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

[Swamp-Rocket]

That core is interesting, but it seems like kind of struggles a bit against Choice Band Entei in particular due to the high investment in Druddigon's Speed (Flare Blitz always 2HKOs even without hazards for instance). Entei would have Sleep Talk to absorb sleep or Extreemeseed to revenge kill Lilligant so then it can't do too much even if Entei is not on the field at that, and nothing in the core can switch into Flare Blitz. Granted, you could easily run Slowking or Kabutops, or run more HP to tank hits slightly better (although even at max HP Flare Blitz still really hurts and Stone Edge still 2HKOs), but that is something that can really give that core some trouble.

Speaking of which, Entei is still the man when it comes to, well, everything regarding offense. Considering the offensive nature of RU at the moment, Extremespeed is really helpful in such an offensive metagame where fast, frail foes such as Sceptile, Accelgor, Absol (not fast but it has Sucker Punch), Sigilyph, Lilligant, and others are pretty much packed on every team, which gives a sort of universal revenge killer and emergency check for 90% of set up sweepers. Entei has the bulk to take pretty much survive any hit at full health (including random HP Rocks, which makes for a good user of Sleep Talk) and Flare Blitz still charges through pretty much everything that isn't a bulky resist, Omastar, or Kabutops, but its even moreso than usual with the recent increase of Druddigon and Slowking as the Fire resist for teams, which can still deal with it but not as well as other checks such as Qwilfish or Poliwrath (which have subsequently seen a decrease in usage)

Of course, this is something everybody knows already because Entei is so common and good, but I felt the need to point it out, because I feel like Entei is possibly better than ever aside from maybe when Yanmega was around or something like that.

 

[Hot N Cold]

Foul Play Amoonguss is the new toy, with Foul Play nails physical sweepers such Entei, Druddigon, Archeops, Braviary, Fraxure, Drifblim, Haunter and Scolipede, mostly of them offensive versions like Entei CB Sleep Talk. This move should be used on the last slot because with Clear Smog should look a bit redundant at least against physical sweepers like Sword Dance mons. In overall, a decent option to catch off some opponents, crippling something with Spore, Foul Play for a big part of physical sweepers or stuff that can take Amonguss pretty well like Druddi or Entei and finally Giga Drain + Sludge Bomb because STAB and useful for waters, another grass etc

 

[Cherub Agent]

Speaking of underrated moves on common sets, I'd like people to try out Petal Dance Lilligant. I understand why people are a bit put off by it, considering Grass isn't exactly the best offensive type to have, despite the fact that Lilligant isn't hurt by confusion thanks to Own Tempo (it's really actually probably the best abuser of this ability; I decided to try it out because I hate when a Pokemon's ability goes to waste). Now, I thought about how people generally deal with Lilligant, and obviously the first thing that comes to mind are Fire- or Steel-types, due to the fact that Lilligant needs to choose between Hidden Power Fire (which leaves it vulnerable to Fire-types) and Hidden Power Rock (this is when Steel-types become bothersome). I decided it would be entertaining to try and absolutely maximize Lilligant's offensive potential so that it can push through Grass resists with a Grass-type move, and it works. I prefer running Hidden Power Fire on this set due to the omnipresence of Escavalier, and since it commonly run Sleep Talk and can easily strike Lilligant down, it seemed more important to me that I target it. However, Hidden Power Rock is of course still an option, if Moltres and Scyther are massive pains for your team. Anyway enough babbling, let me show you the true definition of "flower power" (you'll have to excuse me for the terrible pun). I decided to use a Grass Gem to push through the Pokemon that could normally take a Petal Dance, and although it's only single use, its only purpose is to overwhelm the resist once; you can sweep the leftover Pokemon unhindered with the boost from Quiver Dance. I chose to use a Modest nature on Lilligant for my team since I initially lacked Spikes, however if you do pack Spikes with this Lilligant then a Timid nature is perfectly alright so that you don't get revenge killed by Scarf Rotom-F. This last Pokemon should see a decline in usage though if Hail leaves the tier... anyway on to some damage calcs!

+1 252+ SpA Grass Gem Lilligant Petal Dance vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Emboar: 303-357 (83.93 - 98.89%) -- 75% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

Here we see the most common way to deal with Lilligant outsped and OHKOd three out of four times after a simple switch in to Stealth Rock, any other residual damage such as Hail, Spikes, Flare Blitz recoil, a U-Turn or something similar will guarantee the OHKO.

+1 252+ SpA Grass Gem Lilligant Petal Dance vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Entei: 272-321 (73.31 - 86.52%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

Entei is another common way to deal with Lilligant: although the damage output is impressive, do be aware that ExtremeSpeed will still go before you and do a ton of damage. Not as cool a calc, but I'm mainly just showing off the power here ;)

+1 252+ SpA Grass Gem Lilligant Petal Dance vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Tangrowth: 372-438 (92.07 - 108.41%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
+1 252+ SpA Grass Gem Lilligant Petal Dance vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Sceptile: 246-290 (87.54 - 103.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
+1 252+ SpA Grass Gem Lilligant Petal Dance vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Rotom-C: 202-238 (83.81 - 98.75%) -- 75% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

These calcs aren't really relevant if you run Hidden Power Fire, as it still outdamages Petal Dance. Useful if you run Hidden Power Rock though.

