USUM community tier list day 2 - Route 1
After we pick our starter, let's take a quick jog to Route 1 to see what we have.
Our Route 1 Pokémon are:
-Butterfree
-Alolan Raticate (nighttime)
-Alolan Raichu
-Ledian (daytime)
-Ariados (nighttime)
-Lopunny
-Toucannon
-Gumshoos (daytime)
-Vikavolt
A lot of Pokémon to choose from, huh? Well, let's see how well they perform!
PREVIOUS DAY VOTING RESULTS:
Decidueye (A- tier):
There were a bit of B tier votes too, but also plenty of A tier votes, so I decided to give it A-.
POSITIVES:
-Rowlet starts with the Flying type, great for the first couple fights of the game.
-Decidueye has very respectable attack and special attack stats, meaning you can use it's offense however you like.
-It's Grass/Ghost typing is quite solid, giving it two immunities and a solid amount of resistances.
-It gets lots of useful status moves, such as Feather Dance and Synthesis.
-The new move tutors introduced give it some new options for damage, like Seed Bomb, Giga Drain, etc.
NEGATIVES:
-The stat spread isn't the greatest; it's overall bulk is kinda meh and it's speed is only below average at best (although Sucker Punch does partially compensate for this).
-The TM for Swords Dance was moved to the post game, and Nasty Plot isn't until level 60, so it's mostly stuck using Work Up, which isn't a terrible setup move, but the former moves are way better.
-It's movepool is also a bit limited, not getting many coverage moves.
-Some later matchups aren't very kind either (Dark type kahuna, Ghost type totem, Flying type in the league, to name a few).
Incineroar (A tier):
POSITIVES:
-Litten and Torracat are pretty fast, especially early in the game.
-Incineroar has great bulk and a massive attack stat, a good combination of offense and defense.
-It's Fire/Dark typing is pretty good across the board, with and immunity to Psychic type moves and Prankster. Fire type Pokémon tend to perform better in the late game though.
-It also has a surprisingly good movepool, getting moves like Thunder Punch and Iron Head.
NEGATIVES:
-As mentioned earlier, Fire type Pokémon ofter struggle in the early game due to the matchups (Water type totem and Rock type kahuna in the mid game is especially rough).
-It's special attack is pretty average, not bad, but not mind blowing, and it's base 60 speed is poor, a problem with a lot of Alola Pokémon.
-It gets Flare Blitz pretty late at level 55, meaning you have to use Fire Punch as its Fire type stab for most of the run.
-It lacks good setup moves besides Work Up. It gets Swords Dance by TM, but again, that's postgame. :(
Primarina (S tier):
POSITIVES:
-Popplio's early Disarming voice is great to have against the first totem (only in UM).
-It now gets Icy Wind at level 16, great move for it's Grass type weakness.
-Primarina has an amazing stat spread, with it's special attack and special defense being the highest of all starter Pokémon. It can also put it's physical attack to use thanks to getting Aqua Jet.
-It's movepool is also great: Sparkling Aria, Ice Beam, Shadow Ball, Energy Ball, Psychic, Moonblast, Dazzling Gleam, you name it.
-Water/Fairy typing is also really excellent across the board, beating many totem Pokémon, kahunas and Elite Four members.
NEGATIVES:
-It's 60 base speed is, once again, not great. It's physical defense stat is also not very impressive.
-It doesn't get Calm Mind in this generation for some reason, which really sucks since that would be it's best setup move. It's stuck using only Work Up (again, not bad, but Calm Mind's better).
-It learns Moonblast at level 44, pretty reasonable, but you have to rely on Disarming Voice until then.
Alright, those were the voting results. Please tell me if I missed anything important.
Of course, the rankings are decided by you guys. Discussions, debates and upvoted will shape up the final ranking. I'll also do a summary of voted Pokémon based on what you think about them.
RANKING CRITERIA:
All Pokémon obtainable in Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon are ranked based on their contribution to the journey until becoming the Champion. You're also allowed to comment if you think one of the Pokémon should be in a different tier and why.
Investment means experience, TMs and items that cost BP. All Pokémon can be eventually good after a lot of investment, but we're talking strictly about casual play here.
Pokémon that evolve by trading are ranked based under the assumption that the played has access to trading through emulators or other methods. If you can't trade, you can rank their pre-evolutions instead (Kadabra and Haunter for example).
If a Pokémon is available on the route, no matter it's spawn rate, it doesn't matter. As long as the Pokémon is available on that route, it's all good.
SOS ENCOUNTERS: After the first trial, many Pokémon can call allies for help. Some Pokémon can only be obtained this way. These Pokémon can rarely have their Hidden Abilities, so while you CAN consider them, you should heavily penalize them for the grind required to obtain them.
ISLAND SCAN ENCOUNTERS: These Pokémon can only be found using Island Scan on a specific route at a certain day of the week, after getting at least 100 points from scanning QR codes. Once Island Scan starts, you have 1 hour to catch the Pokémon. If you KO them, they don't respawn, so be careful about that.
TIER DEFINITIONS:
You can vote for + and - subtiers, and they will be taken into account. After the final round, I'll break the infographic into subtiers as well.
S TIER (Excellent): Pokémon that are simply amazing. They have excellent stats, movepools and sweep through most of the game effortlessly. They are available for most of the playthrough and don't require much investment to keep up.
A TIER (Great): Pokémon that are reliable and easy to use, but lack a major advantage which keeps them from the S tier.
B TIER (Good): Pokémon that are good for playthroughs, but have some noticeable flaws (for example, limited movepool and late availability).
C TIER (Alright): Pokémon that are generally ok but are strictly inferior to others, mostly due to average stats, not being available early and/or a shallow movepool.
D TIER (Mediocre): Pokémon that aren't bad per se, but tend to be a liability for most of the playthrough. However, they possess a unique utility or specific strategy that allows them to bypass their drawbacks.
E TIER (Bad): Pokémon that are difficult to use effectively due to a combination of bad stats, typing and movepools.
F TIER (No): Pokémon that have basically no redeeming qualities. THEY SUCK. DON'T USE THEM.