AAA Almost Any Ability Resources

[LordBox]

No sample set for Meowscarada up yet? Well I don't have much experience with it but here's a sample set.

Meowscarada Set

Meowscarada @ Choice Band / Choice Scarf
Ability: Sword of Ruin / Sniper
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Flower Trick
- Knock Off
- U-turn
- Sucker Punch / Trick / Brick Break / Play Rough

Play Rough hits SlitherWing while Brick Break hits Kingambit btw.

 

[Tanny89k]

Sample set:

Set

Iron Bundle @ Heavy Duty Boots
Ability: Primordial Sea
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Freeze Dry
- Encore / Taunt
- U-turn

Very similar to the Magic Guard set, but with a more powerful Hydro Pump and a better matchup against Iron Moth at the cost of a bit of power on Freeze Dry and being unable to soak up Toxic and Will-O-Wisp.

 

[Ducky]

Noticed that a few High viability mons are missing a few sets so I thought I'd make a quick post

Dragapult @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 225 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Dragon Darts
- Hex
- Will-O-Wisp / Thunder Wave
- U-turn

Standard MGLO Pult that is everywhere now. Wisp is super annoying for a lot of mons and has obvious synergy with Hex


Gholdengo @ Leftovers
Ability: Well-Baked Body
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 HP / 228 SpD / 28 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Recover
- Shadow Ball
- Substitute

WBB Ghold is super annoying and takes advantage of everyone running Iron Moth / Volcarona to deal with Iron Bundle. The speed EVs creep 0 Speed Great Tusk

Gholdengo @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 192 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 60 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Recover
- Nasty Plot
- Shadow Ball
- Steel Beam

I admittedly don't have as much experience with MGLO Ghold but it is a strong attacker and can get surprise kills on things like Great Tusk who assume they can live and Shadow Ball and either Knock or EQ

Gholdengo @ Leftovers
Ability: Fur Coat
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Nasty Plot
- Recover
- Substitute

FC Ghold is also quite common and does a great job with things like Slither Wing and gets a ton of set up opportunities thanks to it's great bulk with FC.


Iron Valiant @ Life Orb / Choice Scarf
Ability: Stakeout
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Close Combat
- Moonblast
- Thunderbolt
- Knock Off

I don't really know what else to say other than the fact that this thing is almost impossible to consistently wall due to its great coverage and the nature of Stakeout. Also smaller thing but why is Sword of Ruin bolded but not Stakeout? I've never seen Sword of Ruin Valiant

 

[LordBox]

Here to suggest some abilities that should be on the VR that aren't.

Chi-Yu should have Mold Breaker as a viable set in the VR. As for why, I already explained in my post before so I won't go indepth here. Scary as fuck as a breaker when you get it in the right position and can blow up things it usually couldn't like Clodsire and WBB if choice-locked so definitely worth ranking. As an extra note, I saw an MBreaker Moth on ladder just a bit before and that thing is actually kinda scary as well, although I haven't tested it.

These are a bit more of a stretch but I believe Scales and Bulletproof should belong on the VR for Gholdengos, WBB for Kingambit and Fur Coat on Polteageists and Volcarona. These are a bit niche but I've used and seen on multiple occasions to good effect. Scales and Bulletproof can troll things like Dragapult and opposing Gholdengo even Cinderace as well as other special revenge killers like Bundle if Scales as so have their unique usage. Set can be the same as defensive NP set but might prefer SpD EVs for both. WBB on Kingambit can let it handle most Fire-types, although can get owned by HJK or CC from Ace and Ceruledge respectively if they choose to use it but hey it uniquely handles Chi-Yu compared to WBB Ghold (excluding MBreaker). FC on both Volc and Polt sound like memes but can be scary asf as they boost the other side and become unkillable as well as offensively check things that could blow them up.

Sets

Kingambit @ Leftovers
Ability: Well-Baked Body
Tera Type: Dark
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD (Might want more defensive EVs)
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Iron Head / Stealth Rock / Protect
- Kowtow Cleave
- Sucker Punch

Chi-Yu @ Choice Specs / Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Mold Breaker
Tera Type: Dark
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Dark Pulse
- Fire Blast / Flamethrower
- Will-O-Wisp / Nasty Plot
- Psychic

Polteageist @ Leftovers
Ability: Fur Coat
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Strength Sap
- Stored Power / Will-O-Wisp
- Shadow Ball

Volcarona @ Heavy-Duty Boots / Leftovers / Life Orb
Ability: Fur Coat
Tera Type: Bug
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Quiver Dance
- Fiery Dance
- Morning Sun
- Bug Buzz / Giga Drain / Psychic / Will-O-Wisp

 

[Klod Praisor]

For skeledirge, I think purifying salt might be an alternative option, since it neutralizes croc's ghost weakness while still retaining some of the benefits of good as gold such as immunity to statuses (even prevent hax/*the poisoning from* toxic spikes), and a weakness policy+shadow ball + torch song + will-o/flame charge + slack off set can bait and punish dengo/dragapult/knock off users/*many* variants of corvi pretty hard. *It has some drawbacks, such as being a less effective hazard removal blocker due to losing immunity to defog, but I find this variant works decently.*

*Skeledirge @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Purifying Salt
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 144 HP / 252 SpA / 112 Spe
Modest Nature
- Torch Song
- Slack Off
- Flame Charge
- Shadow Ball
I am currently running an Offensive set, after 1 flame charge will outspeed non-scarf dengo variants. The spread can probably be more optimized but this seems serviceable at the moment. *

Edits are marked with *

 

[Isaiah]

Mini VR!
(LAST UTD: January 14th, 2023)​

Hi, pending a more stable metagame, here's a mini VR that only goes to A- to give a general idea of at least where the top end of the meta stands right now. Expect a more extensive update after the FurScales suspect + w/e tiering action follows (if any), but for now, have this a resource :]

