Pokemon's #1 Player has Gone INSANE..

[@jimothycool]

Curious what the rest of the community thinks? Check out the updated Official Tier List, which aggregates the rankings of all top players. Salamence was NOT as the bottom of this one folks: kzbin.info/www/bejne/h2TaY396mKqtrKs

[@99sonder]

This is all part of ABR's grand master plan to make people bring Ttar less for his own weatherless teams to excel. ABR doesn't just play in the middle of battle, he's been playing the moment he left his mother's vomb

[@sky_pirate]

Reminds me of players posting their 70/30s as 50/50.

[@polocatfan]

I know you're joking, but this is probably the actual reason he's doing this.

[@i_understand_NOTHING_v]

Vomb

[@federicosimkus7979]

That sneaky motherfucker, he's been pulling the strings all along

[@usernametaken017]

Big Stall propaganda

[@perturbo4253]

Look at that subtle Lax placement. The masterful bait of Mence at bottom. Oh my God. It even has the Regirock.

[@Apnael]

Paul Allen's tierlist ain't no joke let me tell ya.

[@ohno8774]

ayo revcord

[@BoWs1rJr]

Hi pert

[@getmilked6216]

wadup brown town.

[@ohno8774]

@@getmilked6216 hey football fans

[@cogitocontent5723]

I think what unites most of ABR's hot takes here, aside from his dislike of inaccurate moves, is he prefers pokemon and strategies that limit the opponent's counterplay. He rates Dugtrio and most explosion users higher than consensus because they force the issue, they ensure progress is being made almost regardless of what the opponent does (yes you can switch a ghost type into a predicted explosion but that's highly risky). On the other hand, pokemon like Tyranitar, Swampert, and Zapdos, while strong, can't "force the issue" in the same way; you often need to rely on predictions to make significant progress with them. This even kind of explains Blissey #1 from a defensive perspective; you can switch Blissey into any special attacker and there's not much your opponent can do to counter you except predict it and double switch (which, again, risky and inconsistent). I don't think this is a troll post unlike other commenters here. I think it's explicitly a "this is my personal playstyle and what I find strong in the current metagame" post and so embodies his particular playstyle and approach to the game. For that reason I don't think anyone else should take it as gospel because nobody else will be as successful with ABR's style as he is. But it's definitely an interesting post and I think as a whole asserts a coherent worldview.

[@inazuma-fulgur]

Consistency should be aimed for by any player. I legitimately consider any luck based strategies cheese, they are only worth using if the whole of a meta is cheese based. Which is a bad meta that should be changed, or it's gen 1 in which case you still need to find ways to minimize bad odds which is honestly kinda fun when nothing is every safe. Gen 1 crit > gen 7 crit > Gen 2 crit That includes things like triple axle weavile, if your opponent can punish you by staying in even though you threaten them because your attack sucks and just misses you're using a bad strategy. Focus blast doesn't see usage either because it's bad at winning games unless you're so tanky you don't care about missing three four times in a row at which point it doesn't matter what you run tbh. Moves below 85% accuracy see very little play for good reason, hustle is consider an awful ability not by coincidence.

[@cogitocontent5723]

@inazuma-fulgur I understand your position but I don't fully agree. For example, look at Mana, who's had quite consistent success in tournaments with a highly unconventional and risky play and teambuilding style. The goal is to win as high a percentage of games as possible; there's no objective difference between losing because your Hydro Pump missed and losing because your Surf didn't deal enough damage. It's about which scenario you believe to be more likely.

[@inazuma-fulgur]

@cogitocontent5723 I mean, I won't deny anyones skill or the ability for people maining ho teams to win. I'm not as good at building ho or playing it as other people are. But it's largely a mindset thing, I just prefer forcing my opponent to outplay me more than I enjoy forcing team match ups. Taking risk is always necessary because mons is just not that concrete of a game, a lot can go wrong with how much rng there is and players choosing moves at the same time, but that makes me more adamant about playing solid because you have to be able to keep outs alive even in the worst of the worst scenarios.

[@EllipticalReasoning]

I also think it's noteworthy that he specifically says 'this tier list is only true if you're the best player in the world.' Consistency is much more important when you're not going to lose by inferior play very often.

[@spych0367]

@@inazuma-fulgur mans clearly never won with an exodia deck the rush is why playing is fun

[@abbybackstabby]

This is honestly so inspirational. Becoming the best, just so people will have to take your unhinged opinions seriously. 10/10, will ladder again because of this. Thank you ABR

[@dylanf3108]

@@abbybackstabby ABR’s Mence hatred is extremely based though.

[@Theinternertstepdad]

He won just to go backwards, it's genius actually

[@azeria1]

This list was actually created by his paradox version RBA who comes from a world in which salmance is c tier

[@usernametaken017]

and slaking is better than kindra. and salamance. ofc.

[@shaggytodopoderoso9526]

​@@usernametaken017salamence gets truant BC he gets lazy after achieving all he wanted. Slaking there gets comatose instead

[@user-7ko2ki9e]

@@usernametaken017 to be fair, slaking one-shots both of them

[@andrewoliver7095]

Retep energy

[@honjon666]

Reverse Bottle Adventure

[@BKCplaysPokemon]

The next idiot to give me grief for ripping on Snorlax is getting sent to Belize

[@Lucawee]

But have you considered it has curse? Didnt think so.

