hi, im gonna add my opinion on some of the noms and make some noms as well
a+ to s: disagree
i wont spend a lot of time on this nom as a lot of people have already covered this really well but i'd like to add something to the convo
This is due to gurdurr's ability to just shut down teams that aren't prepared for it. Gurdurr's combination of bulk, recovery, and status immunity means it can just sit on any team that isn't properly prepared for it in a way that basically nothing else can.
you could say this about every pokémon in the a-ranks. for example, if you don't have a kanga answer you're obviously gonna struggle against it. also, it's not like you have to go out of your way to find a gurdurr answer, as they're, for the most part, easy to fit on teams as they fulfill other tasks very effectively and you could've brought this point up even during mesprit meta. unrelated to this point but mes leaving was a double-edged sword for it; yes it lost a check / switchin but it also lost one of its best partner. without mesprit's hwish, gurdurr can find itself overwhelmed and unable to effectively do what it's supposed to do.
So while it's not as versatile as Froslass and I agree it's often more threatening in the builder than it is in the battle, I think the centralization it forces is enough to justify the S rank. In that sense however, it's not that different from how it was in past metas, so I'd just like to note a few things in this meta that signal to me just how important checking Gurdurr is
the centralization it caused didnt really help it. i can understand why'd you think it makes it more s-rank worthy but, gurdurr answers are very common, which makes it very hard for gurdurr to pull off a sweep and significantly lowers its threat level.
b+ to a-: agree
sensu is in a very good spot right now, it checks & forces out a ton of threats like victreebel and gurdurr which is extremely important in a meta where fighting-types and victreebel are so common. this gives it plenty of opportunities to setup and guzz leaving is extremely nice for it. eel is everywhere right now but it takes 45% from +1 revelation dance and it's just extremely easy to wear it down. also, teams are often going muds over regi as their rocker, which makes it even harder to deal with. overall, meta trends have favorited this a bit and i find myself using it more and more.
(fairy) b+ to a-: disagree
lst sniped me and i dont have much to add other than that it just tries to do too much at once. defog sets struggle to defog reliably and check fighters and runnng it as your defogger means that you're forced to use a tspikes absorber with it. also swords dance set require a certain amount of support and can rarely pull of a sweep due to how common mons like regi and qwil are and how weak it is unboosted.
b to b+: agree
cryogonal checks very threatening pokémon like pom-pom, victreebel, non-drain punch eelektross, and ludicolo and brings removal while being decently hard to switch into. this makes it somewhat easy to fit on teams and it doesnt feel "forced" on most teams. also, it's the most reliable remover we have thanks to its typing and coverage, which means no stealth rock / spikes user outside of regi can safely switch onto it. offensive sets are also very good as its coverage is impossible to switch into unless you have a dedicated special wall like articuno, audino, or type: null, and it appreciates eelektross and lanturn to a lesser extent being so common, as they're both spdef pivot that can't beat it. this plus regirock being less common make it a very good choice on a lot of teams.
b- to b: disagree
while claydol is not a bad mon by any means, it just wants to do too much at the same time which means it often finds itself overwhelmed and unable to effectively fulfill the tasks it's supposed to achieve. as a spinner, it's unable to beat common spinblockers like froslass and jellicent and, while at a type advantage, can struggle to remove stealth rock effectively against common setters like mudsdale and regirock due to its susceptibility to toxic and lack of recovery. also, ferroseed dropping really didn't help it, it's just one more entry hazards setter that beats it. it's lack of reliable recovery also leaves it overwhelmed by threats it's supposed to check like gurdurr and primeape, making it an unreliable switchin and it also just has a mediocre offensive presence. i've toyed with offensive sets and while they give it a better matchup against common rockers like regirock and mudsdale, it's disappointingly weak and it trades its bulk for more power. while offensive grass- and water-types aren't that common (although victreebel is everywhere and ludicolo is somewhat common as well), claydol struggles against other threats that are pretty common, such as eelektross, taunt cm pom-pom, np alolan persian, and the aforementioned victreebel.
c+ to b-: agree
musharna is a pretty underexplored mon, and while cm sets are solid, i think the main reason it should rise is because of offensive sets. moonlight + hwish 2 attacks is a set capable of checking various threats like gurdurr, primeape, and even victreebel to a lesser extent and withstanding hits such as stoutland's return while hitting decently hard and doing this consistently thanks to moonlight, which is extremely important in a meta full of fighting-types and they appreciate skuntank being on the decline. this allows it to 1v1 the majority of the meta outside of spdef mons and skunk while also supporting its team with healing wish. also, synchronize is good and in general makes people think twice before clicking toxic with their muds / regi / you name it. and since tom mentioned it, future sight + fighting spam is heat af, and z-future sight hits stupidly hard.
ok now time for my noms!!
a+ to s-/s
ok so this is a pretty controversial nom but i do believe eel should rise. eel is crazy good right now and soft checks a ton of stuff while being obnoxiously hard to switch into due to its insanely good coverage / utility. the majority of teams that don't have an audino or a type: null rely on a physical wallbreaker like stout and kanga to break this. it also influences the way people play, and people often tend to lead with their strong physical wallbreaker whenever they see and elektross on the opposing team. it appreciates stuff like pom-pom, muds, and even victreebel to a lesser extent being so common, as it takes advantage of all of them to gain free momentum. i'd also like to mention that this pokémon pairs insanely well with other strong threats such as stoutland, gurdurr, lycanroc, froslass, and the aforementioned victreebel. but yeah, answers to this are hard to fit onto most playstyles and it just offers so much that it's actually hard justifying not using it.
b+ to b
clef is, while still decent, nowhere as good as it once was. as a defensive pokémon, it just drains too much momentum and invites in a ton of common threats, which means it only really fits on fat passive balance builds, which aren't the best right now as they struggle with a ton of threats. it also doesn't really check special pokémon all that well anymore as they all have their way around it. victreebel 2hkoes, taunt pom-pom is common, choice specs aurorus 2hkoes if clefairy has taken any prior damage, etc. i could go on but basically it just fails to effectively do its job and just invites it to many threats due to its passivity.
b to b-
bellossom, unsurprisingly, really struggles in a meta where victreebel and pom-pom are so common. this makes pulling off a sweep really hard and it can't even switch on stuff like mudsdale and regirock as toxic is a thing. plus, when unboosted, its speed makes it very susceptible to faster threats like primeape, simisear, hail sweeper snowslash, and dodrio, which are all pretty common. guzzlord leaving didn't help it, as having moonblast allowed it to setup on non-physical sets and punished builds that relied on it as their spdef pivot.
b- to b
leafeon really appreciates recent meta trends. guzzlord getting banned really helped it, as it means it isnt forced to run double edge anymore and can instead run synthesis, which allows it to switch into some stuff and to be played more aggressively and making it harder to revenge kill with pokémon like primeape and kangaskhan. it also beats the majority of grass resists / switchins like a slightly weakened victreebel, pom-pom, sensu, cryogonal, skuntank, and even snowslash while also having a good matchup against common physical walls thanks to its typing and coverage, which makes it pretty scary for most teams to face. i swear it's good!!
c- to ur
bouffalant is a digimon wbk. in all seriousness, bouffalant kinda lost its entire niche over other normal-types with lilligant getting banned and im surprised this is still ranked. every other grass-type either beats it or can potentially cripple it, making it an unreliable check. it also doesn't like recent meta trends, and while it can do some stuff in some matchups, it's really hard to justify using over a better normal-type or grass check like stoutland and pom-pom that aren't deadweight 90% of the games.