Rate of the Week V3: Week 30

[IronBullet]

Rate of the Week
​

Welcome to Rate of the Week! This is a project that looks to bring quality individual rates into the spotlight and recognizes the hard work of unbadged raters. Here's how it will work:

• Each week, official Team Raters will be paying close attention to the RMT forum and reading the rates posted in their respective tiers. They will then shortlist a few which will be in contention for the Rate of the Week award.
• From the pool of shortlisted rates, one will be chosen which most exemplifies the qualities of an excellent rate. That rater will be the winner for that particular tier!
• A post will be made by an official TR who specialises in that tier, explaining how and why the particular rate won. This will allow aspiring raters to gain an idea of what constitutes high-quality rates, and hopefully incorporate those aspects into their own rates.
• There will be multiple winners every week, one from OU and a couple from other tiers depending on the quality of the rates posted. We hope that in this way we can expand rating activity in less popular tiers, while maintaining a weekly OU winner.
• Official Team Raters are eligible to win, but unbadged raters will have priority since that is the main focus of this project.

So what's in it for the winners? Well, they will earn a place in the Hall of Fame, which will be kept in the OP of every thread, and will earn more consideration for the Ladybug

and Team Rater

badges. Also, after gaining three places in the Hall of Fame, a rater will be eligible to earn voice status in the RMT room on PS! on the condition that they've shown an interest in getting involved.

We hope that this project will encourage people to put more effort into their rates and become better and more experienced raters, which will consequently increase the quality as well as the quantity of rates in the forum. Good luck to you all!

Hall of Fame

Week #1 - Toon Linked (OU)
Week #2 - Nedor (OU), Arifeen (UU)
Week #3 - Fireburn (Ubers), Do A Bibarel (UU)
Week #4 - AM (OU), Raiza (PU), Kiyo (NU)
Week #5 - FlamingVictini (OU)
Week #6 - Cyndequil. (UU)
Week #7 - BreloomMyHomie (OU)
Week #8 - FlamingVictini (OU)
Week #9 - oml it's too ez (OU), Cyndequil. (UU), MrAldo (RU)
Week #10 - Nedor (OU), Cyndequil. (UU), Cranham (Ubers), Lax (Monotype)
Week #11 - AM (OU)
Week #12 - Lange (OU), Amaroq (UU)
Week #13 - all falls down (UU)
Week #14 - Manipulative (UU)
Week #15 - mil (OU)
Week #16 - Tricking (OU)
Week #17 - Hector Hard Mode (OU), Christo. (UU)
Week #18 - p2 (OU), all falls down (UU)
Week #19 - ez (OU), Chakra (RU), S0LID G0LD (LC), Memoric (Doubles)
Week #20 - nv (UU), GradeAGarchomp (VGC), Joshz (Anything Goes)
Week #21 - King Sun (OU), PrinceLucian (NU), GradeAGarchomp (VGC), NOVED (Battle Spot)
Week #22 - ez (OU), fran17 (LC), TONE114 (PU)
Week #23 - Sken (LC)
Week #24 - Nedor (OU), RebornFX (VGC)
Week #25 - Adaam. (UU), Level 51 (Doubles), all falls down (Monotype)
Week #26 - bludz (OU)
Week #27 - celes (OU), Cyndequil. (UU), Chakra (RU)
Week #28 - Hector Hard Mode (OU), nv (UU)
Week #29 - Special Mention: Nedor, celes (OU)
Week #30 - Fireburn (Ubers), Level 51 (Doubles)

 

[Minority]

Congratulations to Fireburn for being this week's Ubers winner. In his rate he takes a look at an unorthodox team posted by a familiar face in the Ubers community.

Fireburn begins by examining how Ho-Oh matches up against the team, especially because it features Calm Mind Arceus-Ground. He notices that the team relies significantly on Stealth Rock in order to check Ho-Oh, but that his setter of the hazard is OHKOed by Ho-Oh's Earthquake. He also notes how much of the team doesn't stand up well against a Ho-Oh clicking Brave Bird, and that despite the Stealth Rock setter's resistance to the move, it can still be worn down quite easily. Fireburn proceeds to list several other reasons why he considers Heatran to be a weak link in the team, then he provides a Pokemon to fill the role of Stealth Rock setter, Steel-type, and Xerneas check. Fireburn evaluates the defensive synergy of the team with Arceus-Ground, Latios, Bronzong, and Whimsicott to be redundant, then suggests using Arceus-Rock, which provides the team with a much more stable counterplay against Ho-Oh without eliminating the use of a Calm Mind Arceus. Using Arceus-Rock also has some other benefits in being a secondary EKiller check and providing extra insurance against Flying-types. Lastly Fireburn suggests a move change on Latios as to improve matchup against Spikers and synergize better with Arceus-Rock.

Overall Fireburn's rate is able to provide insight on a team that utilizes some unorthodox techs without changing the nature or intent of the team.

 

[deoxys speed]

This week's Doubles OU winner is Level 51! His in depth rate helped fix many of the match ups that the team was struggling against and dealt with things that were overlooked by other raters like the issue Volcanion presented after Rotom-Wash was removed. He begins by changing Rotom-Wash to Conkeldurr to deal with Zapdos, Thundurus, Heatran, and Kyurem-Black all huge threats to the team it also offers Wide guard support to Heatran and Charizard-Y who appreciate being able to avoid Earthquakes and Rock Slides respectively.

Seeing that the team could benefit from Icy Wind or Tailwind support more than Trick Room Level 51 changes Trick Room on Cresselia for Icy Wind and going off that Amoonguss is the only thing really benefiting from the "twisted dimensions" so he is quickly swapped out for Zapdos taking away a pokemon that gives free Subs to Volcanion and giving the team a solid check to an otherwise problematic mon. The second to last change is making Landorus-T Jolly to better handle things like Modest Hydreigon, Adamant Kangaskhan, and Modest Charizard-Y. Lastly Heatran is given a bulkier spread because in sun especially if it has a Flash Fire boost it hits like a truck regardless of its spread so bulk is more appreciated.

Thanks to this solid rate Level 51 has earned himself a spot in the hall of fame! Congrats! :)