air Cutter to fail to KO (it left me at one HP), at which point you just finish it off with X-Scissor. Rock Slide OHKOes Swoobat and 2HKOes Swanna, but you lose the Skarmory matchup

Drayden(50): Silverpowder. Megahorn + X-Scissor is enough to KO each member, though you cannot afford to miss Megahorn after Druddigon. Iron Defense can be used to cheese the fight if you don't mind the longer battle. Good-ish matchup

Marlon(53): Silver Powder. Megahorn puts Carracosta in yellow even before Shell Smash. If it does go for Shell Smash, feel free to go for Dig. Wailord is KOed by Megahorn + X-Scissor and seems to go for Amnesia. Decent matchup, though you are probs dead if you miss Megahorn against Carracosta

Colress(54): Cheri Berry. Beats Magneton with X-Scissor + Dig, OHKOes Beheeyem with Megahorn, and KOes Metang with Megahorn + Dig. Okay-ish matchup

Ghetsis(54/55): Silver Powder. Megahorn 2HKOes Eelektross and OHKOes Hydreigon, outspeeding both. You will be weakened by Eelektross, preventing you from beating the rest

Shauntal(59): Hard Stone. You 2HKO with Rock Slide the Rock-weak Pokemon. At best beats Drifblim due to that

Grimsley: Silverpowder. OHKOes Liepard with X-Scissor. Dig + Megahorn KO Bisharp without triggering berry. Krookodile is outsped and OHKOed by -1 Megahorn. Fairly good matchup

Caitlin: Silverpowder. Megahorn 2HKOes Sigilyph and OHKOes the rest. Scolipede lives a Psychic from Sigilyph on rolls. X-Scissor doesn't achieve an OHKO on anything


It's a bit weak in the beginning, but its major contributions at that point are also fairly solid thanks to Defense Curl + Rollout. It tends to be decent in most matchups, but it reaches a point where it relies way too much on the inaccurate Megahorn to achieve important KOs. So it's decent, but the rather weak early period + overrerliance on inaccurate moves hold it back significantly

Buneary -> C with a case of B
Lopunny

Burgh(23): Eviolite. Work Up twice and spam Frustration on Swadloon and Jump Kick on Dwebble (2HKO each). Leavanny finishes you off

Elesa(30): Eviolite. Work Up twice. Dig OHKOes non-Emolgas, while Return puts Emolga in red. You will need to heal just to beat 2/3, though sweep is possible. Okay matchup, Static is very annoying

Clay(35): Expert Belt. -1 Jump Kick OHKOes Krokorok on rolls. I switch out against Sandslash because I don't wanna bother with debuffs in place. Excadrill comes in, which misses the 2HKO with Bulldoze (even if you took a Bulldoze from Krokorok from earlier) and is 2HKOed by Jump Kick (even through berry). At best worry about Jump Kick misses and Rock Slide flinches, though Exca also goes for Slash. Decent matchup

Skyla(40): Magnet. Swoobat is slower and 4HKOes with Acrobatics, so feel free to Work Up once (you need it for Skarmory). Put Swoobat in red with Thunder Punch. Swanna is outsped and OHKOed. Skarmory is 2HKOed by +1 Thunder Punch. It goes for Agility, though it won't be able to beat you even when faster. Great matchup

Drayden(50): Silk Scarf. Work Up twice then outspeed and OHKO everything with Return. Unboosted Revenge 3HKOes Lopunny. Easy sweep

Marlon(53): Magnet. Carracosta 3HKOes with Scald, though it is 2HKOed by +1 Thunder Punch. +1 Thunder Punch 2HKOes everything, though you are unlikely to sweep due to taking damage from Carracosta + random Scald burns. Expected better, honestly

Colress(54): even at +1, it 2HKOes things at best, so it's not taking out more than one or two Pokemon.

Ghetsis(54/55): Silk Scarf. Set up on something like Eelektross that cannot 2HKO you and go for three Work Up boosts (you may need to heal once). Then outspeed and OHKO everything with Return

Shauntal(59): Magnet. This takes on like Drifblim at best with a physical set. Work Up + Spell Tag Shadow Ball can see some success, but Chandelure lives even a +3 hit and kills you

Grimsley: Expert Belt. Work Up twice on Liepard (doable without crits) and outspeed and OHKO with Return. Then outspeed and OHKO the rest with Jump Kick. Okay-ish, you are dead as soon as you miss, though

Caitlin: Silk Scarf. +3 Return OHKOes everything, you may need a healing or two to do that with Silk Scarf, though

Iris: Work Up thrice on Hydreigon (heal up once), then OHKO it and Aggron with Jump Kick and Druddgon with Return. Haxorus then comes in and kills you, though you hit it with Return first


Buneary's most annoying trait is its base 0 friendship, which means that you will have to spend some time to evolve it. Mine evolved just before Clay (which explains the two-level advantage) and I gave it a massage after beating Burgh. It gets a fairly powerful Frustration early on, but you get into an awkward period in which neither Return nor Frustration hit hard enough. Lopunny is decent in many matchups thanks to Work Up and wide learnset, but it's also very reliant on Jump Kick not missing at many occassions in order to perform well.

It is important mentioning that you can also catch it directly as a Lopunny from rustling grass at (iirc) 5% encounter rate. Rather inefficient, but the Burgh and Elesa matchups should be better, especially because Lopunny, I think, has 140 friendship upon capture, so with a massage, it gets a usable Return immediately.

Zebstrika -> D
Zebstrika

Skyla(40): Lucky Egg. Spark OHKOes everything but Skarmory, which is handled by Discharge. Easy sweep, can even equip the Lucky Egg for easy experience

Drayden(50): Silk Scarf. Return 3HKOes Druddigon and Flygon, with Druddigon 3HKOing with Crunch. Terrible matchup

Marlon(53): Magnet. Discharge 2HKOes Carracosta and Wild Charge OHKOes the rest. If you took a Scald from Carracosta (assuming no burn), you will self-KO together with Jellicent, but it's not a big deal (a win is a win). Great matchup

Colress(54): Leftovers. Magneton and Magnezone continuously spam Thunder Wave and I spam Charge Beam, giving me an easy route to +6. Muscle through those two and OHKO everything with Discharge. This happened in all of my three attempts, so I am gonna say good matchup

Ghetsis(54/55): Magnet. Normally, you could simply set up Charge Beam boosts on Coffin... till you realize Seismitoad exists.

Shauntal(59): Magnet. Charge Beam + a boost + Thunderbolt KO Cofagrigus. Golurk forces you to switch out. Lure in Drifblim and bring Zebstrika back, preferably on a predicted Thunderbolt. Get to +2 and KO Drifblim (it 3HKOes with Shadow Ball). Chandelure is OHKOed at +2, otherwise, it OHKOes back with Fire Blast, even if at full

Grimsley: didn't test this, because Charge Beam sweep is not doable with Krookodile around and you will have a hard time getting past Scrafty.

Caitlin: Chesto Berry. If you heal it enough so that it can receive something like +4 boosts in Charge Beam, you can sweep, but lol


Zebstrika is mostly useful if you want easy sweeps on Skyla and Marlon, with little use elsewhere. Lightning Rod ones cause Colress to derp, which gives you a free win. In other matchups, Zebstrika relies on Charge Beam boosts in multiple amounts to come close to sweeping, but the presence of Ground-types on numerous teams make this unachievable. But yeah, this thing has three matchups, for most parts, and comes after five badges, so it doesn't have a lot of use, unfortunately.

Banette -> E
Banette

Drayden(50): Spell Tag. Burn into Hex 2HKOes Druddigon. Then Flygon kills you. Lol

Marlon(53): Spell Tag. Burn Carracosta with Will-o-Wisp and spam Hex. Carracosta 3HKOes with burned Crunch or 2HKOes with +2 Scald. Either ways, if you don't get unfavorable luck, you 1v1 Carracosta. Jellicent comes in, which Banette promptly outspeeds and OHKOes with Shadow Claw. Surprisingly decent.

Colress(54): Spell Tag. Outspeeds and OHKOes Beheeyem with Shadow Claw. It 2HKOes Metang as well, which 3HKOes with Meteor Mash. Klinklang can be 1v1ed (if at full) by burning it, spamming Hex and dealing a final blow with Sucker Punch, though you are unable to take on Metang afterwards. Okay-ish matchup

Ghetsis(54): beats Cofagrigus... and that's it

Shauntal(59): Spell Tag. Shadow Claw 2HKOes Cofagrigus and Golurk. Cofagrigus almost OHKOes you and Golurk straight up murders you (though burn + Hex lets you OHKO it, but you cannot take on anything else). Chandelure and Drifblim are faster and murder, though you could hit whatever comes in with a Sucker Punch.

Grimsley: no

Caitlin: Spell Tag. Shadow Claw OHKOes Sigilyph and 2HKOes the rest, though Reuni comes close to an OHKO. Musharna spams Reflect and Charge Beam (seeing my Banette's Insomnia). Sigilyph 2HKOes with Shadow Ball. Okay-ish matchup


Pretty bad as a whole, its stats are just terrible and Ghost doesn't provide it with useful resistances either. It mostly gets by due to a decent Marlon matchup and ability to strike some Ghost-weak Pokemon with a powerful Shadow Claw, but this thing has very specific niche and is mostly bad elsewhere. Wouldn't recommend using it

Pelipper -> E
Pelipper

Drayden(50): Expert Belt. Surf into Hail then Blizzard KO Druddigon, though it damages me with Revenge then Crunch. Flygon almost KOes me with Rock Slide, I KO with Blizzard, then die to hail.

Marlon(53): no

Colress(54): no, half his team has Electric moves, at best you might beat Metang

Ghetsis(55): at best beats Toxicroak

Shauntal(59): Pelipper: Mystic Water. Loses the 1v1 vs Drifblim and Chandelure, so you are limited to KOing Golurk. Lol matchup

Grimsley: beats either Liepard or Krookodile

Caitlin: no


No redeeming qualities whatsoever, it comes late and KOes very few Pokemon on the major team rosters. Unless you are aiming for specific KOs, you probably want to use literally any other Water-type in existance over Pelipper. I am going with E-tier rather than F-tier because there's little cost to using Pelipper (beyond the wasted team slot), just that you don't get much in return that is not HM utility.

Tangela -> D
Tangrowth

Drayden(50): Leftovers. Set up Sunny Day and Growth three times (+2 under sun). Giga Drain then puts Druddigon in red and OHKOes the rest. Tangrowth sets up safely here, unless Druddigon manages to get random Crunch Defense drops and many of them at once. Good matchup, though a bit of a slugfest due to setup

Marlon(53): Leftovers. Growth once on Carracosta and spam Giga Drain. OHKOes Wailord and 2HKOes Jellicent. You can set up an additional Growth to avoid Cursed Body shenanigans

Colress(54): Leftovers. Outsped and 2HKOed by Flash Cannon, so cannot even abuse Leaf Guard. You can perhaps set up on Metang, but I can never bring it out first, so I cannot test it, unfortunately

Ghetsis(54-55): cannot set up without Sleep Powder (which I have no room for, since I need my other moves for this fight) on Coffin, as it comes close to 2HKOing with Shadow Ball. You don't exactly have room to set up on the other things either.

Shauntal(59): Leftovers. Very situational matchup, you need to set up Sunny Day and two Growths, while Coffin 3HKOes you with Shadow Ball and tries to burn you (making it harder to last after sun fades off). +4 Giga Drain OHKOes Cofagrigus. Chandy comes in and, in best scenario, you have one turn of sun left, so you OHKO with Ancient Power. Drifblim comes in and goes for Shadow Ball, which you hopefully live so you can set up another sun to outspeed and OHKO it with Ancient Power. Golurk is outsped under sun and OHKOed. Terrible matchup, since you need tons of conditions to go right

Grimsley: Leftovers. Set up sun and click Growth three times. Spam Giga Drain for the win. I managed to sweep even when I was hit with two crits at pretty bad moments. Good matchup, though setup-heavy

Caitlin: Chesto Berry. It is difficult enough to get to +2, but Sigi also lives an Ancient Power from that. Per se you can sweep, but too much of a hassle to be worth it

Marshal: Leftovers. Set up sun and use three Growths (you outspeed Throh for the first two Growths, though Storm Throw doesn't deal too much if it goes for that anyways). Then spam Giga Drain, which OHKOes everything. Mienshao's HJK is a 3HKO, Conk's crit Hammer Arm is a 2HKO, and Sawk's Brick Break doesn't threaten you. Even with that crit, Tangrowth sweeps without healing items. Great matchup


Comes late and is rather inconsistent in major battles. Its best quality is fitting a Marlon and Marshal counter in one slot. Outside of Drayden an Grimsley (where it has to set up like crazy instead), Tangrowth struggles to sweep due to having difficulties setting up. This is often caused by its poor Special Defense, as well as need to set up both sun and Growths.

This run assumes a Chlorophyll set. This is arguably better than Leaf Guard, as Leaf Guard doesn't heal status (iirc) and Tangrowth is too slow to protect itself from status.


e: I, per se, have other preliminary runs, but I am not 100% about all ranks, so I will merely post individual logs from there when appropriate
 
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The time has come once again. I finished a run in Black 2 with Lillipup, Psyduck, Scraggy, Weak Armor Mandibuzz, and Litwick.
:bw/psyduck:
Cheren (11): Water Gun 3HKOs Patrat and I think +1 Tackle is a 3HKO. My Timid Psyduck notably I think speed tied Lillipup at only level 11, but Water Gun is like a 5 or 6HKO. Average.

Roxie (17): Pecha Berry. Confusion 2HKOs Koffing while Assurance is a rough 5HKO. I crit Confusion but according to ceal it is a 4HKO, which mine also seems to be. Venoshock is a 3HKO but you can Disable it so Poison Sting does only 4 damage. The problem comes in when Roxie Super Potion’s Whirlipede. It can be tough to deplete its HP twice even with Confusion’s 10% chance of the confusion status (I had Whirlipede hit itself twice and I still barely won). It can go either way. You can also Disable Venoshock, but Roxie can waste turns with Protect too. Decent.

Burgh (23): Mystic Water. 2HKO Dwebble with Water Pulse due to Sturdy (crit it once, doubt it mattered as I got two shots with a Hyper use and it does minimal damage).

Elesa (29): LOL no

Clay (33): Mystic Water. You outspeed everything and Water Pulse OHKOs Krokorok and Sandslash. Water Pulse does enough to 2HKO Excadrill, and Bulldoze / Slash seems to 3HKO you. You just have to pray Clay doesn’t flinch you with Rock Slide or crit you with Slash, or you lose. Pretty great.

Skyla (40): Mystic Water. I somehow OHKOed Swoobat (it outspeeds) with Mystic Water Surf, but Attract and Heart Stamp flinches can be a pain. Apparently ceal’s Golduck 2HKOed with Surf, so noting that. You outspeed Skarmory pre-Agility and it does no damage while you knock it to red / 2HKO with Surf. Good matchup.

Drayden (50): Expert Belt. Ice Punch actually cleanly 2HKOs Druddigon while Crunch is a 4HKO. Either Flygon went for Dragon Tail or I outsped it, but regardless Flygon is OHKOed by Ice Punch.

Haxorus is much less favorable: it avoids the 2HKO from Ice Punch due to Sitrus Berry as it boosts with Dragon Dance, +1 Dragon Tails you to red and switches you out.

Hail + Blizzard does even better, basically outspeeding and OHKOing his entire squad (I swept twice with this strategy while ending at around half HP ). Either way Golduck does require Red Shard or 120,000 of TM investment to do well here, so its hard to say Golduck ITSELF is good here. Decent.

Marlon (52): Mystic Water. Cleanly beats Carracosta as Surf 2HKOs and you outspeed after a Shell Smash. Ominous Wind from Jellicent barely avoids 3HKOing you, and if you roll a crit on Shadow Claw, you knock Jellicent to high yellow after Sitrus Berry, but Cursed Body can happen and screw you over. Not useless but not particularly great either with Cursed Body - I didn’t see the need to test this much.

Colress (53): Mystic Water. Mystic Water Surf 2HKOs both Magneton and Magnezone, and Golduck can barely live Magenton’s Volt Switch. Can safely 1v1 Klinklang, you outspeed and 2HKO with Surf, but then it uses Shift Gear and Giga Impact to do 3/4 of your HP. I think you outspeed and 2HKO Metang with Surf, with it being slower even after an Agility. Interestingly, Golduck can sort of take on Beheeyem, you 3HKO with Shadow Claw and it can Calm Mind, but you comfortably live +1 Energy Ball in full so when it doesn’t Recover you may come out on top. Good, can maybe take two mons.

Ghetisis (53): Mystic Water. Surf 2HKOs Cofagrigus but Leftovers and Protect prevent the 2HKO. You outspeed Seismitoad but you’ll usually 3HKO with Surf unless you get high rolls it looks like, Earthquake 3HKOs you. Surf barely 2HKOS Eelektross but Thunderbolt fries you. Surf outspeeds and 2HKOs Drapion while Night Slash seems to barely miss the 3HKO. You outspeed and OHKO Toxicroak with Psychic. Believe it or not, Golduck 1v1s Hydreigon - you actually outspeed and fail to 2HKO it with Ice Beam, but Golduck only takes 3/4 from Dragon Rush and the Life Orb recoil finishes Hydreigon off.

Marshal (57): TwistedSpoon. 3HKOs Throh with Psychic unless you get a Special Defense drop like I did. Believe it or not, with no debuffs, my Timid Golduck outsped Mienshao, put it in red with Psychic, and HJK seems to miss the OHKO (with some Throh Rock Tomb chip IIRC). Heck, on the second hit I even OHKOed it as I somehow rolled ANOTHER Special Defense drop. Psychic barely misses the 2HKO on Conkeldurr, it was at +1 Attack as I had to heal but crit me anyway.

Now at level 58, Golduck cleanly beats Sawk: you outspeed it and knock it to red with Psychic and Brick Break seems like it needs to roll high to 2HKO you, might have seen it knock me to half health in another attempt but not sure. Can probably take one and a half mons.

Grimsley (57): Mystic Water. Night Slash is a 3HKO from Liepard as Surf knocks it to red: Attract sucks. Krookodile sometimes outspeeds you and 3HKOs with EQ. If you set rain, you OHKO Liepard and Krookodile with Surf, deal 2/3s to Scrafty then die. At level 58, Golduck’s rain-boosted Surf cleanly 2HKOs Bisharp dealing 3/4 after Sitrus as Bisharp 3HKOs, but the possibility of crits screw you over.

Shauntal (57): Mystic Water. Surf 2HKOs Cofagrigus and Surf + Ice Beam 2HKOs Driftblim: you outspeed both and they both seem to 3HKO with STABs. Chandelure and Golurk are OHKOed by Surf (was at level 58 for Golurk but I doubt it mattered), but do note Chandelure’s Energy Ball comes very close to OHKOing you if it gets it off. Easy sweep.

Caitlin (57): Chesto Berry. Caitlin’s bulk is hard to crack: even Rain-boosted Surf doesn’t 2HKO Musharna and I only got to test rain due to a crit. Rain-boosted Surf takes Gothitelle to mid-green post Sitrus and it can Calm Mind. Shadow Claw takes it to mid-yellow as I somehow live +1 Thunderbolt at 9 HP: a second Shadow Claw takes Gothitelle to red as it kills me.

With Expert Belt on, you can +6 with Hone Claws and Full Heal off sleep repeatedly but timing Reflect (Caitlin usually goes for this turn 4 / after a second Yawn, +2 Shadow Claw does 2/3s, though I did see her go for it on turn 2) wearing off with Yawn makes this awkward: Musharna dies to +6 Shadow Claw as I fall asleep. Gothitelle Calm Minds as I use another Full Heal, then it is OHKOed by Shadow Claw, same with Reuniclus as I grow to level 58. Sigilyph is outsped and destroyed by +6 Shadow Claw like the rest. Musharna will live +5 Shadow Claw with Reflect up and Yawn you, forcing you to go through the loop again.

On the attempt where I saw Caitlin go early Reflect, I got to +4 and am awake: Musharna and everyone else died. This is far too much setup and item use for me to call it good and only spells out how inefficient this sweep is even if it’s technically reliable.

Iris: (57): Mystic Water / Expert Belt (latter is better though). You beat Archeops with Mystic Water Surf as Acrobatics and Rock Slide 2HKO as Surf OHKOs: hope you don’t flinch on the latter.

With Expert Belt on, Golduck is still questionable here. My Timid Golduck (133 Speed at level 57) speed ties with Hydreigon, meaning the average Golduck will probably be outsped. Hydreigon seems to barely 2HKO you with Dragon Pulse as Ice Beam 2HKOs: I’d imagine this leaves you prey for Acheops later. Lapras comes in and forces you out.

At full HP, Ice Beam cleanly 2HKOs Druddigon as Sheer Force Life Orb Rock Slide 3HKOs you and even looks close to a 2HKO (89 damage out of my 167 HP). Aggron is outsped and OHKOed by Surf and I grow to level 58. Haxorus is faster and Dragon Dances as Ice Beam does 2/3s, then KOs you with +1 Earthquake. You’re likely beating two here.

:bw/lillipup:
Cheren (12): Bite Patrat twice before finishing it off with Tackle / Frustration (you’ll be at half HP if you eat two hits I believe). You’re slower than Cheren’s Lillipup and your Tackle looks like a rough 3HKO and the opposing Lillipup’s +1 Tackle 2HKOs you. Average.

Roxie (17): Silk Scarf. Work Up to +2 with Return, and on rolls Herdier might even kill Koffing, if you don’t, that’s even better because it wastes Roxie’s Super Potion. +2 Take Down NUKES THE CRAP out of Whirlipede, you actually take it to red HP and Venoshock I think is a 4HKO. You might be faster so Return can possibly pick it off. Alternatively, boost to +3 on Koffing: it poisoned with Smog, Whirlipede was faster and got in Pursuit, and I STILL won in red HP. Good.

Burgh (23): Eviolite. Razor Leaf crits from Swadloon are 4HKOs while +3 Return OHKOs Swadloon and +3 Bite barely 2HKOs Dwebble (Smack Down does like…7 of your 67 HP). I Lemonade as I am close to red and finish off Dwebble. Leavanny was actually OHKOed by +3 Return. Ended the fight in low green. Note Herdier can barely live a crit Razor Leaf from Leavanny.

Elesa (29): Eviolite. Even if Emolga crits Volt Switch, it only does roughly half of Herdier's HP as you Work Up. +1 max happiness Return consistently knocks Flaaffy to red and ALMOST OHKOs Emolga, but it barely lives and kills you.

On another attempt, it’s revealed Emolga roughly 4HKOs with Volt Switch, and +1 Dig can actually fail to OHKO Flaaffy on rolls as I use a Paralyze Heal. Emolga Volt Switches to Zebstrika, leaving me in low green HP as Zebstrika gets taken to mid-yellow post-Berry by +1 Dig. Zebstrika’s Volt Switch does 24 damage (a 4HKO) leaving me at 20 HP as I OHKO Emolga with +1 Return and level up to level 30 - Zebstrika finishes my 22 HP off. Good.

Clay (32): Silk Scarf. Stoutland can easily come in and Intimidate Excadrill: you can Work Up to +2 as it takes you to half HP (sadly you don’t outspend) and +2 Dig OHKOs. +2 Return OHKOs Sandslash. I used Intimidate fodder and Worked Up twice on Krokorok…It died to Return, Sandslash dies to Crunch and Return (Torment used) and Excadrill…somehow lived +2 Dig this time.

Honestly go Soft Sand to secure the Excadrill OHKO, you’re gonna get low on HP but hopefully you shouldn’t have to heal. However, unfortunately Sandslash lives Return in red without Silk Scarf. You might sweep but you’re most likely taking two mons, which is by no means bad. Pretty good.

Skyla (40): Expert Belt. Swoobat outspeeds Stoutland but does nothing with its attacks at -1 Attack (two Heart Stamps and Acrobatics left me at 2/3s HP) while you OHKO with Crunch. Swanna also outspeeds but is OHKOed by Thunder Fang. Skarmory wastes a turn with Agility and does nothing while you 3HKO with two uses of Thunder Fang and one Return (accuracy). Had average luck in first attempt (two Heart Stamp flinches, one Swanna Air Slash miss) and ended in mid-yellow.

Notably even if Swanna FeatherDances turn 1, you seem to barely 2HKO it with Thunder Fang as Air Slash 4HKOs. I then crit and flinched Skarmory with Thunder Fang, but -2 Thunder Fang is like a rough 4HKO. I swept a second time close to red so this is awesome. Without Expert Belt Stoutland gets way more shaky, it can miss the Crunch range on Swoobat and cleanly misses the Swanna 2HKO assuming Featherdance.

Drayden (50): Silk Scarf. Work Up to +2 with Stoutland as Druddigon does laughable damage thanks to Intimidate, then OHKO it with +2 Return. Flygon outspeeds and Earth Powers you to roughly half HP, but dies to +2 Return. Haxorus seems to Dragon Tail and dies to +2 Return. Easy sweep even if Druddigon chooses Revenge once while you are boosting, you will end at 1/3 HP.

Marlon (52): Rawst Berry. Work Up and hope Carracosta goes for Shell Smash. Stoutland's +1 Thunder Fang takes Carracosta to low yellow (doesn’t outspeed) as +2 Scald takes you to half HP. +1 Return and +1 Thunder Fang each seem to basically take Wailord to red HP as it uses Amnesia. +1 Crunch takes Jellicent to high yellow after Sitrus Berry and Brine likely finishes you off. I don’t see much point in testing this further unless you think Work Up on Carracosta then on Wailord is efficient gameplay (only tested this once). At least Thunder Fang is an option if Cursed Body triggers. Average.

Colress (53): Cheri Berry. Stoutland's Return + Dig beats Magneton, but you are guaranteed to be paralyzed by Magnezone as you Return it (thus necessitating a Paralyze Heal). Easily 1v1s Beheeyem; unboosted Crunch cleanly 2HKOs while Psychic doesn’t 2HKO you. Solidly 1v1s Metang too, I think Meteor Mash is a 3HKO or 4HKO and Dig 2HKOs. Magnezone 3HKOs with Flash Cannon. Avoid Klinklang. Okay.

Ghetsis (53): Pecha Berry or Silk Scarf. Cofagrigus’s Psychic is a rough 4HKO on Stoutland as +1 Crunch does 2/3 of its HP. Outspeeds and 2HKOs Seismitoad with Return as Muddy Water is a 4HKO.

Even without Silk Scarf, my Stoutland was able to barely 2HKO Drapion with Return once (you are slower but -1 Night Slash is like a 6HKO without crits lol). For some reason, Land did virtually the same damage to Eelektross with Return as it did…Acrobatics for no damage in the same attempt without Silk Scarf. Solidly 1v1s Hydreigon thanks to Intimidate, while you are slower, Dragon Rush is not a 2HKO (Rock Slide chip didn’t even make it a 2HKO as I switched it after healing to full) and you cleanly seem to 2HKO it with unboosted Return.

Cleanly loses to Toxicroak without Intimidate: you outspeed and Dig almost knocks it to red, but Poison Jab, Brick Break and Sucker Punch finish you off (might have healed here, not sure). Very solid, I didn’t use Silk Scarf in any of my attempts and it still performed well. Basically you 2HKO most things with Return as they 3HKO or 4HKO you: Ghetsis doesn’t have an offensive edge when he isn’t hitting super-effectively.

Marshal (57): Silk Scarf. Stoutland onsistently fails to 2HKO Throh with Return as it drops your Speed: Storm Throw I think is a 2HKO.Solidly 1v1s Sawk with Intimidate: you outspeed and 2HKO it (weirdly it went for Payback). Weirdly when I sent Stoutland out against Mienshao it went for Bounce (does roughly 25 damage) as Return puts it in red, though paralysis sucks - it still finishes you off with HJK. Seems to roughly 3HKO Conkeldurr with Return (berry might contest this) as -1 Hammer Arm 2HKOs you. So just beat Sawk and that’s it.

Grimsley (57): Silk Scarf. Scrafty’s Brick Break 3HKOs Stoutland at -1 Attack: it takes two Rock Tomb debuffs to outspeed you as you sadly 3HKO with Return. From the start, Night Slash seems to only 2HKO if Liepard crits you, letting you boost up to +3 before needing to Full Restore most likely. Unfortunately Liepard crit me back to half HP, but +3 Return OHKOs Scrafty: sadly Earthquake will likely revenge kill you. Pretty good if you send it in after Krookodile’s Intimidate goes off, I think you 2HKO with unboosted Return (I rolled a crit). +1 Dig takes Bisharp to low green post Sitrus but a crit Night Slash definitely 2HKOs you.

Get to +2 on Liepard hoping for no crits: this takes you to half HP as you kill it and Scrafty. Krookodile’s EQ takes you to red and you do 1/3 to Bisharp with +1 Dig post-Berry, but unless Bisharp whiffs Metal Claw you just die. Okay.

Shauntal (57): BlackGlasses. Cofagrigus’s Psychic is a 5HKO on Stoutland, maybe you can get to +2 on a Will-O-Wisp miss: sadly +2 Crunch fails to OHKO Cofagrigus, leaving it in red as it Psychics me to about half HP. I boost to +3 as Shauntal Full Restores then OHKO it. Golurk and Chandelure are outsped and OHKOed by +3 Crunch: Chandelure burns me as I grow to level 58. Believe it or not, even when burned, Stoutland still outspeeds and OHKOs Driftblim (you even live Aftermath). You have to chug boosts to make this happen and I doubt it’s super consistent without maybe a Full Restore (Cofagrigus RNG) but this is still very solid.

Caitlin (57): Chesto Berry. Musharna lives Stoutland's +2 Crunch in red, so you’ll need to boost to +3 then Full Heal off Sleep status (this is free, Musharna goes for Dream Eater). Though MUCH to my displeasure, Stoutland can fail to kill Musharna even at +3 so I reset.

With BlackGlasses on, Stoutland thankfully OHKOs Musharna at +2 with Crunch and does the same to Reuniclus and Sigilyph, notably outspeeding the latter. Even Gothitelle is OHKOed by +2 Crunch. I picked up all OHKOs and outspeed everyone twice in two separate attempts so this should be reliable.

Didn't test Iris with Stoutland as it wouldn't change my thoughts.

:bw/scraggy:
Burgh (23): Eviolite. Scraggy outspeeds Swadloon but String Shot makes you slower: this is good as you can Work Up and boost Payback this way. Razor Leaf un-crit is a 6HKO. I thought I might as well Work Up again as I’m going to be eating another hit anyway. +2 boosted Payback OHKOs Swadloon as I am at 36/66 HP. Leavanny comes out and does 19 damage (4HKO) with non-crit Razor Leaf but is OHKOed back by boosted Payback. Now at level 24, Dwebble Struggle Bugs twice and knocks me to red as I kill it.

Another attempt without boosts had me die to Leavanny thanks to some crits (Faint Attack + boosted Payback does not 2HKO Swadloon, regrettably). Note +1 Faint Attack seems to miss the 2HKO on Swadloon too. Another attempt had me crit Leavanny at +2 - Dwebble still went for Struggle Bug. Pretty good, not a guaranteed solo but considering you’re hitting neutrally this is a really solid performance.

Elesa: (31): Eviolite. Volt Switch from Emolga does laughable damage (it’s actually a 5HKO) with Eviolite on. HJK unboosted actually knocks Flaaffy to red HP consistently, yeah it’s that strong. Unfortunately boosted Payback doesn’t seem to work here because Volt Switch makes it so the incoming target takes less damage (Emolga took less than half from Payback).

What you’re supposed to do is Work Up to +1 as Emolga switches out. You outspeed Flaaffy and OHKO it with +1 HJK. Emolga Volt Switches out to Zebstrika…which is promptly OHKOed as well by +2 HJK. I crit +2 Faint Attack on Emolga to OHKO it, finishing in green HP. This matchup isn’t watertight (you have to dodge Flaffy’s Static and hit two 90% accurate HJKs) but it’s certainly better than average.

On another attempt where I did roll Flaaffy Static, it is revealed +2 Brick Break barely misses the Zebstrika OHKO, but it strangely went for Pursuit letting me HJK in high yellow. I AGAIN crit Emolga with Payback to OHKO, dunno what’s happening there. This is pretty good.

Clay (32): Eviolite. Work Up to +0 (Intimidate) as Krokorok Torments you and OHKO with Brick Break. +1 boosted Payback and then Brick Break sadly can’t kill Sandslash, but it’s not like it’s killing you anyway. Unboosted HJK OHKOs Excadrill, but if for some reason you can’t use it, +2 Brick Break seems to do the job. Watch out for Slash crits and you have a crazy easy sweep.

Skyla (40): BlackGlasses. Swoobat outspeeds and barely avoids 2HKOing Scrafty with Acrobatics (really close, like did almost exactly half my HP). +1 Rock Tomb + Crunch barely 2HKOs Swanna including Sitrus Berry, but it’s not that great because Swanna outspeeds even after one Speed drop. Skarmory comes in, outspeeds and finishes you off, and note this was with Swanna missing Air Slash once (it, like with Swoobat’s Acrobatics, barely misses the 2HKO). Scrafty can cleanly 1v1 Skarmory unboosted with half its HP left: HJK actually 2HKOs Skarmory unboosted (this is due to my Attack IV of 29).

Scrafty High Jump Kick vs. Lvl 37 0 HP / 0 Def Skarmory (31 IVs): 39-46 (36.7 - 43.3%) -- guaranteed 3HKO (Scrafty has 15 IVs across the board)


with 15 IVs for Skarmory it is:
Lvl 39 0 Atk Scrafty High Jump Kick vs. Lvl 37 0 HP / 0 Def Skarmory: 42-49 (42 - 49%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

So it’s unlikely most Scrafty will 2HKO.

With Leftovers you can comfortably take Swoobat and Skarmory unboosted assuming you hit two HJK’s on the latter. Surprisingly okay, you end in red HP. Two Brick Breaks and an HJK should kill Skarmory assuming no Steel Wing Defense raise.

Drayden (50): Leftovers. Boosted Revenge does half of Scrafty’s HP, but Brick Break + HJK 2HKOS Druddigon (don’t HJK first as it puts him in Potion range). Flygon comes in and is knocked to mid-yellow by +1 Crunch while doing roughly 30 with Earth Power (of your roughly 135 HP, so not threatening you). Haxorus comes in and you’ll probably be close to red HP at this time, +2 Crunch drops it to red and triggers Berry as Dragon Tail finishes you off.

Unfortunately, Work Up and Moxie get Scrafty to +2 and leave Flygon alive without BlackGlasses, though Haxorus is actually OHKOed by +3 Crunch fine.

So go with BlackGlasses. In the worst case scenario, Druddigon does unboosted Revenge for a third of your HP as you Work Up to +1, then OHKO it with HJK. Flygon comes in and takes you to a little under half HP (59/136) with Earth Power but dies to +2 Crunch with BlackGlasses on, and since Haxorus usually goes Dragon Tail turn 1 you have no problems beating it at +3.

I did some damage calculations as I wanted to check this. Scrafty has 15 IVs while Druddigon has 30:
Lvl 48 0 Atk Scrafty High Jump Kick vs. Lvl 46 0 HP / 0 Def Druddigon: 67-81 (47.8 - 57.8%) -- 92.6% chance to 2HKO

+2 Lvl 50 0 Atk Scrafty High Jump Kick vs. Lvl 46 0 HP / 0 Def Druddigon: 148-175 (105.7 - 125%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Lvl 46 0 Atk Druddigon Revenge vs. Lvl 48 0 HP / 0 Def Scrafty: 44-54 (34.6 - 42.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

Based on these calcs, I tested boosting to +2 and it is more than feasible, as Druddigon can easily not pick Revenge for one of its turns (mine didn’t pick it for two turns straight). I think Flygon went Tail and so did Druddigon. So yeah. Fairly easy sweep.

Marlon (52): BlackGlasses. Scald unboosted from Carracosta is a 4HKO on Scrafty (they rolled a crit turn 1, but no burn) as Brick Break seems to 2HKO (you could also try Expert Belt for this). Much to my shock, +1 HJK just outsped and OHKOed Wailord. Unfortunately, Jellicent outspeeds you and 4HKOs with Scald, but even if it burns you, you still take it to low yellow post-Sitrus Berry with +2 Crunch. It ended up killing me but yeah, this is still a pretty good performance.

You can also try Rawst Berry. Carracosta went for Shell Smash this time, but +2 Scald did basically the same amount of rough damage as a crit did (half my HP). +1 HJK still OHKOed Wailord a second time, but Jellicent crit me out unfortunately.

Third attempt had Scrafty take 1/4 from Carracosta’s Scald and 2HKO it fine, and much like I suspected, Wailord lived HJK in red finally, but +2 Crunch seems to 2HKO fine and it can waste turns with Amnesia. Jellicent Scald burned me and got me to half HP, but that didn’t matter due to Rawst Berry and I finally got my sweep off. It’s far from reliable, but a lot of Marlon sweeps without explicit advantages are far from reliable anyway. Good.

Colress (53): Scrafty is mediocre for both magnets as you are slower even before Thunder Wave. Magneton Volt Switches to Magnezone as it does roughly a 4th of your HP: this can allow you to Rock Tomb, then HJK Magnezone before it gets a hit off. Sadly, without a boosting item +1 Brick Break fails to OHKO Klinklang (leaves it with a sliver in red, which prompts a Full Restore).

Interestingly, I healed up as Colress did to check how much damage Giga Impact would do, only for Klinklang to Shift Gear a second time, letting me OHKO with HJK. Metang is unfortunately left in red by +2 Crunch. At level 54 Beheeyem is OHKOed as usual. Magneton rolled a Special Defense drop and 2HKOed with Flash Cannon.

With Expert Belt, Scrafty knocks Magnezone to red HP as it comes in. Strangely, in this attempt my Scrafty outsped Zone and I’m not sure how that happened as I didn’t use Rock Tomb. With Expert Belt on, +1 Brick Break OHKOs Klinklang. +2 HJK outspeeds and OHKOs Metang and now at level 54, Scrafty kills Beheeyem with Crunch.

Magnezone outspeeds Scrafty and Explosion is a 2HKO. Impressively, Scrafty OHKOs Klinklang with HJK with no boosts as it uses Shift Gear. Metang is 2HKOed by +1 Crunch and wastes one turn doing Agility, Meteor Mash is a 3HKO. You outspeed and OHKO Beheeyem with +2 Crunch.

Unboosted HJK + Crunch 2HKOs Metang easily. I achieved a sweep here precisely once and it requires everything going right. Scrafty is still great here regardless, it just can’t fight Magneton or Magnezone reliably, the former 3HKOs with Flash Cannon and the latter uses Explosion, knocking you to likely 1/4 HP and letting Klinklang pick you off.

As you can see, I tried everything here.

Ghetsis (53): Pecha Berry. Cofagrigus is generally inefficient to setup on, so just 2HKO it with Crunch. Seismitoad’s Drain Punch can 3HKO and Poison you, but two HJK’s takes care of it albeit with you in red HP. Avoid Toxicroak as it 2HKOs with Brick Break. Outspeeds and 2HKOs Toxicroak with Crunch + HJK at full HP, but Acrobatics 2HKOs. You are slower than Drapion but Earthquake doesn’t even 4HKO as Brick Break 3HKOs. Brick Break seems to 2HKO Hydreigon but it’s not reliable with Dragon Rush’s chance to flinch. Unboosted HJK OHKOs Hydreigon with one round of Life Orb recoil, but like I said, it is unreliable.

Marshal (57): Leftovers. I think two Brick Breaks and an HJK OHKOs Throh (he missed Rock Tomb, then I crit a Brick Break). Mienshao comes out and revenges you with HJK: obviously bad matchup anyway.

Grimsley (57): Leftovers. Liepard's Fake Out does so little damage Leftovers almost heals it off, and Aerial Ace doesn’t even 3HKO Scrafty as you Work Up. +1 Brick Break OHKOs Liepard as you are about half HP. Grimsley’s Scrafty comes in, and thankfully you outspeed and OHKO it with +1 HJK. Bisharp comes in and knocks you to red with Aerial Ace as you OHKO it with Brick Break: sadly this means Krookodile can pick you off unless you heal. Earthquake is a clean 3HKO on you but +1 Brick Break OHKOs it.

Interestingly, the best way to go about this matchup is to NOT Work Up. Liepard dies to unboosted Brick Break, Scrafty dies to +1 HJK, Bisharp dies to +2 Brick Break, and you should have JUST enough HP to take Krookodile’s EQ and sweep. This matchup could be a bit more risky if my Scrafty wasn’t female on account of Attract, though. I swept twice so this should be relatively reliable: at worst you beat three mons. For reference, Grimsley’s Scrafty is left in red by +1 Brick Break so you have to HJK: it goes for Rock Tomb.

Shauntal (58): BlackGlasses. Scrafty’s +1 Crunch consistently fails to OHKO Cofagrigus, but believe it or not, there is actually a way around the burn without Rawst Berry. You can Taunt Cofagrigus (you outspeed), Work Up to +1, then OHKO with Crunch (note you don’t get Moxie boosts due to Mummy). Scrafty outspeeds and OHKOs Golurk with +1 Crunch. Chandelure comes out and almost knocks you to red with Fire Blast: Driftblim outspeeds and finishes you off with Acrobatics. Pretty good.

Caitlin (58): Chesto Berry. Much to my surprise, Musharna lived +1 Crunch in red. Chesto gives you two turns of setup and she even went Charge Beam turn 1 too, so I got to +2 as she healed. Reuniclus comes out and dies easily. Sigilyph 2HKOs with Air Slash so you need to not flinch to beat it (I’m at 57 HP, level 59 now). Gothitelle comes in, Calm Minds, and dies.

Interestingly, the unboosted route works just fine. You 2HKO Musharna with Crunch as it Yawns, Reuniclus dies to +1 Crunch, Sigilyph dies at +2 (still need to not flinch). Gothitelle’s unboosted Thunderbolt does roughly 30 damage or so, so you should be okay even if it attacks. Borderline flawless with a 70% chance to clean sweep.

Iris (59): Expert Belt. Hyreigon actually can miss the 3HKO sometimes with Dragon Pulse as unboosted HJK OHKOs it (Brick Break does 3/4s). Druddigon comes out and Focus Blasts you: you actually live Hydreigon’s Dragon Pulse and Druddigon’s Focus Blast in red as +1 HJK takes Druddigon to red.

What this means for you is that you can +1 Crunch it to yellow health (looks a little close, but BlackGlasses and Crunch’s 20% chance to drop Defense should help). Aggron comes in, is outsped by Scrafty and dies to Brick Break and then Archeops finally comes in fourth and forces you out. Sadly Lapras is faster and picks you off at low HP with Thunderbolt, but if you have full HP, Ice Beam can miss the 3HKO and you OHKO with unboosted HJK, getting +1 for Haxorus in the process. Strangely, Haxorus went for Earthquake dealing 58 damage, leaving me at 58 HP as I rolled a Crunch Defense drop while knocking it to barely under half HP…only for it to Dragon Dance turn 2 and let me kill it with Crunch.

:bw/mandibuzz:
Elesa (29): Have Mandibuzz boost to +4 with Nasty Plot as Emolga uses Volt Switch, then Flaaffy uses Thunder Wave. Throw in a Paralyze Heal as Flaaffy. In THEORY you apparently sweep at +4, but my Mandibuzz is Lax nature and thus takes more damage from Volt Switch. At +2 Snarl 2HKOs Flaaffy and Emolga. You’ll likely want to throw the Paralyze Heal on when Flaaffy switches back in for the second time (now I’m at 30 / 110 HP). Snarl finishes off Flaaffy and Emolga kills me at 36 HP. +4 Snarl also fails to OHKO Flaaffy - even if you test with Cheri Berry it can paralyze you a second time. +4 Snarl also missed the OHKO on Emolga, but only barely. I killed Emolga off with one Lemonade (no Paralyze Heal) and got Elesa to waste her Hyper Potion on Flaaffy.

There’s simply too much going on for me to call this matchup good. If you don’t heal off paralysis, that and crits can screw you over. If you DO heal off paralysis, your HP runs so close to getting killed below 50 HP by Emolga that I just can’t in good conscience call this a nice performance.

Interestingly, when I was about to pack it in and move on, Mandibuzz got into a 1v1 with Zebstrika (Flaaffy was already dead). Zebstrika effortlessly let me get to +4 Special Attack by just using Flame Charge and Pursuit, and I 2HKOed it with Snarl while getting some Speed buffs.

Clay (32): Leftovers. Mandibuzz's +2 Snarl 3HKOs Krokorok, whose Crunch does laughable damage (when you beat it you should be at 3/4 HP). +2 Snarl 2HKOS Sandslash (hope you don’t roll Crush Claw Defense drops but I did fine, like with Krokorok, coming in at full I was whittled to 3/4 HP). +6 Snarl roughly 3HKOs Excadrill. Good.

Skyla (41): Leftovers. Nasty Plot to max as Swoobat takes you to 2/3s HP with three Acrobatics (Unaware ignores your Defense drops and helps you outspeed). Snarl 2HKOs Swoobat and you should be around half HP. Swanna is outsped and OHKOed by +6 Air Slash, while Skarmory is 2HKOed.

Drayden (50): Leftovers. It seems if you boost to +4 with Mandibuzz, that consistently triggers Druddigon to Dragon Tail you out. Druddigon does laughable damage with its attacks though (watch out for Slash crits, one at -1 Defense will almost bring you to half HP). +4 Dark Pulse regrettably leaves Druddigon alive in red, but I’m still at 1/3 HP: I Nasty Plot to +6 as Druddigon is healed with a Hyper Potion. Druddigon is OHKOed by Dark Pulse at +6, I outspeed and crit Flygon to death but I doubt it lived anyway, and Haxorus is OHKOed by +6 Dark Pulse.

Marlon (52): Leftovers. Nasty Plot to +2 and then 2HKO with Dark Pulse as Carracosta 3HKOs with Smack Down: I rolled a crit and prompted a heal as I healed, then I rolled a Dark Pulse flinch to next kill Carracosta at full HP (if you don’t get it to heal range and flinch, you will be a little under half HP normally when you beat it). +2 Air Slash has a 10% more chance to flinch on Wailord, so try that to take it to half yellow as it hopefully uses Bounce: you can Nasty Plot if this happens, then finish it off with Dark Pulse. +4 Dark Pulse OHKOs Jellicent.

In my second attempt (where Carracosta left me around half as I alluded to above), Wailord went for turn 1 Amnesia, then Bounce, meaning you can pretty much heal up on the turn it comes down for free. 30% paralysis chance can be annoying to heal off, but at the same time Bounce has a 15% miss chance so it averages out. Strangely, after an Amnesia when I was at +4 Special Attack, Wailord lived a Dark Pulse when by all accounts it should have fainted: I got to +6 as a result, which does 2/3s to Wailord and finally kills it in two uses after a Hyper Potion. Jellicent was naturally nuked out of existence by Dark Pulse. It’s not like they threaten you and you CAN sweep here, but like with many other major battles, it is inherently slow and you still lack type advantages outside Jellicent.

Colress (53): Cheri Berry. According to Ryota, you need five hits of Bone Rush with Mandibuzz to OHKO Magneton and and four to OHKO Magnezone. I got four with a crit on Magneton and barely 5 on Zone. You can safely Nasty Plot on Beheeyem twice as it spams Calm Mind twice, but sadly not even functionally +2 Dark Pulse kills it - leaves it in low yellow as it goes for Calm Mind a third time, prompting a heal as you Nasty Plot and seemingly OHKO it at functionally +3 (I rolled a crit though). Metang gets beat by +6 Dark Pulse. Not bad, but you have to boost more than I would like.

Scope Lens can help for Bone Rush as each hit rolls for criticals but I wouldn’t count on it. Notably, Mandibuzz is only 2HKOed by Magnezone’s Discharge so you should get a few shots at it with Cheri Berry.

Ghetsis (53): Leftovers. Nasty Plot to max then Full Restore off the chip damage. Cofagrigus and Eelektross die to +6 Dark Pulse, though the latter is an (admittedly favorable) roll and 2HKOs with Thunderbolt. Hydreigon comes in and Rock Slides you for the 3HKO, increasing your Speed in the process as Life Orb recoil and Air Slash take it to low yellow, prompting a Full Restore on which I roll a miss, then a crit (lol). Now I’m at level 54. Sesimitoad is outsped and OHKOed by Dark Pulse (much to my surprise this is ALSO a roll to OHKO, though it doesn’t threaten you), and Drapion and Toxicroak die to Air Slash (Drapion’s X-Scissor does nothing if you miss)e. If you want, you can Dark Pulse for a guaranteed hit, then Air Slash to finish off Hydreigon. Swept twice easily, very reliable.

Marshal (57): Leftovers. Even without debuffs, Mandibuzz 2HKOs Sawk barely with Air Slash (I think you outspeed too). Boost to +4 with Nasty Plot as Throh does not drop your Speed with Rock Tomb (you’ll be at like a little over half HP). At +4, Air Slash OHKOs his entire team (though Throh is a roll, if this happens buff to +6 as he heals) bar Sawk, who I rolled the flinch on. At -2 Defense, Bounce from Mienshao did a third. Pretty great, swept twice, Sawk flinched in the first attempt and missed Rock Slide in the second.

Grimsley (58): Leftovers. In theory you boost to +6 with Mandibuzz's Nasty Plot and OHKO everything but Bisharp with Air Slash. In practice Krookodile seems to be left alive (Krookodile lived +6 Air Slash three separate times). You 3HKO Bisharp with +6 Air Slash due to Sitrus Berry and seem to lose if you don’t roll a flinch. Still pretty good.

Shauntal (58): BlackGlasses. Nasty Plot once, then OHKO everything with Dark Pulse. Driftblim lived Dark Pulse at +2 without BlackGlasses but you could for sure boost again on Cofagrigus if you had to. Easy sweep.

Caitlin (59): Chesto Berry. Nasty Plot twice, heal Sleep off with Chesto, then outspeed and OHKO everything with +4 Dark Pulse. Even if Musharna randomly Charge Beams before Yawn, it doesn’t do anything to change the outcome.

Didn't test Mandibuzz on Iris as I heard from Ryota Mandibuzz is terrible there.

:bw/litwick:
Skyla (41): Eviolite. Attract sucks, but Hex knocks Swoobat to low yellow / red HP while Assurance does…like 22 of your 112 HP. Flame Burst knocks Skarmory to red HP as it does nothing with its attacks. From damage from Skarmory and Swoobat, you should end up around more or less half HP.

Much to my great amusement, at full HP, Lampent beat Swanna 1v1 because it went for FeatherDance and doesn't 2HKO with BubbleBeam thanks to Eviolite. You’re still at like, 4 HP but assuming you land Will-O-Wisp turn 1 yeah, you 2HKO Swanna with boosted Hex.

Flame Burst notably 2HKOs Swoobat and prevents a Hyper Potion use so that helps.

Drayden (50): Leftovers. Chandelure’s Will-O-Wisp makes Druddigon 3HKO you with Crunch while boosted Hex + two rounds of Burn kills it with you at half HP.

Spell Tag Shadow Ball is the better option, cleanly 2HKOing Druddigon by doing 2/3s HP (you’ll be at about 1/3). While it is slower and is 2HKOed by Earth Power, Chandelure at full HP solidly takes Flygon to red with Spell Tag Shadow Ball.

Haxorus wastes time by Dragon Dancing, and while I rolled a Special Defense drop, it looked like Shadow Ball did enough damage to get a 2HKO on Haxorus without it (Sitrus Berry healed to low green). Haxorus’s unboosted Assurance 2HKOS you. Probably getting one KO, but far from horrible.

Marlon (52): Expert Belt. Chandelure is better than you’d expect for Marlon. Energy Ball beats Carracosta who is too slow to stop you even after Shell Smash. Energy Ball brings Wailord to red HP, but it can use Amnesia to slow you down, I think after a Hyper Potion two more Energy Balls can kill it because it doesn’t heal all of Wailord’s HP (rolled one crit on the second hit). If you took on Carracosta and used up Marlon’s Hyper Potion prior, you should have no problems.

You should definitively beat Jellicent at full HP though. Shadow Ball takes Jellicent to mid-yellow after Sitrus Berry, you live Scald in low yellow, and even if you roll Cursed Body, Energy Ball can pick Jellicent off. I rolled an Energy Ball Special Defense drop before I killed with Shadow Ball on my sweep attempt, but it might not have mattered.

Beware though. If Carracosta or Wailord go for Scald, I don’t think you will sweep, but this is far better than the benchwarmer Chandelure looks on paper, you should at absolute worst take one and a half mons.

Colress (53): Cheri Berry. Chandelure's Flame Burst knocks Magneton to red as your Cheri Berry is used up and Colress heals. Metang comes out and is outsped and OHKOed on rolls by Flame Burst. Klinklang is sadly not OHKOed by Flame Burst unless you put Expert Belt on while Thunderbolt seems to be a 5HKO (Klinklang outspeeds).

That said, I have seen Klinklang go for Shift Gear twice and even three times (when Chandelure was in yellow HP and paralyzed for the latter) and die, so it can go either way. Beheeyem is OHKOed by Shadow Ball. Magnezone is taken to red by Flame Burst as it Thunder Waves you, but Chandelure lived a crit Discharge in red so you should hopefully beat it easily. I wouldn’t say you’re guaranteed a sweep even if I did but this is a very solid Colress matchup (didn’t test much, was kind of focused on the others but it seemed clear cut from minimal testing).

Ghetsis (53): Expert Belt. Chandelure outspeeds and OHKOS Cofagrigus with Shadow Ball and actually snipes Seismitoad with Energy Ball before it can move. Shadow Ball barely 2HKOs Eelektross as it 2HKOS with Crunch, but Shadow Ball looks like rolls to 2HKO. At level 54, Chandelure outspeeds and OHKOs Toxicroak with Psychic, but Sucker Punch likely beats you if you are weakened from Eelektross. Solid in spite of all the coverage against it.

Marshal (57): Expert Belt. Chandelure is slightly viable here. Chandelure 2HKOs Throh with Psychic (!) and is not outsped by Throh after a Bulldoze (which misses the 2HKO). Conkeldurr does outspeed you at -1 Speed and I think Stone Edge OHKOs you, but you knock it to mid-yellow post-Sitrus with Psychic.

Strangely Chandelure is bad for Sawk, it outspeeds and cleanly 2HKOs with Rock Slide, possibly flinching you. Mienshao’s Bounce is a 3HKO but you actually seem to OHKO it with Psychic. Pretty decent.

Grimsley (57): Expert Belt. Chandelure's Flamethrower seems to leave Liepard in red as it 2HKOs with Night Slash: I think Charcoal would OHKO it but I forgot it. Don’t bother versus Krookodile (outspeeds) or Scrafty. You outspeed and OHKO Bisharp with Flamethrower though. Mediocre, but passable (you can probably Fire Blast Liepard if you forgot Charcoal too).

Shauntal (57): Expert Belt. Chandelure outspeeds and OHKOs Cofagrigus and Golurk with Shadow Ball. Oddly Driftblim outspeeds and does a 3HKO with Acrobatics, but dies to Shadow Ball. Shauntal’s Chandelure comes out last and seems to revenge kill you: you die at full HP to Shadow Ball. Good.

Caitlin (57): Expert Belt. Surprisingly mediocre. Everything but Sigilyph can live Chandelure's Shadow Ball in or near red on rolls and they 2HKO you back with Shadow Ball / Psychic. You’re probably dying to Gothitelle after Sigilyph takes you to half with Shadow Ball. I even did some damage calculations (Chandelure with 15 IVs, opponents with 31) and you can miss OHKOs at level 60 with Expert Belt Shadow Ball bar Sigilyph:

Musharna:
1658849377315.png


Gothitelle:

1658849387341.png


Sigilyph:
1658849413322.png


Reuniclus:
1658849431991.png


I didn't test Chandelure on Iris because it wouldn't change my opinion on it.

I bumped some of my lacking IVs to 15 after the Clay matchup all around.
Lillipup
:bw/lillipup:
Lillipup is A tier. It is just as good as is BW1, more or less. It does lose some effectiveness lategame and is always dependent on Work Up, but even without it, Stoutland has the 2HKO capabilities of an A tier for 90% of the game thanks to early Silk Scarf. I discovered after Clay my Attack IV was 7 and bumped it up to 15 with Ryota's help - this can explain the questionable stuff in the Clay matchup, though I thought the line performed fine for the first half even with the below average firepower.

Stoutland may not be the best mon in the world after Drayden, but it's far from deadweight and has a surprisingly good Ghetsis matchup even if you don't boost. It has shades of B for sure due to the power creep, but it comes early enough to offset that. Not much to say.

Psyduck
:bw/psyduck:
Oh man, Psyduck. I have a lot of stuff to say about Psyduck, and I apologize if some of my comments overlap. Coming from someone who has used it, it's kinda...okay? bad? decent? all at once? lol - please go up and read the logs on this one, it's...fluctuating. Psyduck is kinda inoffensive in the field so getting to level 33 isn't AS big a pain as it is on paper (lots of Rock, Ground, and Fire types come up in the field around that time). Roxie is a toss up on whether Psyduck beats Whirlipede or not, it doesn't really show its face much against Burgh and especially Elesa, it NEEDS to evolve for Clay when the EXP around that area is pretty limited (Only a 50% chance for Audino on Route 6 and Psyduck certainly isn't beating the evolved stuff in Chargestone Cave). Golduck can sweep Clay but if Excadrill goes Bulldoze, then flinches with Rock Slide you lose.

So congrats, you finally have your fully evolved unstoppable Golduck with Mystic Water-boosted Surf. Surely that should save Golduck, right? Eh. Not really. You beat Skyla's Swoobat and Skarmory but are never taking Swanna, you require Red Shard (Ice Punch) or Hail + Blizzard investment to beat Drayden, which, while pretty free, points out that Golduck needs some help there. Marlon has you again only beating Carracosta and Colress and Ghetsis only have you getting a couple KOs - you notably beat Ghetsis's Hydreigon due to Life Orb recoil. Golduck is fairly mediocre at the Pokemon League - Shauntal is a clean sweep, but Caitlin needs way too much support through Full Heals and Hone Claws boosts (+4 or more with Reflect in the mix) to be considered viable there. Golduck is also not sweeping Grimsley at all unless you get both rain up, and according to ceal, hit your Hydro Pumps. Golduck is okay for Iris but is likely only getting two KOs - you might even be outsped by Hydreigon - I only speed tied with Timid and a good Speed IV of 21.

Do you see the recurring trend in these matchups? That's right, there's two big problems. The first of these is that Golduck doesn't really benefit from being a Water type half the time beyond generic 2HKO damage after evolution with Surf: in fact, it gains more type disadvantages than it it wins with type advantages. Even when you have a type advantage with matchups like Clay, you can still lose. The second major problem is that in all of its positive matchups besides Shauntal, you have a gigantic asterisk beside the handful of sweeps (like I indicated with Roxie) where you have to go out of your way to get coverage (Drayden) or boost to obscene levels (Caitlin) on top of having to borderline babysit Psyduck midgame (as again, you lose to 2 gyms in a row). Otherwise? Golduck is basically picking up KOs with 95 Special Attack - not too far off from what I said about Crobat's offense last time, albeit with a few more sweeps.

Psyduck is C tier, albeit a higher end C tier. Golduck is certainly one of the better speedy water types you get in the game, but at the same time requires you drag a not-particularly-useful-in-bosses Psyduck for 28 levels, and even then Golduck doesn't light the world on fire like it really should be doing (it's good in Clay, Skyla, Drayden, and Shauntal and to a lesser extent Ghetsis and Iris, roughly half the remaining fights accounting for stipulations / picking up a couple KOs for the latter two - I don't consider Caitlin good) I went into excruciating detail why Psyduck / Golduck isn't really great on its own merits above, but I feel like you're better off grabbing a Water post-Surf than putting up with Psyduck doing mostly nothing, and while post-Surf Waters have their problems, you don't give yourself the illusion of usefulness for half the game.

Scraggy
:bw/scraggy:
I wanted Scraggy to be S tier very badly, though mine admittedly had a 29 Attack IV so there is probably some bias there too. Sadly...Scraggy is A tier. It pains me to say that, but it just is. Throw in a 5% encounter rate with Moxie and it makes S dubious combined with Scrafty's only decent performances versus Colress and Ghetsis make it not up there with Darumaka and Drilbur. Other minor flaws come in Scrafty's 90 base Attack and 58 base Speed: these are not sweeper stats, they are tank stats and rely on Moxie. Other minor problems like the magnet's Sturdy and Cofagrigus's Mummy and Krokorok's Intimidate don't help things either.

Don't let that convince you Scraggy and Scraggy are bad though! Check the logs. Eviolite gives Scraggy some of the best bulk around and High Jump Kick is a fantastic move at only level 31. Yeah: it does great for pretty much all the Gyms and pretty good for the Elite Four and Iris. It's just not top of the heap material.

Mandibuzz
:bw/mandibuzz:
Much more simpler than the last two. I hate to repeat myself but check the logs on this one. From my brief memory Mandibuzz usually needs +4 in every boss or even +6 to sweep things, and it's not exactly consistent in sweeps pre-League. While it can work, 55 Special Attack and 65 Attack just don't cut it for A tier, regardless of what it sweeps in bosses - mine didn't even 2HKO Ghetsis's Cofagrigus with Dark Pulse unboosted IIRC and failed to OHKO a Gurdurr in the field eight levels lower with Air Slash. It's just not powerful enough and chugs too many boosts. B tier.

Litwick

:bw/litwick:
This sucks.

No, I'm serious. Even in its better matchups like Shauntal and Caitlin, would you believe 145 Special Attack can fail to OHKO some of the latter's Pokemon? It has great first turn power as Chandelure but late availability and no clear cut sweeps bar this thing off from B. Chandelure is powerful but it never sweeps consistently. Go read the logs. C tier.
I'm out of time. If you read all of this, thank you!
 
Last edited:

Ryota Mitarai

Shrektimus Prime
is a Tiering Contributoris a Contributor to Smogonis a Top Smogon Media Contributor
I did two runs (I was waiting for someone to post + the second one was with late stuff, so it was quick). Missing matchup = terrible/didn't try

the first one was with Grimer / Skitty / Nosepass / Spoink / Buizel / Gligar

Grimer -> D
Muk

Burgh(22): Eviolite. Sludge 3HKOes Swadloon and seems to 4HKO Leavanny, both of which turn into easy KOs if they get poisoned (since I have Venoshock as well). There's a high likelihood of needing to heal against Leavanny to finish it off. Okay matchup, kinda disappointing you need healing for two Pokemon against which you have type advantage, though the level might be the issue here

Elesa(30): Eviolite. Dig 2HKOes Flaaffy and Sludge Bomb 2-3HKOes Emolga. Due to constant paralysis, you are taking out one Pokemon at best

Clay: lol

Skyla(41): Leftovers. Thunder Punch puts Swoobat in red and OHKOes Swanna (-2 2HKOes Swanna). Heart Stamp is an issue only if you get flinched a lot. Decent matchup.

Drayden(50): Leftovers. You can try spamming Acid Armor, but Flygon packs Earth Power. You could theoritically sweep this matchup with Ice Punch and enough health, but this means you won't have Thunder Punch for Skyla

Marlon(53): Leftovers. Thunder Punch is a 3HKO on Carracosta, which goes for Shell Smash. If it doesn't burn you, you KO it. Wailord is slower and 2HKOed and it goes for Amnesia. Jellicent is KOed by one Thunder Punch and two Gunk Shots and two Scalds aren't enough to KO Muk. Okay-ish matchup, you do rely on a lot of conditions, though.

Colress(54): no, paralysis + Beheeyem make Muk unreliable here, though Acid Armor spam may work on Klinklang and Beheeyem

Shauntal: no

Grimsley: Leftovers. OHKO Liepard with Gunk Shot and have something KO Krookodile. Bring Muk back, get two Acid Armors. Beat Bisharp with three Digs and Scrafty with two Gunk Shots, watch out for crits. Okay-ish.

Marshal: Acid Armor to the max and 2HKO Throh with Gunk Shot. Best way to deal with Conkeldurr if you don't have a special move is to Toxic it and simply put it in range for a KO without triggering healing (it spams Bulk Up). Thunder Punch 3HKOes Mienshao and Gunk Shot 2HKOes Sawk. Good matchup, though a bit slow


Grimer is a bit meh early on, because I had to heal it often till it evolved into Muk, when it became more usable. It has a few good matchups, but the weak Grimer period + the relative slowness of klling things with special STABs + Gunk Shot's shaky accuracy make me hesitant on calling this good

Skitty -> E / F
Delcatty

Burgh(23): Eviolite. It is likely to beat only Swadloon, as it is 5HKOed by Razor Leaf and Skitty only 3HKOes with +1 Return (148 happiness).

Elesa(30): put Flaaffy to sleep with Sing and set up to +3, assuming it stays asleep for long enough. You OHKO Emolga with Return and the rest with Dig. Realistically speaking, though, you are taking out only one Pokemon at best

Clay(34): Silk Scarf. Put Krokorok to sleep with Sing and set up two Work Ups, then outspeed and OHKO with Return. Put Sandslash to sleep and 2HKO with Return. Then you outspeed and 2HKO Excadrill with Dig (even through berry), while it 3HKOes you. Unreliable matchup due to lol Sing, but if you are desperate enough, then ig this works

Skyla(41): Silk Scarf. 2HKOes Swoobat with Return and 3HKOes Swanna due to berry. You are beating Swoobat at best (since it's faster and 3HKOes with Acrobatics). Meh matchup

Drayden(50): Silk Scarf. You need three Work Ups to OHKO Druddigon. Flygon then comes in, outspeeds you, and KOes you. Bad matchup

Marlon(53): Delcatty: Magnet. Spam Charge Beam which 3HKOes Carracosta unboosted and get to +2. Then put Wailord in yellow while it goes for Amnesia and KO it with Return. Jellicent takes 1/3 from +2 Charge Beam and kills you, though Shadow Ball can probs hit it harder

Colress(54): no, even Dig probs won't help you much with paralysis around. I guess Sing + Dig + Work Up might help, but ehhhhhhh, don't really want to bother with fringe strats that aren't consistent anyways

Ghetsis(54/55): Silk Scarf. Get it to +3 and 2HKO Cofagrigus (ideally, you KO it while at full; Sing can help for that). Then outspeed and OHKO Seismitoad and Toxicroak with Return. Drapion is faster and 3HKOes with Night Slash, but dies to Return. Hydreigon puts you in red with Dragon Rush from full HP; your only way to win here is to hope for a miss as you spam items or to activate Cute Charm

Shauntal(59): Spell Tag. +3 Shadow Ball almost OHKOes Drifblim and OHKOes the rest. You outspeed Coffin and Golurk, but the rest (which come after those two) are faster and generally finish you off. Ehh matchup

Grimsley: Silk Scarf. At best beats Liepard, then dies to the next thing that comes


Skitty is pretty bad as a whole, relying on Sing a lot to perform well in some matchups. It's by no means useless, but it requires some effort to grin it as Skitty. E / F depends on whether you sanction Sing enough, so simply read logs and decide for yourself

Nosepass -> D, borderline E
Probopass

Clay: lol

Skyla(41): Lucky Egg. Power Gem puts Swoobat in red and Discharge OHKOes and 2HKOes Swanna and Skarmory. Swoobat doesn't threaten you at all (you can paralyze it to avoid flinches), Swanna 3HKOes with BubbleBeam, and Skarmory is also not threatening you. Great matchup.

Drayden(50): Leftovers. Iron Defense spam is ineffective due to Flygon's Earth Power. Magnet Rise is a thing, but you are likely going to sit there long enough that it wears out.

Marlon: beats Carracosta

Colress(54): Leftovers. For whatever reason, Magneton Volt Switches into Metang turn one, so feel free to throw in a Thunder Wave. Metang is 2HKOed by Earth Power and goes for Agility. Klinklang is KOed by Discharge + two Earth Powers, but make sure to paralyze it first. It deals considerable damage, even if it just spams Gear Grind. Let something else take care of Beheeyem (heal Probopass offscreen, if needed), then bring Probopass back against Zone and Magneton (paralyze both before engaging them). Weird, but I guess decent matchup

Shauntal(59): muscles through Coffin and Drifblim, though the former may force you to heal to beat the latter

Grimsley: Leftovers. Beats Liepard and Bisharp. Okay-ish


Great for Skyla and can troll Colress. It's pretty bad against other fights. I couldn't test Ghetsis, because I was overleveled there (level 56), but you are likely getting past Coffin and Drapion only. Either tier is fine, imo

Spoink -> E
Grumpig

Drayden(50): TwistedSpoon. Beats Druddigon then loses, as Flygon 1v1s it. Could maybe take on Haxorus if healthy, but ehh. Meh matchup

Marlon(53): Miracle Seed. beats Carracosta, which 2HKOes with Crunch. Jellicent lives a +1 Energy Ball and promptly kills you. Energy Ball 2HKOes Wailord, which goes for Amnesia (I was at full health, so idek if Scald can kill you), which doesn't change much

Colress(54): you can Magic Coat the Thunder Wave, but with no Focus Blast, your contributions otherwise are lol

Ghetsis(54): can probs spam Magic Coat on Toxic, but I feel like the AI will realize at some point and just strike you with Shadow Ball

Shauntal(59): Spell Tag. Charge Beam into +1 Shadow Ball KO Cofagrigus. Drifblim lives one and finishes you off, in most cases. You also 1v1 Golurk. Eh matchup

Grimsley: no

Marshal: Twisted Spoon. Psychic 2HKOes everything but Mienshao. Throh damages you a bit, then Mienshao puts you in yellow with Bounce. Sawk beats you for sure. Conkeldurr 2HKOes with Stone Edge and therefore beats you if it hits. Ehh matchup


Mediocre Pokemon as a whole, KOes very few major foes. Marshal and Marlon are the only matchups where it KOed more than one Pokemon and there are matchups like Grimsley where you don't do anything at all. Marshal isn't even that impressive, since you tend to lose to half his team

Buizel -> D
Floatzel

Drayden(50): Expert Belt. Ice Punch OHKOes Flygon and 2HKOes the rest. Druddigon's Crunch is a 3HKO. Haxorus goes for DD, but then seemingly goes for Ice Punch, letting you kill it. Didn't try Blizzard since it doesn't seem necessary. Good matchup

Marlon(53): Mystic Water. 2HKO Carracosta with Surf. Against Wailord, you can use Dig on the turn after it uses Bounce, making you effectively immune to it. Okay-ish matchup

Colress: no

Shauntal(59): Mystic Water. Set up rain on Golurk or Drifblim. OHKO Drifblim with Aqua Tail and Chandy/Golurk with Waterfall. Great matchup

Grimsley: Mystic Water. Set up rain and OHKO Liepard and Krookodile with Waterfall. Scrafty is 2HKOed by Aqua Tail and almost KOes you with Crunch. Okay-ish matchup

Comes late with a few good matchups. It's a bit better than the typical Water fillers, since it suffers from no significant availability issues and has a few matchups above those of the other ones. Still not impressive, though

Gligar -> B / C
Gliscor

Drayden(50): No item. SD twice then outspeed and OHKO everything with Acrobatics. Flygon spams Dragon Tail, making it a non-issue. Druddigon's Crunch doesn't deal enough to threaten you

Marlon: no

Colress(54): Eviolite. Spam Bulldoze to 2HKO the magnets, which 3HKO with Flash Cannon, assuming no crits and SpD drops. Klinklang comes in, which tries to go for Giga Impact. You heal, turning the attack into a 4HKO. Gligar outspeeds unboosted and goes for SD. Klinklang goes for Shift Gear. It then goes for another Shift Gear, while Gligar OHKOes with Sky Uppercut, then OHKOes Metang with Bulldoze and Beheeyem with X-Scissor. +2 Bulldoze isn't a guaranteed OHKO on Metang, but the roll is favorable to you. Great matchup, I tried the matchup five times, of which all attempts ended in victory

Ghetsis(54/55): Pecha Berry. SD to the max. Heal off poison and try to be at full HP when OHKOing Cofagrigus with Acrobatics. Hydregon outspeeds and puts you in yellow with Dragon Rush, if you don't get flinched, you OHKO it. Then you outspeed and OHKO most other things, with Eelektross dying to Sky Uppercut (+4 puts it in mid yellow). Drapion is fsater, but fails to KO you without crits. Decent matchup, though it is a bit setup heavy

Shauntal(59): Rawst Berry. SD twice and get yourself burned. Outspeeds and OHKOes everything with Acrobatics and Bulldoze. Coffin went with Shadow Ball then WoW in my attempt. Great matchup

Grimsley: No item. SD once and OHKO everything with either Acrobatics or Bulldoze. Gliscor managed to live a Fake Out, crit Night Slash, normal Night Slash, and Crunch at 4 HP, so if no crits, great matchup.

