Metagame NP: RU Stage 4: Do My Thang (READ POST #2)

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Ares

Fool me...can't get fooled again
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Just wanted to point out another Pokemon that is standout with the banning of Yanmega:



Gurdurr @ Eviolite
Ability: Guts
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Drain Punch
- Knock Off
- Mach Punch
- Bulk Up

This thing can run through teams. At +1 and Burn'd it OHKO's Cofag always, or if Cofag doesn't Burn you it guaranteed OHKO's at +2. The lack of reliable Flying users in the tier means it really only has to fear Psychic, which can't even switch in reliably. Pair it up with a Pursuit user (I'm using Skuntank) and it becomes almost impossible to take down. Plus it's natural bulk allows it to avoid 2HKOs often and with Drain Punch it turns those into 3/4HKOs
Not that this makes Gurdurr any less impressive, but a huge reason Gurdurr saw a rise in usage was because it was a reliable check/counter to Zoro. So the banning of one suspect helped it, while having the other one banned did not. Gurdurr is a lot of fun to use, my only issue with him is that he is quite easy to wear down over time.
 
Just wanted to point out another Pokemon that is standout with the banning of Yanmega:



Gurdurr @ Eviolite
Ability: Guts
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Drain Punch
- Knock Off
- Mach Punch
- Bulk Up

This thing can run through teams. At +1 and Burn'd it OHKO's Cofag always, or if Cofag doesn't Burn you it guaranteed OHKO's at +2. The lack of reliable Flying users in the tier means it really only has to fear Psychic, which can't even switch in reliably. Pair it up with a Pursuit user (I'm using Skuntank) and it becomes almost impossible to take down. Plus it's natural bulk allows it to avoid 2HKOs often and with Drain Punch it turns those into 3/4HKOs

Ok cool, now you're stuck with Mummy and burned instead of Guts and burned.
 

GlassGlaceon

My heart has now been set on love

lets be friends (Gourgeist-Small) @ Leftovers
Ability: Frisk
EVs: 248 HP / 32 Def / 228 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Substitute
- Leech Seed
- Will-O-Wisp
- Phantom Force/Protect

This thing is literally disgusting. The nastiest set I've ever had the pleasure of using, smallgeist is possibly the most annoying thing to hit the RU battlefield. Little ghost has 99 speed, despite its slow appearance. It's a standard SubSeed set, with Will-o-wisp for physical attackers like hitmonlee and non-scarf braviary and walls/mons in general you'd like to slowly whittle down. Phantom Force is used over something like seed bomb for how well it stacks with Substitute, and it gives you a reliable attacking option. Protect is usable if you don't want to get u-turned out on by something faster that can break ur sub into something slower that can kill you (Ex: Behind a sub while the opposing scyther U-turns out on your phantom force, goes into exploud and kills you through sub.) Honestly though i haven't been screwed by that too often, but it is something to note. I've been using this+tspikes stall and it has worked like a charm. Very surprised by the results, and it's a cool mon to try out. Speed EVs outpace up to max invested neutral-natured base 110 mons such as archeops and allows you to burn them with ease. :]


Pangoro @ Choice Band
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 180 HP / 252 Atk / 76 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Crunch
- Hammer Arm
- Earthquake
- Parting Shot

Doublade @ Eviolite
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 160 HP / 252 Atk / 96 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Iron Head
- Shadow Claw
- Shadow Sneak
- Swords Dance

Cool core that puts in work against stall, CB Mold Breaker EQ Alone 2HKOs a lot of common stall mons such as SDef Aromatisse, Weezing, Drapion, and more. used the core with some mons that can handle mola which is stall's only real way to deal with this core reliably, as pangoro can just attack/parting shot its way through most of it. Pretty self explanatory, pangoro just parting shots out of phys def aromatisse/togekiss/granbull into a mon that sets up on previously mentioned check/counter like doublade.

