The RU Role Comparison Project

Molk

Godlike Usmash
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The RU Role Comparison Project

Credit to Theorymon for the OP and the idea!

Have you ever pinpointed a Pokémon on one of your teams, where you find it's role to be extremely useful for your team, but wonder "man, if only there was a similar Pokémon that had more manageable flaws for my team"? If so, this is the thread for you! Believe it or not, there tend to be a lot more Pokémon that can achieve a certain role than you think, but often times, these Pokémon are obscure, or they may be common Pokémon using an unusual set, so the people who are looking for such a "role replacement" may end up never finding it!

This thread aims to fix that problem! The main goal of this thread is to highlight certain underrated Pokémon sets, by comparing them to more common Pokémon who fulfill similar roles, both the advantages and the disadvantages! This way, people who feel like their team could use with some changes can get some tips from this thread, or if they are just making a team with certain roles in mind, they can be exposed to some Pokémon that deserve more usage! Also, don't worry if you can't think of any good examples, commenting on examples already mentioned to incite discussion is fine too!

Here's to get you guys started. Feel free to use the same format, since it gets right to the point, but if you feel the need to deviate a bit, that's fine too!

Poliwrath as a physically defensive bulky water-type vs: Qwilfish



Poliwrath @ Leftovers
Trait: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Relaxed Nature
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Circle Throw
- Scald

Poliwrath's Advantages

1. Typing: Unlike Qwilfish, Poliwrath possesses a resistance to Rock-type moves, which gives it a handy resistance to Stealth Rock and allows it to wall important threats that Qwilfish can't such as Kabutops and Aggron. Poliwrath also lacks the weakness to Earthquake Qwilfish has, making it better at walling Ground-type Pokemon such as Rhydon, Piloswine and Golurk

2. Circle Throw: Poliwrath has the ability to phaze out opponents unlike its competition Qwilfish, preventing Pokemon from setting up on it as easily and also racking up entry hazards damage. Well played Circle Throws also make it harder to directly switch into Poliwrath, as it can simply Circle Throw things like Rotom-C back out as they attempt to switch in.

3. Water Absorb: This is fairly minor compared to the two previously mentioned advantages, but Poliwrath has an immunity to Water-type moves instead of a resistance to them like Qwilfish, and actually gets healed by various Scalds and Aqua Jets flying around. This makes it easier for Poliwrath to check certain Water-type Pokemon, and also gives it a secondary form of recovery.

Poliwrath's disadvantages

1. Lack of Hazards: While Poliwrath might be better at outright walling certain Pokemon because of its extra resists and lack of certain weaknesses, Poliwrath is completely incapable of setting Spikes and Toxic Spikes like Qwilfish can, Qwilfish is easily one of the best Spikers in the tier and can get up multiple layers per match, so this is pretty big. The lack of Entry Hazards also makes Poliwrath less desirable on offensive teams, where a bulky water-type without the move can be seen as a momentum killer.

2. Lack of other support moves such as Taunt and Thunder Wave. Poliwrath also lacks various support moves that Qwilfish can carry such as Taunt and Thunder Wave, making it unable to do things such as stop hazard setters or cripple a switch in such as Sceptile, even if Poliwrath could learn these moves, it has a bad case of 4mss, and probably wouldn't be able to fit them in without giving up its recovery.

3. Toxic Spikes and Poison: Poliwrath's lack of a Poison-type means that it can't absorb Toxic Spikes like Qwilfish can, it also means that Poliwrath is vulnerable to being poisoned by Toxic, something Qwilfish doesn't need to worry about.

 

Celever

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Jumpluff as a SubSeeder vs Whimsicott

Jumpluff @ Leftovers
Trait: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 HP / 4 SAtk
Timid Nature
- Sleep Powder/Sunny day
- Leech Seed
- Substitute
- Giga Drain/Synthesis

Jumpluff's advantages

1. Sleep For some odd reason game freak decided not to give the only grass type with prankster the move that potentially you would want to use the most on it: sleep powder. Jumpluff has access to sleep powder, and therefore can set up a substitute much easier and also a leech seed. It doesn't lose out on any moves that whimsicott has, stun spore, encore, U-turn or even cotton guard. However, you do lack taunt.

2. Reliable recovery Synthesis is a massive asset to Jumpluff, or at least a good thing that Whimsicott lacks. Whimsicott must rely on leech seed and leftovers for recovery, a plan flawed by a strong priority attack after a strong hit, or simply a few strong hits. Now you may argue that giga drain is reliable recovery... not off those stats. If you use sunny day, then synthesis is so much better as well.

3. Typing I decided to put typing for Jumpluff because Jumpluff gets an immunity to toxic spikes. Yes, he has a couple of 4x weaknesses, but Whimsicott isn't surviving your magmortar's fire blast OR your Cryogonal's ice beam either!

Jumpluff's disadvantages

1. Prankster The biggest lack that Jumpluff has and the main (only) reason Whimsicott is ever used is prankster. Whimsicott can use it's SubSeed so much easier thanks to the priority given by prankster, although Jumpluff is fast enough as it is, especially if you set up sunny day.


Hope I did ok! :P
 
Really cool idea. I feel like the OP left out one other prevalent option for that role. So...

Alomomola as a physically defensive water-type vs. Poliwrath vs. Qwilfish



Alomomola @ Leftovers
Trait: Regenerator
252 HP/252 Def/4 SpD
Impish Nature
- Wish
- Protect
- Toxic
- Waterfall

Alomomola's Advantages

1. Wish: This is arguably the biggest advantage Alomomola has over the other two. Not only is this a great support option to have, but it also gives Alomomola the most reliable recovery out of the three. In addition, her massive 165 HP stat allows her to pass huge 267 HP wishes, which will often bring whatever switches in back to full health. Even bulky Pokemon with high HP like Amoonguss heal over 60% from her wishes.

2. Regenerator: This is what makes Mola's wishpassing work as well as it does. By healing her own HP as she switches out, Mola can ensure more of her wishes are received by her teammates without having to rely on staying in and protecting to stay healthy.

3. Natural Bulk: While it may not be obvious at first, Alomomola actually has the largest physical bulk out of these three. This makes her a slightly better answer to Fire-types like Entei, since she can take a Flare Blitz and likely heal off the entire thing with Regenerator alone, meaning she has more time to pass those giant wishes. It also allows her to tank some powerful non STAB super effective hits, like Banded Emboar's Wild Charge, surprisingly well (57.3% max).

Alomomola's Disadvantages

1. Typing: Unlike the other two Pokemon, she does not have a beneficial secondary typing that adds cool resistances. Poliwrath's resistance to Rock-type moves makes him better for Pokemon like Kabutops and Aggron, while Qwilfish's Fighting-type resistance makes him better for Pokemon like Emboar, and both of the other two resist Bug-type moves, making them better answers for Escavalier and Durant.

2. Lack of other support: Unfortunately, Alomomola is really predictable since it doesn't really have much else to do outside of passing Wishes. It has the lowest attack stat out of the three, meaning it needs Toxic to do consistent damage. This prevents it from running the couple other options it could have like Refresh or Light Screen without significantly hampering its effectiveness. And like Poliwrath, it can stand up to Qwilfish in this category.

3. Vulnerable to Toxic (Spikes): While Poliwrath also lacks the Poison-typing to be immune to Toxic, it at least runs Rest to rid itself of status if needed. On the other hand, Mola has no viable method of removing status. Even if it's only in for a few turns, that little residual damage from Toxic poison cuts into Regenerator recovery. Add in hazards and Mola all of a sudden becomes easier to wear down.
 

Molk

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I know this is my thread but i'd really like to get this discussion going :(.