+1 252+ SpA Grass Gem Lilligant Petal Dance vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Clefable: 331-391 (84.01 - 99.23%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+1 252+ SpA Grass Gem Lilligant Petal Dance vs. 248 HP / 252+ SpD Spiritomb: 294-346 (97.02 - 114.19%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
+1 252+ SpA Grass Gem Lilligant Petal Dance vs. 248 HP / 244+ SpD Gallade: 283-334 (83.48 - 98.52%) -- 31.25% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

Here are some calcs against some of the most specially bulky Pokemon in the tier. As you can see, they all fair pretty poorly against a juiced up Petal Dance, and will be KOd with a little previous damage. And remember, if you're not boosted up yet, you can just outspeed them, sleep them, and proceed to use them as setup fodder :)

Also just to show you that you don't lose any notable KOs by lacking Life Orb, I've decided to include some Hidden Power calcs here (keep in mind with a Modest nature, if you want to use Timid make sure that you have some Spikes support)

+1 252+ SpA Lilligant Hidden Power Fire vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Eviolite Ferroseed: 340-400 (116.43 - 136.98%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+1 252+ SpA Lilligant Hidden Power Fire vs. 248 HP / 252+ SpD Escavalier: 316-372 (92.12 - 108.45%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
+1 252+ SpA Lilligant Hidden Power Fire vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Eviolite Scyther: 180-214 (52.47 - 62.39%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock

What scares me is that this Lilligant, if using a Timid nature, pretty much just runs through the Hail team I used to get reqs (pretty much the standard Hail offense team of today). I'll be fair and not list the Grass Gem here, as it can only be used once anyway. Let me show you...

+1 252 SpA Lilligant Hidden Power Fire vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Snover: 616-728 (190.12 - 224.69%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+1 252 SpA Lilligant Petal Dance vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Glaceon: 273-322 (81.73 - 96.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
+1 252 SpA Lilligant Petal Dance vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Rotom-F: 246-291 (102.07 - 120.74%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+1 252 SpA Lilligant Petal Dance vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Golurk: 626-740 (163.87 - 193.71%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+1 252 SpA Lilligant Hidden Power Fire vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Escavalier: 388-460 (113.11 - 134.11%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+1 252 SpA Lilligant Petal Dance vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Slowking: 476-564 (121.11 - 143.51%) -- guaranteed OHKO

To think that it outspeeds all of them except for Scarf Rotom-F without a Quiver Dance boost, which means that it can sleep 5/6 mons and set up on them, and proceed to ohko my entire team... yeah im glad I didnt face this on the ladder. Give it a try people!

 

[Goutland]

I can attest to petal dance Lilligant's effectiveness, as I used it on my team that I got reqs with. I used a timid nature, with HP rock and lum berry for more setup opportunities, and it still proved to be effective. Grass gem is a really cool option I never thought about, and the calcs really show how it can get past those resists and specially bulky mons. I often relied on getting to +2 or weakening my opponent's team first in order to sweep with Lilligant, but now I kinda want to try out grass gem. I would rather not use modest though, since scarf Rotom-F is still a thing.

It might seem hard to pass up the recovery of giga drain, but with petal dance's outrage strong power, the difference is huge. It's worth noting that petal dance is even stronger than a super effective hidden power if not resisted. Once you get rid of your opponent's priority and fire/steel types (depending on your hidden power), this thing is almost unstoppable if you can find an opportunity to set up.

 

[EonX]

Hmmmm, well, I wouldn't say that this offensive core is very similar to Molk's, but I find that it works pretty well in the current metagame:

Mesprit @ Life Orb
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Calm Mind
- Psyshock
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam

Emboar (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Blaze
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Flare Blitz
- Superpower
- Wild Charge
- Sleep Talk

Samurott (F) @ Life Orb
Trait: Torrent
EVs: 84 Atk / 180 SAtk / 244 Spd
Naive Nature (+Spd, -SDef)
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Grass Knot / Hidden Power [Grass]
- Megahorn

As you could probably already guess, this is built around letting either Emboar or Mesprit sweep in the late-game. Samurott is an incredible wallbreaker in the tier right now as it 2HKOes p. much anything with the right move. Hydro Pump just flat nukes stuff. Even Qwilfish gets 2HKOed and it resists the move! Ice Beam covers Druddigon really well as well as being a deterent for Grass-types that would otherwise switch-in on Samurott at will. Grass Knot says screw you to Alomomola and most other bulky Water-types in the tier with the lone exception of Lanturn (which you could use HP Grass for). Megahorn lets Samurott shine as one of the few Water-types that can actually beat Slowking one-on-one. As Samurott really forces bulky Water-types to take heavy, if not lethal, damage, it really sets the stage for Emboar to sweep late-game or have an easier time knocking out Steel-types who have nothing to turn to once Samurott has dispatched opposing Water-types. And what do Steel-types tend to deal with well? Mesprit. With Samurott and Emboar around to crush the majority of the tier, CM Mesprit really gets a chance to shine. With Steel-types and bulky Pokemon in general (such as Regirock and Clefable) out of the way, nothing can really stop CM Mesprit once it sets up as its coverage is absolutely amazing. Scarf users can be problematic since Emboar is one of the slowest Scarf users in RU, but a sturdy defensive core is a really good way to cover for this issue. Of course, Spikes support is amazing for this core since p. much everything that wants to switch into these three are grounded. Ferroseed and Roselia are both really solid for that thanks to the defensive synergy they share with this core. Ferroseed even provides paralysis support to make the deal even sweeter!

 

[DittoCrow]

Four-Moveslot Syndrome

Four-moveslot syndrome is used to describe a Pokemon that has many good moves to choose from but is only allowed to have four at a time. For example, Clefable would be a Pokemon with 4mss, because as much as it would like to use all of Wish / Protect / Toxic / Softboiled / Seismic Toss / Thunder Wave / Heal Bell / Fire Blast / Ice Beam / Thunderbolt / Calm Mind / Stealth Rock, it can't use them all at once :(. Because there is such a variety of threats in RU and many Pokmon have diverse movepools, 4mss is common. What I want to discuss is which Pokemon have 4mss, how they overcome it, "staple" moves, and which moves are better in certain situations. I'll start:

Ferroseed has a great set of support moves. The ones that I consider using are Spikes, Leech Seed, Thunder Wave, Gyro Ball, Seed Bomb, Stealth Rock, and Protect. I think that Spikes and Leech Seed are generally considered staple moves, since those are the most useful that Ferroseed has to offer. If my team is on the slow side, I usually pick Thunder Wave for the third move, unless I already have a few different status moves like Toxic. I could also choose Stealth Rock for this slot, but since it's usually just a one-use move, I don't use it on Ferroseed unless it's absolutely necessary. Therefore I would either go with Protect to scout the opponent and gain more HP from Leech Seed or run 2 attacks: Gyro Ball + Seed Bomb. Gyro Ball is generally the more useful attack, but Seed Bomb is great for dealing with Water-type threats, especially Crawdaunt and Walrein. That's basically how I work out what to use on Ferroseed.

 

[dcae]

Sigilyph @ Life Orb
Trait: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Timid Nature
- Calm Mind
- Psychic
- Heat Wave
- Air Slash

This is a set I've been using a lot recently, and I've really enjoyed it. It's quite fast compared to the RU metagame in general, and has good power behind its moves. It can't do much to Slowking, but it does good work on frailer mons. Against offensive teams, it can be very deadly, while against defensive teams, it can take status and CM up to start dealing massive damage. I've found this set to be quite fun to use. Immunity to status and Rocks means this thing can switch in and out like nobody's business. With hazards support and at +1, a lot of mons keel over to Sigilyph, taking into account its good coverage.

I find this is Sigilyph's best set in the metagame, and is arguably its bread and butter set atm due to how well it copes with with current threats. What are your opinions on CM Sigilyph? I'm interested to see how people treat this mon.

 

[Molk]

Four-Moveslot Syndrome

Four-moveslot syndrome is used to describe a Pokemon that has many good moves to choose from but is only allowed to have four at a time. For example, Clefable would be a Pokemon with 4mss, because as much as it would like to use all of Wish / Protect / Toxic / Softboiled / Seismic Toss / Thunder Wave / Heal Bell / Fire Blast / Ice Beam / Thunderbolt / Calm Mind / Stealth Rock, it can't use them all at once :(. Because there is such a variety of threats in RU and many Pokmon have diverse movepools, 4mss is common. What I want to discuss is which Pokemon have 4mss, how they overcome it, "staple" moves, and which moves are better in certain situations. I'll start:

Ferroseed has a great set of support moves. The ones that I consider using are Spikes, Leech Seed, Thunder Wave, Gyro Ball, Seed Bomb, Stealth Rock, and Protect. I think that Spikes and Leech Seed are generally considered staple moves, since those are the most useful that Ferroseed has to offer. If my team is on the slow side, I usually pick Thunder Wave for the third move, unless I already have a few different status moves like Toxic. I could also choose Stealth Rock for this slot, but since it's usually just a one-use move, I don't use it on Ferroseed unless it's absolutely necessary. Therefore I would either go with Protect to scout the opponent and gain more HP from Leech Seed or run 2 attacks: Gyro Ball + Seed Bomb. Gyro Ball is generally the more useful attack, but Seed Bomb is great for dealing with Water-type threats, especially Crawdaunt and Walrein. That's basically how I work out what to use on Ferroseed.

hmmmmm yeah, 4mss can be quite annoying when teambuilding to be honest, and its one of the main obstacles i face when building a team most of the time, especially when there are good Pokemon in the tier that sort of struggle with 4mss :/. Anyways, heres an example of a common Pokemon that (imo) struggles with 4mss.

Ironically another Spiker, Qwilfish has quite a bit of trouble with 4mss because of all the viable utility moves it could possibly be running. It just really wishes it could have Spikes, Taunt, Waterfall, Thunder Wave, Toxic Spikes, Pain Split, Haze, Destiny Bond, and hell maybe even Poison Jab in one set, but alas, it cannot, and therefore every team has to find the 4 moves they probably need the most on Qwilfish. Personally, i think that Spikes and Waterfall are the two staple moves on Qwilfish that should be on it most of, if not all of the time. Spikes is a great utility move to have and Qwilfish is one of the best users of it, so outside of maybe a hail team that can't afford to run dual spikes i think Spikes should be on Qwilfish pretty much 100% of the time. Waterfall gives Qwilfish something to do when it doesn't want to/can't set up Spikes or use any other utility moves, and lets it wear down Pokemon such as Entei, Kabutops, and Emboar more quickly when needed, definitely an important move. Out of the rest of the moves, i'd say Taunt is probably the move i probably use the most on Qwilfish outside of the first two, its really nice to have that decently fast taunt to stop hazards and set up, especially if you run enough speed creep for lead Smeargle, who can be very, very annoying otherwise if you're unprepared. As for the last move, for me its usually a choice between Thunder Wave and Toxic Spikes, depending on what my team needs more: paralysis, or that poison, but i've also used Pain Split, Haze, and Destiny bond to good effect if i don't specifically need either of those moves.

 

[Goutland]

One of the biggest cases of 4mss imo:

And to a lesser extent (due to less bulk and more often being used as an offensive mon):

Both pokemon, boasting great offensive and support movepools, often have trouble picking just four. If you've ever tried using any Uxie set besides the standard support and sub CM, you'll quickly realize that sacrifices need to be made in order to fit moves such as heal bell, reflect, light screen, sunny day/rain dance, memento, and yawn onto your pokemon. And that's not even including its standard options in psychic, stealth rock, u-turn, and thunder wave. Stealth rock can be given up if you have it on another mon, but let's face it: stealth rock is one of the main reasons to use Uxie in the first place. Just adding dual screens to that completely bogs up your moveset and forces you to sacrifice either your psychic stab or momentum gaining ability in u-turn/memento (memento sacrificing Uxie in the process). You'll be kicking yourself when you choose u-turn for momentum and Hitmonlee comes in to wreck your team, or you choose psychic and you can't u-turn out of their predicted switch to Spiritomb. Even just trying to add heal bell or a weather move to your set can screw you over if you decide to give up thunder wave, as fast threats you can't beat 1 on 1 (such as Moltres, Lilligant, and Sceptile) will walk all over you if you can't cripple them.

