Other The OU Theorymon Project (CLOSED)

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alexwolf

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Here is the set i would use:

Eelektross @ Black Sludge
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Careful Nature
- Coil
- ThunderPunch
- Drain Punch
- Knock Off

After a single Coil, here are the Pokemon that can beat Eelektross 1 v 1:
  • Mega Charizard X (all sets)
  • Deoxys-S
  • Mega Gyarados
  • Kyurem-B
  • Excadrill
  • Landorus (Psychic)
  • Garchomp (with Swords Dance)
  • Unaware Clefable
  • Rotom-W (WoW + Pain Split)
  • Quagsire
Honestly, that's not such a big list, especially considering that some of those Pokemon can't switch directly into Eelektross, such as Deoxys-S, Mega Gyarados, and Excadrill, and most of those Pokemon hate getting their item Knocked Off.

Furthermore, Eelektross pairs well with Wish users such as Chansey, so it's even possible for it to try and sweep twice, assuming Eelektross already got a kill and then was forced out because it had too little health left.

Not to mention that Eelektross also checks many offensive and defensive threats, such as Mega Pinsir, Thundurus, Mega Venusaur, Chansey, Mega Mawile, Mega Scizor, and Terrakion with a tank set of 252 HP / 252 SpA and Thunderbolt, Flamethrower, Knock Off, and Drain Punch / U-turn, and can act as a slow pivot with U-turn against Pokemon that can't directly threaten it.

Some may say that Eelektross is way too unviable to become viable with just an added Poison-type, but Poison is one of the best defensive typings in the game, and is perfect suited for tanks or bulky sweepers, the two roles that Eelektross is best suited for, so i think that Electric / Poison Eelektross would definitely be a valid choice in OU, even if it is a very niche one.
 
This defensive typing is still kind of a waste. Eelektross doesn't have any form of reliable recovery outside of giga drain which doesn't even have STAB. If you keep running bulky attacking sets you're probably better of using other pokemon because they can do it better.
 
It could possibly be a slow defensive pivot with AV.

Eelektross @ Assault Vest
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Acid Spray / Knock Off
Giga Drain / Drain Punch
Discharge / Dragon Tail
Volt Switch / U-Turn

The SpA set is on the left and Atk on the right, nature will depend on set. Both sets can attempt to cripple opposing pokemon and have access to
semi-reliable recovery, they can also scout with a slow U-Turn or Volt Switch.
 
Honestly, Drain Punch is better than nothing, and the fact he can increase how much he gets back is enough incentive to work with it. I mean, plenty of walls function BEAUTIFULLY Without recovery (Heatran) and due well enough to justify their status as dominate forces.
 
This defensive typing is still kind of a waste. Eelektross doesn't have any form of reliable recovery outside of giga drain which doesn't even have STAB. If you keep running bulky attacking sets you're probably better of using other pokemon because they can do it better.
You know what's a bulky attacker and doesn't have reliable recovery? Conkeldurr. Unlike Conkeldurr though, Eelektross can hit either specially or physically (and has pseudo-recovery in Drain Punch/Giga Drain for either side), has a better defensive typing that doesn't leave it vulnerable to huge metagame threats in Talonflame and Mega Pinsir, can pivot out using either Volt Switch or U-Turn, and is immune to two status effects. Not arguing that Eelektross is better than Conkeldurr as both of them have advantages (Conkeldurr's being that his recovery is STAB, has STAB priority, and he actively benefits from getting statused), but that Eelektross isn't completely outclassed at its role.

...I'm amazed at Eelektross movepool though. It gets so many useful moves like Coil, Acid Spray, Knock Off, Dragon Tail, U-Turn and Volt Switch - how the hell does this thing have all these moves?! I can only see having more resistances and switch-in opportunities benefiting this guy.
 

Valmanway

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is a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnus
...I'm amazed at Eelektross movepool though. It gets so many useful moves like Coil, Acid Spray, Knock Off, Dragon Tail, U-Turn and Volt Switch, plus having a lot of switch-in opportunities with its new typing. Not sure why this thing doesn't get seen a lot in OU, honestly.
It's mainly because he lacks speed or priority to catch up to foes. When Blissey of all things can outrun you, you KNOW you have some bad speed.
 