[@AutumnReel4444]

​@@Lucawee Got a real giggle out of me, wp

[@davidmuhs4590]

free vacation :) why hate snorlax? its so *well rounded* i mean just look at it :)

[@spaghettiisyummy.3623]

🇧🇿

[@jvidsforyou7620]

I think Snorlax definitely has a role that's good in adv OU but I agree with you BKC especially after I watched your Snorlax video 😂😂😂 FYI I'm a HUGE fan of your content and I watch every video you post the same day you post and I want to thank you BKC for all your content I've improved and learned A LOT from all your content while I play Pokemon showdown.

[@galelululu]

I think placing Dugtrio and Blissey in this way is an insight into how ABR thinks about winning any matchup as opposed to winning his next game. Dugtrio and Blissey don’t check a specific Pokémon, or sweep a completely unprepared team, they eliminate entire styles of play and categories of moves from being used effectively

[@glumreaper8885]

It's that but probably a little more straightforward too. It's more like their role often can't have downsides. Once you know what dugtrio can kill, its board position will always generate that effect. Once you know what Blissey can wall, its board position will always generate that effect. They may have less "points of impact" as in big powerful moments of flourish, but with the right support, they can always generate what they are supposed to do. They're precise, albeit straightforward, when other mons may rely more on predictions or outplay.

[@Lobster222]

salamence below everything is absolutely masterful bait.

[@陳嘉宇-y4q]

Bagon ain't dreaming for this

[@usernametaken017]

Below consistent and powerful threats such as sableye and slaking

[@Lobster222]

@@陳嘉宇-y4q he grew wings only to use them to nosedive to the bottom of the viability ranking, truly the script of all time

[@mrmangbro6842]

​@@Lobster222Actually snorted when reading that

[@DutchDread]

Salamence sucks

[@antoniobanderas3264]

Blissey be like: fuck the big three, its just big me.

[@monk3110]

This town ain’t big enough for the one of me

[@ProjectThunderclaw]

Do keep in mind this is an absolute top-tier player talking about what he ends up bringing to tournaments against other top-tier players, which is going to be a rather different metagame than whatever our 1300 Elo asses are dealing with on the Showdown ladder. Salamence could drop a full tier because there's Literally One Guy who just REALLY likes Ice Punch.

[@Lambeaux0]

Yep. It's wayyyy different to have to win multiple high level games in a row or else you get nothing vs being able to build elo by attrition where losses are not devastating.

[@literallyanidiot2880]

its me. I love ice punch

[@AgentAsteriski]

@@literallyanidiot2880 username che- no, I can't, you're probably having fun and that's the real smart play

[@josephhanicak7922]

Good Pokémon get better when used by high level players, not worse. The best Pokémon are the best because they have the biggest impact the most consistently, and a massive part of that is usage in high level play. Usage stats are virtually always taken from 1810+ ELO games. Almost always, the viability list tracks with the usage in top level play with some expected variation. ABR's tier list is simply ludicrous; an inane, worthless piece of garbage. If that seems harsh, it's because it is, the list really is that bad. I'm no tournament winner or anything, but I'm pretty consistently above 1500 elo in the tiers I play, I've been top 50 in a couple tiers, and was an active member on the forums for years as well. I just cannot fathom how disconnected you have to be from any view outside your own to put Salamance as the lowest ranked mon on your tier list. It doesn't matter how much one dude runs ice punch, you have to get a mon capable of using ice punch in first, and oh wait, Salamence used dragon dance as you switched in. It also makes its own switch ins with intimidate, and is also an amazing mixed attacker. I mean, Dugtrio as the third best in the tier over Metagross, Swampert, Ttar, and Jirachi??? It's just insane to me. Being the best player doesn't mean you're the best source of analysis for the tier. For example, I remember when Zacian first came out, I saw quite a few highly regarded players in Ubers arguing that base Zacian was better because it hit harder than Zacian C when holding a life orb. Obviously, that did not end up being the case. Top level players are just as susceptible to being biased and short-sighted as anyone else is. There's a reason that sports have coaches rather than letting the players do their own thing; just because you're good at something doesn't mean you're just as good at understanding that thing. It sounds contradictory, but humans are simply just bad at separating our experiences from objective quality.

[@xaf15001]

​@@josephhanicak7922Good pokemon gets better when used by a better player, but some doesn't get better enough so they go down relative to others going up. Also you son of a bitch you said it yourself the list is from 1800 elo, you're in 1500. You're not even playing tournaments. The data you and ABR pulls from is different, it's inane to even attempt to rate one to another.

[@VerbalLearning]

I don't think ABR was trying to be funny but writing "My Guy" for Regirock and "Strong Dad Energy" for Slaking as well as "Something about this or baton pass needs to be banned" for Ninjask got a good laugh out of me.

[@Cosplaybuddygiraffes]

To be fair, you play enough ADV and certain pokemon become your GOATs (lum ddtar is my guy of all time, the truest homie)

[@willywonka6487]

baton pass does need to be banned

[@BromanderInChief]

⁠@@willywonka6487Celebi or Zap BP can be annoying, but is overall fine. Jask is an asshole and is the problem.

[@Feroror]

Where is Muk in this Viability Ranking? He is an uncontested contender for the number 1 spot.

[@jimothycool]

Muk is considered #0 and most don't even bother ranking him.

[@why3994]

It's true, folks. Muk is always first, that's why he loves the first day of the week so much.

[@usernametaken017]

Muk is ranked, but thanks to this pesky Pokémon's infamous move, "Minimize", he is Completely invisible to human eyes. Like this video and Subscribe to convince the Mischievous pokemon "Murkrow" to use the move "Haze" to stop this madness. thank you

[@Snocone333]

theyve been left off until Mega Muk is released into all gens

[@mrmangbro6842]

@@Feroror It is redundant since everyone knows this information. It would be akin to recommending food when hungry.

[@PokePhan]

Becoming number 1 to post something like this is peak. Didn’t think I could like ABR more but here I am

[@blastoiseddr]

You gotta respect the hustle

[@usernametaken017]

​@@blastoiseddrABR wouldn't because it makes every move innacurate

[@RichardBlaziken]

While I think top players don't always have the best minds for tier lists and should be taken for what they are - a subjective power ranking - I think people dismissing this as bait is disingenuous. ABR provided reasons for all of his ranks, so even if someone happens to disagree, I think engaging with it in earnest is important.

[@aprinnyonbreak1290]

Yeah Like, the evidence for Tyranitar being as low as it is exists in other entries, like how for Dugtrio, he mentions weather resetting without Tyranitar; if Tyranitar isn't getting that credit for weather reset, that's just something it loses. He mentions on Skarmory that pokemon who can also do a thing well reduce the ranking of a pokemon, since they're not getting singular credit for it. The philosophy behind these rankings is incredibly apparent and well documented throughout. I can imagine dramatic placing of more notable pokemon, if only to attract attention to the list as a whole, but to call it bait is... wrong. If someone better than you at something says something you think is stupid, it probably isn't stupid, especially if it's working.

[@RyanJW001]

​@@aprinnyonbreak1290 More or less. I'm guessing things like mence are low because it just doesn't fit into his team building philosophy. Most likely, what mence brings to the table is replaceable, redundant, or unnecessary within the teams he's building. Perhaps what zard covers is a bit harder to handle for his teams in general, which would make it more valuable. If we consider it from that perspective, even if it's objectively good at what it does, it may not make sense to use it. There's probably tons of more mainstream examples of this, where certain pokemon have objectively amazing strengths but just don't get used in the meta because those strengths aren't a priority.

[@naqib_2365]

@@RyanJW001Many Pokemon in different metas have fallen out of favor not because they are objectively bad, but because they are outclassed and suboptimal in the meta. Why should salamence be any different? - is what I got from this tierlist

[@harrydsgn]

This made me realize ABR is basically playing the competitive Pokemon version of Moneyball. Consistency and momentum > high risk/high reward plays. Very cool to see a similar philosophy succeed in completely separate games.

[@glumreaper8885]

So basically Salamence is the star pitcher who has a tendency to wear out in games or become predictable against good hitters, but Regirock is the guy who somehow always gets to walk to first base. It's frankly unclear why they always get a walk, but the value generated of always getting on base should definitely finds its way on a team roster.

[@ohno8774]

Interesting to see how differently ABR approches a VR than most players. Most people approach VRs from the perspective of general trends in the metagame. What they expect to encounter and need to have an answer for. McMegans rationale for skarm as number 1 is that it is the number 1 pokemon you need to be able to answer. Abr's VR is focused on his own play and teambuilding first and foremost. Blissey is number 1 because I use it the most, because nothing else can do its job. Similarly with dugtrio. He's weighing usage and uniqueness of traits much more highly than a typical VR. Despite (afaik) viewing spikes offence as the strongest teamstyle he doesnt rank skarm number 1. Because forre can also be used. Shows his consideration of usage and uniqueness. Blissey is a more critical choice on a spikes balance team than the spiker. His VR is focused on his own choices rather than a metagame assessment. It reminds me of the real merit of focusing on your own threats first and foremost in a game like pokemon. Its such a high variance game that anticipating responses to your opponent can easily get you in trouble. Focus on how your own team can break whats in front of you. Only consider your opponents response insofar as it facilitates that.

[@FoulUnderworldCreature]

When you're #1, you don't "have an answer for" other player's picks. Other players have an answer for you.

[@niltondias5976]

@@ohno8774 agreed. Most VRs are "everyone can pick and play", but ABR's is "I can take most of those mons in my gameplay style"

[@scott--1629]

wild how he'd get cooked in pokeball tier vgc

[@dyssealex]

@@scott--1629 1. general gamesense transfers pretty well from singles to vgc and back, you just gotta get a feel for the metagame 2. have you considered he plays singles and therefor would not be as good in vgc?

[@scott--1629]

@@dyssealex my point still stands. you cant say in a video that he's in the conversation for best player in all of pokemon if all u do is play fucking showdown, and no it doesnt transfer that well from showdown to vgc, considering the fact that unless you play only basic vanilla gen 9 singles, all of ur knowledge is based on either illegal pokemon sets, or ancient sets. just saying, a guy cant be considered "pokemons #1 player" and "in the conversation for best pokemon player ever" by playing fucking singles on showdown, when it's just a fact that doubles is harder. the meta in singles would never even be saw in doubles, nobody uses anything thats the top meta in singles, in doubles. and like i said, all of his game knowledge is based on either fkn old meta's or sets youd never be able to run in vgc.

[@socktheface360]

Magcargo not mentioned within the first two seconds. These are sad times.

[@Zoroarkarceus123]

Well, they had to halt the *horse*play for a bit, eh?

[@aidenconway9087]

​@@Zoroarkarceus123 >horse pun >Talking about a snail 🔥✍️

[@glitchedoom]

​@@aidenconway9087 Magcargo is a horse, what are you talking about.

[@need_distraction]

@@aidenconway9087 a snail? if you've kept up with the news, magcargo just achieved a landslide victory in the horse council election

[@usernametaken017]

​@@aidenconway9087This is a Horsea-sponsored Horse Heresy

[@blunderpolicy]

jim putting his camera on the right side where all the text is instead of on the left where there is empty space. a bold move.

[@1020percent]

I want to see what BKC has to say about this. This whole list was probably to piss off BKC, courtesy of Finchinator

[@_Crowuh]

Pokemon players don't abbreviate every 2nd word challenge (impossible)

[@ShadowTasos]

It's specially funny when the abbreviation is just 1 or 2 letters off the full word. Like typing "Rachi" at that point is just an esoteric way of saying "Jirachi" and showing you're part of the cool kids, there's no utility in it at all.

[@cyruscrompton8221]

Little did we know, we fell for the craziest smash or pass tierlist and thought it was competitive

[@autobotstarscream765]

This would be funny if Muk's absence didn't immediately debunk the idea. 😂

[@tonyaldante1017]

53 minutes from jimothy on an unusual tier list, yes I’m locked in

[@windwaker0rules]

This is probably like the Magnus Carlson of tier lists, when you know everything to such a high degree you start seeing value differently when you play everything so optimally. Where everyone who still lives at a human level and loves an unpredictable bulky offensive chip machine like Ttar.

[@queenofthesalt5199]

It’s really not relevant to anyone but ABR and maybe a few other top players. Your average 1200 on ladder shouldn’t be looking at this tier list because it’s not actually looking at meta relevance, it’s looking at Suitability Towards ABR’s Playstyle. And no 1200 player has the meta awareness, team building skill, or match skill of ABR. Low ladder scrubs like me need to learn the feel of the tier first with more traditional teams, instead of taking the advice of someone who assumes a level of competency to me that I have not reached.

[@windwaker0rules]

@@queenofthesalt5199 Nah 1200 players can remember 10 damage calcs and a specific 4 turn sequence for X teams that if you mess up it instantly back fires you lose dug and then you lose the game because your sweep is based on a crocune that now has no support.

[@RoaringPirates]

I think this list, while outwardly inflammatory, makes sense when rationing out ABR’s own usage. If he just straight up isn’t using Salamence but is still winning, ofc he’s not going to value it as much in the team builder as other mons who he feels offer more distinct niches. He still clearly respects mence enough to rank it. What I’m more curious about is what has been left off the ranking entirely (Hera, P2 and Yama all come to mind immediately). Obv if he’s not using them he won’t value them either, but I’d like to know his gripes with them.

[@mondooowada3537]

Heracross isn't on the list likely because of Megahorn accuracy.

[@usernametaken017]

Actually youre right and I didn't even think about it. How did the guy who values forced progress so much not rate Yama? That's quite interesting

[@radaf4429]

Thought you meant Yanma

[@usernametaken017]

@@radaf4429 Yanma balls gottem

[@Mikethekappa299]

If anyone thinks he ranked tyranitar too low then just go beat him in tournament with ttar, it's really that simple.

[@YOSSARIAN313]

I played him in a tournament and would have gotten 6-0d if he didnt use explosion unnecessarily

[@lawdactyl]

Insane doesn’t even describe it

[@niltondias5976]

@@lawdactyl he's like a mad scientist, you can question his mind, but not his results

[@flyforce16]

"Unfortunate" doesn't begin to describe my series,

[@Azulblxde]

W reference lmao

[@dyssealex]

"insane" doesnt even begin to describe this vr, this player designates spots from pure madness and nothing else, i am beyound convinced at this point.

[@Gabriel64468]

mr. cool I think your camera placement was suboptimal this time around. You read out most (all?) of the paragraphs you spoke about, but it would be nice if I could read it alongside you, so please consider placing the camera lower, or not scrolling up as much, when making videos about posts in the forums. Thank you.

[@aetherblackbolt1301]

I agree

[@BlueNyde]

For this video he should've placed the camera on the left where there's empty space & made it a bit smaller.

[@donkey69420]

This “ABR” guy clearly doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Everyone knows that Kakuna is the best Pokémon in ADV OU.

[@brunop.8745]

kakuna was banned from gen 3 OU, clearly it's the best pokemon ever

[@cabrondemente1]

Not without it's partner in crime: Kakuna-Rattata

[@MrPatrickbuit]

1:03 I wouldn't say he's just "in the conversation." The consensus is definitely that he's the GOAT.

[@HugeZorse]

Singles maybe but not best pokemon player.

[@yegfuf]

​@@HugeZorse Obviously this is all in the context of showdown and smogon.

[@patrickstar8132]

​@@HugeZorsethe focus of this video and this channel as a whole is singles, 😭

[@yegfuf]

@@HugeZorse How would you even compare a VGC player to a singles player? And decide who is the best 'pokemon' player

[@HugeZorse]

@@yegfuf I mean he made the blanket statement best pokemon player. Just disagree with that. It’s hard to compare, but more people play VGC and the tournaments are more infrequent, so wins mean more.

[@patrickstar8132]

Thank you Jimothy, very Cool

[@sildra4755]

You say “surely a noob made this right?” but honestly I don’t think a noob COULD make a tier list like this.

[@oldchicken8679]

you should get ABR on the fridge

[@honjon666]

If you can handle the unbalanced audio, Callous interviewed ABR recently, (as well as other adv goats) and he speaks on a lot of this.

[@XLR8VGC]

The worlds best player is cooking with that tier list, we just don’t know it yet

[@usernametaken017]

Bro put Cloyster above Zap I think he burnt the kitchen man

[@blitzcha0s308]

​@@usernametaken017 are you a no.1 Pokémon player? Yeah didn't think so.

[@usernametaken017]

​@@blitzcha0s308sorry, i will never have an opinion on the pokemons again. my b

[@derpidius6306]

​@@usernametaken017banned from having opinions on the pokemon forever

[@shakenjacob7946]

​@@derpidius6306 damn, thats crazy

[@naqib_2365]

I think it might be a mistake to interpret this tierlist as merely a matter of personal preference. I think this ABR fellow is making a larger statement about what styles of teams they believe are optimal and what styles are suboptimal. They are saying, sure Salamence is great, but in all the team styles that are optimal, it is outclassed in any roles it could fit into. The teams where Salamence could fit into without being outclassed by other pokemon are suboptimal teams. If you are playing at the highest competitive level, you should be using the most optimal teams. Given all of these things, is Salamence actually good? According to ABR, pokemon should not be judged in a vacuum, but in terms of what team styles they fit into, or are essential for, and if those team styles are optimal or not.

[@yourdagan]

You've summed it up quite well. Now, to answer the query, I believe that despite admittedly Salamence to my learned knowledge not fitting into an actually respectable archetype, *by itself* specifically through its mixed set it has become a metagame defining mon. I believe mixed Salamence almost single-handedly demolished the viability of TSS. It has tarnished Swampert's reputation as a reliable bulky water. It's because of Salamence (and Charizard to a lesser extent) that I never feel comfortable not running Milotic. In short, I do think Salamence itself has proven to be an indisputably threatening mon, but if you were to put a weapon to my head and force me to name an indisputably viable team style specifically featuring it---I'd be a goner.

[@naqib_2365]

@@yourdagan The tierlist of Pokemon one should consider while building their own team might just be different from the tierlist of Pokemon to consider as meta relevant threats

[@yourdagan]

@@naqib_2365 Astute observation.

[@shevankaseneviratne1724]

@@yourdagan bro u need to make a youtube channel explaining gen 3. I remember u commenting on a set in jimvitational abt how in the current optimized meta u have to double down on a specefic style. Like either fully aggro , with emphasis on spec off with 5 legendaries, or fully defensive reigning in the opponents plan. That game had a venasuar i think. Whats your name on discord?

[@yourdagan]

@@shevankaseneviratne1724 I appreciate the sentiment, and I often consider starting some sort of blog (text, vlog, whatever) to share what I know for others' benefit. I don't have a discord actually, nor even an active Smogon forums profile. However, I'll be considering you and your flattery for whether I should make a leap.

[@kennethxu1789]

11:11 don’t play adv much, but sometimes the most centralizing pokemon aren’t the best pokemon. ABR’s top pokemon are mostly things that have quite a defined role that can’t be easily made up for by other pokemon. Sure, ttar is more centralizing than dugtrio, but balance teams can be strong without ttar, while dug’s role is irreplaceable.

[@zander2758]

Your argument makes more sense for TTar than against it i'd say, people have been talking about for years how skarm might actually be the modt centralising pokemon in the tier, blissey is highly centralising as its a hard wall for most special attackers and dugtrio gives basically any mon that is grounded a lot of trouble, several pokemoms viability live and die due to dug existing, while TTar has many more clear weaknesses, slow, weaknesses to common types, grounded with no recovery, dug existing etc, what makes TTar so good isn't necessarely the cetralisation but the breadth of what it can do thanks to all its moves and how good sand is for dealing with pokemon that would be really nasty with leftovers at times, its not impossible to deal them without TTar but TTar helps and does other things for you.

[@marzbar5877]

@@zander2758I hate to be that guy, but the word you’re looking for is “breadth”, not “breath”

[@zander2758]

@@marzbar5877 thanks for the correction.

[@SamanthaC641]

I love Dangonranpa Trigger Happy Havoc ​@zander2758

[@DrMult]

And then we came back to SkarmBliss being #1 combo

[@teddyhaines6613]

Time to bring back subpunch boltbeam dragonite to have something that kills them without getting trapped by dug.

[@jaketerpening3284]

@@teddyhaines6613 Beat up charizard is a meta pokemon that easily handles both of them and doesn't get trapped by dug.

[@haipydragon]

i really like the way this guy thinks about the game, it would be cool to see you build teams around some of these concepts on jimothy gaming

[@jimothycool]

Gonna try out some Raikou stuff I think.

[@niltondias5976]

That's a tier list based in his style (which he consider the most consistent one). I mean... Fair enough! You are using the synergy of 6 mons, not 1 in a vacuum. Yeah, Tar brings a lot to the table, but what EXACTLY unique to this kind of team? Can you play consistently without it? Yes? So it's not THAT good. Very interesting, ABR...

[@catholicguy3605]

If Blissy is #1 Dug being #2 isn't crazy

[@cynthia-op8rx]

12:07 I think this is a slightly incorrect read. The impression I get from his explanation for the top two slots, particularly bliss, is that neither blissey nor dug have any real substitute. Nothing can do what they do. So it's not that Skarm and Forre are interchangeable, it's just that while Skarm is amazing, the fact that there are other good spikers lowers its rank a bit.

[@justcallmeleonardo]

I can already see a BKC video where he just sighs for 1 hour while looking at this vr

[@rewrose2838]

This is honestly my favourite Pokemon Singles video on the internet now, and I genuinely agree with ABR's picks. He seems to prefer, alongside consistent moves, strategies that are proactive - forcing the opponent to respond. Whether its a safe switch to Blissey, or Exploding Gengar or Regi.

[@andy4an]

lol, 53 min of jomothy blocking the text he's reading with the video of himself

[@ohnoitsdominoes5393]

ABR really is wild for this one, only a true stall sicko would put Bliss, Dug, Suicune, Rachi and Forre above the big dinosaur who loves to dance on em 💀 I respect the vision though

[@zander2758]

Blissey, dug and suicune aren't stall pokemon really in gen 3, blissey is extremely good in general since its a hard wall for special attackers and a check for pokemon like DD salamence, dug is also not restricted to stall teams as its often used for killing key threats on other teams(even stall teams lol) as its role doesn't have a replacement like pursuit ttar or something of the sort in gen 3, suicune is a often either a tank or setup sweeper, spikes and sand being everywhere don't lend it to being the best pokemon to stall either methinks.

[@darthhydreigon820]

abr mentions modest rain dance cune which isnt really smth common on stall, dug while usable on stall is also viable on all sorts of offense for enabling them, blissey si viable in a lot of places esp with modest ice beam hurting a lot or CM bolt beam

[@miniyodadude6604]

I love how the first sentence is "this is a personal usage list and not a viability list" And its just blatantly ignored

[@Be13Costa]

You just talked about how the best of the best think different the game, for the first time I experienced that when I needed to prep for McMeghan on SCL that man breakes every building rule and just dominates. Finishing second or at worst third at overall record. That's really strange for us mere mortals

[@andy4an]

I really appreciate the focus on roles and consistency over raw power in this list

[@DrunkenEros]

Seems like it's not really a viability tier list then, it's a how much he likes that pokemon competitively list. He's made it subjective, especially with the t-tar bit

[@genessab]

He literally says in his post that it’s based on his usage, not on viability

[@Zerox_Z21]

I had the same thought; the opening statement of the list revealed this; it's a personal playstyle based opinion, not an attempt at an objective ranking.

[@TheGreatDanish]

Yeah I think him calling it a VR is an artifact of the way we talk about this game and VR is the most commonly understood idea for the largest number of people. Bad choice of words but probably the easiest choice.

[@everettw.9610]

That being said, while it isn’t a true vr, it is the most used Pokemon by the best player, which does stand for something. The ones he uses more do clearly get results. So a lot of it is sensationalized (ttar is not B irl) but it does have an element of truth to it

[@alexbrittonfilms]

I think the T-tar rating is actually the key to it. ABR thinks sand is bad/easy to remove, so his rankings make a lot of sense in that context. He's ranking how good each pokemon is out of sand, not in sand like almost everyone else

[@Knuckleduster404]

Bait used to be believable.

[@rmb9214]

1,500 years ago, everybody knew the Earth was the center of the universe. 500 years ago, everyone knew the sun was the center of the universe. 2 days ago, ABR showed Blissey is the center of the universe.

[@andy4an]

It's kinda funny to see people saying that he's trolling or misleading this post reads mostly strongly as someone who is hoping to elevate the level of play, so that the games are more strategic and enjoyable. it's not that enjoyable to beat people in strategic games with fundamentals. it's far more interesting if opponents are playing at deeper strategic levels, and you are able to engage. play > counterplay > counter-counterplay > counter-counter-counterplay is more interesting than they lose to my counterplay

[@WeebJail]

100% understand what he's saying. blissey is not the most powerful pokemon, but because she's the only one that does the most powerful THING, by rule of elimination she has to be #1

[@adrian-ck7bi]

What i got from this video is a stall player hates inaccurate moves and offensive mons. Makes sense

[@Rubbly]

Dugtrio being that high is crazy but the reasoning is pretty sound! It's a consistent tool to build your strategies around!

[@senpai2.054]

0:20 okay but regice is my GOAT!

[@gianlucaangeli]

A thing that most people miss about tier list are the letters. They glance at the image, see their favorite mon 2 tiers below what they expect and they go crazy. When most of the times , like here, it could simply be a difference between an A+ and A-, which translate to a relative short gap.

[@breadbaskets2772]

If he thinks weather reseting is so important then objectively tyranitar cannot be that low

[@charmandenator5686]

To be fair, ABR said this was his usage. That said T-tar is my favorite pokemon to use in Gen 3, it does anything you need it to while checking tons of threats weak to sand for the rest of the game just because it swapped in once.

[@servilleta__6075]

I do agree he's undermining it's value in a team but I don't think weather is where most of it's value comes from weather just makes it's value more apparent. Then again I am low ladder trash so who cares lmao

[@Tropsic0-0]

2ce⁴​@@charmandenator5686

[@aprinnyonbreak1290]

I can see the argument. You can play for sand by counting on the enemy bringing ttar, and if your answer to rain or sun is just ttar, that's pretty shaky. I think the raw versatility of ttar makes it good, but, y'know, I ain't the best player at anything

[@timothyvandyke9511]

Or it’s just a common strategy. It’s important to have a plan for because it’s common. He’s just arguing it’s not hard to beat/just a mid strategy. It’s just the “yes you’re all wrong” meme. He has the answer and gets to use it often. Common != good. It just heavily insinuates it.

[@mariusvfl1848]

Spike(s) (HP) Ghost (rapid) Spin Rest was actually meant as a set for forre.

[@bananacat7574]

Okay but why did we skip from forre to lax? Are you making a statement on rachi in ADV with this omission? Is this the will of the horse council?

