Resource Monotype USM Viability Rankings

Drops
188913
(Ground) A--> D
Mon is trash, Mega Steelix does it's job of dealing with Bulu, and it doesn't offer much outside of that.

188914
(Electric) C--> D
Electric doesn't need webs at all, and it's special attack is pretty lackluster to try and compete with Electric's other special attackers.

188917
(Electric) B--> C
Manectric is very lackluster on current Electric teams, with plenty of other options fighting for it's spot, I think this mon fails to make meaningful impacts in most matchups, as anything Manectric does, another mon could also handle, unlike Thundurus, the only other B mon to compare it to, who adds to multiple matchups in a meaningful way.

Rises

188916
(Dragon) A--> S
Given how important stealth rocks are, along with it's ground typing to help vs rock steel and poison types while preventing volt switches, Garchomp is hugely important to dragon teams and IMO is irreplaceable.


188921
(Fighting) Unranked--> C
Dual screens taunt lead allows Fighting to set up otherwise unreliable sets like Double Dance Terrakion, or Dragon Dance Zmove Kommo, or just otherwise attempt to give Fighting some added defense to make up for their lack of defensive options, which is more valuable than Toxicroak IMO

188949
(Electric) D--> C
I think specs or LO on this mon is pretty bad, but I think there's some potential in Vinkou with either Tbolt, Shadow Ball, or HP Ice, helping in matchups like Dark, Psychic, Electric, Grass and Fairy.

188951
(Psychic) A--> S
Dark and Bug neutrality, able to break holes in almost any team and get around would be psychic problems like Muk, Tyranitar, even able to switch into them in a pinch, unlike Victini. Knock Off/Shadow Sneak to get around Ghosts, Gallade-M is uncontested as Psychic's best answer to it's weaknesses and should be one of the first mons on any psychic team that's not sacking matchups.

188960
(Dark) A--> S
Hazard removal, Mega Lopunny answer, and Fighting switchin for non-mega Sableye teams, imo this is the most necessary mon on Dark teams to not autolose to fighting moves/hazards and should be S rank accordingly.
 
I'm back after being gone for a very long time, and I have two nominations to make for Ice.


Articuno: D=>C (Ice)

Articuno's role on Ice teams is credited to a certain set in particular, being SubRoost.

Articuno @ Metronome
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 32 HP / 252 SpA / 224 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Freeze-Dry
- Hurricane
- Roost
- Substitute


This set allows for Articuno to apply extreme offensive pressure to a number of types(Water, Flying, Poison, etc.) while having good enough defensive utility to safely get up Substitutes. While Ice does have other powerful offensive tools to use against matchups like Water and Poison(being Lapras and Kyurem-B), their issue is that they get worn down rather quickly by Toxic Spikes chip damage, amplified more in Kyurem-B's case because it often has to carry Life Orb, wearing it down even further. Articuno's immunity to Toxic Spikes lets it offset this issue, while also being able to safely keep up Substitutes against Toxapex to avoid being hit by a regular Toxic. Additionally, having Articuno for the Water matchup allows for Lapras to more easily be replaced with the more reliable Cloyster, and having a separate Mega Venusaur answer lets Kyurem-B run a different set, such as Choice Scarf for better dealing with Mega Charizard Y and Mega Diancie. Its crippling 4x Stealth Rock weakness is somewhat handled by the fact that it can scare away certain bulky Stealth Rock setters, such as Swampert and Gliscor.

Here are some calcs showing some of the hits Articuno can tank with and without a Substitute up.
With Sub Intact
0 SpA Toxapex Scald vs. 32 HP / 0 SpD Articuno: 43-52 (13 - 15.8%) -- possible 7HKO
0 SpA Toxapex Sludge Bomb vs. 32 HP / 0 SpD Articuno: 49-58 (14.8 - 17.6%) -- possible 6HKO
0 SpA Mantine Scald vs. 32 HP / 0 SpD Articuno: 60-72 (18.2 - 21.8%) -- possible 5HKO
0 Atk Sableye-Mega Knock Off vs. 32 HP / 0 Def Articuno: 61-73 (18.5 - 22.1%) -- possible 5HKO
0 SpA Swampert-Mega Scald vs. 32 HP / 0 SpD Articuno: 69-82 (20.9 - 24.9%) -- guaranteed 5HKO(assuming no Roar)
0 Atk Gliscor Knock Off vs. 32 HP / 0 Def Articuno: 45-54 (13.6 - 16.4%) -- possible 7HKO

Things that break Sub, but still don't threaten too badly
0 SpA Clefable Moonblast vs. 32 HP / 0 SpD Articuno: 82-97 (24.9 - 29.4%) -- 100% chance to 4HKO
0 SpA Clefable Fire Blast vs. 32 HP / 0 SpD Articuno: 126-150 (38.2 - 45.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO(assuming Babiri Berry)
0 SpA Venusaur-Mega Sludge Bomb vs. 32 HP / 0 SpD Articuno: 96-114 (29.1 - 34.6%) -- 5.4% chance to 3HKO
0 Atk Mandibuzz Foul Play vs. 32 HP / 0 Def Articuno: 81-96 (24.6 - 29.1%) -- 99.8% chance to 4HKO(slight chance of not breaking Sub)
252 SpA Alakazam Psychic vs. 32 HP / 0 SpD Articuno: 126-148 (38.2 - 44.9%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
4 Atk Protean Greninja Gunk Shot vs. 32 HP / 0 Def Articuno: 124-147 (37.6 - 44.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO(limited PP)


Despite some bulky Pokemon, or just slower Pokemon in general, being able to break the sub, they'll always have to take into account Pressure and how quickly their PP will be drained. Here are some replays that show off Articuno in action:

Vs Poison: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7monotype-927799092 (takes out Toxapex to make Kyurem-B's Outrage more threatening in hail.)

Vs Water: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7monotype-954042390 (Sets up the Sub turn 1 on Toxapex, and enough Freeze-Drys rack up to the point where Suicune can't set up. When low on health, it safely recovers on the Greninja and continues Freeze-Drying)

Vs Water again: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7monotype-955578118 (Sets up the Sub on Swampert, and tanks a Scald from Tentacruel while behind it. Racked up enough Freeze-Drys to where Suicune setting up doesn't make a difference, and takes out the Keldeo just before getting critted by Scarf HP Electric Gren)

Vs Grass: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7monotype-955591007 (Takes out the Whimsicott, as well as Ferrothorn with a boosted Hurricane. Gets the opportunity to Roost later in the game by forcing out Mega Venusaur, giving it enough health to survive Breloom's Mach Punch and end the game)

Vs Flying: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7monotype-955611178 (Takes out Landorus-T and Dragonite. Could have done much more damage to Celesteela, but got greedy by Roosting on the Dragonite. Still puts it within Kyurem-B range)


Articuno's solid offensive and defensive utility for Ice teams makes it a worthy candidate of C rank on Ice.



Mega Glalie: Unranked=>C (Ice)

Earlier in the generation, Mega Glalie fell off the VR entirely, which in my opinion shouldn't have happened, because Mega Glalie still has its role on hyper-offensive Ice teams. What it offers over Froslass as a Spikes setter is a significantly better offensive presence, getting its opportunity to lay down hazards on either passive defensive Pokemon or by simply forcing out offensive Pokemon like Diggersby and Heatran. It even has its own means of preventing hazard removal through Explosion, which additionally serves as a helpful nuke against certain walls. Here are a few Explosion calcs to demonstrate how much power it packs.

252 Atk Refrigerate Glalie-Mega Explosion vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Chansey: 612-721 (87 - 102.5%) -- 18.8% chance to OHKO
252 Atk Refrigerate Glalie-Mega Explosion vs. 248 HP / 168+ Def Thick Fat Venusaur-Mega: 306-362 (84.2 - 99.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Refrigerate Glalie-Mega Explosion vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Porygon2: 238-282 (63.6 - 75.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO(dies after switching into a Double-Edge or multiple hazards)
252 Atk Refrigerate Glalie-Mega Explosion vs. 252 HP / 160+ Def Celesteela: 352-415 (88.4 - 104.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Refrigerate Glalie-Mega Explosion vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Celesteela: 327-385 (82.1 - 96.7%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery(showing both to demonstrate how important predicting the Protect can be)
252 Atk Refrigerate Glalie-Mega Explosion vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Skarmory: 262-310 (78.4 - 92.8%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
There are many more, but the point is made


Here's the set that I've been using, and the one I think is best:
Glalie-Mega @ Glalitite
Ability: Ice Body
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Double-Edge
- Earthquake
- Spikes
- Explosion


And now here are some replays with Mega Glalie:
Vs Grass: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7monotype-955556248 (Picks off the Ferrothorn with Double-Edge, while also nuking the Mega Venusaur with Explosion)

Vs Normal: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7monotype-955558495 (Gets up two layers on Chansey before blowing up, making Kyurem-B significantly harder to switch into)

Vs Water: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7monotype-955551402 (Sets up one layer in addition to Mamoswine's rocks, making Toxapex easier to wear down)


Overall, Mega Glalie's great offensive utility as a hazard stacker makes it deserving of C rank on Ice
 
188949
(Electric) D--> C
I think specs or LO on this mon is pretty bad, but I think there's some potential in Vinkou with either Tbolt, Shadow Ball, or HP Ice, helping in matchups like Dark, Psychic, Electric, Grass and Fairy.
I find this one interesting as most people have been asking for it to be removed but you come up with a niche.

In theory it feels somewhat odd to use compared to Suicune on water:

What Raikou has over Suicune is that it has a lot more speed even being able to outspeed base 110's like Lati@s, which is phenomenal. It also hits slightly harder. However, all of its bulk stats are poorer, especially defense. Even it's HP is lower meaning it will get its sub broken by Seismic Toss which renders the viability of such a set again as it doesn't 6-0 normal like Suicune can for Water. Lastly, it doesn't have scald to burn Physical Threats to keep Substitute alive and has to rely on Discharge to Paraspam. Having to rely on Discharge means it does 0 for the bad Ground matchup which means you might want to change it to a non-stab move like HP Ice or Shadow Ball for more matchups - like you suggested - or even double attacks.

While it might possibly still help in a few matchups like Dark, Psychic, Grass and Fairy, aren't you better off just using more specific Zeraora, Koko and Raichu sets for those matchups? What team spot would Raikou even take? I find it hard to see clear cut cases where this mon has a nieche that grants it a team spot that can't be filled by a different mon for Electric - which why I think remaining in D can be just fine seeing how limited it's usefullness would be.

Do you perhaps have replays where you can show off how strong the use of it actually can be?
 
Nihilego (Rock): A ---> B

I think Nihilego's uses on Rock are limited and not relevant to the current metagame. It's offensive presence against Fairy is completely nullified by Klefki, and Azumarill has a chance to revenge kill with unboosted Aqua Jet if Nihi has taken either 1 hit of LO recoil or at least 1 layer of Spikes. Its strongest matchups are against Flying, Bug and Fire, which are matchups Rock needs very little to no help winning.

LO Nihi checks MVenu, but with only a 75% chance to 2HKO and MVenu being able to restore health and chip damage through Giga Drain and Leech Seed, Nihi will at such low health that it's usefulness for the rest of the match will be limited (although why your opponent wouldn't just switch to A-Muk or Ferro to eat the Sludge Wave is beyond me.)

Not to mention the fact that it's a dead slot against steel and sometimes ground depending on the set, matchups that Alolem and Rhyperior do solid work in. Nihilego's a solid mon, but given that it has to compete with other incredibly useful A tier mons such as Cradily and the aforementioned Alolem and Rhyperior, I don't see its relevance on the type justifies an A ranking. Even the argument that it's relevant as a secondary special attacker to Diancie is irrelevant since the former has better speed and typing, and Rock has plenty of options for breaking physical walls like SD Terrak, Toxic on Cradily, Encore/Knock Off on Shuckle and Band/DDance TTar.

In conclusion I think Nihilego's niche on Rock is not important enough to justify its ranking being equal to Alolem or Cradily, and it should drop to B in order to reflect this
 

roxie

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Nihilego (Rock): A ---> B

I think Nihilego's uses on Rock are limited and not relevant to the current metagame. It's offensive presence against Fairy is completely nullified by Klefki, and Azumarill has a chance to revenge kill with unboosted Aqua Jet if Nihi has taken either 1 hit of LO recoil or at least 1 layer of Spikes. Its strongest matchups are against Flying, Bug and Fire, which are matchups Rock needs very little to no help winning.

LO Nihi checks MVenu, but with only a 75% chance to 2HKO and MVenu being able to restore health and chip damage through Giga Drain and Leech Seed, Nihi will at such low health that it's usefulness for the rest of the match will be limited (although why your opponent wouldn't just switch to A-Muk or Ferro to eat the Sludge Wave is beyond me.)

Not to mention the fact that it's a dead slot against steel and sometimes ground depending on the set, matchups that Alolem and Rhyperior do solid work in. Nihilego's a solid mon, but given that it has to compete with other incredibly useful A tier mons such as Cradily and the aforementioned Alolem and Rhyperior, I don't see its relevance on the type justifies an A ranking. Even the argument that it's relevant as a secondary special attacker to Diancie is irrelevant since the former has better speed and typing, and Rock has plenty of options for breaking physical walls like SD Terrak, Toxic on Cradily, Encore/Knock Off on Shuckle and Band/DDance TTar.

In conclusion I think Nihilego's niche on Rock is not important enough to justify its ranking being equal to Alolem or Cradily, and it should drop to B in order to reflect this
lol nihi with a straight balloon can thunderbolt/sludge wave/hp ice/dazzle/grass knot/tspikes, or even hp fire lol, it has a lot of access to plentiful of moves. Humongous credibility to one of my favorite rock users Arvada. The move access can helpout with ground, water, grass, possibly steel and fighting depending on the movesets, and fairy with sludge wave and additionally people may run tspikes. Arvada's mons and explanation is somewhere but it has more roles that dealing with some of the things "rocks already handles"
 
lol nihi with a straight balloon can thunderbolt/sludge wave/hp ice/dazzle/grass knot/tspikes, or even hp fire lol, it has a lot of access to plentiful of moves. Humongous credibility to one of my favorite rock users Arvada. The move access can helpout with ground, water, grass, possibly steel and fighting depending on the movesets, and fairy with sludge wave and additionally people may run tspikes. Arvada's mons and explanation is somewhere but it has more roles that dealing with some of the things "rocks already handles"
Rock has other, more viable options to use all of these move types except Sludge Wave and Tspikes, which again are shut down by lots of relevant defensive Pokemon such as Klefki, Cradily and Ferrothorn. This vast movepool is also as much of a hindrance as it is a boon - because Nihi is always pressed for slots and never seems to have the right combo of 2 moves it needs to win a matchup. In addition, I dont understand how its supposed to help vs ground when Exca can hard switch into every move you listed except HP Fire, which only narrowly 2HKOs. If you were legitimately worried about the Ground matchup and wanted an Air Balloon special attacker to compensate, you'd run Omastar.

Non-Scarfed Nihi fails to act as an effective answer against any balanced or offensive water variant due to its inability to answer Keldeo, MSwamp in rain or Greninja. Nihi completely requires Alolem's Magnet Pull support and without it is just Steel-type switch bait. HP Fire fails to KO SpDef MSciz, and Offensive Scizor OHKOs with Bullet Punch. Rock has literally no need to run Gleam on Nihi, especially since Diancie-M can clean fighting solo after any Steel/Fighting types are gone and Webs are up. Also saying that Nihil can "possibly help vs Steel" only applies if they don't have Heatran, since HP Fire/Tbolt only really threatens Skarm, and Cele dodges a 2HKO from TBolt and can KO with Heavy Slam. Nihi's best chance to accomplish anything on Mono Rock is to force a sacrifice, which depends on you having the correct moveset for the current matchup. Then you steal a KO, get +1 and hopefully have the coverage required to kill the defensive switch-in. Unfortunately, Heatran and Cele both eat +1 anything from Nihi and threaten with Heavy Slam and possibly Earth Power depending on if Nihi's balloon is gone.

Alolem helps more vs Grass and Steel, Rhyperior helps more vs Fighting, Steel and Ground, and Cradily helps more vs Water and Ground. If you need help with these matchups, you pick one of the other A tier threats, and they give your more mileage with less issues due to their very rigid movesets. The only benefit to Nihi that I will admit that Nihi has is its ability to beat Fairy, and with Alolem it can definitely accomplish that since Alolem can trap and kill Klefki. However by running these two, you either lose Cradily (your best Azumarill counter) or you have to drop one of Rock's amazing S tiers, which is extremely detrimental for Rock's other top tier matchups. Because of this, it becomes extremely similar to Omastar in that they're meant to CTeam one obvious threat, and mediocre in lots of other matchups. This similarity is why I believe Nihilego should join Omastar in B tier.
 

roxie

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Rock has other, more viable options to use all of these move types except Sludge Wave and Tspikes, which again are shut down by lots of relevant defensive Pokemon such as Klefki, Cradily and Ferrothorn. This vast movepool is also as much of a hindrance as it is a boon - because Nihi is always pressed for slots and never seems to have the right combo of 2 moves it needs to win a matchup. In addition, I dont understand how its supposed to help vs ground when Exca can hard switch into every move you listed except HP Fire, which only narrowly 2HKOs. If you were legitimately worried about the Ground matchup and wanted an Air Balloon special attacker to compensate, you'd run Omastar.

Non-Scarfed Nihi fails to act as an effective answer against any balanced or offensive water variant due to its inability to answer Keldeo, MSwamp in rain or Greninja. Nihi completely requires Alolem's Magnet Pull support and without it is just Steel-type switch bait. HP Fire fails to KO SpDef MSciz, and Offensive Scizor OHKOs with Bullet Punch. Rock has literally no need to run Gleam on Nihi, especially since Diancie-M can clean fighting solo after any Steel/Fighting types are gone and Webs are up. Also saying that Nihil can "possibly help vs Steel" only applies if they don't have Heatran, since HP Fire/Tbolt only really threatens Skarm, and Cele dodges a 2HKO from TBolt and can KO with Heavy Slam. Nihi's best chance to accomplish anything on Mono Rock is to force a sacrifice, which depends on you having the correct moveset for the current matchup. Then you steal a KO, get +1 and hopefully have the coverage required to kill the defensive switch-in. Unfortunately, Heatran and Cele both eat +1 anything from Nihi and threaten with Heavy Slam and possibly Earth Power depending on if Nihi's balloon is gone.

Alolem helps more vs Grass and Steel, Rhyperior helps more vs Fighting, Steel and Ground, and Cradily helps more vs Water and Ground. If you need help with these matchups, you pick one of the other A tier threats, and they give your more mileage with less issues due to their very rigid movesets. The only benefit to Nihi that I will admit that Nihi has is its ability to beat Fairy, and with Alolem it can definitely accomplish that since Alolem can trap and kill Klefki. However by running these two, you either lose Cradily (your best Azumarill counter) or you have to drop one of Rock's amazing S tiers, which is extremely detrimental for Rock's other top tier matchups. Because of this, it becomes extremely similar to Omastar in that they're meant to CTeam one obvious threat, and mediocre in lots of other matchups. This similarity is why I believe Nihilego should join Omastar in B tier.
Gonna focus on the types that were mentioned, of course nihilego does not do a lot vs steel i mean look at its typing but it does have access to thunderbolt and hp fire only if needed of course as a filler.
Steel is one of those types that of course will be a challenge along with rock. But thanks to mons such as terrakion(banded or scarfed) and rhyperior, its not as frightening playing around the general leech seed protect celesteela. I think nihilego can be a huge threat to grass and water depending and varying on the particular set and coverage that is chosen to run. Golem-alola is a great mon for rock with trapping scizor, but air balloon/z nihi can have some cool niches as well but thats me. Good luck with your choice tho.
252 Atk Choice Band Terrakion Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 160+ Def Celesteela: 222-262 (55.7 - 65.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
4 Atk Rhyperior Fire Punch vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Scizor-Mega: 220-260 (78.2 - 92.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Technician Scizor-Mega Bullet Punch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Solid Rock Rhyperior: 109-130 (25.1 - 29.9%) -- guaranteed 4HKO
252 SpA Life Orb Nihilego Thunderbolt vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Celesteela: 250-294 (74.6 - 87.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Nihilego Gigavolt Havoc (175 BP) vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Celesteela: 372-438 (111 - 130.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO
 
In addition, I dont understand how its supposed to help vs ground when Exca can hard switch into every move you listed except HP Fire, which only narrowly 2HKOs. If you were legitimately worried about the Ground matchup and wanted an Air Balloon special attacker to compensate, you'd run Omastar.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7monotype-901283510 - a replay probably does more than explaining it in words, but Nihilego with a balloon actually has a good use vs Sand Ground as it can lead against nearly everything if it has Grass Knot and HP Ice. It still needs aggressive play, but it's Rock vs Ground after all.

