np: RU stage 16 - Ding Dong The Witch is Dead

[Molk]

Thats definitely a very solid core EonX-, i really like the idea of mixed Emboar too!, it seems like a really nice mixed wallbreaker that could clear the way for quite a few Pokemon, whether its another Fire-type such as Entei or as you mentioned, Choice Scarf Braviary. I don't have much experience with Choice Specs Mesprit just yet(although it seems pretty cool to me :o), but i can say from experience that Choice Scarf Braviary is a pretty good Pokemon in the metagame: Flying is a pretty good offensive type in the current RU, especially with the coverage options braviary has to get rid of the Pokemon that could take Flying-type moves between STAB Return and Superpower. Because of this and Braviary's raw power (really high compared to other scarfers tbh, especially because it runs a +attack nature) Braviary makes an exceptionally good revenge killer, and its really good at cleaning up afterwards to boot. As mentioned, Stealth Rock is problematic for braviary, but the american eagle is lucky enough to pair well with the best spinner in the entire tier: Kabutops, making it less of a problem if you can get the opportunity to get rid of the hazards. As for possible threats to the core: i could see Choice Scarfed Electric-types being a problem, especially if the core is paired with Kabutops. Braviary is easily forced out by things like Rotom-C and Manectric, and although Mesprit and Emboar aren't weak to Volt Switch, they still dislike taking them repeatedly, especially because of their lack of recovery, and the opponent can easily switch into something with a good matchup against the switchin. Therefore, when using this core i'd probably pair it with something that could take on these Pokemon well, such as Druddigon, Golurk, Rhydon, Lanturn, or even things like Roselia and Amoonguss. Another idea would be to try out Healing Wish somehwhere on Mesprit, Of course this means that she loses either a coverage option or U-turn, but Healing Wish is a really useful move, and it makes Braviary that much more dangerous when Mesprit can fully heal it at any time, specifically when nothing else could stop it from sweeping.

 

[DittoCrow]

Speed

Kind of wanted to start a discussion on Speed / Choice Scarf users, because there definitely seems to be a lack of good ones in RU. I find myself running Rotom-C or Emboar on almost every team so I can revenge kill naturally fast threats like Sceptile and Accelgor. It's always good to have a Scarf user so you can sweep late-game if your main sweeper has gone down, so I want to know, what do you guys use for Speed, late-game cleaning, and revenge killing? One that I really like and don't seem to often is Scarf Rotom-N, who I started using because of Oglemi's DragMag team.

Rotom @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
- Trick

Rotom is definitely a good Choice Scarf user because it has a high, unique base Speed. This allows it to outspeed even the most common Choice Scarf user, Rotom-C, which is really useful if you're trying to clean up late-game. Rotom checks Fighting-types and Durant which is really important for every team, and the fact that it has Volt Switch is another great reason to use Rotom. The only slight problem is that it doesn't hit as hard as Rotom-C does, but it still gets the job done most of the time.

 

[Swamp-Rocket]

yay speed. Rotom-C and Emboar have already been brought up a lot so I'll delve into two other revenge killers/cleaners that I like to use.

Swellow @ Toxic Orb
Trait: Guts
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Facade
- Brave Bird
- Quick Attack
- U-turn / Protect

Swellow sits at a really trolly speed tier at the moment - 125 gets the jump on Scarf Emboar and Glaceon, as well as still getting past Sceptile, all of which are pretty relevant Pokemon, meaning it has plenty of speed to work with even without holding some sort of item. While Swellow isn't a Pokemon that can be busted out early game, it does its job well - cleaning the foe's team and revenge killing most fast unboosted threats. A STAB Facade will OHKO (which also means finish off) pretty much any offensive threat out there, and really, its the only move I like throw around most of the time because it gives not drawbacks. Brave Bird is cool for coverage but it really is only there for screwing over Tangrowth, Misdreavus, or something, because it it takes an extreme blow on Swellow's HP and its OHKOing anything that is weak to Brave Bird with Facade after a layer of Spikes most of the time, and Swellow can have a rather rough time with most of the Ghosts in the tier (Rotom resists everything and OHKOs, Spiritomb other than the aformentioned Misdreavus. I personally prefer for the last two moveslots to be for Quick Attack and Protect, because Quick Attack means it isn't going to get blown up by a Sucker Punch and Protect means it won't have to force a switch or have a slow Volt Switch/U-turn partner to activate the move, although U-turn is pretty cool for momentum, especially considering the thing that I just said means it can pair up well in a VoltTurn combo. I really hate how it doesn't last very long, especially if you decide to even use Brave Bird once, but the power and speed it gives during that time is something every offensive team can appreciate, and can even take away the need for a Choice Scarfed Pokemon (although you still may want one if you don't think Swellow is reliable enough to continuously do it)

Manectric @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Lightningrod
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Volt Switch
- Overheat
- Thunderbolt
- Switcheroo

I know I said earlier in the np thread that I didn't like Manectric, but after using it some more I actually kind of like it. While it may seem inferior to Rotom, Overheat and Lightningrod are two really cool advantages, with Overheat netting some really cool OHKOs on Tangrowth and the like. It also makes a neat revenge killer for revenge killers, switching into Volt Switches thanks to Lightingrod from the likes of Scarf Rotom and Rotom-C and then pounding them with a boosted Overheat, and not getting screwed over by random Thunder Waves, while being able to further cripple a wall using Switcheroo. Otherwise, it is pretty similar to other Electric-types - when in doubt its probably best to use Volt Switch and keep up the momentum. Manectric is also capable of revenge killing Shell Smash Omastar, something Rotom can do but not Rotom-C, important considering how dangerous it is at the moment.

