Dark Horse Thread(VGC Edition)

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Let's use this thread top discuss less common Pokemon that are still able to function properly in the VGC format. Someone can pitch a Pokemon, we discuss it for a little, and then I'll add it to the OP. Feel free to mention anything you want. Remember, you do not need to share your secret sets, but if you actually want it to be discussed, leave some information about it. Information can include what it is commonly outclassed by and why should one use it over one that generally outclasses it.
Cobalion CAN qualify
Bisharp CAN NOT qualify
 

Inspirited

There is usually higher ground.
is a Contributor Alumnus
This one is actually pretty cool imo:

I am personally using it for its ability to check fairy spam among its other very useful resistances, and believe me, Adaptability Sludge Wave is quite powerful (this also means you need at least one Steel and hardly any choice users because it hits your ally too). I also has a gem in Icy Wind, and although it has trouble abusing it itself (this thing is slow as balls), it definitely has the bulk and offensive presence to pull it off successfully for a teammate. As far as coverage goes, it gets Focus Blast to hit every Steel, besides Metagross, for super effective damage. Its not a splashable Pokemon by any means, but it definitely has its uses.

____________________________


This thing is criminally underused on Tailwind archetypes imo. Techloom may only offer its Grass-typing as defensive utility, but its offensive capabilities with Tailwind or Icy Wind support is through the roof due to its very powerful Bullet Seed, fast Spore being terrifying as is, and having a very strong Mach Punch. Its utility is very unique and it is definitly worth using should your team need it.
 
This one is actually pretty cool imo:

I am personally using it for its ability to check fairy spam among its other very useful resistances, and believe me, Adaptability Sludge Wave is quite powerful (this also means you need at least one Steel and hardly any choice users because it hits your ally too). I also has a gem in Icy Wind, and although it has trouble abusing it itself (this thing is slow as balls), it definitely has the bulk and offensive presence to pull it off successfully for a teammate. As far as coverage goes, it gets Focus Blast to hit every Steel, besides Metagross, for super effective damage. Its not a splashable Pokemon by any means, but it definitely has its uses.

____________________________


This thing is criminally underused on Tailwind archetypes imo. Techloom may only offer its Grass-typing as defensive utility, but its offensive capabilities with Tailwind or Icy Wind support is through the roof due to its very powerful Bullet Seed, fast Spore being terrifying as is, and having a very strong Mach Punch. Its utility is very unique and it is definitly worth using should your team need it.
Hmm, Dragalge seems really interesting actually
 
Whimsicott

I'm seeing very few of them, and I feel like there's a lot of utility there in Prankster Taunt, Encore, Helping Hand, Switcheroo, Tailwind, Safeguard and Stun Spore, not to mention Dazzling Gleam and Giga Drain Stab to either spread damage or attempt to recover.

Momento is also a really good move to have, instantly crippling what could otherwise be an unstoppable threat. Fake Tears works similarly, essentially giving a helping Hand boost over a longer period of time, Even worry Seed could be Niche, getting rid of Levitate, Pixilate, Aerialate, Prankster, Gale Wings, Regenerator, Tough Claws, Chlorophyll, Swift Swim, Sheer Force, and Technician to name a few.

It even has more gimmicky sets like Swagger, and even the infamous Beat Up thing.

However, it will eat up a Focus Sash slot, rivaling Blissey in physically defensive capabilities and Butterfree in Special Defense (okay, maybe not that bad, but it's pretty awful) and not being able to hit too hard itself.

It;s definitely a support pokemon, but it's like Jumpluff in VGC 2014-- you gotta prepare for it, or you'll find yourself in a pretty poor position.
 

Pyritie

TAMAGO
is an Artist
Whimsicott

I'm seeing very few of them, and I feel like there's a lot of utility there in Prankster Taunt, Encore, Helping Hand, Switcheroo, Tailwind, Safeguard and Stun Spore, not to mention Dazzling Gleam and Giga Drain Stab to either spread damage or attempt to recover.

Momento is also a really good move to have, instantly crippling what could otherwise be an unstoppable threat. Fake Tears works similarly, essentially giving a helping Hand boost over a longer period of time, Even worry Seed could be Niche, getting rid of Levitate, Pixilate, Aerialate, Prankster, Gale Wings, Regenerator, Tough Claws, Chlorophyll, Swift Swim, Sheer Force, and Technician to name a few.

It even has more gimmicky sets like Swagger, and even the infamous Beat Up thing.

However, it will eat up a Focus Sash slot, rivaling Blissey in physically defensive capabilities and Butterfree in Special Defense (okay, maybe not that bad, but it's pretty awful) and not being able to hit too hard itself.

