Vryheid
fudge jelly
Specifically, the Pokemon I'm referring to as "underused" are Mollux, Malaconda, Pyroak, Krilowatt, and Voodoom. They are easily the least common Pokemon I see in CAP matches and all suffer from either crippling weaknesses or simply losing whatever niche they had back when they were originally created. Are there sets for these Pokemon that could make them not only viable but entirely competitive in Gen 6 CAP matches? And if so, how would they play out in ways which the original creation process could not have predicted?
The first Pokemon I've been experimenting with from this list is Krilowatt. From personal experience, I've found that it along with Voodoom have been the least threatening CAPmon I've ever used or had to face, which is the reason I started toying with them first. I assumed that to make any effective use of them in Gen 6 CAP I'd have to find them a role significantly far from what the standard Gen 4 OU analysis suggests players should make use of. After some experimentation this is what I've found to be the most useful set for my team and potentially other players, as it has helped me break through some very tough defensive cores used by some good CAP players:
Krilowatt @ Assault Vest
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 SDef
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Ice Beam
- Surf
- Thunderbolt
- Earth Power/HP Fire/Signal Beam
At first glance, you'd think that a Pokemon with the second highest BST in CAP and a fantastic ability like Magic Guard would be an incredible threat. Unfortunately, its godawful stat distribution and mediocre movepool ensures that other Pokemon totally outclass it at everything it's supposedly good at. Cyclohm is a better physical wall, Wash-Rotom is a better Water/Electric type sweeper, and pretty much every other special attacker in CAP can do more damage than this thing can do even with a Life Orb. Even Wobbuffett does a far better job with Mirror Coat/Counter revenge killing. It doesn't help that it can't use superior Water type attacks like Scald or Hydro Pump, or any sort of reliable recovery moves. Revenankh can set up for free on this Mon, which can be a huge liability for your team.
So why even bother using Krilowatt at all? Well, it's quite good at the one thing Pokemon with no good recovery moves and lopsided defensive stats seem to be designed for- using an Assault Vest. The main niche Krilowatt has over other AV users is the ability to easily switch into and threaten both Tomohawk and Cyclohm, two of the most common and influential defensive pivots in the tier. Using Assault Vest over Leftovers allows it to consistently take on even offensive sets such as Choice Specs Cyclohm with Draco Meteor or Tomohawk with Earth Power.
This by itself may not sound like much, but used in conjunction with offense threats like Revenankh and Cawmodore- which repeatedly force the opponent to bring these pivots out- Krilowatt can get free potshots on the opponent's team as they desperately switch back out again. Krilowatt is also fast enough that it can often get yet another free hit on the switchback, possibly leading to a 2HKO. Magic Guard allows you to switch in over and over even when hazards are up, meaning a Krilowatt which forces enough switches can potentially cripple an opponent's entire team before your main sweepers even have to set up.
EVs/Other Options:
While the EVs may seem a little strange, without any HP investment at all Krilowatt still tanks special hits significantly better than an Assault Vest Wash Rotom does even with max SpDef and HP. It needs all the Sp Atk EVs it can get to ensure it can 2HKO the Pokemon this set is designed to counter. Thunderbolt and Ice Beam are obvious choices to deal with Cyclohm and Tomohawk, and also allows it to beat many common Water type Pokemon like Starmie, Slowbro, and Tentacruel. Earth Power and Surf help beat down Pokemon like Mollux and Volt Absorb Cawmodore that might otherwise try to set up on it. HP Fire is an option over Earth Power to deal with Ferrothorn and the Steel/Bug types, but isn't useful otherwise. Signal Beam is another option for the last slot, and is this Pokemon's best option for beating most Psychic types such as Aurumoth and surprising Malaconda switchins.
Teammates:
The most obvious teammates are Cawmodore and Revenankh, who can bait out the main defensive pivots this Pokemon is so devastating against. A Tomohawk of your own can help deal with Colossoil and other Earthquake users that would otherwise severely threaten Krilowatt, as well as prevent it from being Revenankh setup bait. Heatran and Mega Venusaur can threaten Necturna and many of the other hard hitting Grass type Pokemon which would otherwise break through Krilowatt's stellar special defenses.
