mushamu
God jihyo
VR Update; shoutouts to Floss for helping me out on the writeups:
Discussion Topics;
(Electric)
(Flying)
(Water)
That's all, enjoy the new metagame!
Bug:
A -> B - With Vikavolt's emergence as a semi-viable Webs setter, Galvantula's niche is cut into and therefore drops to the B rank.
B -> A - Araquanid is crucial to Bug in numerous ways, especially having the option to serve as a Water immunity with Water Absorb that can help Bug in the Rain matchup.
D -> C - Vikavolt has shown the capability to act as a bulky Webs setter which offers momentum via Volt Switch and reliable recovery with Roost, and sees a promotion to C rank as a result.
Dark:
Urshifu got banned, so it is being unranked.
B -> C - Bisharp has seen reduced usage on Balance Dark with rise of Weavile, and Moltres-G is a more effective sweeper on Screens, therefore relegating Bisharp to C.
B -> C - Drapion does not deter Fairy effectively enough, and the niche of Toxic Spikes is not enough to keep it as a B-rank mon.
C -> B - Grimmsnarl sees a rise due to the increase in usage of Screens Dark, with Grimmsnarl being the most prominent setter.
C -> B - With the rise of Screens Dark as a viable alternative to Balance, Moltres-G is a mon that benefits as its natural bulk and access to boosting moves such as Nasty Plot and Agility lets it run through types behind screens.
D -> UR - Incineroar's niche has been long reduced due to its inability to impact the Steel and Fairy matchups since Crown Tundra, resulting in being unranked.
Dragon:
A -> S - Kyurem's Substitute and Specs sets both offer a variety of benefits to the Dragon type, comparable to Dragapult's impact, therefore seeing a rise to the S rank.
A -> B - Latias does not offer as much as the other A-rank mons, and fits better with the collection of B rank mons in terms of utility.
B -> A - Dragalge has increased in importance as a Toxic Spikes setter which switches into threatening Fairy types such as the Tapus, while also offering momentum via slow Flip Turns to Dragon's assortment of offensive threats.
B -> C - Kommo-o's niche in beating Dark and Steel is reduced considering that it cannot break past Skarmory at times, while Substitute sets also struggle with Triple Axel from Weavile.
B -> C - Dragonite doesn't offer much to Dragon offensively, apart from helping against Electric and mirrors, therefore seeing a small drop.
B -> UR - Dracovish got banned, so it is being unranked.
C -> D - Zygarde-10% is not strong enough offensively to make up for its frailty and redundancy with Garchomp, dropping to D rank as a result.
Fairy:
A -> B - Worse than all the A ranks so it's dropping.
B -> A - Good pivot and offensive Pokemon on the type, established itself a slot on teams especially with the dominance of Flying.
B -> C - This Pokemon sucks real bad. Other Pokemon cover what it does just fine.
C -> B - Good blanket check in such an offensive meta and good against Psychic / Ghost.
C -> B - Good tech Pokemon for Poison, Steel, and Grass which would otherwise be hard.
Fighting:
Urshifu got banned, so it is being unranked.
Fire:
B -> C - Doesn't do a lot of useful things in particular.
C -> D - Niche
C -> D - Very niche now
D -> UR - Don't use this Pokemon
D -> UR - Worse Blacephalon
Flying:
S -> A - Celesteela usage has fallen a bit as people are using Corviknight, which doesn't get PP stalled by Kyurem and has reliable recovery more.
A -> B - It's hard to put Tornadus-T alongside the rest of the A ranked Pokemon despite being good.
A -> C - Galarian Moltres has become the premier Dark-type on Flying teams, so in return Mandibuzz has fallen out of fashion.
B -> A - Corviknight's good defensive typing combined with Pressure and Roost makes it a good multi purpose wall. It is a phenomonal Defog user, being able to stall out Stealth Rock using Pressure, and U-turn is great for preserving momentum in such an offensive metagame.
B -> C - There are better Steel breaker options and Moltres does not do much else.
D -> A - Galarian Moltres excels at breaking through balance types, while even offensive types can have trouble handling it due to its great bulk. Poison, Steel, Flying, Psychic, Ghost, and Water are good examples of the wide range of types Galarian Moltres can break in.
D -> UR - This Pokemon is bad.
UR -> D - 100% accuracy Choice Specs Zapdos rain flying.
Grass:
C -> A - Amoonguss has grown in spades to form a solid core with Ferrothorn and Cradily that serves as the defensive backbone of Balance Grass teams.
C -> D - With the rise of Balance Grass as the dominant archetype and Sun Grass reducing as a result, Venusaur's niche as a Sun Sweeper is reduced in importance, as it is outclassed by Amoonguss in all other facets.
C -> D - Virizion offers less use than Decidueye and other C-rank mons, which is why it drops to D rank.
Ground:
C -> B - Krookodile sees a rise in viability as a Choice Scarf set for speed control outside of Sand enables Landorus-T to run set-up, while assisting in the Psychic and Ghost MUs.
