Viability Tiers — National Dex OU (2026-04)
Spine: VR-led, usage-annotated. Tier = Smogon NatDex OU Viability Rankings (OP last edited 2026-05-19). Usage% = verified weighted figure from the 2026-04 stats (
gen9nationaldex-1760); unresolved tail figures remain tagged~localand should be re-verified. Bold names link to a full threat page. Megas/Z-Moves are the only extra mechanics. Coming from Gen 9 OU? Everything Terastal changes lives in Appendix: The Tera Ban.
How to use this table
The VR tells you how good a mon is; the usage tells you how often you’ll meet it. They mostly agree. Where they don’t (§ Divergences), the mon keeps its VR slot and carries a one-line reason — those are the most instructive entries in the format. For an offense builder specifically: the S/A+ block is your shopping list of glue and breakers; the high-usage B+ engines (Iron Valiant, Raging Bolt, Scizor-Mega) are your aggressive-archetype staples.
S Rank — the pillars
| Mon | VR | 2026-04 | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gholdengo | S | 20.42% | Ghost spinblocker + Good-as-Gold hazard-control denier; NP / Make It Rain / Steelium-Z wincon |
| Zamazenta | S | 19.67% | Premier physical breaker / Body Press + Iron Defense setup pivot @ 412 Spe |
A+ Rank — the every-game glue & breakers
| Mon | VR | 2026-04 | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alomomola | A+ | 24.40% | #1-usage Regenerator Wish/pivot wall |
| Landorus-Therian | A+ | 19.53% | Stealth Rock / U-turn / Intimidate glue pivot |
| Zapdos | A+ | 14.67% | Defog / Volt Switch bulky pivot |
| Kingambit | A+ | 14.27% | Supreme Overlord SD/Sucker late-game cleaner |
| Dragonite | A+ | 14.12% | DD + Multiscale + Extreme Speed / Dragonium-Z |
| Ogerpon-Wellspring | A+ | 10.97% | Water-Absorb Ivy Cudgel breaker/pivot (most format-defining mon) |
| Garchomp | A+ | 10.04% | SR/Spikes + SD/Scale Shot mixed breaker |
| Slowking-Galar | A+ | 9.47% | Future Sight + Chilly Reception Regenerator pivot engine |
| Tapu Lele | A+ | 8.96% | Psychic Surge Specs/Scarf/Z breaker |
| Diancie-Mega | A+ | 8.40% | Magic Bounce hazard deterrent + mixed breaker (Mega) |
| Toxapex | A+ | 8.17% | Regenerator status sponge / Haze glue |
A Rank
| Mon | VR | 2026-04 | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gliscor | A | 15.82% | Poison Heal SD/utility wall + Spikes/SR |
| Great Tusk | A | 13.87% | Rapid Spin hazard control + bulky offensive pivot |
| Ting-Lu | A | 8.06% | Spikes/SR + Whirlwind + Vessel of Ruin bulk |
| Tornadus-Therian | A | 7.72% | Regenerator Defog / NP-Z pivot |
| Ferrothorn | A | 7.60% | Spikes / Leech Seed / Knock hazard glue |
| Urshifu-Rapid-Strike | A | 6.7%~ | Surging Strikes Scarf/Band breaker |
| Samurott-Hisui | A | 5.2%~ | Ceaseless Edge Spikes lead/breaker |
| Pecharunt | A | 5.1%~ | Spinblock + Poison Puppeteer + Foul Play |
| Cinderace | A | 4.3%~ | Court Change + HDB pivot/breaker |
| Terapagos | A | 17.33% | Tera Shift bulky breaker (ability turns it into Terapagos-Terastal on switch-in) |
A- Rank
| Mon | VR | 2026-04 | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moltres | A- | 3.98% | Bulky Flame Body / Roost pivot |
| Iron Treads | A- | 10.83% | Rapid Spin + SR Volt-immune lead |
| Corviknight | A- | 10.36% | Defog / Pressure physical wall, Body Press |
| Charizard-Mega-Y | A- | 8.25% | Drought special breaker (premier sun nuke) |
| Kyurem | A- | 7.96% | SubRoost / Specs Freeze-Dry + Groundium-Z breaker |
| Hatterene | A- | 7.85% | Magic Bounce + CM / Trick Room |
| Heatran | A- | 7.47% | Magma Storm / SR / Flash Fire pivot-trapper |
| Latios-Mega | A- | 4.22% | Special breaker / pivot (Mega) |
| Volcarona | A- | 6.1%~ | Quiver Dance Firium-Z sweeper |
| Tapu Koko | A- | 5.3%~ | Electric Surge fast pivot/breaker |
| Ceruledge | A- | 4.3%~ | Bitter Blade / Ghostium-Z setup sweeper |
| Lopunny-Mega | A- | ~local | Scrappy Fake Out + High Jump Kick speed control (Mega) |
B+ Rank — the offense engines (high usage, ranked down for variance)
| Mon | VR | 2026-04 | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iron Valiant | B+ | 12.33% | Mixed Specs / Booster SD revenge breaker |
| Raging Bolt | B+ | 12.29% | CM Thunderclap priority special breaker |
| Scizor-Mega | B+ | 8.80% | Technician Bullet Punch priority + SD pivot (Mega) |
| Slowbro | B+ | 5.3%~ | Future Sight + Teleport Regenerator pivot |
| Clefable | B+ | 5.1%~ | Magic Guard CM / cleric / SR utility |
B Rank
| Mon | VR | 2026-04 | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charizard-Mega-X | B | 8.43% | Tough Claws DD physical sun breaker (Mega) |
| Tyranitar-Mega | B | 7.1%~ | Sand Stream Pursuit-trapper / mixed bulk (Mega) |
| Weavile | B | 1.85% (~local) | Pursuit trapper + Ice/Dark priority breaker |
B- Rank
| Mon | VR | 2026-04 | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charizard-Mega-X (see B) | — | — | — |
| Melmetal | B- | 8.35% | Double Iron Bash / AV special wall, T-Wave |
| Venusaur-Mega | B- | 5.0%~ | Thick Fat bulky Grass/Poison anchor (Mega) |
| Blissey | B- | ~local | Special wall / cleric (stall) |
| Dondozo | B- | ~local | Unaware physical wall / Curse |
| Iron Hands | B- | ~local | Bulky Drain Punch / pivot |
| Iron Moth | B- | 2.20% | Special breaker + Toxic Spikes / Scarf |
| Manaphy | B- | ~local | Tail Glow rain/balance sweeper |
| Serperior | B- | ~local | Contrary Leaf Storm sweeper |
| Tapu Fini | B- | ~local | Misty Surge defensive pivot / Tapunium-Z |
C+ Rank — niche & enablers (table only)
Amoonguss · Archaludon · Celesteela · Chansey · Clodsire (4.3%) · Garganacl · Hydrapple · Kommo-o · Mawile-Mega (7.3%, TR) · Medicham-Mega · Ogerpon-Cornerstone · Pelipper (9.8%, rain) · Sableye-Mega · Skarmory · Swampert-Mega (7.7%, rain) · Torkoal · Ursaluna (4.2%~) · Venusaur · Victini · base Blaziken (Mega Blaziken is banned).
C / C- — matchup picks & list-only
C: Araquanid, Cresselia, Enamorus, Gyarados-Mega, Hoopa-Unbound, Iron-Crown, Kartana, Meowscarada, Moltres-Galar, Ninetales, Primarina, Rillaboom (CB Grassy Glide — ~4%, ~local; shows up despite VR), Slowking, Volcanion, Weezing-Galar. C-: Blacephalon, Excadrill, Gardevoir-Mega, Glimmora (suicide hazard lead — appears on real HO despite VR), Greninja, Hippowdon, Houndoom-Mega, Mimikyu, Ribombee, Rotom-Wash, Tangrowth.
Central 2026-04 usage table (the one authoritative usage reference)
Weighted Usage%, gen9nationaldex-1760, 2026-04 (613,590 battles). This is the single dated usage table the rest of the guide points to — per-page “usage context” blocks are deliberately omitted.
| # | Mon | Usage% | # | Mon | Usage% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alomomola | 24.40 | 16 | Garchomp | 10.04 | |
| 2 | Gholdengo | 20.42 | 17 | Slowking-Galar | 9.47 | |
| 3 | Zamazenta | 19.67 | 18 | Tapu Lele | 8.96 | |
| 4 | Landorus-Therian | 19.53 | 19 | Scizor-Mega | 8.80 | |
| 5 | Terapagos | 17.33 | 20 | Charizard-Mega-X | 8.43 | |
| 6 | Gliscor | 15.82 | 21 | Diancie-Mega | 8.40 | |
| 7 | Zapdos | 14.67 | 22 | Melmetal | 8.35 | |
| 8 | Kingambit | 14.27 | 23 | Charizard-Mega-Y | 8.25 | |
| 9 | Dragonite | 14.12 | 24 | Toxapex | 8.17 | |
| 10 | Great Tusk | 13.87 | 25 | Ting-Lu | 8.06 | |
| 11 | Iron Valiant | 12.33 | 26 | Kyurem | 7.96 | |
| 12 | Raging Bolt | 12.29 | 27 | Hatterene | 7.85 | |
| 13 | Ogerpon-Wellspring | 10.97 | 28 | Tornadus-Therian | 7.72 | |
| 14 | Iron Treads | 10.83 | 29 | Ferrothorn | 7.60 | |
| 15 | Corviknight | 10.36 | 30 | Heatran | 7.47 |
Divergences — where VR and usage disagree (read these)
Handling rule: tier by VR, annotate the usage gap, explain in one line.
- Great Tusk — VR A but #10 usage (13.87%). Plays like A+. It’s the format’s flex hazard-control + offensive-pivot glue; the gap is “does everything, masters nothing.” Treat as a high-A. Full page.
- Iron Valiant — VR B+ but 12.33% usage. The premier mixed revenge breaker; ubiquitous on offense, ranked down for frailty/inconsistency (one wrong read and it’s dead). Full page because you’ll run it.
- Raging Bolt — VR B+ but 12.29% usage. CM + priority Thunderclap balance pick; council views it as matchup-reliant, the ladder loves the priority breaker. Full page.
- Scizor-Mega — VR B+ but 8.80% usage. Premier Bullet Punch priority/pivot; its VR is suppressed because it competes for the single Mega slot, not because it underperforms. Full page.
- Terapagos — VR A and #5 usage (17.33%), mechanics-sensitive. Its placement reflects the Tera Shift ability only (auto form-change on switch-in to BST-600 Terapagos-Terastal). Full page.
Not a true divergence but flag: Alomomola (A+ / #1 usage) and Gliscor (A / #6 usage) are more dominant than their VR slot suggests and must feature in every archetype discussion. Both get full pages.
Mega usage is undercounted — stats track Megas partly under the base species, so Diancie-Mega, Char-Y, Scizor-Mega, and Latios-Mega punch above their raw %. Their pages note the single-Mega-slot opportunity cost.