Monotype Viability Rankings

[Dece1t]

ok ok ok Dragalge, I remember writing up my old write up for it, and dismissing the Toxic Spikes set as the inferior of the two sets. I later made a team that sat in my teambuilder for awhile before beginning to use it, the highlight of this dragon team being its strong defensive core, which has insane synergy when paired with the amazing Poison/Dragon type.
Dragalge for A-Rank.

Dragalge @ Black Sludge
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 156 HP / 252 SpA / 100 Spe
Modest Nature
- Sludge Wave
- Draco Meteor
- Toxic Spikes
- Hidden Power [Fire]

Advantages of Dragalge

• Provides Toxic Spikes to teams that would give Dragon immense trouble such as Stall Normal and other HO teams.
  
• Packs a punch and can damage defoggers with appropriate coverage moves
• Can run speed creep to creep on slower fairies, able to get a layer up before dying or sludge waving a mon
• Boosts a great resist to Fighting type moves

It provides toxic spikes to teams that would give Dragon trouble such as Stall Normal and other HO teams. It also packs a punch and can absolutely hit hard as hell when it needs to. Another thing Dragalge does is come in on slower fairies and set up a layer of Toxic Spikes, making the type itself easier to wear out and consequently beat with another mon. Dragalge also is no slacker, being able to switch in on Azumarill most of the time and get a layer of spikes up.

Cons of Dragalge

• Is worn out easily, lack of recovery can pain it
  
• Slow, meddling speed can be an issue

The cons can easily be fixed by teambuilding well, and Healing Wish + screens Tias is an excellent partner, helping this pokemon to set toxic spikes multiple times.

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/monotype-249475568
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/monotype-249468953
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/monotype-249483571
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/monotype-249483571
While one of those is a lost, it shows the fantastic bulk of Dragalge at the end. Will add more later.

In conclusion, Dragalge is a great Monotype Dragon Mon, giving its team little support with its pros of using it far outweighing the cons. You can also tailor it to your liking, for the fourth move can range from Dragon Tail, to Scald, to Thunderbolt, though HP Fire is probably the best option.

I already made a dragalge write up not very long ago (a long ad 1 at that), and it was decided by Sae and Ant that it goes to B rank.

 

[SubMindRaikou]

I already made a dragalge write up not very long ago (a long ad 1 at that), and it was decided by Sae and Ant that it goes to B rank.

Wasn't yours for poison? Since in his post he was using it in a dragon type mono, and was mentioning how certain things about dragalage help dragon monos.
But he didn't put the nice little (type) after so we might never know what type it was for.

 

[Dece1t]

Wasn't yours for poison? Since in his post he was using it in a dragon type mono, and was mentioning how certain things about dragalage help dragon monos.
But he didn't put the nice little (type) after so we might never know what type it was for.

I didn't notice his was for dragon if it was. Even if, I do think that it does not influence the meta, but it does have a niche as a check to fairies, as well as a t spikes setter. I feel even in dragon's case B rank it fits best in.

 

[Death God Anubis]

I didn't notice his was for dragon if it was. Even if, I do think that it does not influence the meta, but it does have a niche as a check to fairies, as well as a t spikes setter. I feel even in dragon's case B rank it fits best in.

Not meaning to be rude here, but the replay shows dragon monos and it mentions several times throughout the writing that its a good mon for Dragon Monos. Its main niche, and an amazing one at that is wearing down opponent's teams with toxic spikes while maintaining offense. The main thing it does is force Mono-Normal stall teams into bad positions and wears them down, which without would be very hard to do, as Porygon2's boltbeam/thunder wave + ditto's revenge killing/sweeping capabilities makes the mono very hard to take down.

 

[Dece1t]

Walrein C -> B/A
​

Walrein has a great niche on ice teams, as it is granted an amazing ability in thick fat, meaning, thanks to its part water typing, resists fire. With it's typing, it is also neutral to steel. When most people think Walrein, they normally think of stall or tanky sets. The first set im gonna showcase is my personal favorite.

