http://www.smogon.com/bw/pokemon/simisage
[Overview]
<p>At first glance, it may seem like Simisage has almost no advantages over other NU Grass-types, being less powerful than some, such as Exeggutor, and slower than others such as Serperior. However, Simisage has useful tools that help it preform in the NU tier and make it worth using over other Grass-types. A useful 101 base Speed and access to Nasty Plot make it an effective sweeper, and a fast Leaf Storm backed up by its decent Special Attack can really put the hurt on the opponent. It also has access to Focus Blast, which helps it get past Steel-type Pokemon, as well as destroying Sap Sipper Sawsbuck and Miltank, which are immune to Grass-type moves.</p>
<p>Despite this, Simisage has very notable flaws beyond simply having competition. Grass is a bad STAB to have in a metagame filled with Pokemon that resist it such as Braviary, Amoonguss, and Skuntank. In addition, Simisage will not be taking hits very well, as it is pretty frail and has a mediocre defensive typing. However, despite these drawbacks, if you have the right support, Simisage is a Pokemon to consider for your team.</p>
[SET]
name: Special Attacker
move 1: Nasty Plot / Leaf Storm
move 2: Giga Drain
move 3: Focus Blast
move 4: Hidden Power Ice / Hidden Power Rock
item: Life Orb
nature: Timid
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[Set Comments]
<p>With a plethora of special attacks, Simisage is a good candidate for a special sweeper. This set either does one of two things depending on the first move choice. With Nasty Plot, it can increase its Special Attack and get the chance to sweep the foe, while with Leaf Storm, it can fire off a very powerful move and then run. Note that a Leaf Storm hits nearly as hard as a +2 Giga Drain without requiring any set up, but the choice is primarily up to the user.</p>
<p>Giga Drain is your main STAB with Nasty Plot or your alternative STAB with Leaf Storm. Despite its relatively low Base Power, the ability to heal Life Orb damage while also dealing a decent amount of damage makes it a useful move regardless. While Grass isn't a great STAB within the NU tier, Simisage has useful coverage moves to hit what its STAB cannot. Steel-types are easily taken down with Focus Blast, especially if they have a 4x weakness to the move like Probopass and Bastiodon. It also steamrolls Sawsbuck and Miltank, OHKOing Sawsbuck easily and doing a minimum of 70.56% to even the bulkiest of Miltank. Hidden Power Ice is the recommended choice for the final slot as it gets past Amoonguss, which otherwise almost completely walls Simisage. It also hits Altaria harder than any other move Simisage has. Hidden Power Rock is a solid alternative to hit Fire-type Pokemon, most notably Charizard, hard. Note that both options hit Flying-types like Braviary for super effective damage.</p>
[Additional Comments]
<p>A Timid nature outspeeds positive base 100 Speed Pokemon such as Charizard. Life Orb boosts its usually modest base 98 Special Attack and allows it to switch moves and utilize its movepool. However, Choice Specs is an OK alternative to increase Leaf Storm's damage output, but as was said before, Grass-type moves are not the best to spam. While Overgrow may seem like the clear choice as an ability for Simisage, it is worth noting that Simisage only gets its ability from an event giving away male Pansage and therefore cannot have Nasty Plot and Overgrow at the same time due to Nasty Plot being an Egg move. As such, Nasty Plot will always have to go with Gluttony despite the ability being fairly useless; if Leaf Storm is used over Nasty Plot, however, Overgrow should always be used in order to make its moves far more powerful when it is below 33% health.</p>
<p>The bane of Simisage's existence are Poison-type Pokemon, which are omnipresent in NU. Psychic-types, such as Musharna, or Ground-types, such as Golem, can hit these Pokemon hard, but note that Ground- and Psychic-types struggle against Amoonguss and Skuntank, respectively, which are the most common Poison-types in the tier. For Amoonguss, Magmar is the closest you can get to as counter, as it can roast Amoonguss with a STAB Fire Blast while also being immune to Spore. In return, Simisage covers Magmar's Water-, Ground-, and Rock-type weaknesses since it can hit these Pokemon for super effective damage. Flying-types, including Swellow and Braviary, among others, also threaten to destroy Simisage. Rock-types like Regirock can handle these Pokemon well, and Simisage can take on Ground-types that Regirock can struggle against. All Rock-types can also set up Stealth Rock, which lets Simisage secure a OHKO on Regice, Mantine, and Amoonguss with a +2 Focus Blast, +2 Hidden Power Rock, and +2 Hidden Power Ice, respectively. On that note, Spikes support alongside Stealth Rock helps get OHKOs on offensive Ludicolo and Gardevoir with Leaf Storm. Garbodor is a good option because of this, and it resists Poison-type moves that may be aimed at Simisage.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Simisage has a good amount of other options to consider. A set consisting of Substitute over Leaf Storm and Nasty Plot can be used with Overgrow, similarly to Sceptile in RU. Another similarity between it and Sceptile is that Simisage has Leech Seed, which can be used for a SubSeed set. However, Exeggutor is usually a better choice, as with Harvest, it will usually heal a lot more than Simisage, and its additional Psychic-typing puts more pressure on the opponent to allow it to set up. Synthesis is useful for free healing, and with Taunt it can make Simisage an effective stallbreaker, but most of the time Simisage will find itself far too frail to accomplish this. Since it has Gluttony, a Petaya or Salac Berry is an acceptable option since they will activate early on. Simisage has a surprisingly large physical movepool, containing goodies such as Seed Bomb, Low Kick, Superpower, Rock Slide, Acrobatics, and Crunch. However, with only Work Up to boost its average Attack stat and with a mediocre STAB, you are usually better off finding something else to function as a physical attacker.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>If Simisage gets a Nasty Plot boost, it can be a pain to take down, but usually defeating it isn't that difficult. Poison-types such as Skuntank, Muk, and Garbodor are among the best options, as they have good bulk and other than Skuntank resist all its moves besides Hidden Power. From there, all of them can either OHKO Simisage with their Poison STABs, or Garbodor can set up Spikes against it. Amoonguss can be OHKOed by a Hidden Power Ice at +2 after Stealth Rock, but is otherwise an even better option than other Poison-types due to its 4x resistance to Grass. Specially defensive Ludicolo can take on Simisage's onslaughts well and do massive damage with an Ice Beam. Emboar can easily OHKO and isn't weak to either Hidden Power, but note that a +2 Focus Blast OHKOes. Substitute + Bulk Up Braviary can use Simisage as setup fodder if Simisage has a Special Attack drop due to Leaf Storm. If Simisage is running Hidden Power Ice, Flareon and Charizard can take hits from it well and retaliate with their Fire STAB. Choice Scarf Rotom-S can switch into a Grass-type move and retaliate with Air Slash. There are many, many revenge killers that cannot switch in, such as Cinccino and Swellow, which easily OHKO Simisage due to its frailty.</p>
[Overview]
<p>At first glance, it may seem like Simisage has almost no advantages over other NU Grass-types, being less powerful than some, such as Exeggutor, and slower than others such as Serperior. However, Simisage has useful tools that help it preform in the NU tier and make it worth using over other Grass-types. A useful 101 base Speed and access to Nasty Plot make it an effective sweeper, and a fast Leaf Storm backed up by its decent Special Attack can really put the hurt on the opponent. It also has access to Focus Blast, which helps it get past Steel-type Pokemon, as well as destroying Sap Sipper Sawsbuck and Miltank, which are immune to Grass-type moves.</p>
<p>Despite this, Simisage has very notable flaws beyond simply having competition. Grass is a bad STAB to have in a metagame filled with Pokemon that resist it such as Braviary, Amoonguss, and Skuntank. In addition, Simisage will not be taking hits very well, as it is pretty frail and has a mediocre defensive typing. However, despite these drawbacks, if you have the right support, Simisage is a Pokemon to consider for your team.</p>
[SET]
name: Special Attacker
move 1: Nasty Plot / Leaf Storm
move 2: Giga Drain
move 3: Focus Blast
move 4: Hidden Power Ice / Hidden Power Rock
item: Life Orb
nature: Timid
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[Set Comments]
<p>With a plethora of special attacks, Simisage is a good candidate for a special sweeper. This set either does one of two things depending on the first move choice. With Nasty Plot, it can increase its Special Attack and get the chance to sweep the foe, while with Leaf Storm, it can fire off a very powerful move and then run. Note that a Leaf Storm hits nearly as hard as a +2 Giga Drain without requiring any set up, but the choice is primarily up to the user.</p>
<p>Giga Drain is your main STAB with Nasty Plot or your alternative STAB with Leaf Storm. Despite its relatively low Base Power, the ability to heal Life Orb damage while also dealing a decent amount of damage makes it a useful move regardless. While Grass isn't a great STAB within the NU tier, Simisage has useful coverage moves to hit what its STAB cannot. Steel-types are easily taken down with Focus Blast, especially if they have a 4x weakness to the move like Probopass and Bastiodon. It also steamrolls Sawsbuck and Miltank, OHKOing Sawsbuck easily and doing a minimum of 70.56% to even the bulkiest of Miltank. Hidden Power Ice is the recommended choice for the final slot as it gets past Amoonguss, which otherwise almost completely walls Simisage. It also hits Altaria harder than any other move Simisage has. Hidden Power Rock is a solid alternative to hit Fire-type Pokemon, most notably Charizard, hard. Note that both options hit Flying-types like Braviary for super effective damage.</p>
[Additional Comments]
<p>A Timid nature outspeeds positive base 100 Speed Pokemon such as Charizard. Life Orb boosts its usually modest base 98 Special Attack and allows it to switch moves and utilize its movepool. However, Choice Specs is an OK alternative to increase Leaf Storm's damage output, but as was said before, Grass-type moves are not the best to spam. While Overgrow may seem like the clear choice as an ability for Simisage, it is worth noting that Simisage only gets its ability from an event giving away male Pansage and therefore cannot have Nasty Plot and Overgrow at the same time due to Nasty Plot being an Egg move. As such, Nasty Plot will always have to go with Gluttony despite the ability being fairly useless; if Leaf Storm is used over Nasty Plot, however, Overgrow should always be used in order to make its moves far more powerful when it is below 33% health.</p>
<p>The bane of Simisage's existence are Poison-type Pokemon, which are omnipresent in NU. Psychic-types, such as Musharna, or Ground-types, such as Golem, can hit these Pokemon hard, but note that Ground- and Psychic-types struggle against Amoonguss and Skuntank, respectively, which are the most common Poison-types in the tier. For Amoonguss, Magmar is the closest you can get to as counter, as it can roast Amoonguss with a STAB Fire Blast while also being immune to Spore. In return, Simisage covers Magmar's Water-, Ground-, and Rock-type weaknesses since it can hit these Pokemon for super effective damage. Flying-types, including Swellow and Braviary, among others, also threaten to destroy Simisage. Rock-types like Regirock can handle these Pokemon well, and Simisage can take on Ground-types that Regirock can struggle against. All Rock-types can also set up Stealth Rock, which lets Simisage secure a OHKO on Regice, Mantine, and Amoonguss with a +2 Focus Blast, +2 Hidden Power Rock, and +2 Hidden Power Ice, respectively. On that note, Spikes support alongside Stealth Rock helps get OHKOs on offensive Ludicolo and Gardevoir with Leaf Storm. Garbodor is a good option because of this, and it resists Poison-type moves that may be aimed at Simisage.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Simisage has a good amount of other options to consider. A set consisting of Substitute over Leaf Storm and Nasty Plot can be used with Overgrow, similarly to Sceptile in RU. Another similarity between it and Sceptile is that Simisage has Leech Seed, which can be used for a SubSeed set. However, Exeggutor is usually a better choice, as with Harvest, it will usually heal a lot more than Simisage, and its additional Psychic-typing puts more pressure on the opponent to allow it to set up. Synthesis is useful for free healing, and with Taunt it can make Simisage an effective stallbreaker, but most of the time Simisage will find itself far too frail to accomplish this. Since it has Gluttony, a Petaya or Salac Berry is an acceptable option since they will activate early on. Simisage has a surprisingly large physical movepool, containing goodies such as Seed Bomb, Low Kick, Superpower, Rock Slide, Acrobatics, and Crunch. However, with only Work Up to boost its average Attack stat and with a mediocre STAB, you are usually better off finding something else to function as a physical attacker.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>If Simisage gets a Nasty Plot boost, it can be a pain to take down, but usually defeating it isn't that difficult. Poison-types such as Skuntank, Muk, and Garbodor are among the best options, as they have good bulk and other than Skuntank resist all its moves besides Hidden Power. From there, all of them can either OHKO Simisage with their Poison STABs, or Garbodor can set up Spikes against it. Amoonguss can be OHKOed by a Hidden Power Ice at +2 after Stealth Rock, but is otherwise an even better option than other Poison-types due to its 4x resistance to Grass. Specially defensive Ludicolo can take on Simisage's onslaughts well and do massive damage with an Ice Beam. Emboar can easily OHKO and isn't weak to either Hidden Power, but note that a +2 Focus Blast OHKOes. Substitute + Bulk Up Braviary can use Simisage as setup fodder if Simisage has a Special Attack drop due to Leaf Storm. If Simisage is running Hidden Power Ice, Flareon and Charizard can take hits from it well and retaliate with their Fire STAB. Choice Scarf Rotom-S can switch into a Grass-type move and retaliate with Air Slash. There are many, many revenge killers that cannot switch in, such as Cinccino and Swellow, which easily OHKO Simisage due to its frailty.</p>