I'm going to keep testing Krilowatt and then switch to looking at Voodoom. I'm thinking a Choice Specs Set could be pretty damn hard to deal with, especially if it gets a boost from a predicted Electric move. I just don't see the point in using it otherwise, it just doesn't hit hard enough without Specs and Tomohawk totally outclasses its supporter sets thanks to Prankster.
The first Pokemon I've been experimenting with from this list is Krilowatt. From personal experience, I've found that it along with Voodoom have been the least threatening CAPmon I've ever used or had to face, which is the reason I started toying with them first. I assumed that to make any effective use of them in Gen 6 CAP I'd have to find them a role significantly far from what the standard Gen 4 OU analysis suggests players should make use of. After some experimentation this is what I've found to be the most useful set for my team and potentially other players, as it has helped me break through some very tough defensive cores used by some good CAP players:
Krilowatt @ Assault Vest
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 SDef
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Ice Beam
- Surf
- Thunderbolt
- Earth Power/HP Fire/Signal Beam
At first glance, you'd think that a Pokemon with the second highest BST in CAP and a fantastic ability like Magic Guard would be an incredible threat. Unfortunately, its godawful stat distribution and mediocre movepool ensures that other Pokemon totally outclass it at everything it's supposedly good at. Cyclohm is a better physical wall, Wash-Rotom is a better Water/Electric type sweeper, and pretty much every other special attacker in CAP can do more damage than this thing can do even with a Life Orb. Even Wobbuffett does a far better job with Mirror Coat/Counter revenge killing. It doesn't help that it can't use superior Water type attacks like Scald or Hydro Pump, or any sort of reliable recovery moves. Revenankh can set up for free on this Mon, which can be a huge liability for your team.
So why even bother using Krilowatt at all? Well, it's quite good at the one thing Pokemon with no good recovery moves and lopsided defensive stats seem to be designed for- using an Assault Vest. The main niche Krilowatt has over other AV users is the ability to easily switch into and threaten both Tomohawk and Cyclohm, two of the most common and influential defensive pivots in the tier. Using Assault Vest over Leftovers allows it to consistently take on even offensive sets such as Choice Specs Cyclohm with Draco Meteor or Tomohawk with Earth Power.
This by itself may not sound like much, but used in conjunction with offense threats like Revenankh and Cawmodore- which repeatedly force the opponent to bring these pivots out- Krilowatt can get free potshots on the opponent's team as they desperately switch back out again. Krilowatt is also fast enough that it can often get yet another free hit on the switchback, possibly leading to a 2HKO. Magic Guard allows you to switch in over and over even when hazards are up, meaning a Krilowatt which forces enough switches can potentially cripple an opponent's entire team before your main sweepers even have to set up.
EVs/Other Options:
While the EVs may seem a little strange, without any HP investment at all Krilowatt still tanks special hits significantly better than an Assault Vest Wash Rotom does even with max SpDef and HP. It needs all the Sp Atk EVs it can get to ensure it can 2HKO the Pokemon this set is designed to counter. Thunderbolt and Ice Beam are obvious choices to deal with Cyclohm and Tomohawk, and also allows it to beat many common Water type Pokemon like Starmie, Slowbro, and Tentacruel. Earth Power and Surf help beat down Pokemon like Mollux and Volt Absorb Cawmodore that might otherwise try to set up on it. HP Fire is an option over Earth Power to deal with Ferrothorn and the Steel/Bug types, but isn't useful otherwise. Signal Beam is another option for the last slot, and is this Pokemon's best option for beating most Psychic types such as Aurumoth and surprising Malaconda switchins.
Teammates:
The most obvious teammates are Cawmodore and Revenankh, who can bait out the main defensive pivots this Pokemon is so devastating against. A Tomohawk of your own can help deal with Colossoil and other Earthquake users that would otherwise severely threaten Krilowatt, as well as prevent it from being Revenankh setup bait. Heatran and Mega Venusaur can threaten Necturna and many of the other hard hitting Grass type Pokemon which would otherwise break through Krilowatt's stellar special defenses.
I'm going to keep testing Krilowatt and then switch to looking at Voodoom. I'm thinking a Choice Specs Set could be pretty damn hard to deal with, especially if it gets a boost from a predicted Electric move. I just don't see the point in using it otherwise, it just doesn't hit hard enough without Specs and Tomohawk totally outclasses its supporter sets thanks to Prankster.
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