Pre-bank Doubles Viability Rankings (outdated)

[BlankZero]

Slowking can tank a physical hit with WoW or Intimidate support and also gets Nasty Plot(not nearly as relevant). Snarl/Struggle Bug support is asking for much more. There's not much other difference than that, but just a single difference in Slowking's favor makes Slowbro outclassed and a lot less viable.

Slowking gets better Movepool and in this meta, Special Bulk > Physical Bulk, purely due to Intimidate.

 

[Darkmalice]

Slowbro is still worth considering on teams that don't utilise Intimidate or WoW, or that utilise Light Screen. The movepool difference is negligible in Doubles. It may also be helpful to have more defense to set up TR on different threats as compared to your other TR settler which could be specially defensive.

Slowking is still usually the better pick, but Slowbro isn't outclassed - it's more like its advantage over Slowking's is less likely to be useful than Slowking's advantage over Slowbro.

 

[Jec]

Even if Slowbro is "outclassed" or "disadvantaged" he still has some uses and I think he is viable for a spot. IMO, anyway.

 

[cxinlee]

Um if mon a is outclassed by mon b it means there shouldn't be a reason to use mon a in the first place, and that makes mon a unviable


Also darkmalice why did you say that there was no reason to use starmie, and then say it was c-rank? Im thinking e rank.

 

[BlankZero]

Starmie gets weird moves (like the Type Change one), is fast (and Scarf is a viable set on it with Trick), but it's basically a worse Greninja :P

 

[bearcanine]

Alright. I will go into more detail.

Floatzel for D rank. 115 base speed w/ Swift Swim makes it the most viable Soak user. Soak ruins STAB and makes spread moves like Rock Slide, Earthquake, or Heat Wave even weaker in doubles. Allies with Grass/Electric attacks will benefit greatly, moreso if they're carrying an Expert Belt. It's just a cool move to play with overall. Floatzel also gets a couple useful support moves like Taunt and Torment. Switcheroo can be used to lock your opponent with Choice items or Burn Orb (w/ Water Veil) to cripple heavy attackers like Mega Mawile or Mega Tyranitar.

Edit: Erm. Don't think Switcheroo works on mega stones...

Downside is it's frail. It's likely to be OHKO'd if it's not Sashed. However, it's got the speed to give your opponent the middle finger before it goes.

 

[Darkmalice]

Um if mon a is outclassed by mon b it means there shouldn't be a reason to use mon a in the first place, and that makes mon a unviable


Also darkmalice why did you say that there was no reason to use starmie, and then say it was c-rank? Im thinking e rank.

Pokemon that are completely outclassed by those of the upper tiers, may also be placed within this tier.

To be fair, I was considering it for D-rank, but I didn't feel it fit the description (and Greninja for A-rank too coincidentally). That may change with Pokebank though.

And to make it clear, outclassed does not mean unviable. Outclassed Pokemon are still useable even if there isn't a good reason to use them. I've actually used Scraggy successfully on the ladder even though it is completely outclassed by Scrafty.

 

[youngjake93]

To be fair, I was considering it for D-rank, but I didn't feel it fit the description (and Greninja for A-rank too coincidentally). That may change with Pokebank though.

And to make it clear, outclassed does not mean unviable. Outclassed Pokemon are still useable even if there isn't a good reason to use them. I've actually used Scraggy successfully on the ladder even though it is completely outclassed by Scrafty.

I guess it depends on whether you see the viability rankings as "how well they work" or "how much point is there in using them."
I feel as if the second one is more useful information to have/discuss. Dusknoir is probably more viable than a lot of things on the list, but there is almost zero reason to using it because of Dusclops. Dusknoir is probably B or C material, but because of Dusclops you have as much reason to use Dusknoir as a D or E ranked mon. Does that mean it should go in B or C rank based on how well it performs? I don't think so.. but not my call.

 

[Bummer]

Are there any plans to add small descriptions to the list in the OP, so that new players can get an idea of what roles the listed mons play best / are renowned for? Doesn't have to be long, just specific enough to get a clear idea of it.

 

[Audiosurfer]

Are there any plans to add small descriptions to the list in the OP, so that new players can get an idea of what roles the listed mons play best / are renowned for? Doesn't have to be long, just specific enough to get a clear idea of it.

well not for this list since prebank is going to be over in a few days but it will be considered for postbank definitely. thanks for the idea :)

 

[termi]

So I guess with bank being released we can now continue with this, nay?

So I'm gonna go ahead and nominate Heatran for S-rank

Heatran is simply amazing this gen. Even though he received nothing new, what he did receive is a meta where he can act as a reliable check/counter to a lot of top-tier threats like Char-Y and Talonflame. Not only that, but he also finds himself surrounded by Pokemon that form amazing partners with him. Thanks to the Wide Guard Buff, Hitmontop can now block Earthquake as much as he wants to, allowing Heatran to have a field day setting up Substitute. Great Pokemon like Togekiss have nice defensive synergy with him, and with the rise of Charizard-Y (as well as the decline of Politoed), Heatran often finds his STAB attacks being boosted. And SubTran is not the only viable set he has going for him: ErupTran adores the presence of sun, as well as the fact that Trick Room is better than ever. Heatran is an extremely versatile threat that synergizes well with almost any team and has weaknesses that can be easily migitated and therefor he is deserving of S-rank.

 

[Stratos]

Lolkomori is posting a new theorymon thread later today for bank, Robert Alfons. good night sweet prince, you had a nice run

 

[termi]

Lolkomori is posting a new theorymon thread later today for bank, Robert Alfons. good night sweet prince, you had a nice run

I'm not done yet you dilweed :c