PRO PvP Viability Rankings (Updated on 03/01/2025)

[Jorogumo]

PRO PvP Viability Rankings

by @Aggs, @Cyanirl, @Jorogumo, and @Pisforpenguin

 

Welcome to the PRO PvP Viability Rankings thread! This thread is maintained by the PvP Coordinator team and will be updated regularly, but we want to hear your thoughts and opinions on both the metagame at large and specific Pokémon. Please understand that viability rankings are fundamentally a subjective matter — and as such, opinions may certainly differ. Please note the following:

• Usage is not the same as viability. Please do not nominate Pokémon on the grounds that they are frequently used.
• Be detailed when submitting nominations for changes. It is difficult to convince anyone, us included, to change their mind with a one-liner.
• All discussion is welcome, especially if you have personal experience laddering with a certain Pokémon for a substantial number of games.
• Remain civil. While spirited and contentious debate is encouraged, please do not resort to personal attacks.

The following Pokémon are ranked in alphabetical order within each sub-tier:

 

S Rank:

S Rank

Clefable

 Landorus-T

 

A Rank:

A+ Rank

 Aegislash

 Bisharp

 Kyurem

 Lopunny-Mega

 Mawile-Mega

 Serperior

 Tornadus-T

 Zapdos

 

A Rank

 Diancie-Mega

Dragonite

 Ferrothorn

 Garchomp

 Heatran

 Keldeo

 Kyurem-B

 Metagross-Mega

 Tangrowth

 

A- Rank

 Alakazam-Mega

 Annihilape

 Azumarill

 Charizard-Mega-Y

 Excadrill

 Gliscor

 Hoopa-U

 Manaphy

 Ninetales-Alola

 Rotom-Wash

 Scizor-Mega

 Slowbro

Slowking

 Thundurus

Victini

 Volcarona

 

B Rank:

B+ Rank

Amoonguss

Blacephalon

Chansey

 Charizard-Mega-X

 Greninja

Jirachi

 Kommo-o

 Latias

 Latias-Mega

 Latios

 Magnezone

 Sableye-Mega

Tyranitar

Weavile

 

B Rank

Alomomola

 Breloom

 Gyarados-Mega

 Hippowdon

 Hydreigon

 Latios-Mega

 Medicham-Mega

Mew

 Pinsir-Mega

Skarmory

 Suicune

 Thundurus-T

 Tyranitar-Mega

 Venusaur-Mega

 Volcanion

 

B- Rank

Altaria-Mega

 Crawdaunt

Gastrodon

 Heracross-Mega

 Porygon-Z

 Reuniclus

 Ribombee

 

C Rank:

C+ Rank

 Alakazam

 Cresselia

 Diggersby

Ditto

 Gallade-Mega

 Gengar

 Mamowsine

 Manectric-Mega

 Pelipper

 Porygon2

 Quagsire

 Scizor

 Swampert-Mega

 Togekiss

 Uxie

 

C Rank

Cloyster

 Conkeldurr

 Gardevoir-Mega

 Gyarados

 Hawlucha

Kingdra

 Marowak-Alola

 Mimikyu

 Slowbro-Mega

Torkoal

 Venusaur

 

C- Rank

 Aerodactyl-Mega

 Azelf

 Blissey

 Cofagrigus

 Garchomp-Mega

 Infernape

Jellicent

Klefki

 Mantine

 Muk-Alola

 Nidoking

 Pidgeot-Mega

 Seismitoad

 Starmie

Tentacruel

Edited Sunday at 04:20 AM by Jorogumo

[Pisforpenguin]

This is an example post

Please format any constructive posts in a similar manner, feel free to steal this formatting if you wish.