As a side note, I find HP Grass rather unnecassary despite the fact that Ground-types get a free switch in. Quagsire isn't very good, Rhydon can be crippled by Switcheroo and then it goes on from there, and Golurk takes the exact same amount from Overheat while also being crippled by Switcheroo. I'd much rather use Thunderbolt as a reliable cleaning move, something that Manectric can be pretty good at doing if its still alive at that point.

 

[Mylo Xyloto]

@ Choice Scarf
Trait: Lightningrod
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Volt Switch
- Flamethrower / Overheat
- Hidden Power Ice / Grass
- Thunderbolt / Switcheroo

Manectric is one of the fastest Choice Scarf users out there boasting with a great base 105 Speed as well as 105 Special Attack which is quite decent to say the least. Like most Electric types Manectric has excellent coverage. Between Volt Switch / Thunderbolt, Overheat / Flamethower and Hidden Power Ice it can effectively hit all of RU for neutral damage. Because of Manectric's excellent speed it can even outpace boosted pokemon like Lilligant, Omastar, Crawdaunt, Ludicolo, Primeape, Rotom-C etc. Switcheroo can ruin more defensive orientated teams that lack a fast pokemon for Manectric to outspeed.

Edit: im 2 slw :<
Edit2:

@ Choice Scarf
Trait: Vital Spirit
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 Def
Jolly Nature
- U-turn
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Punishment / Ice Punch

Although Primeape isnt as fast as Manectric or has a great typing like Rotom-N, Primeape still stands out as the fastest Fighting type in the tier. Primeape has access to U-turn which is probably one of the most useful moves in the game, gaining crucial momentum. Primeape has a pretty /decent/ base 105 Attack stat with which it can clean weakend teams up late game. Vital Spirit is big bonus for Primeape since it allows it to be immune to Sleep from the like of Smeargle, Lilligant etc. It still can revenge pokemon like SS Omastar, +1 Lilli, Rotoms, +1 Kabu and Medi etc. Primeape isnt that great nor that bad, just meh.

 

[Molk]

Accelgor @ Life Orb
Trait: Sticky Hold
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Bug Buzz
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power [Rock]
- Giga Drain

Although its not a Choice Scarfed Pokemon, Accelgor has more than enough Speed to make a good revenge killer, and like Swellow mentioned above can also serve in the late game cleaning role well between its ability to hold a Life Orb and the coverage it possesses. When it comes to initial Speed, Accelgor is the champion, hitting a great 427 Speed with a Timid Nature: which leaves it even faster than some Choice Scarfed Pokemon, such as Emboar, Glaceon, Braviary, and Medicham, more than enough to get the job done. Anyways, between this Speed and Accelgor's good coverage, it can revenge kill quite a few common threats such as Sceptile, Cinccino, Galvantula, Durant, Crawdaunt, Medicham, and Moltres (assuming Accelgor is running Hidden Power Rock) with ease. Also, because of Accelgor's ability to hold a Life Orb while retaining that Speed, Accelgor can even countersweep at times, quite easily in fact, using that revenge kill as an opportunity to clean up the rest of the opponents team with Life Orb boosted Bug Buzzes, Focus Blasts, and Hidden Powers (Of Course this doesn't work if the opponent has a faster Choice Scarfed Pokemon such as a Choice Scarfed Electric-type or priority ;_;). Overall Accelgor is definitely a good option for a revenge killer, and should always be considered if you need a speedy Pokemon to pick off potential threats to your team/clean up.

 

[dcae]

With the rise of bulky offense in the tier, Speed has been decreasing imo, because most quicker attackers can't break through bulky mons. Also, even Scarfers tend to be on the bulkier side nowadays, for example Emboar, and this is really taking away from their ability to outspeed stuff like Swellow. However, the presence of Accelgor discourages many Scarfers base 80 and below because it outspeeds them all. Personally, I have been toying around with a couple mons. Scarf Jynx is a mon I've tried using, with the following set:

Jynx @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Dry Skin
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Nature: Timid
- Ice Beam
- Focus Blast / Hidden Power [Fire]
- Energy Ball
- Trick

95 Speed gets the jump on every unboosted mon in RU and most of the setup sweepers, such as Lilligant. Jynx also gets Trick, which is amazing for crippling mons like Alomomola. My niche move choice here is Energy Ball, which deals massive damage to Slowking, which loves to switch in. HP Fire is also a really fun option to lure and smash Escavalier, but personally I like it better on LO sets. From my playing, Jynx is a very underrated mon, and this Scarf set actually does well. It can also revenge Omastar due to Dry Skin and being able to resist its Ice type move, while then KOing with Energy Ball, something Rotom-C cannot do against Timid Omastar. This is definitely one of the better Scarfers around.

 

[EonX]

Because I feel like I've already driven Choice Scarf Braviary into the ground in this thread, I'll go another route with the Speed discussion with another Pokemon I've really started to like as of late:

Typhlosion (M) @ Choice Specs
Trait: Blaze
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Fire Blast
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power [Grass] or [Rock]
- Eruption

So, yeah, Typhlosion has a bad rap due to all of the people spamming the Scarf set on the ladder. Seriously, its Specs set is amazing right now. It's got base 100 Speed which allows it to outpace many unboosted RU Pokemon. If you can paralyze the opposing Scarfer and the few things that are faster than Typhlo, it will sweep. Otherwise, it's a fantastic wallbreaker with the ability to sweep more often than not when the opposing Scarfer is removed from play. The trump card Typhlosion has is Eruption. This rips through all but the bulkiest of resistances and can quickly decimate the opposing team, possibly allowing Typhlosion to sweep later. If you're faced with something that may use a priority move (such as Absol or Spiritomb) then Fire Blast provides a solid alternative STAB to lock in on. This will generally be the move Typhlosion sweeps with and if you can activate Blaze, you'll barely notice a difference in power. Focus Blast and Hidden Power are basically there to hit what Typhlosion's Fire STABs can't. Focus Blast is cool to crush Rock-types that might have designs on switching in on Eruption/Fire Blast while your Hidden Power type fends off others that may switch into your STAB moves. I usually go with HP Grass to actually have something to catch Slowking with, but if you're really wary about Moltres, HP Rock is feasible as it also hits other Fire-types such as Entei and Emboar (though Focus Blast hits the latter harder) Rapid Spin support is an obvious need since Typhlosion is weak to SR, but it just happens to pair very well with Kabutops anyways. Ferroseed is also an amazing partner as it can lure in and cripple opposing Scarf Emboar with Thunder Wave while also handling Rotom-C, another very common Scarfer, very effectively. It also gives Spikes support which really helps Typhlosion wear down bulky Water-types without resorting to HP Grass. Give Specs Typhlosion a try. I doubt you will be disappointed.

 

[ScraftyIsTheBest]

On the Speed discussion, here's another pretty decent example besides that I really like using in revenge killing and to an extent sweeping:

Aerodactyl @ Life Orb
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 220 Atk / 36 SpD / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Fire Blast
- Roost

Aerodactyl is blistering fast, even without a Choice item, which means it can outpace a lot of the unboosted RU metagame, and hits decently hard with its good Attack and EdgeQuake to be a pretty good revenge killer; and to an extent sweeper. This set is only outpaced by Accelgor; and you can manage that thing rather easily. Aerodactyl can fire LO boosted Attacks that hit pretty hard; and it also has Roost to keep itself healthy to fire more attacks with. This thing can revenge kill threats such as Sceptile, Scolipede, Cinccino, etc. which is pretty awesome, and it is fast enough to outpace Scarf Glaceon and Emboar, which is pretty neat. Fire Blast seems kind of silly but it 2HKOes incoming Tangrowth and Steelix and OHKO's Escavalier, which is pretty neat. Aerodactyl is a pretty good choice for a revenge killer overall that also has sweeping potential (and please stop using it as a lead, that set is terrible).

 

[Ashley11]

Sceptile

70 HP/ 85 Atk / 65 Def / 105 SpA / 85 SpD / 120 Spe

One pokemon that comes to mind when i hear speed is sceptile. Sceptile is a very powerful threat that can lategame clean and revenge kill easily. It can go either go physical or special and each are pretty good sets to use. It is faster than almost every unboosted pokemon in the tier bar Accelgor and Aerodactyl and is definitely a threat to use and watch out for.

Life Orb Special Attacker
Sceptile @ Life Orb
Ability: Overgrow
Evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Nature: Timid (+Speed -Attack)
Giga Drain / Leaf Storm
Hidden Power Rock
Focus Blast
Substitute / Giga Drain


With the life orb special attacking set you get immediate power and revenge killing/lategame cleaning. It is very powerful with leaf storm and can stay alive for a while too with giga drain, or block status with substitute. It can break through steel types that are stupid enough to try to come in against sceptile as well. Life orb Sceptile pairs well with pokemon that can handle its counters (Amoongus, Cryogonal, Tangrowth, etc). Such pokemon are Emboar, Entei, and Escavelier.


Good Counters to this sceptile variant are amoongus, tangrowth, druddigon, cryogonal, emboar, and escavelier as they can all take one of sceptiles attacks and come back with a ko or crippling blow.

Unburden Swords Dance Sweeper
Sceptile @ Flying Gem
Ability: Unburden
Evs: 252 Atk 4 Def 252 Spe
Nature: Adamant (+ Attack - Sp Attack)
Swords Dance
Acrobatics
Leaf Blade
Earthquake / Drain Punch


The Unburden Swords Dance Set is a focus on setting up before attacking, which can act more as a wallbreaking sceptile or still a lategame cleaner. It doesnt exactly pack a big punch right off the bat so make sure you can get a boost in there some time throughout the match to get sceptile going. It can break through many pokemon including some of the premier walls like tangrowth and it beats pokemon such as emboar and entei too. Its a great lure for its usual counters/checks and can help out other pokemon sweep too since it lures certain things. Good partners for Sceptile is pokemon like Lum berry Feraligatr and Crawdaunt. They can break though the few pokemon that counter this set such as steelix and Thunder wave Uxie and can also set up dragon dances and swords dances themselves to wallbreak for sceptile or sweep themselves.

Good counters for Swords Dance Sceptile are Steelix, who can one hit ko with gyro ball, Escavelier, Uxie, and Mandibuzz.​

 

[mkizzy]

GOTTA GO FAST!

I love Scarf users in particular for speed, I just love switching something in then blasting with a powerful move or whatever that mon has. It's hard to find me not using a Choice Scarfer on a team! Lets talk about some of the Scarfers then.

Medicham is an incredibly powerful hitter (hitting almost as hard as Choice Band Druddigon's Outrage!!), and slapping a Scarf on this monster just makes it a whole lot more dangerous. With a Scarf, Medicham isn't being outsped by much, notably only Accelgor and several other Scarfed mons. Even with Medicham isn't being a revenge killer, it can often be used as a wall breaker with its really high bp STAB move in Hi Jump Kick (2HKOs Tangrowth after SR with an Adamant nature, really impressive. I also find myself cleaning up the late game with it too, just spamming HJK til stuff is dead (ofc this doesn't work if mons like Uxie and Slowking are still alive, but it's an effective cleaner either way,especially with Pursuit support from something like Absol or Spiritomb!) One plus of Medicham as a Scarfer is that it doesn't really need a power boost from Life Orb or Choice Band to be effective, Pure Power boosts it to the equivalent of Base 169 Attack! Another plus that Medicham has over some (but not all) Scarfers is Trick! Trick can really screw up some mons's plans, like Uxie which screws Medicham over otherwise. tl;dr Medicham is the bomb, and hits like one too.

Emboar is the ultimate filler on teams. The end. No, not really, but Emboar is a fantastic mon to throw on your team as a Scarfer and catch all check to things like Durant, Lilligant, Sceptile, and Escavalier. It hits hard, outspeeds a lot of stuff, and has decent coverage. Just blasting with with Flare Blitz is really fun, or you could use it as a 'tool' as sorts to force some stuff out (its good at this, Escavalier and Ferroseed aren't staying in on Emboar ofc). Another thing about Emboar is that it can make that always-nice FWG core, providing nice synergy with Water and Grass types. Also having an extra moveslot open for Sleep Talk is great for utilizing it as a Sleep Absorber. However, a downside of Emboar is that it's wore down quit easily through recoil (Flare Blitz) and hazards as it's forced out a lot by mons, by Water types in particular. Regardless, Emboar is extremely manly for a scarfer.

Rotom-C is an amazing Scarfer! Due to being tutored by Molk, I've grown to put this on a LOT of my teams. It fills a Grass type's role of dishing out Leaf Storms everywhere, while also filling the role of Scarfed Electric to abuse Volt Switch as much as possible. Also for mons it can't Volt Switch on (Ground types, Rhydon especially comes to mind) it can blast them with Leaf Storm, usually wrecking their day. Like I said with Medicham, it gets access to Trick which is pretty cool for crippling stuff that it lures like Amoonguss, Clefable, and even the now-NU Roselia. I love slapping the lawn mower on teams because it's fairly easy to fit on teams imo.

Lilligant is usually found sporting a Quiver Dance set, however I've found that Scarf is pretty effective too! Although it's unorthadox it's really effective with Sleep Powder/Leaf Storm/HP Whatever/Healing Wish, where the fast Sleep Powder and Healing Wish are the selling points of this set. Fast Sleep Powder is really cool obviously, because you're outspeeding most unboosted/scarfed mons and then crippling them with status. It can make a great lead, however there /are/ a lot Sleep absorbers in the tier in the form of Lum Berry, Sap Sippers, and Sleep Talkers, but Scarf Sleep is effective nonetheless. Lilligant also has an incredibly cool, clutch emergency move in the form of Healing Wish, which is rarely seen !_! it's really cool for bringing a mon that could win you the game back to full health and whatnot, and I'm sure you can why it's incredibly useful for finishing up the game. Really cool, different utility mon with bunches of speed n_n.

