Project RU Creative / Underrated Sets Thread

[Xyldaz]

So even though Trevenant is officially an RU pokemon, most people stick to their Gourgeist for it's far superior defences. To exploit Trevenant's unique offensive movepool, the Choice Band set gained popularity, but it's slow speed still is quite disapointing.
But here is a set that is far better (and cooler) than the usual ones.

Trevenant @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Wood Hammer
- Trick
- Earthquake
- Shadow Claw

With a jolly nature and a choice scarf equipped, Trevenant reaches 348 speed, just enough to tie with Durant. Yep, that means it outspeed most of the RU tier, including threats such as Mega Glalie, Delphox, Drapion or Sygiliph, who usually are excellent checks to the tree, and can kill them (or weaken at least eh) with the right coverage move.

Don't believe me ?

Calcs

252 Atk Trevenant Wood Hammer vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Mega Glalie: 210-247 (69.7 - 82%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
252 Atk Trevenant Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Drapion: 180-212 (64 - 75.4%)
252 Atk Trevenant Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Emboar: 276-326 (76.4 - 90.3%) -- 25% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
252 Atk Trevenant Shadow Claw vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Delphox: 266-314 (91.4 - 107.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
252 Atk Trevenant Shadow Claw vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Sigilyph: 246-290 (86 - 101.3%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO

You outspeed most of the crap that stays on Trevenant thinking they can kill it, such as Medicham, Magneton or Gallade.
With Natural Cure you'll be able to switch into random Scalds without too much fear, and Trick is just a nice move to have on any choiced pokemon. You also become an anti-spinner capable of outspeeding and nab a surprise kill on the most common spinner in the tier, Hitmonlee.
It happens to have a rather good synergy with Pawniard, just pair them with a fire resist such as Qwlifish and you've got a nice hazard control core.

 

[Contraire.]

Hate me for this, but

(Anyone who wants to can go ahead and delete this post if it's bad)

I was playing around with the infamous Ambipom when I came up with this set.

Ambipom @ Lum Berry
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- Return
- Knock Off
- Power-Up Punch

I think this is more usable than the Ambipom set on the Smogon website. Lum Berry and Power-Up Punch distinguishes this set from standard Ambipom. This set can function as a lead or a late-game cleaner. Lum Berry is there because, as a fast physical attacker, Ambipom really does not appreciate status. Fake Out is always great, and STAB Technician-boosted Fake Out is even better. Return is the standard spammable STAB move. Knock Off is always excellent, as it offers great coverage against Ghost-types and also removes the foe's item. The final move of this set, Power-Up Punch, stands out and is excellent because it is Technician-boosted and also increases Ambipom's Attack, turning it into a more dangerous sweeper.

I don't think this set can make the high rankings in the RU Viability Rankings, but I don't think Ambipom deserves to be where it's at. It should either be more appreciated because of what it offers to the RU metagame or dropped to NU where it can find a better home. Since the latter isn't likely to happen anytime soon, I'm trying to tinker around with making the former a possibility.

 

[lighthouses]

Rhyperior @ Chesto Berry
Ability: Solid Rock
EVs: 248 HP / 28 Atk / 232 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Rock Blast
- Rest

Basically i had a team in which i completely forgot fletch existed when building, so i was in need of a solid counter that could also get up stealth rocks, i went with rhyperior, but its always worn down really easilly by willo + repeated hits so i just ran this and it actually works to some extent, lol
Plz revive this thread

 

[MrAldo]

With pleasure:

Togetic @ Eviolite
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Defog / Baton Pass
- Dazzling Gleam
- Roost
- Encore

This togetic set is absolutely fun and have saved my ass countless times from my inability of stopping setup sweepers. Togetic is a pretty huge setup bait to many prominents setup sweepers like quiver dance venomoth, sub calm mind meloetta, every calm mind psychic, swords dance fletchinder etc. But with encore, which is a godly move, you can take away the offensive momentum your opponent may have and bring any mon that can deal with said setup sweeper (a pursuit trapper for psychics) and get rid of that problem. It is a relief to dodge the bullet with this.

Escavalier @ Lum Berry
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 92 HP / 252 Atk / 164 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Iron Head
- Megahorn / Knock Off
- Drill Run

After cobalion left I had a good reason to test this set, and it is even more beautiful than it looks. A +2 escavalier is just so scary. Speed is to outspeed every base 40 which in general is a really nice benchmark to creep in general for most mons ranging from 20 to 30 base speed. +2 drill run hits so hard it 2hkos mega steelix. Lum berry is to have some utility against passive teams, you dont to worry about toxic so thats nice. It can still check what it is supposed to check like meloetta, though not as well as the assault vest, so watch out. This set is amazing!

 

[Toljik]

Contraire. : I posted an Ambipom set of my own a while back, but mine is obsolete now that all the bulky Psychics it targeted are gone from the tier. I'll give your set a shot, but Ambi can't hurt a lot of bulky mons even at +1.

Cottonee @ Eviolite
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 176 Def / 80 Spe
Bold Nature
- Encore
- Tailwind
- Leech Seed
- Memento/Taunt

This was from way back when Whimsicott got kicked to UU. I got frustrated and replaced it with its pre-evo. It loses quite a bit compared to Whimsicott, but still has that great defensive typing and priority Encore. Bulk is roughly the same as 252/252 Whimsicott.

Encore and Memento are obvious. Tailwind was used over Stun Spore because I was running into many Pokemon with an immunity to the move. Leech Seed is cool because Cottonee's base HP is fairly low, meaning it'll heal more HP. The EVs were designed to outspeed uninvested Mega Banette.

 

[Martin]

Hate me for this, but

(Anyone who wants to can go ahead and delete this post if it's bad)

I was playing around with the infamous Ambipom when I came up with this set.

Ambipom @ Lum Berry
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- Return
- Knock Off
- Power-Up Punch

I think this is more usable than the Ambipom set on the Smogon website. Lum Berry and Power-Up Punch distinguishes this set from standard Ambipom. This set can function as a lead or a late-game cleaner. Lum Berry is there because, as a fast physical attacker, Ambipom really does not appreciate status. Fake Out is always great, and STAB Technician-boosted Fake Out is even better. Return is the standard spammable STAB move. Knock Off is always excellent, as it offers great coverage against Ghost-types and also removes the foe's item. The final move of this set, Power-Up Punch, stands out and is excellent because it is Technician-boosted and also increases Ambipom's Attack, turning it into a more dangerous sweeper.

I don't think this set can make the high rankings in the RU Viability Rankings, but I don't think Ambipom deserves to be where it's at. It should either be more appreciated because of what it offers to the RU metagame or dropped to NU where it can find a better home. Since the latter isn't likely to happen anytime soon, I'm trying to tinker around with making the former a possibility.

I see... so YOU are the reason that Ambipom is still in RU... jk i know its just that low ladder is cancerous

On a side note, I've been messing around with random 'mons that I used just for the sake of using them, and I came across something fun that I like to call Lairon. I messed around with two sets, both to decent success (although Lairon isn't very good tbh):

Lairon @ Eviolite
Ability: Sturdy / Rock Head
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge / Head Smash / Sleep Talk
- Iron Head / Sleep Talk
- Earthquake / Rest

While Lairon is mostly outclassed by Mega Steelix in this role, it does set itself apart with the fact it retains Sturdy (although Rock Head is an option considering Lairon's lack of reliable recovery) and the fact that it doesn't take up a mega slot. These are both very useful traits to have for a Pokemon with the kinds of weaknesses Lairon has. However, while this set is certainly its best set (lairon's not great, just a bit of fun to use), it is not the set which I like the most. The set I like the most is this one:

Lairon @ Air Balloon
Ability: Rock Head / Sturdy
EVs: 172 HP / 252 Atk / 84 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Magnet Rise
- Head Smash / Stone Edge
- Iron Head
- Earthquake