Walrein @ Choice Specs
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Modest Nature
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Signal Beam

This set further boosts Walrein's overall mediocre special attack, to surprisingly high levels. This thing put in work against fire teams, as it makes its mediocre base special attack to unexpectedly deadly levels. It's main problem is the fact that its movepool is super duper limited, with the last being pretty much a filler. That and, it has some competition against Lapras, who completely wrecks water teams. As it does have good bulk, it can get worn down fairly easy as well. What makes this set very well known, is that it's ice best Scizor check, as it speed ties with the regular one, take a bullet punch neutrally, and hp fire will kill it 8 times out of 10 (depending on evs). Mega Aboma makes as a great partner due to that it can do damage to water, something Walrein will have a hard time doing, as well as act as an electric resistance. And at the same time, Walrein can cover for Aboma's heavy fire weakness, and neutrally take poison, fire, flying, ect. Overall, great pokemon, packs more power than lapras, despite lacking freeze dry, better bulk, and a very reliable fire resistance. It holds a firm place by definition as a B rank pokemon, however, I put a in non bold because of the fact that steel is a problem, and since most are bulky, once ferro is down, it can potentially sweep, as well as take fire attacks for days.

 

[Wish9]

Xatu for (Psychic) D Rank and (Flying) C Rank

Utility Bird

Xatu @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD or 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Calm Nature or Bold Nature
- Psychic / Psyshock / Night Shade
- U-turn
- Thunder Wave / Toxic / Giga Drain / Heat Wave
- Roost

Bad Future (Calm Mind)

Xatu @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 248 HP / 180 Def / 76 Spe
Timid Nature
- Calm Mind
- Roost
- Psyshock
- Heat Wave

Explanation: Xatu has a small niche in the fact that it's one of the few Magic Bouncers that both Psychic and Flying have. Keep hazards off the field, and sometimes reflecting back status, is helpful to almost every team. It's slightly more useful on Flying since most members on the team are weak to SR and it faces competition from Espeon for a Magic Bouncer on Psychic. Xatu has a rather expendable movepool which, on paper, seems like it can do about any role it wants to. However, it's lacking in the stats department and faces competition from pokes much more suited. It's also weak to common types like Dark and Ice which doesn't help out either. With good prediction, Xatu can be a valuable asset to a team. When its ability is not accounted for however, there is little reason to use Xatu at all.

P.S Anttya you forgot to link the analysis for Lando-T in the rankings.

 

[Dece1t]

Not meaning to be rude here, but the replay shows dragon monos and it mentions several times throughout the writing that its a good mon for Dragon Monos. Its main niche, and an amazing one at that is wearing down opponent's teams with toxic spikes while maintaining offense. The main thing it does is force Mono-Normal stall teams into bad positions and wears them down, which without would be very hard to do, as Porygon2's boltbeam/thunder wave + ditto's revenge killing/sweeping capabilities makes the mono very hard to take down.

The problem is, as Ant pointed out, it's easily worn down by hazards, something fairy is notorious for (mostly talking spikes set up). You are very right it has those 2 niches, but that's about it. As toxic spikes is very appreciated, it isn't a must for dragon teams, as majority of the mons can wallbreak everything. And yes, on fairy, it can hit super effectively with very powerful STABdaptability Sludge Waves; the problem is it's slow, so it's in most cases gonna take the hits first, and it's not gonna last forever, especially from the likes of specs sylveon and azumarill (the 2nd once drag has taken about 25% in most cases). That's why I think it's definatley B ranked, A is going a bit too far.

 

[SirSkit]

Walrein C -> B/A
​

Walrein has a great niche on ice teams, as it is granted an amazing ability in thick fat, meaning, thanks to its part water typing, resists fire. With it's typing, it is also neutral to steel. When most people think Walrein, they normally think of stall or tanky sets. The first set im gonna showcase is my personal favorite.

Walrein @ Choice Specs
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Modest Nature
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Signal Beam

This set further boosts Walrein's overall mediocre special attack, to surprisingly high levels. This thing put in work against fire teams, as it makes its mediocre base special attack to unexpectedly deadly levels. It's main problem is the fact that its movepool is super duper limited, with the last being pretty much a filler. That and, it has some competition against Lapras, who completely wrecks water teams. As it does have good bulk, it can get worn down fairly easy as well. What makes this set very well known, is that it's ice best Scizor check, as it speed ties with the regular one, take a bullet punch neutrally, and hp fire will kill it 8 times out of 10 (depending on evs). Mega Aboma makes as a great partner due to that it can do damage to water, something Walrein will have a hard time doing, as well as act as an electric resistance. And at the same time, Walrein can cover for Aboma's heavy fire weakness, and neutrally take poison, fire, flying, ect. Overall, great pokemon, packs more power than lapras, despite lacking freeze dry, better bulk, and a very reliable fire resistance. It holds a firm place by definition as a B rank pokemon, however, I put a in non bold because of the fact that steel is a problem, and since most are bulky, once ferro is down, it can potentially sweep, as well as take fire attacks for days.

