5Dots
Metronome
~ Going to throw in some noms to spice up this thread, which has sleeping for a while ~
RISES
NEW -> A+ / SRISES
This nasty ninja bug is consistent every game it goes. As mentioned by Corthius, because of Speed Boost, Ninjask can out-offense anti-offense Pokemon like Scarf Sawk and Scarf Rotom, making it nearly impossible to revenge kill (unless you happen to not use Protect, which is just bad). Most of Ninjask’s counterplay therefore relies on physically defensive Pokemon like Coalossal, Piloswine, or Rhydon. All of these can be crippled by Toxic, hazards, and Knock Off, which isn’t hard to deal with. While it does require steady hazard removal, most of the Defoggers last long enough for Ninjask to sweep.
NEW -> A
A Stealth Rock setter that has reliable recovery, can spin block, has a volt switch immunity? It’s a pretty welcoming sight. 85/110/75 Its bulk makes it good enough that it can consistently check what it’s supposed to (Sawk, Gurdurr, Rhydon, Rapidash), and has nice offensive presence thanks to its decent base 100 SpA (offensive sets may even see use). While it performs worse against all Rotom variants and Dark-types like Thievul, Silvally-Dark, and Shiftry due to its additional Ghost-typing, in return it actually can do well against most Stealth Rock setters like Rhydon, other Stunfisk, Uxie, and Alolan Dugtrio. Palossand is a neat defensive piece in the meta and will fit well on more defensive builds.
C -> C+
It’s a bit contradictory to have Pincurchin rise but not Swoobat. While I understand Drifblim and other Electric Terrain sweepers are a lot more specialized to the point of mostly fitting in dedicated Electric Terrain teams, Swoobat has seen some decent, legitamate tour success (even if it is indeed rare). Swoobat can be really annoying to deal with considering that it’s easier said than done to keep Dark-types and revenge killers healthy in practice. Unlike the other terrain sweepers, Swoobat is more immediately threatening since it can boost to +2 to all of its stats in one move rather than two, which subsequently makes it harder to revenge kill and threaten away. Most phazers are also either overwhelmed by Stored Power’s power (Throh and Poliwrath), have a lot of difficulty using it as a fourth move (Articuno, Altaria), or are uncommon sights in general (Cryogonal).
C+ -> B-
Grass spam BO and offense teams have worked well for me, and Trevenant is no exception to this. “But why use this over Gourgeist-S”? Well, first, it hits MUCH harder than Gourgeist-S. It can cleanly 2HKO Altaria after Rocks and OHKO most Silvally formes after Rocks, something Gourgeist-S wishes it could do. Unlike Gourgeist-S, it has a much easier time switching into Stunfisk and Poliwrath thanks to Natural Cure, which means it’s not as reliant on a cleric as Gourgeist-S is and gives it more longevity in some instances. There’s also been a general rise in status users like Clefairy, Pyukumuku, and Sableye, which further helps its case. Ninjask and Palossand being around is anticipated to make more teams bulkier, which is what Trevenant enjoys capitalizing on.
UR -> C
Although I’ve brought up Carracosta before in a nom, I think there’s a few key changes where it benefits from the current meta. First, Grass-types like Thwackey have become less common, allowing it to sweep more easily. Second and more importantly, Ninjask existing makes outoffensing it extremely problematic. Kangaskhan’s Fake Out can be blocked by Protect, Gurdurr and Thwackey’s Grassy Glides are 4x resisted (meaning even after Stealth Rock, it’s not going to do much damage), and Ninjask is able to pick up a lot of free KOes and momentum after a boost as a result. Carracosta is one of the very few Pokemon that can feasibly revenge kill it with Aqua Jet, as Ninjask can’t block it off with Protect. High defense and a terrific Rock-typing allows it to reliably set up on Ninjask and inflict large amounts of damage or sweep. In addition, Carracosta can take advantage of both Scarf Manectric and Rotom looking to revenge kill it, as +2 LO-boosted Aqua Jet can KO them after a round of Rocks, which is especially helpful considering how difficult it is to keep off said hazard throughout the whole game. While Carracosta has been quite hard to fit on a team due to the opportunity cost over other sweepers and Water-types, the priority, decrease in Grass-types, and Ninjask’s drop has given it enough merit to make it ranked and be used on a team.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8zu-1577228676 (Not really a good replay, but it shows Costa can easily dismantle teams given a free turn)
DROPS
S -> A+
Sawk is still one of the best breakers in the tier with its speed, power, coverage, and customizability in item slot. The last part, however, is also what brings it down a notch. While it is still very strong with a Choice Scarf, hence why this set is the most common, it struggles to break through especially bulky walls like Tangela and Sableye. Even tanks like Gurdurr and other walls like Altaria can mess with its wallbreaking capabilities, especially when they’re paired together. There’s also faster scarf users like Rotom and Manectric that can whittle it down quickly into Thunderbolt or Shadow Ball range, which limits its time on the field and subsequently forces it out. Choice Band sets do better at breaking down bulkier builds but now face the problems against more offensive builds, where it can now be outpaced by foes like Jynx, Silvallies, and Rotom. Black Belt sets are really good at luring in and dealing heavy damage to defensive teams, and alleviates the prediction reliant nature of Choice sets. Similarly to Band sets, they miss out on the speed Scarf provides. Lastly, Ninjask and Sableye existing makes its job almost impossible. Don’t get me wrong, Sawk is still unmatched at what it does, but I think the dilemma of choosing which sets to run and the aforementioned bug and ghosts.
A- -> B+
While Alolan Dugtrio continues to be an effective revenge killer, SubToxic staller, and a reasonable offensive Stealth Rock user, a lot of the defensive qualities in a Steel-type are not present. It can block Rotom’s Volt Switch, but a bad prediction can cause it to get 2HKOed by Shadow Ball, and OHKOed by a lot of super effective and strong neutral attacks like Thwackey’s Banded Grassy Glide, Gurdurr’s Mach Punch, and Kangaskhan’s Earthquake. If Dugtrio-Alola can’t OHKO anything that is in front of it, it’s likely going to lose the matchup unless it gets lucky with Iron Head flinches. Said defensive stats cause it to be a much more unreliable check to Alcremie. Once it takes damage, it’s very hard for it to regain health back since it doesn’t tend to stay in for very long periods of time. It’s so frail that Ninjask can freely 2HKO it with Acrobatics, so it can’t even be a reliable check to it.
B -> B–
The reason why Ninetales is a lot worse than Rapidash is due to being stuck with Flash Fire, lacking reliable recovery, and the worse Speed tier. Ninetales even lacks moves like Play Rough to threaten out Altaria! While it has Energy Ball and SpA to more consistently threaten out Pokemon like Qwilfish and Rhydon, Ninetales still has less general utility Rapidash and is still greatly dependent on a Nasty Plot boost to be threatening. To compare and contrast, Rapidash can function as a revenge killer and status spreader with both Toxic and Flame Body at any point in the game. Ninetales can try revenge killing, but without the Speed tier and recovery, the health it loses at any point in the game will permanently be lost. This limits it to becoming a late-game sweeper. Speaking of sweeping, even at +2, Pokemon like Altaria (assuming it hasn’t been significantly chipped away) and Thick Fat Miltank can come in and be a complete stop to it. Ninetales has been seeing waning usage for a considerable amount of time in both tours and on the ladder, which reflects its drop.
Last edited: