Might as well make a personal ranking. Keep in mind I spend a lot of time optimizing certain teams and Pokémon, so I might view things a little differently than those who dabble with everything. Anyway, here we go
NOTE - I’m only listing mons I have enough experience with to justify talking about, or things that I think have potential and want to hear more about. Stuff like Cinderace and Urshifu are where they should be imo, and I have nothing to say that hasn’t been said already.
S+
I don’t think I really need to explain this one, Zacian is the undisputed ruler of gen 8. The metagame is so desperate for checks at times that almost anything with a neutral/positive MU against Zacian gets considered. I have seen even offensive teams running shit like Quagsire simply because Zacian is that terrifying. Zacian also has a fair few options for its set despite being the definition of unga bunga, stuff like Wild Charge, Crunch, Fire Fang, and Quick Attack can all be used to augment Zacian’s incredible threat level. I normally try not to rank a Pokémon as the definitive “best” but in Zacian’s case, it would simply be disingenuous, there is nothing that even comes close.
S
Legs
Kyogre is as powerful as ever, probably even more so in generation 8 as Dynamax provides it with yet another option to pile on massive damage. From the proven standards like Choice sets and LO/AV dynamax to the somewhat gimmicky Sub + CM, Kyogre is always a threat and must be respected.
Honestly this is the Pokémon that scares me the most in Team Preview. While I wholeheartedly believe Zacian is more threatening, Yveltal’s ability to force massive damage on almost anything is absolutely more terrifying. The simple fact is that while Zacian is stronger, you know what moves it is going to have for the most part. Yveltal’s ability to attack from either side of the spectrum means that until it goes for an attack, you don’t know what to check it with. And while the Special attacker is more consistent, the physical variant has just as much snowballing potential. One wrong move against Yveltal can spell your demise.
I must suppress my inner fangirl for this, but I truly and wholeheartedly believe that NDM is one of the absolute best restricted choices in gen 8 BSS. I mentioned above how almost anything with a neutral Zacian MU is worth considering, and not only does NDM have quite a good Zacian MU with just a bit of bulk investment, it still poses a massive threat while doing so. This is a rare and invaluable trait to have, and without a doubt it is NDM’s selling point. Beyond this, Necrozma Dusk Mane is arguably capable of utilizing the widest array of distinctly different sets of any restricted Pokémon. Each one of them, from Dragon Dance, to Cosmic Power, Calm Mind, and even All-Out Attacker, are excellent and highly threatening to a vast portion of the metagame. NDM is also one of the few boosting sweepers that can be built to be relatively safe from Ditto. Now, despite all of my praises, I’m fully aware that NDM is by no means a perfect Pokémon, and has its share of issues, but if piloted correctly, it can dismantle teams like nothing else, and it’s versatility means your opponent always has to be worried about a stray Earthquake, Heat Wave, and the like.
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Normies
Between Intimidate, it’s excellent typing, and high offensive threat, Landorus is once again one of the very best Pokémon in the metagame. The advent of Dynamax allows for Landorus to reach its highest potential as a sweeper ever, allowing it to use extraordinarily powerful Flying STAB, that also patches up it’s rather unimpressive Speed stat. Beyond this, Landorus’ typing, stat spread and movepool allow it to slot into a wide array of roles. From a suicide leaf, to a bulky pivot, to one of the most fearsome Dynamax abusers in the game, Landorus-T will be useful on almost any team.
Zapdos has been one of the most dominant BSS forces for a while now. Max Airstream in conjunction with its great typing, Special Attack, passable bulk, and infuriating abilities in Pressure and Static allow it to be potent as both an offensive and defensive threat. Discharge and Static allow Zapdos to spread paralysis with incredible efficiency, and Roost allows it to stay healthy throughout a game. Zapdos is also capable of utilizing a wide array of items very effectively, from Life Orb, to Heavy-Duty Boots, Rocky Helmet and Kee Berry, Zapdos is chock full of great sets and will perform anywhere it is placed.
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A/B
Legs
(A) Calyrex is a terrifying presence. It’s absurd power and speed allow it to power through way more than you would think just by looking at it. Should Calyrex manage to grab a kill, Grim Neigh allows it to snowball out of control incredibly quickly. The only reason I hesitate to call it a top tier threat is because of the heavy presence of Dark Types like Yveltal, Urshifu, and especially Tyranitar, who all give it incredible trouble. In a way, though, this also speaks to the extreme threat level of Calyrex, as even in a meta dominated by the most powerful Fairy-Type the game has ever seen, we have Dark Types as a central force largely because of how terrifying Calyrex is. Calyrex is also fairly flexible, having an exremely fast Will-O-Wisp, and the infuriating SubSeed combination means Calyrex can play the bulky role much better than its stats would suggest. With all of this in mind, I think Calyrex definitely stands out as a very strong Pokémon, however with its weaknesses and limited options to handle its checks, I don’t think it is quite S-rank material.
