Resource SV Doubles OU Viability Rankings

[Glimmer]

Tier 3 -> Tier 2
Deoxys-Attack with Tera and Expanding Force feels stupid as hell. It probably is not broken in the traditional sense but basically forces immediate answers. While PsySpam is its best usecase, I definitely think some sort of Modern DeoSharp is very possible and likely good due to the introduction of Kingambit in SV.
Tier 4 -> Tier 3
Tera P2 is kinda awesome, its also still as bulky as ever and Knock Off has had reduced usage too. Very frustrating to take down and has a really good defensive profile currently.
Tier 5 -> Tier 4
Assault Vest Kyurem honestly feels really solid, it has a very good matchup spread into everything that isn't Flutter Mane while still being able to 2HKO it with Ice Beam and not getting OHKOd by Specs Moonblast. It also acts as an offensive check to Landorus-I which has seen a resurgence in usage.
Tier 5 -> Tier 4
Ban Moody. MoodyPass feels legit and can luck its way through so many things.
Tier 5 -> Tier 4
TerraCott doesn't feel as gimmicky but I'm not super sure about it still. Will nom for Tier 4 for now because Tera Clear Amulet and Upper Hand combined can make it deadly if you don't play precisely and carefully.
Tier 5 -> Tier 4
Tera Spider in Trick Room has hilarious Dracovish looking calcs I'm a believer.
Tier 4 -> Tier 2
Landorus in Offense combined with Flutter Mane forms one of the deadliest combos available. Lando can also rip apart most if not all defensively inclined structures with ease especially with its access to a spread move and Tera Poison.
Tier 2 -> Tier 3
This might be controversial and I am not gonna say that I am super supporting this either but the meta has grown so hostile to the most broken parts of Hands, its ability to never die and cycle Fake Out. We have Flutter being more viable than ever, Deoxys-A getting introduced, and even Landorus making a big comeback while Hands' old checks have not really fell off a single bit. Hands feels more reliant on teammates and Tera and the right last moveslot than ever and I don't think it deserves to be Tier 2 anymore when the Tier 2s are some of the most splashable and useful mons in the meta.

 

[Schister]

UR -> T4

One Nom but a nom it is. Gapdos is incredible right now. It makes for a premier scarf user with incredible access to a good speed tier and defiant, easily outrunning many non-scarfed mons and many scarfed mons in the format. Close combat stab + Defiant and a respectable attack stat makes any team with incineroar HATE the orange bird, and Gapdos' Brave bird can pick up critical OHKOes on mons such as Flutter mane, Rillaboom, and Ogrepon-Wellspring, this makes it, in my eyes, a premier counter-pick to the incredibly powerful KLIFO archetype, with options to OHKO ALL of the structure's core members with a Defiant boost, and many without. Access to U-turn gives it a natural means of keeping momentum, making it a boon for Chien-pao structure that often lack viable pivots and certainly appreciate an intimidate-immune mon that can outspeed and OHKO Flutter Mane without tera among their ranks. Gapdos' 4th slot can consist of brick break, knock off, or coaching to enable a win condition, giving it a well-rounded combination of threatening STABs, decent bulk, great speed and good utility that allow it to be placed on a variety of team structures, notably including the new terrain spam sample team by Actuarily, providing critical speed control as a check to Flutter Mane and, thanks to its flying typing, Landorus-Incarnate.

Its fighting typing may appear to make it ill-suited for a metagame with common psyspam teams, but thanks to choice scarf Gapdos outspeeds even the mighty Deoxys-Attack, able to pair with Rillaboom or other teammates to greatly disrupt such a team's plans. Gapdos does, however, admittedly struggle into raging bolt and the now lesser-seen iron hands, being greatly threatened by these pokemon and failing todo meaningful damage to them. In general pokemon that can survive Gapdos' stabs can cause issues for it, as it repeatedly weakens itself and almost always trades poorly into pokemon it can't immediately KO. Luckily, Zapdos' utility options in knock off, coaching and U-turn mean it can still provide value even into poor matchups, allowing many other teammates to deal with these threats, and it's incredible matchup spread into top pokemon means it rarely ever fails to help break opposing teams.

Overall I believe Gapdos is a fine member of the metagame ready to stand against numerous rising threats on many team structures and worthy of being ranked on the VR.

A couple of replays where Gapdos' unique qualities greatly help secure victory:

Ladder Tour Game vs Ratpacker where Gapdos was the premier progress maker
Eragon's PTPL game where Gapdos compression as a threat and support clutches out a seemingly-doomed endgame

 

[bagel]

Post Invis VR noms while I've still got mons on the mind


Incineroar: Tier 1 -> Tier 2

Fire type that doesn't resist fairy actually sucks a lot when it's your defensive pivot that you want to be able to switch into attacks. Has to choose between AV/Sitrus/Goggles/Boots and each comes with its own downsides. It still does Incineroar stuff but I think its skillset isn't as valuable in this meta and it is worse at it.


Gholdengo: Tier 2 -> Tier 3

Lando-I and Kingambit stocks are UP which means Gholdengo stocks are DOWN. Incin/Waterpon on every other team is also a pain for Ghold. Doesn't have as much space to set up and isn't as threatening when it does.


Iron Hands: Tier 2 -> Tier 3

Bro is extremely cooked by Incin despite the type advantage. I've only really seen this guy have success on either hard Trick Room or Tailwind hyper offense with a lot of speed investment. Can't switch into Flutter and worthless into Psyspam are also big Ls.


Ogerpon-Wellspring: Tier 2 -> Tier 1

The most splashable Pokemon in the tier aside from Flutter Mane. This fits on every structure and offers are great balance of offensive and defensive utility. Can run a variety of support options and EV spreads to keep opponents guessing and never feels like dead weight.


Archaludon: Tier 3 -> Tier 2

Less sure on this one but I like both the AV and leftovers 3 attack sets. Stamina is a goated ability that allows Archaludon to leverage its great defensive typing into a lot of the physically leaning teams running around the meta. With Rain from Tornadus or Pelipper it can spread lots of damage with Electro Shot boosts. Can work in both Tailwind and Trick Room.


Deoxys-Attack: Tier 3 -> Tier 2

I was a psyspam skeptic but Deo-A is actually Just Insane. Sash is the only real item, boosts from Tera/Chi-Yu/Helping Hand let it reach the damage thresholds it needs. Opponent basically always needs to trade a mon into it unless they are extra prepared with something like AV Metagross or Ting Lu. And even then the Deo player just gets to switch out lmao.


Glimmora: Tier 3 -> Tier 2

Meteor Beam is a HUGE upgrade for Glimm that upgrades its offensive presence immensely. Aside from Meat Beam randomly OHKOing stuff Glimmora should have no business OHKOing, the Special Attack boost really forces opponents to trade into Glimmora when previously it could be more easily ignored and dealt with at a later time. The extra offensive pressure forces physical attackers into setting up tspikes more often now. Also Glimmora is a holy grail of DOU: FAIRY RESIST HOLY SHIT


Ogerpon-Hearthflame: Tier 3 -> Tier 4

Literally why would I use this over Tier 1 Waterpon. Incineroar existing makes this girl really sad. On sun stuff there are a ton of mons that get spots over this (such as waterpon!) so yeah just not really a place for it rn with its poor defensive typing. Waste of a fairy resist smh...


Sinistcha: Tier 3 -> Tier 4

Kinda do nothing mon a lot of the time that is outclassed by lots of other support options. Healing on switch is nice but then you are switching with a slot instead of doing damage with it. Imo raid boss style teams aren't amazing right now and well rounded teams have p easy counterplay built in.


Baxcalibur: Tier 4 -> Tier 3

Big Damage Guy that has a solid matchup into a lot of the Waterpon balance compositions going around. Its stuck into Clear Amulet now which means it can't use Icicle Spear which is honestly fine imo. I've liked both 3 attack and SD with Ice Shard + Glaive Rush. The defense buff with snow still makes Bax a scary setup threat but I don't think the mon is limited to that style of team.


Dragonite: Tier 4 -> Tier 3

Early meta = CB Tera Normal Espeed good. Honestly could be higher as lots of teams can't handle either Tera Normal Espeed or CB Outrage but I'm kinda hedging that it comes back down to a lower level with more development.


Iron Bundle: Tier 4 -> Tier 5

Just not specially bulky enough for this meta and it needs to invest way more into its speed than it wants which often makes it easy to ignore. Can still be a nuisance for some compositions but its not very usable right now.


Iron Crown: Tier 4 -> Tier 3

Second best clicker of broken move Expanding Force. Awesome typing with great bulk and really in psyspam mirrors. I've found it needs a damage-boosting item to really get the most out of the mon but Booster Energy or Life Orb are natural fits anyways. Tachyon Cutter is nice for sash mons like Deo-A and Chien-Pao.


Landorus-Incarnate: Tier 4 -> Tier 2

This really should not be this low. Was already rising up in usage/viability in the pre-dlc2 meta but the new additions have really helped it out. Incineroar immediately shooting up to a top usage mon immediately gives Lando-I a use case, but other additions such as Archaludon and Raging Bolt have poor matchups into Lando-I. Lando-I also benefits from Incineroar itself, as Incin generally slows the pace of games down and creates space for Lando-I to set up Substitutes or deal free damage. Additionally the rise of Psyspam gives Lando-I a role as the premier steel-breaker in the metagame which can help out those compositions a lot.


Porygon2: TIer 4 -> Tier 3

Go-to Trick Room setter for consistency while still offering a solid offensive presence. +1 Tera Blasts / Ice Beams do a lot of damage and can't be ignored. One of the most consistent Lando-I checks and a great partner for a ton of Lando-I weak mons such as Archaludon and Kingambit.


Roaring Moon: Tier 4 -> Tier 5

Idk if I've seen one of these be remotely impressive sense the meta has settled down a bit. Outclassed by all the other Dragons and all the other Speed Control options.


Hisuian Arcanine: Tier 5 -> Tier 4

The gentleman's Fire-type Intimidate. Huge massive epic Fairy resist. CB Rockslide does awesome damage and not much can switch in comfortably. (Tbh I have a soft spot for this guy it's maybe still tier 5).


Deoxys Speed: Tier 5 -> Tier 4

I feel like this fits the 2nd definition of a tier 4 perfectly. Deo-S is a great hazard stacker for priority spam teams. It's so fast that you can invest so much in bulk to the point where it can live 2-3 neutral hits while setting Rocks+Spikes or disrupting opponents with Taunt. It has just enough offenses so Psycho Boost can threaten decent damage and frail Pokemon such as Lando-I may be scared to stay in on a potential Ice Beam


Entei: Tier 5 -> Tier 3

FAIRY RESIST INTIMIDATE AND FAKE OUT IMMUNE HUGE. Uhh Sacred Fire is probably a top 10 most busted move in the game. AV Entei can be ev'd to live crazy stuff like Lando-I Earth Power which is epic. Kinda single-handedly revived Chien Pao offensive compositions with its combination of typing and bulk.


