Resource 1v1 Sword and Shield Viability Rankings

[RTM]

Nominating Persian from UR - D

On paper, Persian doesn't seem like much. Higher than average speed, but awful bulk and attacking stats. However, it can actually beat some top tier threats.

Persian @ Choice Specs
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hyper Beam
- Icy Wind
- Water Pulse
- Petal Dance

Draining Kiss Fini:
252+ SpA Choice Specs Persian Petal Dance vs. 236 HP / 0+ SpD Tapu Fini: 200-236 (58.8 - 69.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

0 SpA Tapu Fini Surf vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Persian: 132-156 (48.7 - 57.5%) -- 94.1% chance to 2HKO

0 SpA Tapu Fini Draining Kiss vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Persian: 73-87 (26.9 - 32.1%) -- guaranteed 4HKO (16.1 - 19.1% recovered)

Sitrus Fini:
252+ SpA Choice Specs Persian Petal Dance vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Tapu Fini: 220-260 (64.1 - 75.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

176 SpA Tapu Fini Moonblast vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Persian: 166-196 (61.2 - 72.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Loses to Trick Scarf Fini if they do not trick T1

WP Zygarde:

252+ SpA Choice Specs Technician Persian Icy Wind vs. 144 HP / 0 SpD Zygarde: 392-464 (99.7 - 118%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO
(loses if minroll)

Sub Toxic:

252+ SpA Choice Specs Technician Persian Icy Wind vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Zygarde: 388-460 (92.6 - 109.7%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO

0 Atk Zygarde Thousand Arrows vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Persian: 147-174 (54.2 - 64.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Haban DDance:

252+ SpA Choice Specs Technician Persian Icy Wind vs. 252 HP / 12 SpD Zygarde: 388-460 (92.3 - 109.5%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO
However, loses if they get a high roll outrage T1
68+ Atk Zygarde Outrage vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Persian: 229-271 (84.5 - 100%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO

Rocky Helm:
252+ SpA Choice Specs Technician Persian Icy Wind vs. 172 HP / 0 SpD Zygarde: 392-464 (98 - 116%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO
0 Atk Zygarde Thousand Arrows vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Persian: 147-174 (54.2 - 64.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 Atk Zygarde Extreme Speed vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Persian: 87-103 (32.1 - 38%) -- 94.6% chance to 3HKO
Max roll, Max roll kills Persian
Loses to AV.

Persian loses to almost everything else and there are much better Fini and Zygarde checks, but overall it's just very inconsistent.

wtf did i just read. If you give specs stab hyper beam + coverage move to literally any other mon its better, you actually probably lose vs fini without the chance of scarf or specs. The zygarde matchup is a literal coinflip. Has a whopping special attack of 376, modest, after specs, which is 7 more than timid porygon z gets without specs. Not thinking about adaptability.

Heres some normal mons that could run specs better than persian:
porygon z, drampa, porygon 2, porygon, blissey, type null, silvally, cinncino, regigigas, wigglytuff, helioptile, braviary, obstagoon, tauros.
Honestly can't tell if this is a shitpost or not but you know your nom is bad when it literally gets outclassed by special tauros.

the set

Tauros (M) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Blizzard
- Fire Blast
- Thunder
- Hyper Beam
cheeky replay: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen81v1-1419801421-mp26q9k8rcbexhm0niieyu80up6ev44pw

If you are gonna nom something you can at least nom a decent set. Idek if this absolute sin deserves ur.

Edit: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen81v1-1419797477 lol

 

[notfaironanybody]

In my defense (my little defense, I do agree in hindsight this is literal shit, lmao) Finis don't really CM turn 1 on Persian because of it's better physical attack, and the fact that literally nobody uses Persian in the first place. It's pathetically weak and every other normal mon is better, I agree. Only use my set if you hate yourself, please ty.

Edit: I actually have no idea what I was on about in the first lines, Sitrus doesn't even carry ID -.-

 

[SwordIsBored]

To justify a ranking, it would need to out perform other pokemon. Yes? Well that's bad for Persian, have fun with it's low 65 sp atk stat and it not being able to survive anything.

 

[CreamyKittyy]

Nominating piloswine for C+

Piloswine might seem like a bad pokemon, and it is, it is entirely outclassed by mamoswine and other ice types. However it can beat top tier threats, so this automatically means that it must be a C+ rank pokemon despite being outclassed by almost every ice type in the game.

The set:
Piloswine @ Choice Specs
Ability: Oblivious
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA
Quiet Nature
- Ice Beam
- Earthquake
- Freeze-Dry
- Superpower

With this mixed set it is able to beat top tier threats such as zygarde and even tapu fini if it clicks trick, which is a common move on some of tapu finis sets.
Calcs:
252+ SpA Choice Specs Piloswine Ice Beam vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Zygarde: 436-520 (103.8 - 123.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Zygarde Outrage vs. 4 HP / 252 Def Piloswine: 246-289 (71.9 - 84.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Tapu Fini Trick vs. 4 HP Piloswine: 0-0 (0 - 0%) -- possibly the worst move ever

 

[fruan]

Nominating reuniculus for C-.

Banded Garchomp

bandchomp (Reuniclus) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 184 Def / 72 SpD
Calm Nature
- Acid Armor
- Calm Mind
- Stored Power
- Recover

Naty Plot Naganadel

nasty plot naga (Reuniclus) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 116 Def / 140 SpD
Calm Nature
- Acid Armor
- Calm Mind
- Stored Power
- Recover

While it is just another psychic type stored power user its niche in magic guard lets it win matchups its counterparts cannot.
With it, it reliably checks all sub toxic mons like entei and zygarde while also beating their other sets as well as checking leech seeders such as celesteela, ferrothorn, and venusaur.
Its bulk also allows it to wall prominent physical attackers in pheromosa, garchomp and landorus that don't carry banded knock off.
Reuniculus wins even if garchomp swords dances along reuniculus as after 1 cm and 3 acid armors stored power kos while outrage is a guaranteed 3 hit after sitrus.
If it wants to it can also focus more on spdef to secure matchups against naganadel and volcanion while still retaining the pheromosa matchup.

Calcs
252 Atk Choice Band Garchomp Outrage vs. 252 HP / 184 Def Reuniclus: 298-352 (70.2 - 83%) -- guaranteed 2HKO (352 max)
252 Atk Choice Band Garchomp Outrage vs. +2 252 HP / 184 Def Reuniclus: 150-177 (35.3 - 41.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO (177 max)
424*1.25 = 531 > 529 = 352 + 177

252+ Atk Garchomp Outrage vs. 252 HP / 184 Def Reuniclus: 220-259 (51.8 - 61%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

+1 0 SpA Reuniclus Stored Power (180 BP) vs. 176 HP / 0 SpD Garchomp: 402-474 (100.2 - 118.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO


252 Atk Choice Band Pheromosa Throat Chop vs. 252 HP / 116 Def Reuniclus: 298-352 (70.2 - 83%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ SpA Choice Specs Volcanion Steam Eruption vs. 252 HP / 140+ SpD Reuniclus: 264-312 (62.2 - 73.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

+2 252+ SpA Life Orb Naganadel Draco Meteor vs. +1 252 HP / 140+ SpD Reuniclus: 355-419 (83.7 - 98.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

+1 0 SpA Reuniclus Stored Power (60 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Naganadel: 306-360 (106.6 - 125.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO

 

[HeyMan]

Nominating piloswine for C+

Piloswine might seem like a bad pokemon, and it is, it is entirely outclassed by mamoswine and other ice types. However it can beat top tier threats, so this automatically means that it must be a C+ rank pokemon despite being outclassed by almost every ice type in the game.

The set:
Piloswine @ Choice Specs
Ability: Oblivious
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA
Quiet Nature
- Ice Beam
- Earthquake
- Freeze-Dry
- Superpower

With this mixed set it is able to beat top tier threats such as zygarde and even tapu fini if it clicks trick, which is a common move on some of tapu finis sets.
Calcs:
252+ SpA Choice Specs Piloswine Ice Beam vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Zygarde: 436-520 (103.8 - 123.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Zygarde Outrage vs. 4 HP / 252 Def Piloswine: 246-289 (71.9 - 84.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Tapu Fini Trick vs. 4 HP Piloswine: 0-0 (0 - 0%) -- possibly the worst move ever

dont CM fini sets just win, especially the CM + ID sitrus set
also what about WP skitter/AV zygarde sets, surely those sets can own this set
also C+ is just way too high for this, if it can beat both fini and zygarde reliably then maybe D/C- but C+ is stupidly high

 

[RTM]

dont CM fini sets just win, especially the CM + ID sitrus set
also what about WP skitter/AV zygarde sets, surely those sets can own this set
also C+ is just way too high for this, if it can beat both fini and zygarde reliably then maybe D/C- but C+ is stupidly high

yes, this is definitely a real nom for specs piloswine, take it very seriously

 

[*Swords Of Death*]

Stab stab stab (Vikavolt) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 216 HP / 156 Def / 36 SpA / 100 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Bug Buzz
- Energy Ball
- Mud Shot


hp and defense is for a beating urshifu (6.3% chance for adamant wicked blow to ohko). Hp also allows it to survive 2 air slashes from togekiss, giving it a 74% chance to beat it. 100 SpD and 216 hp lives hyper beam from specs magnezone and kills it with double mud shot (lives thunderbolt into hyper beam from custap, but loses to metal sound into hyper beam). Bug Buzz lets it beat pokemon with sub like whimsicott and thunderbolt ohko's celesteela. It also beats other common steel types like ferrothorn and metagross (excluding banded with zen headbutt or rock tomb and AV with rock tomb)

 

[SwordIsBored]

Nominating Dracozolt for B+

This thing has seen a lot more usage as of late, it makes sense as of why though. It's high power gives it an advantage to kill many things in the meta and can create tough matchups with many higher tiers. So instead of talking, lets just see all the calcs and explanations.

What it beats:
To not bore you to death, I can't think of a pokemon takes super effective from electric that survives a bolt beak then kills it.
Also it beats like every other popular custap Pokemon with it's custap set, fun.
This pokemon has the same goal as Togekiss or Darm, if it outspeeds it wins. (Togekiss hoping they flinch the opponent every time of course)



252+ Atk Hustle Dracozolt Earthquake vs. 80 HP / 124 Def Magnezone: 476-564 (158.1 - 187.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Kills Magnezone with custap, fun

252+ Atk Choice Band Hustle Dracozolt Bolt Beak (170 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Celesteela: 804-948 (202 - 238.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Poor Celesteela, though this is expected.


252+ Atk Hustle Dracozolt Bolt Beak (170 BP) vs. 252 HP / 216 Def Sylveon: 408-481 (103.5 - 122%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Yes, kill that annoying yawn set pls.

252+ Atk Hustle Dracozolt Bolt Beak (170 BP) vs. 216 HP / 136 Def Aromatisse: 420-495 (105.7 - 124.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Lets... hope you don't miss and don't allow it to disable you.

252+ Atk Hustle Dracozolt Bolt Beak (170 BP) vs. 0 HP / 148 Def Porygon-Z: 421-496 (135.3 - 159.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO

One heavy hitter to another.

252+ Atk Hustle Dracozolt Outrage vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Zygarde: 458-540 (109.3 - 128.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Bye bye Zygarde, 0 def is obviously the sub toxic variant. We don't like sub toxic so we are happy.


252+ Atk Hustle Dracozolt Outrage vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Zeraora: 340-402 (106.9 - 126.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Fun.


252+ Atk Hustle Dracozolt Bolt Beak (170 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Persian: 576-678 (212.5 - 250.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Now we have it destroying the very popular Persian choice specs set, this was submitted and it is really good, should be in S+, though it gets the short end of the stick here













252+ Atk Choice Band Hustle Dracozolt Bolt Beak (85 BP) vs. 236 HP / 96 Def Tapu Fini: 464-548 (136.4 - 161.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Fini isn't going to have much fun if it isn't running SPATK invest, though it always does so....

What beats it:
It doesn't have fun with tapus... Also just think of a high tier Pokemon that resists Bolt Beak or Outrage and it'll have a bad time.

252+ Atk Hustle Dracozolt Bolt Beak (170 BP) vs. 248 HP / 108 Def Tapu Lele: 483-568 (171.8 - 202.1%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO <-- Custap

252+ Atk Choice Band Hustle Dracozolt Bolt Beak (85 BP) vs. 248 HP / 108 Def Tapu Lele: 316-373 (92.1 - 108.7%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO

156 SpA Tapu Fini Moonblast vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Dracozolt: 308-366 (95.6 - 113.6%) -- 75% chance to OHKO

Though if you're lucky, you can survive it. Though that doesn't count.

A lot of the matchups it loses are dependent on luck... Which in my eyes still means it loses. I'm keeping this part short since what it loses to isn't required so...



Conclusion:
This is starting to feel more like a science project than a funny Pokemon game post... Anyway this Pokemon is great, kills many things as long as it outspeeds. Though, it has to rely on hustle. That's alright for 1v1 players though since for some reason they always land it when playing against me, so that shouldn't be much of a problem.

This thing dies to the Tapus, yes but I believe it deserves the B+ spot solely for outclassing the Pokemon in it's tier. Having the damage and potential others in it would dream of. So yeah, cool. Cool pokemon. Cool post. Hope you all like it.

 

[RTM]

Nominating Dracozolt for B+

This thing has seen a lot more usage as of late, it makes sense as of why though. It's high power gives it an advantage to kill many things in the meta and can create tough matchups with many higher tiers. So instead of talking, lets just see all the calcs and explanations.

What it beats:
To not bore you to death, I can't think of a pokemon takes super effective from electric that survives a bolt beak then kills it.
Also it beats like every other popular custap Pokemon with it's custap set, fun.
This pokemon has the same goal as Togekiss or Darm, if it outspeeds it wins. (Togekiss hoping they flinch the opponent every time of course)



252+ Atk Hustle Dracozolt Earthquake vs. 80 HP / 124 Def Magnezone: 476-564 (158.1 - 187.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Kills Magnezone with custap, fun

252+ Atk Choice Band Hustle Dracozolt Bolt Beak (170 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Celesteela: 804-948 (202 - 238.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Poor Celesteela, though this is expected.


252+ Atk Hustle Dracozolt Bolt Beak (170 BP) vs. 252 HP / 216 Def Sylveon: 408-481 (103.5 - 122%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Yes, kill that annoying yawn set pls.

252+ Atk Hustle Dracozolt Bolt Beak (170 BP) vs. 216 HP / 136 Def Aromatisse: 420-495 (105.7 - 124.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Lets... hope you don't miss and don't allow it to disable you.

252+ Atk Hustle Dracozolt Bolt Beak (170 BP) vs. 0 HP / 148 Def Porygon-Z: 421-496 (135.3 - 159.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO

One heavy hitter to another.

252+ Atk Hustle Dracozolt Outrage vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Zygarde: 458-540 (109.3 - 128.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Bye bye Zygarde, 0 def is obviously the sub toxic variant. We don't like sub toxic so we are happy.


252+ Atk Hustle Dracozolt Outrage vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Zeraora: 340-402 (106.9 - 126.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Fun.


252+ Atk Hustle Dracozolt Bolt Beak (170 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Persian: 576-678 (212.5 - 250.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Now we have it destroying the very popular Persian choice specs set, this was submitted and it is really good, should be in S+, though it gets the short end of the stick here













252+ Atk Choice Band Hustle Dracozolt Bolt Beak (85 BP) vs. 236 HP / 96 Def Tapu Fini: 464-548 (136.4 - 161.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Fini isn't going to have much fun if it isn't running SPATK invest, though it always does so....

What beats it:
It doesn't have fun with tapus... Also just think of a high tier Pokemon that resists Bolt Beak or Outrage and it'll have a bad time.

252+ Atk Hustle Dracozolt Bolt Beak (170 BP) vs. 248 HP / 108 Def Tapu Lele: 483-568 (171.8 - 202.1%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO <-- Custap

252+ Atk Choice Band Hustle Dracozolt Bolt Beak (85 BP) vs. 248 HP / 108 Def Tapu Lele: 316-373 (92.1 - 108.7%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO

156 SpA Tapu Fini Moonblast vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Dracozolt: 308-366 (95.6 - 113.6%) -- 75% chance to OHKO

Though if you're lucky, you can survive it. Though that doesn't count.

A lot of the matchups it loses are dependent on luck... Which in my eyes still means it loses. I'm keeping this part short since what it loses to isn't required so...



Conclusion:
This is starting to feel more like a science project than a funny Pokemon game post... Anyway this Pokemon is great, kills many things as long as it outspeeds. Though, it has to rely on hustle. That's alright for 1v1 players though since for some reason they always land it when playing against me, so that shouldn't be much of a problem.

This thing dies to the Tapus, yes but I believe it deserves the B+ spot solely for outclassing the Pokemon in it's tier. Having the damage and potential others in it would dream of. So yeah, cool. Cool pokemon. Cool post. Hope you all like it.

in my opinion, a mon that has a 20% chance to lose any winning matchup shouldn't be B+. This things speed makes it too slow to use scarf and its coverage is limited by low accuracy. Custap is predictable and has easy counterplay. It's typing overall is not that great and its outrage isn't doing much vs mons that resist bolt beak. For future noms, i would make sure it actually beats a mon. For example, it should just lose to toxic zygarde spamming sub, and is beat by other zygarde sets anyway. Claiming it beats one magnezone while it straight up loses to the other doesn't make your nom look very good. You also have some strange benchmarks. Obviously this thing is going to kill celesteela and porygon-z. Also, you are quite often getting the wrong defensive evs as well.

 

[HeyMan]

and porygon-z

cant pz just win with scarf hyper beam (clicks trick on custap if it runs trick)
tbh ur never winning with custap cuz it really just comes down to not getting predicted and not missing after that lol

 

[*Swords Of Death*]

I was told Vikavolt was bad. So I decided I will make a set that does something. Something that will out class other electric pokemon that can be used....

Activating..... (Vikavolt) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 244 HP / 136 Def / 36 SpA / 92 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Mud Shot
- Thunderbolt
- Bug Buzz
- Energy Ball

36+ SpA Choice Specs Vikavolt Thunderbolt vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Urshifu: 339-400 (99.4 - 117.3%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Urshifu Wicked Blow vs. 244 HP / 136 Def Vikavolt on a critical hit: 306-360 (85.9 - 101.1%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO
Here the possible damage for Vikavolt is the same as well as the possible damage Urshifu (this is from my past post about vikavolt) can do, but i changed the EV's to allow more HP so you take less from Special Attacks. Regieleki is also a guaranteed but it loses to banded sucker punch.

His MU against togekiss is not as good as other electrics, but he still has a 69% chance to win (.6*.95 = 0.57, this give the chance of hitting air slash and getting a flinch. .57*.57*.95 = ~ 31% chance to lose). Though for some reason pokemon doesn't understand math so this number may not be correct.
252 SpA Togekiss Air Slash vs. 244 HP / 92 SpD Vikavolt: 132-156 (37 - 43.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO. (I have been told maranga berry just wins by delemon and other. but https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen81v1-1450806400 its a roll
36+ SpA Choice Specs Vikavolt Thunderbolt vs. +1 252 HP / 88+ SpD Togekiss: 228-270 (60.9 - 72.1%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO)

The main reason to use Vikavolt over other electrics though is his coverage.

Bug Buzz allows it to beat pokemon that would normally counter electric pokemon like Rillaboom, Whimsicott, Ferrothorn, Venusaur, Zarude, Hydreigon (Scarf) and more.

36+ SpA Choice Specs Vikavolt Bug Buzz vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Rillaboom: 408-482 (100.9 - 119.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO

36+ SpA Choice Specs Vikavolt Bug Buzz vs. 248 HP / 108 SpD Whimsicott: 250-295 (77.3 - 91.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO (Bug Buzz bypasses sub)

36+ SpA Choice Specs Vikavolt Bug Buzz vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Ferrothorn: 147-174 (41.7 - 49.4%) -- 41% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery and Leech Seed recovery (only way they survive with protect is if they have knock off which only make up 5.815% of ferrothorns)



Energy Ball is also and incredibly useful move as it is super effective against ground Pokemon like Swampert and Gastrodon

36+ SpA Choice Specs Vikavolt Energy Ball vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Swampert: 468-552 (115.8 - 136.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
36+ SpA Choice Specs Vikavolt Energy Ball vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Gastrodon: 496-584 (116.4 - 137%) -- guaranteed OHKO



Mud-Shot is only for magnezone and that loses if they use mirror coat. Surives Hyper Beam from Specs Magnezone and survive Thunderbolt into Hyper Beam from custap magnezone. Could be changed to Flash Cannon/Air Slash or even Zap Cannon, but not sure what it would be useful for.
244+ SpA Choice Specs Magnezone Hyper Beam vs. 244 HP / 92 SpD Vikavolt: 302-356 (84.8 - 100%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO

Other things it beats: Zapdos-g, Moltres-g, Zygarde
252 Atk Choice Band Zapdos-Galar Brave Bird vs. 244 HP / 136 Def Vikavolt: 270-318 (75.8 - 89.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+1 252+ SpA Moltres-Galar Hurricane vs. 244 HP / 92 SpD Vikavolt: 279-328 (78.3 - 92.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
36+ SpA Choice Specs Vikavolt Bug Buzz vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Zygarde: 235-277 (56 - 66.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery (this is not 100% chance because of power construct and leftovers. It is possible to lose if they have more SpD investment with toxic t1, protect t2, thousand arrows t3, and switching between protect and thousand arrows.)
0 Atk Zygarde Thousand Arrows vs. 244 HP / 136 Def Vikavolt: 93-109 (26.1 - 30.6%) -- guaranteed 4HKO (+168 attack needed to guarantee that it will 3 hit ko)

If anything needs to be more clear just ask and I'll answer, and if you see a flaw in a calculation tell me and I'll fix it.
For the rank of Vikavolt I feel C- or D will fit. I know C-/D is a huge jump for a pokemon that is unranked, though i think it is fitting.

 

[HeyMan]

I feel B- or B will fit because that is the rank of Regieleki

bro this is a big no no, ok so sure this thing has alot of spa and okay bulk but like that doesn't mean u can rank fricking B-/B, maybe like C-/C

urshifu, doesn't it win with AV? beats alot of the other sets but not AV

togekiss, ill agree with this cuz it's pure facts (but togekiss flinch rate is like 100% bro smh), also what about the maranga set? kinda reliable?

rillaboom, whims, venusaur and ferro, I'd say reliable sure but venusaur, ehhhhhhh how is venu losing with sleep powder tho

zarude, 4× effective, that's expected

the weirdo ground types smh (except swampy, it's dope), again expected but like custap rhyperior can still win right?

magnezone, not really reliable cuz it has a small chance of OHKOing but can win with mirror coat, not that reliable tbh

galar birds, seems understandable but what about like bulky g moltres sets?

zygarde, doesn't skitter smack still win? AV should also win reliably

C+ is also a little too high, like most choiced mons this thing loses to the item "custap" but eleki has tcage to secure a few custap m/u's and zeraora has a variety of sets which still makes it amazing, band can't really do much against custap but the other sets can predict and play around custap, B is way too high for an unranked mon, maybe like start off with something a little smaller like C and then slowly make better sets of it to help it climb up the VR, cool nomination but with a few mistakes here and there, I'd recommend reading some of the things from the EV document next time, it has alot of info

gn, it's like 1 am

 

[*Swords Of Death*]

252+ SpA Choice Specs Transistor Regieleki Thunderbolt vs. 0 HP / 60 SpD Assault Vest Urshifu: 279-328 (81.8 - 96.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO..... Regieleki also loses to assault vest so not sure how thats relates when I also gave a calc that showed it barely killed without AV.

Maranga Berry is only used 8.581% of the time on togekiss so i doubt that its a big problem. (I agree that pokemon is messed up so that you might lose because pokemon can't understand math) Also why does Maranga berry matter if you ohko with thunderbolt? Unless you're talking about the set in the comp.
0 SpA Togekiss Air Slash vs. 244 HP / 92 SpD Vikavolt: 108-127 (30.3 - 35.6%) -- 34.1% chance to 3HKO
36+ SpA Choice Specs Vikavolt Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 88+ SpD Togekiss: 338-402 (90.3 - 107.4%) -- 43.8% chance to OHKO

I forgot about Venusaur having Sleep Powder so its probably a loss.

Zarude is expected just thought I'd mention it.

If you read what i say next to the calc I say that Rhyperior beats vikavolt if they are custap (or AV, so vikavolt is not a reliable counter as 67% of Rhyperiors are AV or Custap)

For Zygarde AV is only used 4.51% of the time, Skitter Smack 9.626% so you won't come across a ton of zygarde like this (there is also overlap between theses so its a bit less than 14.136% of zygarde, its probably around 10-7% of zygardes (I mention that it doesn't beat all zygardes in my main post).

Not sure what you're talking about for mistakes besides forgetting venusaur. I still feel like it deserves B- because of its coverage and type. If fini was UR then someone made all the sets for it, would it be suggested to be C? I believe Vikavolt deserves somewhere near B- and just because it was UR I'm not going to suggest it to a place i don't believe in.

Anyways, thanks for the feedback even if i feel some of it was not relevant.

 

[RTM]

How about we stop nomming mons until the meta actually changes, most of them will have zero effect on the meta, especially if it's a minor shift like from C+ to B-. Nomming some random shit is all well and good, but most things have been thought about and are UR for a reason. Not trying to minimod, just saying things the way they are.

 

[*Swords Of Death*]

When will the meta change? when the next game comes out? Until then, I'm still going to suggest things just because i enjoy doing it and i like the chance to discover something that might have an impact on the meta, however small. Anyway, whats the point of not suggesting? Not suggesting things is how the meta doesn't change.

 

[HeyMan]

252+ SpA Choice Specs Transistor Regieleki Thunderbolt vs. 0 HP / 60 SpD Assault Vest Urshifu: 279-328 (81.8 - 96.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO..... Regieleki also loses to assault vest so not sure how thats relates when I also gave a calc that showed it barely killed without AV.

then why would u talk about urshifu in the first place

0 SpA Togekiss Air Slash vs. 244 HP / 92 SpD Vikavolt: 108-127 (30.3 - 35.6%) -- 34.1% chance to 3HKO
36+ SpA Choice Specs Vikavolt Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 88+ SpD Togekiss: 338-402 (90.3 - 107.4%) -- 43.8% chance to OHKO

i guess that's my bad, i probably should've checked before

If you read what i say next to the calc I say that Rhyperior beats vikavolt if they are custap

oh im blind, but why mention it tho if u know it loses to AV and custap

For Zygarde AV is only used 4.51% of the time, Skitter Smack 9.626% so you won't come across a ton of zygarde like this (there is also overlap between theses so its a bit less than 14.136% of zygarde, its probably around 10-7% of zygardes (I mention that it doesn't beat all zygardes in my main post).

bruv usage doesnt mean anything, if it loses to like 3 sets of zygarde then it's not a reliable check at all

If fini was UR then someone made all the sets for it, would it be suggested to be C?

VR councils made it go up the VR, there's like barely anyone who nommed it, it wasnt that good during sect/rachi meta but after the bans councils saw that it could fit on many different types of teams with a variety of sets that could beat a bunch of things so they made it S tier

Until then, I'm still going to suggest things just because i enjoy doing it and i like the chance to discover something that might have an impact on the meta

u cant nominate some random thing that u like using on ladder and it works out for you (i think we all learned that from the persian nom), anyways the fact that vikavolt gets outclassed by other eleki and zeraora proves that it shouldn't be anywhere near B tier, if a mon gets outclassed by something else that's super good then it should be UR/D/C- not fricking B like that's so high bro. like the only thing vikavolt has going for it is the fact that it's dual typed and that it has coverage moves (which zeraora too has) and the fact that it takes super effective damage from more. but zeraora can make up for it cuz the fact that its a physical attacker so it can beat blissey, and that it has taunt to beat stall mons, regieleki has tcage to beat custap users and the funnier physical screech and stall sets

also listen to rtm prob cuz he actually knows how to play the game unlike me

 

[*Swords Of Death*]

Rhyperior shouldn't be on there probably, but if you don't think usage matters then please relearn everything you know about pokemon. you are going to fight zygarde with vikavolt. And out of 100 games if you lose 10 of them, thats a good counter. Usage matters because that is whats used, if a team gets 3-0'd by weezing-g people probably won't worry about it because it has LOW usage. For urshifu I'm not sure how you don't understand that. Vikavolt beats it, even if it has 1 set that wins, its a reliable counter. Some pokemon are 100% chance against every version of a pokemon, and some aren't 100% but still very high. If you need to say anything else I'll answer, but please make more sense in what you say, because im not sure if I'm somehow missing what you're saying because a lot of it seems random.

 

[HeyMan]

please relearn everything

ah so your explanation to everything i said is the fact that i need to learn how pokemon works, great explanation sir, im sure the councils appreciate it

if a team gets 3-0'd by weezing-g people probably won't worry about it because it has LOW usage

surely weezing g is more worthless than zygarde, shits not even ranked, also while building teams u don't think about the UR mons that barely do anything, do you? no, you simply dont. just because something isn't used doesnt mean ur gonna call some random shit a good counter for it, I'd rather run mons that actually beat every setcomp set of zygarde and good zygarde sets. vikavolt barely beats anything fully reliably instead of something that barely beats any of the sets so it's not goddamn B tier, like that's so stupid

I'm not sure how you don't understand that

i honestly feel like ur the one who should try to understand, vikavolt doesn't beat AV ursh neither does eleki (even tho thunder exists), and outside of AV ursh both beat the rest of the sets so like, it's not relevant to bring it up when it doesn't beat ursh reliably

even if it has 1 set that wins, its a reliable counter

google definition of reliable: consistently good in quality or performance; able to be trusted
i think facts can speak for itself, it's not a reliable counter

but please make more sense in what you say, because im not sure if I'm somehow missing what you're saying because a lot of it seems random

"make sense" im not the guy who nominated vikavolt and thinks cinccino is good
"random" ur literally nominating some random thing that worked for u in ladder, like u even admitted it

anyways i feel like this conversation is going absolutely nowhere, it's probably better to let VR councils decide if this mon is good or not
i think it's safe to end it here

alright gn people o/
also pls dont nominate cinccino

 

[Waylaid]

I feel somewhat obligated to post here, as whatever interpretations of viability are being used don't make a lot of sense. I'm sure some of what I've written here is parroting RTM and Heyman, but I figure giving criticism from a VR perspective may be a bit more impactful.

(I won't compare Vikavolt to Tapu Koko and Zapdos because they are generally stall sets, while Vikavolt is attack, so all these calc will be against Zeraora and Regieleki because the are the most common electric type)

This is a poor approach to making noms. When deciding to nom something, you should evaluate its niche from all of the relevant sets which do similar things. In this case ignoring offensive zapdos makes vikavolt appear much more relevant than it actually is; as it was discussed in VR chat vikavolt holds almost no niche over offensive zapdos (pretty much just energy ball and an unreliable magnezone matchup)

Because of vikavolt's hitlist being almost entirely overshadowed by zapdos', vikavolt is generally a less attractive option when zapdos has greater bulk, speed, and set ambiguity at preview. This is not to say that vikavolt doesn't occupy a niche, but the niche is so small that it will likely not receive a ranking over D.

you are going to fight zygarde with vikavolt. And out of 100 games if you lose 10 of them, thats a good counter. (...) For urshifu I'm not sure how you don't understand that. Vikavolt beats it, even if it has 1 set that wins, its a reliable counter

This is also going to be a wildly unpopular take with the VR council, generally we don't like to call something a counter to another mon unless the margin of winning is somewhere around the likelihood of a crit or a missed move (ex: scarfed darm-g counters zapdos- it can only lose to it if it misses icicle crash). Vikavolt is not a urshifu counter because it loses to a somewhat common set, vikavolt is instead an urshifu check that beats all sets except AV. This is a pretty big distinction, especially when building teams, because people should know that they need to bring a mon which beats av urshifu when building a team with this vikavolt set.

Same reasoning with zygarde but a little less linear because I think you neglected to include a couple sets; zygarde can run AV, more spdf toxic protect, maranga, skitter smack, and band to all beat vikavolt reliably. Again, that's enough variance in sets that you can't run this as a sole zygarde check, especially because what you said about usage is true and that beating the most popular mons consistently is usually more important than beating every niche mon set that you're unlikely to run into.

As a bit of a summary, I don't think vikavolt is very good but you're welcome to nom whatever you like as long as you're serious and genuine about it being beneficial to the playerbase. As I'm sure I've hinted to above, B- is super high and I'd probably set expectations a little differently next time. It's also worth noting that you're welcome to discuss any noms you may have or are thinking about with council members in the 1v1 room or in the meta discussion channel in the discord server, as both of those places will lead to faster responses and save you time the next time you'd like to nom something.

 

[*Swords Of Death*]

So I see a few people didn't like my post about Vikavolt. These people don't seem to understand that vikavolt is the goat (and actually a decent mon that isn't some random trash i threw together, but if it was i did a great job. Also the feedback was very useful so I'll try and make this post better, and after relooking at vikavolt I'd still rank it, but probably only at C-). So I am here to say this. Cinccino. I have not 1, but 3 sets! Suggesting that Cinccino be C-
(Giving 3 sets to show the different options that cinccino has, and what it can be made to beat depending on the set) (noticed after i posted that the sets beat similar things except for the kings rock set)

Cinccino set 1

Fred (Cinccino) @ Choice Band
Ability: Skill Link
EVs: 12 HP / 212 Atk / 68 Def / 216 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Triple Axel
- Bullet Seed
- Rock Blast/Play Rough
- Giga Impact

Bulk Is for Sucker Punch from Urshifu. Triple Axel is for dragons/ground types. Attack is for ohkoing Scarf Tapu Fini with Bullet Seed (and other water or ground types). Rock Blast for pokemon like Fire/Ice types. Giga Impact is just for damage and doesn't have a real purpose. Play Rough can be used instead of Rock Blast for Urshifu/Hydreigon and other dark/fighting types (Triple Axel covers dragons). 216 Speed is for Archeops.

Calcs

If there is something I overlooked please tell me.

252+ Atk Choice Band Urshifu Sucker Punch vs. 12 HP / 68 Def Cinccino: 256-303 (87 - 103%) -- 18.8% chance to OHKO


212 Atk Choice Band Cinccino Triple Axel (40 BP) (3 hits) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Zygarde: 396-468 (94.2 - 111.4%) -- approx. 81.3% chance to OHKO (Power Construct does not active till after the pokemon is done attacking)

212 Atk Choice Band Cinccino Bullet Seed (5 hits) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Tapu Fini: 290-350 (103.2 - 124.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252 SpA Life Orb Zapdos Thunderbolt vs. 68 HP / 56 SpD Cinccino: 259-305 (84 - 99%) -- guaranteed 2HKO (This is offensive Zapdos, Hurricane is a guaranteed ohko)

Second Set:

Cinccino set 2

Richard (Cinccino) @ King's Rock
Ability: Skill Link
EVs: 168 HP / 124 Atk / 216 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Bullet Seed
- Rock Blast
- Triple Axel
- Tail Slap

Very similar to the first set, but 124 Atk is to ohko Garchomp with 176 hp 4 def, Kings Rock Is for the flinching chance. Because of the chance to flinch some match-ups aren't completely losing unless they are faster than you (1-(.9^5), which is .4095, or 40.95%, chance to flinch). 216+ Spe for Archeops. 168 hp doesn't have a real reason except for extra bulk, but it can be added to attack for more damage.

Won't include calcs for this besides garchomp because it seems somewhat unneeded.
124 Atk Cinccino Triple Axel (40 BP) (3 hits) vs. 176 HP / 4 Def Garchomp: 408-480 (101.7 - 119.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO


Third Set:

Cinccino set 3

John Cena (Cinccino) @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EVs: 104 HP / 148 Atk / 40 Def / 216 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Triple Axel
- Play Rough
- Seed Bomb
- Gunk Shot/Giga Impact

Triple Axel does a ton amounts of damage. Seed Bomb is for water/ground types. Play Rough reasons are the same as before. Gunk Shot is only for Specs Sylveon and Giga Impact is for damage, but not sure what it is needed for yet. Hp and Def are for sucker punch from banded urshifu, speed for Archeops. This set is similar to the first one, but i figured I'd put it in because i thought it was different enough to be added. If you want you can change technician to skill link and add bullet seed with theses EV's (you only have a 18.8% chance to beat zygarde 252 hp 252 def+)

if you have any suggestions feel free to tell me and I'll try it

 

[Itchy]

Hi, I'm Itchy, and I just wanted to pop in and share some small improvements that could be made. I'm not on VR Council, just another active community member who wants to share their feedback!

50% chance with 5 hits from skill link

This is not actually true, even if it feels intuitive. The real probability would be the opposite of not getting flinched 5 times. This works out to be 1-(.9^5), which is .4095, or 40.95%.

John Cena (Cinccino) @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EVs: 96 HP / 124 Atk / 72 Def / 216 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Triple Axel
- Play Rough
- Seed Bomb
- Gunk Shot/Giga Impact

Bullet Seed is 100% better on this set - it's more power (125 total), and can potentially break Rindo Berries on Gastrodon or Swampert. Not quite sure why there are 2 Choice Band sets here, seems like this could be absorbed into the first set as slash options.

Giga Impact over Tail Slap should be better on both sets, as it's more base power and more accurate. The recharge turn doesn't really matter bc Cinccino's natrual bulk is so low.

this pokemon does not counter rillaboom

Rillaboom also runs Life Orb with Fake Out + Grassy Glide, which OHKOs Cinccino before it can move, so yeah, Cincinno definitely is not a Rillaboom counter...
252+ Atk Life Orb Rillaboom Fake Out vs. 68 HP / 88 Def Cinccino: 81-96 (26.2 - 31.1%) -- 11.6% chance to 4HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery
252+ Atk Life Orb Rillaboom Grassy Glide vs. 68 HP / 88 Def Cinccino in Grassy Terrain: 274-324 (88.9 - 105.1%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO

There's probably more stuff I could add, but I think I'll end it here. Hopefully this doesn't come across as me tearing into your post, I just wanted to share how it could be improved ^~^

 

[clerica]

It has occurred to many of us that a lot of people don't know how to properly do a VR nom. For that reason I am here to try and teach you, hopeful 1v1 contributor, how to write a halfway decent VR post that will get you hopefully taken seriously

When writing a VR post:
Things you should do

• Include the sets you are talking about, especially if they aren't included in the sets compendium
• Include relevant calcs. Showing that Specs Magnezone beats Fini is pointless, but showing the calcs behind how your Glastrier beats Spectrier no matter how they play it is relevant and greatly appreciated
• Explain what role the mon you are nominating plays in the metagame (ex: Corsola-G functions as an excellent stall mon, Darm-G is an offensive mon, etc)
• Show how the mon you are nominating can set itself apart from other mons similar to it. Aka what niche does it fill that others can't (ex: how Primarina and Fini may seem similar on paper but they are different enough to justify using either one depending on your needs)
• Compare your mon to other mons in the tier you are nominating it to. If you can convince us that your mon is as good as everything in C+ rank, we are more likely to vote it to that rank

Things you should avoid doing

• Assume inaccurate matchups, sure Stoutland learns Play Rough but that does not mean it beats Zygarde
• Show misleading calcs, similar to above it's great if your Noivern kos a 0 bulk Regidrago with Draco Meteor, but Haban, Custap, and AV still live and win so make sure you make sure it beats all sets
• Please don't nominate mons that beat 4 mons and nothing else. Unless those 4 mons are Zygarde, Fini, Regidrago, and Celesteela I can guarantee there is something that can do the job better. I love fun shitmons too but nominating them won't get you taken seriously

Now since we get asked this question a lot
How should I format this?
Technically there isn't a right or a wrong way as long as you do a good job but here is a pretty simple and common format

For a currently unranked mon

1. What mon you are nominating (include what rank it should go to)
   • In order to determine what rank you think it should be look at the current VR and be brutally honest. Is the mon that I am nominating as good as the mons in the current [insert rank] rank? If not what rank does it more accurately fit into
   • Confidence is good but also be realistic, if a mon isn't currently on the VR it's very unlikely it should go in S immediately
2. Provide set(s)!
   • Show what your mon can do and explain how it does it. This is where you show your sets and explain evs, moves, items, etc
3. Explain what matchups it wins and where it fits into the meta
   • This can be done via a matchup chart (list of its matchups down the VR) or just in writing. Additionally explain how this sets it apart from other similar mons. If you nominate Heliolisk you better explain why we would use it over something like Regieleki or Zeraora
   • If you cannot answer "why would I use this over X higher ranked mon?" I recommend not nominating it until you can do so
   • You can also include things like replays showing your mon in action. However, remember that quality is more important than quantity with these. Winning with a Qwilfish at 1200s doesn't mean that it is deserving of being ranked, but if your mon is having success in tour matches against experienced players that is much more convincing
4. Other options (sample team with nominated mon, what it struggles with etc)
   • This part isn't required but providing things like a team with the mon you're nominating you had success with makes it so we don't necessarily have to. Also listing things like what your mon struggles with and what it pairs well with will help give us a better understanding of how it might work in the current meta
5. Conclusion/Final thoughts
   • This is just for anything else you have to say about the mon and isn't too important

For a mon currently on the VR

1. What mon you are nominating (include what rank it should go to)
   • Same guidelines as above pretty much but now with an already ranked mon
2. What has changed that caused you to believe that its rank should change?
   • We already have our own opinions about the mon so remember that we ranked where it is for a reason. Explain to us what has changed in the meta to cause your mon to no longer fit the rank it is currently in.
   • List any new sets that change what matchups your mon wins or loses, or potentially show that its counters are commonly used and how that makes it less reliable compared to before. Whatever it is show why we should change our current votes.
3. Any other information we should know
   • This includes things like replays, matchups, showing how easy or difficult it is to fit on a team etc
4. Final thoughts
   • Once again not too important or required but as an option you can give any final thoughts here

Mons currently on the VR are a bit more open about how you go about nominating them since people already know what it does so you can be a bit more creative with those

If you want examples I would recommend Mishlef's Dragalge nom and HCTC's Roserade nom for good examples of noms for currently unranked mons. For examples of nominating mons currently on the VR for a different rank I would recommend checking out HCTC's Ninetales nom and Jellicent nom. Both excellent examples of explaining not only what the mons do but also showing what changed to change their rank. Also, if the mon you don't nom doesn't end up at the rank you wanted it to be don't be offended. We probably just see it differently than you do and that's ok. Hopefully this helps and good luck posting y'all!

 

[Mishlef]

If my band dragalge meme nom has become the standard for vr noms you know there’s an issue

 

[*Swords Of Death*]

thanks, I was going to fix the post today so I'll keep these things in mind