Resource SV NU Viability Rankings

[Perla]

I know you acknowledged it and, consequently, increased its ranking, but I honestly think that Appletun could be even higher, like
B+--> A-/A


I've seen (too) many teams with all the common (but, alas, very good) stuff all together, like:
- Passimian
- Sandaconda
- Eelektross
- A powerful breaker (es: Bruxish or Zoroark )

Adding the phazing Appletun makes everything more annoying.

The pivoting properties of Passimian and Eelektross help you to position your breaker safely in order to nuke stuff.
Sandaconda does its usual job and, thanks to the presence of Appletun, it can afford to use Glare and cripple stuff to help your breaker.

So that's the reason: Appletun seems to deal with everything that might be a nuisance or a restriction to all the previous mons.
As everyone said, it can deal with Eelektross, but, by having Dtail, it phazes also all the bulky offense that tries to set up (Dudunsparce , the QDancers, Vaporeon ...) or sometimes it can even 1v1 them with Apple Acid and Leech Seed (tools that additionally punish switches).

Tera-Steel might help you to accomplish all that work and having it as your best tera-type is a blessing because, after Copperajah's departure, it is generally never wasted as you can always use the dragon-pie as a special wall with reliable recovery in Recover (you're even neutral to fire).
If you don't tera, resistances to Water (like a Choice-locked Wave Crash), electric and grass (Leaf Storm from Lurantis that you can always Dtail away) are also appreciated in many situations.

Some final words: Tera-Steel is also useful for the Curse set, which is always there as a possibility, and I think some Ripen shenanigans are still underexplored.

 

[Togkey]

-> A Lurantis is phenomenal right now, I'd currently place it no lower than A rank. After a single Leaf Storm, Lurantis can threaten everything in the metagame with the right Tera Blast, and its superb bulk and reliable recovery makes it an absolute menace long-term, as most checks like Muk and Perrserker lack reliable recovery themselves. Many games lately have felt decided by the Speed tier interactions around Lurantis and as the metagame gets bulkier and remains seemingly centered around bulky and offensive Water-types, Lurantis feels completely unstoppable. Its positive matchup against so many top tier Pokemon; Bruxish, Eelektross, Passimian, and Sandaconda without needing to Tera, as well as effectively luring / forcing in other checks like Oricorio, Bombirdier, Muk, and Pyroar makes Lurantis a fantastic progress maker.

-> C Swalot's access to Liquid Ooze gives it an interesting niche over Muk against Drifblim, preventing and punishing Strength Sap, forcing it to stay damaged which helps teammates like Passimian and Ursaring a ton. Swalot still retains many defensive qualities that Muk has, but Swalot has Encore and Earthquake as well. I think overall Muk is obviously better but Swalot definitely deserves to be somewhere on the VR imo.

-> A Appletun is quite similar to Lurantis in some ways, great defensive profile that has ways to not be passive without investment. Apple Acid is just a broken move, and Draco Meteor's high BP, Dragon Tail, Leech Seed, and Appletun's natural coverage make it quite difficult to bring offensive checks in on and it often outlasts all of its defensive checks thanks to its reliable recovery and the fact that defensive checks like Muk and Perrserker don't. Again Appletun has a godlike matchup into a lot of top tiers and a bulkier meta just seems much kinder to it.

 

[Izmagack]

I know you acknowledged it and, consequently, increased its ranking, but I honestly think that Appletun could be even higher, like
B+--> A-/A


I've seen (too) many teams with all the common (but, alas, very good) stuff all together, like:
- Passimian
- Sandaconda
- Eelektross
- A powerful breaker (es: Bruxish or Zoroark )

Adding the phazing Appletun makes everything more annoying.

The pivoting properties of Passimian and Eelektross help you to position your breaker safely in order to nuke stuff.
Sandaconda does its usual job and, thanks to the presence of Appletun, it can afford to use Glare and cripple stuff to help your breaker.

So that's the reason: Appletun seems to deal with everything that might be a nuisance or a restriction to all the previous mons.
As everyone said, it can deal with Eelektross, but, by having Dtail, it phazes also all the bulky offense that tries to set up (Dudunsparce , the QDancers, Vaporeon ...) or sometimes it can even 1v1 them with Apple Acid and Leech Seed (tools that additionally punish switches).

Tera-Steel might help you to accomplish all that work and having it as your best tera-type is a blessing because, after Copperajah's departure, it is generally never wasted as you can always use the dragon-pie as a special wall with reliable recovery in Recover (you're even neutral to fire).
If you don't tera, resistances to Water (like a Choice-locked Wave Crash), electric and grass (Leaf Storm from Lurantis that you can always Dtail away) are also appreciated in many situations.

Some final words: Tera-Steel is also useful for the Curse set, which is always there as a possibility, and I think some Ripen shenanigans are still underexplored.

252 Atk Choice Band Strong Jaw Bruxish Ice Fang vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Thick Fat Appletun: 332-392 (78.4 - 92.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery and Leech Seed Recovery

tbh i think that ripen is far superior to thick fat on appletun. if you get hit by a strong ice move you're gonna take irredeemably massive damage (see above), and even after a potential recover (+ leftovers + leech seed) you'll die. ripen sitrus berry (a strategy adapted from a very annoying pokebilities set i used) works very well. set up leech seed, tera steel if need be, and click recycle until your opponent is dead from chip. + you can phase with dtail and the steady damage from apple acid helps too :)

pie (Appletun) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Ripen
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Apple Acid
- Dragon Tail
- Recycle
- Leech Seed

 

[Medeia]

252 Atk Choice Band Strong Jaw Bruxish Ice Fang vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Thick Fat Appletun: 332-392 (78.4 - 92.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery and Leech Seed Recovery

tbh i think that ripen is far superior to thick fat on appletun. if you get hit by a strong ice move you're gonna take irredeemably massive damage (see above), and even after a potential recover (+ leftovers + leech seed) you'll die. ripen sitrus berry (a strategy adapted from a very annoying pokebilities set i used) works very well. set up leech seed, tera steel if need be, and click recycle until your opponent is dead from chip. + you can phase with dtail and the steady damage from apple acid helps too :)

pie (Appletun) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Ripen
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Apple Acid
- Dragon Tail
- Recycle
- Leech Seed

Thick Fat is far superior cause it makes Appletun one of the premier fire checks in this tier and also less prone pre Tera against Tera Ice Jolteon. Checking Bruxish isn't Appletun's main role but it can do that with Tera Steel anyway in a pinch. Besides that Appletun has Recover, making your Ripen sitrus berry recycle set even more unviable.

 

[Izmagack]

Thick Fat is far superior cause it makes Appletun one of the premier fire checks in this tier and also less prone pre Tera against Tera Ice Jolteon. Checking Bruxish isn't Appletun's main role but it can do that with Tera Steel anyway in a pinch. Besides that Appletun has Recover, making your Ripen sitrus berry recycle set even more unviable.

may have forgotten that appletun gets recover. i got too used to pokebilities ripen/gluttony aguav berry shenanigans. thx for the reminder

 

[Rabia]

-> A-
Appletun should rise. Choice Specs is actually a really potent wallbreaker because NU lacks Steel-types, and general special walls like Umbreon and Chansey are really passive and easy to exploit. Meanwhile, the bulky phazer set is really nice at the moment too, offering a solid Sandaconda switch-in and surprisingly effective Coil Eelektross answer. IronPress seems feasible too, although I've yet to use that set myself. I could see Appletun rising all the way to A even, but as of now I think it fits well alongside many of the A- options. (This could just mean we need to shuffle around A- and A a bit.)

-> A+
I'm not suggesting a Vaporeon drop because it's gotten worse, rather because many of the A+ options have gotten better or solidified their spot in the tier. Muk, Zoroark, Toxicroak, and Rotom all jump out to me as Pokemon that feasibly could make that leap to S- if we so chose, but I think it'd be easier to just consolidate A+ into the best of those + Vaporeon, and then drop the rest.

 

[Pakawaka]

-> (C) Whiscash is an interesting Pokémon, Oblivious makes it immune to Taunt, which can be really good when facing Lead Lycanroc for example, allowing it to set up it's own Hazards, but that's literally all he has going for honestly, good defensive typing, Stealth Rock + Spikes and Immunity to Electric and Taunt.
There might be some potential for Dragon Dance sets, but with those mediocre stats, I'm not sure.

-> (B+) Has the second strongest Brave Bird in the tier (Only being beaten by Honchkrow), good Speed tier with Choice Scarf (as fast as Passimian), this alongside Defiant, makes Braviary one of the scariest revenge killers in the game.
Bulk Up sets are pretty good too, and of course it can serve as a good Defog user.

 

[Elias PSY]

-> A+
Cacturne is insanely strong right now.I'd rate it even better as water immunity than Vapereon.Not reliant on tera to check Bruxish,great offensive présence with SD or mixed sets,Spikes were the main utility move but Encore and Toxic Spikes proved to be useful,being able to worn down the primary tspikes absorber in Muk in conjonction with Tera Poison which cover the glaring U-Turn weakness from top threats like Eel and Passimian while allowing Cacturne to remove tspikes as well.Overall way easier to fit on teams than Vaporeon and deserve a rise to reflect that.

-> B+

Way too much exploitable.The preominence of Ghosts (Tera),Encore or Taunt to abuse her mean Chansey doesn't wall any special attacker in practice.There's just better specially defensive options : Umbreon provides more utility with Wish,Yawn and Taunt while not passive thanks to Foul Play and Ursaring can act as late game win condition and better status absorber with Guts and Rest-Talk.

-> A-

Decent Anti-Meta pick.Sap Sipper let it wall the rising threats Lurantis and Appletun then use them as setup fodder.Giraf doesn't fear non- Dark Pulse Cacturne either and get enough base HP to sit on Chansey with Substitute.Can use Tera Water to check Bruxish or Fairy to abuse the lack of steel-types.

 

[poh]

Echoing Rabia's post: drop vap to A+ and/or move Muk to S-/S. Muk to S is probably pushing it but i'm a huge fan of this mon. Spreading poison in a tier without Heal Bell, very versatile mon, support or wincon, can run multiple viable tera types which makes it even more customisable. Ultimately one of its biggest downsides is letting sanda in for free..

-> B

Starting in B purely by being not a complete shit ground type. I don't see this mon rising from here. Has a lot of useful tools but the stats are so bad lol, really limiting. Used this before it rose to ru and every game i played with it i wish i was using sanda lmao. I'm ngl, oblivious + hazards is big op.. maybe its good on HO? lol?

-> B- / C

Drop this imo. I haven't seen this mon in forever. Also Scyther and qwilfish exist. Uturn and roost are nice but it's still a fucking vespiquen lmao. Qwil does more or less the same and then some.

you're excused

-> UR zoro + croak + muk = pu is the place for you
-> UR we have better hard hitting mons around that speed tier or faster
-> UR lol
-> UR lurantis exists + muk shuts this down = heavy reliance on tera
-> UR vivillon exists
-> UR why use this over baile or even veluza
-> UR revival blessing is a meme
-> UR jolteon exists
-> UR no comment

 

[Togkey]

I've already voted for the upcoming VR slate (expect a VR update this weekend!), but I wanted to express my opinion here as well

This Pokemon was initially ranked at "low tier" at the beginning of the generation; a huge mistake. I think Rotom deserves the rank of S currently (I will settle for S-) and I'd like to explain why.

Rotom has a positive matchup against every current S rank

Hide

Rotom resists Eelektross' STAB and U-turn, while taking minimum damage from coverage like Giga Drain and Dragon Tail. Rotom also prevents Coil Eelektross from healing with Drain Punch and also threatens to burn and beat down Eelektross with Hex.

Passimian is outsped by Choice Scarf Rotom and easily 2HKO'd -nearly OHKO'd by Tera Thunderbolt- and although Knock Off can outspeed and OHKO non-Scarf Rotom, Protect is very commonly used to scout against Choice users like Passimian, Bruxish, and Zoroark. Rotom can very easily scout for the Knock Off vs U-turn mindgame, and Terastallize against Knock Off for a free Will-O-Wisp or Nasty Plot.

Sandconda is just hard walled by Rotom, which has an immunity to Earthquake and Glare, only able to hit Rotom with uninvested non-STAB Rock moves. Rotom can freely set up Nasty Plot, Trick something a Choice Scarf, or just beat down Sandaconda with Will-O-Wisp + Hex until Shed Skin doesn't activate or Sandaconda uses Rest, which will also boost Hex.

Rotom also lacks any traditional counterplay, similarly to Rotom-C in SSNU, which I went into more detail about here. I don't think Rotom is "broken" (yet), and I don't think "broken" = automatic S rank, but Rotom also-

• is a fantastic enabler of other insane threats due to the nature of a virtually unblockable pivot move, while being a huge threat itself with a powerful Hex and relatively easy Nasty Plot opportunities.
• lacks consistent counterplay, again in part due to its unblockable pivoting.
• has a phenomenal defensive profile, resisting U-turn and Volt Switch and immune to both Ground, Normal and Fighting. Can gain even more resists or immunities through Terastallization, turning Dark-types like Umbreon and Mabosstiff into setup fodder with Tera Fairy or baiting would-be neutral moves like Bruxish Psychic Fangs, Lurantis Leaf Storm, or Indeedee Psychic.
• feels just as 'splashable' on teams as the current S ranks, and moreso than the other A+ / S- ranks (with the exception of maybe Muk)

 

[Rabia]

I will be changing my current Rotom vote on the VR slate to match Togkey's :D

I agree with everything she's said really; Rotom is probably the new Eelektross in that it 1) does the whole blanking Glare Sandaconda thing and 2) is just really hard for teams currently to deal with. The set versatility is super great; NP is super hard to beat and can always pivot against slower checks like Umbreon, Choice Scarf offers a faster pivot than Passimian with a great defensive profile, and the Wisp + Protect sets are... nice! Nothing broken but very useful. It's just gotten to be such a consistent Pokemon that I use it more than Passimian even as a Choice Scarf user at this point.

 

[Togkey]

With Indeedee-M's fate being sealed, expect a new update sometime this weekend!

 

[Togkey]

Tiering Update! Ren-Chon has formally stepped down as a member of the VR council after a long time of contributing towards it, we are all thankful for their time. To take their place, skierdude101 has joined us as a permanent member of the council.

Nothing crazy how changed with the tier in terms of tier shifts; only getting Whiscash after Indeedee-M was quickbanned, but with Swiss, Open, and NUPL all happening, the tier has seen lots of rapid development.

Rises and Drops:

Rises:
Whiscash New -> B-
Muk A+ => S-
Rotom A+ => S-
Zoroark A+ => S-
Cacturne A- => A
Haunter A- => A
Lurantis A- => A
Appletun B+ => A-
Glaceon C -> B-

Drops:
Vaporeon S- => A+
Drifblim A+ => A
Qwilfish A+ A+ => A
Chansey A => A-
Mabosstiff A => A-
Perrserker A- => B+
Camerupt B => C+
Rotom-Fan B => B-
Sawsbuck B => B-
Vespiquen B => B-
Zangoose B => B-
Basculin B- => C+
Charizard B- => C+
Crocalor B- => C+
Dachsbun B- => C
Honchkrow B- => C
Skuntank B- => C+
Spiritomb B- => C+
Masquerain C => UR
Oricorio-P C => UR
Quaxwell C => UR

Rises and Drops with Reasoning:

Rises:
Whiscash New -> B- Whiscash would have dropped to PU if it didn't rise to RU last month. Hazard control is decent enough in NU and the tier is pretty hostile to Ground-types with the plethora of immunities and resists that can take advantage of Whiscash.
Muk A+ => S- A grounded Poison feels almost mandatory for balance structures right now, and Muk is a perfect fit for those styles of teams. Phenomenal special bulk and multiple ways to spread poisons and lots of utility moves like Haze and Zen Headbutt for opposing Poison-types to win the Toxic Spikes war.
Rotom A+ => S- Rotom has a positive matchup against all other S ranks. It's set diversity makes it incredibly difficult to answer, and because it beats Ground-types, it has a virtually unblockable pivot move to enable other powerful breakers like Zoroark and Bruxish. Bulky Dark-types can shrug off Rotom's hits but still dislike being burned and can become setup fodder to Tera Fairy Nasty Plot sets.
Zoroark A+ => S- Beyond the mindgames Illusion presents in such a volatile tier, simply identifying Zoroark's set can be a whole other headache in itself. Choice Specs sets shred most of the tier, but reasonable checks like Umbreon and Chansey are super impaired by Knock Off or Trick with a Choice item or just get U-turn'd on. Zoroark also has an amazing speed tier, making it very difficult to check offensively.
Cacturne A- => A Cacturne is just an absolute menace offensively, with an oddly amazing defensive profile that gives it many opportunities to hit the field. Leaf Storm straight up OHKO's Passimian, and Cacturne's Water immunity and threatening presence lets it set up Swords Dance to break and sweep with Sucker Punch quite easily. With flavor utility moves like Encore, Leech Seed, and Spikes in the mix too, Cacturne finds itself being easy to use and very difficult to deal with.
Haunter A- => A Similar vein to Cacturne; oddly great defensive profile despite its terrible bulk, which allows it to use its excellent offenses even better. Haunter also has an insane utility movepool with options like Encore, Toxic Spikes, Trick, and Destiny Bond on top of its Nasty Plot + perfect Ghost / Poison / Fighting coverage.
Lurantis A- => A Lurantis has cemented itself as one of the best and most consistent Defog users in the tier, with a positive matchup against Sandaconda, reliable recovery, and a very dangerous combination of Leaf Storm and Contrary. Lurantis has excellent bulk and only needs one Leaf Storm boost to really start tearing apart the tier.
Appletun B+ => A- Appletun is a nightmare for defensive teams to switch into with hazards up; Apple Acid and Leech Seed mean you can't just sit in front of it and Dragon Tail keeps shuffling teams. Appletun's bulk is also excellent and with Tera Steel to invert its Ice weakness and grant a Poison immunity, it can be super difficult to take Appletun out, much less take it out without taking significant damage from it.
Glaceon C -> B- Glaceon has risen in usage due to its great bulk and power, access to Calm Mind and Freeze Dry, and insane offensive coverage with Ground Tera Blast.

Drops:
Vaporeon S- => A+ With increased usage in Toxicroak, and a meta currently dominated by Electric- and Grass-types, Vaporeon struggles to make use of its bulk, as amazing as it may be. Many setup sweepers like Dudunsparce and Muk can soften Vaporeon up and drain its PP even if they can't consistently setup due to Haze. Offensive sets making use of Calm Mind, Tera Blast, or Ice Beam have seen use lately but it's not enough to set Vaporeon apart currently.
Drifblim A+ => A Drifblim's amazing bulk and Defog makes it a great pick for defensive teams, but as the meta has developed, its passivity has become incredibly exposed. Drifblim's reliance on Strength Sap makes it very easy to just send in weak and deny large pools of HP. Powerful special breakers like Clawitzer and Zoroark get relatively free entry on Drifblim due to its weak uninvested STAB moves and threaten easy OHKO's or free pivoting. Hazard control also isn't as valuable anymore with Pokemon like Lurantis and Oricorio-F seeing more usage to fill these roles.
Qwilfish A+ A+ => A Qwilfish is an amazing bundle of perfect utility, but is hampered by its mediocre stats and lack of recovery. With hazard control being stronger, Spikes are slightly less potent as they once were, and people now know to not just keep Toxic-prone Pokemon in against Qwilfish, and there are many Toxic absorbers like Ursaring, Sandaconda, and Tera Steel / Poison Pokemon ready to smoke Qwilfish at a moments notice.
Chansey A => A- Being reliant on Seismic Toss and status makes Chansey very passive and easy to take advantage of, especially with the possibility of Tera Ghost and Substitute, anything can potentially wall Chansey.
Mabosstiff A => A- Without Stakeout this thing hits like a wet napkin.
Perrserker A- => B+ Poor bulk for a "Steel-type", still a solid pivot but bad matchups into all the S ranks and super vulnerable to status..
Camerupt B => C+ Terrible bulk only barely saved by an amazing typing, super passive even with threatening burns or Yawn.
Rotom-Fan B => B- Outclassed by regular Rotom with a worse typing and not much to gain from it (Air Slash)
Sawsbuck B => B- Relies purely on Headbutt flinches, vulnerable to all hazards and status, pretty much all contact moves with low BP and has poor bulk.
Vespiquen B => B- Pretty Tera reliant for a defensive Pokemon, Spikes aren't as insane with all the removal options we have.
Zangoose B => B- Many Pokemon can match Zangoose's power without being on a timer.
Basculin B- => C+ Better Water-type breakers like Bruxish and Clawitzer.
Charizard B- => C+ No Roost really hurts Charizard, but there's really just stronger Pokemon that can also match the speed tier.
Crocalor B- => C+ Needs Eviolite and weak to Stealth Rocks, makes a lot of would-be 3HKO's into 2HKO's
Dachsbun B- => C Super passive and vulnerable to status and hazards, Fire immunity is neat but doesn't provide much for the tier.
Honchkrow B- => C Reliant on Brave Bird because Sucker Punch and Night Slash are weak. Needs Heavy-Duty Boots or it becomes very squishy and easy to pick off.
Skuntank B- => C+ Great utility and typing, but super passive and lacks recovery while having only average bulk.
Spiritomb B- => C+ Bulk is not as good as it appears, and is very passive without multiple boosts.
Masquerain C => UR Webs suck.
Oricorio-P C => UR No reason to use this over other Quiver Dance users.
Quaxwell C => UR Rapid Spin is less valuable with all the hazard control options available, so it's not worth using a literal sitting duck.