Excadrill: Tier 5 -> Tier 4

Only usable on sand but the archetype is pretty solid. FAIRY RESIST ALERT that can often be faster and threaten an OHKO on Flutter is nice.


Kyurem: Tier 5 -> Tier 4

I think I'm less high on this than most but the sheer stats + Snow defense buff make it clearly better than Tier 5. Its 4 for me because I think Bax outclasses it.


Metagross: Tier 5 -> Tier 4

Heavy Slam is a nice buff, to spread damage. Great Coaching recipient. (Fairy Resist!) Works as a soft Flutter Check as Bullet Punch with some damage modifiers (Tera/Pao/Coaching) can threaten Flutters. AV is probably its only real set.


Terrakion: Tier 5 -> Tier 4*

Honestly this might be too low. New tools of Tera and Covert Cloak (and more!) have made Terracott more viable than ever (except maybe dynamax idk i didnt play then). Without a Follow Me user the duo can be an extreme pain to take down, and even then the Terracott user can switch up the formula and flip the matchup. Tier 4 for now because I think it isn't super consistent but has the potential to be a very high-ceiling archetype. IMO the premier matchup fish right now.


Tyranitar: Tier 5 -> Tier 4

Ttar = back. AV is a monster especially with coaching support as it can trade with pretty much every special attacker in the tier. Lower Lando-T and Iron Hands usage + a useful Sand Rush partner in Excadrill.


, , , , , , , All these guys: Tier 5 -> UR

These all feel outclassed significantly by other options or Just Plain Bad.


Mew: UR -> Tier 4

Best (only tbh) Coaching user. Does a lot of the same stuff as earlier in the gen when it was solid but now it gets broken move coaching. The slower meta helps it out as it is less likely to get overwhelmed by offense.


Primarina: UR -> Tier 5

Tapu Fini LARP but the typing is still God-tier. Calm Mind threatens big damage with Moonblast/Hvoice after only a couple boosts and its a great natural partner for other bulky attackers such as Archaludon and Kingambit.


Ting Lu: UR -> Tier 5

Fat bitch that's a bit of a fish but clicking hazard + whirlwind is p nice and its a good safety net vs psyspam. Alternatively going more offensive with AV isn't bad either as long as partners can take care of Rillaboom/Waterpon. Cool Coaching recipient as well.


Suicune: UR -> Tier 5

Bulky water that can sit in front of a lot of stuff. Generally outclassed by other stuff but bulk + typing + Snarl + Roar gives it a niche.

 

[qsns]

seconding pretty much all of bagel's noms. incineroar in 1 stands out to me as the least characteristic of the metagame atm and should definitely drop

5 -> 3/4

Creates a lot of semi-trick room strategies by itself, and can easily see use on HO. Priority has become even more used between Incineroar Fake Out and the resurgance of Chien-Pao + Espeed comps. Bloodmoon and Farig can be thrown onto otherwise standard teams to create a horrifying matchup against offense.

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9doublesou-2029504702 Invitationals replay of Farig Just Winning vs a Pao comp
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9doublesou-2029529092 Invitationals replay of Farig enabling a comp otherwise prone to disruption

3 -> 2

Deoxys shouldn't move up without this going up as well. Psyspam teams are much more versatile in composition than just Deo + Crown + stupid stuff, though obviously Bagel's success in Invitationals with this kind of team shouldn't go unnoted. The ladder success of tyo's Ursaluna TR and Actuarily's DLT qualifying semi-TR pile of stuff shows to Indeedee-F anchoring a lot of styles. Indeedee sucks but the Psychic Terrain strategy itself is Tier 2 and ranking Indeedee-F any lower than its pieces is probably wrong.

4 -> 5

This pokemon fundamentally sucks. We are not in the Home metagame where taking a turn off to make a stat stick is worth it. You get obliterated by Ogerpon-W, Amoonguss, Rillaboom, Indeedee-F, Sunny Day Torn, Torkoal, Farigiraf, and the plethora of ESpeed in the tier. Bulk Up is too slow, as it has been for an entire metagame, and CB gets to pull off a funny OHKO by having your entire team support it and then leave itself with a giant chunk of recoil + out of position (ex: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9doublesou-2023342958). There are more powerful things to be doing with Rain support such as Archaludon and just hitting them with Ivy Cudgel.

5 -> UR

Outclassed by a myriad of options you have on Psyspam (Iron Crown, Deoxys-A, Necrozma), and now walled by Incineroar, which is public enemy #1 when building Psyspam. Steels are not an issue (this also loses to Gambit, Heatran and Gholdengo without proper speed control, anyway). You can Helping Hand Psycho Boost most of them with Deo-A.

4 -> 5, 5 -> UR

Ironpress is not a good strategy for consistently winning games of Pokemon vs solid teams and opponents

 

[Actuarily]

With it having been a little over a month since the last vr update, we’ll be starting another slate after this weekend. So consider this a last call for nominations, get them in by the end of the weekend!

 

[Fritz420]

2 -> 3

Amoonguss faces a lot of competition from Ogerpon Wellspring as a redirector. While Amoonguss can swap in more times and has the type advantage versus Ogerpon-Wellspring, it has the inferior redirection move and can find itself in positions where it can't even click spore because Ogerpon is absorbing the attack.

Due to its low speed stat it mostly only fills roles on trick room or on a team specifically wanting to have a way to combat trick room.

Amoonguss isn't all bad. It has cool tools in Pollen Puff and a typing that resists fairy. Spore is still a strong move. However it feels that Amoonguss has a harder time clicking the moves it wants to click at the moment.

 

[Schister]

UR -> T5
Parroting bagel's nom from UR up and adding a replay to boot. A genuinely terrifying coaching threat that can abuse it's ability to create space for its allies and sweep readily sweep games thanks to its good coverage and obscene bulk. mew enables ting lu extremely well and obviously has the flexibility to enable many other structures, but Ting-Lu in particular assists in making mew harder to KO, giving it room to set up trick room and click funny buttons much easier. Psyspam, trick room and Lando-flutt "balance" teams all really don't like to see this guy, as it underspeeds or walls most users of the former two archetypes and AV + ruin ability moment allows it to trade well into the ladder's main threats. Access to Body Press even allows it to pose a decent threat while getting intim spammed by Incineroars. That all said, Ogerpon-Wellspring's omnipresence, a somewhat declined but still relevant Rillaboom and a massive flutter weakness means this guy is a massive tera hog and reliance on coachign severely limits Ting Lu's flexibility so can't place it over t5 right now.

T2 -> T1
I seriously struggle to think of a team structure that doesn't appreciate this guy's ability to function well into just about everything in the metagame, especially with the power of its tera form. Rising Lando-I makes this pokemon an instant consideration on most teams, being one of the few mons around that can reliably trade decently into it and flutter mane on the same board.

UR -> T5
I've posted about this guy enough so I'll keep it brief. Sneasler's absurd speed and strong offensive moves in gunk shot and close combat and Great synergy with rillaboom allow it to function as a solid coaching mon on bulky screens structures, being able to critically threaten annoyances such as chi yu and flutter alongside Rillaboom with its speed and enable win conditions

No change
This guy probably should've been UR before but with a few noms down I'd like to present a counterargument for it being unrated in the current metagame. A bulky specially defensive Water typing is very solid right now as ogerpon can clearly show anyone and manaphy has the bulk and a greatsetup move to leverage this typing on screens structures right now. Take Heart is a wonderful move that mostly invalidates status conditions against manaphy and gives screens teams a much-needed way to get around Glimmora. A couple of Take Heart boosts allows manaphy to entirely wall archetypes such as psyspam and KLIFO, being able to directly threaten many of the mons on the ladder structure with Scald and shadow ball hitting pretty much everything around at least neutrally (unless you're a wo-chien). Coaching from a gapdos, mew, or sneasler and grassy terrain make sit even harder to take down, and I find that it can fairly reliably carry games to victory much like Primarina can.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9doublesou-2028817384?p2
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9doublesou-2026748641?p2

T3 -> t4
Not a bad pokemon, but one that is MUCH harder to justify than before between Incineroar fighting for the fire type slot and lando-I spamming the funny ground move that makes it impossible for Heatran to switch in safely and do its job in the current metagame.

T4 -> T5
Icy wind can OHKO lando-I and that gives bundle a decent niche for teams that desperately need an absolute lando-I check but other than that its been evicted from Fanroom teams and fights for a water type slot with the MUCH better ogerpon-wellspring, gets evaporated by bolt, and simply doesn't do enough to stand out in a metagame this bombastic.

 

[SuckyLucky]

Not much to add and might be to late but I second bage1’s nom for 5 —> 3 it cooks

 

[Actuarily]

We have the updated viability rankings! Thanks to everyone who nominated and voted.

But first, some news. JRL has stepped down from the viability rankings council, and we want to thank them for all their work in putting these slates together. Stepping up in their place we actually have 3 new users, as we're expanding the viability rankings council, so welcome Akaru Kokuyo, eragon11145, and zee!

The votes are below!

Votes

T4 -> T2/3

reasoning

Actuarily: 3. Is good at blowing stuff up in tailwind, but a lot of the best mons (ogerpon-water/Flutter/Pao/Deo-A) outspeed it and beat it due to its bad bulk.

Akaru Kokuyo: 3. Hits everything hard, but what it threatened at early meta isn’t that common anymore + weak to enough popular combos to not climb to 2. Can still be super oppressive if well positioned and/or with good speed control.

Bage1: 3. A week ago I said 2 but the meta is moving pretty fast right now. Still a super potent offensive threat but teams have gotten much better at exploiting its defensive weaknesses. Absolutely has to be considered in the builder and can easily get out of hand in games but it needs a good amount of support to truly see success.

Eragon11145: 2. Massively helped by the return of Incin, probably the second best wallbreaker in the tier behind Flutter, and given the offensive synergy between ground/fairy pairs extremely well with Flutter. Does struggle a bit into opposing waterpon/flutter, but has the tools to deal with most of the rest of the metagame and has a pretty clear impact on the viability of a lot of the other mons on this list.

Madaraaaa: T3. One of the best wall breakers, with really good coverage, but waterpon and other faster pokemons threat landorus too much.

Nido-Rus: 3. Still good but metagame has adapted to it very well. Seeing more pao+entei/dnite, more rain, more waterpon, more chunky flutters that can take it out in one hit or 2hko tera poison.

SMB: Tier 3, ground is very common weakness atm and its wallbreaking ability is one of the best, being able to ohko almost every pokemon in offense teams, nevertheless it requires a lot of support vs these teams since it’s frail, weak to priority and require speed control. Vs bulkier teams very often can only trade 1 for 1

Yoda2798: Tier 3. Ogerpon EV spreads adapting to be faster than Landorus-I is a big knock against it with Ogerpon-Wellspring everywhere and threatening a KO on it. Add in a negative matchup to Flutter Mane, and vulnerability to other faster threats like Chien-Pao or Deoxys and Landorus is more manageable now than after its initial surge. Tera Flying on Pokemon like Kingambit also lets teams better adapt their Landorus matchup. Still a strong offensive threat with good offensive coverage, a strong spread option, and a speed tier that lets it outspeed all the bulkier Pokemon, but its vulnerability to speed control and faster threats hold it back against teams prepared for Landorus.

Zee: 3. Good speed and incredible output but weak defensively and teams have been adapting to consider it. Does not enjoy Waterpon being one of the best mons in the metagame.

T3 -> T5

reasoning

Actuarily: 4. It’s really bulky but doesn’t have great typing in the current metagame, both offensively & defensively. There’s also a bunch of bulky grasses that really slows this down.

Akaru Kokuyo: 3. Mon is super bulky, can easily start setting up, and has a very good prio move in Thunderclap. It doesn’t appreciate its typing a lot though, being weak to common threats like Landorus and Flutter Mane, which means it’s often a Tera Hungry slot. Also, most of the time Thunderclap is your only Electric Stab and it only works if the opposing Mon is attacking, so you can also be walled/punished very easily.

Bage1: 3. Good set variety and bulk, not as big on the cm sets as Thunderclap+dragon move is really exploitable but in general it's just a really strong mon that can trade well vs a good portion of the metagame like Waterpon/Incin/Rilla stuff. Of course being weak to Lando + Flutter does hurt but the matchup is manageable with support.

Eragon11145: 3. Has enough bulk to contend with most of the metagame, this thing gets extremely deadly after basically just one calm mind but can struggle particularly into flutter/lando i/waterpon depending on the set. Booster Energy is probably more consistent and doesn’t match up as poorly into those 3.

Madaraaaa: T3. This pokemon has really solid stats with a unique valid priority move. Not so fast, suffers fairy and ground, but with the right support can become difficult to ko if calm mind set, and also scary. I am a personal fan of 3 attacks life orb/booster spatk.

Nido-Rus: Tier 3. Solid pokemon with good bulk and defensive typing and has a scary cm set as well as just plain offensive booster. Has a bit of an awkward time either not running an unconditional electric attack on cm sets, or not having enough oomph behind thunderclap on non-cm sets.

SMB: tier 4, yet very bulky and powerful, thunderclap is not a very reliable move for a cm pokemon so, while being more useful than something like thunderbolt it often leaves it in a weird spot vs stuff like lando or redirection. Av sets don’t seem solid enough either, good at being annoying but fails to succeed most of times.

Yoda2798: Tier 3. I’ve been fairly unimpressed with Raging Bolt in practice but I still think it’s closer to the other Tier 3s than the Tier 4s. Yes Thunderclap is quite exploitable and the weaknesses to Flutter Mane and Landorus are rough, but Bolt has good stats and a nice typing into many of the other top Pokemon like Ogerpon-Wellspring, Rillaboom, and Incineroar. Thunderclap is unreliable, but a priority option is still something that most Pokemon (especially special attackers) lack, so having the ability to threaten something like a weakened Flutter Mane at all is nice for a slower, bulkier Pokemon, and Calm Mind helps turn it from chip into a KO.

Zee: 3. I think its bulk is excellent and with a Calm Mind or Protosynthesis boost the damage output feels unfair. The typing is a hindrance but not completely useless as you’re granted crucial FWG & Flying resistances. Overall not enough downsides for me to feel like this mon needs to drop.

T4 -> T3

reasoning

Actuarily: 4. Psyspam is good, but steel psychic isn’t the best typing as many of the top offensive mons hit that super effectively. Crown’s speed tier makes it want to be booster speed, but then it doesn’t hit nearly as hard as it wants.

Akaru Kokuyo: 4. Kind of a niche mon. It's very good paired with Psyspam, but outside of it it’s very hard to fit it on any team. Has to rely on Focus Blast or burning the Tera + Tera Blast to deal properly with Dark types.

Bage1: 3. I think psyspam is a top tier strategy and that psyspam teams should be running 2 users of Expanding Force. I think Crown is the second best user of the move, which along with its good typing makes it tier 3. It has really good bulk and trades well vs a lot of offensive mons. As others mentioned it is a bit of a tera hog and has a very sketchy Incin matchup but I think the more offensive psyspam teams really appreciate its defensive value. Also one of the best psyspam checks, bulky enough to take attacks while threatening sash Deo and Flutter with Tachyon Cutter.

Eragon11145: 4. It’s definitely usable and solid into some matchups, but Deo-A is a lot more immediately threatening so it’s difficult to justify running Crown over it. You can run the two together, but most psyspam teams only run Deo-A, making 4 the right tier for this I think. I haven’t been particularly impressed by calm mind sets either.

Madaraaaa: T4. I think deoxys is a better as psyspam abuser. Suffers dark types too much, the speed is not enough for lando, chi yu, that often have double target moves ignoring indedee.

Nido-Rus: Tier 4. Nice bulk and hits hard, but the speed tier is a bit of a killer, as well as it not having as good tools against dark types as compared to deo-a.

SMB: tier 5, usable instead of deoxys in a couple of teams, but the team will very often be better if it just has deoxys instead. The teams that have it require a lot of support to make it work as well.

Yoda2798: Tier 4. Deoxys-A is a better Expanding Force user than Iron Crown, and outside of psyspam it isn’t even worth considering. Booster Energy Speed is faster than Deoxys but doesn’t add much over it while having ~2/3 its Special Attack, while Modest Booster Energy Special Attack is ~10% stronger than Deoxys but much much slower, while Iron Crown isn’t really better defensively than having Focus Sash, and Focus Blast/Tera Blast is worse than Superpower and Tachyon Cutter is worse than Psycho Boost. There are teams where you can run Iron Crown as an additional Expanding Force user, though you are then stacking three Psychic-types instead of using something else which is usually going to be better, but that’s all it is, an optional supplementary Expanding Force user for some psyspam teams.

Zee: 4. It’s a pretty scary guy on psyspam but that requires you to be running psyspam in the first place and even then Deo-A is more appealing a lot of the time unless you’re going to be running both. Special Attack booster feels too slow, Speed booster feels too weak.

T1 -> T2

reasoning

Actuarily: 3. Being a defensive fire type that doesn’t resist fairy is really tough, and a lot of the stuff that you want to intimidate hits it super effectively like ogerpon-water/Ursaluna/Iron Hands/lando-t. Still has a lot of merits especially supporting set up mons, but this is the worst Incin has probably ever been in DOu.

Akaru Kokuyo: 2. Has enough bad matchups to not be considered Tier 1. Super good into stuff like PaoNite teams with sets like WoW and Tera, but not so great on many more like rain or KLIFO. Still offers great utility and still able to live some super effective moves like Landorus’ Sandsear Storm, Waterpon Ivy Cudgel, etc.

Bage1: 2. The meta is really offensive and Incin really struggles to slow the pace of games down. Basically all physical offense is either immune to intimidate through abilities or items which cuts into Incin’s value a lot. It is still a premier pivot that provides excellent support to lots of offensive threats but it's worse than in previous gens + its skillset is less needed at the moment. Also taking up a fire type slot while not resisting fairy really sucks.

Eragon11145: 2. The metagame has become a lot more specially oriented, and the big 3 of lando i/flutter/waterpon all handle it pretty effectively. It’s still incin and slots quite well on many teams but there’s a lot of counterplay to it that pushes it down to tier 2.

Madaraaaa: T2. Still best pivot of the meta, but I agree with what Zee said about inci in this metagame.

Nido-Rus: Tier 2. Good enough and still a solid option, but there’s a lot of stuff that just doesn’t care about attack drop now between special attackers, viable inner focus mons in dnite/entei, or just clear amulet on stuff that really hates the incin intimidate matchup. Still valuable for its defensive bulk and pivoting.

SMB: Tier 3, it has already been said it’s really bad into current meta being a fire type that doesn’t resist fairy and being unable to do anything or just have bad matchups vs landorus, archaludon, glimmora, ogerpon water… I see at least 2 other fire types that are better than incineroar at the moment

Yoda2798: Tier 2. Being a Fire-type that doesn’t resist Fairy is not what you want in a Flutter Mane meta, and it can’t always stick around as easily in previous gens with Ogerpon-Wellspring and Landorus-I running around, but it’s still Incineroar with all the utility it provides. Incineroar is the best Fake Out user, far and away the best Intimidate user, and bulky pivoting is just so useful for teammates, including the offensive Pokemon I just mentioned are great into Incineroar. Helping your teammates survive that extra hit or turn can go a long way, and that’s what Incineroar does best.

Zee: 2. Incineroar offers virtually everything it did last generation, but now in the face of a metagame defining Fairy-type, multiple Inner Focus users, and Ogerpon-W just feels a little too hard to justify it being tier 1.

T4 -> T3

reasoning

Actuarily: T3, being able to Tera out of normal typing can make this very hard to take down, but it can be very passive if it doesn’t get a spa download boost, and can get overrun by some of the strongest attackers that it generally doesn’t hit like kingambit/Flutter/chi-yu.

Akaru Kokuyo: 4. Probably the best bulky TR setter since the best Fighting type isn’t that great anymore. Can be very passive sometimes depending on the offensive moves you are running, but can allow so many setup Pokémon to freely boost and do nothing in return.

Bage1: 3. The bulk is amazing and let's P2 be a great complementary piece to help out a lot of teams. The damage can be a bit lacking at times but I’ve found it tends to do just enough to keep the opponent from ignoring it. Depending on the set it can get walled by certain Pokemon but I think TR is stronger now than it has been in a while and as one of the best setters it gets tier 3.

Eragon11145: 3. Probably the most useful TR setter at the moment, has to be carefully positioned but its bulk lets it provide value most of the time. SMB’s and Bagel’s sample teams are good examples of its use.

Madaraaaa: T4. Solid TR setter but I think is too passive rn, is more difficult to stall with recover than SS, and bolt/beam coverage is great but not so effective.

Nido-Rus: Tier 4. Bulky trick room is still valuable, but p2’s damage potential has severely dropped off compared to previous gens with its current coverage just not hitting as much stuff SE anymore. Meanwhile its neutral hits are too weak even at +1, and even getting the +1 feels really inconsistent in current meta. Too passive right now to warrant a higher placement.

SMB: tier 3, there are too many teams that just lose if tr is setted twice and p2 is the best at doing that

Yoda2798: Tier 3. The drop in Iron Hands usage is good for Porygon2, putting it in a good place to do its job of surviving hits and setting Trick Room to flip the table against faster teams, and different tera options also assisting in that role. It is true that Porygon2 can struggle with being passive this generation due to a lot of Pokemon not weak to its coverage, but it still threatens enough which is all it needs to do, its primary job as a bulky Trick Room setter is still done well and with all the fast, frail teams running around vulnerable to Trick Room that’s quite big in itself.

Zee: 3. If you can successfully keep it away from Knock Off the bulk feels incredible for the metagame, and we have a variety of semiroom-type abusers that pair nicely with it. It’s probably a little underused in the current meta.

T3 -> T2

reasoning

Actuarily: 3. It’s like every other glass cannon, if you have a scarf mon or speed control it can’t do anything, and can’t switch in on anything. There’s also enough bulky stuff to live sash’s attacks, and LO really leaves no room for error. In the right positioning it can be pretty devastating, and can hit some of the traditional checks to psyspam, but isn’t very reliable so most teams opt to have two e-force attackers.

Akaru Kokuyo: 3. Has an item problem; if you run Sash, you are not KOing anything. If you run LO, you are not living anything. In a tier where priority is everywhere, you are kind of forced to either run Indeedee to block it (which can also put you in weird spots where that prediction is very easy to do) or run Sash to try and cheap stuff but that's it. Definitely valuable if you get the turns right and it’s able to trade 1-2 Pokémon for its life. Still, you can’t disrespect this Pokémon, or else you can very easily get 6-0d (Kind of like Necrozma in SS).

Bage1: 2. Best option for psyspam, just absurd damage output with very little help. Its checks are super well defined which make them pretty easy to account for in the builder. Half-measure “checks” like Waterpon and Flutter can often get blown away with good predictions. Sash is the only item I would run because it is so easy to boost its damage output with Tera / Helping Hand or save it until the opponent takes even a small amount of chip to put mons in range.

Eragon11145: 2. Probably the most dangerous/volatile offensive weapon in the tier right now, forces a lot of counterplay in the builder, and has even seen some use besides psyspam. There’s so many easy ways to support it and it blows things up.

Madaraaaa: T3. Fastest pokemon in this metagame, offering so much oppressive power and coverage. Needs a good check in teambulding, but is really frail and for me is T3.

Nido-Rus: Tier 2. Very solid option in psyspam right now, demands a lot of respect in the builder to not simply lose to expanding force. Sash has ended up as the default set because of how iffy it is to run non-glimm hazards in current meta (ban flutter)

SMB: tier 3, it has the same issues that deoxys has always had and needs a lot of stuff to happen to make it work properly with prankster tailwind, grassy terrain, priority moves and speed boosts being as common as they are

Yoda2798: Tier 3. There’s good reason why Deoxys-A had only 2/24 uses in week 1 of DPL, and 4/86 uses in Invitationals. As mentioned in my council votes, Deoxys struggles from classic glass cannon weaknesses, and in the current meta we have an abundance of priority users, Prankster Tailwind, Rillaboom, and Dark-types, along with Booster Energy Speed existing and tera being able to catch Deoxys out due to how dependent it is on picking up KOs. The arguably more important half of the equation though is that you’re stuck using Indeedee for terrain support to make proper use of Expanding Force, which is a significant cost when you can just use two good Pokemon instead of Deoxys and its enabler. Very much fits the definition of Tier 3 in requiring specific team support rather than being a general-use Pokemon that works well with anything.

Zee: 2. Premier psyspam attacker and the output feels unfair with the minimal support requirement of “switch Indeedee in”. Also a fine mon outside of psyspam since it still has a strong output and great speed tier.

T5 -> T3

reasoning

Actuarily: 5. You are really relying on the element of surprise with this, and often play 5v6.

Akaru Kokuyo: 5. Super niche. Can just die to 1-2 hits. Even worse if you get taunted. If Dark Void was still a thing then I could rate this higher, but since it’s not, well, rip. If it gets good turn 1-2 Moody boosts it can definitely be a threat though.

Bage1: 4. Always scary but often has to take advantage of suboptimal teams to get the jump. Often it needs to get a call right turn 1, get a good moody boost, or burn tera to dodge a move. But it can run away with games if it gets the turn right, and it does have the deck stacked in its favor more often than not.

Eragon11145: 5. I haven’t really seen this thing be effective in any games, there’s obviously a lot of funny moves to abuse but generally speaking there are other pokemon that fill those roles almost as well/better while having more bst than a LC mon.

Madaraaaa: T5. Gimmicky, can be annoying but is hard to make it work in this offensive metagame.

Nido-Rus: 5. I’ve seen this a bit and it can definitely be kind of scary, but its stats are just too lacking and its movepool doesn’t cover that up well enough. The format’s just too fast and too strong at a baseline for this to get many opportunities to put in work.

SMB: tier 5,, moody is not enough to rank it higher and the teams where it is placed are often gimmicky and relatively easy to shut down with common tools

Yoda2798: Tier 5. Smeargle is the definition of a gimmick, and while it does have the potential to catch people out it’s incredibly unreliable and just not as good as better Pokemon.

Zee: 4. Smeargle can be a real demon if it gets the chance to drop Spore and Decorate all across the field, but a mon that gets virtually KOed by Taunt should not be tiered any higher than this.

T5 -> T3

reasoning

Actuarily: 4. Terracott is the best it’s ever been and can be really difficult to handle. Between covert cloak/Tera/Upper Hand/ there are just a lot of options to beat counterplay. Beyond that it has solid offensive typing and speed that lets it not be total deadweight if beat up doesn’t work out.

Akaru Kokuyo: 5. Niche for Beat Up stuff. Most teams go with Follow Me Ogerpon so it’s tough to land a self Beat Up, also it's pretty predictable so not very hard to play around. If used as a pure offensive tool (No Beat Up), there are probably at least 3-4 Pokémon that would do its job better. U can still lose turn 1 to a team like this if you aren’t prepared though!

Bage1: 4. Basically the same rationale to Smeargle. It has so many options to be cringe and bypass traditional counterplay. People keep saying FM Ogerpon but I think the way Terracott dictates how the game is played from team preview gives them a pretty significant advantage. It isn’t that difficult to overwhelm Ogerpon with a solid team imo but of course the best mons being major roadblocks does keep Terrakion from being higher than 4. Also UR mon outside of getting beat up.

Eragon11145: 5. Terrakion’s typing is purely awful into the metagame and Follow Me from Ogerpon pretty much just shuts down beat up strats in a way that makes this mon extremely frustrating to use. Still has a niche and a lot of damage output but I really think this is pushing the very fringes of viability (also haven’t seen it in any tour games).

Madaraaaa: 5. Terracott strategy is not reliable, can work only if you make wrong lead. Flutter, ogerpon are faster, you can redirect beat up or killing it.

Nido-Rus: Tier 5. Terracott is decent and usable enough, but definitely not consistent. Beyond that there’s not much particularly notable or different about terrakion in itself. Very meh mon. Scary with terracott but it wants both tailwind and beat up from whims, which can be a tough ask.

SMB: tier 5, weak to common stuff, gimmicky and archaludon does the work better

Yoda2798: Tier 4. Terrakion is a one-trick pony but that one trick is quite strong. Obviously Ogerpon being as common as it is holds it back a lot, but without Ogerpon, teams can find themselves getting overrun by Terrakion and Whimsicott due to Covert Cloak, tera, and Upper Hand making them much harder to stop. I think this is enough of a threat to teams without Ogerpon to be Tier 4, even if that is a really big caveat.

Zee: 5. Terracott strats feel pretty difficult to pull off with consistency and it’s not hard for teams to just wander into having counterplay. Mon feels extremely mediocre with boosts.

T2 -> T3

reasoning

Actuarily: T2, while it has gotten worse since the drop of DLC2, it still has elite bulk, solid utility in fake out, and is able to check a lot of the top threats like kingambit. Av can be a good TR check for offensive teams (provided they have psyspam answers), and set up sets can still take over games.

Akaru Kokuyo: 3. Meta isn’t being nice to it. Loses to way more Pokémon than it wants to so its value dropped a lot. Still can fit in archetypes like Trick Room or some HOs and do a good job.

Bage1: 3. Incin dunks on it which makes it want to run Clear Amulet but that makes it lose to all of the special offense that it could previously trade 1 for 1 with like Landoi/Flutter/psyspam. I think its best use is on HO tailwind of TR stuff that need a big ball of stats but want more offensive value from a pivot than Incin.

Eragon11145: 3. Tough to justify over incin a lot of the time and a lot of the offensive stuff (Flutter, Lando i, Deo-A) does so much damage and matches up well enough into it that its bulk no longer seems insurmountable while it struggles to fit all the moves it wants to use into the top mons (Heavy Slam/Ice Punch/Volt Switch etc).

Madaraaaa: T3. Psy spam, fairy, ground types are frequent, can be valid anyway but many times incineroar replaces it.

Nido-Rus: Tier 3. Big stats but incin existing makes hands really want to run clam, which really sucks because of how hard it gets hit by current stuff like lando-I/psyspam/flutter.

SMB: tier 3, still good but has lost its place on the meta due to psyspam and competing for a slot with incineroar. Set up sets stopped being relevant a while ago and their come back doesn’t seem to be near

Yoda2798: Tier 3. Most teams are running Incineroar as their bulky Fake Out bot, and don’t then want Iron Hands as well. The offensive stuff in this meta is also not great for Iron Hands getting the good trades it was able to before, with it going down before it can retaliate being a much stronger possibility now than before. Can still be good but is much more team-dependent now than before.

Zee: 3. It’s still a giant ball of stats but it’s harder to fit on a team right now with the rise in LandoI / Psyspam / addition of Incineroar. I do still think it’s a solid mon but tier 3 feels more appropriate at present.

UR -> T4

reasoning

Actuarily: 4. Really agree with Nido, it has a couple of small niches, but Scarf is just excellent at beating all of the frail offensive attackers while also being able to do stuff like u-turn and take advantage of stat lowering.

Akaru Kokuyo: 4. Has a place on the meta as Scarf Mon (very good since it also has Defiant). Can Coaching our own Pokémon and buff it to sweep, can run Tailwind for emergency speed control, and Flying-Fight hits virtually everything. Pretty frail and weird Speed if not used with Scarf though, so in a lot of scenarios it can just fire one move and die.

Bage1: 5. It feels like this mon always trades 1 for 1 and that's about it. I think Scarf is the only viable set as without it it just Dies to to many things. But scarf locks it into a move which is very exploitable and it feels like it still wants tailwind because it gets owned by opposing speed control without it.

Eragon11145: 4. Matches up very effectively into a lot of the top mons, especially with scarf. Has a decent amount of set variety and the scarf set can also click coaching surprisingly effectively. Still has very real weaknesses and isn’t always the easiest to fit on teams but has enough positive matchups into the t1/2 mons that I think it justifies tier 4.

Madaraaaa: T5. Scarf is the only viable and useful option, but suffers too many threats.

Nido-Rus: Tier 4. Scarf gapdos works, bulky tailwind also works. Fighting secondary typing continues to be a negative, but being a ground immune coaching mon that forces out intim and has flying stab are all valuable if minor niches.

SMB: tier 4, very often does more than just trading 1 for 1 which was its main downside on previous gens. Coaching, tailwind and tera can make it more useful than what a tier 5 mon would be.

Yoda2798: Tier 5. Choice Scarf Zapdos-Galar has its place being an offensive Flying-type and outspeeding even the likes of Deoxys, and having Defiant to take advantage of Incineroar, but it’s still a very niche option as before. It's not great defensively, which combined with its two strongest STAB moves often leads it to a quick death after picking up one kill. Also if you want a Flying-type to help you with Speed, then use Tornadus, which supports teammates a lot better, is much better into opposing Tornadus, and is not vulnerable to Fake Out due to Covert Cloak.

Zee: 5. Scarf Gapdos is back to doing essentially what it did in SS, which is outspeeding and beating up on slower Incineroar FWG teams. Can be really good into those but it is pretty easy to beat with speed control or forcing it to lock into an unoptimal move.

T2 -> T3

reasoning

Actuarily: 3. The current metagame can be a little fast-paced for this to set up like it could before, so it’s fair for this to drop. As others have said, a lot of the new dlc2 mons have a pretty good matchup into this as well.

Akaru Kokuyo: 3. Pretty much every single addition on DLC II + usage of mons Dengo dislikes makes it very difficult to run now (Entei, Incineroar, Kingambit for example). If it was Tera Hungry on DLC I, now it’s even worse. There are at least 3 better steel type Pokémon than Dengo that also set up and do it better.

Bage1: 3. Easily the biggest loser of the DLC. Meta is way faster so it can’t take advantage of slower teams to set up nasty plots but Choice sets are generally outclassed by other attackers. Kingambit and Landoi being more used hurts it a lot while additions of Entei and Incineroar don’t make anything better for it.

Eragon11145: 3. The metagame has gotten more offensive and Gholdengo has a harder time setting up and especially struggles into incin/kingambit rising in popularity. I wouldn’t be surprised if it rises again in the future because that’s typically what Gholdengo does but at the moment it definitely feels more tier 3 than 2.

Madaraaaa: T3. Still a really strong pokemon imo, but inci oger lando gambit presence intimidated gholdengo usage. There are better steel types probably right now.

Nido-Rus: Tier 3. Solid mon but tier feels too offensive as well as too fast for this right now. NP sets thrive on bulkier metas and specs would normally do great in offensive metas, but there’s too much right now that can just outspeed and kill this or just switch into even specs sets.

SMB: tier 3, scarf is not strong enough, nasty plot gets overwhelmed and specs doesn’t want to be locked. The addition of incineroar hurted it because of the mon itself being good into it, but also the stuff that is good into incineroar

Yoda2798: Tier 3. Incineroar is horrible for Gholdengo, and the rise of Kingambit also hurts a lot (and is a better Steel-type you should use instead). Nasty Plot, which was the best set before, struggles a lot with the faster pace of the meta, and even with the tera which it is very hungry for Gholdengo still always feels weak to something, like if you go tera Dragon as before then you’re still getting chunked by Landorus-I and are weak to Flutter Mane. Choice sets were always niche, and there are plenty of better Pokemon that can offer strong spread attacks.

Zee: 3. Any time we get more viable Fire-types or a rise in Kingambit it is a bit of a sad time for Gholdengo, and that’s where we are at this point in the metagame. One of the greatest cheese killers in the tier though and not many mons can win games in a single turn as easily as Gholdengo, but 3 def feels fine for it.

T2 -> T1

reasoning

Actuarily: 1. Definitely one of the best pokemon in the tier, has a great speed tier, enough offensive firepower, and great defensive typing. Toes the line between support mon with follow me and offensive threat extremely well, which makes it great on both offensive teams and more set up oriented squads. It’s a great Tera option against HO teams as spdef boosts and hitting mons like chi-yu/Flutter/Lando hard is ideal.

Akaru Kokuyo: 2. The best support Pokémon in the tier probably, but not as good to rank it T1 imo. Still very easy to know what it will do depending on the team structure (If fully support or SD threat). Typing is a bit weird and can easily get cheap on common moves like UTurn. Spread Spam can easily shut down its utility too.

Bage1: 1. I think this fits on any archetype. Super versatile utility pokemon with lots of options like eragon mentioned. Spdef boost from tera feels extremely valuable right now. It's a great defensive presence while maintaining a lot of offensive value that threatens many topPokemon like Incin (even though it doesn’t like getting intimed) and Lando.

Eragon11145: 1. This is probably the most effective support mon in the tier, with follow me greatly assisting a variety of teams in dealing with the more offensive mons like flutter and lando i. Has a pretty wide movepool that can assist it in providing value, especially with stuff like bulky encore or even the rarer swords dance set. Also matches up well into incin even as a physical mon which is nice.

Madaraaaa: T1. Incredible versatility, strong stabs, follow me, swords dance, encore, taunt… fits in every archetype.. The tera boost is perfect to hit hard and endure multiple special hits. Gives balance and multiple options in every team.

Nido-Rus: Tier 2. Continues to be a very good support option but 1 is pushing it when a lot of recent meta adaptations are also great into waterpon. Doesn’t like incin being a common intim pivot even if it matches up pretty well into it. Good but not universally usable or game defining the way I see tier 1 being.

SMB: tier 2, less relevant than on the previous slates, still a great mon with good typing and stats and a big enough variety of sets and useful moves. Nevertheless, it’s not at the tier 1 level, but probably the best pokemon at tier 2

Yoda2798: Tier 1. Ogerpon-Wellspring is, with Flutter Mane, a level above everything else, it’s basically always a positive addition to a team and never a bad Pokemon in any matchup. Offering a flexible, well-rounded balance of bulk, speed, utility, and power, there’s no real weak points. Water doubles as a great defensive typing and a useful offensive typing for hitting the likes of Incineroar and Landorus-I which is really nice for teams, while at the same time it’s a Water-type that owns Amoonguss and isn’t weak to Rillaboom’s STABs. As if that combo wasn’t enough, it also doubles up as being a strong attacker in its own right, but also a great redirector in one slot, the value of which really can’t be understated. This practically guarantees Ogerpon will always have something useful to click, and that it will be useful support for any kind of teammate under the sun.

Zee: 1. Easy to fit on teams, can run a variety of moves after stabs + spiky, a solid check to special spam with the SpDef boost, and the mons that beat it with and without tera have very minimal counterplay, especially considering it is often enabling Fire-types to punish tera grasses. When building teams these days more often I have to ask why I would want other Pokemon over Waterpon as opposed to the opposite.

T3 -> T2

reasoning

Actuarily: T2. It has a few excellent sets, between rain attacking sets, iron defense + snarl, or just AV, and each are difficult to take down while being able to dish out big damage. Has been one of the biggest DLC2 versions of “new mon that wins games by themself if the opponent isn’t ready for them” that occur at the start of every meta.

Akaru Kokuyo: 2. Has two usable abilities but Stamina is what really makes it a threat. Amazing bulk, pretty good typing, and has enough moves to be pretty versatile. If you mess up your sequences vs this thing, prepare to sack at least half of your team. It snowballs pretty hard and is a perfect addition to a lot of Bulky Offense-Balance oriented teams and Rain.

Bage1: 2. Stamina is such a good ability, it's really easy to farm early boosts and then just stomp teams that rely heavily on physical damage. It really likes rain but I don’t think it's limited to Torn/Pelipper teams. Strong special attackers do threaten even AV sets but it is really difficult to OHKO which lets it trade well with pretty much the entire tier, especially if it can rack up SpA boosts from Electro Shot.

Eragon11145: 3. Extremely strong on rain but it’s also like pretty much the only reason to use rain which barely holds it back from being tier 2. It can really tear teams apart but also struggles into Lando i– sometimes it’s forced to burn a tera to really provide value.

Madaraaaa: T3. In rain can boost spatk and defence thanks to stamina, turn by turn becomes a wall and an offensive threat. Can fit also outside of rain with av set snarl or leftovers iron defense body press, I think is a really good mon if supported properly.

Nido-Rus: Tier 2. Can definitely be played around, but just at a baseline it provides so much pressure with its ability and the ease with which it can start to snowball. Think this is the kind of mon that only gets better as people learn to play with and against it.

SMB: tier 2, better kommo and sometimes doesn’t even need to click iron defense. Electro shot is a huge threat in rain teams. This is a pokemon that really wraps teambuilding.

Yoda2798: Tier 2. Before I had thought Tier 3 but after seeing more of Archaludon I’m increasingly convinced it deserves Tier 2. Stamina is such an incredibly powerful ability (like seriously why does this activate on special attacks) that you don’t even need to use Iron Defense for its Defence to skyrocket, while also doubling as offensive boosts for Body Press. Dragon/Steel is an excellent defensive typing as well, especially into the physical attackers it likes to boost up on such as Ogerpon, Rillaboom, and Incineroar, which means many teams struggle to hit it after boosts aside 1-2 Pokemon like Flutter Mane or Landorus-I. There is some level of Archaludon wanting some support in the form of rain to use Electro Shot but it’s not strictly required and is pretty worth it, throwing Rain Dance on Tornadus for it and Ogerpon-Wellspring is also pretty easy to fit. Side targeting to activate Stamina is also totally viable with Archaludon even outside of Beat Up, it’s just so easy to get boosts going on this from switching into a resist and difficult to stop once it gets going.

Zee: 2. No Pokemon can snowball out of control easier than Archaludon at the moment, and outside of rain being active there isn’t a lot that it actually needs to run through teams. As others pointed out, it has strong sets outside of rain teams as well.

T3 -> T2

reasoning

Actuarily: 2. Meteor Beam can be pretty oppressive with proper speed control, as rock/ground/poison has excellent coverage, and many teams don’t want to hit it with a physical move. Sash sets are still decent too, but it’s the meteor beam set that makes it up to t2.

Akaru Kokuyo: 2. Meteor Beam allows it to nuke one Pokemon that's not a ressist or named AV Rillaboom. Has some kind of Fake Out immunity since a lot of teams don’t have a grounded Poison type and don’t want to get Toxic Spikes up. With a little bit of bulk, it can live 1-2 hits to nuke stuff. Pretty nice offensive tool that hits basically everything. Biggest drawback is the lack of Focus Sash. Can still be used as Suicide Hazard Lead and do a good job at it.

Bage1: 2. Meteor Beam is a massive upgrade that makes Glimmora a really valuable and consistent offensive presence. Forces opponents to attack into it which lets it get tspikes easier. Also a very valuable fairy and fire resist in one while not taking up the highly contested fire-type slot.

Eragon11145: 2. Benefits a lot from the addition of meteor beam, just does an absurd amount of damage and also has really good coverage to output damage even after consuming the power herb. Continues to be extremely annoying for some teams just because of its ability.

Madaraaaa: T3. With meteor beam improved the huge offensive power has by default. Resists fairy and toxic debris is such a cool and strong ability. I think with landorus incarnate is at the top of T3.

Nido-Rus: Tier 2. Meteor beam is a great nuke that of course provides immense value in being a nuke, but also just restricts what kind of leads you want to risk against a glimmora team. Sash sets still not bad, especially with psyspam popularity

SMB: tier 3, i’m not too sold on power herb sets since they require speed control and glimmora is not the best pokemon defensively, but yeah they can put work in some teams. Hazard set is probably even better than before as well.

Yoda2798: Tier 2. I think Glimmora is on the lower end of Tier 2 but still in it, Meteor Beam really takes it up a level offensively, and even if it hits into a Protect or resist the +1 attacks that follow are almost just as threatening, with it actually having pretty decent coverage between its moves. With it also being the premier hazards setter I think that’s enough to get Glimmora into Tier 2, but its weakness without Focus Sash to the many faster threats such as Ogerpon-Wellspring, Landorus-I, and Deoxys is very noticeable, though teammates can help mitigate that.

Zee: 2. Meteor Beam is ridiculously oppressive, and Ogerpon’s rise in usage has conversely lead to less Amoonguss usage, which means there are more opportunities to actually get your Toxic Spikes to stick. It isn’t that hard to actually run Rock resists on teams at present, and even the Pokemon that do take Meteor Beam definitely don’t enjoy +1 Earth Power as a follow up.

T3 -> T4

reasoning

Actuarily: 4. Is rarely seen in favor of waterpon, but still has merits as it actually beats opposing grasses & resists fairy. But with how little it’s being played, tier 4 is a better fit.

Akaru Kokuyo: 4. Waterpon offers too much to try and fit Firepon anywhere. Doesn’t like Incineroar, and although Grass Spam is a thing and it’s good, the fire slot tends to be only one, and you really might prefer something else over this.

Bage1: 3. I was the one that nommed this to 4 but I kinda changed my mind. I still think it has very scary offensive value and can power through lots of non-incin teams. Of course it hates Incineroar a lot but I think 4 is a little too low on reassessment.

Eragon11145: 4. Wellspring is much easier to fit on teams and there are easier-to-use attacking options. Still can put up absurd damage amounts but it’s just harder to justify this form in the builder when the other form is typically better as a redirector.

Madaraaaa: T4. There are better fire types, and suffers inci pivoting.

Nido-Rus: Tier 4. Seems to be getting more popular in VGC, but psyspam and other forms of HO are considerably less common there. Good nuke button but there’s just far too much that demolishes it right now.

SMB: tier 4, it’s hard to justify on a team over other fire type + ogerpon water. Incineroar completely walling it and having a worse defensive typing than ogerpon water hurts its viability a lot.

Yoda2798: Tier 4. Ogerpon-Hearthflame suffers heavily from how great Wellspring is right now and the wide competition as a Fire-type. Incineroar is the Fire-type most teams will want, and Hearthflame struggles against it, especially compared to Entei which boasts Inner Focus for Fake Out and Intimidate immunity, access to Extreme Speed, and coverage to hit Incineroar, making it the better physical Fire-type attacker of choice. Also Hearthflame is a Fire-type that’s neutral to Fire, which is not great when that’s where most teams find fit their resist.

Zee: 3. Firepon is a murder button, it needs a bit of team support to get into position but if it can get there it just gets to click a button and take a KO. Something like that shouldn’t be any lower than 3 imo.

T3 -> T4

reasoning

Actuarily: 4. The game is faster paced currently, making set up much more difficult, and so Sinistcha is in a more difficult place, so it should drop.

Akaru Kokuyo: 4. I don’t think Sinischea deserved T3 on DLC I, even less on DLC II. A Grass type Pokémon that doesn’t appreciate being on a Grass Spam, and it’s hard to justify using it over the rest of Grass Pokémon. Can still be used to support Trick Room Setup stuff and will do just barely decent.

Bage1: 4. Lots of competition as a utility Grass-type and Sinistcha is clearly the worst of the bunch. It often doesn’t have the time to be able to cycle and rack up enough Hospitality healing to be worthwhile. Generally just a too-passive mon that’s most valuable when switching in but it can’t actually pivot.

Eragon11145: 4. Another casualty of the more offensive nature of the current metagame. Games typically don’t last long enough for hospitality to really help that much and Wellspring is a stronger supporting grass type most of the time.

Madaraaaa: T5. Interesting and unique pokemon but suffers too many high tier pokemons, and this meta is not the best for this passive pokemon.

Nido-Rus: Tier 4, hospitality feels a lot weaker with a faster and more offensive metagame. Still a fun and usable support mon or setup mon, but its middling natural bulk is more felt right now

SMB: Tier 4 or even 5, hospitality is too slow for current meta, not the most reliable tr setter and cm sets don’t see usage

Yoda2798: Tier 4. As I said last time, there are multiple better Grass-types and redirectors. The rise of Ogerpon-Wellspring hurts as it does for Amoonguss (see reasoning there), and there is now also Porygon2 competing as a Trick Room setter. Indifferent on dropping further but should at least go down to Tier 4 due to how niche it is, mostly being good for Hospitality.

Zee: 4. Hospitality setup compositions we saw from the previous metagame just feel too slow to get going atm.

T4 -> T3

reasoning

Actuarily: 4. Kyurem is the better hail attacker, as this kind of has a weird mix of imperfect sets. Clear amulet with like dd or SD either doesn’t get to run glaive rush (icicle crash + high horsepower) or isn’t able to hit steels (ice move + glaive rush), assault vest really struggles vs intimidate, like 3 attacks protect really needs speed control as well as weather, so overall it just finds itself in a much more difficult spot than just spamming blizzards + coverage moves from Kyurem.

Akaru Kokuyo: 3. Actually think it’s in a better position than previously. Can tear down HO teams by itself with support and SD. Dragon Dance can still be used but probably not that great. It's kind of mandatory to run Clear Amulet though + it’s often a Tera Hungry Pokémon, so you have to build keeping this in mind.

Bage1: 3. A strong setup threat on snow teams but I really like it as just a big stat stick that spreads massive damage. One of the best Wellspring counters. Ice Shard is a great option to pick off Lando as well as lots of weakened frail attackers such as Flutter Mane.

Eragon11145: 3. One of the better setup mons on snow and also has started being useful on non-snow teams. Really just has a lot of damage output with enough bulk to be seriously annoying for some teams to play around.

Madaraaaa: T3. Amulet dancer is really good, is bulky and can hit hard… needs some support but has power.

Nido-Rus: Tier 3. Solid setup mon right now, not much can deal with its stabs apart from steel types and hhp is also a great setup set. Also really likes rocks being less common

SMB: tier 4, i don’t think hail is a very reliable playstyle. Outside of hail it can do tons of work, specially sd ice shard sets but really misses the speed and defense boosts

Yoda2798: Tier 3. Baxcalibur is a pretty tera hungry setup threat, but it is a very frightening setup threat and given one free turn can easily leave you on the back foot. There have been a few games where Baxcalibur gets a turn to use Swords Dance/Dragon Dance, even on turn 1, and puts massive pressure on the opponent as it either has strong priority or can outspeed almost if not all of your team while being immune to Intimidate with Clear Amulet and having the excellent Ice/Ground coverage with High Horsepower. Also while Baxcalibur does like to have tera free for it to use against Flutter Mane, its base typing is actually pretty good into other stuff like Ogerpon and Rillaboom and good stats aside from a meh Speed that it makes up for with setup.

Zee: 3. An incredibly strong setup user on snow or a great recipient of coaching. Has a great offensive typing to take on the majority of the tier (and can easily tera around flutter). Glaive Rush is a cheater move.

T4 -> T3

reasoning

Actuarily: 4. Still definitely has value with its great attack, inner focus, and e-speed, but it has more competition now from the likes of Entei, and there’s some more pokemon that hit this effectively like Archaludon/Raging Bolt/Hail.

Akaru Kokuyo: 4. Psyspam is now more popular thanks to DeoA and Iron Crown, so a Priority abuser isn’t having a good time about this. Isn’t the best at supporting with Tailwind for example and isn’t the best either at tanking stuff with a more bulky set (Like AV). Can be very dangerous in teams like Deo-S stack + terrain removing moves like Chien Pao Ice Spinner.

Bage1: 4, As others have mentioned psyspam really hurts dnite a lot. Has competition from Entei which resists Flutter Mane and is generally more versatile. Dnite has a very linear playstyle that can often rely on predicts which isn't super consistent. Obviously can still rip through teams once its checks are gone but most players know how to gameplan around dnite.

Eragon11145: 4. Still does annoying paonite things but to me feels pretty outclassed by entei’s defensive value and feels pretty one dimensional– things like Flutter/Waterpon are pretty helpful into it.

Madaraaaa: T3. Psyspam rised in usage, dragonite suffers flutter mane, meteor glimm, but I put it at the same tier of entei, can be really good with pao and endures all waterpon moves, does not suffer lando incarnate.

Nido-Rus: Tier 3. Band is quite a bit weaker but AV sets perform really well into a ton right now, including psyspam. Really appreciates rocks being cut down to just glimmora running it.

SMB: tier 4, faces competition with entei for the espeed abuser slot and really doesn’t want to face stuff like archaludon or psyspam, it definitely hasn’t gotten any better

Yoda2798: Tier 4. Dragonite still suffers from the problems before of being very tera hungry, and quite reliant on getting to click Extreme Speed beside Chien-Pao to really be worthwhile. Entei is a better Extreme Speed user due to being less one-dimensional, which relegates Dragonite to mostly being an optional second partner for Chien-Pao rather than on the same level as Entei.

Zee: 4. Psyspam being so relevant really hurts it, very linear mon.

T5 -> T3

reasoning

Actuarily: 3. Can be very difficult to switch into due to physical attacking mons not wanting to get burned, and most special attackers having low physical defense. Inner focus + extreme speed is great at cleaning up late game, and coverage/utility moves like snarl/stomping tantrum/iron head are great into specific things like Heatran/Flutter Mane/etc. that would otherwise give it problems.

Akaru Kokuyo: 3. The best physical Fire-type Pokémon in the tier. Sacred Fire is a funny splashable move that can consistently spread burns. Has priority on Extreme Speed, has coverage for other Fire types on Stone Edge and Stomping Tantrum, and is immune to Intimidate + Fake Out. Assault Vest often makes a great combination with it and makes it a bulky physical menace that burns everything.

Bage1: 3 Good bulk, intim immune fake out immune extreme speed user that actually resists Fairy. Sacred Fire is a super good move that only a couple mons can safely switch into because of the burn chance. AV sets even have enough bulk to trade with powerful mons such as Lando-i.

Eragon11145: 3. Gives Pao teams a much easier type balance and matches up well into flutter well still being able to a lot of the same things Dragonite can with extreme speed, albeit with a significant damage increase. Sacred Fire is also just a truly broken move that it loves to click.

Madaraaaa: T3. Ok, not so good vs oger and lando, but has a broken move, inner focus, priority that has sinergy with pao, snarl… better than the paradox version.

Nido-Rus: Tier 3. Solid bulk, nice type synergy with chien pao in a manner that isn’t as restricted as dragonite. Having a great base stab is also a significant plus over dragonite.

SMB: tier 4, i think it’s better than dragonite but not that much better to rank it one tier higher, while it’s more versatile than dragonite it still only fits in one playstyle and its attack is lower, which can make a difference in the kind of teams that wants to use it

Yoda2798: Tier 3. Fake Out immunity is big, especially with Intimidate immunity as well making Entei surprisingly good into Incineroar for a physical Fire-type. Feels much less tera reliant than Dragonite, but still pairs really well with Chien-Pao as an Extreme Speed user.

Zee: 3. Another great option for a bulky fire that can actually deal respectable damage with Chien-Pao support and go for burns against physically heavy teams.

T5 -> T3

reasoning

Actuarily: 4. Its ability is great at stopping priority heavy teams, but the only thing holding it back from like t3 is that it really has to choose either having bulk or offense, so it’s either an offensive dud or doesn’t have the necessary bulk, as it’s typing doesn’t really resist much.

Akaru Kokuyo: 4. Good into Psyspam (as in it resists Expanding Force), blocks priority, relatively bulky mon, and offers a lot of utility moves like Trick Room, Helping Hand and Ally Switch. It can even set up with Nasty Plot and start shooting powerful stabs. Can get a bit passive most of the times though, and this meta punishes a lot passive Pokémon.

Bage1: 3. Bottom of 3 but I still think it gets there. Surprisingly splashable on a lot of team structures and valuable in a lot of matchups. Prio-blocking and resisting eforce naturally is nice, and it has enough bulk to live a couple neutral hits to get up a TR which can straight up win some matchups. With a Throat Spray or Nasty Plot boost it hits really hard and can’t be ignored. Also has other support options like Helping Hand. Walled by steels is its biggest demerit.

Eragon11145: 4. Definitely helps a lot into the priority spam stuff but those teams haven’t quite received the uptick in usage they got in VGC so it feels more niche here. A solid mon that could definitely rise if the metagame conditions shift a little more in the physical priority direction.

Madaraaaa: T4. Amazing ability, can create some dangerous 50/50 in crucial turns, but also is a good tr setter! Sometimes too passive, walled by steels and inci is really good into it.

Nido-Rus: Tier 4. Not nearly as strong as VGC because the difference in 6v6 vs 4v4 makes teams a lot less constricted in how they can play around this mon, so it’s easier to deal with its priority blocking. Still a decent mon and definitely useful for anti espeed as well as being not bad into psyspam.

SMB: tier 4, extremely good ability but a bit passive and not bulky enough to set tr more than once, although sometimes it doesn’t even use it. It’s a pokemon that can be used as a set up fodder in many occasions

Yoda2798: Tier 4. Tier 3 is too much but Farigiraf still fills a similar niche to before due to its unique combination of utility. Unconditional, one-way priority blocking is very nice, it checks Deoxys, and Trick Room is good into a lot of the fast, relatively frail teams going around, even if your team isn’t particularly slow. Underwhelming outside of the support it provides, but it’s good enough at that to still be okay.

Zee: 4, stopping priority is good and there aren’t actually an abundance of trick room setters, but it’s fairly squishy and has few resistances to make up for it, and also isn’t typically offensively threatening on its own without Nasty Plot setups.

T3 -> T2

reasoning

Actuarily: 2. Psyspam is T2 worthy right now.. There’s a lot of potential e-force users, but this is the only serious setter, and with its ability to either redirect or set TR, it pairs nicely with many of the psyspam mons.

Akaru Kokuyo: 3. Sure being the only Psychic Terrain setter is good, but that’s all it’s good at. Also offers some good utility moves but rarely lives for more than 2 turns on field. Best set is with Eject Button to just come in set terrain and get out.

Bage1: 2. Psyspam is at least a tier 2 strategy and that means this gets to be tier 2. Mon feels like it wants psychic seed goggles sitrus and eject button but it still consistently provides value outside of just setting terrain.

Eragon11145: 2. Deoxys is so broken that it gives you a reason to actually this mon again, feels pretty mediocre in a lot of ways but enables and supports Deoxys to such an extent that it belongs in tier 2 with Deo.

Madaraaaa: T3. Allows deoxis, crown to be strong. Has follow me, tr, helping hand… is a good support. The lack of electric and misty terrain good pokemons made stronger psyspam. Rilla exists, but is not so dominant as before.

Nido-Rus: Tier 2. Centerpiece of psyspam. Mediocre mon but psyspam itself is strong enough to warrant moving this up. Basically no anti-terrain counterplay apart from running rillaboom.

SMB: tier 3, psyspam is tier 3 to me and this is the same tier than the main psyspam abuser which looks ok to me. Good support but, in practice, In many occasions the only thing it does is switching in and out in teams that don’t have the most solid pivots so sorry I can’t rank higher than 3 a pokemon that does that

Yoda2798: Tier 3. Indeedee-F is a terrain bot and you need to have an Expanding Force user alongside it to justify it at all because otherwise it’s really not worth it. Blocking Fake Out is okay, redirecting is okay but teams have Ogerpon for that anyways, Helping Hand is okay but worse than having a Pokemon which can actually attack itself, and it doesn’t work well as a Trick Room setter. Indeedee is not the good part of psyspam, the big drawback of psyspam is that you need the partner/s to make up for the big cost of being stuck using this to unlock Expanding Force’s full power.

Zee: 3. While I think Deoxys-A is incredibly strong and the redirection and priority blocking Indeedee brings with it are nice, putting it in tier 2 feels a bit too high when it faces competition from other redirectors for non-Psyspam things and can be disrupted pretty easily by Rillaboom or spread move spam.

T2 -> T3

reasoning

Actuarily: 3. There’s a lot of competition as there’s a lot of good grasses, and as the nomination mentions ogerpon-wellspring has taken over the role of a grass redirector. Though Amoonguss still has value as a redirector with different typing & as a better TR check, and partner to bulky set up as it can heal allies.

Akaru Kokuyo: 3. Rise of Grass types again, introduction of sets like Substitute Landorus-I, and Pokémon like Entei and Incineroar is something Amoonguss doesn’t really appreciate. Don’t get me wrong, it can still do a good job doing Shroom things, but it's harder than before.

Bage1: 3. One of the best Flutter answers (if not the best). If it's not respected it will wreak havoc even with Wellspring on a vast majority of teams. I reluctantly say 3 for now but Amoonguss easily has the highest upside of any tier 3 pokemon. Meta is just full of things it can’t sponge very well such as sun and psyspam. In general I don’t think Wellspring is that annoying for Amoonguss and the mon still has games where it forces a tera on preview.

Eragon11145: 3. Wellspring is a better grass type redirector most of the time that happens to single-handedly help a lot of teams deal with amoonguss. Other than that amoonguss still does amoonguss things with a pretty decent flutter matchup but also struggles into the rise of psyspam.

Madaraaaa: T3. Amoongus is replaced by ogerpone, but the spore threat is still strong. Felt in usage but I don’t wanna underrate ammongus.

Nido-Rus: T3. Doesn’t like psyspam, doesn’t like follow me ogerpon getting more popular, and a lot of teams just naturally end up with decent ways to be immune to amoonguss or just KO it with strong attacks

SMB: tier 3, it’s probably the easiest time to ignore amoonguss in teambuilding in the history of sv

Yoda2798: Tier 3. Hasn’t been Tier 2 for a long time, Spore is always good on paper but in practice Amoonguss needs the right team to be worth it (usually pairing with setup or Trick Room), otherwise it’s just too passive compared to other options. Being unable to redirect Grass-types is a big hole as a redirector when Ogerpon is going around, which also happens to be the generally superior redirector with the stronger Follow Me and a much better presence outside of redirecting.

Zee: 3. Currently the metagame is just in a very hostile place for it with high Ogerpon usage, lots of Psyspam etc.

T3 -> T4

reasoning

Actuarily: 3. Still has some of the best mix of coverage/stats/typing in the game, and is one of the best Tera users. While the rise of waterpon/lando teams have required it Tera-Ing even more, it’s still much better than the t4 mons.

Akaru Kokuyo: 4. Same as Firepon, competition for the Fire-type slot is very tough and Heatran is barely what you want for it. Rise of Waterpon, Rain being decent again, Landorus-I being a constant threat are some of the things Heatran doesn’t appreciate.

Bage1: 4. Incin Volc and Entei all provide more consistent value as well as more unique value. Of all the fires it has the worst matchup into Waterpon and Landoi which have been rising. Also faces new competition as a bulky steel type from Archaludon, which has much higher offensive potential.

Eragon11145: 4. Incin and Volcanion definitely feel like the premier fires right now– Heatran struggles into Waterpon more than the aforementioned fires. In addition, Heatran is also hurt by the rise of lando i, whose pairing with flutter can give heatran major problems and also has the ability to easily damage Heatran after it teras (usually grass/fairy).

Madaraaaa: T4. Volcanion and inci are better now, needs to tera in front of some mons and that is not good.

Nido-Rus: T4. Other fires just provide much more value right now. Also doesn’t like waterpon being as common as it is

SMB: tier 4, i don’t think it’s that bad of a pokemon if we ignore the fact that it is lando-i food but there are way better fire and steel types that you’d want to run on a team, it’s hard to justify having it on a team atm

Yoda2798: Tier 4. Faces a lot of competition as a Fire-type and a Steel-type while still being quite tera hungry as before. Incineroar is generally going to be the best bulky Fire-type option, and if looking beyond that then the big of Ogerpon-Wellspring along with some other meta shifts makes the less tera hungry Volcanion a more appealing option. One trend nobody else has mentioned yet is the rise of Glimmora, with Heatran being a Steel-type that doesn’t resist Meteor Beam and dies to Earth Power not being great.

Zee: 4. Heatran is still a strong pick for a bulky fire on some teams, but the introduction of Incineroar and Entei means there’s even more competition for Fire-types than before. It doesn’t do anything spectacular either, it’s just a reliable bulky Fire.

Low-Tier Sweep

Changes:
UR ->T5
UR ->T5
UR ->T4
T4 -> T5
T4 -> T5
T4 -> T5
T4 -> T3
T5 -> UR
T5 -> UR
T5 -> UR
T5 -> UR
T5 -> UR
T5 -> UR
T5 -> T4
T5 -> UR
T5 -> UR
T5 -> UR
T5 -> T4
T5 -> UR
T4 -> T3
T1 - > T2
T4 -> T3
T2 -> T3
UR -> T4
T2 -> T3
T2 -> T1
T3 -> T2
T3 -> T2
T3 -> T4
T3 -> T4
T4 -> T3
T5 -> T3
T5 -> T4
T2 -> T3
T3 -> T4
T4 -> T5
T5 -> T4

 

[Fangame10]

5 -> 4

Yo where's my Kyurem nomination in this update?

 

[Actuarily]

5 -> 4

Yo where's my Kyurem nomination in this update?

