XY UU Research Week #6

[Mazz]

Welcome, UUers and all those looking for an excellent comp. 'mons experience! A fresh tier means a fresh installment of Research Group!

Keep the following things in mind during every Research Group:

• Be open-minded, don't just say something is terrible and walk away; look at its stats, movepool, and typing and think something up!
• Feel free to theorymon early in the research period, but make it clear you're doing so. Later in the period though, you will be expected to back up your posts with hard evidence like logs, actual sets, perhaps even teams.
• Just because an analysis has been done for a Pokemon doesn't mean there isn't more to explore; it's very likely that something has gone unnoticed.
• Do not post in this thread complaining about the Pokemon I choose and / or suggesting ones we should do for future weeks. Feel free to VM / PM me these suggestions, but don't expect me to always listen to you.

A few things to clarify:

• Early period means the first three days of the research week, so let's keep the theorymoning to a minimum after. The late period refers to the last four days of the research week, where raw evidence and discussion should become the basis of the thread.
• Sign-Ups close Monday nights (about three and a half days of sign-ups), so be sure to sign up before they close!
• The prizes for Research Week have been decided; winning a research week will grant you half-ops on our IRC channel, #xyuu. Win five, and you get a nomination for a Community Contributor badge.
• You must post a ladder ranking in order to win the above prizes.

This Week's Research Pokemon:

Jolteon | Machamp | Drapion | Tangrowth
​

How useful are these Pokemon in XYUU? What sets can they run effectively? What gives them trouble? What advantages do they have over other Pokemon? How well do they work in the metagame? If you have anything to say about any of these Pokemon, please post about them! It doesn't matter if you've used them or have just faced them in battle, anything is fine (but please, do try them). Just be sure to back up your posts with good competitive reasoning. Remember, discussion is not limited to this topic, you are encouraged to talk about these Pokemon in #xyuu as well!

The Research Group Challenge:

In order to participate you must do the following:

• Post here with a fresh alt and the name(s) of the Pokemon you will be using.
• Use at least one of the Pokemon being researched.
• Post your experiences with the Pokemon you're using, participate in the discussion!
• Post logs of this Pokemon in action against other teams - don't just tell us, show us!

The first stage of the challenge will be very relaxed so theorymon will be allowed as long as its backed up by good reasoning. During the later stage, discussion will be expected to be backed up by hard evidence, such as teams, actual sets, and logs. The winner of the challenge will be the person who has the highest ladder ranking on the Pokemon Showdown UU ladder on the alt they registered at the time the challenge ends. Prizes are currently being discussed with higher powers, so hang tight while I find something worth your guys' attention. Winners will also receive a permanent spot in the XYUU Hub Hall of Fame (once it exists).

Current Participants:
-col49 (Tangrowth)
-ScraftyIsTheBest (Drapion)
-dbzmariogeno (Drapion)
-Calloflochie (Tangrowth)
-xenoblade911 (Jolteon)

 

[Mazz]

Before anyone posts or anything, a few things to clarify:

Discussion regarding the Research Week Suspects is a prerequisite to winning; its heavily implied in the OP, and will now be a factor in who wins this week. This isn't simply a ladder challenge, The Dark Horse Project is, so naturally some discussion is required. Right under each of the Pokemon is a bunch of questions that you could answer if you can't think of anything to discuss.

Also, if you fail to post a ladder ranking at the end of this week, no matter how terrible your rank, you may not be eligible to participate in Research Week #7. Let's actually make a competition out of this! For the past 4 weeks there's been less than 5 people to submit a ranking!

 

[col49]

ayte

Alt: tender hooks
Pokemon: Tangrowth


Vest Tangrowth looks to be a fairly self-sufficient pivotmon and Knock Off 'platform' for bulky offense given its decent bulk, resistance set, and access to Regen, which is basically my mentality behind choosing it. It should function as a fairly efficient bulky Water-type check, among assorted softer immediate attackers, but that's essentially what most of the tier's Grass-types do, so it hardly says much on that alone. What distinguishes itself to me is it's capacity to orient play moderately offensively without excessive investment in terms of EVs, due to the assortment of high-BP attacks it has access to. Access to moves like EQ, Focus Blast, and so forth give it the ability to catch common switch-ins to more traditional bulky Grass-types on the switch for good damage, punishing aggressive switch-in from Fire-types, Kyurem, and the like. Of course, that's a tad prediction-heavy, and most of this is theorymon at this stage, but that's what this is for in the first place I s'pose.

 

[ScraftyIsTheBest]

Alt: Scorpion Time
Pokemon: Drapion

Drapion looks like it has quite a bit of potential in UU right now. It got a couple of nice buffs this gen, like Knock Off, which is miles better than Crunch, and the fact that it has Poison Jab to hit Florges. A Swords Dance set seems like a pretty good idea, Drapion has a nice movepool with pretty good coverage to use, so I can see this thing functioning as a nice sweeper. Although Drapion does have a bit of a hard time setting up, once it does it can do quite a bit of damage. 95 Speed isn't bad, although it's better when paired up with Sticky Web. Drapion can hit Slowbro, Florges, and a bunch of other Pokemon pretty hard, and with a simple set of Swords Dance / Knock Off / Poison Jab / Earthquake or Aqua Tail this thing should be able to wreck. I'm definitely interested in trying this thing, this is mostly theorymon, but I'll be ready to test this thing.

 

[RotomPoison]

I feel like Jolteon will have the same problems as before. 110 SpAtk isn't that good with a movepool consisting of STAB, Hidden Power, Shadow Ball, Signal Beam. Possible Specs user but not much more.

Machamp is an odd case. Dynamic Punch is what makes it worth using, sure, and outside of that people claim it is outclassed by Heracross. While this is true, I think Guts Machamp is going to become an decent wallbreaker if only for the surprise value. Standard CB/AV No Guard Machamp is the best it can do though, and I haven't made the team yet for this, so let's see.

Drapion is definitely the most interesting one here. Between its STABs alone, which have perfect neutral coverage in the tier, it has 2 available moveslots. Earthquake, Taunt, Pursuit, even Toxic Spikes and Whirlwind are usable. This thing can be an AV user, but is weak unboosted and now even lacks Leftovers. Possibly an SD sweeper, but 95 Speed is not amazing and even at +2 it misses crucial KOs. What I am very interested in however, is a CB Drapion, with Pursuit, Knock Off, Poison Jab, and Earthquake. This combines most of its positive qualities and has the utility of Pursuit trapping, removing items, and smashing through the common Florges. It's still not amazingly strong, but something I want to try out.

Tangrowth suffers from decent stats. By decent I mean "mediocre typing with a decent at best movepool." I don't like AV because I can't use Sleep Powder or Synthesis, so I would most likely just use it as a physical wall with Sleep Powder, Synthesis, then 2 attacking moves. Most likely Leaf Storm/Power Whip and Knock Off.

Regardless, good luck to everyone.

Since I'm using RotomPoison UU for the dark horse project,

Alt: RotomPoison Week 6
Pokemon: Drapion

Drapion does not have good synergy with the other Pokemon here for the most part. It just doesn't.

proof of clean alt

 

[Calloflochie]

Alt: Screwd outta wk 5
Pokemon:Tangrowth

Gonna try these guys out as Ass vest users. Machamp has always been an annoying to deal with and with it's new buff of Ass Vest + Knock off, I think it could do a little bit of work in UU. Tangrowth is just a perfect candidate for AV and with the prevalence of Crocune, Tangrowth will have no problems finding opportunities to show off it's well rounded stats. In terms of mons i'm likely to pair it with, more than likely a wish passer/cleric (so pretty much florges) and maybe a bit of pace since I gotta plenty of bulk between those three. Further thoughts on these both to come :]

Edit: Fuck Machamp, but Tangrowth is aite

 

[Chronic Smash]

Alt: JolteonShocks
Pokemon: Jolteon.

Giving this Sparky dude a shot.

 

[RotomPoison]

So after some laddering, Drapion is just bad. It's typing is nice but its stats are just not enough. CB Drapion, AV Drapion, Drapion as a whole is just bad. First of all the typing conflicts with beter wallbreakers like Nidoking, second, its Knock Off can't even kill Mew, so that's weak. It's Defense isn't as good as it looks either. It dies to a simple V-Create that even Mega Aggron takes with 30% left.

This thing made me feel like 5 + weak wallbreaker that should be something better (in regards to CB) vs 6. I really just got bored while using it, even though it seemed interesting at first. Really can't wait to get some new ones to choose from.

bad rank because Drapion is pretty dissapointing

 

[dingbat]

Alt: Name Unavailable

This is an Offensive variant I plan on playing around with:

Tangrowth @ Life Orb
Ability: Regenerator
Quiet/Brave Nature
EVs: 252 HP, rest of the 256 in Att/SpA
-Leaf Storm
-Knock Off
-Focus Blast
-Sludge Bomb

This will be my primary set as Leaf Storm mauls through anything that doesn't resist it or have high spD, Knock Off is a decently strong physical coverage move that can hit ghosts/psychics for decent damage, Focus Blast hits many steel types, and Sludge Bomb can hit fairies and other grasses. I can also run Power Whip over Leaf Storm as a physical option should I need the physical presence from Tangrowth on my team or HP Fire should Escavaliers be a massive problem on my team (it shouldnt be).

Its role as an attacker is a bit outclassed by Roserade on the special end, but it has the option of going mixed and its ability allows it to patch up a few life orb recoils. I'll see how well I do with this thing over this weekend with this Tangrowth set.

 

[Mazz]

Calling in your guys' ranking screenshots, as dbzmariogeno did above. You have till sometime tomorrow night until it closes.

Alt: Name Unavailable

This is an Offensive variant I plan on playing around with:

Tangrowth @ Life Orb
Ability: Regenerator
Quiet/Brave Nature
EVs: 252 HP, rest of the 256 in Att/SpA
-Leaf Storm
-Knock Off
-Focus Blast
-Sludge Bomb

This will be my primary set as Leaf Storm mauls through anything that doesn't resist it or have high spD, Knock Off is a decently strong physical coverage move that can hit ghosts/psychics for decent damage, Focus Blast hits many steel types, and Sludge Bomb can hit fairies and other grasses. I can also run Power Whip over Leaf Storm as a physical option should I need the physical presence from Tangrowth on my team or HP Fire should Escavaliers be a massive problem on my team (it shouldnt be).

Its role as an attacker is a bit outclassed by Roserade on the special end, but it has the option of going mixed and its ability allows it to patch up a few life orb recoils. I'll see how well I do with this thing over this weekend with this Tangrowth set.

Sorry, but you've missed the deadline by nearly 5 days. Join when #7 gets posted.

 

[ScraftyIsTheBest]

So I was a bit busier than I thought I would be so I didn't ladder as much as I wanted, but regardless, I have done enough testing to speak here.

Anyways, Drapion is kinda a mixed bag from my experience. The one set that I tried was the Swords Dance set, with something like Swords Dance / Knock Off / Poison Jab / Earthquake, with a Lum Berry. Drapion can function decently as a sweeper after a Swords Dance boost, but the main problems I encountered when testing it was with setting up and Drapion's Speed. Its Speed isn't bad, but 95 is a little lower than desired. From my experiences, Drapion functions best when used with Sticky Web support, as this can slow down things that normally outpace Drapion so it can sweep more easily. Drapion's typing is kinda decent but no recovery and the power of some moves kinda get in the way when nabbing an SD boost. The main partner I had for Drapion was Smeargle with Rocks, Sticky Web, and Parting Shot to help Drapion get going. I had moderate success with it overall, and it's a usable Pokemon but needs some support to work at its best. To be fair though, I was saved mostly by the fact that I had a Darmanitan to wreck everything.

And now for the ranking screenshot:

My ranking screenshot

 

[Mazz]

Posting this for Calloflochie cause his internet is the equivalent of what cyclones do to trailer parks.

Still had one more bad pun in me mate.

 

[dingbat]

Calling in your guys' ranking screenshots, as dbzmariogeno did above. You have till sometime tomorrow night until it closes.


Sorry, but you've missed the deadline by nearly 5 days. Join when #7 gets posted.

Ah. Then that's my bad.

 

[Mazz]

And with a Glicko of 1716±83, Calloflochie has won this installment of Research Week!

Which blows me away.[/badpuns]

Anywho, next week is to be posted soon, and the Leaderboard has been updated.