Rejuvenation Viability Rankings (WIP)

[Red'sCharizard]

Version 1.0 - Topic created, ranks defined, many prominent Pokemon listed

Welcome to the Rejuvenation Viability Rankings! The point of this thread is to determine what Pokemon do well here and split them into "ranks". Factors are movesets, stats, and of course: how much they help with more challenging battles, like Gym Leaders, et cetera. Updated daily.

These will be mainly community-driven, so I do need your guys' help. Of course, credit is given to anyone who helps. Feel free to suggest any changes, if they're for the better.

UPDATE: I will start editing certain Pokemon information if I feel like nitpicking. These parts will be italicized.

Furthermore, I will introduce the placeholder format. Pokemon that are "placeholders" are either ranked with inconsistent information, or are received too late in the current version to be properly ranked. These Pokemon will be underlined.

Definitions of each rank:

S Rank: These Pokemon are extremely useful in every or most battles and rarely find themselves outclassed. They almost always have a lot to contribute during the tougher battles. These Pokemon are incredible.

A Rank: These Pokemon are very good in most battles, but may struggle a bit with a few others. Nevertheless, they are still capable of holding their own in these. These Pokemon are great.

B Rank: These Pokemon are above average and help in a lot of battles, but there are times when they find themselves unable to do much in a few parts of the game. These Pokemon are above average.

C Rank: These Pokemon may help in certain battles, but fail at doing much in others. These Pokemon are average.

D Rank: These Pokemon have poor strength. They have little niche in the game and should not be used unless you seriously have no options left. These Pokemon are below average.

Information for contributors:

If you want something ranked, you must include:

What rank you are nominating it for, preferably at the beginning of your post

What moves it has

What battles / parts of the game it is useful for

!It must be available in the current version of the game!

If your post has all this information, it will be added to this one. You will be given credit for it, naturally.

S Rank:

Ampharos, as suggested by zumidesu

Ampharos is a really good pokemon to inflict paralysis or confusion with, and next to that, it has a wide spectrum of moves and type of moves it can learn. It learns Power gem, Signal beam, Thunder, Discharge, Confuse Ray and Dragon Pulse just from leveling up! You can breed Agility on it as well to make up for its fairly low speed, but it's pretty bulky and therefore doesn't get taken down easily. Its high special attack makes up for it, and if you want to test your luck you can try to put a quick claw (is there one in the game? i forgot) on Ampharos, so it might outspeed others. It only has one weakness (ground) as well!

It's especially useful during Valarie's battle to paralyze her pokémon and then zap them to oblivion, but Ampharos is a good addition to your team in general, considering it's a good status inflicter that doesn't get knocked out that easily. It's helped me out of a pinch in more than just Valarie's battle through status inflicting, so I'd definitely recommend having it on your team.

Blaziken, as suggested by SexyMilotic

Overall probably the best starter. The ability capsules available in this game allow you to have Speed Boost, which is by far one of the best abilities in the game. It has great stats and an incredible move set. Strong moves such as Flare Blitz, HJK, and even Brave Bird. It also learns Bulk Up so you can easily have a strong setup mon. As of version 5 Blaziken probably puts in work in every single gym except Valarie's for obvious reasons.

Always looking for more suggestions, please contribute if you have any!

A+ Rank

Hariyama, as suggested by ShingSt

Moves.

-Knock off

-Force palm/Close combat

-Bulk up/?Belly drum

-Fake out/ ?Heavy slam

Hariyama is a beast to use imo how much this pokemon can hit.

It's alright/good on Keta and soul keta.

It's a beast agaisnt Marianette. With some bulk up, i could sweep almost or even entire team of Marianette.

It may be also useful against Angie with it's ability thick fat, it would survive and use close combat.

Knock off is knock off, that gotta be useful in many way.

Force palm is there until level 46. Then close combat comes here and would do the work. Useful agianst Angie.

Bulk up is boosting up for attack and defense. It makes Hariyama a threating pokemon of the boost power.

Belly drum is ONLY if you want to use full power and defeat it. But i say that this move isn't that much useful if the team is faster and you lost the half of the life.

Fake out is a fast move to sweep the opponent with bit of health.

Heavy slam is useful against pokemon like fairy/Ice/Rock

I personally used heavy slam imo for the faries.

You can catch Makuhita in sheridan village, in the 2nd gym so that's early.

Knock off/Force palm/Fake out/ Belly drum is available in early level stage at makuhita/hariyama.

Bulk up is available after soul keta battle, another word after the 2nd badge,

Close combat is a bit late, but it's still very useful on that time.

It have amazing ability so may fit it in the game through.

Guts and thick fat is very useful.

Toxicroak, as suggested by vsx2000goton

One of the strongest pokemon on my active roster in Rejuvenation. I was lucky to catch him from that SEC. Very diverse move pool, incredibly high stats. With a few bulk ups he can sweep teams easily with poison jab/zen headbutt and sucker punch for pokemon he can't outspeed. I've swept 5/6 of the normal type gym leader's team, and half or more of other prominent trainers with two bulk ups. Very useful against Keta as well (the one in Amethyst Grotto). Currently the ability I have on him is Poison Touch but I think Dry Skin would be more powerful on him (I have a Lotad with Rain Dish and taught him Rain Dance from the TM you get). Granted Toxicroak is not the fastest pokemon, nor the bulkiest. Easily dies to psychic type moves. Everyone agrees that he totally kicks ass.

A Rank:

Hitmonchan, as suggested by SexyMilotic

This fighting types are probably some of the best you have access to. Great attack stat, pretty decent defenses, and a speed stat that can prove helpful. The main reason why it outclasses many of the other fighting types available is because of its access to the Iron Fist ability combined with the elemental punches and Close Combat. Add Bulk Up to this Pokemon and it functions incredibly well. Its Sp. Def stat is also rather good, which pairs well with Bulk Up.

Honchkrow, as suggested by GreatNinja, analysis improved by Chubb the Pig

Honchkrow has a fabulous Attack, a Special Attack just a bit lower, and a decent Speed. When a Murkrow it had Prankster, a useful ability, but upon evolution it gained Moxie, making it an ultimate powerhouse. It gains moves like Haze and Tailwind (to be used mainly as a Murkrow), Sucker Punch, and Brave Bird and Roost (breed). This Pokemon is also very early (please don't axe Jan), so it is great for multiple battles. It has advantages over Keta, Narcissa, and Crawli to be exact. Also, being a powerhouse, it can definitely hurt Venam, Marianette, and Valerie. However, most will not evolve this beautiful thing until it gains many of its useful moves like Tailwind as a Murkrow, so it starts being powerful usually around Valerie.

Infernape, as suggested by Ace_Trainer_Vince

Iron Fist makes Infernape frightening together with its great Attack and Speed. It's a great help to subdue the threat on the Normal Gym. If you make it learn Thunderpunch, this will tear teams down. It gets Mach Punch at level 14 when Chimchar becomes Monferno and Close Combat when becoming Infernape. One can also tutor it Flare Blitz.

Jellicent, as suggested by Chubb the Pig

Mr. Pringles or Miss Smoochie is an AMAZING wall, having a high Special Defense and HP and a decent Defense. Its Special Attack is also nothing to laugh about. It also has two out of three great abilities, Water Absorb (to recover a bit more HP if you can predict a Water type move) and Cursed Body (a nice way to Disable annoying/strong moves if you're lucky). Jellicent has nice moves to compliment its ability to dish out damage and still be a wall, like Night Shade, Recover, Rain Dance, Hex, Water Pulse, Brine (complimenting its slowness), Hydro Pump, Wring Out, and, being its latest but best move, Water Spout. You can easily Water Spout everything that comes your way and Recover to keep it powerful. Still, this comes pretty late, so Water Pulse, Brine, or Hydro Pump could it replace it. For battles, since this Pokemon is available before Narcissa, I'd recommend this for every Gym: Narcissa (it should be able to take a Ghostly Wail and then proceed to heavily injure the target), Crawli (just to wall a bit and maybe even damage that Volcarona), and Angie (walls Ice types all day). Jellicent is a great Pokemon, being a tanking attacker.

