Resource SS CAP Viability Rankings

[Rabia]

https://pokepast.es/2baf66bfe3ae3865

SHSP and I (maybe some others were there too? I can't remember) built this a week or so ago after thinking "hey, surely Ferrothorn isn't bad." I agree with dex that Ferrothorn is a solid pick right now because of the rise of foes like Tapu Fini, Arctozolt, and Weavile. What it does defensively is much more useful nowadays, and Astrolotl not being that super dominant pick it has been in the past helps it a lot as a standalone option too.

 

[Mx]

Time for another update!

Rises:

Landorus-Therian S- → S
Corviknight A → A+
Tapu Fini A → A+
Tapu Lele A- → A
Arctozolt B+ → A-
Astrolotl B+ → A-
Hippowdon B+ → A-
Magnezone B+→ A-
Ninetails-Alola B+ → A-
Ferrothorn B- → A-
Revenankh B → A-
Colossoil B → B+
Kartana B→ B+
Slowbro B- → B+
Volcanion UR → B
Blaziken C → B-
Swampert UR → B-
Zapdos-Galar UR → C

Drops:

Weavile S- → A+
Clefable A+→ A
Zeraora A+ → A
Skarmory A- → B+
Slowking A- → B+
Rillaboom B+ → B
Tapu Bulu B+ → B
Tomohawk B+ → B
Kerfluffle B- → C
Mandibuzz B- → C
Dracozolt  C → UR
Nidoking C → UR
Tangrowth C → UR

S- → S: This was long overdue, Landorus-T has proven itself to be one of the most consistent and dominating mons in the meta.

A → A+: Thanks to its ability to check many powerful threats Tapu Fini provides enough role compression to be one of the most splashable mons available, fitting into practically any team.

A- → A: While it can be a bit prediction reliant, Tapu Lele is a very powerful wallbreaker that not many teams have a good answer for, as it can use Psyshock to break Slowking-G while Focus Blast and Thunderbolt threaten Heatran and Corviknight.

B+ → A-: Hail continues to be a very consistent and surprisingly flexible playstyle, so its main setter and abuser get another rise.

B → A-: Now that threats like Tapu Fini, Arctozolt, and Weavile are much more common, Ferrothorn has finally started to see more usage thanks to its ability to check them.

B → A-: Probably one of the most interesting recent development in the CAP meta, Revenankh continues to prove itself as a very dangerous sweeper thanks to its Bulk Up set, with Triage Drain Punch being able to close many games by itself while Poltergeist deals heavy damage to any Fighting-type resists.

B- → B+: While Slowking continues to drop in usage, its physically defensive counterpart has now seen a resurgence as a bulky water type with Teleport that can actually check threats like Landorus-T and Urshifu-R and can even use techs like Ice Beam or Body Press+Colbur Berry to check Garchomp and Weavile too.

S- → A+: Now that the metagame has started to adapt to it more, Weavile is not as dominant as it was before, although it still remains as a formidable breaker.

C → UR: As powerful as it can be, Dracozolt is just too inconsistent to keep up with a metagame where specially defensive Ground-types like Landorus-T and Hippowdon are very common.

C → UR: Similarly to the above mon, even if Nidoking can easily break most defensive cores, in practice it's usually just underwhelming due to being easily forced out by most offensive mons.

C → UR: Finally, our last unranked mon, Tangrowth, can't really do much in the current meta compared to other bulky Grass-types like Jumbao or Ferrothorn and Slowbro is a much better Regenerator pivot that checks Urshifu-R.

 

[Lasen]

Exhaustive update: the one who is exhausted is me but I don't wanna nap so I'm writing this instead.

Rises:
S-→S
Just like Mx mentioned, Landorus-T has returned to its place at the tippy-top of OU and CAP, offering supreme role compression as a potential Defogger, Stealth Rock setter, Pivot, answer to Electric, Ground Immunity... the list goes on as does Landorus-T's power and viability. Absolute must have mon albeit way more abusable and telegraphed than it's been in the past.
A→A+
This is a bit of an odd choice: Corviknight is hurt by some of the metagame rises such as more Arctozolt and Magnezone which severely punish it, but at the same time it punishes the multiple Ground-types that cannot touch it as well as the returning Tapu Lele and Kartana. Formidable partner that also answers the (now rare) Future Sight and Doom Desire mons.
A→A+
Utility at its finest, Tapu Fini is in a fantastic spot once more, being able to answer Darks and Dragons alike - as well as the dangerman known as Revenankh. Trick Scarf sets are also in a great spot, being able to revenge Dragapult and putting slower sweepers on the backfoot thanks to its pretty decent combination of firepower and Speed tier.
A-→A
Anyone order a Pokemon that you technically can never truly wall? Prediction heavy as it is, Tapu Lele has made its triumphant return as the best offensive Psychic-type. Being helped tremendously by the drop of many Steel-types and revenge killers it feared in the past like Equilibra, Rillaboom and Zeraora it's in a pretty decent position once more.
B+→A-
B+→A-
Me and Rabia have advocated for this duo to be amazing and the rest of the VR council finally saw the light Rise in Ground-type usage and less weather overall means Arctozolt has a lot of opportunities to take advantage of the extremely standard defensive cores of Landorus-T/Heatran/bulky Water, especially so with its mixed set. Ninetales also has a pretty strong niche as an Aurora Veil setter on HO and it can do a pretty good job even outside that with its decent coverage and support moveset.
B+→A-
Astro good, people realized we also can run Defog so now it's used like a really odd mixture of Defog Torn-T and Skarmory but with this super specific and cool defensive typing, also Fire Lash has been a great move since day 1. Emergency wall/pivot if need be, too.
B+→A-
Another bulky Ground-type rises?! Colour me surprised. But for real, while Hippowdon is a gigantic momentum sink that half of the Steels of the tier can abuse, it's also really, really good at absorbing pressure.
B+→A-
Oh speaking of Steel-types, why not just remove them so that Tapu Lele or another oddball can run through? Magnet Pull has never been a competitive ability and Magnezone remains a gigantic fish that can win you the game or be a sitting duck that gets abused by the likes of Hippowdon depending on what you load into, but when it's good it's fantastic.
B-→A-
One of the few genuine counters to Arctozolt and Weavile and an overall nice way to, again, role compress. Spikes setters may be abundant in the metagame, but Ferrothorn has a niche of being able to slowly but surely beat some of the other hazard setters it competes with such as Arghonaut, Hippowdon and Landorus-T. Good to see it return to a high rank.
B→A-
What started out as a meme to see how low the bar for what is viable actually is turned out with a surprisingly effective wallbreaker. Let's face it, having a +3 priority damaging move that also heals you is never gonna be bad in any way, shape, or form and its newfound access to Poltergeist has turned Revenankh into a very scary wallbreaker. The community tried - and succeeded - in breaking it since it isn't effectively checked by some Fairies and Flying-types as it can dispose them with its good coverage and SICK damage output. Just don't bury this mum too deep into sand!
B→B+
With Ghost-types not being as prevalent anymore and almost all Electric-types carrying MULTIPLE ways to punish it, it's easy to find this rise a bit of a headscratcher. It turns out, however, we all misunderstood what Colossoil was always meant to be - a hazard deterrent that actually runs Flame Orb Guts. Indeed, with its arch-nemesis, Tomohawk, not being anywhere to be see anymore, offensive Colossoil has a grand-ol' time rearranging the faces of the standard balance build. Just don't try to win on the spot if an Arghonaut is present and still has its item.
B→B+
Another victim of the former bird supremacy, the fall of Zapdos, Tomohawk and Tornadus-T meant that Kartana can start poking its head again as a fantastic breaker. Corviknight, the premier Flyer in the meta, can't always punish Swords Dance sets, leaving it just enough breathing space to start breaking through teams once more.
B-→B+
With Slowking dropping off and leaving its Galarian counterpart in charge, Slowbro picks up the slack as a fantastic Water type. With Colbur sets even being able to beat Weavile one on one thanks to Body Press, this slow wall joins as a great physically defensive Water.
C→B-
Blaziken good, use it. It's fast and can set up on something like Scizor or a scared out Dark-type like Weavile. If you see any water-type you lose but don't overthink it.


Drops:

S-→A+
Metagame adaptations have lead to Weavile's very slight decline, but this exact decline was enough to push it out of the S ranks. While it's still one of the best set-up sweepers in the tier, the metagame has moved away from it having as many auto-win matchups.
A+→A
Ah, Clefable. Once banned from CAP, now dropping into the A rank. Unfortunately for our pink blob, the other Fairy-types of the tier are simply outplacing it in every job it can do.
A+→A
Rise of Ground-types has left poor Zeraora struggling to find a place in the metagame, with Dragapult answers being more easy to fit than ever, that niche is also covered. Regardless, being the fastest unboosted Pokemon in the tier (Regieleki need not apply) is a valuable enough niche as is and Bulk Up sets are as devastating as ever.
A-→B+
Just run Corviknight: the mon. Seriously, now that every other Spike setter is rising, Skarmory is in a tough spot as it doesn't have the pivoting potential of its galarian cousin.
A-→B+
FuturePort is so 2020, get with the times old man! Special attackers are all extremely well equipped to deal with Slowking + running physically defensive Water-types is much more valuable in the current metagame, meaning Slowking just isn't the tier definer it once was.....
B+:→:B
B+→B
Corviknight rose? Kartana is better at breaking walls with Swords Dance? Into the gulag both of these go. Still, they can provide some good utility to teams that wanna run Heatran but are scared of being Earthquaked back into DPP.
B+→B
Slow and steady loses the race; Tomohawk just can't compete with any of the rising threats. Every Ice, Fairy, and Psychic type under the sun has risen into prominence, leaving Tomohawk's defensive prowess all the way in gen 7.
B-→C
Toxapex comes in, Kefluffle is forced out. No pressure applied.
B-→C
Outside of compressing about 40 things at once on dedicated Sun teams, Mandibuzz is simply not good enough to warrant a teamslot these days. Run Zapdos or even Tyranitar over it.
C→UR
Sand simply is not strong enough anymore, so its best abuser has fallen off the face of the Earth. With every Ground-type opting for more Specially defensive spreads, it can't even chip them with a well-timed Draco Meteor any more.
C→UR

