Research Group #5: Swoobat, Combusken, Gothorita and Drifblim

[WhiteDMist]

I have a question for everyone who has tested out Swoobat: How often do you find yourself getting to +3 or higher? A lot of people have been saying that they usually get a single +2 boost easily enough. But if you use that with Stored Power the base power is only 100 (a bit higher than Psychic ofc). Have you ever found yourselves in a situation where you would rather have Psychic for more reliable power, especially when you can't set up?

 

[ADHLAS]

Not very often, I must admit, but I've rarely needed more/I've rarely tried for more than +2 plus that Salac berry +2 speed boost. And I've never wished I had psychic over Stored Power, since the only thing that Psychic is revenging that Air Slash isn't are... Poison types, really. The massive set-up bait Poison types, to be exact. Muk and Skuntank don't count. =P

Of course, there are those silly games where I ended up +4/+4/+2 while trying to mindgame my opponent's Sucker Punches, but I don't think that's quite what you meant.

 

[Lolk]

I'm still wary on Swoobat's viability in NU. I mean, sure if it sets up it can destroy teams, but the same goes for most setup sweepers as well. If Swoobat were facing anything but Stall, I would find it almost necessary to have dual screens and/or memento support (which stacks weaknesses if Gardevoir does it, who is the best at it) for Swoobat to set up and live. If I am going to go through all of the trouble for one Pokemon, I would much rather use Linoone or Gorebyss for their easier sweeps.

 

[atomicllamas]

Yeah, as ADHLAS said, I only got to +4/+4 when playing mind games with the opponent, or when they were dumb enough to leave in their Alomomola on my subbed Swoobat. I actually used psychic instead of stored power, just because I think it makes Swoobat a more reliable mon, as sure it isn't getting that much more coverage (although it also gets rock types and electric types for more, which you are weak too), but it also has a higher base power than air slash and higher accuracy, which is nice for a revenge kill. Maybe I am just a player that avoids risk, but I would choose psychic, just because it can be used in all situations, as opposed to an inconsistent attack that is sometimes useful.

 

[ADHLAS]

Actually, Swoobat didn't fare all too well against the two or three stall teams that I fought while laddering. Munchlax, Grumpig, or Mandibuzz always rear their ugly heads to stop you on those, and it's more or less impossible to muscle through them. Swoobat fared best against Balance more than anything else, or possibly bulky offense: they almost always have that one physical wall that Swoobat can set up on, and the rest of the team isn't quite bulky enough to survive the onslaught.

And again, I'd argue against needing the dual screens/Memento. It was a rare, rare time when I had both Swoobat set up and my Serperior's screens up. Swoobat simply didn't need them, and since it's not cutting off half of its health like Linoone's doing, not to mention doubling one of its defenses instantly, I still maintain that all Swoobat needs to set up is a physical wall not named Bastiodon, Mandibuzz, or Piloswine lured in. The argument for using Swoobat over Gorebyss is slightly more difficult, though, since Gorebyss is also achieving a +2 SpA and a +2 Spe... It probably lies somewhere in the fact that Swoobat can set up on choiced fighting and ground moves that Gorebyss and most other set-up sweepers not named Musharna can't. The base 114 speed doesn't exactly hurt either. :P

 

[atomicllamas]

I got gold bitches

I know I already did research with Swoobat for this group, but I also decided to try out Drifblim this week, and it was awesome, I even peaked as high as 18th on the ladder (but of course I lost the very last match I needed for deviation :/).

Here is the Drifblim set I used:

Drifblim @ Ghost Gem
Trait: Unburden
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Calm Mind
- Destiny Bond
- Thunderbolt

Which I actually have really enjoyed using, as this set allows Drifblim to set up on the many walls that come in expecting acroblimp such as Alomomola, and then proceed to destroy a team. Because of Blim's nice base 80 speed, it outspeeds pretty much the whole meta after a speed boost, and outspeeds many defensive mons before the boost. I don't really know what else to say, except I guess Drifblim pairs really well with Probopass, appreciating steel trapping support, while also having extremely good defensive synergy (I made a post about it in NU cores V3). The only major flaw with this set is that due to it's average base 91 SpA and lack of boosting item (except for the first shadow ball which hits like a truck), it needs a calm mind underneath its belt to really damage things. After spending some time with it, I will say Drifblim was an excellent sweeper that had little trouble plowing through many NU teams. :)

Replay 1 vs. person who played poorly http://pokemonshowdown.com/replay/nu-47195214

Replay 2 vs. person who played less stupidly http://pokemonshowdown.com/replay/nu-47406574