 

Blacephalon B+ > A-

 

Blacephaplon is one of the premiere fire types in the current meta. It boasts incredible offensive STAB combo in ghost/fire backed by an amazing ability in beast boost. At a base 107 speed it is one of the most potent scarfers we currently have most notably being faster than most rain teams outside of kingdra in rain. Often after netting a single kill and gaining a boost most teams are forced to revenge kill with some sort of priority or Blacephalon can just often sweep games. With access to trick it is also able to cripple one of its best counters in chansey.

 

 

The scarf set in particular is often able to force great progress on more offensive teams being able to 2hko most things before the boost.

 

252 SpA Blacephalon Shadow Ball vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Keldeo: 160-189 (49.5 - 58.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock

252 SpA Blacephalon Flamethrower vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Zapdos: 180-213 (46.9 - 55.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

252 SpA Blacephalon Flamethrower vs. 248 HP / 252+ SpD Zapdos: 127-151 (33.1 - 39.4%) -- 16% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock

252 SpA Blacephalon Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Clefable: 219-258 (55.5 - 65.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

252 SpA Blacephalon Flamethrower vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Clefable: 178-211 (45.1 - 53.5%) -- 2% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

252 SpA Blacephalon Shadow Ball vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Garchomp: 168-198 (47 - 55.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock

252 SpA Blacephalon Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Garchomp: 168-198 (40 - 47.1%) -- 0.4% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock

252 SpA Blacephalon Shadow Ball vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Tornadus-Therian: 160-189 (53.5 - 63.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 SpA Blacephalon Flamethrower vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Tornadus-Therian: 120-142 (33.1 - 39.2%) -- 17.6% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock

252 SpA Blacephalon Shadow Ball vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Heatran: 139-165 (43 - 51%) -- 52.3% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

 

As you can see most of the top mons which one could consider switch ins are either cleanly 2HKOd or extremely close meaning if a boost is ever given this mon becomes extremely dangerous. It also shares a role with zard-y in being the strongest offensive fire type in the current meta, however it is able to trade off the drawback of holding a mega stone and either boaster its extremely high speed with a choice scarf or extremely high special attack with a choice specs giving it a unique place away from zard-y.

Edited January 25 by Pisforpenguin

[Lol1hp]

thanks, great job everyone. 

[Flipturniscoded]

Nice post. Would love to see some set recommendations if possible

[Jorogumo]

15 hours ago, Flipturniscoded said:

Nice post. Would love to see some set recommendations if possible

Hey. We'll work on a separate list of viable sets, but it'll take time. For now, if there is any Pokémon for which you'd like to know the set(s), please let us know.

[Yakuzah]

On 1/25/2025 at 6:23 PM, Jorogumo said:

Hey. We'll work on a separate list of viable sets, but it'll take time. For now, if there is any Pokémon for which you'd like to know the set(s), please let us know.

Personally I wont even overcomplicate it, start from top to bottom haha. ALl this is great information and I'm really happy we delivering this kind of info for everyone!

 

[Jorogumo]

The PvP Coordinator team has discussed some more changes to the Viability Rankings based on latest metagame trends and developments.

Rises:
 Bisharp: A → A+
A staple on BO and HO teams, Bisharp pairs well with other offensive threats, like Mega Lopunny and Mega Pinsir, to overwhelm physically defensive Pokémon that it would otherwise struggle to overcome by itself, such as Zapdos and Skarmory. It is also a top-tier teammate for Pokémon that appreciate the removal of commonplace walls like Clefable, the Slow twins, Chansey, and more.

 Zapdos: A → A+
In a metagame where it can check some of the most dangerous offensive threats, like Mega Lopunny, Bisharp, Tornadus-T, Mega Scizor, Mega Pinsir, and much more, Zapdos fits on many offensive, balanced, and defensive builds where it can provide much-needed Defog support, the possibility of chipping down physical assailants with Rocky Helmet, the chance to paralyze them with Static, and decent offensive pressure and momentum even without running HP Ice, thanks to Heat Wave, Hurricane, and Volt Switch.

