NFEs in the NU Tier

[Elegy96]

NU is a tier with more variety than many others, simply due to the lack of Pokemon available. Despite many of the standards being fully evolved mon such as Amoonguss, Golurk, Gothitelle, etc, many NFE's are viable, some more than people realise.

So the point of discussion is simply, what NFEs are viable to use, and what advantages do they have over other fully evolved mon? I will update the OP with notable sets as they are posted. I'll leave one or two to get you started.


Database

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Gurdurr

Set: Bulk Up
252hp/252atk/252sp.d
Eviolite
Adamant Nature
Guts
- Bulk Up
- Drain Punch
- Mach Punch
- Ice Punch / Payback

This set is simple. Bulk Up on something that can't touch you, boost your attack and physical defence, then smash things. Drain Punch provides semi-reliable healing while also being a powerful STAB move, whereas Mach Punch is priority to take out faster threats such as Cincinno or Zangoose. The choice of the coverage is up to you: Ice Punch hits Ground and Flying types that resist your STAB hard, whereas Payback takes out Ghosts that are immune to your fighting STAB. Guts is the chosen ability to provide a potential attack boost.

Fraxure

Set: Dragon Dance
@ Eviolite
Trait: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature (+Spe, -SpA)
- Dragon Dance
- Taunt
- Outrage
- Low Kick

Thanks to BW2 tutors Fraxure holds everything it needs to succeed in this simple, but very effective set. Using Eviolite to effectively give itself 66/114/84 defenses and alongside Taunt and Fraxure's share of good resists it can get up a few Dragon Dances up and start to sweep with its perfect coverage in Outrage and Low Kick. Low Kick was a pretty neat move for Fraxure as it lets it deals serious damage to the heavy Rock-type Pokemon such as Golem, Regirock, Probopass, and Lairon, while dealing good damage against Klang. Thanks to Mold Breaker it doesn't even care about Probopass and Laiton's potential Sturdy to stop it from OHKOing. With Max Speed and a Jolly nature it can outspeed Swellow by a single point, a major feat to be proud of. It's main flaw is that its best move, Outrage, locks him into it and could possibly lead to potential Klangs taking advantage and setting up. Fraxure pairs really well with Gurdurr as it can beat Klang and Mawile for Fraxure.

Klang

Set: Grind My Gears (Shift Gear)
@ Eviolite
Trait: Clear Body
EVs: 136 HP / 252 Atk / 120 Spe
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SpA)
- Substitute
- Shift Gear
- Gear Grind
- Return

Klang is a really good Pokemon thanks to its great Steel-typing and fantastic boosting move in Shift Gear. Klang can set up the the ever-so common Amoonguss, Haunter, Musharna, and Skuntank and deal serious damage to any team. While Klang has barely any coverage moves, Gear Grind + Return actually work really good together as the main Steel-types in the tier are also part Rock and take Gear Grind neutrally. This EV spread allows Klang to hit 332 Speed after a single Shift Gear and outspeed Modest Zebtrika and everything below that. Outspeeding Cinccino or Swellow isn't as big of a deal with Klang as having them out against you means can get an extra Shift Gear off. Klang pairs nicely with Gothitelle as it can trap Gurdurr and other Pokemon such as Rotom-S or Zebstrika, who are common Scarf users capable of outspeeding Klang after a boost and annoy it with Volt Switch or in Zebstrika's case, kill it with Overheat.

Riolu

Set: Copycat!
@ Eviolite
Trait: Prankster
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 HP
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SpA)
- Copycat
- Roar
- Drain Punch
- Crunch

This set is fairly straight forward, Set-up hazards bring it in on a wall that you force out, don't get OHKO'd by and roar, Drain Punch or Crunch away, with the lack of spinners in this tier on numerous teams it's easy to keep the hazards up throughout the battle until a chance presents itself the few problems this set has is priority like Aqua Jet, Protect, Fake Out and Sucker Punch, but you have 5 other pokes to handle those and them coming in isn't reliable for the enemy so you just rack up more damage till they luck out.