 

[col49]

hey, um, don't kill me for a non-LO+Sheer Force set pls

Tauros @ Choice Scarf | Intimidate
Adamant | 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Double-Edge | Return | Earthquake | Stone Edge

I've actually found Tauros to be a really cool Choice Scarf user in my experiences with the 'mon. A solid Base 110 Speed means that it's fast enough to outpace most of the conventional Choice Scarf users and set-up sweepers even while utilizing an Adamant nature (outpacing everything from Jolly ScarfApe down :O), meaning it can very effectively outpace most standard threats of the tier. 328 Attack, while not necessarily amazing, is pretty solid for a Choice Scarf 'mon, and grants it enough power to RK a pretty solid assortment of 'mons with limited prior damage. On top of that, Normal STAB is really quite nice to have around, especially considering how handy Pursuit support already was for offense, and can pretty easily clean up late-game with it considering this. Intimidate is a pretty nice utility for a Scarf user as well when taking into consideration how commonplace priority is in RU, and being able to buffer out oneself against a Sucker Punch or Aqua Jet can be incredibly clutch in preserving your scarf user for the late-game. While it doesn't possess the flexibility of a scarf user such as Rotom-C / N, who came maintain momentum while accomplishing its goal, Tauros is definitely a very capable Choice Scarf user from what I've seen from it n_n

 

[PDC]

Durant @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Hustle
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Superpower
- Iron Head
- X-Scissor
- Stone Edge

Durant is surprisingly a really good Choice Scarf user and actually surprises quite a lot of other Scarfers and boosted Pokemon due to its additional speed. Durant is basically the fastest Scarfer in RU with this set and can outrun and revenge kill (hopefully with accuracy) anything it wants. Rotom-C, Lilligant, Medicham, and even Sceptile (unsurprisingly with Scarf). It is definitely a very nice scarfer and checks a variety of threats for teams and just ultimately is a very powerful threat overall that can just take advantage and control of a game with its unexpectedness. Although I do not commonly play RU, this set has been consistent enough to work very well on light offense that is in need of something strong and fast that can revenge basically every threat while being resistant to most common priorities in RU. Durant has been mentioned previously iirc, but I think it works as a very well Scarfer and relates to the speed topic very well. With Hustle it can become either very strong or a bit unreliable, which makes this set a little shaky at times, but overall I think it is strong enough to get the job done while still remaining accurate and fast enough to be a potent Scarfer.

 

[Hot N Cold]

I just posted Scarf Durant before on the first pages, only I should to use Durant with Swarm which can be useful thanks to a great speed, good atk and good physical bulk and sometimes can take advantage to Swarm but with Hustle is kinda terrible mostly with Stone Edge. Choice Scard users usually are used like a life safe and isnt the best option running a Scarf with a bad accuracy on each one of their moves, despite the good Atk.

 

[EonX]

Another Fire-type for the Speed discussion:

Entei @ Choice Band
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Flare Blitz
- ExtremeSpeed
- Stone Edge
- Sleep Talk

I know it's been talked about quite a bit already, but Entei is arguably the best all-purpose offensive Pokemon in the tier right now. Because of legality issues with Flare Blitz and ExtremeSpeed, Entei will always be a little slower than Typhlosion, but it has ExtremeSpeed to make up for this. Entei can very easily break down walls with the power of its STAB Flare Blitz while picking off faster threats with ExtremeSpeed. Since ExtremeSpeed even has +2 priority, you don't have to worry about faster priority users such as Swellow and Jolly Zangoose ruining your fun as Entei just spams ExtremeSpeed to clean up everything that's left. Like with Typhlosion, paralysis support and the removal of certain faster threats will allow Entei to sweep an opposing team with Flare Blitz. Sleep Talk is a really cool move on Entei as it allows it to come in on the likes of Lilligant, Amoonguss, and Tangrowth with much greater ease and still threaten them with a powerful Flare Blitz. About the only reason Stone Edge is there is because it quite literally is the only other decently relevant physical move Entei gets. It obviously really appreciates a Rapid Spin user since Entei is weak to SR and vulnerable to (Toxic) Spikes. Thankfully, Kabutops pairs well with Entei and forms a solid priority core to ensure most boosting sweepers won't be able to finish their sweeps. Emboar is a cool partner to stack Fire-types and overwhelm checks to both, thus possibly enabling Entei to sweep more easily. Entei is a top 3 Pokemon for a reason; it's really dang good. Not many Pokemon can do the things Entei can do offensively with just one set. It can wallbreak. It can clean up. It can sweep as well thanks to the bulky offensive nature of the current metagame, so never discount it if you're looking for a fast attacker.

 

[New Breed]

Yeah I believe Hot N Cold got the Choice Scarf Durant set from me as I ran it in a tournament vs him.

Durant (F) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Swarm
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- X-Scissor
- Iron Head
- Superpower
- Stone Edge

Much like Tauros, Durant can often afford to run an Adamant nature due to it's great Speed while still out speeding the majority of the boosted tier and speed tieing with the rare Choice Scarf Primeape and Jynx. Running a Jolly nature is definitely an option if you want to guarantee that you out speed everything but without Hustle you will definitely notice that the power loss is really significant. The thing that really sets Durant apart as a Choice Scarf user (other than it's great Speed) is Durant's unique set of resistances and Physical bulk that give it plenty of opportunities to come in. Another great thing about this set is the fact that people often rely on checking Durant through the use of a Choice Scarfer of their own (usually something like Rotom-C) and will not hesitate to bring it in after you kill something with X-Scissor and assume that you're CB or Lum Hone Claws, only to get out sped and OHKO'd by X-Scissor. Stone Edge is just there to revenge kill Moltres as once they work out you're Choice Scarf they love to switch in thinking they are safe. :]

 

[Molk]

Hmmmmmm Choice Scarf Durant does look pretty interesting overall, a great Speed stat to work with, really hard to get past with priority, and has enough power to function even without a boosting item. I'm going to have to agree though that i can see Hustle being a major setback for Scarf Durant given it can't use Hone Claws to boost its accuracy (well it technically can, but it'd be locked into HC which just isn't good at all x_x). This is especially important because as mentioned, Choice Scarfed Pokemon are usually used to take out fast opponents before they can do too much damage, and missing with a revenge killer at a crucial time can be exceptionally painful, especially if revenge killing if your only option against that particular threat. Still though, pretty interesting set if you can get past its flawed accuracy (and Swarm is always an option i guess, its not like Durant's Attack stat becomes unusable without the ability, 109 is still p. good).

Choice Scarf Tauros seems like a pretty interesting if not unorthodox scarfer too. Imo Tauros is one of the most damn underrated Pokemon in the metagame, and while Life Orb Sheer Force is probably the best set overall, Tauros's High Attack and Speed along with its access to Intimidate might make it a pretty solid Choice Scarf user too. Like the aforementioned Durant, Tauros has a pretty high Speed for a scarfer, higher than Durant's even, meaning it can reliably revenge kill even other scarfmons such as Rotom-C or even Manectric (Only with a +Speed nature though). Even if Tauros can't/doesn't want to immediately revenge kill his foes, Intimidate is still a nice "oh shit" button to fall back on when needed, and i can totally see tauros switching in, lowering a foe's attack with Intimidate, and immediately switching out to give a teammate an easier time. Tauros has pretty solid physical bulk too, so it could probably switch into really strong moves like Entei's Flare Blitz without being immediately KOed if needed (Actually did the calc for this, Tauros only takes 83% max from CB Entei's Flare Blitz after an Intimidate, pretty impressive. Overall, Scarf Tauros seems pretty cool, and i'm definitely going to give it a try soon.

 

[mkizzy]

Although it doesn't really fall into the speed discussion, I'd like to talk about a pokemon Pokemon i think is pretty awesome in the metagame: Magneton, and how it can play several important roles for offensive and defensive teams alike. One of the most notable things about Magneton is its ability to trap steels with Magnet Pull, Escavalier being one of the most notable because its really annoying between its power, bulk, and resists. Magneton can easily trap and kill it HP Fire while Escavalier can't really do anything back (252+ SpA Magneton Hidden Power Fire vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Escavalier: 304-360 (88.62 - 104.95%) -- 31.25% chance to OHKO | 252+ Atk Choice Band Escavalier Megahorn vs. 156 HP / 0 Def Eviolite Magneton: 115-136 (41.07 - 48.57%) -- guaranteed 3HKO). Magneton also has pretty nice resists to work with (resisting 12 different types, some of them being really good like Electric, Ice, Grass, and even Dragon because fuk Druddigon), which just adds to its bulk factor. If you don't have a problem with Steels you can also use Analytic, which gives it a nice power boost that it appreciates, which makes it much harder to switch in on, especially if the Magneton using it happens to be Specs. Even without Specs, Magneton hits decently hard and gives Water types (Such as Kabutops) a lot of trouble because of its powerful STAB Thunderbolt, bulk, and ability to Volt Switch out. It's really cool for combining defensive and offensive, even if you use a set that's purely offensive such as specs, it can still take a hit or two pretty well, especially due to its aforementioned typing. Anyone else have experience with Magneton, if so, how did it work for you?

 

[Explorer]

I talked about this earlier at some point, but is probably my #1 favorite cleaner in RU.

Hitmonlee (M) @ Fighting Gem
Trait: Unburden
EVs: 252 Atk/4 SpD/252 Spe
Nature: Adamant
-Mach Punch
-Close Combat
-Stone Edge
-Earthquake/Blaze Kick

First off observe that Hitmonlee has two other priority moves, but there are reasons why I don't use them
1. Fake Out + Normal Gem- only works once; Mach Punch can be used multiple times, even after the gem is used up, to beat opposing priority users such as Kabutops
2. Sucker Punch + Dark Gem- what I would be using, except Sucker Punch is illegal with Unburden.

Close Combat is used as my STAB as Hitmonlee rarely cares about the defense drops and a miss with HJK can cost it a sweep. Stone Edge gets rid of Bug and Flying-types that resist Hitmonlee's STAB. Earthquake is a good reliable move against Manectric, Emboar, and Entei, but if you struggle with Ferroseed or Escavalier, Blaze Kick works great.

Even with Blaze Kick Tangrowth can come in and cripple Hitmonlee with sleep or paralysis, ending its sweep. Have something such as Emboar, Flamethrower Druddigon, Moltres, etc. to get rid of it. Emboar even has the advantage of making an extremely potent Double Fighting Core with Hitmonlee, and would be worth building a team around.

 

[Molk]

Alright, i'm sorry to interrupt, but i just wanted to let everyone know that the RU hail suspect vote has recently closed, and after doing the whole runoff formula and everything, Snow Warning as a whole has been banned from the RU tier with a simple majority. So while laddering/playing tournaments in the future, none of you should need to worry about any annoying ice body shenanigans/Subsplit Rotom-F, etc. So, with that, How do you think the metagame will change without the threat of Hail offense and hail stall, if at all? Personally, i don't think there will be a massive effect on the metagame aside from of course the decreased viability of pretty much everything that benefitted from hail such as Walrein, but i do think a few threats might become a bit better. For example: i personally think that Dragon-types such as the already top tier Druddigon and some NFE Pokemon such as Fraxure and Dragonair might become a lot better in this metagame without hail around. Of course, all these Dragon-type Pokemon are weak to Ice-type moves, meaning they struggle to switch in against hail teams, and are afraid to lock themselves into Outrage because of the threat of a Blizzspammer or Walrein around every corner when facing hail. However, without Snover providing the hail they dread, i think these Pokemon would definitely increase in viability, especially because of their good matchup against the common FWG cores in the current metagame. I also think that Amoonguss and Tangrowth will increase in viability now that hail is gone. Both these Pokemon are very solid defensive threats, but they really struggled with being both slow and Blizzard vulnerable, especially Tangrowth. Now, these Pokemon don't have to worry about hail teams popping up and simply breaking through them, making them less reliant on team support to prevent them from being so vulnerable (although Slowking is still a very solid partner for both of them, forming solid regenerator cores). So, how do you think the metagame will change without hail around? Will any Pokemon increase/decrease in viability? Would any playstyles become any more/less viable If so, why?

 

[EonX]

Here's some things I expect to see rising in usage to varying degrees with Hail out of the picture:

Many people have talked about it as one of the biggest "hidden gems" in this thread, but Torterra is one of the happiest Pokemon in the tier right now. With Hail gone, Tort doesn't have to worry about getting hit by a 4x super effective Blizzard. This obviously makes Specially Defensive Torterra even more viable than it already was with its biggest detriment out of the way. The fact that the only remotely common user of Ice Beam that isn't weak to Torterra's STAB moves is Mesprit makes it all the more viable now. Tank sets, both defensive and offensive, gained quite a bit of traction with the banning of Hail as Synthesis is now guaranteed to heal 50% HP instead of an underwhelming 25%. Definitely look for the Sinnoh Grass starter to start becoming a bit more common now with Hail out of its way.

Shocking. Another Pokemon 4x weak to Ice. Anyways, Dragons are incredibly rare in RU, but you want to know what's even rarer? Special attacking Dragons. Yes, Altaria is the only Dragon in RU capable of running a full special set thanks to its decent base 70 Special Attack and powerful STAB Draco Meteor. It can run Fire Blast or HP Ground to catch Steel-types, and the best part is that it hits on the weaker defensive stat of Steels (bar SpDef Magneton or Escavalier) This makes special attacking Altaria a really legit partner for anything that hates the presence of Steel-types. A Double Dragon strategy with Druddigon, Fraxure, etc. is possible, but stuff like Klinklang, Mesprit, and HP Rock Lilligant can also be effective. Altaria's natural bulk now gets a better chance to shine now that it doesn't have to be fearful of a powerful Blizzard at every turn.

One of the Pokemon on the rise here in RU just got better. Although it does lose out on being able to support Hail teams with its unique typing, it also doesn't have to worry about getting cut through by Blizzards either. Like with Torterra, Golurk is able to hit two of the most common Ice Beam users in the tier (Mesprit and Omastar) for super effective damage to deter them from coming in while Samurott isn't all that common (although it really should be) Look for Golurk's rise to continue now that Blizzard's can penetrate it at every turn.

Although the Scarf set was already good, Braviary's Choice Band and Bulk Up sets just got quite a bit better. Now that it doesn't have to worry about trying to outspeed the likes of Jynx, Scarf Glaceon, and Rotom-F, Bravairy's wallbreaking abilities can be put on full display with its Choice Band set. Or, you could go the tanking route while setting up with Bulk Up to slowly become a threatening sweeper capable of surviving harsh attacks. Of course, Scarf Braviary still got better as it now doesn't have to worry about Rotom-F outpacing it and threatening with BOTH STAB options. The american eagle is ready to take flight as the skies clear. Hopefully I won't be the only one willing to show how good he can be now.

 

[Explorer]

Since EonX discussed threats that would increase in usage with hail's absence, I thought I'd touch on some threats that I thought would decrease in usage.

While not immediately obvious, Thick Fat Hariyama served as a good anti-Hail Pokemon because it could switch in on Blizzard with its "resistance" and good bulk and destroy pretty much every common Hail abuser with Cross Chop/Close Combat or Stone Edge off a base 120 attack. In addition, many Thick fat Hariyama are/were the ResTalk variant, letting it take those Blizzards even better, because it could heal off the damage and then force out the hail abusers, only for them to take more hazard damage once they switch back in.

Scarf Emboar was another really good anti-Hail Pokemon because it resisted Ice and could outspeed most common hail threats with a Choice Scarf (besides Scarf Rotom-F and Scarf Jynx). On top of that it had two STABs to hit Ice-types super-effectively with (Flare Blitz and Superpower), and was only hit neutrally by Rotom-F's Thunderbolt. While Emboar is still a very powerful and useful Pokemon, without hail around people will have one less reason to use it.

