| Smogon Username | Hippowdon: A+ -> A | Ferrothorn: A+ -> A/A- | Urshifu (Rapid Strike): A -> A+ | Celesteela: A+ -> A | Blaziken: B+ -> A- | Naganadel: B+ -> A- | Clefable: B -> B+ | Darmanitan (Galar): B -> B+ | Ninetales (Alola): B- ->B+ | Swampert: A- -> A+/A | Regieleki: A- -> B+ | Raikou: B -> B- | Thundurus (Incarnate): B -> B- | Togekiss: B -> B- |
| marilli | A. We've had this coming for a long time, as Yawn is getting more heavily counterprepped, AND things like CB Urshifu-RS add to the list of standard Pokemon that can 2HKO Hippo before they get both SR and Yawn going. BTW I don't think this exactly has to do with the rise of Swampert, they do compete for a role but I think Hippo was gonna fall regardless of Swampert rising. | A. I don't think Ferro deserves to be A-. It's still super meta relevant, but it just does not do well when Zapdos-Urshifu is the main format. | A+. Seems pretty obvious. | A. Celesteela could have fell more but A seems perfect now that the meta is centralizing against Zapdos/Urshifu and a lot of teams are leaving Celesteela coverage a lot laxer. Laxer of course taking into account every team has a Zapdos, but Airstreams into Rockfall will catch those people sleeping just because they have a Zapdos. | A- | A-. Both are fine. Not great but the other Pokemon in B+ seem a lot more niche / have blatant flaws. | B+ | B+ | B+ All are vastly superior to other Pokemon in B. Grimm and Mamo are also better than a lot of them but I think Clefable and Ninetales rising is the most urgent. | A. Water non-weakness is a really big deal. | B+. Yeah not great. | B is fine. | B- yeah sure I've rarely seen this actually be useful. | B is fine i think. I don't think Togekiss is actually that bad personally. |
| zaaya | A | A- | A+ | A | A- | A- | B+ | B+ | B+ | A | I'd drop lower if i could, B+ | B- | B- | B- |
| Breckinridge | A or A+. Hippo is just here to wall, set up rock, put something asleep and proceed to whirlwind your whole team away. Very annoying pokemon to deal with if you don't have a very strong pokemon to scare it away and even so it is very bulky to tank hits from Dynamax pokemon such as Zapdos or Cinderace and put them to sleep. | Any A and higher is fine for Ferro. The ability to leech, protect or Iron defense to body press annoys many pokemon in the meta and having the ability to easily set up rocks on any water type that isn't taunt fini is pretty good. | A. I don't think this pokemon should be A+ even with the diversity of its sets, it still is a threat don't get me wrong but the metagame is not very kind to this pokemon (Zapdos, Mimikyu, Cinderace, tapu fini, Dragonite). Urshifu Dark is far superior to this form, of course this doesn't mean that this pokemon is bad but A+ is just too high for this pokemon. | Even with the amount of Zapdos running around this pokemon can still be very annoying with Leech/Protect or the dynamax bulky attacker with weakness policy. I say this pokemon deserves this rank or higher just for the sheer unpredictability of what set it could be (special attacking set or the leech seed/protect stall variant) | A or A-. This pokemon can either sweep an entire team or get enough boost to baton pass to another poekmon that needs it. Very difficult to switch in/counter it because it is unpredictable in team preview but most if not all are just used for speed passing or WP pluck into setting up multiple of Sp def boost thanks to D max earthquake and passing it to another pokemon. The only thing beating this pokemon is a phaser such as Hippo. | A or A-. This pokemon is far better than Gen 7 thanks to dynamax, it could easily gain a speed boost while raising its own special atk due to Max ooze and it K,Oing another pokemon. Scarf Nagadel is somewhat seen but not as good as the dynamax one in my opinion. | B+ or A suits this pokemon. 3 sets that I've seen so far is the trick flame orb set that just cripples physical attackers, Unware stored power sets and the standard kee berry set. | Very predictable scarfer but hits very strong so B+ is suitable for this pokemon. There is very limited options that can stop this pokemon from just clearing out an annoying Zapdos or revenge killing something with its plethora amount of movesets it could run. | A-, Very high ranking for this pokemon mostly due to the most annoying thing to set up Screens or putting someone to sleep with hypnosis. With it's very fast speed, its guarantee to ohko urshifu dark with moonblast or set up screens on almost everything. Sheer cold is another thing this pokemon can run that can cripple most of the "counters" or switch ins that try to wall this pokemon. | A+, Very annoying to deal with sets it could run like Sitrus/Leftover Yawn, protect, flip turn and setting up rocks. due to how bulky it is, it can pretty much guarantee to set something to sleep or set up rocks providing there is no taunt users or Tapu fini that can beat it. | B. This pokemon is very predictable in team preview with its obvious ploy to set up screns and explode, other options could be specs but it does not beat the Reflect/Light screen Explosion set. | C at best, never seen this around anywhere even with its new feature of Scald, I guess a specs version a or sub calm mind set could work. | Agreed, it faces many difficulties ever since the prankster nerf and trying to compete with Zapdos. Honestly, I wouldn't mind seeing this pokemon lower, like B rank since most of the stuff that beats it are in the top 15 (minus Fini and Toxapex). | Agreed, Togekiss is rarely seen due to the most popular pokemon Zapdos always running, Nihilego and Heatran around which is one of the best if not the best switch in to Togekiss. |
| Psynergy | A | A, Ferro always good but it feels like we're past its peak now | A+, honestly long overdue imo | A, realistically we kept this in A+ for longer than it should have been | A-, still iffy on this one but when Blaziken works it snowballs hard so I think it's enough of a threat | A-, kind of same deal as Blaziken really but as a special attacker and different speed boosting condition | B+ | B+ | B+, yeah this thing happens to be good against meta threats despite bad stats, this seems about right. | A, Swampert is great but I feel like it's slightly short of being meta impactful enough for A+ for now | B+, very good at what it does but it lives and dies by how useful that niche is. Drop seems valid. | B, was very close to dropping it but looking at everything else in B- makes it feel out of place there. | B-, honestly don't see much reason I'd use this over other Electric-types | B, same deal as Raikou, drop sounds valid but I think it's better than the stuff in B- even though Zapdos destroyed its relevance |
| Theorymon | A | A | A+ | A | A- | A- | B | B+ | B+ | A | B+ | B | B | B- |
| Greilmercenary9 | A; Hippo dropped all the way to 20th in usage for Season 19 (June), five spots below the ascending Swampert. This shows it limitations in comparison--namely, that Flip Turn and only one weakness are huge advantages for Swamp. Hippo probably isn't even the best Rocks + Yawn user at this point which is a huge problem for it, and while Sand and better pure physical wall tools still give it a niche, it rightfully is dropping a bit with Swampert looking like it is indeed for real. | A; This is, to me, the closest call on this month's docket, and I'm on the fence here... Ferro is in a very odd position, losing pretty badly to several top 10 mons and most importantly the two hegemons in Zapdos and Cinderace, but directly checking Mimi/Fini/P2 and even Vish/Rillaboom (all top 12 mons in their own right) is extremely helpful... I think its usefulness in these roles is a huge boon, but the requirements in teambuilding to have a Water than can scare Ace in some way even after taking Pyro or even HJK chip is really annoying and probably puts it at the very, very top of A, although I'm still very much uncertain on this one | A+; Easy call here, the S9 meta has shifted hard back in Rapid Strike's favor and it rightfully vaulted Single Strike and moved to #7 overall this season; fantastic STABs and multi-hit are hard to come by, and while it does have more things that can switch into it than something like CB Single, it also isn't 4x weak to Fairy and also uses its multi-hit crits to huge advantage. | A+; While I can certainly see an argument for dropping Cele to A in a Zap + Ace world, I think that Cele has shown the tools to weather the storm and also is still versatile enough to fit in multiple archetypes... it has adapted well to this meta with more offensively pressuring sets, and while it will always suffer from the Zap + Ace hegemony, just like Ferro, it also is good enough against most of the rest of the meta to justify it anyway, and tools like Meteor Beam allow it to threaten those on a switch as well... IMO Cele got so overrated for a time during CT that it then deservedly cuaght flak, but maybe so much so that it's stealthily underrated by many now, kind of like Vish was pre-CT | A-; A worthy BP user, Blaziken separates itself from BP maven Scolipede by being just as dangerous and competent outside of BP as it is in such a chain. This versatility and immediate power is extremely valuable, as it means Blaze both doesn't necessarily hand the opponent the playbook in preview and can also effectively attack directly against mons equipped to blow up a BP strat through phazing, priority Taunt, or other similar means. Combine with good STABs and you have a strong package. A strong choice in the meta and one that can keep opponents guessing at preview trying to determine if you're planning to BP or just having Blaziken plow through the enemy team itself. | A-; Naga definitely has its faults, but with a speed tier that outruns Ace and useful complementary STAB for the normal problems Dragons have, I think this deserves A- | B+; Clef is always an annoying wincon to keep in mind, so while it certainly has limitations, its usefulness and even its ability to be versatile (fitting on BP, bulky offense, and so on) are worth consideration | B; it's definitely a threat, but it's super frail and weak to rocks in an age where Rocks have become as useful as ever in BSS, so despite the interesting Zen Darm usage that has sometimes cropped up on the ladder, I think a buff here might be asking too much, especially when it can't outspeed many +1 Zap or really any +1 Ace variants | B+; The rising star of screens setting, this deserves a bump as it is both effective high ladder and vaulted an amazing 20 spots (44 --> 24) in Season 19 usage | A; I think it was at the very end of Series 7 that players started to catch on just how important Flip Turn access was for this thing compared to, say, USM; Swampert does one thing, but it does it extremely well and arguably has usurped Hippo for best Rocks + Yawn mon. Easy rise, but a bit tougher on whether it's A or A+... going A for now just bc it doesn't really have versatility, but I can see an argument for A+ | B+; Following norrmal trends, the longer one meta goes on, the more bulkier builds tend to ascend to the top... Eleki doesn't really fit in that mold, and increasingly has to deal with competition from Ninetales-A as a screener since Aurora Veil gets them in one and Hail helps break Sashes, while more offensive Eleki will forever be plagued by not really being able to get through the increasing trend of bulky Grounds... way closer to B than A- IMO | B; Raikou probably has enough application at pressuring some common bulky offense cores to stay B along with its #54 usage mark in Season 19, but it admittedly feels like a niche pick for offensive teams that need a very specific way to bother P2/Cele/Fini type cores. | B-; As someone who has used this in practice last season due to using it on a semi-mono-Electric team I made for other pursuits, I can say that it has merits, but when you can't beat bulky Lando 1v1 despite Intimidate buffing your attack instead of debuffing it, I think that sums up some of its deficiencies well, to say nothing of the drawbacks of its best physical moves and special variants usually being inferior to its Therian forme; an amusing pick to mess around with, but only really effective in very specific contexts, which sounds a lot like B- to me | B-; Toge, who once was one of the hegemons, now sits at borderline irrelevancy, as it just doesn't handle a Zap + Ace + SpDef P2 + Mimi meta very well (and even stuff like Ursh does heavy damage to it if it doesn't have speed boosts). Not its best era in Gen 8 for sure. |
| cannot say | no | no | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | A | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| chemcoop | Yes, uptick in Urshifu-RS definitely sitting on this thing's viability as a lead | A, Ferro is still quite good at walling major meta mons like P2 and Fini, but increased Urshifu usage + omnipresent Zap/Ace has driven usage down significantly | Absolutely yes, this thing is incredibly good both as a choice user and as Sash Counter | Yes. Weak to Zap + Ace, the Meteor Beam set is no longer a surprise, and standard defensive can be muscled through/played around easily enough. | Yes, BlazePass setup teams have been gaining traction over the past few seasons and is a good enough strategy to need prep for | OK with this. NP with a higher base speed than both Ace + Zap and access to Wyrmwind to further protect itself from physicals threats. Feels like a bit of slept on threat | Definitely yes. Great way of slowing down BlazePass teams + also a good recipient for them. | No, don't really feel like the meta has shifted in a way that makes this thing more useful. | YES. Screens are back baby | I like this. Doesn't get punished as hard by something like CB Ursh-RS as Hippo does, and being able to Flip Turn out on Taunt/Yawned opponents is quite nice niche | Sure. Great screener and can be a big offensive threat in the perfect conditions, but every team having Chomp/Lando/Hippo makes it tough for this bouncy boi. Also Ninetales usage as a screener cuts into Regieleki's niche | Yes. What is a Raikou and where do you face them in BSS??? | Yes. Similar to comments on Raikou, why would you use this over Zapdos or Thund-T? | Fine with this, it's just inferior Zapdos that loses to everything Zapdos loses to |
to A-
, 
(w/ Iron Tail, currently at ~30% usage), 
, 
, 
, 
, 
and 
. Don't let the usage stats fool you; several of these share their usage across the board as "Zapdos counters," and seeing that Zapdos is everywhere you get to bring along a Nihilego counter at effectively no extra cost. Not all of these are hard counters and a several of these can't hard switch into Meteor Beam, but they can certainly revenge kill and either scare Nihilego away or force it to Dynamax if it wants any chance of an OHKO.
: drop to A
: rise to A-
: drop to B
: With Ferrothorn falling out of favor, the mon to benefit the most has probably been Dracovish as he is sitting pretty in top 10 usage currently. Ferrothorn could easily tank hits and heal back up, all while doing residual Iron Barbs damage. Other counters like Fini don't have that same survivability, and need items like Rocky Helmet to punish Dracovish passively (fwiw, Rocky Helmet is currently Fini's third most used item.) Ironically, Dracovish is mostly doing what its always done by clicking Scarf + Strong Jaw Fishious Rend, though some players have gotten creative with the off-coverage moves for sure (like running Mega Kick / Max Strike for speed control). Still, Rillaboom has also seen a big resurgence and Fini / Urshifu-R are still at large and make clicking Fishious Rend more complicated. I think moving it up to A+ might be immature, but its definitely worth discussing.
: So yeah, Swampert has jumped above Hippowdon in usage, with Hippowdon falling below the top 20. Slow Flip Turn is just that valuable. Truly crazy times for the hippo. I'm not sure what to do about this one though; Hippowdon certainly doesn't seem like it belongs in A+ anymore, but I wouldn't want to drop it any lower than A. So where does that put Swampert? Same tier in A? But then we have Rillaboom who has shot up. I honestly don't know what to make of these two right now.
: Rise to A-
: Rise to B / B+