 

[Limitless]

I figured that I'd post this, since I found it extremely enjoyable and surprisingly decent to use. Obviously, the idea of the team is to setup Tailwind and then just let the hard hitters do work. An important element that I strove towards, after many edits to the team, was to add great resistances that complimented each other. This is particularly important when I wasn't able to setup a Tailwind. All that I'd have to do is send in something that can take a hit, and then just clobber.

I was able to get requirements with relative ease, so anyone is welcome to use it. :D

Hide

Aerodactyl @ Focus Sash
Trait: Unnerve
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 HP
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt
- Tailwind
- Stone Edge

Sigilyph @ Life Orb
Trait: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 Spd / 252 HP
Modest Nature
- Psychic
- Heat Wave
- Air Slash
- Tailwind

Crawdaunt (M) @ Choice Band
Trait: Adaptability
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 HP / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Crunch
- Waterfall
- Superpower
- Crabhammer

Druddigon @ Choice Band
Trait: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Outrage
- Dragon Claw
- Superpower

Durant @ Choice Band
Trait: Hustle
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Iron Head
- X-Scissor
- Superpower
- Rock Slide

Cinccino @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Skill Link
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Seed
- Rock Blast
- Tail Slap
- U-turn

 

[atomicllamas]

Lilligant, Magneton, and Drud are bros

Sorry this is so late, but I think that a great teammate to this core could be standard support Uxie

Uxie @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 152 Def / 104 Spd
Bold Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Psychic
- U-turn
- Thunder Wave

Not only does it provide rocks for this core and the rest of the team, but it also does cool shit like lure in Escavalier, and U-turn to Magneton to trap and kill it. It also forms a volt-turn core with Magneton, which is an extremely effective core to use. Druddigon really appreciates the paralysis support, allowing him to outspeed mons that usually would come in to revenge kill. I might have to try this core out soon :o

 

[EonX]

I think it's safe to say that if Gallade could use more than 4 moves, it wouldn't be in RU for very long. Gallade has always been a major offensive threat (and a defensive one too as of late!) but p. much every offensive Gallade suffers from 4MSS. It would love to run Close Combat / Drain Punch, Psycho Cut / Zen Headbutt, Night Slash, Leaf Blade, Shadow Sneak, Ice Punch, Stone Edge, Substitute / Swords Dance / Bulk Up on the same set, but it can't of course. As I've used Gallade off and on a lot for the past year or so, I do go through a process as to selecting which moves to utilize. Swords Dance is almost a shoe-in as it's the best boosting move Gallade has. From there, I choose my Fighting STAB based on how I want to play it. If I want raw power and less dependency on boosting up to crush things, then I'll pick Close Combat. If I want more flexibility in play, then Drain Punch is my answer. Psycho Cut usually gets the nod as the ability to run through Amoonguss, Qwilfish, and opposing Fighting-types is just too good to pass up. Then, the dreaded coverage choice. Generally, it comes down to Night Slash and Leaf Blade for me as I really, really want to have coverage on Slowking. This is where I usually look at what my teammates already handle. Can they deal with Uxie and Mesprit? Or are they better off against Alomomola and Quagsire? (the latter walls Gallade otherwise thanks to Unaware) If they deal with Uxie and Mesprit well enough, Leaf Blade gets the nod. If they handle Alomomola and Quagsire better, Night Slash gets chosen (usually, Night Slash is picked)

 

[Celever]

I find a big case of 4MSS is Lanturn.

However I would like to bring up rain.
I have being testing rain and it is incredibly good, and it makes pokemon such as Carracosta very good in this tier. With everyone talking about how hail is destroyed by rain (just saying that's untrue) in the suspect discussion what do you guys think of it?

Ludicolo @ Leftovers
Trait: Rain Dish
EVs: 252 SDef / 252 HP / 4 Def
Calm Nature
- Leech Seed
- Toxic
- Rain Dance
- Protect

This is my favourite set in RU currently. This thing walls incredibly - it takes roughly 50% from bug buzz off Galvantula (I think it was scarf, but idrk) making it a 3HKO considering leftovers, and a 4HKO if rain is up and you use leech seed (and the you protect) and that shows just how amazing this is. On my rain team this Ludicolo has literally gone from 4-1 to 0-1 and this has gained me so many wins. Obviously taunt destroys it so I need to make sure that anything that might use it is gone first, bu once they have this thing stalls incredibly well. Sometimes finding chances to use Toxic is difficult but if you can force a switch this set works much better. Rain dish doesn't recover lots of health on its own, but it means that most of the time you will be gaining 1/8 (12%) each turn anyways, then you have leech seed boosting it to 2/8 each turn (24%) and then with protect that is essentially 4/8 (48%) so pretty much half. then you have a minimum of 24% (I think) with leech seed and toxic coming off the target and you have got a serious wall here.

 

[Turtleye]

Rain is really good in RU because there are so many mons that take advantagr of it. I recently made a RMT rain team and since I got Seisimitoad on it, I have lost only one out of 12 matches. But basically anything that can spam Thunder/Hurricane fits onto rain, along eith Swift Swimmers and Rain Dish and Hydration users. So I use Specs Moltres, as nothing that doesnt resist it will be 2/1HKO'd, bar SpDef Slowking, which is 3HKO'd. Also, Durant and Escavalier also fit onto Rain teams due to the fact that their biggest weakness is halved down. I can't really show examples of Pokemons since I am on my tablet, hence the spelling mistakes.

 

[DittoCrow]

More 4mss:

Kabutops often struggles with 4mss, at least for me. The moves it wants to run are: Rapid Spin, Stone Edge, Aqua Jet, Waterfall, and Swords Dance, and sometimes Superpower or Stealth Rock (though I never really consider these two because the others are more important). Rapid Spin is pretty much a staple, as is Stone Edge if you want to beat Ghosts. Waterfall provides good STAB and is more reliable than Stone Edge, especially when you're using Kabutops for something like Smeargle and using a Lum Berry. If I want Kabutops to use Waterfall, I will usually forego Swords Dance. Aqua Jet is really effective in beating Rotom and revenge killing faster Fire-types like Typhlosion and Emboar, so I almost always use that as well because these Pokemon can be difficult to deal with. Basically, the least useful moves for Kabutops in my opinion are Waterfall and Swords Dance, as you can usually just get away with one or the other or replace it with Superpower (to lure Ferroseed) or Stealth Rock (if you desperately need an SR setter).


Priority

This also leads me to the discussion of priority moves. Moves like Kabutops's Aqua Jet have always been an important part of nearly every RU team, except for stall teams. Priority was extremely important even a year ago to deal with threats like Yanmega and Sharpedo. Priority is so important because there are lots of naturally fast Pokemon like Typhlosion or Sigilyph that have no counters faster than them; it doesn't help that there are a lack of Choice Scarf users either. It is also a reliable way to deal with setup sweepers such as Omastar and Lilligant. Thus, we resort to using moves like Aqua Jet and Sucker Punch to deal with them. I already kinda discussed Kabutops above, so what are your favorite priority users and how important do you think it is to have a priority move on your team?

There are a lot of discussions going on right now so here's a list of them if you were unsure of what to discuss:

• Offensive cores
• Four-moveslot syndrome
• Tailwind
• Rain
• Priority

 

[SilentVerse]

I think my main problem with rain as a playstyle in RU is that it's just so hopelessly linear. There's obviously a ton of incredibly strong abusers of it in the tier (Ludicolo, Kabutops, Specs Moltres, etc), but unlike with perma hail, once rain is gone they just sorta fizzle out and die, so as long as your opponent can stall out the rain. Still, I do think that right now, rain actually does have the potential to be really quite good; it has an excellent matchup against most heavy offense teams in the tier atm, since they lack the ability to outstall rain and generally get torn to shreds by rain-boosted Water-type STAB attacks, and rain does cancel out the manual hail brought on by Snover, which is obviously nice considering that hail is incredibly common on the ladder right now. However, the fact that the most common Pokemon in RU right now is Slowking, who takes a complete dump on rain, makes me rather reluctant to actually use it for anything serious, since if the opponent has Slowking and actually plays it well, you're going to have an absurdly difficult time winning, especially if they have another rain check. idk, I can't really just bring myself to play a teamstyle that's so blatantly based on team matchups, even if it is incredibly strong vs some of the most popular team archetypes atm.

 

[Molk]

One of my favorite priority users at the moment is probably Entei with its powerful ExtremeSpeed. As Swamp-Rocket mentioned above, Entei's always been a pretty good Pokemon in RU, and its access to a decently powerful Extremespeed is a pretty big part of it imo, as it lets it take out dangerous threats such as Lilligant, Manectric, Sceptile, Rotom-C, Accelgor, Medicham, Hitmonlee, and Galvantula after a little bit of prior damage, making it an exceptionally good revenge killer and late game cleaner. All without relying on a Choice Scarf, making its Flare Blitz that much scarier because Entei can run a Choice Band and still reliably revenge kill faster threats. One of the coolest things about Entei's ExtremeSpeed aside from its power (imo) is the fact that its ExtremeSpeed actually has +2 Priority instead of +1! This means Entei's ExtremeSpeed goes before pretty much any priority in the tier (including Prankster), ensuring other Pokemon with priority can't snipe Entei before it can pull that ExtremeSpeed off. Of course, Entei's ExtremeSpeed Doesn't defend against everything, and Pokemon such as Durant and Omastar can still plow through a team at will even with Entei being able to ExtremeSpeed them because of their resist to the move, ensuring a team relying on Entei to revenge kill prepares for these threats as well, but Entei is still one of the best priority users in the tier, and i don't think that'll change any time soon.

 

[EonX]

This is actually going to tie in to two things at once. First of all, Absol is a great priority user in the current metagame and one of the reasons Choice Scarf Emboar is so good. LO/Dread Plate Sucker Punch coming from Absol hurts really damn badly and is able to take out just about any offensive Pokemon in RU that doesn't resist it and is at or below 50%. Even frailer resists such as Hitmonlee (watch out for Mach Punch!) and Choice Scarf Emboar take a pretty hefty hit for a resisted one. Absol is certainly one of the scariest threats an offensive team can face due to the sheer power of its STAB Sucker Punch. However, Absol also has a case of 4mss. It has a crucial choice to make for its final move as it has to choose between Pursuit trapping or luring in physical walls with Fire Blast. Both are really cool moves on Absol depending on what its teammates desire more, but it's virtually impossible to fit both of them onto the same set. With Pursuit, Absol becomes a deadly weapon against defensive teams that rely heavily on Slowking and Uxie to support their team while an Absol with Fire Blast can easily set the stage for something like Druddigon, Klinklang, or Mesprit to come in and clean house as it removes Steel-types and physical walls (bar Alomomola and Poliwrath) with relative ease. In spite of this, Absol's 4mss actually leads to some flexibility with its main set. With Fire Blast, Absol can run Life Orb to ramp up the power of its 2 coverage moves, but it can be a bit more conservative and run Dread Plate if it decides to run Pursuit instead of Fire Blast, something that Molk can attest to being very effective.

 

[Mylo Xyloto]

Roselia, another pokemon that suffers from the 4mss. Ideally I'd like to use Spikes, Toxic Spikes, Giga Drain, Sludge Bomb, Hidden Power Fire, Sleep Powder, Rest, Aromatherapy in one moveset. Unfortunately, that isnt possible. Roselia whould be an excellent utility mon on every team that needs hazards / cleric support. The Spikes, Rest, Sludge Bomb and Giga Drain combo is pretty much used the most since it effectively sets up spikes and can check numerous grass types as well as some special attackers. With great defences and eviolite, Roselia can be a cleric on more defensively orientated teams. Another combo that effectively works is Toxic Spikes and Sleep Powder with either both STABs or a STAB and recovery. With Sleep Powder and Spikes being illegal, Roselia must resort to Toxic Spikes. Toxic Spikes is really cool in the Queen-less meta where more bulkier and slower teams reign. Pokemon like Slowking hate toxic thus Roselia makes a great team mate for may fire threats.

Which playstyle do you guys feel is the most viable?

 

[Molk]

Which playstyle do you guys feel is the most viable?

Hmmmmmm outside of like hail shenanigans, i'd have to say that while pretty much any playstyle is viable in RU imo (from ultra offensive to full stall), my favorite playstyle to use and probably the one i've had the most success with overall is bulky offense. RU has all kinds of viable and effective Pokemon such as Druddigon, Slowking, Tangrowth, Aggron, Escavalier, and Golurk that fit very well onto bulky offensive teams: being able to take hits and check/counter common threats such as Sceptile, Lilligant, Hitmonlee, Cinccino, Kabutops, and Feraligatr while also packing quite a bit of a punch of their own, ensuring they aren't sitting ducks and can pull their weight when theres a need to do damage to the opposing team, possibly even sweeping themselves. Between Pokemon like this, the many common bulky Spikes setters such as Qwilfish, Ferroseed, and Roselia to choose from, revenge killers to take out what can get past the bulky Pokemon such as Entei, Emboar and Rotom-C, who can even take a hit themselves because of alright natural bulk i find it relatively easy to make a solid bulky offensive team in this metagame, and all the bulky offensive teams i've made since the end of the Nidoqueen metagame have been pretty effective =).

 

[EonX]

Yeah, I've got to agree with Molk on Bulky Offense being the most effective playstyle in RU right now. I think that this started to take shape a little less than a year ago (I'd say late September-ish of last year) where threats such as Slowking, Druddigon, and Emboar began to rise in usage as these Pokemon in particular could handle Nidoqueen and still take some hits while not giving up offensive presence. Perhaps the biggest signal to the coming of Bulky Offense teams being the most effective was the rise of one set in particular; Bulky SD Gallade. If you had asked most people around July of last year if such a set was even possible, most would have probably said "no way" since Gallade had almost always been a pure offesnive Pokemon. However, the set began to rise around this time last year iirc and has become one of, if not the, staple sets Gallade runs these days. While every playstyle is certainly viable in RU (perhaps moreso than any other tier) and most Pokemon can fit into a variety of playstyles depending on their set, I believe bulky offense to be the easiest to pull off due to the bulk of offensive threats such as Druddigon, Escavalier, Gallade, and Entei. Even Scarf users such as Emboar, Rotom-C, and Braviary can take a hit or two if need be in order to revenge kill their targets.

 

[Molk]

Now that discussion's died down a little bit, i might as well post another core that's been working pretty effectively for me in the current metagame (actually, i'm using it on the same team i used the last core i posted on, and it even shares a pokemon!). I've found this core to be pretty effective when it comes to wallbreaking, and the two Pokemon cover their flaws and beat their checks and counters pretty effectively if you ask me.

Slowking @ Choice Specs
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 4 Def / 248 SAtk / 8 Spd
Modest Nature
- Surf
- Psyshock
- Fire Blast
- Trick

Druddigon @ Choice Band
Trait: Rough Skin
EVs: 196 HP / 252 Atk / 60 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Outrage
- Sucker Punch
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake

Choice Specs Slowking+CB Druddigon is a pretty formidable offensive core in the current metagame imo, and i don't think its too hard to see why: both Specs Slowking and Choice Band Druddigon are well known for being powerful/threatening bulky wallbreakers, and they happen to cover each other pretty nicely, both offensively and defensively. For example: Druddigon has a little bit of trouble with things such as Steelix early on the game, who Slowking can switch into pretty easily and force out with the threat of a Choice Specs Surf or Fire Blast, either doing serious damage to a teammate or weakening/eliminating Druddigon's check, making it easier for Druddigon to break opponents down later on. Druddigon has no trouble handing many of the Grass- and Electric-types that trouble Slowking, such as Lilligant, Rotom-C, and Manectric, and can use them as free opportunities to let loose a powerful Outrage. Druddigon can also threaten opposing Slowking that can cause annoying stalemates for Specs Slowking, switching in on them without anything to fear but a scald burn or a random Specs Ice Beam and just letting loose an Outrage. In Return, Slowking can take many of the Ice-type moves from things such as Glaceon and Cryogonal that threaten to OHKO Druddigon, and use them as opportunities to destroy something with Surf. Another thing that Slowking+Druddigon can do pretty well is wear down opposing Escavalier for each other. Escav can be pretty annoying for both king and drudd with its ability to Pursuit trap and take an Outrage while KOing back, respectively, but because of its lack of recovery and 4x weakness to Fire Blast it often has trouble staying alive long enough to check both Slowking and Druddigon reliably, especially when all the moves being used by them are boosted by either Choice Band or Choice Specs, causing trouble if Escavalier is the team's only reliable way of dealing with either. Overall, i've had a lot of fun with Slowking+Druddigon lately, and its been working exceptionally effectively for me, has anyone else tried a core similar to this? If so, how did it go? How do you go about handling this core and other similar ones?

 

[ScraftyIsTheBest]

Okay, here's a long as fuck post.

As for priority users,

Feraligatr, Kabutops, and Samurott are all great priority users, and as of now Aqua Jet is probably one of the better priority moves to use atm. With Swords Dance boosts, these three hit very hard and Aqua Jet is great to revenge kill opponents such as Archeops, Scolipede, and Cinccino. It's pretty nice to pick off many faster teams, although Sceptile and Lilligant can get in the way at times. These three make great revenge killers and sweepers too. They also have strong moves such as Waterfall, Stone Edge, and Megahorn, which means they also handle bulkier threats rather well, which is nice. These three easily make good priority users atm.

