Monotype Viability Rankings

[Swede]

CROBAT (POISON) -> A RANK

I think this pokemon should be B rank in poison because: It really doesn't get that many good STAB moves, you have cross poison, poison fang, and that's about it with Poison type STAB. With flying type STAB you really only get BraveBird, and even with that, your moveset would be Cross Poison/ Brave Bird/ U-Turn/ Toxic (???).

That's why Crobat is not used mainly for offensive capabilities (though as AFD said it works well as later game sweeper if needed). As I touched on in my post, it can function well as both a pivot and anti-lead, two options that Poison can that be highly beneficial and rare.

I'd find it ridiculous if we only judged Pokemon based on their offensive/STAB capabilities and nothing else. Chansey would be E rank if that was the case.

 

[DoW]

Poison:

Gengar for A Rank

Gengar @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Thunderbolt/Hidden Power Fire/Sludge Bomb
- Focus Blast
- Destiny Bond/Substitute

Gengar @ Black Sludge
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 28 HP / 148 SpA / 80 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Substitute
- Shadow Ball
- Will-O-Wisp
- Disable/Taunt


Gengar is one of the key pokemon on a poison team. Its ability to work on offense, alongside quiverpass Venomoth and offensive Nidoking, or on stall with Mega Venusaur, Amoonguss and Weezing, as well as the obvious ground immunity and ability to hit psychics hard count for a lot. It can create mindgames with Mega Medicham, which would otherwise be able to HJK Drapion easily (and due to being a mega evo not care much about knock off in return). Its Sub/Disable set allows it to straight-up beat slower choiced pokemon or mono-attackers like Crocune, while also meaning that it can beat choice users that switch in on it and spread burns around, which is always useful. When running taunt it can instead break stall like no other, with the given EVs letting it beat Mega Venusaur 1v1, although it also deals major damage to ground defensive cores and similar others. It is also very hard to revenge kill due to substitute and its ability to burn physical attackers, and a decent SpA stat on top of this. Moreover, the fact that it can run either a defensive or offensive set, and different moves on each set, means the opponent will struggle to work out how to deal with it: thunder wave chansey may deal with offensive destiny bond sets, but the defensive variants will beat it eventually.
tl;dr its ground immunity is useful, its fighting immunity is useful vs. mega medi, and its good SpA and Speed alongside a very good movepool allow it to be very useful whether on offense or defense.

 

[Acast]

Poison:

Gengar for A Rank

Gengar @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Thunderbolt/Hidden Power Fire/Sludge Bomb
- Focus Blast
- Destiny Bond/Substitute

Gengar @ Black Sludge
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 28 HP / 148 SpA / 80 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Substitute
- Shadow Ball
- Will-O-Wisp
- Disable/Taunt


Gengar is one of the key pokemon on a poison team. Its ability to work on offense, alongside quiverpass Venomoth and offensive Nidoking, or on stall with Mega Venusaur, Amoonguss and Weezing, as well as the obvious ground immunity and ability to hit psychics hard count for a lot. It can create mindgames with Mega Medicham, which would otherwise be able to HJK Drapion easily (and due to being a mega evo not care much about knock off in return). Its Sub/Disable set allows it to straight-up beat slower choiced pokemon or mono-attackers like Crocune, while also meaning that it can beat choice users that switch in on it and spread burns around, which is always useful. When running taunt it can instead break stall like no other, with the given EVs letting it beat Mega Venusaur 1v1, although it also deals major damage to ground defensive cores and similar others. It is also very hard to revenge kill due to substitute and its ability to burn physical attackers, and a decent SpA stat on top of this. Moreover, the fact that it can run either a defensive or offensive set, and different moves on each set, means the opponent will struggle to work out how to deal with it: thunder wave chansey may deal with offensive destiny bond sets, but the defensive variants will beat it eventually.
tl;dr its ground immunity is useful, its fighting immunity is useful vs. mega medi, and its good SpA and Speed alongside a very good movepool allow it to be very useful whether on offense or defense.

I agree with your ranking, but I think Scarf and Specs sets are definitely worth including. One of the more common ways to run Gengar is with choice items.

 

[Feliburn]

Reserving Volcarona for Fire

 

[HaloFreakRun]

Jirachi(Steel) for C-Rank
Jirachi @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Wish
- Iron Head
- Body Slam / Thunder Wave
- U-turn

Jirachi is an unfilled gimmick in Steel Mono teams. A Volt-Turn core with Scarf Magnezone works perfectly, allowing you to wish and U-Turn to Magnezone, who can soak up any Dark or Ghost moves Jirachi couldn't. I said gimmick earlier because of the other monstrous option of para-flinching. Jirachi is also the only Steel-type blessed with Wish, which can take opponents by surprise. His typing gives him the resistance of Metagross and a better ability to boot.


Drapion(Poison) for B-Rank
Drapion @ Life Orb
Ability: Sniper
EVs: 160 HP / 96 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Aqua Tail / Cross Poison
- Knock Off
- Swords Dance
- Taunt

Drapion is one of the prime examples of shaping a single type. Drapion's godly Psychic immunity gives him an edge over other choices like Toxicroak, Scolipede, and Nidoking. He has 13 different types in physical moves, and his 70/110/75 defenses aren't bad. His only weakness is Ground, which can be taken care of with Aqua Tail. On the other hand, his abilities are neutral at best, with Keen Eye being basically useless in the meta. He has to fight Fairies with no resistance, and has to have some form of special wall to take an Earth Power.

 

[DoW]

Jirachi(Steel) for C-Rank
Jirachi @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Wish
- Iron Head
- Body Slam / Thunder Wave
- U-turn

Jirachi is an unfilled gimmick in Steel Mono teams. A Volt-Turn core with Scarf Magnezone works perfectly, allowing you to wish and U-Turn to Magnezone, who can soak up any Dark or Ghost moves Jirachi couldn't. I said gimmick earlier because of the other monstrous option of para-flinching. Jirachi is also the only Steel-type blessed with Wish, which can take opponents by surprise. His typing gives him the resistance of Metagross and a better ability to boot.


Drapion(Poison) for B-Rank
Drapion @ Life Orb
Ability: Sniper
EVs: 160 HP / 96 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Aqua Tail / Cross Poison
- Knock Off
- Swords Dance
- Taunt

Drapion is one of the prime examples of shaping a single type. Drapion's godly Psychic immunity gives him an edge over other choices like Toxicroak, Scolipede, and Nidoking. He has 13 different types in physical moves, and his 70/110/75 defenses aren't bad. His only weakness is Ground, which can be taken care of with Aqua Tail. On the other hand, his abilities are neutral at best, with Keen Eye being basically useless in the meta. He has to fight Fairies with no resistance, and has to have some form of special wall to take an Earth Power.

I think that Jirachi's choice scarf set definitely needs mentioning here, as it's one of the best sets it has. Also a wishpassing set would be good due to it being steel's only wishpasser IIRC, and with heatran and ferrothorn getting no reliable recovery this can be very useful.
Drapion could do with two things: Firstly, mentioning an assault vest set would be nice as this allows it to deal with a number of nasty threats such as Scarf Latios or Earth Power Skymin, which otherwise are very nasty for the team. I'd also recommend pursuit on the moveset as this allows poison to do far better against lone psychics on non-psychic teams; for example if dragon has a latios, pursuit can take out their only psychic-type early on with little damage done.

 

[saquibalmamun1997]

Drapion(Poison) for B-Rank
Drapion @ Life Orb
Ability: Sniper
EVs: 160 HP / 96 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Aqua Tail / Cross Poison
- Knock Off
- Swords Dance
- Taunt

Drapion is one of the prime examples of shaping a single type. Drapion's godly Psychic immunity gives him an edge over other choices like Toxicroak, Scolipede, and Nidoking. He has 13 different types in physical moves, and his 70/110/75 defenses aren't bad. His only weakness is Ground, which can be taken care of with Aqua Tail. On the other hand, his abilities are neutral at best, with Keen Eye being basically useless in the meta. He has to fight Fairies with no resistance, and has to have some form of special wall to take an Earth Power.

I really think Drapion should be A-Rank for the following reason

-Its Dark typing gives it immunity to psychic one of poisons toughest matchups.
-It can run an Sword Dance,AV,Banded,Specially Defensive with T-Spikes,Scarfed and even a gimmicky sniper set.
-Knock Off got a great boost this gen.
-While its abilities arent the best Sniper give it a powerful crit backed up by cross poison.
-And per definition of A-Rank Drapion does influence the Metagame as it give poison a fair chance against psychic with out being to gimmicky

 

[Omega-Xis]

Gyarados and Mega Gyarados for A Rank for MonoWater

Gyarados @ Leftovers or Lum
Ability – Intimidate
EVs: 216 Attack/148 Sp. Def/144 Speed
Adamant Nature

Moves:
- Substitute
- Dragon Dance
- Bounce
- Waterfall

Analysis:

I’ve tested out a lot of different moves for the moveset, but I really see no reason to get cute. I think the calcs will show why. Sub is to shield status as usual, Dragon Dance is to grab a boost off of a prediction or when you know you can tank a hit. I typically run Special Defense investment to compliment the Intimidate support. Moxie can be run to only have to boost once and grab an Attack boost off of a KO.

Calcs:

+2 216+ Atk Gyarados Bounce vs. 252 HP / 240+ Def Mega Venusaur: 366-432 (100.5 - 118.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO

0 SpA Mega Venusaur Sludge Bomb vs. 0 HP / 148 SpD Gyarados: 100-118 (30.2 - 35.6%) -- 32.5% chance to 3HKO

0 SpA Mega Venusaur Giga Drain vs. 0 HP / 148 SpD Gyarados: 84-99 (25.3 - 29.9%) -- guaranteed 4HKO

Seed Flare from Shaymin-Sky is almost always a 2HKO if non specs/LO, and Airs Slash is a little over a 50% chance to 3HKO.

Gyarados @ Gyaradosite
Ability – Intimidate; Mold Breaker when Mega
EVs: 240 Attack/124 Sp. Defense/144 Speed
Adamant Nature

Moves:
- Substitute
- Dragon Dance
- Ice Fang/Bounce
- Earthquake

Analysis:

This set outspeeds non-scarfed base 110s after one Dragon Dance boost as the previous Gyarados set. This Mega Gyarados, like most other set up sweepers, is brought in when you believe that you can grab one boost (or two if you can wall a hit, which hopefully with the intimidate drop before and special defense investment you can), and sweep. Substitute is used to shield status, Ice Fang fulfills a niche by ignoring abilities such as Multiscale on Dragonite. It’s more of a personal preference of mine to not run Bounce as I find it easy to play around, but Bounce at +1 does guaranteed 2HKO Mega Venusaur.

Calcs:

0 SpA Mega Venusaur Giga Drain vs. 0 HP / 124 SpD Mega Gyarados: 138-164 (41.6 - 49.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

+1 240+ Atk Mold Breaker Mega Gyarados Ice Fang vs. 252 HP / 240+ Def Mega Venusaur: 168-198 (46.1 - 54.3%) -- 59% chance to 2HKO

+1 240+ Atk Mold Breaker Mega Gyarados Bounce vs. 252 HP / 240+ Def Mega Venusaur: 218-258 (59.8 - 70.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Additional Notes:
Gyarados can run an effective ParaShuffling set utilizing Thunder Wave/Dragon Tail or Roar/Taunt, but I feel that this set can take away from a physical sweeping role which I feel to be more valuable for Water given its plethora of special attackers. Other mons such as Lanturn can provide para support.

 

[Acast]

Gyarados and Mega Gyarados for A Rank for MonoWater

Gyarados @ Leftovers or Lum
Ability – Intimidate
EVs: 216 Attack/144 Speed
Adamant Nature

Moves:
- Substitute
- Dragon Dance
- Bounce
- Waterfall

Analysis:

I’ve tested out a lot of different moves for the moveset, but I really see no reason to get cute. I think the calcs will show why. Sub is to shield status as usual, Dragon Dance is to grab a boost off of a prediction or when you know you can tank a hit. I typically run Special Defense investment to compliment the Intimidate support. Moxie can be run to only have to boost once and grab an Attack boost off of a KO.

Calcs:

+2 216+ Atk Gyarados Bounce vs. 252 HP / 240+ Def Mega Venusaur: 366-432 (100.5 - 118.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO

0 SpA Mega Venusaur Sludge Bomb vs. 0 HP / 148 SpD Gyarados: 100-118 (30.2 - 35.6%) -- 32.5% chance to 3HKO

0 SpA Mega Venusaur Giga Drain vs. 0 HP / 148 SpD Gyarados: 84-99 (25.3 - 29.9%) -- guaranteed 4HKO

Seed Flare from Shaymin-Sky is almost always a 2HKO if non specs/LO, and Airs Slash is a little over a 50% chance to 3HKO.

Gyarados @ Gyaradosite
Ability – Intimidate; Mold Breaker when Mega
EVs: 240 Attack/124 Sp. Defense/144 Speed
Adamant Nature

Moves:
- Substitute
- Dragon Dance
- Ice Fang/Bounce
- Earthquake

Analysis:

This set outspeeds non-scarfed base 110s after one Dragon Dance boost as the previous Gyarados set. This Mega Gyarados, like most other set up sweepers, is brought in when you believe that you can grab one boost (or two if you can wall a hit, which hopefully with the intimidate drop before and special defense investment you can), and sweep. Substitute is used to shield status, Ice Fang fulfills a niche by ignoring abilities such as Multiscale on Dragonite. It’s more of a personal preference of mine to not run Bounce as I find it easy to play around, but Bounce at +1 does guaranteed 2HKO Mega Venusaur.

Calcs:

0 SpA Mega Venusaur Giga Drain vs. 0 HP / 124 SpD Mega Gyarados: 138-164 (41.6 - 49.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

+1 240+ Atk Mold Breaker Mega Gyarados Ice Fang vs. 252 HP / 240+ Def Mega Venusaur: 168-198 (46.1 - 54.3%) -- 59% chance to 2HKO

+1 240+ Atk Mold Breaker Mega Gyarados Bounce vs. 252 HP / 240+ Def Mega Venusaur: 218-258 (59.8 - 70.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Additional Notes:
Gyarados can run an effective ParaShuffling set utilizing Thunder Wave/Dragon Tail or Roar/Taunt, but I feel that this set can take away from a physical sweeping role which I feel to be more valuable for Water given its plethora of special attackers. Other mons such as Lanturn can provide para support.

I think you're limiting yourself a bit with the regular Gyarados set. Leaving Earthquake off the set leaves you vulnerable to a few threats, specifically against Steel teams (Ferrothorn and the occasional Empoleon especially). Also, some people might prefer the combo of Earthquake + Ice Fang over the Substitute. I agree with your ranking, but Gyarados's sets may be more flexible than you think ^_^

 

[all falls down]

I think you're limiting yourself a bit with the regular Gyarados set. Leaving Earthquake off the set leaves you vulnerable to a few threats, specifically against Steel teams (Ferrothorn and the occasional Empoleon especially). Also, some people might prefer the combo of Earthquake + Ice Fang over the Substitute. I agree with your ranking, but Gyarados's sets may be more flexible than you think ^_^

Ferrothorn is Gyarados' number one counter, earthquake won't help as it will just win with power whip and leech seed anyways; earthquake without mold breaker doesn't add enough coverage in my opinion. Bounce is a very useful secondary stab that can take out grass types, and it can be used effectively with leftovers for that extra recovery, and substitute allows it to not be revenge killed as easily because it is still out-sped by most scarfed Pokemon, so I think there's no need for earthquake. But besides, why use regular Gyarados when you can use mega anyways?

As for Omega-Xis14's Mega Gyarados set, make sure to add waterfall, because having that strong STAB is very important. Without waterfall, Gyarados lacks enough power to both significantly hit physical walls like Skarmory (+1 Waterfall does around 45% and with a lucky flinch or prior damage can get rid of it), and to OHKO threats that could potentially revenge kill it like Medicham, Heracross, Mamoswine, Genesect, and many more. While Ground + Ice is unresisted coverage (besides Surskit rof), it lacks significant power when not SE.

 

[DoW]

I think the fact that bounce is better in monotype definitely deserves to be stressed here as well. While in OU your opponent would simply switch in something that resisted the move, it's not so simple in monotype: As soon as Ferrothorn and Cradily have lost some health, nothing on grass wants to switch in. Similarly, if scizor on bug or cobalion on fighting are weakened then there's a decent chance of there simply not being a good switch-in, meaning that the move is plenty better in Monotype than OU. This is even more important when one of the types the move hits has a type advantage against you.

 

[Fortune]

Meowstic-M | Psychic
Unranked ----> C

Alright, before you call me crazy and dismiss this argument, hear me out.

I have been using mono-psychic for a few months now. I quickly figured out how to create solid teams but I found a huge flaw in the type. It is extremely limited in ways to neutralize set-up sweepers. Sure, you can try to wall them with the plethora of bulky mons Psychic has to offer but you will find you can only get you so far against certain boosting Pokemon. What are you going to do in the face of a +2 or even just +1 Zard X? If your bulky mons are weakened just a bit, you get 6-0ed. End of story. Even if you manage to find a counter, odds are it will fail against other sweepers.

I delved into the depths of the lower tiers to try and resolve this issue and found this little guy. What if I told you he can put a complete stop to any set-up sweeper you wish with the right set? This underrated Pokemon is not niche either. It can perform a variety of roles and consistently put in work against the opposition.

Common/Likely Set

Meowstic (M) @ Light Clay
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Thunder Wave
- Psyshock

Set Explanation

So yeah, thanks to his Prankster ability, Meowstic-M can outpace the opponent nearly every time to quickly inflict a status on the opponent. Thunder Wave is perfect for shutting down the speed stat of sweepers. This allows almost anything else on your squad to come in and easily revenge kill the threat. Let's say your team has issues against a mon that cannot be t-waved. This is fine. Just run toxic as this will put a clock on your opponent and force a switch. Similarly, Prankster screens are amazing for boosting your teams over-all defenses which will often allow something to come in and revenge kill.

Meowstic has a move to take care of pretty much any threat your team might encounter. It has access to prankster Trick Room, Barrier, Calm Mind, Yawn, Toxic, T-Wave... you name it.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I think this Pokemon's versatility and ability alone make it worthy of at least being ranked. It has helped me so much in the past. It gives you an edge against your opponent with the element of surprise. Odds are that they have never even seen this Pokemon in use.

(it's also cute as fuck, so there's that.)

 

[TourGuyde]

Stunfisk (Electric) for B Rank



Stunfisk @ Leftovers
Ability: Static
EVs: 252 HP / 168 Def / 88 SpD
Bold Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Rest / Toxic / Yawn
- Discharge
- Earth Power / Scald

Even though Stunfisk has a higher base Special Defense, He is more suited as a defensive support due to his static ability. He is also one of the only Stealth Rockers that I could think of that electric has excess to. Though as a tank, he doesn't really have any recovery besides rest, but his move pool is fairly strong. However stunfisk may not be the fastest poke and it may not have the best typing as it to Grass, Ice, Water, Ground.

 

[Sae]

Stunfisk (Electric) for B Rank



Stunfisk @ Leftovers
Ability: Static
EVs: 252 HP / 168 Def / 88 SpD
Bold Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Rest / Toxic / Yawn
- Discharge
- Earth Power / Scald

Even though Stunfisk has a higher base Special Defense, He is more suited as a defensive support due to his static ability. He is also one of the only Stealth Rockers that I could think of that electric has excess to. Though as a tank, he doesn't really have any recovery besides rest, but his move pool is fairly strong. However stunfisk may not be the fastest poke and it may not have the best typing as it to Grass, Ice, Water, Ground.

Nothing in this post convinces me it's anything above D-rank. I'm sorry but these arguments only seem to hurt it rather than help. Electric kind of does want SR but handicapping yourself to using Stunfisk isn't worth it. Adding on to the fact that it emphasizes a weakness to Grass and Ground doesn't help (and Scald doesn't do any damage to ground teams especially because of Gastrodon). Furthermore, Thundurus-I and Zapdos are already weak to Ice so further adding to this doesn't help. What's the point of SR to beat Ice if it's getting killed before it can do anything, especially with Kyurem-White currently in the meta.

Literally the only thing that Stunfisk has is SR. Everything else you're just crippling yourself unless you really want to win that electric mirror match but Zapdos and Rotom will just laugh at that. I'd try and knock it further to E, but being able to use SR in a type without the ability to use it w/o Stunfisk bumps it to D-rank. If I wanted to handicap myself, I'd rather use Pikachu because with a speed nature it can hit 400 something Atk with Light Ball after full investment, almost 400 special atk if you chose the special build, has access to Knock Off and Fake Out and is slightly more versatile Sub Encore/ SubPunch, Nasty Plot, or could even just do a mixed set. So Stunfisk for D-rank.

 

[Dirpz]

Nothing in this post convinces me it's anything above D-rank. I'm sorry but these arguments only seem to hurt it rather than help. Electric kind of does want SR but handicapping yourself to using Stunfisk isn't worth it. Adding on to the fact that it emphasizes a weakness to Grass and Ground doesn't help (and Scald doesn't do any damage to ground teams especially because of Gastrodon). Furthermore, Thundurus-I and Zapdos are already weak to Ice so further adding to this doesn't help.

Literally the only thing that Stunfisk has is SR. Everything else you're just crippling yourself unless you really want to win that electric mirror match but Zapdos and Rotom will just laugh at that. I'd try and knock it further to E, but being able to use SR in a type without the ability to use it w/o Stunfisk bumps it to D-rank. If I wanted to handicap myself, I'd rather use Pikachu because at least that can hit 400 something Atk with Light Ball after full investment, almost 400 special atk if you chose the special build, has access to Knock Off and Fake Out and is slightly more versatile Sub Encore/ SubPunch, Nasty Plot, or could even just do a mixed set. So Stunfisk for D-rank.

Sae is Correct plus you would have to reserve it because hazards like Toxic Spikes, Spikes, Stealth Rocks, and Sticky Web all cripple electric switch ins. So you need to run a defog/rapid spinner, the only problem is there is no electric rapid spinner so you cant just get rid of just there hazards so you need to run a defoger, the thing is there is only one OU Electric defogger and that is Zapdos so it would get rid of your rocks as well so I would say Stunfisk for D-Rank

 

[Hutyro]

Stunfisk only purpose is to be the stealth rocks user, but as Dirpz just said, they don't have acess to rapid spin and their only defogger is zapdos, and considering Defog is almost mandatory due to hazards crippling electric types, stunfisk would just be a redundant waste of space, all said, Stunfisk for D-Rank.

 

[Singlex]

Scolipede (Bug) for A-Rank

Physical Sweeper:
Scolipede @ Black Sludge
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Speed
Adamant Nature
-Swords Dance
-Megahorn
-Poison Jab
-Earthquake/Aqua Tail/Rock Slide

Explanation: One of the more potent answers to Rock, Fire, Scolipede can destroy teams with a Swords Dance. It's only enemy being Priority after enough Speed Boosts are stacked, it can tear whole unprepared teams apart. Considering the overall offensive nature of the Bug Type, Scolipede is one of the Pokémon that can define it. It deals moderate damage without a Swords Dance, and it becomes a threat just after one. 100 base attack isn't something to be taken lightly considering that Scolipede can scare Pokémon out, set up a Swords Dance during the switch, and then continue to do as it pleases. Scolipede has some overall unpredictability as the more commonly used and expected set is the Baton Pass support one, usually used in conjecture with a mon like Mega Heracross, who would definitely put the speed boosts to good use. It's the less predictable and expected set which is why it can take people by surprise and win games by itself, so it's worth taking into attention this set. I go for a full offensive EV spread with Adamant, taking Swords Dance for sweeping potential, Megahorn and Poison Jab for primary STAB moves, while Earthquake Aqua Tail, Rock Slide are your coverage moves. Earthquake and Aqua Tail are more for Rock, Fire, EQ being more reliable, and Rock Slide dealing with the fliers that threaten Bug.

Baton Pass:
Scolipede @ Black Sludge
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Speed
Impish Nature
-Swords Dance
-Protect
-Baton Pass
-Substitute

Explanation: Possibly the best Support Pokémon Bug gets, on par with Galvantula/Shuckle setting up Sticky Web, Scolipede's role is simple. Get boosts, give it to Mega Heracross, Scizor, etc., Profit in rank points. While the more expected set and inferior in my opinion, it still has it's situational uses. It's not that reliable because of the vulnerability your mon has while you Baton Pass, unless you manage to get a Substitute up with it. It's threatening when it is utilized correctly. Successful Baton Pass = Free points.

Sumarry: Scolipede is a definite threat in the Monotype Metagame, both as a Support Pokémon, and an offensive Set-up Pokémon. It has unpredictability, good coverage, it can alter and mix those two sets, so if it no longer has chances to sweep with Megahorn etc., it can still Baton Pass the boosts to some other mon to finish the job. It's a great but often underrated Pokémon and in my opinion it's worth of being in A rank.

 

[Feliburn]

Volcarona for B rank (Fire)
There are multiple sets, I'll just post the one I've been using lol

Volcarona @ Focus Sash / Lum Berry
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Fiery Dance
- Giga Drain / Roost / Hidden Power Ground
- Bug Buzz
- Quiver Dance

Volcarona is an amazing pokemon, and it's a real nightmare when it manages to get one quiver dance up; you can run focus sash for a safe quiver dance or lum berry for any status effect (Toxic, Thunder Wave, etc), Fiery Dance let's it hit hard with STAB and it has a cool 50% to rise your special attack, which makes it a really amazing sweeper, Bug Buzz is its main STAB attack, can hit through Substitutes and is a fairly powerful move, Giga Drain is a way to hit water/ground/rock types and get recovery, you can also run Roost but that's more recommended for a bulky set, Hidden Power Ground is a way to hit Heatran and other fire types. What's wrong with Volcarona? Given it takes 50% damage out of stealth rocks, it can be taken down pretty easily without a spinner/defogger and Fire can barely manage to keep Stealth Rocks off as it is, having your Win Condition rely on an already iffy situation is no call for A Rank at all plus it doesn't provide sun like Charizard making it detracted.

 

[Sae]

Meowstic-M | Psychic
Unranked ----> C

Alright, before you call me crazy and dismiss this argument, hear me out.

I have been using mono-psychic for a few months now. I quickly figured out how to create solid teams but I found a huge flaw in the type. It is extremely limited in ways to neutralize set-up sweepers. Sure, you can try to wall them with the plethora of bulky mons Psychic has to offer but you will find you can only get you so far against certain boosting Pokemon. What are you going to do in the face of a +2 or even just +1 Zard X? If your bulky mons are weakened just a bit, you get 6-0ed. End of story. Even if you manage to find a counter, odds are it will fail against other sweepers.

I delved into the depths of the lower tiers to try and resolve this issue and found this little guy. What if I told you he can put a complete stop to any set-up sweeper you wish with the right set? This underrated Pokemon is not niche either. It can perform a variety of roles and consistently put in work against the opposition.

Common/Likely Set

Meowstic (M) @ Light Clay
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Thunder Wave
- Psyshock

Set Explanation

So yeah, thanks to his Prankster ability, Meowstic-M can outpace the opponent nearly every time to quickly inflict a status on the opponent. Thunder Wave is perfect for shutting down the speed stat of sweepers. This allows almost anything else on your squad to come in and easily revenge kill the threat. Let's say your team has issues against a mon that cannot be t-waved. This is fine. Just run toxic as this will put a clock on your opponent and force a switch. Similarly, Prankster screens are amazing for boosting your teams over-all defenses which will often allow something to come in and revenge kill.

Meowstic has a move to take care of pretty much any threat your team might encounter. It has access to prankster Trick Room, Barrier, Calm Mind, Yawn, Toxic, T-Wave... you name it.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I think this Pokemon's versatility and ability alone make it worthy of at least being ranked. It has helped me so much in the past. It gives you an edge against your opponent with the element of surprise. Odds are that they have never even seen this Pokemon in use.

(it's also cute as fuck, so there's that.)

As far as I can tell Meowstic looks to be a perfect example of a C-rank Psychic Pokemon. It's not the most particularly gifted Psychic Pokemon when it comes to sweeping, but given its two abilities (Prankster and Infiltrator) its not outclassed by anything in its role per se. There are better Pokemon who have the option to say Dual Screen (i.e. Uxie which is bulkier and gets SR and Knock Off or Espeon who prevents screens from getting Defogged) but that doesn't prevent Meowstic from performing its niche as a priority screener. Most Psychic users always complain about MegaX sweeping their teams, yet this thing can single-handedly cripple it with a Prankster Twave and if it gets Para'd you get a free turn to setup screens.

It's not a tank, but it does add tremendous support to the team. Psyshock is kind of sub-par but it's the only valid attacking option you have so you aren't Taunt bait. Another thing people probably don't realize about this thing is that it has a base 104 Speed meaning an Infiltrator Toxic or Twave set could work. It's still not bulky and it's not worth it, but it's just something to throw out there.

Meowstic has several flaws a Psychic team might not always want to deal with. It's practically Taunt bait, but it doesn't get Prankster Taunt or Magic Coat to prevent that. It doesn't even get U-turn to build momentum after screens. It's offensive stats are subpar and has barely any coverage. It's not as bulky as other Psychic mons that could do Dual Screens, but it does perform its job and it performs it well without being entirely outclassed. I'll give it C-rank.

 

[Anttya]

Oh my fault, Alerts stopped notifying me of this so I have a ton to update.

 

[Sae]

Oh my fault, Alerts stopped notifying me of this so I have a ton to update.

Yeah I always check now if I haven't once every 3 days or so just in case alerts fail me again too.

 

[Swede]

If I can get around to it tomorrow, I'll discuss why I think each of the current Pokemon for tier discussion are A Rank.

 

[Dirpz]

Scizor-Mega: Probably the 2nd best bug type mega can be bulky for hazard removal, has balk to live, and has a nice ability, and move pool to deal and recovery damage. Stay in S

Scizor: Basiclly same as Mega scizor, but can do just as much damage or more (Choice Band, Life Orb) Plus a nice ability. Stay in S

Torkoal: It is a defensive wall, it helps with hazard removal and not much else, move to B

 

[Hutyro]

As far as scizor goes, both mga and non mega are necessary for mono bug has they both have the ability the wall and deal huge damage, they also help with hazard removal. The main difference is that mega can wall alot more damage and the non mega can deal more damage due to items. Overall, both stay S.

Now for torkoal, he can remove hazards ( wich hinder fire alot), wall physical attackers and phase with yawn. Looking at this it seems like a really solid A, but there is one major problem with this pokemon. For once, his rapid spining isn't necessary, fire types don't need hazards at all, meaning you can just go with defog on mega zard. So now you have a physical wall that can phaze.
Now if you think about it, does a wall that can only phase without dealing any real damage belong in A rank? Not to me, so if no one presents any argument against it, I say Torkoal goes into the B rank.

 

[Swede]

If I can get around to it tomorrow, I'll discuss why I think each of the current Pokemon for tier discussion are A Rank.

I end up procrastinating on making simple posts too much and end up fitting this in with studying. So here goes a very basic reason for each.

Scizor - One of Bug's flagship 'mons with an access to impressive Technician ability, it can perform roles as an offensive set up sweeper (especially with defense investments + roost), pure attacker with Life Orb boost, or even a late-game priority killer with access to STAB Technician-booster Bullet Punch.

It loses weaknesses to flying and rock (always a plus for bug teams), though it gains a painful 4x weakness to Fire attacks. Luckily teammates such as Volcarona, Armaldo, and Surskit can switch in to take the hits. The switch to Steel type gives it even more resistances and prevents Fighting and Ground weaknesses with thanks to it being Bug.

Overall high attack allows it to shine along with some respectable defenses, but poor HP and speed can cause it to rely heavily on getting the first attack in with Bullet Punch or switch-ins to make a big enough impact against an opponent's team. A solid pokemon that requires opponents to prepare for it, but not in the regards that it becomes a serious threat to every team. Special attacks and speed advantage for opponent will make Scizor's life horrible. I'll give it A Rank.

Edit - It gets Defog, which is a big need for Bug if Shuckle isn't available. However, I am still adamant about A rank for now.

Mega Scizor - Everything that applies to Scizor is also the case for Mega Scizor, though big defensive boosts and attack strengthening make Swords Dance + Roost slightly more viable.

One of the main problems with using Mega Scizor is that Bug monotype has been blessed with useful Mega Evolutions that make using Mega Scizor only slightly better than regular Scizor. When you have access to Mega Heracross and Mega Pinsir who are pretty impressive pokemon, the need for Scizor to carry Scizorite is kinda small. Again, A Rank.

Torkoal - Will be discussed soon