Resource SV PU Viability Rankings - Pre DLC 1 Edition

[ManOfMany]

to S

This mon is just stupid good. It's not the type to usually dominate opposing teams but it is nearly always proving itself useful and annoying. There is very little hazards counterplay to the Spikes stacking because of its huge natural bulk and good typing that provides it with a lot of resistances and neutral wins. Qwilfish can set up hazards for free while still being offensively threatening because of its Toxic chances and decent Ask stat. But Qwilfish is much more than easy hazards stacking-- it can also run a very decent Swords Dance set due to its great coverage and bulk. Like everything, this set becomes even more threatening because of Tera, where it can bypass the very few Pokemon who can hit it super-effectively if need be, although sometimes it doesn't even need it. It also is frightening when boosted by Rain! While Qwilfish-H isn't usually totally overwhelming teams , there really is very little reason NOT to use it on teams at this point. It is immensely splashable and even unpredictable, while always being good.

to B or B+ (agree)

This mon is good because it is fairly bulky with Eviolite and is a good user of Knock Off. This is important because Qwilfish-H and other play styles like Webs makes it so easy to hazard stack but there are a lot of Boots users. As said earlier, it can also provide good utility with U-turn and Leech Seed. Bulky Swords Dance sets are also an option with Drain Punch, although because of Qwilfish-H its sort of required to use Tera (fighting or other) with them, so they are more niche. Lack of recovery is an issue however, and Go goat is still the superior bulky Grass-type mon for most team structures.

to A

This Pokemon is simply an incredible sweeper. Unlike Lilligant, her coverage is naturally perfect and with Boots + Intimidate it can set up on a variety of mons. This allows users to use Tera typing for defensive value rather than offense, which can easily prevent counter-sweeps from the likes of Scarf Lycanrock and Indeedee. Of course it will not sweep every time and it is still somewhat frail, but it is *always* a threat to just about any team structure due to its sheer unpredictability and powerful offense. (also Bug Buzz and Surf are perfectly strong moves to run on her if you are really that worried about missing)

to B-

I don't care how useless this mon might seem, I hate to face this thing. It just lives forever, tanks every hit, and paralyzes everything in it's path. Yeah its sweeping sets are vulnerable to Trick and Toxic and stuff but it still cripples half your team in doing so. I won't even get into the Tera-type possibilities with this one. Also its typing provides no utility but it can still run a Stealth Rock Roost set like a discount Chansey and wall a majority of the tier anyway. Weird mon but certainly much better on paper than its perceived value in the Teambuilder. Thank god Missy exists.

 

[Perla]

Couple of noms I'd like to make:

-> S-

I agree with lots of people: this mon is so good.
Bulky, it can taunt, it can set up Spikes, it can cripple stuff with poison, it can give you a last intimidate before dying and additionally it has a viable offensive set. This fish is splashable in every team and I think it should stay among the staples of the staples.


-> A-

I think that the "pseudo-Regieleki" nature of this mon is still heavily underexplored. This fast pivot which can run boots (so you're not worried about hazards anymore, unlike scarfed Rotom-Frost ) can basically spam Volt Switch without concerns. If something like Gabite tries to stop you, you can Tera Ice and get rid of it. Mons who rely on tera are generally not welcomed, but I think that like Regieleki and Jolteon in NU, its tera is never wasted as it can still threaten other stuff in following turns thanks to its new Bolt-Beam coverage, while still keeping speed and hazards immunity (Rotom-Frost has to choose just one of them).
Forgot to save some good replays, but I have retrieved something.

Replays

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9pu-1892589078-ysbgmc5z1vjnngkqyv9455ei2sw9wxgpw


https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9pu-1892538497-bi13dyqqd80ci47kbt6znr3xgydp8ccpw

 

[pokeclysm]

Since no one else has done it yet, I'm going to write about where I think the new Pokemon will end up on the VR once the dust settles.

to S

This thing's combination of power and speed is simply incomparable to anything we have in the tier right now. Misdreavus is great, but it's almost the only thing in the tier that doesn't get smashed by Tauros once it enters. I wouldn't be surprised if this eventually got banned.

to S

Speaking of which, I wasn't too sure about this thing, but from experiencing it first hand, it's a demon. Outspeeds practically anything that's not a scarfer or Electrode, and it can do a variety of things, from support to Nasty Plot. Parting Shot on something this fast is devious, and it's a great way to pivot in threats that might have trouble surviving something.

to A+

This thing is legitimately crazily bulky by PU standards. A physically bulky variant has a shot to live a Sheer Force Life Orb Tauros Rock Slide, and it has roost. It won't fit on everything as its power is still middling even by PU standards, and it lost Defog & Toxic which were vital utility, but it's still really good.

to A/A-

Initially this looked like an unmon, but TheBlobFishman9 pointed out that it gets Iron Def + Body Press, and that's a potentially really good niche. Its bulk is spectacular for the tier, as 150 special defense means even the best special attackers can have trouble with it. I'm not sure if it'll be enough to make Carbink work, and its setup probably won't work for some teams, but it does certainly have potential.

to A-

This thing more or less outdoes Lumineon; it's a somewhat bulky pokemon that gets setup. It also is a great answer to Charizard, arguably the best Pokemon in the tier. However, it's not perfect; it get thrashed by Lilligant & Gogoat while Golduck is more immediately threatening. Still, it'll find its way onto many teams.

to B/B-

Dugtrio existing in the tier seems to be a death sentence for its viability, but it's not totally outclassed. Alolan Dugtrio's typing means it can absorb toxics from the likes of Skuntank and get entry. Its speed is still great, with the speed drop only being relevant for not outspeeding Persian-A and speed tying Tauros. Even if it gets KO'd, Tangled Hair is also useful for slowing down an opponent's threat and allowing one of your own to come in. Definitely niche, but not totally useless.

to UR

I'll have a bit more of a description than "lol". Calyrex does get access to Stored Power, but it's totally outdone at this by Rabsca; it has higher Special Attack, it has access to Cosmic Power, and it has far better coverage. Even Grumpig is a better option by virtue of superior coverage and not being 4x weak to bug. As a grass type, it has uncountably many better options than it, including Gogoat for a bulky attacker with reliable recovery, Lilligant for a setup sweeper, Flapple for an immediate attacker, Dartrix for a defogger, and so on. It could maybe try a subseed set, but you might as well run Jumpluff if you want that; it's faster, has Strength Sap + Sleep Powder, and can be not ruined by U-Turns. Sadly, base Calyrex just isn't worth running no matter how you slice it.

 

[Perla]

My thoughts on the new drops

-> S

I honestly think that this mon is banworthy and I'll copy/paste this analysis in the np thread for a nomination

As pointed out by someone else, this is the most problematic thing among the new mons. Its defensive stats are so good and this makes it a valuable "double dancer" (IronD and Rock Polish) which, unlike Stonjourner, it doesn't die immediately to a special move. Tbh you don't even need to raise your speed as you have the tools to increase your bulk on both sides (with Calm Mind for the special defense) and tank lots of hits. While Leftovers elongate its longevity even more, I tried to pair it with Thwackey and it still maintains its nuisance: passive recovery is welcomed, the terrain decreases the damage of one of its weaknesses, with a Grassy Seed you still have over 600 defense so you don't even need Iron Defense, consequently you're free to run Body Press, Calm Mind, a special move (Moonblast or Power Gem) and even Rest as you can survive attacks for three turns with enough boosts. Moreover, if you have Tspikes on the field (in a tier with abysmal hazard removal), you might still accomplish something while you're sleeping, as poison keeps doing its job. What pushes this thing over the edge is, with no surprise, Tera: thanks to this mechanic you can survive from the attacks of the checks that are supposed to kill it and actually you might get rid of the opponent's "counter". Tera ghost is effective because you need a Dark type to deal with it and generally you wouldn't keep a Houndoom, a Skuntank or a Honchkrow to deal with a Carbink given their natural type disadvantage. It has also some valuable additional traits like Clear Body which for example prevents defense drops from Grav Apple or blocks Parting Shot entirely.
This thing gives me Zamazenta-Crowned vibes if I have to be completely honest.

Last but not least: this thing can still be an hazard lead with rocks and spikes.
Here a replay with the Thwackey team

Replays

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9pu-1896025720-t6lk9gjldzev7jwduhvjrwvtoyx31sjpw

-> S

This thing might definitely be ban-worthy in the future, but I didn't find it that oppressive immediately. It's still a very strong mon and definitely an amazing addition to the tier. The usual LO/Sheer Force hits really hard with Body Slam, EQ is mandatory for lots of mons, Iron Head can get rid of non-terable Carbink. Rock Slide or Work Up can be nice pocket moves or you might want to break screens with Raging Bull.
Misdreavus is generally the best answer to this: you can run itemless Tauros with Thief (new addition) to still missy's eviolite perhaps. This mon fears Foul Play but I'll talk about it with the next mon.

-> S

Not having Knock Off and Toxic kinda hurts, but the speed and the random bulk given by Fur Coat make this cat a wonderful pivot. Parting Shot is the main tool to pivot, Thunder Wave helps you to cripple some fast mons who set up and Taunt is generally a good choice to shut the hazard setters down (not Whiscash though).
Foul Play really helps you with some physical attackers like Tauros, as I mentioned before.
Scarf sets might be interesting, even with special moves: Modest persian naturally outspeeds base 100s, which is not bad.

-> A
Even if it lost all its support moves, this thing stats are still very good and thanks to tera you can get rid of its bad typing. Freeze Dry is always useful and I've seen some annoying pressure sets with substitute. In the right scenario this mon can get out of hand.

-> A-
This mon is very annoying in a tier without good spinners or defoggers. Dartrix is forced to run Leaf Blade just for this thing.
Good spike and rock setter, with the useful Oblivious so you can't get taunted. Unfortunately the counterplay is very linear as you just need a grass move or Freeze Dry to deal with this fish. Still it is a nice addition and being a quite bulky ground type with just one weakness can be handy in several scenarios. EQ is mandatory and I've seen lots of people with Protect for the extra leftovers recovery, but Stone Edge could be a good choice to catch Articuno.


-> B/B+
I think it's a cool addition: a fast offensive ground type, with a good additional type that might let you survive a resisted hit and that makes you immune to Tspikes. It's slower than its cousin, but having double STAB could be preferable in some scenarios

-> D
Still the old terrible mon of last gen. Tera could help but you wouldn't waste it on this thing.

 

[pokeclysm]

Alright, I've got a nom to propose:

to S-

Yes, Charizard is still one of the most powerful attackers in PU, but the recent tier shifts were not kind to it. Tauros is faster than it and even more powerful, Carbink totally ruins Charizard unless it Tera Grounds or runs a janky sun Solar Beam set (and if Carbink goes specially defensive it can still beat these), Wishcash stops non-Tera Grass variants, and Alolan Persian outspeeds it and can pick off weakened Charizards with Thunderbolt, or at worst Parting Shot it out to reduce its effectiveness.

However, Charizard isn't totally outmatched; Tauros is practically forced to run Life Orb to make full use of its damaging potential, and thus gets worn down by hazards and other passive damage rapidly, while Charizard can easily run Heavy Duty Boots to not get worn down. Charizard can't stop Carbink, but not much else can, either. Both of these threats are arguably broken themselves, too, so they might not stick around in the tier for long. Alolan Persian is faster than it, but it struggles to beat Charizard 1 on 1, with it getting destroyed by Charizard's special attacks. This means it can chunk the switch in for significant damage. Wishcash is annoying, but it's not a meta staple, and good teams with Charizard will bring grass types to handle it as well as threats like Basculin. Furthermore, Charizard loves the addition of new staple Articuno for obvious reasons.

Overall, Charizard doesn't stand up to the current titans of the tier, but it's still a threat that must be accounted for in the teambuilder to succeed.

 

[Aurist]

New tier new me:

-> S (new)
Tauros is warping the tier around its offensive prowess and speed tier, it's a very natural automatic S tier and I wouldn't be surprised to see a ban even if I'm not 100% certain yet. What I do know is a Tauros that predicts correctly has about 1 switch in in Missy (even then Assurance is a thing) and is forcing a lot of sub-110 offense mons to wear scarf. Its Tera is also unpredictable as getting STAB on several of its coverage moves is legit.

-> A+ (new)
Carbink is instantly a top mon in the tier no doubt. IronPress is a top threat, Hazard sets are among the best setters in the tier, CM catches a fair few teams off guard. It also flexes well, making hybrid sets and having good coverage. Speaking of coverage, half the tier is now running Steel coverage for this thing. I could see an argument for S as it is superlative at its defensive roles and I want to put it in most of my teams, but I do think it is being somewhat limited by reliance on RestTalk for some of its sets. Hoping the boosting sets aren't broken as I think this is a crucial defense mon in the tier.

-> A (new)
Dugtrio-Alola may be slower than its Kanto counterpart, putting it in an increasingly contested 110 speed tier, but Sub lefties sets are no joke and put pressure on slower mons in the tier. Access to Steel STAB and resistances certainly don't hurt its case either as it can hurt mons that regular Dugtrio struggles with and come in more often than Dugtrio can. By no means is this directly replacing regular Dug as 120 speed is even more crucial before, but it's at least as good as it if not a bit better overall.

Sub Dugtrio-A

Dugtrio-Alola @ Leftovers
Ability: Tangling Hair
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Substitute
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Swords Dance / Sucker Punch / Shadow Claw

-> B+/B (new)
All the low noms for Calyrex are kinda troll and seem to be looking at it only on paper as a legendary with low stats and a weak movepool, well welcome to PU the bottom of the barrel. Calyrex is threatening ladder and tournaments alike with boosting sets, usually with Agility/CM and often with Weakness Policy/Stored Power. 100/80/80 bulk is really quite good in PU and it often eats up super effective moves, giving room to attempt a sweep. Its coverage is quite limited and it has 4MSS thanks to needing to run both Agility and Calm Mind so it can be played around but this is at least a mon you can't ignore in the teambuilder. More supporty sets with Leech Seed/Encore can take advantage of the threat of boosting sets too.

Sweeper Calyrex

Calyrex @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Unnerve
Tera Type: Ground / Grass / Fairy
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Agility
- Calm Mind
- Stored Power
- Tera Blast / Giga Drain / Draining Kiss

-> A/A- (new)
Whiscash has taken a place as the premier bulky ground in the tier, much to the dismay of Gabite stans out there. It's a little more passive but that is the price paid for better overall matchups in the tier. Right now it's not really settled on ideal sets so you can't just randomly switch in a ground resist without potentially taking a Liquidation/Surf/Ice Beam/whatever. Lack of longevity sucks but Hydration Rest may be a decent option. Still unclear how good this mon is but it's at least taking center stage for ground types which automatically puts it in A tier somewhere.

-> A- (new)
This thing is bulky af and Pressure sets are scary for a lot of the tier. Speaking of Whiscash above Articuno is one of the few mons in the tier that actually obliterates it. Good speed above defense mons, pivot, recovery, the possibility of offense sets, access to Haze and Tailwind, Sub Pressure being difficult to break without managing to knock it off, Articuno is looking to be a reliable if predictable part of the tier.

Sub Articuno

Articuno @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Pressure
Tera Type: Ground / Fighting
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
TImid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Roost
- Freeze-Dry
- Hurricane / Tera Blast

-> B+ (new)
Another decent defensive pivot with good speed and a lot of different support options makes Persian-Alola a toolkit mon that can fit on a few different teams. Parting Shot or U-turn is feeling team dependent, but support with Thunder Wave / Switcheroo / Taunt is feeling nice. Fur Coat lets it come in repeatedly on quite a lot of phys attacks in the tier buying some momentum for its team.

Old mons who this:

-> B+
To say Gabite has fallen off would be an understatement. My last viability post putting it down to A+ wasn't ready for the ways Gabite would be pressured even harder and replaced by a better bulky ground. It's still clearly usable but too many games are unfavourable to it making it really hard to switch in without just being sac fodder. Feel like I'm being conservative with the placement right now that's how far this has fallen.

-> S
Feels like PU has never been more reliant on Misdreavus. Pretty much the only A or higher mon that hard shuts down full IronPress Carbink, pretty much the only mon that reliably comes in on most Tauros sets, still good at eating stray hits and punishing the tier. Mostly running defensive sets right now as the bulk is really needed.

-> A+
Rotom-Frost is basically the best scarfer right now as the tier speeds up, it's so necessary. Despite it taking 25% when coming in every time Trick Scarf is crucial for a lot of mons and also regularly nabs it Heavy Duty Boots for lategame. Matches up crazy well with the tier. Biggest downside is a lot of games are coming down to whether Blizzard hits or not, but that's Rotom-Frost's impact right now.

-> A-
Marginal drop for Tinkatuff but the expansion of good SR mons slightly weakens its splashability. Still incredibly useful for crucial resists but there's also a lot of EQ and Tera Ground spam right now.

-> B+
Faster tier = sadder honchkrow. STAB Sucker is still amazing but when does Honch ever come in?

 

[Morge]

New mons:
UR -> S
This is currently being suspected and I fully expect it to be banned, and if not its almost certainly gonna move up to NU next month but for now this is the best mon in the tier without a doubt and a premier offensive threat. Its just so fast and strong, chip and passive damage is annoying for it but its really more annoying than a death sentence and it has 0 reliable switch ins or counters, even missy gets smacked by assurance on the switch. Tauros has a tool for every matchup and is only really restricted by hazard chip which prevents it from bowling over the whole tier with zero thought and means it has to pick its moments carefully, but when it does get that switch in something is going down, if not multiple mons.

UR -> A+
This mon has far exceeded my expectations but I still think its being overhyped somewhat. The bulk is great but I do think its being somewhat overstated how good it is, its reliant on rest for recovery but can't afford to run sleep talk, still kinda sucks into missy even with moonblast or something and if you weren't already running encore on every team you should be now since encore bullies the hell out of this thing since its a slow boosting mon that needs to accrue multiple boosts usually. Still a very threatening win con or defensive glue that checks a large portion of the tier, provides hazard support and can be a very threatening wincon, but I'm still not convinced its broken (Could very well be S though with how valuable its defensive traits are, fairy/rock does super well in this meta).

UR -> A
I LOVE this mon, its so good. Pivot sets with parting shot/thunder wave/taunt/foul play provide invaluable team support with paralysis slowing down the increasingly speedy tier and taunt denying hazards from things not named whiscash, while parting shot gives great pivoting support for frailer teamates and foul play paired with fur coat lets it check a lot of physical attackers. Nasty plot sets are also scary with the great speed tier and solid coverage although not investing in HP means its physical bulk is actually fairly average and its special bulk is downright atrocious, and its still not the strongest mon out there, and pivot sets also match up really poorly into basically every special mon. Great mon overall tho.

UR -> A
Does duggy things but with the added bonus of a secondary typing for better stab and an easier time switching in. I wouldn't say it outclasses regular duggy since it sits in the increasingly crowded 110 speed tier which is very frustrating but its a very solid alternative (and once tauros gets banned I would probably rank this over regular duggy but for now outspeeding the bull is a huge benefit).

UR -> A
The new premier bulky ground in the tier, while slightly more passive than gabite and it explodes to any grass move, it's typing is overall excellent (ice and water neutrality is very appreciated for raichu and frostom) and dual hazards with taunt immunity is really good and frustrating to deal with. A must have for hazard stack and a very solid bulky ground overall.

UR -> A-
These stats are just nuts for the tier, its bulk is huge and its faster and stronger than other defensive mons. That being said it usually demands your tera and struggles to fit all the moves it wants and its not exactly blowing anyone away offensively, its just decent. There's a lot of room for experimentation with this mon and I feel like its got a lot more potential but for now it just seems solid.

UR -> C
Kinda a shitmon but I think its got enough potential to where its worth ranking. Its decently bulky and double dance sets with tera can be an ok wincon. I think there are better options but its not completely worthless.

Old mons:
I have a lot of old mons I think should shift so to avoid this post being too long I'm not gonna repeat other noms, I agree with zard honch and gabite dropping, gabite is just kinda outclassed at most of its roles now and zard and honch match up pretty poorly into the new drops (Although zard is still a menace).

A+ -> A
Pyroar was already dropping off for me since its really hard to justify over zard and these drops really aren't kind to it. Carbink walls it for days and its previous advantage over zard of the speed tier is less helpful now with the influx of new faster mons. Its still pretty fast and a solid special attacker but it struggles a lot more now.

B -> C
Kinda a harsh drop but man camerupt just sucks now, whiscash just does everything it wants to do better as an ice neutral ground type. It hits harder which is kinda nice and spreading burn and sleep is nice (I could have sworn whiscash got yawn but apparently not) but its just not enough to keep up, its just not bulky enough to justify for most of the stuff you would want from it.

A- -> A
Sliggoo-H's disappearance from the tier removes one of the best ways of walling masq, making it much easier for it to run rampant. It also matches up pretty decently into most of the new drops and webs is a solid way of both supporting tauros by stuffing opposing scarfers and one of the better ways of shutting tauros down since its a grounded mon who generally doesn't run boots. Just a good time for masq.

A- -> A
This has nothing to do with the new drops I just don't understand why this fell from A rank? Its a pretty good scarfer with a solid speed tier for scarf and good power, especially with psychic terrain, and it provides good team support with psychic terrain and crippling stuff with trick (Hi carbink) and once its done it can give you a free switch into any mon you want at full health? This mons just really good, and for what its worth with carbink in the tier trickscarf its more valuable than ever (its not hard to see coming for the carbink user but even just being able to force carbink out is pretty good since it forces hazard chip on it as it usually runs lefties from what I've seen).

A -> A+
Already a pretty good scarfer but we both just lost one of our best rock resists, gabite has fallen off pretty hard, and gained a bunch of mons for it to prey on. Its one of the best ways to revenge kill tauros with CC (It doesn't wanna switch into tauros but what does), mauls carbink with iron head, and it obviously bullies articuno to hell for obvious reasons. We did just get 2 new rock resists in whiscash and dugtrio-A but duggy-A doesn't wanna risk coming in on a CC and you can run trailblaze to hit whiscash which is pretty funny (I feel like with the relative fall of gabite you can probably swap out play rough for this).

 

[rien]

hi everyone, council will be voting on the current VR slate early next week after week 1 of PUPL ends (monday/tuesday). please post any noms you have in mind by sunday so we can include them in the slate.

as for my own noms, i'm gonna focus on mainstays only since everyone covered p much every possible rank for the new drops.

A > S
sliggoo leaving the tier has made this thing completely bonkers. previously it had to pick between a tera type that beats zard but loses to sliggoo or vice versa, and if both of them were used on a team it was unable to make progress. now it just clicks qd with one of tera rock/elec/poison and wins. i'll admit i overlooked it a bit when the tier shifts just happened (and have traditionally been a hater bc i do be like that sometimes) but it might just be the most problematic mon in the tier atm

A+ > S-
should've never dropped two ranks last shift to begin with, now that qwil is out of the tier it's the premier poison once again. incredibly versatile and fulfills so many roles well (yes np skunk is better than np persian).

A > S-
someone nommed it to A+, i say put it even higher. frosttom is in an extremely good position in the meta rn, its stab combo is amazing, it's amazingly useful as a scarfer and np sets can really take advantage of mons like cuno or force them to tera.

B- > B
not a nom i feel too strongly about, but being a bulky elec with slow volt is great for ampharos atm. good mu against new drops like persian and articuno. less gabite helps it too (although that's a bit silly bc gabite is still great and ppl just refuse to use it for some weird reason)

C > B-
i used to be a hater but this is a genuinely cute wishpasser, great physical bulk to switch into stuff, grass typing makes this a passable check to mons like gogoat and lilli that it can shut down with yawn, ok utility options.

S- > A+
just a bit worse now that carbink fills out many of its niches, still the easiest ground to fit on a team and does so well against so many targets. it should drop a bit but B+ is unhinged to me, it hasn't fallen off THAT much let's be serious.

A > A-
might be a controversial take but scarf lycan is way overrated for what it does. it really struggles with clicking buttons, it's not fast enough to reliably revenge boosters/scarfers other than masq, and there's always going to be one or two mons on a team that stonewall or take advantage of it no matter what. we have much better scarfers and i rarely ever find myself reaching for this.

A > A- (or just one rank lower than where alolan duggy is going to end up)
just a tiny bit worse than alolan duggy, the extra speed is nice for avoiding speed ties with tauros and raichu but otherwise it's an inferior alolan duggy with worse defensive typing and bulk and no real ability. the speed isn't substantial when you're not doing much to alolan persian anyway.

A- > B+
threatening but wholly outclassed by tauros atm. completely miserable against carbink and foul play persian.

B+ > B
threatening but wholly outclassed by tauros atm. completely miserable against carbink and foul play persian.

B > B-
what a SNEAK

B > B-
we have so many good spikers now and there's really a lot less reasons to use these nowadays.

B- > C
unreliable spiker, can't even reliably beat zard anymore. toxic debris ends up doing nothing 99% of the time but corrosion is fine

B- > C
when was the last time you saw either of these in a serious competitive setting..?

C > UR
super mediocre picks even for weather teams, really not smth you'd ever consider using on a serious team.

C > UR
prankster weather just isn't really a valuable niche when mons like electrode and perrserker and alolan persian can do so much more in a game. i'd rate it if it could actually beat/stop lilli reliably but it's always an awkward tradeoff against it that is rarely ever worth it.

other noms i strongly agree with: S- > S, A- > A, A+ > A, A- > B+

 

[third bonnie]

i'll list what hasn't been written

UR -> A+
Vastly overrated for breaking stuff, very good mon and has a lot of options, but it's way too easy to severely hinder it with hazards and mf just cries when alolan persian cripples it for free in one of several ways. good physical bulk fwiw but i don't see many people running intimidate and curse sets to sweep with it. Has like 0 answers to bulky grasses unless some madman wants to whip out fire blasts off its 40 special attack and, in sheer force sets, not getting a flinch means, what else, more crippling. I'm shocked it got a suspect test before the likes of carbink and gogoat

UR -> S-
aside from what others said this mon just has a set for everything and is very frustrating to consider in teambuilder. You need at least one steel type attack to damage it well and ideally not on a steel type because of body press, if you dare switch this thing will buff itself. Without that, Encore or Trick/Switcheroo you're boned

A+ -> S-
mon feels genuinely impossible to stop every time i play it or against it. Not very many ways to reliably do anything against it and the stuff that dents it is either too random (hurricane) or just not strong enough (ice beam). The only reliable and devastating status for it is toxic. Now that qwil and sliggoo-h aren't around to keep it checked it's so much easier to find an entrance window.

B -> B+
with Alolan Persian running around there's merit to using Electrode as means of checking it (both sets really, aside from some funky tera) and... well, replacing it! aside from parting shot you can replicate the entire supporting kit of persian. 80 special attack isn't a lot, but besides grounds, grasses and opposing electrics its volt switches are still fine and there's aftermath to add more chip. It's also not mortally afraid of u-turns and first impressions. They're still bad, but not that bad.

B- -> B
It's not quite Missy, but a switch-in on fighting moves nevertheless and a very fast one at that! Speedy will-o-wisp and access to dragon tail give it some rather valuable niches right now. With burn + night shade it can invalidate non-rest carbinks, though moonblast is a scary move.

UR -> C/B-
Swalot's stonks have risen recently it feels. Its bulk is very appreciated, access to Toxic is helpful and it lost at least one competitor in qwil. It's also surprisingly versatile: Acid Armor BP, SD and status support all feel like very viable options. It is lacking in speed sadly, but it could be a nice trick room option. Surprised it got UR, you'd think that having a poison typing would give it at least some use.

 

[Aurist]

Just wanted to add 1 more nom for now as it seems right

-> A+
This mon went from obviously the fast offense mon you pick on every team to just one of the best special attackers in the tier. DD set also fell off so Zard is also less unpredictable than it once was. Tier just shifted enough that it has more consistent checks now but it's still great.

 

[rien]

VR Update - July 14th, 2023

hi everyone, apologies for the slight delay but this month's vr update is now out! as always you can read view every council member's votes and reasonings in the voting spreadsheet. feel free to reach out to me or any of the other members if you have any questions :)

new
Tauros NEW > S
Articuno NEW > A+
Carbink NEW > A+
Dugtrio-Alola NEW > A+
Persian-Alola NEW > A+
Whiscash NEW > A
Calyrex NEW > C

rises
Lilligant A > S
Rotom-Frost A > A+
Masquerain A- > A
Electrode B > B+
Mareanie B- > B
Leafeon C > B-
Swalot UR > C

drops
Charizard S > A+
Pyroar A+ > A
Skuntank A+ > A
Gabite S- > A-
Dugtrio A > A-
Lycanroc-Midnight A > A-
Tinkatuff A > A-
Honchkrow A- > B+
Zangoose A- > B+
Squawkabilly B+ > B
Camerupt B > B-
Quaxwell B > B-
Quilladin B > B-
Vespiquen B > B-
Frogadier B > C
Glimmet B- > C

 

[pokeclysm]

VR Update - July 14th, 2023

hi everyone, apologies for the slight delay but this month's vr update is now out! as always you can read view every council member's votes and reasonings in the voting spreadsheet. feel free to reach out to me or any of the other members if you have any questions :)

new
Tauros NEW > S
Articuno NEW > A+
Carbink NEW > A+
Dugtrio-Alola NEW > A+
Persian-Alola NEW > A+
Whiscash NEW > A
Calyrex NEW > C

rises
Lilligant A > S
Rotom-Frost A > A+
Masquerain A- > A
Electrode B > B+
Mareanie B- > B
Leafeon C > B-
Swalot UR > C

drops
Charizard S > A+
Pyroar A+ > A
Skuntank A+ > A
Gabite S- > A-
Dugtrio A > A-
Lycanroc-Midnight A > A-
Tinkatuff A > A-
Honchkrow A- > B+
Zangoose A- > B+
Squawkabilly B+ > B
Camerupt B > B-
Quaxwell B > B-
Quilladin B > B-
Vespiquen B > B-
Frogadier B > C
Glimmet B- > C

Just curious, what exactly does Calyrex do that Lilligant can't do better? Sure, stored power is nice, but Lilligant doesn't have to burn 2 move slots on setup, letting it run more coverage or Sleep Powder. Its bulk might be good by PU standards, but it's held back by an awful typing.

Now, Lilligant might get quickbanned, and if it did I'd definitely favor bumping Calyrex up a couple options, but I don't see why you'd run Caly when you have one of the best Pokemon in the tier available.

 

[UberSkitty]

Just curious, what exactly does Calyrex do that Lilligant can't do better? Sure, stored power is nice, but Lilligant doesn't have to burn 2 move slots on setup, letting it run more coverage or Sleep Powder. Its bulk might be good by PU standards, but it's held back by an awful typing.

Now, Lilligant might get quickbanned, and if it did I'd definitely favor bumping Calyrex up a couple options, but I don't see why you'd run Caly when you have one of the best Pokemon in the tier available.

well that can be more easily answered in chats on ps/discord, but to put it simply, it's a big brain mon.

(click image for link to set post)

 

[Chloe]

I apologise in advance for these all kind of being nothing nominations that only focus on cleaning up the lower half of the VR.

B to B-/C
This Pokemon has very quickly fallen out of favour after being outclassed by Zangoose (has actual coverage and no Rocks weakness) and now Tauros as well. There's not that much to it, it is just outclassed by other stronger, more convenient, Normal-type breakers. I'd also like to rank Zangoose lower with this, but will wait for the result of the Tauros test first. Whereas I believe this Pokemon should drop regardless of whether Tauros stays or goes. You would NEVER run Squawkabilly on a serious team now in my honest opinion, and for that reason I think it deserves a drop.

B to B-
I think Dragonair has fallen off quite a bit. At one point it justified this rank as a potent SpD wall and prominent Dragon Dance sweeper which had the ability to run away with games given the right matchup. This simply isn't the case anymore. The power level in the tier has increased substantially, the prevalence of hazards disables Dragonair's ability to come in safely as consistently anymore, and on top of that there are just better Dragon Dance sweepers that aren't subject to requiring extensive support to be run efficiently.

B- to UR
Have never been too high on Sneasel but I think this Pokemon has gotten even more difficult to justify as a breaker with the presence of Persian-Alola at the same speed tier, in addition to Carbink and Whiscash both now existing. This is a Pokemon that has always been ranked for potential in my eyes, which it unfortunately lacks this gen due to no discernable movepool. I really believe it should be unranked.

B- to UR
Spidops kind of picked up on some sort of popularity within the first few weeks but after this people realised just how mediocre it really is. In terms of Spikes setters we have so many better ones that you could actually justify on a team instead of Spidops. Its access to Stakeout is rarely of any use to it due to its inability to force anything out in the first place. Very mediocre Pokemon that has only gotten worse as time has gone on.

C to UR
I was initially one of Wugtrio's defenders for keeping it on the VR. "It outspeeds Charizard unlike Basculin" has been thrown around a lot. And sure, the presence of Tauros and Persian-A makes this speed tier all that more impressive. But with that speed tier, comes a noticeable power decrease. One that the community has seemingly deemed not worth it. Wugtrio has seen no serious tour usage. It is just not worth running over Basculin. Theoretically it could "pick up in usage now", but that's an argument for when it actually sees usage and has solid performances.

C to UR
Pincurchin is another Pokemon that struggles to justify itself in a very hazard heavy metagame. We have tons of Spikes setters already, all with much more impressive niches than Pincurchin. If you wanted a volt immunity and Spikes setter in one slot, you now have Whiscash. If you want a Pokemon that sets both Spikes and Toxic Spikes, you have Vespiquen, you have Glimmet. Pincurchin is just incredibly underwhelming.

 

[pokeclysm]

Now, Lilligant might get quickbanned, and if it did I'd definitely favor bumping Calyrex up a couple options, but I don't see why you'd run Caly when you have one of the best Pokemon in the tier available.

Well, Lilligant got banned, so...

to B or B+

Without Lilligant around as a reliably splashable alternative, Calyrex is much more usable option as a setup sweeping wincon. Having to burn 2 slots on setup moves is a problem, but STAB Stored Power is definitely no joke if it's left unchecked. Being a grass type means it also is a good answer to the dangerous Carbink. Its bulk is actually pretty good by PU standards.

That being said, it's definitely not Lilligant. Being reliant on stored power means that the many Dark types in the tier can get free entry off of it. There are also a good number that are also Grass resistant like Skuntank, Houndoom, and Honchkrow. None of these are fun threats to give a free turn. Grass/Psychic is also an abysmal defensive typing, hurting it's bulk. Finally, having to run both Agility and Calm Mind severely limits its coverage options, and its utility movepool is quite barren. Still, I have to admit that it is definitely a legitimate option in PU.

 

[Bella]

So in honor of my recent PU + promotion i have decided to write some VR takes for the first time in... ever!
So... Lets talk about this.

S- / A+ -> S / S-
I firmly believe these two are easily the best Pokemon in the tier. Honestly Push Missy up to S and make Bink S-. They are just simply too splashable into any teamstyle and i believe that neither are ever a bad pick for a team. Just going with Missy > Bink since Missy has alot more going for it imo than Carbink.

A- >B
I feel like A- is wayyy too high for this thing. I really cant see a world where it does anything better than Specs Basculin out of rain and while Rain is still good, i dont think its good enough to justify the placement here. Personally drop to B

B- > UR
I completely agree with Chloe on Sneasel rn: what is this thing even trying to do now? Persian-A once again outclasses it as a breaker, the tier has so many checks to it (Carbink / Zard / Tuff / Whisk etc), and is just so hard to justify. If it had knock or something maybe i can see a niche for it, but for now this is a worthless mon and should be URd.

C -> ???? (im not rlly sure where this ends up lol
This. Fucking. Snake. This is such an underrated mon right now. Amazing bulk with Evo, the ability to run Coil and Calm Mind, reliable recovery, excellent coverage, great ability, what more can i say? Only real problem with it is its speed tbh.

B- -> UR
I have literally never seen this thing. Has 0 useage rn in PUPL or PU Swiss (granted its only been 4 weeks of useage combined for the 2 tours), but while it does actually have some use in PU Open, the WR is terrible (19% lol) and the majority of that useage came in early rounds with more newer and inexperienced players. But even then, not sure when you would ever use this as a Dragon Dancer over other DDers that actually kinda do something, like Flapple or Zard or even Dragonair.

B -> C
Unfortunately, one of my favorite Pokemon in this tier has really fallen off. Its just so hard to justify over Zangoose now, and cant do anything to bink which is a top 2 mon in the tier. Just outclassed and not amazing.

Some other stuff i cant explain in full cause this post is already too long lol

C -> UR
This is an unserious mon you are running only because its funny and not good.

B- -> C
This thing is trying to be hazard control but is just too passive to do anything + missy is the best mon and just eats the duck

A -> A+
Such an underrated bulky wall and hazard stacker. Deserves its placement higher up.

C -> UR
I dont understand what exactly this thing has over other Poison-types and why is it ranked in the first place.

So, thats the takes! if you have any questions or my opinions on other mons feel free to reach out about it on discord or when im on showdown.

 

[Morge]

S- -> S
Not really a proper nomination but we don't actually have any S rank mons at the moment so there's not really much of a reason to have an S- rank.

A+ -> S
Carbink just walls so much. Incredibly splashable as a hazard setter or wincon that checks a huge number of scary mons. Losing to top dog misdreavus sucks and its typing is fairly exploitable by random steel coverage on mons but even with these issues there's never a team where carbink isn't a good fit.

B+ -> B
I feel like you just don't see rabsca anymore. It offers very little of value to a team defensively because of its typing and I just never feel like it fits on a team. OTR and calm mind/cosmic power sets are really fun and are pretty effective but I just feel like its too hard to fit on teams and building around it feels like somewhat of a waste to build around over generally more consistent mons.

B- -> C
Disagree with it going down as far as UR, it still has its niches, but its certainly not that great at the moment. There's a lot of generally better spikers in the tier now and spidops really struggles to justify itself over them with its poor stats. It still has a lot of great moves like U-Turn/First impression/circle throw and I wouldn't call it useless, just very niche.

C -> UR
This mons always been trash but with carbink in the tier any potential niche it could have claimed to have has vanished. Its entirely outclassed by carbink as a defensive rock with spikes and its entirely ineffective as a spinner.

B+ -> B
B+ just feels too high for what this does. Articuno just does the specially defensive pivot role better I find. Its not a bad mon, encore is still good and typing is better than articuno but I just feel like it contributes notably less than the other B+ rank mons.

 

[LettuceLeaf07]

A- >B
I feel like A- is wayyy too high for this thing. I really cant see a world where it does anything better than Specs Basculin out of rain and while Rain is still good, i dont think its good enough to justify the placement here. Personally drop to B

I have to disagree with this. A +2 Golduck in rain is an absolute nightmare to switch into without Cuno/water types/tera, and Golduck has the time to set up NP and rain against most SR setters and common mons like Misdreavus and Carbink.

A-/B+ feels right for Golduck, because once it gets going it will either force out a tera or take out a couple mons. To be fair, new drops like Articuno and Whiscash (kinda) are good against Golduck, so I can understand a drop to B+, especially with Articuno around.

Compared to specs Basculin, which comes at the opportunity cost of not running a physical basculin, you do deal more damage with Basc than Golduck, but in rain Golduck is not choice locked, faster, and bulkier. Additionally, Golduck can afford to put some EVs into HP to become even bulkier, as it only needs 56 spe EVs to outspeed Electrode in rain.

calcs

These are mostly just the calc's sets.

252+ SpA Golduck Surf vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Carbink in Rain: 212-252 (69.7 - 82.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

252+ SpA Golduck Surf vs. 216 HP / 16 SpD Eviolite Misdreavus in Rain: 148-175 (46.9 - 55.5%) -- 74.2% chance to 2HKO
+2 252+ SpA Golduck Surf vs. 216 HP / 16 SpD Eviolite Misdreavus in Rain: 294-346 (93.3 - 109.8%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO

+2 252+ SpA Golduck Surf vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Whiscash: 231-273 (54.4 - 64.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO (idk what whiscash runs tho)

252+ SpA Golduck Surf vs. 252 HP / 160+ SpD Articuno in Rain: 129-153 (33.5 - 39.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
+2 252+ SpA Golduck Surf vs. 252 HP / 160+ SpD Articuno: 171-202 (44.5 - 52.6%) -- 22.7% chance to 2HKO
+2 252+ SpA Golduck Surf vs. 252 HP / 160+ SpD Articuno in Rain: 256-303 (66.6 - 78.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 SpA Articuno Freeze-Dry vs. 200 HP / 0 SpD Golduck: 174-206 (49.5 - 58.6%) -- 98.8% chance to 2HKO
(showing that an articuno will 2hko a golduck if it can get in before rain and NP are up)

You probably should not run boots/leftovers like I do as the extra power from LO/mystic water would probably guarantee those 2HKOs

 

[rien]

quick update: following the banning of our former S tier mons (tauros and lilligant), council has decided to rise misdreavus from S- to S and gogoat from A+ to S-. these two pokemon stand out as the best in the metagame, with misdreavus being extremely effective in both offensive and defensive roles, and gogoat being the metagame's premier bulky setup sweeper that can run multiple tera types successfully to prevent revenge killing and/or debilitating status.

 

[UberSkitty]

As someone who's suggested and been denied subranks multiple times, I've grown to question them. S- made sense at the time, with Missy really being in between worse than the broken mons but better than everything else, but that phase has ended, and I think S- should go down with it. If there's some specific situation where it seems vital enough to add S- back in, okay, but for now it just seems like overkill. Just stick Gogoat in S for now, good mon. And Carbink.

My own noms:
A- -> B+
Is it too soon? Cuz with Alolan Duggy now in the tier, the fall of Duggy seems inevitable.
C -> UR
Double dance is better done by Carbink.

Agree with:
C -> B
Prob our best bulky normal mon (sorry Vigoroth) and can cause havoc with it's status spreading or Coil paired with surprisingly solid SpDef. At least until we get Chansey in a week, amirite?
B- -> UR
Was a cool mon for a while with its unique typing (never thought I'd say that about a rock/ground type), but with Whiscash/Carbink there's even less reason to use it anymore.
B- -> C
I second that while this mon by all means should drop, it's niche enough as a hazard lead to remain ranked. Majorly as an alternative to Masquerain as a Webs setter, which people really underestimate. I think I said this in a past Masq nom or something, but while so much runs boots, being able to negate Scarf on stuff not named Rotom-Frost is really nice. Especially for stuff like DDance Charizard, not having to worry about being RKed by Scarf Wuggy. And it gets Spikes/TSpikes and other fun stuff like First Impression, hence the niche.

 

[third bonnie]

i know that a lot of council will disagree on this one but i'm gonna stand my ground and maybe it'll turn out that i'm a trendsetter like with swalot, dunsparce and thwackey


C -> B/B-
YES, REALLY. It's definitely not a mon for every team and it requires sun, but not to the point where self-setting the sun and sweeping under it is a difficult task. In absence of Lilli it feels like there's no special grass set-up sweepers in the tiers and things that were previously very afraid of it now are coming out to the new perceived safety. Enter Scovillain who, just like Lilli, often only needs 1 turn to start going off. It's of course not all sunshine (pun intended) and rainbows for it - there's pretty much no bulk. this mf will NOT take neutral hits well. You outright cannot move it within range of Charizard 'cause it'll likely just eat it for breakfast.
But what it does still is incredible - 120 BP Grass stab and 110 BP Sun-boosted Fire stab are both nuts and they're coming off a stat just slightly weaker than Lilli's. It's very good at rewarding predictions as the stabs compliment each other very well. It punishes self-setting Golduck by making sure sun stays on and then either oneshots it or gets a free turn of massive damage to something else. Free switch-in into most common Missy variant that opens with WoW. Last slot can be Growth, in case you weren't satisfied enough with this thing's damage output, but personally, just like with Lilli, can just be a tera. I myself pick tera Steel as it turns all 3 of its weaknesses into resists or immunities and allows you to bully gogoat, dachsbun and carbink.

It might be even better than what I'm nomming it for, but I'm not that experienced and element of surprise might have helped me a lot in my games.
My first game of PU Swiss vs Theia featured a showing of this utter monster in case you need some more visual evidence.


B- -> B
Thwackey continues to impress me with how much it condenses into one slot. If Gogoat doesn't feel like a good fit for your team, there's a high chance the monke can take this place with how effortlessly it can handle a lot of top threats with the right EV spread (often just meaning enough speed EVs to be faster than defensive Missy). While base defenses aren't all that amazing, between eviolite and grassy terrain (and free turns thanks to taunt) it gets quite a bit of longevity.
Coincidentally, I also used Thwackey in that same Swiss round. Arguably MVP of the game.

 

[justdrew]

These are my one (two or three) sentence VR noms.

Chansey B
Controversial opinion. I think that Boots does offer Chansey a lot of mobility but at the same time it loses what makes it such a great defensive wall. i think it's great for fatter teams but too easily exploited by Ghosts, designated teras, and taunt users. It probably ends up higher on the VR, I'm just not personally sold.

Haunter A
I still like Misdreavus more as a Ghost, but Haunter's offensive capabilities with Life Orb/Choice Scarf is wonderful. Also access to Trick and 30% poisons in a tier lacking Steels is great.

Klawf A+
Mons just good. Knock, Rocks, Regen, great stats. It's so spammable currently.

Sliggoo-Hisui A-
It's defensive capabilities and offensive presence make it unique among other Pokemon in the tier.

Spiritomb A-
Solid stats, good move pool, great typing and abilities, there's a lot of room for this Pokemon to succeed on fatter structures.

Wyrdeer B-
Cool typing, ability, and move pool, but I don't think it will serve as an effective breaker.

Carbink Drop
Probably the most overhyped and underwhelming Pokemon. I would much rather use Whiscash to hazard stack because it can at least touch other Pomkemon.

Persian-Alola Rise
I think it's speed tier and set variety with NP, Scarf, and defensive pivot make this Pokemon so incredibly annoying. Even Sub Leftovers sets can be incredibly threatening to a lot of structures and it's ability makes it so difficult for it to be revenge killed.

Rotom-Frost Rise
So I get that it's unlikely to rise because it's slightly one dimensional, yet Nasty Plot sets are so incredibly strong and its defensive stats allow it to set up pretty easily and knock out several Pokemon.

Dachsbun Drop
It's ability is too easy to play around and it's absolutely useless after being taunted. Tera is a mechanic that is very difficult for this Pokemon to handle.

Gabite Stay
I think Gabite is a phenomenal defensive wall with it's typing, Rough Skin, access to Dragon Tail, Stealth Rock, and the beauty of Rest Talk.

Golduck Drop
I think rain has lost a little bit of steam and with the addition of Chansey and the fact it just dropped on VR, not a Golduck fan rn.

Lycanroc-Midnight Stay
Such an epic scarfer and is perfect where it is right now.

Tinkatuff Stay
Tinkatuff is a very cool Pokemon with access to rocks and Knock Off and I think it should remain where it is.

Electrode Rise
I think it's speed tier alone should cause it to rise in the ranks, in addition to it's ability to set Rain which still has a viable niche.

Sneasel Drop
It just is so flimsy, has to choose between Boots or Eviolite, can't really find opportunities to SD, and doesn't do much. Cool speed tier though.

Vespiquen Drop
I really haven't seen this thing get any usage in PUPL and I just don't think it's very good at all in this new meta.

Swalot Rise
I think with the introduction of a new Knock user in Klawf, Sticky Hold gains a lot more value and I think Swalot is a viable and cool defensive wall.

 

[LettuceLeaf07]

Carbink Drop
Probably the most overhyped and underwhelming Pokemon. I would much rather use Whiscash to hazard stack because it can at least touch other Pomkemon.

Persian-Alola Rise
I think it's speed tier and set variety with NP, Scarf, and defensive pivot make this Pokemon so incredibly annoying. Even Sub Leftovers sets can be incredibly threatening to a lot of structures and it's ability makes it so difficult for it to be revenge killed.

I completely agree with the Carbink drop. It relies on Body Press to make offensive progress, and with 3 viable ghosts that is no longer an option. It doesn't help that BP + Moonblast is completely walled by Haunter. Carbink does get Psychic to hit Haunter, but it's probably not doing that much damage and is now walled by Spiritomb.

As for Persian-A, I don't get the hype. It's fast, an amazing pivot, has fur coat, is dark type, and offers a lot of utility, but it barely does any damage.

After trying to find calcs to prove this, I'll admit Persian does do enough damage, but it's not guaranteed to OHKO Basculin at +0, Raichu at +2, or Whiscash ever. I still feel like Persian is a mon I can forget about in the builder and still do fine against, unlike Gogoat, Basculin, or maybe Misdreavus. I think it's fine in A+, because it does have a lot of positive traits that I cannot avoid while arguing against it, but its limited offensive prowess and the amount of things it only 2HKOs holds it back from S/S- in practice.

Slightly Underwhelming Persian Damage Calcs

+2 252 SpA Persian-Alola Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Whiscash: 162-192 (38.2 - 45.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
+4 252 SpA Persian-Alola Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Whiscash: 243-286 (57.3 - 67.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+6 252 SpA Persian-Alola Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Whiscash: 322-381 (75.9 - 89.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 SpA Whiscash Earth Power vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Persian-Alola: 109-130 (40.2 - 47.9%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

+2 252 SpA Persian-Alola Dark Pulse vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Raichu: 217-256 (83.1 - 98%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

252 SpA Persian-Alola Thunderbolt vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Basculin: 220-260 (78.2 - 92.5%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

+6 252 SpA Persian-Alola Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Gogoat: 298-352 (66.2 - 78.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+2 252 SpA Persian-Alola Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Gogoat: 150-177 (33.3 - 39.3%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
+2 252 SpA Persian-Alola Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Gogoat: 217-256 (48.2 - 56.8%) -- 90.2% chance to 2HKO

 

[Morge]

New drops new drops new drops

New -> B+
Its just so passive. Its got some nice utility with T-Wave rocks and the rare heal bell, but its super passive and exploitable which makes it kinda hard to fit for most teams, it gets bullied hard by the ghosts (Haunter really doesn't wanna get para'd but thats what substitute is for) which really sucks when at least one of those 3 are probably gonna be on most teams. Its a great mon on the right team but not easy to fit.

New -> A+
Knock off and rocks with solid bulk and longevity thanks to regen is just so strong in this meta. Basically mandatory on spikestack teams and still really good on most teams, although the typing really sucks.

New -> A+
Extremely threatening offensively with a wide variety of sets that make it hard to consistently check. That being said its bulk is awful and its outsped by enough common mons like basculin or zard to where I don't quite feel its broken.

New -> A-
I don't really get how people think this is broken. CroTomb can be a very scary wincon but its not that hard to prevent from setting up and its forced out by common attackers. Outside of that I don't really see a reason to use it over haunter or misdreavus. A solid wincon for bulkier teams but not particularly hard to build for.

New -> B+
The prevalence of spikes really hurts this mon, and stuff like taunt Persian-A makes it harder for it to get going. Its still an extremely fat steel and can snowball into being very scary, but its generally not as good as our other steels.

New -> B-
Its ok? Calm mind sets are pretty fun and it can do some other stuff like physical sets. This is the mon I'm the most undecided on but it feels better than the stuff in C at least.

A -> A+
No more articuno is great for this mon, and it benefits from klawf making spikestack even more viable.

C -> B-
This mon has seen a good amount of success in PUPL and with klawf in the tier being able to absorb knock off thanks to sticky hold has some value. Pretty nice defensive poison type.

 

[gum]

hi, instead of explaining every little change i'll just be posting my personal vr and go through things i think are relevant. the lower rankings need some cleaning up, as the meta develops and we get more and more things. i won't be going through every "nomination", i'll just group things together if i feel the need to, and i'll also get lazier the lower i go but hopefully everything is clear enough!!

S

(new -> s)
imo this is the best pokemon in the tier. it offers a ton in one slot, from rocks to a pivot with regen and knock, or even a breaker with swords dance. it can even do all of those things at once if it wants to. it just feels like the most splashable pokemon we have, and it ends up doing a lot every game; it's very good at coming in, clicking knock off, and switching out to recover some health and do it again. very good soft-answer to things like zard (tho u HATE will-o), electrode, and spiritomb. simply an amazing pokemon

(a+ -> s)
this nom i care slightly less about, but its speed tier is really good, and it often feels like it dictates the rythm of games while simultaneously affecting the viability of slower / faster pokemon. for example, electrode has been seeing a surge in usage, dugtrio remains good despite its alolan counterpart being here, and it's a good offensive check to a lot of various threats. nasty plot sets in particular are great, as little wants to deal with a pokemon as fast as nyoom cat. it's a great tera abuser as well, taking advantage of fur coat to make itself harder to revenge kill while also boosting the power of coverage options like thunderbolt. physdef sets are obviously also solid, and while i don't think either set is good enough for s-rank, both together make it one of the most annoying pokemon to deal with, both offensively and defensively. really the only thing stopping this from being completely stupid is how weak it can be

A+ to A-

(s -> a+)
(s- -> a+)
starting off with these two, i think they deserve to drop because their impact on the metagame feels slightly less apparent. misdreavus suffers from more competition now, whether it's as an offensive pokemon or defensive one, but being able to blend both roles in one while offering a ton of support make it good enough for a+ still, imo. gogoat on the other hand doesn't appreciate recent meta shifts, whether it's haunter dropping, certain things it checked becoming less relevant, or just how the tier has seemed to adapt to it as time goes on. obviously, still a very very good pokemon and it offers a lot, but i find myself using it less and less, while it also struggles to sweep at times

(a -> a+)
(a+ -> a)
switched these two, in this meta i value pyroar's utility through taunt more than charizard's strong nuke in hurricane, pretty much. charizard feels like a less dangerous breaker than it was before, while pyroar's ability to play the long game slightly better gives it an edge; its typing plays a big part in this as well, giving it more utility vs threats like gogoat, haunter, and tbolt alolan persian. both are great, i think the rankings should just reflect that pyroar is better currently

(a -> a+)
not much really changed for this thing, it's just our best defensive ground by miles and has proved to be a very solid options on a lot of different teams. like the post above mine says, it appreciates us finally having a splashable pokemon with knock to make its spikes more dangerous, while it's also a good enough check to said pokemon

(new -> a+)
very very scary pokemon that can break in a lot of different ways, it's just borderline impossible to be safe against every set me thinks, reminds me of basculin in april meta. but yeah, switching into it is very hard and it can even use choice scarf p well so i think it should sit pretty in a+!

(a+ -> a)
it's still a great breaker and aqua jet is always nice to have but it just feels less scary. its speed tier has felt less good recently, and it feels particularly easy to punish with a well-timed tera. it kinda wants boots but also hates not being cb, a set that dies way too quickly in this current metagame. just feel like this thing has been trending downwards since last month, and it maybe should've dropped then

(a+ -> a)
i care about this one less, so whatever happens will happen but i'm just not a huge fan of it being a fake ground and steel when both typings are really great in this meta. still a monster and can win games pretty easily, but from a building perspective it's felt a bit worse recently, and i think its ranking should reflect that

(a+ -> a-)
i don't think this 1 needs that much explaining, klawf gives it competition by being easier to add on teams, while chansey switches into similar things and does it better. it's not as passive as the latter and it's bulkier than the former, but with this in mind + haunter's drop, which is another pokemon that takes advantage of it, i don't think carbink quite fits amongst the a+ and even a-rank crowd, but i wouldn't mind if it ended there instead

(a -> a-)
this is kinda me being a hater but its usage doesn't really justify it being a imo. it's not easy to build with and doesnt quite appreciate how common electrode has been, while scarfers like alolan duggy and frosttom have been seeing a decent amount of usage as well. simply not consistent enough for a-rank to me

(a -> a-)
this pokemon just keeps getting worse really. alolan persian has cemented itself as the tier's premier dark-type, and whiscash and klawf being all over the place certainly doesn't help the skunk. not bad by any means obviously, it just doesn't deal with anything particularly well and feels less and less free to add on teams

(b+ -> a-)
this thing has been seeing a lot of usage during pupl and slam, as its speed tier is a godsend in a tier where the scarfers can feel pretty doodoo with hazards being all over the place. it obviously appreciates spikes being so common by virtue of being a pivoter, and it's just a really good cleaner once everything has been weakened. it can be a bit tera reliant at times, and it can also do pretty underwhelming damage but that feels like more than enough in this metagame

B+ to B-

(a -> b+)
(a -> b+)
grouping these two together because i feel like they're similar in the sense that they suffer from a lot of competition. frosttom and electrode are generally better electric-types, and raichu's speed tier isn't as good as it was before; speed typing with alolan dugtrio and being slower than alolan persian is pretty unfortunate. to add on to that, it also struggles vs whiscash unless it decides to tera - and at that point just use electrode. as for houndoom, charizard and pyroar are easier to fit on teams due to offering more and not being as slow, and not having negative physdef bulk. alolan persian also competes with it for a slot as a special dark type setup pokemon. these two have just seen better days, and while they're not unviable, b+ is a more fitting rank imo

(a- to b+)
it really, really hates haunter and klawf dropping. it wants a lot of moves at once, and it just doesn't deal with anything super well in this metagame. wish support is still great and pokemon like whiscash appreciate it, while it's also a good spiritomb answer, but a- dachsbun is a sneak idk..

(a- to b+)
its main set, choice scarf, struggles to really revenge kill much without having to tera. not being able to use boots on it is also really sad, and it wants 4 tera types at once since it otherwise can't do anything vs spiritomb and perrserker outside of giving away its scarf. more competition as well with frosttom and haunter being better scarfers, usually. hwish is still cute though

(a- to b+)
it's really not bad at all, setup sets are just harder to get going and i feel like that's why it's been getting less usage. cuno leaving helps, but rain has probably peaked in a pre-home metagame, while chansey dropping doesn't help. we just have more consistent breakers / sweepers than it i'd say

(new -> b+)
chansey would be way better if it had toxic, but being able to wall 90% of this tier's special attackers is great. seismic toss + twave mean it's not overly passive at the very least, while options like heal bell and even rocks are very cool to have on certain structures. good mon

(new -> b+)
this thing's good, not good enough to be higher but it can be a good wincon at times even if i don't think this meta really favours it. it's a pretty unexplored pokemon, and more offensive sets are probably good despite competition from other things. very good at punishing bad teams, usually

(a- -> b)
nothing much to say other than it shouldve dropped sooner. its main set, choice scarf, hasn't been very relevant in months now. most of its viability hinges on the dragon dance set, which is a fine cleaner but not one deserving of being in the higher half of the vr. the definition of mid, imo

(a- -> b)
(b- -> b)
i think both are equally as good as grounds. gabite just struggles in a metagame where spikes are everywhere, one of the pokemon u'd expect a ground to check simply knocks it, and where we also have a way better ground. its typing still gives it some sort of niche, being able to phaze things like gogoat and be annoying with rough skin. camerupt, on the other hand, beats ice and grass electrode and isn't terrible against frosttom and pyroar, so a slight bump in the rankings feels warranted

(b+ -> b)
(b+ -> b)
honestly i doubt anyone is going to read up to this point but these two flying types are just.. not great right now and b+ massively oversells them i'd say. fantom has a lot of competition, especially from better electric-types like frosttom mainly, while honchkrow's strong prio is less relevant now, and it also struggles vs klawf and carbink

(b+ -> b)
it doesn't like haunter being back and can't do as much as it once could. it can still cheese its way to wins but it's not really good at it, imo

(b- -> b)
(b- -> b)
(c -> b)
(c -> b)
grouping these together because they all feel like pokemon that were pretty unexplored until pretty recently, but all turned out to be pretty decent. they're all good enough at their roles, so i think b is more fitting for all of these. i'd say falinks could also be in b-, as i don't really care much about it either way but yeah

(new -> b)
a steel type!! it's okay i guess, hasn't really surprised me or anything as of now, and it still seems pretty awkward to fit on teams (as well as passive) but its bulk + typing make it good enough to sit here for now imo

(new -> b)
not a huge fan but double dance sets can win at times, it requires a fair amount of support and is pretty useless defensively but the tradeoff can be worth it

(b+ -> b-)
it's not very good. no recovery stinks and it doesnt do a whole lot, even if encore is kinda cute. just not cute enough for b+ me thinks

(b -> b-)
(b -> b-)
these two were once good breakers, now pretty irrelevant. i've tried my hardest to make them work, especially billy, but it simply wouldn't happen so i gave up x! in a metagame with better removal i could see both, especially glaceon, become better again. but for now i think they should drop

(b -> b-)
can't really think of a reason to use this pokemon but on paper, that typing + good bulk with evio + broken regen might make it good enough to warrant keeping in b-? don't care a lot abt this thing anyway idk

(c -> b-)
(c -> b-)
(c -> b-)
the peppers are just good vs certain meta trends, and being a fire-type that beats rocks and waters, and a grass-type that beats grasses is good enough to sneak it out of c imo. wugtrio is just really fast and water resists are still not very great so it has that going for it, not a terrible pokemon. last nom is way more whatever, but murkrow being the best weather setter after electrode should probably be reflected somehow on the vr, even if rain isn't as common as it once was - it's still been seeing usage throughout pupl and swiss so!!

C

yippie almost done!! ^-^

(b -> c)
we have real ghosts outside of missy now, and a real pokemon with knock off. being a ghost with knock is probably enough to keep it ranked? but i really don't think it's very good

(b- -> c)
(b- -> c)
(b- -> c)
(b- -> c)
these pokemon don't really have big niches, and i don't think they belong with the other b- pokemon cuz of that, but they're usable on certain teams, even if they border on the unviable side. once the meta settles down a bit more i think most of these will probably end up unranked, but for now i don't think keeping them ranked really changes anything

(c -> ur)
(c -> ur)
(c -> ur)
(c -> ur)
(c -> ur)
(c -> ur)

all of these are simply not good. they either completely lack a niche following recent meta shifts (calyrex, pincurchin, stonjourner, flareon, frogadier) or SUCK (carkol)

i tried to make sense through all this but i kinda got lazy at some point so oops..! but anyway, if u read all of that thank u!!