VR Update (Dated 30/9/2021)
Rises:
Rises:
Drops:A -> A+
A- -> A
A- -> A
B+ -> A-
B+ -> A-
B+ -> A-
B -> B+
B- -> A-
B- -> B
C+ -> B+
C+ -> B-
C+ -> B-
C+ -> B-
C -> C+
Additions:A+ -> A
A+ -> A
A+ -> A
A+ -> A
A -> A-
A- -> B+
A- -> B+
A- -> B+
B+ -> B
B+ -> B
B -> B-
Rain (
) B -> B-
Sun (
) B -> B-
Hail (
) B -> C-
B- -> C+
B- -> C+
B- -> C+
B- -> C+
B- -> C
C+ -> C
C+ -> C
C+ -> C
C -> C-
C -> C-
Removals:UR -> A
UR -> C+
UR -> C
C+ -> UR
C- -> UR
C- -> UR
C- -> UR
Last edited:
B- to B+
C+ to B- / B
B- to C+
noivern in A; we've had it at a+ pretty much ever since it got to the tier but I think it's at an all-time low right now. its passiveness as a pivot isn't great in a boost-heavy meta and fitting taunt is awkward, so it's bait for the bulky psychics that kinda run the tier. in return, it's overwhelmed pretty well by the stuff it wants to check, taking a knock from golisopod, tons of damage from volcanion, and so on. it also can be hard to switch into draco+flame on paper for some teams but even when that is true i find that noivern doesn't force out too much. its offense matchup is quite good but that isn't enough to fully make up for its mediocre-ness in the balance/bo matchups, so I think A is fitting.
raikou in B+; i honestly just dont think hes good in many matchups, ground+grass is really common to handle xurk and other walls like umbreon and gastrodon are a nightmare for it. the lack of recovery and overhwleming power really hurts it; i find that it doesn't come in on too much (only Togekiss, really) and doesn't threaten to make progress versus many teams. it has just 2 uses in all of SCL (less than it's used in UU rofl) which speaks to how unreliably it makes progress
sharpedo in A, it's a really solid wincon that threatens pretty much all playstyles. in my experience it usually requires very good play to handle due to its lack of on-paper counters. Sharpedo + Mimikyu is the heart of HO at the moment, and the core also finds its way onto some bulky offenses -- two very very scary mons
B+ Keys is a underrated mon on my personal view, its a p decent mon on its own, its spiking prowess in HOs is something I did value a lot on some matches plus it still has the potential to bring that CM + Idef set someone used on SCL, its typing is also just so good as well
throwing off my honest opinion, this thing is just plain garbage for RU, it does not accomplish anything that another mon cant do and to add to the fact that its bad, it's only W on SCL was a game where it did not even touch the field ?_?
(ghost)
Im going to go more in detail on why I dropped it from A -> A- in a SCL discussion post, but the main point is that the meta has adapted to spikes, so it has lost one of its greatest aspects. The rise of Crobat in general as been an issue for it. I'll link my long explanation to this later tho
I'm kinda surprised no one so far has nominated a rise for this poke when I think it is quite clearly the best electric-type in the tier for me. It pivots easier than Xurkitree does atm and can also trick scarf.
Xatu has been doing rly well in SCL and I think the possibilities it opens up for offensive teams is underrated. It has Future Sight and teleport which is great itself, but also has magic bounce. With the decline of Diancie and Rhyperior and the incline of Bronzong and Registeel, it has been able to block rocks more consistently.
this mon is better than everything in A+ but not as good as reuni so I had to put it in S-. Scarf alone does everything you could ever want for, and it's one of the very few good scarfers in the tier. Good damage with eq and it cleans nicely, and it hits most of the ground resists (flyings) with sedge, + u-turn for momentum and compact defog in a tier where removal is very scarce. Then you even have wincon sets with dd or defensive sets with leftovers. Over-all an amazing mon that just fits on every team unsupported.
I think this mon is extremely good, the biggest problem with most defensive mons like most steels, incin etc or even offensive mons that strive for longevity like volcanion or xurkitree is their lack of recovery, which puts you in situations where the slightest chip can put you in an 100% losing position, making every game a race at who can tear holes through the opposing team the faster. Wish pass enables you to do so much more and risk so much less while always having the possibility to heal from chip, it's an extremely invaluable resource and its even more so on a fat as fuck mon like Umbreon. Other than that you get heal bell support in a tier where every defensive mon runs toxic and half the offensive mons do too, and moreover umbreon's dark type + foul play is great against the ghosts and psychics of the tier that are very difficult to check defensively.
this mon is also very good especially given how it's the absolute fattest of the steels which gives it way more longevity. One of the cool sets I've been liking is full physdef with body press (and even ID), it can borderline win you the game.
this mon borderline S-, bitch doesn't die. NP kiss just wins
very good and somehow versatile, also rapid spin in a tier with very little removal and the recovery is especially great. I rly like the band set, it catches unsuspecting incin or togekiss with eq and anchor shot; generally it just doesnt have any switch-ins.
is such a pain to deal with. Its great speed tier, access to Nasty plot and high powered dangerous STAB combo of Hurricane and Focus Blast makes it a pain to deal with. Still, the low accuracy of both moves as well as competition with another Nasty plot using flying type named Togekiss who I just mentioned.
