Data Usage-Based Tier Update for April 2022 (May @ #40) (June @ #92)

[viet noa]

For the 3-month cutoff projected shifts fans: required reading

Gastrodon could move from RU to NU
Marowak-Alola could move from RU to NU

Araquanid could move from NU to PU
Guzzlord could move from NU to PU
Inteleon could move from NU to PU

Frosmoth could move from PU to ZU
Ninjask could move from PU to ZU

Ninjask to ZU?
I initally said that Ninjask would be perfectly fine in ZU, but after discussing with other ZU higher-ups, I feel like it could definitely be a centralizing threat. While it has plenty of defensive checks, there's very little (if anything) that can out-offense it. In higher tiers, offensive breakers have the bulk to take a hit from Ninjask and retaliate, or at least take minimum damage from U-Turn. The lower power level in ZU makes the prospect of this much more difficult (with the exception of niche mons like Rotom-Fan). So, I think ZU might be overwhelmed by it.


Frosmoth to ZU?
Before it rose to PU, Frosmoth was a solid sweeper that was far from broken. Not only do I think Frosmoth will be balanced in ZU, but it debatably could be worse than before. This was already made clear by the rise of special walls like Articuno, Miltank, and Coalossal, but the omnipresence of Klinklang makes it even more difficult for Frosmoth. Still though, it's nothing to scoff at, so it would be a decent addition to the tier.

 

[missangelic]

For anyone interested in ZU and SU, here are all of the Pokemon tiered as ZU organized by their average usage rates across the last two months.

Tier Shifts for this month are as follows:
- Cursola drops from ZU to SU
- Shiinotic drops from ZU to SU

Projected Drops:
- Frosmoth could drop from PU to SU
- Lickilicky could drop from ZU to SU
- Lycanroc-Midnight could drop from ZU to SU

(Edit: I forgot to add Thwackey and Morpeko behind Accelgor in the visual. My apologies! The tier shifts are still the same, however.)

For anyone interested in Subzero Used, feel free to PM me for a link to the discord!

 

[Walletinspector62]

Tbh I think allowing borderline to move up to the tier above should be allowed as it really doesn’t effect much of anything

 

[missangelic]

Tbh I think allowing borderline to move up to the tier above should be allowed as it really doesn’t effect much of anything

I get this reasoning a bit, but I disagree. If the metagame of a lower tier shifts to the point where a Pokemon in its banlist would be tolerable in the metagame again, it would lose the opportunity to be resuspected and unbanned by the playerbase.

 

[Walletinspector62]

I get this reasoning a bit, but I disagree. If the metagame of a lower tier shifts to the point where a Pokemon in its banlist would be tolerable in the metagame again, it would lose the opportunity to be resuspected and unbanned by the playerbase.

if the Pokémon is getting the usage in the tier above, it shouldn’t be able to be suspected. That’s like UU suspect testing Tapu Koko.

 

[Dead by Daylight]

RIP Cursola, thought it had potential in PU and/or ZU but apparently not.

SU isn't playable on Showdown!, right?

 

[viet noa]

For anyone interested in ZU and SU, here are all of the Pokemon tiered as ZU organized by their average usage rates across the last two months.
View attachment 428334
Tier Shifts for this month are as follows:
- Cursola drops from ZU to SU
- Shiinotic drops from ZU to SU

Projected Drops:
- Frosmoth could drop from PU to SU
- Lickilicky could drop from ZU to SU
- Lycanroc-Midnight could drop from ZU to SU

(Edit: I forgot to add Thwackey and Morpeko behind Accelgor in the visual. My apologies! The tier shifts are still the same, however.)

For anyone interested in Subzero Used, feel free to PM me for a link to the discord!

with the ladder tournament going on, this is probably the most accurate usage stats (relative to viability) we've seen in a while

runerigus and lickilicky being used that much is still insanity though

 

[missangelic]

if the Pokémon is getting the usage in the tier above, it shouldn’t be able to be suspected. That’s like UU suspect testing Tapu Koko.

I don't think so. This would be something more along the lines of Aegislash being banned from UU in the current suspect test, rising to OU-level usage in July's or October's tier shifts (but not rising due to the new tiering policy), and later being resuspected down into UU before or after the generation is over.

[/QUOTE]

RIP Cursola, thought it had potential in PU and/or ZU but apparently not.

SU isn't playable on Showdown!, right?

SU is not currently playable on Showdown, as it is more of an OM of an OM. However, you can use this code to play in the gen8zu format:
/tour rules -Accelgor, -Alcremie, -Altaria, -Articuno, -Coalossal, -Cryogonal, -Dark Memory, -Dugtrio-Alola, -Gurdurr, -Kangaskhan, -Klinklang, -Lickilicky, -Lilligant, -Lycanroc-Midnight, -Manectric, -Miltank, -Morpeko, -Persian-Alola, -Piloswine, -Poison Memory, -Poliwrath, -Qwilfish, -Rapidash, +Rapidash-Galar, -Rhydon, -Rotom, +Rotom-Fan, -Runerigus, -Sableye, -Sawk, -Skuntank, -Stunfisk, +Stunfisk-Galar, -Tangela, -Thwackey, -Uxie

 

[Dead by Daylight]

I feel that banlist Pokémon should exclusively be able to rise in the metagame shifts up one tier to the tier above the one that it was banned from. Too often, we see banned Pokémon become used more in the tier, but due to the metagame freeze after July, they stay in the BL. Additionally, Pokémon in the BL often see little to no usage in the tier above them, but a sudden spike should lead to at least one tier shift up. Additionally, if it underperforms, a lower tier can resuspect it and put it where it belongs.

 

[julian113]

If rises were allowed, the following would be forecast:
Blaziken would rise to OU from UUBL
Espeon would rise to NU from PUBL
Sceptile would rise to NU from PUBL

Is there any word from tiering leaders on whether the decision to stop rises will apply to the bl mons? Realistically there has been no discussion of retesting these mons in UU and PU respectively, so I can't see any harm in just rising bl mons to reflect their usage in a tier above as the gen comes to a close. It obviously wouldn't affect the stabilization of any lower tiers at the end of the gen, which is the reason for the decision to stop rises in the last 2 shifts. I highly doubt any of the lower tiers are gonna want to retest any of these mons anyway when it would cause such a big metagame shift so close to the end of the gen, something that's obviously sought to be avoided.
Edit: Just saw all the posts about this lol, don't mean to clog up the thread.

 

[missangelic]

with the ladder tournament going on, this is probably the most accurate usage stats (relative to viability) we've seen in a while

runerigus and lickilicky being used that much is still insanity though

Usage stats relative to viability? Say no more!
After wrestling around in Google Sheets a bit, I made this from my ZU data. I hope it can paint an interesting picture of the ZU metagame on the forums versus the popularity of Pokemon on a smaller ladder.

 

[viet noa]

Usage stats relative to viability? Say no more!
After wrestling around in Google Sheets a bit, I made this from my ZU data. I hope it can paint an interesting picture of the ZU metagame on the forums versus the popularity of Pokemon on a smaller ladder.
View attachment 428403

this is so cool wtf

 

[Pokeslice]

Diancie is A rank, Dhelmise is B+ rank, and Hitmontop is unranked (for now: soon all will realize its glory) in NU. A diancie rise would make dragalge even better with one less common draco immunity in the tier. Might be for the best.

I’ll be honest, us in NU wouldn’t really care if Diancie left. It’s fallen off HARD, first in the Goodra meta and now in the Staka meta, and an actual Steel is extremely mandatory, making running Diancie difficult. Dhelm would be a non insignificant loss though. Cool post!