Metagame ORAS/XY PU (Serperior Banned)

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Hmm. DD Scraggy? It's difficult because, while Musharna's most often seen as a monoattacker, when it does run coverage, Signal Beam is its best option. That takes care of pretty much any other offensive Dark-type (do we have more than like 3?), and many Psychics as well. Sneasel's hardly even a Musharna check because it can simply use Moonlight as you use Knock Off and then none of your moves can scratch it.

So as for what checks/counters Musharna... Scraggy's a great option. If there are any steel-types available that don't blow, they'd probably be a good one too. Maybe Taunt/Toxic Bastiodon?
 
I've been using this set which a friend of mine suggested me. We used a similar Scrafty set in UU with Assault Vest instead of Eviolite. DD might be better but I think the balk is a lot better. The only downside I've seen from this set is that it rarely gets an opportunity to set up a PuP and without it it's power is pretty damn underwhelming (75 base attack).

One a side note, I was using Zweilous at one point but it was really frustrating missing Crunch all the time. Also, as you said, some Musharna run Signal Beam which is a 2HKO on banded Zweilous at +0. I've contemplated using a strong bug type (namely Scyther) but every time I see this calc it deters me: 252 Atk Choice Band Technician Scyther Bug Bite vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Musharna: 314-372 (72 - 85.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery.

Scraggy @ Eviolite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Drain Punch
- Power-Up Punch
- Thunder Punch
 

Anty

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I've been using this set which a friend of mine suggested me. We used a similar Scrafty set in UU with Assault Vest instead of Eviolite. DD might be better but I think the balk is a lot better. The only downside I've seen from this set is that it rarely gets an opportunity to set up a PuP and without it it's power is pretty damn underwhelming (75 base attack).

One a side note, I was using Zweilous at one point but it was really frustrating missing Crunch all the time. Also, as you said, some Musharna run Signal Beam which is a 2HKO on banded Zweilous at +0. I've contemplated using a strong bug type (namely Scyther) but every time I see this calc it deters me: 252 Atk Choice Band Technician Scyther Bug Bite vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Musharna: 314-372 (72 - 85.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery.

Scraggy @ Eviolite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Drain Punch
- Power-Up Punch
- Thunder Punch
The problem that i see with that set, is that there isnt much of a point to run power up punch over either dragon dance or bulk up, especcially considering power up punch doesnt do much damage, whilst the other moves boost another stat;
252+ Atk Scraggy Power-Up Punch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Musharna: 21-24 (4.8 - 5.5%) -- possibly the worst move ever
^that is something you should be setting up on. Power up punch is only useful on very specific situations :[

Also, thunder punch doesnt really hit anything, you might as well run zen headbutt (or even ice punch/stone edge), which hits stuff like throh and poliwrath (also garbodor:
+2 252+ Atk Scraggy Zen Headbutt vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Throh: 306-360 (68.9 - 81%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+2 252+ Atk Scraggy Zen Headbutt vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Poliwrath: 198-234 (51.5 - 60.9%) -- 93.4% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
This allows it to sweep easier late game or do stuff on switch in pre boost
(stone edge will also be nicer than tpunch, as it hits togetic harder)
The only thing i see tpunch hitting hard enough to justify usage is peliper.

Otherwise scraggy is a cool and under rated poke imo
 
I've been messing about in PU, and one mon that I find is wayyyyyy underestimated is Jumpluff, specifically its swords dance set:

Jumpluff
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Seed Bomb
- Acrobatics
- Sleep Powder

Jumpluff has little trouble setting up with its fantastic speed and access to sleep powder, along with a slew of handy resistances and decent enough bulk. Grass and Flying have fantastic coverage in PU due to the lack of steels, hitting just under half of the S-A ranks super effectively, and hitting the rest neutrally. Although you might laugh at that base 55 attack, with the high bp of acrobatics it goes a surprisingly long-ish way, 1hkoing all of S-A after 2 layers of spikes besides Mushy (obviously), Piloswine, Bouff, Rotom-F and Toge- in other words, swordspluff does a number to offense, as long as you remove sneasel and other ice sharders of course (I guess hp ice electrode too). It struggles to get past walls, but if necessary it can sleep its way past non-avalugg ones.

Another neat thing is infiltrator, which allows pluff to make clutch plays in stopping subbed sweepers with sleep powder, along with getting past screens, no matter how uncommon they are. Overall it makes a really nice cleaner, which provides great support mid game with a very speedy sleep powder.

Besides, beating people with a floating ball of fluff with 55attk is always funny.
 
I've been using this set which a friend of mine suggested me. We used a similar Scrafty set in UU with Assault Vest instead of Eviolite. DD might be better but I think the balk is a lot better. The only downside I've seen from this set is that it rarely gets an opportunity to set up a PuP and without it it's power is pretty damn underwhelming (75 base attack).

One a side note, I was using Zweilous at one point but it was really frustrating missing Crunch all the time. Also, as you said, some Musharna run Signal Beam which is a 2HKO on banded Zweilous at +0. I've contemplated using a strong bug type (namely Scyther) but every time I see this calc it deters me: 252 Atk Choice Band Technician Scyther Bug Bite vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Musharna: 314-372 (72 - 85.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery.

Scraggy @ Eviolite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Drain Punch
- Power-Up Punch
- Thunder Punch
Yeah, that set looks pretty bad to be honest. I'm sure its Knock Off isn't even doing much to Musharna which doesn't help its case, and Power-up Punch is almost never worth using. I'd definitely go for Bulk Up over that set.

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

I haven't used it this gen but it seems from where I'm standing like one of the best Dark-types we've got.
 

SamuelTheBest

Banned deucer.
I can tell some about avalugg?

very good pokemon,much used in this meta

252+ Atk Choice Band Mold Breaker Rampardos Head Smash vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg: 444-524 (112.6 - 132.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO(yes,my avalugg got 252 def)

I know,i know,rampardos counter him,but there's no only avalugg
with a good team core,avalugg can be an awesome pokemon

After 2 curse,he be invincible to 90% of the psychical pokemons

252+ Atk Choice Band Mold Breaker Excadrill Iron Head vs. +2 252 HP / 252+ Def Avalugg: 102-122 (25.8 - 30.9%) -- guaranteed 4HKO

4HKO BY A SUPEREFFECTIVE MOVE,AND HE GOT RECOVER

45 SpD?no problem.mirror coat + sturdy

hazard breaks sturdy?
you take a sturdy and you no got defogger or spinner?are you stupid?

well,that's all.avalugg can be 1 of the best meta pokemon
 

Ares

Fool me...can't get fooled again
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Gonna bring up an awesome lead spiker...Delibird! Most people think Delibird is trash and in an offensive setting it pretty much is, however as a suicide lead Delibird shines. It is incredibly similar to spike Froslass, it gets access to both Dbond and spikes, and can spin away rocks if need be before dying. A set should look something like this:



Delibird @ Focus Sash
Ability: Vital Spirit
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Spikes
- Destiny Bond
- Rapid Spin
- Ice Punch

Spikes are obviously the main focus, followed by Destiny Bond to take down an attacker, then Rapid Spin if you want hazards off of your side of the field, and finally Ice Punch if you find yourself needing to attack for w/e reason. Sash is obviously so you can live one hit, and Vital Spirit ensures you dont get put to sleep. Pretty fun suicide lead :D


Another Pokemon that I've been loving is Tauros! Fast and hard hitting, this bull only wishes that it had an 100% accurate STAB move that it could abuse with Sheer Force. Great revenge killer with an impressive speed tier, with access to lots of coverage moves that take advantage of Sheer Force.



Tauros (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Rock Climb
- Return
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide

I've been running Return on my Tauros for the times when I absolutely can not miss Rock Climb. Of course you can run something like pursuit or zen headbutt for more coverage but I just run other things to deal with anything that Tauros cant handle with this setup. EQ is for steel and rock slide is for flying. If you have not tried out Tauros yet, you definitely should, its an absolute beast.
 
Man, I've been waiting for somebody to make use of Delibird. It fills the role of spiker and spinner as few others can, and it seems like a legitimately good mon. Will try out as soon as possible.
 

TONE

I don't have to take this. I'm going for a walk.
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I've been testing this core for a bit in PU and I have to say its been putting in work for me especially with the many viable cores u can make. Here's mine atm:




Camerupt @ Leftovers
Ability: Solid Rock
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Roar
- Lava Plume
- Earth Power

Camerupt is the hazard setter of this core with Stealth Rock and stopping set-up sweepers with Roar while racking up hazard damage. I first thought of using Camerupt as a bulky attacker, but found that being able to tank hits as well as being able to hit back coming off its base 105 Sp. Atk was much more beneficial allowing it to fare better aganist strong special attackers. With that being said however, Camerupt doesn't like taking water attacks at all which brings me to my next member of this core:




Mantine @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
- Defog
- Scald
- Toxic
- Protect

When it came to finding a pokemon to pair up with Camerupt, the first thing that came 2 mind was something 2 deal with its horrible 4x water weakness and this is what i found 2 work, Mantine. Tho it may be outclassed by other defoggers in the tier like Eviolite Togetic, Mantine can hold its own as well, while also providing perfect synergy with Camerupt. Mantine takes on any water attacks aimed at Camerupt while also being immune 2 Camerupt's ground weakness as well. on the other hand, Camerupt is immune to Mantine glaring 4x electric weakness and also handles rock types with STAB Earth Power. The main goal of this Mantine is simple. Defog away hazards while being able to cripple physical sweepers with STAB Scald. Toxic is for bulkier pokemon that Mantine has trouble getting past while Protect is for scouting and for leftovers recovery and toxic or burn damage. While Camerupt can handle Mantine's 4x electric weakness, it doesn't hurt to have some insurance which brings me to my 3rd pokemon of my core:




Raichu @ Focus Sash
Ability: Lightningrod
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Nasty Plot
- Encore
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]

When I first started playing PU one thing was sure, hazards were everywhere! This Raichu set is meant to cover Mantine 4x electric weakness with Lightningrod, punish hazard setters with Encore while getting off a Nasty Plot while they switch out. This set can be used a lead if u see ur opponent has an obvious hazard setter and then proceed to encore them into using said move or as a late game sweeper as pseudo Bolt-HP Ice combo is only resisted by Rotom-F. And while base 110 Speed is very solid in PU, having a sticky web setter on ur team like Kricketune or Leavanny will help it out speed faster pokemon like Sneasel (or scarfed pokemon)who won't like taking a possible +3 STAB Thunderbolt.

Eviolite Roselia would also do well for this core if ur into hazard stacking with Spikes or Toxic Spikes while also absorbing Toxic Spikes on ur side while handling opposing Water and Ground types making it a great teamate with Camerupt. Anyway this is my PU core. Hope u give it a chance and happy battling!
 
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Ares

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So just recently I've been trying out Avalugg, and it is a fantastic wall. However the one thing that lets it down is its poor special defense, I decided to invest into the special defense while still retaining its defensive bulk. And then on top of that I added Mirror Coat to the set. Unfortunately Avalugg kind of wants Toxic or Roar over Mirror Coat, but with Team Support you dont need those two moves.



Avalugg @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 248 HP / 148 Def / 112 SpD
Impish Nature
- Recover
- Rapid Spin
- Avalanche
- Mirror Coat

A lot of times a pokemon will come in and try to predict the switch and volt switch out, by going for Mirror Coat w/e they decide to switch in gets decimated. I have a replay here showing it living a lava plume from Camerupt and then destroying it with Mirror Coat.

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/pu-168905823

TRC can attest to this set, as I bopped him and survived quite a lot of hits ^.^
 
I messed around with Trick Room for a bit today, here's a core I really enjoyed using:

Musharna @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Baton Pass
- Psyshock
- Healing Wish

Musharna is really good, as like everyone knows. My team was a Trick Room team, so Musharna was my primary setter. Baton Pass enables it to pivot into Carracosta who can take advantage of Trick Room thanks to its low Speed. Healing Wish is a bit different, though, I enjoy it for when Carracosta is worn down to enable it to come in late-game and put in more work. Moonlight was an option I had considered, but Musharna honestly is just pivoting the Trick Room. I decided that Carracosta was a good partner thanks to its ability to take on Bug- and Fighting-type Pokemon. Trick Room in itself is a cool playstyle, I'd definitely recomend it to you to try out. Anyways, Carracosta.


Carracosta @ Life Orb
Ability: Solid Rock
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Focus Blast
- Ice Beam

:O Special Carracosta. I really like special Carra because people aren't catching on quite yet. Carracosta is a fantastic Sneasel counter no matter what and can put in work otherwise thanks to its expansive movepool. I chose not to run Quiet and 0 Speed EVs because I wanted that extra boost in Speed when Trick Room isn't up. A very minor thing in general, though, it's very interchangeable in Carracosta's case thanks to its already low Speed.

Trick Room's interesting :].
 
Whiscash's DDance set is really bad, but Whiscash's advantageous typing and good bulk allows it to use other sets well.

I believe this is the best set Whiscash can run:


Whiscash @ Leftovers
Ability: Oblivious
EVs: 244 HP / 252 SpA / 12 SpD
Modest Nature
- Substitute
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Earth Power

Whiscash really enjoys switching in against Electrode, and can easily turn it into setup bait. Additionally, most people expect to see the Dragon Dance set, so it often gets some KOs against threats such as Tangela, Torterra, and Gourgeist. The EV spread maximises Whiscash's Spa, while maximising its bulk; 244 HP EVs is the max Whiscash should run, as more than 244 HP EVs barely increases Whiscash's bulk. Scald is also really annoying, and allows it to defeat many threats. This set can actually set up on a large amount of the meta, so it's quite consistent in the long run, but its low Spa is a letdown.

  • 252+ SpA Whiscash Ice Beam vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Eviolite Tangela: 204-242 (61 - 72.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
  • 252+ SpA Whiscash Ice Beam vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Gourgeist-Super: 192-226 (51.3 - 60.4%) -- 89.1% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
  • 252+ SpA Whiscash Earth Power vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Flareon: 152-182 (45.5 - 54.4%) -- 53.5% chance to 2HKO
  • 252+ SpA Whiscash Scald vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Sneasel: 127-151 (50.5 - 60.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
  • 252+ SpA Whiscash Earth Power vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Musharna: 118-141 (27 - 32.3%) -- guaranteed 4HKO
 
Whiscash's DDance set is really bad, but Whiscash's advantageous typing and good bulk allows it to use other sets well.

I believe this is the best set Whiscash can run:


Whiscash @ Leftovers
Ability: Oblivious
EVs: 244 HP / 252 SpA / 12 SpD
Modest Nature
- Substitute
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Earth Power

Whiscash really enjoys switching in against Electrode, and can easily turn it into setup bait. Additionally, most people expect to see the Dragon Dance set, so it often gets some KOs against threats such as Tangela, Torterra, and Gourgeist. The EV spread maximises Whiscash's Spa, while maximising its bulk; 244 HP EVs is the max Whiscash should run, as more than 244 HP EVs barely increases Whiscash's bulk. Scald is also really annoying, and allows it to defeat many threats. This set can actually set up on a large amount of the meta, so it's quite consistent in the long run, but its low Spa is a letdown.

  • 252+ SpA Whiscash Ice Beam vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Eviolite Tangela: 204-242 (61 - 72.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
  • 252+ SpA Whiscash Ice Beam vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Gourgeist-Super: 192-226 (51.3 - 60.4%) -- 89.1% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
  • 252+ SpA Whiscash Earth Power vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Flareon: 152-182 (45.5 - 54.4%) -- 53.5% chance to 2HKO
  • 252+ SpA Whiscash Scald vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Sneasel: 127-151 (50.5 - 60.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
  • 252+ SpA Whiscash Earth Power vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Musharna: 118-141 (27 - 32.3%) -- guaranteed 4HKO
I think this set is completely outclassed by Camerupt. Whiscash possesses a pathetic base 76 special attack which can be slightly patched up with Choice Specs. Also relying on people to assume the DDance set is not much of a reliable strategy. Against everything you've provided calcs for, Camerupt is able to score the OHKO's and 2HKOs whereas Whiscash either fails to do so or relies on high damage rolls. The only advantage Whiscash has in this case is it's base 60 speed which allows it to outspeed Gourgeist-Super and tie with Tangela but even then if you lose the 2nd tie to Tangela you're donezo.
 
I think this set is completely outclassed by Camerupt. Whiscash possesses a pathetic base 76 special attack which can be slightly patched up with Choice Specs. Also relying on people to assume the DDance set is not much of a reliable strategy. Against everything you've provided calcs for, Camerupt is able to score the OHKO's and 2HKOs whereas Whiscash either fails to do so or relies on high damage rolls. The only advantage Whiscash has in this case is it's base 60 speed which allows it to outspeed Gourgeist-Super and tie with Tangela but even then if you lose the 2nd tie to Tangela you're donezo.
I think this set is completely outclassed by Camerupt. Whiscash possesses a pathetic base 76 special attack which can be slightly patched up with Choice Specs.
Whiscash is outclassed by Camerupt.
..
 
I'm just saying Whiscash shouldn't run its Ddance set as it's really horrible. Honestly, the sub set is its most viable set, so I thought it was worth mentioning.
 

Anty

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I'm just saying Whiscash shouldn't run its Ddance set as it's really horrible. Honestly, the sub set is its most viable set, so I thought it was worth mentioning.
I just dont see Whiscash's niche at all really, especcially as a special attacker. Its dragon dance set receives competition from other sweepers, mainly the two shell smashers who have immediate power. Carracosta can at least beat certain checks, like gorugeist, with a +2 ice beam, and only needs 1 boost to have immediate power.

Other special water attackers, like frogadier, swanna or simipour have speed, lapras has bulk. Its main niche is a water type that beats electrics, but other pokes, like raichu or zebstrica can bait them in anyway. Whiscash just seems too weak without life orb, base 76 only gets you so far. (you also might wanna run a bit of creep, to beat speedy marowak or something)
 
I just dont see Whiscash's niche at all really, especcially as a special attacker. Its dragon dance set receives competition from other sweepers, mainly the two shell smashers who have immediate power. Carracosta can at least beat certain checks, like gorugeist, with a +2 ice beam, and only needs 1 boost to have immediate power.

Other special water attackers, like frogadier, swanna or simipour have speed, lapras has bulk. Its main niche is a water type that beats electrics, but other pokes, like raichu or zebstrica can bait them in anyway. Whiscash just seems too weak without life orb, base 76 only gets you so far. (you also might wanna run a bit of creep, to beat speedy marowak or something)
I'm js that's the best set it can run, Whiscash doesn't really have a niche that makes it better than other threats at certain roles.

EDIT: I know there's not much point in using it, but it's worth posting about.
 
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Anty

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I'm js that's the best set it can run, Whiscash doesn't really have a niche that makes it better than other threats at certain roles.
Even if it is its best set, if it doesnt have enough of a niche, there is no point in using it (if it comes down to it, every pokemon has a niche, but im not using delibird in ou cuz its the only poke with spikes + rapid spin + destiny bond)
 
Even if it is its best set, if it doesnt have enough of a niche, there is no point in using it (if it comes down to it, every pokemon has a niche, but im not using delibird in ou cuz its the only poke with spikes + rapid spin + destiny bond)


I've tried Delibird in PU this gen as a suicide Spikes setter and it has done a surprising amount of work, considering it's well...Delibird. A mon I've previously only jokingly used to troll the Ubers ladder (seriously why do people switch their Giratinas into Delibird). I must say, however, that I still prefer Glalie--it's faster (even fully invested Delibird's Base 75 Speed isn't very good), bulkier, and stronger. And it gets Explosion, which almost accomplishes the same thing as Destiny Bond.

Also I believe someone's brought him up before but Lumineon is seriously underrated because not only is it one of few non-SR-weak Defoggers in the tier (the others being Nuzleaf, Prinplup, Vibrava, and Stunky), and on top of that can provide fast Rain support and U-Turn out quickly after Rain Dancing. (Eviolite Prinplup is bulkier but can't hold Damp Rock or use U-Turn, Vibrava and Nuzleaf can Sun support but again they don't have the Rocks, Vibrava has low bulk, and Nuzleaf lacks U-Turn)
 
Okay, so I'm going to propose something that a lot of people have been asking for recently. I think that Musharna is incredibly unhealthy, if not outright broken, in the PU tier. By far the most ridiculous thing about Musharna is its absurd bulk, which lets it wall every physical attacker in the tier barring Sneasel (which actually needs Life Orb or Swords Dance to even 2HKO it, mind you). Musharna can easily come in safely on 70% or the tier, maybe more. This already limits the amount of ways of dealing with Musharna quite severely. However, when you consider the fact that the most common Musharna set runs Thunder Wave, it's outright ridiculous to take down. This means that the most common Musharna answers risk getting crippled severely for the rest of the match upon trying to switch in, as almost all of the few Pokemon that can actually dent Musharna is a frail offensive Pokemon that becomes outright useless if it gets paralyzed. Musharna risks absolutely nothing by going for Thunder Wave, while its opponent has to choose between leaving their physical attacker in and doing like 25% to it, or letting their only check to it become crippled and simply Baton Passed out of while Musharna takes almost no damage (or in the case of Haunter, just gets outsped and OHKOed by Psychic). In a tier where there are about seven relevant Dark, Ghost, and Steel types (some of which can't even touch it), Musharna is quite frankly absolutely disgusting to have to deal with, both in teambuilding and in battle. There's also the Calm Mind set, which wall everything that the pivot set does but is also an insanely hard to break late game-sweeper, specially defensive sets, which laugh at the few special attackers that can break through the standard physically defensive sets, and even more offensive sets such as Trick Room and Choice Specs. Here are some calcs that show how absurdly bulky Musharna is:
252+ Atk Piloswine Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Musharna: 120-142 (27.5 - 32.5%) -- 70% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery

252 Atk Life Orb Purugly Return vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Musharna: 129-152 (29.5 - 34.8%) -- 100% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery

252 Atk Life Orb Sneasel Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Musharna: 265-315 (60.7 - 72.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

252 Atk Life Orb Sneasel Knock Off (65 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Musharna: 179-213 (41 - 48.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

252 Atk Sneasel Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Musharna: 204-242 (46.7 - 55.5%) -- 16.4% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

252+ Atk Bouffalant Return vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Musharna: 130-154 (29.8 - 35.3%) -- 19.8% chance to 3HKO

252+ Atk Barbaracle Stone Edge vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Musharna: 124-147 (28.4 - 33.7%) -- 0.5% chance to 3HKO

+2 252+ Atk Barbaracle Stone Edge vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Musharna: 247-292 (56.6 - 66.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

+4 252+ Atk Barbaracle Stone Edge vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Musharna: 370-436 (84.8 - 100%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO
Basically, with Musharna, you are given the choice of either crippling your own mons or just letting it sit there and wall you. Musharna is quite simply ridiculously unhealthy for the PU metagame and really needs to be suspected.
 
I just realised I haven't posted in here for a bit, so I might as well talk about the metagame. First of all, I think that PU is still very accommodating to a variety of playstyles, with most types of offensive being viable, such as Spikes, HO, Sun, and Sticky Web. However, I think since the earlier stages of PU, stall is a lot more prominent. Maybe it's the absence of some powerful threats like Exeggutor and Samurott, or maybe it's just everyone realising that there are actually a decent amount of viable defensive Pokemon in PU, such as Musharna, Avalugg, Poliwrath, Roselia, Tangela, Togetic, Camerupt, Lickilicky, and the Gourgeist formes. One of my most commonly seen teams, my SubCM Serperior team, which I've used in a few PU room tours, was made before stall became as popular as it is, so it is rather weak to stall teams carrying things such as SubWOW Misdreavus. When I assume my opponent will bring a stall team, I simply swap out Focus Sash on Kadabra for Life Orb, which benefits it immensely as its coverage is perfect for taking on stall teams worn down with Stealth Rock, and the extra power is far more useful in these matchups than the Focus Sash is. I think at the beginning of PU we gave Avalugg a lot of flack for being a Rapid Spinner that couldn't touch the Ghosts of the tier, but Avalugg is just so bulky, that a lot of people have been using it, as it walls almost every physical attacker in the tier outside of Fire-types like CB Flareon.

Something I've noticed is that in PU tours and even on the high ladder, teams tend to stray from some of the most powerful threats and instead turn towards innovations, one of the joys of such a fresh tier filled with variety. For example, I very rarely see Shell Smash Carracosta, but I have often seen SubNP Simipour. PU has a huge amount of options worth using in a battle, and I'm glad people are finding ways to make the most out of the tier's hidden gems. Some Pokemon I've been seeing used recently include:
  • Simipour: As mentioned before, I have seen quite a few Simipour, the first on a team from Aladyyn. With Samurott gone, it is probably the best special Water-type in the tier, and it has a very good Speed stat, beating Ninetales by one point, making it fantastic against NP Ninetales as other Water-types like Barbaracle get smacked with Energy Ball before they can move.
  • Dusknoir: As one of the only offensive Ghost-types in the tier, I thought this would be interesting as its physical bias gives it some advantages over Haunter. Its Choice Band set is really niche, with boosted Shadow Punch being quite strong, and priority Shadow Sneak being a useful tool against opposing Haunter. Dusknoir's good physical bulk is very handy when it takes on offensive roles as well.
  • Clefairy: I think Clefairy is criminally underrated. Its Calm Mind set is so similar to Clefable's in OU, and with the aid of a trapping Pokemon like Trapinch for Steel-types (and Poison-types), CM Clefairy can actually do very well against specially oriented teams as well as defensive ones.
Some other things I've been trying include semi-Hail with Glaceon and even Duosion, Double Dance Torterra, LO SubSplit Torterra, DD RestTalk Dragonair, mono-attacking Klang, sand with Stoutland, and Sliggoo and Zweilous on defensive teams. There is so much variety in PU that the tier is incredibly fun.

Recently, I gave a team to aim for him to use in one of his videos, and his first PU live is up! Check it out if you want to watch some casual PU Laddering:

Finally, Magnemite touched on the idea of a Musharna suspect. It's funny, I used to think that Sneasel was broken in the tier, and while I still think it's very amazing, I feel like Musharna is well above it. It simply has the general bulk to withstand just about anything without being 2HKOed, even from the Pokemon with super-effective STAB moves which happen to be very rare in PU. While the PP on Moonlight doesn't help it much, it is incredibly stellar in the tier, and I think it has gotten to the point where it might be a bit too much.
 
Okay, so I'm going to propose something that a lot of people have been asking for recently. I think that Musharna is incredibly unhealthy, if not outright broken, in the PU tier. By far the most ridiculous thing about Musharna is its absurd bulk, which lets it wall every physical attacker in the tier barring Sneasel (which actually needs Life Orb or Swords Dance to even 2HKO it, mind you). Musharna can easily come in safely on 70% or the tier, maybe more. This already limits the amount of ways of dealing with Musharna quite severely. However, when you consider the fact that the most common Musharna set runs Thunder Wave, it's outright ridiculous to take down. This means that the most common Musharna answers risk getting crippled severely for the rest of the match upon trying to switch in, as almost all of the few Pokemon that can actually dent Musharna is a frail offensive Pokemon that becomes outright useless if it gets paralyzed. Musharna risks absolutely nothing by going for Thunder Wave, while its opponent has to choose between leaving their physical attacker in and doing like 25% to it, or letting their only check to it become crippled and simply Baton Passed out of while Musharna takes almost no damage (or in the case of Haunter, just gets outsped and OHKOed by Psychic). In a tier where there are about seven relevant Dark, Ghost, and Steel types (some of which can't even touch it), Musharna is quite frankly absolutely disgusting to have to deal with, both in teambuilding and in battle. There's also the Calm Mind set, which wall everything that the pivot set does but is also an insanely hard to break late game-sweeper, specially defensive sets, which laugh at the few special attackers that can break through the standard physically defensive sets, and even more offensive sets such as Trick Room and Choice Specs. Here are some calcs that show how absurdly bulky Musharna is:
252+ Atk Piloswine Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Musharna: 120-142 (27.5 - 32.5%) -- 70% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery

252 Atk Life Orb Purugly Return vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Musharna: 129-152 (29.5 - 34.8%) -- 100% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery

252 Atk Life Orb Sneasel Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Musharna: 265-315 (60.7 - 72.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

252 Atk Life Orb Sneasel Knock Off (65 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Musharna: 179-213 (41 - 48.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

252 Atk Sneasel Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Musharna: 204-242 (46.7 - 55.5%) -- 16.4% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

252+ Atk Bouffalant Return vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Musharna: 130-154 (29.8 - 35.3%) -- 19.8% chance to 3HKO

252+ Atk Barbaracle Stone Edge vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Musharna: 124-147 (28.4 - 33.7%) -- 0.5% chance to 3HKO

+2 252+ Atk Barbaracle Stone Edge vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Musharna: 247-292 (56.6 - 66.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

+4 252+ Atk Barbaracle Stone Edge vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Musharna: 370-436 (84.8 - 100%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO
Basically, with Musharna, you are given the choice of either crippling your own mons or just letting it sit there and wall you. Musharna is quite simply ridiculously unhealthy for the PU metagame and really needs to be suspected.
Yeah, I'm with you there. The funniest thing is that Musharna with neither Signal Beam nor Thunder Wave can STILL beat Life Orb Sneasel by simply using Moonlight on the first Knock Off and recovering repeatedly as Sneasel kills itself. If Musharna has Calm Mind, it can literally use Life Orb Sneasel as setup fodder. A fucking mono-psychic attacker against the most threatening Dark-type in the tier. Magnemite is right. If we had more and better Dark- and Steel-types, Musharna wouldn't be broken, but people are having to resort to Krokorok and Nuzleaf and Scraggy (Scraggy's actually pretty good but you see my point), all of which Musharna can deal with with the appropriate coverage move, because we just don't have options for Dark-types. As for Steels, literally the only one I've seen in the tier is Bastiodon which is certainly not viable on every team. And Musharna can beat every Ghost-type in the tier fairly easily. But the biggest thing about Musharna is that it can switch into literally every defensive Pokémon and many offensive Pokémon in the tier (including strategic switches to inflict status via synchronize) and use them as setup fodder, or at the very least nullify their presence. It's such a good catch-all check to random shit. Barbaracle? Switch to Mush and take it out. Life Orb Tauros? No threat at all. Modest Life Orb Electrode with Signal Beam? Nah, doesn't even 2HKO after rocks. Life Orb Articuno needs rocks to even have a chance of 2HKOing Musharna with Hurricane! Avalugg, Poliwrath, Throh, Regice, Golem, Torterra, Miltank, the Gourgeist forms (Switch into Will-o-Wisp! It's fun!), Pelipper, Swanna, Dusclops/noir, all otherwise good Pokémon and some of the most prevalent in the tier, can do absolutely nothing to Musharna. And that list isn't anywhere near exhaustive. Many of these Pokémon are setup fodder for Musharna's Calm Mind set, which I would argue is the most threatening, because the tier's most outstanding defensive Pokémon can in the course of a turn or two become a very real and very scary offensive threat. 107 Special Attack ain't nothing, and Musharna has all of the coverage it needs. Mush was terrifying in last gen's NU, and we actually had decent dark-types to deal with it. Now... what even checks it? It's so fucking good. I keep trying to build teams without it, and I always find that they function better when I put Musharna back in. Suspect-worthy? Definitely.
 
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