Lilligant as a Choice Scarf Grass-type vs Rotom-C:


Lilligant (F) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Own Tempo
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd / 4 Def
Timid Nature
- Sleep Powder
- Leaf Storm / Petal Dance
- Hidden Power [Rock] / Hidden Power Fire
- Healing Wish

Lilligant's advantages:

Sleep Powder: Unlike Rotom-C, Lilligant has access to Sleep Powder, while this might seem strange on a Choice Scarf set at first, its actually surprisingly effective, as a fast Sleep Powder can cripple much of the tier for the rest of the match, and lets Lilligant put boosting threats out of commission even if you can't immediately KO them, something Rotom-C simply can't boast.

Healing Wish: Healing Wish is a pretty big factor in why Scarf Lilligant is so useful in my opinion, When Lilligant's usefulness is used up otherwise, she can use a fast Healing Wish to fully heal a weakened teammate, giving them a second chance at breaking down the opponent. This is incredibly important and can be game changing at times, and something Rotom-C really wished it was able to do.

Grass-type STAB that doesn't reduce special attack Although many players would opt to use Leaf Storm on Choice Scarf Lilligant as well, she also has the option of using Petal Dance, which is incredibly powerful and has no real drawbacks except for Locking lilligant in for a few turns, and chances are you probably wouldn't be using Petal Dance unless Pokemon it would be undesirable to be locked in against are eliminated regardless. Own Tempo even prevents the confusion side effect, which is always a plus.


Lilligant's disadvantages

Lack of Volt Switch One of Rotom-C's most important traits as a Choice Scarf Pokemon is its access to Volt Switch, probably one of the best moves in the game. Volt Switch makes Rotom-C excellent at scouting and playing hit and run, and also makes sure the Rotom-C users momentum isn't killed if the opponent sends in something such as Amoonguss or Roselia to check it.

Lack of a secondary Electric-typing Rotom-C also boasts a handy Electric-type over Lilligant, which gives it access and STAB to the aforementioned Volt Switch as well as Thunderbolt: a great cleaning move, the Electric typing also gives Rotom-C a 4x resistance to opposing Electric-type moves, making it much better at switching into Volt Switches and the like.

Bulk Rotom-C has higher defenses than Lilligant, which allow it to take hits better and pivot in and out much more easily, especially when combined with Volt Switch

Levitate Because of Levitate, Rotom-C has an immunity to Ground-type moves while the flower only has a resistance to them, Levitate also makes Rotom-C immune to Spikes and Toxic Spikes, meaning it gets worn down less quickly than Lilligant.
 

scorpdestroyer

it's a skorupi egg
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Might as well

Lickilicky as a special wall over Clefable


Lickilicky @ Leftovers
Trait: Own Tempo
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Careful Nature
- Wish
- Protect
- Heal Bell
- Body Slam / Dragon Tail

Lickilicky's advantages

1. Better HP and bulk. Lickilicky actually has a greater HP stat as well as Special Defense stat compared to Clefable, meaning that it is actually better at sponging hits than Clefable is. It also has a better defense stat allowing it to take physical hits better than Clefable can. A bigger HP stay also means that Lickilicky can pass bigger Wishes to its teammates

2. Better offensive move. Lickilicky is able to spread paralysis with Body Slam and can work with a base 85 Attack stat. This aids offensive teams greatly. Lickilicky's Body Slam working off its better attack stat also gives it a STAB move to rely on, while Clefable has to rely on Seismic Toss which presents no other advantage whatsoever.

3. Phazing. With Dragon Tail at its disposal, Lickilicky cannot be set up upon except from Substitute users. Dragon Tail also lets Lickilicky shuffle opposing teams around forcing them to take hazards damage, which helps many teams in wearing down the opposition.


Lickilicky's disadvantages compared to Clefable

1. Inferior ability. While Clefable has Magic Guard, Lickilicky has to choose from either the useless Oblivious or the situational Own Tempo (not Cloud Nine due to illegalities). This means that Clefable can switch in to take hits more often without worrying about hazards damage, while Lickilicky has to take extra damage and limiting its effectiveness. Clefable having Magic Guard also means that it is less susceptible to being worn down by status, while Lickilicky has to worry about passive damage from Hail, Toxic and Burn.

2. Lack of instant recovery. While Clefable has access to Softboiled to instantly recover its health, Lickilicky is forced to Wish and Protect in order to heal itself. This is unreliable when at low health and vulnerable to being finished off. By relying on Protect to receive a Wish, it also provides the opponent a free setup or switch turn.

3. Lack of versatility. For example, Clefable has access to moves such as Stealth Rock, Encore and Thunder Wave, which gives it versatility and team support. On the other hand, Lickilicky is very predictable and usually sticks to one of the above moves.
 

EonX

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Guess I'll join in.

Mesprit as a Choice Specs user vs. Slowking


Mesprit @ Choice Specs
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Psyshock
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt
- U-turn

Mesprit's advantages:

1. Speed. Mesprit has a much higher Speed stat while still having decent bulk. This allows Mesprit to hit the opposition without having to take hits quite as many times as Slowking.

2. U-turn. This is another major advantage. With U-turn, Mesprit can more effectively lure out its checks and counters and get its teammates in to handle them faster. This also means that it's much harder to Pursuit trap Mesprit as it can easily U-turn out as a Pursuit user tries to come in.

3. BoltBeam coverage. Perhaps more than any other tier, BoltBeam coverage is fantastic here in RU. When the 3 most common Pokemon in the tier, Slowking, Druddigon, and Sceptile, are all hit super effectively by one of these moves, you can definitely go places. Slowking rarely even has room for Ice Beam.

4. Levitate. For a Choice item user, getting a free pass on Spikes and Toxic Spikes is just huge. Rotom-C has certainly taught us that. The Ground immunity in general really aids Mesprit in dealing with Ground-types. Even though Slowking has a super effective STAB on them, its low Speed means it will likely have to eat a neutral (or super effective in Golurk's case) move from them first.

Mesprit's disadvantages:

1. Lack of Fire Blast: A huge reason as to why Slowking is so good is that it can crush Steel-types that generally handle Psychic-types. Mesprit is hard pressed to run HP Fire on a Choice set (or set in general) and it has no immediate way around all Steel-types as some can take Thunderbolt or Ice Beam.

2. Lack of passive healing. While Mesprit is able to get a free pass on Spikes and Toxic Spikes, Slowking is able to recover from resisted hits it normally gets in on. Regnerator also lets Slowking somewhat mitigate the advantage Mesprit has with entry hazards.

3. Secondary STAB. Water is a very safe offensive STAB option in RU as it has very few outright immunities, thus letting Slowking rely on a safer move for its STAB move of choice. Meanwhile, Mesprit has to rely on Psychic STAB for its only STAB, a type that has a natural immunity in Dark.
 

Molk

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Emboar as a physical Fire-type Pokemon vs Entei


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

Emboar's Advantages

Lack Of a Stealth Rock Weakness

One of Entei's main flaws is how quickly it gets worn down from a combination of Stealth Rock and Flare Blitz recoil, because of Emboar's secondary Fighting-typing, it doesn't get worn down quite as quickly, being neutral to Stealth Rock instead of weak to it, allowing it to switch in and out more freely and decreasing the reliance on a spinner.

STAB on Fighting-type moves

Unlike Entei, Emboar has a handy secondary STAB in Fighting, this lets Emboar gets past certain Rock-types such as Kabutops and weakened Rhydon much more easily than Entei can without some kind of Hidden Power, it also gives Emboar a way to break down Normal-types such as Clefable without taking recoil damage.

Wild Charge

While Entei struggles with the vast majority of bulky Water-types, Emboar at least has some way to hit them for a decent amount of damage in Wild Charge, which lets it wear down Poliwrath and Qwilfish over the course of the match and lets it cleanly 2HKO Slowking with the move after a little bit of prior damage.


Emboar's disadvantages

Lack of ExtremeSpeed

While Emboar has a bunch of important advantages over Entei, it lacks one very important move in its arsenal: ExtremeSpeed. ExtremeSpeed's priority is incredibly useful to Entei, letting it pick of frailer threats regardless of Speed, and letting it run things like Choice Band and Flame Plate without losing its utility as a revenge killer. Emboar doesn't have this luxury, and has to run a Choice Scarf to revenge kill things like Sceptile that Entei could simply Extremespeed to death.

Low Speed stat without Choice Scarf

This sort of ties in with the lack of Extremespeed, without a Choice Scarf equipped, Emboar's speed stat is a pitiful base 65, and while Choice Band Emboar is perfectly viable and wallbreaks quite well, Emboar has to choose between the speed of a Choice Scarf and the raw power of a Choice Band, while Entei has both at the same time (although Choice Scarf Emboar can OHKO things Entei can't kill with ExtremeSpeed.
 

ScraftyIsTheBest

On to new Horizons!
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Scolipede as a Spiker vs. Accelgor



Scolipede's Advantages:

Stronger (and physical) STAB Move: Scolipede packs more power in his move, Megahorn, which means he deals greater damage to opponents over the course of the match. He also hits physically, which is helpful to take on Cryogonal, one of the two common spinners.

Toxic Spikes: Scolipede can set up the move if Poison damage is what you're looking for. The other thing is Scolipede, unlike Accelgor, can absorb Toxic Spikes, which means it can help the team by removing the risk of everyone getting poisoned and getting their lifespan cut short.

Earthquake: Scolipede can take on Poison-types thanks to this move, such as Qwilfish and gang, which is pretty nice, even after Nidoqueen has left the tier. This means Drapion, Qwilfish, and friends are taking some good damage from it.

Better physical bulk: While this isn't saying that much, this means Scolipede can take a Kabutops' Aqua Jet better than Accelgor, and also is a better bet against opposing Fighting-types.

Scolipede's Disadvantages:

Lack of Final Gambit: This means Scolipede can't suicide itself if it needs to, which Accelgor can do if it's done its job and has sufficient HP. Scolipede cannot do this, and once its job is done it's forced to spam attacks until something kills it.

Not as much Speed: While Scolipede has awesome Speed, it doesn't have Accelgor's luxury of outspeeding Cinccino, Sceptile, and Aerodactyl, which can be kind of a disadvantage. Accelgor can also set up one layer of Spikes against Cincy, which Scolipede cannot do.
 

ss234

bop.
Glaceon as a scarfed ice type vs. rotom-f.

Glaceon's advantages:

1) Stronger. Glaceon has 130 base special attack compared to rotom-f's base 105. This makes a rather large difference in a number of ko's due to the higher special attack stat.

2) Residual healing. Glaceon gets 6.25% of its health back every turn under hail, which is incredibly useful especially when factoring in the sr weakness.

Disadvantages:

1) Lower speed. This means glaceon is outsped by aerodactyl, swellow and accelgor, as well as other pokemon such as +1 kabutops.

2) Levitate. Glaceon lacks a ground immunity that rotom-f has, which obviously comes in handy.

3) Electric STAB. This is a p obvious one. It hits water types such as slowking, poliwrath and kabutops, which are all very crucial pokes on a hail team to hit hard(especially kabutops who is a dick). It also helps against fire types, such as moltres. Volt switch is also nice and gains momentum.
 

Molk

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Omastar as a Suicide hazards lead vs Smeargle


Omastar @ Leftovers
Trait: Shell Armor
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
- Scald
- Ice Beam

Omastar's advantages:

Way better stats in almost every regard

While Smeargle may be able to learn every move in the game, including powerful options like Spore, its raw stats hold it back from being truely a threat to behold. Omastar is pretty much infinitely superior statwise to smeargle, being able to take hits Smeargle could never hope to take without a Focus Sash and also hitting significantly harder, being able to use offensive moves not named Explosion effectively.

Typing

Unlike Smeargle, who has a bland Normal-type without resistances, Omastar possesses a Water/Rock typing that provides it with some important resistances to Fire, Normal, and Flying, among other things. This makes it much easier to get Omastar in over the match and occasionally lets omastar set up more hazards than Smeargle could. Omastar's typing also gives it STAB on the infamous Scald, something Smeargle wishes it could use effectively.

Omastar's disadvantages

Lower Speed stat

When comparing Omastar and Smeargle's raw stats, this is the only place where Smeargle is actually superior. The extra Speed lets Smeargle set up more hazards against Pokemon slower than it that could simply KO Omastar before it could accomplish anything. The higher Speed stat also lets it utilize its superior movepool more effectively and outpace Adamant Kabutops and Defensive Cryogonal, two of the most common spinners.

Movepool

Smeargle possesses a huge amount of support moves that Omastar cannot use, including the incredible Spore, which helps Smeargle make up for its low offensive stats by putting a Pokemon out of commission instantly, Smeargle also has access to other moves Omastar lacks such as Whirlwind, Rapid Spin, Explosion, and Memento, which each have their uses and help out Smeargle with hazard setting. The latter two even prevent Adamant Kabutops and defensive Cryogonal from spinning against smeargle!
 
Cool tapes

Feraligatr as a Swords Dance user vs Kabutops


Feraligatr (F) @ Lum Berry / Splash Plate
Trait: Torrent
EVs: 104 HP / 252 Atk / 152 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Waterfall
- Aqua Jet
- Return / Crunch

Feraligatr's Advantages:

Typing - While Kabutops's secondary Rock typing does offer it some distinct advantages over Feraligatr, including resistances to Normal- and Flying-type attacks, quad resistance to Fire-type attacks, and a secondary STAB that helps it break through defensive Water- and Grass-types, vanilla Water typing has its benefits as well. Feraligatr's neutrality to Water-, Ground-, and Fighting-type attacks grants it a lot more leniency setting up more often than not.

Natural Bulk - Feraligatr's 85 / 100 / 83 defensive stats are a big leap from Kabutops's 60 / 105 / 70, and the resulting extra bulk allows Feraligatr much more leniency in setting up. Moreover, since Feraligatr doesn't sit on nearly as crucial a Speed tier as Kabutops and thus has much less incentive to run such a hefty Speed investment, allowing it to invest more in bulk and bridging this gap further.

Torrent - While seemingly trivial, Torrent plays a huge role in Feraligatr's success as a sweeper, as the added power behind his primary attacking options allows him to much more comfortably sweep through teams once Water resistances and faster priority users have been dispatched.


Feraligatr's Disadvantages:

Typing - While vanilla Water typing can at times work to Feraligatr's advantage, Kabutops's secondary STAB and resistances to Normal- and Flying-type attacks also play to its advantage in certain scenarios and overshadow the issues presented by it.

(Lack of) Rapid Spin - In such a hazard-heavy environment such as RU, access to Rapid Spin is a major plus, and Kabutops's ability to double as a spinner while maintaining sweeping potential gives Feraligatr a run for its money.

Weak Armor - Once again ability plays a critical role, as Kabutops' ability Weak Armor allows it to boost its Speed by sponging a wayward Flare Blitz, Brave Bird, Return, etc., thus reducing its need to rely upon Aqua Jet to take on faster Pokemon.
 

EonX

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Piggybacking off of col49 here:

Samurott as a Swords Dancing Water-type vs. Feraligatr vs. Kabutops:



Samurott's advantages:

Megahorn - This should be obvious, but Megahorn is what really separates Samurott from the former two. With it, the otter destroys Tangrowth, Uxie, and Mesprit with relative ease.

Typing and Torrent - These pertain more to Kabutops as Gatr has the same typing and ability, but Samurott can handle Ground-, Fighting-, and Water-types a bit more easily than Kabutops. Torrent allows Aqua Jet to really sting when Rott is clinging to life.

Surprise Factor - While it's never wise to rely strictly on surprise factor to succeed, it is something Samurott has over the other 2 due to its more common Mixed Attacker set. As most opponents will expect Tops and Gatr to be physical attackers, many opponents will anticipate Samurott to unleash powerful special attacks while only using physical moves as necessary. This can allow Samurott to gain a free turn to boost up and take the opponent by surprise.

Samurott's Disadvantages:

Speed - This hurts pretty bad. As good as Megahorn is for SD Rott, the fact that its slower than both Gatr and Tops means it has to rely on Aqua Jet that much more for it to take down faster threats.

(Lack of) Utility - To define Utility for this comparison, Tops has the ability to double up as Rapid Spin user while Gatr's better all-around bulk lets it sometimes use its bulk to set up rather than its sheer offensive presence. While Rott has decent 95 / 85 physical bulk, its base 70 Special Defense kills its overall bulk.

Lower Power - This is perhaps the most negligable of Rott's disadvantages, but it really makes itself apparent when Samurott doesn't use LO. Because of their higher Attack stats (base 105 and base 115 respectively) Feraligatr and Kabutops have a bit more leniency when it comes to running a Lum Berry to avert status moves.
 

Molk

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Golurk as a bulky Ground-type Stealth Rock setter compared to Rhydon


Golurk @ Leftovers
Trait: Iron Fist
EVs: 148 HP / 252 Atk / 108 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Shadow Punch
- Fire Punch

Golurk's advantages

Typing

Golurk's typing is wonderful, and gives it quite a few advantages over Rhydon. Firstly and most notably, it gives Golurk a complete immunity to Fighting-type attacks, while Rhydon has a weakness to the type, and despite its physical bulk, can still be 2HKO'd by STAB Close Combats. Golurk's Ghost-typing also gives it a resistance to Bug-type moves, making it a better check to Escavalier, Durant, and Accelgor among other things. Furthermore, Golurk isn't 4x weak to Water- and Grass-type moves like Rhydon is, meaning it can take some weaker Water- and Grass-type moves when needed (it can even take a Scald from Slowking), Golurk also lacks the weakness to Ground-type moves Rhydon has, giving it an easier time against Pokemon such as Steelix and opposing Rhydon. Lastly, Golurk's ghost-type allows it to spinblock too, although it has a bit of trouble against the most common spinners Kabutops and Cryogonal :[.

Leftovers recovery

One of Rhydon's biggest flaws imo is its lack of recovery of any form, having to give up Leftovers to bolster its defensive stats with Eviolite. Golurk doesn't need to run Eviolite like Rhydon, and therefore can hold leftovers to give it a little more longetivity and heal off residual damage such as from Stealth Rock.

More Speed

While Golurk is no Speed demon itself, only sitting at a low base 55 its Speed stat is still significantly higher than Rhydon's, and it can outrun some slower, more defensive Pokemon with just a bit of Speed creep, often aiming for minimum Speed Lanturn. In theory Rhydon could do this too, but it takes a very significant amount of investment to get Rhydon anywhere near the benchmarks Golurk usually tries to aim for.


Golurk's disadvantages

Lack of certain resistances

Although Golurk's typing gives it quite a few advantages over Rhydon, it also means Golurk is neutral some types Rhydon resists, making it much more vulnerable to these moves. For example, Rhydon is an excellent counter to CB Entei, not really caring about Flare Blitz at all and OHKOing in return. Meanwhile, Golurk is actually OHKO'd by Entei's Flare Blitz, preventing it from countering it.

Slightly weaker, and lacks rock STAB

Although the difference isn't too noticeable, Golurk does have a slightly lower Attack stat than Rhydon, sitting at 124 while Rhydon is equipped with a base 130 Attack stat. This means that Rhydon can score KOs that Golurk would just barely miss. Golurk also lacks Rhydon's Rock STAB, giving it a slightly harder time against Flying-types such as Moltres and Braviary.

Weaknesses to Dark- and Ghost-type moves

Tying in with the first disadvantage, Golurk's Ghost-typing leaves it weak to Dark- and Ghost-type moves that Rhydon wouldn't worry about much at all. This leaves Golurk much more vulnerable to pokemon such as Absol, Spiritomb, Normal Rotom, and Drapion, all Pokemon Rhydon can check decently. This also means Golurk is much more vulnerable to being trapped by Pursuit users such as Absol.
 

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Galvantula as a choiced electric type vs. Manectric vs. Rotom-C


Galvantula @ Choice Specs
Trait: Compoundeyes
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Thunder
- Bug Buzz
- Hidden Power Ground
- Giga Drain / Volt Switch

Galvantula's Advantages

Speed

With a shocking base 108 Speed (higher than Manectric by 3) Galvantula can forgo the often essential Choice Scarf used on Choice attackers for a pair of Specs, boosting his Special Attack to solid levels while still retaining the ability to outspeed most of the tier. While Manectric can also run a Choice Specs set, it begins to face more direct competition from Galvantula in this department thanks to a certain ability + move combo...

Ability

Galvantula, Manectric and Rotom-C all have good abilities. Rotom-C can float in on an Earthquake totally untouched and proceed to slam the attacker with its great two-move coverage, as well as boasting a total immunity to Spikes and Toxic Spikes. Manectric can come in on Volt Switch, ruining VoltTurn momentum cores and getting a free Special Attack boost in the process. However, Galvantula's ability defines its play style; Compoundeyes lets it fire off 91% accurate Thunders, boosted to excellent levels on top of Choice Specs. This puts Rotom-C's Thunderbolt to shame, and even Scarf Manectric after a Lightningrod boost does not reach this level of power, let alone have the same level of consistency in said power. Thunder even has a 30% paralysis chance to boot, overshadowing Thunderbolt's rather measly 10% chance.

STABs

Since Manectric has a sole Electric typing, it has no secondary STABs and so devotes the rest of its move pool to coverage moves, which I will cover in the next section. Therefore, Galvantula is competing with Rotom-C here. Bug Buzz allows Galvantula to dispose of Grass types like Tangrowth, be they switching in or attempting to predict Galvantula. It has a solid Base Power, boosted to high levels by STAB, does not drop Special Attack like Overheat or Leaf Storm, and allows Galvantula to smack bulky Grass-types, something Rotom-C cannot do. A minor advantage, but an advantage nonetheless.

Galvantula's disadvantages

Coverage

With an Electric STAB, a choice of either Flamethrower or Overheat for a fantastic Fire-type move, and Switcheroo to totally ruin special walls that could sponge these great attacks, Manectric has awesome, powerful coverage over the whole tier. Galvantula, on the other hand, experiences difficulty in taking out certain common walls, such as Steelix and Golurk, without filling its move set with weaker coverage moves the likes of Hidden Power Ground and Giga Drain used specifically for these pokemon. However, Galvantula beats Rotom-C in terms of coverage on standard sets, with the added bonus of beating most buly Grass-types.

Typing (Entry hazard weakness)

This one is a killer. Galvantula's typing is downright awful defensively; weaknesses to Fire- and Rock-type attacks peg it with both a weakness to one of the most common offensive types in the tier, and a weakness to Stealth Rock, shaving 25% off of its health every time it switches in to this. As a choiced attacker, Galvantula needs to switch in to force switches or gather momentum numerous times in a battle, which can backfire quickly as it loses a quarter of its health every time it tries to do so if SR is up. Meanwhile, Manectric has a single weakness to Ground and a neutrality to Stealth Rock and Rotom-C is immune to Spikes and has a neutrality to Stealth Rock. In this respect, they can almost always act as better Volt Switchers or Choice users in general when compared to Galvantula (unless your team is already using Rapid Spin support).

Trick / Switcheroo

An interesting difference between three pokemon with very similar roles... As two of them have access to Trick or an equivalent. This allows them to lose their Choice items on a wall and get Leftovers, or use it on offensive pokemon (preferably slower pokemon who would receive little benefit) and get Life Orb, as well as many smaller boons such as a way to mess with Trick Room teams. Manectric can even do this with very few worries, as it is still blazing fast even without a scarf and proceed to use a good coverage move pool to clean up late game. Poor Galvantula is outclassed here, missing out on a niche the other similar Electric types of the tier can claim to own, and the problem is compounded even further in that even with 4 coverage moves (Thunder, Bug Buzz, Hidden Power Ground, Giga Drain) Galvantula's coverage is still on par with Manectric's 3 moves (Volt Switch, Overheat, Hidden Power Grass).
 

Molk

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Magmortar as a fire-type wallbreaker compared to Moltres


Magmortar @ Life Orb
Trait: Vital Spirit
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Modest / Timid / Mild / Hasty Nature
- Fire Blast
- Thunderbolt
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power [Grass] / Earthquake

Magmortar's advantages:

Not as Stealth Rock Weak, less reliant on a Rapid Spinner

One of Moltres's biggest flaws as a Pokemon is its 4x weakness to Stealth Rock, stripping it of 50% of its hp every time it switches in when rocks are up, and while Moltres can restore its hp with roost, it can still be pretty limiting on occasion. While Magmortar still takes quite a bit from Stealth Rock, its less vulnerable to the hazard overall because its only 2x weak to it instead of 4x weak, giving it more opportunities to switch in over the course of the match even if they're set up.

better/different coverage moves

While Moltres's dual STABs are really good together, being very powerful and hitting most threats at least neutrally, there are some times where Magmortar's coverage options come in handy. For example, Moltres can 2HKO most varients of Slowking after Stealth Rock with its STAB Hurricane, but often fails to do so because of Hurricane's below average accuracy. Meanwhile, Magmortar can consistently threaten Slowking with an 100% accurate Thunderbolt that actually hits Slowking slightly harder than Moltres's Hurricane taking super effective damage into account. Magmortar can also do other handy things with its coverage that Moltres can't such as smash Regirock with Focus Blast and 2HKO Lanturn with Life Orb Earthquake: two of Moltres's best counters.

Vital Spirit

Vital Spirit is a quite useful ability on Magmortar that lets it do some things that Moltres can't. Vital Spirit makes Magmortar completely immune to things such as Sleep Powder/Spore/Lovely Kiss etc, meaning Magmortar can freely switch in on say Amoonguss and Tangrowth without risking being put to sleep, meaning the Magmortar user doesn't have to sleep fodder anything to get maggy in safely, while they would have to when using Moltres. Sleep immunity also means that +Speed Magmortar can limit how many hazards Smeargle can set, as it can't use Spore on Magmortar to buy itself more time.

Magmortar's disadvantages

No recovery

Unlike Moltres, Magmortar has a complete lack of recovery of any form. This means that any damage that Magmortar takes from hazards/Life Orb/attacks is there to stay. While Moltres has the capability to use Roost to rejuvenate itself if given a free turn. This also means that Magmortar can't perform the Substitute+Roost sets Moltres can to ease prediction to any effect, as Magmortar has no way to recover off the damage taken from making the sub.

Fraility

While Moltres's 4x Stealth Rock weakness means its still a little troubled defensively, it definitely still has the advantage in pure bulk, boasting decent 90/90/85 bulk all around, while Magmortar only has somewhat poor 75/67/95 defenses. This gives Moltres a much easier time switching in when Stealth Rock isn't on the field than Magmortar does, and also makes Moltres a bit harder to pick off with priority etc if it happens to be able to pull off a roost after switching in even if Stealth Rock is up.

Speed

Magmortar's Speed stat is a bit lower than Moltres's, sitting at about base 83 Speed while Moltres is all the way up at base 90. While there isn't too much between these two benchmarks, there are some important threats that Moltres can out speed that Magmortar can't. Including non Scarf Rotom-C, CB Entei not locked into ExtremeSpeed, and +0 Lilligant running a speed reducing Hidden Power.
 
great thread guys :)
Durant as a Steel type set up sweeper vs. Klinklang



Durant @ Life Orb
Trait: Hustle
EVs: 4 HP/ 252 Atk/ 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Hone Claws
- X-Scissor
- Iron Head
- Superpower

Durant's Advantages

Coverage

Durant has much better coverage than Klinklang such as X-Scissor for Psychic types, Superpower for Steels, and possibly Rock Slide for fire and flying types on the switch while Klinklang has to rely on Return/Wild Charge for coverage.

Speed

Durant has a good 109 Speed compared to Klinklang's 90. Durant has just enough speed to outspeed non scarf Galvantula and Scyther easily killing both with a Rock Slide. However, after a Shift Gear, Klinklang becomes faster than Durant and can outspeed more Pokemon.

Durant's disadvantages

Typing

While Durant's only weakness is fire, Klinklang can resist flying and rock. This means Klinklang can set up and switch in easier. Klinklang can switch in on moves like Moltres' Hurricane and Kabutops' Stone Edge.

Bulk

Klinklang has good 60/115/85 defenses, while Durant has only 58/112/48 defenses. As you can see, Durant is much weaker on the special side which could spell doom for the steel ant.
 

Molk

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Durant has a good 109 Speed compared to Klinklang's 90. Durant has just enough speed to outspeed non scarf Galvantula and Scyther easily killing both with a Rock Slide.
Just wanted to point out that although Durant does have the higher initial Speed stat compared to Klinklang, Klinklang's Shift Gear gives it a massive boost in Speed, meaning it can outrun a bunch of threats Durant can't after a boost.


anyways, like half the posts in this thread are mine but what the heck lol i'll do another.


Roselia as a defensive Grass-type compared to Amoonguss.


Roselia @ Eviolite
Trait: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SDef / 4 Def
Calm Nature
- Spikes
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Toxic Spikes / Rest / Aromatherapy

Roselia's advantages

Entry Hazards:

Unlike Amoonguss, Roselia has the ability to set up both Spikes and Toxic Spikes for its team, both of which are very important in the metagame simply because of how good hazards are right now. Because of the typing Roselia shares with Amoonguss, it has no trouble setting up multiple layers either, and on teams where the player needs a Pokemon to set up these hazards while having utility against Grass-type special attackers such as Lilligant and Sceptile, Roselia is clearly the better option over Amoonguss.

Aromatherapy:

Roselia can perform clerical support for its team as well, healing its entire team of any status problems they might have simply by using Aromatherapy a single time, this is something Amoonguss wished it could do.

Natural Cure:

Roselia comes with a nice ability in Natural Cure along with its access to Spikes, Toxic Spikes, and Aromatherapy. This makes Roselia quite a good status absorber, letting it switch into Sleep Powders and Scalds that would cripple Amoonguss, and simply switching out to heal them off in the end.

Hits a bit harder:

Roselia's Special Attack stat is quite a bit higher than Amoonguss's, sitting at a nice base 100 while amoon is stuck down at base 85, and while the damage difference isn't huge, it still means Roselia is a bit less prone to being set up on bar Amoonguss's Clear Smog, and lets Roselia grab a few KOs that Amoonguss never could without investment.

Roselia's disadvantages

No Regenerator

perhaps Amoonguss's biggest advantage over Roselia is its access to the coveted Regenerator ability. While Roselia's Natural Cure is nice for healing off status and being a good status absorber, Amoonguss actually restores a significant amount of Hp just by switching out and switching back in, giving it a bit more longetivity.

Sleep legality issues

Amoonguss has the advantage of Spore over Roselia too, letting it take a Pokemon out of comission for an indefinite amount of time unless the opponent has a move such as Sleep Talk or something like Vital Spirit. Roselia has access to Sleep Powder to put opponents to Sleep as well of course, but its sadly illegal with Spikes, one of Roselia's most important utility moves, making it not worthwhile to run it most of the time.

More Overall bulk

Even with Roselia's Eviolite factored in, Amoonguss has a significant amount of physical bulk to boast over Roselia, as well as access to Leftovers recovery and the aforementioned Regenerator to passively recover health. This means Amoonguss often lasts longer than Roselia over the course of the match, as previously mentioned in the regenerator blurb.
 

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I'm going continue this discussion by comparing Roselia to yet another one of its competitors.

Roselia as a defensive Grass-type Spiker vs. Ferroseed



Roselia's Advantages

Offensive presence: Roselia has a very solid 100 Special Attack and Giga Drain and Sludge Bomb, which make it no sitting duck and can deal solid damage, whereas Ferroseed is pitifully weak with its paltry Attack, and can thus sometimes be setup fodder. Roselia has the advantage of not being setup fodder at all, and can handle the threats that it handles one-on-one, such as Omastar, Sceptile, Galvantula, etc.

Natural Cure: Roselia is also indifferent to most forms of status, such as burns and sleep, while Ferroseed is highly vulnerable to burns and shit, making it rather easy to wear down. Roselia can absorb most status pretty easily, and is also immune to Toxic just like Ferroseed is. Roselia also can absorb Scald from Poliwrath and to a lesser extent Alomomola.

Aromatherapy: As Molk said, Aromatherapy gives Rose an advantage over Amoonguss, and it gives it an advantage over Ferroseed as well. Roselia can provide support to its team as a cleric, which is always very useful.

Toxic Spikes: Roselia has access to not only Spikes, but Toxic Spikes too! This means it can also provide the hazard to provide chip damage at opponents that help stall teams and other teams looking for the T-Spikes in general. Roselia can also remove Toxic Spikes from the field, making it more useful in this regard.

Reliable recovery: Roselia has Synthesis and Rest, which ensure it can keep its HP high throughout the match to repeatedly do its job, and has Natural Cure to remove Rest's effects unliike lol Munchlax. Ferroseed lacks reliable recovery, and can only rely on Leech Seed or Wish support to stay healthy.

Roselia's Disadvantages:

Lack of overall bulk: While Roselia is quite bulky on the special side, its physical defense is unfortunately borderline pitiful, whereas Ferroseed has some pretty nice physical bulk while having useful special bulk as well. Roselia is unable to take most physical hits, which leaves it at the disadvantage here.

Stealth Rock: Roselia doesn't have Stealth Rock, while Ferroseed does. While Ferroseed might not always find the room for this, it is perfectly capable of running it to chip Flying-types at their HP stat, and also SR is the best of the three hazards (and one of the best moves in the game) for a good reason.

Lack of Steel-type: Grass / Poison is a pretty good defensive typing, that is undeniable, but the Steel typing, arguably the best defensive typing in the GAME, is a big miss. Ferroseed gets a shitton of resistances that Roselia doesn't have, and most importantly, it can come in on Druddigon and Fraxure locking themselves into Outrage (and chip at their HP with Leech Seed and Iron Barbs).

Thunder Wave: Ferroseed can spread paralysis around with T-Wave, providing support for those slower teams (and overall being useful in general), while Roselia can't (and has no room for Stun Spore). This gives Ferroseed the advantage in the support role.

Lack of Iron Barbs: Ferroseed can basically chip away an attacker's HP by just getting hit, which is pretty awesome to make it easier to kill some opponents, while Roselia can only just fire attacks to chip HP away.
 

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OK, here's a fun one:

Tangrowth as a Choiced special attacker vs. Sceptile



Tangrowth @ Choice Specs
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 112 HP / 252 SpA / 144 Spe
Modest Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power Rock
- Sleep Powder

Tangrowth's Advantages

Bulky Attacker:

OK, I feel this is one of the first things people would compare when they look at these two next to each other, right after Speed. However, after glancing at the top half of the Base Stats, you will see three really awesome numbers staring back at you: a base 100 HP, a mammoth base 125 Defense, and a base 110 Special Attack, which is actually 5 higher than Sceptile. With this awesome bulk and high offensive power, Tangrowth can switch in on a good amount of physical attackers in the tier (especially Water-types) without taking too much damage, before smashing back with a STAB Leaf Storm or a super effective Focus Blast against Steel-type switch ins. This thing can force switches and take advantage of them immediately, and adds a big, puffy cushion to support both defensive cores and offensive teams.

Sleep Powder:

This move can often be more powerful in a game than any STAB Leaf Storm Sceptile can pull off. Once an opposing pokemon has been put to sleep, it can become a setup opportunity, an easy picking for another attacker, or simply a dead weight for the rest of the game as the opponent tries to play around their crippled pokemon. Even better; it the pokemon that is asleep faints, you can put another pokemon to sleep, mounting constant pressure on the opponent to decide who they would prefer to have put to sleep, and toss up whether their switch-in to Tangrowth going to be incapacitated by Sleep Powder or nuked by Leaf Storm / A coverage move. Really, just having this move in your arsenal can make or break a lot of games, and Sceptile is royally jealous that it misses out on it.

Regenerator:

This. Is. Huge. With Regenerator backing up its awesome physical bulk, Tangrowth can become one of the most perfectly suited Choice Specs users in the tier; it comes in on a resisted attack / to revenge kill slower or weaker opponents, hits once and hits hard with a boosted attack or Sleep Powder, and switches out to recieve a third of its health back. Seriously, this thing makes Tangrowth as glorious as it is, and should be a clear incentive to use it over Sceptile if your team would prefer the added survivability and ability to Sleep opponents.

Tangrowths Disadvantages

Speed:

Yes, yes, I'm getting to it... With a base 50 Speed that makes awful look good, Tangrowth is outsped by pretty much the whole tier. With the role of a tank, Tangrowth is less affected by this, as the set is designed to take hits and has methods beyond Regenerator to recover HP (Leech Seed, Giga Drain). Meanwhile, the Choice Specs set has no way to outspeed a lot of the threats it is hoping to revenge or switch in on and dispose of; therefore, in order to force switches it must rely on either the element of surprise (if people see Tangrowth, they will assume it is using the tank set) or simply being a solid counter regardless of the set it is running, e.g it could switch in against Feraligatr with very little worry. Sceptile, on the other hand, zips past pretty much the whole tier, with a scorching base 120 Speed. This allows it to more effectively revenge killin this respect. which is pretty much the main purpose of all Choiced attackers beyond momentum grabbing (see: MANectric).

Susceptible to Fire (Specially weak):

Hurr durr, hurr durr. This is kind of an extension on the Speed problem, but it is a pretty glaring issue with Tangrowth. There are three criteria to revenge Tangrowth or beating it on the switch: Be faster than it, have a super effective or powerful neutral special attack, and have a decent Special Attack stat. These criteria are not hard to fill, and where Sceptile can revenge / dispose of Moltres, Sigilyph, Galvantula and co with its great Speed, Tangrowth will quickly fall to a faster Fire Blast, Air Sash, Bug Buzz or whatever else. Even some physical attackers like Tauros run Fire Blast for smashing Tangrowth (amongst other reasons) as it tries to tank a hit. In a tier where Fire, Flying / Bug, decent Special Attack and high Speed are fairly common, Tangrowth can struggle to function as effectively as Sceptile.
 

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Tauros as a Normal Type compared to Cinccino


Tauros (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SAtk / 252 Spd
Naive Nature
- Rock Climb
- Rock Slide
- Fire Blast
- Earthquake

Tauros's advantages

Sheer Force

One of the most important things Tauros has over its counterpart Cinccino is Sheer Force: arguably one of the best abilities in the game at the moment. As if Tauros didnt hit hard enough, Sheer Force gives it a considerable boost to its attacks that lets it do even more damage than before, even boosting is main STAB move Rock Climb significantly. Furthermore, whenever Tauros uses one of these moves (all moves except Earthquake), it doesn't take Life Orb recoil, giving Tauros a bit more longetivity and ensuring it doesn't get worn down as easily.

Coverage

While Cinccino's coverage is pretty decent all around and lets it hit quite a few Pokemon super effectively, it does miss out on certain things such as Steel-types such as Steelix and Klinklang. Tauros doesn't have that problem, having pretty much perfect neutral coverage between Rock Climb, Rock Slide/ZH, Fire Blast, and Earthquake. Making it much harder to wall than Cinccino. Fire Blast is especially important, as despite Tauros's low Special Attack stat, it has just enough power to cleanly 2HKO Steelix, Tangrowth, Escavalier, and Ferroseed, while also OHKOing durant: allowing Tauros to revenge kill it easily.

Bulk

One of Cinccino's main flaws is its mediocre bulk, which makes it almost impossible to safely switch in on anything, and while Tauros isn't exactly a defensive behemoth either, it definitely has the advantage over Cinccino defensively. 75/95 is more than enough to avoid the 2HKO from weak physical hits, and if Tauros decides to run intimidate (although it really shouldnt imo) that just makes it all the easier for the bull to switch in. The previously mentioned lack of life orb recoil lets tauros stay around for longer too.

Tauros's disadvantages

No U-turn

Although Tauros is better than Cinccino at wallbreaking, not getting worn down, and switching in. It lacks one important move Cinccino has: U-turn. U-turn is a great move at the moment for scouting, grabbing momentum, and escaping checks, and Cinccino uses it quite nicely to escape things such as Spiritomb and Escavalier. Tauros really wishes it could use a move like U-turn, although admittedly it might have trouble finding a moveslot for it :x.

Less Utility, can't break subs or focus sashes for example

One of Cinccino's main selling points is its strong multi hit moves along with skill link, which let it easily break things such as Substitute, Focus Sash, and Sturdy for the rest of its team, Shutting down things such as Smeargle and Calm Mind Uxie for example. Something Tauros can't do because of its lack of these moves.
 

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I'm going to go off of Molk's post once again.

Zangoose as a Normal-type vs. Tauros and Cinccino



Zangoose (M) @ Toxic Orb
Trait: Toxic Boost
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly / Adamant Nature
- Facade
- Close Combat
- Night Slash / Swords Dance
- Quick Attack

Zangoose's Advantages

Toxic Boost: While Tauros and Cinccino have abilities that give them pretty hard hitting STAB making them powerhouses, Zangoose can poison itself and not only give it a Facade that hits harder than Tail Slap and Rock Climb, but also literally give Zangoose a Choice Band boost without the lock in. This makes Zangoose ridiculously powerful, and it can hit like a damn nuke while Facade has literally no accuracy problems. This is a pretty big advantage, and Zangoose can make good use of this. Its reliance on being poisoned also makes it indifferent to burns.

Close Combat/Night Slash: Cinccino is helpless against things like Steelix, and a potential Dusclops drop isn't helping it, and Tauros does awful against Ghost-types. Zangoose has no problems being walled, as its superb Attack with the Toxic boost in hand and higher powered CC than Tauros' EQ allows Zangoose to give the harder blow against things like Klinklang and Misdreavus. It isn't helpless against Ghost-types thanks to this.

Swords Dance: While all-out Attacker Zangoose is the more effective set, it can also run SD to basically become more insanely powerful than Cinccino and Tauros ever were. It can fire Toxic Boosted, +2 Facades that hit so damn hard that any non-resists get 2HKO'd, and also makes it ridiculous against slow teams.

Zangoose's Disadvantages

Lack of Speed: Although Zangoose's Speed is pretty decent, it doesn't have the high Speed of Cinccino and Tauros, as they outspeed stuff like Galvantula and even Scolipede in the former's case. Zangoose can often get outsped by threats such as Cinccino, Tauros, Sceptile, Scolipede, Galvantula, Archeops, lolevire, and Manectric. Quick Attack is not always enough to save Zangoose from this flaw.

Less utility: As Molk said, one of Cinccino's biggest selling points is the ability to break Sashes. Tauros can also run Fire Blast to break past Tangrowth and Escavalier. Zangoose can't do any of this, and is also capable of being taken on by things like Tangrowth pretty handily.

Much easier to wear down: Cinccino does get worn down by LO, and Tauros has no recoil at all. But Zangoose also gets worn down much more quickly, as the damage from the Toxic Orb will steadily increase each turn, limiting Zangoose's lifespan.
 

EonX

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Aggron as a Steel-type Choice Band user vs. Escavalier



Aggron (M) @ Choice Band
Trait: Rock Head
EVs: 116 HP / 252 Atk / 140 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Head Smash
- Heavy Slam
- Fire Punch
- Low Kick / Earthquake

Aggron's advantages:

Coverage: This one is pretty dang obvious, but it's also a pretty big one. The main flaw of Escavalier is its lack of relevant coverage on Steel-types. Aggron has Fire Punch, Low Kick, and EQ to deal with them all, making it more self-sufficient when it comes to paving the way for it to spam its main STAB.

Rock Head: This is huge for Aggron and one of the main reasons it's so feared. With Rock Head, Head Smash's normally fatal 50% recoil is done away with, thus letting Aggron use a 150 BP move with no drawbacks other than the 90% accuracy (which is still mariginally better than Megahorn's 85% rate)

Speed: Ok, both are pretty slow, but when you're having to invest in your Speed just to be able to outspeed Slowking of all things, that's when you know you're really slow. Thankfully, Aggron doesn't have this issue and is still more than capable of mauling Slowking with Head Smash. Aggron also gets in front of another key threat in Druddigon, thus allowing Aggron to bash it with Head Smash before Druddigon can respond with a possible EQ or Superpower.

Aggron's disadvantages:

Typing: This is a rough one for Aggron. Escavalier's typing leaves it only weak to Fire-type moves whereas Aggron is 4x weak to both Fighting- and Ground-types while also getting hit hard by Water attacks.

Well-rounded bulk: While Aggron has insane physical bulk, its special bulk is far from impressive. Escavalier may not have the insane physical bulk, but it has the solid bulk on both sides to be able to tank hits more effectively on average.

Pursuit: One of Escavalier's biggest perks is Pursuit. This lets it punish a fleeing opponent such as Slowking or Uxie and weaken (or KO) them. Aggron lacks this utility and it can sometimes be very costly.
 

Molk

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Jynx as an RU Blizzspammer compared to Glaceon


Jynx (F) @ Life Orb
Trait: Dry Skin
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Lovely Kiss
- Blizzard
- Psyshock
- Focus Blast / Hidden Power [Fire]

Jynx's advantages:

Speed: Jynx is significantly faster than its competition as a blizzspammer, whether it be Glaceon or really any other Blizzard User, and the fastest hail abuser overall by far, with only Rotom-F even coming within 10 points of its base Speed stat. This means that Jynx can outpace many important RU threats such as Kabutops, Mesprit, Gallade, and Moltres without a Choice Scarf, something Glaceon is unable to do (although Scarf jynx is probably still pretty decent)

Lovely Kiss: Jynx's signature move Lovely Kiss is an incredible asset to her, basically giving her the equivalent of Sleep Powder with a different name. This means Jynx can put a dangerous Pokemon out of comission when needed, and can even defend herself against her checks and counters while simultaneously making it easier for her teammates to pick them off. Sleep is really powerful, and Jynx is a perfect example of how much of an advantage a well played sleep move can give you.

Movepool: Glaceon sort of struggles movepool wise to be honest, not really getting many strong offensive moves outside of its Ice STAB, Hidden Power, and Shadow Ball. Meanwhile Jynx has access to a bunch of nice offensive options, such as a secondary STAB in psychic as well as access to Psyshock to help jynx get around cryogonal more easily, Focus Blast to nail pesky Steel-types on the switch, and even Nasty Plot to boost Jynx's already high Special Attack stat to even more dangerous levels.

Dry Skin: Lastly, Jynx has a nice ability in Dry Skin to worth with that comes in handy quite a bit: giving her a complete immunity to Water-type moves, meaning she can check threats such as Omastar, can't be revenge killed by Aqua Jet, and can heal herself by switching into Scalds being thrown around by Bulky Water-types. Dry Skin gives Jynx a weakness to Fire-type moves, but she's already weak to them to begin with, so it doesn't make too much of a difference.


Jynx's disadvantages:


Slightly weaker: Although Jynx is faster than Glaceon, and has access to a nice secondary STAB as well as Nasty Plot, she's still a little bit weaker than Glaceon initially, sitting at base 115 Special Attack while Glaceon sits at base 130. This is sort of a moot point compared to the other Blizzspammers though, as Jynx is actually the second strongest Blizzspammer after Glaceon.

Fraility: Looking at Glaceon and Jynx's stats, its pretty easy to see that Jynx is at a major disadvantage defensively. While Glaceon is still defensively challenged as an Ice-type, its pretty clear that Jynx has even more trouble, having a pathetic base 35 Defense stat. Jynx will end up being OHKO'd by pretty much every physical attack she isn't completely immune to, which makes her a bit harder to switch in and that much more vulnerable to priority.

No Ice Body: While Dry Skin is a great ability and all with its own good perks, it also means Jynx is unable to recover with Ice Body like Glaceon can, making it slightly easier to wear Jynx down over time and also renders her unable to perform any subtect set Glaceon possibly could (man imagine subtect jynx with Ice Body, lovely kiss x_x).

Pursuit weakness: Unlike Glaceon, Jynx has a weakness to Pursuit, which makes her that much more vulnerable to being trapped by Spiritomb and Escavalier, the latter of which is already a threat to hail teams after Sleep clause is in effect, possibly giving the opponent the easy way out of a jynx sweep where they would've ended up losing to a Glaceon in her place.
 

ScraftyIsTheBest

On to new Horizons!
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Fave Poke comin' through:

Mesprit as a SubCM user vs. Uxie


Mesprit @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Substitute
- Calm Mind
- Psyshock
- Thunderbolt / Ice Beam

Mesprit's Advantages

Higher Special Attack off the bat: Uxie is extremely weak before a boost, and if it has no time to boost it cannot do significant damage to anything. Mesprit, on the other hand, has a pretty good initial Special Attack to work with, and this can be really helpful to do initial damage if there's no time to set up. This also means Mesprit is more threatening in general after a number of boosts (preferably two). Being more threatening is a great thing in Mesprit's favor

Ice Beam: While Mesprit won't always be running this, this is a good tool for Mesprit on teams where you're looking to damage Steelix and Tangrowth with your SubCMer (ie two things that wall SubCM Uxie). Mesprit can hit on Tangrowth and Steelix's weaker defense stat while also for more than T-bolt. This also means Mesprit can be a viable check to Druddigon, one of the best Pokemon in the tier atm.

More unpredictable: Okay, this isn't that big of an advantage, but Mesprit is incredibly versatile, so your opponent probably wouldn't know if you're running the SubCM set until Mesprit gets into play.

Also it's way cuter, so yeah.

Mesprit's Disadvantages

Less Speed: Mesprit isn't quite as fast as Uxie, sitting at only 80 Base Speed. This means while more powerful, it's outsped by things like Lilligant and Moltres, which Uxie outspeeds. This can leave Mesprit at the disadvantage at times

Less bulk: Mesprit is reasonably bulky and can take hits, but Uxie also has superb bulk that can take many hits, so it has a little bit of an easier time setting up
 

Molk

Godlike Usmash
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Medicham as a Fighting-type late game cleaner compared to Hitmonlee:


Medicham @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Pure Power
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Hi Jump Kick
- Zen Headbutt / Psycho Cut
- ThunderPunch
- Trick

Medicham's advantages:

Hits Harder: Because of Pure Power, Medicham hits significantly harder than Hitmonlee ever can, hitting a mighty 480 Attack with an adamant Nature while having a 130 Bp STAB in Hi Jump Kick to abuse. Even without a boosting item, Adamant Medicham can 2HKO tangrowth even after just Stealth Rock, pretty impressive for a Pokemon using a neutral physical attack, and something Hitmonlee can't hope to accomplish without losing the benefits of Unburden.

Secondary Psychic STAB: Medicham has a nice Psychic-type stab to utilize that seperates it from Hitmonlee. This gives Medicham a reliable way to get past Poison-types that Hitmonlee struggles with, such as Qwilfish and Amoonguss. These two completely wall Hitmonlee, but just keel over to Medicham's Psycho Cut/Zen Headbutt.

Doesn't lose Speed Boost after switching out: One of Hitmonlee's biggest flaws as a cleaner is that its sort of all or nothing, if it doesn't pull off the Unburden sweep the first time and gets forced out, it can't attempt to do it again, as it doesn't retain the speed boost after switching out. Medicham has no such problem, relying on Choice Scarf to boost its Speed instead of the one time Unburden.

Trick: Medicham has access to Trick unlike Hitmonlee, meaning it can trick its Choice Scarf onto a Pokemon to cripple it when the extra Speed isn't needed, putting the opponent at a disadvantage and freeing up Medicham to switch moves.

Medicham's disadvantages:

Not Quite as fast: Although Medicham doesn't lose its Speed after switching out once like Hitmonlee does, Medicham isn't *quite* as fast as Unburden Hitmonlee could possibly get, as Choice Scarf only provides a 1.5% boost while Unburden provides a 2x boost. This means that Scarf Medicham can potentially be outsped by Accelgor and some other Choice Scarfed Pokemon like scarf Rotom-C that Hitmonlee would have no trouble outspeeding and KOing.

Locked into one move: As long as Medicham is holding the Choice Scarf to boost its Speed, it'll be completely unable to switch to a different move until it switches out and switches in again, while Unburden Hitmonlee can switch moves at any time it wants. Usually this doesn't matter too much because Medicham is usually just spamming Hi Jump Kick, but it does mean Medicham can be forced out in situations where Hitmonlee could just switch moves because it predicted incorrectly.

Doesn't resist Pursuit: Unlike Hitmonlee, Medicham doesn't possess a resistance to Pursuit because of its secondary Psychic-type, usually this isn't too significant, but because one of Medicham's main checks has access to Pursuit, it can be quite annoying at times, and Medicham can find itself trapped where a Hitmonlee could just switch out and not be KO'd by the same Pursuit.
 

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