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The Viability Rankings are just relative. I'd like to propose some anchor mons for the Viability Rankings. Mons that most people would agree belong at a certain rank, so that we can rank other mons around them.

S - Mega-Gyarados
A - Tapu Koko
A minus - Dragonite
B plus - Chansey
B - Jirachi
C plus - Victini
C - Avalugg
D - Aron (obviously, it's what the tier was made for)

An example: Is Primarina as good as Jirachi? Is it as good as Chansey? Is it as good as Dragonite? Is it as good as Victini? I think looking at the rankings this way allows us to more clearly decide where a certain mon belongs.
 
The Viability Rankings are just relative. I'd like to propose some anchor mons for the Viability Rankings. Mons that most people would agree belong at a certain rank, so that we can rank other mons around them.

S - Mega-Gyarados
A - Tapu Koko
A minus - Dragonite
B plus - Chansey
B - Jirachi
C plus - Victini
C - Avalugg
D - Aron (obviously, it's what the tier was made for)

An example: Is Primarina as good as Jirachi? Is it as good as Chansey? Is it as good as Dragonite? Is it as good as Victini? I think looking at the rankings this way allows us to more clearly decide where a certain mon belongs.

I would like to add that Porygon-Z could be the anchor for A+ and Either Snorlax or Sawk for B-.

C- does not really need an anchor imo because the rank is just Pokemon that are a little bit more viable than D-ranked Pokemon. Therefore we can just use Aron for deciding C- Ranked Pokemon.
 
Primarina: B to B+ / A-
Primarina really is a threat to be reckoned with. In the 1v1 metagame, creativity and ingenuity with sets is imperative as it greatly helps you to sneak in a win condition. Primarina is honestly slept on in the current metagame. While it does have some difficult matchups, this is made up for with some great natural bulk which is complimented extremely well by its Fairy / Water typing. Primarina also takes on a lot of top-tier metagame threats, including both Mega-Charizards / Mega-Gyarados / Mega-Metagross / Aegislash / Mega-Mawile / Crustle, and many more.

I'm going to be cheeky and quote Dream Eater Gengar's things to keep in mind when deciding a Pokemon's rank.
- The Pokemon's versatility enters on a big scale in the deciding of its rank, the more unpredictable a Pokemon is, the more Pokemon it can break.

- The Pokemon's stats and capabilities. This Pokemon is able to pull an amazing offensive set or stall out effectively the opponent. This Pokemon takes bulky offense on another level allowing it to easily sponge and deal insane damage.

- The Pokemon ability to be anti-metagame. This Pokemon's typing and ability makes it able to take on the most dominant Pokemon or typings in the metagame.
This newly made set of mine actually ticks every box that should be considered when deciding a rank. It's versatile and unpredictable, has great bulk with natural offensive stats, and is rather anti-metagame in general. While I didn't really want to base most of the nomination out of my own set, I've had to do so because I believe that this is the best set out there for Primarina in the current metagame.

That's all I've got to say, thanks for reading :]
 
A lot of opinions on how good certain pokemon are in 1v1, relative to each other:

UP

Deo-D - This was probably always an A mon, people just don't like it. It can run 2 or 3 good sets that beat and lose to different things. It beats such a wide range of pokemon. Stall, Special, Physical. It's rarely at a loss. Don't know what to pick? Just pick Deo-D.

Aegislash - This probably should've gone up once Ghostium became a common set.

Primarina - Up because of what ol' dogknees said. It's probably the best answer to the god squad. It can run multiple sets.

Snorlax - Normalium plus the other sets it can run probably make this a B+ mon. It can be really hard to get around. Like Deo-D you can kind of just pick this into whatever.

Landorus-T - Amazingly, this mon 50/50s Donphan. It's probably the best ground type in 1v1. It's at least A-.

Mega-Blastoise, Heatran, Mega-Sableye - These should probably all be B-. There's no way Umbreon is clearly better than Mega-Blastoise.

DOWN

Porgyon-Z - It really only has one set nowadays: Scarf. It misses Custap Berry, Conversion sets are pretty bad, and Specs isn't that great now that z-moves are everywhere. This pokemon is not better than Tapu Koko or Mega-Metagross.

Crustle - I never thought it was A+ and I don't think it's A. It's worse than Golem and Donphan. It should be lower than them. It doesn't have priority.

Greninja - It's kind of like Kartana and Genesect. Its dual typing isn't that great. You kind of have to run a choice item and you just never seem to have enough power or the right move or enough speed. It's sort of overshadowed by Tapu Koko.

Lando-I - One day people will agree with me.

Togekiss - No one uses this anymore because of how many pokemon beat it nowadays. There are more steels, t-wave got nerfed, z-moves usually OHKO it. It's probably C+ or C tbh. People are trying to ban Jirachi and not Togekiss for a reason.

Rhyperior and Gengar-Mega - These mons aren't good.

Whimsicott - This mon is not better than Mega-Blastoise, Mega-Sableye, and Heatran. It's just not anymore. It's probably been C+ all of gen 7.

Mega-Scizor - No one uses this mon. It was probably never C+. It's probably C. It's about as good as Mega-Lucario.
 
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The Official Glyx

Banned deucer.
Okay, so the chat was talking about Marowak-A, so I decided to do a little digging and I found that this thing actually takes on a lot

marowak-alola.gif


Marowak-Alola @ Thick Club
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 216 HP / 196 Atk / 96 Def
Adamant Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Stone Edge
- Counter / Low Kick
- Shadow Bone / Filler

Uncertain Matchups:
vs Zard-X
196+ Atk Thick Club Marowak-Alola Stone Edge vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Charizard-Mega-X: 298-352 (100.3 - 118.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
vs Kyurem-B
196+ Atk Thick Club Marowak-Alola Low Kick (120 BP) vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Kyurem-Black: 390-460 (99.7 - 117.6%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO
results may vary
vs Mawile
-1 196+ Atk Thick Club Marowak-Alola Flare Blitz vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Mawile-Mega: 324-384 (106.5 - 126.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Huge Power Mawile-Mega Sucker Punch vs. 216 HP / 96 Def Marowak-Alola: 244-288 (77.4 - 91.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
vs Porygon-Z
252+ SpA Porygon-Z Dark Pulse vs. 216 HP / 0 SpD Marowak-Alola: 238-280 (75.5 - 88.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
vs Metagross
196+ Atk Thick Club Marowak-Alola Flare Blitz vs. 252 HP / 28+ Def Metagross-Mega: 368-434 (101 - 119.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
vs Pinsir
252 Atk Aerilate Pinsir-Mega Giga Impact vs. 216 HP / 96 Def Marowak-Alola: 282-333 (89.5 - 105.7%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO
vs Slowbro
196+ Atk Thick Club Marowak-Alola Shadow Bone vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Slowbro-Mega: 252-296 (63.9 - 75.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
196+ Atk Thick Club Marowak-Alola Shadow Bone vs. +2 252 HP / 0 Def Slowbro-Mega: 126-150 (31.9 - 38%) -- 94.4% chance to 3HKO
0 SpA Slowbro-Mega Scald vs. 216 HP / 0 SpD Marowak-Alola: 260-308 (82.5 - 97.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
vs Magearna
252+ SpA Choice Specs Magearna Shadow Ball vs. 216 HP / 0 SpD Marowak-Alola: 346-408 (109.8 - 129.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
This isn't a common move right? ;-;

In the end, it's not quite as good for as many things as Heatran (which should really be bumped up from C+ to like B+/A- at most), but it still threatens the meta a lot more than the things in the C+ to B range, so I think
Marowak-Alola should go from Unranked --> B/B-
 

charizard8888

Catch The Wave
is a Forum Moderator Alumnus
Opinions on nominations:
First of all, I'll say that the idea of ranking a Pokemon by setting anchors for each rank and relatively comparing them is nice

Deoxys-Defense
Agree
This Pokemon has great defenses along with a speed to be a fast Taunt user (shuts down other Taunts, Status, Boosts), can take multiple hits, boost defenses, has Recover and can deal with a lot of common threats. Not a lot of Pokemon can defeat it, to name a few- Aegislash, Z-Attacker Kartana, Tapu Koko with Charge and Taunt when played correctly, Specs Greninja, Ghost Z Mimikyu, Bug Z Scolipede set by Uselesscrab are able to defeat it making Deoxys-Defense a very powerful Pokemon to have. Its level is higher than A- Rank. Should move up to A Rank

Primarina
Agree
Has high Special Attack which combined with Torrent it becomes even more lethal and also what dogknees said, its Water/Fairy typing is compulsively good to check a lot of common Pokemon like Mega Gyarados and Mega Charizard X. So I think it should move up

Landorus-Therian
Agree
Lando-T has emerged out as a good Ground type attacker after some time in Gen 7 and also has a pretty good ability and immunity to Electric and also Ground. Probably B+ or A- would be the ideal rank for it.

Porygon-Z
Although Porygon-Z doesn't have a lot of set varieties now which is a major factor in 1v1 but it still is a really powerful attacker with its high Special Attack and ability. While the Z-Conversion set isn't really that good but the Scarf and Specs set (which do offer some variety going from fast to bulky) but it loses to most of the Sturdy Pokemon (which can be dealt with by pairing it up with Kyurem-B or Mega Gyarados) It still is a major threat to fast attackers and I think it should stay in A+ Rank

Mega Blastoise
Agree
Mega Blastoise is a really good (and underused for some reason) Pokemon. It can play different roles- defeats Sturdy, can scare the opponent with CounterCoat, checks both Megazards (Though Substitute could be problematic for it) and can also take attacks from others with ease. Its better than C+

Mega Scizor
Agree
Not a lot of reasons to use this over other Steel-types like Kartana and its not that good in 1v1 so probably C or C- might be the right place

Heatran
Agree
Though predictable that its almost Air Balloon every time and Mega Gyarados is used a lot at the moment but still with its typing along with Ground immunity by Air Balloon lets it check a lot of Pokemon and is one of the best anti-meta Pokemon. I think its of B Rank quality

Some more nominations:

Mega Medicham
Unranked ---> C/C+
With Fake Out in its movepool, it can defeat every Sturdy Pokemon barring max HP Donphan [and the Sturdy Pokemon with Protect], Non-Scarf Kyurem-Black, 50/50 Mega Gyarados with Thunder Punch, Snorlax, Primarina, Mega Venusaur and others. Its better than Avalugg this gen probably as good as Victini so I think C Rank might be okay as a starting point for it

Garchomp
This one is a bit long
Although Garchomp was dropped from A- to B+ earlier this gen but after some time in Gen 7 like Landorus-Therian more sets grew so the Pokemon which check that became better so nominating it for A- again

Let's move to the sets!
Garchomp famously has two sets: Choice Band and Choice Scarf which are picked upon the team requirements, in this generation the Choice Band set seems to be more viable as it can defeat bulkier Pokemon while Choice Scarf can defeat faster Pokemon. Though the lack of options makes it a bit predictable. So, going to share another set which has been doing good lately


Garchomp @ Groundium Z
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Substitute

Nothing too special with the spread, its the standard spread with max speed to have a chance of defeating other Garchomp and max attack because it needs that to KO certain Pokemon. Have been using this for some weeks and seems good. Its capable of defeating a large portion of the bulky and bulky offensive meta.
Calcs [Bulky/Bulky Offensive/Offensive]

Substitute --> Swords Dance ---> Tectonic Rage
+2 252 Atk Garchomp Tectonic Rage (180 BP) vs. 216 HP / 252 Def Venusaur-Mega: 402-474 (113.2 - 133.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252 Atk Garchomp Tectonic Rage (180 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Venusaur-Mega: 366-432 (100.5 - 118.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
4 SpA Venusaur-Mega Giga Drain vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Garchomp: 109-130 (30.5 - 36.4%) -- 59.3% chance to 3HKO

Substitute blocks Charm and other statuses, Swords Dance then Tectonic Rage is a guaranteed OHKO


252 Atk Garchomp Tectonic Rage (180 BP) vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Tapu Lele: 373-439 (132.2 - 155.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 Atk Garchomp Tectonic Rage (180 BP) vs. 200 HP / 56 Def Tapu Lele: 348-409 (105.1 - 123.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen71v1-561071649

Tapu Lele with its Psychium Z set could be hard to defeat and was even able to take a banded Poison Jab some times, ZQ would always win unless Tapu Lele is scarfed


+2 252 Atk Garchomp Tectonic Rage (180 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Snorlax: 552-651 (105.3 - 124.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252 Atk Garchomp Tectonic Rage (180 BP) vs. +1 252 HP / 0 Def Snorlax: 556-655 (106.1 - 125%) -- guaranteed OHKO [CurseLax]
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen71v1-567043445

Same as Venusaur, Sub blocks Yawn and +2 Tectonic Rage always OHKOes


252 Atk Garchomp Earthquake vs. 248 HP / 8 Def Deoxys-Defense: 109-129 (35.9 - 42.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252 Atk Garchomp Tectonic Rage (180 BP) vs. 248 HP / 8 Def Deoxys-Defense: 195-229 (64.3 - 75.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+2 252 Atk Garchomp Tectonic Rage (180 BP) vs. 248 HP / 8 Def Deoxys-Defense: 388-457 (128 - 150.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen71v1-559817149

Garchomp is guaranteed to win this matchup [100% of the time]
Keep using Swords Dance till they boost their Def to +6 and then hit it with a regular EQ and if they use Recover on that turn keep going for some time and find a turn in which you EQ and they don't recover (this is fairly easy to do as you have Sub, SD you won't get PP stalled out) and then follow it up with Tectonic Rage

The min rolls (which you surely won't get in both of the turns) do 35.9% and 64.3% which makes up to 100.2% if Deoxys-D uses Taunt in between the setup, you will be two stages above it and can just OHKO with Tectonic Rage.
The Counter and Z-Cosmic Power sets can be defeated in the same way by just SD (twice if Cosmic Power) then Tectonic Rage


252 Atk Garchomp Tectonic Rage (180 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Primarina: 378-445 (103.8 - 122.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen71v1-562533106

Tectonic Rage OHKOes the standard variant but falls short against the bulkier one


252 Atk Garchomp Tectonic Rage (180 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def protected Aegislash-Shield: 103-122 (31.7 - 37.6%) -- 90.7% chance to 3HKO
252 Atk Garchomp Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Aegislash-Shield: 230-272 (70.9 - 83.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Garchomp doesn't have to worry about predicting the Protect turn, Tectonic Rage followed by EQ always OHKOes Aegislash


-1 252 Atk Garchomp Tectonic Rage (180 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Mawile-Mega: 324-384 (106.5 - 126.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO


252 Atk Garchomp Tectonic Rage (180 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Magearna: 524-618 (143.9 - 169.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO


252 Atk Garchomp Tectonic Rage (180 BP) vs. 252 HP / 60+ Def Metagross-Mega: 360-426 (98.9 - 117%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO
128 Atk Tough Claws Metagross-Mega Meteor Mash vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Garchomp: 199-235 (55.7 - 65.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO


80 SpA Tapu Fini Hydro Vortex (185 BP) vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Garchomp: 237-279 (66.3 - 78.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
80 SpA Tapu Fini Moonblast vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Garchomp: 242-288 (67.7 - 80.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+2 252 Atk Garchomp Tectonic Rage (180 BP) vs. 192 HP / 180+ Def Tapu Fini: 406-478 (123.4 - 145.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Tapu Fini Moonblast vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Garchomp: 470-554 (131.6 - 155.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen71v1-562621094

Swords Dance then Tectonic Rage (or even Tectonic Rage then Earthquake) can defeat Waterium Z Tapu Fini while Specs Moonblast can KO Garchomp


252+ Atk Choice Band Hustle Durant Iron Head vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Garchomp: 297-351 (83.1 - 98.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Garchomp Tectonic Rage (180 BP) vs. 0 HP / 28 Def Durant: 261-307 (101.5 - 119.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO


+2 252 Atk Garchomp Tectonic Rage (180 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Chansey: 778-916 (110.5 - 130.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen71v1-566321225

+2 Tectonic Rage always OHKOes Chansey, Substitute blocks Charm and even defeats those sets in which they go for Counter


252 Atk Garchomp Tectonic Rage (180 BP) vs. 112 HP / 40 Def Crustle: 235-277 (76 - 89.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
244+ Atk Crustle Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Garchomp: 107-127 (29.9 - 35.5%) -- 30.5% chance to 3HKO
244+ Atk Crustle Continental Crush (200 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Garchomp: 160-189 (44.8 - 52.9%) -- 26.6% chance to 2HKO
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen71v1-560753659

Earthquake then Tectonic Rage always OHKOes and Counter on EQ doesn't KO Garchomp, also it can't outspeed Garchomp even after Shell Smash


+4 252 Atk Garchomp Outrage vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Celesteela: 227-267 (57 - 67%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen71v1-567974026
[Played it wrong there just Sub SD twice and Outrage twice]
Substitute to block Leech Seed, Swords Dance twice then Outrage 2HKOes and wins every time unless Garchomp gets confusion haxd


252 Atk Garchomp Tectonic Rage (180 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mimikyu: 354-417 (141 - 166.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 Atk Mimikyu Never-Ending Nightmare (140 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Garchomp: 186-220 (52.1 - 61.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Mimikyu Play Rough vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Garchomp: 240-284 (67.2 - 79.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Mimikyu Shadow Sneak vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Garchomp: 54-64 (15.1 - 17.9%) -- possible 6HKO
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen71v1-561550369

Always defeats the Ghostium Z set while loses to the Fairium Z set


Zard Y
252 Atk Garchomp Outrage vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Charizard-Mega-Y: 181-214 (50.2 - 59.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Charizard-Mega-Y Solar Beam vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Garchomp: 192-226 (53.7 - 63.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Zard X
252 Atk Garchomp Tectonic Rage (180 BP) vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Charizard-Mega-X: 392-464 (109.1 - 129.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Garchomp even has a chance against the bulky Zard X set [the offensive Zard X set is good as well] and mostly defeats all the other sets

Garchomp should start with Substitute when facing Charizard, if its Megazard Y Outrage 2HKOes while 252 Modest Solar Beam doesn't do >75% to KO it
If Charizard doesn't mega evolve, its guaranteed to be Mega Charizard X but you still don't know which set it is

If they go for Counter [regardless of mega evolution or not] it'd fail and two Outrage would be enough to KO it

If they mega evolve and go for Outrage, it can be either one of them but Tectonic Rage on the following turn OHKOes both of them

If they don't Mega Evolve and go for Dragon Dance [which is rare as the opponent would fear a Choice Scarf set] Use Tectonic Rage as it'll be the only way left to win. So the match is pretty much in favour of Garchomp so its capable of defeating one of the best Pokemon in the 1v1 tier with this great surprise factor of mega evolution and sets.


252 Atk Garchomp Tectonic Rage (180 BP) vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Meloetta: 364-430 (90.3 - 106.6%) -- 43.8% chance to OHKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Meloetta Hyper Beam vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Garchomp: 457-538 (128 - 150.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Meloetta Uproar vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Garchomp: 274-324 (76.7 - 90.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Substitute blocks Hyper Beam then it can proceed to KO it easily but if the opponent has already played against you then they can go for Uproar predicting Substitute but still the match is in Garchomp's favour


252 Atk Garchomp Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Golem: 260-308 (71.4 - 84.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Garchomp Tectonic Rage (180 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Golem: 470-554 (129.1 - 152.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Golem Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Garchomp: 178-210 (49.8 - 58.8%) -- 99.6% chance to 2HKO
252+ Atk Golem Sucker Punch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Garchomp: 83-98 (23.2 - 27.4%) -- 71.8% chance to 4HKO

This one is a bit intriguing, you can either rely on prediction or make a strong prediction to win:
1: Assume that Golem isn't running the Groundium Z set and just Earthquake then Tectonic Rage
2: Use Substitute to take their first move then use Earthquake, they will use it too but neither mon will faint then, you'll have to play in such a way that you avoid Sucker Punch and pick the right turn to attack which makes this matchup pretty tough for both sides
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen71v1-563873105 Totally not a coincidence

Has trouble against

+1 252 Atk Garchomp Tectonic Rage (180 BP) vs. 88 HP / 80 Def Gyarados-Mega: 379-447 (107.3 - 126.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Mold Breaker Gyarados-Mega Outrage vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Garchomp: 342-404 (95.7 - 113.1%) -- 75% chance to OHKO

Mega Gyarados should mostly win against Garchomp unless they go use Dragon Dance and still gets outsped by Garchomp but that's too situational, max attack Mega Gyarados should directly go for Outrage as it gas a really high chance of OHKOing it and those which get outsped have enough bulk to tank a +1 Tectonic Rage so Gyarados mostly wins


252 Atk Garchomp Tectonic Rage (180 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Slowbro-Mega: 153-180 (38.8 - 45.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252 Atk Garchomp Outrage vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Slowbro-Mega: 102-120 (25.8 - 30.4%) -- guaranteed 4HKO
+2 252 Atk Garchomp Tectonic Rage (180 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252 Def Slowbro-Mega: 303-357 (76.9 - 90.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Garchomp can't win against Mega Slowbro unless it goes two stages above Mega Slowbro with Swords Dance which is rare


+2 252 Atk Garchomp Outrage vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Heatran: 186-219 (57.5 - 67.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+2 252 Atk Garchomp Outrage vs. 0 HP / 204 Def Heatran: 155-183 (47.9 - 56.6%) -- 87.5% chance to 2HKO
252+ SpA Heatran Flash Cannon vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Garchomp: 163-193 (45.6 - 54%) -- 48% chance to 2HKO
252 SpA Heatran Flash Cannon vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Garchomp: 151-178 (42.2 - 49.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

Swords Dance then 2HKO with Outrage. Garchomp can always defeat Heatran if its Timid but against Modest it only has a 52% chance to win


252+ Atk Donphan Ice Shard vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Garchomp: 192-228 (53.7 - 63.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Donphan can just 2HKO it with Ice Shard

Togekiss is immune to all of the moves and can completely wall it

A Glance on which set can defeat which all Pokemon (Excluding Garchomp itself)
Choice Band
Mostly defeats: Mega Charizard X, Icium Z Kyurem-Black, Mega Charizard Y, Mega Mawile [not always], Magearna, Mega Metagross, Tapu Koko, Psych Z/Specs Tapu Lele, 216 Speed Mega Pinsir, Ghostium Z Mimikyu, Primarina, Whimsicott, Mega Venusaur, Aegislash, Jirachi, Snorlax, Victini, Volcanion, Rhyperior, Mega Lucario, Hoopa-Unbound, Carracosta, Aron

Choice Scarf
Mostly defeats: Offensive Mega Charizard X, Scarf Kyurem-Black, Mega Charizard Y, Crustle, Mega Pinsir, Tapu Koko, Greninja, Jirachi, Mega Gengar, Rhyperior, Jirachi, Victini, Mega Lucario, Hoopa Unbound, Volcanion, Pheromosa, Nihilego, Carracosta, Aron

Depending on Fire Fang / Poison Jab coverage
Poison Jab: Psychium Z/Specs Tapu Lele, Whimsicott, Primarina, Whimsicott, Togekiss [if it gets a chance to hit]
Fire Fang: Ferrothorn, Kartana, Specs Genesect, Specs Celesteela


SubTonic Rage
Mostly defeats: Mega Charizard X, Mega Charizard Y, Mega Mawile, Specs Porygon-Z, Crustle, Magearna, Mega Metagross, Tapu Koko, Psychium Z/Specs Tapu Lele, Deoxys-Defense, Meloetta, Ghostium Z Mimikyu, Waterium Z Tapu Fini, Aegislash, Chansey, Kartana, Jirachi, Primarina, Durant, Necrozma, Ferrothorn, Rhyperior, Snorlax, Umbreon, Mega Scizor, Hoopa-Unbound, Stunfisk, Volcanion, Carracosta, Smeargle, Celesteela, Aron

Why should Garchomp be moved to A- Rank?
After all of this, the query arises why should Garchomp be even moved to A- Rank even though it was dropped earlier? Its great speed stat makes it viable as a Dragon type in 1v1 as otherwise it would've been simply outclassed without Dragon Dance or a higher Attack. While comparing it to Dragonite, its as good as Dragonite though it can't defeat it head to head but with SubTonic Rage it can defeat a huge part of the bulky meta such as Deoxs-Defense, Snorlax, Chansey, Mega Venusaur and others against which many teams struggle. Its not outclassed by Lando-T and other Sturdy users as a Ground type attacker as it can defeat stall and also Tapu Lele which with Specs defeats all of those Ground attackers and also Garchomp has STAB moves alternative for Pokemon which resist Ground while Lando-T (which is certainly as good as this) doesn't have and also Garchomp scares Kyurem-Black in the Team Preview as Scarf Chomp can defeat Scarf Kyurem-Black and Band Chomp can defeat Bulky Icium Z so the opponent has to think before sending their Kyurem-B against Garchomp while they can freely send it against the other Ground attackers, Rough Skin though not the best ability to have but it makes certain KOes guaranteed OHKOes such as against Band Kartana and defensive Metagross and also defeats FEAR on low ladder Dragonium Z might be another option with which Garchomp can defeat others like Bulky Icium Z Kyurem-Black, Dragonite though without Z-EQ it won't be able to defeat Mega Mawile and other such bulky Pokemon but that's a story for another day and while currently looking at the meta which requires a reliable stall breaker to get around Deoxys-D, Snorlax and others, Garchomp might be one and is certainly as good as the anchor mon Dragonite so I'd say it should be moved to A- Rank
Thanks for reading this full! Not sure whether a lot of people would agree but hoping for a positive response
Bonus

Another resource for our beloved metagame
1v1 Damage Calculator
Exactly Honko's Damage Calculator but with 1v1 sets for quick calcs and more features for 1v1. Special Thanks to lost heros as most of the sets have been taken from the Sets Compendium and UnleashOurPasstion who himself is there with me adding more new sets. Also the set names in the calculator are the same and wherever possible most number of attacking moves have been added For Example instead of Dragon Dance on Gyarados Earthquake and Crunch are there
[In the Sets Compendium Special Tapu Koko has Physical Tapu Koko's EVs, Mold Breaker Pinsir needs Jolly nature and Normalium Z has no EVs]
One Vs One
This one is the most used one and everyone knows about this, select two mons and the calcs are displayed
One Vs All
This one tells you how your Pokemon fares against the meta which is really important in 1v1. It would help in deciding stuff like "What Pokemon is my team vulnerable to?" "What should be the fourth move on my Mega Gyarados/Zard X/Genesect depending upon my team and the meta?"
To use this, click on One Vs All then select your Pokemon ---> Click on 1v1 ---> Honkalculate
If using for a Z-Move Pokemon or +1 Staged, select the Z checkbox/tune the modifier or insert your own new set which you might be building and click Honkalculate

This is Choice Band Kartana vs the meta

All Vs One
This one is for defensive Pokemon which tells you how the meta fares against your mon and also tells if you if Pokemon which are EV'd to live a specific move can go for some investment in mixed bulk to survive hits from other common Pokemon [Might not be the best way to phrase this]
 
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lost heros

Meme Master
Alright my opinions on some changes.

Agree

Deoxys-D - Up to A/A+

With two distinct sets, CounterCoat and PP Stall Deoxys-D has always been a strong defensive threats. In the beginning of gen 7, it seemed Deoxys-D had taken a viability hit due to the power creep (mostly from Z-moves), but in actuality it barely affected Deoxys-D's overall matchups. Now it also can run a new Z-Cosmic Power with Seismic Toss as well. It should definitely go up in ranking.

Primarina - Up to B+/A-
Primarina is a very good anti-meta threat. It has a fantastic Water/Fairy typing and a good movepool with strong dueal STABs and Priority Aqua Jet. However, it doesn't have set diversity which sort of limits it being a super strong threat, but it's a threat nonetheless

Greninja - Down to B+/B
Greninja truly is a rarity nowadays. Very few people actually run it and when they do it's not that big of a deal. With Koko and Sturdy + Z moves, it just isn't as good anymore.

Rhyperior - Down to C+/C
Rhyperior is another pokemon that struggles in Gen 7. It can't compete with Golem, Donphan, and Crustle so why run it.

Disagree

Mega Blastoise
As someone who uses Mega Blastoise very frequently, it's meh. Don't get me wrong it's good, but it relies on prediction thanks to hydro cannon, is prone to missing, struggles with 4mss, and is not as good as some other Water-type Pokemon

Heatran
Heatran is also meh. It's a fantastic Charizard counter yes, but it lacks power and has a crippling 4x weakness to ground. With Air Balloon you lose out on a lot of power that some pokemon get easily.

Mega Sableye
Mega Sableye is a cool pokemon and was one of my favorites back in gen 6. However, the prankster netf, burn nerf, the accumulation of more fairies (Tapu Fini, Tapu Lele, Mimikyu, Primarina), and the nerf to how mega move order is determined really hurt Mega Sableye's viability. It used to be able to stall with CM, Snarl, WoW, and recover, or Metal Burst and Taunt, but now it just can't.

Porygon-Z
Every time PZ is brought up, we always end up talking about Custap PZ as its best set in gen 6 and we end up practically ignoring Scarf and Specs so lets talk about them for a bit, which is a bit ridiculous. Between PZ's two main sets it can beat so many pokemon that aren't Rock, Steel, and Ghost. That's not to say that every pokemon that falls in to one of those categories can beat PZ, because PZ can still overcome those. For example, Specs PZ can still beat Ghostium Z Aegislash. And I know that everyone considers Download to be a bad joke, but it's great at luring in pokemon that can normally tank an Adaptability Hyper Beam. (But Z-Conversion that's actually a joke).

Whimsicott
Whimsicott is perhaps the best SubSeeder around. Babiri/Occa berry variants make for some very difficult choices at team preview if you don't carry a flying type, poison, or grass type (all of which are a bit uncommon). I know the prankster nerf does hurt Whimisicott's potential viability, however Whimsi does have the move slot to carry Moonblast (or encore) or the speed stat to not run Prankster at all and use Infiltrator.

As for everything else, I don't really have much of an opinion on them. However we should still be talking about KyuB's viability as I imagine most people support it moving to S for obvious reasons.

 
Great job everyone.
Just one request.
I happened to remember stuff from oras so it wasn't really tough for me to get back on the meta.
So i would like to suggest that someone put some explanation on the sets posted so that new members would understand the meta more and more since they will know what they will be up against and how to use said sets etc.
Thanks in advance. c:
 

charizard8888

Catch The Wave
is a Forum Moderator Alumnus
Great job everyone.
Just one request.
I happened to remember stuff from oras so it wasn't really tough for me to get back on the meta.
So i would like to suggest that someone put some explanation on the sets posted so that new members would understand the meta more and more since they will know what they will be up against and how to use said sets etc.
Thanks in advance. c:
Hey! For explanation on the sets, analyses are being written which cover every part about that Pokemon from the set, to when to send it and when not to, how is X move/ability useful, teammate options and its checks and counters. Crustle, Greninja, Mega Gyarados, Mega Charizard Y, Tapu Koko and Tapu Lele are already in, here's the link to the analyses
Also some nominations for the speed tier
Add
112: Bulky Aegislash 0 IVs Negative Speed
138: Bulky Mawile-Mega [Not sure whether fast Mawile is common or not]
154: Bulky Crustle
199: Fast Donphan [Groundium Z uses max speed]
273: Fast Hitmonlee
281: Fast Landorus-Therian
290: Bulky Mega Charizard Y [This one has become more popular so it might have more than 6% usage this month]
308: Shell Smash Crustle
309: Fast Landorus-Therian [Same as Zard Y]
320: Fast Mimikyu
328: Fast Medicham-Mega
348: Fast Durant
350: Fast Jumpluff
459: Fast Deoxys-Speed
504: Fast Deoxys-Speed
546: Fast Unburden Hitmonlee

Remove
348: Fast Alolan-Ninetales
417: Scarf Heatran [I'm not sure about this one]
459: Scarf Deoxys-Defense
Probably Scarf Kartana as well [475 and 522]
 
Hey! For explanation on the sets, analyses are being written which cover every part about that Pokemon from the set, to when to send it and when not to, how is X move/ability useful, teammate options and its checks and counters. Crustle, Greninja, Mega Gyarados, Mega Charizard Y, Tapu Koko and Tapu Lele are already in, here's the link to the analyses
Also some nominations for the speed tier
Add
112: Bulky Aegislash 0 IVs Negative Speed
138: Bulky Mawile-Mega [Not sure whether fast Mawile is common or not]
154: Bulky Crustle
199: Fast Donphan [Groundium Z uses max speed]
273: Fast Hitmonlee
281: Fast Landorus-Therian
290: Bulky Mega Charizard Y [This one has become more popular so it might have more than 6% usage this month]
308: Shell Smash Crustle
309: Fast Landorus-Therian [Same as Zard Y]
320: Fast Mimikyu
328: Fast Medicham-Mega
348: Fast Durant
350: Fast Jumpluff
459: Fast Deoxys-Speed
504: Fast Deoxys-Speed
546: Fast Unburden Hitmonlee

Remove
348: Fast Alolan-Ninetales
417: Scarf Heatran [I'm not sure about this one]
459: Scarf Deoxys-Defense
Probably Scarf Kartana as well [475 and 522]
Thanks for the link man appreciate it.
It's just that the tier is not as crowded as others so yh i thought that more people could actually work on the analyses's!
btw is there a chance that i could constribute to the analysis threads?
Or is that a staff only thing?
 

lost heros

Meme Master
Thanks for the link man appreciate it.
It's just that the tier is not as crowded as others so yh i thought that more people could actually work on the analyses's!
btw is there a chance that i could constribute to the analysis threads?
Or is that a staff only thing?
It's not just a staff thing! In fact we encourage everyone to write analyses.
1v1 analyses are done through the Semi-official OM analyses subforum.

If you want to reserve an analysis, sign up Here.
Here is a guide to creating analyses.
Besides the already completed analyses, Mega Mawile, Magearna, Dragonite, Kyurem-B, Garchomp, Mega Charizard X, Deoxys-D, Porygon-Z, Hitmonlee, and Magnezone are all already being done.
 
It's not just a staff thing! In fact we encourage everyone to write analyses.
1v1 analyses are done through the Semi-official OM analyses subforum.

If you want to reserve an analysis, sign up Here.
Here is a guide to creating analyses.
Besides the already completed analyses, Mega Mawile, Magearna, Dragonite, Kyurem-B, Garchomp, Mega Charizard X, Deoxys-D, Porygon-Z, Hitmonlee, and Magnezone are all already being done.
Aight perf!
Thanks a lot pal. c:
 

The Official Glyx

Banned deucer.
You guys are probably going to hate me for submitting this, but-

deoxys-defense.gif


Deoxys-Defense @ Psychium Z
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 108 Def / 148 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Recover
- Cosmic Power
- Mud-Slap
- Taunt

The god himself approacheth-

This guy is built for taking on the meta, as well as being bulky in general, but instead of those classic Glyx walls of text you hate so much, here's a wall of calcs-
CHARIZARD
252 Atk Tough Claws Charizard-Mega-X Flare Blitz vs. 252 HP / 108+ Def Deoxys-Defense: 144-169 (47.3 - 55.5%) -- 76.6% chance to 2HKO
252 Atk Tough Claws Charizard-Mega-X Flare Blitz vs. +1 252 HP / 108+ Def Deoxys-Defense: 96-114 (31.5 - 37.5%) -- 85.7% chance to 3HKO
252 SpA Charizard-Mega-Y Blast Burn vs. 252 HP / 148 SpD Deoxys-Defense in Sun: 256-303 (84.2 - 99.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
KYUREM
252+ Atk Teravolt Kyurem-Black Outrage vs. 252 HP / 108+ Def Deoxys-Defense: 148-175 (48.6 - 57.5%) -- 94.9% chance to 2HKO
252+ Atk Teravolt Kyurem-Black Subzero Slammer (200 BP) vs. 252 HP / 108+ Def Deoxys-Defense: 246-291 (80.9 - 95.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
50/50 ^^^
MAWILE
252+ Atk Huge Power Mawile-Mega Play Rough vs. 252 HP / 108+ Def Deoxys-Defense: 156-184 (51.3 - 60.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Huge Power Mawile-Mega Play Rough vs. +1 252 HP / 108+ Def Deoxys-Defense: 105-124 (34.5 - 40.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
PORYGON
252+ SpA Adaptability Porygon-Z Hyper Beam vs. 252 HP / 148 SpD Deoxys-Defense: 222-262 (73 - 86.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Adaptability Porygon-Z Uproar vs. 252 HP / 148 SpD Deoxys-Defense: 134-158 (44 - 51.9%) -- 13.3% chance to 2HKO
CRUSTLE
252+ Atk Crustle Continental Crush (200 BP) vs. 252 HP / 108+ Def Deoxys-Defense: 174-205 (57.2 - 67.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Crustle X-Scissor vs. +1 252 HP / 108+ Def Deoxys-Defense: 96-114 (31.5 - 37.5%) -- 78.6% chance to 3HKO
AEGISLASH
252+ SpA Aegislash-Blade Never-Ending Nightmare (160 BP) vs. +2 252 HP / 148 SpD Deoxys-Defense: 192-228 (63.1 - 75%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 Atk Aegislash-Blade Shadow Sneak vs. +1 252 HP / 108+ Def Deoxys-Defense: 48-56 (15.7 - 18.4%) -- possible 6HKO
KARTANA
252 Atk Choice Band Kartana Leaf Blade vs. 252 HP / 108+ Def Deoxys-Defense: 160-189 (52.6 - 62.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Choice Band Kartana Leaf Blade vs. +1 252 HP / 108+ Def Deoxys-Defense: 106-126 (34.8 - 41.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

Other than these, it has the typical matchups you'd expect against everything else.
So, questions? Or can we move this thing up to the A/A+ rank it deserves-
 

Gross Sweep

Plan Ahead
is a CAP Contributoris a Top Team Rater Alumnusis a Community Leader Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Discord Contributor Alumnus
Alright! The 1v1 viability ranks have been a little out of date for a while now, so this post (sorry if it drags on) will look to address a few issues I feel the rankings have. Obviously more things could move around, but these are just some initial thoughts looking at the VR for the first time in a while.





Jirachi is currently sitting with a rank of B, which I feel is too low considering the upside Jirachi has. This mons rank is always debatable though since you must decide how much the flinches Jirachi obtains matter. Some people take it too far and say the Serene Grace Iron Head is broken, while others discount it due to it being to hax involved for it to be used in a measurement of viability. I feel like I fall in the middle of this debate, as I do consider my Charizard-X a Jirachi check, but I definitely acknowledge that I’m going to lose 30-40% of those match ups due to rachi being rachi. With this in mind along with Jirachi’s large move pool, decent stats with 100s across the board, and solid typing I feel Jirachi is more deserving of B+ or A-. Yes I realize this may be prioritizing the hax over more consistent wins, but as long as Jirachi is in the tier we must abide by RNJesus and his wish granting spawn. Basically it comes down to scarf Iron Head and Heart Stamp + 2 coverage options for whatever the ladder is running, combined with decent bulk at 100/100/100 making Jirachi a formidable opponent who is solid in almost any game when you factor in Serene Grace. I will say this thing is not some world beater, but it definitely deserves more than a B rank.






Two Pokémon currently reside in the B- rank who I feel have much more potential and strength than people give them credit for. Those 2 mons being Landorus-T and Snorlax.

Landorus-T is a mon that not many people cared for or even thought about till recently. Kentari, a user you may or may not know posted a Landorus-T set that changed the way Landorus-T was perceived in the meta (click on the landorus-T sprite for a link to the set). His post earlier in the thread explains what the set does extremely well, but I will try and summarize. The set in question beats the Zards, Aegislash, Crustle, Magearna, Mimikyu, and a few other prominent mons like Kyurem-B depending on what variant you hit. This set was originally ranked B- in the VR, but ever since then, especially in the last suspect, this set has shown to be very reliable and solid in the Metagame. I would move this B- mistake up to somewhere around B+ or A- in the next update, obviously it upgrading to B+ or A-, if at all is debatable – so let’s debate ;)


The next B- mistake is Snorlax. Snorlax has a couple sets with Yawn / Protect / Belly Drum / Double-Edge with Normalium Z being the best in my opinion. Snorlax has a ton of bulk, allowing it to live a lot of non SE moves, and even some non stab SE moves. Now this set is troubled by things like Substitute, ghost types, fighting types, and bulky mons who resist normal type moves in general. However, with all the short comings this behemoth has on paper any regular 1v1 player will tell you this mon is a pain to deal with, and extremely hard to kill. With this in mind I’d like to Nominate Snorlax to at least B as I feel it outclasses the mons in the B- rank, excluding Lando-T, and falls in line more with mons currently ranked B/B+.


These are the only B- mons I’d like to touch on, but for me this section came down to 1 mon (Lando-T) who was clearly under ranked, and another (Snorlax) who was so far ahead of its remaining peers that it needed to get a little bump to balance everything out. Obviously you may disagree with my opinions on these two mons, and if you do let me know – I’d love to hear your reasoning.






Kyurem-B is a mon that has long been a force in the 1v1 tier, but I fear it may have been disrespected till now this gen. With the ability to run Specs, Band, Scarf, Weakness Policy, an Icium Z set popularized by UnleashOurPassion, and a few other niche sets I feel it is time to start talking S rank. Yes some mons like Gyarados and M-Mawile are able to keep it in check for the most part, but this DOMINANT threat finds a way by mixing up its set to inevitably find a way to win. Now I’m not an expert when it comes to Kyurem-B, so I’m imploring more discussion on the topic – but when I look at Charizard-X and M-Gyarados sitting in the S rank for the 1v1 tier I don’t see a distinguishable enough difference for why this mon can’t ascend to their level. I believe you could argue it wouldn’t even be the worst S ranked mon, but that’s a discussion for another time. In conclusion on this point I feel Kyurem-B deserves to be S ranked, but am very open to hearing arguments on why it’s not on that level considering its diversity and power.






Latios is a mon that has been in discussion for a while now as far as earning a place in the VR. Uselesscrab and lost heros have pioneered a set which runs Psyshock / Draco Meteor / Heal Block / HP Fire (filler) with Psychium Z that has proved extremely effective in the tier. While I’m not ready to call Latios the second coming of M-Mence with this set, I am ready to call for a rank of C+. With a great speed tier outpacing things like Charizard, Garchomp, and Kyurem-B (non-scarf) Latios definitely has potential as a fast ohko machine with Draco Meteor or Z-Psyshock. Then you throw on Z-Heal Block allowing Latios to stop recovery moves and gain +2 SpA, and you get a mon who can devastate fatter mons. Overall Latios is an extremely efficient mon in several key matchups, however, there are a few high ranking mons like M-Gyarados and M-Mawile that give Latios a lot of trouble keeping Lati from rising to prominence. I’m nominating it for C+, but if it ended with a rank of B- I wouldn’t be surprised – so let’s discuss!






This section I’ll just be giving my brief opinion on a few mons that I have seen a nomination for recently and haven’t written on myself. I haven’t used every mon in the tier, so I’ll stick to a few I’ve used on a fairly consistent basis.

I definitely agree this mon should get a bump. The Ghostium Z set is extremely powerful and makes this mon more than likely somewhere around A rank. At this point I’m comfortable with jumping 2 ranks from its current home in B+, but of course if you disagree let me know.


This mon has been ranked to high all gen. People seem to be stuck on what Greninja was in Gen 6 instead of looking at what it is now. Greninja who most commonly runs Specs is not picking up that many ohkos in the current 1v1, and in my opinioin is a B ranked mon.


The fact this mon is A- blows my mind. This mon is at least A more than likely A+. I won’t go to into detail as a lot of previous posts talk about the monster, but I’ll just say anyone who plays 1v1 knows this thing is elite and deserves better.


Rhyperior is a lot like Greninja where the new generation has not been kind. Its lack of sturdy makes it more of a target to Z moves even with its impressive bulk, and the immediate power it held over sturdy mons last gen is gone with Z moves. While I do love Rhyperior I feel C+ is more where this mon belongs.


This mon is great. dogknees wrote a post a while back with the nomination of B+/A-, and I agree. It takes on several top ranking mons including the god squad of Charizard-X, M-Mawile, and M-gyarados. At this point I lean towards B+ as that squad has become less popular, but I would not be opposed to a rank of A-.




The sturdy mons in this tier have been grossly ranked up until this point. Crustle has been over hyped for a while now, and other mons like Golem and Donphan have been disrespected for too long. Yes at one point the sturdy mons were more than likely in the correct order, but as the 1v1 meta has been fairly dynamic in viability since the start of Gen7 I feel a bit of an overhaul is in order. I’m not alone in this thinking with a recent poll in the 1v1 room showing some interesting results on how the community feels.


The question: best sturdy pokemon in 1v1?

At the time I checked the results 51 people had answered the poll with

  • 33% for Donphan
  • 18% for Golem
  • 20% for Magnezone
  • 22% for Crustle
  • 8% for other

What this tells us is that the community of 1v1 players and the VR don’t agree on who is the best Sturdy mon (Crustle or Donphan), and while I don’t expect there to be 100% agreement it’s pretty clear that at the very least we need to address this difference in opinion. Also thanks to Uselesscrab for posting the poll in 1v1 room for me.


Crustle gathered 22% of the votes, and holds the highest viability rank of A. While I do agree Crustle is a strong mon with great options in Shell Smash, Counter, and Z-moves I just don’t think it’s an A rank mon. I personally feel this mon more belongs in the B+ rank as other sturdy users we’ll talk about in a minute outclass it in several areas that make it hard to justify using/ranking above them. Also with mons like Kyurem-B and Gyarados running around pressuring its sturdy lowering the value of a sturdy user it's hard to justify its current position as I truly don't believe it's the best mon at its own niche.

Magnezone gathered 20% of the votes, and holds a viability rank of A-. I personally feel A- is the right rank for Magnezone as it’s a great mon in the meta – but far from dominant. I would move to leave zone alone for the foreseeable future with a note to circle back once other more pressing issues get settled. (I know it's a let down for no nomination, but what can I say)

Golem gathered 18% of the votes, and holds the lowest Viability rank of B. I personally feel this mon is disrespected as it has just as much initial power as Donphan, a second available stab, and semi reliable priority in sucker punch making Golem a very threatening mon. While I personally feel Golem is a lot better than people give it credit for I at the very least want to make a movement to get this out of B rank, and would personally push for A- with the possibility of being on notice for A rank. This mon gets a lot of talk from high level players, and could perhaps be the best sturdy mon in the tier – so I highly recommend you test it out, and we potentially circle back on bumping up from A- to A after this thing rightfully gets a bump. OR B+ to A- if we decide to go with a cautious route and bump 1 rank at a time.

Donphan gathered 33% of the votes, and holds a viability rank of A-. I feel Donphan is the best mon in the group of sturdy users (Golem has an argument we can get to a bit later on) meaning I would be comfortable if it usurped the overrated crustle in the A rank. Strong stab coupled with priority make this mon an extreme threat as holding on with a sliver won’t cut it. You can also throw in counter for another reason why this mon is so great. Basically this mon has been A ranked the entire generation, and we just haven’t updated the VR. This change is a no brainer to me.

(sorry for the lack of deep explanations on these mons, I just feel most 1v1 players know how sturdy mons work)




The VR needs some work at this point, and I feel discussing the changes in this post is a great place to start. If you have a reasonable amount of knowledge on the meta I recommend you give your opinions on my changes so we can start a real discussion on the VR, and give leadership a REASON to update the thread. Also if you have any other mons you feel deserve a boost like Pheromosa I implore you to post, nothing will change if we don’t strive to make it happen.
 
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The Official Glyx

Banned deucer.
Alright if we're gonna be dropping recommended VR's, I think I'll take the liberty to make one myself-
Though it won't be as flashy as Gross Sweep 's.
Current VR:

Ideal VR(imo):
S RANK
Kyurem-Black
As an individual mon, Kyurem has only gained things from the coming of Gen 7. There are hardly any new threats to it, and many of the things that threatened last gen are currently gone. It was an A-worthy mon last gen, but it's definitely S-worthy given the current circumstances. We'll just have to see how things change when the remaining Megas and Marshadow come, but until then, it definitely has the potential to just sit on most of the meta.

Gyarados-Mega
A+ RANK
Charizard-Mega-X
Charizard-Mega-X is definitely an S-potential mon, but the problem is that nobody has really found a set that would give it that honor. Most Charizard-X are just the generic Dance and two STAB + filler combo, with a few bulky zards being thrown around every once in a while. Unless we combine both Mega evolutions and their viability into just Charizard, I cannot support this mon being in the same tier as things we may one day suspect.

Tapu Koko
The ability to hit about as hard as Charizard-Y while being faster than Greninja and not even being tied down to one specific build is insane. It's a very predictable mon due to its limited moveset, but yet you still are basically required to have a Sturdy/Immunity/incredibly bulky resist to even say you can stop it from 3-0ing you. And this is without even including the vintage Specs set. The fact that this thing is used on almost every other team further enforces the fact that this is a meta-defining threat. You could even argue it has a place in S-rank, but we'll leave that for another day.

Tapu Lele
This thing and Koko are what give Z-crystals a bad reputation in 1v1. Lele has just enough bulk to tank almost everything it needs to without sacrificing too much power, but it can also sacrifice that bulk to have a speed advantage over other threats. It's really on a similar EV scale to Gyarados with how you can build it, though it lacks the ability to completely break the rising Sturdy nation like Gyarados can, nor can it change what threats it beats quite as easily with a simple change in coverage moves, which is why I believe A+ is a comfortable compromise for it.

Mawile-Mega
Though it isn't as prominent or banworthy of a threat as it was last gen, Mawile still has potential, as well as a highly versatile arrangement of viable EV spreads and moves. It's not quite meta-defining anymore as much as it's like Blaziken in that you can easily use it as a versatile filler mon to cover weaknesses to your team if you need it to.

A RANK
Porygon-Z
The loss of Custap Berry hit hard, making Porygon-Z back into its predictable old self again. Most Gyarados are even bulking up to take two Scarf Uproars nowadays. Specs can't really do its job very well anymore either, due to the rising popularity of Z-moves. It's at least still capable of frequently 3-0ing poorly prepared teams, at the very least.

Charizard-Mega-Y
Charizard-Y suffers from the curse of only having one good set, while at the same time, it being a really good set. The rising popularity of the Sturdy Nation and various mons who are close to it in speed tier have caused Charizard-Y's EVs to end up being spread too thin between having to take a hit from Gyarados while also not dying to Porygon-Z and somehow still having enough speed to outpace Kyurem-Black and Tapu Lele. Pretty much the main reason this pokemon hasn't fallen any further is just because it can force a 25% win over anything slower with Air Slash. (30% flinch - 5% miss)

Magearna
Magearna is an odd pokemon to deal with, since it has good enough stats all around to make it tank almost anything it wants to while also having considerable damage output, which puts it on a similar level with Mawile in that you can splash it onto your team to take out any potential threats to your main core. (S/O to UnleashOurPassion for Shuca Berry Magearna)

Deoxys-Defense
Deoxys has the speed, bulk, and moves to be a meta-defining defensive threat in 1v1. Z-crystals providing an immunity to Trick while also giving it ways around Taunt, and other useful benefits, has made this pokemon into something you can only beat by using either niche sets or brute forcing your way through. If it weren't for the haxy nature of most 1v1 scenarios, Deoxys-Defense would probably be S-worthy.

Dragonite
Much like Magearna, Dragonite is a variable pokemon you can play around with to suit the needs of your team. The ability to have viable Flying stab also helps when dealing with the many Bug types without having to run otherwise useless moves like Fire Punch or Rock moves.

Metagros-Mega
A- RANK
Pinsir-Mega
Pinsir suffers from the same curse as Charizard-Y in that the growing presence of Sturdy mons greatly hinders its capability of being as viable as it could be, either forcing it to run Mold Breaker + niche coverage moves to stop them, or inhibiting its use altogether.

Crustle
Gen 7 was good for Crustle, giving it a reliable and viable way of running Rock Wrecker and Shell Smash together at the same time without even being weak to Trick users. Much like Kyurem, it greatly appreciates the missing presence of the remaining Mega Evolutions and Marshadow. It still struggles with a handful of mons hardwalling and/or 1/2hkoing it, however.

Slowbro-Mega
Slowbro was one of the few mons to not really gain very much at all with gen 7, which left it falling behind its old place in viability due to all the new threats there are to it. Not to mention there's also a bigger risk factor between running physically defensive or specially defensive, due to the meta now being more balanced between the two types of offense.

Genesect
Due to people starting to experiment around with it more, Genesect has become even more invasive of a threat than it was last gen, being semi-unpredictable between being Scarf or bulky Specs, without even bringing up potential alternative sets. It's the main reason people even consider HP Fire on anything, other than for the much rarer Ferrothorn.

Venusaur-Mega
Greninja
Magnezone
B+ RANK
Donphan
Donphan is a perfect mix between being adjustable and being a one-set-wonder. Its main point of benefit from gen 7 being the ability to have a reliable Rock type attack to make it into a Charizard check like it always wanted to be, though now it's heavily threatened by Kyurem, Tapu Lele, and the sporadic Magnet Rise mons, which it would typically beat under normal circumstances, but now cannot due to teams being prepared for it, whether intentional or not.

Meloetta
Though things are now better equipped to OHKO it, Meloetta still threatens a decent selection of threats with its usual Specs set, while also having new potential with the Z-crystals. It could potentially be great again if someone were to find a viable alternative set for it, but until then, it will stay in this rank.

Mimikyu
Mimikyu doesn't really have all too many options besides being either SD + Z-move or Curse stall. Its poor stats don't benefit it much, either. The main thing it's good for is just punishing anything slower than it like Jumpluff and Breloom.

Ferrothorn
Sporting multiple potential sets beyond just using Leech Seed, Ferrothorn is a very capable threat, only really being threatened by obvious Super Effective threats. It even has room to grow, judging from the missing Mega evolutions, and plenty of untapped potential with Z-moves. Ferrothorn may even have a place in the A- rank if it keeps doing well.

Heatran
Heatran has it all, bulk, power, moves, ability, and not even a bad speed tier to boot. The only reason this pokemon isn't higher in either this VR or the current one is because of Gyarados and, to a lesser extent, Tapu Koko.

Buzzwole
Sporting incredibly tanky physical stats, Buzzwole takes on just about any physical attacker while also pummeling down anything weak to Fighting or Bug. Even if it can't really afford many changes for the sake of coverage, it still performs very well.

Aegislash
Garchomp
Chansey
B RANK
Kartana
Kartana is one of the least diverse pokemon in existence, its presence in B rank is only given due to its absurd stats. Due to its highly limited movepool, Kartana isn't really granted very many options, mostly using either Choice Band or SD + Z-move, though the sets still really only beat the same variety of pokemon altogether. You're almost literally better off using Ferrothorn in most cases, though there are times when outspeeding threats lets Kartana beat things that Ferrothorn couldn't.

Landorus-Therian
This is the real definition of a one-set-wonder. Landorus-Therian always had a bunch of good parts to it, though it never really had anything that made it stand out as a general threat until gen 7 where it got Z-crystals that gave it good Flying stab as well as an Earthquake stronger than banded without even having to sacrifice the ability to set up before using it. Unfortunately, it still loses to all the things you'd expect it to, while also losing to (Ice Punch) Metagross and Pinsir, since they outspeed turn 1 now. Since most alternative sets are typically niche or surprise sets, B rank is a fair place to keep it, since it doesn't heavily impact the meta, but is still an option to use and consider when teambuilding.

Blastoise-Mega
Blastoise takes on most of the significant mons in the meta without even having to use particular/specific sets, while still having room for coverage to take on even more, this alone should make it into a mon to consider when teambuilding.

Sawk
This mon has always been a wildcard, being able to run a multitude of different moves and EV spreads to help defend your core from things that threaten it. It doesn't really have a standout set, but Sturdy, high Atk, decent Speed, and several useful moves should at least make it something to think about.

Jirachi
Jumpluff
Golem
Primarina
Tapu Fini
B- RANK
Landorus-Incarnate
Landorus is a powerful special attacker whose main use is as a third mon you'd use to protect from particular things that counter your team, namely Charizard, Steel types, and the varying other things it checks. The closest thing to a standard set that it has being the Sub/Slide it uses to counter both Charizards, but some also use Scarf and Specs to hit other things, either way, it's best used as a more selective mon to defend against very particular threats, and isn't really meta-defining beyond just hitting hard and having a good speed tier.

Togekiss
Togekiss hasn't really been used for much beyond just messing around with people these days. It at least has a niche of using any of the berries that cut super effective damage in half to act as a soft counter through using Thunder Wave and haxing the heck out of people with Air Slash, but beyond that, Jirachi just does the job better overall.

Hoopa-Unbound
Hoopa has outstanding offensive stats, and pretty decent moves to take advantage of them as well now that we have Z-crystals, though it is particularly lacking in speed and bulk. It can be built to take on particular threats, but it can't really threaten the meta very well as an individual mon overall. I'd recommend you only use this thing if you need a raw special tank and/or to take on very particular threats.

Conkeldurr
Conkeldurr has pretty tanky physical stats, and just high enough special bulk for it to tank things like Charizard-Y Blast Burn, Porygon-Z Hyper Beam, and Tapu Koko Gigavolt Havoc when paired with an Assault Vest, as well as the power to OHKO these mons. The biggest downside of using this mon is that you always have to choose what it beats in particular through its move choice, since it always need one move to beat one mon, and another to beat another, which is why it isn't higher in the list, since it's always forced to beat just a portion of everything it could beat.

Celesteela
Durant
Gengar-Mega
Rhyperior
Umbreon
Whimsicott
C+ RANK
Snorlax
Snorlax has always been a kind of particular threat, soft checking many things, but never really being a hard counter to all that much. Most mons typically have ways in which they can play around Snorlax, typically involving either Substitute or Taunt. Many times it typically ends up relying on the 2/3 chance that an opponent stays asleep for the second turn of being asleep from Snorlax's Yawn. The most reliable thing it does it OHKO frail things with its Z-move, but Slaking can do that job too, and do it faster no less, so relying on Yawn and Belly Drum shenanigans ends up being the thing that barely keeps Snorlax's purpose in 1v1 alive.

Volcanion
Volcanion is a pretty interesting mon, sporting a fairly limited variety of moves to use, but high enough stats that it can use these moves in multiple different ways. Even then, it ends up falling behind most Fire or Water types, I'd really only recommend using this if you're looking to be creative with it or if it beats a handful of mons that stop your team's core.

Keldeo
Mew
Pheromosa
Sableye-Mega
Victini
C RANK
Hitmonlee
Hitmonlee has always been one of those pokemon whose existence in 1v1 is justified solely because it can beat a particular chunk of the meta rather than being able to take on many mons overall, like most C rank threats are. It can take on both Charizards, Kyurem, Porygon-Z, and more with the particular set of using Normal Gem Fake Out with Unburden, but that's more or less about it. Use this if you want to punish people who just use your average generic teams that they made in two seconds.

Scizor-Mega
Scizor is another example of something that beats particular threats, being able to take on Gyarados, Kyurem, Mawile, Porygon-Z, and more on its own, despite not faring quite as well vs many other mons. Other than that one specific EV spread that tanks a +1 Gyarados Attack with the moves Bullet Punch, Swords Dance, and Bug Bite, Scizor isn't really even worth thinking about in 1v1.

Azumarill
Azumarill has all the makings of a decent pokemon other than its subpar stats, which it needs a lot of investment into in order to withstand coverage from Kyurem and Charizard-Y, which are both things it can and wants to beat. It also has room to play around with fun sets like Z-Belly Drum or Physically defensive, or other things, but otherwise does not perform well generally.

Avalugg
Lucario-Mega
Quagsire
C- RANK
Tapu Bulu
Bulu basically just tries its best to beat a few things, but struggles with even that, always ending up either being niche or just plain outclassed at what it does by something else. It's better than nothing, but you can still do better. At the very least it's slightly more noteworthy than just being a meme.

Type:Null
It's really bulky and can be built around beating specific pokemon, but that's really about it, it's not good for much else beyond bulking and ohkoing back with Giga/Beam.

Bewear
Carracosta
Nihilego
Smeargle
D RANK
Stunfisk
Relying on not only one, but TWO chanced moves, Stunfisk's main set of Endure/Yawn puts more or less everything in the hands of fate. It's not really a reliable counter for anything, but it at least can force its way into having a chance, which is better than most mons outside of the vr can fare.

Alakazam-Mega
Aron
Necrozma
Slaking
Vivillon
DO NOT USE
Ditto
Magnemite
Shedinja
lost heros

Friendly reminder that usage ≠ viability
(Post may be subject to edits, since smogon won't let me check the preview before posting)
 

Nalei

strong, wild garbage
is a Tiering Contributor Alumnus
Alright if we're gonna be dropping recommended VR's, I think I'll take the liberty to make one myself-
Though it won't be as flashy as Gross Sweep 's.
Current VR:

Ideal VR(imo):
S RANK
Kyurem-Black
As an individual mon, Kyurem has only gained things from the coming of Gen 7. There are hardly any new threats to it, and many of the things that threatened last gen are currently gone. It was an A-worthy mon last gen, but it's definitely S-worthy given the current circumstances. We'll just have to see how things change when the remaining Megas and Marshadow come, but until then, it definitely has the potential to just sit on most of the meta.

Gyarados-Mega
A+ RANK
Charizard-Mega-X
Charizard-Mega-X is definitely an S-potential mon, but the problem is that nobody has really found a set that would give it that honor. Most Charizard-X are just the generic Dance and two STAB + filler combo, with a few bulky zards being thrown around every once in a while. Unless we combine both Mega evolutions and their viability into just Charizard, I cannot support this mon being in the same tier as things we may one day suspect.

Tapu Koko
The ability to hit about as hard as Charizard-Y while being faster than Greninja and not even being tied down to one specific build is insane. It's a very predictable mon due to its limited moveset, but yet you still are basically required to have a Sturdy/Immunity/incredibly bulky resist to even say you can stop it from 3-0ing you. And this is without even including the vintage Specs set. The fact that this thing is used on almost every other team further enforces the fact that this is a meta-defining threat. You could even argue it has a place in S-rank, but we'll leave that for another day.

Tapu Lele
This thing and Koko are what give Z-crystals a bad reputation in 1v1. Lele has just enough bulk to tank almost everything it needs to without sacrificing too much power, but it can also sacrifice that bulk to have a speed advantage over other threats. It's really on a similar EV scale to Gyarados with how you can build it, though it lacks the ability to completely break the rising Sturdy nation like Gyarados can, nor can it change what threats it beats quite as easily with a simple change in coverage moves, which is why I believe A+ is a comfortable compromise for it.

Mawile-Mega
Though it isn't as prominent or banworthy of a threat as it was last gen, Mawile still has potential, as well as a highly versatile arrangement of viable EV spreads and moves. It's not quite meta-defining anymore as much as it's like Blaziken in that you can easily use it as a versatile filler mon to cover weaknesses to your team if you need it to.

A RANK
Porygon-Z
The loss of Custap Berry hit hard, making Porygon-Z back into its predictable old self again. Most Gyarados are even bulking up to take two Scarf Uproars nowadays. Specs can't really do its job very well anymore either, due to the rising popularity of Z-moves. It's at least still capable of frequently 3-0ing poorly prepared teams, at the very least.

Charizard-Mega-Y
Charizard-Y suffers from the curse of only having one good set, while at the same time, it being a really good set. The rising popularity of the Sturdy Nation and various mons who are close to it in speed tier have caused Charizard-Y's EVs to end up being spread too thin between having to take a hit from Gyarados while also not dying to Porygon-Z and somehow still having enough speed to outpace Kyurem-Black and Tapu Lele. Pretty much the main reason this pokemon hasn't fallen any further is just because it can force a 25% win over anything slower with Air Slash. (30% flinch - 5% miss)

Magearna
Magearna is an odd pokemon to deal with, since it has good enough stats all around to make it tank almost anything it wants to while also having considerable damage output, which puts it on a similar level with Mawile in that you can splash it onto your team to take out any potential threats to your main core. (S/O to UnleashOurPassion for Shuca Berry Magearna)

Deoxys-Defense
Deoxys has the speed, bulk, and moves to be a meta-defining defensive threat in 1v1. Z-crystals providing an immunity to Trick while also giving it ways around Taunt, and other useful benefits, has made this pokemon into something you can only beat by using either niche sets or brute forcing your way through. If it weren't for the haxy nature of most 1v1 scenarios, Deoxys-Defense would probably be S-worthy.

Dragonite
Much like Magearna, Dragonite is a variable pokemon you can play around with to suit the needs of your team. The ability to have viable Flying stab also helps when dealing with the many Bug types without having to run otherwise useless moves like Fire Punch or Rock moves.

Metagros-Mega
A- RANK
Pinsir-Mega
Pinsir suffers from the same curse as Charizard-Y in that the growing presence of Sturdy mons greatly hinders its capability of being as viable as it could be, either forcing it to run Mold Breaker + niche coverage moves to stop them, or inhibiting its use altogether.

Crustle
Gen 7 was good for Crustle, giving it a reliable and viable way of running Rock Wrecker and Shell Smash together at the same time without even being weak to Trick users. Much like Kyurem, it greatly appreciates the missing presence of the remaining Mega Evolutions and Marshadow. It still struggles with a handful of mons hardwalling and/or 1/2hkoing it, however.

Slowbro-Mega
Slowbro was one of the few mons to not really gain very much at all with gen 7, which left it falling behind its old place in viability due to all the new threats there are to it. Not to mention there's also a bigger risk factor between running physically defensive or specially defensive, due to the meta now being more balanced between the two types of offense.

Genesect
Due to people starting to experiment around with it more, Genesect has become even more invasive of a threat than it was last gen, being semi-unpredictable between being Scarf or bulky Specs, without even bringing up potential alternative sets. It's the main reason people even consider HP Fire on anything, other than for the much rarer Ferrothorn.

Venusaur-Mega
Greninja
Magnezone
B+ RANK
Donphan
Donphan is a perfect mix between being adjustable and being a one-set-wonder. Its main point of benefit from gen 7 being the ability to have a reliable Rock type attack to make it into a Charizard check like it always wanted to be, though now it's heavily threatened by Kyurem, Tapu Lele, and the sporadic Magnet Rise mons, which it would typically beat under normal circumstances, but now cannot due to teams being prepared for it, whether intentional or not.

Meloetta
Though things are now better equipped to OHKO it, Meloetta still threatens a decent selection of threats with its usual Specs set, while also having new potential with the Z-crystals. It could potentially be great again if someone were to find a viable alternative set for it, but until then, it will stay in this rank.

Mimikyu
Mimikyu doesn't really have all too many options besides being either SD + Z-move or Curse stall. Its poor stats don't benefit it much, either. The main thing it's good for is just punishing anything slower than it like Jumpluff and Breloom.

Ferrothorn
Sporting multiple potential sets beyond just using Leech Seed, Ferrothorn is a very capable threat, only really being threatened by obvious Super Effective threats. It even has room to grow, judging from the missing Mega evolutions, and plenty of untapped potential with Z-moves. Ferrothorn may even have a place in the A- rank if it keeps doing well.

Heatran
Heatran has it all, bulk, power, moves, ability, and not even a bad speed tier to boot. The only reason this pokemon isn't higher in either this VR or the current one is because of Gyarados and, to a lesser extent, Tapu Koko.

Buzzwole
Sporting incredibly tanky physical stats, Buzzwole takes on just about any physical attacker while also pummeling down anything weak to Fighting or Bug. Even if it can't really afford many changes for the sake of coverage, it still performs very well.

Aegislash
Garchomp
Chansey
B RANK
Kartana
Kartana is one of the least diverse pokemon in existence, its presence in B rank is only given due to its absurd stats. Due to its highly limited movepool, Kartana isn't really granted very many options, mostly using either Choice Band or SD + Z-move, though the sets still really only beat the same variety of pokemon altogether. You're almost literally better off using Ferrothorn in most cases, though there are times when outspeeding threats lets Kartana beat things that Ferrothorn couldn't.

Landorus-Therian
This is the real definition of a one-set-wonder. Landorus-Therian always had a bunch of good parts to it, though it never really had anything that made it stand out as a general threat until gen 7 where it got Z-crystals that gave it good Flying stab as well as an Earthquake stronger than banded without even having to sacrifice the ability to set up before using it. Unfortunately, it still loses to all the things you'd expect it to, while also losing to (Ice Punch) Metagross and Pinsir, since they outspeed turn 1 now. Since most alternative sets are typically niche or surprise sets, B rank is a fair place to keep it, since it doesn't heavily impact the meta, but is still an option to use and consider when teambuilding.

Blastoise-Mega
Blastoise takes on most of the significant mons in the meta without even having to use particular/specific sets, while still having room for coverage to take on even more, this alone should make it into a mon to consider when teambuilding.

Sawk
This mon has always been a wildcard, being able to run a multitude of different moves and EV spreads to help defend your core from things that threaten it. It doesn't really have a standout set, but Sturdy, high Atk, decent Speed, and several useful moves should at least make it something to think about.

Jirachi
Jumpluff
Golem
Primarina
Tapu Fini
B- RANK
Landorus-Incarnate
Landorus is a powerful special attacker whose main use is as a third mon you'd use to protect from particular things that counter your team, namely Charizard, Steel types, and the varying other things it checks. The closest thing to a standard set that it has being the Sub/Slide it uses to counter both Charizards, but some also use Scarf and Specs to hit other things, either way, it's best used as a more selective mon to defend against very particular threats, and isn't really meta-defining beyond just hitting hard and having a good speed tier.

Togekiss
Togekiss hasn't really been used for much beyond just messing around with people these days. It at least has a niche of using any of the berries that cut super effective damage in half to act as a soft counter through using Thunder Wave and haxing the heck out of people with Air Slash, but beyond that, Jirachi just does the job better overall.

Hoopa-Unbound
Hoopa has outstanding offensive stats, and pretty decent moves to take advantage of them as well now that we have Z-crystals, though it is particularly lacking in speed and bulk. It can be built to take on particular threats, but it can't really threaten the meta very well as an individual mon overall. I'd recommend you only use this thing if you need a raw special tank and/or to take on very particular threats.

Conkeldurr
Conkeldurr has pretty tanky physical stats, and just high enough special bulk for it to tank things like Charizard-Y Blast Burn, Porygon-Z Hyper Beam, and Tapu Koko Gigavolt Havoc when paired with an Assault Vest, as well as the power to OHKO these mons. The biggest downside of using this mon is that you always have to choose what it beats in particular through its move choice, since it always need one move to beat one mon, and another to beat another, which is why it isn't higher in the list, since it's always forced to beat just a portion of everything it could beat.

Celesteela
Durant
Gengar-Mega
Rhyperior
Umbreon
Whimsicott
C+ RANK
Snorlax
Snorlax has always been a kind of particular threat, soft checking many things, but never really being a hard counter to all that much. Most mons typically have ways in which they can play around Snorlax, typically involving either Substitute or Taunt. Many times it typically ends up relying on the 2/3 chance that an opponent stays asleep for the second turn of being asleep from Snorlax's Yawn. The most reliable thing it does it OHKO frail things with its Z-move, but Slaking can do that job too, and do it faster no less, so relying on Yawn and Belly Drum shenanigans ends up being the thing that barely keeps Snorlax's purpose in 1v1 alive.

Volcanion
Volcanion is a pretty interesting mon, sporting a fairly limited variety of moves to use, but high enough stats that it can use these moves in multiple different ways. Even then, it ends up falling behind most Fire or Water types, I'd really only recommend using this if you're looking to be creative with it or if it beats a handful of mons that stop your team's core.

Keldeo
Mew
Pheromosa
Sableye-Mega
Victini
C RANK
Hitmonlee
Hitmonlee has always been one of those pokemon whose existence in 1v1 is justified solely because it can beat a particular chunk of the meta rather than being able to take on many mons overall, like most C rank threats are. It can take on both Charizards, Kyurem, Porygon-Z, and more with the particular set of using Normal Gem Fake Out with Unburden, but that's more or less about it. Use this if you want to punish people who just use your average generic teams that they made in two seconds.

Scizor-Mega
Scizor is another example of something that beats particular threats, being able to take on Gyarados, Kyurem, Mawile, Porygon-Z, and more on its own, despite not faring quite as well vs many other mons. Other than that one specific EV spread that tanks a +1 Gyarados Attack with the moves Bullet Punch, Swords Dance, and Bug Bite, Scizor isn't really even worth thinking about in 1v1.

Azumarill
Azumarill has all the makings of a decent pokemon other than its subpar stats, which it needs a lot of investment into in order to withstand coverage from Kyurem and Charizard-Y, which are both things it can and wants to beat. It also has room to play around with fun sets like Z-Belly Drum or Physically defensive, or other things, but otherwise does not perform well generally.

Avalugg
Lucario-Mega
Quagsire
C- RANK
Tapu Bulu
Bulu basically just tries its best to beat a few things, but struggles with even that, always ending up either being niche or just plain outclassed at what it does by something else. It's better than nothing, but you can still do better. At the very least it's slightly more noteworthy than just being a meme.

Type:Null
It's really bulky and can be built around beating specific pokemon, but that's really about it, it's not good for much else beyond bulking and ohkoing back with Giga/Beam.

Bewear
Carracosta
Nihilego
Smeargle
D RANK
Stunfisk
Relying on not only one, but TWO chanced moves, Stunfisk's main set of Endure/Yawn puts more or less everything in the hands of fate. It's not really a reliable counter for anything, but it at least can force its way into having a chance, which is better than most mons outside of the vr can fare.

Alakazam-Mega
Aron
Necrozma
Slaking
Vivillon
DO NOT USE
Ditto
Magnemite
Shedinja
lost heros

Friendly reminder that usage ≠ viability
(Post may be subject to edits, since smogon won't let me check the preview before posting)
This is a work of art. A few things I disagree on:
Ferrothorn B+ -> B: Ferrothorn is great, but it's really easy to cteam (ie Fire Fang Mawile, HP Fire P-Z)
Buzzwole B+ -> B-: Yes, it has amazing physical bulk, but I have trouble naming a special attacker that can't OHKO it.
Snorlax C+ -> B-: It does rely on sleep rolls to win against many pokemon, but it makes up for that in the sheer amount of pokemon it (usually beats). Take a look at Jirachi and Jumpluff in B.
Azumarill C -> C-: As you said, viability doesn't equal usage, but frankly, I've seen a single Azumarill all gen and they didn't even use it. It wants to beat so many things, but it just doesn't quite hit the bulk tier it needs without giving up significant damage.
 
Last edited:

Nalei

strong, wild garbage
is a Tiering Contributor Alumnus
The VR needs updating! We've had several new megas introduced as well as Blaziken, so I think we should put them somewhere even if it'll change later once the meta adapts.
Blaziken and Mega Blaziken -> A:
Blaziken is quite prediction reliant, but it has an incredible STAB combination with HJK+Blast Burn and has Speed Boost. Mega Blaziken functions largely the same, but is weaker and faster.
Mega Abomasnow -> C:
Mega Abomasnow has viable SD and specially based mixed sets. Mega Abomasnow is very bulky and hits quite hard. Snow Warning plus Ice Shard lets it pick up things that should otherwise just clutch out your attacks.
Mega Tyranitar -> C+/B-:
Mega Tyranitar has incredible stats and, like Abomasnow, an ability that whittles opponents. It has excellent Rock Tomb and Dragon Dance sets, allowing it to beat things that are faster than it. Access to Taunt and dark STAB lets it function as a stallbreaker. Common ground types keep it in check, though.
Mega Swampert -> B-/B:
Mega Swampert can effectively utilize utility moves like Rain Dance, Curse and Mirror Coat (psst, Rain Dance is bad) in tandem with it's natural bulk and great typing to simply tank out a lot of threats. Notably, the Curse set I use beats Gyarados, Charizard X, Scarf Kyurem-B, Mawile, Scarf Porygon-Z, Crustle, Magearna, Metagross, Tapu Koko, Magnezone, Meloetta and Mimikyu.
Blaziken @ Life Orb
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 248 Atk / 84 SpA / 176 Spe
Naive Nature
- Protect
- High Jump Kick
- Blast Burn
- Rock Slide

Abomasnow-Mega @ Abomasite
Ability: Snow Warning
EVs: 248 HP / 12 Def / 248 SpA
Quiet Nature
- Energy Ball
- Blizzard
- Ice Shard
- Earthquake

Tyranitar-Mega @ Tyranitarite
Ability: Unnerve
EVs: 48 HP / 236 Atk / 224 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Taunt
- Rock Tomb

Swampert-Mega @ Swampertite
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP / 80 Atk / 176 Def
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Curse
- Outrage
- Mirror Coat
 

The Official Glyx

Banned deucer.
Posting this here before it gets way undersold by a bad VR



Tyranitar-Mega @ Tyranitarite
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 112 Def / 144 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Rock Tomb
- Low Kick
- Earthquake
- Iron Head

Tyranitar-Mega is an overall tanky mon with an excellent setup of stats, moves, and abilities to take on a good chunk of the upper ladder.
WHAT IT COUNTERS/HARD CHECKS
Charizard
0+ Atk Tyranitar-Mega Rock Tomb vs. 0 HP / 252 Def Charizard-Mega-X: 162-192 (54.5 - 64.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after sandstorm damage
252 Atk Tough Claws Charizard-Mega-X Outrage vs. 252 HP / 112 Def Tyranitar-Mega: 166-196 (41 - 48.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

Kyurem
252+ Atk Teravolt Kyurem-Black Subzero Slammer (200 BP) vs. 252 HP / 112 Def Tyranitar-Mega: 285-336 (70.5 - 83.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0+ Atk Tyranitar-Mega Rock Tomb vs. 252 HP / 104 Def Kyurem-Black: 198-234 (43.6 - 51.5%) -- 60.2% chance to 2HKO after sandstorm damage
0+ Atk Tyranitar-Mega Low Kick (120 BP) vs. 252 HP / 104 Def Kyurem-Black: 262-310 (57.7 - 68.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after sandstorm damage

Tapu Koko
0+ Atk Tyranitar-Mega Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 40 Def Tapu Koko: 266-314 (94.6 - 111.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO after sandstorm
252+ Atk Tapu Koko Gigavolt Havoc (175 BP) vs. 252 HP / 112 Def Tyranitar-Mega in Electric Terrain: 280-330 (69.3 - 81.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Tapu Lele
252+ SpA Tapu Lele Moonblast vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Tyranitar-Mega in Sand: 194-230 (48 - 56.9%) -- 90.6% chance to 2HKO
0+ Atk Tyranitar-Mega Rock Tomb vs. 164 HP / 92 Def Tapu Lele: 124-147 (38.5 - 45.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after sandstorm damage
0+ Atk Tyranitar-Mega Iron Head vs. 164 HP / 92 Def Tapu Lele: 220-260 (68.3 - 80.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after sandstorm damage


Mimikyu
0+ Atk Tyranitar-Mega Iron Head vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mimikyu: 236-278 (94 - 110.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO after sandstorm damage

Excluding everything that's an obvious matchup and/or not as relevant

Simply put, this thing is an excellent anti meta threat, all in just this single setup, there are still countless other ways you can build Tyranitar-Mega since it's stats are just so good and flexible to bend to your needs, not to mention all the options for moves it has. In concept, it basically has the capacity of having a ton of different sets like Blaziken, while also having a strong main set to handle a wide variety of common/general threats.
 

