I really love the team, but one recommendation I might make is that mold breaker>iron fist on pangoro. Since you're using an sd set, mold breaker is really nice for breaking through quagsire and pyu without having to lock yourself into outrage with ttrum, and gives you a secondary answer to them aside from dragalge. Iron fist definitely works as well, but I just wanted to point that out.^ Cant agree more, played few games and theres barely any switchins to TR abusers lol, plus most of the setters can reliably set TR multiple times during the match.
Made a prototype TR team and atm its pretty shitty but worked alright and has some nice sinergy so i wanted to slap here it as 1 of first teams i made for fun
Im not gonna be long with description,I basically started with Cofagrigus as one of most reliable TR setters, using nasty plot with Sball+hp fighting not to be walled by normal types and Pangoro, lefties for longevity, Uxie is a staple at this point considering it has Rocks+Healing Wish or U-turn depending on what you want, great secondary fighting check and ground immunity for team. Pangoro sinergizes well with both since its a ghost resist, SD is great last move bcz pangoro forces a lot of switching and after you setup everything dies, standard coverage+ gunk shot for fairy types.
-Tyrantrum was added bcz it benefits from pangoro breaking steel types, and it also resists flying types for pangoro, and checks bug types for Uxie.
-Dragalge was added for few reasons, i didnt have hazard removal and its tspikes absorber, its another broken dragon type and checks water/fire pokemon, I think Devastating drake Z move might be best for this mon bcz Sludge wave already one shot fairies so might not need choice specs, and you cant afford to get choice locked into draco and allows stuff like slurpuff to setup for free
-Porygon2 was added as last pokemon bcz it blanket checks many special threats like noivern,typhlosion, electric types and some physical, sets TR as well
in general, just some ideas to try for start, team needs lots of improvement ofc :^]
Cofagrigus @ Leftovers
Ability: Mummy
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Nasty Plot
- Shadow Ball
- Hidden Power [Fighting]
Uxie @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 216 Def / 44 Spe
Bold Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Trick Room
- Psychic
- U-turn
Pangoro @ Life Orb
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Swords Dance
- Knock Off
- Hammer Arm
- Gunk Shot
Tyrantrum @ Choice Band
Ability: Rock Head
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Head Smash
- Dragon Claw
- Outrage
- Superpower
Dragalge @ Dragonium Z
Ability: Adaptability
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Draco Meteor
- Dragon Pulse
- Sludge Wave
- Focus Blast
Porygon2 @ Eviolite
Ability: Trace
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
- Trick Room
- Recover
-
Welcome to Smogon! Take a moment to read the Introduction to Smogon for a run-down on everything Smogon, and make sure you take some time to read the global rules.
-
Congrats to the winners of the 2023 Smog Awards!
Metagame SM NU Alpha Discussion (read post #153)
- Thread starter shiloh
- Start date
- Status
6ft Torbjorn
formerly JoycapJoshST
Well, that was the haxiest bloody ladder session I've ever been in... ugh...
Pardon my British frustration. In the meantime, I'd like to bring up a mon that has served me well among the game that we all love to hate:
Sableye @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 8 Atk / 248 SpD
Careful Nature
- Knock Off
- Will-O-Wisp
- Taunt
- Recover
Of course, the Prankster nerf is the reason that this little goblin has ended up in NU. However, with the ability to Knock things off and pesudo-stallbreak with TauntWisp - I wouldn't call it a huge bugger. In my experiences, I have also found this thing to be an excellent check to Necrozma (a mon people seem to fear the thought of being in NU) thanks to Taunt and the immunity to Psychic STAB. For those that remember XY - I don't think I should need to go into horrendous amounts of detail on this set. IMO Sab will make a excellent addition to NU, and should settle in well as blanket disruption.
Oh and Yanmega is braindead. Don't @ me.
Pardon my British frustration. In the meantime, I'd like to bring up a mon that has served me well among the game that we all love to hate:
Sableye @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 8 Atk / 248 SpD
Careful Nature
- Knock Off
- Will-O-Wisp
- Taunt
- Recover
Of course, the Prankster nerf is the reason that this little goblin has ended up in NU. However, with the ability to Knock things off and pesudo-stallbreak with TauntWisp - I wouldn't call it a huge bugger. In my experiences, I have also found this thing to be an excellent check to Necrozma (a mon people seem to fear the thought of being in NU) thanks to Taunt and the immunity to Psychic STAB. For those that remember XY - I don't think I should need to go into horrendous amounts of detail on this set. IMO Sab will make a excellent addition to NU, and should settle in well as blanket disruption.
Oh and Yanmega is braindead. Don't @ me.
Felt like posting a couple sets ive been messing around with that have had some success
Moltres @ Grassium Z
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Agility
- Fire Blast
- Hurricane
- Solar Beam
This thing is a monster, puts in work every game (probably bc like only p2 can handle it). I like it more than zard i think bc it doesnt necessarily need to use the z move immediately to be a threat.
Hitmonlee @ Normal Gem
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- High Jump Kick
- Knock Off
- Rapid Spin
- Fake Out
This thing is actually pretty neat since the metagame is so fast atm. U could prolly try ada but i like outspeeding stuff like jolly sawk, modest rotom-c etc without being forced to fake out and waste my item
Sceptile @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 76 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 176 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Substitute
- Leaf Blade
- Acrobatics
sceptile was my baby in xy and now it's back <3. still incredibly good. 100% rain/sun counter (which is why i fell in love with it). speed is for base 110s. bulk has come in handy so i would recommend not changing that
Fun to see what everyone else has come up with, most notably A TRICK ROOM TEAM NOT WEAK TO TSPIKES. love u PrinceLucian
Moltres @ Grassium Z
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Agility
- Fire Blast
- Hurricane
- Solar Beam
This thing is a monster, puts in work every game (probably bc like only p2 can handle it). I like it more than zard i think bc it doesnt necessarily need to use the z move immediately to be a threat.
Hitmonlee @ Normal Gem
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- High Jump Kick
- Knock Off
- Rapid Spin
- Fake Out
This thing is actually pretty neat since the metagame is so fast atm. U could prolly try ada but i like outspeeding stuff like jolly sawk, modest rotom-c etc without being forced to fake out and waste my item
Sceptile @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 76 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 176 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Substitute
- Leaf Blade
- Acrobatics
sceptile was my baby in xy and now it's back <3. still incredibly good. 100% rain/sun counter (which is why i fell in love with it). speed is for base 110s. bulk has come in handy so i would recommend not changing that
Fun to see what everyone else has come up with, most notably A TRICK ROOM TEAM NOT WEAK TO TSPIKES. love u PrinceLucian
Hey, just wanted to discuss a few things I have observed while playing NU alpha.
Kadabra @ Focus Sash
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Psychic
- Shadow Ball
- Dazzling Gleam/Encore
- Counter
With the addition of counter(thanks to gen 1 transfer moves), Kadabra can finally check and KO old and new physical threats more easily, or threats that it could not check in the past such as Tauros, Archeops, Scyther, and Drapion. Thanks to counter and/or its focus sash, kadabra is a great emergency check to other threats such as sun sweepers(victreebel, shiftry, leafeon), and set-up sweepers such as slurpuff(!!), Minior, and Tyrantrum. Although Kadabra likely won't be too relevant of a pokemon as the tier develops, I just found that it can provide offense a great check to so many different threats(but not all at once ofc).
Abomasnow @ Life Orb
Ability: Snow Warning
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Mild Nature
- Blizzard
- Giga Drain
- Ice Shard
- Earthquake/Focus Blast
Abomasnow @ Life Orb
Ability: Snow Warning/Soundproof
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Lonely Nature
- Swords Dance
- Wood Hammer/ Seed Bomb
- Ice Shard
- Blizzard/Earthquake
Abomasnow is a good anti-meta pokemon in my opinion. This guy can seriously dent the likes of necrozma, moltres, and even Porygon2(if carrying focus blast, but it isn't very reliable as we all know), while revenge killing dodrio and other weakened threats with ice shard. What makes it so great is that traditional grass checks such as golbat, vileplume, and draglage all get blasted by blizzard(or a boosted ice shard), while traditional ice-type checks such as Assault Vest Hariyama and Emboar get hammered by a wood hammer or earthquake.
Kadabra @ Focus Sash
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Psychic
- Shadow Ball
- Dazzling Gleam/Encore
- Counter
With the addition of counter(thanks to gen 1 transfer moves), Kadabra can finally check and KO old and new physical threats more easily, or threats that it could not check in the past such as Tauros, Archeops, Scyther, and Drapion. Thanks to counter and/or its focus sash, kadabra is a great emergency check to other threats such as sun sweepers(victreebel, shiftry, leafeon), and set-up sweepers such as slurpuff(!!), Minior, and Tyrantrum. Although Kadabra likely won't be too relevant of a pokemon as the tier develops, I just found that it can provide offense a great check to so many different threats(but not all at once ofc).
Abomasnow @ Life Orb
Ability: Snow Warning
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Mild Nature
- Blizzard
- Giga Drain
- Ice Shard
- Earthquake/Focus Blast
Abomasnow @ Life Orb
Ability: Snow Warning/Soundproof
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Lonely Nature
- Swords Dance
- Wood Hammer/ Seed Bomb
- Ice Shard
- Blizzard/Earthquake
Abomasnow is a good anti-meta pokemon in my opinion. This guy can seriously dent the likes of necrozma, moltres, and even Porygon2(if carrying focus blast, but it isn't very reliable as we all know), while revenge killing dodrio and other weakened threats with ice shard. What makes it so great is that traditional grass checks such as golbat, vileplume, and draglage all get blasted by blizzard(or a boosted ice shard), while traditional ice-type checks such as Assault Vest Hariyama and Emboar get hammered by a wood hammer or earthquake.
been playin a good amount and wanted to post this set that soulgazer aka NU GOAT made
Kingdra @ Dragonium Z
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Draco Meteor
- Ice Beam
- Rain Dance
this set is really nice since z draco lets you take out weakened slowkings and stuff like that without having to sacrifice special attack, also can do some cool things like ko porygon2 with rain hydro + z draco and just all around a sick nuke to have when shit starts hitting the fan and you need to blow something away. i like modest for the power really since you're using such high power moves and want to make the most of kingdras fairly average special attack, but timid can def be used to hit necrozma first or something like that. ice beam is just really there for whimsicott and i guess to chip other grasses but the only really relevant ones are virizon who i dont even think is that good and rotom-c. sg had this on some spikes ho and this thing is a savage beast please try it out!!!! nu is awesome but ban necrozma D:!
Kingdra @ Dragonium Z
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Draco Meteor
- Ice Beam
- Rain Dance
this set is really nice since z draco lets you take out weakened slowkings and stuff like that without having to sacrifice special attack, also can do some cool things like ko porygon2 with rain hydro + z draco and just all around a sick nuke to have when shit starts hitting the fan and you need to blow something away. i like modest for the power really since you're using such high power moves and want to make the most of kingdras fairly average special attack, but timid can def be used to hit necrozma first or something like that. ice beam is just really there for whimsicott and i guess to chip other grasses but the only really relevant ones are virizon who i dont even think is that good and rotom-c. sg had this on some spikes ho and this thing is a savage beast please try it out!!!! nu is awesome but ban necrozma D:!
Funbot28
Banned deucer.
Ok so I wanted to give some general thoughts on some super common/viable threats I have been able to decipher in the tier so far with the small amount of playtesting I was able to get done.
This little bug is honestly insane and is definitely a threat that should be prepared for on any competitive team imo. The main attribute that makes it as good as it is is that incredible speed that allows it to outspeed pretty much the entire unboosted metagame bar niche threats such as Accelgor and Electrode. On top of this, Fairy STAB just makes it even more threatening especially in a metagame where the only reliable Steel-type that can comfortably switchin to its STAB attacks is really only Silvally-Steel. The Specs set is really the most common and viable set atm, but I also have been toying with Quiver Dance sets with Z-Stones and they are not too bad as well. Its poor bulk limits the amount of opportunities it can setup but when paired with screens support, it can actually be quite deadly and can blow past common checks such as Steelix and Porygon2 with the Z-Stones. Definitely a mon that should be kept an eye on (which I am sure anyone who has played so far already does).
In a similar vein too Ribombee, Tyrantrum also benefits from the lack of solid defensive Steel-types in the metagame bar Steelix, meaning that nothing really appreciates switchin in to Head Smash versus this monster. Both Scarf and Band have their merit, with the former breaking through Offense, and the ladder destroying more defensive teams. I have also been testing DD sets with Fightinium Z, and its really nice in breaking down its checks as the aforementioned Steelix and Pory2 at +1. Honestly one of the most menacing threats in the current metagame.
Sun is incredibly potent in the current metagame as well, obliterating offensive and defensive teams a like thanks to the great amount of pressure it applies with both Cloro sweepers combined with a Fire Type (i prefer Typhlosion since Eruption in sun = no safe switchins). I honesty believe a suspect is in order down the line just due to how volatile this archetype is in just destroying teams without dedicated counters such as defensive Moltres and Dragalge.
Probably the most broken threat in the current metagame imho, Porygon2 can basically wall legit 3/4 of the metagame just due to how much raw bulk it possesses on top of a great defensive typing that leaves it with only one weakness. It leaving the metagame (which it hopefully does in beta) kinda worries me though, since it is a great tool in blanket checking various common threats such as Kingdra, Rimbombee, Yanmega, and Exploud. Thankfully, Fighting types such as Pangoro, Hitmonlee, and Machamp do give it headaches, but still Pory2 just dominates the current meta, and should be considered on any serious team.
This meta is super fun to play/build with, Trick Room is super scary too btw, and Sub CM Necro just wins at team preview. Sig is fun too ;)
Ribombee @ Choice Specs
Ability: Shield Dust
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Moonblast
- Bug Buzz
- Psychic
- U-turn
Ribombee @ Fairium Z / Buginium Z
Ability: Shield Dust
EVs: 72 Def / 252 SpA / 184 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Quiver Dance
- Moonblast
- Bug Buzz
- Hidden Power [Fire] / Psychic
Ability: Shield Dust
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Moonblast
- Bug Buzz
- Psychic
- U-turn
Ribombee @ Fairium Z / Buginium Z
Ability: Shield Dust
EVs: 72 Def / 252 SpA / 184 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Quiver Dance
- Moonblast
- Bug Buzz
- Hidden Power [Fire] / Psychic
This little bug is honestly insane and is definitely a threat that should be prepared for on any competitive team imo. The main attribute that makes it as good as it is is that incredible speed that allows it to outspeed pretty much the entire unboosted metagame bar niche threats such as Accelgor and Electrode. On top of this, Fairy STAB just makes it even more threatening especially in a metagame where the only reliable Steel-type that can comfortably switchin to its STAB attacks is really only Silvally-Steel. The Specs set is really the most common and viable set atm, but I also have been toying with Quiver Dance sets with Z-Stones and they are not too bad as well. Its poor bulk limits the amount of opportunities it can setup but when paired with screens support, it can actually be quite deadly and can blow past common checks such as Steelix and Porygon2 with the Z-Stones. Definitely a mon that should be kept an eye on (which I am sure anyone who has played so far already does).
Tyrantrum @ Choice Scarf / Choice Band
Ability: Rock Head
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Head Smash
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Dragon Claw
Tyrantrum @ Fightinium Z / Groundium Z
Ability: Rock Head
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Head Smash
- Dragon Claw
- Superpower / Earthquake
Ability: Rock Head
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Head Smash
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Dragon Claw
Tyrantrum @ Fightinium Z / Groundium Z
Ability: Rock Head
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Head Smash
- Dragon Claw
- Superpower / Earthquake
In a similar vein too Ribombee, Tyrantrum also benefits from the lack of solid defensive Steel-types in the metagame bar Steelix, meaning that nothing really appreciates switchin in to Head Smash versus this monster. Both Scarf and Band have their merit, with the former breaking through Offense, and the ladder destroying more defensive teams. I have also been testing DD sets with Fightinium Z, and its really nice in breaking down its checks as the aforementioned Steelix and Pory2 at +1. Honestly one of the most menacing threats in the current metagame.
Ninetales @ Heat Rock
Ability: Drought
EVs: 252 HP / 144 SpD / 112 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fire Blast
- Solar Beam
- Will-O-Wisp
- Protect
Shiftry @ Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Rash Nature
- Giga Drain
- Knock Off
- Extrasensory / Defog
- Growth
Victreebel @ Poisonium Z / Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Solar Beam
- Weather Ball
- Sludge Bomb
- Sleep Powder
Typhlosion @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Eruption
- Fire Blast
- Solar Beam
- Focus Blast
Ability: Drought
EVs: 252 HP / 144 SpD / 112 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fire Blast
- Solar Beam
- Will-O-Wisp
- Protect
Shiftry @ Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Rash Nature
- Giga Drain
- Knock Off
- Extrasensory / Defog
- Growth
Victreebel @ Poisonium Z / Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Solar Beam
- Weather Ball
- Sludge Bomb
- Sleep Powder
Typhlosion @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Eruption
- Fire Blast
- Solar Beam
- Focus Blast
Sun is incredibly potent in the current metagame as well, obliterating offensive and defensive teams a like thanks to the great amount of pressure it applies with both Cloro sweepers combined with a Fire Type (i prefer Typhlosion since Eruption in sun = no safe switchins). I honesty believe a suspect is in order down the line just due to how volatile this archetype is in just destroying teams without dedicated counters such as defensive Moltres and Dragalge.
Porygon2 @ Eviolite
Ability: Trace
EVs: 252 HP / 80 Def / 176 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Foul Play
- Ice Beam
- Thunder Wave / Thunderbolt
- Recover
Porygon2 @ Eviolite
Ability: Download
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Tri Attack
- Ice Beam
- Recover / Thunderbolt
Ability: Trace
EVs: 252 HP / 80 Def / 176 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Foul Play
- Ice Beam
- Thunder Wave / Thunderbolt
- Recover
Porygon2 @ Eviolite
Ability: Download
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Tri Attack
- Ice Beam
- Recover / Thunderbolt
Probably the most broken threat in the current metagame imho, Porygon2 can basically wall legit 3/4 of the metagame just due to how much raw bulk it possesses on top of a great defensive typing that leaves it with only one weakness. It leaving the metagame (which it hopefully does in beta) kinda worries me though, since it is a great tool in blanket checking various common threats such as Kingdra, Rimbombee, Yanmega, and Exploud. Thankfully, Fighting types such as Pangoro, Hitmonlee, and Machamp do give it headaches, but still Pory2 just dominates the current meta, and should be considered on any serious team.
This meta is super fun to play/build with, Trick Room is super scary too btw, and Sub CM Necro just wins at team preview. Sig is fun too ;)
been testing out some heateria as of late, trick room as stated like 102134 times is broken as shit and for the most part thats what ive been using but ive also been having fun with this set
Accelgor @ Life Orb
Ability: Sticky Hold
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Bug Buzz
- Spikes
- Focus Blast
- Giga Drain / Sludge Bomb
imo spike stacking is underrated atm since no one is really running any hazard cleaners...golbat is lowkey obnoxious as fuck tho. accelgor has a pretty decent offensive presence with lo and usually gets up at least one layer of spikes per game. whats cool about this thing is that it outruns jolly scarf dino and ohkos it with focus blast, and even if its coverage isnt the greatest, it hits what it needs to. giga drain is for quag / seismitoad while sludge bomb is for tht broken ass slurpuff - the latter choice is probably better but it depends on your team. i think pairing this guy up with stuff like scarf typhlosion / delphox, minior, the kingdra set blunder posted above, missy, whatever is really neat.
Accelgor @ Life Orb
Ability: Sticky Hold
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Bug Buzz
- Spikes
- Focus Blast
- Giga Drain / Sludge Bomb
imo spike stacking is underrated atm since no one is really running any hazard cleaners...golbat is lowkey obnoxious as fuck tho. accelgor has a pretty decent offensive presence with lo and usually gets up at least one layer of spikes per game. whats cool about this thing is that it outruns jolly scarf dino and ohkos it with focus blast, and even if its coverage isnt the greatest, it hits what it needs to. giga drain is for quag / seismitoad while sludge bomb is for tht broken ass slurpuff - the latter choice is probably better but it depends on your team. i think pairing this guy up with stuff like scarf typhlosion / delphox, minior, the kingdra set blunder posted above, missy, whatever is really neat.
Kingdra @ Choice Specs
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Surf
- Draco Meteor
- Ice Beam
Kabutops @ Normalium Z
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Stone Edge
- Waterfall
- Giga Impact
Ludicolo @ Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Giga Drain
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Rain Dance
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Surf
- Draco Meteor
- Ice Beam
Kabutops @ Normalium Z
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Stone Edge
- Waterfall
- Giga Impact
Ludicolo @ Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Giga Drain
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Rain Dance
Rain has been pretty much the only thing ive been using over the course of playing vs friends. Honestly's super fun and becomes very hard to play vs with offense unless you have like a shiftry but thats not gonna appreciate eating specs rainboosted hydros anyway. One of my favourite parts of this rain core is the kabu set. Kabu owns stuff like Slowking and Toxicroak staying in and also stuff like Seismi so u dont have to overly rely on ludicolo to deal w it. Haven't played too much NU yet but metas super fun and this is definitely one of my favourites to use rn.
E: rain setters ive been using are usually uxie/sab/ludicolo havent tried out anything else but i might in near future
Team Dump:
None of these are perfect, and all have issues with certain matchups, but what doesn't in this meta. Best ones are probably the 1st two, followed by the 4th.
Basic idea is to abuse Uxie's ability to get up rain for free, stealth rocks more for free, and Sableye's ability to get up rain and keep spikes up to allow the swift swim mons to sweep. Only real non-standard stuff is SD Z-Giga Impact Kabutops which is basically here to delete generic water resists like Seismitoad to make Kingdra's day easier. Main issues are basically TR, and stuff that pressures the rain setters. Generally Lead with Uxie, though switch that up if you think they're gonna counterlead to like Garbodor if you predict something like Sneasel, or one of your rain sweepers if you're feeling ballsy.
Basic idea behind this team was that most of the tier's Dark types are at the very least grounded, and at most, they're rocks weak, making a lot of them very easy to wear down. As such, stacking even more spikes with that basically means you can do dumb stuff like eliminate Sneasel after like one switchin with good garbodor play. Sub-CM Necro is also godlike if you can get their darks gone, as typical answers like Lix can't break your sub 100% of the time, and can only use roar to deal with you, though if you can't get rid of dark types you're screwed. That said, the team does struggle a lot against pangoro, like most fat squads, and a well played Cofagrigus/generic ghost just eats the team. Unsure about Hitmonlee, but needed priority, and the team was so slow that Hitmontop felt like it would only make it worse. Also, be careful of Magmortar. Consider Toxic over Tspikes on garb, if only to reduce the number of Necrozma's that love to switch in on it, and cause grounded poisons are literally everywhere in NU RN.
Basic idea is that Dragalge wears down most Ribombee answers, and spikestack, cause that strat ain't broken or anything. Water resists are an issue, as its basically just Dragalge, but the team is fun to play, so here it is. Probably worth it to replace Passimian, but the thing's bulk is just so nice. Really, really needs a spinner, but forgot to put one on when building. Easiest is probably just dropping Passimian for Hitmonlee. Stallbreaker Mismagius also continues to be amazing.
Basic idea is that P2 walls most special stuff, and Steelix beats Ttrum and Slurpuff, and a fair bit of physical stuff, though the fighting weakness really sucks. Sub-CM Oricorio-Sensu is also godlike, and can clean teams so easily if you can weaken stuff like P2. Accelgor is really iffy here, but was mainly cause I wanted something fast enough to revenge stuff that didn't drop to generic fighting moves, at the very least being able to mitigate the issue. If you're gonna modify the team, def drop it for a more competent fighting answer, or find space for a proper Fairy type somewhere.
Basic idea is that TR is OP vs HO. Only real deviation from the norm of TR setters is Audino over P2, mainly cause Healing wish can be super clutch some times, and cause encore is super nice for certain situations. Probably inefficient, and likely needs to be swapped, but w/e. Cofag is here to discourage mach punches, and get up TR easy. Team ain't anything special, and was built right after usage stats came out, but TR's still OP. Figure if everyone else's sharing their TR teams, might as well show mine off. Drampa's coverage is also just insane, and is so damn hard to switch into. If you're gonna use the team, probably run some mon that takes priority better over one of the two TR abusers.
Moral of the story is that Garbodor is legit amazing on like every team, and its ability to get up spikes for free on so much, and then just chip them down with RH is just so good. Hitting hard enough with gunk shot and generic coverage makes it amazing, and really, just use the mon. Like, Qwilfish is good and all with intimidate, but no gunk shot, and no aftermath means you can't use it to just chip down that threat, or break through that generic fairy as easily.
Also, make sure to run Timid Kingdra, cause rain's super common, and autowinning that matchup is op. 132 speed is preferable on Dragalge to creep P2, as virtually noone's creeping on that mon atm, and if you're running Drag-z you can get a surprise KO if your opponent's feeling cocky.
None of these are perfect, and all have issues with certain matchups, but what doesn't in this meta. Best ones are probably the 1st two, followed by the 4th.
Basic idea is to abuse Uxie's ability to get up rain for free, stealth rocks more for free, and Sableye's ability to get up rain and keep spikes up to allow the swift swim mons to sweep. Only real non-standard stuff is SD Z-Giga Impact Kabutops which is basically here to delete generic water resists like Seismitoad to make Kingdra's day easier. Main issues are basically TR, and stuff that pressures the rain setters. Generally Lead with Uxie, though switch that up if you think they're gonna counterlead to like Garbodor if you predict something like Sneasel, or one of your rain sweepers if you're feeling ballsy.
Sableye @ Damp Rock
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Rain Dance
- Knock Off
- Recover
Uxie @ Damp Rock
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 20 Def / 236 Spe
Bold Nature
- Stealth Rock
- U-turn
- Rain Dance
- Psyshock
Kingdra @ Choice Specs
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Surf
- Draco Meteor
- Ice Beam
Kabutops @ Normalium Z
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Stone Edge
- Waterfall
- Giga Impact
Ludicolo @ Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Giga Drain
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Rain Dance
Garbodor @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Aftermath
EVs: 252 HP / 200 Def / 56 Spe
Impish Nature
- Gunk Shot
- Drain Punch
- Spikes
- Toxic Spikes
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Rain Dance
- Knock Off
- Recover
Uxie @ Damp Rock
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 20 Def / 236 Spe
Bold Nature
- Stealth Rock
- U-turn
- Rain Dance
- Psyshock
Kingdra @ Choice Specs
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Surf
- Draco Meteor
- Ice Beam
Kabutops @ Normalium Z
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Stone Edge
- Waterfall
- Giga Impact
Ludicolo @ Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Giga Drain
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Rain Dance
Garbodor @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Aftermath
EVs: 252 HP / 200 Def / 56 Spe
Impish Nature
- Gunk Shot
- Drain Punch
- Spikes
- Toxic Spikes
Basic idea behind this team was that most of the tier's Dark types are at the very least grounded, and at most, they're rocks weak, making a lot of them very easy to wear down. As such, stacking even more spikes with that basically means you can do dumb stuff like eliminate Sneasel after like one switchin with good garbodor play. Sub-CM Necro is also godlike if you can get their darks gone, as typical answers like Lix can't break your sub 100% of the time, and can only use roar to deal with you, though if you can't get rid of dark types you're screwed. That said, the team does struggle a lot against pangoro, like most fat squads, and a well played Cofagrigus/generic ghost just eats the team. Unsure about Hitmonlee, but needed priority, and the team was so slow that Hitmontop felt like it would only make it worse. Also, be careful of Magmortar. Consider Toxic over Tspikes on garb, if only to reduce the number of Necrozma's that love to switch in on it, and cause grounded poisons are literally everywhere in NU RN.
Necrozma @ Leftovers
Ability: Prism Armor
EVs: 248 HP / 152 Def / 108 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Psyshock
- Moonlight
- Calm Mind
Porygon2 @ Eviolite
Ability: Trace
EVs: 252 HP / 104 Def / 152 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Recover
- Thunder Wave
- Ice Beam
- Tri Attack
Garbodor @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Aftermath
EVs: 252 HP / 200 Def / 56 Spe
Impish Nature
- Gunk Shot
- Drain Punch
- Spikes
- Toxic Spikes
Hitmonlee @ Life Orb
Ability: Reckless
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- High Jump Kick
- Sucker Punch
- Rapid Spin
- Knock Off
Seismitoad @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Scald
- Earthquake
- Toxic
Ribombee @ Choice Specs
Ability: Shield Dust
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Bug Buzz
- Moonblast
- Psychic
- U-turn
Ability: Prism Armor
EVs: 248 HP / 152 Def / 108 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Psyshock
- Moonlight
- Calm Mind
Porygon2 @ Eviolite
Ability: Trace
EVs: 252 HP / 104 Def / 152 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Recover
- Thunder Wave
- Ice Beam
- Tri Attack
Garbodor @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Aftermath
EVs: 252 HP / 200 Def / 56 Spe
Impish Nature
- Gunk Shot
- Drain Punch
- Spikes
- Toxic Spikes
Hitmonlee @ Life Orb
Ability: Reckless
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- High Jump Kick
- Sucker Punch
- Rapid Spin
- Knock Off
Seismitoad @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Scald
- Earthquake
- Toxic
Ribombee @ Choice Specs
Ability: Shield Dust
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Bug Buzz
- Moonblast
- Psychic
- U-turn
Basic idea is that Dragalge wears down most Ribombee answers, and spikestack, cause that strat ain't broken or anything. Water resists are an issue, as its basically just Dragalge, but the team is fun to play, so here it is. Probably worth it to replace Passimian, but the thing's bulk is just so nice. Really, really needs a spinner, but forgot to put one on when building. Easiest is probably just dropping Passimian for Hitmonlee. Stallbreaker Mismagius also continues to be amazing.
Dragalge @ Dragonium Z
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 124 HP / 252 SpA / 132 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Sludge Wave
- Scald
- Toxic Spikes
Ribombee @ Choice Specs
Ability: Shield Dust
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Bug Buzz
- Moonblast
- Psychic
- U-turn
Omastar @ Leftovers
Ability: Shell Armor
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Spikes
- Stealth Rock
Silvally-Steel @ Steel Memory
Ability: RKS System
EVs: 252 HP / 196 Def / 60 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Flamethrower
- Toxic
- Parting Shot
- Flash Cannon
Mismagius @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Taunt
- Hex
- Pain Split
Passimian @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Receiver
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- U-turn
- Rock Slide
- Iron Head
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 124 HP / 252 SpA / 132 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Sludge Wave
- Scald
- Toxic Spikes
Ribombee @ Choice Specs
Ability: Shield Dust
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Bug Buzz
- Moonblast
- Psychic
- U-turn
Omastar @ Leftovers
Ability: Shell Armor
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Spikes
- Stealth Rock
Silvally-Steel @ Steel Memory
Ability: RKS System
EVs: 252 HP / 196 Def / 60 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Flamethrower
- Toxic
- Parting Shot
- Flash Cannon
Mismagius @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Taunt
- Hex
- Pain Split
Passimian @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Receiver
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- U-turn
- Rock Slide
- Iron Head
Basic idea is that P2 walls most special stuff, and Steelix beats Ttrum and Slurpuff, and a fair bit of physical stuff, though the fighting weakness really sucks. Sub-CM Oricorio-Sensu is also godlike, and can clean teams so easily if you can weaken stuff like P2. Accelgor is really iffy here, but was mainly cause I wanted something fast enough to revenge stuff that didn't drop to generic fighting moves, at the very least being able to mitigate the issue. If you're gonna modify the team, def drop it for a more competent fighting answer, or find space for a proper Fairy type somewhere.