Here's a good example of a Pokemon I feel has 4MSS:

Durant is a Pokemon I feel is greatly strapped for moveslots. It wants Hone Claws to boost its accuracy, but it also wants its STAB moves, Rock Slide, Superpower, and Thunder Fang. It will usually be short on coverage options, and it needs all the moves it has. If it decides to run all four attacks, then I miss out on Hone Claws; this means Durant will have a lot of issues with missing at important times, which can often lead to Durant's demise given how frail it is. Durant also wants Rock Slide to handle Fire-types such as Moltres and Entei, while it absolutely needs Superpower if it plans on getting past Steelix anytime soon. It also wants Thunder Fang to be able to deal consistent damage to Poliwrath, who would otherwise do very well against Durant. Durant can often find itself short on options to sweep the whole tier, and this is another Pokemon I feel has 4MSS.

Now that discussion's died down a little bit, i might as well post another core that's been working pretty effectively for me in the current metagame (actually, i'm using it on the same team i used the last core i posted on, and it even shares a pokemon!). I've found this core to be pretty effective when it comes to wallbreaking, and the two Pokemon cover their flaws and beat their checks and counters pretty effectively if you ask me.

Slowking @ Choice Specs
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 4 Def / 248 SAtk / 8 Spd
Modest Nature
- Surf
- Psyshock
- Fire Blast
- Trick

Druddigon @ Choice Band
Trait: Rough Skin
EVs: 196 HP / 252 Atk / 60 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Outrage
- Sucker Punch
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake

Choice Specs Slowking+CB Druddigon is a pretty formidable offensive core in the current metagame imo, and i don't think its too hard to see why: both Specs Slowking and Choice Band Druddigon are well known for being powerful/threatening bulky wallbreakers, and they happen to cover each other pretty nicely, both offensively and defensively. For example: Druddigon has a little bit of trouble with things such as Steelix early on the game, who Slowking can switch into pretty easily and force out with the threat of a Choice Specs Surf or Fire Blast, either doing serious damage to a teammate or weakening/eliminating Druddigon's check, making it easier for Druddigon to break opponents down later on. Druddigon has no trouble handing many of the Grass- and Electric-types that trouble Slowking, such as Lilligant, Rotom-C, and Manectric, and can use them as free opportunities to let loose a powerful Outrage. Druddigon can also threaten opposing Slowking that can cause annoying stalemates for Specs Slowking, switching in on them without anything to fear but a scald burn or a random Specs Ice Beam and just letting loose an Outrage. In Return, Slowking can take many of the Ice-type moves from things such as Glaceon and Cryogonal that threaten to OHKO Druddigon, and use them as opportunities to destroy something with Surf. Another thing that Slowking+Druddigon can do pretty well is wear down opposing Escavalier for each other. Escav can be pretty annoying for both king and drudd with its ability to Pursuit trap and take an Outrage while KOing back, respectively, but because of its lack of recovery and 4x weakness to Fire Blast it often has trouble staying alive long enough to check both Slowking and Druddigon reliably, especially when all the moves being used by them are boosted by either Choice Band or Choice Specs, causing trouble if Escavalier is the team's only reliable way of dealing with either. Overall, i've had a lot of fun with Slowking+Druddigon lately, and its been working exceptionally effectively for me, has anyone else tried a core similar to this? If so, how did it go? How do you go about handling this core and other similar ones?

lol you posted this while I was posting. Anyways, funny how this is a combination of the two best Pokemon in the tier. This combo is pretty good from my experiences, I also like wearing down Escavalier by using Spikes support from Scolipede, who also wears down Tangrowth and Uxie who could take hits from these two, while it also provides Toxic Spikes support, which is great in wearing down things for the two of them to better break down things, because Toxic Spikes are amazing now that Nidoqueen is gone. Roselia also works too. In fact, another variant of Slowking+Druddigon I've used is this:

Slowking @ Life Orb
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
IVs: 0 Spe
Quiet Nature
- Trick Room
- Surf
- Psyshock
- Fire Blast

Druddigon @ Choice Band
Trait: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
IVs: 0 Spe
Brave Nature
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Sucker Punch
- Dragon Claw

This is basically taking advantage of the fact that Slowking and Druddigon are both really slow Pokemon, and twist the dimensions so both of them can sweep. OTR Slowking is a powerful Pokemon that can sweep teams with its power and coverage while Druddigon complements it perfectly. They can wreck down many teams under the Trick Room and have great synergy, so not many teams can handle the combination of these two (Escavalier works too as a secondary wallbreaker). They can easily threaten teams as nothing can really outspeed them under TR except Escavalier, and you can use something like Emboar to handle Escav. These two are just amazing in TR and can easily wreck teams.

Here's another combo I've been using to great success:

Omastar @ Lum Berry
Trait: Weak Armor
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Shell Smash
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power [Grass]

Scolipede @ Salac Berry
Trait: Swarm
EVs: 12 HP / 244 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Substitute
- Megahorn
- Aqua Tail

These two make a great sweeping duo on offensive teams, as they both have great sweeping potential and also have excellent synergy together. Omastar dislikes Grass-types and is also wrecked by Fighting-type moves, both of which Scolipede can come in on effectively and proceed to sweep, while Scolipede is weak to Fire and Flying, which Oma can come in on to sweep. Omastar's STAB also handles Entei and Emboar, while Scolipede's Megahorn maims all the Sceptile, Lilligant, and Rotom-C that can prevent Omastar from succeeding. They also hit both physically (Scolipede) and specially (Omastar), and sweep a lot of the meta. Cinccino can be a bitch at times as can Aerodactyl, but overall these two make a great offensive core.