 

[Perla]

Very nice ranking update! I'm happy with a lot of the rises.

The only mon that I think deserved more is Bombirdier which could have been A-, as it has some valuable traits imho:

1) the utility Taunt sets shut down lots of Sandacondas , so you can spam Knock Off or set your own rocks;
2) it is a dark resist, which is useful in a Zoroark meta (one of the mons that I see among the rises);
3) currently it's a little bit easier to splash flying types in your teams as Lurantis (another mon among the rises) proved to be a viable defogger, so you're not forced to use a bird or a "blimp" for hazard control;
4) recalling that Appletun (another mon among the rises) certainly has nice utility features, but it has also a more "exotic" choiced set, I think that this holds true for Bombirdier as well, in particular the Choice Band set, with the usual "tera rock+Rocky Payload combo" which grants you a 125% boost instead of 100%.

 

[MANNAT]

Sawsbuck B => B- Relies purely on Headbutt flinches, vulnerable to all hazards and status, pretty much all contact moves with low BP and has poor bulk.

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen9nu-693638

 

[Loginator]

Tiering Update! Ren-Chon has formally stepped down as a member of the VR council after a long time of contributing towards it, we are all thankful for their time. To take their place, skierdude101 has joined us as a permanent member of the council.

Nothing crazy how changed with the tier in terms of tier shifts; only getting Whiscash after Indeedee-M was quickbanned, but with Swiss, Open, and NUPL all happening, the tier has seen lots of rapid development.

Rises and Drops:

Rises:
Whiscash New -> B-
Muk A+ => S-
Rotom A+ => S-
Zoroark A+ => S-
Cacturne A- => A
Haunter A- => A
Lurantis A- => A
Appletun B+ => A-
Glaceon C -> B-

Drops:
Vaporeon S- => A+
Drifblim A+ => A
Qwilfish A+ A+ => A
Chansey A => A-
Mabosstiff A => A-
Perrserker A- => B+
Camerupt B => C+
Rotom-Fan B => B-
Sawsbuck B => B-
Vespiquen B => B-
Zangoose B => B-
Basculin B- => C+
Charizard B- => C+
Crocalor B- => C+
Dachsbun B- => C
Honchkrow B- => C
Skuntank B- => C+
Spiritomb B- => C+
Masquerain C => UR
Oricorio-P C => UR
Quaxwell C => UR

Rises and Drops with Reasoning:

Rises:
Whiscash New -> B- Whiscash would have dropped to PU if it didn't rise to RU last month. Hazard control is decent enough in NU and the tier is pretty hostile to Ground-types with the plethora of immunities and resists that can take advantage of Whiscash.
Muk A+ => S- A grounded Poison feels almost mandatory for balance structures right now, and Muk is a perfect fit for those styles of teams. Phenomenal special bulk and multiple ways to spread poisons and lots of utility moves like Haze and Zen Headbutt for opposing Poison-types to win the Toxic Spikes war.
Rotom A+ => S- Rotom has a positive matchup against all other S ranks. It's set diversity makes it incredibly difficult to answer, and because it beats Ground-types, it has a virtually unblockable pivot move to enable other powerful breakers like Zoroark and Bruxish. Bulky Dark-types can shrug off Rotom's hits but still dislike being burned and can become setup fodder to Tera Fairy Nasty Plot sets.
Zoroark A+ => S- Beyond the mindgames Illusion presents in such a volatile tier, simply identifying Zoroark's set can be a whole other headache in itself. Choice Specs sets shred most of the tier, but reasonable checks like Umbreon and Chansey are super impaired by Knock Off or Trick with a Choice item or just get U-turn'd on. Zoroark also has an amazing speed tier, making it very difficult to check offensively.
Cacturne A- => A Cacturne is just an absolute menace offensively, with an oddly amazing defensive profile that gives it many opportunities to hit the field. Leaf Storm straight up OHKO's Passimian, and Cacturne's Water immunity and threatening presence lets it set up Swords Dance to break and sweep with Sucker Punch quite easily. With flavor utility moves like Encore, Leech Seed, and Spikes in the mix too, Cacturne finds itself being easy to use and very difficult to deal with.
Haunter A- => A Similar vein to Cacturne; oddly great defensive profile despite its terrible bulk, which allows it to use its excellent offenses even better. Haunter also has an insane utility movepool with options like Encore, Toxic Spikes, Trick, and Destiny Bond on top of its Nasty Plot + perfect Ghost / Poison / Fighting coverage.
Lurantis A- => A Lurantis has cemented itself as one of the best and most consistent Defog users in the tier, with a positive matchup against Sandaconda, reliable recovery, and a very dangerous combination of Leaf Storm and Contrary. Lurantis has excellent bulk and only needs one Leaf Storm boost to really start tearing apart the tier.
Appletun B+ => A- Appletun is a nightmare for defensive teams to switch into with hazards up; Apple Acid and Leech Seed mean you can't just sit in front of it and Dragon Tail keeps shuffling teams. Appletun's bulk is also excellent and with Tera Steel to invert its Ice weakness and grant a Poison immunity, it can be super difficult to take Appletun out, much less take it out without taking significant damage from it.
Glaceon C -> B- Glaceon has risen in usage due to its great bulk and power, access to Calm Mind and Freeze Dry, and insane offensive coverage with Ground Tera Blast.

Drops:
Vaporeon S- => A+ With increased usage in Toxicroak, and a meta currently dominated by Electric- and Grass-types, Vaporeon struggles to make use of its bulk, as amazing as it may be. Many setup sweepers like Dudunsparce and Muk can soften Vaporeon up and drain its PP even if they can't consistently setup due to Haze. Offensive sets making use of Calm Mind, Tera Blast, or Ice Beam have seen use lately but it's not enough to set Vaporeon apart currently.
Drifblim A+ => A Drifblim's amazing bulk and Defog makes it a great pick for defensive teams, but as the meta has developed, its passivity has become incredibly exposed. Drifblim's reliance on Strength Sap makes it very easy to just send in weak and deny large pools of HP. Powerful special breakers like Clawitzer and Zoroark get relatively free entry on Drifblim due to its weak uninvested STAB moves and threaten easy OHKO's or free pivoting. Hazard control also isn't as valuable anymore with Pokemon like Lurantis and Oricorio-F seeing more usage to fill these roles.
Qwilfish A+ A+ => A Qwilfish is an amazing bundle of perfect utility, but is hampered by its mediocre stats and lack of recovery. With hazard control being stronger, Spikes are slightly less potent as they once were, and people now know to not just keep Toxic-prone Pokemon in against Qwilfish, and there are many Toxic absorbers like Ursaring, Sandaconda, and Tera Steel / Poison Pokemon ready to smoke Qwilfish at a moments notice.
Chansey A => A- Being reliant on Seismic Toss and status makes Chansey very passive and easy to take advantage of, especially with the possibility of Tera Ghost and Substitute, anything can potentially wall Chansey.
Mabosstiff A => A- Without Stakeout this thing hits like a wet napkin.
Perrserker A- => B+ Poor bulk for a "Steel-type", still a solid pivot but bad matchups into all the S ranks and super vulnerable to status..
Camerupt B => C+ Terrible bulk only barely saved by an amazing typing, super passive even with threatening burns or Yawn.
Rotom-Fan B => B- Outclassed by regular Rotom with a worse typing and not much to gain from it (Air Slash)
Sawsbuck B => B- Relies purely on Headbutt flinches, vulnerable to all hazards and status, pretty much all contact moves with low BP and has poor bulk.
Vespiquen B => B- Pretty Tera reliant for a defensive Pokemon, Spikes aren't as insane with all the removal options we have.
Zangoose B => B- Many Pokemon can match Zangoose's power without being on a timer.
Basculin B- => C+ Better Water-type breakers like Bruxish and Clawitzer.
Charizard B- => C+ No Roost really hurts Charizard, but there's really just stronger Pokemon that can also match the speed tier.
Crocalor B- => C+ Needs Eviolite and weak to Stealth Rocks, makes a lot of would-be 3HKO's into 2HKO's
Dachsbun B- => C Super passive and vulnerable to status and hazards, Fire immunity is neat but doesn't provide much for the tier.
Honchkrow B- => C Reliant on Brave Bird because Sucker Punch and Night Slash are weak. Needs Heavy-Duty Boots or it becomes very squishy and easy to pick off.
Skuntank B- => C+ Great utility and typing, but super passive and lacks recovery while having only average bulk.
Spiritomb B- => C+ Bulk is not as good as it appears, and is very passive without multiple boosts.
Masquerain C => UR Webs suck.
Oricorio-P C => UR No reason to use this over other Quiver Dance users.
Quaxwell C => UR Rapid Spin is less valuable with all the hazard control options available, so it's not worth using a literal sitting duck.