Kadabra

Set: Offensive
@ Life Orb
Trait: Magic Guard
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Substitute
- Psyshic
- Shadow Ball
- Hidden Power [Fighting]

With base 105 Speed and a good base 120 Special Attack Kadabra actually makes for a pretty good attacker. Due to its good offensive pressure, it can easily set up a Substitute and start doing work against the opponent's team with Life Orb boosted hits. Thanks to Magic Guard Kadabra doesn't have to worry taking damage from the various Spikes stacking teams or from its own Life Orb wearing it down alongside Substitute. Substitute can even be used to play mind games against Sucker Punch users such as Cacturne and Absol. The main problem with Kadabra is that it takes a teamslot of other potential Psychic-type Pokemon that can actually take a hit such as the always excellent Musharna. Being such a frail Psychic-type Pokemon means that Skuntank eats this for breakfast so packing a Golem for Stealth Rock and a good check to Skuntank is a good idea.

Haunter

Set: SubDisable
@ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Substitute
- Disable
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Bomb

Haunter is an excellent Pokemon the the BW2 Metagame as it is one of the few reliable checks to Zangoose and will destroy any teams that are unprepared. Having good attacking options with Shadow Ball and Sludge Bomb, it's coverage is only really missing out on Skuntank and Steel-type Pokemon. Even though Haunter is extremely frail, thanks to its excellent offensive pressure and SubDisable it can actually keep its Substitutes up most of the time. Hell, with SubDisable Haunter the potential to completely wall Zangoose, the Pokemon with no counters or safe switch ins. As said Haunter doesn't like Skuntank or Steel-types so Pokemon such as Gurdurr, Emboar, and Regirock make excellent partners for Haunter to remove its checks and counters. Otherwise Haunter can change Disable for Hidden Power [Ground] to hit Probopass, Skuntank, and Klang, but loses out on a lot of the utility that the set would have with Disable.

Combusken

Set: Special Sweeper
@ Life Orb
Trait: Speed Boost
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpAtk / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
-Substitute
-Protect
-Focus Blast
-Fire Blast

Although this set is often hampered by the shaky accuracy of its STAB attacks, special Combusken is definitely a force to be reckoned with. Powerful enough to 2HKO most of the tier and able to outspeed virtually everything after 2 turns. Fire / Fighting is a great STAB combination with few things in the tier being able to resist it, and both of its attacks have a sexy Base Power of 120. Substitute allows you to avoid pesky status conditions and survive attacks that might otherwise KO. Combusken appreciates hazard support and the removal of special walls, and needs much team support to be fully effective. Physical sets with Swords Dance / Flare Blitz / Sky Uppercut / Protect are also viable.

Frillish

@ Eviolite
Trait: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 184 Def / 72 SDef
Bold Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Taunt
- Recover
- Night Shade/Surf

Disclaimer:EV-s still need quite a lot of work, but a few in Sdef are needed to always live 2 Grass Knots after SR, or to have a decent chance of living 2 HP Grasses from LO Max SpAtk Samurott; and quite a lot of other moves.

When almost everyone was using Samurott, I wanted to find a poke who can beat him convincingly, and isn't that popular (I've always hated overused pokes), and I found Frillish. Then I realised that it can do way more, being able to take 2 hits from almost any bulky-setup poke, and burn/taunt them. For the last move, I prefer Night Shade for the safer damage, but Surf can 2HKO Armaldo.
Only use shiny female named Nightmarie ^.^

Piloswine @ Eviolite/Choice Band
Trait: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Stone Edge/Superpower
- Ice Shard
- Icicle Crash
- Earthquake

This Piloswine set focuses on being offensive, with a very decent amount of bulk to back it up. Piloswine is very much a tank, and it's typing + ability is almost perfect for it. With Thick Fat, it's neutrality to Ice type becomes a resist of sorts, and Fire type attacks also won't hamper it nearly as much. It has a high base 100 attack stat, which it can easily make use of in the current metagame. It's typing allows it to have perfect dual stab coverage, being Ice and Ground. Earthquake hits super hard, and can ohko a lot of times when super effective. Icicle Crash hits what Earthquake can't, and has a really nice 30% chance to flinch (but, keep in mind that Piloswine is pretty slow). Ice Shard is there for priority, as it allows Piloswine to hit faster threats when it can't do much else. Stone Edge vs Superpower is Attack Drop vs Accuracy, as the coverage is pretty much the same. If Eviolite is used, however, Stealth Rock is a more than viable option in this slot.

