Resource USUM NU Viability Rankings (Old)

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-> A
I don't think Diancie is as consistent as it has been in the past. If you look at it in context with the rest of A rank, it is really the least / second least viable there. While Stealth Rock is always a valuable utility move, paired with Diancie's high bulk, other Stealth Rock users like Steelix and Rhydon fit on more teams and are just overall more consistent. Speaking of Steelix, it's increased usage is a detriment to non-Earth Power Diancie, meaning you lose out on Heal Bell if you're going to run it, which can make things tough. In terms of being an offensive Fairy-type, Comfey is certainly better, having recovery + priority moves which are pretty strong only after a couple of Calm Mind boosts. In summary, Diancie has just been getting outclassed in what it does, but it certainly still holds great viability in this meta, and can work on several different teams and archetypes if placed in the right way.
I have to disagree with the notion that Diancie is less consistent then other rockers such as Steelix and Rhydon. Diancie has always been consistent at what it does, checking Incineroar reliably and setting up Stealth Rocks vs Xatu which holds merit to the general BO builds. It has its own perks over Steelix and Rhydon, mainly being passive recovery, defensive Fairy-typing and the ability to take on certain special attackers such as Choice-locked Heliolisk and Vivillon. No meta trends have particularly impacted Diancie enough for it to drop a subrank fwiw.

- > A/A+

plume has made its presence felt on several bulky offense builds that appreciate plume being a solid Fairy and Fighting-resist that keeps threats such as Heliolisk, Passimian, and Comfey, etc. in check. Access to various utility options such as Moonlight/Strength Sap for sustain and Growth to punish slower teams and even shit like Z-Sludge Bomb to OHKO Xatu outright and kill Incineroar after rocks makes plume fairly customizable with its sets. Bulky offense is forced to keep something like Incineroar or Vanilluxe alive to kill it, which are prone to rocks and don't appreciate coming in on repeated sludge bombs. plume is easily a level above the rest of A-/A ranks imo and it's ranking should reflect that.

- > S

Xatu pretty much defines what is a viable rocker and what isn't. More passive rockers such as Steelix/Seis/Torterra etc. can be hindered right from the team preview, while more aggressive rockers such as Diancie and Rhydon are forced to play mindgames against Xatu. Aside from choking the hazard meta, a myriad of other utilities such as bouncing Toxic from Slowbro, being a Passimian check in a pinch and providing teams with slow U-Turns puts Xatu a subrank above the rest of A+.

- > A-

Choice Specs Magmortar made its debut appearance in Snake and remains consistent in nuking balance relying on something like Incineroar or AV Slowbro as their Fire-resist. Various other sets such as Z-Focus Blast and AV have their own merits they present to builds, the former being able to chip away at its own checks without Choice-locking itself, and the latter a special sponge for things like Vanilluxe and Comfey. To keep it short, Magmortar dismantles standard Steelix/ Slowbro/ Incineroar/ Xatu /Passimian/ filler builds that the meta tends to revolve around.


- > A

I'd like to spark discussion on this, but generally I feel that Sneasel has become less consistent as the meta gets used to its presence. Things like Incineroar, Diancie, and Passimian are more prevalent than ever, and more Slowbro's are reverting to Colbur which further hampers Sneasel. Trapping Xatu and AV Slowbro is a cute perk for bulky offense, kinda iffy about this one but would confer to dropping it a subrank.
 
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Abomasnow UR -> C
Soundproof gives Abomasnow a niche in the current meta. Abomasnow can switch into Heliolisk, Vikavolt, and Accelgor pretty easily since Focus Blast Heliolisk is uncommon and most Accelgor usually choice lock themselves into Bug Buzz. It's typing is difficult to switch into besides Incineroar, and even that gets chipped with Earthquake which can help other sweepers. Seismitoad dropping gives it more viability as well.
 
A- ---> B+ / B
Probs get hate for this but Torterra is just a little bit too overselled. So it's A- for checking heliolisk with sp def synthesis and a few other attackers but it's also extremely passive since grass/ground offers quite a few easy switch ins. Also very bad against Xatu unless you're running attack investment with Stone edge but means you lose bulk and can't heal (rip original niche). I think most people realise this though but then I also saw sp def swords dance stabs synthesis becoming popular too but this still faces the same original problems even if your attack has doubled. Plenty of things switch in and beat you still (Dhelmise, Sceptile, Xatu, Decidueye, Sigilyph, Alolan Exeggutor, Vivillon and Golbat) and avoiding toxic/burns can be difficult when trying to switch in on other targets.

