Tangela

Tangela carves its niche in the RU tier due to a stellar Eviolite-boosted Defense stat that allows it to check dangerous offensive Pokemon, such as Zygarde-10% and Barbaracle. Its great bulk also allows it to pivot into the likes of Lycanroc-D, Tyrantrum, and Metagross. Its pivoting capabilities are further enhanced by access to Regenerator, Leech Seed, and Synthesis, alongside several support moves like Knock Off and Sleep Powder, which allow Tangela to keep itself useful and be a huge annoyance during a match. However, despite having an unmatched pivoting potential, Tangela faces competition from many other Grass-type options, like Virizion, Shaymin, and Roserade, which offer different support options and pose greater threats due to better offensive stats and movepools. While having a pure Grass typing can help Tangela check opposing Water- and Electric-types, its abysmal Special Defense stat makes it hard to check the likes of Mega Blastoise, Milotic, and Raikou, which can deliver a powerful hit with coverage in Ice Beam and Signal Beam. The abundance of Poison- and Fire-types in the tier is also a great hindrance for Tangela's viability; Ninetales, Salazzle, Roserade, Drapion, and Toxicroak can take advantage of its general passivity to switch into it and fire off powerful moves. Tangela's pivoting capability is also severely hampered by Toxic, which is not a problem for other Grass-types such as Shaymin and Roserade that can mitigate status ailments with their access to Natural Cure or Poison typing. Likewise, entry hazards are very hurtful for Tangela, since they reduce Regenerator’s healing considerably when it enters the field. Knock Off is another major concern for Tangela, as it reduces its defensive stats considerably. Machamp, Donphan, and Tsareena are examples of Pokemon able to remove Tangela's Eviolite, which makes them harder to check.