Scolipede C- > C/C+

I already said this twice. It’s an under appreciated threat that can be an effective sweeper. Players are mostly prepared for Hawlucha with mons like Clefable, and Zapdos to counter it out. But Lucha beats both (except for Defensive Zapdos) with Poison Jab. Pex is declining and Clefable is on the rise so Poison Jab is more fitting rn but Earthquake can be used. Plus it OHKOs Tornadus after rocks



+2 252+ Atk Scolipede Poison Jab vs. 248 HP / 8 Def Zapdos: 271-319 (70.7 - 83.2%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery



I don’t want to go over the calcs vs Clefable cause it’s obvious what will happen. Now I don’t want to make all my posts into a Scolipede parade so here’s several noms from me.



Nihilego C- > C

Now I know this thing already dropped but the meta is more beneficial towards it. Toxapex’s Reign Of Terror is slowly vanishing and the likes of Clefable and Tornadus increasing in usage is a big deal for Nihilego. Being able to set up rocks vs almost every viable defogger is a nice niche to have. It also doesn’t have to worry about Pex absorbing Toxic Spikes anymore. I believe it should go back to C rank for those reasons.



Alolan Ninetales/Cresselia & Uxie/Araquanid/Shuckle

C+/C > C-

Trick Room, Veil, Webs. What do they all have in common? They are mostly irrelevant in the meta and take a lot of support to execute these playstyles correctly. All five of these mons should drop to C- since their roles are too obscure to be ranked this high in the meta. Veil and Webs get bombarded by our common defoggers and Trick Room requires an entire turn to set up. Bottom line, drop them down.



Crawdaunt > C-

Speaking of Trick Room, Crawdaunt is shredded by the sheer decline of Trick Room. The rise of Clefable and the ever so growing KokoLucha cores is too much for it to handle. If it didn’t have to face competition from Mega-Swampert, Hawlucha, or Qwilfish as rain sweepers than it would’ve definitely deserved to be were it’s at. But right now, it’s plain mediocre.



Manaphy C+ > C

Manaphy was one of the biggest victims to the Gen 7 power creep. Even though Tail Glow + 100 Sp.A is still a deadly combo, it’s base 100 Speed can’t hold it together anymore. The popularity of KokoLucha, Zapdos, and AV Bulu/Amoonguss, as well as Gastrodon makes me wonder why is this ranked this high. It’s a waste of a Z-slot and one mom that tried to fill a niche in playstyles like Webs, Bird Spam, and Veil all failed to stay relevant in the meta. And so did Manaphy.



Mega-Charizard Y C+ > B-

This is an example of a mon that was overhated. Completely walled by Toxapex, weak to rocks, and outclassed by Blacephalon were the main issues for it. But guess what happened? Toxapex (again) is on a bit of a decline, defoggers are more common, and Blacephalon is considered awful. I really think this thing could potentially rise up in the future. Nothing besides Pex and the Mega-Lati twins can swap into it and can swap into a good number of mons like Defensive Lando, Non-Twave Clefable, Non-Toxic Heatran, Mega-Scizor, etc.



Thundurus-I C+ > B-

Thundurus is certainly underrated imo and has a few unique but helpful traits to set it apart from Koko and Zapdos. Instead of discussing it’s offensive toolkit, why not it’s supportive tool kit. Prankster Defog means it is near guaranteed to get rocks off the field giving it an advantage over Zapdos. It has other utility moves to use in conjunction with Prankster like Taunt, Substitute, Toxic, Twave (Because Hawlucha), and Knock Off even though it’s not affected by Prankster. Another underrated set is the mixed Defiant set to punish defoggers such as Tornadus, Gliscor, or even Zapdos. It can not only clear hazards away, but also pressure the use of Defog and Intimidate as well. Can I also mention it’s speed tier let’s it outpace Kartana, Mega-Medicham, and Mega-Pinsir making it a better check to those three. Overall, it’s an underrated mon with utility and speed that needs more representation.



Gastrodon B+ > A-

So Gastrodon rose to B+. But why stop there? It’s arguably one of the best Koko counters we have in the everlasting battle to find the best Koko counter. It does more than counter Koko ofc. It’s well known as a stop to Lando, Greninja, and Magearna. But the main reason for it to rise besides the SPL success it has had is how many cores it can create with the defensive top tiers. Tapu Bulu, Celesteela, Ferrothorn, Landorus, Toxapex, Amoonguss, I can go on. Oh and speaking of Koko



Tapu Koko A+ > S-

I’m still surprised it hasn’t rose to the top yet. Ever since the beginning of the SuMo meta, it has found a way to get even more versatile and stronger. It has forced players to use non-4x weak to ice ground types to counter it out. It had nearly shifted the meta all by its self. It single handedly made Hawlucha and even rain viable and amazing, and has evolved to adapt to the changes in the meta from the Specs Set to the Shuca Set, it is absolutely splashable and a meta defining threat that will probably stay top tier for years to come.