DEG

The night belongs to you
is a Community Contributoris a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnus
This is the Viability Rankings of the 1v1 metagame, discussions are highly encouraged helping us attain the best Viability Rankings. However, there are criteria for posting, any post not following these criteria will be ignored or deleted.

Do:
- Post intelligently presenting various reasons why you think this Pokemon is ranked incorrectly.
Example: Charizard-Mega X is an amazing Pokemon in the 1v1 metagame due to different factors. Its typing in Dragon/Fire allows it resistance to a lot of types attack such as Electric and Grass. It has great bulk and offense allowing it to pull easily an amazing bulky offensive sets taking on pretty much a lot of threats.

- Present calcs, its sets and its impact on the metagame
Example: Mega Gyarados isn't only blessed by its typing in Water/Dark and ability Mold Breaker it also has a big movepool to abuse making you unable to figure out which sets its running. It may use a set composed of Dragon Dance and three attacks ranging from Crunch, Outrage, Earthquake, Waterfall and even Ice Fang with defensive investment or not, a Taunt set is also usable making it a great mind breaker.

Don't:
- Post one liners such as "Pheromosa has an outstanding attack so it should be ranked higher!!!"
- Attack other users opinion, example: "You don't know the metagame, how do you even see Mimikyu an A+ Pokemon???"

Things to keep in mind when deciding a Pokemon's rank:

- The Pokemon's versatility enters on a big scale in the deciding of its rank, the more unpredictable a Pokemon is, the more Pokemon it can break.

- The Pokemon's stats and capabilities. This Pokemon is able to pull an amazing offensive set or stall out effectively the opponent. This Pokemon takes bulky offense on another
level allowing it to easily sponge and deal insane damage.

- The Pokemon ability to be anti-metagame. This Pokemon's typing and ability makes it able to take on the most dominant Pokemon or typings in the metagame.

Well enough talking, those are the rankings:
S Rank
Gyarados-Mega
Kyurem-Black


A+ Rank
Charizard-Mega-X
Tapu Koko
Tapu Lele


A Rank
Charizard-Mega-Y
Deoxys-Defense
Dragonite
Magearna
Mawile-Mega
Metagross-Mega
Pinsir-Mega


A- Rank
Aegislash
Donphan
Landorus-Therian
Magnezone
Mimikyu
Slowbro-Mega
Venusaur-Mega


B+ Rank
Blaziken
Garchomp
Genesect
Golem
Greninja
Heracross-Mega
Kartana
Meloetta
Primarina
Tapu Fini


B Rank
Blastoise-Mega
Chansey
Ferrothorn
Heatran
Jirachi
Jumpluff
Sawk
Snorlax
Swampert-Mega
Tyranitar-Mega


B- Rank
Buzzwole
Celesteela
Durant
Gengar-Mega
Latios
Mew
Terrakion
Umbreon
Whimsicott


C+ Rank
Blissey
Keldeo
Landorus
Medicham-Mega
Pheromosa
Pidgeot-Mega
Sableye-Mega
Victini


C Rank
Aggron
Avalugg
Hitmonlee
Infernape
Lucario-Mega
Marowak-Alola
Quagsire
Relicanth
Thundurus-Therian


C- Rank
Abomasnow-Mega
Barbaracle
Carracosta
Manectric-Mega
Nihilego
Pyukumuku
Salazzle
Sceptile-Mega
Tapu Bulu
Zygarde


D Rank
Alakazam-Mega
Ambipom
Aron
Azumarill
Clefable
Latias
Necrozma
Porygon2
Scizor-Mega
Slaking
Smeargle
Stunfisk
Vivillon

Do not use
Ditto
Magnemite
Shedinja
I formed a Viability Rankings council with UnleashOurPassion, Uselesscrab, The Official Glyx, Kentari and lost heros and we have revamped the VR. Huge thanks to these guys.

Discussions about the rankings are open and highly encouraged
 

dom

Banned deucer.
seems like you listened to me :thinking:

anyways crustle isn't on it, b+/a- mon. it's fallen off since the initial zmove hype so i think a- or b+ is fine. not too versatile which sucks for it. i'd also like to nominate blissey, aggron, phermosa and landorus-i into b- (or higher tbh) and dusclops into c / c-.

blissey's ability to single handedly beat almost every special attacker on its own is incredible. its usefulness doesn't stop there, as zcharm allows it to weaken physical attackers and be more useful than chansey (imo. not nominating it to be above chansey bc nobody would agree with me). besides zcharm softboiled and stoss it can really run whatever it wants to fit its team. good options are counter, sing, flamethrower, toxic, mudslap and ice beam / punch (xd), which allow it to perform many useful roles.


aggron is my favorite sturdy mon. metal burst is one of its best tools, allowing it to deal really nice damage against many opponenets. its typing is great. its steel type allows it to counter lele, as golem and donphan struggle with z reflect. it really likes the power from zmoves as well. not much to say really, cool mon.


phermosa is heat. it's so fast and strong, and moves like focus blast and hyper beam really take advantage of that (i think special is better). its typing is fantastic as well, and my favorite part is how easily its typing lets it stallbreak so consistently. besides like dusclops, bug and fighting beat slowbro, deoxys d, chansey/bliss, mew, umbreon, ferro, venu, etc. moves like ice beam, focus blast and hp electric are great coverage options. it truly is a great mon but i think b- is fine for it as it relies on focus blast a lot, and durant is in b- too.


lando i is a very reliable charizard answer, and its coverage is what i think makes it a b- mon. moves like psychic, focus blast and sludge wave allow it to hit important mons. life orb with sub and rock slide is cool, but choice scarf is fine as well. scarf is also cool bc you can run hp electric to lure in gyaras nicely. it's really anti meta, as it can beat every s, a+ and a ranked mon besides dragonite and deod with scarf or lorb.


dusclops is a cool stall mon. pressure + spite is awesome. its movepool is cool too with wisp, stoss, rest, spite, haze, disable, taunt and mudslap give it a lot of customizability. fat af with eviolite. i'd go on and on about this mon, but i'm asking for c/c-. is that a lot?

i put pretty pictures for you guys too! n_n
 
Last edited:

The Diabolic Gift

Banned deucer.
Does Staraptor not deserve any spot on the VR?
Choice Band - Jolly
252 Atk Choice Band Staraptor Close Combat vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Kyurem-Black: 370-436 (94.6 - 111.5%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO
252 Atk Choice Band Reckless Staraptor Double-Edge vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Charizard-Mega-X: 304-358 (102.3 - 120.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 Atk Choice Band Reckless Staraptor Brave Bird vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Genesect: 348-409 (122.9 - 144.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 Atk Choice Band Staraptor Close Combat vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Kartana: 294-346 (113.5 - 133.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 Atk Choice Band Reckless Staraptor Brave Bird vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Meloetta: 411-484 (120.5 - 141.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Choice Band - Adamant
252+ Atk Choice Band Reckless Staraptor Brave Bird vs. 248 HP / 8 Def Tapu Fini: 322-379 (93.8 - 110.4%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO

Choice Scarf - Jolly
252 Atk Staraptor Close Combat vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Porygon-Z: 330-390 (106.1 - 125.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 Atk Reckless Staraptor Double-Edge vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Tapu Lele: 282-333 (100.3 - 118.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 Atk Reckless Staraptor Brave Bird vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Pinsir-Mega: 380-450 (140.2 - 166%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 Atk Reckless Staraptor Brave Bird vs. 248 HP / 88 Def Venusaur-Mega: 344-408 (94.7 - 112.3%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO
252 Atk Reckless Staraptor Brave Bird vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Blaziken: 594-702 (197.3 - 233.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 Atk Staraptor Close Combat vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Greninja: 344-406 (120.7 - 142.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 Atk Reckless Staraptor Brave Bird vs. 112 HP / 0 Def Heracross-Mega: 792-936 (240.7 - 284.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 Atk Reckless Staraptor Double-Edge vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Thundurus-Therian: 297-351 (99.3 - 117.3%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO

Choice Scarf - Adamant
252+ Atk Reckless Staraptor Double-Edge vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Tapu Koko: 280-330 (99.6 - 117.4%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO
252+ Atk Reckless Staraptor Brave Bird vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Charizard-Mega-Y: 298-352 (100.3 - 118.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Reckless Staraptor Double-Edge vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Primarina: 312-367 (103.6 - 121.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Yeah, Staraptor is far from perfect and can be walled by various mons, like Aegislash, Magearna or some other Pokemon but the reality is that it has a niche and a very solid one that can support various teams. It's has the most powerful flying damage in the game outside of maybe Mega Pinsir which is unable to run scarf or take out pokemon like Tapu Koko running Scarf + Adamant.

I want to suggest Staraptor for C- rank, it's a very solid pokemon that can run Scarf or Band to get rid of various threats in the meta. I do think it's very flawed and not a perfect pokemon. Staraptor has many flaws that are difficult to ignore such as that it's frail and even more likely to die due to the movepool that it's forced to run with two recoil moves and close combat.

Double Edge / Brave Bird / Close Combat are the 3 moves it really needs, but what about a 4th move?
Honestly the best choice might be Facade because Giga Impact's 90% accuracy makes slightly improving the rolls pretty pointless, but no fourth move will really be useful, maybe Fury Attack for pesky level one Pokemon lol, maybe even Sleep Talk on Choice banded sets.
Also been looking at Alola Golem after I realized it could OHKO Mega Gyarados and actually tank a waterfall, but that ill look into later.
 
Last edited:

sin(pi)

lucky n bad
Does Staraptor not deserve any spot on the VR?



Yeah, Staraptor is far from perfect and can be walled by various mons, like Aegislash, Magearna or some other Pokemon but the reality is that it has a niche and a very solid one that can support various teams. It's has the most powerful flying damage in the game outside of maybe Mega Pinsir which is unable to run scarf or take out pokemon like Tapu Koko running Scarf + Adamant.

I want to suggest Staraptor for C- rank, it's a very solid pokemon that can run Scarf or Band to get rid of various threats in the meta. I do think it's very flawed and not a perfect pokemon. Staraptor has many flaws that are difficult to ignore such as that it's frail and even more likely to die due to the movepool that it's forced to run with two recoil moves and close combat.

Double Edge / Brave Bird / Close Combat are the 3 moves it really needs, but what about a 4th move?
Honestly the best choice might be Facade because Giga Impact's 90% accuracy makes improving the rolls slightly pretty pointless, but no fourth move will really be useful, maybe Fury Attack for pesky level one Pokemon lol.
Also been looking at Alola Golem after I realized it could OHKO Mega Gyarados and actually tank a waterfall, but that ill look into later.
Sleep talk is probably better than Facade on CB sets because it gives you a good (at least 2/3) chance of beating Jumpluff if you predict right:

252+ Atk Choice Band Reckless Staraptor Double-Edge vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Jumpluff: 330-388 (93.2 - 109.6%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO (who runs this much bulk lmao)

Final gambit would be the other option but idk how that thing's mechanics work in 1v1.
 
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