ORAS UU Viability Rankings V5

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I don't agree with Heracross dropping, STAB Megahorn lets the Choice Band or status orb set 2HKO Cresselia, something most Fighting-types can only dream of. Band Conkeldurr isn't a good set - Assault Vest or Bulk Up are much better sets. Heracross, Machamp and Pangoro run Band sets better than Conk since they have better Speed and strong STABs not named Superpower. Pangoro even has a scouting move in Parting Shot.
I almost never see a Conkeldurr with superpower. Drain punch, mach punch, and hammer arm are all great depending on whether iron fist or guts is being used, and I already mentioned that Heracross can break through Cress. It just doesn't compare to A-'s other fighting types in Conkeldurr, who has better bulk and typing, a wider variety of viable sets, and better matchup against stall with its bulk up AND cb set, and in Infernape, who can set up either specially or physically, use a choice item, or even be a mixed attacker. Hera provides the least overall utility of any fighting type in A- and should drop due to that fact.
 
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Banded conk is a good set what are you on about? Guts and Iron Fist both have merit for either insane power or utility as a status absorber. Oh and there's this little thing called STAB priority which is pretty good too. Also conkeldurr is like 100x better than pangoro that thing sucks
Locking yourself into Mach Punch is basically an invitation to be set up on. I guess you could bluff the Assault Vest set, but I'd rather use Band Machamp or Heracross. Speaking of Heracross, after reconsidering I don't think it's quite as good as the other A- Pokémon. B+ at the lowest though, as it's still a good Pokémon.

I believe Haxorus should be moved up to B or B-. With Salamence gone, it's now the fastest and most powerful Dragon Dancer in UU. At +1 it outruns everything without a Scarf, even with an Adamant nature, and between Outrage, Earthquake and Iron Tail / Poison Jab (Iron Tail's better on DD, as it OHKOes defensive Sylveon after Rocks) not much can stop it. It can also run Choice Band and Swords Dance sets.
 
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Wanka

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I think you are underestimating how strong band conk actually is. It outdamages both of those mons and having band fist mach punch in the back is defo an advantage rather than a disadvantage so im not too sure why you think it is. It's a godsend in late game scenarios. You should be clicking hammer arm more in the early stages of a battle anyways so you won't really get set up on.

Not trying to compare conk to those mons as much rather im just trying to say that band conk is actually a super threatening set.
 

Hilomilo

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There is a definite distinction between the fighting types of the current A- rank. It seems to me that Toxicroak and Heracross really just don't compare to Infernape and Conkeldurr. Infernape is such an offensively versatile pokemon, and can do so many things ridiculously well, fitting itself onto both offensive and balanced teams. Conkeldurr is great against stall and also has a large amount of viable sets, and is a lot harder to fault than Toxicroak and Hera.

As much as I love Toxicroak, I can't deny that it offers a team close to no defensive utility outside of being able to switch into bulky waters. It's poor speed forces it to rely on hitting what outspeeds it with Sucker Punch, and that really isn't a good idea vs things like Infernape, Cobalion or Krookodile. The thing is also extremely frail, which doesn't go well with its already mentioned speed and weaknesses to common attack types in flying, psychic and ground (its also bound an ohko from fire type attacks with dry skin). To make matters worse, Toxicroak can't even break through common cores anymore with mons like Tentacruel, Doublade and physically defensive Bronzong finding themselves paired with fairies and needs to set up to really do much damage. Overall, Toxicroak is too flawed of a pokemon to be in A- and hasn't adapted well to metagame changes, whereas Conk and Nape have fairly well.

As for Heracross, the thing just doesn't do anything that isn't better done by another fighting type aside from breaking through Cress and fairies with a little more ease, though Sylveon kinda just destroys it. It's guts CB set is outdone nowadays by Conkeldurr due to its better attack and bulk/typing, and it doesn't have as reliable a way of dealing with stall as Conkeldurr does, not to mention that Conk's bulk up set is very effective against many common play styles. Let's not forget that its 4x weakness to flying and Crobat and Maero everywhere doesn't scream "staying power."
 
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As for Heracross, the thing just doesn't do anything that isn't better done by another fighting type aside from breaking through Cress and fairies with a little more ease, though Sylveon kinda just destroys it. It's guts CB set is outdone nowadays by Conkeldurr due to its better attack and bulk/typing, and it doesn't have as reliable a way of dealing with stall as Conkeldurr does. Let's not forget that its 4x weakness to flying and Crobat and Maero everywhere doesn't scream "staying power."
Idk if you played before the Sylveon Metagame, but SD Heracross was one of the best stallbreakers in the tier, and iirc, it is still a good Stallbreaker because the only thing that can "wall" it is Quagsire, and it still fears a Toxic Orb Close Combat, not to mention that Stall is the worst playstyle by far... Heracross has a decent natural bulk too, so no way to say that Conk is better 100% of the time versus stall. Also, I don't think that Heracross should drop yet, it has better Fighting STAB than Conkeldurr, a better way to defeat both Cresselia and Cune with Band and SD (Conkeldurr can't defeat Cresselia and RoarCune, only if banded, it's worst set imo), Conkeldurr is slow as fuck too, while Heracross hits a pretty good Speed tie that allows it to outspeed Pokémon like Mamoswine and Chandelure. Lastly, both Hydreigon and Celebi have 4x weaknesses, and they are still common even if Sylveon and U-Turn are everywhere, so that doesn't makes sense since they have an awesome "staying power", if you don't run a good Flying Resist, what you need 99% of the time, the only thing that you can do is click x, so this weakness isn't that awful.
 
I have not played UU in a while, so would someone explain to me why Machamp is high as B Rank even after Heracross and Conkeldurr dropped into UU? It has No Guard Dynamicpunch but I suspect there is something else that would still keep it this high with Hera and Conk both being present in the tier.
 

Adaam

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I have not played UU in a while, so would someone explain to me why Machamp is high as B Rank even after Heracross and Conkeldurr dropped into UU? It has No Guard Dynamicpunch but I suspect there is something else that would still keep it this high with Hera and Conk both being present in the tier.
DynamicPunch is just that stupid. Other things are being slightly faster than Conk and bulkier than Heracross, but really it's main niche is cheesing its way past everything.

An another note, I fully support Croak dropping. It's carried way to hard by its Water immunity but it loses to pretty much every bulky Water except Suicune and Emp (which runs offensive these days and chunks with Ice Beam). Losing to the most common Water type in the tier in Swampert is also really stupid considering you only run Croak as a Scald switch in. Also the offensive Waters it does check somewhat (Shark, Gatr) are nowhere to be found but Mega Pert and Gyarados are still amazing.

Sylveon being the main Fairy kinda screws it too since bulky variants of Toxicroak could avoid a Moonblast 2HKO from Florges but now it just drops to Hyper Voice. Not to mention its Fighting STAB is trash so you can't even do damage to stuff like +1 Lax which is not what I want in my Fighting-type. Poison is too bad of an offensive type to rely on as your primary STAB. Drop it to low B+ imo, no way it's better than Lucario (which should be at least A-!!).
 
I still disagree with Toxicroak dropping. Saying that it provides little defensive utility is absolutely wrong, especially considering other Pokemon in the A ranks such as Infernape and Mega Sceptile.
An another note, I fully support Croak dropping. It's carried way to hard by its Water immunity but it loses to pretty much every bulky Water except Suicune and Emp (which runs offensive these days and chunks with Ice Beam). Losing to the most common Water type in the tier in Swampert is also really stupid considering you only run Croak as a Scald switch in. Also the offensive Waters it does check somewhat (Shark, Gatr) are nowhere to be found but Mega Pert and Gyarados are still amazing.

