Resource Monotype Viability Rankings [October 2023]

[roxie]

​

Welcome to the Scarlet and Violet Monotype Viability Rankings! In Monotype, Pokemon are ranked based on their viability relative to the other Pokemon you have available on a particular type. The Pokemon in A rank are more viable than those in B rank, but that does not mean B-rank Pokemon aren't useful or don't have a very valuable niche. Anything that is ranked must be usable and have some value that prevents it from being outclassed. Most Pokemon are placed into one of four different rankings: S, A, B, and C. Previously, the D ranking was included, but collectively, we've decided not to include D rankings during this era of Monotype. Some Pokemon aren’t listed either because they are completely outclassed or haven't been ranked yet. Pokemon are ranked separately for each type. For example, Grass teams love Toedscruel's access to Spikes and Rapid Spin, but Ground teams have limited interest in Toedscruel because there are superior options for its niches; Toedscruel would be ranked separately for each type.

General / Write-up Rules

• Flaming will not be tolerated. Please respectfully debate each other's nominations.
• Post smartly, don't just be like "I like Magnezone, so it should be in S Tier!"
• Stay on topic. This thread is intended for the discussion of how viable Pokemon are relative to each other, which does involve sometimes referring to Pokemon as broken or extremely good. However, there are other more suited threads for posting about whether a Pokemon is too broken, so make sure to frame your posts appropriately.
• Please only nominate rank changes for Pokemon that you have direct experience using. Do not use theory or on-paper ideas.
• Avoid posting very brief and simple questions such as "Why is Galarian Corsola A Rank? It sucks!" The Simple Questions and Simple Answers are the perfect place to ask your simple question to get a simple answer!

Viability Ranking Council: These people will have the final say if a decision by the community cannot be reached or if a Pokemon is completely misplaced. If you do not contribute to this thread, do not expect your suggestions to be added miraculously. We each vote individually on Pokemon, so post here if you want all of us to see your suggestion!

• Attribute
• Azick
• Felines
• maroon
• Neko
• roxie
• yedla

How to rank

• Include the Pokemon you're rating, the type, and what rank you want it to be.
• Explain as to why you put it in that rank and how it fares in Monotype. (Why should it be ranked lower or higher?)

Bug

S Rank
Kleavor
Scizor
Volcarona

A Rank
Forretress
Lokix
Slither Wing

B Rank
Frosmoth
Ribombee
Vikavolt

C Rank
Heracross

D Rank
Rabsca
Vivillon
Yanmega

Dark

S Rank
Chien-Pao
Kingambit

A Rank
Hydreigon
Meowscarada
Muk-Alola
Sableye
Urshifu-S

B Rank
Darkrai
Greninja
Hoopa-Unbound
Mandibuzz
Moltres-Galar
Ting-Lu

C Rank
Grimmsnarl
Iron Jugulis
Overqwil
Samurott-Hisui
Tyranitar

D Rank
Crawdaunt
Krookodile
Lokix
Roaring Moon
Weavile
Zarude

Dragon

S Rank
Baxcalibur
Dragapult
Goodra-Hisui

A Rank
Cyclizar
Garchomp
Kommo-o
Roaring Moon

B Rank
Dragonite
Hydreigon
Walking Wake

C Rank
Dragalge

D Rank

Electric

S Rank
Iron Hands
Rotom-Wash

A Rank
Magnezone
Sandy Shocks
Zapdos

B Rank
Pawmot
Regieleki
Thundurus

C Rank
Iron Thorns
Thundurus-Therian
Toxtricity

D Rank
Eelektross
Electrode-Hisui
Golem-Alola
Kilowattrel
Oricorio-Pom-Pom
Pincurchin
Raichu-Alola
Rotom-Heat
Rotom-Mow
Vikavolt

Fairy

S Rank
Flutter Mane
Iron Valiant
Klefki

A Rank
Azumarill
Clefable
Hatterene

B Rank
Enamorus

C Rank
Grimmsnarl
Mimikyu
Ninetales-Alola
Tinkaton
Weezing-Galar

D Rank
Diancie
Enamorus-Therian
Fezandipiti
Gardevoir
Ribombee
Scream Tail

Fighting

S Rank
Great Tusk
Iron Valiant
Urshifu-S
Zamazenta

A Rank
Iron Hands
Sneasler

B Rank
Kommo-o
Lilligant-Hisui
Okidogi

C Rank
Breloom
Pawmot
Tauros-Paldea-Blaze
Urshifu-R

D Rank
Gallade
Hawlucha
Heracross
Infernape
Lucario
Quaquaval
Slither WIng
Zapdos-Galar

Fire

S Rank
Ogerpon-Hearthflame

A Rank
Arcanine-Hisui
Ceruledge
Cinderace
Heatran
Ninetales
Volcanion
Volcarona

B Rank
Infernape
Iron Moth
Talonflame
Torkoal

C Rank
Moltres
Rotom-Heat
Scovillain
Skeledirge

D Rank
Armarouge
Tauros-Paldea-Blaze

Flying

S Rank
Corviknight
Gliscor

A Rank
Articuno
Dragonite
Enamorus
Landorus
Landorus-Therian

B Rank
Moltres
Moltres-Galar
Thundurus-Therian
Tornadus-Therian
Zapdos

C Rank
Gyarados
Mandibuzz
Zapdos-Galar

D Rank
Braviary-Hisui
Enamorus-Therian
Iron Jugulis
Pelipper
Salamence

Ghost

S Rank
Flutter Mane
Gholdengo

A Rank
Ceruledge
Dragapult
Mimikyu
Spectrier

B Rank
Brambleghast
Froslass
Sinistcha
Skeledirge
Zoroark-Hisui

C Rank
Gengar
Polteageist
Sableye

D Rank
Basculegion
Basculegion-F
Decidueye
Palossand

Grass

S Rank
Meowscarada
Ogerpon-Hearthflame

A Rank
Amoonguss
Lilligant-Hisui
Torterra

B Rank
Abomasnow
Brambleghast
Breloom
Rillaboom
Rotom-Mow
Sinistcha

C Rank
Toedscruel
Zarude

D Rank
Decidueye
Iron Leaves
Ogerpon-Cornerstone
Ogerpon-Wellspring
Wo-Chien

Ground

S Rank
Clodsire
Great Tusk
Iron Treads

A Rank
Gliscor
Landorus
Mamoswine
Ursaluna-Bloodmoon

B Rank
Garchomp
Quagsire

C Rank
Gastrodon
Landorus-Therian
Sandy Shocks
Ting-Lu
Ursaluna

D Rank
Hippowdon
Krookodile
Torterra

Ice

S Rank
Baxcalibur
Chien-Pao
Ninetales-Alola

A Rank
Froslass
Mamoswine

B Rank
Avalugg
Frosmoth
Sandslash-Alola

C Rank
Cetitan
Cloyster

D Rank
Articuno
Glastrier
Rotom-Frost
Weavile

Normal

S Rank
Ursaluna-Bloodmoon
Zoroark-Hisui

A Rank
Ditto
Indeedee
Snorlax
Ursaluna

B Rank
Arboliva
Cyclizar
Maushold
Meloetta

C Rank
Blissey
Braviary
Staraptor

D Rank
Ambipom
Chansey
Grafaiai
Pyroar

Poison

S Rank
Amoonguss
Muk-Alola
Toxapex

A Rank
Okidogi
Slowking-Galar
Sneasler
Weezing-Galar

B Rank
Clodsire
Glimmora
Iron Moth
Salazzle

C Rank
Gengar
Overqwil

D Rank
Fezandipiti
Munkidori
Weezing

Psychic

S Rank
Hoopa-Unbound
Jirachi

A Rank
Espathra
Hatterene
Mew
Scream Tail
Slowbro

B Rank
Slowking-Galar

C Rank
Armarouge
Bronzong
Cresselia
Gallade
Gardevoir
Iron Leaves
Munkidori
Slowking

D Rank
Azelf
Braviary-Hisui
Delphox
Indeedee
Indeedee-F
Meloetta
Rabsca
Slowbro-Galar

Rock

S Rank
Garganacl
Glimmora
Ogerpon-Cornerstone
Tyranitar

A Rank
Diancie

B Rank
Arcanine-Hisui

C Rank
Coalossal
Golem-Alola
Kleavor
Lycanroc

D Rank
Drednaw
Iron Thorns

Steel

S Rank
Corviknight
Gholdengo
Heatran
Kingambit

A Rank
Goodra-Hisui
Iron Treads

B Rank
Empoleon
Jirachi

C Rank
Klefki
Orthworm
Scizor

D Rank
Bronzong
Forretress
Lucario
Magneton
Magnezone
Tinkaton

Water

S Rank
Toxapex

A Rank
Dondozo
Empoleon
Gastrodon
Greninja
Ogerpon-Wellspring
Urshifu-R

B Rank
Azumarill
Barraskewda
Basculegion-F
Manaphy
Pelipper
Quagsire
Quaquaval
Rotom-Wash
Samurott-Hisui
Walking Wake

C Rank
Cloyster
Gyarados
Slowking
Volcanion

D Rank
Alomomola
Cramorant
Crawdaunt
Slowbro

Blacklist
These Pokemon have been brought up multiple times for discussion with the same arguments or are just awful. A type can be blacklisted if it is an extreme circumstance. If anyone talks about a Pokemon that is blacklisted, your post will be deleted and or infracted.

• None

 

[roxie]

Discussion Points:

• Water has no S ranks at the moment. Does Water have any "must-haves" / S-rank / Always-Need Pokémon?
• Abomasnow on Grass. Does this Pokemon play a prominent/notable role on Grass? Should it rise / drop?
• Landorus-T & Landorus (Flying) both of these Pokemon are in the same ranking yet you can only use one. Is there a specific form better than another or do they share an equal sense of viability right now?
• Torkoal vs Ninetales. This is a huge change from SS - SV. If Ninetales a better option due to its high Speed and SpA, what makes Torkoal have a place on the VR?
• Feel free to bring up any other discussions in the thread, happy posting!

 

[Giyu]

Toxapex is 100% S tier for Water. It's on every team and prevents an auto loss from Meowscarada and the other 100 mons it walls.

Piloswine should be B tier on Ice. It's the only way you beat Fire-types like Volcarona and Iron Moth without having to sacrifice Baxcalibur and is a great phazer + defensive rocks setter.

 

[Dead by Daylight]

Discussion Points

I'll second Giyu's nomination of Toxapex to S tier for Water. No teamstyle right now drops Pex, and as Giyu touched on, it prevents an autoloss to Dark and a lot of other types.

Abomasnow on Grass is an interesting choice. I've found it a good option if properly put on teams, but it's not a catch-all by any means and will struggle if used incorrectly. Top of B rank is where it should be, in my opinion, and it's ranked correctly.

On Flying, I feel Landorus-Therian should be ranked higher than Landorus-Incarnate. Right now, Lando-I's main use case is on Ground, where it's not seeing that much usage either. Lando-T is seen rather often on Flying teams, on the other hand. I would move Landorus-Incarnate down to B-tier (specifically, below Thundurus-Therian).

On the Torkoal vs. Ninetales debate, Torkoal provides far better longevity and can enable Sun teams for far longer than Ninetales can. It also packs hazard removal, meaning you don't have to stuff it onto something else, and can withstand some hits unlike Ninetales. I'd move it up to the bottom of B-tier.

Random Thoughts

Bug: Kleavor should be S. It helps so much with the Fire and Flying matchups, two struggles for Bug, and helps in the mirror. It also provides some good speed control. Also, Ribombee in C tier? With Heracross? Am I reading this right? Ribombee should be in B-tier at the very least, if not A-tier. Webs are a major playstyle for Bug right now, and Ribombee is the best catalyst for said playstyle. Finally, Forretress can move down. While Bug does have hazard problems without it, it's pretty useless on very offensive teams like Webs.

Dragon: Cyclizar and Roaring Moon should swap places. While I used to be a big Cyclizar believer, it doesn't really feel like that good of a slot to me anymore. Meanwhile, Scarf Roaring Moon is a big threat. It's telling that the current Dragon sample uses Roaring Moon and not Cyclizar, and honestly their merits are so far apart from their rankings that this seems justified to me.

Fairy: Both Enamorus forms are too low at the moment. Incarnate should move up to A, ahead of Clefable and Hatterene (which, for the record, I'd like to see swapped) thanks to its good speed control and ability to beat Steel with Superpower if Gholdengo is dead. Therian should move up to the top of C, as it's really good at dismantling slower cores behind screens thanks to its bulk and setup opportunities.

Fighting: Sneasler is too low. It should be A, along with Iron Hands. While I get that the Fairy matchup is still difficult, Sneasler offers either a good late-game sweeper and cleaner or a good source of speed control to free up either Urshifu-S or Iron Valiant.

Flying: Articuno is too high. Sure, it's a great specially defensive tank and a nifty Ice neutrality, but it's a momentum sink into teams where it's not needed and can struggle to find many opportunities to check what it needs to due to its deathly fear of Knock Off. It doesn't even help into Ice that well, as it can be overwhelmed easily by Chien-Pao, Cloyster, and Baxcalibur. I'd say bottom of A-tier or top of B-tier. Also, Landorus-I is too high, as I discussed in the Discussion Points.

Normal: Ditto is a bit low. I'd say it should be A-tier, switched with Snorlax. It provides a really effective deterrent to those foolish enough to set up on your team, and is a pretty good late-game cleaner. Snorlax, on the other hand, is a bit too high for what it does, which is sit there and accumulate Curse boosts.

Rock: Hisuian Arcanine should be in A-tier alongside Diancie. It's a strong wallbreaker that helps immensely vs. Steel, and overall it's a useful addition that I've seen on every Rock team I've faced and used.

Steel: Empoleon could move up to A, but I'm undecided on this one. The Fire neutrality is always nice, though.

Summary:

Bug
A --> S
C --> B / A
A --> B

Dragon
A --> B
B --> A

Fairy
B --> A
D --> C

Fighting
B --> A

Flying
A --> B
A --> B

Normal
A --> B
B --> A

Rock
B --> A

Steel
B --> A

 

[Attribute]

Just to be clear, Pokemon are listed in alphabetical order within the rankings, not by x Pokemon being "better" than y. Happy posting

 

[Scarfire]

Discussion Point Responses:

Water has no S ranks at the moment. Does Water have any "must-haves" / S-rank / Always-Need Pokémon?
I used water for my reqs run; some rain, majority fat/balance, and I have 2 nominations for water's S. Empoleon and Toxapex. I can't imagine building water without either of these. The defensive utility of pex, ability to pivot on basically anything, and reliable toxic spreading is extremely valuable, while it also checks a handful of nuisances for water (Pivot vs ShifuS, Valiant, and Flutter, and check Meow, Ogerpons, Sneasler).