A different set could take on a way more defensive approach, being

Piloswine@ Eviolite
Trait: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Ice Shard
- Earthquake
- Toxic

Having 100/80/60 defenses in Nu isn't too bad, but it's incredibly decent when given an eviolite. Quote taken straight from the onsite analysis: "Piloswine can work as a physical tank with multiple functions: it can take hits from physical threats while hitting hard when needed with Earthquake, it can revenge kill weak opponents with Ice Shard, and it can support the team by laying down Stealth Rock, thus racking up crucial residual damage, or inflicting Toxic poison on the opponent's Pokemon. This allows Piloswine's teammates to KO the opposing Pokemon with ease after residual damage provided from weak hits, entry hazards, or Toxic stalling."

Set: Physical Attackers GTFO (Physically Defensive)
@ Eviolite
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
- Giga Drain
- Sleep Powder
- Hidden Power Ice / Hidden Power Rock
- Leech Seed / Knock Off

With the release of Regenerator Amoonguss, Tangela has taken a dip in usage but Tangela is still a fearsome physical wall able to tank multiple physical attacks. Sleep Powder allows Tangela to cripple an opposing pokemon for essentially the whole match if played correctly. It's good support movepool consisting of treats such as Leech Seed and Knock Off allow Tangela to force many switches. With a base 100 Special Attack stat, Giga Drain can dent many frail pokemon. Hidden Power Ice extends Tangela's coverage by hitting Grass-types and Flying-types while Hidden Power Rock can dent Fire-types that tend to switch into Tangela. Regenerator allows Tangela to be healthy throughout the match. Watch out for Sap Sippers such as Miltank since they can easily get a free boost by coming in on 3/4s of Tangela's movepool. Special Attackers can easily threaten Tangela out even with a decently powered neutral attack so Special Walls such as Lickilicky can take them on easily while Lickilicky can also cure Tangela of Toxic status.

Omanyte!
OmaHaveAGoodnyte (Omanyte) @ Eviolite
Trait: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Spikes
- Toxic Spikes/HP Rock
- Stealth Rock
I know this probably doesn't look very good, but I find it quite effective. It's pretty bulky, can take a enough hits to set up stealth rocks and some t/spikes. Like a lot of unevolved pokemon, it runs eviolite for obvious reasons. Defensive EV stats, and particularly you should run swift swim anyway, I run mine because my Vanilluxe on the same team uses rain dance. Sans tangela, this is my favorite NFE support pokemon. It's Special Attack isn't too shabby either :D

Discuss away! :)

(I will update the OP with more information and sets tomorrow.)

 

[ebeast]

Fraxure

Set: Dragon Dance
@ Eviolite
Trait: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature (+Spe, -SpA)
- Dragon Dance
- Taunt
- Outrage
- Low Kick

Thanks to BW2 tutors Fraxure holds everything it needs to succeed in this simple, but very effective set. Using Eviolite to effectively give itself 66/114/84 defenses and alongside Taunt and Fraxure's share of good resists it can get up a few Dragon Dances up and start to sweep with its perfect coverage in Outrage and Low Kick. Low Kick was a pretty neat move for Fraxure as it lets it deals serious damage to the heavy Rock-type Pokemon such as Golem, Regirock, Probopass, and Lairon, while dealing good damage against Klang. Thanks to Mold Breaker it doesn't even care about Probopass and Laiton's potential Sturdy to stop it from OHKOing. With Max Speed and a Jolly nature it can outspeed Swellow by a single point, a major feat to be proud of. It's main flaw is that its best move, Outrage, locks him into it and could possibly lead to potential Klangs taking advantage and setting up. Fraxure pairs really well with Gurdurr as it can beat Klang and Mawile for Fraxure.


Klang

Set: Grind My Gears (Shift Gear)
@ Eviolite
Trait: Clear Body
EVs: 136 HP / 252 Atk / 120 Spe
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SpA)
- Substitute
- Shift Gear
- Gear Grind
- Return

Klang is a really good Pokemon thanks to its great Steel-typing and fantastic boosting move in Shift Gear. Klang can set up the the ever-so common Amoonguss, Haunter, Musharna, and Skuntank and deal serious damage to any team. While Klang has barely any coverage moves, Gear Grind + Return actually work really good together as the main Steel-types in the tier are also part Rock and take Gear Grind neutrally. This EV spread allows Klang to hit 332 Speed after a single Shift Gear and outspeed Modest Zebtrika and everything below that. Outspeeding Cinccino or Swellow isn't as big of a deal with Klang as having them out against you means can get an extra Shift Gear off. Klang pairs nicely with Gothitelle as it can trap Gurdurr and other Pokemon such as Rotom-S or Zebstrika, who are common Scarf users capable of outspeeding Klang after a boost and annoy it with Volt Switch or in Zebstrika's case, kill it with Overheat.

 

[Elegy96]

Thanks EBeast for replying :) I've updated the OP with your sets.
Though I've never used Klang, Fraxure is deadly. I've found he works well with Paralysis support from the likes of Probopass, in order to reduce the amount of threats that outspeed him.

Here is another discussion topic I thought of: Do NFEs have to use an Eviolite to be viable? As the item gives many the defenses they need to compete, it's often mandatory. However, are other items (eg. Choice Scarf, Life Orb, Focus Sash) equally viable?

 

[Snowflakes]

Where's the Riolu! Okay I don't play NU much, or I didn't but I always played against EBeast with a random shit team or various random shit teams. But I've started to like it because of some lesser used pokemon and this little guy in particular. The original set that I tested was the one below and what Molk started to test a little bit.


Riolu

Set: Copycat!
@ Eviolite
Trait: Prankster
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 HP
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SpA)
- Copycat
- Roar
- Drain Punch
- Crunch

This set is fairly straight forward, Set-up hazards bring it in on a wall that you force out, don't get OHKO'd by and roar, Drain Punch or Crunch away, with the lack of spinners in this tier on numerous teams it's easy to keep the hazards up throughout the battle until a chance presents itself the few problems this set has is priority like Aqua Jet, Protect, Fake Out and Sucker Punch, but you have 5 other pokes to handle those and them coming in isn't reliable for the enemy so you just rack up more damage till they luck out.

After awhile I noticed I could do cool little synergies with slow u-turners, Volt Switches like Probobass and Eelektross and revenge some weakened threats or revenge things like Fraxure if it was locked into Outrage if I did a super frail build of

Set: Copycat!!!
@ Life Orb
Trait: Prankster
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 SpAtk
Brave Nature (+Atk, -Spe)
- Copycat
- Roar
- Drain Punch
- Crunch
With this set you can do rather gimmicky things which may not be really worth it in some people's opinions but getting some extra damage off with a priority u-turn/vswitch is just fun imo.

In the end I'm impressed the frail little guy that I started out using as a gimmick expecting to win nothing helped me achieve 38/13 on the PS ladder. there was a few times that I lost because it was my last poke but that happens to every pokemon and there's a lot of times it helped me out a lot.

 

[Zacchaeus]

Other NFE Pokémon in NU are Electabuzz, Combusken, Misdreavus, Lairon, Dragonair, Piloswine, Duosion, Golbat, Gabite, Sneasel, Kadabra, Togetic, Haunter, Lampent, Wartortle, Machoke, Murkrow, Natu, Pikachu, Seadra, Shelgon, Tangela, Vigoroth, and Zweilous. Almost all of these use Eviolite, sometimes exclusively, except for more offensive candidates such as Haunter or Kadabra

 

[Django]

I think its pretty rare for NFE's to not be using Eviolite, but there are certainly a few that can go without it. Fraxure for example, can make good use of both Choice Band and Choice Scarf, as can Gabite. Kadabra is also very rarely seen with Eviolite, more often carrying Focus Sash or Life Orb, similarly Haunter who prefers Choice Scarf or Leftovers on a SubDisable set. These are certainly an exception to the rule though, and the large majority of NFE's will be using Eviolite. I might post a few sets here later if I stop being lazy.

 

[ebeast]

Thanks EBeast for replying :) I've updated the OP with your sets.
Though I've never used Klang, Fraxure is deadly. I've found he works well with Paralysis support from the likes of Probopass, in order to reduce the amount of threats that outspeed him.

Here is another discussion topic I thought of: Do NFEs have to use an Eviolite to be viable? As the item gives many the defenses they need to compete, it's often mandatory. However, are other items (eg. Choice Scarf, Life Orb, Focus Sash) equally viable?

At the top of my head I can say that Kadabra works with both Focus Sash and Life Orb, although I prefer Life Orb because otherwise Kadabra is a little too weak for me. Might as well post the set I like to use while I'm at it. As for Scarf users Haunter works pretty well for that role thanks to its great base 95 Speed, Trick, and good attacking options.

Kadabra

Set: Offensive
@ Life Orb
Trait: Magic Guard
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Substitute
- Psyshic
- Shadow Ball
- Hidden Power [Fighting]

With base 105 Speed and a good base 120 Special Attack Kadabra actually makes for a pretty good attacker. Due to its good offensive pressure, it can easily set up a Substitute and start doing work against the opponent's team with Life Orb boosted hits. Thanks to Magic Guard Kadabra doesn't have to worry taking damage from the various Spikes stacking teams or from its own Life Orb wearing it down alongside Substitute. Substitute can even be used to play mind games against Sucker Punch users such as Cacturne and Absol. The main problem with Kadabra is that it takes a teamslot of other potential Psychic-type Pokemon that can actually take a hit such as the always excellent Musharna. Being such a frail Psychic-type Pokemon means that Skuntank eats this for breakfast so packing a Golem for Stealth Rock and a good check to Skuntank is a good idea.


Haunter

Set: SubDisable
@ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Substitute
- Disable
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Bomb

Haunter is an excellent Pokemon the the BW2 Metagame as it is one of the few reliable checks to Zangoose and will destroy any teams that are unprepared. Having good attacking options with Shadow Ball and Sludge Bomb, it's coverage is only really missing out on Skuntank and Steel-type Pokemon. Even though Haunter is extremely frail, thanks to its excellent offensive pressure and SubDisable it can actually keep its Substitutes up most of the time. Hell, with SubDisable Haunter the potential to completely wall Zangoose, the Pokemon with no counters or safe switch ins. As said Haunter doesn't like Skuntank or Steel-types so Pokemon such as Gurdurr, Emboar, and Regirock make excellent partners for Haunter to remove its checks and counters. Otherwise Haunter can change Disable for Hidden Power [Ground] to hit Probopass, Skuntank, and Klang, but loses out on a lot of the utility that the set would have with Disable.

 

[Django]

About the Haunter above, it shoudl be noted that if you want a good Skuntank / Steel-type lure, then it can easily run HP Ground over one of the attacking moves. The choice of which one to replace is slightly annoying, but should come down to what the rest of your team can deal with. Also, Disabling slower choice users is so much fun. All in all SubDisable Haunter is really excellent right now.

 

[ChaoticaMortis]

Combusken

Set: Special Sweeper
@ Life Orb
Trait: Speed Boost
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpAtk / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
-Substitute
-Protect
-Focus Blast
-Fire Blast

Although this set is often hampered by the shaky accuracy of its STAB attacks, special Combusken is definitely a force to be reckoned with. Powerful enough to 2HKO most of the tier and able to outspeed virtually everything after 2 turns. Fire / Fighting is a great STAB combination with few things in the tier being able to resist it, and both of its attacks have a sexy Base Power of 120. Substitute allows you to avoid pesky status conditions and survive attacks that might otherwise KO. Combusken appreciates hazard support and the removal of special walls, and needs much team support to be fully effective. Physical sets with Swords Dance / Flare Blitz / Sky Uppercut / Protect are also viable.

 

[Antyee]

Frillish
@ Eviolite
Trait: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 184 Def / 72 SDef
Bold Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Taunt
- Recover
- Night Shade/Surf

Disclaimer:EV-s still need quite a lot of work, but a few in Sdef are needed to always live 2 Grass Knots after SR, or to have a decent chance of living 2 HP Grasses from LO Max SpAtk Samurott; and quite a lot of other moves.

When almost everyone was using Samurott, I wanted to find a poke who can beat him convincingly, and isn't that popular (I've always hated overused pokes), and I found Frillish. Then I realised that it can do way more, being able to take 2 hits from almost any bulky-setup poke, and burn/taunt them. For the last move, I prefer Night Shade for the safer damage, but Surf can 2HKO Armaldo.
Only use shiny female named Nightmarie ^.^

 

[Shovel]

I don't suggest Surf with Frillish anyway, but whatever

Piloswine

Piloswine @ Eviolite/Choice Band
Trait: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Stone Edge/Superpower
- Ice Shard
- Icicle Crash
- Earthquake

This Piloswine set focuses on being offensive, with a very decent amount of bulk to back it up. Piloswine is very much a tank, and it's typing + ability is almost perfect for it. With Thick Fat, it's neutrality to Ice type becomes a resist of sorts, and Fire type attacks also won't hamper it nearly as much. It has a high base 100 attack stat, which it can easily make use of in the current metagame. It's typing allows it to have perfect dual stab coverage, being Ice and Ground. Earthquake hits super hard, and can ohko a lot of times when super effective. Icicle Crash hits what Earthquake can't, and has a really nice 30% chance to flinch (but, keep in mind that Piloswine is pretty slow). Ice Shard is there for priority, as it allows Piloswine to hit faster threats when it can't do much else. Stone Edge vs Superpower is Attack Drop vs Accuracy, as the coverage is pretty much the same. If Eviolite is used, however, Stealth Rock is a more than viable option in this slot.

A different set could take on a way more defensive approach, being

Piloswine@ Eviolite
Trait: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Ice Shard
- Earthquake
- Toxic

Having 100/80/60 defenses in Nu isn't too bad, but it's incredibly decent when given an eviolite. Quote taken straight from the onsite analysis: "Piloswine can work as a physical tank with multiple functions: it can take hits from physical threats while hitting hard when needed with Earthquake, it can revenge kill weak opponents with Ice Shard, and it can support the team by laying down Stealth Rock, thus racking up crucial residual damage, or inflicting Toxic poison on the opponent's Pokemon. This allows Piloswine's teammates to KO the opposing Pokemon with ease after residual damage provided from weak hits, entry hazards, or Toxic stalling."

 

[Full2Half]

cool thread. I would suggest putting the sets in quote tags in the OP, but nitpicking. I'll add my submisssions some other time.

 

[Annoyer]

Tangela

Set: Physical Attackers GTFO (Physically Defensive)
@ Eviolite
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
- Giga Drain
- Sleep Powder
- Hidden Power Ice / Hidden Power Rock
- Leech Seed / Knock Off

With the release of Regenerator Amoonguss, Tangela has taken a dip in usage but Tangela is still a fearsome physical wall able to tank multiple physical attacks. Sleep Powder allows Tangela to cripple an opposing pokemon for essentially the whole match if played correctly. It's good support movepool consisting of treats such as Leech Seed and Knock Off allow Tangela to force many switches. With a base 100 Special Attack stat, Giga Drain can dent many frail pokemon. Hidden Power Ice extends Tangela's coverage by hitting Grass-types and Flying-types while Hidden Power Rock can dent Fire-types that tend to switch into Tangela. Regenerator allows Tangela to be healthy throughout the match. Watch out for Sap Sippers such as Miltank since they can easily get a free boost by coming in on 3/4s of Tangela's movepool. Special Attackers can easily threaten Tangela out even with a decently powered neutral attack so Special Walls such as Lickilicky can take them on easily while Lickilicky can also cure Tangela of Toxic status.



People should really start using Tangela again. Amoonguss doesn't have nearly the same physical defenses as Tangela, while Tangela can force switches better with Leech Seed.

 

[mkizzy]

Omanyte!
OmaHaveAGoodnyte (Omanyte) @ Eviolite
Trait: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Spikes
- Toxic Spikes/HP Rock
- Stealth Rock
I know this probably doesn't look very good, but I find it quite effective. It's pretty bulky, can take a enough hits to set up stealth rocks and some t/spikes. Like a lot of unevolved pokemon, it runs eviolite for obvious reasons. Defensive EV stats, and particularly you should run swift swim anyway, I run mine because my Vanilluxe on the same team uses rain dance. Sans tangela, this is my favorite NFE support pokemon. It's Special Attack isn't too shabby either :D


STATS:
35 HP
40 Attack
100 Defense :)
90 Special Attack :)
55 Special Defense
35 Speed


Notable calcs :
CB Braviary vs. Omanyte
Superpower: 200-236 (72.99 - 86.13%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Omanyte can tank a hit from CB Braviary, which I find amazing, just proving it's defensive prowess.

Regigigas (NU Twave) vs Omanyte
Drain Punch: 40-48 (14.59 - 17.51%) -- possible 6HKO
Even with out slow start, it's only a 3ohko.

Regigigas (NU Sub + Rock Polish) vs Omanyte
Zen Headbutt: 28-33 (10.21 - 12.04%) -- 9HKO at best
Haha. No words.




Will put more calcs up in a bit :x

 

[Elegy96]

Thanks to everyone for the response. Some nice sets here.

@Snowflakes, wouldn't Riolu run Prankster to get Priority Copycat? I'm assuming you made a mistake in the typing.

@Django and EBeast, I've been trying out SubDisable Haunter lately as a more offensive replacement for Misdreavus. He seems alright, he hasn't done that much as of late but that's probably because of my consistently bad play.


Will update the OP later.

