PU Pokemon Matchmaking (Week 8: Torterra)

[TONE]

Pokemon Matchmaking

Approved by Dell | Inspired by Can-Eh-Dian who stole the format from DarkNostalgia

All Pokemon are unable to function effectively without their checks and counters gone, which is where their teammates come in. These partners are capable of dismantling multiple Pokemon proving a threat to their teammates, providing invaluable support and thus are often seen as the heart of the team. This project aims to brainstorm various ideal and effective partners to various Pokemon that may range from metagame defining Pokemon to more underrated threats.

Procedure

Every week, I will nominate a Pokemon for discussion of potential partners and submissions. In that week, you will have the chance to submit any good partners for that chosen Pokemon, and after the course of the week I will choose the three best partner(s) for that chosen Pokemon and put it into the archive. People that manage to get into the archive multiple times with good submissions will be let into the Hall of Fame.

Rules
1. Stick with things on the viability rankings. Unviable Pokemon such as Plusle or Slaking should not be nominated at all.
2. Reservations are perfectly welcome. However, in your reservation post you must state when you will be able to get your reservation done. This time frame must be no longer than 12 hours. After this time has expired, other users can take your reservation and do it for themselves. If you do not state a time frame your reservation expires in exactly two hours.
3. Don't theorymon. Post Pokemon that you have experience with, or have seen it have quite some use, don't pull Pokemon out of nowhere that you think will work well. Have some experience first please.
4. Explain how and why the Pokemon you chose works well. For example, offensive synergy in terms of checks and counters or defensive synergy in terms of typing and checking threats.
5. Be nice to others with your posts and only post meaningful things. One-liners clutter up the thread, as do random memes.
6. Calcs are nice to back your claim, but not manditory.
7. This project is meant to be a learning experience for battlers of all experience levels, so don't hesitate to post even if you don't know the meta that much.

Week 1

You have a week to discuss possible partners. Have fun. :)

 

[TONE]

Reserved for the Hall of Fame

Hall of Fame

Week 1: Ninetales

Simipour: (Raiza.)
Tangela: (Al'Akir)
Carracosta: (Megazard Z)

Week 2: Barbaracle

Regice: (Raiza.)
Piloswine: (Kingler12345)
Jumpluff: (Al'Akir)

Week 3: Rotom-F

Poliwrath: (Raiza.)
Pelipper: (Al'Akir)
Machoke: (2xTheTap)

Week 4: Leafeon

Simipour: (Raiza.)
Carracosta: (GrimoireGod)
Volbeat: (Al'Akir)

 

[Raiza]

Simipour @ Life Orb
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Grass Knot
- Low Kick

Mixed Simipour is a decent partner for Ninetales, to form one of the most threatening Offensive duos in the tier at the moment, thanks to their ability to completely make in shreds offensive and stall teams with their pressure, high speed and coverage. Mixed Simipour specifically has a good typing synergy with Ninetales, as both their cover some typing weaknesses themselves, but most important Simipour helps Ninetales to deal with troublesome walls such as Lickilicky, surprising them thanks to its access to Low Kick and dealing massive damage, therefore easing Ninetales' job as a set up sweeper.

 

[Grim]

Kadabra @ Focus Sash
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Psyshock
- Hidden Power Fighting
- Calm Mind
- Encore

Encore + Calm Mind Kadabra is a nice teammate for Ninetales because it trolls Lickilicky and Probopass by locking them into a move (Wish, Protect, Stealth Rock, etc), allowing Kadabra to set up all over them and either just win or weaken them enough that Ninetales has no problems with them later on. Mightyena and Pawniard also get screwed over if they try to use Sucker Punch, because Kadabra just locks them into it with Encore and stalls it out. This is all assuming Ninetales runs Dark Pulse which is probably the best third attacking move it can run at the moment. If using something like Psyshock or Hidden Power Fighting instead Kadabra should use Signal Beam, so the pair does not get hard walled by Grumpig.

+1 252 SpA Kadabra Psyshock vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Lickilicky: 195-229 (45.9 - 54%) -- 96.1% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
+1 252 SpA Kadabra Hidden Power Fighting vs. 172 HP / 0 SpD Probopass: 264-312 (86.8 - 102.6%) -- 50% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

Use Life Orb if real.

 

[Akir]

Tangela @ Eviolite
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Modest Nature
- Sleep Powder
- Leaf Storm
- Giga Drain
- Ancient Power

Ninetales is weak to Ground, Rock, and Water, and there is A LOT of that in this tier. As such, having a reliable partner who can switch in on common checks and counters, such as defensive Carracosta and Marowak, is definitely a good idea. Tangela resists Ground and Water and can hit the three aforementioned types hard and force them out. Tangela also can support Ninetales by putting something to sleep and threaten with a good ol' Leaf Storm. Giga Drain also helps keep Tangela going, and with Regenerator it will stay in play for a good while. Ancient Power can hit and weaken some Flash Fire Pokemon (Rapidash comes to mind) who are brave enough to think they check Ninetales.

