NU Pokemon of the Week - Golurk

[DTC]

Alright, time for a new PotW.


Emboar
Type: Fire / Fighting
Base Stats: 110 HP / 123 Atk / 65 Def / 100 SpA / 65 SpD / 65 Spe
Ability: Blaze / Reckless (unreleased)

Emboar is an extremely potent wallbreaker. It is extremely hard not to lose a Pokemon to Emboar if it gets a free switch in to something. Emboar is also one of the few Pokemon in NU that can effectively use a mixed set. What do you guys think of Emboar?

[Annoyer]

Emboar is a fantastic Pokemon. It's Choice Banded set and mixed set are powerful wallbreakers, especially when combined with Emboar's high Attack stat, good Special Attack, and a good enough speed stat to outspeed most walls and bulky offensive Pokemon such as Gurdurr or Exeggutor. These sets are easily Emboar's common sets, especially CB, however Choice Scarf is severely underrated/underused. I have been using Scarf extensively on the ladder, and it has never disappointed me yet. Although it lacks the power to break through a Pokemon such as Musharna, it doesn't get revenged by the likes of Cincinno, Samurott at low health, or Gardevoir. With hazards (especially Spikes), Emboar cleans teams easily. Its lack of a lot of Speed causes it to be outsped by Swellow (actually pretty uncommon from what I've seen atm) and above along with almost every Scarfer is also another downfall, but its ability to smash these pretty offensive and not extremely bulky teams that are very common right now is great.

Emboar is a great as it always has been, but I recommend more people to try out its Scarf set. It's arguably its most effective set in this meta in my opinion.

...

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scarf WoW gg

[EBeast]

haha, I can say that I predicted Emboar to be next when I asked you when you were going to update Pokemon of the Week. :)

Emboar is easily one of the hardest Pokemon to switch into as just its STABs in Flare Blitz and Superpower provide excellent coverage against most of the tier. Thanks to its huge 123 Attack further augmented by a Choice Band it deals major damage to even resists such as Gorebyss and Samurott taking around 50% minimum from Flare Blitz. Emboar also has nifty coverage moves in Head Smash and Wild Charge that mean that Pokemon such as Mantine, Altaria, and Thick Fat Grumpig are no longer safe from its slaughter. Hell even without using its coverage moves a Jolly CB Emboar will 2HKO Mantine and even 2HKO 252 HP Altaria after Stealth Rock. The reason that I mention Jolly on CB Emboar is because it allows it to outspeed Adamant Absol (which is pretty huge) without missing out on any key KOes. It's also capable of using a Mixed set or Specs set to get surprise kills against unsuspecting Pokemon, as if switching into it was hard enough. Maybe an Alomomola switches into your Superpower and stays in only to take heavy damage by an Expert Belt or Life Orb Grass Knot the following turn. Specs still has a lot of power and the surprise value is extremely beneficial such in the case of an Alomomola getting OHKOed by a Specs Focus Blast on the switch expecting to eat up a physical attack. The only 2 Pokemon that can switch into Emboar without much trouble are Alomomola and Shelgon. Alomomola,thanks to Regenerator, is capable of tanking a Wild Charge and forcing Emboar to take tons of recoil, then switching out into an Electric-type resist/immunity and getting back 33% of its health for free. Shelgon can use its huge defenses to take Emboar's attacks, but must watch out for Emboar's mixed sets.

Overall Emboar is a Pokemon that is extremely threatening because of the sheer damage output and excellent coverage it provides. Predict incorrectly or sometimes even correctly and just quiver at the sight of your Pokemon getting obliterated by a manbearpig. Emboar's main weakness is how slow it is, but if it manages to comes in on something you better think ahead in the match on what you will need the most because it will be taking something down almost guaranteed.

[ium]

i could go on and on about how great emboar is but obviously it's been mentioned in enough detail already, but i just want to make a mention of how fun choice specs emboar is. it has so much surprise factor, but it's far too easy to play around once the opponent gets the gist of what it's doing. still, using scald when people least expect it is fun i guess haha. not to mention it gets alomomola. :)

the other choiced sets are amazing though; i haven't found too much success with the mixed set because i find that i'm losing out on power on one side of the spectrum in some circumstances. but with choice band, emboar really keeps the opponent guessing when they have something slower in against emboar. it's really a nuke—emboar dies pretty fast but it can dent teams. as mentioned already, it's a shame that choice band emboar still struggles with alomomola even when it has wild charge; the recoil is nasty and alomomola can always just switch out again. i'm interested to see reckless emboar though.

[JoshuaMunoz]

Banded Emboar wrecks everything. Sorry for the short statement, but you guys already expanded on that. I prefer Band>Scarf because of the SHEER POWER, damn.

[Incon]

My favorite Emboar set personally, is the mixed set.


Emboar @ Life Orb
Trait: Blaze
Evs: 128 Atk / 252 SpAtk / 128 Spe
Rash Nature
-Fire Blast
-Superpower
-Hidden Power Ice
-Grass Knot

This set is a nice surprise for the many physical walls that often switch into Emboar trying to tank a Flare Blitz. Its nice mixed attacking stats make this set possible, with him being able to hit hard on both sides. Fire Blast does heavy damage to common switch ins such as Musharna, who is 2hkoed. Superpower provides nice coverage with Fire Blast and is for dedicated special walls looking to tank a special hit such as Lickilicky. Hidden Power Ice adds a nice coverage giving Emboar a way to beat mons who resist his STAB combination such as Altaria. Finally, Grass Knot gives him a way to beat the common switch in, Alomomola, who otherwise walls this set. The Evs are to maximize its offensive capabilities while also outspeeding minimally invested Base 80's. While it doesnt have the power or speed of the Band or Scarf sets, it does have a way to beat the common switch ins to Emboar making this set an effective wall breaker.

[DTC]

I decided to drop down to the A tier for this NU potw.


Gorebyss
Type: Water
Base Stats: 55 HP / 84 Atk / 105 Def / 114 SpA / 75 SpD / 52 Spe
Abilities: Swift Swim / Hydration

Back in the day, Gorebyss was a top tier threat. It was everywhere and as such, everyone had to prepare for it. It eventually fell down in usage and now it's practically non-existent, but still feared whenever it shows up in team preview. Gorebyss is one of the most potent (weather) sweepers in NU and was the cause of the rise of Choice Scarf Electric-types.

[ium]

i think that while gorebyss isn't as popular as it used to be, it's still something that every good team prepares for. however, when i do think about handling gorebyss, it usually falls under the umbrella term of "rain threats" or "water-type sweepers" because i usually think about ludicolo more.

however, gorebyss is still threatening in its own right and it's hard to stop it once checks are even slightly weakened. it's a real shame that it fails to outspeed many common scarf users at +2 though. not to mention if its hp was a little higher, it'd help gorebyss out with taking physical hits better (especially priority). :(

so do you guys prefer the usual three attacks gorebyss that has the additional coverage move, or the substitute variant? obviously different advantages come with each one, but let's talk preference too.

[Agent Dell]

Gorebyss easily remains as one of the most dangerous and very best set-up sweepers in the tier. While it doesn't have as much usage as it did back in the day, the threat of this monster still heavily restricts the essence of team building, likewise for Ludicolo, simply because it's extremely difficult to actually "counter". In terms of setting up, it honestly isn't even unlikely of doing so because of its really nice base Defense and the number of Pokemon that it can potentially force out. It's great Defense and ability to run Substitute allows it to take priority much better than other sweepers while still being durable enough to be able to tramp through, or even sweep through the opposing team. Its coverage, though generally offset compared to the options that it normally would like to be running, is quite underrated, to be fair. It can be utilized in a way that allows it to severly damage or KO it's current biggest check, Ludicolo, with Signal Beam or some odd Hidden Power, without having to rely on Life Orb if that's not your item of choice.

Speaking of Gorebyss in terms of positioning it on specific play styles of teams, such as Weather or Hyper Offense, that's another thing that makes it function so well, as they are excellent ways to aid to its ability to easily plow through standard teams, and even if it doesn't manage to sweep an entire team, it will plow through them to the point where its offensive teammates can easily run rampant enough to seal the game.

Regarding Weather, Gorebyss doesn't even need to set-up a Shell Smash in the Rain in order to wreck through teams. Part of the reason that it wasn't banned was because it was too slow before it actually sets up a Shell Smash and therefore wasn't very much of a threat until it does set up. However, considering its notably higher SpA than Ludicolo, this disproves that theory, as it gains a +2 Speed Boost and boosts in Surf/Hydro Pump. With that being said, if it does manage to setup in the rain, chances are that it's likely good game, as the normal methods of revenge killing it are severely limited. Either way, Gorebyss' rain-boosted STAB moves will severely dent anything that doesn't resist it. It can use other various options to support the team under the rain as well, but generally less useful outside of that.

In the Hyper Offense category, Gorebyss shares excellent synergy with a large portion of common setup sweepers and Dual Screen users, and as such, they will definitely support each other in their roles. When it gets an opportunity to get screens up, its sweeping potential reaches a whole new level. Under Reflect, it will manage to be able to setup a Shell Smash on just about any Physical Attacker, and under Light Screen, it can setup on many Special Attackers, and you can even prevent Scarf Electric types from revenge killing you.

Gorebyss is an immensely powerful threat that should definitely be prepared for, and thus will remain a dangerous asset towards the metagame.

[FLCL]

Gorebyss' best set by far is SubSmash; it can set up with ease on all variants of Alomomola (Waterfall doesn't even break Subs at -1 Def) and can dodge Sucker Punches from the likes of Skuntank and Absol, which is a common way of dealing with Gorebyss. If you can keep a Substitute up after you have boosted, its probably over for the opponent. Water-types can be troublesome, but common ones such as Alomomola, Samurott, and Ludicolo all take massive amounts of damage from either Surf or Ice Beam. Unlike the White Herb variant, SubSmash Gorebyss doesn't lose its effectiveness if it is force out during the sweep since it can just come in and set up again.

[FireMage]

Whilst an almost situational counter at best, RestTalk Mantine can take anything (Bar a +2 HP Electric) Gorebyss can throw at it even at +2 after it's Smashed! It can even recover from any stray hydro pumps aimed at it's team-mates.

Here are some Relavent calcs
+2 252 SpA Gorebyss Ice Beam vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Mantine: 107-127 (32.03 - 38.02%) -- 1.2% chance to 3HKO
+2 252 SpA Gorebyss Hidden Power Grass vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Mantine: 79-94 (23.65 - 28.14%) -- possible 5HKO

It's only way of muscling through Mantine on it's own
+2 252 SpA Gorebyss Hidden Power Electric vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Mantine: 316-376 (94.61 - 112.57%) -- 68.75% chance to OHKO (OHKO with Rocks)

But the it loses out to Seismitoed.

[Raseri]

Gorebyss seems to always be overrated and underrated at the same time. I have used her on teams to great success, but nowadays I almost always prefer Ludicolo, who sacrifices a lot of power for a better movepool, more speed, and better typing. I think that Gorebyss should be used alongside Ludicolo most of the time, because it can break walls for a Ludi sweep, or Ludicolo can break walls for Byss.


Whenever I see Gorebyss on another team, I almost always assume that the user is new to the tier, because Gorebyss is a really hard Pokemon to use effectively right now. Everything hits so hard, it seems like nearly every Pokemon can OHKO Gorebyss nowadays, it can only really set up on Alomomola. Gorebyss just lacks the sheer bulk to set up right now, because between priority and every offensive Pokemon, where will Gorebyss set up? However, if Gorebyss does set up mid-late game, its basically over.

Basically my question is, what Pokemon will help Gorebyss sweep? How can you force a set-up opportunity in this meta?

[FLCL]

I usually pair Gorebyss up with a Pokemon that can absorb Electric-type attacks, such as Piloswine or Zebstrika. It also tends to get stopped by Specially Defensive Water and grass types so something like Expert Belt Emboar can help lure in those Pokemon. Dual Screens are always an option, but its usually not worth the team slot since Gorebyss has passable bulk that allows it to set up on weaker walls. Hazard support is also appreciated since it helps Gorebyss get KOs on Pokemon such as Regice and Ludicolo.

[Elegy96]

I don't see enough Gorebyss on the ladder these days. She's one of the best sweepers in the tier, hands down. I like using Dual Screen support from the likes of Gardevoir or Ampharos to help her get in a Shell Smash easily. I've used Motor Drive Emolga alongside her to take Electric attacks. Emolga can also provide useful Paralysis support for Gorebyss, making setting up easier.

[JoshuaMunoz]

Shell Smash Gorebyss is definitely one of the most underrated threats in the NU tier. When it sets up, priority (which wouldn't be so strong anyway because of Gorebyss' great defensive bulk) will put an end of it. A 90 base choice scarf Pokemon and higher can outspeed it, and OHKO it, such as Raichu and Electabuzz with just a single Volt Switch. But if used correctly, and with the right team and support, Gorebyss IS indeed something to watch out for.

[EBeast]

Gorebyss is an alright Pokemon, but in my opinion is no longer nearly as dominant as it used to be back in the day. Gorebyss is slower and less bulky than Samurott and lacks the utility that Samurott can provide with Taunt or Aqua Jet. While it has access to the coveted Shell Smash, it has a really hard time setting up due to its subpar bulk and needs Dual Screens most of the time if it wants to do a game-ending sweep. Even after setting up it can still be beaten by common Pokemon such as Scarf Rotom-Frost/Spin, Ludicolo, and priority such as Sucker Punch and ends up wasting its White Herb. You'll know what I mean if you try to use White Herb Timid Gorebyss out on the ladder without Dual Screens support, it simply doesn't get the job done as the metagame has progressed and become too bulky for Gorebyss to run through it with Timid and no boosting item.

In the current metagame I think that a Modest SubSmash Gorebyss is probably the best set that it can run. Substitute allows it to dodge the Sucker Punches that will be thrown at it while being capable easily setting up on common Pokemon such as Alomomola or Pokemon too afraid of Gorebyss. Without White Herb Gorebyss doesn't have to worry about attempting a end-game Shell Smash and can use Shell Smash whenever it's appropriate and then switch out when its time is right. An example would be it getting up Shell Smash on the switch as the opponent brings out their Ludicolo who takes damage from Stealth Rock. From there the Gorebyss can OHKO with an Ice Beam (does 89% - 105% so death after SR) and then switch out if needed if the opponent brings out a Scarf Pokemon. Timid isn't really needed on Gorebyss anymore because Scarf Sawk has gone down massively in popularity and Modest still outpaces positive natured Scarf base 80 Pokemon such as Braviary and Gardevoir. While it's not using Hidden Power Grass anymore it doesn't really need to as a Modest +2 LO Hydro Pump will do in Water-type Pokemon like Samurott and Gorebyss. Leftovers on it allows it to play around enemy Volt Switches from the likes of Rotom-Fridge/Spin, Zebstrika, and Electrode without wearing itself down allowing it to hit the incoming switch with its following attacks. Life Orb gets instant kills while Leftovers requires the opponent to be worn down, but Leftovers is usually the superior option in a general sense.

• 252 +2 SpAtk Life Orb Gorebyss (+SpAtk) Hydro Pump vs 0 HP/0 SpDef Samurott: 103.32% - 121.45% (Guaranteed OHKO)
• 252 +2 SpAtk Life Orb Gorebyss (+SpAtk) Hydro Pump vs 0 HP/0 SpDef Gorebyss: 129.08% - 151.79% (Guaranteed OHKO)

TL;DR
White Herb Timid Byss is really hard to use without Dual Screens. Try out Modest SubSmash Byss as it doesn't force you to attempt a game-ending sweep at the cost of your item. Leftovers is great on it as well as it provides longevity and doesn't wear Gorebyss down nearly as much as with Sub & Life Orb.

Gorebyss

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Gorebyss (M) @ Life Orb / Leftovers
Trait: Swift Swim
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Substitute
- Shell Smash
- Hydro Pump / Surf
- Ice Beam

[kniteowl]

@EBeast

I'm curious, what can SubSmash Life Orb Gorebyss do that SubSmash Leftovers Gorebyss can't do?

Which particular Key pokemon does it K-O?

I personally prefer leftovers over life orb for Longevity, although I do lose power, it allows Gorebyss to set up more subs whenever necessary especially Scarf electrics choice locked into volt switch. As they're generally faster I can just predict a volt switch and set up a second sub as they break my first one and end up in a check mate position as they have to send it a pokemon to be OHKO/2HKO as they attempt to break my 2nd sub or just get destroyed in order for their scarf electric can come in again to revenge Gorebyss.

[EBeast]

Originally Posted by Fat kniteowl

@EBeast

I'm curious, what can SubSmash Life Orb Gorebyss do that SubSmash Leftovers Gorebyss can't do?

Which particular Key pokemon does it K-O?

I personally prefer leftovers over life orb for Longevity, although I do lose power, it allows Gorebyss to set up more subs whenever necessary especially Scarf electrics choice locked into volt switch. As they're generally faster I can just predict a volt switch and set up a second sub as they break my first one and end up in a check mate position as they have to send it a pokemon to be OHKO/2HKO as they attempt to break my 2nd sub or just get destroyed in order for their scarf electric can come in again to revenge Gorebyss.

Ya, Leftovers is great on it too (I was actually going to edit it in right now after talking to FLCL about it)

The list of Pokemon that Lefties misses that LO after SR gets are:

• Samurott
• Gorebyss
• Ludicolo
• SpD Lickilicky
• Alomomola
• Seismitoad
• SpD Amoonguss
• SpD Ampharos (not too relevant yet, but it's a great mon)
• Mantine
• SpD Throh

I agree that these can be worn down with hazards, so Leftovers should probably the be first choice but LO's power shouldn't be overlooked either. (though Sub + LO is not fun at all)

[DTC]

Discussion has been kind of dead lately so lets fix that!

What is your reaction when you see Gorebyss in team preview? Do you immediately panic and desperately keep stuff like Choice Scarf Electric-types and Lickilicky alive and healthy? What do you do when you do not have a Choice Scarf Electric-type or something like Lickilicky, Mantine, Regice, or Ludicolo? How does Gorebyss change the way you play? How can you take advantage of Gorebyss's presence?

[FLCL]

I don't feel too threatened by Gorebyss unless I'm using something that's complete setup bait for it, which I always never do. Even then, it's not game over unless it can manage more than one boost as my teams almost always carry a Scarfer than is faster than it at +2.

[MarshallLeRoy]

Originally Posted by Fat DTC

Discussion has been kind of dead lately so lets fix that!

What is your reaction when you see Gorebyss in team preview? Do you immediately panic and desperately keep stuff like Choice Scarf Electric-types and Lickilicky alive and healthy? What do you do when you do not have a Choice Scarf Electric-type or something like Lickilicky, Mantine, Regice, or Ludicolo? How does Gorebyss change the way you play? How can you take advantage of Gorebyss's presence?

In the case of my typical team structures, Ludicolo has to stay alive. Luckily he's usually one of the last mons out.

Gorebyss isn't around enough in the tier in my opinion, she's really devastating. Even Ludicolo has to be careful with +2 HP Grass if it's the Rain Dance Sweeper variant. Only bulky Ludicolo has a good chance to counter when switching in, from personal experience.

[DTC]

Ampharos sounds like a good Gorebyss partner. Ampharos can set up Rain Dance, Reflect, and Light Screen for Gorebyss. All of which Gorebyss greatly appreciates. Ampharos can also switch out to Gorebyss using Volt Switch. Free switch-ins for a Pokemon like Gorebyss is really useful. Problem is Ground-types can just switch into Ampharos, but if you predict well, you can take advantage of that by double switching to Gorebyss. You can then proceed to Shell Smash on most of them.

MarshallLeRoy, you are indeed correct that Ludicolo is a shaky check often, but Ice Beam does more than Hidden Power Grass too it! You also have to watch out for Signal Beam. That is the standard for rain Gorebyss since they do not need Hidden Power Grass to smash through Water-types unless they are really anal about Water Absorb Seismitoad. Hidden Power Electric is also cool for sniping Mantine.

[monster]

What I like about Gorebyss is that it has one of the highest (I think it was THE highest) Special Attack of any Water type. Samurott's exact Sp. Atk evades me at the moment, but I might venture to say that Gorebyss has higher. Omastar, of course, almost rivals it. I would really like to see more of them in battles. That said, I don't think (for some reason) that Gorebyss or Huntail are very aesthetically pleasing. They're just... ugly, in my opinion. I think it is also worth mentioning that Prankster Liepard is a good partner, firing off Rain Dances and so forth with +1 priority. I experienced a powerful Rain Dance team with that on it, and it drove mine into the ground. Definitely, Rain teams are a huge threat in NU nowadays, and Gorebyss is a likely candidate for one.

[DTC]

This week we will be featuring everyone's favorite skunk.


Skuntank
Type: Poison / Dark
Base Stats: 103 HP / 93 Atk / 67 Def / 71 SpA / 61 SpD / 84 Spe
Ability: Stench / Aftermath / Keen Eye

Skuntank has an excellent typing for trapping Psychic- and Ghost-types. It is often regarded as one of the best glue Pokemon in the tier. Skuntank finds a place on plenty of teams as a glue to patch together flaws with its numerous admirable attributes.

[FLCL]

Skuntank's biggest role in NU is to threaten every single Psychic-type that would otherwise dominate the tier. Absol can't do Skuntank's job nearly as well since it is destroyed by Signal Beam or Focus Blast while Skuntank has the bulk to take at least one Hidden Power Ground. Ghost-types to an extent are also beaten by Skuntank although Golurk and Drifblim can usually come out on the winning end. Outside of trapping, Skuntank is a great user of Priority and can beat a large portion of the Grass-types in the tier as well since they usually lack a way of hitting Skuntank hard while Taunt stops any attempts for them to Leech Seed or Sleep Powder it. It's lack of weaknesses help make Skuntank an asset against offensive teams since it can usually take a Pokemon down one-on-one and land a Sucker Punch plus Aftermath damage on another. It's one of the most reliable Pokemon in the tier at doing it's job and fits on every kind of team.