A few Pokemon may live Specs Magmortar if it lacks Focus Blast, correct me if I'm wrong please. Probopass, Miltank and Assault Vest Grumpig and Bouffalant might survive a 2hko from Specs Magmortar? Are there any others?
-
Welcome to Smogon! Take a moment to read the Introduction to Smogon for a run-down on everything Smogon, and make sure you take some time to read the global rules.
Resource Ask a simple question, get a simple answer: NU Edition
- Thread starter Raseri
- Start date
Specs Magmortar is bad, it needs to be able to switch up moves.
AV grumpig is a very sub par set, and grumpig itself is a meh pokemon in this meta.
I wouldn't run Specs Magmortar, part of the reason why Magmortar can be so scary for slower teams is its amazing coverage. I would instead run Life Orb (or another item that doesn't lock Magmortar into a specific move) as that drastically reduces the amount of switch ins for Magmortar.
As far as things that can switch in on Magmortar I wouldn't say that Probopass can really switch in on it as Magmortar likes to carry Earthquake to beat Fire-types as well as Probopass. Don't run AV Grumpig as it needs support options to not be entirely outclassed. Bouffalant can't switch in and take another hit and it doesn't outspeed.
As far as other Pokemon that can take on Magmortar, its really hard to give you a hard counter as Magmortar can run a move to beat each one. Its average speed and weakness to rocks make it easier to check on offensive teams as you can repeatedly force it out and wear it down. Hariyama is another Pokemon that is an alright switchin to Magmortar due to Thick Fat; however, it loses out to Psychic. On paper this mon is actually a lot harder to counter than in practice, scout for coverage moves, force switches, and get up hazards is the best way to handle Magmortar.
Thank you for answering, Magmortar seems threatening.
What are some good Pokemon in sand?
Mega Steelix and Stoutland are the main two, the former being a scary wallbreaker and the second an amazing sweeper. You can use Sand Veil Cacturne if you want to be a meanie, too. Smooth Rock Mesprit's also nice because it sets up Sandstorm alongside Hippopotas, and things like Ninetales and Xatu are nice because they have good synergy with the rest of the team
Edit: Gatr's a good sweeper too in general
Edit 2: Yeah, like scorpdestroyer said, a Mega Steelix check or counter's important
For obvious reasons Hippopotas is a compulsory teammate. Stoutland and Mega Steelix are staples on sand as well. The former gets doubled Speed and can hit extremely hard while the latter gets a power boost thanks to Sand Force. Apart from these three there isn't really standard fare anymore and there should be teammates that aim to either patch things up defensively or adding to the offensive duo by switching into breaking down stuff that give them trouble (a reliable answer to Mega Steelix for example which easily switches into Stoutland)
Sandslash is also cool, but it quickly builds a weakness to water. Access to SD / Knock / EQ / filler is nice though
OH
Yes, just when i recently crafted a new team with hippopotas and ninetales together, i also run feraligar and sand really helps weaken stall for him to sweep, i also run a bulky grass with leech seed to give hippopotas and other pokemon extra recovery and status, good vs stall and is a tank. finally mantine for special wall and spread burns and defog for ninetales, and at last MEGA audino with wish and calm mind set. SO my suggestion if you are running hippo is to run some leech seed and wishers, along with strong defensive core and set up sweeper.
Last edited:
Specially defensive and bulky attacker are the two most common spreads, with some running enough speed for base 50's. It's more than physically bulky enough already
So I browsed that trying to figure out what was going to be dropping for February but I still have no idea because I'm either stupid or that didn't help (probably the first one).
That leads me into my 3rd question. What will be dropping in February or what looks to be dropping?
To be quite honest, I'm not sure - the tier shift will be happening in the next day or two so I'd just wait to see what will happen.
Either special bulky: 248 HP and the rest split between special defense and speed. Or bulky attacker: 248 HP and the rest split between attack and speed; or max attack and the rest split between HP and speed.
If you're going specifically for special bulk or bulk attack you should have a tiny bit of speed like enough to outspeed opposing bulky Mega Steelixes. Although on paper this seems like an awful idea since some run enough to outspeed base 50s(audino, vileplume, hariyama) but my Mega Steelix(244 HP 252 attack 12 speed Adamant) Heavy Slam, Earthquake, Stealth Rock and Roar has managed to outspeed and 2hko many Opposing Mega Steelixes.
Adamant or Careful nature.
164 speed evs outspeeds base 50s, if this is your goal may want to run more since other Mega Steelixes with the same idea and base 50s may run more speed.
Jolly Mega Steelix needs 216 speed to outspeed +speed 100s(Typhlosion) after a Rock Polish. 244 speed evs to outspeed Timid Pyroar(base 106). I'm not recommending or belittling Rock Polish Mega Steelix in any way, just sharing ev spreads for knowledge.
Last edited:
the best stallbreakers in nu?
Stall is really underwhelming in NU, so I don't think it's worth sacrificing a slot for a dedicated stallbreaker. If anything, Mismagius could do that-
I also used 252 HP / 252+ Def Mismagius when I didn't worry about it outspeeding base 100s
Running Taunt on offensive mons such as Pyroar or Samurott is usually enough to break it though, as we don't really have many viable stall mon, if any.
Mismagius (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 40 Def / 216 Speed
Timid
- Shadow Ball
- Taunt
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 40 Def / 216 Speed
Timid
- Shadow Ball
- Taunt
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split
Running Taunt on offensive mons such as Pyroar or Samurott is usually enough to break it though, as we don't really have many viable stall mon, if any.
is xatu viable as a tool vs stall?
I've had great success with:
Uxie @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Substitute
- Calm Mind
- Psyshock
- Signal Beam / Giga Drain
Do NOT switch on a status ailment or Leech Seed, that's the last thing you want; a crippled Uxie. Even para is a nuisance.
This beast's Substitutes has the bulk to take uninvested Knock Offs from Lickilicky, and Giga Drains from Vileplume. After a Calm Mind it'll sponge many Life Orb special attacks.
Signal Beams hurts psychic and dark types like Musharana, Mesprit, Cacturne and Malamar.
Giga Drain hits those bulky grounds who eat Psyshocks like Rhydon, Mega Steelix and Golem while offering recovery.
Mismagius @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Nasty Plot
- Substitute
- Shadow Ball
- Dazzling Gleam / Thunderbolt
Pretty cool against stall and in general but struggles against Calm Mind Mega Audino.
Thunderbolt lets you hit Pyroar and Mantine, Dazzling Gleam hits Hariyama and dark types. HP Fighting sounds like it'll be ok, but is piss weak against what it attacks neutrally like Mega Audino and Murkrow.
Last edited:
Who is coming and leaving NU?
Granbull actually isn't very likely to rise, as it's main niche in RU was to stop Mega Gallade and Mega Lopunny while they were still in the tier. Now that they have both been banned, I predict Granbull's usage will drop low enough that it'll stay NU.
Usage statistics; that is how the tiers are defined, for the most part.
Mega Sharpedo is used enough in UU for it to move to that tier, and mega camerupt is used enough in NU for it to be in this tier, but not enough in RU for it to move up.
Would using a Flash Fire Pokemon to counter fire spam be a good idea? It seems like it can be fierce if pulled off correctly.
Yes, flash fire mons like ninetales and flareon make potent stops to the likes of typhlosion which can't spam eruption as freely when it wasn't there. However, I wouldn't rely on either as your only fire spam check. You might be tempted to trade it in the early game and forget the other team has a typh, so I would reccomend it a backup plan if it does go wrong.
Ah OK good idea, I carry at least 2 checks to heavy threats already since relying on one isn't always the smartest idea. It gets annoying having to teambuild with this in mind, but being swept by something I know I should be prepared for isn't ideal.
How is Lanturn, Seismitoad and Mantine against fire and water types? Which does it better, which is a better overall Mon, why should I use one over another?
All three of those Pokemon are effective at dealing with fire/water, taking about 40% on average from a full powered Specs Typhlosion's Eruption with significant Special Defense investment (Mantine takes about that much without any Special Defense investment, so most players prefer to invest in Defense in order to handle a wider variety of threats). Which one you want to use depends mostly on how they work with the rest of your team, as they all have different secondary typings and bring their own kinds of utility to the table.
Lanturn has some good support options, with access to three status inflicting moves and Heal Bell. It can also use Volt Turn off its low speed stat to provide a free switch for a sweeper or work as part of a Volt-Turn core. It's also better equipped to deal with Magmortar than Seismitoad and Mantine are (they're both hit with 4x SE by its coverage moves), but by no means does it counter it. Magmortar falls well short of a guaranteed 2HKO after SR using HP Grass against Lanturn, though it still inflicts a lot of damage. If the Magmortar is running Earthquake, you'll be 2HKO'd after switching into it with rocks up.
Seismitoad is a fantastic hazards lead with an advantage over other common hazard setters in the tier, including Steelix, Camerupt and Archeops. It has decent offensive presence uninvested, access to Knock Off support, and a resistance to Stealth Rock that helps it switch in on Fire moves, though HP Grass coverage is obviously very effective against it. Currently a Special Defense biased Seismitoad is uncommon, but with Kabutops rising and a handful of new answers to Feraligatr dropping, there may be more room for it.
Mantine is the best Defogger in the metagame, particularly notable for countering/checking all current S ranked threats (barring the rare Wild Charge Typhlosion). It also has access to Haze to stop SmashPass, and can function as a soft check to Feraligatr. Unlike Seismitoad, it can switch in on any common Typhlosion move, but you have to be careful, as being worn down by Stealth Rock can put it into KO range.
Lanturn has some good support options, with access to three status inflicting moves and Heal Bell. It can also use Volt Turn off its low speed stat to provide a free switch for a sweeper or work as part of a Volt-Turn core. It's also better equipped to deal with Magmortar than Seismitoad and Mantine are (they're both hit with 4x SE by its coverage moves), but by no means does it counter it. Magmortar falls well short of a guaranteed 2HKO after SR using HP Grass against Lanturn, though it still inflicts a lot of damage. If the Magmortar is running Earthquake, you'll be 2HKO'd after switching into it with rocks up.
Seismitoad is a fantastic hazards lead with an advantage over other common hazard setters in the tier, including Steelix, Camerupt and Archeops. It has decent offensive presence uninvested, access to Knock Off support, and a resistance to Stealth Rock that helps it switch in on Fire moves, though HP Grass coverage is obviously very effective against it. Currently a Special Defense biased Seismitoad is uncommon, but with Kabutops rising and a handful of new answers to Feraligatr dropping, there may be more room for it.
Mantine is the best Defogger in the metagame, particularly notable for countering/checking all current S ranked threats (barring the rare Wild Charge Typhlosion). It also has access to Haze to stop SmashPass, and can function as a soft check to Feraligatr. Unlike Seismitoad, it can switch in on any common Typhlosion move, but you have to be careful, as being worn down by Stealth Rock can put it into KO range.