np: NU Stage 0 - For What It's Worth

[tennisace]

song here

Hi there.

Welcome to NU, the current "final frontier" of competitive Pokemon as we know it. Here lay forgotten giants, relics of past generations, competing with the the has-beens and also-rans of each generation. This generation of NU also features many NFE Pokemon, given that Eviolite is a powerful item in a tier where the power creep of this generation seems to have faded.

As most of you know, there will be a massive shift in our now-balanced tier come January 1, where a large amount of Pokemon could rise to RU, among which are Slowking, Klinklang, Lanturn, Rhydon, Braviary, Swellow, Magneton, and maybe more! Also probably leaving is Dugtrio, which could rise all the way to OU! However, this thread isn't for discussing those Pokemon which could leave. It is for discussing the metagame at hand, which includes all of those Pokemon.

So sit back, relax, and enjoy this while it lasts, since there's going to be a major change coming pretty soon.

[NatGeo]

man klingklang. that is all, outspeeding all scarfers with just 16 speed EVs after the boost - too bad it's leaving :(

Emboar is also really good atm with scarf since Flare Blitz wrecks. So many things are leaving though so we'll just have to wait for a while to see what's good

edit: yeah spinners suck atm and spinblockers are really good. Ghost-types in general are also really interesting, especially Missy and Frillish.

[Zebraiken*]

Klinklang is probably up and away the most prominent threat in the tier. If you misplay it even once it's likely you're gonna get cleanly swept. Also: hazards are amazing because spinners suck

[Axa]

I think you meant rise to RU. :)

I think the best replacement for Braviary/Swellow once the shift hits would be Tauros. Sawk and Pinsir might hit harder, but Tauros has much better speed. Sheer Force boosted Rock Climbs and Zen Headbutts will also hurt. Iron Tail has crud accuracy, but it's still plenty powerful and hurts Rocks harder than EQ.

[waterwarrior]

Don't get me wrong, Tauros is awesome, but I think that Scarf Sawk, already an absolute monster in this meta, will take the birds spot. Base 85 is the base 108 of NU, and Sawk and Pinsir have just that.

[Bluecaptain]

Originally Posted by Fat waterwarrior

Don't get me wrong, Tauros is awesome, but I think that Scarf Sawk, already an absolute monster in this meta, will take the birds spot. Base 85 is the base 108 of NU, and Sawk and Pinsir have just that.

Totally agree, Sawk is deadly. Without a check or funky good predictions it can tear through teams. The thing is Close Combat, and the lack of priority in NU to take advantage of the weakened defenses.

[Oh My Biscuits]

I'm gonna miss Swellow. It hits sooo ridiculously hard that it's not even funny. But with Braviary and Swellow both gone, maybe Fearow and it's use of Drill Run will get some notice.

[tennisace]

I guess none of you read the OP? We should be discussing the metagame at hand, not a hypothetical one.

Anyway Specs Exeggutor continues to be a gigantic force that really nobody uses except me. There are extremely few things that can take two Leaf Storms (or two Psychics). Specially defensive Altaria, Tangela, Eviolite Magneton, other Exeggutor is about it.

[Omicron]

Hail seems to be a very effective playstyle in NU, especially with monsters such as Rotom-F, Jynx, Walrein, and Glaceon. Klingklang is perhaps one of the best counters to hail, though it cannot stomach multiple Blizzards from the likes of Specs Glaceon and NP Jynx. I'm also currently loving Magmortar; it's one of the best Pokemon in NU, to be frank. I think the LO set is the best, as everyone thinks it's the Choiced variant. I've gotten several wins because an opponent mistook my Magmortar for a Choiced variant...

Edit: Sawk is also a big menace to hail teams, especially Scarfed variants :/

[Axa]

252/252 +ve Ledian has a slight chance of living 2 Specs Psychics with Leftovers and OHKOs with Bug Buzz. :P It also outspeeds Eggy.

Then again... it's Ledian.

[RitterCat]

Ledian also gets screwed over by SR and hazards are everywhere with all the great spinblockers and horrible spinners

[Zebraiken*]

Specs Exeggutor is godly, and it will continue to be. The primary reason that I don't use Eggy at all on my team right now is that it's pretty much deadweight against hail since there are so many Blizzards everywhere. It's brilliant against every other team style but... yeah, hail sucks. It's really awful since all you have to do is chuck a Snover on and then Scarf a bunch of blizzspammers and hope to hell you crit/freeze anything considered a check. And it works. :/

Lickilicky is also an Eggy check and fine special wall in general that people don't really use. :(

[Byrne]

Magneton goes on pretty much every team that I make at least without exception. It is seriously the only truly reliable counter to Klinklang that can also do other stuff, because Pokemon like Bastiodon are kind of out of the question for me.

I generally like my Magnetons with a side of Eviolite, but I've found Scarf and Specs to be great as well. It's really one of the best Pokemon in the tier overall.

[Cometk]

agreeing with omicron, hail has proven itself as an excellent playstyle so far. sub lo pain split rotom-f can set up on so much shit and just proceed to wreck teams. magneton can kind of remedy the klingklang problem hail teams have since klingklang's attacking movepool pretty much consists of gear shift and return. sub charge beam is pretty much like a guaranteed two kills and magneton with a scarf can check a ton of stuff.

[Raseri]

A style I've used very effectively on the ladder was a trick room team with Guts Ursaring and NP Beheeym ripping through teams, it struggles against bulky offense(and Sawk if it gets in before Trick Room is up) but Sawk is just the most annoying Pokemon in the meta. Anyways, Trick Room is a very viable threat down here and i've only seen one other person using it

[The Reptile]

I've currently been going with a sort of HO teams (Dual Screens + 5 Sweepers) with Serperior as my Screener. It worked out pretty well. Braviary keeped fucking Serperior in the ass though, especially when it decides to Brave Bird. Oh well. :(

[ChaoticaMortis]

Glad to see all the Magneton love here; it really is a great Pokémon in this tier (sucks it's going to be leaving soon), it can come in on anything that can't hurt it too bad, set up a sub, and blast everything to hell with its huge spAtk stat.
Completely destroying every Steel-type in the tier is just the icing on the cake (fuck you Klingklang).

Scarf Braviary is undoubtedly one of the best revenge killers in the tier (once again, sucks it's gonna be gone); it has just enough speed to out-speed just about every relevant Pokémon currently used, prime examples being Swellow and Sawk without a speed-boosting nature. Its powerful Brave Birds also allow it to sweep late game fairly easily.

Golem is pretty under-appreciated down here, but I've found it to be fairly useful; access to Sturdy and Stealth Rocks is enough to warrant it on a team that NEEDS to get up hazards, STAB on EdgeQuake along with its fairly decent attack stat is also pretty nice. The best thing about it though is that it can still Explode. The nerf this gen to Explosion basically meant an end to most sets featuring the move, but with a Normal Gem equipped Golem can OHKO a large amount of NU 'mons with an unresisted hit. Gigalith, of course, has more attack and can do everything Golem can do, but its much lower speed and lack of Ground STAB make me lean more on Golem.

Wartortle has made me smile in almost every match I've used it in, and I don't think I'm going to stop using it altogether any time soon. Rapid Spin is the general reason it's going to come out, but with Eviolite equipped it has some pretty impressive bulk, and any physical attacker not named Swellow risks getting burned by a Scald (which actually does a fair amount of damage to most non bulky attackers) from it. It also has Protect for stalling if it needs to and Yawn for pseudo-phasing, with Yawn actually forcing a lot of switches. It can be set up bait if stuck in a crap situation though, but that's just the risk you run trying to use one of the Rapid Spinners in NU.

I'd also like to throw out one more shout-out to Lanturn, which is another favorite of mine down here. It has stats similar to a mini-Slowking, has Heal Bell, and does decent damage with Discharge and Surf. I've had a lot of fun with it, hell, I've had a lot of fun with all of these Pokémon in this tier, and I can't wait until January when everything gets shifted, so I can make a brand new team full of old favorites to dominate their other fallen brethren.

NU all the way.

[Honus]

From what I've seen, Entry Hazards seem to be extremely prevalent in the tier, especially due to the lack of reliable spinners [although Natu and Magic Coat can be utilized]. Guts users are also pretty prevalent, and extremely hard to stop, Ursaring is crazy after an SD.

Oh, and that crazy Solosis strategy is definitely formidable, I almost had it beaten but Trick Room managed to stay up.

[Omicron]

Actually, today I ran into a Sunny Day variant of Exeggutor which almost managed to best my hail team. I can definitely see it being very effective, as Chlorophyll helps eggy a lot. Unfortunately it doesn't manage to outspeed faster Scarfers.... but Sunny Day is definitely a viable set, as Hidden Power Fire in the sun will destroy most members of a hail team

[Heysup]

I do like using Exeggutor but I mean, I gotta use Roselia. I've said this before, but Max Spe / SpA with Spikes / Sludge Bomb / Leaf Storm / Synthesis is incredible. You wall every water and grass type (except Psychic from Exeggutor...) and wreak havoc with base 100 SpA Leaf Storms and Sludge Bombs. You can set up Spikes on shit that walls you as you heal off their damage since you take it so well with Eviolite. Roselia + Regirock makes a great pair. Similarly, Exeggutor + Regirock works well. It's just whether you prefer hitting harder vs being faster and having Spikes.

Swellow is the heart and soul of my current NU team though, but unfortunately I've been pushin for its use in RU and even UU. I <3 Swellow in any metagame.

[Cherub Agent]

Cincinno is an incredible late-game sweeper. Good luck taking this little thing out without Scarfers or priority...

[November Blue]

Wait, I haven't been paying attention. What exactly are these January tier shifts? Certain Pokemon will be leaving?

[Lady Salamence]

The Jan. shifts are when the tiers get remade, and Pokemon go to different tiers. If the current stats show anything, a good number of old favorites (klingklang) will leave, and a number of possibly brokenmons (feraligatr iirc) will fall down.

[shnen]

Hehe I love this song! Yeah the tier shifts are gonna be masive, i do hope rotom-f gets a slight decrease in jsages so he can stay nu, he is amazing!

[steviestar]

Originally Posted by Fat November Blue

Wait, I haven't been paying attention. What exactly are these January tier shifts? Certain Pokemon will be leaving?

Nothing is certain yet but if last month's usage stats were to remain consistent these pokes would leave NU for RU (from most likely to least likely):

Slowking, Lanturn, Rhydon, Scolipede, Snover, Braviary, Swellow, Magneton, Klinklang, Rotom-F

So Slowking, Lanturn, and Rhydon are most definitely leaving but the others are close to the usage cut-off and could go either way.

These pokes are dropping to NU:

Victreebel, Charizard, Crawdaunt

Victreebel is very very likely to drop, its usage was minuscule last month and I haven't seen any at all on the RU ladder. Charizard is a few spots below the usage cut-off but is very likely to drop too as I don't see it having a huge resurgence in popularity any time soon. Crawdaunt is right below the cut-off and could go either way.


But yeah, about the current metagame... what does everyone think about Torkoal? I used one on my original NU team a while back and it was actually pretty decent, it usually managed to at least get rocks up and had Yawn to prevent itself from being total set-up bait. It was also a great Klinklang counter, it only took like 30% from a +1 return max and could easily cripple Klinklang with lava plume. Its typing is incredibly unfortunate but hey, it's hard to find anything decent with SR + rapid spin in NU.