Jumpluff, as suggested by DatAssery

This thing is pretty much the best support mon in the game,early Sleep Powder&Leech Seed is insanely good already but as a Jumpluff it outspeeds a good majority of the opposition so there's a good chance it will put the opponent to sleep and leech seed it. It can then slowly wittle them down by attacking and putting them back to sleep or switch to another mon who can reliably take it down. This thing got moved waayy farther back than where it was originally but even then it can still put some good work if you grind it up right before Crawli because of its acrobatics. People like Jan,Vinny&Shing know how much I love this thing now and even then without the bias it's still a great pokeyman.

Piplup, as suggested by Strawberry

Pre-venam, the Piplup family is able to draw a lot of moves that will trigger its Defiant ability, giving Piplup free sharp attack boosts that is lowered in the early game, and it more than mitigates its rough learn-set.

Tangrowth, as suggested by Pyrrhon

Its natural bulk is pretty amazing with stats at 100 HP and 125 Defense, but 50 special defense can hamper it slightly. Due to it coming from a shadow Pokemon it gets the move Wild Charge, which may seem... well wild, but it packs a punch against some of the opposition that try to fight Tangrowth. It knocks out flying types because I can guarantee it will live a flying move with it's bulk and has base 100 attack backing it up. Not to mention it's rocking one of the best moves as of the 6th gen meta, Knock Off. It also provides nice utility against bugs or ice types with Ancient Power and if you need to recover, don't worry. Tangrowth is packing one of the most frightening abilities and one of the most frustrating. Regenerator. Switching out will have you regain 33% of your health... With no drawbacks. Is that OP or what? Not to mention it heals up easily using Giga Drain along with it....

Torterra, as suggested by Chubb the Pig

Torterra is one of the best Starter Pokemon, with a great Attack and Defense as well as decent HP and Special Defense. It also gains nice moves like Wood Hammer, Earthquake, Crunch, Leech Seed, Synthesis, Curse (Torterra's Speed isn't good anyways), and Seed Bomb (breed). These moves, however, mostly come in Torterra's Level 30s. Still, this Pokemon can do some damage to Keta (but not to Venam). Afterwards, everything is easy, as STAB Earthquake and Leech Seed/Synthesis to live longer is amazing. It can do plenty of damage to Marianette, be a beast for Narcissa with Bite or Earthquake, Razor Leaf away Valerie (sadly, Wood Hammer is relearner only), and hurt Angie intensely if it lives an Ice type move.

Yanmega, as suggested by MMM

Overall, this is a pretty okay 'mon, it does its job (as a special attacker, that is) really well and can punch holes on a team if correctly used. Both of its abilities, Speed Boost and Tinted Lens, are amazing in different ways, with the former making it a good revenge killer and late-game sweeper, along with Detect, and the latter ensuring that anything gets at least 2HKO-d by one of its STAB moves. The reason why I'm putting this in such a high rank is because of how useful it is at the time you obtain it. I'm not sure if anyone's had or is having any difficulties with Crawli, but if that's the case, this thing is your savior. Yanmega easily took on 5/6 of his team by spamming Ancient Power and Air Slash (which if desired, requires you to grind it to lvl 54 and Reverse Candy it back to lvl 50). Furthermore, it even managed to deal serious damage to Angie's team, who uses a mono-ice team.

A- Rank:

Chandelure, as suggested by Archie, analysis improved by Chubb the Pig

Chandelure has an amazing Special Attack, no doubt. It also has Flash Fire and Infiltrator, two great Abilities. Its movepool is a bit more lacking, however, with its notable moves (no TMs included) only being Hex, Flame Burst, Pain Split, Inferno, and Night Shade. As for battles, this one is great for Crawli and Angie, with Flame Burst and Inferno being Super Effective. Another strategy is to try hitting an Inferno, burning the foe, and then using Hex.

Cofagrigus, as suggested by berlyda

Having trouble with those overlevelled Dimensional Rift Pokemon? Cofagrigus has your back. Take a hit, lay down a Curse, and just wait for the inevitable. Does a gym leader have a tank that you just can't take down? Hit it up with a Curse. Throw in a Will-o-Wisp on any physical threat. And when it finally learns it, Destiny Bond is always a great move to rely on.

Dusclops, as suggested by vsx2000goton

It's a good tanky pokemon with high D and SpD stat. However it is lacking in all other stats, primarily HP. I don't use him a lot in trainer battles, but for battles where I want to take out a threat. He's useful against physical teams because of the will-o-wisp and if there's ever a pokemon that can take out my win condition. then I send out Dusclops and live a hit, then curse. Best case scenario I can take out two pokemon with Dusclops. Worst case scenario I'll get a curse off and then die. This pokemon on its own can't do much but it can poke holes in the enemy team and make it easier for the rest of your pokemon to clean up. Dusclops has helped me in more than one tough gym/rival battle and definitely deserves a good spot in the rankings.

Emolga, as suggested by WTE

The unsung hero of Pokemon Rejuvenation. You get him at the very start of the game (if you're lucky). He is useful in most gyms with the exception of 3rd, 4th, & 7th. I cannot tell you how many times Emolga has saved my behind in the close games against gym leaders. He gets a stab, double powered Acrobatics at LV 30 which is immensely useful against Ken, avoids the field effects of Venam and can fire back with Charge + Spark combo, Valarie is self-explanatory, as is Crawli (Acrobatics FTW). He is one of the fastest pokemon in the game and if he can survive, can do some serious damage before fainting. Functions best as a late game sweeper. Static & Motor Drive are great abilities.

Medicham, as suggested by GreatNinja, analysis improved by Chubb the Pig

If somebody looked at Medicham's stats, they would immediately think it was worthless. However, due to Huge Power, this Pokemon is absolutely amazing. Plus it's very early! Some notable moves it gets are High Jump Kick, Zen Headbutt (Relearn), and the Elemental Punches (Relearn). Bullet Punch (breed) and Fake Out (breed) are also great moves, and Acupressure combined with Baton Pass (breed) is another strategy. This Pokemon is great for battles against Keta, Marianette, and Angie, if you can get lucky with the infamous but powerful High Jump Miss.

Noivern, as suggested by NikeSB

I believe Noivern can be an A class pokemon due to the dragon/ flying typing available so early into the game as well. It works well against almost every gym, except Angie. ;( I find my Noivern extremely good with it's current moveset as well.

Noivern:
Moveset: Boomburst
Hurricane
Dragon Pulse
Wing Attack

Rapidash, as suggested by Chubb the Pig

Rapidash being a horse, has amazing Speed and Attack, and also decent stats everywhere else. It has Flash Fire (to power up Fire moves and give it an immunity) and Flame Body (in case you want a source of burns). The Pokemon has a great movepool too, with a purify move of Aqua Jet (priority and coverage), Megahorn (reteach) and Poison Jab (reteach) and Bounce (all coverage), and Flare Blitz and Fire Blast (both are good STABs, but Flare Blitz is preferred for obvious reasons). On the breeding side, you may sacrifice Aqua Jet for moves like Low Kick, Thrash, Hypnosis, Horn Drill, and in the future, Morning Sun. For battles, being available after Valerie but before Crawli, use this for Crawli and Angie, since Flare Blitz destroys most of their Pokemon.

Slowbro, as suggested by Pyrrhon

Sporting some gnarly defensive stats of 95 HP 110 Defense and 80 Special Defense this thing will stay around for a while, especially with Regenerator. Not to mention that it isn't just a tank, it's a cannon. Sporting the title of Big Bertha on my team, Slowbro dishes out Psychics and Surfs easily with it's great base special attack stat of 100. It's weaknesses are rather harmful to it, but it's nothing that can't be shrugged off by two of it's best utility moves, Slack Off and Amnesia. Being bulky isn't enough for you? Amnesia will increase your special defense to strikingly high levels quickly and paired with your HP and and already high defense, Slowbro will not die. Need to heal without Regenerator? Slack Off heals 50% of your HP and with your already high as hell defenses, you will not die... Although the reason Slowbro is held back from S or A rank is the fact that it is slow :[

Always looking for more suggestions, please contribute if you have any!

B+ Rank:

Camerupt, as suggested by Chubb the Pig

Camerupt has plenty of great things about it. It has a great movepool with amazing stats to back it up. Although it has quite a few weaknesses and a lackluster speed, this thing is amazing.

Some moves it gets include: Amnesia, Curse, Lava Plume, Eruption, Earth Power, Rock Slide, Yawn

I'd recommend this thing for pretty much every Gym besides Valerie for obvious reasons.

Emboar, as suggested by Chubb the Pig

Emboar can be either Physical or Special, although most run Physical due to Attack being higher and more Physical moves. Blaze and Reckless are both great Abilities, with Reckless being more common. This is because of the fact that Emboar has Flare Blitz and Rock Head as two moves it learns, both by level up. Also, there's Flamethrower, Assurance (Emboar has pretty low speed anyway), Roar, Take Down (also boosted by Reckless), and Hammer Arm (Emboar's best Fighting STAB). If you're the breeding type of person, there's Superpower, Sucker Punch, and Curse opened up to you, too. For battles, this Pokemon is great for everything besides Valerie (obviously). Still, this Pokemon shall be taking MASSIVE recoil and is slow, so it is therefore not the best choice if you're expecting a Pokemon that will be able to sweep, unless you bring plenty of Potions and Revives.

Heliolisk, as suggested by Chubb the Pig

With a great Special Attack and Defense and a very nice Speed, this thing is a huge threat. It also relies on Weather, having Sand Veil (don't use this), Dry Skin, and Solar Power. On a Rain team, Dry Skin is the better option, healing you every turn. Plus Thunder, a move it naturally gets, has 100% accuracy! Solar Power is better for the extra power in the sun, however. Some other moves it gets are Razor Wind (best Normal STAB it can learn by level up), Parabolic Charge, Glare (by breeding), and Hidden Power, since its movepool is VERY lacking. Still, Heliolisk is amazing, especially in battles like Narcissa, since it's immune to Ghost moves, Valerie (obviously), and Angie (weather stops Hail and boosts Heliolisk).

Hitmontop, as suggested by Chubb the Pig

Hitmontop can be a great addition to your team (if you're willing to try to evolve it into this). Intimidate is useful, but Technician is a lot better, boosting so many of Hitmontop's moves. Combine that with his nice Attack, amazing defenses, and somewhat decent Speed, and you got yourself a pretty bulky attacker! To make use of Technician, Fake Out, Pursuit, Revenge, Rolling Kick, Quick Attack, and maybe Rock Smash can be useful on this. However, everybody knows that when this one hits level 55, Close Combat will WRECK everything. Detect and Endeavor also worth mentioning, I suppose. Now, for battles. Counter is always a great move for battling Marianette and Close Combat is always amazing, easily taking Angie out. There's also the battle with Valerie worth mentioning, since Hitmontop can at least do some damage there, too. While outclassed by its brother Hitmonchan (but not Hitmonlee; at least Hitmontop has some utility as a wall or a supporter, not just as an attacker), Hitmontop can be a great choice.

Houndoom, as suggested by RESSS, analysis improved by Chubb the Pig

Houndoom is a great offensive Pokemon, having the Ability Flash Fire, amazing Special Attack, very nice Speed, and decent Attack. It can learn a variety of moves, including Foul Play, Flamethrower, Thunder Fang, Crunch, Nasty Plot, and if you're willing to breed, Destiny Bond. This Pokemon is relatively early, and so it is great for battle against Narcissa, Crawli, and Angie, despite being weakened by Narcissa and Angie's Fields. The downside to this one is that its moves come pretty late in the game.

Leavanny, as suggested by Chubb the Pig

That Shadow Sewaddle you get at Goldenwood Forest, purified and evolved into Leavanny, can be pretty decent, having a very nice Attack and Speed early!

It gets Will-o-Wisp upon Purification; some great STABs like Bug Bite (just to steal some berries), Leaf Blade, and X-Scissor; and, if you were patient enough, Sticky Web, which seriously hampers your opponents. Protect is also pretty nice to have!

Plus, Swarm is amazing if you need to spam Bug type moves and have somewhat low HP.

Venam - You can't use it, sadly. Not like it would be that good anyways.

Keta - Will-o-Wisp is very valuable to have here, since I think all of his Pokemon are Physical attackers. Combine that with Granbull's Intimidate and Charm, like Pyrrhon said, and Keta can't even scratch your team.

Marianette- Well, Will-o-Wisp is nice here, too, I guess. Also, the "Protect + attack" strategy for her Slaking, since Slaking has Truant (EDIT: There's a Protect bug as of E5.5, so this won't be working too well. Still, you can always burn it!).

Haven't gotten past this point in my older save file, but I think Leavanny would also be pretty good against Valerie!

Ludicolo, as suggested by Shadowstar77

A Ludicolo under the rain is no joke. Don't let it's happy-dance fool you. Access to Rain Dance is what truly makes Ludicolo what it is. A rain-boosted surf is good coming of of its 90 SpAtk which is "decent" but the rain definitely helps. Ludicolo also gets STAB Giga Drain so it'll be dancing around for a while. Breeding for Leech Seed is a good idea so you can stack it with Giga to make Ludicolo even more annoying to take down. You can also opt for a Rain Dish variant if you feel like you want Ludicolo to be more "supporty" and slowly take town opponents and heal you 'Pokes at the same time. Ludicolo can fill multiple roles and is not to be underestimated.

Magneton, as suggested by GreatNinja, analysis improved by Chubb the Pig

Although Magneton's superior evolution Magnezone is not yet available, Magneton manages to be a great Pokemon with nice Defenses and a pretty good Special Attack! Sturdy could be useful for those who try using a Ground type move, and Analytic can be used to increase your offense. Some nice moves it gets are Thunder Wave, Discharge, and Flash Cannon. Magneton can be used for Paralyzing Crawli and Angie's Pokemon, taking some hits, and dishing out some extra damage.

Malamar, as suggested by deforever93

Its moveset is really fantastic and easy to get even before lvl 55,all with level up. Psycho Cut (stab),Superpower,Night Slash (stab) and it has hypnosis just as start when it's an inkay. I don't think there's much to say,this is a powerhouse. It's stat's are pretty decent 88 base def. 76 base sp.def. You could get an Inkay with +sp.def -sp.atk nature,so you can add a bit of bulk in the special side and start spamm superpower like there's no tomorrow,increasing at the same time the bulk for special side. However, because it learns its better moves somewhat late, it is pushed down to B+.

Mamoswine, as suggested by biboo195

Good movepool with Ice Shard/Earthquake/Blizzard/Ancient Power. You may want to delay Swinub evolving to Piloswine until lvl 37 to get Earthquake earlier, and you'll need to tutor him Ancient Power to evolve to Mamoswine. But once he's completed, he's quite a threat. Priority Ice Shard kills or put a serious dent to everything that doesn't resist it, and will be very useful for future Dragon gym. Earthquake is Earthquake. Ancient Power to handle Flying/Fire type (Talonflame and Charizard) and for semi setting up. Blizzard to break some Field Effects ( and to surprise physical wall ). But he's not a very fast pokemon, and you're not gonna get a Swinub that early (Akuwa Cave). He's my favorite pokemon since Platinum ( 1 shotted Cynthia's Garchomp ), and i'd love to see him somewhere in the ranking.

Meowstic, as suggested by berlyda

Just as a great all-round support 'mon. If you want to make the most of it, you won't be dealing out much damage, but Prankster Reflect and Light Screen with Light Clay will make a lot of fights much easier. Priority Misty Terrain really helps in gym battles too, levelling the playing field from the beginning.

Snubbull and Granbull, as suggested by Pyrrhon

Although Snubbull does not do well against Venam, the ability to resist shadow Pokemon, resist Keta and intimidate then charm attackers, it really hampers the AIs teams. It makes Keta its bitch, and can cripple any physical attacker, while providing support in the form of charm and bulk up. It's usage will probably drop as more things come up, but for now it's great.

Swampert, as suggested by WTE

Has usage in every gym in the current version. His issue is that his movepool only gets good late game so he isn't really a star player (aside from the battle against Venam). Regardless, he can take hits and can fire back hard. With only a grass type weakness he is nothing to disregard. I will admit, Rock Slide is pretty powerful alongside the item hard stone. Just watch out for energy balls and giga drains. Crawli might sneak those up on you but a rock slide will put him in his place. He best functions as a hard hitting wall on your team so you can heal up your other mons.

Vivillon, as suggested by Shingst

Moves

-Struggle bug/Bug buzz

-Psybeam/Hurricane

-Protect(catch a spewpa in this case)/Quvler dance

-Draining kiss / Sleep Powder (if you tutor it in a previous version)

Struggle bug is the move you get from vivillion in level 12 that spewpa evolves.

So don't evolve more than level 12. You don't need to waste a heart scale and it's long back in end game version 5.

Bug buzz after level 35.

Psybeam is real good in the beginning game. After in late game, it's bad.

So hurricane would replace it. You will get hurricane at level 50.

Catch a spewpa and you will get a protect. It's really useful if you have a pokemon that have status moves.

But in the late game, it will be bad. So quiver dance is really more useful move. You get quvier dance in level 45.

Draining kiss is really good move. Drinking the dark/fight/dragon pokemon.

This move may be useless, so maybe switch to sleep powder.

It's available before 1st gym.

Gym it's good against.

Venam: Useful for psybeam.

Keta: Useful for psybeam and draining kiss. Be careful for lucario and hawlucka.

Marianette: Not useful, unless you get the quiver dance boost without get fainted.

Narcissa: Not useful, the moves isn't useful against except for gengar.

Valriere: If you can put Politoed to sleep, you can set up Quiver Dances all over it.

Crawli: A beast. 3x Quiver dance, get all stats up to max + hurricane = done.

Angie= Death.

It's useful from 1st, 2nd and 6th gyms.

The others isn't vivillion in near great except if you get a bit of luck.

Bonus: You can catch a shadow vivillion in after Valriere battle.

It have the move wish as it's shadow move.

B Rank:

Breloom, as suggested by Reverse & zumidesu

Moves :

Spore

Bullet Seed/Seed Bomb

Mach Punch/Dynamic Punch

Substitute/Bulk Up/Rock Tomb

It's pretty good against Angie even with his weakness to ice if you can pull out one Spore and then Substitute you can basically sweep her team with this combo again and again...

Personally i have a Scolipede in my team so i run him with Bulk Up but Spore and Substitute can do the work but be sure to beat the Abomasnow first since it's not affected by Spore.After that just Mach Punch/Dynamic Punch everything.

Even without Rock Tomb i think Breloom can still do some damage to Amber team and later on be really useful against Saki and Adam.

Exploud, as suggested by Red's Charizard

Available early in the game as Whismur, you get a decent special attacker. You will be using Uproar for a while - up until level 40, when it evolves into Exploud. Once it does, you can go tutor it Boomburst. What's so good about Exploud is STAB Boomburst. It 2HKOs pretty much everything you come across. It also gets Surf for rock types as coverage. Furthermore, with the ability Scrappy, it's able to hit ghost types hard. Unfortunately, its speed stat is not the best, so if you have the Quick Claw, it's best to put it on this thing.

Feraligatr, as suggested by Patrick

The only real hindrance I've had is the lack of an actual physical water move (Aqua Tail at lvl 63 ). However its Attack stat is pretty good for where I'm at in the game (Narcissca) and it can even act as a semi Defensive wall with proper EVs. While Aqua Tail is not learned until late, and I doubt we'll see Waterfall for a while, its Physical movepool is still very helpful. Crunch and Ice Fang combined with Sheer Force is beyond deadly and can lay some serious damage on most opponents. The fact that it evolves at lvl 30 means with only 1 reverse candy Feraligatr can be very viable against Keta, especially his Hawlucha. Even Ren's team wasn't able to take very many hits from him. I haven't faced Narcissca, but being a Ghost gym leader Crunch will be very helpful, even if dark type moves are nerfed in her field, and IF she has a Chandelure that's something Feraligatr can take with relative ease. Not to mention that breeding can give him 1) a physical priority move in aqua jet and 2) DRAGON DANCE!!!! enough said there xD

Greninja family, as suggested by Red's Charizard

Greninja is quite good - you are able to capture Froakie rather early in the game as a Shadow Pokemon. Once you purify it, it's a pretty solid water type with a decent bit of coverage, good special attack and really high speed, although you'll mostly end up using Water Pulse. Once it becomes Greninja, it becomes a lot more powerful, and uses Surf very well, once you obtain it. You can also tutor it Night Slash and Spikes, among others. Mat Block is also usable, if you really struggle with double battles. Mind you, you'll need to go back to version 4 if you want to tutor things.

Muk, as suggested by Sheep

The fine gentleman that constitutes this line knows how to do one thing really well, make sure you win. Initially you might look at the level up movepool of Grimer and be disgusted. I know I was. A full set of special attacks on a potent physical attacker? How could that possibly work? In practice though, the moves Grimer tends to employ are high base power for the stage of the game it learns them, as well as getting a STAB bonus. The high base power on stuff like sludge bomb keeps Grimer's damage decent and the 30% chance to poison doesn't hurt (you) either. Combine that with the well above average bulk of Grimer/Muk and it'll consistently beat it's opponent in a one on one assuming no type imbalance.

But that's not all. The qualities I just listed are enough to make Muk a decent pokemon, one that can hold it's one for a slot on your team but nothing more. What makes this pile of grunge so great is the very early access to the horrendously broken combination of minimize and poison gas. Set up three times with this thing on something it can take (which isn't hard to come by when you're poison and bulky), and watch 3-4 of your opponent's team die slowly. It's a gimmick, but it's one that works. Once Muk gets to level 40 though, it learns gunk shot, and that is when it really starts dishing the pain. Just to top it off mud bomb is a move it gets early that helps it to deal consistent damage to the poison and steel types that are immune to poison gas.

Grimer/Muk has pulled at least as much weight as my Stoutland and kept me moving forward through a very difficult game. For that reason I suggest it for the nice and solid rank of B. Something that'll rarely ever let you down and obtainable before the first gym.

Nido duo, as suggested by Alaneapen, analysis improved by Chubb the Pig

The Nido duo is actually very versatile, especially with Sheer Force. The Queen has more defenses, while the King has more Offense. Also, there are a few moves that are different for each:

Both: Earth Power, Toxic Spikes, Poison Tail (breed)
King: Megahorn, Sucker Punch (breed)
Queen: Superpower, Crunch
Since you may get these two at the start of the game, they are good for multiple Gyms (exceptions being Venam, Valerie, and Angie). You may set up Toxic Spikes with them and proceed to attack.

Primeape, as suggested by Swampellow

Can function similarly to Hariyama with slightly less bulk, but better speed. Although it can be annoying to get (Unless you really want to try and make a Woobat happy), with the best option is right before Marianette by catching a Swoobat in the deep sewers. With enough bulk ups (4+) can easily take Marianette and Narcissa whilst still being able to take hits. Is also useful for Angie once it gets cross chop.

Pyroar, as suggested by berlyda

Very high Speed and Special Attack, early Flamethrower, and the underrated Endeavor. Being such a fast Pokemon, it's easy to turn a battle around by using Endeavor when on low HP and then revenge killing with a priority move. May be very useful for gym leader Crawli, and can wear down a strong threat from other gym leaders thanks to Endeavor, even if only once.

Serperior, as suggested by Chubb the Pig

Serperior has decent offenses, an amazing Speed, and most importantly, the coveted Contrary Ability! This is what makes this thing a monster: Contrary and Leaf Storm keeps boosting its Special Attack. Thing is, Leaf Storm comes very late, so other moves include Leech Seed, Giga Drain, and Wring Out. As for Leaders it's good against, obviously the answer would be Valerie (beware Ice Beam, however). This can also do some decent damage in the other Gyms (besides Venam). Sadly, Crawil and Angie can easily defeat Serperior. However, once more Gyms come in, Serperior will definitely be an amazing Pokemon on your team!

Sharpedo, as suggested by biboo195

Ability : Speed Boost.

You can catch Carvanha from the Fountain? quest in Sheridan's Help Center, and that's pretty early for such a nice Pokemon. Sure, it isn't bulky, but with Speed Boost, it can be one heck of a sweeper. His moveset can be :

_ Aqua Jet (priority STAB is always fun)

_ Crunch (STAB, has a chance to flinch, and is pretty strong even against Narcissa's field effect) or Night Slash (STAB, high crit chance)

_ Ice Fang (for coverage against Dragon type and Grass type) or Waterfall when Jan adds it ( for more damage and STAB)

_ Poison Fang (for coverage against Grass type and Fairy type)

Opinion : He has a nice movepool, and he is useful for a lot of stuff thanks to Speed Boost (the ability that rocketed Blaziken to Uber), but he isn't bulky with just base 70/65 Def/Sp.Def, so he works best as a revenge killer.

Gym :

Venam : N/A

Keta : Aqua Jet can be used to revenge kill, but since Sharpedo's a Dark type, he won't live long out there.

Mariannete : Same as above

Narcissa : Crunch is very nice here, even with the field lowering its damage. Be careful with Gengar/Mismagius though.

Valarie : Crunch and Poison Fang are nice, but be very careful with Rotom/Lanturn.

Crawli : Sharpedo can do serious damage to Crustle and Volcarona thanks to Aqua Jet and the rain, but he won't like Galvantula at all.

Angie : If you get rid of her field and stall Abomasnow's Snow Warning, Sharpedo can take care of Froslass with ease. But since the rest are pretty tanky, be careful.

Stoutland, as suggested by nepeta100

crunch or one of the elemental fangs after move tutor

reversal

take down

work up

45 more base stat in defenses than granbull 35 more speed at the cost of losing 5 hp and 10 attack makes it more likely to go first and hit almost as hard as a granbull can and be able to take more hits. It has a simpler looking movepool to granbull as well so you can make it fit the same role on your team if you don't have or want a granbull. Or you can team him up with granbull after the opponents attack is lowered and then work up and have a good chance to sweep

gym usage

most non gym battles pretty good

1st gym herdier use take down work up when possible

2nd gym week to fighting must lower opponent attack first

3rd gym same stategy role as first gym however some pokemon have super effective moves on it

4th gym crunch even though it is weakened in the field since ghost does not effect stoutland and it has decent bulk work up set up is easy you can even use the hidden ability capsule to hit all the ghosts except doublade for stab neutral high atk damage

5th gym there is better options field combined with the field effect and strong special moves it cant take as many hits as before

6th gym same role as earlier gyms or you can use fire fang from the move tutor

7th gym can one shot and out speed glaceon, aurouras, wailren, with high power reversal and holding black belt using no work up boosts just take down and don't heal before the battle. note remember aurouras has snow warning make sure the hp is not lowenough that it will die from hail on the turn snow warning starts

Sudowoodo, as suggested by Chubb the Pig

Sudowoodo is a heavy hitter, with a great Attack and Defense and decent Special Defense and HP, two nice abilities (there's a third that isn't so good) being Sturdy (just in case) and Rock Head (which compliments some of its moves), and its purify move, Shift Gear, to boost its already amazing Attack and lackluster Speed (but don't count on this to make Sudowoodo can outspeed Pokemon). Along with Shift Gear, it gains access to Wood Hammer (no recoil with Rock Head), Rock Slide or Stone Edge (two best STABs), Sucker Punch, Low Kick/Counter, and Hammer Arm (it's not like Sudowoodo is that fast anyways). If you wanted to breed one, which you really shouldn't because there's no more Shift Gear, there's Self-Destruct, Stealth Rock, and Curse opened up to you. As for battles, this Pokemon can be received before Keta, so it's useful against Marianette (Low Kick or Counter are good moves), Narcissa (Sucker Punch), Crawli (obviously, Rock Slide/Stone Edge away), and Angie (same for Crawli). Before you even attack in any of these Gyms, however, always remember to Shift Gear up! However, because of its mediocre stats (aside from Atk and Def), alongside the difficult method of obtaining some better moves, it is pushed down to B rank.

Venomoth, as suggested by Chubb the Pig

While Venomoth's use in competitive battling (Quiver Dance + Baton Pass) doesn't work in this game as well, Venomoth does get some decent moves, combined with decent Special Attack and Speed as well as the ability Tinted Lens which can help Venomoth's offense against Pokemon it's NVE to quite a bit. It has Sleep Powder and Disable, Signal Beam, Zen Headbutt and Poison Fang (both are physical, which suck, but Poison Fang is best STAB), Psychic, and Bug Buzz and finally Quiver Dance at a late level. By breeding, it can get Baton Pass, but as stated before, it's somewhat difficult to pull one off and is therefore not usually worth it. It also can get Giga Drain and Toxic Spikes. For battles, Venomoth is excellent for Keta (since it gets Psybeam around the time as a Venonat). This Pokemon is also decent in any other Gym, as long as it's fast enough to outspeed anything that can hit hard. After a Sleep Powder, feel free to use any move you'd like, since it has plenty of coverage!

Venusaur, as suggested by biboo195

Ability : Chlorophyll

Not the fastest pokemon, but a base 80 speed is not bad. Outside of that, our underrated frog from gen 1 has the ability to stall in the form of Leech Seed, Sleep Powder and Synthesis. Once Jan gives us Giga Drain (or at least Mega Drain) and Sludge Bomb, i think Venusaur will definitely be at A rank. Most noticeable for being able to tank hits and wear opponents down with leech seed while getting that HP back, as well as putting things to sleep.

Gym :

Venam : Bulbasaur's a half Poison type, so he'll be useful for Venam. Don't expect to deal much damage though.

Keta : You got Leech Seed and Sleep Powder, that'll be enough to stall his pokemon that doesn't have either Hawlucha as its name or Ice Punch.

Mariannete : Leech Seed and Sleep Powder put in work.

Narcissa : You'll live, but i won't recommend using Venusaur for her (except for using Sleep Powder on her Doublade and Mismagius)

Valarie : You only need to worry about Lapras's Ice Beam, and that's pretty much it. Don't expect to OHKO her Lanturn though.

Crawli : Ok to use, but won't be much of a threat to his team. His Volcarona can do whatever the heck it wants on Venusaur though, so be careful about that.

Angie : Venusaur is quite tanky, so it won't be OHKO, But don't think that Angie's gonna let him live.

B- Rank:

Garbodor, as suggested by Pyrrhon

It gets Toxic Spikes very early which will help you out against various gym leaders. Being able to resist Venams field effect and even hit hard with Acid Spray is nice. Aftermath and Stench are both pretty useful in their own way and weak armor can make this thing a monster... That is if it doesn't die. All in all a great pokemon, but it's usage may start to drop as the steel, Ground and psychic leaders are brought in.

Liepard, as suggested by Chubb the Pig

Liepard isn't the best Prankster user, but it is pretty useful early on. It also has pretty nice Attack, Special Attack, and Speed, so it can be used to do some damage. It gets moves like Sand Attack, Taunt, and Attract, which are Prankster-quick, Fake Out and Pursuit which have some utility, and later Night Slash and Play Rough, if you're willing to keep your Liepard that long. And if you're looking for a Special variant (because you're crazy), there's Nasty Plot to boost that Special Attack up! However, there's no Special moves it gets without TM. On the breeding side, you can get Pay Day, Encore, Covet, and/or Yawn on this thing to make it even more useful and annoying. For Gyms, you could potentially use this for Venam (Attract if you can, then Sand Attack, then switch into a stronger Pokemon), Marianette (same strategy, but this time you can also attack and use Fake Out), and maybe Narcissa (good Dark type moves are now opened up to it). After that, I wouldn't use it, but if you really like Liepard, feel free to use to use it against Angie!

Swoobat, as suggested by Chubb the Pig

Swoobat's main niche is Simple + Calm Mind. With that, Psychic and Air Slash are amazingly beautiful! Unaware does wonders, as well, but if Simple is much better imo. For battles: Swoobat is great for Venam and Keta (and maybe Crawli). For Marianette, it needs to be able to get a Calm Mind up, or else it won't do anything. Narcissa and Angie, however, destroy this poor thing.

Vanilluxe, as suggested by NikeSB

Due to the lack of Ice type pokemon in the game, Vanilluxe has a high base SpA along with the move pool he can learn. He helped me with Narcissa by spamming Will-O-Wisp from when he was a shadow pokemon. Also Vanilluxe helped me with Crawli by freezing him to death, and more to come. Vanilluxe with Ice body and hail can create a makeshift leftovers while ticking down your foes as well. I find him ridiculously strong with his current moveset as well. However, if something that resists ice comes in, it is near useless.Your preferred moveset contains Ice Beam, Will-O-Wisp and Freeze Dry with a filler move as the last.

Xatu, as suggested by Chubb the Pig

Xatu has a few nice moves, including Tailwind, Air Slash, Confuse Ray, Wish, Psychic, and Ominous Wind, all pretty early. Tailwind and Wish are nice support moves, Confuse Ray is pretty good to have, Air Slash and Psychic are two of the best STABs it gets, and Ominous Wind can just be there for the chance to boosts stats. Also, Teleport for outside battle (although Teleport and Dig were broken in Reborn, so I don't know how they'll be in Rejuvenation).Some battles: Venam - N/A, Keta - Xatu is very nice if you overlevel it for Air Slash and Psychic and then lower its levels. It hits everything on his team really hard, basically. ,Other gyms - While I haven't used Xatu in these battles, Wish is nice support for all of them. Also, Xatu might be able to do quite a bit of damage in Crawli's battle. As for Narcissa and Angie? I wouldn't use this one.