Nothing big, but I think you might want to use Frost Breath > Ice Beam on the set, mainly because of this:

252+ SpA Choice Specs Walrein Frost Breath vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Mega Sableye on a critical hit: 175-207 (57.5 - 68%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

So, it just lets you 2HKO Mega Sableye regardless of its boosts, which is kinda neat for an Ice check to it, i think. The only real downside of using it over Ice Beam is the slight accuracy drop and freeze chance, I guess.

 

[Dece1t]

Nothing big, but I think you might want to use Frost Breath > Ice Beam on the set, mainly because of this:

252+ SpA Choice Specs Walrein Frost Breath vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Mega Sableye on a critical hit: 175-207 (57.5 - 68%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

So, it just lets you 2HKO Mega Sableye regardless of its boosts, which is kinda neat for an Ice check to it, i think. The only real downside of using it over Ice Beam is the slight accuracy drop and freeze chance, I guess.

Good point actually, mega sableye is a bitch xD

 

[Vid]

Mega Sableye set update
Hello I don't have much time atm but i would like to share this amazing Mega Sableye set with Monotype Community (that is not cm). Please note this set is viable on both Ghost and Dark teams. Also i am just adding onto what the other people said about Mega Sableye. enjoy :)

Utility Mega Sableye

Sableye @ Sablenite
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 248 HP / 112 Def / 148 SpD
Careful Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Recover
- Knock Off
- Foul Play/Toxic

Explanation
Mega Sableye before Mega Evoultion has prankster which is used to burn foes with Wil-o-Wisp or poison foes with toxic(if you choose to run toxic). Knock off is there to knocking off items such as Eviolite which helps you vs normal matchup. The last move is a tossup between Foul Play and Toxic. Foul is used to hit foes who set up Swords Dances or Dragon Dances and hit them hard or ohkoing them. Toxic is used to out-stall fat walls and works well with prankster.

 

[thesecondbest]

I'd also add snarl in the last moveslot, it gives insane utility as well.

 

[Dece1t]

I'd also add snarl in the last moveslot, it gives insane utility as well.

Out of the moves there, I don't see it being much use, as jellicent makes a great partner, mainly as a special wall. The move set is pretty set and stone tbh.

 

[Vid]

Manaphy A-->S

Mananphy set

Manaphy @ Leftovers
Ability: Hydration
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Tail Glow
- Scald
- Energy Ball/Psychic/Hidden Power (Fire)
- Ice Beam/Psychic/Hidden Power (Fire)

Explanation Why A-->S
Manaphy is a major threat to 90% of teams in monotype and can and will sweep you. Tail Glow boosts Manaphy's special attack to ridiculous levels. this pokemon effortlessly breaks common cores in monotype such Zard-X-+Skarm+Togekiss and Chansey+Porygon just to name the most popular ones. Scald is your main STAB move and has a chance to burn. This Pokemon has ways for beating some of counters in monotype such as Ferrothorn and Mega Venasaur with a simple change in a move. Overall Manaphy is a very unpredictable pokemon and deserves S rank for it being unpredictable and never knowing if your Pokemon that you send in is a counter. Also not to mention with its base 100 stats across the board which allows it take lots of hits.

other options

Other Options
You can also run a rain dance cm and rest with scald but its not as effective as tail glow since it can easily be countered. Another set is sub salac berry which makes Manaphy a fast threat making it harder to revenge kill.

 

[Vid]

Serperior A--->S

backstory

So recently i have been using grass a lot more than I usually do. Recently I have been discussing this change with Yahir and Dell (two very good grass users) about where Serperior should be placed on viability rankings we have been discussing this for a couple days and we decided that it should be S Rank for the reasons I will talk about.

Serperior Sets

Serperior @ Life Orb/Leftovers
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Dragon Pulse
- Hidden Power [Fire]/Hidden Power (Ground)
- Giga Drain/Glare/Substitute/Taunt

Details​

The set basically consists of leaf storm which is your main stab and main way to boost your special attack. Dragon Pulse as a coverage move to get Rid of the dragon which majority are slower than Serperior. The hidden power choice is very important this basically chooses what you want your Serperior to beat HP Fire allows you to beat Ferrothorn and Skarmory while HP Ground allows you to beat Heatran. Other Hidden powers the can be used are Rock and Ice but they are not as effective as fire and ground. The item depends on what you want more power or less power with a bit of recovery. The last move is a toss up between 4 viable options Giga drain allows you to recover health from ground and water Pokemon needed to the win the game but may not be always useful. Glare is useful for slowing down Pokemon such as Zard-X Zard-Y etc. Substitute is a way to avoid status and also since Serperior forces switches in the sacs it allows you to get up a free Sub and proceed to get rid of your opponents scarfer or 2 hit koing their only mon to ohko you back and take 2 hits. Taunt is good for stopping hazards and Status and Set up moves as well.