Non-Scarfed Nihi fails to act as an effective answer against any balanced or offensive water variant due to its inability to answer Keldeo, MSwamp in rain or Greninja. Nihi completely requires Alolem's Magnet Pull support and without it is just Steel-type switch bait.
Tyranitar can still reset weather and Grass Knot + Thunderbolt coverage is perfecte coverage against Water. Again, it's a weak matchup and yeah, Omastar might do better there, but Omastar is so reliant on Shell Smash and I don't think it has many good matchups overall (like Nihilego has). But I'm not too sure on Omastar since I haven't used it myself. Either way, Keldeo is a problem for Rock regardless of what you run. Things like Stakataka, Mega-Diancie, Rhypherior, ... can help.

Steel is really hard, but things like banded Terrakion and Golem-Alola help a lot. You're totally fine using those together, so I don't see how that's a problem. Rock requires that support regardless of Nihilego. Mega Diancie is also quite the Steel bait.


However by running these two, you either lose Cradily (your best Azumarill counter)
Cradily isn't a real Azumarill counter since it still dies to Knock Off and what not. Helps vs water though. If you want to read more on a potentially good Azumarill counter, I suggest you read up on this: https://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/usum-monotype-metagame-discussion.3621036/page-9#post-8118488.

Credits to nomadderwhat.
 
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Gonna focus on the types that were mentioned, of course nihilego does not do a lot vs steel i mean look at its typing but it does have access to thunderbolt and hp fire only if needed of course as a filler.
Steel is one of those types that of course will be a challenge along with rock. But thanks to mons such as terrakion(banded or scarfed) and rhyperior, its not as frightening playing around the general leech seed protect celesteela. I think nihilego can be a huge threat to grass and water depending and varying on the particular set and coverage that is chosen to run. Golem-alola is a great mon for rock with trapping scizor, but air balloon/z nihi can have some cool niches as well but thats me. Good luck with your choice tho.
252 Atk Choice Band Terrakion Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 160+ Def Celesteela: 222-262 (55.7 - 65.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
4 Atk Rhyperior Fire Punch vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Scizor-Mega: 220-260 (78.2 - 92.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Technician Scizor-Mega Bullet Punch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Solid Rock Rhyperior: 109-130 (25.1 - 29.9%) -- guaranteed 4HKO
252 SpA Life Orb Nihilego Thunderbolt vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Celesteela: 250-294 (74.6 - 87.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Nihilego Gigavolt Havoc (175 BP) vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Celesteela: 372-438 (111 - 130.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO
I assume from the replays that we're talking about the same player so I'm gonna say I agree.
 
Nihilego (Rock): A ---> B

I think Nihilego's uses on Rock are limited and not relevant to the current metagame. It's offensive presence against Fairy is completely nullified by Klefki, and Azumarill has a chance to revenge kill with unboosted Aqua Jet if Nihi has taken either 1 hit of LO recoil or at least 1 layer of Spikes. Its strongest matchups are against Flying, Bug and Fire, which are matchups Rock needs very little to no help winning.

LO Nihi checks MVenu, but with only a 75% chance to 2HKO and MVenu being able to restore health and chip damage through Giga Drain and Leech Seed, Nihi will at such low health that it's usefulness for the rest of the match will be limited (although why your opponent wouldn't just switch to A-Muk or Ferro to eat the Sludge Wave is beyond me.)

Not to mention the fact that it's a dead slot against steel and sometimes ground depending on the set, matchups that Alolem and Rhyperior do solid work in. Nihilego's a solid mon, but given that it has to compete with other incredibly useful A tier mons such as Cradily and the aforementioned Alolem and Rhyperior, I don't see its relevance on the type justifies an A ranking. Even the argument that it's relevant as a secondary special attacker to Diancie is irrelevant since the former has better speed and typing, and Rock has plenty of options for breaking physical walls like SD Terrak, Toxic on Cradily, Encore/Knock Off on Shuckle and Band/DDance TTar.

In conclusion I think Nihilego's niche on Rock is not important enough to justify its ranking being equal to Alolem or Cradily, and it should drop to B in order to reflect this
I disagree with this nomination, to be honest. Nihilego's movepool versatility and good Special Attack stat allows it to be relevant against more types than the three you mentioned - and Flying really puts on a tough match against Rock that can be softened by Nihilego's presence.

First off, Nihi's access to Grass Knot and Thunderbolt (or Thunder) allows it to put a severe dent on Water (one of the best types in the metagame) by OHKO / 2HKOing every single member of it bar the very rare Lanturn with a Air Balloon / Electrium Z set, especially after Shuckle lays down its Sticky Web. It can also pull a lot of work against other good types like Dragon, Flying and Ground with Hidden Power Ice, and Sludge Wave rounding off the set means Fairy isn't safe from it either; after Klefki gets trapped, Sludge Wave effectively cleans entire Fairy-teams should Azumarill be dealt with previously. Power Gem, while useful to nab kills on Zapdos and Kyurem-Black, isn't 100% necessary due to how spread Rock STAB is across a Rock-type mono (Stone Edge from TTar, Terrakion and Golem, Diamond Storm from M-Diancie...).

Secondly, Nihilego can pull of a Choice Scarf set effectively as well; its two STABs and coverage moves can easily clean types like Flying, Fairy or Dragon once its certain checks are out of the picture. While this isn't the most optimal setting for it due to how good its coverage is for Rock, it allows Terrakion to run a wallbreaker set (Band, Sub SD...) that's equally as scary against Dark or Steel, two types that are also present in today's metagame.

I can definitely agree Nihilego is fodder against other stuff like Steel, Poison and Normal, but the only B ranked mon (Omastar) is much worse than Nihilego if we compare their overall roles, effectiveness and viability in the metagame for the reasons cited above. Therefore, Nihilego deserves to stay in A rank - it's way closer to Cradily, Alolan Golem and Rhyperior.
 
After further testing with movesets suggested, I will concede every point made in this thread EXCEPT

Secondly, Nihilego can pull of a Choice Scarf set effectively as well
since Terrak does that job better, Webs help keep speed control and without Crad your only Ground neutrality is the ever-passive Shuckle. Not to mention that Nihi's biggest strengths are its movepool and ability, and Choice Scarf dulls these advantages making it more difficult to snipe KOs on switch ins and gain an opportunity to snowball under webs. As Roxiee said, Air Balloon is probably your best bet. I do agree that Nihi is fine to stay in A tier with its friends.
 

roxie

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After further testing with movesets suggested, I will concede every point made in this thread EXCEPT



since Terrak does that job better, Webs help keep speed control and without Crad your only Ground neutrality is the ever-passive Shuckle. Not to mention that Nihi's biggest strengths are its movepool and ability, and Choice Scarf dulls these advantages making it more difficult to snipe KOs on switch ins and gain an opportunity to snowball under webs. As Roxiee said, Air Balloon is probably your best bet. I do agree that Nihi is fine to stay in A tier with its friends.
As Said by Mateeus scarf nihilego can allows terrakion to be more swords dance/band/etc but i prefer balloon boop(either optional) even balloon terrak works
 

mushamu

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Hi, since MPL has been going on with cool stuff I'd like to make some nominations


B --> A (Flying)
Tornadus-T has been gaining a lot more traction on both balanced and more offensive Flying teams as of lately. Tornadus-T's utility is amazing, as it can serve as an offensive Defog user, pivot with U-Turn, remove items and soften up opposing Pokemon with Knock Off, and stallbreak with Taunt, all of which cause it to be very splashable on Flying and open up doors for more offensive types of teams, especially when Mantine's usage has been less prominent as of lately. Overall a great mon that I think should rise to A.


D --> C (Steel)
Not much to say here. Although I think its still not amazing, I just think this is straight up better than Empoleon or Bronzong which are both sitting at D at the moment. Cobalion has been popping up here and there in MPL, typically using a Subsitute / Swords Dance / Stone Edge / Close Combat set that preforms well against Dark teams as well as the Steel mirror, and can even put work against other types like Flying if it manages to get a Substitute up against Toxic Celesteela.


S --> A (Ground)
Long story short I don't believe sand Ground to be as prominent as it once was, as sandless builds have been picking up usage as of lately to free up room for different types of teams, seeing as you don't need to run Hippowdon or Sand Rush Excadrill to have a good Ground team. Hippowdon pretty much sucks outside of setting sand, all of which leads me to believe it isn't one of the best Pokemon on the type anymore.


Unranked --> C (Dark)
Drapion has a small niche as a Choice Scarf user that can trap with Pursuit and set Toxic Spikes, which applies even more pressure on Fairy. It fits on certain offensive Dark builds; it's not amazing but its good enough for at least a C rank in my opinion.


I also strongly agree with Tapu Bulu and Mega Steelix rising on Fairy and Ground respectively. Tapu Bulu has shown to be one of the most influential on Fairy if not the entire metagame from the time it dropped down to A and Mega Steelix is just a monster on Ground with its amazing defensive typing + bulk along with Curse, allowing it to serve as a good Tapu Bulu check and serve as a good setup sweeper. Don't think I need to touch up on both of those much since people above have already said it pretty well.
 
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maroon

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RMT & Mono Leader
I would like to preface this post by saying I agree with all of Decem's post and that those Pokemon should rise in the vr. Anyway, now lets get into my essay amount of noms underway!

Water
Jellicent [C to D]


This Pokemon does not really fit in with the other C rank Pokemon which clearly provide useful niches. Jellicent can Taunt and spread status but it still is fairly slow and extremely hard to fit on any variant on Water. While it does provide a Water and Fighting immunity it does not offer much else. You might say it has some niche as a spinblocker for Water since it usually has Stealth Rock + Toxic Spikes, however most types that rely on Rapid Spin instead of Defog to remove hazards already lose to Water such as Bug. On top of that it is to slow to Taunt almost all of the Defoggers on any type without losing to much bulk.

Alomomola [D to C]

Alomomola is certainly better than any of the D rank Water-types. I realize it is specifically only used on Stall, however, all other Pokemon that are only used on Stall Water such as Lanturn and Quagsire are up there. There is not much more to say about this Pokemon, its not really prevalent right now, so the other two stall Water Pokemon should drop to D (which is worse cause the D ranks are pretty bad) or this should rise to C with the rest of them.