B ---> B-
A small drop but Doom hasn't been great for a while for the most part people look out for other fire types. I'd compare it with Delphox the most who i'd use first 9/10 (better stats across the board, more useful defensive/offensive typing and coverage) but doom's qualities don't add up enough (nasty plot, resists knock / pursuit and counters offensive phox) that sounds decent on paper but in practise it slacks. I won't even talk about Scarf Doom because it's pretty passive and outclassed but its other sets kind of have a syndrome on what you're gonna use since you can't beat everything with one set and 95 speed means you're just going to be revenged the next turn by Scarf Passimian or anything really since 95 speed leaves you behind by most offensive mons.

B ---> B-/C+
Miltank is just.. awkward. Xatu's sky high usage doesn't help since it can't get Stealth Rocks up and thick fat isn't actually all that great since every fire type has the ability to beat you regardless. Being left with a bland normal typing leaves it without any other resistances for most popular threats which it struggles with since it only has average special bulk. Looking down the VR list it has a below average match up from S rank to B- so I think it could drop. If I wasn't using Stealth rocks and had Heal Bell, I'd just use Mega Audino who can compensate its lack of resistance with higher bulk and regen before mega evolving.

B- ---> C+
B- For trapping Steel types? That's really just for Steelix but now I'd say people look for rockers now with better match ups against Xatu although LIx still has a good amount of usage. (defensive alolan slash / Ferroseed are mostly irrelevant anyway for trapping) It holds very little utility outside this niche (Rock/Steel is so detrimental), it's as slow as sin and comes with a crummy damage output even with maxed out special attack so any pokemon with average bulk shrugs off any damage. If they don't have steelix, expect this thing to be fodder after you get rocks up.

C+ ---> Unrank
I think I mentioned Scyther in my last VR post (quite a while ago) but honestly it should move down even more. You can't seriously tell me Charizard or Cuno are less viable when they carve decent niches with rocks off the field but Scyther? No way. The only thing you'll really do with Scyther is Roost and be forced to click U-turn because half the tier can switch in for free almost. Choice Scarf is also very underwhelming while CB just wishes it was faster and still isn't that strong. Between being passive, x4 weak to rocks, needing huge team support and average power, Scyther shouldn't really be ranked.
 

Rabia

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GP & NU Leader
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B- -> C+or lower
Kabutops is ranked for its ability to lure in and OHKO Slowbro with +2 Continental Crush; however, it's somewhat harder to accomplish this with Seismitoad in the tier, since it eats up CC and of course is immune to Liquidation. While this niche is still present and somewhat useful, it's become harder to pull off, and frankly there are better ways of luring Slowbro.

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C+ -> lower
Zangoose certainly holds a valuable spot on dual screens offense as a potent late-game cleaner; however, this archetype is pretty niche and uncommon as it is and isn't exactly reliable either. Zangoose has an extremely limited early- and mid-game presence due to its horrific defensive traits and need to remain essentially perfectly healthy in order to set up later.

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C- -> UR
It's not very good lol

also maybe
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A- -> B+ but not entirely sure yet on this one
 
Abomasnow UR -> C
Soundproof gives Abomasnow a niche in the current meta. Abomasnow can switch into Heliolisk, Vikavolt, and Accelgor pretty easily since Focus Blast Heliolisk is uncommon and most Accelgor usually choice lock themselves into Bug Buzz. It's typing is difficult to switch into besides Incineroar, and even that gets chipped with Earthquake which can help other sweepers. Seismitoad dropping gives it more viability as well.
I disagree with a simple C ranking and I think it should be Ice Cream Rank. Now I used to agree with this post because of how good this sounded. Like an actual counter to Heliolisk, Vikavolt, and Accelgor and I said "wow this thing, I'll use it one a team and see its merit". So I gave it a try, and on paper, the opposite happened... I used a LO Abomasnow set and it really got worn down quickly and it didn't really have great power that'd justify its use as an Ice or Grass type in the tier like Alola Exeggutor, Sneasel, Vanilluxe, and Sceptile (offensive pokemon I'm using). Note to Davon also, there's another Pokemon who is also ranked C+ and can preform the same roles but better, drum roll please...

brrr

brrr

brrr

If you thought of it then its Togedemaru, a Pokemon with the typing with the most resistances in the game, far greater utility, LightningRod, much faster, more stronger, and has access to U-Turn. Since the Special Defensive is mostly used, it'll do a much better job than Abomasnow would plus it won't get chipped down by rocks and has access to recovery in Wish to not get worn down. If it also faces Seismitoad, it can U-Turn and it'll go into something else. Although I'm thinking of putting it lower I was thinking of putting it in the Ice Cream Rank because its an Ice type and it has some uses and niches over Togedemaru such as beating Seismitoad and its a plain gimmicky choice.
 
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Abomasnow has access to Synthesis for recovery
Which only heals 25% HP in Hail. You could use it without Snow Warning I guess, but then why not just use Vileplume or Ferroseed? Honestly Abomasnow is just outclassed, Vanilluxe, Sneasel, Torterra and Ferroseed provide better offensive abilities and/or utility.
 
C- -> UR

It's not very good lol
Hey, I agree with your other noms but I wanna try and defend my boi altaria :3

It's not amazing but it should definitely stay ranked. It works as a good pivot still, switches into a good chunk of the tier and often at times without a strong ice/fairy attack, it's kinda difficult to kill since roost drops the flying type. I don't think it's the worst defogger since its able to take a few options, most notably beating Steelix with Flamethrower, stalling toad/palossand with toxic and it's not forced out by Rhydon until they click SD so you can toxic stall / defog.

Natural Cure means you can pivot into toxic slowbro and force them out with your own toxic, it's a sturdy check to passimian and has nice mixed bulk to take special attackers with and w/o investment (just a little investment means Heliolisk fails to 2HKO with Specs Hyper Voice). A nice perk is it switches into Magmortar who destroys a lot of balance teams too. Things like Rotom, Garbodor, Hariyama, Torterra, berry incin, vaporeon, accelgor to name a few just really struggle to deal more than 50% damage so fluffy bird just roosts it all way and has more fun. Also it has the best shiny so it must be good. :blobwizard:
 
Which only heals 25% HP in Hail. You could use it without Snow Warning I guess, but then why not just use Vileplume or Ferroseed? Honestly Abomasnow is just outclassed, Vanilluxe, Sneasel, Torterra and Ferroseed provide better offensive abilities and/or utility.
The whole post/nomination about Abomasnow on the same page mind you is about Soundproof Abomasnow, not Snow Warning Abomasnow. Ferroseed and Vileplume can't use ice STAB moves and earthquake.
Basically, in the current metagame, Abomasnow can run a nice set for team builds which need to deal with the mentioned Heliolisk, Vikavolt, and Accelgor while dealing okayish damage to Incineroar. Obviously it is a flawed mon, and its ranking most likely be changed in the future to UR again with metagame shifts. But it has a niche.
 
The whole post/nomination about Abomasnow on the same page mind you is about Soundproof Abomasnow, not Snow Warning Abomasnow. Ferroseed and Vileplume can't use ice STAB moves and earthquake.
Basically, in the current metagame, Abomasnow can run a nice set for team builds which need to deal with the mentioned Heliolisk, Vikavolt, and Accelgor while dealing okayish damage to Incineroar. Obviously it is a flawed mon, and its ranking most likely be changed in the future to UR again with metagame shifts. But it has a niche.
Abomasnow has access to Synthesis for recovery
No one liners please. First off, Abomasnow isn't needed to take care of that competition because Togedemaru is far more useful than it. Like I previously stated before Togedemaru has a much better typing, better stats, U-Turn, and defensive utility that Abomasnow doesn't have. Sure it can't beat Incineroar, but it doesn't need to if it can U-Turn out of it. Sure it can be justified using it for that niche but Togedemaru does what Abomasnows niche is but better. Like I also stated which I can say you ignored, is that Abomasnow doesn't hit that hard anyway and will be killed.
 
Hello, i want to see if i can do something here, let's go.

Sneasel Drop: **Disagree.** it is the best pursuit trapper here, and sneasel is so good that fire types, especially Incineroar, are around .

Vileplume Rise: **Agree.** it can stall out a lot of teams, and again, fire types are extremely prominent due to Plume's prominence.

