[DISCUSSION] Reborn Monotype Viability Rankings

[Fumble]

Oh, BTW, you seem to have forgotten the Wormadam-Sand sprite for the Ground type section. Here:

[SkyRunner]

Fighting-type

Toxicroak

Rank: S

Ability: Dry Skin

Moves: Drain Punch (egg move), Poison Jab, Sucker Punch, Cross Chop (egg move), Bullet Punch (egg move)

The Croagunk you find near Shade's Gym is worth training up. Poison Jab Toxicroak is a must have due to its useful typing against Fairies. Dry Skin with Drain Punch make for a Water-type immunity and good staying power. Its 4x weakness to Psychic is appalling, but Psychics can be covered by a Dark/Fighting dual-type, so it isn't much of an issue. It does suffer a bit from the lack of Bulk Up or Swords Dance, but I'd say that the ability to thrash Fairies and its Water immunity warrants an S Rank.

Heracross

Rank: A+ or S-

Ability: Moxie

Moves: Close Combat, Megahorn, Rock Blast (egg move), Night Slash

STAB Close Combat and Megahorn are a devastating force, easily destroying the opponent even before the Moxie boost. Megahorn beats Psychics, Rock Blast birds. Heracross has only one downside, which is its less than optimal 85 Speed stat, meaning that it's likely that the Psychic and Flying-types in question will crush it instead until the Choice Scarf becomes available. Despite this flaw, Heracross is an excellent Fighting-type to use, and should never be passed up on a Fighting mono.

Poliwrath

Rank: B

Ability: Water Absorb

Moves: Waterfall, Body Slam, Wake-up Slap, Rock Tomb, Hypnosis, Belly Drum

Waterfall and Wake-up Slap provide decent STABs, and Rock Tomb covers a Flying weakness. The reason why I'd give Poliwrath a B is that its shallow movepool hurts it dearly in Reborn. Waterfall is not obtained until Ametrine, so its Water-type attacks are limited to Dive, Surf, Hydro Pump and Bubblebeam until then, which is awful for a physical attacker. Also, if you want to run Body Slam, Belly Drum or Wake-up Slap, you need to keep it unevolved for a while, and let's not forget that Poliwrath will probably be your Dive/Surf/Waterfall HM Slave as well.

Edited July 6, 2015 by SkyRunner

[Real_Amnz]

Flying mono

Staraptor

Ability: Reckless

Item: Sky Plate

Moveset: Brave Bird, Close Combat, Final Gambit, --

Ranking: S

Great moveset with STAB Reckless Brave Bird + Close Combat, which gives your team a fighting chance against rock types. Only downside IMO is it usually suicides after a few moves and that you get it later in the game, but definitely a great option for a team!

Archeops:

Ability: Defeatist

Moveset: Acrobatics, Rock Slide, U-turn, Crunch

Ranking: B

Although it is a great pokemon I feel it really doesn't come early enough to justify its usage on your team. Sure its a great attacker, but if you cheat to get it you could just as easily get Gliscor and get a nice ground STAB to fight those pesky rock types!

Edited July 6, 2015 by Real_Amnz

[Fumble]

Let's do this. I used this guy in one of my many incomplete Monotypes, but he was definitely useful!

Pokemon: Ambipom

Ability: Technician (or Pickup if you just want a Pickup slave)

Moveset: Fake Out, Last Resort OR Fake Out, Double Hit, Pursuit/Shadow Claw, Brick Break/Acrobatics OR Fake Out, Double Hit, Nasty Plot/Agility, Baton Pass

Ranking: B or A

Analysis: Ambipom sadly doesn't get too many of its great moves yet, but it is still very resourceful, especially with its wonderful Attack and Speed. First there's the classic Fake Out (STAB and Technician boosted) with Last Resort (Base 140 STAB), which is the "nuke option". If you don't like only having two moveslots filled, you can go for a set with more coverage, utilizing STAB and Technician boosted Fake Out and Double Hit, along with Technician boosted Pursuit and Acrobatics or just the decent Shadow Claw and Brick Break. If you feel that Ambipom's movepool is just too lacking, you can go for a Baton Pass set with Nasty Plot or Agility, to pass along to better Special attackers! Be careful, as Ambipom is fairly frail, but Ambipom has potential to be a very hard hitter or a speedy stat passer!

[Shadow Tack]

'm just going to point out that you can get vanillite as soon as you beat gym one, otherwise ice is completely accurate on the actual details

[Noir]

'm just going to point out that you can get vanillite as soon as you beat gym one, otherwise ice is completely accurate on the actual details

What post are you referring to? The OP specifically says that you can get Vanillite after beating Julia.

[Fumble]

Oh, remember to edit the OP so that it says that the list will now be using mechanics from E15, since it's been released to everyone!

[foovy10]

Ok so im gonna put a noivern for dragon type

Ability: Telepathy

Explanation: I like telepathy because double battles are kinda popular when it comes to gym leaders so it helps when u have those moves like discharge that would hit everyone but, if u want you can take frisk.

Moveset: Tailwind, Flamethrower, Dragon Pulse, Hurricane, Air Slash, Super Fang

Explanation: Tailwind is only for those teams that need the boost in speed to do anything(but if your team is really slow just go for a trick room on something like dusknoir which is who i use for support) but if you want tailwind i would take out hurricane or air slash(if u prefer accuracy over dmg take air slash if the opposite take hurricane). Not much debate here.

Ranking: S- I would say

Analysis: Noivern is a weird pokemon. At first its a noibat that does absolutely nothing which is why u catch it later in the game(DONT MAKE THE MISTAKE I DID) but when it evolves into a Noivern, expect some sweeps(not immediately anyway if your before the ice gym before it evolves cuz you know 4x weakness to ice and the fact it we dont get flamethrower at that point i would just suggest to sub him out for that one gym battle.) When I say that I mean that Noivern is the fastest dragon with its tailwind in the game which is pretty fast if you ask me and it has pretty good special attack so he's really strong.

Trust Me. Take the advice from a guy that one shot all of everyones pokemon with noivern.

Edited July 9, 2015 by foovy10

[Revman]

So sorry about my slackening off on this thread, real life's been a bit rude recently with Homework and personal stuff but as of this post everything has been added, thanks everyone! Will also add some more stuff of my own fairly soon so stay tuned!

Flying mono

Archeops:

Ability: Defeatist

Moveset: Acrobatics, Rock Slide, U-turn, Crunch

Ranking: B

Although it is a great pokemon I feel it really doesn't come early enough to justify its usage on your team. Sure its a great attacker, but if you cheat to get it you could just as easily get Gliscor and get a nice ground STAB to fight those pesky rock types!

We've already got an analysis for Archeops on flying and it's listed as S rank, please read the tiers before contributing, thank you though!

Ok so im gonna put a noivern for dragon type

Ability: Telepathy

Explanation: I like telepathy because double battles are kinda popular when it comes to gym leaders so it helps when u have those moves like discharge that would hit everyone but, if u want you can take frisk.

Moveset: Tailwind, Flamethrower, Dragon Pulse, Hurricane, Air Slash, Super Fang

Explanation: Tailwind is only for those teams that need the boost in speed to do anything(but if your team is really slow just go for a trick room on something like dusknoir which is who i use for support) but if you want tailwind i would take out hurricane or air slash(if u prefer accuracy over dmg take air slash if the opposite take hurricane). Not much debate here.

Ranking: S- I would say

Analysis: Noivern is a weird pokemon. At first its a noibat that does absolutely nothing which is why u catch it later in the game(DONT MAKE THE MISTAKE I DID) but when it evolves into a Noivern, expect some sweeps(not immediately anyway if your before the ice gym before it evolves cuz you know 4x weakness to ice and the fact it we dont get flamethrower at that point i would just suggest to sub him out for that one gym battle.) When I say that I mean that Noivern is the fastest dragon type in the game which is pretty fast if you ask me and it has pretty good special attack so he's really strong.

Trust Me. Take the advice from a guy that one shot all of everyones pokemon with noivern.

I'm very apprehensive about giving Noivern even A rank just because no Dragons of the same typing are currently in game that outclass it. 97 sp atk is meh, and other dragons that hit harder such as Flygon, Kingdra in rain and Dragon Dance Haxorus are obtainable.

Also Chubb, thanks for the sprite my one I had broke a few days back and I coulda sworn I put a new one in, oh well! Also coulda sworn I'd updated the thread to say Ep 15 but I'll double check.

[SkyRunner]

Checked the reserved list, and I'm fairly certain that I did write up a rating for Medicham.

[foovy10]

So sorry about my slackening off on this thread, real life's been a bit rude recently with Homework and personal stuff but as of this post everything has been added, thanks everyone! Will also add some more stuff of my own fairly soon so stay tuned!

We've already got an analysis for Archeops on flying and it's listed as S rank, please read the tiers before contributing, thank you though!

I'm very apprehensive about giving Noivern even A rank just because no Dragons of the same typing are currently in game that outclass it. 97 sp atk is meh, and other dragons that hit harder such as Flygon, Kingdra in rain and Dragon Dance Haxorus are obtainable.

Also Chubb, thanks for the sprite my one I had broke a few days back and I coulda sworn I put a new one in, oh well! Also coulda sworn I'd updated the thread to say Ep 15 but I'll double check.

I didnt have any other dragon types in my playthrough so i dont know how to compare and contrast but it just worked really well for me so I just said A. If I get a chance to try the others or other people put reviews for the dragon types that look alot better im ok if u put in in B.

Edit: just saw that Cradents description is messed up with the spoilers

Edited July 9, 2015 by foovy10

[ArthurZH]

Approximately a ton of Normal Analysis!

Organize by Rankings:

Add ons to Ditto: Copyable Pokemon include Archeops/M-Altaria on Ciel.

[will keep adding more to ditto's analysis as a guide to what mon to copy]

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Stoutland - S Rank

A hard hitter in every sense, with access to three handy abilities. Sand Rush will help in sandstorms for that extra boost of speed, while Intimidate gives it more offensive power, whereas Scrappy gives you the ability to fire off some stronger moves like STAB Retaliate on unexpected switch ins. It has a fantastic movepool, including the nuke Retaliate, Crunch for those Steel-Ghost types or Ghosts in general if it stays in, Play Rough which comes in real handy for fairies, fighting types, and even Ice Fang/Thunder Fang/Fire Fang, though I'd recommend Ice as you really don't have much ice moves on a normal mono. It's quite defensive with 85/90/90, but it won't be able to tank too much hits. my stoutland in particular, despite not having intimidate, managed to hang on on a few 3-5% HP basis, just sufficiently strong enough to OHKO/severely dent the opponent's mon. However, if anything is a let down, it'll be lack of recovery (remedied by buying tons of ice cream), lack of speed (sandstorm...is really quite meh, since Stoutland himself can't learn it, so you'll have to waste a slot on Heliolisk/Tauros/Diggersby etc to get the Sand Rush speed)) or lack of the ability to stay in if you're using Retaliate (You really will miss not having a normal STAB like Take Down, Hyper Voice, etc 90 Base Power moves, especially when Retaliate has a meager 5PP). However, this mon is certainly one to consider on your team!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Heliolisk - A Rank

One of the more prominent normal Pokemon, with the ability to use a variety of attacks including Thunderbolt, Surf, Grass Knot, Dark Pulse and most notably, Electric Terrain. Should you be in a pickle and need to use an electric/water move, just hit Electric Terrain and then click Surf and sweep! (RIP Trainers in Charlotte's team) Do beware that it sadly doesn't hit ground types very well though. Should you choose to soft reset for HP Ice, that is also beneficial as you'll eventually need to hit Flygon/Dragonite/Gliscor/Gligar etc along the way, especially if you don't have an Ice/Dragon/Fairy move for some reason. Moreover, you'll be able to Paralyze opponents with Thunder Wave if it's to your liking. Despite such benefits, it has sadly horrible defenses, which is what stops it from being too broken. As a side note, Helioptile is hard to train, which might be a mild put-off when you realize it's the weakest in your team.

Pyroar - A Rank

People would think Pyroar is shit. I say that pyroar is one of your sole answers to bug/steel types and a quick special attacker. Pyroar gets early Flamethrower, Hyper Voice, Work Up to boost your SpAtk, and even Overheat as a nuke. It'll greatly help you when in various arenas - Hyper Voice is boosted in the Caves and Samson/Ciel's Arena, Flamethrower benefits from the Grassy Terrain, Fire moves are perfect in Charlotte's gym etc. It also serves as a great Ice Type murderer at Serra/Blake (once you get Hail + Field out of the way) as the other options you have are Hammer Arm Diggersby or Reversal Bouffalant or Brick Break mons, which are a little shaky to use sometimes due to lack of STAB and power. Generally, it provides coverage and a strong special attacking option. Let downs include useless abilities, not the best movepools (It does learn Dark Pulse though) and not very stellar defenses.

Staraptor - A Rank

Staraptor gets lots of love from Normal Mono, as it is really one of the stronger attackers in game. It has ridiculously strong attack, paired with possible Reckless Brave Bird Spams, which will murder most fighting types. It also gets Close Combat, another very hard hitting move, despite it not having STAB. When Staraptor comes in, generally expect something to go out, as it really does have a terrifying destructive power, especially when dealing with weakness such as Fighting Types and Steel Types in general. It also outclasses Braviary by a bit base on it's speed stat - generally you'll want to try to outspeed Toxicroak, Lucario, Hitmonlee before unburden, Medicham, Sawk, Gallade etc, which Braviary (one of the stiff competitors) can't do due to lackluster speed and most of these mons being able to Rock Slide/Stone Edge/(insert attacking move) here to death. Bonuses include being able to destroy Fern even harder! Sadly, it is THE definition of a glass cannon - Close Combat lowers already-not-so-good defenses, Brave Bird causes horrible recoil, and you generally don't find it alive after a short amount of time. Nevertheless, it is one very vital mon for normal monos!

Diggersby - A Rank

Diggersby is unique with access to Earthquake, Hammer Arm and Bounce all together in one same mon. Combine this with Huge Power and you get a really really good steel/rock type killer if for some reason you do not have Pyroar on your team. Diggersby is able to launch strong attacks at the early game, especially once you get strength, given it's low level evolution and fantastic ability Huge Power. Bounce helps against some fighting types, Hammer Arm is really a filler, Earthquake is Earthquake and needs no further mention. Letdowns include another weakness to water if you're already taking Pyroar, and a extra weakness to grass. It's not-very-impressive speed is also somewhat of a let down, and it's movepool sadly has not much for ghost types, thus making it useless in some battles. Still a good mon overall!

Bouffalant - A Rank

This guy has a monstrous attack stat in the form of Reckless Head Charge. It is able to spam Head Charges and taking a few large chunks of HP off the opponent, simultaneously searching for instances to use Swords Dance to boost it's fantastic attack to greater levels. It even gets Megahorn, one of the coveted types in reborn, as bug helps greatly against mons like Mewtwo, Malamar (if you live) etc perky mons that could otherwise spell trouble. Bulldoze, Pursuit and Revenge are also considerable options, but generally it'll really just be Head Charge, Megahorn and Swords Dance. This mon is also quite bulky, even bulkier than Stoutland. However, do take note of certain drawbacks. It usually won't be much help against the Malamar that Radomus and Luna has due to you not being able to set up, retain max HP and KO with Megahorn. It suffers from low speed and quite a small movepool. Nevertheless, bug moves are quite vital in this game, thus it should not be neglected.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tauros- B rank

Contrary to it's counterpart Bouffalant, Tauros has a few other things going for it. It gets a good speed and ability, combined with Sheer Force for power output or Intimidate for longevity. It is really really fast, has same output power as Ambipom, same speed as Ambipom, better defenses than Ambipom, making it look really really good. That is, until you realize that Tauros literally gets Zen Headbutt, Thrash/Take Down/Giga Impact, Bulldoze/Payback and.....Work Up? It doesn't get Fake out, has nothing special in it's movepool, and has not very good defenses, leading to you hesitating to want someone just merely for the speed/strength combo, especially when Ambipom gets so much better moves (please refer Ambipom analysis) and Tauros not being THAT bulky anyway. It's outclassed, but certainly usable. just bear in mind there's another really really good option out there.

Fearow - B Rank

It has the highest attacking stat among all birds. Meet Fearow, one of the early game MVPs, the bird who will be the reason why you are able to kill one or two of Kiki's mons. Fearow is a really good mon, considering it gets Aerial Ace really really early, and has a really low evolution level, and a not-bad attacking stat couples with a quite-okay speed tier. All other available bird Pokemon early game have lower attack stats than Fearow, with the exception being Unfezant, which for some reason doesn't get a single physical flying type attacking move. Fearow's literally your best choice. However, it can't really pull much weight late game, especially when you're at the point where you don't need a flying type that much (i.e. After Samson) and when Staraptor is a few more routes away. It's frail defenses also cause it to dissapear quickly from the battlefield.

Exploud - B Rank

Boombox! This guys has access to the holy combination of Scrappy Boomburst, which translates to the ability to hit very very very hard with STAB Boomburst, stopped only by steel or rock types, who never had much SpDef to begin with (with some exceptions of course). Sadly it isn't very very good as it has only 92 SpAtk (Please give it a mega with more SpAtk gamefreak), not very good speed (68 base) and not a lot of coverage moves until post Samson (surf, flamethrower, dark pulse, shadow ball). Combine that with average defenses and you get a very niche pokemon - albeit a nice niche, considering the strength of Boomburst.

Bibarel - B Rank

Do not ask why I give Bibarel high rankings. The almight god of Moody has been graced.

Okay on to serious notes, he has Moody. Enough said. You give it some potions, some hoping for hax, and you have an unbeatable monster in singles (doubles....you don't survive long). Rollout helps with some flying/bug mons, Waterfall/Surf STAB gives you some rock/ground/fire coverage, and it even gets superpower! While it's not THAT strong, do keep in mind that if you're really lucky, those stat drops CAN be offset by Moody. Not a brilliant mon as an overall, but one who pulled me through certain hard battles, and deserves more love.

But you WILL need about 5 Berry Ice Creams.