Mantine [A to B]

While Mantine is still an amazing Special Wall with access to Defog for the type it just is not living up to what it has done in the past. With Pokemon such as Greninja running Hidden Power Electric just to catch Mantine off guard it has become much less viable as many Pokemon have developed techs to get around this Pokemon. On top of this Rotom-W, which is also A rank does the same job as Mantine (Defog + Ground Immunity) and has the ability to pivot out with Volt Switch. Overall the metagame favors Rotom-W right now over Mantine and the viability rankings should reflect that.

Tapu Fini [D to C]

Tapu Fini is a rather hard Pokemon to build around with on Water but can be quite nice when properly built with for Water teams. First of all it compacts the role of being a Fairy-type which provides a Dragon answer as well as being a pretty good Defog user. On top of this Tapu Fini also has the ability to act as a stallbreaker with Taunt + Natures Madness allowing it to break past bulkier Pokemon and has interesting utility moves such as Knock Off, allowing it to cripple defensive cores even further or remove an item such as Choice Scarf. Tapu Fini also provides Misty Terrain which weakens the power of Dragon-type attacks but also prevents status from affecting grounded Pokemon. Although this does come with a downside making Toxic Spikes severely less effective, which is a part of the reason Tapu Fini is harder to build with on Water teams. However it certainly is better than any current D rank Pokemon and fills niches as well as the other C ranks.

Milotic [D to Unranked]

Once upon a time Milotic was a decent teammate for VinCune, however with its usage dwindling compared to a year ago, Milotic has fallen from whatever place it has in the metagame. While you could say that Milotic deters the use of Defog because of Competitive that does not make much of a difference because the most common Pokemon on Water teams, Greninja literally beats 95% of the Defog users in the tier, making this niche fairly useless. Milotic had a short stint in the limelight but it is far gone and should be unranked.

Steel
Skarmory [A to B]


While Skarmory might have been a staple in Generation 6 thanks to Celesteela, it is truly a shadow of its former self. With being very difficult to fit on Balanced teams I believe Skarmory only really has one real role left on Steel teams and that is to act as a suicide lead for Hyper Offensive teams, which is a niche play style. There is not much to say, the metal bird is severely outclassed and only enables a rather niche play style for the type.

Cobalion [D to C]

Cobalion has never seen much usage on Steel teams, however it recently has started to see a set rise in tours that allow it to practically take on Dark teams by itself. This set is Substitute + Swords Dance alongside Stone Edge (the Z-move) and Close Combat. Unlike Lucario it can not be beat by Mega Sableye due to the fact it can setup a Substitute and proceed to setup all day in front of Mega Sableye without giving up valuable coverage. Overall, I believe because of this niche to not only beat a difficult matchup of Dark, but also make the mirror matchup far easier it is deserves to rise on the VR.

Psychic
Deoxys-Defense [D to Unranked]

Even though this Pokemon is technically Ubers its just purely ass in Monotype. Lets review this thing, first of all it acts as a hazard stacker, which the type does not really need as it is going to constantly be Defogging away hazards for its wallbreakers such as Victini and Mega Gallade. Secondly this thing is not even good defensively, sure it has nice bulk and access to Recover, but it also provides nothing defensively with its typing and is fairly easy to take advantage of and setup a sweeper. Not only making hard to add to your team but rather unreliable even if you manage to build something bearable with this Pokemon.

Mega Slowbro [B to C]

This thing might seem good on paper but it really isn't that great and has to be built specifically around to be successful. It faces competition as the mega slot for Mega Gallade which honestly is too much of a menace to pass up on for most Psychic teams. Just look at the current MPL replays thread, I guarantee you non of the teams have used it or if they have at best once. Don't get me wrong, its bulk is phenomenal and all, but it also is kind of worse than its regular form, which has Regenerator and the space to run items such as Rocky Helmet or a Colbur Berry, which allow it to check threats to Psychic teams such as Mega Sharpedo and Dragonite respectively.

Meloetta [C to B]

While Meloetta is not the most common sight on Psychic teams it certainly can be a very important Pokemon to Psychic teams in certain matchups such as Fairy and Water. Its primary thing it adds to Psychic teams is a Ghost-type immunity, which is huge, since Fairy is very common and Mimikyu is a very popular pick to beat this matchup. This also provides Psychic teams a switchin to solo Ghost attacking move Decidueye, which is increasing in popularity on Grass teams as a way to tackle Psychic. Overall directly because of the spike in usage of Mimikyu, Meloetta should rise to better reflect an important niche it brings to the type.

Celebi [B to A]

This Pokemon has received quite the amount of surge in usage over the course of this MPL, with its ability to role compress as a Mega Sharpedo check, a Stealth Rock setter, and pivot Pokemon it is fairly splashable on balanced Psychic teams. On top of this Celebi also has cool utility options such as Thunder Wave and Healing Wish, which either allow it to cripple a faster threat such as Mega Aerodactyl or give a teammate another chance to wallbreak/sweep/wall for the team. Celebi is a cool Pokemon with a decent amount of viable sets and should rise.

Latios [A to S]
Not sure why Latios was not moved up before, but I think this post still stands and it should be S rank on Psychic teams.

Latios (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Defog
- Trick / Memento

Latios (M) @ Dragonium Z
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Draco Meteor
- Thunderbolt
- Roost

Latios (M) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Thunderbolt
- Surf

Latios-Mega (M) @ Latiosite
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Psychic
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Roost

Latios has been a staple in Monotype pretty much from the time it was allowed in Monotype back in Gen 5. Latios still makes a huge impact today, every Psychic team pretty much packs a Latios, whether its a ladder team or a tournament team, and its not hard to see why. Latios is a phenomenal Pokemon with great offensive stats, a great ability in Levitate, granting Psychic teams a Ground immunity, and has a multitude of viable sets it is able to run. The most common set being Choice Scarf allows Victini to run Choice Band and act as a powerful wallbreaker. It also is the fastest and most viable Defog user Psychic has access to. Thanks to its blistering speed it can pretty much as Defog against any Pokemon bar like Scarf Greninja, allowing it to freely remove hazards whenever it wants. On top of this it acts as an emergency check to threats to the type such as Hydreigon and Volcarona, thanks to Draco Meteor and Psyshock. Scarf Latios can also cripple opposing walls by tricking a Choice Scarf onto them and or allowing a setup Pokemon such as Gallade have an easier time thanks to Memento support. Alternatively Latios can act as a setup sweeper and a reliable one to thanks to Calm Mind and Roost. After a Calm Mind boost Devastating Drake has the ability to pick up some pretty cool OHKOs such as against Curse Alolan Muk and Porygon2 after Stealth Rock chip. It also just blatantly allows Latios to act as a nuke and pretty much take down any Pokemon that isn't a special wall or resists. Thunderbolt then allows Latios to take on Water- and Flying-type Pokemon such as Mantine and Celesteela that can easily tank a Draco Meteor, allowing it to really threaten all Pokemon on both of those types. Choice Specs really doesn't need much of an introduction, most of the times its coming in and clicking Draco Meteor, picking up a kill, and then switching out. Its amazing coverage allows it to take on Pokemon such as Chansey with Psyshock, as previously mentioned Mantine and Celesteela with Thunderbolt, and Pokemon such as Heatran that resist Draco Meteor with Surf. Finally, Latios is also able to run a very strong mega mixed attacker set that is specifically meant to help improve the Steel- and Poison-type matchup, as it can pretty much 2HKO every Pokemon on both types aside from Celesteela. Overall these 4 sets showcase how Latios can pretty successfully run a whole bunch of different and viable sets, allowing it to take on a myriad of roles for Psychic teams whether it be revenge killer, setup sweeper, wallbreaker, emergency defogger, or mega; Latios should be on every Psychic team and S rank on the type.

Few replays of Latios:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7monotype-873236998 (Psychic vs Dragon)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7monotype-859775687 (Psychic vs Water)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen7monotype-425776 (Psychic vs Poison)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7monotype-843673750 (Psychic vs Flying)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7monotype-778627264 (Psychic vs Water)
Ice
Avalugg [A to B]

While it might seem weird to drop this Pokemon hear me out. I have, just like everyone else seen Ice as a Hyper Offensive type. While this might have been the only viable Rapid Spin user in ORAS it no longer is. Alolan Sandslash is the premiere Rapid Spin user for the type and for a good reason; under Hail it acts as speedy hazard removal. While Avalugg has the bulk to tank a hit and then Rapid Spin, it definetly sucks any momentum the type might have might is truly terrible for any offensive team. That is the main reason I believe it does not belong this high on the VR and should drop.

Kyurem [Unranked to D]

While it might seem unthinkable to ever give up Kyurem-B on Ice teams I think this deserves to be ranked for a few reasons. The first being it is an insanely powerful nuke, with access to Choice Specs Draco Meteor it can easily heavily dent anything that does not resist Dragon and hit those Pokemon with its other coverage such as Focus Blast. Secondly, this thing can annoy walls with a Substitute + Toxic + Roost set, since it can easily hit over 400 HP Seismic Tosses will not break its Substitutes and it can easily wear down opposing walls. Overall, while I can understand why this Pokemon is unranked because of Kyurem-B, I think because of these reasons it deserves to be at least ranked for its niches.

Beartic [D to Unranked]

This thing needs no introduction, everyone knows why it is so terrible. It gained access to Slush Rush in Generation 7 which gave it some promise, however even with a Jolly Nature in Hail its Speed is still pathetic and unusable. This Pokemon does not deserve to be ranked and while it might get some cool coverage (Play Rough+Superpower) its abysmal Speed tier make it no where near worth using ever. Drop this Pokemon, not much more to say.

Ground
Seismitoad [A to B]

While it might seem odd to drop one of the two water immunities to the type I think it is for good reason. With Mega Pokemon such as Garchomp and Steelix rising in usage on Ground teams there is less of a reason to use Seismitoad over Gastrodon as they are capable of checking Azumarill, which is what it did. Gastrodon is certainly far better than Seimsitoad standalone as a Pokemon, with access to reliable recovery it can switch into Water attacks multiple times unlike Seismitoad and can fire off Toxic crippling random walls allowing Pokemon such as Mega Steelix and Excadrill to sweep with more ease.