Sylveon being the main Fairy kinda screws it too since bulky variants of Toxicroak could avoid a Moonblast 2HKO from Florges but now it just drops to Hyper Voice. Not to mention its Fighting STAB is trash so you can't even do damage to stuff like +1 Lax which is not what I want in my Fighting-type. Poison is too bad of an offensive type to rely on as your primary STAB. Drop it to low B+ imo, no way it's better than Lucario (which should be at least A-!!).
It beats Suicune, Alomomola, Milotic, Tentacruel, and Empoleon very easily and switches into all but offensive Empoelon very easily (Ice Beam doesn't quite 2HKO). It does 93 minimum to Slowking with +2 Gunk Shot. The only bulky waters it outright loses to are Swampert and Jellicent (assuming no Knock Off). Offensive waters: it's a soft check to Mega Blastoise, Sharpedo, and Gatr (the latter being the most uncommon but the other two are still fairly common - 6%+ usage for each). It also benefits from Mega Blastoise running less Ice Beam and more Aura Sphere + Dark Pulse after Salamence's ban. Doesn't check Gyara, but at the very least it does ~60% before it sets up. It's also a decent soft check to some Fighting-types. Overall, it checks the offensive threats that it needs to in the same way that, for example, Krookodile checks Mega Aerodactyl.

If you want a Fighting STAB used purely for wallbreaking, try this:
+2 252 Atk Life Orb Toxicroak Low Kick (100 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mega Swampert: 341-402 (100 - 117.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252 Atk Life Orb Toxicroak Low Kick (120 BP) vs. +1 144 HP / 188 Def Snorlax: 330-390 (66.3 - 78.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

+2 252 Atk Life Orb Toxicroak Low Kick (120 BP) vs. 252 HP / 16+ Def Filter Mega Aggron: 283-335 (82.2 - 97.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Obviously Drain Punch is better on most teams, but that's still an option if you need to damage +1 Snorlax and stuff.

Also, I'd argue that Poison is actually a great offensive typing. STAB LO Gunk Shot is hard as hell to switch into, even doing 43-50% to offensive Crobat, especially when Steel-types and other resists like Krook can't switch in safely. The poison chance is great for punishing shit like Cress and Sableye.

As a side note, a dual Fighting core of NP croak + SD Cobalion/Lucario is really cool.

e: I think Chandelure can drop from B+ to B, it's definitely a powerful wallbreaker but ubiquity of its checks (Aero, Hydreigon, Krookodile) makes it hard to use effectively. Full stall is on the decline, Scarf has a huge share of problems, and Specs is really cool but nearly every balance team has Pursuit support of some kind.
 
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pokemonisfun

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Nominations: Tangela Unranked to C-

It lost its biggest competition Tangrowth very recently and while worse than Tangrowth ever was because it is overly reliant on Eviolite, I think C- is still appropriate.

Compared to Chesnaught your main benefit is having Regenerator so you do not have to spend time healing - and paired with another Regenerator user you can be a pretty reliable Sableye counter if you're willing to get burned and lose your item. You also get a few fringe benefits such as Knock Off and Giga Drain healing you while OHKOing Crawdaunt most of the time unlike Chesnaughts Wood Hammer damaging you.

The drawbacks include a lack of Rock resist, no Spikes, and less power in general - particularly important when considering Chesnaught can sort of check Lucario and Cobalion with Drain Punch while Tangela cannot nearly as well with HP fire. The biggest drawback is the reliance on Eviolite but you still beat the scariest Knock Off users in the tier, Krookodile and Crawdaunt (Absol is iffy as they often run Fire Blast) very easily so it's not a fatal flaw. Since C- rank is still well below Chesnaught and what Tangrowth used to be I think it's fair.

Nomination Audino Mega Unranked to C-

This nomination might be a bit harder to get around, particularly as Audino cannot be so directly compared to a single Pokemon like Tangela could be.

But I'm nominating it on the merits of its physically defensive Wish set which is pretty unique - it's bulkier than Suicune before Leftovers (and you get Wish too) while having great utility. Unlike Blissey and Sylveon you have amazing physical bulk which lets you check Pokemon such as Mamoswine and Krookodile and Haxorus and Crawdaunt which the aforementioned special walls could never do. You are also immune to trick which is nice, especially for Rotom.

The drawbacks are many though, for one you cannot use your ability Regenerator along with the Fairy typing and high bulk so you're not nearly as bulky as the base stats and ability suggests. And while the Trick immunity is nice it comes at the cost of your mega slot so you lose out on many potentially good defensive Megas like Swampert and Steelix. Competition comes not only from other Megas but also the fact that UU already has plenty of cleric options - the queen being Blissey of course but also Sylveon and Umbreon and Florges are all good choices.

Perhaps the biggest issue with Audino is the fact that despite being a fairy you not only do not resist Fighting, you're actually weak to it before Mega Evolution. It may be difficult to put a Fighting resist when your Fairy is so inadequate against them.

C- still should be fair because there is a whole load of far below average Pokemon already in C- (Venusaur?? Drudiggon???) and Audino offers a very distinct niche - cleric abilities combined with Regenrator and good physical bulk.
 

Adaam

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I still disagree with Toxicroak dropping. Saying that it provides little defensive utility is absolutely wrong, especially considering other Pokemon in the A ranks such as Infernape and Mega Sceptile.

It beats Suicune, Alomomola, Milotic, Tentacruel, and Empoleon very easily and switches into all but offensive Empoelon very easily (Ice Beam doesn't quite 2HKO). It does 93 minimum to Slowking with +2 Gunk Shot. The only bulky waters it outright loses to are Swampert and Jellicent (assuming no Knock Off). Offensive waters: it's a soft check to Mega Blastoise, Sharpedo, and Gatr (the latter being the most uncommon but the other two are still fairly common - 6%+ usage for each). It also benefits from Mega Blastoise running less Ice Beam and more Aura Sphere + Dark Pulse after Salamence's ban. Doesn't check Gyara, but at the very least it does ~60% before it sets up. It's also a decent soft check to some Fighting-types. Overall, it checks the offensive threats that it needs to in the same way that, for example, Krookodile checks Mega Aerodactyl.

If you want a Fighting STAB used purely for wallbreaking, try this:
+2 252 Atk Life Orb Toxicroak Low Kick (100 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mega Swampert: 341-402 (100 - 117.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252 Atk Life Orb Toxicroak Low Kick (120 BP) vs. +1 144 HP / 188 Def Snorlax: 330-390 (66.3 - 78.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

+2 252 Atk Life Orb Toxicroak Low Kick (120 BP) vs. 252 HP / 16+ Def Filter Mega Aggron: 283-335 (82.2 - 97.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Obviously Drain Punch is better on most teams, but that's still an option if you need to damage +1 Snorlax and stuff.

Also, I'd argue that Poison is actually a great offensive typing. STAB LO Gunk Shot is hard as hell to switch into, even doing 43-50% to offensive Crobat, especially when Steel-types and other resists like Krook can't switch in safely. The poison chance is great for punishing shit like Cress and Sableye.

As a side note, a dual Fighting core of NP croak + SD Cobalion/Lucario is really cool.

e: I think Chandelure can drop from B+ to B, it's definitely a powerful wallbreaker but ubiquity of its checks (Aero, Hydreigon, Krookodile) makes it hard to use effectively. Full stall is on the decline, Scarf has a huge share of problems, and Specs is really cool but nearly every balance team has Pursuit support of some kind.
Forgot about Milotic, my bad. Alomomola I figured is uncommon enough to not warrant a teamslot on checking it. Tentacruel, however, depends on the set so it isn't reliably checking it. It cannot switch into Offensive Acid Spray Tentacruel since -2 Ice Beam does 2HKO it while Toxicroak cannot OHKO.

While Slowking and Gyara do not like taking Gunk Shots, you still can't switch into them at all or revenge kill them, so that's 2 more Waters Croak is unable to do its job against.

My main complain is that it is does poorly against the best Water types in the tier. Swampert is the most used which it obviously loses to, and Suicune is second. It does wall it all day, granted, but it does nothing back without a boost so it just gets Roared out as it sets up or burns 2 Gunk Shot PP which does matter since it only has 8. Emp is very annoying, so switching into it is nice, but imo Milotic and Alo aren't that pervasive enough to warrant using a teamslot to check those. Mega Sharpedo and Gatr falling to bottom of the barrel in usage further decreases its utility against offense (seriously what happened to these guys).

Low kick does look cool, ngl.

Edit: Also want to throw out the top mons in usage give it fits. Aero (might involve Sucker mind games), Krook, Hydrei, Swampert, Celebi (somewhat), Sylveon replacing Florges, and Crobat (also might involve mind games) all give it a hard time. It was really good when FlorgCune defined balance and Gatr dominated the tier, but now it's much less effective
 
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Fair enough, although Alomomola has significantly more usage than Slowking both on the ladder and in all three rounds of UU open so far; Milotic has more usage on the ladder and slightly less throughout UU Open. Gunk + Sucker also kills offensive Tentacruel, so I'd still call it check since it at least forces Tenta out. Still, you're right about Swampert and the other top used Pokemon of the tier.

Speaking of Slowking, I would also like to nominate that from B+ to B. As a bulky Water, it struggles to take hits from Mega Swampert and other attackers like that, not to mention that it's a completely free switchin for one of the most dangerous Pokemon in the tier, Celebi, and an almost free switchin for Hydreigon as well. being trapped by Krookodile can mean free reign for Aero and Cobalion, two Pokemon that Krook is commonly partnered with. Also, Slowking is crippled by status moreso than Suicune, Milotic, and Alomomola (Mola can still take hits while burned), meaning that a Sacred Fire or Scald burn can leave it completely unable to do its job. It's also 2HKOd by Cobalions +2 X-Scissor (OHKOd after rocks at +4), so it's no longer even a reliable counter to that.
 

YABO

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Umm, did you really just post about Tyrantrum without mentioning its 150 power move with no recoil? Get your shit together bro, it's a bad look. It's typing is actually pretty good if you build around it properly and that swampert problem? Nice.
252+ Atk Choice Band Tyrantrum Head Smash vs. 240 HP / 252+ Def Swampert: 148-174 (36.9 - 43.3%) -- 99.4% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Choice Band Tyrantrum Outrage vs. 240 HP / 252+ Def Swampert: 237-280 (59.1 - 69.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
 
Tyrantrum does not deserve a drop. Having recoil-less Head Smash is its biggest niche and its still a terrifying mon to go up against. Not many Pokemon in this tier can switch in safely into a 150 STAB Head Smash.

Head Smash has a chance of missing, but so what? Fire Blast and Focus Blast miss a lot as well, but that doesn't affect the Pokemon that use them.

Its like Machamp in a way. Outside of their niches, they don't have much compared to more popular mons, but the niches they do have are good enough to get them ranked where they are currently.
 
My point was that its ubiquitous weaknesses make it hard for Tyrantrum to effectively come in safely. Against offensive teams, you're pretty much limited to switching in after something of yours drops.

Tyrantrum does not deserve a drop. Having recoil-less Head Smash is its biggest niche and its still a terrifying mon to go up against. Not many Pokemon in this tier can switch in safely into a 150 STAB Head Smash.

Head Smash has a chance of missing, but so what? Fire Blast and Focus Blast miss a lot as well, but that doesn't affect the Pokemon that use them.

Its like Machamp in a way. Outside of their niches, they don't have much compared to more popular mons, but the niches they do have are good enough to get them ranked where they are currently.
You make a fair point, I retract my statement about Tyrantrum. I actually tried the Rock Polish set after I made my first post, and it was a great late game cleaner.

I was surprised to see Donphan so low down, I've used it to great success. True Mega Blastoise is often a better Spinner, but it's a decent alternative if you've filled your mega slot and want a Spinner that still has offensive presence. It also has Knock Off and STAB Earthquake so Doublade won't switch in. I'm not saying it should necessarily be moved up, but it is a solid mon.
 

Kink

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Did I ever say it was weak? I didn't mention Head Smash because I didn't need to - that's its USP. No one's doubting its power, but try actually using the thing - Head Smash hits when it feels like hitting and switching it in in is incredibly difficult. It needs an awful lot of support to do its job.
By your logic, Aerodactyl's Stone Edge should prevent it from being an S rank mon. Power versus accuracy has been a debate since day one of Pokemon, but it doesn't prevent Tyrantrum from being a valid option, particularly one that some teams simply do not prepare for. No one is suggesting it's a prominent metagame threat, but if you don't prepare for its unique wallbreaking potential, you're gonna have a bad time, m'kay? B is not a world-class rank, but it's still a very reasonable option.
 

Pearl

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Did I ever say it was weak? I didn't mention Head Smash because I didn't need to - that's its USP. No one's doubting its power, but try actually using the thing - Head Smash hits when it feels like hitting and switching it in in is incredibly difficult. It needs an awful lot of support to do its job.
No one who actually knows how to search for a Pokemon's Bulbapedia / Smogon / whatever page will ever doubt that Tyrantrum's Special Defense is low or that Rock is weak to Ground, Fighting and Steel either (hell, you don't even need to know how to play this game to figure that out LOL), and you still bothered mentioning that. Actually, the only good point you make in your original post is that Tyrantrum has a hard time getting past Swampert. And what's wrong with that? Mega Aerodactyl, a Pokemon that's currently among the best of the best in this tier also has the the exact same problem, and that's not even close to making it drop in viability or even usage.

Note that I don't even have a definite stance regarding Tyrantrum's placement. I think that it's a good Pokemon on some offensive teams that need something to clean up but can't afford Mega Sharpedo or any other "better" Pokemon that fits the role for whatever reason, since Rock Polish Tyrantrum has a decent amount of set up opportunities and not many teams are able to withstand Head Smashes, even if they're unboosted (CB Tyrantrum could put in work on paper, but I feel that Krookodile, Conkeldurr and even Snorlax are a lot better as Choice Band users, considering their other traits besides the ability to hit shit hard). But come on man, if you wanna post that badly then you should at least learn the basics. People don't wanna hear about Tyrantrum's base stats, its resistances/weaknesses or the sets it runs. If you wanna defend your stance regarding a Pokemon's position in the current VR standings, you're supposed to explain how they interact with the metagame and how / why they've become worse / better since the last time they were brought up.

And to make sure this post isn't completely useless, I believe Registeel should be added to the list (and I bet pif agrees with this one :D). Either C or C+ are fine. It covers pretty much the same threats as Bronzong (excluding the Nidos) without being overly weak to CB Krookodile, which is a massive threat at the moment.

(note: I didn't even bother nitpicking the accuracy argument because it's flat out silly and all you need to do to realize that is to take a look at the list of all BL/BL2 Pokemon)
 
I'm sorry for making a bad argument. I've deleted those posts, so let's move on.

I think C is fine for Registeel, it is a great tank but the lack of reliable recovery hurts. It gets great synergy with cleric Sylveon though, as Regi can cover the Steel and Poison types while it can cover the Fighting types not named Toxicroak, Cobalion or Lucario. It can also wall Celebi that lack Earth Power, which is nice. The main problem is how to prevent it becoming set up fodder.
 

Been lurking and I had the urge to post.

Tangela Unranked to C- +1
This is one of those pokemon that will primarily shine in stall. There are plenty of reasons to use Tangela over Chesnaught such as better physical bulk, sleep powder, regenerator, and no fighting typing. The greatest of these at the moment is regenerator. With both Amoongus and Tangrowth gone, tangela is the pokemon that can keep clicking those support moves and options without having to worry about healing up after a heavy hit. The eviolite is a pain as Tangrowth was able to take on popular knock off users like Krook and Crawdaunt without much consequence. The lack of leftovers or a resistance berry possibility makes me believe that Tangela will never get out of C- rank if put there. I feel the ranking is fair although we have seen things like Clefairy get ranked in C- and then dropped soon after.

Slowking B+ to B
+1
Slowking has entered the point in the meta where you have to add and subtract things from your team in order to make it work. It no longer seems like an independent add on to a team. It's more like you have to want to put it on your team. I have been playing with the defensive calm mind set, and I found it to be pretty underwhelming. To make is work I needed a strong counter to Celebi and a few lures. I also needed a decent check to Milotic as the haze set is now known to be good. Slowking does not perform great vs the stall match up. Toxic prevents the sweep option. In the past I would try to switch Slowking into scald and then set up on the scald user that can no longer toxic me. This no longer works. Stall teams have answers to either force Slowking not to recovery, or deal with it even at +6. There might be a set out there that works better now a days, but for now Slowking is not favored in this meta.

I'm not back btw, I just thought since my ship out date was moved back a few months, that I could post a little...
 

Hilomilo

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Tyrantrum is nowhere near deserving of a drop. Its rock polish set is makes for a fantastic cleaner, and Mega Aggron/Steelix, Swampert and maybe Krookodile are the only head smash resists that can come in on the attack banded and not take a ton of damage. It's more likely to rise than drop, which still isn't going to happen any time soon.

Tangela to C- is pretty justified given that Tangrowth and Amoonguss are gone and that its access to knock off, giga drain, regenerator and the ability to status switch ins make it a great team supporter. If Tangela is ranked I'd also like to see Durant ranked, as there's been an outpouring of support for its placement and no opposition. Mega Audino and Registeel both have notable enough of niches to see a placement at C-, but both fit onto (with exception of balance) really uncommon play styles in the current meta which wouldn't make me upset to seem them stay unranked.

Slowking is a mon that's drop has been overdue for some time now. It's not nearly as splashable nowadays and is outclassed as a bulky CM user by Suicune and Reuniclus. Celebi's drop was really the nail in the coffin for Slowking since it really has nothing to worry about when coming in on an attack. As for Chandy dropping from B+, I'd say it should just move to the bottom of the rank. It's still extremely powerful and can do a team absolute wonders with sticky web down. The ubiquity of its checks sucks, but Hydreigon is S rank despite its prevalent checks in Sylveon, Florges, Conkeldurr and more. Low B+ sounds about right atm.

I still stand with my opinions on Heracross and Toxicroak, and while Infernape doesn't offer much defensive utility either as opposed to Croak, a switch in to will o wisp is always nice, and it isn't hampered by poor speed. Sableye could probably drop even further from A-, since its just really hard for the thing to stall break when stall is at the opposite of its peak and it has to spam recover to stay alive against strong neutral attacks.

And lastly, why is Druddigon still ranked? As an offensive stealth rock setter, it faces competition from Mamoswine and Krookodile, who have good stab coverage and aren't horribly slow, and really has to choose between items which all are really needed. If it wants to wallbreak with glare and sheer force, it really benefits from life orb, and that lack of precious leftovers recovery or roseli berry to stand a remote chance against Sylveon will hurt it in the long run. There really isn't anything in my eyes that justifies a team slot for Druddigon, and Haxorus and Hydreigon don't help its case at all.
 

Vague

Banned deucer.
Since we're on the topic of Fighting-types, I believe it's time for Pangoro to drop. There's very little reason to even use it now with Conkeldurr gaining so much traction. Pangoro's access to Dark STAB and SD is dandy and all, but Conkeldurr runs a better Choice Band set with access to IF boosted Mach Punch and similar coverage options and the BU set pretty much dismantles stall and some balance squads singlehandedly. There's also the case of the many Fighting-types that roam the tier that are so much better than it: Lucario, Cobalion, Infernape, Heracross, Toxicroak, even Mienshao bring so much more to a team than Pangoro does that it's pretty pointless to entertain a serious build around it.

Haxorus is actually really good, now there's a reason to use it. DD, SD, Band are all decent sets that take advantage of it's great power and nice coverage. It should rise up, probably a solid B+.

The issue with Donphan is that it takes up the Ground slot and doesn't give enough to even warrant such a valuable slot. Krookodile is still amazing, Mamoswine still doesn't have any safe switch-ins, (Mega) Swampert brings a ton to the table, simply put it doesn't measure up in any shape or fashion against the competition in the tier. Spinning honestly isn't enough of a perk to consider using it unless you're really desperate for hazard removal, and then you've got Tentacruel which is the best spinner available in the tier. So no, isn't good compared to the amount of mons that eclipse it in the tier and brings so much more to the plate :x
 
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