It;s definitely a support pokemon, but it's like Jumpluff in VGC 2014-- you gotta prepare for it, or you'll find yourself in a pretty poor position.
Whimsicott + mega gengar is literally hitler
 
hot dogs



with fire being a better defensive type now, especially with hyper voice sylveon being everywhere, and the demand for burns and intimidates rising (or at least staying the same thanks to khan), i think these two deserve a little attention. arcanine is probably the better of the two because of its better support movepool, mostly helping hand and intimidate, though it doesn't have entei's amazing HP. i calced out a simple bold arcainine spread of 252 hp / 144 defense / 36 satk / 76 speed, which is enough to outspeed and ohko bisharp with flamethrower before you get your sitrus knocked off. entei can run a sub+leftovers set with sacred fire providing burns and the last slot being occupied by either snarl or stone edge or even bulldoze (because entei's movepool is that bad), which will be a more supportive version of subtran i suppose, with the possibility of sitting on HP ground sylveon and whittling down low BP moves like hydro pump (rotom-w) with pressure.
 
hot dogs



with fire being a better defensive type now, especially with hyper voice sylveon being everywhere, and the demand for burns and intimidates rising (or at least staying the same thanks to khan), i think these two deserve a little attention. arcanine is probably the better of the two because of its better support movepool, mostly helping hand and intimidate, though it doesn't have entei's amazing HP. i calced out a simple bold arcainine spread of 252 hp / 144 defense / 36 satk / 76 speed, which is enough to outspeed and ohko bisharp with flamethrower before you get your sitrus knocked off. entei can run a sub+leftovers set with sacred fire providing burns and the last slot being occupied by either snarl or stone edge or even bulldoze (because entei's movepool is that bad), which will be a more supportive version of subtran i suppose, with the possibility of sitting on HP ground sylveon and whittling down low BP moves like hydro pump (rotom-w) with pressure.
I actually plan on trying out Entei as a bulky Will-o-Wisp user. Glad to see I'm not the only one thinking about that!
 
volcarona.png

I think Volcarona deserves a mention. It has 6 resistances (Ice, Fighting, Steel, and Fairy being big ones) and it has versatility thanks to moves like Quiver Dance, Bug Buzz, Heat Wave, Giga Drain, Rage Powder, and Roost.

Bold nature with 252 HP/ 252 Def/ 4 Sp Atk is bulky enough to 3 hits from Adamant Mega Mawile with 252 HP/ 252 Atk/ 4 Sp Def and 2HKO in return, and has a decent burn chance with Flame Body. (Rocky Helmet also helps out against physical attackers.) It's even bulky enough to survive a Rock Slide from LO Garchomp.

Of course being 4x weak to rock and weak to bird-spam sucks pretty bad, so I'm not entirely sure how much this thing can do in VGC 2015 format. What do you guys think?
 
View attachment 32675
I think Volcarona deserves a mention. It has 6 resistances (Ice, Fighting, Steel, and Fairy being big ones) and it has versatility thanks to moves like Quiver Dance, Bug Buzz, Heat Wave, Giga Drain, Rage Powder, and Roost.

Bold nature with 252 HP/ 252 Def/ 4 Sp Atk is bulky enough to 3 hits from Adamant Mega Mawile with 252 HP/ 252 Atk/ 4 Sp Def and 2HKO in return, and has a decent burn chance with Flame Body. (Rocky Helmet also helps out against physical attackers.) It's even bulky enough to survive a Rock Slide from LO Garchomp.

Of course being 4x weak to rock and weak to bird-spam sucks pretty bad, so I'm not entirely sure how much this thing can do in VGC 2015 format. What do you guys think?
I like Rage Powder Volcarona a lot with Rocky Helmet and Flame Body.
I'd also take some out of defense and invest 52 into Special Attack to OHKO Mega-Mawile

Volcarona also gets Tailwind, making it a pretty versatile support mon.
 
Here's actually something that I've found surprisingly good:


Vivillon @ Focus Sash
Ability: Compound Eyes
Level: 50
- Hurricane
- Sleep Powder
- Tailwind
- Safeguard / Rage Powder / Protect

With the addition of Tailwind, the incredibly niche early-game XY bug seems to be a great support mon in VGC '15. Hurricane hits very hard for a support, and is a good STAB in VGC '15 in general, and almost never misses thanks to Compound Eyes. Speaking of Compound Eyes, Sleep Powder now has 97% accuracy, essentially becoming one of the fastest reliable sleeps in the game. As for the last slot, Rage Powder lets Vivillon suicide to let a teammate set up after its job is done, Safeguard is a generally good move in a mostly physical metagame, and Protect is obvious.
 
Here's actually something that I've found surprisingly good:


Vivillon @ Focus Sash
Ability: Compound Eyes
Level: 50
- Hurricane
- Sleep Powder
- Tailwind
- Safeguard / Rage Powder / Protect

With the addition of Tailwind, the incredibly niche early-game XY bug seems to be a great support mon in VGC '15. Hurricane hits very hard for a support, and is a good STAB in VGC '15 in general, and almost never misses thanks to Compound Eyes. Speaking of Compound Eyes, Sleep Powder now has 97% accuracy, essentially becoming one of the fastest reliable sleeps in the game. As for the last slot, Rage Powder lets Vivillon suicide to let a teammate set up after its job is done, Safeguard is a generally good move in a mostly physical metagame, and Protect is obvious.
Interesting! Compound Eyes seems inferior to Friend Guard for a support set, but the more I look into it, Sleep Powder seems to be pretty useful! However, I think you mixed up Safeguard and Reflect, and I still find Friend Guard to be pretty great, and hard to pass up, especially with either Reflect or Light Screen to further boost defenses. Hurricane can be replaced with Draining Kiss to increase survivability. But the fact that we just came up with 2 sets for an overlooked pokemon does prove you're right.
 
Interesting! Compound Eyes seems inferior to Friend Guard for a support set, but the more I look into it, Sleep Powder seems to be pretty useful! However, I think you mixed up Safeguard and Reflect, and I still find Friend Guard to be pretty great, and hard to pass up, especially with either Reflect or Light Screen to further boost defenses. Hurricane can be replaced with Draining Kiss to increase survivability. But the fact that we just came up with 2 sets for an overlooked pokemon does prove you're right.
nah, I meant Safeguard, the one that blocks status (I was referring to protecting your most likely physically-based team from the omnipresent burns), but reflect/light screen are also both viable. Friend guard seems good in theory, but then sleep Powder goes from 97% accuracy to 75% accuracy, and you essentially lose the ability to run Hurricane. Draining Kiss isn't useful as its defenses are comparable to wet tissue paper - if I were to run Friend Guard, I'd run something like Tailwind/Protect/Safeguard/filler, which is still viable on select teams.
 
I was playing around with clefairy earlier, to decent success.


Clefairy @ Eviolite
Ability: Friend Guard
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 220 Def / 36 SpD
Calm Nature
- Follow Me
- Protect
- Icy Wind
- Helping Hand

It's got a couple things over normal follow me users. Namely, it's got friend guard, so even is you don't use follow me your partner can still take a hit. Eviolite makes it reasonably bulky, and support moves like helping hand and icy wind are useful. Follow me is mainly useful when you need to let your partner set up, and even then, clefairy doesn't get KO'd very easily (it'll survive fake-out + return from Kanga most of the time, for example). It's probably inferior to Togekiss 90% of the time, but I do think friend guard gives it a niche if you need to be able to take spread moves (for example, if you want to set up with Volcarona).
 

ethan06

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is a Community Contributor Alumnus

Excadrill @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Mold Breaker
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Drill Run
- Iron Head

Here's something I've been trying out a little and it's been doing work for my team so far. Choice Scarf Excadrill may seem fairly outclassed by Garchomp and Landorus-T as Ground-type Scarfers but it has a couple of aces up it's sleeve - firstly, thanks to Mold Breaker and Iron Head it has a far better matchup against Sylveon and Rotom-W than the other two, cleanly OHKOing 252/0 Sylveon and having a decent roll to beat Rotom with Drill Run. Secondly, it has a single-target Ground move, meaning that it isn't completely at the mercy of Wide Guard. Drill Run is also more powerful than Earthquake when you factor the spread nerf. Not for every team, but definitely useful if Fairies are a problem, not to mention Cress, Gengar, Wide Guard Aegislash or Rotom-Wash (or the rarely seen Rotom-Heat).
 
About Whimsicott: I don't really think it needs Sash. Outside of the very rare Poison type attacks, I've been very happy with its bulk, especially since people are very reluctant to attack it. My set was something like this:

Whimsicott @ Sitrus Berry/Mental Herb/Leftovers
EV 252HP/252Speed/4 Defense
Timid Nature
-Protect
-Encore (Oh my god Encore is so gooood)
-Tailwind/Taunt/Helping Hand
-Tailwind/Taunt/Helping Hand

And then there's still a whole spectrum of other options I'm not going to go into here. The only thing I didn't like was Beat Up, because I felt it was a waste of a slot, and I'd rather have Helping Hand.
 
This silly, yet hilarous duo:



Aurorus @ Life Orb
Ability: Refrigerate
Level: 50
EVs: 28 HP / 252 SpA / 228 Spe
Modest Nature
- Hyper Voice
- Earth Power / Ancient Power
- Protect
- Freeze-Dry


Parasect @ Focus Sash
Ability: Dry Skin
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 188 Def / 68 Spe
Impish Nature
- Wide Guard
- Rage Powder
- Spore
- Seed Bomb / X-Scissor

I got this idea when i was searching Pokemon usage in PGL ORAS league, and saw Parasect's number one partner being Aurorus. I was slightly confused by this fact, so i decided to try these two paired with together. And damn, they really did work. These two share many similarities: heavily underused and overall ''mediocre'' mons. They also have tons of weakness, including shared Rock weakness. However, i found rock weakness more a positive than negative point: it literally screams opponent to use Rock Slide. And thats one part where this duo shines. Honestly, before i saw Parasect's most used moved in its statistics, i didnt know that it gets Wide Guard. Probably most of you either didnt know. Wide Guard really cathes opponent off guard: this, most of time, gave Aurorus one free Hyper Voice. After they realized that Parasect has Wide Guard, they would either start to use non spread moves aimed at both of Aurorus and Parasect, or if they were little smarter, kill Parasect ASAP. Turn 2 literally forces opponent to kill Parasect if they want to kill Aurorus reliably, or have guessing game that will Parasect either use Rage Powder or Wide Guard again and take a risk and use Spread move to guess Parasect using Rage Powder now. Either way, if they wanted to make sure to kill Aurorus, they had to kill Parasect first. And this is one reason why Parasect did have Focus Sash. Most of time Aurorus got again another Hyper Voice off pretty easily. I didnt use them in Trick Room, in fact, this duo must be even better in Trick Room. Ofc, this is not without its flaws. Some mons still cause problems to this duo. Mega Kanga is quite nasty, as it can just deal lots of damage to Parasect, kill Aurorus with Low Kick, Fake outing Parasect and partner killing Aurorus etc. Be also aware of Steel types.

Okay, now into movesets.

On Aurorus, moveset is pretty simple. Hyper Voice is easily the main point of Aurorus. After LO, it hits like truck. Not like Sylveon, but still hard, and with meta having lot of Ice-weak mons, it scored sometimes lot of OHKOs. Second slot is up to you. I used Ancient Power actually, since i did have several Ground-move users, and killing Mega Charizard Y was nice. Protect, for protecting obv, and scouting. Freeze-dry is mostly just against water types. I rarely needed it, though, but when i needed it, it was great.

EVs arent very special. Max speed with Modest didnt seem necessary, so i did just give it 228 Spe EVs in order to outspeed Rotom without speed investment. 28 HP EV adds bit bulk. And special attack is maximized and item is Life Orb in order to make Aurorus to hit as hard as possible.

Parasect seems slightly more confusing. Focus Sash with decently bulky mon with heavy bulk investment seems weird, but it was shown to be better than Rocky Helmet or Sitrus Berry. It guaranteed that when it used Rage Powder, both of opponents had to hit Parasect instead Aurorus. It also gave Parasect to chance to survive attacks from Mega Charizard Y, Talonflame, Rotom-H etc. and put them to sleep with Spore. Wide Guard is possibly best move on this set, and main reason to use Parasect over Amoonguss. It has bit surprise value, as most opponents didnt expect it. Rage Powder, is to redirect all Ground, Water, Fighting and Grass moves aimed at Aurorus. Spore, is still great move, and its obv to put target to sleep. I almost never used last move, in fact, never unless Parasect was last mon remaining or it was Taunted.

EV Spread is again, pretty simple. 68 Spe EVs allows it to outspeed Quiet Aegislash and put it to sleep. Rest EVs is added to HP and Defense to maximize physical bulk to tank Physical attackers. Careful nature with 188 Sp Def EVs works too, but Kanga is more likely to KO you, so this one is better.

Conclusion: My other part of team possibly wasnt exactly great for this team and didnt have great synergy with it. However, these two was very fun to use, and sometimes it did, believe or not, demolish unprepared teams. Possibly smarter idea would use them under Trick Room with partners beating Mega Kanga and other threats to this team. It was situnational sometimes, and sometimes i lost due to it, but it actually somehow did overall bump me in Showdown's rankings up. Definely gonna someday use them more, this time, with Trick Room support.
 
Although I know I didn't create this set or anything (credit to Angel Miranda of course), this set his actually helped me out a lot and surprised a lot of my opponents, helping me climb up to about 1400 on the ladder nearly immediately.