Mega Steelix [C to A]

This thing has seen a major spike in usage over the past year, as people have started to realize it has the ability to tackle one of Grounds toughest matchups, Fairy. It has such a monumental advantage over Fairy that it will practically steamroll over the type, only a few ways to check it. The first and probably easiest is Earth Power Mega Diancie, which can 2HKO Mega Steelix. The second is Substitute+Disable Tapu Bulu which allows it to disable its Steel-type move, which is its only attack practically forcing a switch. Overall, I know Decem echoed Mega Steelix in his post for a rise and I fully back that.

Nidoking [C to B]


Nidoking is really a very cool Pokemon and while it might not be a staple to the type like it is on Poison it still is a very good Pokemon for Ground teams. With the rising usage of Landorus-T and the dropping usage of Seismitoad this is one of the special attackers that is good for the type. Nidoking has a plethora of coverage moves it can use and has access to utility in Toxic Spikes, in case you are not able to run Mega Steelix to beat the type its support can help kind of patch up that matchup. On top of this its access to BoltBeam severely threatens Defog users common to the tier, allowing it to deter removal, making it easier for the teams wallbreakers/sweepers to do their jobs.

Grass
Cradily [A to C]

Cradily is falling in usage, this is because Ferrothorn recently stopped running Protect as much and opted to run Stealth Rock, which was one of Cradily's main niches. This allows another more offensive teammate such as Decidueye or Celebi more easily onto the team, overall reflecting the more offensive balance nature the type has recently taken on this year. Overall, while Cradily still serves its purposes defensively it just is harder to fit on newer Grass teams.

Tapu Bulu [S to A]

While nobody can doubt that this Pokemon certainly is amazing I think the only S rank Pokemon should be those in the main defensive core. Tapu Bulu brings phenomenal tools to the type such as Grassy Terrain and a plethora of different offensive sets, most commonly Choice Scarf to catch Pokemon like Tornadus-T off guard with Stone Edge. While also being able to easily spam Wood Hammer and take away the defensive cores weakness to Ground by making them practically resist Earthquake allowing Pokemon such as Excadrill to be much easier walled. For these reasons I believe Tapu Bulu should drop, but only to A, since it still is a very good Pokemon.

Decidueye [C to B]

This Pokemon has recently surged in usage thanks to its ability to take on Psychic teams, which Grass traditionally lost to. This Pokemon can easily just run Swords Dance + Spirit Shackle + Shadow Sneak + Roost, since Meloetta is not common at all on the type it can easily take advantage of Psychic teams this way. This Pokemon can also take on Pokemon such as Celesteela which is pretty phenomenal as it can be trapped thanks to Spirit Shackle and then withered down and beaten. Overall this Pokemon should rise thanks to its ability as an anti-meta tech, largely thanks to Chaitanya for really making this Pokemon what it is.

Flying
Tornadus-T [B to A]


This Pokemon is pretty fantastic, with an excellent ability in Regenerator, access to Defog, and great Utility options in Knock Off, Taunt, and coverage such as Focus Blast and Heat Wave, it can be pretty easily splashed and customized to many Flying teams. Overall this Pokemon is a very good addition since it does not mind Stealth Rock to much thanks to Regenerator, it is probably one of the easiest Defog users to use on Flying, and also acts as a pivot to gain momentum with U-turn. Not much more to say here, its just brings alot of good utility, is one of the few Flying Pokemon with access to good Flying STAB, and Regenerator this Pokemon definetly deserves to rise in the VR.

Skarmory [A to B]

Much like Steel, Celesteela pretty much knocked this Pokemon out of existence. While it still is amazing for its Defensive utility, being able to use Roost (something Celesteela cant), and have access to Whirlwind it can make its way to some Flying teams. However, unlike Steel is gets outclassed as a Hyper Offense lead by Aerodactyl which is faster and generally considered the go-to lead for HO Flying. Overall Skarmory is good, just not as good as it was last generation, so I think it should drop to reflect that.

Thanks for reading this long as VR post, below you will find an easy visual of the drops/rises that i think should happen!~
Water
Jellicent (C to D)
Alomomola (D to C)
Mantine (A to B)
Tapu Fini (D to C)
Milotic (D to Unranked)

Steel
Skarmory (A to B)
Cobalion (D to C)

Psychic
Deoxys-D (D to Unranked)
Mega Slowbro (B to C)
Meloetta (C to B)
Celebi (B to A)
Latios (S to A)

Ice
Avalugg (A to B)
Kyurem (Unranked to D)
Beartic (D to Unranked)

Ground
Seismitoad (A to B)
Mega Steelix (C to A)
Nidoking (C to B)

Grass
Cradily (A to C)
Tapu Bulu (S to A)
Decidueye (C to B)

Flying
Tornadus-T (C to B)
Skarmory (A to B)
 
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Psychic
Deoxys-Defense [D to Unranked]

Even though this Pokemon is technically Ubers its just purely ass in Monotype. Lets review this thing, first of all it acts as a hazard stacker, which the type does not really need as it is going to constantly be Defogging away hazards for its wallbreakers such as Victini and Mega Gallade. Secondly this thing is not even good defensively, sure it has nice bulk and access to Recover, but it also provides nothing defensively with its typing and is fairly easy to take advantage of and setup a sweeper. Not only making hard to add to your team but rather unreliable even if you manage to build something bearable with this Pokemon.
https://pokepast.es/a898c58be8c073bc

Its use is in how bulky it is but still has reliable speed. It can stack Spikes and Taunt most reliable defoggers on balance like Rotom-Wash, Mantine, Mandibuzz, Staraptor and just cripple balance mons with taunt and a filler psychic move all together (like Toxapex, Swampert, ...). It can also taunt most (Adamant) setup sweepers like Breloom, Tapu Bulu, Scizor-Mega, Bisharp, ... Lastly it can also Taunt + Knock Off Muk-Alola and Knock Off items from many fat mons.

It's by no means great, but if Druddigon can have a D-rank for Mold Breaker Rocks, this thing is fine to be in D as it has use.


Ice
Avalugg [A to B]

While it might seem weird to drop this Pokemon hear me out. I have, just like everyone else seen Ice as a Hyper Offensive type. While this might have been the only viable Rapid Spin user in ORAS it no longer is. Alolan Sandslash is the premiere Rapid Spin user for the type and for a good reason; under Hail it acts as speedy hazard removal. While Avalugg has the bulk to tank a hit and then Rapid Spin, it definetly sucks any momentum the type might have might is truly terrible for any offensive team. That is the main reason I believe it does not belong this high on the VR and should drop.
Ice is not a type limited to Hyper Offense. It's hard to say how it's truely used with lack of tournament play, but it's also easily played as BO, which imo is even the best way to play the type. The BO variants are better in nearly every matchup barring Psychic (unless you take Weavile) and oddly Grass due to scarf Kyurem-B. I highly encourage you to try it out https://pokepast.es/c7d46395a32eb045.

While it's true Avalugg has no use on HO Ice, Sandslash itself has limited use on Bulky Ice builds as it doesn't compliment a defensive core with Piloswine as well as Avalugg does (https://pokepast.es/05cc104ca8edd547). The use Sandslash-Alola has on a BO team is to run SD as a breaker - which it would love to run over Rapid Spin if it could. Avalugg can take over that Rapid Spin job, and it's great to relieve that pressure from Sandslash-Alola. All though I think it's really hard to fit both on a team as you're often forgoing either Mamoswine or Piloswine. Either way that shows Avalugg is the premiere Rapid Spinner on BO Ice.

Lastly BO Ice with Avalugg also opens up more room for picks like Articuno (for reference, look at Smub's post).

Avalugg is fine in A.


I agree with your other nominations.
 
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Cradily [A to C]


Cradily is falling in usage, this is because Ferrothorn recently stopped running Protect as much and opted to run Stealth Rock, which was one of Cradily's main niches. This allows another more offensive teammate such as Decidueye or Celebi more easily onto the team, overall reflecting the more offensive balance nature the type has recently taken on this year. Overall, while Cradily still serves its purposes defensively it just is harder to fit on newer Grass teams.
I can see your point for why Cradily could possibly drop in the VR for Grass, but I believe it still belongs in A due to its defensive utilty, and if it were to drop, C is much too harsh. Protect Ferrothorn, while seeing less usage, is still very prevalent to scout choiced mons such as Dragonite, making Cradily's role as a Stealth Rock Setter still important. Additionally, Cradily is often Grass's only answer to strong special attackers with coverage, such as Hydreigon. Cradily still fills a vital role on most Grass teams as an essential Fire switch in, and is an important part in the Flying matchup. Cradily also still does more than Serperior or Gourgeist, who are also listed at C, and arguably more than Rotom, which is currently listed at B.

I agree with your other nominations, and would like to nominate Whimsicott to move up from C to B on Grass (for more info see winemom87's post).
View attachment 173882
Good evening distinguished panel of judges, I am here to talk to YOU about Whimsicott and why it deserves B-rank on GRASS.
UwU (Whimsicott) @ Fairium Z/ Normalium Z/ Darkium Z/Life Orb
Ability: Prankster
Shiny: if u want
Happiness: 252 <3
EVs: 252 Sp Atk / 4 Sp Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Encore
- Memento/Nature Power
- Taunt/knock off/tailwind/defog/stun spore​
As shown by the wide variety of sets/moves it can run, Whimsicott's move pool combined with its ability prankster and fairy stab makes it like a swiss army knife of utility for grass, able to be tailored to help in many matchups grass struggles with such as dragon, dark, ghost, psychic, and fighting. Unlike other 6th slot mons for grass, Whims's versatility combined with its speed tier and offense can give it a role in nearly any matchup and is only limited by the choices of the player.

One of the obvious draws to whims is its fairy stab and speed tier which are both amazing in helping a slow type like grass with a defensive core weak to a number of mons that fear fairy stab. Whims's fairy typing allows it to easily pivot in on moves that can threaten grass like banded Dnight outrage or Kommo-o clangourous soulblaze and threaten those mons in a way that scarf bulu is not able to do. Whim's base 116 speed allows it to outrun a lot of mons that threaten grass's key defense core (Cradily, M-venu, Ferrothorn) such as mega gallade, LO kyurem B, and Hydreigon, all of which do not appreciate the damage from a moonblast especially if hazards are up. Stab moonblast also threatens mons that disrupt grass's playstyle such as Mandibuzz and Mega Sab. Whims has the unique role of being easily able to eliminate an array of key threats and push match ups like dragon, dark, and fighting in grass's favor. While true that whims cannot kill either Gallade or Kyurem B from full, grass's ability to set hazards or rack up chip damage through leech seed more than compensates for that along with the option of running fairium Z or life orb which both provide ohko abilities.