Ice:
S -> A - Darmanitan-Galar, while still being important to Ice, isn't as vital as Kyurem and Alolatales to the success of the type.
Poison:
A -> S - Amoonguss has proven itself to be a cornerstone in many Poison teams, forming an irritating Triple Regen core with Toxapex and Slowking-Galar.
B -> A - Drapion rises above Skuntank due to access to useful utility moves such as Knock Off and Toxic Spikes.
Slowking-Galar B -> A - Slowking-Galar has become crucial to Poison for its immense special bulk with an Assault Vest that can help check threats like Kyurem and Lele which would otherwise steamroll Poison.
C -> D - Crobat is outclassed by Weezing-Galar as a defogger and the token ground immunity on Poison, therefore dropping to D rank.
Psychic:
A -> B - Nobody uses Alakazam anymore. There are simply better options to use nowadays on Psychic teams.
B -> S - Mew fits on a variety of teams with multiple roles. It is notorious for its utility sets like Taunt or Spikes that are able to preform exceptionally against Steel as well as other types, while offensive sets can also be viable.
UR -> B - Galarian Slowking is an extremely good specially defensive wall that can do numbers against Steel and stomach many attacks easily. It forms a good defensive core with Slowbro.
Rock:
B -> A - Rhyperior is one of the key mons on Rock and deserves a place alongside Coalossal and Nihilego on the VR.
D -> C - Stakataka can take advantage of the more offensive pace of the SS metagame in order to run through teams at times, which sets it above the likes of Crustle and Lycanroc-Midday.
D -> UR - Solrock's niche of setting up TR is outperformed by Diancie, therefore it is dropped to UR.
UR -> D - Diancie takes Solrock's niche as a TR setter with decent STAB attacks such as Moonblast and Diamond Storm.
Steel:
A -> B - Melmetal is a monster but is not up to par with the Pokemon sitting at A rank at the moment. Therefore it is dropping to B as it fits better alongside Pokemon like Bisharp and Jirachi.
A -> B - There's even less reason to use the metal bird post Urshifu ban, and Celesteela's mixed bulk is now favored over it.
C -> B - Cool Pokemon that can run stuff like U-turn and Substitute + Bulk Up. Corviknight is good, and benefits a lot from the Urshifu ban.
Water:
A -> S - Rain is the main defining playstyle of Water teams now, so Pelipper rises to S.
B -> A - Barraskewda rises to A in reflection of the fact that it is the primary rain abuser.
B -> C - Hard to fit especially when the metagame is rain.
C -> B - Good Dragon / Grass slayer which are otherwise tough matchups.
C -> UR - Dracovish got banned so it is being unranked.
A -> B - With Vikavolt's emergence as a semi-viable Webs setter, Galvantula's niche is cut into and therefore drops to the B rank.
B -> A - Araquanid is crucial to Bug in numerous ways, especially having the option to serve as a Water immunity with Water Absorb that can help Bug in the Rain matchup.
D -> C - Vikavolt has shown the capability to act as a bulky Webs setter which offers momentum via Volt Switch and reliable recovery with Roost, and sees a promotion to C rank as a result.
Dark:
Urshifu got banned, so it is being unranked.
B -> C - Bisharp has seen reduced usage on Balance Dark with rise of Weavile, and Moltres-G is a more effective sweeper on Screens, therefore relegating Bisharp to C.
B -> C - Drapion does not deter Fairy effectively enough, and the niche of Toxic Spikes is not enough to keep it as a B-rank mon.
C -> B - Grimmsnarl sees a rise due to the increase in usage of Screens Dark, with Grimmsnarl being the most prominent setter.
C -> B - With the rise of Screens Dark as a viable alternative to Balance, Moltres-G is a mon that benefits as its natural bulk and access to boosting moves such as Nasty Plot and Agility lets it run through types behind screens.
D -> UR - Incineroar's niche has been long reduced due to its inability to impact the Steel and Fairy matchups since Crown Tundra, resulting in being unranked.
Dragon:
A -> S - Kyurem's Substitute and Specs sets both offer a variety of benefits to the Dragon type, comparable to Dragapult's impact, therefore seeing a rise to the S rank.
A -> B - Latias does not offer as much as the other A-rank mons, and fits better with the collection of B rank mons in terms of utility.
B -> A - Dragalge has increased in importance as a Toxic Spikes setter which switches into threatening Fairy types such as the Tapus, while also offering momentum via slow Flip Turns to Dragon's assortment of offensive threats.
B -> C - Kommo-o's niche in beating Dark and Steel is reduced considering that it cannot break past Skarmory at times, while Substitute sets also struggle with Triple Axel from Weavile.
B -> C - Dragonite doesn't offer much to Dragon offensively, apart from helping against Electric and mirrors, therefore seeing a small drop.
B -> UR - Dracovish got banned, so it is being unranked.
C -> D - Zygarde-10% is not strong enough offensively to make up for its frailty and redundancy with Garchomp, dropping to D rank as a result.
Fairy:
A -> B - Worse than all the A ranks so it's dropping.
B -> A - Good pivot and offensive Pokemon on the type, established itself a slot on teams especially with the dominance of Flying.
B -> C - This Pokemon sucks real bad. Other Pokemon cover what it does just fine.
C -> B - Good blanket check in such an offensive meta and good against Psychic / Ghost.
C -> B - Good tech Pokemon for Poison, Steel, and Grass which would otherwise be hard.
Fighting:
Urshifu got banned, so it is being unranked.
Fire:
B -> C - Doesn't do a lot of useful things in particular.
C -> D - Niche
C -> D - Very niche now
D -> UR - Don't use this Pokemon
D -> UR - Worse Blacephalon
Flying:
S -> A - Celesteela usage has fallen a bit as people are using Corviknight, which doesn't get PP stalled by Kyurem and has reliable recovery more.
A -> B - It's hard to put Tornadus-T alongside the rest of the A ranked Pokemon despite being good.
A -> C - Galarian Moltres has become the premier Dark-type on Flying teams, so in return Mandibuzz has fallen out of fashion.
B -> A - Corviknight's good defensive typing combined with Pressure and Roost makes it a good multi purpose wall. It is a phenomonal Defog user, being able to stall out Stealth Rock using Pressure, and U-turn is great for preserving momentum in such an offensive metagame.
B -> C - There are better Steel breaker options and Moltres does not do much else.
D -> A - Galarian Moltres excels at breaking through balance types, while even offensive types can have trouble handling it due to its great bulk. Poison, Steel, Flying, Psychic, Ghost, and Water are good examples of the wide range of types Galarian Moltres can break in.
D -> UR - This Pokemon is bad.
UR -> D - 100% accuracy Choice Specs Zapdos rain flying.
Grass:
C -> A - Amoonguss has grown in spades to form a solid core with Ferrothorn and Cradily that serves as the defensive backbone of Balance Grass teams.
C -> D - With the rise of Balance Grass as the dominant archetype and Sun Grass reducing as a result, Venusaur's niche as a Sun Sweeper is reduced in importance, as it is outclassed by Amoonguss in all other facets.
C -> D - Virizion offers less use than Decidueye and other C-rank mons, which is why it drops to D rank.
Ground:
C -> B - Krookodile sees a rise in viability as a Choice Scarf set for speed control outside of Sand enables Landorus-T to run set-up, while assisting in the Psychic and Ghost MUs.
Ice:
S -> A - Darmanitan-Galar, while still being important to Ice, isn't as vital as Kyurem and Alolatales to the success of the type.
Poison:
A -> S - Amoonguss has proven itself to be a cornerstone in many Poison teams, forming an irritating Triple Regen core with Toxapex and Slowking-Galar.
B -> A - Drapion rises above Skuntank due to access to useful utility moves such as Knock Off and Toxic Spikes.
Slowking-Galar B -> A - Slowking-Galar has become crucial to Poison for its immense special bulk with an Assault Vest that can help check threats like Kyurem and Lele which would otherwise steamroll Poison.
C -> D - Crobat is outclassed by Weezing-Galar as a defogger and the token ground immunity on Poison, therefore dropping to D rank.
Psychic:
A -> B - Nobody uses Alakazam anymore. There are simply better options to use nowadays on Psychic teams.
B -> S - Mew fits on a variety of teams with multiple roles. It is notorious for its utility sets like Taunt or Spikes that are able to preform exceptionally against Steel as well as other types, while offensive sets can also be viable.
UR -> B - Galarian Slowking is an extremely good specially defensive wall that can do numbers against Steel and stomach many attacks easily. It forms a good defensive core with Slowbro.
Rock:
B -> A - Rhyperior is one of the key mons on Rock and deserves a place alongside Coalossal and Nihilego on the VR.
D -> C - Stakataka can take advantage of the more offensive pace of the SS metagame in order to run through teams at times, which sets it above the likes of Crustle and Lycanroc-Midday.
D -> UR - Solrock's niche of setting up TR is outperformed by Diancie, therefore it is dropped to UR.
UR -> D - Diancie takes Solrock's niche as a TR setter with decent STAB attacks such as Moonblast and Diamond Storm.
Steel:
A -> B - Melmetal is a monster but is not up to par with the Pokemon sitting at A rank at the moment. Therefore it is dropping to B as it fits better alongside Pokemon like Bisharp and Jirachi.
A -> B - There's even less reason to use the metal bird post Urshifu ban, and Celesteela's mixed bulk is now favored over it.
C -> B - Cool Pokemon that can run stuff like U-turn and Substitute + Bulk Up. Corviknight is good, and benefits a lot from the Urshifu ban.
Water:
A -> S - Rain is the main defining playstyle of Water teams now, so Pelipper rises to S.
B -> A - Barraskewda rises to A in reflection of the fact that it is the primary rain abuser.
B -> C - Hard to fit especially when the metagame is rain.
C -> B - Good Dragon / Grass slayer which are otherwise tough matchups.
C -> UR - Dracovish got banned so it is being unranked.
Discussion Topics;
(Electric)
(Flying)
(Water)
That's all, enjoy the new metagame!
Last edited: