So here's my current takes on how I think the VR list should change! I'm going to basically go down the list from highest to lowest in its current form for these noms!
Just note too that this is almost entirely based off of laddering on the Switch, so just take that into account when you read my takes!
Drop Nominations
A+ -> A-
Magnezone is still pretty damn good, but Ting-Lu was a really unwelcome change for it in my eyes. While you can certainly wear Ting-Lu down enough that Magnezone can prevail.. its pretty tough, especially against SpD and AV Ting-Lu. Because of this, Magnezone really isn't my first choice for Assault Vest compression anymore.
A+ -> A
Some of us on cart have noted the big usage drop in Iron Valiant, and I'd argue its because Chien-Pao is REALLY hogging the spotlight in terms of Sash leading right now, which was Iron Valiant's big thing. Thankfully though, Iron Valiant can do more than that (and I'd argue it even has untapped potential!), and its STABs are great with the ruins around, so this is as far of a drop as I'd go!
A -> A-
Roaring Moon feels like it got impacted by Chien-Pao quite a bit, really forcing even the non acro sets to tera more. Still, the Taunt sets really mess with the defensive ruins, and its got a diverse amount of viable sets, so I still think its good enough to stay in the A ranks!
A -> A- / A
This honestly might be my biggest hot take: I've been struggling to use Kingambit more and more lately, as a lot of the stuff aiming for the ruins (like all the fighting type stuff) smacks Kingambit pretty hard, and it feels harder than ever to go "ehh I'll Sucker Punch it" with Chien-Pao and Chi-Yu resisting it and threanting big damage without Kingambit Terastallizing. That being said I'm still split on this more than any other mon (except Tyranitar at the end of this post lol), because its one of the few Dark-types that scares the hell out of Flutter Mane, even being able to run Defiant stuff to mess with Charm sets, and I can't deny that really the only other "bulky offense Dark" on this level is Ting-Lu, and Ting-Lu doesn't have priority or Steel STAB! IDK, maybe I'm just crazy and Kingambit should stay A ranked, but this is just something I felt was worth bringing up (even as I seriously consider it for a team I've been using recently lol).
B+ -> B
This is one I was teetering on, and to be clear, I think Hydreigon still makes really nasty use of Tera thanks to Levitate! However, competition among Dark-types is REALLY fierce right now, especially when it's really easy for a lot of teams to go "eh I'd rather wall break with Chi-Yu". Of course Hydreigon is also a bigger pain in the ass to revenge kill, so I certainly wouldn't say its outclassed. But with Chi-Yu (and to lesser extent, Ting-Lu tanking unboosted stuff a lot), I'm not really as quick to consider Hydreigon for teams as I used to be, and you can certianly see that reflected for other folks in home usage too atm. But I'm not gonna complain if it stays in B+, it's still a dangerous mon!
A- -> B-
A full letter grade may seem harsh, but I think Espathra might really be the biggest loser in the meta shifts so far. Ting-Lu REALLY made its life hell: Baton Pass sets have nothing beyond like.. using Espeon or Hatterene to stop the Whirlwind, Tera Blast sorta bounces off Ting-Lu too for CM sets.. Ting-Lu in general just made this so much harder to use, and you can see it in its sharp drop in usage too. I think its still usable and the type of Pokemon you have to respect in team preview, but Ting-Lu dunked on Espathra so hard that I think its glory days are behind it this season...
B -> B-
Another common story: Ting-Lu is miserable for another mon, and Sandy Shocks doesn't really like Wo-Chien without using Tera either, so it def feels harder to use. However, I still put it in B- because I think outspeeding Chi-Yu IS pretty cool, and Earth Power freaking out Iron Moth is a pretty good quality for a fast volturner imo too! And with the rise of Tera Poison, it IS possible to pressure foes into becoming weak to Sandy Shocks, so I don't think all hope is lost!
B -> B-
I sorta feel like Scream Tail ended up being a tad overhyped, and I think that still rings true. It's a very passive Pokemon most of the time (especially against Gholdengo where you can't even Encore it lol), and Ting-Lu made the Baton Pass sets harder to use for sure. Still, it's also a solid Stealth Rock setter and slower set up mons do get dunked on it, so I wouldn't put it any lower than B-.
