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Project NU Matchmaking Reinvigorated (Again) [Week 11 - Swords Dance Shiftry] VOTING
- Thread starter nv
- Start date
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Meta's Scyther
With 5 votes, metaphysical's johning skills have worked in his favor, giving him the win for Week 1!
Onto this week...
This mon has been pretty fun / "underrated" for quite some time and I feel we should bring to light just how good it is with its lack of solid checks and only few counters. Welcome, Choice Specs Aurorus!!!
Have fun you guys and see you on ~Thursday!
Onto this week...
This mon has been pretty fun / "underrated" for quite some time and I feel we should bring to light just how good it is with its lack of solid checks and only few counters. Welcome, Choice Specs Aurorus!!!
Aurorus @ Choice Specs
Ability: Refrigerate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hyper Voice
- Earth Power
- Freeze-Dry
- Psychic
Ability: Refrigerate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hyper Voice
- Earth Power
- Freeze-Dry
- Psychic
Have fun you guys and see you on ~Thursday!
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Combusken @ Life Orb | Speed Boost
Timid Nature | 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Fire Blast / Focus Blast / Baton Pass / Protect
Combusken breaks apart Steel / Rock Types like Regirock and Ferroseed both of which are solid Aurorus Switch-ins. It's also able to pass speed boosts to Aurorus, which is very scary at +1 or +2. This core has problems with Hariyama mainly, so a Psychic- or Flying-type would work really nicely with these two.
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Dr Ciel
Banned deucer.
There's no escape and time is running out
Heaven can wait come hell or high water
Hell Or High Water (Prinplup)
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Defog
- Scald
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic
Prinplup makes for an excellent partner to Choice Specs Aurorus for a number of reasons. Aurorus is naturally weak to Stealth Rock & Prinplup is an excellent Pokemon for Defog thanks to its solid mono-Water typing, and somewhat good bulk on both ends of the spectrum. Prinplup also can switch into the Water and Steel type Pokemon that Aurorus hates, including Pawniard, Samurott, and Kabutops. Prinplup can also set its own Stealth Rock, In return, Aurorus can beat common Grass types that threaten Prinplup, including Exeggutor, Ludicolo, and Shiftry.
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Lilligant @ Life Orb
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Sleep Powder
- Quiver Dance
- Giga Drain
- Hidden Power [Fire]
While Lilligant doesn't offer much defensively outside of a water/ground resist, she takes advantage of all the walls that Aurorus lures in and weakens. Things like Hariyama and Magmortar give Lilligant a lot of issues, but are often times also the switch-in for Aurorus. With a well timed coverage move (or even just spamming Hyper Voice), enough damage is dealt to them that Lilligant can come in and sweep later. Outside of that, double switching between the too is fairly easy since they lure in stuff the other can take advantage off.
Musharna @ Colbur Berry / Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 240 HP / 252 Def / 16 SpD
Bold Nature
- Psychic
- Moonlight
- Baton Pass
- Thunder Wave
Maybe not the best set in this meta, but it is an excellent partner for Aurorus. For one, it provides a Fighting resist which is very important to have paired with Aurorus given its nasty 4x weakness and how common Fighting-types are. Thunder Wave helps out by slowing down faster threats which are also troublesome for Aurorus given its very subpar Speed, being revenge killed fairly easily is one of Aurorus' bigger flaws to account for. Lastly, a slow Baton Pass is handy to get in Aurorus safely without having to take a hit. This core gets rolled over by some setup sweepers like SD Samurott and Klinklang, so be sure to account for those.
NO JOHNS NO JOHNS NO JOHNS NO JOHNS NO JOHNS
Hariyama @ Assault Vest
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 Atk / 128 Def / 112 SpD / 16 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Knock Off
- Heavy Slam
- Fake Out
What it does: Hariyama provides a great switch in to a lot of the things tht want to come in on aurorus, bar itself and tankdon(at full). Thick Fat allows it to come in on the fire types, and makes it a nice way to get rid of opposing ice types. This makes your stab more spammable. the evs in defense also allow it to switch into most rock type attacks. Fake Out is good priority, helping break sturdy and focus sashes, heavy slam is a 3hko on mdino, so bullet punch is still useable, and so is earthquake in this slot to hit Garbodor's fat ass.
Playstyle synergy: Hariyama and aurorus provide a cool(heh) offensive core as they allow each other good room to spam super strong moves as aurorus can clear away bulky ass psychics that ruin hari's life, and hari gets rid of stupid shit like ferroseed, but idk why that's switching it to specs refrig hvoice anyway. :??
Alternate Options: An Ev Spread of 252/252 is also useable if you've paired this with another check to rock types anyway, it also gives for more switch ins to mortar and other non-psychic freezy dinos. A Choice Banded Hariyama, or a Guts Assault Vest are useable as they still provide switch ins to ice and fire types.
What it loses to: No core is perfect. especially with the bse having so many weaknesses. This core struggles to switch in to fighting types, like opposing hari and sawk. Something like Bolts' Musharna is probably the best 3rd mon for this core.
Hariyama @ Assault Vest
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 Atk / 128 Def / 112 SpD / 16 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Knock Off
- Heavy Slam
- Fake Out
What it does: Hariyama provides a great switch in to a lot of the things tht want to come in on aurorus, bar itself and tankdon(at full). Thick Fat allows it to come in on the fire types, and makes it a nice way to get rid of opposing ice types. This makes your stab more spammable. the evs in defense also allow it to switch into most rock type attacks. Fake Out is good priority, helping break sturdy and focus sashes, heavy slam is a 3hko on mdino, so bullet punch is still useable, and so is earthquake in this slot to hit Garbodor's fat ass.
Playstyle synergy: Hariyama and aurorus provide a cool(heh) offensive core as they allow each other good room to spam super strong moves as aurorus can clear away bulky ass psychics that ruin hari's life, and hari gets rid of stupid shit like ferroseed, but idk why that's switching it to specs refrig hvoice anyway. :??
Alternate Options: An Ev Spread of 252/252 is also useable if you've paired this with another check to rock types anyway, it also gives for more switch ins to mortar and other non-psychic freezy dinos. A Choice Banded Hariyama, or a Guts Assault Vest are useable as they still provide switch ins to ice and fire types.
What it loses to: No core is perfect. especially with the bse having so many weaknesses. This core struggles to switch in to fighting types, like opposing hari and sawk. Something like Bolts' Musharna is probably the best 3rd mon for this core.
Ninetales @ Life Orb
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 8 HP / 248 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Fire Blast
- Energy Ball
- Psyshock
Ninetales is a pretty nice offensive partner for Aurorus because it does a great job at weakening or straight up breaking down Thick Fat users such as Hariyama, other Fire and / or Ice checks such as Assault Vest Magmortar, Lanturn, Klinklang, and special walls in general so that Aurorus can spam strong Choice Specs-boosted Hyper Voices. With proper prediction Aurorus does pretty much the same for Ninetales, so one of the two usually would manage to make a breakthrough. Definitely note that this is an offensive partner though, and you'll still need teammates to reliably switch into Fighting-, Ground-, and Water-types.
Vivillon @ Focus Sash
Ability: Compound Eyes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Sleep Powder
- Hurricane
- Quiver Dance
- Energy Ball
Vivillon makes a great partner for Aurorus. Not only do they both constantly make people rage, but they share a pretty good offensive synergy. To put things simply these two share some common checks and help to wear them down (i.e. Magmortar) and can get past counters that the other pokemon struggle with (i.e. Hariyama)
Pyroar @ Choice Specs
Ability: Unnerve
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Fire Blast
- Hyper Voice
- Overheat
- Hidden Power [Grass]
Specs Spam is fun. Pyroar and aurorus pair well together as they can break down each others checks, aurorus sheer power allows it to weaken pyroar switch ins like av magmortar and yama while pyroars great speed and fire typing also it to deal with the fast aurorus checks such as klinklang. A grass type such as torterra or vileplume can work well with them to deal with the obvious water and stone weakness
My nomination for Aurorus is Vileplume!
Vileplume @ Assault Vest
Ability: Effect Spore
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Modest Nature
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Moonblast / Infestation
Explanation
So I chose this weird Vileplume set because I think it compliments Choice Specs Aurorus quite well. Vileplume resists many of Aurorus's weaknesses such as Fighting and Water, while having the options and also bulk to deal with Fighting, Grass, Steel, Ground and Rock types. Aurorus on the other hand, deals with the some of the Fire, Ice and Flying types that Vileplume is weak to.
Having an Assault Vest on Vileplume allows it to take many super-effective moves really well while being able to heavily damage the opposing threat. The extra bulk on HP and SpD investments coupled with Assault Vest allow Vileplume to live the "super-effective coverage moves (non stab)" really well (such as Ice Punch from Sawk and Fire Blast from Weezing). Vileplume is also a good switch in to priority moves that damage Aurorus badly such as Bullet Punch, Aqua Jet and Mach Punch. Giga Drain is Vileplume's main way to deal with Aurorus's Water type weakness and also it is main source of recovery. Sludge Bomb is another stab move that deals with the Grass types that naturally out speed Aurorus such as Ludicolo, Lilligant and Shiftry. Hidden Power [Fire] deals with the Steel Types and provide coverage for annoying Bug types such as Vivillon and Scyther. Lastly, Infestation is meant to trap in vulnerable targets who are unaware of the viability of this set and watch them struggle to switch out, while Moonblast provides coverage against Fighting types.
What this core lacks
Psychic Type Coverage- Aurorus isn't very reliable on taking out Psychic type threats that Vileplume is weak to. Also, fast Psychic types such as Jynx can easily take out Aurorus with their coverage moves.
Rapid Spin/Defog Support- Since Aurorus will be switching out a lot, having hazards on the field will make it a lot harder for Aurorus to switch in and out. However, Vileplume will be able to get rid of Toxic Spikes as long as it is alive.
"Hard Hitters" Coverage- Pokemon such as Tauros and Kangaskhan can severely chunk Vileplume with Double Edge due to the lack of Def investments.
Archeops- The only thing it has to be afraid of is Stone Edge or Rock Slide missing Aurorus. Also Vileplume is unable to take an Acrobatics well. However, it is very easy to take Archeops out if it gets crippled or in Defeatist range.
Vileplume @ Assault Vest
Ability: Effect Spore
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Modest Nature
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Moonblast / Infestation
Explanation
So I chose this weird Vileplume set because I think it compliments Choice Specs Aurorus quite well. Vileplume resists many of Aurorus's weaknesses such as Fighting and Water, while having the options and also bulk to deal with Fighting, Grass, Steel, Ground and Rock types. Aurorus on the other hand, deals with the some of the Fire, Ice and Flying types that Vileplume is weak to.
Having an Assault Vest on Vileplume allows it to take many super-effective moves really well while being able to heavily damage the opposing threat. The extra bulk on HP and SpD investments coupled with Assault Vest allow Vileplume to live the "super-effective coverage moves (non stab)" really well (such as Ice Punch from Sawk and Fire Blast from Weezing). Vileplume is also a good switch in to priority moves that damage Aurorus badly such as Bullet Punch, Aqua Jet and Mach Punch. Giga Drain is Vileplume's main way to deal with Aurorus's Water type weakness and also it is main source of recovery. Sludge Bomb is another stab move that deals with the Grass types that naturally out speed Aurorus such as Ludicolo, Lilligant and Shiftry. Hidden Power [Fire] deals with the Steel Types and provide coverage for annoying Bug types such as Vivillon and Scyther. Lastly, Infestation is meant to trap in vulnerable targets who are unaware of the viability of this set and watch them struggle to switch out, while Moonblast provides coverage against Fighting types.
What this core lacks
Psychic Type Coverage- Aurorus isn't very reliable on taking out Psychic type threats that Vileplume is weak to. Also, fast Psychic types such as Jynx can easily take out Aurorus with their coverage moves.
Rapid Spin/Defog Support- Since Aurorus will be switching out a lot, having hazards on the field will make it a lot harder for Aurorus to switch in and out. However, Vileplume will be able to get rid of Toxic Spikes as long as it is alive.
"Hard Hitters" Coverage- Pokemon such as Tauros and Kangaskhan can severely chunk Vileplume with Double Edge due to the lack of Def investments.
Archeops- The only thing it has to be afraid of is Stone Edge or Rock Slide missing Aurorus. Also Vileplume is unable to take an Acrobatics well. However, it is very easy to take Archeops out if it gets crippled or in Defeatist range.
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Ok voting time!
We got metaphysical's Combusken, Dr Ciel's Prinplup, Tangelo's Lilligant, boltsandbombers's Musharna, lolbro's Hariyama, -Grim's Ninetales, Kiyo's Vivillon, Shaneghoul's Pyroar, and Twerkerella's Vileplume.
My vote is for the ultimate johner, metaphysical. See you guys Monday! :)
We got metaphysical's Combusken, Dr Ciel's Prinplup, Tangelo's Lilligant, boltsandbombers's Musharna, lolbro's Hariyama, -Grim's Ninetales, Kiyo's Vivillon, Shaneghoul's Pyroar, and Twerkerella's Vileplume.
My vote is for the ultimate johner, metaphysical. See you guys Monday! :)
voting for metaphysical
tangelo's lilligant
KIYO Vivillon
Did you just steal my post in the cores thread? Lol
Pyroar @ Choice Specs
Ability: Unnerve
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Fire Blast
- Hyper Voice
- Overheat
- Hidden Power [Grass]
Specs Spam is fun. Pyroar and aurorus pair well together as they can break down each others checks, aurorus sheer power allows it to weaken pyroar switch ins like av magmortar and yama while pyroars great speed and fire typing also it to deal with the fast aurorus checks such as klinklang. A grass type such as torterra or vileplume can work well with them to deal with the obvious water and stone weakness
boltsandbombers' musharna
Pyroar is the only true partner, so voting for Shaneghoul
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