Dragapult from S to A+
The rise of Porygon2 and Tapu Fini has put a huge dent in Dragapult’s viability. Dragapult’s immediate power is also less than the other dragons, and Crowned Tundra’s reintroduction of the legends and their naturally high BSTs has made the meta overall bulkier. As a result, offensive Dragapult has suffered. Despite these changes to the meta, Dragapult is still dominant; Crowned Tundra hasn’t changed its role as fast team support, with an unpredictable pool of support options to disrupt the opponent. But with its offensive capabilities curtailed, I don’t think Pult can hold its spot in S-rank.
Tapu Fini from A+ to S
I think Dragapult’s slot in S should go to Tapu Fini and/or Hippowdon. This Pokemon is flexible, splashable, consistent, and powerful. It’s movepool is superficially shallow, but options like Draining Kiss, Iron Defense, Stored Power, Haze, Trick, Nature’s Madness, Icy Wind, even Soak all have potential. The real flexibility comes from its EV spreads; Tapu Fini base stats distribution supports fast offensive, slow defensive, and everything in between. It’s offensive and defensive coverage is excellent and has amazing synergy with other top threats like Landorus-T and Celesteela. And don’t even get me started on Misty Terrain. An absolutely phenomenal Pokemon, and I think only Hippo gives it any competition for the S-Rank slot.
Hippowdon stays A+ or moves to S
Ground is such an integral typing to building consistent teams in this metagame. Hippowdon is an excellent physical buffer that brings a lot of important utility. Rocks help manage things like WP Dragonite and Zapdos, Whirlwind stops Scolipede and Lando from setting up in your face, and Yawn is always fantastic. Hippowdon is also a surprisingly effective offensive Pokemon with Weakness Policy, as most of its standard switches like Tapu Fini don’t stand a chance of KOing it and it hits back hard with Max Lightning from Thunder Fang. But that set is more of a fun surprise option; if you are looking for consistency, keep Hippo on the defensive.
Ferrothorn from A+ to B+
Ferrothorn’s downfall was surprising and unsurprising; it is kind of hard to articulate. A lot of relevant Pokemon have coverage options that smack it really hard. Zapdos has Heat Wave, Celesteela Flamethrower, you get the idea. I think a lot of it comes down to the fact that the bulky Steel-type slot has more competition with Heatran and Celesteela. Ferrothorn still has its place; it absolutely crushes Nihilego, can annoy crap out of P2 and Tauntless Tapu Fini, and maintains its wide support movepool. When I look at the Pokemon in A tiers, I don’t see Ferrothorn anywhere near their levels of effectiveness. I had a lot of teams I built where I eventually dropped Ferrothorn.
Snorlax from A+ to A-
I haven’t been too impressed with Snorlax, but I am not confident enough in its unviability to drop it from the A ranks. I think the combination of Tapu Fini’s Defense and ability to protect allies from Yawn, new powerful physical attackers in the meta, and being total Leech Seed bait for Celesteela have hurt Snorlax’s options. Snorlax’s usage appears to be on the downtrend as well. I believe Snorlax has potential for a resurgence, especially with Custap Berry, but for now a drop in rank is warranted.
Excadrill from A to A-
Landorus-T and Celesteela make life really hard for Excadrill. Both of them threaten it immensely and it requires a Swords Dance to even stand a chance of threatening them back. I am not counting Excadrill out yet; if you can get past those Pokemon, Driller can still hit a lot of the top meta very hard, and Mold Breaker gives Rotom-Heat nightmares. It’s typing is also very useful against Nihilego.
Lapras stays A
I am not going to focus too much on Pokemon that keep their rank, but this is an exception because its usage is on the lower side. You don’t see many Lapras, but it's honestly still solid. It has the coverage to threaten a lot of the meta. It’s power comes up a little short at times for sure, but it’s bulk means it can trade very effectively. The biggest problem Lapras has is the fact it has absolute zero chance to break through Porygon2 and struggles heavily with Leech Seed Celesteela after Dynamax ends. I highly advise keeping Perish Song or Roar on Lapras, otherwise things like Cresselia will just set up on you for days.