*Bold = Most popular/viable

Quadruple Ubers

Corviknight	Ice Scales, Well-Baked, Fur Coat, Fluffy, Unaware, Intimidate
Dragapult	Magic Guard, Sheer Force, Hadron Engine
Gholdengo	Almost Any Ability: Well-Baked Body, Earth Eater, Regenerator, Fur Coat, Ice Scales, Water Absorb, Magic Guard, Bulletproof, Good as Gold, Levitate, Mold Breaker, Pressure
Great Tusk	Regenerator, Mold Breaker, Fur Coat, Tough Claws

A Rank
A+

Clodsire	Fur Coat, Ice Scales, Toxic Debris, Prankster
Florges	Ice Scales, Fur Coat
Garganacl	Fur Coat, Ice Scales, Good as Gold
Iron Bundle	Primordial Sea, Adaptability, Tinted Lens, Magic Guard
Iron Hands	Regenerator, Triage, Fur Coat, Ice Scales, Earth Eater, Well-Baked Body
Iron Moth	Desolate Land, Opportunist
Iron Valiant	Sheer Force, Sword of Ruin, Magic Guard
Volcarona	Fur Coat, Desolate Land

A

Baxcalibur	Mold Breaker, Sword of Ruin, Technician
Cinderace	Orichalcum Pulse, Magic Guard, Desolate Land
Chi-Yu	Mold Breaker, Desolate Land, Sheer Force
Dragonite	Aerilate
Garchomp	Regenerator, Fur Coat, Ice Scales
Iron Treads	Regenerator, Well-Baked Body, Earth Eater
Kingambit	Well-Baked Body, Adaptability, Regenerator, Earth Eater
Scream Tail	Regenerator, Fur Coat, Ice Scales
Skeledirge	Good as Gold, Desolate Land, Fur Coat
Ting-Lu	Regenerator, Ice Scales

A-

Hippowdon	Fur Coat
Noivern	Aerilate
Roaring Moon	Regenerator, Sword of Ruin
Slither Wing	Tinted Lens, Orichalcum Pulse, Regenerator

E: I suppose you COULD do VR noms for this if you really want to...

 

[Iynhe]

TL;DR
Sheer Force for Roaring Moon and Iron Moth.
Tough Claws for Great Tusk.
Trace for Gholdengo.

Let me nominate two abilities on two mons.

Great Tusk @ Choice Band
Ability: Tough Claws
Tera Type: Ground
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Headlong Rush
- Close Combat
- Ice Spinner
- Knock Off

Tough Claws on Great Tusk is better than Adaptability rn, imho.
Literally everyone has both a ghost and a flying type in their teams, making its STABs not as spammable as Terrakion's last gen. Sadly. GT is also slower, which makes for a bad and sad Terrakion impression.
But since everyhing likes to switch in anyway, Ice Spinner and Knock Off still do a lot of damage.

Gholdengo @ Leftovers
Ability: Trace
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Shadow Ball
- Recover
- Substitute

I put kind of random EVs on this.
Trace is where the heat is. Why? It already has 14 different viable abilities to choose from. At least now you can also have fun while playing it.

EDIT: ALMOST FORGOT

Roaring Moon @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Dragon Rush
- Crunch
- Iron Head

The first real physical SFLO user we've ever had. You DD once, you click funny moves, you miss because the opposing pokemon does not take damange from Crunch and Iron Head (only from Dragon Rush) and you dream of what it could have been.
When it hits, it HITS.

Iron Moth @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fire Blast
- Sludge Wave
- Energy Ball // Discharge
- Agility

This is modest because I thought "heh, I'm going to click Agility every time anyway." Wrong, but it HURTS. I think I did 60% to IS Corviknight. I should check.
252+ SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Iron Moth Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Ice Scales Corviknight: 282-333 (70.5 - 83.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
Oh wait, it was more.

Discharge can be used but it hurts less. At least you have another way to hit flying mons I guess, I really don't remember why I sometimes played it over a Grass move.

 

[heavenleyturnip]

What do you guys say about:
Rough Skin Corviknight
Prankster Skeledirge
Guts Great Tusk

 

[Chrizzztopherb]

loaded dice is busted, heracross can re-live his mega era and even kyurem-Black can be a menace in AG with it

Roaring Moon @ Loaded Dice
Ability: Dazzling
Tera Type: Dragon
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Scale Shot
- Crunch
- Iron Head
- Dragon Dance

unfortunaly, this is the only thing that learns scale shot before home comes out so... is the only thing to recreate kyurem-b i guess.

 

[Isaiah]

VR UPDATE!​

> If anything looks off, please notify someone on council so we can get it fixed :P
> As usual, any noms or questions about certain rankings can be posted below :]

Viability Rankings + Sample Sets (and Analyses)
(current as of February 08, 2023)​

* Only up to the top three most relevant abilities for each Pokemon are listed, in alphabetical order. If you're wondering about the viability of any ability not listed, feel free to ask about it in this thread :]