This mon seems soo much better on paper than on practise. Gets worn down ridiculously quickly, Knock offs everywhere, no reliable recovery, etc. C+ tier seems fine
After Flygon I think the best Pokemon are Reuniclus and Metagross. I don't have much to say here that 
Vaporeon isn't much worse than the other bulky water-type Pokemon, Wish and Heal Bell give it an irreplaceable niche. I made a more 
haven't been a big fan of Chandelure for a while, the good sets rn are choiced sets and in large part due to the maintenance of choiced sets I think it should be ranked lower.
I still think Shift Gear Toxtricity is good on offense, its a special wallbreaker that takes advantage of Registeel with its Toxic immunity and boosted Drain Punch. Its defensive profile also lets it set up on a few other things like Raikou, Roserade, Galarian Weezing, and Cobalion.
& 
Putting these here together because they are similar. I really don't think that these Pokemon should be in the C ranks. Tyranturm with Choice Scarf can be quite threatening to offensive teams and hey the metagame right now is quite offensive. Specifically LO 3 attacks roost Aerodactyl is a pretty good revenge killer and lategame cleaner with EdgeQuake and Dual Wingbeat hitting nearly the whole metagame. Both of these Pokemon also have good but niche defensive usefulness versus Togekiss. Aerodactyl and Tyrantrum are admittedly not easy fits for teams so I have them ranked lowly.
I ranked Charizard lower than the other sun Pokemon because Entei is much better overall. Entei has better bulk naturally and it also has more longevity with its less bad SR weakness and lack of solar Power. Entei also has an invaluable tool that Charizard does not Extreme Speed, this lets it revenge kill stuff like weakened DD Flygon and Sharpedo. Is Charizard stronger? yes, however even in the wallbreaking department Entei isn't too far behind as a sun boosted Flare Blitz nearly 2HKOes Gastrodon and Milotic forcing a recover could let another teammate like Shiftry come in.
A -> A+ Not that surprising but I rate Necrozma as the best A+rn . Its extremely wide movepool and great stats in both offenses and defenses make it a top offensif threat do to how versatile it can be et how each of its sets is effective on a lot of situation. Calm mind , DD , SD and autotomise depending of the MU and the situation are very lethal , The offensive SR set on Hyper Offense put huge pressure on any team lacking umbreon or something that wall the Psy+rock+heat wave/Epower combination depending of what you run on the last slot and at the same time supporting its team via rocks. Finally less represented but pretty good tho the more bulky SR variant which trade the offensive power to exploit its very good bulk and great utility via rocks , Knock off , recovery and the ability to check a lot of things. All this make it extremely diffucult to prepare against all of its sets and make Necro and a good choice for a lot of teams .
B -> A Obsta is one of the tier's most deadly breakers , Guts+ stab façade and knock off are lethal and combined with switcheroo it can cripple its only true counter in cobalion with a burn or do the same thing for other bulkier mons and receiving leftovers or boots most of the time which is extremely valuable. Its speed tier is also good for a breaker with that level of pure power and being able to scare non-Colbur CM reuni , the N1 mon rn and one of RU's most terrifying threats and other psychics like necrozma is also extremely nice to have. It suffers from its lacks longevity and it is in competition from heracross but it is a very rewarding pick that can seem a bit risky . Maybe A- is better for this pokemon but It has his place in A rank imo .
B+ -> A Milo is imo the most defining and best pure bulky water rn. Great overall bulk , good typing and usefull tools like flip turn and haze are incredibely valuable. It can check a lot of the things like Flygon , metagross , CM reuni if it carries haze , Sharpedo and a lot of other mons . It can also run toxic to make itself less passive and check standart variants of volcanion.It has some exploitable flaws but for what it brings to the table it should be at least A- but i think A is fine but more questionnable.
B+ -> A-: Zong is a interesting pick as a steel type do to how valuable its ability to roll compress so much roles in one team slot is . It is at the same time the steel , ground immunity and rocker slot . The ground Immunity specially separate itself from its competiton as countering flygon and non-fire blast nidoqueen which is basically 90pourcent of them is so nice to have. A great pick for Buky offenses or Balanced Squads that needs its unique profile for the tier and should definitely rise imo.
B -> A- This dog is a interesting pick rn. Vincune is more potent than before as some of its main issues being less good and saw a drop in usage , SubCM with ice beam is also good to bait the grasses. Crocune is a bit less good than the 2other option I think but it still a good choice as it abuse more than them Suicune's Huge overall bulk which can be a real pain for some teams to take down.
A- -> B+ Tougher Steel type competition with Metagross and Registeel being so much used and the new rise of Bronzong .Also even if it still a good pick on some teams it is less justifiable than before Imo.
A -> B+ Struggles to make consistent progress with spikes with how crobat is incredibly common and here to clear its spikes away without punishement much of the time as its very difficult to justifie sleep powder or stun spore over synthesis in like 85pourcent of the time imo.
UR -> B-
UR -> B