Caitlin: Chesto Berry. SD twice then outspeed and OHKO everything with Acrobatics. Great matchup

Marshal: Marshal: No item. SD once and proceed to KO everything (bar Sawk). Throh and Conk are slower even if you are at -1, so they die easily. Mienshao goes for HJK, which deals little damage to you, so you hit it with Bulldoze (in case it decides to U-Turn out instead), putting it in red. Sawk deals no damage to you and can only win if it can flinch you to death (one Bulldoze makes it slower). In case Throh doesn't drop your Speed (it sometimes goes for Payback), you pmuch win, as you outspeed everything. Easy sweep

Iris(60): set up on either Aggron or Druddigon. SD twice and outspeed and OHKO Druddigon and Lapras with Acrobatics and Aggron with Bulldoze. You can heal against Aggron, as it doesn't threaten you. Archeops puts you in yellow (it's typically the 5th Pokemon to come out as a whole) but dies to Sky Uppercut. Haxorus may derp and go for Dragon Dance (it's faster), so you use Bulldoze on it, putting it in healing range. If Iris does heal it, you beat Haxorus. Good matchup, even if you end up taking out only 4/6 of her team


Run assumes you catch it as a Gligar. Gliscor can be found in rustling grass, but seems a bit like an overkill. Gligar is comparable to Cobalion in that it comes late, but it can SD its way through most matchups. Gligar trades a consistent Ghetsis sweep for a consistent Marshal sweep (Gligar can still sweep Ghetsis, just not as reliably). I am suggesting C-tier purely to not generate much hype, but Gligar is just very good as a whole. Note that you get the Razor Fang after getting Waterfall


The next run consisted of Skorupi / Swablu / Mantyke / Wailmer / Spheal / Absol

Skorupi -> C / D
Drapion

Drayden(50): Expert Belt. Hone Claws twice then outspeed and OHKO everything with Ice Fang (Flygon is naturally slower). Great matchup

Marlon(53): Black Glasses. +1 Crunch OHKOes Jellicent and 2HKOes the rest. Carracosta 2HKOes with +2 Scald (and 3HKOes with unboosted Scald) and is slower even after Shell Smash. You may need to heal against Wailord to avoid a Scald KO. However, if you are healthy enough, it can give you a free turn with Amnesia. Good matchup, though a bit luck-reliant due to Scald burns

Colress(54): Cheri Berry. Beats Magneton with Dig. Magnezone paralyzes you and goes for Explosion while you are in green (3HKO). Switch out against Klinklang and bring Drapion back against Beheeyem. Set up two Hoen Claws on it, KO it, then OHKO Metang with Dig. Okay-ish matchup

Ghetsis(54): No item cause forgot to equip one lol. Hone Claws four times on Coffin, which pmuch does nothing to you. OHKO it at full health. Then outspeed and OHKO Toxicroak and Drapion with Bulldoze and Seismitoad and Eelektross with Crunch. Hydreigon is faster and 2HKOes with Dragon Rush, but dies to Ice Fang. Good matchup

Shauntal(59): Rawst Berry. Hone Claws twice, make sure you have no burns, then outspeed and OHKO everything with Crunch. Easy sweep

Grimsley: Silverpowder. OHKO Liepard with X-Scissor. Krookodile is faster, so you switch out. +2 X-Scissor seems to 2HKO Scrafty, but it drops your speed and damages you with Brick Break enough that, even if you heal and somehowly manage to get past Scrafty (it's possible to lose even then), Bisharp can still finsih you off. Meh matchup

Caitlin: Chesto Berry. Two Hone Claws = gg


Rather late, but a fairly good setup sweeper. It doesn't always sweep (as indicated by Grimsley), but it has an easy time against opponents like Drayden, Shauntal, Caitlin, and Ghetsis, while also being good against Marlon. Either tier is fine for me

Swablu -> E
Altaria

Drayden(50): Expert Belt. Dragon Pulse 2HKOes Druddigon and OHKOes the rest. You can set up Cotton Guard to secure the matchup, but you are unlikely to need it

Marlon(53): Leftovers. Cotton Guard twice against Carracosta, which turns +2 Smack Down into a 3-4HKO. 2HKO with Dragon Pulse. You can spam DD on Wailord, but you need +3 to 2HKO with Aerial Ace. It also 2HKOes Jellicent. Meh matchup due to extensive setup + Scald burns

Colress(54): Cheri Berry. Bulldoze fails to 2HKO Magneton, though it 2HKOes Magnezone. You can spam Cotton Guard and Dragon Dance on Metang, but you nee +5 to OHKO it and Klinklang with Bulldoze. Beheeyem can also prove problematic if you are low on HP. Meh matchup

Ghetsis(54): Itemless because forgot to equip item. Set up Cotton Guard and Dragon Dance on anything but Coffin / Hydreigon. You will need many DDs to threaten an OHKO on anything and you will likely need to heal at least twice. Meh matchup

Shauntal(59): Leftovers. Unless you go the full setup mode that I've been using earlier, you are unlikely to KO more than one Pokemon; Dragon Pulse is a 3HKO on Cofagrigus.

Grimsley: Leftovers. The usual; spam Cotton Guard and a few Dragon Dances in order to deal actual damage with Aerial Ace. You need to forget Dragon Pulse for Bulldoze if you want to hit Bisharp. Also watch out for Night Slash crits. Meh matchup

Marshal: Cotton Guard, DD to the max, then spam Aerial Ace


While it packs a great matchup against Drayden and Marshal, it is wildly inefficient to use. It has to spam DD in multitudes and Cotton Guard to stand a chance to sweep any fight. I assume Altaria is also hard to grind due to its lacking movepool (I used my tool to skip the long stretch). Not useless, but a slugfest when it comes to sweeping

Mantyke -> E
Mantine

Drayden(50): Expert Belt. Two turns from hail + Blizzard KO Druddigon. Then Flygon comes in, outspeeds, and finishes you off with Rock Slide

Ghetsis(54): beats Toxicroak, I guess?

Shauntal(59): Mystic Water. Surf 3HKOes Coffin, though it weakens you quite a bit (often puts you in yellow). 3HKOed by Golurk's Shadow Punch, so it can set up rain on it or Chandelure, then outspeed (thanks to Swift Swim) and OHKO with Surf. Drifblim generally beats you. Okay-ish matchup

Grimsley: Mystic Water. Set up rain on Liepard and OHKO it with Surf. Scrafty is 2HKOed by Air Slash and fails to KO you with Crunch or Rock Tomb. Krookodile is outsped even at -1 and OHKOed by Surf. Good matchup


Comes late and has few good matchups. On top of this, you need to hunt for a Remoraid (5% encounter rate) to evolve it. It's simply not a good Pokemon and comes close to being Pelipper's special cousin

Wailmer -> E
Wailord

Drayden(50): Expert Belt. Blizzard is an OHKO on everything. Flygon goes for Earth Power, but doesn't threaten you. Haxorus seems to go for Dragon Tail. Great matchup

Drayden(53): beats Carracosta

Colress(54): Mystic Water. Water Spout doesn't OHKO anything, though you can beat Metang and Beheeyem on the virtue of AI derp. Meh matchup

Ghetsis(54): Mystic Water. Water Spout doesn't OHKO anything, so you are likely 1v1ing at best

Shauntal(59): Mystic Water. OHKOes Golurk and Chandelure with MW Surf while outspeeding the former. Cofagrigus is also 2HKOed by Surf, though it can weaken you for Chandelure, unless the AI derps and uses Will-o-wisp (as mine is Water Veil). Okay-ish matchup. Note: Water Spout does NOT OHKO Cofagrigus

Grimsley: beats Krookodile


Comes late and has no redeeming qualities. Water Spout looks nice, but it did nothing for me to warrant any special shoutouts. It is the typical Water filler that hardly differentiates itself from the others in the same category.

Spheal -> E
Walrein

Drayden(50): Leftovers. Set up hail (outspeeds Druddigon) and OHKO it with Blizzard. Flygon outspeeds and goes for Rock Slide, but as long as you don't get flinched often, you can OHKO it with Aurora Beam. Haxorus goes for DD if you aren't in range for another attack and you kill it with Blizzard. Ice Body with Leftovers helps you recover health easily. Great matchup

Ghetsis(54): cannot 1v1 Hydreigon, unfortunately, as Hydreigon outspeeds and 2HKOes with Rock Slide, while your own Ice Beam fails to OHKO. At best 1v1s something

Shauntal(59): beats Golurk and Drifblim.

Grimsley: Leftovers. Set up Hail and KO Liepard with Blizzard (two hail turns are enough for a KO with Blizzard). Scrafty is 2HKOed by Blizzard thanks to Hail, but you are left in red HP if it goes for Rock Tomb. Krookodile beats you, unless you heal, put it in healing range with Ice Beam, set up another Hail to avoid an Earthquake KO and then KO Krookodile with the help of hail. Okay-ish matchup, a bit too convoluted


Sweeps Drayden, but does little-to-nothing after that, beyond taking out a threat or two. No difference from other Water-types, in the grand scheme of things

Absol -> D
Absol

Drayden(50): Blackglasses. +2 Night Slash OHKOes Druddigon. Flygon is faster and kills you with Earth Power unless you never took Revenge. Even if you get past Flygon, Haxorus is faster and will finish you off with Slash

Marlon(53): Blackglasses. SD once and spam Night Slash. 2HKOes Carracosta and OHKOes the rest. +2 Scald almost OHKOes you, making this matchup very inconsistent

Ghetsis(54): Blackglasses. SD to the max and OHKO Coffin while at full HP. Drapion outspeeds and 2HKOes with X-Scissor, but dies to your own X-Scissor. Then you outspeed and OHKO Seismitoad and Toxicroak with Night Slash. Hydreigon finishes you off. Okay-ish

Shauntal(59): Rawst Berry. SD once and OHKO Cofagrigus with Night Slash. Chandelure is faster, but you can kill it with Sucker Punch. Drifblim is also faster and puts you in red with Acrobatics; for this reason, OHKO with Sucker Punch. Golurk is OHKOed (it actually comes before Drifblim, just to make it clear)

Grimsley: Silverpowder. SD twice on Liepard then OHKO it with X-Scissor. Outspeed and OHKO Bisharp and Scrafty with X-Scissor. Krookodile is faster and finishes you off. Good matchup

Caitlin: Chesto Berry. One SD = gg. Use Sucker Punch on Sigilyph

Inconsistent sweeper as a whole, relies on luck to sweep Marlon. At least it is decent against Ghetsis and most of the Elite Four to make it more usable than the Water trash that I used alongside it


once I am done with my current run (and maybe another one), I will post again
 
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Posting results from my own runs, the first being with Psyduck / Rattata / Dwebble / Virizion / Golurk

Cheren

Psyduck (11): Water Gun 3hkos Patrat, 4hkos Lillipup. Disable is an interesting tech as it can stop either Work Up so Lillipup doesn’t accrue too many boosts, or Tackle to take away its strongest move. Either way it’s not a major advantage, as Lillipup can handily damage race you especially with a potion under its belt. You can take out Patrat but that will ensure you won’t beat Lillipup. Poor.

Roxie

Psyduck (16): Confusion 2hkos Koffing, 4hkos Whirlipede. Running Oran Berry here to provide a little healing, Koffing always Tackles regardless. Disable is useful for negating Venoshock, which leaves Whirlipede spamming Poison Sting pathetically. Good mu.

Burgh

Psyduck (21): You beat Dwebble but lose to Swadloon and Leavanny pretty hard. Poor mu.

Raticate (22): At +2 Hyper Fang ohkos Swadloon and Bite 3hkos Dwebble. Swadloon String Shots you to -2 and dies (you still outspeed it after half speed), but Dwebble Smack Downs you to about half. Leavanny is 3hkod by Quick Attack and finishes you off. 1v1 Hyper Fang 3hkos Leavanny while Razor Leaf just barely misses the 2hko on you (potential crits could 2hko you). 2 Hyper Fangs into QA finish the job assuming the potion is burned on Dwebble. Decent mu, Raticate can beat Burgh’s ace but it’s shaky.

Elesa

Dweb is 29, rest 29

Psyduck: Everything ohkos you with Volt Switch. With Eviolite you could maybe tank one but MysticWater Pulse only 3hkos Flaffy so no way you’re actually killing anything either. Terrible mu.

Raticate: +2 Dig/Return ohkos everything. Leftovers I found to be the most consistent item since Rat is 3hkod by Volt Switch and having Lefties gives you some breathing room while setting up, especially if you stall for heals with Dig. Zeb outspeeds and does ~30 damage with Volt, you should have enough health to tank and ohko with Return. Sweep is doable but needing +2 to consistently ohko means you open yourself up to extra damage and having to make contact with two Static mons means you’ll likely need a Paralyz Heal more than once (you’re guaranteed to use one since Flaffy TWaves you as you use your second Work Up). Good mu.

Dwebble: Dig 2hkos Flaffy and Zeb (3hkos after berry), Rock Slide ohkos Emolga. Eviolite is required to not get 2hkod by Volt. With minimal need to heal paralysis, you can ko Flaffy and Emolga while bring Zeb to two-thirds HP. Stealth Rock is a tech worth noting as Volt Switch causes mons to switch around (who would’ve guessed) and the chip it accrues can be beneficial (notably it made my kos with Raticate much more consistent). Good mu.

Clay

Golduck (33): MW Water Pulse ohkos Krokorok and Sandslash. Both Pulse and Aqua Tail (assuming you switch out to reset your Attack) 2hko Excadrill. From full you can eat a Bulldoze -> Slash assuming no crit. Great mu.

Raticate (32): Sack Intimidate Fodder, SD up, and sweep. Krokorok weirdly does not Torment you, instead it goes for Crunch -> Bulldoze, so you’ll have to take +1 (getting to +2 doesn’t improve your rolls anyways). At +1 you ohko Krok and 2hko Slash. Slash drops your speed with Bulldoze so Drill can come in and clean up. 1v1 Rat will only beat Krok. Decent mu.

Crustile (34): Bug Bite ohkos Krokorok and 4hkos Sandslash, Dig 2hkos Excadrill. Titanic physical bulk and Leftovers enables you to survive even moves like Rock Slide with relative ease. Krok likes to Crunch so you can set up Rock Polish with relative ease. Having the extra speed also baits Clay into spamming Bulldoze instead of using rock moves, which is super easy to abuse. Also if Slash goes for Rollout you can use Dig to avoid it which also grants you a free turn of Leftovers. Worth noting that grinding the extra level for X-Scissor would make this mu even better. Great mu.

Skyla

All 38

Golduck: Surf 2hkos Swoobat as it 3hkos with Acrobatics. Swanna comes in after and is 4-5hkod by Zen Headbutt. It outspeeds and Air Slashes you down. Skarm is 2hkod by Surf and does absolutely nothing with Air Cutter, you can take on Swoobat and then Skarm with no healing and be absolutely comfortable. Good mu.

Raticate: Return 2hkos Swoobat, no point in SDing since it has Unaware. My Rat is male so I have to put up with Attract bs, but Heart Stamp is a 4hko and Acro is a 2hko, I’ve seen it use both. Swoobat will likely be leaving you in yellow, at which point Swanna will come in and murder you. 1v1, Swanna will lock you into a Featherdance -> Roost loop, luckily you have SD to keep your attack at base. Return 2hkos (3hkos after berry) while Air Slash 3hkos you, but it will spend too much time Roosting to deal a lot of damage. Against Skarm, +2 Return will 3hko, while it will 3hko you back with Steel Wing, and can be faster than you thanks to Agility. Decent.

Crustle: Set up Shell Smash and sweep. Swoobat is a valid setup target this time as its attacks do nothing and Unaware means it ignores your Defense drops (but not your Speed boosts, apparently). After a Smash, you outspeed and ohko Swoobat and Swanna, and 2hko Skarm. Worst case is Rock Slide missing, as both Skarm and Swanna have super-effective moves they can hit you hard with after a Smash. Great mu.

Drayden

Virizion 49, rest 46

Golduck: Expert Belt Ice Punch 2hkos Druddigon and Haxorus, ohkos Flygon. Flygon and Haxorus both outspeed you; Flygon will take you to red with Earth Power and Haxorus will finish you off with Slash. Good mu.

Raticate: +2 Guts-boosted Return ohkos everything. You outspeed even Gon so no extra damage taken. Fantastic mu.

Crustle: +4 Shell Smash outspeeds and ohkos everything. +4 is needed to ensure you ohko. Great mu.

Virizion: Outspeed and ohko everything with +4 Sacred Sword. Great mu.

Marlon

All 49

Golduck: TwistedSpoon Psychic 3hkos Costa, 4hkos Wailord, 5hkos Jellicent. Costa is fairly easy as it spends time Shell Smashing, Wailord has Amnesia to wall you out, and Jellicent will likely disable Psychic given how many times you have to hit it. Poor mu.

Raticate: Avoid Costa as Facade into Dig does not ko and +2 Scald ohkos you. Set up on Wailord as it Amnesias, +2 Return and Crunch ohko Wailord and Jelli, respectively. Good mu.

Crustle: Hold Rawst Berry to guarantee you survive Scald. Avoid Costa as it doesn’t provide you safe setup. Wailord on the other hand gladly Amnesias turn 1 to give you a free Shell Smash. At +4, X-Scissor and Rock Slide ohko Wailord and Jelli, respectively. Good mu.

Virizion: Set up and sweep. Costa is completely safe setup with Rawst Berry in hand and can even boost your Attack with Crunch thanks to Justified. At +2 Seed Bomb ohkos everything. Fantastic mu.

Colress

All 52

Golduck: MW Surf 2hkos everything (3hkos Beheeyem after CM). Metang 4hkos with Zen Headbutt and Klinklang opts to Shift Gear twice instead of Thunderbolting for some reason. Beheeyem can take your Surf, Calm Mind, and spam Recover, effectively walling you (Signal Beam with Expert Belt could allow you to 2hko even after Calm Mind). Poor mu.

Raticate: With Guts, +2 Dig brings Magnets to Sturdy, ohkos Metang and Klinklang. Crunch 2hkos Beheeyem. Only safe kills are Metang, which spams Agility harmlessly, and Beheeyem, who can’t ohko you back. Klinklang is 2hkod by Facade after SD, but it Shift Gears and ohkos with Giga Impact after. Poor mu.

Crustle: +2 Dig ohkos everything except Beheeyem, which is ohkod by X-Scissor. Weirdly, Magneton opts to spam Flash Cannon instead of attempting to paralyze you, whereas Magnezone opts to paralyze and then Flash Cannon even after Cheri Berry cures you (I’m assuming this has to do with the fact that Shell Smash drops your Sp. Def). Avoid Ton, setup and Scissor into Dig to ko Zone. Metang comes in, dies, then comes Klang to cockblock you with Air Balloon. So with SS you can beat 2 and break Klang’s Balloon, 1v1 you should beat 3 out of 5. Decent.

Virizion: SD up on Ton, Cheri Berry gives you a free SD but you will need to heal para a couple times due to Sturdy. At +2 you bring both Magnets to Sturdy and your high special bulk and Grass typing makes you pretty resilient to the Magnets. Beheeyem comes after, dies to X-Scissor. Metang comes in, lives +2 Sacred Sword, and kills you with Zen Headbutt. If you get +4 on Magnet, you should clean sweep. 1v1 you should beat everything from full. Good mu.

Ghetsis

All 53

Golduck: Toxicroak is outsped and ohkod by Psychic. Hydreigon outspeeds you and 2hkos with Dragon Rush -> Crunch, while you only 2hko back with Ice Beam. Bad mu.

Raticate: Avoid Cofagrigus as touching it will lose your Guts. I set up on Eelektross, who brings you to yellow with TBolt/Acro, you don’t really get much better opportunities to set up unfortunately. +2 Facade ohkos everything. You kill everything except for Hydreigon, as you die from poison before you can finish the sweep. Good mu.

Crustle: At +4 you outspeed and ohko everything with Slide and Scissor, as well as Dig for Croak. Setting up on Cofag you can kill 4 members before poison kills you. It might have an easier time skipping Cofag and setting up on something like Croak or Drap but I couldn’t get those mons to come out after Cofag. Good mu.

Virizion: Avoid Cofag as it walls you. Setting up on Toed is your best bet as Sludge Wave only 3hkos. +4 is needed to get ohkos (otherwise Eel comes in after Toed, survives Sacred Sword and kills you with Acro), but again, setting up on Toed is fairly easy, and at +4 you outspeed and ohko everything (use Aerial Ace for Croak). I had on Expert Belt out of habit but using Pecha Berry could be recommended for maximum safety against Sludge Wave. Great mu.

Shauntal
Viriz and Golurk 58, rest 59

Golduck: MW Surf 2hkos Cofagrigus and Drifblim, ohkos Chandelure and Golurk. You outspeed everything, and both Cofag and Blim only 3hko you with Shadow Ball/Acrobatics, respectively, so it’s actually a fairly secure sweep. Great mu.

Raticate: Avoid Cofag due to Mummy. You have to set up on Golurk; you can eat one EQ as you get to +2 and have just enough HP to live thru to the end (sorta). Outspeed and ohko everything with +2 Crunch. Drifblim comes in last, and due to Aftermath it’s a double-down. With rolls on EQ it’s possible you might not even live to see that far. 1v1 you should beat everything. Decent.

Crustle: After a Shell Smash you outspeed and ohko everything with Spell Tag Shadow Claw. Setting up on Cofag is a little tricky due to the Sp. Def drops from Smash; the way to go is to Shadow Claw turn 1 and then Shell Smash after. You will survive a Shadow Ball into +1 Shadow Ball, albeit on the slimmest of margins. Shadow Claw is more accurate than Rock Slide against Chandy and Blim, but it’s preferable to Rock Slide the latter due to Aftermath. Good mu.

Virizion: You can beat Golurk with Seed Bomb but without the coverage to hit the rest of the ghosts you’re basically a dud, especially when half the mons hit you super-effectively. Even against Cofag, who doesn’t even click Will-o-Wisp, you fail to ohko with +4 Seed Bomb and are 3hkod by Psychic. Poor mu.

Golurk: Shadow Punch ohkos Drifblim and (presumably) Chandy, 2hkos Cofag and opposing Golurk. You are 2hkod by everything except Chandy, who outspeeds and ohkos. 1v1 you can beat one of everything except Chandy. Decent.

Grimsley

Golduck 60, rest the same

Golduck: MW Surf ohkos Krook and is a roll to ohko Liepard (seemingly in your favor, you could also click Hydro Pump here to ensure the ko). Pump -> Surf is necessary to 2hko Scrafty and Bisharp through Sitrus. You outspeed everything, even Bisharp after a Rock Tomb, and don’t take a ton of damage from Night Slash either. Good mu, can be disrupted by Hydro missing and Attract bs (thankfully my Duck is female).

Raticate: At +2 you outspeed and ohko everything with Facade/Dig. Setting up, however, is downright impossible as everything does so much damage to you that you die to poison very quickly. 1v1, you beat Liepard and Krookodile (have an Intimidate sack). Decent.

Crustle: Set up and sweep. After a Shell Smash you outspeed everything. X-Scissor ohkos Liepard and Krookodile, 2hkos Scrafty and Bisharp after Sitrus (2hko against Bisharp is after Krook’s Intimidate). Great mu.

Virizion: Outspeed and ohko everything with +2 Sacred Sword. Thanks to Virizion being genderless you don’t have to worry about Attract, and Aerial Ace is a 2hko. Fantastic mu.

Golurk: You can take one Night Slash from Bisharp or Liepard and ohko back with EQ. Don’t attempt the others. Poor mu.

Caitlin

Virizion is now 59, rest the same.

Golduck: MW Hydro Pump 2hkos everything. Assuming no misses you can take out Musharna and one other pokemon before something finishes you off. Gothitelle can wall you out with Calm Mind; Expert Belt Shadow Claw is an option but fairs worse in rolls vs Hydro Pump against the other pokemon. Poor.

Raticate: Outspeed and ohko everything with +2 Crunch. Trick is to go into battle without poison, so Musharna is tricked into Yawning instead of using Reflect. Fantastic mu.

Crustle: Chesto berry, set up on Musharna, outspeed and ohko everything with +2 X-Scissor. Fantastic mu.

Virizion: Outspeed everything, you need +6 to ohko everything. Thankfully Musharna makes this basically free, but the power level here is noticeably worse than other sweepers. Good mu.

Golurk: After a Rock Polish, outspeed everything, ohko Sigi and Reuni, 2hko the rest with Spell Tag Shadow Punch. Reflect is slightly annoying but you can stall it out. Shadow Ball from Goth hurts but doesn’t kill even with a crit. Great mu.

Marshall

Rat 60, rest the same

Golduck: EBelt Psychic ohkos Mienshao, 2hkos the rest. At lead you beat Throh and Mienshao or Conkeldurr (depending on whether Shao U-Turns or HJKs) before something finishes you off. 1v1 you beat everything. Good mu.

Raticate: Outspeed and ohko Mienshao with Facade, the rest beat you. Poor mu.

Crustle: +4 Silk Scarf Return ohkos everything (Silk Scarf necessary to secure the ohko on Throh). You kill Throh and Conk before Sawk stops you cold. You could maybe beat things 1v1 but the necessity to Shell Smash, sometimes twice, combined with the high amount of Rock moves make it shaky. Decent, worth noting Stealth Rock can break Sawk’s Sturdy.

Virizion: +4 Aerial Ace ohkos everything. Sweeping doesn’t work as Mienshao immediately comes in after Throh and Bounces. 1v1ing things is possible but needs a lot of boosting and Conk even has Bulk Up to mess with that. Poor mu.

Golurk: Soft Sand EQ ohkos Shao, 2hkos Throh and Sawk after Sturdy, 3hkos Conk after berry. Throh is immediately followed by Sawk, who beats you with Sturdy and Payback. You can 1v1 all of Marshall’s team. Good mu.

Iris

Duck and Rat are 60, rest 59

Golduck: With Expert Belt, Surf ohkos Archeops and Aggron, Ice Beam 2hkos the dragons. Lapras walls you. I found you could beat Hydra, Arch, and Aggron as you take both Dragon Pulse and Acrobatics, albeit on very low HP. Can 1v1 5 out of 6. Great mu.

Raticate: Setting up on Hydra, you can ohko it, Drud, and Aggron before you die to poison. 1v1 you’ll beat 3 out of 6. Decent.

Crustle: Setting up, you beat Hydra and Lapras before Drud comes in, eats X-Scissor, and kills you with Flamethrower. 1v1 you should only be able to beat 4 out of 6. Good mu, Stealth Rocks is notable for breaking Haxorus’ Focus Sash.

Virizion: Any sweeping attempt is shut down by Archeops, who outspeeds and ohkos with Acrobatics. 1v1 you can beat 5 out of 6, albeit with Swords Dance boosts. Decent.

Golurk: 1v1 you can beat Archeops, Aggron, or any of the dragons bar Hydra with EQ/Ice Punch. Decent.

:Psyduck: Honestly I was expecting Psyduck to be trash, but it was surprisingly competent. It does what you would expect, has Confusion for Roxie, Water moves for Clay, etc., but it finds ways to do well elsewhere, particularly against the E4. Surely its Ice and Psychic coverage helped in this regard, but I think Golduck's relative blandess actually helped it in this regard; while its stats aren't great by any means, it is not slow, nor particularly frail, not to mention it lacks a secondary typing and all the potential weaknesses that come with it. So with little way of hitting it super-effectively, and being just fast enough to keep up, Golduck works out fine. That said, even with all the good Psyduck carries with it, it still has a lot of bad; the Psyduck phase in particular is pretty awful outside of Roxie, and Golduck still slips up against mus like Marlon, Colress, even Caitlin. I'm very on the fence about Psyduck's placement; I wouldn't be against it remaining in B where it is now, but the conservative part of me thinks dropping it to C might be more appropriate. (As a side note, it's worth mentioning that access to Surf, Strength, and Flash makes Psyduck one of the better HM slaves in the game; whether you consider that notable enough to change that rank is up to you, but I thought it was neat enough to mention).

:Rattata: Despite this being the game where, theoretically, it has everything it wants to be good, the Rat still falls flat. Early game, it misses the power that Guts would provide it, and in general, it doesn't really have the bulk nor the resistances to keep up. Late game especially, setting up with Rat will leave you so low that you'll be lucky to get more than a few kills before status takes you down. It does have its good mus, and is generally competent otherwise, but Rat is simply too inconsistent in major battles to be above C.

:Dwebble: Dwebble is an interesting sweeper with access to Shell Smash, but its reliance on this move is its Achilles' Heel; the drops to your defenses combined with the need to set up multiple times means you find yourself being very frail very quickly, which, despite having Sturdy, can be very precarious. Its Speed actually wasn't an issue for me, but rather, it's low-power STABs and kind of lacking coverage means it would fail to find ohkos without being at +4 Attack. With that said, it performed generally well, so I think remaining at B is the best for it.

:Virizion: Probably the best late game mon alongside its brother, Cobalion. Viriz is very fast, and with Swords Dance, makes for quite a solid setup sweeper. Ultimately it did need to boost multiple times due to its average Attack stat, but it was generally safe enough to manage doing so. What proved more annoying was its lack of coverage, particularly Rock Slide and Shadow Claw/Payback, which would've definitely helped in certain situations. Otherwise, rather solid, a good Colress mu certainly helps. I'm feeling a B.

:Golurk: Victory Road mon, it does alright at League and wasn't that hard to train, but didn't do a whole lot that was notable, even against Marshall, for whom it seems tailor-made to beat with its Fighting immunity and Rock resistance. E tier.

Second run was with Lillipup / Mandibuzz / Pinsir / Ferroseed / Staryu

Cheren

Lillipup (13): Tackle 2hkos Patrat, 3hkos Lillipup. Patrat Works Up and Pup opts to spam Tackle, 4hkoing you. Great mu.

Roxie

Herdier (17): +2 Silk Scarf Take Down ohkos everything. Koffing does maybe 10 damage in total with 2 Assurances and recoil isn’t enough to force a double-down. Fantastic mu.

Burgh

Herdier (24): +2 Return ohkos Swadloon and 2hkos Leavanny, Crunch 2hkos Dwebble. With Eviolite equipped you’re pretty safe barring multiple Razor Leaf crits. Great mu.

Elesa

Herdier (30): +1 Dig ohkos Flaffy and Zeb, Return ohkos Emolga. Cheri Berry to avoid Static, Emolga 4hkos with Volt Switch, albeit on the slimmest of margins (I was left at 7 HP by the end of the battle). You don’t really need to, but if you grind to Stoutland, this mu would be even better. Great mu.

Mandibuzz (29): +4 Snarl ohkos Flaffy and Emolga and 2hkos Zebstrika. If you can manage to get one of Elesa’s mons to activate Weak Armor, you can outspeed everything. It can be kinda complicated to get this to happen, the way I managed was spamming Snarl as Flaffy came in and para’d me, heal off para as it Volts out and then Emolga for some reason decides to not Volt Switch you anymore. Worth noting that Volt Switch 3hkos and with Leftovers you recover HP a fair bit. You’ll be able to kill both Emolga and Flaffy and severely dent Zeb before dying. Good mu.

Pinsir (29): Soft Sand Dig ohkos Zeb and Flaffy, Rock Tomb 2hkos Emolga. Emolga outspeeds and Volts, Dig on it to catch Zeb. Emolga is a 4hko so you’re pretty safe against it. Great mu.

Clay

Stoutland 32, rest 31

Stoutland: At +2 Silk Scarf Return ohkos Krok and Sandslash, Dig ohkos Excadrill. If Krok Torments you while you set up you can simply ohko it at +1 and set up the next Work Up on Slash. You’re outsped by everything after a Bulldoze but your bulk keeps you more than safe, it helps that Slash and Exca both chose weaker moves like Fury Cutter and Metal Claw to attack you with. Great mu.

Mandibuzz: Set up on Krok and 2hko with +4 Snarl. Weak Armor procs leaves your Defense too low to eat a Rock Slide from Exca so you’re forced out. You can come back in on Slash, set up and 2hko with +2 Snarl. Decent.

Pinsir: X-Scissor ohkos Krok (even at -1), 3hkos Slash. Brick Break 2hkos Excadrill. Exca outspeeds and 2hkos with Rock Slide. If Slash gets enough drops with Crush Claw, and still has a potion, it could genuinely beat you. Decent.

Ferroseed: Seed Bomb ohkos Krok, 3hkos Slash, 5-6hkos Exca (Iron Barbs makes it difficult to exactly tell). With Eviolite and Iron Defense, you are quite literally invincible, and Iron Barbs helps chip down your opponent as it wails on you in vain. That said, this battle takes forever, and you could technically still lose if Exca were to cheese you out, be it with Rock Slide flinches, or Slash crits, things that are more likely to happen since the battle is taking like 100 turns to complete, but otherwise you should be fine. Good.

Skyla

Pinsir and Ferrothorn are 40, rest 38

Stoutland: +1 Crunch ohkos Swoobat, Thunder Fang ohkos Swanna and 2hkos Skarm. After Intimidate, -1 Acrobatics is a 4-5hko, but it prefers to click Heart Stamp which does <20 hp, so even if your Stoutland is male you have some leeway with Attract shenanigans. Swanna outspeeds and 4hkos with Air Slash, and Skarm predictably does nothing with Steel Wing. Great mu.

Mandibuzz: +4 Snarl 2hkos Swoobat (Unaware), 2hkos Swanna, 3hkos Skarm. While Swoobat’s Unaware means you don’t ohko it no matter how much you boost, it also means its Acrobatics stays at a safe 5hko no matter how many times Weak Armor activates. Swanna comes in after it and Air Slashes for next to no damage. Skarm stops you cold, but by then you’ve stopped the two actual threats on Skyla’s team anyways. Good mu.

Pinsir: +2 Rock Slide 2hkos Skarm while Air Cutter 3-4hkos you back. Skarm has to Agility first to outspeed so you should win, but Air Cutter crits can still potentially cost you. Swoobat and Swanna are no-gos. Poor mu.

Ferrothorn: Curse up and Rollout. My Ferrothorn was male but even then Swoobat seemed to prefer spamming Acrobatics for a 5hko. After bringing itself to half HP with Acrobatics (Iron Barbs + Rocky Helmet), Swoobat is knocked into red by Rollout 1. Cue potion use, which is actually beneficial as it allows you to charge up your Rollout. Rollouts 2 and 3 ko Swoobat, Swanna comes in, takes you to red with Air Slash, and Rollout 4 ohkos. Skarm is brought to Sturdy by Rollout 5 as it Air Cutters you to even redder, eventually finishing you off. Result is pretty good but given you take a lot of damage over the course of the battle and an untimely flinch can stop you could I’m not entirely sold on it. Decent.

Drayden

Ferrothorn 46, rest 45

Stoutland: +2 Silk Scarf Return ohkos everything. At -1 Druddigon struggles to damage you, even after a Slash and Revenge you’re still in the green. Flygon outspeeds and drops you into the low yellow with Earth Power, but Haxorus is either outsped or goes for Dragon Tail and is ohko’d. Great mu.

Mandibuzz: +6 Air Slash ohkos Flygon and Haxorus, leaves Drud in red. +6 is necessary as otherwise Flygon will live and ohko you with Rock Slide factoring in the Weak Armor drops. Good mu? I regret having to boost to max but a sweep is a sweep and it doesn’t easily die.

Pinsir: +4 X-Scissor ohkos everything. At +2 you barely miss out on ohkos. I was running Leftovers as I had not bothered to go through the effort of obtaining Silverpowder from Volcarona but if you were going through there for some reason it might be worth picking up to improve this mu. Drud’s move choice can influence this mu, it generally clicks Revenge for no reason but if it clicks Crunch twice you could be in rough spot vs Gon, who outspeeds and Rock Slides; if you’re already low and it flinches, it could end your sweep. Good mu.