Here is the set i would use:

Eelektross @ Black Sludge
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Careful Nature
- Coil
- ThunderPunch
- Drain Punch
- Knock Off

After a single Coil, here are the Pokemon that can beat Eelektross 1 v 1:
  • Mega Charizard X (all sets)
  • Deoxys-S
  • Mega Gyarados
  • Kyurem-B
  • Excadrill
  • Landorus (Psychic)
  • Garchomp (with Swords Dance)
  • Unaware Clefable
  • Rotom-W (WoW + Pain Split)
  • Quagsire
The main problem with Eelektross is that it has 50 base speed and it is not going to present an immediate threat to much with that set, so it is going to have a hard time setting up that Coil without being severely damaged in the process. The Poison typing gives it some opportunities it didn't have before, but I still wouldn't use Eelektross because of its significant flaws.

I know I'm being the resident pessimist here again, so I'll at least say that Eelektross interestingly has good defensive synergy with Drapion and Milotic.
 
The main problem with Eelektross is that it has 50 base speed and it is not going to present an immediate threat to much with that set, so it is going to have a hard time setting up that Coil without being severely damaged in the process. The Poison typing gives it some opportunities it didn't have before, but I still wouldn't use Eelektross because of its significant flaws.

I know I'm being the resident pessimist here again, so I'll at least say that Eelektross interestingly has good defensive synergy with Drapion and Milotic.
Part of the theoretical appeal is that you don't know if it's physical or special, so he'll be able to force a decent number of switches. I've also been experimenting with intimidate/WoW mons (I used arcanine with zygarde extensively in uu).

It won't be an easy mon to work with, but it might be effective if played right. No way to know
 
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The main problem with Eelektross is that it has 50 base speed and it is not going to present an immediate threat to much with that set, so it is going to have a hard time setting up that Coil without being severely damaged in the process. The Poison typing gives it some opportunities it didn't have before, but I still wouldn't use Eelektross because of its significant flaws.

I know I'm being the resident pessimist here again, so I'll at least say that Eelektross interestingly has good defensive synergy with Drapion and Milotic.
I feel like if you bring out eelektross on the right pokemon, he wont even have to be worried about being touched- just due to status immunity and a large number of resists. This means against a lot of stall pokemon, eelektross will easily set up, and can keep coming back at later stages to set up again. I think eelektross' strength will be vs stall teams more than any others, and loses effectiveness against heavy hitting hyper offense- but if he can rely on resistances to soak up attacks he's golden. I would not put him in a team that struggles with hyper offense, I'd put him in a balanced team that struggles with stall- and vs stall, his speed becomes much less of an issue.
 
A set I concocted was exactly like alexwolf's only I replaced Thunder punch with Zap Cannon. One of Eel's problems is speed and with Coil providing accuracy boosts Zap Cannon essentially becomes a super Discharge with guaranteed paralysis. This makes him a mixed threat with Drain Punch doing the healing and Knock Off being Knock Off. I also considered ChestoRest over Knock Off. But it shouldn't be too hard to Coil coil twice considering the switches you would force.
 
A set I concocted was exactly like alexwolf's only I replaced Thunder punch with Zap Cannon. One of Eel's problems is speed and with Coil providing accuracy boosts Zap Cannon essentially becomes a super Discharge with guaranteed paralysis. This makes him a mixed threat with Drain Punch doing the healing and Knock Off being Knock Off. I also considered ChestoRest over Knock Off. But it shouldn't be too hard to Coil coil twice considering the switches you would force.
Only problem with zap cannon is that you can only use it once you have coiled up. It also has 8 PP so it runs out quickly.

It's probably more desirable to have an accurate stab which you can use often.
 
I could never run this. I'd be far too afraid of getting annihilated by Mold Breaking ground attacks. Kyurem B and Exacdrill are the big offenders. Haxorus to a lesser scale.
 
So, been experimenting, and for the most part, I generally use him to absorb hits and hit the switch. Coil is expectedly hard to guarentee, so I actually did some work with a band set and an AV that did surprisingly well. Granted, this was with friends that I know how to predict very well, but I'd say this mon has a place here if you work it into an appropriate team, especially if you're like me and are desperate for more anti stall options
 
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Here is the set i would use:

Eelektross @ Black Sludge
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Careful Nature
- Coil
- ThunderPunch
- Drain Punch
- Knock Off

After a single Coil, here are the Pokemon that can beat Eelektross 1 v 1:
  • Mega Charizard X (all sets)
  • Deoxys-S
  • Mega Gyarados
  • Kyurem-B
  • Excadrill
  • Landorus (Psychic)
  • Garchomp (with Swords Dance)
  • Unaware Clefable
  • Rotom-W (WoW + Pain Split)
  • Quagsire
Honestly, that's not such a big list, especially considering that some of those Pokemon can't switch directly into Eelektross, such as Deoxys-S, Mega Gyarados, and Excadrill, and most of those Pokemon hate getting their item Knocked Off.

Furthermore, Eelektross pairs well with Wish users such as Chansey, so it's even possible for it to try and sweep twice, assuming Eelektross already got a kill and then was forced out because it had too little health left.

Not to mention that Eelektross also checks many offensive and defensive threats, such as Mega Pinsir, Thundurus, Mega Venusaur, Chansey, Mega Mawile, Mega Scizor, and Terrakion with a tank set of 252 HP / 252 SpA and Thunderbolt, Flamethrower, Knock Off, and Drain Punch / U-turn, and can act as a slow pivot with U-turn against Pokemon that can't directly threaten it.

Some may say that Eelektross is way too unviable to become viable with just an added Poison-type, but Poison is one of the best defensive typings in the game, and is perfect suited for tanks or bulky sweepers, the two roles that Eelektross is best suited for, so i think that Electric / Poison Eelektross would definitely be a valid choice in OU, even if it is a very niche one.
Any particular reason why Zam isn't on that list? I think that given a safe swap in, sashzam could revenge rather easily.

Also, any and all mold breaker EQs will hurt, so premega evo pinsir might cause a dent.
 

Shroomisaur

Smogon's fantastical fun-guy.
Another really interesting typing change and one that fits with Eelektross very well flavor-wise too. Poison is absolutely wonderful defensively. A large list of useful resistances and decent defenses would make Eelektross an even better pivot than it already is, with the only downside being it now has a weakness to Psychic-type coverage from Lando/etc. A small price to pay.

It's been months since I posted both physical and special AV Eelektross in the AV thread and a secondary Poison typing would make it all the more useful, so that's the first idea that immediately pops into my head. There's no sense in being afraid of Mold Breaker mons since it possesses U-Turn to pivot out of Exca and Kyu-B switch-ins (alternatively, Drain Punch hits them both on the switch).

Eelektross's movepool is so vast that there's tons of options for it to run, and a Coil set is certainly an interesting niche... certainly a set that will love the Toxic immunity. That's something I'll want to try out for sure.

Any particular reason why Zam isn't on that list? I think that given a safe swap in, sashzam could revenge rather easily.

Also, any and all mold breaker EQs will hurt, so premega evo pinsir might cause a dent.
With 252/252+ SpD investment, Zam would need a safe switch to 2HKO Eelektross, so yes it's a good check. Again, Mold Breaker isn't that big of a concern, and most Pinsir don't run it anyway (although they might change if Eelektross gets decent usage).
 
Again, Mold Breaker isn't that big of a concern, and most Pinsir don't run it anyway (although they might change if Eelektross gets decent usage).
Wait, what? I figured with washing machine being a prime mega pinsir swap in, mold breaker EQ would deter that (sadly, mold breaker is one of the few telegraphed abilities, so no surprise KO, but deterring otherwise safe swaps long enough for an SD or 2 can win games, occasionally more often then a free +1 that moxie grants (I don't think hyper cutter is that common)).
 
Wait, what? I figured with washing machine being a prime mega pinsir swap in, mold breaker EQ would deter that (sadly, mold breaker is one of the few telegraphed abilities, so no surprise KO, but deterring otherwise safe swaps long enough for an SD or 2 can win games, occasionally more often then a free +1 that moxie grants (I don't think hyper cutter is that common)).
Because of mold breaker's telegraph, and Rotom-W's lack of reliable recovery, I often find it easier just to wear it down to the point where Pinsir can break through it. People often fodder stuff out to Pinsir's flying type priority in order to *prevent* it from getting that all important swords dance, and so Pinsir can often net a quick KO without mega evolving and nab a moxie boost rather than trying to garner a free turn (which can be nearly impossible for something as slow and frail as Pinsir against offensive teams). IMO Moxie is the best ability for Pinsir.

As for eel, I was looking a little bit at RestTalk to give him that reliable recovery that everyone seems to miss, but honestly, it's really not worth it; he loses out on his biggest asset, coverage. I considered a coil set with one attack, but you'd have to use something unreliable for the attack (dragon tail gets walled by fairys [and he can't outspeed anything for that to be legit], Drain Punch by ghosts, Knock Off by most megas, and U-Turn for obvious reasons). Rest/Talk with two attacks seems okay, but just outclassed by the coverage he could garner with other sets. You're much better off running it alongside a wish passer if you really feel you need the recovery.
 
I'm a little sad Eelektross doesn't have any poison attack other than acid spray; Poison Jab (or ideally Gunk shot) would have been amazing with this Poison retyping. I personally favour this assault vest set

Eelektross @ Assault Vest
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 40 SDef / 216 Def
Relaxed Nature
- Drain Punch
- Discharge
- U-turn
- Knock Off

Bulky, slow U-turn to make sure you have favorable match up, knock off for utility, Drain punch for recovery, Knock off to annoy people and discharge for STAB.
 
Only problem with zap cannon is that you can only use it once you have coiled up. It also has 8 PP so it runs out quickly.

It's probably more desirable to have an accurate stab which you can use often.
Technically no, it's a gamble to use it before Coil, not unusable. That's why you want to switch him into things that can't touch you, like Gliscor or Skarmory (well, Taunt would be bad, but that's a gamble for them too). And the PP really isn't an issue, I'd be amazed if Eel could actually live long enough to abuse 8 Zap Cannons, as it should primarily be used on physically tough targets and to slow down faster threats. One of the biggest threats to this set is Unaware Quagsire, who doesn't care about your boosts and is immune to Zap Cannon and burn you with Scald.

Also, stupid set is stupid.

Eelektross@Black Sludge
Levitate
252 HP / 4 Df / 252 SpD
~ Power-Up Punch
~ Charge Beam
~ Rest
~ Sleep Talk

Not that this should ever work but I just thought it too funny being able to get to +6 in both offenses with such weak-ass moves.

This thing has so many crazy possible sets. I just noticed Ion Deluge could turn Return into an Electric move adding STAB, which would make it much better than Wild Charge, which unfortunately requires another move slot and isn't worth it.
 

alexwolf

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Discussion about Eelektross is now over. Here is our next slate:
  • Poison Heal Goodra (Treecko)
  • Magic Guard Froslass (The Pizza Man)
  • Poison / Electric Weezing (escarlata)
  • Dry Skin Escavalier (Chou Toshio)
You have 24 hours to vote. Only vote for one theorymon, and the theorymon with the most votes wins. Don't forget to bold your votes, otherwise they won't count. In the case of a tie, we will vote again for the two theorymon that tied, with another day time limit. Start voting!

And here is the competitive merit behind each theorymon:

Poison Heal Goodra: Reliable recovery and immunity to status would be huge boons to Goodra. Now it is able to deal with Toxic Heatran, SubToxic Gliscor, WoW Rotom-W, Sludge Bomb Mega Venusaur and more. Longevity is one of Goodra's biggest problems and Poison Heal helps in this aspect a lot.

Magic Guard Froslass: With a Focus Sash it can act as a one time check to any offensive Pokemon, while also having useful tools to deal even with Pokemon that it can't threaten with its attacks, such as Destiny Bond and Thunder Wave. Spikes + Taunt are good on offensive teams too.

Poison / Electric Weezing: Amazing check to Mega Pinsir, Mega Manectric, Raikou, Talonflame, Thundurus, and Azumarill, with a great STAB move in Thunderbolt, in addition to WoW, Pain Split, Sludge Bomb, and Fire Blast.

Dry Skin Escavalier: Azumarill, Kingdra, Keldeo, Manaphy, Greninja, Mega Gyarados, Suicune, Politoed, Quagsire, all those are checked or countered wonderfully.
 
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