Pearl
Romance は風のまま
So, I've been discussing some rankings on IRC with other users and it's time to make some nominations. I'll try to cover most things that shape my opinion in this post. Without further ado:
Cresselia: From A to A+
One of the Pokemon that benefits the most from the departure of Zoroark and Yanmega. At a first glance, all there is to this Pokemon is its gigantic defensive potential. However, it is also incredibly versatile, serving as a good win condition (mostly against stall) with its Substitute + Calm Mind set, an excellent defensive Pokemon with reliable recovery and ability to stall things out or, what really makes me want to write this nomination the most: Its ability to support other Pokemon. Lunar Dance is huge, even on defensive sets as a last move (which really allows Cresselia to glue balanced teams together, since it can both put threats in check and basically bring a weakened win condition back into the game). It also has Dual Screens, Trick Room, weather moves and enough bulk and Speed (base 85 is actually pretty decent) to guarantee it can set those up most of he time. Overall, it is the superior pure Psychic-type for a myriad of roles, with Reuniclus being better as a OTR and dedicated Calm Mind Pokemon.
Spirit sniped me with these 2 nominations, so I guess I'll just back him up:
Cobalion: From A to A+
I have a lot of support for this one, and I think it is metagame defining enough to be bumped up. It is sort of versatile, being able to run a set with Taunt, Stealth Rock and Volt Switch, which has a stellar match up against a lot of common Pokemon (Gligar can't Defog against it, Kricketune and Omastar can't set their hazards up, Accelgor only gets one layer of Spikes, Doublade can't set up Swords Dance on it etc), a Swords Dance set of its own with either Substitute or Taunt (or take a more offensive approach, although Virizion and other Pokemon are probably better for that one) and a Calm Mind set to lure Doublade, Gligar and other common switches for something else to sweep. It sits at a good Speed tier, can tank Physical hits really well thanks to its excellent Defense stat and typing (even some super effective ones in a pinch) and is the pivot of choice for a lot of teams.
Virizion: From A to A+
Last nomination to A+. Although it lacks the versatility of the aforementioned Pokemon, it is downright hard to keep in check outside of Doublade, which lacks recovery. A Swords Dance with Close Combat, Leaf Blade, Stone Edge and either a Lum Berry or a Life Orb decimates a ridiculous amount of teams and has a lot of opportunities to set up, especially if carrying a Lum Berry. It can also run a Calm Mind set with Taunt or a Hidden Power of choice to lure specific Pokemon, although I'm not going to mention it due to lack of experience with it. Virizion also keeps some common Pokemon in check, such as any Sharpedo that doesn't carry Zen Headbutt, Rhyperior and Jolteon. It has good synergy with a lot of common Pokemon, including the Psychic-types which are increasing in usage, Water-types and some others, virtue of its typing, although this is more of some trivia rather than reasoning, since basing changes on teammates is sort of shaky in most of the cases.
Lanturn: From B- to B
Faces a lot of competition from Slowking and Alomomola as a Water-type and a lot of Electric-types as a Volt Switch user, but in the end, I feel it is worthy of moving up. Unlike Alomomola, it doesn't give up momentum for free, thanks to Volt Switch, and has a lot of options Slowking can't afford, such as the previously mentioned Volt Switch and Heal Bell. Thunder Wave and Toxic could also be mentioned, since most Slowking run Assault Vest and can't use those. It checks some of the most powerful Pokemon, such as Moltres and Delphox. It can tank hits from the likes of Meloetta and Cobalion if needed.
So, since I'm tired of writing by now (although I haven't written that much), I'll keep the last three nominations short, since they aren't all that relevant anyways.
Kricketune: From C+ to B- or B
I have a lot of posts about this one if you search in the thread, although last time I didn't have a lot to back me up. However, this time, there are more people who have witnessed its potential, and a RMT mostly dedicated to it, made by Arikado, which you can find here.
tl;dr: It defines an entire playstyle, supporting ridiculously strong Pokemon such as Exploud and actually has a good lead match up against a lot of Pokemon, unlike other inferior Pokemon with Sticky Web (which I'll talk about soon enough).
Scyther: From C to D
Looks solid on paper, but its huge 4MSS really keep it from shining. For example, a perfect Swords Dance Scyther set would look like this: Swords Dance / Aerial Ace / Bug Bite / Knock Off / Brick Break / Roost / Baton Pass, and the list probably goes on. Its weak typing also make it hard to find opportunities to set up, and even if it does, it still has a solid amount of checks. Its Choice Band set probably has a niche, with a strong U-turn in a metagame where Psychic-type Pokemon are on the rise, but I'm not too sold on that either.
Leavanny: From C to D or Unranked
I refuse to have another huge argument about this one, so I'll quote two older posts and hope everyone understands this nomination:
SAVIOR DOG: From Unranked to S++
Cresselia: From A to A+
One of the Pokemon that benefits the most from the departure of Zoroark and Yanmega. At a first glance, all there is to this Pokemon is its gigantic defensive potential. However, it is also incredibly versatile, serving as a good win condition (mostly against stall) with its Substitute + Calm Mind set, an excellent defensive Pokemon with reliable recovery and ability to stall things out or, what really makes me want to write this nomination the most: Its ability to support other Pokemon. Lunar Dance is huge, even on defensive sets as a last move (which really allows Cresselia to glue balanced teams together, since it can both put threats in check and basically bring a weakened win condition back into the game). It also has Dual Screens, Trick Room, weather moves and enough bulk and Speed (base 85 is actually pretty decent) to guarantee it can set those up most of he time. Overall, it is the superior pure Psychic-type for a myriad of roles, with Reuniclus being better as a OTR and dedicated Calm Mind Pokemon.
Spirit sniped me with these 2 nominations, so I guess I'll just back him up:
Cobalion: From A to A+
I have a lot of support for this one, and I think it is metagame defining enough to be bumped up. It is sort of versatile, being able to run a set with Taunt, Stealth Rock and Volt Switch, which has a stellar match up against a lot of common Pokemon (Gligar can't Defog against it, Kricketune and Omastar can't set their hazards up, Accelgor only gets one layer of Spikes, Doublade can't set up Swords Dance on it etc), a Swords Dance set of its own with either Substitute or Taunt (or take a more offensive approach, although Virizion and other Pokemon are probably better for that one) and a Calm Mind set to lure Doublade, Gligar and other common switches for something else to sweep. It sits at a good Speed tier, can tank Physical hits really well thanks to its excellent Defense stat and typing (even some super effective ones in a pinch) and is the pivot of choice for a lot of teams.
Virizion: From A to A+
Last nomination to A+. Although it lacks the versatility of the aforementioned Pokemon, it is downright hard to keep in check outside of Doublade, which lacks recovery. A Swords Dance with Close Combat, Leaf Blade, Stone Edge and either a Lum Berry or a Life Orb decimates a ridiculous amount of teams and has a lot of opportunities to set up, especially if carrying a Lum Berry. It can also run a Calm Mind set with Taunt or a Hidden Power of choice to lure specific Pokemon, although I'm not going to mention it due to lack of experience with it. Virizion also keeps some common Pokemon in check, such as any Sharpedo that doesn't carry Zen Headbutt, Rhyperior and Jolteon. It has good synergy with a lot of common Pokemon, including the Psychic-types which are increasing in usage, Water-types and some others, virtue of its typing, although this is more of some trivia rather than reasoning, since basing changes on teammates is sort of shaky in most of the cases.
Lanturn: From B- to B
Faces a lot of competition from Slowking and Alomomola as a Water-type and a lot of Electric-types as a Volt Switch user, but in the end, I feel it is worthy of moving up. Unlike Alomomola, it doesn't give up momentum for free, thanks to Volt Switch, and has a lot of options Slowking can't afford, such as the previously mentioned Volt Switch and Heal Bell. Thunder Wave and Toxic could also be mentioned, since most Slowking run Assault Vest and can't use those. It checks some of the most powerful Pokemon, such as Moltres and Delphox. It can tank hits from the likes of Meloetta and Cobalion if needed.
So, since I'm tired of writing by now (although I haven't written that much), I'll keep the last three nominations short, since they aren't all that relevant anyways.
Kricketune: From C+ to B- or B
I have a lot of posts about this one if you search in the thread, although last time I didn't have a lot to back me up. However, this time, there are more people who have witnessed its potential, and a RMT mostly dedicated to it, made by Arikado, which you can find here.
tl;dr: It defines an entire playstyle, supporting ridiculously strong Pokemon such as Exploud and actually has a good lead match up against a lot of Pokemon, unlike other inferior Pokemon with Sticky Web (which I'll talk about soon enough).
Scyther: From C to D
Looks solid on paper, but its huge 4MSS really keep it from shining. For example, a perfect Swords Dance Scyther set would look like this: Swords Dance / Aerial Ace / Bug Bite / Knock Off / Brick Break / Roost / Baton Pass, and the list probably goes on. Its weak typing also make it hard to find opportunities to set up, and even if it does, it still has a solid amount of checks. Its Choice Band set probably has a niche, with a strong U-turn in a metagame where Psychic-type Pokemon are on the rise, but I'm not too sold on that either.
Leavanny: From C to D or Unranked
I refuse to have another huge argument about this one, so I'll quote two older posts and hope everyone understands this nomination:
It isn't even close. Kricketune isn't pure Defog bait like Leavanny is, that alone invalidates Leavanny's use. Not to mention that Kricketune can cripple just about everything with Knock Off and potentially cripple a slower target with Endeavor. Leavanny's advantages over it are ridiculously minute. It might do better against opposing Taunt users, but it's not as if those Pokemon are that common anyway and Magic Coat is a 50/50 at best. I could see Kricketune in B-, but I'd prefer if Leavanny was removed completely.
Last, but not least:The point is that Leavanny, while definitively having a niche (although I'm not too sold on it), instaloses against anything that uses Defog (Gligar, Golbat, even Skuntank), which isn't really the point of a Sticky Web lead.
SAVIOR DOG: From Unranked to S++
Prepare your anuses, Rarely Used.
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