These are just some of the cool things I've been fooling around with, I'll throw some more in a later post
 

Ares

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lets be friends (Gourgeist-Small) @ Leftovers
Ability: Frisk
EVs: 248 HP / 32 Def / 228 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Substitute
- Leech Seed
- Will-O-Wisp
- Phantom Force/Protect

This thing is literally disgusting. The nastiest set I've ever had the pleasure of using, smallgeist is possibly the most annoying thing to hit the RU battlefield. Little ghost has 99 speed, despite its slow appearance. It's a standard SubSeed set, with Will-o-wisp for physical attackers like hitmonlee and non-scarf braviary and walls/mons in general you'd like to slowly whittle down. Phantom Force is used over something like seed bomb for how well it stacks with Substitute, and it gives you a reliable attacking option. Protect is usable if you don't want to get u-turned out on by something faster that can break ur sub into something slower that can kill you (Ex: Behind a sub while the opposing scyther U-turns out on your phantom force, goes into exploud and kills you through sub.) Honestly though i haven't been screwed by that too often, but it is something to note. I've been using this+tspikes stall and it has worked like a charm. Very surprised by the results, and it's a cool mon to try out. Speed EVs outpace up to max invested neutral-natured base 110 mons such as archeops and allows you to burn them with ease. :]


Pangoro @ Choice Band
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 180 HP / 252 Atk / 76 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Crunch
- Hammer Arm
- Earthquake
- Parting Shot

Doublade @ Eviolite
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 160 HP / 252 Atk / 96 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Iron Head
- Shadow Claw
- Shadow Sneak
- Swords Dance

Cool core that puts in work against stall, CB Mold Breaker EQ Alone 2HKOs a lot of common stall mons such as SDef Aromatisse, Weezing, Drapion, and more. used the core with some mons that can handle mola which is stall's only real way to deal with this core reliably, as pangoro can just attack/parting shot its way through most of it. Pretty self explanatory, pangoro just parting shots out of phys def aromatisse/togekiss/granbull into a mon that sets up on previously mentioned check/counter like doublade.

These are just some of the cool things I've been fooling around with, I'll throw some more in a later post
I have found that its actually better to run no HP investment on the small version of Gourgeist as it means you get faster subs from leech seed + leftovers. Instead I run max defense, only down side is taking hits harder on the special side. Also running rock slide is an option as it hits all fire types, especially moltres, super hard.
 

Molk

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Gourgeist looks interesting to be honest. As mentioned by GlassGlaceon above, small Gourgeist has a cool niche as a SubSeeder in the current metagame, and can actually be quite annoying when played well, especially when paired with Toxic Spikes support. (note: if you want to use Gourgeist with Tspikes support,Drapion works incredibly well as a teammate to set those up given it resists the Knock Offs and Shadow Balls aimed at Gourgeist while the pumpkin takes absolutely nothing from Earthquakes aimed at Drapion, in fact using things such as Rhyperior to get the Subseeding cycle going). I made a stall team that involves the use of small Gourgeist, and i'll get back to you guys once i test it out a bit more.

Does anyone have any experience with Gourgeist-XL btw? It's not nearly as fast as small Gourgeist, but its *extremely* physically bulky (its bulk is on par with Alomomola) and blocks Rapid Spin pretty well, with both Kabutops and Hitmonlee really struggling against it (Hitmonlee needs hazards up, max damage rolls, and perfect prediction to even have a chance, if Gourgeist uses Leech Seed to get its health back and its Lefties are knocked off, forget it). it recieves some competition from Amoonguss as a Grass-type, but access to Will-O-Wisp, Leech Seed, the added physical bulk, and the ability to spinblock should seperate it enough for it to have a niche.
 
I have to point out that Gourgeis gets Rock Slide, this is HUGE as it can nail stuff like Moltres switching in.

And furthermore, why can't it have some more special attack :( It gets Fire Blast ffs. That would be amazing on it.
 
I have to point out that Gourgeis gets Rock Slide, this is HUGE as it can nail stuff like Moltres switching in.

And furthermore, why can't it have some more special attack :( It gets Fire Blast ffs. That would be amazing on it.
Yeah also helps a lot to deal with fletch, as I sadly found out when I tried to switch him in on the pumpkin. :[
 

aVocado

@ Everstone
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I haven't used these Pokemon/sets extensively but I wanted to share them here cuz thread isn't so active etc. I gotta credit Pearl. for the Reuniclus set though, and Molk for the t.spikes drapion + gourg-s idea.


Reuniclus @ Choice Specs
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Modest Nature
- Future Sight
- Psyshock
- Focus Blast
- Shadow Ball

This set is absolutely fucking amazing. I have a replay here that directly shows how its fucking great. It managed to get a kill and severely weaken another Pokemon, allowing the then-in-the-battle Pokemon to easily KO the opposing Gligar. I ended up 6-0ing the dude but he was using a team I RMTed so I knew all the sets lol, still though. You can see in the replay how Reuniclus came in turn 1, used Future Sight as the opponent U-turned into Gligar (to Knock Off I guess? idk, gligar isnt exactly a reuniclus counter..) and I switched to an appropriate Pokemon which was Gourgest-S, and the opponent switched in his Moltres only to be OHKO'd by Specs Future Sight, and my Gourgeist-S managed to get a Substitute for free. Then at turn 12, I do the same thing and get my Reuniclus in through U-turn, then switch to Drapion in hopes of waking up and setting a much needed layer of spike, as Future Sight hit Gligar and brought it down to 5% HP, allowing Drapion to easily KO with Knock Off, and a Toxic Spikes layer on the opponent's field that can't be removed. In turn 18-19, you can see how Regenerator Reuniclus easily pivoted in on Abomasnow as well.

And another Pokemon/set I've been trying on the same team is this:


Gourgeist-Small @ Leftovers
Ability: Frisk
EVs: 252 HP / 20 Def / 236 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Leech Seed
- Substitute
- Will-O-Wisp
- Rock Slide

This is a replay against TheFlawlessWin showing how it can be very effective (Bouffalant you might like this one LOL). It managed to completely set up against Alomomola and wear it down so much with WoW + Leech Seed, getting like 20% of health back each turn lol. It also shows how Choice Specs Reuniclus kept wearing down Escavalier little by little, doing ~30-35% to it with Future Sight.

the replay had a few goofy plays (why the hell didn't I rock slide on the switch to moltres it was obvious and I expected it but I was hoping it wasn't scarf ;_;) but it showcases Gourg-S as a whole lol. It's kinda shaky as a spinblocker though, because:

252+ Atk Life Orb Hitmonlee Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 20 Def Gourgeist-Small: 237-281 (75.4 - 89.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

but it outspeeds Hitmonlee and can burn it before it goes down, neutralizing it as a threat.

All in all I'm impressed by these two Pokemon, I've always wanted to try out Gourgeist-S before (GlassGlaceon can attest to this ;_;) but never have, and now I finally did. It's fucking awesome. And Choice Specs Reuniclus is fun as hell to play with. Future Sight hurts. Choice Specs Reuniclus can act both as a wallbreaker and as pivot thanks to Regenerator, and I like that a lot. Only thing though is that Psychic is kinda a sucky offensive typing with melo/slowking/registeel existing but, what can I do :[ you gotta prepare for those with other mons.
 