[@Cool_Nick]

My favorite thumbnail you’ve ever done LOL

[@tuberialolicon-tanuki6533]

I like ABR's tiering ethos, going with his own usage it's as far as his own ability to observe the game can really take him while being transparent about his own biases. _Recognizing_ a pokémon's value in a vacuum because of hypothetical properties or mere prestige smells to me like typical higher than thou pretend-objectivity. Furthermore, there is no pressure for any player to have the one correct opinion, in the end the thread compiles reports from many players and compiles some sort of inter-subjetivity, and honestly the end result will be less than ideal if everyone is paying lip service to mons they don't think are good. The one thing not explicitly said in the post and that I think should also be a close second factor, is how often preparing against a given threat factor into your team building, even if you don't use mence you have to recognize it if you end up preparing for it. But being fair to ABR's post, he just mentions mence once when discussing important targets and techs, and that's in the middle of a list of eqs raikou can survive with def evs.

[@cadesummers5866]

Pulitzer winning take

[@cherryb0ng]

As a GSC player HP Fire forry+ Umbreon makes complete sense

[@driftwood42]

There is a hockey youtuber that I like called The Hockey Guy. He does weekly power ranking videos of the league and for a while, people would just skip to the end, see what his final list was and complain about it. So to combat this, he would take a minute to rearrange the list right at the end of the video. This tier list has those kind of vibes.

[@sentientwaffle6696]

I think he has a good point by talking about over reliance. When you use one thing too much you start to grow a bias for it. So even if something better comes along, you're not really paying attention to what makes it better because it can be hard to accept something you have so much experience with is worse. It blinds you from seeing new possibilities while confirming you're right for not doing so, because even if you try something new the results of how good it is won't always be immediately visible, so you just put on your old slippers that you've been wear8ng for 10 years and call it a day because "Hey, I tried it once and it didn't work."

[@superpapermariofan]

That sure is a special sort of special

[@weesticles650]

I find this interesting cause of many things. Basically here's why I think this list is the way it is. 1.Preference Obviously he's got a preference for stability and not having innacurate moves so a lot of his picks make sense for just how consistent they are every game. 2.Innovation Some of these are things that he's innovating like for example him talking about having Speed on I believe it was Cloyster. Some of these aren't outlandish, they're just being used in ways people haven't yet before whether that's team composition or set changes. 3.Possible Foresight Similar to the Skarmory thingy when people used to think it was outlandish to call it number 1 things may change in the future as the meta progresses in a way that matches ABR's tier list. 4.Hes GOATed Some of these options are extremely hard to use and require great skill to pilot and bring the most out of their skill set. ABR is one of, if not THE best player meaning he's able to use the more difficult mons far more reliably than other people can. Something that may be absurdly hard to make work for others could be as easy as breathing for ABR.

[@kylenmaple4668]

Ah, yes. Me pausing the video, reading the text, then unpausing the video and listening to Jim read the text. This is peak entertainment folks

[@i90sknd75]

you nailed it👍🏽

[@Sizzyl]

despite having 0 interest in playing ADV this was a really interesting insight and discussion, was a great listen

[@glitchedoom]

Iron Mugulis has clearly gotten to ABR to sow upset within the Gen 3 OU metagame, giving the nefarious cup a chance to strike during the confusion.

[@Drby_]

I truly respect this goat. I played him in adv revival one and the dudes pokemon felt immortal. It was truly my hardest set ever. Learned much though

[@goshawk6153]

Well I suppose when you're winning that much you'd put consistency as the most valued aspect, ABR has the whole game surgically mapped out and this tier list is what we get as the result

[@LiquidPr1d3]

This is actually an incredibly insightful list thank you for making this video Jim! Its the ABR tier list of course its gonna be surface level funny-> genius in practice at top level.

[@sweetwheatsy]

I like how unnecessarily abbreviated a lot of the words get when you reach this level of proficiency with a game. "Skarmory = Skarm", "Tyranitar = Tar", "Celebi = Cele" and, my favorite, "Swampert = Pert". Beautiful

[@jaketerpening3284]

I swear I almost always hear Celebi = "bi"

[@usernametaken017]

​@@jaketerpening3284Gay Pride for the 8th most annoying mon you know

[@Nadid_Dhrabb]

You gotta link the post this ranking is definitely insane

[@jimothycool]

Added to description

[@ronz7665]

I kind of like this. As someone who's always fighting against the conventions of BKC and trying to push the narrative that gen 3 OU is 'advancing' (i know), beyond the conventions of BIG 5 and those who fail to adapt to a shifting climate are getting swallowed up. Gone are the days of the same 10 players having honor matches with one another. Real players are winning tournament games while beating the status quo. Loading Tar every game isn't going to garner the same results on ladder, or in invitationals that it did 10-15/20 years ago. We are old and stuck in our ways. And might i even say, a bit out of touch.

[@asherward3671]

I love weirdo tier lists like this because it illustrates just how different high level thinking and playing gets based on meta games, subjective data, team planning, and factoring the individual players unique skill level

[@tgamagedon]

I feel like the best way to do a personal ranking is to combine what works best for you and what gives you the most trouble on the opposing side.

[@lukemacinnes5124]

There seems to be some layers of meta decision making on this list that does make it interesting and much more of an entire team thought to it rather than individual pokemon ability

[@riskybiznu9702]

Okay first of all this was a good and entertaining video. Second of all, the mence placement worked perfectly, since youve made this video. And third of all, please dont put your facecam over the text.

[@Sol_Calibre]

Literally the first thing he disclaims is that this is a representative list of what he thinks is good and yet it gets completely and utterly disregarded and people think this is a tier list when it's NOT. It's a personal statement list of what he thinks is good and consistent in the meta he's learnt to understand.

[@triviszla1536]

Thank you for taking this tier list and giving it context before the community blows it up and drama ensues ah man too late

[@yoshineitor]

I think this also involves how this Pokemon perform considering what's popular and what's not. He might be right, most of the Pokemon at the top, even by today's meta require very specific counters and even then they are hard Pokemon to deal with. Blissey is the prime example, you cannot just pull up a Dugtrio whenever somebody switches to Blissey, Dugtrio needs to be specifically built for your team while the Blissey is basically Blissey. Mind you Dugtrio is the "best" counter for Blissey and you have to notice how much hurdles Blissey counters have to walk through, unlike Tyranitar that can be handled by a decent chunk of Pokemon.

[@conchadeconchos]

The meta is so fickle. I bet the entire dynamic of Salamance being that low and starmie being so high is a simple game of probability and preparation. Basically Ice beam go brrr to big scary dragon that holds a grip on everything else. When it’s so common and the answer is so easy. C- makes sense

[@willywonka6487]

he is definitely right about blissey. Its probably the single most metagame warping pokemon of all time

[@AnEveryManJack]

The list makes more sense if you think of Blissey as the central point of the meta. Like building for and against it. It is something that completely runs away with games if you don't factor it in team building. It doesn't get worn away as easily as Tar or Skarm. Tar needs to set up or outplay with Focus Punch to threaten Blissey, and even then it's probably going to get status'd. It's also detrimental as a teammate thanks to sand. CB is the only Mence set that immediately threatens Blissey, so it doesn't need to run from Ice Beam. Dug and Metagross are fantastic answers to Blissey, but also catch a lot of mons that threaten Blissey. Any non-boosting special attacker looks terrible against Blissey hence Zap placement.

[@Br0oham]

19:40 I don't think 'ghost' referred to a spin blocker, but HP Ghost to kill the opposing Spin blocker

[@RoaringPirates]

I think ABR’s thought process makes a lot of sense, albeit it goes against a lot of common ways about thinking of the tier which causes it to seem self-contradictory at times. Like if he puts Bliss and Dug as top 2, why would he put Raikou above Zap and Jolt, an electric type who has a worse match up into what he says are the two most essential pokemon in the tier. But then you realize that he is not considering these electric types in the same roles. Zap and Jolt are more lead mons, facilitated more by bp than their electric typing. Raikou, like cune, is a late game setup sweeper, specifically for when those checks/counters have been answered. Once that all is sorted out his placing becomes more cogent.

[@lemurpotatoes7988]

Thanks for linking the Smogon post in the description, have a like.

[@DitzyDoll]

This Gen 3 tier list probably looks completely insane to you.

[@pastapastel910]

blissey is ranked number 1 in the game

[@emilytheimp]

while Tyranitar, the consensus number 1 Pokémon according to most of the community

[@MeteoraZero]

Is all the ways down in 11th place

[@angelofzera7398]

Zapdos, who most rank in at least the top 5 is all the way in the B tier.

[@Endless_Titan]

Thanks ABR, now my Salac Hera team is going to be even more consistent now 😂

[@pmnt_]

100% consistent 85% of the time.

[@Elena-gj6ow]

You learn far more from lists like this based on their own usage and playstyle than people trying to make a generic power scaling list. And that should tell people a lot about why he's so good and we're not. He's able to apply his knowledge purposefully.

[@danj9548]

Today is a fantastic day to be a sableye enthusiast.

[@emilytheimp]

If you consider Dugtrio id a threat to a lot of other meta threats, like Blissey and Ttar, it actually makes sense to rank it so highly.

[@usernametaken017]

You could always use blaziken for those matchups. smh

[@curiousplatypus]

One thing that comes up a lot here is that uncertainty/variance is punishing for ABR, and that makes sense if you're the top player. For someone who's simply very good and playing other very good players, more uncertainty can be fine. For someone who's the very best or one of the very best, reducing uncertainty in a game is strictly a positive.

[@Flying_Sno]

Well said

[@leonfire99]

If you do this again please make sure the webcam doesnt block what youre reading/talking about

[@commonpepe2270]

Nice, my new opinion just dropped!

[@ManofLowMoralFiber]

My boy Venusaur is going to to make it to OU one day.

[@IVeNoMII]

Jim I saw something in your eyes reading those weird Forretress teams, I expect to see some Fori Friday later this week.

[@thelastofme1272]

Is no one gonna talk about this man deciding Heracross shouldn't be on the list at all now? Beetle can literally slam the no.1 choice on this list with ease.

[@jimothycool]

Probably cause it needs Megahorn and he hates inaccuracy

[@thelastofme1272]

@jimothycool Even so, just use brick break for the pink blob. It's not like rock slide is perfect accuracy either.

[@usernametaken017]

​@@jimothycoolthis may also partially explain why the rocks are so low down the list. maybe. it wasnt outright mentioned but still

[@TheMightyNaryar]

heracross does three things : die to sand when attempting a reversal/salac sweep, miss a critical megahorn, and (occasionally) make big holes into the enemy team I like heracross, it's a cool mon, but it's just not reliable

[@moyai5317]

Heracross just doesnt fit on many teams