Empoleon's 4 moves are very customizable, being able flash-knock hatterene making what used to be an auto-loss matchup, suddenly in your favour, or using competitive surf to make corv's job of defogging a nightmare in the flying matchup. Or just a simple flip turner to keep momentum up with rain. Also, having a solid rocker lets you free up a slot to use spikes on your water/ground, and then dropping samu-h for another more useful slot becomes easier (gren).

Abomasnow on Grass. Does this Pokemon play a prominent/notable role on Grass? Should it rise / drop?
I faced a handful of grasses on ladder and tbh only Aboma ones were any threat. Grass lacks its oldgen strong defensive core options, its felt at its best when its just enabling Ogerpon to lategame sweep after you punch holes with Rilla/Meow/Lilli/Spikes etc. Aboma itself even without setting veil can just randomly end up being extremely annoying to kill lol, def a worthwhile mon.

Landorus-T & Landorus (Flying) both of these Pokemon are in the same ranking yet you can only use one. Is there a specific form better than another or do they share an equal sense of viability right now?
With how good Gliscor is right now, running either over it just seems unviable to me. That being said, paired with gliscor, lando-t can go one of 3 routes; it can be a rocker while gliscor spikes, and form a superman-esque hazard stack. It could let Gliscor handle the burden of rocking while LandoT uses more offensively oriented sets like Scarf/SubBU/SD, or it could be the defensive rocker and let Gliscor completely forego hazards and do some other annoying set (Eq/Toxic/Knock or Uturn, or maybe SD Facade). So yeah, LandoT's main role right now seems to be to backup Gliscor in what it wants to accomplish.

LandoI is very separate and not used to exactly synergize with Gliscor, and moreso just a slap-on to annihilate certain builds. Not much to say about LandoI honestly. I think a lot of the types LandoI shafts, can lose to other flying builds anyways, and I much prefer LandoT builds due to their flexibility with Gliscor + LandoT set combos. Though honestly, dropping either and just using other stuff is perfectly fine too lol. (Btw, try out the silly OU landot set with sub eq grass knot. It surprisingly messes up water/ground and such. Quite entertaining)

Torkoal vs Ninetales. This is a huge change from SS - SV. If Ninetales a better option due to its high Speed and SpA, what makes Torkoal have a place on the VR?
I had no idea this was something that was even happening tbh LOL. Way I see it, both mons suck but one atleast provides rocks/spin so it frees up your other good mons. I would still much rather use torkoal, but also sunless is probably fine with the mons currently available. Ninetales does have the ability to swap rain to sun and actually immediately "threaten" water though which might be something I am underating.

 

[Pengairxan]

I guess I would like clarification on some of Poison's placements. Mainly Fez's placement in D, Glowking's rise to A, Amoonguss's drop to A (and how much of that relates to Geezing) and Glimmora's drop to B.

Also RIP Toxicroak and Skuntank, you both had good runs.

 

[mushamu]

For water I think its best to do a bit of shifting between the S-B ranks. I feel like it's important to have S ranks on water as it has historically been a really flexible type and its good to show clear favorites in teambuilding especially when there are so many options.

A to S

I agree with what other people said in the thread about pex being an easy S for water. Its not exactly mandatory but it compresses like 10 roles in one slot which frees up a lot of other roles for the rest of the team. Grass and fairy switchin, status and knock absorber, haze user, good defensive typing and regenerator allows you to cycle through stuff, toxic spikes is good for "offensive" pressure.. think everyone knows what pex does, why it's good and why it's a must on 95% of water teams. Empoleon on the other hand is a really good candidate too, and even though its not as clear cut as pex is for the S ranking, it also compresses a lot of roles in one slot which alleviates teambuilding a lot while being the best stealth rock user. Steel typing is amazing defensively, it gets roar to phase out stuff like spectrier, and roost means its really sturdy.. a lot is going on for the penguin.

The last candidate for S rank that I would like to bring up is greninja. In my opinion even though it's fallen off a bit since SM it's still the perfect representation of what an S ranked mon should be. The choice specs set is still really good because it can OHKO a lot of things from the get-go and it has the added benefit of having switcheroo to cover up for weaknesses while being able to run many other sets. Teambuilding wise, it just allows water to diversify a lot because its still a jack of all trades despite being a master of just the choice specs set (which still does a lot). I would argue its noticeably better than the A ranks at the moment, even with the other nominations that I want to put out ad even though its not S ranked under the same criteria as pex and empoleon are, it is still noteworthy because of the flexibility it provides for water through serving as offensive glue.

A to B

When scald and knock off got onto walking wake I honestly thought it was going to be really good, but right now it's turned out a bit too one dimensional to fit on a lot of water teams. Its best set is arguably choice specs which lets it spam scald and fish for burns over and over again, but even though greninja doesn't have scald its a much better choice specs user than walking wake, making the latter awkward in teambuilding. The main things that greninja has over walking wake is ice beam, switcheroo, and a better speed tier. Ice beam might not seem like much, but it does allow greninja to beat down ground consistently because clodsire is known for walking all over water and can bypass gliscor's protect scouting as its really spammable. Switcheroo means greninja can actually cripple mons like hatterene, empoleon, and hisuian goodra which would beat it while on the otherhand walking wake gets walled by a lot of metagame staples with no real way to beat through them like clodsire, empoleon, and specially defensive toxapex. A huge difference in using choice specs greninja vs walking wake is that the threat of switcheroo pretty much means that greninja is straight up better. Outside of that, walking wake is fairly one dimensional and cannot switch in that well.

B to A

Quagsire, hisuian samurott, and quaquaval are all pokemon that are good for role compression which I feel should all be considered for A rank. All of these pokemon fill various roles with the notable detail is them being better than the B rank, which is filled with pokemon from rain which is arguably less consistent than balance and the niche walking wake.

Quagsire is good as an unaware user and encore means you're not complete setup fodder for zapdos and other substitute mons. Its worth noting that zapdos isn't even too common to begin with right now, which is a huge reason to be running gastrodon over quagsire. Being able to use an electric immunity, unaware user and hazard setter all in one slot is pretty big; it's also worth noting that quagsire keeps hazards up better compared to gastrodon since it is better against rapid spin users and can toxic something like quaquaval. A 5 in 1 mon.

Hisuian samurott is a really good scarfer that can also set spikes. Its the best counterplay against ghost while being pretty good in other matchups; flip turn means it can hop around easily early game. If it didn't get flip turn it would probably be B rank, but im still convinced this thing is pretty good. The swords dance set is also good at breaking types like poison, ground, water, and steel.

Quaquaval is good for hazard removal, kingambit, and choice band chien-pao. There's not much else to say about this mon except for that those two roles, while not having a lot of things that it does compared to something like quagsire, are pretty important roles in the metagame. Having no hazard removal means the type is easily food for spikes, and a lot of teams carry knock off to circumvent heavy duty boots. Quaquaval got a lot better with the release of DLC 1, since it got knock off and answering kingambit and choice band chien-pao is self explanatory.

With these changes in mind, the S-B ranks on water should look like this:

rankings

S Rank
Empoleon
Greninja
Toxapex

A Rank
Dondozo
Gastrodon
Ogerpon-Wellspring
Urshifu-R
Quagsire
Quaquaval
Samurott-Hisui

B Rank
Azumarill
Barraskewda
Basculegion-F
Manaphy
Pelipper
Rotom-Wash
Walking Wake

Thanks for reading :)

 

[Uta The Clown]

Fairy
Tinkaton. C To B. good dual typing, ability and stealth rock user. good Support moves in encore and t wave. Great for poison mu and fairy mirror.

Enamorus to A. The move pool, stats and ability all are too good for B. Earth power for posion, superpower contrary for steel. Capable of using Taunt to stop hazards, recovery and stall. And a last ditch healer with Healing wish. Can also be used as a phys or Spa attacker.

 

[Ethereal Sword]

My suggestion, to the surprise of absolutely nobody:

(Fairy): D -> C

Out of all Fairy types currently ranked higher than it, only one has a pivoting move (Grimmsnarl) and only one has reliable recovery (Clefable, unless you are using Wish Protect Flutter Mane for some bizarre reason). Fezandipiti has both. From a special tank to a status spreader to a pivot to a TSpikes remover to being the only Fairy that can OHKO Sash Ceruledge from full, Fezandipiti's role compression justifies a higher placement than D tier.

 

[TheRealBigC]

Think these rankings are broadly pretty good, but I do have some thoughts:

Dark

B -> A

Ting is still super important for the vast majority of Dark teams as both a hazard stacker and an FM/Valiant check. I realize techs like Stealth Rock Hydreigon have risen to prominence and can maybe allow you to drop Ting-Lu, but Ting-Lu is far more consistent and effective and getting hazards up in my experience.

UR -> B/C

I know I'm biased because of my pfp but Ttar is genuinely good on Dark now. It forms a great natural defensive core with Mandibuzz, sets rocks, acts as an FM/Valiant check and can also be a Volcarona check if it runs Rock Blast, creates progress through Knock Off, and can provide further team support through T Wave. I think Sand Stream is also underrated for Dark due to it clearing enemy weather (extremely useful against Ice and Fire especially) and providing chip that can negate Leftovers healing and potentially push foes into KO ranges. Definitely think it deserves a placement on the VR.

Fairy

D -> B/C

Fairy webs is not a meme and is genuinely a good team comp. I think Ribombee is actually better on Fairy than Bug due to Fairy's offensive mons generally benefitting way more from webs, and FM serving as a spinblocker that naturally threatens nearly every spinner.

Fire

C -> A

Torkoal is still extremely good and to see it ranked so low is pretty absurd. I understand that it suffers from a lack of longevity, but imo it’s still a lot better at actually keeping sun up compared to Ninetales due to its bulk and Lava Plume, and offers a ton of role compression in being a physical tank, burn spreader, spinner, and rocks setter. If you want to make a Fire team without Talonflame, Torkoal is still your guy. Placing Ninetales so high over Torkoal feels like extreme recency bias and I think in the long run Torkoal will re-establish itself as the overall superior choice.

Flying

A -> B

Fraudicuno. Articuno is indeed important in Flying teambuilding as an Ice Beam sponge and answer to threats such as Ursaluna-B, but having both used it and played against it a ton, I think Articuno is simply dead weight in way too many MUs compared to other MU mons like Sableye and Goodra-H to justify A tier. I feel Articuno has actually declined somewhat in the DLC meta due to one of its main niches as a Water answer being massively impeded by Empoleon and offensive pressure from Ogerpon-W, and that these days Thundurus-T performs far better in this capacity. It isn’t even really that good an Ice check since it does nothing to threaten them in return. Articuno is simply not on the level of the other Flying A tiers to me.

VS

These two both deserve A tier imo, they serve different roles on teams but are overall on about the same level and can support different Gliscor sets in different ways.

C-> UR

This mon is pointless now that Gapdos gets Knock Off, I don’t think I’ve ever seen it used outside of low ladder.

Ground

S -> A

Gliscor is great on Ground but not S tier imo. Compared to Flying, its niches as a Ground/Flying, Spikes setter, status absorber and Knock absorber are all far more replaceable on Ground, and it simply does not feel as important to teambuilding here.

A -> S

Ursaluna-B on the other hand I do think is S rank on Ground. It is insanely strong and bulky, has great longevity through Moonlight, and is fantastic in the Dark and Ghost MUs especially due to its ability to absorb burns and threaten foes like Sableye, Chien-Pao, Kingambit, Spectrier, Zoroark-Hisui and more. Ursaluna-B is simply so incredibly powerful and versatile that building a Ground team without one feels like handicapping yourself. I honestly think it’s borderline broken, it’s that good.

B -> A

Excellent mon that serves as a blanket check to many important mons including Urshifu-S, Zamazenta, Baxcalibur, Azumarill, and Chien-Pao, forms a defensive core with Clodsire that is incredibly hard to break, and can stack hazards. Definitely A rank worthy; I think it is clearly better than some other A rank mons such as Mamoswine in fact.

Normal

A -> C
A -> B
B -> A
B -> C
C -> B
C -> S/A
C -> B

These rankings are a complete mess and imo barely correspond to the actual reality of the metagame so I will summarise. Why on Earth Ursaluna is ranked A when its alternate form who is clearly better in virtually every single way and is impossible to use at the same time as regular Ursaluna is S rank is beyond me. Snorlax has basically no utility outside of just being another bulky sweeper to accompany Ursaluna-B and power level wise is not even close to being an A rank mon. Maushold is honestly bad; it KOs itself against any Rocky Helmet mon and clears your own Stealth Rock and Shed Tail, C rank is generous frankly. Blissey is still a pretty good mon for Normal, it’s still a great status absorber and blanket special wall, and Stealth Rock and Thunder Wave are fantastic utility with no replacement. The biggest wtf here for me is Cyclizar, who I genuinely believe is good enough for S rank. It provides so much utility and role compression in one slot including hazard removal, Knock Off and Taunt support, and pivoting. Shed Tail is an amazing move that pairs excellently with Ursaluna-B and Zoroark-H; passing a sub to Ursaluna-B can end games on the spot. Really don’t understand how it ended up in C rank, to me it’s one of the biggest draws of running Normal. Everything in D rank is actual trash btw

Psychic

A -> B
B -> A

Again not really sure what’s going on here. Mew has a ton of versatility but I think it ends up being a bit middling in both an offensive and support capacity due to its poor defensive and offensive typing, lack of recovery, and lack of power. Scream Tail I may be undervaluing because I haven’t seen it too much, but it has never really impressed me despite its utility and useful defensive typing and feels hard to fit on teams. Espathra and Hatterene are both still amazing and I fail to see the metagame shifts that have led to their apparent drop in viability. Espathra can sweep relatively effortlessly once its teammates have removed its defensive checks, and Hatterene doesn’t just gives you a Dark and Bug neutrality and all around great mixed tank, but also Psychic’s only source of hazard and status control.

Water

A -> S

Mostly agree with mushamu and Scarlet’s points here. Toxapex can safely go in S, although I don’t think it’s the auto-include it used to be, and you can make viable Water teams that drop it.

Thank you to the VR Council for working on this resource and here’s hoping they actually update and respond to the thread this time

 

[sapphiree]

Alright, when I first saw the VR, I thought it was an inaccurate representation of the current metagame on several fronts. Now that there is some activity in this thread on a similar agenda, I'd like to share some of my thoughts as well.

• Water has no S ranks at the moment. Does Water have any "must-haves" / S-rank / Always-Need Pokémon?

Let's start with Water.

Water:

A -> S
Toxapex brings a sort of "Not 6-0ed by Flower Trick" vibe to the "Water Monotype team" that Meowscarada doesn't really like. Even though it has lost Scald and Knock Off, it's job remains the same: sit there and be fat. It also has the opportunity to setup Toxic Spikes and force switches into checks allowing Water to have mobility. I don't think any other Pokemon on Water can do all these things, apart from maybe Empoleon but in a metagame where Fighting is prevant, I think Toxapex surpasses Empoleon's viability, and is definitely is an S-rank.

A -> S
Despite the Protean nerf, Greninja is still a menace for top-types like Flying (Ice Beam) and Fighting (Extrasensory). Without Greninja, Flying teams can easily overwhelm Water with the combined power of Thundurus-Therian and Dragonite, along with Fighting teams with the combined power of Iron Valiant and Iron Hands. With an amazing speed-tier and variety between Choice Specs and Choice Scarf (and even Choice Band as seen in previous generations), this Pokemon is a must-have for Water. It also sees usage as hazard setter (Spikes, Toxic Spikes) and pivot (U-Turn), and it's versatality can help shape Water-type teams of different kinds. Some may even use Switcheroo to put a stop to stall or set-up. Such amount of variety definitely deserves an S-rank in viability.

Among other adjustments to the Water VR, I'd like to include:

B -> A
It can play a dual role on Water; either as a Lead or as a Choice Scarf user. STAB Ceaseless Edge can effortlessly setup Spikes while also forcing progress, allowing damage for other teammates to clean or forcing opponent into hazard removal. Choice Scarf allows Greninja to use Choice Specs and helps become a Hyper-Offensive threat to many types it might struggle with otherwise (for example; Fighting, Fairy, Flying). Sharpness boosts Aqua Cutter and/or Razor Shell thus not skimping on damage either, Hisuian Samurott is definitely not a waste of slot on Water and deserves a better ranking.

B -> A
Manaphy is a great breaker for Water, especially under Rain. Access to Take Heart on non-rain teams and Tail Glow can allow it to quickly set-up and sweep any team. It has reduced Poison's viability significantly and threatens a lot of Fighting-type Pokemon.

B -> A
Variety of sets: Sub-NP, Will-o-wisp, Trick Scarf. Despite losing Defog and Pain Split, it retains a certain level of viability which other Pokemon can't implement. Also acts as an Earthquake switch-in which is huge for a type that doesn't have many of those.

Other changes in VR I'd like to see:

Dark:

S -> A
Sableye is not a must-have for Dark. You don't necessarily get "6-0ed by Close Combat" without it. Yes, it does wonders for Dark in certain matchups but it is horrible on Hyper Offense and is a huge liability in mirror and the Fairy matchup. It definitely does not share the same pedestal as Pokemon like Kingambit and Chien Pao which offer a lot more to Dark in terms of offense and coverage. Sableye in comparison is a meek support which is only at A-rank at all because of it's typing and ability, but not so great as to be an S-rank.

D -> A
Seeing Samurott so low is honestly shocking. It's the best lead for Hyper Offense Dark as it can setup Spikes. Water-STAB eases up things for Chien Pao and Kingambit who are weak to Fire-type Pokemon. It also has Sacred Sword which can help in mirror matchup, and Aqua Jet which it can use to cause chip damage, aiding Kingambit, Meowscarada, and Chien Pao to sweep in the endgame.

A -> S
Without Meowscarada, especially Scarf, you lose to a lot of matchups like Water and Fighting. It's exceptional Speed-tier and coverage allows it to have incredible sweeping potential and is a must-have for Dark. It's a better Scarfer than Chien Pao as it takes less from rocks and has Protean which prevents it from losing to Mach Punch or Ice Shard once another type of move is used.

C -> B
Toxic Spikes + Intimidate is a good combination for Balance teams.

Ground:

S -> A
It has Rapid Spin and Knock Off and offers great viability but it's not a must-have for Ground. Ground teams without Iron Treads are still viable, if not more, depending on the type of team. It is great on balance but definitely not a necessity for it to be ranked so high.

A -> S
It also has Rapid Spin and Knock Off, and a much better offensive presence than Iron Treads. Access to STAB Close Combat makes it a huge threat and it can also boast Choice Scarf allowing it to have a lot more viability in more amount of matchups. What Iron Treads can do, its ancestor Great Tusk can do better. Definitely a staple for Ground teams, whether as a Hazard Support, a set-up sweeper of a Choice Scarf cleaner.

Okay, that is all for now. I'm very tired after writing all this as you would've noticed by the decreasing size of sentences and maybe the quality? Either way, thank you for reading, I'm happy to be able to contribute. Now give me my badge.

 

[insertkoin]

As several people have stated, I would agree that

deserves to be on S for water, today I played a mono tournament with my friends, and it's amazing the amount of pokemons that it's able to shut down on it's own. It is your grass answer, it can trap, it can haze, it can spread poison status via toxic, toxic spikes, poison jab... all in all a great mon that can be easily splashed on every water team, it's like denying him acces to scald hans't meant anything for it.

I would also suggest to keep and eye on

, again amazing deffensive and utility mon, that can run a lot of useful sets (knock off, roar, SR, surf, flip turn, flash cannon), so if it's not S... i think that it's almost up there.

 

[TTK]

Thoughts on Rankings for every type.

Bug

I agree with the sentiments regarding from A to S rank. Everything else mostly is fine but in D, idk if it will be a recurring trend in the other VRs but some of these D ranks might as well be unranked imo. Like yes, it has Revival. Doesn't do much else.

Dark

D to at least B - idk if I can carry silver grace's opinion that A rank Samu is legit but it's certainly not D rank like Krookodile, who like a net number of 5 people have used this gen so far or Zarude whos completely outclassed by Meowscarada. Ceaseless Edge is still a move guys.

Dragon

With the surprise that certain pokemon are ranked, we might as well add to D tier. Mold Breaker DD ignores Unaware mons and it's stronger and faster than Bax. That surely makes it to D rank

Electric

D to C - Maybe I rate too highly but it's certainly better than Iron Thorns so do with this information as you want. But essentially, you can compress Fire and Grass hitting thanks to Eel having Flamethrower + Giga Drain and that is helpful in the Grass and Ground matchups. It's not frail and has no weaknesses.
UR to at least D - There's a whole bunch of shitters in D tier but the mon that got better with DLC is somehow unranked? I have no replays atm because Electric is trolling but I do play it and build and Bellibolt has some stuff going for it. Good bulk, Toxic, reliable recovery. I would definitely consider using it over the likes of Golem-A, which again, no one is using this guy or even Kilowattrel, this isn't the Pre HOME days anymore.

Fairy

I'll be honest, I don't feel strongly regarding any fairy placements.

Fighting

I suppose it's a personal sort of thing when it comes to VR philosophy (I'm on council for all sorts of formats) but like 9 D ranks? Honestly, you can unrank . Guts is too slow and scarf is just worse , which is also D rank and probably deserves it. isn't that much of a shitter so D is fine and why am I using over or . I don't think the Water immunity is carrying this that much.

Fire

No grievances here.

Flying

Anyone have a valid reason to why is still ranked?

Ghost

Again, no problems here. in S maybe but idk.