B- -> C+
Maybe I'm being too harsh, but with Ting-Lu really crowding the SR setting space, I'm finding Treads harder to justify using. Its not bad per se: Its fast, not weak, and a Steel-typing is always cool, I just think its hard to justify over other SR setters. I do feel there might be some potential to explore, like Endeavor and Tera Bug stuff, but for now I think C+ fits because you need a pretty specific reason to use Iron Treads!
Rise Nominations
A -> A+
This is my one new A+ nom! Annihilape has always been a good mon, but I feel with the ruins being around, despite the lack of a Dark-type resistance, Annihilape really feels like the "default" other option for setting up Stealth Rock. What makes that scary is that, Annihilape has a TON of viable ways to mess with you: Speed control, fling, Final Gambit, Taunt... combine this with the fact that Bulk Up + Taunt sets are still as good as ever and can mess with stuff like Ting-Lu, and I feel like this mon's variety is on a level that puts it above most A rank Pokemon.
A- -> A
I noticed this when looking at Japanese blogs last season, and its become clearer to me as I played: Scizor has started to diversify. Sure, its almost always pivoting, Bullet Punching, and sometimes setting up SD... but its the EV spreads and items that really started to take off, as well as a big rise in Tera Water! It isn't just "offensive items and maybe Assault Vest" anymore, with stuff like Rocky Helmet REALLY taking off. It helps that it scares the hell out of Chien-Pao and does good chip against Ting-Lu too, and those really bulky Helmet sets, if played well, are good at chipping stuff down into revenge kill range! The thing holding me back from going higher is that the lack of recovery means you really have to play Scizor more carefully than the typing suggests. Still, I think the metagame shifts have generally been kind to Scizor, so A reflects its current place imo!
B+ -> A-
Wo-Chien really helped out Toxapex here, its one of the biggest Tspike setters outside of Iron Moth and Meowscarada, and in general is REALLY good at spreading poison for Wo-Chien and Dragonite. It can be a bit passive, but Haze and Toxic go a long way towards messing with set up mons, and Mental Herb means Annihilape feels less safe than you'd expect! And of course, it doing alright against Chien-Pao is a bonus as long as they dont tera! However, I think A- fits rather than A because I find that ground weakness to be a bit of a weak link, and I feel like Toaxapex means you are probably using some sort of slow, stally toxic team most of the time.
B -> A-
Toxic Spikes absorption is at a premium right now, and Amoonguss is pretty good at this task! While it can't set up Tspikes like Toxapex, hey gotta love Spore! It doesnt do too great against the offensive ruins without tera, but it does mess with some Wo-Chien sets and Ive even seen some speed creep Ting-Lu lol... its also one of the best checks to Azumarill around since most of them are using Superpower over Ice Spinner currently, and the Eject Pack set is a useful way to pivot in a way Toxapex can't do. I think at minimum, I'd at least put it above Brute Bonnet, who while dangerous, doesn't offer Amoonguss's nice defensive utility.
B -> B+
The Toxic Spikes sweep continues! Beyond having a nasty new buddy in Wo-Chien, Glimmora in general has been diversifying over the past few seasons, going beyond the usual suicide lead stuff, and doing stuff like AV sets, Scarf, and imo most prominently of all, defensive Air Balloon sets! You can actually EV Glimmora to avoid 2HKOs from some cool stuff, like Specs Flutter Mane Moonblast and Sash Chien-Pao. Mortal Spin also continues to be great in this format, gotta love not only threatening to remove Ting-Lu's SR but also poisoning it! Finally, while it's not too common yet.. watch out for Corriosion Glimmora, I've been seeing more of those and it can RUIN stuff like Toxapex or Tera Poison Ting-Lu! Honestly the only two things making me not argue for A- on Glimmora is that, the typing sucks defensively and the lack of recovery hurts. Overall though, I think we're undervaluing what Glimmora currently does in this metagame!
C+ -> B-
With Chien-Pao being a big deal, I find Arcanine to be quite a bit better than it used to be, thanks to Intimidate AND recovery. Extreme Speed is always nice for picking stuff off too. The lack of Ghost and Dark weaknesses is a big deal over Skeledirge in my eyes, though I don't put it above Skeledirge because beyond the lack of Unaware, the increasing usage of Defiant on Annihilape and Kingambit is a bit scary (blame Charm Flutter Mane lol).
C+ -> B-
A trend you might notice: Fighing-types really like the ruins being around! Lucario has been a sleeper, niche pick all gen, but I feel like Sash Chien-Pao gave Lucario a nice little shot in the arm in terms of viability and usage. Besides just "hey Bullet Punch and Extreme Speed are cool", Inner Focus means Chien-Pao can't even FLINCH Sash Lucario leads. I'm interested in special attacking sets too, but the Sash SD set is nicer than it used to be, and is why I think B- fits Lucario more than C+. Sure its no Dragonite, but +2 Normal Espeed CAN totally sweep you if it gets the chance, just make sure that Sash is intact!
C+ -> B+
This might actually be the biggest rise for me! I think Slither Wing partly suffered from us maybe not totally getting it last series, but with this new regulation, Slither Wing LOVES facing most of the ruins! First Impression hits like a truck and none of the ruins like taking that without tera, and Slither Wing's U-turns hit even harder than Scizors! Combine this with pretty good coverage, and stuff like Skeledirge falling, and I think Slither Wing really stands out more than it used to! I realize C+ to B+ is a really big change so I'm willing to compromise, but at least when I was playing with it, it really feels so much nicer to use offensively than it used to! My gripes with it is that it basically needs to tera to deal with Flutter Mane if its not using Scarf, and First Impression, while awesome, can be sorta awkward to use with the whole first turn aspect.
C -> B-
OK I realize this one may be sorta a hot-take, maybe C+ would fit more even, but let me explain: I think between Abroliva's Harvest based Leech Seed + Strength Sap stuff, and how shockingly bulky and hard hitting AV can be with Seed Sower, Arboliva is actually being slept on a bit! The Normal typing also hilariously makes Tera Blast less of a "risk", and the AV sets in particularly are pretty diverse at being annoying with their Tera Types. Arboliva has always had lowkey hype on Discord and Japanese streamers, and I think it does make some sense: its just an annoying Pokemon to predict in general because its two main sets are like total opposites of each other!
C -> B / B+
I remember when one of the high ranking teams last season was hyping up their Quaquaval, saying it was going to get better with the ruins... and I think they were mostly right! Resisting Chien-Pao and Chi-Yu's STABs rule, and I find Quaquaval to actually be rather annoyingly diverse at the moment, between its Sash sweeping sets, bulky AV, and Encore + Roost shenigans. I actually wouldn't even mind this thing being in B+ tbh, at the very least you can see on the Switch ladder how its usage had a huge spike this season! The two things holding it back for me though, is that the Fairy weakness and lack of a Fighting resist is annoying compared to Azumarill, and the reliance on Close Combat for Fighting STAB sorta sucks for the bulkier sets. Still, I think this metagame feels much better for Quaquaval than the last one, so I think it needs a big rise on the VR to reflect its current place!
C -> C+
I don't think Fire Tauros is incredible, but I think the ruins have given it a solid boost in viability. Gotta love resisting so many of their STABs, and Intimidate is really cool, even if I think it does compete with Arcanine a bit on that front with the lack of recovery and no Fairy resist. Still, it feels like a solid pick that has some specific niches that have gotten better.
C -> C+
Pretty similar story to Fire Tauros: it resists a lot of Ruin STABs, and Intimidate rules. I actually personally give it the edge over Fire Tauros right now because Aqua Jet is pretty cool, and I like that it's not weak to Ting-Lu's Earthquake (though Ting-Lu hates Wisp from Fire Tauros lol), but not quite enough for me to put it in B- for me, especially when "Dark resistance Water type" is something I think Azumarill and to a lesser extent, Quaquaval tend to fit more teams for. Still, I think its got a solid bundle of tools that make it a reasonable pick for some teams!
C -> C+
Honestly I feel like being able to set up Aurora Veil or having the option to make Iron Bundle, Chien-Pao, and Baxcalibur REALLY physically bulky is worth the upgrade alone. I don't even think Abomasnow is that amazing of a mon on its own, I just think those qualities alone put it above the rest of the C rank pack lol.
C -> C+
This one is really minor, but I feel like the Chien-Pao mirror match and reverse sweeping with Chi-Yu has risen Ditto stocks a bit. Nowhere near the insanity that was "LOL GONNA COPY ZACIAN", but enough where I feel like it fits in more with the C+ stuff.
New Addition Nominations
-> B / B-
Look I'm not just nominating Gallade for all the "lmao why is Gallade usage so close to Iron Valiant" memes (though I'm amazed that happened, check it out on home stats, pretty shocking stuff LOL), but that powerful Sharpness boosted Sacred Sword is starting to pay some dividends in this metagame. Having Shadow Sneak helps picking off stuff, and it even gets Feint which I have had the displeasure of losing my Sash Chien-Pao to because of the +3 priority LOL. I've also seen Scarf and AV sets, so Gallade seems to be shockingly diverse at the moment. I personally prefer B rank because I find Gallade to be a pain in the ass to guess against, especially since the whole "go Tera Poison" strat fails because of Psycho Cut compared to other Fighting-types stuff like Ting-Lu has to face. I wouldn't go higher than B mainly because that Speed stat is sorta lame...
-> B-
Iron Hands at home actually has some more going for it than I think we assumed earlier on! The most obvious thing is Bullet Punch, wow zapping Flutter Mane and Chien-Pao with priority rules! Headlong Rush is also pretty nice for Toxapex and pals, and with Thick Fat and AV, Hariyama actually takes on Chien-Pao, Chi-Yu, and Ting-Lu better than Iron Hands! There's also that Flame Orb set that hits REALLY hard with guts, or you can be one of those crazy people that uses AV + Guts JUST to mess with Toxic Spikes lol. The big thing holding me back from going higher than B- is that, while it does have some really cool stuff over Iron Hands... its got MUCH less physical bulk too, which I find to be an issue.
-> C+ / B-
Gardevoir has a really funny trick with Trace this gen: it can mess with the ruins abilities with it! Imagine that: not getting the SpA drop against Ting-Lu, being able to actually survive shocking Chien-Pao attacks, and not to mention that Tracing stuff like Multiscale always rules! I haven't seen these a ton despite the big spike in usage home suggests (its in the top 50 as I write this), so I'm being conservative with the C+ perhaps. The Speed stat is sorta lame, but this format in general seems to have some big ticket mons that do NOT like dealing with Trace, so I think Gardevoir needs to be ranked somewhere!
-> C+
With the rise of powerful hazard setters in this format, I think Hatterene brings some cool stuff to the table with Magic Bounce, especially since it does good damage to a lot of the SR setters right now. That Speed stat feels like a big issue though, even though hey it CAN Trick Room. I haven't seen a ton of these to be clear, but I just find them pretty irritating when using Ting-Lu, and its been rising a bit in usage, so I think placing it in C+ for now makes sense.
-> C+
You don't see Goodra often, mostly because Baxcalibur sorta stole its role as an AV Dragon, and when it comes to AV Acid Spray shengians, usually Iron Moth and Bellibolt are the go-tos for that. However, I can not deny that Goodra has OBSCENE special bulk for an AV mon, good lord that SpD stat! It's not really passive either, and Sap Sipper is actually quite good right now, with both the Spore immunity and making Tera Water pretty easy to justify on Goodra. It ain't perfect and I feel like it does rely on Tera a lot, and I think for a lot of teams they're just gonna go "eh what about Baxcalibur though", but I think Goodra has JUST enough unique attributes that it can make sense on some teams, especially with it being rather annoying to wall.
-> C
So I think Forretress's potential is REALLY held back by the lack of Custap Berry, but I've noticed a few of these pop up, and it doesn't match that badly into a lot of the ruins: Pin Missle is pretty cool right now (home stats seem to suggest quite a lot of Loaded Dice on it), Rapid Spin is pretty irritating for Ting-Lu, and Body Press and Rock Blast means that hey with Sturdy... Chi-Yu is not 100% safe against it! Sturdy of course is also always nice against OHKO nonsense. The thing really holding it back is that unless you go nuts with like Pawmot + Forretress (that did come accross my mind last night lol), Forretress often has to choose between trades or support, which is something Custap Berry would really help with if we had it back... Still, certainly not on the level of other Rapid Spin stuff, but I think it's probably worth ranking!
-> C
So the other Magic Bouncer I think is probably worth bringing up, it does have good damage output and outspeeds some prominent stuff. I do think the lack of bulk is a big issue compared to the already niche Hatterene though, but I think the Speed and Magic Bounce are juuust enough to justify this for C rank, or maybe a future C- rank.
-> C
Vaporeon has one really funny trick... if you Tera it into an Ice resistant type (mostly Fire it seems), it DUNKS on any Iron Bundle that lacks Encore! Like seriously, you can just Calm Mind against them at that point! Issue is, Vapreon really relies on that Tera, and like... that's its main trick, there's plenty of better Water-types to consider otherwise. But maybe there's untapped potential here... regardless, that one thing it does is enough to often make me bench Iron Bundle at team preview if I don't have Encore lol.