Glastrier from A to A+
This thing is terrifying. It is absurdly tanky when Dynamaxed, and you almost NEVER want to try and hit a max Glastrier with a SE move out of fear for Weakness Policy. This effectively makes it even bulkier. When this Pokemon maxes, you enter survival mode for three turns, desperately trying to avoid giving it Chilling Neigh boosts. Honestly this Pokemon, Zapdos, and Celesteela are why I think Rotom-Heat is a top meta pick (I will get to that later.) Oh, and Glastrier also gets Swords Dance and can viably run Assault Vest too.
Naganadel from A to A+
Naganadel’s defensive capabilities leave a lot to be desired; it has very few things to confidently switch-in on. The offset is when Naganadel is in, it applies a ton of pressure with its Speed and coverage. Heatran or insanely bulky special defensive Pokemon like Nihilego and Blissey are the few safe answers to this monster. The trifecta of sets is Scarf, Specs, and Focus Sash. This Pokemon leaves little room for error. With Naganadel, guessing the wrong set can often cost you the game. It is #7 in usage for a reason.
Nihilego from A to A+
Nihilego has frighteningly high turn 1 snowball potential. The 84 HP / 172 SpA / 252 Spe Timid Meteor Beam set can run away with games if you don’t have a lead to match it or something like Excadrill or Metagross in the back. The other sets, such as Sash Hazards, Specs, Scarf, etc, are also still viable and only add to this Pokemon’s surprise factor. It has a glut of positive match-ups; most special attackers that can’t hit it super-effectively struggle to trade well with Nihilego.
Rillaboom from A to A-
There are more Flying-types than ever, and that makes Rillaboom a sad ape. It remains strong overall, stronger than I anticipated, but much of its effectiveness has been stymied. Being a real threat toTapu Fini is a nice trait, and it is still one of the better Grass-types to complete the FWG core, largely because Ferrothorn took such a big hit in viability.
Corviknight from A- to B
Everything running coverage for Celesteela also catches Corviknight in the cross-fire. With Skarmory getting Custap back for Sturdy shenanigans and Celesteela collecting the souls of anyone unfortunate enough to switch in Zapdos on Meteor Beam, Corviknight’s competition even among its own typing is the toughest it has ever been. I am not ready to completely write off Corviknight, but it is really hard to justify fitting it on a team when there are so many other good Flying- and Steel-types in the metagame.
Dracozolt from A- to B
I had pretty high hopes for Zolt, but they were quickly quashed by a Ground-type uprising against the terrifying Electric-types storming the metagame. Dracozolt is still a nightmare to switch on; Hippowdon and Swampert do not like eating Wyrmwinds from this threat. It just takes a lot of effort to get it in that position, and it is completely useless against a lot of fast, offensive threats like Latios, Garchomp, Naganadel, and Salamence. Being slower than Tapu Fini is also a pain, since it is a Pokemon you want your Electric-types to scare off.
Gyarados from A- to B+
Gyarados’ greatest and oldest foe, Zapdos, has returned. Painful electrocution aside, Gyarados’ 81 base Speed is much more noticeable with the introduction of Regieleki, putting Gyarados on edge even after an Airstream. Add to the fact the Salamence somewhat eclipses Gyarados’ niche, Gyarados has become a much more tame and less consistent fish in Series 7.
Heatran from A- to A
Ol’ reliable is back for another generation of high tier play. Heatran can struggle mightily with Landorus, Tapu Fini, Cinderace, and even Celesteela, but it makes up for that by being very threatening to other top threats, such as Mimikyu, Ferrothorn, and especially Naganadel. Heatran is still an excellent defensive piece in both Fire/Water/Grass and Dragon/Fairy/Steel cores, giving it a nice amount of overlapping synergy in teambuilding. Not much else to say, Heatran is solid.
Hydreigon from A- to C
This thing tanked. Okay, let’s look at the good: it’s still reasonably powerful with STAB Draco Meteor, it’s immune to Prankster, it's the best Dragon vs Cresselia, and can switch in on Earthquake. Now let’s look the bad: it gets smacked around by Landorus-T U-turn. It’s slower than Naganadel, Salamence, Lati@s, Dragapult, and Garchomp. It can barely touch Tapu Fini. It gets revenge killed all the time by Mimikyu and Pheromosa. Glastrier eats it alive unless it manages to somehow pull off a Nasty Plot. Oh, and it doesn’t even get special Max Airstream. I will give its Prankster immunity a passing grade and acknowledge its raw power, but Hydreigon is not sitting pretty in Series 7.
Regieleki from A- to A
I underestimated how consistent this Pokemon would be as a screener. Dual Screens + Explosion is a powerful momentum shift, but Regieleki can also sit on the backlines to threaten things like Gyarados and Celesteela. The pure offensive sets are easily countered, but extremely dangerous; this Pokemon is part of the reason why Ground is almost mandatory on every team.
Salamence from A- to A
The first few days on Crowned Tundra I thought Mence was going to be one of the best Pokemon in the format. Things have settled down and teams have gotten better at managing it, but Salamence is still a menace. People are sleeping on Scarf; being able to quick nab a KO without having to max is great, and it also makes Salamence less reliant on Airstream. Another cool set is special LO Salamence, but Dragonite’s access to Thunderbolt to zap Tapu Fini makes it slightly better at that role. Salamence is a solid Dragon-type that has powerful snowball potential. Too bad about, ya know, Ice Beam Porygon2.
Spectrier from A- to B
This Pokemon can absolutely run through teams… if you removed Porygon2, Dragapult, Urshifu, and Mimikyu. Being so vulnerable to some strongest Pokemon in the format puts Spectrier in an awkward position. Most teams at high levels will usually have one of those four, or Snorlax, Assault Vest Glastrier, or any other manner of Pokemon that can put Spectrier on hold. This Pokemon is very inconsistent, but when it gets a good matchup or the opponent let’s their Porygon2 drop oh MAN, you are off to the races.
Togekiss from A- to B+
Not a bad choice, but hard to fit on a team because it shares weaknesses with a lot of really good Pokemon. If you are going to use Togekiss, you have to build around it. You are never going to have a top level team where you are looking for a 5th and think “oh yeah, Togekiss is the pick!” If you build around it, Togekiss is good enough for B+ imo.
Aegislash from B+ to B
I almost NEVER see this Pokemon despite its adequate usage. Aegislash is decent enough, but it can struggle mightily with Pokemon such as Heatran and Rotom-H threatening to roast it. Special sets struggle to break Porygon2, and physical sets get Intimidated and threatened by Landorus-T. After some testing it feels consistent, but consistently above average, not exceptional.
Dragonite from B+ to A
Salamence and Dragonite occupying the same ranking feels viscerally wrong, but they deviate enough from each other that one does not eclipse the other. Dragonite’s advantage is most related to its superior coverage, ability to smack Porygon2 with Superpower, and Multiscale. If you can preserve Multiscale, Weakness Policy Dragonite can roll over teams. The safer, less explosive option is Boots Dragon Dance, but this set misses out one some of the valuable coverage offered by running 4 attacking moves.
Pheromosa from B+ to A-
This thing can be an absolute headache to deal with. Strong U-turn is scary enough, but when Pheromosa decides to go in, it can quickly snowball with Beast Boosts. It's naturally faster than common Scarfers and, unlike Regieleki, has the coverage to match. Don’t sleep on special Pheromosa either; access to Throat Spray Bug Buzz and Max Lightning through Electroweb can catch Tapu Fini completely off-guard, who is otherwise to most reliable Pheromosa switch.