Why S Rank

Serperior should be S rank because it is a fast special attacker and it needs very little support from its teammates to do its job and demolish teams that are not prepared for it. Serperior also has an amazing Speed Stat 113 which outspeeds the majority of the meta. This Pokemon is just a dangerous wallbreaker for grass something grass does not have another mon that does Serperior's job better or even close to it as a special wallbreaker. Also with its ability Contrary it benefits from the common move on bug sticky web which makes it useful in even in Grass' worst matchups. A great example if you get stealth rocks up you basically sweep flying with a plus 2 Serperior this is true with Dragon as well which is a terrible matchup. Also this pokemon is a very good Pokemon to prevent defog because if it gets deffoged then your opponents have to play with similar to stone edge accuracy moves. Also depending on the hidden power it just straight up sweeps the type. Overall Serperior is just a great Pokemon on grass it helps grass vs matchups it is at a disadvantage at and also ensures wins vs matchups you should win such as water and ground. Overall this Pokemon's speed ablility to boost its special attack and ability to help grass win matchups that are very hard makes Serperior S Rank because it is useful in almost every game it will either Para the Zard-x so you don't get swept, sweep the ground team, beat a Heatran that was giving you trouble. This Pokemon just does too much for its type for it to be A rank. So i Propose Serperior S Rank

 

[Dece1t]

Serperior A--->S

backstory

So recently i have been using grass a lot more than I usually do. Recently I have been discussing this change with Yahir and Dell (two very good grass users) about where Serperior should be placed on viability rankings we have been discussing this for a couple days and we decided that it should be S Rank for the reasons I will talk about.

Serperior Sets

Serperior @ Life Orb/Leftovers
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Dragon Pulse
- Hidden Power [Fire]/Hidden Power (Ground)
- Giga Drain/Glare/Substitute/Taunt

Details​

The set basically consists of leaf storm which is your main stab and main way to boost your special attack. Dragon Pulse as a coverage move to get Rid of the dragon which majority are slower than Serperior. The hidden power choice is very important this basically chooses what you want your Serperior to beat HP Fire allows you to beat Ferrothorn and Skarmory while HP Ground allows you to beat Heatran. Other Hidden powers the can be used are Rock and Ice but they are not as effective as fire and ground. The item depends on what you want more power or less power with a bit of recovery. The last move is a toss up between 4 viable options Giga drain allows you to recover health from ground and water Pokemon needed to the win the game but may not be always useful. Glare is useful for slowing down Pokemon such as Zard-X Zard-Y etc. Substitute is a way to avoid status and also since Serperior forces switches in the sacs it allows you to get up a free Sub and proceed to get rid of your opponents scarfer or 2 hit koing their only mon to ohko you back and take 2 hits. Taunt is good for stopping hazards and Status and Set up moves as well.

Why S Rank

Serperior should be S rank because it is a fast special attacker and it needs very little support from its teammates to do its job and demolish teams that are not prepared for it. Serperior also has an amazing Speed Stat 113 which outspeeds the majority of the meta. This Pokemon is just a dangerous wallbreaker for grass something grass does not have another mon that does Serperior's job better or even close to it as a special wallbreaker. Also with its ability Contrary it benefits from the common move on bug sticky web which makes it useful in even in Grass' worst matchups. A great example if you get stealth rocks up you basically sweep flying with a plus 2 Serperior this is true with Dragon as well which is a terrible matchup. Also this pokemon is a very good Pokemon to prevent defog because if it gets deffoged then your opponents have to play with similar to stone edge accuracy moves. Also depending on the hidden power it just straight up sweeps the type. Overall Serperior is just a great Pokemon on grass it helps grass vs matchups it is at a disadvantage at and also ensures wins vs matchups you should win such as water and ground. Overall this Pokemon's speed ablility to boost its special attack and ability to help grass win matchups that are very hard makes Serperior S Rank because it is useful in almost every game it will either Para the Zard-x so you don't get swept, sweep the ground team, beat a Heatran that was giving you trouble. This Pokemon just does too much for its type for it to be A rank. So i Propose Serperior S Rank

My main problem is the fact that it isn't good until you get the chance to Leaf storm someone, which in some matches, you really can't at all. The other things is it's movepull, you can include some moves, but if you discard others, you'll get hardwalled (for example, using HP fire, but then your hardwalled by heatran). It's a great poke, and I believe it does influence the metagame, but I dont believe it defines it. And with you saying it doesn't need a lot of support, I disagree. For when it does get hardwalled, your forced to switch out into someone like mega venu, who actually can round out its coverage with hp fire or eq. As it is a great poke, it's definatley A rank at the very best.

