Project ORAS Pokemon of the Week MK. 3 - read post 138 pls

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Base Stats: 75 HP / 75 Atk / 95 Def / 75 SpA / 75 SpD / 113 Spe
Abilities: Overgrow / Contrary

Serperior is not something you would usually consider as a top tier threat. It's offenses are shadowed by its defenses, which are lackluster to begin with, and Grass is a pretty bad offensive STAB. It also has a coverage movepool consisting of Dragon Pulse and Hidden Power, which seriously limits the targets it can hit. However, Contrary turns Leaf Storm from a single use nuke into a ridiculous boosting move, allowing it to both pressure things with its STAB and boost up at the same time. These free boosts, coupled with Serperior's solid speed tier, allow it to steamroll through teams once a few checks are removed, gaining power as it goes.
  • Which teams and cores does Serperior do well with?
  • What Pokemon prevent Serperior from sweeping?
  • Where does Serperior stand in the current meta?
 
  • Works well in FWG cores to break down bulky waters so Pokemon such as Zard X can sweep. Also functions as a decent stallbreaker by overpowering teams with boosted Leaf Storms and Taunting walls.
  • Mega Venusaur and Amoonguss, enough said. Basically everything that resists Leaf Storm/ Dragon Pulse, and whatever isn't hit by the coverage move that Serp chooses (Ex. If HP fire, tran counters it; if HP ground, ferro counters it, etc). It's threatened by many of OU's faster Pokemon, such as Raikou (HP ice), Weavile, Mega Aero, Mega Lop, Torn-T... yeah there's quite a few. While it does have a great speed tier, there are still plenty of fast mons that check Serp.
  • Serperior is honestly always viable, or at least considerable (imo) thanks to Contrary Leaf Storm being able to obliterate weakened teams. Currently I see it as solidly A rank (as in either A or A- but definitely one of the two). Definitely a threat that every team needs an answer to.
Additionally, I'm really happy that Serp's HA got released. I remember first looking at it in BW and thinking, "Holy balls, this thing is really mediocre. Cool design, but it does absolutely nothing." Thank god that changed.
 
Serperior works best as a Stallbreaker who can also threaten to sweep slower, unprepared teams once it manages to accumulate boosts by spamming Leaf Storm. It works best as a secondary sweeper and is charged at breaking down bulky Waters and Grounds so that a teammate such as Mega Charizard-X can sweep.

Having said that, Serperior's SpA leaves a lot to be desired as 75 SpA is pathetically weak so it depends too much on getting the first Leaf Storm boost to work well. This really cannot be understated because Life Orb-boosted Dragon Pulse only has a 1.2% chance to 2HKO Latias, and Hidden Power Fire will fail to get the 2HKO on Ferrothorn if unboosted by Life Orb. A shallow offensive movepool which is limited to Leaf Storm, Dragon Pulse and Hidden Power doesn't offer too much either. While Serperior does have interesting options such as Taunt, Knock Off, Glare and Giga Drain, it runs into a case of 4MSS because it struggles to fit everything into 1 set. Leaf Storm and Dragon Pulse are mandatory so that leaves Hidden Power Ground (Heatran, Mega Charizard-X), Hidden Power Fire (Mega Scizor, Ferrothorn, Skarmory), Hidden Power Rock (Mega Charizards, Talonflame), Taunt, Knock Off and Glare all vying for the 2 available slots - leaving it walled easily. The aforementioned 75 SpA means that unless it hits a target Super Effectively, the damage output is going to be less impressive. It also gets hopelessly walled by Mega Altaria, Tornadus-T, Zapdos and Mega Venusaur in addition to the specific threats it didn't cover by Hidden Power.

Finally, Serperior, while fast, finds itself outpaced by Starmie, Weavile, Mega Aerodactyl and Talonflame, all of which can KO it while it can do nothing in return (except against Starmie) . Serperior also needs to predict correctly most of the time when facing does like Tornadus-T, who will most likely outlast it through Regenerator.
 
Sorry for the break, been occupied recently but we'll be back to doing this every week.

