GSC OU Alternate Viability Rankings

[nicky]

This is a post to bring another perspective to the standard GSC OU VR.

After spending a lot of time looking at and thinking about the GSC VR, I wanted to explore ways that make it more engaging. A common way to create tier lists for games outside of the Pokemon world, is with a graph or chart. The axis' of these charts would be assigned values, then characters are placed along the graph according to their strengths & weaknesses. A reason for the popularity of this style is that it gives concise visual information quickly to players, especailly newer players who may benefit more.

How to read the chart:

1. The closer toward the top-right corner a character is, the higher it is ranked.
2. The title along the vertical side of the graph denotes 'left -> right' values.
3. The title along the horizontal side of the graph denotes 'bottom -> top' values.
4. Unlike traditional graphs, the titles can be typically seen written in the direction their arrow is pointed. This will let you know which is for which.

Of course, Pokemon is not the same as other fighting games. What's particular about this chart is the coloring of the squares offer an additional layer of rating. Not all qualities in GSC are treated equally, so naturally the color patterns should reflect what is, and is not as, valuable in the meta. As you see, higher power and better matchups gets Pokemon ranked higher.

It has not been perfected yet, but without further ado, here it is with & without the sprites, so the colors can be easily seen.

 

[Disaster Area]

If you can I'd make the chart using sprites with transparent backgrounds rather than white backgrounds, would tidy the chart up significantly (you should be able to get them from Pokemon Sprites | Pokestadium)

 

[nicky]

If you can I'd make the chart using sprites with transparent backgrounds rather than white backgrounds, would tidy the chart up significantly (you should be able to get them from Pokemon Sprites | Pokestadium)

That's a good point. The gen 2 icons unfortunately still have white backgrounds on that site, even under the "transparent" option. I used the ones from miscellaneous. Should be easier to read.