Niche Discovery

[NOCturnal Hunter]

Week 4: Haunting your dreams

These are the new four Pokemon! What are their niches and in which metagames. Are they viable in any common metagame or only in an old, obscure one?

I'm reserving Darkrai in BH. I know I won't find anything, but why not try it anyway?

Will be editing my post with sets, replays, and all that after I test the team.

 

[DarkeKnight]

Tier: STABMons

Darkrai @ Life Orb
Ability: Bad Dreams
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Dark Void
- Nasty Plot
- Night Daze/Dark Pulse
- Focus Blast/Sludge Bomb/Ice Beam/Thunderbolt/Psychic

Pretty simple set. Switch in, Dark Void your opponent and use Nasty Plot. It's basically the standard Ubers set to be honest.

Then spam Night Daze against anything which isn't a Dark, Fairy or Fighting type. Dark Pulse is more accurate but is a bit less powerful. Focus Blast is the most preferred as it allows you to OHKO Heatran and Ferrothorn as well deal a lot to most other steel types. Sludge Bomb hits SE on Fairy and neutral against the other two. Ice Beam is a nice move in general and hits the pesky flying types SE and neutrally against Fairy/Fighting/Dark. Thunderbolt is pretty much the same. Psychic is if you have a lot of trouble with Fighting types. But generally Sludge Bomb/Focus Blast is what you should pick.

Sadly, it dies to priority. The good news is apart from Aerodactyl, nothing outspeeds it apart from scarves. Clefable can also check Darkrai but can't switch into a Sludge Bomb.

Calculations:
Do beat in mind that I've used 252/252+ for most of these Pokemon. In all probability, they won't be running those EVs. Also, these calculations don't consider the 12% Bad Dreams does if the enemy is asleep.

+2 252 SpA Life Orb Darkrai Night Daze vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Sableye: 348-411 (114.4 - 135.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Darkrai Night Daze vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Eviolite Doublade: 541-640 (168 - 198.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Darkrai Night Daze vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Aegislash-Shield: 400-476 (123.4 - 146.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Darkrai Focus Blast vs. 248 HP / 252+ SpD Empoleon: 499-588 (134.5 - 158.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Darkrai Night Daze vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Meloetta: 452-533 (111.8 - 131.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Darkrai Night Daze vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Skarmory: 367-433 (109.8 - 129.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Darkrai Night Daze vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Gliscor: 321-380 (90.6 - 107.3%) -- 43.8% chance to OHKO
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Darkrai Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Heatran: 484-569 (125.3 - 147.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Darkrai Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Ferrothorn: 455-536 (129.2 - 152.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Darkrai Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Tyranitar in Sand: 738-873 (182.6 - 216%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Darkrai Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Mega Tyranitar in Sand: 650-769 (160.8 - 190.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Darkrai Night Daze vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Landorus-T: 446-526 (116.7 - 137.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Darkrai Night Daze vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Mega Latias: 400-476 (109.8 - 130.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Darkrai Night Daze vs. 248 HP / 176 SpD Mega Scizor: 313-370 (91.2 - 107.8%) -- 50% chance to OHKO
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Darkrai Sludge Bomb vs. 240 HP / 16 SpD Assault Vest Azumarill: 411-486 (102.4 - 121.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO

+2 252 SpA Life Orb Darkrai Night Daze vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Mega Sableye: 242-286 (79.6 - 94%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Darkrai Sludge Bomb vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Azumarill: 291-343 (72 - 84.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Darkrai Night Daze vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Landorus-T: 308-364 (80.6 - 95.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Darkrai Night Daze vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Amoonguss: 308-364 (71.2 - 84.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Black Sludge recovery
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Darkrai Night Daze vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Tentacruel: 235-278 (64.5 - 76.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Black Sludge recovery
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Darkrai Night Daze vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Mega Venusaur: 235-278 (64.5 - 76.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Darkrai Night Daze vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Zapdos: 286-339 (74.4 - 88.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Darkrai Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Eviolite Chansey: 356-421 (50.5 - 59.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Darkrai Night Daze vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Heatran: 257-304 (66.5 - 78.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Darkrai Night Daze vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Ferrothorn: 242-285 (68.7 - 80.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Life Orb Darkrai Night Daze vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Unaware Quagsire: 263-309 (66.7 - 78.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Darkrai Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Mega Diancie: 235-278 (77.3 - 91.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Darkrai Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Diancie: 188-222 (61.8 - 73%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Life Orb Darkrai Sludge Bomb vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Unaware Clefable: 221-263 (56 - 66.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

 

[EV]

STABmons

Gengar @ Black Sludge
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Substitute
- Disable
- Shadow Ball
- Focus Blast / Sludge Wave

Gengar was a better Diggersby check pre-ORAS. With the advent of Knock Off, he can no longer switch in reliably unless you know the Diggersby isn't running that move. However, Gengar still has its uses! This set is part scout, part disruptor: Sub to scout, Disable to disrupt. Attack as necessary. Another thing to add is while it can't switch into Diggersby reliably, it can still troll it. If you get Gengar in after a safe switch (U-Turn/Baton Pass) Sub on an expected Knock Off (or Punch) then Disable it. Most Diggersby will be running Normal/Ground alongside the disabled move, so you're free to attack at will against whatever switches in.

There are some other options to consider putting on Gengar but you need to make sure you're not just running a poor-man's Sableye. Taunt and Will-O-Wisp can turn Gengar into a stallbreaker, so if you're using that, play off Gengar's strengths (high Special Attack, Levitate). Otherwise you're better off using Sableye instead.

Gengar @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Toxic Spikes
- Taunt
- Shadow Ball
- Coverage?

Here's some theorymon. I never see Toxic Spikes in STABmons, but I'm wondering if Gengar would be any good at it. Taunt is to block Defog (bar Prankster Thundurus) and Ghost already blocks Rapid Spin (bar Scrappy Doge). Shadow Ball for STAB. Sludge Wave or coverage in the last slot I guess. Maybe Psychic for over Poison-types? Idk! This might just be a pipe dream.

 

[Uselesscrab]

possibly reserving Mega Gengar for BH

Also aesf should post his Mega Banette set imo.

 

[Leafshield]

Almost Any Ability

Gengar @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe / 4 HP
Modest / Timid Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Wave
- Focus Blast
- Substitute / Will-O-Wisp / Taunt / Thunderbolt

Gengar's Sheer Force set in AAA is pretty difficult to face for defensive teams. Aside from stuff like M-Bounce Chansey and Mandibuzz, a lot of stuff on balance and stall kind of gets molly-whopped. Modest is probably better since the primary goal is to break defensive cores, but Timid could help you outspeed some stuff maybe.

Set details are pretty standard: Shadow Ball and Sludge Wave are high-powered STABs that get the Sheer Force boost, which also get really swell neutral coverage in the meta rn. Focus Blast is necessary to hit Heatran and Ghost-resisting Steels (most notably Bisharp. Actually, probably just Bish.). The last slot is a toss-up; Sub is the most common option and allows Gengar to avoid being revenge killed by Gale Wings users, WoW cripples non-bounce defensive mons like Tentacruel or Mandi on switch-in, Taunt does the same without the residual, and Thunderbolt is niche by doing a large amount of damage to the likes of Suicune (you do like 74-95% at 0, 53-65% at +1, 39-47 at +2 on standard unaware), Tentacruel (no other moves will 2HKO consistently but TBolt), Vaporeon, etc. There are other sets of note for Gar, including the very annoying Normalize set, which trolls the hell out of defensive teams and even offense once you get rid of the opponent's priority.

Normalize Set

Gengar @ Black Sludge
Ability: Normalize
EVs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe / 4 HP
Timid Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Substitute
- Skill Swap
- Pain Split

 

[Ghoul King]

Gengar in Hidden Type is pretty solid. The most obvious thing to do is give it Dark typing, at which point it has no weaknesses, which is quite nice, and STAB Dark Pulse has the advantage that, unlike Shadow Ball, nothing is immune to it, and in particular the myriad Normal/Ghost Pokemon are actually vulnerable to it. I find it worthwhile to drop Shadow Ball entirely in favor of Dark Pulse if running Dark Gengar to free up other moveslots. It helps that nobody can add Fairy type and Fighting is an unpopular add, because it means Dark's disadvantages over Ghost as an offensive type crop up less than you might expect.

Probably the biggest advantage to adding Dark typing is specifically that Gengar is no longer weak to Dark -you'd be surprised how many Knock Off and Sucker Punch OHKOs become 2HKOs, allowing Gengar to potentially switch in or trade blows successfully against a threat that would annihilate it in standard play. To be fair, Fighting provides the same protection against Dark, and STAB on Focus Blast is nothing to scoff at

252 SpA Life Orb Gengar (Fighting typed) Focus Blast vs. 4 HP / 252 SpD Eviolite Chansey: 265-312 (41.2 - 48.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

as an example calc. (One that will generally not crop in actual play, but still shows how powerful it is) Unfortunately, it also leaves you doubly weak to Psychic, adds a problematic Flying weakness (Talonflame is popular in Hidden Type), and the other resists it provides are iffy. (Triply resistant to Bug, yay?) Dark is usually better.

Dark Gengar outspeeds much of the relevant meta, doesn't care about Dragonite's resistances, can drop Will O Wisp on it, pushes past the myriad Physical walls and can put the hurt on even the Special ones

252 SpA Life Orb Gengar (Dark) Dark Pulse vs. 4 HP / 252 SpD Eviolite Chansey (Ghost): 174-211 (27.1 - 32.8%) -- guaranteed 4HKO

seriously, that's good enough to pressure Chansey and, with a bit of luck with flinches, KO it. (Life Orb recoil isn't even a big deal if you're running Pain Split -just steal their health when you're too low, and keep the pressure up in the process) More likely your opponent will switch it out if things get that close, but that's still good, since having Chansey low on health and scared to come in is almost as good as having KOed it, particularly if you get/have hazards up.

