Pokémon X & Y In-game Tier List Discussion (MkII)

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EDIT: Moving the list of remaining unwritten write-ups here to the most recent thread page:
(Mar.14, 2018: Please feel free to correct me if a Pokémon was already written up or if I actually left out a Pokémon. I've already made a few mistakes in leaving out some Pokémon that didn't have write-ups.)
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C-Tier
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Absol
Drifloon
Hariyama
Haunter (w/o Trade)
Miltank

Shellder [Y]
Tauros
Tentacool
Venipede

__________________
D-Tier
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Ducklett
Durant
Dwebble
Electrike [Y]
Floatzel
Geodude (w/ Trade)
Goldeen

Goomy
Gulpin
Gurdurr
Heatmor

Hippopotas
Inkay
Kecleon
Litleo
Lombre

Lunatone
Mantyke
Mareep
Pansage
Pawniard
Phantump (w/ Trade)
Piloswine
Poliwag (Politoed)

Poliwag (Poliwrath)
Psyduck
Quagsire
Relicanth
Remoraid

Rotom
Shelmet (w/ Trade) —i.e. Accelgor
Skorupi
Smoochum
Snubbull

Spoink
Spritzee (w/ Trade) [Y] —i.e. Aromatisse
Stunfisk

Stunky
Swablu
Swirlix (w/ Trade) [X] —i.e. Slurpuff
Taillow
Ursaring
Whismur
Woobat

EDIT, May 27: I chance-encountered and caught both a wild
and wild
on this previous playthrough, so I'm a little more motivated about running through Kalos a bit more


Venipede
Availability:
Route 6, Rustling Bush, 80%
Stats: Venipede is mediocre, but Whirlipede turns it into a good wall. Scolipede then loses bulk to become a strong physical attacker, with a base 112 Speed that helps it overcome some of its bad matchups.
Typing: Bug/Poison typing is very helpful for the numerous Fighting- and Fairy-types and provides great STAB options. The type coverage is a little redundant, though.
Movepool: Rollout, Screech, and Return will have to do until Venipede learns Poison Tail at Level 19 and Bug Bite at Level 22. It'll get its next set of STAB moves in Poison Jab and X-Scissor before the fourth gym and its strongest move in Megahorn from Madame Reminder. As a Scolipede, it gets access to Swords Dance and Dig. Earthquake and Rock Slide provide endgame coverage. Strength and Rock Smash are learnable if desired.
Major Battles: It performs most effectively at Ramos and Valerie's gyms. Swords Dance lets Scolipede run through many other battles, including Korrina and Diantha. It mainly struggles against physically defensive threats like Wulfric's Avalugg as well as faster opponents who have type advantage.
Venipede is a borderline A-Tier, solid B-Tier.
What an easy-to-overlook Pokémon on Route 6 (it can't be helped, for it's on the same route as the outstanding new guy, Honedge), yet it was one of the nicest surprises among my playthroughs.
Venipede makes up for the lack of power with generous usage of Screech, but it still needs a teammate to assist until it can stop using Rollout / Return and learn its STAB moves.
Whirlipede is a great tank to have in the early game. While it doesn't do much against Grant, it appreciatively walls all Fighting-types in the way, especially the bulkier ones in Reflection Cave and at Korrina's gym. The chip damage it deals from Poison Point and Rocky Helmet is handy, since offensively, it still relies on Screech.
I got Scolipede pretty early (EDIT: I've only now understood from later playthroughs that Lv.30 is actually on time) at Shalour City, and with Swords Dance and Poison Jab, it took care of the gym easily. Then with TM X-Scissor being close by at Azure Bay, I essentially have a Pokémon that can OHKO and 2HKO most threats, especially with Poison Point and Rocky Helmet in play. Switch out X-Scissor for Megahorn at Dendemille, and it's even better. The only trouble spots I had with it were type matchup issues usually patched up by teammates, save for the few times where I wished Scolipede was a bit faster (that Veteran's Alakazam at the end of Victory Road and Malva's Talonflame, to name a couple).

On a more personal note, I guess what made Scolipede both comfortable and enjoyable was how well it stood out compared to previous Poison-types that I've used. Unlike the Nidos, Scolipede has the Speed and Bug STAB to 1v1 most Psychic-types. Unlike Zubat, it isn't helpless before evolving, it has actual raw power (even more with Swords Dance), and it can at least chip away at most Rock- and Steel-types. Plus, this 'mon is available earlier than all of them!

Absol
Availability:
Route 8, Yellow Flowers, 20%
Stats: Powerful base 130 Attack, mediocre Speed, and low defenses. Its Special Attack is fair enough should Absol need appropriate type coverage.
Typing: Pure Dark typing lets it defeat Psychic- and Ghost-types effortlessly but more notably holds it back against the many Fighting- and Fairy-types.
Movepool: Absol focuses on physical Dark STAB to get through the game. It gets good options in Swords Dance and Thief from the start, with Bite soon after at Level 20 and Night Slash at Level 41. Holding on to Feint or Quick Attack helps alleviate Absol's low Speed, and at Level 50 Absol learns Sucker Punch, which combines strong Dark STAB with high priority. Absol learns plenty of coverage options, too, as well as Will-O-Wisp and Thunder Wave, plus it can learn Cut and Strength.
Major Battles: Absol does favorably versus Grant, Ramos, and Olympia. Its frailty and mediocre Speed will limit its effectiveness in most of the other major battles. Nevertheless, it still takes care of weakened opponents with a Sucker Punch.
Additional Comments: Absolite is unobtainable until postgame, too bad. Super Luck is the preferred Ability over Pressure to give Absol extra power even without a boost, plus Absol has the high critical-hit rate moves to work in tandem with that Ability.

Agree with C Tier. Man, its frailty really hurts it post Team Flare and also makes Swords Dance a risky option. Thankfully, it's got an Attack stat that alongside Super Luck 2HKOs most opponents even without Swords Dance.
I did actually keep the move Feint all the way until I switched it out for Sucker Punch. It's pretty starved for coverage that outdamages Bite, at least until late-game when it gets Psycho Cut and Stone Edge. Will-O-Wisp, Blizzard, and Flamethrower turned out to be decent options, too.


Miltank
Availability:
Route 12, Grass, 10%; Yellow Flowers, 30% (Yellow Flowers only available once finished with Shalour City)
Stats: Very good HP, Defense, and Speed. Her Attack is simply average.
Typing: Pure Normal typing, which provides great STAB and one immunity in exchange for a common weakness.
Movepool: Miltank gets what she needs upon capture, those moves being Body Slam, Return and Milk Drink. She gets Zen Headbutt pretty soon at Level 29 to give it a countermeasure for Fighting-types, and Power-Up Punch provides a decent boosting move. She gets coverage moves that cover resistances to Normal but nothing consistent for Ghost-types. Strength and Surf are learnable if desired.
Major Battles: Miltank can fight in any major battle bar Korrina. She may struggle with KO'ing unboosted, but she can win battles without much item support thanks to good bulk and Milk Drink.
Additional Comments: Thick Fat is more useful than Scrappy for Miltank, as Thick Fat gives her an edge against Wulfric and Malva. However, Scrappy still is good if Miltank must deal with Ghost-types.

Agree with C Tier. Base 80 Attack just doesn't do enough to be considered an efficient attacker, with Miltank typically having to 3HKO major battle threats that have even average bulk. Also, with that Slow EXP growth rate, it's a little inefficient to Level her up, too.
Outside of efficiency, though, she's a pretty good Pokémon. With Paralysis from STAB Body Slam, good bulk, great Speed, and reliable recovery in Milk Drink, Miltank handles most threats well. Zen Headbutt even gives her an option for dealing with Poison-types and Fighting-types, save for Scraggy. Since she doesn't exactly have great coverage options until endgame, you can let Miltank's 4th moveslot be either Surf to let her deal with Rock-types or Power-Up Punch to ready a sweep.

Mareep
Availability:
Route 12, 35% (Horde only)
Stats: A slow Special Attacker with above-average bulk when fully evolved. Mega Ampharos actually loses Speed but in turn gains much more Special Attack, improved bulk, and decent Attack.
Typing: Pure Electric typing means only a single weakness to Ground and handy resistances. Mega Ampharos gains an additional Dragon typing. This provides useful resistances and additional STAB but three additional weaknesses.
Movepool: Mareep has most of what it needs in by Level-up, and its primary move Thunderbolt is only two gyms away. As an Ampharos, it also gets Bulldoze and Focus Blast for coverage and Dragon Pulse via Madam Reminder for its Mega Evolution. Strength is learnable if needed.
Major Battles: Ampharos’s best matchups are versus Clemont and Siebold, but its typing and powerful hits make it effective for many battles. It can potentially sweep through some major battles, too, using Charge Beam. There are some instances where Ampharos is better off without Mega Evolving due to type matchups, like when battling Valerie and Wulfric, but Mega Evolving is otherwise more valuable.
Additional Comments: Though it starts underleveled, Mareep catches up in levels thanks to having Water-types to battle at the nearby Azure Bay while it holds the Lucky Egg found at Coumarine City. Azure Bay also happens to have the Ampharosite, so Mareep can Mega Evolve the moment it fully evolves.

Mareep for B-Tier (better than most if not all of C).
The EXP catch-up phase for this Horde Pokémon is a pretty quick one. Azure Bay has plenty of Water-type Trainers for it to battle, and the Lucky Egg happens to be nearby at Coumarine City. Since every Route 12 Trainer is optional, too, you can get the Lucky Egg first and then fight these and the Azure Bay Trainers for Mareep's sake. I got my Mareep into Ampharos before Ramos's gym by doing this method after already feeding it some EXP at Korrina's gym. Realistically, though, evolving it into Ampharos before Ramos doesn't matter, since the most it can do there is 1v1 his Jumpluff (well, Mega Ampharos tanks everything, too, but it doesn't have any immediate way to damage Gogoat).

Anyway, Ampharos is still Ampharos. It traditionally does well in-game, and having a Mega Evolution makes going through Kalos even better for it. Bulldoze, Charge Beam, and Mold Breaker allow it to sweep Clemont and earn its Thunderbolt TM. From there, it OHKO's or 2HKO's most threats easily with its Electric STAB, Mega-Evolved Dragon STAB, and Focus Blast. Ampharos also has the bulk and late-game Cotton Guard to sustain itself. The only thing it lacks is Speed, and there will be times where timing the Mega Evolution is necessary to avoid taking super-effective hits.
I was tempted to just solo the Elite Four with Ampharos but held back on that idea. It was poised to do it, though, with the help of Battle Items/O-Powers.
 
Last edited:

cityscapes

Take care of yourself.
is a Tiering Contributoris a Community Contributor Alumnus
hey guys i'm not dead, will try to ramp up activity after ompl/maybe olt
Name: Ducklett
Availability: Early, Route 7
Stats: Ducklett has well-rounded stats with especially good Speed.
Typing: Water/Flying is a useful typing, helping Ducklett hit nearly any foe for neutral damage while leaving it with only two weaknesses.
Movepool: Early on, Ducklett relies on weak STAB moves like Water Gun and Wing Attack. Later on, Ducklett is a very good user of the Surf and Fly HMs, because it gets STAB on both. These are really all the moves Ducklett needs, opening up other less necessary but potentially useful options such as Feather Dance, Scald, Roost, and Ice Beam.
Major Battles: Ducklett is hit super effectively by attacks in the second Gym, but thanks to its Water-type moves it can deal some damage as well. It does well in the third and fourth Gyms with STAB Aerial Ace and Fly, along with Eviolite making up for its low stats. Ducklett contributes absolutely nothing against the fifth Gym, but after that it can do well in pretty much all major matchups thanks to evolution. Its excellent matchup against Team Flare is also notable. However, in late-game fights like against the Elite Four, it can be overwhelmed by foes with high attacking stats.
Additional Comments:

Name: Durant
Availability: Late, Route 18/Terminus Cave. Durant is by far more common in Terminus Cave than on Route 18, though.
Stats: Durant has impressive Speed and Attack stats, the latter of which can be further boosted with the Hustle ability. Its physical bulk is passable, but the same cannot be said for its pathetic special bulk.
Typing: Bug/Steel is good defensively, granting Durant a few useful resistances while only leaving it with one weakness. Offensively, Fire- and Steel-types resist both types.
Movepool: Durant starts with a reliable STAB move in Iron Head as well as a very good coverage move in Dig. The X-Scissor TM gives Durant a Bug STAB to match the power of Iron Head, while Hone Claws allows it to boost its power and accuracy in the face of less threatening foes. Durant can use Substitute by TM to easily activate Swarm if it has the ability.
Major Battles: Durant's Steel typing is very useful late-game, helping it against strong opponents like Wulfric, Drasna, and Diantha. It also does well against Wikstrom by virtue of Dig and its Steel resistance.
Additional Comments: Hustle sharply increases the power of Durant's physical attacks, but with it comes an increased chance to miss. Swarm makes Durant weaker overall but gives it more reliability. Truant along with Entrainment can be used by finding a Truant Durant in a horde, but although this strategy might be very effective, it takes a long time both to execute and to train the lower leveled Durant.

Name: Dwebble
Availability: Route 8, Cyllage City, Ambrette Town (Rock Smash)
Stats: Dwebble has good Attack and Defense. Its Special Defense is average and its Speed is quite low.
Typing: Bug/Rock gives Dwebble three weaknesses to Water, Rock, and Steel. It provides decent offensive coverage save for Steel- and Fighting-types, which wall it.
Movepool: Dwebble's movepool is somewhat shallow, but it gets the moves it needs. Rock Blast by level-up and X-Scissor in Azure Bay are good STAB moves, while the Dig and Bulldoze TMs provide strong coverage. Rock Slide through level-up is a less erratic Rock-type attack. Shell Smash is a huge boon for Dwebble, providing it with amazing power and even relatively good Speed at the cost of its bulk.
Major Battles: Dwebble's early-game major battles are somewhat dubious, with Korrina's Pokemon walling it and Grant's being able to 2HKO it with Rock-type attacks. After that, though, Dwebble can easily take on Ramos, Wulfric, and Olympia, and its Rock typing and physical bulk give it an advantage against Team Flare.
Additional Comments: Dwebble evolves at level 34, but if prevented from evolving it can learn the coveted Shell Smash at level 37. Sturdy is the preferred ability for Dwebble, because the safety net it provides can come in handy at times.

Name: Electrike (Y)
Availability: Electrike can be found on Route 10, with a higher chance to appear in the yellow flowers.
Stats: Electrike plays the role of a speedy special attacker, with high power but low bulk.
Typing: Electrike's Electric typing has its moments to shine, but it doesn't give it an advantage against many foes. Electrike has only one weakness, but its frailness means that strong neutral attacks are often enough to knock it out.
Movepool: Thunder Wave from TM is useful to incapacitate foes, and Electrike's high Speed makes it a relatively good user of the move. However, as far as actual attacks go, Electrike is stuck with the poor Spark until it gets access to the powerful Thunderbolt after beating Clemont. Flamethrower from Anistar City provides coverage against Grass- and Steel-types, too.
Major Battles: Even with an evolution at level 26, Electrike can't contribute much in major battles before it gains access to Thunderbolt. After that, though, it can take on almost any foe given a reasonable amount of experience. Most of Electrike's type matchups are neutral, but it has a notable advantage against Siebold.
Additional Comments: Either ability is good for Electrike.

Name: Farfetch'd
Availability: Early, Santalune City (In-Game Trade for Bunnelby)
Stats: Farfetch'd has pretty good stats early on, but it falls behind later in the game.
Typing: Farfetch'd has a Normal/Flying typing, which is average overall.
Movepool: Farfetch'd has the very powerful Aerial Ace as soon as it is obtained. Later on, it gets a Normal STAB in Slash as well as more useful Flying-type attacks in Brave Bird and Fly. Swords Dance helps Farfetch'd break bulkier Pokemon by raising its Attack, but Farfetch'd is generally too frail to make use of the move.
Major Battles: Farfetch'd is blessed with very good initial Gym matchups, with Viola, Korrina, and Ramos becoming trivial thanks to it. However, it contributes nothing against Grant, and its usefulness takes a huge hit after the fourth Gym because of an influx of stronger foes. In late-game fights like against the Elite Four, Farfetch'd might as well not be on the team at all.
Additional Comments: Farfetch'd is a relatively low-maintenance Pokemon thanks to the experience boost it receives by virtue of being a traded Pokemon.

Name: Floatzel
Availability: Floatzel can be found with Surf in certain areas, of which the earliest is Route 15. It can be found in the yellow flowers on Route 16 without Surf.
Stats: Floatzel is fast and it has good Attack with decent Special Attack. It can't take many hits, though.
Typing: Water is a good typing for Floatzel, guaranteeing it two hits on most foes thanks to its few weaknesses and hitting three common types super effectively.
Movepool: Floatzel starts off with a good all-around move in Surf. Later on, it gets moves that come off its slightly higher Attack in Waterfall and Aqua Tail. Ice Beam and Blizzard through TM deal with Grass- and Dragon-types, while Dig hits Electric-types decently hard.
Major Battles: Most of Floatzel's major fights are neither out of or in its favor thanks to its typing. Notable good matchups for it include Team Flare and Malva. Except if it is against an extremely fast foe or it is underleveled, Floatzel will always be able to get at least one attack off thanks to its high Speed. This makes it useful against powerful but frail foes like Diantha's Mega Gardevoir.
Additional Comments: Floatzel is held back a bit by its slightly late appearance and its average stats, but it's definitely a solid team player.

Name: Geodude (With Trade)
Availability: Route 13, Rock Smash (common)
Stats: Good Attack and Defense makes up for its low Special Defense and Speed.
Typing: Rock/Ground gives Geodude resistances to common types like Fire, Normal, and Electric. At the same time, though, it has disastrous 4x weaknesses to Water and Grass, as well as vulnerabilities to other types like Steel and Fighting.
Movepool: Geodude starts with Rock Blast and Magnitude for inconsistent but fun moves, while Bulldoze and Rock Tomb serve as more reliable attacks. Earthquake and Stone Edge later on are very powerful. Geodude's STAB coverage is very good, so it doesn't need any coverage moves. However, there are two non-STAB attacks that help Geodude: Steamroller through the Move Reminder for Golem lets it deal some damage to Grass-types, while Explosion is an incredibly useful move to make sure that even Water- and Grass-types can't take out Golem without taking a heavy hit themselves. However, it requires that Golem be revived afterwards, so it's best suited to major battles.
Major Battles: Golem steamrolls the Electric-types in the fifth Gym except for miscellaneous Pokemon like Lanturn. After that, its only really bad matchup is against Siebold, but it takes lots of damage from the many special attackers in the sixth and seventh Gyms.
Additional Comments: There isn't any downside to immediately evolving Geodude by trading after it evolves into Graveler, because it doesn't miss out on any moves by doing so. Make sure to catch a Geodude with Sturdy, because this ability is mainly what makes Golem good.

Name: Goldeen
Availability: Route 3, Parfum Palace, Route 22 (Fishing, Good Rod)
Stats: Goldeen is a fairly well-rounded physical attacker. Evolution boosts its HP, Attack, and Special Defense in particular.
Typing: Goldeen has a useful Water typing, giving it the ability to use STAB Surf and Waterfall as well as only two weaknesses.
Movepool: Goldeen's strongest moves are Water Pulse and Surf, which unfortunately come off its lower Special Attack stat. After it evolves, it learns the powerful Waterfall at level 40, and it sets itself apart from other Water-types with its access to very good coverage in Megahorn (by Move Reminder) and Poison Jab (by TM). Rain Dance in conjunction with Swift Swim is also a viable option, granting Goldeen increased power and speed in only a single turn.
Major Battles: Goldeen flat-out loses to Ramos and Clemont, but things start looking up for it in the seventh Gym, where it can deal massive damage if it has Megahorn. It does fairly well against Team Flare, especially with Megahorn to hit their Dark-types hard. It is worth noting that Goldeen struggles in late-game fights because many foes, like Malva's Chandelure, can overwhelm its average defenses through sheer power.
Additional Comments: The Good Rod can be obtained in Coumarine City.
 
[EDIT (third one now) Some entries may look slightly altered.]
Unless I have the urge to test out more of the low tiers that I think could rise, I'll be done playing X for now.
I own only X Version, so someone else is gonna have to write up Shellder of Y Version. Once it's written, though, that'll be all of the currently placed C-Tiers!
___________________________________

Ducklett for C (rise)
A pretty average-good Pokémon overall that's around for most of the game. Feather Dance was on Ducklett for my entire playthrough to ease up certain matchups like vs. Grant and vs. Wulfric's Avalugg. It's fast as a Swanna, too. The ability to compress two HMs into its moveset as efficient mixed STAB is appreciated. The only serious issue with it is the lack of raw defensive stats and thus usually relies on a Rain Dance or stat buff not only to solo fights but also to avoid taking a strong hit.

Lunatone
Availability:
Glittering Cave, 10%
Stats: Its best stat is base 95 Special Attack. Its other stats are all underwhelming.
Typing: Rock-Psychic is okay offensively but leaves Lunatone exposed defensively. Its Levitate ability at least covers up its Ground-type weakness.
Movepool: Lunatone has Confusion for initial STAB alongside Hypnosis and Psywave. Psychic comes at a convenient Level 33 for reliable STAB pretty early into the game. Rock Slide and Stone Edge are learnable by level-up, but unfortunately, Lunatone learns no special Rock-type moves. Instead, Lunatone has a good spread of coverage moves like Grass Knot, Shadow Ball, and Moonblast. TMs Rock Polish, Charge Beam, and Calm Mind are usable setup options.
Major Battles: Lunatone's only straightforward positive matchup is Korrina. Setting up is possible versus Olympia, Malva, Drasna, and Diantha, but Lunatone requires careful preparation to succeed in sweeping. Not learning special Rock moves makes Lunatone much less effective against Wulfric. It should avoid Siebold and Wikstrom.
Additional Comments: Lunatone's Fast EXP growth helps it level up to Level 33 quickly for it to learn Psychic before facing Korrina. Lunatone also can battle Sky Trainers to earn extra EXP.
It should stay at D. If it got Power Gem and the HP buff this Gen and not in SM, I would easily set it at C-Tier or maybe even B-Tier, but sadly this isn't the case. Having Power Gem would've been great for Lysandre, for Wulfric, for Malva, and for all the Flying-types in XY.
Learning Psychic right before Shalour City was super convenient. After Wulfric, I thought there'd be nothing for it left to do, aside from maybe Malva, but it still had just enough bulk to get some setup turns to sweep Malva, Drasna, and Diantha (Tanga Berry to deflect Hawlucha's X-Scissor). I should maybe mention that I never used Ice Beam b/c Psychic, Grass Knot, and Moonblast effectively covered what Ice Beam would've covered and b/c Shadow Ball was heavily preferred to at least chip away Steel-types and 1v1 fellow Psychic-types.

Hariyama
Availability:
Route 11, 20%
Stats: Massive HP and high Attack. Its Speed is below average.
Typing: Fighting typing is generally good offensively. Flying- and Psychic-types are threats to Hariyama.
Movepool: Unfortunately, Hariyama is found at a minimum level past its most recent Fighting-type level-up move, Vital Throw, so it'll have to settle with TM Rock Smash for initial STAB. TMs Power-Up Punch and Low Sweep are available right after fighting Korrina, thankfully. Low Sweep is its most strongest reliable STAB option until the late TM Brick Break, which is then followed by a Level 52 Close Combat. Hariyama has decent coverage options, including Fake Out, Payback, and Poison Jab. Strength and Surf can be learned, too, if desired.
Major Battles: Hariyama performs well versus Valerie (it can set up on Mawile), Wulfric, and Wikstrom. It also performs well against Team Flare's Dark-types. It should avoid Olympia.
Additional Comments: Guts and Thick Fat both serve Hariyama well in their own ways. The latter ability is especially useful when fighting Wulfric and Malva.
C-Tier is good. Unlike Machop, Hariyama is strapped for a decent STAB option at capture, but that doesn't really matter when Low Sweep is only right after Korrina. It also misses out on beating Grant, which would've been nice because Thick Fat would make Amaura helpless. After that, it plays the same as Machop, with some additional features like access to Surf and having Thick Fat for lategame fights.

Tauros
Availability:
Route 12, 10%
Stats: A fast physical attacker with decent physical bulk. A Tauros with Intimidate complements this physical bulk nicely.
Typing: Pure Normal typing, which provides great STAB and one immunity in exchange for a common weakness.
Movepool: Upon capture, Tauros has his main STAB move in Return ready to be learned, alongside Strength and Bulldoze. He gets a good boosting option in Work Up at Level 29 and a good coverage move in Zen Headbutt at Level 35. He has little else for useful coverage aside from the endgame Rock Slide, Stone Edge, and Earthquake. As such, fitting Surf isn't an issue, especially since it can do significant damage to certain threats despite Tauros's low Special Attack.
Major Battles: It is more feasible to avoid Korrina than to level-up Tauros to learn Zen Headbutt and fight her. Work Up works best against Ramos, Valerie, Olympia, and Wulfric. Generally, Tauros is useful for the entire game but should still be cautious around strong special attackers.
Additional Comments: Tauros has a Slow EXP growth. Horde Tauros has a chance to have the nifty Hidden Ability, Sheer Force. However, starting underlevelled for an ability incompatible with his STAB moves makes searching for one questionable.
Tauros for B-Tier (C is fine)
Note: if Tauros is okay for a raise to B-Tier, Kangaskhan definitely should go to B-Tier because it is overall more consistent and available for two gyms longer. Tauros is faster, naturally stronger, and temporarily physically bulkier thanks to Intimidate. It also has Zen Headbutt for Fighting- and Poison-types. However, It misses out on a valuable move in Power-Up Punch, which is better than Work Up for the nice initial hit on Steel-types, and the initial chip damage it provides is much appreciated, especially when used to finish off opponents with remaining Pokémon.

Drifloon
Availability:
Route 8, 30%
Stats: Drifblim's very high base 150 HP makes up for its low defenses. Its other stats are average, so both physical and special attacks are usable.
Typing: Ghost-Flying has three useful immunities and provides good neutral coverage. It has an advantage over three gyms and a disadvantage to three other gyms plus Dark-types.
Movepool: Drifloon's early attacking options are either weak or, in Ominous Wind's case, low on PP. In the meantime, Drifloon has Minimize and Focus Energy for good self-support. Hex at Level 27 and TM Acrobatics are its best attacks until Shadow Ball at Level 40. Drifloon also has decent optional coverage, two TMs for boosting, and a status-inducing TM of choice for a combo with Hex. Cut and Fly (as a Drifblim) are learnable but difficult to fit.
Major Battles: Drifloon performs best against Korrina, Ramos, and Olympia and performs worst against Grant, Clemont, and Wulfric. Calm Mind helps it defeat Wikstrom. It should be stated that Minimize can turn even Drifloon's worst matchups into clean victories by helping Drifloon secure both stat boosting and healing turns.
Additional Comments: With Drifloon being itemless to maximize the effectiveness of Acrobatics, Aftermath is preferred over Unburden. Fluctuating EXP Growth slows down Drifloon's levelling up in the late game.
Drifloon fits C-Tier fine. Honestly, I'm really tempted to just force Drifloon into B-Tier because of what a monster it can be with Minimize. The best example in my own playthrough was Minimize helping Drifloon get past Grant's Amaura when I only had slightly underleveled Drifloon and Hippopotas on my team.
Realistically, though, Pre-evolved Drifloon's performance is messy without using Minimize due to the lack of PP it has on its best move, Ominous Wind. Drifloon does pick up at Lv. 27 when it learns Hex and is only a level away from evolving. A combination of dual STAB in Acrobatics + Hex/Shadow Ball, the choice of three status moves to boost Hex, and Calm Mind let it hold its own for the rest of the game. Thunderbolt is pretty useful on occasion, too. Drifloon's main downside is that enemies start tanking Acrobatics better starting around Frost Cavern, and also its HP stat no longer covers for its low defenses.

Hippopotas
Availability:
Route 9, 40%
Stats: A sluggish physical tank, sporting high HP, Attack and Defense.
Typing: Pure Ground typing is great offensively and provides an immunity to Electric. All of its weaknesses, unfortunately, are the type specialties of three major battles.
Movepool: Hippopotas starts with Bulldoze for STAB and a Yawn + Protect combo for support. Before evolving, it will learn Dig, Sand Tomb, and Crunch. Then, if desired, it can delay its evolution for three Levels to learn Earthquake three Levels faster than when Hippowdon learns it. From Madame Reminder, Hippowdon has access to the Elemental Fangs for coverage that work well with Ground-type STAB. TMs Rock Slide and Stone Edge are also learnable.
Major Battles: Hippopotas should avoid Grant's Amaura, but it can fight Tyrunt without trouble. Korrina's gym battle is troublesome for it, and it should simply avoid Ramos, Wulfric, and Siebold. Once a Hippowdon, it can contribute to every other major battle in some form. Most notably, it crushes Clemont and is great at fighting the three other Elite Four members.
Additional Comments: Hippopotas has a Slow EXP growth rate, making the road to evolution somewhat rough. Its ability Sand Stream, should also be considered when analyzing its synergy with the rest of Hippowdon's team.
Hippopotas for C-Tier (rise)
Perhaps the Slow EXP grind to get to Hippowdon from where it starts doesn't seem very appealing, especially once you notice that it can't do anything very noteworthy along the way to evolution aside from defeating Grant's Tyrunt and defeating Team Flare's Croagunk and Gulpin families.
I found its evolution to be worthwhile, though. It tanks just about everything and deals powerful Earthquakes in return. You can even wait three levels before evolving and get STAB Earthquake three levels faster, just in time for Clemont—though one could argue that waiting that long may be overkill when Dig and Bulldoze Hippowdon also do just fine. Crunch and Elemental Fangs make decent coverage moves (I like Ice Fang for Flying-types moreso than Rock Tomb). I found Yawn to be useful as well, but of course it's not a very efficient support move.
The only big things in its way as a Hippowdon are Water- and Ice-types, but like during its time as a Hippopotas, these are issues solved with proper teammates, like you'd expect from a C-Tier.

Tentacool
Availability:
Shalour City, Surfing, 84%
Stats: High Special Defense and Speed with mediocre offensive stats.
Typing: Water-Poison is good defensive typing. The Water typing is good for general battling, and the Poison typing is good versus two Gyms.
Movepool: Surf, Venoshock, Poison Jab, and Swords Dance are all available to learn when captured. Sludge Bomb, Sludge Wave, Waterfall, and Ice Beam, on the other hand, are all learned very late. Acid Spray, learned at Level 26, is used often make up for its mediocre Special Attack. Barrier, learned at Level 29, is useful for raising Tentacool's low Defense.
Major Battles: Leech Seed makes soloing Ramos with Tentacruel annoying but still doable. Valerie, on the other hand, is an easy fight. Barrier is helpful when fighting Malva. For other fights, it helps special attacking partners with its Acid Spray. It should avoid Clemont and Olympia.
Additional Comments: Tentacruel has a Slow EXP Growth. For its ability, Clear Body is preferred over Liquid Ooze for being overall more useful throughout the game.
Lower Tentacool to D-Tier
My overall experience with Tentacruel was not enjoyble. It could be the low Sp. Attack IV, but I'm pretty sure that results would be similar even with an average IV. Tentacruel's neutral attacks don't reliably KO many opponents without the help of a Swords Dance, Acid Spray, or Barrier.
I used Swords Dance early on but then stopped using it 'til the end since STAB Waterfall isn't until just before Wulfric. It also doesn't help that Sludge Bomb and Sludge Wave aren't attainable 'til endgame. Slow EXP growth isn't helping its case at all. There's only one gym where I'd be confident in using it, which is Valerie. Leech Seed made soloing Ramos a rough time since my Tentacruel had Clear Body. Avalugg makes sweeping Wulfric with Swords Dance barely effective, though perhaps a fully special set would still work vs. Cryogonal. Malva's Pokémon are not OHKO'd while Pyroar and Torkoal threaten setup, but you might get a lucky turn should Pyroar use Noble Roar onto Clear Body. Tentacruel's high Sp. Def at least makes it good for tanking hits from certain threats like Diantha's Goodra.

Rotom
Availability:
Lost Hotel, shaking trash can, Tuesdays only. One can change what's inside the trash cans with a soft reset to attempt to spawn Rotom in a nearby trash can. Rotom can change forms at Pror. Sycamore's Lab immediately.
Stats: Normal Rotom is a fast special attacker. Upon changing form, it becomes significantly bulkier, a little slower, and a little more powerful.
Typing: Rotom will always be part Electric-type with Levitate to remove that type's Ground weakness. Its Ghost typing changes to one of five other useful types when it changes form, making it a very adjustable Pokémon to use.
Movepool: Charge Beam and Thunderbolt are learnable upon capture, and Rotom can also get its form-specific move of choice at Prof. Sycamore's Lab. Normal Rotom has Ominous Wind upon capture, with TM Shadow Ball and Hex at Level 50 for alternative Ghost STAB. Wash Rotom can use Rain Dance together with Thunder and Hydro Pump. It also has Thunder Wave and Will-O-Wisp for supporting options. A note of trivial convenience is that Rotom learns by level-up Double Team and Substitute, TM moves that are only obtainable at certain times of the day.
Major Battles: Rotom has a good matchup with every remaining Gym Leader and Elite Four member, just by changing forms. Of course, it cannot change forms while at the Elite Four. Wash Rotom is especially notable there for having good matchups against Siebold and Malva as well as having great defensive typing for Wikstrom.
Rotom for C, maybe?
I'm not sure where Rotom should stand in terms of availability. From my playthrough, it only took a few soft resets to reset the Tuesday trash cans into spawning a Rotom. If the once-a-week availability is still enough of a setback to keep it in D-Tier, so be it, but timing your playthrough to get to the Lost Hotel on Tuesday shouldn't be too difficult.
Ignoring availability, I would've easily suggested Rotom as an A- or B-Tier. Good STAB options are readily available in Thunderbolt and Rotom-A's signature move, plus it can boost with Charge Beam or use Rain Dance and Thunder while in Wash Forme. Switching among Formes lets Rotom adapt to every remaining important battle in the game and also just makes it a flexible option for any team.
For my run, I went mainly Cut Rotom and changed to Heat Rotom specifically for Wulfric (this was with the team of Drifblim, Hippo, and Tenta). It was also in Heat Forme for the Elite Four, but that was moreso to keep as a backup in case Drifblim and Tentacruel didn't solo Wikstrom and Malva, respectively. Examples of the other forms contributing include Normal Rotom being extra good for Olympia, Spin Rotom for clearing away Fighting-types, Frost Rotom can be used for Drasna (w/ an Accuracy O-Power), and Wash Rotom for the overall nice defensive typing and for Malva.

Spoink
Availability:
Route 8: 20%, Grass, Level 13-14; 10%, Yellow Flowers, Level 15
Stats: Good Special Attack and great Special Defense make Spoink a nice special tank. Its Speed is average, but its Defense is low.
Typing: Psychic typing is overall okay: it's good for clearing away the numerous Fighting and Poison-types but also leaves Spoink walled by Dark-types for a significant portion of the game.
Movepool: Catch a Spoink at Level 14 to have Psybeam and Psywave already learned, as Psybeam is its only special STAB option until Psyshock at Level 42 and Psychic at Level 52. Power Gem at Level 35 and TM Grass Knot are its first decent coverage moves, alongside TM Charge Beam for setup. Focus Blast is learned late but is necessary for Dark-types, and Calm Mind shortly follows for a potent setup move. Bulldoze is usable versus Clemont even with Grumpig's low physical Attack.
Major Battles: Spoink can wall the Ice-type attacks of Grant's Amaura but should still be wary of Rock Tomb. Korrina is its only super-effective matchup, but it also does well versus Clemont, Wulfric, and Drasna thanks to its high Special Defense and proper selection of coverage and setup moves. Versus Olympia, waiting out the Light Screen is recommended so that Grumpig can quickly KO Meowstic before it uses enough Calm Minds and retaliates with Shadow Ball. It is possible to Calm Mind sweep Siebold and Malva, but they require more preparation.
Additional Comments: Fast EXP Growth helps Spoink out a lot, allowing it to evolve just in time for Korrina. Thick Fat is the preferred Ability and makes battling Wulfric easier than it already is.
Spoink for C-Tier (rise)
(14 Mar 2019: small edit to specifically mention Charge Beam and clarify Olympia strat)
Spoink is pretty serviceable from the get-go. It starts with Psybeam and not Confusion. It won't get Psyshock until Level 42, but the trade-off is worthwhile. My Grumpig was also outspeeding enemy Golbat every time, which I didn't expect. I also enjoyed the quick level-ups thanks to Fast EXP Growth. There is, however, a huge problem it has with Dark-types. It at least can hit them when it gets Power Gem (which btw is great to have for major battles), but even then Scraggy still walls it hard until Grumpig learns Focus Blast.
Gym and E4 fights are pretty nice for it, too, because Grumpig's high Sp. Def grants good setup turns. The high Sp. Def alongside Thick Fat devastates Wulfric to the point that you can use a Sub-CM strat instead of a Speed buff in prepping for the swift Cryogonal. When soloing Olympia, Grumpig is in an iffy battle vs. CM Meowstic because Grumpig's Sp. Atk is kinda low even after Charge Beam boosts. It can play the long game and X-Sp.Def alongside the Calm Minds to tank the Shadow Balls. To end the battle faster, Grumpig can wait for the Light Screen to go away as Meowstic switches in and get better damage in.

Stunky
Availability:
Route 11, 10%
Stats: Stunky is a decently fast but underwhelming physical attacker. It gains plenty of HP and a more respectable Attack stat as a Skuntank, but its Speed only increases a little.
Typing: Defensively, Poison-Dark typing leaves Stunky with a good immunity to Psychic and a sole weakness to Ground. Its reliable STAB options could be stronger, though.
Movepool: Stunky starts with Hone Claws for setup and Thief, Payback, and Venoshock for STAB, the last of which pairs well with Toxic, learned at Level 27. Evolving into Skuntank on time (Level 34) results in a solid coverage move in Flamethrower and the ability to use TM Poison Jab, its strongest reliable STAB. Skuntank later learns Night Slash at Level 41 and possibly Explosion at Level 61. Other useful moves include Dig, Fire Blast, Taunt, and Memento.
Major Battles: Stunky is too weak for Korrina unless it evolves—in which case, it is simply overlevelled. After her, though, Skuntank excels in every gym, with three of them falling to its STAB moves and the other two covered by Dig or Flamethrower. At the Pokémon League, it can attempt sweeps on Drasna and Wikstrom with good preparation or simply heavily damage threats with Explosion.
Additional Comments: Stench is preferred over Aftermath, as relying on an Ability that enhances Stunky's offensive presence is more rewarding than relying on one that only works as Stunky faints.
Stunky for B (significantly better than C, let alone D)
Well, this was a surprise. The Stunky phase was underwhelming but so short that you don't really notice it (also that phase is Reflection Cave, therefore mostly excusable for most Pokémon in an all Trainers playthrough), aside from the slight pain of being unable to use the Poison Jab TM just yet. Skuntank, on the other hand, is great, at least as a gym and Elite Four router. If it wanted to, it could solo every gym battle from Ramos onward, needing only at most a Sp. Def O-Power to ease setup for Clemont and Wulfric. It has Flamethrower and Dig for Wikstrom, too—it minds the Probopass Earth Power, though.
The only big setback for it is the lack of moves with good base power, with Poison Jab being its strongest consistent STAB. This is slightly made up for with Stench's flinch chance and the fact that Skuntank still is great for clearing late-game routes full of Fairy-types and Hex Maniacs. If you feel you can't do much else with it in the endgame, well, just let it Explode (or Memento, maybe).

Haunter (w/o Trade)
Availability:
Route 14, 5%.
Stats: A strong and fairly fast yet frail special attacker. Eviolite is only a little beneficial to Haunter.
Typing: Ghost-Poison is excellent offensive typing. Defensively, it
Movepool: Shadow Ball is only a few levels away, and alongside Venoshock and Thunderbolt, Haunter is pretty much set. It gets Dazzling Gleam shortly after capture and later gets Sludge Bomb, Energy Ball, and Psychic. Will-O-Wisp, Taunt, and Hypnosis are available supporting options.
Major Battles: Haunter is great for Valerie and Olympia. It is also good for Siebold with proper coverage. Outside of those fights, Haunter has to play a little more carefully in case it doesn't secure a KO or is outsped.
Additional Comments: Since this Haunter does not evolve, it neither learns Focus Blast nor can Mega Evolve, two things which significantly improve Gengar's performance. At least Haunter can fight Sky Trainers while Gengar cannot for extra EXP.
No-Trade Haunter should stay at C. It's great and straightforward but not as robust as Gengar is. There were instances where it would barely miss an OHKO, causing it to take heavy damage. In fact, it took heavy damage from almost every hit, only living because of Eviolite. It also doesn't have Focus Blast, which would've been really nice to have for Wulfric instead of the alternative: Sp. Atk O-Power and Wll-O-Wisp to live Avalugg's Crunch.

Poliwag (Poliwrath)
Availability:
Route 14, 30%, Good Rod
Stats: Poliwrath has decent Attack and good mixed defenses. It's Sp. Attack and Speed are mediocre.
Typing: Water and Fighting work nearly independently from each other offensively and defensively. As such, Poliwrath has both a wide number of good and bad matchups and great team synergy. It overall leans more toward playing like a Fighting-type.
Movepool: Poliwrath itself has few decent level-up moves, but thankfully its TM and HM movepool is wide, learning moves commonly seen by both Water- and Fighting-types. These include its STAB Surf and Low Sweep, setup options in Power-Up Punch and Bulk Up, and coverage options like Poison Jab, Ice Beam, and Earthquake. From Madame Reminder, it can learn Submission for a stronger yet less reliable physical Fighting STAB.
Major Battles: Poliwrath's usually needs to set up to solo battles because of its mediocre Speed, though setting up is possible in every battle bar Olympia thanks to its natural bulk. Without setting up, it still has at least one good matchup in every battle (bar Olympia). It also clears away Team Flare's Dark-types.
Additional Comments: Poliwrath can be evolved right away to make use of its Fighting STAB and to use Poison Jab at Valerie's Gym. For its Ability, Water Absorb is preferred.
Poliwrath for C-Tier (rise)
Poliwrath plays similarly to the other C-Tier Fighting-types. It lacks the raw power they have and arrives later than they do. However, Poliwrath's overall bulk is better than all but Scraggy, Poliwrath is faster than all of them except Medicham, and Poliwrath has Water typing, allowing for some diverse offensive and defensive play as well as nicer matchups at the Pokémon League. Wikstrom is actually the only clean matchup it has among the Elite Four (Klefki doesn't damage it that well). Poliwrath can set up on the other three's leads, too, but it still needs extra defensive buffs/Bulk Ups to guard itself against the speedy enemies that threaten its sweeps (Noivern, Starmie, Talonflame).
___________________________________________

Magneton B -> C
Availability: Lost Hotel, 20%.
Stats: Magneton has high Special Attack yet is average elsewhere, though an Eviolite significantly improves its bulk. Magnezone trades away Speed and Eviolite for higher Special Attack and a naturally high Defense stat.
Typing: Electric/Steel-typing is great offensively for the rest of the game that you have Magneton. Defensively, it has plenty of resistances, as well as immunities to Paralysis and Poison. It is weak to Fire-, Fighting-, and Ground-type attacks, though, which are commonly seen in the form of a coverage moves.
Movepool: Electric STAB Thunderbolt is available immediately, and Steel STAB Flash Cannon is at worst only two levels away. Metal Sound and Charge Beam allow Magneton to severely damage everything, and Magnet Rise removes Magneton's double weakness to Ground. Magneton has little else outside of some side options like Thunder Wave, Tri Attack, MIrror Coat, and Hyper Beam. As such, Hidden Power may be worth a test.
Major Battles: Magneton cleans through the remaining two gyms with ease. It can take care of Team Flare's Flying- and Poison-types but should still look out for Fire- and Fighting-types. At the Pokémon League, it does well vs. Siebold, and it can hold its own vs. some of Wikstrom, Drasna, and Diantha thanks to its Steel-typing. It should always be careful of coverage moves such as Earthquake that target its weaknesses.
Additional Comments: Sturdy gives Magneton a useful safety net that is helpful for mitigating its weaknesses to common lategame types.
I made the suggestion back in the first XY thread to set Magneton to B-Tier. I still stand by mostly everything that's in that post as still true, that Magneton effectively plays like a B-TIer Pokémon (A-Tier, even,) during the lategame. However, I've realized that a lot of other players might catch Magneton and be a little annoyed or at least disappointed when they realize that it arrives after Valerie, who would have been a perfect opponent for Magneton. As such, setting it at C would be good for it, just so that people will read its entry and notice that Magneton does arrive just later than what would have been liked.
Side note: If you plan on using Magneton, and encounter a Rotom while at the Lost Hotel, I suggest either using both of them or using Rotom unless you really need something for Fairy-types. Rotom's Speed and offensive type coverage put it in an overall much easier playing state than Magneton, plus an Electric-type without a Ground weakness is always appreciated.
___________________________________________
EDIT 10-30-18
Nothing new, just compiling all the Pokémon I've tested and suggested to rise/fall. Every Pokémon that I've written up but aren't on this list I think are fine where they are.
Rises
Kangaskhan C -> B/A
Tauros C -> B
Venipede C -> B (A only if the Venipede phase is deemed passably efficient)

Mareep D -> B
Stunky D -> B

Ducklett D -> C
Hippopotas D -> C
Houndour D -> C (D is okay, too, but C fits my experience with it better)
Poliwag (Poliwrath) D -> C
Spoink D -> C
Rotom D -> C (B if obtainability is acknowledged as easy to exploit)


Falls
Magneton B -> C

[EDIT: 15 Mar 2019]
Staryu B -> C?
Might need another test play 'cause I'm not too certain if Staryu is B material anymore. Bad for the first two gyms but can Rain Dance its way thru the next two. No Psychic STAB 'til post-Wulfric is a downer even with the likes of Thunderbolt/Thunder, Grass Knot, Dazzling Gleam, and Blizzard for coverage. Otherwise, it's straightforward in use and a fairly positive Pokémon. Well sort of. I admit to using a few Waterfalls for the very physically frail (mainly other Psychic types). Also, keeping Light Screen might've helped in a few cases, but Recover + 3 Attacks/ 2 Attacks+ Rain Dance is more useful.

Tentacool C -> D

The following list contains Pokémon that I'm suspecting could rise to C or higher but I never tested, along with the motivations for testing each of them.
Carvanha — Gurpeet Patel's write-up says what needed to be said about it. It starts out in a similar position with Staryu: a Good Rod catch with Slow EXP growth. Unlike Staryu who has high Speed, Carvanha has raw mixed power, plus it can use both of its STABs three levels after capture. Sharpedo sits at a pretty nice Speed, too. and its coverage isn't too bad either. It should be feasible for C, but its defenses are so poor.

Lombre — Ready to evolve. Instant access to dual-STAB (albeit the Grass STAB is Grass Knot), Nature Power, and Rain Dance. It also gets Focus Blast later for Wulfric and Wikstrom. It doesn't seem too spectacular otherwise, and in fact, its mediocre Speed and power outside of Rain may be the reason to keep it in D.

Skorupi — The grind to Drapion seems bad, but it already has its Eviolite, dual-STAB, and Swords Dance ready for Valerie. It should easily evolve before Olympia, too. I also like the idea of having the Elemental Fangs, but the extent of their use seems pretty limited. For example, I can't see (unboosted) Fire Fang Drapion being on par with the mileage I got from L.v 34 Flamethrower Skuntank.

Snubbull — It's only two levels away from evolving, which puts it in an amazing position to fight Grant. It's slow, and Play Rough isn't 'til Level 43, but falling back on Intimidate, Fairy typing, and a decent TM movepool should still move Granbull thru Kalos comfortably.

___________________________________________
EDIT 11-21-18
Decided to brush up a couple of my earlier write-ups. They're not really trimmed down by much, but the quality is better.
Azurill
Availability:
Route 3, 10%; Route 22, 20%
Stats: Huge Power makes Azurill the strong physical attacker it is, even with its measly base 50 Attack when fully evolved. Azurill's good mixed bulk helps cover up its low Speed.
Typing: Azurill's Normal/Fairy typing is decent for the short time Azurill has it, especially when it learns its Normal STAB. Evolution changes it into a Water/Fairy type, granting good dual STAB as well as a solid number of resistances. Its mid-game performance is set back by its weaknesses to Grass, Electric, and Poison.
Movepool: Azurill has no physical options until TM Return, which makes for good Normal STAB. Evolving it by Level 20 nets it Aqua Tail, its best STAB option for most of the game. Superpower isn't until Level 42 and STAB Play Rough until Level 50. In the meantime, it has Dig/Bulldoze for coverage and Power-Up Punch for setup, or it can be taught HMs Strength and Surf. It later can opt for Waterfall instead of Aqua Tail for the improved Accuracy.
Major Battles: Azurill can resist Viola's Bug-type attacks but is helpless against her offensively. Excellent matchups with Grant and Korrina are offset by its bad matchups with Ramos and Clemont. At the Pokémon League, it has a positive matchups against Malva and Drasna, it can easily set up on Siebold's Clawitzer, and it can usually KO at least two of Diantha's Pokémon.
Additional Comments: Huge Power is a must over Thick Fat, unless Azurill doesn't want an amazing Attack stat. A Fast EXP growth rate helps it get to learning Play Rough as soon as possible.


Croagunk
Availability:
Route 7, 35%, Tall Grass
Stats: A physical attacker with a usable Sp. Attack stat. Its Speed is all right at base 86, but its below average bulk leaves it susceptible to strong neutral hits.
Typing: Poison/Fighting is unique to Croagunk's line. Offensively, Croagunk has decent Fighting STAB and good matchups versus Grass and Fairy-types. It's ggood typing for the early- and mid-game, but afterward its glaring weaknesses often hamper its performance.
Movepool: Croagunk has TMs Venoshock and Return to start with and Rock Smash at Ambrette City. Its level-up is unimpressive, with Revenge and Sucker Punch being the most notable moves. At Shalour City, it learns Poison Jab, Power-Up Punch, and Low Sweep, which alongside Swords Dance (as Toxicroak) serve well for the rest of the game. Late-game, Toxicroak learns Nasty Plot, Focus Blast, and Sludge Bomb should it want them.
Major Battles: Croagunk does well versus Grant and Wulfric and can set up on Korrina's Mienfoo and Valerie's Mawile. Its performance versus Ramos is hampered by Jumpluff's Acrobatics and Gogoat's Bulldoze. Dry Skin improves its matchup with Siebold, plus its coverage moves and typing help it contribute in other fights. It should avoid Olympia.
Additional Comments: Dry Skin is not only useful for Siebold but also for Kalos's rainy routes.
 
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For players who can't trade, Trevenant can be caught wild and is effectively not related to Phantump. So are you going to tier Phantump (no trade) and Trevenant (no trade) separately?
 

DHR-107

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For players who can't trade, Trevenant can be caught wild and is effectively not related to Phantump. So are you going to tier Phantump (no trade) and Trevenant (no trade) separately?
Considering Trevenant is super late in the story iirc (appearing in the Winding Forest near the last gym) I doubt he will rank any higher than Phantump anyway. It's likely not worth tiering it based on this, as you can get Phantump a lot earlier. Trev is only D Ranked anyway, and we tend to use the "best" version of the mon for these lists. I guess we could mention it in the additional info bit if need be, but it comes severely underlevelled (to the point where even the XP Share won't help) and just using Phantump and trading is a tonne easier.
 
Considering Trevenant is super late in the story iirc (appearing in the Winding Forest near the last gym) I doubt he will rank any higher than Phantump anyway. It's likely not worth tiering it based on this, as you can get Phantump a lot earlier. Trev is only D Ranked anyway, and we tend to use the "best" version of the mon for these lists. I guess we could mention it in the additional info bit if need be, but it comes severely underlevelled (to the point where even the XP Share won't help) and just using Phantump and trading is a tonne easier.
So they count as the same evolution family even when the player can't evolve them?
 
So they count as the same evolution family even when the player can't evolve them?
More like catching Trevenant in the wild isn't really worth considering since it comes extremely late. If you think it's worth a consideration, why not do a play through of X/Y with a Trevenant caught in the Winding Woods outside Snowbelle rather than theorize?
 
Yeah, the point is to tier it; no matter how bad it may be. We don't exactly leave Unown untiered in multiple games because no-one in their right mind would use it.
 

Its_A_Random

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I'd lump it with traded Phantump and mention the horde Trevenant in AC - Traded Phantump is essentially Trevenant and Traded Phantump is simply more efficient than Trevenant because of earlier arrival and higher level. Something like: "Those who cannot trade for a Trevenant can catch one in a horde on Route 20, however its later arrival and significantly lower relative level make it much less efficient to use."
 
I'd lump it with traded Phantump and mention the horde Trevenant in AC - Traded Phantump is essentially Trevenant and Traded Phantump is simply more efficient than Trevenant because of earlier arrival and higher level. Something like: "Those who cannot trade for a Trevenant can catch one in a horde on Route 20, however its later arrival and significantly lower relative level make it much less efficient to use."
Not the most rigorous way to do it, but I guess it gets the job done.
I meant it's not really worth considering over grabbing the earlier Phantump and trading. I think Its_A_Random put it in better words.
It is better than trading if the player can't trade.
 
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Its_A_Random

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Okay, let's set a direction for this thread.

So most of this tiering for this list was done in like 2013 or 2014 with little in the way of variation (if any). During this time, lots of things have changed and we have enough knowledge of this game that it feels a little more appropriate to basically double check the placements of each Pokémon, some probably feeling out of place and what have you. For example, Sylveon. Just how much Pokémon Amie time do you need to invest to get Sylveon and is it worth a higher placement? Are the incumbent S-Ranks... Actually S-Rank? Is Wobbuffet actually as bad as 2014 me thought it was? Just some examples I guess. For the most part, they look solid, but I feel that maybe with a fresh perspective and a few years in the belt, we can really nail down this whole thing.

As for write-ups, I am thinking that a revamp may be necessary as the sheer volume of Pokémon plus detailed descriptions might not be for the best. Whether we keep the status quo detail but say that only those above a certain rank, we make the descriptions a lot more brief with just a paragraph or whatever, I am not too sure on what I want to do yet.

I am going to try (key word: try) to keep tabs on this thread and tackle issues as they arise. I'm not going to set a slate or any of that for now, but any input on tiering and write-up direction would be appreciated. I might try to set some standards soonish but for now, remember to keep it civil, okay?
 
Okay, let's set a direction for this thread.

So most of this tiering for this list was done in like 2013 or 2014 with little in the way of variation (if any). During this time, lots of things have changed and we have enough knowledge of this game that it feels a little more appropriate to basically double check the placements of each Pokémon, some probably feeling out of place and what have you. For example, Sylveon. Just how much Pokémon Amie time do you need to invest to get Sylveon and is it worth a higher placement? Are the incumbent S-Ranks... Actually S-Rank? Is Wobbuffet actually as bad as 2014 me thought it was? Just some examples I guess. For the most part, they look solid, but I feel that maybe with a fresh perspective and a few years in the belt, we can really nail down this whole thing.

As for write-ups, I am thinking that a revamp may be necessary as the sheer volume of Pokémon plus detailed descriptions might not be for the best. Whether we keep the status quo detail but say that only those above a certain rank, we make the descriptions a lot more brief with just a paragraph or whatever, I am not too sure on what I want to do yet.

I am going to try (key word: try) to keep tabs on this thread and tackle issues as they arise. I'm not going to set a slate or any of that for now, but any input on tiering and write-up direction would be appreciated. I might try to set some standards soonish but for now, remember to keep it civil, okay?
For Sylveon, I doubt the Pokemon Amie "time sink" being weighed less heavily against it would be enough for it to rise. You need a level 19 Eevee to evolve into Sylveon. Otherwise, it won't have Baby-Doll Eyes and must wait until level 29 for Charm.
 

Its_A_Random

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As for some of the standards, one of them "what levels to expect at a specific matchup", and the way I am going to address this is to do a run. I will get a party of six. I will fight as little as I can with a few potential optionals, such as Gym Trainers and random spinners I end up hitting. I will use Exp. Share (Cuts time down and fewer trainers means it isn't going to result in blatantly overlevelled teams). I will use Lucky Egg (Show an NPC in Courmarine something with max happiness). The levels I get should be a guide, as in, you don't have to be on the levels, but if you are significantly over/under the estimates, then it can potentially call into doubt whether or not it can be considered accurate in terms of "beating the game in an efficient manner assuming a significant party size". I'm not going to exhaustively test matchups and whatnot as I don't exactly have the time to do that, but the main thing here is to try and deal with potential under/overlevelling bias that may arise.
 
Late game Vespiquen might as well be non-existent as it cannot get through Wikstrom and does terrible against Malva and Diantha.

This isn't really a tiering post because I play weird solo runs instead of full teams, but I might as well make my comment here. When the opening post says Vespiquen is terrible in the late game, it's not kidding. It took replacing Attack Order with Hidden Power Water for BEETRICE the Vespiquen to beat Wikstrom. Flash combined with Affection dodging was required for Clemont, Siebold, and Diantha. And the last battle ended with BEETRICE at level 90. Don't use Vespiquen in X, especially if you're using a lower level team without Pokemon Amie. If that's an E tier, I wonder what the F rank is like!
 

Its_A_Random

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Okay I did the thing, this was the levels I had for the X version:

Viola: Chespin Lv11
Sycamore: Chespin Lv13
Tierno 1: Charmander Lv11, Chespin Lv15
Trevor + Tierno: Honedge Lv12, Charmander Lv14, Quilladin Lv16
Grant: Honedge Lv20, Charmeleon Lv20, Eevee Lv20, Quilladin Lv22
Korrina 1: Honedge Lv21, Charmeleon Lv22, Sylveon Lv22, Quilladin Lv23
Calem 1: Honedge Lv25, Charmeleon Lv25, Sylveon Lv25, Quilladin Lv25
Korrina 2: Honedge Lv28, Charmeleon Lv28, Sylveon Lv28, Quilladin Lv28
Calem 2: Honedge Lv30, Charmeleon Lv30, Sylveon Lv30, Quilladin Lv30, Lapras Lv30
Ramos: Lapras Lv31, Honedge Lv32, Charmeleon Lv32, Sylveon Lv32, Quilladin Lv32
Aliana 1: Quilladin Lv35, Lapras Lv35, Charmeleon Lv35, Sylveon Lv35, Doublade Lv36
Clemont: Chesnaught Lv36, Charizard Lv36, Sylveon Lv36, Doublade Lv36, Lapras Lv37
Calem 3: Chesnaught Lv37, Charizard Lv37, Sylveon Lv37, Doublade Lv37, Lapras Lv37
Valerie: Chesnaught Lv38, Charizard Lv38, Sylveon Lv38, Doublade Lv38, Lapras Lv38
Celosia + Bryony 1: Lapras Lv39, Charizard Lv40, Sylveon Lv40, Doublade Lv40, Chesnaught Lv40
Mable 1: Lapras Lv42, Charizard Lv42, Sylveon Lv42, Doublade Lv42, Chesnaught Lv43
Calem 4: Delibird Lv38, Lapras Lv42, Charizard Lv42, Sylveon Lv43, Doublade Lv43, Chesnaught Lv43
Olympia: Delibird Lv39, Lapras Lv43, Charizard Lv43, Sylveon Lv44, Doublade Lv44, Chesnaught Lv44
Lysandre 1: Delibird Lv40, Lapras Lv44, Charizard Lv44, Doublade Lv44, Sylveon Lv45, Chesnaught Lv45
Xerosic: Delibird Lv44, Lapras Lv48, Charizard Lv48, Doublade Lv48, Chesnaught Lv48, Sylveon Lv49
Lysandre 2: Delibird Lv45, Charizard Lv48, Lapras Lv49, Doublade Lv49, Chesnaught Lv49, Sylveon Lv49
Lysandre 3: Delibird Lv47, Charizard Lv51, Lapras Lv51, Doublade Lv51, Chesnaught Lv51, Sylveon Lv52
Sycamore 2: Delibird Lv48, Charizard Lv51, Doublade Lv51, Chesnaught Lv52, Lapras Lv52, Sylveon Lv52
Route 19 Bridge: Delibird Lv49, Charizard Lv52, Doublade Lv52, Chesnaught Lv52, Lapras Lv53, Sylveon Lv53
Wulfric: Delibird Lv52, Charizard Lv55, Doublade Lv55, Chesnaught Lv55, Lapras Lv55, Sylveon Lv55
Calem 5: Delibird Lv54, Charizard Lv57, Doublade Lv57, Chesnaught Lv57, Lapras Lv57, Sylveon Lv57
Elite Four START: Delibird Lv56, Charizard Lv59, Doublade Lv59, Chesnaught Lv59, Lapras Lv59, Sylveon Lv59
Diantha: Delibird Lv59, Charizard Lv61, Doublade Lv61, Chesnaught Lv61, Lapras Lv62, Sylveon Lv62
AZ: Delibird Lv60, Doublade Lv61, Charizard Lv62, Chesnaught Lv62, Sylveon Lv62, Lapras Lv63

Some notes:
  • In terms of experience distribution: 1 Fast, 1 Medium Fast, 1 Medium Fast w/ Amié Boost, 2 Medium Slow, 1 Slow. This is mostly for variety and while I could have used an Erratic or Fluctuating, I ultimately settled with other things.
  • I did not use Delibird outside of fly slaving. The fact that it got to Lv60 was all Exp. Share but its good Exp Group. If it had been trained, I could guarantee no less than Lv65 based on past experience as Fast Group Pokémon trend towards outpacing other groups even when not used (One play-through for instance had a Klefki out-level by at least 3-4 levels without too much usage).
  • Lucky Egg was limited in use. Didn't get it at first opportunity so I got it after 7th Gym. It pretty much stayed with Lapras so I wasn't using it every second fight just on level basis.
  • No Rare Candies were used.
  • The level curve in general is rather erratic for XY. The stretch to Cyllage has not many unavoidable trainers (Between Santalune and Route 8 for instance, the only unavoidable NPC Trainers are the Twins on Route 5 and only if you have more than one Pokémon), which resulted in quite the low-ball (it got so bad that I had to grind so Honedge didn't die all the time) for levels. Eventually it started to correct itself by the end of the third gym and allowed you to be on the curve for two gyms before falling behind again. Then the Team Flare climax puts you back on and then its just staying around or under until the end. For this, I don't blame those who want a little better levels for Grant for instance, but these are just meant to be a guide.
  • I did hit a few optional trainers but not enough to worry about. It's pretty reasonable to expect to hit a few optionals in these sort of runs as well.
  • Amié isn't as efficient as Refresh is in the Alola Games. In the Alola Games, you can easily get two hearts affection in around two cycles for a total of roughly 90 seconds. Here however, it can take a few minutes with a few cycles and a few mini-games for more Poké Puffs. In the end I had estimated around 8-9 minutes with a few cycles? Whether or not you think it's significant is up for debate as an 8-9 minute detour for a Sylveon and boosted exp may or may not be as worth it as it would in (U)SM. Also don't mind me not getting Draining Kiss Sylveon... -.-'
  • Honedge I'm not really clear about. It has issues (mostly speed related) but I do want to test it more, especially since I skipped Aegislash. Eviolite Doublade's endgame is fairly sketch as well, mostly due to bad Speed and Sp. Defence, but I'm not ready to make any real calls on it yet.
  • I'd say MCX is worth S-Rank to be honest. The only real opportunity cost here is Heart Scales since there's like 3-4 that are easy to get and it wants two for Flare Blitz and Dragon Claw. Outside of that it does a really good job without help, one shotting a lot of things and two shotting most that don't. Not super outstanding like Lucario and MCY are, but definitely something that's worth it.
But yeah I'd say this is an okay benchmark to look at. A few "this is quite low" moments here and there (especially in the Gym 1-2 stretch) but nothing unreasonable.
 
Completed a run of X last night. Will be writing up on a few mons.

170610


Availability: Route 4
Stats: High SpA & SpD. Very good Base 90 speed to back it up.
Typing: Grass/Poison is a mixed bag. Excels early and mid-game, but tends to peter out towards the endgame.
Movepool: Getting Giga Drain at Level 25 (as Roselia) is a big boon. Venoshock in Route 6 gives Budew a good poison STAB for the midgame (especially when paired with Toxic Spikes).
Major battles: Handles Grant, Korrina (minus Hawlucha), Ramos, and Valerie. Struggles with Olympia, Wulfric, and most of the Elite Four (beats Siebold though).
Additional Comments: Comes with 3 perfect IVs if caught as a Budew. Also found on Route 7 as Roselia, but trades IVs for immediate power. Natural Cure helps with status and spares some items.
Verdict: Budew/Roserade did very well for me in the early and mid-game, but began to fade in some of the endgame's important battles. Overall, a very strong Pokemon. It does very well in the game up until the endgame. Would keep as A.

170614


Availability: Route 5 (35% Horde encounter)
Stats: Great bulk, good attack, low speed
Typing: Fighting/Dark helps with a good portion of the gyms & Elite Four. Consistent throughout the game.
Movepool: Consistent throughout the game. Brick Break at 20, HJK at 31, even Crunch at 38 before evolving. Rock Tomb is taught after beating Grant and helps with some flying types.
Major battles: Plows through Grant, Olympia (surprising for a Fighting type, even with a Sigilyph on the field which didn't do much with Air Slash), and Wulfric. Matches up well vs Team Flare. With Eviolite, you can beat Ramos (Rock Tomb required for Jumpluff). Performed well vs Clemont with Rock Tomb. Scrafty does well vs some portions of the Elite Four. It beats Malva's Pyroar & Chandelure and sets up on Wikstrom's Probopass with Bulk Up. Has the ability to beat Gourgeist, Aurorus, and Tyrantrum on Diantha's team.
Additional Comments: Shed Skin helps with status, Moxie can help sweep, Intimidate (rare) can help with endgame Bulk Up tactics. For ability, pick and choose for how you see fit.
Verdict: Scraggy was one of the most consistent members of the team throughout the run. Despite needing a little bit of grinding to get its level up, Scraggy performed very well throughout the playthrough. From getting STAB moves when it needs to in its level up pool to defeating gyms, Scraggy was a great player in the game. The low speed kinda hurts it, but the bulk more than makes up for it. The performance Scraggy gave would warrant a rise to B, possibly to A.

170615

Availability: Glittering Cave (5% Horde encounter)
Stats: Sky high attack with very good speed. Meh bulk.
Movepool: Gets early game Dragon Rage which 2HKOs the field, Dragon Claw at 28, Dragon Dance at 32 makes it an overall great sweeper. Dig and Rock Tomb provide excellent coverage in the midgame. Gets Earthquake and Rock Slide in the endgame which gives it great coverage. Poison Jab helps with Fairies.
Major battles: Axew does very well against...most everything. It missed out on a KO on Grant's Amaura with Rock Smash, doesn't beat Korrina's Hawlucha (even at +2), and folds to Wulfric's Avalugg, but most of the battles were Dragon Dance up and win (even Valerie since Mawile is set up bait since it can't even touch Fraxure with Eviolite). Reflect was annoying with Olympia's Sigilyph, but as long as you stall out the screens, you should be solid. For the Elite Four, you DD up on Malva's Pyroar and win with QuakeSlide coverage, cleans Drasna (still slower than Noivern) and Wikstrom. Siebold has a SE move on all his mons (sans Barbaracle; try setting up on that). vs Diantha, teach Haxorus Poison Jab over Rock Slide to deal with her Gardevoir. It can clean with a Dragon Dance up. Just be careful with Gourgeist.
Additional Comments: You want Mold Breaker on your Axew. The ability to break Sturdy (Clemont's Magneton & Wikstrom's Probopass) is incredible.
Verdict: Axew was AMAZING in this playthrough. Has an overall great movepool, a sweeping tool in Dragon Dance, and a monstrous attacking stat that helps clean stuff up. The rare horde encounter makes it a task to find, but Axew was overall incredible. Move this monster to A.

(I had kinda "reserved" up to this point, but I do want to talk about some others as well.)

170616

Availability: Route 10 (10% in the Yellow Flowers, but 30% in the grass)
Stats: High attack, very good bulk, low speed.
Movepool: Gets Bulldoze upon capture, Rock Tomb after Grant, comes with Shadow Punch, gets Heavy Slam upon evolution (important for Gym 6), Earthquake by level up, and can set up a Rock Polish for some fun.
Major battles: Performed great against Korrina, Valerie (with Heavy Slam and a Rock Polish up), Olympia (Rock Polish again, but be careful vs Meowstic if Reflect is up), Malva, Wikstrom, most of Drasna (while Druddigon is walled, it will Dragon Tail you out and end your sweep), and it swept Diantha (use Hawlucha as set up bait and win. Moveset: Rock Polish, Shadow Punch, Earthquake, Power-Up Punch). For Clemont, you want Eviolite, Rock Tomb, a Rock Polish boost, and Power-Up Punch if you want to clean that (otherwise, you miss out on some KOs and Heliolisk can bop you with Grass Knot). Golett also might beat Grant's Tyrunt with Bulldoze and tank a Bite (Caught Golett after Grant so idk), but forget about Amaura. Struggles vs Ramos, Wulfric, and Siebold. Deals with Team Flare relatively well (especially the Electrikes).
Additional Comments: Iron Fist powers up Golett's Shadow Punch. You do NOT want Klutz.
Verdict: Throughout this entire run and throughout my entire career of playing Pokemon in game, no Pokemon has ever surprised me as much as Golett did. This mon performed remarkably well in a good chunk of the gyms, most of the Elite Four, and (swept) Diantha. While slow, a Rock Polish boost does wonders for it allowing it to plow a good portion of teams. Power-Up Punch is nice too for Golett. This run actually gave me a newfound appreciation for Golett/Golurk. For this run, while I would LOVE to put Golett in A, I'm gonna keep my bias to myself and say that B is fine for Golett.

170618

Availability: Route 8 (35% Good Rod encounter)
Stats: Great speed, very good SpA, pretty good bulk
Movepool: Great movepool, but gets some stuff later than it would like to. Thunderbolt comes after you beat Clemont and is useful, but you don't get Blizzard until Anistar City (misses out on Ramos badly). Camouflage and Minimize were interesting tools for Staryu to use in some battles, but generally not extremely effective. Has to rely on Surf and Swift for its earliest phases of the game
Major battles: Right out the gate, you have Ramos and Clemont. You struggle there. Camouflage is interesting vs Clemont as you can tank the Thunderbolts from his Pokemon. An interesting tactic I used was using Camouflage while Electric Terrain was up. It helped a good deal. Starmie beats Valerie's Mawile & Mr. Mime, Olympia's Sigilyph & Slowking with Thunderbolt and beats Wulfric's Avalugg, but that's about it for gym leaders. You sweep Malva with Surf, 2HKOs the field against Siebold (watch out for Clawitzer's Dark Pulse), beats Drasna with Ice Beam, beats Wikstrom's Probopass & Klefki, and Diantha's Hawlucha (careful with X-Scissor) and Tyrantrum (Head Smash nukes it though). Does very well vs Team Flare (minus the Electrikes) and Lysandre.
Additional Comments: Natural Cure is preferred to cure status.
Verdict: Staryu was unimpressive. The right off the bat Surf is great, but everything for Staryu just comes too late (except the Water Stone). It comes at a point where most water types tend to struggle (Ramos then Clemont). It beats a good chunk of Team Flare & does well vs the Elite Four, but it tends to struggle throughout the game. Drop to C.

170620

Availability: Lost Hotel (Trashcans on Tuesdays)
Stats: Low HP, but otherwise very good stats.
Movepool: Mix Rotom any way you want. The appliances give it Hydro Pump, Overheat, and Blizzard most notably. Gets Thunderbolt right off the bat. Will-O-Wisp for some pesky physical attackers. Pair it up with Hex and you have a solid ghost type attack.
Major battles: Thunderbolt cleans Olympia's Sigilyph & Slowking. Also beats Meowstic. Rotom-Heat beats Wulfric (use Overheats sparingly) & Wikstrom. Rotom-Wash beats Olympia a little bit better, helps vs Siebold, beats Malva, Diantha's Aurorus & Hawlucha, and deals with Team Flare. Rotom-Frost can be used for Drasna.
Additional Comments: Can only be found on Tuesdays. The appliances can help with certain matchups.
Verdict: Despite arriving late, Rotom did pretty well. The Tuesday availability is disappointing and requires some grinding, but Rotom was a good member of the team that shocks things when it needs to. Rotom-Heat is preferred for Wulfric, but Wash might be better overall. Echoing 11pikabro's sentiments with a rise to C.
 
I noticed that Bidoof does not have a write up, so I made one myself (and also to inject some life into the thread)




Bidoof
Availabilty: Route 3 (20%) and Route 22 (10%)
Stats: Generally slightly below average stats as a Bidoof, and Above average attack and HP, mediocre sp. attack, slightly below average defenses, and average speed as a Bibarel
Typing: Normal/Water as a Bibarel is okay. Gives it a bit more weaknesses than the typical normal typing, but also gives it useful fire resistance.
Movepool: Bibarel has a wide movepool, but half of it runs with its mediocre 55 base special attack. Bidoof and Bibarel learn a lot of stat boosting moves such as Defense Curl, Amnesia, and Curse, which synergizes greatly with Simple. In general, Bidoof/Bibarel only needs its STAB to be efficient.
Major Battles: If brought up to level 13, Bidoof can solo Viola. Bibarel can set up on Grant's Amaura for free with Defense Curl, and steamroll with Rollout, given that hax doesn't take into effect too much. Even with Simple, it generally doesn't like to fight either Korrina, Ramos, or Clemont due to type disadvantage. Bibarel can set up with no difficulty on Valerie's Mawile, although the battle is generally a slow one. If you still have Amnesia, Olympia is easy. Bibarel is around 50/50 with Team Flare as it has many Fire-types, but also many Fighting-types as well. The only Pokemon Bibarel can beat safely on Lysandre's team is Pyroar. Bibarel dislikes Wulfric's Abomasnow, but his Cryogonal and Avalugg can't do anything to it. Final Rival really depends on what starter you chose. Does very well against Malva and Wikistrom (minus his Aegislash), can do okay against Siebold (has to watch out for Clawitzer and Barbaracle) and struggles against Diantha as it has very little opportunity to set up on all of her mons.
Additional Comments: Simple is the more worthwhile ability over Unaware as the further you get into the game, the less the AI uses stat decreasing moves. If not using for battle, Bidoof still makes a good HM slave.
 
Going through a run right now, and I actually kind of think Pansage should be promoted to C tier. While early game is quite annoying he gets Seed Bomb and can evolve shortly after thanks to the free Leaf Stone; Simisage then swept through the Rock gym, losing only to Tyrunt (and I think he'd have done better with an X Attack because he's fast enough to outspeed and do good damage with Seed Bomb). I've slapped on Rock Tomb and Shadow Claw, so we'll see how other fights go.

I mostly agree with the others I'm using. Wormadam Sand is sorta decent though it deserves its tiering thanks to the awful Burmy phase, Pikachu's fine where it is, I have a -Attack nature on Litleo which is awful and Spoink can hit hard but is very limited thanks to Psybeam being its only usable move.
 
i Nominate Noibat/Noivern for D(rise)
this Dragonic Zubat Clone comes late and babying it is about as annoying as babying a magikarp, good thing that you need to baby it by only 3-4 levels or even use rare candies to fasten up the progress , however it is a solid Pokemon, but it is not exactly amazing in major battles that remained, still it's solid movepool and stats give it a chance to rise to D

I Nominate Emolga for D(drop)
While early acrobatics is awesome and it would be useful for Korrina and Ramos, it quickly loses it's usefulness later, it might be a solid choice for early game, but it should NOT Be used as a long term pokemon
 
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