Hiya boys n girls, I haven't been super active on the forums like, ever, but here's my attempt to at least justify a few different 'mons for ranking and also throw my own two cents into the general collective.
Some basic facts before hand:
1) With Emboar leaving the meta, this has left a gap in physical presence and fire type presence leading to the rise in popularity and usage of certain mons, both offensively (incineroar for example) and defensively (like venusaur)
2) Pokemon that used to check Emboar no longer have that function of soft checking the best pokemon in the meta, and therefore their overall import has been reduced
3) a balanced meta has created a new scene for some monsters to absol-lutely thrive (I like puns).
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Delphox: S --> A
Yeah, I said, not A+, A. The truth is, Delphox's role as a soft check to Emboar has been diminished, and with Incineroar climbing the usage charts, Delphox simply does not hold the same presence it used to. Scarf sets still get obliterated by pursuit trappers, it still struggles with bulky rock types, and pokemon like AV Slowking also work to shut it down pretty well. I certainly don't believe it should be an S rank, but the fact that it does not succeed against two other major considerations for that same rank and is relatively frail should a special defensive mon step up, I believe it should drop -- drastically.
Venusaur: A+ --> S
Ok, ok. I know I just said Delphox lost a ton of usage and Venu happens to be a mon who is really good who phox beats, but come on, the splashability of the infinite(ish) sets of Venusaur, its general bulk, strength against fighting types (which are extremely prevalent in the current meta) and general consistency in performance demands that Venusaur be moved up. Pretty much any team has to gameplan for it, and with a limited amount of checks, certain partnerships and predictions are born. Venu precipitated a massive change in the meta, especially with Emboar's disappearance and the relative strength of Heliolisk appearing. If you don't believe me, ladder 3x and tell me you don't find a Venusaur.
Heliolisk: S --> A+
Heliolisk is a threatening pokemon, don't get me wrong. The thing is, its an awkward fit on most teams, and its fighting weakness is devastating in the current meta. Scarf passimian/medicham are very strong and demand a switch out and if lisk runs scarf itself, it becomes subject to torment if it decides incorrectly. It is very frail and I personally don't like the typing. Idk, I just don't feel like anyone really runs it anymore, its performance is consistent but its very hard to match up on teams. It is threatening but avoidable, and can get chipped very easily.
(Quick comment: I don't really wanna touch on Maudino, all I can say is Venu and Toxicroak smoke the living shit out of it and it should not be an S rank pokemon, no matter how bulky you want to pretend it is)
Slowbro: A+ --> S
This shouldn't even be a question. Literally defines the damn checklist provided for an S rank mon aside from maybe being threatening, but even so, it basically defuses any physical pokemon. Calm Mind sets are super cute, assault vests exist (though honestly just run King), and the basic shit is like Slow poke tails... it never fails...
Golbat: C+ --> B
Yeah, name anything, I mean anything more annoying than Golbat. I gotta (reluctantly) agree with Quziel by stating that Golbat right now is a super cute mon. Sure, its dependent on eviolite and knock off sucks, but reliable recovery in roost, strong defense against poison, grass, and fighting types, and the ability to either 1) defog, 2) taunt, 3) toxic, or 4) super fang is obnoxious. infiltrator is a fun niche thing that kinda says F*ck you to Sub-Bulk Braviary and overall, its very interesting. I also like the U-turn variation for a voltturn core and it pairs nicely with stuff like rotom or better yet, sneasel. As far as threats are concerned, ice, electric, and psychic types are quite annoying but hey, isnts that what piloswine and steelix are for? Its just such a good pokemon that can be slapped on to a lot of teams early in the team building process that adds bulk and utility.
Hitmonlee: -- B+ --> A
I'm not sure how popular this opinion is going to be, especially with slowbro being god tier atm, but I will say this: scarf set is fun, normal gem unburden fakeout sweeper is funner. It takes care of helio and sneasel and is kinda just difficult to deal with. The main issue is the fact that medicham is a little better right now at doing lots of things and it gets some other competition with a stacked fighting type class. Still, its not entirely outclassed due to its threat level and speed tier.
Vivillion: A --> B
I just don't get why its ranked so high. There are so many weaknesses involved with it, from stealth rocks, to reliance on sleep and set up, to the fact that any physical priority move hurts real bad, to the fact that many popular scarfs and current threats outspeed it. I just don't think it should be even remotely close to the top of the tier.
Zangoose: A- --> Lower
I don't know where it should go, but why is it this high up? Not much bulk, loses to priority fighting attacks, not very common. Can you guys tell how complacent I am getting with my analysis yet?
Clawitzer: C+ --> B
So, I guess the biggest thing with Mr. Krabs over here is that he has no reliable recovery, but honestly, thats fine. Water types are super dangerous in this meta, and Clawitzer is no exception. I have found large amounts of success walling the shit out of the Slows and being able to DP them to oblivion and beyond. He is an interesting pokemon to use as a lead as well because of his type matchup and coverage moves. It practically gets free stab on a strong fighting and dark move with combined means not a lot can switch in. Now then, here's where things will get interesting. There is one typical set, the choice specs set, which is really useful for wallbreaking. Then, there is the life orb set that is dependent on trick room. Both have their issues, mainly being speed, susceptibility, and unreliability. However I have recently tested a lot of AV Claw and it works, like, really well. Remember how I said it beats up the Slows. Well, it also doesn't get hurt by them. The lack of commitment to a move like in a choice set means Claw can now do even more damage on teams in general, especially as a good chip pokemon. In addition, the extra bulk helps it absolutely absorb special attacks because of its natural bulk. Just going down the Viability Rankings it can switch into: Delphox, Slowbro, Vanilluxe, Steelix, Xatu, depending on whether you go IB or Sludge Wave Altaria, Guzzlord and Sigilyph, or Maudino and Aromatisse, and Houndoom. Thats a lot of really relevant pokemon. I can display the calcs later, I'm tired right now and its 11:00 pm.
Honorable considerations without explanation:
Medicham: A- --> A
Sceptile: A- --> B+
Whimsicott: A+ --> A
Toxicroak: A --> A+
Cradily: UR --> C/C-
Skuntank: C --> C+
Gastrodon: B- --> B
Cinccino: B- --> B
Mesprit: B --> B-
Ambipom UU --> NU
Please lmk your thoughts, I don't mind being roasted as long as its backed with evidence and please feel free to talk to me in the NU chat. I enjoy trying to think of new and innovative ways to use Pokemon to their max potential.
Also shoutout to CB Jose Altuve for the CB Sleeptalk Last Resort Komala, its nasty.
Thank you all and good night