252 SpA Life Orb Whimsicott Moonblast vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Gallade-Mega: 252-299 (90.9 - 107.9%) -- 43.8% chance to OHKO
252 SpA Life Orb Whimsicott Moonblast vs. 12 HP / 0 SpD Hawlucha: 416-491 (138.6 - 163.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
244 Atk Hawlucha Acrobatics (55 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Whimsicott: 164-194 (62.8 - 74.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Life Orb Whimsicott Moonblast vs. 0 HP / 0- SpD Kommo-o: 614-723 (210.9 - 248.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Life Orb Whimsicott Moonblast vs. 0 HP / 0- SpD Kyurem-Black: 351-413 (89.7 - 105.6%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO
52 SpA Life Orb Whimsicott Moonblast vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Dragonite: 283-338 (87.6 - 104.6%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO <- multi broken
252 SpA Life Orb Whimsicott Moonblast vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Latios: 265-312 (88 - 103.6%) -- 18.8% chance to OHKO
252 SpA Life Orb Whimsicott Moonblast vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Hydreigon: 624-738 (192 - 227%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Life Orb Whimsicott Moonblast vs. 252 HP / 144+ SpD Sableye-Mega: 203-242 (66.7 - 79.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Life Orb Whimsicott Moonblast vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Mandibuzz: 299-354 (70.6 - 83.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Life Orb Whimsicott Moonblast vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Bisharp: 191-226 (70.4 - 83.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Life Orb Whimsicott Moonblast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Tyranitar in Sand: 140-166 (34.6 - 41%) -- 59.9% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers

252 SpA Whimsicott Twinkle Tackle (175 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Gallade: 356-422 (128.5 - 152.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Whimsicott Twinkle Tackle (175 BP) vs. 12 HP / 0 SpD Hawlucha: 588-692 (196 - 230.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Whimsicott Twinkle Tackle (175 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0- SpD Kyurem-Black: 492-578 (125.8 - 147.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Whimsicott Twinkle Tackle (175 BP) vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Multiscale Dragonite: 201-237 (62.2 - 73.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Whimsicott Twinkle Tackle (175 BP) vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Dragonite: 402-474 (124.4 - 146.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO <--Multi broken
252 SpA Whimsicott Twinkle Tackle (175 BP) vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Latios: 372-438 (123.5 - 145.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Whimsicott Twinkle Tackle (175 BP) vs. 252 HP / 144+ SpD Sableye-Mega: 288-342 (94.7 - 112.5%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO
252 SpA Whimsicott Twinkle Tackle (175 BP) vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Mandibuzz: 422-498 (99.7 - 117.7%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO
252 SpA Whimsicott Twinkle Tackle (175 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Bisharp: 271-319 (100 - 117.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Whimsicott Twinkle Tackle (175 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Tyranitar in Sand: 194-230 (48 - 56.9%) -- 34.8% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers

Another key draw to Whims is prankster encore. One of grass's biggest weaknesses is its passiveness in the face of set up sweepers. Mons like SD mega scizor, SD/bulk up mega gallade, autotomize celesteela, SD mega pinsir, Quiver Dance volcorona, Ddance charizard X, SD mimikyu, CM mega latios/latias, substitute hawlucha, etc, can all easily come in on a member of grass's defense core and start setting up to sweep mid-late game. Pivoting to whims on a setup move directly changes the flow of the game and allows for whims to kill something, switch to something else to kill or in case of zmove, or go for something like knock-off, tailwind, or stun spore on the forced switch. Whimsicott directly stops set up sweeping from occurring with priority encore and force opponents playing types with advantages like steel, fire, bug, psychic, and dragon to play around it.

Besides moonblast and encore, Whimsicott's move set is very tailorable to certain match ups. Two prominent moves are memento and nature power usually paired with darkium z and normalium z respectively. Priority z memento allows for whims to essentially neutralize a possible threat, such as victini, and fully heal one of grass's key walls or offensive threats. Z memento helps tremendously in long match ups like poison and steel where wear down of the defense core is one of the biggest threats, allowing walls like ferrothorn who lack healing outside of seed to get a second chance, alleviating the pressure from Venu and its 8 pp synthesis, renewing sash on loom, or letting bulu back in after possible wood hammer misuse. Nature power allows Whims to further assist with grass's speed deficiency, becoming a unique form of priority attacking, able to become a priority boosted energy ball under grassy terrain, and into a priority boosted bloom doom with normalium, able to revenge kill sweepers that either outspeed bulu or have already set up, like excadrill in sand or rock polish mew, and pick off threats that have already been weakened from hits, hazards, or leech seed.

252 SpA Whimsicott Bloom Doom (175 BP) vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Mew in Grassy Terrain: 301-355 (88.2 - 104.1%) -- 25% chance to OHKO
252 SpA Whimsicott Bloom Doom (175 BP) vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Excadrill in Grassy Terrain: 427-504 (118.2 - 139.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Whimsicott Bloom Doom (175 BP) vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Pidgeot-Mega in Grassy Terrain: 181-213 (58.9 - 69.3%)
252 SpA Whimsicott Bloom Doom (175 BP) vs. -1 0 HP / 4 SpD Victini in Grassy Terrain: 225-266 (65.9 - 78%) -- 25% chance to OHKO after Rocks
252 SpA Whimsicott Bloom Doom (175 BP) vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Blacephalon in Grassy Terrain: 183-216 (74 - 87.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock, 1 layer of Spikes.
252 SpA Whimsicott Bloom Doom (175 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0- SpD Kyurem-Black in Grassy Terrain: 183-216 (46.8 - 55.2%)--56.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock, 3 layers of Spikes
252 SpA Whimsicott Bloom Doom (175 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Toxapex in Grassy Terrain: 222-262 (73 - 86.1%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock, 1 layer of Spikes

From there, Whims offers a number of utility moves that can be tailored to serve a unique role on grass in a number of unfavorable match ups. Moves like stun spore and tailwind allow for grass's slower offense in the form of breloom and Bulu to outspeed threats on losing match ups like psychic and fire. Priority defog allows for grass to reset the field in matchups where it gets beaten in hazard stacking like steel (as fairum ohko bisharp) and mirror. Knock off can also work to make whims usable in matchups where it otherwise would have a very limited role like poison and steel. I will put a soft spotlight on knock-off which allows whims to serve a unique role on grass in neutralizing berry muk and metronome airslash celesteela, both of which are nearly impossible for grass to beat otherwise without spore hax. Knock off allows whims to assist in a number of matchups, namely dark, normal, and to lesser extent flying by being able to come in and threaten with moonblast/encore and knock off on the switch, removing eviolites, leftovers, toxic orbs, berries, and more.

In conclusion, While other mons are more beneficial in particular matchups (Celebi in poison, Dec in psychic, and rotom-m in bug) Whims still improves tough matchs up like dragon, dark, fighting, and normal, while also filling a unique role in stopping the prevalent threat to grass of set up sweeping. Whim's versatility and utility with prankster allow it to serve some role in nearly any match up, something that other B rank mons like rotom and celebi cannot do and is something that should be taken note of considering rotom's dropoff in usage. Whims is a great choice of fit for any grass player that is either struggling vs dragon, dark, fighting, or normal or is finding themselves commonly getting swept by staples of the meta like Gallade, kommo-o, muk, and scizor. Whims offer value equal to if not more than other B rank mons like Celebi and Rotom and should be ranked as such. Thank you and have a safe trip home.

Whim's role in dark teams
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7monotype-871554697
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7monotype-851052471
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7monotype-898960603
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7monotype-874324045
Fighting
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7monotype-871334661
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7monotype-874318918
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7monotype-848757428
Psychic
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7monotype-886689359
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7monotype-871220267
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7monotype-845473935
Dragon
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7monotype-901025647
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7monotype-833022970
Normal
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7monotype-875897482
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7monotype-866809444
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7monotype-876402128
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7monotype-788995868
Poison
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7monotype-903429613
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7monotype-832449666
Bug
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7monotype-869200863
Steel
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7monotype-847637259
Flying
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7monotype-877174269
Ground
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7monotype-852578851
Fairy
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7monotype-860504945
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7monotype-836196033
Electric
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7monotype-886245478
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7monotype-847289298
Fire
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7monotype-856663941
I would also like to nominate Rotom-Mow to move from B to C on Grass due to the fact that Decidueye, Celebi, and Whimsicott all do more for Grass than Rotom does in the current meta and is thus losing usage.
 
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Umbreon (Dark) Unranked ----> D
While by no means a top-tier mon for Dark, it always finds a niche in my teams as a Spec wall, with several moveset options with Wish/Protect/Heal Bell/Filler being the most common I run, but Curse/Payback, and even Calm Mind/D Pulse are sets I've seen, and they can work. It generally can take a hit and can allow you to stall out sweeps in some situations. I want to argue that it can be C tier but for now just seeing it on the list would suffice. I come from a slight state of bias as Umbreon is a favorite, but to not see it listed as Viable at all feels like a mistake due to the bulk potential and versatility for niche play.
 
Umbreon (Dark) Unranked ----> D
While by no means a top-tier mon for Dark, it always finds a niche in my teams as a Spec wall, with several moveset options with Wish/Protect/Heal Bell/Filler being the most common I run, but Curse/Payback, and even Calm Mind/D Pulse are sets I've seen, and they can work. It generally can take a hit and can allow you to stall out sweeps in some situations. I want to argue that it can be C tier but for now just seeing it on the list would suffice. I come from a slight state of bias as Umbreon is a favorite, but to not see it listed as Viable at all feels like a mistake due to the bulk potential and versatility for niche play.
The major problem with Umbreon is that it is a pure Dark typing. That means that it doesn't provide any useful neutralities the way that Muk or Mandibuzz do, when Dark already has more than 6 good Pokemon to run. Thus, the only role that Umbreon might be able to fill is as a cleric on something like Dark stall, but even that isn't exactly viable either. Great Pokemon, but not good in Monotype, unfortunately, to the point it can't even be ranked at D.
 
Heliolisk (Normal) D ----> C
Has good Speed and Sp. Attack.
It helps a lot on Flying and Water matchups.
It has good coverage on Surf and Grass Knot.
Thanks to Volt Switch, can form a VoltTurn core with Mega Pidgeot or Staraptor.
 
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VR Update!
First, massive thank you to Vid for his help over the past 3 years on this project. Even since ORAS, Vid has been a driving force in making the VR a useful resource for everyone. In Gen 8, we'll have a couple new faces joining the team.

I want to leave this open for one more official update, since I'm going off of old notes Vid and I worked on a while back. I do not expect this update to be complete or infallible due to its huge scale, so please nom any changes you think we should make. In order to facilitate this (and as an apology for the very long wait), I have included a brief explanation for all rises and drops. I'll be doing minor updates this month to fix up any mistakes and then we'll try to have one more full update later this year before Gen 8.

Thank you for your patience up until this point.

For the types that have a large number of changes or certain drops that may seem strange, remember we're looking for relative viability. A very good Pokemon in A for one type (Psychic / Water / Flying especially) might be better than those in S for another. We only rank Pokemon relatively within the type itself.
:araquanid: A->B - Pursuit trapping Victini is more reliable than using Araquanid, and as a Sticky Web setter, it pales in comparison to Galvantula.
:forretress: B->A - Forretress's access to Volt Switch along with especially powerful hazards in Spikes and Toxic Spikes makes it more competitive with Armaldo. Not having Knock Off is a huge blow and not being able to spin against Victini makes it slightly worse against Psychic. However, it is very consistent and should rise as a result.

:sableye-mega: S->A - Reflects the growing parity between Mega Sableye balance and Mega Tyranitar offense that Dark has seen recently. Mega Sableye is still a fantastic Pokemon, but a drop because the other S ranks are significantly more useful.
:mandibuzz: A->S - Mandibuzz is relevant on all Dark builds for its great typing, bulk, and access to Defog.
:honchkrow: C->D - Worse than Weavile and Mega Sharpedo, it should be a lower tier.

:latias-mega: B->C - The matchups Mega Latias helps with are more easily covered by others, specifically Kommo-o covering essentially every matchup that Stored Power helps with. Unlike Mega Altaria, which at least has the potential to cover Dark, Mega Latias struggles to do much unique.
:latias: C->A - Healing Wish is fantastic support, dropping Mega Latias is easier than ever, and there are some builds even Latios can be replaced by Latias on nowadays.
:dragalge: C->B - Toxic Spikes support covers the majority of Dragon's bad matchups, and its Poison STAB makes Fairy much easier to handle. It rises to be on the level of the other matchup fishing Pokemon.

Revamped - Most of the lower ranks were unranked to make room for more granular tiering for the strong Electric-types. Because Electric as a type often has a particular set of Pokemon that appear on every team, remember that being a lower rank is only relative to the type itself. B or C ranks are not necessary bad, but simply relatively lower rank than those above them.
:zapdos: S->A - With Rotom formes being able to Defog, Zapdos's role as a Defogger isn't as unique. Furthermore, there are other options for covering the Ground immunity in Air Balloon Magnet Pull users, Rotom formes again, and Thundurus for offensive teams. While Zapdos continues to be a great option for handling utility Tapu Bulu and non-Continental Crush sets, it is far from as mandatory as it once was.
:zeraora: A->S - Zeraora is what Electric has wanted for years: a fast, strong physical attacker. Its ability to run a wide range of sets between Flyinium Z, Choice Band, and Fightinium Z give it options to cover different threats depending on Electric's need. With good play, it beats many types that are traditionally hard for Electric including Fairy, Poison, Grass, and Normal.
:golem-alola: A->B - With Zapdos and Alolan Raichu in A, it's hard to argue for Alolan Golem to stay. Electric teams can get away without Stealth Rock, and it faces competition from Magnezone as a Magnet Pull user. While Alolan Golem itself isn't worse, the restructuring makes it drop a rank.
:magnezone: A->B - Similarly to Alolan Golem, Magnezone drops a rank to make room for Zapdos. Its Magnet Pull set and even its Analytic set are both great for rounding out an Electric team, making it fit better below those in A.
:manectric-mega: B->D - The help it provides to Tapu Koko is less relevant with Zeraora covering Steel very nicely. It fits more with the likes of Raikou, who's outclassed against Psychic by the variety of Knock Off users.
:xurkitree: C->D - Xurkitree joins Mega Manectric and Raikou as the mono-Electric special attackers that have a very small niche but are usually not the right choice. Its ability to sweep specific teams based on coverage is offset by its reliance on Hypnosis, weakness to priority, and still mediocre Speed after it boosts.
:galvantula: C->Unranked - Electric has much better speed control options than webs.
:thundurus-therian: D->Unranked - The last thing Electric needs is another fast special attacker, especially one that needs Agility to outspeed most relevant offensive Pokemon.
:ampharos-mega: D->Unranked - There are much better options for handling Mega Sableye and it simply doesn't beat anything anymore.
:rotom-mow: Unranked->C - Rotom-C offers an alternative way of handling Tapu Bulu and has the benefit of being marginally better against Mold Breaker Excadrill for teams that require extra assistance, but it prevents the use of Rotom-W. It is, however, significantly better than the Pokemon in D.

:azumarill: S->A - Azumarill has become much easier to drop as Fairy chooses which matchups its willing to throw away. Azumarill covering Poison with Jolly Frustration and Steel with Spikes supported Aqua Jet is simply not as reliable as it once was, and it simply does not compare to the power of the other S ranks.
:tapu bulu: A->S - Tapu Bulu's incredible range of utility options and SD sets makes it capable of beating almost anything with the right tech. At any point in the metagame, the threat of running into the very different Disable, Leech Seed, double Grass STAB, Rockium Z, and Fightinium Z sets and how it pressures different types for Fairy to enable its other Pokemon makes it a solid S rank.
:gardevoir-mega: D->Unranked - The loss of Mega Diancie is far too much of a cost to pay to run Mega Gardevoir. It doesn't help that Mega Diancie is actually better vs Poison anyway.
:slurpuff: D->Unranked - As a Sticky Web user, it is almost always worse than Ribombee, and it is always worse than Azumarill as a Belly Drum user.
:whimsicott: D->Unranked - It's actually worse than Tapu Bulu at SubSeed even though it has Prankster, and utility sets with Tailwind and Memento just don't cut it anymore.

:heracross-mega: C->D - The opportunity cost of Mega Gallade is absolutely massive, and this should reflect that more accurately.
:toxicroak: D->C - Toxicroak's ability to run certain sets that punish Fairy and Psychic teams is more useful than losing Mega Gallade to run a slow Pokemon like Mega Heracross.

Restructured - Mostly a lot of drops. Not because Pokemon are much worse but because it's more accurate in dividing what Pokemon are relatively as good as others.
:torkoal: S->A - While Torkoal's role as a very reliable spinner + rocker is huge for Fire, comparing it to Mega Charizard X is a bit ambitious.
:volcarona: A->B - Volcarona finds that Blacephalon's Ghost STAB is much better at beating Psychic than its Bug STAB, which is unfortunately not the greatest against Victini. It has the benefit of being better against certain types like Electric, but there are other options available for beating Electric.
:blacephalon: B->A - Blacephalon serves as probably the most reliable way to handle Psychic, making it jump over Volcarona. It can even frustrate Flying, which is often dropping Mantine these days, and Dragon with its coverage and STAB attacks.
:victini: B->C - With Volcarona dropping, Victini drops a little too into Alolan Marowak's tier. Not necessarily a knock against Victini, but it fits better with the decent Stealth Rock user than the matchup moth.
:charizard-mega-y: B->D - Too many types are running Pokemon that naturally beat Mega Charizard Y in SM, and Mega Charizard X's power is too good to drop for this.
:volcanion: C->D - Volcanion's biggest problem is there are too many things it wants to be able to do, and that causes it to be lackluster in every role it can try to run. As a wallbreaker, it can't fit all the coverage it wants, as a Defogger, it doesn't beat many rockers, and as anything else, it lacks power.
:darmanitan: D->Unranked - While at least Entei has the "benefit" of powerful Extreme Speed, Darmanitan simply does not cut it anymore, as all it can really do is click Flare Blitz and U-turn with a Choice Scarf.

:zapdos: S->A - Zapdos, while still fantastic on non-HO teams, does not have the omnipresence it once did. The explosion of BoltBeam spammers has hurt its viability to the point of finally dropping out of S. However, SubToxic remains powerful against Water teams, and it can still fit itself into teams as an amazing Pressure Defogger. It simply does not have the metagame impact that Celesteela does or the universal usefulness of Landorus-T.
:mantine: S->C - Mantine has fallen significantly in usage and viability recently. Like with Zapdos, BoltBeam has taken over the metagame, and Mantine just can't compete. Offensive Defoggers are much more popular on balance teams, the only place Mantine could fit, and Mantine's lack of presence outside of a measly Scald does not help its case.
:skarmory: A->D - Like with Mantine, Skarmory is just too passive in the current metagame. Celesteela being a superior defensive Steel / Flying type that can double as an offensive threat as well makes Skarmory very difficult to fit into most Flying teams.
:dragonite: B->A - Dragonite's ability to have powerful Choice Band attacks while always threatening to be a Dragon Dance set makes both HO and balance teams love to use it wherever they can.
:tornadus-therian: B->A - Tornadus-T is everywhere on fatter builds as an amazing utility option. It can run all sorts of different sets between just stallbreaker and Defogger roles. It fits on all sorts of teams, notably being on almost every bulky offense and even most balance teams.
:aerodactyl: C->B - HO teams are becoming more popular and Aerodactyl is HO's favorite suicide lead. As a result, it goes up.

:tapu bulu: S->A - Tapu Bulu drops mostly because its usage and influence doesn't merit sitting beside Mega Venusaur and Ferrothorn. Tapu Bulu tends to be strong for offensive redundancy to break down shared checks; however, that also means it finds itself side-lined for other rising offensive threats like Decidueye more and more frequently.
:cradily: A->C - Cradily's spot on the defensive core along with Mega Venusaur + Ferrothorn is much less useful in the world where Fire-types are less and less frequent. Instead, matching up and beating types that Grass is naturally good against is the prevailing strategy, so Cradily drops significantly.
:rotom-mow: B->D - Like with Cradily, Rotom-C is a relic of an older time where Grass teams tried to beat its weaknesses. Its moves for pseudo-BoltBeam is simply too weak to make it reliable.
:decidueye: C->B - Decidueye almost single-handedly gives Grass a chance against Psychic, what once was one of its worst matchups. While not completely reliable due to Psychic's love for anti-Mimikyu tech, Decidueye also helps in other matchups and can even run tech options to help check a variety of specific threats to Grass, including Alolan Muk.
:whimsicott: C->B - Whimsicott gives Grass a good answer to Dragon with STAB Moonblast breaking most of the team. It also helps cover offense with the help of Prankster Tailwind. In addition, its Speed tier makes it able to handle a variety of offensive threats to Grass itself, so it rises to sit with Celebi, another great offensive option.