 

[Wish9]

Excadrill S--->A/B

Excadrill Set

SANIC (Excadrill) @ Choice Band / Life Orb / Air Balloon
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature or Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rapid Spin / Swords Dance
- Rock Slide

Explanation: Ever since the earliest days of the monotype metagame, Excadrill has always been a top-tier threat. Sadly, those days are coming to an end (SA2 Reference ftw.) With the recent banning of Smooth Rock on Ground teams, it is much harder to secure sweeps. Without Smooth Rock, Sandstorm will only last a mere 5 turns rather than 8 before you have to renue it again. Overall, while Excadrill is still viable as it retains its wallbreaking capabilities, it's no longer the reliable wincon it used to be against most teams. Excadrill for A/B Rank.

 

[Funbot28]

Excadrill S--->A/B

Excadrill Set

SANIC (Excadrill) @ Choice Band / Life Orb / Air Balloon
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature or Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rapid Spin / Swords Dance
- Rock Slide

Explanation: Ever since the earliest days of the monotype metagame, Excadrill has always been a top-tier threat. Sadly, those days are coming to an end (SA2 Reference ftw.) With the recent banning of Smooth Rock on Ground teams, it is much harder to secure sweeps. Without Smooth Rock, Sandstorm will only last a mere 5 turns rather than 8 before you have to renue it again. Overall, while Excadrill is still viable as it retains its wallbreaking capabilities, it's no longer the reliable wincon it used to be against most teams. Excadrill for A/B Rank.

I would still issue it a solid A-Rank mon, as not all it did was be a Sand Rush sweeper

 

[Dece1t]

The thing that really sucks is, the smooth rock ban affects more than exca, and with hoopa's release, its been a pain in the ass adapting.

 

[Dece1t]

Hoopa Unbound for S Rank (Psychic and Dark)
​

Tbh, I completely despise this thing being added to the metagame, but, at this point, if you can't beat em, join em. Anyways, this thing has amazing offensive power, boasting base 160 attack, and base 170 special attack, along with a highly usable special bulk of 130, this thing looks like it needs to be sent back to the depths of hell where it belongs. On Psychic, this completely skews Ghost matchups in favor of Psychic, so now your not always forced to run Meloetta for a ghost check. On Dark, this is basically patronage for the Geninja ban, as it is yet another great check for fairy, and overall, a very deadly wallbreaker with very few switchins if any. Not only that, but it has amazing defensive support that covers for its paper thin defense and very average speed, including wish pass support from Umbreon. Onto the 1st set.


Hoopa-Unbound @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Hyperspace Fury
- Hyperspace Hole / Zen Headbutt
- Gunk Shot
- Focus Blast / Knock Off / Brick Break

This set boosts Hoopa U's subpar speed to levels where it can be a top class threat. It also takes advantage of it's ability to run a mixed set, so it can also be a nice wallbreaker. Hyperspace Fury is by far the best tool this pokemon has, as it breaks protect (sorry Aegislash :c) and has 100 base power, meaning, this'll ruin your day if not prepared. The 2nd slot you have options, either of which are good secondary psychic stab (great way to sweep fighting). Then there's Gunk Shot, shitty accuracy, but, godsent for dark teams, as it provides useful fairy coverage so long as you can keep Azumarill and Klefki in check. The last slot you can run Focus Blast for a strong coevrage attack, however, then you'd have 2 moves with good chances of missing, so knock off is another option, as well as brick break for weaker coverage, but nonetheless way less risky. This pokemon to function does need some defensive support as it's shit defense doesn't help it with strong priority attacks, and normally, it doesn't like to switch into physical attackers, making Slowbro and Mandibuzz good partners. On Psychic, when paired with Gardevoir, you have almost complete neutral coverage against every type, making it a great part of an amazing offensive core. Definatley something to consider.

Hoopa-Unbound @ Assault Vest / Life Orb
Ability: Magician
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Lonely Nature
- Hyperspace Fury
- Zen Headbutt / Hyperspace Hole
- Gunk Shot
- Focus Blast

This set definatley gives a lot more benefit to psychic teams, as it adds a bit more special bulk, while still being a great bulky tank/wallbreaker. This set compared to the 1 above doesn't change much, and has similar functions, only difference being the item and evs. I don't think I need to explain a ton here.

This is a fantastic pokemon that got introduced to the ORAS metagame, as much as I may disagree with it still not being quick banned lol, you really can't argue with how great this mon is. May as well abuse it until people come to their senses :D

 

[Vid]

Feraligatr A Rank

Overview
Feraligatr is a very underrated Pokemon in Monotype metagame. The Pokemon recently gained its hidden ability which is sheer force which gives it raw power to hit very hard with a 1.6 boost with sheer force plus life orb without taking life orb recoil from moves that have secondary effects. Overall this Pokemon is an effective physical attacker on water as well as an effective dragon dancer.

DD Gatr

Feraligatr @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Ice Punch
- Crunch
The set
This set is most common set and is the most effective on Feraligatr. Dragon Dance is used to boost your attack and speed making Feraligatr a deadly sweeper. Waterfall is main stab moves and works very well with sheer force. Crunch is a great coverage move for Psychic types such as Slowbro,Mew etc. Ice Punch is used to take on Flying, Ground, and Dragon types.
Other options
You can run aqua jet on this set although it does not work with sheer force. Also this is a similar story with earthquake. Rock Slide is a viable option being able to hit certain flying types harder than ice punch does although ice punch is preferred. SuperPower is another viable option although it doesn't work with sheer force it allows you to hit Ferrothorn hard.

Why A Rank
Overall this Pokemon is amazing but this Pokemon is very predictable because of the dragon dance set being the most viable set. This pokemon is best used on teams that want don't want to use Mega Gyra because its Stab Waterfalls hit harder than Mega Gyra although all of mega gyra's crunch does hit harder. This pokemon is A Rsnk because its raw power with just setting up 1 dragon dance which can be set up with the support that water givers it which is easily given with Thunder-Wave Scald Burns or Stealth Rocks.

something for fun

Also just for fun i wanted to share a quick calc showing Feraligatr's raw power with one DD
+1 252+ Atk Life Orb Sheer Force Feraligatr Waterfall vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Skarmory: 177-211 (52.9 - 63.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

 

[scpinion]

Anttya

The link to Kingdra for dragon teams goes to Froslass. I think this is the correct post for Kingdra: http://www.smogon.com/forums/thread...-before-reserving.3517737/page-3#post-5741153

 

[ed wins]

Mega-Gardevoir From A Rank to S Rank on Psychic

Gardevoir (M) @ Gardevoirite
Ability: Trace
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 24 Def / 232 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid/Modest Nature
- Hyper Voice
- Psyshock
- Focus Blast
- Taunt / Substitute / Calm Mind / Will-o-Wisp

Set Details: Maximum Speed and Special Attack investment allow Gardevoir to abuse its decent Speed tier and overwhelming Special Attack stat. A Pixelate boosted Hyper Voice coming off a brting tase 165 Special Attack stat tears holes into anything that does not resist it. Psyshock effectively turns Gardevoir into a mixed attacker, and hits one of the Fairy resists that Hyper Voice doesn't. Focus Blast hits yet another weakness, and another Hyper Voice resist. In fact, Fairy + Psychic + Fighting give Gardevoir unparalleled coverage, as there is nothing that Gardevoir doesn't hit for neutral damage. Because of this, Gardevoir's final slot can be used as utility. Taunt breaks fat teams like Flying and Normal. Substitute takes advantage of a switch and allows it to play mind games with Bisharp while allowing ease of prediction. Calm Mind takes its Special Attack and turns Gardevoir into a terrifying offensive presence, as it can effectively sweep after a boost once psychical attackers have been eliminated. Will-o-Wisp can be used to cripple common switch ins, such as Doublade, Jirachi, and Scizor.

Good Partners: Victini can shred through Steel types, making an excellent partner for Gardevoir. Jirachi also makes a great partner, as it bears a Poison immunity and a Steel resist, while also functioning as support or as a pivot. AV Meloetta or Gallade and Slowbro or Mew can be used to sponge hits from both sides of the spectrum, spread status, and provide overall great utility.

Why S Rank? Gardevoir has an immense offensive presensce and can recieve the best of support from its type. Gardevoir can threaten popular types, such as Flying, Dragon, Psychic, Fighting, Ground, Dark, and Water. It's great special bulk means that Gardevoir can habitually check special threats. Gardevoir tears apart bulky teams and has the tools from the Psychic type to tear through offensive teams as well(screens, status, Knock Off, Wish, Healing Wish, Taunt, Heal Bell, etc) Mega-Gardevoir is finally starting to see a rise of usage on Psychic teams, and that gives my heart great joy.

 

[thesecondbest]

Completely agree, it carries so many games on my psychic teams. Gardevoir is insanely strong and can clean up slower teams.

 

[Josh]

1 quick nom to make.


Fighting: Lucario C -> B/A
Why the hell is luke C and B rank is hera/meinshao/chesnaught? It's easily as good as if not better than all of them. I guess I need to give reasons though.
-Usage wise, it has considerably more usage than both meinshao and chesnaught, both of which who should be dropped to C btw imo but that's a different time. Hera is pretty close but ahead, and it's also the only other decent B mon.
-Typing wise, luke is literally almost perfect for fighting. It is neutral to literally all 3 of fighting's type weaknesses, which is HUGE. It's bulk is passable. Cobalion is the only other fighting mon who can claim this.
-Priority, aka what cobalion and a lot of fighting types lack. Specifically what has won me games in both ladder and tours: Espeed. 2x priority is always better than 1! It also gets bullet punch, and vacuum wave for special luke.
-Can run both physical and special sets. Fighting desperately lacks special attackers, Keld being one of the only ones that is decent. Luke can fill that role if it is needed. It makes it harder to predict which is nice, and both physical and special pools have decent moves and are viable.
-Gets boosting, aka both sd and np. Compliments above sharply.
-Gets nasty 110/115 atk/spa stats, which are definitely decent and coupled with priority and boosting are just great.
-Passable abilities. Not the best but they all have definitely useful uses in situations. Megacham can't flinch you if it comes in on you, meaning you outspeed premega and proceed to put it in espeed kill range. Or of course steadfast, so you continue to outspeed! Both work well. Also fucks up the paraflinch hax that is togekiss, which can be a huge problem for fighting. iirc 2x espeed ohkos.
-Has decent potential to sweep 2/4 of fighting's type weaknesses, and 3/4 if you are running crunch/dark pulse like I do for some of fighting's best ghost coverage. Get 3x atk and you can sweep nearly all of fairy and nearly all of psychic with espeed, there isn't much that can retaliate. Dark coverage messes up ghost, and goes nicely with conkledork's koff for doublade.
-Cripples m-pinsir with espeed dealing around 60% iirc, which is one of fighting's biggest issues.

In general luke is one of fighting's better mons, and seeing it in C saddened me. At least move it up to B, I'd even push for A because its definitely on par with the mons there in my opinion. I encourage anyone who actually plays fighting to voice their opinion rather than theorymonning, because fighting is my favorite type and I know just how good luke is.

EDIT: slowbro is often who you set up on if it's late game and you're stuck, because if it twaves you can often sweep. +3 LO espeed OHKO's nearly all of psychic.
Skarm dies to +2 LO close combat as well after you break sturdy.

 

[Gnief Fiar]

1 quick nom to make.


Fighting: Lucario C -> B/A
Why the hell is luke C and B rank is hera/meinshao/chesnaught? It's easily as good as if not better than all of them. I guess I need to give reasons though.
-Usage wise, it has considerably more usage than both meinshao and chesnaught, both of which who should be dropped to C btw imo but that's a different time. Hera is pretty close but ahead, and it's also the only other decent B mon.
-Typing wise, luke is literally almost perfect for fighting. It is neutral to literally all 3 of fighting's type weaknesses, which is HUGE. It's bulk is passable. Cobalion is the only other fighting mon who can claim this.
-Priority, aka what cobalion and a lot of fighting types lack. Specifically what has won me games in both ladder and tours: Espeed. 2x priority is always better than 1! It also gets bullet punch, and vacuum wave for special luke.
-Can run both physical and special sets. Fighting desperately lacks special attackers, Keld being one of the only ones that is decent. Luke can fill that role if it is needed. It makes it harder to predict which is nice, and both physical and special pools have decent moves and are viable.
-Gets boosting, aka both sd and np. Compliments above sharply.
-Gets nasty 110/115 atk/spa stats, which are definitely decent and coupled with priority and boosting are just great.
-Passable abilities. Not the best but they all have definitely useful uses in situations. Megacham can't flinch you if it comes in on you, meaning you outspeed premega and proceed to put it in espeed kill range. Or of course steadfast, so you continue to outspeed! Both work well. Also fucks up the paraflinch hax that is togekiss, which can be a huge problem for fighting. iirc 2x espeed ohkos.
-Has decent potential to sweep 2/4 of fighting's type weaknesses, and 3/4 if you are running crunch/dark pulse like I do for some of fighting's best ghost coverage. Get 3x atk and you can sweep nearly all of fairy and nearly all of psychic with espeed, there isn't much that can retaliate. Dark coverage messes up ghost, and goes nicely with conkledork's koff for doublade.
-Cripples m-pinsir with espeed dealing around 60% iirc, which is one of fighting's biggest issues.

In general luke is one of fighting's better mons, and seeing it in C saddened me. At least move it up to B, I'd even push for A because its definitely on par with the mons there in my opinion. I encourage anyone who actually plays fighting to voice their opinion rather than theorymonning, because fighting is my favorite type and I know just how good luke is.

Although I agree that Lucario's rank should be a little higher, there are a few mistakes you've made.

Lucario's bulk is nowhere near passable. 70/70/70 bulk gets OHKO'd by an unboosted Return from Mega Pinsir. Being neutral to all three of Fighting's weaknesses doesn't mean anything if you can't take any hits. Lucario's lack of bulk also makes it hard for it to find times to be able to set up a Swords Dance or Nasty Plot. Lucario's Speed is also pretty sub-par. 90 Speed means it'll get outsped by a lot of things that could easily OHKO it like Mega Charizard, Scarf or Sand Rush boosted Excadrill, Mega Lopunny, Victini, Mega Diancie, and Scarf Mamoswine.

Priority is most definitely not something Fighting lacks. Breloom, Mega Gallade, Mega Medicham, and Conkeldurr all carry priority. Although it's not +2 priority, it's still priority. +1 priority is still very useful.

I'd say the Abilities are pretty mediocre. It gives Togekiss problems with flinching you to death, but Togekiss can still paralyze you and Flamethrower you to death.

Which two type weaknesses are you talking about? It's kind of tough to sweep Psychic without getting destroyed by Victini and Gardevoir. Good luck trying to beat Flying with Skarmory and Togekiss in the way. Again, have fun trying to beat Fairy when you've got Klefki, Gardevoir, and Mega Diancie blocking you. Ghost has Sableye which can Will-O-Wisp you to cripple your physical set and Aegislash which could take a Dank Pulse, activate Weakness Policy and OHKO with Sacred Sword. You say that you could sweep Fairy and Psychic, but only if you get to +4 which is kind of hard to do with Lucario's lack of bulk, as well as how hard it is to find a time to set up two Nasty Plots or Swords Dances when facing Fairy and Psychic.

As a few side notes, Ghost doesn't use Doublade too much because it's got Aegislash, and Lucario's Abilities aren't very good because no one would waste their time trying to flinch a Lucario.

Also, so you wouldn't say, "but you don't use Fighting, so how would you know how good Lucario is?", I have used Fighting before on ladder, although I didn't actually use Lucario that much(I switched it out because of its lack of Speed). You really shouldn't tell people to not post their opinions. It's not a very nice thing to do. As long as the opinion is backed up by facts, it's a solid statement.

So in conclusion, I have no problem moving Lucario up a rank, just Lucario has a few problems. B rank should suffice if it'll actually move up.

A few calcs

252+ Atk Life Orb Lucario Extreme Speed vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mega Pinsir: 95-113 (35 - 41.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
Extreme Speed does not help against Mega Pinsir. Even with Stealth Rocks up.

252 SpA Life Orb Lucario Vacuum Wave vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Mega Lopunny: 164-195 (60.5 - 71.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
A bit of proof that Mega Lopunny can live a Vacuum Wave. If Mega Lopunny can live it, then so can Excadrill, Mega Diancie, and Mamoswine.

252+ Atk Life Orb Lucario Extreme Speed vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Togekiss: 117-138 (37.6 - 44.3%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

252 SpA Togekiss Flamethrower vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Lucario: 248-294 (88.2 - 104.6%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO
Although it's not an exact OHKO, Togekiss can still live three Extreme Speeds, retaliate with Flamethrower, as well as Roost off the damage.

+4 252+ Atk Life Orb Lucario Extreme Speed vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowbro: 224-264 (56.8 - 67%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Slowbro can take an Extreme Speed, and either Scald or Thunder Wave Lucario which really cripples it.

252 SpA Life Orb Lucario Dark Pulse vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Aegislash-Shield: 146-174 (55.9 - 66.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
As long as Aegislash doesn't switch into the Dank Pulse, it's fine.

252 SpA Life Orb Lucario Flash Cannon vs. 228 HP / 0 SpD Mega Sableye: 140-165 (46.9 - 55.3%) -- 70.3% chance to 2HKO
That number's only going to go down as Sableye sets up more Calm Minds.