Welcome to the official OU Viability Rankings topic. You should know the drill by now; In this thread, we as a community will rank every single usable Pokemon into "tiers." In this thread, you're encouraged to post your thoughts and opinions on the various Pokemon that are usable in OU and what tier they should fall under. Posts in this thread will be taken into account when deciding rank changes.
The general idea of the topic is to rank each OU pokemon under "rankings" that go in descending order. Since this is a general tier list, everything is lumped together. There won't be any segregation between offense & defense threats.
- EX: Garchomp can be ranked in A tier as an offensive threat, Ferrothorn can be ranked under A as supportive threat and Skarmory can be can also be ranked in B tier as a defensive threat. These are just examples.
Below are the definitions of each rank, and they should be read be anyone that wants to participate in the discussion of Pokemon's ranks in OU:
S Rank: Reserved for Pokemon that are the pinnacle of the OU metagame. These Pokemon are able to perform a variety of roles very effectively, or can just do one extremely well. Their use has low risk involved and high reward exerted. Pokemon in this rank have very few flaws that are patched up by numerous positive traits. These Pokemon define the metagame.
A Rank: Reserved for Pokemon that are fantastic in the OU metagame, and can sweep, support, or wall significant portions of the metagame. These Pokemon require less support than most others to be used effectively and have few flaws that can easily be compensated for when compared to their positive traits. These Pokemon exert a strong presence in the metagame.
B Rank: Reserved for Pokemon that are great in the OU metagame. These Pokemon have more notable flaws than those above them that affect how they function in the tier. Their positive traits still outshine their negatives, but they require a bit more team support to bring out their full potential. These Pokemon exert an above average presence in the metagame.
C Rank: Reserved for Pokemon that are mediocre in the OU metagame, but have just as many notable flaws that prevent them from being effective. Pokemon in the C tier often require significant support to be effective. Pokemon from this rank tend to face a lot of competition with the more commonly used Pokemon. These Pokemon exert a below average presence in the metagame.
D Rank: Reserved for Pokemon that are highly mediocre in the OU metagame, but are viable enough to justify their use on select teams. These Pokemon are only capable of doing their specific task and fail at doing anything more than that. Pokemon from this rank have multiple crippling flaws that prevent them from being successful a majority of the time, and are often severely outclassed because of it. These Pokemon exert a poor presence in the metagame.
Here is the list of Pokemon that should be the focus of discussion for the next days:
Empoleon: B- > B
Skarmory: B+ > A-
M-Medicham: C+ to B-/B
Starmie: A to A+
Tyrantrum: C+ to B-
Alakazam: C to C+
XY OU Ranking Tier List
(In alphabetical order)
S Rank: Reserved for Pokemon that are the pinnacle of the OU metagame. These Pokemon are able to perform a variety of roles very effectively, or can just do one extremely well. Their use has low risk involved and high reward exerted. Pokemon in this rank have very few flaws that are patched up by numerous positive traits. These Pokemon define the metagame.
S Rank
Metagross (Mega)
A Rank: Reserved for Pokemon that are fantastic in the OU metagame, and can sweep, support, or wall significant portions of the metagame. These Pokemon require less support than most others to be used effectively and have few flaws that can easily be compensated for when compared to their positive traits. These Pokemon exert a strong presence in the metagame.
A+ Rank
Bisharp
Charizard (Mega-X)
Garchomp
Gengar
Gliscor
Landorus-T
Lopunny (Mega)
Latios
Sableye (Mega)
Scizor (Mega)
Thundurus
A Rank
Celebi
Charizard (Mega-Y)
Excadrill
Gardevoir (Mega)
Gyarados (Mega)
Manectric (Mega)
Tornadus-T
Tyranitar
Venusaur (Mega)
A- Rank
Gyarados
Klefki
Kyurem-B
Mamoswine
Mew
Pinsir (Mega)
Raikou
B Rank: Reserved for Pokemon that are great in the OU metagame. These Pokemon have more notable flaws than those above them that affect how they function in the tier. Their positive traits still outshine their negatives, but they require a bit more team support to bring out their full potential. These Pokemon exert an above average presence in the metagame.
B+ Rank
Chansey
Chesnaught
Dragonite
Kingdra
Skarmory
Suicune
Swampert (Mega)
Terrakion
Togekiss
Victini
Weavile
B Rank
Amoonguss
Beedrill (Mega)
Conkeldurr
Cresselia
Gothitelle
Hawlucha
Quagsire
Omastar
Scolipede
Sharpedo (Mega)
Slowking
Zapdos
B- Rank
Garchomp (Mega)
Houndoom (Mega)
Lucario
Tangrowth
Toxicroak
C Rank: Reserved for Pokemon that are mediocre in the OU metagame, but have just as many notable flaws that prevent them from being effective. Pokemon in the C tier often require significant support to be effective. Pokemon from this rank tend to face a lot of competition with the more commonly used Pokemon. These Pokemon exert a below average presence in the metagame.
C+ Rank
Cobalion
Magneton
Rhyperior
Seismitoad
Staraptor
Wobbuffet
C Rank
Blissey
Goodra
Infernape
Shuckle
C- Rank
Zygarde
D Rank: Reserved for Pokemon that are highly mediocre in the OU metagame, but are viable enough to justify their use on select teams. These Pokemon are only capable of doing their specific task and fail at doing anything more than that. Pokemon from this rank have multiple crippling flaws that prevent them from being successful a majority of the time, and are often severely outclassed because of it. These Pokemon exert a poor presence in the metagame.
Glalie (Mega)
Froslass
Gorebyss
Sableye
SETS: If looking for sets they can be found in the preliminary pokedex sub-forum along with the OU Analyses sub-forum for WIP.
http://www.smogon.com/forums/forums/preliminary-pokedex.304/
http://www.smogon.com/forums/forums/ou-analyses.255/
''CONCLUSION REACHED'' POKEMON: Pokemon in this list have reached a conclusive ideal ranking, so unless the metagame changes towards them or there is something about them that hasn't been said, discussion about them is disallowed.
- None yet
- Florges
- Donphan
- Heliolisk
- Darmanitan
- Jolteon
- Milotic
- Tauros
- Post intelligently. Posts like "I think pokemon X should be in this tier" will not be tolerated
- No flaming
- Usage statistics may be used to support an argument or a claim, but don't base your ENTIRE argument around them. For example, you can't just say "Pokemon X shouldn't be this tier because they aren't used that often!"
- No talk about editing the OFFICIAL Smogon tier lists.
- PKGaming is amazing. This is an undisputed fact.
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