Swampert @ Expert Belt
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 228 SpA / 4 SpD / 20 Spe
Modest Nature
- Scald
- Earth Power
- Ice Beam
- Wide Guard

Now you may be thinking non-Mega Swampert isn't viable anywhere besides maybe UU, and a special Swampert isn't viable anywhere at all, but this really isn't true. Every opponent I've faced with this Swampert on my team has played expecting and made plays to counter a physical Mega Swampert (like Will-O-Wisping it, Faking it out, etc. while my bigger threat is free to do its thing), meanwhile what they are really facing is a special based normal Swampert. It has pretty good coverage, posing as a hard counter for to major threats like Lando-T (OHKO), Thundurus (2HKO), Heatran (OHKO without Shuca Berry, guaranteed 2HKO with Shuca Berry or Air Balloon), Mega Mawile (OHKO), MegaMence (OHKO), Talonflame (OHKO), Aegislash (OHKO vs. Blade, 2HKO vs. Shield), Hydreigon (2HKO), Garchomp (OHKO), Mega Gengar (68.8% chance to OHKO), and many other major threats currently running around the VGC meta. It also checks things like Rotom-W, even if it is unable to kill it itself. Its only fear is the not so common grass type in the form of things like Mega Venusaur, Amoongus, Ludicolo, Breloom, Mega Sceptile (as it outspeeds Swampert) or MegaZard Y in the sun (although out of the sun, MegaZard Y is destroyed by Swampert). Furthermore, it offers great support in doubles with Wide Guard, thus providing a check for Specs Sylveon's Hyper Voice, along with other moves like Rock Slide, Earthquake, or even a Hyper Voice from MegaMence (although it would OHKO MegaMence) or Mega Gardevoir. Expert Belt, Modest Nature, and 228 SpA are meant for near maximum damage against the things it counters, while still having a reliable amount of bulk to be able to withstand a few hits.

Although this variant of Swampert may not be as powerful as its more popular, Mega counterpart, the Dark Horse normal, special Swampert may even be considered better by some people for the role it fulfills with its ability to check, counter, and OHKO so many popular mons in today's meta.

EDIT: Also forgot to mention it can scare some physical attackers with Scald
 
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A few underrated mons (they are pretty viable, but I just haven't seen many other ones on the ladder) that I've been using:

Aerodactyl @ Focus Sash
Ability: Unnerve
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Rock Slide
- Taunt
- Wide Guard
- Protect

Aerodactyl is a nice lead, out-speeding the entire meta (save for scarf/priority users) allows it to get off nice Rock Slides and Taunts. Most people don't know his moveset really well, so Wide Guard is almost always unexpected and can net you one or two free turns. Taunt stops trick room users, as well as perish-trap and other disruptors.

Scizor @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EVs: 232 HP / 252 Atk / 24 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Bug Bite
- Aerial Ace
- Filler Technician move

Banded Scizor is also unexpected, and works out really well. It can OHKO the most common variants of Terrakion's (I've taken many battles by surprise this way), as well as Sylveons even if Scizor is at -1 from intimidate. Most of the time I just spam Bullet Punch, but occasionally (especially when I lead with it), I opt for Bug Bite to quickly get rid of a Meowstic or Cresselia.
 
A few underrated mons (they are pretty viable, but I just haven't seen many other ones on the ladder) that I've been using:

Aerodactyl @ Focus Sash
Ability: Unnerve
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Rock Slide
- Taunt
- Wide Guard
- Protect

Aerodactyl is a nice lead, out-speeding the entire meta (save for scarf/priority users) allows it to get off nice Rock Slides and Taunts. Most people don't know his moveset really well, so Wide Guard is almost always unexpected and can net you one or two free turns. Taunt stops trick room users, as well as perish-trap and other disruptors.

Scizor @ Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EVs: 232 HP / 252 Atk / 24 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Bug Bite
- Aerial Ace
- Filler Technician move

Banded Scizor is also unexpected, and works out really well. It can OHKO the most common variants of Terrakion's (I've taken many battles by surprise this way), as well as Sylveons even if Scizor is at -1 from intimidate. Most of the time I just spam Bullet Punch, but occasionally (especially when I lead with it), I opt for Bug Bite to quickly get rid of a Meowstic or Cresselia.
Wide Guard can cause Protect to fail if its used immediately after - so I'm not 100% sure on running Protect on the Aerodactyl. It does have a few fillers it can use, like Tailwind, Earthquake (team willing), Sky Drop, or Power Herb+Sky Attack if you're nuts. I'm not bashing this though - I'm going to dig around in Bank and see if I have an Aerodactyl laying around, didn't know it had Wide Guard. Can't hurt to have an Aerodactyl laying around in my boxes either.

Scizor I like too, just wondering what the Sp. Def is for? :P

Although I know I didn't create this set or anything (credit to Angel Miranda of course), this set his actually helped me out a lot and surprised a lot of my opponents, helping me climb up to about 1400 on the ladder nearly immediately.