S Rank
S
Gholdengo	Earth Eater, Magic Guard, Well-Baked Body
Great Tusk	Regenerator, Scrappy
A Rank
A+
Corviknight	Intimidate, Regenerator, Well-Baked Body
Dragonite	Aerilate
Garganacl	Earth Eater, Good as Gold, Sand Stream
A
Baxcalibur	Sword of Ruin, Technician
Cinderace	Magic Guard, Orichalcum Pulse
Iron Moth	Desolate Land, Sheer Force
Kingambit	Adaptability, Earth Eater, Well-Baked Body
Noivern	Aerilate
Roaring Moon	Regenerator, Sword of Ruin
A-
Ceruledge	Desolate Land, Turboblaze, Orichalcum Pulse
Chien-Pao	Queenly Majesty, Magic Guard, Sword of Ruin
Garchomp	Regenerator
Gengar	Beads of Ruin, Hadron Engine, Sheer Force
Scream Tail	Pixilate,Unaware, Regenerator
Ting-Lu	Regenerator
B Rank
B+
Chi-Yu	Desolate Land, Turboblaze, Sheer Force
Dondozo	Fluffy, Magic Guard
Greninja	Magic Guard, Primordial Sea
Houndstone	Supreme Overlord, Surge Surfer
Meowscarada	Sword of Ruin, Queenly Majesty
Quaquaval	Magic Guard, Primordial Sea
Sandy Shocks	Hadron Engine
Slither Wing	Orichalcum Pulse, Sword of Ruin, Tinted Lens
B
Armarouge	Psychic Surge
Barraskewda	Primordial Sea
Clodsire	Earth Eater, Prankster, Vessel of Ruin
Cyclizar	Regenerator
Iron Treads	Earth Eater, Regenerator, Well-Baked Body
Kilowattrel	Primordial Sea
Skeledirge	Desolate Land, Earth Eater, Good as Gold
Tauros-Paldea-Blaze	Orichalcum Pulse
Tauros-Paldea-Aqua	Primordial Sea
Volcarona	Desolate Land
B-
Florges	Unaware, Vessel of Ruin
Orthworm	Regenerator
Polteageist	Psychic Surge, Queenly Majesty
Rotom-Wash	Hadron Engine, Primordial Sea, Vessel of Ruin
Slowking	Fluffy, Intimidate
C Rank
C+
Gardevoir	Prankster, Tinted Lens
Gyarados	Fluffy
Hippowdon	Fluffy, Intimidate
C
Glimmora	Corrosion, Earth Eater, Sheer Force
C-
Blissey	Good as Gold, Vessel of Ruin
Palossand	Good as Gold, Unaware
Tinkaton	Regenerator, Tinted Lens
Toxapex	Corrosion, Prankster

 

[heavenleyturnip]

VR UPDATE!​

> If anything looks off, please notify someone on council so we can get it fixed :P
> As usual, any noms or questions about certain rankings can be posted below :]

Prankster spidops is very good in its niche, and is on every HO team in low ladder. It should have a place on the viability rankings. B-?

 

[Codename C.A.T]

Initial thoughts:

Ting-Lu: A- to B/B+
This thing is only B+ on a really good day. Takes your regen slot away from Tusk, extremely passive, loses to every hazard removal option we have, I just don’t see why you would use this thing over defensive Tusk aside from the admittedly nice Dark typing.
Hatterene: UR to B
Pretty solid Tricker with Specs and can clean the lategame with Draining Kiss. On hyper offense, you can use it as a priority Healing Wish user for the lategame. I have a feeling that it was probably just forgotten on the spreadsheet.
Toxapex: C- to UR
This Pokémon has never done anything, no matter what team I’ve seen it used on. All the setup threats it’s supposed to check either PP stall it or just kill it. Absolutely awful, too little for even C- imo.

 

[Codename C.A.T]

now that im home i can do a proper nom for the vr

Palafin (Zero to Hero): UR to C+
Palafin provides a genuinely useful niche in SV AAA. Its main boon over other waters is Taunt, allowing it to shut down Corviknight's recovery and chip it down over the course of a game. Taunt also lets it block hazards from Ting-Lu or Garchomp, and makes it much more difficult to switch into with something like a Hatterene or a Dondozo. Its Flip Turn is also quite strong despite low base power, and it can act as an offensive-defensive check to Great Tusk and even Kingambit if you decide to use Drain Punch(which you should, it's great). The last slot is up for debate, but I think Jet Punch or Ice Punch are the best options for the big smacks against Banded Tusk and Dragonite respectively.

 

[Hera]

Quick thoughts:

Unpopular opinion but this thing SUCKS. The inherently linearity of using Houndstone + the fact that it only really works in 2vX or 1vX scenarios means it needs tons of support to get past its checks, unlike other B+ mons like Meow and Greninja that are solid in their own right, and it ends up being easy to plan for in builder and in game. Supreme Overlord sets have ended up being too slow or too weak in my experience, while Surge Surfer sets mandate one of the 3 viable Hadron users for a set that may not even get 3 turns to break. I've found Houndstone to be an inconsistent wincon at best, and would like to see it drop to like B- or something.

Slash Unaware, with its great physical bulk + Curse it can blanket wall pretty much every physical setup sweeper and is much more useful than Fluffy into mons like Dragonite, where Quake just doesn't care.

+1ing this, was using Band with Drizzle support before the Iron Bundle ban and it did serviceably, so with DesoLand no longer being spammed it should do much better. BU sets sound cool but you beat everything with Toxic with a +1 Wave Crash anyway (no one is using WA Clod and Toxapex might as well not exist), so I would suggest sticking with Banded sets.

UR to C-, unblockable Spin + outspeeding defensive Tusk and being the only long-term spinblocker in the tier is HUGE for defensive teams. Sap having 16 PP makes it a lot harder to stall out, it sits in front of the Regen Grounds for days, and it even gets Spikes for that extra role compression. It's not amazing but let it join its stall brethren in C-.

 

[LordBox]

Wait, the VR has already been updated?

Supporting the demotion of both, although Houndstone is sketch. Ting-Lu I just really dislike with how ultra-passive it can feel with no pivot or other ways to really do anything but stack hazards and its typing isn't all that great against the meta with the offensive mons roaming around (Gren, Meowscarada, Tusk, OPulse, SlitherWing, etc*). Houndstone I still believe can be a superbly powerful cleaner but it only really belongs on HO team as otherwise you're effectively playing 5-6.

B- to B
Can't believe you'd disrespect my homeboy like this. Doesn't deserve to be in a tier with mons that I've literally never seen before and a HO-specific mon. On why actually, its Hadron Engine sets are actually pretty cool and are, imo, nearly or on-par with Sandy Shocks. Granted it has less speed and power by a fair margin, but Water STAB to more efficiently blow up Grounds like Ting-Lu and Nasty Plot are fairly big boons, along with neat options in Trick and Wisp Sandy Shocks doesn't have. If you won't put it at the same tier, at least just a tier below it.

B+ to A-
So far, from what I can tell, Greninja is a really cool and versatile (or well, slappable) offensive mon. Specs is a cool option with great power and fairly spammble Water STAB, a good speed tier and U-Turn. Scarf makes Greninja an excellent speed control option and revenge killer, still packing decent power with Beads of Ruin/PSea and still able to spam U-Turn as well both able to pack some more utility with Switcheroo. These alone fit on a wide variety of teams for me but there's also more experimental sets like Mixed which are interesting and can let it blow past some of its usual checks like Iron Moth.

Also where is the RegenVest Roaring Moon set for its SmogDex, probably the best set right now, imo. Kilowattrel (B to B+), Kingambit (A to A-/B+) and Ceruledge (A- to A) I also see as tentative in their positions, although not fully sure if they need to change.

 

[clovre]

I mostly agree with the VR, but I would like to nominate Lucario for C- or C tier.

set

Lucario @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
Tera Type: Fighting
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Steel Beam
- Focus Blast
- Vacuum Wave/Shadow Ball
- Nasty Plot

This set is incredibly powerful, being able to spam Steel Beam is amazing, and it hits common threats like Garganacl, Gholdengo, Baxcaliber, Chien-Pao and Kingambit. The only thing holding it back is its poor defensive typing, being weak to many common Pokemon, such as Great Tusk, which is arguably the most used Pokemon in the tier. Despite that setback, I beleive Lucario deserves a place on the VR.

 

[BugGoBrrrrrr]

Y’all are sleepin on my main man too much

The demon

POOH SHEISTY (Iron Jugulis) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
Tera Type: Dark
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Dark Pulse
- Hurricane
- Focus Blast / Earth Power
- Flamethrower

This mon does DAMAGE with its sflo hurricanes
Now while I will say sitting right below the 110 bench mark that is so coveted rn in aaa sucks it makes up for that in raw power of its stabs + coverage
This thing does an amount of damage to corv 252 SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Iron Jugulis Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Corviknight: 169-200 (42.2 - 50%) -- 31.3% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery.
And while yes…garganacl is running rampant rn as a spdef wall with sand stream…and noivern is just a better flying spammer…and there are quite a few better sflo options…and being weak to bax ice shard kinda sucks…and weak to rocks…this thing packs a PUNCH and I think, while outclassed by noivern in special flying spammer, this mon deserves a spot on the VR, not very high up, but a spot nonetheless.
Maybe…C-/C/C+, yeah it’s outclassed, but that’s just because noivern is broken
Oh also you can go modest just hope they aren’t running timid base 100s (in other words don’t go modest)

 

[Klod Praisor]

Jolteon @ Choice Specs
Ability: Hadron Engine
Tera Type: Electric
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
- Shadow Ball
- Hyper Voice

would like to nominate hadron engine jolteon to be at least C rank. It is one of the best special wall breaker imo, as well as an extremely hard-to-punish lead mon. Specs can naturally outspeed some scarf users such as non-surger houndstone and OHKO, while scarf has a chance to OHKO surger houndstone after stealth rock. The main competition is sandy shocks, which trades away the blazing speed and spec boost of jolteon for durability and way better typing. Overall a surprisingly good mon for hyper offensive team. It is a bit less splashable due to its offensive nature, but still a very good wallbreaker that has some surprise factor right now.

Floatzel @ Choice Band
Ability: Primordial Sea
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Wave Crash
- Aqua Jet
- Ice Spinner
- Brick Break

also would like to nominate primordial sea floatzel, basically the physical equivalent to jolteon. I prefer adamant for the hard-to-switch-in wave crashes and the powerful aqua jet revenge kills, while timid has some of the benefit of jolteon, being able to naturally outspeed some scarfers and other non-scarf speedy threats. It absolutely destroys opposing garg and hard punishes physically bulky mons such as corvi, dengo, great tusks, etc. It also faces similar competition much like jolteon in that there are other primordial sea users who are a lot bulkier than floatzel, but again, floatzel's natural speed paired with the choice boosting item is its main strength, and in some sense pure water is slightly better than having a secondary typing (It basically runs only wave crash and aqua jet anyways).

 

[NToTheN]

I would love to see a specially defensive Roaring Moon set in smogdex. This is one I saw that I liked (disclaimer I didn't come up with this):

set

Roaring Moon @ Leftovers
Ability: Vessel of Ruin
EVs: 252 HP / 176 SpD / 80 Spe
Careful Nature
- Crunch
- Roost
- U-turn
- Earthquake

EV spread is to outspeed maximum speed Gholdengo while maximizing special defense. This can be tweaked. Its resistances make it very valuable defensively, and it has good synergy with Corviknight and Gholdengo. Additionally, its great special bulk lets it check a plethora of special attackers, such as Gholdengo, Iron Moth, Gengar, Greninja, Skeledirge, Kilowattrel, Sandy Shocks, etc. It also does not take away many important ability slots for teammates since Vessel of Ruin is not commonly used. Furthermore, its large base attack stat means that it can still be threatening even when uninvested. Crunch is the primary mode of dealing damage, and threatens Gholdengo and other Ghost-type Pokemon. It is obvious why Roost and U-Turn are used. Earthquake damaged Garganacl, Kingambit, and relevant Fire-type Pokemon. You could use something else like Iron Head or Taunt, but I haven't used those so I don't know how good they are.

Basically it is a good check to a lot of the tier's special attackers that synergizes well with some top Pokemon and does not take away important ability slots. It fits well on offense teams well because of its tankiness and access to U-Turn without being passive.

 

[Codename C.A.T]

Woohoo, new viability noms!

Middle of a suspect, but I’m still gonna do noms. They’re just fun, and it lets me contribute to the resources with r

Iron Moth: A to A+ (Desolate Land, Sheer Force, Earth Eater)
Extremely splashable glue on any team that performs very consistently on a game to game basis. Checked by Well-Baked Body Corviknight until it uses Discharge, checked by RegenVest Great Tusk until it uses SFLO Energy Ball, checked by SpDef Scream Tail until it uses Sludge Wave, the list goes on. Absolutely incredible mon atm, worthy of A+.

Garganacl: A+ to A (Earth Eater, Sand Stream, Good As Gold)
Garganacl has fallen off slightly after the Orichalcum Pulse and Noivern bans. Key word, slightly. It’s still Garganacl, does the same thing as always. Immense pressure with Salt Cure, checks plenty of dangerous threats, supports with Rocks, very easy to fit.

Garchomp: A- to A (Regenerator, Adaptability, Toxic Debris)
Defensive Garchomp is…pretty bad, honestly. However, offensive Garchomp is absolutely incredible! Its mixed set consistently switches in and threatens big damage against the two hazard removers(Great Tusk and Corviknight) if they aren’t specifically RegenVest Ice Spinner or WBB respectively. It uses these as opportunities to set up Spikes, and those Spikes make it even more efficient at cleaving through the other team. Admittedly, I think A may be a bit of a gamble, but I’ve had it put in serious work on a game to game basis, and I think I’m up for putting it in such a high spot.

Ting-Lu: A- to B (this Pokémon makes me so mad I forgot to put its abilities in but Regenerator)
The same thing I said in my last noms, but harsher. This Pokémon has done nothing in every instance I’ve seen of it. All it can do is sit there, maybe click Ruination once, get up hazards, and immediately die afterwards because Tusk got two Bulk Ups while it was fucking around. Want to Whirlwind that? Well, guess what, any good team will threaten Ting-Lu naturally by just existing. I cannot get over how god awful this is. It forces a Regen slot to be given to it instead of Great Tusk, and it doesn’t have the reward for taking that slot that other Regen users have.

 

[LordBox]

The speed tiers table hasn't been updated for ages (since the 14th of December.... nearly 3 months!) So I decided to prune (rid of Fluttermane, Iron Hands, Noivern, etc*) and add some sets (Greninja, Scarf Meowscarada, Barraskewda, Hydreigon... even if it's not on the VR Hydreigon is real I swear!). On that topic actually, Hydreigon deserves to be on the VR (Tatsurigi also works surprisingly well with Specs/NP and has Rapid Spin... for some reason) although this could change depending on shifts in meta, Talonflame though is pretty neat and loses a solid check in WBB Ghold (Somewhere around B- to C+ is probably suitable as they hold small niches but they work well). Hariyama is also surprisingly decent in sweeping frailer balance teams so might be worth mentioning? Also some sets are pretty horribly outdated (Chi-Yu analysis still has Ice Scales mention!) but I assume they'll be worked on, also where MGLO Ace set on SmogDex? .

Speed	Sprite	Pokemon	Base	IVs	EVs	Nature
656	(+2)	Volcarona	100	31	252	Positive
598	(+2)	Volcarona	100	31	252	Neutral
568	(+2)	Dragonite	80	31	252	Positive
568		Meowscarada	123	31	252	Positive
565		Greninja	122	31	252	Positive
562		Cyclizar	121	31	252	Positive
555	(+1)	Roaring Moon	119	31	252	Positive
529	(+1)	Maushold	111	31	252	Positive
524	(+2)	Polteageist	70	31	252	Positive
518	(+2)	Dragonite	80	31	252	Neutral
514		Greninja	122	31	252	Neutral
505	(+1)	Roaring Moon	119	31	252	Neutral
499		Garchomp	102	31	252	Positive
492	(+1)	Chi-Yu, Volcarona	100	31	252	Positive
481	(+1)	Maushold	111	31	252	Neutral
478	(+2)	Polteageist	70	31	252	Neutral
478		Iron Moth	110	31	252	Neutral
451		Sandy Shocks	101	31	252	Neutral
448	(+1)	Chi-Yu, Volcarona	100	31	252	Neutral
447		Rotom-Wash	86	31	252	Positive
442	(+1) (+1)	Ceruledge, Quaquaval	85	31	252	Positive
430		Slither Wing	81	31	252	Positive
426	(+1)	Dragonite	80	31	252	Positive
409		Armarouge	75	31	252	Positive
408		Barraskewda	136	31	252	Positive
406		Rotom-Wash	86	31	252	Neutral
405		Chien-Pao	135	31	252	Positive
403	(+1) (+1)	Ceruledge, Quaquaval	85	31	252	Neutral
391		Slither Wing	81	31	252	Neutral
388	(+1)	Dragonite	80	31	252	Neutral
386		Talonflame	126	31	252	Positive
383		Kilowattrel	125	31	252	Positive
379		Meowscarada	123	31	252	Positive
377		Greninja	122	31	252	Positive
375		Cyclizar	121	31	252	Positive
370		Roaring Moon, Cinderace	119	31	252	Positive
369		Chien-Pao	135	31	252	Neutral
353		Maushold	111	31	252	Positive
350		Iron Moth, Gengar	110	31	252	Positive
346		Iron Jugulius	108	31	252	Positive
343		Greninja	122	31	252	Neutral
337		Roaring Moon	119	31	252	Neutral
333		Garchomp	102	31	252	Positive
331		Sandy Shocks	101	31	252	Positive
328		Chi-Yu, Volcarona	100	31	252	Positive
324		Hydreigon	98	31	252	Positive
321		Maushold	111	31	252	Neutral
319		Iron Moth	110	31	252	Neutral
315		Iron Jugulis	108	31	252	Neutral
301		Sandy Shocks	101	31	252	Neutral
299		Chi-Yu, Volcarona	100	31	252	Neutral
298		Rotom-Wash	86	31	252	Positive
295		Ceruledge, Quaquaval	85	31	252	Positive
295		Hydreigon	98	31	252	Neutral
292	(+1)	Iron Treads	106	0	0	Negative
287		Slither Wing	81	31	252	Positive
284		Dragonite	80	31	252	Positive
279		Florges	75	31	0	Neutral
274		Roaring Moon	119	31	0	Neutral
271		Rotom-Wash	86	31	252	Neutral
269		Ceruledge, Quaquaval	85	31	252	Neutral
262		Polteageist	70	31	252	Positive
261		Slither Wing	81	31	252	Neutral
259		Dragonite	80	31	252	Neutral
258		Scream Tail	111	31	0	Neutral
256		Iron Moth	110	31	0	Positive
243		Tyranitar	61	31	252	Positive
240		Garchomp	102	31	0	Positive
239		Polteageist	70	31	252	Neutral
236		Volcarona	100	31	0	Neutral
224		Tinkaton	94	31	0	Neutral
221		Tyranitar	61	31	252	Neutral
218		Kingambit	50	31	252	Positive
216		Brambleghast	90	31	0	Neutral
208		Rotom-Wash	86	31	0	Neutral
199		Kingambit	50	31	252	Neutral
195		Iron Treads	106	0	0	Negative
186		Florges	75	31	0	Neutral
170		Corviknight	67	31	0	Neutral
168		Skeledirge	66	31	0	Neutral
166		Orthworm	65	31	0	Neutral
156		Sylveon	60	31	0	Neutral
146		Blissey	55	31	0	Neutral
136		Chansey, Kingambit	50	31	0	Neutral
125		Corviknight	67	0	0	Negative
124		Skeledirge	66	1	0	Negative
124		Hippowdon	47	25	0	Neutral
124		Ting-Lu	45	29	0	Neutral
106		Garganacl, Toxapex, Palossand, Spidops, Dondozo	35	31	0	Neutral
104		Gastrodon	39	31	0	Negative
96		Amoonguss, Slowbro	30	31	0	Neutral
94		Hatterene	29	31	0	Neutral
92		Avalugg	28	31	0	Neutral
76		Clodsire	20	31	0	Neutral
58		Slowking	30	0	0	Negative

 

[cat]

While we are on the topic of updating, we should remove Baxcalibur, Great Tusk, Gholdengo and Houndstone from the VR, and I propose adding Zoroark-Hisui to A or A- for now. I think it definitely deserves a spot on the VR, around the likes of Gengar, another special attacking Ghost that uses Sheer Force. Of course, this might still be too early for it, and if it is I hope you keep it in mind

 

[UT]

While we are on the topic of updating, we should remove Baxcalibur, Great Tusk, Gholdengo and Houndstone from the VR, and I propose adding Zoroark-Hisui to A or A- for now. I think it definitely deserves a spot on the VR, around the likes of Gengar, another special attacking Ghost that uses Sheer Force. Of course, this might still be too early for it, and if it is I hope you keep it in mind

Removed the yeeted guys; we are planning a full revamp of the VR soon!

The speed tiers table hasn't been updated for ages (since the 14th of December.... nearly 3 months!) So I decided to prune (rid of Fluttermane, Iron Hands, Noivern, etc*) and add some sets (Greninja, Scarf Meowscarada, Barraskewda, Hydreigon... even if it's not on the VR Hydreigon is real I swear!). On that topic actually, Hydreigon deserves to be on the VR (Tatsurigi also works surprisingly well with Specs/NP and has Rapid Spin... for some reason) although this could change depending on shifts in meta, Talonflame though is pretty neat and loses a solid check in WBB Ghold (Somewhere around B- to C+ is probably suitable as they hold small niches but they work well). Hariyama is also surprisingly decent in sweeping frailer balance teams so might be worth mentioning? Also some sets are pretty horribly outdated (Chi-Yu analysis still has Ice Scales mention!) but I assume they'll be worked on, also where MGLO Ace set on SmogDex? .

Speed	Sprite	Pokemon	Base	IVs	EVs	Nature
656	(+2)	Volcarona	100	31	252	Positive
598	(+2)	Volcarona	100	31	252	Neutral
568	(+2)	Dragonite	80	31	252	Positive
568	View attachment 497897View attachment 497899	Meowscarada	123	31	252	Positive
565	View attachment 497895View attachment 497896	Greninja	122	31	252	Positive
562		Cyclizar	121	31	252	Positive
555	(+1)	Roaring Moon	119	31	252	Positive
529	(+1)	Maushold	111	31	252	Positive
524	(+2)	Polteageist	70	31	252	Positive
518	(+2)	Dragonite	80	31	252	Neutral
514	View attachment 497901View attachment 497902	Greninja	122	31	252	Neutral
505	(+1)	Roaring Moon	119	31	252	Neutral
499		Garchomp	102	31	252	Positive
492	(+1)	Chi-Yu, Volcarona	100	31	252	Positive
481	(+1)	Maushold	111	31	252	Neutral
478	(+2)	Polteageist	70	31	252	Neutral
478		Iron Moth	110	31	252	Neutral
451		Sandy Shocks	101	31	252	Neutral
448	(+1)	Chi-Yu, Volcarona	100	31	252	Neutral
447		Rotom-Wash	86	31	252	Positive
442	(+1) (+1)	Ceruledge, Quaquaval	85	31	252	Positive
430		Slither Wing	81	31	252	Positive
426	(+1)	Dragonite	80	31	252	Positive
409		Armarouge	75	31	252	Positive
408	View attachment 497903	Barraskewda	136	31	252	Positive
406		Rotom-Wash	86	31	252	Neutral
405		Chien-Pao	135	31	252	Positive
403	(+1) (+1)	Ceruledge, Quaquaval	85	31	252	Neutral
391		Slither Wing	81	31	252	Neutral
388	(+1)	Dragonite	80	31	252	Neutral
386	View attachment 497912	Talonflame	126	31	252	Positive
383		Kilowattrel	125	31	252	Positive
379		Meowscarada	123	31	252	Positive
377	View attachment 497894	Greninja	122	31	252	Positive
375		Cyclizar	121	31	252	Positive
370	View attachment 497904	Roaring Moon, Cinderace	119	31	252	Positive
369		Chien-Pao	135	31	252	Neutral
353		Maushold	111	31	252	Positive
350	View attachment 497893	Iron Moth, Gengar	110	31	252	Positive
346	View attachment 497909	Iron Jugulius	108	31	252	Positive
343	View attachment 497894	Greninja	122	31	252	Neutral
337		Roaring Moon	119	31	252	Neutral
333		Garchomp	102	31	252	Positive
331		Sandy Shocks	101	31	252	Positive
328		Chi-Yu, Volcarona	100	31	252	Positive
324	View attachment 497908	Hydreigon	98	31	252	Positive
321		Maushold	111	31	252	Neutral
319		Iron Moth	110	31	252	Neutral
315		Iron Jugulis	108	31	252	Neutral
301	View attachment 497905	Sandy Shocks	101	31	252	Neutral
299		Chi-Yu, Volcarona	100	31	252	Neutral
298		Rotom-Wash	86	31	252	Positive
295		Ceruledge, Quaquaval	85	31	252	Positive
295	View attachment 497907	Hydreigon	98	31	252	Neutral
292	(+1)	Iron Treads	106	0	0	Negative
287		Slither Wing	81	31	252	Positive
284		Dragonite	80	31	252	Positive
279		Florges	75	31	0	Neutral
274	View attachment 497910	Roaring Moon	119	31	0	Neutral
271		Rotom-Wash	86	31	252	Neutral
269		Ceruledge, Quaquaval	85	31	252	Neutral
262		Polteageist	70	31	252	Positive
261		Slither Wing	81	31	252	Neutral
259		Dragonite	80	31	252	Neutral
258		Scream Tail	111	31	0	Neutral
256		Iron Moth	110	31	0	Positive
243		Tyranitar	61	31	252	Positive
240		Garchomp	102	31	0	Positive
239		Polteageist	70	31	252	Neutral
236		Volcarona	100	31	0	Neutral
224		Tinkaton	94	31	0	Neutral
221		Tyranitar	61	31	252	Neutral
218		Kingambit	50	31	252	Positive
216		Brambleghast	90	31	0	Neutral
208		Rotom-Wash	86	31	0	Neutral
199		Kingambit	50	31	252	Neutral
195		Iron Treads	106	0	0	Negative
186		Florges	75	31	0	Neutral
170		Corviknight	67	31	0	Neutral
168		Skeledirge	66	31	0	Neutral
166		Orthworm	65	31	0	Neutral
156		Sylveon	60	31	0	Neutral
146		Blissey	55	31	0	Neutral
136		Chansey, Kingambit	50	31	0	Neutral
125		Corviknight	67	0	0	Negative
124		Skeledirge	66	1	0	Negative
124		Hippowdon	47	25	0	Neutral
124		Ting-Lu	45	29	0	Neutral
106		Garganacl, Toxapex, Palossand, Spidops, Dondozo	35	31	0	Neutral
104		Gastrodon	39	31	0	Negative
96		Amoonguss, Slowbro	30	31	0	Neutral
94		Hatterene	29	31	0	Neutral
92		Avalugg	28	31	0	Neutral
76		Clodsire	20	31	0	Neutral
58		Slowking	30	0	0	Negative

I cannot express how happy I am you did this

 

[UT]

Hello friends; new VR just dropped, tell us what we got wrong.

Viability Rankings + Sample Sets (and Analyses)
(current as of March 16th, 2023)​

* Only up to the top three most relevant abilities for each Pokemon are listed. If you're wondering about the viability of any ability not listed, feel free to ask about it in this thread :]

Mons	Abilities
S Rank
lol banned	n/a
A Rank
A+
Corviknight	Intimidate, Well-Baked Body, Fluffy
Iron Moth	Desolate Land, Sheer Force, Hadron Engine
A
Dragonite	Aerilate
Garchomp	Regenerator, Fluffy
Garganacl	Sand Stream, Earth Eater
Gengar	Sheer Force, Hadron Engine, Beads of Ruin
Kingambit	Adaptability, Well-Baked Body, Earth Eater
Meowscarada	Sword of Ruin, Queenly Majesty
Roaring Moon	Regenerator, Sword of Ruin
A-
Chien-Pao	Magic Guard, Dazzling, Sword of Ruin
Cinderace	Desolate Land, Magic Guard
Greninja	Primordial Sea, Magic Guard
Iron Treads	Regenerator, Earth Eater, Well-Baked Body
Quaquaval	Magic Guard, Intimidate, Primordial Sea
Sandy Shocks	Hadron Engine
Talonflame	Magic Guard
Zoroark-Hisui	Sheer Force
B Rank
B+
Donphan	Regenerator
Hatterene	Triage
Hydreigon	Mega Launcher, Beads of Ruin, Dragon's Maw
Kilowattrel	Primordial Sea
Scream Tail	Unaware, Regenerator, Pixilate
Slither Wing	Sword of Ruin, Well-Baked Body, Tinted Lens
Ting-Lu	Regenerator
B
Barraskewda	Primordial Sea
Blissey	Regenerator, Magic Guard, Vessel of Ruin
Ceruledge	Desolate Land, Mold Breaker
Dondozo	Fluffy, Unaware, Magic Guard
Florges	Unaware, Vessel of Ruin
Gardevoir	Tinted Lens, Sheer Force
Goodra	Regenerator
Iron Leaves	Sharpness
Lucario	Magic Guard, Refrigerate
Orthworm	Regenerator, Well-Baked Body, Earth Eater
Rotom-Wash	Hadron Engine, Primordial Sea
Skeledirge	Water Absorb, Earth Eater
Toxapex	Prankster, Corrosion
Volcarona	Desolate Land, Magic Guard, Sheer Force
B-
Chi-Yu	Desolate Land, Sheer Force
Clodsire	Corrosion, Earth Eater, Prankster
Gyarados	Fluffy, Motor Drive
Hippowdon	Fluffy, Intimidate
Iron Jugulis	Sheer Force
Palafin	Zero To Hero
Polteageist	Dazzling
Slowking	Fluffy, Regenerator, Prankster
Tinkaton	Regenerator
C Rank
C+
Armarouge	Psychic Surge
Brambleghast	Triage, Fluffy
Glimmora	Corrosion, Earth Eater
Magnezone	Magic Guard
Pawmot	Tough Claws
Spidops	Prankster
C
Cyclizar	Regenerator
Drednaw	Primordial Sea, Magic Guard
Iron Thorns	Earth Eater

 

[BlackKnight_Gawain]

Hello friends; new VR just dropped, tell us what we got wrong.

Viability Rankings + Sample Sets (and Analyses)
(current as of March 16th, 2023)​

* Only up to the top three most relevant abilities for each Pokemon are listed. If you're wondering about the viability of any ability not listed, feel free to ask about it in this thread :]

Mons	Abilities
S Rank
lol banned	n/a
A Rank
A+
Corviknight	Intimidate, Well-Baked Body, Fluffy
Iron Moth	Desolate Land, Sheer Force, Hadron Engine
A
Dragonite	Aerilate
Garchomp	Regenerator, Fluffy
Garganacl	Sand Stream, Earth Eater
Gengar	Sheer Force, Hadron Engine, Beads of Ruin
Kingambit	Adaptability, Well-Baked Body, Earth Eater
Meowscarada	Sword of Ruin, Queenly Majesty
Roaring Moon	Regenerator, Sword of Ruin
A-
Chien-Pao	Magic Guard, Dazzling, Sword of Ruin
Cinderace	Desolate Land, Magic Guard
Greninja	Primordial Sea, Magic Guard
Iron Treads	Regenerator, Earth Eater, Well-Baked Body
Quaquaval	Magic Guard, Intimidate, Primordial Sea
Sandy Shocks	Hadron Engine
Talonflame	Magic Guard
Zoroark-Hisui	Sheer Force
B Rank
B+
Donphan	Regenerator
Hatterene	Triage
Hydreigon	Mega Launcher, Beads of Ruin, Dragon's Maw
Kilowattrel	Primordial Sea
Scream Tail	Unaware, Regenerator, Pixilate
Slither Wing	Sword of Ruin, Well-Baked Body, Tinted Lens
Ting-Lu	Regenerator
B
Barraskewda	Primordial Sea
Blissey	Regenerator, Magic Guard, Vessel of Ruin
Ceruledge	Desolate Land, Mold Breaker
Dondozo	Fluffy, Unaware, Magic Guard
Florges	Unaware, Vessel of Ruin
Gardevoir	Tinted Lens, Sheer Force
Goodra	Regenerator
Iron Leaves	Sharpness
Lucario	Magic Guard, Refrigerate
Orthworm	Regenerator, Well-Baked Body, Earth Eater
Rotom-Wash	Hadron Engine, Primordial Sea
Skeledirge	Water Absorb, Earth Eater
Toxapex	Prankster, Corrosion
Volcarona	Desolate Land, Magic Guard, Sheer Force
B-
Chi-Yu	Desolate Land, Sheer Force
Clodsire	Corrosion, Earth Eater, Prankster
Gyarados	Fluffy, Motor Drive
Hippowdon	Fluffy, Intimidate
Iron Jugulis	Sheer Force
Palafin	Zero To Hero
Polteageist	Dazzling
Slowking	Fluffy, Regenerator, Prankster
Tinkaton	Regenerator
C Rank
C+
Armarouge	Psychic Surge
Brambleghast	Triage, Fluffy
Glimmora	Corrosion, Earth Eater
Magnezone	Magic Guard
Pawmot	Tough Claws
Spidops	Prankster
C
Cyclizar	Regenerator
Drednaw	Primordial Sea, Magic Guard
Iron Thorns	Earth Eater

Loving the new shift, plenty of thoughts despite having maybe played a handful of games thanks to being forced to prep for non OM tiers (L).


Things I have tried though that I would love to see a placement for:




Slither Wing @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
Tera Type: Bug
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat/Low Kick
- First Impression/U-Turn/Dual Wingbeat/Leech Life
- Flare Blitz
- Wild Charge/Earthquake

This is an underrated mon that's been long overlooked and I'm so happy it's getting use now. This set in particular feels easily deserving of A-, while also having solid potential for optimization in set variety because this mon has options. Bulky pivot wisp/stunner for a hex spam partner like Zoro-H? Doable. Attacking sets get so many moves to pick from that 4MSS is a hindrace, even more so with immunity so your set of choice needs support, but imo MGLO is a very good option for this mon even with non-full attack sets.




Polteageist-Antique @ Focus Sash
Ability: Pixilate
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shell Smash
- Shadow Ball
- Tera Blast
- Stored Power


This is another set that while outclassed, is amazing if you can bluff it strongly. It has a hard reason to at least be considered, because being able to hit a regendark/dnite is immense while making people scared to click priority on it. Yes it needs more support to pull off, but in a meta where surprise factors are key to winning games this set can punch holes that you would have a tougher time with otherwise. Additionally, being able to run a different random dazzling is always nice for the salt inducing....


Can't think of any other changes I'd like to make atm, but will come back to this when I have some time to play a few games and maybe ladder for once instead of spectating

Or if other things get banned first you can never tell