-> C
OK I'm sorta pushing things here, maybe a future C- is a better fit for Lycanroc-D, but besides Accelerock being really cool, its got Endeavor and Taunt in terms of stuff that makes it unique for an SR mon, and Tough Claws Close Combat actually hits pretty hard! At the very least, I think it's viable, just not something we often think about.
-> C
OK again I'm probably pushing things here, but the few times I've seen Salazzle, I've noticed it has a fairly irritating toolkit: Its got Toxic Corriosion so you can't just go "lol eat a Toxapex / Glimmora", high Speed, and.. it has ENCORE AND TOXIC SPIKES. Yep, its one of those mons: really fast nasty Encore stuff!
Some Maybe Surprising Holds
I've seen these Pokemon talked before in terms of "should this rise / drop?", so here's my takes on them!
-
> A+
This is something I've gotten some questions about on Discord, "why is Iron Moth ranked above Chi-Yu?!". I have an answer: I think Iron Moth's set diversity makes it lot tougher to have a gameplan for than Chi-Yu currently. Don't get me wrong, Chi-Yu is generally the better wall breaker, and the Scarf set is an excellent revenge killer, but Iron Moth goes beyond just "powerful Special Attacker", despite what those stats may suggest! There's a TON of bulky Iron Moths flying around the Switch ladder atm, and they can pull off unbelievable stunts like surviving Chien-Pao (some even avoiding a 2HKO from Sash Chien-Pao via Sitrus, not kidding!). It makes for an extremely effective Toxic Spikes setter, and it even has Whirlwind to REALLY pressure you to react to its Toxic Spikes right away, or Whirlwind has a shot of just ruining that! And don't even get me started on how many ways Iron Moth can use Booster Energy or Assault Vest... point is, Iron Moth can be a total guessing game at team preview compared to Chi-Yu, since even teams that use it with Wo-Chien might surprise you with some OTHER set. With these factors in mind, that's why I personally feel like Iron Moth is the best Fire-type in the metagame at the moment, not to mention a key absorber of Toxic Spikes for a lot of teams!
-> A+
So a lot of us predicted that Gholdengo was going to suffer, and I don't actually totally disagree with that: all the ruins generally can give Gholdengo trouble in some way. However, Good As Gold is still INCREDIBLE against the slower bulkier teams, especially with Wo-Chien and Toxapex giving that kind of stuff more credence. All the stuff Gholdengo is already known for: Trick Scarf / Specs, Covert Cloak + Nasty Plot, super bulky Rocky Helmet sets: all of these things are still really damn good, and worth using even in the face of stuff like Chi-Yu. It's also already good at using Tera to mess with the ruins, though I guess you can make that argument for a lot of mons lol. Point is, I still think Gholdengo generally fits in the A+ crew due to its typing, ability, and set diversity, even if I do agree that ruins can make it a tad harder to justify.
-> A
So as expected, Chien-Pao made Baxcalibur take a meaty hit to usage, though it's still certainly around. It makes sense: Sash, LO, and CB Chien-Pao has made running the faster Baxcalibur sets more of a question than they used to be. However, beyond those sets still working fine on Baxcalibur.. its the bulky stuff like AV and CB that still fits Baxcalibur REALLY well in my eyes. Baxcalibur's combination of bulk, power, and priority are why its still both common and relevant, even with Chien-Pao. I do feel like Baxcalibur's heavy reliance on Terstallization does mean that A+ might not be the right fit for it, but it's still a big enough part of the metagame that I think A is just fine for it right now!
-> C+???
I don't know where else to talk about this but... I'm not quite sure we should handle Tyranitar, because maybe its just me, but its matchups feel REALLY polarized to me. Like, it either tends to do good damage and make good trades, or it gets dunked on before it does anything. It's that typing: its weak to a TON of Pokemon right now, and the whole "you need to be Tera Rock to keep the crazy SpD' is pretty awkward. That being said, Sandstream is always nice to have in such a Focus Sash infested metagame, and while its not fast, Dragon Dance is JUST fast enough where you outspeed some important stuff like Chi-Yu! I can't deny though, a lot of stuff that I feel has risen in reaction to the ruins, tends to be bad news for Tyranitar as well, such as all the Fighting-types. I'm really stuck here, anyone else got some opinions on Tyranitar?