shsp's opinion summarizes it best

C→UR
Barely any offensive Ground-types means Tangrowth's niche is completely null and void. Spaghetti shall be eaten in a different generation.


From the depths of unranked:
UR→B
Water/Fire coverage is amazing, and ways to punish all bulky Water-types in the form of the formidable burn chance that Steam Eruption's got or Earth Power dealing with Toxapex means Volcanion is a fantastic mid-ground wallbreaker.
UR→B-
The only Ground-type to have access to both pivoting and hazards and not be named Landorus-T pushes Swampert ever so slightly back into relevance.
UR→C
Good mon on HO #30: Galarian Zapdos. This time, it might stick around for more than 2 weeks as it tries to punish Landorus-T.

 

[Rabia]

Also to touch on Swampert, it's another just really specially fat Ground-type that gives teams a fine answer to Dragapult (and some other special attackers like Krilowatt and Galarian Slowking) while being an even sturdier answer to Heatran. You've got a decent amount of flexibility between Toxic, Rest, and Earthquake in your last two moveslots, and I'm sure even some wack Choice Band set could work.

 

[Lasen]

I'm sure even some wack Choice Band set could work

Steam Buns is building this as we speak.

 

[dex]

back with the noms

B -> B+
Volcanion can be a truly devastating breaker when let onto the field. It is straight up impossible to safely switch into for some teams, and the value that Steam Eruption provides it is genuinely crazy.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8cap-1423819266-l3mtt0potvxtagtd5j0eg8x2crou620pw
This is from my match with pannu for the Swiss tour. Due to Volcanion's ridiculous coverage, it was incredibly hard to punish it for just staying in and using whatever move hit what was in front of it. Its surprisingly good bulk also came in handy in that replay, letting it comfortably stay in on both Revenankh and Weavile.

C -> B+
I honestly do not know what this mon is doing so low. Its Choice Band set absolutely shreds. Even Bulk Up sets are probably fairly good right now. It is super useful as an offensive pivot due to the immense pressure it puts on the enemy team. Though it is somewhat prediction reliant, it's a mon that can very quickly get out of hand and definitely deserves to be higher than C.

 

[Brambane]

Agreed that Zapdos-G needs to rise, either B or B+. A lot of teams rn are defaulting to Torn-T, Dragapult, and more recently Scarf Astro as their Cawmodore answers, meaning Zapdos-G doesn't have to deal with nearly as many Zapdos-K as it did in previous metas. This mon slaps dangerously hard. I have no take on Volcanion.

 

[Mx]

We just finished a new update for the Viability Rankings but before getting to the details, we'd like to announce that D2TheW has joined the VR team!

Rises:

Heatran S- → S
Corviknight A → A+
Kyurem A → A+
Astrolotl A- → A
Melmetal A- → A
Blacephalon B+ → A-
Kartana B+ → A-
Volcanion B→ B+
Zapdos-Galar C → B+
Jirachi UR→ B-
Necrozma UR → C
Nidoking UR → C
Nihilego UR → C
Rotom-Heat UR → C
Shedinja UR → C

Drops:

Urshifu-Rapid-Strike A+ → A
Arctozolt A-→ B+
Hippowdon A- → B+
Ninetales-Alola A- → B+
Zapdos A- → B+
Skarmory B+ → B
Slowking B+ → B
Tomohawk B+ → B
Kerfluffle B- → C
Mandibuzz B- → C
Haxorus C → UR
Miasmaw C → UR

 

[Lasen]

Another VR update, another post from me trying to give a lil' bit of context. This VR update was done knowing that the CAP 30 playtest and then some team tour are both around the corner, not to mention "winter tour TBA". I do also wish to comment on the fact that I did personally disagree with quite a few changes, but this won't stop me from giving you a proper explanation.