Always looking for more suggestions, please contribute if you have any!

C+ Rank:

Charizard family, as suggested by Red's Charizard

As much as I hate to put it down here, Zard does not have nearly enough traits as the Pokemon in the above tiers. Its most noticeable niche is the fact that it gets Dragon Rage very early on, allowing quick KOs in the early stages of the game, so it does really well between 0-2 gym badge section. However, it does not get raw power moves that are very good until level 32(As Charmeleon), when it learns Flame Burst(Flamethrower at 47 as Charizard), so you're stuck with Ember for a while. Also, rock types are plentiful in this game (looking at you, Nim), and having the typing that it has, all rock moves KO. We're probably not going to see a Charizardite X/Y anytime soon, so it has to stay down here. Still, Charizard is a charming starter, so pick it if you want.

Hitmonlee, suggested for re-ranking and re-analysing by WTE

Another one of the fighting types in this game. Gets a super powerful HJK for the early game but besides the fight with Marianette, he rarely sees use. If he does, he functions like a glass cannon. HJK is the only thing going for him at the moment. His movepool is lackluster and just doesn't really do much. His other evolution counterparts however, have better defenses (albeit not that great offense) and a wider more successful movepool.

Pangoro, as suggested by WTE

One of the few fighting types in the game so points for that. Bonus points because of his dark typing making him immune to psychic attacks and powerful against ghost types because of the ability "Scrappy" and stab Crunch. He's so low on the list because although a good pokemon in theory, in battle he becomes lack luster. He gets outsped more often than not and can't take that many hits against gym leaders. Great against Marianette, Narcissa, & semi Angie, w/ Karate Chop/Body Slam, Bulk Up, Sky Uppercut, & Crunch. However, I will say this. He is the only pokemon in my PC that could take a hit from Deoxy's and OKO it back with Crunch.

C Rank:

Dewgong, as suggested by Chubb the Pig

Dewgong has a few some average stats all over, making it sort of a jack-of-all-trades. It has moves of all kinds, plus two Abilities relying on weather (which it can set up itself) and another one giving it more resistances!

(Special Set) Signal Beam, Icy Wind, Ice Beam, and Surf

(Physical Set) Ice Shard, Aqua Jet, Aqua Tail, Headbutt

(Support/Wall) Aqua Ring, Rest, Hail, Encore

As for battles, well, Dewgong isn't going to be your greatest bet offensively. However, it can stall in most battles and do some chip damage, and getting two priority STABs is always fun. Also, it can help you switch into another Pokemon, using support like Encore (my personal favorite), or set up Hail. While it isn't the best, Dewgong is a pretty good Pokemon early on!

Electrode, as suggested by Chubb the Pig

Electrode's speed is absolutely beautiful. Everything else... meh. A Special Attacker is the preferred option, as Electrode can have Discharge. Light Screen is also nice, and Magic Coat doesn't rely on Electrode's power, making it also viable. There's also Explosion for suicide, but that isn't suggested if you want to use Aftermath. If you don't, Static is also nice. For battles, this Pokemon can take out a couple of Valerie's less bulky Pokemon, and maybe one or two of Crawli and Angie's. This Pokemon is somewhat weak, but definitely one of the fastest out there.

Mawile, as suggested by Red's Charizard

You get Mawile just before fighting Valerie. It may help you against Melia's Gardevoir, as it resists psychic and fairy attacks, but that's about it. I doubt we'll be seeing a Mawilite anytime soon, if ever. Its stats are below average, and even though its abilities are pretty good (Sheer Force in particular) and has access to Swords Dance, it sees little viability. However! It is saved a spot from D rank because of Baton Pass. Having Iron Defense + Swords Dance + baton Pass makes it a great support Pokemon and is usable for some pretty nice buffs. So... if you can get up some buffs and pass them, you could consider using Mawile from time to time.

Mr. Mime, as suggested by Chubb the Pig

Mr. Mime has a nice Special Attack and Special Defense, as well as a nice choice between Abilities. However, it doesn't seem to have the moves to support it. Psychic is its best STAB, and it gets Reflect and Light Screen. However, that's it. No Fairy moves or anything. Mr. Mime can be useful for battling Keta and maybe Marianette, but afterwards, it's outshined by other Pokemon.

Samurott, as suggested by Chubb the Pig

Samurott has a nice Attack and Special Attack, but that's pretty much it. He does gain Megahorn, Aqua Jet, Aqua Tail, Revenge, Surf, Hydro Pump, Swords Dance, and Encore, however. There's also Night Slash and Air Slash from breeding. Samurott is an average Pokemon, honestly, having two Abilities that don't quite stand out. He is good for certain battles, like Marianette (with Revenge). He's also decent for any battle against a Leader he has a disadvantage to. All and all, Samurott isn't the best, but he can manage to do some work.

Typhlosion, as suggested by biboo195

Jan moving the move tutor away really hurts him (he would be at least at B rank if it wasn't for that). But for now, until you have access to a Move Tutor, he's a lackluster Sp.Atk Fire type with a poor movepool in general. But once he gets his Eruption, all hell breaks loose. He can use Eruption to clear away a lot of Field Effects, absolutely destroy Angie's team. So if you want to use him, you may want to return to version 4 to get Eruption early, if not then he's gonna be sitting in your PC for a very long time since there's just so many Fire type Sp.Atk competitors (Camerupt, Pyroar, Chandelure). And as a fire starter, he has to compete with Infernape, Blaziken, Charizard (heck, even Emboar gives Typhlosion a run for his money); so it's not looking well for Typhlosion.

Weezing, as suggested by SexyMilotic

Weezing - C rank, It's a decent pokemon overall, and can potentailly fill in that "missing thing" on your team. It has great physical defense and can hit pretty hard with sludge bomb, it was pretty help vs the 3rd gym, but one of the best things about Weezing is the fact that it gets explosion. I know you are all thinking "why would we want to use that?" and i'll tell you. This game is hard, and sometimes you need to kill the pokemon in front of you no matter what in order to win in the long term. For ex: during the Ren double battle, I had to use explosion just to take out the Greninja and Deoxy, killing my own pokemon in the process lol, but it was worth it to win the battle.

C- Rank:

Gulpin, as suggested by Aurorain

Without this little guy I probably wouldn't have been able to beat Venam on Intense Mode, so a C(possibly B )rank would probably fit it well.

It knows:

- Amnesia

- Acid Spray

- Yawn

- Sludge(pretty much just its extra slot move)

So, since occasionally Venam will use Venoshock, it pretty much makes it a wasted turn for her since with Amnesia, your defense would just be so high, added on to its typing defense. Acid Spray can even kill her Seviper after about 3-4 hits(and help out other special attackers you have), and Yawn is there in case you want some extra turns to heal or what not.

Swirlix, as suggested by Chubb the Pig

Swirlix is... not very good, While we all wait impatiently for Slurpuff in Version 6, let's just talk about this sweet little pastry. Being unevolved, Swirlix doesn't have great stats. Still, Swirlix does get some great support moves like Aromatherapy, Endeavor, Wish, Light Screen, and Draining Kiss. I'd use this one for Keta, obviously. But that's it... Still, this one is C- rather than D because of its potential, which we will finally see in version 6, once Slurpuff comes in the game! (And relatively early, too, according to Jan!)

Unfezant, as suggested by Chubb the Pig

Unfezant is one of the regional Birds, but is also one of the worst. It has a great Attack, but only Facade and Sky Attack to help it. It also gets Tailwind, Swagger, and Taunt as a plus. It's usable for the early leaders, especially Keta, but later, there will be better...

Always looking for more suggestions, please contribute if you have any!

D Rank:

Most things that aren't listed.

Edited May 29, 2015 by Red'sCharizard

[Zumi]

I'm going to say that Ampharos definitely has to be somewhere at B, A or S rank.

Ampharos is a really good pokemon to inflict paralysis or confusion with, and next to that, it has a wide spectrum of moves and type of moves it can learn. It learns Power gem, Signal beam, Thunder, Discharge, Confuse Ray and Dragon Pulse just from leveling up! You can breed Agility on it as well to make up for its fairly low speed, but it's pretty bulky and therefore doesn't get taken down easily. Its high special attack makes up for it, and if you want to test your luck you can try to put a quick claw (is there one in the game? i forgot) on Ampharos, so it might outspeed others. It only has one weakness (ground) as well!

It's especially useful during Valarie's battle to paralyze her pokémon and then zap them to oblivion, but Ampharos is a good addition to your team in general, considering it's a good status inflicter that doesn't get knocked out that easily. It's helped me out of a pinch in more than just Valarie's battle through status inflicting, so I'd definitely recommend having it on your team.

[Shing]

I would try Hariyama.

A rank, B rank or S rank. I can't decide.

Moves.

-Knock off

-Force palm/Close combat

-Bulk up/?Belly drum

-Fake out/ ?Heavy slam

Hariyama is a beast to use imo how much this pokemon can hit.

It's alright/good on Keta and soul keta.

It's a beast agaisnt Marianette. With some bulk up, i could sweep almost or even entire team of Marianette.

It may be also useful against Angie with it's ability thick fat, it would survive and use close combat.

Knock off is knock off, that gotta be useful in many way.

Force palm is there until level 46. Then close combat comes here and would do the work. Useful agianst Angie.

Bulk up is boosting up for attack and defense. It makes Hariyama a threating pokemon of the boost power.

Belly drum is ONLY if you want to use full power and defeat it. But i say that this move isn't that much useful if the team is faster and you lost the half of the life.

Fake out is a fast move to sweep the opponent with bit of health.

Heavy slam is useful against pokemon like fairy/Ice/Rock

I personally used heavy slam imo for the faries.

You can catch Makuhita in sheridan village, in the 2nd gym so that's early.

Knock off/Force palm/Fake out/ Belly drum is available in early level stage at makuhita/hariyama.

Bulk up is available after soul keta battle, another word after the 2nd badge,

Close combat is a bit late, but it's still very useful on that time.

It have amazing ability so may fit it in the game through.

Guts and thick fat is very useful.

Edited May 15, 2015 by ShingSt

[Guzam]

Add snubbull and Granbull up to B rank. Although Snubbull does not do well against Venam, the ability to resist shadow Pokemon, resist Keta and intimidate then charm attackers, it really hampers the AIs teams. It makes Keta it's bitch, and can cripple any physical attacker, while providing support in the form of charm and bulk up. It's usage will probably drop as more things come up, but for now it's great.

[Milotic]

Ampharos the God - definitely S rank worthy, when pre-nerf Narcassia was still around, Ampharos saved my life, ever since then Ampharos has played a huge role in every Gym/Important battle. It has great bulk and attacking power, the ability to thunder wave and confuse it's opponents is great. Ampharos's moveset is incredible, it provides many opportunities for new strategies in difficult fights. It has particular move, that is very underrated, which is Charge. This raises the SpD stat and boost power of electric type moves, this strat pretty much destroyed Valarie.

Hitmonlee/Hitmonchan - A rank, these fighting types are probably some of the best you have access to. Great attack stat, pretty decent defenses, and a speed stat that can prove helpful. The main reason why they outclass many of the other fighting types available, is becuase of their speed. They are able to get off powerful attacks like CC and HJK, without having to take a hit first. Accompanied by the TM Bulk Up received after fighting Spirit Keta, Their already good movesets can become much more powerful. Not to mention Hitmonchan gets the elemental punches.

Weezing - C rank, It's a decent pokemon overall, and can potentailly fill in that "missing thing" on your team. It has great physical defense and can hit pretty hard with sludge bomb, it was pretty help vs the 3rd gym, but one of the best things about Weezing is the fact that it gets explosion. I know you are all thinking "why would we want to use that?" and i'll tell you. This game is hard, and sometimes you need to kill the pokemon in front of you no matter what in order to win in the long term. For ex: during the Ren double battle, I had to use explosion just to take out the Greninja and Deoxy, killing my own pokemon in the process lol, but it was worth it to win the battle.

[Archie]

chandelure rank S. at the moment you can obtain it its useful against every opponent (have to wait for the next update to be sure but right now i believe its rank S)

[berlyda]

I would rank Cofagrigus as A. Having trouble with those overlevelled Dimensional Rift Pokemon? Cofagrigus has your back. Take a hit, lay down a Curse, and just wait for the inevitable. Does a gym leader have a tank that you just can't take down? Hit it up with a Curse. Throw in a Will-o-Wisp on any physical threat. And when it finally learns it, Destiny Bond is always a great move to rely on.

Meowstic is also an A, just as a great all-round support 'mon. If you want to make the most of it, you won't be dealing out much damage, but Prankster Reflect and Light Screen with Light Clay will make a lot of fights much easier. Priority Misty Terrain really helps in gym battles too, levelling the playing field from the beginning.

Pyroar is really great too, although I'd probably rank it as B. Very high Speed and Special Attack, early Flamethrower, and the underrated Endeavor. Being such a fast Pokemon, it's easy to turn a battle around by using Endeavor when on low HP and then revenge killing with a priority move.

Edited May 15, 2015 by berlyda

[Meruem]

Yanmega (A/B Rank): Overall, this is a pretty okay 'mon, it does its job (as a special attacker, that is) really well and can punch holes on a team if correctly used. Both of its abilities, Speed Boost and Tinted Lens, are amazing in different ways, with the former making it a good revenge killer and late-game sweeper, along with Detect, and the latter ensuring that anything gets at least 2HKO-d by one of its STAB moves. The reason why I'm putting this in such a high rank is because of how useful it is at the time you obtain it. I'm not sure if anyone's had or is having any difficulties with Crawli, but if that's the case, this thing is your savior. Yanmega easily took on 5/6 of his team by spamming Ancient Power and Air Slash (which if desired, requires you to grind it to lvl 54 and Reverse Candy it back to lvl 50). Furthermore, it even managed to deal serious damage to Angie's team, who uses a mono-ice team. pls no axe jan

also make the name rater work for traded mons

[Azeria]

Jumpluff B-S Rank:This thing is pretty much the best support mon in the game,early Sleep Powder&Leech Seed is insanely good already but as a Jumpluff it outspeeds a good majority of the opposition so there's a good chance it will put the opponent to sleep and leech seed it. It can then slowly wittle them down by attacking and putting them back to sleep or switch to another mon who can reliably take it down. This thing got moved waayy farther back than where it was originally but even then it can still put some good work if you grind it up right before Crawli because of its acrobatics. People like Jan,Vinny&Shing know how much I love this thing now and even then without the bias it's still a great pokeyman.

[Jan]

[Azeria]

Jan you shut your mouth,that axe should only be used after you've made a grave to throw the body in!

Edited May 15, 2015 by Dat Assery

[Shing]

Goddammit Jan.

Anyway other pokemon.

Vivillion: B rank or C rank

Moves

-Struggle bug/Bug buzz

-Psybeam/Hurricane

-Protect(catch a spewpa in this case)/Quvler dance

-Draining kiss

Struggle bug is the move you get from vivillion in level 12 that spewpa evolves.

So don't evolve more than level 12. You don't need to waste a heart scale and it's long back in end game version 5.

Bug buzz after level 35.

Psybeam is real good in the beginning game. After in late game, it's bad.

So hurricane would replace it. You will get hurricane at level 50.

Catch a spewpa and you will get a protect. It's really useful if you have a pokemon that have status moves.

But in the late game, it will be bad. So quiver dance is really more useful move. You get quvier dance in level 45.

Draining kiss is really good move. Drinking the dark/fight/dragon pokemon.

This move may be useless, so maybe switch to sleep powder.

It's available before 1st gym.

Gym it's good against.

Venam: Useful for psybeam.

Keta: Useful for psybeam and draining kiss. Be careful for lucario and hawlucka.

Marianette: Not useful, unless you get the quiver dance boost without get fainted.

Narcissa: Not useful, the moves isn't useful against except for gengar.

Valriere: Not useful at all. You don't get your quiver dance boost a chance.

Crawli: A beast. 3x Quiver dance, get all stats up to max + hurricane = done.

Angie= Death.

It's useful from 1st, 2nd and 6th gyms.

The others isn't vivillion in near great except if you get a bit of luck.

Bonus: You can catch a shadow vivillion in after Valriere battle.

It have the move wish as it's shadow move.

Candlelure may be my next pokemon to tell about the rank and such.

Edited May 15, 2015 by ShingSt

[Aurorain]

I'd like to recommend Gulpin. Without this little guy I probably wouldn't have been able to beat Venam on Intense Mode, so a C(possibly B )rank would probably fit it well.

It knows:

- Amnesia

- Acid Spray

- Yawn

- Sludge(pretty much just its extra slot move)

So, since occasionally Venam will use Venoshock, it pretty much makes it a wasted turn for her since with Amnesia, your defense would just be so high, added on to its typing defense. Acid Spray can even kill her Seviper after about 3-4 hits(and help out other special attackers you have), and Yawn is there in case you want some extra turns to heal or what not.

Granted, I've only gone up to the first gym, so..whether or not its ranking will change, I'm not sure. :v

Edited May 15, 2015 by Aurorain

[Fumble]

That Shadow Sewaddle you get at Goldenwood Forest, purified and evolved into Leavanny, can be pretty decent, having a very nice Attack and Speed early! Maybe B rank?

It gets Will-o-Wisp upon Purification; some great STABs like Bug Bite (just to steal some berries), Leaf Blade, and X-Scissor; and, if you were patient enough, Sticky Web, which seriously hampers your opponents. Protect is also pretty nice to have!

Plus, Swarm is amazing if you need to spam Bug type moves and have somewhat low HP.

Venam - You can't use it, sadly. Not like it would be that good anyways.

Keta - Will-o-Wisp is very valuable to have here, since I think all of his Pokemon are Physical attackers. Combine that with Granbull's Intimidate and Charm, like Pyrrhon said, and Keta can't even scratch your team.

Marianette- Well, Will-o-Wisp is nice here, too, I guess. Also, the "Protect + attack" strategy for her Slaking, since Slaking has Truant (EDIT: There's a Protect bug as of E5.5, so this won't be working too well. Still, you can always burn it!).

Haven't gotten past this point in my older save file, but I think Leavanny would also be pretty good against Valerie!

[Swampellow]

Primeape, either C or B rank- Can function similarly to Hariyama with slightly less bulk, but better speed. Although it can be annoying to get (Unless you really want to try and make a Woobat happy), with the best option is right before Marianette by catching a Swoobat in the deep sewers. With enough bulk ups (4+) can easily take Marianette and Narcissa whilst still being able to take hits. Is also useful for Angie once it gets cross chop.

[berlyda]

Marianette- Well, Will-o-Wisp is nice here, too, I guess. Also, the "Protect + attack" strategy for her Slaking, since Slaking has Truant.

It's a shame Protect doesn't work properly in Rejuvenation (it suffers from the same bug that afflicted it in Reborn, namely that the counter doesn't reset when you use a different move). I tried using a Wormadam with Protect against the Slaking, but it only had limited success.

[Guzam]

Nobody has even mentioned Garbodor yet I'm surprised. Well here goes nothing.

Rank: C+ or B-

It gets Toxic Spikes very early which will help you out against various gym leaders. Being able to resist Venams field effect and even hit hard with Acid Spray is nice. Aftermath and Stench are both pretty useful in their own way and weak armor can make this thing a monster... That is if it doesn't die. All in all a great pokemon, but it's usage may start to drop as the steel, Ground and psychic leaders are brought in.

[Fumble]

It's a shame Protect doesn't work properly in Rejuvenation (it suffers from the same bug that afflicted it in Reborn, namely that the counter doesn't reset when you use a different move). I tried using a Wormadam with Protect against the Slaking, but it only had limited success.

Dang. Oh well, if Will-o-Wisp hits Slaking, it's still a lot less worse than it was before.

Think I'll add another few!

Xatu, which is available as Natu in Amethyst Cave, for B(-)/C(+) rank!

Xatu has a few nice moves, including Tailwind, Air Slash, Confuse Ray, Wish, Psychic, and Ominous Wind, all pretty early. Tailwind and Wish are nice support moves, Confuse Ray is pretty good to have, Air Slash and Psychic are two of the best STABs it gets, and Ominous Wind can just be there for the chance to boosts stats. Also, Teleport for outside battle (although Teleport and Dig were broken in Reborn, so I don't know how they'll be in Rejuvenation).

Some battles:

Venam - N/A

Keta - Xatu is very nice if you overlevel it for Air Slash and Psychic and then lower its levels. It hits everything on his team really hard, basically.

Other gyms - While I haven't used Xatu in these battles, Wish is nice support for all of them. Also, Xatu might be able to do quite a bit of damage in Crawli's battle. As for Narcissa and Angie? I wouldn't use this one.

Camerupt, available as Numel in Caratos Mountain, for B(+) rank.

Camerupt has plenty of great things about it. It has a great movepool with amazing stats to back it up. Although it has quite a few weaknesses and a lackluster speed, this thing is amazing.

Some moves it gets include: Amnesia, Curse, Lava Plume, Eruption, Earth Power, Rock Slide, Yawn

I'd recommend this thing for pretty much every Gym besides Valerie for obvious reasons.

[nepeta100]

stoutland b rank

crunch or one of the elemental fangs after move tutor

reversal

take down

work up

45 more base stat in defenses than granbull 35 more speed at the cost of losing 5 hp and 10 attack makes it more likely to go first and hit almost as hard as a granbull can and be able to take more hits. It has a simpler looking movepool to granbull as well so you can make it fit the same role on your team if you don't have or want a granbull. Or you can team him up with granbull after the opponents attack is lowered and then work up and have a good chance to sweep

gym usage

most non gym battles pretty good

1st gym herdier use take down work up when possible

2nd gym week to fighting must lower opponent attack first

3rd gym same stategy role as first gym however some pokemon have super effective moves on it

4th gym crunch even though it is weakened in the field since ghost does not effect stoutland and it has decent bulk work up set up is easy you can even use the hidden ability capsule to hit all the ghosts except doublade for stab neutral high atk damage

5th gym there is better options field combined with the field effect and strong special moves it cant take as many hits as before

6th gym same role as earlier gyms or you can use fire fang from the move tutor

7th gym can one shot and out speed glaceon, aurouras, wailren, with high power reversal and holding black belt using no work up boosts just take down and don't heal before the battle. note remember aurouras has snow warning make sure the hp is not lowenough that it will die from hail on the turn snow warning starts

Edited May 15, 2015 by nepeta100

[Fumble]

Another one! I really should stop... Let's just keep this one simple, kay? Ahaha, you'll understand after reading this.


Swoobat for B(-) or C(+)!
Swoobat's main niche is Simple + Calm Mind. With that, Psychic and Air Slash are amazingly beautiful! Unaware does wonders, as well, but if Simple is much better imo.
For battles: Swoobat is great for Venam and Keta (and maybe Crawli). For Marianette, it needs to be able to get a Calm Mind up, or else it won't do anything. Narcissa and Angie, however, destroy this poor thing.

[NikeSB]

I believe Noivern can be an A class pokemon due to the dragon/ flying typing available so early into the game as well. It works well against almost every gym, except Angie. ;( I find my Noivern extremely good with it's current moveset as well.

Noivern:
Level: 60
Nature: Rash
Moveset: Boomburst
Hurricane
Dragon Pulse
Wing Attack

Edited May 16, 2015 by NikeSB

[Vinny]

Just one thing: Are you really going to leave Bidoof there?

I actually like the Bibarel line a lot, but... well, you should do this for the final evolution lines.

I also need to emphasize how important it is to evolve early, and that STAB Headbutt hurts A LOT at the start of the game.

I'd say Bibarel is a C mon, NOT BIDOOF. Bidoof can stay in D. But Bibarel, is a C mon.

After all, Bidoof learns two HMs moves. Bibarel learns six ;D

[nepeta100]

uh... wingattack on noivern are you sure there is no better move you can have on it

Edited May 16, 2015 by nepeta100

[Red'sCharizard]

BTW, Red'sCharizard, you may want to add + or -, for the more borderline-like Pokemon. It could go like (best to worst):

S, A+, A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D, D-, and then F (for FAILURE)

Just a suggestion!

Yeah, I thought I should do that... anyway, big update happening.

[berlyda]

uh... wingattack on noivern are you sure there is no better move you can have on it

I agree, Wing Attack should be replaced with Air Slash for Crawli and Shadow Ball after that.