Raikou from B+ to A-
Scald and Discharge make it a pain to switch on, Calm Mind makes it a formidable sweeper, and with Substitute + Leftovers, Zapdos and Porygon2 become set-up fodder. Raikou's offensive presence is not to be underestimated, especially with that wonderful base 115 Speed. It's biggest problem tends to be Dragon-types and Swampert, but it can always fish for a burn or para against them. Surprisingly good, worth trying if you haven't already.
Rotom (Heat) from B+ to A
An excellent anti-meta Pokemon. Non-Meteor Beam Celesteela hates this, it switches on Zapdos and Tapu Koko all day, it burns Mimikyu and Glastrier, Heatran almost never runs coverage for it, and you still get to roast Ferrothorn when needed. Heat and Wash Rotom are both effective in the current format, and which one you should use usually comes down to if your team already has Tapu Fini or Heatran.
Articuno (Galar) from B to C+
Articuno has a lot of upfront power and Competitive can screw over Landorus-t, but its typing and lower Defense leave it wide open for Mimikyu, Glastrier, Dragapult and others.. It also lacks critical coverage, relying on Shadow Ball to deal with the meta’s ubiquitous Steel-types. Articuno really suffers from 4MSS; if it could run Calm Mind / Recover / Freezing Glare / Hurricane (or Air Slash) / Shadow Ball, it would probably be the best of the Galar birds. Currently I think the best set is Choice Specs since you are less reliant on Competitive and Calm Mind to break down defensive threats. If you do nab a Competitive boost you can max for Airstreams, and finish off the game with Specs-boosted +2 STAB moves. On the bright side, at least Tyranitar isn’t that common!
Garchomp from B to A-
Garchomp is only A- because it can’t Airstream or Dragon Dance; if it got either I would argue it is the best Dragon. Instead Garchomp has to use “lol nice Defense” Scale Shot to boost its Speed. Garchomp and Tapu Fini are best friends, which might seem weird since Misty Terrain weakens Chomper’s Dragon moves. But Garchomp really just wants to be clicking Earthquake most of the time anyways, and Tapu Fini can get rid of Grassy Terrain while blocking status too! The things that you hit with Dragon STAB are usually unaffected by Misty Terrain or hit by Fire Fang, which is currently the coverage move to use. Garchomp’s ability to switch in on Electric moves is an excellent asset to Tapu Fini, Celesteela, and even Zapdos. Garchomp also threatens top threats like Nihilego, Heatran, and Regieleki. It can’t snowball as hard as Dragonite or Salamence and hates Landorus-t with a passion, but it is still a very effective Pokemon in the current metagame.
Porygon-Z from B to C++
Porygon-Z is a team preview check. It forces the opponent to bring specific things to deal with it. If your team can capitalize on that, it’s fine, but a lot of Pokemon can accomplish the same goal while also being way more useful in common match-ups. If there was a tier between B- and C+, I would put PZ in there. Nothing has really changed about PZ, but the meta is just bulkier overall, which is bad for it.
Scizor from B to C+
It’s fun to Bullet Punch Nihilego, but Scizor doesn’t have the coverage (unlike Durant) to hit the top threats in the metagame. That’s all I really have to say, Scizor has more bad matchups in Series 7 and is due for a drop.
Zapdos (Galar) from B to C+
Zapdos’ biggest problem is itself, or rather its Kantonian self. Zapdos-Galar’s Fighting-type gives it excellent offensive potential with Airstreams and Knuckles, but the typing also leaves it extremely vulnerable to other Airstream users, many of which outspeed or tie with it. Ultimately, this compounded with its Electric weakness and generally less useful resistances makes it an almost immediately inferior choice to Thundurus as a Defiant user, and Kantonian Zapdos as a, well, Zapdos. It's not completely unusable, but it's certainly suboptimal on a lot of teams.
Latias from B- to B
An extremely unpredictable Pokemon in almost every aspect: moveset, EVs, items, even nature. Is it Sub Stored Power? CM + 3 Attacks? Weakness Policy? Who frickin’ knows, I have seen almost every possible permutation of moves on this thing. Latias has the potential to beat almost all of its counters, but not all at once. As such, Latias tends to stomp or completely flop in battle. The real thing holding Latias back however is the prevalence of Mimikyu, Naganadel, Pheromosa, Porygon2, and Cinderace, all of which are huge headaches for the Eon twins.
Latios from B- to B
Latios is much more predictable than Latias: it’s almost always going to hit you and hit you very hard. It suffers from the same weaknesses as Latias, but is a lot harder to switch on due to its raw power and the threat of Trick or Memento. Its coverage options allow it to help cover some team weaknesses, but Latios itself needs a strong team to cover its glaring weaknesses in order to thrive.
Mamoswine from B- to B
Not nearly as good anymore as it was in the first days of the meta, but Mamoswine is still a fearsome offensive rocker. I don’t think Mamoswine flexes very well into any other role. If your team wants Stealth Rock and you need something to threaten Heatran, Nihilego, fliers and dragons, Mamoswine fits the bill. All those things are pretty common, and warrants Mamoswine a small bump in viability.
Moltres (Galar) from B- to A
Easily the best of the Galarian birds, and easily the best Dark-type in the format. Moltres’ phenomenal typing and solid overall stats make it a terrifying Dynamax threat. Berserk + Weakness Policy means it can get completely out of control in a single turn while still clicking Max Airstream. Don’t want to attack it? Too bad, it will just Taunt or Nasty Plot in your face. Chesto Rest is surprisingly effective and also allows it to eat Yawn from Swampert and Hippowdon. I wouldn’t put it in A+ because it can flounder against some of the higher ranked threats, but never underestimate this Pokemon’s ability to turn a game on its head. Also, use screens with it. It’s really, REALLY good with screens.
Swampert from B- to A-
Probably the biggest surprise of the metagame for me. I expected Swampert to suck, but that bulky slow Flip Turn is so good. Swampert can cover a lot of threats and is by far the best Regieleki counter in the game due to Damp. Swampert can sometimes flop pretty hard; almost every common Substitute user is a nightmare if you don’t run Roar, and Grass coverage is starting to become common specifically for Swampert. It definitely has the traits and utility on par with the other A- Pokemon, and the usage to back it up too.
Comfey from C+ to Unranked
The sheer amount of common Pokemon that crush this thing before it even has a chance to set up is tragic. Leave Comfey to doubles.
Cresselia from C+ to B-
As a sweeper, Cresselia either rolls over the opponent if it gets in safely, or it is completely unbringable on team preview. Getting it in safely is the hard part, although the Ground immunity and stupid bulk help. Support Cresselia is also extremely obnoxious; watching a Glastrier get Lunar Danced is a feeling of despair that is hard to describe. Both of these sets, and Cresselia in general, are too situational to rise above B-, but it is a powerful Pokemon to build around.
Ditto from C+ to B-
Fuck Ditto. I stopped running Psyshock on Nihilego for opposing Nihilego because the opposing Nihilego never ran it, but the Ditto transformed into my Nihilego certainly does. There are a lot of good things for Ditto to copy in Series 7.
Indeedee-M from C+ to Unranked
Indeedee not only has absolutely abysmal usage, but it falls short against a lot of the common threats. It’s generally average to below average stats aren’t enough to keep up with the meta. It also constantly has to deal with Tapu Fini coming in. Tapu Lele is decidedly better due to the superior coverage and power outside of terrain. Even then Tapu Lele isn’t exceptional either.
Rotom (Mow) from C+ to Unranked
The Grass-typing hurts more than it helps, leaving it open to the wide breadth of Pokemon with Ice and Fire-type coverage in the meta. The neutrality to Flying is the worst part, as one of Rotom’s best traits is its ability to eat Airstreams. Wash and Heat are substantially better, it's time to put this lawnmower out to pasture.
Scolipede from C+ to B-
Scolipede is only as good as its Baton Pass receivers. Cresselia and Tapu Lele getting Stored Power has opened up new opportunities, and Scolipede welcomes back Metagross in its many open arms. Even Hippowdon can be a monstrous recipient due its surprisingly good coverage, Body Press to abuse Iron Defense boosts, and sheer surprise factor. Scolipede itself is predictable, but it's receiver isn’t necessarily so. ScoliPass is reliant on either a crushing match-up that can’t stop Scolipede or precise positioning, but a well-built ScoliPass team always has a mode that isn’t dependent on Baton Pass. I wouldn’t rank Scolipede itself that highly since Baton Pass flops hard when it fails, but that is the nature of the strat.
Chandelure from C to Unranked
Chandelure is almost reasonable to use. It hits a lot of the meta really hard with its STAB moves, but gets hit twice as hard by the entire meta. Mimikyu returning is a big nuisance. Sash + Trick Room is probably the best set, but it is very situational. At least it's better than Blacephalon.
Duraludon from C to Unranked
Not only is it bad, its usage is hilariously low. You think it would be better with its typing and movepool, but the base stats just don’t cut it. It can’t reliably switch in on the special attackers you need it to check, even with Assault Vest. There are better Dragons, there are better Steels, there are better Pokemon.
Mudsdale from C to Unranked
Mudsdale is not the best bulky Ground-type, it's not even the best horse. There really isn’t a reason to use this over Swampert or Hippowdon, who offer better offensive and defensive traits. If Mudsdale had any way of touching Landorus-t or Celesteela I would give it a pass, but it doesn’t so it sucks.
Rotom (Fan) from C to Unranked
“What’s that? Zapdos is back? But-but-but! Will-o-wisp! Nasty Plot! Who needs Roost, good Speed, or Fire coverage? Come on, don’t leave me! I WANT TO BE RANKED, WHAT ABOUT AIR BALLOON THAT MEME IS FUNNY RIGHT GUYS? GUYS??”
Umbreon from C to Unranked
Tapu Fini absolutely obliterates this Pokemon, and even if it didn’t exist Umbreon would be fringe viability at best. Yawn support is good and all, but there are at least 5 better Pokemon that can do it. Only usable if you have a shiny one on cart, because Umbreon is among the best shinies in the game.
Aggron from Unranked to C
Aggron is the only Pokemon that gets the combination of Endeavor and Sturdy, making it a potent Custap Berry abuser. You can use it as a lead with Stealth Rock, or late game to chunk something down with Endeavor into Custap Iron Head. The lead can get rocks up and leave something wide open to be taken down by an Ultra Beast, Salamence, or Gyarados, allowing for a snowball sweep. Don’t bother with using any other set; Stakataka will probably do it better.
Aurorus from Unranked to C
What makes Aurorus different from the other Snow Warning Pokemon is its huge base HP, access to Stealth Rock, Mirror Coat, and excellent coverage. It is 100% not worth building around, but if your team could still fit a Stealth Rock user that can threaten the likes of Zapdos and Naganadel, Aurorus is worth consideration. Just be sure Mamoswine wouldn’t fill the role better on your team.
Avalugg from Unranked to C
Sturdy + Mirror Coat has always been an option for Avalugg, but this time around it's better because Avalugg’s decently strong Icicle Spear is relevant! Not only does it pin a lot of Dynamaxed special attackers with Mirror Coat, its monstrous Defense allows it to take on Salamence and Landorus-t. Not good enough to build around, but if you want a cheeky Pokemon to retaliate against early maxers and some common physical attackers, Avalugg is an off-meta choice that can catch people off guard.