Okay. Time for nominations of my own.


Rhydon: Rise From A To A+/S
It is the absolute definition of a "Stealth Rocker that can fit in all team types". I consider it tied with diancie for the best rocker in the tier, but sometimes I prefer Rhydon due to its higher power despite it not running a tonne Atk investment cause 100<130.


Steelix: Drop from A+ to A
With Klinklang dropping more, lix just cant cut it much in its presence. Rhydon and Diancie replaced Steelix as the Go-To Stealth Rocker due to Klinklang being checked by more things than just Steelix.


Decidueye: Rise from B+ to A-
Dont think Decidueye is a Poor Man's Dhelmise; Decidueye has a lot going for it.
1: Roost.
2: A Signature Move.
3: A Signature Z-Move.
Yeah, Decidueye can do a lot in the metagame despite being weaker than Dhelmise overall.


Altaria: Drop from C- to Unranked
Probably the worst PU pokemon that has a niche in NU. It just cant check much. Send Altaria to Shadow Realm Pls.
 

0NI

j'arrive
Hello, i want to see if i can do something here, let's go.

Sneasel Drop: **Disagree.** it is the best pursuit trapper here, and sneasel is so good that fire types, especially Incineroar, are around .

Vileplume Rise: **Agree.** it can stall out a lot of teams, and again, fire types are extremely prominent due to Plume's prominence.

Okay. Time for nominations of my own.


Rhydon: Rise From A To A+/S
It is the absolute definition of a "Stealth Rocker that can fit in all team types". I consider it tied with diancie for the best rocker in the tier, but sometimes I prefer Rhydon due to its higher power despite it not running a tonne Atk investment cause 100<130.


Steelix: Drop from A+ to A
With Klinklang dropping more, lix just cant cut it much in its presence. Rhydon and Diancie replaced Steelix as the Go-To Stealth Rocker due to Klinklang being checked by more things than just Steelix.


Decidueye: Rise from B+ to A-
Dont think Decidueye is a Poor Man's Dhelmise; Decidueye has a lot going for it.
1: Roost.
2: A Signature Move.
3: A Signature Z-Move.
Yeah, Decidueye can do a lot in the metagame despite being weaker than Dhelmise overall.


Altaria: Drop from C- to Unranked
Probably the worst PU pokemon that has a niche in NU. It just cant check much. Send Altaria to Shadow Realm Pls.


Hi, I'm not going to repeat what RW said because he is right but i just wanted to defend Altaria because I think the mon is underrated by a few people

Yeah it can't defog against Rhydon and Piloswine but it is really a boring mon to face for all people who mainly play classic teams (Passibro + fillers) and the list of things it checks is longer than you think
 

Rabia

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Garbodor @ Toxic Plate / Poisonium Z
Ability: Aftermath
EVs: 32 HP / 252 Atk / 224 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Gunk Shot
- Spikes
- Stomping Tantrum
- Seed Bomb / Explosion / Toxic Spikes

I've been wanting to pull the trigger on this nomination for a few days now. Garbodor A- -> A
I think offensive Garbodor is a really great set right now considering how it doinks all common forms of entry hazard removal and has a really solid matchup against most other hazard setters depending on set. I personally run Seed Bomb to hit Rhydon and Seismitoad harder, though Explosion is nice as well. Toxic Spikes just aren't a great pick I feel in the current meta, so I think you get more worth with extra coverage/power.

The big selling point of course is beating Xatu. The Pokemon is literally everywhere, and people love to hard Xatu on any setter, be it Steelix, Rhydon, et cetera. Being able to reliably 2HKO it with Gunk Shot (or Gunk into Z-Gunk) is just super nice. It also still retains some decent defensive utility with its typing, as it maintains the ability to soft check Passimian and Fairy-types like Whimsicott and the broken flower necklace. I find myself pairing this Pokemon with Heliolisk a lot given how Garbodor generally draws in Ground-types, opening up the gates for Volt Switch spam in the latter stages of a battle.

Nothing has really even changed to make Garbodor itself that much better other than Xatu's prolonged resurgence as the most braindead form of hazard control and how this variant deals with it well. Specially defensive Garbodor is a cool set too that trades setting Spikes more reliably for functioning as a better check to threats like Sceptile and Comfey, although I feel this set is just really cool given how it beats on Xatu and the other hazard removers oh so well. :)!
 