Porygon2 @ Eviolite
Ability: Trace
EVs: 252 HP / 104 Def / 152 SpD
Calm Nature
- Recover
- Thunder Wave
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt
Steelix @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 244 HP / 96 Atk / 168 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Heavy Slam
- Earthquake
- Toxic
- Stealth Rock
Dragalge @ Dragonium Z
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 124 HP / 252 SpA / 132 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Sludge Wave
- Scald
- Toxic Spikes
Cryogonal @ Icicle Plate
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Freeze-Dry
- Hidden Power [Ground]
- Rapid Spin
- Recover
Oricorio-Sensu @ Salac Berry
Ability: Dancer
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Substitute
- Revelation Dance
- Hurricane
Accelgor @ Choice Specs
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Bug Buzz
- Giga Drain
- Focus Blast
- U-turn
Ability: Trace
EVs: 252 HP / 104 Def / 152 SpD
Calm Nature
- Recover
- Thunder Wave
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt
Steelix @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 244 HP / 96 Atk / 168 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Heavy Slam
- Earthquake
- Toxic
- Stealth Rock
Dragalge @ Dragonium Z
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 124 HP / 252 SpA / 132 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Sludge Wave
- Scald
- Toxic Spikes
Cryogonal @ Icicle Plate
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Freeze-Dry
- Hidden Power [Ground]
- Rapid Spin
- Recover
Oricorio-Sensu @ Salac Berry
Ability: Dancer
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Substitute
- Revelation Dance
- Hurricane
Accelgor @ Choice Specs
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Bug Buzz
- Giga Drain
- Focus Blast
- U-turn
Basic idea is that TR is OP vs HO. Only real deviation from the norm of TR setters is Audino over P2, mainly cause Healing wish can be super clutch some times, and cause encore is super nice for certain situations. Probably inefficient, and likely needs to be swapped, but w/e. Cofag is here to discourage mach punches, and get up TR easy. Team ain't anything special, and was built right after usage stats came out, but TR's still OP. Figure if everyone else's sharing their TR teams, might as well show mine off. Drampa's coverage is also just insane, and is so damn hard to switch into. If you're gonna use the team, probably run some mon that takes priority better over one of the two TR abusers.
Audino @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Trick Room
- Healing Wish
- Encore
- Knock Off
Uxie @ Mental Herb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Stealth Rock
- Magic Coat
- Memento
Cofagrigus @ Ghostium Z
Ability: Mummy
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Nasty Plot
- Shadow Ball
- Hidden Power [Fighting]
Crabominable @ Choice Band
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Ice Hammer
- Close Combat
- Earthquake
- Brutal Swing
Drampa @ Life Orb
Ability: Berserk
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Thunderbolt
- Surf
- Fire Blast
Minior @ White Herb
Ability: Shields Down
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Shell Smash
- Acrobatics
- Substitute
- Earthquake
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Trick Room
- Healing Wish
- Encore
- Knock Off
Uxie @ Mental Herb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Stealth Rock
- Magic Coat
- Memento
Cofagrigus @ Ghostium Z
Ability: Mummy
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Nasty Plot
- Shadow Ball
- Hidden Power [Fighting]
Crabominable @ Choice Band
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Ice Hammer
- Close Combat
- Earthquake
- Brutal Swing
Drampa @ Life Orb
Ability: Berserk
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Thunderbolt
- Surf
- Fire Blast
Minior @ White Herb
Ability: Shields Down
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Shell Smash
- Acrobatics
- Substitute
- Earthquake
Moral of the story is that Garbodor is legit amazing on like every team, and its ability to get up spikes for free on so much, and then just chip them down with RH is just so good. Hitting hard enough with gunk shot and generic coverage makes it amazing, and really, just use the mon. Like, Qwilfish is good and all with intimidate, but no gunk shot, and no aftermath means you can't use it to just chip down that threat, or break through that generic fairy as easily.
Also, make sure to run Timid Kingdra, cause rain's super common, and autowinning that matchup is op. 132 speed is preferable on Dragalge to creep P2, as virtually noone's creeping on that mon atm, and if you're running Drag-z you can get a surprise KO if your opponent's feeling cocky.
Last edited:
Heyo, just curious if you have tried out Leafeon as a sun sweeper yet (mainly because it seems to be the next best Chloro sweeper after Venusaur in RU). On paper it looks like it can compete with Victreebel and Shiftry due to higher speed and a higher offensive stat at the expense of secondary STAB. I believe the set that is used in RU is Swords Dance + Z-Double Edge to deal with Sun checks like Moltres and Dragalge.
Ninetales @ Heat Rock
Ability: Drought
EVs: 252 HP / 144 SpD / 112 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fire Blast
- Solar Beam
- Will-O-Wisp
- Protect
Shiftry @ Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Rash Nature
- Giga Drain
- Knock Off
- Extrasensory / Defog
- Growth
Victreebel @ Poisonium Z / Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Solar Beam
- Weather Ball
- Sludge Bomb
- Sleep Powder
Typhlosion @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Eruption
- Fire Blast
- Solar Beam
- Focus Blast
Sun is incredibly potent in the current metagame as well, obliterating offensive and defensive teams a like thanks to the great amount of pressure it applies with both Cloro sweepers combined with a Fire Type (i prefer Typhlosion since Eruption in sun = no safe switchins). I honesty believe a suspect is in order down the line just due to how volatile this archetype is in just destroying teams without dedicated counters such as defensive Moltres and Dragalge.
Since Trick Room is so popular right now... I've made a quick visual list of the abusers / users (basically every slow and offensive Pokemon in the tier that might be or is viable lol...) mainly because I feel only Dragalge, Cofagrigus, Porygon2, Uxie, Pangoro, Tyrantrum, and Exploud are the common talked about mons associated with Trick Room.
Also note that Trick Room has negative priority which cancels out Prankster. Guzzlord and Alola-Exeggutor are listed twice since they can potentially work both physically and specially fyi.
Primary Trick Room Setters
Trick Room Setters + Abusers
Physical Abusers
Special Abusers
Last edited:
Haven't had the chance to play yet but I can see one set being fairly interesting for teams that need a solid counter to the plethora of Fighting-types in NU alpha.
Weezing @ Icium Z
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sludge Bomb
- Toxic Spikes
- Will-O-Wisp
- Haze
There's probably a more optimal spread and you can use a few different moves but w/e. Weezing might seem like a strange choice in a meta full of new toys, but it's probably the best answer to the new Fighting-types bar Medicham and Gallade, especially now that it has access to Z-Haze. Z-Haze does a few things: it weakens Knock Off, it resets stats, and it fully heals Weezing, allowing it to act as a pretty good answer to SD Pangoro and SD Toxicroak while also giving it a means of recovery if it's getting low due to tanking repeated hits. It also tanks Adamant Slurpuff's +6 Return from full so that's nice. Z-Haze works well on other Poison-types like Dragalge and Garbodor as well, but they lack the raw physical bulk that Weezing provides so they aren't very good answers to Pangoro and the like.
Pair it with a secondary Fighting-type answer that doesn't drop to Medicham or Gallade and a Wish passer so you can keep Weezing healthy imo.
Weezing @ Icium Z
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sludge Bomb
- Toxic Spikes
- Will-O-Wisp
- Haze
There's probably a more optimal spread and you can use a few different moves but w/e. Weezing might seem like a strange choice in a meta full of new toys, but it's probably the best answer to the new Fighting-types bar Medicham and Gallade, especially now that it has access to Z-Haze. Z-Haze does a few things: it weakens Knock Off, it resets stats, and it fully heals Weezing, allowing it to act as a pretty good answer to SD Pangoro and SD Toxicroak while also giving it a means of recovery if it's getting low due to tanking repeated hits. It also tanks Adamant Slurpuff's +6 Return from full so that's nice. Z-Haze works well on other Poison-types like Dragalge and Garbodor as well, but they lack the raw physical bulk that Weezing provides so they aren't very good answers to Pangoro and the like.
+2 252+ Atk Life Orb Pangoro Knock Off vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Weezing: 187-220 (55.9 - 65.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Pangoro Knock Off vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Weezing: 108-127 (32.3 - 38%) -- 95.6% chance to 3HKO
+2 252 Atk Virizion Zen Headbutt vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Weezing: 172-204 (51.4 - 61%) -- 94.1% chance to 2HKO after Black Sludge recovery
252+ Atk Choice Band Pangoro Knock Off vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Weezing: 108-127 (32.3 - 38%) -- 95.6% chance to 3HKO
+2 252 Atk Virizion Zen Headbutt vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Weezing: 172-204 (51.4 - 61%) -- 94.1% chance to 2HKO after Black Sludge recovery
Pair it with a secondary Fighting-type answer that doesn't drop to Medicham or Gallade and a Wish passer so you can keep Weezing healthy imo.
I have been testing something different then Trick Room and found this set is actually really fun to use:
Mismagius @ Fairium Z
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Will-O-Wisp
- Dazzling Gleam
- Taunt
This set catches so many people off guard and I haven't really seen it get used at all (besides me of course), with the many Dark / Dragon / bulky Fighting types in the tier right now this set on Mismagius shines. You can beat AV Machamp after with Shadow Ball + Twinkle Tackle, when it would otherwise easily sponge hits. Also sweepers like Kingdra with Rain Dance can't come in, take the hit, and set up Rain Dance. Another thing to note is that you are able to spinblock Hitmontop while it's going for foresight on the switch so you keep your hazards up. All in all I had some success with this set and I really suggest you try it out!
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Will-O-Wisp
- Dazzling Gleam
- Taunt
This set catches so many people off guard and I haven't really seen it get used at all (besides me of course), with the many Dark / Dragon / bulky Fighting types in the tier right now this set on Mismagius shines. You can beat AV Machamp after with Shadow Ball + Twinkle Tackle, when it would otherwise easily sponge hits. Also sweepers like Kingdra with Rain Dance can't come in, take the hit, and set up Rain Dance. Another thing to note is that you are able to spinblock Hitmontop while it's going for foresight on the switch so you keep your hazards up. All in all I had some success with this set and I really suggest you try it out!
252 SpA Mismagius Twinkle Tackle (160 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Kingdra: 314-370 (107.9 - 127.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Mismagius Shadow Ball vs. 172 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Machamp: 87-103 (23.9 - 28.2%) -- 95.5% chance to 4HKO
252 SpA Mismagius Twinkle Tackle (160 BP) vs. 172 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Machamp: 230-272 (63.1 - 74.7%) -- 50% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock and 3 layers of Spikes (The spikes are kinda the same as the Shadow Ball damage so that's why)
252 SpA Mismagius Dazzling Gleam vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Sneasel: 192-226 (76.4 - 90%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Mismagius Twinkle Tackle (160 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Sneasel: 382-450 (152.1 - 179.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Mismagius Twinkle Tackle (160 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Hitmontop: 276-326 (90.7 - 107.2%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
252 SpA Mismagius Shadow Ball vs. 172 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Machamp: 87-103 (23.9 - 28.2%) -- 95.5% chance to 4HKO
252 SpA Mismagius Twinkle Tackle (160 BP) vs. 172 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Machamp: 230-272 (63.1 - 74.7%) -- 50% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock and 3 layers of Spikes (The spikes are kinda the same as the Shadow Ball damage so that's why)
252 SpA Mismagius Dazzling Gleam vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Sneasel: 192-226 (76.4 - 90%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Mismagius Twinkle Tackle (160 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Sneasel: 382-450 (152.1 - 179.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Mismagius Twinkle Tackle (160 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Hitmontop: 276-326 (90.7 - 107.2%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
Last edited:
Since Slurpuff is in the tier and we don't have Doublade to check it, I started looking at honedge.
While it might not be the best pokémon in this tier, it sure does a fine job at stopping Slurpuff
Honedge @ Eviolite
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 204 Def / 52 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Gyro Ball
- Shadow Sneak
- Sacred Sword
- Pursuit
Enough defense investment to take 2 +6 Adamant Play roughs from slurpuff while having the ability to OHKO with Gyro Ball. Added the rest in Spdef for a little special bulk.
While it might not be the best pokémon in this tier, it sure does a fine job at stopping Slurpuff
Honedge @ Eviolite
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 204 Def / 52 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Gyro Ball
- Shadow Sneak
- Sacred Sword
- Pursuit
Enough defense investment to take 2 +6 Adamant Play roughs from slurpuff while having the ability to OHKO with Gyro Ball. Added the rest in Spdef for a little special bulk.
+6 252+ Atk Slurpuff Play Rough vs. 252 HP / 204+ Def Eviolite Honedge: 116-137 (39.4 - 46.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock
252+ Atk Life Orb Pangoro Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 204+ Def Eviolite Honedge: 218-260 (74.1 - 88.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
252 Atk Life Orb Sneasel Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 204+ Def Eviolite Honedge: 166-198 (56.4 - 67.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
+1 252 SpA Life Orb Virizion Giga Drain vs. 252 HP / 52 SpD Eviolite Honedge: 120-140 (40.8 - 47.6%) -- 4.3% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock
0 Atk Honedge Gyro Ball (150 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Slurpuff: 306-360 (100.3 - 118%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Life Orb Pangoro Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 204+ Def Eviolite Honedge: 218-260 (74.1 - 88.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
252 Atk Life Orb Sneasel Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 204+ Def Eviolite Honedge: 166-198 (56.4 - 67.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
+1 252 SpA Life Orb Virizion Giga Drain vs. 252 HP / 52 SpD Eviolite Honedge: 120-140 (40.8 - 47.6%) -- 4.3% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock
0 Atk Honedge Gyro Ball (150 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Slurpuff: 306-360 (100.3 - 118%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Wow this tier has really blown up now that we have an actual ladder. Thanks everyone for making this a fantastic start to our new metagame! I have some more sets to dump so you can infuriate randoms.
Porygon2 @ Eviolite
Ability: Trace
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD / 4 Spe
Calm Nature
- Tri Attack
- Recover
- Toxic
- Magic Coat
This is a Porygon2 set designed specifically for stall. People like using it as a blanket check for special attackers (and most things in general given the plethora of good Fighting-type resists we have at the moment) and stall teams are no exception. However, Thunder Wave has been swapped out for Toxic since it lets Porygon2 1v1 a lot of special attackers that can't 2HKO it, and it gets lots of opportunities to throw the move out. Magic Coat is the real tech, preventing Porygon2 from being Taunt/Encore bait, letting it function as a decent anti-lead, and stopping things from using Toxic on it (so long as it switches in safely). So long as you run a good Knock Off fodder this set can keep going forever...
Moltres @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
Bold Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Fire Blast / U-turn
- Hurricane / U-turn
- Roost
Moltres has been getting a lot of hype due to its absurdly strong Z-Sunny Day and Bloom Doom sets, but Moltres also actually has a phenomenal defensive presence that lets it check pretty much any physical attacker that doesn't carry Stone Edge. Rocky Helmet + Flame Body really punishes contact attackers and gives you a 30% chance to just win against them, while Moltres can easily use its Grass-, Bug-, Steel-, and Fighting-type resistances to come in repeatedly and Roost up. Stealth Rock is obviously a pain but there are plenty of good hazard control options at the moment and tbh Moltres can still function under Rocks if you just want to burn something by switching in.
Oh yeah and if you use these two together you wall basically 90% of the metagame. Just watch out for Virizion (which seems like it will be one of the best mons to stick around) and you'll be fine.
Porygon2 @ Eviolite
Ability: Trace
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD / 4 Spe
Calm Nature
- Tri Attack
- Recover
- Toxic
- Magic Coat
This is a Porygon2 set designed specifically for stall. People like using it as a blanket check for special attackers (and most things in general given the plethora of good Fighting-type resists we have at the moment) and stall teams are no exception. However, Thunder Wave has been swapped out for Toxic since it lets Porygon2 1v1 a lot of special attackers that can't 2HKO it, and it gets lots of opportunities to throw the move out. Magic Coat is the real tech, preventing Porygon2 from being Taunt/Encore bait, letting it function as a decent anti-lead, and stopping things from using Toxic on it (so long as it switches in safely). So long as you run a good Knock Off fodder this set can keep going forever...
Moltres @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
Bold Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Fire Blast / U-turn
- Hurricane / U-turn
- Roost
Moltres has been getting a lot of hype due to its absurdly strong Z-Sunny Day and Bloom Doom sets, but Moltres also actually has a phenomenal defensive presence that lets it check pretty much any physical attacker that doesn't carry Stone Edge. Rocky Helmet + Flame Body really punishes contact attackers and gives you a 30% chance to just win against them, while Moltres can easily use its Grass-, Bug-, Steel-, and Fighting-type resistances to come in repeatedly and Roost up. Stealth Rock is obviously a pain but there are plenty of good hazard control options at the moment and tbh Moltres can still function under Rocks if you just want to burn something by switching in.
Oh yeah and if you use these two together you wall basically 90% of the metagame. Just watch out for Virizion (which seems like it will be one of the best mons to stick around) and you'll be fine.
Underrated mons~
Garbodor @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Weak Armor
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Spikes
- Gunk Shot
- Explosion
- Toxic Spikes
Ability: Weak Armor
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Spikes
- Gunk Shot
- Explosion
- Toxic Spikes
Piloswine @ Eviolite
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Atk / 16 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Ice Shard
- Stealth Rock
- Icicle Spear
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Atk / 16 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Ice Shard
- Stealth Rock
- Icicle Spear
Togetic @ Eviolite
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 248 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Defog
- Roost
- Seismic Toss / Toxic
- Heal Bell / Toxic
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 248 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Defog
- Roost
- Seismic Toss / Toxic
- Heal Bell / Toxic
Bronzor @ Eviolite
Ability: Heatproof
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psywave
- Stealth Rock
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
Physically defensive w/ levitate can also be used, but this set is what I prefer currently w/ Exploud running around
Ability: Heatproof
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psywave
- Stealth Rock
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
Physically defensive w/ levitate can also be used, but this set is what I prefer currently w/ Exploud running around
Marowak @ Thick Club
Ability: Battle Armor
EVs: 100 HP / 252 Atk / 156 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Bonemerang
- Stone Edge
- Knock Off
- Substitute
This should only be run on Trick Room, but is performs amazing well on it
Ability: Battle Armor
EVs: 100 HP / 252 Atk / 156 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Bonemerang
- Stone Edge
- Knock Off
- Substitute
This should only be run on Trick Room, but is performs amazing well on it
Masquerain @ Focus Sash
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Quiver Dance
- Sticky Web
- Air Slash
- Ice Beam
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Quiver Dance
- Sticky Web
- Air Slash
- Ice Beam
Vanilluxe @ Life Orb
Ability: Snow Warning
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Blizzard
- Freeze-Dry
- Flash Cannon
- Taunt
This set is best on webs, not too sure how it performs on non-webs teams, but this mon should definitely not be taken for granted
Ability: Snow Warning
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Blizzard
- Freeze-Dry
- Flash Cannon
- Taunt
This set is best on webs, not too sure how it performs on non-webs teams, but this mon should definitely not be taken for granted
The Goomy
Whitest Mexican Alive
I guess if we are dropping sets I'll drop a team that I've actually had a lot of fun with and got up to #5 on ladder with and shows you can succeed without using "broken" mons~
Venipede @ Focus Sash
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 HP / 0 Atk / 0 Def / 0 SpA / 0 SpD
- Spikes
- Toxic Spikes
- Protect
- Endeavor
Actually honestly believe that this is THE premier Spikes lead in the current tier. The main plus is access to both hazards as well as being able to immediately threaten basically everything at 1HP with fast (at that point) Endeavor. Is a super good lead because even if something sets up on you you can always bring it down to 1HP (or worst case 170) and revenge it with a teammate. The downside is that you cannot prevent opposing hazards from going up. I find that this mon actually can have utility throughout a game if played correctly as having a 1HP nuke can be more beneficial later. The combination of T-spikes + endeavor is great as well due to the fact that anything that switches in (that's affected by T-spikes) will actually faint due to the poison.
Minimum IVs allow you to get down to 1HP as fast as possible.
There are 2 options:
- Max Atk Jolly for increased Foul Play damage
- 0 Atk Timid for decreased recovery from Strength Sap recovery.
I chose option 2 because I think it is more relevant.
+ Speed is required to outspeed base 110s such as Archeops at +1.
Pikachu @ Light Ball
Ability: Static
EVs: 252 Atk / 152 SpA / 104 Spe
Naughty Nature
- Extreme Speed
- Grass Knot
- Thunderbolt
- Knock Off
This set/spread is actually taken directly from user fssong, and it makes sense. EVs allow you to outspeed base 70s naturally and the rest are put into offensive stats. Pikachu with Extreme Speed is actually incredible in the current meta as most teams are either HO, Weather, or TR, all of which get bypassed by the increased priority. Speaking of which, I am fairly certain that Pikachu Extreme Speed is the strongest priority in the meta at +0, even beating out Adamant Band Sneasel Ice Shard. This allows you to revenge the many offensive threats in the tier simply after they have taken hazard damage or other chip damage.
252+ Atk Light Ball Pikachu Extreme Speed vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Ribombee: 169-199 (64.7 - 76.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock and 1 layer of Spikes
252+ Atk Light Ball Pikachu Extreme Speed vs. 0 HP / 0- Def Shiftry: 187-221 (58.2 - 68.8%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock and 3 layers of Spikes
252+ Atk Light Ball Pikachu Extreme Speed vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Sneasel: 179-211 (71.3 - 84%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
Here are a few replays showing how good Pikachu is late game:
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7nualpha-580993456 - vs blapperl, who was #2 at the time of this battle
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7nualpha-581023922 - vs Thrillz, using an effective sun team
The coverage allows you to be a menace against stall since you can fire off Knock Offs and you're not walled by Steelix, Quag, Slowbro, etc.
Persian-Alola @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Fur Coat
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Play Rough
- Foul Play
- Fake Out
- Parting Shot
Persian-A is super cool as it allows you to be a soft check to a lot of stuff, Foul Play puts out a lot of damage, and this set does not get set up on by Pangoro or Virizion. Fake Out works for this team as I have T-Spike support and gets decent chip damage off and can be used to revenge things. In general, Persian-A has been effective at beating the bevy of dark types and such that roam around the tier currently and does well with Foul Play. If I were to change anything about this team I would change Play Rough --> Toxic and make it 248 HP with Timid Nature. Toxic would allow the team a better chance against P2 (when they have a grounded poison) and helps vs Necrozma. Makes a lot of sense on this team as a bulky pivot and gets Pikachu in safely with Parting Shot.
Incineroar @ Assault Vest
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpA
Brave Nature
- Fake Out
- U-turn
- Darkest Lariat
- Fire Blast
This is my favorite mon in the current meta. It actually works amazingly well as a blanket check to a bunch of scary shit like Moltres, Ribombee, Whimsi, Sun Sweepers, Necrozma, any other Psychic type, Charizard, Typh, Sableye, Spiritomb, etc. Fake Out again is just a great way to get chip and works amazingly well with Spikes. Brave nature allows for a few cool things; it gives you a slow U-turn and the ability to run Fire Blast. Fire Blast is preferred over Flare Blitz due to lack of recoil and that it does more to Steelix (2hko). Darkest Lariat is a great spammable move that beats any mono attacking Necrozma set b/c it ignores Defense boosts so they cannot outstall you with Moonlight PP. This is an amazing pivot in the tier and it checks so much stuff. Strongly recommend trying this set out.
Mesprit @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Psychic
- Dazzling Gleam
- U-turn
Don't have much to say about this. Mesprit is still super good. Dazzle hits Pangoro, Sableye, and Spiritomb. Ice Beam is potentially a good option to hit Xatu, Rhydon, and Steelix more effectively. Have considered Psychium-Z.
Oricorio-Sensu @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Dancer
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hurricane
- Revelation Dance
- U-turn
- Sleep Talk
Team's spinblocker. Scarf is in a really cool speed tier as you outpace Scarf Rotom. Hurricane allows you to block spins from Foresight Hitmontop and is an amazingly reliable check to Virizion. Is slightly weak, but that's not really the role it's supposed to fulfill. Definitely not an amazing mon in the current meta, but fits on this team well as it can check things like Virizion, Yanmega (since it quad resists Bug Bus), and other fast threats. Toxic can be used over Sleep Talk to hit P2.
Enjoy using this team or even just picking some aspects of it you think you can improve on.
Thanks everyone~
PS: Where do you find the animated Gen 7 Sprites - EDIT: Thanks quziel
Venipede @ Focus Sash
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 HP / 0 Atk / 0 Def / 0 SpA / 0 SpD
- Spikes
- Toxic Spikes
- Protect
- Endeavor
Actually honestly believe that this is THE premier Spikes lead in the current tier. The main plus is access to both hazards as well as being able to immediately threaten basically everything at 1HP with fast (at that point) Endeavor. Is a super good lead because even if something sets up on you you can always bring it down to 1HP (or worst case 170) and revenge it with a teammate. The downside is that you cannot prevent opposing hazards from going up. I find that this mon actually can have utility throughout a game if played correctly as having a 1HP nuke can be more beneficial later. The combination of T-spikes + endeavor is great as well due to the fact that anything that switches in (that's affected by T-spikes) will actually faint due to the poison.
Minimum IVs allow you to get down to 1HP as fast as possible.
There are 2 options:
- Max Atk Jolly for increased Foul Play damage
- 0 Atk Timid for decreased recovery from Strength Sap recovery.
I chose option 2 because I think it is more relevant.
+ Speed is required to outspeed base 110s such as Archeops at +1.
Pikachu @ Light Ball
Ability: Static
EVs: 252 Atk / 152 SpA / 104 Spe
Naughty Nature
- Extreme Speed
- Grass Knot
- Thunderbolt
- Knock Off
This set/spread is actually taken directly from user fssong, and it makes sense. EVs allow you to outspeed base 70s naturally and the rest are put into offensive stats. Pikachu with Extreme Speed is actually incredible in the current meta as most teams are either HO, Weather, or TR, all of which get bypassed by the increased priority. Speaking of which, I am fairly certain that Pikachu Extreme Speed is the strongest priority in the meta at +0, even beating out Adamant Band Sneasel Ice Shard. This allows you to revenge the many offensive threats in the tier simply after they have taken hazard damage or other chip damage.
252+ Atk Light Ball Pikachu Extreme Speed vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Ribombee: 169-199 (64.7 - 76.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock and 1 layer of Spikes
252+ Atk Light Ball Pikachu Extreme Speed vs. 0 HP / 0- Def Shiftry: 187-221 (58.2 - 68.8%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock and 3 layers of Spikes
252+ Atk Light Ball Pikachu Extreme Speed vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Sneasel: 179-211 (71.3 - 84%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
Here are a few replays showing how good Pikachu is late game:
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7nualpha-580993456 - vs blapperl, who was #2 at the time of this battle
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7nualpha-581023922 - vs Thrillz, using an effective sun team
The coverage allows you to be a menace against stall since you can fire off Knock Offs and you're not walled by Steelix, Quag, Slowbro, etc.
Persian-Alola @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Fur Coat
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Play Rough
- Foul Play
- Fake Out
- Parting Shot
Persian-A is super cool as it allows you to be a soft check to a lot of stuff, Foul Play puts out a lot of damage, and this set does not get set up on by Pangoro or Virizion. Fake Out works for this team as I have T-Spike support and gets decent chip damage off and can be used to revenge things. In general, Persian-A has been effective at beating the bevy of dark types and such that roam around the tier currently and does well with Foul Play. If I were to change anything about this team I would change Play Rough --> Toxic and make it 248 HP with Timid Nature. Toxic would allow the team a better chance against P2 (when they have a grounded poison) and helps vs Necrozma. Makes a lot of sense on this team as a bulky pivot and gets Pikachu in safely with Parting Shot.
Incineroar @ Assault Vest
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpA
Brave Nature
- Fake Out
- U-turn
- Darkest Lariat
- Fire Blast
This is my favorite mon in the current meta. It actually works amazingly well as a blanket check to a bunch of scary shit like Moltres, Ribombee, Whimsi, Sun Sweepers, Necrozma, any other Psychic type, Charizard, Typh, Sableye, Spiritomb, etc. Fake Out again is just a great way to get chip and works amazingly well with Spikes. Brave nature allows for a few cool things; it gives you a slow U-turn and the ability to run Fire Blast. Fire Blast is preferred over Flare Blitz due to lack of recoil and that it does more to Steelix (2hko). Darkest Lariat is a great spammable move that beats any mono attacking Necrozma set b/c it ignores Defense boosts so they cannot outstall you with Moonlight PP. This is an amazing pivot in the tier and it checks so much stuff. Strongly recommend trying this set out.
Mesprit @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Psychic
- Dazzling Gleam
- U-turn
Don't have much to say about this. Mesprit is still super good. Dazzle hits Pangoro, Sableye, and Spiritomb. Ice Beam is potentially a good option to hit Xatu, Rhydon, and Steelix more effectively. Have considered Psychium-Z.
Oricorio-Sensu @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Dancer
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hurricane
- Revelation Dance
- U-turn
- Sleep Talk
Team's spinblocker. Scarf is in a really cool speed tier as you outpace Scarf Rotom. Hurricane allows you to block spins from Foresight Hitmontop and is an amazingly reliable check to Virizion. Is slightly weak, but that's not really the role it's supposed to fulfill. Definitely not an amazing mon in the current meta, but fits on this team well as it can check things like Virizion, Yanmega (since it quad resists Bug Bus), and other fast threats. Toxic can be used over Sleep Talk to hit P2.
Enjoy using this team or even just picking some aspects of it you think you can improve on.
Thanks everyone~
PS: Where do you find the animated Gen 7 Sprites - EDIT: Thanks quziel
Last edited:
Hey guys Im here to break the mith that I can only use stall. So Im going to dump a pretty cool HO team I made and got to top 50 in less then a hour, here is the team:
Team Analysis:
First off is the designated lead that every HO team should have, in this team case its accelgor. I chose this mon because its a great suicide lead, providing fast spikes and encore that helps it beat a lot of other lead mons. It also has final gambit, which faints you (meaning they cant get rid of the hazards) and takes the opponent´s HP. Next up is Scarf Braviary, which is a great revenge killer and has the ability defiant, which gives you a free +2 attack if the opponent decides to lower your stats. Meaning its a great way to pressure defog and will keep the opponent thinking twice.
Next is Mismagius which is the designated spin blocker and stall breaker, the set is from Jarii so s/o to him and if you want to know what it does check his post out.
I needed some wall breakers so I decided to use one of the most broken mons in nu alpha, this being specs ribombee. With its great speed and great stab attack being moonblast this mon is great for HO and provides some great chiping to mons like steelix and garbodor, that braviary loves being weakened.
The team really hated bulky ground types and faster scarf mons so I decided to add Samurott, which is a great late game cleaner with spikes up and also checks really well all the bulky ground types in this meta, like steelix and rhydon.
Finally I needed a rocker that could also help breaking bulky teams, so I decided to add swords dance rhydon. Since it does everything mentioned before, it also provides a soft fire and normal check.
Here are some replays of the team in action:
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7nualpha-581528494
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7nualpha-581530970
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7nualpha-581543421
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7nualpha-581564500
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7nualpha-581566439
Team Analysis:
First off is the designated lead that every HO team should have, in this team case its accelgor. I chose this mon because its a great suicide lead, providing fast spikes and encore that helps it beat a lot of other lead mons. It also has final gambit, which faints you (meaning they cant get rid of the hazards) and takes the opponent´s HP. Next up is Scarf Braviary, which is a great revenge killer and has the ability defiant, which gives you a free +2 attack if the opponent decides to lower your stats. Meaning its a great way to pressure defog and will keep the opponent thinking twice.
Next is Mismagius which is the designated spin blocker and stall breaker, the set is from Jarii so s/o to him and if you want to know what it does check his post out.
I needed some wall breakers so I decided to use one of the most broken mons in nu alpha, this being specs ribombee. With its great speed and great stab attack being moonblast this mon is great for HO and provides some great chiping to mons like steelix and garbodor, that braviary loves being weakened.
The team really hated bulky ground types and faster scarf mons so I decided to add Samurott, which is a great late game cleaner with spikes up and also checks really well all the bulky ground types in this meta, like steelix and rhydon.
Finally I needed a rocker that could also help breaking bulky teams, so I decided to add swords dance rhydon. Since it does everything mentioned before, it also provides a soft fire and normal check.
Here are some replays of the team in action:
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7nualpha-581528494
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7nualpha-581530970
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7nualpha-581543421
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7nualpha-581564500
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7nualpha-581566439
Accelgor @ Focus Sash
Ability: Sticky Hold
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Final Gambit
- Spikes
- Encore
- Bug Buzz
Braviary @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Defiant
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- U-turn
- Superpower
- Frustration
Rhydon @ Eviolite
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 196 HP / 252 Atk / 60 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
Mismagius @ Fairium Z
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 64 HP / 252 SpA / 192 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Dazzling Gleam
- Nasty Plot
- Shadow Ball
- Taunt
Ribombee @ Choice Specs
Ability: Shield Dust
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Moonblast
- Psychic
- U-turn
- Hidden Power [Ground]
Samurott @ Lum Berry
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Aqua Jet
- Waterfall
- Megahorn
Ability: Sticky Hold
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Final Gambit
- Spikes
- Encore
- Bug Buzz
Braviary @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Defiant
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- U-turn
- Superpower
- Frustration
Rhydon @ Eviolite
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 196 HP / 252 Atk / 60 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
Mismagius @ Fairium Z
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 64 HP / 252 SpA / 192 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Dazzling Gleam
- Nasty Plot
- Shadow Ball
- Taunt
Ribombee @ Choice Specs
Ability: Shield Dust
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Moonblast
- Psychic
- U-turn
- Hidden Power [Ground]
Samurott @ Lum Berry
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Aqua Jet
- Waterfall
- Megahorn
Don't forget about these mons :>
Meloetta @ Fightinium-Z
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hyper Voice / Shadow Ball
- Psychic
- Focus Blast
- Calm Mind
Meloetta is able to run a variety of sets like Choice Specs, Choice Scarf, bulky Sub CM, etc. and I can also see it running other sets like Z-Thunder (since that's like the thing to do with offensive Psychic-types now). However, offensive Calm Mind with Z-Focus Blast is probably my favorite set so far. If Meloetta hits extremely hard and is able to have a reliable 1-time use of Focus Blast, it also holds a pretty decent Speed tier considering a lot of the mons that are working really well in NU Alpha are pretty slow, which usually ensures that Meloetta has an easier time setting up on Pokemon it can force out (Machamp, Dragalge, etc.). The set is pretty standard, only use Shadow Ball since it will do more damage to the trio of bulky Psychic-types (Slowbro, Slowking, Necrozma), though I'm pretty sure Hyper Voice will do more damage to Necrozma because of STAB and it doesn't effect Prism Armor.
Leafeon @ Normalium-Z
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Leaf Blade
- Knock Off
- Double-Edge
Basically I found Leafeon a lot more successful on Sun teams as opposed to the other Chlorophyll users (Exeggutor, Victreebel, Shiftry, Sawsbuck) due to Leafeon's combination of solid physical bulk (especially with the influx of Fighting and Rock-types) and offensive prowess since it is one of the faster, viable Chlorophyll sweepers right now. While Leafeon lacks secondary STAB, it still has all the coverage it needs in order to be successful. Z-Double Edge puts in a lot of pressure against Sun checks such as Moltres and Dragalge while having Knock Off is just amazing in general. Leafeon is truly a scary sun sweeper if it manages to reach +2.
Medicham @ Life Orb / Choice Scarf
Ability: Pure Power
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- High Jump Kick
- Zen Headbutt
- Thunder Punch
- Bullet Punch / Trick
I haven't seen too much Medicham lately and I'm quite surprised since it is probably one of the more broken Pokemon in alpha (imo). Life Orb Medicham I feel is the superior set at the moment mainly because getting locked into Thunder Punch and Zen Headbutt in this bulky Pokemon influx (Slowbro, Slowking, Porygon-2, Necrozma, Dragalge, etc.) isn't too great, despite Medicham having Pure Power. The set is basically a pretty standard set honestly, HJK and Zen Headbutt for STAB and Thunder Punch to deal with bulky Water-types like Vaporeon and Slowking. The last slot depends on which item you pick, Bullet Punch works well with Life Orb as a form of priority (Fake Out would work to I guess) while Trick is used in tandem with Choice Scarf. Just make sure Cofagrigus is gone though.
Yanmega @ Choice Specs
Ability: Tinted Lens
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Bug Buzz
- Air Slash
- Giga Drain
- U-turn / Sleep Talk
Now Yanmega is probably one of the better choiced users in the tier mainly because of Choice Specs, Tinted Lens Bug Buzz not giving a crap about resistances (unless you're are incredibly specially bulky). It's also one of the faster Pokemon in the tier considering NU alpha is following this bulky-slow offensive-ish Pokemon trend (from my observations obviously). I don't find Sleep Talk very useful since I can't think of any sleep inducers other than Uxie (with Yawn but, it's not staying in), Vivillon, and Vileplume, with the latter 2 being non-existent so far. Honestly not much to say about Yanmega except that I hope it gets the boot? lol
Meloetta @ Fightinium-Z
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hyper Voice / Shadow Ball
- Psychic
- Focus Blast
- Calm Mind
Meloetta is able to run a variety of sets like Choice Specs, Choice Scarf, bulky Sub CM, etc. and I can also see it running other sets like Z-Thunder (since that's like the thing to do with offensive Psychic-types now). However, offensive Calm Mind with Z-Focus Blast is probably my favorite set so far. If Meloetta hits extremely hard and is able to have a reliable 1-time use of Focus Blast, it also holds a pretty decent Speed tier considering a lot of the mons that are working really well in NU Alpha are pretty slow, which usually ensures that Meloetta has an easier time setting up on Pokemon it can force out (Machamp, Dragalge, etc.). The set is pretty standard, only use Shadow Ball since it will do more damage to the trio of bulky Psychic-types (Slowbro, Slowking, Necrozma), though I'm pretty sure Hyper Voice will do more damage to Necrozma because of STAB and it doesn't effect Prism Armor.
Leafeon @ Normalium-Z
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Leaf Blade
- Knock Off
- Double-Edge
Basically I found Leafeon a lot more successful on Sun teams as opposed to the other Chlorophyll users (Exeggutor, Victreebel, Shiftry, Sawsbuck) due to Leafeon's combination of solid physical bulk (especially with the influx of Fighting and Rock-types) and offensive prowess since it is one of the faster, viable Chlorophyll sweepers right now. While Leafeon lacks secondary STAB, it still has all the coverage it needs in order to be successful. Z-Double Edge puts in a lot of pressure against Sun checks such as Moltres and Dragalge while having Knock Off is just amazing in general. Leafeon is truly a scary sun sweeper if it manages to reach +2.
Medicham @ Life Orb / Choice Scarf
Ability: Pure Power
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- High Jump Kick
- Zen Headbutt
- Thunder Punch
- Bullet Punch / Trick
I haven't seen too much Medicham lately and I'm quite surprised since it is probably one of the more broken Pokemon in alpha (imo). Life Orb Medicham I feel is the superior set at the moment mainly because getting locked into Thunder Punch and Zen Headbutt in this bulky Pokemon influx (Slowbro, Slowking, Porygon-2, Necrozma, Dragalge, etc.) isn't too great, despite Medicham having Pure Power. The set is basically a pretty standard set honestly, HJK and Zen Headbutt for STAB and Thunder Punch to deal with bulky Water-types like Vaporeon and Slowking. The last slot depends on which item you pick, Bullet Punch works well with Life Orb as a form of priority (Fake Out would work to I guess) while Trick is used in tandem with Choice Scarf. Just make sure Cofagrigus is gone though.
Yanmega @ Choice Specs
Ability: Tinted Lens
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Bug Buzz
- Air Slash
- Giga Drain
- U-turn / Sleep Talk
Now Yanmega is probably one of the better choiced users in the tier mainly because of Choice Specs, Tinted Lens Bug Buzz not giving a crap about resistances (unless you're are incredibly specially bulky). It's also one of the faster Pokemon in the tier considering NU alpha is following this bulky-slow offensive-ish Pokemon trend (from my observations obviously). I don't find Sleep Talk very useful since I can't think of any sleep inducers other than Uxie (with Yawn but, it's not staying in), Vivillon, and Vileplume, with the latter 2 being non-existent so far. Honestly not much to say about Yanmega except that I hope it gets the boot? lol
Last edited:
one underrated Pokemon that I've used a ton so far is Sneasel:
Sneasel @ Life Orb
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Icicle Crash
- Pursuit
- Ice Shard
it's absolutely decimating and has a fantastic speed tier, allowing it to revengekill and trap a lot of pokes like Mismagius, Slowbro and -king, plus plenty other stuff. Above listed is the set i mostly use, although variations like SD + Eviolite, CB, Icium Z, or something like Fightium Z with Low Kick, i guess..? not sure how that works though. Nobody prepares for sneasel because there's way too much to prep for and everything's a bit chaotic, so sneasel's a bit of a good underrated threat that's hella easy to exploit. Also, a lot of psychic and ghost types arent running colbur berry now (mismag comes to mind) because theyre too hip and try to run cool z-moves which makes pursuiting them even easier and safer.
Ferroseed @ Eviolite
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 248 HP / 144 Def / 116 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Gyro Ball
- Leech Seed
- Protect / Spikes
really underrated poke imo. is a great all-around pivot and is one of the few viable Steel-type SR users besides lix which is super easy to lure and beat, just like in ORAS. Steelix drawing all the attention is fantastic for ferroseed because people will use Groundium-Z pokes in order to lure steelix and will run hp ground instead of HP fire on a lot of their dont-have-better-coverage pokemon like Yanmega, which can also be used to hit most grounded poisons. this poke is still the goat and i hope more people will use it. Spikes can work too over protect if you dont have any spikes and/or your team really needs it, but it completely depends on the rest of the team. the team i used it on really appreciated the ability to scout out choiced mons and also relied on ferroseed a bunch to keep major threats like ribombee in check, so getting an extra ~14% back is never a bad thing.
here's a team i've used a bunch on the ladder, in challenges, and in room tours, on my main and on some alts. it's done me pretty well. I had flash fire typhlosion over ninetales before but after some testing and one mastermind on the ladder telling me ninetales would indefinitely be better for my team, i decided to swap him out.
Since everybody is just posting cool and hip sets in their post which kinda defeats the purpose of threads like this i feel, i'll just talk about the meta in general for a minute.
ok, so first off, PLEASE, whoever's on the council besides rozes and kiyo, get rid of slurpuff asap. it's absolutely stupid and really doesn't need much support to pull off a full sweep. for example, a couple of its checks are steelix, ferroseed, and weezing. Pair slurpuff with ribombee, and all of these pokemon will be put into +6 drain punch / return range with absolute ease and there's not much you can do. Pyukumuku is a good counter to it i guess, but it's really hard to put on most type of teams besides hard and semi-stall. I havent really seen any good stalls around so far, since the inflation of lures and z-moves makes it hard to succesfully account for every god damn threat out there in just 6 pokemon. hats off if you make it work though. ive seen hjad run a pretty decent stall team but it had some serious flaws like z-grass move fire types which everybody and their mom seems to run. I guess baiting z-move and then potentially sacking something to make your fire resist a safe switch in is your best bet when running hard stall, since spdef audino isnt enough. spdef audino is set up fodder for ninetales which is something you absolutely want to avoid. even running encore may not help as, if you NP on the switch, you can just fire blast on the predicted encore and in sun, it will absolutely devastate it. maybe some diglett stall could form its way here? not too sure, but that sounds really shaky.
anyways, rain is really really good too. i would say its one of the better, if not the best archetype. blunder showcased this in his most recent video which i am sure you all know where to find. there's a severe lack of water-resists in the tier in my opinion and most water-resists or immunes are blown away by z-draco meteor or stone edge from kingdra and kabutop, respectively. Sun seems pretty fun too with auto-setting Ninetales and a lot of abusers, but nothing that cant be handled. Sun and trick room seem pretty fun to use and easy to ladder with, but both seem to have very obvious flaws that prevent them from becoming too strong.
The wide variety in grounded poison types is a bit worrying to me honestly, cuz muh kangaspikes.. for real though, i like the tspike war going on on the ladder right now. oddly satisfying to watch. hazards seem pretty good in general, with a lot of solid spinblockers (mismagius, cofagrigus) and a lot of strong hazard setters. the increase in suicide leads and the popularity of sash lead Archeops is good to see, it's a great start for an offensive meta.
overall i really enjoy this meta and the battles ive played so far. there's obviously some stuff that needs to go ASAP but it's not nearly as bad as the pre-alpha, and i LOVE the variety of teams people are throwing together, ranging from balls to the wall HO with sash accelgor lead, to p2 - slowbro - steelix balance. keep it up peeps.
Sneasel @ Life Orb
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Icicle Crash
- Pursuit
- Ice Shard
it's absolutely decimating and has a fantastic speed tier, allowing it to revengekill and trap a lot of pokes like Mismagius, Slowbro and -king, plus plenty other stuff. Above listed is the set i mostly use, although variations like SD + Eviolite, CB, Icium Z, or something like Fightium Z with Low Kick, i guess..? not sure how that works though. Nobody prepares for sneasel because there's way too much to prep for and everything's a bit chaotic, so sneasel's a bit of a good underrated threat that's hella easy to exploit. Also, a lot of psychic and ghost types arent running colbur berry now (mismag comes to mind) because theyre too hip and try to run cool z-moves which makes pursuiting them even easier and safer.
Sneasel @ Eviolite
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Icicle Crash
- Knock Off
- Ice Shard
Sneasel @ Life Orb
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Icicle Crash
- Pursuit
- Ice Shard
Sneasel @ Fightinium Z
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Icicle Crash
- Knock Off
- Low Kick
- Pursuit / Ice Shard
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Icicle Crash
- Knock Off
- Ice Shard
Sneasel @ Life Orb
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Icicle Crash
- Pursuit
- Ice Shard
Sneasel @ Fightinium Z
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Icicle Crash
- Knock Off
- Low Kick
- Pursuit / Ice Shard
Ferroseed @ Eviolite
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 248 HP / 144 Def / 116 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Gyro Ball
- Leech Seed
- Protect / Spikes
really underrated poke imo. is a great all-around pivot and is one of the few viable Steel-type SR users besides lix which is super easy to lure and beat, just like in ORAS. Steelix drawing all the attention is fantastic for ferroseed because people will use Groundium-Z pokes in order to lure steelix and will run hp ground instead of HP fire on a lot of their dont-have-better-coverage pokemon like Yanmega, which can also be used to hit most grounded poisons. this poke is still the goat and i hope more people will use it. Spikes can work too over protect if you dont have any spikes and/or your team really needs it, but it completely depends on the rest of the team. the team i used it on really appreciated the ability to scout out choiced mons and also relied on ferroseed a bunch to keep major threats like ribombee in check, so getting an extra ~14% back is never a bad thing.
here's a team i've used a bunch on the ladder, in challenges, and in room tours, on my main and on some alts. it's done me pretty well. I had flash fire typhlosion over ninetales before but after some testing and one mastermind on the ladder telling me ninetales would indefinitely be better for my team, i decided to swap him out.
Slowking @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 28 Def / 232 SpD
Calm Nature
- Scald
- Psyshock
- Slack Off
- Dragon Tail
Ferroseed @ Eviolite
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 248 HP / 144 Def / 116 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Gyro Ball
- Leech Seed
- Protect
Hitmontop @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
Impish Nature
- Close Combat
- Foresight
- Rapid Spin
- Toxic
Sneasel @ Life Orb
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Icicle Crash
- Pursuit
- Ice Shard
Ninetales @ Grassium Z
Ability: Drought
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Fire Blast
- Energy Ball
- Psyshock
Dragalge @ Black Sludge
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 148 HP / 252 SpA / 108 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Sludge Bomb
- Toxic Spikes
- Focus Blast
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 28 Def / 232 SpD
Calm Nature
- Scald
- Psyshock
- Slack Off
- Dragon Tail
Ferroseed @ Eviolite
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 248 HP / 144 Def / 116 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Gyro Ball
- Leech Seed
- Protect
Hitmontop @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
Impish Nature
- Close Combat
- Foresight
- Rapid Spin
- Toxic
Sneasel @ Life Orb
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Icicle Crash
- Pursuit
- Ice Shard
Ninetales @ Grassium Z
Ability: Drought
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Fire Blast
- Energy Ball
- Psyshock
Dragalge @ Black Sludge
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 148 HP / 252 SpA / 108 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Sludge Bomb
- Toxic Spikes
- Focus Blast
Since everybody is just posting cool and hip sets in their post which kinda defeats the purpose of threads like this i feel, i'll just talk about the meta in general for a minute.
ok, so first off, PLEASE, whoever's on the council besides rozes and kiyo, get rid of slurpuff asap. it's absolutely stupid and really doesn't need much support to pull off a full sweep. for example, a couple of its checks are steelix, ferroseed, and weezing. Pair slurpuff with ribombee, and all of these pokemon will be put into +6 drain punch / return range with absolute ease and there's not much you can do. Pyukumuku is a good counter to it i guess, but it's really hard to put on most type of teams besides hard and semi-stall. I havent really seen any good stalls around so far, since the inflation of lures and z-moves makes it hard to succesfully account for every god damn threat out there in just 6 pokemon. hats off if you make it work though. ive seen hjad run a pretty decent stall team but it had some serious flaws like z-grass move fire types which everybody and their mom seems to run. I guess baiting z-move and then potentially sacking something to make your fire resist a safe switch in is your best bet when running hard stall, since spdef audino isnt enough. spdef audino is set up fodder for ninetales which is something you absolutely want to avoid. even running encore may not help as, if you NP on the switch, you can just fire blast on the predicted encore and in sun, it will absolutely devastate it. maybe some diglett stall could form its way here? not too sure, but that sounds really shaky.
anyways, rain is really really good too. i would say its one of the better, if not the best archetype. blunder showcased this in his most recent video which i am sure you all know where to find. there's a severe lack of water-resists in the tier in my opinion and most water-resists or immunes are blown away by z-draco meteor or stone edge from kingdra and kabutop, respectively. Sun seems pretty fun too with auto-setting Ninetales and a lot of abusers, but nothing that cant be handled. Sun and trick room seem pretty fun to use and easy to ladder with, but both seem to have very obvious flaws that prevent them from becoming too strong.
The wide variety in grounded poison types is a bit worrying to me honestly, cuz muh kangaspikes.. for real though, i like the tspike war going on on the ladder right now. oddly satisfying to watch. hazards seem pretty good in general, with a lot of solid spinblockers (mismagius, cofagrigus) and a lot of strong hazard setters. the increase in suicide leads and the popularity of sash lead Archeops is good to see, it's a great start for an offensive meta.
overall i really enjoy this meta and the battles ive played so far. there's obviously some stuff that needs to go ASAP but it's not nearly as bad as the pre-alpha, and i LOVE the variety of teams people are throwing together, ranging from balls to the wall HO with sash accelgor lead, to p2 - slowbro - steelix balance. keep it up peeps.
Funbot28
Banned deucer.
Speaking of Diglett stall, here is what I was able to come up with.
This is a gem team that I have been utilizing since the ladder dropped. I like using it compared to other stalls since it tries to circumvent the most amount of stallbreakers in the tier atm as possible. Dilgett is especially useful in trapping annoying threats such as Mold Breaker SD Pangoro and Choice Band Tyrantrum and can actually threaten to OHKO both of them after some hazards chip damage. Other wallbreakers such as Slurpuff, Medicham, and Life Orb Sigilyph all get checked by specific teammates such as Quagsire, Moltres and Aromatisse respectably. Steelix helps setup rocks and can avoid the 2HKO from Specs Ribombee with the suggested EV spread (it is also useful in phazing out Substitute setup sweepers such as Braviary and Necrozma), while Dragalge is here to check Sun teams mainly. The team obviously comes with its fair share of weak MUs such as Rain HO with Z-Stone Edge Kabutops and can fall prey to Stored Power Necrozma in a last mon scenario.
I just wanted to highlight how stall is still a viable playstyle in this metagame, even furthering demonstrating the amount of versatility this metagame has to offer. Im really enjoying it so far and can't wait to see how it develops after a couple of obvi bans.
Golbat @ Eviolite | Infiltrator
248 HP / 164 SpDef / 96 Spe | Careful
Roost | Defog | U-Turn | Brave Bird / Super Fang
or
Golbat @ Eviolite | Infiltrator
248 HP / 164 SpDef / 96 Spe | Careful
Roost | Taunt | Toxic | Brave Bird
golbat's a really fun mon that ive been using that i think deserves a mention in this thread. its really fucking fat and actually sits in a really good speed tier considering how bulky it is, plus its one of the few reliable defoggers rn which i think is pretty big considering we have mostly rapid spinners and a fuckton of good ghosts to block them. i've pretty much only used the defog set but ive really wanted to try the stallbreaker one as well since it seems like it would just body defensive teams (although youd need to lure steelix but thats really not that difficult in this metagame). id maybe run some more speed on the stallbreaking set but yeah i think the mon has a lot of potential. youre gonna wanna pair it with a better fighting answer (probably some fat psychic) and / or something that can chew knock offs and random status moves which is why i think this next mon is a really good fit for it.
Scrafty @ Leftovers | Shed Skin
252 Atk / 4 SpDef / 252 Spe | Jolly
Rest | Dragon Dance | Knock Off | Hi Jump Kick / Drain Punch
ok so obviously pangoro is the big fighting dark type rn but that mon is busted as all hell so this is something to try out after it gets the boot. scrafty is really fucking awesome because it can spread around knock offs early game while providing a ton of longevity throughout the game. it really doesnt give a fuck about sableye or p2 or like any of the popular defensive mons running around (other than like aromatisse but eff that mon). it obviously can perform pretty well against offense too because its a DD user with a great dual stab combo. obviously its slurpuff bait rn but again that mon is super busted so once alpha ends i feel like this'll be a super anti-meta pick
I know a few people have left their owns teams, but does anyone have a decent Stored Power Necrozma team? I've been trying to build around it since NU Alpha began, but me and my horrendous teambulding abilities have failed every time.
Type: Null @ Eviolite
Ability: Battle Armor
EVs: 252 HP / 240 SpD / 16 Spe
Careful Nature
- Return
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Swords Dance
Remove Ghost-types, boost up and go to town. It is bulkier than Porygon2 by the way, so i'm sure you can EV this better than me to survive all kinds of things.
A more self-sufficient set with a coverage option like Crunch with Substitute might be a good idea too, but Sableye still walls that I believe.
While it does have bulk, no reliable recovery and a non existent movepool makes nowhere near as useful as P2 and wont be filling in its shoes once P2 leaves NU.
Type: Null @ Eviolite
Ability: Battle Armor
EVs: 252 HP / 240 SpD / 16 Spe
Careful Nature
- Return
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Swords Dance
Remove Ghost-types, boost up and go to town. It is bulkier than Porygon2 by the way, so i'm sure you can EV this better than me to survive all kinds of things.
A more self-sufficient set with a coverage option like Crunch with Substitute might be a good idea too, but Sableye still walls that I believe.
- Status