:hippowdon: S->A - Sand is no longer the undisputed best way to build Ground, and Hippowdon being such deadweight in most matchups means it's dropping from S.
:dugtrio: A->C - There are much better ways of handling the Pokemon Dugtrio used to trap. The absolute need for removal just to make Dugtrio work means its viability has dropped a lot.
:gliscor: B->C - Gliscor drops simply because it fits in more with the C ranks than powerhouses like Mamoswine and Mega Garchomp, who have very notable niches as powerful wallbreakers.
:landorus-therian: B->C - Landorus-T drops slightly to better reflect the opportunity cost of Landorus. It should be closer to the Pokemon that it is often used with, as while it is still very powerful with double dance sets, the team needs to make up for the lack of Gravity.
:steelix-mega: C->A - Mega Steelix has taken the metagame by storm in the past year and finds itself on every variant of Ground between sand and sandless. Covering many matchups that Ground hated in Normal, Fairy, and Dragon is invaluable.
:diggersby: C->D - Diggersby is simply not as good as the other C ranks, as Krookodile serves as a very solid answer to Psychic, and the core of Landorus-T and Nidoking are especially powerful on non-sand.

:avalugg: A->B - Offensive spinning with Alolan Sandslash is preferred these days.
:beartic: D->Unranked - I don't even know why this is ranked or (even worse) has an analysis. Never seen it used even at 1000 ELO. My bad for letting this horrible thing stay on the VR for so long.

:nidoqueen: B->C - Dropping because the other B ranks are just much better.
:dragalge: C->D - It's really slow and there are better Toxic Spikes users on Poison of all types. Its only particularly notable niche is beating Mega Sableye, which you can still do pretty reliably with Toxapex if you're willing to sit around for like 50 turns.
:golbat: C->Unranked - This thing is so bad.

Revamped - Updated to more modern builds
:mew: S->A - While Mew still fits on every team archetype, it's hard to compare any Psychic-type to Victini, which is all but needed on every Psychic team.
:alakazam: A->B - With HO being much worse than early gen and balance dropping Alakazam more and more lately, Alakazam falls down the rankings a little bit.
:jirachi: A->B - Jirachi is still very good, but the competitiveness of the A tier means it drops to B where it fits slightly better.
:latias-mega: A->C - Mega Latias has dropped off the face of the metagame for the most part for more powerful Mega Evolutions. Not being able to run Latias is a big factor as well.
:slowbro: A->C - Slowbro remains one of the most iconic balance Psychic walls, but the emergence of other options has made it fall down the list of best Colbur users, and that is reflected by its drop here as well.
:celebi: B->A - Celebi has risen as perhaps the best Colbur user and one of the best Stealth Rock users on Psychic. Its fantastic bulk and special typing makes it a fantastic check to Fairy. Unlike Jirachi, the other defensive Stealth Rock user, Celebi has recovery, which makes it extremely reliable for setting Stealth Rock throughout the match.
:deoxys-speed: B->A - Nasty Plot Deoxys-S took the metagame by storm with its incredible coverage options in BoltBeam, Energy Ball, and of course its STAB Psycho Boost. Being able to check a variety of types with Expert Belt or a Z-Crystal, Deoxys-S fits on many teams as a reliable answer to Flying and Water.
:metagross: B->A - Metagross has overtaken Jirachi as the superior Steel / Psychic type. Between its extremely powerful Choice Band set that can run all kinds of moves between Pursuit, elemental punches, STAB, and Hammer Arm, Metagross can cover almost any type offensively. Defensively, Metagross's bulk and powerful STAB attacks means it can pack a Kasib Berry and handily check Mimikyu and Decidueye. It can also run a Colbur Berry to handle Dark-types, and its versatility gives it this A rank.
:slowbro-mega: B->C - While Mega Slowbro is arguably better now than it has been for quite some time, everything on Psychic is a lot better than it used to be. As a result, Mega Slowbro slides down a rank.
:latios-mega: C->B - Mega Latios tends to be a great glue for teams that have no Mega Evolution. Unlike with Mega Latias, Mega Latios's superior damage output lets it break through teams with its Calm Mind sets. While most teams will still prefer Latios, Mega Latios's viability has gone up recently.
:gallade: D->Unranked - While not entirely unusable, it shouldn't sit with Mega Alakazam and Mega Gardevoir, which have real niches.

:scizor-mega: S->A - Mega Scizor drops for the simple fact that S is currently held by Celesteela and Heatran. It's really hard for any Pokemon to compete with that, and Mega Scizor fits much nicer in the A tier.
:skarmory: A->D - Skarmory doesn't have much going for it anymore other than as a suicide lead on some niche HO teams. Celesteela is a far superior option for Steel / Flying.
:cobalion: D->C - Cobalion rises for being a really good option on HO for especially handling Dark using its SubSD set.

Restructured - A lot of drops here. Not because some of these Pokemon are worse (in some cases like Mantine, yes it is worse) but to more accurately reflect what Pokemon are better than what. Water's incredible versatility makes this a bit of a pain, so a lot of good Pokemon show up lower on the list.
:gyarados: A->B - Gyarados is still great, but it's got way too much competition in the A rank to fit here.
:suicune: A->B - The old mega fat semistall Suicune Water teams are less prevalent than before. While Suicune still threatens many types and is a very solid choice, it's hard to fit on the slightly more momentum-focused Water teams of today.
:mantine: A->C - Mantine is much harder to fit in the world of every Pokemon having an Electric-type move. Balance has dropped it most of the time for Rotom-W, so it falls the rankings as well.
:azumarill: B->C - Azumarill just doesn't as much as it once did, and it struggles to fit on most teams, as it's average at all of its roles.
:slowbro-mega: B->C - Mega Slowbro has a handful of pretty good matchups, but other Mega Evolutions make it hard to find room to fit Mega Slowbro into your team.
:pelipper: C->B - Rain teams that aren't full on 100% Swift Swim are more common, and Pelipper is the best rain setter for Water.
:jellicent: C->D - As a stallbreaker, there are just better options around.
:araquanid: D->Unranked - I don't think this has been used since 2017.
:slowking: Unranked->C - The infamous "Triple Degenerator" team is very successful but very matchup dependent. As a result, Slowking rises to the other stall-based Pokemon.
 


Walrein

I think Walrein should be considered at least D rank in mono ice because he checks many fire types and has a lot of bulk. I use specs Walrein in my mono Ice and I'm sure it is viable.
I think you misunderstand the last post, that was just changes. walrein is already B rank on ice

Screenshot_1797.png

If you go to the first post on page 1 of this thread you can find the full viability rankings =D
 
Drapion: Poison C Tier

I am still a little newer to Monotype than maybe some other players but I think we should slot Drapion into C tier for Poison. It is a viable holder of Darkinium Z with Nightslash to get decent dark stab, along with Taunt to stop setup sweepers, something that poison has a little bit of difficulty with in general from personal experience. Roar is another highly useful ability for Poison teams due to forcing a switch onto a double layered toxic spikes, and to mess with enemy setup more. Final move slot is basically whatever but poison jab is always a useful STAB.

My reasoning for C tier is quite simple, as a Poison/Dark type it is hugely outperformed by Muk in basically all situations and would never be a viable replacement for that Mon. As a setup breaker it is also generally outperformed by Toxapex with Haze, who can usually tank a hit, haze the opponent, and switch out to regen. Saying all of this though, Drapion is in a unique location of bringing both anti setup, and switch control with roar, and a good typing. Something that you can't really get in a single slot pokemon. Is the use cases for this pokemon niche? Yes most certainly. Does it have a viable place in the meta? Also yes.
 
Drapion: Poison C Tier

I am still a little newer to Monotype than maybe some other players but I think we should slot Drapion into C tier for Poison. It is a viable holder of Darkinium Z with Nightslash to get decent dark stab, along with Taunt to stop setup sweepers, something that poison has a little bit of difficulty with in general from personal experience. Roar is another highly useful ability for Poison teams due to forcing a switch onto a double layered toxic spikes, and to mess with enemy setup more. Final move slot is basically whatever but poison jab is always a useful STAB.

My reasoning for C tier is quite simple, as a Poison/Dark type it is hugely outperformed by Muk in basically all situations and would never be a viable replacement for that Mon. As a setup breaker it is also generally outperformed by Toxapex with Haze, who can usually tank a hit, haze the opponent, and switch out to regen. Saying all of this though, Drapion is in a unique location of bringing both anti setup, and switch control with roar, and a good typing. Something that you can't really get in a single slot pokemon. Is the use cases for this pokemon niche? Yes most certainly. Does it have a viable place in the meta? Also yes.
Okay so basically the only thing I saw useful on this pokemon was roar, and with not a ton of bulk and no reliable recovery he cant even tank hits to spam roar. Tspikes is done better by Pex and psy immunity is done better by Muk-Alola. With that being said I dont see the benefit of using this over one of the more standard 7 or 8 poison type pokemon. Due to the defensive core of Toxapex Venusaur-mega Muk and Crobat being so strong and having just the right type resists and immunities, those 4 are usually always going to be on the team.
So now with our last 2 slots we're looking at a team with a good defensive core no wallbreakers, no stealth rocks, and no scarf, This is why the most likely 2 candidates here are Scarf nihihelgo with Wallbreaker LO sheerforce nidoking with rocks. Now there is other builds maybe scarf gengar or using scolipede as the speed control. or putting rocks on nihi and adding in a salazzle.
There are other niche options but They usually have a specific role that's needed due to dropping another mon on the team. but for the most part those are the stronger and more standard pokemon poison uses
but all things considered I dont see how drapion slots into the team without cutting like muk? and imo this is a huge downgrade as muk outclasses drapion in most cases. recovery with the recycle set also the bulk the mon carries is crucial for poison. If you had more reasons drapion was viable I'd like to hear them because as it stands I dont see how it would ever be slotted into a poison team and what matchups it might be helping in this scenario
 

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