Chatot - B Rank

It gets Chatter, Sing, Hyper Voice and Roost, and that's about it. However, do take note that Chatter has 100% accuracy and 100% chance of confusing the opponent. A not-bad speed tier with a not-bad SpAtk stat leads to not-bad damage output. Some hax left and right, and you'll be seeing chatot sweep teams. If you fancy breeding, go ahead and get Noivern and Honchkrow, and breed Nasty Plot/Boomburst onto it and start sweeping! Some bad hax, however, leave you with a dead parrot, since it's really really really frail., which also sadly makes it a lil bad since you can't really find much oppurtunities to swap the parrot in. Nevertheless, it is an option to consider, as Chatot is really really fun to use.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wigglytuff- C Rank

Play Rough and Body Slam from a Wigglytuff isn't a lot, but it can do some damage. It serves as a support by ridding/denting fighting/dark types, paralyzing opponents with Body Slam, lowering attack stats with Charm and using Perish Song to end lives. However, it is really really really frail. It's HP is a big lie - it is actually really bad especially when you choose to either have Wish or Perish Song, and typically the latter is more useful as you don't really get protect and you'll need/want to win some boss battles (Take that Solaris) and kill some mons when your last teammate can't beat but can stall out with potions (looking at rivals like fern, or leaders). But it's attack stat is really really really horrible, gets no special fairy moves.....yea, better options exist.

Hope this helps!

If anyone wants to critique, please do, I'm not a very experienced user with normal.....

EDIT: I edited Chatot's stuff as I didn't do research into it's egg moves.

Edited July 10, 2015 by ArthurZH

[SkyRunner]

The TM for Sandstorm is in the Water Treatment Plant.

[ArthurZH]

It is? Very well, thank you! I'm going to update some stuff here aite, thanks~

[SkyRunner]

Fighting-type

Gallade

Rank: A

Ability: Steadfast / Justified

Moves: Night Slash, Leaf Blade, Swords Dance, Psycho Cut, Close Combat, Destiny Bond (egg move)

With good Attack and Special Defense, Gallade both hits hard and has decent bulk. Steadfast is good when fighting Pokémon that rely on flinching hax like Togekiss while Justified is useful for an extra Attack boost. Since the Ralts you get has an egg move, I'd opt for Destiny Bond as it helps with annoying boss Pokémon. Just sure to evolve Kirlia before Level 31 so that you have access to Psycho Cut, and you're set.

[Revman]

Edit: just saw that Cradents description is messed up with the spoilers

Yeah I've re-wrote Crawdaunt's spoiler tag like 10 different times and yet it remains broken, I've no idea why. Its happened to a few other Pokemon in Ice as well, although everything looks fine in the raw code it still does it... Odd huh? I guess we'll just have to live with it I guess, I'll keep trying to fix it though.

Approximately a ton of Normal Analysis!

Holy christ that was a lot of contributions! Took me ages to add but it will definitely help people, thanks!

Checked the reserved list, and I'm fairly certain that I did write up a rating for Medicham.

My bad, I missed it but you didn't specify type it's for which actually makes a big difference for Medicham. Also thanks for the Gallade submission!

Also pretty big announcement, we've so far hit over 135 different analysis for different types! That's absolutely amazing guys, keep it up!

EDIT: This is no longer where I will be posting all of the actual results for the tiers, instead they will now be posted here.

[Zane0144]

Masquerain B rank

Ability : intimidate

Moves: hydro pump (egg move)/ bug buzz/ air slash/ water sport/ quiver dance/ rain dance

Masquerain is a beast until at least half way through the game, and even regains some usefulness later on. Early game there are some very hard battles for bug. There are very few ways to hit steel types hard with the lack of fighting and ground moves, and fire types can be a nightmare without abusing sleep powder. But that's where this glorious little guy comes in, hitting things hard with Hydro pump and intimidating heavy hitters like garchomps and medichams. It even has a chance to flinch with its quiver boosted air slashes. It has a lot of value vs Cal and charolette. There are few ways for a bug team to get around those field boosted fire moves, but water sport really helps lessen the burn. This thing can sweep both any fir trainers easy with rain up. All you do is set a water sport and boost away as they do minimal damage to you.

Cons. It is fragile and requires a bit of help to set up. It has low special attack that helps balance out the powerful quiver dances it gets too.

I'd love to give more input on the various other bugs I've used but this is all I can post for now. More later!

Edited July 10, 2015 by Zane0144

[SkyRunner]

My bad, I missed it but you didn't specify type it's for which actually makes a big difference for Medicham. Also thanks for the Gallade submission!

Sorry about that. The submission I wrote up for Medicham was for Fighting.

[Revman]

As of this post, all analyses have been added, thanks guys and keep it up!

[SkyRunner]

Started a Psychic mono-run. I'd like to reserve Musharna, Delphox and Medicham for Psychic.

EDIT: I reserve Swoobat as well. I forgot one.

Edited July 12, 2015 by SkyRunner

[Noir]

Rankings from a man with a heart of Steel:

Bronzong

Ranking: S

Ability: Levitate/Heatproof

Moves: Trick Room, Gyro Ball, Extrasensory, Explosion, Payback, Rain Dance, Sandstorm, Bulldoze, Hidden Power Fire/Ground, Grass Knot, Signal Beam.

Bronzong is the backbone of every serious Steel mono run that should always be considered, if not always used. What makes it so efficient is its mixed versatility that gives it decent offensive presence, including a nifty Psychic STAB against Fighting types, and fantastic support and defensive capabilities. It's one of the rare Steels with Levitate, which is an essential free and yummy immunity to Ground-type moves, occasional field damage, and the like, and can also opt for Heatproof if you have concerns against the ever-dominant Fire leader Charlotte. Apart from that, Bronzong is the only Steel with access to the very useful Trick Room that allows it to support the very common slower variety of Steel types in the run. Apart from that, it can provide weather support in Rain Dance for teams consisting of Empoleon and covering Fire weaknesses, or Sandstorm for teams with Rock/Steels and Excadrill. It can act as an offensive suicide lead with Trick Room and or weather support and it can also stick around as a defensive pivot and tank with its decent coverage all around. The closest things to flaws are additional weaknesses to Ghost and Dark types, which can be patched up by other teammates and doesn't hinder it from being a giant piece of support to the team.

A redirected opinion of an already existing ranking:

Empoleon

Ranking: S

Ability: Torrent/Defiant

Moves: Surf, Hydro Pump, Water Pledge, Hidden Power Electric/Ice, Icy Wind, Grass Knot, Signal Beam, Waterfall, Aqua Jet, Drill Peck, Agility, Swords Dance, Shadow Claw.

Empoleon is another versatile Steel for teams to consider; ranging from strong offense to defense, it can fulfill both roles very potently with it's typing and offensive capability. Most importantly, a Water-type in a Steel run is incredibly important, especially when you intend to spar against Charlotte. What leads from first glance is it's Special Attacking capability but a considerably lacking Speed that inclines to be more of a tanky attacker, but it can patch this up with Agility as well that allows it to sweep teams fairly well. Empoleon's effectiveness against opposing Ground types also makes it a fantastic cannon in the offense v defense war, and Aqua Jet is another tool that complements physical and special archetypes very well to pick off weakened opponents. Speaking of physical archetypes, Empoleon's access to Swords Dance also merits use as a physical attacker, although the special attacker's niche is very much needed in a mono-Steel. To top this all off, Empoleon has a wide array of resistances to utilize and is also the main contender in rain-based Steel runs with support from Pokemon like Bronzong, and Torrent and Defiant are both decent abilities that bolster it's offensive potential. Always consider this guy when making a team, as it gives things no other Steel can actually replace.

Magnezone

Ranking: S

Ability: Sturdy/Analytic

Moves: Discharge, Flash Cannon, Hidden Power Fire/Ice/Ground/Water, Thunder Wave, Magnet Rise, Metal Sound, Charge Beam, Signal Beam, Mirror Coat, Explosion.

Magnezone brings a mixed bag of utility to the table of Steel mono-runs. What first appeals is its nuke 135 Special Attack further bolstered by Analytic, making it unrivaled in Special Attacking on such a run with the exception of Empoleon. Magnezone also provides a coveted Electric type offense against the Water types that resist Steel-type damage, in addition to having a stupid amount of 11 resistances, as well as something not everyone has -- Magnet Rise. Although it's very situational and takes off a moveslot most of the time, it does provide it with a nifty immunity to Ground for five turns, which removes its main weakness. It can also provide Thunder Wave and Metal Sound support for itself or other teammates, depending on how the team is built; its low Speed also makes it functional in Trick Room, although it no longer benefits from Analytic if it does so. Sturdy also allows it a free Focus Sash, which is great especially when paired with options such as Explosion and Mirror Coat.

And more coming up later.

[Fumble]

It's time for some Poison Rankings!

First up, Scolipede, for A Rank!

