RU National Dex RU Metagame Discussion

[R8]

what the fuck, National dex ru is playable ? Someone can explain me how to play this metagame ?

You can challenge other people in the NDRU discord server

 

[Runo]

^ in addtion to this, you can also play in room tours in the NDOT room on PS! or forum tours such as NDRU Open, NDPL, or the occasional NDRU Seasonal

 

[R8]

Keldeo moved from NDRUBL to NDUU
Hippowdon moved from NDRU to NDUU
Floatzel moved from NDRU to NDUU

Avalugg-Hisui moved from NDUU to NDRU
Basculegion moved from NDUU to NDRU
Basculegion-F moved from NDUU to NDRU
Braviary-Hisui moved from NDUU to NDRU
Decidueye-Hisui moved from NDUU to NDRU
Electrode-Hisui moved from NDUU to NDRU
Enamorus-Therian moved from NDUU to NDRU
Hawlucha moved from NDUU to NDRU
Jirachi moved from NDUU to NDRU
Latios moved from NDUU to NDRU
Latios-Mega moved from NDUU to NDRU
Lilligant-Hisui moved from NDUU to NDRU
Mew moved from NDUU to NDRU
Nihilego moved from NDUU to NDRU
Overqwil moved from NDUU to NDRU
Typhlosion-Hisui moved from NDUU to NDRU
Wyrdeer moved from NDUU to NDRU

Note that Hawlucha, Jirachi, Mew and Latios are actually NDRUBL. What are your thoughts on these shifts?

 

[Melons-N-Soda]

Hippowdon is a big loss most definitely. Though I wonder what people will use as a replacement. Gligar, Rhyperior, Swampert, even more niche things like Nidoqueen? Also this means Sand teams with stuff like Dracozolt will have to resort to Gigalith whose not nearly as good as Hippo.

Of the Hisui mons, Enamorus-Therian actually looks the best, followed by Hisuian Lilligant. The others seem mediocre to downright dreadful. Jirachi seems annoying, Nihilego was really good back then, without Hippo it seems even better. Mew I'm not sure how that's gonna go. Will Mewnium Z be banned here or was it already banned by UU?

 

[georgebowserjr]

Hippowdon is a big loss most definitely. Though I wonder what people will use as a replacement. Gligar, Rhyperior, Swampert, even more niche things like Nidoqueen? Also this means Sand teams with stuff like Dracozolt will have to resort to Gigalith whose not nearly as good as Hippo.

Of the Hisui mons, Enamorus-Therian actually looks the best, followed by Hisuian Lilligant. The others seem mediocre to downright dreadful. Jirachi seems annoying, Nihilego was really good back then, without Hippo it seems even better. Mew I'm not sure how that's gonna go. Will Mewnium Z be banned here or was it already banned by UU?

mew and jirachi are already RUBL, you dont have to worrry about those

 

[Runo]

I'm not gonna mention the RUBL mons shifting because they have no impact on the meta.

Rises
-

RU just lost one of the best defensive walls in the tier, one of the best rockers in the tier, one of the best ground types, what a tragedy. Although I knew in my heart that Hippowdon wasn't going to stay RU for long, it still hurts to see it go.

- Considering that Kingdra and Politoed haven't dropped yet, its safe to say that ladder didn't get the memo about Drizzle being banned. Oh well another D-rank for UU to collect.

Drops
- Somehow they made Avalugg worse than it already was. Kalos Avalugg has a tiny niche on stall teams at least thanks to its titanic physical bulk, Hisui Avalugg has even less bulk and has an even worse defensive typing. Don't use it
- Phantom Force being its only way to break Slowbro is rough, it also gets hard stopped by a ton of fat Grass-types like Amoonguss, Tangrowth, and Tapu Bulu because of it.
- Meanwhile, Baculegion-F doesn't have this issue as much, thanks to both most of the Grass types leaning towards physical defensive sets, and access to a spammable Ghost STAB in Shadow Ball. I think the only reliable switch in to Choice Specs sets is Blissey off the top of my head. I think it has potential, like a Water-type Chandelure
- Tinted Lens sets seem ass, Bulky Calm Mind sets seems outclassed by better psychics, the only saving grace this mon looks to have is just Sheer Force boosted STABs on some offensive set. The current meta doesn't look super kind to it tho.
- Not worth it because we don't really have any splashable Ghost-types to warrant using this mon over Breloom or the newly dropped Hisuian Liligant.
- If Mega Sceptile and Mega Manectric had a child, but the child had a crippling disorder or smth. Mon is so damn weak tbh, I don't see why anyone would want to seriously compress both of their roles, esp when Mega Manectric can somewhat handle Water/Grounds on its own with HP Grass.
- Fatass! I don't really know what kinda potential this mon has in store to be honest. Bulky Calm Mind wincon is the only thing that's coming to mind.
Two very annoying variations of the Victory Dance set come to mind: the very cheesy Sleep Powder set, which lets you abuse almost all of your non grass type counterplay for free setup, or Z-Move which lets you freely obliterate anything you want with a boost from both Victory Dance and Hustle all without the accuracy drop. Grassium or Fightinium Z work but Icium Z is also very deadly since it can remove most of its Grass-type checks immediately and effectively run away with the game in theory.
- Welcome back Nihilego. A new Poison-type to combat the rising Grass-type threats is much appreciated. Although Meteor Beam sets seem deadlier than ever, so we might need to be on the look out for this mon in the coming days.
- uhh its basically Hisuian Qwilfish, but not a complete meme. Idk it seems like a fun offensive spiker. Decent speed tier and a typing to die for in addition to intimidate to provide some defensive utility.
- Bootleg Blacephalon, except it can't snow ball out of control. I think it just takes Chandelure's place in the metagame but slightly better. (yes this basically means that Chandy's out of a job now, sry #Chandygang)
- Who? oh the Stantler evo. Yea i'm sure we have a place here for it totally...definitely...absolutely (This mon seems like a waste of a teamslot, I genuinely can't come up with any idea on what to do with this mon because other Psychics can just do it 100 times better).

 

[ASsayf]

You can challenge other people in the NDRU discord server

oh thanks, its been a while since i made a RU team but forced to play it in ND UU

 

[R8]

What I think is its best set

Lilligant-Hisui (F) @ Icium Z / Fightinium Z
Ability: Hustle
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Victory Dance
- Ice Spinner
- Leaf Blade

I have a strong preference for Icium Z as it allows you to nuke grasses and Mandibuzz immediately, or at least force them to tera.

Sets using Tera (Probably with wide lens?) are probably OK too - I think steel in particular might be nice to resist Amoonguss/Slowbro-G attacks on top of common priority moves. Sleep Powder sets are bad in my opinion, considering how common Amoonguss and Mandibuzz are, and also because Icium threatens everything already anyway.

Unless I'm missing something, this tier is clearly lacking any form of reliable answers to it aside from niche stuff like Slowbro-G, Chandelure, or the few scarfers that can outspeed it at +1. You can take a quick look at the usages stats for the NatDex RU Open tour and see how everything either drops to this pokemon or is forced to tera to take a hit. You could in theory run max physdef Rotom-Heat, but you still would have to keep it at absolute full (+1 252 Atk Hustle Lilligant-Hisui Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Rotom-Heat: 261-307 (85.8 - 100.9%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO), while full physdef Mandibuzz, Amoonguss, Tangrowth all die to +1 z-ice spinner. Priority can probably work as long as you have ways to push it in range or force it to click Close Combat (it actually is quite bulky at +1: 252+ Atk Life Orb Mamoswine Ice Shard vs. +1 0 HP / 0 Def Lilligant-Hisui: 159-190 (56.5 - 67.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO) although this can always be invalidated by Tera.

I think the best way to use Lilligant-H in general is as an early game breaker: the mon is very inconsistent at sweeping thanks to hustle, but is still great at dismantling teams, especially since Z-Moves bypass the accuracy check. It generally is a much less frustrating Pokemon to use if you adopt a "kill something with the Z move, then every other kills you get is a bonus" mindset.

Example of replays showcasing what the mon does:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldexru-1917436225
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldexru-1917105189
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nationaldexru-1917631903-hb7rsjt55h8qwp3jjbr79d3mlfke6jvpw
(That last victory dance was a missclick, oops)

Honestly the mon looks quite dumb to me and I think it probably deserves a quickban. From playing, Enamorus-T and Nihilego seemed stupid too but I'd personally need to see these more to be convinced.

 

[Velcroc]

In preparation for NDPL, we have announced two eagerly awaited bans from National Dex RU.



Hisui Lilligant and Enamorus-Therian have been banned from RU

Slate

There were quite a few drops we didn't want from UU: Hisuian Lilligant was on the top of that list. With access to Victory Dance and strong coverage in Grass + Fighting and Ice, Hisui Lilligant could break through numerous bulky cores that dominate the tier. Simultaneously, the speed and defence boost acquired from Victory Dance, make it tough to revenge-kill with faster offensive threats. For reference, +1 Lilligant ties with Zarude and Mienshao, two staple scarfers here. Even priority users like Lokix and Azumarill aren't too fond of picking off Hisui Lilligant as it can tank their hits with even a defense drop. However, Icium-Z was the catalyst for breaking this Pokemon as Subzero Slammer guarantees KOs on would-be checks like Amoongus, Tangrowth and Mandibuzz. The few Pokemon that can withstand Grass/Fighting/Ice coverage are either frail (Chandelure and Hisui Typhlosion) or poor choices in the current metagame - like Doublade. With few reliable defensive answers, Hisui Lilligant's counterplay mainly consisted of phazing, tiptoeing around it with Toxic-stall or exploiting Hustle's inaccuracy once it has used its Z-move. Even without Icium-Z, Hisui-Lilligant could still run Wide Lens Sleep Powder to facilitate set-up or Tera Fire for burn immunity (and breaking Doublade I guess) to make itself harder to answer. With perfect coverage and a lack of consistent counterplay, Hisui Lilligant was deemed too much for the tier and banned to RUBL.



Enamorus-Therian, on the other hand, came at a pretty poor time for its antics. The RU metagame pivoted to a more defensive place following the ban of Mega Altaria and particularly Cresselia, a position that Enamorus-therian exploits well. Enamorus-Therian is to RU what Cresselia was a month ago: a snowballing set-up threat with barebones counterplay. With a set of Calm Mind, Iron Defense, Draining Kiss and Earth Power, Enamorus-Therian packed both the sustain and the punch to break through Balance and Bulky Offense - the two main archetypes in this tier. To check Enamorus, these teams rely on bulky phazers like Mega Aggron or Status to cut a sweep short. However, Enamorus is immune to powder moves thanks to Overcoat and can turn the tables on Toxic users with Tera Poison. Likewise, phazing is ineffective if Enamorus-T is the last-mon standing. Enamorus has its faults with its low speed and dedicated moveset thudding against extremly fast-paced Offense or Stall. Although it is not as absurd as Cresselia or Deoxys Defense, Enamorus-Therian's ability to dismantle common archetypes in Balance and Bulky Offense makes it unreasonable to keep in RU so long as Tera is legal. The council is open to retesting Enamorus-Therian if Tera is banned in the UU suspect or if the metagame gains new defensive and offensive tools. For now, Enamorus Therian is banned from RU.



Watchlist veteran Thundurus-Incarnate was not slated for this particular slate since the council wanted to see how it would fair this NDPL. The last two times we tried this, the mon was passed over for Thundurus-Therian - as seen in both the Kickoff and Open usages. Hopefully, a few players will experiment with this behemoth in the upcoming weeks.


There have also been some issues on the coding side with coding the NDRU ban list. As a precaution, this slate is released ~1 week before shifts, and a complete list of RUBL pokemon is attached below. Happy building!

Tagging the ever forebearing Marty and Kris to implement all bans

RUBL Masterlist (POKEMON ONLY)

Former RUBL, now UUBL and Above (supersedes RUBL)

• Dondozo
• Kyurem
• Manaphy
• Xurkitree

Espathra and Mega Mawile are excluded from the list above since they were never officially RU (UU bans occurred prior to RU formation). They should be treated as UUBL. If the stars align and these two pokemon not only get unbanned from UU but drop to RU, they will be legal

Iron Valiant and Dragonite are excluded from the list as they rose to OU before they could be banned from UU and/or fall to RU. If they end up in RU, they will be legal provided they aren't quickbanned from RU or UU

Have been banned from RU, may be RUBL or UU

• Aerodactyl-Mega
• Alakazam
• Altaria-Mega
• Bisharp
• Cresselia
• Deoxys-Defense
• Enamorus Therian
• Gallade-Mega
• Gardevoir-Mega
• Gengar
• Gyarados
• Hawlucha
• Heracross-Mega
• Iron Hands
• Iron Leaves
• Jirachi
• Keldeo
• Keldeo-Resolute
• Latias
• Latias-Mega
• Latios
• Latios-Mega
• Lilligant-Hisui
• Mew
• Moltres-Galar
• Porygon-Z
• Polteageist
• Salamence
• Terrakion
• Victini
• Zapdos-Galar

 

[skippergamez]

sq
is Tera banned now

 

[Runo]

sq
is Tera banned now

Bans are transitive so yes, Tera banned from NDRU as well

 

[Runo]

Another very sexy and hot personal VR post.
I'd thought I'd make one again because the current one is outdated as fuck lmao (only two A+ mons, no S ranks)

I also included some short(ish) explanations for rises and drops. There's probably some grammar errors or something, but it shouldn't detach from the explanations I hope.

My Personal VR with rise/drop explanations

S
RISE: Unsure about either S or S- but Sandy Shocks is clearly cut above the rest of the metagame. Insanely splashable with great utility in Rocks, Spikes (best rocker and spiker in the tier) and Volt Switch, good set versatility (with Scarf, Specs, Boots Pivot, Booster Energy Lead), high power STABs, etc. To a certain degree, the meta tends to revolve around checking this mon because of how strong it is.

A+
RISE: Goated defensive pivot thanks to regenerator giving it insane longevity, allowing it to switch into threats such as Cobalion, Bulu, Mienshao, several electric types, etc without getting worn down. That's nice and all, but geniunely Amoonguss wouldn't be anywhere without the move Spore. It's by far the best Sleep spreader in the game and it just clicking the move generates a massive amount of momentum since Sleep cripples nearly every mon in the tier.
New: Best special wall in the tier that is incredibly splashable thanks to its great utility options such as Stealth Rocks, status spread with T-wave and Toxic, slow pivot with Teleport, cleric with heal bell or aromatherapy, or a wish passer. It fits on nearly every playstyle bar Hyper Offensive because of that. Like come on bro its Blissey in RU, nobody thought for a second that this mon was bad.
RISE: Cobalion probably defines what is considered fast in this tier because of the fantastic offensive utility it brings to the team. Its a great rocker, status spreader, and pivot that can also also pack a punch with Swords Dance sets. I would argue that this mon got way better in a post-tera metagame because Swords Dance sets aren't as easily answerable due to its high speed and solid bulk. On the another side, Cobalion's utility sets also get better since threats such as Tapu Bulu can't run a defensive tera and use you for free setup.
RISE: Possibly the best choice scarf user in the metagame right now. Very valuable speed control option that just spams uturn and knock constantly and then heals off all the damage it took with Regenerator to the point where it feels impossible to wear this deal despite being frail as hell. Life Orb sets take advantage of Regenerator even more because it's essentially firing off boosted Close Combats with no drawback because of it; just come in, click Close Combat, switch out and heal off the damage. Incredible longevity for a wallbreaker.
New: Insane Wincon with Meteor Beam sets. Hippowdon leaving the tier means that its switch ins get a lot more limited, with HP Fire Nihilego taking down a chipped Cobalion, and Blissey being worn down fast by Meteor Beam spam, the only good switch ins are Aggron-Mega and Tinkaton. Utility sets are also potent.

RISE: Tapu Bulu offers a great blend of offensive and defensive value. It has a fantastic typing for the metagame that allows it to switch into a plethora of threats such as Mienshao, Mega Sceptile, nearly most of the popular electric types, Mandibuzz, Swampert, Zarude, and many many more threats. Good set versatility and a strong wincon with Swords Dance variants, a deadly breaker with Choice Band, or a nice defensive wall.
RISE: Very dangerous wincon with Nasty Plot and its high speed. Carries a vast array of coverage moves so it gets to pick and choose what it wants to be walled by (Sludge Bomb for Tangrowth and Tapu Bulu, Psychic for Nidoking, Nihilego, and Amoonguss, Grass Knot for Swampert, Gastrodon, Quagsire, Focus Blast for Mega Steelix and Blissey) so there is no mon in the tier that can truly answer every Nasty Plot variant.

A


RISE: ngl we are kinda scrapping the barrel for good defoggers at this point, Rotom-Heat is a pretty solid defesive pivot however with all of the grass and electric types currently dominating the metagame. Nasty Plot sets are pretty deadly as well. Being able to abuse mons such as Amoonguss, Tangrowth, both Thundy Formes, Sandy Shocks, etc for free setup is insanely valuable.
RISE: Great check to Rotom-Heat and Sandy Shocks, while also being a good soft check against Mega Manectric, Zeraora, and Cobalion. With Flip Turn, it can fit far better than Gastrodon on Bulky Offense teams since it generates a lot of momentum for a team.
New: Fat ass Grass-type wall capable of shrugging off a shit of physical attacks such as +2 Cobalion and Life Orb Mienshao's Close Combat while healing off the damage with Regenerator. Unlike Amoonguss, it actually resists ground types and isn't weak against Future Sight which makes it a valuable check to mons such as Zeraora and Sandy Shocks in addition to the previously mentioned Cobalion and Mienshao.

RISE: Choice Scarf sets are a solid revenge killer in the metagame at the moment, being able to check things such as Sandy Shocks, a weakened Cobalion, Nihilego, unscarfed Mienshao, Manectric-Mega, Zeraora, and more. Swords Dance sets are also a really strong balance and stallbreaker thanks to its dual STABs and Fighting coverage being able to take down most defensive walls. Jungle Healing instead of Close Combat also gives it a lot longevitity and allows it to beat stall more consistently.


A-

RISE: Forget the silly HO lead sets, Nasty Plot and Offesive pivot sets are where its at. Both are really powerful with Nasty Plot just winning a lot of matchups really fast (most notably the stall mu) thanks to its great speed and greater coverage to hit most of the metagame for super effective damage. Offensive Pivot sets function similarly but instead
RISE: Crobat has been on the uptrend ever since Bisharp got banned thanks to its speed and typing allowing it to threaten dangerous breakers such as Mienshao and Tapu Bulu. Its Toxic immunity also means that it can safely defog against threats such as Mega Aggron, Swampert, Gastrodon, and Cobalion. Stallbreaker sets are also pretty decent.


RISE: Very dangerous wallbreaker right now due to its near unwallable STABs and high attack stats. Forces out most if not all of the ground and grass types while not being a pushover against threats such as Slowbro, Mienshao, Cobalion, etc (most of them can't even switch into Mamoswine).
RISE: No Guard Hurricanes from Mega Pidegot hit incredibly hard, making it a very powerful offensive pivot. Most of its checks are just soft checks for the most part since they lack any longevity whatsoever (such as the Electric types only being able to switch in a handleful of times, or steels hating to switch into Heat Wave, neither having recovery outside of leftovers). The amount of defensive grass types it can come in on (such as Bulu, Tang, Amoonguss) also makes it a big threat. And for the few mons that can actually check it, Such as Rotom-Heat, Nihilego, or Blissey: it just U-turns on them.
RISE: Insane natural speed tier and high special attack stat lets Mega Sceptile become a powerful revenge killer and breaker in the tier. It gets a ton of free ins with the plethora of Water and Electric types in the meta so unless you have a Blissey or a strong special defensive steel, then you might struggle vs this.

RISE: Steel / Fairy is a really strong defensive typing for a Tank, allowing it to check a ton of threats such as Mienshao, Cobalion, Nihilego, Tapu Bulu, Mandibuzz, Zarude, etc. Also has a ton of utility moves such as Thunder Wave, Encore, Knock Off, and Stealth Rocks.


B+

RISE: Very dangerous setup sweeper in the tier but overall an insanely versatile mon with a ton of different sets. Nasty Plot in particular is why I think a raise is deserved because of its insane Stallbreaking capabilities. Without Tera then Stall's answer to this mon is very limited. You would have to slot Slowking I think or some other mon in order to beat it.