With good defenses, Overcoat, and a resistance to Blizzard, Escavalier made for a good Pokemon both to include on hail teams, and also to counteract hail teams. CB Iron Head/Megahorn shut down most hail threats instantly, and Escavalier had little trouble with most Pokemon that were common to hail teams besides Emboar and Slowking that used speed creeping to KO Escavalier with Fire Blast. Removing hail doesn't weaken Escavalier in the slightest bit, but it could weaken its usage because the need to counter hail is completely gone.

 

[Turtleye]

Talking about Altaria, I discovered one set that I found very useful on hazard stacking teams:

Altaria @ Leftovers
Trait: Natural Cure
EV's: 252 HP | 212 Def | 56 SDef
- Roar
- Roost
- Cotton Guard
- Heal Bell/Dragon Claw

I switched her in on something that could not do much damage to Altaria, set up a Cotton Guard on the switch, then proceed to rack up the damage with Roar, Roost is used to heal back your HP, the last slot is mainly a filler, you can run any kind of move you want, but I liked Heal Bell and Dragon Claw; Heal Bell was used on the teams that needed a cleric, while Dragon Claw is useful if you dont want to get taunt bait.

Also, I'm really looking forward to the Hail-less meta because I hated hail e.e

 

[GlassGlaceon]

Well rotom-frost, Glaceon and all other lovely blizzspammers get screwed by this. I still don't see how hail is broken, residual damage is a crappy argument and has never caused me to lose a game, never caused my walls any trouble, leftovers never really mattered on many of my pokemon. I'm agreeing with explorer here, many pokemon will drop in usage. Magneton being another example, who could take blizzards all day, and retaliate with flash cannon/t-bolt. Also, Ice Beam doesn't hit that much weaker than blizzard, and i can't stress that enough. For all of the *blizzard is too powerful* arguments, specs ice beam off a glaceon hurts. Unless you resist it's coverage moves or are esca/cryogonal, Specs Glaceon will still hurt. Period. I don't think they made the right choice in banning hail at all, but life goes on. Pokemon who will see a boost in usage. dragonair, fraxure, zweilous, and many other dragons will see a boost in usage, tangrowth/amoonguss/rotom-cut/whimsicott will see dat usage boost. Anything that was weak to ice will get a usage boost. I'm not looking forward to a hail-less meta, because hail wasn't broken imo, and ice body and residual damage aren't strong enough arguments in my opinion to ban hail, but I still love RU for being one of the, if not THE most balanced meta in the smogon tiers, because every pokemon (bar sandslash) is good

 

[Ashley11]

Well it doesnt matter now, hail is banned, and nothing will change that. n_n On the other hand I also just wanted to point out that I have been using crustle as a spike stacking stealth rock lead and i love it. In my opinion its one of the best pokemon to use as a lead atm, especially with hail gone, since hail can break its sturdy. I have been using endure on it instead of x scissor or earthquake since it gurantees I can activate my custap berry, while things like rock blast cinccino wont oko me. I suggest trying out crustle when using Hyper Offense teams, its a very cool mon since only taunt users and magic coat users can beat it pretty much.

 

[DittoCrow]

Well rotom-frost, Glaceon and all other lovely blizzspammers get screwed by this. I still don't see how hail is broken, residual damage is a crappy argument and has never caused me to lose a game, never caused my walls any trouble, leftovers never really mattered on many of my pokemon. I'm agreeing with explorer here, many pokemon will drop in usage. Magneton being another example, who could take blizzards all day, and retaliate with flash cannon/t-bolt. Also, Ice Beam doesn't hit that much weaker than blizzard, and i can't stress that enough. For all of the *blizzard is too powerful* arguments, specs ice beam off a glaceon hurts. Unless you resist it's coverage moves or are esca/cryogonal, Specs Glaceon will still hurt. Period. I don't think they made the right choice in banning hail at all, but life goes on. Pokemon who will see a boost in usage. dragonair, fraxure, zweilous, and many other dragons will see a boost in usage, tangrowth/amoonguss/rotom-cut/whimsicott will see dat usage boost. Anything that was weak to ice will get a usage boost. I'm not looking forward to a hail-less meta, because hail wasn't broken imo, and ice body and residual damage aren't strong enough arguments in my opinion to ban hail, but I still love RU for being one of the, if not THE most balanced meta in the smogon tiers, because every pokemon (bar sandslash) is good

No one used residual damage as an argument for banning hail, that's not why it was banned. Also Specs Ice Beam from Glaceon gets no where near the 2HKOs that Blizzard did and Glaceon isn't recovering any HP from Ice Body, so I don't see how you're comparing Glaceon + hail to Glaceon now.

I also don't think anything really changes in this meta. Hail was uncommon, so it's unlikely that the usage stats will change aside from the obvious hail abusers dropping. Dragons and Grass-types will stay where they are (and Whimsicott won't rise at all ?_?). Things like Escavalier are just as effective as before, as are most Pokemon mentioned here.