Hi everyone, I've fallen out with the metagame over the past few months and as such missed the bulk of the new metagames introduced since the release of XY besides XY OU itself. However a few weeks ago I decided that it was time to get back into the tiers I really enjoy, that being NU and RU, and this generation NU is appealing to me more. This is my most successful team for the tier, and while I know it is far from perfect (or good, probably) that is exactly why I am RMT'ing it. I want to ask for more experienced players in this tiers advice while I learn this new metagame better and better. I even used the analyses a bit while making this team, which if you know me from last generation is quite an accomplishment. So without further ado, here's the team:
Seismitoad @ Life Orb
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earth Power
- Scald
- Sludge Wave
Seismitoad was one of my favourite Pokemon to use last generation, so the first thing I did when I decided to get back into XY NU was to put it on a team. I looked for changes from BW2 and XY NU that would affect its moveset and couldn't find anything, so here you have a set from B2W2 NU. Seismitoad here is my Stealth Rock setter and is a bit of a counter to offensive teams, as it packs considerable power in Earth Power and Sludge Wave as well as having a powerful Scald to hinder physical sweepers. Seismitoad actually takes out a plethora of top-tier threats such as Slurpuff and Rhydon. I originally had Hydro Pump over Scald, but during testing I quickly realized that Hydro Pump's accuracy was letting me down, and the utility provided with Scald is better than that extra power anyway. Seismitoad also fills a third of my FWG core, being the water part. I find FWG is always a reliable team archetype when trying to introduce yourself to a new metagame.
/
Pyroar @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Unnerve
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Flamethrower
- Hyper Voice
- Dark Pulse
- Hidden Power [Grass]
Pyroar is one of my revenge killers, and is just great to have around against offensive but frailer teams, as little outspeeds Pyroar with its Choice Scarf. The main reason I use Choice Scarf over Choice Specs is actually Sneasel, because it is a major threat to my team otherwise. I also acknowledge the fact that the analysis says to use Choice Specs, but through testing I find Choice Scarf to be the better option for this team. Anyway, I have never actually used Dark Pulse, since the other three attacks are really all it needs. Pyroar is a key member to the team because it can take things on such as Shiftry (despite the Sucker Punch damage, it gets the job done!) as well as the aforementioned Sneasel and other glass cannons like it. Pyroar is the fire-type third of my FWG core.
Cacturne @ Choice Band
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Seed Bomb
- Sucker Punch
- Poison Jab
- Superpower
Cacturne? Choice Band Cacturne? Superpower? Poison Jab? Yeah, OK, so this Cacturne isn't the standard set, but it is the Pokémon who has undergone the most adjustments since I built the original draft of this team. You may ask why I am using Choice Band as opposed to Life Orb, and that's for the simple reason of team synergy. The Life Orb set was working well for me, but this team originally used a Slurpuff. I didn't like how it played, so I replaced Slurpuff with a Sneasel and decided to go wild with Cacturne here. I find them to be a fairly well synergised duo and the pair covers a couple of team archetypes, because as you might have guessed, Cacturne here is a Wallbreaker. Choice Band Seed Bomb hits incredibly hard on lots of the bulkier Pokémon in the tier, as many of them are actually weak to grass such as Seismitoad, Regirock, Rhydon, Lanturn, Omastar and Carracosta. Superpower is there for Ferroseed mainly, but is also handy to have against opposing Cacturne (notice the 8 speed EVs. That's both to give it an odd number of HP because of Stealth Rock and to do a bit of speed creeping), while Poison Jab is there for some rarer but still powerful bulky Pokémon such as Ludicolo and Granbull. Sucker Punch is there because people often don't expect it to hit as hard as it does because they are used to Life Orb Cacturne so it has a certain amount of surprise factor, but also it's just so that Cacturne isn't a complete and utter deadweight against offensive teams where everything outspeeds the poor cactus. It can usually gets at least one KO with Sucker Punch later in the game, which is undeniably helpful. Water Absorb is also great for the few rain teams I've run into in this tier. I also love the power Cacturne packs. For example, it can OHKO Miltank and Audino with Superpower, and 3HKO Steelix (but usually 2HKO as I use Steelix later on in the match usually). It's interesting that Cacturne actually seems to be quite anti-meta. Especially without Shiftry, Cacturne could take the limelight in the current stage of NU!