Taking a leaf out of a Cobalion set from back in RU Beta, this set is designed to take advantage of its Ground-type as a way to remove said weakness. The EVs given allow it to outpace uninvested Piloswine, although if Piloswine isn't an issue you can either run 4 to outpace uninvested Rhyperior or 208 can be run to outpace 204 spe Rhyperior. The reason that it is better to invest in enough to outpace a certain Ground-type is so that you can still set up on them if they happen to hit you with a coverage option on switch-in, popping your balloon. The aim of the balloon is to come in on said Ground-types and set up on them while they pop your balloon, which is where it comes in handy, as Lairon has about enough bulk to live a few hits to attack a few things.

Lairon probably isn't viability ranking material or anything like that, but it is just something I had a little fun with when I wanted to use a sub-standard 'mon

 

[Kingler]

Metal Burst was used on this thing in SPL (well, NU) and is probably the only niche it could possibly attain; that by itself should receive a slash. Regardless, this thing is very, very niche if not unviable.

 

[CDing93]

So I haven't gone through the whole thread, so this could absolutely have been mentioned (if it has been feel free to delete this post), but I've been having fun with this Mega Banette set I've been using:

Mega Banette @ Banettite
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Att / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Protect
- Disable
- Will-o-Wisp
- Shadow Claw / Shadow Sneak

Back in BW/BW2 I had a lot of fun in OU with Protect/Disable Gengar. While Mega-Ban's speed is definitely nowhere near Gengar's, its saving grace is its ability.

The EVs allow for maximum durability and attack, while the 4 speed EVs prevent Mega-Ban from running a speed tie with other base-65s such as Alomomola

Prankster allows Mega-Ban to play a utility role while making its speed an nonissue. Protect not only gives a turn of scouting moves, but if you predict a switch, you can either cripple whatever comes in with Will-o or you can deal massive damage with Shadow Claw. Disable also can also prevent Pursuit trapping from Skuntank, Drapion, and Spiritomb, among others.

Shadow Sneak can be used instead if you want priority over power. Personally I prefer Shadow Claw because it can force a lot of Mega-Ban's checks into bad situations, calcs below.

Pros:
- Can effectively deal with checks and counters
- Forces a switch against choiced Pokemon, allowing for choice

Cons:
- Use is very limited without clerical support
- Lack of coverage moves places heavy emphasis on prediction

Calcs:

Aromatisse:
252+ Atk Mega Banette Shadow Claw vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Aromatisse: 133-157 (32.7 - 38.6%) -- 99.4% chance to 3HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

Alomomola:
252+ Atk Mega Banette Shadow Claw vs. 120 HP / 136 Def Alomomola: 154-183 (30.7 - 36.5%) -- 60.8% chance to 3HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

Amoonguss:
252+ Atk Mega Banette Shadow Claw vs. 252 HP / 160+ Def Amoonguss: 150-177 (34.7 - 40.9%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock and Black Sludge recovery

Skuntank:
252+ Atk Mega Banette Shadow Claw vs. 16 HP / 0 Def Skuntank: 104-123 (29.6 - 35%) -- 16.1% chance to 3HKO after Stealth Rock and Black Sludge recovery

Drapion:
SpDefensive:
252+ Atk Mega Banette Shadow Claw vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Drapion: 69-82 (20.1 - 23.9%) -- possible 5HKO after Stealth Rock and Black Sludge recovery
Offensive:
252+ Atk Mega Banette Shadow Claw vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Drapion: 69-81 (24.5 - 28.8%) -- guaranteed 4HKO after Stealth Rock

Spiritomb:
Blackglasses:
252+ Atk Mega Banette Shadow Claw vs. 212 HP / 0 Def Spiritomb: 141-166 (47.9 - 56.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
Defensive:
252+ Atk Mega Banette Shadow Claw vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Spiritomb: 103-123 (33.8 - 40.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery