B+ => A-
Yeah, I'll start the nomination. I know the Magnezone one in hindsight was not so good, but hopefully this one is a bit stronger to consider in terms of metagame trends.
Call me bad for gassing this mon, but I think Mega Medicham really puts the pain on a lot of teams right now. Bulkier teams just don't have very good answers to this thing since fat Psychic-types are not commonly seen and it's proven to be quite intimidating in
two matches this week in SPL. I get that it has appeared in only two matches; however, a lot of the teams brought have usually been more balanced (with the exception of ABR using Aurora Veil) I get that it is still a Pokemon in a mediocre Speed tier (let's not joke ourselves and remember base 100 is not the same Speed tier as it was 10 years ago) and there are some situations where Mega Medicham may not always pull its weight, but whenever it comes in against a bulkier Pokemon slower than it it's usually putting a team under a lot of pressure. It will, more often than not, get a kill or leave a team severely dented for other Pokemon such as Kartana to clean up and finish the job.
I find that outside of maybe Gliscor in B+ and maybe Zapdos (still kind of unsure on A- Zapdos, but agreeing that it's still relatively solid) I find that Mega Medicham is pretty comparable to Hoopa-U where they have favorable matchups and can be rather difficult to switch into and at least define Pokemon that are often underprepared or forgotten for, but are usually taken care of by other methods (faster Pokemon for example) and can struggle against more offensive teams as well. I think Mega Medicham fits in a lot better with the A- Pokemon than the B+ Pokemon.
For a few others to agree / disagree with:
A- => B+ - Agree
Tyranitar is still way too common, and much like Gengar it just has moments where it can feast on some teams or just underperforms in other scenarios. In terms of Scarfers a lot of people prefer Kartana, Landorus-T, or Greninja - Kartana covering a more offensive base with Defog for support, Landorus-T having momentum with Defog as support, and Greninja having momentum with coverage moves to help with team flaws. I think this Pokemon fits a lot better with the B+ Pokemon like Mega Alakazam more than with the A- Pokemon like Mega Pinsir.
A => A- - Abstain
C+ => B- - Disagree (I'd even argue blacklist)
This Pokemon is pretty terrible. It relies on pivoting to be even remotely effective, and there are so many better Mega slots to use before it. Nevermind that Tyranitar and Mega Tyranitar just make this Pokemon even worse since Pursuit can be used on the Volt Switch out. Let's also not forget that if you're using Overheat you're leaving yourself very exposed to setup from Pokemon such as Shift Gear Magearna, DD Zygarde, and lets (Mega) Lati@s come in a lot easier. Nothing impressive has really changed for this mon, and I doubt it ever will. Even if you argue it justified over B-, at least the majority of Pokemon in B- can be very useful for a team in comparison to Mega Manectric, which is just a worse Tapu Koko:
- Mega Heracross at least can bully bulkier teams and be an okay check to Band Zygarde. It has Pokemon it can take advantage of, and SD Mega Heracross has a bit of an easier time with Toxapex favoring max SpD.
- Mamoswine can check DD Zygarde, Scarf Landorus-T, can be very menacing with the right support (Knock Off Mamo + Zone is pretty solid), and does fare better with Celesteela sometimes ecking towards SpD to counteract Tapu Lele better.
- Quagsire has a niche on stall.
- Jirachi has been used a fair bit, and it's not been too shabby - it's a solid check to Z Calm Mind Tapu Lele and has proven to be problematic when paired with Landorus-T against Pokemon that could otherwise overcome it such as Mega Latios.
Match with Sabella vs psychicmewtwo.
- Can't comment too much on Serperior.
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Stakataka should really go to C+. It was better when Naganadel was in the tier.
- Fini still is an okay Defogger if you need a counter to Ash-Gren.
- Though not used a lot, SD Rockium Terrakion can be challenging for a lot of teams to switch into.
- Skarmory still has a niche on stall too.
- Tornadus-T is pretty good with Z Hurricane and Defog, allowing other Pokemon like Mega Scizor to function with other roles such as SD.
- Victini isn't necessarily as good as it was back when it first got Z-Celebrate, but it still can cause issues for some weakened teams. There's also Scarf / Band shenanigans though those sets are rather below-average IMO.
I see nothing that really makes Mega Manectric stand out. Hell, I'd rather use some of the Pokemon in C+ sooner than Mega Manectric. It's just a Pokemon I literally never understand why people hype when it's so
piss weak and the momentum argument is done infinitely better by Tapu Koko as a fast Electric-type that pivots.
(Actually where the hell was the Mega Mane to B- even brought up other than the above post?)