 Kyurem-B: A- → A
Kyurem-B is a strong wallbreaker with a lot of set diversity and the ability to blow past some would-be checks, like Clefable and Ferrothorn, thanks to Icium Z. While it certainly has its own drawbacks, like its lackluster speed and vulnerability to Stealth Rock, its bulk allows it to stomach a hit and retaliate even in an offensively leaning metagame. 

 Slowbro: B+ → A-
Slowbro finally joins its specially defensive twin in the A ranks as a strong answer to some of the most prevalent offensive Pokémon in the tier: Mega Lopunny, Mega Metagross, Keldeo, and more. Thanks to Rocky Helmet in conjunction with Teleport, it can swiftly switch into a hit then generate momentum and recover health back with Regenerator. This makes Slowbro an option on more teams than just defensive and balanced structures.

 Breloom: B-  → B
Breloom is a valuable member of specific HO builds that appreciate its priority and ability to incapacitate an opposing Pokémon thanks to Spore and the safety net of Focus Sash. It also performs well against other offensive staples, like Bisharp, Mega Lopunny, and Azumarill just to name a few.

 Mega Pinsir: B- → B
Just like Breloom, Mega Pinsir finds home on some of the HO builds that heavily benefit from its unique offensive coverage, priority, and ability to overwhelm physical checks with the help of its teammates.

 Cresselia: C → C+

 Porygon2: C- → C+
 Uxie: C- → C+
Trick Room carves itself a notable niche in an offensively oriented metagame where it can turn the speed of opposing HO teams into a disadvantage. The addition of Ursaluna also means that TR builds now gain another valuable member that appreciates common setters like Cresselia, Porygon2, and Uxie.

Drops:
 Kyurem: S → A+
While Kyurem continues to be a force to be reckoned with in this metagame and can excel against specific team structures, it is decidedly less effective into most of the increasingly common offensive builds.

 Mega Medicham: A- → B
Mega Medicham continues to struggle in this metagame because wallbreaking requires the widespread presence of walls it can effectively break with its coverage. However, it is quite prediction-reliant against structures that revolve around the likes of Clefable, Landorus-T, Zapdos, the Slow twins, etc. Mega Medicham also suffers from 4MSS (4 Moveslot Syndrome) and must pick between Zen Headbutt, Thunder Punch, and Bullet Punch to round out its coverage. Even then, it is left completely walled by Pokémon like Mega Sableye and Aegislash, the latter of which it can only severely damage with Fire Punch, which it simply cannot afford to run.

 

 Pelipper: B+ → C+
 Mega Swampert: B+ → C+
 Kingdra: B- → C
In what is the steepest, longest overdue drop of this update, common Rain staples find themselves tumbling down the viability ranks for a multitude of reasons. Rain structures are not particularly effective against other offensive teams, like Breloom HO, Veil offense, or even Trick Room. Moreover, the matchup-fishy nature of this playstyle also makes it less reliable against Pokémon like Freeze-Dry Kyurem and Chilly Reception Slowking. The PvP Coordinator team believes that Rain has been ranked exceedingly generously for a while now, and this sudden drop seeks to correct a long-standing misperception.

 

Additions:
 Gengar: Unranked → C+
Gengar has a decent match-up against offense, thanks to its 110 base speed tier, offensive coverage, and access to utility options in Taunt and Destiny Bond. It also fits well on offensive builds, where it can spam Shadow Ball pretty freely while being able to hit common Dark-type switch-ins with Focus Blast and taking advantage of Focus Sash to fire off another hit or use Destiny Bond before fainting.

 

The PvP Coordintor team continues to monitor the VR in lights of the release of new Pokémon, such as Arcanine-Hisui and Ursaluna, and the addition of moves that potentially affect the viability of the likes of Alomomola, the Lati twins, Mega Charizard Y, and Skarmory. However, due to the recency of those events, we are choosing to wait a bit longer before making any further adjustments to the list.

Edited Sunday at 01:50 PM by Jorogumo