EonX

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Definitely agreeing that Gourgeist-S is really annoying. I haven't had a chance to use Gourgeist-XL, but I think it's a pretty potent spinblocker. It absolutely ruins Sandslash and Kabutops while fairing pretty well against Hitmonlee as well. It's also a cold stop to Virizion, hard check to Cobalion, and has better HP to withstand some weaker Special Attacks. It may not be as versatile as Doublade, but I think it's the best dedicated spinblocker in the tier atm and something that bulky teams should consider for a physical wall / spinblocker. Steering away from that for a moment, I want to talk in-depth about a hazard core I've been loving since late Stage 3:


Cobalion @ Leftovers
Ability: Justified
EVs: 160 HP / 96 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt
- Volt Switch
- Close Combat


Accelgor @ Focus Sash
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Spikes
- Encore
- Final Gambit
- Bug Buzz

Imo, this is the best way to go about HO in the current metagame. Omastar's "newness" has kind of worn off and many teams now have ways of beating it. However, a combo core of Cobalion + Accelgor gives HO a lot of useful things. Cobalion is an all-purpose lead that is capable of setting hazards, preventing opposing hazards, and gaining early momentum. However, unlike Omastar, Cobalion is useful later in the match as its bulk and typing allows it to be a fantastic check to Sharpedo for offensive teams, easily avoiding the 2HKO from Waterfall while also avoiding the OHKO from Hydro Pump if it's a special Shark. Cobalion can also prevent Defog through the use of its fast Taunt and either its good matchup vs. the Defog user (Shiftry and Skuntank) or its tendency to lure them in due to its offensive presence. (Gligar and Golbat)

Cobalion is also the perfect Rocks setter to pair with Accelgor. As Cobalion makes for a fantastic lead in almost every respect, Accelgor prefers to pick a spot to set up Spikes, rather than be force to lead off in a match. Thanks to Taunt + Volt Switch, Cobalion can easily create openings for Accelgor to come in and set up Spikes. What's better is that Accelgor also has a way to prevent Defog, as well as Rapid Spin, thanks to Final Gambit. Because of this, it's very hard for the opponent to capitalize on the lower offensive presence of Accelgor and Cobalion as they have ways to prevent hazard removal. Cobalion is able to Volt Switch out of Hitmonlee into a spinblocker (such as Spiritomb or Doublade) while Taunt stops Defog since Cobalion outspeeds every relevant Defog user. Accelgor can use Final Gambit in the face of a hazard remover to prevent it from happening and safely bring in the needed response to force the hazard remover off the field. By the time the opponent gets another chance to get rid of the hazards, it will likely be too late.

The best part about this core is that Cobalion can be saved throughout the match. So even if the opponent is able to play really well and get rid of the hazards, Cobalion's Speed and natural bulk should give you the opportunity to at least get Stealth Rock back up on the field to keep stuff like Moltres and Delphox from having a field day, which is something Omastar will rarely ever be able to do due to its low Speed and lackluster defensive typing. Oh, and Cobalion absorbs Knock Off really well. Who doesn't want that on their team?
 

Punchshroom

FISHIOUS REND MEGA SHARPEDO
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Gourgeist-Small @ Leftovers
Ability: Frisk
EVs: 252 HP / 20 Def / 236 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Leech Seed
- Substitute
- Will-O-Wisp
- Rock Slide
SmallGeist's max HP should allow it to set up 5 Substitutes with Leftovers alone, with as little HP as possible so its Substitutes cost less HP to make and would be more easily replenished by Leech Seed. I suggest a spread of 152 HP / 120 Def; it grants SmallGeist identical (or even marginally better) physical bulk while giving it more Subs.
 

EonX

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Why do people want Houndoom to drop so badly?

Because it shits on Doublade?
It's basically THE offensive counter to Delphox that offensive teams really have been wishing for since the start of XY. It's immune to both STABs and takes paltry damage from Grass Knot, while coming with both STAB Sucker Punch and Pursuit. This easily makes it the most devastating switch-in Delphox would have to face, even more so than Slowking.

Want to talk about a core I've been using lately, but I want to get my thoughts together first.
 

Molk

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Going back to the little stall discussion on the last page, anyone who struggles a lot with Stall teams and needs a dedicated stallbreaker that isn't useless outside of that role should give SubBU Braviary a try. Bulk Up Braviary in general is pretty threatening and surprisingly resilient even against hard hitters, but against things such as defensive balance and full stall teams it's an absolute monster. Many common defensive Pokemon such as Roselia, Alomomola, Gligar, Amoonguss, and even Aromatisse really struggle to break this thing's Substitute, let along take out Braviary itself, giving it many opportunities to safely set up without fearing a Toxic or Burn. Even Registeel can't stop this thing: Registeel's Seismic Toss can't even break Braviary's Substitute in one hit, turning the golem into mere set up fodder for the american bird, and because of its access to reliable recovery in the form of Roost, it has absolutely no trouble keeping itself healthy until everything that could possibly hold it back from sweeping is down for the count (Infiltrator Spiritomb and Golbat, Roar Rhyperior, healthy SD Doublade are some examples). As a bonus, Braviary's ability, Defiant, should make most stall teams very reluctant to Defog against you if you have entry hazards, especially considering Gligar is pretty much set up fodder for Braviary either way. Overall, Bulk Up Braviary is a pretty cool set in general and it's quite excellent at breaking through defensive teams if you play your cards right, give it a try! Import below.


Braviary (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 HP / 212 SpD / 44 Spe
Careful Nature
- Substitute
- Bulk Up
- Brave Bird
- Roost

The given evs let Braviary Substitute before Gligar and the occasional defensive Cresselia can poison you, while boosting Braviary's special bulk as much as possible.
 
Tfw running enough creep on my gligars to outpace defensive subroost moltres

but ye, SubBU Braviary is a really cool mon. It can also be used on semi-stall teams well for stall v stall or to fuck up bulky offense/balance late game.
 
The most underrated offensive threat of RU. Curse Registeel.

Registeel @ Leftovers
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Curse
- Iron Head
- Earthquake
- Rest

EQ nails whatever iron head doesn't. Set has problems with Moltres :P. Other than that, it wrecks any unprepared teams.
 
The most underrated offensive threat of RU. Curse Registeel.

Registeel @ Leftovers
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Curse
- Iron Head
- Earthquake
- Rest

EQ nails whatever iron head doesn't. Set has problems with Moltres :P. Other than that, it wrecks any unprepared teams.
Whilst Curse Registeel can certainly be very effective, this isn't really the best set for it. Firstly, the 4 remainder EVs should go into Special Defense or Speed, as Curse boosts Registeel's Attack anyway. Secondly, although Earthquake certainly has it's uses, Sleep Talk is generally the better option, as otherwise Registeel becomes setup bait for any boosting attacker.

Otherwise, seeing as we were just discussing Sub+Bulk Up Braviary and other stallbreakers, I think it's appropriate to talk about a Pokemon that stall teams use to combat these.



Meloetta @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpDef
Careful Nature
- Perish Song
- Knock Off
- U-turn
- Thunder Wave

I've used this on a stall team and it works really well, as Perish Song completely stops Calm Mind Reuniclus, Sub+Calm Mind Cressalia and the afore-mentioned Curse Registeel from setting up and taking down your team. Knock Off hits many Special attackers harder than Meloetta's STABs, 2HKOing Delphox after Stealth Rock damage. I personally use U-turn over Heal Bell because Aromatisse already does a good job of curing status, and U-turn, when played correctly, allows me to capitalise on the switches that Perish Song causes. Thunder Wave is in the last slot to cripple speedy attackers such as opposing Meloetta or Delphox.

Like all Meloetta sets, this set it completely countered by Spitomb, but apart from that, I have found it to be incredibly useful (although I wouldn't recommend it if you're not running stall), and think it's probably one of Meloetta's most underrated sets at the moment.
 

Meloetta @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpDef
Careful Nature
- Perish Song
- Knock Off
- U-turn
- Thunder Wave

I've used this on a stall team and it works really well, as Perish Song completely stops Calm Mind Reuniclus, Sub+Calm Mind Cressalia and the afore-mentioned Curse Registeel from setting up and taking down your team. Knock Off hits many Special attackers harder than Meloetta's STABs, 2HKOing Delphox after Stealth Rock damage. I personally use U-turn over Heal Bell because Aromatisse already does a good job of curing status, and U-turn, when played correctly, allows me to capitalise on the switches that Perish Song causes. Thunder Wave is in the last slot to cripple speedy attackers such as opposing Meloetta or Delphox.

Like all Meloetta sets, this set it completely countered by Spitomb, but apart from that, I have found it to be incredibly useful (although I wouldn't recommend it if you're not running stall), and think it's probably one of Meloetta's most underrated sets at the moment.
I've used this set as well, and while it does it's job really well, I more often than not struggle to fit it into my teams. It has competition with Slowking in the absorption of fire types, Aromatisse/Roselia with the cleric support (I dropped twave for heal bell, myself), and it's typing is generally a tiny mismatch. It's really good to take on stallbreakers like Reuniclus, Cress, Braviary and whatnot, but I gotta admit I prefer Spiritomb in that role.

But hey, it does the job it was made to damn well.. If you can overcome those issues I personally had with Melo, then go ahead.
 

Molk

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Whilst Curse Registeel can certainly be very effective, this isn't really the best set for it. Firstly, the 4 remainder EVs should go into Special Defense or Speed, as Curse boosts Registeel's Attack anyway. Secondly, although Earthquake certainly has it's uses, Sleep Talk is generally the better option, as otherwise Registeel becomes setup bait for any boosting attacker.

Otherwise, seeing as we were just discussing Sub+Bulk Up Braviary and other stallbreakers, I think it's appropriate to talk about a Pokemon that stall teams use to combat these.



Meloetta @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpDef
Careful Nature
- Perish Song
- Knock Off
- U-turn
- Thunder Wave

I've used this on a stall team and it works really well, as Perish Song completely stops Calm Mind Reuniclus, Sub+Calm Mind Cressalia and the afore-mentioned Curse Registeel from setting up and taking down your team. Knock Off hits many Special attackers harder than Meloetta's STABs, 2HKOing Delphox after Stealth Rock damage. I personally use U-turn over Heal Bell because Aromatisse already does a good job of curing status, and U-turn, when played correctly, allows me to capitalise on the switches that Perish Song causes. Thunder Wave is in the last slot to cripple speedy attackers such as opposing Meloetta or Delphox.

Like all Meloetta sets, this set it completely countered by Spitomb, but apart from that, I have found it to be incredibly useful (although I wouldn't recommend it if you're not running stall), and think it's probably one of Meloetta's most underrated sets at the moment.

I'm definitely going to agree that while Defensive Meloetta is a bit niche, it works pretty well if you need the tools that it can bring. A Pokemon that specially bulky with access to Perish Song is a really great tool for stall teams to have in a tier riddled with CM Psychic-types such as Reuniclus, Cresselia, Delphox, and Sigilyph, and with access to Heal Bell it makes quite a good cleric too! Even outside of taking on these specific threats, Meloetta's immense special bulk came in handy against some other common RU threats such as Moltres and Jolteon, especially because Knock Off helps weaken their attacks by removing things such as Choice Specs and Life Orb. Personally i run/ran a slightly different set on my team that consisted of Hyper Voice/Perish Song/Heal Bell/Knock Off or Shadow Ball. Idk, i just really prefer having that strong STAB move in a pinch, especially because Meloetta's Special Attack stat still isn't too shabby uninvested (i ran a Calm nature instead of a Careful one). The only real problem i have using defensive Meloetta is that it doesn't have any reliable recovery of its own, which means that it can get worn down pretty fast by repeated hits, but pairing Meloetta wish a Wishpasser such as Alomomola or Aromatisse goes a long way when it comes to covering for this (and all stall teams should have a wishpasser regardless). Overall a really cool set =).
 
Is there any reason to run Tangrowth in RU when Amoongus is available. Tangrowth has greater physical bulk sure, but Amoongus has better typing defensively, has pretty much all the same utility moves, besides knock off, not to mention spore for a more reliable sleeping move, and clear smog. They also both have regenerator, so i just don't see Tangrowth having any niche in RU.
 

SlottedPig

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Tangrowth is better offensively due to its stats and movepool. It can pull off an aggressive AV set, and its defensive set has the advantage of both Leech Seed and Knock Off. Amoonguss gives a few threats free switch-ins that could not switch into Tangrowth, like Roselia and SubCM Meloetta (as long as it doesn't switch into a status move) and is forced out by prominent Psychic types that Tangrowth can punish with Knock Off. Tangrowth can also check Cobalion with Focus Blast.

Apparently Specs / LO Tangrowth is a thing as well, but I have no experience with or against that so I won't comment on it. In this meta, Amoonguss is the better Pokemon, but Tangrowth does have its own share of advantages.
 

Molk

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Is there any reason to run Tangrowth in RU when Amoongus is available. Tangrowth has greater physical bulk sure, but Amoongus has better typing defensively, has pretty much all the same utility moves, besides knock off, not to mention spore for a more reliable sleeping move, and clear smog. They also both have regenerator, so i just don't see Tangrowth having any niche in RU.
Yeah Tangrowth recieves a lot of competition from Amoonguss in a defensive role, especially with Pokemon such as Hitmonlee and Virizion so common in the current metagame (beat Tang lose to Amoonger). There are really only a fair few reasons to use Defensive Tangrowth over Amoonguss in the current metagame, and those are access to Leech Seed and Knock Off, which usually aren't worth it imo.

However, a niche that Tangrowth *does* have to itself is the ability to run a cool offensive set. Tangrowth's base Special Attack reaches a pretty high base 110, and with a high BP STAB in the form of Leaf Storm to abuse, it can actually be quite painful to play against, especially since that great physical bulk helps it force quite a few switches. Regenerator is really nice for a hit and run attacker such as offensive Tangrowth too, making it quite simple to just switch in, fire off a powerful attack, and switch back out ready to fight another day. Of course this set still recieves a bit of competition from Sceptile, but Sleep Powder (big!) and the aforementioned combination of physical bulk and Regenerator help it seperate itself a bit from the crowd enough to be viable. Set and a few damage calcs below.


Tangrowth @ Life Orb
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 132 HP / 252 SpA / 124 Spe
Modest Nature
- Sleep Powder
- Leaf Storm
- Focus Blast / Ancient Power
- Hidden Power Rock / Hidden Power Fire

The given Speed EVs let Tangrowth outrun minimum Speed Alomomola and Sandslash


252+ SpA Life Orb Tangrowth Leaf Storm vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Meloetta: 218-257 (63.7 - 75.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ SpA Life Orb Tangrowth Leaf Storm vs. 212 HP / 0 SpD Eviolite Doublade: 159-187 (50.9 - 59.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ SpA Life Orb Tangrowth Leaf Storm vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Aromatisse: 208-247 (51.2 - 60.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ SpA Life Orb Tangrowth Hidden Power Fire vs. 212 HP / 0 SpD Eviolite Doublade: 195-231 (62.5 - 74%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ SpA Life Orb Tangrowth Leaf Storm vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Delphox: 134-159 (46 - 54.6%) -- 55.5% chance to 2HKO

252+ SpA Life Orb Tangrowth Ancient Power vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Delphox: 166-198 (57 - 68%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ SpA Life Orb Tangrowth Hidden Power Fire vs. 252 HP / 96 SpD Amoonguss: 179-213 (41.4 - 49.3%) -- 20.7% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Black Sludge recovery

252+ SpA Life Orb Tangrowth Leaf Storm vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Drapion: 170-201 (60.4 - 71.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock

252+ SpA Life Orb Tangrowth Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Registeel: 179-213 (49.1 - 58.5%) -- 98.8% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery


Ow
 
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