Tangela provides great defensive synergy and support for Ninetales without cutting too deeply into offensive power and provides Ninetales teams a great go-to pivot out of Ninetales itself when things don't go according to plan.

 

[MZ]

Carracosta @ Life Orb/ Mystic Water/ Chople Berry
Ability: Solid Rock
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Shell Smash
- Aqua Jet
- Stone Edge
- Zen Headbutt/ Waterfall/ Ice Beam (if beam change nature and EVs)

So passho tales puts a lot of pressure on waters and grasses and can lure Poliwrath and Carracosta can force in waters and lure poli, making carracosta a fairly good offensive partner. Defensively the two cant take an EQ/EP at all, but they break through each others's counters fairly well. Something is wrong with my uploading, so no image/gif sorry

 

[TONE]

Alright, we're gonna move this along to Week 2 now.

Week 2 is Barbaracle! Like before, you have a week to list possible partners.

 

[Raiza]

Regice @ Life Orb
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Rock Polish
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt
- Focus Blast

Regice makes up for a great core with Barbaracle, which is both tanky and able to pull off really high damages, thanks to their typing synergy and ability to support themselves even with different sets. First of all, both are played on offensive teams and can perform as set up sweepers, boosting up their Speed, therefore being really threatening, especially to offensive teams. Then Regice is able to easily handle and bring down Pokemon that trouble and prevent Barbaracle from sweeping, such as bulky Grass-types and physically defensive walls that Barbaracle can't bring down without dying. Physical attackers that trouble Regice are setup fodders for Barbaracle's Shell Smash. Regice has good synergy with a Lead set Barbaracle, as it appreciates Stealth Rock support to weaken its checks and counters, therefore easing its job as a sweeper. Even if they stack up a fighting-type weakness, the only relevant Fighting-type Pokemon at the moment is Poliwrath, and there are plenty of answers for it, also it can be lured by Thunderbolt or Aerial Ace.

 

[Kingler]

Piloswine @ Eviolite
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Icicle Spear / Icicle Crash
- Stealth Rock
- Ice Shard

just the standard pilo w/ some creep for probos and the like, provides you with SR and gives you a switch-in to scarf raichu + also other electrics so it can't get away scot free with trying to volt switch out. you do become weak to poli but poli checks are a dime a dozen lol. it has decent type synergy, SR breaks sashes/sturdy, good 'mon overall.

 

[Akir]

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

Barbaracle is countered pretty heavily by 2 of the best pokes in the tier: Poliwrath and Carracosta. There are also more obscure checks like Gogoat and Tangela that must be accounted for, and Jumpluff does a decent enough job at answering these problems. Jumpluff can beat holes into most Grass, Water, and Fighting types that could threaten Barbaracle with Seed Bomb and Acrobatics. Jumpluff also has Sleep Powder to make opportunities for your Barbaracle to Shell Smash and hopefully win. Finally, Jumpluff has Swords Dance so it can help weaken otherwise-troublesome walls for the Smash sweep or U-turn to give a possible safe switch on your opponent's switch. The added bonus of Jumpluff laughing at Substitute users is also a great bonus for a relatively frail sweeper like Barbaracle, who can't afford to take the free hit a Substitute gives. These two make a very interesting and VERY offensive core.

As a side note, I have also seen a Substiture/Encore/Leech Seed/Acrobatics Jumpluff running around every now and then and it is surprisingly effective. I would not consider it quite as good as the above set, but it is something to consider if you want your Jumpluff to run more utility while being much more reliable.

 

[TONE]

Alright moving this along to Week 3 now.

Week 3 is Rotom-Frost! Like before you have a week to list possible partners.

 

[Raiza]

Poliwrath is of course one of the signature Pokemon in PU, so when I saw the typing and role synergy it has together with Rotom-F, I felt like I really had to post this one. Poliwrath, thanks to its dual Water- Fighting-type has a great synergy with Rotom-F, as it can beat Rock-, Fire-types and Piloswine for Rotom-F, which in exchange helps Poliwrath against Grass-, Electric- and Flying-types, creating a really nice core. Poliwrath can run a myriad of sets, but one of the most common is the RestTalk, which in this case can be useful to provide a solid check to the types I listed, and also because it goes well along with entry hazards support, which is mandatory when running Rotom-F, to rack up residual damage, therefore Circle Throw helps in that, phazing opponents and stacking up damage for a possible Scarf Rotom-F cleanup. Another Poliwrath set that is popular is the Rain Dance Sweeper, well in this case Rotom-F is useful too, especially if running a SubSplit set, as it is able to deal with annoying walls that could trouble Poliwrath, such as Togetic, and stall or bring them down.

