[nyttyn]

Idea by bugmaniacbob
Approved by bugmaniacbob


EIA EIA ALALA SEPHIMOTH

Concept:

Originally Posted by Fat capefeather

Name: Risky Business
(formerly "Living On the Edge")

General Description: This Pokémon is very risky to play, but very rewarding if played correctly.

Justification: Many of the Pokémon that are successful in OU are relatively easy to play or have great "safe" options (e.g. U-turn). Yet, many other Pokémon look very powerful, but are less successful than they could be because of some large risks involved (e.g. Hydreigon), and some aren't successful at all (e.g. Honchkrow). This self-balancing concept intends to explore what it takes for a risky Pokémon to be successful, and how much inherent risk a Pokémon can get away with. It should be emphasized that this concept is NOT about luck management, but rather, it is about what the user can afford to do given his/her opponent's options, and vice versa.

Questions To Be Answered:

• What is the relationship between risk and potential consequences, both positive and negative?
• What kinds of inherently risky tactics are successful in the OU metagame?
• Do risky Pokémon need some form of safe options (e.g. switch-ins) to be successful in OU, or can it get away with having few really safe options?
• How does Substitute, a well-known "safe" move with nearly universal distribution, impact how this Pokémon is built and played?
• How do existing Pokémon use and deal with risky situations?
• Can risky Pokémon be played well in the early game, or are they better off put into action later on?
• How do different playstyles interact with risky situations?

Typing:
Abilities: Weak Armour / Illusion / No Guard
Base Stats: 110 HP / 120 Atk / 99 Def / 117 SpA / 60 SpD / 94 Spe
Movepool:

Originally Posted by Fat Korski

Level-Up Moves

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(14 moves, 6 VGMs)

-Dragon Dance
-Quiver Dance
-Tackle
-String Shot
-Silver Wind
-Sunny Day
7. Silver Wind
14. Sunny Day
21. Heal Pulse
27. Ominous Wind
34. Will-o-Wisp
41. Final Gambit
47. Ancientpower
54. Wish
61. Healing Wish
67. Tail Glow

There are a number of things going on in this Level-Up pool, so I'll start with the overall flavor I was going for when putting it together. I wanted to touch on the celestial themes of the art design, especially the connotations of protection ("guardian angel") and mysticism (a sense of "the unknown," as it were). Dante tells us that angels can be good or evil, and so I've thrown in a touch of both as they almost duel with one another as the Poke levels up, to make the flavor more complex. These elements not only reference the Psychic secondary-typing without being overt, they also play to the "pseudo-legendary" notion of our 600 BST stat spread by implying a greater backstory than meets the eye (not that I have a particular story in mind, but they should lead to plenty of good Pokedex entries). I also tried to experiment with text-blocking and visualization, wherein if you give the list of moves just a quick skim or passing overview, it should make four words jump out at you without you necessarily noticing: Dance, Wind, Heal, and Wish. That is because those words are all repeated more than once amongst the move names themselves and are often spatially situated either near each other (for impact) or far apart (for the reminder-effect). So, you should feel a subliminal sense of whimsy or lightness from those four words' connotations, even as you read through the list word-for-word. If it doesn't work, then oh well; it's a poetry thing, I'm not particularly familiar with it, and it's not super important.

Moving on, I use the Biblically-significant number "3" as the backbone for three consecutive sets of three moves each: Silver Wind / Sunny Day / Heal Pulse ; Ominous Wind / Will-o-Wisp / Final Gambit ; and Ancientpower / Wish / Healing Wish. The core of the movepool, these three sets all have similar progressions of [attack]-->[general aid]-->[specific aid]. The first set (presumably belonging to the "Basic" or "Baby" evolutionary stage) is much more innocent and subdued than the latter two, which focus on the more mature concepts of suffering (Will-o-Wisp to create suffering vs. Wish to remove suffering) and self-sacrifice (Final Gambit to hurt an enemy vs. Healing Wish to help a friend). The narrative of the learnset, based on this progression, is that while Aurumoth (or its pre-evolutions) can be robbed of its innocence and tempted with "evil" or aggression (@Ominous Wind/WoW/Gambit), as it grows and matures (evolves), it becomes more selfless and "good," in the end. I'm thinking if we go for a three-stage evolutionary process, we could choose any sort of method to flavorfully bring it all together, although I personally think activating evolutions at the learning of Ominous Wind and Ancientpower would be most acceptable in this case: the basic stage could be a cutemon, the middle stage emo or something, and the final stage, of course, would be Aurumoth itself (there are even precedents for evolution-by-Ancientpower, including Yanma-->Yanmega). Speaking of Biblical numerology, although less significantly, I also use a lot of the Biblically-significant number "7" in the Level-Up pool: attacks begin to be learned at L7, all attacking moves are learned at a level with a singles digit of "7", and most moves are learned seven levels apart, excepting Ominous Wind, Ancientpower, and Tail Glow, the three of which are learned six levels after their previous moves, for a touch of subliminal mystery (6-6-6 wtf!?). There are also 12 non-Heart Scale moves to be learned, and 12 is a major Biblical number as well.

The movepool as a whole is largely pacifistic, which I thought was appropriate for a seraphim design, and so the only attacks included here are Tackle (out of necessity for a generic starting attack), and then Silver Wind, Ominous Wind, and Ancientpower. I like these moves not only because of their individual flavor merits (irrespective of one another), but also because they are the three moves available that each have a 10% chance of raising all of Aurumoth's stats at once, but with only 5 PP apiece, which is my sort of tongue-in-cheek allusion to the concept, flavor-wise. Ironically, Aurumoth gets all of its best stat-boosting moves here as well, either by leveling up to Tail Glow or by going to the Move Relearner with a Heart Scale or two to unlock the secret Dancing powers it never knew it had.

Aurumoth gets three recovery moves here: Heal Pulse, Wish, and Healing Wish, and while it can only benefit directly from one (and even then it doesn't necessarily benefit), the moves still offer that "guardian angel" vibe of taking care of its teammates, even if it's at a cost to Aurumoth itself. Other flavor choices include Sunny Day and Will-o-Wisp, which I added because of the angelic connection to fire and flame (Seraph literally means "burning ones"). In the case of these moves, Sunny Day represents more of the "clarity" aspect of the angel-fire relationship ("Clear Sky" is the Japanese translation of the move, and Sunny Day itself is a Fire-type move), while Will-o-Wisp offers the more literal interpretation of "creating fire."

Egg Moves

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(Bug Group; 9 moves, 5 VGMs)

Bug Buzz - Accelgor, Beautifly, Butterfree, Dustox, Escavalier, Galvantula, Illumise, Kriketune, Ledian, Masquerain, Mothim, Ninjask, Venemoth, Volbeat, Volcarona, Yanmega
Close Combat - Heracross, Pinsir
Counter - Crustle, Escavalier, Forretress, Gliscor, Heracross, Illumise, Parasect, Scizor, Volbeat
Disable - Ariados, Galvantula, Venemoth
Feint - Accelgor, Flygon, Gliscor, Heracross, Pinsir, Scizor, Yanmega
Hydro Pump - Masquerain
Megahorn - Escavalier, Heracross, Scolipede
Safeguard - Beautifly, Butterfree, Ledian, Scizor, Shuckle
Wing Attack - Gliscor, Scizor, Yanmega

Legal Move Combinations:

Bug Buzz + Counter + Megahorn (Escavalier)
Bug Buzz + Feint + Wing Attack (Yanmega)
Bug Buzz + Disable (Galvantula, Venemoth)
Bug Buzz + Hydro Pump (Masquerain)
Close Combat + Counter + Feint + Megahorn (Heracross)
Counter + Feint + Wing Attack (Scizor)

Illegal Move Combinations:

Bug Buzz + Close Combat
Close Combat + Disable + Hydro Pump + Wing Attack
Counter + Disable + Hydro Pump
Disable + Feint + Hydro Pump
Disable + Megahorn
Hydro Pump + Megahorn + Wing Attack

Note: not that it matters, but there are actually a few illegalities involving Safeguard; however, since Safeguard is also a TM, they aren't "real" illegalities, and as such I have not included Safeguard in either of these lists, since it is legal with all moves.

Whoa, so here's where the offense comes in. I put Aurumoth's hard-hitting STAB attacks and coverage moves here because, well, it needs them somewhere, and the Egg pool still runs on flavor, just with more leeway. The flavor additions I included are Disable, Feint, and Safeguard, which are all, to various degrees, good double or triple-battle moves (and since I already started with Heal Pulse, I thought I might as well toss in a few extra goodies), and also Wing Attack because lol it has six wings. They also fit thematically into the flavor priorities I gave myself for the Level-Up movepool, in terms of exploring protectiveness (or lack thereof; both Feint and Safeguard do this) and mystical powers (both Disable and Safeguard do this). Gengar has turned Disable into an intriguing move, to say the least, so I hope people experiment with it, especially considering how, should this movepool be chosen, Choice Scarf Pokemon may be commonly relied upon to check our CAP, and a Sub/Disable or, riskier yet, QD/Disable set might frustrate their gameplans.

The only notable move illegalities here are that both Megahorn and Close Combat are illegal with Hydro Pump, which basically means mixed sets will not have auto-Rain abuse built into them. While this doesn't change the fact that QD/TG are both legal with Hydro Pump (unavoidable in the case of Quiver Dance), or that Megahorn/CC are both legal with Surf, or that Thunder is legal with everything, it remains a move illegality that reigns in the power of Rain-bosted Hydro Pump at least a little bit. No, I didn't do this on purpose, but I can at least explain why it isn't a big deal that it turned out this way. So yeah, movedump.

TM/HM Moves

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(43 moves, 21 VGMs)

TM03 - Psyshock
TM06 - Toxic
TM07 - Hail
TM10 - Hidden Power
TM11 - Sunny Day
TM13 - Ice Beam
TM14 - Blizzard
TM15 - Hyper Beam
TM16 - Light Screen
TM17 - Protect
TM18 - Rain Dance
TM19 - Telekinesis
TM20 - Safeguard
TM21 - Frustration
TM22 - SolarBeam
TM24 - Thunderbolt
TM25 - Thunder
TM27 - Return
TM29 - Psychic
TM30 - Shadow Ball
TM32 - Double Team
TM33 - Reflect
TM42 - Facade
TM44 - Rest
TM45 - Attract
TM48 - Round
TM49 - Echoed Voice
TM50 - Overheat
TM51 - Ally Switch
TM52 - Focus Blast
TM56 - Fling
TM61 - Will-o-Wisp
TM67 - Retaliate
TM68 - Giga Impact
TM70 - Flash
TM76 - Struggle Bug
TM77 - Psych Up
TM81 - X-Scissor
TM85 - Dream Eater
TM87 - Swagger
TM90 - Substitute
HM01 - Cut
HM03 - Surf

With the exception of Bug Buzz and Hydro Pump, Aurumoth gets all of its Special attacks here, including its primary Psychic STABs and Electric/Fighting/Fire/Ice coverage. It also gets a physical STAB attack in X-Scissor, which is a more reliable alternative to Megahorn. Additionally, Dual Screens are present, potentially pairing nicely with Healing Wish and/or Illusion. There is never a good way to talk about TMs, so I'll just say that I went through the list with an eye for the competitive VGMs I wanted, type-move and move-move requirements, Bug/Psychic moves, and generically-required TMs. After all that, there wasn't much left to add and so this is the result. Aurumoth learns 43 TM/HMs, with Sunny Day, Will-o-Wisp, and Safeguard as repeats from the LU/Egg pools, leaving 40 moves unique to this list.

Tutor Moves

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(12 moves, 3 VGMs)

Bug Bite
Electroweb
Helping Hand
Icy Wind
Magic Coat
Magic Room
Recycle
Roleplay
Skill Swap
Trick
Wonder Room
Zen Headbutt

I'm glad we finally have tutor moves in BW2! This list is visibly focused on Aurumoth's Psychic movepool, featuring Magic Coat, Magic Room, Roleplay, Skill Swap, Trick, Wonder Room, and Zen Headbutt (over half the list). It also learns Bug Bite as a Tutor move, along with Electroweb, Helping Hand, and Recycle (because it’s what Jesus would do), for flavor.

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I'm sure you're all looking forward to using Aurumoth, as its competitive process has been completed, but we'll have to hold our horses, as there are still two more stages to go. So until then, this thread is here so we can theorymon on Aurumoth, discuss what sets might be great, and which ones might be meh! Feel free to discuss any idea you might have - it's all guesswork as to what will be good at this point. Sets, Illusion partners, and quotes that are notable will be added to the OP.

As a reminder, Aurumoth's downfalls are a trollish speed (94) and low special bulk, while it has the upsides of high attacking stats, great physical bulk, great abilities, and a wide movepool. Any successful Aurumoth set will have to either capitalize on Illusion's surprise value, the fact that Aurumoth can run so many viable sets, or Aurumoth's key resistances.

Sets


Standard Quiver Dance
Aurumoth @ Life Orb / Leftovers / Expert Belt
100 HP / 252 SpAtk / 152 Spd
Timid Nature
Trait: Weak Armor / Illusion
- Quiver Dance
- Bug Buzz
- Psychic / Psyshock
- Hydro Pump / Focus Blast

Standard QD set. 152 Speed for outspeeding threats, 100 HP for bulk, max SpAtk for the hurt. Coverage will depend on rain support. Hydro Pump for rainmoth, Focus Blast otherwise. Psyshock to get around high SpDef and win CM QD wars.

No Guard Quiver Dance
Aurumoth @ Life Orb / Leftovers / Expert Belt
100 HP / 252 SpAtk / 152 Spd
Timid Nature
Trait: No Guard
- Quiver Dance
- Bug Buzz
- Blizzard / Thunder
- Focus Blast / Hydro Pump

Standard QD but with extremely powerful moves in exchange for having a harder time setting up.



Illusion Lead
Aurumoth @ Focus Sash
252 Atk / 252 Spe / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
Trait: Illusion
- Counter / Light Screen
- Megahorn
- Healing Wish
- Magic Coat

Lead set designed to catch people off guard. Illusion for trolling, Magic Coat to reflect taunts, Healing Wish to sac Aurumoth later in the match if need be. Counter for illusion shenanigans. Can also get up a light screen if desired.

Wish Pass
Aurumoth @ Leftovers
252 HP / 120 Def / 132 Spe
Jolly Nature
Trait: No Guard
- Wish
- Will-o-Wisp
- Protect
- Megahorn

Wish Passing set designed around giving meaty wishes to team-mates, burning physical attackers with 100% accurate Will-o-wisps, dealing decent chunks of damage with 100% accurate STAB megahorn, and scouting with Protect. 252 HP Evs for meaty wishes, 132 speed EVs to outrun bulky Dnite (the only thing you're going to outrun with this set), and the rest shoved into Def for bulk. EVs can be shaved off into attack or speed from def if need be.

Choice Band
Aurumoth @ Choice Band
252 Atk / 220 Spe / 32 HP
Adamant Nature
Trait: Illusion / No Guard
- Megahorn
- Zen Headbutt / Overheat
- Close Combat
- Trick

Wallbreaker with huge surprise value. Megahorn STAB hurts like a truck, Close Combat wrecks steels. 220 Spe to outrun timid Heatran, rest shoved into bulk and power. Zen Headbutt is nice backup STAB, can be replaced with Overheat to kill Skarmory and Ferrothorn. Trick cripples walls.

Dragon Dance
Aurumoth @ Life Orb
252 Atk / 152 Spe / 100 HP
Jolly Nature
Trait: Illusion / No Guard / Weak Armor
- Dragon Dance
- X-Scissor / Megahorn
- Zen Headbutt
- Close Combat / Overheat

Same EVs as Quiver Dance except Attack instead of Special Attack. Use Megahorn for No Guard sets, otherwise use X-scissor for reliability. Zen Headbutt is backup STAB. Close Combat for coverage and the only other really viable physically attacking move on Aurumoth, or Overheat to bypass Skarmory and Ferrothorn.

Tail Glow
Aurumoth @ Life Orb / Leftovers
100 HP / 252 SpAtk / 152 Spe
Timid Nature
Trait: Weak Armor / Illusion / No Guard
- Tail Glow
- Bug Buzz
- Psyshock / Psychic
- Hydro Pump / Focus Blast

Tail Glow setup. Basically Quiver Dance, but with Tail Glow. Massive power in exchange for not really outspeeding much of anything. Relies on Weak Armor boosts. Completely smashes through almost everything however.

Dual Screens
Aurumoth @ Light Clay
252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
Trait: Illusion / No Guard
- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Healing Wish
- Megahorn

Dual Screen setup for offensive teams. Can bluff being another pokemon quite nicely, thus ensuring that screens are easier then normal to get up. Can sac self after screens are up with Healing Wish. Megahorn is powerful STAB that prevents TAUNT WEAK.

Mixed Attacker
Aurumoth @ Life Orb / Leftovers / Expert Belt
252 Atk / 32 SpA / 220 Spe
Naughty Nature
Trait: Weak Armor / Illusion / No Guard
- Megahorn
- Close Combat
- Ice Beam / Blizzard / Overheat
- Thunderbolt / Thunder

Instead of going for a sweep, this Aurumoth can wreck things as well as clean up, and potentially sweep with a weak armor speed boost. Any of the abilities will work - change the moves you use accordingly. EVs to put out as much hurt as possible as well as outspeed timid offensive Heatran.

Final Gambit
Aurumoth @ Choice Scarf
252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
Trait: Illusion
- Final Gambit
- Trick
- Healing Wish
- Megahorn

Originally Posted by Fat bugmaniacbob

Trick something a Scarf, then kill yourself. Final Gambit if you haven't taken any damage yet, Healing Wish if your team is on its last legs.

Illusion Partners

Dragonite will make for a great partner thanks to sharing Dragon Dance, being a generally threatening presence, and sharing Aurumoth's weakness to Stealth Rock.

Originally Posted by Fat Deck Knight

While you can't mimic Nasty Plot and it will be given away with Tail Glow, Both Pokemon share the same Stealth Rock weakness and can use Thunderbolt or Thunder. Thundurus-T also resists Bullet Punch and U-turn, which makes it a fantastic Pokemon to bluff as.

Originally Posted by Fat Deck Knight

With the exact same vulnerability to hazards, Chandelure can also be mimed using Will-O-Wisp. Chandelure also resists Bullet Punch and U-turn, and Aurumoth can nail any Dark-type switchins with Megahorn.