Grass

UR to D - Not a good mon by any means but with certain standards regarding some of the D ranks across the board, I can make the case for the mon. Lead Tailwind Wind Rider or like non-lead sash stuff, not good on its own but surely tailwind for Firepon is relevant.

Ground

C to B - Garchomp got Scale Shot back with Loaded Dice, is a decent wincon that hits very hard at +2. Can run Fire Fang to target its biggest check in Corviknight.

Ice

Not really any issues here.

Normal

B to A - Ditto seems like a mandatory requirement on any Normal HO team so it's baffling to me that it's the same rank as Arboliva.

Poison

All is fine here.

Psychic

B to A - Espathra is one of the best wincons on the type and easily can snowball out of control as long as it doesn't face Dark (which the whole type loses to anyway so who cares).
B to A - Hatterene's placement is also weird seeing how it's like Psychic's best hazard control option thanks to Magic Bounce. You can have both this and in A tier, one isn't directly superior to the other though I wouldn't be surprised if anyone tried to argue Hatt is better.

Rock

I feel strongly about rock compared to some other typings because I make it a challenge to climb with this type and it's hard I'll tell you but DLC made it a lot better.

C to B/A - We're past the days where we thought Dusk > Midday (I never once thought this) but C rank when it's one of the type's best wincons? Again, I've made a point for Lycanroc in the past but Sand Rush outspeeding the whole tier, hits hard and has priority so it's good at revenge killing. Also has coverage to chip down Fighting (Play Rough/Psychic Fangs), making Diancie's job a lot easier and giving you a better chance of perhaps winning the impossible matchup.

Steel

Steel looks fine to me.

Water

A to S - Enough people have explained why Toxapex is S and I'm in full agreement.
B to A - Tail Glow Rest with Rain is hard to take on for a good number of types. There's still Acid Armor + Take Heart as a solid wincon vs bulkier types.
A to B - Water's strongest special attacker sure but overall, Greninja is the better mon and I think the VR should reflect this. Either rise Greninja to S or drop Wake.

Thanks for reading

 

[TheRealBigC]

A -> B

Fraudicuno. Articuno is indeed important in Flying teambuilding as an Ice Beam sponge and answer to threats such as Ursaluna-B, but having both used it and played against it a ton, I think Articuno is simply dead weight in way too many MUs compared to other MU mons like Sableye and Goodra-H to justify A tier. I feel Articuno has actually declined somewhat in the DLC meta due to one of its main niches as a Water answer being massively impeded by Empoleon and offensive pressure from Ogerpon-W, and that these days Thundurus-T performs far better in this capacity. It isn’t even really that good an Ice check since it does nothing to threaten them in return. Articuno is simply not on the level of the other Flying A tiers to me.

I must apologise to GOATicuno, after using him more I now understand the vision. Steel, one of Articuno's worst MUs, has fallen off a cliff in this metagame. Outside of this, Articuno is not only incredibly useful against Water (Gliscor, Lando-I, Zapdos, and Thun-T all deal with Empoleon anyway) but also Ground and opposing Flying, which are all very important types in the current metagame. Articuno is also a great special wall in general, being a reliable switch-in to threats such as Flutter Mane, Iron Valiant, Specs Dragapult, and Spectrier, and Flying's best way of taking on various special sweepers who would otherwise threaten the type such as Sinistcha, Frosmoth, and of course Ursaluna-B. Articuno also crucially stops you from getting clowned by Specs Greninja. Overall Articuno is a very solid glue mon on Flying that deserves A rank, and I am sorry for continually slandering him.

 

[Reapsteel]

Nomming Moltres to A.

In my opinion, Moltres is an overlooked pokemon on flying and is undoubtedly deserving of a higher rank, probably to be bumped up to A rank
Moltres' is perhaps sometimes overlooked on flying because it doesn't seem flashy or completely destroy matchups the same way that Landorus ruins poison or Enamorus shuts down fighting, but it's ability to counter immensely popular and immensely dangerous Kingambit and Chien-Pao along with checking both Urshifu forms makes it often invaluable on flying teams - it takes out a lot of pressure on Gliscor to absorb physical hits, which is important considering how ice coverage is not particularly uncommon nowadays. Moltres acts as a physdef wall that can do something more than toxic + EQ on a switch; it provides critical pivoting with U-turn, threatens burn, all while dissuading physical attacks and absorbing them. And that isn't even mentioning how it completely polarises the matchups that flying should normally win - it invalidates Steel, Bug and Grass completely. More relevant on ladder is the fact that it gives a fighting chance against Ice, but even discounting these more fringe matchups (honestly ice isn't even a bad type it just suffers from the issue of Zamazenta), Moltres to me deserves the A-tier for flying.

 

[Scarfire]

Some noms.

Dark

S -> A
Very much not a necessary mon; Mandibuzz structures that favour removing for CB Pao are very solid, and offensive dark, while not perfect, is still a viable alternative w/o sableye. Even if it was mandated, that alone doesn't make a mon S rank. Critera should be both necessary on the type but also powerful into the meta. The extent of Sableye's effect is just that IDCorv flying cannot autowin dark. Beyond that, it is just a cc/spin sponge.

B -> A
Not certain why brother is very low. Astronomical bulk lets it tech to handle a plethora of annoying shit for the type, and hazards are honestly a good 50% of darks power. Ruination/Whirlwind is also just good forced chip spam, to pave the way for Pao/Gambit/Shifu etc. If it isn't hard offence dark, I can't see this mon not being run.

D -> B
I don't have that much to say on this lol it's just better than all these C/D rank shitters. Compressing scarfer and spiker in one while removing the ugly double hazards necessity from Ting-Lu is nice. Would run it on more bulky offence type stuff that wants to be stronger into Fairy.

B -> A
This mon is just very good into current meta with specs honestly. It's definitely not as locked-in as many other pokemon on dark, but definitely an extremely strong option for last slot that I'd put right next to Meow and Urshifu, and not down with Gmolt and Darkrai.

Dragon

A -> S
I struggle to find a reason to use dragon without this guy. It covers a lot of tough matchups or at the very least, difficult individual threats. Specs, Clangsoul, Swords/Dragon Dance, I've tried all of these and every set thrashes whatever you want it to, its an amazing pokemon and I def think it carries dragon.

B -> A
Best scarfer on the type, best knock user on the type, good typing, fast uturn, pretty damn strong. We all know what roaring moon does, and I think its value easily rivals the more debatable slots like Garchomp or Cyclizer.

DD/Boots Pivot/Banded sets are under-explored. I've liked them individually in practice but haven't found a specific build that synergizes with dragon as a whole. Worth testing.

UR -> D
This thing definitely isn't good but has some weird niches. Being a threat vs fighting/outspeeding Valiant is a big one, defog+uturn, scarf infiltrator for stuff like bax behind veil. Not great, but shittier pokemon are in D ranks on other types. Figure this guy can too.

Ground

S -> B
Not sure why this thing is so high; great mon don't misunderstand but ground has pretty locked and loaded 6 mons most of the time, and of all the things to drop in as a replacement in a slot, this thing is kind of low priority for the matchups ground has to cover. Still an amazing pokemon people should explore builds with on ground, but not S rank material for ground. For flying sure.

B -> A
Ranked too low for sure, covers so many overbearing threats for ground, baxcalibur, chien-pao, dragonite, zamazenta. Checking handfuls of difficult threats while helping spread toxics and hazards is perfect. Absorb Clodsire is one of the best things into water, and unaware quag perfectly compliments it defensively. I could see myself S ranking this mon, but A seems reasonable for now.

