Metagame NP: NU (beta): Welcome to the NU Age (Combusken Banned)

[JL_muserwolves]

Magic Coat is legal because Sewaddle has access to the tutor in BW2 and then can be sent forward to learn Sticky Web, but Leavanny is the only one in the line who gets Knock Off, unfortunately. It's a shame, it'd be a fantastic option for it.

And now for something I've had a LOT of fun with recently:

Lapras @ Assault Vest
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Modest Nature
- Hydro Pump / Surf
- Freeze-Dry
- Frost Breath
- Thunderbolt / Ice Shard

This set's an absolute treasure to use. Between Lapras's already good bulk and respectable Special Attack, plus its coverage options, an Assault Vest becomes a natural fit for it, and it rarely disappoints. Hydro Pump vs. Surf is the eternal choice of STAB for Water-types. Freeze Dry's super-effective hit on Water-types grants Lapras absolutely amazing coverage. Frost Breath, while slightly redundant, breaks through Calm Mind/Cosmic Power users who might try to set up and also provides a stronger Ice STAB than Freeze-Dry's 70 base power, making it a good move to carry. The final moveslot is a tossup-- though it doesn't really provide much extra coverage, Thunderbolt does find uses in certain situations (such as hedging bets on predictions), while Ice Shard grants Lapras a priority option. Ice Shard users should opt for either a Mild or Quiet nature and shift the 4 SpDef IV's into Attack.

Other options in Lapras's potential arsenal include Hyper Voice (which bypasses Substitutes) and Psychic, and it can also run a physically focused version with Waterfall and Ice Shard as well as any of Avalanche, Drill Run, Body Slam, Iron Head and Zen Headbutt.

 

[im still obnoxious and my mom still doesnt like me]

Here's a set I've personally used with some success,putting an underrated NU Pokemon to good use.

Kelceon@Life Orb
Ability:Protean
EVs:252 Atk/252 HP/4 Spe
Adamant Nature
-Return
-Shadow Sneak
-Thunder Wave
-Subsitute
With this set,Kelceon can play the role of a Subsitute attacker,shifting types to soften most hits from other Pokemon.Return is here since it is Kelceon's strongest move without drawbacks,Subsitute is to catch most foes on the switch,Thunder Wave is here to cripple opposing sweepers,and finally Shadow Sneak is added for the purpose of dodging fighting attacks.

 

[scorpdestroyer]

Vileplume @ Black Sludge
Ability: Effect Spore
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Bold Nature
- Moonlight
- Sleep Powder
- Sludge Bomb
- Giga Drain

Credit to Punchshroom for discovering and popularizing this (at least in the PS room) cos it's really good. He didn't want to post it so I'm doing it for him.

Anyway this thing is a real good pivot. It sponges hits from basically anything that doesn't hit it for super effective. It handles Sawk, Shiftry, Samurott, and a lot of other stuff, and that alone is pretty darn good imo. To set it apart from Tangela and Roselia, it doesn't mind Knock Off (well, at least not that much) which is pretty important in handling those stuff. Moonlight is really cool for constantly pivoting in and out, and Sleep Powder is just sleep, really no reason to not run it since HP Fire isn't needed for Durant anymore. Sludge Bomb and Giga Drain are STABs. Effect Spore is actually pretty cool since you can get a random clutch status on one of those Pokemon which might win you the game.

Vileplume is really good, go ahead and use it!

Hide

252+ Atk Choice Band Sawk Ice Punch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Vileplume: 210-248 (59.3 - 70%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Black Sludge recovery

252+ Atk Choice Band Sawk Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Vileplume: 140-165 (39.5 - 46.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Black Sludge recovery

252 Atk Life Orb Shiftry Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Vileplume: 138-164 (38.9 - 46.3%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Black Sludge recovery

252+ Atk Life Orb Feraligatr Return vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Vileplume: 110-130 (31 - 36.7%) -- guaranteed 4HKO after Black Sludge recovery

Magneton @ Choice Specs
Ability: Analytic
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Modest Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Grass] / Hidden Power [Ground]
- Flash Cannon

Confirming that this set wrecks faces. Just a few calcs:

Hide

252+ SpA Choice Specs Magneton Flash Cannon vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Dragalge: 169-201 (50.5 - 60.1%) -- 86.7% chance to 2HKO after Black Sludge recovery