Ferrothorn: +2 Iron Head ohkos Drud (after Iron Barbs chip), 2hkos Hax, Power Whip ohkos Gon. Originally I had gone for a Rocky Helmet set, but due to Drud spamming Revenge I was forced to only boost to +1 and achieve a pretty mediocre result. Upon switching to Leftovers tho, Drud consistently spammed Crunch while I boosted and basically let me kill it for free, sometimes not clicking Revenge at all. I have no explanation for this behavior, I tried my best to make sure I wasn’t feedback looping myself via save state and did achieve different attack orders, but it would consistently not use Revenge against me. So this is a consistent sweep if you don’t run Rocky Helmet, I guess. Great mu.

Starmie: Expert Belt Blizzard ohkos Gon and Hax, leaves Drud in red. I tried bringing Hail to avoid accuracy issues, but Drud’s Crunch does so much damage that Hail chip will kill you after you kill Drud. Flygon similarly will Crunch for major damage but not so much that Hail will kill you, so you can set up on him and enjoy perfectly accurate Blizzards, but against Drud you are forced to take the risk. If you want to set up on Flygon you’ll either have to heal or skip Drud altogether. Good mu.

Marlon

All 49

Stoutland: At +1 you 2hko everything with the appropriate coverage move. Depending on move choices from Marlon you can get as far as killing Carracosta and Wailord and leaving Jellicent at about one third HP before it finishes you off. This generally hinges on whether Wailord goes for Amnesia or Scald; the latter will kill you after taking a boosted Scald from Costa. Decent.

Mandibuzz: Leftovers. Set up Nasty Plot as Costa Smashes, you knock it to Sturdy as Smack Down puts you in yellow. Kill it and move to Wailord, who can be annoying with Amnesia (Punishment was an idea here but does about the same damage as Dark Pulse anyways) but can’t threaten you too hard with Scald. Jellicent lives +4 Dark Pulse, somehow, but can’t kill you in return thanks to Leftovers recovery and is killed by another Dark Pulse (or anything else if DP gets disabled). Good mu.

Pinsir: With Rawst Berry, set up and sweep. +2 Storm Throw knocks Costa to red (does not ohko thru Sturdy without a Defense drop via Shell Smash), X-Scissor ohkos Wailord, and Rock Slide 2hkos Jellicent through berry. Sweep here depends on Costa’s move choice; it generally Smacks Down turn 1, leaving you at half HP, and then Shell Smashes next turn. If it Smacks Down twice you will lose to Jellicent barring a lucky Flinch, most preferable scenario is if Costa Smashes turn 1 as you still outspeed and can ohko it after an SD and Defense drop, but not necessary to win. Assuming Costa Smacks then Smashes, you will beat Jellicent, albeit on low HP. Good mu.

Ferrothorn: Rawst Berry. Iron Head into Power Whip 2hkos Costa, Whip ohkos Wailord and Jelli. You’re fairly safe from dying but Whip accuracy and chance for multiple Scald burns makes this shakier than it has to be. Good mu.

Starmie: Surf 2hkos Costa, you outspeed after a Shell Smash and finish it off easy. Wailord is 2hkod by EBelt Thunder, Jelli 3hkod after berry. You can ThunderDance on Wailord for consistency, Amnesia is slightly annoying but you 2hko even after +2. Jellicent 2hkos with Ominous Wind. Good mu.

Colress

All 52

Stoutland: Cheri Berry. Return into Dig will take on the Mags; I noticed that Magneton may not be ohko’d by the aforementioned combo, though this was in 2 of 6 attempts so the roll should be in your favor. You will guaranteed be paralyzed by Magnezone as you break its Sturdy, but you can Paralyz Heal as Flash Cannon takes you to barely above half. Klinklang comes in who will definitely beat you 1v1 so avoid it. Metang comes in, and at the range you’re at will 2hko you with Meteor Mash after it sets up Agility; Dig twice to ko. Beheeyem comes in last, you bring it to half as Psychic kos you. 1v1, you beat everything except Klinklang. Good mu.

Mandibuzz: Bone Rush the Mags. In my experience, you need max Bone Rushes to ko both Mags; I ran Cheri Berry as they are compelled to paralyze you before anything, which can buy you an extra chance to Bone Rush if you miss / low roll. Beat Mags, and dodge Klang. Come back in on Metang, which boosts Agility and spams Rock Slide to 3hko after Defense drops. At +4 you ohko both Metang and Beheeyem with Dark Pulse. Decent/good.

Pinsir: Swords Dance up on Magneton as Cheri Berry cures paralysis. At +2, Bulldoze ohkos the Mags and Metang, Storm Throw ohkos Klang, X-Scissor ohkos Beheeyem. You outspeed everything and Mold Breaker means you bypass Sturdy. Flawless mu.

Ferrothorn: At +1, Bulldoze knocks Mags to Sturdy, 2hkos Metang and Klang (after Balloon is broken). Power Whip 2hkos Beheeyem. You completely wall everything on Colress’ team, but since you take so long to kill everything, and are slower than everything, you take a ton of residual damage over the course of the battle; I held Leftovers to help recover over the course of the battle. You don’t inherently have to heal off paralysis, but it’s preferable as losing precious attacking turns can cause you to lose. 1v1 you beat everything. Good mu.

Starmie: Avoid Mags. MW Surf 2hkos the rest. Metang and Klinklang waste their time boosting their Speed only to be outsped next turn anyways, Beheeyem opts to Energy Ball for half. Decent/good mu.

Ghetsis

Pinsir 54, Ferro 53, rest 52

Stoutland: Set up to +3 on Cofagrigus. Full Restore on Protect (Cofag’s move order is Toxic -> Protect -> Psychic -> Protect), and sweep. +3 Crunch ohkos Cofag, Silk Scarf Return ohkos the rest. Only Drapion and Hydreigon outspeed you, but the combination of Night Slash and Dragon Rush aren’t enough to kill you, leaving you in low yellow. Great mu.

Mandibuzz: Get up to +6 on Cofag, you are basically immune to it beyond poison. Antidote and sweep. At +6 you ohko everything except Hydra, which is 2hkod. Hydra outspeeds and does about half with Dragon Rush / Rock Slide, but activates Weak Armor and allows you out outspeed and ko it next turn. Great mu, needs max boosting but is pretty safe to do so.

Pinsir: Avoid Cofag. You can set up on a target like Seismitoed or Toxicroak, who won’t immediately kill you with coverage, but your sweep will inevitably be stopped by Hydra, who outspeeds and kos you with Rock Slide. 1v1 you can take Toed, Croak, and Drap in succession, or anything except Cofag and Hydra from full. Decent mu.

Ferrothorn: No sweeping here as Eelektross cucks you with Flamethrower. 1v1 you will beat everything except Eel from full, multiple in succession. Good mu.

Starmie: You can beat Croak into Drap as you eat a Night Slash, granted no crits. Everything else beats you. Poor mu.

Shauntal

Buzz 59, rest 58

Stoutland: Set up and sweep, +3 with EBelt / Black Glasses is necessary to ohko Cofagrigus. At +3 you outspeed and ohko everything. With Rawst Berry, Cofag burned me turn 1 and Psychic’d the following two turns, idk if it was just AI derping but you might not need to Full Heal. Great mu.

Mandibuzz: +4 Dark Pulse ohkos everything. +4 is necessary as Chandelure, of all things, lives a +2 Dark Pulse. It also outspeeds you and does massive damage with Fire Blast, so failing to ohko it is not an option. Unfortunately, even with a Rawst Berry, Will-o-Wisp still does too much damage over time in order for you to survive a Fire Blast, so you have to avoid Chandelure and kill Golurk after; fortunately Golurk can’t touch you as you 2hko it. Good mu.

Pinsir: Avoid Cofag, set up on Golurk as Shadow Punch is a 3hko. Outspeed and ohko Blim and Chandy with EBelt Rock Slide, 2hko Golurk with Thief. Good mu.

Ferrothorn: Payback 3hkos Cofag, 2hkos Blim, Power Whip ohkos Golurk. Sweeping is impossible as Cofag is guaranteed to burn you and Chandelure also exists. You can dodge CHandelure but burn damage + chip from Blim means you die to Aftermath. 1v1 you should beat everything except Chandelure, albeit slowly in the case of Chandelure. Decent mu.

Starmie: Outspeed and ohko Chandy and Golurk with Surf. Cofag and Drifblim are 2hkod by Surf and EBelt Ice Beam, respectively. Cofag into Blim will beat you so you will have to avoid one. Good mu.

Grimsley

Stoutland 59, rest the same

Stoutland: Set up to +2 on Liepard. Thanks to Intimidate, you take very little from Night Slash, assuming no crtis; once you kill it, you should be at about half. Scrafty comes in and dies to +2 SS Return. Krookodile drops you to +1 and puts you in red with EQ but you still kill it with Return. Bisharp comes in last and eats a +1 Dig as it kos you with Night Slash. Pretty solid spree, but it relies on not getting crit with Night Slash, not to mention my Stoutland being female means I didn’t have to deal with Attract bs. Decent/good.

Mandibuzz: +4 Air Slash ohkos Liepard and Scrafty, 2hkos Krook, 4hkos Sharp after berry. Setting up on Liepard is fairly easy as you are guaranteed not to have to put up with Attract, but Liepard will activate Weak Armor a lot, bringing you to -3 Defense. Assuming you don’t luck the fuck out of Krook with flinches / Rock Tomb misses (I actually had to try and let Krook hit me as it misses 3 Tombs in a row), it’ll bring you down to half, where Bisharp will knock you out with 1 X-Scissor. Leftovers is the best item as Sharp Beak Air Slash fails to ohko Krook. Good mu.

Pinsir: Leftovers. Set up on Liepard as it takes you down to half with Aerial Ace. +2 X-Scissor kills Liepard and Krook, Storm Throw kills Sharp and Scrafty. Krook comes in last, and opts to Crunch instead of Rock Tomb, which fails to ohko after Leftovers recovery. Once again my Pokemon was female, so you might not have enough HP to survive Krook if Liepard is able to get an extra Aerial Ace in; in that case, setting up on Bisharp might be preferable. Good mu.

Ferrothorn: Set up a Curse and go to town. Liepard Attracted only sometimes in my experience, but it will basically kill itself on Barbs + Helmet chip anyways. After one Curse you eat a Brick Break from Scrafty with ~100 hp left and kill it with +1 Power Whip after contact damage. Krook EQs you to ~60 HP as it lowers your Attack; Power Whip kos. Bulldoze is your only option to hit Sharp, but it raises Sharp’s Attack, meaning it will easily kill you. However, with contact and Bulldoze you chip it to under half. Good.

Starmie: MW Surf ohkos Liepard and Krook, 2hkos Scrafty and Sharp after berry. Avoid Scrafty as it lowers your Speed with Rock Tomb, enabling Krook to outspeed and kill you. Bisharp ohkos you with Night Slash regardless of crits. Decent.

Caitlin

Levels are the same

Stoutland: Set up all over Musharna’s face, outspeed and ohko everything with Crunch. Pretty standard Caitlin mu. Fantastic

Mandibuzz: +4 Dark Pulse ohkos everything. Musharna’s Charge Beam is healed off in just a couple Leftovers turns and you even outspeed Sigilyph so no Air Slash shenanigans there. Fantastic mu.

Pinsir: Read the above. +4 X-Scissor even ohkos Sigilyph so you don’t have to risk Rock Slide. Fantastic mu.

Ferrothorn: +2 Payback ohkos everything. Sweeping here is pretty difficult as since you’re slower than Musharna, you’re prone to getting Yawned as you ohko it. This means that you’ll be put to sleep at some point, probably around the time Reuniclus drops you to low yellow with Focus Blast. Sigilyph will come in next and, since you have to spend a turn waking Ferrothorn up, will 2hko you with Air Slash. 1v1, you should beat everything except Reuni, who will 2hko you with Focus Blast. Good mu.

Starmie: Ice Beam 2hkos Sigi, Surf 3hkos the rest. Due to the extreme commonality of just about every move a Psychic type could learn that coincidentally deals super-effective damage to a Starmie, you are unlikely to beat anything beyond Sigilyph; even Musharna just clicks Charge Beam on you and farms boosts until you die, having its potion to heal off the comparatively slow damage from Surf. SIgnal Beam might improve its odds here, but it’s rather niche otherwise. Poor mu.

Marshall

Pinsir 59, rest the same

Stoutland: You can beat Throh 1v1 with setup but you hard lose to just about everything else. Poor mu.

Mandibuzz: +4 Air Slash ohkos everything. I got lucky and only got hit with Rock Tomb once, so I didn’t have an extra Defense drop which might’ve lead Sawk to ohko with Rock Slide, and I got a full sweep. Otherwise, you will kill Throh and Conk and bring Sawk down to Sturdy before you die to Rock Slide. You beat everything 1v1. Good mu.

Pinsir: You can beat Throh with setup but your Speed is dropped enough to where Conk outspeeds and kos with Stone Edge. 1v1 you can 2hko Throh with +2 Storm Throw but everything else kills you too quickly to get the boosts necessary to win. Poor mu.

Ferrothorn: You can get some chip on things with Barbs + Helmet but LMAO trying to actually beat something 1v1. Bad mu.

Starmie: EBelt Psychic ohkos Conk and Mienshao, 2hkos Throh and brings Sawk to Sturdy. Throh only drops your Speed once but it’s enough that Shao and Sawk still outspeed you and, between Bounce and Payback, ko you. If you sack something to lose the Speed drop, Sawk will still beat you thru Payback, but you beat everything else easy. Good mu.

Iris

Ferro and Starmie are 58, rest 59

Stoutland: You can beat Lapras and Aggron in succession, and can beat those and Haxorus 1v1 (perhaps Archeops as well if you bring Thunder Fang). Decent.

Mandibuzz: No sweeping possible here, as everything has anti-Flying coverage and Hydreigon just 1v1s you regardless. Without boosts, you have absolutely no killing potential whatsoever; Aggron might go down to a max roll Bone Rush and that’s about it. Terrible mu.

Pinsir: Once again, no sweep. You can 1v1 Hydreigon, Aggron, and Lapras. Hydra seems to be a speed tie, so if you will the roll you can kill something else (this oddly doesn’t apply to Aggron as even with Expert Belt Storm Throw fails to ko and it gets off a Double Edge). Decent.

Ferrothorn: You can beat everything except Hydra and Drud, which carry Fire coverage. You can kill Lapras and Aggron in succession, and 1v1 them as well as Haxorus and Archeops. Good mu.

Starmie: Ohko Aggron and Archeops with Surf, 2hko everything else with Ice Beam (Lapras with TBolt). You can 1v1 everything except Haxorus, as only Lapras hits you super-effectively otherwise and is a 2hko with TBolt. You can take on Aggron, Archeops, and at least one other pokemon in succession, while still having the speed to finish off any weakened opponent (again, not named Haxorus, as it’s faster after a DD and kills you with X-Scissor). Good mu.

:Lillipup: Lillipup is one of the most efficient Pokemon to use for a very large portion of the game; from capture to Drayden, it sweeps every major fight with very little issue. Unfortunately, it begins to stumble a bit at Marlon, and while it is nowhere close to useless for the rest of the game, it definitely begins to lose steam, which I'd attribute to Work Up simply not boosting fast enough, forcing Stoutland to take a bunch of extra damage right around where the enemy starts getting a lot stronger, and Stout's bulk can only protect it from maybe 2 hits. Otherwise, a very good Pokemon, it definitely belongs in A.

:Mandibuzz: I hyped this up a little at the beginning, but after using it, I think Mandibuzz is comfortable where it is. It certainly can sweep fights, and majorly dent those it can't, but it requires a lot of boosting thanks to its terrible offensive stats, and Weak Armor is a double-edged sword when physical attacks keep piling on the Defense drops. Still, it does well for itself, and I think B is a good fit for it.

:Pinsir: Pinsir does its job and does it well, sweeping a lot of fights, and is particularly notable for its fantastic Colress mu. That said, it isn't perfect, as it has several bad mus and late-game can have some power issues, suffering from a lack of high-BP moves (or, in the case of Superpower, ones that don't carry severe penalties with them). Performance-wise it felt like an A tier to me, but, unfortunately, I have to dock points for availability. Simply put, having a 5% encounter rate, while also requiring 1 out of 2 possible ability, sucks ass, because you need to A. find it in the first place, B. find one with Mold Breaker (at least you can tell what ability it has before you catch it, I guess), C. find one with Mold Breaker that has good ivs, and D. find one with Mold Breaker and good ivs that doesn't have a nature that completely screws it over. This lists tiers Pokemon for efficiency, and Pinsir has one of the most inefficient availabilities in the entire game, which I believe should drop it to B.

:Ferroseed: Ferroseed is similar to Mandibuzz in the sense that they have considerable flaws, but can certainly obtain results. Ferroseed does this through its fantastic defensive typing and great bulk, enabling it to take many hits in succession and wall a significant amount of major battles, not to mention its access to Curse for sweeping potential. That said, it suffers from a couple issues, most glaringly its horrible base 20 Speed. Being this absurdly slow (especially in tandem with Curse) leaves it taking a significant amount of damage over the course of the battle, since it is required to take a hit from every Pokemon it faces. While its defensive prowess mostly covers for this weakness, suffering the death of a thousand cuts is a real possibility for this mon. Not to mention having a somewhat-lacking offensive presence, with average Attack, poor offensive coverage, and relying on the inaccurate Power Whip as your only strong attack. Finally, while its weakness are few, in the late game it feels like they crop up more and more, even on trainers Ferrothorn should otherwise beat from preview (Shauntal's Chandelure and Caitlin's Focus Blast Reuniclus are notable examples), which in effect makes Curse sweeping more or less impossible, since even if you live a super-effective hit, you'll likely be in range of the next attack your low Speed guarantees you'll take. Overall, like Mandibuzz, Ferrothorn gets results, but isn't really the most efficient otherwise, and also comes kinda late at Chargestone Cave as well. I'd say C.

:Staryu: Aside from the Sword trio, this is probably the best thing you could pick up this late in the game, and it's still kinda mediocre. On the plus side, Starmie possesses very high Speed and wonderful coverage to nail a lot of late game opponents. On the down side, it simply lacks the power to reliably ohko many late game opponents, even with boosting items, and its paper-thin bulk and exploitable weaknesses make it a prime target to either take heavy damage or be ohko'd itself. It's late and inconsistent, to the point where it should be nowhere near A, but not outright terrible, notably having a pretty good Iris mu, all things considered. C.

Thank you for reading :psyglad:
 

Ryota Mitarai

Shrektimus Prime
is a Tiering Contributoris a Contributor to Smogonis a Top Smogon Media Contributor
here are some more runs. Missing matchup = bad/didn't try. The first one is Sunkern / Yamask / Seviper / Drifblim / Solrock / Remoraid

Sunkern -> D
Sunflora

Cheren(13): Oran Berry. Set two Growths. Patrat's unboosted Tackle is a 4HKO. For whatever reason, it either goes for +1 or +3 Work Up (it never attacked me at +2). +1 Tackle is a 3HKO on Sunkern and +2 Mega Drain is a 2HKO on Patrat. Lillipup is 3HKOed by +2 Mega Drain and seems to 3HKO with Tackle. However, thanks to Oran Berry and Mega Drain healing, you can outlast even if it sets up to +1. Potion on Lillipup doesn't change the outcome (if anything, it gives you free healing). Good matchup ??? Note: Sunkern is faster than Patrat, but not Lillipup. Grasswhistle can help if you are not feeling safe, but it's inaccurate and I didn't need it

Elesa(30): Miracle Seed. Use Growth twice, as Emolga refuses to Volt Switch. +2 Giga Drain is an OHKO on rolls on Emolga and an OHKO on the rest. Zebstrika's Flame Charge is an OHKO with a crit, but it seems to go for Pursuit. Flaaffy is the last Pokemon to come out, so Thunder Wave shouldn't be an issue. Great matchup

Clay(33): Leftovers. Growth turn one, as Krokorok Torments you. OHKO it with Giga Drain, healing off the Crunch. Sandslash is faster and attacks with Crush Claw, which may cause a Defense drop. OHKO it with Petal Dance. Excadrill is also OHKOed (at level 34). However, it is possible for Excadrill to finish you off with Rock Slide or Metal Claw (or flinch you with Rock Slide). The KO is not guaranteed, as I have lived Slash hits from Exca even at -1. Good matchup, worst case scenario, you win 2/3, best case scenario, you sweep

Skyla(40): OHKOes Swanna with Petal Dance, though Swanna 2HKOes with Air Slash, so watch out for flinches

Drayden(50): Leftovers. Set up sun and one Growth, with Druddigon 3HKOing with Crunch. Heal up turn 3 and KO Druddigon with Giga Drain + Solar Beam (you outspeed under sun). Flygon comes in and goes for Dragon Tail, so you just OHKO with Giga Drain. +2 Giga Drain is a 3HKO on Haxorus (irrespective of berry). Dragon Tail is a 2HKO, but Giga Drain + Leftovers turn it into a 3HKO. Haxorus may potentially go for Slash to finish you off, but can also simply spam DTail. Okay-ish matchup

Marlon(53): Miracle Seed. Sunflora is faster than Carracosta, so hit it with a Giga Drain turn one. Regardless of what it does, set up sun as Marlon heals, then spam Giga Drain till Carracosta is dead (+2 Crunch is a 2HKO). Then outspeed and OHKO the rest with Solar Beam. Easy sweep

Shauntal(59): didn't bother

Grimsley: Miracle Seed. Attack Liepard with Giga Drain turn one, putting it in red. Set up a Growth and OHKO it, restoring most of your HP. Switch out Sunflora and bring it back against Krookodile to kill it. Okay, I guess

Marshal: nope, you beat Throh, then whatever comes in kills you


This thing is surprisingly better than one would think. It managed to sweep Cheren, Elesa, and Marlon, while also performing well against Clay. Now, there are several issues with it

The first one is the pre-level 10 period. It's terrible. Absorb off that thing deals no damage. Once you get Mega Drain, though, it becomes usable.

The second one is that you are hardwalled by anything that resists Grass. Those are rather common early on and they also make tons of appearances in major battles

The third one is that it has no presence in the E4 whatsoever. Once you get past Marlon, you might as well stop using it

I contemplated C-tier at one point, but D-tier is probably more appropriate

Yamask -> D
Cofagrigus

Elesa(30): Eviolite. It's best used against Zebstrika to burn it and kill it with Hex, as Zebstrika spams Pursuit. Emolga's Volt Switch comes close to 3HKOing and Zebstrika weakens you enough that you will be forced into a healing loop while facing the other two. Meh matchup

Clay(34): Leftovers. Crunch is a 3HKO on Coffin, but burn makes the damage laughable. Night Shade 2HKOes Krokorok with burn damage. Excadrill, likewise, deals laughable damage once you burn it, so simply muscle through it. Sandslash is OHKOed by Hex after burn. You may need to heal against Sandslash if you are particularly unlucky, but it won't be needed every time. Good matchup

Skyla(40): Leftovers. Shadow Ball OHKOes Swoobat, which doesn't deal much with Acrobatics. Burn Swanna and kill it with Hex spam. You may need to heal against Swanna if you get slightly unlucky. At green HP, Coffin is safe from Skarmory, so it can just burn it and spam Hex. Good matchup

Drayden(50): Leftovers. Burn everything and spam Hex. Flygon and Haxorus spam Dragon Tail, though Flygon seems to 3-4HKO with Earth Power. If you aren't particularly unlucky, you will need only one healing item (against Haxorus) to secure the matchup. Okay-ish / good

Marlon(53): Leftovers. Beats Carracosta one-on-one for sure. Jellicent always beats it. Wailord will require healing to be defeated and Amnesia may cause you to lose. Meh matchup

Colress(54): Leftovers. Burn everything after the Magnets and spam Hex. You will need to heal to beat 3/5 of his team

Shauntal(59): Spell Tag. Outspeeds and OHKOes Cofagrigus with Shadow Ball. Golurk is faster and can live a Shadow Ball on rolls and consequently finish you off. The rest 1v1 you easily

Caitlin: Spell Tag. You beat Musharna, but Yawn makess you vulnerable to Sigilyph, which 3HKOes with Shadow Ball. At best beats 1/2 of her team

Marshal: Leftovers. Burn Throh (which goes for Payback, nullifying Guts) and beat it, making sure not to trigger healing. Do the same to Sawk. Mienshao is unlikely to KO you with Bounce and the free Leftovers turns + burn mean it won't KO you even if spamming Bounce. Conk will beat you. Good matchup, only needs healing if you miss a Will-o-Wisp


Cofagrigus was all-around decent, but there are several flaws with it. It is very bad as Yamask and it was a pain to level it up till it evolved into a Cofagrigus. Furthermore, I had to heal it every battle for it to perform well (assuming at least one bad luck happens to Coffin, which was likely). t' not too bad, but I feel like it requires a lot of effort to make it good, so I am gonna go with D, though a case for C could be made. Note that, for some time, you are walled by all Ghost resists, so don't bother with those

Seviper -> E
Seviper

Skyla(40): Expert Belt. OHKOes Swoobat on rolls with Night Slash while getting 3HKOed in return. Then loses to Swanna. Meh matchup

Drayden(50): Leftovers. Set up five Coils and OHKO Druddigon and Haxorus with Poison Jab and Flygon with Crunch. You need to be at full health to live Flygon's Earth Power. Meh matchup

Marlon(53): Expert Belt. Coil once on Carracosta and 2HKO it with Bulldoze. Its Scald is a 3HKO unboosted and a 2HKO with a Shell Smash (you speedtie after Shell Smash, unless you Bulldoze it). Wailord is 2HKOed by +1 or +2 Poison Jab and finishes you off with Scald, so you have to heal (3HKO). Jellicent is put in red with +1 Crunch and dies to +2 (Seviper is faster). So you need to heal twice or hope for no burns + Wailord going for Bounce. Meh matchup

Colress(54): Cheri Berry. Mostly bad, but Shed Skin + berry + Bulldoze can beat the Magnets rather consistently

Shauntal(59): Rawst Berry. Nope, +2 Crunch fails to OHKO Coffin or Golurk. Terrible matchup

Grimsley: Leftovers. Set up to +4, heal up, then OHKO Liepard with X-Scissor. You live an EQ and OHKO Krookodile as well. Bulldoze + Poison Jab take care of Scrafty, which goes for Rock Tomb. Bisharp is dealt with by Bulldoze. You lose the matchup as soon as you get critted. Meh/okay-ish

Marshal: Leftovers. Coil to the max, heal, then spam Poison Jab. You sweep fiarly easily with that. Not the best matchup, but this is Seviper, so it works if you are desperate enough


All-around a mediocre Pokemon. It has very few good matchups and those are all-based on setting up to +6 with Coil. Don't use this if you want to win in a timely manner.

Drifblim -> D
Drifblim

Drayden(50): itemless. Crunch is a 3HKO on you even after one Stockpile. Acrobatics 2HKOes Flygon and 2HKOes Druddgon on rolls. You are losing against Haxorus, even if you healed to beat the first two. Meh matchup

Marlon(53): Expert Belt. Charge Beam 2HKOes Carracosta (Crunch is a 2HKO on Drifblim, though). You need to get to +2, as only then will Shadow Ball OHKO Jellicent. If you do that or Carracosta doesn't damage you at all (e.g. it goes for Shell Smash turn one), you can beat it. Wailord then can be defeated with Charge Beam or Shadow Ball spam. Okay-ish matchup

Shauntal(59): Sitrus Berry. Charge Beam once and hope you get a SpA boost. Coffin triggers Unburden with Shadow Ball, causing you to outspeed Chandelure. +1 Shadow Ball seems to OHKO her own Drifblim. However, the rest are OHKOs on rolls, so sweep is not guaranteed.

Caitlin: Expert Belt. Get to +2 through Charge Beam, heal off sleep, then OHKO everyhing with Shadow Ball. Sigilyph is a speedtie, but it 2HKOes with Ice Beam. Good matchup

Marshal: beats Throh and Mienshao itemless. Conk lives an itemless Acrobatics and klls you with Stone Edge. Sawk typically finishes you off as well


Comes late and only has a few good matchups. It is decent at places, but it will rarely sweep without some assistance and/or luck. It is also hilariously frail despite the good HP (I often got 2HKOed from full).

Solrock -> E
Solrock

Drayden(50): Leftovers. Use Cosmic Power three times and heal if Druddigon is spamming Crunch. 3HKO it with Rock Slide. Flygon seems to spam Dragon Tail and occassionally Crunch, neither of which deals much damage. 3HKO it with Psychic. Haxorus, likewise, spams DTail, which doesn't deal a lot. 3HKO it with two Rock Slides and a Stone Edge. Okay-ish matchup

Marlon(53): Expert Belt. You need Carracosta to go for Shell Smash turn one to get past it. Charge Beam is a 3HKO even after gaining a boost, so you need the Defense drops. +2 Solar Beam in sun OHKOes Wailord. Jellicent, however, lives it and murders you on the spot. Meh matchup

Marshal(59): Expert Belt. Despite being a Psychic type, you are taking out at best one Pokemon only. This is because almost all of them live one Psychic (Throh can live two on rolls) and hit you pretty hard. Lol matchup


This is just straight-up worse than Lunatone and by a huge margin. You get a better Attack, which you pretty much can't use because nothing's scared of Rock-type moves and because Zen Headbutt is a shard tutor, so I didn't bother using it. The lower Special Attack means you cannot deal with opponents like Drayden and Marlon as effectively as Lunatone did, because you will fail to KO them. All in all, use Lunatone, if you have to.

Remoraid -> E
Octillery

Drayden(50): Expert Belt. Ice Beam 2HKOes Druddigon and OHKOes the rest. Only Druddigon is naturally slower. You can sweep if Haxorus derps and goes for Dragon Tail. Decent matchup

Marlon(53): Expert Belt. 3-4 Bullet Seeds are enough to KO Carracosta, which 4HKOes with Crunch (it seems to not go for Shell Smash at all). Wailord is KOed with five and its Bounce deals little damage (if you took a +2 Crunch, I think Bounce would be a 3HKO). Jellicent's Cursed Body means you won't be able to beat it. In addition, it is faster and generally takes you out in two turns max. Decent matchup

Colress(54): Expert Belt. OHKOes Klinklang and Metang with Fire Blast

Shauntal(59): Mystic Water. Hydro Pump in rain OHKOes Coffin and Drifblim (Surf doesn't). Golurk is also OHKOed by Surf outside of rain. All of them are faster, however, and you are taking out two threats at best.


Octillery wasn't too bad in itself (it can KO most of Drayden's team without Blizzard and can take on Marlon with Bullet Seed), but it is not super consistent and the 5% rarity pretty much kills it (I sanctioned Mantyke for that, might as well do it here). I don't think you want to use any Undella Bay Pokemon in general.


The second run was with Sigilyph / Foongus / Shelmet (Trade) / Basculin / Cubchoo / Mienfoo

Sigilyph -> B / C
Sigilyph

Elesa(30): Cheri Berry. Psybeam 3HKOes Zebstrika and 2HKOes the rest. You beat Emolga and Flaaffy. Good matchup

Clay(33): Expert Belt. OHKO Krokorok wih Signal Beam and 2HKO Sandslash with Psybeam. Avoid Excadrill. Good matchup

Skyla(39): Leftovers. At best beats Swoobat with Reflect and Air Cutter spam. Meh matchup

Drayden(50): Twisted Spoon. Druddigon 2HKOes you with Crunch. If you can get a +1 with Charge Beam, you OHKO it and Flygon with Psychic. Haxorus seems to be capable of living a Psychic, though it might be a roll, and proceeds to finish you off. Decent matchup

Marlon(53): Expert Belt. Jellicent lives a +2 Energy Ball, so don't bother with it. Instead, spam Energy Ball on the rest (2HKOes both). Carracosta 2HKOes you. Wailord fails to KO you with Scald even if you took damage and Magic Guard means burn is not an issue. Deent matchup

Shauntal(59): Expert Belt. Get a Charge Beam boost against Cofagrigus. +1 Shadow Ball seems to OHKO everything on roll after Coffin. Coffin 2HKOes with Shadow Ball, though it may go for WoW, which does nothing to you due to Magic Guard, so maybe try for +2. Situational sweep

Grimsley(59): Expert Belt. Speedtie with Liepard. Get to +1 with Charge Beam and OHKO with Signal Beam. Then outspeed and OHKO Scrafty and Krookodile with super effective moves. Situational

Caitlin: Chesto Berry. Charge Beam to +2 and OHKO Musharna and Sigilyph. +2 Shadow Ball fails to OHKO Gothitelle, so unreliable sweep

Marshal: Expert Belt. Psychic OHKOes everything but Throh. Avoid Throh and you beat the rest easily. Good matchup


I don't really agree with A-tier; while it's all-around good, it doesn't scream A to me. It doesn't really sweep anything, though it often takes out 2/3 of the opponent's team. It has great coverage and doesn't struggle on the field too much, so it's easy to train. The problem here is that I didn't use Cosmic Power, so I don't know if that'd have improved the performance, so I am a bit doubled between B and C, either tier is fine for me.

Foongus -> D
Amoonguss

Clay(33): Eviolite. Giga Drain 2HKOes Krokorok and Sandslash. Avoid Excadrill. Good matchup

Skyla(39): didn't bother

Drayden(50): Leftovers. Toxic Druddigon and set up one Growth while it deals laughable damage with any of its moves. Druddigon seems to go for DTail the moment you get a boost, so just KO it with Venoshock. Flygon doesn't deal much with Earth Power and is 2HKOed by +1 Giga Drain, so you are safe. Haxorus spams Dragon Tail and dies to a Venoshock after Toxic. Good matchup

Marlon(54): Miracle Seed. Growth once then spam Giga Drain. The only worry here is Wailord's Bounce, which is a 3HKO, but other than that, no issues. Easy sweep

Shauntal(59): Leftovers. +1 Giga Drain 2HKOes Cofagrigus. However, Amoonguss will be worn out by the time it wins and Drifblim / Chandelure beat it anyways. Meh matchup

Grimsley(59): Leftovers. +2 Giga Drain OHKOes Liepard. Switch out against Bisharp. Krookodile 3HKOes with EQ and can live a +1 Giga Drain, making this matchup rather shaky

Marshal: Leftovers. Growth twice on Throh, whose only way of even making noticeable damage is through activating Effect Spore with a paralysis or poison. 2HKO it on rolls with +2 Giga Drain. Mienshao goes for Bounce, so you set up another Growth. Bounce 2HKOes and, discounting crits or paralysis, you OHKO with Giga Drain. The rest are then overwhelmed by Giga Drain spam, unless Stone Edge crits and continuous Rock Slide flinches happen. All in all, great matchup, as the only way to lose is through unfavorable luck


Typical Grass-type that is okay for Clay and good for Marshal. Amoonguss also sweeps Drayden and Marshal. It rarely does anything outside of this. Foongus also has limited coverage, meaning that you have to be a bit picky in regards to you put it against when grinding.

Shelmet (Trade) -> D
Accelgor

Clay(33): Expert Belt. OHKO Krokorok with Signal Beam and 2HKO Sandslash with Mega Drain. Avoid Excadrill. Good matchup

Skyla(40): Miracle Seed. It can beat Swanna by hitting it with Acid Spray, living an Air Slash, then KOing with Giga Drain

Drayden(50): Leftovers. Acid Armor once on Druddigon, which turns Crunch into a 4HKO. Acid Spray + Bug Buzz KO Druddigon. Flygon fails to KO you with a Rock Slide, so Acid Spray it and spam Giga Drain (mostly to restore HP). Giga Drain puts it in healing range, so you get to heal for free. Then Acid Spray + Bug Buzz to KO Haxorus. Good matchup

Marlon(53): Miracle Seed. Acid Spray on Carracosta and KO it with Giga Drain (it puts you in red with Smack Down, but often goes for Shell Smash instead). Wailord 2HKOes with Bounce, so put it to sleep with Yawn, Acid Spray it once, then KO it with Giga Drain. Jellicent is an easy kill with Acid Spray + Giga Drain (2HKO as a whole, but you heal enough to shrug off any damage you take). Good matchup

Shauntal(59): Miracle Seed. At best beats Golurk or Cofagrigus, but loses to the other three. Golurk perhaps can be beaten with Acid Armor + healing if you are healthy enough against Coffin, but that's unlikely. Bad matchup

Grimsley(59): Silverpowder. Set up two Acid Armors and OHKO Liepard with Bug Buzz. Spam Bug Buzz on Bisharp till it's dead and heal if needed. Acid Spray + Bug Buzz KO Scrafty (which Accelgor outspeeds even at -1). Krookodile outspeeds due to Speed drop, but will likely fail to KO you and thus dies to Bug Buzz. Decent matchup

Caitlin: Chesto Berry. Beats Musharna and Reuniclus


I will note that I had to hack in Acid Armor at a late point because I forgot that Shelmet (but not Accelgor) learns it. Anyways, Accelgor is mostly a Grass-type Pokemon that is in disguise, albeit it's slightly worse than a Grass-type. It is okay for Clay, sweeps Drayden, and can also sweep Marlon, though it will need more support for this matchup.

Basculin -> C / D
Basculin

Skyla(39): Mystic Water. 3HKOed by Acrobatics, but OHKOes with Aqua Tail in return. Skarmory is 2HKOed on rolls, but doesn't threaten you. Good matchup

Drayden(50): no Blizzard, so didn't bother

Marlon(53): Mystic Water. Aqua Tail 2HKOes Carracosta on roll and it almost always goes for Shell Smash. Aqua Tail into Chip Break into Aqua Tail KO Wailord, which only threatens with Scald burns. Jellicent finishes you off, but not before taking a Crunch. Decent matchup

Colress(54): Mystic Water. Beats Metang and either Klinklang or Beheeyem by 2HKOing them with Aqua Tail

Shauntal(59): Mystic Water. Outspeeds everything. Drifblim is put in red with both Waterfall and Aqua Tail, while Golurk and Chandelure are OHKOed by Waterfall. Drifblim's Thunderbolt puts Basculin in range for Aftermath, but Acrobatics doesn't. Decent matchup, though watch out for Flame Body

Grimsley(59): Mystic Water. Set up rain and OHKO Liepard and Krookodile (you outspeed the latter). Bisharp lives a Waterfall at red, even with no Intimidate drops. Okay-ish matchup

Caitlin: Chesto Berry. Set up rain and spam Waterfall, which beats Musharna and Gothitelle


Basculin was okay-ish, for most parts, but it doesn't really do anything impressive. It's a slightly better and earlier Buizel, only that Basculin drops the ball against Drayden and instead performs well against Skyla. Either tier is fine, I didn't find Basculin too special in spite of Adaptability

Cubchoo -> E with a small case for D
Beartic

Skyla(39): Expert Belt. OHKOes Swoobat and 2HKOes Swanna with Rock Slide. Swanna's Featherdance turns Rock Slide into a 3-4HKO, accounting for Sitrus Berry. Add in that it's faster and Air Slash is a 4HKO (and you will have taken some damage from Swoobat), there's a good chance Beartic loses this one. Meh matchup

Drayden(50): Expert Belt. OHKOes everything with Icicle Crash. Flygon 3HKOes with Rock Slide and puts you in range for Haxorus's Slash if it flinches you. Good matchup

Marlon(53): Expert Belt. Bulldoze + Superpower KO Carracosta for sure, with Smack Down being a 2-3HKO. Jellicent is 2HKOed by Shadow Claw, but it's faster and 3HKOes with Scald, so you need to be at full health and avoid burns / Cursed Body. Meh matchup

Shauntal(59): Expert Belt. Icicle Crash OHKOes Drifblim and OHKOes Golurk on rolls. Both are faster and 3HKO it with Acrobtics and Brick Break, respectively. Meh matchup

Grimsley(59): Expert Belt. OHKOes Liepard and Bisharp with Superpower. Both outspeed it and thus leave it too weakened to take on the others. Okay-ish


Cubchoo, more like Scrubchoo. This thing was by far the worst thing on my team and for a good reason: it's simply inconsistent. Beartic is mediocre against Skyla due to Featherdance and Drayden is the closest to consistent matchup. Its E4 performance is abyssmal, only KOing a mon or two that just happens to be weak to its coverage. I think E-tier makes more sense for Cubchoo, but I might also be too harsh on it

Mienfoo -> D / C
Mienshao

Drayden(50): Leftovers. Work Up once then 2HKO everything with Drain Punch. The only way to lose here is to get very unlucky with crits (particularly against Haxorus's Dragon Tail, which is normally a 2HKO). Good matchup

Marlon(53): Leftovers. +1 Drain Punch triggers Sturdy on Carracosta, which 2HKOes with +2 Scald. +1 Jump Kick or +2 Drain Punch OHKO Wailord. Jellicent is 2HKOed by +2 Rock Slide. Decent matchup, getting to +2 without healing is pretty hard, though

Colress(54): Cheri Berry. Fake Out + Jump Kick is a KO on roll on Magneton. Two Drain Punches kill Zone as it tries to paralyze. Avoid Beheeyem. +1 Jump Kick is an OHKO on Metang and +1 Drain Punch is an OHKO on Klinklang. Metang 2HKOes with Zen Headbutt. Decent matchup. Relies a bit on Jump Kick, but ehh, this is Colress

Shauntal(59): Rawst Berry. Bad matchup as a whole; you need to set up to +2 to OHKO Chandelure and Drifblim with Acrobatics, but no Pokemon lets you set u to that. Rock Slide is an option, but you are unlikely to be able to set up on Chandelure / Drifblim anyways

Grimsley: Expert Belt. Work Up once and spam Drain Punch. Easy sweep

Marshal: beats Throh and Sawk with itemless Acrobatics

Iris(60/61): Expert Belt. Work Up once while Hydreigon 2HKOes you, then kill it with Drain Punch, restoring almost your entire HP. Then OHKO Druddigon with HJK. Aggron dies to Drain Punch. Switch out against Archeops and kill it with something. Assuming Lapras comes in, Work Up once, then kill it with Drain Punch (restoring your HP once again). Then Rock Tomb Haxorus as it DDs and KO it with HJK. If Haxorus comes in after Archeops, simply Rock Tomb twice and kill with HJK. Good matchup


I personally think D-tier is more appropriate, but I will leave C as a possibility. Mienfoo's selling point is being great against Iris, while also being good for Drayden and, for most parts, Colress. When it comes to sweeping the other opponents, it's either inconsistent or pmuch impossible, which is why I am not sure if C-tier is appropriate, but I might be just harsh on it


will post more when I have more to post.
 
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Its_A_Random

A distant memory
is a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnus
Thanks for taking over ceal. I do appreciate that someone is willing to take on this project again.

Anyway, I do not have much to add or any sort of rigour, but I do feel like the following D-Rankers can probably be moved down to F-Rank without issue:

Bronzor: Abundant Shrine is inaccessible until Waterfall and comes roughly 20-25 levels off pace. It likely has a solid E4 overall due to typing and movepool, but the level gap to begin with for an endgame Pokémon means that it would need to have an amazing E4 to even consider going beyond F.
Vulpix: For a similar reason to Bronzor, really, and not even that good to begin with. I do remember a past recount from a user who used a Drought Vulpix from the beginning of the game and saying that they were underwhelming to begin with. Taking that into consideration, take out Drought and combine that with being an underlevelled endgame Pokémon, and F is a pretty safe bet.
There's probably some others that could be moved there like Ditto, Karrablast (No Trade), and Shelmet (No Trade), but without any serious rigour, I'm not going to jump to those conclusions just yet. I just want to single out Vulpix and Bronzor in particular since they are significantly underlevelled endgame Pokémon that really have not much business being anywhere above the bottom tier.

In general, if we are going to be spreading the Pokémon over seven tiers, then it's definitely worth looking at the more borderline S/A-Ranks and the like. My opinions in the previous thread about some of the placings remain in that regard (e.g. Magnemite is A, Braviary is probably A, you can check the previous thread for details). As for Wailmer and Mantyke currently not ranked, I originally said C, but accounting for the increase in ranks, D/E is more appropriate for the two. I did have some logs that I posted on Discord for a few things from long ago (and Zoroark + Excadrill + Throh) that I can post here:
Undella Hugh [Tepig Starter] Wailord (35): Nearly one shot Unfezant with Water Spout (Razor Wind Opening, guaranteed with the Mystic Water), but there's not much else you can do because Simisage + Samurott aren't good matchups.
Excadrill (37): Everything gets two shot, but only Unfezant is easy to deal with. You need really good HP/Def IV's to avoid getting two shot by Samurott's Aqua Jet and Simisage's Seed Bomb, and Simisage is faster
Zoroark (40): Soloable itemless, but what you do depends on the opening. Hone Claws. If Taunt, Night Slash twice to remove Unfezant, Foul Play > Fling Samurott (only works if you have an illusion to stop Revenge / STAB, like Ducklett), Foul Play Simisage. If Razor Wind (or Detect > Razor Wind), you could Hone Claws three times and then go Night Slash > Fling > Night Slash, ideally RW does not crit. Fling assumes Rare Bone
Mantine (41): Gets the easiest ride of the four due to being able to wall Unfezant and Samurott. Ideally you get Agility and Aqua Ring up, Air Slash one shots Simisage and three shots Samurott (with Sharp Beak), Surf two shots Unfezant.

Zinzolin 1
Wailord (37): Okay overall, not going to be ripping up the fight, but it helps getting past the first two or three Pokémon, Samurott partner does more really, you do get picked on.
Excadrill (37): Easy win, Rock Slide / Iron Head go brrr.
Zoroark (40): Depends on your Illusion target. With something like Magnemite, you have room to Hone Claws and start dumping on Zinzolin with Samurott putting in work, allowing for an easy win. A bad Illusion like Ducklett on the other hand results in you being targeted and only being able to clear the frontline at best.
Mantine (41): Winnable, Golbat is the big threat with Acrobatics, and Agility + Aqua Ring can come in real handy here. Good clutch potential.

Drayden
Wailord (41): Have to teach Blizzard to get any mileage, Druddigon and Haxorus are two-shot, Flygon is one shot, you only need to use items against Haxorus, but you also need to hit them all; one missed Blizzard is GG.
Mantine (41): [Sharp Beak] Blizzard is only a two-shot on Druddigon with a good SpA IV and you are two-shot in return by Crunch, meanwhile Flygon falls to a Blizzard, Haxorus falls to Blizzard > Air Slash > Blizzard (require a Flinch to break Haxorus or Dragon Tail one shots, Flygon's Rock Slide is a two-shot). Struggles without Blizzard.
Excadrill (42): [Soft Sand] X-Speed + 2 Swords Dances is a sweep (one SD at higher levels or with a Metal Coat instead), no X-Speed will often see you Earth Power'd to death by Flygon (though sometimes it goes for Dragon Tail). Revenge is annoying, etc
Zoroark (42): [Black Glasses] Black Glasses > Rare Bone at this level as Night Slash only two shots Flygon/Druddigon at +1 (via Hone Claws) with it on. Getting the Druddigon crit lets you get through Flygon without needing an item (after taking a Crunch w/ Ducklett Illusion), Haxorus is two shot by Foul Play, but Dragon Tail canes in this fight. At least you outspeed everything naturally here.

Zinzolin 2
Excadrill (43): If the second Cryogonal uses Light Screen and the first does not Reflect, it is an easy itemless solo at +0 since you one shot everything.
Mantine (43): Bad / Slow matchup. You can muscle through the first fine, the second is a bit slow and may need healing, but the Weavile two shots you.
Wailord (43): A bit similar to Mantine, but Ice Beam is a four shot and Night Slash is a three shot. You don't have the luxury of Agility at your disposal, and Surf is not a two on Weavile even with Mystic Water.
Zoroark (43): Black Glasses makes a difference at this level as you miss the one shot on Cryogonals (with Night Slash) without them (Though at Lv45, it becomes irrelevant). Foul Play is a three shot (as is Return), and Weavile can three shot you, so an item is helpful here.

Marlon
Mantine (45): Bad / Slow matchup in general. Carracosta is a three-shot but he two-shots with Smack Down. The other Pokémon take too long to take down and Jellicent is a stallfest that you can only win through repeated flinches and no Cursed Body.
Zoroark (45): [Black Glasses] Okay matchup. Can solo with a Hyper Potion by setting up to +2 with Hone Claws. Ducklett Illusion draws out Smack Down and you do outspeed after one Shell Smash and bin costa with a Foul Play. Snarl is good for this fight for Carracosta. Wailord is three shot unboosted and Jellicent is two shot unboosted (by Night Slash) and can two shot in return with Scald. Wailord Illusion (or some pure Water-type) allows for an itemless solo with Snarl (Shell Smash) > Foul Play > two free Hone Claws (Amnesia) > Night Slash spam.
Excadrill (46): Well this was interesting. If you have at least 87 speed*, you can solo this fight itemless since you would still outspeed after a Shell Smash (which is Carracosta's first turn). One Swords Dance is enough as you two shot Wailord and Jellicent unboosted, and Exca has enough bulk to tank one Scald with no burn. Winnable matchup despite what some claim to be. *: Carracosta has 24 IV's in all stats but is Quiet-natured so it only hits 86 speed at +2
Wailord (46): Handles Carracosta well enough (no Shell Smash opening), but his Wailord is slow to kill once Amnesia is online (but doable). Jellicent walls you and makes sure you don't win the matchup however, better to try something else for that.

Zinzolin 3
Zoroark (46): Black Glasses matters in order to one shot both Cryogonal, and Illusion choice matters (something like pure water stops Ice Beams from affecting you). Once you get the grips of these, it isn't that rough a fight. Night Slash is serviceable and Samurott partner helps in dealing with the grunt for you.
Mantine (47): Hugh's Samurott helps out a lot here, you can have some fun with Agility Air Slashes, but you may need a healing item or two. Not a bad matchup, and the special bulk helps against Ice Beam spam from Cryogonals.
Wailord (47): Water Spout go brrr. Seriously though, this fight is very random and among other things, the grunt doesnt like you and whatnot. Just Water Spout while you still have HP and then try something else. Not the best of matchups, but spouting is fun.
Excadrill (48): SD + Rock Slide = Carnage, as long as you don't get repeatedly targeted. Picking up the Hard Stone from Relic Passage isn't a bad idea here.

Colress
Wailord (48): Magneton and Magnezone one shot, but you outspeed Magnezone with the speed I have, most things are generally taken out by Water Spout > Brine, and everyone else can two shot you. Dangerous matchup but there is room for some fun here. CALM MIND BEHEEYEM BAD W/O MYSTIC WATER
Mantine (49): Might just be bad SpA, but it's pretty much horrible all around the board. No two-shots without Hydro Pump and/or Mystic Water, and everything either one shots or two shots. The best chance it has to do something is against Beheeyem.
Excadrill (49): Easy win. Air Balloon and double Sturdy does not really matter here, one Swords Dance and maybe a potion is fine for safety.
Zoroark (51): Rough matchup, Night Slash does not two shot Metang, but one shots Beheeyem. Everything else resists everything bar Rock Smash and can two shot due to Zoroark's frailty. Excadrill is an okay Illusion target I guess. (NOTE: When I did this fight, I did not consider Dig for Zoroark, which would make this fight more favourable)

Victory Road Hugh [Tepig Starter]
Excadrill (53): You want a minimum of +3/4 to one shot Samurott with Earthquake. Not too bad a matchup, albeit inconsistent. Have fun if you are slower than Unfezant because of Swagger... -.-'
Wailord (54): Can beat Unfezant one on one, want items to handle Samurott / Bouffalant, Simisage one shots with Energy Ball.
Mantine (54): Beats Unfezant one on one, Simisage is two shot but you want +2 speed for flinch chances since sage outspeeds and two shots with Rock Slide, Bouffalant is a lost cause, Samurott is a slow fight but not too bad.
Throh (55): Pre-Burning with Flame Orb isn't too bad of an idea, but either way, be prepared to throw some healing items. Burn can definitely be a hindrance as some three-shots turn into two-shots, but +2 is all you need to one shot everything with Facade / Storm Throw, thanks Swagger / Bulk Up. Throh just needs speed damnit.
Zoroark (55): Beats Unfezant and Simisage one on one, Nasty Plot is okay but Dark Pulse and Night Daze aren't in the realms of possibility so you have to stick with Snarl... Samurott and Bouffalant do not like you at all.

Shauntal [All Lv56]
Excadrill: One Swords Dance is enough, but you can only get the sweep with good speed (-Speed is not going to cut it even with 31 IV's, use an X Speed in this case) or else Chandelure Fire Blasts you and you don't one shot Golurk (and get one shot in return). Drifblim is not touching you anyway. Cofa will attempt to burn you, so heal that off.
Zoroark: One Nasty Plot is all you need to sweep with Snarl. Just hope the 5% misses don't happen, and a Fighting-type Illusion will buy you a free turn to get the Nasty Plot up. Free fight.
Wailord: Handles Cofagrigus and Golurk 1v1, two shots Drifblim but is two-shot in return (and is outsped), Chandelure one shots with Energy Ball. Water Spout go brrr.
Mantine: Handles Cofagrigus, two shots Golurk and Chandelure, can only do much of note to Drifblim if you set up Agility on Cofagrigus and Air Slash flinch spam (three shot with good SpA). Golurk can and will hurt with its physical attacks. Overall a decent matchup.
Throh: Pre-Burn, handles Golurk just fine with Bulk Up help, one shots Chandelure with Payback and hurts Drifblim. Cofagrigus isn't something you want to deal with because it two shots after Burn and your best moves trigger Mummy. Everything bar Golurk has Psychic.

Grimsley [All Lv56]
Excadrill: Soft Sand equipped, the sweep strat is to set X Speed on Fake Out and then Swords Dance. You then outspeed and one shot everything with Earthquake (at +1, thanks Intimidate). Otherwise, Krookodile outspeeds and one shots. Scrafty is two shot, but it can use Rock Tomb instead which means a free kill.
Zoroark: +4 SpA + Charcoal is necessary to one shot Scrafty with Flamethrower, you just set up two Nasty Plots on Liepard. Liepard does not hurt you that much, but can waste a lot of time with Attract. With higher levels, you could get away with +3 (w/ Charcoal) via X Special > Nasty Plot. I'm also going to go on the record here and say that special-based Zoroark is better though Physicals can help on Iris.
Wailord: Setting up an X Speed on Fake Out can put you into a scenario to solo this fight. Liepard falls, Krookodile falls, Scrafty takes one Water Spout and then falls to Brine, and then Bisharp requires a Max Potion or two to get past. On a non-solo footing, it can solo Bisharp from full with very good speed (Water Spout > Brine) and can take an Earthquake and one shot Krookodile back with Surf. One of Wailord's better matchups.
Mantine: Can solo with 1 X Special and 2 Hyper Potions, X Special the Fake Out, then Agility and then try to flinch through Liepard and Scrafty (Scrafty can be one shot with good SpA and the Rock Tomb it uses if it survives is no big deal). Krookodile falls in one, and Bisharp can be manoeuvred around carefully. In a non-solo context: Steer clear of Bisharp, Krook can two shot (you dont one shot), and you win the Scrafty 1v1.
Throh: Set up to +2 with Bulk Up, maybe an X-Speed on the Fake Out, remember Guts, and have fun with Storm Throws, dealing with Attract shenanigans from Liepard. The Bulk Ups allow you to just heal normally instead of having to swap to something else to heal. You outspeed Scrafty with a good Speed IV (Neutral 31 here).

Caitlin [All Lv56]
Excadrill: Solo: Easy sweep with one Swords Dance and one X-Speed. Non-Solo: Two shots everything, can take a Focus Blast from Reuniclus, and comfortably wins the 1v1's. My Exca also somehow speed tied with Sigilyph lol (114 Speed).
Zoroark: Solo: Assume Fighting-type Illusion, Nasty Plot x2 > Awakening > Snarl spam. Easy win, even if Snarl misses. +3 minimum to one shot Musharna. Non-Solo: Musharna is a range to two shot, but everything else is two shot by Snarl. Fighting-type Illusion = Easy win. Also stops Reflect from going up.
Wailord: Solo: 2 X Special, 1 X Speed, Water Spout spam. Want to stall a couple of turns to avoid Dream Eater and sleep. Non-Solo: Everything falls in two hits, Water Spout hits hard. Some things can two shot you, but it can do valuable things here.
Mantine: Solo: Charge Beam/10; pray for misses, want Agility and at least +3 SpA. Behold, one of the very few Pokémon who cannot reliably solo Caitilin! Non-Solo: Bad without a good SpA IV; Musharna beats you, Reuniclus can stall you, Gothitelle has Thunderbolt, Sigilyph is beatable. Reun and Sigi can make for good setup bait, however.
Throh: Solo: Bulk Up > Bulk Up > X Speed > Hyper Potion > X Speed > Facade spam, you could have yourself burned from the start to skip Yawn, but this allows Reflect to dissipate just in time. Charge Beam miss might help here. Non-Solo: Don't; nothing dies to anything unboosted.

Marshal [All Lv56]
Excadrill: Solo: Guard Spec locks Throh into Bulldoze and you can take two hits. Want an X Speed and a Swords Dance (though Conk is a range at +2, assuming Soft Sand). Sawk is the roadblock here with Sturdy + Brick Break. Non-Solo: You can handle Throh, but everything else is a crapshoot.
Zoroark: Solo: I tried to see if I could meme with Air Balloon strats and a Grimer Illusion, but Throh is a meanie and Rock Tomb'd the second round. Can't KO at +4 with Flamethrower... a shame. Magnemite/Excadrill could do the trick, but then you could just get Storm Throw'd and Sawk can just Sturdy Brick Break you. A work in progress, I guess (Pray for triple Bulldoze?). Non-Solo: No. (NOTE: If you pick up the Route 11 Razor Fang after getting Waterfall, then you can get the solo once you get past Throh, since Fling Razor Fang is a guaranteed flinch on Sawk).
Wailord: Solo: Guard Spec, X Speed, two X Specials, a Hyper Potion, WATER SPOUT. Locking Throh into Rock Tomb and Bulldoze is fun. Non-Solo: Handles Throh, Mienshao sucks, Conk beats you if Sitrus takes it out of Brine range, Sawk is silly.
Mantine: Solo: Guard Spec, Agility, two X Specials, Rock Tomb does not two shot. Luck-based solo however since you want Air Slash to flinch Sawk or his Rock Slide to miss. Everything is one shot by Air Slash w/ Sharp Beak (though a range at lower levels). Non-Solo: Air Slash is good enough to two shot things, though only Mienshao does not have Rock-type coverage. Pray for flinches, Mienshao and Sawk outspeed w/o Agility.
Throh: Solo: Guard Spec to lock into Bulldoze / Rock Tomb, and then Bulk Up as much as reasonable. +3 is reasonable enough to win with Facade or Superpower, though Conk lives a hit. Non-Solo: Pretty similar to most other things, Throh is slow, so exercise caution.

Iris
Mantine (56): Solo: Get Charge Beam'd. Non-Solo: Awful. Only Haxorus does not have a SE move and it's a physical set. Can one shot Aggron with Mystic Water and good SpA (or using Hydro Pump instead of Surf)
Wailord (57): Solo: Feasible with X Sp Def, X Speed, X Special, and healing. The problem is that Lapras kinda hard walls you. Non-Solo: Handles Hydreigon, Druddigon, Aggron and Archeops are good for it, Lapras walls you, Haxorus isn't too great.
Throh (57): Solo: X Sp Def > X Speed > Heal + Bulk Up. Aim for +4 with Bulk Up so Archeops does not kill the solo with Acrobatics. Non-Solo: Very handy, one shots Hydreigon, Lapras, Aggron (all with Superpower), beats Haxorus in a one on one situation (Facade is a two shot), Archeops is the only major worry.
Excadrill (57): Solo: You could do something with X Sp. Def's but you tend to get Surf'd into being two-shot. Non-Solo: Easily handles Aggron and Archeops, Haxorus is dangerous, Hydreigon two shots with Surf, Lapras and Druddigon are iffy, but it can throw its weight around.
Zoroark (58): Solo: Snarl Hydreigon twice, set up to +6 SpA, one X Speed (Dragon Dance?) and enough X Defends to take an X Scissor from Haxorus, and win. One crit or Snarl miss ruins the setup so... yeah. Non-Solo: Softens up Hydreigon well enough for others, good for picking off Autotomised Aggron, fast enough to jump Archeops into Defeatist, falls to X-Scissor from Haxorus, it's not a great matchup and it's better to aim for the rather complicated and luck-heavy solo here.



I also had an unfinished B2 run with some exclusives that I can put some logs up for reference (From Elesa to Zinzolin 3):
Elesa:
Heracross (26): Win w/ one Lemonade, Flame Charge is a three-hit at best, can counter damage, can more or less tank this fight. Getting Paralysed by Flaaffy helps if you have Guts as then you can clobber the Emolga with Chip Away.
Magby (26): Well that happened. Somehow soloed with two Lemonades. I had +SpD and Emolga's Volt Switch is a range to two-shot, but the main sauce here is Confuse Ray. Get lucky, things get Flame Bursted and you somehow win. I kinda got lucky in my one attempt, but don't expect this to happen in a normal case. Can use Eviolite to make things a little more consistent.
Lilligant (26): Easy fight, itemless solo. Emolga never Volt Switches, Zebstrika is like a two/three shot with Flame Charge, you can Sleep Powder and laugh. You should also learn Quiver Dance after Zebstrika. Giga Drain is good. Miracle Seed is good.
Gothita (26): Solo is possible if you bring a bunch of Lemonades and slap on an Eviolite. Nothing two shots you with Eviolite and uhhh... I hope you like Pursuit because you'll see Emolga and Zebstrika use that move a lot... Never mind that Volt Switch might deal around the same amount or smth.

Clay:
Gothita (28): Bad matchup, may beat Sandslash if lucky with confusion.
Magby (28): Bad matchup, need Charcoal to two shot Krokorok, but everything one shots you because its Def stat is bad. Could aim for Confuse Ray + Eviolite. Excadrill outspeeds.
Lilligant (28): Assuming you don't get crit or flinched by Excadrill after he Bulldozes, you can solo itemless with no QD. Using QD once on Krokorok makes the fight a little more consistent as it turns the Giga Drain three-shot into a two-shot, meaning less chances for Exca to screw you over if Krokorok Bulldozes T1. If Krok doesn't, it's an easy win.
Heracross (28): Solo is very hard here at Lv28 because Intimidate stops Krokorok from being one shot, Sandslash is too bulky (Counter Crush Claw your best offence), and Exca outspeeds and two shots (even without the speed drop). In a team situation, its Brick Break is a clean two shot, but Lv28 is a little bit too low at this point for the fight to be free.

Skyla:
Heracross (34): Folds to Swoobat and Swanna, but has a good Skarmory matchup since it can tank an Air Cutter (even at -1 SpD) and fight back effectively.
Magmar (34): Swoobat sucks and your best bet is to pray for Flame Body. Swanna is a bad fight, Skarmory is free. Eviolite helps you live things from Swoobat and Swanna, but have fun with Attract!
Lilligant (34): Swoobat's Acro is a range to one shot so there isn't too much you can do other than pray for good luck. Beats Swanna and Skarmory one-on-one with the help of QD. Getting Speed EV's from Power Anklet can make a difference on the Swanna matchup, but still doesnt make you faster than Swoobat. (Without spending heaps of time taking advantage of the Power Anklet I guess)
Gothorita (34): Eviolite gives it the bulk such that it can stabilise each of the three matchups. Reliant on item help to get past, but tools such as Future Sight and I guess Flatter give you opportunities to slowly get through the fight. You definitely want to have a female one to avoid Attract trolling from Swoobat in this case.

Hugh @ Undella [Tepig Starter]
Heracross (36): Outright loses to Unfezant if slower, Close Combat on Samurott can be a trap as you die to Slash + Aqua Jet, as well as being a fairly rough matchup. You still beat Simisage one on one, though.
Magmar (36): Charcoal Lava Plume is enough to comfortably two shot Unfezant and one shot Simisage. Samurott is a non-starter for pretty obvious reasons. Could try Thunder Punch, but with mine having bad Physical bulk, it's not really worth it.
Gothorita (36): Capable of winning this fight by itself and some Potions for Simisage and Samurott. Doesn't need potions for Unfezant, but Future Sight on Samurott can be a trap as he can and will Encore you into using it again and again (it three shots anyway so it's all good).
Lilligant (36): Easy itemless solo if you are faster than Unfezant (and you should be at this point), since it's QD bait (specially-based) and you can regen enough until the Taunt wears off to QD more (of course, Unfezant can just crit and it has Scope Lens). Samurott straight up falls to a +0 Miracle Seed Giga Drain, and Simisage can't do much to you at any rate.

Zinzolin @ Lacunosa
Magmar (38): Dispatches Cryogonal and beats Sneasel without much thought, but bad Defensive stats can lead to Magmar getting taken out by Acro (Golbat) + Slash (Sneasel), both of which two shot; Eviolite is safer. Garbodor is w/e.
Gothorita (38): The Tepig starter permutation is easy. Psyshock Cryo until it's dead, and then focus on the grunt while Samurott one shots Zinzolin's Sneasel. Easy fight.
Lilligant (38): First genuinely bad matchup. Cryo can still outspeed if you don't keep building speed, and both it and Golbat can one shot. In fact, the Golbat is the worst part because it can just Acro and all you are left doing is watching Hugh not focus on the Golbat.
Heracross (38): If you get a Rock Slide flinch on Golbat (or you crit), it's a simple win from there. Otherwise, Golbat does Golbat things and you die. Rock Slide two shots everything even with the spread penalty. If you don't go out of your way for Rock Slide, then the matchup becomes kinda worse.

Drayden
Magmar (41): Eviolite tanky set does quite well here. Confusion for free turns and damage, Lava Plume + Flame Body for burns, works really well against Druddigon and Haxorus. Flygon two shots, however. Also screw crits.
Gothitelle (41): Kinda bad matchup as everything can two shot it unboosted and Gothitelle can't really do that without good luck. It can do some things I guess, but fresh out of evolution is just an overall bleh matchup.
Heracross (41): Capable of beating Druddigon and Flygon in a straight fight, Haxorus isn't as straightforward due to Slash being a one-shot at +2, making Close Combat a trap. If you want to be cheeky, there's Toxic Orb Guts strats, but I don't think they improve this matchup. Solo at these levels not a good idea due to reliance on Close Combat.
Lilligant (41): Starting from +0, it can beat Druddigon with a bit of help (Crunch is a range to two shot) and can deal with Flygon. Needs prior boosts to have a chance of dealing with Haxorus, but good luck not getting Dragon Tail'd. If it were on its own, you could probably solo this fight reasonably from +3, but this isn't a one Poké list. I once had one attempt get past Drudd (w/ teammates) but +2 isn't enough at this level. Every other attempt didn't get that far because of shenanigans including a crit against in nearly every attempt. sigh

Zinzolin @ Opelucid
Gothitelle (42): Psyshock is a range to take out the Cryogonals with no screens up (guaranteed with the Twisted Spoon), but Weavile is a loss.
Heracross (42): Pretty simple solo with an X-Speed. Without the X-Speed, Hera does get two shot by Ice Beams from Cryogonal. There's also Confuse Ray shenanigans. But it wins each one on one fight as it one-shots with Brick Break, irrespective of Guts (which you can get off the Garbodor the northern grunt uses).
Magmar (42): Fairly easy fight with Eviolite to be honest (bulk matters). If Cryo doesn't crit, you can solo this fight with Sunny Day + Fire Punch being enough to one shot his team. Still slower so if you really wanna be sure, X-Speed. Good enough to beat each individually.
Lilligant (43): Solo? Possible. 111 speed is at least good enough to outspeed the Cryogonals, but you need a lot to go your way. You need to use Sleep Powder / Stun Spore, and then get enough luck to get at least three boosts of QD just so Ice Beam doesn't two shot (three turn sleep, or at least three full paralysis). Ice Beam does one shot and you can't really heal off the damage w/ Giga Drain until the boosts get larger. It's a crapshoot and your chances of beating either individually are very low to non-existent, so in general it's a bad matchup.

Marlon:
Gothitelle (44): Honestly quite mediocre. You beat Carracosta only if you can take a +2 Crunch and have a good enough Psychic to get the two-hit after Shell Smash. Wailord is manageable with Psyshock and potions (Scald + Burn is only a range to two-shot at best), and Jellicent doesn't take much from Shadow Ball and smacks you with Ominous Wind. Doesn't help that Thunderbolt is so late...
Magmar (45): Sunny Day + Confuse Ray + Burn trolling to the rescue! Getting a self-hit and then a Lava Plume burn is enough to make Carracosta manageable, Wailord can troll a bit with Bounce, and Jellicent can't do much other than Recover and hit for like 25% with Eviolite (though winning the Jellicent matchup is luck-based due to needing confusion to do its thing). Actually got the itemless 1v1 on Jellicent with enough confusion hits and burn damage. Buuuut it's very slow so bear that in mind.
Heracross (45): This is where Guts starts to really make a difference. Facade > Close Combat finishes Carracosta, but Close Combat is only a one shot on Wailord at higher levels / higher attack (tends to leave Wailord in the red). Megahorn at Lv46 makes a difference I think. Anyway, Jellicent isn't really doable since your best move is Megahorn / Rock Slide (unless you did something like teach Night Slash) and you don't do much anyway, so it is typically a loss.
Lilligant (46): Easy fight. Giga Drain until Carracosta is dead, then Petal Dance spam. Lv47 is enough to one shot Wailord, but Jellicent barely lives. If Cursed Body happens, swap to Giga Drain. Ominous Wind is a three shot at best, so it's a pretty simple win.

Zinzolin @ Frigate [Doubles]
Heracross (46): With Guts active, this fight is easy w/ Samurott partner. Brick Break away the Reflect and Rock Slide to your heart's content. Easy.
Gothitelle (47): Not very helpful. If it has enough bulk, it can play tank while Samurott cleaves through Zinzolin's team (one shots galore with Aqua Tail!), but I wouldn't expect it to do much, especially since the Grunt has some unfriendly Pokémon towards it.
Lilligant (47): Baddish matchup. Quiver Dance turn one. If Reflect, you could continue or dismiss the Liepard or smth. If Ice Beam, pray no double target so you can do something while the Cryos drop like flies. Can't do much to Weavile unless you are high health to begin with (ha) as Ice Shard is a clean two shot. Steamroller from Scoli is also a two shot. Zinzolin fights are never good fights for Petulia lol.
Magmar (47): Good matchup I guess. Getting double targeted with Night Slash sucks, but Fire Punches all day can get the job done with some potion help. Flame Body also helps if you get looped into healing since Weavile / Liepard combo mostly uses contacts.


I'm sure there are a bunch of useful nuggets of wisdom that people can use to inform their strategies for this tier list for some Pokémon (Zoroark in particular encourages some crafty strategies on top of ones not mentioned such as Air Balloon Magnemite Illusion to cheese Clay, though it's a slow fight and you may not have enough PP if underlevelled). I'm also interested in Axew's placement overall. I think it might be worth a look at B-Rank over A simply because of how long / late it takes to truly get going on top of the rank increase, but it's been ten years since I've used it; A-Rank may still be fine.

Best of luck for the project at any rate.
 
Finished a third run with Espeon, Timburr (trade), Maractus, Frillish, and Gilgar. All 5 mons were Serious Nature with 15 IVs across the board.

Burgh (24): TwistedSpoon. Psybeam easily 2HKOS Swadloon and Dwebble, who Rock Polishes, heals then Faint Attacks for a little under 1/4 your HP. You knock Leavanny to mid-green post-Berry and are outspeed because of Swadloon’s String Shot, with Leavanny killing you in two hits.

Swadloon 4HKOs with Razor Leaf as you Work Up to +2: you’ll be at half HP if Dwebble Faint Attacks, leaving you just enough HP to survive Leavanny’s Razor Leaf and OHKO it. +1 Psybeam OHKOs Swadloon and knocks Leavanny to mid-yellow post-Sitrus Berry (you outspeed with no Speed debuffs, if Swadloon String Shots turn 1, go to +2, I’ve even had scenarios where it has String Shot twice, Dwebble outspeeds if this happens). You can also use Bite to potentially flinch Dwebble and break Sturdy. Pretty great, I swept three times in a row but it’s likely you’ll be in red HP every time without healing.

Elesa (30): TwistedSpoon. Espeon is actually faster than Emolga, whose Pursuit is a 3HKO as you Work Up once, then OHKO Emolga and Flaaffy with +1 Psybeam. Zebstrika’s Pursuit is a 3HKO, but you on rolls can actually OHKO it. You can setup two Work Ups on Emolga but Zebstrika’s Pursuit will come close to finishing you off. Sweep seems to be a 50 /50. With Leftovers, you can buff to +2 and get KOs much easier, ending in mid-yellow health, but if Pursuit from anything crits you at any point you lose. Great.

Clay (33): TwistedSpoon. Outspeed and OHKO Krokorok with Signal Beam. Sandslash comes out next, and Espeon cleanly 2HKOs it with TwistedSpoon Psybeam (3/4s its HP) as Bulldoze 3HKOs, and you still outspeed after one Bulldoze anyway. Don’t bother with Excadrill, Psybeam looks like it might not even 4HKO and it easily 2HKOs you with Bulldoze into Rock Slide.

Skyla (40): TwistedSpoon. Have Espeon Work Up to +2 (you outspeed Swoobat) as Assurance 4HKOs you, though Swoobat’s Unaware ignores your boosts as Signal Beam 2HKOs. I crit Swanna but I’d imagine +2 Psychic OHKOs it. Skarmory finished me off after I knocked it to Sturdy.

Swoobat’s Acrobatics 2HKOs you, but believe it or not resisted Psychic does more than neutral Signal Beam, cleanly 2HKOing Swoobat. You outspeed Swanna, and Espeon’s unboosted Espeon Psychic straight up OHKOs Skyla's Swanna (this is a roll, seems to be favorable), but does not 2HKO Skamory (leaves it in green). Swanna’s Air Slash can barely miss the 3HKO on you.

Sadly Skarmory finishes you off if it gets two Steel Wings in. So Signal Beam, then two Psychics. If Swoobat goes Acrobatics you seem to die to Skarmory. You should at absolute worst take two Pokemon (seems to be a pattern).

Drayden (50): TwistedSpoon. Work Up to +1 as Druddigon’s Crunch…actually knocks you to red HP. With +1 Psychic, Espeon outspeeds and OHKOs Drayden’s entire team. Druddigon can also Revenge and hand you the win even easier. Tested this three times, you sweep every single time. Without boosting, you cleanly 2HKO Druddigon and take Flygon to red with unboosted Psychic.

Marlon (50): Espeon actually cannot learn Energy Ball, oddly, so you go TwistedSpoon here. Boosting is generally discouraged because of Sturdy and Wailord’s Amnesia, so I’m going for an unboosted approach.

Psychic takes Carracosta to red as unboosted Crunch deals 2/3s of your HP or so. Shadow Ball is a 3HKO on Jellicent whose Ominous Wind 2HKOS you and Cursed Body makes this generally unfavorable. Psychic does 2/3s to Wailord, and even if it goes for Amnesia, you still pick up the KO next turn. Passable, didn’t test much.

Colress (54): Spell Tag. Psychic does minimal damage to Magneton (like, a 5 or 6HKO), but +1 Psychic can 3HKO Magnezone who 3HKOS with Flash Cannon, though paralysis probably makes this unreliable (I crit past Ton in this attempt). Espeon does have a tiny niche against the magnets in that if they paralyze you, you paralyze back with Synchronize and then heal off paralysis with Cheri Berry. But yeah, pretty bad for the magnets.

You can Work Up on Metang to 2HKO it with Shadow Ball while it seems to spam Agility (Meteor Mash 2HKOs). +1 Psychic barely misses the 2HKO on Klinklang who finishes you off with Giga Impact (I did roll a miss though).

Solidly beats Beheeyem with Shadow Ball unboosted which knocks it to red. Decent.

Ghetsis (54): In this first attempt I used Pecha Berry. I used Work Up as Cofagrigus went for Protect. Next turn it went for Shadow Ball which is a 2HKO as I boosted to +2: +2 Shadow Ball OHKOs it. Eelektross dies to +2 Psychic though I crit it. Drapion takes 3/4s from +2 Signal Beam, close to red HP and kills me with Earthquake.

I switched to SilverPowder. This attempt had Cofagrigus use Toxic, then Shadow Ball: I Full Restored, but he simply used Shadow Ball again. I cleanly OHKO Eelektross without a crit this time, and actually crit past Drapion (fun fact: Drapion doesn’t actually OHKO from full with Night Slash).

Toxicroak is hard to nail down because Shadow Ball + Sucker Punch 2HKOs you and you’ll likely be picked off by Sucker Punch after you heal: Sucker Punch actually does 3/4s of your HP (unboosted Psychic OHKOs though).

Espeon outspeeds Hydreigon and does 2/3s of its HP with SilverPowder-boosted Signal Beam. While not great here, you should at least take two and a half mons if you can get to +2. Espeon cleanly 1v1s Seismitoad: you outspeed and 2HKO with Psychic as it 2HKOs with Earthquake.

Marshal (59): Expert Belt. You actually outspeed and OHKO Throh with Expert Belt Psychic. Mienshao is also outsped and OHKOed by Expert Belt Psychic. Bizarrely bad for Sawk: I Shadow Balled to break Sturdy…and then he killed me from full with boosted Payback. After tossing a Max Revive on, Espeon OHKOed Conkeldurr with unboosted Psychic. Pseudo-sweep, only tested once.

Grimsley (59): Espeon outspeeds and OHKOs Liepard with Signal Beam, outspeeds and takes Krookodile to red with Signal Beam, and outspeeds and does absolutely nothing to Scrafty with Signal Beam. Espeon always lives Liepard’s Night Slash on its own, but crits and Fake Out probably jeopradize this. Poor, but you could feasibly set up a Reflect for team members if you wish.

Shauntal (59): Expert Belt. Work Up to +1 as Cofagrigus 2HKOs you with Shadow Ball (does 2/3s), then surprisingly OHKO it back with +1 Shadow Ball. Driftblim, Chandelure, and Golurk are all outsped and OHKOed by Shadow Ball. In one quick attempt with Expert Belt, Espeon killed Cofagrigus at +1 with one round of burn and left Driftblim alive, so it seems like you definitely need Expert Belt here. Still pretty great.

Caitlin (59): Expert Belt. With Chesto Berry, you leave Musharna in red at +2 with Shadow Ball, but with Expert Belt I could pick up the kill (Full Heal / Restore off sleep status). Sigilyph is outspeed and OHKOed by +2 Shadow Ball, and so is Gothitelle, surprisingly. Reuniclus is also outsped and OHKOed by Shadow Ball. Picked up all the same OHKOs on a repeat attempt, though it looks like you can safely buff on Musharna more if need be.

Iris (59): Espeon outspeeds Hydreigon and can Work Up to +2 as two Dragon Pulses bring it to red: you OHKO with +2 Signal Beam, but Haxorus comes out right after. Espeon outspeeds Haxorus and knocks it to Focus Sash range (presumably as I crit for some reason), but then it kills you.

Fully healed, Espeon is 3HKOed by Lapras’s STABs, but a +2 Psychic leaves it near low yellow. Espeon outspeeds and knocks Archeops to low yellow with unboosted Psychic as Defeatist Acrobatics barely 2HKOs it. Unboosted Psychic 2HKOs Druddigon who finished me off (and thus likely 2HKOed) with Rock Slide. Pretty good, avoid Aggron.

Burgh (25): Leftovers. You can Work Up to +1, where Rock Throw OHKOs Swadloon and knocks Leavanny to 1/3 HP post-Sitrus (you can finish it off with Strength). Dwebble is 2HKOed by +1 Wake-Up-Slap (puts it in red). This matchup is hilarious: you’ll still be in green health at the end.

Even unboosted Strength will still roll over Burgh: 2HKOs Swadloon and 3HKOs Leavanny including Sitrus Berry. He rolled a Razor Leaf crit and I was in low yellow, but that doesn’t matter because Dwebble is STILL 2HKOed by unboosted Wake-Up-Slap and does literally no damage that is relevant with Leftovers. Only Leavanny is vaguely threatening but it’s still hysterical.

Elesa (30): Leftovers. Have Conkeldurr Bulk Up to +1 as Emolga’s Volt Switch is a 5HKO. +1 Wake Up Slap misses the Flaaffy OHKO barely (you are faster) but it paralyzes you and turns on GUTS MODE, meaning you OHKO as it heals. Emolga comes back out and Volt Switches to Zebstrika…who promptly dies to +1 Guts WUS. At level 31 now, after a turn of paralysis, Emolga died to +1 Guts Strength.

In my second attempt, I had Flaaffy’s Static activate as it crit me with Volt Switch, then Emolga crit me out. Yeah apparently the game hated me?

On my next try, I used Bulk Up, then Dig on Flaaffy to OHKO, and Static activated. +1 Guts WUS still beat Zebstrika. Fun fact: Emolga is OHKOed by +1 Guts Strength.

You should be alright here as long as Static / crit RNG doesn’t have its way.

Clay (33): Leftovers. Have Conkeldurr Bulk Up to +0 as Krokorok uses Torment, WUS to OHKO Krokorok, then Bulk Up to +1 on Sandslash, +1 WUS Sandslash to half HP, then finish it off with Strength (crit first attempt, didn’t seem to matter second time). +1 WUS OHKOs Excadrill. They do absolutely no damage to you.

You can also +0 Strength Krokorok to potion range and grab two Bulk Ups that way, which can be helpful if Krokorok rolled a Crunch Defense debuff (I crit Strength, but I’d imagine +1 OHKOs). Even if Crunch and Crush Claw roll Defense drops, you can just Bulk Up again. Slightly annoying, but exceptionally easy all the same.

Skyla (40): Swoobat’s Acrobatics 3HKOs Conkeldurr, but Payback OHKOs it back. Unfortunately Swanna comes out and finishes you off. At full HP, -2 Rock Slide (Featherdance) 3HKOS Swanna discounting Berry. Without debuffs, you can Bulk Up once on Skarmory and 2HKO with Wake-Up-Slap, though Air Cutter crits will definitely hurt.

Drayden (50): Leftovers. Have Conkeldurr Bulk Up twice on Druddigon (you outspeed) as Crunch deals such laughable damage Leftovers almost heals it off. Sadly, +2 Wake-Up-Slap doesn’t OHKO Druddigon, Flygon or Haxorus, leaving all save Haxorus in the second attempt in red in two attempts (Flygon Dragon Tailed me away in the second attempt).

I got to +3 in two attempts on Druddigon so it doesn’t seem to click Dragon Tail very often - upon which you get an easy sweep with Wake-Up-Slap (I’d imagine Hammer Arm secures the +2 OHKOs, but then you have to deal with 90 accuracy). Great (didn’t try solo strats).

Conkeldurr (50): Flame Orb. Have Conkeldurr Bulk Up to +1 as Flame Orb activates: you now OHKO Drayden’s entire party with Wake-Up-Slap but end up in red due to chip from Druddigon (though he rolled an IIRC Slash crit) and Flygon’s Earth Power. Tested this three times, if Druddigon rolls crits you seem to end up in red, but Haxorus never seems to want to kill you.

Marlon (52): Flame Orb. Wake Up-Slap knocks Carracosta to yellow as Scald 3HKOs you, but potential burn takes you to half. You finish it off and then Wailord kills you with Scald.

You have to do this matchup a specific way. Bulldoze Carracosta for a third as it goes for Shell Smash and Flame Orb burns you. You outspeed it next turn and KO it with Wake-Up-Slap. However this can be dubious, because I’m pretty sure I speed tied in another attempt even after Bulldoze and got a Scald to the face.

I tried to Bulk Up as I assumed Wailord went for Bounce, but it instead chose Amnesia before using Bounce. In any case, +1 Guts WUS left it alive in red, albeit just barely. I mistakenly Bulked Up as he healed, allowing him to kill me.

If Wailord goes for Amnesia turn 1, you can Guts Bulldoze it for a third, then outspeed and OHKO it with Guts Wake-Up-Slap (you should be at 2/3s HP now). Jellicent’s Scald, much like Wailord’s Scald (or at least, the crit one I know I saw once that knocked me to red IIRC), seems to 3HKO you, but you OHKO it back with Guts Payback. So you can sweep, but it absolutely requires the Ai to play along: thus, Conkeldurr is somewhat mediocre, you’re probably taking one or two Pokemon.

Interesting sidenote: If Jellicent gets a +1 buff to everything with Ominous Wind, Conkeldurr serves as a decent counter as Scald only 2HKOs it and can potentially burn you, letting you OHKO back.

Colress (54): Leftovers. You’ll want to burn Conkeldurr on a wild encounter outside because Magneton is faster, can paralyze you, and 3HKOs with Volt Switch as it switches out to Zone, who dies to repeated Bulldozes. Note Leftovers heals you some HP before burn damage happens.

Beheeyem comes in second and is outsped by Conkeldurr, but Guts-boosted Payback (going first, so no boost) knocks it to red as it finishes off your near-half HP Conkeldurr with Psychic; thankfully Guts-boosted Facade picks up the OHKO with no harm to you. Conkeldurr outspeeds and OHKOs Metang with Guts-boosted Bulldoze (crit first attempt, normally it lives Guts Bulldoze in red as Metang goes for Agility) as your HP inches closer to red. You might have to heal here instead of on Klinklang: Metang’s Zen Headbutt 3HKOs you, as revealed in my second attempt.

Hyper Potion as Klinklang comes in and goes for Giga Impact, which is a 3HKO. Guts-boosted Wake-Up-Slap OHKOs Klinklang on the recharge turn. Magneton comes in and Flash Cannons you to red: Bulldoze it twice to barely win this fight.

In my second attempt, I used my second healing item as Klinklang came in, as I was in red HP (Klinklang went for Thunderbolt, which is a 4HKO). Klinklang used Shift Gear and died to Wake-Up-Slap. I had just enough HP to finish off Magneton. So you’ll need two healing items, but Conkeldurr does sweep Colress.

Ghetsis (54): Burn yourself on a wild so you can run Silk Scarf. Avoid Cofagrigus. Hydreigon’s Dragon Rush surprisingly misses the 2HKO on Conkeldurr, though IIRC a crit OHKOed me before - you OHKO Hydreigon back with Wake-Up-Slap.

Sadly, Conkeldurr is outsped and revenge killed by Eelektross’s Acrobatics if you take it on after Hydreigon. 1v1ing it later at full HP, it Thunderbolted for what looked like a 3HKO as you OHKO it back with Facade.

At full HP, I tried to Bulk Up on Sesmitoad who 3HKOs with Muddy Water, but burn seems like it might close the 2HKO gap (I switched out and healed up to test Facade, with a sacrifice KO - I was expecting Seismitoad to Earthquake). Silk Scarf Facade actually OHKOs Seismitoad though.

You can safely stay in and heal on Drapion, Earthquake is like a 4HKO including burn and Facade OHKOs him back. Toxicroak’s Poison Jab seems to be a 3HKO with burn but you OHKO back with Facade.

TLDR: you OHKO all his mons with Facade, but burn damage turns 3HKOs into 2HKOs and 4HKOs into 3HKOs most likely. Decent, but you’re not sweeping. Only tested once with a lot of offscreen healing.

Marshal (59): Silk Scarf. Conkeldurr outspeeds Throh, and Silk-Scarf boosted Guts Facade comes hilariously close to OHKOing Throh, though it consistently puts it in red: Throh’s Storm Throw leads you to be outsped and finished off by Mienshao.

You can Bulldoze as Throh uses Bulldoze to pick him off next turn, being around 2/3s HP in the process. Sadly, Mienshao’s HJK seems to basically kill you from this range: I lived at like 4 HP and Bulked Up, expecting it to Bounce, then died to Burn. Bulking up on Throh doesn’t solve this either, as it simply does too much damage with Storm Throw turn 2.

Sadly, your Conkeldurr can Speed tie Marshal’s Conkeldurr. We both Bulked Up three turns before I finally attacked: it got +1 Defense before I moved, so basically -1 Facade seemed to 2HKO it, but I died to Hammer Arm.

Conkeldurr is mediocre for Sawk - it outspeeds even after a Bulldoze and 3HKOs with Brick Break. You’ll probably beat one mon and nothing else, but reliably dealing with Throh is enough for me to say this matchup is passable.

Grimsley (59): Expert Belt. Liepard does a third to you with Fake Out and Aerial Ace before you kill it with Guts Wake Up Slap, falling to half HP from burn. Bisharp outspeeds and knocks you to low red with Aerial Ace: burn finishes you off after you kill it with Wake Up Slap.

With burn healed off and Leftovers on, you kill Liepard and Bisharp and do 2/3s to Krookodile with -1 Wake Up Slap before dying.

With burn healed off and Leftovers on, you can Bulk Up to +2 and sweep Grimsley easy, with all physical attacks struggling to break your bulk after you boost. This is unreliable due to crits, but even if Liepard crits an Aerial Ace as you Bulk Up once, you should at the very least take it and Bisharp. I swept at +2 (+1 after Krookodile, who came out before Scrafty) notably outspeeding and OHKOing Scrafty. Good.

Shauntal (59): Expert Belt, burned. Payback going first does 2/3s to Cofagrigus as Psychic does similar damage to you: however Mummy overrides Guts so you leave it in red with a second Payback. Bulking Up to +1 OHKOs Cofagrigus with Payback but I’m left in red afterwards.

At full HP, Conkeldurr takes 2/3s from Driftblim’s Acrobatics and (without stat buffs) boosted Payback kills it, but Aftermath and burn damage seem to cause a double KO.

Chandelure’s Psychic takes Conkeldurr to red from full, while I crit it with Bulldoze I imagine you secure the OHKO (you can Payback as well), but burn once again finishes you off.

Conkeldurr beats Golurk reliably: it outspeeds and does a third with Earthquake, but you OHKO with Guts-boosted Payback. Conkeldurr is only beating one mon here.

Caitlin (59): Silk Scarf. Conkeldurr outspeeds Musharna, but sadly Guts Silk Scarf Facade leaves it in red, and it can set Reflect and heal up. You outspeed and OHKO Reuniclus with Facade though. Sigilyph outspeeds and nukes you. Gothitelle outspeeds seems to go Calm Mind turn 1, but you leave it in red (mid-yellow post-Sitrus Berry) and then it kills you with Psychic. Poor on the whole, but you should kill Reuniclus.

Iris (59): Expert Belt, burned. Hydreigon outspeeds and 2HKOs you with Dragon Pulse as you OHKO with Guts WUS. Druddigon finished me off with Focus Blast. Hard to justify versus Lapras because it outspeeds and has Sing if you aren’t burned: if you are, Lapras 3HKOs with Surf and dies to WUS. Archeops outspeeds and OHKOs with Acrobatics, predictably. You can live Aggron’s Double-Edge in red after taking out Lapras (Aggron outspeeds) and OHKO back with WUS. Solid check for Haxorus, unboosted EQ 3HKOS but Guts Wake Up Slap seems to 3HKO while Guts Facade knocks it to low yellow and you can easily take a +1 Earthquake. Decent, should get two kills.

Elesa (30): Miracle Seed. Emolga is cleanly 3HKOed by Giga Drain and occasionally even 2HKOed with high rolls. If it Volt Switches to Zebstrika, you have a decent shot of 2HKOing, but it is rolls. The likes of Pursuit and Quick Attack do absolutely nothing to you. You’ll want to Needle Arm Flaaffy for potential flinch and maybe stave off paralysis (Giga Drain takes it to red, Take Down recoil can kill it too, Needle Arm 2HKOs). Swept three times in a row, am 99% sure I was in green the whole time. Unless you get really unlucky with paralysis you should win.

Clay (33): Miracle Seed. Have Maractus Giga Drain until the cows come home. Outspeed and OHKO Krokorok with Giga Drain and outspeed and OHKO Sandslash with Giga Drain.

If you’re worried about Rock Slide flinches from Excadrill (3HKO), you can Cotton Spore to gain the Speed advantage, then Giga Drain for the 3HKO (thanks to Sitrus Berry); sadly, the Ai is smart enough to Bulldoze and Rock Slide again (they outspeed after one Bulldoze). Slash is also a 3HKO, as is Metal Claw.

Knocking Excadrill to Hyper Potion range can actually be beneficial if Excadrill rolls a Slash crit to give you more HP as you 2HKO. Notably in another attempt, I got a low roll on Giga Drain to leave Excadrill to leave it in green, then OHKOed it next turn on a high roll. Amusingly on my third attempt I just crit and OHKOed Excadrill. Fourth attempt had Excadrill roll a Rock Slide flinch then a Metal Claw Attack buff, yeah he nukes you out if that happens. Pretty great.

Skyla (40): Miracle Seed. Seems to OHKO Swanna with Petal Dance, but you have to dodge an Air Slash flinch or get Swanna to use FeatherDance. Only tested once.

Drayden (50): Miracle Seed. You outspeed Druddigon. Crunch is a 3HKO on you. However, Slash without a crit can make you live an extra Crunch. You set Sun and Growth twice to get to +4, where SolarBeam OHKOS both Druddigon and Flygon, but sadly dies out when Haxorus comes in. He missed Dragon Tail and let me fire off another SunnyBeam.

+2 lets Giga Drain barely 2HKO Druddigon, so you should be at 1/3 HP when Flygon comes out, which +2 Giga Drain thankfully OHKOs. +2 Giga Drain knocks Haxorus to yellow HP just like Druddigon, but he Dragon Tails you out.

So if you want to sweep traditionally, you Sunny Day and Growth twice, hoping Druddigon goes for unboosted Revenge on one of three turns. OHKO Druddigon with +4 SolarBeam, and OHKO Flygon with +4 Giga Drain, getting to 2/3s HP in the process. +4 Giga Drain knocks Haxorus to red before Sitrus Berry. I count this as more or less a sweep. On my solo attempt, it was revealed Haxorus’s Dragon Tail comes close to 2HKOing you, so you should be have enough if everything goes right (he also missed in that attempt). At absolute worst you might need one healing item with bad RNG, but this only happened on like…one attempt, maybe two. Additionally, you can forego Giga Drain: +4 Return still OHKOs Flygon and Haxorus, who seems to go for Dragon Tail when the sun is not up.

While far from good, this is still decent. Roll halfway decent RNG and you win easily.

Marlon (52): Miracle Seed. Have Maractus Giga Drain as Carracosta Shell Smashes, then Giga Drain again to get it to Sturdy range. Carracosta outspeeds and 2HKOs with +2 Crunch as you set sun up: you outspeed and finish him off with Giga Drain the next turn. Unfortunately, Wailord is not OHKOed by Giga Drain next turn if you want to get more HP back, so I ended up using Growth to +2 as Wailord missed Bounce, then killed it as sun faded. Jellicent outspeeds without sun up and does a third with Ominous Wind, but you OHKO back with +2 Giga Drain.

I set sun on Carracosta in one attempt where he went for two unboosted Crunches in a row as I got to +2 with Growth. Thankfully, even without sun, Wailord seems to be outsped and OHKOed by +2 Giga Drain, though I did see a critical hit.

So it’s a little clunky, but try and sweep with +2 Giga Drain. They shouldn’t threaten you too badly.

You can also try Rocky Helmet: set sun and Growth as Carracosta Shell Smashes, then breaks its own Sturdy with Crunch: Giga Drain your HP back to KO, even without Miracle Seed both Wailord and Jellicent seem to die to +2 SolarBeam.

Growth to +1, Giga Drain, set Sunny Day as Carracosta heals, Giga Drain him two more times, then SolarBeam Wailord and Jellicent: I did this with Lucky Egg.

Colress (54): Miracle Seed. Solid no to most of them, though I did try setting up on Metang once. I used Sunny Day and then Growth as Metang went for two uses of Agility. I dodged a Meteor Mash (3HKO) as it is revealed +2 SolarBeam takes Metang to red. +2 SolarBeam seems to just straight up OHKO Beheeyem with your last turn of sun.

Ghetsis (54): Pecha Berry. Interestingly, Toxicroak’s Poison Jab, even if it Poisons IIRC, fails to basically OHKO Maractus in one turn.

Anyway, Sunny Day as Cofagrigus uses Toxic which Pecha Berry heals off. Cofagrigus’s Shadow Ball is a 3HKO, but you should get to +6 with Growth thanks to Protect and Toxic derping. Heal off the poison via Full Restore as sun fades, then reset it and hope Cofagrigus doesn’t Toxic (he went for Protect). +6 Giga Drain your health back.

Sesmitoad comes out, and is outsped and OHKOed by +6 Giga Drain under sun: the same can be said for Eelektross: however, Drapion lives +6 Giga Drain in red HP and 2HKOs with X-Scissor. However, Ghetsis uses a Full Restore here, so I Giga Drained it to red again before setting up Sunny Day again. I grow to level 55 as Toxicroak comes in, and I am now at half HP. Toxicroak is outsped and OHKOed by SolarBeam, and so is Hydreigon, meaning Maractus swept Ghetsis.

The second attempt had Maractus die to Cofagrigus because of an inopportune crit, but the setup went virtually unchanged: as long as Cofagrigus only attacks with Shadow Ball once when you setup three uses of Growth, you never die before your necessary Full Restore use.

On my third attempt, I deliberately held off setting up sun on both Seismitoad and Eelektross: alas, Sludge Wave just HAD to crit and OHKO. The next attempt had the same setup go flawlessly: this time it is revealed Seismitoad’s Sludge Wave is a 2HKO, but you heal it all back with Giga Drain.

You can't set sun on Eelektross: it enables Flamethrower to OHKO you but you outspeed and OHKO with Giga Drain anyway.

Paradoxically, you set up Sunny Day again on Drapion after eating an X-Scissor for half, then OHKO the last three with SolarBeam.

Marshal (59): Miracle Seed. Maractus outspeeds Throh and sets up Sunny Day as Throh uses Rock Tomb, Bulldoze, then Rock Tomb, which takes you to around half HP as I use Growth twice to buff to +4 before I OHKO Throh with Giga Drain, notably still outspeeding after three Speed drops with sun up. Mienshao comes in, outspeeds, and…misses an HJK, but I’d probably live that and kill it anyway. Conkeldurr comes in and the sun isn’t out for sure anymore. It outspeeds and goes for Bulk Up but dies to +4 Giga Drain, with Maractus growing to level 60. Sawk comes in and does about half your HP with Brick Break, but you heal it back off.

Storm Throw from Throh nearly takes Maractus to half. If this happens turn 2, emergency +2 Giga Drain Throh to potion range, then Growth to +4 as he heals and finish Throh off as the sunlight fades. Maractus barely lives Mienshao’s Bounce from full in red HP, pray you don’t get paralyzed as you kill it and heal back to 2/3s HP. Conkeldurr sadly goes for Hammer Arm to finish you off.

Third attempt had Throh go for Storm Throw turn 1, which is revealed to be a 3HKO (does roughly 80 damage of your roughly 170 HP). He then missed Rock Tomb next turn, then Bulldoze as I Growth to +4: I kill him once more. Mienshao’s HJK, much like Bounce, knocks you to red HP and you don’t outspeed under sun with Speed drops. I tried Hyper Potion on Conkeldurr’s Hammer Arm: it is revealed to knock you to red from full HP, but since Maractus and Conkeldurr now have one Speed drop each, you can outspeed and Giga Drain now (you should be at like, 7/8s HP now). You should have no issue with Sawk unless Marshal rolls a crit Brick Break: he killed me from full with one.

Grimsley (59): Miracle Seed. You can consistently live Liepard’s Fake Out and two Aerial Aces in red, so setup Sunny Day and Growth, outspeeding and OHKOing Liepard with +2 Giga Drain. +2 SolarBeam OHKOs Scrafty and knocks Bisharp to red (mid-yellow post Berry) who crit me out with X-Scissor (it actually OHKOs you pretty close to full it seems, +2 Giga Drain barely knocks it to yellow and thus Sitrus Berry range). Decent.

Shauntal (59): Miracle Seed. Absolutely no sweep this time. You Sunny Day, boost to +2 with Growth as Cofagrigus’s Shadow Ball 3HKOs you, +2 SolarBeam OHKOs Cofagrigus…and then Chandelure cleanly lives +2 SolarBeam, being left in low-green post-Berry.

Maractus outspeeds and leave Golurk in red with Giga Drain while it does a third with Shadow Punch: you can SolarBeam on the heal turn to OHKO if you want to speed things up some.

Caitlin (59): Chesto Berry. Don’t bother. Even if you +6 and kill Musharna, Sigilyph outspeeds and lives +6 Giga Drain in low yellow and 2HKOs with Air Slash (think it leaves you in red). You could Sucker Punch, I suppose, but that means you have 4MSS issues.
You can sweep at +6 with SolarBeam to kill Sigilyph, but that requires sun to be up so you outspeed. +6 Giga Drain faints Reuniclus. Gothitelle outspeeds but Psychic only 2HKOs, you OHKO back with +6 Giga Drain.

Iris (59): Miracle Seed. You outspeed Lapras, but Ice Beam looks like rolls to kill you and you only put it in red with unboosted SolarBeam, and Maractus is absolutely not taking on the others. Lapras can occasionally try to Sing you though: I got to +1, then set up Sun after this happened: +1 SolarBeam OHKOs Lapras but Druddigon comes out next and you only do a third to it with +1 SolarBeam before dying. Awful.

Skyla (40): Leftovers. Swoobat can Attract you if male, and unfortunately Ominous Wind barely misses the OHKO on Swoobat as Acrobatics seems to be a 4HKO (Assurance does like 26 damage). Still though, Recover and Leftovers keep you healthy. You’re better off using Surf to cleanly 2HKO Swoobat and not trigger healing.

I finish it off at 2/3s HP. Swanna comes in and does like…30 HP out of your 136 with Air Slash - yeah you can also outstall it while you 3HKO with Ominous Wind or 40 HP Night Shade (doesn’t count Sitrus Berry). Notably Skyla can occasionally waste a turn with FeatherDance.

Skarmory comes out and is cleanly 2HKOed by Surf, doing no real damage to you. Recover can be helpful here. I swept twice but the fight will take a while, primarily due to Swoobat.

Drayden (50): Expert Belt. Jellicent outspeeds Druddigon as Crunch 2HKOs you. You set Hail turn 1, then spam Blizzard, which seems to leave Druddigon in red without Expert Belt: most depressingly, you can fail to KO it even with Expert Belt, and if this occurs a double KO is likely to happen. I rolled a crit next attempt so we move on to Flygon (you could Recover for more Hail chip). Flygon…Crunches you into oblivion.

However, Flygon only 3HKOs with its Crunch, and Expert Belt Blizzard OHKOS it without Hail up. Haxorus seems to 3HKO with Assurance and put you in red after Flygon as you put it in mid-yellow after Blizzard. Mediocre - just take Flygon.

Marlon (52): Leftovers. Jellicent’s Energy Ball outspeeds and knocks Carracosta to red as unboosted Crunch barely hits the 2HKO mark: this seems to be avoided with Leftovers.

Marlon’s Jellicent comes in and you should be around 2/3s HP. His Jellicent seems to do a third with Ominous Wind and unfortunately outspeeds you, which ended up killing me in two uses (I think you do a third with Shadow Ball).

Jellicent is ALSO mediocre for Wailord: Energy Ball doesn’t even 2HKO it pre-Amnesia - I missed killing it at +2 Special Defense with two more Energy Balls, though thankfully you outspeed it. Bounce at the very least doesn’t seem to 5HKO you with Leftovers on, but this is still so slow. I also had to revive Jellicent to test these in the same attempt, if it wasn’t obvious.

Colress (54): Leftovers. Bad. Magneton outspeeds (ugh) and 2HKOs with Volt Switch as it goes to Klingklang, who is 3HKOed by Surf as it 3HKOs with Thunderbolt, though it seems to waste a lot of turns using Shift Gear, my attempt had me roll the 10% paralysis like twice in the same attempt. Jellicent is faster than Magnezone, but it paralyzes you with Thunder Wave while 2HKOing with Discharge (Surf 3HKOs).

Jellicent outspeeds Metang before Agility, but it doesn’t even 2HKO Metang with Surf. I will say that again, Jellicent’s Surf is so weaksauce it cannot 2HKO Metang (though it looks close to rolls). Admittedly, Zen Headbutt roughly 4HKOs so you should be fine, but ugh. Beeheeyem is the only thing Jellicent is genuinely good for, as you outspeed and 2HKO with Shadow Ball even if it goes for Calm Mind turn 1. Probably beating Metang and Beeheeyem.

Ghetsis (54): Leftovers. Jellicent and Cofagrigus 2HKO each other with Shadow Ball. Jellicent outspeeds Eelektross and 3HKOs with Surf but Thunderbolt and Crunch 2HKO you. Not testing Hydreigon as I know I won’t OHKO it. Most depressingly, Seismitoad can actually live Energy Ball in mid-red, though I think a boosting item like Expert Belt would circumvent this (Seismitoad outspeeds and 3HKOs with Earthquake.)

Toxicroak’s Sucker Punch barely misses the 2HKO on Jellicent as you OHKO with Psychic. Drapion’s Night Slash just barely 2HKOs Jellicent as Surf 3HKOs Drapion. Pretty much all of these required offscreen healing: you’re taking one Pokemon at best.

Marshal (59): Leftovers. Jellicent outspeeds and 3HKOs Throh with Psychic, though boosted Payback 2HKOs so it looks like you lose. I somehow outsped and OHKOed Conkeldurr with a crit Psychic. In another attempt, Psychic seems to 3HKO Conkeldurr even with Sitrus Berry, with +1 Stone Edge 2HKOing you, so you should comfortably 1v1 it.

You should definitely beat Sawk: since it is faster, unboosted Payback doesn’t 2HKO while Psychic picks up the 2HKO, but you will be at low HP after doing so. Psychic does 3/4 to Mienshao who you can heal on as it goes Bounce, this is a 3HKO which seems negated by Leftovers. Decent.

Grimsley (59): Expert Belt. You live Krookodile’s Crunch but leave it in red with Surf without Expert Belt: Expert Belt helps Surf pick up the KO. You outspeed Scrafty and do about third to it afterward with Surf before dying. Poor.

Shauntal (59): Expert Belt. Outspeeds and knocks Cofagrigus to red with Shadow Ball consistently who seems to burn you turn 1. Driftblim comes out and 3HKOs with Acrobatics as you also knock it to red with Shadow Ball (I healed). You live Chandelure’s Shadow Ball from red in full…only to knock it to red pre-Berry with Expert Belt Surf (ugh). Golurk is outsped and seemingly dies to Expert Belt Surf at least. Bleh, not very good.

Caitlin (59): Chesto Berry. Much to my disgust, you fail to 2HKO Musharna with STAB Shadow Ball. Sigilyph outspeeds and 3HKOs with Shadow Ball as you cleanly 2HKO with Shadow Ball. Gothitelle outspeeds and finishes you off with Shadow Ball. At full HP with Gothitelle at +1 Special Defense from Calm Mind, you 3HKO with Shadow Ball though this does not count Sitrus Berry. You barely outspeed and 2HKO Reuniclus with Shadow Ball as it 3HKOs with Energy Ball. Decent, but disappointing all the same: you’re probably taking one and a half Pokemon.

Iris (59): Expert Belt. Jellicent is a solid Hydreigon check, as Dragon Pulse 3HKOs while you 2HKO back with Ice Beam. Jellicent is also solid for Druddigon, you outspeed and Ice Beam 2HKOs as Rock Slide barely misses the 2HKO.

You outspeed and OHKO Iris’s Aggron with Surf. Lapras outspeeds and can Sing or 3HKO with Thunderbolt as you 3HKO with Energy Ball. Archeops’s Rock Slide 2HKOs as you OHKO with Surf. Haxorus’s unboosted Earthquake 3HKOs as you 2HKO with Ice Beam (EQ might 2HKO on high rolls though). Solid.

Drayden (50): No item. Have Gligar Swords Dance twice on Druddigon as Crunch…seems to 4HKO. Then outspeed and OHKO everything with Acrobatics. Borderline effortless sweep, well worth getting to level 50 for. I swept three times the exact same way, everything seems to want to Dragon Tail you.

Marlon (52): Eviolite. Don’t even bother. Bulldoze does some chip to Carracosta, but after Shell Smash (you outspeed), you knock it to red with another Bulldoze then +2 Scald just OHKOs you. Oddly, Gligar can live Jellicent’s Scald though.

Colress (54): Eviolite. Gligar outspeeds Magneton as Bulldoze does 2/3s while Magneton’s Flash Cannon 3HKOs (you may knock Magneton to Full Restore range on high rolls). Bulldoze knocks Magnezone to red as Magnezone’s Flash Cannon also 3HKOs: finish Magnezone off as Colress uses a Full Restore: you should be close to red HP at this point as Klinklang comes in: Full Restore as Giga Impact is a 3HKO.

Swords Dance during the recharge turn, then OHKO Klinklang with Sky Uppercut as it wastes a turn with Shift Gear (I crit in my first attempt, however a future attempt reveals you do 3/4s with +2 Sky Uppercut: you still live +1 Giga Impact comfortably if this happens). Gligar is now at level 55. Metang is outsped and OHKOed by +2 Bulldoze, and Beheeyem dies to +2 X-Scissor. I swept twice, though crits can screw you over here if you get bad luck (Gligar got crit out by Klinklang in attempt 3). Still pretty fantastic though.

Ghetsis (54): Pecha Berry. Setup to the max with Swords Dance, my first attempt went Toxic hit, Protect, Toxic miss, so I ended up at full via a lucky break but I assume you’ll be healing here. Gligar outspeeds and OHKOs both Cofagrigus and Sesmitoad with +6 Acrobatics. Gligar is 2HKOed by Hydreigon’s Dragon Rush, but as long as you don’t flinch you OHKO back with Acrobatics, growing to level 55 in the process. Eelektross should HOPEFULLY die to Sky Uppercut, but the amusing thing is, mine lived…but I somehow lived Acrobatics in red, with Mummy affecting Eelektross to remove Levitate, letting Bulldoze OHKO it on its Full Restore turn.

I Full Restored on Toxicroak as I was at like 4 HP and in fear of Sucker Punch, only for Toxicroak to 4HKO with Shadow Ball, Sucker Punching me to half HP and dying to +6 Bulldoze. I have just enough HP to take Drapion’s Night Slash and OHKO with Bulldoze.

As you can see, my matchup was quite variable from Ryota’s and didn’t hit the OHKO he did on Eelektross.

On my second attempt, Cofagrigus randomly Shadow Balled me (rough 2HKO) before Toxic so I had to heal, but it chose not to Toxic and Shadow Ball me again: I healed once more on a failed Protect and OHKOed. I didn’t flinch on Hydreigon, but instead healed on Eelektross this time, it decided to 3HKO with Flamethrower and Sky Uppercut proceeded to miss the OHKO twice in a row: proving that not even +6 is consistent enough here.

At low yellow HP (38), I successfully Acrobatics Toxicroak without Sucker Punch, but end up dying to Drapion as I purposely didn’t heal (though it was a crit, I think I would have died anyway). You kind of have to spam healing here, so I can’t call this reliable, but I can call it pretty good: I hate how you consistently miss the Eelektross OHKO but maybe max Return could solve that.

Marshal (59): No item. Gliscor 2HKOs Throh with unboosted Acrobatics (knocks it to red) as it tries to Rock Tomb. So Swords Dance and OHKO Throh (outspeeding even after a Rock Tomb). Conkeldurr comes out, you notably still outspeed and OHKO it at -1 Speed. Mienshao comes out and uses Bounce for minimal damage (like a 4 or 5HKO). Sawk comes out last and tries to flinch you with Rock Slide - I had to heal here due to two flinches, but +2 Bulldoze knocks it to Full Restore range, and two turns later you outspeed it. Very good.

Grimsley (59): No item. Not the easiest matchup in the world. Swords Dance to +2 and OHKO Liepard and Scrafty with Acrobatics, though you have to hope both uses of Liepard’s Night Slash or Krookodile’s Crunch don’t crit you (Krookodile dies to +2 Acrobatics) I couldn’t kill Bisharp with +2 Bulldoze (mid-red pre-Berry), which means you have to risk a miss and go Sky Uppercut. If Liepard crits you, it’s pretty likely you die to Krookodile’s Crunch (it outspeeds), but I lived on one HP exactly. Pretty great but not case closed great.

Shauntal (59): Rawst Berry. Despite Cofagrigus rolling a Special Defense drop with Shadow Ball turn 1 (3HKO) it chose to burn me turn two as I Swords Danced to +4. I OHKOed it with +4 Acrobatics, outsped and OHKOed Chandelure with +4 Bulldoze, outsped and OHKOed Driftblim with +4 Acrobatics, and outsped and OHKOed Golurk with +4 Acrobatics. I swept twice: you should be at 1/3 HP at the end of the fight.

Caitlin (59): Chesto Berry. Swords Dance twice, then outspeed and OHKO everything with Acrobatics. Flawless sweep, if Musharna uses Reflect you just get to +6 and stall it out with Full Heals / Chesto Berries (+6 Acrobatics under Reflect takes Musharna to red). Swept twice.

Iris (59): Came in on Druddigon after Hydreigon and Haxorus were defeated: you can easily Swords Dance twice as Flamethrower fails to 2HKO you and OHKO with +4 Acrobatics. Lapras comes out, is outsped and dies to +4 Acrobatics. Aggron comes out, is outsped and dies to +4 Bulldoze (crit, doubt it mattered). I healed up as Archeops sadly 2HKOs with Acrobatics: it derped with Rock Slide but naturally flinched because of course it did. Solid, should take half the team at worst without healing, you could maybe take Archeops with Sky Uppercut if you heal on Druddigon.

:bw/espeon:
Espeon was absolutely amazing. A friendship evo before level 21 Psybeam sucks, but I didn't deal with that because I had my save file custom made with it evolved beforehand. Even accounting for a friendship evolution, Espeon's power is so ridiculously high (it OHKOed Marshal's Throh, OHKOed Drayden at +1, among many other feats) it doesn't even matter all that much. I could see the arguments for B until the Pokemon League, where it basically swept Shauntal, Caitlin, and Marshal (though Sawk kills it) to cement Espeon's place in A. It's one of the absolute strongest and fastest things you can use early and I felt the power was comparable to Darmanitan and Excadrill, but it did struggle with a few Gym ace Pokemon so it doesn't eat everything alive. I had my doubts about A before I ran with it, but Espeon's power is definitely up there with the greats in spite of not being a good choice for either Colress or Ghetsis. Highly reccommend.

:bw/conkeldurr:
Conkeldurr was...weird. From Burgh through Clay, it honestly feels like an S-tier Pokemon, taking minimal damage from attacks while ending some sweeps in green health. However, after Clay, the cracks begin to show. Conkeldurr mostly flops against Skyla and requires literally everything going right (unfeasible) to pull off a Marlon sweep, though it does sweep Drayden fine with Flame Orb. If you can burn Conkeldurr before facing Colress, you should sweep with one or two healing items. You OHKO all of Ghetsis's Pokemon bar Cofagrigus with Silk Scarf Facade, but you aren't sweeping at all. This all sounds good, but...

The Pokemon League shows all of Conkeldurr's problems in abundance, where you should be burned going in barring Grimsley (Bulk Up there). It only sweeps Grimsley, and even that can go wrong if you get unlucky with crits (you need to not roll a crit on like, 3+ turns or so IIRC). Thanks to its 45 base Speed, Conkeldurr is only taking one Pokemon at best versus the other members bar Iris (beats Lapras and Aggron), partially due to burn cutting into its survivability and sluggish Speed.

Conkeldurr does have massive power with Guts Silk Scarf Facade (it OHKOs Colress's Beheeyem, almost OHKOs Marshal's Throh, and OHKOs Caitlin's Reuniclus) but power does not equate to "clean sweep." Conkeldurr's Facade has the power of an S tier but the efficiency of a B tier when combined with its Speed. Generally, 60 base Speed or higher is good enough for in-game, but below that and most mons run into issues, and this is definitely apparent with Conkeldurr when Special-oriented threats show up.

Conkeldurr is a borderline A / B Pokemon, showing strong A dominance until the lategame, but getting mostly shut out there and requiring a high-maintenance strategy lategame makes it more comfortable in B to me, at least for the moment. I could live with A but it's just not sweeper oriented later on, which these lists are primarily about. Not even a Colress sweep really changes my mind about this mon.

9/2/22 Edit: I think Conkeldurr is definitely A tier: the Pokemon League I think had left a bad taste in my mouth at the time and I hadn't looked at Conkeldurr on the whole very well. I left my original opinion here for archival purposes.

:bw/maractus:
Maractus...was actually okay. I'd recommend looking up at the logs even if they read less like quick summaries and more like attempts to justify a not-really-all-that-great Pokemon. But let's start with the positives. Maractus can sweep Elesa and Marlon and has good sweeping chances for both Clay and even Ghetsis. It can sweep Drayden with one healing item but requires extensive setup to do so, and this brings me to my biggest problem with Maractus. Setting up Sunny Day and two turns of Growth or more is simply too much setup, and it does this a lot lategame. Its Pokemon League performance is also absolute toilet, similar to how Ryota's Sunflora did. I think Maractus ultimately gets the rating of "more usable than the average Pokemon fan would think, but too complicated to actually recommend." I personally think Maractus is D tier, with maybe a tiny chance for C - it depends on how much you weigh everything past Ghetsis (who Maractus notably sweeps pretty reliably if it can dodge crits on two occasions).

In terms of miscellaneous tidbits, Maractus is also a pure Grass type with the typical barren movepool, but it is at least nice how it gets Sunny Day and SolarBeam via level-up (the latter is notable as TM22 is post-game). I time travelled a lot in this playthrough so I can't entirely speak for field performance, but I distinctly remember it being a rough road in the early levels due to almost everything around Maractus resisting Grass.

:bw/jellicent:
Jellicent sucks. Jellicent is way better on paper than it actually is in practice. Firstly, you have to either catch a level 5-15 Frillish and level it up after 5 badges, or wait until Undella Bay where you can grab a level 40 Frillish or even the fully evolved Jellicent on certain days of the week. I couldn't level on Audino due to time travel (I couldn't beat Cheren due to messed up event flags), so I had to settle for wild Watchog and Tranquill (former can't touch you on Route 6 aside from Confuse Ray), and it still took some time. I will assume the average player can hunt Audino fine and am not taking off points for fighting wilds because I was impatient, but I am taking off points for leveling a roughly level 10 Pokemon when the opposition is in the mid-30s, Audino or not. Even if you are immune to Audino, Attract is still a thing and has a 50% chance to screw you over.

If you get it early, Jellicent's high points are the slowest Skyla sweep in the known universe (mine was male so I had to deal with Attract) and...a decent Iris performance. Elsewhere, Jellicent is painfully bad. It wants to be a Special wall with good HP, but that doesn't work when everyone and their mother lategame has its weaknesses (Crunch in particular is EVERYWHERE lategame). It can't be a bulky attacker because 85 Special Attack simply doesn't KO anything (Seismitoad lives your Energy Ball unless you presumably run Expert Belt, it needs a boosting item to 2HKO Colress's Metang with Surf, and it generally 3HKOs elsewhere, for examples). It's generally only beating one thing per fight - it's fast enough to outpace some slower mons but it lacks the firepower to be effective. I used Water Absorb over Cursed Body and the former means literally nothing for Marlon anyway who is still annoying with coverage. It does nothing of note against Gyms 7-8, Colress and Ghetsis, or most of the Pokemon League. Easy E tier, Frillish / Jellicent were way worse than I remembered.

:bw/gligar:
Gligar I feel leans more toward C tier than it does a B tier. While it sweeps most things lategame very easily with the exception of Marlon and debatably Ghetsis (+6 Sky Uppercut consistently left my Eelektross alive, unlike Ryota), it's also one of the absolute latest things you can use, coming right before Opelucid City on Route 11, and you'll need to grind it a solid ten levels so it can get Swords Dance at level 50 for Drayden. I didn't do this because I didn't have time for that and simply plopped it in my team at level 50, but I still think it is worth noting.

Gliscor has a fantastic Pokemon League performance, with only Grimsley and Iris being the matchups there where it is not completely dominant (Grimsley critting screws Gliscor over, it takes three mons against Iris). I think it is comparable to Cobalion where it performs like a B, but the late availability makes it easier to justify in C (in retrospect...I know I said B for Cobalion originally up above, I think my mind has changed on it with time).
Thanks for reading.
 
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late night run posting, this time with Oshawott, Koffing, Flareon, Deerling, and Cobalion

Cheren

Oshawott (14): Water Gun 2hkos Patrat, 3hkos Lillipup. You outspeed Patrat as it Works Up; Lillipup 3hkos with +1 Tackle after Oran Berry. Good mu.

Roxie

Both 17

Dewott: Razor Shell 3hkos Koffing and Whirlipede. If you get a Defense drop, both can be 2hkod from full, but you will 3hko otherwise. Hold Oran Berry to help recover off Venoshock damage. Good mu.

Koffing: Tackle is a 6hko on Koffing and Whirlipede. While Roxie’s Pokemon will kill you as efficiently as you kill them, the fact that she will use a potion means you will have to as well, even with Oran Berry, meaning it’s a slow slugfest that requires a fair bit of healing to full sweep. Bad mu.

Burgh

Dewott (23): Eviolite. Fury Cutter 3hkos Swadloon, Razor Shell 2hkos Dwebble. It is possible for Fury Cutter to get disrupted, either through Razor Leaf crits, Swadloon using Protect, or even just Fury Cutter’s slight inaccuracy, but I never experienced Swadloon using Protect, and Razor Leaf 3hkos normally. Dwebble does jack shit to you so it’s pretty safe. Good mu.

Koffing (22): Leftovers. Venoshock 2hkos Swadloon, poison-boosted Venoshock 2hkos Dwebble and ohkos Leavanny (3hkos Leav after berry otherwise). Your high bulk and Leftovers recovery means you take little from Burgh’s attacks, to the point where a Poison Gas miss or two is recoverable. Great mu.

Elesa

Flareon 28, rest 29

Dewott: Razor Shell 2hkos Emolga, 3hkos Flaffy. If you forego Eviolite, Emolga’s Volt Switch will knock you into low yellow, enabling you to 2hko Flaffy with Torrent Razor Shell. However, Emolga outspeeds and will finish you off with Volt Switch after. Poor mu.

Koffing: Venoshock 3hkos everything. Even Flaffy outspeeds you so you can’t Poison Gas into Venoshock for real damage. With Eviolite, Volt Switch 3hkos so they basically just Volt on you until you die pathetically. Bad mu.

Flareon: +1 Dig ohkos Flaffy and Zebstrika, Fire Fang ohkos Emolga. Emolga’s Volt Switch 4hkos so it’s easy to set up on. Great mu.

Clay

Dewott (32): Eviolite. Razor Shell ohkos Krokorok, 2hkos Sandslash, 2hkos Excadrill. You speed tie Krok and are outsped by the rest, but Eviolite gives you enough bulk to withstand their attacks. Great mu.

Weezing (35): Leftovers. Poison-boosted Venoshock 2hkos Krok and Slash. You are outsped by both and their propensity to drop your Defense means you likely won’t be beating both in succession. Weezing can only hit Excadrill with Self-Destruct, which doesn’t even bring it to berry. Poor mu.

Flareon (31): You beat literally nothing, even after you dodge Intimidate Fire Fang is a 2hko on Krok while it 2hkos back with Bulldoze. Slash walls you and Exca outspeeds and ohkos. Terrible mu.

Sawsbuck (34): Expert Belt. +1 Seed Bomb ohkos Krok and Slash, Jump Kick ohkos Exca. You don't necessarily have to Intimidate sack for this fight, as you can Work Up to +0, take the Crunch or Torment from Krok, kill it, and set up the +1 on Slash no trouble. In my test it did Bulldoze, however you live any one hit from Exca so, provided it doesn’t Rock Slide flinch you, you should easily kill it with Jump Kick. If you don’t wanna take the risk, sacking is risk-free. Great mu.

Skyla

Flareon 38, rest 39

Samurott: MW Surf ohkos Swoobat, brings Skarm to Sturdy. Swanna clicks Featherdance, ensuring it walls you. In my experience, Swoobat always Heart Stamps, so no Attract shenanigans. Good mu.

Weezing: Sludge Bomb 2hkos Swoobat, 3hkos Swanna after berry. Heart Stamp 4hkos and AIr Slash 3hkos, so Swanna will beat you (maybe you can win with a lucky poison) and Swoobat will require multiple flinches to beat you. Skarmory walls you. Poor mu.

Flareon: Swoobat outspeeds and 3hkos you with Acrobatics while +1 Lava Plume into QA fails to ko without a burn. Skarm is Lava Plume food and Swanna beats you out with Featherdance. Even if you do beat Swoobat, you will be too low to beat Skarmory after. Poor mu.

Sawsbuck: Swoobat outspeed and 2hkos with Acrobatics, so no dice there. Swanna is outsped and 2hkod by Horn Leech into Take Down; whenever I went for Take Down first, it opted to Featherdance my attack away, but using Horn Leech first causes Swanna to Air Slash for a 2hko instead (I guess it reminds her you’re a Grass type?). Fortunately, recoil comes nowhere close to killing you after an Air Slash. Skarm walls you. Poor mu.

Drayden

Weezing and Sawsbuck are 48, rest 47

Samurott: EBelt Blizzard is a roll on Druddigon, ohkos the rest. Drud 4hkos you with any move, and Flygon 3hkos with EP, so you have a little leeway to miss with Blizzard, but if you miss like more than once you’ll require healing. Hail is an option to improve Blizzard’s accuracy but residual damage is a concern. Good.

Weezing: Sludge Bomb 3hkos Drud and Haxorus, Shadow Ball 4hkos Flygon. Will-o-Wisp helps to shut down Drayden’s physical attacks and allow you to tank fairly solidly combined with Leftovers, but any sweep here is too slow to actually be good. Decent.

Flareon: Outspeed and 2hko Drud with +1 SS Return, while it 3hkos in turn. Gon revenge kills you as Quick Attack 4hkos. Poor mu.

Sawsbuck: Outspeed and ohko everything with +2 SS Return. Out of multiple set up attempts Drud used Revenge a total of once, and it + Slash failed to ko Buck, so setting up is pretty safe. Great mu.

Cobalion: Leftovers. Outspeed and ohko everything with +4 Sacred Sword. I don’t have SD for this fight but Druddigon, for some reason, likes to click Crunch, indirectly boosting your Attack via Justified, so it’s not actually that much harder to set up with; Revenge hardly chunks you anyways. Great mu.

Marlon

Weezing and Sawsbuck 50, rest 49

Samurott: Surf 2hkos Carracosta, Megahorn 3hkos Wailord. Between the miss chance and Bounce shenanigans Wailord isn’t easy but still doable. Jellicent walls you entirely. Decent.

Weezing: Thunder brings Costa to Sturdy, 2hkos Wailord, 3hkos Jelli. Interestingly, Costa Smacks Down turn 1, so if you Sludge Bomb into Thunder and hit, you can beat it with little damage taken. If you miss, Costa will Shell Smash and do a ton with +2 Scald next turn. If you miss against Wailord, Amnesia pretty much says GG, although Explosion does take it to red, so you can chip it down into booming range if you don’t mind a double down. Decent.

Flareon: lol

Sawsbuck: Return into Horn Leech beats Costa, +1 Horn Leech ohkos the rest. Costa Shell Smashes turn 1 only to be outsped right after. Wailord derps with Amnesia so you get a free setup. Fantastic mu.

Cobalion: Rawst Berry. Set up on Costa and sweep. +2 Sacred Sword brings Costa to Sturdy and 2hkos Wailord. Costa Shell Smashes up and brings you to low yellow with +2 Scald, so Wailord can finish you off. Best bet is to roll for Iron Head flinch on Costa so you can actually beat Wailord. Decent.


Colress

Weezing and Buck 52, rest 53

Samurott: Cheri Berry. Surf 2hkos Magnets, Klinklang, and Metang, Megahorn ohkos Beheeyem. With Cheri Berry you can take out either Magneton or Magnezone, as they prioritize paralyzing you and are thus easily 2hko’d, but you cannot kill both. I chose to kill Magneton, and dodge Zone, with Metang coming out next, who Agilitys up and Zen Headbutts for maybe a fifth of your health. Klang comes in, and can either 2hko with TBolt, or go for Shift Gear into Giga Impact (the former happens more often); either way you can Surf into Aqua Jet for a ko. Finally Beheeyem is outsped and Megahorned. It takes some minor luck (not getting flinched to death, hitting Megahorn) but otherwise you take 4 out of 5 mons in succession, and beat all of them 1v1. Great mu

Weezing: Leftovers. Fire Blast 2hkos the steels. Since you’re slower than both Mags, they will just click attacks; fortunately, you can eat a Volt Switch into Discharge, so you actually take down Magnezone. You can also beat Klinklang and Metang (the latter will require a burn). Avoid Beheeyem. Decent.

Flareon: Lava PLume 2hkos Mags (does not bring them to Sturdy), Fire Blast ohkos Klang and Metang. Shadow Ball 3hkos Beheeyem before Calm Mind. You can beat both Mags but it will require a few Paralyz Heals (also watch for Explosion). Missing Fire Blast is also risky as Metang and Klang can both deal heavy damage with Rock Slide / Giga Impact. Beheeyem walls you. Good mu.

Sawsbuck: Cheri Berry. Jump Kick 2hkos the Mags, +1 Jump Kick 3hkos Metang, 2hkos Klang. Return 2hkos Beheeyem. Like before, you’re limited to taking one Mag without using Paralyz Heals. Given you have to setup on either Metang or Klang, either can end up dealing significant damage to you, and the combination of both will kill you. Beheeyem also 2hkos with Psychic, so you take pretty big damage from everything (except for the Mag you bait into paralyzing you). Decent.

Cobalion: Sacred Sword 2hkos Mags, +4 Sacred Sword / Iron Head ohkos the rest. +4 is necessary to ohko Beheeyem and Metang. Dodge Zone and set up on Metang / Klang, they can hardly touch you. Great mu.


Ghetsis

Weezing and Buck are 53, rest 54

Samurott: MW Surf 2hkos everything except for Hydreigon, who is ohkod by Megahorn (albeit, after two rounds of Life Orb recoil). Generally, you should be able to beat at least 2 things in succession (for me it was Seismitoad + Drapion) before needing a heal, but you can 1v1 everything here. Decent.

Weezing: 1v1 you can wall Drap and Toxicroak with burn and 3hko them with Fire Blast. Everything else does too much damage / resists your moves. Poor mu.

Flareon: Not even gonna attempt sweeping. Charcoal Fire Blast 2hkos Cofag, Eelektross, and Kroak. Cofag can stall PP and poison chip, so not advisable to take. You can only beat 2 in succession anyways cuz of Flareon’s low speed. Poor mu.

Sawsbuck: Pecha Berry. Set up to +5 on Cofag and sweep (+5 is necessary to ohko Cofag with Horn Leech). Fortunately you outspeed and ohko everything with Return / Leech. Good mu, points deducted for needing a ton of boosting.

Cobalion: +4Iron Head ohkos Kroak and 2hkos Cofag, Sacred Sword ohkos the rest. Cofag 4hkos with Psychic, and if it constantly spams it can bring you low, but otherwise doesn’t come close to koing you, especially with Leftovers. Fantastic mu.


Shauntal

All 58

Samurott: MW Surf ohkos Golurk and Chandelure, 2hkos Cofagrigus. Ice Beam into Aqua Jet kos Driflbim. From lead you can take Cofag into Blim, but the combo of Shadow Ball from Cofag, TBolt from Blim, and Aftermath recoil will kill you. Notably you outspeed Golurk to kill it with no damage taken, and while Chandelure outspeeds you, you eat an Energy Ball from full and kill it in return. 1v1, you kill everything. Good.

Weezing: Leftovers. Shadow Ball is a roll to 2hko Cofag, 3hkos Blim and Golurk. You outspeed both Cofag and Golurk; the former just clicks Wisp and the latter spams Shadow Punch. WIth Full Restore, Golurk will beat Weezing unless you burn it. Drifblim outspeeds and 2hkos with Psychic, while Chandelure will ohko you outright with Fire Blast. Decent mu.

Flareon: Spell Tag Shadow Ball 2hkos everything. Sweeping is impossible as Golurk eats +1 Shadow Ball, and getting to +2 will cause you to take too much damage so you get finished off by Blim or Chandy. 1v1 you only beat Cofag and Blim. Decent.

Sawsbuck: Rawst Berry. You need at least +5 to cleanly ohko everything with Horn Leech / Wild Charge, which is an absurd amount of boosts to get with just Work Up, meaning you will most definitely need to heal at least once and might have to cure burn multiple times. At least then, you can outspeed and ohko everything, but this is a horribly inefficient sweep, and I do not count it towards its performance in this mu. 1v1, you only beat Golurk, as Wild Charge 2hkos Blim and it kos you in return with Acrobatics. Poor mu.

Cobalion: Sweeping here is impossible as Chandelure survives even a +6 Iron Head and kos you back. You can take on Cofag by boosting up but everything else walls you. Poor mu.


Grimsley

Flareon 59, rest the same

Samurott: MW Surf ohkos Liepard and Krookodile, 2hkos Scrafty and Bisharp. Liepard only sometimes Attracts so you can take it out for a little chip. Krook comes next and knocks you to Torrent as you ohko it. Scrafty comes in next, and lives Torrent Surf to ko you; switch out and come at against Bisharp, who you outspeed and ohko with Torrent-boosted Surf. In another attempt, Liepard Attracted and I broke through turn 1, killing it with only Fake Out chip taken. This allowed me to beat Scrafty as it Crunch’d me to Torrent, and thus full sweep, so there are multiple situations in which this sweep is possible. 1v1 you beat everything. Good mu.

Weezing: Sludge Bomb 2hkos Liepard, 4hkos Scrafty. Flamethrower 2hkos Bisharp and 4hkos Krook. From lead, the damage you take from Liepard makes sure that Krook beats you, even with burn. 1v1 you beat everything. Decent.

Flareon: Fire Blast ohkos Liepard, 2hkos Scrafty. Flamethrower ohkos Bisharp. You can Fire Blast into Flamethrower to more reliably beat Scrafty. Liepard puts you in yellow with Fake Out + Night Slash, and Scrafy almost kills you with Rock Tomb + Crunch, so you are limited to beating one of the two + Bisharp. Avoid Krook. Decent.

Sawsbuck: Jump Kick ohkos Liepard and Bisharp, 2hkos Scrafty; Horn Leech ohkos Krook (2hkos at -1). A full sweep here is practically impossible, but you at least get to Krook at the end, as Scrafty either Rock Tomb, forcing you to be put in red by Bisharp’s X-Scissor, or Brick Breaks you to red itself. You beat everything 1v1. Good mu.

Cobalion: After a Swords Dance and Intimidate drop, EBelt Sacred Sword ohkos everything. Pretty easy since you outspeed everything and can’t get Attracted by Liepard. Fantastic mu.


Caitlin

Flar and Coba 59, rest 58

Samurott: Chesto Berry. Megahorn 2hkos Musharna, Gothitelle, and Reuniclus; Ice Beam 2hkos Sigilyph. While both Goth and Reuni have moves to hit Samu super-effectively, Goth chooses to Calm Mind instead, meaning Samu only takes the Energy Ball from Reuni; unfortunately, this is still enough to be taken out by Sigi. Good mu.

Weezing: You can beat Musharna with Shadow Ball by virtue of it being impossible to be hit by Dream Eater. Otherwise you lose to everything. Poor mu.

Flareon: +4 Shadow Ball ohkos everything. +4 is required to ohko Musharna (probably Reuni too). You comfortably eat a Psychic from SIgi. Great mu.

Sawsbuck: +4 Return ohkos everything. You technically only need +3 but at that point why not just boost. You outspeed Sigi so no damage taken. Great mu.

Cobalion: Outspeed and ohko everything with +4 X-Scissor. Fantastic mu.


Marshall

Weezing and Buck 58, rest 59

Samurott: MW Surf 2hkos everything. Throh Bulldozes you but is outsped and ko’d. Mienshao comes in next and HJKs you into Torrent range, and is thus ohko’d. With the Speed drop you’re outsped by Conkeldurr and ko’d, but if you sack something you can come back in and ohko with Torrent Surf, at which point Sawk will revenge kill you no matter what. 1v1 you beat everything. Decent.

Weezing: Sludge Bomb 2hkos Shao and Sawk, 4hkos Throh and Conk (the latter after berry). While you technically wall everything, the time it takes to kill things means you take too much damage over time to sweep; it doesn’t help that half of Marshall’s team has Guts, thus negating your ability to burn things. 1v1 you beat everything. Good mu.

Flareon: You can 2hko Throh with Fire Blast (you outspeed even after Bulldoze) but everything else beats you by manner of Rock coverage / raw power (HJK from Shao ohkos you…). Poor mu.

Sawsbuck: No.

Cobalion: You need +6 to reliably ko Throh with Sacred Sword. Bad.


Iris


Samurott (60): With Expert Belt, you can 1v1 everything except Lapras. I was able to beat Druddigon, Aggron, and Archeops in succession (Aqua Jetting Arch is important to activate Defeatist and minimize damage taken).

Weezing (58): You can wall certain physical attackers thanks to Wisp but take too long to kill things and hard lose to every special attacker. Poor mu.

Flareon (59): No.

Sawsbuck (58): Sweeping here is impossible. 1v1 you can take Hydra, Lapras, and Aggron, but can only take Aggron + one other in succession. Poor mu.

Cobalion (59): Setting up is unfortunately impossible as Hydreigon 2hkos with Flamethrower and no other target provides you a truly safe boost, especially when you consider you need +4 to ohko neutral targets like Drud. 1v1 you beat Hydra, Lapras, Aggron, and Archeops, tho you only beat Aggron + 1 other in succession. Decent.

And now for noms:

:Oshawott: - While never outright amazing, Oshawott is a generally solid team member throughout your journey. The only really bad mu I had with it was against Elesa; everywhere else is usually did decently at worst, and often fairly well (including a, pretty great Colress mu, at least for what you might expect from it). Even at E4, its propensity to 2hko with MW Surf was quite impressive and led to a overall good League performance. That said, my Oshawott had a particularly high Special Attack stat (23 ivs and a boosting nature), which I didn't think would matter in the grand scheme of things, as I believed Samu's weaknesses, like its low Speed, would compensate for it; given the fact that multiple 2hkos seemed rather close, I wonder if I was being naive. Based off my results, I think I'd have to side with Osha staying in A, but I wanna see other tests to be sure.

:Koffing: - Pretty bad. Its only explicitly great mu was at Burgh, and from there it's a one-way express ticket to mediocrity. It's a pretty sad story; during midgame plenty of what could otherwise be good mus are robbed cuz Weezing lacks the coverage it needs to perform at that point, and at the endgame, once Weezing has all that wonderful coverage, its power is too weak to do consistent damage, and its theoretically best coverage, Flamethrower and TBolt, is most superfluous anyways. Even at Marshall, which is where Weezing arguably should perform the best late-game, it simply just did ok, mostly cuz Guts prevents those sweet sweet burns. That said, it never felt like an active detriment to bring along, and being able to sit on a physical attacker and burn it can be useful in 1v1 situations, so I think D is fine.

:Flareon: - Very disappointing. Flareon is simply too slow and too physically frail to be consistent, and having to rely on its weaker Special Attakc for basically all its damage later in the game makes it feel very wimpy. Even with Work Ups and boosting items, sometimes it just barely missed the ohko it needed and suffered hard for it (Shauntal's Golurk is a great example of this). Similar to Koffing, it excels in one or two particular mus, kinda sucks everywhere else, but isn't complete dead-weight, so I'll nominate it for D as well

:Deerling: - Deerling comes in and nabs a few successful sweeps, particularly smashing Clay and Marlon (as any good Grass type should), but is overall inconsistent. This is most pronounced at lategame, where its somewhat modest stats really begin to show, and you start missing out on key damage rolls. That said, it still has an alright League performance, and is generally competent, so I am comfortable with it in C.

:Cobalion: - Pretty similar to Virizion overall with some minor differences based on typing and inverted defensive stats. I rated Viriz B, and I see no reason not to rank Cobalion B as well.

Finally, I'd like to give a proper thank you to Its_A_Random for giving his blessing to the thread, it means a lot coming from a former thread owner. I hope I'm doing a good job thus far, and hopefully I will do so in the future :psyglad:
 

Ryota Mitarai

Shrektimus Prime
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Back with two more runs. As always, missing matchup = bad/didn't try

The first one is Snivy / Umbreon / Sandshrew / Liepard (not Purrloin) / Pansear / Joltik. I will also post nominations for the other monkeys, as I have used them in past preliminary runs

Snivy -> C

Serperior

Cheren(14): Oran Berry. Growth thrice and 2HKO everything with Vine Whip. +2 Tackle from Patrat is only a 3HKO and Oran Berry turns it into a 4HKO anyways. Lillipup is slower and goes for Work Up, which dooms it to defeat. +2 Vine Whip is a 2HKO on rolls on Lillipup. Good matchup

Roxie(18): Pecha Berry. You need four Growths and to heal Servine to full. Leaf Tornado OHKOes Koffing and Return 2HKOes Whirlipede. Meh matchup

Burgh(24): Eviolite. Growth twice on Swadloon (which deals no damage with Struggle Bug or spams String Shot) and 2HKO it with Return. Get to +1 in Special Attack and +3 in Attack against Dwebble and 2HKO it with Mega Drain (while recovering HP and taking no damage from Dwebble). Leavanny takes you out with four-five Struggle Bugs. Return, however, is a 2HKO (3HKO with berry) at +3 and his healing does not really change the outcome of the matchup. Good matchup, though it feels a bit convoluted

Elesa(30): Eviolite. Growth twice on Emolga, which deals no damage to you. Zebstrika comes in on the Volt Switch, which you KO with two Mega Drains and one Return. Then you spam Return on the rest for 2HKOs. Zebstrika's Flame Charge is the only move that even threatens you and it's something like 3-4HKO without accounting for healing from Mega Drain. Good matchup

Clay(33): Eviolite. Growth twice on Krokorok, which is slower and goes for Bulldoze and then Crunch/Torment. OHKO it wth Mega Drain. Switch up between Growth and Mega Drain against Sandslash till it's dead. Excadrill is 2HKOed by Leaf Blade (even through berry), however, Defense drops and how much HP you face it at determine the outcome here. Decent matchup

Drayden(50): Miracle Seed. Set up sun and use Growth twice. Druddigon spams Crunch and leaves you in red. Hit it with Giga Drain, leaving it at red HP and saving you from a KO. Then spam Giga Drain till it's dead. Flygon is outsped and OHKOed by Giga Drain. Return 2HKOes Haxorus, which goes for Dragon Tail, but fails to even 2HKO you from full. Good matchup

Marlon(53): Miracle Seed. Get to +2 with Growth and spam Giga Drain, which triggers Sturdy / OHKOes. Easy sweep

Ghetsis(54/55): Pecha Berry. Set up sun and Growth to the max. Coffin is likely to give you free turns to do that safely. Throw in a Full Restore then outspeed and OHKO everything with Giga Drain/Return. Good matchup

Shauntal(59): Rawst Berry. Unfortunately, Chandelure comes in and is 2HKOed (3HKO with berry) by +6 Giga Drain. Bad matchup

Grimsley: Miracle Seed. Set up sun and Growth twice (you should be able to set up safely) while outspeeding. OHKO Liepard with Return. Scrafty comes in and dies to Overgrow-boosted Giga Drain. Bisharp comes in; you normally 3HKO it with Giga Drain due to berry, but Bisharp, fortunately, puts you in Overgrow range, allowing you to finsh it off despite Bisharp being in green. Krook is then outsped and OHKOed. Decent matchup

Caitlin: Chesto Berry. Sun, Growth, Growth, then one Giga Drain, then Full Restore. From then on, spam Giga Drain (and Return on Sigilyph), which nets you a safe sweep. Decent

Marshal: Leftovers. Set up sun and Growth to the max. With Leftovers, Throh has no way to kill you (unless it spams Storm Throw, but it never does that). Throh needs three Speed drops to start outspeeding you. At +6, Giga Drain OHKOes everything and recovers enough HP that you won't fear an OHKO unless you get critted. Good matchup


Snivy was pretty good as a whole, but you can tell from its very first matchup that it's a Growth addict. I went with a Growth / Sunny Day set for this run and I think it might be actually better than Coil. Anyways, Snivy can sweep Cheren, Burgh, Elesa, Drayden, Marlon, Ghetsis, and the E4 bar Shauntal. It also performs decently against Clay. If you ignore the inefficiency of setting up like crazy, this thing is probably B-tier or higher, but yes, it requires tons of setup, which is my main gripe.