C -> B
I wanted to nom either Garchomp or Sandy Shocks up, ground needs something that can actually hit ID corv to be ranked decently high. Opted for Garchomp because it has set variety beyond specs fire blast copium, helmet dragon tail is actually not terrible into a lot of types, and even SD sets can lure out and weaken threats for other mons on your team. Sandy Shocks kills corv more reliably but is more one-trick and sucks into gliscor flyings. Garchomp isn't a mon you will be picking often, but I'd put it a cut above the C's.

Water

A -> S
Blanket checks every threat in the metagame, manages to fit on all styles of water, great utility in being a toxic spreading pivot. Has strong item freedom which allows you to tech it in ugly ways to beat out anything you really struggle with. (Ex; I used safety goggles during suspect run because I was fighting too many brelooms/sleep power lilligant fightings.)

A -> S
Steel typing is extremely valuable as is every move this pokemon clicks. Knock-Flash bodies fairy, flip turn is great momentum for rain, surf lets you annoy corviknight trying to defog, and rocks frees the hazard burden off your ground type, allowing it to run the likes of spikes. No need for Hamurott to spikes stack anymore. Extremely high utility and makes decent progress itself. Works on any water.

A -> S
Not as slap-on-everything as the other 2, but as I said in dark segment, its just insanely good into this meta with whatever 4 moves you pick. Empoleon allows water to keep spikes up vs poison really easily so Empo + Specs Greninja builds can actually beat that matchup now. Nice vs mirror, ground, water, dragon, dark, steel, fighting, poison, goddamn anything. Please S rank it.

B -> A
I've always found quaquaval ugly due to its passiveness as a spinner. I still don't vouch for it on offensive waters; just run Urshifu and button mash. However, on fatter ones the spin is handy and quaquaval actually has knock off now which has proven to be really high value. Quaq is really good on fatter waters that want to play the hazard war game, and take the burden of knocking away from Empoleon allowing you to run surf-flash to be more punishing for foggers.

A -> B
This pokemon is fine but doesn't do anything impressive enough to actively warrant dropping something else over it imo. Good enough of a mon if you do use it though. B.

Random individual mon noms

Fighting:
D -> C/B
Maybe this is personal wank but I do find this pokemon very strong. Breaks poison very nicely and is annoying as hell in mirror esp if the zamazenta is heavy slam and blows up your Valiant. Also really good into ground and pretty much any of the balance types, and the CB knocks/uturns eat stuff up well alongside its stabs. Its not a D rank pokemon by any means; how high it deserves is up for debate. Likely C..

UR -> D
Bulky water/ground resist that sets spikes. Thats all.

Poison:
B -> A
Would put this on par with Sneasler for your fighting type. Can cover a lot with the right moves. Bulk up can just solo steel, you cover kingambit vs dark better than sneasler does, multi-attack varients with stuff like ice punch can be great to deck gliscor, even Tect Pjab Knock Drain Punch (Alolan Muk copy) is not bad into stuff like dark as a whole. The right moves paired w/a glowking also shit on the mirror in a more offensive route.

Ice:
B -> A
I like being able to hit Dondozo and water as a whole while also hassling flying further (id corv can really sit on a lot of ice). Its a good 6th on most veil builds. If Rotom-Frost wasn't super unreliable I would run that instead so, Frosmoth is the best we've got.

Steel:
C ->B
Steel is in a struggling state right now, but I think orthworm offers some salvation in spikes + shed tailing into Kingambit. In testing this has felt like the strongest way to pilot steel right now. It definitely competes in rank with Jirachi and Empoleon I'd say. Shed tail is broken and spikes are spikes, and a second ground immunity has never hurt anybody.

Flying:
I don't have a specific nom for flying, but I do think some shuffling of raising and to A could be done. I think both are better than on flying, but I don't have the energy to thinkpost whether they should both rise, if Lando should drop, or both. I just think both Electrics are extremely important right now.

 

[TheWyvernKing]

Dark
UR--> D
This thing is fun af as a Tailwind lead, and realistically I find myself seeing it as more of a niche holder than Zarude right now which I largely see as entirely outclassed by Meow.
D--> C
This might be me being opinionated but I find Daunt pretty splashable on Dark, and pretty underrated for how strong it is in this meta.

 

[Scarfire]

Didn't wanna double post but Wyvern has decided to be my hero so now I can post MORE noms after laddering aggressively.

Fighting:
B > A
You're not building a fighting without one or the other; scarf sneasler is perfect for a lot of fast threats like ogerpons, opposing valiants, specs greninja and so on. Switcheroo lets it disrupt teams its not very strong into / doesn't need the scarf for. Spdef Bulk Up Okidogi is great in a lottt of matchups, and at the right turn kind of just wins. Can also be a semi decent moonblast sponge.

Fire:
A > S
Hot take I guess but I spammed fire for endless hours on the ladder and this pokemon did incredible amounts of work in every. single. matchup. It can get you out of so many tough spots with sash or just switch into a fast threat, get the weak armor boost, and force it out/kill it. It can punch holes for a sweep or sweep on its own, or just be used as a threat-remover with dbond (set I was using was SD, bitter blade, poltergheist, dbond). The typing also just gives you a lot in terms of immunities and resists to stuff like poison, and I can't imagine fire doing half as much without this thing (and Hearthflame obviously). S rank might be overkill but I would still like to atleast open up a discussion for it via this nom.

 

[Pengairxan]

Been laddering with Poison (Shocker, I know) and I got some takes.

A-> S

S -> A
This was something I questioned back when we first got the new viability rankings and laddering more it feels more natural this way. There are too many matchups where I feel Galarian Weezing's main role is just to click Defog and nothing else. Fire is the main one (Resisted Stab and Will-O-wisp being useless) but Steel and Poison can also suffer from this fate as both types have not only good immunities to Will-O-wisp but also several mons that would happily absorb Will-O-wisp to avoid being hit with the Toxic. Even in Ground, Geezing isn't perfect because both Bloodmoon and Landorus get a free switch in which is hell.
Amoonguss meanwhile remains threating in every matchup with Foul play and Spore to cause havoc. Like sure, I don't want Amoonguss in the Fire matchup either but while its here I may as well put the Volcarona to sleep, OKHO the Iron Moth with Stomping Trantrum or do close to half on Ogerpon-Hearthflame (or 75% minimum if it clicks SD) with Foul play.

B -> A
The true sequel Toxicroak deserves a bump up, No Joki. This Dog is a complete unit with just its Bulk up set generally being enough of a threat to punch major holes through teams or win games outright. Key Matchups like Steel, Ice, and Dark just require Okidogi to get in a bulk up or two or even just click Drainpunch/Knock off depending on the game state for the game to be pushed majorly towards Poison's favor. Even in matchups where it struggles like Ghost and Poison, just being able to click Knock off gives it something solid to do to make progress especially in Ghost because this leaves Alolan Muk healthy for the inventible Flutter Mane in the back.

 

[AV Cosmoem]

D -> C (Grass)

Cornerstone is better than people realize. It might be assumed that Hearthflame outclasses it but Cornerstone has a few advantages
- Better than Hearthflame in a few matchups, like Fire, Flying, and Poison
- Sturdy is really good for a type that specializes in offense / hyper offense for the most part. Grass is notoriously bad defensively so having a comeback mechanic in Ogerpon is super good. It also lets you stop sweeps from the opposing team
- Exchanging Hearthflame for Cornerstone doesn't lose power relative to the rest of the metagame, Rock is an amazing offensive type
- Can hit some important targets that Hearthflame has trouble with, such as Iron Moth, Baxcalibur, and Dragonite

Also when you take a look at the other D-ranks you see that Cornerstone is above their level

A mediocre defogger that doesn't even take fighting types that well. Too slow to be an effective swords dance user
Counterpicks fighting/poison. Good in those matchups but it struggles to set up because of terrible defensive typing and the speed tier could be better as well. Also both types have scarfers that beat it (moth, valiant, sneasler)
Offensively outclassed by Hearthflame and Cornerstone. Utility sets are lacking due to not enough bulk and the fact that grass/water doesn't help out grass that much defensively
Can switch in on some troubles like gholdengo and pult. Momentum sink and only recovery is leech seed, also adds fighting and double bug weaknesses to the team which are already everywhere

In my opinion Cornerstone is better than all of these pokemon so it should be C rank.

 

[roxie]

Final VR Slate (Minor):

Bug

Kleavor A -> S. Kleavor's signature move in Stone Axe compressing a consistent Rock-STAB and a secondary effect in setting Stealth Rocks make it a staple option. Furthermore, Kleavor provides momentum in U-turn and unique slicing moves like Night Slash and Aerial Ace in conjunction with Sharpness makes it a prominent offensive utility pivot for Bug teams.
Ribombee C->B. Ribombee is a Sticky Web setter that sticks out from other C-rankings because its Fairy-coverage + high Speed is great against fast Pokemon like Dragapult, Greninja, and Walking Wake. It has several cool utility options like Sticky Web, Stun Spore, Skill Swap, and Switcheroo.

Dark

Sableye S -> A. Dark teams can forgo running Sableye despite it being good against Pokémon like Baxcalibur, Galarian Zapdos, and Kommo-o. Dark is a top type in the metagame and similar to Water and Flying, it can opt for alternative options but it doesn't necessarily mean Sableye is bad.
Samurott-H D -> C. Similar to Kleavor's signature, but for Samurott-H, it's Ceaseless Edge. This autosets Spikes and it faces competition with Greninja, but some builds have managed to run 2x Waters comfortably as they do completely different things.
Tyranitar UR -> C. We forgot to rank Tyranitar but its Rock-typing of course resists Flying and Fire which can be good against Volcarona, Tornadus-T, and Zapdos. Furthermore, it gained Knock Off this generation so it can force even more progress and make its Stealth Rock more effective because of this.

Dragon

Roaring Moon B -> A. Choice Scarf Roaring Moon is great against Pokemon like Flutter Mane, Iron Valiant, opposing Dragon-types, and more. Knock Off forces progress and makes entry hazards from teammates like Garchomp and Dragalge more effective. Its Dark-typing is also notable against Kingambit.

Fighting

Sneasler B -> A. Sneasler is a great revenge killer and pivot. It has access to Toxic Spikes and its signature move Dire Claw which is a lottery ticket move to inflict either sleep, paralysis, or poison in conjunction with Poison Touch.
Toxicroak D -> UR. Toxicroak faces major competition from Okidogi and Sneasler and there is 0 reason to run this. Fighting has other options like: Kommo-O, Poison Heal Breloom, Quaquaval, and Urshifu-R to help against Water-types.

Fire

Torkoal C -> B. Torkoal is a defensive dismantler with Will-O-Wisp / Clear Smog which can semi-check a few of Fire's checks like Azumarill, Dragonite, Garchomp, and Ogerpon-WS. Rapid Spin + Drought is nice compression.

Flying

D -> UR. Bombirdier faces competition with Knock Off Mandibuzz and Galarian Moltres. Bombirdier may have had a niche with Brave Bird + Parting Shot but it's harder to justify with Urshifu-S's departure.
Flamigo C -> UR. Scrappy Flamingo hits two notable targets in Sableye and Gholdengo, but the team feels like it faces too much competition with Galarian Zapdos.

Ground

Gliscor (Ground) S->A. Despite Poison Heal being an amazing ability, Gliscor faces competition with Landorus but it still offers many things to Ground.
Great Tusk (Ground) A -> S. Great Tusk is a great Rapid Spin utility option if you aren't running Iron Treads and more notably, its brute force and colorful coverage in Fighting / Ice.
Garchomp C -> B. Swords Dance Garchomp is naturally a threat with Scale Shot + Loaded Dice being a potential threat to many types. Its Dragon-typing is also notable against Water- and Grass-types like Ogerpon-Hearthflame, Ogerpon-Wellspring, and Volcarona. Its last slot disregarding Scale Shot and Earthquake is pretty customizable to your team's needs.

Normal

Cyclizar C -> B. Cylizar compresses utility in U-Turn/Knock/Spin and has Shed Tail to enable Ursaluna + random cheese Pokemon like Maushold/Arboliva/Girafarig/misc.
Ditto B -> A. Ditto is a nice revenge killer for threats like Baxcalibur, Greninja, Kingambit, and Flutter Mane. There's not much else to it.
A -> C. Ursaluna has a niche with its Guts / Bulletproof ability, however, you can't fit both Ursluna-BM and its base form on one team so we'll be lowering its ranking.

Poison

Amoonguss A -> S
Weezing-G S -> A
Comments: Sort of like a swap for Amoonguss and Galarian Weezing. Galarian Weezing is still good but its effectiveness this generation is slightly less impactful in comparison to Amoonguss. There isn't a reason to not be running Amoonguss because of its overall utility and Grass-typing giving Poison teams a backbone against types like Ground and Water. Spore is a nice dismantler for a lot of things and it complements Poison's defensive playstyle by checking faster setup sweepers.
Okidogi B -> A. This mon is bulky enough to run Bulk Up and do well against Dark, Flying, Water, Steel, and more. Furthermore, it has several coverage options and access to Taunt which shuts down Pokemon like Corviknight, Ting-Lu, and TOxapex.

Psychic

:espartha: Espartha B -> A. Espartha has Dazzling Gleam / Energy Ball / Shadow Ball and you can pick whatever moves alongside Calm Mind and Roost (or roostless if ur a gamer ig). This simply provides coverage for various types alongside its ability, Speed Boost, which makes up of Psychic's Speed gap in comparison to other threats like: Chien Pao, Flutter Mane, and Tornadus-T.
Hatterene B -> A. Magic Bounce compression is too good to not run and similar to Espartha, it has cool options like Giga Drain, Mystical Fire, and Nuzzle. Spikes are tremendously good this generation and having Hatterene on your team gives you relief for other teammates to not be forced on HDB (which isn't wrong), but Psychic is a typing that appreciates the extra step in running a pinch-berry like Colbur Berry Slowbro for Kingambit.

Rock

Arcanine-H B -> A. in Dead by Daylight we trust.

Water

Walking Wake S -> B. Walking Wake made a dominating appearance at the start of the metagame, but the metagame changed a lot. Its simply just not an S-ranking Pokémon and it faces competition with Greninja.
Toxapex A -> S. Toxapex gives Water an extra hand against threats like Dragapult, Ogerpon-Heartflame/Wellspring, and Flutter Mane. It's Poison-typing prevents you from losing to Toxic Spikes and it fits on all forms on Water

Thanks to everyone who made a nomination. We will resume this project after the next DLC arrives.