(A/B) With the recent discovery of a set that can potentially BEAT Zacian once Geomancy is used, I believe Xerneas is worth considering for A-tier. As always, Geomancy is an incredibly threatening move, and Fairy Aura boosted attacks give Xerneas immense power. The main thing that has been holding it back is the dominance of Zacian-Crowned. Of course, there are other Steel Types that also scare Xerneas, but none quite as much as Zacian, and this ability to potentially win one of its scariest matchups makes Xerneas worth considering on more teams.
(A)
Honestly fuck this thing. In all seriousness, Zygarde is terrifying when played correctly. Glare and Coil are infuriating moves to play around, and Substitute makes it all the worse. Zygarde can afford to use all of these moves thanks to Thousand Arrows being able to hit airborne targets (
which I think is stupid :)). Despite my immense hatred for this thing, I would be lying if I said it wasn’t a good choice if you want to win.
(A) I honestly don’t see Eternatus too often, since the team I like to run generally doesn’t care too much for it. I do, however, know a small bit about it. Eternatus has quite a good typing, Poison and Dragon work incredibly well together, and a pretty nice stat spread. Cosmic Stall is an incredibly annoying set to face if you don’t have the proper answers for it. The potency and popularity of this set means most players will probably send in a stall breaker to handle Eternatus, and this can be taken advantage of with offensive variants as well. Eternatus can run all of Choice Scarf, Choice Specs, and Life Orb with incredible consistency. Another option lesser seen, but no less threatening, is the Power Herb + Meteor Beam set. All of these sets are incredibly threatening and can end a game very quickly if not responded to properly.
(B) he thicc.
Honestly I don’t have too much to say about Dialga. It’s a great Pokémon, weak to Zacian, but generally tanky enough for one big hit, it does a lot of damage and can mix and match coverage to beat what your team needs it to beat. It’s not the best choice for a restricted Pokémon, but not exactly bad either. This is an iffy B tier for me, but I figured I would at least mention it and see what other people think.
(B) Similar to Dialga, I don’t have much to say here. It’s quite strong and capable of running through a lot of stuff. It’s just got a few really bad matchups with some of the top tiers that hold it back. Groudon is notable for having a decent matchup against Zacian imo, but it just doesn’t differentiate itself from the other big restricted mons enough to warrant picking it much of the time.
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Normies
(A) - My sweep now b
(A/B) Monke is scary as always. Gorilla Tactics is just an absurd ability. Thanks to Ice Crash’s flinch rate, darm can potentially cheese it’s way past stuff it shouldn’t really be beating, too. Flare Blitz, Earthquake, U-turn, and other options all provide Darm with all the tools it needs to hit for huge numbers no matter what’s in front of it. It generally won’t last long, as it has abysmal bulk, but when you’re nuking everything in sight, that’s a small issue.
(B) I’ve been using Mosa for a while and I absolutely love it. Getting a more consistent Fighting STAB in Close Combat really makes all the difference. Mosa is an excellent wallbreaker and offensive Pivot, with enough coverage to mix and match its last two moves to your liking. Unfortunately, it’s biggest issue is that it gets knocked out by a stiff breeze, which makes getting it in a rather difficult task sometimes. Still, once Mosa finds its way in, it’s generally going to smack something really, really hard.
(B) It kills Kyogre, that’s about it. Teams without a ground type can potentially be in trouble too, but generally you’re using this thing to kill Kyogre, and at that it is immensely reliable. The screener is pretty alright too, though I don’t see it much.
(A/B) This thing beats Zacian. That’s all you really need to know. Quagsire is the single most consistent stop to the single most threatening Pokémon of all time. Sure it has flaws, but when over half the teams on ladder use Zacian, Quagsire is a great pick.
(B) I really, really like Umbreon. It sets itself apart from other fat Yawn users by being one of the most consistent stops to Calyrex. With STAB Foul Play, Umbreon can force even Zacian to think twice about coming in, while I don’t think it’s as consistently good as the premier yawners like Quag and Hippo, it’s definitely worth considering if you need a Calyrex answer.
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Thats all from me. I’ve been typing this for a good few hours now lol. Hopefully you find some of this useful