As for bulky offense, I definitely agree that it's a very viable playstyle. There are a lot of bulky but strong Pokemon in the tier such as Slowking, Druddigon, Golurk, Escavalier, etc. that all fit on bulky offense teams. There are also bulky spikers such as Roselia, Qwilfish, etc. and other fast ones such as Scoli to an extent. Balance though is also pretty good in RU, because we also have faster mons such as Tauros, Scolipede, Sceptile, etc as well as the aforementioned bulky mons, and many Pokemon are viable in the tier, so balanced teams are also pretty damn good in RU atm.

 

[Explorer]

Slowking @ Life Orb
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
IVs: 0 Spe
Quiet Nature
- Trick Room
- Surf
- Psyshock
- Fire Blast

Druddigon @ Choice Band
Trait: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
IVs: 0 Spe
Brave Nature
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Sucker Punch
- Dragon Claw

This is basically taking advantage of the fact that Slowking and Druddigon are both really slow Pokemon, and twist the dimensions so both of them can sweep. OTR Slowking is a powerful Pokemon that can sweep teams with its power and coverage while Druddigon complements it perfectly. They can wreck down many teams under the Trick Room and have great synergy, so not many teams can handle the combination of these two (Escavalier works too as a secondary wallbreaker). They can easily threaten teams as nothing can really outspeed them under TR except Escavalier, and you can use something like Emboar to handle Escav. These two are just amazing in TR and can easily wreck teams.

May I ask why you run Mold Breaker over Rough Skin on Druddigon? For Sturdy Aggron? Or is there something else you're more worried about?

If you wanted another sweeper, I might suggest running Fire Punch over Earthquake on Druddigon and then running this:

Torterra (M) @ Choice Band
Trait: Overgrow
EVs: 252 HP/252 Atk/4 SpD
Nature: Brave
IVs: 0 Spe
-Wood Hammer
-Earthquake
-Stone Edge
-Crunch

Torterra at its most powerful. I suggest Fire Punch over EQ on Druddigon to handle Rotom-C and Escavalier, two of the only threats to Torterra under Trick Room. Emboar is often used here, but Torterra has advantages over it. First off, Torterra forces Slowking out, and under Trick Room, manhandles Entei, Galvantula, Cinccino, and many other things. Torterra also has EdgeQuake, and it can hit Uxie and friends super-effectively and reliably with Crunch (Wood Hammer works too if you can manage the recoil). Like Emboar, it can hit Galvanula and common Hail Pokemon very hard with Stone Edge.

Notice how the two Choice Banders are both weak to ice. Well this was done deliberately; now Slowking has more opportunities to switch in and set up Trick Room.

Torterra is on the rise in RU and is NOT to be underestimated.

As a sidenote, Qwilfish would be a good partner to absorb physical attacks for Slowking to set hazards. Plus its electric weakness lets Druddigon/Torterra make their entrance.

 

[EonX]

Since Scrafty uses Band Druddigon, I assume Mold Breaker is for when he has to lock in on EQ to ensure the likes of Mesprit, Uxie, and Rotom (all formes) don't get a free pass on the move. This is feasible, especially on Mesprit who could be packing Ice Beam to easily 2HKO Druddigon (or OHKO if it has taken a little prior damage and Mesprit is Specs) Besides, it's not like he's using Druddigon defensively nor does Band Druddigon have anything to abuse Sheer Force with. That being said, here's another offensive core that I've liked for quite a while now (some will probably recognize it)

Emboar (M) @ Expert Belt
Trait: Blaze
EVs: 68 Atk / 252 SAtk / 188 Spd
Rash Nature (+SAtk, -SDef)
- Fire Blast
- Superpower
- Grass Knot
- Sleep Talk

Mesprit @ Choice Specs
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 92 HP / 252 SAtk / 164 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Psyshock
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt
- U-turn

Braviary (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Brave Bird
- Superpower
- Return
- U-turn

Yup, Eagle Sparks! (you didn't really think I left this team, did you? lol) This core has worked really well together and shares really good synergy with each other. It's obvious that the goal is to let Choice Scarf Braviary clean up with Brave Bird and Return. So, what better way to do that than with two mixed attackers (effectively since Mesprit runs Psyshock) I recently started using Mixed Emboar with this core, and I've got to say that it actually is pretty neat. It kinda works like Blaziken does in DPP UU; switch-in and blast stuff with its coverage and dual STAB combination. Fire Blast smashes most physical walls (Tangrowth, Steelix, and even Qwilfish) while Superpower handles special walls (Cryogonal, Clefable, and Lanturn to an extent) Grass Knot handles the physical walls that Fire Blast can't; taking out Rhydon, Alomomola, and Poliwrath without much difficulty. It even 2HKOes Slowking after SR + 1 layer of Spikes! Like with Emboar's Choice sets, its coverage is covered for the most part in 3 moves, so I opted to put Sleep Talk on it so Emboar is able to switch into sleep inducers. The best part is that if Emboar wakes up, it isn't royally screwed over due to being choice locked into Sleep Talk. Choice Specs Mesprit is really cool. I run a slightly bulkier set on it since it lets Mesprit handle Gallade a little bit better (as well as Fighting-types in general) With BoltBeam already crushing the likes of Rhydon, Alomomola, and Tangrowth, I opt for Psyshock as the STAB move instead of Psychic so Mesprit can effectively be a mixed attacker. U-turn seals the deal as it lets Mesprit escape Absol, Escavalier, and Spiritomb (all of which Emboar can handle quite nicely) Finally, there's the star in Braviary. Braviary has what Emboar has going for it as a Choice Scarf user; raw power and good 3-move coverage. The key difference is Braviary's higher base 80 Speed and safer cleaning move in Return. Another boon for Braviary is U-turn which can allow it to lure out stuff like Rhydon and Steelix for Emboar and Mesprit to handle. The Stealth Rock weakness for Braviary is a bit of a turnoff, but it actually has pretty decent synergy with Kabutops (minus the shared Electric weakness of course) Tops hates Grass-types and Braviary can pulverize them and even check HP Fire Lilligant.