 

[Akir]

Pelipper @ Leftovers
Ability: Keen Eye
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpA
Bold Nature
- Defog
- Scald
- Roost
- U-Turn

Pretty simple synergy here. Rotom-F hates Stealth Rock, so Pelipper defogs them away. Rotom-F hates taking Fighting and Fire, and Pelipper can take both pretty handily. On the other hand, Pelipper hates taking Electric, while Rotom-F doesn't mind too much. These two even make a cool Voltturn core. Overall, Pelipper is a very reliable choice for partnering up with Rotom-F.

 

[2xTheTap]

Hulk Smash (Machoke) @ Eviolite
Ability: Guts
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 160 HP / 252 Atk / 16 Def / 20 SpD / 60 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Close Combat
- Knock Off

When using Rotom-F, I've noticed that its two main switch-ins are Piloswine and Lickilicky. Rotom-F can already cripple Lickilicky with TrickScarf, but just in case you wanted to save your Choice Scarf for revenge killing late game, it's often a better option to just remove Licklicky entirely with a strong STAB Fighting attack.

That's where Machoke comes in; 60 Speed is enough to outspeed both Lickilicky and Piloswine, and he can OHKO with Close Combat (especially if entry hazards are down on Lickilicky's / Piloswine's side of the field). When Guts activates, CC always OHKO's these two; calcs are below.

Healthy Machoke Close Combat vs Lickilicky:
252+ Atk Machoke Close Combat vs. 248 HP / 8 Def Lickilicky: 372-440 (87.9 - 104%) -- 25% chance to OHKO
Guts activated Close Combat vs Lickilicky:
252+ Atk Guts Machoke Close Combat vs. 248 HP / 8 Def Lickilicky: 558-656 (131.9 - 155%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Healthy Machoke Close Combat vs Piloswine:
252+ Atk Machoke Close Combat vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Eviolite Piloswine: 288-342 (71.4 - 84.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Guts activated Close Combat vs Piloswine:
252+ Atk Guts Machoke Close Combat vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Eviolite Piloswine: 432-510 (107.1 - 126.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO

In terms of type synergy, Machoke takes Rock type attacks aimed at Rotom-F. In return, Rotom-F takes flying hits for Machoke.

 

[TONE]

Sorry should've updated this earlier, but slipped my mind. On to Week 4!

Week 4 is Leafeon. As before you have a week to list possible partners.

 

[Twix]

reserving ninetales

 

[Raiza]

Simipour is another top threat in the tier at the moment, and along with Leafeon, can create a scary offensive duo, able to break through common offensive teams and even balanced ones, thanks to their good movepool, type synergy and offensive presence. Simipour can check troublesome Fire-types for Leafeon such as Ninetales, work as a backup sweeper and cleaner or just work as a revenge killer. It can run two main sets, a Nasty Plot sweeper set and a Mixed Wallbreaker set, and both of them can work there, as the first can make use of Leafeon ability to wallbreaker through common physical walls and its utility in Knock Off, to catch off guard Pokemon such as Clefairy, that counter Simipour, while the second one acts the opposite, creating holes for an eventual Leafeon sweep, still being threatening itself.

 

[Grim]

Carracosta @ Life Orb
Ability: Solid Rock
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Shell Smash
- Stone Edge
- Waterfall
- Aqua Jet

Leafeon's most common checks are Flying- and Fire-types such as Dodrio and Rapidash. Carracosta does a very good job at checking those Pokemon and turning them into set up fodder. Leafeon also defeats most bulky Grass- and Water-types such as Torterra and Poliwrath for Carracosta, and weakens Tangela by Knocking Off its Eviolite. Leafeon and Carracosta basically just have great offensive and defensive synergy.

 

[Akir]

Volbeat (M) @ Heat Rock
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Sunny Day
- Thunder Wave
- Encore
- U-Turn

I think it's always noteworthy to bring up Sunny Day when people talk about Leafeon. After setting up the sun, max speed Adamant Leafeon hits 578 speed, which is enough to outspeed +nature max base 125 speed scarfed Pokemon. In other words: just about everything relevant. With a Swords Dance under Leafeon's belt and a Sunny Day in the sky, Leafeon can obliterate offensive and defensive teams alike.

Volbeat can set up this sun with Prankster. +1 priority Sunny Day means that the sun will almost always come out before your opponent can even move. Volbeat can also slow down opposing Pokemon with Thunder Wave so that Leafeon can outspeed them even without the sun. Encore can buy a turn for Leafeon to come in if you use it on a move like Stealth Rock or Swords Dance or some other move that Leafeon does not mind, but Encore will most likely cause a switch that is also perfectly acceptable. Finally, a slow U-turn means that switch priority will most likely always be yours, so you will be free to bring in Leafeon safely...or whatever is appropriate to what your opponent is doing.

Volbeat is one of the best support pokes in the tier, and Leafeon loves every single thing this bug can provide.

 

[TONE]

Should've did this on Sunday, but forgot. Moving this to Week 5 now.

Week 5 is Probopass! Like before, you have a week to list possible partners.

 

[Dundies]

Mr. Mime @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Filter
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Psychic
- Dazzling Gleam
- Focus Blast
- Healing Wish

Mr. Mime partners really well with Probopass not only because of type synergy, but because Probopass provides Mr. Mime with a slow Volt Switch, being really helpful as Mr. Mime is worn down quickly. Probopass also traps Steel-types for Mr. Mime so it's not forced to lock itself into Focus Blast and it can just spam its dual STABs.

 

[Akir]

Misdreavus @ Eviolite
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 120 HP / 252 SpA / 136 Spe
Modest Nature
- Nasty Plot
- Taunt
- Shadow Ball
- Dazzling Gleam

I play sometimes with a friend, and that friend HATES Probopass. "It doesn't do anything on its own," he says, "it just sits there!" I respond with this: yes, that is exactly what Probopass does and it does this job well. The main use for Probopass is to support and clear the way for other pokemon to do things instead of itself doing those said things.

Misdreavus is an excellent example of a pokemon that appreciates Probopass's unique abilities of sitting there and supporting. Offensively, Probopass uses Magnet Pull to capture Steels and hopefully kill them with Earth Power. That is normally appreciated in general, but for Misdreavus there is one Steel in particular that they want out of the game: Pawniard. Probopass does not fear Pawniard and can eliminate a would-be counter for Misdreavus reliably and efficiently.

Defensively, these two have even more synergy. Probopass is 4x weak to both Fighting and Ground and has a tendency to bait in said Fighting and Ground. Misdreavus has an immunity to both, making a very sound switch option. Probopass can also Volt Switch into Misdreavus to mitigate any chip damage that might come Misdreavus's way. Since Misdreavus uses Eviolite, any damage that can be avoided is appreciated.

If Pawniard is out of the way and your opponent is caught with no decent way to hurt Misdreavus, Misdreavus can just set up a Nasty Plot and start wrecking havoc. The synergy and partnership is simple: Probopass has plenty of tools to help Misdreavus, and Misdreavus can bank on would-be weaknesses. Offensive or defensive, Probopass and Misdreavus are great partners.

 

[Raiza]

Even if out the radars recently, Chatot is still a threatening Pokemon that can give trouble to unprepared teams, especially because Normal-type coverage is sooo underrated. Chatot is a good partner to Probopass, as first of all it appreciates Magnet Pull Probopass, as it can trap and deal with most Steel-types that trouble Chatot, such as other Probopass, and can also handle special attackers such as Misdreavus, crippling them with Toxic, therefore makes Chatot spam Boomburst with safety. Probopass also provides Stealth Rock support to net nice KOs against bulkier Pokemon, especially ones with a Stealth Rock weakness. As a last note, we all know that Chatot is frail and hardly finds switch in opportunities, so a slow Volt Switch user such as Probopass is perfect to bring it on the field and then open holes into the enemy team, also if needed, Chatot can switch in, on Ground-type attacks, even if risky, and lure them with Hidden Power Grass or directly go for a Boomburst.

 

[2xTheTap]

So Megazard Z already pointed this out when new drops hit back in February (lol long time ago) - http://www.smogon.com/forums/thread...el-banned-read-post-143.3528897/#post-6034249, but Scrappy CB Stoutland is still a nice partner to Probopass.

Stoutland @ Choice Band / Silk Scarf
Ability: Scrappy
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Frustration
- Facade
- Superpower
- Pursuit

The basic idea is that Probopass traps Steel types like Pawniard and other Probopass (and Bastiodon if it's low ladder) with Magnet Pull, which allows Stoutland to just spam Frustration (or Facade if it's been statused) against the other team.

Pursuit is just there as filler, to follow Kadabra or other frail mons as they switch out of Stoutland if they can't OHKO Stoutland. Play Rough and Wild Charge can also be used to hit walls like SpDef Zweilous / Pelipper, respectively, if your team has nothing for them. But, these coverage moves will most likely see little use during battle.

Obviously, Probopass and Stoutland both share a weakness to Fighting, which is why Pokemon like Jumpluff, Misdreavus, and Mr. Mime can round out this core quite nicely.

 

[Twix]

Togetic @ Eviolite
Ability: Hustle
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpA
Bold Nature
- Dazzling Gleam
- Roost
- Defog
- Heal Bell / Toxic

Togetic and Probopass form an effective and pretty solid Defensive Core. Probopass can take out Steel, Electric, Ice and Poison Types so Togetic can have an easier time sitting on the field being an annoying Wall.