Ability: Speed Boost

Moveset: Poison Tail, Megahorn, Pursuit/Rock Climb/Double Edge/Baton Pass, Toxic/Venom Drench/Sunny Day/Protect/Baton Pass/Toxic Spikes/Spikes

Analysis: Scolipede has a fantastic Attack, but an even better Speed, especially with its ability Speed Boost. To make use of its Attack, Poison Tail and Megahorn are its best STABs, and you can also put Pursuit, Rock Climb, and/or Double Edge on its moveset. However, because Scolipede has Speed Boost, you probably want to have Baton Pass on it, to pass some extra Speed to another Poison Pokemon. You also could use Protect to keep it safe for a turn so it gets at least one Speed Boost off. In addition, there's Toxic for wearing Pokemon down, Venom Drench for tough Pokemon that rely on their abilities to help them out, Spikes or Toxic Spikes (Toxic Spikes especially if you are using Venoshock on some of your Pokemon), or Sunny Day if you have Chlorophyll Venusaur or Vileplume on your team, since Scolipede can almost always get a Sunny Day up. Scolipede's capability of dealing damage and also supporting team members makes it a valuable member in a Poison Monotype.

And now, Weezing, for A/B Rank!

Ability: Levitate

Moveset: Sludge Bomb, Explosion/Destiny Bond, Pain Split, Poison Gas/Haze/Toxic Spikes

Item: Black Sludge

Analysis: Weezing is another defensive Poison type Pokemon, so it's probably going to be outclassed by something, whether it be Amoonguss or Muk or whatever, but it does have a very useful niche: Levitate. Weezing, Crobat, and Gengar (who is not available in E15 anymore) are the only Poison types with an immunity to Ground type moves (especially Earthquake), and Weezing is probably your best bet if you wanted a bulky Pokemon of those three. It also can learn Sludge Bomb, which has a 30% chance of Poison, which is pretty useful for wearing Pokemon down, but if you want something guaranteed, Poison Gas and Toxic Spikes are also possibilities. Haze can be useful if your opponent tries to set up, such as Florinia's Cradily. There's also Pain Split and your Black Sludge for some recovery, but if you know you're about to faint, use Explosion or Destiny Bond! Overall, Weezing is a very useful bulky Poison type with its Levitate, even if there are better Poison types. If only we had TM Will-o-Wisp...

[BIGJRA]

Since you can't just rate everything an S rank I'll refute some of the claims of the post above me

For steel ~

Pokemon: Metagross

Ability: Clear Body

Moves: Bullet Punch/Agility/Magnet Rise, Zen Headbutt, Meteor Mash, Hammer Arm

Rank: S (Bronzong should be pushed to A/B)

Analysis: Being the one distinguished pseudo legendary that is obtainable in Reborn up to this point, Metagross certainly lives up to the hype that it receives. After obtaining eight badges, one can finally ride a Tauros through the wasteland and obtain a nearly impossible to catch Beldum. After painstakingly raising it up to your team's levels, Metagross will instantly become a powerhouse that outclasses that Bronzor that you could get 10 minutes of gameplay before Beldum.

Although Bronzong should be considered if one didn't use Magnezone and is in desperate need of a specially defensive special sweeper, Metagross can do basically everything else better. But what about Levitate, you say? Metagross can learn Magnet Rise! Even if you opt out of Magnet Rise, 'gross has such high defense that he can basically live most Earthquakes anyways. Paired with Agility, Metagross can outspeed the majority of everything that threatens it and destroy them. Zen Headbutt and Meteor Mash are together an amazing STAB offensive core, and with the option of a priority revenge killer like Bullet Punch or the powerful Fighting move Hammer Arm to take out opposing Dark types, Metagross can easily take out any opponents that aren't named Steelix or Shuckle. With the bonus of occasional attack raises from Meteor Mash and the benefit of not being able to be lowered by any opponent stat moves, Metagross can dish out attacks with its 135 attack and take hits with its 80/130/90. An excellent addition to any steel team (and probably Psychic too)

Edited July 12, 2015 by BIGJRA

[Revman]

It's time for some Poison Rankings!

First up, Scolipede, for A Rank!

Ability: Speed Boost

Moveset: Poison Tail, Megahorn, Pursuit/Rock Climb/Double Edge/Baton Pass, Toxic/Venom Drench/Sunny Day/Protect/Baton Pass/Toxic Spikes/Spikes

Analysis: Scolipede has a fantastic Attack, but an even better Speed, especially with its ability Speed Boost. To make use of its Attack, Poison Tail and Megahorn are its best STABs, and you can also put Pursuit, Rock Climb, and/or Double Edge on its moveset. However, because Scolipede has Speed Boost, you probably want to have Baton Pass on it, to pass some extra Speed to another Poison Pokemon. You also could use Protect to keep it safe for a turn so it gets at least one Speed Boost off. In addition, there's Toxic for wearing Pokemon down, Venom Drench for tough Pokemon that rely on their abilities to help them out, Spikes or Toxic Spikes (Toxic Spikes especially if you are using Venoshock on some of your Pokemon), or Sunny Day if you have Chlorophyll Venusaur or Vileplume on your team, since Scolipede can almost always get a Sunny Day up. Scolipede's capability of dealing damage and also supporting team members makes it a valuable member in a Poison Monotype.

Would like to refute this being A and push it down to B due to it lacking TM coverage. As soon as we get Poison Jab, EQ, Swords Dance and Rock Slide or at least half of those, I reckon it should be no higher than B even if it is gonna set Sun or be used as a Toxic/Venom Drencher. Feel free to discuss, I wanna hear what a few different people think on this one before I rank Scoli.

Since you can't just rate everything an S rank I'll refute some of the claims of the post above me

For steel ~

Pokemon: Metagross

Ability: Clear Body

Moves: Bullet Punch/Agility/Magnet Rise, Zen Headbutt, Meteor Mash, Hammer Arm

Rank: S (Bronzong should be pushed to A/B)

Analysis: Being the one distinguished pseudo legendary that is obtainable in Reborn up to this point, Metagross certainly lives up to the hype that it receives. After obtaining eight badges, one can finally ride a Tauros through the wasteland and obtain a nearly impossible to catch Beldum. After painstakingly raising it up to your team's levels, Metagross will instantly become a powerhouse that outclasses that Bronzor that you could get 10 minutes of gameplay before Beldum.

Although Bronzong should be considered if one didn't use Magnezone and is in desperate need of a specially defensive special sweeper, Metagross can do basically everything else better. But what about Levitate, you say? Metagross can learn Magnet Rise! Even if you opt out of Magnet Rise, 'gross has such high defense that he can basically live most Earthquakes anyways. Paired with Agility, Metagross can outspeed the majority of everything that threatens it and destroy them. Zen Headbutt and Meteor Mash are together an amazing STAB offensive core, and with the option of a priority revenge killer like Bullet Punch or the powerful Fighting move Hammer Arm to take out opposing Dark types, Metagross can easily take out any opponents that aren't named Steelix or Shuckle. With the bonus of occasional attack raises from Meteor Mash and the benefit of not being able to be lowered by any opponent stat moves, Metagross can dish out attacks with its 135 attack and take hits with its 80/130/90. An excellent addition to any steel team (and probably Psychic too)

Totally agree on Metagross' outclassing of Bronzong, but mainly due to Bronzong's current lack of Screens/Rocks/Toxic. Gonna give Bronzong A and Metagross S.

A redirected opinion of an already existing ranking:

Empoleon

Ranking: S

Ability: Torrent/Defiant

Moves: Surf, Hydro Pump, Water Pledge, Hidden Power Electric/Ice, Icy Wind, Grass Knot, Signal Beam, Waterfall, Aqua Jet, Drill Peck, Agility, Swords Dance, Shadow Claw.

Empoleon is another versatile Steel for teams to consider; ranging from strong offense to defense, it can fulfill both roles very potently with it's typing and offensive capability. Most importantly, a Water-type in a Steel run is incredibly important, especially when you intend to spar against Charlotte. What leads from first glance is it's Special Attacking capability but a considerably lacking Speed that inclines to be more of a tanky attacker, but it can patch this up with Agility as well that allows it to sweep teams fairly well. Empoleon's effectiveness against opposing Ground types also makes it a fantastic cannon in the offense v defense war, and Aqua Jet is another tool that complements physical and special archetypes very well to pick off weakened opponents. Speaking of physical archetypes, Empoleon's access to Swords Dance also merits use as a physical attacker, although the special attacker's niche is very much needed in a mono-Steel. To top this all off, Empoleon has a wide array of resistances to utilize and is also the main contender in rain-based Steel runs with support from Pokemon like Bronzong, and Torrent and Defiant are both decent abilities that bolster it's offensive potential. Always consider this guy when making a team, as it gives things no other Steel can actually replace.

I think you make an excellent point in that Empoleon's special bulk and unique Steel typing make it almost essential if you want to even hope to survive Charlotte, gonna give it S now.

[Noir]

Wonder why Trick Room is not relevant in Steel runs. I personally think you can't compare Metagross and Bronzong when their roles are entirely different.

I personally also have conflicting opinions on Gross given the wide competition of physical attacking Steels like Excadrill, Excavalier,Lucario and debatably Aggron that I planned to do later.

"Specially Defensive Special sweeper" says a lot of the degree of understanding you guys put on Bronzong. Ill admit TR isn't always needed depending on what you run, since some Steels can boost Speed, but you can run bulk on a TR team, which is why I put it S. Ill respect the lack of screens but the lack of SR and Toxic isn't super significant in game and you dont want to get too full on support.

Edited July 13, 2015 by YagamiNoir4896