Rises:

S- → S
Heatran has always been very close to being considered broken in every metagame, and the longer a metagame goes the better people get at abusing its fantastic typing, defenses and movepool. Currently offering some of the best role compression alongside Landorus-T whilst simultaneously being its partner in crime in every balance/BO build, Heatran has seen a ton of usage so this update reflects this exact movement.

A → A+
A reflection of other metagame trends, this Steel bird is a fullstop to a ton of physical attackers and probably the best hazard removal option currently in the tier. Any defensive Pokemon that is immune to Toxic, a hazard removal option and pivoting is bound to be good, and Corviknight is no exception. Also serves as one of the few Kyurem answers, especially so with Choice Specs seeing less usage. Fantastic mon, can even run weird Bulk Up + Substitute sets and act as a Pressure wincon.

A → A+
This is gonna be banned any moment now, so we're raising it for good measure. Absolutely 0 answers not named exactly Shedinja (more on that later) and being able to run mixed, Special, Physical and anything else it pleases makes it a menace that is almost impossible to account for in the builder. Only downside it has is that it's Stealth Rock weak; that's it. It's fantastic, use it.

A- → A
The return of the most annoying CAP in recent memory. Fire/Dragon is fantastic and people realized just how good double status is. Defog is for some reason on its moveset so it's now both a hazard setter AND a hazard removal option! Fantastic! Great utility pivot that does a ton that is not named absorb Knock Off, with Choice Scarf sets having picked up some steam to revenge kill threats likes Zeraora, Dragapult, and Cawmodore. Also an answer to Hail so it's bound to be good if it counters the only good weather archetype. D2W was added to the team and Scarf Astro is now rising, what a coincidence...

A- → A
Melmetal shuts down so many revenge killing options, having just the perfect bulk and damage output to always be threatening. While its counters are present and VERY viable and it requiring some good predictions to be used to its full potential, one cannot go wrong with clicking Double Iron Bash and T-wave repeatedly. It also won't be 2HKOed by 30i! Huzzah!

B+ → A-
Another wallbreaker on the rise, with all these Steel-types seeing more and more usage and every Ghost resist being actually JUST bulky enough to beat Dragapult, Blacephalon checks the opponent's skill and stats at every switch-in by blasting some obscenely powerful attack and then demanding answers that no one truly has. Now don't be mistaken by its offensive stats - a firm slap will OHKO this clown, but if you can avoid that, the only clown will be your opponent for not bringing Tyranitar.

B+ → A-
No Tomohawk? Zapdos is not seen as much? Time for Heavy Rain™ and the Origami Killer. Another Pokemon that takes advantage of the rise of bulky Waters and drop of defensive Flying-types. Helps that Weavile isn't able to OHKO it with any move.

B→ B+
Steam Eruption good, Speed tier not bad. If the opponent isn't using Blissey or Slowking, then nothing switches into its STAB combination + Earth Power, with weather setters being ran alongside it quite often to provide coverage through Weather Ball.

C → B+
Indirect nerf to Zapdos from Kanto through species clause. Galardos is phenomenal, Flying/Fighting coverage hits everything relevant that isn't Aegislash and Zapdos, with Defiant helping to take cover of the usual Landorus-T and even allows it to spam Close Combat through resistances. Speed isn't bad but it's not ideal either, so play around it.



Drops:

A+ → A
Victim numero uno of bulky waters; between Toxapex, Arghonaut, and Tapu Fini all seeing fairly decent usage, Urshifu-R struggles to be fit on teams these days. It's still extremely strong but it doesn't have a chokehold on the tier anymore, especially so because teams would rather invest their Water-types into defensive ones.

A- → B+
Metagame adapted to both Veil and Hail, so these two are gonna see a mild drop off in usage and viability. BoltBeam coverage on Arctozolt is still absolutely ridiculous and Hypnosis on AlolaTales is gonna net you some level of wins especially against less experienced players, but the benefit of no one knowing what these do is long gone.

A- → B+
Electrics aren't as good and Hippo is too passive, so we've decided to drop it a bit. Definitely a Pokemon who is better on paper than in the actual game considering the holes it creates in a build.

A- → B+
Honestly, an odd drop. While it checks a ton of things, the combination of special attackers being on the rise and its Galarian brethren rising in viability means the Kanto birb has to take a back seat for now. Maybe if it wasn't so weak to Ice...

B+ → B
It's not Corviknight.

B+ → B
It's from Johto.

B → B-
No one wants to run this for any reason, as the things it used to have a chokehold on aren't as relevant anymore and/or other Pokemon check them better. Hazehawk is still super annoying for specific HO teams, of course, but that archetype is shifting into a different type of build.

B- → C
Poison-types: exist.
Kerfluffle:


B- → C
Legitimately the easiest Pokemon that is ranked to abuse. It's a Knock Off resist but not a Knock Off switch-in, a Flying-type that loses to Fightings and a Ground resist that gets Toxiced by Landorus-T. Odd, odd spot Mandibuzz is in- and definitely not in a good way.



Purgatory of constant movement:

UR→ B-
Againa makes us rank his biological son. Honestly, a Stealth Rocker that pivots and ISN'T Landorus-T is very much welcome, and having access to more Psychic and Kyurem answers is always welcome.

UR → C

it's Britney

a good meme that we are ranking to unrank soon enough.

UR → C
The scale of injustice has tipped in Nidoking's favor and as such it's back to being ranked! Reasoning is that we felt there's a ton of stuff that we only like on paper and Nidoking is one of them so we'll give it another shot.

UR → C
STAB MeteorBeam is a hell of a drug and Nihilego has some pretty decent coverage options, especially considering how much Flying-types are seen.

UR → C
A decent defogger and defensive Fire-type, takes advantage of Waters through Volt Switch and doesn't afraid of anything. Funny mon that gives momentum and can threaten specific structures with the prospect of Nasty Plot.

UR → C
Stall good, Shedinja good on stall, beats a TON of stuff no one would expect it to. C because lower inclination by anyone not named D2 to run this mon or archetype.

C → UR
No one wants to run this so it's being axed (heh).

C → UR
Miasmaw has always had problems fitting on teams and switching in, being most often a liability. As such, we've finally decided to drop it into the UR pot, much to Darek's dismay.

 

[Binacle Pinnacle]

to A+: Melmetal's combination of natural power and bulk makes it a very valuable option for balance/balance offense builds, which may struggle with leveraging offensive pressure and defensive value. Its coverage is wide enough to hit anything it pleases; nearly the entire tier is threatened by Double Iron Bash + Superpower + Thunder Wave. Protective Pads and Leftovers allow for Melmetal to maintain a degree of longevity, despite it often being used as a soft check to offensive presences in the meta.

to S-/A+: I don't believe that Heatran has "fallen off" in viability, I just don't think it defines the metagame in a way that an S Rank holder should. It's still an extremely splashable option, and is able to threaten most of the tier, but its presence within the tier isn't as noticeable as Dragapult's or Landorus-Therian's.

to B-: Scizor did nothing before the Kyurem ban, Kyurem no longer exists, Scizor now does even MORE nothing somehow.

to A: Corviknight finds its defensive utility increasingly niche in this more offensively-minded metagame, often being forced on the back foot while attempting to remove hazards thanks to the prevalence of Knock Off to remove its Leftovers and Shed Shell, and Ferrothorn's Leech Seed, Iron Barbs, and Rocky Helmet.

to A+: Possibly the best support option in the current metagame. Stealth Rock and Spikes, especially the latter, often force immediate action to be taken on them, making exploitation of removal especially easy. Ferrothorn's Iron Barbs, occasionally paired with Rocky Helmet, are a brutal method of threatening chip damage against the likes of Venomicon-Epilogue, Tapu Koko, Corviknight, and Landorus-Therian. Leech Seed is a somewhat reliable recovery option, while forcing even more chip damage against most opponents. These factors combined with its great natural bulk and typing make it a terrifying presence.

to A-: Equilibra benefits greatly from the fall of Slowking and popularity of Tapu Koko, losing a counter and gaining an exploitable, popular opportunity to come onto the field respectively. It provides a sturdy defense against non-Knock Off Landorus-Therian variants, the previously mentioned Tapu Koko, and Venomicon, while supporting its teammates with Doom Desire and Rapid Spin. Equilibra itself can act as an offensive force if given the chance; most teams fail to prepare for special Ground-type STAB aside from Landorus-Therian.

 

[Jordy]

to A+: Melmetal's combination of natural power and bulk makes it a very valuable option for balance/balance offense builds, which may struggle with leveraging offensive pressure and defensive value. Its coverage is wide enough to hit anything it pleases; nearly the entire tier is threatened by Double Iron Bash + Superpower + Thunder Wave. Protective Pads and Leftovers allow for Melmetal to maintain a degree of longevity, despite it often being used as a soft check to offensive presences in the meta.

to S-/A+: I don't believe that Heatran has "fallen off" in viability, I just don't think it defines the metagame in a way that an S Rank holder should. It's still an extremely splashable option, and is able to threaten most of the tier, but its presence within the tier isn't as noticeable as Dragapult's or Landorus-Therian's.

to B-: Scizor did nothing before the Kyurem ban, Kyurem no longer exists, Scizor now does even MORE nothing somehow.

to A: Corviknight finds its defensive utility increasingly niche in this more offensively-minded metagame, often being forced on the back foot while attempting to remove hazards thanks to the prevalence of Knock Off to remove its Leftovers and Shed Shell, and Ferrothorn's Leech Seed, Iron Barbs, and Rocky Helmet.

