ORAS NU Bouquet

[shiloh]

​

So with basically a brand new NU tier coming around in December, and SPL right around the corner, Hootie and I decided to archive a team that has had a lot of success for both of use and the people we passed it to, both in ladder and in the NU Open. Originally we were going to do separate RMTs before parting ways to the current NU meta, but we decided doing one together would be more fun. There also hasn't been that many great NU RMTs in the past few months, so by keeping this out there we hope to give everyone a snapshot of what a more Offensive Balance build looks like in NU. This team is also a bit of "Set Up" Spam, as 4 of the 6 mons have a boosting move on their moveset which is very key to overwhelming the multitude of more offensive Balance Squads that have been spammed in NU on the ladder or in tours.

This team was made around Round Two of Open, with both of us wanting to utilize a really underrated mon in Arbok. The team went on to be used by people like steelphoenix and shaneghoul in Open. But anyway, onto the team...​

**kanye
Arbok @

Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature

- Coil

- Gunk Shot

- Seed Bomb

- Sucker Punch

So as I said, we started building around Arbok, which is really underrated in the current meta. It has amazing great side coverage, which in combination with a strong STAB and Priority makes it a big threat to both Offensive and Defensive teams. Most games it can easily come in on common mons like Lanturn, Lilligant, and Audino among others, and Intimidate gives it a cushion against strong Physical attackers like Archeops and Tauros. Seed Bomb is generally not expected when people are facing Arbok, as most people will just assume its running Earthquake, so being able to put huge dents in walls like Rhydon / Quagsire is great for the rest of the team. Against more offensive teams, it is not that hard to get a Coil off against Physical Attackers at -1, like Tauros and Archeops, which can barely do anything even with Earthquake. From there Arbok can just spam Sucker Punch against frailer fast threats like Swellow, Floatzel, and Rotom, or use Gunk Shot against things that can't really damage Arbok back like Scyther or Skuntank. Against more defensive builds Arbok doesn't really have that great of a match up, as they usually pack Poisons like Weezing which can just burn Arbok, or Steel types like Ferroseed which Arbok can't hope to touch. However against balanced builds common poison types like Garbodor are usually just set up fodder for Arbok, as they can't touch it and Arbok can just coil up till it 2HKOs with Gunk Shot.

Onto the moveset, this is basically the standard Arbok spread which is based around Coil. There is the strong STAB in Gunk Shot, which can't miss after a Coil boost which is very usefull when Arbok is pulling off a sweep. Seed Bomb is a bit different, but it is really useful for defensively oriented teams with mons like Rhydon and Quagsire, which are otherwise solid switch ins to Arbok. Sucker is great priority against offensive teams, and it allows Arbok to act as a revenge killer against weakened mons and frailer threats. Lum was the item of choice, as it allows Arbok to dodge Scald burns, paralysis, and gives the team a much better check to Lilligant, since it isn't able to be put to sleep and can just OHKO back with Gunk Shot. Intimidate was the ability of choice as it allows Arbok to beat common Physical Attackers, and Shed Skin is pretty useless with a Lum Berry. Other options could be moves like Earthquake or Aqua Tail over Seed Bomb, Earthquake preventing it from being set up fodder for Klinklang / Pawniard, and Aqua Tail dealing more damage to Rhydon and other bulky grounds like Piloswine. A Shuca Berry or Life Orb can be used over Lum, but the inability to take status moves really does hurt Arbok in the long run.

Overall Arbok is a pretty key member to this team, as it provides a buffer for Physical Attackers as well as being able to lure in and remove bulky grounds.​

I wanna be like Kanye
I'll be the King of me always
Do what I want and have it my way
All day, like Kanye-eah, yeah, yeah

**new york city
Pyroar @

Ability: Unnerve
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature

- Fire Blast

- Will-O-Wisp

- Hyper Voice

- Hidden Power [Grass]

The next member of this team is Pyroar, which fits the role of a strong special attacker that appreciates damage being done on the opposing team's Water and Rock types in order to have a easier time cleaning late game. Pyroar itself is great at cleaning up Balanced teams with some prior damage due to the combination of its High Speed + Special Attack Stat backed by great STABs. Its also one of two Special Attackers on the team, and the only one with any Offensive Presence so keeping it alive against teams with primarily physical walls is usually key. Pyroar excells against balanced teams since it is very easy to overwhelm their fire resists (usually stuff like Lanturn which lacks recovery) and then Pyroar can just come back to fire off more moves throughout the match. It also does decently against offensive teams once it manages to come in safely, which is usually off of a U-turn from Peli / Scyther. From there it is usually able to secure a kill since Offensively oriented teams really do not have much for Fire STAB. Its toughest match up is definitely against bulky teams, which is luckily a rare sight in this meta, and thats mainly because it gets worn down very quickly through Hazards + LO recoil and does not really have the longevity to do that much against teams that have consistent and reliable forms of recovery.

We decided to go with Wisp Pyroar on this team since the ability to spread status is really nice against offense and balance teams alike. Its also really nice for dodging sucker punches from the likes of Skuntank / Shiftry and crippling them for the other members of this team. The rest of the moveset is pretty standard, with Fire Blast and Hyper Voice providing strong and reliable STABs, and Hidden Power Grass rounding off its perfect neutral coverage and hitting things like Rhydon as hard as possible. Life Orb was chosen over another item like Flame Plate since we have a reliable way to remove hazards on this team, and Pyroar appreciates all the power it is able to get. Flame Plate is still an option to keep Pyroar healthier and being able to bluff Choice Specs, which can be a reliable way to get rid of annoying mons like Rhydon / Lanturn depending on the move you go for.​

New York City, please go easy on me tonight
New York City, please go easy on this heart of mine
Cause I'm losing my lover to the arms of another
New York City, please go easy on me tonight

**erase
Scyther @

Ability: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature

- Wing Attack

- Roost

- U-turn

- Swords Dance

Scyther is undoubtedly one of the best and most threatening mons in the current NU meta, which is mainly due to its combination of Speed, Defenses, and Offensive Presence. On this team, Scyther provides a pivot in the sense it can come in on a lot of common threats and just U-Turn around the other team in order to regain momentum and keep in on our side. Scyther's best match up is definitely against bulkier offensive teams, as its speed tier allows it to U-Turn around them and get a lot of damage on the opposing team quickly with the combination of U-Turn + Stealth Rock. Scyther also has a good match up against common offense teams in the meta, since it has the bulk to withstand multiple hits from offensive threats like Kangaskhan and Tauros, and retaliate back with Aerial Aces or U-Turns. Scyther's hardest match up is definetly against defensively oriented teams where things like Rhydon, Quagsire, and Weezing all dominate and make Scyther's life incredibely difficult. While it can still U-Turn around on most of these mons, it will usually end up just falling to Scald Burns, Stealth Rock damage racking up, and just general chip damage from moves like Dazzling Gleam from Audino, or Psyshocks from things like Xatu.

The moveset is standard from Eviolite Scyther, and thats for a good reason. Wing Attack is great when backed by Technician as it becomes a 90BP Flying STAB that a lot of teams only prepare for with Flimsy Flying resists like Lanturn and Rhydon, both of which are easily chipped at with hazards + U-Turn. Roost is just there for reliable recovery so Scyther can check threats like Kangaskhan and Tauros multiple times, instead of just being a one time switch in. And Swords Dance gives it Offensive Presence, and makes sure we don't lose to threats like Calm Mind Audino, as Scyther is able to just boost up alongside it and eventually outdamage it. EVs give it as much bulk as possible, while still maintaining Scyther's amazing speed tier, and Eviolite just maximizes the total possible bulk Scyther can have. There really isn't that many other options for what to run on Scyther, as its a very straightforward mon with an already defined, and solid, niche in the current metagame.​

My heart is a broken machine
Need you to come set me free
Keep on playing the music baby
Keep on playing the music baby

 

[Hootie]

**roses
Shiftry @

Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature

- Knock Off

- Sucker Punch

- Seed Bomb

- Swords Dance

Before Shiftry came into the tier, NU lacked Pokemon that can deal serious damage with Knock Off and due to most defensive Pokemon in the tier being overly reliant on their items, mostly Leftovers and Eviolite, Shiftry was definitely anticipated to be a potent threat. As expected, Shiftry is among the most powerful Pokemon in NU with a great STAB combination and the second most powerful priority in the tier making this monster a huge threat. Shiftry is to be played more aggressively than the other members on this team and is generally best left to use Knock Off in the early stages of the game to wear down the foe's defensive Pokemon. A powerful Sucker Punch ensures that Shiftry holds its weight against faster threats such as Archeops, Tauros, and Floatzel. Shiftry is also valuable in that it provides as a way to scare out any bulky Water-type, thus netting setup opportunities, though it cannot directly switch in to these 'Mons because Scald burns often make this risky, not to mention bulky Water-types often have ways to hit it such as Pelipper having U-turn or Hurricane and Lanturn having either Thunder Wave or Toxic. If the opponent doesn't have a Mega Audino or bulky Poison-type on their team, it's almost assured that Shiftry will put in some serious work.

The moveset and EV spread is as standard as it gets. Swords Dance makes Shiftry the threat that it is, capable on demolishing any offensive team after a boost, while overwhelming any balanced inclined teams. Knock Off is Shiftry's most powerful and spammable STAB, which nothing in the tier generally likes to switch into, with the sole exception being Mega Audino. Sucker Punch as stated earlier, is the second most powerful priority move in the tier, just shy behind the power of Cacturne's. Because most faster Pokemon in NU rarely if ever use Substitute, Sucker Punch is relatively risk free to use against them. Seed Bomb is a nice secondary STAB that dispatched many defensive Pokemon with no issues such as Rhydon, Carracosta, Quagsire, and Lanturn. Life Orb amplifies Shiftry's attacks to great levels and causes its attacks to still sting even when unboosted. A Lum Berry is an alternative to let Shiftry freely set up against Scald users which is otherwise a risky move for it, but the power drop is so significant that it seems like a waste. It basically trades some of its value early-game in order to have a more consistent chance to sweep late-game.​

Oh, I'll be your daydream, I'll wear your favorite things
We could be beautiful
Get drunk on the good life, I'll take you to paradise
Say you'll never let me go

**good intentions
Rhydon @

Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 252 HP / 16 Atk / 228 SpD / 12 Spe
Adamant Nature

- Stealth Rock

- Rock Blast

- Earthquake

- Swords Dance

Rhydon is like the Primal Groudon of NU in the sense of how many builds this 'Mon can fit on and be incredibly successful. Rhydon fills a crucial role in being the teams answer to Normal-types such as Tauros and Kangaskhan, as well a softcheck to some Flying- and Fire-types, bringing the whole team together by filling in a lot of the gaps. Rhydon is also the best Stealth Rock user in the tier considering it puts pressure on a ton of hazard removal 'Mons, most notably Xatu, which some teams are overly reliant on for keeping hazards off the field making Rhydon all the more valuable. Against teams that rely on Garbodor to check physical attackers, Rhydon excels greatly and because of this, it forms incredible synergy with most notably Shiftry, which both take down each others answers. Because of this team's reliance on Rhydon to check a multitude of threats, it can be matched up in games where it's pressured to check more than it can, which is when the team is at its weakest.

Stealth Rock was needed on the team so this was an obvious choice. Earthquake is Rhydon's most consistent and powerful STAB moves and does great damage, even with as little Attack investment as this set has, to all neutral targets. Rock Blast was chosen primarily to break past some Focus Sash users such as Vivillon, lead Crustle, and lead Archeops, while also having slightly better accuracy than Stone Edge. Swords Dance is used in order to overwhelm some physically bulky Pokemon that would otherwise give this team issues such as Mega Audino, Regirock, and Miltank. Megahorn is also an option to nail Claydol, which is one of the hardest stops to this Rhydon set. EV spread is fairly standard with maximum HP and a good amount of Special Defense investment to better take advantage of the boost from Eviolite. The rest of the EVs go into Attack and combined with an Adamant nature, gives Rhydon a bit more of a punch to its attacks.​

I promised I'd be good
But I can't help myself from these temptations
When they come, there's nothing I can do
I promised I'd be good

**waterbed
Pelipper @

Ability: Keen Eye
EVs: 252 HP / 56 Def / 200 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 30 Spe

- Defog

- Roost

- Scald

- U-turn

The last member of this team and probably one of the more important ones, serving as a check to some potent physical attackers such as Swords Dance Samurott and an additional check to Choice Band Sawk, while also providing valuable hazard control support in the form of Defog. Despite Pelipper deviating from the rest of the team's offensive nature, it fits very well on here thanks to being of the few hazard control 'Mons that can keep up offensive momentum with U-turn, unlike other Defoggers in NU such as Prinplup. Pelipper is also the only Defogger with access to reliable recovery, ensuring that it stays healthy and is always ready to clear the field of Stealth Rock for Scyther and Pyroar. The only downside to Pelipper is that despite being a bulky Water-type, it struggles to check some prominent physical attackers such as Rhydon and Kabutops, both of which can swiftly take down Pelipper with their Rock-type STAB. The Stealth Rock weakness can also be an issue because the team is heavily reliant on hazards to be off the field in order to be successful. Offensive teams don't give Pelipper much breathing room either, causing it to struggle to do its intended role.

A mixed defensive spread is used to take on some special attackers such as Floatzel and Ludicolo, while still being able to counteract against Swords Dance Samurott, which could otherwise cause issues for this team should Shiftry be weakened enough or eliminated. 30 Speed IVs is primarily to 'outslow' other Pelipper to ensure that it can always take a hit, then proceed to U-turn to ensure it can bring frailer 'Mons such as Pyroar and Shiftry in safely. U-turn also works great because Pelipper tends to bait in Lanturn, which Pelipper can freely use U-turn against to bring Shiftry in and scare it out. Defog is there because the team needs a way to get rid of hazards considering two members are weak to Stealth Rock, particularly Scyther. Scald is Scald lol, don't think this one needs to be explained. Leftovers is crucial for Pelipper as otherwise it gets worn down way too easily and is forced to Roost more often, costing the team its precious offensive momentum. Everything on this set irreplacable, as Hurricane is really not necessary and gives up U-turn. The only thing that could change with this set is having some Special Defense investment to better take on Ludicolo, but that already requires the use of Hurricane as is, making it sub-optimal​

Tonight, light a fire
We'll be flying up higher
Burning bright, taking flight
As we leave all our worries behind

Vivillon: With its ability to boost to out speed our entire team at +1, and having a great combination of coverage in Hurricane + Energy Ball that allows it to break through our sole Flying-resist, Vivillon is a terror to face. Arbok can revenge if it hasn't burnt its Lum Berry, and Shiftry can force mind games with Sucker Punch, but either than that Vivillon is very scary to our team.

Water / Rock-types: While they can only really set up on Scyther, these 'Mons all pose a huge threat to this team. The only way we can revenge them is with Shiftry, which is at best a speed tie against Kabutops.

Archeops: Most variants of Archeops are easily handled by Rhydon, but the real problem starts when they have Aqua Tail + Stone Edge, or an other way to get around Rhydon + Peliperr.

Normal Types: Especially when used together in a Normal Spam core they can very easily overwhelm our single normal resist and just run train through the rest of our team, though Scyther can handle any of these threats on its own as well.

Aurorus: On paper Aurorus is a huge threat to this team, and every time it can come in safely it basically does get a guaranteed kill since Pyroar is a really bad Ice resist. Also, the rare Rock Polish set puts a number on our team, as we need to get chip damage off before even attempting to kill it with Shiftry's Sucker Punch, while it can OHKO the rest of our team in the meantime.

The team overall has had some decent success on the ladder as well as getting some use from players in this season's NU Open, but with the new meta shift coming, this team would likely have to retire considering a lot may change this December to the point where the team cannot adapt. It's a good showcase that offense is one the better playstyles in NU and setup spam makes it all the more fun to use. We hoped that we could have included replays of the team being used in tours like Open, but sadly the majority of time the team was being used replays were down and we weren’t able to recover them . This team did have success for us on the ladder however, as metaphysical was able to ladder up to top 20 before the ladder reset. This is probably one of our favorite teams we made for this shift, so I hope all you enjoyed reading through this RMT (shoutouts to those who read the RMT in full).

Format is credited to Crystalised

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look at the previous post if your curious on why you were tagged ;o;

So I'm just going to tag the few people that I really talk to the most, and if you weren't included we should talk more n_n, this is also in no particular order: Kiyo, iplaytennislol, Disenchanted, Cased, steelphoenix, Disjunction, Finchinator, Shaneghoul, SilverReaper21, Rapture., petyer, Always!, Shiba, Vapo, scald, Raseri, ryan, boltsandbombers, KyleCole, Blast, Can-Eh-Dian, qsns, Transmuter, @toxiderp

My Shoutouts

Not gonna make these long because I'd rather wait on my 1k for that, but if I tagged you here I think you're pretty cool :o (no particular order here)
astroboy, Little Hulk, boltsandbombers, Celticpride, Disjunction, bludz, Arikado, CanadianWifier, Magnemite, Luck O' the Irish, Tokyo Tom, AM, -kal-, fleggumfl, FookMi?, Recreant, Tressed, Trinitrotoluene, xzern, Misaka Mikoto, The Dutch Plumberjack, P Squared, Karxrida, Minus, Spy, NV, Kurona, Snobalt

​

 

[Rapture]

Offensive Arbok / LO Pyroar / Bulky Scyther / SD Shiftry / Offensive rocks Rhydon / Defensive Pelipper

Hi friends, one way that could help the team struggle less versus faster threats is by adding another priority user in SD Samurott over Pelipper. This still gives you another water check alongside Shiftry while giving yourself another win condition that has powerful priority in Aqua Jet to smack around things like Archeops and Aurorus which you mentioned were threats.
Because of that change, however, you'll need another form of hazard removal to make sure hazards aren't annoying. To this end, I recommend changing the Shiftry set to an offensive mixed set with Defog. This change still is able to check faster mons with Sucker Punch while gaining a bit more utility since you can defog on common rocks setters like Rhydon and Carracosta a bit easier.

Sets

Shiftry @ Black Glasses
Ability: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Sucker Punch
- Knock Off
- Leaf Storm
- Defog

Samurott @ Wave Incense
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 120 HP / 252 Atk / 136 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Aqua Jet
- Waterfall
- Megahorn
- Swords Dance

Overall this is a pretty impressive team you guys have managed to make. Both of you keep up the good work n_n