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Diancie: A+ -> A: Disagree
Diancie has still been working as a great rocker and decent offensive tool for me. Not really much else to say thanks to Watchog's post, just wanted to express my disagreement with this nom.

Comfey: A- -> A/A+: Agree
I've NeverUsed (I'm not sorry) Comfey, but there have been several matches where I've been doing well and then this thing shows up and ruins my day. I'm surprised it wasn't A tbh.
 

Katy

Banned deucer.
Mega Abomasnow to A

Mega_Abomasnow_XY_Shiny.png

First of all Mega Abomasnow Blizzards are very spammable because it gets 100% accuracy due to its ability snow warning.
The only mons resisting Blizzard are Delphox, Incineroar, Houndoom and the rather niche Steelvally, which all fear switching in as they get hit super effectively by Mega Abomsnow's Earthquake / Focus Blast.
Meanwhile its secondary stab moves such as Giga Drain/Wood Hammer hits a lot of the bulkier waters, which are mostly physically defensive as in Slowbro and Vapareon super effectively.
Pivoting around this mon is really hard coz of its extremely good typing and coverage options.
Ice Shard is a good priority move option which compensates for its lackluster speed to pick off faster but weakened foes pretty well.
All in all, these points listed above and the good attacking / spattacking stats make Mega Abomasnow a really fantastic mon in the current metagame.
Therefore I wanna nom this pokèmon to A.
 

Snou

the grand master of all the things bad!
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Sneasel from A+ to A:
To be honest, I struggle to find Sneasel as competitive as its A+ mates. First thing first, Sneasel ability to trap pokémon is somehow not as useful as it was in the past. Xatu started running Protect in order to scout it, Slowbro has colbur and even the AV sets started running enough EVs to tank an eventual Knock Off (in the worst scenario) and kill Sneasel back with fire blast. In 1 vs 1, Vanilluxe can easily kill Sneasel with hp fight even with its Specs knocked off (ofc, that's a huge nerf for the ice cream but oh well). With Incineroar's almost ubiquitous presence in the metagame, Sneasel is not only easy to revenge kill or switchin, but it could even leave you setup easily with Incineroar. And we all know how hard is to deal with that flaming cat. Ofc, SD + Low Kick does exist, but I actually think it's not A+ worthy. The reason why I wouldn't drop it lower than A is that yeh, it's not as splashable at it was in the best, but still its ability to trap (or at least try) or force Dhelmise and Decidueye is a niche that shouldn't be underrated.

Comfey from A- to A:
Ok, I swear it's not as subjective as it seems, but I'm supporting this change just because Comfey is one of those pokémon I will always be afraid of. Whenever I see it in the team preview, that bunch of pale flowers keeps terrifying me and I suddenly start playing is if it was the only pokémon I should take care of. That's because Comfey, this spit on nature's face, is probably the most broken long-term sweeper this tier has ever seen. Once you predict Steelix or Steelvally once correctly, the next time, after a single Calm Mind your game is probably won. Ofc, there are other "checks" and it's frail, and that's why it should be in A and not in A+. What's worse is that you don't really know what set it is until the end. It could be Taunt, Aromatherapy, both, HP fire and one of them, Pixie plate, Z or Life Orb, but even leftovers. And you know what? Even tho I think LO 3 attacks is slightly better, they're all completely viable.
They say "you can revenge-kill setup sweepers!". Yeh, true. But sadly the most common revengekillers in the tier are dam weak to this Game Freak's miscarriage. So, A is the minimum it should be placed in, according to me.
 
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Sigilyph to B+/A-

This mon is really underrated.A good speed tier and coverage let him threaten common balanced cores like bro+roar,brolix or vaporeon+silvally and outspeed the most threatening wallbreakers such as magmortar,vanniluxe,vikavolt,exeggutor-alola and most recently abomasnow-mega.His weakness to pursuit is an issue but sneasel is no longer so common and he can run protect to evade pursuit from aerodactyl.



 
I agree in garbodor rising. Its offensive set it pretty good when xatu dominates, as Xatu almost never runs psychic and poisonium Z/poison plate garbodor 2HKOes Xatu with gunk shot / z-gunk into gunk shot. This is important as Xatu is a very common threat.
That's all tho. Cya
 

Jisoo

two slow dancers last ones out
is a Pre-Contributoris a defending SPL Champion
im not sold on sigi to B+ tbh. it's in a pretty iffy spot in the meta right now with Iapapa Incineroar being literally the most popular mon. sure, it breaks BroLix, but lots of things do that. Sceptile can break through BroLix and Incineroar way easier than Sigi can while still handling the offensive mons like Rotom and Heliolisk that give Sig trouble. it also falls victim to Comfey which really is not doing it any favors. all in all I think that Sig has suffered from the metagame favoring Incineroar and shit that can force it out with U-Turn/Volt Switch which is really disappointing, cause I like the mon a lot.

maboma is really underwhelming from what i've seen from the suspect ladder and since its been unbanned. it has an awful speed tier and really bad defensive typing to further hinder it against the multitude of threats this tier has like Incineroar, Passi, Spex Diancie and others. I really can't justify using it over Vanilluxe which has just as good coverage but a much better speed tier. sure, you switch into Vaporeon (a lot of Slowbro/Slowking are AV and run Fire Blast) and Blastoise but that is honestly not that amazing considering you can't switch into anything else b/c of the typing like I mentioned. the only way you're getting it in 100% safely is on a sack or a slow u-turn but imo if you want something to punish water-types just use Heliolisk. it has strong STAB and coverage options though so if it does get in it can force your opponent into a pretty uncomfortable situation. you can look in the np thread if you really want more explanation as to why it isn't great though. this belongs in A- and probably will eventually drop to B+.

e: after reading Rabias post and playing more with it, B+ is probably the best place for it to start out.

oh, and i'd like to throw in support for Garb. this thing is an absolute monster in just about every way. I really see it coming back in a big way and staying at the top like it did in ORAS so send him up to A or A+ please.
 
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Rabia

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GP & NU Leader
Mega Abomasnow should be placed in B to start off its ranking.

From my experiences using the Pokemon, it has a long list of negatives that really hold it back: 1) terrible defensive typing, 2) oddly weak, 3) way too slow, etc.

The biggest problem I see with this Pokemon is just how difficult it is to get onto the field safely. Like, Ice / Grass has what, 7 weaknesses? One of them being to Rock, meaning it suffers from a weakness to every damn entry hazard. This issue is only compounded by its vulnerability to coverage moves from what it tries to switch into: Slowbro and Slowking commonly carry Fire Blast, while Vaporeon can Toxic it. The only Pokemon Mega Abomasnow truly gains free turns against is Steelix. Its terrible defensive typing essentially means you have to play super aggressively with it to even get it in favorable matchups, and even that isn't enough sometimes because...

It's deceptively weak. For a Pokemon with as high of base stats as this, it really is lacking in offensive firepower. Being a Grass-type that loses to every common Water-type bar Blastoise and Seismitoad is nigh unacceptable in my book; while Wood Hammer variants do manage to pose a greater threat to Water-types, the more consistent mixed set simply struggles to reliably break. Its this lack of offensive capabilities that, despite its solid coverage, often leave it overshadowed by Choice Specs Vanilluxe and Alolan Exeggutor, which can mindlessly spam their STAB attacks to blow by switch-ins.

This issue of being outclassed is further evident when looking at its Speed. Not only does this make its offense matchup nearly non-existent, but it also leaves it overshadowed by Alolan Exeggutor, which possesses enough Speed to outpace walls like Vaporeon even with a neutral nature; Mega Abomasnow, on the other hand, is forced to run a +Speed nature to outspeed even uninvested Vaporeon, meaning its wallbreaking capabilities are hindered somewhat.

Perhaps the problem with Mega Abomasnow lies more within people's mass usage of the mixed set instead of the Swords Dance one, although that set faces similar issues in that it's relatively not threatening without a boost. I would much rather we figure out Mega Abomasnow is decent later on in the meta rather than prematurely rank it higher than it deserves to be (hi, Decidueye).
 

Yoshi

IT'S FINK DUMBASS

I would like to place this Pokemon in the A ranks but I really don't think I can. I do think B is right for it, even for such a threatening wallbreaker. It isn't the best wallbreaker, but if you manage to get a Swords Dance up it can be extremely powerful. Its typing doesn't help its case either, being weak to Stealth Rock, and on top of being slow, it is really going to be hard to get a hit off without severely weakening it. It is also not so splashable which is normal for Ice-types, but again it doesn't really help it out here. However, if you can manage to fit it on a team and get a Swords Dance off, it can be extremely threatening. It doesn't have many checks after a boost, and Incineroar is highly susceptible to Earthquake alongside Stealth Rock and hail chip. I don't think its mixed set is as good as Swords Dance, but it certainly has its own merit thanks to Blizzard, as Swords Dance sets don't have powerful Ice STAB. On the account of Ice STAB, Ice Shard really isn't the strongest move, and doesn't even kill Pokemon unless they are severely weakened (pre-boost). Overall, I think Mega Abomasnow is kind of underwhelming due to its typing and Speed, but it can be a threatening Pokemon under the right circumstances, making B a good rank for it in my book.

-> A
I'm going to have to agree with this nomination. This isn't to say I think Sneasel is bad by any means, but I certainly think it isn't as good as it has been in past metas. While it can still be a great Pursuit trapper, especially for Pokemon like Heliolisk, it has a hard time dealing with Pokemon like Incineroar and Passimian. It can definitely Knock Off those to weaken them down, but they are pretty much free switchins to Sneasel for the whole game, as Knock Off really isn't doing much, especially to Incineroar. The decreased usage of several Ghost-types like Mismagius and Rotom gives Sneasel less to check in certain situations, and there are other good checks (not counters) like Comfey and Garbodor. I think one thing that has helped Sneasel recently is the huge shoot up in Xatu usage, but that can easily run Protect to scout Sneasel decides to click if Choice Band. This in turn has actually made Dark Plate the better set, which of course is certainly not as strong as Choice Band, although this negative isn't as huge as one might think. Overall, I think the increasing usage of Sneasel checks and the decreasing usage of things Sneasel can Pursuit trap warrants a drop to A rank.
 

Snou

the grand master of all the things bad!
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Xatu from A+ to S:
Xatu's one of the best mons in the tier right now. With Sneasel being somehow low in usage (at least for now) and Rhydon seeming not a thing (but I swear it's good), Xatu is probably the best pick a team can afford in this phase of the metagame. Xatu is not only one of the best ways you can stay safe in terms of hazards ever, it's also one of the most splashable mons that checks Passimian. In a metagame where Heliolisk is superbroken, people are nearly forced to run a ground-type. Who?
Well, Steelix and Torterra are probably the best picks right now, or even Seismitoed. Xatu can get rid of them (Even tho Grass Knot is not that good imo) pretty easily. Speaking of Sneasel, not only Xatu packs protect in order to scout the move Sneasel is going to use, but Sneasel itself is getting more and more uncommon than it was before.
"Yeh but what about Incineroar? Doesn't it obliterate the poor psycho-bird?" Yep it does, but Xatu outspeeds it with a small EVs investment and Night Shade isn't something the cat can't always come in to. And Xatu gets toxic too.
In addition, Xatu is a must-pick in teams that rely on spin+hazards (which are - from my point of view- probably the best archetype you can play right now). We can probably say, that kind of archetype shouldn't even exist without Xatu's work.

Guzzlord from A to A-:
I truly don't understand how Guzzlord, good mon ofc, but not that good, is above Comfey in rankings. I mean, let's be honest: how many Guzzlords have you faced lately? No one? That's probably because there are better picks most of the times. Guzzlord's offensive typing is extremely good, and it's ability is slightly broken for a tier like NU but, but BUT. It's slow as fuck, and despite his stupidly high amount of HPs, it's utterly disappointing in terms of bulkiness. It gets Heavy Slam that allows him to hit Diancie, but in case you fail your predict you're totally fucked up. Basically everyone in the tier can volturn on him and it doesn't get recovery. Without specs it's so weak you wouldn't kill the most frail mon in the tier with a supereffective move. With specs, you'll always end up risking in a predict that - most of the times - will put you in danger. Despite those bitter truths, Guzzlord is still a good pick in certain teams. It checks a decent amount of pokémon (Decidueye, Dhelmise, Locked/Fat Delphox, Xatu, Slowbro, Slowking) and if used properly can get some important kill. Putting it in A, anyway, is a huge mistake imo. I'm not even sure it should be an A-, but for now I think this is the rank that best reflects its role in the current NU status.
 
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