Unfortunately, Gengar does have several relevant flaws. First and foremost, Sludge Wave is by far your best offense if you're not going for the iffy Fighting Focus Blast variant, and that's in a meta infested with Steel types. Most painfully, Fairy types just love to add Steel, and Gengar doesn't really have any good moves to "sound out" a Fairy of indeterminate added typing. It's also very rare for a Pokemon to actually be weak to Dark or Ghost, since Psychic is almost never added to anything and Ghost is generally added to either Dark types or Normal types. (Whom are at least generally going to be weak to Dark vs immune to Ghost, hence part of why I recommend Dark Pulse over Shadow Ball) Secondly, its only healing is Pain Split, the end, which can be extremely problematic, particularly given how fragile it is. It also struggles against several important Pokemon of the tier, such as Ghost Tyranitar (No Focus Blast for you), Steel Togekiss...

...on the other hand, it also murders several other important members of the tier, such as outspeeding Grass Manaphy and hitting it hard with STAB super effective Sludge Wave. Take Thunderbolt and it can clear out Flying Heatran. (Actually, Electric Gengar is another fairly decent choice -it won't cover your weaknesses but it also doesn't compromise your resistances, and STAB Thunderbolt is nothing to scoff at) Sludge Wave still works wonders on those Fairies that aren't carrying Steel, who may switch in on you in an attempt to bluff you out. And Dark Pulse is still a good neutral STAB attack, particularly in terms of winning you KOs through lucky Flinches. Also note that it gets Giga Drain -this can be a nasty surprise to the various Grass-vulnerable walls.

Gengar can also be run bulky with Black Sludge, though this is more a stallbreaker role (Run Taunt, laugh at a lot of stallmons, most notably Chansey) than a stall role. It's nifty stuff. In general, Gengar's movepool is amazingly flexible. Explore it!

Sample offensive Gengar set (Remember: Dark is the default added type if you don't touch IVs)

Gengar @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Dark Pulse
- Sludge Wave
- Taunt/Thunderbolt/Focus Blast
- Will-O-Wisp/Pain Split/Giga Drain

 

[Snaquaza]

Week 5: Somewhat Legendary

These are all legendaries and while they may not all have been forgotten, none of them made it to Ubers! What makes them worse than other legendaries, and which OM's fix that. In which OMs are there specific attributes appreciated? Have fun posting and don't forget Shaymin Sky is legal too!

Edit: I know this is a short round. If you feel something important was missed during the last round, feel free to post it in the coming two days! I think Mega Gengar in BH should be mentioned personally.

 

[Uselesscrab]

I'm sorry I didn't do BH Mega Gengar yet; I've been really busy recently and I was trying to decide if I should do something original or the standard set. I'll just post the standard set.

Gengar-Mega @ Spooky Plate
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Judgment
- Secret Sword
- Shell Smash
- Spore / Dark Void / King's Shield

Mega Gengar is one of the most widely feared sweepers in BH because of its ability to 6-0 unprepared teams. If priority users, notably -ates, are taken out earlier in the game, or if Mega Gengar is Baton Passed a Substitute, it becomes virtually impossible to kill after a Shell Smash.

Spooky Plate Judgment hits extremely hard and makes this set one of the most anti-Imposter ones around. Secret Sword is notable because it provides perfect neutral coverage and hits based on Defense rather than Special Defense, though Aura Sphere is an option if you don't care about this benefit. In the past, I've seen Moonblast, to hit the old counter, Yveltal, hard, and Sludge Bomb, to take out the new counter, Mega Audino, which has surged in popularity recently. If you're basing a team around this set, Mega Audino needs to be accounted for in some way.

Shell Smash is the go-to setup move; after a Smash you outspeed the entire meta, and since Gengar has awful defenses you won't be needing to take any hits anyway. Tail Glow used to be used on occasion, but it's never seen anymore, probably because you lose to the incredibly common Mega Mewtwo Y, and slightly less common Deoxys-A and Mega Aerodactyl, if you run it.

The last moveslot is flexible. The typical pre-510 EV option was King's Shield, because at -2 Attack the -ates were pretty easily handled by Mega Gengar even with its subpar defenses. However, these days most Mega Gengars run Spore, which with Mold Breaker allows anything to be put to sleep, or Dark Void if the user is worried about Safety Goggles and Grass-types. I've seen Substitute, which is a legitimate option but probably not worthy of a slash. Any move that gives Mega Gengar setup opportunities can be utilized here, really

***

I hope that was good. For this slate someone should probably do Poison Heal Regigigas. (I might do Primordial Sea Shaymin or a Heatran if I'm feeling adventurous enough.)

 

[Ghoul King]

Regigigas in Alphabetmons is a lot better than in Standard, for two big reasons: Role Play and Recover/Roost. (Or Rest if you'd rather have status-clearing) There's a fair number of other things of potential relevance, such as Rapid Spin offering use as a hazard manager, but Role Play and especially Recover are so important it can be difficult to fit other R moves in. If you're going for a more dedicated stallmon approach, you can skip Role Play, but Regigigas really comes into its own with Role Play giving it one turn of setup and then its ready to sweep: all it needs is Return/Frustration and Knock Off and it's ready to take on basically anything at least halfway competently. (There are a few Pokemon that resist this combination, but this can be handled by replacing Recover with Drain Punch. Each has its merits)

It's especially invaluable in a meta where tons of Pokemon acquire all kinds of weird coverage -being weak to just Fighting means you only need to keep in mind Pokemon that natively get Fighting or whose names begin with C (Close Combat), H (High Jump Kick), F (Focus Blast and Focus Punch), and S (Secret Sword and Superpower) for the really nasty surprises. (There are of course tons of other Fighting moves, but usually either sharing letters and weaker or just plain fairly weak, and Regigigas is bulky enough to take a surprise Brick Break) Also beware M and to a lesser extent V for priority. Most Pokemon it's a lot easier to misjudge how threatening an opponent is because you forgot that there actually is a good Flying move of that letter or a Bug move or whatever. Not so much with Regigigas.

Unfortunately, Regigigas doesn't have a lot in the way of utility tools from an offensive perspective, even through R access. There's some cute tricks -Reflect Type, anyone?- but if you're here to attack things it boils down to Return or Frustration/Knock Off/Drain Punch or recovery/Role Play, which makes Regigigas downright predictable compared to some of the madness running around in Alphabetmons. It also means Regigigas can really struggle against Physical walls, even with its enormous Attack, perhaps most worryingly the ORAS addition of Mega Slowbro, which can Calm Mind in your face with the outlined offensive set having no real option beyond switching.

252+ Atk Regigigas Return vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Mega Slowbro: 102-120 (25.8 - 30.4%) -- guaranteed 4HKO

On the other hand, Stall Regigigas has weirdly decent potential, between the acquisition of recovery, Roar, Refresh, Reflect, Rapid Spin, and Recycle if that's your thing. It can Refresh away Toxic to just keep on wallin', Roar out setup sweepers (And setup walls, for that matter), throw up Reflect for allies, Rapid Spin out hazards, act as a surprisingly excellent damage sponge -110/110/110 defenses is no slouch- and potentially last long enough to mash something with Return/Frustration once Slow Start has worn off, if you feel like having a wall that can put the hurt on. A moveset like Toxic/Roar/Rapid Spin/Recover can put in surprising work. Whether you're running offensive or stall Regigigas, it's an excellent Pokemon for soaking Skill Swap Slaking, too.

For offensive Regigigas, it's important to keep an out for Pokemon whose Ability is either un-copyable (eg Aegislash, though it's not currently legal) or actively bad. (Archeops, other Regigigas, and Slaking) The presence of one on the enemy team may limit Regigigas to getting in a Knock Off on the Pokemon in question and then having to wait for its buddies to clear out the Role Play soaker before it can participate. Stall Regigigas is particularly noteworthy here, since it can switch in, prevent you from wiping Slow Start, and not care that it's behind on the Slow Start timer, because it was planning on hitting you with Toxic or Roar or both anyway. Stall Regigigas is more concerned by fast Taunters, so watch out for... literally anything beginning with T, basically.

Sample offensive set.

Regigigas @ Leftovers
Ability: Slow Start
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Frustration
- Knock Off
- Recover/Drain Punch
- Role Play

Sample stall set.

Regigigas @ Leftovers
Ability: Slow Start
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Toxic/Return
- Roar
- Recover
- Rapid Spin/Refresh/Reflect

 

[EV]

STABmons

Shaymin is a faster, more well-rounded version of Tangrowth. One niche it has over the tangle of vines is access to Flying moves like Oblivion Wing, Dragon Ascent, Roost, and Defog, giving it coverage or utility depending on the set. Though it doesn't gain STAB on the Flying attacks, they're options to consider over something like Hidden Power Fire/Ice for hitting other Grass-types.

A special all-out attacker could do something like
- Seed Flare
- Oblivion Wing
- Earth Power
- Giga Drain / HP Fire (for Scizor)

Supportive sets will appreciate Roost's guaranteed heal rate versus Synthesis, though Tangrowth maintains the upperhand thanks to Regenerator. Overall, Shaymin should probably be seen as a more offensive option over other Grass-types with the added perk of Natural Cure removing status that might impede a sweep later.

Regigigas in STABmons? Diggersby tho!

Since the October Locked Up challenge that allowed you to use Regigigas, people found a niche it has over other Normal-types: Entrainment. Now you can pass along your terrible ability Slow Start onto powerhouses like Scizor, Mega Aerodactyl, and Diggersby itself and watch as they languish under halved Speed and Attack while you Baton Pass outta there.

With its respectable bulk, it can also trap things and Perish Song them and alternate between Recover and Protect until they faint. Some people have even tried Belly Drum sets, which bypasses Slow Start to an extent and if you're lucky enough to wait out the 5 turns, then you can really bring the pain!

-

Heatran is S-rank so I won't bother. :P

 

[NOCturnal Hunter]

Alright, since I recently had success with a team involving it, I'm doing ANGRY FARMER for Classic Hackmons.

Regigigas is the ultimate status shuffler. Give it some hazards, and it can demolish entire teams right before your eyes. I recently had a win streak of 20 wins and no losses (that's right, that streak is ongoing :]) involving Poison Heal Regigigas. The set is simple: A sleep inducing move, Knock Off, Parting Shot, and a shuffling move of your choice. However, the benefits are HUGE. Even if ANGRY FARMER doesn't sweep your opponent, your other Pokemon will have a good chance. Besides, they will probably just forfeit before you end up losing a single Pokemon. >:D

I'm not going to simply copy-paste my own set. Here's a potential variation, however:

Regigigas @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Careful Nature
- Parting Shot
- Dark Void
- Knock Off
- Roar

Happy hunting trying your own variation out. :]

 

[Snaquaza]

Round 6: Starting a Journey

These are all the remaining Kanto starters, the evolution of the most well-known Pokemon in the Pokemon World and a Pokemon that is discovered early in the game. Do these early factors make them worse than other Pokemon and what ways can be used to still abuse them? What are their roles in the various metagames they're good in and what do they gain from them? Make sure to be creative and feel free to cover which ever OM you want.

 

[InfernapeTropius11]

Mega Charizard Y is amazing in Monotype (S Rank on Fire, A Rank on Flying) as it sets Sun to weaken Water type attacks, has Solarbeam (hits in one turn in Sun) to nail Water and Rock types that resist Fire, and Fire Blast in Sun is just a nuke. Can also be a decent Defogger for HO Fire teams lacking Torkoal, but requires good prediction, as it takes 50% from Rocks. It has Roost for reliable recovery though. On Flying teams it can also run a set to tank Ice Beams that can threaten your team while nuking them back with a Sun-boosted Fire STAB. Focus Blast is a good move for hitting Heatran while using other pretty good coverage, although EQ is another option that can hit Heatran hard while not leaving you walled by Chandelure. Focus Blast usually hits harder because of your fully invested massive special attack, but if you do decide to run EQ, run 4 Atk EVs and a Naive nature.

All-out attacker:

Charizard @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Blaze
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe OR IF EQ: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature OR IF EQ: Naive Nature
- Fire Blast/Flamethrower
- Solar Beam
- Dragon Pulse/Air Slash
- Focus Blast/Earthquake

Offensive Defogger (Fire):

Charizard @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Blaze
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fire Blast/Flamethrower
- Solar Beam
- Defog
- Roost

Specially Bulky Ice Beam tanker (Flying):

Charizard @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Blaze
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Fire Blast
- Solar Beam
- Will-O-Wisp
- Roost

Zard Y is also a threat in 1v1. It has a very simple job: enter the battle, nuke everything with Sun-boosted STAB Blast Burn, win. It can OHKO common threats such as Mega Mawile, Mega Aggron, and Kyu-B (who it can occasionally live a Scarf Outrage from, and it outspeeds non-Scarf variants--most users will Outrage>Fusion Bolt in case you are Zard X). It also OHKOs Mega Venusaur with Blast Burn through Thick Fat. Air Slash is for lucky flinches, and is your go-to move for Turn 1 vs. other Char Y, as Blast Burn can't OHKO. Dragon Pulse is mainly for Zard X and MegaMence, although they speedtie and outspeed you respectively and hit hard/DD up, so you usually lose those sadly (but that's what teammates are for!), although you do actually speedtie MegaMence before it Mega evolves.

Charizard @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Blaze
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Blast Burn
- Solar Beam
- Dragon Pulse
- Air Slash

Zard X is also amazing in Monotype, especially on Flying teams as it can tank BoltBeam well (S Rank on Flying, A Rank on Fire). It can either run an offensive DD set, or a specially bulky WoW set (only really viable on Flying though to tank BoltBeam users that could wreck your team). It is a very powerful, bulky Pokemon that is deserving of its high ranking, and can sweep and wall a majority of the meta. Also has reliable recovery in Roost and an amazing ability in Tough Claws. It also has a BD+Flame Charge (ArVaDa-'s) set in monotype, and a good set in 1v1, but I don't have experience with them :L It could be something neat to experiment with though if you would like to use them :]

Dragon Dance Sweeper:

Charizard @ Charizardite X
Ability: Blaze
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Dragon Claw/Outrage
- Flare Blitz/Fire Punch
- Earthquake/Roost

Bulky BoltBeam Tanker (Flying):

Charizard @ Charizardite X
Ability: Blaze
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Roost
- Flare Blitz
- Dragon Claw/Earthquake

Mega Blastoise is actually a decent hazard remover for more offensive Water teams in Monotype, with some good Mega Launcher boosted coverage options. It is usually outclassed as a spinner by Tentacruel and as a Mega by Mega Swampert, Sharpedo, or Gyarados, but it does have a niche as an offensive spinner.

Blastoise @ Blastoisinite
Ability: Rain Dish
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Modest Nature
- Water Pulse
- Aura Sphere
- Dark Pulse
- Rapid Spin

Mega Blastoise really shines as a wallbreaker in Inheritance on Rain teams, and it can even set rain for itself. It inherits this set from regular Kyogre, and it is very simple. Set Rain for yourself, then Mega Evolve and nuke stuff with Mega Launcher-boosted Rain-boosted STAB Origin Pulse. Thunder has 100% accuracy in Rain, and Ice Beam is simply further coverage. Calm Mind is an option for later in the game after you have Mega Evolved if you want to sweep or Scald for demand burns, and because Origin Pulse only has 8 PP. Ancient Power/HP Ground are if you want to punish Drought/Desolate Land users.

Blastoise @ Blastoisinite
Ability: Drizzle
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Modest Nature
- Origin Pulse
- Ice Beam
- Thunder
- Calm Mind/Scald/Ancient Power/Hidden Power [Ground]

I know Articuno was last week, but Snaquaza said I could do it since nobody else posted any sets for it :]
Articuno is a very underrated Pokemon in general, but it has a solid niche in Monotype. It has great 90/125 Special bulk, allowing it to tank even non-STAB SE hits. It is great on mono-Flying as a special wall as it is neutral to Ice Beam, and can tank pretty much everything except STAB SE attacks (which it can still tank some of). It is also a decent special wall on Ice. It is a great support Pokemon with access to Defog (although, as it is 4x weak to Ice, it doesn't particularly enjoy switching in on Rocks often), Heal Bell, Reflect, and Haze. Here is a set I have ran to some success on Ice:

Articuno @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Roost
- Heal Bell
- Defog
- Freeze-Dry

I don't run full generic Ice, so I don't have Avalugg or Cloyster for a spinner. Articuno has functioned reasonably well as a Defogger, as if it gets a safe switch in on a special attacker, it can likely tank the hit, Roost a couple times, then remove the hazards my team hates. Heal Bell is very helpful to cure burns on Pokemon such as Mamoswine and Kyu-B.

Here is a good set for Flying, in order to tank every Ice Beam in existence:

Articuno @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Roost
- Haze
- Freeze-Dry
- Hurricane/Reflect/Toxic/Heal Bell

Roost is recovery. Haze halts set up sweepers. Freeze-Dry is basically BoltBeam coverage in one move, hitting Ground, Grass, Dragon, Flying, and Water for SE damage. Hurricane is another STAB, Reflect helps against physical attackers (allowing Articuno to stay in longer), Toxic offers residual damage, or Heal Bell supports the team if you don't run it on Togekiss.

 

[Akumeoy]

Kyogre (Blastoise) @ Blastoisinite
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 56 HP / 252 SpA / 200 Spe -OR- 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
- Origin Pulse
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt/Thunder
- Hidden Power Ground

In Inheritance, Blastoise has the niche of an extremely powerful Water-type special move in Origin Pulse + Mega Launcher + Rain. This is, as you can expect, fuckin' powerful. The rest of the set is coverage: Ice Beam hits Grass and Dragon resists, your Electric move of choice (depends whether you want to maximize utility in the rain or make it more reliable in other weather) hits other Water-types, and HP Ground destroys basically every Desolate Land / Water Absorb user that isn't nailed by its other moves -- things like Heatran or Rotom-H (a common rain counter) are consistently 2HKOed even when fully Specially defensive.

It's not enough to break through Chansey, but here's how it does against a different neutral special wall:
+1 252+ SpA Mega Blastoise Origin Pulse vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Snorlax in Rain: 309-364 (58.9 - 69.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Poison Heal. The +1 is because this damage calculator doesn't recognize that Origin Pulse is boosted by Mega Launcher.
For an offensive comparison, it is on par with +6 Suicune's Scald and just a bit short of Primal Kyogre's Water Spout (and more powerful than its Origin Pulse).
There are a variety of impressive calculations I could show you for Origin Pulse's power, but rest assured that, given the opportunity, this will break walls.

Set taken, with slight modification, from here.

 

[EV]

STABmons

Bastoise @ Blastoisinte
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Origin Pulse
- Ice Beam / Dark Pulse
- Aura Sphere
- Rapid Spin / Toxic

I might be off on the set since I haven't used Mega Blastoise myself but the niche it maintains in STABmons is Mega Launcher Origin Pulse. If you don't know how hard that move hits, think about this: it outdamages Aura Sphere--a x4 SE move--on Tyranitar. HNNNNH

Spam Origin Pulse always except on resisted hits where a coverage move would hit SE, like Kyurem-B (Aura Sphere) or Slowking (Dark Pulse). Even neutral hits will still outdamage a SE coverage move. Toxic what you can't hit SE (Azumarill). Rapid Spin if you wanna.

I put max Speed so you can either outspeed Adamant Diggersby or speed tie with Jolly. Adamant LO FakeSpeed 2HKOs, so look for damage output on Fake Out to see if it will (31-37%). Adamant Precipice Blades OHKOs 62% of the time, but you'll outspeed! The alternative is to shift EVs toward bulk to tank these hits without risking the speed tie. If you do that I'd try a Rest+Sleep Talk set with Origin Pulse+coverage.

 

[canno]

STABmons Charizard


Charizard @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Blue Flare
- Earthquake / Solar Beam / Focus Blast
- V-create / Earthquake / Eruption
- Oblivion Wing

Mixed Zard-Y in STABmons hits like a truck. Blue Flare basically just nukes everything on the field thanks to the sun. Earthquake is needed to pop Heatrans, while Solar Beam can be used if you hate Azumarill and other bulky waters. Focus Blast can also beat Heatran but you have to land 2, which is not ideal. Unlike in OU, you're not just lowing your bulk to beat Heatran - you're also using it for V-Create. Keep in mind Oblivion Wing can handle water-types as well usually. V-Create is there to destroy Chansey and other special walls. You don't even need to predict Chansey switching in...

252 SpA Mega Charizard Y Blue Flare vs. 4 HP / 252 SpD Eviolite Chansey in Sun: 190-225 (29.5 - 35%) -- 15.3% chance to 3HKO
4 Atk Mega Charizard Y V-create vs. 4 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Chansey in Sun: 400-472 (62.3 - 73.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Chansey only stands a small chance if its at full health to survive both Blue Flare and V-Create.

 

[Snaquaza]

We're back for another round! This week's team will be: Jungle Life

Have fun posting viable sets for these Pokemon in whatever you want! Remember you can also post about forgotten or not-so-popular metagames!

 

[Leafshield]

Ariados acts as a decent webs setter in Mediocremons

Ariados @ Focus Sash
Ability: Swarm
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
- Sticky Web
- Megahorn
- Sucker Punch
- Toxic Spikes / Endeavor

Ariados actually hits pretty hard with STAB Megahorn, especially after Swarm, allowing it to do some damage if the opponent doesn't deal with it correctly. Ariados is slow, but I still run max speed to I can ensure I get webs up against uninvested walls,etc. Sucker Punch is for stuff that you have hit with Megahorn on the switch or the like, or just to pick stuff of mid to late game if Ariados happened to survive that long. TSpikes is a good option, but Nidoqueen is sort of omnipresent in the meta, so Endeavor is probably better to weaken a Quagsire or something.

 

[EV]

STABmons (what else did you expect?)

Ursaring @ Silk Scarf
Ability: Guts
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe or HP
Adamant Nature
- Fake Out
- Extreme Speed
- Play Rough / Foresight
- Fire Punch / Earthquake / Close Combat / Crunch

A Guts user without an orb? You idiot. Wait, hear me out! While activated Guts FakeSpeed hits harder than Diggersby, it wears down your bear fast. Silk Scarf gives it extra power on FakeSpeed, which you'll spam the most often, while preserving its health outside hazards. But if you need a status absorber, now you have one! Soak up that WOW and now your FakeSpeed is Guts and Silk Scarf boosted! Play Rough does heavy damage to Sableye or you can Foresight it and then bop it with Espeed. The last slot can go to whatever coverage you need depending on who you want to hit.

 

[InfernapeTropius11]

Tropius has a niche as a sun abuser in the pet mod Pokebilities. If you didn't know, Pokebilities basically forces every Pokemon to use ALL of its abilities simultaneously. As Tropius has three abilities relating to the Sun, you can see how it has a niche, as it gets 2x speed, 1.5x SpA, and an endlessly recycling berry in sun. Anyway here is a set:

Tropiusy @ Sitrus Berry/Lum Berry
Ability: Chlorophyll+Solar Power+Harvest
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 Def / 252 Spe or 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 Spe
Modest Nature/Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sunny Day
- Solar Beam
- Air Slash
- Synthesis/Roost/Giga Drain/Dragon Pulse/Hidden Power [Fire]

Sunny Day is obviously to get the weather you can abuse. Solar Beam has 120 BP and no charge in Sun. Air Slash is another STAB. Synthesis/Roost is recovery--Synthesis has 67% recovery in Sun, while Roost has more PP and removes your burdening Flying typing for a turn (these are better with Lum Berry though). Giga Drain is STAB+Recovery and is useful outside Sun, Dragon Pulse/HP Fire is coverage. HP Fire is especially good as otherwise you are walled by Steel types and with the Solar Power+Sun boost it actually hits pretty hard. Name is Tropiusy because that is the code to use all of your abilities. Heck, you could even run something like Salac Berry to outspeed everything or Yache Berry to tank the Ice hits you hate (and so Ice Shard doesn't ruin your sweep c:). Although, please don't run Aguav Berry. Ever.

 

[InfernapeTropius11]

Mega Manectric is a good offensive Pokemon/scout on Electric in monotype.