252+ SpA Choice Specs Magneton Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Audino: 181-214 (44.1 - 52.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

With the tier as offensive as it is, and with those calcs not even taking into account the Analytic boost from switching in, you would imagine that Magneton does a lot of work vs offensive teams. Base 70 Speed isn't even that bad, since with that you get the jump on stuff like Spiritomb and max HP Feraligatr, and you get to 2HKO a lot of stuff with Analytic helping you. And like Brawlfest said 2 pages ago, everyone expects Magnet Pull so it's trapping random Steels for free. The HP can be easily changed to Ground or Grass depending on what you want to hit. And if you can't 2HKO something or if you don't want to predict, just click Volt Switch and you're off to another teammate after dealing a solid chunk of damage.

There are a lot of other stuff I'm hyped to talk about but I'll reserve it for next time since I don't want to do a thought dump rn :]

 

[Shuckleking87]

Alright so I'm back to NU. So what is good to have on a team, besides shuckle?

 

[Talpr0ne]

Alright so I'm back to NU. So what is good to have on a team, besides shuckle?

Fun part is that Shuckle is actually RU.
Besides, there is a ton of options. Barbaracle is the based god of shellsmashers, and a good starting point for an offensive team.

 

[Magnemite]

Alright so I'm back to NU. So what is good to have on a team, besides shuckle?

Shuckle is RU o.o

On a somewhat related note, the first NU stats are now out:

http://sim.smogon.com:8080/Stats/2014-05/nualpha-1760.0.txt

 

[tennisace]

Pyroar > Typhlosion
Hariyama > Gurdurr
Accelgor and Gorebyss aren't NU

amazing.

edit: might as well do a mini set dump

Lilligant (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Own Tempo
EVs: 252 SAtk / 192 Spd / 64 HP
Modest Nature
- Sleep Powder
- Quiver Dance
- Petal Dance
- Nature Power

This thing wrecks faces. Originally I used it as a Doublade lure when I found out +1 Modest Petal Dance 2hko'd it but it's still stupidly powerful and you don't get confused after you use it! The EVs outspeed +spe base 70 pokemon before a QD, there isn't much you need to outspeed straight up in the 70-90 range before you get a QD anyway. I guess it leaves you open to Scarf Sawk / Rotom-S but those weren't too common when I was using this.

Steelix @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Iron Head
- Earthquake
- Fire Fang
- Stealth Rock

This thing also wrecks faces. I've had people switch in their Hariyamas only to find out they get 2hko'd by Iron Head. Sometimes I do miss Sturdy or extra bulk, but the power was pretty cool on an offensive team, as I didn't lose too much momentum by having it out (just hammer things on the switch). Fire Fang was for Durant but you could replace it with Crunch now or w/e else you want.

 

[Anna says hi]

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/nubeta-127322626
I've tried using LC teams at the bottom of the ladder recently, and, aside from humiliating my opponents, it actually does pretty damn well for being a LC team.(This includes items and EVs/IVs, so I'm running crap like Pawniard with 9 HP IVs and Misdreavus with only 236 speed EVs)

 

[SotheBlacKnight]

As someone who uses Leavanny, I can tell you Knock Off + Sticky Web is illegal unfortunately (never tried Magic Coat so idk about that) I personally run Sticky Web / dual STAB / Toxic and run Swarm (Overcoat is only useful vs Hippo, while Swarm can power up X-Scissor a little after Sash. Ability isn't really that important though). Toxic is helpful vs bulky mons. I personally like Leavanny the best because it is the fastest sticky web user.

Fixed. And I got caught, I've actually haven't used alot of these guys 8P but I've seen Leavanny a few times and they do carry Magic Coat. Though I am using Swadloon and it seems good but I have to test it further. Might try out Ariados sometime he seems to have amount of potential with T-Spikes and Sucker Punch.

 

[Nefyr]

So I know that I've just talked about a Masquerian set but I feel this is something that could be discussed (if not already) further.

So from my personal experience in NU I feel that the best team/playstyle is Sticky Web Offense, I have had great success with it and NU has a ton of good pokes who benefit from it (Sawk, Malamar, Sigilyph to name a few). There are also some great spin blockers (Spiritomb, Gourgiest) and Defiant pokes (Primeape, Purugly) to stop spins or take advantage of Defog.
But with the recent tier shift we just lost our best Webber, Shuckle and the playstlye became a little harder for it. Though not all hope is lost since we still have plenty of Webbers in NU still, unfortunately thery're not all that good but I'd like to go over briefly what choices there are:


Masquerian
70/60/62/80/82/60
Pros: Intimidate, Great Movepool (access to powerful Water attacks)
Cons: x4 weakness to Rocks, poor stats
Possible Set:
Masquerain @ Focus Sash
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 SAtk / 252 Spd / 4 Def
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sticky Web
- Air Slash
- Hydro Pump
- Bug Buzz

I know all of these are similar and I hope more people can present even more sets and possibilities to these rather sad pokes.

I've been using this Weakness Policy Masquerian set that I've so far found to be fairly effective:


Masquerain @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Spd / 4 SpA
Timid Nature
- Sticky Web
- Quiver Dance
- Baton Pass
- Giga Drain

Giga Drain lets you hit stuff like Seismitoad and Golem, and if you can manage to pass the weakness policy and a QD to a sweeper, work gets done.

 

[Azulart]

Poor Pachy barely has any usage, while it is in my expercience the most reliable Nuzzle user.

Pachirisu @ AssaultVest
Nature: Calm
252 Special Defense, 252 HP, 4 Def/Spd
Ability: Volt Absorb
- U-turn
- Nuzzle
- Super Fang
- Elecktro Ball

Pachirisu with this set is an wonderfull ANTI-Special-lead/cannon counter.
Not only provides it Thunder immunity for your team but with Assault vest it reaches 234 Special defence with 167 HP (lvl50)
which is very impressive for such an small cute mon. The side effect of the AssaultVest doesn't hinder the moveset at all due the fact Nuzzle is an garantied paralyze and an physical move. U-Turn is the recommanded move over Volt switch because your opponent will mostl likely switch to an ground type predicting a Nuzzle, and since U-turn is a bug move it will hit the ground mon and gain momentum for you to swtich into a counter. Super fang is a very useful move which can really pressure Wall type pokemons that lack an recovery move. Elektro ball is sort of an out-of-the-box move since you will mostly like chose Nuzzle when you see the moment fit for it, you can do more damage with Elektro ball over T-Bolt after it.
But if you dont feel like relying to much on the Paralyze then T-Bolt is the obivous choice, you can also chose for HP ICE but then U-turn should be switched with Volt Switch.

Pro's:

- Amazing special defence
- Easy paralyzeing several mons while being able to take some hits.
- Great speed, can outspeed common wallers very easy.
- Volt absorb makes him an excellent partner for water mons
- Unpredictable. So far I have been the only one using this set, so your opponent will have no idea what to expect from this mouse.
- Gaining momentum is very easy when you know your opponent has an ground type on your team.
Also due it's uninvested speed it can easily take a special hit for the team.

Con's
- Average defence, one powerfull physical or a buffed move and it's death.
- Attacking power is really weak
- No recovery move
- Weak to toxic spikes and spikes due the many switching with this guy
- Thunder mons with toxic checks it
- Weak to common Earthqauke


Argument:

Despite the con's, if you are looking for an way to annoy your opponent and in need of some special defence
then please give Pachy a thought. In my battles he never let me down.
wonderfull water pokemon partner.

Give it a try sometime!

 

[NotNova]

Having fun with good ol' Kangaskhan.

Kangaskhan @ Life Orb
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 HP / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- Double-Edge
- Drain Punch
- Sucker Punch

The staple set of Gen 5 Kanga. I prefer Drain Punch over PuP because I find I don't use that moveslot as much either way and I usually just come in to do some big damage, then get out. Also, using it over EQ because it's similar coverage and nothing's immune to it given Scrappy. Kangaskhan tends to wear itself down between Double-Edge and LO recoil, so the recovery is also a plus.

Fake Out and Sucker Punch can KO a weakened threat without much difficulty, while Double-Edge is very spammable and tends to do huge chunks to offensive mons. Fake Out and Double-Edge mindgames are also important, because few things appreciate getting smacked around by such a powerful move.

Base 90 Speed might seem a bit less impressive with the tier getting faster this gen, but it still sits at a nice speed tier. It's got good bulk which is held down somewhat by the recoil, but that one Kangaskhan switch-in might just save you the game.

Definitely something to check out, it helps with offensive mons with its choice of priority, a spammable move, and unresisted coverage.

(he also really loves the losses since they gave him a lot of trouble :P)

 

[Frickett]

I'm really liking Scraggy atm, been using it a lot and this is what seems to be the most effective set:

Scraggy @ Eviolite
Nature: Careful
Ability: Shed Skin
EVs: 252HP / 252SpD / 4Atk
-Drain Punch
-Crunch
-Rest
-Bulk Up

It can take special hits pretty well unless its Fairy, can't be toxic stalled, Rest becomes relatively reliable with Shed Skin. Here's a couple battles I had with it (back to back) where I've used pure LC.

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/nubeta-127614090
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/nubeta-127625453

In the first battle it died to hax, 2nd battle it died to a misplay where I risked a 1st turn Shed Skin which failed.

 

[Shuckleking87]

Why don't you run knock off on Scraggy? However I think Gurdurr is much better, especially because psychics are not as popular as last gen

 

[viol and bass]

Why don't you run knock off on Scraggy? However I think Gurdurr is much better, especially because psychics are not as popular as last gen

That's not true at all. We've got some damn good psychics in the tier at the moment: Uxie, Mesprit, Sigilyph, etc., none of which were in NU last gen. That's discluding shit like Musharna which is mostly outclassed at the moment. We've got a bunch of good psychics. What we don't have is a lot of good fairies, and given the buff to dark moves (I've seen tons of teams without a single Dark resist), Scraggy's probably in decent shape. But out of curiosity, what does it have over Pangoro?

Edit: I suppose Knock Off and Drain Punch are two things, but Pangoro hits much harder and Circle Throw is really intriguing on a set like this.

 

[tennisace]

That's not true at all. We've got some damn good psychics in the tier at the moment: Uxie, Mesprit, Sigilyph, etc., none of which were in NU last gen. That's discluding shit like Musharna which is mostly outclassed at the moment. We've got a bunch of good psychics. What we don't have is a lot of good fairies, and given the buff to dark moves (I've seen tons of teams without a single Dark resist), Scraggy's probably in decent shape. But out of curiosity, what does it have over Pangoro?

Edit: I suppose Knock Off and Drain Punch are two things, but Pangoro hits much harder and Circle Throw is really intriguing on a set like this.

Rest + Shed Skin frees up a moveslot that Pangoro either loses to Sleep Talk or it has to sleep 2 guaranteed turns. Also Scraggy was neat last gen because the list of Pokemon that could OHKO it was surprisingly small (I think at +1 it could take a Scarf Sawk CC and ko back with Drain Punch).

 

[gooey kirby]

do you guys think vivilon should be banned
its a underated threat

 

[Minus]

do you guys think vivilon should be banned
its a underated threat

I'm by no means an authority in NU, but I'd like to disagree. Our favorite satanic butterfly lacks the necessary speed in power to be a big threat in the metagame. I'm not saying it doesn't have a niche, but saying that it's too small. a 91% accurate Hurricane along with Spore is nice, but with powerful Flying- and Rock-type Pokemon (and Pokemon with that kind of coverage) running around, I don't see Vivillon as broken at all. It's very easy to deal with, though I agree it can get out of when when given the chance.

Speaking of Satan, I made my 666th post B]

 

[Thanks Brock Obama]

do you guys think vivilon should be banned
its a underated threat

I wouldn't call it underrated really, its well known for being the best quiver dancer in the tier because +1 STAB Compound Eyes Hurricane is something hard to ignore. Its just that the prevalence of stealth rock, its difficulty getting past steel types, and general frailty stop it from running through the tier. Definitely a threat, but not broken.

EDIT: Minus beat me to it, but I think it should also be mentioned that a setup sweeper that needs focus sash and lacks priority can find itself in a bad situation fairly often.

 

[Meteor 17]

Shuckle is RU o.o

On a somewhat related note, the first NU stats are now out:

http://sim.smogon.com:8080/Stats/2014-05/nualpha-1760.0.txt

Shoutout to those idiots that use Misdreavus and Timburr when Mismagius and Gurdurr are in the damn tier.
"But they can use eviolite!"


Anyways, here's something I've been tinkering around with recently:

Pangoro @ Assault Vest
Ability: Mold Breaker/Scrappy
EVs: 252 SDef / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Adamant Nature
- Circle Throw
- Aerial Ace
- Earthquake
- Crunch

If this set screams "I don't know how to use Pangoro", you're probably correct.
Mold Breaker lets it hit flying types with EQ and Scrappy lets it use Circle Throw on Mismagius, Golurk and other ghost types.
Aerial Ace and EQ for coverage, Crunch for nice STAB, and Circle Throw for a fighting move and something to push out threats. With Assault Vest, it reaches 361 Special Defense, allowing it to tank some hits on the special side. 95 Base HP is also decent, allowing it to be even more tanky.

 

[termi]

Misdreavus is different from mismagius because Misdreavus is bulkier so whereas mismagius is best used as a sweeper, Misdreavus is better at being a wall of sorts and doing shit like heal bell

That being said, idk if you should use Misdreavus in a meta where good ghosts run rampant.

 

[Ranger Mike]

Shoutout to those idiots that use Misdreavus and Timburr when Mismagius and Gurdurr are in the damn tier.
"But they can use eviolite!"

Anyways, here's something I've been tinkering around with recently:

Pangoro @ Assault Vest
Ability: Mold Breaker/Scrappy
EVs: 252 SDef / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Adamant Nature
- Circle Throw
- Aerial Ace
- Earthquake
- Crunchon

If this set screams "I don't know how to use Pangoro", you're probably correct.
Mold Breaker lets it hit flying types with EQ and Scrappy lets it use Circle Throw on Mismagius, Golurk and other ghost types.
Aerial Ace and EQ for coverage, Crunch for nice STAB, and Circle Throw for a fighting move and something to push out threats. With Assault Vest, it reaches 361 Special Defense, allowing it to tank some hits on the special side. 95 Base HP is also decent, allowing it to be even more tanky.

This seems cool but you miss out on parting shot which is pangoro's biggest niche :( Also moldy earthquake does not hit flying types not to mention why do you not use storm throw, skky uppercut or hammer arm for you fighting stab.

 

[TM13IceBeam]

MB EQ doesn't hit any shit outside of Levitate, nearly most users of it afaik are hit harder by Crunch anyway

Also what exactly is Aerial Ace hitting? don't see much of a use for it with Virizion out of the tier right now atm (and even so it's not like Pangoro isn't getting smashed first by Virizion). stab crunch hits as hard as SE aerial ace

 

[Meteor 17]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. Also, I'm an idiot thinking Mold Breaker hits Flying Types with EQ. Anyways...

Pangoro @ | ) )ault Vest
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 252 SDef / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Adamant Nature
- Circle Throw
- Sky Uppercut
- Earthquake
- Crunch

Changes:

• Aerial Ace > Sky Uppercut

 

[NWL]

Hi, I've tried out a couple rounds of NU with a team I made, and here are some sets i have found that work.

iv. Sweatpants (Cacturne) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Veil
EVs: 252 Atk / 80 HP / 176 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Spikes
- Sucker Punch
- Encore
- Bullet Seed
The best offensive spiker in NU, IMO. Sucker Punch is really good with SR support, picking off weakened threats such as Guts Swellow. Encore is really handy for defensive mons that think they wall the cactus. Bullet seed is for two reasons: STAB, and taking out Golem/Seismitoad.

ii. Shadows (Marowak) @ Thick Club
Ability: Rock Head
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 HP / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Bonemerang
- Double-Edge
- Substitute
- Stone Edge

This set breaks stuff. Thick Club boosts his attack to monstrous levels, so you're looking at mini-Azu. Bonemerang hits most stuff except birds, so Stone Edge is the logical conclusion. I've been using it in a core with Magmortar (credit to FLCL) and it smashes through things.

A replay in which Marowak cleans up:
http://pokemonshowdown.com/replay/nubeta-128198406

i. Pink Toes (Butterfree) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Compound Eyes
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 HP / 4 SAtk
Timid Nature
- Sleep Powder
- Stun Spore
- U-turn
- Defog
Classic Double Status Butterfree. You can use either status depending on the threat: if it is a lead, I go for Sleep Powder; for offensive sweepers, I use Stun Spore. Paralysis support helps Marowak to sweep as well with his low speed. Defog is useful for when hazards are impeding my momentum, and U-turn maintains momentum.

EDIT: Yay 100th post!