OverviewDespite its appearance and reputation, Simipour is actually a very effective offensive Pokemon in NU, putting teams under pressure with its incredible Speed, great coverage, and ability to boost its good Special Attack stat with Nasty Plot. Sadly, it lives under the shadow of Gorebyss, who is the more popular Water-type booster in the tier because of its access to Shell Smash, better Special Attack, and good enough Defense stat to take priority hits. However, Simipour is still perfectly usable and can distinguish itself from Gorebyss through the use of coverage moves, such as Grass Knot and Focus Blast, which Gorebyss doesn't have access to. Furthermore, Simipour can be used alongside Gorebyss on a pseudo-double Dragon team, in which one Pokemon softens up the opponent's checks enough so that the other can attempt a full sweep, just like Salamence + Rayquaza in Ubers and Heracross + Pinsir in UU. Unlike Gorebyss, Simipour also makes a good Choice-item user and thus is a better option if you're looking for a potent revenge killer on your team. All in all, whilst Simipour has its disadvantages, it certainly doesn't Simisuck.
Simipour's excellent Speed, great coverage, and access to STAB Hydro Pump combine to make it a particularly good user of Nasty Plot, as it can threaten to sweep an unprepared opponent after a single boost once Choice Scarf users and faster threats, such as Swellow, are removed. Very few walls can take repeated boosted attacks from Simipour, as those that resist Hydro Pump, such as Altaria and Lapras, are hit extremely hard by Ice Beam and Grass Knot. This fantastic coverage means many teams are only able to check Simipour with a faster offensive Pokemon or a Sucker Punch user, such as Cacturne. Simipour can hence keep constant pressure on the opponent, forcing them to make predictable moves to check it, which allows you to out-maneuver them effectively. Hydro Pump is a superior STAB attack to Surf as Simipour's base 98 Special Attack is slightly underwhelming. This is especially important if Simipour attacks early in the game instead of boosting, because Surf simply won't have enough power. Ice Beam provides coverage against the various Grass- and Dragon-type Pokemon that resist Hydro Pump and is especially helpful against the rising threat of Water Absorb Cacturne, which is a hard counter to Simipour otherwise. Meanwhile, Grass Knot allows Simipour to hit bulky Water-type Pokemon for decent damage, being particularly effective against Lapras, which would otherwise take its attacks with ease. Although Simipour remains an excellent offensive threat, the main reason why it sees low usage in the metagame is that Gorebyss largely fulfills the same roles on many teams, while being much easier to use due to the ridiculous boosting capabilities that Shell Smash provides. However, it is worth noting that Simipour can outspeed many offensive opponents without any boosts, while Gorebyss is more or less forced to boost its Speed before it can deal with them effectively. This means that Simipour can simply be used in the early-game to wallop opponents with STAB Hydro Pump and super effective coverage moves and does not have to boost until its checks are removed in the mid-game. Furthermore, this makes the combination of Simipour + Gorebyss very effective on hyper offensive teams, as Simipour can soften up the checks for Gorebyss before the latter attempts a sweep of its own. The offensive pressure that both of these sweepers can place on teams can often be overwhelming, unless the opponent prepares specific lures and checks for your Water-type Pokemon in advance. Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
With a Choice item equipped, Simipour changes roles completely, turning from a wallbreaker or setup sweeper into a potent revenge killer, and turning from Gorebyss's second-in-command into a standalone threat. Choice Simipour retains the excellent coverage of its Nasty Plot set while also having room for a fourth attacking move. Focus Blast is used primarily for its ability to hit specially defensive Normal-types such as Lickilicky, which can survive an unboosted Hydro Pump. Simipour naturally outspeeds most opponents in the tier, meaning that even Choice Specs variants make excellent revenge killers. Opponents such as Braviary, Sawk, and Rotom-S cannot hope to outspeed it without using a Choice Scarf and are thus revenge killed fairly easily once Simipour gets in. When using Choice Specs, Simipour has the advantage of hitting harder initially than the Nasty Plot set, while still retaining its excellent Speed tier and not taking any residual damage, meaning it can clean up weakened teams more effectively in the late-game, and it can sweep offensive teams much more easily than an unboosted Gorebyss.
On the other hand, a Simipour equipped with a Choice Scarf becomes one of the fastest threats in the entire metagame, outspeeding almost all other Choice Scarf users and threatening most of them—as well as many other threats, namely Swellow, Tauros, Rapidash and boosted Altaria—with a powerful STAB Hydro Pump. Though less effective against defensive teams, Choice Scarf Simipour can halt or severely shorten the sweep of many offensive Pokemon due to its ridiculous Speed and ability to OHKO with Hydro Pump or super effective coverage moves. In fact, the only offensive checks that can reliably deal with Choice Scarf Simipour are priority attackers. While these sets don't have to be used alongside Gorebyss and aren't outclassed by it at all, Gorebyss does appreciate Choice Simipour's ability to revenge kill fast opponents that could otherwise interrupt its boosting attempts. Team Options & Additional Comments >>>Other OptionsSimipour also has a good Attack stat, but doesn't really secure a lot of extra coverage when using physical attacks, and as they are coming off of an uninvested stat, they will usually be significantly weaker than their special counterparts. Waterfall is completely inferior to Hydro Pump due to its lower Base Power and the greater prevalence of physical walls, such as Regirock. Acrobatics is an interesting option to beat Ludicolo, but requires the use of a Flying Gem to be useful and lacks overall purpose whilst preventing Simipour from running a Life Orb or Choice item to boost its other moves or Speed. Likewise, Simipour also has access to Hone Claws and Work Up to boost its Attack stat, but these sets will always be inferior to the Nasty Plot set due to the latter's faster boosting capability, more powerful attacking options, and better coverage. Checks and CountersAs Simipour will most likely be using Grass-type coverage moves in this metagame, Mantine makes for an unexpected counter. It heals from Hydro Pump, tanks neutral Grass Knot and Ice Beam with ease due to its titanic Special Defense, and resists Focus Blast. In the meantime, it can simply stall Simipour out with Rest, Sleep Talk, and Toxic, or with repeated Air Slash. Ludicolo is also a very effective counter with its brilliant typing and strong Grass-type moves. If you lack this specific response, powerful Sucker Punch users, such as Skuntank and Cacturne, can be useful in halting Simipour's sweep too; the latter is also able to switch into Hydro Pump and Grass Knot. Choice Scarf users can take down the Nasty Plot set fairly easily, but are in turn eliminated by Choice Scarf Simipour, so you must make sure to determine which set Simipour is running before attempting to stop it via this method. |
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