Pokemon VGC 2017 Tier List (Always Current)
I'm going to edit this soon but don't expect much movement from this aside additional new Pokemon and some rising mons that have gain some spotlight in usage or performed well during tournaments during this month. At this point, don't really see any pokemon who I view as "s-tier" aside a couple candidates like Koko or Chomp who have been consistently been doing well, but not to where its dominating every game (which is imo a good thing). In response to some mons:
Marowak-Alolan (Stays at A-): Personally haven't used as much, but its one of the best counters to Tapu Koko and can perform well in Trick Room. My concern is Marowak seems to rely much on the Trick Room mode to be an offensive force it already is, though will say when it does, few mons can stop it. Again Lightening Rod support is appreciated, I feel Alolan Marowak's lack of speed is what's hurting the Ghost/Fire-type and its low defensive stats. There's just so much that pressures Alolan Marowak like Garchomp, Fini, Alolan Muke, Nihilego, or even strong special Z-move users who can OHKO it before it does anything. Still think Alolan Marowak a strong mon on the right team support if you can pressure teams with its doubled attack stat and provide the Lightening Rod support.
Tapu Fini (Rises to A+): Was hesitant at giving Tapu Fini A+ until I realized how much of an impact its had in the early metagame with its high support and defensive value. Despite the lack of "benefits" Fini gets from its respective Misty Terrain, it actually can support the rest of the team via preventing status conditions, which has long be a staple in the VGC format. There's so many variations of Tapu Fini we've seen in the past few months such as Calm Mind, Specs, Safe Swagger, or utility support which it can do almost all these things relatively well. Definitely a splashable mon to use right now.
Arcanine (Stays at A+): Honestly while Arcanine usage is almost at a new high, its mostly due to the lack of relatively good Fire-type Pokemon in the format and Arcanine's rather above average stats at least holding up. The past month I've seen Arcanine sets vary between offensive sets with Choice Band, support options to spread Wisp/Intimdate, and even weird Assault Vest variants to have a mix of the two. Arcanine is a strong Fire-type, however it still gets pressured by even some of the common Pokemon like Tapus listed here, Water-types, and Dragon-types. Again like Tapu Fini, Arcanine is extremely varied in sets despite the limiting options it has from its movepool.
Kartana (Drops to A): Now this one I was going to make awhile back, but definitely Kartana should be dropped given now it seems more teams are better prepared to stop this paper alien thing. Despite Kartana having an insane high attack stat, teams have been more suited to pressure it with Intimidate spam, or target down its low special defense stats. For Kartana to work, the player either has to make aggressive predictions or setup the endgame where it can effectively clean a depleted team who lost their checks to the Grass/Steel-type prior. Don't get me wrong, Kartana is still an strong offensive mon to use, but team have adjusted to keeping it at bay.
Ninetales-Alolan (Stays to A) Haven't seen much change in usage or set variations from Ninetales aside some random Scarf sets, however it support options with Aurora Veil, Icy Wind, and fast Encore justify it enough. Not to mention Ninetales has a one of the fastest non scarf STAB Blizzard spam in the game, though somewhat weak. Alolan Ninetales is threatening enough with Blizzard spam to deal good chip damage while setting up Aurora Veil for its team.
Marowak-Alolan (Stays at A-): Personally haven't used as much, but its one of the best counters to Tapu Koko and can perform well in Trick Room. My concern is Marowak seems to rely much on the Trick Room mode to be an offensive force it already is, though will say when it does, few mons can stop it. Again Lightening Rod support is appreciated, I feel Alolan Marowak's lack of speed is what's hurting the Ghost/Fire-type and its low defensive stats. There's just so much that pressures Alolan Marowak like Garchomp, Fini, Alolan Muke, Nihilego, or even strong special Z-move users who can OHKO it before it does anything. Still think Alolan Marowak a strong mon on the right team support if you can pressure teams with its doubled attack stat and provide the Lightening Rod support.
Tapu Fini (Rises to A+): Was hesitant at giving Tapu Fini A+ until I realized how much of an impact its had in the early metagame with its high support and defensive value. Despite the lack of "benefits" Fini gets from its respective Misty Terrain, it actually can support the rest of the team via preventing status conditions, which has long be a staple in the VGC format. There's so many variations of Tapu Fini we've seen in the past few months such as Calm Mind, Specs, Safe Swagger, or utility support which it can do almost all these things relatively well. Definitely a splashable mon to use right now.
Arcanine (Stays at A+): Honestly while Arcanine usage is almost at a new high, its mostly due to the lack of relatively good Fire-type Pokemon in the format and Arcanine's rather above average stats at least holding up. The past month I've seen Arcanine sets vary between offensive sets with Choice Band, support options to spread Wisp/Intimdate, and even weird Assault Vest variants to have a mix of the two. Arcanine is a strong Fire-type, however it still gets pressured by even some of the common Pokemon like Tapus listed here, Water-types, and Dragon-types. Again like Tapu Fini, Arcanine is extremely varied in sets despite the limiting options it has from its movepool.
Kartana (Drops to A): Now this one I was going to make awhile back, but definitely Kartana should be dropped given now it seems more teams are better prepared to stop this paper alien thing. Despite Kartana having an insane high attack stat, teams have been more suited to pressure it with Intimidate spam, or target down its low special defense stats. For Kartana to work, the player either has to make aggressive predictions or setup the endgame where it can effectively clean a depleted team who lost their checks to the Grass/Steel-type prior. Don't get me wrong, Kartana is still an strong offensive mon to use, but team have adjusted to keeping it at bay.
Ninetales-Alolan (Stays to A) Haven't seen much change in usage or set variations from Ninetales aside some random Scarf sets, however it support options with Aurora Veil, Icy Wind, and fast Encore justify it enough. Not to mention Ninetales has a one of the fastest non scarf STAB Blizzard spam in the game, though somewhat weak. Alolan Ninetales is threatening enough with Blizzard spam to deal good chip damage while setting up Aurora Veil for its team.
