I updated a few things recently on the VR but didn't really tell anyone. At this point I realize most people don't really care about the VR enough to discuss them, but now the reason I'm still updating them myself is so that people who are actually trying to keep up with the meta/want to learn the meta can learn why these changes are being made. I honestly don't really care at this point if people agree/disagree with the rankings, seeing how dead the meta is. I try as hard as I can to find people who are still interested to test with me so I can continue to make improvements on the meta if need be if we ever were to get a ladder again or if FU was featured in some tour. And I have a lot of time to dedicate to it because outside of FU, I barely play mons anymore in the first place.
Illumise went to B because Volbeat is PU now and Illumise is like the same thing minus Tail Glow Pass which was barely ever used.
Lairon was bumped to A+ because it's easily one of the most useful offensive pivots in the tier at the moment. Dodrio dropping was a huge pain in the ass for offensive teams because it's so damn hard to switch into, but Lairon completely and puts a full stop to it and makes it its bitch. It's also a great check to SD Rat, non Low Kick Fraxure, Persian, Murkrow, non HP Ground Cuno, Zweilous, and Clefairy. Rock Polish and CB sets are also very strong and still retain the ability to check many physical attackers. Its combination of useful resistances on top of its useful defensive and offensive capabilities makes it one of the best pivots in the tier, which as we all know, are incredibly useful to have in this meta.
Dodrio was added to A+ rank as well. While it's completely hard walled by Lairon, Gigalith, and Bastiodon, it hits so god damn hard and can heavily punish any team that doesn't use at least one of the Pokemon I just listed that there's no way it needs to go any lower IMO. Regardless of how good Lairon and Gigalith are on offense, with just a bit of team support and the ability to overwhelm its checks and counters with partners such as Drill Run Fearow or Low Kick Frax, Dodrio is still one of the hardest hitting mons in the tier and is limited to a very limited pull of checks/counters.
I need to test Flareon more but it seems like a solid A- Pokemon, maybe even A. While it is pretty damn slow and has basically no physical bulk, it's got some really nice special bulk and a CB Flare Blitz coming off of 130 Attack is one of the most powerful attacks in the tier, capable of doing 60% minimum to the likes of Kingler who has solid physical bulk. Flash Fire makes Simisear very wary of spamming Fire Blast, as nothing wants to take a Flash Fire boosted Blitz the following turn. Its solid special bulk allows it to somewhat check Buzz and other weaker special attackers, so it definitely has quite a few opportunities to come in and wreck. I could see a SpD set finding some success on bulkier teams as well.
Electrode is not nearly as amazing as I thought it would be, but it's still a very solid Pokemon and has a niche over E-Buzz for its ability to outspeed the entire boosted tier and then some, such as SS Huntail and RP Lairon as well as most Choice Scarf Pokemon. It also gets Taunt, which is one of the best moves in FU and on an offensive Pokemon like Electrode, can give teams a lot of trouble. In general, it is mostly superior to Buzz in a all out offensive role. A seems perfect for it.
Some other small things. Because Prinplup is gone, Tortle moved up to A- because it is easily the most reliable hazard remover in the tier, and its CounterCoat sets are very annoying to deal with. Huntail moved down a rank seeing as how it can no longer pass its SS boosts, but it still remains a very strong sweeper. Metang moved back up to A rank because it's yet another amazing offensive pivot that checks a lot of top tier threats and can get up SR very reliably. Steel-types in general are just very useful at the moment.