Swampert @ Expert Belt
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 228 SpA / 4 SpD / 20 Spe
Modest Nature
- Scald
- Earth Power
- Ice Beam
- Wide Guard

Now you may be thinking non-Mega Swampert isn't viable anywhere besides maybe UU, and a special Swampert isn't viable anywhere at all, but this really isn't true. Every opponent I've faced with this Swampert on my team has played expecting and made plays to counter a physical Mega Swampert (like Will-O-Wisping it, Faking it out, etc. while my bigger threat is free to do its thing), meanwhile what they are really facing is a special based normal Swampert. It has pretty good coverage, posing as a hard counter for to major threats like Lando-T (OHKO), Thundurus (2HKO), Heatran (OHKO without Shuca Berry, guaranteed 2HKO with Shuca Berry or Air Balloon), Mega Mawile (OHKO), MegaMence (OHKO), Talonflame (OHKO), Aegislash (OHKO vs. Blade, 2HKO vs. Shield), Hydreigon (2HKO), Garchomp (OHKO), Mega Gengar (68.8% chance to OHKO), and many other major threats currently running around the VGC meta. It also checks things like Rotom-W, even if it is unable to kill it itself. Its only fear is the not so common grass type in the form of things like Mega Venusaur, Amoongus, Ludicolo, Breloom, Mega Sceptile (as it outspeeds Swampert) or MegaZard Y in the sun (although out of the sun, MegaZard Y is destroyed by Swampert). Furthermore, it offers great support in doubles with Wide Guard, thus providing a check for Specs Sylveon's Hyper Voice, along with other moves like Rock Slide, Earthquake, or even a Hyper Voice from MegaMence (although it would OHKO MegaMence) or Mega Gardevoir. Expert Belt, Modest Nature, and 228 SpA are meant for near maximum damage against the things it counters, while still having a reliable amount of bulk to be able to withstand a few hits.

Although this variant of Swampert may not be as powerful as its more popular, Mega counterpart, the Dark Horse normal, special Swampert may even be considered better by some people for the role it fulfills with its ability to check, counter, and OHKO so many popular mons in today's meta.

EDIT: Also forgot to mention it can scare some physical attackers with Scald
I totally did not run out and breed one of these immediately after reading that paragraph. And by that I mean "I honestly did need something to fuck over Heatran, Landy, Thundy, and Garchomp, and I think is a really convienent yet useful solution". I played around with the idea of Mixed Swampy a while back but didn't think to go fully Special. This is rather impressive, however:

236+ SpA Expert Belt Swampert Earth Power vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Mega Metagross: 139-168 (89.6 - 108.3%) -- 43.8% chance to OHKO
4 SpA Tough Claws Mega Metagross Grass Knot (80 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Swampert: 180-216 (86.9 - 104.3%) -- 25% chance to OHKO
252 Atk Tough Claws Mega Metagross Zen Headbutt vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Swampert: 106-126 (51.2 - 60.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

If it lacks Grass Knot, Swampy has a decent shot at OHKOing MegaGross, and any residual damage pretty much dooms it.
I did change the EVs very slightly though: 228 HP / 4 Def / 236 Sp. Atk / 4 Sp. Def / 36 Speed. It lets it outrun Garchomp with Tailwind support, doesn't take too much from bulk. Obviously, moot if you don't have Tailwind but eh.
 
Well, some people asked me to do this, so here i come:



"Look at mah Emerald wings"

Emerald (Skarmory) (M) @ Rocky Helmet / Sitrus Berry / Safety Googles
Ability: Sturdy
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 132 Def / 124 Spe
Impish Nature
- Rock Slide
- Brave Bird / Iron Head
- Tailwind
- Protect / Roost / Taunt

Skarmory is a pretty solid mon in doubles, as Steel/Flying type is as good defensively as a Water Type. Skarm's typing alone allows it to check Mega Salamence, Mega Kangaskhan, Mega Sceptile (IDK why i'm mentioning this), Landorus-T, Mega Mawile and Sylveon. It also has Tailwind support, which can help some teams to have some speed control and not be completely countered by rain teams. Rock Slide can do some heavy damage to Mega Charizard Y, Talonflame and Volcarona, meanwhile it can provide some flinches to slower mons. Brave Bird is a incredible move with 120 base power, but has recoil and may faint Skarmory when is down to 1 HP. Iron Head, on the other hand, provides a solid STAB move (80 BP) with a big chance of flinching and hits Sylveon for super effective damage. And for te 4th move slot, we have 3 options: Protect is a pretty staple move in VGC, as it gives you momentum, Roost gives you the recovery option to keep enduring physical hits. Finally Taunt checks other Tailwind / Trick Room users as well as it stops Protect mons to use that move. It also stop Perish Trapping and Follow Me strats.
The EV Spread allows Skarm to outspeed 0 Speed Suicune before Tailwind meanwhile it keeps its defensive qualities at their max, making Adamant Max Attack Kangaskhan unable to 3HKO Skarm with Low Kick (skarm doesn't weight that much).

Ok, there is a second set.....but first, think about all the things i did right and don't try to kill me. This isn't a troll set by any means, and it was throughly thought by me for 8 days, so don't blame me if this set at first glance looks like a gimmick or anything else. It just a set that i still try to make better and support it to make it viable in VGC at the very least. Ok, without further ado, here i come:

Emerald (Skarmory) (M) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Sturdy
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 12 Atk / 84 Def / 68 SpD / 92 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Icy Wind
- Rock Slide
- Brave Bird / Drill Peck
- Iron Head

I know what you're thinking, and you probably want to kill me here in the spot inmediatly. The truth is, i never thought of this as a gimmick and i won't even think about it as a troll set. Is just an idea that i got recently, and i'm still trying to make it better.
AV Skarmory gives up all supportive moves for a little more of bulk, resisting Special Attacks and checking Sylveon harder thanks to the SpDef boost. Surprisingly enough, Skarmory can learn Icy Wind as it serves the Speed Control purpose (similar to Icy Wind Gyarados). Rock Slide, Brave Bird, Drill Peck and Iron Head serves exactly the same purposes than before, making Skarmory a little more offensive. The EV spread isn't a mystery, it can outspeed no-boosting nature Max Speed base 100 after a Icy Wind (made specially for Charizard) and it can 2HKO 0 Def 0 HP Zard Y with Rock Slide when spread damage and has a chance to OHKO when 1vs1. 84 defense was to give Adamant Kangaskhan little chance to 3HKO Skarmory with Low Kick. The rest was invested in Sp.Def for more general bulk.

Skarmory is obviously outclassed by almost every single Speed Controler, because they either are faster than Skarmory (Gengar) or they have better bulk (Cresselia, Togekiss, Zapdos, Suicune), so it isn't really used.
 
Well, some people asked me to do this, so here i come:



"Look at mah Emerald wings"

Emerald (Skarmory) (M) @ Rocky Helmet / Sitrus Berry / Safety Googles
Ability: Sturdy
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 132 Def / 124 Spe
Impish Nature
- Rock Slide
- Brave Bird / Iron Head
- Tailwind
- Protect / Roost / Taunt

Skarmory is a pretty solid mon in doubles, as Steel/Flying type is as good defensively as a Water Type. Skarm's typing alone allows it to check Mega Salamence, Mega Kangaskhan, Mega Sceptile (IDK why i'm mentioning this), Landorus-T, Mega Mawile and Sylveon. It also has Tailwind support, which can help some teams to have some speed control and not be completely countered by rain teams. Rock Slide can do some heavy damage to Mega Charizard Y, Talonflame and Volcarona, meanwhile it can provide some flinches to slower mons. Brave Bird is a incredible move with 120 base power, but has recoil and may faint Skarmory when is down to 1 HP. Iron Head, on the other hand, provides a solid STAB move (80 BP) with a big chance of flinching and hits Sylveon for super effective damage. And for te 4th move slot, we have 3 options: Protect is a pretty staple move in VGC, as it gives you momentum, Roost gives you the recovery option to keep enduring physical hits. Finally Taunt checks other Tailwind / Trick Room users as well as it stops Protect mons to use that move. It also stop Perish Trapping and Follow Me strats.
The EV Spread allows Skarm to outspeed 0 Speed Suicune before Tailwind meanwhile it keeps its defensive qualities at their max, making Adamant Max Attack Kangaskhan unable to 3HKO Skarm with Low Kick (skarm doesn't weight that much).

Ok, there is a second set.....but first, think about all the things i did right and don't try to kill me. This isn't a troll set by any means, and it was throughly thought by me for 8 days, so don't blame me if this set at first glance looks like a gimmick or anything else. It just a set that i still try to make better and support it to make it viable in VGC at the very least. Ok, without further ado, here i come:

Emerald (Skarmory) (M) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Sturdy
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 12 Atk / 84 Def / 68 SpD / 92 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Icy Wind
- Rock Slide
- Brave Bird / Drill Peck
- Iron Head

I know what you're thinking, and you probably want to kill me here in the spot inmediatly. The truth is, i never thought of this as a gimmick and i won't even think about it as a troll set. Is just an idea that i got recently, and i'm still trying to make it better.
AV Skarmory gives up all supportive moves for a little more of bulk, resisting Special Attacks and checking Sylveon harder thanks to the SpDef boost. Surprisingly enough, Skarmory can learn Icy Wind as it serves the Speed Control purpose (similar to Icy Wind Gyarados). Rock Slide, Brave Bird, Drill Peck and Iron Head serves exactly the same purposes than before, making Skarmory a little more offensive. The EV spread isn't a mystery, it can outspeed no-boosting nature Max Speed base 100 after a Icy Wind (made specially for Charizard) and it can 2HKO 0 Def 0 HP Zard Y with Rock Slide when spread damage and has a chance to OHKO when 1vs1. 84 defense was to give Adamant Kangaskhan little chance to 3HKO Skarmory with Low Kick. The rest was invested in Sp.Def for more general bulk.

Skarmory is obviously outclassed by almost every single Speed Controler, because they either are faster than Skarmory (Gengar) or they have better bulk (Cresselia, Togekiss, Zapdos, Suicune), so it isn't really used.
Honestly, I would never even have thought to use Skarmory, but this actually looks like it could work very nicely.
 
Although I know I didn't create this set or anything (credit to Angel Miranda of course), this set his actually helped me out a lot and surprised a lot of my opponents, helping me climb up to about 1400 on the ladder nearly immediately.


Swampert @ Expert Belt
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 228 SpA / 4 SpD / 20 Spe
Modest Nature
- Scald
- Earth Power
- Ice Beam
- Wide Guard

Now you may be thinking non-Mega Swampert isn't viable anywhere besides maybe UU, and a special Swampert isn't viable anywhere at all, but this really isn't true. Every opponent I've faced with this Swampert on my team has played expecting and made plays to counter a physical Mega Swampert (like Will-O-Wisping it, Faking it out, etc. while my bigger threat is free to do its thing), meanwhile what they are really facing is a special based normal Swampert. It has pretty good coverage, posing as a hard counter for to major threats like Lando-T (OHKO), Thundurus (2HKO), Heatran (OHKO without Shuca Berry, guaranteed 2HKO with Shuca Berry or Air Balloon), Mega Mawile (OHKO), MegaMence (OHKO), Talonflame (OHKO), Aegislash (OHKO vs. Blade, 2HKO vs. Shield), Hydreigon (2HKO), Garchomp (OHKO), Mega Gengar (68.8% chance to OHKO), and many other major threats currently running around the VGC meta. It also checks things like Rotom-W, even if it is unable to kill it itself. Its only fear is the not so common grass type in the form of things like Mega Venusaur, Amoongus, Ludicolo, Breloom, Mega Sceptile (as it outspeeds Swampert) or MegaZard Y in the sun (although out of the sun, MegaZard Y is destroyed by Swampert). Furthermore, it offers great support in doubles with Wide Guard, thus providing a check for Specs Sylveon's Hyper Voice, along with other moves like Rock Slide, Earthquake, or even a Hyper Voice from MegaMence (although it would OHKO MegaMence) or Mega Gardevoir. Expert Belt, Modest Nature, and 228 SpA are meant for near maximum damage against the things it counters, while still having a reliable amount of bulk to be able to withstand a few hits.

Although this variant of Swampert may not be as powerful as its more popular, Mega counterpart, the Dark Horse normal, special Swampert may even be considered better by some people for the role it fulfills with its ability to check, counter, and OHKO so many popular mons in today's meta.

EDIT: Also forgot to mention it can scare some physical attackers with Scald
Wow, this set looks really good! I had a Showdown session with a couple of friends a while back, and one of them was using specially-based Swampert. I'm definitely going to try this out, thanks!
 
Aerodactyl @ Focus Sash
Ability: Unnerve
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Rock Slide
- Taunt
- Wide Guard
- Protect

Aerodactyl is a nice lead, out-speeding the entire meta (save for scarf/priority users) allows it to get off nice Rock Slides and Taunts. Most people don't know his moveset really well, so Wide Guard is almost always unexpected and can net you one or two free turns. Taunt stops trick room users, as well as perish-trap and other disruptors.
I've been using a similar set paired with M-Tyranitar, and it's been quite solid so far. His support move pool is ridiculous and can make it very easy to gain momentum right off the bat. Awesome lead, especially in sand.

Although I know I didn't create this set or anything (credit to Angel Miranda of course), this set his actually helped me out a lot and surprised a lot of my opponents, helping me climb up to about 1400 on the ladder nearly immediately.

Swampert @ Expert Belt
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 228 SpA / 4 SpD / 20 Spe
Modest Nature
- Scald
- Earth Power
- Ice Beam
- Wide Guard
Not to beat a dead dark horse, but this set is fantastic and filled a hole in my team immediately. Swampert's got mad coverage and his Grass-type weakness has been easy to play around so far, not to mention his immunity to sandstorm prevents any headaches. You're right about all the Will-O-Wisps that he laughs off!

EDIT: Since I wasn't outspeeding much anyway, and had some problems removing Aegislash, I tried out a Quiet nature to force a speed-tie. That surprise 50% chance to let Aegislash attack first and OHKO back with Earth Power has so far proved more useful than a neutral speed nature, at least for my team.
 
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