Eevee (Umbreon) -> C / D
Umbreon

Burgh(24): Leftovers. Work Up twice and spam Bite. Their attacks deal incredibly low damage, with Leavanny 6HKOing with Razor Leaf, not accounting for Leftovers. Great matchup

Elesa(30): Leftovers. Two Work Ups and spam Bite / Dig. Nothing here deals any serious damage to you. Good matchup

Clay(33): Leftovers. Work Up twice (you outspeed) and alternate between Return/Dig and Work Up. Swich out against Sandslash to avoid Crush Claw drops. Umbreon can take on Excadrill comfortably, as long as it's got enough HP; +1 Dig is a 2HKO on Excadrill, while it 4HKOes with most of its moves in return. Decent matchup

Skyla(40): Leftovers. Work Up once as Swoobat spams Acrobatics, leaving just above half HP. Bite 2HKOes Swoobat. Swanna is 3HKOed by Snarl (even with berry) and the SpA drops mean that crits / flinches are Umbreon's only issue. Umbreon and Skarm do not harm each other at all, so best to leave it to something else. Decent

Drayden(50): Leftovers. +3 Bite 2HKOes eveything. Druddigon is the biggest threat, as boosted Revenge can hurt Umbreon hard. The rest mostly derp with Dragon Tail, which you heal off in two-three turns. Decent matchup, I guess

Marlon(53): Leftovers. Work Up once and spam Snarl. This 2HKOes Carracosta and, with a crit, Wailord (Return can help you kill it faster). +1 Bite is a 2HKO on Jellicent, while +1 Snarl is a 3HKO. You can hit it a few times with Snarl and set up another Work Up if burned / cannot use Bite for w/e reason. Decent matchup

Colress(54): Leftovers. When Zone comes in, hit it with a Snarl or two (one is enough) and set up three Work Ups, beat Magnezone (throw a Full Restore before KOing Zone). Bite + Dig KO Klinklang, Bite OHKOes Beheeyem, and Dig KOes the rest. Decent matchup, though a bit slow

Ghetsis(54/55): Leftovers. Coffin poisons you, but Synchronizes activates. I set up four Work Ups before needing to heal. OHKO Coffin with Bite and Drapion with Dig, though Drapion is faster and hits you with X-Scissor. Seismitoad comes in, which lives a Bite and outspeeds and hits you with two Muddy Waters. Chances are that your accuracy is dropped, making this matchup shaky from then onwards (and I didn't bother further due too much bad luck). Meh matchup

Shauntal(59): Leftovers. Work Up three times as Coffin fails to threaten you in any way (at best throw a Full Restore if you end up burned, though you will also burn it). +3 Bite OHKOes Coffin after a turn of burn. Golurk is outsped and OHKOed by Bite. Chandelure is 2HKOed by both Snarl and Bite, but Snarl is preferred to reduce its Special Attack. After you beat it, you will be at low yellow against Drifblim. It goes for TBolt, which only puts you in red and dies to Bite (but so does Umbreon). Decent matchup

Grimsley: Leftovers. It can use Liepard as a setup bait, as Liepard does nothing to it. However, you need to set up to the max to get some OHKOs consistently. In addition, Krookodile is likely finishing you off, though it does come out last. Okay-ish matchup

Caitlin: Leftovers. Set up to +4 while Musharna fails to threaten you at all. OHKO everything with Bite, assuming no Reflect. Fairly good


Nomination depends on whether we penalize abusing the clock to get infinite massages; if it's not penalized, it's C-tier, otherwise, D-tier. Anywyas, this is probably Umbreon's best performance I've ever seen out of it. Assuming you evolve it before Burgh, you can handily sweep him, Elesa, and some other fights thanks to incredible bulk, Work Up, and Leftovers. Unfortunately, it is very slow at killing things, as it doesn't get any powerful moves for free (I avoid using non-Red Shard tutors whether possible) and its offenses are rather low. So Umbreon can sweep many fights, but willl be staying there for a while due to needing an absurd amount of setup to start killing things.

Sandshrew -> C
Sandslash

Elesa(30): Sandslash: Soft Sand. Strength on Emolga and Magnitude on the rest. The only way to lose here is to get full para like 10 times or so. Great matchup

Clay(33): Soft Sand. Dig 2HKOes Krokorok. Switch out against Sandslash. Then OHKO Excadrill on rolls with Dig. Decent matchup

Skyla(40): Hard Stone. OHKOes Swoobat with Rock Slide and then dies to Swanna. Meh matchup

Drayden(50): Silk Scarf. SD twice on Druddigon, which doesn't threaten you much. OHKO it with EQ. Flygon is faster and puts you in red with Earth Power, but dies to Strength. Haxorus seems to go for Dragon Tail and dies to EQ. Good mathcup, I guess?

Colress(54): Soft Sand. Spam Bulldoze on Magneton, which 2HKOes with Flash Cannon. Heal Sandslash offscreen. Bring it back againt Metang (preferably) or Klinklang. Set up a SD and OHKO Metang. Pop Klinklang's balloon and KO it with EQ. Beheeyem is outsped and also OHKOed by EQ. Decent matchup

Ghetsis(54): Pecha Berry. Unfortunately, Seismitoad is faster and comes after Coffin. If it doesn't KO you with Muddy Water, Drapion will certainly finish you off, as it's also faster

Shauntal(59): Rawst Berry. +4 EQ OHKOes Coffin, but then Chandelure comes in and finishes you off. Bad matchup

Grimsley: Soft Sand. SD once and OHKO Liepard with EQ. Then OHKO Krookodile with EQ as it also hits you with EQ. Heal against Scrafty, Bulldoze, then EQ to KO. Bisharp fails to KO you, so you kill it in return. Pretty good

Caitlin: Chesto Berry. SD twice, OHKO Musharna. Sigilyph puts you in red with Ice Beam, but dies to Rock Slide. Outspee and OHKO the rest with EQ. Great matchup


Mostly-decent as a whole. It's not the best thing in the world, but it can be useful at times. It turns in some good/decent performances against Elesa, Clay, Colress, Grimsley, and Caitlin. I think this is closer to C-tier than it is to D-tier, but it is certainly lacking in some good matchups later on, mainly due to stats that aren't really keeping up with the late-game.

Liepard -> D
Liepard

Elesa(30): Blackglasses. Fake Out then Hone Claws once, then spam Payback. This 2HKOes Flaaffy, OHKOes Emolga on rolls, and OHKOes Zebstrika. Flaaffy derps and tries to Thunder Wave you, but Limber protects you. Zebstrika is faster, but if you didn't take damage from Flaaffy, you will live its attack and then kill it with boosted Payback. Decent matchup

Clay(33): Liepard: Expert Belt. It beats only Krokorok; Hone Claws then outspeed at -1 and OHKO with Seed Bomb. Sandslash is 2HKOed, but goes for Bulldoze, then outspeeds you and finishes you off. Meh matchup

Skyla(40): Blackglasses. OHKOes Swoobat with Payback while outspeeding. Swanna Featherdances you and, unless you know Snarl (I don't have room for it), are pretty much walled by it. Meh matchup

Drayden(50): Blackglasses. +2 Dark Pulse and +1 Night Slash fail to OHKO Druddigon, which 2HKOes with Revenge. Bad matchup

Marlon(53): Expert Belt. Beats Carracosta. If it has not taken damage, it can either beat Wailord by spamming Seed Bomb or Jellicent by OHKOing with +1 Night Slash, but it cannot beat both, unless Wailord goes for Amnesia turn one and doesn't burn you with Scald. Okay-ish matchup

Colress(54): unfortunately, Limber here doesn't derp the AI, as the magnets can 2HKO you easily, so no funny zebra moment here.

Ghetsis(54): Silk Scarf. You can Taunt Coffin continuously and set up. However, you need to get to +5 to OHKO Hydreigon. Anyways, once you are at +5 and not poisoned, outspeed and OHKO everything with Night Slash or Return. Decent matchup, I guess

Shauntal(59): Blackglasses. Taunt Coffin to obivion and set up two Hone Claws, then outspeed and OHKO everything with Night Slash. You will need to heal if Coffin spams Shadow Ball and doesn't go for WoW turn one. Great matchup

Caitlin: Chesto Berry. Taunt, two Hone Claws, Night Slash. GG


This nomination assumes you catch it directly as a Liepard, as using Purrloin is moreso a fun challenge than something you want to actually do. Liepard felt meh to me as a whole, even though it did perform well at times. It can sweep Elesa, Ghetsis, Shauntal, and Caitlin, though Ghetsis requires tons of setup to be swept. It is rather meh elsewhere, though it can turn in an okay performance against Marlon

Pansear, Panpour, Pansage -> C / C / D

Simisear

Elesa(30): Charcoal. Work Up once. OHKO Zebstrika with Dig and outspeed the rest and OHKO with Flame Burst. Great matchup

Clay(33): Charcoal. Flame Burst OHKOes Excadrill on rolls and 2HKOes the rest. The only way for Simisear to perform decently here is to take on Excadrill first, OHKO it, then face Sandslash. Meh matchup

Skyla(40): Expert Belt. Work Up once and OHKO Swoobat and Swanna with Rock Slide, outspeeding the latter. Skarmory is killed by Flame Burst. Skarmory may finish you off if Swoobat managed to flinch you enough to leave it you at a very low HP. Great matchup

Drayden(50): Silk Scarf. +3 Return OHKOes everything. Simisear seems to be faster than all of them (or they spam DTail even if you are at one HP). However, getting to +3 relies on AI derps, as Druddigon's Crunch is a 3HKO. Situational matchup

Colress(54): Cheri Berry. Spam Flame Burst on Magneton to KO it. Work Up against Zone and use Flame Burst twice. Heal the turn before KOing it. Then OHKO Metang and Klinklang with Flame Burst. Beheeyem is 2HKOed by Return, so I assume Shadow Claw will be able to pick up the KO. Decent matchup

Ghetsis(54): Pecha Berry. In general, Simisear has a hard time setting up, at best making it to +2 before needing to chug another Full Restore. You will need Fire Blast to OHKO threats like Cofagrigus. Meh matchup

Shauntal(59): Charcoal. Work Up twice while Coffin 3HKOes with Shadow Ball. You outspeed everything. Dig OHKOes Chandelure and Flamethrower OHKOes the rest. For reference, +1 Fire Blast also OHKOes the +2 Flamethrower targets, so I assume the OHKOs are reliable. Great matchup. You only lose if Coffin drops your SpD turn one or crits.

Grimsley: Charcoal. Work Up twice (outspeeds Liepard and lives two Night Slashes). OHKO Scrafty with Fire Blast and the rest with Flamethrower. Pretty good

Caitlin: Chesto Berry. Work Up three times, then spam Shadow Claw. Full Restore may be needed for second Yawn. Good matchup


Simipour

Elesa(30): beats Emolga and Flaaffy by outspeeding and OHKOing them with +1 MysticWater Scald. Zebstrika is faster and usually KOs you, since Emolga will have hit you with Volt Switch as well

Clay(33): outspeeds and OHKOes everything with MysticWater Scald. Easy sweep

Skyla(41): Work Up on Swoobat to be better prepared against the next opponents. MW Surf seems to OHKO Swoobat and 2HKO Swanna on rolls due to Sitrus Berry. If you didn't take an Acrobatics from Swoobat, your sweep is guaranteed

Drayden(49): didn't try this, but Blizzard can net you OHKOs, most likely, provided that you hit.

Marlon(53): Work Up once on Carracosta, which Shell Smashes but fails to outspeed anyways. Surf triggers Sturdy, while Crunch 2HKOes you. Then you 2HKO Wailord with Acrobatics while it goes for Amnesia. Jellicent most likely beats you, since I only managed to OHKO it due to a crit.

Colress(54): can perform well if it can set up two Work Ups, which it can against Metang. You OHKO everything afterwards, but you need the Magneton line out of the game

Ghetsis(54): even with three Work Ups, you are not sweeping. Coffin can live a Surf with that many boosts and Hydreigon also lives one Acrobatics with three Work Ups. The rest seem to get OHKOed by Surf, though

Shauntal(59): Work Up twice then OHKO everything with MW Surf. Ice Beam can KO Drifblim if you are paranoid of it living one Surf

Grimsley(59): Work Up twice and spam MW Surf. You OHKO everything bar Scrafty, which finishes you off.

Caitlin(59): +2 Surf OHKOes Sigilyph and 2HKOes the rest, though Reuni and Goth seem to be possible OHKOs if you were to set up a third Work Up.

Marshal(59): 1v1s Throh, then loses to the rest

Iris(60): beats one thing and then gets KOed, meh matchup


Simisage

Elesa(30): Work Up once, then spam MS Seed Bomb for an easy sweep

Clay(33): beats Sandslash and Krokorok. Due to Bulldoze, you are unlikely to beat Excadrill

Skyla(40): pretty bad. Swoobat and Skarm just crush it and Swanna, while 2HKOed and outsped by HS Rock Slide, goes for Feather Dance...

Drayden(49): didn't really bother, since you'd need enormous amount of set up to do much here

Marlon(53): Rock Slide into Seed Bomb KO Carracosta. Work Up once on Wailord then OHKO the rest with Seed Bomb.

Colress(54): Dig doesn't even OHKO Magneton lul

Ghetsis(54): +3 Seed Bomb almost OHKOes Coffin and OHKOes Eelektross and Seismitoad. Dig OHKOes Drapion and Toxicroak. Hydreigon will most likely beat you with such a set.

Shauntal(59): you cannot OHKO Coffin with +3 Shadow Claw. The rest do die to Seed Bomb or Rock Slide with three Work Ups, though

Grimsley(59): beats Liepard and Krookodile.

Caitlin(59): Work Up thrice then outspeed and OHKO everything with Shadow Claw


before I start, I will note that Pansage and Panpour logs are rather old, so please excuse inconsistencies / suboptimal strategies

Pansear was decent as a whole, with one of its biggest problems being catching one, as it is a rare rustling grass Pokemon. You get Fire Stone at the Desert Resort, so you can evolve it immediately. Simisear managed to sweep Elesa, Skyla, Shauntal, Caitlin, and Grimsley, while also KOing almost all of Colress's Pokemon.

Panpour is probaby the best monkey of the trio, but you have to grind at the Battle Subway to evolve it immediately. Simipour performs well against Elesa, Clay, Skyla (assuming Rock Slide for more reliability), maybe will take out Drayden with Blizzard, Marlon, Colress with the magnets out, Ghetsis (I had forgotten to test with Ice Beam, so you may be able to actually sweep here), and the E4 bar Marshal. If it wasn't for the availability/Battle Subway, Panpour might have had a shot at A-tier, honestly

Pansage, if you'd asked me a few days ago what tier I'd have put it in, I'd have said C-tier. However, looking at its logs, assuming we can count them top quality, seems more like a D-tier. It has a sweep against Elesa and Marlon and a good performance against Clay and Caitlin. Unfortunately, that's where the contributions seem to end for it, so D-tier might be more appropriate. Leaf Stone can be obtained at Lostlorn Forest to evolve it immediately

Panpour and Pansage might be worth more tests due to how old the logs are, but figured I'd provide them as well

Joltik -> C-tier
Galvantula

Clay(34): Eviolite. OHKO Krokorok on rolls with Signal Beam (EBelt is guaranteed). 3HKOes Sandslash, though it Bulldozes you, then is likely to finish you off, as the second Signal Beam puts it in healing range, giving it an additional turn to attack you. Meh matchup

Skyla(40): Lucky Egg. Two words: Electro Ball

Drayden(50): Silverpowder. Druddigon 3HKOes you with Crunch. The only way to sweep here is to use two Charge Beams and hope both give you a boost. +2 Signal Beam OHKOes everything. Situational, but decent matchup

Marlon(53): Expert Belt. Spam Charge Beam on Carracosta and get to +2. Then OHKO everything with Electro Ball. Great matchup

Colress(54): Magnet. You will need tons of Charge Beam boosts to get past the magnets and OHKO the rest. Didn't' test this too much, as I got crits too many times and didn't want to spend a lot of time on this one

Ghetsis(54): Silverpowder. Get to +2 with Charge Beam and heal off poison. You should be able to KO it with Discharge. Eelektross comes in, which lives at red a Signal Beam; if you are healthy enough, you will live a Flamethrower. You can the healing as an opportunity to land another Charge Beam boost (I succeeded). OHKO Toxicroak with Discharge and the rest with Signal Beam. Situational, but decent matchup otherwise

Shauntal(59): Magnet. You need +2 from Coffin. Energy Ball OHKOes Golurk and OHKOes the rest. Situational, but decent matchup

Grimsley: Magnet. Get to +2 and KO Liepard. Magnet Thunder OHKOes Scrafty and Signal Beam OHKOes Krookodile. I think you also OHKO Bisharp, but do not remember exactly. Situational once again

Caitlin: Chesto Berry. Get to +2 and spam Signal Beam or Charge Beam. Great matchup


The biggest problem with Joltik is how many times it needs two Charge Beam boosts in a row to sweep a fight (which is a 49% chance of happening, assuming they all hit, which they will, because my Galvantula had Compound Eyes). However, if it does get those +2 boosts, it generally sweeps easily afterwads due to how fast it is and its decent Special Attack. It's just not really consistent when it requires two boosts in a row to sweep most fights.


The next run consisted of Growlithe / Cottonee / Gothita / Ducklett / Aron / Frillish
Growlithe -> B at worst, maybe A
Arcanine

Roxie(17): Pecha Berry. Ember 3HKOes Koffing (which does nothing due to Intimidate) and Flame Wheel 2HKOes Whirlipede. Outspeeds all. I managed to win two attempts even though I got critted by Koffing. Great matchup

Burgh(23/24): Eviolite. Outspeeds and OHKOes Swadloon with Flame Wheel. Dwebble seems to 3-4HKO with Smack Down and outspeeds after a Rock Polish. You can Ember, Reversal (after taking a Smack Down), then Ember again to KO it without triggering healing. Leavanny fails to finish you off with Cut and dies to Flame Wheel. Great matchup

Elesa(30): Eviolite. Emolga 4HKOes with Volt Switch. I go for Flame Burst as it switches out, which 2HKOes Flaaffy (it's a flat 2HKO and three attempts suggest it's not a roll or it's a high roll). Emolga comes in again, so I predict a switch out and go for Dig, which 2HKOes Zebstrika. Zebstrika either spams physical moves, which results in its KO, or outpredicts you and goes for Volt Switch. No matter which one of those happens, heal up against Emolga and 2HKO it with Flame Burst and finish off Zebstrika. Decent matchup. If the latter scenario happens, you can also use Agility to remove predictions.

Clay(34): Charcoal. Outspeeds and OHKOes everything with Flamethrower. Sandslash turns out to be a roll, but you outspeed it even at -1 and are 3HKOed by Bulldoze. The rest, from five attempts, were consistently OHKOed, so I suspect no rolls involved (or very low ones). Easy sweep

Skyla(40): Expert Belt. OHKOes Swoobat with Thunder Fang. Also outspeeds and kills Swanna. Flamethrower handles Skarmory. Easy sweep

Drayden(50): Silk Scarf. Return is a 2HKO on rolls on Druddigon and Flygon. Haxorus generally finishes you off. Meh matchup

Marlon(53): Expert Belt. Thunder Fang normally 3HKOes Carracosta, but from my three-four attempts, it always goes for Shell Smash, letting you finish it off. If you took no damage, Wailord seems to go for Amnesia turn one, so you 2HKO with Thunder Fang. If you took no damage, Jellicent is 2HKOed even through berry and fails to OHKO you with Scald, though you have to watch out for Cursed Body. Decent matchup, there's likely room for the AI to make a smart move, though

Colress(54): Cheri Berry. Spam Flamethrower on Magneton till it's dead (consumes your Cheri Berry). Zone paralyzes you and either explodes or goes for Discharge. I heal off paralysis against Metang (mainly to not deal with Discharge paralysis) and OHKO it with Flamethrower. Klinklang is OHKOed on rolls, but if it lives, you can pick it off with Extreme Speed. Beheeyem avoids the 2HKO from all moves and seems to stall you, so you are best off sitting this one. Good matchup

Ghetsis(54): Charcoal. Flamethrower 2HKOes Coffin even after one turn of Leftovers (for w/e reason, I got hit with a Shadow Ball directly, if you get poisoned, simply heal it off offscreen). Arcanine can take on either Drapion or Eelektross, but not both one after another (2HKOes both with Flamethrower). If you are at yellow, you can switch Arcanine in on Toxicroak and KO it with Flamethrower + Extreme Speed. 3/6 without setup, so okay-ish

Shauntal(59): Expert Belt. 2HKOes Coffin with Flamethrower. Then it 2HKOes Drifblim with Thunder Fang. Chandelure finishes you off, but you can hit it with a strong Dig before dying. Okay-ish matchup

Grimsley: Charcoal. Set up sun, while Liepard doesn't threaten you at all (even if it crits once, you will be fine) then OHKO with Flamethrower. Krookodile is OHKOed on rolls by Flamethrower, so use Fire Blast to secure the KO. Scrafty lives a Fire Blast (close to an OHKO, though), so it's best to switch out. Outside sun, Arcanine can easily outspeed and OHKO Bisharp with Flamethrower. Decent matchup

Caitlin: Charcoal. Hit Musharna with Flamthrower (3HKO), set up sun, heal off Yawn, then KO with Fire Blast (Flamethrower misses the KO, for w/e reason). Reuniclus is 2HKOed by Flamethrower while 3HKOing you with Psychic. Switch out against Gothitelle. Bring Arcanine back againt Sigilyph, which you outspeed and 2HKO with Flamethrower, while living a Psychic. Decent matchup

Marshal: Charcoal. Flamethrower into Fire Blast KOes Throh, though there's a small chance for Throh to avoid the KO. You outspeed even at -1. Switch out against Conk and bring Arcanine back after Conk is defeated. Arcanine outspeeds and OHKOes Mienshao with Fire Blast. Sawk is outsped and 2HKOed, but Rock Slide will not KO you if your only damage is Throh's Bulldoze. Decent matchup ?????? I don't want to hype it as a good one due to the Fire Blasts, but I expected worse

This nomination assumes that Growlithe is evolved at level 34, which grants it both Flamethrower and ExtremeSpeed (Outrage sounds fun for Drayden, but doesn't seem worth it). This thing surprised me a lot, I was expecting a lot worse from it. It swept Roxie, Burgh, Elesa (with healing), Clay, and Skyla, and even managed to win against Marlon (thanks to AI derps). It is decent for Colress and somehowly performed well against Marshal (and Grimsley/Caitlin). This thing had so many decent/good matchups, I'd argue it's better than Tepig or Magby. This is definitely B-tier at worst and likely A-tier based on my logs.

Cottonee -> C
Whimsicott

Elesa(30): Miracle Seed. Giga Drain 2HKOes Flaaffy and 3HKOes the rest, Zebstrika due to berry. Whenever Zebstrika comes in, you can Charm it as to not worry about it wearing you out. You are basically safe with the healing spam. Great matchup

Clay(33): Miracle Seed. Outspeeds and OHKOes Krokorok and Sandslash. Charm Excadrill and spam Giga Drain for the win. Easy sweep

Skyla(40): I tried Charming and Giga Draining my way through Swoobat and got a crit

Drayden(50): Miracle Seed. Charm, sun, two Growths, then spam Giga Drain for the win. Decent matchup

Marlon(53): Miracle Seed. Giga Drain, sun, Growth, then spam Giga Drain, one shotting everything. Great matchup

Ghetsis(54): Pecha Berry. Sun and Growth to the max, as Coffin gives you free turns, then throw in a Full Restore. Coffin, Seismitoad, and Eelektross all get OHKOed by Giga Drain. Drapion comes in, which 3HKOes with X-Scissor, but is put in red by Giga Drain. This causes Ghetsis to heal it, allowing you to shrug off the X-Scissor and KO it. Toxicroak leaves as quickly as it enters thanks to Psychic. Hydreigon is 2HKOed by Giga Drain and fails to OHKO even with Dragon Rush from full, while Whimsicott outspeeds. Note that I got a level up approximately every two kills (which is inevitable). Good matchup

Shauntal(59): Expert Belt. Growth twice and spam Shadow Ball, which outspeeds and OHKOes everything. Without Expert Belt, Chandelure seems to be put in red by Shadow Ball. Ebelt route is the best when Coffin strikes you twice with Shadow Ball; if you get burned, there's a small chance you will faint after beating 3/4 of her team. To avoid that, either go for Giga Drain on Coffin and put it in healing range (seems to be a roll, though) so that you can heal for free or simply throw a Full Restore (I wouldn't necessarily penalize it for that) and move on as usual. Great matchup

Grimsley(59): Miracle Seed. Set up sun and Growth while Liepard 3HKOes you with Aerial Ace. Heal up and Growth once again, then outspeed and OHKO with Giga Drain. Scrafty is also OHKOed. Bisharp is 2HKOed even through berry; the 2HKO looked close, but two-three attempts gave me a 2HKO, so I assume very favorable/guaranteed. Note that Bisharp 2HKOes with X-Scissor, putting you close to red HP, so you cannot afford to miss the 2HKO. Krookodile then dies easily. Note that the traded Cottonee is male, so Liepard can stop your setup with Attract. Decent matchup

Caitlin(59): Chesto Berry. Set up to the max, heal off sleep when needed, then OHKO everything with Shadow Ball. Good matchup

Marshal: Leftovers. Set up sun and two Growths. Throh starts spamming Storm Throw after three Speed drops. If you do get to -3, attack with Giga Drain after two Growths. This puts Throh in healing range, allowing you to set up another Growth (sun is still up). Then spam Giga Drain to OHKO everything. Mienshao puts you in red/low yellow with HJK, but you recover most of the damage. Conk comes close to KOing you with Hammer Arm, but has never KOed me + it sometimes goes for Bulk Up. Sawk doesn't threaten you. Decent matchup ???


This thing was decent as a whole. I used the traded one, but avoided giving it the Power item to make my nomination as close to the normal one as possible. Whimsicott sweeps Elesa, Clay, Drayden, and Marlon with little difficulty thanks to Charm and Giga Drain (and later on Growth). In addition, Whimsicott managed to sweep all of the Elite Four fights, though some of them are slightly convoluted. I think this is on par with Snivy in terms of efficiency, great as a whole, but will probably require tons of setup to succeed

Gothita -> D, case for C
Gothitelle

Elesa(32): Eviolite. Psyshock seems to 2HKO everything. You will need one healing item to sweep, but even without it, you beat Flaaffy, Zebstrika, and damage Emolga hard. Good matchup

Clay(33): at best OHKOes Krokorok with Signal Beam

Skyla(41): Expert Belt. Faint Attack 2HKOes Swoobat, which tends to 2-3HKO you by the time you kill it. Psychic 2HKOes Swanna. You may need to heal if you get unlucky, otherwise, you beat 2/3 of her team without much hassle. Decent

Drayden(50): even at +1, Twisted Spoon Psychic fails to OHKO Druddigon, which 2HKOes with Crunch. Terrible matchup

Marlon(53): Expert Belt. 2HKO Carracosta with Charge Beam and hopefully, you get at least one boost. Against Jellicent, if you took no damage, hit it with one Charge Beam boost (if you are at +1, hope for a boost) and kill it with Shadow Ball. Wailord then dies to Energy Ball. Decent matchup

Shauntal(59): Expert Belt. Once it beats Coffin, Drifblim finishes it off. Nope

Caitlin: Chesto Berry. If you can get to +3, you can OHKO everything with Shadow Ball. Only Sigilyph is faster. Decent matchup

Marshal: Expert Belt. Psychic 2HKOes Throh and OHKOes Conk on rolls. Mienshao can also be defeated if it doesn't go for U-turn. Okay-ish matchup, but you only take out 1/2 for sure


Its performance was a bit all-over-the-place, so I am going with the safer rank. It sweeps Elesa with healing, beats 2/3 of Skyla's team (potentially with healing), 2/3 of Marlon's team at worst, and contributes to the E4, but will struggle to sweep. I think D-tier is more appropriate here, but C isn't out of question, since it does have tons of coverage to make it at least useful against numerous opponents

Ducklett -> D, case for C
Swanna

Clay(35): Mystic Water. Outspeeds and OHKOes Krokorok with Bubblebeam. Set up rain on Exca and then OHKO the rest. Normally good matchup, but you need to grind quite a bit to get a Swanna, so this counterbalances it

Skyla(40): MysticWater. Surf 2HKOes Swoobat, you can Featherdance it to avoid a 3HKO. Heal up against Swanna and 3HKO with Air Slash. You need at least one flinch to win. Skarmory is 2HKOed by Surf and will finish you off if you are too weakened. Decent matchup

Drayden(50): Sharp Beak. 2HKOes stuff with Brave Bird, but dies against Flygon. Meh matchup

Marlon(53): Sharp Beak. Surf 2HKOes Carracosta, which 2HKOes with Smack Down. Air Slash 3HKOes Wailord, which goes for Bounce, so you can answer with Fly to avoid damage (Fly is a 2HKO fro full). You can damage Jellicent for a bit before fainting. Decent matchup

Shauntal(59): Mystic Water. Surf 2HKOes Coffin and OHKOes Golurk and Chandelure on rolls. You will need rain to OHKO them for sure. Situational

Grimsley: Sharp Beak. Set up rain on Liepard, which 3HKOes you (assuming no crits), then OHKO it with Hurricane. Scrafty is outsped and also OHKOed. Krookodile is outsped and seems to be OHKOed by Surf. Bisharp finishes you off, but not before you hit it hard with Surf. Decent matchup

Marshal: Sharp Beak. Set up rain and OHKO Throh on rolls with Hurricane. If you are at -1, Hurricane also OHKOes Conk while outspeeding it. Switch out against Sawk. Mienshao can easily be defeated with Hurricane, as you are faster, live a Bounce (if only Throh damaged you), and Hurricane hits through Bounce anyways. Decent matchup


Ducklett wasn't too bad, but it wasn't very impressive either. It cannot sweep Clay unless you grind it to evolve it for Clay. It is decent against Skyla, Marlon, Grimsley, and Marshal, but tends to be meh elsewhere. It also provides HM utility with Surf/Fly in its moveslot. D-tier is probably more appropriate, but one coul make arguments for C-tier

Aron -> D
Aggron

Skyla(40): Eviolite. Beats Swoobat. Swanna's Featherdance turns Rock Slide into a 3HKO. In addition, Bubblebeam is a 2HKO. Meh matchup

Drayden(50): Leftovers. You cannot sweep here due to Flygon. Trying to set up will be futile due to Dragon Tail. Bad matchup

Colress(54): Leftovers. Magneton goes for Volt Switch directly and 3HKOes you, so you Autotomize and spam Iron Defense. Spam Bulldoze on Metang, which is a 3HKO. Iron Head then Bulldoze spam on Klinklang. Magneton paralyzes you for real this time, but you can hit it with Bulldoze and heal off as it switches out. 2HKO Beheeyem with Iron Head and kill Magneton. Zone will paralyze you, but you should be able to beat it without healing. Good matchup, I guess?

Ghetsis(55): it is impossible to sweep here, because Seismitoad can hit you with Muddy Water. However, Aggron can 1v1 Hydreigon safely, as it resists all of its moves.

Shauntal(59): nope. You cannot get past Coffin at a reasonable speed and special moves hit Aggron quite hard

Grimsley(59): Leftovers. Set up Iron Defense to the max and one Autotomize. Put Liepard in healing range to waste potion (Iron Head is a 2HKO, but may not always put it in healing range). Krookodile 3HKOes you with EQ, but you 3HKO it with -1 Iron Head. It may also go for Rock Tomb. Scrafty doesn't threaten you with Brick Break and you 4HKO it with -1 Iron Head. Bisharp doesn't threaten you a lot if you are healthy, even though Bulldoze causes Defiant to trigger, as Metal Claw deals little damage even at +6. Decent, I guess?


It is important to note that I had forgotten to teach Aggron Ice Punch, which could've made Drayden into a sweep. Anyways, Aggron performs well against Drayden with Ice Punch, Colress, and Grimsley, while also safely 1v1ing Ghetsis's Hydreigon. This is close to E-tier, but I think Aron barely just makes it to D-tier.

Frillish -> E / D
Jellicent

Skyla(40): Leftovers. 2HKO Swoobat with whatever you have (you can burn it to avoid Acrobatics damage). Swanna is 3HKOed by Ominous Wind (even through berry), though Air Slash can be annoying. Skarmory is 2HKOed without much hassle. Pretty good matchup

Drayden(50): Expert Belt. Unfortunately, Blizzard doesn't OHKO Druddigon and you are 2HKOed by Crunch. Terrible matchup

Marlon(53): Expert Belt. Will-o-Wisp into Energy Ball KOes Carracosta with little difficulty. Skip Jellicent. Wailord is 2HKOed by Energy Ball and seems to like to go for Bounce. The damage seems to be enough that even Amnesia won't prevent the KO. Decent matchup

Shauntal(59): beats Cofagrigus. Golurk and Chandelure are OHKOed on rolls and 1v1 you from full if they live a hit. Meh matchup

Caitlin(59): Expert Belt. At best beats two Pokemon. In my case, those were Reuniclus and Musharna. Reuniclus put you in range for Sigilyph's super effective moves and you don't OHKO anything. Okay-ish matchup

Marshal: Expert Belt. Psychic 2HKOes everything. Beat Throh, switch out against Sawk, face Conkeldurr, heal against Mienshao, and beat it comfortably. Decent matchup (I am going off memory, so order of appearance may be different)

I used the level 15 Frillish, which took me around 17 minutes to bring to level 35 with Audino on a spedup emulator. Jellicent sweeps Skyla, performed well against Marlon for me, and even managed to do some serious work against Marshal. From what I've heard, Jellicent also takes out 3/6 of Iris's team; I didn't test this mostly out of laziness. Anyways, three decent matchups and one sweep make this a D-tier performance, but the grind brings it to E-tier. HOWEVER, if you were to consider Iris and Marshal significantly more valuable, you could make a case for D-tier, so this depends a lot on how much those outweight the grind needed to get Frillish on par.


It will probably be good to share those logs on Koffing:

Weezing

Roxie(18): it will need one healing, but it can muscle through her. Sludge is used on her own Koffing and Assurance is used on Whirlipede. They don't deal a lot of damage, but the same can be said about you, so they will slowly wear you out, which is why you need to heal.

Burgh(24): with Eviolite, it can get past Leavanny and Swadloon easily. Dwebble can be muscled through, but watch out for unnecessary damage which may force you to heal against Leavanny.

Elesa(30): even with Eviolite, Volt Switch is a 3HKO on Koffing, so you are worn down pretty quickly. Note that Sludge fails to 2HKO as a whole as well

Clay(32): lol. I doubt you are doing much as a Weezing either

Skyla(40): nah, what are you doing to Swoobat and Skarm

Drayden(49): Sludge Bomb 3HKOes Druddigon whose only threat is Dragon Tail. Haxorus can be 1v1ed by spamming Clear Smog while it DDs, though it realizes at some point the trick and goes on the offensive either ways, also Clear Smog deals little damage

Marlon(53): nope, two of his Pokemon resist Poison

Colress(54): even with Fire Blast, you aren't doing much

Ghetsis(54): gee, four Pokemon resist Poison and thus win, who would have thought?

Shauntal(59): beats Coffin with Shadow Ball, then potentially Golurk, depending on if you ate a Psychic or not

Grimsley(59): beats Liepard

Caitlin(59): didn't bother

Marshal(59): Weezing can live many hits here, but it doesn't really hit hard in return, so you KO like one or two Pokemon only without healing

Iris(60): lol

(disclaimer: they are old)

Looking at the logs, you could feasibly make a case for E-tier, given that Koffing pmuch drops the ball as soon as you beat Burgh. D-tier is reasonable, though, given it's not exactly something with outright flaws that go beyond it just underperforming in major battles

I have used Oshawott and, while I do not have logs on hand, I do remember it being kinda inconsistent throughout the game; it's decent early on, but this does not necessarily translate well into the late-game. Obviously, I don't have logs to back it up, so you don't really have to take this into consideration, but I figured it might be better to share those thoughts anyways

also, Flareon to D sounds reasonable, feel free to go with that if no one else objects to it

until next time...
 

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