RISE: Without Hippowdon, Rhyperior is a good alternative to take up the mantle thanks it its ability letting it shrug off powerful hits such as Cobalion and Mienshao's close combat. Its also not passive and fits really well on Bulky Offense teams.


DROP: A billion grass and electric types dominating the meta right now, and its overall a worse Slowbro in every regard except for checking Nihilego and Volcanion.

B

DROP: Choice Band is really abusable due to Azumarill's low speed tier, but it is also just really revenge killed in general by every single electric type and most Grass and Poison types. Belly Drum is no better due to the amount of offensive Grass types being able to easily revenge kill it such as Mega Sceptile and Tapu Bulu.
RISE: Bronzong is like the king of soft checks. Decent soft check into most electric types in the tier, Cobalion, Mienshao, Bulu, Mega Sceptile, etc. Also a good counter into Nihilego.
New: Good Spinner with great utility options such as Knock Off and U-turn to force progress and maintain momentum. Regenerator is also good so that Cyclizar can stay healthy. Recently I've been using Choice Scarf and Assault Vest sets and they're pretty decent soft checks against threats like Thundy-I, Azelf, Zeraora, Sandy Shocks, etc

RISE: Swords Dance sets make for a really dangerous Stallbreaker thanks to Mold Breaker letting it breakthrough Quagsire. Dragon Dance sets are also fairly decent on Hyper Offense.
DROP: This mon can be really scary vs an unprepped team, but then again we have really solid revenge killers and defensive checks to it atm such as Nihilego, Blissey, Mienshao, Sandy Shocks, etc.


RISE: Stall is very strong right now thanks to Blissey giving stall a very powerful blanket special wall in Blissey and Quagsire of course is only really seen on those types of playstyles as a great blanket physical unaware wall to beat setup sweepers. Quagsire is also a good hazard setter and allows Stall (and sometimes Balance) more freedoms in the builder than before.

DROP: ngl I stopped liking this mon a while ago because it doesn't have any good longevity and its a bit too slow for my taste. Now without Tera, I see even less reason to run it because it doesn't hit as hard now. A high amount of electrics and other revenge killers such as Mienshao also hinder it.



B-
RISE: Great blanket physical wall and an exception Wish Passer for Stall and Balance teams. Regenerator grants it insane longevity and makes this mon really difficult to take down.

New: Chandelure but its a water type instead of Fire. Adaptibility lets this mon hit really hard with Choice Specs sets, but other sets such as Scarf and Sub+Zmove is also really strong because Ghost/Water is pretty difficult to switch into even without the high power of specs.




RISE: I think this mon is pretty decent tbh, nice offensive spiker that can threaten grass mons such as Tangrowth, Tapu Bulu and Mega Sceptile, while handling bulky waters such as Gastrodon, Swampert, and Slowbro, and soft checking most of the tier's electric types such as Sandy Shocks, Zeraora, the Thundy formes, etc.
RISE: Unlike in gen 8 NDUU, Gen 9 NDRU doesn't have Skarmory or Celesteela. This means that Scolipede doesn't have to run Waterium-Z and can instead run Earthquake and Groundium-Z (this mon isn't walled by every steel in the tier anymore!)
RISE: Scream Tail makes for a solid wish passer on balance and stall teams thanks to its great HP, Speed, and access to Encore. This mon with encore is super annoying to deal with because you can't make any midground plays against this mons (ie: a Nidoking or Cobalion clicking Stealth Rocks instead of Sludge Wave) or else you get punished and lose a lot of your momentum.

DROP: Tera means that it can't just flip every mu and win against whatever it wants, sorry suicune players but you actually have to give some thought to it now instead of just brainlessly clicking Tera CM.
New: Choice Scarf and Calm Mind sets seem pretty decent thanks to its speed tier being better Chandelure's. For choice specs sets, use Chandelure tbh.

C+
RISE: Aerodactyl right now is a really cool HO lead to use right now cuz its the fastest Taunt + Rocks lead in the tier right now. I think it also allows for some more building freedoms than Azelf leads as well (for instance you can run NP Azelf on Aero HO).
DROP: Mon still hits like a truck but without Tera then Bulu, Tangrowth, Amoonguss, Nihilego, Rotom-Heat, etc become a lot more consistent checks to it.

DROP: we have a lot better counterplay to setup sweepers with both the meta stabilizing and Tera being banned. I'm pretty sure that Ditto still does very well against stall teams and just HO in general, so not a complete loser yet.
RANK: Cobalion and Blissey counter, very strong Bulu and Mega Sceptile check. Decent into Nihilego and Lycanroc-Dusk. Swords Dance also makes for a dangerous wincon since its capable of shrugging off hits from most Dark types and OHKO them back with Close Combat.




RISE: Muk-A is a strong pick on Stall and Fat thanks to its ability to pursuit ghost and psychic types (who can no longer use Tera just easily get out of a trap [Looking at you Reuniclus]). Its typing also gives it a lot of switch ins against a ton of Grass type threats such as Amoonguss, Tangrowth, and Defensive Tapu Bulu.
New: Fairly decent defensive spiker thanks to intimidate and barb barrage to further cripple threats. Alternatively it serves as a strong offensive spiker thanks to its powerful STABs and Swords Dance.


DROP: This doesn't hit as hard post tera ban + there are a ton of strong grass and electric types in the tier (not to mention the great slowbro)
RISE: Its a water type spinner that threatens most of the rockers and doesn't flop into the large amount of Grass types in the metagame.
RANK: NP Togekiss makes for a very dangerous Balance/Stall breaker thanks to Heal Bell and its ability to just hax spam. Its typing is also very good defensively. Being able to check dangerous breakers such as Tapu Bulu, Mega Sceptile, Mienshao, and Mega Sharpedo among other things.
DROP: Torn has been mediocre for a while lol, like there's a lot of things it can threaten such as Tangrowth, Amoonguss, Mienshao, Bulu, etc. but at the same time, we have several very strong electric, steel, and rock types that make this mon a liability.
DROP: No Tera Normal Boomburst :(

RISE: Choice Specs sets tear up most of the usual metagame staples. Sleep Talk variants also shit on Tangrowth and Amoonguss.



C
RANK: If anyone's been keeping up with RU Open then you'd know that this mon is pretty strong role compression for Stall teams by virtue of being a cleric and a defogger which great bulk. Pressure adds to its value thanks to being able to burn the PP of opposing Defoggers and Rockers, helping Stall win the hazards war a lot more reliably than standard defoggers who can just whittled down by status or just taken advantage of in general.


DROP: no defensive Tera to help setup those deadly Belly Drums.
DROP: There is a lot of competition for the grass type slot on a team and Chesnaught tends to do everything they can do, but worse. Spikes and Iron Press are still decent qualities however.

DROP: Very very weird role compression mon, doesn't do a great job at defogging and choice scarf sets are pretty mediocre


DROP: Tera ban means that Golurk's attacks turn from OHKOs to 2HKOs, making it less valuable
DROP: I think this mon's quality tanked with the Tera ban, now its stuck with a very piss poor defensive typing which leaves it more vulnerable to being revenge killed and has more difficulties setting up.


DROP: as a fighting type you are better off with just using Mienshao, and as an Electric type then Zeraora is better.
DROP: Although it is insanely difficult to wall this without a fairy type, Tapu Bulu is still really common and just stonewalls this mon. Without Tera to break past Fairy types, its a lot more unreliable, but its insane breaking power still lets it keep a niche.
DROP: Without Tera, its a lot harder for Registeel to differentiate itself from Mega Aggron
DROP: Webs has been very inconsistent since Bisharp got banned, Other defiant users have been tried but they don't really fit the bill. No good ways to punish defog attempts.
DROP: Funny offensive spinner with Nasty Plot, but this really struggles to setup on anything and is easily revenge killed.

HE WANTS HOW MANY MONS UNRANKED???

Yeah so below is just the list of shitters that I genuinely think have zero place in the current meta

- HOME shitters, I already went over why I think these mons suck.
- This probably would've been nicheworthy if Tera wasn't banned tbh. It might still be usuable now, but losing Tera is a big blow to its viability.
- I think psyspam lost most of its usefulness when Alakazam got banned, Tera also being banned doesn't help because mons such as Armarouge have a harder time setting up now.
- TR mons are no longer walking nukes thanks to the Tera ban, this makes the playstyle far more matchup fishy than before.
- Drought's banned gg, only "usable" mon on this list is Darmanitan now but that has TERRIBLE longevity issues and is too slow for the metagame if its not running Choice Scarf.
- Hippowdon rose to UU, any takers for Gigalith sand? Jury is still out on that one. Plus the other one decent set was SubHustle + Z-move but that is kinda matchup fishy in general.
- This mon checks nothing reliably in the metagame now, and without tera it can't even have an out against the dozens of things that force it out. Yes it has rocks and defog, but when has anyone ever seriously been THIS desparate to slot such a specific defogger on a team?
- Azelf and Necrozma are right there. If you're super desperate for a Fairy-type breaker, then go Primarina.
- The unburden sets were funny for a time, but I don't think this mon is salvagable anymore with Tera banned. Nobody was using this mon for the Offensive Utility sets anyways
- Defensive sets were always bad, but I think this mon has really good qualities as a powerful Sand Rush Wallbreaker with Tera Ghost Tera Blast don't you think? Hey where'd Sand and Tera go?
- Tera was the only reason these weren't just meme picks.
- Torn on these three because I genuinely think they have decent qualities but their applications on teams are so rare that I don't think it warrants using them at all. Like if you truly need them instead of more superior options, then something has gone wrong with the building process.
- playstyle died when Iron Leaves got banned, Tera being banned also means that Raichu-A's Rising Voltage is far less potent.
- See Ribombee, except Shuckle is far more abusable as a Suicide Lead since its incredibly passive.
- Assault Vest sets are pretty mediocre so the real question is should we be ranking this mon solely because it can Mega Evolve into Mega-Slowbro? Personally I think that speaks more to Megabro's viability thank it does Glowbro's.
- Literally when is the last time anyone has pulled off a sweep with this thing? What does it even setup on?
- Just use Infernape, it's literally the same mon but better.
- Amoonguss, Tangrowth, and Tapu Bulu exist to outclass this mon.

 

[Velcroc]

It's September 1st. You know what that means...

Bisharp moved from NDRUBL to NDUU
Gyarados moved from NDRUBL to NDUU
Jirachi moved from NDRUBL to NDUU
Salamence moved from NDRUBL to NDUU
Azumarill moved from NDRU to NDUU
Dracozolt moved from NDRU to NDUU


Floatzel moved from NDUU to NDRU
Goodra-Hisui moved from NDUU to NDRU
Kingdra moved from NDUU to NDRU
Politoed moved from NDUU to NDRU
Tyranitar moved from NDUU to NDRU
Victini moved from NDUU to NDRU
Zoroark-Hisui moved from NDUU to NDRU

Ignore Victini. That mon is currently RUBL.


Interesting rises, but I will say it's not the worst that UU pinched from us. Dracozolt's niche is a lot less reliable when the best sand setter was Gigalith. I'd say it is better in UU than it was in RU (funny timing though given the Ttar drop). Azumarill is a bit more perplexing and matters since now we have 1 less wall-breaker. If anything, my reaction would be similar to how I felt when UU nicked Crawdaunt: disappointed rather than angry or outraged. Except, unlike Crawdaunt, Azu is less of a waste of a team slot.


Rain is dead thanks to UU. Expect these to be D-ranked or Unranked. Crawdaunt will return to RU once UU gets over its addiction to banded water types.



Good drops. Hisui Goodra is a pretty nifty steel type to have here and I can see both Assault Vest and IronPress having a firm place within the tier. Given how situational it is in UU, I doubt it'll rise.

Tyranitar being back in RU is pretty good for the tier. I have a feeling it will rise back up quite soon once UU realises it has dropped, but for now, it'll be an excellent Pokemon. The last time we had it around, it held the tier tightly and I can imagine it doing the same. Even if Hippowdon rose, I can see something like Swampert keeping this mon at bay. Welcome back, old friend .

Zoroark-hisui could be broken but people in Nat Dex UU felt the same and it turned out fine. With better special walls in the picture, this does seem a lot more manageable - although Fightinium-Z could be an issue down the line.

Hopefully, for NDPL, we won't have to make too many tiering decisions. Regarding the ban on Terastalisation in UU, expect a few more RUBLs to be freed once NDPL has concluded.

 

[Adriyun]

mscep fans rise up !!

 

[georgebowserjr]

until he realises hes the only one

 

[Velcroc]

Empoleon Before and After Gaining Roost​

DLC dropped. The list of notable changes are included below. Full credit to Runo for compiling all of this from this post and this labyrinth of a datamine. Feel free to bring up anything not mentioned in this post.

RU
- Gligar gets Spikes and Toxic Spikes
- Tyranitar gets Knock Off
- Gardevoir gets Vacuum Wave,
- Infernape gets Raging Fury (from PLA), Drain Punch, Aura Sphere, Switcheroo, and Knock Off
- Empoleon finally replaces Defiant with Competitive, keeps Roost from PLA too, gains Flip Turn, Vacuum Wave and Haze
- Floatzel gets Flip Turn
- Alolomola gets flip turn
- Mienshao gets Ice Spinner
- Hisuan Goodra gets Knock Off and Toxic
- H-Braivary gets Vacuum Wave
- Chesnaught gets Knock Off, High Horsepower, and Grassy Glide
- Zarude gets Knock Off and Grassy Glide
- Basculegion gets Flip Turn
- Lokix gets Knock Off too
- Pawmot also gets Knock Off
- Houndstone gets Poltergeist
- Cetitan gets Knock Off and High Horsepower
- Scream Tail gets Misty Explosion
Unmon changes
- Kantonian Ninetales gets Healing Wish
- Mega Ampharos gets Roar
- Poliwrath gets Knock Off 
- Galarian Weezing finally gets Gunk Shot
- Johtonian Qwilfish gets Flip Turn
- Banette gets Poltergeist 
- Torterra gets Grassy Glide, High Horsepower, Headlong Rush (from PLA) but most importantly Shell Smash
- Samurott gets Flip Turn and Vacuum Wave
- Florges gets Pollen Puff and Misty Explosion
- Goodra gets Knock Off and Scald
- Bruxish gets Flip Turn
- Copperajah gets Knock Off
- Bellibolt gets Toxic and Weather Ball
- Brambleghast gets Poltergeist
- Revavroom gets High Horsepower

I'd like to start off with a few ice breakers in ceremonial style:

• Knock Knock: How do you feel about Pokemon like Tyranitar and Zarude getting Knock Off?
• Sinnoh Three: How do you feel about the sizeable buffs given to Infernape, Torterra and Empoleon?
• Zero to Hero: Who are your nominees for the Pokemon most impacted by DLC1?
• Fool's Gold: Are there any Pokemon hyped by others that you feel won't make a splash in RU?
• Diamond in the Rough: Your nominees for the changes that nobody else but you seems to notice.
• Stairway to Heaven: Any mons you think will rise to UU (be it for their merit or otherwise) from these changes?
• Disastrously Lowered Ceiling: Pokemon that the DLC changes makes worse. (Also open to UU and RUBL mons you can see dropping).
• Skimming the Cream: For Pokemon that gain nothing from this DLC yet still find themselves better off.
• Most Confusing: As titled.

You don't need to respond to all of these questions and there's no limit on the number of Pokemon chosen for each category. You can also choose to zero-in on specific Pokemon.

Some general thoughts

Hide

A lot of these changes feel minor considering it's just an optimisation of movepools, unlike previous DLCs where new moves were widely introduced. I think quite a few have an impact and I'll discuss those here



Lokix, Ttar and Zarude make the best use of the Knock Off distributions, replacing their previously weaker option. Choiced Zarude becomes more interesting especially Band and Scarf sets. Knock Off Ttar is a sorely needed buff and the item removal gives this Pokemon added dimension. I feel like Ttar will definitely rise to UU so get in your games with this mon ASAP. Lokix is still a bit weaker on the damage output for this tier but with Knock Off it can finally muscle through its checks by removing their boots or lefties.

Honourable mention to Chesnaught, Pawmot and Hisui Goodra.



Infernape getting Knock Off is big for Choiced sets which had to rely on dodgy 4th moves. I can even see a Boots pivot set with Knock finding a strong position in this tier thanks to its speed. Lead sets could also be (finally) viable. Simultaneously, gaining Aura Sphere and Switcheroo makes Specs Ape a real Pokemon. Raging Fury and Drain Punch are far more situational imo but I could see the former on SD sets for cleaning late game and the latter on niche bulk up sets.



Empoleon and Torterra come into their own as a result of their DLC. Both still possess the issues they had previously (namely passivity and low speed respectively), but now they get tools to carve a distinctly unique niche. Empoleon now becomes a more splashable specially defensive wall, at the cost of choosing between Knock Off, Toxic and Defog/Stealth Rocks. Torterra is a unique Shell Smash sweeper in the tier that trades speed for an interesting defensive typing and solid stats. Headlong Rush doubles down on this power boost, giving it a stronger STAB option that isn't weakened by Grassy terrain. Bit on the slower side though, so I would advise taking base 82+ scarfers (if Adamant) or base 79+ scarfers (if Jolly) into account.



Fitting extra moves into Gligar is like fitting a bear into a corset. But Spikes is a unique addition that completely alters its role in the metagame. Now instead of being a rocker or a fogger, it's a spiker. Of the three sets, Spikes Gligar best leverages its movepool imo since U-turn + Spikes chip has beautifyl synergy.



Ice Spinner Shao is nuts. Nukes both Gligar and Crobat!



Alo being able to slow pivot fat wishes is crazy for balance. Stall might prefer Knock/Toxic/Scald since that archetype isn't as concerned with preserving momentum, but Balance being able to integrate a reliable, non-dark weak blanket physical check is pretty good. BlissMola is gonna be very common for the duration of this month (both bliss and alo could rise to UU).




Finally a real mon. SD Poltergeist is pretty scary for defense lacking Mandibuzz or Umbreon. Offense has to fear +2 Sneak, Taunt and Destiny Bond. Quite an annoying mon, but I feel it should be manageable since it doesn't have the best coverage in the world.

Look forward to reading your thoughts on the latest drops.

 

[Lupla]

Usage stats for October are up!!! (deja vu)

National Dex UU (1630 stats)

Combined usage for National Dex UU (1630 stats)
+ ---- + ------------------ + ------- +
| Rank | Pokemon            | Percent |
+ ---- + ------------------ + ------- +
| 1    | Aegislash          | 21.098% |
| 2    | Skarmory           | 19.846% |
| 3    | Tyranitar-Mega     | 18.623% |
| 4    | Tapu Fini          | 17.956% |
| 5    | Excadrill          | 15.604% |
| 6    | Iron Treads        | 15.468% |
| 7    | Alomomola          | 15.004% |
| 8    | Chansey            | 14.213% |
| 9    | Slowking-Galar     | 13.186% |
| 10   | Celesteela         | 12.698% |
| 11   | Meowscarada        | 12.348% |
| 12   | Beedrill-Mega      | 11.885% |
| 13   | Clefable           | 11.508% |
| 14   | Bisharp            | 11.310% |
| 15   | Serperior          |  9.820% |
| 16   | Enamorus           |  9.810% |
| 17   | Cinderace          |  9.603% |
| 18   | Hydreigon          |  9.506% |
| 19   | Gligar             |  9.133% |
| 20   | Blacephalon        |  9.014% |
| 21   | Gardevoir-Mega     |  8.975% |
| 22   | Keldeo             |  8.554% |
| 23   | Hippowdon          |  8.518% |
| 24   | Skeledirge         |  8.454% |
| 25   | Haxorus            |  7.789% |
| 26   | Ceruledge          |  7.428% |
| 27   | Venusaur-Mega      |  7.362% |
| 28   | Iron Hands         |  7.328% |
| 29   | Dracozolt          |  7.162% |
| 30   | Iron Moth          |  7.145% |
| 31   | Zapdos-Galar       |  6.957% |
| 32   | Kleavor            |  6.795% |
| 33   | Arcanine-Hisui     |  6.779% |
| 34   | Gyarados           |  6.599% |
| 35   | Amoonguss          |  6.479% |
| 36   | Alakazam           |  5.913% |
| 37   | Azumarill          |  5.891% |
| 38   | Banette-Mega       |  5.561% |
| 39   | Grimmsnarl         |  5.459% |
| 40   | Tyranitar          |  5.316% |
| 41   | Sableye-Mega       |  4.908% |
| 42   | Salamence          |  4.648% |
| 43   | Scizor             |  4.642% |
| 44   | Thundurus-Therian  |  4.531% |
| 45   | Buzzwole           |  4.411% |
| 46   | Latios             |  4.106% |
| 47   | Crawdaunt          |  3.705% |
| 48   | Aerodactyl-Mega    |  3.261% |
| 49   | Empoleon           |  3.235% |
| 50   | Moltres-Galar      |  3.158% |
| 51   | Rotom-Heat         |  3.117% |
| 52   | Quagsire           |  3.014% |
| 53   | Donphan            |  2.903% |
| 54   | Lycanroc-Dusk      |  2.818% |
| 55   | Ribombee           |  2.693% |
| 56   | Victini            |  2.665% |
| 57   | Sceptile-Mega      |  2.626% |
| 58   | Torterra           |  2.607% |
| 59   | Swampert           |  2.566% |
| 60   | Sandy Shocks       |  2.545% |
| 61   | Golisopod          |  2.513% |
| 62   | Quaquaval          |  2.500% |
| 63   | Jirachi            |  2.456% |
| 64   | Mamoswine          |  2.409% |
| 65   | Duraludon          |  2.398% |
| 66   | Heracross-Mega     |  2.334% |
| 67   | Magnezone          |  2.237% |
| 68   | Lokix              |  2.107% |
| 69   | Gallade-Mega       |  1.992% |
| 70   | Milotic            |  1.976% |
| 71   | Darmanitan         |  1.960% |
| 72   | Blissey            |  1.836% |
| 73   | Ninetales-Alola    |  1.719% |
| 74   | Marowak-Alola      |  1.653% |
| 75   | Absol-Mega         |  1.636% |
| 76   | Latias-Mega        |  1.530% |
| 77   | Umbreon            |  1.517% |
| 78   | Talonflame         |  1.514% |
| 79   | Latios-Mega        |  1.426% |
| 80   | Porygon2           |  1.413% |
| 81   | Xatu               |  1.392% |
| 82   | Porygon-Z          |  1.389% |
| 83   | Infernape          |  1.360% |
| 84   | Slowbro            |  1.359% |
| 85   | Arctozolt          |  1.353% |
| 86   | Mimikyu            |  1.325% |
| 87   | Cresselia          |  1.320% |
| 88   | Steelix            |  1.311% |
| 89   | Conkeldurr         |  1.206% |
| 90   | Thundurus          |  1.146% |
| 91   | Tangrowth          |  1.145% |
| 92   | Mew                |  1.145% |
| 93   | Indeedee           |  1.119% |
| 94   | Pidgeot-Mega       |  1.061% |
| 95   | Stakataka          |  1.039% |
| 96   | Grafaiai           |  1.034% |
| 97   | Araquanid          |  1.029% |
| 98   | Latias             |  1.028% |
| 99   | Slowking           |  1.021% |
| 100  | Tapu Bulu          |  1.017% |
| 101  | Tinkaton           |  1.015% |
| 102  | Abomasnow-Mega     |  1.006% |
| 103  | Nihilego           |  1.003% |
| 104  | Nidoking           |  0.979% |
| 105  | Sylveon            |  0.970% |
| 106  | Jellicent          |  0.966% |
| 107  | Altaria-Mega       |  0.964% |
| 108  | Rapidash-Galar     |  0.959% |
| 109  | Gengar             |  0.918% |
| 110  | Durant             |  0.904% |
| 111  | Espeon             |  0.879% |
| 112  | Volcanion          |  0.867% |
| 113  | Mandibuzz          |  0.830% |
| 114  | Feraligatr         |  0.770% |
| 115  | Jolteon            |  0.756% |
| 116  | Gastrodon          |  0.755% |
| 117  | Zeraora            |  0.711% |
| 118  | Manectric-Mega     |  0.707% |
| 119  | Goodra-Hisui       |  0.675% |
| 120  | Typhlosion-Hisui   |  0.650% |
| 121  | Polteageist        |  0.643% |
| 122  | Klefki             |  0.614% |
| 123  | Forretress         |  0.603% |
| 124  | Muk-Alola          |  0.603% |
| 125  | Deoxys-Defense     |  0.567% |
| 126  | Starmie            |  0.553% |
| 127  | Diggersby          |  0.537% |
| 128  | Chandelure         |  0.533% |
| 129  | Galvantula         |  0.533% |
| 130  | Primarina          |  0.529% |
| 131  | Reuniclus          |  0.524% |
| 132  | Zoroark-Hisui      |  0.520% |
| 133  | Togekiss           |  0.512% |
| 134  | Terrakion          |  0.502% |
| 135  | Dhelmise           |  0.498% |
| 136  | Snorlax            |  0.498% |
| 137  | Cloyster           |  0.469% |
| 138  | Enamorus-Therian   |  0.467% |
| 139  | Blastoise          |  0.461% |
| 140  | Zygarde-10%        |  0.455% |
| 141  | Breloom            |  0.451% |
| 142  | Ampharos-Mega      |  0.438% |
| 143  | Rhyperior          |  0.436% |
| 144  | Suicune            |  0.426% |
| 145  | Roserade           |  0.419% |
| 146  | Slowbro-Mega       |  0.415% |
| 147  | Slither Wing       |  0.413% |
| 148  | Armarouge          |  0.410% |
| 149  | Hitmontop          |  0.409% |
| 150  | Iron Leaves        |  0.400% |
| 151  | Crobat             |  0.397% |
| 152  | Sharpedo-Mega      |  0.397% |
| 153  | Shiftry            |  0.395% |
| 154  | Pawmot             |  0.371% |
| 155  | Weezing-Galar      |  0.371% |
| 156  | Hawlucha           |  0.361% |
| 157  | Krookodile         |  0.351% |
| 158  | Weezing            |  0.343% |
| 159  | Heracross          |  0.340% |
| 160  | Vaporeon           |  0.339% |
| 161  | Aerodactyl         |  0.336% |
| 162  | Tentacruel         |  0.336% |
| 163  | Vanilluxe          |  0.333% |
| 164  | Claydol            |  0.333% |
| 165  | Aggron-Mega        |  0.330% |
| 166  | Bronzong           |  0.329% |
| 167  | Drapion            |  0.320% |
| 168  | Mismagius          |  0.308% |
| 169  | Flareon            |  0.304% |
| 170  | Pincurchin         |  0.303% |
| 171  | Dugtrio            |  0.302% |
| 172  | Metagross          |  0.292% |
| 173  | Vikavolt           |  0.287% |
| 174  | Lucario            |  0.280% |
| 175  | Wishiwashi         |  0.269% |
| 176  | Pyukumuku          |  0.268% |
| 177  | Azelf              |  0.266% |
| 178  | Steelix-Mega       |  0.263% |
| 179  | Ditto              |  0.259% |
| 180  | Gallade            |  0.253% |
| 181  | Incineroar         |  0.249% |
| 182  | Tyrantrum          |  0.245% |
| 183  | Lilligant-Hisui    |  0.245% |
| 184  | Eiscue             |  0.244% |
| 185  | Arboliva           |  0.240% |
| 186  | Raikou             |  0.236% |
| 187  | Armaldo            |  0.227% |
| 188  | Celebi             |  0.225% |
| 189  | Scream Tail        |  0.222% |
| 190  | Decidueye-Hisui    |  0.216% |
| 191  | Glalie-Mega        |  0.215% |
| 192  | Avalugg            |  0.213% |
| 193  | Camerupt-Mega      |  0.209% |
| 194  | Hitmonlee          |  0.205% |
| 195  | Cradily            |  0.199% |
| 196  | Slurpuff           |  0.198% |
| 197  | Goodra             |  0.197% |
| 198  | Houndoom-Mega      |  0.195% |
| 199  | Shuckle            |  0.195% |
| 200  | Maushold           |  0.195% |
| 201  | Lycanroc           |  0.191% |
| 202  | Swellow            |  0.189% |
| 203  | Flygon             |  0.189% |
| 204  | Entei              |  0.187% |
| 205  | Froslass           |  0.186% |
| 206  | Skuntank           |  0.179% |
| 207  | Eevee              |  0.179% |
| 208  | Swanna             |  0.179% |
| 209  | Alcremie           |  0.178% |
| 210  | Iron Jugulis       |  0.176% |
| 211  | Arcanine           |  0.173% |
| 212  | Arctovish          |  0.170% |
| 213  | Cobalion           |  0.166% |
| 214  | Whimsicott         |  0.165% |
| 215  | Sirfetch’d         |  0.163% |
| 216  | Brambleghast       |  0.157% |
| 217  | Raichu-Alola       |  0.147% |
| 218  | Pikachu            |  0.147% |
| 219  | Venusaur           |  0.145% |
| 220  | Houndoom           |  0.144% |
| 221  | Braviary-Hisui     |  0.142% |
| 222  | Necrozma           |  0.140% |
| 223  | Staraptor          |  0.139% |
| 224  | Meloetta           |  0.137% |
| 225  | Rotom-Mow          |  0.137% |
| 226  | Kilowattrel        |  0.135% |
| 227  | Hitmonchan         |  0.134% |
| 228  | Lanturn            |  0.131% |
| 229  | Slowbro-Galar      |  0.130% |
| 230  | Kingdra            |  0.130% |
| 231  | Gigalith           |  0.129% |
| 232  | Mudsdale           |  0.128% |
| 233  | Typhlosion         |  0.128% |
| 234  | Decidueye          |  0.126% |
| 235  | Florges            |  0.125% |
| 236  | Lopunny            |  0.125% |
| 237  | Diancie            |  0.121% |
| 238  | Malamar            |  0.120% |
| 239  | Bellibolt          |  0.114% |
| 240  | Floatzel           |  0.113% |
| 241  | Houndstone         |  0.112% |
| 242  | Sableye            |  0.112% |
| 243  | Electrode-Hisui    |  0.110% |
| 244  | Cyclizar           |  0.110% |
| 245  | Druddigon          |  0.108% |
| 246  | Tauros-Paldea-Blaze |  0.105% |
| 247  | Mienshao           |  0.104% |
| 248  | Rampardos          |  0.104% |
| 249  | Omastar            |  0.104% |
| 250  | Brute Bonnet       |  0.104% |
| 251  | Exeggutor          |  0.102% |
| 252  | Scrafty            |  0.102% |
| 253  | Torkoal            |  0.102% |
+ ---- + ------------------ + ------- +

Raises


Ninetales-Alola moved from NDRU to NDOU
Alakazam moved from NDRUBL to NDUU
Alomomola moved from NDRU to NDUU
Amoonguss moved from NDRU to NDUU
Banette-Mega moved from NDRU to NDUU
Haxorus moved from NDRU to NDUU
Thundurus-Therian moved from NDRU to NDUU
Tyranitar moved from NDRU to NDUU
Gligar moved from NFE to NDUU


Drops


Buzzwole moved from NDUU to NDRU
Crawdaunt moved from NDUU to NDRU
Quaquaval moved from NDUU to NDRU

 

[Velcroc]

Free Gligar. Free Stone Cold Steve. Free the humongous fungus. Free the fish. Will negotiate payment terms for the dragon and the genie if my creditors allow it.

As for you Mega Banette...

Welcome to UU.

 

[Velcroc]

Jokes aside, the RU council is holding a quick survey on the state of the metagame and the RU community at the moment. Feel free to fill out the form (should take ~5 min).

https://forms.gle/ZU1Y3hiF2kigC8du5

 

[Velcroc]

Survey #2 Results are here.

For convenience I am splitting the results into their unique spoilers

Big Picture

Metagame Results

Metagame

The survey collected data from 29 casual and qualified (NDPL) players. Some of the data was trimmed here and there to ensure it was legible for analysis - so all averages are "weighted" in a sense.

From the survey, the average enjoyability of the tier was rated 7.48 / 10 by the overall player base with qualified players giving the tier a flat 7/10. Th Even though the enjoyment is slightly higher for the overall player base than last time, there is a significant decrease in the enjoyment from the qualified playerbase. I would wager that building for NDPL definitely played a factor here with a lot of players feeling like their hands were tied with the available defensive options and their match-ups into strong threats in this format. The competitiveness of the tier was rated a little lower by both camps with the population average being 7.24 and the qualified average being 6.89. The average score increased tremendously from last survey with a 0.6 jump in score. The qualified player base do find a marginal improvement with the competitiveness of the tier with a ~0.1 jump. Overall it seems that the past few slates and the Terastalization ban in UU have contributed to the tier being somewhat more stable but there is clearly more work to be done.

The next two questions concerned the dominance of archetypes within the tier based on some sentiments expressed by both NDPL and casual players.

When asked about the centralizing presence of hyper offense, the average player base response (3.32 / 5) was significantly higher than the qualified response (2.78 / 5). This result was the opposite of what I expected and the relatively low sample size does lend the data a skew. The main takeaway from this is that the casual player base is not as intimately familiar with defensive resources in the tier compared to NDPL players (who naturally have support from their roster and helpers). This could be something to take into account when designing new resources - outlined in the Community section. Stall scored significantly lower with the average player base and NDPL players (2.24 / 5 and 1.78 / 5, respectively). It appears there is consensus agreeing that stall is nowhere near a centralising archetype, even with the presence of defensive walls such as Blissey, Quagsire and (before Week 5) Alomomola. Safe to say that Big Stall (TM) is nowhere near NDRU's door.

Pokemon
This section will be covering Pokemon that are currently legal in RU. All scores are out of 5 with average and qualified scores seperated by a | .

Pokemon Results

Bans

Pokemon that were here for the first 4 weeks of NDPL

Retests

• (3.1 | 3.22) - Zoroark Hisui scored lower than I expected from both the average and qualified playerbase. While many can agree this Pokemon is undoubtedly an influential presence in the tier that does push the boundaries of what this tier can handle, sentiment on whether or not it should be banned is mixed with most players leaning towards ban.
• (2.7 | 2.89) - Mamoswine is seen as the playerbase as a significant presence in the tier - with the scores being somewhat close to three. It is understandable for many of these slates why the score is roughly in the middle, but with Mamoswine especially this makes sense. Mamoswine seems like a Pokemon that shouldn't be broken if we modelled this meta off something like SS or SM UU. However, the metagame dynamics such as an increased number of defensive grass and ground types, fewer splashable water types outside of Slowbro and many more Ice-weak fast Pokemon creates a sweet spot for Mamo.
• (3.6 | 3.33) - Thundurus seems to be regarded by most players as an unhealthy prescence in the metagame. For reference, this Pokemon has the highest score from the collective playerbase and the tour playerbase. Thundurus has managed to escape quite a few slates, being overshadowed by stronger contemporaries since day 1. However, based on this, many feel like its time in RU has to come to an end.
• (3.1 | 2.78) - Mienshao seems to be divisive within the playerbase. Casual players seem to find it more overbearing than the more competitive minded. Mienshao, especially now that it has access to Ice Spinner, has become a bit trickier to check
• (2.7 | 2.44) - Sandy Shocks has been receiving calls for being tested and while the score is relatively lower than anticipated, it does indicate that the playerbase sees this Pokemon as having some warping prescence in the tier, even if this isn't enough for many to vote for an outright and immediate ban.

Future Action
Ban upon Dropping?

Pokemon	Tyranitar (of 5)	Thundurus Therian (of 5)	Haxorus (of 5)	Alomomola (of 5)
Average Score	3.00	3.10	2.70	3.10
Tour Average Score	3.22	2.78	2.11	3.25

Seems safe to say that most people in the community find Tyranitar and Alomomola to be a threat in the metagame. Band Tyranitar is notorious for 2HKOing defensive answers that in practice should beat it, while Alomomola created entire archetypes around Regenrator + Wish + Flip Turn (reminiscent of what Clefable did in early SS OU). If they happen to drop and the metagame doesn't change substantially, then they most likely will be subject to a slate.

Meanwhile, the community is lukewarm about Thundurus Therian with Tour players finding it to be more manageable than the community average. This could be due to Thundurus-Therian's lower speed making it more susceptible to revenge-killing attempts, the overall faster pace that tournament games happen, and the sentiment of delaying action on Thundy-T in favour of getting rid of its incarnate form.

The community seems to be united on Haxorus being a more manageable prescence in this metagame compared to other Pokemon with the Average score tying with Mamoswine and Sandy Shocks as being the lowest, and the Tournament score being the lowest seen in this entire slate. While it is possible that Haxorus sees tiering action, its position is influenced by any potential...

Unbans
Pokemon banned primarily due to Tera:

There is strong sentiment within the community for releasing many Pokemon that were pushed to the edge solely by Terstalization. While some of these Pokemon may not have had any significant impact on the tour (see Cresselia), many of these Pokemon did have the potential to push the metagame in a direction that could influence the competitiveness of NDPL and as such they were not unbanned immediately.

There is overwhelming support to free Cresselia and Polteageist with both amassing more than 60% of the vote. Similarly, a simple majority of the player base finds Latias, Iron Leaves and Enamorus Therian to be balanced presences within the metagame. Deoxys-Defense on the other hand has a more lukewarm response with 46% of the player base wanting to free it. Based on this majority support, the council will be looking at voting on Cresselia, Polteageist, Latias, Iron Leaves and Enamorus Therian in the distant future. Deoxys Defense will have to wait its turn to be let into RU.

TLDR; Cresselia, Polteageist, Latias, Iron Leaves and Enamorus-Therian likely to be voted on and freed. DeoD still up in the air.

The next two sections saw significant chunks of the respondents opt out of answering and thus this affects the total percentage of vote for each option. I will discuss the votes relative to the people who responded AND the total cohort surveyed.

Pokemon banned for reasons other than Tera:
Given the low responses for this section, we will consider anything amassing more than 30% of the vote to be of significant interest. Unsurprisingly, nobody wants to see Latias Mega or Latios in the tier again, and not too many people were fans of Victini either. While Mega Heracross's imposing attack stat did scare off many respondents, a surprising number of people voted for it to be back in the tier with 6 votes for it. This ties it with Mega Aerodactyl and Mega Gallade. Oh the wonders of power creep!

Pokemon that saw more than 30% of the votes (in alphabetical and tally order) are: Hawlucha, Terrakion (7 each); Gengar, Jirachi, Moltres Galar (8 each); Altaria-Mega, Lilligant-Hisui, Porygon-Z (9 each); and finally with 10 votes -- Mew. When accounting for total respondents, only Mega Altaria, Hisui Lilligant, PZ and Mew reach this cut off.

While the council cannot close the doors to test any of these Pokemon, it is unlikely that they will see any major action soon due to the low voting attendance combined with the great variance in voting. It seems like many people have differing idea of what will and will not be balanced in the tier with few points of consensus. This is put into sharper relief given that most of these Pokemon were quickbanned upon dropping or banned for the competitiveness of an official tour.

TLDR; Mixed responses. Mew will probably be the first of these to be tested based on the community feedback.

Pokemon that rose to UU, but could be unbanned when they drop

This section has perhaps the lowest turn out of the entire survey, and similar to the section above this makes sense. Not many are enthused to see Gardevoir Mega, Iron Hands and the recently UUBL Gyarados have another foray in the RU tier. Keldeo scoring low (lower than even Zapdos-Galar) is interesting to see given what I've seen prominent community members say. However, I can understand this given that its best check (Amoonguss) left for UU. Support for a Zapdos-Galar is lukewarm in the same way Jirachi, Gengar and Galarian Moltres unbans are.

Alakazam, Bisharp and Salamence all saw a simple majority in the number of people that wanted them unban. When accounting for the entire survey, none of these Pokemon comprise a majority but Bisharp and Salamence come close. Bisharp was definitely a case where Terastalization played a significant role in its ban from the tier. With access to Knock, Sucker Punch and Iron Head, it's coverage was virtually unresisted outside of a few Pokemon like Cobalion - and it could turn the tables on the bulky Fighting, Ground and Fire types that were supposed to check it. Salamence is a curious case. I imagine most people want it to be unbanned because it's a fat and fast defogger - both of which are sorely needed in the tier at the moment.

TLDR; Out of this section, any potential action on Bisharp and Salamence will come the earliest. The other Pokemon listed will probably be tested when metagame conditions are more favourable.

Community
This section addresses how the player base feels about the community, and what they would want to see in the future. This section has been particularly informative and the feedback provided by survey participants will be incorporated.

Community Results

Community

44% of the community found the resources available helpful which is a somewhat positive sign. However, judging by the 48% who found it only somewhat helpful, significant progress is needed in making the resources available as up to date as possible. Additionally, one person did not find them helpful and another were unaware they existed. This could be mitigated my migrating some of the resources (mainly the viability ranking) to their own threads.

On average, the average respondent rated their engagement with the RU community as 5.57 scale of 10. Players from the tour rated it higher: 6.13 out of 10. This is useful feedback as it indicates that most people only occasionally interact with the RU community.

In a similar vein, 78.5% of the respondents found RU to be inactive at the moment. There is an even split in the responses with 25% of the total respondents believing it to be a temporary downturn, 32.1% believing it to be due to there being no ladder and 21.4% not qualifying their response (i.e. it is just inactive). Miscellaneous responses included those saying it was not inactive, that inactivity is due to the lack of tours and that it is between active/inactive. One person mentioned the council lacking motivation compared to other tiers.

Evidently there has to be some changes in how NDRU interacts with its community. There was some discussion between council members of opening projects where the community can contribute to. While this is already a thing in the NDOT sub forum, we feel that a project dedicated to RU could gain more attention by the overall player base. Additionally, creating a tour schedule could attract both newbies and "mercenary-like" tour players to the tier.

We tried to probe the community in the second-to-last question about these ideas. A significant majority wanted Teambuilding Competitions (74.1%) and more room / forum tours (74.1% - including 2 users who elaborated a bit more on the subject). We might hash out a team building competition over the coming weeks and try to find hosts that can fit it into their schedule. Furthermore, there are plans of creating an NDRU circuit. This is something that is demanded by the ND Lower Tiers player base and the NDRU community agrees that there should be more done with this tier.

Community-Create-A-Team saw noteworthy support sitting with 40% of the respondents asking for it. Break This Team / Core, and The Next Best Thing saw some support among the survey responses - indicating that more teams and more tours to use them in are prioritised by the community. 6 people found the community engagement sufficient.

The final aspect we will be discussing is support for Gen 8 NDRU related events. Cumulatively, 50% of the respondents did support hosting some events for Gen 8 NDRU but would prefer support for Gen 9. Of these 14 respondents, 9 weren't too keen in playing Gen 8 NDRU themselves while the rest were fine with playing. 25% of the survey responses were adamant in support of Gen 8 NDRU related events and getting fed up of Gen 9. Meanwhile, 17.9% didn't see any reason to support Gen 8 NDRU over Gen 9. Given that the majority of the responses (~79%) advocate for supporting Gen 8 NDRU in some capacity, we will try to consider this when drafting and evaluating plans for an NDRU circuit.

I'm going through Misc Feedback in the last section but I want to shout out the guy who advocated for a threat overview for new players to be aware of when building. We will definitely be taking this into account!

TLDR:

• Community mixed on helpfulness of resources
• Those surveyed noted, on average, they engaged occasionally with the RU community.
• Many found National Dex RU inactive
• Gen 8 sees some interest but most desire a focus for current gen NDRU.
• The community displayed overwhelming support for tours (on Smogon and on the NDOT showdown room) with other projects seeing some attention
• Expect a threat overview soon-ish

Miscellaneous Community Feedback

Are there any other Pokemon we might have missed? (for banning)

Not many people responded and of those that responded, many said "No". Some of the answers here are clearly jokes or in-jokes which I won't be going thru. I will say one person brought up Mega Sceptile (and no it was not Adriyun!). Two different responders wanted to free Cresselia and Latias really badly.

As for responses that actually included bans, there were 0 overlaps between respondents with many people having drastically differing ideas of what was broken. Some of the weirder things posted here included Maushold, Oricorio-Pom-Pom, Light Ball Nasty Plot Pikachu. More sensible responses included Torterra, Cloyster, Nihilego, Mega Absol, Mega Slowbro and Necrozma. Due to the low community support for any of these responses, we will most likely defer taking action on any of these. However, some like Mega Slowbro and Necrozma could see something down the line.


Final Feedback Section

Most people opted out here as well, and again you see a few "no"s and "nope"s. There were calls to unban heat rock and this is something we will work closely with the Showdown admins to implement. Even though it was unbanned, it didn't seem to have been coded in. There was strong support advocated here for unbanning Latias, freeing the ladder and freeing the community create a team. I think all of these users were trying to underscore their points and I thank them for giving us that emphasis. Also shouting out the legend who told us about the threat overview. Fire idea.

 

[Gangsta Spongebob]

So these shifts were... interesting to say the least, we got some real bangers but also some duds and problems as well

Rises:

RU -> UU

RU -> UU

Unfortunate but not totally unexpected given how NDUU has been doing as of late. Kartana's stint in UU likely contributed to Magnezone going up, while HO being dominant likely led to Ribombee rising. With UU slowly leaving this HO phase with bans and rises, as well as Kartana being banned after a suspect, it won't be too unreasonable to expect these Pokemon fall back down here eventually.

BL Shifts: (Not a huge concern)

RUBL -> UU

Pretty much inevitable, it was a crime that it was RUBL for so long. Kartana being UU no doubt contributed, but hopefully it won't drop again. Regardless, this wouldn't matter to RU, as this thing is never going to be allowed here ever again.

Drops:

UU -> RU

UU -> RU

UU -> RU

UU -> RU

UU -> RU

UU -> RU

UU -> RU

UU -> RU

UU -> RU

These 3 aren't implemented on Showdown, though it's probably an error.

UU -> RU

UU -> RU

UU -> RU

Nature is both healing and trying to kill us. Gligar's dropping after its infamous rise was inevitable, so now it can go from a mediocre UU mon to a slightly less mediocre RU mon. Dipplin and Fezandipiti were also inevitable, but I can see the latter being decent here. Otherwise, the return of Amoonguss provides a great addition to more balanced structures, while Azumarill, Dracozolt, and Haxorus return as exceptionally scary offensive threats. Hisuian Arcanine starts its RU debut, and it'll likely also be a great wallbreaker.

What's really terrifying are the drops that haven't been implemented yet. Munkidori is a fast and hard-hitting special attacker that has Nasty Plot, good coverage, and an ability that can really punish defensive Pokemon. However, it pales in comparison to Mega Sableye, which anchors stall to an obscene level. Definitely expect some tiering action on this in the near future. On the other hand, Scizor is interesting. Without Tera it'll be much easier to defensively handle, so I can see it being a great addition to NDRU.

Many of these drops like Scizor were somewhat surprising, though others weren't. As crazy as Mega Sableye is, its drop was somewhat expected in hindsight, as stall just wasn't working in UU last month.

BL Shifts:

UU -> RUBL

Alakazam just isn't very good in current UU, which is likely why it dropped. While Pokemon like Scizor can hold it back, we have enough problems with speedy special attackers as is, so don't expect this to be legal anytime soon.

Overall, these shifts did give us some cool tools, but we'll likely need some tiering action to keep the tier healthy. Otherwise, expect a vr update in the near future, as well as action on Pokemon like Hisuian Zoroark and some BL Pokemon that were banned because of Tera, like Polteageist.

Otherwise, have a great day everyone.

 

[NeoTalon]

Zam can't escape the BL lifer allegations

 

[Runo]

Sableye-Mega and Zoroark-Hisui are banned from NatDex RU!

Cresselia, Enamorus-T, Latias, and Polteageist are unbanned!

Votes

​	Buzzwole​	Mamoswine​	Sableye-Mega​	Zoroark-Hisui​	Cresselia​	Enamorus-T​	Latias​	Polteageist​	Salamence​
Gangsta Spongebob​	DNB​	DNB​	Ban​	Ban​	Unban​	Unban​	Unban​	Unban​	Keep Banned​
Furret4SSB​	Abstain​	Abstain​	Abstain​	Abstain​	Abstain​	Abstain​	Abstain​	Abstain​	Abstain​
Caesaron​	DNB​	DNB​	Ban​	Ban​	Unban​	Unban​	Unban​	Unban​	Unban​
Derpyboi​	DNB​	Ban​	Ban​	Ban​	Unban​	Keep Banned​	Keep Banned​	Unban​	Keep Banned​
Runoisch​	Ban​	Ban​	Ban​	Ban​	Unban​	Unban​	Unban​	Unban​	Keep Banned​
Georgebowserjr1​	DNB​	DNB​	Ban​	Ban​	Unban​	Keep Banned​	Unban​	Keep Banned​	Keep Banned​
Outcome​	Not Banned​	Not Banned​	Banned​	Banned​	Unbanned​	Unbanned​	Unbanned​	Unbanned​	Keep Banned​

Mega Sableye was a known threat since RU Alpha and was set to be voted on due to its fantastic bulk, typing, and absurd ability in Magic Bounce allowing it to enable stall teams to an overwhelming extent by keeping hazards at bay. Now while it rose to UU for a time and escaped the initial banhammer, Mega Sableye has finally dropped back to RU to continue its hazard bouncing antics and entrenches stall as a very difficult playstyle to take down. Stall cores such as Mega Sableye + Blissey + Slowbro are incredibly frustrating to handle as they blanket wall nearly everything in addtition to other options such as Amoonguss, Tangrowth, Mandibuzz, Buzzwole, etc to patch up virtually any hole on a stall team. On its own, Mega Sableye can wall nearly the entire physical metagame with its combination of great physical bulk and Will-o-Wisp bar select threats such as Jungle Healing Zarude. Requiring very specific and otherwise less valuable sets and/or Pokemon in order to handle it is obviously very constraining in an already fragile metagame. Calm Mind + Will-o-Wisp sets have also been brought up as problematic as it has virtually little counterplay due to its great bulk and access to Magic Bounce making it nearly impossible to phaze, status, or shutdown by typical means. Now given how it has only been a day since its drop back to RU, a lot of the aformentioned explanation is admittedly theory. But due to concerns about it potentially having a negative impact on NDPL finals, the council has decided to take action on it. We might potentially review this mon's place in the metagame another time.