...yeah, probably not.
Drifblim @ Leftovers
Ability: Aftermath
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Defog
- Shadow Ball
- Thunder Wave
- Will-O-Wisp
I just needed a nice Defog user, and Drifblim really jumped out at me. While I couldn't use a set like it had last generation, I thought I'd go for a set which I had used to great effect last generation on Misdreavus, that being the double status set. The idea is to be able to be a nice counter to sweepers at any time in the match. For example, if you're facing a Feraligatr early in the match you definitely want to use Will-O-Wisp on it to basically incapacitate it for the rest of the battle. However, if it is late in the game and you just have Drifblim and Cacturne left, for example, you can Thunder Wave to let Cacturne happily outspeed. Thunder Wave is also nice to have for the special sweepers in the tier, however few there may be. It has saved me against countless Mesprit. Shadow Ball is there for a decently powerful STAB attack, and Defog is just there because I can see hazards being very problematic for this team without it. I pumped a bunch of EVs into speed so that Drifblim can outspeed threats such as Feraligatr and to speed tie with max speed Shiftry (although most are either Adamant or Modest that I've run into, so I outspeed them thanks to nature) since otherwise it wouldn't be incapacitating anything! You may argue that the bulk is more important for getting Defog off safely, but Drifblim outspeeds most hazard setters anyway.
Mesprit @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Psychic
- Thunderbolt
- Energy Ball
- Healing Wish
Mesprit is a must-have on most teams this generation IMO. It is just an incredibly versatile Pokémon, but I've found that this set works best for me and my team. Healing Wish is absolutely crucial in the current metagame, because I've found on bulkier Pokémon like Seismitoad smaller amounts of damage seem to be thrown around weakening them substantially, but then Healing Wish heals them back up and makes them my win condition many times, really. Psychic is for powerful STAB, Thunderbolt is for the otherwise dangerous Flying-Type Pokémon to my team (since I tend to sack Sneasel early game and just have it being a huge damage-dealer putting the rest of my team at a distinct advantage early on) and Energy Ball is just there because, even though I have three Grass-Type attacks on my team, it is my most powerful Special Grass-Type attack, which is incredible for Pokémon like Regirock; Pokémon which Cacturne can only hope to 2HKO with its STAB, despite them being weak to the attack. Besides, it keeps up my momentum by having me not have to switch.
Probopass @ Leftovers
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 160 HP / 252 SpA / 96 Spe
Modest Nature
- Flash Cannon
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Volt Switch
- Power Gem
Suggested by Brawlfest, replaced Sneasel. Probopass here is a fantastic offensive pivot, especially against the many choice-locker Normal-Type Pokémon in NU or, really, most attackers. Not only does Probopass' typing greatly benefit the team, it's nice special power is a factor in its placement on the team. It provides some much-needed bulk, which is sometimes not too apparent with Pokémon such as Pyroar and Cacturne. If I need a Pokémon to take a strong hit and deal one back, Probopass is where I turn.
So that's the team! I'm really just looking for some great advice on how to improve this team, as well as looking for well made posts to explain the current metagame a little bit better for a (pseudo-)offensive team such as this one. Thanks for reading!
Seismitoad @ Life Orb
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earth Power
- Scald
- Sludge Wave
Seismitoad was one of my favourite Pokemon to use last generation, so the first thing I did when I decided to get back into XY NU was to put it on a team. I looked for changes from BW2 and XY NU that would affect its moveset and couldn't find anything, so here you have a set from B2W2 NU. Seismitoad here is my Stealth Rock setter and is a bit of a counter to offensive teams, as it packs considerable power in Earth Power and Sludge Wave as well as having a powerful Scald to hinder physical sweepers. Seismitoad actually takes out a plethora of top-tier threats such as Slurpuff and Rhydon. I originally had Hydro Pump over Scald, but during testing I quickly realized that Hydro Pump's accuracy was letting me down, and the utility provided with Scald is better than that extra power anyway. Seismitoad also fills a third of my FWG core, being the water part. I find FWG is always a reliable team archetype when trying to introduce yourself to a new metagame.
Pyroar @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Unnerve
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Flamethrower
- Hyper Voice
- Dark Pulse
- Hidden Power [Grass]
Pyroar is one of my revenge killers, and is just great to have around against offensive but frailer teams, as little outspeeds Pyroar with its Choice Scarf. The main reason I use Choice Scarf over Choice Specs is actually Sneasel, because it is a major threat to my team otherwise. I also acknowledge the fact that the analysis says to use Choice Specs, but through testing I find Choice Scarf to be the better option for this team. Anyway, I have never actually used Dark Pulse, since the other three attacks are really all it needs. Pyroar is a key member to the team because it can take things on such as Shiftry (despite the Sucker Punch damage, it gets the job done!) as well as the aforementioned Sneasel and other glass cannons like it. Pyroar is the fire-type third of my FWG core.
Cacturne @ Choice Band
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Seed Bomb
- Sucker Punch
- Poison Jab
- Superpower
Cacturne? Choice Band Cacturne? Superpower? Poison Jab? Yeah, OK, so this Cacturne isn't the standard set, but it is the Pokémon who has undergone the most adjustments since I built the original draft of this team. You may ask why I am using Choice Band as opposed to Life Orb, and that's for the simple reason of team synergy. The Life Orb set was working well for me, but this team originally used a Slurpuff. I didn't like how it played, so I replaced Slurpuff with a Sneasel and decided to go wild with Cacturne here. I find them to be a fairly well synergised duo and the pair covers a couple of team archetypes, because as you might have guessed, Cacturne here is a Wallbreaker. Choice Band Seed Bomb hits incredibly hard on lots of the bulkier Pokémon in the tier, as many of them are actually weak to grass such as Seismitoad, Regirock, Rhydon, Lanturn, Omastar and Carracosta. Superpower is there for Ferroseed mainly, but is also handy to have against opposing Cacturne (notice the 8 speed EVs. That's both to give it an odd number of HP because of Stealth Rock and to do a bit of speed creeping), while Poison Jab is there for some rarer but still powerful bulky Pokémon such as Ludicolo and Granbull. Sucker Punch is there because people often don't expect it to hit as hard as it does because they are used to Life Orb Cacturne so it has a certain amount of surprise factor, but also it's just so that Cacturne isn't a complete and utter deadweight against offensive teams where everything outspeeds the poor cactus. It can usually gets at least one KO with Sucker Punch later in the game, which is undeniably helpful. Water Absorb is also great for the few rain teams I've run into in this tier. I also love the power Cacturne packs. For example, it can OHKO Miltank and Audino with Superpower, and 3HKO Steelix (but usually 2HKO as I use Steelix later on in the match usually). It's interesting that Cacturne actually seems to be quite anti-meta. Especially without Shiftry, Cacturne could take the limelight in the current stage of NU!
...yeah, probably not.
Drifblim @ Leftovers
Ability: Aftermath
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Defog
- Shadow Ball
- Thunder Wave
- Will-O-Wisp
I just needed a nice Defog user, and Drifblim really jumped out at me. While I couldn't use a set like it had last generation, I thought I'd go for a set which I had used to great effect last generation on Misdreavus, that being the double status set. The idea is to be able to be a nice counter to sweepers at any time in the match. For example, if you're facing a Feraligatr early in the match you definitely want to use Will-O-Wisp on it to basically incapacitate it for the rest of the battle. However, if it is late in the game and you just have Drifblim and Cacturne left, for example, you can Thunder Wave to let Cacturne happily outspeed. Thunder Wave is also nice to have for the special sweepers in the tier, however few there may be. It has saved me against countless Mesprit. Shadow Ball is there for a decently powerful STAB attack, and Defog is just there because I can see hazards being very problematic for this team without it. I pumped a bunch of EVs into speed so that Drifblim can outspeed threats such as Feraligatr and to speed tie with max speed Shiftry (although most are either Adamant or Modest that I've run into, so I outspeed them thanks to nature) since otherwise it wouldn't be incapacitating anything! You may argue that the bulk is more important for getting Defog off safely, but Drifblim outspeeds most hazard setters anyway.
Mesprit @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Psychic
- Thunderbolt
- Energy Ball
- Healing Wish
Mesprit is a must-have on most teams this generation IMO. It is just an incredibly versatile Pokémon, but I've found that this set works best for me and my team. Healing Wish is absolutely crucial in the current metagame, because I've found on bulkier Pokémon like Seismitoad smaller amounts of damage seem to be thrown around weakening them substantially, but then Healing Wish heals them back up and makes them my win condition many times, really. Psychic is for powerful STAB, Thunderbolt is for the otherwise dangerous Flying-Type Pokémon to my team (since I tend to sack Sneasel early game and just have it being a huge damage-dealer putting the rest of my team at a distinct advantage early on) and Energy Ball is just there because, even though I have three Grass-Type attacks on my team, it is my most powerful Special Grass-Type attack, which is incredible for Pokémon like Regirock; Pokémon which Cacturne can only hope to 2HKO with its STAB, despite them being weak to the attack. Besides, it keeps up my momentum by having me not have to switch.
Probopass @ Leftovers
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 160 HP / 252 SpA / 96 Spe
Modest Nature
- Flash Cannon
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Volt Switch
- Power Gem
Suggested by Brawlfest, replaced Sneasel. Probopass here is a fantastic offensive pivot, especially against the many choice-locker Normal-Type Pokémon in NU or, really, most attackers. Not only does Probopass' typing greatly benefit the team, it's nice special power is a factor in its placement on the team. It provides some much-needed bulk, which is sometimes not too apparent with Pokémon such as Pyroar and Cacturne. If I need a Pokémon to take a strong hit and deal one back, Probopass is where I turn.
Replaced By Probopass
Sneasel @ Life Orb
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Ice Shard
- Ice Punch
- Low Kick
Sneasel has two roles on this team. It can either be an early game damage spreader, or a late game win condition, but is very rarely both. Sneasel has an incredibly basic set here; STABs, priority and then coverage. I really don't know what else to say about Sneasel here, because it is a standard set. Everyone knows that Sneasel is good at its job. Something noteworthy is that Sneasel is quite a frail thing, but its glass cannon nature was exactly what I was looking for when I put it on the team. This slot originally belonged to a Slurpuff, but I felt that I needed more presence early game besides just Mesprit and a bit of Seismitoad and Pyroar, so I found Sneasel's power and speed to be a great combination for the role. It also helps me counter rarer threats such as Mesprit and actually Altaria, who gives this team huge trouble once Sneasel is gone.
Sneasel @ Life Orb
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Ice Shard
- Ice Punch
- Low Kick
Sneasel has two roles on this team. It can either be an early game damage spreader, or a late game win condition, but is very rarely both. Sneasel has an incredibly basic set here; STABs, priority and then coverage. I really don't know what else to say about Sneasel here, because it is a standard set. Everyone knows that Sneasel is good at its job. Something noteworthy is that Sneasel is quite a frail thing, but its glass cannon nature was exactly what I was looking for when I put it on the team. This slot originally belonged to a Slurpuff, but I felt that I needed more presence early game besides just Mesprit and a bit of Seismitoad and Pyroar, so I found Sneasel's power and speed to be a great combination for the role. It also helps me counter rarer threats such as Mesprit and actually Altaria, who gives this team huge trouble once Sneasel is gone.
Seismitoad @ Life Orb
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earth Power
- Scald
- Sludge Wave
Pyroar @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Unnerve
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Flamethrower
- Hyper Voice
- Dark Pulse
- Hidden Power [Grass]
Cacturne @ Choice Band
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Seed Bomb
- Sucker Punch
- Poison Jab
- Superpower
Drifblim @ Leftovers
Ability: Aftermath
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Defog
- Shadow Ball
- Thunder Wave
- Will-O-Wisp
Sneasel @ Life Orb
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Ice Shard
- Ice Punch
- Low Kick
Mesprit @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Psychic
- Thunderbolt
- Energy Ball
- Healing Wish
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earth Power
- Scald
- Sludge Wave
Pyroar @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Unnerve
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Flamethrower
- Hyper Voice
- Dark Pulse
- Hidden Power [Grass]
Cacturne @ Choice Band
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Seed Bomb
- Sucker Punch
- Poison Jab
- Superpower
Drifblim @ Leftovers
Ability: Aftermath
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Defog
- Shadow Ball
- Thunder Wave
- Will-O-Wisp
Sneasel @ Life Orb
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Knock Off
- Ice Shard
- Ice Punch
- Low Kick
Mesprit @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Psychic
- Thunderbolt
- Energy Ball
- Healing Wish
So that's the team! I'm really just looking for some great advice on how to improve this team, as well as looking for well made posts to explain the current metagame a little bit better for a (pseudo-)offensive team such as this one. Thanks for reading!
Last edited:
