Tier List Updates

July 2023

Hisuians (OU ->> UUBL)

These Hiusian Pokémon will be dropping to the UUBL Tier. They began in the OU Tier when Pokémon Home allowed Legends Arceus transfers, and across all Smogon tiers, these Pokémon have dropped to different tiers since. We hope to reflect this change in our own tiers, and as such have chosen to move them all together, and may make changes in future based on the meta.

Paradox (OU ->> UU) 

These Future Paradox Pokémon have been slightly tweaked in their placements. They are a tier above their Smogon placements as we want to give them some time to be tested in our own meta and see what specific bans are necessary based on the upcoming OU and UU Tournaments. 

Paradox (OU ->> UUBL

These Future Paradox Pokémon have been slightly tweaked in their placements. They are a tier above their Smogon placements as we want to give them some time to be tested in our own meta and see what specific bans are necessary based on the upcoming OU and UU Tournaments. 

Inteleon (OU ->> RU)

Due to Pokémon Home, Intelleon was initially placed high in OU for Gen 9. However, as time has passed, this Pokémon has dropped drastically down the tiers due to its usage not meeting the lofty expectations of OU. RU felt like a far more appropriate fit.

Deoxys-Defence (Uber -> UUBL)

Deoxys has always been a ban worthy Pokémon since its inception in Generation 3, however of all its forms, Deoxys Defence tends to be considered the weakest due to its statline, lack of defensive ability, shallow movepool, and has generally been outclassed as the years have passed it by.. This Pokémon will be placed in UUBL, while we analyse it further through its potential usage in the tier.

Sneasler (Uber ->> OU)

We are still monitoring this Pokemon.

Sneasler was a Pokémon the competitive committee decided to unanimously ban. There were many good reasons for this, most notably its high damage thresholds, ability to outspeed literally any Pokémon in the game with Unburden, and of course, the infamous Dire Claw. 

Since our last tier rework, there were a few question marks surrounding our decision, and after a close vote, we have decided to give it another look, giving it a proper chance to be suspect tested to see if the ban was the correct decision as we’re currently doing 3 other tests. This one more than any other will be monitored extremely closely, as it's a very controversial Pokémon as we’re aware, but we hope the reasoning behind this suspect test is understood.

Mega-Alakazam (OU ->> Uber)

We are still monitoring this Pokemon.

We’ve heard the comments in #competitive-battling regarding this Pokémon, and we want to make it known; we hear you. Mega Alakazam gained Nasty Plot in Gen 8, and similar to Mega Blastoise, this sent this Pokémon rocketing up the tier placements on Smogon. 

We would like to review this Pokémon in our own meta, as currently the tier is centralised around Kingambit, and other such counters. After seeing how it performs in the next OU Tournament, we will  determine what we do next. 

Kyurem (Uber ->> OU) 

We are still monitoring this Pokemon.

Kyurem was an interesting Pokémon for our server in 1.12. In a very short timeframe, it proved itself as a potent enough threat that as the server was getting close to the 1.16 announcement, it was moved to Uber due to high tournament placements and dominance in the meta, similar to threats like Cinderace and Magearna. 

However, since then, it has mellowed out in the Smogon meta, not posing nearly as much of a threat as new Pokémon joined the fray, and others shifted around. However, due to concerns with dropping it directly into OU, we will be suspect testing this Pokémon. 

Cinderace (Uber ->> OU) 

We are still monitoring this Pokemon.

The most controversial Pokémon from 1.12, Cinderace, is back again for another discussion. Last time it was discussed, it took several weeks to finally land on the decision to ban the Pokémon due to its ability and pure raw power in the metagame at the time. 

However, as new Pokémon were added, Cinderace has gone from a hyper offensive role to a semi supportive one, similar to Greninja after its debut generation. Speaking of, Libero and Protean have not been updated to their Gen 9 counterparts yet, meaning they still change their type for every move used, not just the first. If this were not the case, Cinderace would be a more clear drop to OU as it plays similarly to Meowscarada in many ways, however we want to ensure we aren't making a mistake in this, so a suspect test is going to be done.

Little Cup

Basculin-H (ban)

This is a pokemon who received an evolution in later games. As such, it follows suit with other mons who did the same and gets placed in NFE. This is mostly due to a much higher base stat total than any other Pokemon that you will find in LC. 

In Basculins case, it's 460. On top of that, Basculin gets adaptability, which grants it a 2x multiplier on STAB moves instead of the regular 1.5x multiplier. Boasting a whopping 92 attack stat and 98 speed, if left in the list, it would not only have the 8th highest attack, but the 3rd highest speed. There is no wall that wave crash + adaptability wont break, and with aqua jet, there is little that can outspeed tier this thing.

Corsola-G (ban)

The Galar variant of Corsola has an evolution unlike its Johto counterpart, yet it has the same base stat total... 410. 260 of those are where they matter, being HP, Defence, and Special Defence. It has access to Strength Sap to stay healthy, Haze to prevent setup, and other notable moves such as Stealth Rocks and Whirlpool. 

If left in the tier, it would have the 6th highest defence and 2nd highest special defence. Pair this with Eviolite and you have a nearly unkillable mon, as it can spam Strength Sap and render any physical attacker useless. Special mons are the way to kill Corsola, and even then, they can struggle to do so.

Sneasel-H (ban)

Sneasel-H is a case of too many stats, and those stats are heavily placed where they matter. With a base stat total of 430, it would already top the charts, but thats only the tip of the iceburg. 

It has an attack stat of 95 and speed stat of 115. If left in the tier it would be tied at 6th highest attack and ahem 1st place in speed. With the moveset Swords Dance/Night Slash/Poison Jab/Close Combat it can hit every pokemon in the tier atleast for neutral damage except itself and Croagunk, meaning that if it ever gets a chance to come in for free and SD, the game is very close to being over then and there.

Its typing also means that it resists most common priority moves being Sucker Punch, Mach Punch, Grassy Glide, and First Impression. The best you can do is Neutral damage Priority moves meaning Sneasel-H will almost always either go first, or live the initial hit and kill the attacker.

Stantler (ban)

This is a pokemon who recieved an evolution in later games. As such, it follows suit with other mons who did the same and gets placed in NFE. This is mostly due to a much higher base stat total than any other pokemon that you will find in LC. 

In Stantlers case, its 465. Stantler has high attack at 95, which if left in the tier would tie it at 6th highest, and above average defensive stats for how hard it hits. It can easily come in on physical attackers with Intimidate and Strength sap, and being able to hit every mon in tier for atleast neutral damage with Double Edge/Sucker Punch/Earthquake.

Qwilfish-H (ban)

The Hisui variant of Qwilfish has an evolution unlike its Johto counterpart, yet it has the same base stat total... 440. 

Qwilfish-H has a high attack stat at 95, which if left in the tier would tie it at 6th highest, and an above average spread for the rest of its stats allowing it to still outspeed most mons and take a hit before feinting. It gets access to Swords Dance for setup, and Aqua Jet or Liquidation (priority or damage)/Crunch/Poison Jab allows it to hit the entire tier atlest neutral, and it also gets Self-Destruct if you want to go that route.