Unlike Mega Sableye, Zoroark-Hisui has made its debut for the entirety of NDPL with calls throughout to have it banned. The two sets that tend to break it are Nasty Plot and Z-Happy Hour. With its great speed, special attack, and a unique ability to play mindgames against its potental checks, playing around either of these sets are very difficult as it is both hard to determine when Zoroark is on the field and even harder to stop once its sets up. With Nasty Plot sets further augmented by Z-moves such as Ghostium Z and Fightinium Z to nuke threats such as Mega Aggron, Tinkaton, Cobalion and Tapu Bulu, it was capable of breaking down every defensive staple in the metagame. Even special behemoths such as Blissey struggled to keep it at bay, especially with set variants that could easily abuse it such as Substitute + Nasty Plot. Z-Happy Hour was another incredible set that focused primarily at demolishing Blisseyless teams. With Illusion and an omniboost from Z-Happy Hour, it was insanely difficult to both wall and revenge kill. Requiring very specific answers such as Thunder Wave Tinkaton, Mega Absol, or resist berry techs such as Chople Berry Empoleon with Roar or Kasib Berry Slowking with Thunder Wave. Obviously resorting to very niche and uncommon things in order properly answer it is far too warping for the health of the metagame. And with Illusion further adding another layer to its absurdity, Zoroark's presence in the tier is unwelcome at this point.


Buzzwole and Mamoswine are terrifying wallbreakers but we feel that there is enough counter play to go around at the moment, For Buzzwole, threats such as Pidgeot-Mega, Rotom-Heat, Crobat, Nidoking, and Mega Manectric as well as the newly dropped Enamorus-T and Latias are good enough to keep it in check. Other threats such as Sandy Shocks, Thundurus, Nihilego, Mega Sceptile, Zeraora, while not being hard answers also heavily annoy heavily annoy it. Future Sight from either Slowbro and Slowking can also limit its positioning as well. With Buzzwole staying, Mamoswine gains another strong check on top of already good answers such as Slowbro, Mienshao, Cobalion, Zarude, Rotom-Heat, and Crawdaunt as well as the newly dropped Scizor and Azumarill to help check it further. As said before, both are very strong wallbreakers so they may be looked at in the future as the metagame develops but as of now they are managable.


All of these Pokemon where pushed too far because of Tera allowing them to bypass any resemblance of counterplay and sweep teams very easily, and with Tera gone council has decided to try these four out again. Cresselia probably does nothing here bar Trick Room things, as Calm Mind is just outclassed by other threats such as Reuniclus and Necrozma. Enamorus-T's Iron Defense + Calm Mind sets get way easier to stop as you can now punish it easily with status during the set-up phase, and Choice Specs is no longer an instant nuke that is insanely difficult to switch into. Latias is probably the most impactful of the drops but there is hope that it will be balanced in the new metagame thanks to counterplay such as Choice Scarf Mienshao, Houndoom-Mega, Absol-Mega, Aggron-Mega, Tinkaton, Slowking, Zarude, Blissey, and many more to potentially handle it. Polteageist probably has a place here as a hyper offense sweeper but it can no longer handle and steel and dark types consistently, having to resort to things like Z-Hyper Beam in order to beat them. Additionally it is much harder to setup with its typing and screens gone.


Salamence was considered for an unban yet again but its Dragon Dance sets are still too warping to free right now, being able to setup against threats such as Defensive Tapu Bulu, Tangrowth, Buzzwole lacking Ice Punch, and a ton of other metagame staples to snowball out of control fairly easily the second it grabs a KO. This of course trumps any sort of defensive utility it might bring to the table since the Dragon Dance sets would be far to unmanagable. There is still some calls to free it however so we will most likely review its place in the meta at a less critical time.

Tagging Kris and Marty to implement (and to also implement tier shifts correctly)

Shifts

Latias-Mega moved from NDRUBL to NDUU
Magnezone moved from NDRU to NDUU
Ribombee moved from NDRU to NDUU

Alakazam moved from NDUU to NDRUBL

Amoonguss moved from NDUU to NDRU
Arcanine-Hisui moved from NDUU to NDRU
Azumarill moved from NDUU to NDRU
Dipplin moved from NDUU to NDRU
Dracozolt moved from NDUU to NDRU
Fezandipiti moved NDUU to NDRU
Gligar moved from NDUU to NDRU
Haxorus moved from NDUU to NDRU
Munkidori moved from NDUU to NDRU
Ogerpon moved form NDUU to NDRU
Scizor moved from NDUU to NDRU
Sableye-Mega moved from NDUU to NDRU (NDRUBL now lol)

Also stay tuned for an upcoming overhaul to the VR

 

[Runo]

Good morning, as NDPL is coming to a close, we've decided to do a much needed VR update.
Thank you to Adriyun, Dorron, and LBN for helping us out with this.

Something to note:

This slate was finalized before tier shifts happened so mons such as Scizor, Latias, Amoonguss, etc were not included in this VR update.

New Mons

Buzzwole: NEW -> S-
Blissey: NEW -> A
Nihilego: NEW -> A
Crawdaunt: NEW -> A-
Tangrowth: NEW -> A-
Cyclizar: NEW -> B+
Goodra-Hisui: NEW -> B+
Basculegion-F: NEW -> B
Basculegion: NEW -> C+
Braviary-Hisui: NEW -> C
Overqwil: NEW -> C
Typhosion-Hisui: NEW -> C

Avalugg-Hisui: NEW -> UR
Decidueye-Hisui: NEW -> UR
Electrode-Hisui: NEW -> UR
Houndstone: NEW -> UR
Torkoal: NEW -> UR
Wyrdeer: NEW -> UR

Rises

Sandy Shocks: A+ -> S-
Slowbro: A+ -> S-
Mienshao: A- -> A+
Slowking: A- -> A
Swampert: A- -> A
Zarude: A- -> A
Mamoswine: B+ -> A
Conkeldurr: B+ -> A-
Crobat: B+ -> A-
Houndoom-Mega: B+ -> A-
Nidoking: B+ -> A-
Tinkaton: B+ -> A-
Sceptile-Mega: B- -> A-
Infernape: B -> B+
Reuniclus: B -> B+
Scolipede: C+ -> B+
Empoleon: C -> B+
Arctozolt: B- -> B
Chandelure: B- -> B
Steelix-Mega: B- -> B
Slowbro-Galar: C -> B
Regidrago: C+ -> B-
Registeel: C+ -> B-
Roserade: C -> B-
Scream Tail: C -> B-
Togekiss: UR -> B-
Aerodactyl: C -> C+
Metagross: C -> C+
Milotic: C -> C+
Muk-Alola: C -> C+
Porygon2: C -> C+
Slurpuff: C -> C+
Doublade: UR -> C+
Klefki: UR -> C+
Raikou: UR -> C+
Torterra: UR -> C+
Araquanid: UR -> C
Arcanine: UR -> C
Articuno: UR -> C
Celebi: UR -> C
Diancie: UR -> C
Flamigo: UR -> C
Glalie-Mega: UR -> C
Golisopod: UR -> C
Guzzlord: UR -> C
Maushold: UR -> C
Rotom-Mow: UR -> C
Salazzle: UR -> C

Drops

Manectric-Mega: A -> A-
Primarina: B+ -> B
Slither Wing: B+ -> B
Staraptor: B+ -> C+
Swellow: B+ -> UR
Breloom: B -> B-
Noivern: B -> B-
Rhyperior: B -> B-
Talonflame: B -> B-
Suicune: B -> C+
Iron Thorns: B- -> C+
Pawmot: B- -> C+
Tornadus: B- -> C+
Toxtricity: B- -> C+
Cetitan: B- -> C
Ditto: B- -> C
Tauros-Paldea-Aqua: B- -> UR
Flygon: C+ -> C
Golurk: C+ -> C
Heracross: C+ -> C
Shuckle: C+ -> C
Tatsugiri: C+ -> C
Venomoth: C+ -> C
Weezing-Galar: C+ -> C
Drednaw: C+ -> UR
Escavalier: C -> UR
Oricorio-Sensu: C -> UR
Pincurchin: C -> UR
Raichu-Alola: C -> UR
Tauros-Paldea-Blaze: C -> UR
Vaporeon: C -> UR

Now to answer some obvious questions.

Q: Why is there no S rank mon?
A: All of the mons in S- were contenders for S rank but there is a some disagreement about just how splashable these mons are in the metagame. That being said, they are clearly cut above the rest of the rest of A+ and A so thus S-.

Q: Why are there only 2 A+ mons / Why are there so many C ranks?
A: NatDex RU currently has an issue with activity and as a result, there is a general lack of discussion about the metagame and viability. So this causes an effect where when we go to do a voting slate, we have some conflicting views about viabilty (for example: Mega Absol's votes ranged from A- to C+). This isn't to say that any of the people who did the VR Slate are incompetent about the state the metagame, it's just that we all have vastly different ideas about what's good and that is reflected in the VR. It's not like we're ranking shitmons either; these mons do have some niche applications on teams so using them isn't going to put your team at a disadvantage per se.

 

[sealoo]

Am I the only one getting a bit tired of the disrespect towards MScep? Now I'm no NDRU expert, but what has been done with MScep honestly cements it as a top 3 Pokemon in the current metagame. If you agree, well, I'm not sure what to say, but I will simply laugh at your intelligence.

Let's analyze some metagame threats who are owned by Mega Sceptile below:

Both of these fear Mega Sceptile's powerful Grass attacks, but just switch out into your mandatory Grass-resist….NOPE. Pursuited.

Oh no! Latias in RU??? What has this game become? Maybe relax, Latias isnt even the best Dragon in the tier. Quick Dragon Pulse or Pursuit.

Sandy Shocks is so good, and it is one of the Pokemon that Mega Sceptile completely blanks. Notice how all S threats are owned by it?

Bulu is so good, incredibly hard to revenge kill while recovering with Horn Leech. Fortunately our protagonist has a 4x Grass-resist and can easily dispatch it with HP Poison.

Overall, if you dismiss Mega Sceptile's dominance, you simply cant be trusted.