Resource VGC 2023 Regulation D Viability Rankings

[Robbie35646]

These are the official Viability Rankings for VGC 2023 Regulation D. In this thread, we as a community will be ranking each and every usable pokemon into different tiers based on how viable we believe them to be. We encourage you to post your thoughts and opinions on on the various usable Pokemon in VGC and what tier you think they should belong in. Posts in this thread will be taken into consideration when deciding changes to the VR.

The general idea of this is to rank every usable Pokemon in VGC into different rankings that will go in descending order. Since we are evaluating the entirety of the metagame, we will not be splitting Pokemon based on their roles within teams - supportive and offensive Pokemon will be ranked based on their impact that they have on the meta and the teams they will be brought for.

Finally, there will be a Council of experienced players who will discuss and vote on the ranking of each Pokemon. As the Series tend to be fairly short, we will be attempting to keep this up-to-date based on what's going on in the tournament scene and adapting our list based on both tournament results and ladder success as the metagame evolves. Keep in mind, your posts and insights are still very valuable to us and will be a factor in any changes that we make. This thread would be nothing without the community and all of your input, so if you feel you have a good grasp on the metagame and fully understand the forum rules, then don't be hesitant to post.

VGC 2023 Regulation D Viability Rankings

S-Tier

S
Flutter Mane
Urshifu-Rapid-Strike

S-
Iron Hands

A-Tier

A+
Amoonguss
Chien-Pao
Landorus-Therian
Rillaboom
Heatran
A
Dragonite
Gholdengo
Cresselia
Ursaluna
Tornadus
Chi-Yu
Urshifu-Single-Strike

A-
Dragapult
Thundurus


B-Tier

B+
Basculegion-M
Pelipper
Farigiraf
Dondozo


B
Iron Bundle
Glimmora
Tatsugiri
Zapdos
Indeedee-F
Arcanine
Arcanine-Hisui
Landorus
Regidrago


B-
Thundurus-Therian
Torkoal
Lilligant-Hisui
Gyarados
Grimmsnarl
Regieleki
Annihilape

C-Tier

C+

Kingambit
Armarouge
Goodra-Hisui
Moltres-Galar
Roaring Moon
Mimikyu
Maushold
Ting-Lu

C
Sneasler
Baxcalibur
Great Tusk
Gothitelle
Azumarill
Abomasnow
Scream Tail
Volcarona
Gastrodon
Enamorus
Kleavor
Hatterene
Palafin
Enamorus-Therian

C-
Samurott-Hisui
Spectrier
Glastrier
Scizor

D
Zoroark-Hisui
Zapdos-Galar
Corviknight
Flamigo
Moltres
Brambleghast
Tsareena

 

[Robbie35646]

Council:
Chromate
Eeveon7
Spurrific
Yuichi
Robbie35646
zee
Finabas
Borghi

 

[Borghi]

As part of the council, I just want to say

I think S- or S+ is stupid. S is S. In this format I think only Urshifu-Rapid and Flutter Mane are S tier.

I say Iron Hands should be moved down to A+, or if everyone else thinks it should stay, atleast move it up to S proper and remove this horrid S- nonsense

 

[LovelyLuna]

I agree with a lot here, having a similar tier list. Just a few thoughts I'd like to share;

from S- to A+

Outside of the whole S- thing, Iron Hands hasn't really justified its place as a tier above the other A+s like Amoonguss and Chien Pao. i.e in Yokohama there were 7 Iron Hands in T16, 6 Amoonguss & Heatran, and 8 Chien Pao. (With S tiers like Flutter being in 15 out of the Top 16 teams, showing the gap it can make deserving of S). Or we can look at the recent Nino tour #73. We only see 10 Iron Hands in Top 32 (4 in T16). This is being compared to 11 Landorus-T, 8 of them making it to Top 16 and 12 Amoonguss, 6 of them in T16.

Iron Hands just does not have the results to be in the tier above Amoonguss, Chien Pao, Heatran, Landorus and so on. Especially when it faces competition in Rillaboom for what it wants to do as an Assault Vest fake out pivot that is capable of ohkoing Flutter. I do acknowledge the Swords Dance set exists and can go far, but every Iron Hands in Top 32 was AV at Nino's which makes me want to say its the premier set rn. Even the recent Booster Energy adaptation highlighted in a Neil video can still face competition from Rillaboom, who's Wood Hammer hits harder thanks to Grassy Terrain. The S tiers like Flutter Mane and Urshifu are pokemon that face practically no competition, hence they earn a lot more usage on both ladder and tours.

It is a splashable pokemon for sure but it isn't comparable to Flutter or a tier above the A+'s

from A to A-/B+

Ursaluna is just really mid outside of Trick Room, which is already not the greatest Archetype. Its harder to fit in and you'll need to build around it instead. To show this, It got 3 results in Top 32 of Nino, the highest being 9th. Other pokemon in the tier like Chi-Yu and Gholdengo got 6 of them.

It is a lot harder to splash and entirely relies on its breaking power which multiple pokemon can replicate while bringing other things to the table. Chi-Yu, Dragonite and Gholdengo can in fact do this. Either with set up or damage boosting items which aren't exactly a problem considering Ursaluna relies on switching in safely or wasting a turn to get its power, which also begs for Trick Room because otherwise it is very exploitable. The TR setter will usually have to cover for Fake Out, certain double ups, taunt, spore while also not bringing in a passive lead that loses to imprison or a stall of TR. Its STABs having immunities also usually forces you to play mind games which you really don't want to do when you are on a 4 turn timer. Putting that aside, it has a bad matchup into both Urshifu, Chien Pao, and Rillaboom which always not the greatest considering you cant resist Urshifu Rapid without being weak to one of the other two. It is the major reason Ting Lu's viability has significantly dropped after all (?)

I do acknowledge it is still very strong, will be able to clean through certain teams with the ridiculous one shotting capability. However, it seems like it needs a lot of support like Dragapult or Basculegion and can be tricky to position this meta.

from C- to C+

Take this with a grain of salt as It wouldn't be based around results but I believe that's fine when proposing it above/equal to pokemon with next to no results in general.

Like Mimikyu, being a Ghost type with Will O Wisp makes it a solid answer into Chien-Pao-Dragonite and while it lacks the sucker punch neutrality, outrage immunity, and trick room, It has access to other support moves like snarl, haze, disable, and taunt. This lets Spectrier be a great supportive piece on a lot of teams as a way to patch up a matchup (in particular, Chien-Pao-Dragonite, Dondozo, Choice Specs Flutter Mane, Amoonguss and more). Its speed also lets it invest barely any speed and wisp Urshifu first while focusing the rest on bulk. I will say 100/60/80 bulk is far from good, but because of how neutral ghost is and will o wisp/snarl, invested it can eat quite a few hits. Unlike other supportive pokemon however, Grim neigh lets it be far from passive and lets it snowball, an example is 0 SpA Shadow Ball doing more than Specs Torkoal Eruption (Albeit to a target weak to it like Flutter Mane but I believe the idea still stands)

Overall, Spectrier may be outclassed by Flutter Mane offensively, however its supportive sets have a lot of potential on a lot of teams without being passive at all.

from C- to C+

Not sure why this is so low, correct me if I'm wrong but I believe it has more results than Kingambit and Azumarill?

Glastrier is very slow, however to the point its a great thing. It is just slow enough to speed tie Amoonguss, who rarely runs min speed this format. This is especially great because Amoonguss is a big problem for Trick Room and being able to hit it before being spored can be really crucial. Glastrier is also a pokemon that can hit Heatran for a lot in and out of Tera, who is usually a big problem for the majority of Trick room teams, especially sunroom. Glastrier can run multiple sets, being both be a decent Swords Dance Sweeper and a good hit taker with Assault Vest, racking up power similar to Spectrier with Chilling Neigh. It gets great coverage in Close Combat, Heavy Slam, Crunch and Outrage if you're feeling spicy. This thing can also be ran on snowroom, you're trying to break 100/130/110 bulk through aurora veil.

Glastrier is indeed not as good of a Trick Room staple as Cresselia, Ursaluna, Indeedee or even Torkoal. But it holds its place as a great way to help the Heatran matchup and grows more terrifying as the game goes on, which is something Trick Room can use as a way to push through even when TR ends.

 

[Robbie35646]

I agree with a lot here, having a similar tier list. Just a few thoughts I'd like to share;

from S- to A+

Outside of the whole S- thing, Iron Hands hasn't really justified its place as a tier above the other A+s like Amoonguss and Chien Pao. i.e in Yokohama there were 7 Iron Hands in T16, 6 Amoonguss & Heatran, and 8 Chien Pao. (With S tiers like Flutter being in 15 out of the Top 16 teams, showing the gap it can make deserving of S). Or we can look at the recent Nino tour #73. We only see 10 Iron Hands in Top 32 (4 in T16). This is being compared to 11 Landorus-T, 8 of them making it to Top 16 and 12 Amoonguss, 6 of them in T16.

Iron Hands just does not have the results to be in the tier above Amoonguss, Chien Pao, Heatran, Landorus and so on. Especially when it faces competition in Rillaboom for what it wants to do as an Assault Vest fake out pivot that is capable of ohkoing Flutter. I do acknowledge the Swords Dance set exists and can go far, but every Iron Hands in Top 32 was AV at Nino's which makes me want to say its the premier set rn. Even the recent Booster Energy adaptation highlighted in a Neil video can still face competition from Rillaboom, who's Wood Hammer hits harder thanks to Grassy Terrain. The S tiers like Flutter Mane and Urshifu are pokemon that face practically no competition, hence they earn a lot more usage on both ladder and tours.

It is a splashable pokemon for sure but it isn't comparable to Flutter or a tier above the A+'s

from A to A-/B+

Ursaluna is just really mid outside of Trick Room, which is already not the greatest Archetype. Its harder to fit in and you'll need to build around it instead. To show this, It got 3 results in Top 32 of Nino, the highest being 9th. Other pokemon in the tier like Chi-Yu and Gholdengo got 6 of them.

It is a lot harder to splash and entirely relies on its breaking power which multiple pokemon can replicate while bringing other things to the table. Chi-Yu, Dragonite and Gholdengo can in fact do this. Either with set up or damage boosting items which aren't exactly a problem considering Ursaluna relies on switching in safely or wasting a turn to get its power, which also begs for Trick Room because otherwise it is very exploitable. The TR setter will usually have to cover for Fake Out, certain double ups, taunt, spore while also not bringing in a passive lead that loses to imprison or a stall of TR. Its STABs having immunities also usually forces you to play mind games which you really don't want to do when you are on a 4 turn timer. Putting that aside, it has a bad matchup into both Urshifu, Chien Pao, and Rillaboom which always not the greatest considering you cant resist Urshifu Rapid without being weak to one of the other two. It is the major reason Ting Lu's viability has significantly dropped after all (?)

I do acknowledge it is still very strong, will be able to clean through certain teams with the ridiculous one shotting capability. However, it seems like it needs a lot of support like Dragapult or Basculegion and can be tricky to position this meta.

from C- to C+

Take this with a grain of salt as It wouldn't be based around results but I believe that's fine when proposing it above/equal to pokemon with next to no results in general.

Like Mimikyu, being a Ghost type with Will O Wisp makes it a solid answer into Chien-Pao-Dragonite and while it lacks the sucker punch neutrality, outrage immunity, and trick room, It has access to other support moves like snarl, haze, disable, and taunt. This lets Spectrier be a great supportive piece on a lot of teams as a way to patch up a matchup (in particular, Chien-Pao-Dragonite, Dondozo, Choice Specs Flutter Mane, Amoonguss and more). Its speed also lets it invest barely any speed and wisp Urshifu first while focusing the rest on bulk. I will say 100/60/80 bulk is far from good, but because of how neutral ghost is and will o wisp/snarl, invested it can eat quite a few hits. Unlike other supportive pokemon however, Grim neigh lets it be far from passive and lets it snowball, an example is 0 SpA Shadow Ball doing more than Specs Torkoal Eruption (Albeit to a target weak to it like Flutter Mane but I believe the idea still stands)

Overall, Spectrier may be outclassed by Flutter Mane offensively, however its supportive sets have a lot of potential on a lot of teams without being passive at all.

from C- to C+

Not sure why this is so low, correct me if I'm wrong but I believe it has more results than Kingambit and Azumarill?

