Underrated Sets on Overrated NU Pokémon

Introduction:

It's not rare for an inferior set to be very common on the ladder. In every tier, it's possible to find a lot of cases where people ignore the best set in favor of something that often doesn't make sense in the metagame. In Neverused, there are a lot of Pokémon that have great sets that are ignored, and I am here to tell you why you should use these sets instead!

What you shouldn't use:

Armaldo @ Leftovers
Ability: Battle Armor
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Rapid Spin
- Rock Blast
- X-Scissor

Armaldo has a terrible defensive typing; its only useful resistance is to Normal-type moves. A bulky Rapid Spin always looks appealing, but in a metagame full of Ghost-types that walk all over this set, such as Misdreavus and Golurk, it will rarely ever succeed in spinning. The only defensive Ghost-type it can defeat is the rare Lampent. Armaldo can even lose to offensive Ghost-types like Haunter and Drifblim if it gets only a few hits with Rock Blast. Despite this, defensive Armaldo attempts to be a decent spinner, but it is weak to hazards and incredibly easy to force out to ever spin. Beyond its failures as a spinner, this set is defeated by every common Stealth Rock lead in the tier, not netting a single positive match-up. Golem, Probopass, Golurk, Regirock, and everything else all defeat this set. Defensive Armaldo really doesn't wall anything of note. It has a decent chance of beating Zangoose, but that is really about it. Defensive Armaldo accomplishes nothing right now and shouldn't be used on a serious team, as it is outclassed as a defensive spinner by Wartortle and is about as viable as the amazing Sandshrew as a defensive spinner.

What you should use:

Armaldo @ Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Rock Polish
- X-Scissor
- Stone Edge
- Aqua Tail / Earthquake / Rapid Spin

This set is designed to play to Armaldo's strengths instead of focusing on just one single useful move that it has. Armaldo has great coverage and one of the highest Attack stats in Neverused. Adamant Rock Polish Armaldo is able to outspeed everything up to but not including Swellow, and it has super effective coverage against a lot of major players in the metagame. Scolipede, Jynx, Musharna, Mandibuzz, and Charizard all fall to this set. The last moveslot has a bunch of interesting options that can help Armaldo succeed against different threats. Aqua Tail hits Ground-types such as Golem, Golurk, and Piloswine. Without Aqua Tail they all get easy switches in to Armaldo, and can defeat it one on one. However, Earthquake hits Garbodor and Metang, which can both set up hazards on Armaldo. Finally, Rapid Spin is just a great move. Although it doesn't provide any extra coverage, offensive Armaldo is strong enough to actually hurt spinblockers and get off a Rapid Spin. This set is far more successful right now than the defensive set because it can set up quite easily on Kangaskhan and other Normal-types and proceed to destroy offensive teams. It is surprisingly effective right now as many players view Armaldo as a joke and refuse to look at it as a threat at all.

What you shouldn't use:

Liepard @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Substitute
- Swagger
- Foul Play
- Thunder Wave

Thunder Wave might seem like a good option for Liepard at first glance, as it contributes directly to the haxy nature of this set by lowering the opponent's chance of ever attacking Liepard even more, and it is a great way to stop a sweeper. However, its utility greatly overlaps with what Swagger already offers, just without the tangible benefit of increasing the strength of Foul Play. All Thunder Wave really does is make this set a little more luck-based in the user's favor; it offers little synergy to the rest of the team most of the time. Outside of stopping a potential Carracosta sweep (which Swagger can also do), there is little reason to be using Thunder Wave competitively on Liepard. Truth be told, if Liepard didn't have an amazing move that it could use over Thunder Wave, it would definitely be the best possible set, but a move exists that far exceeds the value of Thunder Wave, a move that makes Liepard not 100% luck-based, as it can punish Substitute users and anything trying to dance around Liepard without hurting it. This move, Encore, is far and away better than Thunder Wave on Liepard right now.

What you should use:

Liepard @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP/ 4 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Substitute
- Swagger
- Foul Play
- Encore

You may be saying, "But Raseri, the only difference here is Encore. Why would you only want to change a single move? That barely counts as a new set!" To that I say, the addition of Encore is absolutely huge for Liepard. Encore allows Liepard to switch in as a threat to Pokémon, such as Fraxure or Serperior attempting to set up and stop them in their tracks 100%. Thunder Wave will stop a sweep, but Liepard will often be defeated in the process. If a support move is Encored, Liepard will easily be able to set up a Substitute and start Swagger shenanigans to terrorize the opponent. Encore essentially forces the opponent to keep attacking Liepard and discourages any attempts to set up by the opposition. Even a mistimed use of Spikes can mean that the beginning of SubSwag can begin. Encore is a lot more reliable in any given match than Thunder Wave because you know exactly how it will work, and it isn't reliant on luck at all. With a Pokémon as reliant on hax as Liepard, having a move that is consistent is amazing.

What you shouldn't use:

Pinsir @ Choice Scarf
Abiliy: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- X-Scissor
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake

Choice Scarf Pinsir is just weak, and it will struggle to get the first kill in order to get the Attack boost from Moxie. It is often compared to Heracross in UU, and they do have a lot in common, but Pinsir is much weaker than Heracross. It also lacks Megahorn and doesn't have STAB on Close Combat. The biggest issue with Choice Scarf Pinsir is that it is so easy to wall, with nearly any physical wall in the tier able to switch in easily. Pinsir is also slow for a Choice Scarf user in the current metagame, as the most common Choice Scarf users, such as Jynx, Primeape, and Tauros, are all faster and can revenge kill Pinsir easily. To top it off, Pinsir's only viable STAB move has poor coverage in NU, as many of the bulkiest Pokémon resist Bug-type moves. This means that Pinsir will often have to lock itself into a non-STAB move in order to have any chance at cleaning up. Choice Scarf Pinsir is essentially a slow, weak Pokémon with poor coverage. All is not lost for Pinsir though, as it has a very effective set that does not rely on Choice Scarf!

What you should use:

Pinsir @ Life Orb
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- X-Scissor
- Earthquake
- Quick Attack

Choice Scarf Pinsir may be bad, but Life Orb Swords Dance Pinsir is an incredibly underrated threat right now. This set, which focuses on Pinsir's dangerous Attack and decent bulk, has more immediate power than the Scarf version, while also being able to switch attacks. It has (albeit weak) priority to hit the Pokémon faster than it, which is much more than the Choice Scarf set can do. Getting a Swords Dance boost with this set is not difficult, as Pinsir has respectable physical bulk, and can potentially nab a boost from one of the many Pokémon it forces out. Ludicolo in particular is put in a terrible position by Pinsir, as it either has to stay in and risk an X-Scissor, meaning that Pinsir will get a Moxie boost, or it switches out and risks a Swords Dance boost. Pinsir also does not need to use Swords Dance in order to be threatening, as even without a boost it can tear through a lot of teams with Life Orb boosted X-Scissor. Quick Attack may look weird, but it is able to OHKO Primeape if both a Swords Dance and Moxie boost are grabbed.

What you shouldn't use:

Gorebyss @ White Herb
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Shell Smash
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power Grass

It is very difficult to sweep with Gorebyss right now, as there are just too many Pokémon that can handle it even at +2 Speed. Every common Choice Scarf user can outrun and defeat Gorebyss after a boost, and there is no short list of Pokémon that can survive a hit and OHKO back even if Gorebyss is boosted. On top of this, Gorebyss is the ultimate Kangaskhan bait. It has decent physical bulk, but is susceptible to the Fake Out + Sucker Punch combo from Kangaskhan and will struggle to sweep any team with her on it. There are just too many Pokémon in the tier that beat it, including but not limited to: Kangaskhan, Jynx, Ludicolo, and Mantine. White Herb is also a poor choice of item for Gorebyss, although it is the most common. Gorebyss should not be focusing on its defense, since a Life Orb would generally be a lot more effective in allowing it to muscle past a lot of its counters. The issue with Gorebyss is not that it is weak, but it is just too slow and lacks bulk to clean up a lot of teams. Not being able to defeat a lot of the best Pokémon in the metagame is also very bad for it.

What you should use:

Gorebyss @ Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Shell Smash
- Substitute
- Surf
- Signal Beam

SubSmash Gorebyss plays to its strengths. Substitute allows it to not be flinched by Fake Out, meaning it can defeat Kangaskhan easily from behind a Substitute. Signal Beam offers great coverage in Neverused, hitting Jynx, Ludicolo, Exeggutor, and other Psychic-types super effectively. Gaining the ability to defeat some of the best Pokémon in the metagame is amazing for Gorebyss and makes it an underrated and deadly sweeper. Substitute is also very useful for its ability to bypass status. With it, Gorebyss no longer fears a Thunder Wave Regirock or a Toxic from Alomomola. Gorebyss can set up to its hearts content against a lot of the bulkier Pokémon in the metagame. If Gorebyss is able to keep its Substitute up even after setting up, there is little that can be done to stop it outside of Altaria, as it is just that powerful. Life Orb also makes it extremely deadly, though it means it will only have one real shot at sweeping. This set is very strong in the current metagame because it can take on a lot of top threats while still being able to take down a lot of things due to its powerful STAB.

Conclusion:

Hopefully after everything you just learned you want to try some of these sets out. They are all very underrated and effective right now. Maybe if we all use these sets on the ladder, other people would start using them, and we can be free of a world where people use Thunder Wave Liepard :)!

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