My bad, it got missed on the sweep, so we held a quick vote and everyone agreed, T4. So I’ll update

 

[Fangame10]

What about Urshifu

Urshifu is banned from Doubles OU

 

[Wiefel]

What about Urshifu

 

[Grandmas Cookin]

What about Urshifu

what about urshifu

 

[SuckyLucky]

3 —> 2

With Flutter Mane now banished to the depths of DUbers, Iron Hands finally has a chance to reestablish itself as a staple in the meta. Has a strong matchup into most of the Tier 1, 2, & 3 pokemon, with the things that counter it being Deo-A (can’t image it sticking around), Landorus (which AV can tank a hit from and KO in return with Ice Punch), and Incin and Lando-T, which admittedly are pretty big issues for it. Clear Amulet/Swords Dance probably have some viability, and the meta is certainly going to slow down with Flutter out of the picture, but I think AV is the better set. Definitely not perfect but still a solid mon.

Some Calcs

252 SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Landorus Sandsear Storm vs. 128 HP / 252 SpD Assault Vest Iron Hands: 343-406 (71.3 - 84.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

112+ Atk Iron Hands Ice Punch vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Landorus: 376-444 (117.8 - 139.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO

-1 112+ Atk Iron Hands Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 96 Def Incineroar: 270-320 (68.5 - 81.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

124 Atk Wellspring Mask Ogerpon-Wellspring Ivy Cudgel vs. 128 HP / 16 Def Iron Hands: 154-183 (32 - 38%) -- 95% chance to 3HKO

112+ Atk Iron Hands Wild Charge vs. 200 HP / 0 Def Ogerpon-Wellspring: 180-213 (51.2 - 60.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

 

[SuckyLucky]

More Noms

4 -->3

Along with Archaludon, it is the defining piece of Rain. You can run Tornadus-I with Rain Dance if you want, but Pelipper just is the Rain setter. Wide Guard and Tailwind are nice support moves, and it is nice that Rain immediately boosts istelf with Hurricane & Weather Ball. Not much to say except repeat the definition of a T3 mon - Pokemon that are generally strong, but less powerful than those in Tier 2 or Pokemon that require a decent amount of support or a specific team style to function well, but are defining pieces to said archetypes. Pelipper is the defining piece of Rain, and does a fine job at it.

3 --> 2

Another mon that has benefitted from the recent rise of Rain. Sandsear storm not checking accuracy is huge, since an 80% chance being checked twice isn't exactly a guarantee. Flutter being gone helps too, since while it didn't mind being paired with it its absence as a counter/check to it is much appreciated. No more 85% Moonblasts or 70% Icy Winds crippling it. Very often gets the benefit of tailwind which makes it even scarier, since it outspeeds Chien Pao and Waterpon (And risks OHKOing Waterpon) with it. Nothing aside from the odd Cresselia or Tera-Flying Archaludon/Kingambit wants to switch into it's standard EP + Sandsear + Sludge Bomb set, and even then they still get chunked by Sludge Bomb. And if it gets on the field with Chi-Yu AND Tailwind, it's wraps.

 

[Fangame10]

post flutter noms:
4 -> 3

Without Flutter Mane, this thing is insanely hard to take out, not even Deoxys will be able to OHKO an Assault Vest Kyurem unless it straight up goes for Tera Psychic + Helping Hand Psycho Boost. In this post-Flutter meta I believe it will start showing up more often in teams

UR -> 5

On its own I think Dozo has a case for niche viability. Its main issue I found when testing with it was that powerful hyper offensive special attackers kept just killing it turn 1 (Flutter Mane + Chi-Yu lol) but without flutter I believe it has a lot more viability in the meta, especially against priority spam. With Unaware it can be a useful anti-setup pokemon, capable of wiping threats such as Registeel and Kommo-O. Curse + Unware + Body Press might as well let it solo any Chien-Pao team (often having multiple fighting type weak pokemon, including Tera normal Espeeders Entei and Dragonite).

There's also sets popular in VGC Reg E that included Yawn and Oblivious, which let Dozo force switches and take on incineroar quite well

It's a very nice pokemon to have a snow team so I think its deserving of a tier 5 nom (though we don't have many people using it right now aside from me lol)

 

[SuckyLucky]

UR --> 4/5

At least for while Deo-A is around I think this guy has a niche. Breaks Deo's sash with Stone Axe while also dishing out some damage with Sharpness, and can thrash opposing TR team leads with Sharpness-boosted X-Scissors. Also gets Tailwind and Brick Break which are nice.

Pretty much needs to run sash and/or Tera Ghost, but has its uses.

 

[eragon]

once again joined by Schister
Really Long Video today, timestamps included for each mon!

Actual Noms

Not every mon which we changed is covered, just the ones that seem like major changes
--> T1 (50:00)

T1 --> T2 (1:18:51)

T3 --> T2 (1:54)

T3 --> T2 (45:35)

T3 --> T2 (45:25)

T3 --> T2 (6:58)

--> T2 (18:44)

T3--> T2 (53:17)

T3 --> T2 (53:17)

T5 --> T3 (8:29)

--> T3 (1:05:05)

Visual list

 

[Schister]

once again joined by Schister
Really Long Video today, timestamps included for each mon!

Actual Noms

Not every mon which we changed is covered, just the ones that seem like major changes
--> T1 (50:00)

T1 --> T2 (1:18:51)

T3 --> T2 (1:54)

T3 --> T2 (45:35)

T3 --> T2 (45:25)

T3 --> T2 (6:58)

--> T2 (18:44)

T3--> T2 (53:17)

T3 --> T2 (53:17)

T5 --> T3 (8:29)

--> T3 (1:05:05)

Visual list

View attachment 606429

Wanted to mirror the big noms from Eragon, having jointly worked on the video, and add a few that eragon missed that I personally wish to see nommed.

T2 -> T1
T1 -> T2
Going to second the RIllaboom for tier 1 and wellspring for t2 notion here: Terrain Control is more important than ever right now and rillaboom can consistently find value on every team archetype, even psyspam teams (See: Actuarily's double terrain sample). The Near ubiquity of Wellspring is a massive boon for Rillaboom, seeing as Rillaboom entirely owns it; Terrain hammer always has targets to bonk and Rilla's pivoting is eternally useful. I would have this as the sole tier 1 pokemon right now as there is a significant number of pokemon around that hard punish incineroar for existing (Gambit, Glimmora Dunks on it, Diancie uses it as setup fodder, even some more fringe picks like dogi and gapdos exploit it), and wellspring while fantastic is less necessary now that flutter is out of the picture and a plethora of dragons are here and exploiting ogerpon's inability to do anything about them (unless you run play rough I guess).


The metagame is in an overall strange state where I could totally see someone arguing that there's no tier 1s at all, as even rillaboom has issues into a good chunk of mons, Deoxys is restricted to psyspam for the most part, and the wellspring and incin have the aforementioned matchup issues that often make me second guess wanting them on teams. Archaludon is borderline Tier 1 in my eyes and the true biggest threat in the tier but the mon hasn't been quite explored enough yet for me to properly justify a nomination for 1.



T3 -> T4
It is incredibly hard to justify using this when there's so many other better grass types around, and stacking grasses just makes you that much more vulnerable to torn, who far and awayis a more desirable tailwinder

T5 -> T3
Outstandingly annoying win condition that can choose to be either unkillable, unkillable or unkillable with Bulk punch, Clanger Boosts, and of course Iron Press that massively benefitted from flutter's removal.

UR -> T4
With a stronger Expanding force than Deoxys Attack (Given that deo runs a neutral SPA nature and Hoopa can be a positive nature) and access to trick room and a mirage of other options to fill out sets with makes this an exceptional threat that demands to be respected.

T4 -> T3
Screens Good. Bax good. Fanroom Good. Funny movepool options.

 

[Kin+ak (✧∇✧)]

First time here, Just willing to nom that turtle:

Yep, the ugliest pokemon of gen8 to tier 4/5.
Why? Well I have recently tried it and it didn't deceived me At All. 135 spa + spread move with a nice side effect + great coverage and lastly a not-to-underestimate bulk. Springtide Storm hits hard enough to 2HKO most of the tier, and can Go wild with tera/helping hand (Run both and Go BOOM). Its coverage is Very valuable, can hit poison with earth power, bulky steels with focus blast, setup with calm mind, Go mixed with superpower, Go BOOM with specs, go bulky AV, anyways.

Current tier: (DUU).
Current usage rate: 0.34068%.

Currently, Vastly Underrated.
In my opinion Enamorus-T is the best special attacker in TR Even if doesnt pack the bulk of Diancie or the SPA of... Hoopa? Nah it has an adequate spatk. So here is a replay i got
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9doublesou-2064347616
Enamorus obliterates these mons as if Nothing ever mattered. Im not Even building around it; it could be Even better. All I sAY is that it should Really be on the VR.


Edit: here is another replay, Also featuring the excellence of enamorus, But Also enlightening the goat glastrier (That i'll make a nom for in the next few days)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9doublesou-2064759982

 

[SuckyLucky]

UR —> 4

Reasons:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9doublesou-2066409342-7c0mx0bbp5d2gqo096amiqfkrmopzxqpw

 

[Kenpwnchi]

Are y'all gonna remove Flutter Mane from Tier 1?

 

[Actuarily]

Are y'all gonna remove Flutter Mane from Tier 1?

Yeah, done.

 

[qsns]

Incineroar 2 -> 1

My god this got so much better with Flutter Mane's ban. Now that teams aren't pressured as much for a Fairy resist, it's much easier to include this to deal with Rillaboom, Waterpon, Indeedee & friends, Gholdengo, and the random stuff that loses to Intimidate pivoting. It's not as amazing at dealing with physical attackers as usual thanks to Inner Focus, Clear Amulet, and Kingambit, but it's still a great Parting Shot pivot with solid damage output into almost anything DOU can throw at you.

4 -> 3

Rain has gotten much more usage with Archaludon usage increasing. While Tornadus-only rain is an option, I think Pelipper tends to be better because it allows Archaludon to much more conveniently start stacking Electro Shot boosts over many turns, while Tornadus rain is often focused on 1-turn "burst" damage from Ogerpon-W or other Water-type attackers which can afford fewer/more precise Rain turns. Pelipper itself is also pretty decent right now, being an excellent check to Landorus (a huge threat to Archaludon) and providing Wide Guard in tricky matchups like Psyspam.

Landorus 3 -> 2

I still think Tier 3 was incorrect last vote, and this has continued to get better. It replaces Flutter Mane as the premier special attacker in the format and is one of the more consistent ways to deal with Archaludon and other bulky Pokes. It has gotten better with Flutter Mane's ban as it's not being threatened with a Moonblast OHKO on Turn 1, making it much less of a Tera hog. This has a poor matchup into Chien-Pao stuff but the prevalence of Archaludon, Diancie, and the IDBP garbage still running around make the Pao + 4-5 physical attacker archetype much weaker.