Manectric @ Manectite
Ability: Lightning Rod
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
- Overheat/Flamethrower
- Hidden Power [Ice]

Thunderbolt is your main STAB. Volt Switch makes Mega Manectric a fantastic lead scout, as it can outspeed pretty much every non-Scarfed Pokemon and Volt Switch out to the appropriate counter. HP Ice is for Ground types and cuz pseudo BoltBeam. Flamethrower or Overheat is if you want a one-time nuke, or the ability to not have to switch out afterwards. Overheat is recommended because of the power increase and the tons of switching it does. I've kinda just said it is a good scout with Volt Switch above, but here is a better explanation:
First of all, Mega Manectric is insanely fast, outspeeding speedsters such as Mega Pidgeot, Aerodactyl, and Noivern (as well as everything in the crowded 100-115 range), while speed tying Mega Lopunny. Secondly, Volt Switch grabs momentum for your team as you can switch out quickly to either a wall or a counter to the Pokemon they have out. Lastly, Intimidate allows it to help against dangerous physical attackers. As you are often switching in and out, you can often get dangerous physical attackers down a couple of stat stages, which can force switches and let teammates (or Mega Manectric itself) rip holes in the opposing team on the switch, with good prediction. Lightning Rod is chosen as the pre-Mega ability just in case something tries to use an Electric move on Thundy-I or Rotom-W, and it isn't taking too many hits (so it is better than Static). Overall Mega Manectric is a very good Pokemon on Mono-Electric teams as one of its 2 Megas, and currently resides in A Rank on the viability rankings.

 

[Snaquaza]

Week 8: Bunny Hop!

These three bunnies are already quite powerful in OU, but how do they do in Other Metagames? Do they get better, or worse? Why are they better or worse. And the forgotten squirrel Pachirisu, normally quite terrible but does it have a niche in a certain metagame! Have fun discussing and posting sets.

 

[Deathly ♛The King]

Tier Shift

Playboy (Lopunny) (F) @ Lopunnite
Ability: Limber
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 24 Def / 232 Spe OR 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- Return
- High Jump Kick
- Ice Punch

First off you'll be wondering why I have that EV spread. The 232+ Speed speedcreeps Adamant Beedrill-Mega. The Attack EVs are fairly obvious, and then the 24 Defense EVs are to stand a better chance against priority. Alternatively, you could choose to speedtie with Manectric-Mega and other Playboys. Its moveset is fairly obviously, allowing it to deal extreme amounts of damage to anything that isn't a physical wall. Ice Punch is used to beat Landorus and the Gliscor family. Limber is the starting ability of choice because you can switch in without fear of paralysis. This can act as a revenge-killer or a late-game sweeper.​

 

[Akumeoy]

Inheritance:

Lucario (Lopunny) @ Lopunnite
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Extreme Speed
- Close Combat
- Substitute/Facade

Mega Lopunny can run an Extreme Killer set in Inheritance, with two excellent STABs (and perfect neutral coverage between them after Scrappy), powerful priority, and a boosting move. Its last slot can go to Substitute to dodge status and get some setup or Facade to not become useless after a burn. Justified is preferred as the pre-mega ability as it might let Lopunny switch into a Knock Off for a free boost. It can be sort of difficult to set up, as it's not terribly bulky, but it's a bit of a terror once it does -- Skarmory, for example, can be set up on if it's not running a move to break your substitute or a phazing move.

The niche is:

• Fastest STAB Extreme Speed in the game
• Perfect STAB coverage with good moves
• Swords Dance
• Sucker Punch and Stealth Rock resistance

The primary downside is its relative fragility, use of a mega slot, susceptibility to burn/Scald, and less-than-overpowering power before a boost.

 

[Chopin Alkaninoff]

Inverse Battle

Lopunny @ Lopunnite
Ability: Limber
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Fake Out
- Frustration
- High Jump Kick
- Quick Attack

This poke is probably the #1 reason that make Normal spam overpowered in Inverse (#2 before Diggersby got banned). Fake Out + Quick Attack make it have a pseudo Extremespeed that got boosted by STAB, and those two moves alone are able to revenge kill weakened threats easily. Slower pokes got destroyed by Frustration or High Jump Kick. Because of that, this poke is hell to face for offensive teams. High Jump Kick is to destroy most Psychic types, especially Wobbuffet and Cresselia. I think this is its best set, better than Fake Out + Last Resort, which got stopped by both Wobbuffet and Cresselia.

I prefer Adamant because if you run Jolly, Mega Medicham's Fake Out + Bullet Punch hits harder even if Mega Medicham runs Jolly and I don't want to lose some powers from the STABs. Adamant Max Speed still outspeed up to Jolly Ambipom or other base 115 Speed with +Speed nature. The only relevant threat that outspeed Adamant Mega Lopunny is Timid Greninja and its pretty frail, easily got revenged by Fake Out + Quick Attack once it has like 60% HP left because of Life Orb recoil.

What are its niche?
1. Unresisted dual STAB priority that easily revenge kills fast but frail threats.
2. Fastest Normal type in the game
3. One of the highest base Attack Normal type in the game (beside Diggersby and Slaking)
4. Insanely strong Fighting STAB move that destroy most Psychic and Flying types (and the uncommon Bug)