Glastrier is very slow, however to the point its a great thing. It is just slow enough to speed tie Amoonguss, who rarely runs min speed this format. This is especially great because Amoonguss is a big problem for Trick Room and being able to hit it before being spored can be really crucial. Glastrier is also a pokemon that can hit Heatran for a lot in and out of Tera, who is usually a big problem for the majority of Trick room teams, especially sunroom. Glastrier can run multiple sets, being both be a decent Swords Dance Sweeper and a good hit taker with Assault Vest, racking up power similar to Spectrier with Chilling Neigh. It gets great coverage in Close Combat, Heavy Slam, Crunch and Outrage if you're feeling spicy. This thing can also be ran on snowroom, you're trying to break 100/130/110 bulk through aurora veil.

Glastrier is indeed not as good of a Trick Room staple as Cresselia, Ursaluna, Indeedee or even Torkoal. But it holds its place as a great way to help the Heatran matchup and grows more terrifying as the game goes on, which is something Trick Room can use as a way to push through even when TR ends.

I definitively think should be in the same tier as mons like and . He does not feel any more slappable than either, especially with taking up slots on teams it used to be a staple on. Prob fine to delete S- as a whole.



This mon when paired with is still so dangerous, especially the more recent ones with and it also feels more slappable than the other mons you mentioned because its partners also just make really good cores without it. It also has a good place on + which is still a somewhat respectable archetype.



Comparison to I disagree with, is pretty common on high ladder especially on TailRoom. is really niche and fine where it is imo.



People tested this mon with and early format and it just never stuck on any archetype. Also think this is fine where it is rn, personally voted D on it ngl

 

[TheEeveeAnimations]

These are the official Viability Rankings for VGC 2023 Regulation D. In this thread, we as a community will be ranking each and every usable pokemon into different tiers based on how viable we believe them to be. We encourage you to post your thoughts and opinions on on the various usable Pokemon in VGC and what tier you think they should belong in. Posts in this thread will be taken into consideration when deciding changes to the VR.

The general idea of this is to rank every usable Pokemon in VGC into different rankings that will go in descending order. Since we are evaluating the entirety of the metagame, we will not be splitting Pokemon based on their roles within teams - supportive and offensive Pokemon will be ranked based on their impact that they have on the meta and the teams they will be brought for.

Finally, there will be a Council of experienced players who will discuss and vote on the ranking of each Pokemon. As the Series tend to be fairly short, we will be attempting to keep this up-to-date based on what's going on in the tournament scene and adapting our list based on both tournament results and ladder success as the metagame evolves. Keep in mind, your posts and insights are still very valuable to us and will be a factor in any changes that we make. This thread would be nothing without the community and all of your input, so if you feel you have a good grasp on the metagame and fully understand the forum rules, then don't be hesitant to post.

VGC 2023 Regulation D Viability Rankings

S-Tier

S
Flutter Mane
Urshifu-Rapid-Strike

S-
Iron Hands

A-Tier

A+
Amoonguss
Chien-Pao
Landorus-Therian
Rillaboom
Heatran
A
Dragonite
Gholdengo
Cresselia
Ursaluna
Tornadus
Chi-Yu
Urshifu-Single-Strike

A-
Dragapult
Thundurus


B-Tier

B+
Basculegion-M
Pelipper
Farigiraf
Dondozo


B
Iron Bundle
Glimmora
Tatsugiri
Zapdos
Indeedee-F
Arcanine
Arcanine-Hisui
Landorus
Regidrago


B-
Thundurus-Therian
Torkoal
Lilligant-Hisui
Gyarados
Grimmsnarl
Regieleki
Annihilape

C-Tier

C+

Kingambit
Armarouge
Goodra-Hisui
Moltres-Galar
Roaring Moon
Mimikyu
Maushold
Ting-Lu

C
Sneasler
Baxcalibur
Great Tusk
Gothitelle
Azumarill
Abomasnow
Scream Tail
Volcarona
Gastrodon
Enamorus
Kleavor
Hatterene
Palafin
Enamorus-Therian

C-
Samurott-Hisui
Spectrier
Glastrier
Scizor

D
Zoroark-Hisui
Zapdos-Galar
Corviknight
Flamigo
Moltres
Brambleghast
Tsareena

This ranking is lit! I have a few suggestions.
Brambleghast to B- or B:
This thing walls half of offense by virtue of Wind Rider. Not-insignificant attack, free +1 in tailwind, doesn’t immediately die to a light breeze (ha ha). Typing isn’t great, and its Ghost movepool is absolute ass, but by virtue of existing, you’re forced to respect it. I think it’s a fair anti-meta threat.

Goodra-Hisui from C+ to B-:
Very good typing, a big bundle of good stats, crazy coverage, this mon has the makings of a strong mon. It just hates Urshifu. But yeah, it’s the best Iron Defense Body Press user we have. At +4 it can start raw OHKOing weaker neutral Pokémon. Gets to pick between an Urshifu counter (Shell Armor) and an Amoonguss/Rilla counter (Sap Sipper)! I don’t think we’re respecting this mon nearly enough. Its time will come, be sure of that.

Spectrier to D:

God, I’ve tried to make Spectrier work. I really did. Nasty Plot, Sub, Snarl Willo, even Specs. Every single time, I said after 10 games, “this would just be better as a Flutter Mane or Gholdengo.” There is no actual reason to run this over the two better ghost types we got. MAYBE if you are obsessed with big Ghost type damage, since it’s got a higher Spa? I want this dumb horse to work, and at every turn it confounds me. Just use a better Pokémon.

 

[TheEeveeAnimations]

More updates:

Iron Hands to S:
Yeah, this mon is broken. It can do almost anything you need it to do. It was ubiquitous as Urshifu-Rapid-Strike at Worlds, a Pokemon that goes through Protect. Every set this Pokemon can run is amazing. Bulky pivot? Set up sweeper? Trick Room sweeper? Special wall? Check/counter to modern meta picks like PaoNite and FlutterChi? It can do it all. No reason this mon isn’t part of the Top 3.

Landorus-Therian to A:
Landorus is in a weird spot right now. It’s good. It’s always going to be good based on its stats, typing, and movepool. But two of the best and most common offensive threats out there really pressure it: Chien-Pao and Urshifu-Rapid-Strike. Faster, can OHKO or force Tera. That on its own isn’t too bad. It’s competing with its favorite items as well; Iron Hands is a better Assault Vest user, which is crazy to say considering we’re talking about Landorus-Therian. Scarf can be taken by Urshifu, and Flutter Mane gets to say “lol no” and is running Speed Booster Energy + Icy Wind to ruin Lando’s day. The metagame is unfriendly to it currently. It checks Iron Hands, which is very nice. It can struggle into Chi-Yu depending on the team. It got some cute new tools; it gets Taunt now, and Tera Blast is weaker Max Airstream. Stomping Tantrum is the single target physical ground move it got. It wishes it got Headlong Rush, but them’s the breaks. I think it’s still a strong choice! I just don’t think it’s as strong of a choice as, say, Amoonguss and Chien Pao right now.

Volcarona to C+:
Yeah, yeah, Heatran walls the shit out of it. 4x rock weak, slow for the meta, all true. Tera has been a blessing for this Pokemon. It can abuse the shit out of the mechanic defensively to get a safe Quiver Dance up and start cooking. It loves Hands/Amoonguss/Rilla on its side to create those free turns. It can set up in front of Flutter Mane (shadow ball damage may vary). I’m not going to sit there and say it’s as meta defining as any of the other B tier mons. I think it’s worth a shout, and really gets to shine when you build to its strengths.

 

[LovelyLuna]

More updates:

Iron Hands to S:
Yeah, this mon is broken. It can do almost anything you need it to do. It was ubiquitous as Urshifu-Rapid-Strike at Worlds, a Pokemon that goes through Protect. Every set this Pokemon can run is amazing. Bulky pivot? Set up sweeper? Trick Room sweeper? Special wall? Check/counter to modern meta picks like PaoNite and FlutterChi? It can do it all. No reason this mon isn’t part of the Top 3.

I can definitely Agree with this after worlds representation. It's a very splashable pokemon you can rely on to do many things

Landorus-Therian to A:
Landorus is in a weird spot right now. It’s good. It’s always going to be good based on its stats, typing, and movepool. But two of the best and most common offensive threats out there really pressure it: Chien-Pao and Urshifu-Rapid-Strike. Faster, can OHKO or force Tera. That on its own isn’t too bad. It’s competing with its favorite items as well; Iron Hands is a better Assault Vest user, which is crazy to say considering we’re talking about Landorus-Therian. Scarf can be taken by Urshifu, and Flutter Mane gets to say “lol no” and is running Speed Booster Energy + Icy Wind to ruin Lando’s day. The metagame is unfriendly to it currently. It checks Iron Hands, which is very nice. It can struggle into Chi-Yu depending on the team. It got some cute new tools; it gets Taunt now, and Tera Blast is weaker Max Airstream. Stomping Tantrum is the single target physical ground move it got. It wishes it got Headlong Rush, but them’s the breaks. I think it’s still a strong choice! I just don’t think it’s as strong of a choice as, say, Amoonguss and Chien Pao right now.

This however I disagree with, 's ability to cycle Intimidate on top of the things you mentioned makes it always a strong pick. and may force a Tera, however this just applies to the rest of the A+ Tier pokemon. For example, and will Tera in-front of or itself, A lot of the time they'll also want to Tera in the face of . So Being Forced into a Tera is Indeed fine, especially when wants to Tera a lot of the time for the offensive capability from Tera Blast Flying anyway. Yes, is an amazing Assault Vest user, however, it can also run other sets, just how you mentioned its versatility. Assault Vest might be common on but It can run a lot of sets to great success too. Choice Scarf can be used to threaten and , becoming the one forcing them to Tera now while outspeeding previous threats to it, I believe there were more Scarf than Assault Vest at worlds? might be a user of Scarf, but it is not nearly as common as something like Mystic Water or Safety Goggles, it doesn't exactly hog the item. We have to also at least respect Japan's Safety Goggles set, along with the similar Sitrus one Neil and Nick used to Top cut. Have you also run into Tera Water Choice Band ? It's seen a skyrocket on ladder from my experience.

You get the idea, is one versatile pokemon that can get 8 Worlds Top Cuts (Not sure if it means much but had 7 and had 5) even when It's best item is hogged. Stomping is an amazing upgrade people underrate, running Earthquake in this meta is just so much worse and Tera Blast is probably one too, a 110~ BP move you can click forever without the worry of things doubling their bulk is amazing. It's just gotten better this gen and usage stats only further support this.

Volcarona to C+:
Yeah, yeah, Heatran walls the shit out of it. 4x rock weak, slow for the meta, all true. Tera has been a blessing for this Pokemon. It can abuse the shit out of the mechanic defensively to get a safe Quiver Dance up and start cooking. It loves Hands/Amoonguss/Rilla on its side to create those free turns. It can set up in front of Flutter Mane (shadow ball damage may vary). I’m not going to sit there and say it’s as meta defining as any of the other B tier mons. I think it’s worth a shout, and really gets to shine when you build to its strengths.

Don't have a lot of experience with it myself so I won't say a lot and people should take this with a grain of salt, however I agree with this. It has its flaws for sure but It can rally get going, can't deny a worlds Top cut, performing better than , , , and . Free turns are indeed easy to build up with the support the meta provides and makes itself different from the other set up pokemon because of how broken Quiver Dance is.

 

[Robbie35646]

Just wanted to post some thoughts, not as a member of the council. This is far from everything i'd change but the most important ones

B- to B+
Gyarados Chi-Yu Hands Amoong is one of the strongest cores in the game atm that can beat almost every archetype with good pivoting. It has great qualities such as being an Intimidator that can take multiple hits from Urshifu-R, offering speed control to deal with threats like Flutter Mane and Chien-Pao and having Taunt to shut down passive mons like Amoonguss.

B to A-
Arcanine-H sees a lot of play both with a Choice Band set that lets it get off an Intimidate while being a huge offensive threat and an Assault Vest set that makes it an amazing pivot.

B to C+
Kanto Arcanine very rarely sees use as an Intimidator, there is a lot of competition that is almost every time just a better slot.

+ C to B-
Both of these are mons that picked up recently, having some strong results making them deserving of B-

S- to S
Almost everyone seems to agree that we should remove the S- tier and move Hands up to S

A+ to A
Heatran both in results and just its spot in the meta feels more comparable to Chi-Yu and Gholdengo than anything in the A+ tier.

B- to C+/C
Cant remember the last time i saw this mon tbh.

 

[TheEeveeAnimations]

I recant my Landorus-Therian slander.

Seconding most of Robbie’s opinions in the post above. In particular, Heatran’s most successful set, the Tera Grass leftovers, is seeing a lot less play as people are getting better at playing around it. If Heatran wants to survive, it’s going to have to adapt a little bit.

My opinions:

Put Glimmora in C. I cannot think of the last time this Pokemon had a real result.

Cresselia (but not Ursaluna) to A-. There’s been a sharp fall off in CressUrsa teams getting results. Getting Trick Room up and getting Ursaluna in safely is proving to be a harder task as the meta develops. Cresselia’s lack of offense, paired with stronger threats actually able to threaten OHKOs into this beefy mon, means it’s slightly less viable than before. Ursaluna, on the opposite side, is still able to find places on Tailwind teams to start dishing out its signature brand of massive damage. Its 50 speed is underwhelming, but the insane levels of Attack it gets with Guts combined with frankly ridiculous bulk and Tailwind-boosted Speed means the cocaine bear is here to stay in A.

Zapdos to B+. It’s been picking up steam as a reliable answer to Urshifu-RS for balance teams, with supporting options like Tailwind and Roost. No reliable Flying STAB sucks (did you know there’s only one special Flying move with 100% accuracy?), and it’s not Prankster, so it can be doubled to kill. Zapdos is a beefy bird, Electric/Flying coverage is pretty good, does well into a lot of things right now. It is very flexible, being able to run Sitrus Berry, Safety Goggles, and Rocky Helmet very well. Tera Water Zapdos has been seeing more use over Steel. B+ feels like a more suitable home for this Pokemon.

 

[Shaymin Sky]

I think amoonguss should be raised to S- and Iron Hands should be raised up into S tier. After this weekend and even before in the WCS they have proven to be extremely effective in stalling out turns while landing important chip damage at the same time, all the while avoiding most ohkoes in the tier thanks to Drain punch on Iron Hands and Sitrus Berry/Regenerator on Amoonguss. These two are almost always immediately led off with when seen on teams because they are able to tank pretty much anything thrown at them even without tera, and then immediately threaten with huge disruption in spore and fake out. The meta ATP can be said to revolve around Amoonguss and iron hands quite heavily, not having both together on 1 team is just an instant disadvantage because you limit your ability to scout, to threaten huge disruption, and have far more difficulty in stalling out field conditions such as terrains, TR, and tailwind because you lack access to spore threat, fake out, or dpunch hp increase allow ihands to live crucial 2 usual 2 hit ko's, which that extra turn of living lets it get off huge damage again. I think it's also worth while to note Amoonguss is one of the few answers to Rillaboom Wood Hammer ATM that does not take 1000 damage on switch in.

If you have both Iron Hands and Amoonguss out on the field, its literally impossible to kill both in a timely effective matter, which was seen all throughout the Pittsburgh regionals this weekend where multiple games went to 1 minute solely because breaking through the combo of Iron Hands + Amoonguss is just impossible, and not just that but being able to dent that combo AND LIVE the threats of spore, fake out, wild charge is a whole other problem

ATP id argue that Iron Hands is on a similar if not the same level of flutter mane in metagame centralization, the main thing Iron hands even has to worry about at all right now is Landorus-therian but its so easy to force landorus-therian to Tera-water atm with Urshifu threatening, Amoonguss spore forcing Landorus-Therian to go for Tera blast Flying ohkoes, i mean the list goes on...there are so many situations where a tera flying/water Landorus-Therian is actually threatened by the ihands because of the potential tera water on hands into wild charge, Iron Hands even vs the things that it struggles to mitigate dictates how that pokemon has to play the game.