to A+: Possibly the best support option in the current metagame. Stealth Rock and Spikes, especially the latter, often force immediate action to be taken on them, making exploitation of removal especially easy. Ferrothorn's Iron Barbs, occasionally paired with Rocky Helmet, are a brutal method of threatening chip damage against the likes of Venomicon-Epilogue, Tapu Koko, Corviknight, and Landorus-Therian. Leech Seed is a somewhat reliable recovery option, while forcing even more chip damage against most opponents. These factors combined with its great natural bulk and typing make it a terrifying presence.

to A-: Equilibra benefits greatly from the fall of Slowking and popularity of Tapu Koko, losing a counter and gaining an exploitable, popular opportunity to come onto the field respectively. It provides a sturdy defense against non-Knock Off Landorus-Therian variants, the previously mentioned Tapu Koko, and Venomicon, while supporting its teammates with Doom Desire and Rapid Spin. Equilibra itself can act as an offensive force if given the chance; most teams fail to prepare for special Ground-type STAB aside from Landorus-Therian.

dude started using mono steel after losing to his own mom geez

 

[Binacle Pinnacle]

dude started using mono steel after losing to his own mom geez

go ahead and milk it, it’s the most relevancy you’ll ever have

 

[dex]

bird noms from the bird enthusiast

-> A-
Zapdos saw a downturn in usage due to Kyurem and Weavile being literally everywhere. With Kyurem's ban, the introduction of book, and the surge in Melmetal play (particularly TPunch variants), Zapdos is probably A tier once again. It is a valuable pivot on balance teams and it can be hard for a number of teams to combat Hurricane predictions, as it notably chunks Lando-T attempting to block Volt Switch.

-> A-
Mon is good. Fighting/Flying STAB coming off its beastly attack stat is still so hard to switch into. It proves to be an absolutely excellent pairing with pretty much any Electric-type, and given that Magnezone is about as good as it ever has been and Lando-T is as common as physically possible, Gapdos is an excellent pick for breaking through bulky teams and outright collecting kills vs. more offensive teams.

 

[Brambane]

 

[Jordy]

go ahead and milk it, it’s the most relevancy you’ll ever have

ratio

 

[dex]

another nom just to get it in
A -> B+

Mon is just... not that good. Meta is overwhelmed with Melmetal, AV Torn, and Toxapex. Venom's introduction to the tier is the nail in the coffin for it. It can probably still do some work, but its checks are just too splashable for it to make the progress it used to.

 

[Da Pizza Man]

: A+ -> UR

Mon is unusable so its trash

: A -> A-/B+

I agree with Binpin that this should drop with Kyurem gone. However, I think dropping it all the way down to B- is way too harsh since it still offers good role compression.

: C -> UR

This already felt pretty bad before, but now with the rise of Assault Vest Torn-T and the introduction of the books in the metagame, this just feels even worse. It also really hates that its natural predator Toxapex got better with Kyurem being banned. Parting Shot is still a cool move that does give it a small niche, but that niche isn't big enough for this to be ranked imo.

 

[Amamama]

Mon is unusable so its trash

Based take

 

[Zephyri]

-> A-/A

The mon is genuinely cracked. Look through the VR and find me a mon that doesn't get 2hkod by adaband after rocks. Paj loves how good astro, glowking and tran are in the current meta and really feeds on the common fini-steel defensive cores in the current meta (fini cant check paj for shit). Clef being less common and slowbro/victini rising in usage are also p sweet for it.

 

[spoo]

Hey all! With CAPCL starting up, the VR team decided to vote on a new slate and it's time for another update. Enjoy!

Newly Ranked:

• Venomicon → A+
• Venomicon-E → A

Rises:

• Tornadus-T A+ → S-
• Ferrothorn A- → A
• Pajantom B+ → A-
• Slowbro B+ → A-
• Zapdos B+ → A-
• Zapdos-Galar B+ → A-
• Pelipper C → B-

Drops:

• Heatran S → S-
• Corviknight A+ → A
• Slowking-Galar A+ → A
• Clefable A → A-
• Jumbao A → B+
• Scizor A → B+
• Buzzwole A- → B+
• Dragonite B+ → B
• Hippowdon B+ → B
• Rillaboom B → B-
• Tyranitar B → B-
• Swampert B- → C
• Syclant B- → C
• Grimmsnarl C → UR
• Kerfluffle C → UR
• Mandibuzz C → UR
• Reuniclus C → UR

Will edit in some reasoning for these in the next day or two if Lasen doesn't get to it first

 

[dex]

Not super sold on Hippo dropping, everything else makes sense. However, I do notice a sad lack of wizard lizard in the rises.