 

[SpecsX]

I prefer to run Resttalk on Omanyte, as it lacks even lefties recovery, and it will allow it to continually wall things instead of being a one-time check.
Omanyte@Eviolite
252 HP/252 Def/4 Spe
Bold; Shell Armor
-Rest
-Sleep Talk
-Scald
-HP Rock/Hazard of choice/Toxic
See Feranfell's calc for Braviary? With this set, if Braviary switches in to Omanyte, it will get walled if it tries to Superpower thanks to Rest. It also walls Klang w/ out Tbolt. Not even crits can't help you against it, thanks to shell armor! The downside: any special attack ohkos it.
It beats Piloswine and Combusken without a fighting move as well.

It doesn't relate to NU, but Max/Max Bold Eviolite Omanyte is not OHKO'd by a +1 Rayquaza's EQ. That's pretty damn bulky.
Will put up calcs later.

 

[Snowflakes]

@Snowflakes, wouldn't Riolu run Prankster to get Priority Copycat? I'm assuming you made a mistake in the typing.

lol yeah sorry i copied EBeast's Fraxure set for formatting and forgot to change ability lol. It doesn't even get moldbreaker :p thanks for the catch

 

[Molk]

Set: Bulk Up
@ Eviolite
Trait: Shed Skin
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature (+Spe, -SpA)
- Bulk Up
- Drain Punch
- Crunch
- Rest

While it didnt get anything notable in B2W2, Scraggy still stands strong as one of the most unique and effective bulky sweepers in NU With its great coverage, unique typing and abilities, and effective 50/130/130 defenses! At first Scraggy may seem outclassed by Gurdurr and Throh, but Scraggy has quite a few perks going for it when compared to these Pokemon. The most notable of which is its secondary Dark typing, giving Scraggy the ability to turn threats to other fighters such as Musharna, Duosion and Misdreavus into set up bait. Scraggy also has the rare ability Shed Skin, giving him a resistance to status attacks as well as a reliable recovery option in Shedrest, greatly increasting the lizard's longetivity. Unlike Throh, scraggy has the ability to use drain punch to heal its HP, while throh is limited to circle throw. While shed skin and its dark typing make Scraggy a much better bulky sweeper than gurdurr. Scraggy's main flaw is that its dark-typing also gives him a weakness to the common fighting-type, and it still retains its flying weakness from before. This means that pokemon such as swellow and sawk need to be removed from the match before Scraggy can sweep. Scraggy is also somewhat weak without a few boosts, although its good super effective coverage makes up for that somewhat. In the end, scraggy is still 2 gud, and is still a viable option if you need it.

 

[Cableye]

Bronzor

Set: Support
@ Eviolite
Trait: Levitate
EV's 252 HP / 128 Def / 128 SpD
Careful Nature (+SpD, -SpA)
Stleath Rock
Toxic
Trick Room
Gyro Ball

Well this is something that I have been toying with for a while. This is the only set that can be utilized with Bronzor. His offensive stats are not worth putting any investment in so support set is the most reliable. Maxxing the HP stat for maximum bulk and mixing it's defencises makes it a good wall. Stleath Rock and Toxic are the most obvious choice for it. Trick Room helps out for your slower teamates, such as Gurdurr and Musharna. And Gyro Ball is there in case of taunt, but do not expect any serious damage to come from it.

Some good teamates would be Wartortle to resist any fire moves directed at Bronzor, and Musharna for the Trick Room support.

 

[MarshallLeRoy]

Will post the set that I use on pretty much every NU team.

Golbat @ Eviolite
Trait: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Bold Nature
- Roost
- Super Fang
- Toxic
- Haze

Golbat may just be the best physical wall in the entire NU tier. With Eviolite, his physical bulk is absolutely insane. With a 4x resistance to Fighting types, he's the perfect counter to heavy hitters like Sawk and Gurdurr. Roost allows him to heal up and stay healthy, and well as mitigate the effects of rock type moves. This way, with careful prediction and luck that Stone Edge does not crit, Golbat can stall out even the mighty Regirock. It's absolutely nuts how many teams get walled by Golbat, and are simply prey to Toxic stalling and being worn out with Super Fang. A great defensive mon with tons of utility, and great for shutting down setup sweepers.

Downsides include being weak to the increasingly prevalent Electric and Ice type attacks in the tier, particularly Rotom-F. The new hail metagame is not particularly friendly to him.

Also, can anyone suggest a specially defensive partner for Golbat? I've been looking for one forever but just haven't found one that really gels.

 

[ebeast]

I don't think mixing EVs the way you did is actually making the most out of Bronzor's bulk. Due to Bronzor's great typing and Levitate I would say that a physically defensive set fits it best as it can beat Pokemon such as Torterra, Golurk, Swellow, and Zangoose. As for the role of Stealth Rock, a lot of Pokemon do the job better than Bronzor such as Regirock, Golem, Golurk, and even Metang as they can fit Stealth Rock naturally into their sets while still being capable of beating Flying-type Pokemon such as Braviary. I have actually seen Bronzor work using an interesting set made by Sweet Jesus which looks like this:

Bronzor @ Eviolite
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Calm Mind
- Psychic / Flash Cannon
- Toxic
- Rest

The point of this set is to use Bronzor's typing to set up as many Calm Minds as possible, while Toxic'ing Pokemon that trouble you due to your coverage move. The choice between Psychic and Flash Cannon is which kind of Pokemon that Bronzor will have trouble dealing damage to. Psychic will mean Bronzor will struggle more with Dark types (Especially Skuntank as it cannot be Toxic'd) and with Flash Cannon it will have more trouble with Water and Fire type Pokemon such as Gorebyss, Ludicolo, Samurott, and Emboar.

 

[Cableye]

@ MarshallLeRoy

The only special wall that I can think of that can complement Golbat well would be Probopass. They both can switch on each others weaknesses bar electric and water type moves.

@ EBeast

I'll try that set. I've never thought of an offensive varient before due to it's low offensives. But I'll try anything at least once. Thank you.

 

[JCM.]

It's kind of sad, because while the threats you mentioned 4HKO or 5HKO Bronzor, Bronzor can't do anything to do them without any boosts, and even at +6, he can't OHKO standard Zangoose with Psychic. He gets the 2HKO, though.

 

[Uselesscrab]

No one has mentioned Duosion? This isn't my set, but I just started NU and Calm Mind Duosion is maybe my favorite team member.

Du (Duosion) @ Eviolite
Trait: Magic Guard
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Def / 252 HP / 4 SAtk
Bold Nature
- Calm Mind
- Psyshock/Psychic
- Recover
- Signal Beam/Hidden Power Fighting

This is just the standard set listed in the analysis, but it works really well. I am not taking credit for it at all. I use Psyshock instead of Psychic, and I suppose Hidden Power Fighting would work instead of Signal Beam. Still, though, you can use this set to set up on Alomomola and other walls, helped by Duosion's good bulk with Eviolite. It works really well on a hail team. Magic Guard is awesome. Some people will try to poison it, too.

However, I will admit that Duosion's lack of speed is pretty annoying.

 

[Nyara]

I don't like Duosion, he's just too weak to handle special attacks, even with Eviolite. And even if he set ups, he's still OHKO by any strong physical attacker. Also, the Psyshock variant is heavy checked by any thing with double or quad resistance to Signal Beam and with good defenses (sadly for him, that combo is really usual). Even with 1+ Calm Mind, he's still unnable to handle strong special attacks at all because it's horrible HP base and uninvestment special defense. Sadly for him, Psyshock and in some degree Psychic are not really strong attacks, and Hidden Power/Signal Beam are just too weak to deal the correct damage at all. Taking in account Duosion will be outspeed always if he's not on Trick Room, and he's adove avarage at best with Eviolite, it's quite easy to deal him more than 50% of damage and render him's recover useless, the same goes with him's special defense at even 1+ Calm Mind. Recover just works on Calm Mind wars or stuff like that, but those things are actually pretty rare on the tier, maybe to combat back a Quiver Dancer?

Duosion is just a high-risk, somewhat decent reward Pokémon. It can be high-risk/high-reward if your opponent is stupid and lose valuable turns doing stuff like Toxic him while he have Magic Guard, or if you make the combo of Duosion + Trick Room, but because he needs to set up, the amount of turns under Trick Room will be really low, and he'll sweep at most 2 Pokémon. I give him a point for being able to handle Toxic Spikes and random Switch-In with Will-O-Wisp without trouble, but Kadabra does the same better. Also, Kadabra have more offensive power and movepool than Duosion, even if Duosion is already on 1+ Calm Mind.

Other bad point is the fact that Duosion is just unnable to handle Ghost/Dark/Bug types attacks (being 2HKO by almost anything with those, and even OHKO), any Pokémon with those attacks will end any try to sweep or do anything at all.