Base Stats: 100 HP / 75 Atk / 115 Def / 90 SpA / 115 SpD / 85 Spe
Abilities: Pressure / Water Absorb

Suicune hasn't really changed since its introduction in Gen II. Apart from Scald, it hasn't changed much over the years, maintaining the standard movepool typical of a bulky water type. Its defensive stats have always led it towards a defensive use, typically taking advantage of Calm Mind and Rest in order to slowly boost its power and defenses against slow, bulky teams. Its defensive presence allows it to serve as a soft check to several physical threats, being able to switch in and threaten them with a Scald burn. Suicune's ability Pressure, while generally lackluster, allows it to PP stall mons out of useful moves, such as Heatran's Fire Blast, and can also be useful in the lategame in order to force opponents to Struggle.
  • What cores and teams appreciate Suicune's presence?
  • What issues does Suicune have that prevent it from being more effective?
  • Sleep Talk or Roar on the Calm Mind set?
 
  • What cores and teams appreciate Suicune's presence? Balance and Stall. Usually you'll see Suicune as a Physical wall for Steel Weak teams such as Diancie or Clefable. It may even be there to cause attack drops
  • What issues does Suicune have that prevent it from being more effective? Strong Special Attackers that prevent it from setting up like Thundurus and Serperior. Physical attackers aren't as much of a problem since they most likely will be physically defensive and scald burns drop half of your opponent's attack.
  • Sleep Talk or Roar on the Calm Mind set? Sleep Talk in my opinion is much more effective to set up more calm minds during wasted sleep turns.
 
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Gary

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I rarely see Suicune on stall considering how cookie cutter stall is these days (I rarely see anything outside of that gay Mega Sableye/Amoon/Quag/Skarm/Goth) but it works very well on balance and sometimes bulky offense depending on the team. It has great overall synergy with Ferro because it can eat up Electric + Grass moves aimed at Suicune from E-Ball Manaphy, Thundy, and opposing Ferro, as well as setting up Spikes which can help Cune sweep later on. Suicune can shrug off attacks from Heatran, Zard X, Mega Zor, and Talon, as well as use most of them as set up fodder. Zard X is also a really good addition to this core as it patches up the nasty Mega Manec weakness as well as providing a switch in to Serperior, HP Fire Mega Venu, and Zard-Y. Overall, Suicune loves being paired with fat shit that can set hazards as well as a wallbreaker that can muscle through shit it struggles to break through like Ferro, Mega Venu, Mega Alt, and KyuB.

Lots of fat Grass-types such as Ferro, Mega Venu, Celebi, Serp, and Amoonguss give it a lot of issues, thus it needs to be paired with something like Zard-X or Talon which can both set up on them. Thundy and Mega Manec are really strong in the current meta which makes it difficult for Cune to accumulate boosts and sweep, as they can still muscle through Cune even at +1 (NP Thundy is very popular at the moment). KyuB just comes in for free on a CM or eats up a Scald if need be (has to be careful of burn obviously) and does a shit ton of a damage with Fusion Bolt. Kyurem-B in general is just a really big issue for most Cune teams, as it can dismantle most cores that Cune is paired with, especially HP Fire variants which can bop Ferro and Mega Zor. Opposing CM users such as Keldeo, Latios, and Mega Bro can be a hugeeee issue for it, as they can use Cune as set up fodder and hit it on its physical side with Secret Sword of Psyshock respectively.

Depends on the team really. If you're really weak to set up sweepers and need to keep shit like Slowbro, Clef, Manaphy, and bulkier variants of Zard X from potentially setting up on Cune, then use Roar. It also works really well in conjunction with entry hazards, but to be honest, what Cune balance isn't running Spikes? However, when not using Sleep Talk, you really have to ask yourself if you can afford to let Cune be complete set up fodder for a few turns, so I would only use Roar on more defensive teams that have stronger defensive cores to handle most set up sweepers, otherwise they can take advantage of when Cune is forced to Rest and use it as fodder. Sleep Talk is better in most situations because it allows Cune to accumulate boosts a lot quicker, as well as making it a lot less passive in general, which can be useful on less defensive teams.
 
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Base Stats: 65 HP / 136 Atk / 94 Def / 54 SpA / 96 SpD / 135 Spe
Abilities: Scrappy

Funny how one item turns a Pokemon from a joke to a total nightmare. Lopunny's Normal / Fighting STABs, coupled with Scrappy, give it completely unresisted coverage. It's impressive Speed and reasonable Attack allow it to outrun and threaten most fast, frail, mons, giving it a fantastic niche as an offense killer. While the core of Lopunny's movepool is the same, usually using both Return and High Jump Kick, the rest of its movepool is flexible, allowing it to put its decent variety of options to work.
  • What kind of support does Lopunny need to function?
  • What options does Lopunny have for a moveset?
  • Which Pokemon appreciate Lopunny on their team?
 
  • What options does Lopunny have for a moveset?
Between a number of myriad options and two free moveslots due to perfect neutral coverage with STABs alone, Lopunny can do a number of things. In practice, Fake Out tends to be the third move due to ensuring a safe Mega Evolution, although this can be taken advantage of. Ice Punch takes care of Garchomp and Lando-T. Quick Attack gives her priority. Power-Up Punch allows her to pressure defensive teams. And then she has Toxic, Healing Wish, Substitute, Baton Pass, Encore, Agility (although very little outspeeds her anyway)...lots of options.
 

Gary

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Mega Lopunny excels at tearing apart offense thanks to its insane Speed stat, priority Fake Out, and unresisted STAB coverage. Against bulkier teams however, especially if forgoing PuP, it needs to be paired with something that can break through fat bulky Grounds such as Hippo, Lando-T, and Gliscor, as well as Slowbro, Mega Venu, Skarm, Mew, and other physically bulky Pokemon. KyuB can deal with practically everything I just listed bar Mew and Mega Slowbro, while Weavile can Pursuit trap Mew as well as Slowbro, while dealing a LOT of damage to Hippo and OHKOing Gliscor. Manaphy is a good option too to break down bulky teams, because after a Tail Glow, pretty much everything will fall to its coverage move, allowing Lopunny to easily clean up afterwards. Because Lopunny is frail as fuck it also needs to be paired with something that can eat up priority moves from the likes of Talon, Weavile, and Scizor, so Heatran is a great partner to it, as well as Rotom-W.

All Lop sets run High Jump Kick + Return obviously, and personally I would never run it without Fake Out either seeing as how Fake Out is one of the main reasons why Lop is such a huge pain for offense + it can mega at pretty much any point in the game for free. The last moveslot is very expendable though, and can be tailored to fit your team. Ice Punch is cool to lure Rocky Helm Chomp and Lando-T, but otherwise I hate running that move and would rather run something else. PuP is the most commonly used option, as it allows Lop to have a better shot at breaking through balance which it normally struggles against. There's also Encore which can also be very annoying for bulkier teams as you can lock shit like Slowbro or Hippo into recovery and proceed to PuP if you have that too or switch into something like Manaphy to set up on them for free. There's also Sub, yet another move that can rape offense and protect Lop from Talon + T-wave Thundy/Klefki, and Healing Wish on very offensive teams, although you usually want to keep Lop alive for as long as possible so I don't really like that move. Heal Bell sucks stop using that.

Any team that hates offense will love Lop on their team. As mentioned earlier, Manaphy makes a great partner because it can break apart balance cores while Lop can deal with offense, which can easily force Manaphy out. It also likes being paired with other Pokemon that have similar checks/counters to it so they can weaken them quickly, such as Excadrill, Bisharp, Azu, and Garchomp. Hence why physical spam Mega Lop teams are like really good right now.
 
This thread has kinda been dead for a while, could i take over it for tressed?
I let it be due to low participation, bumping this every week for one or two responses didn't seem like it was worth it. If you think you can generate more discussion, you're welcome to take it over, assuming mods are okay with it.
 

AM

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Tbf these threads die all the time and the discussion is always just obvious stuff :/
 
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