A -> A+
Astro busted. For real, this thing is almost as good as it was with knock. Wisp makes it so that lando can’t check it, it spikes on tons of shit, it is the sole member of the “switch into and defog on tran” club, and lash is just as dumb as it always has been. Encore variants go crazy as well. The rise in Scarf’s usage has proved that it’s a legit set, making Astro unpredictable to play against and extremely well rounded and splashable. Astro busted.

 

[Rabia]

Not super sold on Hippo dropping, everything else makes sense. However, I do notice a sad lack of wizard lizard in the rises.

A -> A+
Astro busted. For real, this thing is almost as good as it was with knock. Wisp makes it so that lando can’t check it, it spikes on tons of shit, it is the sole member of the “switch into and defog on tran” club, and lash is just as dumb as it always has been. Encore variants go crazy as well. The rise in Scarf’s usage has proved that it’s a legit set, making Astro unpredictable to play against and extremely well rounded and splashable. Astro busted.

hippo is still good but w/ lando + chomp being the go-to ground-type rockers it's just a lot harder to justify outside of fat builds. it's cool as a blanket check sometimes but dragapult is one spdef drop away from breaking you, which is sorta awkward.

 

[spoo]

hippo is still good but w/ lando + chomp being the go-to ground-type rockers it's just a lot harder to justify outside of fat builds. it's cool as a blanket check sometimes but dragapult is one spdef drop away from breaking you, which is sorta awkward.

Seconding this - hippo doesn't typically excel on many archetypes besides for fat, and while it's a great elec answer and a cool soft switchin to special attackers like tran pult etc, it's not necessarily reliable against them either. I also feel that the book drop hurt it quite a bit, as it needs to run whirl/edge to not get completely abused by them but losing out on toxic is just as bad

I agree with the astro rise as well; the mon is 100% at a high point with a variety of equally strong sets. Astro is still the most unpunishable thing to ever exist and it's incredible at everything it does, whether that's spiking, fogging, soft checking half the tier, screwing over setup mons, scouting shit, etc. Very strong meta pick atm.

Other things I think could change:
A- -> A
Slowbro feels undervalued at A-. Comparing it to other bulky waters, it can do a lot of the stuff pex does –– checking shifu & other breakers like gzap and sorta melm, stopgap against weav with colbur press, being an ebook switchin (this is huge) –– while also being strong into grounds, providing fsight support, and being less of a momentum drain w/ access to teleport. It's very comparable in defensive merit to fini as well, and is arguably a better bulky water choice than arghonaut atm (more on that in a bit). All of this ultimately means slowbro can slot incredibly comfortably onto a variety of BO/balance builds and has a litany of partners who really appreciate fsight and the defensive value it offers.

A -> A-
A- -> B+
Argh on the other hand fell off pretty hard. Not to undersell its usefulness because you legit can't find the same toolkit argh offers elsewhere, but venomicon's release hurt this thing a ton. It's quite hard for argh structures to competently check the epilogue forme in my experience; you just end up with some really weird defensive synergy / holes in your team trying to be safe against it. Having your physdef wall and bulky water hard lose to ebook just blows for a lot of teams. Argh doesn't only lose to both books, but also doesn't appreciate any of the trends that they inspired –– stuff like elecs + lele being better, increased competition from bro/pex as fat waters, competition from ferro/astro as a spiker, etc... overall it doesn't look great. I think a small drop to A- would be fitting. The mon is still good, but recent trends hurt it.

Rev is another fighting type that unsurprisingly was hurt with venom's release. It's tough for me to argue it any lower than A-, because triage drain punch + stab ghost nuke is such an insane combo that puts a hard floor on how bad it'll ever be. Still, it gained an extra defensive switchin with base book and an extra revenge killer with the fast book, and its consistency has been hurt as a result. I think you can argue that less argh + more slowbro is good for it, but other rising trends are equally as harmful. B+ Puts it in line with other powerful setup sweepers like volcarona who are just a little bit matchup dependent.

A- -> A
A- -> A
Lastly, zone and clef should rise. Zone is arguably the best it's ever been, able to easily outright KO steels like melm/ferro with ID/BP in many games while still posing serious restriction to corv, even if thunderbolt might not KO it from full w/ some zone sets. It's a seriously great partner to both books, is a cool defensive option against the TL forme, and overall is just in a solid spot right now with what it offers and the kind of teams it fits on. Clef also shouldn't have dropped here; while being a fairy type wincon in a venomicon, tapu, and steel infested meta is sorta difficult, clef still manages to pull it off. A lot of teams are shockingly weak to CM sets, especially since its checks are not hard at all to wear down; conversely, bulky utility sets are still incredibly splashable on balance/BO and have strong defensive synergy with a lot of the tier's best options atm. Good mon, put it back in A.

 

[CallMeDrippyT]

A- -> A
A- -> A
Lastly, zone and clef should rise. Zone is arguably the best it's ever been, able to easily outright KO steels like melm/ferro with ID/BP in many games while still posing serious restriction to corv, even if thunderbolt might not KO it from full w/ some zone sets. It's a seriously great partner to both books, is a cool defensive option against the TL forme, and overall is just in a solid spot right now with what it offers and the kind of teams it fits on. Clef also shouldn't have dropped here; while being a fairy type wincon in a venomicon, tapu, and steel infested meta is sorta difficult, clef still manages to pull it off. A lot of teams are shockingly weak to CM sets, especially since its checks are not hard at all to wear down; conversely, bulky utility sets are still incredibly splashable on balance/BO and have strong defensive synergy with a lot of the tier's best options atm. Good mon, put it back in A.

I agree with Spoo that both Zone and Clef should rise to A, and I also think that Clef is generally a very threatening mon in the current meta. Clef's ability to outright blow past Steel-types like Corviknight, Ferrothorn, and Scizor with Flamethrower - and eventually break through typical switch-ins to it like Toxapex and even Heatran with Thunderbolt - means that after a few CM boosts, defeating it can suddenly turn into a very difficult task. What's especially notable for me about Clef is that it is able to effectively take on Galarian Slowking in a 1v1 and break past it if it has set up enough. This is a feat that other Fairy-types like Jumbao and Kerfluffle obviously don't even come close to achieving. And if all this isn't enough, the few Pokemon in CAP that are able to OHKO Clef have fallen off the face of the Earth. Rillaboom is literally nowhere to be found on HO teams anymore, or any teams for that matter, and Crucibelle is complete ass. Okay yes, Cruci has a slight niche, but there are abt a million steels in the meta. It makes zero progress. In addition to Rilla and Cruci, Melm can also obviously OHKO Clef, but its tendency to run Flamethrower makes Melm an unreliable switch-in. To top this all off, Clef can run both LO and Leftovers sets, and it's a pretty good Dragapult answer.

Now for a couple drops and rises of my own:

A -> A-
Toxapex is definitely deserving of a drop. Let's reiterate the most obvious reason why. As many people have been catching on to and mentioning recently, Electric and Psychic types like Zapdos and Tapu Lele are rising due to the recent introduction of books into the meta. This puts pex in a really bad position to say the least. And I also think that pex is a pretty trash answer to the books themselves. Sure, it can come in and haze away their boosts or fish for a bullshit hax scald burn, but after tanking a boosted BB from epilogue or a boosted EP from prologue, it is just forced out again. Absolutely 0 pressure.

Pex is also not great at achieving something it occasionally wants to on a team: checking Pult. While dex's stat spread for pex on the Smogon CAP Analysis page is the most viable imo (due to its increased Sp. Def investment) some players may choose to run more phys def to check Naviathan and Weavile better. Then they end up taking practically half from Shadow Ball. And hey, who doesn't love a bulky water that loses to every Ground-type in the meta? Point made lol

UR -> C / B-
I think that with both books in the meta, Latios becomes more viable. In terms of damage output it is completely outclassed by Tapu Lele for sure, but I do still see some advantages it has nonetheless. For one, depending on the set it runs, Latios has much more accurate coverage to hit Heatran with, like Aura Sphere, Surf, or Earthquake. For another, it is faster than Lele, making it harder to revenge kill despite not having access to Psychic Terrain. Controversial take here, but I think it is justified.

A -> A-
Melm should also drop. As stated before, Zapdos is pretty common now, and Melm literally can't do anything to it. (Zap still should be careful of rare Melm EQs on preidicted Roosts, though). Slowbro is also rising in usage, and Melm is pretty much dead weight against this as well. Sure, it can paralyze bro with twave and proceed to tpunch it, but rocky helmet is still not that uncommon of an item for bro, and melm hates taking chip without any sort of recovery besides Leftovers.

 

[dex]

nom time

A -> A+: We've seen throughout countless tournament games that Ferrothorn is an absolutely excellent defensive centerpiece to most balance builds. It provides so much utility and defensive ability to a team that it is incredibly hard to ignore when building.

A -> B+: It feels weird to rate the chonker this low, but at this point it doesn't actually switch into too many offensive Pokemon. Slowking and Slowbro are both better Future Sight users at this point due to Teleport, and while there is still merit to Psychic sets, GKing just does not match up well into all that many offensive threats. The Kyurem ban is really the nail in the coffin for this boy, drop him.

A- -> A: Zapdos received a recent boon by virtue of the release of the books. Zapdos is uniquely capable of handling both Venomicon formes, making it quite easy to justify on a team. It is a passable Urshifu-R check, a Cawm counter, a fairly decent Torn check, and probably the best answer in the game to Corviknight. While I do think that Zapdos requires more team support than the other A rank mons, it offers so much defensively through its typing and Static that it belongs in the next tier up.