I know I’m late to reply but I’m still confused about this. Did Stakeout get banned or something? What do you mean by “without Stakeout”?

 

[quziel]

If the opponent stays in it struggles to really do acceptable damage to opponents, to the point that it fails to threaten "heavy" damage to pokemon that aren't really known for great physical bulk. Makes Mabo very prediction reliant for when it can get in, as well as very weak to a well timed tera; eg a Rotom that turned Fairy type takes about half from Crunch.

252 Atk Choice Band Mabosstiff Crunch vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Muk: 234-276 (56.5 - 66.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Choice Band Mabosstiff Crunch vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Eelektross: 223-264 (59.6 - 70.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

 

[Loginator]

If the opponent stays in it struggles to really do acceptable damage to opponents, to the point that it fails to threaten "heavy" damage to pokemon that aren't really known for great physical bulk. Makes Mabo very prediction reliant for when it can get in, as well as very weak to a well timed tera; eg a Rotom that turned Fairy type takes about half from Crunch.

252 Atk Choice Band Mabosstiff Crunch vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Muk: 234-276 (56.5 - 66.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Choice Band Mabosstiff Crunch vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Eelektross: 223-264 (59.6 - 70.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

Ohh I understand what that means now. But is a 2HKO really not acceptable? Neither of these have reliable recovery.

 

[Rabia]

Ohh I understand what that means now. But is a 2HKO really not acceptable? Neither of these have reliable recovery.

both Eel and Muk commonly run Tera types that resist Crunch (Fairy and Dark, respectively) and can retaliate with Drain Punch; Muk can even just use Rest to get back all of its lost HP. the idea is more that to get the super spicy OHKOs or 2HKOs on otherwise great physical walls, you NEED the Stakeout boost. quz's damage calcs just aim to show that Mabosstiff isn't OHKOing without significant chip if it can't reliably have Stakeout amping up its attacks

 

[Rabia]

since home is dropping in a couple days (hopefully for real this time!), I'll give a fun take that I don't think is all that bold anymore but mybe some people need to hear it

-> A+
Passimian is not that defining anymore. Although it still sees a great amount of usage in games, players have generally moved on from it as the typical go-to glue option when you need a fast pivot. We've seen an increasing amount of Rotom, Scyther, and Bombirdier lately, and although none of them literally mimic Passimian, they offer a lot of other elements that are simply more desirable to teams in a general sense. Passimian is pretty one-dimensional: it runs the same set all the time with really no moveset variety. This has made playing around it fairly trivial because you know what to expect, and of course you can always count on teams having multiple Close Combat resistances in addition to something with Tera Ghost.

Passimian is still phenomenal. Passimian is still a top-10 Pokemon in the format. Passimian no longer defines the tier like it used to, though, and should drop out of the S ranks entirely to reflect this.

 

[Pika134]

New -> A/A+
Hisuian Sneasel is a excellent wallbreaker. Terrific speed making it the fastest fighting type in the tier without using a Choice Scarf, a decent movepool, and a great Tera user. It can be a great sweeper in the end games.

New -> A
Just like with regular Owilfish, Hisuian Owilfish is a great spike user. It does what regular Owilfish does be a defensive spiker minus the different typing. It's typing is really good for its resistance against common poison, and dark types like Muk, and Zoroark. It's also a great user of Tera allowing it to change its type.

New -> B-/C
Despite having a Phenomenal duel-typing, Hisuian Sliggo is really underwhelming. The main problem with Hisuian Sliggo is the average movepool, and lacks any of the important utility that made Goodra broken. Despite, it's signature move being Iron Defense it doesn't have Body Press making it not a good wall, and it can also allow the opponent pokemon to setup since it doesn't have Dragon Tail. Lastly it's just outclassed by Appletun as a special wall, since the apple have an actual recovery move, can phase out setup sweepers due to Dragon Tail, and a excellent user Tera Steel.

New -> UR
Thwackey is so completely unusable. It loses Grassy Glide making it outclassed as a Swords Dance user since other Swords Dance user like Toxicroak, Lycanroc, and Scyther have a better movepools and speed. Even with its ability Grassy Surge there is no Unburden sweepers with the exception of Drifblim which is mostly a defensive wall. All of these reasons are why Thwackey is completely unusable.

 

[skierdude101]

UR->B
Swalot is very similar to Muk, a very good pokemon in the tier right now. They share the same typing and similar bulk. Swalot is a tad bit weaker but makes up for it with more movepool variety (Earthquake, Ice Beam, Encore, Pain Split). Swalot's most notable niche over Muk though is the Liquid Ooze ability, which shuts down Drifblim's recovery option, making it actually take sizeable damage instead of recovering.

UR->B
Leafeon has had a few notable successful appearances. Personally, I've only used it on Sun teams but I've seen it used on HO and Balances as well. A basic set of Swords Dance, LeafBlade, TeraBlast, and filler is enough for Leafeon to either break through teams or clean up. Leafeon's decent speed tier of Base95 lets it outpace most scarfers in the tier after a Trailblaze and it has decent natural physical bulk to try and setup an SD. Grass/Fire coverage is just very good in a tier where Dragon types are almost non-existent.
Sun Replays:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nu-1857247244-hm7ez1r3601gyhjrmp9kzi7chziz15qpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nu-1855929762-wjnwramigzro3ukaruhtppgh0fq5gdfpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nu-1855918667-eva6csu7mz72qlpbg1xyqm42jzge2ucpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nu-1855911335-dmnmepp7kei6ff6t0nyauzvdp7vhrztpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nu-1852328256-xlvqmhkq81b2tes7o9c0fxxq474d74mpw

other:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nu-1854164286-g5y2f40tw2v3ni5rere4ohear86slcupw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9nu-1873380472-awffopyhir39q8xwos5v2af4n9klfmrpw

 

[Rabia]

-> A+
This Pokemon is at least as good as Toxicroak idgaf. Trailblaze sets are very consistent with Tera Grass, and the only counterplay I've seen be somewhat consistent is Thunder Wave Qwilfish, Zen Headbutt Muk if and only if you keep it near full and force Tera early or predict it properly, and faster Ghost-types (of which there are zero if Sneasel gets a Trailblaze off). It's still early, so naturally new-toy syndrome rules all, but it's been super reliable and consistently winning me games whenever I use it.

-> B/B+
It was pretty good. I still need to experiment with Curse sets (Tera Fairy + Shell Armor sounds hilarious), but a specially offensive set with four attacks was frankly pretty solid. You completely dunk on Vivillon and have Acid Spray to mess up other special attackers like Calm Mind Dudunsparce and Oricorio. Steel typing is consistently useful across tiers, and Sliggoo is not a bad candidate.

---

Haven't used Hisuian Qwilfish nor Thwackey yet, agree with Swalot and Leafeon nominations.

 

[Phantomistix]

B- -> B+/A-
It sounds stupid to nom this mon for a raise the day after we get an actual steel type in the tier but imo Glaceon shouldn't have been this low in the first place. There's only a handful of pokemon able to avoid a 2HKO, and tera ground gives Glaceon an option to hit 2 of them super effectively, those being Muk and the newly introduced Sliggoo-H. It's bulk is also very solid, making it more difficult to revenge kill, especially with tera to dodge super effective moves. The departure of Passimian and the introduction of a new spinner in Komala also benefit Glaceon greatly. It has seen usage in multiple tours, dominating in most games, and has been very effective on ladder for me too. It is without doubt one of the best breakers in the tier but its weakness to rocks and reliance on support pokemon to get it in safely and deter hazards prevents me from nomming it any higher.

B- -> C
No one uses this thing. Does nothing outside being a niche way to deal with scyther and even then comes at the cost of not being able to use the other rotom. Forced to run boots on most teams and doesn't fit any strong builds. Comes at the opportunity cost of not being able to use Rotom, a S- ranked mon.

C -> B
Very solid breaker/setup sweeper due to its fast base speed and strong coverage. One of very few specially attacking options that can deal with Chansey via draining kiss.

A+-> A-
Sneasel-Hisui sends his regards.

B+ -> B
Sliggoo-H has introduced competition to the role of a steel and does a better (although still not very good) job of it. Offensive variants still have some merit but I don't think it's as good as the other pokemon in the B+ tier.

B+ -> C+/B-
A very niche HO option in a tier where HO isn't all that strong, especially after losing the premier HO lead in Lycanroc. Threatening when unprepared for but has a very hard time setting up.

UR -> C+/B-
Now that Zoroark is gone there isn't much that this does better than its brother. Normal Qwil is much more splashable and has better defensive typing. This form is still usable on some structures but overall is a worse option.

UR -> B-/B
A pokemon I haven't experiment with much but there isn't much to explore anyway. A solid support option being able to absorb status, control hazards and spread status of its own with a respectable base 115 STAB body slam and yawn on non AV sets. CB sets may also appear here and there and with a solid movepool it should hold its own against the B tiers of NU.

UR -> B-/B
Tbh all this mon does to me is remind me of better days when we had actual steel types in NU. A solid mon that should provide some build variety but I don't see it being among the top tier mons. Very good bulk, and is definitely loving the departure of both Passimian and Zoroark, both pokemon who could cripple it with knock, super effective moves or trick, but outside being a mediocre setup sweeper it doesn't really do much. The tier is in no shortage of phasing and choice tricking pokemon, and haze is a very popular option on multiple top pokemon.

A+
Agree with what was said above regarding this simply being a better Toxicroak in every way. Can run a variety of sets ranging from CB + tspikes to SD Trailblaze. Passimian leaving opened up a slot for a fast fighting type and Sneasel-H will step in and fill the void. Its best checks will likely be Drifblim, Scyther and Rotom, although it can run thief to snipe Rotom, similar to Scyther.

UR -> C+/B-
This mon has a lot of potential imo and I can definitely see it rising in the future. One of the fastest non scarf mons and has a respectable 100 base attack. Can run a wide variety of sets including offensive LO + rocks, CB, HO suicide lead and SD.

Agree with the Swalot and Leafeon noms as well.

 

[Loginator]

Now that Zoroark is gone there isn't much that this does better than its brother. Normal Qwil is much more splashable and has better defensive typing. This form is still usable on some structures but overall is a worse option.

This thing can use Eviolite how is it worse